What Time is the 4 o'clock Rain? -- Updates 11/2-4 -- Tim's surprise and Marco&Recap

[Woth2982]

I am way behind, and am working backwards reading this TR to figure out where I left off. But, in the mean time I have to comment on this. I admire you for driving to celebrate with your Dad. You will NEVER regret that! Personally, I think my Dad (passed away in Feb @ almost 89yrs) had a hand(wing) or two in the wind.

KAthy- I'll catch up I promise.

Thank you! No admiration needed though. My dad and I watched the 04 Win together and it is something i will never forget. The Red Sox are very special to him and I and I just had to be with him last night. I lived with my parents for 07 so no traveling was needed lol.

 

[annmarieda]

After a fun meeting with Aladdin and Jasmine, we headed to the Jungle Cruise. We knew it was closing while we were there so we wanted to get on it when we had the opportunity:

I somehow missed that it was going to be down for refurbishment. It isn't one I normally pay much attention to. It did reopen while I was down there... but on the day I was ready to ride it... it was still down.

Next we hit:




We stopped in the dump shop so Mark could see if he could find someone to have a sword fight with. We also tried on some hats:

Looks like you were having an excellent time!

We then headed over to:



But first, we grabbed a fastpass for Splash Mountain.

BTMR was posted as a 30 minute wait, but we were on in less than 15 minutes:

First, I love that ride. Second, how cool it took half the time than it was posted

Splash though.. not my favorite. Is it bad I am not sad it will be down in January?

Up next, we still have time for more attractions before our lunch ADR.

You made good use of your time! Lots of attractions before lunch.

I am so far behind... I will get caught up though. Just please excuse me as I go through and respond randomly to your very old updates.

 

[pas130]

I am so happy that you are having your Dad come visit you...you are right, SKYPE doesn't cut it. Good for you.

We had a great visit! I needed to see him! Sorry about Spaceship Earth being closed, I am really bummed about IASM being down in December. But that's my own selfish reason...yours was sentimental and SO sweet of Mark to get your spirits up Tigger looks like he is SO much fun

 

[disneyfan61]

Phew all caught up again. You are an updating queen!!

Love all the kissing PP pics!! I can never get sick of your pics. You are both very photogenic!!

We tried Raglan Road for the first time in Oct. & loved it!!

I do not remember when (or if) we saw the France video. Will need to check it out in May.

We went to see AoA in May this year as we stayed at Pop. It is very cute.

Good to know about the tour. I really want to do that some day.

Love your new haircut by the way.

 

[glennbo123]

I know you won't believe it, but I'm caught up. You can test me and everything -- my answer will be either "Starbucks" or "hat pictures".

No, I really did, so here're some comments:

Entenmann's doughnuts - were they the double chocolate (chocolate cake with chocolate icing) or the white cake with chocolate icing? Because the double chocolate are some kind of amazing. Sooo good for a boxed doughnut. We get them whenever they're on sale (and in stock). Well Judy doesn't eat that stuff of course, but the kids and I do!

Sci-Fi - dang, another incident to prove the adage that you shouldn't stray from a burger at Sci-Fi. Sorry to read that. You'd think they'd get their act together.

Rose & Crown - now here's an example where it sounds like they have turned it around. This place used to get so-so and some negative reports....glad to hear that you liked it so much that it's now a "must do". Impressive.

Rain - wow that was some drencher on your first MK day.

So many DIS-meets! You got to meet Brenda and Em, and again, and again, and again. Way cool. And I'm jealous that you got to meet Cynthia, although I feel like I already know her, I've been reading her reports and corresponding with her across the DIS for so long now.

A male DeVine? I had no idea! I wonder what he's called?

Rapunzel - what a fantastic photo that is! So cool that she could "let her hair down" for that one, and it seems so in-character too. Perfect!

Yachtsman Steakhouse - I haven't seen a lot of reports on this restaurant. I'm glad that you had a great meal there, I may have to add it to my list of places to try.

Cookie - sooo sad. I'm sorry for your loss. Bichons are the best! I know that she's missed.

You made some new friends during a rainstorm at DTD - great story. It's neat how things like that always seem to happen at Disney.

Fireworks kiss - so cool that the Photopass Photographer waited for that shot, and it looked like you didn't mind waiting either. I'm glad that you didn't lose that one.

Balloon story - so you went and picked a child with a weepy mom to give the balloon to? Oh man. Seriously, it's always good to read the stories of when you do that tradition.

Well, that's enough for now. What're you waiting for...keep 'er comin'!

 

[KatMark]

I know I owe a lot of replies, and I promise to get to them tonight or over the weekend (we have a quiet weekend for a change).

But I wanted to get an update done while I had a little bit of time here at the office.

Friday, August 22:

I left you with our saying goodbye to the Magic Kingdom and starting our drive to Marco.

Mark needed to stop for gas so, of course, he picked one right near the Starbucks that we go to every year on the way to Marco (be quiet Andy!).

We were on the road and for some reason we decided to take the road through Downtown rather than around it like we usually do. I'm not sure why we came to that brilliant decision, but it was a mistake. Traffic was awful, there was an accident and then we hit RAIN!

I did get a few pictures along the way:





We stopped at a rest area and Mark wanted to get closer to the water:





We got back in the car and went over this really neat bridge:





We crossed the bridge and saw this:



And then the skies opened up. It got so bad that we decided to pull off and have dinner and wait it out. We found a



and stopped there.

We had loaded cheese fries for an appetizer:



Mark had the ribs:



And I had the chicken tenders:



We got back on the road. I think I took a 30 minute nap and then I was seeing this:



The bridge that would take us to Marco and Nicki.



And we were home:





We sent this picture to Nicki's phone once we passed the Marco Island sign and said: "We're home"



We arrived at our home for the next nine nights:



We unloaded the car and went up to the condo. We had to call our friends because there was no hot water (we always turn on the air first thing, check that the water is running, etc.). It was easily fixed and then we went to the grocery store to get some groceries.

We put the groceries away, enjoyed sitting on the balcony for a bit and just enjoyed our surroundings and then hit the sack. I had a day of shopping to face tomorrow.

 

[KatMark]

Saturday, August 23:

Mark drove me to the Dunkin' Donuts parking lot where Nicki would pick me up (silly for her to drive all the way to the Island and then go back out towards Ft. Meyers). This way he was able to get his coffee and see Nicki. Do you think they were happy to see one another?



And that bag in her hand was full of surprises for the newest member of their family.

I got a hug too...but no picture proof.

Nicki and I stopped for our coffee and then hit the malls:



We had lunch here as we do every year:



Nicki's lunch:



My lunch:



After lunch, Nicki took me back to the condo and she went home. We both needed to rest a little bit before our first dinner all together.

We met Todd, Nicki and their new addition to the family here:



And here is the new addition to the family (and the reason that Todd and Nicki skipped Food & Wine for the first time EVER):





Mark and Nicki at dinner:



No food porn this night...too busy playing with the puppy (whose name by the way is Minnie).

It was great being back with our best friends and we talked about our plans for the remainder of the week...what Mark and I would be doing, where we were all going to dinner together, etc.

Pretty soon, it did something that I bet you will never guess?

Are you making your guesses?























































If you guessed it stormed AGAIN, you would be right. It rained for a good hour.

We settled in and watched some television and I went outside on the balcony and saw the birds after the rain (we saw these birds a lot):




Up next, a recap of our next several days with Todd and Nicki and some of our fun.

 

[3prettyprincesses]

Kathy, I'm so hopelessly behind AND you're going on another trip soon! I'm going to try and catch up. I see you're already to the magical part of your trip...Nickiland! Going back to read and read and then read some more!

 

[Millie12591]

The drive down looked pleasant, at least until the rain started.

Glad to hear you could enjoy a nice meal together and the rest of the trip was uneventful.

You finally made it to Nicki-land!!! Nicki looks amazing!! All her hard work has paid off!!

Hope the shopping was good, Minnie is aborable!

Can't wait to hear what you do with the rest of your trip.

 

[annmarieda]

After our ride on BTMR, we still had quite a bit of time before our Fastpasses were good for Splash Mountain. So we headed here:

As you saw above, the wait time said 20 minutes, but we were in the stretching room in less than 10.

What luck! Another ride with half the listed wait time

A bio-break was needed, so we stopped in Rapunzel's bathroom area:

I LOVE this restroom. So pretty. The painted walls are amazing!

We peeked in at Mickey's Philharmagic after and found the next show was just about to open the doors, so we decided to see that while we were there:

As much as I love this show... I only do it if I don't have to wait long. I regret when I don't watch it...so you would think I would be willing to wait. Maybe I don't like to wait because this is one that is easier to have better luck at catching when they are just about to open the doors.

Then it was off to one of Mark's all-time favorites (if not his absolute favorite):



Yes, we were going to see our favorite flying elephant:



It was a walk on.



Soon we were flying with Dumbo:

Those are great pictures. I HAVE to do it in January. I skipped it the last two trips. And I have never gone through the interactive queue. There is an interactive queue, yes?

 

[Deesknee]

Okay, I am caught up... Sort of. I think I missed one, but can't find it. Someone made a rap unseal comment & fantasmic. I will try to fun it later. For now..
So sweet of mark to offer to swing back for a se ride. So cool that you did the kingdom tour. That is on our someday lust, but after our youngest is past the "age of believing", which judging by my family maybe ever. Lol. Maybe for our 40th.
Love that you spent time with your besties. Lol
And not sure if I am jealous of D~ meeting you or you meeting D~. Lol.
One of these days. But I think we may stick to the fall for our trips. We feel we miss slit if precious time with the serious rain storms.
Your friend's fury new family member is adorable!

 

[MaryAz]

You made it to Marco!! That doggie is sooo cute!! More rain-oh joy!!

 

[Simba22]

Way behind but going back to catch up!

And (shameless plug alert!) I started my TR!

 

[scottny]

I would like to do the tour one day.
Those loaded fries look so good.
You all look so happy in the pics.
Cute dog.

 

[annmarieda]

The only picture from my camera is the one of us with Miss Minnie:

[URL=http://s209.photobucket.com/user/Luvwrestling/media/Cell%20Phone%20Pictures%20August%2018%202013%20Part%201/IMG_2937_zps8c092c40.jpg.html]

I do remember that both Minnie and Daisy made a big deal of our 30th wedding anniversary and the fact that they did NOT have rings from Donald and Mickey. At one point, Daisy almost went over to the other side to give Donald holy you know what. It was a lot of fun.

I love Minnie and Daisy over there!! In fact, I love the guys over there too... so much fun! I think it is my favorite meet and greet area.

We left the gift shop, and we saw these guys and stopped and listened for awhile:

Isn't it fun sometimes to just stop to enjoy the little things like this?

It was now time to use our fastpasses for Splash Mountain so we walked back to that area. It turned out that this would work perfectly...get on the ride, pray not to get drenched and then it would be about time for our lunch ADR).




Here we go:






















Up next, where is lunch? I'm starving.

I love the pics... but the ride isn't my favorite. I am not a fan of falling. I am kinda a wimp that way.

 

[MeMom]

This takes me back to my St. Pete days. Such a simple 'nothing' kind of picture, but it is part of the Florida that I remember and love so much. Jill doesn't like bridges, so I have told her it would never do for her to live in Florida. She's okay with going from MCO to WDW, but when we did bridges driving to and around Vero, she was not so fond of it. At the same time she was stressing, I was going back in time to the days of some of my very fondest memories.

After seeing the Johnny Rockets pictures, I have already (at 5:45 a.m.) decided what I want for lunch today. That salad looks great! I'll be making my own at home, though.

Minnie is a cute pup. I'm sure she is quite happy and spoiled.

 

[KatMark]

I can now let you all in on Tim's (that's nice) post about me being the best (which I am far from being by the way).

I had been giving Tim grief for not getting his TR done and he told me he was only on the DIS to check the cancellation ADR thread for November. I asked him what he was looking for as I was going on every day to look for something in December and I told him I would look for his as well. I had no luck with mine (although I don't have to now as Brenda had a cancellation with her group so we are dining with her an Em in December). I had about given up on what Tim was looking for when it popped up on Friday.

I tried calling him and couldn't reach him; so I texted him and booked it with my credit card. He finally got my text message and called me a little later. He thanked me and couldn't believe I snagged it.

Now, so I don't keep you in suspense any longer, this is the ADR I snagged for him and where he and his family ate tonight (Gabby is missing because she was asleep in her carrier).

 

[jedimeg16]

That is awesome that you were able to help them snag dinner reservations for BOG!

 

[KatMark]

I'm going to try to do replies; I'm not sure how far I'll get...the DIS is running really slow tonight (or it's my computer).

I love all of the photopass pictures, please feel free to post all of them! I don't think I ever see any PP photographers out in the WS...only the one in France! I love the pictures in Morocco and Germany, I'll have to look out for them!

Thank you, Jen.

And I can't even walk by that perfume shop in France...instant migraine!

It makes me nauseous.

It must be easier leaving Disney when you know you will be back in a few months.

It really is.

Did someone say MARCO????




POLO!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Mo you crack me up.

YAY you met D~!!! did she tell you all aboot her trip? they are the coolest gals aren't they???

We didn't have a long visit, but I'm glad we at least got o meet. Hopefully if we are there the same days next year, we'll get a longer visit.

so what are the secrets! and don't give me that it's a secret!!!

I'm not telling.

again your pictures are just adorable. you two are so cute!!!!!

Thank you.

excited to hear about MARCO (polo) and Nikkiland!!!!

One of those updates posted; hope to get the rest up in a couple of days.

Before I move on to the last installment you posted, I need to talk about the others. I'm so so very sorry that Spaceship Earth was closed and you couldn't ride in memory of your father. I know that you were heartbroken. That Mark is one sweet man to try and sweep your worries and cares away.

Thank you, Lisa. Mark truly is the best.

As you may remember, we wanted to do the tour this past trip but knew that Mama would never be able to do all of the walking. It's definitely on the radar for our May, 2014 trip. Ya'll have had an amazing trip....lots of Dis Meets....great Photopass pictures....and lots of memories. That's a practically perfect vacation to me.

I hope you do it; you will definitely enjoy it. We did have an amazing trip, met some great people and had some really great CM's. A practically perfect vacation is right.

The tour sounds like fun. I really wanted to try one this trip but my DH doesn't. We are only there for 5 full days since we are going to the dark side this trip. Maybe when he retires in a couple of years and vacation won't be an issue. He works 7 days a week and does not slow down.

The dark side? Seriously, we've gone there too and probably would again if we could handle the roller coasters. I hope you do the tour; it was very interesting.

Ah Kathy, I just can't keep up with you.

Look who is talking???

But I am all caught up again. I was pretty sure you would love the KTTK tour. We have been several times and why they take you the same way every time the information you will be given is dependent on the CM - so you will learn something new the second time around as well.

That is good to know; I don't think we will do it next year, but probably the year after. We want to do the Wild Trek next year possibly.

I can't believe your WDW part is already over, but I am sure you enjoyed Nickiland quite as much - and I will enjoy reading all about it.

It's always a little sad to leave Disney, but at lest we have Nicki to go to and not home.

Kathy, I have never been on Main Street when it was nearly empty; however, that is about to change. This upcoming trip we have an 8:00 in the morning ADR for the Crystal Palace. I'm not overly excited about buffet breakfast foods, but I can't wait to see the MK empty and hope to get some great pictures.

Yay...you will love that (we're actually joining Brenda for her CP breakfast and will get there hopefully before the crowds are let in...ours is at 8:30).

So after doing the Keys to the Kingdom Tour did you find it worth doing? I have been thinking of doing this myself when we go back as a family for our June trip.

Absolutely! We plan to do it again in the future.

And as always, I love following your TR's.

Thank you, Bob.

i have not been to one of the circlevision shows in years, i just seem to always get a really bad headache in them...so not sure when i will try them again...but thanks for posting the pictures in there.

I can see that happening; I get a little dizzy turning around to see all of the screen.

 

[that's nice]

I can now let you all in on Tim's (that's nice) post about me being the best (which I am far from being by the way).

I had been giving Tim grief for not getting his TR done and he told me he was only on the DIS to check the cancellation ADR thread for November. I asked him what he was looking for as I was going on every day to look for something in December and I told him I would look for his as well. I had no luck with mine (although I don't have to now as Brenda had a cancellation with her group so we are dining with her an Em in December). I had about given up on what Tim was looking for when it popped up on Friday.

I tried calling him and couldn't reach him; so I texted him and booked it with my credit card. He finally got my text message and called me a little later. He thanked me and couldn't believe I snagged it.

Now, so I don't keep you in suspense any longer, this is the ADR I snagged for him and where he and his family ate tonight (Gabby is missing because she was asleep in her carrier).

Hey, I know those people!!!!!

Thank you again Kathy for doing this for us. We really enjoyed the meal.

We had one hell of a day. We took the bus to MK, got off to find it absolutely pouring rain so we got back on and went back to AKL. Called Melody's cousin and went over their house to spend the afternoon. We went back to MK and we were running late. I had to buy Juliana a day pass (which costs $95 with tax) because she only had 1 day left on her 10 day N/E pass which has FP+ linked to her ticket, she needs to use the 10 day ticket tomorrow. (WOW that is confusing) We finally checked in at 5:20 for our 4:55 ADR. They took us no problem. Took a picture of Melody and Gabby at the table, then grabbed the camera 5 minutes later to take another picture- except the damn shutter button is gone. There is no way to press it to take a picture so my camera is DONE. UGGGHHHHH I am so upset. Not because of the money for the camera but for the fast that I now have to take pictures with my cell phone for the rest of the trip.