Trip Report The Audrey’s 3rd Birthday Trip Trip Report…!!!!!

Who: myself (Steve), my DWifey of 35+ years (Carolyn), oldest DD (Megan, turned 33 today), DS (Matthew, 31), youngest DD (Sarah, 29), SonIL (Daniel, oldest DDs husband, 34), oldest granddaughter (Emory, “Emmy”, 5) and youngest granddaughter (Audrey, turned 3 during the trip) for who the TR title is obviously dedicated to…!!! 😉:)

When: June 26th to July 2nd, 2024.

Where: Old Key West Resort. First time ever staying there…!!! :)

Some initial fave PP pics below…!!!!! :inlove::happy:

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More to come, soon…!!! :)
 
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Minnie1986

Minnie1986

Well-Known Member
donaldtoo said:
Life update…
My terminally ill MIL passed on Friday morning. Things were getting pretty rough for her towards the end, thus no input in this TR.
She passed peacefully in her bed, in her room in our home. She had been living with us for the past 2+ years.
Always not wanting to be the “burden” that she thought she was (we never considered her such, and told her so many times), she wanted to be cremated and have her ashes buried near her parents in her Texas hometown.
From what I’ve been told, the memorial service and burial will be held about a month from now.
We, of course, knew it was coming, but you are never completely prepared, and we’re still a bit numb.

I plan on having some happier entries in this thread again soon, as my MIL, ever the trooper, would not have wanted us all moping around on her account.
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So incredibly sorry for your loss.
 
Minnie1986

Minnie1986

Well-Known Member
donaldtoo said:
Friday, June 28th, and Audrey’s 3rd birthday celebration at MK continued…!!! :)

We had a bit of a PPP photoshoot near the end of Main Street, of course…!!! :)

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We had all eaten, at least some, breakfast before we headed to the bus stop, but thought we’d head to Sleepy Hollow Refreshments first thing, in case anyone still had a hankering for something.
We were at the bridge to Liberty Square at about 7:27a, and were waiting for rope drop, along with many other Guests.
Emmy and Audrey were doing some more posing for pics for Megan, and I could only get as close to the end of the bridge, because of other Guests, to take what would normally be that classic castle pic we all take, to get the shot below that one.
But, I think it actually turned out kinda’ cool, with the sunrise coming through the tree obscuring the top of the castle, and the top of the castle being reflected in the moat/water…and, that’s about as “artsy” as I get…!!!!! :hilarious:

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After a few minutes of that, us adults finally remembered… D’oh…!!!!! :facepalm:
Only Fantasyland and Tomorrowland rope dropped at 7:30a for resort Guest EE.
So, we headed over to that path just in time. Initially, there was talk of hitting up Mad Tea Party, but Emmy and Audrey had their hearts set on another attraction in Tomorrowland…!!! ;)

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Up next: Friday, June 28th, and Audrey’s 3rd birthday celebration at MK continued…!!! :)
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Awesome castle pic!
 
Minnie1986

Minnie1986

Well-Known Member
donaldtoo said:
Friday, June 28th, and Audrey’s 3rd birthday celebration at MK continued…!!! :)

A few more pics from The Little Mermaid queue…

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Then, we boarded our clamshells, and we’re on our way…!!! :)

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Somehow, I managed to get some decent moving dark ride shots from this attraction, although I was still having issues dialing my iPhone camera in just right...or, as right as an iPhone camera can be dialed in, anyway…!!! ;):)

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Up next: Friday, June 28th, and Audrey’s 3rd birthday celebration at MK continued…!!! :)
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You take really beautiful photos!
 
Minnie1986

Minnie1986

Well-Known Member
donaldtoo said:
Friday, June 28th, and Audrey’s 3rd birthday celebration at MK continued, and completed…!!! :)

There won’t be a lot of pics for this post, but a coupla’ gifs will be thrown in to pad it…!!!!! :cautious::cool::hilarious:;)

We left MSUSA Station with no rain, thunder or lightning happening…….yet.
We arrived at the Frontierland Station with no serious weather yet either, but it was closing in.
As we were getting off the train, Megan texted that they had started moving again, so we headed to where we could view the drop.
The carppy pic below is mine of them finally coming down Broccoli Hill…!!! ;)

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The PP ride pic below is much better…oh, the drama…!!!!! :hilarious:

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I still say they shoulda’ made the logs look like frogs…..to enhance the theming, of course…!!! 😁

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As Daniel, Audrey and myself were waiting, Megan texted again that they were at yet another dead stop.
20 minutes later, they finally emerged…about 2 minutes before the sky let loose.
We all headed for cover under the Frontierland railroad station, as it was one of the these… :bored:;)

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We were under there for a solid half hour, when the rest of my crew decided to head towards Monsters, Inc. LF (no, I’m not gonna’ give some of y’all the satisfaction :jawdrop::p:hilarious:;)), even though it was still pouring.
I chose to hang out under the railroad station. And for a solid half hour more it continued to…

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While under the railroad station, I got a text from Megan that the rain was so hard that they had to stop under the HoP cover. Then, they decided to go inside to see the next show.
After that half hour the rain had slowed some, so I headed out, and eventually stopped under the CBJ porch.

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Megan texted that they, including Emmy and Audrey, enjoyed HoP…!!! :)
She also texted me to meet them in Adventureland, and we would figure out our next move from there. Also, the rain had slowed to that typical Central Florida post-main-storm just-enough-to-be-annoying drizzle that it, almost unfailingly, does.
After we all grouped back up and discussed it, our next move turned out to be calling it a good day, and heading out. It was almost 8p, we’d all been up for well more than 14 hours, and even though Emmy and Audrey were the amazing lil’ troopers that they always are, it was time.
Daniel and I never got to ride TBA, but we weren’t gonna’ lose any sleep over it.
Overall, it was a great day, and Audrey had an AWESOME 3rd birthday…!!!!!!! :joyfull::inlove::happy:

Anyway, a shot of Space Mountain from the bus stop, and the ironic wrap of our chariot back to our resort…!!!!! :hilarious:

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Up next: Saturday, June 29th, and our EPCOT Center ;) day…!!! :)
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Nothing like spending your birthday at Magic Kingdom. Glad Audrey had a great one!
 
fractal

fractal

Well-Known Member
donaldtoo said:
Friday, June 28th, and Audrey’s 3rd birthday celebration at MK continued…!!! :)

After Mermaid, we then headed to Tomorrowland for some CoP…!!! :)

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When we entered, everyone from our group immediately went into the back row…except me.
I headed for the front-ish row, as I was thinking I could get some better pics of the attraction from up there.
By the time I realized this was actually a mistake, it was too late, and I was stuck where I was. :facepalm:
Since I was up front, I had to keep my phone on the DL for pics, so as not to disturb the folks behind me, which then put the stage and other obstacles into play.

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Anyway, a few DL shots from CoP…! ;)

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Up next: Friday, June 28th, and Audrey’s 3rd birthday celebration at MK continued…!!! :)
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good shots!
 
donaldtoo

donaldtoo

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
One more life update regarding my beautiful MIL…
The memorial service for my MIL yesterday was beyond perfect and beautiful, thanks to my amazing wife Carolyn, and our two amazing daughters Megan and Sarah. I had nothing to do with anything other than what small things they asked me to help with.
I learned, long ago, stay out of such things, unless you’re asked…!!!!! :hilarious:;)
She was so very much loved, and many visited her in her last months.
There were many tears, of course, but also so much joy and laughter as we reminisced about her sense of humor, love of baking and cooking, the little “Don’t BS me” smile she had regarding certain things, her selflessness, and so many other heartwarming memories of her life and times with all of us.
It has been difficult losing her, but we know she is at peace in a better place, and that is of great comfort to us all.

Again, thank you all so very much for your kind words, thoughts, and prayers. It means more than I could ever express, properly, here.

And, I’ll reply to posts and continue with TR fun soon…!!! :)

Oh, and ETA…
Her name is Shirley, and her mother named her for Shirley Temple. She was born on November 4th, 1935.
So yes, any time I’ve seen “Shirley status” in a TR I smile lovingly, and always will…!!!!! :happy:
 
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donaldtoo

donaldtoo

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Minnie1986 said:
I had to go on a business trip to Texas (Houston area) a few summers ago, and as soon as I saw that the temp would be 112 with a real feel in 130s, I cried and legitimately had to psych myself up to go outside🥵.
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Yea, Florida can be hot and humid as heck too, of course, but I think we still take the cake on crazy-stupid hot and humid…!!!!! :hilarious:
Back in the day, we lived in San Jose, CA (‘68-‘76) and used to drive in our camper from there to Texas and back every summer to visit friends and family.
I remember being at a roadside park south of Tucson, AZ during one trip back to CA from TX and it was 118 degrees.
But, as they say, and it is true, it was a dry heat with no humidity, and didn’t feel nearly as hot as Texas that we left 2 days earlier.
And during those trips, we spent several days with both sets of grandparents on their Texas farms with no A/C and only screened windows and portable fans for any sort of cooling.
But, even so, those are some of the best memories of my life…fishing, hunting, swimming in the stock tanks, etc…!!!!! :happy:
 
donaldtoo

donaldtoo

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Minnie1986 said:
You take really beautiful photos!
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Thank you so much…!!! :)
All I have is an iPhone 12 Pro Max, but I have only really recently started to learn to use it at its best.
My photos don’t even come remotely close to those of @fractal , and some of mine are truly bad, especially in the photo threads, but I love to play anyway, and hope I’m not too much of a lame pain…!!!!! :hilarious:
Again, thank you…!!! :)
 
donaldtoo

donaldtoo

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Minnie1986 said:
Nothing like spending your birthday at Magic Kingdom. Glad Audrey had a great one!
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Indeed, and thank you very much…!!! :)
We were there at MK for Emmy’s 5th birthday last October, so we just felt the “need” ;) to celebrate Audrey’s 3rd birthday in MK as well.
Our two granddaughters are beyond amazing…….

Sorry, but I have to share…
Emmy gets what’s happened to her Mimi to a point, but Audrey, obviously doesn’t quite understand. She keeps doing drawings for her Mimi, and says “When is Mimi going to quit dying so I can give these to her…?!”

Sorry, I’m just a mess right now.
My sincerest apologies for doing this to your nice post.
 

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