Hoosier Girls Invade the World---Final Thoughts---COMPLETE 7/17 About This Page:

[Caldercup]

Tiff's enjoyment on Dumbo is priceless! So fabu... [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

And your pic of the Partner's statue is worth raving over. It's terrific! Really well done [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif[/img]

Trashcan Boy and his mom need to get a life.

How funny that Mater made the odious chore of packing such a laugh riot! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/rofl2.gif[/img]

Sad that it's coming to an end, but looking forward to your last day's adventures.
Eileen

[luvnwdwgal]

Great pics Dawn! I have sooooo enjoyed this trip report and am so bummed that it is almost over. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

[DawnDenise]

[b]Day 4: Do we get to ride in the front car of the monorail??

<font color="purple">We received our wake up call at the requested time, but both Tiff and I were having a hard time moving quickly. Before we know it, a knock on our door from bell services to pick up our luggage. We thanked the man and tipped him well. We said good-bye to our luggage and to Mater talking. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

We headed out to the bus stop for a trip to the Magic Kingdom. We were having breakfast with our favorite pals and we began to perk up on the ride over. We had to wait for about 10 minutes before they would let the people who had early breakfast reservations. We made our way down Main Street and got a couple pictures of the Castle. You can tell the haze that is over the Castle from the wildfires the CM told us about the previous night.





We go check-in at Crystal Palace and go have a seat on some of the benches. Apparently, I was not fully awake because I did not hear my name called. Tiff did though. We followed the hostess to our table and arrived at a quaint little table for two. He filled us in on the journey the characters would take and took our drink orders. He invited us to go up to the buffet and left us to indulge. Tiff went first as I got organized with cameras and autograph books on our little table. She returned and off I went. I arrived back with a plate and half (can’t have my biscuits and gravy mix with my fresh fruit). Before we realized it, the characters started arriving. For the life of me, I do not remember the order they arrived at our tables.







I do want to comment on Tiff’s experience with Tigger. Before the trip, she told me that she really hasn’t had great character experiences. I made it my mission on this trip to rectify it somehow. I know I have no control over the attitudes of characters, but I have had so many memorable experiences with characters that I just wanted Tiff to get some of it as well. Tigger met all my expectations.

He came over and started playing with her ears (my main reason for getting them last night [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502yes_prv.gif[/img] ). She handed him her autograph book, and he proceeded to sign it using her head as the table. I captured it on film as well as the normal picture. Then she asked him if he had been bouncing today. He took Tiff into his arms and bounced. I think I was more excited than Tiff.



As always, I am not disappointed in my time spent at the Crystal Palace. We settle the bill and make our way out to the park. We decided to start our time in Adventureland/ Frontierland as we skipped it the previous night. We ran into Timon on our way to the restrooms and of course we had to stop.



After getting all situated, we walk onto the Magic Carpets. Since Tiff successfully flew on Dumbo, we knew that this would not be a problem. I grabbed a picture for memory sake and hopped into the back of the carpet. Well, Tiff had a blast controlling our carpet. You know those spitting camels??? I was spit on at least three times during our flight do to her flying skills. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/roflmao.gif[/img]



After the Magic Carpets, we boogied our way over to Splash and got a FP. Once that was obtained, we went over to BTMRR and went stand-by as the wait was 10 minutes. We boarded a train rather quickly. Since there wasn’t a lot of people waiting, we decided to go with separate seats. Oh my goodness!! I miss that second person. My behind was thrown from one side to the next on the turns. I still had a blast. Once that ride was over, we had maybe 10 minutes to wait before our FP opened up for Splash. I grabbed some scenery shots while we were waiting.



Once our FP time opened up, we made our way through the queue. We were ushered onto a boat within 5 minutes. Unfortunately, we were put in the last row. I think it was the first time I really wanted to get drenched due to the humidity. We still had a great trip through the Laughin’ Place. Our ride photo as not that great so I have to wait yet again for the Splash Mountain scrapbook page. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/roflmao.gif[/img] I have a feeling by October I am going to be bound and determined and riding Splash over and over again.

Tiff and I made our way into Liberty Square and made our directly to the Haunted Mansion. It was a walk on and there was no time for pictures as we were in the stretching room immediately. We board our doom buggy and off we go. Now as we are exiting, we are bound and determined to find the ring in the pavement. We must have looked like idiots going back and forth trying to find it. A CM appeared out of nowhere, and Tiff took this opportunity to ask. ‘Lo and behold, how blind can we be? [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/roflmao.gif[/img]



After hitting the rides in quick succession, we head over into Fantasyland for some drinks. We grab a FP for Peter Pan along the way and then looked around for a cart to open up as it was almost 11:00am. We waited for a bit and then saw a girl opening up a cart. Thinking it wouldn’t be too long we sat and people watched. Ten minutes later, she was nowhere nearer to opening. We decide to forego the drink and head over to the Pooh Ride. We couldn’t get another FP yet so we went stand-by and that was only 20 minutes. Before we knew it, we were in our honey pot to travel through the 100-Acre Woods. Tiff pointed out Mr. Toad handing over the deed, and we are whisked away through Heffalumps and Woozles.

After returning our honey pot, we headed back to Peter Pan as it was time. We get through rather quickly and are flying over Neverland in a matter of 5 minutes or so. This is another one of those rides that I truly enjoy. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502yes_prv.gif[/img] Tiff and I finally got some water and made our way over to Mickey’s Toontown Fair. Along the way, we are stopped by a lady who handed us two FPs for Pooh. She said that we looked like Pooh fans (well it couldn’t have been our t-shirts or anything that called that one out) and they weren’t going to be able to use them. We thanked her profusely and were traveling in a honey pots once again within minutes.

Now…we are really headed over to Toontown. We wanted to see what the lines were like for the Hall of Fame and Character Meets and then we needed to get our Photopass CD. As we were passing by, we stopped and went through Minnie’s house.



We arrived at the Hall of Fame and found the line for the Princesses was not long at all. We were in the room within 15 minutes and what at time we had. We got to visit Princess Aurora first. Tiff and I have designated her “Touchy Feely” Aurora. And to top it off, the Photopass guy took at least five pictures a piece with her. Let me explain why we have dubbed her the way we have.

Tiff went first. First thing Princess Aurora did was pull tiff into a big hug. Next, she was very excited about the autograph book. She signed the book talking the whole time. Next came the normal picture. Then Princess Aurora asked if she could give her a kiss. How do you say no to a Princess? Eventually, it is my turn and the process begins all over again. She played the part wonderfully. I have to give credit where credit is due. It was just the first time I had gotten that much attention from a face character. Being an adult rather than a kid, they tend to sign the book, take the picture, and move on. So even though we both got quite a laugh out of it, we appreciated the attention.





After Princess Aurora, they had the middle section of the room set aside for pictures of the individual people. Tiff and I both thought this was strange but sat down and let them take pictures. The photographer got a little up close and personal and the pictures definitely showed how tired we were. (Sorry folks, those pictures will not be shared. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img] ) The photographer looked through our autograph books and told us where to find some of the characters. If only we had more time…I would have been dragging Tiff all over the World. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/roflmao.gif[/img] Our time finally came to visit Jasmine. Remember my generalized comment on face characters, well Jasmine fell right into that category. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]



We are shuffled out of the Princess room and we make our way out into the shop. We knew this was one of the places you could pick up your Photopass CD. Tiff and I were splitting the price because I could burn a second copy once we got home. We got the DVC 10% discount on it as well thanks to Tiff. After making our purchase, we realized that we needed to make our way out of the park. We still had one thing left to do before heading back to OKW. We hopped on the train to take us around to the front of the park We headed down the stairs and out of the park but right back up the ramp to the monorail. We were gonna ride in the front. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502yes_prv.gif[/img] We have to hang back a bit because a monorail was in the station and already had passengers in the front. I think the CM figured out what we were doing because before we could get the question out, he was stating, “You wanna ride in the front?”. We eagerly said yes. He said he’d check the next one coming in and see what he could do. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/thewave.gif[/img]

We lucked out and there was no one in the front. We climbed on in, introduced ourselves to our driver and got ready for our first ever trip in the front. Before we headed off, we asked our driver if we could take a picture and she was more than happy to oblige. We are whisked off to the Contemporary for our first stop. Unfortunately, our driver was replaced by a very unhappy man that didn’t want to talk. &lt;shrug&gt; Two other people joined us in the front, and off we went again. We both are snapping pictures at anything and everything. Definitely fit the roll of a tourist. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img] We made our way back to the Magic Kingdom and waved good-bye. We didn’t get a “license” but it was awesome to finally experience it.







We trudged our way back to the OKW bus stop, and one arrived within 15 minutes. We were sad to be headed home. We made it back to the Hospitality House and had about 1½ hours before the DME bus was to arrive. We knew we needed to grab something to eat so we headed over to “Goods to Go” and used up a CS credit. I went with the chicken fingers meal and the key lime pie for dessert. I think Tiff went with the same but with the chocolate cake. We found a picnic table with an umbrella (thank goodness) and waited for our order. Once food was picked up, we enjoyed our last meal in the World. We started talking that this kind of trip is going to happen more often. I laughed as I am under a strict “You cannot plan more than two trips at a time” rule from the hubby. Well, what he doesn’t know, won’t hurt him. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

After finishing our lunch, we head back into the gift shop. Since we found out before we left on the trip that anything under $4 was considered a snack, we decided to stock up on treats for the flight home. Also, we had to take one more look round the gift ship for those last minute items. I’ve decided that those snack credits are well worth it. Since we were never hungry for Mickey Bars or Dole Whips (blasphemy, I know), we got some nice little items.

By the time we were done shopping, we only had about 30 minutes left. Bell services retrieved our baggage, and we both got reorganized for the flight. DME was a little late but we were headed back to Orlando International Airport. Tiff and I had to laugh at the driver as we couldn’t understand a darn thing he was saying over the speaker. We couldn’t remember if AirTran was out of terminal A or B. Luckily, thanks to our handy dandy Passporter, we found that we needed to go to Terminal B. We get dropped off, grabbed our luggage, and checked-in. We grabbed the monorail over to the terminal and just relaxed until our flight was boarding.

I don’t remember much of the flight from Orlando to Atlanta. Once we landed, we found out our connecting gate, went down and found seats, and then took turns taking restroom breaks. We had 3 hours to waste, and it wasn’t going to be pretty. On my way back from the restroom, I looked around and found a couple places that might be good for dinner. I made my way back to Tiff, and we decided on Victory Lane, which was NASCAR themed for Rusty Wallace. Our waitress was kind of a flake but we just wanted some simple sandwiches and a drink. Unfortunately, it did not waste a lot of time.

We head back down to our gate and find some seats near an outlet. I decided that I was going to download all the pictures onto my laptop. Tiff sat in the seats and I just made myself at home on the floor. We got all the pictures downloaded from my camera, Tiff’s camera, and the PhotoPass CD. This passed the time. We were able to look at all the pictures and already have fond memories about the trip. At one point, a lady asked if I was going to be using the outlet much longer. I politely told her I was going to be a little while longer. I might have been considered an outlet hog but I scoped this one out and wasn’t going to give it up until I was ready. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

By the time we finished looking through all the pictures, it was a matter of 30 minutes before they started boarding. The flight from Atlanta to Indy was uneventful and we tried to sleep most of the way. We landed on time, and Chuck was waiting for us near baggage claim. We make it back to our townhouse around 1:30am. Chuck already had the air mattress up for Tiff and sleep was in order. Another Disney trip was over.</font>

Coming up: Final Thoughts and hopefully Tiff will finally make an appearance. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/roflmao.gif[/img]

[Tara O'Hara]

What an awesome trip Dawn!! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif[/img] YOu and Tiff will have memories to treasure for the rest of your lives!! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img] Thank you for sharing and I can't wait to hear your final thoughts!!

[WDWfan]

Dawn - I've loved reading your TR. It sounds like you and Tiff had a wonderful time! You had so much fun with the characters throughout the trip and got so many great pictures! I'm looking forward to reading your final thoughts.

[Caldercup]

I laughed out loud at the look on Tiff's face when Aurora was "bestowing" that kiss. A little bit of [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img] and a little bit of "what the heck?"

I recognized your monorail pilot. We've ridden up front with her and she's warm and lovely. What a shame she wasn't your pilot for the whole trip!

Sorry to see the reporting is done, but I'm looking forward to your final thoughts!
Eileen

[Jillybean]

[ QUOTE ]
I laughed out loud at the look on Tiff's face when Aurora was "bestowing" that kiss. A little bit of [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img] and a little bit of "what the heck?"

[/ QUOTE ]

I thought the same thing, Eileen! The expression on Dawn's face is priceless too!

And, oh my gosh, I could not believe how much you two did in one morning. At one point, I thought that it must be 3:00 in the afternoon and you say "at this point, it is around 11 a.m." [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] You two weren't wasting any time!

You girls are so much fun and I am [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] to see this come to an end!

Looking forward to your final thoughts (and the appearance of Tiff!)

Jill

[Colexis Mom]

What a great last day Dawn! You guys did it all, from breakfast with your favorite characters, to the princesses, to riding in the front of the monorail [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif[/img]

I'm glad you guys had such a great time! Thanks for sharing it with us, and loved the pictures! Looking forward to your final thoughts [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[DrDolphin]

Great update - although I am very sorry to see the trip end. Sounds like you and Tiff have such great memories -- and you and Tiff need to start planning your next girl's only adventure!

[Joy J]

Dawn, I've enjoyed every word of your fabulous trip report. My only regret is that it is coming to an end.

Joy

[ilovedisney0_0]

[ QUOTE ]
Ummm... hey "my eyes" kid? It's an electrical LIGHT parade! If you're so dang sensitive, methinks you should've stayed away. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

Thank you! Exactly what I was thinking! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502yes_prv.gif[/img] Great TR, and I am sorry to see it come to an end.

[img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] Amy

[chezp]

What a great last day - I'm so sorry your trip is over, but boy you do have lots of great memories and so many "firsts" as well. And I could sympathise over sliding around on BTMRR - as someone who usually rides that on their own, I know what you're talking about! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502yes_prv.gif[/img]

[gwugirl03]

Great TR, Dawn. Looks like the two of you had so much fun. I feel so sad reading about everyone's last Disney day. I am never ready to leave.

[ariel14]

Great TR!!!!!!!
I'm sad to see it coming to an end!

[luvnwdwgal]

What a fun last day you both had! Looking forward to your final thoughts and something from Tiff....hint, hint! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]