The Tale of the Grow Walk ….Hunh? About This Page:

[xwewhisper]

How cool to see the yeti move!

[KimmyAnn1147]

I've never ridden EE, as I was traveling solo with a kid that wasn't into it...I had no idea you got those kind of views from up there. Fantastic!

I was sorry that the parade had been retired by the time we got to AK. This parade looked nice, and I had it all worked into my touring plan. It's great to see how you enjoyed AK, as our day there was kind of a dud.

[jenseib]

Originally Posted by chezp

Great photos from Everest and talking of that, the ride photo is a classic!

I want to do a pose one of these days too...but I always forget!

Originally Posted by rhinohunter

Your EE ride pic is cool. Both of you look like you are really enjoying the ride. Not sure about the two in the front row. I saw the Yeti move but it was back in the beginning around 2005 or 2006. Not sure when it opened. I read a rumor somewhere that the Yeti structure has been going thru some work. (Don't ask where as I can't remember.) It may have been wishful thinking.

That would be awesome if it is getting fixed!

Originally Posted by lindawdw

Glad you both had such a good time on EE and that you got to see the Yeti move!!! I know for sure we've seen his shadow swoop down but I don't know that we ever saw him actually move You're so lucky!

It was really cool to see him move.

Originally Posted by pamcarey

How awesome that you saw the Yeti move! We saw him move a few times in the first year or so that the ride was open. I wonder if we'll ever get back to a fully functional Yeti?? I'm sad that parade is gone, too. It was such a fun one, with great music! That was very nice of you to let the little girl sit next to you for the parade! I hate when people won't make room for little kids. I know if you get there early you have a "right" to the front row, but no need to be selfish about it.

I heard to completely fix him they would have to shut down EE for several months and rebuild an area completely. Now if that is true or not I don't know. Disney rumors are always full of color like that.

Originally Posted by xwewhisper

How cool to see the yeti move!

Originally Posted by KimmyAnn1147

I've never ridden EE, as I was traveling solo with a kid that wasn't into it...I had no idea you got those kind of views from up there. Fantastic!

I was sorry that the parade had been retired by the time we got to AK. This parade looked nice, and I had it all worked into my touring plan. It's great to see how you enjoyed AK, as our day there was kind of a dud.

I hope you can get a chance to ride it some day.

I just love this parade!

[jenseib]

While we waited they brought some birds by for us to look at.









And this bird did not want to be left out of the fun.







Soon it was time for the parade to come!



































Minnie!



















I just can’t express enough how much I love this parade! The music is awesome and the floats are great. I will really miss it!































I have to admit…I may have teared up a few times.



































MICKEY!!!!!







And with that the parade was over. We were so happy to have seen it one last time. We really are very sad it’s gone. I sometimes watch it on youtube. If you get a chance look up the last performance on May 31st. You can see the CM’s are really putting their all in it and some are tearing up. I will admit that I watch it from time to time and have a good cry. Yep I am a total geek!

[mcc0313]

Love the pictures from the parade. When we were there in August it was strange not to see the parade go by.

[pamcarey]

Oh, I love that parade too! On my last trip (June 2013) I didn't know it was leaving, so I didn't make the time to watch it.

[chezp]

Great pics from the parade! I love the way they bought a toucan round beforehand - how neat!

[lindawdw]

I've never been a parade person but you've convinced me with your commentary and pictures to take the time to enjoy some of the Disney parades on future trips!

[xwewhisper]

Thanks for sharing such great pics of the parade - unfortunately I never did get a chance to see it We were trying for the Jammin Jungle Parade last year but the weather was just not our friend that day!

[JKnott17]

You got a lot of great pics from the parade! Sadly, I've never seen this one either, but after seeing all of your pics I'm sad about that.

[disneydreamer33]

Glad you enjoyed the Nemo show. We had never seen it until this trip in Oct and we loved it too. Never got to see the AK parade. It was on my Must Do list and then they discontinued it! Bummer!
Sounded like a fun time at AK!

[rhinohunter]

We were sorry to see the AK parade go away and we hope that WDW will replace it after all of the construction is completed. From the rumors, I believe that we will have a long wait before the fences are all down. Your pix are great as usual.

[jenseib]

Originally Posted by mcc0313

Love the pictures from the parade. When we were there in August it was strange not to see the parade go by.

It was really a highlight for me at AK. We loved the music so much.

Originally Posted by pamcarey

Oh, I love that parade too! On my last trip (June 2013) I didn't know it was leaving, so I didn't make the time to watch it.

Bummer!

Originally Posted by chezp

Great pics from the parade! I love the way they bought a toucan round beforehand - how neat!

I thought that was neat too.

Originally Posted by lindawdw

I've never been a parade person but you've convinced me with your commentary and pictures to take the time to enjoy some of the Disney parades on future trips!

I am not a big parade fan in general but I always try to take my kids as they are growing up to parades as it was something my grandfather did with us as kids and it was always fun. As an adult, it's not so much. LOL. But the Disney parades are just fabulous! And you can see characters that don't normally meet in many of the parades.

Originally Posted by xwewhisper

Thanks for sharing such great pics of the parade - unfortunately I never did get a chance to see it We were trying for the Jammin Jungle Parade last year but the weather was just not our friend that day!

Don't you hate when the weather gets in the way of your plans.

Originally Posted by JKnott17

You got a lot of great pics from the parade! Sadly, I've never seen this one either, but after seeing all of your pics I'm sad about that.

Thanks. It really was a good one.

Originally Posted by disneydreamer33

Glad you enjoyed the Nemo show. We had never seen it until this trip in Oct and we loved it too. Never got to see the AK parade. It was on my Must Do list and then they discontinued it! Bummer!
Sounded like a fun time at AK!

We did enjoy the show a lot. I am glad we too finally made it there. Bummer about the parade!

Originally Posted by rhinohunter

We were sorry to see the AK parade go away and we hope that WDW will replace it after all of the construction is completed. From the rumors, I believe that we will have a long wait before the fences are all down. Your pix are great as usual.

I think you are right. I am wondering if we'll ever see any of these parks without walls in the next few years. 3 of them seem to still have major constructions going on yet.....and DTD.

[jenseib]

With the parade over and all of our FP+’s of the day used we were going to head out and try to get over to MK for a short while before we had to go and pick up Skip from the airport. We started our walk to the front.



We found another photopass photographer and decided to stop.





Claire wasn’t feeling the roaring emotions that I was.



You can just see it in her face…..My mother is so embarrassing.



Goodbye Animal Kingdom





I believe we took the bus over to MK so that we wouldn’t have to worry about getting there in our car and then of course we would have to take the monorail over as well. I figured it would not be any faster for us to drive.

This bus is a VIP bus. We wondered if it was for the cast of the Middle that had been filming there all week. I don’t think I mentioned it much…but they were there and my parents actually saw them filming the part where they entered the park. I had a hometown friend at Disney as well and she also watched them film that segment and she took a few pictures and posted them on facebook. When the episode aired you can see her in the background walking.



How sad…our last moments in the MK.





We stopped off for some more pictures.











Claire wanted to look and see if the store in Tomorrowland had the new version of the Disney infinity disc that someone had told us about. We were told to look through the rows of them and they were hidden in the back. So we made our way back there.




I also want to mention that we had been in contact with Skip off and on today. He did end up going to get a new birth certificate, which I was relieved about. He also bought 2 new pairs of dress pants to bring along. I had to forbid him to take anything out of his suitcase and I even talked to Paige, who at the time was living with us, and told her to make sure he had all his papers out and ready for when he went to the airport.
My last contact with him was when he was at the airport and all seemed to be going well.



Holy cow it’s open! I have NEVER seen it open before in my life! Ok maybe many years ago I did, but not in the last 10. I guess it means it’s extra busy if they opened it.





There was a dance party going on as we walked towards the store.





We headed into the store and sadly the new discs were not out, so my guess is they sold out or they weren’t supposed to be out and were pulled. Claire did buy a couple of infinity characters for her game though.

After the shopping we sat for a few minutes and watched the dance party from the side and then we decided we should eat before leaving since it could be very late before we found decent food again later.
And since the terrace was open that is where we decided to go.











We went with the pasta Alfredo with chicken.



And chocolate cake.



And we enjoyed it very much.





Our view of the construction….and the Move it Shake parade off in the distance.







Time to move on.



We went off to the side and just kind of people watched and observed things. I think this is when I had my last call from Skip.











We still had a little bit of time before rushing out so we made one more stop.



We got in line for Daisy and Minnie and if the posted time was right and the line kept moving we would have just enough time to see them before heading out. While in line we saw some families playing the same type of head bands game we had seen earlier in the trip. I couldn’t think of the name and I asked one family what it was called and they told me to just search hedbanz in the app store and we would find some free kid versions. So we did and I downloaded the app and we started playing. Why did it take the last line of the trip to realize we could’ve been playing this the whole time? It really made the time pass much faster and before we knew it we were ready to visit Daisy.









And Minnie.





















We finished with time to spare and Claire felt the need to make one of those do it yourself pixie sticks so we stopped off at the candy store to do that.





With that we exited the park. We could’ve spent a little more time in there but I didn’t want to jinx myself and then have to wait for a long time for another bus to come and run late. Skip is not a patient person at all and he would call me over and over asking me where I was if I was late. I always try to allow for time to pick up bags and such when I pick someone up from the airport, but I think Skip has a magic power that makes them come out faster for him. LOL.









Another VIP bus.



And back to the AK to get our car.



We then programmed Siri to get us to Sanford and headed that way. It was now turning dark as we drove along and I recognized most of the route but as we got closer she took us a different way than usual. I think this road might be newer. It was pretty deserted….and dark and just looked newer. We came in from a side entrance rather than the main entrance we usually go in and out of. I noticed several cars parked in a lot across the street so I headed over and parked as well. It was kind of like a field with some areas stoned and there were at least 30 cars waiting there. We were a little early, so I got out and stretched for a little bit.
The time that he was to land came and went and I called his phone and it was still off. Ok, they must be a little late. I was messaging with my friend Deb and she went online to look and see if there was a delay. I don’t think she found one. We saw a plane coming in for landing and we wondered if it was his plane. Sure enough about a minute later my phone rang. He was about 15-25 minutes late if I remember right and he said they were a little late loading the plane.

I told him to call me when the bags were coming off and I would then make my way to pick him up.
Right then a police man came into the lot and whirled a siren and told us we were in a bus lot and we were all parked illegally and if we didn’t want to be arrested we would leave immediately. I thought that was a little harsh. ….So I took off driving and made the circle around the airport but Skip wasn’t out yet. I decided I would just keep circling since there did not seem to be a cell lot anywhere that I could find. This airport is typically easy to get in and out of but tonight it was crazy busy with traffic. As I circled around the 2nd time he called and asked where I was. I pulled up and he hopped in and asked for cigarettes because he didn’t pack any. UGH. This guy smokes like a chimney but relies on me to pack his cigarettes when we travel. He jumped back out and took Claire with him as his bags had not come through yet.
I had no spot to actually park legally so I went ahead and parked at the end of the curb. Sure enough a few minutes later the police came around and sirened me and announced over his loud speaker that I was parked illegally and had to move. Of course I couldn’t because he was in the way, his lights were in my mirror so I couldn’t see what was coming around the other side of him….and what I could see was a ton of cars. He kept telling me to move and I waved that I understood. But seriously, was he blind? I know I was by his light! LOL. But I just had to slowly creep out the best I could. I have never seen them so strict there patrolling the area. Of course we have never arrived at night there either. It just left a bad taste in my mouth.
I circled again and Skip then calls and asked where I went. I told him I had to move and I was on my way back around.
Skip then takes Claire and his suitcase across the road…for no reason at all…to wait for me. This is not the area to stop and be picked up. This lane is for through traffic. UGH. So I stopped and he throws his case in the trunk and they jump in the car and I can mentally hear the cars behind us cussing us out.

Ok, let’s get the heck out of here.
We exit and he makes some comment about me going the wrong way and that we need to go by the gas station, which I pass. So I turn around and he asks why. I said because you wanted the gas station and I park there thinking he is going to buy cigarettes and a drink for the road. He often likes to stop and pick up a coke or something. Nope he wanted the road next to the gas station because he says we have taken that road before.
So we take the road against Siri’s recommendation and it’s a toll road that seems to have a both every mile. Ok, I might be exaggerating but it had a lot of tolls.
The whole trip back he talked all about his flight, his week without us etc….and if we didn’t answer within a half of second he would say Hunh? We just started laughing because every sentence ended in Hunh? Now he does this a lot but it was even worse than normal and I told him if he said Hunh one more time I was going to throw him overboard once we got on the ship….It never stopped….and still continues at home. Claire said we should get him a shirt for Christmas that says “Hunh?” on it so he doesn’t need to bother saying it. I told her it wouldn’t make a difference.
The lovely thing about driving with my husband is that 98% of the time I drive. He almost never drives when we go places together. Well at least behind the wheel. He certainly knows how to tell me how to drive from the passenger seat. And he did just that the whole way back. I was going too fast, too slow, I wasn’t going the right way, I missed the exit….which I have no clue how he would know since he has never been to this Marriott before. Yes, I was pretty sure I might murder him before the end of the trip.
Now I know he was excited to be finally down there with us and his vacation was just starting, so I did try to cut him a little slack. And Claire was just over the moon that he was now here and she was going to be able to show him all about Disney cruising. I just knew heads would clash at some point. He had ideas of how he wanted to spend time….with some relaxing. Claire had lots of ideas of activities she wanted to do with him…and I had the real plans….the ones people were supposed to follow!

We did tell Skip about the car and its lack of power and he noticed it too and we all just laughed. This car was such a piece of crap that it was just funny.

We made it back to the Marriott….and we were still all alive. No murders committed yet. Skip said hi to my parents who were settling in for the night. We made up the couch bed for Claire and we too all settled down since tomorrow was the big day. Claire was quite wound up. I know it was because she was so excited that her dad was now here, but we had to tell her to get to sleep more than once. Finally we all drifted off and got a decent night sleep!

[chezp]

What a nightmare at Sanford - they were certainly strict on parking there!

Going back to earlier, yep Claire was definitely saying "my mum's embarrassing" in some of those shots - it's written clearly on her face! And how funny, I've just been reading your cruise update about pasta Alfredo - and more here, I guess you like it.