Grand Duo Birthday Trip: COMPLETE 2/5/09 About This Page:

[Wendyismyname]

Fantastic update Dawn!!

[Jillybean]

Wow! You guys really saw some characters! Fantastic!

Jill

[Lemap760]

Great updates. I can't believe the line for TSMM was only 10 minutes. Where was everyone?

[Meggera]

the Mad Hatter and Chuck picture. Too cute! Way to go on your multiple drops on TOT. How cool that you had very small to non-existent lines.

[chezp]

How neat to have an unexpected PassPorter meet like that - and great photos with the characters. By the way, I think both Minnie drawings are excellent.

[mpwife153]

Great update & pics. Can't wait to hear/see more!

[lindawdw]

Great pictures Dawn!!! Loved the Minnie drawings and I have to say that you both did really well One Man's Dream is one of my favorite things to do at DHS and the movie at the end is just so informative and moving because you really feel like Walt is speaking to you during certain parts of it! Hurry back with more please.

[Caldercup]

I'm with Marnie -- can't see Dawn's other hand and Mr. Incredible looks incredibly happy.
Eileen

[KandJluvdisney]

great pics dawn
how awsome that 10 min wait at tsmm
I like both minnies - you both did a great job
great pics also
hurry back with more please

[DawnDenise]

OK, Block Party Bash for Real and A Forced Audible

While we were waiting for BPB to start, we had a great time interacting with the family next to us, particularly the little boy. He was probably no more than 2 years old but my gosh, he was a sweetie. He had a whole Itzakadoodle to himself and offered it to me more than once. The mom told me he doesn’t interact with strangers that much and was just as surprised as I was that he wanted to sit next to me and share his treat. Right before everything started up, I tried my hand at another self-portrait. I’m getting pretty good. :P



Block Party Bash was starting so Chuck and I stood up to gain some perspective and get some decent shots. Now I love my hubby dearly but I had visions of a previous trip to DCA with some fellow PPs that made this parade in my eyes. It’s still a great parade but so much fun when you have people willing to boogie with ya. Here are some of my shots!










After BPB was over, we waited for the crowds to clear and decided to head over to the Great Movie Ride before heading out for the day.





After GMR, we made our way to the exit. Of course, we made one more stop to grab some Photopass pics.



We finally made it to the bus stops and waited no more than 10 minutes for a bus to arrive and make our way to back to GF. I was so looking forward to our dinner tonight. We had an ADR for the Spirit of Aloha Show at the Poly. We had always done HDDR so we were both excited to try something new. We had picked up the tickets that morning before heading out to the parks so we were good to go. Or so we thought. I ran up to get our mugs while Chuck had a smoke. I went and got them refilled then we just enjoyed the area while he finished up. We head back up to the room and started the emptying of pockets. It was then that I noticed we had a blinking red light on our phone which means a message. As I worked my way through the menu, the CM advised me that the Spirit of Luau 8:00pm show had been cancelled due to the cold and that we could get our dining credits refunded at the Lobby concierge desk of our resort. Well bummer! So I head out onto the balcony to fill Chuck in. He was a little bummed but could understand since it was quite chilly in the evening. I pulled out the PP and started going through some of our options for dinner. He gave me the top three and I called Disney Dining to see what we could come up with. I think I was on the phone with Disney Dining more on the trip than when I called initially for our ADRs.

At this point it was around 5:30pm or a little later. I was on the phone and I told the CM my dilemma. I wish I could remember her name as she was just awesome. I first ask while holding back a chuckle for any time at Chef Mickey’s. She told me she had something available at 9:30pm. Well, I kept that in mind and asked about The Wave. Nada. Last was ‘Ohana. Nada. Chuck was getting ready to agree for Chef Mickey’s when the CM asked if we had considered Whispering Canyon Café. Now I love this restaurant but didn’t know if Chuck would be up for the antics. I mentioned it to him and gave him the PP for the description and he said ok. I told the CM what time and she told me they had an 8:30pm ressie. We booked it and I gave her extra thanks for bringing it up and helping us out.

With a new dinner booked, Chuck gave me that look which meant he wanted a happy nap. I set the alarm to make sure we got there a little early as I wanted to go through the WL gift shop. I turned on the TV and was out before Chuck was, or at least that is what he told me. After a refreshing hour nap, we both got freshened up and then I realized we really didn’t have an easy way of getting to WL. MK was closing at 8:00 so we could take the monorail and then grab the boat. But that still left us with a way to get back. As I was going through all this in my mind, Chuck decided that we would just grab a cab. Easier to pay the $5. I wasn’t going to fight him and we headed out to the front of the resort. Bell services got us a cab and we were on our way.

We had about 45 minutes so we took some pictures and headed over to the gift shop. It took me all of five minutes to find some lounge pants that I had to have. Then I found a Mickey Santa shirt that would look great under my zip up hoodie for MVMCP. I headed up to check out and was talking with Chuck while the CM rang me up. She told me the price and I had to ask her again. She said it was $71 with tax. It was my fault I didn’t look at the price tags but wow, wasn’t expecting that amount. I told Chuck I would use my half of the gift card mom had sent for this purchase. Chuck said I better enjoy my $71 pajamas. (Happy to report that my flannel lounge pants are freakin’ awesome, especially with how cold it has been lately)

Since it didn’t take me long to finish my shopping, we headed over to the Territory Lounge for some before dinner drinks. I went with my standard, Bailey’s on the rocks, while chuck tried out one of the menu drinks, the Antioxident cocktail. It had two of the alcohol brands that his company sells so that’s what sold him on it. He must have enjoyed it as he ordered a second which meant that I had to have a second as well. We settled our bill after finishing the second round and headed over to check in at WCC. We were buzzed within 5 minutes and led to our table near the windows.

Medicine Man (Dave) came and introduced himself and he was trying to see if we were be open to the antics. Chuck started giving him a hard time immediately so Dave knew that he could have some fun with us. He threw our straws at us and asked what he wanted to drink. Chuck went with the never ending milkshakes while I just went with some water and a Coke. Dave let us look over the menus while he went to get our drinks. When he returned, he took our orders. Chuck went with the All You Can Eat skillet that came with a salad before the skillet. I went with the Nachos and then the Western Chicken Pasta. Dave was giving me a hard time because I wasn’t going for the skillet too. Just kept shaking his head at me.





We had a great time and Dave was just awesome. Even though we avoided the big/little glass when asking for refills and the ketchup episodes, he still spent a lot of time with us joking around. We were so full after dinner that we had to ask Dave to box up our desserts. Chuck had the Kahlua Flavored Chocolate Cake while I chose the Smores Cheesecake. We settled up the bill and then headed out to catch a cab back to the resort. As we were headed back, Chuck said that all the meals we had so far were great but this meal was FANTASTIC. My man loves his ribs, potatoes, corn on the cob, and milkshakes.

We got back to the resort and were in our room by 11:00pm. After stashing the desserts in the fridge, Chuck ran down to refill the mugs while I took a shower. When he came back, we did our nightly routine of spending a few minutes looking at the Castle. It just never got old, but it sure did get cold. We lasted about 10 minutes before heading back in. Chuck jumped in the shower while I snuggled in to the nicely tucked sheets. He checked his Blackberry before climbing in and we were both asleep before midnight.

Coming Up: Yep, We Are Late and The Challenge.

[Colexis Mom]

Great pictures of the GMR and the BPB!! Sorry about the luau being cancelled, but sounds like a great time at WCC!! More please!!

[lindawdw]

Sounds like you had a great time at WCC! Glad to hear that Chuck enjoyed his dinner so much and that your waiter was attentive!

[KMB733]

Sorry your Luau got canceled, but at least your were able to find a great place to eat and have a little fun. Great pictures from the BPB! More Please!!!!!!!!!!

[DawnDenise]

Yep, We Are Late and The Challenge.

We woke up to the alarm and got up and moving rather quickly. We had plenty of time to make it to our breakfast ADR. After grabbing what we needed, we headed over to the main building to catch the monorail over to the TTC and then to EPCOT. We made it to the TTC and no one was waiting for the monorail over to EPCOT. I asked the CM if it would be possible to ride in the front (something Chuck had never done) and he said to wait here and if it was empty, we could hop right in. One arrived in about 8 minutes or so and no one was in the front, so he opened the door and introduced us to our driver. We talked for a bit and then we started toward EPCOT. I believe Chuck had a good time. It’s definitely a fun way to have a little look at Future World. Once at the station, our driver gave us our co-pilot license. Here are a couple pictures from the ride.



We headed down the looooooooooooong ramp and through security and turnstiles with ease. We were there before opening but they were letting us up to the rope. I found a CM and explained that we had breakfast ressies at Akerhaus at 9:05am. He told me we would have to wait until the official park opening. Now I knew for a fact that we could go on back. So….I went on a search for another CM. I headed over to the side closest to the walkway to Mexico and asked again. He said not a problem and let us under the rope. We began to speed walk to our destination. We were late at this point but we got there only 10 minutes late. I went and checked us in and they advised us to wait in the “courtyard” for our name to be called. We wasted our time taking pictures of the area and finding areas of sun for me because it was a little chilly this morning. Chuck heard our name and motioned me to him. A CM gave us a ticket and told us to go stand in the line to get our picture taken with Belle. It is here where we met the “Temple” family.

They became the “Temple” family were named this only because the husband wore a Temple sweatshirt. It was better than what I really wanted to call them. Anywho, as we were standing in line, a CM was checking that all of us had tickets in our hands. The lady in front us with her daughter did not have one and when a CM asked her to step out of line until their name was called. Oh my goodness, you would have thought she asked for a kidney. She immediately started going off that she checked in for her 9:15 ressie at 8:55pm and had not been called yet. Then she started going on about people that had checked in after her and were called before her family. The CM was calm under pressure and tried to explain the process and what an ADR was. The line was moving at a good pace and as she was still going off on a tirade, the husband arrived on the scene and started in on the CM. I felt so bad for this girl. After about 3 more minutes, the husband asked for a manager. He appeared within seconds and tried to calm this family down. Just as it was the family’s turn, the first CM brought the woman her ticket and she and her daughter went to get their picture taken. The husband was still going off on the manager. After about another 5 minutes, the family was whisked away to a table literally in the corner of the restaurant. I let out a little laugh as we were walking toward to get our picture taken. Karma, I tell ya!

So we get our picture taken and then were taken to our little table for two. Our server came and took our drink orders and said to help ourselves to the cold buffet and that she would bring the skillet out with our drinks. Chuck and I checked out the selection. I grabbed some fruit, as did Chuck, and some croissants. When we returned to our table, our server was dropping off our drinks and skillet of breakfast goodies. As we had just finished picking what we wanted from the skillet, the princesses began to arrive. First up was Princess Aurora, then Mulan, Snow White, and Jasmine followed. I cannot find my picture with Princess Aurora but here are the rest of our interactions.









While we finished up eating, we noticed the manager over at the “Temple” family’s table. He had taken the check and was apologizing profusely (even though the CMs did nothing wrong in my opinion). They gathered up their belongings and stomped out. I sure wouldn’t get myself all worked up in a tizzy over something like that, but hey, that’s me. We thanked our server and settled our bill. Once we left the restaurant, we still saw the “Temple” family out near the railing by the lagoon: wife and husband still bickering.

We headed back into Future World. I told Chuck that this day was completely open until 5:30pm. He asked if I had brought the voucher for buy one, get one half off at the miniature golf courses. Did I bring it? Who did he think he was talking to? I told him yes and he said that he wanted to beat me at mini-golf and brush up on his putting game. I asked him if that was a challenge and he just grinned. I asked him if he wanted to do Fantasia Golf (easiest to get to from EPCOT) or the WinterSummerland (a little more difficult to get to from EPCOT). He said let’s do something different so WinterSummerland it was. Now I wasn’t 100% on the easiest route. Before we left the park, I headed over to Guest Services to see if they could advise me of the best route. I spoke with Jim and he said to take the bus to Animal Kingdom which would make a stop at Blizzard Beach. I figured that was easy enough. Chuck and I headed out to the bus stops and found bus stop #7. So we waited. And waited. And waited. A bus came for Coronado Springs and the bus driver came out to talk to us. She asked us where we were going and we told her. She said that we needed to get on her bus as it would stop at Coronado Springs and then to BB and finally AK. Sure am glad she came along when she did because Chuck was getting grouchy.

She did exactly what she said and dropped us off at BB. She told us that we would need to come back to the Coronado Springs bus stop on the way back to get back to EPCOT and go to our resort from there as there were no other resort buses coming out this way since BB was closed. We thanked her profusely and took the little walk to the course. Once we arrived at the mini-trailer to get our clubs, balls, and pay for our round of golf, we realized we were the only ones here. The CM said that we were on our own and to take our time. We decided to the Winter side first. Having not played mini-golf since 2006 when we did Fantasia Gardens, I knew it was not going to be pretty. I took pictures of every hole and the little signs that preceded them but don’t worry, I won’t show you all of them. If you want to see them all, I’ll be posting them in the PassPorter Photo Archive.





Chuck had a little problem with hole number 6. He kept missing the hole for the ball to go through in the toboggan. With this little issue, he couldn’t catch me. I won the first round with a score of 42.



Now we finished in under an hour so we decided to the Summer course as well, but Chuck wanted to get a smoke. We grabbed a drink to share and went back the way we came. We found a bench over near the entrance to BB that had an ashtray. I was giving him a hard time about beating him, as it doesn’t happen often. He finished up and we started back to start round 2 however, we were talking and not paying attention to where we were going. We were practically backstage at BB before we realized it. There were a couple of maintenance guys standing there getting ready to tell us to get out. We were laughing pretty hard at ourselves and as we were walking away I turned around and got a picture.



So we made it back to the trailer and paid for another round of golf. They gave us half off for both of us. We headed over to the summer side next. Like before, I took pictures of all the holes and little signs. This time around we began to have a little fun while we were putting.





Now remember that karma thing I was talking about earlier. Well it came to bite me in the behind big time. I ran into hole 15 on this course. I had Chuck up until this hole. Well, it took me all six strokes allowed to get it through the “ribbon”. Yep, chuck had a good laugh at my expense on this hole. He ended up beating me with a score of 44.




The “limited edition” golf ball

We turned in our clubs and the CM there gave us four “limited edition” golf balls, four mini sharpies, and handful of candy canes. We thanked her and made a quick potty break before heading back out to the bus stops. We actually had a great time here and I highly recommend it to anyone that wants a break from the parks. We waited at the bus stop the prior bus driver told us to wait and within 10 minutes, we were on our way back to EPCOT via Coronado Springs. Once back at EPCOT, we just went up the ramps to the monorail. We were back at the GF within 25 minutes with the two monorail rides.

Once we were back at the resort, Chuck and I both commented that we were a little hungry. I was going to run up and get our mugs but we decided to go with CS and get a meal combo of sorts that came with a drink. He got a chicken jerk wrap while I went with the chicken Caesar salad. For dessert, we both went with the cheesecake. We headed back up to the room and had a picnic on the bed. Chuck finished his wrap, I ate about half of my salad. The cheesecakes went into the fridge to join our desserts from the previous night. We were getting a collection.



After finishing our lunch, we had some time to just relax. Chuck was already counting sheep, so I headed out on to the balcony. I called my mom and talked with her a bit. I sent a text message to Amy to see if she wanted to meet up tonight at DTD, and then sent a message to Tiff to see how her day was since I knew that they had planned to do BB but couldn’t do it because it was closed. After about 45 minutes, I went in and set the alarm. I wanted a little happy nap too. I climbed under the covers and snoozed for about 90 minutes.

Coming Up: Another Fantastic Meal and It’s Time to Go Shopping!!!!!

[Colexis Mom]

Another great day Dawn! Great pictures from breakfast, and mini golfing looked cool!! More please!!