Will the time ever come that I've had "enough" Disney? I didn't think so! :)

[mkluvsmickey]

Looking forward to more - where did ya go?

 

[shortkathleen]

Hello out there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Are we going to get more?????????

 

[tmkinney]

Where are you Melonie?? Hope everything is okay!!

 

[burly]

Dangit. I've reached the end.....
it's okay i'll wait.....
I'm good, take your time....

Seriously fun TR keep it coming i'm in.

 

[torsie24]

Awesome TR!!

Can't wait for more!

 

[Paparazzimama]

First things first – a HUGE APOLOGY!!!!!!! Things in my world have been in a million directions since my last post. I had been working for a real estate broker for the previous 2 years, but after hurricane Gustav the residential real estate business took a desperate spiral turn downward! My boss had to drastically reduce her overhead (a big part of that being my job) so some adjustments had to be made. I was able to keep working there 2 days a week until late November, then I had to leave completely. It was a very stressful time for me and my family, as well as for my boss and her family. After 3 months of job hunting, I finally got a new job and it even pays substantially more than my previous one! It’s so exciting! So, anyway, I just started the new job last week and so far it’s going REALLY well!!!! I don’t think they allow “disboards surfing” as part of their workday , so that could prove to be a real problem, but I guess it’s just one hurdle I’ll have to cross right? Anyway, so back to my apology . . . I really am so very sorry for leaving everyone hanging for so long. I hope that I will still have readers, but I understand if some of you have had to move on to a more loyal poster.

Okay, so I think I left off with us having just gone to bed after an amazing dinner at ‘Ohana. The next morning, we were moving a little slower than the days before, but were still very anxious for our busy day at Animal Kingdom. There were a lot of things we were looking forward to: Khali River Rapids (not so much dh and I, but the kids), Flights of Wonder (if you read my ptr then you will understand the “importance” of this one to dh), and a lunch at Yak & Yeti (one of our favorites). We managed to make it to Animal Kingdom around 9:30, so even with our “laggedness” we were still doing pretty well on time. After going through the turnstiles, we headed straight to EE – a favorite for my whole crew! The ride was everything we remembered and expected, and put us in the perfect mood to face the rest of our day. After our encounter with the yeti, we took a little walk on the Panganini Exploration Trail. The kids love seeing all of the animals, and dh and I enjoy the calmness of the “forest”.

Next up was the show that dh had been waiting for – Flights of Wonder – and it DID NOT disappoint!!!!! I have to admit that this show was everything dh had built it up to be! Dbff even got picked to go up on stage for a demonstration! You can tell that everyone was really into it!

That was dbff in the blue shirt about to get her head taken off by that gian bird! By the time the show was over, we were more than ready for our lunch at Yak & Yeti. On our previous trip during Thanksgiving ’07 we had Thanksgiving dinner here and loved it, so we were really looking forward to this meal. Again, another item on our agenda that DID NOT disappoint! I think I have a pic of the kiddos from this meal to share.

After we had our fill, we headed off to ride Dinosaur. Once we were inside the building in line, we were pulled aside by a CM who asked how many were in our group. She then took us all to an elevator where she told us that we were the Dinosaur ride family of the day. We were given certificates, and got a vehicle all to ourselves without waiting in the rest of the line! It probably isn’t a very big deal, but to us it was HUGE!!!!! We love this ride anyway, but that just made it all the better! Once we avoided being eaten by t-rex, we headed to KRR to cool off a bit. Unfortunately, when we arrived at the line entrance the stand-by entrance wait time was 70 minutes!!!! After consoling some disappointed little ones, we left the park and returned to our room at POR. Oh, but on the way out, we took these photopass pics:

Everyone took a much needed nap after an extremely hot day at AK. Once we all had our “beauty rest” we got dressed for our grown-up dinner at Narcoossee’s. After dropping off the kiddos at the Grand Floridian’s kids’ club, the “big kids” headed to check-in for some much needed adult conversation.

We only waited a few minutes before being seated at a table by the window. We enjoyed this meal very much! The service was good, the food was delicious and the company was perfect. Oh, but there was one little thing that got under my skin! Just before the time for Wishes (the main reason we wanted a table by the window), a couple that was out on the porch to watch the show chose to stand directly in front of our window view! And it definitely wasn’t because they didn’t have room anywhere else to stand! SO FRUSTRATING!!!!! We ended up not even being able to see most of the fireworks because of it. {sigh} Anyway, after our dinner we picked the kids up from the kids’ club and hopped on the monorail to the MK for EMH. The park was very busy, but we still enjoyed ourselves. We grabbed a snack from the bakery on Main Street before turning in for the night.

 

[mom_of_3_70737]

Yay!!!!! Glad that you started again...I am tempted to do the same!!! Great update, but it really makes me want to go back!!!!

 

[burly]

Good to see you back. Congrats on the new job.

 

[tmkinney]

So happy you are back Melonie!! Sorry you lost your job, but happy things are working out now!! Can't wait to read about the rest of your trip, makes me want to go back, unfortunately I think it will be a long time before we can.

 

[mom2mek]

I'm so glad you decided to come back and finish! I was wondering what happened to you girls! Great update too! I love that Yak and Yeti picture of the kids - I don't know why - it's just kids eating, but for some reason, it really just brings me right in!

The bird would have totally freaked me out!

Your photopass pics are fabulous as always.

I can't believe that group came and stood right in front of your view! Wow! Rude.

Looking forward to more....

Sara

 

[Paparazzimama]

Yay!!!!! Glad that you started again...I am tempted to do the same!!! Great update, but it really makes me want to go back!!!!

You need to pick yours back up girl - it was so good!

Good to see you back. Congrats on the new job.

Thank you!!!!!

So happy you are back Melonie!! Sorry you lost your job, but happy things are working out now!! Can't wait to read about the rest of your trip, makes me want to go back, unfortunately I think it will be a long time before we can.

I know what you mean - I don't know if I could finish it up if it weren't for our next trip coming up . . . oh, wait, I think I just spoiled my surprise ending . . .

I'm so glad you decided to come back and finish! I was wondering what happened to you girls! Great update too! I love that Yak and Yeti picture of the kids - I don't know why - it's just kids eating, but for some reason, it really just brings me right in!

The bird would have totally freaked me out!

Your photopass pics are fabulous as always.

I can't believe that group came and stood right in front of your view! Wow! Rude.

Looking forward to more....

Sara

Yeah, I'm with you on the pic of the kids eating - I guess we can associate full mouths with silence!

New post coming up . . . .

 

[Paparazzimama]

The next day (insert sad music as our last full day begins . . . ) we actually slept in!!!! GASP!!!!! I know it seems blashphemist for a supposed Disney addict to sleep past rope drop, but we just had to – we were totally exhausted! So, after we arose slowly, we took the boat to DTD and shopped, shopped, shopped! The kids hadn’t spent hardly any of their souvenir money so they had a blast picking out their goodies. DH and I found some loot for ourselves too! After our spending spree, we went to Ghiradelli and met some old FL friends for ice cream. It was fun to catch up and relax – and it helped that we had the best ice cream ANYWHERE to snack on while we did it! Before leaving DTD we had to find a way to spend our 23 remaining snack credits, so off to Goofy’s Candy Co. we went . . . and spend we did! We got rice krispie treats, marshmallows, pretzel sticks (all dipped and rolled in an array of concoctions), suckers, cotton candy, chocolate, freeze drinks . . . whatever was a snack credit – we got it! I have to say that it was WAY FUN!!!! At this point we drug our dozen or so bags to the boat dock and headed back to POR. All the way back, the kids were begging to go swimming when we got back to the resort. But, since it was after 3:00, we knew that if we took a swim break, we would never make it to our ADR at 1900 Park Fare. In the end, we left it totally up to the kids, and they chose to stay at the resort to swim and order pizza rather than go to 1900 PF so we called to cancel our ressie and changed into our suits. This turned out to be a GREAT decision – the main pool at POR is AMAZING!!!!! The kids rode the slide until their bottoms were raw! (Not literally) Here are some poor quality pics from one of those waterproof disposable cameras:

We swam until 8:00 or so (spent 4 hours in the pool!) then went to the marketplace and ordered a pizza. While we waited for it to be ready, we played games at the arcade.

Back in our room, we ate our pizza, had our baths and everyone relaxed while I packed up our suitcases . . . we were checking out the next morning.

 

[tmkinney]

Looks like a fun last day, I hope when we go back we get to take a day to just relax like that.... Can't wait to hear about the next trip?!! I'm jealous!!!

 

[elphie101]

I know your TR's just about over, but I can't wait to read the end!

PS your children are some of the cutest ever. Granted, I have a condition where I melt whenever I see anyone with a single digit age, but your daughter especially in some of those pictures is gorgeous I know, I'm a crazy girl.

 

[Paparazzimama]

Hi, everybody! Just popping in to say that my "last day post" will be up tonight. I was planning to do it today at work, but remembered that my word document where I typed the entries is on my laptop at home. (Yeah, kind of an important detail to forget right? ) Anyhoo, stay tuned, I'll be back tonight.

 

[Paparazzimama]

Looks like a fun last day, I hope when we go back we get to take a day to just relax like that.... Can't wait to hear about the next trip?!! I'm jealous!!!

It was a GREAT day!!!! On our next long trip with the kids, we will definitely plan in a day or two like that!

I know your TR's just about over, but I can't wait to read the end!

PS your children are some of the cutest ever. Granted, I have a condition where I melt whenever I see anyone with a single digit age, but your daughter especially in some of those pictures is gorgeous I know, I'm a crazy girl.

Thank you so much for the compliments on my children! Naturally, I think they are beautiful, but it's always nice to hear it from other people too.

Oh, and check my signature for the link to our new trip report!
Sorry, elphie, no kiddos on this trip - but I do have some great pics from our past trips on there to look at.

 

[Paparazzimama]

We were up bright and early the next morning for our early breakfast reservations at Chef Mickey. This is an ADR that we were all really looking forward to! The kids ask to go eat there every time we pass through on the monorail. We checked-out of our resort around 6:30a.m., left our luggage with bell services, hopped on a bus to the Magic Kingdom, then took the monorail into the Contemporary. We were amazed at the structure of that resort – it’s definitely on our list of “one day”s for future Disney trips. We checked into Chef Mickey’s around 7:50 and only waited a few minutes before we were called to our table. The kids enjoyed this breakfast so much! They twirled their napkins, filled their bellies, and had their picture taken with the Fab 5. We were very pleased with our experience at CM!

When we had our fill, we hopped on a bus to Hollywood Studios where the kids each got to ride their favorites one more time: TSMM and Star Tours. We grabbed a few last-minute souvenirs on our way out of the park. Next stop – Epcot! (Which, by the way, had a 40 minute bus wait for!) We checked into Coral Reef about 1:05 and waited 5 or 10 minutes for a table. The atmosphere was okay, but we were VERY disappointed in the food. It was borderline inedible actually. We definitely won’t be back to try this one! Once we finished and fled from the restaurant, we took a nice stroll around the countries and grabbed a few snacks along the way. We had a few snack credits still remaining and the kids were really hot, so we stopped to have one last Mickey Ice Cream bar. Well, so much for burning our last snack credits – the CM at the ice cream cart informed us that as a part of the Year of a Million Dreams, he was granting us 2 free Mickey ice creams!!!! I didn’t have the heart to tell him that we were actually WANTING to spend our snack credits, so we just expressed our utmost gratitude to him and went on our way. He was so sweet and pleased with himself. Oh, and this is a funny story – as we’re walking back toward FW, I realize that dd and ds’s faces are covered in chocolate and ice cream! They were a mess! So, when I saw a photopass photographer in front of the fountains, I thought it would make the perfect Epcot photo-op. Well, just as we were about to get the picture taken, the rest of dd’s ice cream falls off of the stick onto the ground! (Oh, and it took a good 2 solid minutes of scrubbing to clean those faces!)

And here are some other pics from our day that I forgot about:

Once everyone was clean and had their best face forward, we took our last bus ride back to POR where we retrieved our luggage from bell services and waited for our FLTours van, which arrived to pick us up at 6:15p.m. I must say that even with 5 kids on-board, it was a solemn ride to the airport. Everyone was mixed with emotions ranging from “I’m tired of being cooped up with cranky kids” to “I don’t wanna leave this place”. The flight home was very uneventful (thank goodness) and we were all relieved to have our feet on the ground again. I know this seems like the end, but it’s really not . . . guess what I did when we got back . . . started trying to figure out when our next trip would be . . . “Honey, what about a 4 day weekend with just adults for our anniversary . . . “ And so the saga continues – “Will the time EVER come that I’ve had enough Disney?” . . . . . . . . . .

 

[mom2mek]

Wow! Ya'll were busy that day! Way to go out with a bang! Great pictures and a great report! I'm glad you came back to finish it! Looking forward to the next one!

Sara

 

[Paparazzimama]

Wow! Ya'll were busy that day! Way to go out with a bang! Great pictures and a great report! I'm glad you came back to finish it! Looking forward to the next one!

Sara

Thanks for sticking it out with me! And I, too, am glad I came back and finished it! The next one should be lots of fun - our crew can be a real riot when we're together for extended periods of time!

 

[tmkinney]

Looks like a great last day! Can't wait to hear more about the "adults only" trip!!!