"Move It People! We've Got Places to Go and Mouses to See!"

[PeaceLuvTheMouse]

Hey there, Readers! Welcome to my TR! This one is all about my 7th trip to Disney...but this one is GIRLS ONLY!

WHO

Me: 13; this will be my 7th trip to Disney & I can't wait! I'm a huge planner & Disney fanatic & can't wait to see the new Fantasy Land! My favorite characters are Ariel, Kiara, & Kovu (I couldn't pick just one)
Mom: 2Monkeys here on the DIS; big planner & Disney fanatic, just like me! Her favorite character is Mickey (especially Sorcerer Mickey)

Like I said, this is a girls only trip, so our head-count is only 2! Mom & I are super excited to go on this trip. We love Disney, but have never been able to go with just the 2 of us...but now, all that is about to change!!

WHEN

This time, Mom & I get to FLY! This is a first for both of us...not flying itself, just flying to WDW. We're really happy that our normal 10 hour drive has now become a 2 hour flight! Anyway, we fly out early in the morning (I think around 8:15) on Jan. 23 and fly back in early in the morning on Jan. 28.
That gives 5-days in the parks, and we couldn't be happier.

WHERE

This time around, we're staying at Port Orleans Riverside. We stayed at FQ 4 years ago, but traveled over to POR to try out the food court. I'm ecstatic to actually be staying at POR this year: great food court & a direct boat ride to DTD.

Stay tuned for the rest of the planning and then in 10 days time, the details of the trip itself!

Up next... WHY

 

[MIGrandma]

Looking forward to your review. I've been to WDW a few times in my lifetime but my next trip, in September, will be with my DD. We're "a bit" older than you, at 55 and 34, but still looking forward to a great "mother and daughter" week at Disney. We, too, are staying at Port Orleans Riverside. I stayed a week there in March 2009, with my own Mom, and again in January 2011 with my husband. It's a beautiful resort, isn't it?

So, come back and tell us more about your trip!!

 

[PeaceLuvTheMouse]

Looking forward to your review. I've been to WDW a few times in my lifetime but my next trip, in September, will be with my DD. We're "a bit" older than you, at 55 and 34, but still looking forward to a great "mother and daughter" week at Disney. We, too, are staying at Port Orleans Riverside. I stayed a week there in March 2009, with my own Mom, and again in January 2011 with my husband. It's a beautiful resort, isn't it?

So, come back and tell us more about your trip!!

I love POR!! It is very pretty! Thanks for reading!

 

[2Monkeys]

Looking forward to reading from the 'daughter' perspective. Cannot wait to go on this trip with you - it is almost exactly 10 years since the first time we took you for your 4th birthday!

,
Mom

 

[PeaceLuvTheMouse]

WHY

As you may have guessed by the title, this trip isn't just any trip. Now, obviously it's a girls only trip, which makes it special in & of itself, but that's not all. This time, we're celebrating my 14th birthday! Now, my birthday isn't actually until after we get back, but we're celebrating while we're there. Not only that, we're going to see the new Fantasyland!!
We are SUPER excited about the new additions to MK & can't wait to experience it all. One of the things that I am CRAZY psyched about is getting my picture taken with Tink & the other fairies from Pixie Hollow. Now you may be saying, "She's almost 14, why is she excited about getting her picture taken with fairies?" While it may be true that I am almost 14 on the outside, on the inside, I have the heart and mind of a 5 year old.

OUR PLAN

As you may have figured out by the personality descriptions from earlier, Mom & I don't EVER go to WDW w/o a plan. So, even though the plan often changes between the day we set it & the day we get there, we are always well prepared. As of right now our Mother-Daughter trip will be as follows:

WED: fly into Orlando & take Magical Express from airport to POR; dump stuff in room & take boat to DTD; lunch at WPE (or as Mom & I like to call it: "Wolfie's); dinner at Ghirardelli; early night
THURS: AM EMH at MK; possible hop to Epcot; back to MK for Elec. Par.
FRI: AK; hop over to DHS for Fantasmic; early night
SAT: AM EMH at DHS; hop over to Epcot
SUN: sleep in; MK; early dinner at Park Fare; PM EMH
MON: fly back home

While this plan isn't definite, this IS most likely what our trip will look like.
Mom & I like to start & finish our trips with MK. It's just one of the little quirks about us.

Hope our plan helps you out with yours.
Stay tuned for more planning details...

9 DAYS TO GO!!

 

[PeaceLuvTheMouse]

Looking forward to reading from the 'daughter' perspective. Cannot wait to go on this trip with you - it is almost exactly 10 years since the first time we took you for your 4th birthday!

,
Mom

I can't wait either!! It's going to be F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S!

 

[PeaceLuvTheMouse]

Okay, so, Mom & I are officially flipping out...We leave in less than a week!! 6 DAYS to be exact!! We are so excited about going to back WDW we can barely contain ourselves.

Now, obviously, in the midst of all this, I'm missing school. Now I really don't have a problem with this, except for the make-up work. Now, fortunately, most of my classes are about taking notes during lectures & my best friend as promised to give me those notes, but trying to write a demonstration speech while trying to contain your excitement about going to WDW is NOT easy...But that's a completely different story... Anyhow, since it's just Mom & I going, we're trying REALLY hard to fit all of our stuff into 2 carry-on size suitcases...Not an easy task. Honestly, the hardest part is fitting all our liquid toiletries into a 311 bag... Mom is seriously stressing about that. BUT, if we don't have to check a bag, there's NO way for the airline to lose our stuff, which is exactly what we are trying to avoid...Of course it's nice to save a few bucks in the process.

Stay tuned for more updates as our Mother-Daughter trip gets closer & closer!!

 

[PeaceLuvTheMouse]

Now, as all you regular Disney-goers know, there are 4 words that you definitely do NOT want to hear 3 days before you leave for WDW..I don't feel well.

AHHHHHH!

As soon as I heard these words come out of my mother's mouth when we were out shopping, I freaked. I kept telling her that she was just tired & she needed to stop saying that before she jinxed us & our trip...Well, no dice.

We went home & she took a nap & still doesn't feel well...BOO! I'm hoping that whatever is making her feel bad will pass & we can enjoy our trip as planned...Although, Mom has already said that she has gone to WDW sick before, and she'll do it again!


Now, if you've been paying attention, you'll remember what I said previously about mine & Mom's packing...we're only taking carry-ons. Now you may be thinking, "5 days worth of clothes & toiletries in a carry-on?! Impossible!"

Wrong you are!! We couldn't believe how much stuff we fit into just MY bag: my clothes, make up, shoes, our breakfast stuff, an extra duffel bag, the park bag, laundry detergent (powder), sponges for washing our mugs, a first aid kit, and LOTS of moleskin for blisters!! All of that in a carry-on bag.

How did we do it, you ask? Well, I am a BIG Pinterest junkie...I'm serious! When I'm not on the DIS, I'm on Pinterest. Well, one day I came across a pin w/ the caption: pack for a 6-day trip in a carry-on. Naturally, as I had been thinking about how Mom & I were going to manage putting 5 days worth of stuff in a carry-on bag, I clicked on the link. I was directed to a blog, where the author told her story about an airline losing her luggage & not wanting to repeat the experience (Mom was worried about the same thing, which was what inspired the idea of only taking carry-ons). As I kept reading, I became more & more intrigued by all the stuff this woman was putting in her carry-on. How did she do that!? At the end of the blog post, she has step-by-step instructions on how she did it, plus pictures!

Mom & I were amazed at the genius of her packing...Check out her blog for how to do it yourselves : thefeministbreeder.com ; select "My Travels Around the World" in the category bar ; you'll then see a post called "How to Pack a Carry-On Like a Boss"...That's the one!

Now, I'm not taking my laptop with me to Orlando, so you, my faithful readers, will have to wait a little while for my next update. BUT, I AM taking a notebook with me, so I will be making all kinds of notes while we're there! Don't worry, I'll take a lot of pictures, as well.

Until next time readers! And thanks for sticking with me through all these details of the pre-trip!

Oh, BTW: 3 DAYS TO GO!!

 

[PeaceLuvTheMouse]

Hey there people of the DIS!! I know it's been a while since my last post, but my mom & I just got back today We are sad to be back in reality, but glad to see the rest of our fam!

Maybe now since things are getting back to normal, I'll get some updates of for ya!!

Till next time...

 

[PeaceLuvTheMouse]

Now I know what you’re thinkin’…she’s going to tell us all about their first day…Not quite…As any Disney-goer knows, the excitement starts before you ever leave. This trip was no exception. However, since this trip was planned really fast, the excitement didn’t build up as much as it usually does. But, I still had a hard time sleeping the night before we left. 
When I woke up Tuesday morning, I didn’t know how I could it through 7 hours of school…But I persevered and tried really hard to pay attention in class…Easier said than done, right? Well, by 8th period (which is Latin for me; ugh!), my heart was pounding. When the final bell rang, I jumped out of my seat and ran to my locker. As I walked down the hall to the front of the school, all my friends were telling me good-bye and to have a great time. DBF was the saddest of them all, but I promised I would text him when we landed. He’s so sweet to worry about me.  My mom picked me up, and we headed home to finish packing.
I’m a competitive dancer, so I have classes every night. On Tuesday nights I’m at the studio until after 9 PM. Since we had to get up super early the next morning, Mom & I decided that I shouldn’t stay out late, so I went to my first class but skipped my last.
I got home, put the finishing touches in my bag, and headed off to bed, ready for my adventure in the most magical place on Earth!! 

 

[PeaceLuvTheMouse]

Wednesday January 23rd, 2013
NOW we get to the fun part: arrival day!! Last night, I was so excited that I didn’t think I would be able to sleep. Thank you, Pandora! I turned on my Disney station and was out like a light.
My alarm clock went off at 5 AM…early, but I was too excited to really notice. Mom was already up, so I ran into the bedroom screaming, “We’re going to Disney World!” We got ready, loaded the car, and hit the road. Between the 2 of us we only had 2 carry-on suitcases & 2 backpacks: DDad now expects us to pack like that all the time…who is he kidding?!
We got to the airport, said good-bye to DDad and DLilBro, and got in line for security. All in all, security only took about 30 minutes. Our time at the airport was relatively uneventful, except that I got pulled aside for a random security check. Let’s just say that Mom wasn’t happy that I got pulled aside without her present…I wasn’t too happy about it either.
After my escapade at security, we grabbed some breakfast and headed to our gate. Before we knew it, we were boarding the plane.
We found a row with two empty seats next to a very nice lady. She introduced herself to us, and we spent the entire time talking with her. Even though it was only an hour long flight, it didn’t even seem like that long.
Before long, we were in Orlando!! We landed about 11:20 AM ET. Since we didn’t check any bags, we spent MUCH less time in lines at the airport. We followed the blue Mickeys on the floor to the podiums for ME. We hopped in Line 5 & waited for 20 minutes or so for our bus. When we walked out of the airport , the bright, Florida sunshine felt AMAZING!
POR was the first stop for our ME bus. We checked in, and our room was ready.  We transferred our Undercover Tourist tickets to our room keys and began the LONG walk to Alligator Bayou Building 36. POR is MUCH bigger than I thought. It took a while to get from our room at the back of the resort to the Riverside Mill. Other than that, I love POR, but I think it’s just too big for us considering we really don’t spend that much time at the hotel.
Mom & I unpacked our stuff and headed for the bus stop. Since the resort is spread out, there are 4 bus depots instead of just 1 at the front. Fortunately, there was one close to our room. We walked over to it to wait for a bus to DTD.
As soon as the bus stopped, we walked over to WPE for lunch. This has got to be our favorite restaurant in all of WDW.

Continued in next post...

 

[PeaceLuvTheMouse]

Wow…do I have any readers left?? It’s been so long since I’ve had a chance to sit down & write, but I hope you guys haven’t given up on me yet.
Now, where was I? Right; Mom & I had just made it to DTD & were heading over to WPE for lunch. I got the chicken caesar salad, and Mom got the margarita pizza. YUM! We were both very happy with our food, as always!

Since we were planning to get up for rope drop the next morning, we decided to just wander around DTD & take it easy. I think we went through just about every shop there! Even though I saw several things I liked, I restrained myself & didn’t buy anything.

Mom & I were both dying to see the new AoA resort, so we hopped on a bus & before long were pulling into the newest Disney resort!
O…M…G! This resort is ADORABLE! Disney continues to outdo itself with the details, & this resort is no exception. We stopped and took picture after picture. I noticed that you have to have a room key to get into the pool area, which I thought was a nice feature.

We were both getting tired, so we walked back to the AoA bus stop to catch a bus back to DTD. We saw bus after bus & not ONE of them was for DTD. Finally a bus arrived & soon we were back at DTD. We were both craving something sweet, so we headed over to Goofy’s Candy Co. Let me warn you, the price of the pretzel rods has gone up! Instead of 3 for $4.99 they are now 3 for $9.99. Mom didn’t realize this until we had gotten back to the resort & she happened to check her receipt. She wasn’t very happy about it, but she still enjoyed her snack. I got a Mickey brownie. It was delicious & cute! It was shaped like a Mickey hat & had white chocolate drizzle on it…YUM-O.

We decided to take the boat back to POR instead of the bus…big mistake! This would become a theme for us on this trip: boat transportation in WDW is S.L.O.W.

By the time we reached POR, we were hungry for actual food, so we headed over to the Riverside Mill. We split a burger & went ahead & bought our mugs. We didn’t use a DDP this time, but we wanted the mugs anyway.
After finishing our burger & desserts, we started off on our trek to our room.  After being up early & still adjusting to the time change, we were exhausted. Plus, we wanted to be well-rested for MK rope-drop the next day!

I’ll post some pictures soon; I’m uploading them to PhotoBucket as I’m writing this. 

Up next…Day 2: MK 

 

[PeaceLuvTheMouse]

Me & Mom at the airport. We were tired, but raring to go!


Me in front of our ME sign. We're finally here!


Mom's pretzel rods


My Mickey brownie


Stay tuned for Day 2 of our Mother-Daughter birthday trip!!

 

[PeaceLuvTheMouse]

Hey there, readers! I’m back & ready to get started. This is the day where the fun really begins!

Now, Mom & I had done our homework, and we knew that there was AM EMH in MK on what would be our first day in the parks. Did we take advantage of it? Absolutely! You have to understand something about Mom & I: we could spend 24 hours in MK and not be bored. So the idea of getting into the park an hour early and staying all day was quite appealing.

So, when we woke up, neither of us really seemed to notice what time it was. We’re in WDW for crying out loud! We can sleep later. We hopped on bus and headed for our favorite park! Now, let’s just say, Mom & I got a little excited when the “Welcome to the Magic Kingdom” voice recording came on. But, we won’t dwell on the little girl squeals that came out of my mouth.

When we got off the bus at MK for the first time, I felt like I was home. We had arrived around 7:40 AM ET, just in time for the opening show. If it hadn’t been for the fact that I was so excited to be there, I probably would have been embarrassed at the fact that Mom knew EVERY SINGLE WORD to the song and was, therefore, singing along. She also got a little emotional when she realized that it had been 10 years since the first time she had walked into the park with me for the very first time.

Here we are waiting for the opening show to start.



Prior to leaving for our trip, Mom & I had both downloaded the Disney Touring Plans app on our phones and had logged in under Mom’s account. We had optimized the plan the moment we got off the bus, so it was ready to go. Following its suggestion, we booked it over to Tomorrowland and hopped in the standby line for Buzz. We didn’t wait at ALL! I guess that’s the perks of being there for rope drop. After we finished on Buzz (I honestly can’t remember who won, but going by past experiences, it was probably Mom) we ran over to Space Mountain. I was determined to ride it again. When I had ridden it the summer before, it had been right at closing & I had been in MK since rope drop…let’s just say being tired on a roller coaster you’ve never ridden before can make it much less fun. So, this time, I wanted to ride it BEFORE I was exhausted. We hopped in line and waited about 15 minutes or so. I had SO MUCH FUN! It was my first time to enjoy it, and I couldn’t wait to do it again!
Still following the Touring Plans app, we booked it to Fantasyland. I had forgotten that certain rides aren’t open during EMH, and it frustrated me to no end. Of course, among these closed were those in NEW Fantasyland…go figure. So, we hopped in the stand-by for Peter Pan’s Flight. The sign said 25 minutes, but we only waited about 10. Woo hoo! Now, as my family members know, you do NOT get in my way while I’m in WDW. It’s just a bad idea for all involved. So while trying to get to Peter Pan, this family walking in front of us decides to stop in the middle of the road. Really?! We moved around them and continued on our way. Not even 30 seconds later, more people stopped right in front of us! At this point I was getting irritated. So I turned to Mom and say “Move it people! We have places to go and mouses to see!” (hence the title of this TR). Now, I hadn’t intended to speak this incorrectly, but it came out like that anyway. Of course, Mom & I laughed for a good five minutes and finally made it to Peter Pan.
Next on our list was Jungle Cruise. We walked that way and, once again, didn’t have to wait. The last time we were in WDW our skipper on the Jungle Cruise was really, well, BORING. This time, however, we had one of the funniest ones! Tad made the horrible puns he had been given funny, and made the ride an all-in-all much more fun experience. As we were near the Magic Carpets and the line was short, we decided to go ahead and ride. We got in line just as the carpets were rising, so we had to wait a couple minutes for our turn. I will never get tired of this ride! Yes, I am well aware that it is designed for little kids, but I love it! After we rode, I really wanted to get my picture taken with Tinker Bell. As I said in my intro, this one of the things I was most excited about, as I had never been able to do so before.
Well, the one thing we had not been able to find while doing our research was WHERE Tinker Bell’s Nook was. People had talked about going, but no one had ever said where it actually was. So, Mom walked over to the nearest CM to ask for directions. She irritably replied “That way.” I was shocked! All the CMs I could remember having encounters with had always been friendly and happy to help. And, at the end of the exchange, we still didn’t know where Tinker Bell’s Nook was.
We continued wandering “that way” until we finally found the sign for Tinker Bell’s Nook. Temporarily, it is tucked away in an empty building near the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House. You have to keep your eyes peeled, though, because the sign is not very big. Nevertheless, we found it and got in line. I was really excited to find few people inside. You can’t see the fairies from the line, which adds to the effects once you step inside “Pixie Hollow”. Decking the walls around the line are sketches of the fairies and even some of Tinker Bell’s inventions. On one wall is something that looks like a large picture frame. Inside it is a picture of the pixie dust tree. But, every so often, a short of the fairies would begin to play inside the frame. I loved the effects, and so did the little girls around me.
We reached the front of the line and stepped through the arch into Pixie Hollow. The walls are painted to look like tall grass, making you feel as though you really were as small as the fairies. This day, Tinker Bell and her sister Periwinkle were there taking pictures. I thoroughly enjoyed talking to them. They made it fun for everybody, even teenagers and adults!
Tink even asked me what my talent was!!




Because of my blue eyes & blue eye shadow, Periwinkle assumed I was also a winter fairy. She told me that she could hide my in the woods, & no one would ever know! LOL

Unfortunately, I can't seem to find any of the pictures of me & Periwinkle. I'll keep looking & hopefully I'll be able to find them.

After we left Pixie Hollow, we grabbed FPs for BTMRR – my favorite ride in all of WDW! Then we headed over to the Haunted Mansion – Mom’s favorite ride – and walked right on. I still can’t believe I used to be scared by this ride! After we our tour of the HM, we walked over to Mickey’s Philharmagic – our favorite attraction (only Disney-fanatics would distinguish a difference between rides & attractions LOL). We had had good luck all morning, so I guess it was time for some bad luck. Mom & I always sing along during the show, but very VERY quietly. Well, we had the unfortunate experience of sitting in front of some college students who decided they didn’t want to watch the show. Instead, they talked (& rather loudly I might add) the ENTIRE time. I’m sorry, but if you’re not going to watch a show, don’t take up seats.
After the show, we headed over to the monorail. We had ADR at Kona in the Polynesian, and as it had been a while since we had eaten, we were glad it was time for lunch.

Up next…Day 2 Part II

 

[PeaceLuvTheMouse]

Hey y'all! Sorry it's been so long since I've posted an update; things have been pretty crazy with the end of the school year fast approaching

So, where was I? Oh, right. Mom & I had just gotten off the monorail at Poly. We had never eaten at Kona before this trip, so we were excited to try someplace new.

Let me just say, it was DELICIOUS! We ended up splitting the sticky wings & grilled beef satay; both were AMAZING! For dessert we each got a Kilauea Torte…Mom tried to convince me to split one with her, but I said “No way!” You better not try to rob me of my chocolate! 

Well, as we were eating, I looked down at my little red backpack I had bought before we came, only to find the strap detaching itself from the bag! Mom & I had each bought one, and already, (after half a day) they were breaking. We were not very happy. Mine was worse than Mom’s, and we knew I had to replace it and FAST! Unfortunately, I we didn’t find anything in the Poly gift shop (go figure), so I continued walking around with my broken bag, paranoid the straps were going to snap completely.

We hopped back on the monorail to return to MK. I could still feel the giddiness I had experienced early that morning; I mean, we’re in WDW!  When we got back in the park, it was time to use our BTMRR FP – yes! This ride is my absolute favorite & I couldn’t wait to get on it!


As soon as we got off, we grabbed another set of FP and set off for the Enchanted Tiki Room. Now, I know a lot of people love this attraction the way it is, but I have to say I preferred it when it was under Iago & Zazu’s management. That’s just my opinion, and I know it might not be the popular one, but I miss those guys!

After we were entertained by the birds, we decided to ditch the Touring Plans app. Now, up until this point, it had been working well for us, but we decided we wanted to follow our own plan. So, we headed over to Dumbo. Now, I was very excited to see the inside of the circus tent, as it wasn’t finished the last time we were in WDW. I have to say, the pager system is pretty impressive. Even though I was too old/big to play in there, it was nice to be able to sit down in air conditioning while waited. After maybe 15 minutes, it was our turn. We boarded our elephant and began our flight over MK. But, after a minute or so, all the elephants lowered and stopped. The CMs looked as confused as the passengers, which is not a good sign. They asked us to disembark, but promised we would get to ride soon. They ran the ride once without any passengers to make sure everything was okay, then we were allowed back on. The CMs apologized profusely; they couldn’t figure out what had happened. All in all, the slight delay only cost us an extra five minutes or so – no big deal.

Since we were very close to Pete’s Silly Sideshow, we decided to go have our pictures taken with Minnie & Daisy. I'm not sure what happened, but these pictures have disappeared

We were pleasantly surprised at how short the line was. The line for Goofy & Donald, however, was MUCH longer. We decided we come back later for them.
We still had some time to kill before our BTMRR FP time slot, so we rode HM for the second time that day. Since we had had to listen to loud-mouths the first go-round, we decided to go watch Mickey’s Philarmagic again to make up for it. Well, it was a little better this time, but people, come on! Don’t go into a show if all you’re going to do is talk instead of watching!

After singing along for the second time, we STILL had time left, so we headed over to the Laugh Floor. We will never get tired of this! It’s different every time & we always come out laughing! Well, this time was no exception. One little boy raised his hand to volunteer, and he answered the questions in the funniest ways! He didn’t care that people were watching and laughing at his answers. In fact, he was eating it up!

Once we had laughed until we cried, it was FINALLY time to use our FPs. We made our way back to Frontierland and hopped in line. After our ride on a runaway mine train, we decided to get in the stand-by for Under the Sea. We had been watching the wait times all day, and it was at an all-time low. The queue for this ride is so cute! It didn’t even feel like the thirty minutes it was because there was so much to look at!
I LOVED THIS RIDE! The attention to detail was incredible! At the very beginning, they make you feel like you really are going underwater, and it gets better from there. Mom & I sang along the ENTIRE TIME! I pretty sure there were some irritated glares sent in our direction, but we could care less.

You can't really tell in the picture, but Ariel's veil was sparkly!



So, by this point, it was getting dark. We decided to head on over to Enchanted Tales with Belle. We knew we would never get to do it if we didn’t go soon, so we hopped in line. The little interactive story was very cute, but only the little kids who were picked to participate got to take pictures with Belle, but everybody had to sit there while they did. That was a little frustrating, but overall it’s a very cute attraction.





Well, it was time for the Main Street Electrical Parade! Mom remembered this one from when she was a kid, but the only parade I knew was SpectroMagic. It had been a long time since we had eaten, so naturally I was hungry. Now, how we didn’t know this I don’t know, but somehow we missed the fact that all the little carts that sell popcorn, pretzels, etc. close down before the parade starts. We wandered around for a while before giving up and staking out a place to watch the parade.

I was not disappointed! I loved this parade! The lights, characters, everything! I thought it was pretty neat that the characters had microphone headsets, so that when they spoke, they could be heard.





As soon as the last float had passed us, we began making our way toward the exit. We were tired, hungry, and had no desire to get trampled by the crowds once the parade was officially over. We got on a bus and headed back to POR.
We stopped at our room to get our mugs, then walked up to the food court to get something to eat. I absolutely love the Make Your Own Pasta station! I really like all the different options & being able to get exactly what I want. Mom & I split some chicken alfredo with spinach, refilled our mugs, and began the long walk back to our room. Throughout our time, the walk seemed shorter and shorter, but it was still longer than we had expected. After showers and some notes on our day, we crawled into bed.

Next up…AK & DHS 

 

[PeaceLuvTheMouse]

Friday January 25th, 2013

Okay, at the end of my last update Mom and I were crawling into bed to get some sleep before our day at AK & DHS!

We arrived at AK not even 2 minutes after rope drop.









As soon as we got inside the gate, we headed for the safari. WOW! There were a bunch of animals out; there are usually more animals out early in the morning, and that worked to our benefit today. Our guide made the ride even more interesting; he really knew his stuff.


After our safari, we decided we wanted a cupcake. Now when doing our research at home to decide where we would want to eat, we had seen some cupcakes on the Kusafiri Bakery menu. Unfortunately, when we found the bakery, the cupcakes were not on the menu.


In order to boost our spirits, we made our way towards our favorite thing to do in AK: The Festival of the Lion King! If you haven’t figured this out by now, you haven’t been paying very close attention: Mom & I LOVE to sing along to the songs from the Disney movies; we don’t even have to be in WDW! I’m one of those people that walks around listening to my Disney Pandora station ALL THE TIME. So anyway, as Lion King is one of our favorite Disney Classics, this show hits home. We knew there was a 10AM show, and we only had to wait 15-20 minutes for them to open the doors at the amphitheater.





I will never get tired of this show! Every time we see it, Mom and I joke that my DLilBro could EASILY be a Tumble-Monkey 










After singing along with Simba & friends, we realized we could ignore our hunger no longer. We made our way to Yak & Yeti to split the honey chicken. It was pretty tasty, but I was a little disappointed to discover that this raved about dish was really no more than chicken nuggets with a sauce.

After our quick snack, we grabbed FP for Dinosaur and headed over to Nemo the Musical!

Continued in next post…

 

[PeaceLuvTheMouse]

Hey, I’m back for another update! Now, before I continue, I have a little bit of a rabbit trail to chase. Now, normally Mom & I feel a little depressed when we return from Disney, but after a few weeks back in our busy lives it usually goes away. This time, however, it isn’t. It has now been 4 months since our last trip, & we are just as depressed as ever. I’ve been listening to Disney music almost constantly as well as watching the classics (at the moment it’s The Rescuers). We can’t quite pinpoint it, but something about this last trip is not letting us shake the withdrawal symptoms (lol).

Anyway, back to the TR. When I last left you, Mom & I had just finished a snack and were headed towards Nemo the Musical for the 12 PM show. This is another show I never get tired of! I love Nemo’s story & seeing it on stage is so much fun!

After the show, we still had some time before our FP time slot, so we made our way to It’s Tough to be a Bug. Now, I had never really paid that much attention to the signs in the corridor where you wait, but as we had a few minutes before the next show, we decided to take some pictures.







Now, I have to say, I had forgotten some of the special effects involved in the show. There’s a warning that it may be frightening to small children…it’s not just small children! There were a few I wasn’t prepared for, so they scared me a little!


After the bugs’ show, it still wasn’t quite time for our FPs, so we decided to look through a few shops I had seen along the way. After wandering through the shops, we headed back to Dinosaur to use our FPs.




Now, the last time I rode this ride, I was 9…I didn’t care for it too much. We didn’t go to AK on the last trip, so I was determined to ride it this time. I’m glad I did! It is a little intense, but it’s still fun! I can understand why, as a 9 year old, I didn’t like, though.

After our time-traveling adventure, we hopped on a bus to DHS!

When we arrived, our first stop was Starring Rolls Café. We had read about the Darth Vader cupcake online – chocolate & peanut butter is mine & Mom’s favorite combo, so naturally we HAD to try this cupcake. I realized, though, that I was actually hungry. I started looking at the other options in the shop and spotted a turkey sandwich in the case. It had a strange name, & I couldn’t really tell what was on it. But when I asked the CM what was on it, he asked me if I was allergic to anything. I told him I was only allergic to coconut, not really understanding the question. As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I was promptly told he couldn’t tell me what was on the sandwich. What?! Even when my mom said she wasn’t allergic to anything & wanted to know, he wouldn’t tell us. Finally another CM working in the shop told us what was on it. I decided I didn’t want it, and we just bought the cupcake to share.



Boy, was it good! After all the hassle over the sandwich, I was glad to sit down & enjoy that cupcake.
After we ate our cupcake, Mom & I headed to Muppet Vision 3D. It was hilarious, as always!







Continued in next post...

 

[PeaceLuvTheMouse]

Next we headed to a show devoted to one of my favorite princesses: The Voyage of the Little Mermaid! As much as I love this show, it was a much more condensed version of the story than I remembered. Mom & I were also surprised to realize that we had forgotten that you get RAINED on during the show!

We went from one favorite princess to the next: Belle! Now, as a bookworm, I have always been able to relate to Belle. And I love going to see her story on stage! It’s my dream to be a part of that show someday. My mom thinks it would be awesome to have both kids be a part of a Disney show… DLilBro as a Tumble Monkey, & me in the Beauty and the Beast musical.  I love this show & insist on seeing it every time we go to Disney. <3








Mom had read about an animation class you could take that would teach you how to draw a character. We just missed the class, but got an even better deal. While trying to decide what to do next, Mom spotted Sorcerer Mickey! She loves everything Mickey, especially Sorcerer Mickey. The line was pretty short, so we hopped in.

Soon, we were getting our picture taken!





After our photo-op, we got in line for the Great Movie Ride. It makes me laugh when I think about all the times I was carried off that ride, screaming & crying as a little kid. Now, I love it!














By the time we got off TGMR, it was time to line up for Fantasmic. We weren’t able to see this show the last time we were there, so Mom & I were determined to see it this time around. We found a seat and settled down to wait for a little while. Now, there were 2 CMs doing a little pre-show thing, which was…interesting to say the least. Their jokes were really corny; in fact, Mom & I were laughing at the stupidity of them.

Finally, the show started. I love this show! The combination of the lights, water, music, & movie clips really hits home with me. Unfortunately, none of the pictures we took came out very well.

As we headed toward the entrance, we wandered through the shops that lined the streets. I was thrilled to find the actual costumes used by the Pink & Yellow Rangers in the Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers Movie! This was one of my favorite movies as a little kid, so I had to take pictures!














Before we headed to the bus stop, I had one last picture I wanted to take.
You can sort of see me…





We reached the bus stop only to wait…and wait…and wait some more. We saw buses for every resort EXCEPT POR. Our line didn’t fit under the awning thing, but we still waited 45 minutes for a bus.

By the time we reached POR, we were HUNGRY! So we grabbed our mugs from our room and headed down to the food court. Mom got a salad, I got pizza, & we got a piece of red velvet cake to share.











After we finished our late dinner, we refilled our mugs to store in the mini-fridge until breakfast and headed back to our room in Alligator Bayou, where we found this:




Next up…DHS, Epcot, & DTD

 

[wiigirl]

Great update

 

[PeaceLuvTheMouse]

Great update

Thanks for reading! I was worried I was just writing this for myself Hope you enjoy!