My better late than never TR

[kschafer]

Hi Everyone :yay:

First, let me explain the title of my TR. It really has 2 meanings.

1.I grew up in Iowa with parents who love to travel. We went lots of places when we were kids like Yellowstone and the Rockies…
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Various locations around the Midwest…
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California and Utah…
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And lots of summers in Michigan because my parents both grew up there and most of my extended family still lives there…
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But both sets of grandparents also had winter homes in Florida. This meant regular winter breaks which often included trips to WDW (I even have faint memories of the ticket system from years ago)…

Here's us with my dad's parents (on the right) and aunt and uncle (on the left)
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Same trip (I know you are loving the matching outfits!)
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Another trip with my Mom's parents (grandpa only in the pic)
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I loved Disney World as a kid but the last time I was there was when I was a teenager. When I got married in 1997:lovestruc , my hubby and I were going to go for our honeymoon but money was tight and we choose something different (nice, but not Disney). I have wanted to go back ever since but over the last 11 years we purchased a home, multiple cars and had 2 kids and just never quite got there.

Fast forward to Christmas 2005…my parents told the family that for their 40th wedding anniversary in 2007, they wanted to take everyone to Disney. This includes my family and my brothers and their families, 8 adults and 6 kids ranging from 7 months to 5 years at that time. WOO HOO!!! :woohoo: So the planning begins.

Summer of 2006, my younger brother and I are talking and think perhaps postponing the trip 1 year would make it nicer for our youngest. I know, I know, lots of people around here think that kids are never too young to go but we knew this would not be a trip we would do again and thought postponing the trip would be best. My parents and older brother agreed. The only wrench in our plan came along when that winter my older brother and his wife announced they were expecting their third child…add baby to the list of travelers…so much for waiting so the kids were older! :rolleyes1

So I’m finally going back to WDW…better late than never!

2. In June we packed up and left for the trip I had been waiting for all this time!! Yes, I realize that it is now October, let me explain. I used the Dis TONS for trip planning :surfweb: but didn’t really discover TR’s until after I returned. This trip really brought out the addiction in me that had probably laid hidden for so long. After discovering TR’s, I have enjoyed trips through many other Disers and thought it was time to give back by writing one of my own. :grouphug:

So here we are…better late than never!!

I hope you join me for this walk down memory lane. Please say Hi :wave2: and let me know if you decide to hang around.

[kschafer]

Next, the main cast of characters:

HI, I’m Katie, :wave: I’m 36. I have been a high school science teacher for the last 8 years but left this year and now work at my Alma Matter, the University of Northern Iowa. I am the outreach coordinator for the College of Natural Sciences planning programs for the public and local schools. I also teach an Earth Science course to future elementary school teachers. I love my job and it is only ½ time which means I have extra time in my life and a lot less stress from when I taught full time. I am a roller coaster junkie!

DS, Patrick, now 7. He is in second grade, loves school and is one smart cookie! He is a really sweet kid but not very brave. There was NO WAY he was getting on any potentially scary or dark rides on this trip.

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DH, Greg, 45. He is a high school science teacher. We met in college in…surprise…a science class. He was a non-traditional student after having been in the Navy and working as a car mechanic. I was the teaching assistant, 1 semester away from graduating and leaving Iowa for good. Well, 3 months later he asked me to marry him and I never did leave!

DS, Daniel, just turned 4. He goes to the babysitters 3 days a week when I work and is home with me the other days. He is very shy and is all boy, he loves cars, trucks and trains; but like his big brother, not very brave.

(this is looking like a non-roller coaster trip for mommy! :mad: )

Our trip was 2 ½ weeks in Florida, we had 10 day tickets! The first week was spent in a 6 bedroom house in Davenport, about a 15 minute drive from WDW, with the entire gang. Then the 4 of us had 4 nights at OKW followed by a couple days at the beach and back to Orlando for 2 days of Sea World before heading home.

The supporting cast of characters:

My mom and dad, married 41 years (remember the reason for the trip?), both retired. They live about 45 minutes from us but have been traveling a lot by 5th wheel in the last few years including a summer in Alaska and winters in various southern states. Last winter, they found themselves near Venice Florida (on the gulf :beach: ) for the winter and ended up buying a place. Now someday, my kids will get to think back fondly to their winter break trips to visit Grandma and Grandpa in Florida just like I do!

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Older brother, SIL, DNeice (now 8), DNeice (4 ½) and DNephew (just turned 1). They live about 1 hour from us but with busy lives, we only see them every couple months :confused3 . Their plans were to come and spend a couple days at Disney before meeting up with the whole group followed by a few days with my parents at their place.

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Younger brother, SIL, DNeice (5), DNephew (3 ½). They live in Illinois and we see them only a few times a year. :sad1: They arrived early and spent a couple days with my parents at their new house before coming to Orlando for the big week. They only stayed 1 additional night before heading home.

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The plan for the first week together was:
Day 1 – everyone arrives to the rental house, unpacks, swims, has dinner and gets a good night sleep
Day 2 – DHS at rope drop, staying through the parade and calling it an early night
Day 3 – Magic Kingdom at rope drop, lunch at Crystal Palace, taking an afternoon break and returning for evening parade and fireworks
Day 4 – Day off
Day 5 – Epcot at rope drop, afternoon break, evening for dinner at Biergarten followed by Illuminations
Day 6 – Day off
Day 7 – Animal Kingdom at rope drop, staying through afternoon parade
Day 8 – Day off
Day 9 – Individual families depart for their own plans

How well are we able to stick to these well researched and thought out plans? Wait and see!

[angela3676]

I agree, it's always better late than never. Great start on your trip report. I've enjoyed reading it so far and the pictures are great too. Looking forward to more. :surfweb:

[heaven2dc]

Am SO glad you finally made it to WDW!! Can't wait for the trip to begin!

I lived in Iowa when I was little but moved to Oregon when I was 9 (lived in Davenport, Pocahontas, Des Moines, Rockwell City... we moved alot :lmao: ). I never have been back to Iowa but have a couple cousins who still live there but have lost touch. I think it's great your family is getting together finally to celebrate your parent's anniversary (here's a HAPPY ANNIVERSARY shout out to them!!)

[mistydoodles]

I am excited to follow your trip report. Great job so far!!:thumbsup2 Can't wait to read more.

It is great that you both are science teachers. I just returned to school to get my degree in Childhood Education. I have to take my science courses starting next semester and I'm a little worried. I haven't studied Science for at least 18 years. :scared1:

I am enjoying the pictures. :goodvibes

[kschafer]

I agree, it's always better late than never. Great start on your trip report. I've enjoyed reading it so far and the pictures are great too. Looking forward to more. :surfweb:

Thanks for joining me. I LOVE TR's with lots of pics so I hope you enjoy! :thumbsup2

Am SO glad you finally made it to WDW!! Can't wait for the trip to begin!

I lived in Iowa when I was little but moved to Oregon when I was 9 (lived in Davenport, Pocahontas, Des Moines, Rockwell City... we moved alot :lmao: ). I never have been back to Iowa but have a couple cousins who still live there but have lost touch. I think it's great your family is getting together finally to celebrate your parent's anniversary (here's a HAPPY ANNIVERSARY shout out to them!!)

I grew up in Ames and never thought I would stay in Iowa when I was an adult but circumstances kept us here when we first got married then it became a choice to stay. It's a nice place to be after all.

Thanks, my parents are sweet. :hug: I didn't mention that they paid a HUGE chunk of this celebration for them. It meant a lot to all of us to make this happen. Mom always said how much she loves the memories of bringing us to WDW as kids and she wanted to do the same with her grandkids :wizard:

I am excited to follow your trip report. Great job so far!!:thumbsup2 Can't wait to read more.

It is great that you both are science teachers. I just returned to school to get my degree in Childhood Education. I have to take my science courses starting next semester and I'm a little worried. I haven't studied Science for at least 18 years. :scared1:

I am enjoying the pictures. :goodvibes

Good luck with your schooling! :teacher: I have so much respect and admiration for good teachers. I loved my students and "teaching" but all the extra responsibilities were too much for me to choose to stay in for the next 30 years.

Thanks for reading!

[VandyFan10]

:wave: Hi!!

Followed you over :teeth:

Can't wait to hear more.....I think I'll have to refer back to this first page with your family pics :laughing:

Always better late.....than never!

[punkin413]

wouldn't you know it.....me and erica are right next to each other. :laughing:

glad you're writing a TR! can't wait to read about your trip. what a great tip with all the family!

pretty cool that both you and your DH are science teachers. i didn't get the science gene - my sister did. she has a degree in biochemistry and molecular biology. when she told me what she was majoring in, i just said, HUH???? :confused: :lmao:

[MeMom]

I love all the pictures from 'the old days'! Those are treasured pictures, I am sure. There are a lot of happy times showing through in those pictures, and I think the striped shirts picture is awesome!

I'll look forward to hearing all about the adventures of the whole gang. With all those little ones, it was probably very nice to have the free days in between the park days for calmer things and plenty of rest. I could go for some off days, too, if I had two and a half weeks of vacation! Maybe someday we'll be able to stay that long, and if we ever do, we'll probably venture out and check out more activities over on I-Drive, too. We want to go to SeaWorld. We haven't been there since the kids were young, and I know Brooklynn would enjoy it. And, as much as I like to push the fact that I am a teacher aside as soon as I walk out of the building, I know I would enjoy the educational aspect of SeaWorld, too.

[vdarrell]

Lovng your trip report and the pictures are priceless.
Would love to have a family reunion trip to WDW.
Your sons are so adorable.

[alice325]

I followed you over from MeMom's report. We were there in June this year too and I've thought about doing a trip report, but I don't know if I'll ever get around to it. Maybe I'll write one after the next trip.

Is the picture of you, your husband and boys on the train at the St. Louis Zoo? If so, that's right in my backyard - about five minutes away.

Looking forward to reading about your adventures. I'm hooked on these trip reports.

Alice

[kschafer]

A quick thanks for those who have joined me. I will get to responses later today but I want to take a minute to remind everyone to wear your seatbelt!!

On my way to work this morning I dropped a wheel off the edge of the road, overcorrected, lost control on the rainy road and rolled my van completely over. Luckily I missed the power pole and there was no fence on the edge of the field I ended up in (sorry to that farmer) The van is totalled but I walked away thanks to my seatbelt. I feel very lucky.

Be safe out there! :drive: I'll be back later today with adventures of Day 1

[erynsmom]

Holy ##@%! Glad to hear you are okay. :goodvibes
I still can't believe the number of people who don't wear seatbelts. Let this be a lesson for them all.

Following your TR and having a blast.

[angela3676]

OMG! I'm so glad you're okay. I feel naked without my seatbelt.

[alice325]

Oh my gosh! :eek: I'm glad you're okay. Your boys weren't in the van with you, were they? Take care of yourself. Thank goodness you were wearing your seatbelt!

[vdarrell]

Thank goodness you are okay.Sorry to hear the van didn't fair as well.

[MeMom]

Friday morning van rolling is NOT a good sport to participate in! I'm glad you are okay. You will be sore tomorrow! I'm definitely glad no one was badly hurt.

That's a good reminder for us to always wear seatbelts. That's the same thing with Drew and that helmet - he almost always wore it...

[punkin413]

so sorry to hear about your wreck! glad you're unharmed. those are still so scary though! :hug:

[MEK]

I love your "old" pics. They are awesome! Thanks for putting them in your trip report! I also visited in June and wrote my trip report in August/Sept, so you are never too late! My first June trip was in 2002 and it was supposed to be a "one and done" trip. If you look at my signature and read the first chapter of my trip report, you will see that I have been back many times since then! I hope the same thing happens to you! :lmao:

[kschafer]

Holy ##@%! Glad to hear you are okay. :goodvibes
I still can't believe the number of people who don't wear seatbelts. Let this be a lesson for them all.

Following your TR and having a blast.

I have e-mailed everyone I know today to send that reminder!

thanks for following

OMG! I'm so glad you're okay. I feel naked without my seatbelt.

Me too. I called my parents this afternoon to thank them for always making me wear my seatbelt as a kid. Now it is an automatic thing when I get in a vehicle.

Oh my gosh! :eek: I'm glad you're okay. Your boys weren't in the van with you, were they? Take care of yourself. Thank goodness you were wearing your seatbelt!

No, my kids were at school/daycare. When I looked in the back and saw their booster seats tossed around I thought about how I had driven that road with them just this past weekend. I'm glad they didn't have to be through it with me!!

Thank goodness you are okay.Sorry to hear the van didn't fair as well.

It's not that old, we bought it last summer. When I came out of the sitters house this morning and saw it sitting in the driveway I was thinking about how pretty it is and how much I love it (it was my first new vehicle that I got to choose all the features) But, a van can be replaced!

Friday morning van rolling is NOT a good sport to participate in! I'm glad you are okay. You will be sore tomorrow! I'm definitely glad no one was badly hurt.

That's a good reminder for us to always wear seatbelts. That's the same thing with Drew and that helmet - he almost always wore it...

The bruises are already starting to appear and new sore spots are developing but that's the worst of it. I made a point to show my boys the pictures when they came home today as a reminder of how important it is to be safe, seatbelts and bike helmets are requirements at our house!

so sorry to hear about your wreck! glad you're unharmed. those are still so scary though! :hug:

Thanks. Ironically, I feel very lucky today. There were no other cars around me. If there had been someone behind me or coming the opposite direction, it could have been much worse! My cell phone landed right next to my leg and the first person on the scence was a former state trooper.

My DH went back out to the site after bringing me home to take some pics. The spot where I dropped the tire has about a 4 inch drop to the gravel shoulder. I should have braked before trying to pull back on (my cruise control was set) but the immediate respose was to correct my position. Here's what the van looks like now...

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This was taken from the spot the van finally stopped. Look at how much I missed that power pole by and how far I went. It was surreal, I knew what was happening and was completely powerless.

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Make sure you hug your loved ones tonight!

[kschafer]

:wave: Hi!!

Followed you over :teeth:

Can't wait to hear more.....I think I'll have to refer back to this first page with your family pics :laughing:

Always better late.....than never!

There are a lot to keep track of!! I am so glad you have joined me, I LOVED your christmas pictures from last year :santa: and am hoping for a December trip next year

wouldn't you know it.....me and erica are right next to each other. :laughing:

glad you're writing a TR! can't wait to read about your trip. what a great tip with all the family!

It only seems fitting the Vandy girls are together! Loving your current TR! :love: It won't be long and you will be back again you lucky dog! Do it while you can, when a family addition comes along, a lot of time and money will change priorities.

I found this while going through old pictures and thought of you of course:
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I love all the pictures from 'the old days'! Those are treasured pictures, I am sure. There are a lot of happy times showing through in those pictures, and I think the striped shirts picture is awesome!

It's a bit painful for me to look at :confused3 . When I recently laughed at that picture my Mom got a pained look on her face and told us that she made those for us as christmas gifts that year. I guess I shouldn't laugh because there are a few pictures I will share that have semi-matching shirts.

if I had two and a half weeks of vacation! Maybe someday we'll be able to stay that long, and if we ever do, we'll probably venture out and check out more activities over on I-Drive, too. We want to go to SeaWorld. We haven't been there since the kids were young, and I know Brooklynn would enjoy it. And, as much as I like to push the fact that I am a teacher aside as soon as I walk out of the building, I know I would enjoy the educational aspect of SeaWorld, too.

You will notice that we were there in June because of our teaching schedules last year! SeaWorld was nice too, they did a nice job of incorporating that educational aspect in but thought it lacked the :wizard: of Disney.

Lovng your trip report and the pictures are priceless.
Would love to have a family reunion trip to WDW.
Your sons are so adorable.

Thanks :flower3: It was definitely a memory to cherish!

I followed you over from MeMom's report. We were there in June this year too and I've thought about doing a trip report, but I don't know if I'll ever get around to it. Maybe I'll write one after the next trip.

Is the picture of you, your husband and boys on the train at the St. Louis Zoo? If so, that's right in my backyard - about five minutes away.

Looking forward to reading about your adventures. I'm hooked on these trip reports.

I am too!! It's my Disney fix every day! If you have time, they are an awful lot of fun to write and relive it.

It is a zoo train and does look like St Louis (we were there last summer) but it was at the Des Moines zoo, much smaller but less exhausting!

I love your "old" pics. They are awesome! Thanks for putting them in your trip report! I also visited in June and wrote my trip report in August/Sept, so you are never too late! My first June trip was in 2002 and it was supposed to be a "one and done" trip. If you look at my signature and read the first chapter of my trip report, you will see that I have been back many times since then! I hope the same thing happens to you! :lmao:

Oh I hope so! :yay: I'll have to hop over and check out your TR. Thanks for reading along.

Update coming up...

[MeMom]

You are one lucky lady! After seeing the car, I'm even more glad the kids weren't with you. That, in itself, is a blessing! Take it easy the next few days and let those boys pamper you a little.

Hopefully your fingers won't be too sore to Dis, though!

[kschafer]

June 9: All packed and ready to go. Lists are checked and double checked. Hubby has even packed his bag by the night BEFORE and almost all the stuff is packed in the van, now this is vacation progress!

Day 1 was pretty uneventful. Sorry not many pictures.

The trip to the airport went off without a glitch with 1 (OK, pretty big) exception. My friend lives in Des Moines and was going to keep our van at her house for us so we didn’t have to pay to park. We arrive at the designated time and…nobody is home. OK! We drive to the airport and park in extended stay parking and get all checked in. As we are eating breakfast at the airport, she returns my dozen phone calls. She forgot about us and was in an early meeting at work, and feels awful! She was kind enough to drive to the airport to pick up our keys so she and her BF can come back that evening to pick up the van. Problem averted, I don’t care, I’m going to Disney World!! :banana: On with vacation!

We had a non-stop flight into Tampa (actually, St. Pete’s). We were able to get on the plane first and the boys were invited up to see the cockpit which was pretty cool for me too! The flight went fine except Patrick got sick on the plane and had to use the barf bag, :sick: poor kiddo, what a way to spend your first flight. We arrive on time, get our rental van and head to Orlando. The drive was also uneventful except for (I’m starting to see a pattern here) a MAJOR thunderstorm as we are snailing our way through Tampa traffic and construction.

We arrive to the rental house at the same time as my older brother and his family. My parents and younger brother had arrived a couple hours earlier and assigned bedrooms. The rental house had 6 bedrooms and we had agreed ahead of time that we would share a room with our kids (while both brothers’ kids had their own rooms) as long as we got the largest room. The master bedroom was UNBELIEVABLE!! There was a king size bed that probably took up at most 10% of the floor space. We had a closet approximately the size of my DS’s bedroom at home and a bathroom complete with Jacuzzi tub, now this is living :snooty: ! Kids were excited about the large screen TV with playstation.

The family hung out, went for a swim (in the private pool :cool2: ), had dinner and tried to get to bed at a decent time, tomorrow is our first Disney Day!!

I am disgusted at how few pictures I have of the house we stayed in. Here are a couple.
Hanging out at the pool:
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http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/others289.jpg

This was not from the first night but shows the kitchen/dining area:
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/others340.jpg

[kschafer]

You are one lucky lady! After seeing the car, I'm even more glad the kids weren't with you. That, in itself, is a blessing! Take it easy the next few days and let those boys pamper you a little.

Hopefully your fingers won't be too sore to Dis, though!

Not a chance!! They are very concerned tonight that they will miss the old van, tears and all :sad1: (that's my sensitive guys :hug: ) I suspect it will be declared totalled when the insurance person comes on Monday. They were excited when we mentioned going shopping for a new one.

[Happy Elf]

Followed you over from MeMom's TR. Great start! I can't wait to read more! I am hoping for a Family trip with grandparent sometime! (We'll see if I can talk them into it! ;) They aren't Disney crazy like me!) Your boys are sure cute!

After seeing the pictures of your van, I am amazed you walked away without more serious injuries! On the upside: Have fun shopping for a new van!

[KittyKat08]

I'm in and ready for more. popcorn::

[mama2girls]

I hope you join me for this walk down memory lane. Please say Hi :wave2: and let me know if you decide to hang around.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

I followed you over from MeMoms TR so I will hang around! How are you feeling tonight? Sore? Alieve, a glass of wine and a hot bath might help. Ok, off to meet your family!:surfweb:

[kschafer]

Followed you over from MeMom's TR. Great start! I can't wait to read more! I am hoping for a Family trip with grandparent sometime! (We'll see if I can talk them into it! ;) They aren't Disney crazy like me!) Your boys are sure cute!

After seeing the pictures of your van, I am amazed you walked away without more serious injuries! On the upside: Have fun shopping for a new van!

I definitely got the most of the Disney crazy gene in my family but it was good because I was the super planner for the group. Everyone else was glad to have someone take charge of it and were glad it wasn't them. I loved every minute of it.

Thanks, I think my boys are pretty sweet too :upsidedow

Yeah, I am a little amazed too. I have to admit I'm a bit sad because my van was so pretty and I don't know if I will be able to find one that has all the features I love. The good news is the lots appear to have lots of '08 vehicles left but also are getting the '09's in. With the economy in the toilet right now, we may be set up to snag a good deal, here's hoping!

I'm in and ready for more. popcorn::

Thanks for joining me!:flower3: Stay tuned.

I followed you over from MeMoms TR so I will hang around! How are you feeling tonight? Sore? Alieve, a glass of wine and a hot bath might help. Ok, off to meet your family!:surfweb:

I did take the doctor up on the offer for some pan meds. I didn't think at the time I would use them but I'm glad I got them. What is killing me though is when I have had vicodin before, it knocked me out (of course that was after C-sections so the surgery might have had something to do with it) It seems to be having the opposite effect on me this time. I had a physically and emotionally draining day but it's past midnight and I am still up :confused3 Maybe a glass of wine is the solution, luckily I have just that remedy available complete with Mickey bottle stopper I got in Epcot :woohoo:

[CanadianWDWfan]

Hi, I'm here for the adventure. I came over from MeMom's TR. :thumbsup2

So sorry to hear about your accident. Glad you are okay, and able to hug your two boys & DH. Seatbelts are the greatest! :hug:

I hope you find a van that's better than the one you lost. :wizard:

I'm enjoying your pics of the family, what a great thing for all of you to meet up for your parents anniversary. A Disney trip is a perfect place for everyone.
Young and old.

The vacation home sounds like it was so nice. Private pool. :woohoo:

[mama2girls]

I did take the doctor up on the offer for some pan meds. I didn't think at the time I would use them but I'm glad I got them. What is killing me though is when I have had vicodin before, it knocked me out (of course that was after C-sections so the surgery might have had something to do with it) It seems to be having the opposite effect on me this time. I had a physically and emotionally draining day but it's past midnight and I am still up :confused3 Maybe a glass of wine is the solution, luckily I have just that remedy available complete with Mickey bottle stopper I got in Epcot :woohoo:

Well, it may be your adrenaline. When I was in my car accident my doc put me on Darvoset (I hallucinated there were butterflies attacking me!!!:lmao: :butterfly ) and I didnt sleep for a couple of days. After that I crashed pretty hard though. Just be careful mixing Vicodin and wine though! I was on Vicodin after my knee surgery. Great stuff!

[kschafer]

Hi, I'm here for the adventure. I came over from MeMom's TR. :thumbsup2

So sorry to hear about your accident. Glad you are okay, and able to hug your two boys & DH. Seatbelts are the greatest! :hug:

I hope you find a van that's better than the one you lost. :wizard:

I'm enjoying your pics of the family, what a great thing for all of you to meet up for your parents anniversary. A Disney trip is a perfect place for everyone.
Young and old.

The vacation home sounds like it was so nice. Private pool. :woohoo:

MeMom, you have such a following!

Van shopping was less than thrillng yesterday I'm sorry to say. I had an '07 grand caravan that I bought only last summer. We were able to get all the features we wanted and I LOVED it. For '08, they redesigned the body and changed some of the features and I just don't think it's as nice as what I had (and they got rid of my pretty blue color :sad2: )

Unless someone finds another pretty '07 with low miles for us (but who would trade that in?), we will be getting a new '08. The deals are decent on them this time of year because the '09's are all on the lots and dealers are cutting prices on the '08's to get rid of them.

The Disney trip really was a dream come true. I was a special memory for everyone! Coming up you will see how that pool plays into our Disney plans...stay tuned

Well, it may be your adrenaline. When I was in my car accident my doc put me on Darvoset (I hallucinated there were butterflies attacking me!!!:lmao: :butterfly ) and I didnt sleep for a couple of days. After that I crashed pretty hard though. Just be careful mixing Vicodin and wine though! I was on Vicodin after my knee surgery. Great stuff!

I'm sure it was the adrenaline. When my hubby took me to the emergency room to get checked out, my blood pressure was sky high! :scared1:

I was worried about mixing the vicodin with alcohol so I did skip the wine and eventually fell asleep.

Butterflies, funny! Were they less scary than other animals?

Everytime I have woken up the last 2 nights I start reliving the accident and crying because I am so sad that it happened but so happy nobody else was hurt. It's a bit on an emotional roller coaster. We were out of town van shopping yesterday and DH asked me to drive part of the way home, it was a little scary to get behind the wheel again.


Stay tuned...the start of day 2 will be coming up later today, our first Disney day :yay:

[Nancy for Disney]

Enjoying the TR. I am very interested in how the 6 bedroom house worked out for you along with traveling with large group.

Sorry about the accident. It sounds very scary.

[VandyFan10]

Friday morning van rolling is NOT a good sport to participate in!

I will agree with MeMom on this one :laughing:

But I'm very glad you are ok and did have your seatbelt on they are definitely lifesavers for a reason!

There are a lot to keep track of!! I am so glad you have joined me, I LOVED your christmas pictures from last year :santa: and am hoping for a December trip next year

Thanks :goodvibes and meeee tooooo!! I would :love: to go back next December! :yay:


I am disgusted at how few pictures I have of the house we stayed in. Here are a couple.
Hanging out at the pool:

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/others340.jpg

It's because it's NOT disney!!! :rotfl:

I'm sure that was a WONDERFUL place for such a large party to stay at. I would give anything for my family to do a trip like that!!

Sorry about Patrick getting sick :guilty: poor baby, sounds like he was ok after he got that out of the way http://bestsmileys.com/puking/4.gif

I haven't looked back at the front page :rotfl: but that little girl w/the HMS shirt is precious!! princess: I know you have 2 boys so I know she's not yours ;)

[punkin413]

I found this while going through old pictures and thought of you of course:
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/scan0068.jpg


:lmao:

glad your first day was pretty uneventful except for a few minor issues. it's always nice to have an uneventful travel day! :laughing: the house looks really nice. :thumbsup2

[kschafer]

Enjoying the TR. I am very interested in how the 6 bedroom house worked out for you along with traveling with large group.

We loved the house. It was perhaps one of the best things we could do to ease the challenge of being with a large group. We could be together easily in the living areas or get away to our individual bedrooms. The adults could be in the kitchen/family room and talk while the kids were in the living room or one of the bedrooms and play together. The private pool and hot tub right outside the back door was awesome!

My family generally gets along well so being together was mostly fun. We had agreed ahead of time what days we would go to the parks as a group and what days we would take off. Everyone agreed that we would have a loose plan for the day but anyone was free to follow their own needs at the time. On the days off, families could decide for themselves what they wanted to do which sometimes meant a trip to a park, sometimes not. There was a little tension every now and then and that was another time we appreciated the space of the house. I can't imagine having enjoyed the vacation as much if we had stayed at a hotel.

I would :love: to go back next December! :yay:

You would be totally cool to hang out with! Who knows, maybe we will get to have a Dismeet! :thumbsup2

It's because it's NOT disney!!! :rotfl:

You are probably right about that!

I haven't looked back at the front page :rotfl: but that little girl w/the HMS shirt is precious!! princess: I know you have 2 boys so I know she's not yours ;)

That's my niece Caroline. She is such a doll! She cracks me up and has a lot of my middle child characteristics. Her parents should maybe be afraid! :lmao:



glad your first day was pretty uneventful except for a few minor issues. it's always nice to have an uneventful travel day! :laughing: the house looks really nice. :thumbsup2

The house really was nice, you will probably love your condo in December even if it isn't Disney. Definately the way to go with a larger group in my opinion!

[kschafer]

June 10 – Our first Disney Day!!:cool1:

The plan for today was to be at DHS for rope drop and head to Toy Story Mania first. Now, keep in mind, it had only opened the end of May so I had no idea what we were in for! We were walking through the turnstiles as the rope drop ceremony was taking place and I thought we were basically on track…

Oops, here comes our first character road block. My nieces and nephew scurried off to meet a couple of them.

Rewind to this past March…the band at the high school where I taught was taking a spring break trip to WDW so I sent money with one of my students and asked her to pick up a few things while there to give to my boys as a “we’re going to Disney” gift. So our first character encounter is when I discover the autograph books might have been a waste of money because my kids do NOT want to get in line.

A quick stop for a few photos…
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/aaa.jpg

You may be wondering - Where is everyone, isn’t this June, the busy season? We rounded the hat to find they all had the same plan we did – hit Toy Story first!! :headache: It was approximately 9:25 am and the standby line was already an hour! I was thinking: all that research and my well laid out plans were shot on step 1!!

We decided to get our first fastpasses and head toward the first Playhouse Disney show. I know lots of people without little kids skip this show. I would encourage you to take the time to watch it if you can. Even if you don’t have kids with you, I think watching other kids would be a lot of fun. You would get to see kids with faces like this (aww!)
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/i.jpg

It’s got Mickey and the gang…
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/a.jpg

Handy Manny and his tools…
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/b.jpg

Little Einsteins…
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/c.jpg

And Pooh and the gang…
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/d.jpg

It is full of fun complete with music and dancing…
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/g.jpg
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/h.jpg

falling leaves, steamers and BUBBLES…
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/e.jpg
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/f.jpg

We still had a little time before our fastpasses time so we checked out the Great Movie Ride. Those of you who have been there before know the queue can be deceptive, what looked like a short line became a long line as we entered the room full of people watching movie clips. After several loops through the same clips and whining kids who needed a snack (Aunt Katie’s backpack full of fruit snack and granola bars to the rescue!) we finally boarded…
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/j.jpg

I love this movie!
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/k.jpg

Can you believe our ride got hijacked by this gangster chick? :eek:
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/l.jpg

Luckily our driver Jose managed to take over once again (No WAY! :rolleyes: Come on, you were thinking it too!) and we were off into another of my favorites...
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/m.jpg

Honestly, I thought this ride was cute but NOT worth the wait we endured. My (this will become a theme) not very brave kids, thought it was scary because it was dark. I would only go again if I had time to kill and there was a minimal wait. But I will confess my sappy self teared up at the end when they show all the movie clips.

It was finally our fastpass time so we headed off to TOY STORY MIDWAY MANIA!!! For those who haven’t been on this yet, it is AWESOME. I think all the generations thought this ride was a lot of fun. We grabbed more fastpasses on our way out.

My dad, me and Daniel and my SIL Amy going through the line...
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/n.jpg

My younger brother and nephew Andrew...
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/o.jpg

Joe's daughter Ellie...
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/p.jpg

My mom, Patrick, niece Margaret, Amy and nephew James
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/q.jpg

(Helpful hint, the blond kids are mine and my younger brothers, the dark haired kids are my older brothers)

It was starting to get hot and people were getting a bit tired so we decided to take a break and have some lunch so we headed over to Pizza Planet. I was really looking forward to going here because it sounded fun. I had heard pizza is not great at Disney but I thought this was OK (I personally like thin crust with lots of toppings and this was the opposite of that but still not bad in my opinion). I was SO hoping to find a claw machine with aliens like in the movie but was surprised to find the standard carnival games, :confused3 no thanks.

We tried to go meet Woody and Buzz but the line was being closed down. (I am not having character luck! :mad: ) We then went to see the Muppets. This was very cute and a nice break from the heat. You can't get very good pics in here...
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/r.jpg

The next plans were for someone to go get fastpasses for Rock n Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror, try to stay cool and catch the 3:00 parade.

Do we make it? You’ll have to wait and see!

[punkin413]

Honestly, I thought this ride was cute but NOT worth the wait we endured.

ray and i did this back on our first trip in may 2007 and we now call it the lame movie ride. we thought it was boring. and i think what really did us in is we forgot about the parade and when we came out of the ride, we had missed 90 percent of the parade, which we wanted to see. :headache: so that made it an even bigger waste. i know a lot of people love this ride - i'm just not one of them!

It was finally our fastpass time so we headed off to TOY STORY MIDWAY MANIA!!! For those who haven’t been on this yet, it is AWESOME.

glad you got to ride it during that busy time! my sister went in july and they never got to ride it. she's stubborn and won't listen to the advice of her older, wiser, DIS-informed big sister! :laughing: such a great ride. i can't wait to do it again in december!

hope you guys make it to the block party bash!

[MeMom]

glad you got to ride it during that busy time! my sister went in july and they never got to ride it. she's stubborn and won't listen to the advice of her older, wiser, DIS-informed big sister!

I hope she has learned her lesson!

kschafer - How are you coming along? Still very, very sore, I'm sure.

Didn't you volunteer to be a chaperone (you guys go play your music and I'll wait for you inside the shops) for the school Disney trip?!?!?

[kschafer]

ray and i did this back on our first trip in may 2007 and we now call it the lame movie ride. we thought it was boring. and i think what really did us in is we forgot about the parade and when we came out of the ride, we had missed 90 percent of the parade, which we wanted to see. :headache: so that made it an even bigger waste. i know a lot of people love this ride - i'm just not one of them!!

:scared: I thought the sentiment was cute but there was little magic in those robots! It lacks something disney-like in my opinion

glad you got to ride it during that busy time! my sister went in july and they never got to ride it. she's stubborn and won't listen to the advice of her older, wiser, DIS-informed big sister! :laughing: such a great ride. i can't wait to do it again in december!

hope you guys make it to the block party bash!

:rolleyes2 Some peope just don't get it! Leaves more fun for the rest of us I guess!

I hope she has learned her lesson!

kschafer - How are you coming along? Still very, very sore, I'm sure.

Didn't you volunteer to be a chaperone (you guys go play your music and I'll wait for you inside the shops) for the school Disney trip?!?!?

The bruises were probably the most sore yesterday, this morning they seem a little better, we'll see how the day goes.

Actually, I asked if they needed more chaperones and I was told they had to pay too. WHAT? :confused: Since I was planning my June trip, I wan't paying to take the teens on my week off!

[heaven2dc]

Just getting updated again on your report and am SO glad you were not hurt too bad in the accident (except for bruises and cuts and they can't be any fun either)!! How scary that must have been for you and am glad your kids weren't in the van :scared: What a great testimony to give about wearing your seatbelt.

I forgot to mention that I had also lived in Ames for a short period when I was little - hard to keep track of the towns since we moved about 6 times from the age of 4-9.

I can't wait to see TSM when my DS15 and I are there in December! I'm wondering if he will like the Great Movie Ride (I liked it when I saw it for the first time in January/February this year but parts were boring for me too).

What a great extended family you have - how lucky you are!

[kschafer]

I forgot to mention that I had also lived in Ames for a short period when I was little - hard to keep track of the towns since we moved about 6 times from the age of 4-9.

I can't wait to see TSM when my DS15 and I are there in December! I'm wondering if he will like the Great Movie Ride (I liked it when I saw it for the first time in January/February this year but parts were boring for me too).

What a great extended family you have - how lucky you are!

Ames is such a nice town, I sort of miss living there. It's not too big but full of opportunities since the university is there.

TSM is AWESOME :banana: This may have been the multi-generational hit of the trip!

Thanks - I do love my family. I feel pretty lucky (if you ever met my in-laws, :scared: you would know why I am especially grateful for my family!)

[kschafer]

Day 2, Tuesday, June 10 continued

When I left you, we were enjoying the coolness of the Muppet Theater. Have I mentioned that it was HOT. :scared: It had been a cool spring in Iowa and the heat of Florida (which I would have been acclimated to if it had been August in Iowa) was really getting to me on our first day!

My plan at this point was to go get fastpasses for Rock n Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror to use after the Block Party Bash. Recall that I love thrill rides, DH is fond of them too, so the plan was to send the kids on TSMM with Grandma and Grandpa while DH and I ride RnR and ToT. At this point in time, I am hot, tired, thirsty and the kids are getting a bit restless and cranky from the heat too. Keep in mind that we have more Disney days planned so I decided to not walk across the park and save the thrill rides for another day.

My younger brother and his family decided it was naptime and they headed back to the house. My Mom went with them (did I mention that my Mother has just had angioplasty a week earlier? She was NOT going to let that stop her vacation plans!)

The rest of us decided to let the kids blow off some energy at the Honey I shrunk the Kids playground. This is a really cute area complete with giant climbing areas, slides and spraying water…
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/a-1.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/b-1.jpg

The kids had a blast while the grown-ups got some refreshment and tried to stay in the shade. This was the best we could find...
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/c-1.jpg

I had heard that it is hard to keep an eye on your kids in this playground but honestly, if your kids are old enough to walk, you don’t really need to see them at all times. There is only 1 way in and out so lots of parents were getting a break near the exit while the kids run off some energy (why can’t we have some of their energy!)

After leaving the playground, we wandered around a bit. I wanted to do the backlot tour but the line was pretty long and we didn’t want to risk missing Block Party Bash. The line said only 5 minutes for Star Tours but I think I was the only one interested. The next times for Indiana Jones and Lights, Motors, Action were too close to parade time. We found ourselves in front of Sounds Dangerous. We figured this might be a good way to kill a little time.

I know, I know!! Those of you who have been in here are wondering WHY I am taking my chicken-sh** kids! I knew this was dark, I didn’t know it was DARK!!! :eek: For those who have not been in here, it is pitch-black, can’t see your hand in front of your face dark. The lights went out and Patrick about freaked! It is impossible to leave this show once it has started so we were stuck. Luckily I had a small flashlight in my backpack thanks to the packing suggestions on the Dis. I gave it to him to hold down in his lap and it was enough to hold him till the end.

I love Drew Carey, this attraction (darkness aside) stinks! There is however one great thing about it, the area you end up in when the movie is over. It has lots of things for kids to play with and is wonderfully air conditioned. There are even little booths you can sit in that are cool and private (I recommended this to my SIL as a convenient nursing spot without having to go all the way to the front of the park)

It was finally time to go claim our spots for the BLOCK PARTY BASH. :jumping1: We exited Sounds Dangerous and asked a CM where a good spot would be. He suggested on the steps of what will soon be the American Idol attraction is a good shaded spot. The steps were already filling up so we found a spot next to them (in front of those little statues). I went and got some ice cream and we waited…

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/d-1.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/e-1.jpg

Coming up next, the bash...

[kschafer]

Block Party Bash is not a traditional parade. It rolls down Hollywood Boulevard and stops. They perform then pack it up and turn toward Indiana Jones, stop and perform again. We could hear the noise while the first performance as going on. CM’s came along with hula hoops for the kids to play with…
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/f-1.jpg

Patrick is a master hoola hooper!!...
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/g-1.jpg

This really nice CM helped Caroline who really wanted to try…
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/h-1.jpg

Finally, the toy story gang went by…
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/i-1.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/j-1.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/k-1.jpg

And the Monsters Inc gang stopped pretty close...
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/n-1.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/o-1.jpg

We had one of the army men who narrate and one of the trampolines in front of us…
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/l-1.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/p-1.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/q-1.jpg

I have heard lots of people complain that if you don’t have a “float” in front of you, the parade is not fun, I disagree. There is a lot of interaction with the dancers that I think you wouldn’t get with the characters. This is a great spot to catch the show because the path is a little bit narrow with a railing on the opposite side that they don’t allow people to stand by. Since there is no audience on the other side, all the performers were focused on our side.
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/m-1.jpg

The Incredibles gang show up at the end too...
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/s.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/r-1.jpg

Heads up! At the end, they shoot little nerf balls into the crowd. You can see them in the air in this pic...
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/t.jpg

I didn’t notice until most of them had been grabbed up. The army guy nearby reached into his pocket, looked right at us and said “hey kids, yeah you, catch” and threw one to us (If you knew me well, you would be SHOCKED to hear that I actually caught it). So nice!! :wizard:

They packed up and moved on and the Monsters and Bug's Life floats went by...
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/039.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip072.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/u.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/v.jpg

At this point, we decided it was getting time to head out, after all tomorrow is our Magic Kingdom day! But first, we had some TSMM fastpasses, but not enough for everyone (remember, I WAS saving our fastpasses for the big rides then didn’t). So Dad, Daniel and I decided to go back to the van while the others used the fastpasses. We stopped and got our first photopass pictures (Daniel wasn't really interested)…
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/w.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/x.jpg

Just as we got to the van, it started to rain. A few minutes later is was POURING (and I had the umbrellas in my backpack) Greg and Patrick were soaked by the time they got to the van. This was the day my brother was taking shelter somewhere and saw a lightning bolt hit the sorcerers hat, scary I’m sure but pretty cool!

Stay tuned, tomorrow is MAGIC KINGDOM

[Happy Elf]

We enjoyed the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground too! Hannah loves to look at the pictures of her playing on it!

Great pictures of the Block Party Bash! I'm looking forward to seeing that sometime!

[kschafer]

We enjoyed the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground too! Hannah loves to look at the pictures of her playing on it!

Great pictures of the Block Party Bash! I'm looking forward to seeing that sometime!

It is nice that each park has some type of play area for the kids to run around. Standing in line is tough on them and Mom's and Dad's need a break too. Block Party is so much fun! The kids get to dance, toss balls with the performers, are encouraged to scream and generally have a ton of fun. I hope you get a chance to see it.

I saw on MeMom's TR that you are a teacher and going back to work next week. Good luck with that adjustment. I only had 7 weeks with my first and 10 weeks with my second and that didn't seem like enough! 3 months must have been nice.

[Happy Elf]

I saw on MeMom's TR that you are a teacher and going back to work next week. Good luck with that adjustment. I only had 7 weeks with my first and 10 weeks with my second and that didn't seem like enough! 3 months must have been nice.

Thanks for the good thoughts! I was very lucky this time around...it worked out because he was born in July, so my days didn't start until school started! I am trying to feel good about it...I know my kids are in great hands while I'm gone (my MIL watches them), but I still wish I could stay home longer!

[kschafer]

Thanks for the good thoughts! I was very lucky this time around...it worked out because he was born in July, so my days didn't start until school started! I am trying to feel good about it...I know my kids are in great hands while I'm gone (my MIL watches them), but I still wish I could stay home longer!

I was surprised that it was still hard to leave my second one even though he was going to the same sitter who we love and are so grateful to be a part of our boys lives :hug:

The one thing that really helped was knowing that the boys could be together even when we couldn't be with them. They have a really special bond now.

[kschafer]

Anyone out there? It's been a little quiet.

A busy day today - usual weekend chores, getting ready for Halloween and probably more car looking. We finally heard from the insurance adjuster yesterday and the van has been declared totalled (what I suspected would happen) It was towed to a collision center yesterday morning because the insurance needed to look under it. I went and cleaned it out. As I was leaving, I was crying because I knew it was goodbye. It sounds silly I know but it was my first new vehicle that I choose all the features of. I loved it and will miss it because they have changed the design so I cannot get a true replacement. I'm sure I will come to like the new van...eventually

Day 3 update coming up tonight or tomorrow morning

[punkin413]

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/i-1.jpg

wow......looks like mr. potato head is having some eye issues. :rotfl:

i believe the block party stopped at the same point with you guys that it did with us. we were right in front of that same trampoline, except we saw the first show up on the main strip. very cool that the army guy threw you a ball! :thumbsup2

[Megablocks]

Hey! I followed you over here from MeMom's report (imagine that!)

I meant to tell you after I read it that I am sooo sorry about your accident, and I'm so glad that you were able to walk away from it. :hug: I totaled a car too, but it was my mom's. :scared: I still feel awful about how it happened. I was driving her car due to mine spending a few weeks in the shop (a snow plow put a huge dent in my passenger door :headache: ) A cab driver took an illegal left turn and everyone had to slam on their brakes--I slammed hard but somehow didn't stop fast enough, and dented the front in pretty badly. Nowhere near as bad as your's, obviously, but it was still deemed totaled. So glad that you are okay, aside from the ribs.

Thanks to you, I think I might write a belated TR of my own. We went in April, and I was a lurker for a long time before I finally registered. :goodvibes I'm looking forward to more, the place that you stayed at looks gorgeous and your kids (and nieces and nephews) are so cute.

[kschafer]

i believe the block party stopped at the same point with you guys that it did with us. we were right in front of that same trampoline, except we saw the first show up on the main strip. very cool that the army guy threw you a ball! :thumbsup2

I remember commenting the same thing on your TR. It was a great spot really, lots of action. The army guy throwing the ball to me was the closest I ever came to winning a dream at disney. :wizard: I never even saw the dream team once.

Hey! I followed you over here from MeMom's report (imagine that!)

She sure is one popular lady!! Who can't help but love her? :hug:

I meant to tell you after I read it that I am sooo sorry about your accident, and I'm so glad that you were able to walk away from it. :hug: I totaled a car too, but it was my mom's. :scared: I still feel awful about how it happened. I was driving her car due to mine spending a few weeks in the shop (a snow plow put a huge dent in my passenger door :headache: ) A cab driver took an illegal left turn and everyone had to slam on their brakes--I slammed hard but somehow didn't stop fast enough, and dented the front in pretty badly. Nowhere near as bad as your's, obviously, but it was still deemed totaled. So glad that you are okay, aside from the ribs.

Welcome and thanks. Today was a pretty good day so I'm hoping that's a sign of things to come. Accidents stink! :headache: I must admit I have been commuting for 10 years and have occasionally wondered what it would feel like to lose control of the car. Now I know, never have to wonder again! I am a bit paranoid now about it, I hope that will go away!

Thanks to you, I think I might write a belated TR of my own. We went in April, and I was a lurker for a long time before I finally registered. :goodvibes I'm looking forward to more, the place that you stayed at looks gorgeous and your kids (and nieces and nephews) are so cute.

You should write one if you have the time. I am really enjoying writing this report and reliving the memories.

Speaking of writing, on to day 3...

[kschafer]

Day 3 – Wednesday, June 11

After having missed it by a few minutes at DHS yesterday, I was determined to make it to Magic Kingdom in time for rope drop. I of course had read about it on the Dis :surfweb: (Man, there's nothing like and early morning cup of coffee and Dising to start your day!) before we left so I really wanted to make it to this one!

I told the rest of the family we were leaving 15 minutes earlier than the day before. My younger brother and his family left at the same time and my older brother and parents said they would meet us there. We drove under this sign that brings happiness to us all :cloud9: …
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip078.jpg

We walked through the turnstiles and there was a decent crowd gathering but not so many that we couldn’t get a good view. There was a cute Mickey to greet us…
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip079.jpg

My SIL Shelby waiting for the fun to begin…
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip081.jpg

Soon the citizens of Main Street came out to sing and dance…
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip086.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip087.jpg

And finally the real Mickey showed up with a bunch of his friends…
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip094.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/051.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/050-1.jpg

Magic Kingdom was open and I finally took the walk down Main Street I had been waiting so long for (Yes, it was a BIT crowded!!)
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/2ndday002.jpg

We stopped to have some photopass pictures taken of my family and my younger brother Joe's family...
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/image241.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/image022.jpg

As we were finishing, my older brother called to tell me they were coming up Main Street. They were just outside the gates during the rope drop. I thought this was a cute pic of Caroline and my mom…
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/others160.jpg

We waited for them and stopped to take our first (and as it turned out, only) photopass of the entire group…
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/image031.jpg

This is among one of the best pictures of all 15 of us. Usually someone is turned away, crying or has their finger up their nose :lmao:

Coming right up…Fantasyland

[kschafer]

Then we headed to Fantasyland. We had convinced the kids that they had done rides just like Dumbo at fairs so they willingly skipped it and headed straight toward pooh, only about a 5 minute wait. Pooh and Mickey probably are tied for my favorite characters and this ride was new since I was last in WDW. I was really looking forward to it and it did not disappoint.
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip100.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/others165.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/2ndday008.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/2ndday017.jpg

Then on to Peter Pan, probably a 15 minute wait. This was the same classic I remember.
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/2ndday025.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/2ndday028.jpg

Then It’s a small World, maybe a 10 minute wait. I LOVE this ride. I know lots of people hate it but I have such fond memories of riding this when I was a kid. I rode it once with my Grandpa who commented on the amount of money people had thrown in the water. He told me he would clean it for free if he could keep the money. This was so much like my Grandpa who had a knack for finding money on sidewalks, in parking lots, etc. I really enjoyed seeing my kids ride this for the first time and sing along (how in the world did they pick up the song so quickly? :rotfl: )
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip105.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/17.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/19.jpg

Next we watched Mickey’s Philharmagic :3dglasses . What an AMAZING show!!! I loved when the corks poped! I will never forget Patrick’s reaction when Donald landed in the back wall. He ripped off his glasses and started yelling “Mom, he’s really there! He flew out of the movie!!” A little browsing while trying to decide what's next...
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip113.jpg

We took a ride on Cinderella’s horses…
My niece Caroline, brother Ben and nephew James:
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/10.jpg http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/11.jpg

Patrick and my niece Margaret:
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/172.jpg

Daniel and hubby Greg:
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip107.jpg

My niece Ellie and my Mom:
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip108.jpg

SIL Shelby and nephew Andrew:
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/others175.jpg

My Dad and brother Joe (they apparently thought their horses were missing some accessories)
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip112.jpg

(I know I was there and so was my SIL Amy but somehow we escaped the 5 cameras in the group :confused3 )

By this time, it was almost 11. We had 11:30 ADR’s at Crystal Palace and a few things still on our wish list. The girls headed to see Arial while the boys and I went to spin on the Tea Cups. Unfortunately, both lines were too long for the time we had. Some of the group went to ride on Snow White (do you think my scardy cat boys went? NOT A CHANCE!!) The rest of the group went to Crystal Palace while I took tickets and ran to Big Thunder and Splash mountains to get fastpasses for later.

Next installment, hanging out with the gang from the 100 acre woods!

[punkin413]

I never even saw the dream team once.


well, if it makes you feel any better, i've been there 4 - yes, 4 - times since they started the "dream team" back in 2007 and i haven't won a dream yet. this december is my last chance.

I will never forget Patrick’s reaction when Donald landed in the back wall. He ripped off his glasses and started yelling “Mom, he’s really there! He flew out of the movie!!”

this is so sweet! :goodvibes

[MeMom]

I love Margaret's caddywampus Minnie ears. They're pretty cute like that. That's a nice group picture, and I know it will be a treasure to look back on in the years to come.

I never get pictures as good as those in Winnie-the-Pooh. Those are great!

Since there were so many of you guys, did any of you manage to get on Cinderella's horse on the Carrousel?

The look James has on his face on the horse is proof positive that you shouldn't hesitate to take a little one to Disney World. No, they don't remember, and yes, it is a little bit of a hassle at times, but look at him at he looks up at Caroline. That is just precious!

[Happy Elf]

Great update! Your gang looks so cute on the carousal! Looking forward to Pooh and gang! :)

[kschafer]

well, if it makes you feel any better, i've been there 4 - yes, 4 - times since they started the "dream team" back in 2007 and i haven't won a dream yet. this december is my last chance.

this is so sweet! :goodvibes

I was reading another TR (mommyofthreeboys) and they not only won dream ears but won them 2 days in a row!! And there were 20+ in their group! I guess my memories are my prize. And really, there were so many special moments, I don't feel cheated (too much :upsidedow )

I love Margaret's caddywampus Minnie ears. They're pretty cute like that. That's a nice group picture, and I know it will be a treasure to look back on in the years to come.

I never get pictures as good as those in Winnie-the-Pooh. Those are great!

Since there were so many of you guys, did any of you manage to get on Cinderella's horse on the Carrousel?

The look James has on his face on the horse is proof positive that you shouldn't hesitate to take a little one to Disney World. No, they don't remember, and yes, it is a little bit of a hassle at times, but look at him at he looks up at Caroline. That is just precious!

She always had a high ponytail or bun then when she put those ears on, her hair pushed it down low on her forehead. Her other grandparents gave each person in her family money for souveniers and that is what she chose, I think she wore them everyday.

I was probably the only one who knew that there is one special horse and I didn't share that info. It was a big enough challenge to get everyone in close proximity to each other. Then the question of which child got it :scared1:

The Pooh pics were my hubby's. I guess his new camera was better than mine, or he had the front row. Here is one of my pics, taken just as the honey pot turned. :rotfl2:
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/053.jpg

As someone who will not have the chance to go as frequently as SOME of you (yes, you know who you are!!) James was at a difficult age for this trip, particularly with older sisters who could do so many things. I'm sure he will go back again sometime but not until he is much older

Great update! Your gang looks so cute on the carousal! Looking forward to Pooh and gang! :)

Thanks. It was a great lunch. Stay tuned!

[kschafer]

Happy Halloween Everyone!!

Sorry I haven't gotten back to my TR. It has been a crazy week as I have been TRYING to get hubby to consider a van purchase before today. We are wanting an '08 grand caravan because they are running a $3500 rebate on them right now. Plus our local dealer has $2000 in coupons we can use. both of these offers expire tonight. My stubborn DH (although not feeling very "D" right now) thinks that if we wait, we will find a better deal. :confused3 HELLO, they are a good price because they are trying to GET RID of the '08 models, the selections is not going to get better!!

:cool1: :banana: :dance3: :yay: :woohoo: :jumping1: :rainbow:

As I was typing the above, hubby called to say he stopped out at the dealer in town to talk to the salesman I had been talking to and now is leaning toward taking the deal because we only have to give a verbal agreement tonight and they can start the paperwork. The final papers and loan stuff can wait until next week. IF we can get a better deal come Monday (yeah right!) we can still take it. He may have just earned back the title of "D"H :hug: again :rotfl2:


I'll try to be back this weekend with an update!

Happy Trick-or-Treating!!

[sunny_stace]

Your family is beautiful and your pics are so fun! I'm definately in for the rest! I'm glad you're safe and sound after the accident and hope you have a safe Halloween! :goodvibes

[kschafer]

Your family is beautiful and your pics are so fun! I'm definately in for the rest! I'm glad you're safe and sound after the accident and hope you have a safe Halloween! :goodvibes

Hi! Thanks for the compliments. Welcome aboard, glad to have you!!

I saw on MeMom's thread that you are headed to WDW after our Thanksgiving. Did you say you are arriving on Nov 30? That's my birthday! I'm hoping to convince DH to take me in 3 years for my 40th and leaving the kids at home with Grandma and Grandpa. Unfortunately, since he is a high school teacher, that is a lot harder than just taking vacation days.

Hoping you have safe journeys and decide to write a TR when you return!

[CanadianWDWfan]

Happy Day After Halloween !!!!

Hope you get the new van soon, car buying is so awful. What is the best deal? Shopping around? The back and forth with the salesman. I only like actually "getting" the new car. Good luck. :wizard:

The update was very sweet. Cute pics of the kids. The family pics will be a treasure. I think a trip with my whole family would be fun but crazy with everyone wanting to go thier seperate ways.

My DMom won Dream fast passes last year in Epcot. She and DD got lost going to the bathroom. DS and I were waiting at Soarin when she arrived with them in hand. I was thrilled, I couldn't believe it. I only wish I was there to live the moment. Its a great souvenier to have. I feel very lucky to have them and if my DMom hadn't gotten lost she wouldn't have been chosen. Disney magic. I'm also gratefull the Dream CM was kind enough to give her 4 instead of 2. :woohoo:

[kschafer]

Hope you get the new van soon, car buying is so awful. What is the best deal? Shopping around? The back and forth with the salesman. I only like actually "getting" the new car. Good luck. :wizard:

I"m glad its done with. DH called me back around 3:00 and said he thought we should take the deal and I needed to stop at the dealer on my way home from work to sign the sales agreement and give a deposit. While I was there, the sales manager told me that he was waiting to hear back from the manager of the dealer who had the van. He called around 7:45 (they closed at 5:30 but he came back after dinner) to say he was still waiting and asked if we have a second choice :scared1:, um, no. The other dealer closed at 8 and he had to have the agreement before midnight for us to keep the discounts.

He called again at 8:15 to say he had gotten it. Today we dealt with loan stuff. We applied online a couple places and were being offered interest rates of 7.5-9% :scared1: :scared1: (my old van was a lower sales price and 5% interest). The sales manager was able to secure us one at 6.5% and believes he can get us 6% from a place that was closed today

We should be getting it Monday or Tuesday as they have to bring it from a couple hours away. Like I said, I will be excited to get it but right now I'm just glad it's done!

I'm also gratefull the Dream CM was kind enough to give her 4 instead of 2. :woohoo:

That was so nice to give extras! It would have been a shame to have to decide how to split them up among your group.

I saw your comment on MeMom's thread about getting snow this week. You said the temp quickly went up to 16 degrees. It caught me by surprise for a moment because of course the US uses our completely illogical measurement system instead of metric :confused3 and 16 is still below freezing in farenheit. I had to do the conversion to realize that in celcius, that it quite warm for having just gotten snow!

Thanks for reading, I got all the pictures ready for an update but am too tired tonight to upload them. Tomorrow I promise!

[sunny_stace]

Hi! Thanks for the compliments. Welcome aboard, glad to have you!!

I saw on MeMom's thread that you are headed to WDW after our Thanksgiving. Did you say you are arriving on Nov 30? That's my birthday! I'm hoping to convince DH to take me in 3 years for my 40th and leaving the kids at home with Grandma and Grandpa. Unfortunately, since he is a high school teacher, that is a lot harder than just taking vacation days.

Hoping you have safe journeys and decide to write a TR when you return!

Well Happy Early Birthday to YOU! party:
Yeppers, we're arriving on the 30th! 28 days now! I've been counting since january! I can certainly understand where your DH is coming from. This is the first year I haven't worked retail and have been able to get away to see Disney near Christmas!

I guess I'm gonna have to buckle down and write a real trip report this year! I've never written a full one but I've enjoyed everyone else's so much I feel I should do one too! Heaven knows I spend enough time on the Dis anyhow! :thumbsup2 You should definately do a super duper trip-of-a-lifetime for your 40th!! That's what I'm hoping to do for my 30th (so far I'm hoping for a two week Mediterranean Disney Cruise and another two weeks at the parks :rotfl: And then a trip around the world to all the Disney parks! Oh if wishes were fishes the sea would be full :goodvibes )

[CanadianWDWfan]

Congrats on the new van !!!! :banana: :banana: :banana:

I know it gets confusing discussing weather with us Canadians. I'm lucky to have lived in both countries so I understand both celcius and farenheit. The weather was crazy this week.

sunny stace - I do work in retail now and I can only dream of a time when I can see WDW at Christmas, Halloween, Easter....did I forget anything. I figure when I retire I can move there and go whenever I want. :rotfl2:

[MeMom]

Congrats on the new van !!!! :banana: :banana: :banana:

I know it gets confusing discussing weather with us Canadians. I'm lucky to have lived in both countries so I understand both celcius and farenheit. The weather was crazy this week.

sunny stace - I do work in retail now and I can only dream of a time when I can see WDW at Christmas, Halloween, Easter....did I forget anything. I figure when I retire I can move there and go whenever I want. :rotfl2:


I second the congratulations on the new vehicle. I hope they put an extra layer of 'sticky' on the wheels so that there won't be any more rolling over tricks going on.

Not so much at Easter, but if anyone can ever possibly make it to Disney World while Halloween and Christmas decorations are up, they really, really should. Both are just awesome!

[kschafer]

I guess I'm gonna have to buckle down and write a real trip report this year! I've never written a full one but I've enjoyed everyone else's so much I feel I should do one too! Heaven knows I spend enough time on the Dis anyhow! :thumbsup2

That's why I finally decided to write one of my own. I was spending so much time living vicariously through others! It's a lot of fun to write I have to say. It gives me a chance to relive the magic :wizard:

You should definately do a super duper trip-of-a-lifetime for your 40th!! That's what I'm hoping to do for my 30th (so far I'm hoping for a two week Mediterranean Disney Cruise and another two weeks at the parks :rotfl: And then a trip around the world to all the Disney parks!

WOW! that is quite the trip of a lifetime!!

Oh if wishes were fishes the sea would be full :goodvibes )

Great quote!!:thumbsup2

Congrats on the new van !!!! :banana: :banana: :banana:

Thanks, I'll havd to post pics next week when we get it. I am pretty excited really, it's a pretty snazzy van. We had certain things we wanted as options but because we are buying an '08, we are a little bit limited to what is left so we ended up with a couple extras like heated seats. It seems a bit excessive but I'm sure I will enjoy it in the winter especially because I am always colder than DH so I can crank mine up! We also ended up with backseat satellite TV. I know...:scared1: ...I agree, how crazy is that!! My preference is alway that kids watch what's going on OUTSIDE but we did get the built in DVD's this time for longer trips (No wonder I can't afford another trip to WDW!!!) Anyways, the TV comes with 1 year of service and we will NOT pay to continue the service after that so I have told the kids to enjoy it while it's there! It only comes with 3 channels: Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network and Disney Channel

sunny stace - I do work in retail now and I can only dream of a time when I can see WDW at Christmas, Halloween, Easter....did I forget anything. I figure when I retire I can move there and go whenever I want. :rotfl2:

My dream is to win a big chunk of money and buy an AP then in 1 year hit all the seasons, festivals and parties while staying at lots of different resorts.

I second the congratulations on the new vehicle. I hope they put an extra layer of 'sticky' on the wheels so that there won't be any more rolling over tricks going on.


:rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2: Thanks MeMom, I'll have to ask for that option too!

[kschafer]

Day 3 – Wednesday, June 11 – Continued

So when I left you I was running to splash and big thunder mountains to get fastpasses, some of the gang were visiting snow white and everyone was going to meet up at Crystal Palace for lunch.

First can I say I enjoyed the atmosphere and characters here and the food in my opinion was decent but not great and it was CROWDED!! The food lines were probably 10 minutes to get through and when 15 people are going in shifts, this takes a lot of time. We got the earliest ADR we could because of the size of our group and it still took almost 20 minutes to get a table! They ended up sitting us split among 2 tables which I understand but the tables were on either side on an aisle that everyone in that section walked through going to and from their tables. Just a little way down were several tables with a common bench that could have seated everyone and just around the corner in a little tucked away area were several tables they could have sat us at. It was pretty disappointing. Later my brother said he felt like his family was eating alone. It seems like it would make sense to seat the large groups first then fill in with the smaller ones, not the other way around.

They did have streamers and Mickey confetti on the tables for my parents anniversary, that was cool.

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip117.jpg

Our servers name (I think) was Michael and he was great! He was very funny and attentive. He told us about the character rotation and suggested we wait to get in the food line because on his way was my favorite character, Pooh Bear!!!

Warning….FLASHBACK AHEAD….

I have loved the pooh stories since I was a little kid. It was pretty rare to see them in mass media when I was a teenager and young adult until the mid-90’s when the movies were re-released. When Greg and I were first dating, we went on a Christmas break trip and we found ourselves at a Disney Store. He bought me a hat, cute huh!! (The hat I mean, my hair is AWFUL, I was growing it out)

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/1.jpg

A few months later, I had been away in Arizona for a 12 week internship. Shortly before I came home, Greg sent me a story he had written about the Kingdom of Pooh and how one day during the fun festival, the woozles snuck into the castle and stole the kingdoms treasures. The inhabitants heard of a princess in a far away land called Iowa who could help rescue the treasures.

My mom had flown out to Arizona to drive back to Iowa with me. When we pulled into my parents driveway, there were posters with the Pooh characters to greet me. Here's one of them

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/2.jpg

There was also a balloon bouquet tied to the back door with a scroll attached. This was the start of a treasure hunt which led me to various locations around town. Along the way, I was given flowers, wine, a book of fairytales and a stuffed Piglet, Eeyore and Tigger. Waiting at the last stop was Greg, a stuffed Pooh with a hunny pot filled with gold colored Hershey Kisses and more balloons. That’s when he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. This pic shows all the things I collected that day.

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/3.jpg

The next year, we gave pooh themed gifts to the wedding party (Dad and younger brother 11 years younger!)

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/6.jpg

And the stuffed animals attended our wedding reception

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/4.jpg

Here's all of them at the end of the day. Funny, they don't seem to have aged at all in the last 11 years :confused3

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/5.jpg


So that is only a few of the reasons that I was really looking forward to this experience.

FLASHBACK OVER…

Pooh visited my brother’s table first. Here's Margaret and Caroline

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/7.jpg

How cute is James with Pooh?...
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/8.jpg

Next he came to our table. Patrick went right up and hugged him and got his autograph.

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/10-1.jpg

Then came the SHOCK of the day. Daniel must have gotten lost in the excitement and forgot for a moment how painfully shy he is (It just makes me tear up thinking about it)

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/9.jpg

And I had to get in on the loving too

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/11-1.jpg

Ellie and Andrew had a turn I’m sure. Even my parents got a chance for a big ole Pooh Bear hug!

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/12.jpg

And soon along came this guy.

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/13.jpg

I love how Eeyore holds the autograph books

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/14.jpg

With Joe and Andrew

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/15.jpg

And Ellie

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/16.jpg

More to follow shortly…

[kschafer]

Then this guy headed our way to visit Caroline

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/17-1.jpg

And Andrew

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/18.jpg

And Ellie

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/20.jpg

I asked him to bounce with me. This was the only picture that was taken (not a good one!)

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/19-1.jpg

And last but not least, Piglet signed Daniels autograph book

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/23.jpg

Hung out with the boys and I

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/21.jpg

And Grandpa, Ellie and Andrew

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/22.jpg

Then there was a parade that Margaret got in on. (I think a couple other of our kids did too but of course I was stuck in the food line and missed it :mad: )

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/25.jpg

For those who wonder about the food…this picture was most likely taken by Daniel who enjoys grabbing cameras and taking random pictures (later in the TR, I will tell you about our breakfast with Sesame Street at SeaWorld, lots of random Daniel pics and a REALLY cute story) Anyways, I think it was my plate and as you can guess, I definitely did not go hungry!

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/24.jpg

Michael then brought my parents an anniversary cupcake and a magical moments certificate signed by all the characters. I think they were genuinely surprised and touched.

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/26.jpg

Before we left, we tried to get a picture of Grandma and Grandpa with all the kids. We have been trying for YEARS to get pictures such as this at any occasion where they are all together. We have yet to get a decent one. It is becoming more of a funny tradition than anything else! These are a couple of the better ones.

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/27.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/28.jpg

Finally, they wanted a picture with their 3 kids.

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/29.jpg

Overall, I’m glad we did this. It was a lot of fun and my parents said they really enjoyed having the chance to watch the kids interact with the characters. This was the first of 2 planned TS meals for all of us and our gift to our parents. It was definitely NOT cheap but then again, something we will likely never do again. If the food lines hadn’t been so long and we had gotten a better seating arrangement, I would have felt better about the cost.

Next installment…our afternoon and evening. Do we get that nap? Do we get to see wishes? Stay tuned!

[cdhale]

I am loving all your pictures! Reading trip reports makes it sooo hard to wait for our trip!!

[kschafer]

I am loving all your pictures! Reading trip reports makes it sooo hard to wait for our trip!!

Welcome cdhale!! Thanks for reading.

2 months doesn't sound like long for those of us with no trips in the future but seems like an eternity when it's you! I hope you and your princesses have a great time!

[punkin413]

your proposal story is so sweet!!!! :love: what a great hubby you have there!

And I had to get in on the loving too

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/11-1.jpg

what a great picture! you can see the excitement on your face.

I love how Eeyore holds the autograph books

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/14.jpg

pluto does this too and i think it's so cute!

I asked him to bounce with me. This was the only picture that was taken (not a good one!)

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/19-1.jpg

cute! we asked tigger to bounce last year when we went to CP and he looked he was raising the roof! :rotfl:

Michael then brought my parents an anniversary cupcake and a magical moments certificate signed by all the characters. I think they were genuinely surprised and touched.

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/26.jpg

this is so sweet! hopefully that will be ray and i in about 30 years! :lovestruc

[Megablocks]

Congrats on getting the new van...I am glad it's over with! :hug:

You have some awesome pictures. The picture of Daniel and Pooh is soooo precious--he looks so happy. And I love the picture of James with him, too. :lovestruc The one of you and Pooh is great, and so are the group pictures (the grandparents and grandkids, and the one of your parents with you and your brothers.)

The anniversary cupcake and the certificate for your parents is incredibly sweet...I know it's late, but happy anniversary to them!

[sunny_stace]

Congrats on the new van! :woohoo:

I was just tearing up reading your last update! That is a wonderfull proposal, the kind I hope to get some day (I just have to find him and tell him what to do first! :laughing: ).

You are very lucky to have a family that is so close. Even in that one set of photos there are so many memories that you will be able to cherish for a lifetime. Not only the children of course, but your parents with the cupcake is one of the sweetest things I have ever seen! Thank you for sharing as it gives me an "extra shot" of faith in today's world. :)

[Happy Elf]

Congrats on your new van! :cheer2:

I love your proposal story! That is so sweet! :love:

I also love the picture of your parents with their cupcake!

CP is one of my favorite places to eat because I love the Pooh characters! I think I was just as excited as our DD when we ate there!

[kschafer]

your proposal story is so sweet!!!! :love: what a great hubby you have there!

I had been gone for 12 weeks and he had a lot of time on his hands!! He got very creative and romantic. I think I'll keep him. :love2:

cute! we asked tigger to bounce last year when we went to CP and he looked he was raising the roof! :rotfl:

He certainly could bounce much longer than I could and he did a really funny kicking jump once I stopped.:tigger:

this is so sweet! hopefully that will be ray and i in about 30 years! :lovestruc

It makes me smile too :goodvibes

You have some awesome pictures. The picture of Daniel and Pooh is soooo precious--he looks so happy. And I love the picture of James with him, too. :lovestruc The one of you and Pooh is great, and so are the group pictures (the grandparents and grandkids, and the one of your parents with you and your brothers.)


Thanks, I'm afraid the quantity of pictures decreased every day the trip went on. We didn't feel the need to document EVERYTHING as the days wore on. The kids were certainly excited to meet the characters (And yes, I'm including myself in that category)

[kschafer]

I was just tearing up reading your last update! That is a wonderfull proposal, the kind I hope to get some day (I just have to find him and tell him what to do first! :laughing: ).

:laughing: I hope you do. In the meantime, enjoy your chance to do things that is entirely your choice. That becomes harder as you add a spouse and kids!

You are very lucky to have a family that is so close. Even in that one set of photos there are so many memories that you will be able to cherish for a lifetime. Not only the children of course, but your parents with the cupcake is one of the sweetest things I have ever seen! Thank you for sharing as it gives me an "extra shot" of faith in today's world. :)

My parents have always had a very stong relationship and are very sweet together. They still hold hands and kiss goodbye and hello to each other.

I love your proposal story! That is so sweet! :love:

Yeah, he did good :flower3:

I also love the picture of your parents with their cupcake!

That actually is another thing I missed, when Michael brought it to the table (where was I? In the food line or the bathroom probably) but DH did video it so I got to see that. I was there when they shared the cupcake though

CP is one of my favorite places to eat because I love the Pooh characters! I think I was just as excited as our DD when we ate there!

It definately is the place to go for those of us who love the 100 acre wood! it was pretty magical to watch my kids with them.

[kschafer]

:laughing:
I just had to share something I saw in the paper. I enjoy reading the "milestones" section (the engagement, wedding, birthday, retirement, etc annoncements are) and this was in today...

"The family of ____ invite you to join them in celebrating the 31st anniversary of her 29th birthday. she is the proud mother (we hope) of 2 daughters and has been married a long time to another old person. Happy Birthday ___"

:rotfl2: This totally cracked me up!! :rotfl2:

[Megablocks]

HA! :lmao:

That cracked me up too...very creative!

[kschafer]

Day 3 – Wednesday, June 11 – Continued

It’s close to 1:30 and we are finally saying goodbye to our friends at Crystal Palace. I love the topiaries there, so cute!

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/2ndday074.jpg

DH took this pic as we were leaving. It didn’t turn out great but I like what he was trying to accomplish

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/2ndday078.jpg

We headed to Frontierland to visit some bears. I know Country Bear Jamboree gets a lot of flack on the boards for being dated but I’m glad they have kept this so far. Along with small world, this is one the attractions I remember fondly from my childhood. For some reason Patrick didn’t want to go so my Mom volunteered to stay with him while the rest of us got ready for a jumpin’ jammin’ good time. These guys were still “hanging” around

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/2ndday080.jpg

This one is still playing the piano

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/2ndday082.jpg

And this one still plays the guitar

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/2ndday087.jpg

And then there’s this one and her crazy wine glass

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/gb.jpg

The other character I remember well is the girl bear who comes down from the ceiling. She is very hard to photograph because she is always swinging! It seems like among Bear fans, Big Al is a favorite. Personally, I think he is a little disturbing. Does blood on the saddle mean something different that the literal interpretation that I don't understand?

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/2ndday102.jpg

After leaving the theater, it was time for our Big Thunder Mountain Fastpasses. Both of my SIL, DH and I decided to go first while my brothers and parents stayed with the kids. I don’t have pictures of the roller coasters because we were headed to Splash Mountain too and I didn’t want it to get wet.

As we were getting ready to head out, these guys showed up to begin the roundup

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip150.jpg

It looks like some of the kids got to be a part of it. Caroline...

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip148.jpg

Margaret and Patrick

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip151.jpg

The kids rode the Liberty Belle after the roundup but nobody apparently took any pictures. Then they must have found these, someone did think to take pictures of that.

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/others217.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/others216.jpg

We fastpassed our way through Big Thunder Mountain (still probably a 20 minute wait, but better than standby!). This is the first roller coaster I can remember riding and it was as great as I remember.

We had to wait about 10 minutes before our fastpass time before we zoomed past the 90 minute standby line on Splash Mountain. DH who didn’t prepare much for this trip really appreciated my research at this point. He asked why anyone would choose to stand in that line when you have the fastpass option. This ride was much longer than I remember. I ended up in the front of the log and was actually looking forward to getting soaked because it was HOT but somehow it missed me and I was barely wet.

When we came off, we called the rest of the group and found out they were enjoying the afternoon parade nearby so we went to find them. The parade was finishing as we arrived. Again, no pictures (what’s up with these people?)

Remember the plan for the day? No? Let me refresh your memory…Rope drop, lunch at Crystal Palace, afternoon nap, return in the evening. Hmmm, now if we just finished the 3:00 parade, it is well into the afternoon. Younger brother and family, my parents and my family decided to head out for that rest. Older brother decided to push on. He wanted to use the other fastpasses to take Margaret on the mountains then hang out for our evening return.

Since we were in Frontierland, we decided to hitch a train to the front of the park.

Hey Katie, where are the pictures? Umm, well…I reached into my camera case and it was EMPTY. Panic begins because I know the last picture I took was at Crystal Palace (the bears and roundup pictures are other peoples). So when we arrived at the main street station, I head to city hall(?) to ask if it was turned in. They told me no but it could still be at CP (because of the rules about costuming, it wasn’t a simple as someone walking down main street with it). So while my family waits, I walk back to CP and ask. I was told to sit and the manager would look. After sitting there a few minutes, I remembered handing my camera to my older brother at the roundup and he put it in his bag when he was done!

SO I walk yet again back down Main Street to return to my tired, hot and cranky hubby (I mean, kids. Or do I?). It was probably 5:00 by the time we found our car. The AC felt so good and as I began to take a load off my feet and cool down, I knew we would not be returning to MK that night.

Oh yes, and then there was the torrential downpour thunderstorm that hit as we were trying to find our exit, which we missed and ended up driving farther than necessary. This really sealed DH’s mood on the day. And for those of you keeping track, we are 3 for 3 on afternoon thunderstorms.

When we returned to the house guess where we found my younger brother and family? Well we jumped right in too…

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/2ndday106.jpg

Grandma and the kids had a blast playing train

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/2ndday110.jpg

We had a wonderfully relaxing swim, ate dinner, put the kids to bed at a decent time and I ended my night with a glass of wine in the hot tub with my SIL. Yes, I was disappointed about missing spectromagic and wishes but remember, this was my second day of a 10 day ticket, there will still be time. If there is one thing I learned on this trip, it was to let your needs dictate the plans, not the other way around. We followed this philosophy several times on this vacation and still went home exhausted. I can’t imagine having done even more!

Next installment… Day 4, my nieces princess morning at MK and DH and I have date night

[Rozz]

I am thoroughly enjoying your trip report! Pooh and friends are favorites of mine too!:goodvibes

[punkin413]

isn't it so much nicer to just sort of let your plans go and do what your mind and body tell you???? i learned that on my first trip. not EVERYTHING is going to go the way you played it out in your head and so you just have to go with it or you'll be miserable!

[Happy Elf]

Ahhh the pool! What a nice relaxing way to end the day! The kids looked like they had fun with Woody and Jessie. That is a cute thing they do with the kids!

[CanadianWDWfan]

Glad you didn't loose your camera. :thumbsup2
I look back at our trip back in '04 and there are so many missing pics I wish I took. I was so busy taking it all in and I forgot to take my camera out alot of times. I got better last year but, I have so many pics I want to take in the future.
FastPass is the Greatest thing ever !!! :love:
I am a true believer in taking a rest during the day, something I also learned the second visit. I want the next trip to be longer so I can relax even more. My kids said I am a bit of a comando? Not me, couldn't be. :lmao:
I just love the idea of a dip in a private pool and hot tub at the end of a WDW day.

[Megablocks]

I'm so glad that your brother had the camera--losing something important like that (or even just thinking you lost it) is such a scary feeling. :scared1:

Having a private pool and a hot tub to go to after a long day sounds wonderful. Especially when you consider all the people that are in the resort pools, especially during the hot weather. We went in April, and my sister and I only went to the pool once, because it was just SO crowded all the time.

I think I'm going to add Country Bear Jamboree to my to-do list for our next trip, because it looks cute! I don't care about it being "dated," I would think that's what makes it fun, even for people like me who have not seen it.

[kschafer]

I am thoroughly enjoying your trip report! Pooh and friends are favorites of mine too!:goodvibes

Welcome Rozz!! Thanks for joining us :thumbsup2


I look back at our trip back in '04 and there are so many missing pics I wish I took. I was so busy taking it all in and I forgot to take my camera out alot of times. I got better last year but, I have so many pics I want to take in the future.

The number of pictures declined steadily as the trip went on. We eventually did make it to spectromagic and wishes and I don't have a single picture. I was really just enjoying the moment with my boys :hug: DH however did take video of them and I am so grateful for that! I occasionally just play them on my computer to get a little pixie dust in my life!

I do wish I knew if it is possible to capture a still image from digital video in order to make prints, it feels like a void in my album

isn't it so much nicer to just sort of let your plans go and do what your mind and body tell you???? i learned that on my first trip. not EVERYTHING is going to go the way you played it out in your head and so you just have to go with it or you'll be miserable!

I am a true believer in taking a rest during the day, something I also learned the second visit. I want the next trip to be longer so I can relax even more. My kids said I am a bit of a comando? Not me, couldn't be. :lmao: .

Yes, we quickly realized the value of the afternoon break. Particularly in June when it is hot and crowded during the middle of the day and with late hours that time of year, you can just wear yourself out. DH and I even would say to plan a day off for every 2 or 3 park days (and to enjoy a leisurely visit to DTD, relax at the pool or resort hop)

I was much more commando in my planning than my execution. I left a little disappointed at what I missed but probably enjoyed the moments we had more than I would have if I had tried to press on.

I guess more pics and missed attractions just means I need to take another trip ::yes::

I just love the idea of a dip in a private pool and hot tub at the end of a WDW day.

Ahhh the pool! What a nice relaxing way to end the day!

Having a private pool and a hot tub to go to after a long day sounds wonderful. Especially when you consider all the people that are in the resort pools, especially during the hot weather. We went in April, and my sister and I only went to the pool once, because it was just SO crowded all the time.

Honestly, I am not a huge pool person. I am typically just as happy to take a break by parking my butt somewhere cool with a refreshing drink. We spent 4 days later in the trip at OKW and never made it to the pool once. BUT there was something refreshingly different about having your own pool right out the backdoor that made it seem like so much less work than going to a community pool.

And a dip in the hot tub with a refreshing beverage :drinking: was a recurring event with my SIL and I.

I think I'm going to add Country Bear Jamboree to my to-do list for our next trip, because it looks cute! I don't care about it being "dated," I would think that's what makes it fun, even for people like me who have not seen it.

Ooh, you should make the time in your upcoming trip (did I read somewhere you are headed there in Feb?) It's just a classic Disney show and our kids loved it and clapped and bounced around like I probably did as a kid too. Entertainment throughout the generations, Walt would be proud!

The kids looked like they had fun with Woody and Jessie. That is a cute thing they do with the kids!

This was really neat. I only caught the beginning of it but I'm glad they got the kids involved.

[MeMom]

Good installment. I'm glad you remembered about the camera. I would have had a momentary panic attack, as well.

The pool looks great, and on Day 2 of 10, it was probably the best idea just to go with hanging out and turning in.

I think the stockade is going to have to be lowered just a wee bit for Patrick. ;)

[Megablocks]

Ooh, you should make the time in your upcoming trip (did I read somewhere you are headed there in Feb?) It's just a classic Disney show and our kids loved it and clapped and bounced around like I probably did as a kid too. Entertainment throughout the generations, Walt would be proud!

You did! We're going Feb. 11-18. It was really a surprise because it was decided upon SO quickly, but I'm thrilled.

I actually did add Country Bear Jamboree to my to-do list last night, right after I read this. ;) My mom tells me that we saw it once years ago, but I don't remember it. She also tells me that we saw PhilarMagic once (another thing on my list), but again, I don't remember it. I have to refresh my memory by seeing them again, I guess. :)

[kschafer]

Good installment. I'm glad you remembered about the camera. I would have had a momentary panic attack, as well.

The pool looks great, and on Day 2 of 10, it was probably the best idea just to go with hanging out and turning in.

I think the stockade is going to have to be lowered just a wee bit for Patrick. ;)

Yes, the thought of losing the camera sent me into a panic not just because of the pictures on it but also it was brand new, bought just for this trip!

The pool was wonderfully refresing after the crowded, hot day we had!

:lmao: Yes, Patrick is just a bit too short. If you look back to page 1, you will find a picture of my dad holding me up to reach the stocks (and I think both of my brothers in the leg stocks)

You did! We're going Feb. 11-18. It was really a surprise because it was decided upon SO quickly, but I'm thrilled.

I actually did add Country Bear Jamboree to my to-do list last night, right after I read this. ;) My mom tells me that we saw it once years ago, but I don't remember it. She also tells me that we saw PhilarMagic once (another thing on my list), but again, I don't remember it. I have to refresh my memory by seeing them again, I guess. :)

Yippee for an upcoming trip!!:yay: Country bears is just an old fashoned classic, Philharmagic is technically AMAZING. I love that you get both in one place


:surfweb: :surfweb: :surfweb:

Can someone explain how I have never found Radio Disney before today? I decided to click on the link off the Dis main page and hear I sit listening to Illuminations at work! :cool1:

[kschafer]

A few random pics for a rainy Thursday morning (at least it's not snow...yet)

Patrick's 2nd grade picture. Can you tell how proud he is to be missing those teeth?

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/PJ.jpg

A halloween picture

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/197.jpg

We had thunderstorms yesterday morning and the boys decided to snuggle together

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/499.jpg

And finally, the new van

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/501.jpg

I hope some of you are having better weather than we are. We started today around 50 degrees and rain. Temps are supposed to drop as the day goes on and we will have snow by tomorrow. YUCK :scared:

[Happy Elf]

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/499.jpg



That is a really sweet picture of the boys!

Congrats on the new van!!!!

[sunny_stace]

What a cute picture of the boys snuggling during the thunderstorm! That seems so cozy! It makes me wish I had a sibling....or a kid....or a husband...Granted, I'm terrified of storms so I'm generally cowering in the basment with a flashlight and blanket over my head! :)

[MeMom]

The boys are cute in all the pictures. Being a third grade teacher, I'm accustomed to kids losing teeth. I keep a box of zip-lock bags for them to take them home in.

The van is nice, and the tree it's parked by is pretty. It's looking very fall-ish at your house. It is here, too. There were some amazingly beautiful trees out at Opry Mills a few days ago when I was over there with a friend.

I love to stay in and snuggle under the blankets on a rainy day, too. They had the right idea!

[kschafer]

That is a really sweet picture of the boys!

Congrats on the new van!!!!

Thanks. I read about what happened to your student today on MeMom's thread. :scared1: I hope you have a better day tomorrow to end your week!

What a cute picture of the boys snuggling during the thunderstorm! That seems so cozy! It makes me wish I had a sibling....or a kid....or a husband...Granted, I'm terrified of storms so I'm generally cowering in the basment with a flashlight and blanket over my head! :)

Aw Sunny Stace :hug: If it makes you feel any better, sometimes I wish I was single and free to do as my heart desires. I always have had a bit of a wandering spirit. I would love to just head out and see what life gives me. BUT I ended up marrying a man who likes stability! I quit my teaching job in May and didn't get my new job until August. I was fairly relaxed about the whole situation until my last paycheck arrived, believing that when one door closes, another one opens. I was hired the next day for my current job. My hubby on the other hand was close to panic much of the summer.

Next time you get a storm, hop on the Dis and chat with your friends!

The boys are cute in all the pictures. Being a third grade teacher, I'm accustomed to kids losing teeth. I keep a box of zip-lock bags for them to take them home in.

The van is nice, and the tree it's parked by is pretty. It's looking very fall-ish at your house. It is here, too. There were some amazingly beautiful trees out at Opry Mills a few days ago when I was over there with a friend.

I love to stay in and snuggle under the blankets on a rainy day, too. They had the right idea!

Patrick lost his first tooth the last week of school last year. He wanted SO bad for it to fall out in school because the nurse has plastic treasure boxes for kids to bring teeth home in. He actually knocked out his second tooth on the playground this summer and I took him to the dentist to have him checked out and he got a second treasure box there. His accident loosened the teeth on each side (the 3rd will probably fall out any day) but because they didn't fall out naturally, the adult teeth have not started to grow back yet, he's going to have a BIG gap for awhile on the top.

Yes, it has really been a lovely fall here in Iowa. The past week we have seen temps in the 60's and even set a record in the 70's on Tuesday. (it was in the 60's for trick-or-treating which is practically unheard of!) It has been good for the farmers because we had such a cool, wet spring, planting was delayed. This long fall has given a normal growing season in length. It looks like that will come to an end soon but it will happen eventually! Sure wish I had a trip to Florida planned to ease the pain ;)

[Megablocks]

Yes, it has really been a lovely fall here in Iowa. The past week we have seen temps in the 60's and even set a record in the 70's on Tuesday. (it was in the 60's for trick-or-treating which is practically unheard of!)

We had weather in the 60's on Halloween, too! Highly unusual for MA. A few years ago, we had snow showers the day after Halloween. :scared: It's been a strange fall here. It goes from being in the 60's to being in the 40's in the span of 24 hours. I should be used to the strange weather, but I'm not. :)

The pictures of your boys are great, they are so cute! I really like your new van, too, it looks nice! :thumbsup2

[sunny_stace]

Well, we're supposed to get rain like crazy tomorrow with a nice drop in temperature so we could be in for a storm...wish I could Dis but I will be at work! But I'll take that over the snow we're do for on Monday...so odd! Today I'm wearing capris and flip flops and by Monday I'll be back in my winter coat for our second round of snow so far!
I do have a bit of a wandering spirit myself. I love to just pick up and head off on a road trip here and there. I love to vacation on my own and moved across the country solo a few years ago! Of course I wound up coming back home but I did do it! :) But I am getting to a place in my life where I'm ready for something more. Especially when I see families like yours! :hug: I've decided that if I'm not married by the time I turn 30, I'm gonna start filling out adoption papers (I'm 27 now :confused3 I guess we'll see what happens!)
Thanks for your kind words :)

[kschafer]

We had weather in the 60's on Halloween, too! Highly unusual for MA. A few years ago, we had snow showers the day after Halloween. :scared: It's been a strange fall here. It goes from being in the 60's to being in the 40's in the span of 24 hours. I should be used to the strange weather, but I'm not. :)

The pictures of your boys are great, they are so cute! I really like your new van, too, it looks nice! :thumbsup2

You aren't alone, I have lived in Iowa basically my whole life and still hate the yo-yo that comes with the changing seasons. In all honesty though, I have lived temporarily in places with less seasonal changed and I missed it.

I am a bit partial but I think they are pretty cute myself!

Yep, the new van is quite spiffy. DH and kids had today off from school and I have to work so they "borrowed" the van for a small roadtrip. Honestly, I think DH just wanted an excuse to play with the new music system (it has a 20 gig memory that you can rip CD's onto then not have to carry CD's again, basically a really big I-pod!). The kids were waiting for an excuse to use the DVD players because we immediately made a "not for in-town trips" rule about them.

Well, we're supposed to get rain like crazy tomorrow with a nice drop in temperature so we could be in for a storm...wish I could Dis but I will be at work! But I'll take that over the snow we're do for on Monday...so odd! Today I'm wearing capris and flip flops and by Monday I'll be back in my winter coat for our second round of snow so far!
I do have a bit of a wandering spirit myself. I love to just pick up and head off on a road trip here and there. I love to vacation on my own and moved across the country solo a few years ago! Of course I wound up coming back home but I did do it! :) But I am getting to a place in my life where I'm ready for something more. Especially when I see families like yours! :hug: I've decided that if I'm not married by the time I turn 30, I'm gonna start filling out adoption papers (I'm 27 now :confused3 I guess we'll see what happens!)
Thanks for your kind words :)

We got a dusting of snow this morning. Patrick looked out his window then ran to find his boots so he could go outside (yes, still in jammies!) It is of course gone already so I figured what the heck!

I hope your prince charming comes along. If not, the definition of a family is broad enough to make it what you want it to be.

[HLDisney]

I've decided that if I'm not married by the time I turn 30, I'm gonna start filling out adoption papers (I'm 27 now :confused3 I guess we'll see what happens!)
Thanks for your kind words :)

Stacey, do it!! Adopting my daughter as a single mom was the best thing I ever did!! I started thinking about adoption when I turned 30, too, and ended up adopting my DD just before I turned 36.

Oops, sorry about hijacking this thread like this. I just found this TR yesterday and finished up to here right now. Sounds like it was a great trip! Oh and my DD has the same fireman's outfit in her dressup trunk! :)

Helen

[Happy Elf]

I read about what happened to your student today on MeMom's thread. :scared1: I hope you have a better day tomorrow to end your week!


He ended up having to have 6 staples, poor kid! I feel so bad even though it was an accident! Luckily today was smooth sailing...a nice way to end the crazy week I have had!

[kschafer]

Stacey, do it!! Adopting my daughter as a single mom was the best thing I ever did!! I started thinking about adoption when I turned 30, too, and ended up adopting my DD just before I turned 36.

Oops, sorry about hijacking this thread like this. I just found this TR yesterday and finished up to here right now. Sounds like it was a great trip! Oh and my DD has the same fireman's outfit in her dressup trunk! :)

Helen

Welcome Helen!! :yay:

Feel free to join in at anytime with comments related to the TR or not. That's something I have come to love about the Dis, people start out a strangers with a common passion and find out things about each other to become friends. It's the beauty of the internet! :flower3:

He ended up having to have 6 staples, poor kid! I feel so bad even though it was an accident! Luckily today was smooth sailing...a nice way to end the crazy week I have had!

I hope you have a nice relaxing weekend with your little ones!

Update coming tomorrow!

[kschafer]

Day 4 – Thursday, June 12

Today was a scheduled free day. We set aside 3 days during the week for people to do as they please. Families could decide to go to the parks, go somewhere else, or just hang around the house.

I honestly don’t remember what we did during the day. I suspect we slept in as late as we wanted, watched movies and enjoyed the pool. Not a bad way to spend a day :upsidedow

Oh yeah, and we watched the news. It was either this day or the day before that we woke up to see the morning national news reporting from the town where my older brother lives. You may recall Iowa had a couple weeks of MAJOR flooding in June. We actually had flooding already before we left, in fact, one of the roads to the Des Moines airport was closed due to water over the road on the day we left but things got worse! 100 square blocks of Cedar Falls were evacuated :scared: and the next day a similar situation downstream in Cedar Rapids.

At some point on this day Mom and Dad thanked us for lunch at Crystal Palace the day before and told us they did not want to go to our planned dinner at Biergarten the next night. :sad1: I think they thought we had paid too much. I was bummed because I was really excited to go here and knew our family would love the entertainment and food but it is their anniversary trip so I called and cancelled.

My younger brother and his family decided to go to MK on this day specifically to visit toontown. Ellie met some princesses

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/image258.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/image267.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/image277.jpg

Apparently, Mary was in line too :confused3

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/others434.jpg

My SIL is a social worker and has a young client who loves the princesses so she had them each autograph a sign for her. I thought that was really sweet.

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/others421.jpg

They met some furry friends

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/image286.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/image292.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/image307.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/image322.jpg

And checked out Mickey and Minnie’s homes

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/others432.jpg

This evening was mine and DH’s date night. We had agreed ahead of time with my younger brother to switch child care duties for a night, this was their night to watch the boys. The last time I was at Epcot I was a dreamy-eyed lovesick teenager. I remember walking around with my parents dreaming of the day I would return with a boy. Well, it took almost 20 years but here was my time! I figured this was our chance to do a “grown-up” ride and really take the time to wander world showcase and enjoy the ins and outs.

Mom and Dad rode along for their own date night. We had a few pics taken together before splitting up.

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/image039.jpg

And Mom and Dad

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/image014.jpg

Greg and I headed to Mission Space.

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/image053.jpg

We debated about which side to ride and decided to play it safe, green side. This was a really fun ride and we debated trying the orange side but I have an inner ear condition and am prone to dizzy spells and I just didn’t want to risk it. SO we headed over toward WS

More to follow

[kschafer]

It had rained quite a bit before we left for our evening (are you keeping track? 4 for 4!) but had given us the gift of a fairly cleaned out park. We encountered a few sprinkles on our way to Canada. We saw a little bit of Off Kilter.

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip155.jpg

We hung out for a little while in an empty Canada

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip153.jpg

Then enjoyed this really beautiful and wonderfully quiet spot in UK

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/greg009.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/greg011.jpg

We stopped and got another picture on the way to France (yeah, DH doesn't take great pics sometimes :laughing: )

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/image064.jpg

We decided to stop and get a quick dinner. I LOVE cheese so I got this wonderful plate, and I had to get the often talked of Grey Goose slushie. Both were very good (wish I had a slushie now!)

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip159.jpg

I bought a really cute Mickey Mouse wine bottle stopper in the wine shop in France. He is right at home in my fridge!

On to Morocco

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip160.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/greg012.jpg

Then to Japan. We spent quite a bit of time in the large store here

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip162.jpg

(we must have walked right past the American adventure because I have no pics) By the time we got to Italy, it was beginning to get dark which gave some interesting lighting.

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip163.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/greg001.jpg

Apparently we were not impressed enough, it was getting dark or we were starting to speed up the tour because we have no pics from Germany.

We got a few night pictures of China but it was already closing up for the night so we moved right along.

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/greg031.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/greg036.jpg

We headed to Norway and breezed around the pavilion but Illuminations was getting set to begin. We had decided not to stake out a good spot and wait because we knew we would be back with the family the next night. But we did get behind a crowd of people as it was starting (OK, here’s the problem, I am short, I only saw the high stuff. Greg is quite a bit taller and said his view was OK)

This was an EMH evening at Epcot. Obviously we didn’t have wristbands but did wander into Mexico.

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/greg047.jpg

Then we headed back toward the front of the park. We stood in line for awhile to get this lovely night shot.

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/image070.jpg

We were meeting Mom and Dad under spaceship earth. Greg hung back to take a few pics while I went ahead.

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/greg052.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/greg054.jpg

Dad saw me coming and walked up to me and asked if I would go check on Mom in the nearby bathroom. As I was walking in, she was walking out and informed me that she had just thrown up and felt awful!! :sick:

We slowly made our way back out to the parking lot to head back to the house. When we returned, I mentioned to SIL that mom wasn’t well and she said that my brother was also feeling queasy. Uh oh, we have a planned Epcot day tomorrow. Do we make it? Stay tuned.

[punkin413]

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/image307.jpg

this is so cute!

what a cool date night! that must have been nice. glad you to go try the grey goose slushie - so yummy! and the night shots you got at epcot were great - especially the one of you and your DH in front of SE!

we rode the orange side of MS and if you have an inner ear infection, i'm glad you didn't! i loved it but it would've probably hurt your ear. i saw a couple of people getting sick as we got off the ride. one thing's for sure - if you're not positive about it, don't ride it!

hope you guys start feeling better!

[Happy Elf]

A fun date night! I bet you had fun together! I almost forget what that is like! :laughing:

Sorry your mom didn't feel well!

[sunny_stace]

Those photos are great! I love your little Cinderella with Pluto! So sweet!:cutie: I am sitting here right now looking at your grey goose slushie with great envy! After the day I had I could use about a dozen of them! Only...well, 21 days (after the next ten minutes) and I can indulge! Hope you're having a good weekend! :goodvibes

[MEK]

Lovely pictures and the princesses. You date night sounded like a lot of fun. I hope your DM recovers quickly!

[kschafer]

what a cool date night! that must have been nice. glad you to go try the grey goose slushie - so yummy! and the night shots you got at epcot were great - especially the one of you and your DH in front of SE!

we rode the orange side of MS and if you have an inner ear infection, i'm glad you didn't! i loved it but it would've probably hurt your ear. i saw a couple of people getting sick as we got off the ride. one thing's for sure - if you're not positive about it, don't ride it!


It was a really nice evening. No plans, no kids, just DH and I exploring.

I would love to try the orange side but am fearful of how my ear condition would react to it. Before I was diagnosed this past February, I was having 30 hour long dizzy spells. I would have a 30 hour break where I felt "better" then back to dizzy. It was no way to live! I just don't want to revisit that on vacation.

A fun date night! I bet you had fun together! I almost forget what that is like! :laughing:


:laughing: Honestly, we don't get away much with the kids, it was very relaxing.

I am sitting here right now looking at your grey goose slushie with great envy! After the day I had I could use about a dozen of them! Only...well, 21 days (after the next ten minutes) and I can indulge! Hope you're having a good weekend! :goodvibes

Ooh, have one in honor of my birthday! They are REALLY good. I actually had planned on trying the Grand Marnier slushie but there was something about the color that turned me off. The Grey Goose was excellent though!

Lovely pictures and the princesses. You date night sounded like a lot of fun. I hope your DM recovers quickly!

The kids liked WS when we returned as a family but they really were focused on the kidstops. DH and I enjoyed the architecture, gardens and shops, thing the boys would not have the patience for. It was a great way to spend a beautiful evening!

[kschafer]

Are the boards doing funny things this morning? I've seen a few odd things then I just posted, it said "Thank you for posting", I am listed as the last poster on the thread, but it didn't show up :confused3

I'm really just typing this to see if it shows up.

Edit: OK, it showed up after posting this one. Wierd!

[MeMom]

DH and I enjoyed the architecture, gardens and shops, thing the boys would not have the patience for. It was a great way to spend a beautiful evening!

It is really harder to do World Showcase right with the little guys in tow. We appreciate the architecture and the museum exhibits and the shopping from each country, and they pretty much want to dash through to things more exciting to them. It's understandable, of course, but it is nice to be able to WS in a more grown-up way sometimes.

Are the boards doing funny things this morning? I've seen a few odd things then I just posted, it said "Thank you for posting", I am listed as the last poster on the thread, but it didn't show up :confused3

I'm really just typing this to see if it shows up.

Edit: OK, it showed up after posting this one. Wierd!

They do that occasionally. Erica is the first poster on our report. Literally. Her post is first even before our first post of the report. The boards were a little wacky that night, too.

The quiet garden in the UK is where I was telling Swans and snowbell we should meet at Thanksgiving, since they are always crowd-free.

That was nice of your sister-in-law to get autographs for her little friend. I've got two little buddies, a son and a grandson of fellow teachers, who are Power Ranger crazy. I took small signs that said Hey Taylor and Hey Eli and had a couple of Power Rangers hold them up on one of our trips. Both boys were thrilled to see the Power Rangers doing their poses and holding up signs to them personally! They're four and six, and both teachers have told me they have the pictures proudly displayed in their rooms. It's nice that the CMs are so willing to spread and share the Disney magic even with those who can't be there at the time.

[CanadianWDWfan]

Nice update of the date night. Great pics.

Your dauglhter looked very royal in her gown. Sweet!

I too have inner ear problems, I've had vertigo, not good. There will never be a ride on MS for me. It's okay, I don't know what I'm missing. ;)

I hope everyone got over the bug, and could enjoy the rest of the trip. :wizard:

[kschafer]

It is really harder to do World Showcase right with the little guys in tow. We appreciate the architecture and the museum exhibits and the shopping from each country, and they pretty much want to dash through to things more exciting to them. It's understandable, of course, but it is nice to be able to WS in a more grown-up way sometimes.

I've got two little buddies, a son and a grandson of fellow teachers, who are Power Ranger crazy. I took small signs that said Hey Taylor and Hey Eli and had a couple of Power Rangers hold them up on one of our trips. Both boys were thrilled to see the Power Rangers doing their poses and holding up signs to them personally! They're four and six, and both teachers have told me they have the pictures proudly displayed in their rooms. It's nice that the CMs are so willing to spread and share the Disney magic even with those who can't be there at the time.

It was really nice to tour WS just the 2 of us. I still feel like there were things we missed. Guess I need to go back!

That's really sweet of you to do that for Taylor and Eli:flower3:

Your dauglhter looked very royal in her gown. Sweet!

I too have inner ear problems, I've had vertigo, not good. There will never be a ride on MS for me. It's okay, I don't know what I'm missing. ;)

I hope everyone got over the bug, and could enjoy the rest of the trip. :wizard:


That's my niece but I did give her that dress for Christmas. It thought she looked pretty sweet.

Vertigo sucks! When I was diagnosed I had to have this test done where they intentionally made me dizzy to measure what made it worst so they could pinpoint the problem. It was awful!

Read on to see how everyone felt...

[kschafer]

Day 5 – Friday, June 13

Did you catch that date? FRIDAY THE 13TH. I’m not terribly superstitious but do you remember how Thursday night ended? Mom was leaving her dinner in an Epcot bathroom and younger brother is queasy…

My morning began at about 4:00 am when Daniel woke up crying that his tummy hurt. I won’t get into the details but yes, it involved needing to change the sheets on his bed. I got him a drink of water, found clean sheets for his bed and tucked him in then headed to the laundry room (OH, thank goodness for getting a house for this vacation). On my way to the laundry room I hear crying from the bathroom in the hallway. I follow the sound to find Caroline hung over the toilet too. :guilty: Within a few minutes, SIL is out in the hallway reporting that Andrew is also sick. :sad2:

So begins a very long few hours!! :sick: Mom, Joe, Daniel, Caroline and Andrew all have the stomach flu. It’s pretty obvious that our planned Epcot day was not going to happen. We looked at the best days calendar and Day 6 is a green light for Epcot too. Fortunately, Daniel and the other young ones all perked up by mid-morning (not so much for the older ones, Mom was pretty much down the entire day :headache: )

I pretty much spent the day doing laundry and lysol wiping the house :laundy:

SO I have no pics from day 5 but DH does. You see, we had planned on Day 6 (a scheduled day off) to leave the kids at the house and Greg and I were to escape to Kennedy Space Center for the day. I am a science geek but DH is a MAJOR science geek. I know this is a part of the trip he has been seriously looking forward to. I was looking forward to it but knew DH would have MUCH more fun than I. So I told him to go ahead to Kennedy without me.

So I thought I would share some of his pictures from this day…

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/Kennedy036.jpg

The launchpad (the shuttle had left on a mission the week before)

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/Kennedy011.jpg

I think this is called the crawler

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/Kennedy007.jpg

A mockup of the control center (I assume since I imagine the real thing would be busy during a mission)

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/Kennedy052.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/Kennedy106.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/Kennedy114.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/Kennedy119.jpg

I like this view for some reason

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/Kennedy117.jpg

Someday I would love to see a shuttle launch. My Mom reports that they can see it fly over after takeoff from the gulf side but that's not close enough for my taste. I've read that there are places that will pick you up from Disney, bus you to the launch site, arrange for a decent view, give some tour time and bus you back to Disney. Sounds like a great day to me!

Coming up next...Do we make it to our make-up Epcot day?

[sunny_stace]

See, that is why I am superstitious! Oh your poor family! It is very lucky you were in a house! I certainly hope everyone started feeling better for Epcot day (take 2!). I know how awful it is to be sick on vacation...hopefully this story has a happy ending! :) It was cool to see the Space Centre, I've never been.

[Happy Elf]

Great pictures from Kennedy Space Center! I was there as a very young child, so I don't remember much. I would love to go back someday. IL's went a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it.

[kschafer]

See, that is why I am superstitious! Oh your poor family! It is very lucky you were in a house! I certainly hope everyone started feeling better for Epcot day (take 2!). I know how awful it is to be sick on vacation...hopefully this story has a happy ending! :) It was cool to see the Space Centre, I've never been.

Having a laundry room was very convenient but really became important when we had sheets and pillowcases to have to wash too! Maybe I'll get around to an update tomorrow so you know what happens next...it is not dull!

Great pictures from Kennedy Space Center! I was there as a very young child, so I don't remember much. I would love to go back someday. IL's went a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it.

I know DH enjoyed his day. Like I said, he is a MAJOR science geek. I am too but less so when it comes to space stuff. He got to do a guided tour guilt free because we saved $ on my not going. It can get to be very expensive very fast!

[CanadianWDWfan]

I appologize for calling your neice your daughter. Noticed I didn't even spell it right. :upsidedow That's what I get for Dising at 1am. Please don't hold it against me. :flower3:

I bet you were so grateful to be in a condo rather than cramped into hotel rooms. Laundry was a bonus.

I can only hope everyone recovered quickly.

I've never been to Kenedy Space Center, looks interesting. :thumbsup2

[MeMom]

I know our guys would like to go over to Kennedy sometime. Drew would really enjoy that, because he likes to watch all kinds of shows about space.

The last time I was over that way was in 1969 when Apollo 11 took off. We were living it St. Pete, and we drove over to see the launch that would put a man on the moon.

If they really went to the moon, that is.
You know there's a lot of controversy over all that.

I do know they went somewhere up there in the sky, because I was standing on the side of the road watching them!

Yeah, Neil waved at me from the spacecraft, too.
Pointed right at me.
It was incredible! :)

[kschafer]

I appologize for calling your neice your daughter. Noticed I didn't even spell it right. :upsidedow That's what I get for Dising at 1am. Please don't hold it against me. :flower3:

I bet you were so grateful to be in a condo rather than cramped into hotel rooms. Laundry was a bonus.

I can only hope everyone recovered quickly.


No offense taken! I don't have a girl which I always thought was good (I would rather play cars than barbies anyday!). She is a little doll though and VERY girly, much different from my boys!

That reminds me of a funny story...at one point on our trip Daniel and Andrew were playing (they are very close in age and love the same things, so cute to watch!) well, it was obvious that Andrew has a sister because he says to Daniel "Let's play house, you be the mommy and I'll be the daddy". Daniel was silent for a moment, looked at him kind of like this :idea: and replies "How about we play racecars"

My SIL and I were rolling :rotfl: :rotfl:

the house was really a blessing when the sickies came on. the space and the laundry facilities were very much appreciated at that point.

Stay tuned to see how everyone fares.

I know our guys would like to go over to Kennedy sometime. Drew would really enjoy that, because he likes to watch all kinds of shows about space.

The last time I was over that way was in 1969 when Apollo 11 took off. We were living it St. Pete, and we drove over to see the launch that would put a man on the moon.

If they really went to the moon, that is.
You know there's a lot of controversy over all that.

I do know they went somewhere up there in the sky, because I was standing on the side of the road watching them!

Yeah, Neil waved at me from the spacecraft, too.
Pointed right at me.
It was incredible! :)

How cool you got to see Apollo 11!! (I hope you waved back to Neil! ;) ) I really hope to get to see a launch someday. The only bummer for me about Greg going by himself was that we were planning on going on Saturday when the shuttle landed, that would have been cool too.

when I taught high school, lots of kids brought up the conspiracy ideas about the moon landing. There is an excellent website I would alway suggest they read called bad science. It does a great job of debunking those ideas. I also saw something recently on mythbusters that also addressed some of the ideas. That is such a great show, kids love it!

[kschafer]

Day 6 – Saturday, June 14

So we woke up on Saturday ready to put Friday the 13th behind us. Today was our make-up Epcot day. Unfortunately, Mom and Joe were still feeling poorly and decided to stay behind. Caroline was also a bit off so Amy decided to stay with her and James. So our slightly smaller group headed out in time for rope drop. (Sorry, not a lot of pictures this morning)

As we were waiting, I had my ONLY dis-sighting, :thumbsup2 actually, she spotted me. I of course had my LGMH on my backpack and the woman standing behind me was explaining what it meant to her husband. We introduced ourselves but unfortunately, I cannot remember her name so…Hi fellow Diser, whoever you are!

First up for the day was SOARIN’ (along with a couple hundred of our new best friends ;) ). Andrew was not tall enough so we got a child swap. Uncle Ben volunteered to stay behind with him since he had already been on it. They went and rode living with the land while we waited in line. The little shadow games you play in line are really a lot of fun! We made our way to the front of the line and ended up in the 2nd row. Of course I had heard the debate about rows and was surprised that I was a bit distracted by the feet above me.

We found Andrew and Uncle Ben and did the swap. I don’t remember who rode with him but I know I went and rode living with the land while they were on Soarin. We grabbed fastpasses for later in the morning then hit the kidstop. This is a really fun thing they have for kids.

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip169.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip170.jpg

Next was The Seas.

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/others220.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/greg149.jpg

Honestly, I had been looking forward to this for awhile but was a bit disappointed. It was nice but not magical to me, I don’t know why. There were a few neat things in here. There is of course the obligatory head in the shark’s mouth photo

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/greg147.jpg

Some games to play

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/greg145.jpg

And a kidstop

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/greg128.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/others436.jpg

The tanks were fine but not what I was in the mood for on this day I guess

Next we went to Journey into Imagination. We walked right up to the loading area and Patrick decided he was NOT going to ride. I’m not sure what his problem was but I am not one of the parents with the philosophy to make kids ride if they don’t want to. I was ticked off (looking back on this day, I think I was just a little pissy and I don’t really know why) but he and I went to the waiting area to play. When the rest of the group found us, my Dad said “Come on, let’s ride” so he and I went together and left the others to play. The area outside of this ride is full of lots of fun things to do. If I hadn’t been so pissy, I probably would have really enjoyed myself.

By this time, our fastpasses for Soarin were ready so we headed back to The Land to ride, which Patrick also refused to go on :confused: , so Greg stayed behind with him. This time we got the front row which really helped my mood! I will definitely ask for the front again next time.

It was getting to be about lunch time, my mood was iffy, Patrick was being a grouch and we had hopes of making it back for the evening and Illuminations so we decided to head out for a nap. I ran and grabbed fastpasses for Test Track to use when we returned while the others made their way to the van. I decided to stop and get a few solo photopass pics.

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/image074.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/image078.jpg

Sorry this sounded a bit negative, please read on in next post...

[kschafer]

YES we finally make it to an evening at Disney! :cool1: (Another lesson learned, leave early enough to get a nap, especially when you are hot and pissy) The afternoon rest did wonders for my mood and I was ready for an evening at Epcot. It appears from the pictures that Ellie stayed at the house with Joe. Mom and Dad passed on Epcot to attend Saturday evening church services. And Amy, Caroline and James caught up with us later.

We started with our Test Track fastpasses. Andrew was too small for this also so he and Shelby went to look at the cars

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/others438.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/others437.jpg

While Greg, Ben, Margaret, the boys and I rode

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/image086.jpg

So cool you can put your ride pics on the photopass. I hope they add this to more rides (but then they couldn't sell you one for $15 I guess) Then we child swapped and Shelby and I rode (I look terribly unimpressed in this pic :confused3 ).

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/image338.jpg

The child swap is a great idea, my only complaint is that the second riders must go back through the line. Yes, it’s the fastpass line but in our case the fastpass line was still 20 minutes. Add in ride and organization time and our group spent an hour on Test Track alone, very frustrating (And I wasn’t even the one trying to entertain kids who weren’t riding)

At some point, Ben and Margaret left to find Amy and the kids. The plan was for us to meet up for Illuminations. The rest of us headed to WS but first stopped to get some pics. First Shelby and Andrew

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/image327.jpg

Then us. A piece of advice for those travelling with kids. I had read to pack single packs of drink mix, great idea! I let my boys choose what they wanted and they picked out fruit punch, BIG MISTAKE! My advice is stick with lemonade, check out Daniel’s shirt…:headache:

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/image081.jpg

We made our way around WS starting in Mexico. But only took pictures in China

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip177.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip178.jpg

What are they looking at?

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/083.jpg

They were pretty impressive. Then we took some time to drum

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip183.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip191.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/others447.jpg

Since we had cancelled our Biergarten ADR for the night before (which we wouldn’t have made anyway due to sickness!) we decided on CS in Germany. The boys had hot dogs, Greg and I had brats and kraut and we shared a giant pretzel, yummy!! Shelby and I were anxious to try the Kir Royale so she went and got CS in Morocco and France to get our drinks. We enjoyed them while staking out our spot for Illuminations.

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip195.jpg

After our drinks were finished, we poured Sprite into the glasses for the kids. Andrew and Daniel really enjoyed them!

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/others448.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/greg1352.jpg

We had a fantastic spot for Illuminations. A few more pics from our spot…

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/greg136.jpg

I really like this one

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/greg123.jpg

We were obviously very far from our car at this spot and I had read about the mad dash to the parking lot. We decided to enjoy a leisurely walk back to the front of the park and it was wonderful! I highly recommend this to anyone. True, everything was closed down but we enjoyed the lights and music and coolness of the evening. A very relaxing end to a slow but enjoyable evening.

Tomorrow, Father’s Day at Animal Kingdom! (Or is it?)

[Happy Elf]

Great spot for Illuminations! It's amazing what a little mid-day break can do isn't it! DH likes (needs) to stop and rest mid-day. How were the crowds/weather in June? We are thinking of a trip this June.

[CanadianWDWfan]

Glad to hear I havn't been bannished from your TR, I still feel so stupid. ;)

The pic of you and Goofy is really good.

The glow drinks look like a lot of fun, are they alcoholic? Perfect for Illuminations!

Your boys look cute in thier matching tees, even with the fruit punch stain. Good tip about the lemonade pouches, I'll have to remember that one. :thumbsup2

[punkin413]

so sorry about the sickness! but i'm glad to hear it was a 24-hour thing for the most part.

Someday I would love to see a shuttle launch. My Mom reports that they can see it fly over after takeoff from the gulf side but that's not close enough for my taste. I've read that there are places that will pick you up from Disney, bus you to the launch site, arrange for a decent view, give some tour time and bus you back to Disney. Sounds like a great day to me!

i'm sure you know this but they're doing away with the shuttle launches in 2010 and going back to rockets. ray (my hubby) wants to see a shuttle launch too. the only problem with doing it while at disney and arranging for transportation is that if you get there and they scrap a launch (which they do a lot) then you've lost an entire day of disney time. at least that's how i look at it. but consider that this is coming from a person who thought kennedy space center was boring and dirty. surprisingly, my DH, who is a big science nerd, wasn't too impressed with it either. i'm not saying it's not worth seeing - just don't put it at the END of a trip AFTER disney because it just doesn't compare. (at least to me anyway ;) )

Shelby and I were anxious to try the Kir Royale so she went and got CS in Morocco and France to get our drinks. We enjoyed them while staking out our spot for Illuminations.

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip195.jpg


so did you get these in morocco or france? and how much were they? i'm curious to try one next month!

and about being pissy - i think that happens to everyone! it always does to me at least once while on vacation.

[kschafer]

Great spot for Illuminations! It's amazing what a little mid-day break can do isn't it! DH likes (needs) to stop and rest mid-day. How were the crowds/weather in June? We are thinking of a trip this June.

I thought it was crowded (then again, I don't have another time to compare it to) but we generally arrived early with a good plan and got a lot done before the masses arrived. I am a wimp when it comes to heat so I didn't enjoy the June weather at all! 90 degrees everyday and afternoon rain almost everyday. I honestly could have delt with the crowds better if it hadn't been so hot.

This is why I am a big advocate for the break! You escape the crowds, heat and rain! Everyone gets a little refreshed and you feel ready for the evening. The evening hours are late in June too (till 2 am on EMH nights). So really there is enough time for most of what you want to/feel like you can do.

Since DH is a teacher, our choice for vacation time is limited. I would go again in June if that's the only time that works but will avoid it in the future if possible.

The glow drinks look like a lot of fun, are they alcoholic? Perfect for Illuminations!

Your boys look cute in thier matching tees, even with the fruit punch stain. Good tip about the lemonade pouches, I'll have to remember that one. :thumbsup2

Yes, Kir Royale is champagne and currant liquor. Last summer we visited my brother and SIL and she and I did a winery tour. One of the wines we both really liked was an apple and currant wine that they called Kir on suggestion of a french visitor.

The shirts were a present from the Easter Bunny. Thank goodness I also listened to the advice to bring a stain stick! I was surprised but the fruit punch did wash out.

i'm sure you know this but they're doing away with the shuttle launches in 2010 and going back to rockets. ray (my hubby) wants to see a shuttle launch too. the only problem with doing it while at disney and arranging for transportation is that if you get there and they scrap a launch (which they do a lot) then you've lost an entire day of disney time. at least that's how i look at it. but consider that this is coming from a person who thought kennedy space center was boring and dirty. surprisingly, my DH, who is a big science nerd, wasn't too impressed with it either. i'm not saying it's not worth seeing - just don't put it at the END of a trip AFTER disney because it just doesn't compare. (at least to me anyway ;) )

so did you get these in morocco or france? and how much were they? i'm curious to try one next month!


Yes, the shuttle launches are another good excuse to get back sooner rather than later. The chance to cancelling is perhaps the biggest reason I would hesitate planning around a launch.

The drinks came from France, the same booth where you get the slushies. They were $10 each. Not awful by Disney standards but I would get the Grey Goose again if I HAD to choose.

[CanadianWDWfan]

Oh too bad, I'm not a fan of champage, but Grey Goose slush sound delish! ;)

On our last trip a lady was in the bathroom trying to get a stain out of a girl's princess dress. She said "I always carry a stain stick and it always comes in handy". The little girl's mother was so grateful the stranger was willing to help. Stain came out and the girl was off to enjoy the night. I now pack a stain stick whenever we go, just in case. :)

[MeMom]

At the risk of getting smacked for these words, I think the red drink stain is kind of cute. Lemonade wouldn't have made for nearly as many memories. When he's grown, and you're looking back on these pictures, you'll always have the red fruit punch stain story to kid him about.
I, for one, am glad you left him in it and didn't run and buy him another one in a store so he'd look perfect. It just shows that he's all boy - frogs, snails, puppy dog tails...and fruit punch stains.

And when he's fussing at your precious grandchildren about watching their drink before they spill it, you can whip out the pictures and tell him to hush! ;)

I think the fruit punch mouth pictures are pretty cute, too. They look like very happy little boys sporting their red mouths, and they make the drumming picture just perfect.

[VandyFan10]

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/image307.jpg


This picture is SO cute!!

Very cool you guys got to have a date night! :goodvibes

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip159.jpg

YUMMY!!!!

Dad saw me coming and walked up to me and asked if I would go check on Mom in the nearby bathroom. As I was walking in, she was walking out and informed me that she had just thrown up and felt awful!! :sick:

I'm so sorry your mom and everyone else got sick :eek: Glad it didn't mess you guys up for very long

Erica is the first poster on our report. Literally. Her post is first even before our first post of the report.

Woooo Hooooooo :woohoo: I ROCK!!!! :lmao:

All caught up now :surfweb:

Great trip so far I can't wait to read more :upsidedow

[Megablocks]

Ugh, so sorry to hear about all the sickness! That is always bad, but it's worse when you are on vacation, or not in the comfort of your home. Stomach flu is the worst.

We tried, years ago, to get to the Kennedy Space Center to see a shuttle launch. We left really early, but not early enough, and ended up watching it on the side of the highway with about 8329512 other people who also did not make it in time. It was still fun, though!

Those glasses are so cool. I'm not really a champagne person, sadly. I'd get it just for the cool glass and light-up thing, even if it was just plastic. :rotfl: But, I'm with you on the grey goose slushy. :thumbsup2 Definitely going to try that! Gotta add that on to my ever-growing to-do/to-try list...

[kschafer]

Oh too bad, I'm not a fan of champage, but Grey Goose slush sound delish! ;)


Oh, it was SO good! They also serve the popular Grand Marnier slush at this stand but there was something about the neon orange color that frightened me :confused3 I'm just not a fan of drinks that falsely colored.

At the risk of getting smacked for these words, I think the red drink stain is kind of cute. Lemonade wouldn't have made for nearly as many memories. When he's grown, and you're looking back on these pictures, you'll always have the red fruit punch stain story to kid him about.
I, for one, am glad you left him in it and didn't run and buy him another one in a store so he'd look perfect. It just shows that he's all boy - frogs, snails, puppy dog tails...and fruit punch stains.

And when he's fussing at your precious grandchildren about watching their drink before they spill it, you can whip out the pictures and tell him to hush! ;)

I think the fruit punch mouth pictures are pretty cute, too. They look like very happy little boys sporting their red mouths, and they make the drumming picture just perfect.

thanks MeMom, you're right. I was a little emarassed with them walking around with the red mouths and stained shirts but never honestly considered buying a clean shirt. I just figured there have been kids who have looked worse than that!

It is kind of funny looking back on it.

OK, I have the TV on as I type and I had heard that Disney on Ice is coming to Des Moines but I just noticed it is next weekend, on my birthday! I may have to buy myself a birthday present.



I'm so sorry your mom and everyone else got sick :eek: Glad it didn't mess you guys up for very long

All caught up now :surfweb:

Great trip so far I can't wait to read more :upsidedow

Good job Erica! Just wait, a little teaser...round 1 of sickness didn't mess us up for long. That's right...round 1

I'm going to try to update today but promised my students I would have their tests finished today so I need to commit to that first. Darn work getting in the way of my Dising again!

We tried, years ago, to get to the Kennedy Space Center to see a shuttle launch. We left really early, but not early enough, and ended up watching it on the side of the highway with about 8329512 other people who also did not make it in time. It was still fun, though!

Those glasses are so cool. I'm not really a champagne person, sadly. I'd get it just for the cool glass and light-up thing, even if it was just plastic. :rotfl: But, I'm with you on the grey goose slushy. :thumbsup2 Definitely going to try that! Gotta add that on to my ever-growing to-do/to-try list...

Too bad about missing the launch. I'm sure however it would have been even more crowded the closer you got! that's one reason I am tempted to look into one of the tours. They pick you up by bus so no driving plus I have heard they have reserved viewing spots so no fighting the crowds. Worth the $100 bucks or so in my opinion.

I know they serve other drinks in those glasses. There is a alcoholic drinks picture thread (on the dining board I would guess) you might check out if you are interested.

[kschafer]

Day 7 – Sunday, June 15

Today was to be our Animal Kingdom Day until (dramatic music here)…I woke up about 3 or 4 am with that sensation that said - :sick: get to the bathroom now. I won’t disgust you with one of those vomiting “smiley” faces but let’s just say that delicious sauerkraut I had for dinner was not so good in reverse.

Pretty soon I discover that Ellie, Margaret and Shelby have also come down with stomach flu, round 2. :sad2: I thought this was vacation! We knew our only choice was to move AK to Monday which was our last day as a large group.

So, I don’t have much to report on this day, I slept most of it away. I wasn’t at all hungry but I was very thirsty and had a MAJOR craving for the one reason I was so excited to see 7-eleven’s in Florida, coke slushies!! At some point in the day, Greg and Patrick went out and brought me one when they returned, yummy! :drinking1

It was Father’s Day and I missed the special dinner and gift giving because I could NOT wake up long enough to join the rest of the family. :guilty:

So, onto…

Day 8 – Monday, June 16

Like round 1, the kids got over the sickies sooner than the adults. I was still feeling poorly (not awful but enough that I wasn’t interested in walking around in the heat for hours) so I decided to stay at the house and rest a little, do laundry while I had the facilities and do some preliminary packing. I was a little sad about not going with them but I knew I had 5 more Disney days ahead and would need my strength. ::yes::

Here’s their day in pictures, not much narration because I obviously wasn’t there.

I think they got there late enough that they started off with getting fastpasses for the safari and used the time to go on the trail in Africa (I never remember their names) where they saw these guys

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/greg062.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/greg064.jpg

Then it was their fastpass time so they went on the safari

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/others455.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/greg102.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/others453.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/others456.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/greg098.jpg

aww, "little" ones

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/greg100.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/greg104.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/greg111.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/others456.jpg

continued in next post

[kschafer]

Then they decided to check out conservation station where they met some friends (don’t really know if they were all there or someplace else)

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/others264.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/others260.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/others373.jpg

Caroline and Margaret danced with these guys

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/others366.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/others269.jpg

And they ran into PUSH. Surprisingly, Daniel who is afraid of the characters apparently loved PUSH

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/greg119.jpg

I had sent the others off with a written plan for the day which included a show or two and lunch but it apparently fell apart :confused3 and the group came back to the house surprisingly early. Everyone just sort of hung out at the house, enjoyed our last day together, probably swam and played and did some packing. All in all, it ended up being a nice day

This evening, Greg and I did babysitting duties while my DB and SIL had their date night. Don’t they look purdy?

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/001.jpg

I read stories to the kids and we called it a night.

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/greg058.jpg

Sorry this wasn’t the most exciting update so I’ll leave you with the next set of plans. We were spending the next 4 nights at OKW with the dining plan..
Tuesday: leave mid-morning and check in at OKW, head to DHS for the rest of the day, Fantasmic Dinner package at Mama Melroses
Wednesday: Magic Kingdom day, afternoon rest, dinner at Kona (lapulapu here I come) and MK evening including spectromagic and wishes
Thursday: Animal Kingdom with dinner at Whispering Canyon Café
Friday: Epcot day with dinner at LeCellier
Saturday: Magic Kingdom through the afternoon then head to my parents place near Sarasota

Thanks for reading along :hug: and stay tuned to see how well we stick with these plans

[sunny_stace]

Look at you! SO cute doing storytime...you remind me of Belle! :) I'm sorry to hear of illness round 2. Hopefully you enjoyed the rest of your trip!

[kschafer]

:tink: Look at you! SO cute doing storytime...you remind me of Belle! :) I'm sorry to hear of illness round 2. Hopefully you enjoyed the rest of your trip!

thanks Stace, you are QUICK!

How are your trip preparations coming? Not too much longer now, LUCKY!!

It's not Disney World but I will be doing Disney on Ice on your arrival day. I decided to treat myself for my birthday, it won't be as warm as Florida but it will be Mickey and the gang :smickey: ::MinnieMo pluto:

[sunny_stace]

:tink:

thanks Stace, you are QUICK!

How are your trip preparations coming? Not too much longer now, LUCKY!!

It's not Disney World but I will be doing Disney on Ice on your arrival day. I decided to treat myself for my birthday, it won't be as warm as Florida but it will be Mickey and the gang :smickey: ::MinnieMo pluto:

UUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!! We have booked through the same agent for three years now and each year there is something wrong!! I literally just got home from picking up all the documents...my name is spelled wrong, I have no MVMCP tickets and no magical express tags...I am NOT a happy camper right now!:mad: :mad: :mad: I work about 50 hours a week or more and I don't have anymore time to run around picking stuff up! Today was supposed the be the day! (I was hanging around the house just reading the Dis otherwise, that's why I was so quick to read your report! :))

But I am very excited!! And you must be too! You have your b-day coming and Disney on Ice is fun! Plus you guys get to have Thanksgiving dinner soon too! Yummo! :)

[CanadianWDWfan]

Aww, another round of the flu, so sorry you missed AKL. Whoever took the pics did a good job. I haven't come across Jimmny Cricket before. I love the gorillas. The date night a cute idea.

I just have to add that I :lovestruc Coke slush. I once read a review of all slushes on the web, quite funny. The "7 eleven slush" won top of list.


sunnystace- I hope they get you all fixed up by next week. :eek: Maybe that's why I do everything by myself, can't leave it in someone elses hands. Too much of a control freak. :rotfl2:

[Happy Elf]

Sorry you were sick again! I love the picture of you reading to all the kids...it is so sweet!

I've been reading along, even if I don't comment. School is really cutting into my Dis time! :rotfl2:

[kschafer]

UUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!! We have booked through the same agent for three years now and each year there is something wrong!! I literally just got home from picking up all the documents...my name is spelled wrong, I have no MVMCP tickets and no magical express tags...I am NOT a happy camper right now!:mad: :mad:

But I am very excited!! And you must be too! You have your b-day coming and Disney on Ice is fun! Plus you guys get to have Thanksgiving dinner soon too! Yummo! :)

Sorry things leading up to your trip are a little rocky. Hopefully they will straighten out soon and you can relax and enjoy your vacation.

My Mom called tonight to tell me that they had arrived home from Florida to find a dead oven so we will not be having Turkey this year. Hmm, will be interesting but honestly, I don't really love turkey so it doesn't matter to me.

I just have to add that I :lovestruc Coke slush. I once read a review of all slushes on the web, quite funny. The "7 eleven slush" won top of list.

sunnystace- I hope they get you all fixed up by next week. :eek: Maybe that's why I do everything by myself, can't leave it in someone elses hands. Too much of a control freak. :rotfl2:

I just love 7 eleven slushies!! It's really the only reason I am fond of it. There is a gas station in the town where I live where they have them but they have a really funky taste (always makes me think they just sanitized the machine and didn't rinse it completely. :scared: Better than a dirty taste I guess but not what I want!)

Sorry you were sick again! I love the picture of you reading to all the kids...it is so sweet!

I've been reading along, even if I don't comment. School is really cutting into my Dis time! :rotfl2:

Glad to hear someone else is out there! Don't you hate when real life interferes with your Disney life!! :lmao:

[sunny_stace]

sunnystace- I hope they get you all fixed up by next week. :eek: Maybe that's why I do everything by myself, can't leave it in someone elses hands. Too much of a control freak. :rotfl2:

Oh it's fixed now, I called and yelled at a bunch of people today! :scared: it wasn't pretty. Then with the flight time changed....oh man I was mad! I spoke with the agency home office and put in a formal complaint. You know, I don't know why I don't just book it myself! I have my travel and tourism diploma and Heaven knows I know the Disney reservation system. Obviously I know it better than someone....but it's all fixed now and I trust Disney to give me excellent customer service!

I'll still be there in plenty of time to enjoy a drink to celebrate someone's birthday ;) But she'll be busy enjoying Disney on Ice for her special day! :) That's too bad about the dead oven, but I'm sure your thanksgiving will still be great! I think one of the best Thanksgiving dinners I've had was Italian takeout! Plus there's more holidays just around the corner!

[kschafer]

I'll still be there in plenty of time to enjoy a drink to celebrate someone's birthday ;) But she'll be busy enjoying Disney on Ice for her special day! :)

Aww Stace, you're so sweet:flower3:
Please do think of me at some point as you are enjoying yourself! Glad things are straightened out now and I hope the Disney magic will kick in as soon as you leave your house next week!

[VandyFan10]

Just wait, a little teaser...round 1 of sickness didn't mess us up for long. That's right...round 1

Round 1......OH NO!!!! :eek:

Today was to be our Animal Kingdom Day until (dramatic music here)…I woke up about 3 or 4 am with that sensation that said - :sick: get to the bathroom now. I won’t disgust you with one of those vomiting “smiley” faces but let’s just say that delicious sauerkraut I had for dinner was not so good in reverse.

Pretty soon I discover that Ellie, Margaret and Shelby have also come down with stomach flu, round 2. :sad2:

Oh man...I'm SO sorry you got sick on your vacation! I thought you had escaped it!

Unfortunately I know a little about this 'tag-team' sickness thing here this week. I think it has missed me (fingers crossed) but Matt came home Wed sick, like you guys were but not horrible. They had several workers out and then he said today that some of the spouses had ended up with it too :scared1: That's some stout germs :headache:

And they ran into PUSH. Surprisingly, Daniel who is afraid of the characters apparently loved PUSH

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/greg119.jpg

SO CUTE!!! Fun he enjoyed the trashcan :upsidedow

look at that little boy in the background taking a pic....he looks so serious :laughing:

I read stories to the kids and we called it a night.

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/greg058.jpg

Hey...those look like some of my PJ's I got from costco. Only mine are in blue but I tossed a coin b/t mine and the pink princess:

I think it's so cool you guys did date night. That just makes it all so much better. And good on a night you wanted to stay in anyway right??? :rolleyes:

[kschafer]

Round 1......OH NO!!!! :eek: Oh man...I'm SO sorry you got sick on your vacation! I thought you had escaped it!

Unfortunately I know a little about this 'tag-team' sickness thing here this week. I think it has missed me (fingers crossed) but Matt came home Wed sick, like you guys were but not horrible. They had several workers out and then he said today that some of the spouses had ended up with it too :scared1: That's some stout germs :headache:

SO CUTE!!! Fun he enjoyed the trashcan :upsidedow

look at that little boy in the background taking a pic....he looks so serious :laughing:

Hey...those look like some of my PJ's I got from costco. Only mine are in blue but I tossed a coin b/t mine and the pink princess:

I think it's so cool you guys did date night. That just makes it all so much better. And good on a night you wanted to stay in anyway right??? :rolleyes:

Hey Erica, glad you're still around! :)

Yeah, I thought I had escaped it too. Oh well, you take what life hands you right! Glad to hear you didn't get it from Matt!

Seeing PUSH was probably my one regret about not going that day. I knew I would need my energy and the rides and attractions would still be there.

Date night was great! We don't get too many of them. I think I got those jammies at JCPenney. For some reason last summer I was obsessed with buying new PJ's, don't really know why but I got a bunch there.

[CanadianWDWfan]

What did I hear? No turkey, I would just cry. :rotfl: I guess it's fine since you don't really like it anyway. Too bad about the oven. Maybe Santa can bring her a new one....:santa:

I agree, its better than dirty taste. :rotfl2:

sunny_stace - So happy, it's all sorted out.
I wanted to get a Travel & Tourism degree, my dream was to be a flight attandant. I was enrolled in classes for August and I found out I was pregnant with DS in July. OOps, my bad. I love him so much, he is by no means a mistake. He is a gift from God. I decided it wasn't meant to be. It will always be my what if...

[MeMom]

My Mom called tonight to tell me that they had arrived home from Florida to find a dead oven so we will not be having Turkey this year. Hmm, will be interesting but honestly, I don't really love turkey so it doesn't matter to me.



Do you have Honeybaked Ham stores there? They have incredible turkey!

Of course, whatever you have - ham, turkey, chicken, meatloaf, tacos, even tuna - you're blessed to have food, family, friends, and fun, so it's all good!

I hope you guys have a great Thanksgiving Day! I probably will not be back over here before we leave, so I'll check in whenever we get back.

[kschafer]

What did I hear? No turkey, I would just cry. :rotfl: I guess it's fine since you don't really like it anyway. Too bad about the oven. Maybe Santa can bring her a new one....:santa:

sunny_stace - So happy, it's all sorted out.
I wanted to get a Travel & Tourism degree, my dream was to be a flight attandant. I was enrolled in classes for August and I found out I was pregnant with DS in July. OOps, my bad. I love him so much, he is by no means a mistake. He is a gift from God. I decided it wasn't meant to be. It will always be my what if...

I talked with my Mom yesterday and she said they will be getting a new one soon but she wants an electric flattop and they currently have gas so they need to get an electrician in to make the hookup switch and it just won't be done before next week.

I never really had a "I've always wanted to be a..." And was alway jealous of those who did. I sort of followed my heart and opportunities. I have often wondered if I could start all over again, where would I dream of ending up and tourism is on that list. It's a hidden talent I didn't realize I had soon enough, Oh Well!. Like you said, it wasn't meant to be.

Do you have Honeybaked Ham stores there? They have incredible turkey!

Of course, whatever you have - ham, turkey, chicken, meatloaf, tacos, even tuna - you're blessed to have food, family, friends, and fun, so it's all good!

I hope you guys have a great Thanksgiving Day! I probably will not be back over here before we leave, so I'll check in whenever we get back.

We don't have a Honeybaked Ham store. Mom said we are having chicken paprikash (proably spelled that wrong :rolleyes: ) and spatzle, yummy!:rolleyes:

DH decided he does want to make Thanksgiving dinner later that weekend at home. Both of my brothers will be headed off to their in-laws and get the traditional dinner there so they will probably enjoy something different. I don't have in-laws so we are on our own. (Actually, I HAVE in-laws, we just don't talk to them and I am certainly NOT going there for a holiday, you only make that mistake once! :headache: )

I hope your holiday with Mickey is a great one! Can't wait to hear all about it.

[CanadianWDWfan]

See your Mom will get a new oven for Xmas....:santa: I hoped she would.

So, I guess you are cooking a turkey after all for your DH. Memom is right, as long as you are with family it doesn't matter what you eat. Thanksgiving Tacos has a ring to it! ;) I hope you are planning to have pie?

I've had "Honeybaked ham" before when I lived in Auburn, FANTASTIC, very good. :thumbsup2

I still miss my MIL's pecan pie, deep fried turkey and spiral ham on Thanksgiving. :sad1:

[sunny_stace]

sunny_stace - So happy, it's all sorted out.
I wanted to get a Travel & Tourism degree, my dream was to be a flight attandant. I was enrolled in classes for August and I found out I was pregnant with DS in July. OOps, my bad. I love him so much, he is by no means a mistake. He is a gift from God. I decided it wasn't meant to be. It will always be my what if...

I never really had a "I've always wanted to be a..." And was alway jealous of those who did. I sort of followed my heart and opportunities. I have often wondered if I could start all over again, where would I dream of ending up and tourism is on that list. It's a hidden talent I didn't realize I had soon enough, Oh Well!. Like you said, it wasn't meant to be..

You never know! I originally started going through school to become a teacher! But my best friend from highschool was diagnosed with terminal ovarian cancer and since she and I were like sisters, I didn't want to be away at school. So I dropped out of university and got a job. I knew I wanted to continue my schooling but I was having a little crisis of faith, so I chose something I was always interested in but never really persued. I chose travel and tourism as my major and started taking college through distance education so I could work around my life and not have a rigid schedule to stick to. About 2 years later I graduated and since she had passed away, I moved across the country to start working in a hotel...as a housekeeper. It was one of the worst jobs I ever had and I lasted a month!!! People are gross!:eek: :eek: So I started working in a book store and got very interested in children's books specifically. After about 6 months I came back home and got another job in a bookstore and specialized in children's and young adult fiction. It was a job I never thought I would leave! I was moving up in the company and making lots of good contacts, but then it stalled when upper managment changed and I was stuck in a job that wasn't going anywhere.
And then another unexpected event turned things around again! My step-dad passed away last October and that inspired me to start looking for bigger things. I got a job in a hotel as a front desk agent and in the past 10 months have been promoted twice! I have learned that once I start planning my life, something happens to turn it upsidedown! :upsidedow
Turns out I have found my niche in the hotel industry and am hoping for a long career in the field. But who knows! I'm only 27 and could change careers many more times before I retire!

And then you have someone like my aunt who also always dreamed of being a flight attendant, and now that her kids are grown she is beginning to explore the option. She's in her early 50's and spent her life working with disabled children. You never know what that Big Guy has planned for ya! :goodvibes As long as you're happy, I'd say you're in a good place.:)

Thanksgiving Tacos - I love it! Last year we had Thanksgiving Panzarotti with traditional garlic bread and M&M's cheesecake for dessert! But MeMom hit the nail on the head. :goodvibes

[kschafer]

So, I guess you are cooking a turkey after all for your DH. Memom is right, as long as you are with family it doesn't matter what you eat. Thanksgiving Tacos has a ring to it! ;) I hope you are planning to have pie?

I still miss my MIL's pecan pie, deep fried turkey and spiral ham on Thanksgiving. :sad1:

Oh your menu sounds wonderful!! Yes, I am making a pumpkin pie tonight to bring to my Mom's house. I will also make a pecan pie for our dinner this weekend

Thanksgiving Tacos! :lmao:

You never know what that Big Guy has planned for ya! :goodvibes As long as you're happy, I'd say you're in a good place.:)

But MeMom hit the nail on the head. :goodvibes

Sounds like you had quite a route to your current job. I have also come a long ways around to return to working at the college I attended. I love my job now and am very happy. Yep, the big guy sometimes gives us a few twists, turns and speed bumps but hopefully we all end up where we belong.

That MeMom, she sure knows what she's talking about! I hope she has a great week.

[kschafer]

Day 9 – Tuesday, June 17

We gave ourselves permission to sleep in a bit this morning, have breakfast and take our time finishing the packing and loading the van. Mom gave us a bunch of food that was still in the house (snacks, cereal, milk, juice, etc). The plan for the day was to check in at OKW knowing our room would probably not be ready but we could get our keys, activate the dining plan and get our free parking pass (why pay another $11?)

We finally left around 10:30 and easily found our way to OKW. As suspected, our room wasn’t ready but we got all checked in and left for DHS. My first mission was to get fastpasses for ToT and RnR. The one advantage of having kids who don’t want to ride these is we could use their tickets to get FP’s for both at the same time for DH and I to use. We stopped for some lunch at Rosie’s Café. My younger brother and his family were also at DHS for their last day so we met for lunch

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/002.jpg

The view from where we sat

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip198.jpg

A photo stop outside of Brown Derby

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We didn’t have any serious plans for today so we set out to see what we wanted to do. TSMM standby was over 100 minutes and we couldn’t get fastpasses yet. So we wandered a bit. These guys were marching along then stopped and sent some "new recruits" through boot camp. It was really cute

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip200.jpg

There was a Playhouse Disney show coming up so we went and got in line. It was really fun again except Patrick got some bubbles in his eye, ouchy!

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/141.jpg

At this point, we went again to TSMM to see about getting fastpasses and they were all gone for the day. Standby was 150 min, yikes! It was getting to be our fastpass time so Greg and the boys went off in search of smashed pennies to add to their collection while I went to ride. Looking back on it, I should have told them to go do Light, motors, action or Indiana Jones because even with the fastpasses, I was gone over 1 hour! I had been anticipating ToT almost more than anything else and it was really fun but I wish it had been a little longer. RnR was AWESOME!! It ended up being my favorite ride in all of WDW.

Stopped and got a solo photopass pics

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/image089.jpg

By the time I got back to Greg and the boys, they were enjoying the afternoon parade. We has 3:40 ADR’s at Mama Melroses so Greg unfortunately could not use his fastpasses. We SLOWLY made our way there (not easy to do when the parade is stopped). We arrived to find Daniel had fallen asleep in the stroller and he napped through almost all of dinner. A little food porn…

Tomatoes and Mozerella
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip211.jpg

Cesar Salad
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip212.jpg

Pork Marsala
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Patrick's salmon, pasta with white sauce and fruit
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip214.jpg

And Tiramisu
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip215.jpg


I must admit I was a bit disappointed. The food looks wonderful but it was not a great meal nor was the service, it was just OK. We had stopped and grabbed FP’s for Indiana Jones before dinner but ended up being there longer than we anticipated and arrived 5 or 10 minutes after the show began and were not allowed in. So we decided to go to the backlot and play a bit.

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip216.jpg

And take a few pics

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http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip202.jpg

[kschafer]

Next we wandered over to One Man’s Dream. I didn’t actually plan on visiting this but we were at a bit of a loss as to how to kill time before Fantasmic. The shows were all done for the day, the boys weren’t interested in several rides and standby lines were too long for the rides they did want to ride. This is a WONDERFUL attraction. If you have never been in here, you absolutely should! Yes, it’s a “museum” but done so well

Check out Walt's initials carved into his desk

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A funny thing happened toward the end of our visit here. We decided to skip the movie but we were standing outside of the theater talking to some CM’s and Patrick wandered off out of our sight. Soon we heard his voice over the sound system and turned to find he had opened the box and was talking into the microphone. The CM’s were incredibly nice about it, I was mortified! :blush: Later I got thinking about it and realized, there are SO MANY places for people to play with computers and speak into microphones, he assumed this was one of them.

Next we went over to the Magic of Disney Animation. I thought the little skit was cute, the boys enjoyed it. Then we checked out the exhibits.

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http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/174.jpg

I haven’t seen this movie yet but this attraction really got me interested. I’m certain Santa will be putting it under our tree this year.

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/146.jpg

Then we went to say hi to the big guy. Daniel wasn’t too impressed.

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/image094.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/image105.jpg

We played a bit (with the computers and microphones!) and I discovered that Patrick is Lumiere and I am Tinkerbelle, both fitting comparisons.

At this point my memory is a bit fuzzy but we must have decided to head over to get our seats for Fantasmic and stopped to get our picture taken. I love the lighting in this picture!

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/image113.jpg

We brought along our glow jewelry of course. Greg and Daniel waiting for it…

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip220.jpg

The WAVE

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I know lots of people rant about how annoying this is but the boys had never seen it before and got such a kick out of it. The joy on their faces was enough to overcome the dreaded act. Plus, it was a good time killer while we waited. We were a bit nervous about whether the show would go or not because there was lightning off in the distance but finally the show began

Fantasmic is AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I absolutely loved it. I don’t have many pictures because we were just soaking in the experience. The boys did get a bit scared during the nightmare part but the ending SO makes up for it.

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/097.jpg

I like the Steamboat Willie Mickey!

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip229.jpg

This was the one major “event” that Greg did not video so I decided to watch it on YouTube the other night and it just brought tears to my eyes. This show is a must see from now on!

After the show ended we followed the masses out of the park to call it a night. We had a full MK day planned for tomorrow and as much as I would have liked to savor the lights of Hollywood Boulevard, we thought it was best to hit the sack.

As we were leaving, it occurred to me that this was the first park I was walking out of for the last time on this trip. I felt very sad because we didn’t see the backlot tour, LMA or IJ; all things I had wanted to do plus Greg missed out on ToT and RnR. This is when it really sank in that this trip wasn’t going to be EVERYTHING I had hoped for and I needed to just relax and enjoy the time we had.

[sunny_stace]

That is a lovely photo of your family, the one by Mickey's hat. The lighting is perfect! You should definately have one framed! :) Isn't Fantasmic fantastic! ;) I do tear up towards the end....not like Wishes mind you but still pretty awesome! Oh I can't wait to ride RockNRoller Coaster! It was closed last September when we were there.

[punkin413]

ray and i didn't enjoy mama melrose as much as i thought we would, either. bummer about IJ and LMA. but there's always next time! try not to get too disappointed - no trip ever turns out exactly as planned! i think that's the good thing about WDW: you always have an excuse to go back!

i love fantasmic, too. actually, it's my second favorite behind wishes. ray just LOVES it. he even knows the moves that mickey does! i love the finale - when mickey's on the mountain top shooting off fireworks i just get goosebumps and tear up!!! i even have it on my myspace page. go here to watch it if you want to. it's just below the picture of the princesses making faces.

http://www.myspace.com/punkin76

[kschafer]

That is a lovely photo of your family, the one by Mickey's hat. The lighting is perfect! You should definately have one framed! :) Isn't Fantasmic fantastic! ;) I do tear up towards the end....not like Wishes mind you but still pretty awesome! Oh I can't wait to ride RockNRoller Coaster! It was closed last September when we were there.

There is another picture from the next morning that I also love because of the wonderful natural lighting. I bought an 8x10 Disney frame that I was going to put 1 picture into but after I got my photopass pics, I couldn't decide which was my favorite so I took 4 pictures (1 in front of each parks icon) and made a collage out of them.

For me, Fantasmic rivals wishes, I cried like a baby at both. Happy tears of course!

RnR is SO great!! Think of me while you ride OK :thumbsup2 Maybe I'll feel your happy vibes.

ray and i didn't enjoy mama melrose as much as i thought we would, either. bummer about IJ and LMA. but there's always next time! try not to get too disappointed - no trip ever turns out exactly as planned! i think that's the good thing about WDW: you always have an excuse to go back!

i love fantasmic, too. actually, it's my second favorite behind wishes. ray just LOVES it. he even knows the moves that mickey does! i love the finale - when mickey's on the mountain top shooting off fireworks i just get goosebumps and tear up!!! i even have it on my myspace page. go here to watch it if you want to. it's just below the picture of the princesses making faces.

http://www.myspace.com/punkin76

I was bummed about missing them but really I learned that you can't do it all and to savor the moments and assume you'll be back. I had read all kinds of hidden touches before I left and never took the time to look for them. Next time I will plan on just doing what I can and soaking in the moment.

So funny, I would love to see Ray moving with Mickey! :cool1: :lmao:

Great myspace page! thanks for sharing

**************************

Well gang, this will likely be my last check in for a couple days. I have some errands to run this morning then we are headed to my parents house this afternoon and I still have to pack for me and the boys.

To my American friends, I hope you enjoy your turkey, ham or chicken paprikash but most of all you enjoy the company of those you love and remember all the things you are thankful for.

To my Canadian friends, I hope you are thankful too even without a holiday to remind you.

This past year has had lots of ups and downs but I am thankful for the health of my family, a new job that I love, the chance to go to WDW with my family and the opportunity to meet all kinds of great people who I consider friends on the Dis.

Happy Thanksgiving, I'll be back on Friday.

Katie

[CanadianWDWfan]

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO YOU! I hope you have a great visit with your family. Be safe. See you when you return. :wave2:

[sunny_stace]

Hope you have a fabulous Thanksgiving, no matter what you wind up having for dinner! ;) Enjoy your time together. :hug: For now I'm thankful to have your holiday off tomorrow (taking a time owed day! :)), for my pizza, my laptop, and my Aladdin DVD (I'm on a Disney movie binge!)

And I will definately think of you while I ride RnR, esp. since my first trip on it should be on your birthday! I think we're gonna hit the Studios on Sunday since MK is only open til 7pm for MVMCP (which we have later in the week).

[kschafer]

Oh, I've had Dis withdrawls the last couple days. I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. Ours was fun even if a bit unconventional.

I saw James one day last week and taught him a little something to tease my brother (not his dad, my other brother). I say to James "Aunt Katie" and he claps his hands. Then I say "Uncle Joe" and he shakes his head. HEE HEE. He performed all weekend with that little trick, too funny!

My 2 SIL's and I put the kids to bed Wed night and went shopping. After shopping we went back to my parents and Shelby and I decided we were hungry and decided to run to McDonalds but then on the way decided that we could go to applebees and get drinks instead so we had a couple hurricanes and appetizers and hung out, it was so fun.

I went shopping on Thanksgiving too then of course was up at 4:30 this morning to hit the big sales. It was crowded, crazy and awesome! I love the day after Thanksgiving and day after Christmas shopping, way fun! I got a bunch of christmas presents and a few things for myself too.

I'll be working on an update tonight and should have it posted tomorrow. We will have a busy weekend with our Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow and we always put up our tree this weekend. Then I have Disney on Ice on Sunday and a birthday dinner with my friend. It's not Disney but will have to do for this year.

Stacy, are you all packed and ready to go?

MeMom, I hope you are having a great time.

I can't wait to hear all about both of your trips!

[CanadianWDWfan]

Yeah! you got to do alot of shopping and have a little "girl time". 4:30am now that's dedication and a bit of crazy mixed in.
You have a full weekend ahead of you, I hope you enjoy Disney on Ice. :wizard: I'm going in March, it seems so far away. ;)

[kschafer]

Yeah! you got to do alot of shopping and have a little "girl time". 4:30am now that's dedication and a bit of crazy mixed in.
You have a full weekend ahead of you, I hope you enjoy Disney on Ice. :wizard: I'm going in March, it seems so far away. ;)

HA, I'm just a little dedicated, DH left by 3:00 am to go to Des Moines so he could hit the bigger stores! It was a lot of fun because I went by myself and everything I was buying could fit in a basket so I was able to maneuver quickly around all the larger groups with carts :laughing:

I checked my bank account this morning and realized I made a boo boo :headache: I paid for everything with my debit card and forgot it comes out of a different account than where my paycheck is deposited. Luckily I get charged a transfer fee per day and not per transaction!!

[kschafer]

Day 10 – Wednesday, June 18

Despite the late night we had with Fantasmic last night, we were up and out of the hotel early enough to get to rope drop at MK. We got to TTC and decided to take the ferry this morning. What we didn’t realize was that the first ferry doesn’t leave quite early enough to make it on time for RD. :rolleyes1 Oh well. The very friendly CM had chalk and invited people to sign the sidewalk so Patrick decided to leave his name.

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip233.jpg

Daniel even got a start on his name (but all he knows is “D” for Daniel)

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip238.jpg

A nice view on the way to MK.

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/100.jpg

I think the ferry is overlooked because the monorail is faster but I have fond memories of riding it as a kid and was excited about taking my boys on it. They thought it was really fun. Worth the little extra time in my mind.

We made our way up Main St and stopped to take some pics. I love the way this turned out.

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip240.jpg

And we got a great photopass here too.

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/image115-1.jpg

The castle stage show was going on. We didn’t exactly stop to watch but I caught a few pieces of it here and there over the 3 days we were in MK and it looks like it is pretty cute. Honestly, I am not a princess kind of girl so skipping these types of things doesn’t bother me too much.

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First goal this morning was tomorrowland. The exact order we did things is fuzzy but we got in Buzz Lightyear. Cute and fun but I think having done TSMM already spoiled me for this one. Patrick is so funny sometimes!

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/212.jpg

We went to the Laugh Floor comedy club. Patrick SO wanted to be picked to be onscreen but no luck. We also rode on Astro Orbiter. I liked this more than I thought I would because the view from up there is really nice.

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/213.jpg

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I had plans to ride TTA and CoP but wanted to wait for when we needed a break. Unfortunately, we never made it back. We decided to grab an early lunch at Cosmic Ray’s. It was very good and like most, I loved the toppings bar! I ended up giving my dessert to a family next to us because I couldn’t eat everything!

Now, despite my complete lack of desire to ride the speedway, once my boys saw this, it was all over! The boys of course steered which they thought was great fun and they got drivers licenses too.

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/214.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip254.jpg

A helpful hint. The line here is long and slow. You begin in a single line then split into 2. The right line goes up a ramp then turns right around and back down to the loading area. The left ramp goes up, crosses over the tracks then back down. We took the right lane thinking it was shorter and therefore the better choice, wrong! There are 4 rails. The first rail was being saved for those in the handicapped lane so everyone who went right like us, loaded on the second rail. Everyone who took the left line had farther to get to the loading area but then were split among the 3rd and 4th rails and went much faster! OK, that was a complicated way to say, if you notice the 1st rail being loaded only from the handicapped area, stay to the left and you will get on faster.

OK, as I write this, it feels like we didn’t accomplish much on this day but by this time we were hot, still tired from our late night before and planning on another late night tonight. Having learned from our first MK day when we stayed too late in the afternoon and never made it back, we decided to go cool off and nap back at OKW. We found the talking Goofy statue on the way out and a gentleman was kind enough to take a picture of the whole family.

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/215.jpg

We also stopped and got a few photopass pics on the way out

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http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/image122.jpg

We found ourselves back at OKW by around 1:30 and we had 4:30 ADR’s so everyone fell asleep for a couple hours and got ready for another late night. Up next: Kona Café and MK after dark.

[Megablocks]

I saw James one day last week and taught him a little something to tease my brother (not his dad, my other brother). I say to James "Aunt Katie" and he claps his hands. Then I say "Uncle Joe" and he shakes his head. HEE HEE. He performed all weekend with that little trick, too funny!

:lmao: That's too funny!

I've had a hard time getting on the Dis between work and school and Thanksgiving, but I'm all caught up now. :yay: I'm definitely going to put One Man's Dream on my to-do list for February, it looks great.

I hope that Santa brings you Wall-E. I saw it in the theater with my boyfriend, his brother, and his sister-in-law, and it was SO cute!

That's so cool that you got up really really early to go shopping. I went out with my dad around noon, and he was disappointed that he didn't have to fight for a parking spot--we parked like eight cars back from the Kohls entrance. Then I went out with my sister later on for some more shopping and dinner, and the crowds weren't bad at all. Maybe next year I will get up really early and go shopping in Boston or something. :idea:

[sunny_stace]

I'm so glad I got to see an update before I leave! I love the photo of you guys around the Goofy statue! It's hard to believe that at this time tomorrow I'll be there! But I better hurry off! Just got home from work and have to shower and all that...airbus comes at 1:30am...

Have the :woohoo: BEST BIRTHDAY:woohoo: tomorrow and I can't wait to catch up when I get home! Enjoy Disney on Ice and take pics for us! :)

[Happy Elf]

Great pictures! I love the one with Goofy!

[ILuvCrush]

Hi katie!!

I finally made it over here...sorry it took me so long. I'm still getting caught up, but am really enjoying your TR so far:thumbsup2

Paula

[kschafer]

That's so cool that you got up really really early to go shopping. I went out with my dad around noon, and he was disappointed that he didn't have to fight for a parking spot--we parked like eight cars back from the Kohls entrance. Then I went out with my sister later on for some more shopping and dinner, and the crowds weren't bad at all. Maybe next year I will get up really early and go shopping in Boston or something. :idea:

I had an alarm issue and although I had planned to arrive 10 or 15 minutes early, I ended up pulling in the parking lot right at opening time. The lot was PACKED! The only spots left were way off to the side but I ended up slipping right into a side entrance, it was awesome! That's sort of how my day went, things just fell into place to me and I ended up with some awesome deals! :woohoo:

I'm so glad I got to see an update before I leave! I love the photo of you guys around the Goofy statue! It's hard to believe that at this time tomorrow I'll be there! But I better hurry off! Just got home from work and have to shower and all that...airbus comes at 1:30am...

Have the :woohoo: BEST BIRTHDAY:woohoo: tomorrow and I can't wait to catch up when I get home! Enjoy Disney on Ice and take pics for us! :)

Well Stace, by now you are on your way and I am hoping you find smooth travels and have a great time in DHS tonight! :thumbsup2

There will definately be pics of Disney on Ice when you return!

Great pictures! I love the one with Goofy!

thanks, the boys were really surprised when he first talked

Did you make a decision about a June trip?

ETA: I checked your ticker and see that you are going. How are the plans coming?

Hi katie!!

I finally made it over here...sorry it took me so long. I'm still getting caught up, but am really enjoying your TR so far:thumbsup2

Paula

Hey Paula :welcome:

Glad to have you along. How are your plans coming?

***********************************

My goodness, I just realized that all 4 of you ladies have trips coming up!!

Luckies!

[Happy Elf]

Plans are starting to come together. Just when I think I know where we will eat, DH will suggest something. I am going to TRY to get ADR's for CRT. Hannah will love it! Also, trying for Chef Mickey's and CP. Unless we find super deals on airfare, we are going to drive. Which might be completely crazy with a 4 year old and an almost 1 year old, but we'll try it! Thanks for asking!

Sounds like your BF shopping was fun! I miss having my mom to shop with on BF! She lives in NM now, so she is too far away. DH refuses to go with me! We took (bribed him?) him the year before we were married and he said never again! :rotfl:

[MEK]

Enjoying your updates. I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels like they didn't get much accomplished on some park days. Some of my days are like - WOOOH - what the heck did I do all day?????? Looking forward to your night at MK, now that everyone is healthy.

[CanadianWDWfan]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! party: :bday: :cake: party: ENJOY DISNEY ON ICE!!!

The ferry is a pretty ride.

Your DS did an awsome job with the chalk, what a cute thing.

You all looked so great in matching tees, did you get them at WDW?

I havn't been on Astro Orbiter since I was a kid, I bet the view is awesome.

I never knew Goofy talked, I'll make a point to stop by and see for myself.

[ILuvCrush]

I'm all caught up now:thumbsup2 I skimmed most of the chatter though, and just hit the 'chapters' so I'm sure I missed some excellent tidbits, but at least I got the gist of it:thumbsup2

Where to start...
Sound's like a wonderful trip with the whole crew. Your Mum and Dad's Epcot picture together is beautiful!! I hope they have it in a frame somewhere!

It a stinker that so many got sick... at least (so far) it was just 2 waves, and not someone sick every day. But still...yuck!

Your TR is a very fun read, I'm looking forward to hearing more

Paula

[kschafer]

Plans are starting to come together. Just when I think I know where we will eat, DH will suggest something. I am going to TRY to get ADR's for CRT. Hannah will love it! Also, trying for Chef Mickey's and CP. Unless we find super deals on airfare, we are going to drive. Which might be completely crazy with a 4 year old and an almost 1 year old, but we'll try it! Thanks for asking!


where in Indiana are you? That makes a big difference in the time it would take to get there. I have toyed with the idea of driving for spring break but from Iowa, you are talking 2 long days plus a 1/2 day. That's a lot of time on the road. You are brave! I would never have attempted it when my boys were that young (I'm not sure they are old enough now for me to be willing to do it!)

Enjoying your updates. I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels like they didn't get much accomplished on some park days. Some of my days are like - WOOOH - what the heck did I do all day?????? Looking forward to your night at MK, now that everyone is healthy.

Honestly, I think we accomplished less as the trip went on and enjoyed ourselves more. I really commando planned then realized that we would never be able to keep up with the plan and enjoy ourselves. My commando plans turned into smart touring which was much more relaxing! :thumbsup2

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! party: :bday: :cake: party: ENJOY DISNEY ON ICE!!!

You all looked so great in matching tees, did you get them at WDW?

I havn't been on Astro Orbiter since I was a kid, I bet the view is awesome.


Thanks! Disney on Ice was great. I took over 300 pictures (over 1/2 of which that turned out fuzzy, dark, etc) I will share them with you when I get the chance. The weather forecast a couple days ago was for rain on Sat turning into snow overnight with accumulations of around 1 inch. We ended up having snow almost all day Sunday and had about 4 inches. The roads coming home last night were awful. What is normally just over 1 hour took me just under 2 hours! :scared1:

I drive 1 hour to work and woke up this morning to find the roads I take were "travel not advised" so I cancelled my class and stayed home but seem to still have worked most of the day.

The T-shirts came from one of the local Wal-Marts. Since we had a vehicle, it was easy to hit the store for drinks and snacks and $10 shirts! :cool1:

Next time I would love to ride Astro Orbiter at night to see the lights.

I'm all caught up now:thumbsup2 I skimmed most of the chatter though, and just hit the 'chapters' so I'm sure I missed some excellent tidbits, but at least I got the gist of it:thumbsup2

Where to start...
Sound's like a wonderful trip with the whole crew. Your Mum and Dad's Epcot picture together is beautiful!! I hope they have it in a frame somewhere!

It a stinker that so many got sick... at least (so far) it was just 2 waves, and not someone sick every day. But still...yuck!

Your TR is a very fun read, I'm looking forward to hearing more

Paula

Thanks Paula. Chatter is fun when you are following along but I skim too when I am reading back.

Yep, Mom and Dad have the picture in their house.

I am happy to report there were no additional stomach illnesses. I did have a bit of a sinus thing later on but nothing extra strength sudafed couldn't handle. :rolleyes:

[tinkgurl]

Just found your TR and loving it so far! And I had to tell you, we were at OKW from June 16-23rd! I've been looking for us in your pics but haven't had any luck yet. I will be starting a TR over Christmas Break so you'll have a chance to look in my pics for you!

[CanadianWDWfan]

I usually go to the Wal Mart first thing when we get to Orlando. We pick up snacks and drinks too. I always get some $10 Disney tees, and whatever else we see. It's become a tradition and I enjoy it. That's also where I got our mister fan. Good times. I really like your shirts, you can't tell they are from WalMart, very cute. I wonder if they have Christmas ones this time of year? ;)

[kschafer]

Just found your TR and loving it so far! And I had to tell you, we were at OKW from June 16-23rd! I've been looking for us in your pics but haven't had any luck yet. I will be starting a TR over Christmas Break so you'll have a chance to look in my pics for you!

:welcome: Tinkgurl!!

So cool that we were there at the same time! I believe MEK was also there that week (or maybe the week before). I always looked in the background of her pics to see if maybe I was there but, nope. I still have 3 days to go so, maybe!

I usually go to the Wal Mart first thing when we get to Orlando. We pick up snacks and drinks too. I always get some $10 Disney tees, and whatever else we see. It's become a tradition and I enjoy it. That's also where I got our mister fan. Good times. I really like your shirts, you can't tell they are from WalMart, very cute. I wonder if they have Christmas ones this time of year? ;)

DH said he saw the same shirts (at least the same design) for sale in the Disney gift shops for around $30.

A rental will always be a serious consideration for us. WDW is fairly easy to navigate and I just keep hearing about long lines, crowded buses and multiple stops before reaching your final destination and I think...why not have my own transportation at my disposal whenever I want it? Then the money saved on a Wal-Mart run really helps pay for the cost of a rental.

Plus, we got a great price on tickets and direct flights in/out of Sanford but ME doesn't go out there. $$ saved on airfare = cost of car rental. (It's even more of that fuzzy Disney math!) :laughing:

[Happy Elf]

We live about 45 minutes northeast of Indy. It's about a 16 hour drive...we are planning 2 days. We drove to VA when Hannah was about 16 months old and she did really well, so we are hoping it will continue! We think we might get a DVD player for the car to pass the time.

[kschafer]

We live about 45 minutes northeast of Indy. It's about a 16 hour drive...we are planning 2 days. We drove to VA when Hannah was about 16 months old and she did really well, so we are hoping it will continue! We think we might get a DVD player for the car to pass the time.

My boys get very restless in the car. It does get better as they get older though. DVD's are our godsend, we went with the built-in ones on our new van. It only took about 2 days to make the "no DVD unless we leave town" rule. Otherwise, they would have them opened up the second they got in the van :sad2:

[MeMom]

We live about 45 minutes northeast of Indy. It's about a 16 hour drive...we are planning 2 days. We drove to VA when Hannah was about 16 months old and she did really well, so we are hoping it will continue! We think we might get a DVD player for the car to pass the time.

My boys get very restless in the car. It does get better as they get older though. DVD's are our godsend, we went with the built-in ones on our new van. It only took about 2 days to make the "no DVD unless we leave town" rule. Otherwise, they would have them opened up the second they got in the van :sad2:


Having a DVD player sure helped on our trip. We watched Peter Pan twice and Hercules and Mulan. When Brooklynn was asleep, Jill had a marathon of Gilmore Girls going!

A midway stopping point is a good idea. We stop in Perry, GA, which is just about the halfway point for us. We get a shower and some sleep, and then we roll on into Disney World ready to go and not tired. We make a Walmart stop, too, for last minute items that we don't want taking up space in the car, along with snacks and fresh fruit.

[kschafer]

Good to have you back MeMom!

I decided to give uploading video a try so (if this works) here is a sneak peek at Disney on Ice

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/th_251.jpg (http://s354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/?action=view&current=251.flv)

[Happy Elf]

When Brooklynn was asleep, Jill had a marathon of Gilmore Girls going!

Sounds good! I loved Gilmore Girls!


A midway stopping point is a good idea. We stop in Perry, GA, which is just about the halfway point for us. We get a shower and some sleep, and then we roll on into Disney World ready to go and not tired. We make a Walmart stop, too, for last minute items that we don't want taking up space in the car, along with snacks and fresh fruit.

We plan on stopping around Marietta, GA to spend the night and get some rest. It will be nice to be able to stop at Walmart and pick up snacks, diapers, and such.

[CanadianWDWfan]

I wish my drive was only 16 hrs, ours is 26 hrs. (we drive it in 2 days) I actually like the drive and my kids are good car travellers. Of course we always have the DVD player, laptop and Xbox to pass the time. I drive and DMom reads me articles in various magazines. She is a great co pilot. Last year we went to Auburn AL first, 21 hrs and then a few days later we went to WDW. My DMom has a best friend who lives about 45 mins from my inlaws, so she stays with her. We will probably do the same next year, so the kids can see thier "other" family. (I just go for good o'l southern food) :laughing:

Memom Did you notice while at Wal Mart if they had holiday tees in the Disney section? I have always wondered about that. Thanks. ;)

[CanadianWDWfan]

WOW! The video is so clear and I feel like I am there. You had great seats. :thumbsup2 Very cute, a nice keepsake of the show. I wish our Disney on Ice was coming sooner. Oh well, it's right before DD's bday so I guess that's better in the end. ;)

[kschafer]

We plan on stopping around Marietta, GA to spend the night and get some rest. It will be nice to be able to stop at Walmart and pick up snacks, diapers, and such.

Sounds like a good plan. I wish you lots of luck and safe travels!

I wish my drive was only 16 hrs, ours is 26 hrs. (we drive it in 2 days) I actually like the drive and my kids are good car travellers. Of course we always have the DVD player, laptop and Xbox to pass the time. I drive and DMom reads me articles in various magazines. She is a great co pilot. Last year we went to Auburn AL first, 21 hrs and then a few days later we went to WDW. My DMom has a best friend who lives about 45 mins from my inlaws, so she stays with her. We will probably do the same next year, so the kids can see thier "other" family. (I just go for good o'l southern food) :laughing:


26 hours in 2 days :scared1: Wow, you are really brave!! How old are your kids?

WOW! The video is so clear and I feel like I am there. You had great seats. :thumbsup2 Very cute, a nice keepsake of the show. I wish our Disney on Ice was coming sooner. Oh well, it's right before DD's bday so I guess that's better in the end. ;)

I decided I could afford the nosebleed seats for the whole family or 1 really good seat for myself...I went solo ;)

[kschafer]

You know you've been Dising too much when....

Today I handed back an assignment (scale model of the solar system) and one of my students papers was missing. I found it in my bag so I checked it real quick and gave it to her. I didn't want to forget to put her grade in the computer so I wrote on a post-it note "Maggie SM 10" SM of course was for "scale model"

Later when I saw the post-it I wondered for a second why I noted something about Maggie and Space Mountain :rotfl2: I think I need help!

[Happy Elf]

You know you've been Dising too much when....

Today I handed back an assignment (scale model of the solar system) and one of my students papers was missing. I found it in my bag so I checked it real quick and gave it to her. I didn't want to forget to put her grade in the computer so I wrote on a post-it note "Maggie SM 10" SM of course was for "scale model"

Later when I saw the post-it I wondered for a second why I noted something about Maggie and Space Mountain :rotfl2: I think I need help!

Hee Hee! That is funny!:rotfl:

[CanadianWDWfan]

That's too funny, :laughing: I sometimes get confused with the whole abreviations and it takes me a minute to figure out what a person is saying. :rotfl2: I don't know all of them either so I just make stuff up. :rotfl:

My DS (Aaron) is 14 and my DD (Lexi) is 8. My DS thinks he is more like 18 though. :lmao:

I was just looking at flights from Syracuse NY and they aren't that bad if I pick wacky times and not direct flights. I may go that route next time, but that would mean no trip to the inlaws...maybe that isn't such a bad thing. ;) Just kidding, I luv my MIL. (especially luv her pecan pie) :goodvibes

What a nice treat to go solo, your seat was amazingly close. Did you get yourself a frozen ice? Cotton candy? :cloud9:

[Megablocks]

You know you've been Dising too much when....

Today I handed back an assignment (scale model of the solar system) and one of my students papers was missing. I found it in my bag so I checked it real quick and gave it to her. I didn't want to forget to put her grade in the computer so I wrote on a post-it note "Maggie SM 10" SM of course was for "scale model"

Later when I saw the post-it I wondered for a second why I noted something about Maggie and Space Mountain :rotfl2: I think I need help!

Funny, when I saw "SM" I immediately thought the same thing, so no worries! I do that all the time, actually. I read "RnR" somewhere, and it was supposed to mean "rest and relaxation," but that was the second thing to come to mind. What grade do you teach?

I'm so glad that you enjoyed Disney on Ice, and that's awesome that you went solo and had a great seat. You deserve to splurge and treat yourself, especially on your birthday.

[kschafer]

My DS (Aaron) is 14 and my DD (Lexi) is 8. My DS thinks he is more like 18 though. :lmao:

I luv my MIL. (especially luv her pecan pie) :goodvibes

What a nice treat to go solo, your seat was amazingly close. Did you get yourself a frozen ice? Cotton candy? :cloud9:

As a former high school teacher, I believe most 14 year olds think they are quite a bit older and more mature than they actually are!

Yum, Pecan Pie! Worth the drive maybe :confused3

Hmm, yummy treat like these perhaps...

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/238.jpg

Nope, actually I was saving room for my birthday lunch I had planned after the show with a friend.

Funny, when I saw "SM" I immediately thought the same thing, so no worries! I do that all the time, actually. I read "RnR" somewhere, and it was supposed to mean "rest and relaxation," but that was the second thing to come to mind. What grade do you teach?

I'm so glad that you enjoyed Disney on Ice, and that's awesome that you went solo and had a great seat. You deserve to splurge and treat yourself, especially on your birthday.

I now teach a college course, it is an earth science course for elementary education majors.

I was able to get a front row seat in the B section. The A section were 2 rows of folding chairs on the floor. I actually had a better seat than the 2nd row on the floor, at least I was elevated above the row in front of me. :thumbsup2

[kschafer]

Alright gang, pull up a seat to hear all about Disney on Ice - 100 years of Magic:wizard:

First, to show you the GREAT seat I was able to snag!

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/021.jpg

So they brought out the zamboni right before the show was about to start. I thought that was odd but figured it would give me a chance to play with the different settings on my camera. this was was quickly rejected

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/024-1.jpg

I took about 400 pictures in the almost 2 hours and quickly rejected 1/2 of them. It was difficult with the motion and spotlights!

So the zamboni stops in the middle of the ice and the driver gets off and acts like she can't make it go...Duh! :idea: it's part of the show!

so they call out the maintenence crew

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/036.jpg

Goofy is certain he can make it go with a little help

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/040.jpg

But they run into a problem

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/043.jpg

they look under the zamboni and look what they find

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/045.jpg

they set it down and guess who finds it

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/048.jpg

He shines it up and look who appears

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/049.jpg

He brought a few friends with him

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/055.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/063.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/068.jpg

Stitch shows up and get scolded

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/073.jpg

Pretty soon a little fish comes in and wanders out. His dad comes looking for him and runs into a forgetful friend

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/082.jpg

they ran into some sharks

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/084.jpg

But eventually, he finds his son again

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/094.jpg

A castle appered and a young maiden came out

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/103.jpg

With some of her friends

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/105.jpg

But she wandered into the forbidden wing of the castle and the beast gets angry

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/108.jpg

She felt very sad

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/111.jpg

The beast felt bad and they began to fall in love

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/113.jpg

[kschafer]

But Gaston showed up to try to take Belle away

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/115.jpg

Gaston kills the beast and when Belle tells him that she loves him, he turns into a handsome prince and they dance some more

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/128.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/138.jpg

Then a few more princesses show up to join in

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/140.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/146-1.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/156.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/162.jpg

Next, some soldiers appered with a birthday present

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/172-1.jpg

Stitch got scolded again

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/180.jpg

Guess who was in the box

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/190.jpg

Jesse appeared and they all became best friends

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/196.jpg

Mickey and some friends came back

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/204.jpg

They said they were taking all of us to Disney World. Yeah! Where's the plane? Instead they opened up a familiar clock and some life size dolls appeared

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/206.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/210.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/213-1.jpg

they danced and sang a familiar song then there were a few floats and had a spectromagic-y parade complete with an illuminated Mickey flying across the ice that I was so excited to get on video. When I pressed the button to turn off the video, it said "video on" :headache: Missed the whole darn thing!!

Intermission began and they left these on the ice for me at least

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/230.jpg

Part two will have to wait a couple days, hang in there! :thumbsup2

[ILuvCrush]

Ohhh that looks like fun!!

I can't even stand up on skates... I can't imagine how much talent it takes to wear the really big costumes (like Beast) and not fall down:worship: :worship:

Paula

[Happy Elf]

Great pictures! Can't wait to see the rest.

[angela3676]

When I pressed the button to turn off the video, it said "video on" :headache: Missed the whole darn thing!!



This was too funny! Loved the post, loved the pictures! Look on the bright side, you got all those nice pictures.

[punkin413]

oh, i'm so liking your disney on ice show better than mine!

i do have to say though that the nemo/dory costumes look a little freaky. but i love that they brought out the stuff from IASW....although that ride puts me to sleep! :laughing:

where's woody's hat?

[kschafer]

Ohhh that looks like fun!!

I can't even stand up on skates... I can't imagine how much talent it takes to wear the really big costumes (like Beast) and not fall down:worship: :worship:

Paula

I wondered the same thing. I realize these people without the costumes can probably do more elaborate moves but still! I always think they must have a hard time seeing out of those masks, I can't imagine moving on stakes with them on! :confused3

Great pictures! Can't wait to see the rest.

your wish is my command! Coming right up! :thumbsup2

This was too funny! Loved the post, loved the pictures! Look on the bright side, you got all those nice pictures.

Yeah, all things considered, I can't be too upset

oh, i'm so liking your disney on ice show better than mine!

i do have to say though that the nemo/dory costumes look a little freaky. but i love that they brought out the stuff from IASW....although that ride puts me to sleep! :laughing:

where's woody's hat?

It was a really great show! I'm sorry to say though I noticed a big absence of Peter Pan and Tink

The first picture I took was a bit fuzzy and when I looked at my camera screen I thought :scared1: what the heck is that on the skaters chest? I realized it was eyes in a very interesting position :laughing:

woody's hat :confused3

[kschafer]

During intermission, I visited the sales tables because I had promised my boys a souvenier. I got the cheapest thing they had :rotfl:

Then I headed back to my ROCKIN AWESOME seat for part II

First up, some of my favorites came out with some musical instruments

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/240.jpg

followed by the band

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/245.jpg

Where's the leader of the band? There he is!

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/253.jpg

Stitch wanted to join the band but guess what, he got scolded again!

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/254.jpg

The blue fairy flew out over the ice

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/257.jpg

Then staked beautifully

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/261.jpg

And brought a little wooden boy to life

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/270.jpg

Much to the surprise of his father

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/276.jpg

A few more toys came to life

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/282.jpg

Then Pinnochio met some undesirable characters

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/288.jpg

And lied when asked about what he did all day

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/292.jpg

Gipetto got swallowed by a whale

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/295.jpg

And so did Pinnochio

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/296.jpg

Luckily, they both got out. Stitch showed up again but FINALLY contributed something by banging the gong to begin the next story

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/301.jpg

(OK, I admit, I don't know the story of Mulan so here is what I got)
These ladies were helping Mulan learn how to be a good wife

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/310.jpg

But she wasn't so good at it so when they came asking for someone from each family to serve in the army, she volunteered

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/315.jpg

There was a big battle without pictures :sad2: then they all celebrated their victory

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/335.jpg

[MeMom]

oh, i'm so liking your disney on ice show better than mine!

i do have to say though that the nemo/dory costumes look a little freaky. but i love that they brought out the stuff from IASW....although that ride puts me to sleep! :laughing:

where's woody's hat?


We've seen three different Disney on Ice shows, and this one was the best. The Small World stuff was especially cool, and it had more variety of characters than the other two.



Great pictures, kschafer! Thanks for sharing your birthday present with us!

[kschafer]

Edna appeared to tell Jiminy all about her latest costumes (which BTW were the absolute worst of the show!! Sorry Edna)

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/336.jpg

Dash and Violet had a little sibling rivalry

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/352.jpg

Jack-Jack got lost and elasti-girl showed off her amazing skills

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/357.jpg

then the whole family celebrated

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/359.jpg

Next Rafiki came out in search of the next king

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/361.jpg

A couple of crazy characters sang one of my favorite songs

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/366.jpg

Two young lions fell in love

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/378.jpg http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/380.jpg

And one of them became King

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/381.jpg

then the grand finale. I will post the (LONG) video soon unless someone can tell me how to copy only part of it.

I headed out into the winter weather

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/383.jpg

But first had to take this shopping pic for MeMom

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/384.jpg

I went to dinner at cheesecake factory with a friend and even though I was not really hungry (crabcake sandwich, WOW) I figured it was my birthday so I had to get a piece of Kaluha cheesecake

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/386.jpg

My friend is a bodybuilder and when she is training for a competition, she is on a VERY strict diet but she promised she would have a bite or two. :laughing: she ate about 1/2 of it, it was so good!! :laughing:

After an incredibly long, dark, snowy and scary drive home :scared1: I gave Patrick and Daniel their souveniers

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/387.jpg http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/388.jpg

I probably should have paid a couple bucks more and got the coloring books. The guy selling them on the way out was saying "unlike other souveniers, these are 100% sugar free and make no noise!" :rotfl2: too funny!

Well, I hope you enjoyed reliving the show with me. I highly recommend it if it comes near you! :thumbsup2

[kschafer]

We've seen three different Disney on Ice shows, and this one was the best. The Small World stuff was especially cool, and it had more variety of characters than the other two.



Great pictures, kschafer! Thanks for sharing your birthday present with us!

My pleasure MeMom!

[Happy Elf]

Yay more pictures! I :love: your shirt! And your boys are so cute! Glad you had a nice birthday!

[kschafer]

Yay more pictures! I :love: your shirt! And your boys are so cute! Glad you had a nice birthday!

Thanks. The shirt is a Wal-Mart special!

OK, I just have to share...we wrapped presents for my nieces and nephews today and right now they are taking turns putting them under the tree and "waking up" the other one saying "Santa has been here!" They then pretend to unwrap them all then start all over again. :lmao: they crack me up sometimes!

[sunny_stace]

Wow! Disney on Ice looks like a ton of fun!! I'm glad to hear you had a nice birthday! Did you get my happy birthday vibes?:goodvibes I was trying to send them telepathically on every ride on the 30th!

And thanks again for your well-wishes, everything was smooth sailing for the most part and certainly no huge hiccups! But now it's back to reality.....time to start planning again!!! ;)

[kschafer]

Wow! Disney on Ice looks like a ton of fun!! I'm glad to hear you had a nice birthday! Did you get my happy birthday vibes?:goodvibes I was trying to send them telepathically on every ride on the 30th!

And thanks again for your well-wishes, everything was smooth sailing for the most part and certainly no huge hiccups! But now it's back to reality.....time to start planning again!!! ;)

I knew those happy vibes were coming from you :yay:

welcome back (although I'm sure it's happier for me than for you) will we get to read about your trip?

May 2009? Do tell!

[julezdisney]

Hi fellow Marcette!

LOVE the TR and the Disney On Ice pix esp. I'm dying to go to that!!!

Great time in Chat tonight- have a great Tuesday!

[CanadianWDWfan]

The pics of Disney on Ice were great, you captured everything so well. That's the same show we will see in March. I'm so glad it has so much variety with the characters. I loved the souvenier pic for MeMom. I'm looking forward to the show even more now. :banana:

Your cheesecake dessert looks soo Yummy!!

The pics of your boys infront of the tree are too cute. I see Winnie the Pooh on your tree... anyone else?

sunnystace Glad your trip went well. ;) Are you going to share some pics? Share some souvenier pics?...please. :)

[sunny_stace]

I knew those happy vibes were coming from you :yay:

welcome back (although I'm sure it's happier for me than for you) will we get to read about your trip?

May 2009? Do tell!

Well I'm hoping for May 2009! I really want to go to the Pirate and Princess party and the flower and garden festival....and just go on a slow-paced solo trip....however, if I wind up in a job change it may not happen...I probably wont be able to afford it if I take a pay cut...

I'm glad you got my good vibes! We got on lots of rides so there was a lot of vibing happening! Did you also get them when I had my three grey goose slushies on Dec.6th (hehehe...they were just going down too easy! ;))

sunnystace Glad your trip went well. ;) Are you going to share some pics? Share some souvenier pics?...please. :)

I promise I will do a trip report eventually! It may also be "better late than never" ;) Things are just awful since the dreaded return but don't worry! I took over a thousand pictures! MANY shopping ones too! And since I spent about $600 on souvies...:rolleyes:

[kschafer]

Hi fellow Marcette!

LOVE the TR and the Disney On Ice pix esp. I'm dying to go to that!!!

Great time in Chat tonight- have a great Tuesday!

Did you get much snow in IL? We got quite a bit of freezing rain ahead of our snow Mon night so we had no school on Tues. Now I keep thinking its Monday :sad2:

Definitely go to Dis on Ice if you get the chance!

The pics of Disney on Ice were great, you captured everything so well. That's the same show we will see in March. I'm so glad it has so much variety with the characters. I loved the souvenier pic for MeMom. I'm looking forward to the show even more now. :banana:

Your cheesecake dessert looks soo Yummy!!

The pics of your boys infront of the tree are too cute. I see Winnie the Pooh on your tree... anyone else?

Enjoy the show, I was really happy with the characters

The cheesecake was DELICIOUS

Yep, Pooh and the gang can be found all over my tree actually :santa:

if I wind up in a job change it may not happen...I probably wont be able to afford it if I take a pay cut...

I'm glad you got my good vibes! We got on lots of rides so there was a lot of vibing happening! Did you also get them when I had my three grey goose slushies on Dec.6th (hehehe...they were just going down too easy! ;))

3 grey goose slushies :worship: :worship: :worship: Thanks for all the good vibes!

How did the job situation turn out today?

[MeMom]

Well I'm hoping for May 2009! I really want to go to the Pirate and Princess party and the flower and garden festival....and just go on a slow-paced solo trip....however, if I wind up in a job change it may not happen...I probably wont be able to afford it if I take a pay cut...


MANY shopping ones too! And since I spent about $600 on souvies...:rolleyes:

Flower and Garden Festival would be starting in March, which is when we're supposed to go, if we get to. That's one thing that keeps me hanging on to hopes of going. Also, I looked at the concert schedule, and Davy Jones is there that weekend. I was never a huge fan, not like Marcia Brady or anything, but it would be kind of cool to see him in person.


So between those two things, I really keep up my hopes that we can make the March trip. We're hanging by a thread. but at least we're still hanging.

Shopping pictures. I totally have my cart ready!

kschafer - Your little men are cute in front of the tree showing off their treats!

[sunny_stace]

3 grey goose slushies :worship: :worship: :worship: Thanks for all the good vibes!

How did the job situation turn out today?

Chickened out....I was so upset and anxious and worried that I wound up making myself sick so I called in...sick.:sick: I've never called in sick before at this job after about a year so I'm calling now! I guess we'll see how it goes after tomorrow morning when I give my resignation....and now my stupid camera wont connect to the PC properly so I have to get my booty down to Walmart and put them on discs that way....I could certainly use those grey goose slushies tonight! :sad2:

But I have all these lovely Dissers that make me feel a little better. You guys are truly fabulous:grouphug:

[kschafer]

ETA: sorry about the picture size, I obviously mixed up the upload settings in photobucket but I am too lazy to go back and redo them. They also are a bit blurry, I'm going to blame the rum! Wink wink (reached my image limit, HA!)

Hey gang! I have been so caught up on other things lately I have been terribly neglectful of keeping up on my TR so here goes!

Day 10 – Wednesday, June 18 Continued

Now this is the point in the trip where I wish I knew I was going to write a TR because my memory of this evening is quite fuzzy as to what we did but my main feeling is we had a wonderful evening. Even the pictures don’t jog too many memories because we seem to be lacking somewhat in them. But I’ll give it a go anyways.

Last I left you (WAAAAYYYYY back when) we had left MK for an afternoon rest. The entire family napped in the cool quietness of OKW and woke up ready for our evening.

We drove to the MK parking lot, took the monorail to the Polynesian Resort and checked in for our ADR. We wandered around the gift shops and sat in the waiting area where we listened to the musician for awhile then our table was ready. I knew what I was ordering based on the menus and food porn thread. First up, Lapu Lapu and bread with macadamia nut butter (what a way to start a meal!!)

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Patrick posed with me

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But Daniel was too busy to pose for pictures

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Our food soon came. My tuna Oscar (rare seared tuna on top of fried green tomatoes with asparagus, tempura crab and wasabi hollandaise sauce….WOW, amazing!)

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Greg had the shrimp and scallops

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For dessert, I choose the Kilauea torte (choc cake with a molten center) I thought the cake was a bit dry so I just ate the inside part which was more than enough food at that point!

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I took this picture with all of my teacher friends in mind

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We hopped back on the monorail and headed back into MK. Pirates was scheduled to finish its refurb in a day or two so we headed back that way to see if by chance it had opened early, it hadn’t. About this time, it started to rain so we took shelter in the eating area of the (also closed) taco CS place near PoC. Daniel had a great time playing “in” the rain.

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We must have just wandered a bit more because I don’t remember actually doing anything else and I have no pics of anything until close to parade time. We eventually made our way toward Main st. We found a spot around the hub and parked ourselves. We enjoyed the changing lights on the castle

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Got out the glow jewelry

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And Patrick did some hula-hooping

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Then Spectromagic started. (Again, no pics. Greg took video and I just soaked in the moment with the boys). Warning, venting coming up! We got our spot about 45 minutes before the parade was to start. A few minutes before it began, a family came up behind us and started pushing their kids through. I had to ask one of them more than once not to stand in front of our view (the boys and I were sitting down on the inside curve of the hub). Greg later told me that the adults behind him were saying very loudly things like “used to be adults would let kids stand in front of them so they could see” :sad2: . I know different people have different opinions on this but I’m sorry, if you want a good view, don’t show up 10 minutes before the parade starts. We had been hanging out on that little square of cement while you were off riding or whatever, we are keeping that spot for our entire family to watch the parade together! ::yes::

Spectromagic was awesome! We then moved out into the road a bit to wait for wishes. Now, I haven’t been to this before so this may be normal but I was surprised the entire crowd sat down on the ground. It actually was quite nice. Sitting in front of the castle in the coolness of the evening with my kids on my lap and surrounded by the excitement and joy of the crowd. It was a really nice moment. :cloud9:

After wishes, I had planned on heading out but Greg surprised me by suggesting we head over to fantasy land. I can’t remember what all we did but the pictures indicate that we at least rode the carousel.

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And took a few more pics coming through the castle

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We decided to sneak out during the second parade so we headed back down main street.

Now there are 2 things I always wanted when we visited Disney as a kid (and I never got). First, I wanted a Mickey Mouse balloon so I promised myself I would buy one at MK on this trip. So we stopped and got me one!! :thumbsup2 Here’s Daniel carrying it “home” that night

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Secondly, I wanted MM ears. I had read about the make-your-own ears at Le Chappeau so we stopped and the entire family designed their own ears. We left them there to be monogrammed and sent to our hotel gift shop. :woohoo:

We walked under the train station just as the parade was finishing and I figured we were ahead of the crowd still and this is when Patrick decided to have a MAJOR meltdown (over a minor detail of course!) and we were not going to get on the monorail with a screaming kid so we sat for probably close to ½ hour waiting for him to compose himself. I tried to take a picture while we were waiting but it turned out a bit wonky (stole that word from Philadisney)

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With the later than expected evening and kids getting progressively cranky, we decided it would be best to sleep in the next morning and get to AK when we got there.

Thanks for hanging in there with me on this LONG journey!

[sunny_stace]

Well it sounds like you had a mostly magical night! Too bad about the meltdown but I tend to have them when leaving the magic kingdom too! ;)
The photos of your family on the carousel are nice. I think it looks especially pretty at night don't you?

[Happy Elf]

Your dinner looks amazing!!! Yummy! It's making me a bit hungry!

Great castle and carousel pictures!

[MeMom]

I've liked your picture of your guys on the Carrousel, but now that I know that it was your husband's surprise suggestion to go and get a little more magic out of that night, it just makes it even sweeter. He was having a good time!

The food does look good. I just had a pimento cheese sandwich for supper. It was accompanied by a Fruit Breezer cough drop for dessert. :)
Pales in comparison to those plates of yours I just saw.

[sunny_stace]

I've liked your picture of your guys on the Carrousel, but now that I know that it was your husband's surprise suggestion to go and get a little more magic out of that night, it just makes it even sweeter. He was having a good time!

The food does look good. I just had a pimento cheese sandwich for supper. It was accompanied by a Fruit Breezer cough drop for dessert. :)
Pales in comparison to those plates of yours I just saw.

I'm with you MeMom - I had tomato soup with some goldfish crackers in it. No dessert....the fridge died while I was away so all the ice cream went melty and I haven't done groceries since...I could really go for a molten cake now! Maybe I'll see if I have some hot chocolate....

And Katie, I hope I get a hubby like yours someday! You're a lucky lady

[ILuvCrush]

Great update Karen!!

Love the castle pics and the carousel too:goodvibes

I don't get what's up with people showing up that late for a parade and then trying to make you ...who's been waiting a while, feel guilty about their kids not being up front!!:headache: I'd have been tempted to let them, then stand up and totally block the parents view.... not very Disney-like huh???:rotfl:

Paula

[kschafer]

Well it sounds like you had a mostly magical night! Too bad about the meltdown but I tend to have them when leaving the magic kingdom too! ;)
The photos of your family on the carousel are nice. I think it looks especially pretty at night don't you?

I had told Patrick that riding it at night with all the lights on was one of the things on my wish list for the trip. It was great

Your dinner looks amazing!!! Yummy! It's making me a bit hungry!

Great castle and carousel pictures!

Thanks, the dinner was awesome, probably the best I had on this trip. If I could go to WDW frequently (ahem..MeMom..ahem), this would be on my frequent eating list!

I've liked your picture of your guys on the Carrousel, but now that I know that it was your husband's surprise suggestion to go and get a little more magic out of that night, it just makes it even sweeter. He was having a good time!


It was a pretty nice surprise :hug: He's not so bad sometimes :upsidedow


And Katie, I hope I get a hubby like yours someday! You're a lucky lady

I wish he understood my dis addictions a bit more but overall, yes, I am lucky. I hope your prince comes along soon Stacy, you deserve it!


Love the castle pics and the carousel too:goodvibes

I don't get what's up with people showing up that late for a parade and then trying to make you ...who's been waiting a while, feel guilty about their kids not being up front!!:headache: I'd have been tempted to let them, then stand up and totally block the parents view.... not very Disney-like huh???:rotfl:

Paula

Thanks, yeah, Greg just stood their blocking the view and kept his mouth shut. The other thing that got to me that night was that as the ENTIRE crowd sitting around the hub was focused on the fireworks, there were a half-dozen people who decided to walk through at that moment :sad2:

[kschafer]

OK, christmas break has begun and it's time for an UPDATE!! :cool1: :cool1:

Day 11 – Thursday, June 19

OK, so I left you as we were leaving Magic Kingdom after enjoying the evening festivities. Disney is so nice in the evening in June…Days are hot humid and thunderstormy but the evenings are wonderful!

So after our late night, I knew there was no way we would be getting up for rope drop at AK so we set no alarms and let ourselves sleep in. You may recall that I missed the first AK day due to the yucks so I was a little bummed about the late start but hey, this is vacation and I need to sleep! I don’t know what time we got up but we took our time getting ready and by late morning, we were ready to head out. The original plan was to get there early, stay through the parade and make our ADR at whispering canyon café. The late start meant we cancelled our ADR because we didn’t want to be rushed.

We made it to AK sometime around noon. We took some photopass pics. The photographer tried to get Patrick to do the Simba pose but he didn’t want to…

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Greg got some pics of the tree of life…

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Then we headed to EE to grab FP’s for DH and I. Some more photopass pics….

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We stopped and had lunch at Flame Tree BBQ since we weren’t having WCC for dinner anymore. It was really good. We had a lunchtime friend.

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Next we headed to Africa

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We grabbed fastpasses for the safari for Daniel and I. Patrick didn’t want to ride again because he was scared of the collapsing bridge. I tried convincing him it was only Disney magic but he was insistent that he wouldn’t do it :confused3 .

We headed to Camp Minnie-Mickey

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It was about ½ hour before the next presentation of FOTLK so we joined the line. We were in the lion section, right on the end of the row where the performers come out and the kids got lots of extra attention because they walked right by us. It was a great show that the whole family enjoyed! :thumbsup2

Daniel was getting a bit tired so we put him in the stroller and headed to the character spots. Patrick enjoyed this but is really funny about the characters. We asked if he wanted to see Mickey and he said no because he had already met him at DHS. We got lots of pics, here’s a few

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More coming right up!

[kschafer]

Day 11 – Thursday, June 19 continued

We knew that the parade started in Africa at 3:00 and thanks to the Dis, we knew that it also came back around and ended there so we saw the end of the parade pass the entrance to Camp Minnie-Mickey and we hightailed it to Harambe. Just as we arrived, a CM was directing traffic “this way to get to the safari, step up to the white line for the parade” and that’s just what we did! Our timing was perfect! We had a great view just on the outside of the turn and the CM stayed and chatted with us. I forget her name but she is a teacher in Oregon who spends her summers working for Disney! Sorry no pics, just enjoying the moment.

After the parade, Daniel and I rode Kilimanjaro Safari. Nothing terribly unusual except the CM did say he had never seen a hippo out of the water before. Still, it was very enjoyable. Some random pics

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We wandered a bit through gift shops and went back to Camp Minnie-Mickey because DH had fallen in love with the music they had been playing and was hoping to get a CD of it, no luck! We stopped for a few snacks

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Then made our way to dinoland. More photopass

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I was going to take the boys to play in the boneyard while Greg went to use his FP for EE. It was beginning to sprinkle so we decided while we still could, we would ride triceratop spin.

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It started to rain for real, complete with thunder and lightning, so we took shelter in the gift shop. Greg quickly found us because EE had closed down because of the weather. The park had begun to empty out before the rain started but there was still a little crowd of people with the same idea as us so it was a bit crowded in the gift shop. The boys and I picked out potato head parts and while we were filling our box, a CM came over and asked kids to make a potato for the potatohead parade.

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This was a really cute way to occupy kids while we all waited for the rain to stop. Patrick even got a magical moments certificate.

Here's our loot:

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It was nearing closing time so when the rain began to die down, we headed out for the night. It had been another fun and relaxing day but again I felt like we didn’t get a lot accomplished. I was disappointed about not getting to ride EE, we didn’t get to see Nemo, no KRR and I knew the boys would never do ITTBAB. The kids had done Conservation Station before and I was OK that I didn’t get to that. More reasons to return!

In had penciled into our calendar that maybe we would go to Ft. Wilderness for the movie on this night but it seemed like nobody was really up for it so we headed back to OKW. We picked up dinner at the CS there, complete with Mickey Rice Krispie Treats

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I did a few loads of laundry while the boys hit the sack early. Tomorrow, DTD and another Epcot Day

I have really slowed down on this TR, thanks for hanging in there with me!

[punkin413]

really great picture of the rhino! i've never seen one that close to the safari jeep before. cool! :thumbsup2

it seems like there's not a lot to do at AK but you can never do all of it! like you said - another reason to return! that's what i kept telling anna while we were there last week!

[julezdisney]

Oh I love the update and all the pictures! And now I'm hungry for a dipped banana!

[tinkgurl]

Day 11 – Thursday, June 19

I started my TR so you'll have to come over and join so you can see if you're in any of the pictures! On June 19th, we were at MGM and then ate at the Poly for dinner.

Disney is so nice in the evening in June…Days are hot humid and thunderstormy but the evenings are wonderful!

You are so right! WDW in June is SO nice! We usually go in July and June was completely different! Yes the days were hot, but they weren't as hot as July. And the nights were great! I even had a long sleeve shirt on some nights it was chilly!

[CanadianWDWfan]

Fun day at AK despite the rain.

The Potato Head parade sounds like a really neat thing for your boys. My DD has never wanted to make a Mr. Potatoe Head. She did the My Little Pony box instead. She had a blast picking out all the different pieces. Most of them were Princess costumes, very cute. We stuffed that box as full as we could...:cool1:

Hope you are enjoying your time off. :woohoo:

[sunny_stace]

What a fun update! Sounds like you guys had a nice time just hanging out and being a family! Isn't it nice not to worry about having to get everything done and just saunter around doing what you feel like? :)

As for the weather, I remember the first time we went was in August when I was 10, and I would have a little freak out at every afternoon thunderstorm, thinking it was a new hurricane blowing through! :eek: But that's my storm phobia....I still have it now:rolleyes1 ...at least you know it will come to a fairly quick stop!

I'm glad you're enjoying your holiday break!

[Happy Elf]

Great update! Love the potato heads! We have filled boxes on our last 2 trips. I like to play with them as much as DD. :)

[MeMom]

Fun day at AK despite the rain.

The Potato Head parade sounds like a really neat thing for your boys. My DD has never wanted to make a Mr. Potatoe Head. She did the My Little Pony box instead. She had a blast picking out all the different pieces. Most of them were Princess costumes, very cute. We stuffed that box as full as we could...:cool1:

Hope you are enjoying your time off. :woohoo:

So many good pictures!

I've often thought about working summers at Disney World, but I wonder where I'd live? Did the CM happen to say?

Brooklynn got a box of Potato Head parts this summer, but next summer, I'm thinking she'll be wanting My Little Pony parts. Both are very cute. Lots of parts to strew all over the house, though, so we'll see.

What is it doing to your mind to have snow and cold outside while you're writing about warm summer days?

It makes me want to go back right now!

I love Daniel's look of anticipation on the safari. You can just see the 'what's ahead?' look on his face.

[kschafer]

really great picture of the rhino! i've never seen one that close to the safari jeep before. cool! :thumbsup2

it seems like there's not a lot to do at AK but you can never do all of it! like you said - another reason to return! that's what i kept telling anna while we were there last week!

Yeah, that guy was only about 5 feet away, that was pretty cool!

Oh, I'll be returning, hopefully in 2010.

I can't wait to read all about your christmas trip :santa: Hopefully that will be my 2011 trip (for my 40th b-day in December)

Oh I love the update and all the pictures! And now I'm hungry for a dipped banana!

I am not a banana fan so they have never appealed to me. I think he only ate about half of it

I started my TR so you'll have to come over and join so you can see if you're in any of the pictures! On June 19th, we were at MGM and then ate at the Poly for dinner.

You are so right! WDW in June is SO nice! We usually go in July and June was completely different! Yes the days were hot, but they weren't as hot as July. And the nights were great! I even had a long sleeve shirt on some nights it was chilly!

I'll have to pop over to your TR. I am working through charleston prinesses TR now. She was in MK the same day as us so I will be looking closely to see if I made it into any of her pics ;)

OK, I was never that cool! It was nice when the HEAT of the day died down and the cool breezes began.

Fun day at AK despite the rain.

The Potato Head parade sounds like a really neat thing for your boys. My DD has never wanted to make a Mr. Potatoe Head. She did the My Little Pony box instead. She had a blast picking out all the different pieces. Most of them were Princess costumes, very cute. We stuffed that box as full as we could...:cool1:

Hope you are enjoying your time off. :woohoo:

My little pony would be really cute for a girl. I thought the potato parade was a great way to occupy some of the kids who were obviously going nowhere until the rain died down. I wondered if they do that frequently in the summer when afternoon showers are practically an everyday event.

Break will be nice. I have to say I am surprised that as I sit here with the TV on that there are school announcements for tomorrow running (we had a blizzard warning yesterday and today and are under a wind chill warning tonight: -30 to -40 degrees tonight! :scared1: ) I didn't realize there were schools who were still in session this week.

[kschafer]

What a fun update! Sounds like you guys had a nice time just hanging out and being a family! Isn't it nice not to worry about having to get everything done and just saunter around doing what you feel like? :)

I'm glad you're enjoying your holiday break!

As the trip went on, we realaxed more and enjoyed ourselves more without the pressures of commando touring!

I hope you will get a chance to enjoy your "break" too!

Great update! Love the potato heads! We have filled boxes on our last 2 trips. I like to play with them as much as DD. :)

I must admit, I love the potato head, maybe more than my boys!

I've often thought about working summers at Disney World, but I wonder where I'd live? Did the CM happen to say?

What is it doing to your mind to have snow and cold outside while you're writing about warm summer days?

It makes me want to go back right now!

I love Daniel's look of anticipation on the safari. You can just see the 'what's ahead?' look on his face.

Sorry, I didn't ask about her living arrangements. I think it would be fun but honestly, I wouldn't be able to stand the heat although I would take some of it now, the high temp today was 1 :scared: I'm actually enjoying thinking about the Florida heat in all of this nasty winter weather!

Daniel saw me working on my TR today and saw those pics and told me he wants to go back again. That's my boy!

[tinkgurl]

OK, I was never that cool! It was nice when the HEAT of the day died down and the cool breezes began.

Oops. I forgot to mention...I'm ALWAYS cold! So you're the one who's normal and I'm just weird. :laughing:

[Happy Elf]

Daniel saw me working on my TR today and saw those pics and told me he wants to go back again. That's my boy!

You raised him right! :)

[sunny_stace]

Hehe! I thought of you today! When I was on my way over here the radio station was having a contest to win Disney on Ice tickets! I got excited and scared the dog! I was like, "Hey!! Katie went to that! I want to go now too!!! Let me win!!" but I couldn't get to my phone.

[kschafer]

Oops. I forgot to mention...I'm ALWAYS cold! So you're the one who's normal and I'm just weird. :laughing:

I must admit, I complain about the heat in the summer and the cold in the winter. Where can I go that it is 70 in the day and 60 at night with rain only when I am inside? ;) That would be perfect

You raised him right! :)

I'm working on both of them. I figure if I get them as obsessed as me, it will be 3-1 against DH :thumbsup2

Hehe! I thought of you today! When I was on my way over here the radio station was having a contest to win Disney on Ice tickets! I got excited and scared the dog! I was like, "Hey!! Katie went to that! I want to go now too!!! Let me win!!" but I couldn't get to my phone.

Keep trying! It was a great show :wizard:

[k_reile]

MeMom, you have such a following!

Van shopping was less than thrillng yesterday I'm sorry to say. I had an '07 grand caravan that I bought only last summer. We were able to get all the features we wanted and I LOVED it. For '08, they redesigned the body and changed some of the features and I just don't think it's as nice as what I had (and they got rid of my pretty blue color :sad2: )

Unless someone finds another pretty '07 with low miles for us (but who would trade that in?), we will be getting a new '08. The deals are decent on them this time of year because the '09's are all on the lots and dealers are cutting prices on the '08's to get rid of them.

The Disney trip really was a dream come true. I was a special memory for everyone! Coming up you will see how that pool plays into our Disney plans...stay tuned



I'm sure it was the adrenaline. When my hubby took me to the emergency room to get checked out, my blood pressure was sky high! :scared1:

I was worried about mixing the vicodin with alcohol so I did skip the wine and eventually fell asleep.

Butterflies, funny! Were they less scary than other animals?

Everytime I have woken up the last 2 nights I start reliving the accident and crying because I am so sad that it happened but so happy nobody else was hurt. It's a bit on an emotional roller coaster. We were out of town van shopping yesterday and DH asked me to drive part of the way home, it was a little scary to get behind the wheel again.


Stay tuned...the start of day 2 will be coming up later today, our first Disney day :yay:

Just found your report from Memom's and am only getting to day 2..but I had to comment here. We just bought the 08 Chrysler Town and COuntry version(I think it is the limited) used. We got all the features we wanted (and more---there are 3 tv's in there:laughing: ) We love it...it is soo nice getting Caleb in and out of it...much better than the Grand Prix we had before. We were a little unsure of the new body style but we got used to it...we got it in the red color. My inlaws liked our van so much they got the same on in White.:rotfl:

[k_reile]

A few random pics for a rainy Thursday morning (at least it's not snow...yet)

Patrick's 2nd grade picture. Can you tell how proud he is to be missing those teeth?

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/PJ.jpg

A halloween picture

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/197.jpg

We had thunderstorms yesterday morning and the boys decided to snuggle together

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/499.jpg

And finally, the new van

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/501.jpg

I hope some of you are having better weather than we are. We started today around 50 degrees and rain. Temps are supposed to drop as the day goes on and we will have snow by tomorrow. YUCK :scared:


:rotfl2: That is practically our van...only a chrysler....red color and everything.

[MeMom]

Wishing you and your guys a very happy holiday!

[CanadianWDWfan]

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! :santa:

[ILuvCrush]

Merry Christmas!!!!

:santa: :santa: :santa: :santa: :santa: :santa: :santa:

I hope :santa: treated everyone really well!!


Paula

[kschafer]

:rotfl2: That is practically our van...only a chrysler....red color and everything.

I have really adjusted to this van and like it a lot now. Wait until Caleb is old enough to hop in on his own and buckle up :thumbsup2 It's a great milestone to not have to carry them anymore!

Wishing you and your guys a very happy holiday!

You too MeMom! I thought of you this morning while doing my after-christmas shopping! Sound strange? Well, they had boxes with 4 packages of Ghirardelli brownie mix for 1/2 price!! Want one?

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! :santa:

Thanks! You too!! I hope santa was good to you!

Merry Christmas!!!!

:santa: :santa: :santa: :santa: :santa: :santa: :santa:

I hope :santa: treated everyone really well!!

Paula

Thanks Paula, he did. I can't complain much except there was no Disney trip under the tree :sad2:

************************************************** *************************************

I gotta say, 2008 was great if for no other reason than I found the Dis and have made so many terrific friends
:grouphug: thanks friends! :grouphug:

[2xcited2sleep]

Well based on your TR title, I'm guessing that you really DO think it's better late than never?? :flower3: I think I started out as a lurker b/c I remember the retro pics of your family vacations and also the scary van roll-over but then somehow I lost you. :scared: I'm back and all caught up!

What a great trip! I love that you got to relive so many great childhood moments and things you always wanted to do like the balloon and of course going to Epcot with a boy. :lovestruc

Sorry you had two days of stomach bug. That clearly was not part of the plan!!

Your rental house for the first week looks so nice. Would you do that again or would you try to be on property?

Before I forget... LOVE the story of your Pooh scavenger hunt and engagement. So cute!

I'm sure there was more I wanted to comment on but it's escaping me now. I really enjoyed catching up on your visit this morning. It looks like you all had such a great time! :)

[kschafer]

Just found your report from Memom's and am only getting to day 2..but I had to comment here.

By the way, I forgot to say WELCOME

Well based on your TR title, I'm guessing that you really DO think it's better late than never?? :flower3: I think I started out as a lurker b/c I remember the retro pics of your family vacations and also the scary van roll-over but then somehow I lost you. :scared: I'm back and all caught up!

What a great trip! I love that you got to relive so many great childhood moments and things you always wanted to do like the balloon and of course going to Epcot with a boy. :lovestruc

Sorry you had two days of stomach bug. That clearly was not part of the plan!!

Your rental house for the first week looks so nice. Would you do that again or would you try to be on property?

Before I forget... LOVE the story of your Pooh scavenger hunt and engagement. So cute!

I'm sure there was more I wanted to comment on but it's escaping me now. I really enjoyed catching up on your visit this morning. It looks like you all had such a great time! :)


Welcome back Christine! Glad to have you along.

Yep, a lot of this trip was building up in my dreams for a long time. Luckily I won't have to wait 20 years before going back again! Hopefully, I won't have to deal with the stomach bug next time!

The rental house was wonderful when we were 1 large group. We had room for the kids to run, play and be loud while the adults had room to sit together and chat. Plus, the pool just out the back door was wonderful. However, for just the 4 of us, I was glad we stayed onsite, it's just too convenient.

Yeah, DH used to be terribly romantic. Now, not so much :rolleyes1 Honestly, I think he believed he was giving me a wonderful christmas present (a beautiful pair of emerald-cut emerald earrings) and normally, I would have been thrilled but with my wanting to go back to WDW so badly, I would rather have had the money put toward the trip.

************************************************** **********

I'm working on a new update for later this weekend. Stay tuned!

[2xcited2sleep]

Yeah, DH used to be terribly romantic. Now, not so much :rolleyes1 Honestly, I think he believed he was giving me a wonderful christmas present (a beautiful pair of emerald-cut emerald earrings) and normally, I would have been thrilled but with my wanting to go back to WDW so badly, I would rather have had the money put toward the trip.

************************************************** **********

I'm working on a new update for later this weekend. Stay tuned!


Well, he tried. :goodvibes And think of how great your ears will look whilst strolling along the world showcase promenade with one of those glowy drinks you had! :goodvibes

Wahoo for an update later this weekend!

[kschafer]

Well, he tried. :goodvibes And think of how great your ears will look whilst strolling along the world showcase promenade with one of those glowy drinks you had! :goodvibes

Wahoo for an update later this weekend!

I know, I sound ungrateful and I really should appreciate that he got them for me because I actually had told him about them after stopping to get my rings cleaned a couple weeks ago. YES my husband listened to me, remembered my description of them and went and got them for me for christmas. :hug: As long as he used the Disney visa to pay for it and I get the rewards to spend on drinks during gnomefest, I am good!! :rotfl:

Did someone say UPDATE?!?!

[kschafer]

Day 12 – Friday, June 20

OK so today was to be our final Epcot day with most of our time focused on WS. We had given the boys the Epcot passports before we left and they were (well, OK…Patrick was) very excited about finally getting to fill them out. On par with the last few days, we were really slowing down (as was our picture taking) and decided to sleep in. We had hoped to take the boat service to DTD but they didn’t start running until the afternoon so we drove there at opening time (10 or 11 maybe?) and headed straight to WPE for a late breakfast. I had the breakfast pizza that was amazing!! Check it out...

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip360.jpg

We stopped at Goofy’s candy company to get some yummy treats (pretzel rods dipped in dark chocolate, rolled in pecans and drizzled with caramel :thumbsup2 ). Then we wandered around and took pictures, checked out the stores and bought only postcards. Oh yes, and Greg found BBB and was grateful we have boys! Wandering Pics…

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip349.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip350.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip352.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip361.jpg

After leaving DTD we made our way to Epcot and hit club cool. I forgot to warn Greg about Beverly and he drank it down before I realized he had done it :rotfl: bummer, no pics. We stopped to get a photopass

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/image200.jpg

And we got the soarin’ enhancement. I was so glad this turned out good because it was the only one we got (we had a tink one taken but it didn’t show up on our CD :guilty: )

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/image201.jpg

Next, we went to Mouse Gears and spent a bunch of money. Finally, we headed to Mexico.

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip362.jpg

The boys began their quest to visit all 11 countries and fill out their passports and mask. This was a really nice way to get the kids excited about exploring the pavilions as they searched for the kidcot stops. In the meantime, mom and dad got in a little exploring themselves. Greg really liked China.

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip365.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip372.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip385.jpg

The boys liked the trains in Germany.

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip386.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip388.jpg

At around 3:30, I wanted to get over to innoventions for the Disney Visa Meet and Greet. We decided to take the boat instead of walking. It was a very long trip because as soon as we boarded, we stopped. They were pulling out the fireworks barges for the evenings show. This was pretty interesting to watch but I was nervous about getting to innoventions before 4:00. I had heard that the line can be long and we had 4:30 ADR’s but happily we got there with a few minutes to spare and ZERO line, we walked right in! It was Minnie and Goofy, I was really bummed that Mickey wasn’t there too.

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/image211.jpg

Oh yes, I had to add Mickey to the picture :idea:

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/image222.jpg

Afterwards we headed to LeCellier!! I had been anticipating this meal for months!! Well…the bad, I thought the cheese soup had too strong of a beer flavor and I didn’t care for the risotto with the mushroom filet. The good, I liked the breadsticks (although, despite the fact that the pretzel breadsticks get so much attention, I honestly liked the multi-grain ones best), I had a yummy apple slush drink and the chocolate “moose” is not only adorable but delicious. BUT the filet was the most amazing steak I have EVER had. It was cooked perfectly and was melt in your mouth amazing!

To top off my delicious dinner, when we were ready to leave, it was POURING outside but somebody had kindly moved our stroller under the covered entrance so it stayed nice and dry (thank you Disney service!! :wizard: ). the boys continued with the second half of their passports while I explored the waterfall in Canada.

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip389.jpg

Eventually we made our way around to America to complete our trip around the world and the boys passports

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip391.jpg

At this point, Greg and I plotted a plan. We decided to skip Illuminations, head out to beat the crowds and ride the monorail to MK and ask to ride up front. But first we had to pick up our free picture from the meet and greet and our purchases earlier in the day. If I had known then how long the picture would take, we would have skipped it!! It took over 30 minutes in line and Illuminations was starting by the time we were done :headache: The boys were completely done so we headed “home” for the night.

When we arrived to OKW, there was a birthday surprise for Patrick, balloons and a card from Pluto!! Patrick’s birthday was actually the following week but we had told him we would “celebrate” on our last Disney day. Thanks to the Dis, I knew that we could request the balloons at no charge, thanks again Disney service!!

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip393.jpg

Next: our final Disney day :sad1:

[Happy Elf]

Sounds like a fun day despite the rain. Did the boys enjoy the passports around the world? I was thinking of getting them for Hannah (She will be 4) for the trip in June. Looks like they had a good time.

[kschafer]

Sounds like a fun day despite the rain. Did the boys enjoy the passports around the world? I was thinking of getting them for Hannah (She will be 4) for the trip in June. Looks like they had a good time.

I would say if she has an outgoing personality, it's a great activity. The boys did not complain about WS at all because you kind of have to just wander around to find the stops and it gives Mom and Dad a chance to see things too. (I forgot to mention that they also collected pressed pennies from each country too, more searching)

Patrick loved it and still looks through the book to see what people wrote in it. Daniel on the other hand is terribly shy so although he played along, he didn't really get into as much because he wouldn't talk to the CM's at each stop.

[punkin413]

And we got the soarin’ enhancement. I was so glad this turned out good because it was the only one we got (we had a tink one taken but it didn’t show up on our CD :guilty: )

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/image201.jpg

i wish we could've gotten this! but it was pouring when we were outside of soarin and i didn't see any photopass photographers out there. i'm assuming that's where you get that done. oh, and the missing tink seems to be a problem lately. that happened to a person on our photopass share too!

When we arrived to OKW, there was a birthday surprise for Patrick, balloons and a card from Pluto!! Patrick’s birthday was actually the following week but we had told him we would “celebrate” on our last Disney day. Thanks to the Dis, I knew that we could request the balloons at no charge, thanks again Disney service!!

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip393.jpg


this is so cool! they did this for ray and i too for our anniversary in 2007 and 2008. i think we got aladdin the first year and cinderella the second. so sweet! did pluto misspell patrick's name? :laughing:

[MeMom]

Those two pictures Dawn put up are the exact ones I was going to comment on. I like the Soarin' one, since Soarin' is my bestest ride! The one of the boys with their balloons is very sweet. They look genuinely pleased - not just putting on a smile for the camera!

Great update! Can you give me a couple hundred more of World Showcase, since I can't go down there for a walk right now???

[sunny_stace]

Yay! I'm so glad I got home today for an update!! I love all of the pictures! Your family always looks so nice in the photos! :)
And I'm glad to hear you had a nice Christmas! Even if perhaps you would have preferred the money to have been spent on something else...I bet the boys were happy and you got to spend time with your family.

And I'm glad you enjoyed Le Cellier - if you hadn't I'd have to be ashamed of my country! ;) Even though I've never eaten there!

[kschafer]

i wish we could've gotten this! but it was pouring when we were outside of soarin and i didn't see any photopass photographers out there. i'm assuming that's where you get that done. oh, and the missing tink seems to be a problem lately. that happened to a person on our photopass share too!

this is so cool! they did this for ray and i too for our anniversary in 2007 and 2008. i think we got aladdin the first year and cinderella the second. so sweet! did pluto misspell patrick's name? :laughing:

It was taken near the edge of FW as you are heading toward WS, before reaching the gift shop there. Actually it was taken in the same spot as the previous picture just turned a bit to the side.

Yes, Pluto forgot the "k". Patrick laments it all the time and I just remind him that Pluto is a dog and not a good speller. :sad2:

Thise two pictures Dawn put up are the exact ones I was going to comment on. I like the Soarin' one, since Soarin' is my bestest ride! The one of the boys with their balloons is very sweet. They look genuinely pleased - not just putting on a smile for the camera!

Great update! Can you give me a couple hundred more of World Showcase, since I can't go down there for a walk right now???

Patrick was amazed that Pluto knew it was his birthday.

Sorry MeMom, not a couple hundred but here's a few more to tide you over...

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/072.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip158.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip192.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/074.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/greg042.jpg

Yay! I'm so glad I got home today for an update!! I love all of the pictures! Your family always looks so nice in the photos! :)
And I'm glad to hear you had a nice Christmas! Even if perhaps you would have preferred the money to have been spent on something else...I bet the boys were happy and you got to spend time with your family.

And I'm glad you enjoyed Le Cellier - if you hadn't I'd have to be ashamed of my country! ;) Even though I've never eaten there!

Aww, thanks Stace! Good to have to drop by if only for a little while.

You should try LeCellier sometime, it is really good


************************************************** *****

My sitter had a party the week before christmas for all the families. I thought I would share this because it is pretty cute
http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/December_2008_016.jpg

[2xcited2sleep]

Great update. Glad you enjoyed Le Cellier. I substitute cream cheese mashed potatoes for the risotto... but I'm all about the potato! :thumbsup2

I've never seen the Soarin photopass insert. Very cool! :)

That poor Pluto... not a good speller. :laughing:

[kschafer]

Great update. Glad you enjoyed Le Cellier. I substitute cream cheese mashed potatoes for the risotto... but I'm all about the potato! :thumbsup2

Now I wish I had subbed the potatoes. I normally like risotto but wasn't impressed with them in WDW

[CanadianWDWfan]

I think it was so thoughtful of your DH to get you the earings you mentioned. Maybe he took it as a hint. I'm sure they are beautiful. ;)

You still could get a Disney trip, if you are a good girl...:rotfl:

I thought the pics of your boys at DTD were cute.

What a neat idea to get the passports to entertain them around WS. I wish they made something for a 14yr old, he was not very thrilled to go around there. It was hot and DD had to stop at each character. I never even saw Canada, I got tired of his complaining and we went for some food. :laughing:

I hope I can get that pic with "soarin Mickey & Minnie". Very special!

I like your sparkle Mickey tee. ::MickeyMo

Oh Pluto, he tried, what a nice surprise anyways. pluto:

[kschafer]

I think it was so thoughtful of your DH to get you the earings you mentioned. Maybe he took it as a hint. I'm sure they are beautiful. ;)

You still could get a Disney trip, if you are a good girl...:rotfl:

I thought the pics of your boys at DTD were cute.

What a neat idea to get the passports to entertain them around WS. I wish they made something for a 14yr old, he was not very thrilled to go around there. It was hot and DD had to stop at each character. I never even saw Canada, I got tired of his complaining and we went for some food. :laughing:

I hope I can get that pic with "soarin Mickey & Minnie". Very special!

I like your sparkle Mickey tee. ::MickeyMo

Oh Pluto, he tried, what a nice surprise anyways. pluto:

The earrings are beautiful and I should be grateful for them. I am working on the next trip!

the passport were a lot of fun, Patrick was just about the perfect age for them. Hopefully you don't feel too diappointed about now seeing Canada since it's right outside your window! (we purposely skipped America except for the kidspot)

the sparkle Mickey Tee was another Wal-Mart find. I actually got it in Iowa before we left. $5 baby!

Yep, Pluto :rolleyes: gotta love him


************************************************** ********

Happy 2009 everyone!!

[CanadianWDWfan]

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

:rotfl: I guess I can just look outside but it's not as nice.

Hope your year is exactly what you wish for and you get a trip to WDW!!! :wizard: Just mention that you have that great van and you need to get more use of it...:rotfl2:

[jenjolt]

Katie what a great update!!! I loved your pictures in China, I have never seen that before so I'm going to have explore and find the place with the statues. (I'm beginning to realize the many times I've been there, how little I have really seen of WS).

Happy New Year to you and your family my friend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope you have a blessed year full of many great memories!!

Cant' wait to read about your last day!

[kschafer]

Day 13 – Saturday, June 21

We woke up this morning to find the dreaded envelope hanging on our door. That ugly little thing that says “your Disney vacation is over” BOO HOO :sad1:

It was a gray and cloudy day and the weather matched my mood. I was sad about leaving and disappointed about not having done EVERYTHING I had planned. Of course in hindsight, I see that would have either been impossible or left us so frazzled and exhausted, we would not have enjoyed any of it. Live and learn! To top it off, Patrick was in a bit of a snarly mood and I had a touch of a sinus cold coming on. I should warn you, these were the makings of a not so magical day.

We packed up the van and headed to our last day at the best park of all, MK. We got there near rope drop and the boys choose the ferry again.

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/058.jpg

In retrospect, the park was not very crowded on this day and we should have enjoyed that a lot more than we did.

We made our way up main street and stopped for some photopass pics. We had decided to wear our customized ears for these but Daniel was not in a cooperative mood (he’s pretty shy around strangers so it is usually hit and miss with him)

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/image230.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/image232.jpg

Then took some pics of a few friends

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/064.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/066.jpg

I’m not really sure what all we did but we headed to fantasyland and probably rode pooh and peter pan. We hopped on IASW - walked right on and had a boat to ourselves, that was pretty cool!

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip400.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip403.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip404.jpg

We also saw Mickeys Philharmagic

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip409.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip410.jpg

Then headed to toontown fair where we rode barnstormer a couple times then went to check out Minnies House. This was so cute and the boys had a blast!

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip406.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/081.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip408.jpg

I love cheese! Minnies shopping list cracked me up :lmao:

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/086-1.jpg

"Palm" tree

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/090.jpg

We wandered through Mickeys house (not nearly as fun but still cute)

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/091.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/092.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/098.jpg

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/102.jpg

The boys were not interested in meeting any characters so we went to the little kids play area to try to cool down (despite the clouds, it was HOT) We finally decided it was close enough to our lunch ADR that we hopped the train to frontierland and made our way to Liberty Tree Tavern.

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip411.jpg

I was iffy on this choice but this was our substitute TS for skipping Whispering Canyon Café. With the last minute decision, the availability of ADR’s was slim so we took this one. I had noted that we were celebrating Patrick’s birthday and they had mickey confetti sprinkled on the table and the lady who seated us circled the note about it for our server but he completely overlooked it. I had the cheeseburger and fries which was just so-so. Patrick ordered the mac and cheese but didn’t like it so they brought him the turkey which he picked at. I had the toffee dessert which I THINK I normally would have liked but I was just in a funk and only picked at it some. Somehow, despite mine and Patrick’s moods, DH said this was his favorite meal all week (pot roast and apple dessert I think)

When we left lunch, we debated a bit about what to do next. I suggested Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Carribean and Jungle Cruise which were all rejected by the boys. We finally decided to ride the LibertyBelle. We thought this would be a fun relaxing trip but as soon as we got on, the clouds opened up. It turned out to be a slow trip and would be an OK way to kill time on future trips but I was still feeling like I was missing out on things (sorry, like I said, I was in a funk)

As close as I got to HM :guilty:

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r435/ktschafer/FLtrip412.jpg

When we got off, it was raining even harder so my thought of exploring Tom Sawyer Island was out. My hopes for today was to stay through the afternoon parade but the rain was annoying DH (he does NOT like wet shoes!) and it showed no signs of letting up soon so we decided that with none of us having much fun, there was no point to sticking around so we headed out.

One last wish of mine was to ride up front on the monorail. As we made our way up the ramp, a monorail was getting ready to leave and we were first in line for the next one. DH kept pushing me forward in line and I kept trying to tell him we needed to ask about sitting up front but he just kept pushing forward thinking we would get it by being first. Sure enough, about a minute or two later, I saw a happy family being led to the waiting place for the front. DH asked if I wanted to wait for the next one and I said yes so we stepped back a bit. He then saw the family ahead of us folding up their stroller and he started moaning about having to do that and I said FINE and we just got on.

Yes, I was in tears as I left Disneyworld. I was sad, disappointed and generally in a pissy mood which was not how I wanted to end my time there. But, like I said, live and learn. I WILL be back, I don’t know for sure when yet but I WILL be back. We learned a lot about what we wanted and how much we could do and next time I will be better prepared and more realistic in my expectations.

We got in the van and headed down the road to my parents place. It was another RAINY drive in Florida, I am actually glad we didn’t try to stay in WDW. It absolutely POURED the entire way there.

Now, if you remember from way back when I started this TR, our trip is not over. As a matter of fact, we still have 4 full days before heading home. The plan looks something like this:

Sunday: relax and hang out with parents
Monday: more of the same
Tuesday: drive back to Orlando, check into our hotel and visit SeaWorld
Wednesday: another SeaWorld day
Thursday: depart for home

If you will indulge me, I will continue with my TR. There are still some fun things ahead including Daniel coming out of his shell a bit!! (Imagine, magic outside of WDW) I don’t want to leave you with this as my last day, what a bummer that would be!