No Boys Allowed!!! THREAD 2 -- COMPLETED!!! 2/19 About This Page:

[mom2my4dwarfs]

Thanks for the updates. Love Emilie's sunglasses.

[LizardCop]

Excellent updates Sarah and great pictures. So sorry this trip is coming to an end.....

[Colexis Mom]

Another great update Sarah What great pictures Love the ones with the princesses!!

[BritDisFan]

What a great update Sarah, love the pics of cute little Emilie. I'm sorry it's all coming to an end .

Karen

[Annabel]

Awww poor Emillie, not wanting to leave Disney World - can't say I blame her

[ QUOTE ]
“Momma, I am SO tall, I can ride this coat-ster!!!

[/ QUOTE ]

that is sooo cute

Annabel

[MegglesMom]

Great updates Sarah!! BTW, that is a great shot of Emilie by the castle!

[Luv2plan]

Really fabulous updates Sarah, thanks!!! I absolutely must find those super-cute sunglasses for Tessa when we go!!

[RobinKay6573]

Oh Sarah don't you hate that last day at the park!! I always cry too!

[Caldercup]

I wish they made those Minnie Mouse flip sunglasses in adult sizes. I'm soooo jealous!
Can't wait for more
Eileen

[DrDolphin]

Great update Sarah!!! Fantastic photos!!! I can't wai to read more (and tell Miss Emilie that Miss terri cried when she had to go home too!!!)

[DopeyGirl]

DAY 5 PART 3 (January 9th) -- Are you SURE I have never met you . . . because it feels like I have known you for YEARS!!!

<font color="blue">At about 5pm, the bus for All Star Music showed up and we hopped on . . . Emilie fell asleep within about 5 seconds of leaving the MK!!! While she slept, I caught up on the day’s TR notes!!!

We arrived back at ASMu at about 5:20pm and we headed straight for the food court . . . I decided on Chicken Parmesan with a breadstick and caesar side salad with a diet coke and Emilie chose the kids spaghetti and with giant meatball, breadstick and raisins. We tossed in 2 water bottles for later on that evening and our total came to $16.02 with the DDE discount!!!

We headed back to the room real quick and put on long sleeves (and long pants on Emilie), grabbed a bucket full of Emilie’s snacks, the water bottles (and a bottle of Pinot Grigio) and headed out towards the parking lot . . . yeah, I said parking lot!!! First time I had even touched my car since we got there Wednesday night (and this was Sunday!) By 6:45, we were heading out of the All Stars area and were on our way to the Yacht Club for our ILLUMINATIONS CRUISE!!!

So, getting to the Yacht Club was no problem . . . I just didn’t know where to go when I got there, so I stopped at the little guard shack and asked the security guy to please direct me directly in the right direction He told me where to go park and where to go in order to get to the boat dock. I parked in the lot and I think I walked about a mile to get into the building!!! It still wasn’t as far as the walk to the front of the GF from the self-park lot!!! We walked into the main entrance and I immediately felt like a major rube . . . I was even wearing my BEST jeans!!! There were suits and skirts everywhere . . . I felt like maybe I should have borrowed a sweater, tied it around my shoulders and said “Excuse me, Buffy. Could you tell me which way it is to the tennis club?” YIKES!!! ANY-WHO . . .

We walked out to the lighthouse (did I mention I still wasn’t real sure of where I was going?) and those were only the launches for MGM and Epcot. OK, so I was in the wrong place!!! So we wandered back towards the building . . . and as we neared the end of the dock, I looked over at a bench and who should I see? Why, our own Terri and Cheryl (DrDolphin and Phoebe_Cates)!!! First thing I said was “Well, that’s Miss Terri!” Funny how you’ve never seen these people in your life, but you know them immediately the first time you do see them!!! We talked for a bit and I gave Terri the bottle of wine to share with her BOYFRIEND Scott . . . Emilie announced that she needed to potty, so next thing I know, Terri and Emilie are running across the grass towards the building!!! Terri says her “Aunt T instinct” kicked in . . . Cheryl and I couldn’t believe she was RUNNING!!! I mean, the woman just ran 13 miles that morning!!! Cheryl and I sat there and got better acquainted then Denise (wdwlovers) and Jason arrived, soon followed by . . . Vicky (stretch2864) and her mom!!! We all exchanged hugs and greetings and honestly folks . . . it seemed like we were just old friends that hadn’t seen each other in a while!!! It was kind of an odd-but-great feeling!!! Since we were all present and accounted for, Denise got us all checked in and paid up for our cruise then we stood on the docks waiting for 8:20 to come around!!! While we waited, Emilie made good friends with Cheryl!!! They pretty much hung out the whole time!!! (Thanks to Terri for the next 3 pictures!!! )



Emilie was given her life vest . . .



. . . we put it on atop her knit poncho but quickly found that it was NOT going to work well enough, so it soon came off. Nicole was our driver/captain . . . she took us over past the Swan/Dolphin and by MGM . . .</font>


Cheryl had Emilie convinced that you HAVE to duck whenever you go under a bridge . . . much like holding your breath in a tunnel!!!


An attempt at the Tower of Terror from the boat . . . that would be that blue spot!!!


Vicky’s mom, Vicky, Denise and Jason!!!


Emilie waiting for IllumiNations to start!!!

<font color="blue">. . . then she took us in to get a closer look at the Boardwalk area . . . it was then that we had a bit of a “It’s a Small World” moment. You see, I grew up in a town of 8,000 people in Oregon. There were 6 small elementary schools, but ONE middle and ONE high school. So, pretty much, you knew everyone in town. The city whose schools we played sports against and the place where everyone hung out in high school was Eugene (a city of about 125,000) . . . it wasn’t unusual to have friends or know someone from Eugene. WELL . . . I was talking to Terri as we floated along and happened to hear Nicole, our driver mention that she was from Oregon. I am always curious whenever anyone says they are from my home state!!! So, I asked her where in Oregon . . . she said “Eugene.” I was shocked . . . so I almost yelled “NO WAY!” and told her where I was from. The look on her face was priceless . . . I asked her where she went to high school and when she graduated. She told me which school and that she graduated in 1994 (the same year as me). I thought it was the weirdest thing to be 3000 miles away from “home” and to meet someone from 20 miles away, and with SO MUCH in common!!! We pulled up under the bridge in the International Gateway and tied on to the other boats. Then Nicole gave us a little heads up about the noise and talked a little bit about where we were sitting. Then she came over and we talked a little more . . . it was then that I just about fell out of the boat. We talked about where she went to college and then she said “So you graduated in 1994? We swam against your swim team . . . I knew a few people on that team. Did you know ______?” I think my eyes must have been HUGE, because I was actually friends with that girl and dated her BROTHER at one time!!! Then she said “You look familiar, did you play softball?” HOLY CRAP!!! I sure did . . . and we sure did play against her school’s team!!! Pinch me so I know that this REALLY happened!!! It was UNREAL!!! Any-whoooooo . . .

As many others have said, this IS the way to see IllumiNations and it truly does spoil you!!! No other vantagepoint will quite compare!!!



Once the show was over, Nicole drove us over by the Boardwalk again and let Emilie “drive” the boat . . . her reward for getting us back to shore safely was 5 Mickey Mouse stickers



After we got off of the boat, I grabbed this shot of the Boardwalk from the Bayside Marina at the Yacht Club . . .



Then us girls got together for the mother of all the evening’s photos . . . </font>


Vicky (<font color="red">stretch2864</font>), Denise (<font color="red">wdwlovers</font>), Cheryl (<font color="red">Phoebe_Cates</font>), Terri (<font color="red">DrDolphin</font>), ME - aka Sarah (<font color="red">DopeyGirl</font>) and my “PassPorter-in-Training”, Emilie!!!

<font color="blue">We said our goodbyes after the photo . . . Vicky and her mom were flying out the next day, Denise and Jason were headed to play some mini-golf, Terri and Cheryl had been up since well BEFORE the crack of dawn and had RUN 13 miles . . . and we were headed home the next day as well.

We drove back to ASMu and not long after getting back to the room, this happened to Emilie . . . </font>


One tired little Mouseketeer!!!

<font color="blue">I worked on packing up a bit then I finally hit the bed around 11:45pm . . . I was pretty much ready to hit the wall!!!</font>

<font color="red">The weather today was </font> 82-83 degrees most of the day! Cooled off a bit that night though!
<font color="red">The best thing today was</font> the IllumiNations cruise with our PassPorter friends (which was also my first official “official” PP meet)!!!
<font color="red">The worst thing today was</font> being 30 minutes late for our PS at PSB
<font color="red">The funniest thing today was</font> that our boat driver for the Illum. cruise grew up 20 minutes away from me, knew people from my high school and RECOGNIZED ME from sports . . . and we both graduated a little over 10 years ago!!! AND Cheryl and Emilie when they were ducking whenever we’d go under a bridge!
<font color="red">Today we tried </font> an IllumiNations cruise!
<font color="red">And the result was</font> WHEN CAN I GO AGAIN?! It was a great vantagepoint for IllumiNations and I got to share it with some fabulous FANTASTIC PassPorter pals!!!
<font color="red">The most magical moment today was</font> meeting some people I feel like I have known forever . . . Terri, Cheryl, Vicky and Denise (again)!!!
<font color="red">Meals and snacks =</font> $67.48
<font color="red">Number of photos taken today = </font> 127(me) -- 3 (Disney)

NEXT UP: A morning in the animal kingdom . . .

[mom2my4dwarfs]

Wonderful update and great pictures. I can't wait to do our Illuminatin Cruise in April.

[LizardCop]

Another great update Sarah.... Wonderful pictures!!! So sad this is coming to an end.....

[BritDisFan]

What a fantastic evening . It sounds like you all had a wonderful time. I must remember to duck when I go under bridges in future .

Karen

[DrDolphin]

Sarah great update and WONDERFUL photos of illuminations. I videoed the event - so your photos are way cool. I need to tell cheryl you put the photos of the ducking under the bridge!!! LOL!!! I had a great time on the cruise and I know cheryl had fun with miss Emilie!! Scott and I are now on our 3rd bottle of Bella Sera (how ironic a name can you get)!!! Thanks for introducing us to it!!!