The TCD Gang Runs Disney-2013 Princess Half Marathon Weekend TR

[DaveInTN 3,247]

I'm leaning towards the ceramic ones because I think they look so much nicer but no-one I know has ceramic ones to ask the "daily wear" questions. She wants to be able to change out the colors. I think she's going to get sick to death of that silver after a while, and the colorful rubber bands will lose their charm after three months.

My girls were able to change out colors at their visits....does that mean they had ceramic? INC almost always took them for visits so I just paid the bills. LOL>

[Beckers 1,136]

please provide ample warning of the gross pic. I can't handle anything with fingernails or toenails.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

We've already done 3 sets of braces, and I never knew about the ceramic ones. But whatever my girls have must be ok, because none of them have had major issues with cuts or sores.

Ready for the gross picture, Andrew.

Twin #1's are our third and final set of braces.

It worked out well that we only had to pay for one set at a time.

Too bad I can't do that with college.

You are not ready for the gross picture.

Trust me.

You're not.

The creatures in the Star Wars bar scene have nothing on those race participants, excluding you guys of course. You and the twins looked very Disney appropriate.

LOL @ the Star Wars reference.

So true.

But, If we do this race again, and we want to, we will be joining the costume people.

Will we ever learn the names of the twins?

No.

What if I put their names on here and creepy Santa shows up at my house looking for them?

My lips and cheeks were horrible for about a week after the initial placement. After that I don't remember any cuts. I do remember awful tension and pain every time they were adjusted. Hated it.

I'm leaning towards the ceramic ones because I think they look so much nicer but no-one I know has ceramic ones to ask the "daily wear" questions. She wants to be able to change out the colors. I think she's going to get sick to death of that silver after a while, and the colorful rubber bands will lose their charm after three months.

TCD, you see her daily, obviously. :) So if it's not noticeable then it's probably not an issue. I was just curious because they sound awesome, I was afraid there might be a lurking cosmetic issue that isn't advertised. Hope it wasn't an offensive question.

Kids are odd. They're not twins, but our son isn't losing teeth. New teeth are coming in, but the baby teeth are still firmly attached. He had "shark teeth" last month. Freaky when I looked down and saw two rows of bottom teeth. So chances are if things don't change, we'll periodically pull his baby teeth as he gets older.

Looking forward to the gross photo too.

No worries. I didn't find your question offensive at all. I think there must be little rubber bands holding the wires on to the brackets. I guess you could use the colored ones, which would be an odd look. But teenagers like that, right?

Twin #1 had to have several baby teeth pulled. And that ain't cheap. What happened to the days of the string tied to a door knob?

Do not look forward to the gross photo. You will be sorry you saw it.

My girls were able to change out colors at their visits....does that mean they had ceramic? INC almost always took them for visits so I just paid the bills. LOL>

I think the ceramic refers to the brackets being clear, as opposed to the usual metal ones.

But I don't know- I just pay the bills too.

And Twin #1 drives herself to the orthodontist! She loves sitting in the waiting room with all the middle school kids. Not.

please provide ample warning of the gross pic. I can't handle anything with fingernails or toenails.

This is worse than fingernails or toenails. Don't say I didn't warn you.

TCD

[magnoliafig 51]

My girls were able to change out colors at their visits....does that mean they had ceramic? INC almost always took them for visits so I just paid the bills. LOL>

Not necessarily.

Ceramic braces are the "clear" or "invisible" braces. I see them on A LOT of women who are going into college or already in the professional field. Not so much on kids. And our ortho has given us the choice, but he sort of kind of hemhawed and suggested the traditional ones are still his preferred type when dealing with kids.

I kind of thought all brackets require the bands but the ortho said "not really". Maybe he meant he doesn't apply the colorful bands because they're supposed to be invisible. I know she'll have fun swapping colors the first few times. But then she's going to get tired of looking at silver in her mouth and will start grumbling. "You shouldn't have let me get the silver braces."

I can't wait until I am able to say "here is your doctor's appointment time, see you when you get home." for those minor check-ups. :)

TCD, you're scaring me about that gross photo now.

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

After all these warnings, I am VERY scared of the picture already.

[Big Kahuna aka John 71]

Finally here and all caught up! Waiting on this photo, can't be that bad.. :whew:

[alexwyattmommy 181]

Wondering if I should turn off the computer now so I don't have bad nightmares.

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

Wondering if I should turn off the computer now so I don't have bad nightmares.

you are good for the night as TCD will not likely post another update until the morrow

[alexwyattmommy 181]

Whew. Thanks. :hugs2:

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

Whew. Thanks. :hugs2:

no prob... now let's just hope he doesn't prove me wrong but I have been right twice today and three is a charm

[Beckers 1,136]

I'm only going to read this report on my phone so that said picture will be small.

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

I'm only going to read this report on my phone so that said picture will be small.

Good plan

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

TCD, you're scaring me about that gross photo now.

After all these warnings, I am VERY scared of the picture already.

Good, you should be scared.

I don't want anyone to say I didn't warn them.

Finally here and all caught up! Waiting on this photo, can't be that bad.. :whew:

Famous last words.

Dude, if I say it's bad, it's bad.

You'll see for yourself very soon.

Wondering if I should turn off the computer now so I don't have bad nightmares.

you are good for the night as TCD will not likely post another update until the morrow

no prob... now let's just hope he doesn't prove me wrong but I have been right twice today and three is a charm

Nicki was right this time. What were the other two?

I'm only going to read this report on my phone so that said picture will be small.

Good plan

Yes, good plan.

It will still be bad.

But in a smaller way.

And that's good. Because this thing is big.

TCD

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

I cannot remember how I was right the other two times....but I was. Now just waiting to skip past the gross out pic

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Time to move on.

Which brings us one step closer to the gross photo.

Actually, this is the last update before we get there.

You've been warned.

So, we had been up at 4:30 am, "run" the 5K, and visited AK.

It was time for a rest.

Did I mention the weather?

I don't think so.

Do you know where the highest reported US temperature was reported from on Saturday, February 23, 2013?

It was none other than Orlando, Florida, where it reached a high of 89 degrees.

Hard to imagine.

What is the temperature outside right now wherever you are reading this TR?

Here, on the morning of March 7, 2013, on the west coast of central Florida, it is 46 degrees.

A big snowstorm hit the mid-Atlantic states last night.

And, I know that there were big snowstorms in the mid-west and north-east over the weekend of February 22.

But, at the Pop Century Resort, where the TCD gang was now taking a breather, it was hot, hot, hot!

It is good to be TCD.

I like the Pop Century Resort.

Not anywhere near as much as I like the Fort.

But I like it.

For this trip, for the first time ever, I sprung for what they call a preferred room.

It cost something like $10 more a night for a preferred room.

Which I always thought was ridiculous.

But, every time we've stayed here before, we had a long walk to the main building where the food court and transportation is.

Supposedly, the preferred rooms are closer to that stuff.

I didn't think it was worth paying extra for, but that is all they had left when I made the reservation.

So preferred it was.

We ended up being on the first floor of building 6.

This is the view right outside of our window:

It is hard to take a rest in the afternoon in a hotel room.

The girls wanted to watch TV.

I just wanted to sleep.

I really missed the official TCD hammock.

I wish I had brought it.

I could have tied it up between a couple of those giant foosball players right outside our door.

I wonder if anyone would have said anything?

I did manage to doze off for a few moments.

But that was it.

The girls were in to a movie, so I decided to use my time productively and go for a little walking tour of the resort.

That would make a nice TR post, I figured.

You may be reading this in someplace where you are freezing.

Maybe this will warm you up.

So let's go.

Here we are right outside our door. We were staying in room 6101. This is the 70's section of the resort, hence the symbol of an 8-Track on the room number sign:

This is the view to the right, just outside of our door:

Can you guess what that big thing is right over there?

It's a giant Mickey Mouse phone:

I actually remember these from the 70's.

They were a big deal. And expensive.

You young folks may not remember this, but there was a time when people couldn't own their own telephones- you had to rent them from the phone company. Can you imagine? These Mickey phones came out once people were allowed to buy and own their own phone equipment. And they weren't cheap.

From our room, I headed toward Classic Hall, which is what they call the big building where you check-in, and they house the food court. The Goofy splash zone was dry:

And it stayed dry for the entire trip.

There's a big map of the resort posted here. Take a look, as it may help you follow along as we take our walk. We began this walk right under the 70's that you see there on the map:

This is the outside of the back of Classic Hall:

The main pool is right here. While people in the north were bundled up and hunkered down for snowstorms, the pool here was getting a lot of action:

Look at these flowers! If you look out your window right now, what do you see? I was looking at this:

Another look at the main pool:

I think the sun was in my eyes, which is the only explanation I have for why Balloo's head is cut off in this photo:

You can say a lot of things about the decor of the Pop Century resort. One thing you cannot say is that it is subtle:

Look at this. A beautiful hibiscus plant is blooming on February 23rd:

That is why I live in Florida!

They have a splash area for the kids here:

This is the bridge that will take you to the Art of Animation resort:

You can see all of the sections of the Art of Animation resort from over here.

There's the Little Mermaid section across the lake:

You can see the Lion King and Nemo sections right next to the Little Mermaid section:

And the Cars buildings are on the other end:

I like this bridge. The fact that there is such easy access to the Art of Animation resort from the Pop Century resort makes the Pop the best value resort on WDW property by far. The Pop has a nice food court, but you can also easily take a nice walk right across this bridge to the AoA food court, which is even nicer:

The 50's area of the resort is over that way. I didn't feel like walking over there, so I didn't. That's all I can show you of the 50's area:

Instead, I headed toward the 80's and 90's section.

Security! :

I cut between some buildings, and noticed that these azeleas appeared to be past peak blooming time. That is really early. We have had a warm winter:

I like this Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head sculpture:

This is one of the 70's buildings. Note how the stairs are enclosed by a giant 8-Track Tape:

It was right here where it happened.

I saw the grossest thing that I ever saw at WDW.

Right here.

I am going to show that photo in the next update.

Get the Brain Bleach and Mental Floss ready.

You've been warned!

TCD

[alexwyattmommy 181]

Dare I peek?

[dvccamper 32]

Thank you for the nice photos. It is currently 32 degrees, snowing, with 40 mph wind gusts. So yes, I appreciate the warm weather pics.

As for the gross one, bring it on.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

:panic: :panic: :panic: :panic: :panic:

[kampfirekim 260]

What is the temperature outside right now wherever you are reading this TR?

Here, on the morning of March 7, 2013, on the west coast of central Florida, it is 46 degrees.

I like the Pop Century Resort.

Not anywhere near as much as I like the Fort.

But I like it.

You can say a lot of things about the decor of the Pop Century resort. One thing you cannot say is that it is subtle:

Get the Brain Bleach and Mental Floss ready.

You've been warned!

TCD

1. It is 3/7/13 @ 11:25 a.m. The temperature is 48 degrees.

2. Me too. My parents have stayed there and we went over for a visit. Very cool. You're right. It is not subtle. I think that's where the POP! comes in.

3. Ready. Bring it.

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

Do we need barf bags?

[BuckeyeFortMama 43]

37 degrees and snowing on the trip to school this morning.

I purposefully don't read trip reports on time because I don't want to wait for updates, but since I am now waiting I must take the bait my husband didn't and say...

every decent family has at least 1 buckeye in it!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Dare I peek?

Sure. You know you want to.

Thank you for the nice photos. It is currently 32 degrees, snowing, with 40 mph wind gusts. So yes, I appreciate the warm weather pics.

As for the gross one, bring it on.

That photo will be up within the next hour.

:panic: :panic: :panic: :panic: :panic:

You got that right.

1. It is 3/7/13 @ 11:25 a.m. The temperature is 48 degrees.

2. Me too. My parents have stayed there and we went over for a visit. Very cool. You're right. It is not subtle. I think that's where the POP! comes in.

3. Ready. Bring it.

Geez.

It was colder here this morning. It's all the way up to 55 now.

Do we need barf bags?

I think some of you will. I didn't. But I don't have a weak stomach.

37 degrees and snowing on the trip to school this morning.

I purposefully don't read trip reports on time because I don't want to wait for updates, but since I am now waiting I must take the bait my husband didn't and say...

every decent family has at least 1 buckeye in it!

What bait?

What did I miss?

BTW- My Uncle (my mom's sister's husband) is some kind of big deal professor at Ohio State. So the TCD family has a buckeye in it.

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

OK, this is it.

This is where TCD delivers.

Remember, TCD always delivers.

I said I was going to show you a photo of the grossest thing I ever saw at WDW.

And I was not lying.

If you have a weak stomach, skip this post.

I'm not kidding.

Having lived in Florida for over 30 years now, I know that when spring break time rolls around, there will be visitors from other places who don't realize the toll winter has taken on their bodies. So, I am usually prepared for a bit of unpleasantness when visiting a place like WDW. You know, like a big man with a hairy back in a Speedo.

And truth be told, I have seen some bad sights at the Meadow Swimmin' Pool at the good old Fort. Especially when the freeloaders invade.

But, I've never seen anything this bad.

As I was enjoying my Saturday afternoon walk around the premises, this lady not from this land sauntered by:

I hate to do it, but you need to get a good look at this. I had to, so you do too:

I have no words.

But that wasn't the worst of it.

After that sight, I turned and walked in the other direction.

I couldn't look.

When I thought it was safe, I tried walking back to my room.

Guess who stopped to play Twister? :

A closer look:

And by play Twister, I mean she was playing Twister.

I have no photos of that.

I quickly walked away.

And got back to my room, locked the door and drew the drapes.

The girls had gone out to get a drink.

When they came back, they told me that I had missed quite a sight.

What, I asked?

They said a large lady in a thong had come in to the Food Court.

I showed them the photos on my camera.

It was her.

OMG.

That's all.

TCD

[BuckeyeFortFan 35]

Could we just go back to pictures of monkey butts?

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

I have no idea what the temp is outside. I don't even know what the thermostat says it is inside. I just know I am sitting here freezing. I already told dh i want a heater in my room next winter. I have been cold for months now. Your pictures helped me feel better. A little.

Not sure i am ready for the gross out picture.