Oh the Places We Go, The People We See ...Dream Trip Report

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Mom and Dad’s bed.

Our view to the left.

Our view to the right.

And straight out.

I think we were looking at the road that goes around the Beach and Yacht Club, or a service road that led out to it, but I never did find out for sure.

We got ourselves changed. It was really cooling down and I did the one thing I NEVER do at Disney. I put jeans on. I am always of the thought that it has to be warmer here than home, but today, it wasn’t and I knew once the sun was gone, it was going to get darn chilly. I think only on one other trip have I actually worn jeans at the parks and that when the temps dipped into the 40’s. I am usually ok with shorts and a sweatshirt.

Once we were changed and freshened up we headed towards Epcot.

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It had gotten dark out pretty fast. Claire was very impressed that we could actually walk to Epcot. I explained that we were special and had a back door entrance. LOL. Ok it sounds good to a 7 year old.

We didn’t get too far in and I was in for a major shock. I have NEVER seen crowds like this in my life at Disney. It was wall to wall people. It was almost scary. We merged in with the people and soon spotted a photopass photographer and I asked for a picture. She rudely informed me she was done for the night. Ok then. I guess she had a long busy day herself. She did tell me there was another one just a bit down, so Claire and I went to her. She told me she was also done for the night, but she did take a couple of real quick pictures for us.

We then made our way to Norway. I had originally planned to take it leisurely and take pictures, etc., but that wasn’t going to happen. It was just too darn crowded. I grabbed Claire’s hand and we went on our way. It took forever to get there. I couldn’t walk fast because people would just walk right in front of you, or stop suddenly. I think we ran into quite a few people on our trek over there. And then we got a group of scooters who were NOT allowing people to pass them. It was so frustrating. We did eventually make it over to Norway and had a seat. We had a little bit of time before our ADR time and we just rested and chilled out.

I think we may have called Skip and I texted a few people, including my Mom to let her know our room number since she hadn’t called back. I think Claire was a little bored there, but we just couldn’t really do anything else with so many people there. I guess they were all trying to get in the last little bit of the Food and Wine festival.

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After chilling out near Norway for about 20 minutes or so, we decided to go and check into Akershus for our dinner. The line was darn long there too, but it did move fairly fast.

After checking in we waited probably less than 5 minutes for our name to be called.

We then got in line for Belle.

I decided this time I was going to be in the picture as well. I usually just have Claire do the photo ops, but I decided I needed to be in some here and there too.

I look pretty decent in the first one, but unfortunately Claire is looking away. This is the one they gave us in print form.

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The 2nd one is much better of Claire, but I blinked ….darn it.

I walked away while Claire got her book signed and I was happy they took this one as well.

I tried to get one more pic, but it was pretty awful.

Belle really liked Claire’s outfit, which of course made her happy. This was another borrowed outfit from my friend Janet. I am so grateful for all the things she loaned us.

We were then seated and we made our way up to the cold bar and got a few items.

As we sat there I noticed that Cinderella had different hair. I quickly texted my friend Janet and tried to take pictures on my phone from afar. They weren’t great, but I gave her the idea at least. I know people are mixed about the hair and dress, but I really like the new hair.

I also found out that the wifi worked much better inside Akershus than anywhere else in the park that night.

It wasn’t long and Cinderella had made her way to our table. I eyed her hair quite a bit, and I really like it.

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Aurora was on her heals and we had a meet with her next.

 

 

 

The music started and Aurora grabbed Claire’s hand. They were going to do a parade around the restaurant. I was happy that Claire actually joined in. She did kind of hem haw around about it at first.

 

 

 

 

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When she came back, our food was served. She went wild again tonight and got a hotdog.

I had the Traditional Kjottkake. I had this last time too and I enjoyed it. It kind of has a kielbasa taste to it. However this time around it wasn’t quite as tasty as the first time. I enjoyed it still, but it seemed to be a little lacking this time. It didn’t lack later on though, where I continued to re-taste it for the rest of the night.

Ariel came next, another favorite of Claire’s.

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And then Snow White, who really liked Claire’s red bow.

After our character visits we enjoyed our dinner.

Claire’s birthday is in Dec and this was the closest we have ever been to Disney to that date, so I had noted her birthday on many of our reservations. They brought her out a cupcake.

And the dessert.

The chocolate mousse was delicious; the rice stuff just isn’t our thing. I don’t remember what the 3rd thing was. All ears lists it as something apple, but I don’t remember if that is what it was or not. Nor do I remember if we liked it or not.

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After we ate and paid we made a bathroom stop and then Claire wanted to head towards Spaceship Earth. While walking I think I texted our friend that we would be meeting up with for Illuminations.

We spotted the Cranberry Bog on our way.

We had just enough time to ride Spaceship Earth so we got in line.

I took pictures while on the ride, but they are basically the same ones I always take and these didn’t come out as good as some of my past ones, so I’ll skip posting those.

We did however have fun taking pictures of our silly pictures. I made a dumb face, but Claire went for the smile.

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After we got off we went and looked for our pictures.

 

 

 

I emailed myself the video, which I don’t think I ever watched, but I might have. It’s been so long ago. I know I saved this picture off the email though.

 

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We were running short on time now so we made another bathroom stop and worked our way towards world showcase. We saw a photopass photographer and made a quick stop.

Then we headed to find our friends. Tonight we were meeting up with my Dis/facebook friend Tim and family. (That’s nice is his Dis name) He has a daughter named Juliana who is a year younger than Claire and Claire has been dying to meet her as well over the years. They also have a son Christopher who was on his very first trip to Disney. Tim’s wife, Mel and his mother were also on this trip.

We texted back and forth and he told me where he was standing. I can’t remember for sure, but I think it was near the Greece food booth.

We arrived in the area and I kept looking and just didn’t see him. Finally I saw him. He’s pretty tall and I had seen a guy that looked similar to him but he didn’t have the “right” family with him, so I was pretty sure he wasn’t him. LOL.

We walked over and said hellos and he introduced us to his Mom and Juliana. Mel and Christopher were tired and had gone back to the resort.

Claire had taken off her Mickey ears, but Juliana had a pair on, so I noticed Claire going through the bag quickly to put hers back on.

Soon Illuminations had started, so we stopped talking and enjoyed the show.

Illuminations!!!!

I’m going to let you in on a secret. I like Illuminations, but I don’t LOVE it like many people do. I also don’t love Wishes. Ok stop throwing things at me!!!

I like them but they are not must sees. I do enjoy them when I see them though.

Here are a few of the pictures I took of the show this evening. We were under a tree, so it made it hard to get some photos and of course, without a tripod you can’t get decent ones anyways.

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After the big finale we all talked some more. I had a little gift for Juliana and I gave that to her and she opened the bag and checked out her goods. Claire and she seemed to be kind of at least interacting a bit. That was a nice change.

 

Tim then told me a bit of big news. Mel was pregnant with their 3rd child. I felt so privileged to have some inside info. I want to congratulate the happy family who recently gave birth to Gabriella! She’s a real cutie! And he is a very busy dad these days too.

 

We then decided it was time to get a picture. We had his mom take them and it did take her a few minutes to get the hang of my camera, but she did a good job!

 

 

Juliana started playing with some things from her bag and she invited Claire to play along. It was so nice to see them getting along so well.

 

 

What was also nice is that Claire wasn’t bugging me about leaving. She was having too much fun.

 

I think we chatted for about 20 minutes or so and then we decided it was time to get heading out. Epcot was thinning out fast. The girls didn’t want to leave, which was a nice change, but they did come along and we all said goodbyes.

 

I was really happy to meet Tim. I have been following his TR’s for a few years and we have been at Disney at different times, but sometimes only missing each other by a few days. He was one of those people I had on my bucket list to meet. He’s a super nice guy and has a great family.

 

Claire and I then headed towards our backdoor exit.

 

 

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We stopped and sat on a bench as I was going to call Skip again. We noticed fireworks in the distance. At first I wondered if they were MK fireworks, but the timing was not right and then I wasn’t sure if that was even the right direction. Then I figured it might be something from Fantasmic. I have never seen it myself, so I wasn’t sure. It was actually today while editing these pictures that I realized Hollywood Studios had closed that day at 4Pm for a private event. I bet these fireworks were something for that event.

I took a few pictures of the window nearby too. So cute!

I was excited to see Christmas décor at Epcot as well.

We both talked to Skip a bit. Claire is a daddy’s girl and she was missing her Dad. Thank goodness we didn’t have any major issues. Over the past 2 years she has come home from a few overnight stays around 11 PM because she can’t sleep without Daddy’s kiss. I’ve kissed the guy a time or 2 and I don’t think it is THAT special. LOL

We then headed back to the Beach Club. I tried calling my parents again. I had not gotten any response from them at all and I wanted to be sure they knew which room we were in. It went to voicemail once again. I then called Geoff and asked if he had seen them. Yes he had and they were dropped off at our hotel quite a while ago after dinner. Ok, then. I am assuming they got my messages and were in the room.

We made the trek back to the room and sure enough they were there. Dad was watching tv and mom was sleeping. Mom wasn’t feeling the greatest either. She was pretty sure she had a sinus infection.

I got Claire ready for bed and then myself. Now this is embarrassing. I took my jeans off and noticed a tag. You know the kind that has the size that is kind of sewn on the waist band or pocket. These jeans were new and I guess I missed taking that off. Oops. Hopefully my shirt and jacket had covered that up all night long. Thank goodness I didn’t have the tape thing that runs down the leg with your size on it left on there. That would’ve been way more embarrassing.

I settled in bed and surfed facebook for a bit while Dad watched TV till late in the night. Well actually he falls asleep while watching it. I think I took over the remote to turn it off at some point in time.

It was a very long day, but we had so much fun. We woke up on a ship and now are back to another resort, my 5th pillow of the trip. Oh the Places We Go!

We met up with Tim, Juliana, and Tim’s Mom. It was a wonderful meet and it made my day. Oh the People We Meet!

We had another busy day coming up and I soon drifted off to sleep.

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Nov. 9, 2012, Friday, Day 9

I woke around 6ish this morning. I just can’t sleep in while at Disney. I took a quick walk outside and took some pictures with my point and shoot, but it was still fairly dark and they all came out really blurry.

I then took a shower and got myself started for the day. I left the makeup for later and went out to find the laundry facilities and started a load.

By then it was about 7:30 and I went out for a stroll while the others slept. I am pretty sure Mom had gotten up, but she might’ve went back to bed for a bit.

I then went for another walk to take some pictures.

Awww. Some Duckies.

This is the Villa pool.

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I headed back to the room and took care of the laundry and then got Claire up and ready to go. My parents aren’t ones who get up and go early and they kind of slow us down at times. Claire is not an early riser at all, but we only have so much time and we really needed to be on our way.

We got a few texts. Rob was sick. So sick he was staying in the room and Gail was going off on her own with the girls. She had a reservation at Hollywood and Vine that morning and was headed off. Gails phone also stopped charging she had noticed when she got off the ship, so if we needed to contact her, she was carrying Robs phone. Her phone would only work if it was actually plugged into the charger, but would not charge. (Ironically when she got home it worked fine, but Rob bought her a new iPhone for her b-day in Dec.)

By 8:50 we were heading down to get some breakfast.

By 9 we had it and found a table outside to sit at.

I got the breakfast sandwich and potatoes, as did Mom.

I think Mom got this for Dad.

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Now Claire will not eat any of this except for bacon and I don’t have a picture, but I am thinking we got her a muffin to eat.

 

The view from our table.

 

 

I think Dad forgot his hat and had to go back and get it. We weren’t going to wait though. I told my parents how to get to Hollywood Studios and Claire and I headed off.

 

 

Of course the friendship boat was leaving just as we walked up.

 

 

We waited around a bit.

 

 

 

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I am not known for patience and I didn’t see a boat anywhere close to coming so we decided to walk.

 

 

 

The nice thing about walking was we got some nice views of the Boardwalk and the Swan and Dolphin.

 

 

 

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Oh look! We could see Tower of Terror peeking over the trees.

 

 

 

Let me just say this walk is NOT short. I knew it was probably kind of long, but it was even longer than I thought. But we did walk fairly fast and I felt better actually moving than waiting for a friendship boat.

 

Look!!!!! The tree is up there too!

 

 

And as we got closer we could see ToT peeking some more.

 

 

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Of course I took a ton of pictures of the tree.

 

 

 

And then I told Claire to go stand in front of it.

 

 

Look how huge it is. The ornaments are as big as her head.

 

 

I was just loving all the Christmas décor!

 

 

We had entered the park about 9:45. A little later than I had hoped, but still not too bad.

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After we entered Hollywood Studios, I texted Gail. She was just finishing up with their breakfast at Hollywood and Vine and was getting ready to pay. I told her I work my way towards there. We spotted a photopass photographer and stopped for a few pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

We then worked our way towards the “hat”.

 

 

I am not really sure why I took this picture like this, but I took several of the same thing. Maybe I liked the palms with the hat?

 

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I stopped and took this picture next.

 

 

And then I had Claire jump in.

 

 

Disney Channel Rocks was just starting so we walked over there to watch and I texted Gail to let her know where I was. I also texted mom and Dad as they had just entered the park as well and let them know where I was and where Gail was.

 

 

 

 

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Everyone caught up with us and we stuck around and the girls enjoyed the singing and dancing, but eventually we pulled them away. We had a mission.

 

 

 

Yep, you guessed it. Fast passes for Toy Story Mania.

 

 

Now there was a conflict here. The current return time was for around 3:45 if I remember right. Claire had the Wonderland Tea Party scheduled for 2PM. Our plan was to go to the Magic Kingdom after the party. The park closed early that night for the first Christmas party and I figured we would be close and it shouldn’t be too crowded. Getting back to the Studios in time would also be cutting it close.

But plans change ……Claire said she just HAD to ride TSM. Now she has only rode it one other time in her life and I am not even sure she remembers anything about it. But the thing was she couldn’t let Alexis ride it without her. So we sat and discussed this. As we stood there a guy came over and asked if we were looking for a later time, as he had just gotten some and they were too late for him. We said sure and took them as well.

I eventually gave in and said we would be back. I told Gail that I would text her to let her know how we were doing on time so she would know whether to wait for us or not. If we didn’t make it back we would use the ones for the later window. I then had a happy girl again. And I really did want her to enjoy her time and she may never get back to the parks with her cousin again in her life, so I did want it to be special.

 

So then the next thing we decide was what to do next. Gail does not ride anything big or wild of any sort. Rob usually takes Alexis on that sort of stuff, but he was sick. So I said I would take Alexis on Tower of Terror. Claire was iffy, but I reminded her that she has done it before and did fine. So we said good byes and off we went.

 

We didn’t get far when we saw a photopass photographer out and I made us stop for a shot.

 

 

 

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This photographer was great and asked if we each wanted individual ones. Sure thing!!!

 

 

 

I had taken this one of Alexis while she was getting hers done.

 

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And then off to ToT we went!!!! I loved the street lined with stars.

 

 

The wait said 40 minutes, but it was practically walk on. Maybe 5-10 minutes tops.

 

 

 

Did this used to have water in it? I swear it did.

 

 

 

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