Oh the Places We Go, The People We See ...Dream Trip Report

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Gail was ready to call it a day. They had to get up early to fly out tomorrow, but she did want to see Wishes. We all went on the bridge to Tomorrowland and just stopped there. It was so incredibly crowded and we didn’t want to fight the crowds to find a better spot.

I took a few pictures while we waited.

Soon we saw Tinker bell coming.

Abby didn’t like the booms of the fireworks, so Gail was holding her and trying to cover her ears. I ended up holding one of my hands over one ear to help Gail out.

As you can see, firework shots one handed really don’t come out very well at all.

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At one point I told Gail to just sit on the ground and hold her. It was the end of the day and who cares if you got dirty then, so she did scrunch down which made her a bit more comfortable holding Abby.

You can see in this next picture all the heads. It was crazy busy this night.

Here is PROOF that Abby was eating the forbidden popcorn. She would talk to Mickey’s head then pop it open, take a few bites and close it. It was almost like she was apologizing to him before eating it. LOL

The time had come …… Gail was going to head out and we most likely would not see them again till we were home. We said our good byes and we headed to Claire’s new favorite….. Carousel of Progress.

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I think we had Buzz fastpasses and headed over there next.

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I don’t remember scores, but most likely I had a higher one, though sometimes Claire finds a high spot and kicks my butt.

I forgot to post this, but I think after Gail left we took these photopass pictures as well.

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We decided it was time to call Skip before it got too late. It was still massively crowded and I was starting to feel achy again and I just needed a rest. We went in search of a peaceful spot.

We found a spot and sat on the steps. We gave Skip a call. It was really magical sitting there. The view of the castle was amazing and the Main Street Electrical Parade was going by as well. We described the castle to Skip, but he just didn’t get it. After we got done talking to him we just sat there for a long time.

I was really starting to drag now. I was feeling achier, my throat was feeling sore and I just wasn’t sure how much longer I could make it. It was extra magical hours now and I REALLY wanted to take advantage of it, but the crowds didn’t seem to be going down at all. I then made a decision that I regret still. We decided to leave. Claire was OK with it, but I just hated doing it. I have heard that if I waited about 30 -60 minutes it did clear out quite a bit, but at the time it didn’t look like it would.

We headed towards the front then around 11:40.

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We decided to duck into a few stores.

In just a weeks’ time the store was totally transformed from Halloween décor to Christmas.

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Good bye Magic Kingdom! We WILL be back to see more of you in the next few days!

If memory serves me well, we didn’t have much of an issue with getting a bus. I do remember it being full, but we had seats. It felt like a very long ride back. There was a race going on and traffic was heavy because of this. We did see many runners as we drove on.

We made it back to the Beach Club and made the trek to our room.

We could hear music blaring and lots of crowds. I assumed the race must be starting in Epcot.

We got settled into bed and even in our room we could still hear music blaring and loud crowds cheering. AND an announcer who NEVER shut up. I went to check our sliding door, as I swore it had to be open for as loud as it was, but nope, the door was shut tightly. I even double checked it later because it was just so loud. I was NOT happy about this. Had I known this, I would’ve stayed at MK. There was no sleep to be had with all this loud noise. My Mom even grumbled about it and said it had been going on for quite some time.

I don’t know what time I finally fell asleep, but I can tell you it took a long time and I was just not in a good mood. I had never heard of this being an issue before, but I now know if I go during a race time, to be sure not to stay anywhere near where the race is being held.

All in all it was a good day. I wasn’t feeling 100%, but I still accomplished a lot. We had visited 2 parks and had a wonderful ice-cream lunch ….Oh the Places We Go.

We met up once again with Carey and her family. Oh the People We See.

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Nov. 11, 2013, Sunday ~ Day 11

Rise and Shine! I don’t remember how early I got up, but I know it was early. My Mom was up and about early too as they had to be packed and ready to head our fairly early as well.

We discussed the whole snack credit issue and she said they rarely used them, so she was not sure why I had none left. She said they never could figure out half the time how to use the plan and paid out of pocket half the time. She also said they had more charged to the room and gave me some money.

I went down to sort it all out.

The charges were already applied to my card ….isn’t that nice. But they did allow me to pay it off in cash and credit my card back. I asked about the whole credit issue and she said they had some system glitches the day before and she wasn’t aware of what, but maybe that was the problem. She printed up my credits left. Holy Cow! I had SEVERAL snack credits now showing. And clearly when I bought the pretzel yesterday it didn’t take that credit off. I asked about it, and she told me not to worry.

We also had several counter service credits to use up before midnight today as well. Oh gosh. We were going to be eating a lot today!

I then gathered the bags I had packed and took them to the van and drove over to Art of Animation. That was going to be our next resort stay. I figured it would be easier to get checked in and take as much of our stuff over first thing while I still had access to the van.

Claire was very excited to be staying in a Little Mermaid room at the AoA. Back in the Spring when I decided to extend my stay longer I really debated this. At first it was a no brainer, it would be Pop Century in a preferred Pool view room. Then I saw some preview pictures of AoA and it got me thinking. I still debated and it was also announced that the Little Mermaid rooms would be opening earlier than planned. When it came down to it, I just really wanted to check it out and also be in a brand new resort. I decided to book it and even decided I would stay there, even if there wasn’t a discount.

Luckily my wonderful friend Carey got a pin code for free dining and it included the Little Mermaid rooms as the time. I booked my room attached to her pin as well and was able to get free dining for this portion of the trip. I also decided to try out something else new …deluxe dining. I did the fuzzy math beforehand and I figured it would come out to close to the same amount as what I would pay for with regular dining. Well actually when applied it was even less, so I was a happy camper.

I proceeded over to AoA to get us checked in and drop off some of our bags. I texted Carey to let her know I was on my way as well. She had texted me the day before and told me they would give us their light up necklaces they had used during the Christmas party, so we planned to meet up one last time and I could get those and say good bye as well because she was heading home today.

I swore I took pictures of the lobby when I checked in, but if I did they have disappeared because I can’t find them. I thought I brought along my point and shoot, and maybe I did and just didn’t take any pictures.

I got myself checked in. Of course our room wasn’t ready but they promised to text me when it was. I let them know that I had little faith in that as this was my 3rd Disney resort and not one had texted me yet. They even gave me a card I could use to call in and check…Yep I lost that in some very secret safe place. LOL.

They were having a bit of an issue with my tickets and I told them I had picked them up already. Well they played around and told me they now were attached to my new KTTW card. Ok then, that’s nice to have.

I then made my way over to meet up with Carey. Carey was in the LM section as well and she said she was about as far back as you could get. They originally had a closer room but when they went inside it just had a king bed, which wouldn’t work for the 3 of them, so they were moved.

Kadence was in tow and a little disappointed that Claire wasn’t with me. I let her know she missed her, but I had to let her sleep in a bit as we have been so busy.

We chatted a bit and Carey gave me the lay of the land. It was really neat to see the resort in person and I planned to tour around later in the day.

We said our final good byes and I headed back to the Beach Club. Mom and Dad were ready to leave and I got Claire up and going as well. Today was our Downtown Disney day, with plans to go to DHS later in the day to see the Osborne Lights.

Well I decided that today was also going to be nap day. We had been going strong for over a week now and we really needed to have a little bit of mid-day rest.

After my parents left, we finished up with our packing and checking the room and had the rest of our luggage picked up to be transferred to AoA. We then headed out. I think we started our way to the bus stop around 9:40ish. Of course we had to make a stop and get a few pictures.

And off to the bus stop.

We had the bad bus mojo again and waited quite a long time for a bus. I think at least 20 minutes.

I took this picture from the bus stop, but I am not even sure what I was trying to get.

And a bush nearby.

Claire and I discussed our bad bus mojo and finally one came and we headed off.

I was excited to see the Décor all around here as well and I took several pictures of it.

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We had to get a fun pose. I don’t think we ever took this shot before.

I submitted this next picture in a contest around Christmas time and it won! I won a Disney gift card.

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I didn’t even know there was such a thing as the perfectly princess birthday party.

We had some shopping to take care of. Nothing special, but we still had to shop.

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We did a lot of browsing. I don’t think we actually bought anything. There we several shirts I liked, but I couldn’t bring myself to pay the Disney prices for them.

I eyed the Dooney’s too. I REALLY liked the retro style pattern, but I wasn’t finding a style of purse I liked with that pattern.

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After looking around some more I kept going back to the Dooney’s. I asked if another shop in DTD sold them as well and I was directed to Trend D I believe. I really wanted one and my excuse to get one was to make up for all the bad bus mojo I had had during the stay so far. Surely a new Disney Dooney would make me feel better, right?

We headed over and YES! I found a style I liked. I was so excited. I snatched it up. I think the lady was surprised at how easy the sale was. She went to grab another so I could look at placement (her suggestion, not mine) and I paid with my Disney Visa and got 10% off too! I was on a high leaving that store. Claire was even excited because she saw how excited I was as well and I guess it was contagious.

After my wonderful new purchase, we headed out and we needed to take care of Claire’s shopping request of the day.

That would be the Lego Store. She had recently become more interested in Legos and she had been saving some of her money for this store. We looked around and she was in love with the Lego Friends series and she picked a few boxes out and we went to check out. We used Disney gift cards, but what I didn’t know was that the cashier had to go and swipe each on another machine and get the balance and then he would key that into his register. He was a very nice guy, but pretty darn slow. We had used several cards as I was trying to clear out some of the lower balanced/ half used cards. Had I known how the process worked I wouldn’t have done that.

Soon I had a very happy little girl walking by my side. We were 2 happy girls, me with my Dooney and Claire with her bag of Legos.

We had to stop and get a picture or 2.

And then it was time for lunch!

There was a very long line and we got in it. I asked the people around me if this is where I went to check in and they all thought so too, so we waited.

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After a bit a lady approached the side of the podium and said she was there for her ADR and she was helped immediately. Well this caused a big ruckus. Almost every person in our line was there to check in for their ADR and this person was helped right away. What none of knew and there is no sign to tell you is that if you have an ADR you go to the side of the podium, if you don’t you stand in the other line to try and get in. They seemed to be having issues fitting people in, which I didn’t understand as once we were seated there were a ton of tables empty in there.

Anyways, some people got darn right nasty with the girls at the podium. I was disgusted, but I kept my mouth shut. They really need to have this explained better.

So Claire and I got out of line and headed over to the side of the podium to check in. They could not find our name. She acted like I was lying about having an ADR. After watching a few in front of me, I realized that they were not finding anyone’s ADR confirmations for that time period of the day. I don’t know if it had to do with the system glitch from the night before, or what the deal was, but luckily I had my confirmation number with me and pulled it out and showed her. After she saw that, she became sweet as pie and didn’t even search anymore and sent us back.

Instantly we liked this place. It was so colorful and fun.

We were seated right near the ice room.

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The meteor shower was going to happen over our heads and then go into the ice room.

I forget how often it happens, but every so many minutes (maybe 10 or 15) the meteor shower starts.

Our table was right next to this cute little guy.

This was the view from my chair.

The meteor shower started.

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And turned the ice cave red.

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The Cave then goes back to blue.

But it flickers quite a bit first.

We made our orders and then took a look around the place.

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I LOVED the fish tank.

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How cool is this bar?

And the Baby Mammoths were so adorable.

This was our little buddy right next to our table. The only down side was that many people come over to take his picture.

Help!!!! It’s melting!

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It wasn’t too long and our appetizers arrived. The nice thing with deluxe dining is the inclusion of appetizers. I loved when the old regular plan included that and the tip as well.

There were so many wonderful options to choose from. I had a hard time deciding, but when it came down to it, I knew I would be sharing with Claire. If I ate a whole appetizer myself, I was going to be beyond stuffed, which seemed to be the theme lately as it was.

I went with the one option on the menu that I knew Claire would like. The Melalosaurus Mozzarella - Seared Mozzarella with creamy marinara and Mozzarella fingers.

This bar far was not my favorite choice, but I do like mozzarella sticks. They just had a lot of other good options too, none of which Claire would probably eat or try.

Claire was more than happy with this and she gobbled down several. I enjoyed them too.

After we enjoyed out appetizer our main course arrived. Claire went with the Rocksy's Pasta - Tossed with Alfredo.

Claire LOVES alfredo and this was a hit with her.

You can see her Lego bag on the table behind her meal picture. She was talking nonstop about her new Lego sets. She could hardly wait to get back to the room and start playing.

I am having a hard time remembering what mine was called, but I believe I got the Tyrannosaurus T-Bone - Charbroiled certifed Angus Beef T-bone steak topped with steak butter and served with red skinned garlic mashed potatoes and roasted vegetables. I don’t see veggies on my plate, but perhaps they are on the other side of my steak.

This was VERY good. I devoured the plate.

Soon it was time to decide on dessert. Claire’s decision was easy for her. She got the Saber-tooth Sundae - A chocolate chip cookie topped with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce. Though she really didn’t eat a lot of it and we took the cookie with us.

Nothing was jumping out at me. I was actually pretty full, but since dessert came with the meal, I was bound and determine to get something and take at least a few bites.

What I really wanted was the Chocolate Extinction - A gigantic portion of chocolate fudge cake served with ice cream, fresh whipped cream drizzled with fudge and caramel sauces and sprinkled with Butterfinger crumbs. BUT that serves 2 and only being one adult on the plan, we could not get that option without paying out of pocket.

So I just decided to get the Ice Age Indulgence - Layers of ice cream sandwiches, fudge sauce, whipped cream and Heath Bar Crunch. I don’t even know why I decided to order this as I really don’t like Heath at all, but I think the ice-cream and fudge parts were waving at me.

I took a bite…..mmmmmmmm. This was WONDERFUL!!!!!!

I think I ate close to every bite on the plate. There went the plan of only taking a bite or 2. And yes, now I was stuffed to the max.

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We finished up and grabbed our bags and headed out. I will tell you this was one of our favorite meals of the whole trip. We plan to go back next year. I am thinking this would be a great place to go on our arrival day …… that is if we get decent flight times.

We had planned to head back to AoA pretty much right away after lunch, but while eating we got a message from Tim. He said he and the family were heading over to DTD now and we could meet up again. So Claire and I decided to hang out a little longer and wait and see if they made it.

The festival of the Masters was going on as well. This is basically an art type of festival. So we wandered around a bit and looked at some things.

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I think this looks creepy. It’s advertising to make a princess with your child’s face. But the model ones were creepy looking in my opinion.

 

 

 

It’s amazing the talent these people have. These done with chalk (I think) on the sidewalks.

 

 

I liked this doll display, but didn’t get a very good picture of it.

 

 

 

We then headed over to the toy store. Claire decided she wanted to get more potato head parts so we filled a box up with many parts and accessories and paid for that.

 

I think about this time Tim let me know that they were circling the parking lot looking for a spot to park. I think Mel had gone shopping and he had the kids sleeping in the car with him, so he was just going to keep driving around.

We decided then to head out, but we had one more stop to make.

 

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No, it wasn’t the Christmas tree or Earl of Sandwich.

But you know me; I like to take pictures as I walk along.

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We still had several snack credits that had to be used up by midnight today, so Goofy’s sounded like a good place to spend them.

We purchased several things, none of which I remember …I take that back. I know I got peanut butter cups and I think I brought them home with us and ate them within the next few days. I am not sure what else, but Claire picked a few things out too.

We headed towards the bus stop then.

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Bus mojo was with us now! It must be the new purse bringing it on!

We didn’t wait long at all and soon were on our way to AoA.!