Smokin’ Hot Fun with the CLQ and the Louisiana Crew Updated 10/5 COMPLETE! About This Page:

[Jillybean]

Originally Posted by MontiMouse

I had to laugh when I read about Mary Devall's sleeping arrangement though! I now remember her telling me about that shortly after you guys arrived in DHS. I think it went something like this:
Me: Mary Devall, how was the train ride?
MD: Great, I got to sleep in the storage compartment!
Me: They made you sleep in the storage compartment!
MD: (giggling) Yes but I liked it.

For some reason, she turned on the storage compartment on the way back! At least, she was excited about it at some point!

Can't wait to hear more (even though I pretty much know what is gonna happen in the next few installments)!

Unless I start embellishing, huh?

Jill

[Jillybean]

Originally Posted by LLaffinPlace

I once caught my sister scrutinizing a [presumably] handsome fellow and whispered, "You're married!"

To which she replied, "Just 'cause you're on a diet doesn't mean you can't look at the menu."

Your sister is a smart woman. Normally Thom will relent that someone (whether it be male or female) is good looking. For instance, he believes that George Clooney and Brad Pitt are good looking fellows. But when I mentioned that our town car driver was good looking in his presence, he did not agree at all. Maybe it was because Daniel was right there as opposed to being on a movie screen!

Jill

[Jillybean]

Originally Posted by Luvsun

The view from your room is amazing! Do you remember what your room number was?

It was 471!

[Jillybean]

Originally Posted by jdawsonrn

Your train ride sounded so wonderful that I checked out the price for my family to ride to WDW from Charleston WV. $1900 and over 20 hours. I think we will fly
Can't wait for more

I think we're pretty much at the perfect place to take the train - - it makes for a perfect overnight trip and the price is usually equivalent or less than 4 airplane tickets for us!

Jill

[Jillybean]

Originally Posted by eff051102

I hope Maddie is feeling better from her bump on the head. Was it a tough ER trip?

Maddie fell into a wooden cubbie running to see her Daddy when he picked her up from school about a week before our trip. By the time he got her home, the bump on her head was ginormous and a nasty shade of purple. At that point, neither of us had ever heard the "as long as it swells on the outside there probably isn't swelling on the inside" theory so it totally freaked out both of us.

Natasha Richardson had just died of a brain injury after lack of medical attention, so I sent Thom right to the ER with her. I stayed at home with Mary Devall who was in tears. They did a CAT scan on her and everything was fine.

The knot went down quickly, but apparently she bumped it at school a few days later because it appeared again. Thom took her back and they said that blood probably broke up due to another bump and it was fine. It looked worse this time, but thankfully went down while we were at Disney.

It certainly scared the life out of all of us though. She came home from the ER with stickers, crayons and a bright red mouth from a red popsicle so she had the time of her life!

Jill

[Jillybean]

Originally Posted by JoanW

I want to try the train sometime! I love Maddie's little ponytails too. So sweet.

I hate that we missed your Grace, Joan! I had thought that she would be at EMH that night also so I was surprised that she was already at home!

Next time!

Jill

[Jillybean]

Originally Posted by Caldercup

Oh goodness, I can just HEAR Thom saying this: “People, it’s only 7:30! Go back to sleep!”

You poor thing . . . you probably have Thom's voice engrained in your head after our trip!

Jill

[Jillybean]

Originally Posted by Cam22

Stefanie is hoping we can stay at BCV next June, so maybe I need to remember that room number unless you'll be requesting it again.

It is 471! I'm sure that they have plenty of rooms with a similar view, so there would be enough for all of us! I'm not even sure where we're going to stay next June!

Jill

[Jillybean]

Originally Posted by Starla4436

Great trip report as usual.
I live in Winter Park right now...the train station is right in the middle of town...nest time let me know we will stand outside and wave as ya'll pas by.

Cool!!! We love, love, love the look of that town!

Jill

[MontiMouse]

Originally Posted by Jillybean

For some reason, she turned on the storage compartment on the way back! At least, she was excited about it at some point!



Unless I start embellishing, huh?

Jill

I am sure you will do just fine. We were so excited to get to see you again that some of the details are a bit fuzzy anyway - so go ahead and embellish away!

And by the way, Daniel does sound yummy!

[Jillybean]

Thursday, June 4 Day One Part Two

Once at DHS, our first piece of business was to stop at a ticket window and purchase our new AP’s (including Maddie’s first ever AP )! Leave it to us to be the first people (at least at this park) to buy AP’s using a DVC discount and a 10% referral discount card. It ended up taking 5 people, including a supervisor, to figure it out.

Cheers of joy (literally) went up when the sale finally went through correctly! I was chatting and laughing with them the entire time, so they knew that I wasn’t bothered by the delay but they still gave us a golden FP for VotLM. Of course, I didn’t share with them that this attraction scared the bejeebies out of the girls!

With new AP’s in hand (we had to laugh that Thom was the one with Minnie Mouse ), we made our way through the turnstiles. A quick call to Monica revealed that she was in line for a turkey leg at Toluca Legs Turkey Company on Sunset Blvd. which was only steps from where we were.

In no time we were exchanging and hellos with Monica! Then Macy ran up with her frozen lemonade and Mary Devall was just overjoyed. Monica had warned me how much Macy had grown up, but it was still hard to reconcile that this leggy young lady was the same little munchkin that I had first met 4 years ago. She is such a beautiful girl with a beautiful heart to boot. She was so sweet and patient with both girls. And, of course, Monica looked as gorgeous as ever.

Once Monica had her turkey leg, we found a table and then we took the girls to grab something for ourselves. Of course, our two just wanted ice cream at this point so we got one a cup and one a cone of chocolate ice cream at Hollywood Scoops. While the girls and I waited on their ice cream, Thom went next door to Fairfax Fair. He ordered himself a chili dog and a Fairfax Salad for me since I was feeling adventurous (chopped romaine, refried pinto beans, pulled pork, roasted corn and sweet peppers, Pico de Gallo and monterey jack).

When we returned to the table with our food, Monica introduced us to her friend, Phyllis, and Phyllis’ boyfriend’s granddaughter, Sarah. I had actually just noticed Phyllis at the stand where we ordered our food since she was holding a ginormous pulled pork barbeque sandwich that looked excellent.

It was such fun to sit there catching up with their comings and goings and to realize that we were finally HERE! My salad was very good, but I barely did it justice since the heat just zaps my appetite. I’m better just sticking with a FB (or even a FAB ) when I’m outside in the heat. Thom, on the other hand, annihilated his hot dog and the girls ate a pretty good bit of their ice creams before they became gooey messes.

As soon as we had entered the DHS gates, Maddie had been announcing over and over again that she wanted to ride TSMM. Apparently we had been watching Toy Story 1 and 2 a bit much at our house prior to this trip. Macy and Monica had ripe FP’s for RnRC and Mary Devall wanted to ride Star Tours, so we all decided to split up for the time being.

Thom, Mary Devall, Monica and Macy all headed to RnRC first because Mary Devall wanted to get the “official” measurement for RnRC since Thom had picked up RnRC FP’s for all of us during lunch for later that afternoon (sadly, Mary Devall came up a little short but we had plans to bring her back another day with tennis shoes on instead of flip flops). Thom and Mary Devall then were headed to Star Tours to ride where Monica and Macy would meet them after their RnRC ride! Phyllis, Sarah, Maddie and I were headed to the standby line at TSMM. For 8 people just coming together, we were very organized – Karen would have been so proud!

The standby line for TSMM was at 80 minutes, but neither Phyllis nor I blinked an eye. The girls wanted to do it and we would be in air conditioning, so what did it matter? We enjoyed getting to know each other and watching the girls play, but the real bonus was that the wait ended up being no more than 30 minutes!

Keeping the 3D glasses on Maddie while continuing to play ended up being the biggest challenge of this game. She had the best time playing although she hasn’t learned to move the gun around so all of her shots went way up into the air. She is getting much better on the “string pulling” part of it though. Her absolute favorite part of this ride is moving from game to game - - her face just lights up!

Everything was going well until we got to the ring toss game. Our game kept moving and then just sat to the side for about a minute. It then moved to the next game, but kept moving right on past it too. We finally picked up and played the bonus round. Maddie didn’t really notice, but I did make sure to mention to the CM when we unloaded that we didn’t get to play two of the games. She asked me which ones and, when I told her, she asked us to stand to the side and she would let us play again. Phyllis and Sarah had been on the other side of our car, so I motioned them over quickly and told them that we could play again. Even with missing two of the games, Maddie and I did pretty well (130,000 to 2900)!

The CM’s let the people who were already waiting to load go ahead and then they called us back over. This time the ride went off without a hitch and, for the first time ever, I made it to the black cat level! And that’s while helping Maddie keep her glasses on! I think my final score was 155,000 while Maddie was apparently tired out and lowered her score to 1000. She’s no longer a turtle though – so don’t go calling her a turtle!

The rest of our gang was already at HISTK playground, so we headed in that direction. Phyllis spotted Monica on the way in, so she and Sarah stopped to talk while Maddie and I continued on to find Thom and Mary Devall. We spotted Thom near the entrance so I left Maddie with him and made a strawberry margarita run at the Back Lot Canteen. It was time for my first June 2009 trip FAB!

I found an empty bench right outside the HISTK entrance and enjoyed sipping my drink and sending a couple of texts until everyone came out and found me! Thom informed me that the girls declared that they were ready for lunch, so we took the short walk to Studio Catering while the other ladies went for ice cream.

Thom ordered macaroni and cheese for Maddie and an uncrustable for Mary Devall, but neither girl barely touched a bite. When Thom came back from making a business call, I suggested that we stick with mainly afternoon snacks for them in this hot weather because those two meals were wasted. Once he saw the $10 that he had just spent on uneaten meals go into the trash can, he agreed. If nothing else was confirmed on this trip, the fact that our little Maddie is a born grazer was!

Macy and Sarah eventually rejoined us with tales of how far they had to go to find soft serve ice cream. They had to trek all the way to Gertie’s! Monica and Phyllis had made at pit stop at the Back Lot Canteen, so their treats were close by all along!

Once we were all back together, the decision was made to go back to the hotel to swim instead of waiting for the RnRC FP’s to ripen. We were on a boat and back to BCV fairly quickly. Storms clouds were gathering and we immediately noticed that the pools were closing, so swimming was not in our future this afternoon!

We said goodbye in the elevator and then went back to our room for a little down time. Once there, I realized that a glass of wine would go perfectly with my relaxed mood so Maddie and I took off back to the Market Place. Instead of one bottle of wine, I decided to buy two mini bottles of pre-made margaritas and two mini-bottles of wine. Variety is the spice of life, you know!

Maddie immediately was attracted to the candy and was soon walking up to me with a foiled covered chocolate lollipop. She held it up and said (and this was the first of many times that I had these words on this trip) “I wish I could have one of these.”

I told her that she could have one as long as she picked out one for her sister. With purchases in hand (well, mine was in a bag since I didn’t want to look like the president of a lush club or anything ), we went back to the room. Thom was already wiped out on the bed and Mary Devall was watching tv in the living room. Maddie and I joined her and we all three sat around enjoying our treats – theirs being chocolate and mine being tequila based.

Monica called a bit later suggesting that we share a cab to the Grand Floridian to cut down on our travel time. We are all about convenience so I readily agreed. We soon got ready and headed out again to the valet stand. We definitely made the right decision to take a cab because it was pouring and thundering and lightening like crazy. The only problem was that it took forever for our cab to come, so we saw our ADR time come and go. When the cab did come, it was a van so we all easily fit. We made it quickly to the Grand Floridian and only waited a few minutes for our table at the Grand Floridian Café.

We were seated near the back at a table with a banquette which was perfect for the girls. I can’t remember our server’s name, but I do remember that he was very pleasant and prompt. He quickly had a Captain’s Mai Tai out for Thom and a glass of white wine each for Monica, Phyllis and me. I guess he took one look at the girls lined up across from us and put a speed order on our drinks!

For our entrees, we ordered:

(Thom)Grilled Rib-Eye - with house-made French Fries, Haricot Verts and a Red Wine Sauce

(Jill) Seared Tuna - - it’s not on Allears and I can’t remember what came with it now!

(Monica and Phyllis) Shrimp and Prosciutto Penne Pasta - with Asiago Cheese Sauce and Asparagus Tips

(Sarah)Cheese Pizza with sliced veggies and sliced apples

(Macy, Mary Devall and Maddie) Meaty Macaroni with ground turkey with marinara sauce topped with mozzarella served with veggies and fruit salad

Macy cracked me up when she ordered because she prefaced it with “I’m older than 9 but can I still order from the kids menu?” Our server loved it and responded with “Well, since you told the truth I will let you.”

We had a fantastic meal filled with great food, wine and laughter. The girls got along well and really seem to enjoy each other. When Macy took all of them to the bathroom at one point, Thom was ready to adopt her.

I could see a display of desserts from where we sat, so I knew that I was having the dessert sampler. It didn’t take Thom too much convincing to share it with me.

(Jill & Thom) A Sweet Ending to Your Celebration... Dessert Sampler - Tiramisu, Chocolate Mousse, Key Lime Tart, and Lemon Cheesecake

(Monica) New York-style Lemon Cheesecake

(All girls) Vanilla ice cream

Of course, when the dessert sampler was sat in front of us, four pairs of little eyes immediately honed in on it. Each girl shared some piece of our dessert along with their vanilla ice cream. It was a delicious sampler and I would order it again in a heartbeat!



By the time we finished dinner, the pouring rain had turned to just a sprinkle. We hopped the monorail for the short trip to MK, but once there, the rain started to come down heavier so we made a pit stop under one of the awnings on Main Street to poncho up!

We all had different agendas, so we decided to split up for the time being. Phyllis and Sarah decided to do a little shopping while Monica, Macy, Thom and Mary Devall headed right for BTMRR. Of course, Maddie and I made a bee line for her rollercoaster. We had decided not to bring her stroller that evening, so I think I worked off my dessert just from carrying her to Toon Town!

We ended up riding Barnstormer 4 times in a row! The first two times we had to walk back around, but our last two rides were in a row since no one else was waiting to board at the time! Thankfully, the rain stopped for good after our first ride, so I was able to put away the ponchos.

Any time that I have Maddie in Toon Town this late at night, I always suggest a visit with the princesses. She loves the chance to chat with them and the wait is always minimal at the end of the evening. Sure enough, we walked right in and were soon standing in a short line to see Sleeping Beauty.

The only sad part of the evening (at least for me) was that Maddie told me right away and in no uncertain terms that I was not to talk about the Judy or Belle stories. Even my bossy older daughter had never given me the “mute” order! It was her wish, so I kept quiet even though it killed me not to share these sweet stories with the princesses.

Maddie did seem a little shy at first with Sleeping Beauty, so I knelt beside her and held her hand as she timidly begin to talk. Aurora was wonderful with her, so it didn’t take long for Maddie to start chatting away with her.

By the time that we reached Cinderella, Maddie was back to her old self. For some reason, she immediately had to show off her crocs to Cinderella. This was absolutely hilarious. Cinderella, in turn, mentioned that she wore clogs sometimes.

Belle immediately began talking about Maddie’s shirt which was the perfect icebreaker because Maddie loves her Toy Story shirt. Even though I was not allowed to tell my beloved stories, this ended up being a wonderful meet and greet filled with conversation and hugs between a little girl and her princesses – exactly what it should have been. (All of the princess pictures were taken by a PP photographer and I haven't even ordered our cd yet, so I'll have to add those later!)

At her request, Maddie and I finished up our evening with a ride on Peter Pan. Thankfully, the line was not long at all ( rain for clearing out the park earlier) so we were quickly flying over London. Wishes was just beginning when we exited the ride, so we stood in Fantasy Land watching the fireworks and waiting for the rest of our gang to find us.

Maddie went back and forth from being scared over the fireworks to being elated about them. I think it just depended on the loudness of the boom! While we watched, Mickey’s Philharmagic let out and I noticed that one family stayed at the exit instead of coming out. I also noticed that this family had a VIP CM with them. The little boy seemed to be very scared of the fireworks, so they were hanging back until they were over. The mom had platinum blonde hair, so my first thought was that it was Gwen Stefani (not that I know exactly what she looks like or even what she sings).

When Monica, Macy, Thom and Mary Devall caught up with us, I pointed out the family to Monica and Thom to see if they recognized who it was. Monica said that she had heard the Celine Dion was here, but hadn’t heard anything about Gwen Stefani. Thom said that the man didn’t look like Gavin Rossdale so it probably wasn’t her. Oh well! I did mention my “almost” celebrity sighting to Molly, Travis and Joey the next day. When they returned home, Travis sent me a PM entitled “You were right!” with a link saying that No Doubt was at Disney! So I did see her after all!

Monica, Macy, Thom and Mary Devall filled us in on their adventures. They had ridden BTMRR 3 times and Splash Mountain once. Since Thom isn’t into wet grippers , he sat out Splash Mountain. Monica told me with a laugh that Mary Devall had informed them right before the big drop that she didn’t exactly love this ride. I was very proud of my girl for giving it another try though!

We waited just a few minutes for a BC bus. We were back to the room and asleep by 11:30! What a day!

Up next . . . breakfast at one of our favorite places!

[bethf]

Great update! Sounds like you packed a lot into the day! Hurry back with more.

[Cam22]

What a great end to Day One! Sounds like everyone had loads of fun!

[vfair]

Wonderful update! Good for MD on taking another Splash ride. Love to hear about Maddie and her princesses!

[ilovedisney247]

So much packed into one day! Sounds like everyone had a good day!