Trip Report The Emmy and Matt’s Birthdays and Audrey’s First Trip Trip Report…!!!!!

Who: myself (Steve), my wife of almost 35 years (Carolyn), our 3 grown children (Megan, Matthew -Matt turned 31 during our trip- and Sarah), our son-in-law (Daniel), and our 2 granddaughters (Emory, “Emmy”, turned 5 during the trip, and Audrey turned 2 in June)…!!!

When: Oct. 3rd to Oct. 8th, 2023.

Where: AKL, and our first deluxe resort stay. My dear DWifey found some crazy deal online and we stayed for about 65% off regular room rates…all the beautiful women in my life do this, they find deals…!!!!!

Anyway, this is us…!!!!!

 

[donaldtoo]

Wednesday, October 4th, and Emmy’s 5 birthday, continued…

After the silhouettes of Emmy and Audrey on East Center Street/Market Street, we headed to the PeopleMover…!!!
And, the lights were on in SM…!!!!!

 

[donaldtoo]

Wednesday, October 4th, and Emmy’s 5th birthday, continued…

After the PeopleMover, we headed over to the Speedway. I barely got my big ol’ beeeeehind in and outta’ Barnstormer, so there was no way I was gonna’ attempt a Speedway go-cart…!!!!!

After Speedway, we headed to CoP, which is a family favorite, and Emmy and Audrey enjoyed it, and did not nap…!!!!!
I love the Hidden Mickey nutcracker on the fireplace mantel in the last scene…!!!!!

 

[donaldtoo]

Wednesday, October 4th, and Emmy’s 5th birthday, continued…
After that, it was time for some Jungle Cruisin’…!!!!!!!

Maybe some of y’all remember the pic below, from our 2019 “Worldwind” trip with Emmy on Oct. 29th of 2019, shortly after her first birthday, where we flew in that morning, and out that night…!!!

And, of course, this was Audrey’s first Jungle Cruise…!!!

 

[cgersic]

Now that my son has moved to Orlando I've learned there is a cult like following for Gideon's! He told me they obviously like the cookies and such but apparently the merch including clothing and paper/art work, is a huge deal and there are online forums where people trade, etc.

Oooooh, paper!!!! Has he gotten you anything good?

 

[cgersic]

Just loving this report so far - especially the throwback pics thrown in! I thought of you when I was in Austin this past week - had a BLAST!!

 

[donaldtoo]

Just loving this report so far - especially the throwback pics thrown in! I thought of you when I was in Austin this past week - had a BLAST!!

Thank you so much…!!!

Yep, Austin can definitely be a fun city. Were you here for ACL, F1, or just for fun…?!

 

[donaldtoo]

Wednesday, October 4th, and Emmy’s 5th birthday, continued…

After our fabulous Jungle Cruise, we headed for BTMR…!!!

Carolyn was gonna’ hang with Audrey, and take her to Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe, while the rest of us rode. I wanted to get some pics of Emmy’s first BTMR ride…!!!!!
At that point, I also needed to talk to a man about a horse , so I headed off.
By the time I got back, the rest of the crew was too deep into the queue for me to catch up…!!!!!
Oh well, win some, lose some…
Unless you’re the ‘72 Miami Dolphins…!!!!!

On my way back to meet Carolyn and Audrey in Liberty Square, I ran into a bit of a hoedown, featuring Big Al, in Frontierland…!!!

After that, I headed to meet Carolyn and Audrey at the sleigh outside the Christmas Shoppe for a mini photo shoot…!!!

Then, it was time to head to Sunshine Tree Terrace for Dole Whips in a downpour…right as we got our order, the sky opened up…!!!!!
Fortunately, we found cover, and the downpour only lasted about 7 or 8 minutes, and that was the last of any rain we saw the rest of the trip…!!!

I keep forgetting the “Up next…” part…!!!!!

Up next…
I finally get to ride BTMR…!!!

 

[donaldtoo]

Wednesday, October 4th, and Emmy’s 5th birthday, continued…

We boarded BTMR right at 7p, so Emmy’s MK 5th birthday celebration was beginning to wind down.
It was another fun ride, and Emmy really loves it…!!!!!

Up next…
MK Fireworks…!!!

 

[donaldtoo]

Wednesday, October 4th, and Emmy’s 5th birthday, continued…

HEA…
What can I say, the perfect end to a perfect day…!!!!!!!

A short video at the bottom…

Up next…
A late night snack…!!!!!

 

[donaldtoo]

Wednesday, October 4th, and Emmy’s 5th birthday, continued…

As you can see from the pics in my previous post, we were at the top of Town Square, and headed straight out for the busses directly after HEA…!!!

Emmy and Audrey went from rope drop to after HEA, without a single issue…it must run in our blood…!!!!!

Anyway, after that, we needed some sustenance, and I needed an Angry Orchard, from The Mara…!!!!!
The pics below were taken at 9:45p…!!!!!

Up next…
Middle of the night Jambo House fun…!!!

 

[donaldtoo]

Thursday, October 5th…no birthdays, and no Park day…!!!!!

As fun as this day turned out to be, it sure started out whacky…!!!!!
At almost exactly 2:30a, the fire alarms went off in all of Jambo House…!!!!!
Sleeping so beautifully soundly, after such a wonderful day, and then being awakened that abruptly, will always lead to fog brain…we just started grabbing some clothes, as we needed, grabbing anything we thought was important, and there was no smoke, or flames visible from our hallway.

But, if y’all might remember, we were in room #5555, so we had to walk down 4 flights of stairs, then down a long hallway, and outside into a holding pen…….yes, a holding pen. I have no pics of the actual events, but, I’ll add a pic of the pen at the end of this post…!!!!!

We waited there (in the pen) for about a half hour, before they gave the all clear, and we had to walk back up 4 flights of stairs, because the elevators were still disabled…!!!!!
Turns out, it was a short in one of the kitchens that amounted to nothing, fortunately.

While we were hangin’ out down there in the pen, I looked up at the rooms, and couldn’t believe how many Guests curtains were still wide open, with their room TVs still on…I guess these folks weren’t gonna’ be rope droppers a little later in the morning…!!!!!

Anyway, a shot of our holding pen, from our 5th floor savanna view balcony…!!!!!

Up next…
Megan snags a last minute Character Breakfast ADR, pool time with Emmy and Audrey, and Carolyn, Matthew and I have a meetup with some internet pals…no, not from this site…!!!

 

[Tuvalu]

Deluxe rooms with the curtains open and TVs on are typically vacant. Those rooms have been cleaned and prepped for new arrivals - the TV displays the welcome message and the open drapes display the view.

Few people leave curtains wide open after dark when it’s easy for others to see into their room.

 

[cgersic]

Thank you so much…!!!

Yep, Austin can definitely be a fun city. Were you here for ACL, F1, or just for fun…?!

Right between the 2 for the Peter Gabriel concert at Moody Center. Just amazing! Then a couple more nights listening to local bands. Fun for sure!

 

[donaldtoo]

Right between the 2 for the Peter Gabriel concert at Moody Center. Just amazing! Then a couple more nights listening to local bands. Fun for sure!

Sounds like a fun time...!!!
We haven't been out on the town in quite some time, even well before Covid.
We quit goin' to 6th street years ago, because it was becomin' a bit too dicey for us.
I forgot Peter Gabriel was comin' to town, and we have yet to attend a concert/event at the Moody Center.
We must be gettin' old, as we used to be all over Austin and the Austin area, back in the day...!!!!!

 

[donaldtoo]

Deluxe rooms with the curtains open and TVs on are typically vacant. Those rooms have been cleaned and prepped for new arrivals - the TV displays the welcome message and the open drapes display the view.

Few people leave curtains wide open after dark when it’s easy for others to see into their room.

Oh my, then there musta' been a lotta' vacancies...!!!
But, I also remember seein' action on some of those TV screens, too...!

 

[donaldtoo]

Thursday, October 5th, continued…

Fortunately, the last minute Character Breakfast ADR Megan snagged was for 11a at ‘Ohana, so we were able to sleep in a bit, after the fire alarm fun earlier in the morning…!!!!!

We caught a bus from AKL to MK, and then Emmy and Audrey had their first monorail ride ever to the Poly…!!!

We were cuttin’ it a little close, but, got checked in by 11:11a.
We were called at 11:29a, and Emmy and Audrey were gettin’ excited…!!!

Next up…
The food…!!!!!

 

[donaldtoo]

Thursday, October 5th, continued…

We started off with some pineapple bread, fruit, and POG juice…!!!!!

All the rest of the food was plentiful and delicious, especially the pineapple ham…!!!!!

Up next…
Characters…!!!

 

[donaldtoo]

Thursday, October 5th, continued…

First up was Lilo, of course…!!!

Then, Pluto made an appearance, and Carolyn wanted to check out his dog tag…!!!!!

After that, the Head Cheese showed up, and then Stitch showed up at our table…!!!
Shortly after that, Mickey paid us a visit…!!!!!

For a last minute ADR, it really worked out well…all the food was delicious, and we all had a great, memorable time…!!!!!!!

Up next…
The rest of our first full non-Park day…!!!

 

[MinnieM123]

On my way back to meet Carolyn and Audrey in Liberty Square, I ran into a bit of a hoedown, featuring Big Al, in Frontierland…!!!

This photo in particular caught my attention, because some guests stroll through Frontierland without really taking in all the atmosphere, of this classic part of MK. I laughed when I saw Big Al. The hoedown looked festive as well.

So many great photos of all the places you went in the parks, so suffice to say -- keep bringing them!

(P.S.: So nice to see the stages of Emmy's growth through the years. You captured some adorable close-ups of her, as well as Audrey.)

 

[donaldtoo]

This photo in particular caught my attention, because some guests stroll through Frontierland without really taking in all the atmosphere, of this classic part of MK. I laughed when I saw Big Al. The hoedown looked festive as well.

So many great photos of all the places you went in the parks, so suffice to say -- keep bringing them!

(P.S.: So nice to see the stages of Emmy's growth through the years. You captured some adorable close-ups of her, as well as Audrey.)

As always Minnie, thanks…!!!

The hoedown is definitely a classic Disney touch, and they really should bring back many more of those little things, as they just, indeed, add to the overall atMOUSEphere…!!!

Only about halfway through this TR, so many more pics to come…!!!

And yep, I include the retro pics when I can, because I think they add context, plus they’re just plain fun…!!!!!
Megan gets the credit for the JC closeup pics…!!!