Will You Chill Out if I Sprinkle You With Pixie Dust? The End p136 *New TR Link* p138

[Pinkocto]

I hope you feel better soon

 

[MEK]

Thanks for the well wishes everyone! I'll be back with replies soon and I even partially wrote my next update! Amazing!

I am feeling 100 percent better than yesterday. I guess it must have been a virus that never really did much except make me lay around all day yesterday.

I've got my appetite back today. Woo Hoo! I know I'm supposed to be on a diet, but I get downright nervous when I don't want to eat!

 

[rndmr2]

Sounds like you had a great first full day at MK. The pics of CP breakfast are so cute! Love the splash zone at SSR, looks like fun! So glad you got to use your Splash FP's

 

[saintstickets]

Geez....go away for two days and you've added 5 pages! This woman is a prolific TRer!

While on line for the train my SIL called me to say they were leaving as well. Several of you asked what their touring plan had been.

Now, in my defense, I am NOT tour guide Mike, so I gave my SIL plenty of information prior to the trip. I sent her the planning DVD and directed her to the DIS and allearsnet. Despite that, she seemed pretty clueless when I suggested rides for their MK day. She also later admitted that they didn't use the FP machine because she didn't "know how". Seriously? Is that possible?

So to answer your question, I know they went back on Pirates at least once, maybe twice. I have no idea if they ever hit another ride.

Part of me thinks I should have given them more direction. Part of me says, "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink". I thought for sure they would get Pooh or Peter Pan FP's (as I suggested) and then do some other rides. Did they even look at the map? I honestly don't know.

I love going to Disney with people that have never been, no matter the age, because their eyes are so filled with wonder and awe. However, if they're going to aimlessly wander around, not take good advice from a pro, only do 2 or 3 things in a 4 hour period, then don't come to me later and complain about the lines or not being able to see everything! I don't know if your DB/DSiL have done this but I have had guests do this in the past. Needless to say, they do not get invited back!

I brought two mugs filled with an adult beverage so I wouldn't have to return to the treehouses anytime soon.

I love a person with foresight and a good planning!

... but I actually struck up a conversation with a couple sitting next to me. They were also DVC owners who were from central Florida. They told me that they plan overnighters, or longer, as often as once a month. I told them how wonderful the Hilton Head resort is and encouraged them to give that a try for future vacations.

That's right...go ahead and rub it in that I didn't make it to HHI last year to meet you!

The logical choice was Pecos Bill, especially since some of us were soaked. There were plenty of outside tables and it was a perfect, low humidity evening.

My choice. A good old burger. I have to have at least one on every Disney trip. What is it about Pecos Bill's burgers that makes them taste so good?

Pecos Bill is often forgotten and more often underrated. I LOVE it for a quick bite of nothing fancy, plain ole good food!

Please forgive me for not getting to all the replies now.

I have had a headache, nausea, stomach cramps, and no appetite all day today. I obviously picked up some kind of virus. I'm going to take a break now to try to find something to eat that actually appeals to me.

Yesterday we toured University of Delaware with Nick and I wonder if I picked up something being around all those folks.

Later all!

Sorry to hear you were not feeling well. It must have been that yoUDee blue hen flu you caught at Univ of Delaware!

 

[MEK]

First off, I hope that you get to feeling better soon.

Thank you! I am feeling much better than I did on Sunday. I'm still not completely sure what is wrong with me. It's an odd sort of summer virus.

Second, it looks and sounds like you had a great afternoon...swimming, splashing and a ride on Splash Mountain! My kinda day. Oh and that burger at Pecos Bill's...yummy! I gotta have one every trip.

I did have a great afternoon. Swimming in perfect summer weather is so awesome and I was ready to get right back to that park for some fun!

[/QUOTE]

I hope you feel better Mary Ellen!

Thanks Amy! I am feeling much better than on Sunday. I just laid around all day. It was very odd for me.

What a lovely afternoon at the pool! Sorry the treehouse pool was closed but it sounds like you had a nice relaxing time at the other pool.

The treehouse pool had a broken filter, hence the closure. I wasn't a fan of walking further, but I have to say that the Grandstand pool is really nice. And its always fun to find people to talk to.

I'm glad you made it on Splash Mountain with the FPs! And I'm glad everyone enjoyed it. Sometimes the best park times are when you leave the grumpy people behind.

Yeah - I don't think my bro had any interest in heading back to the park, but I'm glad my SIL took the 3 oldest boys. They really enjoyed that ride.

I hope Nick & Denny were feeling better quickly & nobody else got sick!

Well, now...........opcorn:

Hope you feel better soon

Thank you! I am feeling a ton better than on Sunday. Sometimes I think summer viruses are the worst. They seem to linger with the humidity!

You know Mary Ellen you have me hooked on the Treehouses !!!

Woo Hoo! I have more outside pictures in my Day 3 updates - mostly of the Grandstand pool and the grounds. On the last day I took a ton of outside pics. It really was lovely in that area and I feel in love with the grounds of SSR all over again.

Love the update, MaryEllen.

Thanks Kathy!

Looks like the kids were having a blast at the pool.

They really did. My two oldest nephews must have been in the water for close to an hour straight and my two youngest loved the splash area.

I'm so happy you had better luck with transportation this update.

So am I because remember I had two, not one, alcoholic beverage beverage before we left so if we had had a long wait I may have needed a bathroom stop.

It's great that everyone loved Splash Mountain and it was a hit!

It really was a hit. I love seeing their faces. They have no idea I took that picture. I hope to surprise them with it!

I've yet to have a "good" meal at Pecos Bills. Both times our hamburgers were awful.

Wow - Sounds like Pecos Bills can really be hit or miss. Both you and Doris did not like it at all. I can't say I have ever had a bad meal there, but it isn't always my first pick either.

Feel better soon.

Thanks! I feel much better than on Sunday. Not 100 percent, but hopefully soon!

I hope you feel better soon

Thanks Pam! Lots of Migraine Relief (which is just tylenol, ASA, and caffiene) and I'm just eating whatever appeals to me. I also haven't run in three days. Hopefully, I will completely kick this soon.

Sounds like you had a great first full day at MK. The pics of CP breakfast are so cute! Love the splash zone at SSR, looks like fun! So glad you got to use your Splash FP's

Other than the bus ride to the park in the morning and the late arrival, all in all I think it was a good day. And it turns out to be an even better night. Not to get ahead, but I did get to ride all three mountains and that constitutes a good day in my book!

The Splash zone was great for the kids and I got some good pictures of it on Day 3!

Geez....go away for two days and you've added 5 pages! This woman is a prolific TRer! !

Hah! At least I have all my links up to date. I am very proud of that. Hope you had fun where ever you went!

I love going to Disney with people that have never been, no matter the age, because their eyes are so filled with wonder and awe. However, if they're going to aimlessly wander around, not take good advice from a pro, only do 2 or 3 things in a 4 hour period, then don't come to me later and complain about the lines or not being able to see everything! I don't know if your DB/DSiL have done this but I have had guests do this in the past. Needless to say, they do not get invited back! !

They really did not complain about anything, although as we get further into this TR you will see that they didn't love MK or AK. Those were the two parks where they did not arrive at park opening. It took them half the trip to learn this lesson and I'm still not sure if they made the correlation. Oh well.

And here's my rant on being invited back - if you give me an appropriate "thank you" (and it doesn't have to be much), you get invited back. If you don't, well you are out of luck. 'Nuff said!

I love a person with foresight and a good planning! !

When it comes to alcohol and caffiene but advanced planning is second to none.

That's right...go ahead and rub it in that I didn't make it to HHI last year to meet you! !

Hey - I told you we are going back in March! You really should think about it. I have no idea what the weather will be like (but it has to be better than Delaware in March), and a 2BR for 5 nights in 125 points. We are inviting another couple, but if they bail we'll do a studio. Denny has never been to Savannah or Charleston and I know he will love both those places. I want to do an overnight in Charleston on the way home.

Pecos Bill is often forgotten and more often underrated. I LOVE it for a quick bite of nothing fancy, plain ole good food!!

It's gotten a couple of bad reviews here, but I enjoy it for a gold 'ol burger.

Sorry to hear you were not feeling well. It must have been that yoUDee blue hen flu you caught at Univ of Delaware!

I'm impressed you even know our mascot!

The best thing about touring UD was Nick really liked the school so its definitely a solid option and I had a blast talking to the engineering professors. Did I mention I would LOVE to see Nick get into engineering? I mention it to him everyday. "hint hint"

 

[TanzUnited99]

Lol your comment about 7am being late made me laugh...I don't even get up that early when I have to go to work!

Wowser at the time it took you to get to MK...that's pure madness! Am glad you made it in time for your ADR though.

Great character shots and yay on WTP finally getting Matt in on the action as well.

Woohoo on hitting high scores on Buzz Lightyear!

Oh no on your SiL not having a good touring plan and not knowing how to use the FP machine...just shows the difference a little planning can make.

Score on still getting on Splash...love that ride.

I hope you're feeling better

 

[MEK]

Lol your comment about 7am being late made me laugh...I don't even get up that early when I have to go to work!

Lucky! Rub it in!

Wowser at the time it took you to get to MK...that's pure madness! Am glad you made it in time for your ADR though.

Madness is a great word to describe that morning. UGH! I was really getting worried we might miss the ADR check in time. I'm glad I had time to get the FPs before ADR time. That saved my morning!

Great character shots and yay on WTP finally getting Matt in on the action as well.

I know. I can't believe how shy that kid is sometimes. He's the typical "middle" child. He tries to fade into the background and he always needs a little nudging, but he's a great kid. I really enjoy being around him.

Woohoo on hitting high scores on Buzz Lightyear!

Even if it was due to a technical malfunction, right?

Oh no on your SiL not having a good touring plan and not knowing how to use the FP machine...just shows the difference a little planning can make.

I totally agree. Commando is not necessary, but even a small amount of planning helps.

Score on still getting on Splash...love that ride.

Me too! Even if I have to get wet, I still love it. Its a classic with a bit of a thrill built in. I am so lucky that CM let us through.

I hope you're feeling better

Thanks. I felt a lot better yesterday, not so great this morning, and I feel good again this evening. It is definitely a weird illness.

 

[jenseib]

Playing catch up again.
I hear you on bad bus moo...I have had it a time or two as well. It drives me bonkers.

I had my first Pecos Bills burger in March and it was sooo good. Much better than other burgers I have had on property before.

 

[Cllong75]

I am thouroughly loving your trip report, started it last night and caught up tonight, I can't wait to read more.
I sympathize with your trip so far, those times when you want to go with people who have never been before can be amazing to share in their magic the first time, but there always seems to be that one person who just doesn't get Disney.
A couple of years ago my Aunt said she was tired of hearing about our trips and was ready to go, and I'm all for any reason to go and I knew we'd have a blast, so my mom, my aunt and myself booked a trip and by the end my Uncle decided to go. I love the man to death but he is the epitamy (sp) of the Grumpy Old Man.
Every time we would go to do something he would complain, why would I want to ride on a dumb little kids ride (hello your in Disney), or 30 minutes, i'm not standing in line for 30 minutes (can you imagine if he'd really had to stand in line?) and the topper, he threw an absolute fit that we were going to sit on a bench for an hour to wait for Illuminations, but the best part is that every time he threw one of his fits, and I always won, at the end he'd say something infuriating like "Well that was really cool, I really liked that" DUH!!!
Anyway so I'm loving that I'm not the only person that has met a "challenge" with a family member.

 

[MEK]

Playing catch up again.
I hear you on bad bus moo...I have had it a time or two as well. It drives me bonkers.

I'm always playing catch up too. It's my middle name.

I tend to be an inpatient driver, so a delayed or slow bus is never fun for me. I am one of those people who dream of being able to snap my fingers and get where I want to go.

I

had my first Pecos Bills burger in March and it was sooo good. Much better than other burgers I have had on property before.

That's my opinion, too. Surprised at how many people are not fans of the Pecos Bills burger!

I am thouroughly loving your trip report, started it last night and caught up tonight, I can't wait to read more.

Christy (I think) You'll have to excuse me because the computer I am on right now (at work) doesn't always show pics or other embellishments. Thanks for joining in!

I sympathize with your trip so far, those times when you want to go with people who have never been before can be amazing to share in their magic the first time, but there always seems to be that one person who just doesn't get Disney.

A couple of years ago my Aunt said she was tired of hearing about our trips and was ready to go, and I'm all for any reason to go and I knew we'd have a blast, so my mom, my aunt and myself booked a trip and by the end my Uncle decided to go. I love the man to death but he is the epitamy (sp) of the Grumpy Old Man.

Every time we would go to do something he would complain, why would I want to ride on a dumb little kids ride (hello your in Disney), or 30 minutes, i'm not standing in line for 30 minutes (can you imagine if he'd really had to stand in line?) and the topper, he threw an absolute fit that we were going to sit on a bench for an hour to wait for Illuminations, but the best part is that every time he threw one of his fits, and I always won, at the end he'd say something infuriating like "Well that was really cool, I really liked that" DUH!!!

OMG - Your uncle does sound like a true "grumpy old man". Some people just love to complain and they love to tell you all about the things they DON'T like about Disney. Ugh! At least he was able to admit that he did like a few things about the experience. I worked with a doctor once who came back from a trip and gave a 15 minute dissertation to everyone who would listen about how insanely horrible his trip was. Of course, he stood right in front of me and directed his tirade towards me. Talk about awkward.

Anyway so I'm loving that I'm not the only person that has met a "challenge" with a family member.

Taking family can be a challenge, for sure. I knew that, so it made some of the annoying stuff a little amusing.

 

[teekathepony]

Now there's a mostly happy update! I like talking Disney with random strangers. It's always so fun to learn their stories. Looks like the boys had fun in the pool/splash area too!
I love that you were still able to use your hour-late fastpasses.
Your Splash picture is awesome!! Love it, everyone looks so happy!
I hope they all stayed to watch everything, but at least the fireworks if nothing else!!

 

[ljcrochet]

Pool and splash area looks great. Can't wait for my upcoming trip.

 

[MEK]

Now there's a mostly happy update!

Shocking, I know!

I like talking Disney with random strangers. It's always so fun to learn their stories.

Me too. It's so great that its so easy to strike up a conversation with someone who loves Disney. You automatically have a huge thing in common. Love it!

Looks like the boys had fun in the pool/splash area too!

The older boys completely wore themselves out in the pool and the younger boys had a blast splashing innocent children.

I love that you were still able to use your hour-late fastpasses.
Your Splash picture is awesome!! Love it, everyone looks so happy!

I was thrilled that we got to use the FPs and very excited that my redneck ride photo turned out. Everyone does look so happy. A magical moment for sure!

I hope they all stayed to watch everything, but at least the fireworks if nothing else!!

You are about to find out very soon.

Pool and splash area looks great. Can't wait for my upcoming trip.

The grandstand pool is very nice. Its only a 5 - 10 minute walk from the treehouses and its well equipped meaning there is a big pool, splash area, mug fill station, and......drum roll please........a bar! I hope you love it there. I have more pictures coming up soon.

 

[MEK]

Before I start my next update, can I just get a WooHoo for 3 months to my October F&W trip! So excited. This will be my first F&W! Cynthia and I have been tweaking a few things.

We also have good news in the waitlist department. Another waitlist came through and we will be staying:

10/16-10/20 VWL
10/21-10/23 BWV

I'm pretty relieved we are only switching rooms once.

I also rebooked my return flight. I moved it up to a non-stop 1pm departure. Nick has a soccer game that night. I am already missing two games for this trip. I really don't want to miss a third. It's his senior year and I shoot the pictures of the games. So, it was worth the 20 or so extra $.

Moving on.....Are you ready for the latest update called......


You’re Leaving Now???


In my last update SIL, Denny, LJ, Matt, Josh, and I had returned to the MK hoping we could use our FP’s an hour late. We only had 5 FP’s, so Denny sat out while the rest of us had an awesome time on Splash. Thank you kind CM for letting us get our ride on. My bro, CJ, and Nick stayed back at the villa. Nick was feeling the full vengeance of Denny’s cold and seemed to have gotten hit harder than Denny.

Before Splash we did get 6 FP’s to BTMMR with a return time of 9:35 pm. I was hoping to ride right after the parade.

Speaking of the parade. ….We had a little time to kill before we needed to settle into a viewing spot. I herded the troops and we walking over to the Jungle Cruise to check wait times. 40 minutes??? No thanks. Now, I realize it could possibly be less, but I did not want to take the chance. I really, really, REALLY wanted to see the MSEP, since I had never seen it. I missed it during the girl’s trip. I missed it during the December trip. I was not about to miss it during this trip, even though I knew Denny and I still had another week of vacation to go.

So, we went to Pirates. I took this picture on the way over to Pirates. I know next to nothing about their Sorcerer's game, but it did look cool.

When we got to Pirates that is when I learned that My SIL and bro had ridden it several other times this afternoon. So, I’m thinking my SIL may have ridden Pirates 4 times, yet missed so many other attractions in the park.

After Pirates we went back to Frontier land to find a spot for the parade. We ended up a couple rows back in a group of people who were sitting across from Pecos Bills at the very end of the parade route. This looked like a perfect spot to me, because after the parade we could head directly to BTMMR and use our FPs.

I was surprised that this entire group of 10 or 12 people were sitting. So I figured, why not, I’ll sit too. I figured they would all jump up the second the parade started. But you know what – they never did. We all watched the parade on our arses and it was perfect. It made picture taking a breeze and I didn’t have to shot around heads.

Practice low light, no flash picture

While I was still sitting there waiting for the parade to start, I looked through my memory card to dump crappy photos from earlier in the day. Everyone seemed at peace, but with only minutes to go before the start of the parade my SIL jumped up, grabbed Josh’s hand and said, “He wants to go, so I am taking him home”.

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?

The kid was just sitting there. I was totally confused. Josh is one of those kids who lets EVERYONE know how he is feeling. If he isn’t happy or if he is inpatient, you know it. But he certainly was giving off any vibes that suggested he was itching to leave.

I really couldn’t stop them, because the second they jumped up they started to walk away. That’s when my other nephew Matt jumped up and said, “I’m going with them”.

Come on People? Really? It’s minutes from an awesome parade and you are going to bail now. ACK!

I did manage to tell my SIL not to walk down the parade route, because she wouldn’t be able to get through. I advised her to walk over to Pirates and out that route to the front of the park.

Alrighty then. It was now just LJ, Denny, and I. Can I just tell you how much I love LJ? For those of you that are new to my TR ,you might not know that we took LJ with us to WDW in 2009. Or maybe I already told you. He loved it. He ate it up. He went on every ride and screamed awesome every time. This from a kid whose dad cautioned me that he was “frail” and I should avoid thrill rides with him. Way to go Dad – make the kid a whimp! Now here are your two brothers, who spent 20 hours on a freakin’ train, being lead out of the park right before the start of the most awesome, magical parade. Words can not describe how I felt at that moment.

LJ, Denny, and I loved the parade and I took so, so many pictures so I will try to limit the ones I post. I've talked enough. Bring on the pics.

In the really low light it is hard to see the highschool marching band that came through at the front of the parade.

Blurry saxophone players

Then these little butterfly people

Followed by this little butterfly person who flies from the castle every evening.

close up

The official start

An alien turtle

Pretty butterfly

Is this a hooka smokin' catepillar? (Go Ask Alice lyrics)

Cheshire cat

OMG - the cheshire cat just grew.

Turtle man

Ribbit

Hey Cindy

Continued in Next Post........

 

[MEK]

Yo Sista'

I could SO play this roll. I would have no trouble with this look

May I have this dance?

Big Ben

Peter - Are you Hiding?

Woo. Where did you come from Mr Hook?

Hold your hand high

I honestly thought I had more parade pictures than that, but I guess I dumped a lot because I was determined not to use a flash.

Great Parade! Loved it!

After the parade, the three of us headed to BTMMR. I guess the one bonus to having everyone else leave early was that we had 3 extra FP’s. Nothing wrong with that. The wait time was posted at 5 minutes, but it was clear that the FP route was still the quickest. We took back to back rides in the FP line and timed our second ride to coincide perfectly with the fireworks.

Now, as much as I love seeing the fireworks from the front of the park, I have a soft spot for watching them from BTMMR. There is something so magical about watching starbursts overhead while being whipped around a dark mining town, lights eerily glowing in the distance. Love it! BTMMR is my absolute favorite night time ride. BTMMR at night – AWESOME! BTMMR at night with Wishes in the background – PRICELESS!

After our two rides on BTMMR, Denny declared that he wanted to head back to Auntie Gravity’s for ice cream. When I said, “You were already there once today”. He said, “Was that today?”

I passed up ice cream for the second time in one day, but I did have my heart set on a cinnamon bun from the main street bakery. I was able to get one on the way out. But would I ever get a chance to eat it for breakfast?

As we were heading back to the hub, we could see that the Castle Show was just starting. We watched it from over near the Noodle Station.

There I am in the bottom right hand corner. Psych! Not!

It's so cool how the scenes on the castle change. The colors just seem to wave in and out

Love this color scheme

From a distance all the colors look crisp and clear, but every time I zoomed in the colors looked like melting icing on a cake

The color combinations seemed endless

Continued in Next Post........

 

[MEK]

Oh Wait - This one is SO much better!

POW! The End!

Can I just say that this show was AMAZING! We all just looked at each other and said, “How the HECK do they do that?” I was so in awe. Denny also took an excellent video on his phone and I have totally enjoy watching it at home!

After our stop at the Main Street Bakery we dragged our weary selves to the bus.

Fortunately, we did not have long to wait for a bus, although we did have to stand. Poor LJ was falling asleep standing up and I was in such an awkward position that I was having trouble hanging on. I pictured myself losing my grip and taking everyone out like a line of dominos.

When we got back to the villa Matt was still up and talking with Nick. The second I walked in Nick said, “Aunt Mary Ellen, Matt has something he wants to tell you”.

Matt proceeded to say, “Aunt Mary Ellen. I know you want to get up early and get everyone to the parks on time, but can you not come out here so early and wake me up?” “I could hear you making coffee this morning and I couldn’t go back to sleep”.

Denny immediately chimes in “yeah, Aunt Mary Ellen”

What the………..?

My own husband just threw me under the bus for a 10 year old to drive over. I was so angry with him at that moment because I was trying to think of a reasonable reply that would keep everyone happy. It was now too late for that because what I wanted to say was……

“Well, Matt since you asked, I can make the coffee in my room, but I will be coming out here sometime after 7am to go for a run and to get ready to leave for the parks”.

Instead of being able to say that, I just gave up and went to bed. Coffee pot and all!

Next up – AK Rope Drop for MEK, but what about everyone else?

And Where or Where is my Cinnamon bun from the Main Street Bakery?

 

[bellesBFF]

Late, but joining in

 

[JoshMom5]

Excellent parade viewing seats, FPs for BTM and they get up and LEAVE.

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

That's too bad that they left before the parade!!! The electrical parade is definitely the definition of Disney magic right there!

You got gorgeous pictures of the castle show! I really would love to see that in person some day. It looks amazing!!

Oh, Aunt Mary Ellen...don't they realize that the best time to get to the parks is early in the morning??? I guess not yet!! Don't worry, I'm 100% with you on Team Early Risers!

 

[ireneryan]

First you get a WOO-HOOOO for your October trip coming up!! We have a Nov trip (our first trip to WDW) and we're so excited so we're all getting closer!!!!

But now I need to know, WHY???? did they leave the parade early. Why can't you make coffee in YOUR kitchen at YOUR treehouse and why did your husband throw you under a bus? As usual, you have left me dying for the next post, but I will just sit here waiting patiently as usual...

Have I mentioned you're a saint for travelling with such a big group? So not my thing...