brivers222
10-21-2010, 12:27 PM
Sunday Oct, 17th, 2010
Our alarm came way to quickly…
We really do need to check out our alarms… well actually I found out my problem at least. This new Samsung has a feature where if you don’t pick exact days for the alarms it automatically sets it M-F. That doesn’t do a lick of good when you are trying to wake up at a certain time on either Sat or Sun, now does it?
Regardless, it’s like another excuse I guess…because we got up at our normal time, the exact time we agreed up to leave the hotel. Our Breakfast (okay Lunch actually for normal people) was set for 11:20am at Crystal Palace (I know what you are thinking just hang on we will get to that).
We got ready and headed out the door at record time. We were trying to decide what would be the best course of action to take to get there by our check-in time to avoid the extra 30min punishment 1900PF unleashed on us yesterday! So as we finally decided parking at the TTC would work the best we realized we both left our cell phones at the apartment. Great, now as soon as we get out of the car we will no longer have the comforts of the digital dashboard clock reminding us we need to hurry up!! So we continue to move forward, head up to the monorail express to MK only to find the line for it is down the ramp and overflowing into the concourse area… decided to take the ferry instead as the voice on the monorail always said that both take about 7mins to get to MK. Well, I doubt the voice over planned for such occasions as a family of 3 being on the upper level of the ferry and taking their own sweet time to exit the boat… They were the only people on the boat and it took a good 8mins for them to leave so that we could board. Normally this wouldn’t be an issue but after negating the monorail (which had now went by 4 times, meaning we would have most likely been on that last one) it was beginning to get annoying. Finally we are all aboard and the ferry heads out. We dock at the MK and rush through security… today we planned to not carry a bag to speed up this process. The ticket readers were being annoying today as well… They kept saying my ticket was invalid (bought a 10day from Undercover Tourist) and by my accounts this was only Day 9 and shouldn’t have been a problem. Well after a few scans by the cast member and the fake finger scanning I was let in… Off again to the Crystal Palace. I did pause to take a few shots of the castle in daylight as I wanted some good pics (trying to avoid the eyesore that was/is the crane) I glanced at the clock on main street and saw that it was 11:28am… not to bad considering were going in blind without our cell phone watches.
Now to revisit that 11:20am ADR above… just like Pee Wee Herman finding out there was no basement in the Alamo, I was shocked to find out there was no seating earlier than 11:30am for lunch at Crystal Palace…. Alas, I must have thought ahead and wrote our ressie down in the calendar an extra 10mins earlier to try to get us there in time. If not, then it’s a clever guise, because we arrived right on time :)
We got seated within about 8mins of checking in. Crystal Palace is a beautiful venue. This was the first time either of us had ever been in here and we were not let down with the looks. We were congratulated on our engagement (maybe the 783rd time this trip) which never got too old :) and lead to our table. A great view of the adventure land entrance area, but the view was not really the main attraction… the characters are!! I did forget to mention that we had colorful Mickey confetti on our table, a nice touch again!
Before we could eat we noticed that Tigger was bouncing (as tiggers do) down our row and we didn’t want to miss him! We got the traditional one pose each and then I decided to change it up (no I didn’t hug him like the princesses…that would be weird ;) ) but I did get a “together” pic with YO! and I. This carried on with all the characters piglet next, then the awesome Eeeyore (thanks for noticing) and finally Pooh. I did happen to snap a picture of Eeyore’s tale… its not much but he is attached to it afterall!
Apart from the picture of Tigger (a CM took it for us) and the Eeyore (a table across from us took it and immediately upon handing over the camera proceeded to take the pic which is why my eyes were closed…I was still getting into the picture taking position!) we had a deal struck with the family on the other side of the wall… they would take our pic and we would take theirs. We missed them with Tigger as after that was when the deal was struck. There was a break in the action as they announced that pooh and pals would be back in a bit. So we took this opportunity to go up and get some dessert… when we came back to our chair we noticed the characters did not in fact leave and we missed the family shot for the other family!!! Darn… so we made a point to stay longer after we wanted to go so that we could get them with Pooh… and we did!
As with the other character meals, even though we were there for less than 50mins (good timing and seat location I gather) we managed to have multiple interactions with them… I wore my character attractant goofy ears and they didn’t let me down. Piglet was all about them!
Now the BEST thing regarding our Engagement happened during this meal (save the best for last I guess). As we were getting ready to leave our waiter said, “hold on a second” and placed a white cake with white frosting (the best frosting I have ever tasted) complete with lit blue and pink candles… Totally cool, but yes as you are guessing that was cool, but not the BEST thing! What we got next totally took us by surprise… A card saying, “Congratulations on your engagement Adrianne & Brandon” signed by Pooh, Eeyore, Tigger and Piglet!!! http://family.webshots.com/photo/2241748380084639932ohOoLG
Not wanting the magic to end just yet we took a leisurely stroll around the magic kingdom starting in Adventure land. Jungle cruise was something we had not been on and the wait said 10mins… so we attended. We walked around up front and caught the Stage show again… only took a few shots this time… oh and I found a hidden mickey, probably no one will ever see this one again: http://family.webshots.com/photo/2015519220084639932yZHNDC okay okay boooo hissssssss … I know bad joke, but I just got off the Jungle Cruise!
Instead of going back towards tomorrow land (seen a ton of it at the three MNSSHP’s) or fantasyland (depressing in the day with all the work being done) we decided our final ride should be the Walt Disney World Railroad. I always get a kick out of the “NO DANCING” warning on rides: http://family.webshots.com/photo/2578845310084639932VsbCXO (before you say anything...remember jungle cruise… just got off of it!)
I ended my MK experience as I wouldn’t think of any other way… getting my mouth all dirty after munching on a Mickey Premium Ice Cream bar! Oh and I did find something that may be a legit hidden mickey… if the sun was just in a slightly different place, but you get the point http://family.webshots.com/photo/2244566460084639932XhDZdi
We said goodbye to the Mouse as we passed the Buckle UP sign for the last time: http://family.webshots.com/photo/2060766920084639932RmfjdJ
This might actually be the one benefit of staying offsite… you get your sad goodbyes done earlier, then after you leave the hotel it doesn’t feel the same sadness because you don’t have to go through the Disney gates again. However it is still sad….
Upon arriving at the hotel we had to upload the pics and then pack. We were slightly interrupted by some kid pulling the fire alarm in our building… Great that set us back a good 40mins. Luckily it wasn’t as bad for us as it was for another family outside… half dressed with curlers in their hair and shirts a mess…. Turns out they had to be at a wedding in 30mins… Looks like they will be late for a very important date!
Once allowed back in we finished packing the car and took off. Around 20hours later we arrived safe and sound back at our home in Bloomfield Hills, Mi. The trip went a lot smoother with very little fighting… I attribute this to me wearing YO! out so much that she slept most of the trip LOL.
Check out the Photos to go along with this story: http://family.webshots.com/album/578827198WJzYlI
Next up…An overall summary of our trip…and links to photo galleries that you may have already snuck a peak at!!
Pre-trip review: http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=175721
Day 1 review: http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=176107
Day 2 review: http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=176112
Day 3 review: http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=176114
Day 4 review: http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=176115
Day 5 review: http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=176140
Day 6 review: http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=176142
Day 7 review: http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=176147
Day 8 review: http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=176151
Our alarm came way to quickly…
We really do need to check out our alarms… well actually I found out my problem at least. This new Samsung has a feature where if you don’t pick exact days for the alarms it automatically sets it M-F. That doesn’t do a lick of good when you are trying to wake up at a certain time on either Sat or Sun, now does it?
Regardless, it’s like another excuse I guess…because we got up at our normal time, the exact time we agreed up to leave the hotel. Our Breakfast (okay Lunch actually for normal people) was set for 11:20am at Crystal Palace (I know what you are thinking just hang on we will get to that).
We got ready and headed out the door at record time. We were trying to decide what would be the best course of action to take to get there by our check-in time to avoid the extra 30min punishment 1900PF unleashed on us yesterday! So as we finally decided parking at the TTC would work the best we realized we both left our cell phones at the apartment. Great, now as soon as we get out of the car we will no longer have the comforts of the digital dashboard clock reminding us we need to hurry up!! So we continue to move forward, head up to the monorail express to MK only to find the line for it is down the ramp and overflowing into the concourse area… decided to take the ferry instead as the voice on the monorail always said that both take about 7mins to get to MK. Well, I doubt the voice over planned for such occasions as a family of 3 being on the upper level of the ferry and taking their own sweet time to exit the boat… They were the only people on the boat and it took a good 8mins for them to leave so that we could board. Normally this wouldn’t be an issue but after negating the monorail (which had now went by 4 times, meaning we would have most likely been on that last one) it was beginning to get annoying. Finally we are all aboard and the ferry heads out. We dock at the MK and rush through security… today we planned to not carry a bag to speed up this process. The ticket readers were being annoying today as well… They kept saying my ticket was invalid (bought a 10day from Undercover Tourist) and by my accounts this was only Day 9 and shouldn’t have been a problem. Well after a few scans by the cast member and the fake finger scanning I was let in… Off again to the Crystal Palace. I did pause to take a few shots of the castle in daylight as I wanted some good pics (trying to avoid the eyesore that was/is the crane) I glanced at the clock on main street and saw that it was 11:28am… not to bad considering were going in blind without our cell phone watches.
Now to revisit that 11:20am ADR above… just like Pee Wee Herman finding out there was no basement in the Alamo, I was shocked to find out there was no seating earlier than 11:30am for lunch at Crystal Palace…. Alas, I must have thought ahead and wrote our ressie down in the calendar an extra 10mins earlier to try to get us there in time. If not, then it’s a clever guise, because we arrived right on time :)
We got seated within about 8mins of checking in. Crystal Palace is a beautiful venue. This was the first time either of us had ever been in here and we were not let down with the looks. We were congratulated on our engagement (maybe the 783rd time this trip) which never got too old :) and lead to our table. A great view of the adventure land entrance area, but the view was not really the main attraction… the characters are!! I did forget to mention that we had colorful Mickey confetti on our table, a nice touch again!
Before we could eat we noticed that Tigger was bouncing (as tiggers do) down our row and we didn’t want to miss him! We got the traditional one pose each and then I decided to change it up (no I didn’t hug him like the princesses…that would be weird ;) ) but I did get a “together” pic with YO! and I. This carried on with all the characters piglet next, then the awesome Eeeyore (thanks for noticing) and finally Pooh. I did happen to snap a picture of Eeyore’s tale… its not much but he is attached to it afterall!
Apart from the picture of Tigger (a CM took it for us) and the Eeyore (a table across from us took it and immediately upon handing over the camera proceeded to take the pic which is why my eyes were closed…I was still getting into the picture taking position!) we had a deal struck with the family on the other side of the wall… they would take our pic and we would take theirs. We missed them with Tigger as after that was when the deal was struck. There was a break in the action as they announced that pooh and pals would be back in a bit. So we took this opportunity to go up and get some dessert… when we came back to our chair we noticed the characters did not in fact leave and we missed the family shot for the other family!!! Darn… so we made a point to stay longer after we wanted to go so that we could get them with Pooh… and we did!
As with the other character meals, even though we were there for less than 50mins (good timing and seat location I gather) we managed to have multiple interactions with them… I wore my character attractant goofy ears and they didn’t let me down. Piglet was all about them!
Now the BEST thing regarding our Engagement happened during this meal (save the best for last I guess). As we were getting ready to leave our waiter said, “hold on a second” and placed a white cake with white frosting (the best frosting I have ever tasted) complete with lit blue and pink candles… Totally cool, but yes as you are guessing that was cool, but not the BEST thing! What we got next totally took us by surprise… A card saying, “Congratulations on your engagement Adrianne & Brandon” signed by Pooh, Eeyore, Tigger and Piglet!!! http://family.webshots.com/photo/2241748380084639932ohOoLG
Not wanting the magic to end just yet we took a leisurely stroll around the magic kingdom starting in Adventure land. Jungle cruise was something we had not been on and the wait said 10mins… so we attended. We walked around up front and caught the Stage show again… only took a few shots this time… oh and I found a hidden mickey, probably no one will ever see this one again: http://family.webshots.com/photo/2015519220084639932yZHNDC okay okay boooo hissssssss … I know bad joke, but I just got off the Jungle Cruise!
Instead of going back towards tomorrow land (seen a ton of it at the three MNSSHP’s) or fantasyland (depressing in the day with all the work being done) we decided our final ride should be the Walt Disney World Railroad. I always get a kick out of the “NO DANCING” warning on rides: http://family.webshots.com/photo/2578845310084639932VsbCXO (before you say anything...remember jungle cruise… just got off of it!)
I ended my MK experience as I wouldn’t think of any other way… getting my mouth all dirty after munching on a Mickey Premium Ice Cream bar! Oh and I did find something that may be a legit hidden mickey… if the sun was just in a slightly different place, but you get the point http://family.webshots.com/photo/2244566460084639932XhDZdi
We said goodbye to the Mouse as we passed the Buckle UP sign for the last time: http://family.webshots.com/photo/2060766920084639932RmfjdJ
This might actually be the one benefit of staying offsite… you get your sad goodbyes done earlier, then after you leave the hotel it doesn’t feel the same sadness because you don’t have to go through the Disney gates again. However it is still sad….
Upon arriving at the hotel we had to upload the pics and then pack. We were slightly interrupted by some kid pulling the fire alarm in our building… Great that set us back a good 40mins. Luckily it wasn’t as bad for us as it was for another family outside… half dressed with curlers in their hair and shirts a mess…. Turns out they had to be at a wedding in 30mins… Looks like they will be late for a very important date!
Once allowed back in we finished packing the car and took off. Around 20hours later we arrived safe and sound back at our home in Bloomfield Hills, Mi. The trip went a lot smoother with very little fighting… I attribute this to me wearing YO! out so much that she slept most of the trip LOL.
Check out the Photos to go along with this story: http://family.webshots.com/album/578827198WJzYlI
Next up…An overall summary of our trip…and links to photo galleries that you may have already snuck a peak at!!
Pre-trip review: http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=175721
Day 1 review: http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=176107
Day 2 review: http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=176112
Day 3 review: http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=176114
Day 4 review: http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=176115
Day 5 review: http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=176140
Day 6 review: http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=176142
Day 7 review: http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=176147
Day 8 review: http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=176151