The "I'm really not stalking Chip N Dale, Honest!" Trip Report

[jakeandsophiesmom]

We're back and had a wonderful time!!
Let me introduce the cast to you :
Me-Liz(32)-lover of all things Disney and especially Chip and Dale
DD-Sophie(6)-lover of all princesses
Tammy-(30)-my coworker and closest friend
Dick-(35)-Tammy's DH
Savannah-(9)Tammy's DD
Alyssa-(4)Tammy's DD
I will start by saying that from the start I knew that this was going to be an interesting trip. Me, being the Disney lover and planner that I am, going to my favorite place with a family that likes Disney, but doesn't LOVE it and likes to wing it everyday. Hhhmmm. Am I crazy? Definitely!!
Also have to mention that originally we were only going to go to the parks for three days b/c the other family had only three days left on their tickets, but I opted to purchase five day tickets just in case they changed their minds and the fact that adding two more days would only cost us about $30 cinched the deal! Glad I did!! Now on with the report!

Day One--Thursday, June 26- Not a very eventful day-we all drove down to Florida together, traffic was heavier than I expected for a Thursday. Don't know what is with everyone stepping on the brakes every five seconds?!? Stopped at Krystal to eat and since we don't have these in our area, I forgot how much I enjoy eating here, as bad as the food is. We arrived in St Augustine and went to see Castillo de San Marcos and walked around for awhile. Interesting to learn that the fort was once named Fort Marion after Frances Marion (AKA the Swamp Fox), the Revolutionary War hero that started the guerilla warfare in SC. This is Tammy and I at the fort.
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/100_0654-1.jpg
Next we decided to drive to the beach and let the girls play awhile. Once we arrived at the beach and let the girls loose, Tammy told them not to get wet since they had their clothes on, but I knew better. All three were soaked by the time we left.
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/100_0657-2.jpghttp://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/100_0662.jpg
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/100_0667-1.jpg
As we were drying the girls off and changing their wet, sandy clothes, I noticed this funny scene! Everybody loves pizza, even the birds!!
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/100_0665.jpg
After getting everyone into dry clothes, we decided to see if we could get a room at the nearest hotel for a decent price for the night. We ended up getting a room on the beach at a fairly nice hotel with a pool that had a slide, so the girls were excited about that. But unfortunately after we checked in, we found out that the slide was closed. None the less we all changed into our suits and hit the beach and pools anyway. After it started raining, we went to the indoor pool and played a game of throwing the water balls. This ended badly when I threw the ball and missed my aim and hit Dick's glasses which altered them maybe 1/1000 of an inch and he pitched a fit. Being one to not let anyone run over me, I had to point out the fact that who wears their glasses in a pool anyway and reminded him that he suggested playing the game in the first place. That would only be the first time we clashed on the trip. After the pool we decided to get to bed early and went back to the room and ordered a pizza and watched "We Are Marshall" and crashed. I knew we had a busy few days ahead of us. More to come later.

[askomsky]

Oh sounds fun so far!!!! You sound like me, I would have reminded him of those things right off the bat, I'm not one to bite my tongue! lol

Can't wait for more!

[DisneyMa]

Can't wait for day 2!!

I'm the same way. Disney planner/addiction specialist:D

I'm wondering does Tammy's DH live up to his name?:angel:

[jakeandsophiesmom]

Can't wait for day 2!!

I'm the same way. Disney planner/addiction specialist:D

I'm wondering does Tammy's DH live up to his name?:angel:

To me he does, and not in a good way!!:angel:

[pbhall13]

sitting back waiting for the next installment :popcorn:

[m4travels]

To me he does, and not in a good way!!:angel:
Oh my, this will definitely be an interesting read.....

[DisneyMa]

Oh my, this will definitely be an interesting read.....


yup! :popcorn:

[disneyforever]

Can't wait to hear the rest.

I am a planner too - which drives some of my family nuts. ;)

[Sunni]

waiting to hear about the next day......
I love your pics.

[jenvance]

Love your pics. We always stop at the beach on our drive down and lett the kids go crazy if the weather is nice. Its great and you get some amazing pictures. The pizza picture is so cute. Looks like a great start. I am totally a planner as far as what we do each day, but I am willing to compromise and change things and I don't go crazy by like what time we ride each ride and stuff. I just make a list of things I would like toget done and we do our best. I also HAVE to make ADR's. I am real big with that because I want to eat at certain places.

[jakeandsophiesmom]

Love your pics. We always stop at the beach on our drive down and lett the kids go crazy if the weather is nice. Its great and you get some amazing pictures. The pizza picture is so cute. Looks like a great start. I am totally a planner as far as what we do each day, but I am willing to compromise and change things and I don't go crazy by like what time we ride each ride and stuff. I just make a list of things I would like toget done and we do our best. I also HAVE to make ADR's. I am real big with that because I want to eat at certain places.

This is me exactly! I like to know which park we are going to that day and ADR's are a must now if you want to eat at a sit down restaurant in Disney. As far as when I get into the parks, it's all game, but with a little strategy and luck you get more accomplished than aimlessly wandering around. DH gives me grief about my planning, but at the end of the day when we have done everything we wanted to and more without a lot of headaches or lines, he appreciates it.

[jakeandsophiesmom]

Day 2-Friday June 27- Of course I woke up first with the excitement and anticipation of getting to Disney as quickly as possible today! As we had all discussed the night before, we would play on the beach a little and then head off to Orlando (anyone seeing more head butting here?). Tammy and Dick wanted to walk on the beach alone, so I took the girls with me. We all got our suits on and headed for the water. Had a great time-the girls all laughed at me b/c I guess they had never seen a 32 yr old woman running for the water squealing and waving her arms all over (I thought everyone did that?!?) Couldn't believe that Savannah (9) had never been out far enough in the ocean for some wave jumping, so I had to drag her out for some fun! She loved it! When Tammy got back to us we went in and got packed and ready to head off to Orlando (or so I thought). Off we go!! Since we drove two cars, I was following them and the next thing I know we are pulling into the parking lot for an alligator farm! What!?! This doesn't look like I-95 to me! Apparently Dick wants to see the gators-me not so much, saw enough of them when I lived at the coast. After seeing that it was going to cost money to get in (Duh) Dick decided against it. (Sidenote here-Dick's a tightwad and complains about $ all the time, but owns two houses and has two car pymts. This would make me laugh to myself later in the trip.) So we are off again!! Wait what's this? We are going into a parking garage in the historic district? Nope this doesn't look like Disney either. Now Dick wants to go shopping! I suggest that Sophie and I skip this and head on down , I had no interest in shopping at the moment. It is obvious to me that they didn't like that suggestion as Dick tells me to "chillout-Disney and Orlando are not going anywhere". Umm excuse me but weren't you the one that said last night that we would do the beach and head to Orlando? Wanna get stuck in rush hour traffic fine by me, but I don't want to hear you complaining about it later. So we all walked around for a few hours and did the shopping thing. It was really pretty, but just not where I wanted to be. The only things we ended up buying were rope anklets for all the girls and chocolate covered frozen bananas-yummy! http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/100_0669.jpg http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/100_0670.jpg
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/100_0668.jpg Girls after my own heart! Now can we please go to Orlando!! To be continued....

[disney_girl]

Looking forward to reading more! You seem to have more patience than me....

[DisneyMa]

Yikes!

I've found from a similar experience that I will NEVER car-pool/caravan with another family. When we leave for Disney, we stop at Starbucks and go. I'm not one to go and visit, have breakfast, shop...etc. We stop once (6 hour drive) and that's only for gas and more Starbucks.

On one trip (the one with another family) I was named the "Disney nazi" by my lovely DH!! LOOK! Do you people want to go see the mouse or do you want to BS at Denny's!!:rotfl:

All right Liz, you can't possibly be done with day 2! More!!!!

[Blessing and Miracle]

To me he does, and not in a good way!!:angel:

Ha!:rotfl: Too funny!

[Blessing and Miracle]

You guys seem to be enjoying those bananas way too much!:angel:

[kimntrent]

I guess I am lucky. We fly to WDW but to Disneyland we carpool with others but we all have the same goal. Get there and get their fast. One potty and coffee stop and that is it.

[Hedy]

Looking forward to more-your hair looks cute, btw.

[DisneyMa]

I guess I am lucky. We fly to WDW but to Disneyland we carpool with others but we all have the same goal. Get there and get their fast. One potty and coffee stop and that is it.

You live in Nor Cal, right? I bet we make the same pit stop (Buttonwillow) It seems to be a good 1/2 way point. Gas and Starbucks. If we are feeling really adventurous we will have a fast food burger.

[DisneyMa]

You guys seem to be enjoying those bananas way too much!:angel:

:blush::blush::blush: I can't believe you thought of that!!! ;)

[jakeandsophiesmom]

You guys seem to be enjoying those bananas way too much!:angel:

:blush::blush::blush: I can't believe you thought of that!!! ;)

We just couldn't resist that photo op!!:rotfl:

[jakeandsophiesmom]

Day 2 continued...So I left off with the six of us finishing our shopping. Now it's time to go!! We finally get on the road to Orlando! Yippee!! My excitement would not last long though. My cell phone rings and it is my son, Jake, who is calling to tell me that our entire family will be at his game later that night. He's so excited and says that everyone he loves will be there except his mom and sister. Now I feel horrible and start tearing up which makes him feel bad. He tells me it was not his intention to upset me, he just wanted to tell me that everyone was coming to watch him. He tells me to go and have a great time and I make him promise to play really well and win so I can come home and watch him play more baseball. After hanging up with him, I call DH and burst into tears, my baby needs me!! He reassures me that Jake is fine and that Sophie needs me too and to have a fun week, he will keep me updated every day.

After driving for what seemed like forever, I finally start seeing the signs and then the exits for Disney!! I make myself resist the urge to get off one of these exits and ditch this crazy family I have decided to vacation with! We arrive at Orange Lake Resort and proceed to check-in, which was very smooth. They were really on the ball here. Free popcorn, pizza and drinks for everyone in the lobby. And what's that I see there?? No, it couldn't be what I think it is!! It's free beer!! Woohoo!! I'm really liking this place, wonder if they would let me check in everyday? Now before our trip, I warned Tammy and Dick that the resort WILL try to get us to take a tour, nah they said, we are only guests of an owner, they won't try to sell to us. I took the kids to the bathroom and before I could get back, they had been signed up for a tour! Told you so suckers!! And they thought they were going to get free Disney passes for an extra day too! Uummm, no your not! Luckily I didn't qualify for the tour since DH was not with me, heehee!! After check in we found our room and unpacked. The room was very nice and we had a screened in balcony overlooking the golf course. The bedrooms were huge, one had a king size bed and a jacuzzi tub in the bath and the other had two queen beds. Being the nice person I am, I let Tammy and Dick have the king size room and said I would take the girls in the queen room with me. (And no, I wasn't drunk, only had two beers in the lobby, and those were small cups!)

So we are there, now what? I've got to see something Disney before I burst, don't care what is it, just something!! We all pile into Dick's car (I know not very safe, but it beats driving two cars all over) and head to Downtown Disney for some REAL shopping and eating. First stop was World of Disney. Love this place!! Unfortunately, I am on a budget so I can't buy everything I see. And I do tend to try to wait until the end of the trip to buy souvenirs anyway, but explain that to a six year old! We stayed in here for over an hour just browsing and having fun. And what would shopping at WOD be without some crazy hat pics, right?!?http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/100_0677.jpghttp://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/100_0680.jpg

Now I must make another statement about my friends. As tight as they are, I heard them several times telling the girls that they would each be able to get one thing. We shall keep track of this too! Anyway, the girls both got hats with their names embroidered on them. We shopped a few more stores and then decided to let the kids play in the fountains for awhile (my idea). http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/100_0682.jpg Everything was going great until Alyssa (4) started running around even after we all told her not to b/c it gets slippery and she ended up falling and hitting her head really hard. She is screaming bloody murder and we run to get ice for her head. After a few minutes, she is fine. But this is what I hear--"who's idea was the fountains anyway?" Bite my tongue I did!! What I felt like saying was if your child would listen to what she is told, it wouldn't have happened. Now we are all hungry so we decide to eat at Earl of Sandwich, which I had never had. I got the Earl's Club and Sophie got the kids turkey and swiss. Tammy and Dick ordered the Hawaiian BBQ and a cup of broccoli soup, Savannah got the BLT, and Alyssa got the kids turkey and swiss also. Loved it all!! We each sampled everyone's food and I will definitely eat here again. I have to go ahead and tell you that I took no pictures of food on this trip, so my deepest apologies to my fellow food pornies!

After eating we decided to check out Disney's Days of Christmas, one of my favorite stores. But before I headed in, I had to make a call to DH to see how Jake's game went. They won, 22 to 2 I think! Yeeaahhh! So onto the Christmas store, we looked around in here for a long time, but I decided not to get anything yet. Hate those budgets! Next stop was Goofy's Candy Co, which I made a very big point of letting them know I WAS going here and if they didn't want to, then they could go elsewhere. I let Sophie pick out what she wanted to get and what to dip it in. She chose a Mickey rice krispy and wanted it dipped in milk chocolate and then with rainbow sprinkles. Would not have been my choice, but I wouldn't be eating it. Can you find it in the sea of sprinkles? http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/100_0688.jpg
It had started to rain a bit, so we made our way out with one last stop at Basin. Tammy got some of the bath salts to use in the jacuzzi tub in there room and I yet again decided to pass. Sounds like I am the tightwad, but really I'm not. A budget is a budget and I was going to stick to it. I wanted to buy a few specific things and bath salts and hats weren't it. Left DTD and headed for the resort, but got stuck in traffic and it took us almost an hour to get there. We had to find a better way!! Once back at the room, I wanted to discuss what parks we were going to do together since Sophie and I would be going for two days more than them. At first it was MK for 2 days and DHS the other. Then it was MK and Epcot. Dick finally says why does it matter anyway, we will just get up and go to whatever park . This would be head butting number 3. I politely told him it mattered to me b/c I wanted to go to the parks that they would be missing. I didn't care what day we went to the parks, I just needed to know what parks they were going to. Not too much to ask?!? They finally decided on MK, Epcot and AK. So after a long day we got everyone in bed and I was ready for a day at Hollywood Studios on Saturday.

[m 'n c]

oh man this sounds like a lot of tongue biting. My family tried to go with my aunt and uncle once and there were quite a few times we had to go our seperate ways because they wanted to go into every shop in every park among other things. Not what a 12 and 8 year old want to do lol.

[3dog2kidmom]

Day 2-Friday June 27- Of course I woke up first with the excitement and anticipation of getting to Disney as quickly as possible today! As we had all discussed the night before, we would play on the beach a little and then head off to Orlando (anyone seeing more head butting here?). Tammy and Dick wanted to walk on the beach alone, so I took the girls with me. We all got our suits on and headed for the water. Had a great time-the girls all laughed at me b/c I guess they had never seen a 32 yr old woman running for the water squealing and waving her arms all over (I thought everyone did that?!?) Couldn't believe that Savannah (9) had never been out far enough in the ocean for some wave jumping, so I had to drag her out for some fun! She loved it! When Tammy got back to us we went in and got packed and ready to head off to Orlando (or so I thought). Off we go!! Since we drove two cars, I was following them and the next thing I know we are pulling into the parking lot for an alligator farm! What!?! This doesn't look like I-95 to me! Apparently Dick wants to see the gators-me not so much, saw enough of them when I lived at the coast. After seeing that it was going to cost money to get in (Duh) Dick decided against it. (Sidenote here-Dick's a tightwad and complains about $ all the time, but owns two houses and has two car pymts. This would make me laugh to myself later in the trip.) So we are off again!! Wait what's this? We are going into a parking garage in the historic district? Nope this doesn't look like Disney either. Now Dick wants to go shopping!

You see, this is why I have never and will never vacation with family or friends. Girls' only trips aside, it just never goes how I want it to (being the anal planner I also am!).

Loving your report, though, Liz... can't wait to see if & when you finally make it to Disney!

You guys seem to be enjoying those bananas way too much!:angel:

How did I just KNOW Lisa was going to say something about this!

[m4travels]

I am reading this and shaking my head cuz Dude and Husband Dude are going with family in Jan 2009. We'll only be 20 of us.... WHAT HAVE I DONE??????

I will be reading the remainder with fear and trepidation......:eek:

[jakeandsophiesmom]

I am reading this and shaking my head cuz Dude and Husband Dude are going with family in Jan 2009. We'll only be 20 of us.... WHAT HAVE I DONE??????

I will be reading the remainder with fear and trepidation......:eek:

Now family is a whole different picture. We would have probably killed each other by day 2! You'll be fine, just go with the flow and you can always split up and have some time to yourselves. Oh and remember to bring lots to drink!!;)

[disney_girl]

Now family is a whole different picture. We would have probably killed each other by day 2! You'll be fine, just go with the flow and you can always split up and have some time to yourselves. Oh and remember to bring lots to drink!!;)

I see a large WINE purchase in Dude's future!!:)

Liz... I still say you are brave- or is it crazy?? You are just reaffirming why I have no desire to travel with others! lol

[jakeandsophiesmom]

I see a large WINE purchase in Dude's future!!:)

Liz... I still say you are brave- or is it crazy?? You are just reaffirming why I have no desire to travel with others! lol

I plead insanity on this trip--no other explanation for it!! :rotfl: And the big blowup has yet to come! I have learned a valuable lesson this week. I don't mind going on vacation with others, just as long as it's not Disney!!

[linanglab]

Mom & Dad are thinking about going with us next year....I am a bit nervous about it. This TR is making me MORE nervous! Can't wait to hear about the BIG blowup!

I am a big planner - know which day for each park and ADR's planned, etc. I definitely am flexible, but not for changing which day at which park..... (I guess that is not too flexible, huh?)

[faithhope]

loving the trip report. The pictures are great!

I think I'm one of the anal trip planners who can't go with another family too... I even get mad at my own family sometimes because they just won't follow the plan perfectly...

[jakeandsophiesmom]

Mom & Dad are thinking about going with us next year....I am a bit nervous about it. This TR is making me MORE nervous! Can't wait to hear about the BIG blowup!

I am a big planner - know which day for each park and ADR's planned, etc. I definitely am flexible, but not for changing which day at which park..... (I guess that is not too flexible, huh?)

Angela-you can still be flexible in the parks. The two things I am adamant about planning are which park on which day and ADRs. I need to know where I am going and where I am going to eat! The rest is up for grabs!!

As for going with the parents, don't be nervous!! Last time we went my parents joined us for a day and everyone really enjoyed it. The kids got to share the experience with their Nanny and Papa and my parents got to experience Disney through their grandkids eyes. It was priceless!!

[m4travels]

Now family is a whole different picture. We would have probably killed each other by day 2! You'll be fine, just go with the flow and you can always split up and have some time to yourselves. Oh and remember to bring lots to drink!!;)

Like anyone reading this would think differently of me??? :cheers:

Looking forward to reading more of the event(s)!!!

[DisneyMa]

Like anyone reading this would think differently of me??? :cheers:

Looking forward to reading more of the event(s)!!!

Just don't invite all 20 of them to our special restaurant!:D Of course I would be willing to sit and visit with you if you needed someone to fill a chair. I would hate for it to be quiet and relaxing for you:D

[eaglesdare]

enjoying your report. can't wait to read more.



if you "must" take a disney vacation with family (or larger groups) please just split up. that would be the single one most important thing i could think of to share with anyone. either that, or just don't do it.

[bs4free]

With a TR title like this you had to know Liz that i would have to Subscribe and Read, Sounds like a good trip so far and i love the Dale Hat!!!
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/100_0677.jpg

[askomsky]

Brian just reminded me that we're DYING to hear about the rest of it. Especially the butting heads part! lol

[jakeandsophiesmom]

Day 3--Saturday June 28
Yippee!! My first day at a Disney park!! Tammy and Co were going to Vero Beach for the day to visit some family so Sophie and I would be going alone, WooHoo!! No one else to keep track of and we can do what we want to, when we want!! But what's this? Sophie doesn't want to go, she wants to go with Tammy to visit some people she has never met?!? Oh where did I go wrong? After much whining and begging not to go, I finally put my foot down and told her she is going to DHS with me and that's FINAL!!

After a later than I had hoped start, we get out the door and on our way to the park. Once Sophie realizes that we are now on Disney property, she gets excited and I am close to tears of joy when I see the big signs!! Just to make her feel special, I let her pay for the parking at the gates. Hmm, this attendant sure is taking his time getting my change, I wonder what's up. He finally hands the change back to Sophie, along with a Million Dreams Star Car certificate and a Million Dreams Tinkerbell pin! Cool!! This would be the beginning of my little girl's pin collection as we have never gotten into the pin trading. We park, get everything out, get on the tram, yadayadayada, and on to the entrance to DHS, where we meet up with this guy. I just loved how Mickey is right behind him!
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/100_0690.jpg

Once inside, first stop is of course Toy Story Mania. I knew the lines would be horrific, so I wanted to get a fast pass as soon as I could. We raced (well I raced, Sophie was kind of dragged) over and grabbed our fast passes which were for 7:45 already!! OK so now what? It's really packed today, b/c of Star Wars weekend, so I decide we would just walk around and do whatever comes to us. (See Tammy, I can wing it!!) We come across Backlot Tour, so we decide to ride it b/c the wait was not long, and I always love this one. Get in line and Sophie puts her hand to her face really quick and I see red seeping through her fingers! Yep she has gotten a nose bleed, and being the prepared person I am, I unzip my backpack and pull out my handy wet washcloth. Problem solved!! The first part of the tour turned out really funny, the "actors" they chose were hilarious. We get on the tram and begin our journey. Once we get to Catastrophe Canyon, I realize that for the first time ever, I am going to get wet. Sophie is not enjoying this part of the ride, until the water comes and I get soaked! Apparently this took her mind off of being scared, she thought it was hilarious!

As we are exiting the ride, the Power Rangers are making their way out to the Streets. Sophie has never had any interest in these, but absolutely had to meet the pink ranger. She has developed a thing for autographs, wants to get more than she did the trip before. After the pink ranger, we come across Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable, who were really great with the kids.
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/100_0704.jpghttp://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/100_0707.jpg

Next we just walked around enjoying each other's company and trying to decide where to eat. We ended up watching the last part of the Star Wars parade, where I got a photo of this young man. It's little Anakin!!!
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/100_0712.jpg

After the parade ended, the High School Musical float was on its way out, so with much jumping up and down and clapping of hands and squealing from Sophie, we decided to stay put and watch it for awhile.
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/100_0717.jpg
We both really enjoyed it, but it was more than past time to get some food, so we headed over to Backlot Express for a hot dog and chicken nuggets. Yum--being said in my best sarcastic voice. While eating our wonderful lunch, Sophie says she is ready to go back to the resort and take a nap. I am not wanting to leave just yet, but decide if she is asking to take a nap, then she really needs it. And we shall return to DHS later in the day, so no biggie.

Fast forward to the resort, Sophie is sound asleep within minutes, so I think this would be a perfect time to call Traci and set up a meeting for sometime during the week. I can't find her number anywhere. Ends up that in my frantic packing, I left it at home on the kitchen counter and DH threw it away. B/c he had baseball all week, instead of walking him through the process of finding it, I just let it be. (Traci--we will definitely have those drinks in Dec!) When Sophie wakes up, she is revived and ready to go! A huge storm rolled through while she was napping, but most of it passed, so we are on our way back to the park. Only when we get there, it is pouring and lightning like crazy. We wait in the car for some time, chilling out. Once the lightning subsides, we head back in. Since it is not quite time for our fst passes yet, we decide to check out the Muppets. Sophie loved this the last time she saw it, but this time it appears that she has developed a 3D phobia. After the Muppets, I noticed that all the crowds are gone! Streets of America is almost empty!
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/100_0724.jpg
We head over to Toy Story Pizza Planet and split a combo, waiting for another bit of rain to go through. After finishing our meal, we head on over to Toy Story Mania. We were so excited about this ride. If I had done nothing other than this one, I would have felt a sense of accomplishment this day. While in line, Sophie starts asking a lot of questions about the ride, is it dark, is it fast, is it scary?
I reassure her that it is a fun ride and she will love it. How soon I forgot about the 3D phobia that I previously mentioned. We board the ride and as soon as it takes off, she is practically in my lap with a look of terror on her face. I am just confused! Where did my daring little girl from our last trip that would go on anything we put her on go?? I do not know this child!! As soon as I pop the first balloon and it whizzes toward us, she takes her glasses off and hides behind me. Needless to say, she did not enjoy this ride, but I LOVED it!! Can't wait until Dec when I can battle with DS for the highest score!

After TSM, Sophie informs me that she really, really, really, really wants to ride Tower of Terror. Excuse me????? You were terrified on TSM, but you want to ride TOT? I think not!! I must mention that even if she had loved TSM, I would have reservations about letting her ride TOT. This would be the protecive mother in me coming out. You see Sophie has a mitral valve prolapse and her doctors have reassured me that she can do anything she wants, even ride roller coasters if she so pleases, but I just have a hard time putting her on something that intense. Anyway, I explained to her that I didn't think she could handle TOT at the moment and she was ultimately fine with it. So, we head off to the final attraction of the night, The Little Mermaid. We walked right in and the show started immediately. As usual, the show was great. Afterwards, we walked around for just a bit before calling it a night, b/c now I was pooped. And I knew that we didn't want to overdo it the first day, we had the rest of the week to look forward to. We left the park and again it took us at least 45 minutes to get back to the resort. Still have to find a better way to come and go. No one "home" when we got there, so we just crashed for the night.

Final thoughts about Day 3--We didn't get very much done, but we had a good time and that's what counts. Also need to work on this ride issue with Sophie. My DH is not a roller coaster fan, but even he loves the little rides! DS is just like him. I must have someone in my family take after my sense of adventure!! Overall, a good day, not very exciting for you all to read about, but still a good day!

[bs4free]

WOW that was a Fun day at DHS I am glad you liked the TSM ride even though Sophie new 3d phobia prevented her from fully enjoying the ride.

BTW do you have any photos or description of the chicken nuggets from backlot express, these are the chicken nuggets that replaced the chicken strips right?

Its not alwasy how much you do in a day but that you had a good time doing it!

[Hedy]

This would be the beginning of my little girl's pin collection as we have never gotten into the pin trading.
Bye, bye budget. ;)

[chipndale]

Great trip report - I can't wait to read the rest and the big event!

[DisneyMa]

oh Liz!! I'm so happy you are finishing your trip report! I have loved reading your adventure.

I wouldn't worry about Sophie, she will outgrow it. It's a phase. Just wait!! Soon she will be dragging you on all those rides!

[Sunni]

Liz, I am enjoying reading up on your TR. You still have me in suspense for the rest of your trip. Thanks for sharing your adventure.

[linanglab]

My kids started collecting pins last year at WDW. We spent TOO much last year! But it sure is great for stocking stuffers, etc. It is a fun little hobby! However, they definitely are NOT into trading.

Sounds like it was a nice 3rd day! Can't wait to ride Toy Story Mania this next year! Sounds great!

[luvdisney00]

Liz,
Loving your report, it sounds like so much fun for you and your daughter. Can't wait to hear more, it's getting my psyched for my Sept. trip.

[Magical JenK]

Ok Liz, I don't know how I missed this before, but glad you are finishing it again!! Can't wai to read the rest!

[Blessing and Miracle]

I am reading this and shaking my head cuz Dude and Husband Dude are going with family in Jan 2009. We'll only be 20 of us.... WHAT HAVE I DONE??????

I will be reading the remainder with fear and trepidation......:eek:

We went last year with some of my family. My brother, his 4 children, another nephew and my mother. We all had a blast! No arguments, or disagreements. We're actually looking forward to the next time. But then again, we are an extremely close family. That does make a difference!

[jakeandsophiesmom]

Day 4-Sunday June 29
Today we had our breakfast at 1900 Park Fare. We had never been to this one so I was really looking forward to it. We all piled into my car this time and off to GF we go. We were off to a good start and then we get to the point where you have to go through the parking toll--and here's headbutt #4. Dick starts telling me that we aren't going to the parks we need to go to the hotels. He's almost frantic--fearing we are going to have to pay to get to GF. I tell him we don't have to pay, they will just let us through and we stay to the right. But he is still upset--but we are going to the park. I finally had enough and whip my head around and tell him "Look, I know where I am going, I know this place like the back of my hand so just chill out or I will have to put you out!!" Of course we get through just fine, problem solved!

After parking and walking was seems like a mile, we enter The Grand Floridian and find our way to 1900 Park Fare. I get us checked in and we were seated immediately. As soon as the doors are opened for us, I spot Mary Poppins and I don't know who got more excited, Tammy and I or the girls! Breakfast was good, but I really wouldn't have cared if they served me Big Brother slop, I want characters!! And characters are what we got. Won't go into all the details but we had Alice, Mad Hatter, Mary Poppins, Pooh and Tigger. The Mad Hatter was by far the best. We had a joke that he apparently liked either me or Tammy b/c he came by our table at least 8 or 9 times while we were there and would just linger and cut up with us. Mary Poppins was simply beautiful, pratically perfect in every way, of course. The only disappointment was Tigger, he seemed to not really be into it that day, barely stopping by any table for more than a second. We all had a wonderful time, even Dick.
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/100_0737.jpghttp://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/100_0741.jpghttp://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/100_0744.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/100_0751.jpghttp://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/100_0755.jpg

After breakfast, we decided just walk around the hotel and take it all in. Then we hopped on the monorail so we could go look around the other hotels. First stop was the Contemporary. Walked around for a bit and then went to one of the stores there. Tammy and Co. were looking at pins as they were already on board with that. They ended up buying both the girls new lanyard sets and autograph books (remember the ONE thing they could get? I did!:angel: I just laughed to myself, suckers!) I forgot to mention that Savannah, the oldest girl had traded one of her pins for a Chip and Dale pin which she gave to me. Awww--so sweet! So now Sophie has two pins and no lanyard. We looked at them and Sophie couldn't find one she really liked, so we again bought nothing. Next we hopped back on the monorail and went to the Polynesian. I love this place! The atmosphere here is just perfect. We didn't spend too much time here, just walked around, looked in the stores and talked to the DVC rep. I really wanted to be whisked away for the tour but Dick just wasn't buying it. So back on the monorail, back to GF. And back to the car, with 5 minutes of our three hour parking to go!!

The rest of the day we spent at the resort. We all wanted some pool time, so we got our bathing suits and took the bus out to the big pool area. The pool area was really nice, but the best part was the lazy river. The river connects with the pool and it takes almost 30 minutes to go around the entire thing. There are several points where you can take different paths around and about a dozen places that take you through waterfalls. Very enjoyable! Even more enjoyable is doing it with a nice big frozen drink in hand-which of course I did!! The girls all enjoyed the lazy river also. They acted as our "tour guides", weaving us around people and trying their best to stop us all under the waterfalls so we got more wet. After about two hours, the skies got dark and then the rain came. The pool closed so we headed back to the room. Nothing too exciting for the rest of the day, except that Dick had been fighting off a migraine and wouldn't take anything for it until it got so bad that he was throwing up and started yelling at the girls b/c they were being loud. Of course then there's me-if you knew it was coming then why didn't you do something about it? Don't take it out on the girls b/c you were too stubborn to take anything! (Don't get me wrong, I felt bad for him, b/c I know migraines are terrible but come on, take your meds) After he settled down, we all got some dinner and just chilled out the rest of the night.
Up next--Day at Epcot and yet another headbutting incident...

[Blessing and Miracle]

Your daughter is beautiful. I'm glad even DICK had a great time. :rotfl:

[jakeandsophiesmom]

Your daughter is beautiful. I'm glad even DICK had a great time. :rotfl:

Yep even DICK can be fun sometimes too!!:rotfl: You my dear are BAD!!

[Blessing and Miracle]

Yep even DICK can be fun sometimes too!!:rotfl: You my dear are BAD!!

:rotfl::angel::rotfl::angel:

ETA: I love your new avatar. Nice picture.

[jakeandsophiesmom]

:rotfl::angel:

ETA: I love your new avatar. Nice picture.

And we are not even going to mention what was said about the Mad Hatters nose!!:rotfl::rotfl:

Thanks for the beautiful comment about Sophie, she will always be beautiful to me, of course. The hair thing still gets me though.:cry: And thanks about the avatar-it's my new fav picture of me now, but I just can't figure out why Dale's giving me all the love!!:D

[Blessing and Miracle]

And we are not even going to mention what was said about the Mad Hatters nose!!:rotfl:

Thanks for the beautiful comment about Sophie, she will always be beautiful to me, of course. The hair thing still gets me though.:cry: And thanks about the avatar-it's my new fav picture of me now, but I just can't figure out why Dale's giving me all the love!!:D

Her hair is beautiful! Okay, I see that it's shorter than the picture in your siggie. Did you not won't it cut?

Dale knows a pretty lady when he sees one!:)

[jakeandsophiesmom]

Her hair is beautiful! Okay, I see that it's shorter than the picture in your siggie. Did you not won't it cut?

Dale knows a pretty lady when he sees one!:)

No, I didn't want it cut, but Sophie did so she cut it herself about a year ago. She had just finished watching The Parent Trap and wanted her hair to be short too, so snip snip. It is much easier to take care of now, but I do miss the long curls. I guess I will have to get used to a girls inclination to do things with her hair--look at me whacking all mine off too!!

[jenvance]

how was the breakfast at 1900 Park Fare, we have never done it, but I have always wanted to try it. The dinner is so yummy!

[jakeandsophiesmom]

how was the breakfast at 1900 Park Fare, we have never done it, but I have always wanted to try it. The dinner is so yummy!

The breakfast was really good, kind of like a smaller version of the Chef Mickey's breakfast buffett. They have the usual, Mickey waffles, pancakes, french toast, eggs, bacon, sausage, ham, potatoes, grits, etc, etc. They also have an omelet bar, but my favorite thing was the Lobster Eggs Benedict--YUM!! We will definitely keep this one on our list for future visits.

[pbhall13]

Liz

Just got a chance to catch up on your TR...........bring it on! So far so good.....I am waiting for the ' big ' confrontation with Dick!

Glad that you and your dd got a chance to start of disney with just the 2 of you.......I think that some of the best days that the girls and I have had at the parks is when we have a 'plan' but alter it as seems fit and even if we don't ride a lot of things we make the best memories!

Pamela

[Pooh's Pal]

Liz, Awesome report, can not wait to hear more, thanks for sharing :thanks:

[askomsky]

Yeah I'm still dying to hear how the rest of it went! lol
How is DS doing with baseball? Did they win again?

[jakeandsophiesmom]

Sorry guys for keeping you all waiting for the rest of the trip. Work has been crazy and we just found out that we have to make up about 75 hours that we missed!:eek: They failed to tell us that we'd have to make up the hours we missed the week the plant closed down. Lucky us, but at least we will be getting paid overtime for it!! Woo Hoo!

April--DS and his all star team got to the regional championship game and lost by two. He was the pitcher in the final two innings and was pitching through tears. It was just heartbreaking, but something I think he needed to go through as a serious player. That parts over, but he has about four try-outs for travel ball teams in the next few weeks.

[askomsky]

Sorry guys for keeping you all waiting for the rest of the trip. Work has been crazy and we just found out that we have to make up about 75 hours that we missed!:eek: They failed to tell us that we'd have to make up the hours we missed the week the plant closed down. Lucky us, but at least we will be getting paid overtime for it!! Woo Hoo!

April--DS and his all star team got to the regional championship game and lost by two. He was the pitcher in the final two innings and was pitching through tears. It was just heartbreaking, but something I think he needed to go through as a serious player. That parts over, but he has about four try-outs for travel ball teams in the next few weeks.

Ahh that's a shame but I do understand. DS just finished last Sunday with his last baseball tourny he had an awesome game but they lost by 4 and it was tough on them. I do think it makes them a better more humble player though!

[jakeandsophiesmom]

Ahh that's a shame but I do understand. DS just finished last Sunday with his last baseball tourny he had an awesome game but they lost by 4 and it was tough on them. I do think it makes them a better more humble player though!

As horrible as it feels for us to see our sons hurting, to me it's worth it. At some point they have to experience the heartbreak of losing something that they have wanted and I think it makes them stronger players in the long run. It seems to make that desire a little bit stronger. I definitely think it's made me a stronger Mom also!!

[askomsky]

As horrible as it feels for us to see our sons hurting, to me it's worth it. At some point they have to experience the heartbreak of losing something that they have wanted and I think it makes them stronger players in the long run. It seems to make that desire a little bit stronger. I definitely think it's made me a stronger Mom also!!

I agree 100%! Sports come naturally to my DS, he doesn't have to work too hard to be good, but when he does work hard he's really good. Problem is he knows/realizes it and depending on how you look at it, it can be good and bad. So for the reasons you mentioned I think they all need to be "humbled" every now again and realize that if it's something that they want they WILL Have to work at it.

[chipndale]

I agree 100%! Sports come naturally to my DS, he doesn't have to work too hard to be good, but when he does work hard he's really good. Problem is he knows/realizes it and depending on how you look at it, it can be good and bad. So for the reasons you mentioned I think they all need to be "humbled" every now again and realize that if it's something that they want they WILL Have to work at it.

I can totally relate and agree with you. DD's softball team rolled over every team they player this season. It got to the point that our girls didn't even play hard because they didn't have to. DH is the coach of the team and he arranged a game with a team in the older division. The first inning our girls had the same attitude and then it changed to tears because they weren't getting on base or they couldn't get 3 outs 1 - 2 -3. By the third inning they were ready to quit, DH made them finish the game and they realized that they are good for their age bracket but since most of them are moving up next year, they better work on their skills because they are not going to be the big fish! It was hard to watch but something that needed to happen. Now DD has been out in the yard practicing because she realizes that she needs to improve if she wants to play with the older girls next year.

[jakeandsophiesmom]

Day 5 -Monday June 30--Woo hoo our first day at the parks all together! We all decided to go to Epcot on this day. Everyone up and ready and we are off to the car, where we come across a bus driver for the resort and we decide to ask about shortcuts to Disney property and he gives us the best directions. We try the new way and it was so easy and much faster than getting on I4. (If anyone stays on 192 in Orlando and wants this shortcut, PM me and I will gladly let you know the shortcut.) I was kind of worried about crowds the rest of the week leading up to the fourth, but when we arrived at Epcot, we were parked right up front. Great start!
We all get through bag check etc etc and head straight for Test Track to see if we need to get fastpasses. The wait was only 15 minutes so we opt to go ahead and get in the regular line. I had never been on this one, so I was thoroughly excited about it. Sophie starts asking all of her questions again as we are waiting--is it scary, fast, etc? I try to tell her that it is fine, I usually drive faster than this car will go. The one thing that finally calmed her down was the fact that her brother had not ridden it, so she would be one up on him! We board our car and off we go!! Sophie rode behind me with Dick and Savannah and I could hear her screaming the entire time. I will not miss this one again--LOVED it! Next we went to Mission Space, Tammy, Dick and Savannah wanted to ride so I volunteered to watch Sophie and Alyssa. I have to say I wimped out on this one. I used to be able to do rides like this, but the older I get, the more motion sick I get. So the girls and I browsed the store while waiting for the rest of our party. Finally we see everyone coming off the ride and I was sooo glad I didn't ride. Tammy looked like she was going to hurl. Since it is right there, we go to Universe of Energy next. Another that I haven't done since Disney has redone it. Never was one of my faves, I was always partial to Horizons b/c my dad worked for GE and we never had to wait in line for it. We prepared the younger two girls for what to expect. They did great, but really didn't like the dinosaur parts. I decided that I like this one much better since they re-did it. We wander over to Club Cool and I hoped to get Dick to try the Beverly. Turns out, he doesn't even flinch at it, but I did get Savannah's reaction. http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/100_0779.jpg
We hang around and try all the different drinks, some of which aren't all that bad. After we leave, we are all getting hungry so we stop at Electric Umbrella for lunch. I got the Tossed Island Chicken Salad, which was really good as usual, and Sophie got the mac and cheese with grapes and carrot sticks. I think the others got cheeseburgers and fries to split. Sorry no pics of the food.

After we finished eating, we passed by the Character Spot and the line did not look that bad. I really wanted to see the characters here b/c I KNEW Chip and Dale were in there. Also the girls wanted to see the rest of them and get autographs, that's why they bought the books. But of course the line was too long for Dick's liking so we decided to move on. He said we can meet more later. As we are passing the characters, we look in the windows and I spot Chip and Dale and I press my nose against the glass and wave furiously to them as if they can really see me!! I'll see you both, I promise!! Yeah, I am a 32 yr old kid!!

Next we head to The Seas with Nemo and Friends. There is hardly a line here at all and within five minutes we are in our Clamobile. Finally one that Sophie really likes!! Really cute ride. Turtle Talk with Crush was next. This is another that I hadn't done. The girls all sat up front together. I really liked the interaction with the kids during this show. Some of the kids responses were hilarious. It was totally gnarly dude!! Definitely worth doing again! Now on to The Land where we see The Circle of Life. I really like this one--there is something about that song that just gives me goosebumps. And then on to Living with the Land. Nothing new here, just a nice educational boat ride. Kids liked seeing all the different ways to grow food and the fish. We decided to not do Soarin' as the lines were getting longer and we knew we wanted to head on over to World Showcase soon. But as we are leaving The Land, we pass by Garden Grill and who do I see?? Why yes, it was Chip and Dale again!! Hi Boys!! I get Dale's attention and he waves back at me! Can't come see you now, but I will catch you later Dale!! Now on to Imagination where we stop and see Honey I shrunk the Audience. I had never done this before due to having small kids, but I thought Sophie might be able to handle it now. I knew exactly what to expect, but boy I still wasn't prepared!! I think I squealed louder than the girls during this one. Can't wait to get the boys to see this one in December!! And finally we hit Journey Into Imagination with Figment. I loved this ride as a kid and I must say that I still love it. Can't explain why, but I just do. The girls seemed to like it a lot also. Seriously, who couldn't love Figment? And that wraps up Future World. Still can't believe that we didn't do Spaceship Earth! Half the day gone and no arguments yet--can we actually go an entire day??? Will continue with World Showcase in just a bit.....

[jacaluho]

If it makes you feel better, DFIL (50 years old mind you ;)) got in line with our kids at Epcot while they were getting autographs and told everyone he was getting them for his dd17. We know better! :rotfl:
Can't wait to hear more about your trip!

[Pooh's Pal]

Half the day gone and no arguments yet--can we actually go an entire day???

It's soooooo not over yet, I can just tell by that tone :rotfl::rotfl:

[jakeandsophiesmom]

Day 5 continued--So I left off with all of us on our way to World Showcase. On the way, Sophie wanted to see if she could find a lanyard she liked and eventually did find a Tinkerbell set with four pins. And she also wanted a Chip and Dale clip to go on the end of the lanyard. Awww proud momma moment here!! Now she is set for trading! We arrive in Canada first and it starts raining so we head on to see O Canada. I haven't seen this is quite awhile and I guess b/c I'm older now, I really enjoyed it. It was also nice to let the girls rest for a bit. Once out of the film, I was showing Tammy and Dick Le Cellier and he decides that he wants to eat there. HA!! Good luck with that! After being turned away (big shocker there!) Dick gets a little pouty and here's where I step in and tell him I told you so. (Very immature response on my part, but it just popped out) I remind him that I told them several times that if you wanted to eat at a sit down restaurant, you almost have to have an ADR. And that's why I like my plans. And on to United Kingdom, home to my favorite beer, Bass Ale. I was so looking forward to downing a pint, but held off b/c I knew there was something else different for me to try. The rain had cleared up but it wasn't looking good so we stepped into one of the shops and ran into Alice in Wonderland. This one was so stinking cute and was awesome with the kids. Also saw that Pooh, Tigger and Eeyore were due back any minute, so we got in line. I don't think I have ever seen Eeyore and he is just adorable! And this Tigger was much better than the one we had at 1900 Park Fare.
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/100_0794.jpg
After visiting with Pooh and friends, I made the suggestion that instead of picking one place to eat, it would be fun to eat around the world. Trying a little something at each country, sharing with everyone and alternate who pays so we keep it evened out. Dick seemed to love this idea. I really was excited b/c my DH and DS are not adventurous eaters and this would be a great way for me to sample quick services for future reference. So our first stop was Yorkshire County Fish Shop for some fish and chips. Yummy! These were so good. I felt the urge to take the basket and run with it, but I restrained myself. Definitely something I think DH and DS would eat too! And now, on to France. We let the kids play around the fountain for a few minutes to cool them off a bit.
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/100_0806.jpg We went to the spot where Belle is usually located and it was already too late, she was gone, as were all the other characters at WS. So we made our way to Boulangerie Patisserie for our next food sample. I was paying so I decided to get ham and cheese quiche and a Napoleon, both of which Dick had never heard of. Both were a hit with everyone. The Napoleon was really yummy, not too sweet. On our way to the next stop, I found what I had given my Bass Ale up for!! The kiosk that sells the slushies--yeah I think you all know the ones I'm speaking of!! But which one to get??? I decided on getting the lemon Grey Goose and I was shocked that Dick was going to get one for Tammy. He chose the orange Grand Marnier slushy, and I couldn't help but laugh out loud when he ordered a Grand Mariner slushy. Couldn't help myself, but at least the young lady taking his order was laughing also. We each had a sip of each other's and I have to say that while both were really good, the orange is the best. At one point I had to hold them both and I had that urge to run again!

And on to what is probably my favorite country at Epcot--Morocco. I was always fascinated with this place as a child and I still am. I just find the details put into everything is just amazing. We stopped at Tangierine Cafe for our food, Dick's turn. He starts complaining that the food is too expensive here, so I step up and tell him I'll get it b/c I really want to try the food here. I order the chicken and lamb shawarma platter so everyone gets a sample. We get an extra plate and put enough for the three girls on one and the rest for us. OMG-I love this stuff!! I don't think DH and DS would eat any of it, but Sophie and I will be eating here again for sure!! After eating we walk around and find the store with the belly dancer outfits. The nicest CM let all the girls try on the outfits and they had a blast!
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/100_0823.jpg We continue to walk around and I think we ended up spending the most time here. But finally time to move on--Japan is next and it's their turn to buy the food. But wait, what is that? They aren't hungry anymore! I'm really not either, but come on--we're eating around the world!! They really aren't all that interested in doing Japan, so while the kids wait in line at the Kaki Gori stand (yeah they weren't hungry) I walked around a few minutes by myself. Love the koi pond! We had a koi pond at our old house and I thought ours were big--these were huge!!
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/100_0842.jpg The kids get their Kaki Gori and we move on to the American Adventure. And here is where Sophie trades her first pin.http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/100_0848.jpg And apparently she is a good trader!! When she told the CM which pin she wanted (a different Tink pin) the lady asked me if I was her mom and goes on to explain that the pin Sophie is getting is a special Tink pin that only cast members got and they came in pairs. She told me not to let her trade it again. The CM really told us a lot abot the pins and apparently some of the pins that Dick was so proud of were not even official pins. (heehee) After trading the pins we went to see the show which we all liked. Once we were out, it was almost dark and time for Illuminations. We walked on to the next country, Italy, and decided to sit down and enjoy the show from there.

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/100_0853.jpg Here's when the trouble started. I bought three sets of light sticks for the girls at the dollar store before we left so we wouldn't have to shell out big bucks for the ones at Disney. I gave each of the girls one set and the connectors for each of them. Savannah and Alyssa did not want their connectors and said to give them all to Sophie, so I did. Not a problem throughout the entire show, which was great as usual. But then as we are walking toward Germany afterwards, they see that Sophie has made a huge necklace with all the connectors and start to complain to Tammy that it's not fair that she has all of them. Sophie handed over a few of them, but that still wan't good enough for them, they were still complaining and Tammy tells them to "just let Sophie have them all" . I ended up taking Sophie's away to end the bickering even though I didn't think she was at fault. And I made it clear to them that the girls did not want the connectors and gave them to Sophie. Also pointed out that I bought them and did not have to give them to her kids in the first place, but I was being nice. The park was now closing and we all walked back to the entrance not speaking to each other. All the way to the car, not speaking, all the way back to the resort, not speaking. I was ticked off and I thought it best to let what I said before be enough, I didn't want to totally ruin the rest of the week by saying things off the top of my head. We get back to the resort and before going to bed, Tammy comes in our room and kicks the girls out and apologizes for yelling at Sophie. We talk it all out and everything is okay again. Off to bed, for tomorrow is Animal Kingdom and the big showdown.

Thoughts about our day at Epcot, I can't believe I missed Spaceship Earth!! Also wished there was more time for WS. Really wanted to explore Italy (DH is Italian and we also have a coworker from Italy) and Germany ( we work for a German company). I wanted to get to the store in Norway to get some of the Leila perfume they have, and wanted to do Maelstrom. Sorry that we didn't get to any characters here, b/c they seem to have more time to spend with the kids. And I hate that the kids caused such a problem with the light sticks, but I am glad that Tammy and I are close enough as friends and mature enough that we can work these small things out without any permanent damage to our friendship. Finally, my last thought about this day was --why didn't I run with the drinks while I had the chance????

[askomsky]

I can totally relate and agree with you. DD's softball team rolled over every team they player this season. It got to the point that our girls didn't even play hard because they didn't have to. DH is the coach of the team and he arranged a game with a team in the older division. The first inning our girls had the same attitude and then it changed to tears because they weren't getting on base or they couldn't get 3 outs 1 - 2 -3. By the third inning they were ready to quit, DH made them finish the game and they realized that they are good for their age bracket but since most of them are moving up next year, they better work on their skills because they are not going to be the big fish! It was hard to watch but something that needed to happen. Now DD has been out in the yard practicing because she realizes that she needs to improve if she wants to play with the older girls next year.

AMEN! DS is the same way and since he has been humbled a few times he does make more of an effort. I think kids need that life lesson.

[askomsky]

Finally, my last thought about this day was --why didn't I run with the drinks while I had the chance????

I'm thinking the same thing!!!!! :rotfl:

You did the right thing with the girls, I would have done the same thing, reminded them that they did not want theirs and gave them to Sophie in the first place and she's being NICE enough to give some back. I am really glad though that you and Tammy were able to work it out.

[chipndale]

You should have taken the drinks and ran! Can't wait to read about the BIG show! I am glad that you did tell Dick that you need ADRs to eat at the sit down restaurants. I would not have been able to let that go either. Good for you!

[Sunni]

I third that... with drinks in hand..........sprint!

I love reading all about your trip. Sophie's trading pin sounds real special. She must love it. And sometimes we just have to say what needs to be said....glad you told him about the ADRs . :D

[jakeandsophiesmom]

Guess I have made everyone wait for the big showdown long enough.:angel:
Will have the next day ready sometime today! :clap:

[disney_girl]

Oh can't wait to hear more!!!:)

[jakeandsophiesmom]

Day 6 Tuesday July 1--Waking up early and getting ready for a full day at Animal Kingdom my goals for the day are 1. to see Chip and Dale 2. no fighting 3. to see Lion King 4. brave EE and 5. to see Chip and Dale (hence my title).
We all get ready and cram in the car and head off to AK via our new shortcut. We arrive and it looks like it might be a little busier than Epcot was the day before. Once we all get into the park, we see a small palm tree wandering around and it comes up to the girls and starts asking them questions. Savannah and Alyssa loved it, but Sophie is not too fond of him for some reason which is really weird b/c she has never been afraid of characters. I had never heard of this little palm tree guy, but have since learned that this is Wes Palm. Really cute!
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On into the park, the first thing that we decide to do is go into Camp Minnie-Mickey to meet some characters and get that out of the way early so the girls aren't disppointed again. We meet Lilo and Stitch on the way to the character trails.
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Once we get to the trails, we run into Koda from Brother Bear and the girls all get the pics and autographs. While checking out who is at the trails that day, I ask if Chip and Dale will be there and sadly get a no, but they may be somewhere in AK that day. Yeah! there is a little glimmer of hope!! On to meet Minnie. Such a gracious little lady she is!! Next up is the big cheese himself-Mickey!! I just love this mouse!!
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While leaving Mickey, we run into Kenai, the other bear from Brother Bear and do the pics and autographs with him. Then on to Goofy and Donald. Goofy was of course goofy. And Donald was great with the girls. One of my favorite photopass pics is Sophie with Donald. I will post some of those later.
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I have learned through this character meeting that this is a great place to meet them without having to wait too long. We never waited more than five minutes to meet any of them.The only down side to me is that I really prefer them in the "original" dress.

After finishing with all the characters, we decided to check out the nest showing of Festival of the Lion King. We only had a few minutes to wait until they started seating us and while we waited for the show to start, the girls took full advantage of some pin trading. Any cast member they could find they would apprehend and look at their pins. I had never seen this show before and was really looking forward to it b/c of all the good reviews it gets. Finally the show started and I was blown away! One of my absolute favorites now! Tammy told me after the show that she wishes she had gotten a picture of me during it b/c I looked like a six year old taking in everything.
After the Lion King we made our way back to the Tree of Life to take in It's Tough to Be a Bug. Another that I have never done b/c of the kids, but have always wanted to. Sophie did not too much care for this one, no big surprise. I don't really have a good opinion of it b/c I don't think I got the full effects from it. I know they say all the seats are the same, but I had the first seat in our row and I hardly felt a thing. Next time I will aim to get in the middle. I want to be "bugged" out!!
Next we decided it was time to eat. We all decided to eat at Flame Tree, but we knew that we also needed to go ahead and get FP for Expedition Everest. So the plan was for them to go ahead to Flame Tree and me (being the more experienced FP getter) to make the trek to EE grab FP and get back to them. No problem!! Off I go, zigging and zagging through the crowds with only one mission at hand. Arrived at EE and got the FP for 3:15 to 4:15(this will be important later)-mission accomplished!! Back to Flame Tree I go. Total time-maybe 10 minutes. I fancy myself an excellent FP person!! So I get back to my group and tell them there are no more FP's but of course Tammy reads me like a book and knows that I am joking. We all eat lunch and enjoy each others company. It looks like it's gonna be a good day! To be continued...... (yeah did you really think I would make it that easy???)

[linanglab]

yeah!!!!! You are finishing it! I am in need of a good TR! Just what the doc ordered to give me a WDW fix!

[askomsky]

Oh Liz your KILLING ME!!!!!!!! Come on already!!!!!! :rotfl:

[jakeandsophiesmom]

Well here's the segment you've all been waiting for!!

We left off at lunch at Flame Tree, which was yummy as usual. We next headed off to Asia for Kali River Rapids. For some unknown reason, this is Sophie's favorite ride in all of Disney. I would think that she is scared of this ride also, but she absolutely loves this one. Our wait is maybe 20 minutes. Finally we all board joking about who is going to get the most wet. I was in luck this day--I barely got wet and was able to laugh at everyone else as they got soaked. Tammy probably got the most water from the drop off. She ended up talking Dick into buying a new dress for her to wear the rest of the day.
Now here's where the fun starts. By this time it's maybe 2:30 and everyone starts talking about the parade at 3:00. Apparently Dick has this idea that we can go ahead and get a spot for the parade, watch it, go take on the safari, and get back to EE by 4:15. Me--I ask him what the heck he's smoking, cuz it isn't possible. Tammy and I try to talk some sense into him and come up with this plan--watch the parade, do EE and then the safari. Everybody gets what they want, just not in the order they want. Girls rule, so we settle on a spot for the parade and wait. While waiting, Savannah asks Dick a question about something and I hear Dick reply "Don't ask me, why don't you go ask the Disney tour guide over there!" OMG! All I saw was red!! I told Sophie to get up and follow me. We walked away and found another spot to watch the parade from. Then my anger got the best of me and I marched back over to them and started yelling at Dick. If I remember correctly it went something like this " I don't know who you think you are, but I don't appreciate you saying your little snide remark about me being a tour guide. I have busted my a** the past few weeks trying to make this a great vacation for everyone, all the while trying not to overplan for you. Who has been sure that everyone has gotten to see everything that they want to so far? Who has made sure that we have hit the high points of the parks that we have gone to? Me!! And for you to sit there and criticize me for that is uncalled for. If you want me to lay off then I will, but I don't want to hear a d*** word about what we may have missed in the future!! And further more if you don't want me around to guide you, then Sophie and I will go our separate ways now and take a taxi back to the resort. I will not put up with this nonsense!!" Then I apologized to Tammy for attacking her husband and she told me that it was ok, she had already laid into him for it and he deserved it. Dick apologized to me and said that we both took his comment the wrong way, but I still don't believe it. I refused to speak to hm the rest of the day.
Anyway--the parade was canceled b/c a storm was coming through, so TourGuide Liz suggested that we go ahead and make our way to EE. Once we passed through all the shops on the way, the CM at EE told us the ride was closing due to the storm and would reopen when the lightning passed. I was sure to ask about the passes being valid after the time slot and was reassured we were fine. Finally the storm passed and we were able to get in line. It was decided that Savannah and I would ride together and then swap with Tammy and Dick. Savannah and I rode first, we waited for about 5 minutes and we were seated in the very first row and we were off. I must say that in my "old age" I think I am getting to the point of being motion sick on coasters. I was loving this one until the dark areas and that's when I felt my head spinning. As you will see in the picture, I don't look too thrilled. I did make it through and will attempt it again in Dec if my son is up to it. Tammy and Dick loved it. They are in the second row in the second pic.
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After braving Everest, we finally made it to the safari, much to Dick's delight. While I like this one, I am not too thrilled about it. Having been on a safari type ride in Missouri where you actually drive yourself, this just doesn't compare. So we rode and took pictures etc. Not a whole lot of excitement.
After departing the safari, we were making our way towards Dinoland and ran across another character spot. I hoped upon entering that I would see my boys Chip and Dale standing there, but it was Winnie the Pooh and friends. The girls all wanted to stop and get more pictures and autographs, so we let them. The only new one here was Piglet. All of them were really great of course, but Tigger was really a hoot. He was the last in line and we all started "bouncing" when it was our turn. It was really funny.
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After spending some time wih Pooh and friends, we made it into Dinoland, where we made our way to Dinosaur. I really didn't know about Sophie riding this one, but Alyssa was tall enough and wanted to, so of course Sophie wanted to also. This is yet once again another ride that I have not been on due to the kids. Very jerky ride, I would have liked it more had I been able to sit back in my seat without a child being there. You may not be able to see it in the picture,but Sophie had her legs pulled up and was almost totally behind me the entire ride. Not her favorite!
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After Dinosaur we went to ride Primeval Whirl, but Alyssa and Sophie were too short to ride, so Dick and I took them to ride Triceratop Spin while Tammy and Savannah rode PW. After they rode, the park was closing and we had to make our way back to the car. We stopped off to eat at Shoneys (bleh) and we stopped at the grocery store before heading to the resort. While at the store, I called DH to see how the baseball was going and found out that the team had won the first tourney!! WooHoo! I'm sure I got lots of looks when I started cheering in the middle of Publix! That called for some celebration, so I headed to the beer section and picked out a six pack of my favorite, Bass Ale. We got back to the resort and the girls and Dick went to bed and Tammy and I stayed up for awhile drinking beer and talking about the day.

Thoughts about the AK day--my first thought is that I really wish I could have found Chip and Dale!! Secondly I hate the fact that I showed my tail at the happiest place on earth, but I feel like I had to. I also wish that we had time to see the Pocohantas show since now it won't be there in Dec. I also wish we could have done Nemo the Musical. But all in good time for me since I will be back shortly! Just gives me more to do when I go back! Up next--Our solo day at MK!!

[askomsky]

Yo go girl! He needed to be put in his place. Sounds like you still had fun and out of all 4 parks AK was our least fav. Maybe bc we have the oldest zoo right down the road and go there a lot?

[askomsky]

And last but not least...........................
HELLO??????????????? Still waiting!!!!!!!! :D

Liz your really killing me..... How long has it been?????? :rotfl:

I'm with Dee, I'm in NEED of a Disney fix!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jakeandsophiesmom]

Disney trip report??? Did I go to Disney?:confused:

Seriously, I will at least get another day done this weekend--Promise!!:)

[wilsonfamily4]

Disney trip report??? Did I go to Disney?:confused:

Seriously, I will at least get another day done this weekend--Promise!!:)

yeah!!! looking forward to it!

[jakeandsophiesmom]

This installment will be dedicated to April and Dee who so lovingly urge us to quit goofing off and finish our reports!!:D

Day 7, Wed. July 2

Today was going to be mine and Sophie's alone day at the Magic Kingdom. The Glover family would be doing their own thing. They went to some place to see gators and ride a waterboat then on to Universal City Walk that night. Remember the one thing Dick was going to get the kids? Since I was keeping track, #3 thing was tshirts for everyone and #4 thing was watches for the girls. Heehee, am I horrible for keeping track of these mundane things? On with the report....

I was so excited that Sophie and I would be doing it alone today. I, for once, had no real plan. I only wanted to let Sophie enjoy the day and do what she felt up to. No rushing, no fighting, no crying and no rules! Well, except for one--I HAD to see Chip and Dale today and I would not leave the park before I did! So, we get up early and grab us a breakfast sandwich at McD's. We arrive at the park and lo and behold, where do we get to park?? Only in my favorite characters spot!! I took this as a sign that it was going to be a great day!!
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We finally arrive at Main Street and there she is!! The most beautiful castle in the world! Even as an adult, my heart just swells with love and excitement every time I see it! We stop for the obligatory photopass pics and head on the FantasyLand. Since my fav. ride is Peter Pan, we go on over and get FP and then head to Winnie the Pooh. Love this ride, but still miss Mr Toad. Next we decide to do It's a Small World. Nothing exciting here, but of course I could never not ride it. It reminds me of my Dad b/c he loves it and growing up it was always the first thing we had to ride. I must say though, I would love to be the person working in the "bridge" waving to the boats as they being the ride. After IASW, it was time for Peter Pan. Love, love, love this ride. I really have no idea why it's my favorite. I just wish it were longer.

Next we headed over to ToonTown so my little princess could meet some real princesses. Passed by the Barnstormer and Sophie was dead set against riding it, even though she talked about it all the time. No problem, we have no rules today! The wait for the princesses was about 15 minutes. We finally were escorted into the room and I don't know who was more excited, me or Sophie. We had Aurora, Cinderella, and Belle. All three were really pretty and they all took their time with each child. Cinderella spent the most time with Sophie, talking to her about her pins and such. The only one I jumped in a pic with was Cinderella and the photpass guy for Belle was great. I had put my camera down with my bag and he picked it up and started taking pictures with it. It was very Disney-like to me, going above and beyond what is expected.
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After telling the princesses goodbye, we decided to ride the train back up to Main Street. I guess this wasn't meant to be, b/c they were having trouble with the trains and after waiting for about 15 minutes we decided to walk back to Fantasyland to grab some food. Where would we end up eating? And would I finally get to see my boys? .........

Sorry to cut it in half, but my football team is coming on, so I HAVE to finish later today.

[askomsky]

What a tease!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :rotfl: Thanks for picking it back up!

[jakeandsophiesmom]

So when I left off, we had just left the Princesses and the train was not running. We walked back to Fantasyland and had a late lunch at Columbia Harbor House-my favorite CS. I had the delish chicken and fish and Sophie had the macaroni and we shared eveything. It had started raining abit by then, so we just took our time eating and enjoying each other and enjoying watching people watching out the second story window. After lunch, we decided to stay in Fantasyland for a little while longer. Dumbo didn't have a really long line, so we decided to go ahead and wait. Dumbo is another classic that I just have to ride. And I always have to get a pic on it, but this time I didn't have anyone to take it for me, so I had to do a self pic.
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After Dumbo, we went to see Mickey's Philharmagic. Sophie wasn't too keen on this one, but of course I love it!! All the characters and all the fun and the surprises--who wouldn't love it?!? Next we headed over to Adventureland to see my hottie-Jack Sparrow. Sophie wasn't too sure about riding Pirates, but this was the one I wasn't giving in on. The wait was maybe 5 minutes. I love the new editions to the ride! The Davy Jones smokescreen is so cool and the Jack Sparrow animatronics are unbelievable. I love it!! When we got off POTC, it was still raining, but not so much that the characters were gone. We came across Captain Hook and Mr Smee. This would probably be my favorite character meet yet. Mr Smee took great offense at Sophie's pins, since they were mostly Tinkerbell. He made her take her lanyard off before they would take a pic with her. It was hilarious!
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Since Sophie really didn't want to ride any of the rides, we made our way back up Main Street for a bit. Who would we see there?? Yep, my boys, Chip and Dale. Finally!!! We got in line and I started talking to the CM, telling her that they were my absolute faves and I hoped that she wouldn't pull them before I got to the front of the line. She assured me that she would wait until I got to see them. After a few minutes, we were almost there and Dale noticed my t-shirt and started pointing at me and dancing. Finally, it was our turn. Since there were no Photopass people around, I got the gentleman behind me to take a few pics. Dale seemed to give me all the love. Don't know what was up with Chip! Of course I didn't care, b/c I finally got to see my boys!! One of my co-workers says the pic of me looks like I am the happiest girl in the world!!!
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After we got our pics, the bottom fell out of the sky and it started pouring. We walked around the shops at Main Street for awhile, just browsing, seeing what we might purchase the next day. After about 45 minutes, we decided to go ahead and call it a day. We went back to the room and enjoyed the BBQ that Dick's aunt and uncle sent back with them. Sophie was out within minutes of eating and I got to enjoy a nice hot bath. Up next, our final day at Magic Kingdom......

[wilsonfamily4]

yippee! Thank you for continuing. The pictures of you and Chip and Dale are great, really good

[faithhope]

Thanks for writing more... I love reading trip reports, and your pictures are great!

[askomsky]

Awesome Liz! I agree the pics of you with the "boys" are so cute!

[jakeandsophiesmom]

yippee! Thank you for continuing. The pictures of you and Chip and Dale are great, really good

Thanks for writing more... I love reading trip reports, and your pictures are great!

Awesome Liz! I agree the pics of you with the "boys" are so cute!

Thanks! I guess my obsession with Chip and Dale began the first time we took DS to Disney and I noticed how much time they took with Jake and how funny they were. Since then, I have just LOVED them. It really made my day to get to see them. I don't understand why they don't have their own attraction at Disney?? I would definitely support it!!

[disney_girl]

Thanks! I guess my obsession with Chip and Dale began the first time we took DS to Disney and I noticed how much time they took with Jake and how funny they were. Since then, I have just LOVED them. It really made my day to get to see them. I don't understand why they don't have their own attraction at Disney?? I would definitely support it!!

I'm loving your trip report! I have to agree that Chip and Dale have always been great with DS. They really take time with him and act like they don't want him to leave lol. Great pictures!

[3dog2kidmom]

Hi Liz,

Enjoying your report -- thanks for writing more!! Reminds me I have a couple of my own to finish... oh the pressure!!

[jakeandsophiesmom]

I've not forgotten about this trip report!! I'm gonna finish it today hopefully! :banana: And then I'll post some of my fav Photopass pics on here.

[askomsky]

I've not forgotten about this trip report!! I'm gonna finish it today hopefully! :banana: And then I'll post some of my fav Photopass pics on here.

I sure HOPE SO!!! I was going to start bugging everyone again starting with you! LOL Come on Jen, Cate (well I know she's moving so she has an excuse) and Miranda!!!!!

Looks like Pam is home so she needs to get one started too!

[pbhall13]

I sure HOPE SO!!! I was going to start bugging everyone again starting with you! LOL Come on Jen, Cate (well I know she's moving so she has an excuse) and Miranda!!!!!

Looks like Pam is home so she needs to get one started too!

Don't pressure me just yet............I have to get ready for Sydneys friend party (15 little 9 year olds in my house doing Tinkerbell pillowcase decorating)...the fun starts tomorrow (why did I plan this trip for the weekend we got home?????

I will start it the beginning of the week, okay???:o

[jakeandsophiesmom]

Finally I'm finishing it! I have to say that it may be a sketchy installment since it's been so long. There are some things I remember like it was yesterday and some things are kind of fuzzy, so bear with me!


Day 8, Thursday July 3 -- Today was going to be our last day at Disney and we specifically picked Magic Kingdom b/c the 4th of July fireworks were going to be shown on this night and we all really wanted to see them.

We start off the day fairly early and get out the door and stop at Chick-fil-a for some breakfast to go. I have to mention here that I cringed when I saw what everyone else was wearing today. The previous night, the Glovers bought Thing tshirts for everyone and they just HAD to wear them the next day. They were cute, but to me you can't wear Unviersal clothes to Disney. Just a crime! A lot of CM's gave them a hard time and I would just shake my head. Anyway, we get parked and get through security and are up to the turnstiles. Here's where it gets interesting. Remember that the other family had three days on their tickets? Remember what a tightwad Dick is? Well their tickets don't work! They are out of days! I am ashamed to say that I laughed a little to myself.:angel: So, over to guest relations where they find out that they used one day on their tix two years ago. After much arguing and shedding of tears that they would not come to Disney for just one day, they have to shell out money for one day tickets in which they got a discount for. Me, I'm just off to the side thinking to myself, I'm going in regardless. Hope you guys have a nice day! After getting through all this, Tammy tells me that they did use one day when they went on a cruise two years ago. This kind of perturbed me, b/c they got a discount when all along they knew they were wrong.

On to Main Street!! Ah--there she is again, that beautiful castle that has so captured my heart! Now first things first. We decide to go ahead and get some characters out of the way early. Here's where the title to my report comes in. Who do we see up ahead?? Any guesses?? Yep, my two favorites, Chip and Dale!! The other family had not met them yet, so I had no objections to seeing them again. After a few minutes of waiting, we are almost to the front and I see the CM who is with them. Of course it had to be the same one that was with them the day before that I begged not to take them away! I try my best to not bring any attention to myself, but she walks over to me and starts laughing and says You're back huh? I laugh and respond Who me? I'm really not stalking them, I swear! Finally get to the front and I let Tammy and co go first. Then my turn, my turn! Still don't know what's up with Chip, Dale gives me all the love again. I just wish I could fold them up and put them in my pocket and take them with me!

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After saying Goodbye to my furry friends, we continue down Main Street. The show at the castle has already started, so we decide to wait and see that later if time permits. We see that Storytime with Belle is about to start and no one has seen it yet, so we grab seats at the front and wait. I've always wanted to see this, but just never found the time. Really cute show. It's great how they get the kids to come up on stage and help with the story. And I must say that this was by far the prettiest Belle I've seen.

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After Belle, we started making our way to Toontown to see the Princesses. On the way, we stopped off at Mad Tea Party. Tammy and I both refused to get on this, so Dick took all the girls while Tammy and I waited in line to get Alice to sign her girls autograph book. We ended up having a little issue about this ride. While everyone wanted to spin fast at first, once the ride got going, Sophie decided she didn't want to spin that fast and got a little upset. Dick slowed it down for her, but Savannah, the 10 year old hormonal queen as I now call her, got really upset about it and started pouting and whining about it. I so wanted to say something to her, but I kept my mouth shut.

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On to ToonTown. We all convinced Sophie to get on Goofy's Barnstormer. She was brave and got on, but was behind my back the entire time. On the other hand the other girls loved it so much that they rode it two more times. At some point, Savannah lost her brand new watch on the ride. She starts totally freaking out and crying. We spend probably 20 minutes looking for her watch and never find it. She sulks some more. Shouldn't have worn you brand new expensive watch in the first place. So, we head on to visit Minnie's house, which for some reason I have never been in. The girls really enjoyed looking at everything in here. Then on to Mickey's house and out through the garden. We decide to skip meeting Mickey as the line is really long. And finally on to the princesses. We had a longer wait than Sophie and I did the previous day. That wait was made even longer by the sulking of one 10 yr old who shall remain nameless. Finally it's our turn to enter the room. Savannah immediately perks up as she sees her favorite princess, Cinderella. We also had Aurora and Belle again. I'll forego showing any pics this time since you've all seen the pics from earlier. I was glad I got to see them the day before b/c these three were not the best. Not nearly as photogenic and interactive as the others.

Alright, I need to take a break. We've got the characters out of the way, except for Ariel. Next will be some rides, will she have a total meltdown and can we run fast enough to catch her?......

[mirandag819]

YAY! So glad you are finishing! Don't know how you put up with them all week. Sounds like you managed to have a good time still. I am glad you got to see your boys again.... I love the pics.

Can't wait to hear if there is a total meltdown!

I know I know.... I need to work on mine. I will try to add some more tonight, I have my photo pass pics now, so I really should.

[jakeandsophiesmom]

YAY! So glad you are finishing! Don't know how you put up with them all week. Sounds like you managed to have a good time still. I am glad you got to see your boys again.... I love the pics.

Can't wait to hear if there is a total meltdown!

I know I know.... I need to work on mine. I will try to add some more tonight, I have my photo pass pics now, so I really should.

Oh I bit my tongue quite a bit. I did have a wonderful time in spite of all the issues. And I actually applaud you for putting up with a sister for a week. That woud be a totally different story for me! We would have slaughtered each other the first day!

[jakeandsophiesmom]

Day 8 cont.

I left off with us visiting the Princesses. Next up, we decided to ride the train all the way around the park. While waiting in line, I spotted Robin Hood, but the train was coming and no one wanted to wait on the next one, so I didn't get to see him.:( The girls all wanted to ride at the very back of the train, which I've never done, but I will in the future. Savannah and Alyssa grabbed the small seat right at the very back and made it clear that they did not want Sophie to sit with them. What a bunch of spoiled brats. As we started off, I learned something new. The conductor introduced the two girls and let them say All Aboard on the speaker. Then they got the same kind of cards they give you for the monorail. Next stop, same thing. Tammy and I could both see how dissappointed Sophie was to not be included in this, so she made the girls let Sophie do it at the next stop. Of course they complained about it. Have I mentioned what spoiled brats they are??

After getting back to Toon Town we made our way to FantasyLand. I won?t go into great detail here. We rode It?s a Small World, Peter Pan, and saw Mickey?s Philharmagic. I should mention that before doing Mickey?s Phil., Sophie had to make a pitstop at the restroom and Tammy said they would wait for us before going in. They didn?t b/c Dick didn?t want to wait. So I had to do the whole excuse me thing through almost the entire line. I was almost too upset at having to do this to enjoy the show. Tammy knows that one of my pet peeves is people saying they will do one thing and then doing another without a good excuse. For her to let Dick do this really peeved me! Next it was time to eat and we all decided on Pinocchio Village Haus. Can?t remember what we had here. But I do remember that Sophie and I sat by ourselves b/c the brats didn?t want to sit with anyone but there mom and dad. I thought it was kind of rude, but hey Sophie and I had fun sitting by the window waving at the riders on IASW. Sometime after lunch I got this shot of the castle, which I love!
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/100_1067.jpg

After lunch, we headed towards Liberty Square and again talked Sophie onto another ride?Haunted Mansion. She really did not like the elevator part but made it through. Once we were in our Doom Buggy, she hid behind me, but halfway through she started to giggle at the music. She never got out from behind me, but she did continue to giggle through the rest of the ride. Next we went to the Hall of Presidents. I haven?t seen this one in a few trips and I never really paid too much attention to the waiting area. The girls and I walked around looking at all the Presidents and I had to stop at James Madison and laugh. Why laugh? I had to laugh at this one b/c one of my first bf was named after him. James Madison XXXXXX the third. Ha!! Needless to say the girls thought it was a great time to snooze.

Making our way around, we hit Frontierland next. No one was really in the mood for Splash, so we skipped it. Everyone but Sophie was up for a ride on Big Thunder Mtn. No matter what we said, she was not going for it. So we ended up doing the swap. Tammy and Dick went first while I hung back with the girls. We walked over to the play area and let them play for awhile. When it was our turn, little Alyssa was so excited! We put her in the middle between Savannah and I. Alyssa loved this ride! The whole time I had to keep my hands on her b/c she had her hands in the air! Once we got off, Tammy had a pic of us and said she couldn?t tell who had more fun, me or the girls. We bypassed Country Bears and headed on into Adventureland. Here, I was so hoping to run into Peter Pan, as I had switched into my new Peter shirt. No Peter Pan though. We didn?t even see Hook and Mr Smee today. We rode Jungle Cruise. Don?t remember too much about this one. Then we rode Pirates. Alyssa wasn?t too sure about it, but Sophie kept telling her it was a great ride. Yeah, my little scaredy cat loves this one!?! I guess she takes after her mom and just loves to see Jack any way she can! After Pirates, we wanted to stop and get a Dole Whip, but saw the time and found we only had about five minutes to get over to Ariels Grotto before they closed.

I knew it was a long shot, so I told Tammy to keep Sophie with her and I took Savannah and took off towards Fantasyland. We ran through the crowds and made it to Ariel?s Grotto. I asked the CM if we were too late and he assured me that we were not. We went ahead and got in line and the others caught up with us a few minutes later. The CM then came over to talk to us. His name was Noah and he was the cutest little thing! He asked us about our trip, etc. while the girls all played. At some point, Sophie asked Savannah a simple question and Savannah lost it. She came over to Tammy and I and started complaining that Sophie wouldn?t leave her alone and that she was getting on her nerves. Umm, first off you are the older child and need to act like it. Have you ever thought that just maybe Sophie looks up to you (for whatever reason I don?t know) . I just pulled Sophie to the side and told her not to talk to her for the rest of the night. Once we got in to see Ariel, Sophie and I were first in line in front of Tammy, but her two kept trying to get ahead of us. I finally told them to go ahead if it meant that much to them to see her first.
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/100_1119.jpg

Once we all saw Ariel, we made our way back out of the grotto, but what?s this? We are roped in, and the CM, Noah, opens the gate for everyone and then closes it before I could get out. He?s asking me what we are doing next and recommends that we see the fireworks and tells me that he can show me a great spot for them. I?m thinking to myself OMG this kid is totally flirting with me! I tell him thanks, but we have a spot picked out already. Now I have to give a big shout out to Noah for making a 30 something mom feel great!! I know it?s shameless, but it did feel good.

We make our way over to the bridge between Tommorowland and the Hub. There are a bunch of people just spralled out, laying down in spots and we take our spots among them, essentially making them get up. We hear a few comments about it, but ignore them. You don?t have to lay down and take up all the space to enjoy the fireworks people. The fireworks were just beautiful! I couldn't help but think about my Dad and how much he would have enjoyed them. I don?t have any pics b/c I couldn?t get my camera quite right. But totally worth waiting for!

After the fireworks, we decided to grab a bite to eat at Cosmic Rays. Again I don?t remember everything we got, but I remember that it was pretty good. After eating we went to Tommorowland. We rode Buzz, which stopped, and I was the only one with sense enough to keep on playing and ended up with the highest score. Don?t remember what the score was though. Dick wanted to do Stitch but we told him no and then came across a CM and we asked his opinion and he told us that it was the worst ride in all of Disney World, so he was convinced not to do it. We opted to go check out Monsters Inc Laugh Floor. This was so funny. It would have been funnier to me though if I hadn?t been afraid that they would put that camera on me. By nature I am a really shy person, so I really did not want them to call on me. I?m working on this though! After Laugh Floor, it was about 11 pm, so almost time to get our spots for the parade at midnight.

Con't in next post...

[jakeandsophiesmom]

We head on down toward Main Street and find a great spot for watching the parade and we decided to go by family to do some shopping. Sophie and I went first and man could I have spent some money! I let Sophie get a thing or two and I decided on a Mickey tshirt instead of the Chip and Dale tank that I found. Found DS and DH something they would like and headed back to our spot to let the other family do their thing. Sophie and I enjoyed people watching while waiting for the parade. Once Tammy and co. got back, Little Miss Hormone immediately told Sophie that she needed to scoot over b/c she was sitting with HER family. Fine, whatever. The parade starts and I?m trying to get some good shots, but I have Alyssa getting up and standing in front of me every five seconds. Arrgghh! After nothing being said to her, I finally tell her that she needs to sit down or stand up behind us b/c she is blocking other people?s view. Parade is magical as usual! When it ends, we all decide to walk through the shops a bit more and Dick finally gets the girls ?the one thing? that they can buy on the vacation.

We finally start making our way up Main Street to leave for the night. It?s about 1 am and I?m wired. Tammy and Co. decide to stop and see if anyone found Savannah?s watch. Sophie goes with them and I am left by myself for just a few minutes. I just stop and stare and take in the moment. What a wonderful moment in time for me! I don?t know if any of you have just stood at the end of Main Street late at night when it?s closing time and there?s not too many people around. It?s something that I can?t even describe. The feelings of happiness and of sadness all at the same time. It gives me goosebumps and brings tears to my eyes now just to think about it. If you?ve never done it, do it. You won?t regret it. There?s no feeling like it! Even Tammy and Dick recognized it, b/c they stood off to the side to let me enjoy it after they checked on the watch.

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/100_1127.jpg

Of course this wonderful feeling I had in my heart ended on the walk to the car when Sophie started talking to Savannah and Savannah snapped at her. I rather loudly told Sophie that I told her earlier not to talk to Savannah that she's being a bit of a baby. We arrived at the car and made our way back to the room with no incident. Got back to the room a little after 2 am and I was still wired. So while every one else went to sleep, I packed and took a nice hot bath and read my Harry Potter book that I brought with me.

Next, leaving day and my final thoughts......

[askomsky]

Wow Liz you sure held it together better then I would have!

So glad though that you and Sophie had a wonderful trip!

[3dog2kidmom]

Wow Liz you sure held it together better then I would have!

So glad though that you and Sophie had a wonderful trip!

I was thinking the same thing! I am sitting here reading her TR inserting all my snarky comments and what I would have done and said to that jerk and his ignorant daughter.

Liz, you are a saint for putting up with him!! :rolleyes:

[jakeandsophiesmom]

Believe me, the snarky comments were shooting off in my head, but I have my DH to thank for not letting them escape my mouth! A younger me would have let it rip at every opportunity, regardless of the outcome!

[m 'n c]

I've not forgotten about this trip report!! I'm gonna finish it today hopefully! :banana: And then I'll post some of my fav Photopass pics on here.

Yay!! I have enjoyed your report so far. I can't wait to see what you thought of it once it was all done/over.

I sure HOPE SO!!! I was going to start bugging everyone again starting with you! LOL Come on Jen, Cate (well I know she's moving so she has an excuse) and Miranda!!!!!

Looks like Pam is home so she needs to get one started too!
I know I know. I just got my photopass cd in so I will continue it tomorrow. :)

[jakeandsophiesmom]

Day 9 Friday, July 4 -- Leaving day!:cry: Not too much to say about this day. After getting to sleep around 3am, I got up around 8 and let everyone else sleep. I packed up all of our things and loaded the car before anyone else woke up. I had already made coffee and while the others were rushing around trying to find everything, I took my coffee, went outside on the balcony and enjoyed the quiet for a few minutes. Then I grabbed Sophie and we all said our goodbyes, with the exception of Dick. He didn't speak to me the entire morning, not even to say bye. :confused: I still don't know who peed in his corn flakes on this morning. Anyway, Sophie and I stopped for gas and some snacks (some really healthy ones too--Slim Jims, Lance crackers, chips, soda, and candy bars:D) and we were off! Before we even got out of Orlando, Sophie had crashed and she slept for about five hours of the seven and a half hour trip. We made it home in record time, thanks to my lead foot. Boy was I glad to see Danny, my DH, and Jake!! I could have squeezed the guts out of both of them!! Got the car unpacked and still had time to grill hamburgers and go check out fireworks for the Fourth!! What a day--start off in Orlando with a grump and end the day at home with my family enjoying food and fireworks!


Now my final thoughts about this trip--

As some of you know, this was a very spur of the moment trip and I had a hard time deciding whether to go or not since half of my family would not be with us. Did I regret going? Not at all!! I am so very glad that I went and was able to spend some alone time with Sophie. After all the baseball seasons that she has had to sit through, she deserved it. I think it will be a trip that both of us will remember and cherish forever. Would I change anything? Nope! Well, except for this one thing......I don't think I have to mention what that would be!:angel: I learned a few things about myself on this trip also. I was a little anxious about going alone, but I learned that I can definitely handle it! I also learned that I have a lot more patience than I thought I did. I was proud of myself for trying to remain calm at times and on the other hand I was proud of myself for standing up and taking care of business when I felt I needed to. Wow! What a wild ride it was! And I am so glad that I have been able to share it all with my friends here. Now the question I bet all of you are dying to ask...Would I do it again?? In a heartbeat!! As crazy as that may be, I'd do it all again and again, just b/c it's Disney!

Photopass pics coming up!!

[jakeandsophiesmom]

As the ending to my report, I thought I'd share some of my favorite photopass pics with you.

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/image005.jpg http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/image013.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/image027.jpg http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/image328.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/image036.jpg http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/image044.jpg

[jakeandsophiesmom]

Some more pics...

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/image076.jpg http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/image082.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/image093.jpg http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/image109.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/image158.jpg http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/image168.jpg

[jakeandsophiesmom]

And finally just a few more....

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/image174.jpg http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/image191.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/image208.jpg http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/image261.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/image226.jpg http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd3/lizmartin78/image239.jpg


And that my friends is THE END!!

[Sunni]

Liz...thanks for finishing this TR. I really enjoyed reading it. I love all the pics that you posted. Sophie is so beautiful.

[askomsky]

Oh Liz the pics just came out beautiful!!!!! Crazy as it sounds I think your right and you did a great job making it work for you in and Sophie.

[disney_girl]

What beautiful pictures!! Just when I thought I was ready to order my photopass CD...now I am thinking I need some black and white photos!:)

Loved reading about your adventure and so glad it was an overall good trip for you and Sophie!