Patricia & Dale - DFTW VR 9/9/08 TR starts pg 50 - Finally finished! :)

[pjstevens]

Patty,
I am so glad to hear you like Pop as much as ASMu. We have stayed at ASMu 3 times now and it kinda feels like home but I am excited to see the themeing of Pop. I think the girls will really like the themeing. We will have to make sure to walk the path with the "remember when" signs. Although I am much too young to probably remember much of it. HA HA! Yeah right! Just kidding!
Are you going to do a trip report for your May trip? I hope you do because that will have to hold me over until we go in Sept. Plus I am anxious to see the AK villas.

Kelly, I have to commit to finish this report, cause May we have our weekend trip and then August is our first trip to Disneyland! Better get writing (wonder why I don't do pre-trip reports, lol)

 

[pjstevens]

What day is this???? I forget what day of our trip this is, but it was our Magic Kingdom day!!! And a special dinner planned at Cali Grill!

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We had driven to Magic Kingdom, since we had a car, we decided to take advantage of not having to wait for the bus (or having to stand after a long day. We were able to park really close and walk to the monorail (or boat).

I was a little disappointed that it was all decorated for MNSSHP already (being it was so early in September). But we love the ‘fall’ decorations just the same.

We’ve been touring WDW with the tips I’ve learned from Tour Guide Mike. I’d encourage anyone who would like to ride all the rides without waiting more than 15-20 minutes MAX to sign up for his touring plan! It works without a doubt. That’s why it killed me to wait an hour to do Toy Story Mania! (ok, plug for TGM is over)…

Our first stop was Pirates of the Caribbean but it was ‘closed’ temporarily. So off we went to Frontierland. One of our first rides was Splash Mountain (which we will only do if it’s pretty hot so we aren’t walking around soaked all day). Before getting on Splash Mountain we grabbed a fast pass for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. The wait time for both rides at that time was pretty much walk on! Luckily we didn’t get too wet on Splash Mountain.

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After Splash we went over to BTMR and the wait time was still like five minutes so we saved our fast pass and walked right on!

It was soon time to wonder around and we finally found someone who could take our pics (instead of all our ‘self-portraits’) You can see a few water spots (but nothing major).

We then walked around Liberty Square towards Fantasyland. On the way we had to stop by the Haunted Mansion. Some day I hope to get a photopass shot here with the ghosts, but never seems to be a photographer there when we are, L

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We then enjoyed Fantasyland. We rode IASW (It’s a Small World) and please don’t get that song going in my head!!! We then rode Winnie the Pooh (he’s my fav).

Then it was time for our lunch at Crystal Palace. We eat there just about every time, because, like I said, I LOVE POOH!!! When we got to our table it was decorated for us.

We enjoyed a leisurely lunch with all the characters. Chatted with a Harley owner next to us (it’s a bond between them!) who took some pics for us (so we’d have a few together).

We were then treated to a ‘special’ celebration cupcake (so yummy)!

We were also treated with a celebration certificate signed by all the characters! (of course I don’t have a pic of that).

After our lovely lunch we headed back towards POC. We stopped to enjoy the ‘show’ …

POC was now open so we head in to ride that. (no real wait either since it hadn’t been opened long).

When we came out of the gift shop there was a photopass photographer there and I wanted a pic with Captain Hook…The photographer had us switch hats??? What??? Well you can see why.

It was getting late and we have dinner plans so we decided to head out (not watching any parades or shows, lol). We had to stop by the Castle since we really hadn’t gotten any pics there this day. Can you see how few people were there.

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Up next our ‘anniversary’ dinner at California Grill.

 

[mymainmouse]

Kelly, I have to commit to finish this report, cause May we have our weekend trip and then August is our first trip to Disneyland! Better get writing (wonder why I don't do pre-trip reports, lol)

Patty,
Your'e going to Disneyland?! That is so awesome! Gosh, now I am a little jealous! Sigh... I guess you'll have to do another trip report so I can live vicariously through you.

Great update!

 

[figmentfan814]

I love all the updates Isn't Toy Story Mania a blast! I love walking through the line, with everything to look at the time seems to go by faster. Great shot of the two of you in front of the hat!

That's great that you found several people to take pictures of the two of you together while you were at MK. I hate when there's no one around that you can trust to take a picture or two. So, glad that you are continuing the updates. Yoga is so cute! We just got an older cat from the pound and she still doesn't seem to like our dog. We don't quite have a zoo yet though, I'm not sure that DH would let me get away with that

 

[pjstevens]

Patty,
Your'e going to Disneyland?! That is so awesome! Gosh, now I am a little jealous! Sigh... I guess you'll have to do another trip report so I can live vicariously through you.

Great update!

Kelly, we are beyond excited. Never thought we'd get there, but buy DVC enabled us to go and we found great airfare since there are four of us going. I'll be sure to do a TR for that too, lol. And hopefully I won't take nearly as long.

I love all the updates Isn't Toy Story Mania a blast! I love walking through the line, with everything to look at the time seems to go by faster. Great shot of the two of you in front of the hat!

That's great that you found several people to take pictures of the two of you together while you were at MK. I hate when there's no one around that you can trust to take a picture or two. So, glad that you are continuing the updates. Yoga is so cute! We just got an older cat from the pound and she still doesn't seem to like our dog. We don't quite have a zoo yet though, I'm not sure that DH would let me get away with that

Vanessa, thanks for following along. We loved TSM and if by chance we get back to DHS (a maybe for next month) we'll definitely hit the fast pass for that.

It is hard to ask a stranger to take your pic but in the first one, I saw a couple and he was taking pics of her so I offered to take one of the two of them in return for them taking ours, lol. Worked. In the second a nice couple was walking out of HM and I asked them. It's hard when it's not crowded with people everywhere (who'd ever complain about that, lol).

 

[pjstevens]

Well, I’m determined that I have to finish this report ASAP…. we just returned from our very first trip as DVC members and cannot ‘start’ that TR until this is done. So, on with the show…

While leaving MK, it hit me why it was so NOT crowded that day… that evening was Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party!

My good friend Cam had arrived at Pop this day and she and her friend Judy were spending their evening at MNSSHP! It would have been fun to meet up with them, but we were anxious to have our special dinner.

When I made our ADR’s for Cali Grill, I had planned on Wishes being at the ‘normal’ time. Needless to say with it being MNSSHP, it was not Wishes and the fireworks were later than we had planned. L

California Grill! What a beautiful restaurant. We had done the dining plan and it’s scary but we used ALL our TS in one day, lol. Having had Crystal Palace for lunch and then Cali Grill for dinner (a 2TS place).

Again, I’ll say how nice it was to have our own car. To get to the Contemporary was easy with a car; no taking one bus to one place, waiting for another bus to the resort… So we arrived at the Contemp and were so impressed with how nice it was (granted it’s a Deluxe, but we’d only been ‘through’ there on the Monorail or to eat at Chef Mickey’s). We went to the counter to check in for California Grill as you cannot take the elevator up without be accompanied by a CG cm.

We got upstairs and had to wait a few minutes until our table was ready. In no time we were being escorted to out table. It was nicely decorated for our anniversary.

There is a ‘no hats rule’ at the CG, so our bride and groom hats had to sit alone…

Our waiter was kind enough to take a photo of us. Can you say I got too much sun AGAIN!!!

We had a lovely dinner, but honestly not sure if I’d go again (not for two TS). It was the atmosphere though, that was nice and watching the sun set was beautiful. Would have loved a window seat but we did not. After a lovely dinner (sorry no food porn) we went out to the deck to watch the fireworks. BUT, it wasn’t going to happen for some time. We enjoyed the view though and another couple took this pic for us.

After a lovely dinner we went back to our room and found this lovely surprise.

Up next our day at Epcot!!! And then our photos from the Poly.

 

[pjstevens]

We were up bright and early to be at Epcot at rope drop. I love to use Tour Guide Mike and truly think the tips I get there are what make our trip so enjoyable and we get to ride so many things.

Dale starts each morning reading the paper and enjoying his donuts

It was then time to head to Epcot. I think this is our favorite park (yes I love MK, cause it’s so Disney, but Epcot is just ‘special’ to us).

Being at rope drop is so nice and we were so close to the front…

Our first job was off to Soarin. On the way we had to ‘check in’ on our daughters place she worked at during the CP. She was in Sunshine Seasons.

We rode Soarin and then headed over to ride Nemo

After The Adventures of Nemo we strolled around The Seas and finally got our picture in the Shark.

After we watched the Manatees and looked at all the lovely fish in the giant aquarium, we headed over to Figment. I know many people do not like him, but he’s one of my favs.

We then did Honey I Shrunk the Audience. Remember we were there at rope drop and it was still too early to go to the Worlds. We’d done Soarin, Living the Land (boat ride), Nemo; enjoyed the Seas; Figment and HISTA.

We went back to Soarin to ride with our Fastpass and I had gotten a text from Betsy!!! We were going to meet up shortly.

Now it was time to FINALLY do the Character Connection! I’ve wanted to do this but it’s always so crowded. Today, a little crowd, but it’s nice that you get time with EACH character and they’ll take pics with your own camera also (so if you don’t purchase the Photopass pics) you still have some good pics.

After seeing all our FRIENDS it was time to meet one of the other Disbrides Betsy!!!!

After meeting up with Betsy for just a few minutes (so wish we had more time) we were off to ride Test Track.

It is NOW time to finally head to the World Showcase.

 

[DisneyDmbNut]

yeah!! I have a picture too!

 

[pjstevens]

We finally head over to the World Showcase and it’s not even noon yet. Can I say again just how much I like to follow TGM!

At this point we had decided we were hungry (and having used all of our TS the previous day) we decided we’d share a counter (trying to stretch our ‘free dining’). We’d never eaten at the little Mexican counter service. Cantina de San Angel. Here they have a combo meal which is lots of food for one person, so we shared this along with the Churro for dessert. These birds were hoping we’d share (but we didn’t).

After a relaxing lunch we got to meet Donald! He’s so cute.

We then head into Mexico to ride the ‘Donald’ ride (The Three Caballeros). This is quiet, dark, cool, a nice escape from the hot summer sun.

We walked around the World Showcase stopping to visit some of the countries (sorry no pics). It was then time to head back to Pop to relax by the pool before getting ready for our photos at the Poly!!! We had received a call the previous day, reminding me of our appointment (how could we forget, I’d been planning this for months) but I mentioned to the woman that it was our 25th anniversary and we’d just renewed our vows on the Wonder (via DFTW) and was hoping for a ‘good’ photographer.

We arrived at the Poly early as instructed to check in. We were earlier than we needed to be so we looked around the gift shop and strolled around the second floor waiting til ‘our turn’. We were blessed to have a great photographer and she spent way more than the 20 or 30 minutes that were allotted to us. We have way more ‘good’ photos than I can share, so here are just a few of my favorites…

After we were done, we got to ‘view’ all the pics on the monitor. Our photographer then loaded those onto our Photopass card (and created another card with all the Photopass pics we had yet, just in case!).

Up next, our last day! I hate our last day’s always sad leaving!

 

[mymainmouse]

Yeah! Two updates! I was just wondering if you had left for you May trip yet. I can't wait to hear about your new trip! I hope you had a great time. Happy Birthday by the way!

 

[pjstevens]

Yeah! Two updates! I was just wondering if you had left for you May trip yet. I can't wait to hear about your new trip! I hope you had a great time. Happy Birthday by the way!

Kelly, so glad you are still here. I figured I'm writing this just for myself at this point. I am going to scrapbook this trip at some point so this will help me to remember what we did, lol.

We got back late Sunday night from our long weekend at Disney, staying at the Kidani Villas. Had a wonderful time!!! Can't wait to tell you about it. One more day to finish here then I can start that.

I'm hoping to get this last installment in this weekend (it's a busy one as usual) but we'll see. I'll be sure to put a link once I start the new TR.

How are you doing? I hope you and your family are well.

 

[figmentfan814]

After we watched the Manatees and looked at all the lovely fish in the giant aquarium, we headed over to Figment. I know many people do not like him, but he’s one of my favs.

Yeah, Figment! I think its because many people don't remember the original attraction which was so much better!

We haven't been to the California Grill in years. We had a bad experience there and I haven't been back. It is such a nice setting though. Even though it is a little disappointing that you missed the fireworks, at least you still got to enjoy some time on the balcony.

You have some great character shots from your day in Epcot. I also love all the pictures from your photo session at the Polynesian, it really looks like you had a great photographer.

Don't worry about your TR taking a while. I finished my wedding portion, but am still working on my Hawaiian honeymoon from last May!

 

[pjstevens]

Yeah, Figment! I think its because many people don't remember the original attraction which was so much better!

Vanessa, I always think of you and Carol (another disbride, she had pics with Figment ~ the stuffed ones, lol) when I talk about Figment. I think he's just so 'cute'!

I'm proud to say, one more day and I'm done with this TR (sad in a way) but then I can start on our trip from last week!!!

 

[mymainmouse]

Kelly, so glad you are still here. I figured I'm writing this just for myself at this point. I am going to scrapbook this trip at some point so this will help me to remember what we did, lol.

We got back late Sunday night from our long weekend at Disney, staying at the Kidani Villas. Had a wonderful time!!! Can't wait to tell you about it. One more day to finish here then I can start that.

I'm hoping to get this last installment in this weekend (it's a busy one as usual) but we'll see. I'll be sure to put a link once I start the new TR.

How are you doing? I hope you and your family are well.

I am so glad you had a good time. I bet the Kidani villas are so nice. Your pictures from your session at the Poly are so nice. We need to do something like that while we are there sometime. I am trying to come up with something special to do for my parents 40th anniversary while we are there. That might be an idea. Are there limits to the number of people allowed in a session?

We are all doing pretty well. Ready for school to be out but enjoying the warmer weather.

I noticed you have a new picture of baby Isabella in your siggie. She is a cutey!

Can't wait for your next update and your new trip report!

 

[figmentfan814]

Vanessa, I always think of you and Carol (another disbride, she had pics with Figment ~ the stuffed ones, lol) when I talk about Figment. I think he's just so 'cute'!

Thanks! Its funny how little things like that can remind us of fellow Dis Brides

 

[dstevens]

Knock knock. Hello! We are stilllllllll patiently waiting for you to finish this You will have to update the pictures. You are slimmer and better looking while i oh well forget it. Just finish the report. By the way we also took a trip in May and are going to DL in 9 days incase you want to start planning that trip report.

 

[DisneyDmbNut]

you could give us "the grooms" report ya know!

 

[dstevens]

you could give us "the grooms" report ya know!

Ah, but i did. It's under "Dale's not so scary trip report" I'm sure ther is a link somewhere in this outdated ancient archived report. By the way, how are you and your groom doing?

 

[DisneyDmbNut]

We are great!

We had our anniversary on Monday..did you see the cake I had made to match the DCL one?

 

[dstevens]

We are great!

We had our anniversary on Monday..did you see the cake I had made to match the DCL one?

I did not see the cake. The cake looks real nice. Congrats on the anniversary. Patty doesn't let me in on her threads and postings. I stay away from all that bride stuff. I prefer guy threads. Like food and sports and other subjects