A Toddler at the Grandparents + Two Parents = An Amazing Disney Vacation

My husband texted me the other day to remind me that a year ago he began to plan our first vacation ever (we have been married for 13yrs) and our first trip to Disney World. Like many of you, we spent countless hours poring over books, brochures, blogs, podcasts, DISCUSSION BOARDS and articles about the World to aid us in having a trip of a lifetime. Now that our amazing trip is over – we are going through withdrawals and other than planning for another trip to Disney the only thing I could think of to cure this withdrawal and depression is to write a Trip Report.

So, here we go!!!

Who: me (Catherine 38yrs) and my DH (Rob 35yrs – yep, I married a younger man..LOL). We were leaving our 3yr old with Grandma and Grandpa for the week… yippee!!!!!!

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When: Oct 16th (happened to be my bday) thru Oct 21st
Resort: All Star Movies

Before I begin… thank you everyone who have posted trip reports in the past (HollyBelle, Fractal, Blackthidot, WDWFigment, MillerPoppins, etc…) you helped us make the time go by fast as we counted down to our vacation. Well… with that – my first trip report….

On Saturday morning, October 15th we packed up the car and strapped our 3yr old in and headed “downstate” Michigan. (that is what us folks from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan say when we head below the bridge) We were headed for my husband’s folk’s house, where we would be spending the night and leaving our little boy while we traveled to Walt Disney World. (we decided to go by ourselves since he is young and since we’ve never been on a vacation together) Our trip downstate for the most part went well. Despite a traffic jam due to construction on the Mackinaw Bridge that slowed us down CONSIDERABLY, it took us an hour to go a ½ mile.!!!
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But, we made it to Rob’s folk’s house and after a long day called it a night.



Day I
A journal entry on Sunday, Oct 16th at 5:45AM (while we were waiting to board our plane)
Happy 28th Birthday to me! (ugh, 38???)
We said goodbye to Jonah last night at bedtime. He was not phased at all and didn’t care that we wouldn’t be there when he woke up. He was more interested in grandma and grandpa and all they had planned.
We left the house at 4:50am and headed to Flint! What a gorgeous fall morning! It was still dark out of course but it was calm, no snow and no deer!!! It was a quick drive! Our arrival at the gate was just as smooth! We didn’t have any issues at security and didn’t get a pat down or a body scan…. darn! haa haa (note the sarcasm)
Oh, I’m so excited! I feel so close to my husband now – we are on an adventure together and the only goal is that we enjoy being together and we have fun. I’m pretty much at the point where no words are even needed.

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The flight was smooth (it seemed to take forever though – even though we arrived earlier than scheduled). We paid a little extra to board early, which was a great decision! As the morning sun was rising over the clouds, I couldn’t help but feel like a child – amazed at what I was seeing and jumping inside with excitement due to our destination!
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We made our way down to ME by 10am and waited in line for maybe 20min. It was amazing to see in person all that we had read about and seen from everybody else’s trip reports. We couldn’t believe we were finally there! We hopped on our bus and we were off.

The obligatory photo of the airport..
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Trying to stay cool and collected on our monorail trip to the terminal.
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Yay!
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Off we go!
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Now, the ME was not quite what we had heard it was or could be. Our poor driver couldn’t really speak English well and his loud speaker didn’t work either. So, he spent the whole trip talking into this speaker that he KNEW wasn’t working and then in this accent that us Northerners could not make out exactly. to add to it, the movie on the bus wasn’t working either. It only played the opening and then would get stuck. This bus had issues. It didn’t bother us though – I felt real bad for the driver but I entertained myself with looking out the window at all the wonderful birds, vegetation and sights! I was overwhelmed already and we hadn’t even made it to Disney World. haa Yea, we’re from a small isolated area up in the U.P.
 

catnrob

Active Member
Original Poster
Before our food came Rob’s eyes got the size of silver dollars and he yelled out, “OH NO!!!”. It dawned on him that he had left our MNSSHP tickets in our resort room’s safe! So, our full day in the park was going to be interrupted by a trip back to ASMovies!  He offered to go back by himself so that I could do a resort tour (which was something we BOTH wanted to do), but it was going to suck up too much time to do it after he got back. Plus, I would probably just slow him down. So, after breakfast he would head out and get the tickets.

Our breakfast then came and I poured my strawberry puree over my Tonga Toast! I could not wait to dig into this!!! I went to cut it and my folk slipped and somehow a WAVE of puree came crashing and splashing all over my Halloween tshirt! AAHHHH!!!! Rob’s eyes again got huge as were mine and he said in a loud voice – “oh my gosh, that’s really bad, you are completely covered!!!!!!” My reaction to him as I was trying not to freak, “That is so not helpful right now!!!”. Meanwhile my crazy brain is inserting a scene of a restaurant full of people laughing hysterically and pointing at me in slow motion (imagine the pig blood scene from Carrie). So, what do I do? I actually convince myself that I can get up and walk to the bathroom (which is like “a mile away” from our table) and I can hide the fact that my chest looks like it’s full of blood. I get up and again – the Carrie prom scene is going on in my head. I go in the bathroom and frantically try to get out the stain. Now – it’s not like they carry club soda and a washer/dryer in the bathrooms. So, I emerge from the bathroom, now looking like my upper body fell in the clean toilet. Oye!!!! So, I sit down and say to Rob, “uh, while you are getting the tickets, how about you pick out a clean tshirt for me too?” …….. and scene.

After breakfast, we stood up (I threw my coat on) and we hopped on the monorail to the Grand Floridian where I was going to look around and Rob would continue to the MK to grab a bus to the resort.

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You have to have a monorail picture. Just wish it was a better one.
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Coming up..... the Grand Floridian!
 

catnrob

Active Member
Original Poster
It was about 11:40am and our plan was to meet outside the MK tunnel at 1pm. So, we each had over an hour! Let the games begin!

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What a beautiful resort!

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I stopped at Basin and worked my sniffer out…

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I headed down the gorgeous stairwell and wondered around downstairs….

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Awh, the itty bitty TV and tables and chairs…

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They were prepping for the afternoon tea party…

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I LOVE this!

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catnrob

Active Member
Original Poster
I took a walk out on the balcony..

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I stopped at the gift shop at the GF and I found some GREAT tshirts. I wish I would have gotten one of them, but I talked myself out of it.

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I had 45min left so I thought I should probably make my way back and that way I would have time to walk around Main St. and take pictures. Instead, when I got to the MK I decided to take the train to Frontierland. (I think the Move It Shake It party was going on and Main St. was pretty busy).

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Someone had taken a picture of all the flags of Main Street and posted it on their trip report here at WDW. I loved the photo so much, I had to recreate it.

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All Aboard!

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I got out at Frontierland. I was hoping the wait time for BMTR would be 5/10min but it was more than that. So, I just took a few pictures and then headed back on the train.

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This conductor was so great! He was talking up a storm with folks waiting and tell them stories! He was just enjoying himself so much! Wouldn’t that be a great part time job when you retire???? I think so!

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Maximum photos.... next post....
 

catnrob

Active Member
Original Poster
I would have loved to join this “fellow”, it looked so relaxing.

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We pulled up back at the Main Street Station and I still had time left. I noticed that there was only a 5min wait to see Mickey and Minnie at the Town Square Theater. So, the little girl in me started jumping down and squealing as I “ran” into the theater. Ok, what really happened is that I smiled and SLOWLY walked into the theater and tried not to feel silly since I was, once again, the only solo adult in line.

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Yes, I am feeling so silly… I did it only for my son. (yeah, that’s it)

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Ok, the bell was striking 1pm so I quickly went outside and through the tunnel and found my husband waiting for me with our tickets AND a clean t-shirt for me. We got a locker and we were able to put our jackets, my Halloween “hat” and our backpack in it. Boy, were the lockers ever a godsend to us!!!! We were all set finally and back together. It was time to take on the Magic Kingdom once again – but not before hearing about Rob’s CRAZY trip back to the resort…..


So, while I was having a great time exploring the Grand Floridian and the Magic Kingdom Rob was having his own little adventure.

After I got off of the monorail at the Grand Floridian he continued on and got off at the Magic Kingdom. He was able to get a bus RIGHT AWAY to the resort so he was almost golden! He got back to the resort, walked quickly to our room which is like a mile away (again, next time – preferred room), grabbed a clean shirt for his red chested wife, got the tickets and left the room. He ran back to the bus stop (imagine the “ bom-bom… chick, chicka-chicka” from Ferris Bueller playing in the background) and was able to get another bus right away! He’s golden!!! OR … NOT SO MUCH. He went to go call me, then realized he left his phone in the room. So, luckily the bus hadn’t left yet so he jumps off of the bus. He runs, what feels like 10miles at this point to the room (awh, next time he won’t try to save a few bucks on a non-preferred room), grabs the phone runs back, a bus pulls up as he approaches the bus stop and he hops on. He then collapses in a seat exhausted – BUT with his phone, my tshirt and the MNSSHP tickets). Darn strawberry puree and forgetfulness!!!!!

Well, we reunite and then head back into Magic Kingdom to start part Deux of our day at the MK! We walked down Main Street and suddenly we could hear the Main Street Philharmonic playing. They sounded perfect!!!!! Between the balloons floating in the air, the smell of popcorn lingering in the air and the sound of the tight harmonies of the brass band – I felt like I was at small town celebration. So cool! We watched them a bit and then continued on our way.

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To follow Touring Plan’s suggestion – we took a LEFT and went to Adventuerland. We really hadn’t spent that much time there so it was time to do some looking around. There was a 5min wait at the Tiki Room so we walked on in and found a place in line and prepared ourselves to be serenaded by our feathered friends! I LOVED The Tiki Room! It was just so magical! I was mesmerized by the colors, the music just the whole concept! I kept thinking of our son and how much he would be just as much in love with this moment as I was. I was starting to really miss him.
 

catnrob

Active Member
Original Poster
We decided it was time to plan for a ride on a runaway train, so Rob walked over to BMTR to get some Fastpasses. While he was doing that I stood and watched the Pirate Tutorial. How much fun was that? The guy who played Jack Sparrow looked and acted exactly like Johnney Depp. I couldn’t believe it!

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When Rob got back we planned on riding POTC but it was down for some reason. So, we did some shopping (we bought ourselves a Mickey camera strap) then headed over to ride our favorite rollercoaster – BMTR!!!!

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We really didn’t even a fastpass for BMTR because the wait time was pretty much nonexistent. But, off we went up the que and then down to be loaded onto the train!

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The ride was amazing as always and we knew we would be back later so we didn’t shed too may tears. Instead, we took pictures.

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Coming up… WHIP IT… DOLE WHIP IT GOOD!!!! (Yeah, I know I'm a geek... it's late here, and I get corny when I'm tired)
 

Trouble

New Member
Coming up… WHIP IT… DOLE WHIP IT GOOD!!!! (Yeah, I know I'm a geek... it's late here, and I get corny when I'm tired)

I think you are hilarious and wonderful! Totally loving this Trip Report, and so envious that you got to go to MNSSHP!
 

catnrob

Active Member
Original Poster
I think you are hilarious and wonderful! Totally loving this Trip Report, and so envious that you got to go to MNSSHP!

Thank you!!!! The Halloween party was so much fun! I didn't want it to end, I would do it again in a heartbeat - it's so worth the money!
Thank you for reading along..... more to come today!
 

catnrob

Active Member
Original Poster
From the moment we had hit the parks on our first day we were GOOOO!!! We walked from one attraction to another and had a plan. Our goal was to see as much of WDW that we could. At this point in our trip we started to realize that we had seen a lot but we learned that if we were going to make it all day/night we had to pace ourselves. So, we slowed down a bit and started just taking in the little things.

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At this point we were getting a little hungry so what does one do when they find themselves hungry and a little warm from the hot sun in Frontierland…YEP – YOU GUESSED IT… It’s Dole Whip Time!

Thank you all for suggesting and raving about Dole Whips nonstop here on the discussion boards. It was amazing!!!!! It’s funny how something so small can bring me such happiness – and I wonder why I’m not a size 3.

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We strolled slowly around Frontierland while enjoying our Dole Whips there still was a lot that we hadn’t seen here that we wanted to. We finished our “Cups O Love” and saw that Country Bears were gearing up for a show.

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So, we walked in and grabbed a seat. What a classic show! Sure, it was cheesy and older effects – but you can’t beat Country Bears! I think I was starting to crash a bit because I don’t remember a lot about the show other than I thought it was pretty cool.

We left Frontierland and headed over to Fantasyland. There were a few things that we hadn’t seen because the lines were too “long”. (20min we considered were too long – yea, guess we’re snobs) Snow White’s Scary Adventures was at 20min but honestly, we hadn’t seen it any lower while we were there. So, we figured we should just bite the bullet and wait.

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While in line they had some problems with the attraction so we were at a standstill for a bit. But, we hung in there and in basically 20min we were on! There was a family in line that had these kids that were terrors. Clearly, the kids had met their wall. The parents and grandparents were just getting more and more mad as we were waiting and I thought the old guy’s vein in his head was going to pop. This was ANOTHER confirmation that we did the right thing in leaving J home. He would have loved it and we would have loved to have shared it with him but he would have hit his wall quickly and it would not have been fair to anyone. However, I can’t wait to take him back in a couple more years!!!!

Things were starting to get a bit crowded in FantasyWorld (it was 4:10pm) and people were beginning to arrive for the MNSSHP along with the people who were in the park all day. So, a collision of “worlds” were happening.

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We decided we needed to move out of toddler/meltdownville and maybe go to someplace a little less crowded. We walked past Pooh’s corner and up ahead was a nearly empty que line at the Mad Tea Cups! Rob was adamant during this trip that he would NOT do the tea cups. So, when we saw the lack of a line – I looked at him and said, “oh come on – you can do it”. “Ok”, he said, and that was that. We waited MAYBE 5 minutes and we were off. I promised him that I wouldn’t spin us much – well, we start and we start turning a little. Then all of a sudden Rob leaps and grabs the wheel and says, “Awh, what the heck!!!” and begins to spin the flippin thing! It was a hoot!!!! I sat back and laughed hysterically – not so much at how much fun it was to be riding it – but at the look on my husband’s face. This pessimistic, detailed, uber-planned guy turned spontaneous, fun-loving and carefree “KID”. Disney not only makes magic – but they make miracles!!!! It was just another moment where I fell deeper in love with my husband of 13yrs.

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My husband’s attempt at a “Bricker photo”. haa It didn’t turn out as well … but a lot of thought at HOPE went into it!

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COMING SOON…. DRUMroll, and Party on!!!!!
 

PolynesianPrincess

Well-Known Member
Can't wait to try the Tonga Toast in May. I think that might be the breakfast I'm looking forward to the most! YUM!! :slurp:

Some parents just don't realize that Disney is A LOT for a child to take in. Heck, it's even a lot for an adult to take in. Kids need rest and naps in order not to hit that wall. I've seen so many parents dragging their kids around to ride after ride when really all the kid wants is a nap. Sometimes I just wanna smack the parents upside the head and say "can't you see this kiddo needs a break?!?" Sheeesh!! :hammer:

Can't wait to read about the Halloween party! We've never been to one before but we will be going in September!! YAY!! :)
 

fractal

Well-Known Member
We decided we needed to move out of toddler/meltdownville and maybe go to someplace a little less crowded. We walked past Pooh’s corner and up ahead was a nearly empty que line at the Mad Tea Cups! Rob was adamant during this trip that he would NOT do the tea cups. So, when we saw the lack of a line – I looked at him and said, “oh come on – you can do it”. “Ok”, he said, and that was that. We waited MAYBE 5 minutes and we were off. I promised him that I wouldn’t spin us much – well, we start and we start turning a little. Then all of a sudden Rob leaps and grabs the wheel and says, “Awh, what the heck!!!” and begins to spin the flippin thing! It was a hoot!!!! I sat back and laughed hysterically – not so much at how much fun it was to be riding it – but at the look on my husband’s face. This pessimistic, detailed, uber-planned guy turned spontaneous, fun-loving and carefree “KID”. Disney not only makes magic – but they make miracles!!!! It was just another moment where I fell deeper in love with my husband of 13yrs.
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My husband’s attempt at a “Bricker photo”. haa It didn’t turn out as well … but a lot of thought at HOPE went into it!

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COMING SOON…. DRUMroll, and Party on!!!!!


This is what WDW is all about! Look at that smile on your face! Great update!
 

DisneyBergh

Member
We have a fun video of us on the teacups, but I'm not sure how to post it.

Snow White was our longest wait at any ride all week. 25 minutes and that's really only because the ride broke down for a bit. We wouldn't have waited but since we will never have the chance to experience again it was worth it.
 

catnrob

Active Member
Original Poster
Sorry it's been so long - work has been crazy!!!! There's more.....


While we worked on walking straight after a MAD Tea Cup ride, we walked over to Tomorrowland and decided it was time to get in some laughs and save the world at the Monster’s Inc. Laugh Floor. I was not sold on this one – I just hadn’t seen a lot of great reviews. AND, being the practical person that I am I thought why waste time on it when we could do something we REALLY want to do. But, Rob wanted to check it out so we prepared ourselves to laugh away!

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Well, boy was I wrong! Yes – I know my husband is reading this – so mark it on your calendar Rob – I am admitting that I was wrong. (you know at this point he is going to have a big ol’ grin of “I told you so” on his face – oh well)

We laughed so hard!!!!! I had tears running down my face it was so funny! What made it so funny was that there was this woman who did not speak any English in the crowd. Of course that is who one of the characters pick on and her non-verbal’s and limited verbal’s were a hoot!!!! She would agree to things that she clearly did not understand and was so confused! We all had a great laugh at her expense, but she was a great sport – well, from what I could tell. haa

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As we left the Laugh Floor, STILL LAUGHING mind you, we noticed that people were beginning to check in for the Halloween Party. Bring it on! We got our little wristbands, our brochure and our goody bags and we were ready to party. haa haa Well, let’s not get carried away. First things first – I needed my costume. Which consisted of a witch headband. Hey, I go all out for the holidays. LOL!

I grabbed my “costume” and we decided it was the perfect time to climb aboard and ride the rails to Frontierland on the Train!!!! Choo Choo! Let’s go!

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The crowds were getting higher so we were TOTALLY making the right decision to move away from the Main Street and head to the back of the park.

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It was funny how Rob turned into a little boy once he hopped aboard the train. It was as if we was a 4yr old and the whole world in front of him was new, exciting and wonderful! The reality however, was that he was 35yrs old and the world in front of him – the world of Walt Disney, was new, exciting and wonderful!!!!

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Rob took this photo and he LOVES it! It was taken while on the train, I don’t know what building it is but the reflection of Space Mountain in the window is so cool!

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Hmmm… what to do at 7:30pm in Frontierland after a long day at the Magic Kingdom??? Yep – it’s time to get a Turkey Leg baby! We bought one and split it – it tasted SO good. Although, now when I look at the pictures it looks disgusting. But, I remember that it tasted really good. haa

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Ok, so it’s not attractive I know – but I was having fun…and I guess feeling a bit TOO kiddish.

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Now, that’s a man! 

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catnrob

Active Member
Original Poster
Since we loved our first Cruise, we decided that we should look for some baby elephants and good comedy – so we got into line for Jungle Cruise (it was basically a walk on). Unfortunately, our skipper was not as good as the one earlier on in the day. Actually, this skipper was REALLY bad. He was clearly not into it and was trying to be funny. He was boring – like maybe he was used to working at the Haunted Mansion with his monotone and flatness. Who knew!

The runaway train was calling our names AGAIN so we literally walked right on BMTR and had a CRAZY ride. We were in one of the last cars and holy smokes – do you whip around in those!!! We got off it and we both looked at each other and said, “awh, not sure sitting back there is that fun”. But, it’s BMTR – so you can’t complain too much!!!

At this point I was getting chilly. So, once again we made our way down Main Street to go to our locker to get my coat. I’m sure my husband wanted to kill me. haa

We walked down Main Street and were really taken back by how wonderful the place looked all decked out for the party! Light Victorian buildings became spooky and whimsical and the sunlight shone eerily through the fake fog. It was really great!

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This is one of my favorites – I love the sky in the background!

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Since we had the monotone skipper earlier, we decided it was time to head over to the Haunted Mansion to see how it’s really done.

It was great! The que was so cool… tons of dry ice, eerie music and a dead woman entertaining the guests. She asked us to ask her some questions. So, I yelled out, “How long have you been dead?”. She looked at me and then started to howl and cry and then said something about having to go back into her coffin for a long long time. Too funny! The cast members on the Haunted Mansion were all decked out for the Halloween Party – it was really neat, just too bad I couldn’t get any pictures of it all.

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catnrob

Active Member
Original Poster
Darn Photo Limit.......

At this point the first Halloween parade was starting to draw a crowd so we figured that it was a good time to head to Fantasyland, since all the little ones would be probably watching the early parade.

The line for Peter Pan (which we STILL had not seen) was still crazy so we opted for spending some time with singing dolls in It’s a Small World. I LOVE this one so much!

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This tour around the world was extra special because while in line we couldn’t help but have our attention drawn to this really loud lady who was sipping Vitamin Water and hanging all over her boyfriend. She got up to the front of the line and in a super crazy loud voice starts jumping up and down begging the 80yr old cast member guy to let her ride in the front. So, what is he gonna do – I’m sure she would jump in the murky water in protest, so she and her “man” were seated in the front row. A nice quiet NORMAL family from the UK were seated next and then we were behind them in row three. Our boat starts moving and it becomes quite clear that the lady with healthy lungs was DRUNK! She starts waving to the dolls, talking to them, and screaming, “ooooooohhhhh, I looooveee this baby” – amidst kisses lavished on her guy. The family in front of us and Rob and I started laughing. It was pure comedy. Forget about these dolls and there repetitive song – this was a great show!!! We get off of the boat and she starts begging the same older gentleman to let her ride it again without having to stand in line. The old man – lets her do it. I guess she got some pixie dust with her vodka.

So, the UK family and us were walking out and the husband turns and says to us, “I don’t think she was drinking just Vitamin Water”. My response was, “well, please don’t think that all of us Americans are drunks like that”. To which the wife looks at me and says, “Oh she’s not American, I’m pretty sure she’s Canadian”. We busted out laughing and we said, “that explains it. Darn Canooks”. (just kidding all of our Canadian brothers and sisters – we are only hours from the border!!!! Love you all!).

Coming up… Peter Pan, Parades and Fireworks like I’ve never seen!!!!!
 

catnrob

Active Member
Original Poster
I'm so sorry it's been so long since I've given you an update. Work has been crazy! Next week will only be worse, so my goal is to finish this in the next couple of days.

Without further due... more Mickey's Not So Scarey Halloween Party.......

When we left off the other day we were recovering from the drunk Canadian on Small World. After that, we made our way across the way and headed to Peter Pan!!!! I had been looking forward to this all week! I had never been on it and the wait times were always so crazy so we never took advantage of it. But, we were lucky to find that our wait time was only 10min. The funny thing was that the lines for Halloween candy were longer than the lines to the attractions. So, we got ready to head for NeverNeverland!!!! This was a great attraction! The scenes were maybe kinda cheesy – but the boat flying was genius!!!! I just loved it! Once again the little girl in me came out and I was giddy at the feeling of flying over London.

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The clock was ticking and it was time to get our spot for the Hallowishes. Now, Rob had been researching this and knew the “perfect” place to take photos (the highest place on MainStreet – up from Caseys). So, we “saved” our spot and got ready to be BLOWN away!

Rob kept telling me that I wasn’t going to be able to get good pictures because we didn’t bring our tripod. But, I did my little trick (count to 3, hold my breath, and hold down the trigger button). They may not look like some of the experts on this page – but I’m happy with them.

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They are a startin…..

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catnrob

Active Member
Original Poster
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That’s it … sorry for all the pics of the fireworks. I couldn’t make a choice. They were all different and the colors were so pretty.

After the fireworks the smell from Caseys was leaking into the street (on purpose I’m sure.. they must have fans blowing it in – it’s like crack). So, we headed over and had some dinner. Rob had a chili dog, fries, soda and cracker jacks. I inhaled my corn dog, fries, water and half of a bag of cotton candy. Can someone please explain to me why I’m not a size 2?????? It was horrible for us I know – but man, it was good! So good that we ate it before taking a picture (gasp!).

With full tummies and restored feet we got up from our quiet little nook in the garden by Caseys and headed to find a spot for the Boo to You Parade.

But wait… photopass!

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The place was already getting packed (we should have gotten our food to go), so we kept walking in search of “the spot”. We ended up crossing the Adventureland bridge and then taking a right and heading for Liberty Square along another little bridge. We saw Tiana and Prince Naveen in the gazebo greeting guests. Although, there was not a line, which was tempting. But – the goal was to find a spot on the parade route, not schmooze with a Prince and Princess. So, just pass the gazebo before the bridge that goes from Liberty Square to the Castle we parked it. We found enough room in the front for us – no where really to sit, but we had front row, so we were good. We had about 45min to wait so we struck up a convo with a nice couple from Peru. We talked to them the whole time and quickly became friends. Of course, once the parade started people started using their kids to get in the front of us. I’m fine with kids being in front of us. After all, it’s a parade – so go for it. But, then the parents are like, “oh I need to be with my daughter (nevermind she’s 13yrs old). So, soon we found ourselves being pushed out of our spot that we had given up 45min of park seeing to stake out. I was not going to go down this way. So, very politely I just asked – “do you mind backing up a bit mamm? It’s getting very crowded over here”. The lady was annoyed by me but backed up a bit. After all, I am 6ft 1”. I don’t like using my size – but it’s Disney, and I wanna see my Mickey Mouse darn it! haa

The parade was great, I just wish I had gotten better pictures. Oh Tom Bricker, how I wish I had your mind and eye!!!!!

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One of the best parts of the parade was when Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen came up from the gazebo to check out the parade. They were standing very near to us. Well, when the villains float came by and Doctor Facilier spotted them, the interaction was priceless!!! Talk about being in a good spot at the right time!

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Before heading home we had to stop at two of our favorites… BTMR and Pirates! So, we went over to Frontierland and walked right on the run-away train. I love riding this at night, I can only imagine what it would be like while the fireworks are going on. After arriving safe and sound in the station we headed over to Pirates which was finally open and shivered our timbers and climbed aboard. Every time I see the hairy legged pirate I about bust a gut! I HAVE to get a picture of it next time. That is so funny!!!! I think the funniest part isn’t so much the pirate or wirey hair but the fact that Disney geeks have named it. I love it!!!!!

Well, we were so tired so it was time to call it a night. We headed out but not without turning back and saying, “See ya real soon” to the Castle. Magic Kingdom is easily our favorite park. It was a good thing I was so tired otherwise I would have been a wreck.

We got back to our room at 12:30am and called it a night. The next day was another busy day – too back the second half of it was going to be spent on a plane going home!

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Friday, October 21st. GOING HOME DAY!!! Epcot!

We got up fairly early and began packing and getting ready to leave. It was really sad but thinking back I remember being excited to see our son and frankly, I was just so tired (we both were) that I think we were ready. Looking back though – I would give anything go back!!!!

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We headed out of our room at about 9:30am. We had another gorgeous day out! It wasn’t as hot out it was just perfect, like mid-70’s! As we headed to the lobby to check our bags, I took some pics of the resort.

Goodbye Herbie!
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catnrob

Active Member
Original Poster
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See ya creepy guy…

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Time to check out. 

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I never did buy anything from here…

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It’s time to get in line for a bus…
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Awh… hugs!!!!!

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I was really happy that we went back to Epcot. It was one of the parks we had not seen enough of and I wanted to really feel like we got to see almost everything. So, we were going to stay away from the World Showcase and instead focus on Futureworld.

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Later - the day spent at Epcot.....bring on Futureworld, light crowds and Rob has hit a wall!!!! (plus, "The End")
 

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