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

[clio]

It sounds like you guys had a great time at the MVMCP. I love your pictures of the parade.
Liz

[Lemap760]

Good to see that Goofy cheered up. Nothing worse than a grumpy Goof.

[chezp]

What a great time at the Party! I'm glad you had better luck with Goofy the second time around.

[DyanKJ130]

Great update! Sounds like a wonderful meal at LTT, especially after you were able to meet with the new & improved Goofy! Glad you were able to spend some time with Tiff & Eric! Looking forward to more

[DawnDenise]

OK all, I am going to fly through my last two days as I am determined to get through this TR before I leave on Saturday.


A Lazy Day into a Fantastic Night

Since we were out late the night before and had another late night on the schedule, we slept in and rolled out of bed around 9:30am. We got ready and headed over to the Poly for breakfast at the Kona Café. A quick monorail ride over and we checked in rather quickly. I had forgotten my camera this morning so I have no pictures of breakfast but it was SOOOO good. I had the Tonga Toast while Chuck went with the Steak and Eggs. Of course, he had to have a couple of bites of my Tonga Toast because I was making such a big deal over the taste. Once we finished up and took care of the bill, we grabbed the monorail back to GF so I could run up and grab the camera. Once that was taken care of we hopped on the monorail once again to the Magic Kingdom. We didn’t have a plan at all but just wanted to spend some more time in the park. Once we entered, we ran into some characters and well, you know.

First up was Pinocchio and Daisy Duck was soon thereafter. As we were walking up Main Street, we ran into the Mayor.



We spent probably three hours just roaming around and enjoying the time in the park. I know we rode Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Snow White, TTA, and Buzz. We tried once again to head over to Toontown to see if the wait for Tinkerbell was long. It was pretty outrageous so we held off again. Chuck was getting hungry, so we headed over to Casey’s to grab a hot dog around 1:00pm. After we were fed, we decided to head back to the resort to chill until we needed to head over to EPCOT for dinner and the rest of our evening. As we were leaving, we saw Chip and Dale and decided to stop and spend some time with them. I am so glad we did because we had a ball.





Once we said good-by to the chipmunks, we headed out and stopped to grab a couple more Photopass pictures in front of the train station. Vanessa, the photographer, was so nice. She kept asking questions about us and then wished us many more happy years together.



We took the boat back over to GF and headed up to our room. Chuck took a happy nap while I watched TV and sat out on the balcony. At one point, I went down to refill our mugs. Around 4:00pm, I took a shower and started getting ready for the evening. After I got out of the shower, I woke Chuck up so he could start his process of getting ready. Soon we were on our way to EPCOT. We headed straight back to the World Showcase. We hadn’t spent a lot of time in Canada and the United Kingdom so we spent the hour or so before dinner just looking around. While in the UK, we did stop by the Toy Soldier to see if some members of the Pooh gang were out. We were not disappointed and there was no one in line so we got to spend a good 5-10 minutes with them before anyone else arrived. As I was giving Eeyore the bulk of my attention, Chuck was apologizing to Pooh and Tigger for my lack of attention to them. I of course had to give them some attention as well.





As we were leaving the UK, we saw another Photopass photographer right outside one of the stores. He was using the doorway decorations as a backdrop. We waited until he finished up with another family and then got one of my favorite pictures of the two of us.



We headed back to Canada to check in for our dinner at Le Cellier. We asked to see if Patrick (the waiter I had on my previous two trips) was working and was told that he wasn’t but his brother Brandon was. We asked to be seated in his section if possible. We waited about 15 minutes before we were called. The hostess told us that she couldn’t get us a seat in Brandon’s section. We still had a great server, Amy. Neither one of us needed to look at a menu as we get the same thing every time: two bowls of Cheddar Cheese Soup, two Filets sans mushrooms with creamy mashed potatoes, and pretzel bread. While we were waiting for our desserts, Brandon actually came over to our table and introduced himself. He told us that his brother was taking a month off and that he had actually just got engaged. We told him to pass on our congratulations and thanked him for coming over. Amy arrived with our desserts, the Chocolate Mousse for me and the Whiskey cake for Chuck. We took a few bites of dessert and then settled our bill. Chuck was getting a kick out of eavesdropping on the table next to us. The guy was just bragging about all the places he had travelled, and we both caught the woman he was with rolling her eyes when he was talking to the server or looking down at his plate. Just one of those funny little moments.

We decided to head on over to the Yacht/Beach Club a little early to see where we needed to meet everyone for the Illuminations cruise. We headed out through the International Gateway and as we were walking, we realized that we needed to check-in for our flight the next evening. I called Allan, Chuck’s stepdad, to see if he could check us in. So I chatted with Allan and got us checked in for our flights. I somehow remembered our confirmation number. After a huge thanks to Allan, we found where we needed to go. One of the boat captains said to come back around 7:45pm to get checked in. Tiff had sent a text and said that she and Eric were in the lobby of the Yacht Club warming up. Since I was getting a bit chilled, we headed in that direction as well. We found Tiff and Eric and sat chatting while we waited for the check-in time. We made our way to the boat house and saw Lisa (poohbear uk) and her family and Peggy (POOH) and her sister. We introduced ourselves and hugs were exchanged. While everyone was getting to know one another, I went over and checked-in and paid for the cruise. They told us Tamara (I think) was to be our captain.

She came out and got Jack and Elliott fitted for their life jackets. The rest of us just stood there and chatted until Tammy asked if we were ready. We all climbed on the pontoon boat and she asked if we wanted drinks. Everyone declined as it was a little chilly. Blankets were passed out and she took us down toward DHS. She was awesome and really funny. We had a great time chatting and “racing” the other boats. Once we got set up underneath the bridge between the UK and France, we had about 10 minutes before the show began. Tammy decided to play a joke on her fellow captain/ friend and take part of the key system to her boat. Before we knew it, Illuminations began.





I decided that this is one of the best ways to view Illuminations. Best money I had spent for extras on this trip. We waited around a bit for Tammy’s joke to play out and we were all laughing. Tammy asked if there was a particular dock we wanted let off at and we told her the Yacht Club one would be fine. We asked her to get a group picture of us before we all left. Not only did she agree, she took the boat into the middle of Crescent Lake with the Yacht club behind us to take our picture. Lisa and Peggy came to the back of the boat so we could get the group shot.



We returned to the dock and unloaded. I asked to grab a picture with Tammy and she obliged. More hugs and thank yous were exchanged. Lisa and her family and Peggy and her sister, went to their way while me, Chuck, Tiff, and Eric headed over to the Jellyrolls at the Boardwalk. I know I was speed walking do the chill. We arrived and paid the cover charge to get into the club. I was keeping an eye out for Amy as she was going to join us. I waved her in our direction when I saw that she entered. Once everyone was seated, I got everyone to order a drink. Chuck was nice enough to get a cramped picture of the three of us. We stayed and enjoyed the dueling pianos for about 90 minutes when I could tell all of us were beginning to drag a bit, well at least four of the five of us. Amy offered to give all of us a lift back to our respective resorts. Another huge to Amy for saving us cab fare.





Amy dropped Tiff and Eric off first. We told them that we would see them at the airport as we were taking the same flight home. Amy then dropped Chuck and me off at our resort. More hugs were exchanged and I did have to keep some tears from forming. I told her I would see her in a couple of months on my next trip (which is now a few short days away). One last hug and we watched her drive off. Chuck and I ran back to the room to get our mugs for one last fill up and to get some chips to munch on while we did the depressing act of packing. We were using RAC the next morning and needed to have everything ready by the next morning.

Packing was eventful, to say the least. We knew we had room in all of our luggage as far as weight goes, it was just a matter of arranging it so one bag didn’t go over the weight limit. Once we were finished, we headed out to the balcony for one last look at our night light. The Castle was still lit at 2:30am. We stayed out on the balcony for about 15 minutes before going to bed. What a wonderful vacation it had been and we still had a pretty full last day ahead of us. I knew I had to set the wake-up call to get us up in moving in time to take care of RAC, store the carry-ons, and get to breakfast.

Coming Up: Take a Whiff of This!

[KMB733]

Great pictures of Illuminations. You guys packed in a lot between MK and Epcot. So sad that your trip is coming to an end.

[iamgrumpy]

What a great day and I agree the Illuminations Cruise is the best view and Jellyrolls was a blast! Can't wait to see ya in a few short days

[Colexis Mom]

Another great update!!! Love your pictures! The cruise sounds like a lot of fun, and so does Jellyrolls!! You're leaving again so soon?? More please!!

[DyanKJ130]

Great update and photos!! Sounds like so much fun with all those great people! Looking forward to more

[chezp]

What a great day - you had a lot of fun with Chip and Dale and with your fellow PassPorters on the IllumiNations cruise.

[DawnDenise]

Take a Whiff of This!

Oh, the lovely wake-up call and alarm on the last day. I just picked up the phone and hung it back up. Chuck hit the snooze because neither of us was in the mood to budge from the warmth of the bed. After the alarm went off again, I got moving. After getting ready and getting Chuck moving, I finished up the packing. We took a last inventory to make sure we got everything and called bell services to come get our luggage. Once bell services arrived, we followed him to the RAC counter. Check-in was a breeze, and the luggage came in under the weight limit. While I was finishing up with check-in, Chuck ran in to check our carry-ons with Bell Services until we came back to catch DME. Once we finished up, we took a couple of pictures of the carriage and car out in front of the resort.



We caught the monorail to the Poly for the second morning in a row. We had a breakfast date with Chuck’s fave, Stitch, at ‘Ohana. We got checked in, got our picture taken, and waited maybe five minutes if that before our buzzer went off.



The hostess took us to a table in the back of the restaurant for two. Our cousin came by to fill our glasses with OJ and take any other drink orders. We both ordered a Coke for some caffeine intake. Our drinks arrived along with the yummy pineapple bread. As we were devouring the yummy goodness, Mickey arrived for our first character meeting. As soon as Mickey left, Pluto arrived at our table. Pluto was very insistent on getting a picture of the three of us together instead of one with each of us. He literally “told” a bus boy to put down his tray of stuff and handed him our camera. We thanked the bus boy and then Pluto for our picture.



We had a break from characters as they started the parade with the kids around the restaurant. During that time, our cousin came by with the platter of food. Chuck took all the eggs since I can’t eat them and a piece of bacon and sausage. I took some sausage, bacon, and the potatoes. About five minutes later, a server came by with a basket of Mickey waffles. Now that’s what I was looking for! Once the parade finished, Stitch decided to come by and visit. He first just gave me a huge hug and messed up my hair. It was then he decided to do a somewhat normal picture. Net, he went over to Chuck and got a normal picture right away and somehow the conversation with Stitch went to smells, mostly about food. Stitch decided to let Chuck have a whiff of his underarm in comparison of the good smells I guess.



After our lovely visit from the blue alien, we were able to finish our breakfast. Chuck got another waffle. The photographer came by with our photo and we decided to buy it because it was a good picture. I gave them my debit card to handle the purchase. Our cousin came and cleared the table and refilled our drinks. We were waiting for Lilo as she was close by. She finally arrived at our table as we were settling the bill. She stayed long enough for some pictures then was off to the next table.



After settling the bill, I was off to find the restroom. Once that task was completed, I came out and Chuck was standing by a statue. I started laughing because as soon as he saw me, he struck a pose that I luckily captured.



Gotta love my hubby! Anywho, we stopped by one of the gift shops to see if we could get a bag for our photo. I offered to go back to the resort and put it with our carry-on bags, but Chuck said he didn’t mind holding a bag. We put our leis in the bag as well. While we were getting situated, we began to notice the influx of people arriving at the resort. Yep, we knew the times of no crowds were coming to an end as people were arriving for their Thanksgiving week vacations. Considering we had seven days of practically no waits, we were not complaining at all. : We had a late lunch in EPCOT scheduled so we decided to spend our last day there. We hopped on the monorail to the TTC and then hopped onto the EPCOT monorail. We were arriving at the park around 9:30am. We took another spin on Spaceship Earth first thing. We actually had about a 15 minute wait. Chuck took a small nap on the ride as we were stopped a couple of times. After finishing up there, Chuck ran to get FP for Soarin’ while I went into the Character connection to stand in line. There was definitely a line already, but it was something I really wanted to do. I moved maybe two feet by the time Chuck came in.

Chuck decided that we should have done this earlier in the week. I asked if he wanted to leave and he said no as we were already here. We passed the time chatting about the trip and some of our favorites. As we were waiting, I noticed a camera strap with all the Mickey parts on it. I asked the lady where she had found it and she told me a couple of places to look. The funny thing is, I totally forgot to look for it before we left. Guess I’ll have to add that to my list for my upcoming trip. All in all, we waited about 35 minutes before we got to meet with the first character. The cool thing is that all of the characters spent a good 5 minutes with each family, including the two of us. First up was Mickey. Now he gave a good strong handshake to Chuck then took my hand and kissed it. Chuck made a comment that he was gonna tell Minnie that he was making a play for me. Mickey just shrugged him off and gave me a hug. The Photopass photographer was egging it all on. He even made me give Mickey a kiss on his nose. Finally we got a couple of normal pictures.



Next up was Pluto and then Minnie. Pluto was funny and wanted his nose scratched a lot. Minnie was playing up to Chuck big time. After Chuck told her about me kissing Mickey, she was really attentive to him.



Finally, we had some time with Donald and Goofy.



After we finished up with the Character Connection, we headed over to The Land. We waited for about 10 more minutes before our FP opened up. We got second row over to the right side this time but it was still as enjoyable as always. Once finished, we made our way into the WS again. We seemed to have spent a lot of time in EPCOT this trip. I was getting thirsty so we stopped at one of the refreshment stands on the plaza. As I was getting our drinks, Chuck took a seat on bench. I handed off his drink and sat down next to him. We were hoping to meet up with some other PP (Donna, Bill, Mo, etc.), but the next thing that happened took the next hour. We were sitting there talking and Chuck said uh-oh. His nose started bleeding and I was off to run to the refreshment stand to get napkins. Now I wasn’t alarmed at first because he gets these 3-4 times a year based on allergies and sinus issues. But this one wasn’t stopping anytime soon. A CM got me a glass of water and more napkins. This went on for about a good 20 minutes. We got the bleeding to stop finally. Chuck went and got cleaned up in the restroom nearby. When he came back, we got a CM’s attention to let them about some of the blood that was on the sidewalk. It seriously looked like someone had gotten stabbed. We stuck around until a cleanup crew arrived because we didn’t want other guests walking through the area. The CMs thanked us for waiting and told us to stop by the First Aid area if Chuck was light headed. Chuck being that manly man he is said he was fine but I made him get some popcorn to put something in his stomach. Not the healthiest option, but it calmed me down.

We headed over to the UK in hopes of running into the other PassPorters but we must have missed them. Chuck wanted to check out some of the golf stuff in the UK and ended up purchasing some wooden tees and ball markers that were from St. Andrews. We spent a lot of time just roaming around the countries. We did make a stop at that wonderful booth in France for a GGS for me. We took some pictures along the way and before we knew it, we had to head back to Germany because our lunch ADR was approaching.





Chuck checked us in at the Biergarten and we waited about 10 minutes before being called. This was a new restaurant for both of us. I chose this restaurant because Chuck loves German food, especially sauerkraut. Since I had a bad experience as a kid with sauerkraut, I refuse to make it at home. We were soon called and joined the rest of the guests at our table. There was a family of four and another young couple. We got seated and the server came to get our drink orders. The family was not real sociable but the younger couple was talkers. They were from Ohio and had just arrived. We pretty well knew their basic history before we headed up to the buffet. Chuck was in heaven. I found some decent offerings. I’m not a big German food eater but still found plenty to fill me up. Now those desserts on the other hand…to die for!!! We also really enjoyed the entertainment. Here are some of the pictures I was able to get.





We both enjoyed the Biergarten and will come back again. Once we settled up the bill and said good-bye to the couple from Ohio, we headed back into the WS. Before we left Germany though, we saw Snow White and Dopey out for a meet and greet. Sooo…we had to stop.



We continued around the WS and Chuck wanted to check out the Mexico pavilion in detail since he had become a regular visitor to the country due to work. Before we headed into the pavilion, we saw Donald in his Mexican garb and Chuck actually wanted to stop for a picture.



I wanted to take him on the Gran Fiesta boat road so I could show him that Guadalajara (where he spends a lot of his time) was represented. We took the boat ride and Chuck was pointing out some different stuff to me giving me info on what he knew. Overall, it was kind of educational so I could say I learned something on vacation. Afterwards, we looked around at the booths. Chuck was happy to find one of the tequilas his company sells so we had to grab a picture of that.



After Mexico, we knew we had to head towards the front of the park. We were taking it slow and came across Pin Central. Chuck had been looking at pins all throughout the trip and couldn’t decide if it was something that he wanted to get involved in. He asked me how I collected. I told him that I only get pins of special events I attend, favorite characters, and resorts. I don’t trade. As we were looking, he noticed a pin lanyard set that was all Stitch. That’s all it took. Lanyard bought along with some other Stitch pins. He then told me to start a new character lanyard since Eeyore pins were few and far between. I picked a couple of Chip and Dale pins and a new lanyard. That purchase taken care of and we headed on out. We did make a stop at the restroom, and then for some final Photopass pictures. We started the trip out in EPCOT and ended it there.



We took the last walk up the long ramps and onto a monorail. I was already pouting and Chuck kept reminding me that I would be back in a couple of months. We changed monorails at the TTC and back at GF in a matter of minutes. We had some snack credits left over so Chuck made good use of them getting us two drinks and 6 rice krispie treats. Yes 6. I went and gathered out backpacks from Bell services and we just chilled in the lobby for about 45 minutes. Unfortunately, our DME time was approaching and we headed out front. Once we got checked in, we were headed for MCO.

Since we were already checked in, we headed straight through security. We took the mini-monorail over to our gates and got settled. I sent Tiff a text to let her know that we were at the gate. She let me know that they were grabbing dinner and would be there shortly. Once they arrived, we just talked about our respective trips and the time passed quickly. They were soon boarding us and were on our way back to Indy. Flight was pretty uneventful. I know I fell asleep for a good hour. Once we arrived in Indy, we made the mandatory pit stops before going down to claim our baggage. Once all of it was found, Tiff and Eric went to look for their shuttle, and we did the same. Once we got picked up and dropped off at our car, we loaded up and headed south to Louisville. We stopped to get gas in Greenwood and were home a little after 12:30am. We dropped the suitcases in the dining room and headed up to bed. Another trip in the books.

So that my fellow friends is the end. It was a fantastic trip in every aspect. We had some fantastic meals, fabulous meets with fellow PassPorters, many, many fabulous memories, and most importantly, some glorious quality time with my hubby. Thanks to everyone for the wonderful comments and reading about our adventures. Until we meet again…

[Wendyismyname]

I'm sad to see it over Dawn, but I can't wait to read the next one with your mom!! Have a great trip!

[CountryTink]

What a great trip report. Thanks so much for sharing. Sorry to hear about Chuck's nose, but glad you got it taken care of. Looking forward to hearing about your next trip.

[DyanKJ130]

What a fabulous last day, Dawn!! for sharing your TR with us! I am so looking forward to reading your next one

[Jillybean]

Wow! What an amazing trip with Chuck! It was so much fun to come along on your romantic trip!

Now, I simply cannot wait to read about this next trip! You know I just love your mom!

Jill