Poncho's, Poncho's everywhere..and let's not forget the itchy feet too! An August TR

Ponchos, Ponchos everywhere Updated 11/16

Welcome Welcome to my August 2011 trip Report... be warned.. U will get wet..you may even get soaked.. so grab your poncho and join us! ( read the Pre-Trip report here)



Trip dates: August 18-29 2011. Room only on August 18th, Free dining from 8/19-8/29

Resort~ Pop Century..my first time at a Value.. 2 rooms

Who? Well lets see we have:

ME: Alison..I turned 36 while in Disney. I have been a Disney fan my whole life. I could live in Disney. I made 2 Disney trips in 19 months in 1999 and 2000 then I shelved my Disney World dreams when I met my now husband and we had 3 kids in 3 years.Fast forward 10+ years and we were finally ready and able to take the plunge and take the 4 kids! I homeschool 3 of the 4 kids ( the oldest is graduated) plus I work a day job doing office type work for the family business and I bartend 2-4 nights a week at my best friends nightclub.

Eric: 39.. a now reformed Disney Skeptic. He was not thrilled with this trip in the planning and paying stage.. and even up til the we arrived stage. He only had 6 Flags to picture in his head what Disney might be like. Well let's just say if I had a nickel for each time he said "this place is awesome"( which was almost the trip report title BTW)..well I could buy us all AP's and go back again this year!

Noah: Turned 17 on this trip. Has been to WDW twice before..once at 4.5 and once at almost 6.5 ( for Christmas no less).. he was above all the most excited for this trip aside from myself.. he knew what to expect and he was giddy like a 6 year old school girl any time you mentioned the trip. Noah is currently a "sandwich artist" at Subway while he decide's what's next in his life! warning prone to extreme teenage mood swings!

Kate: 16.. Noah's girlfriend. nice girl.. but let's just say no girlfriends/boyfriends will ever be invited again!

Declan: 9.5 going on 90.. we always say he's an Old man trapped in a kids body. He was the kiddo I was most worried about at Disney as he has a tendency to suck the fun out of things. Declan tends to overthink, over worry and over control things. He's a fab kid, smarter than any 9.5 year old should be and is a great athlete. He was super excited to go to Disney but due to his issues with the unknown he had a giant knot in his tummy too!

Jadziah: 7 almost 8.. she is by far my most even tempered kiddo. She was giddy and unworried about the trip. She required a disney shirt for each day we were there and yes..she got them..lol hey it pays to be the only girl outta 4 kids right? ( oh JahD Zee Uh like in Star Trek Deep Space nine.. yes I named my daughter after a character in a TV show..I'm a star trek nut and proud of it)

Taejan: 5 almost 6 ( as in he turns 6 a mere 3 days after we left Disney). There are few words to accurately describe Taejan ( Tay-Gin we made this one up). He has the best personality, is beyond outgoing.. vocal and full of love and life.. he's also a putz.. a VERY small but BIg putz.. no is just a word he laughs at.. he made the trip very stressful at times..but oh well..such is life. he also was the catalyst for many of the great "awwwww moments" on this trip as well!

Elaine AKA Gigi: My mother.. she has also been to WDW 2 other times ( with Noah and I). She was a great help with the 3 younger kiddo's and she fully enjoyed her time at Disney with us. She did NOT like the heat ( but then again which one of us did???)

So there's the cast of this mighty adventure.. coming up.. the "pre disney" part of the trip!
 

Alison1975

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 8.. Animal Kingdom bound!

So Thursday August 25th the entire 21 of us had plans for Animal Kingdom. We had 9am ressies for Tusker House..

We got our rooms of people all up and moving. We met up with the Warner's at the entrance and got in before rope drop and headed off to Tusker House.

I had the 3 wee ones in the t-shirts they made:
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About now Missy called.. Don lost his wallet.. would be a few late while they looked.

We had some pictures done on the bridge:

Ziah wouldn't do one.. she was in a mooooodd..

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We went and sat and waited for the Sweeners.. well low and behold they have not left yet because they still can't find the wallet.
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Brian checks our group in hoping they are coming soon. More waiting..more calls.. hotel manager, security etc for the Sweeners.. meanwhile it's 9:20 and Brian has gone up and had our ressie held..I was MAD..my kids were HUNGRY.. so then I say..dude we need to eat. a VERY nice CM split the Sweeners off our ressie after we explained what had happened. We got call in and we were off to have one of the best meals of our trip ( well for me at least).
 

Alison1975

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Best Chef EVER!

So by the time we got IN to Tusker House it was like 9:45.. Of course we had to do outside pictures first... my blood sugar( hypoglycemic) has tanked by now as I was planning on eating pretty durn close to our ADR so hadn't had anything..ugh

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We got in and got seated.. had some Jungle Juice( yummy) and spoke to the server about my allergy. She said the chef would be right out. While I waited I sent everyone else to go eat!

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before I knew it the chef came out. Best one yet..his son is a celiac so he was beyond awesome. We walked around the buffet, he told me what i could and couldn't have then he went back to make me some special food.

The characters started making their way to us:

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Right between Goofy and Mickey i received the best plates of food ever!

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The mickey waffles were about 1000% better than the ones at Tony's the day before.. I stuffed myself so full not sure I ate again all day..lol

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Our server was fantastic, the food was fabulous.. As we left the Sweeners were waiting to be called in for their meal..they had finally arrived. NO wallet..no idea where it got to etc. Pop had got them a taxi so they could get over to AK. I was glad to see them. They waited to eat and we went off to...
 

TheMouseFan

Well-Known Member
I'm glad to hear that you all enjoyed your Tusker House breakfast. We have that planned for our upcoming trip and I wasn't sure what to expect, but the food looked delicious! I'm continuing to enjoy your report!
 

Alison1975

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I'm glad to hear that you all enjoyed your Tusker House breakfast. We have that planned for our upcoming trip and I wasn't sure what to expect, but the food looked delicious! I'm continuing to enjoy your report!

We did.. it was the best breakfast we had and one of the best meals overall!
 

PolynesianPrincess

Well-Known Member
How unfortunate he lost his wallet! I couldn't even imagine... I lost my camera case when I was 10.. I left it on "Dreamflight" and luckily someone found it, turned it into lost and found and they mailed it back to me. I'm always so paranois I'm going to get off a ride and forget my purse but *knock on wood* it hasn't happened yet.

We're planning to do Tusker House in the spring. Glad you guys had a good experience there! :)

The photopass pics came out really good. I love the one with all 21 of you!!
 

erstwo

Well-Known Member
Okay - I have just read all 13 pages of this TR! And I love it.

I started last night, but had to stop to go to bed :D and finished this morning. What a fun time. Can't wait for more!

So sorry about the girlfriend/ boyfriend drama. We paid for my brother and his girlfriend to go on the family Disney trip we took last December and my husband had fears about similar situations, but we lucked out and had zero drama on the trip. They have broken up now, but she loved our trip and Disney is something she may never had experienced otherwise, so we are glad she got to go.

I will say that your friend's oldest daughter is be-u-ti-ful! Maybe the girlfriend was just jealous? I mean - it would be perfect - your son and your best friend's daughter. Not that I believe in arranged marriages....:lol::lookaroun but you know, it's always good to know your in laws beforehand. :D
 

Alison1975

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Okay - I have just read all 13 pages of this TR! And I love it.

I started last night, but had to stop to go to bed :D and finished this morning. What a fun time. Can't wait for more!

So sorry about the girlfriend/ boyfriend drama. We paid for my brother and his girlfriend to go on the family Disney trip we took last December and my husband had fears about similar situations, but we lucked out and had zero drama on the trip. They have broken up now, but she loved our trip and Disney is something she may never had experienced otherwise, so we are glad she got to go.

I will say that your friend's oldest daughter is be-u-ti-ful! Maybe the girlfriend was just jealous? I mean - it would be perfect - your son and your best friend's daughter. Not that I believe in arranged marriages....:lol::lookaroun but you know, it's always good to know your in laws beforehand. :D

LOL.. yes my bff's oldest is drop dead gorgeous ( and has legs that don't stop.. she dances at our dance studio). She would like nothing more than to date Noah. he has never been interested in her ( CRAZY)...

So glad your along for the ride!!
 

Alison1975

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Safari bound

After a brief chat with the Sweener clan , the Warners and us went off to the Safari:

The weather was rather iffy looking.. we got in the queue, surrendered our Stroller and hoped for the best!

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I ended up on the left side..so I didn't have the best view of the animals.. but it was a good ride. Not the greatest driver ever..but def not bad!

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Up next..part 2
 

Alison1975

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Safari bound part 2

I love all the animals..

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I must say it was a bit much that pretty much the same tired storyline as the last time I went on a the Safari..ya know 10.5 years ago!

By the time we got off the safari it was pouring.. who'd a thunk it right? Of course we hadn't covered the stroller before we relinquished it. I'm not sure who did it, but by some cosmic awesomeness when Eric got the stroller it had a cheap poncho over it. It was dry!

So we got the stroller.. got the ponchos on.. it was POURING bad. Of course..again I had the Rebel with me( wasn't supposed to rain til after 6pm..grr). So the pictures get fewer for awhile.

After the Safari , Deb and Kyle went back to the resort for a rest, so we inherited Brian and Glen. Taejan took an instant "liking" to Glen. By liking I mean.. well lets say as Taej gets older I need to watch him for stalker behavior..lol. When Taejan likes you, he LIKES you. I always tell the teenage girls that no boy will ever love them the way Taejan does at that moment. He loves hard and deep!

We decided to head off to the Pangani Trail: I got what i could get for pictures..but mostly I kept the rebel wrapped in a garbage bag in my backpack.

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Of course we had to get some pin trading in..lol..
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Alison1975

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Just Exploring!

After the pin trading we started to just walk around and explore:
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Oh i think I forgot to mention that after Tusker House , Noah and Kate went off to do their own exploring. OH and I totally forgot once 9am hit and we knew we were not getting into Tusker House on time we sent them to get FP's for EE. They did,..lol..

Ok back to our exploring:
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Anyone else remember the boat ride here? I wish they still had it..
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Alison1975

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
DinoLand USA

After our exploring we ended up in DinoLand.. this was my first experience with it as it is now. Last time I was here this carnival themed area did not exist. I was, of course, the WORST mother ever because I told my kids NO to the games. They recovered quickly though.

We ended up meeting up with Noah and Kate:
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A few "aerial" shots:
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Then we took the kids to the play area :

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we got the kids some Mickey Head ice creams...which lasted all of about 30 seconds before they all hit the ground in the August heat..
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Then we headed over to Dinosaur...
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We parked the stroller..and then Taejan decided he did NOT want to go on. Glen ( who was recovering from Mono) couldn't go on so he offered to take Taejan back to the playarea ( thanks Glen).
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Again.. kinda surprised the exact same storyline is being used for Dinosaur..but I love the ride, Declan HATED it.. Ziah liked it but she's so tiny she got tossed around a bit more than she enjoyed. Eric and Brian loved it, my mother hated it ( she hated it 10.5 and 12 years ago too..not sure why she went on..lol)

After we figured out where the heck the stroller was, we rescued Glen and Taejan , and we headed out of Dino Land.. we managed to NOT dig dino bones...lol
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We decided it was time to expose the kids and Eric to It's Tough to be a Bug.. so off we went!
 

TheMouseFan

Well-Known Member
I certainly remember the boat ride. My honeymoon was in Aug./Sept. 1998 right after AK opened. I also wish it was still there.

I love AK and am truly enjoying your photos!
 

Alison1975

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
The Tree of Life..and more...rain

So after DinoLand we headed over to The Tree of Life. I could walk around this Tree all day and just look at it's awesomeness!

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Then we went to see It's Tough To Be A Bug:
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This is one 3D show that does not bother my eyes.. which is a shock because even the newer ones tend to. The kids loved it..until the bugs left the building..then we had a few mini freak outs..lol

Next up with the Jungle Trek..and you guessed it..MORE rain..
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I wish I was able to get more pictures.. but again the Rebel spent most of the Trek in the bag in a garbage bag staying dry. I just love the Jungle Trek ( and the Pangani trail) .. we love looking at nature so they are perfect for us.

After the Jungle Trek Eric and Brian went to use the EE FP's.. I am a giant wimp and won't go on it.

Up next... Nemo!
 

Alison1975

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Nemo ..a little parade and the pool

So after EE we headed to watch Nemo.. and we ran into the Sweeners! We were way ahead of them in line but waited and let people go ahead of us so we could all be together.

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The show was cute... Not one I'd care to see again but the kids enjoyed it. Once the show was over we decided it was time to head back to the resort. We ended up running into some of the parade...

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Noah and Kate had gotten out ahead of us and wanted to just head back to the resort..yet again i had to be like..REALLY?? NO you will wait. So I told em to meet me at the bus stop. Apparently they had a lack of hearing because they waited at the exit and we walked right by without seeing them. So we made it to the bus stop first. We waited for them and we all left together.

Back at the resort Declan wasnt feeling great ( the heat) so he wanted to rest.. Ziah , my mom and I went to downtown Disney shopping. I spent a small fortune that night..lol. After we got back we took the kids swimming. Declan had slept for about 2 hours so he was feeling great!

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We ate at POP that night and went to bed fairly early.. Since we had no ADR's the next day we had to decide which park to go to.. Noah really wanted a 2nd day at Animal Kingdom so that was the plan!
 

PartOfYourWorld

Well-Known Member
Love the pictures!!

And I can't resist, I have the same dress that Noah's gf has in one of the pictures. It's the white one with the purple flowers she must have gotten in from hampton beach :)
 

Alison1975

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Love the pictures!!

And I can't resist, I have the same dress that Noah's gf has in one of the pictures. It's the white one with the purple flowers she must have gotten in from hampton beach :)

Actually NOAH bought that for her here in our town. He wanted her to wear something nice for their Teppan Edo meal!
 

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