it's over already?? 10/13-10/20 with plenty of pictures

My turn for a trip report!
Oh boy, where to start.
This is my first attempt writing a trip report, so stay with me, it might get a little long.
But I’ve got plenty of pictures!!

Ok, so this report is starring:
Myself (24)
Husband (26)
Mom, Dad, and Aunt
7 younger brothers and sisters (4 girls, 3 boys ages 3-16)

12 in total, on two sites at Fort Wilderness.

This was our third October trip in recent years (since 2003); I had also been in late November 2004, and the rest of the family last December (I missed that one for work). So we enjoy going around the holidays, and had been to mnsshp before.

A few general observations:
-crowds were very manageable, but definitely getting busier every year.
-2 years ago, I had noticed that CM’s were getting less magical and a little rude. This trip, we had very few negative encounters, and many magical ones. Service at the restaurants was mostly very good, and everyone was generally very pleasant.
-weather: the entire week before, the forecast had called for thunderstorms throughout our entire trip. We only saw rain twice:
for maybe an hour early afternoon before our mnsshp, and early in the morning on our last day. Other than that, it was beautiful. Hot and humid, but sunny and beautiful.

A week or two before the trip, I mentioned to my mom that we had always been very lucky in having very good weather each trip, and that nobody has been sick at wdw. Wouldn’t you know, the day we are to leave, I went to my family’s house to get ready to leave. My husband and dad were at work, and 4 of the kids were at school. The first call came early in the morning, the one in 7th grade had gotten sick on the bus. A few hours later, the 1st grader was sick and sent home. The last call came at the very end of the day; my 3rd grade sister had gotten sick just as school was let out and was not allowed to take the bus home, so we had to go pick her up.
My mom was about to strangle me, lol. She said it was my fault for having said that only a few weeks before. But it seemed to be a very quick bug; they got it out of their systems and were a little woozy and weak, but ok to go. Everyone piled into the motor home, and we began the 19 hour drive from northwest Indiana.

Alright, I’ll start the actual report next.
I’ve got 2,766 pictures to sort through, and I’m hoping they help me remember everything!!
This was my first trip with this new camera, and I was generally impressed with how well it worked.
I didn’t think I would be able to get anything as far as nighttime and fireworks, but it did ok (not great, but I have a few decent shots)

We also took our friend Kermit down, and took pictures of him all over the world. He snuck into a few group shots as well.
Maybe at the end I'll show off some of his solo pictures.

I tried to pick a font and size somewhat easy on the eyes, so let me know if it's not. :wave:

 

[sissa216]

Too funny my family is from the Hammond area (I was born at St. Margarets!). Aunt lives on Cedar Lake right now.

No way! Small world.
We're still in the area, and still have family living in Hammond.
And I've got 4 family members that work at St. Margarets.
Crazy! :wave:

 

[sissa216]

End of day 6:
Here are the pictures from Hallowishes:

Then the family waited for a seat for the parade, while we went back to Tomorrowland one more time. We rode the TTA two times through, and Buzz.
I liked the way our ride picture came out, but didn’t buy it:

Then a picture of the Spiderweb on the TL bridge

We met back up with the family to watch the parade, but unfortunately, I didn’t take a single decent picture this time. Oh well. I still really enjoyed it. My mom even has “Boo to You” as the ringtone for when I call here, lol.

Soon the party was over, and we made our way back. We left just before the party was over, so we beat the rush to the boat, and got back in decent time.

That’s it for this day; I’ll leave you with a picture of us unloading the boat back at Fort Wilderness:

Up tomorrow, Day 7 (our last full day at the parks)
Edit: Actually, I'll get to it Monday. Sorry to disappoint, lol

 

[WickedQueen22]

I adore the girls in their poodle skirts and cat glasses!!!

 

[sissa216]

Day 7-MGM/Epcot

Ok, back to the report.

Today would be our last full day in the parks. We made our way back to MGM to leisurely finish up what we had not done on Sunday.
All of the girls still had their makeup from mnsshp the night before; we were very careful when showering etc, to hopefully have it last one full day.

The first thing we hit was Indiana Jones. We sat in the very first row; I hadn’t been here in a few years, and had never had very good seats before.
Then it was off to lights, motors, action, which I love (and have only seen twice now).
I wasn’t a big fan of our ‘host’, it was a little annoying how she kept stumbling over what she said and laughing. Maybe I just didn’t get it.

Then it was off to the Narnia exhibit (which one of my brothers had been looking forward to all week) and One Man’s Dream.

My sister with creepy walt

We hopped on the backlot tour (and watched some very funny, very enthusiastic volunteers). For some reason, my little sister and brother were terrified of catastrophe canyon.

Then it was over to Sci Fi for our early dinner ADR’s. While we were waiting, we looked for Mike and Sully for a picture. They weren’t out, but here’s a picture of two other little monsters:
That’s Mike, with one “I”

We were seated pretty quickly, in two cars at the very front on the left. It was our first time back here in four years, and it was pretty good. I know I had spinach and artichoke dip for an appetizer, but don’t remember anything else.

I think after this, the family went to catch the playhouse disney show. DH and I went to do a little shopping; I had been looking for a watch all week, and was ready to finally get the one I liked. It was hard to bring myself to spend that much money on a watch, but I had gone on vacation wanting only this one main souvenir and some magnets, so I got it!
I normally don’t like the mixing of colors in jewelry like this, but I really liked the Mickey heads stick out, yet are still kind of subtle.

We met back up with the family, and my dad headed back to the campground around 7 to start getting things packed up for the next day. The rest of us stayed; my mom, aunt, and the littlest ones went to do some more shopping while the 5 oldest went to ride ToT one more time.

There was absolutely nobody around (everyone was at Fantasmic). The CM’s all throughout were fabulous; very friendly, but very in character. They went out of their way to have fun. (in fact, when we got off the ride, I ran into a manager and complimented them all. He asked if I remembered specific names, but I was having too much fun that I didn’t catch any. I told him which positions, though, and hopefully the compliments got back to them.)

When we got to load, the CM was dealing with a rude guest, and handled it great. He apologized to us for having to wait (and kind of rolled his eyes at the other guy), so I asked since it was dead, could we have our own car?? He said absolutely; he went to talk to the guy working the other elevator, who called us over and told us to sit anywhere we wanted. (the few guests coming in were sent to another car). We decided to sit in the front row to try to get a fun picture. The CM even offered to take a few pictures of us before we took off. They came out great, but we ended up buying the picture anyhow:

The two of us are holding our little sister’s hands, and apparently the guys were holding on for dear life as well. Haha. So much for a “fun picture”, but it was still very cool, and a great way to end our last night….
Or was it??

More to come

 

[sissa216]

We called my mom, who was still shopping, so we hung out on Sunset Boulevard and watched people. I’d heard that the Tower queue and other areas were sometimes used for events or dances, but had never seen it. As we waited, a group was being escorted in and down to that general area, and said they were having their homecoming dance there. How spectacular would that be??

So we met back up with my mom and the group, and decided that the five of us would go on to Epcot’s EMH for a little while (DH and I had been planning to go alone, but talked my mom into letting the other three come with). If we hurried, we would catch Illuminations.

So off we went, and just barely miss the Epcot bus. Just our luck. Twenty minutes later, we were on our way. We stopped to get the last of our EMH wristbands, bringing the final count to 4. A friend of my sister was also in the park, and they were planning to meet up, so we stopped in Canada to watch the show so they could easily find each other afterwards (she was eating with her family somewhere in FW).

I know I said it before, but I love Illuminations, and I was very happy to catch it a second time. After the show, we headed back to Mousegear to wait for her friend….around 9:40 or so, they decided not to meet up after all, so we headed to World Showcase, starting with Mexico.

Nothing too exciting to report; we just wandered around, and had fun. Didn’t really stop anywhere except for Gran Fiesta and Maelstrom, and a few pictures:

And one of my favorite pictures from the trip:

Soon it was late, and we started to make our way back to Fort Wilderness (of course we missed the bus again, and waited far too long for the next one)

So, very sadly, that was the end of our last night; none of us really took it very well, but we still had one day left (which I will present tomorrow)
Edit: nope, I lied, it'll be up tomorrow (thursday) lol
Happy Halloween!

 

[momofnine]

And you try to tell me it's not YOUR fault that the kids are all hams??????

 

[sissa216]

And you try to tell me it's not YOUR fault that the kids are all hams??????

Hey, all I do is take the pictures

 

[cattprez]

what kind of camera do u use. ur pics are fab!!!

 

[sissa216]

what kind of camera do u use. ur pics are fab!!!

Thanks!
I've got a panasonic lumix tz1.

 

[nibblesandbits]

[I think after this, the family went to catch the playhouse disney show. DH and I went to do a little shopping; I had been looking for a watch all week, and was ready to finally get the one I liked. It was hard to bring myself to spend that much money on a watch, but I had gone on vacation wanting only this one main souvenir and some magnets, so I got it!
I normally don’t like the mixing of colors in jewelry like this, but I really liked the Mickey heads stick out, yet are still kind of subtle.

I bought that watch too!!! I agree, it was a lot of money to spend on a watch, but I, like you, only wanted one souvineer, and I"d wear the watch everyday. I liked that one b/c it was subtle too.

 

[sissa216]

I bought that watch too!!! I agree, it was a lot of money to spend on a watch, but I, like you, only wanted one souvineer, and I"d wear the watch everyday. I liked that one b/c it was subtle too.

that's too funny!! :wave:

It really is a great watch, and I'm glad I went for it.
It's nice to have something you can have with you at all times as a reminder of the trip.
And I'm not one for big, flashy, cheesy clothes or jewelry that scream "Disney".

 

[nibblesandbits]

that's too funny!! :wave:

It really is a great watch, and I'm glad I went for it.
It's nice to have something you can have with you at all times as a reminder of the trip.
And I'm not one for big, flashy, cheesy clothes or jewelry that scream "Disney".

I'm not either. I much rather have something subtle that while it has Mickey Mouse on it, only I know it's got the mouse.

And I wear my watch everyday, so it will get it's money worth out of it.

 

[sissa216]

And I wear my watch everyday, so it will get it's money worth out of it.

yep, me too!

 

[sissa216]

Our last day

Saturday was our last day…..and it always seems to rain on our last day. We woke up very early to get everything packed up and make it to the Grand Floridian by 7:30.
My parents are big fans of Thomas Kinkade, and my mom had surprised my dad by buying them tickets to the breakfast this morning, when he unveiled his new WDW painting.
Somehow she had kept it a secret for a month!

So we parked at the GF, and the kids rested some more and watched a movie while my parents were at the breakfast. It was raining anyhow, so we waited it out.

At about 9:30, the rain seemed to die down, so we got up and headed to the MK for one final time (minus the parents).

We first headed to the firehouse to buy some things for my brother (who I mentioned had to stay home for a new job on the fire department). I was afraid he already had everything, but they had plenty of new merchandise this year. While we were shopping, my parents called and said they were on their way over.
The CM was nice and had the littlest kids come over and ring a bell, and gave them all something for a magical moment (I think they got something more than a certificate, but I don’t remember)

We tried on a few hats in the Emporium, took a few pictures, and made our way to Fantasyland.

I don’t remember specifically, but I know we at least hit Winnie the Pooh, Philharmagic, and Dumbo (I stayed off to take pictures).

continued

 

[sissa216]

~And I just noticed that I loaded the pictures from this day (including those in the last post) a larger size on photobucket. Oh well; I don't think they should be too big~


We had I think 4 snack credits per person to use up, and two meals; so while everyone else was on Dumbo, I went over to see if the pretzels and drinks at Scuttle’s Landing took the Dining Plan. They do!! So we made a quick stop to use up 2 of the 4, with some delicious cream cheese pretzels and frozen cherry drinks.

Next up was iasw. DH had never done it (was down for refurb on our honeymoon), so we definitely had to make it now. You can see his enthusiasm

His opinion after the ride? “Maelstrom makes more sense than this”. Lol. I actually like small world very much, so he’s gonna have to put up with it.
And my dad fell asleep on the ride, as he always does, lol. We got a few pictures, but I won’t post them here.

The next thing I remember (and have pictures of) is getting our hair wraps done in Adventureland, near Pirates (we may have stopped for another ride or two on the way).

Here is my sister getting hers done

And the girls just a few days ago, since I didn’t get a good picture down there

And mine

I was last to go, so while everyone else was getting theirs done, my dad took the boys to Jungle Cruise. I was afraid that would take too long, but DH and I saw there was a short wait for Pirates, so we hopped on that. Turns out that my dad and the boys not only made it back in time from JC, but also rode Pirates, and it still wasn’t my turn yet. I was really upset at having missed Jungle Cruise, so it’s at the top of the list for next year.

Anyhow, a shot from Pirate’s unload (this was my fun thing to do, trying to get “ghost shots”)

We also caught Peter Pan and Wendy around the corner

More next!!

 

[sissa216]

We headed to Casey’s to use up one of our meals

While we ate, we were able to see some of the parade, which I have not seen (in person, anyway).
As soon as it was over, the piano player started up behind us, so we watched him for a while.

And sadly, it was time to say goodbye.
As we were walking away from Casey’s, my sister called me and pointed behind her.

I’ve got an old friend that was a CP with me, and now works full time down there. He had just recently transferred to another department and was training all week; he’d given me his schedule the week before, but unfortunately we never caught up with each other. Wouldn’t you know, as we were leaving, there he was! He had worked earlier in the day and was hanging out in the parks, waiting for a friend. My sister recognized him from my wedding. We took a picture, but it came out blurry (of course). Oh well; about 6 of us are hopefully planning a 5 year reunion next year, so plenty of pictures then!

So we slowly walked down Main Street one last time, and headed back to the Grand Floridian to pick up the motor home and head to Downtown Disney for the night.
A few pictures of the way out:

This only hurts on the last day:

We’ll be back!!

Next:
Downtown Disney

 

[wvugeoggrad]

Great pics and TR. Don't ya just LOVE Casey's Corner!!?? That is always one of my must do's when I'm in the MK; the mini corn dogs are awesome!!!!:slurp:

 

[sissa216]

There wasn’t much I needed at Downtown Disney, but my mom had a lot of shopping to do. We sort of separated; she stayed in World of Disney while DH took a few of the kids and hit some other stores. We found some Christmas presents, which I of course can’t list here, haha.

I guess I had it in my head that I was done shopping for myself, but I found some things at the Christmas store that I fell in love with, but for whatever reason didn’t get them. I didn’t really even consider it, but now I wish I had. (mostly this chip and dip plate, along with a set of four plates, and a few other little things) Apparently I liked it enough to take a picture of it though!!

I love Christmas as much as I love WDW.

And I really wish I had gotten a shirt of some sort. I didn't see anything I couldn't live without, but now looking back, I've never had a vacation where I didn't get a shirt, sweatshirt, jacket, or something.
Oh well.
And we found this scary looking jack sparrow bobblehead

And DH made his way down to McDonald’s to get the one souvenir he wanted; he didn’t find anything Disney he really liked, so he got a set of souvenir coffee mugs from McD’s. What a nerd. It’s a set of 5 on display in there, showing all of the different designs of coffee cups they’ve had at various times. I don’t have a picture though.

After some more general picture taking, it was getting dark and late, and everyone else was almost finished shopping

Everyone packed in the motor home, while a few of us went to go pick up our last meal from Earl of Sandwich. We got in line…behind 47 other people!!! I couldn’t believe it. I actually counted. But what do you expect, at 8 on a Saturday night? We really didn’t wait too long though. We got our sandwiches, drinks, and chips, and used our final snack for cookies. It was time for a final goodbye.

 

[sissa216]

So that’s it!
Well, except for the 20 hour drive home.

Overall it was a good trip; I don’t think I have much else to say that I haven’t already.
We really lucked out on the weather; we saw about an hour or less of rain on Thursday afternoon, and about an hour on Saturday morning. Not bad at all. It was a little hot though, but I’ll take it.
Crowds were not bad either.

I’m still trying to talk my mom into going again with everybody next year :wave::lookaroun:lol:
But my parents are taking a solo trip next December for their 30th at the Grand Floridian.
And we are hoping to go back mid November or September (we’ll see what weeks he can take very soon)…

I’ve never ‘vacationed’ there in September (only worked it), but I would really love to see Christmas again. Seeing as they seem to put up the decorations and start the parties earlier and earlier, I’m hoping to be able to make it mid November, which would also be for our anniversary. My brother and his girlfriend may be able to find a few free days then too.

So all in all, we ended up with our four EMH bands

I took mine off as soon as we came back, but apparently my mom and some of the kids are still having a contest to see who will keep them on longest. :lol:

Thanks for reading!

I still have my pictures of Kermit throughout the parks; I will probably post those within the next few days

 

[sissa216]

Great pics and TR. Don't ya just LOVE Casey's Corner!!?? That is always one of my must do's when I'm in the MK; the mini corn dogs are awesome!!!!:slurp:

thanks!
Yeah, we love it. I think that's why they save it for last :slurp: