Adventure #9: Firsts, a Dream, an Anniversary, & Three Destinations...

sweetpee_1993 · Dec 5, 2011

There’s plenty of other beauty to photograph without turning towards the castle. Here’s Brian easing up to a squirrel. Not too smart. Those things will bite. This one opted to run off.

Then there was our destination for breakfast:

sweetpee_1993 · Dec 5, 2011

The wait wasn’t too terribly long:

We were amoung the first few families seated. It’s pretty inside. I noticed the paint wasn’t as built-up on the surfaces as it had been in the past. I guess they had done some work in here.

We didn’t do pics with each character or anything. Just a few shots.

The Eeyore shots for Mimi. This time around I think Brian nailed the better picture.

My favorite Crystal Palace breakfast dish, the peachy casserole stuff.

And, the damage. Tracey fussed at me for taking this pic, said it was tacky. Why? It’s how much it cost for 5 of us to eat breakfast. Someday that won’t seem as insulting as it does nowadays.

I like Crystal Palace. I don’t love it. There’s nothing all that noteable about the food. The service is okay. Not exceptional. It’s what it should be. The characters are cute if that’s something you want to experience without waiting in lines in the parks but we could do without them, really. I’d rather they skipped us and let us eat uninterupted. Brian isn’t much of a breakfast eater at all. I generally approach breakfast with the resolve to not eat too much. I guess Chandler might eat the full $22.99 worth. Nah. Not really. We only book this to be in the park early anymore and even that’s losing it’s luster when the main icon of the park is tarnished with a big stinkin’ crane. I don’t like getting up so early on vacation. That’s not fun for me. The parks and promise of their lower crowds just aren’t enough to make me want to do it anymore. I dunno. Like I’ve said, I truly see our vacation style evolving. Character meals with their chaotic party atmosphere with mediocre food and inflated prices don’t do much for me anymore other than annoy me. Yes, folks, this may be a last for a while for us. I’m just not feelin’ it. Neither is the rest of the fam.

sweetpee_1993 · Dec 5, 2011

After breakfast we had a few minutes before the daytime herd made their way up Main Street so I grabbed another magical pics to share. This one is extra special with the man basket addition! Isn’t it just beautiful?! Don’t you wish your vacation pics could be this awesome?!

The park opened and we hit Peter Pan, Snow White, and Pooh in that order. here’s the pics:

sweetpee_1993 · Dec 5, 2011

Sights along the way:

This is what the backside of magical looks like:

The boys wanted to take a spin on the teacups. The rest of us were happy to sit and wait and watch:

sweetpee_1993 · Dec 5, 2011

Brian kept disappearing into his teacup as he worked on spinning himself using his entire body somehow...

Next we made our way over to Tomorrowland and got in the 30 minute standby line for Space Mountain.

When we made it to the top of the tunnel we discovered that they only had one side running and it was the right side which is normally where fastpass gets routed to. I think that’s ‘Omega’ side. Remember what I said about how rough that side is compared to the other side? I asked a CM if they planned top open the empty left side and was told not for now. I took some pictures then Tracey and I exited the line and let the others continue on without us. Tracey’s back is already bad on a good day. I didn’t want to be in my last day of vacation with a headache. I’ll be honest, the way it appeared, I’d almost say that they were short-staffed. I can’t imagine why both sides weren’t running unless it was for this reason. The standby was at about 30 minutes when we got in line and it was growing fast. TskTskTsk. Poooooor management.....

sweetpee_1993 · Dec 5, 2011

After Space Mountain Jerry & Chandler visited the restrooms, Brian wanted to go to Stitch’s Great Escape, and Tracey & I had a water break and a rest. We saw the cutest little squirrel nearby. He was fun to watch:

Just as our little squirrel friend disappeared we spotted “Push” on his way towards us.

We sat and watched as Push interacted with other guests. I didn’t get pics of it but there were some really wild little kids that kept running up in front of him while he was moving which caused him to stop abruptly. Then they’d bang on him or swat at the front door. All I could think was, “Dang. These kids need a shorter leash.” We continued to watch and look around to see if we could spot Push’s friend. That wasn’t hard. I really like watching this whole process and how it all works. It’s interesting.

Brian had seen Push when he was going to SGE so he was following behind at a distance watching, too. He came over and said he watched Push but was now headed to SGE. Okay. While we waited for Brian to finish up we browsed the Star Traders....

...and that little shop that SGE empties into. Me likey the Sully’s:

This is actually a mural behind the registers. If you didn’t know any better you’d think you were looking out into Tomorrowland and this is who the visitors are, huh? 

After Brian finished and we all met back up we started making our way on out of the park. We shopped the Art of Disney, the glass store, the jewelery, etc. etc. on that side of Main Street. Who here wouldn’t want this:

LOL! I don’t think I ever noticed this area in the back of the glass shop before. Love the details!

sweetpee_1993 · Dec 5, 2011

We stopped in the Confectionary and bought a great big crispy treat to snack on later or have when we got home. Chandler made his first (& I think only) purchase of the trip here, too. He bought $40 worth of Dr. Pepper jellybeans. Whatevah....

It was time to head on out. I knew this was the last moments we’d be in the Magic Kingdom for a long time. I even had the conscious thought that this was it. Normally I’d look back and get all teary-eyed but not this time. Nope. The ‘Move It, Shake It’ parade was on the street and I couldn’t get the heck away from it fast enough. Seriously. It’s a cute parade with all the catchy music, characters, and dancing the first time you see it. It’s mildly entertaining the second time. After that, it totally plunges into the fathoms of obnoxiousness. If this parade was a daily thing that’d be one thing but multiple times in the same day...come on! It’s too much. Stop trying so hard, Disney. My other issue with the parade is the volume at which the music blares. Sweet Jesus, I believe I’ve suffered hearing loss from being in close proximity to Main Street as it passed for more than 10 seconds. It’s so loud it rattles my brain. Can we say instant headache??? Maybe the whole thing wouldn’t be so annoying if it just wasn’t so loud. I can’t stand it. So, yeah, ‘Move It, Shake It’ was rolling so I got no look back and last goodbye. Instead I was running to get away and very happy to be leaving. Goodbye and good ridance ‘Move It, Shake It’. I hope to never ever ever see you again.

On the way out it dawned on me that I didn’t take pics of these signs. I have them for the other special hard ticket events we’ve attended so I snapped a couple real quick:

The resort monorail wait was pretty long. Jerry, Tracey, and I had lots of time to discuss why staying at the monorail resorts was losing a large amount of appeal because A.) the monorail operating hours had been cut dramatically and were now so limited, and B.) when the monorails are operating they aren’t reliable, waits are long, and breakdowns turn into such clusters. We debated the other perks to these resorts but none of us find what’s left to be worth the rates to stay there. Times they are a’changin’, folks. And more pics while we wait:

Chandler and his prized jellybeans:

Finally, our chariot arrived:

Tracey really loves monorails. Can ya tell?

Eventually we made it back to the Poly to get the car. Thankfully, the ride back to the Yacht Club was much faster, easier, and more peaceful. When we returned we checked-in with the concierge folks to see if anyone had located Brian’s flip flops he left at the pool last night. The had them in a bag waiting for him. I’m tellin’ ya, we’re going to need to budget for club level from now on just so Brian can have full-time assistance keeping up with his stuff. Sheesh!

We all suited-up for the pool (our new favorite place to be), gathered up the laundry (you’re laughing again, right?), and headed out for our afternoon usual. We got 4 loads started out by the quiet pool. The small laundry room’s machines were still broken. **big frowny face**

I don’t know if it was because it was Friday or if it was a sign of how busy the coming week would be but there was a ton more people there than usual. They were waaaaay busier than they’d been all week. When we set up in our spot by the pool Rocky didn’t even stop to take a drink order, she just showed up with the usual round. I *heart* Miss Rocky.

Over the past few days Tracey had been playing phone tag with her manager friend from the Yachtsman. She asked Tracey if he’d been able to get in touch with him. When she learned that he hadn’t she suggested he call right now because she just saw him maybe 15 minutes ago and knew he was at work right now. Cool. So Tracey put in another call and another voicemail.

Jerry and Tracey switched the laundry from the washers to the dryers while I relaxed. Aaaahh...that’s so niiiiice. When they returned Tracey said the Yachtsman guy had called and since we were so close he was just going to step inside to go talk to him briefly. Okee-dokee.

Jerry and I kicked back enjoying our drinks and chit chatting with Rocky whenever she’d pass by. We got to know her pretty well over the course of the week and sure hated to be having our last afternoon with her company. She gave us her phone number and told us to give her a holler whenever we’d be back in town. What a cool chicka! ((I totally not-so-secretly wish Jerry would find him a down-to-earth girl like her to keep him in check and be his forever friend.)) Rocky is spoken-for, though. Her long-time boyfriend person is a server at Ohana’s. I love meeting fascinating people who turn out to be kindred spirits in some of the least-expected places. It’s like life’s random little gifts. You just have to keep yourself open to it when these amazing folks cross your path.

Tracey seemed to be gone forever althought I’m sure it wasn’t really. When he returned he said he’d had a very nice talk with the manager person, Filippe. Tracey explained to him that we had high expectations based upon all the reviews we’d read and purposely chose the Yachtsman for our anniversary dinner for their restaurant. He shared the disappointments we’d had with our steaks, the lower quality cuts and poor cooking. He also detailed the craptastic bar experience at the Crew’s Cup prior to our meal. He also praised the good points to our experience including the fantastic service we had with Oscar and the things we ate that we enjoyed. Tracey was careful to explain that we didn’t want anything for the bad experience we had. We only wanted them to be aware so that the problems could be corrected. He apologized for not bringing the problems we had to anyone’s attention on the night that it all happened because it was our actual anniversary and we didn’t want to go there that night. Filippe was very gracious about it all. He was quite interested in all the details. He kept insisting that we come back as his guests but Tracey wasn’t eager to jump on the opportunity because even at no cost the steaks weren’t really something we wanted to eat again. The biggest thing was that he didn’t want to take advantage of an offer like that on the premis that getting something for free was why we said anything to begin with. I assure you, it was not. I think Jerry had mentioned to Rocky in all our chit-chatting about my trip reports so I sort of wonder if she mentioned that to Filippe which is why he was so eager for us to come back. I don’t know. Tracey didn’t commit to Filippe and said he’d have to ask me what I wanted to do. So here we were with a decision to make: Do we take Filippe up on his offer for us to eat at the Yachtsman again tonight, our final night, or do our own thing? I’m sure some people would wonder what the heck we needed to think about it for. Going to eat there would put a rush on the remainder of our last afternoon and tie up a good block of time for the meal itself. Did we really want to do all that? Ultimately, we discussed just how disappointed we had been with our Yachtsman meal and none of us wanted to leave it that way. We truly wanted to believe that it was an off-night or something. People rave about this place. Surely our one bad experience was an isolated incident. After much debate we decided we’d go back again and give the Yachtsman steaks another shot. We really did want to be wow’d in the end. Tracey called Fillippe back, set up the details, and that was that. Chandler, however, had other other plans. He wasn’t at all willing to go back. So....he made his own dinner plans for himself with the concierge. He was going to Cape May for the clam bake and insisted he wasnted to pay for it himself and everything. Okaaaaay...

Jerry and I returned to get the laundry finished up. We ran through a heck of a downpour back into the main building with the big laundry bags. We hauled everything upstairs to drop it all off in the room so we could get back down to the pool. We were totally determined to get in the water again before the last day was over. When we got to the room Chandler was already in the shower. Weird but whatever. I don’t even try to understand or make sense of teenagers anymore. LOL!

We made it back down to the pool as the rain stopped. We ordered some grub from Rocky along with another round of drinks. Mmmmmm! We had a quick lunch, a couple trips down the Flying Jib, and a few swims around the river part of the pool. All too soon the clock was calling us. We had to get dressed for dinner. We all wished we hadn’t commited to dinner. We’d have been much happier staying right there by the pool.

sweetpee_1993 · Dec 5, 2011

This go around I definitely put a whole lot less effort into dressing for dinner. I wore a much more casual sundress and just pulled my wet hair up. Tracey, Jerry, and Brian threw on khaki shorts, polos, and flip flops. Even as casual as we went we still out-dressed half the other guests at dinner. That’s nuts!

We weren’t really sure what to expect at dinner. Would we be treated differently? Tracey checked us in at the podium while Jerry headed into the Crew’s Cup to check it out again. He said the service was stellar and returned quickly with a round of drinks for us. What an angel to bring his little sis another white sangria. Mmmmm....! With a very short wait we were seated near our first table. I didn’t want to make like I was reviewing folks so I didn’t bring a camera or my notebook to take a bunch of notes or pics. I took this and that’s it:

We had a different waiter who was very good. I forget his name and didn’t write it down. He was extremely attentive, almost overly so because it wasn’t long before it almost felt like he was overbearing and I just wanted him to go away. We listened closely to our waiter’s recommendations. Also, prior to ordering, the head chef, Jon and Fillippe both came out of the back to speak with us. Both were very nice and cordial. I can understand why they made it a point to come speak with us in person but I’m not at all accustomed to being doted-upon in any way. I felt a little weird having important people come talk to me. This time around we all went with the rib-eye. Tracey & Jerry ordered theirs medium-rare while Brian & I ordered ours medium with garlic butter. The meal went off without any hitches. We didn’t get crazy ordering a bunch of appetizers or desserts (all food was on Filippe but alcoholic beverages were not). We didn’t want to be there eating all night and we didn’t want to be taking advantage. We simply wanted to give the steaks another shot which is exactly what we did. No more. No less. When we finished Filippe came back out to check in with us again. Again, kind of weird to me because I’m not used to it but understandable given the circumstances. While Tracey and Jerry settled the check for our drinks (we had several each) Brian and I headed back upstairs to change clothes. Believe me, I was a bit concerned and carefully considered my condition before standing up. I could totally see that going very bad. Normally we rarely ever, if ever, drink. During dinner I had 3 white sangrias on top of what might have been left in my system from earlier. My plan was to stand then get Brian to do the “gentleman” thing and lend me his arm for the actual walk. Is that pathetic or what? Good grief! I guess I did alright. I didn’t get any comments out of Brian about me being “wasted” or anything. If he thought for a moment I was he’d have been all over me like stink on....nevermind. LOL!

Our final thoughts on the steaks at the Yachtsman: The second time around they were an improvement. Would any of us classify what we ate as “signature” worthy? No. They really weren’t all that superior to any other steak we’d had at WDW. I guess maybe we’re a tough audience. Tracey & I live in Texas. Beef comes with the territory and steaks to slap your grandmother for are fairly common. A big red flag, and no-no, is the fact that the Yachtsman seems to want to put something on top of their steaks. If you have to “dress” a steak, it’s either not a good cut, you don’t know how to cook it right, or both. Jerry has the opportunity to eat at Ruth’s Chris fairly regularly. I’ve never been there but according to him the steaks are amazing far beyond what the Yachtsman served but at comparable prices. Hhmmm. I think I captured my thoughts well in the moment with what I wrote in my notebook so I’ll just type that out for you word-for-word:

“Food was definitely an improvement. I still don’t feel the steaks are worth the price paid & I’d not classify what I had as superior to any other steak I’ve had @ WDW or elsewhere. The setting is nice, the ambiance is there (save the screaming kiddies), and the service is a step above your average table service restaurant. Just like everything else at WDW these days, it’s overpriced for what it is but you pay it because it’s Disney. The only way to not pay for the overpriced mediocre food is to not go. Wen choosing WDW as your vacation destination this is part of the deal. So that’s that.”

Tracey and Jerry returned to the room soon after us. They brought up a special dessert that our waiter had brought out after I left. He insisted they bring it up to me. Oooooh....these were really yummy!

I liked the plate, too.

Everyone got changed and we headed out towards Epcot to meet up with Chandler who had long since finished his meal and was off having fun on his own. Along the way we bumped back into Nick from Marrero. We all said our goodbyes and I had to get a pic to remember our new friend.

There were still a few sprinkles coming down as we walked into the International Gateway. We got Chandler on the phone to see where he was. He had juuuust got off Test Track so e headed towards him. I must’ve been a real sight to see. If any of you saw a half messed-up chick talkin’ on a cell phone waving one arm and singing “Wavin’ my arm in da aaaair....like I just don’t caaaaare...” walking past Canada on the evening of the 23rd that was just me trying to locate my kid in a sea of people. LOL!

We found Chandler and coninued on towards Test Track. We wanted to ride and have fun! We got in the standby line with a posted 30 minute wait. At about 40 minutes we were on the flip side of the briefing room when the ride was stopped for inclement weather. Great. We waited right there for another 30 minutes to no avail. Lemme just tell you how miserably looooong 30 minutes can be when other people’s kids are screeching, screaming, and horsing around in such close quarters while their parents pretend their little angels are invisible. Tracey finally looked at me and said, “I cannot do this”, and we left the line. I thought I was going to have to have him chew up some extra blood pressure tablets and chase them with another baby aspirin slushie. After our 30 minutes of hell I know I wanted to!

We were thoroughly aggravated as we walked through Mouse Gear which was about like going to World of Disney in the evening on a weekend. I was dying to get the heck out. Illuminations started as we walked into the Mexico pavillion.

sweetpee_1993 · Dec 5, 2011

We showed our room keys and hopped in line for the Grand Fiesta Tour. The CM at load asked if we spoke any Spanish. Without even thinking I said, “No. Oh wait! Yes! I know a couple sentences but they aren’t very nice.” Of course he was super-interested to hear what I knew so I had to say it. “Esto es America. Habla English.” He laughed. I’m surprised I didn’t get shoved in the water. Sometimes I just ooooooze class, huh? (((In case you don’t know, that means “This is America. Speak English.”)))

It was a fun ride. I know not everyone likes the Three Cabaleros overlay but I think it gave the ride more entertainment value and made the whole thing more of a cohesive story that has progression. Of course it was fun-with-iPhone time:

All throught the ride and after Jerry kept remembering random words and phrases of Spanish (from his vast knowledge that was imparted during 2 years of Spanish in high school). He’d just blurt out whatever came to mind with emphasis really loud and we were all just laughing like crazy at how silly he was.

When we exited Mexico Illuminations was in it’s final bursts. We navigated the crowds to get to “Nordstrom”. I think it was Jerry who screwed up and called Maelstrom “Nordstrom” so we all made a big fuss about going to “Nordstrom” and using our Golden Tickets because we were cool like that.

By the way, have you ever been bitten by a snake?

No, but I was bit by a lizard once.

Maelstrom was, well, Maelstrom.

That’s a big green monster!

It was the same big bright eyeball. Disapper! Disappear! Disappear! The whole boat did the arms up for the big forward drop into the sea of oil platforms. Oooooh! It wasn’t just us!

After the ride we looked around at the Helly Hansen gear. Love that stuff although we don’t really need it where we live. On our way out of the Puffin’s Roost which was pretty crowded there were 2 more hellian children, prob’ly 10 or 11 years old, chasing and trying to tackle each other. They were weaving through the people in very small spaces. Ugh! I had visions of me snapping them up the way I would’ve my own boys....reach out and grab a fist full of hair and/or an ear as they tried to zip past. That always stops a kid dead in their tracks for some reason. They hold still and it redirects their attention. No need to scream or make a scene. Just grab ‘em. But, alas, they weren’t mind to snap up. Dangit. Tracey muttered some expletives and we hurried on out.

We stopped in Germany for pretzels and drinks. No beer. We continued towards Japan and shopped in Mistukoshi. I love the tshirts in there but they don’t have them big enough. Japanese people are either miniature people or Americans are gargantuans. LOL! I admired the pearl jewelry. So pretty! Jerry picked up some neat wooden placemats that had great big “Made in China” stickers on them. We all laughed. Guess even the Japanese enjoy cheap Chinese labor. LOL!

We moved on towards France. Jerry and Tracey were itching for some more slushies. When we got there the stand was closed. I think I saw tears. No more baby aspirin slushies. Awwww....

We decided to head on back to the resort and hit the packing. No fun but it’s a necessary evil. Brian was pretty tearful. Poor guy.

I swear, I have no clue why we ever bother going to evening EMHs at Epcot. In all our trips we have never gone and been glad we went. We packed up as much as we could and were in bed at 12:30 a.m.

sweetpee_1993 · Dec 5, 2011

Saturday, 9/24: Goodbye WDW. See you again someday.

All the parents out there who are reading this will know exactly what I’m talkin’ about when I say ‘the throw-up alarm woke us up at 2:45 a.m.’. Thankfully, it’s been many years since the alarm was in extreme close proximity when it went off. LOL! Tracey & I shot out of bed simultaneously at the sound of Brian in the bathroom. The way the little potty room is laid out with the door swinging in we couldn’t really open the door to get in. I literally sat on the floor next to the cracked door handing a wet wash cloth in for his face and bottled water to swish. We have no idea what made him so sick all of a sudden. Between 1 & 2 a.m. I had been waking a bunch feeling very nauseated, too, but I thought it was from the heavy drainage I had going from my sinuses. Maybe we had a touch of something. Eventually we got back to bed and slept well until around 6:30 when Jerry woke up with a few expletives. He had wanted to get up and be on the road a few hours earlier. Tracey & I intended to sleep until 7:30. After Jerry left the room with all his stuff just before 7 we both found ourselves laying there unable to sleep so we just got on up.

At about 7:30-ish we called down to Bell Services and the valet. After waiting for about 20 minutes or so Tracey & Chandler grabbed a few suitcases and made their way downstairs. 10 minutes or so later they returned and said Bell Services looked totally swamped. We all grabbed bags, loaded our arms, and made the trek down. Amazingly, everything fit in the car! Yay! We sent the boys back once more for the last few items. Our Mousekeeper handed Chandler 6 or 7 more bottles of lotion since she knew how well we liked it. So sweet! Tracey & I met the boys near the lounge upstairs and we all headed towards the elevators for the last time. Tracey took a moment to thank the concierge staff for everything again. I swear, it felt like saying goodbye to family. So sad.

We were in the car pulling out at 8:40. Not bad for us.

The boys wanted to go to Downtown Disney for a bit before we hit the highway.

We even had our choice of front row parking spots! The shops didn’t open until 9:30 (I think it was) or maybe it was 10. Either way, we had time to kill and we were hungry.

After breakfast the boys wanted to hit the Lego store once more. Waiting for the stores to open:

What a ham!

sweetpee_1993 · Dec 5, 2011

At opening time the boys walked into the Lego store while Tracey and I went into World of Disney. We were the first people in there. Now THIS is the way I like shopping in the World of Disney!

We got Brian’s wallet for him. I hunted for the Harvey’s bag I had been seeing around the various shops but they were out. Dangit. I think Tracey was going to buy it for me!

We made another stop at Tren-D looking for my bag. No luck here either. I guess it’ll have to wait until Christmas. **sniffle**

I like this shirt. Brian loves Steamboat Willie.

We met back up with the boys at Once Upon a Toy. Brian got a PSP game.

Once Upon a Toy is a very cool place!

I spy with my little eye......Kermit!!!!

sweetpee_1993 · Dec 5, 2011

I *heart* the Muppets! I was so tempted to buy myself a Fozzie. He looks so cuddly and sweet...

We made a few little purchases (I think Tracey bought himself some candy or something for the road) and it was time to go. I could’ve lingered all day but at some point we had to let go. We still had a looooong trip ahead of us today. When we left DtD I looked back.

Buh-Bye, Epcot Resorts Blvd.

Well, probably not at WDW anytime soon but you never know.

We were back out on 429 headed towards the Turnpike at 10:15 a.m. EST.

Obligatory pics.

Somewhere in Louisiana, exactly where escapes me just now.

We pulled back into our driveway at 9:55 p.m. CST. It was a little over 12 hours on the road. Coming home from vacation is definitely bittersweet. Obviously it’s always more fun to not be at home doing the usual. When you have a little dog that adores you it really does take the edge off of that crash to reality. My in-laws brought our little Riley Belle home to us soon after we got home. Chandler video’d her coming in to greet us. She was so happy!

It was a heckuva adventure but it’s good to be home.

sweetpee_1993 · Dec 5, 2011

Well, that's the entirety of the trip. I've still got to finish typing up my final thoughts and wrap-up. I hope y'all enjoyed the adventure. Stay tuned for the rest. There will be a few more pictures to share, too. G'night! :wave:

Ariel484 · Dec 5, 2011

Fabulous report, Kelly!

There's no way I will remember everything, so I'll just say...

LOVE the Dream pictures!
LOVE the DCL Dooneys! *drools*
and LOVE your sparkly pink manicure!

Thanks for posting! I already have plans to re-read it this week. :sohappy:

blackthidot · Dec 5, 2011

sweetpee_1993 said:

So glad you guys took my advice and did some o kissing during your drive while your kid drove.

sweetpee_1993 · Dec 5, 2011

blackthidot said:
So glad you guys took my advice and did some o kissing during your drive while your kid drove.

Best advice ever! It's like an added payoff for the last 15 years of work. What would we do without your brilliance, John???

:lol:

blackthidot · Dec 5, 2011

sweetpee_1993 said:
Best advice ever! It's like an added payoff for the last 15 years of work. What would we do without your brilliance, John???

:lol:

I don't know. I am just glad I could add some spice to the car ride!

sweetpee_1993 · Dec 5, 2011

Ariel484 said:
Fabulous report, Kelly!

There's no way I will remember everything, so I'll just say...

LOVE the Dream pictures!
LOVE the DCL Dooneys! *drools*
and LOVE your sparkly pink manicure!

Thanks for posting! I already have plans to re-read it this week. :sohappy:

Thank you!

I didn't take nearly as many Dream pics as I wanted to. I was so overwhelmed and enthralled with everything. I thought I was doing good just keeping my notes going. Lol!

**siiiigh** I know, the Disney Dooneys melt my heart. I think I might need the new comic print one. Tracey wants me to call Merchandising to get one he can put under the Christmas tree but I've opted for the Harvey's Disney Couture large bag. I gotta say, those seatbelt bags are amazing! They are extremely well constructed and sturdy. I'm very impressed especially for the price. They're made in the USA, too!

I loved my sparkly nails, too! I haven't had them done or even been for a pedi since vacation. I'm totally going in for a full sparkly set and tootsies for the holidays. I refuse to go to the mountains without them. I've been mulling what color to do for Christmas. Last year I did green & red alternating. Do I want to do that again or do a miriad of sparkly pastels in candy-colors alternating (like pink, lime green, light aqua, and orange sherbet)?

sweetpee_1993 · Dec 5, 2011

blackthidot said:
I don't know. I am just glad I could add some spice to the car ride!

Well thank you! We're giving serious consideration to your advice to get an RV before Brian gets licensed. I think forcing the boys to stay in the cab & do all the driving while we entertain ourselves for 12 hours at a whack would be sooooo worth it! :animwink:

NewfieFan · Dec 5, 2011

Ok, wow that was an intense TR! And thanks to you I got no laundry done during the reading of this TR (but I was reminded about my laundry quite often during the reading)! :animwink: :lol:

You're killing me with the crane pics - I hate the thing too! And I totally agree it messes with the Magic Kingdom. At first I thought it wasn't too bad but after seeing it on about three trips it starts to get on your nerves. And why people defend it around here is beyond me. People will complain about effects not working on Splash but not a crane (if you ask me the crane is way worse than an AA not working on Splash).

Loved your TR, though and all the writing that went along with it. I see the YC is slowly working it's magic on you... isn't that place lovely!?!

I can't believe you're going to DL next year! Will this be your first time? One of these days I'll make it to the other coast (for us it is a huge cost difference). Oh well, hopefully I'll be hangin' with you in 2013! :sohappy:

Adventure #9: Firsts, a Dream, an Anniversary, & Three Destinations...

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