Pumpkins and Pirates and Cowboys... Oh my! Our dream Disney TR!

[joelp]

I missed your departure, too - but glad to here you had a great time!!

Waiting to hear details ... (I need something to keep me sane for the next 38 days!! )

[Sarilas]

30 degrees here this morning... I'm even freezing just sitting at the 'puter! But I can't wait to read about your trip!

[Princesskeyblade]

Howdy Y'all!!!!

Well, we are back from our magical trip to WDW! I have had 3 days to recover.... now it is time for the TR!

Just a little recap.... for the PTR go here

The Cast:

Me : PKB, Tracey (26) Occupation: Paralegal , Disney Fanatic Favorite ride: Pirates of the Carabean, Journey into the Imagination. Last Trip to WDW: October 1994

DF (37, 38 on 10/17) Occupation: Graphic Designer, Avid Animation Buff and Disney Fan. Favorite Place in Disney: World Showcase. Last Trip to Disney: 1988

Where: Boardwalk Inn
When: October 17-26, 2008


How it came to be:

DF and I had been surrounded by WDW goers. Our friends had just gotten engaged in front of the Castle, and my Mom and GM had just gotten back from celebrating my GM Breast Cancer Remission. They all chose December, Christmas season, and had amazing things to say about it. On Christmas Day we had gathered at my GM for breakfast and gift exchange. They had the parade on and we couldn't believe how much the parks had changed. DF was glued to the screen and kept commenting on what he didn't get to see when he last went.

Later that night, having been spoiled by family and stuffed full of food, we somehow got to talking about a real vacation this year. DF suggested we go to Disney.

We both woke up the next morning and talked about it a bit more before work. I ordered the DVD and when it came we sat down to check it out. We looked at the parks and our excitement meter peaked. Then it came time to look at the hotels. We both had determined that if we were going to do this vacation, we were going to go all out, everything we want. When we got to the Boardwalk Inn, we both pointed at the tv and screamed "Thats it!!!"

We started to jot down what we wanted. He wanted to go to Universal for one day, two tops. He wanted to see all of the World Showcase. I wanted the World Showcase, a trip to MNSSHP and Lunch at Cinderella's Castle. We both agreed that the trip would be 10 days.

Durring the planning process we got engaged!!!! So we made this trip into a celebration with just the two of us!

Some questions that will be answered:

How many dreams come true for us?
Do we meet Captian Jack?
Did we like dining with dinasaurs?
Did I make it onto Everest?
Did I get to meet Jack Sparrow?
How did DF surprise me?
What exactly made me sick?
Why is photopass is the greatest thing ever?
Can we see Illuminations and Wishes in the same night??
Do we actually see Fantasmic?

Stay tuned for that and lots lots more!

[Princesskeyblade]

Originally Posted by joelp

I missed your departure, too - but glad to here you had a great time!!

Waiting to hear details ... (I need something to keep me sane for the next 38 days!! )

Originally Posted by Sarilas

30 degrees here this morning... I'm even freezing just sitting at the 'puter! But I can't wait to read about your trip!

I have started!

Pumpkins and Pirates and Cowboys... Oh my! Our dream Disney TR!

[Lady Lallie]

Am I first? What do I win!?!

I can't wait to hear about your trip. I am especially interested in how you enjoyed Boardwalk!!

[Princesskeyblade]

Originally Posted by Lady Lallie

Am I first? What do I win!?!

YOU WIN.....


Um... honestly I had not thought of that yet.....

But welcome LL!!!

[Sarilas]

I'm in, and I can't WAIT for the answers to those questions!

[joelp]

I'm here, too

[If U Had Wings]

Can't wait to hear all about it!

[MegansMom]

The party can begin because I made it!!! Can't WAIT to hear all those answers!!!!

[Princesskeyblade]

Twas the Night before Disney and all through the house
Everyone was sleeping soundly... Even Minniver was dreaming of mice....
The bags were all packed by the doorway with care
Awaiting our exit with style and some Flair!
The two of us were nestled all snug in our bed
while visions of Figment danced in our heads.
And at about 5:30 we heard from the corner
The alarm clock rang and we let out a groan.
DF looked over at me with glee
Come on now get up.... It is time for Disney!!!!


The alarm did indeed ring at 5:30 AM and we got up and DF hopped into the shower... I stayed up and took my shower before bed. I was as ready as ready can be. We grabbed a cab and headed for Logan..... We got there at 6:30 and checked in and got through security. DF grabbed coffee and I gave him his last birthday present, a coffee mug of Beauty and the Beast and a gift card to build his own lightsaber.

Then we waited.... DF wanted to see the Plane...... Meanwhile I got out the camera!



Then finally.... DA PLANE DA PLANE!!!!



Our trip was pretty uneventful.... we sat next to each other and DF caught up on Lost and I watched old shorts from Disney's early years on my IPod. When we landed in Baltimore.... our connecting flight was just about to take off..... We just made the plane, and we were smushed in our row with a man much larger than DF....I had the window seat, so I wrote and stared out the window! Then.... with Skull and Crossbones from POTC playing on my IPod, we made our decent!!!! After 6 and 1/2 months of waiting, we were there!

I have to take this moment to say that we are in with Magical Express! DF loves the design of the Buses and the Paper stuff (the Graphic Designer in him never takes a vacation!) but when we walked past the baggage claim and down to the desk. He was in heaven. I went down the red carpet and they welcomed me home. I couldn't help but smile. They pointed me in the direction of my bus and even took our carry ons to "assist" us out. We took the ride, and when we reached the gate we just looked at each other and jumped up and down in our seat. We got to the Boardwalk and David came over and welcomed us home to the Boardwalk! We went to check in, and we spoke with Kelly about our room. She told us about the hotel and gave Frank his Birthday button and congratulated us on our Antiversary! (We arrived one year to the date we get married!) And told us our room was ready early, so we could go right up. The last thing she said was.... "Welcome home Mr. and Soon to be Mrs. M.... "

We got up there and DF opened the door to our amazing room.... The first thing I saw was.....



Yes folks we had a balcony!!!!!! It overlooked the entry way to the hotel, but in the distance we could see the Tower of Terror.

Then I took some time to explore our room!









And the fridge was cleverly hidden!!!



We went out to grab some lunch on the Boardwalk. We went to Big River Grill, and I had spicy cheese and nacho chips, and DF had Lobster Bisque and some of my nachos.... It was awesome. We also talked about the Sox game with our server, who was from our area.....

Then we went exploring the boardwalk and bought these beauties!



We snapped some pictures in our new hats in a photobooth, and then headed back to the room, just in time for......

[Lady Lallie]

Just in time for........what!?!?!



Boardwalk looks beautiful!! I have always always wanted to stay there.

I thought the seats on AirTran (I think that is what the plane said)were super tight, I flew Southwest a few years ago and those seats seemed much more roomy.

[Princesskeyblade]

CAKE!!!! See not only was it our Antiversary.... but it was DF Birthday as well, so I ordered him a cake from Boardwalk Bakery....It was delivered to our room....





It was delicious. The cake and delivery charges were 29.95. Honestly so worth it. He loved it and I could eat it, so it was win win.


Then we headed out for the parks!!!

We took the Friendship 1 over to Epcot and made a bee line for Journey into Imagination! It was a walk on.



It was not as good as the original... but I still liked it. I love Monty Python and I love Figment so it worked for me. Although I could have done without smelling the skunk! But DF could smell in the smell lab, so I was content to smell the stink.

Afterwards we found the Figment Store!



I found a Figment sweatshirt that said "Figment since 82", since I was born in 1982, it was perfect for me, but we would pick it up later.... I didn't want to carry it around. Especially since we were planning on hitting 2 more rides (at least) before our dinner reservations!

We headed to Spaceship Earth! I liked the new version. Dame Judy Dench's voice is soothing to me.... The only scene I really missed was the big scene of Rome burning. DF felt bad that the paperboy was put in the corner. When it came to the end we saw our traveling future....



We went and stayed at the Great Wall Inn..... in China.

After that we waited 10 minutes to ride Test Track, which I LOVED! DF liked it, but another ride stole his ride loving heart.... I will get to that one later.... and I will also post the photopass photos as well.

Then the time was getting close so we began to make our way to Morrocco. We stopped in Mexico to ride the Grand Fiesta Tour with the Three Caballeros. I love the movie... and I love the ride.... we would ride it two more times while we were there!

Finally we reached Morrocco and went to dinner at Resturant Marrakesh....

For LL: I loved the light fixtures here....



Drink wise we got Casablanca Sunset ~ apricot brandy, orange juice, cranberry juice, topped with peach schnapps, and Marrakesh Express ~ rum, orange juice, pineapple juice, topped with dark rum.

We got the Combination Appetizer for Two as a starter - Beef brewat rolls, Chicken bastilla and Jasmina salad. The Jasmina Salad was awesome and so were the Beef brewat rolls.

I had Vegetable Couscous, steamed tiny semolina pasta served with seasonal veggies. DF had the Chicken Couscous, We both gave the meal a big thumbs up. The service was fantastic and the music and dancing was so much fun!!! They even sang happy birthday to him in their native language! It was awesome. Definately on my "everyone should try!" list!

After that we went Fez shopping....





(As you can see the conjunctivitis was still there!)

After that it was about time to go see Illuminations, so we grabbed a spot on the bridge and watched the show!





We got lots of ash on us due to wind, but the viewing spot was awesome. It was great, but by the time the trip was over it was not our favorite nighttime display.....


We went back on the boat and saw nightlife on the Boardwalk!

The juggler was right there...





Then we went up to the room.... I had a moment to appreciate the lobby...



When we got back to our room.... turndown service had been all set!



DF fell asleep almost instantly while I watched the Hulk cartoon on Toon Disney but fell asleep early as well.....

We had a long day on Saturday!

Next..... Can we be there for the opening and close the Magic Kingdom? How will my Coral Reef surprise go over... If we even get there????

[Lady Lallie]

I love the Morroco light! I also love the one in the Boardwalk lobby.

Sounds like Marrakesh was really yummy! I love the Fez look.

The cake looks delish too. I think the Disney Bakery on a whole is a pretty decent bargain when you are celebrating a special occasion.

[If U Had Wings]

Okay, I'm just about all set to ditch my WL ressie. That room looks so beautiful!

I need to stay at Boardwalk!!!