The Wettest, Merriest, and Happiest Birthday/First Visit Nov/Dec 2012 TR! 2/13 FINAL!

[Pesky]

oh, that stinks about the rain! I was hoping to do the holiday tour and like you, the SOLE reason I would do it is for the VIP parade seating. Have fun in WDW!

[JDailey]

I hate that you guys got so much rain!! It reminds me of the last two trips to WDW we have had. I hope you get great whether in Florida!!

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Those candy canes do look epic!!! at Matt breaking one as you were back in the room!

Too bad that the rain really affected your tour! Hope you get better weather in Florida!!! Have a wonderful trip!!

[khertz]

That rain, what a bummer! The tour sounds like fun, but I can see it being a lot more fun WITHOUT a torrential downpour. I think it's pretty crazy that for the price they charge you, they didn't compensate you in some way for missing out on the parade VIP seating.

I got chills & tears in my eyes watching the video of IASW lighting up! What an amazing sight that must be to see in person!!!

Have SO MUCH FUN in Disney World!!!!

[stacy~**]

Sorry the tour wasn't all you hoped for. I, too am surprised you didn't get something since the parade was cancelled!

Have a great trip! We will miss your updates here!

I saw someone mention your twitter and would love to follow your adventures in WDW. Can you post your user name or pm me it?

[danimaroo]

Originally Posted by Twoboysnmygirl

Darn that rain!!! I wish it hadn't ruined your parade. So I was thinking about the photo-taking-incident in HM. Did you have your focus assist light on? Once I went in HM and quickly realized that my focus assist light was coming on BEFORE taking the shot b/c if it's turned on and it's really dark, it will do that until you turn it off. Maybe the CM saw that light and thought it was a flash? Or it could just be that I think sometimes they don't realize that those of us with dslrs CAN (and DO) take photos without flashes, so they just assume if there's a camera out that people are using flash.

I'm so excited for your trip! When you get back I will have mere days before it's my turn! I hope you guys have a blast and your friends love it as much as you!

I know, I was so bummed out that it canceled the parade. I was most looking forward to it. But oh well.

I think I might had my focus light on by mistake, so that might have been it! I'll have to remember that when I'm in Disney World and am taking photos!

YAY I CAN'T WAIT!! And yours is so close too!! I hope you guys have a ton of fun on your mother-daughter trip!

Originally Posted by mommy2allyandaveri

Loving your TR, it's one of the best I have read. I love it so much that I'm starting on your WDW PTR, we have never been there and I'm not sure if we ever will go there, but it's bound to be wonderful to read!

Thanks and enjoy your trip!

Aww this is such a HUGE compliment, thank you so much!! I hope you're enjoying/enjoyed my WDW TR... and I will be writing one for the trip we're about to go on, of course. Thank you again!!

Originally Posted by lsulindy

That rain really stinks!! Hope you have some gorgeous weather in Florida! Have a great trip!

Yeah, this is the one time where I was really tired of the rain and frustrated... but I got over it quickly and we had some fun anyway!

Forecast is looking pretty awesome for our trip, so here's hoping we don't bring any Seattle rain with us!

Originally Posted by Pesky

oh, that stinks about the rain! I was hoping to do the holiday tour and like you, the SOLE reason I would do it is for the VIP parade seating. Have fun in WDW!

It was a mega bummer because the VIP seating was by far the hugest perk of the tour.. aand we didn't get it. Wompwomp.

We will have a blast! I can't wait to start up a TR for it and ya know.. have an awesome time, haha.

Originally Posted by JDailey

I hate that you guys got so much rain!! It reminds me of the last two trips to WDW we have had. I hope you get great whether in Florida!!

I know, SUCH a bummer! I couldn't believe all of the rain we experience. Weather forecast for Florida is looking pretty awesome, though, so we should be okay!! Thank you!

Originally Posted by khertz

That rain, what a bummer! The tour sounds like fun, but I can see it being a lot more fun WITHOUT a torrential downpour. I think it's pretty crazy that for the price they charge you, they didn't compensate you in some way for missing out on the parade VIP seating.

I got chills & tears in my eyes watching the video of IASW lighting up! What an amazing sight that must be to see in person!!!

Have SO MUCH FUN in Disney World!!!!

Yeah, I think if it hadn't rained I would definitely be recommending the tour, if not just for the VIP seating... but unfortunately, this left me kind of feeling meh about it. And I agree, I really wish they had some way of making up for the loss of VIP seating, it seemed pretty lame they didn't do anything.

OMG, I did, too! That moment was amazing and beautiful and reminded me of why I love Disney parks so much.

WE WILL! I can't believe our trip is here!! BTW, I have it planned to read your entire current TR while on my flight! I've been saving it for that very reason, since I'll have wifi on the plane. I can't WAIT to read it!

Originally Posted by stacy~**

Sorry the tour wasn't all you hoped for. I, too am surprised you didn't get something since the parade was cancelled!

Have a great trip! We will miss your updates here!

I saw someone mention your twitter and would love to follow your adventures in WDW. Can you post your user name or pm me it?

Ah it's okay, it was still enjoyable! I just wish they'd have made up for a lack of a parade.

Thank you! I do have twitter and I tend to update it while I'm in the parks with photos and whatnot. My twitter handle is snoogibear, so feel free to follow along on my trip! And of course, I'll be writing a TR when I'm back.

[danimaroo]

Originally Posted by Stringbean&Wingnut

Those candy canes do look epic!!! at Matt breaking one as you were back in the room!

Too bad that the rain really affected your tour! Hope you get better weather in Florida!!! Have a wonderful trip!!

Haha, somehow I skipped your comment when I went to reply! So weird.

The candy canes were EPIC. Seriously! And I was laughing so hard at Matt, he felt so bad since he'd also broken my portable iPhone charger by mistake the day before we left... but we fixed it all!

I think the Florida weather will be a LOT better than what we saw in Disneyland! YAYAYAYY! I am so excited!

[khertz]

Originally Posted by danimaroo

WE WILL! I can't believe our trip is here!! BTW, I have it planned to read your entire current TR while on my flight! I've been saving it for that very reason, since I'll have wifi on the plane. I can't WAIT to read it!

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Aww, that is too sweet! Have safe travels & a FUN trip! Can't wait to read about it!

[Fantasyland Mom]

Darn that rain !
I have to say, though, that I got choked up just watching the video of IASW lighting up; I cannot imagine how the tears would be flowing if I saw it in person! And can you imagine if Brynn saw it in person!?! Oh, my! Dream come true right there! That would pretty much make her life!
I'd probably have to do the tour, as I know absolutely zilch about DL. You seem to be getting acquainted with it fast, though! Good on ya!

Have SO MUCH FUN at WDW! Ten days!? I'm super jealous, but super happy for you !

[marDgreen88]

Those corn dogs look so good! Would you believe me if I said that I've never had a corn dog before? Well, whether or not you believe me, it is sadly the truth. The funny thing is that I've been saving my first corn dog experience for whenever I go to Disneyland. Not like that's happening anytime soon AT ALL, but I'm weird and it's just a funny coincidence.

Omg... I don't even know how people pay for ONE DVC whatever ya call it, let alone SIX. HOT DANG, WOMAN! Does she wanna share? Hahha but really.

Oh man, that's such a shame about the rain canceling the parade! I honestly probably would have cried because I absolutely ADORE that parade! I've seriously watched it on you tube about 20 times because I figure I won't be seeing it anytime soon! Hopefully one day yall will get to see it! I feel like you should go back next year and be like "um hi... we did the tour last year and it rained, if you want proof you can read my TR... mind giving us VIP seating like right now? K thanks BYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE." (Penny from Happy Endings style right there. )

It's a small world looks so amazing!!! I tried to watch your video a few times but it froze in the same spot before it lit up!

[kimbo0569]

I so loved reading your mini TR of Boston and NY (especially NY since that's where I live...LOL). And loving your Tr of Disneyland. I have been twice but the last time was in 1991. We are planning a trip to Disney World for this year (late fall) but dh and I were talking and his brother lives in Cali - he just bought a house and would like it if we could visit him. So we're planning on a trip out for 2014.

So I said to dh tonight - since we're going to be in Cali to visit his brother, we absolutely cannot be there and NOT see Disneyland...

[danimaroo]

Hey guys!! Hopefully you didnt forget about me& Its true, were back from our Disney World trip. Totally bummed out about it being over, but we honestly had such a great time, and I am BEYOND excited to share our trip with those of you interested in hearing about our crazy adventures.

Anyway, my current plan is to get this TR done before I start my Disney World one (plus this buys me time to edit photos and get our PhotoPass+ CD back), but I will definitely be sure to post a link to my WDW one once I have it started, in case you feel like continuing on another fun-filled vacation with us!

Okay, back to our Disneyland adventures!

Chapter Seventeen: Fact: It's not a good idea to ride Space Mountain when full of delicious jambalaya
Day 2: November 30th, 2012

Ah right, so as we left off, we'd just finished up our Holiday Time Tour, took some photos and managed to lose our umbrella... but now, we had places to be!

At this point we decided to make our way over to New Orleans Square and decided to go on Pirates again.









I love that ride so much, especially the beginning when youre passing Blue Bayou!

Okay, weeelll after we got off of Pirates, we moseyed our way on over to... Blue Bayou! We'd decided to have my birthday dinner there because it's just such a classic part of Disneyland!

We walked up and checked in, then sat down. And it's funny, going through my photos, I have no idea why I didnt take any of the outside area. I'm lame! Anyway, we were seated before too long and gah, I love that restaurant way too much. It's so neat.



The ambiance is perfect, and while I was a little sad that we weren't seated near the Pirates area, I loved that there was a LIVE BAND playing above us. It was seriously wonderful.

See? We were clearly both happy campers!





For whatever reason I only took photos on my iPhone, so basically you can't really see anything because the lighting in there is very similar to what you see in San Angel Inn in Epcot.

Anyway, Matt and I ordered our food and took in the scenery. Matt ordered the Royal Street Seafood Jambalaya, while I ordered the Isla-Cruces Crab Cakes.

Both of our meals came with a salad, which was super tasty!



We also were served bread, which if I remember correctly, was very good.



Soon enough our food came out, and yes, these are pretty not-awesome photos, but it'll have to do!

Matt's jumbalaya:



My crab cakes:



These were BOTH so good, and they gave you a lot! I'd heard mixed reviews about the food at Blue Bayou, but I honestly loved every bite of mine, and I know Matt thoroughly enjoyed his! It's definitely pricey but very much worth it.

We enjoyed every last bite, though we were pretty stuffed by the end of our meal. However, our waitress brought out a special birthday treat for me which I thought was very nice!



It was a chocolate mousse and very good. Matt and I ate what we could, settled our check, and headed back out!

I highly recommend Blue Bayou if you have the chance to eat there. The restaurant is absolutely stunning and the food was wonderful, as well! Again, it's a little on the pricier side but definitely an awesome place to experience.

We finished up at around 8 and headed towards the main hub where I wanted to get our holiday photo I was planning on using for our Christmas cards this year. The castle was looking absolutely perfect.



There werent any PhotoPass photographers around, so I asked a random CM to take our photo and it was a total fail. She just had no idea how to use a DSLR, so our photo came out like this:



Wompwomp. I mean, she tried, she really did! But it just wasn't happening.

I am pretty sure I was more annoyed than I'd normally be, but it was also because I was pretty exhausted and my feet hurt, and I am pretty sure Matt was also hitting a wall, as well.

HOWEVER! We had Fast Passes to use! So there was no time to stop, and we soldiered on into Tomorrowland!



When we arrived, it was a 45 minute wait in the stand-by line, so we were happy to be using our FPs from earlier.

We had a ton of fun on it, but the attraction photo just kills me. This, ladies and gents, is the face of a man trying his best not to throw up everywhere.



As we got off, Matt revealed that it probably wasn't the best idea to ride Space Mountain after he'd just eaten the Jambalaya at Blue Bayou. Apparently his stomach was angry and he was pretty close to throwing up, so his face for most of the ride was as you see above, trying his best not to throw up on me. Hahaha, such a kind husband for not puking on his wife; I have to say I appreciated that! Also, the girl in front of him on the ride is apparently having TOO much of a good time, no?!

Anyway, after we got off of Space Mountain, we hopped onto Buzz Lightyear because it had a 5 minute wait.



(Keep reading!)

Continued in next post

[danimaroo]

Chapter Seventeen: Fact: It's not a good idea to ride Space Mountain when full of delicious jambalaya CONTINUED
Day 2: November 30th, 2012

I was pewpewing and doing so well, when suddenly the ride stopped. Everyone else continued to shoot, but for some reason our scores were suddenly final! What the heck, we were not even done riding and I had some points to score, dangit! Technically I won because I had a higher score, but we needed to have a rematch the next day because this whole ride-stopping business made that not really an official win on my part!



We left Buzz and headed for Main Street to find a spot to watch the fireworks from. Matt went off to buy some stuff and I saved us some spots.



Matt returned with a pal for Oswald... Mickey!!



Soon enough, Believe... In Holiday Magic was starting! Unfortunately because of the crappy weather, a lot of the fireworks were kind of blurred by the clouds. Wompwomp.



So my photos were pretty lacking. Add in the fact that some tall dude stood in front of me and kept moving/blocking my view, my photos were kind of poopy.

The castles color changes were really neat though, and I loved that!

And then... guys, then it SNOWED.



I was pretty much beside myself. I'd heard of the snowing on Main Street, but actually SEEING it was just amazing.





And then Matt pointed out it smelled like cinnamon and gingerbread. Like, seriously Disney, you know how to just make a girl happy! That was something where I was definitely feeling the Disney magic and wanted to remember that moment forever.

There was a girl right next to us SOBBING as it snowed, and I totally got it. Sometimes Disney just gets you like that!



We decided to head out of the park, and of course I had to keep taking photos of everything around us. It was just so perfect.







On our way out, we stopped by a store to pick up our Advent Calendar! We'd spotted it earlier, debated on buying it, and then decided it was too adorable not to buy.



At that point, we were both exhausted, and decided to trek back to our room. It was the longest. Walk. EVER. My feet felt like someone was smashing them with a hammer with every step I took.

After walking what seemed to be an eternity, we made it back to our room and I bee-lined it for the Jacuzzi tub. That thing was a lifesaver.



We relaxed, and Matt put Mickey and Oswald together on the bed.



When Matt picked up Mickey earlier in the evening, he also grabbed a cute Minnie Mouse for our niece Melina!



I made sure to take a photo of all the Vinylmation I'd traded throughout the day!



Oh, and because I didnt get a chance earlier in the night, I also took a photo of the cute pin and gingerbread man we got from doing the tour! I loved that they gave a cute little pin to commemorate the tour.





Matt was pretty exhausted, as was I, but I needed to stay up to make sure I took down some notes in my journal before I fell asleep. As I got up to plug my phone in across the room, I turned around and saw Matt snuggling Oswald in his sleep. I mean, seriously, how adorable is that?



I FINALLY was able to go to bed, and even though I knew I'd be exhausted, we had another early morning ahead of us!

Next, we do the Radiator Springs Racers dash... or not? AND we do the impossible... obtain 3 sets of fast passes all within our first half hour in the park!

Continued in next post

[danimaroo]

Originally Posted by khertz

Aww, that is too sweet! Have safe travels & a FUN trip! Can't wait to read about it!

Thank you! So I got halfway through your TR and still need to catch up! But so far it's been wonderful, no surprise there. Your son is the CUTEST!

Originally Posted by Fantasyland Mom

Darn that rain !
I have to say, though, that I got choked up just watching the video of IASW lighting up; I cannot imagine how the tears would be flowing if I saw it in person! And can you imagine if Brynn saw it in person!?! Oh, my! Dream come true right there! That would pretty much make her life!
I'd probably have to do the tour, as I know absolutely zilch about DL. You seem to be getting acquainted with it fast, though! Good on ya!

Have SO MUCH FUN at WDW! Ten days!? I'm super jealous, but super happy for you !

The rain was poopy, I won't lie. OMG, I seriously thought of you guys when we were watching it. It was just amazing, and Brynn would totally be amazed. I definitely got chills when we saw it in person. The tour was good if you didn't know a lot, for sure.

Thanks, as you know, we had a blast... I'm just sad we're home already... BUT we are starting to plan our next trip, much to my delight. I just want to book it already so it'll feel more real!

Originally Posted by marDgreen88

Those corn dogs look so good! Would you believe me if I said that I've never had a corn dog before? Well, whether or not you believe me, it is sadly the truth. The funny thing is that I've been saving my first corn dog experience for whenever I go to Disneyland. Not like that's happening anytime soon AT ALL, but I'm weird and it's just a funny coincidence.

Omg... I don't even know how people pay for ONE DVC whatever ya call it, let alone SIX. HOT DANG, WOMAN! Does she wanna share? Hahha but really.

Oh man, that's such a shame about the rain canceling the parade! I honestly probably would have cried because I absolutely ADORE that parade! I've seriously watched it on you tube about 20 times because I figure I won't be seeing it anytime soon! Hopefully one day yall will get to see it! I feel like you should go back next year and be like "um hi... we did the tour last year and it rained, if you want proof you can read my TR... mind giving us VIP seating like right now? K thanks BYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE." (Penny from Happy Endings style right there. )

It's a small world looks so amazing!!! I tried to watch your video a few times but it froze in the same spot before it lit up!

The corn dogs were insanely good, no lie. That is funny that you've never had one though.. but leaving that for Disneyland is a GOOD CALL, because it was the best one I'd ever eaten in my life!

Yeah, that lady had me impressed. I mean, we're starting to look into DVC so knowing what ONE contract costs, I can only imagine how much money she has invested in DVC!

I seriously was so so sad about the parade being canceled. I was SO looking forward to it! It just obviously means we need to go back around Christmas again though so I can finally see it!

Bahahaha I laughed so hard at your Penny reference. SAH AH-MAHZING.

Well that's lame that the video froze, because it was definitely an amazing moment. I hope it works for you at some point; I still get chills just watching the video!

Originally Posted by kimbo0569

I so loved reading your mini TR of Boston and NY (especially NY since that's where I live...LOL). And loving your Tr of Disneyland. I have been twice but the last time was in 1991. We are planning a trip to Disney World for this year (late fall) but dh and I were talking and his brother lives in Cali - he just bought a house and would like it if we could visit him. So we're planning on a trip out for 2014.

So I said to dh tonight - since we're going to be in Cali to visit his brother, we absolutely cannot be there and NOT see Disneyland...

Aww, thank you, I'm glad that you enjoyed my mini TR of Boston/NYC, haha. That was definitely a fun little adventure for me!! Glad you're also enjoying my DL TR!! That is so exciting that you're planning for Disney World in the fall!! And even more awesome that you'll get to go back to Disneyland! I just love both parks so much!! I'll also be writing a TR for my most recent WDW trip, so hopefully I will see you over there as well!

[Aussiesalad]

Dinner at the Blue Bayou looks stunning! I just love that you can eat inside the ride!! It's seriously on my list of things to do next trip!

Oh gosh I've totally made the face that Matt is making on Space.
It's a horrible feeling when it hits you in the middle of the ride that hmmm maybe you should have waited a little longer to let that food settle.

Ahhhh the snow on main street is PERFECT!!! Disney is so on it with their smells!

I love your Mickey and Oswald! They are beyond adorable