A Jolly Holiday 3/23 - 3/30

disneychic71 · Mar 21, 2009

What a wonderful gift! Your mother must be very special. Relax and enjoy the trip. I'll be thinking of you...please take a trip on Soarin' for me!

krankenstein · Mar 21, 2009

w00t! Don't skip AIE! I'm telling you, it is a pretty good show. A lot better than LMA in my opinion. Go and check it out, you might be surprised.

Have fun on your trip! :wave:

TakeMeThere81 · Mar 26, 2009

I'm so jealous that you are at DisneyWorld right now! I hope you are having a fabulous time, it sounds like it was way overdue!:wave:

Fashionista007 · Apr 2, 2009

We’re back

We had a fantastic time and I will try my best to consolidate the best of our pictures that we took!
Day 1 (Monday, March 23, 2009):
The three of us got up at 3AM to catch a 7:05AM flight from BWI to MCO. We were running on pure adrenaline!
[FONT=&quot]I had to wear this awesome shirt I found on Zazzle.com for our first day:

[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]When we landed at MCO, we followed the signs to the Magical Express and took the seats in the very back (the only row with 3 seats together).[/FONT]

When the video started, I got all teary but I held myself together until we passed the “Welcome To Walt Disney World” sign. We were finally on Disney soil and I had to cry a little :sohappy:
We checked in at the Contemporary around 10:30AM and noticed Sorcerer Mickey outside:

Then we went to EPCOT for lunch at the Electric Umbrella but it was closed! Thank god it was or else we would have never discovered Seasons in The Land. We ended up eating there 3 times on our trip and Jason had the salmon all 3 times

I highly recommend the Quick Service Dining Plan if you are like us and always eat on the run in WDW. It was extremely convenient and it saves a ton of money!
[FONT=&quot]After lunch we relaxed on the ferry:[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Too bad Davy Jones (from The Monkees, not the pirate) was there the day before!![/FONT]

Oh well, I’m still a Daydream Believer with my awesome Margarita from Mexico!

[FONT=&quot]Paradise…[/FONT]

Fashionista007 · Apr 2, 2009

Time to go back to the room…I was hoping my Mom’s basket would be there so I wouldn’t have to make up an excuse to come into her room later (we had connecting rooms). The basket was there right on time!

[FONT=&quot]Mom: What is this? Me: I don’t know, why don’t you open it?

[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]Still with no clue…[/FONT]

Then she read the card:

“To the greatest mother in the world,
We are so grateful that we have you in our lives. You make every day brighter even in the hardest of times. Here’s to a wonderful and magical vacation!
Love,
Shelley & Jason”

And the tears flowed…(sorry for the blurry pictures…I didn’t get the camera figured out until Wednesday)

The three of us were so hopped up on adrenaline we didn’t even take a nap. We hung around the Contemporary for a bit, had dinner, then we went straight to the MK to see Spectromagic and Wishes for the first time for all 3 of us!

When we walked into the MK for the first time and I saw the lights, smelled the popcorn, and heard the music, I was so filled with happiness that I started to cry (that happened a LOT on this trip!).

We always sit at the Car Barn for Spectromagic so we can see the performers fresh out of the gate. I’m such a Spectro-dork that I know the 10 minute and 5 minute warning recordings, the entire intro, and all the words to the song

Before the trip, every morning I would play the Spectromagic theme so Jason learned the words too! We all sang along and waved at all the characters like little children. We were waving very excitedly at Mickey (first time we had seen him on this trip) and he twitched his nose at us and blew us kisses! I cried.

We followed the end of Spectromagic down to Tomorrowland for a good view of the castle for Wishes. I had watched Wishes many times on YouTube but it’s nothing compared to being there in person. I cried the whole time (and I’m getting all teary just thinking about it!)

After Wishes was over, we had to go back to the hotel to sleep. We had been up for 20 hours! Mom hopped the monorail but Jason and I took a leisurely stroll back to the Contemporary.

There was an art print in our room that we could take home…I’m definitely framing this one!

Front:

Back:

Blister Report: 2 whoppers by the end of day 1 but nothing keeps me from enjoying the magic!

[FONT=&quot]More to follow…[/FONT]

polynesiangirl · Apr 2, 2009

Awwww, your mom opening the gift was so sweet! Thanks for sharing with us.

disneygirl1 · Apr 3, 2009

Aww!! what an awesome Mom!!! You are truly blessed! Can't wait to read the just of your trip report!

TakeMeThere81 · Apr 3, 2009

I love your t-shirt!! I get teared up when I see, smell and hear all of those same things. It is so magical.

Fashionista007 · Apr 4, 2009

Thanks to all for your replies

I am truly blessed with a great family!

On to day 2...

Day 2 (Tuesday, March 24, 2009):
We went to AK because Jason had never been there before (he loved it!). I was scared to ride EE but I did it and boy am I glad I did! That ride is simply amazing! My eyes were closed the whole time the first time we rode it so I didn’t get to see the Yeti

Biggest tortoise I’ve ever seen:

Tree Of Life:

EE Pimp Shot:

[FONT=&quot]I love the tigers…this one makes me sleepy [/FONT]:snore:

[FONT=&quot]Crazy hippos…I can’t really tell if they’re playing or trying to eat each other?[/FONT]

Fashionista007 · Apr 4, 2009

“In the jungle, the mightly jungle the lion sleeps tonight…I can’t hear ya buddy back me up! A WHEEEE”

[FONT=&quot]On security patrol…[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]EE here I come![/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]We had a fantastic day at AK. It was incredibly hot AND the most crowded I’ve ever seen AK. At night we went to EPCOT to catch Illuminations ROE and it was spectacular. We passed by the character spot and I saw Marie!! Too bad I didn’t have my camera figured out yet, the picture is all blurry [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot] I was so excited to see Marie because I have a cat named Duchess. I’ll have to get a better picture next time![/FONT]

Blister Report: there was no way I could continue to wear my nike sneakers so I bought the black and red mickey mouse crocs. I made the mistake of wearing them without socks on this day so my feet were ruined for the rest of the trip. But, I am a die hard WDW fan so I sucked it up and wrapped each toe in band aids for the remainer of the trip and wore 2 pairs of socks. I’m still not healed almost a week later. I would do it again too! But next time I’ll make sure to get a better pair of shoes and athletic socks

More to follow…

Fashionista007 · Apr 4, 2009

Day 3 (Wednesday, March 25, 2009):
This was the only day we went to DHS so we packed in as much as we could. We ended up missing TSM because the wait was 100 minutes and all the fastpasses were gone for the day by noon. It was jam packed with people! I’m incredibly sad about missing out on TSM, I know we would have enjoyed it!
We did get to see Lights, Motors, Action which was AWESOME! That stadium holds so many people that we got great seats even though we didn’t go in until about 15 minutes before the show.
[FONT=&quot]Right before the trip I was watching a clip of the show on the travel channel and I commented that you would never see a stunt woman set herself on fire. I was proved wrong…the person on fire in the picture below is a woman!

[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]Awesome explosion:[/FONT]

Sorry that’s all the pictures for that day. We were so busy trying to do everything that we didn’t get a chance to take a lot of pictures.
I was VERY disappointed with the Prince Caspian attraction. I really wish Disney would put more effort into the Narnia franchise because it’s my favorite book series. I liked the trivia questions at the beginning but that was about it. After that it’s basically a long trailer for the movie

[FONT=&quot]More to follow…[/FONT]

HollyBelle · Apr 4, 2009

Yay... Marie!!! We haven't seen her make an appearance since August of 2007. So glad you got to meet her. I'm looking forward to the rest of your TR. And I heart the Contemporary, it's such a great place to stay; what a wonderful gift from your mom :sohappy:.

Fashionista007 · Apr 11, 2009

On Thursday we went to MK. I don’t usually go to the MK during the day because of the huge crowds but Jason really wanted to go

[FONT=&quot]Mickey’s House Shots:

[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]I’m about to meet Mickey!![/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I couldn’t help but tear up when I got up close to Mickey. I love his cute little face [/FONT] :cry:

After this picture was taken, Minnie pointed to Jason’s guitar hero shirt and started playing air guitar. Mickey gave him the thumbs up. I cried! I can’t help it, they’re so cute!

[FONT=&quot]The boat in this picture is replicated in Disney’s Toontown MMORPG (which I subscribe to!):

[/FONT]

Fashionista007 · Apr 11, 2009

[FONT=&quot]Yeah me!

[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]Fantasyland Philharmonic:[/FONT]

Alice! She told me to say “Tea” instead of “Cheese” and hold my dress out like a princess. I loved her!

[FONT=&quot]Parade shots:[/FONT]

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Fashionista007 · Apr 11, 2009

I have to stop here for a sec just to gear up to talk about the next section. Dream Along With Mickey has got to be the cutest thing I have ever seen!! I was holding back my tears when the princesses came out but this exchange got me:

Minnie: But Mickey, I’m not a Princess.
Mickey: Gee Minnie, you’ve always been a Princess to me.

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Then he gets down on his knee! People must think I’m insane because I get stared at when I cry at things like that :hammer:

My personal favorite:

Too bad Minnie’s eyes are closed :dazzle: BTW, when did the characters in shows start having moving eyes and mouths? I don’t recall that on my last trip in 2003.

Fashionista007 · Apr 11, 2009

Space Mountain!

Jason loved the Frontierland Shooting Gallery. We ended up going back 3 times!

Later that day after napping and stuffing our faces we went back to the MK to catch Spectromagic and Wishes. A little while after we got there an announcement came on that said the MK would be open until 11PM that night (instead of 9PM). Jason and I decided to blow off the parade and fireworks and try to ride everything we could! It turned out to be an awesome idea because we didn’t stand in a line longer than 15 minutes. We rode/saw almost everything in the MK over the span of one day.

I also found my new favorite dinner spot in the MK that night – Columbia Harbor House in Liberty Square. The park was very crowded and Cosmic Ray’s was way too busy so we were trying to find a good place to eat. This place was almost completely empty! Plus they have a fish and chicken platter that is ginormous. The castmembers in there are funny too, they were all talking to us. I think they were bored (it was really dead in there).

While Wishes was going on we rode Aladdin’s Magic Carpets. I wish our camera was better because I would have taken pictures. It was breathtaking!

Photo opp with Pluto:

Garrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

This was probably the second most exhausting day on our entire trip. The first is yet to come..

smk · Apr 11, 2009

I am so glad you had a good day in the MK, it is by far my most favorite place on earth (besides my home).

CROCS are my favorite shoe too, sorry they hurt your feet. I always wear the flip flop CROCS and the other ones I always wear with socks so I have never had the blister problem.

Fashionista007 · Apr 11, 2009

smk said:
I am so glad you had a good day in the MK, it is by far my most favorite place on earth (besides my home).

CROCS are my favorite shoe too, sorry they hurt your feet. I always wear the flip flop CROCS and the other ones I always wear with socks so I have never had the blister problem.

Thanks

Yes, lesson learned on the crocs. Never wear them without socks especially if you are going to ride Kali River Rapids! My feet still haven't healed weeks later :cry:

pacochran · Apr 13, 2009

Looks and sounds like you had a great time. Great pictures! Great idea for the gift for Mom.

A Jolly Holiday 3/23 - 3/30

disneychic71

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krankenstein

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TakeMeThere81

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Fashionista007

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Fashionista007

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polynesiangirl

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disneygirl1

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TakeMeThere81

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Fashionista007

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HollyBelle

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Fashionista007

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smk

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Fashionista007

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pacochran

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