Mickey’s Hand is in my Pocket w/Pics. Ending Edited in 10/16-#84

[tiggerbell]

DH -

Can't wait to see the "Tornado Map"!

[TyRy]

Originally Posted by 312.Duck

But I have to wonder: is it possible that some, like TyRy, may just love planning as much as than being there?

Ok all my fellow planners, help me with this. It's all part of the experience - we love, no need that planning in our lives. So when we have no trip planned we are missing something!

Originally Posted by 312.Duck

Now, If I read something from any of those remaining 47 emails and find we didn't cover it the way I would have wanted, I'm gonna be mad!
Then she'll say, "OK, WELL THAT MEANS WE HAVE TO GO BACK! YAY! TIME TO PLAN ANOTHER TRIP!"

OOOO - time to hop on your e-mail and change things I already sent so we have to go back!!!

Originally Posted by 312.Duck

hehe...next time she'll drive the whole way dare!

Does that mean if I book a trip right now for later that if I drive we're going...consider it booked!! And now that I have my mighty I-Pod, it's 80's hair metal and Abba all the way down!!!!

[tiggerbell]

Originally Posted by TyRy

And now that I have my mighty I-Pod, it's 80's hair metal and Abba all the way down!!!!

Ooh!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I wanna go!!!!!!!!!!

[tiggerbell]

Originally Posted by 312.Duck

err...for the record, I still have 47 of those emails regarding this trip to read.
(shhh...I told her I read them all. I had about 250 going back over a year, got down to about 75 before the trip, and read 28 our first night there)

That's really, really funny.... but probably also a little true.

Originally Posted by 312.Duck

Now, If I read something from any of those remaining 47 emails and find we didn't cover it the way I would have wanted, I'm gonna be mad!
Then she'll say, "OK, WELL THAT MEANS WE HAVE TO GO BACK! YAY! TIME TO PLAN ANOTHER TRIP!"

Hate to tell you this, but I am fairly certain she was already planning another trip...

[312.Duck]

Originally Posted by 312.Duck

Man, that was INCREDIBLE! That was one of the most exciting parts of the trip. I was starting to get a bit sick, and this took my mind away from it.
That guy on the radio, I want to say it was like 87.9 FM Birmingham or thereabouts, was FANTASTIC. Dave something.
He performed such an exciting play-by-play of the tornado action I felt like I was listening to a 1950's baseball radio broadcast!

I have his name and station on the back of the map I was annotating; I will post such when I check it out later. That man deserves is props. He really gave us a great picture of what was happening, and guided us where and when to go through the state. We actually stayed the course, but followed along as the Tornadoes were heading East, just past our expressway.

Likewise, I will scan the map with my drawings and post them here for all...

OK...I finally have enough posts to post a pic, so here's the TORNADO MAP of Alabama!
I've also clarified that the station in Alabama was 87.7FM WBRC, which is the live broadcast of the FoxNews weather, and the person who was saving our lives with the play-by-play was:
FOX6 Chief Meteorologist DAVID NEAL! (click for his website)

Now here's the map (click to enlarge)...I have a legend on there to explain my scribble.
I noted where we started (Decatur, GA), where the huge crash was (exit 290), my original plan to route around the crash, the exits for alternative routes around the TORNADOES, highlighted alternative routes, towns where funnel clouds were seen, and most importantly, where the Tornadoes actually touched down (I drew little tornadoes for those) -


312.Duck's Tornado Map!

...MORE TO COME! -DH

[tiggerbell]

Hi! Trying to get my ducks in a row for our stay at AKL in 40 days...

Your room number was 5018 - was that on the 5th floor? Was it a deluxe room (slightly more sq. ft'age)? Was there a fridge? If so, where was it located? Do you have a picture of it? Could I be more freaked out?

[TwinkieMama]

I just found this! I skimmed and I am I can't wait to come back and soak all this up- the planning! the tornado map! DH's defense! I love it.

[TyRy]

Originally Posted by tiggerbell

Hi! Trying to get my ducks in a row for our stay at AKL in 40 days...

Your room number was 5018 - was that on the 5th floor? Was it a deluxe room (slightly more sq. ft'age)? Was there a fridge? If so, where was it located? Do you have a picture of it? Could I be more freaked out?

Let's see - it was on the 5th floor and was a pool view - which we had booked. It was not a deluxe though. When you walked in and took the elevators directly to your right they dropped you off down the hall from our room. We actually had another elevator right across from us and that took us right to the pool. We had windows on one side of the room (in the hall)

so we were only bordered by one room. DH probably remembers more detail than I do about getting to the room since I was always lost

Here's a pic of the beds from the door:


And a view from our balcony:


And this was looking at our room on I think the top floor.


Of course - I have no pics of the fridge - it was right past the door when you walked in. It was just a tiny dorm room type one without a freezer.

Does that help????

[TyRy]

Originally Posted by TwinkieMama

I just found this! I skimmed and I am I can't wait to come back and soak all this up- the planning! the tornado map! DH's defense! I love it.

Thanks TwinkieMama!!!

[312.Duck]

Originally Posted by TyRy

So we had 4 hours of sleep – it’s Disney who needs sleep???

'Nuff Said - LOL!!!

Originally Posted by TyRy

...we head over to the WL. ..... We pull up
and let the guard know we are checking in – and they handed up a parking pass pre-printed with my name on it- yeah! Then we leave and they say “Welcome Home.” ...........My DH knew he was in trouble and I made him pull up to the guard each time after that to be let in instead of using the bypass with our keys. I just wanted to hear “Welcome Home” – is that so wrong?

Nuts!
As soon as we left the Wilderness Lodge, she went into a funk I thought I'd never break ...she was truly HOMESICK! "Welcome Home, TyRy!"
Thankfully the greatness that is the Animal Kingdom cured her....whew!

Originally Posted by TyRy

It’s about 10:30am – later than I had originally planned on..........I bolt into the Lodge.....
Wait about 10 minutes in line and end up with a great cast member. I think I was only with her about 20 minutes – DH will say is was an hour

Let's count 'em....24 pics, 3 videos (short ones on the camera), I explored every nook and cranny,
I had a good cry at the GREATEST BAR IN DISNEYWORLD (IMHO from all that I've been to...) -

TERRITORY LOUNGE-


...cuz I was just SO happy to be back there!!!

Sooo......I returned to the front...and found her still in the same position:

hahaha...

Originally Posted by TyRy

...but I think he was sleep deprived and could not judge time .

Ladies and gents...does this look like 20 MINUTES?!


HAHA...ain't she great?
I am SO THANKFUL she's as INSANE as she is.
Let me tell you, this chick is well on her way to being a great Disney travel agent (for our price range, of course ) ...

She really did a number, and made a fantastic trip out of this...

...MORE TO COME! -DH

[PrincessAlways]

It's a "he said", "she said" report! This is great! I love it!! More please!

[312.Duck]

Originally Posted by TyRy

Beware that if you go looking for the Belz outlet, it is now a Prime outlet. Glad you could still see the shadow of Belz or we might not have known where we were. Didn’t find as much good stuff as we did last time, but still managed to get a number of things

"Shadow" is right! Belz (Prime Outlet) has definitely gone "downhill" every year we've gone...not the same vibrant place it once was.
A sign of the times, of sorts: no longer the big spending '90's. Still some good buys there, though.

Originally Posted by TyRy

My time was well spent. While we were about one room too far over for a perfect view of the castle, I could see the top spire, monorail and the Mainstreet Train Station. We also discovered that we could see the fireworks at night.

Agreed, the room and view was sweet...

Great desk area (lots of outlets, cool light!!!)...........................and the coolest headboards!!



And a most gorgeous view of nature, while still getting peeks at monorail, castle, and lake.
Well done, TyRy!


Of course, there was the ceremonial spit test...


just kidding! LOL...


But my favorite part of any hotel room:


...and I was ready to start my vacation, 312.Duck-style!



I will say, though that one of the few negatives -- over time -- was the whistling of the darn boats every morning!
At first they were so endearing..."we're here!"
But after about four days, on those early mornings -- after big nights out for drinks & dinner -- I started to tire of the constant wailing of those boat whistles...



Next up...I need to diagram the 312.Duck paths in and out of the Wilderness Lodge for those far back on the West wing!

...MORE TO COME! -DH

[312.Duck]

Day one at Parks: Epcot
...well, I'll let her talk, and just add my 2¢!
(I will say it was nice to have water back in the lagoons, etc., as in 2004
they were all empty due to hurricane clean up efforts.)

HERE'S how it started:

You can't see her, but I can guarantee there's a mean look on her face since she
a) is waiting in line, impatiently...and
b) I made her "late."
__________________________________________________ ______________

Originally Posted by TyRy

Day one at Parks: Epcot
I should say the original plan, the newer plan went something like, "what do
you mean we have to leave to watch the Bears game – we are on vacation!"
Yep – first road block, now we have to leave the park for hours to go watch football.

...and I'm thinking, "she can't be serious!"
This is Da Bears we're talking about here, folks, DA BEARS!
WHAT CAN POSSIBLY BE OF GREATER IMPORTANCE IN LIFE?!?!?
IS SHE NUTS? HOW COULD SHE NOT HAVE PLANNED FOR THIS!?


Ah hem. Compromise.
There's no better place to watch The Beloved than at Disney.

Originally Posted by TyRy

Well – this is where I learned EARLY means two very
different things. To me it meant before a park opened. To DH it meant
whenever he woke up – as he pointed out, he is on vacation. Again, I remind
him we are at WDW and this is a different type of vacation!

See, I've always agreed we could get soooo much more done on a Disney vacation without the p's (parents, DP's?), as they wouldn't "slow us down," so to speak. And that's still true.
But I never agreed to be up at the crack o' dawn, SSS, eat, and be going full force all day! I meant that at our own "leisurely pace," we'd still double the number of attractions.

Official DISclaimer:
Hey man, I tried, but I'm outta shape, don't sleep well, was dealing with a
gastrointestinal problem, had clothing issues, the dog ate my homework, etc., etc.!

Originally Posted by TyRy

Well we had seen the entrance to Epcot while we were driving around the day
before and noted that it was only about 5 minutes away. Somehow that 5
minutes turned into almost thirty as we just kept missing it.

LOLOLOL!!! I forgot about that! Poor me! I was lost without my Dad's "Disney Map."
I'm not the most cognizant person at DW...I see everything, but I'm too busy taking it in to pay attention to where I'm at (short of getting in an accident).

I think she needs to be driving and I direct!

Originally Posted by TyRy

The game had already started while we were eating, and I’ll give DH credit
here – he did not panic. Not even when I saw Belle and Aurora right outside
and insisted I needed pictures with them.

That's who they are?? OK...now I know.
They were in what, Roadrunner and Tom 'n Jerry, right?
I always get my movie characaters mixed up (wrong).

Originally Posted by TyRy

Finally arrived at ESPN and it was jammed.

Yeah, with Steelers and Bengals fans (they were playing each other). bleh!
Like, who cares about them! The Steelers won the Super Bowl last year, big deal!
Anyone not paying attention to DA BEARS is a heretic!

Originally Posted by TyRy

After that went to Figment for the first time – it was cute and glad we
finally went on it. We then tried forever to make the postcards you can
send and got one after working on it for like 30 minutes.

LOL! Yeah, that was a big waste of a ½ hour!
A little clip art and a computer and a 12 year old could do better.
BLEH!

Originally Posted by TyRy

I should mention that I have SUCKER written on my forehead – I have always bought all the

NO WONDER she misses her bangs so much! :D


End of Day-

Originally Posted by TyRy

Uh-oh – we have an ADR in just a couple of minutes for Rose and Crown. We’ve eaten there every trip to get an easy way to watch Illuminations. But there was so much more to see in WS since we lost all that time in the afternoon. It was at this point I became a bad Diser – I blew off my ADR.

Ehhh...Rose and Crown is a great place to view the works, esp if you can get a good seat outside,
but the other views around the lake are excellent as well, and not to be missed.
Plus, R&C doesn't seem as good as it used to be, so the food's not as much a part of the attraction anymore (for me, anyway).

312.Duck's attraction....FIRE!

Good Night-

Originally Posted by TyRy

After that it was back to the WL and grabbed dinner at Roaring Fork –
nothing special.

I'll say! I had heard the Counter Service at the "deluxe" resorts was not as
good for what should be obvious reasons, but this was LAME!

Funny thing is, many who seem to be able to afford "Deluxe" seem to need CS every bit as much as those at the moderates!
IT was always packed, as CS is perfect for kids who want their nuggets & fries. Dissapointing, to say the least.

...MORE TO COME! -DH

[TyRy]

Originally Posted by 312.Duck

You can't see her, but I can guarantee there's a mean look on her face since she
a) is waiting in line, impatiently...and
b) I made her "late."

Yep -he made us late and I wanted to get a lot in - he's lucky we somewhat still did!

Originally Posted by 312.Duck

...and I'm thinking, "she can't be serious!"
This is Da Bears we're talking about here, folks, DA BEARS!
WHAT CAN POSSIBLY BE OF GREATER IMPORTANCE IN LIFE?!?!?
IS SHE NUTS? HOW COULD SHE NOT HAVE PLANNED FOR THIS!?

OK -it was early in the season - like the 3rd game or so - I figured we are on VACATION! And in a place we do not get to very often. Maybe if we had DVC and went a LOT then I would not mind missing a minute by watching a game

Besides - even when I did plan for it the following week - nothing on Sunday afternoon - the game got moved to that night, hence my nice romantic dinner at Narcoossee's with DMIL

[tiggerbell]

More!!! I leave for AKL Saturday!!!