MillieHubbard's TR

Not sure, but leaning toward Pop Century since we'll want to make this more of a budget friendly visit. Since we already have park tickets we could go for a week and not bust the budget. We actually like Pop, especially the bldgs around the computer pool, the pool is great and closer to parking too.

I do love Riverside but we are also working very hard to be debt free so unless there is another great deal offered we'll look to be a little more frugal for this trip. But that's OK a budget friendly trip is still better than no trip at all!!

Day 6 - more Resort relaxation

Day two of our R&R at the resort. We slept in until 10 am!! That's a real luxury for me, I'm generally up by 5:45/6:00 am on workdays and on the weekends the furbabies have me up no later than 7:30 am for their morning "constitutional"!

DH got up and made a trip over to Central Casting to find out about being a seasonal employee again. His friends had offered him a place to stay for the 4-6 weeks of the summer if he's able to work for Disney again. He offered to exchange household handyman duties and babysitting services while he's there in exchange for room. We'll see how things work out it won't happen for this year since he's back to school in 3 weeks but I can see the "wheels turning" for next summer!

While DH was running his errand I logged on and checked email and posted on WDWFG. I had promised to try and post while we were on vacation but didn't get to it as much as I thought I would�we were having TOO MUCH FUN!!

When DH got back to the resort we changed into our suits and headed for the pool. The water was still pretty cool from all of the rain we'd had during the week, it was enjoyable but the hot tub was better!! We spent a couple of hours at the pool but then it was time to get changed and meet our friends. They were coming to the resort before we headed off to dinner.

We had run out of pins to trade so we got in touch with one of the traders at DTD and arranged to pick up a batch of pins to trade. Pin trading is one of the activities that we really enjoy on our trips to WDW and we still had our "long" day at MK yet to go. We were able to meet at DTD and pick up the pins before we headed off to Wilderness Lodge for dinner.

We had eaten at Whispering Canyon in the past and on top of enjoying a delicious meal, had a great time with the dining room "activities". On our last trip there our friend had earned the nickname "Cowboy Chris". Well it was payback time!! Since DHs BD was the next day we made sure to let our CM/Server know this little fact!! We were also celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary on this trip so our "friends" made sure to let our server know this fact as well!!

All of us really enjoy BBQ so we of course ordered the Canyon Skillet. DH and his buddy are fairly "big eaters" but both decided that they were going to take it easy this time! We placed our order and sat back to enjoy the atmosphere while we waited to be served. There were of course, the "ketchup antics", the "straw drops" and all of the other entertainment that goes on Whispering Canyon. However, added to the fun this trip was DH being "invited" to lead the stick pony parade around the dining room. Being an elementary teacher this is right up his alley! I had hysterics watching him lead a parade of 4-9 year olds around the dining room. I think they went around the room at least twice possibly three times.

Our food came and we all dug into our favorites. I love the cornbread, Barbara loves the corn on the cob, the guys love the pulled pork and we all loved the brisket. I do love the BBQ too, but that cornbread is so moist and yummy!! Oh�the mashed potatoes were really good too! Our first skillet was loaded with BBQ brisket, chicken, pulled pork and ribs, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, and baked beans. For our refill skillet we asked for more mashed potatoes, ribs, pulled pork and brisket. The chicken was good but nowhere near as good ad the pork, ribs and brisket!!

Since it was DH's BD the next day he was presented with a delicious BD cupcake complete with candle and serenade. Our server cajoled our friend Barbara to lead the dining room in singing "Happy Birthday". We were surrounded on all sides by tables that were also celebrating - there was a 60th BD at one of the tables with at least 20 people celebrating. There were also graduations and anniversaries being celebrated. After dessert our CM had one more "surprise" for us. Since we were celebrating a milestone anniversary, we were "invited" to lead the dining room in a rendition of the Hokey-Pokey!! I'd have to say this was one of the most entertaining dinners we'd ever had at the Canyon. I'm thinking that maybe they've turned up the "antics" a notch for the What Will You Celebrate promotion!

Sadly dinner had come to an end, we'd had so much fun that it was sad to leave. That said, we headed over to DTD to do a little shopping and pin trading for a couple of hours. At that hour, 9:30, we had a little trouble finding a parking space at DTD. I like to park at the Marketplace end but it's really tough to find a space at that end in the evening so we ended up down in the Pleasure Island section. Since we were starting in the middle, we headed toward the West End and then took the ferry down to the Marketplace. We had fun spending a little more time with our friends since this was the last we'd see them before heading home. That part is always sad, we made good friends while we lived in Orlando which is an added incentive to get to the "World" as often as we can...another "tick" in the "Yes Column" for purchasing a DVC share!

It was time to head back to the resort and get a good nights sleep for our big day at MK the next day. Magic Hours would be in the evening and the park would be open until 2:00 AM!! We needed to get some sleep!

Day 7 - Magic Kingdom Marathon to follow

@dsoup...yes, he was a photopass photographer and LOVED it! He was depressed for a month when he got the "termination" letter. We have a Disney Store at our local mall, he's going to look into working there part-time. They do receive some Disney benefits so it might be worth it.

It sure wouldn't be as much fun as working at the parks though. He loved interacting with the guests. Funny thing was that even as a CM, it still felt like vacation when we went there for the day...the "magic" was never lost for him.

@ cdub and glassslipper...sleeping in for me is usually 8 am but by Day 6 I was ready for a little recuperation! And I needed to rest up for the MK Marathon!!

Millie

Yes, he did get to do quite a few character shoots. He was primarily at AK and did character shoots there and also some at MK...Ariel's Grotto usually at MK.

Strictly by the hour. Disney is careful to remove any hint of "high pressure" sales techniques. It was surprising the number of people who didn't believe that the photopass "service" was free, that the only time you had to pay for any photos was if you wanted to purchase them. We like to use the Photopass service and then just "view" the photos when we get home. We don't really keep photo albums or scrapbooks so we generally don't purchase the photos.

I also really like that they'll take a photo for you with your own camera. It's a fantastic "free" service provided that just sets Disney apart even more from the other parks.