Wake me up when September Ends: Oct. TR - Friends, Fun, and Disney at Forty!

It's us! Again! September marks the first month that we haven't visited WDW since getting our AP's in April, so we are itching to get back 'home!' Now, someone once posted a whole thread about how people who live far away from WDW manage to get there so often, so I feel I should clarify some things. Not all of those trips were 'once a month.' The reason we were there in June & July was our July 1-5 cruise on the Dream. So in one continuous visit we knocked out 2 months.

When we purchased our AP's we knew for sure that we would be taking 3 trips to WDW in the next 12 months. This October Trip is one of them. This is how my son chose to celebrate his birthday for the last 2 years, and honestly, it's one of those 'twist my arm' type things - we couldn't be more excited to take him to WDW!

I guess I should introduce the cast: Myself, my husband, daughter and son two weekends ago after cheering on our Auburn Tigers to victory:

Now, honestly I probably wouldn't be doing another trip report, but I need some advice from my WDWmagic friends, so I just decided to wrap this all up in one nice package. The thing is, it's Fall Break in our hometown, so TONS of people we know will be at WDW while we are there. We are soooooo excited to spend time with our friends at WDW. I know it's not for everyone, but for us, friends & family make WDW that much better! :sohappy:

More.....

 

[erstwo]

No it didn't!:lol: There was a little bit of yelling at our house.



You made it! Awesome!



I totally understand that! I have the Canon 10D. It's been out for a while so I don't know if there's any new ones coming, but I have liked that one.




That is absolutely gorgeous! I love it!

I bet there was a little bit of yelling in our hotel room too! My husband made it back for the 2nd half of the game (not the half he wanted to watch ) and I'm sure it was a little loud.

Thanks for the info on the camera! And thanks for the compliment on the picture. That means a lot coming from you!

 

[erstwo]

2nd half of Day 2 - last Friday, October 7

We made it back to the room somewhat dry and everyone took a nice nap. Well, the kids took a nice nap. I'd had some bad news and I couldn't sleep.

A sweet friend of mine in North Carolina has 2 small children. Her 2 year old, Carter had been throwing up for days. At first everyone thought he had reflux, but then when he didn't get better they admitted him to the hospital and ran endless tests. Finally, at around 8 am last Friday morning they ran and MRI. That MRI showed every parents worst nightmare - cancer. Carter has a low-grade Astrocytoma located in the thalamus and hypothalamus which is near the pituitary gland. This is a region where they don't operate because it controls too much and is too risky. This means that the tumor is inoperable. After a second surgery to get a tissue sample this morning (October 13,) it was determined that Carter's tumor is a glioma and infiltrated. I tell you all (those of you reading) this because my friend Sarah has asked for as many prayers as possible. If you are person of faith, I ask for your prayers for Sarah, Carter, and their family. I guess if I need to tie it into WDW to make it an okay for this TR, I would say that Sarah was very much looking forward to taking her two little boys on their first WDW trip in November. I am now praying that they still get to go on that trip- even if it's not in November -with a healthy Carter!

My phone was lit up with messages and I had such a knot in my stomach. I hugged my children while they napped and was so glad when my husband arrived from the airport via Magical Express. The kids didn't sleep long after he arrived. It was almost 4 when they woke up and I knew we wouldn't be making our 4:30 dinner reservations at 50's Prime Time. I was kind of bummed because we had never eaten there before, but I canceled and the news I'd had put me in a kind of 'todays the day to seize life by the horns' kind of mood. So I asked my son where he'd like to eat - it was his birthday trip after all!

He said Chef Mickey's. I told him we probably wouldn't get a walk up during Free Dining, but he was willing to risk it. So off we went!

Low and behold we had a kind soul behind the counter who was willing to seat us! (to be fair, some people must have decided not to show up due to the colder, rainy weather because there were 3 empty tables.) We had a nice view:

Donald stopped by before we had time to visit the buffet:

But we quickly got down to the eating part, because we wanted to fast forward to this!

Best/cutest desserts ever!

One of several birthday cupcakes:

 

[erstwo]

It was nearly 6:30 by now and although it was time for the 'celebration parade' thing and we still hadn't seen 2 characters, my husband and son decided to split. We had acquired BTMRR fastpasses earlier in the day and now my son wanted to use them before MK closed for MNSSHP.

My daughter and I got to see the celebration though:

I know it is probably hard to see. I tried to get it, but missed - the napkins that table is waving are 2 different colors - some are blue like everyone else at Chef Mickey's but a few are yellow. I figure this means those kids have some kind of allergy, but does anyone know if that is right? I thought that was so cool. What a great way to be sure everyone gets the right type of food to accommodate their needs!

By the time my daughter and I left Chef Mickey's MK and AK were closed. DHS was soon to follow, closing at 8. Epcot was open until 9, so we headed toward the TTC on the resort loop.

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

Your friend and her family are in my prayers. What an awful experience for anyone to have to go through Hopefully Carter will make it through and they will be able to enjoy their getaway to the world.

 

[erstwo]

It was gloomy and kind of drizzly. I called my husband to see where they were and discovered that despite my warning to just walk over to MK from the Contemporary, they had taken the resort monorail loop :brick: so of course, that ate up all of their 30 minutes and by the time they got to BTMRR they couldn't get on because it was MNSSHP guests only. In all fairness to my husband, the monorail seems so speedy when you have no time constraints (which is most of our time at Disney.) He just forgot how long it takes at every stop on the resort loop.

So we met up at Epcot. First stop? The SSE ride we were denied the night before:

We started very slowly due to someone working on the control panel:

Then it was off on our separate ways. The boys went toward Test Track and I took my daughter toward the World Showcase. We planned to meet up for Illuminations.

 

[erstwo]

Then it was outside to meet up with the boys for Illuminations. My husband had asked the CM at SSE if they would still be having the show in the rain. His response? Unless there's a hurricane, the show will be on. Ha! Okay, then.

We found a great spot between Mexico and Norway. It was drizzly, so I used my iphone, hoping to keep my camera dry. You can tell this was before 'Raingate October 2011." :lol:

The show was fantastic as always. There was a cute couple who had just gotten engaged the day before at CRT nearby and there was a nice older couple who we chatted with. I did tell my husband that I thought he should have stopped the conversation once Illuminations started. I feel like Illuminations/ Wishes/ etc. are 'shows' that aren't meant to be talked through. My husband disagrees - thoughts? Is it okay to talk all the way through a fireworks show?

After the show we made our way slowly out of Epcot. We figured out later that we could have stayed - Epcot was actually open until 10. But no biggie, we needed some sleep anyway - we had 7:45 reservations at Ohana the next day! Woot!

Up next - I have never been out in so much rain in my life!

 

[erstwo]

Your friend and her family are in my prayers. What an awful experience for anyone to have to go through Hopefully Carter will make it through and they will be able to enjoy their getaway to the world.

Thank you so much!

 

[jozefharkins]

Great, You really enjoyed your life with family

 

[erstwo]

Day 3 - This past Saturday morning

Saturday dawned with the least desirable WDW weather conditions (besides a storm) Cool and pouring down rain. But hey - we're all about a rainy day at Disney is better than any other kind of day, so off we went!

And I'm so glad we did. I think some of my favorite Disney memories were made on this day. More on that later!

Aloha bus! We were the only ones on the bus at 8:00 (yes, I said 8. And yes, our reservations were for 7:30.) I was UNhappy about being late, but it was what it was and we headed toward the Poly for some family time.

My daughter and I tried for a self portrait (nothing else to do on an empty bus ride) but the fixed lens wouldn't cooperate:

The phone worked better:

After the bus it was onto the monorail. When I exited the monorail, I tried to make a beeline for the hostess station and beat the 'monorail exit' rush, but they have moved the hostess station and the photograph area! Doh! :lol:

Luckily, once I found the hostess station they said they would still be able to seat us (I guess lots of people didn't venture out in the rain.)

I had to go downstairs for something..... I think I was asking where I could get our Disney Visa points on a gift card.....

I felt SO BAD for this couple! Can you imagine???? It was raining buckets, and here they had shelled out ALL that MONEY for a Saturday wedding at the Polynesian, only to be rained out! Nooooooooo!!!!!

They ended up getting married in the lobby. Which probably had a little bit of magic and charm all it's own. Everyone applauded and congratulated them after. They probably didn't care as much as long as they were married, but still, I'm sure they were a little bummed about the rain.

 

[erstwo]

Back upstairs.....

And finally we were seated:

My kids have always loved Lilo and Stitch, but just saw the movie for the first time recently. They learned all about 'O'hana' in the movie and must have said 100 times - "Ohana means family and family means no one gets left behind." during the meal. :lol: It was to the point where the table next to us looked over and my husband had to ask our kids to stop. :lookaroun Needless to say, they were really into this breakfast!

By the way - this breakfast? Better than any other Birthday meal we've had on property! Personalized Bday button w/ his birthday age and an awesome card!

 

[erstwo]

My kids were worried they didn't do the Hawaiian Roller Coaster parade anymore, but they did!

After breakfast, we (rain) suited up and upon our arrival at MK, we went separate ways. The boys headed off for Space Mountain and my daughter and I headed toward the Princesses.

 

[erstwo]

While in line for the Princesses (only about 20 minutes) a nice young man (named Nathan I think?) and I had a discussion my wdwmagic pin. He reads on this site all the time, but never posts. Hello there! :wave: Great guy. We discussed a few WDW things and then it was time for his friends (and my daughter and I) to meet the princesses!

After the Princess meet and greet it was still pouring rain and we were freezing, so we headed for the bakery and some hot chocolate! It was so slippery in there - everywhere really. Every store or ride queue you went into people were slipping everywhere because the CM's literally couldn't mop up the water fast enough. My kids fell at least 10 times over the next 2 days in shops and restaurants, etc.

All the tables in the Bakery were taken of course, so we headed over toward Tomorrowland to seek refuge in the Noodle station.

It really is so peaceful there.

Sideways fun, because I uploaded it wrong.

 

[erstwo]

I can't remember everything we did, because I didn't take many pictures due to the rain, but I think we never left Tomorrowland.

I have a vague memory of riding Buzz as a family and then I know I rode TTA with my son, I think maybe my husband and daughter went to ride on something else while we did this? Buzz again?

After this, we headed to Cosmic Ray's for some lunch. After lunch we were all exhausted and cold. I had worn a dress, cardigan and flip flops in anticipation of a warmer rain (high was to be 78) but it was still in the 60's.

We headed back to ASMusic

Up next: Dinner at Garden Grill and a night of firsts at the MK!

 

[Disneyfalcon]

I'm so sorry about your friend! I will definitely pray for them!

I told you the wrong camera name, it's not 10D it's D10. There's actually a big difference!:lol:

I love the picture of everyone standing under the track. :lol:

Ya'll had great luck with walk ups!!

 

[erstwo]

I'm so sorry about your friend! I will definitely pray for them!

I told you the wrong camera name, it's not 10D it's D10. There's actually a big difference!:lol:

I love the picture of everyone standing under the track. :lol:

Ya'll had great luck with walk ups!!

Thank you so much! They are getting the pathology reports this morning, so I haven't been able to get anything done. Just waiting and watching my email/phone/Facebook for any kind of update. Praying hard that they get good news and a plan to tackle this challenge.


That picture is funny. Not sure if you can see, but Chip and Dale were actually out under that track too, so that's sort of the line for the character meet and greet, but it's also a place to get out of the rain, so it was a little confusing! They had Buzz Lightyear under the canopy for Carousel of Progress and it was confusing there - trying to figure out who was in line for he ride/ who was waiting for Buzz/ and who was just standing there waiting for the rain to stop. :lol:

*********

Hopefully more to come later this morning! All about how Disney kept Fantasyland open just for us! :lookaroun

 

[erstwo]

Saturday, Oct. 8 continued......

So, back at All Star Music we napped for about an hour. We had 6:55 reservations at the Garden Grill in Epcot. The kids had been begging to go swimming since we arrived and we figured we couldn't get much wetter, so we decided to let them swim, even though we thought it was CRAZY. To us it was freezing, but they had a blast.

I left much earlier than everyone else and headed for the Poly. I had another friend from the Carolinas headed to Disney and I needed to drop off a shirt for her at the front desk. I had forgotten to bring it with me to our Ohana breakfast, so the new plan was for me to take the bus to the Poly by myself and then meet up with the family by taking the monorail to Epcot.

When I got to the bus stop, I was the only person waiting at any of the stops in the rain. And when the bus arrived, everyone got off and for the first time in my life, I was ALONE on a Disney bus on the way to a park! I've been the only family on a bus before, but this was the first time I was alone -Literally, just me and the driver.

Weird:

It was supposed to be mid 70's that day, but I don't think we ever got there. Here's a screen shot from my phone of the temp at nearly 3:

I dropped off the shirt at the Poly for my friend who was arriving Monday (just as we were leaving. ) and headed back toward the monorail.

Nice evening to enjoy a resort and a little sushi!

I called my husband on my way to the TTC and he had decided to drive to Epcot with the kids. We'd meet up outside the gates since I had my daughter's AP with me.

And the rain, rain, rain, came down, down, down.........

We made it to The Land in time for our reservations and were seated right away.

I know this place gets mixed reviews, but our family LOVES it! I love the rotating restaurant, the character interaction, the food....... it's all good!

Fall decor - pumpkin by Mickey, gourd provided by Canada:

 

[erstwo]

Yum, yum, extra yum:

Fish, steak, and turkey

We devoured that steak!

Kids got chicken drumletts, sweet potato fries, and broccoli (hidden in this picture, I guess my kids didn't look like veggie eaters, because they didn't give us much broccoli) ETA - and Mac and Cheese with goldfish topping, which was amazing! I am going to do this the next time I make mac and cheese.

 

[erstwo]

Love the rotating scenery:

I am fascinated with the detail of this house.

We searched and searched for a hidden Mickey on this wall, but never found one.

 

[erstwo]

And of course the characters! Whom we got to see

several times. They are so great!

Please excuse my daughter's hair....... let's remember I wasn't with her when she left the hotel room. ::cough, cough::myhusbanddoesntdohair::cough, cough::

And one final birthday wish......

 

[erstwo]

Since we had already seen RoE and we were already in the Land and it was STILL raining, we decided to ride Soarin again. It was practically walk up. I think most people came out in the rain between 10 to 3 or maybe even 10 to 5. By dinnertime, most people had just given up and headed back to their resort.

I think once our ride across the country was over, it was time for Epcot to close (or close to it.) MORE importantly (at least in the mind of my husband ) Auburn was tied 14-14 with Arkansas. Which tired him out so much that he declared that he *needed* to head back to the hotel room to rest (andpossiblywatchthegameonESPN.) Plus, my daughter was exhausted. He could tell. :lol:

So my husband and my daughter were headed for ASMusic and we were in the car with them. I asked my son if he wanted to go to EMH at MK, hoping against hope that he would say no way because I was getting cold and tired of the poncho situation. But he was all for it, so off we went! At least now I had my umbrella out of the car, and with no stroller to push I could actually hold it over my head.

If I thought there was no one at the bus stop that afternoon, there was less than no one there at 10:00 that night! We were the only ones on the bus headed to the MK from ASMusic.