CKCK "Photos and Thoughts" trip report, 2/11-2/16

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Wow, call me "some people" then as I don't recall ever noticing Goofy, let alone know that he talked at one time.

Happy to hear Goofy is getting his voice back, and I will look for him in the future.

Bravo to the TCD research dept!

Yes, I was talking to you!

How could you have missed that thing?

The TCD girls used to crawl all over that thing. That was pre-digital camera time, so I haven't been able to find a photo of that yet, but I know I have one.

If I am not mistaken, this bench was specifically mentioned in one of those wacky Kingdom Keeper books.

TCD

[stefa70 205]

How could you have missed that thing?

If I am not mistaken, this bench was specifically mentioned in one of those wacky Kingdom Keeper books.

TCD

:shortbus:

I have not read any of the Kingdom Keeper books, but it's on my to-do list, along with talking to Goofy, and having a cinnamon roll from the bakery and chicken balls from Epcot and................

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

:shortbus:

I have not read any of the Kingdom Keeper books, but it's on my to-do list, along with talking to Goofy, and having a cinnamon roll from the bakery and chicken balls from Epcot and................

Good!

The TCD research department confirmed that the Goofy bench is mentioned on the very first page of the first Kingdom Keepers book. Here's an excerpt for you:

He found himself standing next to the flagpole in Town Square, in the heart of the Magic Kingdom. In his pajamas. How he'd gotten here, he had no idea. His last memory was climbing into bed -- it felt like only minutes earlier.

Gripped by a sense of panic, awed by the sight of the Cinderella Castle at night, Finn Whitman briefly recalled he'd had other, similar dreams recently -- always in the Magic Kingdom, always at night. But in his thirteen years, none so real, so vivid as this: he felt a breeze on his face; he smelled the wet ground of a flowerbed not far away; he heard the distant whine of traffic and the buzz of a motorboat on the lake behind him.

"It looks so different," he thought, only to realize he'd spoken it out loud. Main Street stood empty, not a person in sight. He glanced around seeing

quickly he was all alone.

"Not so different as all that," came a man's voice. Though faint, it startled Finn. He looked around again, this time trying to find the source of that voice.

There! An old guy with white hair on a bench in front of the Exhibition Hall. He sat so closely to a seated sculpture of Goofy that Finn hadn't noticed him.

Finn moved toward him, crossing the empty street. He felt unusually light, almost buoyant.

I think there may be a copy of that book in the TCD library, so hold off buying it so I can check. I'll be happy to give you our copy.

TCD

[4mickey2 41]

alright, i'm in! great tr so far. beautiful lil' ones and looks like you had a great site. keep the pics coming!

[CKCK 45]

Loving the TR and those adorable redheads! I'm not fond of looping while shivering either. Never thought we needed a windsheild in the GC before feeling the cold wind blow thru over Thanksgiving. Windsheilds... they're not just for wipers after all. :rofl2:

We just recently had to replace our windshield...so glad I did it before this trip!

CKCK....Outstanding TR so far. Just the right combinations on all fronts.

Couple of things:

1) The space heater vs the furnace. I too stuggled with finding the perfect mix to keep all happy. The furnance did a great job of wrapping the whole 30 feet of TT in warmness, but he space heater ran on electric that I had already paid for. Quite a conundrum I agree.

2) I dig your pic above. In particular, the way you have your GC in the bed. I've been noodling on the possibility for quite some time. Did you have to buy a special GC (shortened wheelbase)? Is that a Long bed truck? Did you have to remove the tailgate to travel? Sorry about all the questions, but I just couldn't quite be sure from the pic. I have a SB Ford250 and I think the bed is 6.5'.

3) The whole COLD thing. It's kind of a bummer, but it also allows you to see the FORT in a different fashion. It was so cold when we were there, that maint came around and put the water hoses at each site on slow drip.

Great work! Thanks for sharing.

Thanks!

1. Yes, just based on prinicple I can't stand to spend money on something when I've already spent money somewhere else! When the furnace runs I can just feel the LP tanks pulling on my wallet!

2. The GC is a standard EZ-GO. The truck has a standard 6' bed. I do have to take the tailgate off or it would hit my LP tanks. When I do that, the rear wheels of the GC just barely make it on the truck bed. I make sure I strap it down very well and it doesn't budge. I also have to take the rear foot platform off of the GC for the trip or it would also hit my LP tanks. Kind of a pain, but worth it to have our own cart down there. But like I said, if I didn't have the airbags it wouldn't be happening. They make all the difference.

3. Cold sucks, but luckily it didn't stay that way for long!

Ok a little late to the party but caught up now. Cute red headed daughters (both my kids are red heads too). Never realized how many red heads were out there until I had my own. Following along. Great report so far.

Better late than never! Neither myself nor my wife have red hair, so you can imagine how often we field the "where did they get the red hair from?" question. My grandpa says it must have been the milk man...

Ok, I know you're lazy, and probably have a job, but..... :10220:

More please.

^-^

Job? pbbt. More like it takes over my whole life. I'm a HS band director, so I'm lucky to even be home right now!

alright, i'm in! great tr so far. beautiful lil' ones and looks like you had a great site. keep the pics coming!

Aye aye. Working on it now...

[CKCK 45]

Well, the TCD research department has come through with some information on the Goofy bench.

I can't believe some people say they never saw it.

This thing sat in front of Tony's restaurant for years.

In fact, as far as I knew, it was still there.

Well, I have now heard from an anony-"mouse" MK CM and I have the scoop.

First, the Goofy statue on the bench did talk. But it malfunctioned often, and they finally gave up on fixing it a few years ago. That is why I never heard it talk.

And, then a year or so ago, while they were doing some renovations in the area, the bench and Goofy was removed and taken away to be fixed. Word is that the Goofy has been fixed and that he will be coming back. He is even going to talk. The only problem currently is that they forgot to put an electric source out there when the renovations were done.

This is WDW we are talking about, after all.

So, CKCK, you did not miss the Goofy bench.

Well, actually you did, but you missed it because it isn't there at the moment.

So there you go.

You asked.

And you received.

Is this a great message board, or what?

TCD

Wow. That is fantastic service. I need to think of something else to ask for to see how far we can take this!

But really, thanks for the info and research. My wife is happy to know that she isn't crazy and that we are not blind! You don't even know how long we wandered around up there looking for that bench!

And yes, this is a GREAT message board!

[CKCK 45]

Ok, where are we?

Oh yeah, pictures and thoughts.

Duh.

For those of you digging the red heads and who also may like horses...here you go:

I heard that they used to have a live show centered around the sword in the stone, and that somewhere there is a remote switch that unlocks the sword allowing it to come up a little. A CM would choose a kid out of the audience and let them try to pull it, and BAM, they would move it. Pretty cool for that kid. Anyone ever see that show when it was still around?

We didn't spend a whole lot of time in Fantasyland on this visit since we would be back later with our friends. From here we headed to one of my favorite rides in the MK...

THE PEOPLE MOVER!

Woo hoo!

I was in to taking tons of pics on this day, so here comes my People Mover montage:

BTW, I may be a dork, but how cool is this model city?

Paging Mr. Morrow, Mr. Tom Morrow...

Coming out of the Space Mountain DARK abyss...

How beautiful is this? And on February 12!!! Yay Florida!

And thus ends the People Mover Montage.

I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoy riding it.

I'm a dork.

From here, where else would we go but Buzz Lightyear?!? We had fast passed it before the People Mover, and it was time!

My fam loves Buzz, and my wife has been schooling me lately on the scores. Again, she killed it and scored over 300,000 to my 180,000. But she followed that up later in the trip with a 1400!!!

Maybe I should change my shooting style to score more points...

From here we decided to get outta dodge and get back to The Fort in time for dinner (so as to not make the same mistake as the previous night in Epcot).

As we were heading out we saw that the Mickey wait was only 5 minutes.

DD3.5 has always LOVED meeting characters, princesses, etc.

DD2 will not go near them with a 10 foot pole. She is interested in them, will wave goodbye, but will not be near them.

Amazing how two sisters can be so different.

Did you catch what that last picture was about?

Details...

Notice how we had to arrange Mickey and Minnie to be away from DD2.

Ok people, how many of you have ever seen the MK Flag Retreat Ceremony?

Ok people, how many of you have ever HEARD of the MK Flag Retreat Ceremony?

Now I can say I have to both of those questions.

We came out of meeting M & M just before 5, and noticed that the Dapper Dans were milling around the square. We also noticed some CM's keeping people off of parts of the sidewalk.

Well, duh, we knew something was about to happen, so we parked ourselves on the sidewalk and waited.

If you have never seen it, I highly suggest catching it. They pulled a girl out of the crowd to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. She was actually just behind us. One of the Dapper Dans picked her. He eyed us first, but he wanted a kid a little older than mine.

They had a Navy Vet who also participated in the event.

The Mainstreet Philharmonic showed up at the train station, played a little fanfare, then marched across the street and onto the square.

As I've said before, I want that job when I retire from teaching!

After the pledge we all sang "God Bless America." And by we all, I mean the Dapper Dans and a few crowd members...me included.

Then they played the "Star Spangled Banner" while they lowered the flag.

Then they played an Armed Forces medley while they folded the flag, then presented it to the Navy Vet. I'm not sure if he kept it or just carried it. I would be surprised if WDW would give a flag away FOR FREE each day, but you never know.

All in all, it was pretty cool and we were glad we hung around to see it.

We finally left and timed the boat PERFECTLY...which brings me to my soapbox.

The previous night leaving Epcot we got the bus line and were the second group of people there. So we got in line. Unfortunately there were two different direcitons that the line could have gone since not all the ropes were up. Yet since we were the second group there, we determined which way it would go.

Right?

Wrong.

A couple came up and started the line going the other direction! And which line did everyone else get in?

You guessed it. Their line.

Were we wrong?

NO, because we started it! So when it came time to load the bus, those people jumped in front of us. It didn't matter because it wasn't a full bus, but it irked me.

Well guess what?

They came up to the boat line as we were leaving the MK.

Guess what they did.

Yep, went down the other side of the line and cut in front of a bunch of people.

HELLO?!?!?!?!?

I know that the world does not revolve around me. You know how I know?

Because it apparently revolves around everyone else.

You don't know how many times a day I have to remind myself that WDW is supposed to be happy. If it wasn't for that in the back of my mind I would not be able to hold my tongue sometimes!!!

We finally made it back, got our first GAG of the trip (woo hoo!), and packed it in for another cold night! By the way, I know everyone talks about the fries in the GAG (or lack of steak fries), but what about the cornbread? Hello? AWESOME!

In the morning: DHS rope drop and our friends arrive.

GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

Awesome report and pictures!!!

I too, use a space heater in my camper. I don't have a furnace, but I have a CoolCat/Heat Pump, and the fan is kinda loud, and it doesn't work much below 40 anyway.

But, I also have a propane tank top heater, and I use that thing outside!! Easier and smaller than a fire!

[stefa70 205]

Phew, thanks for the update!

You may be a dork, but you are not alone. I love the people mover too. Love the pic of your little one on it, her face gives the impression that it's REALLY exciting!

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

Great update!! Cute redheads, lovely horses and a ride on the Peoplemover!!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Wow, what a great trip report!

I love the People Mover montage.

And I also think that model city is cool. From what I understand, this is a piece of a much larger model that used to be at Disneyland.

Good for you for watching the Flag retreat ceremony. It was just this past year that we watched it for the first time.

And also good for you for finally getting a GAG. And, I'm with you on the cornbread. That is some good stuff!

I can't wait to read more!

TCD

[MLM5.. aka Judy 97]

Wow, HS band director, and you were able to take a vacation, as the mother of band children, I'm in awe because I know how much you work :)

I have a confession, we have never done the people mover... gasp.. I know, bad mommy, but it's on my TO DO LIST

I had no idea about the flag retreat ceremony, how wonderful and I will defintaley be on the look out for that next time.

Have I mentioned those are the cutest red heads evah??

[HappyCamper...Deb 61]

Ooooooo, I could pinch those cutie-pie cheeks! Your girls are adorable!!! :doodebug: The family shot of M&M is a great one.

The People Mover is one of my favorites too. Nothing like a lengthy ride in comfort and a break from the crowds...with lots to see and take photos of.....

Thanks for sharing the Flag Ceremony with us too. I have never had the opportunity to see this and am excited to check it out next time. So cool that Disney does this!

Are you wishing to be a member of the Mainstreet Philharmonic? (Band teacher??)

Looking forward to more. It's mid-winter break for me and the snow is falling, so your TR is a perfectly-timed treat. :)

[caveat lector 181]

Dude! You are on a roll!!!

I am pro People Mover

I am pro Cornbread

I am pro Disney giving the Navy Vet a free flag

I am pro God Bless America

I am pro letting people hear it that usurp protocol to get on a bus/boat before folks that have been waiting longer. It's kind of funny. I'm slightly above average in size and very Type A personality. Probably not the greatest combination. However, I have no problem letting people know it when they ignore social etiquette. I don't do it in anger, but more to have fun and make perps uncomfortable. What's even funnier is the great folks I got to meet (and talk to) because I spoke up. The folks around would inevitible start a conversation with, "I'm glad you said something....." So, in a strange way I benefitted from those rude peoples actions. I got to meet some nice folks and have great conversations, with someone whom I would have otherwise stood quietly in line with.

[CKCK 45]

Awesome report and pictures!!!

I too, use a space heater in my camper. I don't have a furnace, but I have a CoolCat/Heat Pump, and the fan is kinda loud, and it doesn't work much below 40 anyway.

But, I also have a propane tank top heater, and I use that thing outside!! Easier and smaller than a fire!

I like the outside heater idea, but hopefully we won't be camping enough in the cold to need one!

It was great meeting you last week!

Phew, thanks for the update!

You may be a dork, but you are not alone. I love the people mover too. Love the pic of your little one on it, her face gives the impression that it's REALLY exciting!

Glad there are other dorks out there.

Great update!! Cute redheads, lovely horses and a ride on the Peoplemover!!

Thanks! But while I may have had something to do with the redheads, I had nothing to do with the horses.

Wow, what a great trip report!

I love the People Mover montage.

And I also think that model city is cool. From what I understand, this is a piece of a much larger model that used to be at Disneyland.

Good for you for watching the Flag retreat ceremony. It was just this past year that we watched it for the first time.

And also good for you for finally getting a GAG. And, I'm with you on the cornbread. That is some good stuff!

I can't wait to read more!

TCD

It wasn't our first GAG ever, but first of the trip (there is one more to come). We had our first back in November and I was hooked! I actually ate the leftovers in the truck on the way home after our trip.

Wow, HS band director, and you were able to take a vacation, as the mother of band children, I'm in awe because I know how much you work :)

I have a confession, we have never done the people mover... gasp.. I know, bad mommy, but it's on my TO DO LIST

I had no idea about the flag retreat ceremony, how wonderful and I will defintaley be on the look out for that next time.

Have I mentioned those are the cutest red heads evah??

We were on winter break, so of course we immediately headed to the Fort!

Glad you have band kids! I wish everyone would at least give music a try...it has the ability to add so much to people's lives, teaches kids so much more than they can get anywhere else, and affects young children's brain development tremendously!

Ooooooo, I could pinch those cutie-pie cheeks! Your girls are adorable!!! :doodebug: The family shot of M&M is a great one.

Thanks for sharing the Flag Ceremony with us too. I have never had the opportunity to see this and am excited to check it out next time. So cool that Disney does this!

Are you wishing to be a member of the Mainstreet Philharmonic? (Band teacher??)

1. Do you want to pinch my cutie-pie cheeks, or my girls'?

2. The Flag Ceremony was just one of those really neat little things that Disney does. Not a huge deal, but really cool.

3. I'm a trumpet player, and have talked before about how that has to be a cool gig. Apparently (according to Lou) it's a pretty tough gig to get.

Dude! You are on a roll!!!

I am pro People Mover

I am pro Cornbread

I am pro Disney giving the Navy Vet a free flag

I am pro God Bless America

I am pro letting people hear it that usurp protocol to get on a bus/boat before folks that have been waiting longer. It's kind of funny. I'm slightly above average in size and very Type A personality. Probably not the greatest combination. However, I have no problem letting people know it when they ignore social etiquette. I don't do it in anger, but more to have fun and make perps uncomfortable. What's even funnier is the great folks I got to meet (and talk to) because I spoke up. The folks around would inevitible start a conversation with, "I'm glad you said something....." So, in a strange way I benefitted from those rude peoples actions. I got to meet some nice folks and have great conversations, with someone whom I would have otherwise stood quietly in line with.

Dude, we definitely need to hang out. We could accomplish a lot of attitude changing around the World!

[HappyCamper...Deb 61]

1. Do you want to pinch my cutie-pie cheeks, or my girls'?

2. The Flag Ceremony was just one of those really neat little things that Disney does. Not a huge deal, but really cool.

3. I'm a trumpet player, and have talked before about how that has to be a cool gig. Apparently (according to Lou) it's a pretty tough gig to get.

1. (Gawrsh, I meant the cute, littel girls...but now that you mention it....)

2. It's the little things that make Disney so darn special...and taking time to honor the flag as they do? Outstanding!

3. What's Walt's saying? ^-^ "If you can dream it, you can do it"

Looking forward to more....

:popcorn:

[CKCK 45]

Moving along...

This will be a relatively short update, as I didn't take many pictures on Monday.

Deal.

Thankfully it started warming up on Monday, so it wasn't miserable for our DHS Ropedrop. I had been to ropedrop at DHS once before the day before Thanksgiving last year, and it was pretty packed. That time I was second in line at the turnstile, and nearly got run over by the CRAZY PEOPLE running down the street to Toy Story. At that time they had additional ropes set up going to each section of the park, which they made us wait at until it was actually 9:00. We went down the road to RnRC and ToT, and it was crazy there too.

At that time I vowed to never run to a ride, because that's just plain ridiculous.

So...on Monday we expected to be greated by another rope in the park. I guess because it wasn't as busy of a time (even though we thought it was) they didn't have the second rope. So we walked straight to TSM and got our FPs and then walked right on the ride with basically no wait.

It was our first Toy Story experience.

Pretty cool.

Wouldn't run for it.

Don't remember my score.

No pictures.

Deal.

After our first ride there we headed to the Muppets.

It was a packed house.

It was us and another lady and girl.

I felt bad for Sweetums (monster guy who comes out), as there was basically no audience. At the end he waved at DD2...he didn't know that she hates characters, especially big ugly ones.

Oh well.

After that we split up...DW took DD2 to the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground, and DD3.5 and I went to Star Tours!

I had never ridden it.

She obviously never had, as she was just barely 40" on this trip.

I wasn't sure how she would handle it.

She loved it.

YES!

No pics again.

Deal.

I know you are needing some pics now, so here is my Honey I Shrunk the Kids montage:

Short montage.

After that we went back to TSM to use our FPs, then headed out.

It was a good morning. We beat the crowds, had some fun, and got outta dodge. My kind of park experience.

Our friends were soon to arrive, so we needed to eat, nap, and get ready.

So that's what we did.

Now I have some bad news.

Our friends don't want their pictures in my TR. It's too bad, because I got some really good ones of all the girls.

Fail.

That's okay, we still love them.

Here is some history on our friends:

I have changed their names to protect their identities.

Hector has been my best friend since high school.

Fransesca has also been my friend since high school.

They knew who each other was in high school, but weren't really friends.

I became closer friends with his wife in college and then she and my wife (who are the same age and graduated together) became closer as well.

Yes, we all went to high school together and were all in band. My DW and Fransesca are the same age, as are Hector and myself.

We set them up at our wedding (seated them together and planted the seeds), and the rest is history.

BAM!

Team CKCK winning.

They brought their DD5 (who we will call Apple) with them for her first WDW trip ever. They didn't tell her about it until they got in the car that morning.

Sweet.

They arrived, and my DW and Fransesca headed to the Grand Floridian for their Garden View Tea Room ADR and left us with the girls.

This is the picture they sent us from their tea:

So this is the picture we responded with:

Yes, that's cold GAG and a beer.

Husbands: 1

Wives: 0

BAM!

After our snack we hit the Settlement playground.

Wives came back to rescue us shortly thereafter.

So we drank more beer.

And then drank more.

We grilled some steak, hit the campfire singalong, fireworks on the beach, and bed.

And more beer.

Next up:

MK ropedrop

Dolewhip

Handbells

Wishes

Crazy Crowds

Long Arse Day

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

Another great update. I learned to Deal a long time ago so I am ready for whatever you've got!

I agree, never run for a ride, it's going to be there when I get there.

Grand Tea versus Cold GAG and beer? Tea wins hands down.

I'm glad it finally started to warm up for you!

Now I will have to Deal and wait for the next update. :waiting2-smiley: :doodebug:

[HappyCamper...Deb 61]

I agree, tea wins for me too.

Your girls are really photogenic.

Looking forward to more...

:popcorn:

[Doggmeat-aka Todd 3]

i think those wires are there to confuse birds, but not sure.

[stefa70 205]

You are losing your lazy status by updating daily....but I'm happy about it!

I'm going against the "girl grain" as usual. I'm totally with you on the cold gag and beer!! :jumpforjoy

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Awesome!

Great job on the update!

I am surprised that you had the Muppets all to yourself. I kind of thought the movie that came out recently would renew interest in this attraction.

I love the HISTK Playground montage. Those photos bring back some great memories for me. And some bad ones. Like trying to find my kids in that place on a hot, humid day, crawling through those damned ant tunnels. Good times!

I love the photos of your girls on the Fort swings. The TCD girls used to love the Fort swings. They would rather do that than go to a park. Too bad there is only one swing set left in the Fort. There used to be more.

Now, about this tea/GAG debate. . .

I'm going against the "girl grain" as usual. I'm totally with you on the cold gag and beer!! :jumpforjoy

Thank you, Stef, for being the voice of reason.

GAG > Tea!

Any day.

Anyone who thinks differently is not a Fiend, and must turn in her Fiend card and stay over at the Grand Floridian with the rest of the tea lovers.

TCD

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

Thank you, Stef, for being the voice of reason.

GAG > Tea!

Any day.

Anyone who thinks differently is not a Fiend, and must turn in her Fiend card and stay over at the Grand Floridian with the rest of the tea lovers.

TCD

I like a nice GAG as well as the next Fiend BUT I have a posse who will agree with me that Grand Floridian Afternoon Tea trumps a cold GAG everytime. My solution to this conumdrum do both!! Not at the same time of course. :rofl2:

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I like a nice GAG as well as the next Fiend BUT I have a posse who will agree with me that Grand Floridian Afternoon Tea trumps a cold GAG everytime. My solution to this conumdrum do both!! Not at the same time of course. :rofl2:

Blasphemy!

No Fortin' way does Tea and Scones (whatever scones are) trump GAG and beer.

In the interest of full disclosure, I have to admit that I have never been to that hoity-toity tea party at the Grand Floridian.

And I never will.

TCD

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

Blasphemy!

No Fortin' way does Tea and Scones (whatever scones are) trump GAG and beer.

In the interest of full disclosure, I have to admit that I have never been to that hoity-toity tea party at the Grand Floridian.

And I never will.

TCD

It's not a guy thing, I'll give you that but your girls would love it!!

Sorry CKCK, my hijack is over. That is if Andrew can let the whole Tea versus GAG, go! :rofl2: