Dsnygirl
11-09-2009, 11:52 AM
Don't know how many of you noticed, but I changed the title of my trip report from my pre-trip report... as much as this trip was for our 15th anniversary, and as excited as we all were to be pirates for MNSSHP, it really came down to one thing -- relaxing and enjoying our time at Disney together, and not feeling rushed to "get to everything". I think we succeeded, although by the time the day to fly home came around, I have to confess to being VERY thankful we weren't hitting a park that day!! No matter how much down time you find for yourselves, I'm not sure it's possible to leave Disney feeling truly rested!! (at least WE haven't figured out that magical combination yet!)
So, you all be the judge...
The cast of characters for this trip...
Me (41) - Disney addict, fanatic and crazy planner of all trips
DH (42) - lover of all things Disney but not as crazy as I am! Also was once known on here as CaptJackSparrow, but hasn't been around much...
DD11 - silly, funny Disney-crazed can't-wait-to-get there daughter, closely following in mom's footsteps
DD8 - fun-loving rider of all crazy rides, not as obsessed as everyone else, but heading down that path!
Day 4, Sunday Oct 25 - Today we slept in just a bit and had breakfast in the room... felt nice after being on the run the last two mornings! But we still were at DHS by 9:15, and the girls and I got in line for TSM while my DH got in line for FP's for later. He joined us not too much later and we had fun... we all love this ride, although I need serious breaks between ride times, as I wear my shoulder out each and every time we ride.
From there, it was off the the Great Movie Ride... we really enjoy this ride, my favorite part I think is the very end w/ all the movie clips. Gets me every time!! ;) Then the girls wanted some autographs and they were SO excited to go see the characters from UP... they both hugged Dugg SO hard!! We visited with Sorcerer Mickey, too, and Emma declared she LOVED seeing him in his sorcery clothes!!
After we left the Animation area, we were joined by our friends again and we headed for ToT... my DD8 had decided that this was the year, she was finally going to ride it, and she and I headed of to do just that, after getting FP's for later. (She and her older sister had forced me to do the "walk of shame" in December, as the Twilight Zone story before the ride had just freaked them right out, then being in the boiler room did them in, and there was NO convincing them how much they'd love the ride. It's my favorite at DHS, but I'd walked off with them... so this time, as it was just her and I, I'd warned her -- no walking off this time! ;))
Well - short version -- she LOVED it!! Declared it the best ride ever (although RnRC still holds the most sacred place in her heart...) and couldn't wait to go on again later. We joined up with fam & friends and then went to ride TSM with them and our FP's. While we were waiting, Luxo Jr came out and we got to see him for the second time (we'd seen him that morning, forgot to mention that...). He is SO cute... funny how you can animate something so non-personal and give it such character and make it so life-like!! He's just adorable, and fun to watch.
From there, it was off to the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids playground where once again -- POOF!! You arrive, and the kids are gone. This time, there were three of them, and they had a great time... 'til the end, where the magic of being a threesome turned into the issues of being a threesome, as one of my girls demanded more of their friend's attention, and the other got upset... and so we had to have a bit of a sit-down/talking to time. But hey -- wouldn't be a vacation w/o at least one of those, right?? ;)
After everything was settled, we got snacks from the Scary Apothecary (and slushies, which definitely became a theme this week...) and settled in the watch the Block Party Bash. Now, my DH and I love this parade -- maybe it's the 80's music, who knows -- but we really enjoy it. Our girls, who dance around the house to HM and every Disney song created and get wild and crazy every chance they get?? They just STAND there!! No singing, no dancing, no wildly waving hands and arms... they just watch. ?? :bored: ?? Oh well... DH and I make up for it and really enjoy ourselves every time, and just warn them that it will only get more embarassing as they get older. :D
Our friends had headed home at this point, and we were headed for some downtime at the Boardwalk... we headed to the pier at DHS and boarded a Friendship, after visiting with (and feeding) the ducks along the way. Such a nice, relaxing ride... we got off at the Swan and walked over to the Boardwalk... did some shopping, let the girls play a carnival game and then decided to check out the Boardwalk Resort, just "in case" we ever chose to stay there. We had drinks at the pool bar and enjoyed the relaxing atmosphere for awhile, having some of our snacks from DHS... it felt so nice to just "be"!! Then we headed over in Epcot for a bit, as we had dinner ressies later at Cape May at the BC, and it wasn't time to go there yet. We caught the British Invasion performing in the UK, which was awesome, and then we explored France a bit... the girls were woo'd by the beautiful smells coming from the Guerlain perfume shop, and left 15 minutes later, completely thrilled with the $200 (!!!!) perfume the CM had sprayed on their arms. Wow!! (of course, I'd found one I liked, too.. only $250/bottle... DH dragged us away VERY quickly... )
Now, as we were smelling so good, it was time to head off to dinner... after a quick tidy-up in the ladies room, we were seated at Cape May for what was one of our favorite meals this trip!! Now, I can't say it was b/c of the seafood... it was good, but we're frequent travellers to New England, so honestly, nothing can compare to the fresh stuff up there. But, it was good -- and our server was awesome, recommended an AWESOME drink for me that I can't remember the name of, but boy, it rocked -- and the desserts (well, one in particular...) were to die for! We fell in love w/ the Oreo BonBons... so much so, that we asked the server about them -- and he not only got my e-mail address so the chef could send me the recipe (which he already has -- :thumbsup:) but he then brought us a special plate with 3 of them for our anniversary, all decorated for us -- SO nice of him!! (Of course, by this point we were stuffed, and the funniest part was we had just gotten done saying how we were wishing we could smuggle 3 of them out to bring to our friends, who were going to be meeting us later in Epcot for Illuminations... so we were now able to bring them some!! Perfect!!)
We just about had to roll ourselves out of there, but we managed, and the walk back over to Epcot did us good! We met our friends near Norway and the girls went to ride the Maelstrom quickly, and were back in time for Illuminations. This is just about my favorite fireworks show at Disney... it's a true toss-up b/w these and Wishes, I bounce back & forth. But I really love the music, and the song "We Go On" gets me every time. (Are you sensing a theme here?? As you can see, I don't carry the tissues for my children... :blush:) And it's even better watching with friends... :)
After Illuminations ended, we all headed back to our respective homes... our friends to their house in Celebration, us to our room at CBR. It was SO good to see them, and we made sure we'd see each other again before we headed home.
Then it was time for a good night's sleep!!
So, you all be the judge...
The cast of characters for this trip...
Me (41) - Disney addict, fanatic and crazy planner of all trips
DH (42) - lover of all things Disney but not as crazy as I am! Also was once known on here as CaptJackSparrow, but hasn't been around much...
DD11 - silly, funny Disney-crazed can't-wait-to-get there daughter, closely following in mom's footsteps
DD8 - fun-loving rider of all crazy rides, not as obsessed as everyone else, but heading down that path!
Day 4, Sunday Oct 25 - Today we slept in just a bit and had breakfast in the room... felt nice after being on the run the last two mornings! But we still were at DHS by 9:15, and the girls and I got in line for TSM while my DH got in line for FP's for later. He joined us not too much later and we had fun... we all love this ride, although I need serious breaks between ride times, as I wear my shoulder out each and every time we ride.
From there, it was off the the Great Movie Ride... we really enjoy this ride, my favorite part I think is the very end w/ all the movie clips. Gets me every time!! ;) Then the girls wanted some autographs and they were SO excited to go see the characters from UP... they both hugged Dugg SO hard!! We visited with Sorcerer Mickey, too, and Emma declared she LOVED seeing him in his sorcery clothes!!
After we left the Animation area, we were joined by our friends again and we headed for ToT... my DD8 had decided that this was the year, she was finally going to ride it, and she and I headed of to do just that, after getting FP's for later. (She and her older sister had forced me to do the "walk of shame" in December, as the Twilight Zone story before the ride had just freaked them right out, then being in the boiler room did them in, and there was NO convincing them how much they'd love the ride. It's my favorite at DHS, but I'd walked off with them... so this time, as it was just her and I, I'd warned her -- no walking off this time! ;))
Well - short version -- she LOVED it!! Declared it the best ride ever (although RnRC still holds the most sacred place in her heart...) and couldn't wait to go on again later. We joined up with fam & friends and then went to ride TSM with them and our FP's. While we were waiting, Luxo Jr came out and we got to see him for the second time (we'd seen him that morning, forgot to mention that...). He is SO cute... funny how you can animate something so non-personal and give it such character and make it so life-like!! He's just adorable, and fun to watch.
From there, it was off to the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids playground where once again -- POOF!! You arrive, and the kids are gone. This time, there were three of them, and they had a great time... 'til the end, where the magic of being a threesome turned into the issues of being a threesome, as one of my girls demanded more of their friend's attention, and the other got upset... and so we had to have a bit of a sit-down/talking to time. But hey -- wouldn't be a vacation w/o at least one of those, right?? ;)
After everything was settled, we got snacks from the Scary Apothecary (and slushies, which definitely became a theme this week...) and settled in the watch the Block Party Bash. Now, my DH and I love this parade -- maybe it's the 80's music, who knows -- but we really enjoy it. Our girls, who dance around the house to HM and every Disney song created and get wild and crazy every chance they get?? They just STAND there!! No singing, no dancing, no wildly waving hands and arms... they just watch. ?? :bored: ?? Oh well... DH and I make up for it and really enjoy ourselves every time, and just warn them that it will only get more embarassing as they get older. :D
Our friends had headed home at this point, and we were headed for some downtime at the Boardwalk... we headed to the pier at DHS and boarded a Friendship, after visiting with (and feeding) the ducks along the way. Such a nice, relaxing ride... we got off at the Swan and walked over to the Boardwalk... did some shopping, let the girls play a carnival game and then decided to check out the Boardwalk Resort, just "in case" we ever chose to stay there. We had drinks at the pool bar and enjoyed the relaxing atmosphere for awhile, having some of our snacks from DHS... it felt so nice to just "be"!! Then we headed over in Epcot for a bit, as we had dinner ressies later at Cape May at the BC, and it wasn't time to go there yet. We caught the British Invasion performing in the UK, which was awesome, and then we explored France a bit... the girls were woo'd by the beautiful smells coming from the Guerlain perfume shop, and left 15 minutes later, completely thrilled with the $200 (!!!!) perfume the CM had sprayed on their arms. Wow!! (of course, I'd found one I liked, too.. only $250/bottle... DH dragged us away VERY quickly... )
Now, as we were smelling so good, it was time to head off to dinner... after a quick tidy-up in the ladies room, we were seated at Cape May for what was one of our favorite meals this trip!! Now, I can't say it was b/c of the seafood... it was good, but we're frequent travellers to New England, so honestly, nothing can compare to the fresh stuff up there. But, it was good -- and our server was awesome, recommended an AWESOME drink for me that I can't remember the name of, but boy, it rocked -- and the desserts (well, one in particular...) were to die for! We fell in love w/ the Oreo BonBons... so much so, that we asked the server about them -- and he not only got my e-mail address so the chef could send me the recipe (which he already has -- :thumbsup:) but he then brought us a special plate with 3 of them for our anniversary, all decorated for us -- SO nice of him!! (Of course, by this point we were stuffed, and the funniest part was we had just gotten done saying how we were wishing we could smuggle 3 of them out to bring to our friends, who were going to be meeting us later in Epcot for Illuminations... so we were now able to bring them some!! Perfect!!)
We just about had to roll ourselves out of there, but we managed, and the walk back over to Epcot did us good! We met our friends near Norway and the girls went to ride the Maelstrom quickly, and were back in time for Illuminations. This is just about my favorite fireworks show at Disney... it's a true toss-up b/w these and Wishes, I bounce back & forth. But I really love the music, and the song "We Go On" gets me every time. (Are you sensing a theme here?? As you can see, I don't carry the tissues for my children... :blush:) And it's even better watching with friends... :)
After Illuminations ended, we all headed back to our respective homes... our friends to their house in Celebration, us to our room at CBR. It was SO good to see them, and we made sure we'd see each other again before we headed home.
Then it was time for a good night's sleep!!