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

[jeremysdisneymom]

Mary Ellen, I thought I had subscribed and posted but I don't think I did. I have been reading along but just not had much time to comment. I am glad things were finally getting better with your brother. Family can be so much fun to travel with at time. You are a brave and kind lady to deal with it. Can't say that I will ever again.

I looked like the lady in the front of your ToT picture who is hold on to her family for dear life. That ride literally scared me to death but I loved it so much I can't wait to ride it again. I told Tom I would give RnR a try in November. Glad you posted pictures of the que. Some of my fear with those rides is the unknown. The que to get in ToT really had me freaked out.

Your nephews are just adorable. So glad that one of them really enjoyed all the rides with you guys.

Wow, the pool at SSR is amazing. I have never stayed there but it looks like so much fun.

 

[SoonerGirl]

The funny thing is - you don't even realize you are going upside down on the first loop.

Oh, this is such a lie! (Well, for me it is anyway ) I would never do a coaster that goes upside down, but one time when we were at Disney with friends my girlfriend swore that RnRC was so fast and smooth that you couldn't even tell when you go upside down. So, I rode it and I could definitely tell! I was glad she lied to me though, because now it's one of my all time favorite WDW attractions!

 

[MEK]

Hi Mary Ellen , just checkin' in!!!

Hey Rosie! What's the world on the granny trip? Do you have your location picked out? Still planning a future treehouse?

Yay so glad you made rope drop! And that everyone enjoyed the park!

I am SO happy we finally made it to rope drop. Wow - didn't think it was ever going to happen. It really helped everyone enjoy the day.

I always try to get a picture of the back alley in RnRC but they never turn out very good, I liked the ones you used, even if they were borrowed!

Caitlin did a great job with those. I am going to try next trip.

OMG those pictures of ToT are amazing! I want to be there right now!

Thank you! I totally lucked out on those pictures, but I am very, very happy with how they turned out. I am going to make a shutterfly book for this trip, so they will be in it.

 

[MEK]

We love ToT, ride it a lot. Can't do RnR, like thrill rides but can't do the upside down one, make us sick. DH can no longer ride SM as he gets queasy on it. So we avoid those rides.

Isn't it interesting how some people do better on "drop" rides and other people do better on "upside-down" rides. I freakin' love upside-down rides, but wish I didn't get a coaster headache if I ride too much. Glad you are both able to enjoy ToT!

Love the Movie ride, heck I can recite most of the dialog! Love old movies, so have seen just about all of the movies featured on the ride!

Well, great, then you are going to like my next update! I took a ton of pictures. You should be my narrator if you have everything memorized. that's awesome! I haven't done this ride for while, so I really enjoyed it this time around and I'm pleased with my pictures!

Mary Ellen, I thought I had subscribed and posted but I don't think I did. I have been reading along but just not had much time to comment. I am glad things were finally getting better with your brother. Family can be so much fun to travel with at time. You are a brave and kind lady to deal with it. Can't say that I will ever again.

Erika!!!! I've seen you around the boards, so I'm glad you stopped over here. I also hope you update your TR soon.....hint hint......

The beginning of the trip was definitely tough for me, but it got better as things went alont. I thought it would be the opposite, actually. I figured everyone would start out all happy and then burn out. I think that train ride had a role in everyone's initial disposition.

I looked like the lady in the front of your ToT picture who is hold on to her family for dear life. That ride literally scared me to death but I loved it so much I can't wait to ride it again. I told Tom I would give RnR a try in November. Glad you posted pictures of the que. Some of my fear with those rides is the unknown. The que to get in ToT really had me freaked out.

That lady is pretty funny! But, even if you DO look like that (which I doubt), at least you love the ride. You really should try RnR. I agree with fear of the unknown. I have to know exactly what I am getting into. Sometimes I will watch a youtube video before I do a certain ride. That helps.

Your nephews are just adorable. So glad that one of them really enjoyed all the rides with you guys.

Thank you! They are all really cute boys and very enjoyable to be around, for the most part.... I mean, they are BOYS after all and we all know how they can get.

Wow, the pool at SSR is amazing. I have never stayed there but it looks like so much fun.

And that is not the main pool. That is just the Grandstand pool. SSR has a great variety of pools and we didn't even hit them all. My fav is the pool at Congress Park because I love the view of DTD!

Oh, this is such a lie! (Well, for me it is anyway ) I would never do a coaster that goes upside down, but one time when we were at Disney with friends my girlfriend swore that RnRC was so fast and smooth that you couldn't even tell when you go upside down. So, I rode it and I could definitely tell! I was glad she lied to me though, because now it's one of my all time favorite WDW attractions!

OK, well maybe you can tell, but just a little bit! I guess what I should have said is the actual feeling of being upside feels a lot better than it looks. When I see people going upaide down I always think - OMG - but actually doing it is so much easier.

I am so glad that you now love RnR. Your friend was smart!

 

[khertz]

I'm excited to try out this "new" rope drop procedure at DHS in October! Sounds a little less stressful than trying to navigate the crazy running crowd while pushing a stroller in the TSM stampede! It's nice that your whole family was up for the early morning too. It makes the day so much nicer! LOVE your ToT queue pics!! They are really fantastic. We never seem to think to take pics in that queue, I will have to remember to try to get some shots this trip. It's one of the best queues in all of WDW in my opinion! Looks like the boys had fun getting dropped.

 

[MHTeacher]

Here's our redneck ride photo. We are in the back row on the left.

I am dying at the mother on the front row trying to hold on to her child across the aisle! Apparently she doesn't trust the daddy to take care of it!

Time for a photopass picture

Great family picture!

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

Where's Piglet! Thanks for joining in! Sorry it took me so long to welcome you! I am such a slacker!. So glad you are enjoying the TR and the photos!

I agree with you on the large trips. It is really not my idea of a good time because of the reasons you mentioned. I think 6 is about the biggest group I want to park tour with. But I knew it would be a challenge and I really wanted them to go on this trip, so it was all (or mostly) good!

I found the buses very annoying, too, but SSR does have a bunch of great pools!

You will see soon that things start to improve and the pixie dust starts working its magic!

Awww, thanks for the welcome! As busy as your report is, I didn't think it took you long at all!

I am glad to hear your trip got better as it went along!

You've probably said this already, but what kind of camera do you have? Your TOT photos are fantastic!

 

[CandleontheWater]

Wow, you guys had a productive morning! The only problem is that once you finish ToT, RnRC and TSMM, whats left?

Loved your photos of the ToT queue!

 

[MEK]

I'm excited to try out this "new" rope drop procedure at DHS in October! Sounds a little less stressful than trying to navigate the crazy running crowd while pushing a stroller in the TSM stampede! It's nice that your whole family was up for the early morning too. It makes the day so much nicer!

It is way less stressful than when I went in December. That was terrible. I almost got out of the FP line for TSM. I can only imagine how horrific it would be when pushing a stroller. No thanks!

I was thrilled the whole family was up and ready to go at the same time.

LOVE your ToT queue pics!! They are really fantastic. We never seem to think to take pics in that queue, I will have to remember to try to get some shots this trip. It's one of the best queues in all of WDW in my opinion! Looks like the boys had fun getting dropped.

Thanks. So glad you like the pics. You really have to use your camera's manual settings to get good pics in there. There just isn't enough light. It's absolutely one of the best queues. EVER!

I am dying at the mother on the front row trying to hold on to her child across the aisle! Apparently she doesn't trust the daddy to take care of it!

She looks like she is in severe pain and the little boy is just looking at her like WTH mom? Too funny!

Great family picture!

Thanks. I wish we could have gotten one of the whole group, but I'll settle for this one.

Awww, thanks for the welcome! As busy as your report is, I didn't think it took you long at all!

Good. I'm glad I wasn't slacking too much. It helps when I can get a few replies in at work. shhhhhhhh!

I am glad to hear your trip got better as it went along!

It definitely got better. I think this was probably our best day. Everyone enjoyed themselves and had a great time. It was wonderful.

You've probably said this already, but what kind of camera do you have? Your TOT photos are fantastic!

I have a Canon Rebel DSLR and I use i photo to edit. It's a pretty entry level DSLR. One thing that one of my friends taught me is that if you really learn how to use your camera in the manual settings you can take good pictures with just about any camera. So I always try to use manual settings to see what works and doesn't. I really would eventually like to take a course.

Wow, you guys had a productive morning! The only problem is that once you finish ToT, RnRC and TSMM, whats left?

True - once I am done with the big 3 I sort of think......OK - what am I going to do now? Actually, I wanted to get a FP for Star Tours right after we got off TAM, but that didn't happen. Stay tuned for that one!

Loved your photos of the ToT queue!

 

[MEK]

Wait!.....Stop!......

Got your attention now, don't I???

Before I start my next update I just want to give a general life update. I am leaving for a week at the beach tomorrow - beach, shore, ocean, whatever you want to call it. Here in Delaware we call it "the beach". People in PA and NJ called it "the shore". I'm not sure what the rest of the country calls it, so chime it.

So, anyway, I try to really limit my computer time on vacation and I don't travel with my lap top because it has a serious crack in the screen. In other words, its on its last leg and I do not like to close it because sooner or later its going to .... I have the money set aside for a new one, but I'm just nursing this one along because it works like a champ!

So, I guess what I am trying to say is I'm not sure how much I will be on the DIS next week. I may not get to replies until I get home, so be patient.

I promise to take pics and I'll probably put a couple posts on FB. I did schedule a kayak trip for Tuesday. It's just going to be Denny and I and another couple and the tour guide. I decided to get my own kayak this time. The last time I was in the back of a tandem. I don't want to sit in the front and do nothing, so I'm going to step up to the plate and try my own. Wish me luck!

Oh - and in case you think my house will be unattended - wrong - Brian will be here and my neighbor is a hawk, so no worries there.

Alrighty then - time for my next update.

In my last update we had just finished RnR and ToT and we had FPs for TSM for 10:35. But in the mean time we had about 25 minutes to kill. So where did we kill them........

OK - I know this ride gets a bad rap and, I will admit I have skipped it since 2009, but today I felt like checking it out. Plus, I felt like taking some pics.

Are you READY?????

I'm sure you all know that this queue always takes longer then you want it too. I realized we wouldn't be over to TSM by 10:35, so I tried to text and call SIL. Shockingly, no response.

Oh well. I tried.

Let's get on with it, shall we?

No flash used during these pictures

Like many of you, I never get the cowboy sequence. I have only had it once. Today was no exception.

Lookie there......

This CM was perfect for this role. She wasn't exceptionally attractive, so she didn't have to try all that hard to look like a thug.

Uh Oh - I think I know what's going to happen next

Too bad I missed it!

Not a fan of this scene

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

 

[MEK]

Continued from previous post......

Crispy Critter

I really enjoyed the GMR this trip. I think the key is to not visit it more than every 3 or 4 years.

I love the movie montage at the end. Here are a few select pictures from that.

Who doesn't love this movie?

Once outside, I couldn't resist taking a few of these pictures.

I wanted more, but SIL called me and I told her we would be there in 3 minutes.

We we arrived at TSM this was the FP return time

And this was the standby time

Continued in Next Post......

 

[MEK]

Continued from previous post.....

And this was the last picture I took before I put my camera away

The rest of my TSM were taken with my phone.

Time for the glasses

You looking at me Aunt Mary Ellen?

Josh was my ride buddy for TSM.

Obligatory ride picture

So how'd we do?

Well, Josh is blue and I am red

Honestly, I stink at TSM and this is the absolute best I have done. But check out Josh's accuracy. Wow!

Josh and I were the two last people off the ride. I paused inside for a few seconds, because I wasn't sure if we were first or last.

When I went outside I saw SIL at a FP machine. And she was putting park tickets in it. ALL of the park tickets.

I yelled, "Wait.....Stop.......", but my efforts were in vain. Just as I opened my mouth, the last park ticket went into the machine.

I'll have to give SIL this - once she finally figured out how to use the FP, she certainly wasn't going to waste any time. She was like a kid in a candy shop. In a way, it was sort of cute.

Truth is - I like TSM. It's a fun ride. But to me, its totally not worth all the hype. If I could ride it multiple times during the slow season, I would. But, I had no desire to get a second FP with a return time at 7:30pm.

When I yelled, "Wait....Stop...", my brother told SIL, "I told you to wait".

I shrugged it off and said, "Don't worry about it. It's fine". You see, I really wanted a FP for Star Tours and that was going to be my next stop. I figured I would get a ST FP, eat lunch, and go back and ride ST. Oh well, not gonna happen.

By now it was around 11:15 and everyone was starving for lunch. Even I tend to get hungry for lunch really early when I am visiting the world.

We decided to eat at the Backlot Express. It was a menu that everyone agreed they could order from. Your probably know how I feel about the QS choices at HS. I wanted to eat at Staring Rolls, but A/C and burgers won.

Here is my choice

OK - this is funny - I am not even sure what that sandwich is. It looks like ham, but there is no ham on the menu, so I'm guessing its the turkey sandwich and it was just OK.

Here we are after lunch on the Streets of America. Well, that is everyone but me, the photographer.

So what DID we do after lunch without a Star Tours FP and would we come back in the evening to use those TSM FP's.

Stay tuned to find that out and so much more!

 

[englishrose47]

Great Update !!!I LOVE GMR!!! I could ride it over and over !! But when you don't do coasters and drops etc rides like GMR are desirable !!!I agree the food choices at DHS are NOT good !!If airconditioning is needed then ya have only 2 choices ABCor Toy Story Pizza Now since they added the Cappacinno Cup Cake I am definately more interested !!

 

[amandaw]

First.....I hope you have a great get-away to the beach! You are way braver than I with the whole kayak thing.

The update was great!

I love your pics from the Great Movie Ride. I haven't done it in a while. Looking at all of your lovely dark ride pictures makes me think that I really need to take out my DSLR & tinker around a bit with it. I need to remember what manual settings I like to use most at Disney. It's been a while! And I don't get to play with it as much at home as I would like.

Glad y'all were able to get on TSM! Your poor SIL....I bet she was so proud of herself for getting the 2nd set of TSM FPs.

I hope you were still able to get on Star Tours!

 

[MEK]

Great Update !!!I LOVE GMR!!! I could ride it over and over !! But when you don't do coasters and drops etc rides like GMR are desirable !!!

I loved GMR the first view times I went on it. Then it got kind of boring. But this time I liked it again. It's too bad that can't add a surprise scene. Like, you ride through it but the final movie scene changes every time. That would be cool.

I agree the food choices at DHS are NOT good !!If airconditioning is needed then ya have only 2 choices ABCor Toy Story Pizza Now since they added the Cappacinno Cup Cake I am definately more interested !!

What? Cappuccino cupcake? That sounds fantastic. Where is that - Planet Pizza or whatever the heck its called. Major yum!

 

[MEK]

First.....I hope you have a great get-away to the beach! You are way braver than I with the whole kayak thing.

Thanks! No, I am not brave. I kayaked at the HHI resort and it was so wonderful and surprisingly easy. I had to be in the back of the tandem, so I did all the work. It was fun. The guide said she can tow me back if I get tire.

The update was great!

Thanks!

I love your pics from the Great Movie Ride. I haven't done it in a while. Looking at all of your lovely dark ride pictures makes me think that I really need to take out my DSLR & tinker around a bit with it. I need to remember what manual settings I like to use most at Disney. It's been a while! And I don't get to play with it as much at home as I would like.

Of course you don't. You have an active little boy. Maybe you can dust it off and go out by yourself some afternoon and kind of get back into it. I didn't take pictures at all when my kids were young. I was too busy watching them.

Glad y'all were able to get on TSM! Your poor SIL....I bet she was so proud of herself for getting the 2nd set of TSM FPs.

She was. I hope I didn't burst her bubble too much. It actually worked out fine and I eventually got my ST FP.

I hope you were still able to get on Star Tours!

Yup. A little bit of extra waiting involved, but mission accomplished.

 

[amandaw]

Thanks! No, I am not brave. I kayaked at the HHI resort and it was so wonderful and surprisingly easy. I had to be in the back of the tandem, so I did all the work. It was fun. The guide said she can tow me back if I get tire.

Still braver than me! That's good that the guide can tow y'all in if needed! That would maybe make me feel better. I'm just not one for water activities. I almost drowned on 2 different occasions as a child so I have preferred land activities all my life.

Of course you don't. You have an active little boy. Maybe you can dust it off and go out by yourself some afternoon and kind of get back into it. I didn't take pictures at all when my kids were young. I was too busy watching them.

So true! Hopefully, once he gets back to school I can do some practicing. He'll only be in for a few weeks though before we leave. And even then, it's only half days since it's PreK4. But, I can maybe go somewhere for an hour or two to practice. I think I read where you said you'd like to do a course one day. I did a course at the local university last fall. I went in to it understanding a little bit about the manual settings. But, that course really did help me do better with switching everything up on my own. I'm no professional by any means. And I still need to work on my "eye" sometimes for the perfect shot. But, I was definitely glad I did it!

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Have a great week at the shore!!!!

Awww the GMR!!! I think the movie montage is my favorite part too!

That's too funny about your SIL going FP crazy! I guess she was excited about figuring out the machine! Hopefully you were still able to ride Star Tours though!

 

[Wicket's Mom]

Have a great time at the beach! Here in Ohio it's the beach!

TSM is fun, but I don't get all the frenzy to ride it!

Most of my movie favs are shown which I love!

I don't know if you have, but I just got the free Dis App. It's great & even shows the photos! I'll be able to keep up when on vacation!

 

[dawnbu40]

Your getaway sounds fun! Enjoy

Loved the update since it featured my 2 favorite DHS rides Thanks for sharing