UPDATED! I am Your Host, Your Ghost Host. Tricks, Treats and Toddler in October 2011

[exwdwcm]

Originally Posted by CandleontheWater

Hi there, I'm joining in!

I hear ya on the BLT bathroom situation! I would love to add on some BLT points (our home is SSR), but I just can't get over the bathroom. I haven't been staying on top of the fixes, but hopefully that is something they have been addressing.

I hope that your car is OK, there would be nothing worse than a dead battery on vacation!

I know, it was a little frustrating. We didn't have to deal with it much last year (our first BLt stay) as we were in a one bedroom and DH and I had the master, so our huge bathroom was in the bedroom and pretty private, but the outside bathroom my MIL used was pretty annoying for them.

Originally Posted by IheartDDuck

Got another OCD unpacker here too. I have to get the room all organized before I can think about crawling into bed. No matter how late in the day it is. You've got a friend here with that!

I love the cupcakes from Contempo Cafe. I got several of them when we stayed there in July.

That sucks that you kept thinking about the car while you were trying to sleep. I am hoping that it went well...

LOL- glad to know I am not alone there. I really can't relax until I know it is all put away.

Originally Posted by khertz

Yikes, I hope the lights ended up going off on their own! I'm OCD about locking the doors on my car (my lights don't go off automatically, so I', OCD about turning those off too when I have to use them), so I wouldn't have been able to go to sleep without going back to check...or sending DH to do it! I have to hit the lock button and hear the horn beep at least twice if not 3 times to be satisfied that the car is locked! Definitely get that from my mom.

I hope the late night didn't interfere with your early morning! We all know just how important those are!!

Well I definitely need to start doing that at least with rental cars to just be sure!!

Originally Posted by zhonggu54

I am here now, too late for me? I really enjoyed your trip .

Nope, not too late, just getting started. Thanks for joining in the fun!

Originally Posted by mjwheelerali

We're going in December with our 3.5 year old so definitely joining in to hear more about your adventure!!!

You guys will have a blast! We've taken him for the last 3 years (can we say spoiled??) and he's been great everytime. This trip was probably the best age so far and I imagine next year will probably be even better.

Originally Posted by tlenzendorf

I'm here and ready!

Yeah, welcome in the fun Tricia!

Originally Posted by hardingk

Such a nice DisFriend!!

We loved sitting at the Contempo Cafe watching the monorail and people! We just LOVE BLT. I'm now thinking that once every other year is not enough!

YES_ my AMAZING Dis buddy, Kimberly was so kind!!! I still need to send you a little thank you for that. So stay tuned. I might just have to pick you up something special in Disneyland next weekend. I leave next Thursday for 4 nights in Anaheim for work and plan to visit the park and DTD!

Originally Posted by archdandy

Subbing in! It sucks that your flight was delayed a little bit but hopefully it didn't put you guys in too bad of a mood! I can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip.

Thanks for the sub. I hate late flights, but what can you do. It could have been much worse I guess. This year we are really looking to do a direct flight, even if we have to pay more. I felt the connection thing just took way too long. It wasn't too awful, but I felt we lost a lot of precious disney time. Our flight out of DFW was at noon and yet, we didn't arrive in Orlando until like 7:30-8pm. Usually, our direct flight is 2.5 hours and so we save so much time direct. that is definitely on my list for next year!

Originally Posted by LJD2143

Looking forward to hearing all about your trip!

woo hoo- welcome!

[exwdwcm]

and on a quick off topic (well sort of on topic), side note........we've started planning for 2012.

The best cure for the post trip blues is to plan another one right? I am so thrilled to have the luxury to do this now, all thanks for DVC.

So I spoke with DH yesterday, we were originally thinking we would try Aulani next year, if flights were decent enough. But William seems to have really had a blast this year. I think this was the trip where he was old enough to really get it. He's been talking about the trip non stop since we got back. He was asking about the hotel yesterday- how he wanted to stay in a room at the hotel like one we did with Granny (a one bedroom). We were in a studio this trip and while it was fine, it was a little tight at times.

Anyhow, after much discussion, we decided it was best to skip Aulani and save it for a future trip and head back to WDW while William is at the age to really enjoy it. He'll be 5 for our next trip. We are looking at early November. Right now I am debating on two different weeks. We'd like to fit in Food and Wine again, which I believe runs typically through mid November. Then if possible, see one of the early MVMCPs.

So the dates I am looking at are:
Friday, Nov 2 through Saturday, Nov 10 OR
Friday, Nov 9 through Saturday, Nov 17th

Do you think the second week (9th-17th) would be more crowded and that we might start to see some of the Thanksgiving crowds that Sat, 11/17? Thanksgiving is on 11/22 next year.

We want lowest crowds, best weather and ability to do F&W and MVMCP. I know, not asking for much, right? Anyhow, if you have any experience with early November, let us know. I'll be looking to read and follow some old November trip reports to get a feel for that time of year. We've done December now twice (early Dec), October now, May, August, June etc.

I am very excited to plan another trip. We also debated on who to bring this year. We treated my mother in law and niece last year, this year was just us. So this year, we are inviting my parents. They've treated us in the past, including a fabulous 10 day stay at the Wilderness Lodge in December 2009 for the entire family. So we figure we owe them, right? Plus, they haven't been back since that trip in 2009. My mom is a huge disney fan like me and a HUGE shopper. Dad is the laid back type that just goes with the flow. Both are retired. Mom has some vision issues and is losing her vision due to a pitutary brain tumor she's had operated on twice now. Due to all the medications and her sight, we might use a wheelchair for part of the trip. She tires easily with all of the meds. She is missing her pitutary gland due to the tumor and that controls almost all hormone activity in your body. Dad also has some issues with his feet and diabetes he was just diagnosed with a few years ago. So we will go slower this trip, which is actually welcome to me! We went a little slower this last trip too and I enjoyed it. I figure we will do even more of that.

Our plan is to get a 2 bedroom villa at BLT- lakeview. Looking forward to it. Plus, William will be happy since he preferred the bigger room. We loved having our own kitchen, living area and breakfast/dining area last year. We didn't get to use the living area much, since MIL slept there and my niece slept on the single pull out chair. So we much prefer doing 2 bedrooms for everyone to have privacy and ensure we can actually use the living room area as that.

So that's the latest news and planning in motion. Now to start all over- where to eat, what special activities to plan etc. We have done a lot at Disney, but I know there are more new things to try. So if you have any advice on great new activities, let us know!

[KatieCollette]

Another FB person, checking in! Loving it so far!

[lmc318]

I'm in and enjoying your report so far! And we're looking into the 2nd week of November for our next trip too, but not until 2013, so I'm really anxious to see how your week is next year.

[lovethattink]

I'm in!

Love the airplane pictures!!

For some reason I can't get past page one, I get an error message and IE closes down. Hopefully I will get to see the rest of your report soon!!

[lovethattink]

Oh yes!! I was able to get to page 2 tonight!

I love the way you write. I could "see" the roads from the airport to BLT and how busy it was on the 535. That traffic can be crazy on a Friday night!

My friend's sister calls them "tourons", tourists who drive like morons.

Never heard of Emerald Aisle but it sounds great! I remember when we lived up north and rented cars down here. Alamo was a killer wait, never less than an hour for us.

I didn't realize the bathrooms at BLT were that bad. Your view of the pool looks great!

We haven't eaten at the Contempo Cafe since the renovations. I can't get over that MY Concourse Steakhouse is gone.

How cool to see fireworks on the bridge AND get to your happy place!!

Originally Posted by exwdwcm

and on a quick off topic (well sort of on topic), side note........we've started planning for 2012.

The best cure for the post trip blues is to plan another one right? I am so thrilled to have the luxury to do this now, all thanks for DVC.

So I spoke with DH yesterday, we were originally thinking we would try Aulani next year, if flights were decent enough. But William seems to have really had a blast this year. I think this was the trip where he was old enough to really get it. He's been talking about the trip non stop since we got back. He was asking about the hotel yesterday- how he wanted to stay in a room at the hotel like one we did with Granny (a one bedroom). We were in a studio this trip and while it was fine, it was a little tight at times.

Anyhow, after much discussion, we decided it was best to skip Aulani and save it for a future trip and head back to WDW while William is at the age to really enjoy it. He'll be 5 for our next trip. We are looking at early November. Right now I am debating on two different weeks. We'd like to fit in Food and Wine again, which I believe runs typically through mid November. Then if possible, see one of the early MVMCPs.

So the dates I am looking at are:
Friday, Nov 2 through Saturday, Nov 10 OR
Friday, Nov 9 through Saturday, Nov 17th

Do you think the second week (9th-17th) would be more crowded and that we might start to see some of the Thanksgiving crowds that Sat, 11/17? Thanksgiving is on 11/22 next year.

We want lowest crowds, best weather and ability to do F&W and MVMCP. I know, not asking for much, right? Anyhow, if you have any experience with early November, let us know. I'll be looking to read and follow some old November trip reports to get a feel for that time of year. We've done December now twice (early Dec), October now, May, August, June etc.

I am very excited to plan another trip. We also debated on who to bring this year. We treated my mother in law and niece last year, this year was just us. So this year, we are inviting my parents. They've treated us in the past, including a fabulous 10 day stay at the Wilderness Lodge in December 2009 for the entire family. So we figure we owe them, right? Plus, they haven't been back since that trip in 2009. My mom is a huge disney fan like me and a HUGE shopper. Dad is the laid back type that just goes with the flow. Both are retired. Mom has some vision issues and is losing her vision due to a pitutary brain tumor she's had operated on twice now. Due to all the medications and her sight, we might use a wheelchair for part of the trip. She tires easily with all of the meds. She is missing her pitutary gland due to the tumor and that controls almost all hormone activity in your body. Dad also has some issues with his feet and diabetes he was just diagnosed with a few years ago. So we will go slower this trip, which is actually welcome to me! We went a little slower this last trip too and I enjoyed it. I figure we will do even more of that.

Our plan is to get a 2 bedroom villa at BLT- lakeview. Looking forward to it. Plus, William will be happy since he preferred the bigger room. We loved having our own kitchen, living area and breakfast/dining area last year. We didn't get to use the living area much, since MIL slept there and my niece slept on the single pull out chair. So we much prefer doing 2 bedrooms for everyone to have privacy and ensure we can actually use the living room area as that.

So that's the latest news and planning in motion. Now to start all over- where to eat, what special activities to plan etc. We have done a lot at Disney, but I know there are more new things to try. So if you have any advice on great new activities, let us know!

That's awesome that you get to plan a return trip!!

Is the 2nd date Veteran's Day weekend? We are going back that weekend this year and I know it will be busy since many people have a long weekend off.

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

I'm here!!!! Great updates so far! I'm glad to see that William did well on the planes I saw that huge cupcake on FB that he was awarded once you got checked in!! Random question..why did you get off at 535 on a Friday?! lol. You can go one more exit and get off at Epcot and it will take you past Epcot and to the MK area. You still get the "Welcome to WDW sign". That is actually the way that the CP buses go because there is always less traffic. I guess it will be a good tip for next time maybe?! lol. Oh the joys of rental cars + tourists + elderly drivers = crazy high insurance in FL!!!!

[tlenzendorf]

Yay for planning another trip!!!

[LJD2143]

Originally Posted by exwdwcm

We turn and follow the signs to the MK towards our home for the next 8 nights- Bay Lake Towers. We check in the guard booth and proceed to park in the BLT parking lot. We all head in to CR to check in. DH takes William over to the cartoons, which he adores. He loves the old school cartoons. I’ve ordered him some of the “have a laugh” series, but I need to find more of the original old cartoons- especially with Donald. He watches them online a lot, so he loved this.

Yay for BLT - that's our HOME too!

My 3 boys are much older (10, 10 & 13) and they STILL love the "old" Disney cartoons! They always stop to watch them in the hotel lobbies or at Caseys.

Originally Posted by exwdwcm

So up we go to the 12th floor. We were fairly close to the elevator, about 4 doors down or so. That was nice because last year, we were at the very end of the hall. We opened the door and DH commented on how small the room was. LOL. Sorry dear. Next time we will really consider the one bedroom (which is what we had last year).

Yes - I had heard the studios at BLT are smaller than others - good to know!
This year we stayed in a 1BR because it was all 5 of us, but in the future DH and I may go without the kids.

Originally Posted by exwdwcm

So we head across the bridge to CR and look, there’s WISHES going off- we stop for a moment and watch. What a great first night, walk out to the bridge and see fireworks. This is why I love BLT

There are SO many great places to watch the fireworks! Did you go up to the Top of The World Lounge?

Originally Posted by exwdwcm

We then head into the CR and order at Contempo Café using the fancy machines. I get a burger/fries, DH gets a salad and we get William a burger with applesauce and grapes. He also wants a cupcake. Since he was so good on the planes, we let him get one- the red velvet one. It ends up sitting in our fridge the rest of the trip with only 2 bites taken out of it. Go figure.

HaHa!! We bought a couple cupcakes from Contempo too. They look so yummy! But the red velvet was my least favorite.

Originally Posted by exwdwcm

As we walk back across the bridge, I see they are showing the Lion King on the movie screen outside downstairs- so fun! WE don’t end up doing it this trip, but nice to know it is an option! We also catch the electrical water pageant. Talk about a magical first night!

Movies on the beach....campfire with s'mores.....activities around the pool.....bocce ball.......ping pong table.......the activity center..........SO MANY reasons to love BLT!

[exwdwcm]

Originally Posted by KatieCollette

Another FB person, checking in! Loving it so far!

Welcome Katie!

Originally Posted by lmc318

I'm in and enjoying your report so far! And we're looking into the 2nd week of November for our next trip too, but not until 2013, so I'm really anxious to see how your week is next year.

Yeah, hey, it is NEVER too early to plan!

Originally Posted by lovethattink

I'm in!

Love the airplane pictures!!

For some reason I can't get past page one, I get an error message and IE closes down. Hopefully I will get to see the rest of your report soon!!

That is so strange, have you tried firefox maybe? Heck, you probably can't even read this response then.

Originally Posted by lovethattink

Oh yes!! I was able to get to page 2 tonight!

I love the way you write. I could "see" the roads from the airport to BLT and how busy it was on the 535. That traffic can be crazy on a Friday night!

My friend's sister calls them "tourons", tourists who drive like morons.

Never heard of Emerald Aisle but it sounds great! I remember when we lived up north and rented cars down here. Alamo was a killer wait, never less than an hour for us.

I didn't realize the bathrooms at BLT were that bad. Your view of the pool looks great!

We haven't eaten at the Contempo Cafe since the renovations. I can't get over that MY Concourse Steakhouse is gone.

How cool to see fireworks on the bridge AND get to your happy place!!

Is the 2nd date Veteran's Day weekend? We are going back that weekend this year and I know it will be busy since many people have a long weekend off.

I never got to visit the Concourse STeakhouse- was it good? I haven't tried the new WAVE either yet.

Emerald Aisle is great. i highly recommend it if you want to sign up. I think mousesavers.com has a code to sign up free. You book online, walk out to the garage, find the Emerald "aisle" (literally) and just pick out a car in the category you booked, get in and drive! There is the little booth to check out at- but you just hand over drivers license and credit card and it took less than two minutes, then drive out! done! easy peasy!

I love tourons. So using that next time!!

Yep, the bathroom was annoying, but we made due.

yes, the second date is Veteran's weekend on the 11th. I can't wait to hear what you think of that week/end then, please let me know.

Originally Posted by TinkerbellLuvr7

I'm here!!!! Great updates so far! I'm glad to see that William did well on the planes I saw that huge cupcake on FB that he was awarded once you got checked in!! Random question..why did you get off at 535 on a Friday?! lol. You can go one more exit and get off at Epcot and it will take you past Epcot and to the MK area. You still get the "Welcome to WDW sign". That is actually the way that the CP buses go because there is always less traffic. I guess it will be a good tip for next time maybe?! lol. Oh the joys of rental cars + tourists + elderly drivers = crazy high insurance in FL!!!!

LOL- I know, I wasn't thinking! Next time, I'll go up one more. It was a disaster! I know better now!

Originally Posted by tlenzendorf

Yay for planning another trip!!!

I know- I can't wait! a new countdown!!

Originally Posted by LJD2143

Yay for BLT - that's our HOME too!
My 3 boys are much older (10, 10 & 13) and they STILL love the "old" Disney cartoons! They always stop to watch them in the hotel lobbies or at Caseys.
Yes - I had heard the studios at BLT are smaller than others - good to know!
This year we stayed in a 1BR because it was all 5 of us, but in the future DH and I may go without the kids.
There are SO many great places to watch the fireworks! Did you go up to the Top of The World Lounge?
HaHa!! We bought a couple cupcakes from Contempo too. They look so yummy! But the red velvet was my least favorite.
Movies on the beach....campfire with s'mores.....activities around the pool.....bocce ball.......ping pong table.......the activity center..........SO MANY reasons to love BLT!

I forgot that they play them back there in the corner of Casey's, so stopping there next time. He did enjoy them while waiting at the Epcot character spot, but the line was short, we only were in line like 5 minutes. He was mad when we moved, he wanted to watch more!

The studio would be fine for just the two of you! I did miss the washer/dryer though. I used the free w/d downstairs and it was easy.

We watched WISHES from TOW lounge last year, but missed it this time. I can't wait to go back!

I know, I really enjoy it. We did some pool time this trip, but wished I had more time for the Community hall and other activities! Next time.....

[exwdwcm]

Well you guys have been so patient. A lesson I am learning this week as I still wait for a "Congrats" or "Sorry" email from the WDW Moms Panel! Still waiting, hoping to hear this week though.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15
When we left off, I tossed and turned all night, worried about the car lights being left on. Turns out, my gut was right. I should have checked the lights. Yep, the battery was dead. So usually I rent a full size car, like an impala. It has automatic lights. Just like our cars at home. But this time we rented a midsize, cheaper, smaller car. You guessed it, no automatic lights. So the lights had stayed on all night. And the battery was dead, completely.



So after a restless night’s sleep, I am up at 6:30am. I was nervous about the car and lights. I should have been. My instinct was right. Darn it! So we are up, we eat some cereal and applesauce in the room and finally head out about 7:40am, later than I had hoped. But we were greeted by this beautiful sunrise! What a great welcome to our vacation! Tink herself must have created it just for us!

I wanted to be out by 7:30am, but DH take the longest showers. I swear he is worse than a girl. We head downstairs to the car and my heart sinks when I hit the unlock button on the keys and nothing happens. Yep, dead as a doornail. What now?DH says, well you have to change your plans and we can walk to the MK instead. Um, no we don't. We can take the bus. And so our one and only experience with a bus begins....



Off we go to the bus stop- just feet from us, after turning off the lights of course on the car and locking it. I get on the phone with National to find out our options. There is the car care center just less than a mile from us near the MK with a National. Just as I get her on the phone, the DHS bus pulls up. Our wait was maybe 5 minutes, not bad. We are the last ones on and it is almost full. So I am juggling the phone, stroller and toddler getting on the bus. I can’t hear a thing, so I finally tell her I will have to call her back, but she does tell me it is $39 fee for them to come out and switch the cars or jump me.



We get on the bus and DH says not to worry about it, since we turned the lights off now, we will try and get security to jump us later and it should be fine. So thankful I married a car guy. The man can tear apart and rebuild a car himself, so I figured he knew what he was talking about. Did he?



So on the bus to DHS, we stop at the Poly, however the bus is packed already, standing room only and this guy has this HUGE stroller in the aisle. We are crushed in like sardines. DH would try and offer his seat to a lady, but he is holding our son and there simply isn’t a way for him to even move with the giant stroller in front of him.



We make it to DHS at about 8:15am. Later than I hope. It is EMH today- they opened at 8am. So we rush in and head down to Toy Story Mania. We missed the crazy mad dash at least. The standby time is 30 minutes already, so we get fastpasses for 12:05pm. We decide to head to Tower of Terror. This is one of my all time favorites and just think, it stands in the place where I used to park when I worked at DHS 15 years ago. Yep, that used to be the cast member parking lot that it is built on. I only wish it was open when I worked there, I would have ridden it daily!



Now, we weren’t sure William would want to ride this. I had shown him a video of the ride at home on youtube and made sure he knew it dropped over and over again, not just once. He could hear/see the screams and knew it was dark and scary. But he wanted to try it. Who am I to say no to a 3 year old? He is tall enough. Heck, he was tall enough last year at 2 for it, but I didn’t feel he was mature enough to ride it then. Now I did, he is a thrill seeker and not scared of much. Plus he really loves ghosts and the Haunted Mansion, so I thought he would like the whole ghost scene here. He also loves the Haunted Mansion scenes at first with the lightning and storms, so I thought ToT might be up his alley.



He is a clean freak like me, so we joked about how dirty the place was and how we needed to come back and dust. The line for ToT was only 10 minutes. He was a little scared, but still wanted to go on. We sit in the back row with him in the middle of us. He has a death grip on us both. He likes the ghost scene for sure, but once we start dropping, he says, “let me off of here.” Sorry kid, you’re stuck for now. I told him it was okay, and held his hand as best I could. He never cried. But once we were off, he said, that was a fun elevator. Silly kids. I told him what a brave boy he was. He said he didn’t want to ride it again right now. Well I figured that much.



We skipped RnR. I’ve missed it the last two times. DH doesn’t care for it and I wasn’t ready to put William on there, so I just skipped it instead of making them wait on me. So we headed to Starring Rolls- I wanted to get one of the famous butterfinger cupcakes we had last year. But it was pretty packed, the line was way out the door and not a place to sit. I decided it wasn’t worth it right now. We needed to head over to see Phineas and Ferb, I knew they would be out by 10am. But, I should have checked my times guide, they were actually out at 9:30am. Oops! This was a must do this trip. William loves them. We watch them a lot- heck, I really enjoy the show and love that Bowling for Soup does the song. Gotta love all the crazy music and lyrics.



Since I thought P&F didn’t start until 10am, we had a little time to kill, so William and I went on Star Tours. It was basically a walk on, no wait. DH sat out. He can’t do the motion rides like that. We actually all rode this together at Disneyland in late August when we spent the day at the park while I was there on business. We loved it, but DH can’t do that often. He broke out into a cold sweat, so he decided to pass this time.



William loves wearing the glasses. We sit in the back row and get a great movie! It features the Ewok planet and then a dive under the sea with Jar Jar Binks. Very cool. Poor William, while big for his age, is still so little in that big seat and he was being jarred around pretty good with all of the movement. But we loved it and had a good time.



Next, we head over to the P&F meet and greet, located at the exit of the Muppets. I now realize it opens at 9:30am, which it is exactly 9:30am, so there is already a line of say 15-20 ahead of us. Not too bad though. It moves fast. DH goes to sit down on a bench while William and I wait in line. He brings along his workbook and sits on the ground doing it. Too funny- the kid is addicted to those workbooks. Who would have guessed? Unfortunately I don't have any pics of P&F, they are on our PP CD which we haven't gotten quite yet, so I'll add them later.



We finally work our way up and one family before us, they go to take a break. Thankfully, they only break for like 3 minutes and are back again. We are through the line in about 20 minutes and get our cute P&F pics!



We stop in the Muppet store quickly and it is empty! I had seen cute muppet hats in previous years and wanted one for Will. I found them! They had Animal, Beaker and Kermit. I got one for Will and he immediately wanted to wear it. He wore it a lot this trip, as you will see in photos and I swear every single CM and guest commented on that hat and asked if I made it or where we got it. It was a huge hit. Best $20 spent ever!

DH is a little hungry and was searching for coffee, so we hit up the writer’s stop near Sci Fi. Line here is about 5 deep, but we wait. It moves so slow and takes forever. I get a yummy oatmeal apple cookie and get William yep, another cupcake. He proceeds to eat the icing only.



We sit near the Sci Fi restaurant and enjoy our cookies. I watch some guest have a meltdown about something on her phone. Always interesting people watching at WDW.



We then head over to the animation area, seeing that we just missed the 10:30am Disney Jr. show, which is a must for us. William is a HUGE Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Jake and the Neverland Pirates fan. Those are his absolute favorite shows. I see there is an 11:20am show, so we park the stroller and head into the animation building instead. This is another thing I wanted to do that we missed last trip.
We’ve always missed the characters in there, so I wanted to make a point to see them this time. So we headed in and saw Pooh with about a 10 minute wait.




We attempt Sorcerer Mickey, but realize it is getting too close to our Disney Jr. show time and we probably need to get in line, so off we go. We wait in line about 15 minutes or so and head in. We sit in the back right. Will loves this show, especially the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Jake and the Neverland Pirates parts. He also loves catching confetti/gold doubloons! We have to collect them off the floor for him.

After the show, we head to Pizza Planet for lunch. I managed to find a table outside and it was just perfect to sit there and people watch. Unfortunately DH went to get in line right as a large tour group went in ahead. He gets a salad and then Will and I share a pizza and a small salad. We all share a drink. It is just at noon, so it is pretty crowded inside, glad we got a nice table outside.



It actually feels a little chilly in the shade out here actually.


On the way to TSMM, we run into three folks I recognize from a facebook picture. They are cast members, dressed in some Hawaiian shirts, holding a video camera etc. As I get closer, I see it is…….Heather! My old roommate from the college program 15 years ago. We’ve kept in touch by email, facebook and always try and visit while we are in town. She still works for the mouse, has ever since the college program. She was one of the Ziti Sisters at Epcot in Italy for a while, but now just subs there. Now she is doing some pre-crowd show before the parade. So I knew that might be here when I recognized those outfits from one of her FB pics. So happy and random to run into her. We meet her coworkers and chat for a bit. Unfortunately we won’t catch her later for the parade preshow. Will is going to need a nap by then!



So we continue on to Toy Story Mania. The line is now 60 minutes, it said 90 minutes earlier. After a nice relaxing lunch, we head over to Toy Story Mania to use our fastpasses. It's funny, we only wait about 10 minutes max, but we get looks from those in standby. Then as we are in the staircase area, folks in front of and behind us start giving folks in the other empty line next to us dirty looks, as a family with a special needs child walks by. Come on people!!! Enough already. A CM walks by and someone asks him if we can get in that shorter line. Um no, if you could, they would have put you in it originally! The CM tells them it is the line for GAC passes, or single riders etc. to try and fill up empty spots I swear!



Will sits almost in my lap, I let him pull the gun while I aim. I actually did okay considering I had a toddler assisting. Alan gets a pretty good score, but I can't remember what. After enjoying shooting to our heart's content on TSMM, we decide it is break time. We head out of DHS over to the bus. We only wait 5 minutes and actually run into a family that was on the bus with us there that morning. We chat briefly. Always nice making friends in the world!

We get back to BLT and I grab our mugs, which we had kept in the stroller (one reason I LOVE having a stroller, hello storage!) and fill our drinks. Alan tells me to call security about getting a jump for the car, so I do. They say to put the hood up and they will find him in the parking lot in a few minutes. AWesome! I wonder how many times a week they have to do this. A LOT, I bet. Alan said they were really nice and got it jumped. He drove it around a bit and then came back up to the room for a rest. I got William down for a nap, finally at about 3pm. Once Alan is back, I head down to do one of my favorite things at the world.......SHOP! I do love Buena Vista Gifts in the CR. I manage to spend about $140. OUCH! Mom had given me a list. I got 3 calendars, one for me, mom and sister. Got her a few ornaments (the round 40th one), a "monorail" t-shirt for my sister, WDW candyland game for Will for Christmas and more, including a mousepad and nice writing pen for work. I get back about 4pm and Will is waking up.

I take a few pics of our view- amazing!


Next up, the rest of our first full day- dinner in the castle with some beautiful girls.

[tlenzendorf]

Mmmm I love those cupcakes! Sounds like you had a good day at HS. I'm so impressed that Will rode ToT! Ellie is my ride chicken and didn't even like doing the queue so we could do rider switch with her.

You had way better luck with the busses that day than we had our whole trip. We decided after driving a few days and bussing a few days that we will nearly never take the bus anymore! It is ridiculous!

Yay for security jumping the car for free!

[IheartDDuck]

Oh no, I had a feeling that your premonition would turn out to be true and that the battery would be dead. At least security jumped the car later.

I love the hat you bought Will. Honestly, I had seen that hat last year and loved it. I may have to get one for myself.

[exwdwcm]

Hi guys, still here and actually have the next part almost typed up and ready.

I am currently at the happiest place on earth- Disneyland! I am here for work- the National Association of Realtors conference and tradeshow. Flew in yesterday afternoon, checked into my dump of a hotel and then hit downtown disney. Today i hit Disneyland at 8am. I was able to tackle Space and Thunder Mtn, Indy, HM Holiday, castle walkthrough, ToT, Soarin, California Screaming and Goofy's Sky School....plus a cinnamon roll for breakfast on main st and a hot dog for lunch at Coke Corner and some strolling and shopping. It is pretty crowded, i guess a lot of folks are off for the holiday today. But I hit everything early and still have 3 FPs to use tonight.

Gotta go work a few hours at the opening reception for our show. But I am heading back over to the park afterwards. I figure I'll just take in the atmosphere since the crowds are crazy.

I did see a scene....they had an area near Adventureland blocked off with tons of security, right in front of Bengal Barbeque, there were some empty tables blocked off and a bag sitting there and bomb sniffing dogs. Turned out to be nothing apparently.

I have to say Haunted mansion holiday is one of my new favorites. I have never ridden it before and WOW, they go all out in completely changing it. I absolutely loved it. It was even cold in the graveyard scene to match all the snow. I couldn't get over how simply amazing it was. I need to buy the movie for William to watch, we don't have that one and I do love it.

Weather has been great, it was cloudy most of the day, which was nice- I could have actually worn my hoodie and been fine, but I left it in the room. I was fine in short sleeves, but it was a little chilly, which for this Texan, was actually nice!

okay, gotta get dressed to head to work for a bit, but thought I would check in to let you know I haven't forgotten about you guys! In fact, most of my TR is written- i did keep notes, just got post it all with the pics!

[msmith1026]

We ended up never going to HS during our trip, the day we were supposed to go to the park Zoey slept until 9:30 and I just thought it was better to make it a rest day. I was bummed, i really wanted a cupcake, you know, for research purposes!!! JP had Lunch with an Imagineer that day, so he went to the park alone and Zoey and I sat by the pool.

Will eats his cupcakes like Zoey, apparently. She eats just the frosting most of the time too. Sometimes I cut the cake in half, and put the bottom half i just cut on top of the frosting, making it a sandwich. She loves to eat it that way!

I love that Will road ToT. My favorite ride! I made JP ride that for me since I was with Zoey.

Nice that you could get the jump from security for free!