CCIntrigue...aka Gwen

Make sure it has relatively new batteries.  That is the biggest maintenance expense on an electric cart.

Formaldehyde from the carpet?

I sure wish you would rehash it.  I'd like to know what was so bad.  I can see your FB posts prior to November 28, but then nothing again until January 16 through February 1.  Now nothing again.

Happy birthday Marty!

Another example of how great the Fiends are ... I posted a problem this morning and it only took 4 minutes for you all to start responding with helpful hints!  Love you all!

No.  If it weren't for your TRs, I wouldn't know the difference.

Main Street Mouse is reporting that the MK Pandora store is open:  http://www.themainstreetmouse.com/2015/02/14/the-new-pandora-store-is-open-at-the-magic-kingdom-take-a-look/

The Republicans aren't trying to defund all of Hollywood Studios, just that gate in the back near the Tower of Terror where all the illegal cast members have been coming in and the president is greeting them with free annual passes...... 

If I could afford that, we'd all have WWY -- Wild Womenz Year!

Breaking News!  Be Our Guest Adds Reservations for Lunch!
 
See here:  http://www.disneydining.com/breaking-news-guest-adds-reservations-lunch/

Happy, happy birthday, Snarky!

Happy birthday, Snarky!

Feeling like we need to start a "Kids Beating Insurmountable Odds" or "Our Miracle Stories" thread.  Two of our eight grandchildren were both with severe, life-threatening conditions.  I've shared a little on other threads.  But it is so heartwarming to hear the stories of others and to know that these dear, irreplaceable children do survive!

Today is for celebrating!  Congratulations to you all!

I wish they would eventually come out with a purple MB.  I'd pay for that one.

Well, that really stinks!

Check this out:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRVEexmsvA0

Lou would say that's what is holding them together.

Guess what!  I started a Pandora bracelet today!
 

 
I can't wait to get back to WDW to purchase the Haunted Mansion looking one called Magical Day Mickey and the Mickey's Sorcerer's Hat.

I'll gladly ride the tea cups with you any day.  I can't do spinning either.

The Sampler Platter:
 

 
Fried chicken, pot roast, meat loaf, potatoes, green beans, collard greens.  Very good.  Enough for two people to share, especially if you're getting an appetizer or dessert.

Thursday, October 16 -- The Day I Got Lost
 
I cooked breakfast, ate, got dressed, and settled in to wait for David to be ready to go.
 
Artsy shot while I was waiting:
 

 
By mid-morning he was ready to head out to DHS.  I took my new f/1.4 50mm prime lens with me today and was excited to try it out.  A prime lens is a fixed focused length lens.  It doesn't zoom.  If you want to zoom in or out, you have to physically move yourself.  It can be a pain at times, but the results can be very worthwhile.
 
Our first FP was for an attraction that I was really hoping to get some great shots in.  Anyone recognize it?
 

 
How about now?
 

 
Most of you have probably figured it out, but just in case it's the Voyage of the Little Mermaid.
 
I happily started snapping pictures:
 

 

 

 
And then a cast member asked me to stop.  It seems my camera has some sensor on it that emits a small light.  Bummer.
 
Afterwards we walked around for awhile.
 

 
And then it was time for our FPs to TSM.
 

 
Here's a good example of where it's not good to have a prime lens.  I couldn't move far enough back.
 

 

 

 

 

 
And then we wandered into:
 

 

 

 
The place was PACKED!  So we wandered on.
 

 

 
Can you tell what a beautiful day it was?  Can you just feel the warmth?  I'd like to have some of it right now.
 
 
 

 

 

 
We stopped for a snack.  I got popcorn, and David got a pretzel.  I obviously haven't trained him as well as Ray has trained his DD.  David rarely waits for me to take a picture.
 

 
We walked around some more.
 

 
And watched some street performers.
 

 
And then went back to the fort. 
 
Whenever we took a bus to a park, David would break down my ECV (nicknamed Dottie) in the mornings and take it to the Outpost for me.  Then I would ride it back to Dolly in the afternoon so he didn't have to bother with it.
 
The ride is very pleasant.  Here are some pics of behind the hitch/unhitch area.
 

 

 

 
Okay, I have a confession to make here.  I have a terrible sense of direction.  Despite thinking I understood TCD's and Carol's directions, I got lost.  I took a wrong turn at the four-way stop and ended up going the long way around.  So long that David was calling me wondering where in the world I was. 
 
So several days later after I had successfully made it to the 700 loop and really understood how to go, I took pictures of all the turns.  Will post them later in case anyone is interested.
 
For the first time ever, we left the rugs and chairs out under the awning the entire trip.  And this was our first time using our new rope lights.  They were great!
 

 
We took Kassie looping for awhile and then came home to Dolly and had Steph's Buffalo Chicken for dinner.

Wednesday, October 15 -- The Day the Rain Stopped -- Part 2
 
Our next FP was for BTMRR.
 

 

 

 

 

 
Is that ride getting rougher, or are we just getting older and more sensitive?
 
As we left the BTMRR area, we saw glimpses of the FoF parade in the distance.  Just enough to make me excited to see all of it.
 
We shopped in the Emporium for awhile.
 

 
Neither of us found any clothing we were interested in.  That's unusual.  As we were leaving the Emporium we again saw a little of FoF:
 

 

 

 
On the way back to the fort, success!
 

 
But I can do better than that.  I'll keep trying.
 
David had told me the day before that he saw something that looked like a Loch Ness Monster in the canal beside the dog walk.  So I rode my trusted scooter down to check it out:
 

 
Really, David ?!?
 

 
It's our tradition to take Kassie on a buggy ride as soon as she gets back from her afternoon potty break.  She knows the drill, does her business quickly, and hops on the cart to wait for us.
 

 

 
We visited with Dave and Linda for awhile and then came back to Dolly to cook dinner.

Wednesday, October 15 -- The Day the Rain Stopped -- Part 1
 
It was still raining this morning, so I changed our FP+s to the afternoon.  Went to the Trading Post and purchased our refillable mugs.  I, of course, chose purple.  David got a red one.
 
I was feeling a little like this:
 

 
After the rain stopped we hopped on DeeDee and headed to the marina.  We stopped to admire this neighbor's sign:
 

 
I often give myself silly or weird photo assignments.  After taking this pic:
 

 
I decided to try and get a photo of the monorail with the boat's flag in the foreground.
 
We arrived at MK and got through bag check and the turnstile.  David's MB worked, but as usual he had problems with his fingerprint. 
 

 

 
And we finally see the castle!
 

 
I just took the big lens with me that day.  It's an 18-300mm zoom with f/3.5 to f/5.6.  It's my go-to lens except for portraits and very low light conditions.
 
Our first FP was for HM.  See what I mean about low light conditions?
 

 
And our next FP was for Buzz.  Again, not enough light.
 

 
I'm posting these pics so you can see later how much difference my new lens makes.
 
Next we rode the People Mover.  It broke down several times, but that was okay.  We were sitting down, and it was cool. 
 
We had some good views of the construction:
 

 

 

 
Our next FP was for lunch at BOG.  Even with a FP, we had a somewhat long wait to get in.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Lunch was disappointing.  It was a totally different experience from our previous visit in October 2012 during the AP preview.  My pork was great, as always.  David got a turkey sandwich which was bland.  The dining areas were super crowded -- to the point of barely finding a table -- and it was super noisy.  We couldn't even hold a conversation!
 
As we walked out of BOG we saw the 7DMT running:
 

 

 
We had several days to wait before we could try it out.  FPs were hard to come by, but I managed to snag a couple of dates.

Hello, all, to my latest trip report.  It will start slowly and take some time to complete, but eventually we will get to the end.
 
First of all, thank you for reading along and especially for commenting.
 
Second, please be aware that I take some photos that many of you will consider weird.
 
I'm an avid photographer.  Was an art major in college but couldn't quite find my creativity on canvas and am now trying to capture it via digital photography.
 
I get inspired by shadows.  Or light.  Or color.  Or shapes.  Or repetitiveness.  Anything that catches my attention.
 
I take a lot of stock photos.  But also a lot that leaves my DH asking "why did you take a photo of that?"  Usually those are the ones that I like best.
 
Anyway, you've been forewarned.  Continue at your own peril!
 
Monday, October 13, 2014, and Tuesday, October 14 -- The Day I Learned How Important my Instincts Are -- Part 1
 
We left home about 5am, a little later than we planned.  It was rainy, cold, and foggy.  We couldn't wait to get to better weather.
 
I couldn't get the fridge to start on gas.  Aggravating, but no biggie.  We just turned the generator on every 4 hours during the day. 
 
In about an hour and a half we crossed the SC state line.  What did we find?  Love bugs!  In SC?  WTF!
 

 
We traveled to the end of I-77 and turned onto 26.  Stopped at Cracker Barrel in Orangeburg, SC, for breakfast.  Traveled farther on 26 until we finally got to 95 a little after 10. 
 
Leaving SC:
 

 
And entering GA:
 

 
At noon the temp was 87.  It was great!  We crossed the FL line a little after 1 and stopped briefly at the Welcome Center.
 

 
DeeDee was riding fine:
 

 
We drove straight through Jacksonville with no problem -- except that I shut my eyes over the high bridge.
 
Stopped at the Flying J in St. Augustine to refuel and spend the night.  We had a late lunch at Denny's.  I had a hamburger, and David had a toasted ham/cheese sandwich.
 
We washed the love bugs off Dolly.
 
We both read awhile and turned in early.  But I couldn't sleep, despite having been awake since 3am.  I eventually got up and read some more.  And watched the trucks come and go.  I am convinced that FJ never sleeps.
 
BTW, Harley week at Daytona was starting, so we saw lots and lots of motorcycles.
 
Eventually we both fell asleep.  We left FJ about 430 the next morning and turned onto I-4 at 523.  Oh, happy day!
 
We were on Disney property at 638am.  Here is our view of the MK entrance::
 

 
It was still quite dark when we arrived at the Fort, checked in, and went to the overflow lot. 
 

 
Eventually the sun began to rise. 
 

 
We unloaded DeeDee and drove down to the settlement to have breakfast at Trail's End. 
 

 
After breakfast we saw Duane, Claudine, and Linda.  Dave was out running errands.
 
We were allowed onto our site (702) around 1030.  And around 11 I picked up my ECV. 
 
We finally started setting up.
 

 
Obviously to be continued ...