A new baby, six months off...and Disney? WHY NOT!!!!

[FairyGodmotherJen]

Hello, everyone! I never thought I’d be planning another Disney trip so soon, but here I am! Let me fill you in on the characters here, and then I’ll tell our story…

Me – aka FairyGodmotherJen (I was the Fairy Godmother in my high school production of Rogers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, so I’ve got a soft spot for her) – 34, currently a SAHM (I teach fourth grade, but I’m on maternity leave). I began my love affair with Disney when my parents took us twice as kids. I don’t know the dates, but the first time we went, it was only the MK. I even took a trip to Disney with two friends for spring break my senior year of high school (yeah, I know, I was a geek). This will be my 7th trip to the World (which is about five too many, according to my dad) :confused3 . I love to scrapbook, read and sing at our church.

DH – aka Mickey (but I don't think I can refer to him that in this PTR - too weird!) - 34, IT guy extraordinaire. He went to the World once as a kid, but stayed off site. First on-site visit was in 2000 with me, DB and my parents for their 30th anniversary trip – yes, my mom opted for a family vacation instead of a trip to Ireland!!! (We were glad, anyway!) He completely enjoyed it, and once we had kids agreed that we would have to take them there while they were still young enough to enjoy the magic. This will be his fifth trip. He loves Star Wars, Star Trek (ok, most things sci-fi), Red Sox baseball, and his kids (he’s an AWESOME Daddy). His favorite character is Sorcerer Mickey, btw. :smickey:

DD – aka Tink :tink: – 7 yrs old and in second grade. Tink fits her personality well – she’s sweet, but very stubborn and cranky at times (just for the record, everyone says she’s a mini-me…hmm…) :rolleyes1 . She’s been to the World twice before this trip (as has DS1). I will never forget her seeing the Castle for the first time. She was four and, once she stopped staring, insisted that we needed to “go see her” (Cinderella). We did – had breakfast with her at the palace the next morning, in fact. princess: She loves Tink, the princesses and IASW.

DS 1 – aka Goofy :goofy: – 4 and a half. He could really be :stitch: just as much as Goofy, but he has such a sweet heart I can’t really call him that ALL the time. He will be starting pre-K in two weeks, and can’t wait. We’re a little worried about how his teachers are going to keep him busy. He’s all boy – plays soccer, is mesmerized by trains and planes, and loves the Wii DH got for his birthday in June. I have to seriously limit the time he spends on it. His favorite Disney things are Cars, Nemo, Wall-E and (currently) Lady and the Tramp (I know, an odd mix, but ??).

DS 2 – aka Pooh pooh: – 5 months old for the trip. He’s the reason I’m still home – I’ve been lucky enough to scrape out 6 months at home with each of my kiddos so that I can nurse them easier. He’s a happy baby for the most part, though we’re wondering if he’s starting to cut teeth :scared1: . He’s also getting really close to sleeping through the night. :banana: He’s actually been sitting in his bouncy seat next to me, growling happily (his newest sound) as I type.

[FairyGodmotherJen]

Here are a few pictures of the crew...we haven't downloaded pictures from the camera recently, so they're about a month old (I know, we're bad...)

DH (at Tink's birthday party, joining in the fun)
http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/747/142795Bryparty1.jpg

Tink:
http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/747/142795Haley.jpg

Goofy (at VA Beach, chilling out)
http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/747/142795jack1.jpg

Pooh (with Tink - gotta get the good ones of him downloaded!)
http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/747/142795WillHaley.jpg

How this trip came about:
When we left Disney after our Grand Gathering trip in June of 2007, we were already talking about when we’d be coming back while at the Orlando airport. We decided that we needed a year or two (I was still paying on a few things), and set 2010 as the return date. My sister-in-law and I are both teachers, so (usually) summer is the only time we can go. Well, about two months later we found out that Pooh was on his way. Didn’t change the 2010 thing – he’d still be free, after all! And I did my best to stay off the DIS for a while, since it was making me not want to wait three years!! But I got back on in March of this year, when I was too big and pregnant to really be able to do a whole lot, and saw reminders about Free Dining. I jokingly said to DH that we ought to go this fall, since I’d be home. He just laughed at me. Then, a few days later, the Free Dining offer actually came out. Now it was harder to ignore. But it was crazy – I mean, I was staying home for six months! Now, my paychecks are spread out so that I can get paid over the summer, so I knew I’d be getting paid through August. And I knew we had the other two months saved for (we’d worked hard for that). But there was no way we’d be able to afford to go down to Disney.

And then, good old Mr. Bush decided to send everyone a tax rebate to stimulate the economy. The advance notice of the refund came in the mail. Now I knew we were getting about the same amount it would take to get us all to Disney, and I was in trouble. Seriously, we’re usually the kind of people that take that money and stuff it into the bank. But there were a few other things on my mind. The biggest one was that I was actually home during Free Dining! Also, since Tink was in second grade, this would be the last time she could really take time out of school without me feeling like a horrible parent (our state-mandated tests start in third grade). Being a teacher, I know that these are big deals (don’t agree with it, but that’s a whole other story). And Goofy would be starting Kindergarten next year, and I was home already, and… ok, I just really wanted to go. DH needed some convincing. It turned out that it was much more about his available days off than anything else. We sat down together to make sure he had the time, and were pleased to see that he did. We decided to go for it!

Right around this time, my O.B. decided that Pooh was most likely going to be a pretty big boy, so she scheduled an induction for the next Tuesday (a week early). I was able to get my fill-in ready to go, and say goodbye to my class officially instead of suddenly just not being there one day, which was nice. And, since my Dr. had asked me to take the day before off to make sure I was relaxed and ready to go, I had time to go to AAA and book our trip!! :thumbsup2 We had decided on Sept, 4-9, staying at ASMo (the only place my kids have stayed). We got the 4 day park hoppers, preferred rooms at the hotel, and of course Free Dining. My T.A., whom I’d worked with before, just laughed at me when she found out I’d be giving birth the next day. However, she’s a big Disney fan herself, so part of her understood. The next day, I ended up passing some of the time waiting for the Pitocin to work reading the Unofficial Guide!

Next up: Planning!

[VBsHustla]

Sounds great! :) We went during free dining two years ago, and loved it! We couldn't pass it up again this year, either. Also, please tell your DH he's rooting for the wrong team. ;)

[FairyGodmotherJen]

Here are two more up-to-date pictures:
Tink and Goofy on Tink's first day of second grade:
http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/747/142795first_day_of_school-thumb.jpg

And a better one of Pooh:
http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/500/142795will-thumb.jpg

When I left off, I was reading a Disney guidebook in the labor and delivery room. :) After about 10 hours in there, Pooh arrived – all 9 lbs, 13 oz. of him (wow, was I glad they’d induced me!). So for a little while, Disney took a back burner. I’d put a hold on the reservations the day before he’d arrived, so we were ok for two weeks without touching it. DH ended up calling our TA once he went back to work, making some adjustments (adding a day to the park hoppers so that we could go to the parks on our arrival day – it was like $8 a piece or something ridiculous like that) and putting the down payment on his Disney Visa. The actual rebate from the government was deposited in our account, and I happily (if sleepily) went back to perusing the DIS for tips. It made for a great way to pass the time when Pooh was cranky – our computer chair rocks back and forth, so it soothed him and gave me something to do!

Next thing on the list: ADRs. We take this fairly seriously. DH and I love to try new things. Our kids, however…not so much. :confused: I still remember working with an unbelievably patient CM on our first trip at the desk at ASMo. We didn’t have ADRs for each night (so naïve we were!!), so she patiently scrolled through ALL of the kid’s menus in World Showcase to find a place where my kids would eat! So it’s a matter of finding a place that suits DH and I (though we don’t have to have all gourmet meals, by any means) and still had things our kids would eat. We sat down one evening (when Pooh allowed us) to pour over the menus on the DIS and AllEars. There was one must do – I’d always eaten at Chef Mickey’s as a kid, and DH had decided that it was the best place for us as a family on our first trip in 2005. We’d also enjoyed it during our larger group vacation in ’07. This time, though, DH wanted us to go there on our very first night. He felt it would get us “into the right mood.” Ok, Chef Mickey’s it was! We went back and forth on several things – we really wanted to try some new places this time. We settled on several character meals. This was ok with us, as it’d be loud enough for Pooh if he decided to get fussy, plus it would keep us from having to stand in too many long lines at Toon Town! I called the next morning and got the following ADRs:
Thurs.: Chef Mickey’s for dinner
Fri.: Whispering Canyon Café for dinner (couldn’t get in in 2007, and
wanted to try)
Sat: 8:05 breakfast at Crystal Palace (REALLY excited about this one –
new for us, had heard great things, plus who can beat an empty Main Street???)
Sun 9/7: Garden Grill for lunch (new for us)
Mon 9/8: Restaurant Marrakesh (had done in 05 and enjoyed it – yes, they have spaghetti on the kids menu, which we can order with no sauce for our picky kiddos!)

I was so excited to get everything I wanted, especially with free dining. We were now free to schedule our days around our ADRs…oops. As soon as I looked at the list, I knew we had problems. We always end our trip in the MK, even if it’s only for the evening. Late (for us – 7:40) ADRs at World Showcase were not going to work. So, it was back to the menus. I really wanted to try 1900 Park Fare, but DH was concerned that the kids would be a little overwhelmed by Lady Tremain and her daughters. Plus, we’d done CRT in ’05 and Akershus in ’07, so we’d decided no princess meals this time. We went back and forth, trying to find something that would work. Finally, we decided on…Chef Mickey’s. Yes, I know – but we’re doing breakfast now on 9/8, so we’ll have the rest of the day to do whatever. The time is later than I’d like – 9:25 (OUCH!!), but I’m now having free dining issues when I call – I can’t get an earlier time. I’ve tried twice, and I’m going to have to keep trying each week until we go.

[FairyGodmotherJen]

So now that ADRs were done, we went about our daily business. Which for me included a lot of time on the DIS boards. One day, I happened across a post about MNSSHP. It turned out we’d be there for the first night of it this year. We were there in late Sept./early October in 2005, but opted not to do this, mainly because of the price. Then we had a reservation at Chef Mickey’s on a night they had the party scheduled. At least half of the people there were in costume, ready for the evening’s festivities. That’s when I started kicking myself. “When will the kids ever have another chance to trick-or-treat in Disney World??” I kept asking myself. :confused3

I found myself going back to the post about MNSSHP again and again. So I decided to look into it before I mentioned it to DH. After all, we’d maxed out our little economic incentive already. I went to the main page and read everything I could. That didn’t help – after seeing pictures and the map from the previous year, I REALLY wanted to go now. So, I talked to DH. He was actually all for it, especially when he looked at the information available here. :thumbsup2 But I still had doubts... I’d read a post in a trip report where someone had tickets on a night that the weather was bad, but she felt like she had to drag her family there anyway, and I really wanted to be sure it was worth it before I purchased what I now knew were non-refundable tickets. Plus, DH was suggesting a bunch of costumes that would be WAY too hot for Orlando in early September. I emailed my TA to get her take on it, since I valued her opinion... It turns out that Halloween is her favorite holiday, and she’d been to it before. In fact, she’d gone dressed as Maleficent (full robes and all), and her husband had gone as Sorcerer Mickey (again, full robes). She admitted that they’d changed within about an hour and a half of getting there, but she went on and on about the fun she’d had. That really tipped the scales in my opinion, and I asked her to get us the tickets. Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, here we come! :banana:

I admit, I hadn't planned on dressing up myself when we booked, but DH has convinced me since then to go as the Incredibles, since there are five of us now. We're going to keep it simple - we're trying to find/make red shirts with the design on them, then wear black pants and have black masks for our eyes. Well, maybe we'll have masks. Tink and Goofy aren't really sure about them, and I'm not sure if Pooh is old enough to get freaked out about them or not. So the jury is still out on that part, but at least I know we've got a simple costume that won't make us melt!:cool1:

[FairyGodmotherJen]

When we had booked our trip, we had not told either Tink or Goofy. In the back of my mind, I didn’t want to bank on anything until Pooh had arrived, safe and sound. Then, we decided not to tell them because Goofy has no sense of time yet and would be asking us how many days until we went nuts, countdown calendar or not!! Just for the record, I DID bring Goofy with me when I went to meet with our TA at AAA the day before I had Pooh. He just sat in the back and played his little game, and never figured it out. :rotfl: Have to laugh – he won’t believe it someday. Anyway, we had a big extended family trip planned to VA Beach in June that had been in the works for almost a year, so we didn’t want the excitement about Disney to override that, either. So, all planning was done when the kiddos were in bed (or at least, when the older two were in bed!). Our VA Beach trip came and went. It was AWESOME – a house right across the street from the beach, with its own pool, both sets of grandparents and my brother from CA (so lots of help with the little ones), and lots of time to unwind. We came home looking forward to concentrating on our Disney trip. But when and how to tell the kids? I counted out the days once we cleared Tink’s bday in July. We decided on the date we’d tell them – about 45 days out.

DH decided he wanted to make a treasure hunt-type thing for them, since they’re into that right now. It was my job to make the countdown calendar. Well, since I scrapbook, that was easy! I used my Cricut to cut out Mickey ears, found remnants of sheets of Disney stickers from past layouts, and got to work. Of course, Goofy had a massive nosebleed as I was working furiously on it the night before the “big reveal.” I ended up having to keep him in the living room so he couldn’t see where I was working at the kitchen table. But it got done later that night - here it is:


The next afternoon, we were ready to go. Tink and Goofy are too big for naptime, but in order to keep Mommy and Daddy’s sanity, we still have “rest time.” ;) That’s where they play quietly in their rooms for at least an hour. Got me through the summer, I tell you!! Well, we were a little late getting them down for rest time since we were late getting home from church (which put us late having lunch, etc.). Then DH had to run errands that afternoon, and I ended up keeping them upstairs for a while. By the time he got home, he realized that he needed to find a video tape for the camera (I know – it’s old. We’re getting a new one for the trip). Add to this the fact that a pretty decent thunderstorm had decided to hit, and we had two kids who were REALLY done with rest time. I ended up keeping them (and Pooh) upstairs (where the noise from the storm is louder, of course) and occupied while DH set out his treasure hunt, rounded up a tape, and then cleaned our downstairs up enough so that it didn’t look trashed when we watched the tape. He seemed to be taking forever! Finally, he was ready, and we proceeded downstairs. It all went very well, really. Tink was able to read the clues, and Goofy just ran around being…well... goofy. They got to a point where they had to put together a puzzle, and it got to be too hard. DH had to step in and help. All this time, Pooh sat on my shoulder wondering what in the world was going on!

Here's Tink and Goofy working the puzzle:


Pooh, thinking we're all nuts (sorry about the red-eye):



By the time they figured out what it all meant, they really were excited.


We’d been talking a lot about Disney lately, and we’d told them that we weren’t going back until 2010, so they were really surprised. We then sat down to have dinner and watch a Disney video – something that we’re continuing every Sunday night until we leave. The kids love their “Disney movie picnic night!”
And, just to get him ready for his first Disney trip, here's one last shot of Pooh:

[FairyGodmotherJen]

When we had booked our trip, we had not told either Tink or Goofy. In the back of my mind, I didn’t want to bank on anything until Pooh had arrived, safe and sound. Then, we decided not to tell them because Goofy has no sense of time yet and would be asking us how many days until we went nuts, countdown calendar or not!! Just for the record, I DID bring Goofy with me when I went to meet with our TA at AAA the day before I had Pooh. He just sat in the back and played his little game, and never figured it out. :rotfl: Have to laugh – he won’t believe it someday. Anyway, we had a big extended family trip planned to VA Beach in June that had been in the works for almost a year, so we didn’t want the excitement about Disney to override that, either. So, all planning was done when the kiddos were in bed (or at least, when the older two were in bed!). Our VA Beach trip came and went. It was AWESOME – a house right across the street from the beach, with its own pool, both sets of grandparents and my brother from CA (so lots of help with the little ones), and lots of time to unwind. We came home looking forward to concentrating on our Disney trip. But when and how to tell the kids? I counted out the days once we cleared Tink’s bday in July. We decided on the date we’d tell them – about 45 days out.

DH decided he wanted to make a treasure hunt-type thing for them, since they’re into that right now. It was my job to make the countdown calendar. Well, since I scrapbook, that was easy! I used my Cricut to cut out Mickey ears, found remnants of sheets of Disney stickers from past layouts, and got to work. Of course, Goofy had a massive nosebleed as I was working furiously on it the night before the “big reveal.” I ended up having to keep him in the living room so he couldn’t see where I was working at the kitchen table. But it got done later that night - here it is:
http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/500/142795calendar-thumb.jpg

The next afternoon, we were ready to go. Tink and Goofy are too big for naptime, but in order to keep Mommy and Daddy’s sanity, we still have “rest time.” ;) That’s where they play quietly in their rooms for at least an hour. Got me through the summer, I tell you!! Well, we were a little late getting them down for rest time since we were late getting home from church (which put us late having lunch, etc.). Then DH had to run errands that afternoon, and I ended up keeping them upstairs for a while. By the time he got home, he realized that he needed to find a video tape for the camera (I know – it’s old. We’re getting a new one for the trip). Add to this the fact that a pretty decent thunderstorm had decided to hit, and we had two kids who were REALLY done with rest time. I ended up keeping them (and Pooh) upstairs (where the noise from the storm is louder, of course) and occupied while DH set out his treasure hunt, rounded up a tape, and then cleaned our downstairs up enough so that it didn’t look trashed when we watched the tape. He seemed to be taking forever! Finally, he was ready, and we proceeded downstairs. It all went very well, really. Tink was able to read the clues, and Goofy just ran around being…well... goofy. They got to a point where they had to put together a puzzle, and it got to be too hard. DH had to step in and help. All this time, Pooh sat on my shoulder wondering what in the world was going on!

Here's Tink and Goofy working the puzzle:
http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/500/142795puzzle_big-thumb.jpg

Pooh, thinking we're all nuts (sorry about the red-eye):
http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/500/142795will_during_hunt-thumb.jpg


By the time they figured out what it all meant, they really were excited.
http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/500/142795jack_happy1-thumb.jpg

We’d been talking a lot about Disney lately, and we’d told them that we weren’t going back until 2010, so they were really surprised. We then sat down to have dinner and watch a Disney video – something that we’re continuing every Sunday night until we leave. The kids love their “Disney movie picnic night!”
And, just to get him ready for his first Disney trip, here's one last shot of Pooh:
http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/500/142795will_hat_big-thumb.jpg

[FairyGodmotherJen]

Sounds great! :) We went during free dining two years ago, and loved it! We couldn't pass it up again this year, either. Also, please tell your DH he's rooting for the wrong team. ;)

:rotfl2: DH just shook his head. He gets a lot of that

We did free dining in 2005 - when we didn't realize we had to make ADRs ahead of time for every table service! I'm glad we know better now. Plus, planning is half the fun. Thanks for reading!

[FairyGodmotherJen]

Why is it that we’re completely at the mercy of the airlines these days? :confused: We originally scheduled a non-stop flight both ways, leaving at around 8:30 a.m. on Thursday from Indy and getting in to MCO at around 10:30 or so. On our way back, we were supposed to leave around 11:00 a.m. and be back in Indy by 2. Now, we have a direct flight from Indy, but we’re returning to Indy from MCO via Detroit!! It turns out that Northwest no longer has non-stop flights from MCO to Indy (thank goodness they’ve still got them the other way around). I’m really not looking forward to having to change planes in Detroit the first time we fly with three kids. We haul a bunch of stuff around with us, and it takes us forever to get from one place to the other in an airport. Add on three tired, whiny kids after a Disney trip (and possibly some tired, whiny adults:rolleyes1 ) and only a one-hour layover, and I’m pretty nervous about this. We’re seriously thinking about driving down when we return in the summer of 2010. I know it’s a horribly long drive, but I’m not sure we can justify the cost when there will be five of us to ticket (Pooh is currently a lap baby – which makes me nervous, to be honest, but that’s another story). We survived a 12 hour drive (more like 15 with traffic) to VA beach this summer. I’m tired of the airlines being able to play with our plans! At least our departure from Indy hasn’t changed yet (please, please don’t let me have jinxed us!) Ok, sorry for the rant, but it's got me worried...

Anyway, I’ve been trying to do some shopping to gather things so that I don’t have to go to Wal Mart and blow $200 all at once the day before the trip. I’ve got ponchos left over from last summer for DH and I, and the two oldest kids have new Disney rain coats (Princess and Cars) that are very lightweight and will be perfect (found them at Target, I think). I figure we’ll throw an adult poncho over Pooh’s stroller. I’ve got cereal for DH and I (and Pop Tarts for the kids) for the three mornings we don’t have breakfast ADRs. I have lots of little toiletries and sunscreen left over from VA beach, so I’m set there. We happened across a sale at the Disney store when DH and I were out for our anniversary, and got everyone a new shirt to wear, plus some other little goodies. I also went to the dollar store to find some goodies for the two older kids to play with in the airports/planes/in the room until they buy their souvenirs. I’ve got the misting fans from our last trip (if I can find them), just bought a PassPorter (wow, I’m really liking that thing!)…am I missing anything??? I have an extensive list that I copied from Timandleslie’s PTR and modified for myself, and I really think it covers most things. I feel weird, though – like I’m not buying enough STUFF – and am afraid I’m going to get there and not have something really important. :confused3 Then again, maybe it’s just me over-obsessing again! Feel free to chime in if you can think of something I’m missing! Goofy started pre-K today, so it's just Pooh and I most mornings of the week and it will be easier to run errands. I think I'm going to run to the Disney Store tomorrow to get Disney Dollars for them for the trip, plus get a few for DSIL's birthday on Thursday so that she can use them on her October trip (she's my planning buddy for our large-group family trips). I'm off to try and feed Pooh his first bit of cereal. Of course, he had six immunizations today (thankfully, only two shots and an oral vaccine), so he might not take to it very well. We'll have to see! Be back soon with another update...

[mickeysmyboy]

Your family is soo cute! And a lot like mine you DD sounds exactly like my 7 year old DD and your DS sound a lot like my 5 year old DS, not to mention the baby! When we went to WDW in March baby DS was 9 months and I was totally freaking out about flying with him and carting the other 2 behind us. It was a lot easier then I thought!

Anyway, can't wait to read more!

[FairyGodmotherJen]

Your family is soo cute! And a lot like mine you DD sounds exactly like my 7 year old DD and your DS sound a lot like my 5 year old DS, not to mention the baby! When we went to WDW in March baby DS was 9 months and I was totally freaking out about flying with him and carting the other 2 behind us. It was a lot easier then I thought!

Anyway, can't wait to read more!

Oh, thank you! :goodvibes That's my biggest concern right now (other than the tropical storm/hurricane forcast! :scared1: ). And I'm glad you're along for the ride!

[Jenvenza]

Adorable family!! Waiting for more!

[nts4wdw]

Your family is too cute! I told Chuck about your Disney guidebook in the delivery room and he said, "Those are our kind of people!" :rotfl: You are doing some fun stuff. Looking forward to hearing all about it!!

[FairyGodmotherJen]

Your family is too cute! I told Chuck about your Disney guidebook in the delivery room and he said, "Those are our kind of people!" :rotfl: You are doing some fun stuff. Looking forward to hearing all about it!!

My husband is very impressed that you guys are reading our report. He's pretty into yours, and that's saying something for him. ;)

Adorable family!! Waiting for more!

Thanks! :goodvibes

Just for the record, it's so odd to be "multi-quoting" people, when I've read so many other peoples' trip reports and wondered how they did that. (I had to play around with it for a little bit, but I got it!) :laughing:

[MainStMandy]

Oh your family is so beautiful...and your dh reminds me of my dbf...just a big kid!!! Our trips our overlapping...here's hoping for nice weather:cool1:

Oh and your dh is DEFINITELY rooting for the wrong team:rotfl:

[FairyGodmotherJen]

Ok, this is the first time I’ve actually sketched out what we want to do in more detail than “This park on day one, this park on day 2...” We HAVE to take breaks this trip because of the potential heat and Pooh. Add to that the fact that the two older ones are perusing our old park maps daily and adding things that they want to do (it’s a pain that DD can read now :rotfl: ), we really need to have a game plan to get as much in as possible.

Actually, the park maps have come in handy. Goofy has an ear infection (of course), but sat happily in the waiting area at CVS while we waited for the “pink medicine” because I had thought to put the park maps in the diaper bag. He actually struck up a conversation with this sweet little elderly lady who listened very patiently to him while he showed her the “Mickey Show” (Fantasmic) in the “Hot Wheels Map” (it’s an old MGM map from 2005, I think, with the LMA show on the front). He doesn’t WANT to go to the Mickey Show, just for the record, because it has Maleficent in it and he might get scared, but he points it out to everyone he sees. :laughing: It’s not on our schedule, so he doesn’t have to worry. I'll have to get a picture of him and Tink perusing the maps while they eat their afternoon snack once she's off the bus. It's become their daily ritual this week!

Anyway – back to the planning.

Day 1 – travel day

We have an 8:15 flight out of Indy this day. That should get us in (please, no delays – weather or otherwise!!) to Orlando at 10:30. I figure by the time we get out, wait for the strollers, hit ME and wait for a bus, we’ll be checking in around 12:30 or so. I tend to over-estimate times, since I didn’t the first time we went and was sorely disappointed by how long it took! Of course, having our flight delayed by almost an hour due to transponder issues didn’t help, but ME took longer than I thought, too. Don’t know why, since it’s not exactly like they’re just waiting for US to get on the bus and take off (though that would be sweet…)

Get to ASMo, check in. When we went last summer, DMIL and I honked some people off because we moved to the front of the bus after ASMu so we’d be the first ones in line to check in. :rolleyes1 I know, it was obnoxious, but DH had plans at Star Wars Weekends, and since it was Sunday it was going to be the only day he could get there, and I was going to get him there ASAP! This time, we’ll just try to sit up front to begin with so we don’t make anyone mad! :rotfl2: We’ll probably have lunch there at the hotel.

Then – what to do? DH wants to go to Downtown Disney. I’m worried that (one) the kids will need a break by then with such an early flight time, assuming our room is ready, and (two) the kids will want to spend all of their souvenir money right away, and so won’t have anything left for the rest of the vacation! We could also go to AK, since we’re really only planning on hitting the Nemo musical in that park right now. I know some of you love AK, but it’s so hot, and with kids that complain about being warm in the air conditioning sometimes, it’s not currently one of my favorites. If we had a whole week and could devote a whole day here to wander, I think it’d be different. As it is, we only have five days (including this travel day), and we have to give something up. AK is what gets left out!! DH went to do EE last summer, and while I’d like to do it, I know we’re going back in 2010 and can do it then (maybe with Goofy or Tink). We could also just hit MK, since our ADR is near there.

We have a 5:00 ADR for Chef Mickey’s. This was DH’s request – he loves this place. As I’ve only missed having a meal here one trip out of seven, I didn’t need much persuading! The kids love it, too, and it really will be a great way to kick off the vacation. Depending on how long it takes us to eat there, we might head over to MK for the evening to hit some easy rides like IASW (Tink’s favorite) and browse through the shops if we didn’t make it to DTD. I don’t want to be out too late – MNSSHP is the next day, along with an 8:15 ADR at CP. I am NOT going to have tired kids melting down on me on our first full day in the park!!!! (I know, several of you are rolling your eyes at me right now and saying, “Yeah, right.”)

Gotta go – company coming tonight. My brother and sister-in-law (she's my cohort in Disney planning) are coming down. The guys will go see the new Star Wars movie tomorrow morning, and then we have the Indianapolis DIS meet-up tomorrow afternoon! I'm looking forward to it - it'll be a great way to get us in the mood for our trip (like we need another reason!!

[mickeysmyboy]

Sounds like a great plan so far! We love Chef Mickey's too, DH and I are actually planning to dine there on our soul trip in March. It the only character meal we're going to go to. I think it will be fun for just the two of us!

I think you maybe suprised how easily Pooh will go through the vacation. My little was 9 months this past March when we went and he was more the happy to nap in the stroller when he needed too. Other then that he LOVED the whole experience! I hope he's the same in January!

[FairyGodmotherJen]

It's been a few days since I've posted - we had a lot of holiday weekend activities planned, and then I was sidelined with a stomach bug. But here we go...

Day 2

Assuming Hanna is not bearing down upon us….

We have an early day that day – an 8:15 ADR at CP. We’ve never done it, so we’re excited – especially since we get into MK early!! :cool1: My plan is to be at the bus stop as early as possible – 7:15, if that’s a realistic time to expect a bus to come by. If not, we’ll be there as early as it is realistic. I’ll ask at the desk.

Since we’re planning on asking for our check as we sit (another tip learned from the DIS!), as soon as we’re all well-fed and watered, and all charactered-out, we’ll head to the park. Since Pooh can’t ride many of the rides anyway, I plan on having taking him and head to BTMRR for fastpasses (it’s the one that I think both Tink and Goofy would ride – Goofy’s into trains) while DH takes the two older kids to the teacups (I don’t do spinning rides well since my pregnancies, unfortunately). Then we’ll meet back up to do most of Fantasyland. We accomplished this in about two and a half hours in June, so I’m guessing it’ll be possible in Sept., as well. Then we’ll ride BTMRR for the first time ever using the babyswap procedure (also first time ever). Somewhere in this day, we also need to fit in Jungle Cruise, Goofy’s Barnstormer and Buzz Lightyear. It will all depend on how long it takes us to do the rest – maybe we’ll get a few of them in this morning. Then we’ll head for the hotel to rest up. We have MNSSHP that night!! (I’ve been told I can get the wristbands at the resort – anyone ever had experience with this? I guess we can just go that evening with our tickets instead of wristbands…)

The plan is to grab a good snack (either on Main St. or back at the hotel), swim and then let everyone rest - lights out this time, not just laying on the beds and watching Mickey cartoons. (Goofy could do that all day.) Then we’ll get up and put on our red Incredibles shirts and black shorts. DH is working on these. It’s the closest he and I could come to agreeing on costumes. He wanted Jedi robes. :scared1: I originally wanted something like what we’re doing for Goofy, but had planned on Tink wearing either a tutu or Princess dress already in her stash, and I hadn’t really planned on dressing up at all. That didn’t go over well with him. This was a good compromise – not too hot, and easy to pack! Now we just have to make the shirts… and only a few days to go!!

At the party, we mostly plan on mostly, well…partying. :woohoo: I would, however, like to ride Splash Mountain (another never-done-it) with whoever I can get to ride with me. Space Mountain would be fun for DH and I, as well, as the other adult is trick-or-treating with the kids. And we might get to some of the rides we didn’t get to in the morning, but we’ll be coming back here our last afternoon/evening, so can get them in then if we don’ttonight. It will also depend on wait time - I've seen comments that you can walk-on rides, but have also seen where they've been really crowded. We’ll also probably have dinner at Cosmic Ray’s (never been, but they have what the kiddos require – either chicken nuggets/tenders or hot dogs!) when we first get back to the park.

We’ll definitely stay for the parade, and I really want to see Hallowishes as well. We’ll probably pack it in after that, though…three tired kids and EMH at DHS the next day (let’s go, Toy Story Mania!!)

Ok, I’m beat, and need to turn in. I’ve gone through all of the menus on AllEars to find CS places our kids will eat at. I’ve dragged out the suitcases (YEAHHH!!!) and have begun piling things in the guest room to pack. And I’ve bookmarked the National Hurricane Center website. Unfortunately, that seems to be a must for this trip, as well. Say it with me now… GO AWAY, HANNA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (and then Ike…) :crazy2:

[FairyGodmotherJen]

Sounds like a great plan so far! We love Chef Mickey's too, DH and I are actually planning to dine there on our soul trip in March. It the only character meal we're going to go to. I think it will be fun for just the two of us!

I think you maybe suprised how easily Pooh will go through the vacation. My little was 9 months this past March when we went and he was more the happy to nap in the stroller when he needed too. Other then that he LOVED the whole experience! I hope he's the same in January!

I sure hope so. My biggest concern right now is how to keep him dry. I don't have any sort of stroller cover except a poncho. And I'm going to have to get the stroller out and mess with it to figure out how to do that! It's looking like rain is just going to have to be something we deal with on this trip. DH is most worried about getting there (with Hanna) and getting back (now that Ike is also an issue). The idea of being stuck with the kids somewhere freaks me out a bit, so I'm trying not to think about it. Thank goodness that I left the trip insurance on this time (first time ever - not quite sure why I did, but am very thankful for it!). It will cover expenses for delays.

[mickeysmyboy]

I'm keeping my fingerscrossed for you with the weather activity! Using a poncho as a stoller cover works very well, we've done it before!

Your plan look great! Being in MK with no one else is very cool and MNSSHP is a ton of fun!

Can't wait to read more!

[FairyGodmotherJen]

Planning – Day 3

Ok – I’m two days away from leaving, and still typing out my touring plans!!! :eek: I need to get moving here. It should be easier, since I don’t have the next few days nearly as well thought out!! (Good or bad thing???)

Up early, eat breakfast in the room – today is EMH day at DHS. Toy Story Mania, here we come! Goofy is very excited – quite the Toy Story fan. I’m a little worried about this from what I’ve been reading, though. Quite the stampede at rope drop!!:scared1: I think one of us will take the kids to the stand-by line while the other gets fast passes for later. Twice should do us, since MK is the only park we’ve built a trip back to.

After that, we have Rock-N-Roller Coaster as single riders for the grown-ups as well as the Muppets show (both EMH attractions, too), the Playhouse Disney show, and finding Handy Manny on our list. After this, we’d like to hit the end of the Magic of Disney Animation. DH loves Sorcerer Mickey, so he’d like to see that character at his area. There’s also supposed to be a cut-out of Wall-E here, which Goofy will go nuts for. Once that’s done, I think we’ll grab some lunch at the Backlot Express (never been there, but has the prerequisite chicken nuggets or hot dogs) and head to the resort. I’m guessing we’ll be pretty pooped out after a late night/early morning combo.

After a nice swim/rest at the resort, we have ADRs at Whispering Canyon Café. I’ve been to Wilderness Lodge on our last trip (the girls had a “girl’s day out” :goodvibes of the Behind the Seeds Tour and resort-hopping) but DH hasn’t. I think the kids will be impressed, too. I’d like to get here in enough time to wander the resort. Then we’re off to eat BBQ! Now, DH is looking forward to this meal. I really was, too, especially since it’s new for us – until I remembered that Pooh’s tummy is still very touchy, and doesn’t handle barbeque all that well. I guess I can eat the roasted chicken and all the trimmings. I really do enjoy barbequed meats, though. I can probably have a little taste, but that will be it. Nursing is a wonderful way to bond with your baby. It’s healthy for both of you, and it’s loads more economical. Unfortunately, when you have a baby with a tender stomach, though, it can be problematic! :sad1: I’ll just enjoy what I can. Oh, and from what I’ve read, I’m going to do everything I can to get Tink to ask for ketchup.
:thumbsup2
Our ADR this night is for 5:45. I’m hoping to still be here for some of the water parade. As a child, we always stayed at the Poly, so watching this was a tradition. We did a Grand Gathering fireworks cruise last trip, so the kids got to see it from the water last year. I’d like to watch it with them from the beach/shore/whatever it is at WL. It also depends on how fried we are. After this, we’re back to ASMo to swim (and do a load of laundry, since this will probably be the only time to do it) and chill out.

I am a technical nitwit – I’m spoiled by being married to an IT guy. :rotfl: The downside is that he hasn’t downloaded the pictures from the camera in a while, and I don’t know how to do it, so I can’t post the pics of Goofy perusing the MGM map. But, in the meantime (and since I haven’t posted pictures in a while), here are some firsts – Tink and Goofy’s first days of school, and Pooh’s first experience with solid foods (he actually has learned to open his mouth up for the spoon now.) :rotfl2: Be back soon!

Tink's first day:
http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/747/142795first_day_of_school-thumb.jpg

Goofy's first day: (Best one I have, unfortunately - he was pretty wound up!)
http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/500/142795jfirstday-med.jpg


Pooh's first cereal:
http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/500/142795wcereal-med.jpg

I'm still trying to figure out why some of my pics come out full-sized, and some don't. I'm saving them all to the same # of pixels....:confused3

[nts4wdw]

I can't believe you will be there in two days! That mkaes for dispeople I know who are leaving this weekend. I hope Hanna won't give you any trouble. We are getting prepared here in SC because 5 out of 8 of the computer models had it headed right for us. Haven't watched the evening news for the lastest.
Your plans look great! You'll love being in MK before opening. That's on my plan for next summer. It is an awesome feeling!!
I'll try to check back in tomorrow, but if I don't, have a wonderful, magical time!!!!!!

[belle8306]

Fellow Crazy Disney Nut Sister-In-Law Here!:yay:
The plans look great! I am living through you this week! I have been watching the weather channel like crazy (you would think I was going). Don't stress too much about it! You guys are going to have a great time. I can't wait to hear all about it!:cloud9:

[FairyGodmotherJen]

I can't believe you will be there in two days! That mkaes for dispeople I know who are leaving this weekend. I hope Hanna won't give you any trouble. We are getting prepared here in SC because 5 out of 8 of the computer models had it headed right for us. Haven't watched the evening news for the lastest.
Your plans look great! You'll love being in MK before opening. That's on my plan for next summer. It is an awesome feeling!!
I'll try to check back in tomorrow, but if I don't, have a wonderful, magical time!!!!!!

Thanks! I'm finally gettin excited. I don't want it to hit us, but I don't want it to hit anyone else, either!!! Couldn't it just fizzle out down there somewhere??? That would be some major pixie dust...:wizard:


Fellow Crazy Disney Nut Sister-In-Law Here!:yay:
The plans look great! I am living through you this week! I have been watching the weather channel like crazy (you would think I was going). Don't stress too much about it! You guys are going to have a great time. I can't wait to hear all about it!:cloud9:

Thanks!!! :goodvibes I can now let myself check the NHC website more than once a day (I was actually limiting myself to once a day and trying to follow your advice) but it's Wednesday and it's time for serious crunching. We'll probably give you a buzz tomorrow night to let you know we get there! Thanks for the well-wishes (and the sympathetic ear to all the obsessive planning!!)! :flower3:

[FairyGodmotherJen]

Ok, it’s 5 a.m. and I’m working on my PTR!!! It also happens to be 24 hours from when I’ll be waking up to go to DISNEY!!! Hurricanes and frantic packing aside, I’m getting excited. Apparently, Pooh is too, so we’re downstairs typing at 5 a.m. DH was up until who-knows-when working on the MNSSHP shirts. They went from a simple red shirt with the Incredibles logo on them to having personalization and decals on the back, too. He spent most of the last two nights cutting out letters from transfer paper on my Cricut machine. Apparently, buying packs of iron-on letters was going to be too expensive. :confused3 Two nights of being up until the wee hours of the morning later, only the back of one shirt is finished. I swear, he’s a nut!! :rotfl2: He hasn’t packed a stich yet – and he doesn’t let me pack for him (I honestly wouldn’t know where to start). I guess he’ll be starting out a zombie for our trip. Good thing we’re not driving this time….

So, I left off getting ready for our fourth full day. After such busy plans, I really think we’re going to take it easy this morning. We have an 11:45 lunch scheduled at Garden Grill, so we’re going to hang around the resort and swim (and wake up whenever) this morning. I had planned on taking Pooh (the early riser, as you can tell) to the gift shop to buy donuts this morning, but I’ve heard that the box of Entemann’s is no longer on the snack list, so we’ll have to make due with pop tarts and cereal in the room. If we feel like it, we might try to get to Epcot in time to ride Spaceship Earth before heading over to the Land for lunch, but that’d be about it.

I’ve heard good things about this meal, and the food looks good. I’m looking forward to this one. I hear that it’s being discontinued, too, so I’m glad we made it. I have to say I never did make it to LTT, and it’s being discontinued, as well (the character meal), so at least I’ll have been to this one.

After eating, there are a few biggies we’d like to hit. This will be our only day in Epcot. I never feel like we get to spend enough time here, but with small children, other parks tend to take precedence. We will hit Nemo and Turtle Talk, and I’d like to try Journey into Imagination, which I haven’t tried since 1996, at the latest. DH loves Mission Space, and we’d like to try to do a baby swap on Test Track (both Tink and Goofy think this one looks pretty cool). After that, I think we’re heading to World Showcase. Other than the Akershus princess breakfast, we didn’t get to experience this at all last summer. The evening we had dedicated to it ended up getting completely rained out (I’m talking pouring rain from about 5 p.m until after midnight!). Tink is very curious about the Kidcot stops, Miss Crafty that she is, and I think Goofy will like the street performers. We’ll grab CS as we get hungry (there’s a McDonald’s here, so at least I know my kids will eat – it’s almost embarrassing, though, eating McDonald’s in WS!!! :headache: ). We’re thinking Morocco, if I think Pooh can handle it later (and depending on how he’s done with the food so far). That’s my first pick, at least. We’ll wander and explore the shops. DH is excited that China has Bejing Olympics merchandise for sale, so we’ll definitely stop in those shops. And I’ve never ridden the Mexico ride, so I won’t know if it’s better or worse since the rehab. But I’d like to try – the kids like Donald.


Then there is my recurring goal for every trip: I have been to WDW four times now since 2000 (including this trip), and still have not seen Illuminations!!! I wanted to very badly when we came as adults w/my parents in 2000, but I was outvoted in favor of Fantasmic. DM scheduled a lot of evening dinner shows during our four-night stay, and I didn’t know enough to plan ahead. Then in 2005, with kids, we just didn’t feel like they’d make it. In 2007, as I mentioned, it poured the night we had it scheduled (our second-to-last night there) and I didn’t make it back. We’d really like to see it this time – it completely depends on how the kids do, though. I know I’m going back in 2010, and there will be plenty of adults to take the kids, so unless it rains again I’ll see it then (only ten years later…:upsidedow ) So, either we’ll hang around and make it for Illuminations, or we’ll pack it in and head back to the hotel.

There’s only one more day after this!! Hopefully I can get it posted before I leave. Tink and Goofy both came down with the stomach bug that I had on Sunday, so I had two sick kids to deal with yesterday, besides the packing and everything else. :scared1: And I’m still checking the National Hurricane Center’s website once a day (probably more often today) to see what Hanna and Co. are up to. I’ve contacted our TA, so I know how to go about making use of our travel insurance should we be delayed somewhere. It’s now almost 9 (Pooh eventually went back to sleep, and so did I), Tink is on the bus, Goofy is on the couch (can’t go back to preK today, so he’s hanging out with me), Pooh is ready for a nap and the laundry is calling. :rotfl: I’ll try to get back later today to finish up!

[FairyGodmotherJen]

I think I have almost everything packed. DH actually has the shirts done (except Pooh's). I think I'll have my act together in the morning. :banana:

I know I didn't get the last day posted, but there wasn't much to say. We have a 9:25 (I know, I couldn't get any earlier:sad2: ) ADR for breakfast at Chef Mickey's - a first for us, since we've always done dinner. Assuming we haven't gotten to AK yet, we will probably head there to see the Nemo musical. Oh, and Goofy has now informed me he wants to ride "that animal bus" so he can "see all the neat animals." We're not getting there early, so I doubt we'll do this unless we can't talk him out of it!!:rolleyes:

We'll end at MK - always do. :lovestruc This might be the only day we go straight through without a break. We'll probably be done by about 6, though. We have a 9:50 flight out of MCO, so we'll be picked up pretty early. I'll need to get packing, too. So it'll be an afternoon of our favorites over at MK until it's time to call it a trip. We'll be bummed, we'll probably have gotten wet - but we'll hopefully have lots of good memories!

I'll update when we return. Although, DH really wants to post a pic of his shirts (they really ARE cute!) before we go. We'll see what he gets done! Talk to you in a little less than a week!

[nts4wdw]

I guess you are gone!! Have a wonderful, magical time!! Details and lots of pics!!!

[Alysa]

Cute report, looking forward to hearing about your trip when you get back! Hope you have great weather!

[mickeysmyboy]

I hope your having a good time!! Can't wait to read the trip report when you get back!

[snowwhite325]

I can't wait to hear all about your trip when you get home...I hope you are having a magical time :wizard:

[belle8306]

:goodvibes Welcome Home! I can't wait to see your pictures and hear all about it! :hug:

[FairyGodmotherJen]

...And we're dry!! :banana: We really didn't have many weather problems at all. I have a ton of pictures and things to tell you. We really enjoyed the Halloween festivities, and managed a good number of firsts. Right now, I have two suitcases full of dirty laundry, two kids that have to go back to school tomorrow, and DH and I are fairly slap-happy from lack of sleep (and Disney let-down! Thank goodness we know we're going back in 2010!!). I'll try to get going again tomorrow, though. I can't wait to share! Thanks for all the well-wishes, everyone!

[mickeysmyboy]

Can't wait to hear about the trip!

[FairyGodmotherJen]

Ok – here we go…

We were up and at ‘em early on Thursday morning. :cool1: Pooh got up before my alarm to nurse, but went back to sleep. I actually had a bit of a hard time getting Tink and Goofy out of bed (what’s with that??? WE’RE GOING TO DISNEY!!). Thankfully, with Grammy and Papa’s help, they got dressed and brushed. My parents went way beyond the call of duty by driving 45 minutes to get to our house at 6 a.m. and take us to the airport.

Before I knew it, we were running late. It always happens – it’s something with the genes in my husband’s family. :confused3 I swear, I was compulsively on-time to everything before I married him. It had something to do with a maniacal choir director at Purdue…anyway, I was shoving bags into the van as DH was doing his usual ten sweeps of the house, setting the light timers (at least he could find them this time) and doing various other stuff. We got the kids, my parents, and us in the van (which was a feat in and of itself with our mountain of luggage) about 15 minutes later than I wanted to. We made it to the airport at a decent time, though. :woohoo:

Once inside, we were on our way to check our luggage when we happened to run across my brother’s best friend from grade school. He has since married and moved to CT, but had been in town on business and had swung down to Columbus to visit his family. It was so funny – we’ve run into people we know in the airports on each of the three Disney trips we’ve taken. It’s always someone we haven’t seen in a while, too. We said goodbye to him, checked our bags, and headed to McDonald’s (another trip tradition for us) for breakfast. That’s when the first issue happened – remember that stomach bug Tink, Goofy and I had been suffering from? I still didn’t have much of an appetite, but I was feeling ok. Until we were waiting in line to check bags. Everyone else went to get breakfast, and I headed to the restroom. This was not the only time, unfortunately. Not trip-ruining, but definitely NOT in my plans! Breakfast pics - not much eating happened (a recurring theme), but lots of excitement!
http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/500/142795Haleypancakes-med.jpg
http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/500/142795Jackpancakes-med.jpg
We said goodbye to my parents and went through security. I have to admit that the folks here in Indy are pretty darn patient with us and all our gear. Two strollers, a laptop, video and still cameras, a DVD player …yes, we’re the nightmare family. :scared1: At least Tink doesn’t have a meltdown anymore when she has to put her backpack on the conveyor belt, and we know now to eat those pancake platters from McDonald’s BEFORE we get to security (yes, we closely resembled a circus at the gate on our first trip in 2005 :rotfl: ). Just like last summer, we’d barely gotten to our gate before they called to begin boarding. All we had time to do was all hit the restroom one last time and gather our things. We were off – and on time!! Pooh did fine on the plane – nursed and then fell asleep. It wasn’t full at all (now that was a first on a trip to Orlando for us!), and the lady that had the seat next to me offered to move to an empty row to give me more space. DH got the DVD player started for the kiddos, and we sailed on down to Orlando. Here are more pics:
Movies:
http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/500/142795kidsplane-med.jpg

Pooh stretching out:
http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/500/142795willplane-med.jpg

Now, I forgot to mention that, as we were pulling our bags out at the airport, DH looks at me and says, “I forgot my ME tags.” I just looked at him. I had taken care of putting them on all of the bags I packed that morning. I don’t pack for DH, though, so he was on his own. I handed him the tags, though. And he didn’t have them. He’d taken them from me and put them down somewhere in the house. So, once we got to Orlando and rode the little fake monorail, the kids and I sat down in the chairs in the waiting area for ME and he went up a floor to find his bag. :headache: I was frustrated at this point, I admit – I was IN SIGHT of the ME desk, and had to sit there and wait for DH to come back before I could even get in line. Finally, he did and I left them all (Tink grudgingly doing her homework) there with our carryons and got in line. I know, I need to be more patient. But I wanted to get there!!!

We didn’t have to wait very long at all. In fact, we had a hard time getting Goofy to move – he was too busy watching the previews on the TV monitor to walk to the bus. We then got onto the bus with THE MOST ENTHUSIASTIC MAGICAL EXPRESS BUS DRIVER EVER. Oh my goodness!! His name was Charlie, and he was ready to go. “Is everyone happy, happy, happy? You’re going to Disney World! Let me hear you happy, happy, happy!!” He was so funny. We had to go to the other two All-Star resorts before we got to ours (we’re used to it by now). When he pulled away, he would start running the wipers, honking the horn and in general making the bus make noise to the beat of the music that was playing on the video screen. I can only imagine how freaked out all of the people waiting for buses to the parks were as he drove by. He was a nut! But a happy nut. I’d much rather have him than a really serious, sour person. He made an impression, though. On the way home, we caught Goofy asking his sister if she was “happy, happy, happy?” DH and I almost lost it! DH got about three hours worth of video on this trip – I wish he’d taped Charlie the bus driver! Here are Goofy, Pooh and I enjoying the video during one of Charlie's calmer moments:
http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/500/142795onbus-med.jpg

We got right up to the counter at ASMo and ended up in Dalmatians building 1 (a first for us – we’ve always been in Fantasia before). We weren’t sure at first, but ended up liking it. Very quick to the buses. Then we headed to the food court to grab lunch. Or, DH and I grabbed lunch. Tink and Goofy decided that they weren’t really going to eat on this trip, and this was just further evidence of that. The kids who were so excited about the fact that they got to eat chicken nuggets and French fries each day for lunch didn’t like the nuggets now. :confused3 I even told them we wouldn’t be swimming today if they didn’t eat. Goofy’s response was to tell me he really didn’t want to swim today, and curl up in a ball on the bench of the booth we were in. I wasn’t sure if it was the stomach bug still talking or their general pickiness, so I only pushed so far. But, based on their reactions, we decided to scrap the idea of Downtown Disney, then dinner, than MK for a ride or two. We figured we’d chill out in the room, head over to Chef Mickey’s for dinner, and then head to DD to shop. Looking back at what happened next, I wish we’d just have gone shopping!!

I'll be back later - I have to go to choir. Hope you're enjoying!

[FairyGodmotherJen]

So we went back to the room after lunch. DH laid down for a nap (his ears were still bothering him from the flight – they always do):sick: , I put the classic cartoon channel on for Goofy and Tink, nursed Pooh and proceeded to unpack. After a little while, Pooh got cranky being up on the bed. I didn’t want him to bother DH, so I laid a towel on the ground and put him next to me. He was better, but he kept grabbing for the drawers that I was loading clothes into. I kept having to pull his hands away. After I had all but one suitcase unpacked, I took a break and leaned down to play with Pooh, who was very quietly playing on the floor (unusual for him – shoulda tipped me off right away). After I got back up, Goofy looked at me and asked what was on my face. Turns out, it was blood. :eek: And it was on my arm. And my shirt, And it was coming from Pooh’s thumb. I didn’t understand – what could he possibly have cut it on? And it seemed to be bleeding quite a bit! I ran and got a towel and picked him up. I figured if I applied some pressure, it would stop. I pulled the towel away after a minute or two to look at what he’d done, exactly. But I still couldn’t tell, on account of the blood that was coming out pretty rapidly. So I covered it again. I did this for about ten minutes. He didn’t really like me holding on to his hand, but other than that he seemed oblivious to the fact that he was bleeding. He never cried or anything.

By this point, I’m getting worried. I know, it’s my third kid. I should be calmer by now, right? Well, I’ve never had a four month old bleed on me like that before. :scared1: I ended up waking up DH. Bad idea – he was even more worried about it that I was, and decided Pooh needed to be seen. He called the desk to figure out what to do. It turns out Disney has some kind of a contract/agreement with an urgent care center that will come and pick you up from any resort and take you to their site (which happens to be in a strip mall, which was a little odd). So, I packed up Pooh and the washcloths and the backpack and we headed out. They came right up to the main entrance, and took me straight there. Unfortunately, there was no car seat, so I carried him on my lap.

Of course, by the time I got there, the bleeding had slowed down considerably. I think it’s because he fell asleep on the ride over, so I wasn’t fighting him to keep his hand covered. Looking at it in the waiting room, I figured they’d tell me he’d cut it (I’d found a slightly rough edge on the corner of one of the cabinets, so assumed he’d cut himself on that), clean it up and send me back. But the doctor decided he’d pinched it. I still don’t know what he did to this day – it ended up being the thumb that was on the opposite side than the drawer, and I don’t think he could have reached it. Apparently they bleed like a son of a gun when they pinch off several of the top layers of skin on the tip of a finger like that, so the doctor ended up numbing it, then cauterized it and bandaged it. Pooh loved this, as you can imagine.:scared: The good part of the story is that there was no one else waiting, so I managed to get all of this done in fairly good time (for an urgent care center, at least). I was told to keep it dry and out of his mouth for a day or so, and was sent on my way. They did take me straight to the Contemporary, since our ADRs were there that night. I only got there a few minutes after DH and the two older kids. But I was done at that point, and really had to calm down before I could enjoy dinner. I know it wasn't exactly a major wound, but the whole thing had my nerves a bit on edge. I guess the big thing to take from this with is that Disney is ready for situations like this. I didn’t have to call a cab, or figure out where to take him. The little shuttle bus picked me up, took me there, and brought me back to wherever I wanted to go. Thanks, Disney! :flower3:

Now that I was with the rest of my family, I could settle down and breathe again. Chef Mickey’s was fun, as usual. We got our pictures taken, though the photographer was not that great with babies. She was sitting there waiting to take the picture of the people in front of us until the baby would smile – not just snapping it as soon as the baby was looking the right way! Plus, her way of getting them to smile was to clap, REALLY loudly. Not gonna work. When it was our turn, she wanted me to move Pooh to a different position. I had to tell her I was trying to hide the blood on my shirt. That made her look at me funny. DH got a kick out of it, as did the family behind us. Anyway, we were seated right after that, and the characters came and made everyone forget about the afternoon – and about eating, in Tink and Goofy’s case.

http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/500/142795pluto1-thumb.jpg

http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/500/142795goofy-med.jpg

http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/500/142795WillMickeynose-med.jpg

I was impressed that most of the characters seemed to pay attention to Pooh, as well. He was a little oblivious at first, but then seemed to get more into them, as you can see.

We saw everyone but Minnie (Goofy and Tink decided they had to go to the bathroom, then all of a sudden she was at our table and she never came back), and DH and I at least ate. We ended up buying the picture, because it was actually really good. I'll try to get DH to scan it so I can post it. We then browsed some of the shops there at the resort and hopped a bus to DTD.

We stopped at a few must-sees: World of Disney, the toy store, the pin store (briefly), and Goofy’s Candy Co. We bought the kids’ autograph books at World of Disney, along with pens for each of their teachers (and me – I love the simple pens that are shaped like the characters!). They each bought a toy at the toy store, but only spent about half their money, so I was happy. DH and I also bought them “huggy things,” as Goofy calls stuffed animals. This is a bit of a tradition for us. They still love on the ones they got last trip. Goofy got Sorcerer Mickey this time around (DH is rubbing off on him) and Tink got Baby Cinderella. Here's a picture of them outside the toy store:
http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/500/142795buzz-thumb.jpg

Then we went to Goofy’s.
http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/500/142795Haleygoofystore-thumb.jpg

I got my make-your-own-pretzel rods (dipped in milk chocolate and pecans and drizzled with caramel – yummy!!) and the kids each got something small to snack on. By this point, we were pretty pooped. We decided to head back to the room and get some sleep, since it would be a very busy, long day on Friday.

Hope to get more up today- thanks for reading! I've asked for this to be moved to the general trip reports thread, so hopefully it'll be there soon.

[mickeysmyboy]

Yikes! I would have completely freaked with a bleeding baby!! I'm glad it was serious and you were in and out of the urgent care center quickly and able to get back to you vacation!

Can't wait to read more!

[FairyGodmotherJen]

Can anyone tell me why most of my pictures are posting small, even though I'm saving them all to the same size? I just previewed a post and ended up scrapping it, since all my pictures were too tiny! Any help would be appreciated!

[FairyGodmotherJen]

Ok - I've figured it out. I just opened a Photobucket account - it's working a lot better than the DIS photo pages!

Day Two

DH’s watch and cell phone went off bright and early that morning – 5 a.m. Since Pooh had been up twice during the night, we were a bit slow getting out of bed. But the CM at the desk had told me yesterday to be at the bus stop between 6:45 and 7 for our ADR at Crystal Palace, so we were going to make it, by golly! Now, this was the day Hanna decided to brush past us – don’t get us wrong, we were happy she was just brushing! But I made sure I had all of the rain gear and everything else packed so that we would be set. We got the kids up, dressed and ready to go and headed to the bus. No rain yet, so maybe we’d be ok??? Here are the boys, ready to go:

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/boysmorning.jpg

Nope. I was doing Tink’s hair at the bus stop, and it started drizzling. Some of the other families that were waiting moved under the awning, but we were first in line, so DH and I looked at each other and decided to sit it out. Then it started raining harder. And harder. We ran for cover!

Of course, about 30 seconds later, the bus pulled up. It already had people going to the MK for early ADRs from the other two All-Star resorts, but luckily the kids and I were able to get a seat. DH had his first standing bus trip of many – I don’t think he sat down on a bus but twice this whole trip. We were going to have to pull out the ponchos, but we were off!

We got to the MK and put our rain gear on under the bus stop canopy.
http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/haleyrain.jpg

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/jackrain.jpg

Then we were off! Even with the rain, it was SOOOOO cool to have Main Street almost to ourselves! This will definitely be a repeat on our next trip. It was awesome!
http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/emptymainstreet.jpg

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/emptycastle.jpg

And with all the cool Halloween decorations, too!

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/msdecorations.jpg

And by the time we’d actually made it to CP, it was barely drizzling. DH suggested I go check in while he took a few more pictures. This was a recurrent theme – we were ready to move on, while DH was still snapping ten more pictures. I swear, I never should have introduced him to scrapbooking, or the Picture of the Day thread on this forum! :rotfl2:

We really enjoyed CP. The food was good, the character interaction was fun, and the restaurant itself was lovely.
http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/eeyore.jpg

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/tigger.jpg

I love this one of Goofy - this was taken after he had knocked over his juice, fallen off his chair and came perilously close to tipping the table completely over (DH caught it just in time!). One look at the face tells everything about his state of mind that morning! :rotfl:

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/piglet.jpg

Pooh got a little fussy, but DH was able to get him settled down to sleep, and this was how he spent the rest of the meal:
http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/pooh.jpg

We asked for our check early (not right when we sat down, but well before we were done), so we were able to leave when we wanted to. We had seen people coming up Main Street, so we knew we’d missed rope drop, but we weren’t too concerned. We split up after breakfast – DH and the older two kids to Fantasyland, and me to get FastPasses to BTMRR, which we’d never ridden, and which the kids had been excited about since they’d seen the pictures on the vacation planning DVD. As I came back, I saw Frontier Donald (but had no camera and only Pooh with me). Then I saw the Fairy Godmother as I was crossing past the funnel cake stand back to the castle. I got all excited and picked up my cell to call DH to get over here – then saw a man in the distance picking up his cell phone. It turned out they’d never gotten to the teacups (which was their original plan) because DH had been taking pictures of them in front of a deserted castle.
http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/stillemptycastle.jpg
He’d struck up a conversation with a CM, who’d told them about the Fairy Godmother and sent them over. The kids had already gotten their pictures taken with her, but I just had to get in there myself – she is one of my favorites, you know. :goodvibes

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/fairygodmother.jpg

We headed to Fantasyland after that, and DH decided they needed to try to pull the sword out of the stone.

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/swordinstone.jpg
Goofy was a little confused - he wanted DH to actually pull it out, and kept saying, "Pull it out, Daddy! Pull it out now!" It's a good thing we never got over to see the show they do there, or he'd be on his Daddy all the time!:lmao:

[FairyGodmotherJen]

Day 2 continued...

We went on to do Fantasyland in a park that was, honestly, nearly deserted. :woohoo: I worried about the weather for weeks before we left, and it ended up working in our favor! Apparently, no one else wanted to brave the occasional showers. We put the rain stuff on once more, and then waited out another brief shower in Frontierland that caused the “Woody’s Roundup” show to end early.

Anyway, in Fantasyland the kids watched Alice and the Mad Hatter ride the teacups before they got on, which was fun.

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/alicehatter.jpg

Then we headed to the Pooh ride – what ride would be better for our Pooh’s first ride at Disney World?? Only one problem – Goofy had decided the ride was scary. Yes, I’m talking about The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh – not Snow White, not Space Mountain – the Pooh ride. We honestly had to carry him onto the ride. Now, we never would have done this had there honestly been something to be afraid of. But it was Pooh, for pete’s sake! :confused3 He ended up loving it, and wanted to go on it several more times over the course of our trip. This was a theme that would come up a lot though. I think it’s the age – Tink didn’t want to participate in any children’s activities the first time we were there, and that was when she was four, too. He decided he wasn’t going to ride BTMRR after all (“I’ll ride it when I grow up, Mommy. Like when I’m ten.”). He refused to ride Peter Pan, almost didn’t go into Laugh Floor, and was very vocal about all of the rides that we would never have dreamed of taking him on. For example, as we passed it he informed us, “I am NOT riding the Haunted Mansion, Mommy." And, later, "I’m going to wait until I grow up to ride Space Mountain. It has scary music.” (We have a CD of park music, and he's been listening to it quite a bit.)

Goofy was adamant that we ride Buzz Lightyear next, so we headed over. I know (now) that Toy Story Mania is more fun, but this one ranks right up there with it in Goofy’s heart. We rode it twice in a row (the grumpy CMs wouldn’t let us just stay on, so we had to go around and walk through the empty queue again – they must not have like the rain). I then found a quiet corner to nurse Pooh, and let the others go off on their own. When I called them afterward to find out what they did, I learned they’d spent the entire time on the Buzz ride – they’d ridden it five more times! DH got some good pics of the kids, though.

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/buzz.jpg

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/zurg.jpg

We headed to Laugh Floor next, which took some convincing on Goofy’s part (he won’t watch the movie because – say it with me now – “it might be scary.”) We really enjoyed this. We didn’t have a joke to text, but at the end when Mike’s nephew asks, “Hey, wanna see something cute?” all of a sudden Pooh is up on the screen! Everyone cooed and “awww”-ed, and DH said later that if he’d have been thinking straight, he’d have put Pooh down and waved his arms like it was him they were talking about (he was holding Pooh at the time). So that made my day. No pictures, since it happened so fast. I wish I'd have thought to grab one of the screen, but it happened pretty fast.

We headed to Frontierland from there with the intent to do several “firsts” for us. The biggie was Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, mainly because (at least at home) everyone agreed they wanted to ride it. We got sidelined by the aforementioned shower but we took refuge under the covered porch near the Diamond Horseshoe Saloon (I think that’s it’s name). We ended up getting a tub of popcorn to help us pass the time (the kids really didn’t eat enough at breakfast!). Then we headed to the railroad. I took Tink on it first. I have to admit, I was a little nervous about what her reaction would be, but I didn’t need to be. She loved it! She ran back to DH to go on it again, using Goofy’s pass. But by the time they had returned, we were running on fumes. Darn that stomach bug – I really think we could have done more if the kids weren’t still tiring so easily. They were currently fighting over which one got to ride in the stroller now. We pacified them long enough to head to Jungle Cruise - another first, which we LOVED. We had a great guide. He was right up DH’s alley, since he made all kinds of Transformers/Star Wars/geeky boy thing jokes. He was the highlight of the morning for DH. Here are some pics that DH took:

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/elephant.jpg

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/headhunter.jpg

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/hippo.jpg

Unfortunately, when we got off the ride, we had a near atomic meltdown over the whole stroller issue. This is when my wonderful DH decided that it wasn’t worth it – he lifted Goofy onto his shoulders, and pushed Pooh in the stroller at the same time (his stroller was easier to steer one-handed). :eek: I should have gotten a picture of it at some point, because he would end up doing it so many more times during the trip. I can’t believe his back/neck held up to it.

We headed back to the room at this point.

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/seeya.jpg
(I love this decoration over the exits from Main Street!)

We figured we’d get the kids something at the hotel, since they had pasta that we could get without the sauce, or grilled cheese (I know, I know). As we rode to ASMo, it started POURING down rain. I couldn’t get over how wet it was. I took Pooh back to the room to nurse while DH got the two older kids a CS meal to share (it still didn’t get eaten well). Then we announced that it would be lights out – no toys, no TV – so that we could all rest before MNSSHP that night. Of course, Pooh decided to be wide awake at this point, so I stayed in the room with the older two, and DH took Pooh out in the stroller to take some pictures of the resort:

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/hotelpongo.jpg

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/hydrant.jpg

So….did it work? Did anyone get any rest? I’ll be back later to fill you in!

[kathymc]

oh my how scary that must have been - looking forward to more of the trip
sorry - cant help with the photo issues

[belle8306]

Great updates!:thumbsup2 I feel so bad for Pooh having his first urgent care visit at Disney!:sad2: I am surprised he didn't cry when it happened. I love, love, love the empty street pictures of Main Street!:lovestruc That is something we have to do in 2010! I can't wait to see those Halloween decorations in person. The See You Real Soon pumpkins are so cute! You got to see the Fairy Godmother!!:yay: I want to do the Jungle Cruise for the first time on this trip too. The picture with Pooh asleep with the characters is priceless!:goodvibes I am looking forward to more!:cloud9:

[heaven2dc]

Your children are adorable!! I want to take my DGS with me on my next trip in December (he'll be 14 mos old then) but my daughter thinks we won't enjoy the trip as much so she wants to stay behind. I think he'll do just great - your little baby did great (was sorry to read about him hurting his finger! It was great how they picked you up and drove you right to your ADR.)

Can't wait to read more!:surfweb:

[snowwhite325]

...And we're dry!! :banana: We really didn't have many weather problems at all. I have a ton of pictures and things to tell you. We really enjoyed the Halloween festivities, and managed a good number of firsts. Right now, I have two suitcases full of dirty laundry, two kids that have to go back to school tomorrow, and DH and I are fairly slap-happy from lack of sleep (and Disney let-down! Thank goodness we know we're going back in 2010!!). I'll try to get going again tomorrow, though. I can't wait to share! Thanks for all the well-wishes, everyone!

:welcome: Home

[mickeysmyboy]

Sounds like you had a great day! I love the pictures! Your kids are adorable!

[FairyGodmotherJen]

oh my how scary that must have been - looking forward to more of the trip
sorry - cant help with the photo issues
I know - not the way we wanted our trip to start. We were all worked up about it - he never really cared that much. :rotfl:

Great updates!:thumbsup2 I feel so bad for Pooh having his first urgent care visit at Disney!:sad2: I am surprised he didn't cry when it happened. I love, love, love the empty street pictures of Main Street!:lovestruc That is something we have to do in 2010! I can't wait to see those Halloween decorations in person. The See You Real Soon pumpkins are so cute! You got to see the Fairy Godmother!!:yay: I want to do the Jungle Cruise for the first time on this trip too. The picture with Pooh asleep with the characters is priceless!:goodvibes I am looking forward to more!:cloud9:

I can't wait to do that in 2010 with everyone! I'm telling you, it's awesome! You'll like the decorations - I'm glad you get to see them. Not too much longer for you!! Unfortunately, your countdown to your trip is only slightly longer till my countdown to go back to work!! :eek:

Your children are adorable!! I want to take my DGS with me on my next trip in December (he'll be 14 mos old then) but my daughter thinks we won't enjoy the trip as much so she wants to stay behind. I think he'll do just great - your little baby did great (was sorry to read about him hurting his finger! It was great how they picked you up and drove you right to your ADR.)

I know, we got a lot of reactions like, "You took the BABY???" Yes, we toured a bit differently because of him, but not a lot. Most of it had to do with us splitting up so that I could nurse and DH could keep the other two occupied. He was pretty low-maintenance. He'll probably be a lot harder to handle when we go back when he's two! (Hopefully, he'll be sleeping through the night consistantly by then, though!!! ;) In terms of the shuttle, though, it was great. At least, if we had to do it, it was great!

Can't wait to read more!:surfweb:
Thanks! It's really cool to have people reading!

:welcome: Home
Thank you! Sometimes I can't believe we were there at this time last week - it seems like a while ago already!

Sounds like you had a great day! I love the pictures! Your kids are adorable!

Thanks - we think so. ;) It was a good day - and a good trip. I'm so thankful we got to do this!

[FairyGodmotherJen]

Day two, part 3

When I left off, Tink, Goofy and I were resting in the room while DH took Pooh on a walk to get him to sleep. I laid down with the two older kids, and an hour later DH had Pooh sound asleep enough to join us. I think I napped for about an hour and a half, which made a huge difference in how I felt! We checked the weather (looked good!), got the kids up and put on our Incredibles T-shirts.

DH worked for so long on these things. I will be the first to admit that I'd have sprung for the packs of iron-on letters instead of cutting each one out on my Cricut machine. I also wouldn't have added all the neat little touches, like the pictures of the pins that were being released for this set of MNSSHP dates. We each had a different one on our sleeve. Here's Tink's:
http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/day%202%20pt%202/100_0934.jpg

And Pooh's:

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/day%202%20pt%202/100_0936.jpg

(The sock on his hand is to keep him from chewing on his bad thumb. We got lots of questions about it, but it was the easiest way to do it, since he was in the stroller and we weren't watching him every second. Looks just great in the pictures, doesn't it?? :rolleyes: )

This is what they looked like on - this one was taken by the Photopass guy:

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/day%202%20pt%202/100_0949.jpg

And this was the view from the back:

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/day%202%20pt%202/100_0939.jpg


Everyone headed to the MK that night was bubbly and excited. It was a lot of fun. We talked with another family from one of the other All Stars. They ended up getting a call halfway there telling them that it was POURING down rain in the MK. Nothing happening where we were, though, so we were hopeful it would be another brief shower. We didn’t stop to put the rain gear on at the bus stop…but halfway to the bag check line it started to drizzle kinda hard. We got the kids’ rain coats out, but by the time we did, it had stopped again. I’m happy to say that it was the last time we had to get the rain gear out on our vacation!!!

Once inside the gates, we saw lots of these people:
http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/day%202%20pt%202/100_0945.jpg

We grabbed our treat bags and headed in. I couldn’t get over the line of CMs down Main Street, holding signs that said “Boo to You” and other things and just waving and having fun.

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/day%202%20pt%202/100_0948.jpg

We got several comments on our costumes. We also stopped for the above mentioned photopass shot, and it turned out really well. You get a discount code for 40% off on the back of the MNSSHP photopass cards, so I think we’re going to go ahead and order it. The party hadn’t quite started yet (it was just before 6 when we arrived) so we headed over to Cosmic Ray’s for dinner. We’d never been here before, but DH and I were impressed. We’d have been even more impressed if the third line had been open, but it wasn’t. A salad sounded so good at that point, and they had a chicken Caesar. Anyway, we got another kids meal for the two older ones to split (again, they mainly ate the fries and grapes), I got a cheeseburger (made fresh, unlike the ones at the ASMo food court now) and DH got the ribs meal. I’d have liked to have come back on our last day, but we just didn’t make it. The kids sat and watched the Sammy the Alien Lounge Singer for a while, and posed for a shot or two.
http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/day%202%20pt%202/100_0950.jpg
(she's not used to the camera, is she???) :rotfl:
Then we realized that we could see a trick-or-treat stop from where we were. We ran out to ride Buzz once more (Goofy couldn’t get enough of it), and by then they made the announcement that the party was starting! We immediately hit the candy stop we’d seen earlier. The kids were very excited to see actual candy in their bags!

We then headed to Toon Town. The kids and DH rode this baby
http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/day%202%20pt%202/100_0951.jpg

while I scoped out the lines to see the characters (they were getting pretty long). Minnie was right there in her witch costume, but I was worried about waiting in her line and still getting a good spot for the 8:15 parade. So after the Barnstormer (another first for us, and a big hit), we headed over to the Mad Hatter trail on our way to Liberty Square. We got lots of candy, and saw lots of familiar faces.

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/day%202%20pt%202/100_0962.jpg

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/day%202%20pt%202/100_0957.jpg
(They were arguing about who was the real mad hatter, the guy dressed up for the party or the character. It was pretty funny.)

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/day%202%20pt%202/100_0960.jpg

Lots of candy:

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/day%202%20pt%202/100_0963.jpg

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/day%202%20pt%202/100_0965.jpg

I REALLY wish I’d have known about the Adventureland trail that I read about on the DIS after we got home – the kids would have liked those characters better. At this point, Tink mentioned to me that her stomach wasn’t feeling well. I told her it was probably because she’d ridden the roller coaster right after eating. I wish I’d have been right about that one. We headed to a restroom really quick on our way through Tomorrowland, and I knew then that we might have a problem. But she said she felt better afterwards, so I hoped for the best and we headed back out.

We headed to Liberty Square after the Candy Trail to grab a spot for the parade. We ended up getting a pretty good one, but had to wait about 15 minutes or so for the parade to start.

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/day%202%20pt%202/100_0970.jpg

At this point, Pooh was getting fussy and Tink kept whining that her stomach was upset. Then Goofy started getting freaked out by the mood music that they were piping in before the parade (the whole four-year-old-everything-is-scary thing). I sat on the ground next to him and tried to calm him while trying to get Pooh to nap on my lap (didn’t work). I was very glad when the parade started! DH got some good pics, and has the whole thing on video! Here are my favorites:
http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/day%202%20pt%202/100_0971.jpg

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/day%202%20pt%202/100_0977.jpg

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/day%202%20pt%202/100_0979.jpg

more on next post...

[FairyGodmotherJen]

More "Boo to You" Parade pictures...

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/day%202%20pt%202/100_0985.jpg

(Wendy and the lost boys)

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/day%202%20pt%202/100_0990.jpg
(Captain Barbosa and...)

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/day%202%20pt%202/100_0992.jpg
(the big guy himself!)

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/day%202%20pt%202/100_0995.jpg
These guys were creepy, but cool - they used their shovels as part of their dance, and the shovels shot sparks when they were dragged against the pavement. Really cool in the dark!

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/day%202%20pt%202/100_1006.jpg
DH thinks that it just didn't fit to see villains like the Wicked Queen from Snow White dancing funky dances. :rotfl2: I thought it was fun.

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/day%202%20pt%202/100_1016.jpg
CMs were walking around with this float, passing out more candy!

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/day%202%20pt%202/100_1018.jpg

The end!

After the parade, Tink was in bad shape. It was pretty clear that her stomach was cramping up. After another long trip to the restroom, we met up with DH, Goofy and Pooh again. She seemed to feel better and wanted to stay for the fireworks, so we headed to Fantasyland for IASW – nice and tame, I figured. I stayed outside to nurse Pooh in a corner. By the time they came out, though, Tink was in tears again. We decided to go ahead and leave. I was bummed – no Villains show, no pics with characters in costume, and no Hallowishes! Goofy started to cry that he wasn’t going to get to see the fireworks, but Tink was curled up in a ball in Pooh’s stroller (he was out cold in my arms), so we high-tailed it to Main Street so we could get through the crowd at the hub before the fireworks started and all the lights went out. Let me tell you, pushing a fifty-pound seven-year-old in a stroller while holding a sleeping 15 pound infant in your arms through a crowd is no laughing matter!

We got to the very end of Main Street where the statue of Walt and Minnie is when the fireworks started. We turned around for a minute to give Goofy a glimpse of the fireworks, and it was just our luck that Tink’s cramps took a rest and she decided she wanted to stick it out and watch them. We had an unobstructed (if distant) view of all the neat things they did to the castle, and the kids could see everything from their strollers. DH got it on tape (have to love the new video camera!). And, when it was done, we had a clear shot to the buses, so we hauled. It turns out, we didn’t need to. We passed through the exits, got our Ghiradelli chocolate squares (yum!!) from the CMs as we passed (they gave us a bunch, since we were the only ones leaving), and waited for the hoards to hit at the bus. They never did. The bus was full, but we got on, and there would have been room for more people if we needed to put them on. But as it was, the kids got their own seats (both fell asleep) and we made it back in one piece. I was pretty bummed that I didn’t get the MNSSHP pins that I’d hoped for, but I wasn’t about to drag Tink through the shops in her state.

I would LOVE to hit this event when the kids are older. Of course, then it'd be impossible to take them out of school for a long period of time. But I feel like we didn’t get to do a lot of it, since we saw almost no characters. Though, if we went with the kids at that age, would they really want their pictures taken with the characters??? The atmosphere in the MK that night was so much fun. If we ever went again, I’d do several things differently. I’d skip the rides entirely and go hunt down the characters. I’d also do the later parade, especially if I had older kids (or no kids with us! DH and I would completely and totally get into this on our own…).

So, the next day was EMH at DHS – we were hoping to get there for rope drop. The worst of Tink's stomach problems seemed to be over, and we got the kids to bed (though much later than normal). After an evening like this, would we make it??? Stay tuned!

[belle8306]

The shirts look awesome!! We were both impressed!:thumbsup2 The party looks so cool! There is only one problem: now I am thinking about going! :rotfl2: What do you think? Should we do it? Love the picture of tink in her sunglasses! :cutie: I think the sock was a great idea.:) I was wondering how he was going to keep his thumb dry. Great update! (I get so excited when you have a new post!). :love:

[Alysa]

Ooooo! You have made me so excited about going! Thanks for sharing!

[nts4wdw]

I'm all caught up and all your pictures are so great! Thanks for the party pics! It looked like a blast.

[mickeysmyboy]

Your shirts look fantastic!! I can't believe your DH made them!!! My DH would never Although, I wouldn' be suprised if he took a crack at the cricut. I got one about a month and a half ago and he thinks it's so cool!

I'm sorry tink got a tummyache! I hope it didn't hamper the rest of your trip!

We love MNSSHP! We went in 06 and had a great time! DH still talks about it!! We just decided the other day that we're going to go back in 2010 for the party!!!

[S'sMom]

Hi just finished reading your TR. Your children are just gorgeous, and my ds will be 6 months when we make the trip for Christmas. Its funny you talk about the sock, my ds has that same sock :) on BOTH hands. ((lol)).

Those t-shirts are a wonderful touch! I cant wait to read more.

[FairyGodmotherJen]

The shirts look awesome!! We were both impressed!:thumbsup2 The party looks so cool! There is only one problem: now I am thinking about going! :rotfl2: What do you think? Should we do it? Love the picture of tink in her sunglasses! :cutie: I think the sock was a great idea.:) I was wondering how he was going to keep his thumb dry. Great update! (I get so excited when you have a new post!). :love:

YES YOU SHOULD GO!!! I have a feeling DH could come up with a pretty cool shirt for you guys, too. ;) Seriously - it's such a cool atmosphere. And seriously - concentrate on seeing the characters, the parade and the fireworks. You guys could even skip the first parade, hit shorter character lines, and wait for the second one (I have heard people talk about a second one, though I don't remember seeing anything posted while we were there - make sure they still have one this year! Maybe they only do the second parade closer to Halloween??) I have to go look up your pre-trippie - havent been there in a few days!

Ooooo! You have made me so excited about going! Thanks for sharing!
You'll have so much fun! I can't believe we were there this time last week. The funny thing is - Ike is currently raining down on us here, in Indiana! I worried about it hitting us on Tuesday when we were coming home. :rotfl:

I'm all caught up and all your pictures are so great! Thanks for the party pics! It looked like a blast.
It really is. If you ever get a chance to go, I would do it. I know it's hard with school and all, but it's so much fun. Another use for those APs, right?? (I SOOO wish we lived close enough to make use of those!)

Your shirts look fantastic!! I can't believe your DH made them!!! My DH would never Although, I wouldn' be suprised if he took a crack at the cricut. I got one about a month and a half ago and he thinks it's so cool!

I'm sorry tink got a tummyache! I hope it didn't hamper the rest of your trip!

We love MNSSHP! We went in 06 and had a great time! DH still talks about it!! We just decided the other day that we're going to go back in 2010 for the party!!!

We're probably going in 2010, but it's going to be in June. Thanks for the comments about the shirts - I read it to DH, and he just smiled. He was showing people pictures of them at mass this morning! Of course, he printed them off under the pretext of leting the kids show their Sunday school classes... The Cricut is just another toy for those big boys, isn't it? :lmao: I do love mine for my scrapbooking, though.

Hi just finished reading your TR. Your children are just gorgeous, and my ds will be 6 months when we make the trip for Christmas. Its funny you talk about the sock, my ds has that same sock :) on BOTH hands. ((lol)).

Those t-shirts are a wonderful touch! I cant wait to read more.

Thank you! I'm glad you're reading along with us. It was much easier than I thought it would be taking Pooh along. And it will be even easier for you, since your DS will be sitting up (or closer to it). They're very containable, and still don't mind taking naps in the stroller, although my time for that is limited, since he woke up sooo easily. My kids all were too nosy about what was going on around them to sleep for long in the stroller once they got to be about a year old. :confused3

[3princesses+aprince]

How exciting, you got to go to Disney while you were home with the baby. I love the pre trip and trip report, can't wait to read the rest. Your kids are adorable.

[FairyGodmotherJen]

Day 3

Ok, so the alarm hurt a bit this morning. (I can’t do the wake-up calls. Waking up to the sound of a phone makes me jump! I guess I could get one for the kids, and just make sure I’m already up, but I don’t think either of them would answer it out of a dead sleep!) After a long day, it had been really good to fall into bed, but not for long enough!. DH and I showered and dressed, and I nursed Pooh while the rest of them had breakfast in the room (Pop Tarts for the kids, cereal for DH and me). We were a little later getting out than I wanted, but we were lucky in the bus department. We actually made it to DHS for rope drop on an EMH morning!

Here’s a picture of the crowd (not really too bad) – and everyone around us was talking about how best to get to Toy Story Mania!

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%203/100_1032.jpg

We joked and chatted with some of the others that were there. Someone wondered aloud about something (I have no idea what it was now), and I just spouted the answer off the top of my head. Several people around me stopped and stared. You know the look – the “Does she actually have a life?” look. I read some of these other trip reports about people that go to Mousefest and some of the other meet-ups, and I think that it’d be nice to not get “the look” when talking about WDW!! I was only trying to help, after all! The people whose question I answered thanked me; it was just people around them. This wouldn’t be the last time this happened…

When the music swelled and the rope dropped, we followed the hoards to Pixar Place. I had read about these crowds, but wondered what we’d experience, since crowd levels had been so good so far. I don’t think it was as bad as it was in the summer, but it was definitely a minor stampede. The three kids/two strollers issue came up again – we put Goofy in the umbrella stroller, since he’s perpetually in S-L-O-W-M-OT-I-O-M-N. Tink was not all that thrilled that we were taking more than a leisurely pace. Don’t get me wrong – I wasn’t dragging my kid behind me as I ran for the Fast Pass machines. But we weren’t strolling. I got to hear how unhappy she was about this the entire walk. Again, this is why I call her Tink – she definitely speaks her mind!

We got to the ride, and I immediately jumped in line for Fast Passes with our tickets, which I’d been holding onto since we cleared the gates. DH and the kids got in the stand-by line. I got in one line…the machine jammed. A cast member came over to look at it. I got in another line…that machine jammed as I was getting there. Finally, I was in the last line. The gentleman who was trying to get fast passes was putting his tickets in fairly rapidly – I think he had five of them. Good – I finally found a good line. Then, he realized that he still needed one more pass, and he had not been keeping track of which tickets he’d already fed through. This was a problem, as he had to now feed ALL of them back into the machines, getting the little reject tickets on the ones he’d already used, until he found it! In the meantime, DH had had to pull the kids out of line and go back to the end again (twice, I think - it was moving really fast!). I was a little more than frustrated – so was the lady between me and the man. He finally got his act together, and then the lady in front of me got her two, and then I finally did mine (making sure I kept track of which ones I’d already used). I joined DH and the kids in line, and we went in.

This really is a cool ride. DH got quite a kick out of the theming, as you can tell by these pictures…
http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%203/100_1033.jpg
http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%203/100_1034.jpg

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%203/100_1037.jpg

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%203/100_1047.jpg


We did take Pooh on this with us. I had read a thread that said infants were allowed, but that it was a little rough. That’s an accurate description. When the ride turns, it jerks you around a little bit. You can tell when it’s coming, though, because they count down the last five seconds or so at each gallery. I’d just stop pulling the string that you shoot with when they got close to saying, "one," and make sure I was bracing Pooh on either side. He was asleep in the queue, but woke up because I had to turn him to face the front. He watched everything with his little mouth hanging open, but didn’t like the 3-D effects of the air blowing at him, etc. DH actually missed the high score of the day on this trip through by only 3000 points! And Goofy was over the moon about this one.

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%203/100_1066.jpg

He talked about it for the rest of the trip.

The outer area of the Toy Story ride is really neat, too.

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%203/100_1076.jpg

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%203/100_1082.jpg

This guy just wandered in, so the kids had their pictures taken with him!
http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%203/100_1174.jpg
There were other Toy Story characters there for meet and greets, as well, but we'd gotten Buzz and Woody's autographs two years in a row, so we decided against waiting in line this time.


We left TSM with our Fast Passes snugly in our pockets, so that we could come back and ride again. The return time was only about an hour away, but there were a few must-dos in this park for us. The older kids really wanted to see the revamped Playhouse Disney show, but it wasn’t an EMH ride. So we headed to the Muppet 3-D ride. I love this ride! Watching the Muppets was a weekly event for me when I was little. The kids really liked this one last trip, and it didn’t disappoint this time. I swear, Goofy will laugh uncontrollably at any kind of physical comedy. I always say I’m NEVER allowing him to see the Three Stooges, or I’ll be cursed with them forevermore afterwards! He loved Fozzie Bear, though! Really, a lot of what the Muppets do is physical comedy, so he pretty much laughed through the whole thing.

I have a bit of a funny story about this ride. DH had gotten up with Pooh, who needed the morning nap that had been interrupted at Toy Story Mania pretty badly. So it was just me with Tink and Goofy in our seats. The movie started, and I pulled my glasses from the top of my head to watch the 3-D effects. I was very disappointed to see that the movie looked out-of-focus. I was pretty sure we were the first group to go through that day, so I figured they just needed to adjust it. Five minutes into the show, they still hadn’t focused it and I was getting a little peeved. Why couldn’t they fix it – or at least stop it? It was a little hard to focus on this way. Then I noticed Goofy reaching out for one of the effects. Well, that didn’t make sense. If they were working fo him, why not me? Then I looked down – and saw my 3-D glasses on my knee. I was wearing my sunglasses!! I guess I got them switched around when the movie started. My excuse is that that's about when DH had to get up w/Pooh. I was pretty embarrassed – but the show looked a whole lot better once I switched!!!

We left the Muppets and went to look through the shop there. One of these days I’m going to spring for a Muppet T-shirt, but I haven’t been able to bring myself to spend the money yet. Then we headed for DH’s favorite store – Tatooine Traders! Yes, it’s a must-do for him. Goofy and I had to go back and find his sunglasses that he’d left in the Muppet store, but DH got to shop with Tink and Pooh for a little while. We then noticed that the stand-by wait for Star Tours was five minutes – the Fast Pass machines weren’t even turned on. This was common on this trip – and oh, so cool!! So DH decided to ride it. The kids and I waited outside. It was getting pretty darn hot (the good thing about the rain the day before was that it kept the temperature down), so we used some snack credits to get some frozen treats. This tells you how my kids ate on this trip: Tink got the strawberry bar, Goofy got a Mickey Ear bar, and I got a frozen banana. Only the frozen banana got completely finished by its original orderer. Tink licked all over her bar and then decided she didn’t want it – and after last night’s stomach cramps, no one was about to finish it for her! Goofy did a little better on his Mickey Ear bar, but DH still ended up finishing it when he came out. You know it’s bad when they’re not eating the ice cream!!!

Just then, the Jedi Training Academy session started. DH was salivating at the mouth, so I agreed to watch for a while.

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%203/100_1098.jpg
Even though Goofy is into swords now, we couldn’t get him to go up there. So DH just videotaped it for now. In the video, you can see the Jedi Master come out and do his little thing where he’s sensing the Force in the kids, and then he whips his Jedi hood down and flares his robes as he takes them off. I had to laugh, and on the tape you can hear me say, “Guys, you’re looking at Daddy’s dream job right now.” You can’t see DH on the tape, of course, but he turned and nodded his head at me, smiling. Sometimes, they’re just big kids… We didn’t stay for very long – just long enough to see him choose the kids. There were actually a few kids that tried to just come up on stage, even though he hadn’t picked them. He asked them to go back to their places, but they didn’t. He had to say something like, “You were not chosen. If you do not return to the audience I will have to ask someone to escort you back down.” I suppose they could have misunderstood, but you’d think that after the first warning they’d have gone back down the steps if that was the case. I really hope that it wasn’t a case of a parent saying, “Who cares? Who’s going to stop you – go on up!” I only say this because I’ve witnessed run-ins with parents, as a teacher, who would have done that. Talk about spoiling the magic!!

Well, right about now Pooh was getting pretty hungry, so we headed towards the Playhouse Disney show. The plan was for them to hit the show while I found a (hopefully cool) place to nurse. The cool part was hard to come by, but I was able to find a slightly out-of-the-way place at the exit to a shop so I could get a waft of air conditioning here and there. I didn’t want to go back to the baby center at the entrance, so I just used a blanket and found an unobtrusive corner. It worked ok. After Pooh was done, I scouted out a very important person. DH really wanted to get his picture taken with Sorcerer Mickey, and I’d heard he was at the end of the Magic of Disney Animation tour. This is something I’d love to take the time to do…when the kids are older! But I found him and still had time to wander the shops before DH and the kids got done with the Playhouse Disney show.
http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%203/100_1123.jpg

[FairyGodmotherJen]

We headed in to the Magic of Animation afterward, and there he was!

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%203/100_1128.jpg

(We’d heard that Mr. Incredible and Frozone from The Incredibles were here, too, but not today.) As you can see, DH had fun.
http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%203/100_1133.jpg

Actually, there were two Japanese girls in front of us who, by the reaction of the photographer, had been there at least once already that morning. They had a whole pile of pictures of Mickey in different costumes. So we weren’t the weirdest ones there, at all!

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%203/100_1134.jpg
(My sister-in-law - Belle8306 here on the boards - and mother-in-law made our shirts before our trip last summer. That's why poor Pooh doesn't have one. We just didn't get around to it!)

We took a few minutes to go through the displays and interactive exhibits here. We also found this little guy (just a cut-out), but he’s pretty darn popular in our house right now, so we had to get a picture taken with him, as well.
http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%203/100_1144.jpg

When we left this area, some of the kids’ favorite characters from Playhouse Disney were out. We got to see Handy Manny. They honestly knocked him over, they ran at him so hard!
http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%203/100_1153.jpg

June

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%203/100_1161.jpg

and Annie and Leo from The Little Einsteins. Annie had some fun with Tink, as you can see.

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%203/100_1171.jpg

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%203/100_1172.jpg

After that, we returned to Toy Story Mania to ride with our Fast Passes. Pooh looked the same way he did when we visited it earlier:
http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%203/100_1176.jpg
DH was hoping that, since he’d come within 3,000 points the last time, he could hit one of the high scores of the day. However, the new current high scores were twice what they’d been before! Needless to say, he wasn’t quite as close this time. We switched riders – I rode with Goofy (and Pooh), and DH rode with Tink.
http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%203/100_1178.jpg

Goofy insisted on telling me what was coming next every time we turned. He already had it memorized! This is now right up there with Buzz as one of his favorites. If we’d have had time to go back to DHS, he would have begged to ride it again. As it was, when we returned at about noon, the Fast Passes were gone, and the stand-by wait was 50 minutes. Too long a wait for us!

At this point, we were all starving. Now started the most difficult quest of the trip – finding a counter service restaurant where my children would eat. I am not kidding you – I think we walked up and checked the menu of each and every counter service place in the park. I’d done research on the Internet before we’d left and made sure I made notes of places where I thought the kids would eat. The only problem was they’d decided they didn’t like the chicken nuggets WDW served at counter service places now! That was how I’d based my decisions, and I didn’t have anything else written down. There really isn’t any place in the whole park they’ll eat at. We ended up getting pizza for DH and I at Pizza Planet.
http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%203/100_1186.jpg
We compromised with the kids…well, it was a vacation compromise. popcorn:: We ate pizza and salad (which sounded SOOO good – I was finally over my stomach bug!). The kids ate some of our crust (shhhh – we told them it was breadsticks) and the huge chocolate chip cookie that came with my meal, and then each were allowed to play one video game (the whole reason Goofy wanted to come here, even though he doesn’t really eat pizza well). Yes, we came all the way to WDW to play Mario Kart and the Claw!
http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%203/100_1179.jpg

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%203/100_1184.jpg
We then got them a meal to split when we got back to the room. (Actually, it was the plain pasta and grapes meal that I described yesterday – I need to look at my notes more often when I type! I think we just snacked for lunch on Friday…anyway…) Of course, that meal didn’t get eaten well, anyway. So what’s new????

After Pizza Planet, we felt a lot better. We made our way to the exit, stopping to take some pictures on the way.

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%203/100_1189.jpg

We also wanted to stop at the Mickey's of Hollywood store on the main drag near the entrance. We wandered around for a little while, and while Tink and I were looking at pins (I’m trying hard to get her hooked along with me) a CM stopped us. She started talking to “the princess” and asked if she’d like to do Mickey a favor. Apparently, he wanted a record of some of the famous princes and princesses that came into the store. According to her, he originally thought about having them put their hands in cement like the “other stars” do, but decided it would be too messy. ;) So the CM asked if she could just trace Tink’s hands on paper instead, and then put them, with her first name and hometown, into a big book for Mickey to check when he came back. Of course, Tink ate this up completely. Here are a few shots of her and the CM, and of the Dreams certificate that Tink got. She was on cloud 9!!
http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%203/100_1194.jpg

We headed back to the room to rest and get the lunch for the two older kids mentioned above. We were hoping to get to the pool before our ADR at Whispering Canyon.

[belle8306]

I have so many things to comment on! :yay: I can't wait to ride Toy Story now. It looks really cool. I love the sleeping pic of Pooh. I am glad that you found Mickey! I really want to do the annimation academy this time. So, the pizza was good? I was trying to think of what CS we wanted to do there. That might be an option. Plus it is close to Muppets which is a must do. (Kohl's had some Muppets shirts in the men's dept). Love the story about the glasses!:3dglasses I hear you on the weird looks from people. That is how people at work look at me when they find out we are "going there again".:rolleyes: They just don't get it! Great update!:love:

[FairyGodmotherJen]

I have so many things to comment on! :yay: I can't wait to ride Toy Story now. It looks really cool. I love the sleeping pic of Pooh. I am glad that you found Mickey! I really want to do the annimation academy this time. So, the pizza was good? I was trying to think of what CS we wanted to do there. That might be an option. Plus it is close to Muppets which is a must do. (Kohl's had some Muppets shirts in the men's dept). Love the story about the glasses!:3dglasses I hear you on the weird looks from people. That is how people at work look at me when they find out we are "going there again".:rolleyes: They just don't get it! Great update!:love:

Thanks! The pizza at Pizza Planety isn't bad - I did use a napkin to soak up some of the grease first, but it hit the spot that day. I had another "weird Disney person" moment at my meeting with one of the groups I'm in at church tonight. At least tonight, I knew it was someone who likes me anyway :rotfl:, and she was actually asking how our trip had been. She just doesn't understand because she loves to travel to new places. To each their own, I guess. ;)

[FairyGodmotherJen]

Day 3 part 2

DH hit the food court with the two older kids while I went back to nurse Pooh. They came back and picked at it for a little while, and the DH decided that, since he hadn’t had ice cream with us at DHS, he’d go get some at the food court. We have enjoyed the ice cream counter there for three trips now. We love to go get waffle cones there because they overload the cones with ice cream – YUM. We are definitely ice cream people.

While he was out doing that, I got Tink and Goofy ready for the pool. It was later than we’d originally planned to get back, and I knew that if they were going to get to the pool and back, and then we were going to get to the Wilderness Lodge, we’d be cutting it close. I put Pooh in the stroller and walked with them to the pool in the hopes that he’d fall asleep (he did – in about five minutes). We weren’t going to take him into the water in the middle of the day when the sun was strongest, so someone had to stay dry. I did manage to take some pictures of the three swimmers, though.
http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%203/100_1196.jpg

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%203/100_1200.jpg

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%203/100_1207.jpg

I’d originally told him that I wanted to be waiting for the buses at 4:30 for our 5:35 ADR. When I got back to the room, it was almost 4 already and they’d been at the pool about fifteen minutes. Between getting back to the room later, waiting for the kids to eat, and then waiting for him to get his ice cream, we didn’t leave much time for the pool. Sure enough, they came hurrying back to the room as soon as DH realized what time it was (it was about 4:15 or so). But since I had everything out and ready, we were actually at the buses by 4:40. Of course, no one showered the chlorine off, but no one turned green, either. ;)

We hopped a MK bus fairly quickly, and then had transportation pixie dust pixiedust: going for us again when there was a ferry to the Wilderness Lodge about to pull out as we walked up. He waited for us to get on board, and we were off right away. It’s a nice ride over to the WL, but we sat out in the sun, and like I said it was HOT. We met a very nice family that was there from the east coast somewhere and chatted with them, and Tink got all motherly over their little 2 ½ year old (she does that quite a bit). We didn’t get to look around the lodge very much before we ate, but we figured that we didn’t have much planned for after dinner and could do it then. We passed this on our way - it's official now, I guess, that it's going to be DVC. It looks HUGE!!!

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%203/100_1220.jpg

We found the restaurant (I couldn’t remember where it was from looking around this resort last summer) and I checked us in. We’d never been here, but I’d read a lot about it and was looking forward to it. The kids played Lincoln Logs in the waiting area for a minute, and then our buzzer went off. It actually talked to us, which the kids got a kick out of. We were a little disappointed that we were put back in a corner in a smaller area off the main dining room. We heard a lot going on in the main room, but had to get up from the table to see any of it. Tink still participated in the stick pony race/parade thing, but that was about it.
http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%203/100_1233.jpg

Our server was great – she introduced herself as “Hedda Lettuce.” DH said it even said that under server’s name on the receipt.

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%203/100_1229.jpg

This picture says it all – this is probably the meal where the kids ate the least, believe it or not. I’m not sure if they changed the kid’s menu after I booked it, or I was just in another world when I looked at it, because the kid’s choices were mac and cheese (and my kids don’t eat if it doesn’t come out of the blue box, sigh) or grilled chicken strips with pasta. Tink got the chicken, thinking she could at least eat the pasta with the sauce off of it, but still didn’t eat. Goofy got the mac and cheese, but it was a no go. He did, however, get a chocolate milk shake, which he loved, so I can’t say he didn’t get any sustenance that day!! :rotfl2: Yes, sadly, Tink is even picky about her sweets, so no milkshake for her. I think she had regular milk (doesn’t even like chocolate milk!!! :confused3 )

DH and I enjoyed the food, but I had to be careful with what I ate so couldn’t have a lot of barbeque sauce. The peel-and-eat shrimp, which I’d been looking forward to having to myself since DH doesn’t eat seafood (we’ve all got our food hangups, I guess) were a little spicy and I was worried about what it would do to Pooh’s stomach. I had the rotisserie chicken, but it was nothing to write home about. The milkshakes were great, though, as was the salad, which I got more of, and the cornbread. I didn’t go hungry, trust me! We ended up having her box up our desserts (apple pie w/carmel sauce – the best part of the meal!!!). DH had two shakes, since they were bottomless – orange and bubble gum. (I know – a bubble gum milkshake!!! It sounds gross just thinking about it, doesn’t it???)

We did get Tink to ask for ketchup, since we’d ordered French fries for them to split in a desperate attempt to get food into them (didn’t work). Hedda took them into the main room to yell for it (I was feeding Pooh cereal, so I couldn’t go with them), but they wouldn’t yell. (If you haven’t been to WCC, if you ask for ketchup, they make you yell your request to the whole restaurant, and then EVERYONE brings you their ketchup. It’s fun!) Hedda ended up yelling for them. Here’s a picture of them with stage fright:

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%203/100_1231.jpg

They didn’t know what to make of it, but Tink sure liked taking it to the next person! Goofy had a rough meal – he is at a stage where sitting in his chair for more then 5 or ten minutes is a very difficult thing. I ended up taking him to the lobby after a while - it was just easier to calm him down out there.

Once DH, Tink and Pooh joined us we looked around the resort.

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%203/100_1236.jpg

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%203/100_1240.jpg

Not my best angle, but it shows how pretty the walk to the ferry is:
http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%203/100_1241.jpg

Like I said earlier, I’d been here to look around, but DH hasn’t. I don’t think he was as impressed as I was right off the bat. But the biggest thing that bothered him was that, as far as we could tell, the only transportation to the MK was that ferry. He didn’t like that much, as he felt it wouldn’t come as often as the buses (not that we know that for a fact, as we’ve never stayed there, but that was the impression we got). And to make his point for him, we had to wait for the next ferry when we got to the dock because the first one was full. But I don’t think we waited more than ten minutes. It’s just that you’re much more likely to be bitten by mosquitoes when you’re waiting for a ferry on the lovely, tranquil Seven Seas Lagoon than when you’re waiting for a bus at the All Stars. And if there’s a mosquito in sight, it’s going to find DH.

We decided to head into the MK when we got there that night, which wasn’t in our original plans. But DH is a big shopper, and he wanted to hit some of the shops on Main St. We explained to the kids that we weren’t going to be doing any rides, but that we were just going to look around (which, surprisingly, they were ok with – you could tell they were tired). This is the sight that greeted us as we pulled up to the ferry dock:

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%203/100_1253.jpg

Well, at this time of year the Spectro Magic parade is only done on certain nights of the week…and this was one of those nights. So we didn’t stay very long, because Main Street was packed because the parade was starting in 45 minutes. We ended up going back to the hotel and putting the older kids down to bed at a decent time (the only time the whole trip). Well, we were on vacation, right???

So, DH and I still had the apple pie to eat from dinner. And Pooh, having napped in the bus on the way back from MK, was wide awake and wired. So I decided to take him with me to the food court to refill my mug and get ice cream to go with our pie. I thought the walk in the dark to the food court would calm Pooh down a bit. Well, it might have. But, as it turned out, about 500 new guests had arrived that day, including a large group of kids from (according to their t-shirts) a very famous Brazilian high school. The food court was PACKED. I thought there might be a few people there, but not like this! It was crazy! :eek: I think I waited at least 15 minutes in line to get my ice cream, then had to go stand in another line to check out for at least another 15. Meanwhile, the food court itself was bustling with activity – so much for calming Pooh down enough to get him to go to sleep! I think it made him worse!! I ended up striking up a conversation with the lady behind me. The reason that many of the lines were taking so long was because very few of the people there at the time spoke English. It also seemed to be their first day on the Dining Plan, because the (VERY patient) CM at the register was having to explain it to them over and over again. Luckily, she spoke Portuguese, since the people in front of me were members of the Brazilian group. The lady behind me made the comment that she couldn’t believe these people would come here without knowing a single bit of English. It made me think, though – I’d love to travel to Spain, or to Germany, or a lot of places where English is not the native language. Would I have to become fluent in that language before I could visit? If that’s the case, I probably will never travel there. I think I’d be terrified if I went to another country without SOMEONE who could speak the language! I had to admire their courage. I admit that I was very surprised by the waits in line that evening, but I have a hard time getting upset at the people who are only visiting who don’t speak our language, knowing that I’m not bilingual, either. It did make for some interesting people watching, though!! ;)

I finally got back to our room with half-melted ice cream and a very wired baby about a half an hour after I’d left. I laughed with DH as I told him the story (he ended up running into them the next night). I actually asked a CM there in the food court on our last night if it was like this every night, or if it was just because of free dining. She said that might be something to do with it, but really there was something going on all the time. I guess a few months ago there was a large group from another country that really liked to party, and they were standing on the tables singing at 10 at night!!! Now, that I might have enjoyed seeing…

Slightly off topic, I also have to add that I never had issues with the Brazilian teens. They were not overly boisterous (at least not in the parts of the resort that we were in), and were polite kids. I saw them in the parks a few times, as well, and they were just having fun. I’ve run into much more rude teenagers in our high school. I know that people shudder when they see the large groups on tour at the same time as them, but I had to let people know that, at least with this one, it wasn’t an issue.

So, apple pie a la mode finished, and Pooh finally calmed down and asleep (an hour after I got back to the room!!), DH and I finally made it to bed. No alarms to set tonight, because we had nothing planned until our 11:45 ADR the next day in Epcot. So, we finally settled into (what we hoped would be) a good night’s rest.

[mickeysmyboy]

Sounds like another great day! I'm sorry you had so many problems getting the little ones to eat! Although, it sounds very familiar to me...

As for WL and the ferry, we stayed at WL in 06 and never had a problem with the ferry service. There was always a ferry within 10 minutes of us arriving. One early morning we had a breakfast ADR for CRT and went to catch the ferry to MK. Little did I know there wasn't one at that hour!! Yikes! Luckily the very nice CM who was the captain of the boat to the Contemporary told me that and we got on with her and took the monorail to MK! In 06 WL and FW shared a ferry. That was the only the issue we had. We had to make another stop 1/2 the time. I believe they both now have their own ferry. We found the ferry much more relaxing then the bus and walk not bad and beautiful! I definitely recommend staying there! Ok, I sound like travel book now!

Can't wait to read more!

[belle8306]

I love the Wilderness Lodge pics.:goodvibes What do you think about doing Whispering Canyon in 2010? The milk shakes looked good. Although, the only thing that I like in bublegum flavor is bublegum. ;) I am looking forward to more!:thumbsup2

[FairyGodmotherJen]

Sounds like another great day! I'm sorry you had so many problems getting the little ones to eat! Although, it sounds very familiar to me...

As for WL and the ferry, we stayed at WL in 06 and never had a problem with the ferry service. There was always a ferry within 10 minutes of us arriving. One early morning we had a breakfast ADR for CRT and went to catch the ferry to MK. Little did I know there wasn't one at that hour!! Yikes! Luckily the very nice CM who was the captain of the boat to the Contemporary told me that and we got on with her and took the monorail to MK! In 06 WL and FW shared a ferry. That was the only the issue we had. We had to make another stop 1/2 the time. I believe they both now have their own ferry. We found the ferry much more relaxing then the bus and walk not bad and beautiful! I definitely recommend staying there! Ok, I sound like travel book now!

Can't wait to read more!


Good to hear about WL - it's actually a deluxe that might be within our reach some day! Also glad to hear that someone else struggles with picky kids! :rotfl: Although, it might be more of a general phase for Goofy - he hasn't gotten any better since the trip. He just isn't interested in eating. Snacking, on the other hand, is one of his favorite passtimes...popcorn::

I love the Wilderness Lodge pics.:goodvibes What do you think about doing Whispering Canyon in 2010? The milk shakes looked good. Although, the only thing that I like in bublegum flavor is bublegum. ;) I am looking forward to more!:thumbsup2


The milkshakes were great, but DH and I weren't big on the rest of the evening. We'll have to keep it on the list for now, though. DH wants to take his dad for the milkshakes, too!

I have half of an update written, but it's on DH's laptop (wrote it while Tink was at gymnastics yesterday). I will hopefully have it up by tomorrow! Thanks for the encouragement!! :flower3:

[DisneyMom5]

Hey, I'm returning the favor and reading your report.

Well, actually I'm subscribing to your report, but I will be back to read it all later.

Off to make dinner! :thumbsup2

[FairyGodmotherJen]

Hey, I'm returning the favor and reading your report.

Well, actually I'm subscribing to your report, but I will be back to read it all later.

Off to make dinner! :thumbsup2

Welcome!!!

[FairyGodmotherJen]

Day 4 – Epcot

The alarm didn’t go off today!!! At least, the electric alarm didn’t go off. Pooh, on the other hand, went off at 6:30. But that was late for him, and this was the first time during the trip he hadn’t been up at all during the night, so we’ll take it! We let the older two wake up whenever (which isn’t very late when you’re all crammed in together, but that’s ok) and ate a leisurely breakfast in the room. It is something we did for the first time on our last trip – not rush out to a park first thing! It was unheard of for us at Disney, but we were hooked. This was such a peaceful morning!

We went swimming all together this time (since we were out before 10, I didn’t feel bad taking Pooh). So there are no pictures since no one stayed dry. But it was great to just play in the water with the kids. Pooh isn’t a fan of being cold, so he didn’t last in the water too long, but between DH and I we had it covered.

We went back to the room, hit the showers and were dressed and ready to go ALMOST at the time I wanted to be. It’s inevitable with us, I swear.

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%204/100_1258.jpg

This was our one and only Epcot day. Our plan was to eat our lunch at Garden Grill then spend the entire day at Epcot, ending with Illuminations (hopefully!). Since we wanted the kids to last a while, and it was supposed to be hot again, we decided we’d fork out the money ($31!!!!!!) for a stroller. We were glad we did it for the day, but whose budget allows for this every day???!!? Of course, getting to the bus stop late, and waiting longer for a bus than we had been (but we’d been having REALLY good luck with buses up until then) got us there just in time for lunch. I took the confirmation number and Pooh and headed to The Land while DH took Tink and Goofy to get the stroller.

I checked in once I got to the restaurant and waited for the others. While I was standing there, several people walked up and headed to the counter and were told it would only be about a half hour wait. I know for a fact at least one of those families got in sooner than that (closer to 15 minutes). This is something to keep in mind – even during free dining, it was fairly easy to get in here, at least for lunch. And as you’ll see, this was one of our favorite meals. The character interaction is ending sometime this fall, though, so I don’t know what will become of this place.

We were seated shortly after DH and the kids caught up with us. We were on the top tier, and had a great view (though I don’t think many seats have a bad view here). If you’re not familiar with the restaurant, it rotates slowly through some of the scenes from the “Living with the Land” ride. It was neat, and made me want to ride the attraction. Goofy, however, had a different reaction. The four-year-old-fear-thing reared its head again, and he spent most of this meal on a lap. We finally figured out, at the end of the meal as we were leaving, that the reason he’d been telling us to hurry because we had to leave was not just because he didn’t like the noises. He honestly thought that the exit was only available when we could see it! I wish we’d have figured this out before. We spent a lot of time trying to reassure him that it was ok – we didn’t really understand what he was afraid of, and if we had we probably could’ve helped him a whole lot more! Tink loved the different views, though.

This meal is served family style. They have a kid’s selection, too, which is the standard chicken nuggets, French fries and mac & cheese. The adult menu is great – marinated flank steak, southern-fried catfish, rotisserie chicken, fresh green beans, cheesy potato casserole and oatmeal pull-apart rolls. I think there’s a salad that’s grown there in The Land that’s only served at dinner. Everything we had was yummy!! I got to eat all of the catfish, since DH doesn’t do fish. We ended up asking for more of the steak and the potatoes when our very attentive server came around. For dessert, we had a yummy berry turnover-type thing. The kids got make-your-own cupcakes, which they LOVED (and which finally got them to eat a little!).
http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%204/100_1293.jpg

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%204/100_1296.jpg

This is also a character meal (at the moment). It was Chip and Dale, Pluto and Mickey.

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%204/100_1266.jpg

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%204/100_1273.jpg

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%204/100_1278.jpg

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%204/100_1285.jpg

They were all great – lots of time was spent at each table, and they actually came back around during the course of our meal and played (since the pictures/autographs were over) with the kids – including Pooh.

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%204/100_1270.jpg

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%204/100_1274.jpg

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%204/100_1286.jpg

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%204/100_1280.jpg

He seems to get a kick out of Chip and Dale. The kids really had fun here, and DH and I would come back without hesitation. I just wish I knew what they were going to do here now!

After we finished, DH asked me if I wanted a Fast Pass for Soarin’. There’s a bit of a story behind this – on our first “our family only” trip back in 2005, we put Future World off until the last day and it was the only day that the crowds prohibited us from doing rides. Soarin’ was one of those rides we didn’t get to do. Of course, it was the only ride that I’d really wanted to try just for me! So last summer, DH was determined I would ride it. Actually, we all rode it. I loved it – the kids, not so much. And we couldn’t all ride it this time because of Pooh. So I went ahead and let him get me a Fast Pass while I got the kids downstairs. To my surprise, he came back with a Fast Pass time about 40 minutes from the current time! I couldn’t believe it. He said the standby wait was about 30 minutes. When I took the time to look at the Tip Board, the wait was listed as 20 minutes for Soarin’ and 30 for Mission Space. I loved going at this time of year!!

While I waited for my Fast Pass, we went to the Seas with Nemo and Friends.

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%204/100_1297.jpg

This had been a highlight of our last trip. In fact, my kids had never seen Finding Nemo when we went last year. But we now were major Nemo fans (actually, they were hooked the moment they went on the ride – we came home with a stuffed Squirt for Goofy – his pick!). So we walked through the empty queue and jumped on our Clam Mobiles. This is a bit of a basic ride to me, but the kids love it. We went straight from there to Turtle Talk, since it was only an 8 minute wait when we got there. Tink was able to ask a question last trip, so DH was helping her come up with one to ask in case she got picked this time, too. And (thanks to her hat, I think), she did! She asked how Squirt was doing. We learned that he’s just starting the third grade, but is “totally surfing on a fifth-grade level, dude.” :rotfl: I love that show! It’s so much fun to watch the kids interact with him.

While we were leaving Crush, Goofy kept insisting that we needed to go “switch the sharks.” He was adamant that this was something he’d done last time we were here, but we couldn’t figure out what he was talking about. It turns out it was this:

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%204/100_1307.jpg

You have to turn the wheel to match up the shark and fish heads/bodies. It’s odd what they remember!! After the obligatory picture with Bruce

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%204/100_1311.jpg

And the other sharks
http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%204/100_1309.jpg

Tink remembered something, as well. She wanted to do the Kidcot stop upstairs. So we jumped the escalator and headed up. At this point, we would be able to get more Fast Passes, so DH took Pooh and left to get one for Mission Space for him and three for Test Track, since Tink and I wanted to try this one this year. Tink, Goofy and I had fun making their Kidcot things.

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%204/100_1314.jpg

If you’ve never done this before, there are places at just about every attraction where the kids can add something to a necklace-type thing that they wear. At The Seas, Tink colored a dolphin and Goofy colored a shark for their little collection. (It’s different in World Showcase – more on that later). We then went to see the tail end of a manatee presentation, and we watched them for a little while. Goofy and Tink were actually pretty darn interested in the story behind these animals and why they’re endangered. The teacher in me loved explaining things to them that they heard in the video, especially since I was obsessed with sea life as a kid myself. We also caught the beginning of a dolphin session in the big tank, but it was pretty crowded and hard to see, so we only stayed for a little while.

We met back up with DH and walked to the fountains near the Imagination pavilion so that they could play while I road Soarin’. I didn’t remember, at first, that the Fast Pass line had a wait, too. I’d been waiting about 10 minutes in the line, and I was worried about DH and the kids getting bored. I sent him a text reminding him of the other water play area and telling him to move on with the kids if he wanted to. Of course, as I was sending it a CM came and asked if there were any single riders. Yeah!! I managed to shave off a decent amount of wait time this way. Of course, DH called me back as I was taking off on the ride, so I couldn’t really do anything. I was just a little disappointed – I was placed on the very end of the middle row, so I could see the edge of the screen unless I turned my head to focus on the middle. It was also a lot more focused in the middle, so I ended up just staying turned. I still enjoyed the flight, though, and headed out to meet with DH as, it turns out, they were just heading out. (He didn’t remember where the other play area was). When I found them, they were doing this:

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%204/100_1328.jpg

“But it’ll keep me cool, Mommy!”

We made a pit stop at Club Cool (they hadn’t been in the air conditioning this whole time like I had). Just for the record, you can do the slushies here (NOT in the build-your-own cups) for a snack credit. Neither of my kids drink sodas (for once, the pickiness is good!) so this was a good option for us. Of course, Tink doesn’t do slushies, either, but Goofy would live on them if I’d let him!!

We decided to split up again. I’d keep the kids at the water area while DH went to Mission Space. Then we’d switch, and Tink and I would go to Test Track first, with DH heading in afterwards. It turned out that it was a good thing that Goofy decided that all these rides were too much for him (he’d been ready to ride Test Track until we got there – I wouldn’t want him to do Mission Space yet!), because he immediately got COMPLETELY SOAKED. I mean, to-the-bone, head-to-toe soaked. I know lots of people suggest that you bring bathing suits for this. Well, I couldn’t fit all of Pooh’s stuff plus ponchos (just in case) and bathing suits in the backpack!! As you can see from the pictures below, Tink tiptoed around, getting only her legs and feet wet. For Goofy, though, there was no going back!

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%204/100_1331.jpg

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%204/100_1335.jpg

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%204/100_1337.jpg

DH left for Mission Space and I stayed with Pooh (who needed to nap) and the two water babies. Of course, five minutes after DH had left, the cooler water got to Goofy and he needed a potty break!! :scared1: AAAHHHH!! I had no idea where the bathrooms were, neither kid had shoes on, Pooh was screaming because he was overtired and having trouble falling asleep, and Goofy was doing the peepee dance. I had to get moving – and then my phone rang. DH, it turned out, had forgotten his Fast Pass when he left everything behind to ride! I told him what was going on and he hurried over, arriving just as I was throwing Goofy’s socks and shoes back on. :lovestruc Apparently it was a close call, but they made it. Tink had made a little friend, so she was completely happy to stay and play, and while the boys were gone Pooh finally gave out and went to sleep. When DH came back, he was shaking his head at how very wet Goofy was. He took a little video of Goofy letting the jets of water go straight up the back of his shirt, and then took off again. I finally had to have Goofy get out of the water so I could wring out his shirt and socks (he’d taken them back off and put them into a puddle, of course) and put them on the railing to dry at least a little. :laundy:

For the record, Mission Space is a long ride!! Even though DH walked right on, he was gone over a half hour. Of course, he did make a purchase in the gift shop as he was leaving…and it was a sale item, so you know he had to have searched for it! :rotfl2: Anyway, he got back and started to put Goofy back together, and Tink and I headed off for Test Track. We both enjoyed this, especially the outside ride, and Tink went on again with DH with another Fast Pass he’d picked up on his way back from Mission Space.

While they were gone, Goofy, Pooh and I toured Mouse Gear. I love this store! I could buy half of it. I did end up making my one non-pin souvenir purchase here. I got a ladies’ Mickey T – the bling version, since Mickey is all sparkly. I don’t think I’ve ever bought a t-shirt at Disney since our little family started coming, so it was fun. Of course, I realized yesterday that I can’t wear it when I’m going to be home with Pooh. He was covered with black glitter yesterday!
(continued...)

[FairyGodmotherJen]

Once DH and Tink returned, we were all starting to run on fumes between the heat and (in the kids’ case) lack of food. It was after 5, so we headed towards World Showcase for the one meal I KNEW the kids would eat – Refreshment Port.

For those of you that are not familiar with this esteemed eating establishment…it’s a McDonald’s.

Yes, my children ate McDonald’s chicken nuggets in World Showcase. :sad2:

Well, at least they ate!

Anyway…as soon as the kids had their McNuggets, I went with Pooh in search of my first Baby Care Center experience. The Baby Care Center in Epcot is in the best location, I think, because it’s more in the middle of the park (behind the Odyssey building, kind of in between WS and Future World. I can’t say enough about the Baby Care Centers! They are cool, quiet, places to recharge with your baby. Actually, I wish I’d have known – my whole family could have relaxed in the air conditioning while I nursed! As it was, I left DH with the older two and found the place on my own, figuring there wouldn’t be much there. I was very wrong! The nursing room was quiet, with comfortable chairs. Pooh loved it – he became much more animated once we were in there. I’m thinking it was due to the fact that he wasn’t baking out in the heat (a drawback to not being able to ride many of the rides!!) and he wasn’t being constantly over stimulated. There is also a separate changing area in each center, as well as an area for resting (usually with a TV and/or toys) and an area where you can purchase baby items. The MK center even had a room full of high chairs and a microwave where you could heat up baby food! I seriously wish more people knew about these. I mean, I’ve come across posts about them here and there on the DIS, but I didn’t realize what a great resource they were.

So, Pooh and I returned, refreshed, to find that the kids had FINALLY FINISHED A MEAL, :cool1: and were eating a few snack credits worth of ice cream cones as a reward (I know, but it was so uncommon on this trip!!!).

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%204/100_1343.jpg
(Yes, he's still wet! He was still wet when we put his pajamas on that evening!!!)
So they were feeling pretty good, too. Unfortunately, DH was not. He was hot and hungry, so we immediately headed towards the WS counter service restaurant we’d been planning to look at – Tangerine Café in Morocco. We’d eaten at Marrakesh in 2005, but hadn’t really been able to work a return trip in since for one reason or another. I was tempted to stop and tour the first few countries we passed , but when DH needs to eat, he needs to eat. He did manage to take a good photo of Canada (so pretty!), and we saw the entrance, at least, to Le Cellier (someday, I’d really like to try that place, after hearing so much about it here).

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%204/100_1345.jpg
We arrived in Morocco and decided we liked the looks of Tangerine Café’s menu, so I sat with the kids while DH went to order his food. It was at this point, as Pooh decided he’d rather we have chosen an air-conditioned place to eat (the only drawback of Tangerine Café), that I realized we’d lost the pacifier. The last time we remembered having it was when I was trying to get him to sleep at the water play area. We searched through the backpack, the stroller – everything. No pacifier to be seen!! Now, we had two more back in the room (we’re not completely stupid), but none with us. And it was only about 6 or 6:30 – we really didn’t want to head back. So we worked on getting him to settle with some cereal while we ate. It wasn’t the most relaxing meal, let me tell you. I finally got up with the kids and went out to explore the fountain in the courtyard with the kids while DH finished his baklava in peace. My kids love fountains, so it’s cheap entertainment!

We’d been out there a few minutes when something caught my eye – Aladdin and the Genie were across the way! I yelled to DH through the window where we were going and high-tailed it over there with the kids (he ended up joining us in time to take pictures, as you can see below). We’d never seen these particular characters before, so we were excited. Well, Tink and I were. Goofy, for some reason, wanted nothing to do with them, so we didn’t push him. Pooh got a kick out of them, though, and Aladdin came right up to him and interacted with him for a few minutes. Pooh also seems to be drawn to the color blue, so you can see him just staring at the Genie in these pictures.

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%204/100_1352.jpg

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%204/100_1356.jpg

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%204/100_1358.jpg

We all got packed back in the strollers and ready to head out.
http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%204/100_1340.jpg

It was time to hunt down some KidCot masks for the kids. We finally tracked one down in Japan, and the kids got a kick out of them.
http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%204/100_1362.jpg

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%204/100_1364.jpg

We spent the rest of our time in WS browsing the different lands and stopping at all of the KidCot stops we could find.

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%204/100_1366.jpg

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%204/100_1371.jpg

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%204/100_1379.jpg

By the way - I'm glad that Disney has a sponsor so that these stations can stay running, but WHY does it have to be Sharpie??? Goofy had permanent marker on his hands, legs and arms by the time we were done...

We didn’t get all of them, and Tink has said she wants to try to get them all in 2010. I think we’re going to need to do Epcot in two days that trip – one day starting early and ending earlier getting though Future World, and another day (starting later and staying out later) hitting WS.

At this point, we found a spot for Illuminations just off to the side of Cantina San Angel there in Mexico where there was a bench and a larger area to park the stroller. I was so excited to actually be getting to see it! DH took off to find a frozen espresso treat he’d seen earlier, and a soft pretzel for the kids. No luck on the espresso treat (this wasn’t his day) – the machine was broken, or they were out, or something. But we all settled in to wait (it was about 8:20 or so when we got our spot). We were right up against the railing, and there was another couple on the bench, but that was it. Tink and Goofy could sit in the stroller, and DH and I could take turns on the bench. We were pretty well set.

We had fun talking with the other couple, snacking, and (in DH’s case) getting the cameras ready. He videotaped it, but no pictures - too much going on!! The kids also passed on a little pixie dust of their own. pixiedust: I had a baggie of stickers from the dollar store for each of them (Cars for Goofy, Princesses for Tink), and I told them that they were magic stickers because we could give them to people who were hot and tired to make them smile. Goofy, with the sweet heart he has, said, “Yep, Mommy. See my face? I’m smiling! It’s because you gave me a sticker!” :hug: I had put one on his shirt just before this. So, they both had their light-up toys we’d bought them back in 2005 (best money we’ve ever spent – they’ve lasted through three trips, and I put them away each time so they’re “new” again) and a baggie full of stickers to share. Tink, in particular, couldn’t wait to give away her stickers. We had a great time passing them along.

Finally, the opening narration for Illuminations started. I LOVED the part where he says, something about hoping we enjoy Illuminations: Reflections of Earth and then it sounds like he’s blowing out all of the torches that have been lit!! Awesome!

It turns out, the globe that’s usually used for this show was being refurbished at the time (of course!!!). But I loved the show anyway. We’d gotten copies of the CD with all the music from the Millennium Celebration back in 2000, so the soundtrack was familiar to me (I have always really liked that CD!). The kids covered their ears, and remarked that “The fire was really, REALLY hot!” since you could feel it all the way out where we were on the shore, but they both really seemed to like it. And, since I held Pooh up against me so one ear was against my cheek and covered his other ear with my free hand, he was ok during it, too – only jumped a few times.

Then it was over, and we had to head back. Now, we’d gotten a spot near Mexico to make it easier to slip right out and not wait in that huge line for a bus. But by the time we packed everything back up, there was no escaping it. So, we made the best of it – enjoying more music from the CD that I liked so well (I really enjoy the song that accompanied that really cool parade they had in 2000 – with the guys on the stilts, remember?), walking slowly and attempting to take pictures, waving at the Cast Members as they waved goodbye to us. It was really enjoyable, especially because we had control of the children and I didn’t have to worry about someone getting separated. We ended up stopping at the really big pin kiosk there by the fountains. I got two pins – a summer 2008 pin and one that’s got Mickey in the umbrella scene from Singing in the Rain (my all-time favorite movie musical) that I just adore. Then we slowly made our way over to return the stroller, and our two wonderful older children didn’t complain even once on the way to the buses! We had a bit of a wait, but nowhere near as bad as I’d feared (probably a combination of low crowd levels and taking our time to get there). We talked to a very pleasant couple from New Jersey that had been for a parent’s night out that evening as we waited. DH made yet a few more friends on the bus ride home (he was standing, of course) and was trying to sell them on MNSSHP (yes, he is hooked).

We got back to the hotel, put the kids in bed
http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%204/100_1383.jpg

and DH went for ice cream for the two of us, since we hadn’t had a treat yet that night (hey – we were on vacation!). He ran into the huge crowds I’d run into the night before, and was amazed! Then we settled in to watch the Colts LOOSE their home opener :sad2: at the new stadium (which, I have to say, is really cool to go to – our high school played there in a fundraiser for Peyton Manning’s charity and we got to go), which was a bummer. But then we had to go to bed. Currently, the plan was to hit THREE (yes, I said three) different parks/areas the next day – AK for the Nemo musical, Downtown Disney so that DH could pick up the items he hadn’t gotten our first night, and MK because we always end there. Let me also note that we had a 9:20 ADR at Chef Mickey’s for breakfast, which was going to seriously affect our ability to do all of this. PLUS, we realized that it was an early morning EMH at AK the next day…and we’d be getting there 2-3 hours later. :eek: I was getting worried about this combination. Stay tuned to see how it went!!

[belle8306]

I love Epcot! :love: Two days there in 2010 would be fine with me!:thumbsup2 I love the picture with all three kids sitting in the strollers looking at the maps. I know how much they love those maps! Your pins sound cool! I love Singing in the Rain! We need to have a musical marathon day (with scrapbooking and chocolate of course). I really want to see Illuminations this time. I am hoping that we can do it. I also want to do Test Track. I think our DH's rode it together last time. The food sounded good.popcorn:: I wonder what is going to happen with Garden Grill?:confused3 I guess the characters at Liberty Tree Tavern end in January. Hopefully, Disney has some cool replacement character meals coming out. Giving away the stickers was a good idea!:thumbsup2 Oh, and the sleeping kids picture was cute too!:lovestruc (Lilo made the trip!). I like the shirt you had on. Is that from the Disney store? I am going to try to update my PTR tonight. Great update!:hug:

[DisneyMom5]

Ok, just read the whole thing, so here's my random comments:

We go through Indy on our way to WDW. We take 65 down to TN, then across to Chattanooga, then 75 down to FL.

If you decide to go, I can recommend a hotel in Chattanooga. Let me know!

Garden Grill is eliminating a lunch seating, but I think it will still have characters at night??? :confused3

Glad to hear baby tolerated it all so well! Like I said on my TR, if we were ever to be in that situation, it's good to know it could be done!

Love the MNSSHP shirts! Good job to your DH!

Sounds like you had a much better day the day at Epcot.

Looking forward to the rest!
:wizard:

[FairyGodmotherJen]

I love Epcot! :love: Two days there in 2010 would be fine with me!:thumbsup2 I love the picture with all three kids sitting in the strollers looking at the maps. I know how much they love those maps! Your pins sound cool! I love Singing in the Rain! We need to have a musical marathon day (with scrapbooking and chocolate of course). I really want to see Illuminations this time. I am hoping that we can do it. I also want to do Test Track. I think our DH's rode it together last time. The food sounded good.popcorn:: I wonder what is going to happen with Garden Grill?:confused3 I guess the characters at Liberty Tree Tavern end in January. Hopefully, Disney has some cool replacement character meals coming out. Giving away the stickers was a good idea!:thumbsup2 Oh, and the sleeping kids picture was cute too!:lovestruc (Lilo made the trip!). I like the shirt you had on. Is that from the Disney store? I am going to try to update my PTR tonight. Great update!:hug:

The kids really enjoyed giving out the stickers. I can't take credit for the idea, though - I know I must've gotten it from the DIS! Sign me up for the musical/scrapbooking/chocolate day!!! :banana:

Ok, just read the whole thing, so here's my random comments:

We go through Indy on our way to WDW. We take 65 down to TN, then across to Chattanooga, then 75 down to FL.

If you decide to go, I can recommend a hotel in Chattanooga. Let me know!

Garden Grill is eliminating a lunch seating, but I think it will still have characters at night??? :confused3

Glad to hear baby tolerated it all so well! Like I said on my TR, if we were ever to be in that situation, it's good to know it could be done!

Love the MNSSHP shirts! Good job to your DH!

Sounds like you had a much better day the day at Epcot.

Looking forward to the rest!
:wizard:


If we decide to drive (we really are leaning that way for several reasons), we just might take you up on the offer of a hotel reco,mendation!

Oh, I hope you're right about Garden Grill!! Maybe I read it wrong. I really think it's a good meal and great interaction. It was definitely empty at lunch, though, so maybe it's just that they can't keep that up!

Thanks for reading!

[FairyGodmotherJen]

We woke up with Pooh again today. Our plan was to try and arrive (and be seated) early for our 9:20 ADR at Chef Mickey’s, then head out. We had three things to hit today: AK for the Finding Nemo musical, Downtown Disney, and MK. We always spend our last afternoon/evening in the MK. It just wouldn’t feel like vacation without it.

Our Magical Express information was hanging on the doorknob that morning. Isn’t that just the most depressing thing you see over your entire vacation??? And I knew that our pickup time would be obscenely early, since the airline had messed with our return trip. I was figuring that we’d need to be at the stop at about 6:45. So, as DH was packing up his cameras I opened up the envelope to test my guess…wait a minute. :confused3 According to this, we didn’t have to be at the bus until 9:30. Seeing as how our plane was due to take off at 9:50, I was pretty sure this wouldn’t work. Apparently, ME hadn’t gotten word of our flight change! Now what? I decided to bring the kids to the lobby to talk to the concierge while DH went on one last photo shoot.

Now, if I’d have read the paper before charging out of there, I would have seen that all I needed to do was call the 800 number on the paper and I could’ve gotten it figured out in the room. I wouldn’t have had to bark at the kids to get their shoes on, or wait impatiently for the elevator, or wait behind the four people that were ahead of me at the concierge line while Tink and Goofy watched cartoons in the lobby. But, I didn’t. So, after I explained my predicament to the CM, she looked at me strangely and told me to call the number on the paper. :sad2: Grrrr….I swear, if I’d listen to my own complaints (when I’m teaching, kids not reading the directions is a common complaint, trust me!) I would have been fine. As soon as I talked to the very nice CM on the phone, Igot my new time (I was right – 6:45).

This started our worst transportation saga of the trip, by far. The line to the MK was completely packed, and had at least three ECVs in it. So, we jumped a bus to Epcot instead. The bus took us to Epcot (via Blizzard Beach). We then realized that we had to clear the bag check area at Epcot to get into the monorail. So that set us back. Then we had to get up the really looooong ramp with two strollers to wait for the monorail. We had to have waited 10-15 minutes, which I hadn’t counted on. Then, after we rode that monorail we had to get off at the Transportation and Ticket center to get the resort monorail. And of course, the monorail circles around so that the Contemporary is the LAST stop on the loop of that particular monorail. Add to that the extra time to load/unload a wheelchair and an ECV at two of the stops on the line, and it took us an awfully long time to get there. We barely made it on time, let alone early!:eek:

Plus, this is when it happened again. I was sitting thinking about what steps we still had to take to get to the MK as we waited for the monorail, and there was a large family behind me discussing an ADR that they had that morning. “This will get us to the Magic Kingdom, then?” one of the teens asked. The adult that they asked replied back that, yes, this monorail would take them to the MK.

So, being the information nut that I am, I spoke up. “Actually, you’ll take this to the Transportation and Ticket Center. Then you’ll have to get on a monorail there. Are you going to Chef Mickey’s?”

“Yes.”

“Ok. You’ll have to get on the monorail that takes you to the resorts then. There are two, so be sure you get on the right one. You won’t want the express monorail to the MK.” At this point, one of them smiles, but then turns away with the rest of them and starts whispering to each other. One of them actually looked back over their shoulder at me a little warily. I swear, I’m only trying to help! I guess I need to learn to keep my mouth shut... :rolleyes1

But the bad luck stopped there – we got seated right away at Chef Mickey’s.
This was a hard meal, though. Pooh had had it by this point. As usual, Tink and Goofy didn’t eat well – too interested in the characters, especially since we didn’t get Minnie when we’d been here on Thursday. There were several characters that were really close as we sat down, so we couldn’t jump up for the buffet for fear of missing them. DH ran up and got us some grapes and other things to pick at, because the kids (claimed they) were hungry. Pooh was just fried – wouldn’t eat, wouldn’t let you sit. It’s loud in there, but not loud enough to cover a baby crying inconsolably. And once DH and I got up to the line, we weren’t as impressed by the food as we were at dinner. So, I don’t think we’ll be doing Chef Mickey’s for breakfast next time. I actually don’t know that we’ll do many breakfasts at all, except for CP again (but early in the trip!). But we did get some good pics. You'll notice that I'm not posting all of the group pictures this time. That would be because DH wanted Pooh in the pictures, and Pooh insisted on being held, so I had to be in them, too. No one needs to see me that many times in a row!! :rotfl2: Not a good picture morning for me, anyway! ;)

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%205/100_1435.jpg

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%205/100_1446.jpg

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%205/100_1447.jpg

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%205/100_1415.jpg

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%205/100_1427.jpg

We left Chef Mickey’s and headed down to the buses. I was trying to figure out how to broach the idea of simplifying our plans to DH. He was determined that it’d be easy to get everywhere we still wanted to go. I wasn’t that sure. But on the way to the elevators we found another pressed penny machine (the kids had gotten into these), so we had a break.
http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%205/100_1454.jpg

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%205/100_1464.jpg
(Some of these are from another machine, too.)
DH and I discussed our plans. I asked him to choose between AK and Downtown Disney, as I couldn’t see us doing both. I really hoped he’d choose Downtown Disney, because I was worried about EMH having started two hours plus earlier at AK (plus, it’s just not my favorite place to be, especially when I knew we were all dragging a bit already). But he thought that the kids would rather go there. And he’s probably right – ever since our last trip, and then seeing both the movie and little snippets of the musical on the Travel Channel, they’d been talking about this thing. So I knew he had a point. I agreed to it (though I have to say I wasn’t all that excited).

We hopped a bus to AK, and walked up the walkway. I hadn’t been back here since 2005, so I tried to take it in – but I have to admit, I was in a bad mood and all I could think about was how hot it was. DH had the idea of getting a times guide from the little souvenir shop outside the gates. I did, and saw that the next time for the Nemo show was 11:30. I checked my watch…it was 11:30. At this point, I was done with AK. Honestly, I think DH might have been too. But we asked the kids (we couldn’t just change the plans without saying something to them, as we were right in front of the gates)…and they wanted to see the musical. So, in we went.

I have to admit, that first sight of the Tree of Life is pretty special.

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%205/100_1457.jpg

But then where to go? We decided to go to Dinoland, USA, since that’s where the theatre is. We headed over, and there was no wait at all for Triceratops Spin, so Goofy, Tink and I hopped on.
http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%205/100_1466.jpg

We were going to ride Primeval Whirl, but it was being refurbished. Probably a good thing, with my stomach. At this point, we just wanted some shade. We found a bench on a shady walk where they have you park your strollers for Nemo. I tried to nurse Pooh again (I should have just gone to the Baby Center, but I was fried and wasn’t thinking), but he didn’t really want anything to do with it. DH walked off to find some ice for the bottles of water we brought with us and something cool for the kids. He came back with two glasses of ice water and McDonald’s fries. A little salt helped all of us! Then he ran to the restroom. While he was gone, Goofy had an accident (this was, finally, the last we would see of the stomach bug). :eek: We tried to make it to the restroom – I had to have looked demented, with a crying infant in the stroller, Tink trying to catch up holding onto the food, and me practically dragging Goofy (he’s even slow when he’s having a “potty emergency”). We didn’t make it – thank goodness for extra clothes, which I’d packed after yesterday’s fountain experience. We got everyone cleaned up and headed back to the bench, where DH was frantically trying to find us because they were allowing people to line up for the show.

We had to dump the fries, which no one got to eat but Tink (as she was standing in the ladies’ room, waiting for me to finish with her brother), and our drinks, which didn’t make me happy. Then we wound around this line, and I had it in my head that it was an outdoor line. How happy I was to see that they were letting us in to the theatre! :cool1: We did the best we could to keep the kids occupied. We were sitting next to a woman who looked to be in her early 20’s, and who was not thrilled to be there. She was even less thrilled to be kicked by Pooh as he tried to push the blanket away while he was nursing (so much for it being easier in the dark, air-conditioned theatre). Goofy hit the lady in front of him several times as he tried to see the show. But we did enjoy it. I really liked the guy that played Crush – he had a great voice! I’ve heard several people talk about the soundtrack, but I stopped in one of the larger gift shops on the way out and couldn’t find it. Anyone know if you can get it anywhere else?

We high-tailed it out of AK and grabbed a bus to the T&TC to grab a monorail (again) to the MK. Here are the kids on the bus:
http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%205/100_1478.jpg

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%205/100_1479.jpg

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%205/100_1480.jpg

Goofy fell asleep so hard that we could not wake him! We ended up carrying him off the bus, sticking him in the stroller and taking him to the monorail – thank goodness you don’t have to collapse the strollers on the monorails!! We had to tip him back while we were walking down the ramp because he looked like he was going to fall out!

I had an idea – we’d go to Casey’s and get the kids something to eat for lunch (neither DH or I was very hungry) and let them watch the cartoons while DH tried to find a few of the items he’d hoped to find at Downtown Disney in the Emporium. This worked ok – only Goofy wouldn’t wake up. Here are the two boys at Casey’s:

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%205/100_1484.jpg

So many people stopped to ask if Goofy would be all right! Honestly, we couldn’t wake him. I finally saw him stir and picked him up so he’d stay awake. After a while, he finished the other half of the hot dog Tink had left him, and the two of them became acquainted with Cracker Jacks. next morning.

[FairyGodmotherJen]

DH returned – not with all of the items he wanted, but he’d picked up a few things. He took the kids to see the show in front of the castle, which we’d wanted to see and was starting in about ten minutes, and I went to the Baby Care center with Pooh. Once again, I can’t say enough about these places – this was the first time he’d nursed well since we were in the room at 6:30 that morning! The kids enjoyed the castle show:

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%205/100_1489.jpg

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%205/100_1493.jpg

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%205/100_1500.jpg

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%205/100_1504.jpg

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%205/100_1511.jpg

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%205/100_1515.jpg

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%205/100_1518.jpg

They had a great spot, even on a Monday in the MK (which, to my recollection, is a crowded day to go most days). After Pooh and I were done, I slipped into the Main Street Bakery to get one of their ice cream sandwiches. I’d read about them here on the DIS – YUM!!! If you’ve never had one before, it’s two colossal chocolate chip cookies with about three scoops of ice cream in between. I couldn’t eat it all, though. When I saw the crowds coming down Main Street after the show was over, I went to meet up with DH, Tink and Goofy. They were more than happy to help me finish it!

We hit a few of our favorites – Buzz Lightyear (again!!) and Goofy’s barnstormer are the ones I remember the most (I’m sorry – we were so busy packing, etc. that night that I didn’t jot down notes like I did the other days). We walked through Minnie’s house so that the kids could play in the kitchen, and then wandered over to Fantasyland. Most of the attractions here had some kind of wait, and we were spoiled by the crowd-less parks we’d had for our whole trip, so we didn’t actually ride anything but It’s a Small World (if anything doesn’t have a line in Fantasyland, it’s this ride).

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%205/100_1523.jpg

The kids wanted Pooh to have his first ride on it. He did, and seemed to enjoy looking at all of the things there are to look at there.

Then, DH and I decided that we wouldn’t try Cosmic Ray’s again as we had planned, since the kids just didn’t eat there. We decided to go hit the food court at ASMo, hit the pool, then put the kids to bed and pack. After stopping in the Emporium again to let the kids finish their spending money, we slowly walked back down Main Street and did our traditional stop at the circle in front of the train station to wave goodbye. It was at least a little easier with an approximate date for a trip back!

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%205/100_1526.jpg

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%205/100_1528.jpg


We headed back to the bus (that’s one walk that I won’t necessarily miss!) and took our last ride back. Once back at the hotel, we dropped off our stuff and headed to the food court. I can say that the kids ate better today – Tink ate most of her plain pasta, and Goofy at least ate the applesauce and grapes that came with his! DH was able to find one of the things he hadn’t found at the Emporium in the hotel gift shop, and Pooh entertained (hopefully) all of the guests there as he shrieked at the top of his lungs as they shopped – happily, though. ;) We hit the pool for a little while and put the kids to bed. DH and I were up until midnight packing everything back up (it really should be easier than that), and then fell into bed so that we at least had a chance of waking up when the alarm went off at 4:30 the next morning!

Only a little more - our trip home and some final thoughts. Thanks for sticking with me!

[DisneyMom5]

Whew. I'm exhausted just reading about your day!

We once managed a three parks in one day (and it was our first trip!)

We went to AK in the am to finish up a few missed things,
then back to our cabin for lunch,
then to Epcot in the afternoon to do World Showcase,
then the monorail to MK to see Spectromagic and the Fireworks.
I felt very accomplished that day! LOL

Now that there are nine of us, I kind of prefer to stay in one place for as long as possible. :thumbsup2

Great update! :wizard:

[belle8306]

Wow! That was a busy day! The last day at Disney is always so bittersweet.:sad2: Last year DH and I went to 3 parks on the last day. We were beat! I don't think we will make it to AK. The Nemo show looks really cute (I can look for the CD for you if you want). I have never been inside Casey's. I just saw a picture of the ice cream sandwich on the dining threads. DH would love that! The cinnamon rolls look really good there too.popcorn:: I saw commercials for the new "What are you Celebrating" theme last night.:happytv: It made me wonder if that will last through 2010 too. Knowing we will be back will make leaving easier. :hug:

[FairyGodmotherJen]

Whew. I'm exhausted just reading about your day!

We once managed a three parks in one day (and it was our first trip!)

We went to AK in the am to finish up a few missed things,
then back to our cabin for lunch,
then to Epcot in the afternoon to do World Showcase,
then the monorail to MK to see Spectromagic and the Fireworks.
I felt very accomplished that day! LOL

Now that there are nine of us, I kind of prefer to stay in one place for as long as possible. :thumbsup2

Great update! :wizard:

I know - we were pretty pooped out, too! The way we've done Disney the past several trips, we've needed a vacation afterwards!! :scared: I can't wait to spend a full 7 days there in 2010. I'm sure we'll still be tired, but maybe not THAT tired.


Wow! That was a busy day! The last day at Disney is always so bittersweet.:sad2: Last year DH and I went to 3 parks on the last day. We were beat! I don't think we will make it to AK. The Nemo show looks really cute (I can look for the CD for you if you want). I have never been inside Casey's. I just saw a picture of the ice cream sandwich on the dining threads. DH would love that! The cinnamon rolls look really good there too.popcorn:: I saw commercials for the new "What are you Celebrating" theme last night.:happytv: It made me wonder if that will last through 2010 too. Knowing we will be back will make leaving easier. :hug:

That "What are you Celebrating" Tour is coming to Indy (thanks for the email), but I can't get any information on where or what time on the 10th. I have a wedding that afternoon (I know - a Friday wedding, never done one of those before), so it will all depend on the time. I'd like to check it out, though, and maybe get more details. I think the only one that could be there on their birthday on our trip that year would be my DH. We'll have to see if they extend it. It's a bit of a letdown from the "Year of a Million Dreams," though. I don't think anything they could have introduced would have been that exciting! Definitely check out the Main Street Bakery - I saw those cinnamon rolls while I was there, and they smelled wonderful! popcorn::

[mickeysmyboy]

WOW! You guys had one heck of a last day!

[belle8306]

That "What are you Celebrating" Tour is coming to Indy (thanks for the email), but I can't get any information on where or what time on the 10th. I have a wedding that afternoon (I know - a Friday wedding, never done one of those before), so it will all depend on the time. I'd like to check it out, though, and maybe get more details. I think the only one that could be there on their birthday on our trip that year would be my DH. We'll have to see if they extend it. It's a bit of a letdown from the "Year of a Million Dreams," though. I don't think anything they could have introduced would have been that exciting! Definitely check out the Main Street Bakery - I saw those cinnamon rolls while I was there, and they smelled wonderful! popcorn::

Have you found any more information on times? I started registering on the web site to try to win a vacation. I do think that the "Year of a Million Dreams" will be a tough one for them to ever top. Maybe I am just sad that it is ending and that is why I am not into the new theme.:confused3 I hope that it turns out cool. It would be neat if they had dreams that they still would reward people with (even if you aren't there on your birthday). It could be an "unbirthday" celebration.

[FairyGodmotherJen]

oops - forgot to quote...

[FairyGodmotherJen]

Have you found any more information on times? I started registering on the web site to try to win a vacation. I do think that the "Year of a Million Dreams" will be a tough one for them to ever top. Maybe I am just sad that it is ending and that is why I am not into the new theme.:confused3 I hope that it turns out cool. It would be neat if they had dreams that they still would reward people with (even if you aren't there on your birthday). It could be an "unbirthday" celebration.

I think it'd be especially cool if they'd continue the Dream Fastpass giveaway. I mean, it's not like that costs much - pretty much just the cost of producing the passes themselves. It'd just be cool to be surprised with that, YOAMD or not!

[FairyGodmotherJen]

Day 6: Time to Leave

It came, though we didn’t want to – the alarm on our departure day. DH and I REALLY didn’t want it to come, since we’d been up so late packing! We dragged ourselves out of bed and got ready to go. I’d been to the food court the night before to use up most of our snack credits on treats for the plane, but we still had two CS meals left. The plan was to get ready, check in at the little airline desk, and then hit the food court one last time for some Mickey waffles.

So, how many of you that have been reading this report automatically knew that we didn’t make it when you read that last sentence??? :lmao:

As usual, things didn’t go as quickly as we’d hoped – there were still things to pack last minute, sleepy kids, a fussy infant and all kinds of other distractions. We did find out, to our delight, that Disney now checks you in automatically for your flight! :thumbsup2 I don’t know if this had something to do with my confirming our departure flight when I called to fix the ME information the day before or not, but we had an envelope on our door that morning with eight boarding passes (since we had a connecting flight) already printed off. We’d expected to have to do this after we left the room, so it was a really great surprise. We NEVER would have gotten ready in time if not!

We finally left the room (DH made his customary 3 final sweeps to make sure nothing had jumped out of our bags and hidden itself under the bed – he’s very thorough ;) ) and headed to the main building. The kids kind of dragged their feet, and even Pooh was pretty quiet. DH headed to get the luggage tagged while I went to get breakfast. Of course, after being in there only about five minutes (and not even having made a decision yet), DH calls to say they’re heading out to the line because the attendant at the airline desk said the driver might not stop (at this time of the day) if he didn’t see anyone. :eek: So I ended up getting one full meal w/a Mickey waffle and then just getting a bagel and taking it to go – which means we left a free CS meal on our ticket that expired at midnight that night. Oh, well – it was Free Dining, and we’re always leaving something. The first time we went as a family in 2005, we had about 8 snack credits left on our last night, and I think we left three or four of them. We only had one or two snack credits left in 2007 (which is good, since the dining wasn’t free then!). So we were continuing the trend.

Our driver was very patient (and punctual). He waited for me to find my ticket/pass/whatever it is that they print out for you for the bus, since I was juggling all three kids and two plates of food as DH took charge of our carry-ons and the strollers. He was also a very pleasant man – nowhere near as exhuberant as Charlie (our bus driver on the way there) had been, but at 6 a.m. I don’t think I could have handled Charlie! We went to all three All Stars and to Coronado Springs. My best friend stayed there with her family when they came in Sept, 2007, and they really liked it. They’re serious foodies, and loved the Pepper Market. I’d like to try it some time, but I think we’re leaning towards a different moderate in 2010. It was nice to get to see at least a little more than you would see just driving past it.

Finally, we got to the airport and hauled all our crap – uh, I mean stuff – out of the bus. (When you’re going home, it feels a lot more like you overpacked, doesn’t it?) Here’s a picture of the two older kids with their backpacks.

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%206/100_1539.jpg

And here's Pooh- he was just done...

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%206/100_1543.jpg

They were troopers on this trip home!

We settled in front of the Disney store (not the one we’re used to – we were in a different wing) and took turns shopping (and playing).

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%206/100_1553.jpg

We also grabbed some Krispy Cremes (hey, it was our last vacation day!), then took the little people mover-type things to security. I have to say, I really like the family line they have at the security area there. We almost missed it, but they directed us to it, and it was so nice not to feel rushed by all of the business travelers that were also trying to get through. It’s always an adventure getting us through security, but this area makes it much easier. And apparently we were the only family heading out of Orlando that day, because we were all alone!

We hit the fake monorail, and the kids got front row seats, which they love. You know, when you arrive, it’s a fun little ride to begin your trip. But when you’re leaving, it’s just a sad, fake little monorail (at least to the adults).

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/Day%206/100_1557.jpg

The wait for our plane was pretty uneventful. We had seats across the isle from each other again, though it was much more crowded than our flight out had been. The kids all continued to do well, and we got to Detroit for our connecting flight with nothing more eventful happening than my MP3 player running out of juice (and, of course, Pooh was asleep so I was actually free to listen). We were also on time, which put my mind at ease.

It was a good thing we were on time, because it seemed like we had to go clear across the state to get to our gate in Detroit. I was so glad that there was an airport employee that was taking a handicapped passenger to the same set of gates as us, or I don’t think we’d have found it in time with such a short layover! As it was, we had just enough time for the kids to get potty breaks and for us all to stretch for a bit before we began boarding. We had a very small plane on the way home – DH and I actually sat on one side of the aisle with Pooh on my lap, with Tink and Goofy on the other side so that they could take advantage of the DVD player together. This is actually where we caught Goofy imitating Charlie the bus driver. He had bought a set of three Disney buses with the last of his spending money. Yes, we now have a little set of metal Disney buses – a Magical Express, a park bus and a Disney Cruise Line bus. :rotfl: He adores them, and put them on a shelf next to his bed every night for the first week we were home. He’s explained them to everyone that will listen (multiple times). He was rolling the ME one across his tray asking his sister if she was, “happy, happy, happy?”

I was a little worried about the size of the plane, but it ended up being just fine. We arrived back in Indy without a hitch. My dad was waiting for us once we’d cleared the security area. It’s always so much nicer to have someone waiting there for you than to have to get the shuttle to long-term parking, isn’t it? :flower3: We got to relive our trip all over again for him (the non-Disney lover, but he was very patient with us), and even showed him some of our pictures before he had to leave. It was a nice way to re-acclimate to “real life” again.


I’ll be back to post some final thoughts soon!

[DisneyMom5]

OH, so sad it's over.
My ds7 got those buses also. They have been played with so much, the paint is just about worn off. May have to get another set when we go again. LOL

Last trip we managed to use all of our snacks, but left 8 CS credits. We stay one more night than day, so we always have extra credits. Not to mention we often share CS, because we are soooo stuffed from our TS.

We're all missing WDW very much, so I appreciate people taking the time to post their reports. Helps get us through! :wizard:

Great report! :thumbsup2

[mickeysmyboy]

Aww, I'm sad to see it end! I hate the end of a trip! It's so depressing! I'm glad your traveling day went well!

[belle8306]

Oh no! The last day!!:sad2: :sad1: :scared: It is so hard to leave. Especially, if you are checking out and you see a bus load of people all happy and just starting their vacation.:mad: I guess it has to end sometime. I have enjoyed your trip report so much! It was like we got to be there right with you guys. (We do the sweep under the bed too. Last time we found a black mens sock that did not belong to either of us.:scared:). Now we can start our massive planning for 2010!! :teacher: It's not too early!!:lovestruc
I am looking forward to your final thoughts.:)

[FairyGodmotherJen]

OH, so sad it's over.
My ds7 got those buses also. They have been played with so much, the paint is just about worn off. May have to get another set when we go again. LOL

Last trip we managed to use all of our snacks, but left 8 CS credits. We stay one more night than day, so we always have extra credits. Not to mention we often share CS, because we are soooo stuffed from our TS.

We're all missing WDW very much, so I appreciate people taking the time to post their reports. Helps get us through! :wizard:


Glad to hear that other people leave credits behind on Free Dining, too! I feel like I'm wasting something. Too bad you can't save them for next time!! ;)

I've gotten to the point where I'm missing it again, and am loving the Trip Report Board! That and the Podcast are getting me through. Thanks for reading along!
Great report! :thumbsup2

Aww, I'm sad to see it end! I hate the end of a trip! It's so depressing! I'm glad your traveling day went well!

It's always a worry about traveling, isn't it? Especially with little ones. I'm always thankful when it's calm - I've had the opposite experience, too, so it's great when it goes well! I hate the end, too. :sad2: Goofy told me the other morning that he had a dream that he lived in Disney World. :lovestruc I think they're just as hooked as I am....

Oh no! The last day!!:sad2: :sad1: :scared: It is so hard to leave. Especially, if you are checking out and you see a bus load of people all happy and just starting their vacation.:mad: I guess it has to end sometime. I have enjoyed your trip report so much! It was like we got to be there right with you guys. (We do the sweep under the bed too. Last time we found a black mens sock that did not belong to either of us.:scared:). Now we can start our massive planning for 2010!! :teacher: It's not too early!!:lovestruc
I am looking forward to your final thoughts.:)

I am already looking around!!! It's so far out, I think I need to pace myself. ;) Now I'll be looking forward to reading yours!!

[FairyGodmotherJen]

Final thoughts really ARE coming, guys - I'm stuck at the I've-taken-pictures-but-don't-know-how-to-download-them place again! :confused3 DH and I are actually both home tonight, so hopefully I'll be posting them soon. Thanks for waiting! :flower3:

[belle8306]

Final thoughts really ARE coming, guys - I'm stuck at the I've-taken-pictures-but-don't-know-how-to-download-them place again! :confused3 DH and I are actually both home tonight, so hopefully I'll be posting them soon. Thanks for waiting! :flower3:

Don't feel bad, I get to that stage a lot! I am the same way with my Ipod. I guess it is good that our DH's are tech geeks opps, I mean guys.:rotfl:

[belle8306]

It's always a worry about traveling, isn't it? Especially with little ones. I'm always thankful when it's calm - I've had the opposite experience, too, so it's great when it goes well! I hate the end, too. :sad2: Goofy told me the other morning that he had a dream that he lived in Disney World. :lovestruc I think they're just as hooked as I am....



I am already looking around!!! It's so far out, I think I need to pace myself. ;) Now I'll be looking forward to reading yours!!

Awww, he is too cute! :goodvibes Living at Disney World sounds cool to me! I think over Thanksgiving break we should have our next planning meeting. We will probably be the only two people who want to attend our meeting but that is OK too.:lmao:

[nts4wdw]

So sorry it is over! Your pictures are so adorable! Thank you for sharing!

[FairyGodmotherJen]

Awww, he is too cute! :goodvibes Living at Disney World sounds cool to me! I think over Thanksgiving break we should have our next planning meeting. We will probably be the only two people who want to attend our meeting but that is OK too.:lmao:
Especially since our number for this trip is rapidly growing!! We're really going to have to do some serious planning. Oh, darn.... ;)

My kids are soooo hooked! Goofy informed me that the Magical Express bus would be taking him on his field trip last week.... :rotfl2:


So sorry it is over! Your pictures are so adorable! Thank you for sharing!

Thanks! It's been fun to write it out. Plus, now I have a written record of this trip. A LOOOONG written record, so I don't think I'll be printing it out to put in the scrapbook, but still, it's there on the hard drive!

[FairyGodmotherJen]

Believe it or not, there’s a thing or two I left out. (My father says I was vaccinated with a victrola needle as a child, which is why I have so much to say.)

The main one that I realized I forgot has to do with these.

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/final%20thoughts/100_1602.jpg

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/final%20thoughts/100_1603.jpg

Yep, that’s right. Those are MNSSHP pins. (Sorry for the blurry pics - no matter how many I took, I couldn't get some of them to turn out.) I got hooked on pin collecting in 2005, and DH has gotten me several as gifts from time to time. I was so excited about getting the limited edition pins from the party, and was so disappointed not to get them because we had to get Tink back to the room. Well, DH, being the awesome guy he is :lovestruc , spent the majority of time we were in the Emporium after our Whispering Canyon dinner snagging these for me. Apparently, he went up to the desks and asked about them, and was told that no, they were only on sale the night of the party. He explained the situation, and asked if there was any way he could get them for his wife. The CM was sympathetic and summoned a manager. DH told his story all over again, and offered to show the man pictures, bring in a wristband (Tink kept hers – she liked the “bracelet”), or do anything else to convince him that we’d been there. The manager took pity on him, and offered him one of each pin that was offered that night. Aren’t they great? And look what the Donald one does:
http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/final%20thoughts/100_1604.jpg
It's hard to see in this picture, but the pumpkin opens up and Chip and Dale are inside, which is why Donald looks so annoyed. :goodvibes

Sooooo cute! I’ll wear these to school (I do with all my holiday pins). And now that DSIL is going in October and will be attending the party, I’m going to send her with some cash and hopefully get two more. (You don’t mind, do you Shelley??? ) BTW – she has a pre-trip report going here on the boards. Check it out!

I originally thought I’d add a few pictures of the things Goofy, Tink and my DH purchased, as well. However, the kids' toys are spread all over the house, so I'll just show you the pictures I could get. Tink spent all her money on the little Disney Princess version of Polly Pocket. She got an Ariel set and the Princes set. She was pretty surprised to find out that the Princes set came with outfits and heads for four princes – but only one body!! I guess you can only have one Princess live happily ever after at a time… As I'd said before, Goofy bought the Disny buses. He’s still playing with them all the time. They’ve been joining Lightning McQueen and all of the other Cars characters on the race track lately. He also got some of the new themed Matchbox-type cars. One is a Buzz car, and the other is a Zurg car. Yes, he’s all boy.

DH was all excited to find a Mickey head egg mold. We’re still trying to figure out how to use it to make pancakes on the griddle (right now, we’re using it to cut the heads out of pancakes after we make them). He also found this t-shirt (great color, huh? ;) )
http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/final%20thoughts/100_1610.jpg

And a scrapbooking set. Yes, he scrapbooks, too – but only Disney. He’s gotten some odd looks when we attend crops at our local store, but he really likes it.

This is my Mickey Tshirt, which I haven’t been able to wear yet because of Pooh and the glitter.

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/final%20thoughts/100_1611.jpg

I also got a few other pins. Besides the MNSSHP pins, my favorite is a Mickey "Singin' in the Rain" pin. There's no picture here because all of the ones I took came out SOOO blurry. But here are the others - also cute, IMO.
http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/final%20thoughts/100_1605.jpg

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp205/FGJen/final%20thoughts/100_1608.jpg

So, that’s it. :sad2: I can’t believe it’s been a month since we left home for Orlando. DH and I were looking at the calendar at the end of September, trying to fit everything in, and I looked at the beginning of the month where we had our trip marked. I looked at him and said, “It feels like we weren’t even there!” He agreed with me. Not that we didn’t have a good time or anything – it just almost seems like a dream. Sounds corny, I know, but there you go. My DSIL is planning her trip right now – it’s only two weeks away! I’m living through her at the moment, and dreaming of a great trip in 2010. I’m still haunting the DISboards like crazy, and have looked up every Disney thing I can think of (I’m sad, I know). I even entered to be on the next Disney Moms panel – not that I’ll get it, but it’s fun to dream.

Reality is looming closer and closer – I go back to work Oct. 20, and I’m really starting to dread it. I swear, every time I mention it Pooh just looks at me like, “What are you talking about, Mommy?” :eek: I’m going to have a hard time with this one, let me tell you. I just feel like I’m a better Mommy all around since I’ve been home. If nothing else, I’m more patient than I know I’ll be when I add 8 working hours on to everything else I’ll still be doing (and since there are times when I’m not all that patient even now, that’s kind of scary). I feel like I won't even get to see them at all when I go back to teaching. I told DH that if I could find a job sharing all my Disney knowledge/enthusiasm, and could tutor on the side (I really do love teaching), we’d be all set. He just smiled at me. I keep telling him it’s fun to dream… I'm working on focusing on the positive: I had six months at home (not to mention an unexpected Disney trip), and it's a lot more than so many people get. Focus on the positve...focus on the positive...:confused3

So, thanks for reading with me. I hope to keep living through some of your experiences, and just hanging out with all of you who share some of my obsessions. “Talk” to you soon! :flower3:

[teruterubouzu]

Your kids are adorable, and your daughter has the most amazing eyes! I can't imagine handling three kids like you did. This sounded like quite a vacation. I really enjoyed your report.

[belle8306]

:yay: What a great trip report!! :yay: I love the pins! Of course I will pick up the MNSSHP pins and anything else you want too! Your shirt is really cute. I wish you didn't have to go back too. If I could think of some way you could stay home I would suggest it.:hug: If you lived closer we could job share!:laughing: You are a great mom either way. I will talk to you soon!:hug::love:

[nts4wdw]

Great pins. What a sweet husband you have. Really like your mickey shirt too!

[02AggieGirl]

subbingpopcorn:: ....only on page 1 so I've gotta catch up :)

[FairyGodmotherJen]

:yay: What a great trip report!! :yay: I love the pins! Of course I will pick up the MNSSHP pins and anything else you want too! Your shirt is really cute. I wish you didn't have to go back too. If I could think of some way you could stay home I would suggest it.:hug: If you lived closer we could job share!:laughing: You are a great mom either way. I will talk to you soon!:hug::love:

Thanks for the pep talk! :goodvibes

Great pins. What a sweet husband you have. Really like your mickey shirt too!
Yeah, he's a keeper!

subbingpopcorn:: ....only on page 1 so I've gotta catch up :)

Thanks for reading!

[FauntleroyFAN07]

wow i made it through the whole thing, too bad it is after you are already done with your TR....i enjoyed it all and got some great tips for taking our little one to the world in 20 days, yes that is right 20 days.

:goodvibes