Funny Faces and Haircuts:The Princess and The Duck-First Trip*3/9 Earning Our Ears [Archive] - The DIS Discussion Forums

PrncessA

09-21-2009, 05:39 PM

Welcome to our crazy, funny face makin’, Donald Duck chasin’ trip report. We arrived back in the real world last Friday (9/18) and we are already ready to go back to our new home away from home the wonderful Wilderness Lodge. Our trip was filled with magical moments and magical meltdowns, along with memories that will last a lifetime.

Join us on our journey and you will our ups and downs, mostly caught on camera. We ended up taking about a thousand photos and we could have taken well more than that if experiencing the little moments hadn’t taken over.

For those of you who didn’t read our Pre-TR here is a link (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2252643). But let me reintroduce you to our cast of crazy characters….

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/100_0709.jpg

Me: (Mommy) Disney lover for as long as I can remember, never been to Disney World (or Disneyland for that matter) before. I was looking forward to EVERYTHING! Not only would we be experiencing things through our own eyes but the eyes of our kiddos. The magic is alive in this family! I was the master planner, packer and researcher for this trip. A job I am sure I will be sharing with DH next time since he has been converted to a Disneyaholic!!

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/100_0534.jpg

DH: (Daddy) Had been to WDW one time about 10 years ago and was not impressed *gasp*. He was looking forward to doing Disney the right way and seeing it through the kid’s eyes. He has defiantly become a Disney convert since our trip and was saying over and over he wanted to go back as soon as we left! Lets see how that turns out....

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/100_0675.jpg

DS (4): Our new little music box! He is our angel, most of the time. This trip was planned for maximum magic for him and he played along beautifully! He was on constant look out for his “favorite guy” (Donald Duck of course) and can sing nearly every song that played in most of the rides! He showed how fearless he was facing down roller coasters and characters alike with humor and excitement!

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/100_0619.jpg

DD (2): Our little princess! She took this trip fantastically better than could be expected! She likes her routine so pulling her through 4 parks for 7 days was bound to be a recipe for disaster more often than not. To our surprise she was pretty go-with-the –flow for most of the trip, not to say that our meltdown moments didn’t come fast and furious at times. She didn’t lose her independent streak as she tried to push me OUT of the car on Goofy’s Barnstormer or Winnie the Pooh so she could ride alone. LOL

To begin I will give you a few highlights. Our trip not only surpassed our hopes but shot them out of the park for the most part. We learned what we liked as a family and what we can pass on for next time, which is a valuable tool to have. Our plan was a 6 night/ 7 day trip staying at the Wilderness Lodge. We had originally bought park hoppers but decided we didn’t need them so we had 6 day base tickets giving us one day off from the parks. We were arriving midday on Friday 9/11 and leaving evening Thursday 9/17 giving us half days in the parks those days.

Stay tuned for stories of DS hitting on the Princesses, DD's hair fiasco, DS finally meetin’ the Duck, 10 sets of clean towels, magical call from Goofy and touring MANY WDW bathrooms.

I finally convinced DH to join and add his two cents in so when he adds to the story I will update him in the links as well! (In red)
FIRST UP: Final Preparations!
DAY 1

Here We Go (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33689464&postcount=3)
We Have Arrived (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=33796019#post33796019)
Disney Meltdown (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=33890590#post33890590)
Dining With the Princesses (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=33998340#post33998340)
Around the World Part 1 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34120452&postcount=21)
Around the World Part 2 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34120614&postcount=22)
Illuminations and EMH (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=34170895#post34170895)

DAY 2
Waking up is hard to do... (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=34222774#post34222774)
Breakfast With Pooh and Friends (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=34345268#post34345268)
Halloween Sidebar (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34555019&postcount=43)
Tut Tut It Looks Like Rain Part 1 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34555406&postcount=44)
Tut Tut It Looks Like Rain Part 2 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34555466&postcount=45)
Mousekeeping Who? and Dinner with Mickey (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=34693058&posted=1#post34693058)
DH's Trip Rememberings (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34769622&postcount=59)
MELTDOWNS AND Magic Kingdom (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=34774720#post34774720)
DH Explains the Hairy Situation (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34787640&postcount=62)

DAY 3
Breakfast at DHS Part 1! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34805965&postcount=64)
Breakfast at DHS Part 2! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34805975&postcount=65)
Video of "CHA CHA CHA" Dance (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34806192&postcount=66)
Who Needs a Stinkin' Touring Plan Part 1 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34852972&postcount=74)
Who Needs a Stinkin' Touring Plan Part 2 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34852981&postcount=75)
DH's Magical Moment (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34855316&postcount=77)
Keep Walking Nimcompoop! (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=34929734#post34929734)

DAY 4
Mustang Sally has a bad day! (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=34965681#post34965681)
Lorelai's First Haircut! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=35055072&postcount=88)
Explorin' Tomorrowland (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=35055085&postcount=89)
Splashin' Around (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=35055549&postcount=90)

DAY 5
A Mad Hatter and a Pirate (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=35085425#post35085425)
Random GF Photos (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=35095965#post35095965)
A Model is Born (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=35152756#post35152756)
DH is Banished:confused3 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=35165412&postcount=101)
Legos and Ponies Part 1 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=35199555&postcount=108)
Legos and Ponies Part 2 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=35199672&postcount=109)

DAY 6
Will this Bus Ride EVER END???? (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=35296095&postcount=116)
This is Disney:confused: Feels more like the Amazon! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=35296229&postcount=117)
What to do... (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=35376514#post35376514)
Our Last Night (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=35404902#post35404902)

DAY 7
The End Begins... Tales of no underpants:confused3 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=35441289#post35441289)
Earning our Ears (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=35755028#post35755028)

OT-Medieval Times TR (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=35678938&posted=1#post35678938)

mickeystoontown

09-22-2009, 10:44 AM

What a cute family you guys are!

Isn't it amazing how truly magical Disney World is! Our first trip to Disney back in 1998 when our son was just 1 and our daughter was 11. 11 years later, we have 14 trips under our belt. Never in a million years, did we think we'd become certified Disneyholics.

I love seeing Disney World through a first time visitor's eyes and look forward to reading all about your Disney adventures!

Lisa

PrncessA

09-23-2009, 03:17 PM

Sorry about no photos in this chapter, but I promise the rest of the trip is full of them. I didn't get the camera out until after we went through airport security.
_________________
Our trip started with the day before we left. Our plan had been to have our bags packed on Wednesday so that we would have all of Thursday to relax and really start our vacation.:banana: I knew this would not happen but it was a wish none the less. LOL Those of you who read my Pre-TR know that DH had extreme dental surgery about a month ago. We were hopeful that he would be completely healed by the time we went to Disney but as we got closer we knew it was going to be a stretch. This was devesating to me since we had booked the DxDDP specifically because DH loves food. Now I was worried about what and even if he could eat. This made getting into vacation mode hard!:sad2:

That day after I got off work my mom and I went and got mani-pedis and I started getting excited. She took the kids to the park to give me and DH time to pack and load things into her van since she was driving us to the airport. We managed to get most things packed and a load of laundry done but we had a lot to go. She ended up leaving her van with us since she is walking distance away and we would pick her up in the morning.

We fed and washed the kids, who were bouncing off the walls with excitement. They had no idea what was going on, just that their normal routine had changed. DS had been asking ALL day to take the last Mickey Head off his countdown and learn his surprise. The kids ended up going to bed a little later than normal even though the plan was to get them in bed early. DS pulled his last Mickey and we announced his surprise…… We were waking them up early to go to the airport to see the airplanes. DS was excited and ask if he got to go IN the airport. Yep, easy to please. Since they went to bed late they were out within’ minutes and we continued our work.

DH and I finished packing and when I was satisfied I had packed all I could we relaxed a bit. We are big Food Network fans and DVR many shows. We watched an episode of Iron Chef and an episode of Dinner Impossible. It was getting late and I knew I needed sleep so I set the alarm clock for 4:40am, since I wanted to be out of the house by 5:45am. I think I went to sleep at around 11:30 or so, DH stayed up and was watching some DVR’d sports I am sure.

Next thing I knew DH was coming in the room with my cell phone. He had fallen asleep watching TV and my cell ringing had waked him up. I looked at the clock and it was 5:00am!! My alarm hadn’t gone off! Thank goodness my boss called to wish us a good trip or we might not have made it on the plane! We got up and got ready, I called my mom to make sure she was up, and we nuked the kids some french toast sticks.

I filled their new surprise sippy cups (Cars and Princesses) with milk and we went to wake them up. It wasn’t too hard since they are very early risers and we were only getting them up an hour or so before they would have normal woke up. We got them dressed and since I had done DD’s hair before she went to bed we were ready to go. They put on their crocs and LOVED their new sippy cups and we were off, sort of. We picked up my mom and then headed to the CVS, I had realized I needed travel size SPF and laundry detergent. Traffic was actually worse than I expected but we made it to O’Hare in good time and unloaded the luggage and the kids and said goodbye to my mom. Our trip was about to begin!!!

Just a little side note: During the ride to the airport I was writing my mom directions to get back to the airport to pick us up. It isn’t that long of a drive (about a half hour) but my mom is HORRIBLE with directions. I have sooo many memories of her getting lost that I could fill up an entire TR with them. When I was about 14 we went to Kings Island in Cincinnati, OH. We left after closing and we all fell asleep with my mom driving. We were suppose to head north to Springfield where we lived but when my dad woke up he saw a sign and we were a few miles outside of Indianapolis, IN. Needless I made my directions very detailed, I was pretty sure this was useless anyway.

UP NEXT: Our first trip through airport security ever! Our first flight!

mickeystoontown

09-23-2009, 03:21 PM

I would have been flipping out when I realized the alarm didn't go off like it should have! Thank goodness for the "hope you have a great trip" call!

lbuzz52

09-29-2009, 02:36 AM

I didn't get to make it over to your ptr yet- but how exciting that you got to surprise them! Looking forward to more

TinkerbellLuvr7

09-29-2009, 09:24 PM

I'm following from the WL thread about your pros and cons!! We're heading to WDW in Dec for our 6th visit at WL so I can't wait to read your thoughts and opinions!!

PrncessA

10-01-2009, 08:22 PM

Last time we finished packing, finished our countdown and arrived at the airport… to see planes of course.

We arrived at the airport and headed to the self baggage check and checked our one large suitcase for the $15 price instead of the new $20.:cool1: Nice surprise since we bought our tickets the day before the price hike. We had decided to bring our umbrella stroller to keep DD reigned in at the airports and thank goodness we did. She can sprint away from you faster than any kid I have ever known, besides my little sister. We headed into the first security checkpoint and it was empty. We were directed to the family line *sigh* and we presented our ID’s and boarding passes and we passed through.

Now for new fliers (DH hadn’t flown since all the new security procedures) we were kind of prepared. We knew that we would need all of our shoes off and that the laptop would need to be taken out of its bag. I had put all of our liquid in a quart bag (which by the way I think is a scare tactic since I forgot on our way back and nothing was said). The space between the first checkpoint and the scanners is nonexistent it seemed and all of the sudden it was crowded in my mind.

I had expected signs telling you what to do, where to go, or someone helping out but we were thrown in to mix unprepared. DS and DD took of their shoes and I started filling bins…. Then came the first blow, DD had to be out of the stroller and it had to be scanned, I had known this but it had completely slipped my mind. She FREAKED out! Next the kids had to take off their sweatshirts. Then we forgot to take the laptop out of the bag… then DH forgot his watch, then his keys, then his belt.:eek: Thank goodness our luggage all scanned okay, it was already stressful enough! :woohoo:

We made it through to the other side and DD refused to sit back in the stroller. This was a struggle of enormous proportions and she almost won. She put up quite a fight and was screaming like a banshee, DS bless him was trying to help calm her down but she was beyond reason. We regrouped while she screamed and finally I remembered I had bananas in a bag and that calmed her down FINALLY. I was sure that with all the commotion that TSA security agents were going to descend on us. That would have been a great way to start a trip!

I had always heard that you should arrive at the airport at least 2 hours before your flight. Since we were running slightly late and security threw me off I was preparing for a sprint Home Alone style down the airport terminals to get to our gate. We love this movie and I always laugh at the airport scene since there is no way in the world that would ever be possible. But never the less that is what was running through my mind. DH looked at his watch and that entire process had took us about 20 minutes. *WHEW* No Home Alone style running for us this time! Maybe on our return trip!

We headed toward our gate and when we turned the corner we were greeted with a full house. No seats available here! We still had an hour before they started boarding so we backtracked to a nearly deserted hallway with tons of windows and relaxed. Turns out we were near a family restroom and after DS discovered the “cool” self-cleaning toilets and automatic hand sanitizer we made several trips to the restrooms. DH headed around the corner for some Starbucks and I pulled out the camera.

Here we are relaxin' :
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/100_0525.jpg

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FINALLY we decided to let DS “choose” where we would fly. I knew his answer would be Disney World, we had been talking nothing but Disney for a month so he was well past brainwashed on the subject. Two times it had slipped from each of us that we were going and both times Ethan began jumping up and down and yelling before we retracted our statements. I was so hopeful for this moment, I had even imagined showing it to all of my friends and family, so I began taping. I was hoping for excitement, jumping up and down, tears, anything.

DS was so out of his element at the airport he could barely keep his mind on one thing at a time, I doubt he really understood anything I was saying. I finally ask him the golden question, holding my breath that the answer would not be “Chuck-E-Cheese” and I was thrilled to hear “Um, Disney World.” YES! Being as calm as I could I said “Okay let’s go.” Now was the moment I had been waiting for the excitement and tears! Did it happen? Of course not, what I got in response was “Okay let’s go.” No excitement, not even really an acknowledgement of the surprise.

Here is the exchange:
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/th_100_0532.jpg (http://s557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/?action=view&current=100_0532.flv)

I am not sure what I was expecting since even though he was familiar with WDW he had no idea what going meant. He had no idea how exciting it was, but I am fully confident that our next trip will be a surprise and we will get a huge reaction!

We headed to our gate a few minutes before boarding and checked our stroller, which made those last few minutes feel like hours. DD is a sprinter and has NO concept of getting lost. DS at least usually will stay in range if he runs and he always keeps his eye on us if we are out somewhere. DD is fearless and will run a half mile away before she turns back if she looks back at all. Needless to say they were feeding off each other’s excitement and began bouncing off the walls.

Since our seats were in the back of the plane we hoped they boarded back to front but no such luck. We boarded and fought our way through EVERYONE. To avoid the fortune that would have been paid if we had checked our entire luggage we decided to carry-on as much as was allowed. This means DH was struggling with two rolling suitcases both with bags resting on the top of them and the laptop backpack. I was in charge of the diaper bag and DD. Now to be fair DD is equal to the backpack and one rolling suitcase, even if she is walking herself.

We boarded the tiny plane with Ethan leading the way with DH following pushing one suitcase in front of him and pulling one behind him. Anyone who has ever tried this probably has his sympathy, he was having a lot of trouble and was making quite a scene. DD was walking behind him and I brought up the rear. About halfway down the plane I casually mentioned to DH that maybe I should have taken a suitcase, thought my sympathy would make him feel better. Then he just let go of the suitcase he was pulling and walked away. I was beyond surprised and a little mad. I could barely get to it over DD and there were a lot of people behind me pushing. I am pretty sure I said some not to kind words loudly and he came back and got it. So far boarding the plane was beginning to feel as stressful as security. We arrived at our seats only to find that the guy sitting next to me at used ALL of the above storage space. DH was already annoyed and began shoving suitcases in. Use your imagination at the scene. Luckily we were able to squeeze two of our suitcases in, not without drawing the attention of the flight attendant who told DH to calm down before he had a stroke. We got settled in and I found that DD HATED the seatbelts and this would be a constant struggle that I would more often than not loose.

So we made our little home in the beyond tiny seats of the plane. I lifted the seat divider between DD and me to give myself a little comfort… you know the kind that comes with a armrest that doesn’t really lift all the way digging into your shoulder and I was welcomed by DD pushing me away from “her seat” until I returned the divider. As we started to taxi I saw a butterfly fly by my window and felt like it was a blessing on our trip. As the plane took off I pumped DD full of gummy bears and heard DS being entertained by the stewardess across the aisle. DH said the interaction went like this:
Her: What’s blue and smells like red paint?
DS: I don’t know. What?
Her: What’s blue and smells like red paint?
DS: I don’t know. What?
Her: What’s blue and smells like red paint?
DS: I don’t know. What?
Her: What’s blue and smells like red paint?
DS: I don’t know. What?
DH: (whispering) Red paint.
DS: HUH?

LOL, DS is our comic relief in the family and loves jokes so the fact that he didn’t get this one is funny. He has a knack for getting out of almost any trouble he is in by pulling a stand-up comedy routine in the time out corner.

The flight was uneventful and fast. I didn’t hear much from DH and DS in front of us, but according to DH they had a great flight. DD on the other hand as I said HATED the seatbelt and sitting in her seat. She spent most of the flight standing in the floor playing on her seat. About an hour in we had I did beg DH to take DD to the restroom and change her. I did not want to wrestle with the man sitting next to me since he had moved a negative inch to let us in our seat originally.

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/100_0538.jpg

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We arrived about 20 minutes ahead of schedule and started following the mob toward baggage claim. As we left the gate I looked at all the exhausted people that had just ended their vacation and felt grateful that we had 7 days before we became one of them. Being new to MCO we had never experienced the shuttle from the gates to the baggage claim area, pretty cool. We moved with the crowd to our little baggage belt and we began to look for our Tiffany Town car escort. There were tons of people holding up names, but none were ours. After about 10 minutes I was beginning to pull out my confirmation page to give them a call, when she walked out of the elevator holding our name. Crisis averted! I was trying to get in vacation mode, but my mind was wanting OUT of the airport and IN to the Wilderness Lodge! As we were introducing ourselves to our driver Renata I looked down for Ethan and he was GONE.

Panic set in! I had not put his ID bracelet on him yet and there was a set of automatic doors right behind us. I began to panic and started yelling his name. It felt like forever but in reality it was about 10 seconds when his head popped up from behind the trashcan about 15 feet away. I ran and grabbed him and told him never to do that again (yeah right). Now has anyone ever looked at other parents around you when something like this happens? There is two ways other parents look at you… Parents who have kids who are faster than lightning at disappearing look at you with pity and give you a weak smile as they are holding on to the collar of their own child who is fighting to get away. Parents who have the perfect children that never step more than a few feet away look at you with a smug disapproving look that makes you feel like the worst parent in the world. Lucky us the latter was standing right next to us and gave me a smug look of huge proportions before herding her family far away from us. *shrug*

As we waited we made small talk about the weather. Finally the luggage conveyer began to move and DH went to stand closer to the beginning to grab our bag and suddenly DS needed to go potty. NOW! So our driver guarded DD in the stroller and our carry-on bags and I took DS to the restroom. DS tends to be fascinated with bathrooms. It is hard work to keep him on task and most trips include repeating the sentences “Ethan hurry up.” “Ethan, don’t touch that.” “Ethan, stop flushing the toilet.” “Ethan PLEASE pull your pants up and come on!” about 20 times each. It is almost comical. This trip was no exception and I believe he flushed the toilet 3 times.

When we made it back out to the luggage 3 hours later :rolleyes: I expected DH to have our one checked bag and a camp set up in the airport. But no such luck! It turned out our luggage belt was being shared with another flight that arrived well after ours and their luggage was on the belt not ours. We finally got our luggage and loaded the elevator at 12:30. Quite a long time to wait for luggage seeing as we arrived at 11:40, but since we had arrived early we were still on schedule. We headed to the tunnel to load into our van and I began to get into vacation mode!

DS began asking where Donald Duck was and we spotted him in the fun wall with all the characters. We headed out of the airport and got our first glimpses off palm trees. Wahoo we were not in Chicago anymore! We were getting excited….

First off was our stop at Publix. We had decided that I would run in by myself to make it faster and less stressful. I had made a list of things to pick up before we left and of course had left it on our dining room table, lol. So I was repeating what I needed to get, DH was convinced I would forget half of it. He took this photo as a “before” picture, saying that he would take an “after” picture when I realized what I forgot. Ha ha ha, honey! I ran in and the first thing I saw was aisles of Disney merchandise. Of course I had to pick up a stuffed Minnie Mouse and Donald Duck.

I have to say the prices here are great! MUCH cheaper than in the parks and resorts I found out! I picked up bread, diapers, 2 cases of water (on sale for $3.77!), cookies and a gallon of milk. Then I spent what felt like hours searching for jelly since I had shipped peanut butter. Turns out it was at the very end of the store next to the bread and water, which I had walked by at least 3 times. They only had one lane open so I got in line. Soon a supervisor called me over to the customer service desk to ring me up and surprise of all surprises I remembered to use my Huggies coupon! I may be on vacation but I haven’t paid full price for diapers in YEARS and I wasn’t starting now! Vacation could now begin!
Here is my "before" photo and a couple from the transport:

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/100_0567.jpg

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When I got back to the van DH told me that they had lanyards in the store. Our driver had run in and picked a couple up for her grandkids who were going on a cruise. I had been torn on if we needed lanyards or not since we weren’t trading pins and I ended up regretting not buying them before we left. I ran back in and they were great! I picked up a Minnie one for me and Stitch for DH; they had clear plastic ID pouches. They were super cheap $3.99 I think, either way they were half the price that I could find online. Let me tell you, we will never take a trip without these! They were fantastic!!! It was so easy to keep our KTTW, ID’s, Credit card and Fast Passes in them for very easy access. We didn’t actually see many other people wearing these, but we didn’t care. DH wore his constantly up until we walked into our front door. LOL

Just for the record there is no after picture showing when I forgot something at Publix! I remembered everything I went in to get!
We were off! Next stop the wonderful Wilderness Lodge! Here is the obligatory entrance photo:

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/100_0574.jpg

I wasn’t fast enough to take one of the Wilderness Lodge entrance. We were climbing the hill and turning the curb…….

NEXT UP: We’re Home, Now we have get to Epcot NOW!

PrncessA

10-09-2009, 03:05 PM

:confused3Not sure if I still have any readers, but here is our next update!!:cool1:
__________________________________________

Being that this was our first trip to Disney World and to the Wilderness Lodge we had no idea what to expect. Emotions were running crazy in my head. I was beyond excited that the moment I had dreamed about for years was here, we were pulling into our dream resort. Although I was excited there was a big part of me that was nervous and anxious. If I had a chance to chance to change one thing about our trip it would be for me to change this. I spent more time than I should have worried and nervous that our trip wouldn’t be perfect. I learned to relax a few days in and thing defiantly got “perfect”. None the less I was overwhelmed with excitement and worry, lol.

Our nicely air conditioned van began rounding the corner and let me tell you I was overtaken with a kind of happiness that I learned only comes from the magic of Disney! I was holding back tears as we pulled up to the front doors of our home for the next seven days and I am not ashamed to tell you that it is happening again right now as I think about it. The WL was more beautiful than pictures can express and the magic that radiates from it is bewitching. We were home! I would like to say that I can remember everything perfectly but I don’t and I have learned from this trip to take time everyday and write about the day.

DH jumped out of the car and left me in charge of the kiddos. They were quieter than I think they had been all day for some reason, I think the magic of Disney had rubbed off on them already. DS ask if Donald Duck lived here. As DH dealt with the VERY nice luggage attendants I stationed the kids next to the large stone pillars and paid our driver. It is hard to explain the feeling of complete happiness that I had at that moment. I knew we were finally here after wishing for this moment for most of my life and begging my husband for the last few years. It was complete bliss. I pulled out the camera and we released the kids……

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I read somewhere while researching our trip that at WDW “kids are the rule, not the exception” and it gave me a sense of relaxation through our entire trip. Being the parents of two hyper kiddos we are constantly on the watch with our kids at any moment ready to deal with potential upset. We worry that they are too loud or if they are an inch away from breaking something, to the point where we spend more time worrying than having a good time. Our goal for this vacation was to relax and let the kids be kids and this seemed like the perfect place to do it and now after our 7 day trip I can confirm the pervious statement. Never did we feel that the kids were out of place or unwanted, even at more adult venues. We were perfectly able to let loose a little and allow the kids more freedom and room to venture out a little.

We entered the cavernous lobby and it was as beautiful as I had dreamed. I had done our online check-in 10 days before of course so I headed off to check us in leaving DH with the kids and the camera. The check-in desk was practically empty with only a few people in line at the regular check-in and no one at the online check in portion. In fact there wasn’t even anyone working the online check in desk and after standing there for a minute I was afraid I was standing in line in the wrong place. I was about to move over to the line when a manager walked out from the doorway behind the counter and confirmed I was in the correct line. She was very polite and asks my name as a CM who was helping at the regular check-in came over and apologized for the wait.

I have to say that online check-in was very fast and easy. The manager pulled our folder and my CM clicked a few buttons in the computer and we basically done. He explained where the elevators were and how to get to our room and then ask me if we were visiting a park that day. Yep, we were on our way to Epcot. He informed me that was a good choice since Epcot had EMH that night and all of the other parks were closed early due to special events (MNSSHP and Night of Joy) and since we didn’t have park hoppers it wouldn’t be worth the trip. Being the loyal Diser I am I already knew this information but as I did MANY times throughout the planning of the trip and the trip it’s self I thanked the giver of the information and tried to hide the fact that planning for this trip took more time than a full time job at times. LOL Since I was overwhelmed I ask our room location again and actually remembered to give him our luggage ticket!

I found DH and the kids sitting on one of the comfortable couches right behind me. I have to interject my story for a moment and say that I don’t think that any other hotel would have fit our family like the WL did. Honestly you can’t expect any hotel to be perfect and as we found out the WL wasn’t perfect either but it was a perfect fit for us. The vibe that the resort gives off is warm and inviting for adults and kids alike. It is quiet and peaceful inside and out but not so quiet that we felt like the kids were ever too loud or hyper and we have hyper kids. The theme is remarkable and I think it would take a week to explore and really appreciate the workmanship that is in every inch. The kids felt it too and within the first two days they were calling it home.

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We headed over to the elevators and I swear the only piece of advice that I could remember from the CM just 3 minutes before was that we were on the fifth floor. Now as I am writing this a great moment that I had completely forgot has now came flooding back to my memory, a great side affect to writing a trip report! Now until this point as I said the kids had been angels but about this time they were starting to become excited and when they saw the bridge there was no turning back toward the elevators a fact that we learned quickly to address. I was still slightly overwhelmed from check-in and when the elevator arrived DH and I boarded, the kids had other ideas and ran straight to the bridge while another couple boarded the elevator.
DH jumped out and at any other time I would have followed but for some unknown reason I stayed on and yelled “I’ll meet you up there.”

This is hilarious to me since I had no idea why I did this and didn’t see anything wrong with it until I saw the dumbstruck face that DH had. I am sure I had the same one as soon as the doors closed. All I can blame it on was that fact that I was overwhelmed and worried about figuring out our room number. I got off on the fifth floor and no sooner than I had laid the folder down on the table to find our room number the rest of the family were bounding out of the elevator. Honestly I don’t think we ever had to wait longer than 10 seconds for an elevator our entire stay and 9 times out of 10 we were afforded our own private elevator.

So I was engrossed in searching for our room number on the MANY pieces of paper that the folder contained and DH was asking over and over if the guy had told me downstairs. I found at least 5 different places on the folder and papers that had spaces for our room number but they were all blank. We were about to reboard the elevator when we finally found them on the room key envelope, they were on the flap in light blue pen and not anywhere the room number line.

At this point I am sorry to say we began to lack in the magic department. We had been on the go since 5am and we had a full day ahead of us, things were a little stressed as we headed toward our room, 5050. The room was not that bad of a walk away from the lobby elevators so that was bonus considering what was about to come, lol. We were welcomed into our room by this little guy:

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Entering the room seemed to be the equivalent of giving the kids 5 cans of Red Bull each and setting loose in a bouncy house. This continued to happen our entire trip.

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We checked our view and acquainted ourselves with the room for a moment before my commando mentality set in. No sooner had we took a breath but our luggage had arrived and I noticed that the pack and play we had requested wasn’t in the room. It was then that I realized that I had forgotten a few things when I checked-in like the package that I had mailed and our double stroller that we had rented from Orlando Stroller rentals.

I sent a grumpy DH down to the front desk to get them and mention our pack and play problem and I began to get into Epcot mode. We had an ADR in Norway at 3:20 and if I can remember correctly it was around 1:30. Having read a lot of transportation reviews for the WL I knew that Epcot was the longest commute and wanted to be at the bus stop at 2:00. I had planned for a quick exit once we got to the resort and had packed the kid’s changes of clothes in a zip-top baggie in my carry-on. I pulled out the kid’s first new outfits and they were very excited. DS happily changed into his new Buzz Lightyear t-shirt and DD didn’t fight me at all with her new Princess Aurora dress, but she was over the moon about her new tiara.

I was beginning to do DD’s hair which is always World War 3 when the room phone rang. I answered to a gleeful “We’re at Disney!” from DH in the lobby. I admit at this point I had lost any semblance of magic but I put on a cheery voice and told DH I was VERY busy so what did he need. “Nothing, just wanted to say we’re at Disney!” I wish I could say that this brought back some of the magic but DD was fighting her way out of my grip and I am fairly certain I practically hung up on him. I managed to get DD’s hair into a pony tail when the phone rang again. Same conversation but I am certain that I hung up on him this time. I was not feelin’ the Disney vibe at that moment and I regret it now. I managed to get DD’s hair into a bun and attach her tiara and she looked regal. She strutted around like she was in a parade and preened to DH when he got back to the room with the stroller and box.

The next 20 minutes was a blur of not Disney like commotion. We were both stressed and tired and on a very tight schedule and although I knew were everything was when I packed it I couldn’t find anything I needed. We left the room looking like a tornado had hit it and headed out the door. I would elaborate on this point in our trip but honestly I think I have made myself forget most of it and chalk it up to my worst experience of the entire trip and one that was thankfully not repeated.

We made our way down to the lobby and toward our first trip to the bus stop. We had considered getting a taxi to take us to Epcot since I heard it was a long bus ride but with getting settled I think it would have taken us long to figure out how to get a taxi, than just taking the bus. With the kiddos settled in the fantastic stroller and clutching their new Disney water bottles and shades we set off, destination Epcot. Reading about bus transportation online I was always prepared for at least a 10 minute wait for a bus. When we got to the stop it was empty minus two couples.

Since we weren’t use to the stroller we unloaded the kids and tried to figure out how to fold it up and lock it. Folding it was pretty simple but we could not for the life of us figure out how to lock it. This was a constant problem for us and we never figured out if we were just being blind, but the stroller never locked closed and DH spent a lot of transportation wrestling with it. Having a large stroller to deal with was a change for us since we got rid of our double stroller a year ago and only use an umbrella stroller now. For anyone who is thinking about using Orlando Stroller Rentals here is our review. The stroller was very comfortable for the kids and VERY easy to push. It was a LOT cheaper than renting at the parks would have been and you got to use them outside of the parks. It was waiting for us when we got there and all I had to do to return it was hand it over to the concierge desk on our way out our last day. Very easy and as long as we can figure out how to lock the stroller closed we will use them again for certain.

Our bus arrived only minutes after we arrived at the bus stop and we jumped on board. The kids had the entire bus to choose from and after many different moves this is what they chose.

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You can see in the photos that DH was still a little annoyed at the stroller. DD was grinning from ear to ear! As I had hoped the transportation was part of the adventure for the kids and they loved the buses and boats. I looked at the clock as we set off and it was 2:22, relief was setting in I figured even if we were on the bus for 40 minutes we would still have time to make it to Norway. Can you tell I had no reality of how BIG Epcot is? The kids loved the bus and spotting other buses with Mickey on them kept them happy. I think the bus made a stop at the Wilderness Campground but no one got on. It was a very quick ride and next thing we knew were entering Epcot. It was drizzling during our ride but it stopped as soon as we pulled in!

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I am a huge fan of TR and after reading GreatBiscuts trip report I can totally agree with him that the drop off at Epcot for the POP feels like it is miles away from the entrance, since that is where we were dropped off. We unloaded with a screaming DD since when the bus had stopped she had lost her grip on the window and her arm got pinched between the window and seat, she is a lot like me and VERY prone being clumsy. We got the kids settled in to the stroller and began the very long and hot trek to Epcot’s front gates.

We had decided on Epcot being our first adventure since it seemed more educational and we thought the kids wouldn’t enjoy it as much if they had already been to MK. This turned out to be one of the parks that we wished we had a lot more time for and are planning at least 2 full days here for our next trip. I cannot stress how much larger Epcot is than I expected! We hurried through an empty bag check and activated our tickets and had our fingers scanned. We took a few minutes for photos before we headed off practically running toward Norway.

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Will we make our ADR at Akershus or will be left hungry?

PrncessA

10-12-2009, 04:04 PM

Not many posters on my trip report, but I'll keep writing.
________

I have DH convinced that we should make our trip in Feb in 2010 instead of 2011. The buy4get3 was the convincer. DH said if I can find the money and we are finacially stable again by then it's a go. Crossing my fingers. DD will still be free!

nathanyell

10-13-2009, 02:48 PM

Living vicariously through your report until Jan 2010!

TinkerbellLuvr7

10-13-2009, 03:34 PM

sounds good!!! I was away for the weekend and did not have a chance to read until now. I LOVE the AC of WL. Even in Dec you can feel it!!! Any pics of your room view??

beyondblessed

10-13-2009, 09:35 PM

Hi - I'm subscribed and can't wait to read more. Your TR is sooo good! Keep it coming! :)

ps I'm just a couple hours south of you!

PrncessA

10-14-2009, 02:58 PM

Thank you all for the posts! Next chapter is almost done!

MyTwoPrincesses

10-14-2009, 03:31 PM

I'm subscribing. :)

We are going to WDW 11/11 to 11/17 so the same dates but two months later. :banana: We are also essentially first timers (well, I went one time in 1989 and DH went to DL one time about 15 years ago and was "not impressed.") Like you, I've but a ton of work into planning this trip. We have a 4 year old and 3 year old, so I'm interested to see how you planned your days. Like you, we have 2 half days, as we arrive mid-day on 11/11 and leave in the evening on 11/17.

PrncessA

10-18-2009, 08:33 PM

We kept going and going and going and going it felt like, by the time we arrived at Mexico we were soaked and exhausted and running late. Who do we see tucked away in a shaded alcove in Mexico with a very small line…. Donald Duck. After Ethan had ask about nothing but Donald since we announced where we were going we thought about stopping but I knew we would see Donald many times this trip and our Princess meal was a onetime event. I angled the stroller so that Ethan wouldn’t see his Duck and we continued our trek towards Norway. I have to admit that the walk to the WS took FOREVER yet the walks through each country seem to be very short.

By the time we reached Akershus Castle we were running on empty and soaked to the bone! For a moment I was afraid that we were too late since there was quite a line outside the podium and I had forgotten our ADR cards in the room. DH wheeled the stroller into the shade and I stood in line to check-in, I am certain it was right at 3:20 or later. My first ADR check in went smoothly and I was told it would be a few minutes and they would call our name. Woohoo! I was startin’ to feel the Disney love.

I found DH on the other side of the entrance in the only shade he could find, he hadn’t found his Disney love yet a.k.a. air conditioning. It was time to release the kids, I had briefly looked around while standing in line and Norway was beautiful! I knew the kids would love the waterfall as they love waterfalls and water fountains, which are EVERYWHERE. I peeked in the stroller and this is what we found:
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I think it one of the cutest photos of the entire trip! Poor little things were exhausted and they were use to a midday nap, one that I was hoping would happen AFTER we ate so that DH and I could enjoy the WS. Our options were either to let them sleep and wake them up right when our name was called or wake them up and let them explore for a few minutes. Either way we were risking major meltdowns but we figured a meltdown outside wasn’t as likely to echo as a meltdown inside. DS was awake instantly and amazingly wasn’t acting grumpy yet. DD on the other hand took a little work and finally really woke up when I said the Belle wanted to see her; again she didn’t seem to be very grumpy. We did a small amount of exploring in Norway and as I expected they loved the waterfall. DS wanted to ride Maelstrom but we told him we would have to put it off until after we ate.
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DH in the small amount of shade he could find and DD not being a "princess" lol.
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Our name was called pretty quickly considering the crowd around the podium and that’s when we joined the line. I was very excited about DD getting to meet Belle and had decided around Mexico that DH and I were way too sweaty to pose for photos. I think the concept of photo before the meal very good but I think the line is ill conceived. If I was sitting one of the tables right around the photo area I would have been annoyed at all the people hovering over me while I was eating and the line seemed to take forever. The kids were getting restless and I was afraid that the grumpiness was emerging right before our meet n’ greet. At last it was our turn and DH held DS back for an extra couple seconds so DD could have her princess moment.
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I have to say this moment made the entire day worth it! It was completely magical and great memory. DD was in awe and couldn’t take her eyes off of Belle. She was entranced and not at all fearful! Score! DS was close behind and couldn’t wait to show Belle his new Buzz shades. She was perfectly in character asking DS if Buzz was his favorite storybook character and asking him about his favorite books. DH was taking photos but with all the commotion of me in the way and the photopass photographer next to him combined with the lighting only a few came out. Our photo from the Photopass was wonderful and I will try to scan it later.
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We were seated straight in front of the entrance all the way in the back at a large table. I left DH with my drink order and headed to the restrooms. When I got back DH re-explained the buffet and menu combination. Snow White was at the table next to ours and the kids were getting excited but when she was done with that table she disappeared. Luckily the kiddos were satisfied with the promise she would return to them later.
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We pursued the menu and I decided on a pulled pork sandwich and DH got the dumplings. Since DD is only 2 she wasn’t included on the meal plan but as I rightly guessed neither kid were all that interested in much food at meals, too much to look at and too many characters to wait for. I ordered DS ravioli with the sauce on the side and nothing for DD. The waitress told me that since DD was under 2 I could order something for her for free. I was surprised at this but I ordered DD the same as DS, I was sure they could have gotten away with sharing but just in case I ordered it.

I started to head to the buffet for our cold meats and salads when Cinderella greeted us! DD was beaming! I have to admit that after the wonderful interaction with Belle, Cinderella was a little disappointing and very quick! DD didn’t care she was on cloud nine!
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I stayed put since Aurora was next and she is not only my favorite for DD’s. I was not disappointed! DD was so excited she could barely stay sitting she kept saying “MY PRINCESS MY PRINCESS” over and over, it was adorable. DS wasn’t shy either! As Aurora was talking to DD our little prince waited very patiently before saying “Excuse me Princess, excuse me Princess. Can you stay and eat with me?” I wish I had it on video because it was hilarious.
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Aurora declined saying she had just had lunch with her Prince at the palace.
Disney magic had really caught our family full force now! The air conditioning and much needed caffeine had relaxed me and DH. We were finally on vacation!!

I headed to the buffet to grab some food for me and the kids. It is a nice small buffet and from what I can remember I had a salad and grabbed DS some salami and cheese. I tried to get DD a few things but she is very particular about food. I cannot get her to eat any kind of deli meat or ANY cheese other than on grilled cheeses. She doesn’t really care for any cold foods she had to pick up and eat. DS on the other hand would LIVE on crackers and cheese if we let him and salami is a favorite of his since he fell in love with the book “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”. I do believe that she ate a few crackers at this point.

As the rest of the family ate their meat, cheese and salad DD was playing peek-a-boo from under her napkin. She had no idea that Ariel had come up behind her and when she peeked her head out this was her surprise:
SURPRISE!
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It is one of my favorite photos of the trip! Since DD had never watched The Little Mermaid or Cinderella before I was a little concerned that she wouldn’t take to these princesses like “her princess Aurora”. Boy was I wrong! She loved Ariel! DS wasn’t shy again with his “Excuse me princess…” This time he asks Ariel if she was really a fish and why she had a star on her head. He was very comfortable talking with all of the face characters, like he had known them for years. We took the posed pic and then Ariel showed them how to make fish faces.

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I looked around the restaurant and it was practically empty. There were a handful of tables full but basically we had to place to ourselves. That is when DH mentioned that they had shut the front doors and it hit me. I thought we were catching the very beginning of dinner (I had read the dinner times somewhere) but we had actually hit the very end of lunch. The Princesses had disappeared, no Snow White to be found. Luckily the kiddos had forgotten all about her.

Our food arrived and as I expected the kids wanted NOTHING to do with eating anything. We finally convinced DS to eat a couple Mickey raviolis but DD ate practically nothing but managed to get red sauce all over her new dress. DH devoured his meal and half of mine; my mind was set to rest that he wouldn’t be able to eat. The pulled pork was pretty good but I didn't eat any of the salad since I hate cucumbers. DH said the dumplings were GREAT, but he loves nearly all food.
My only food porn of the trip!
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We were practically the only people left in the entire restaurant and without the Princesses the meal started dragging on..
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I took DD to the restroom to try and clean her up. I changed her into her spare dress and rinsed out her now red one and placed it in a zip top bag (these are a life saver). When I got to the table our dessert was right behind me. DH left me and the kids to fight over the chocolate mousse while he took the cheesecake. I don’t think any of us ate any of the rice cream. We finished our dessert quickly and we were ready to hit the road, or the boat that is, for our first ride. Problem was we didn’t have our check and our waitress had gone MIA. When we spotted her we flagged her down and she said there had been a problem with our check and a manager had to fix it. I am not sure what the problem was but I am pretty sure she wasn’t supposed to give DD an entire meal for free.

Either way we soon broke out our virgin KTTW and used our first meal credits. Easy and quick we were paid and ready to rock and roll. I had eyed the “throne” in the lobby as we came in and on my multiple trips to the restroom and had made a mental note to grab a few pics of the kids in it while it was empty. Lucky us they had just opened the door for the dinner crowd and the seat was completely taken. Oh well a pic for next time. All in all we really enjoyed the meal and the ambiance, although it did take up quite a chunk of time. We will probably be doing the meal again on our next trip if only for the Princess interaction alone.

We headed out of our air-conditioned bliss and into the hot FL sun. DH and I commented frequently that hardly any of the Cast Members ever sweated while we looked like we were drowning in our own. Disgusting I know but anyone who has ever been hot at Disney understands!! The costumes for Norway looked especially warm and DH couldn’t stop mentioning it. We took a right headed to Maelstrom with a quick check on our stroller as we went…

I will stop here as it is a long chapter already. Up next: Our first ride and our trip around “The World”

stitchaholic

10-26-2009, 06:34 AM

i am on board ! can't wait for the continuation of the day!

cdhale

10-26-2009, 10:41 AM

stitchaholic

10-26-2009, 11:11 AM

yep, it's getting me excited for our upcoming WLV stay, i want to hear all about it,what your kids loved (yes,they are adorable)

mickeystoontown

10-26-2009, 11:29 AM

I absolutely love the "excuse me, princess" line your son gave the princesses. How cute!

PrncessA

10-26-2009, 08:13 PM

Subscribing! I agree with all your statements about the WL... we stayed there in Jan and fell in love with it. Even though we're going to CR on our next trip I don't think we'll like it as much. :)

Your kids are adorable. Can't wait to read more!

Cheryl
Thanks! We completely fell in love with the WL and although I would love to explore staying in a few other places DH is determined that the WL is the only place for us!

yep, it's getting me excited for our upcoming WLV stay, i want to hear all about it,what your kids loved (yes,they are adorable)

During our entire stay we never made it toward the Villas. I really wanted to explore and see the other pool but we were just too busy! Have a great trip!!

I absolutely love the "excuse me, princess" line your son gave the princesses. How cute!

LOL, it was hilarious! He had no problem talking to any of the face characters at all. I was concerned that he would think the Princesses were too girly but he is a great kid and rolls with the flow.

I am finishing up the next update right now....

PrncessA

10-28-2009, 06:15 PM

This update ran a little long with photos so I am breaking it up into two photo filled posts.:cool1:

When last we left we were heading out into the heat and we were ready to embark on our first official WDW ride!! First thing we noticed of course was that our stroller was gone, being the Diser I am I knew not to worry but of course my mind instantly was thinking how foolish I was NOT to add the insurance. I had meant to add it but completely forgot with everything else. Luckily DH was directed to right below the restaurant to the stroller parking area, duh! It still amazes me how much space at Disney is devoted to stroller parking alone!

After locating our stroller we headed back up and into Maelstrom with I think only a 10 minute wait if that. This was our first ride queue and we weren’t sure how they were going to react. Luckily the line moved quick and if memory serves me right we made it through with only one fall off the bars and one child ducking beneath the chain to the emergency exit right as we about to be sorted into our boat rows.

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Our impressions on Maelstrom aren’t extensive, it was pretty forgettable. The kids liked it but never mentioned it again and we all were not big fans of standing waiting on the Norway film. We were the first boat to unload so we had quite a wait and all we wanted to do was get our Disney exploring on. The kids spent the time walking on the edge overlooking the water. I was convinced they were going to lose a Croc over the edge but I tried my best to let them explore. DH and I used the time to look for hidden Mickey’s which after 7 days at WDW I can honestly say they are well hidden! I will be reading a Hidden Mickey book before our next trip!

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By the time the doors opened to the movie there was quite a crowd waiting and we were at the back and I am sorry to say we didn’t stay and watch the film, nor did ANYONE else. The theater was completely empty as we walked out and we felt really bad, but we were ready to bust out on the WS. We loaded the kids into the stroller and headed off to China.

We had been hoping that DD would take a nap through the WS but she had no intention of that and she became very grumpy very fast. With DD grumpy and the heat we were not touring China, more skimming it until we made our way to the back of the pavilion where we met a piece of Disney Marketing Genius!! Being a fan of thecapells’ trip report I was looking forward to the KidKots and that is where we found our first!

Ethan was an instant fan and although he didn’t understand what the mask was at first he was very excited to receive his. He proudly recited his name and age and received his personalized mask with Chinese name and learned he was born in the year of the Rooster. The guy working the KidKot table made one for DD as well, but messed her name and she has a Mickey head, lol. He was also flustered about her animal as well. She said she was a pig, which I thought was correct since I am as well, but then he changed it and stamped what looks like a horse. We set DS loose on the table of markers but since DD was grumpy we thought it best to keep her in the stroller, she is fine once she is in the stroller but getting her back in it would have been WW3.

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We explored the gift shop while DS was coloring and DH found a solar keychain for me, but I’m not big on key chains so I passed. After looking a while I convinced DS that we would continue his mask at the next country, he of course had to have a look around and really liked the puppets. We cut it short since DD was again getting grumpy and we needed to be on the move.

Now here comes my stupidest move of our entire vacation and I am still to this day mortified about it! I KNEW we were in China but my brain didn’t register that apparently when I went up to a vender and ask them where the Pick a Pearl was. “In Japan”. I was horrified, I felt like I had completely disrespected the entire country of China! Needless to say I wanted to hightail it out of China! We were headed out when we spotted Mulan a few feet away and as I bent down to let DD out of the stroller Mulan we saw Mulan leaving…. Oh well better to get out of China before the vender told a friend and an entire mob descended on the idiot American who didn’t know China from Japan.

Next stop Germany or land of BEER as my husband calls it. He was very excited about Germany and trying a beer that he couldn’t get at home. He however stopped at the first cart he saw and ended up with Beck’s, he is still upset that he didn’t explore more! I left DH enjoying his beer with DD who was very grumpy and very sleepy and took DS into the gift shop to find the KidKot.

This time I remembered that we had taught him how to say hello in all of the WS languages and German was his favorite. He wasn’t shy and greeted the KidKot worker with "Guten Tag!", he was so proud of himself. He chose yellow for his mask and hunkered down for some coloring. I have to say that I could have spent hours exploring that gift shop, it was very interesting, but I could hear DD giving DH a heck of a fight and I felt guilty leaving him to deal with it by himself. I convinced Ethan he would have more time in the next country and we headed out.

I was hoping to get a good photo of the kids with the fountain in Germany since but they were NOT having it.
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Our first Hidden Mickey
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We loved the miniatures in Germany! When I was in Jr. High I had a favorite teacher that had lived in Germany for many many years and he LOVED talking about how beautiful the countryside was and I have always wanted to visit to see what he spoke so highly of. Then miniatures were a beautiful recreation of what I had in my mind. The kids however were NOT behaving. I figured they were hungry since they didn’t really eat all that much at our meal.

I cannot express how much we LOVED the dining plan! We LOVE LOVE LOVED IT!!! We are the type of people who would worry about every penny spent on food even if we had allotted twice the money for it, that is just us. Having ALL of our food prepaid was a huge time and stress saver! Not once did we ever worry about rationing snacks or how much a snack cost or if we really needed one. If we saw a snack and we wanted it we got it! It was GREAT! I have to say the popcorn was our favorite of the week; do they put something in the popcorn to make it better at Disney?

To put it simply we began our snack plan in Germany with a pretzel and water. The pretzel was good but mostly went to waste since the kids didn’t really like it and I was stuffed!

PrncessA

10-28-2009, 06:29 PM

Since the kids were grumpy we had decided that a leisurely stroll around the world would not cut it for us this time. We booked it through Italy (we did stop at the KidKot) and the American Pavilion before entering Japan (don’t worry I had triple checked this on the map by now). I immediately kicked myself for not remembering where the pearl picking was but we found it pretty easy inside the gift shop.

Italy KidKot
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I had prepared myself to find the best clam I could by researching a bit on here and online and I knew I needed to find the ugliest and hairiest clam I could. I bought my ticket (charged on our KTTW card, another GREAT feature) and began to pick my clam. I tried to get DS to help but he was a little freaked out by the entire thing. I picked an ugly black hairy clam right away and was awarded with a 7mm Pink Pearl. The entire ceremony was pretty cool and people crowded up to see the unveiling. For under $20 I think it is a great souvenir! I didn’t look at any of the settings since DH had bought me a pearl cage before we left home.

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After our pearl picking DD was not giving up and began screaming so no browsing in Japan. We were greeted outside by this:
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The kids were mesmerized, it was the first time in an hour DD wasn’t crying or whining. We stayed for a while before heading off to France (I don’t remember Morocco and we don’t have any photos from there either).
France was a hit with our family… Not only did the kids find a water fountain but we were greeted by Aurora as well. There was hardly any line and the kids were very happy to see her again. Our camera was acting up toward the end of the interaction but both kids had “alone” time at the end with their Princess and didn’t want to say goodbye. Here is France in photos…..

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The rest of the WS was a blur as the kids were ready for some entertainment.. We regret now that we didn't have enough time or energy devoted to the WS or Epcot in general but that came with the fact that this was our first trip and we didn't think it would be "for us". We have since decided that Epcot gets at least a full day and half or two days on our next trip.

We had a couple of hours until I thought we should be back to get a place for Illuminations and I wanted a photo of us in front of Spaceship Earth before it got too dark outside and I wanted to stop at Club Cool. I am not sure what time it was when we got there but I do remember that we got there 10 minutes after it closed. We headed to grab a few Photopass photos and ended up keeping the kiddos in the stroller since DD was finished! She was screaming LOUD.

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We knew it was time to let her run a little. We headed over to the fountain play area and let the kids loose! They had a BLAST! They still talk about it and DS asks to watch the very short video of them playing. It is amazing how at you can enter different worlds than other visitors. In the middle of an crowded hot theme park we were able to sit and relax and watch our kids have carefree fun. I have talked to many people who have visited WDW for a day or two trip and they always mention that they it was a stressing time or it wasn’t what they expected. I think that they didn’t expect the right experiences or relax enough to let the Disney work it’s special magic. Our first Disney day didn’t begin as we had hoped but at that moment I knew that our trip was going to be special. It was a magical moment. Here is the video and few photos.

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DH and I sat relaxing while they played for quite a while. It was starting to get dark and a little cool for being wet when we literally dragged them back to the stroller to try and dry them up and put dry clothes on them. Since DD was already wearing her spare outfit I put her Princess dress back on her since it was dryer than her current one and I had managed to get most of the sauce off of it. We still had a little while before I thought we should secure a spot for the fireworks so we headed into Spaceship Earth with no wait.

I have to say that Disney World attractions and rides are unlike any other theme parks and I love them for that. They are fantastic and entertaining in the simplest and most pure ways. DD and I loved the ride but apparently DS had hit the Spanish logo and DH didn’t understand hardly any of his ride. LOL

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After we exited the exhibits were VERY crowded and although Ethan wanted to play a few of the games they were ALL taken and people were not budging. So we decided it was time to look for a spot to watch Illuminations….

Next up Illuminations and our first EMH!

TinkerbellLuvr7

10-28-2009, 07:02 PM

sounds like a good day!!!

I did pick a pearl at Typhoon Lagoon. I was dying for the pink or blue pearl and was told they are very rare to get so you are super lucky!! I had gotten a pure white one that was 9.5..a very big boy the girl told me hehe. I picked the silver setting for a ring that looks like japanese leaves on the sides of the ring and all in all it came to about $60 bucks I think with my CM discount. I still have the ring and wear it from time to time but it was a positive experience for myself as well!

I would not fret about the China/Japan mix-up. The number one asked question in WDW is "what time is the 3:00 parade." I kid you not. That and where the nearest potty is :)

Did your kids see Crush and enjoy it???

nathanyell

10-29-2009, 08:38 AM

Great update. Keep em coming! :-)

cdhale

10-29-2009, 03:56 PM

I cannot express how much we LOVED the dining plan! We LOVE LOVE LOVED IT!!! We are the type of people who would worry about every penny spent on food even if we had allotted twice the money for it, that is just us. Having ALL of our food prepaid was a huge time and stress saver! Not once did we ever worry about rationing snacks or how much a snack cost or if we really needed one. If we saw a snack and we wanted it we got it! It was GREAT! I have to say the popcorn was our favorite of the week; do they put something in the popcorn to make it better at Disney?

That is why I LOVE the dining plan, too :love: We're doing deluxe dining on our next trip!

Can't wait to read more!

PrncessA

11-01-2009, 08:32 PM

PrncessA

11-01-2009, 09:57 PM

As we left Spaceship Earth DD spotted the twinkling sidewalks and couldn’t stop touching them.
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I agree they are very cool but omgosh YUCK!! I held my tongue and let her explore a bit before returning to the stroller and dousing her hands with sanitizer and we started our way toward the lagoon. It was still almost 45 minutes before Illuminations and I figured we would still be able to score a pretty good spot. As we neared the lagoon the near empty park became PACKED with people and I started to worry a little. We decided to head into the WS, our goal was the bridge connecting France and England.

By the time we made it to the Bridge we were ready for a break! We ended up getting very lucky and the bridge was empty minus a handful of people. We parked the stroller and I parked my butt on the ground next to it, lol. DH headed back to England to grab us some much needed refreshments and I opened a pack of glow sticks to entertain the kiddos.

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Now I have to digress here a bit. I was a major diaper bag packer when the kids were babies, I was ready for anything! And since then I am usually prepared for most anything between my purse and supplies in the car. Strange though it was I was excited to once again be backing a bag to take with us to the parks. I had my checklist in my head and had backed our luggage with everything I would need to pack for our daily park bag. Flash back to earlier in the day when I was scrambling to get out the door to Epcot and I had failed to include several key items in our bag like the Misty Mates, fans, first aid kit and a towel. I was beyond annoyed at this since I was so looking forward to it. This was a fight the entire week, guess I have gotten use to not having to pack a diaper bag anymore.

DH teased me that I remembered to bring the glow sticks but not the fans the entire evening. With DH gone the kids and I sat and played with glow sticks and waited on him… and waited… and waited. It took FOREVER for him to make it back with our much need caffeine! As we waited I took a few pics of the kids with their glow sticks and I was thinking to myself “I bet money she is going to drop one over the side of the bridge.” No sooner had I thought it, it happened. Did she cry? Nope she thought it was hilarious and tried to chuck hers other one and DS’s over as well.
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By the time DH got back the bridge was getting a little crowded but not enough to feel boxed in. Our kids like fireworks so we were excited about Disney’s fireworks, needless to say they were not fans. They weren’t frightened by them, they just weren’t interested. DH and I didn’t really get to focus on the story that much with the kids acting up and from our vantage point the globe was pretty far away. I wish now we had skipped Illuminations and rode a ride or two during that time.
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When Illuminations was over we joined the crowd headed toward the entrance but veered off toward The Seas for EMH. The crowd thinned out considerably and we headed off to meet Nemo and Friends. After a few pictures with Nemo (the kids couldn’t stop looking at the “MINE MINE MINE” birds) we showed our KTTW cards and headed into the ride with no wait.

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We walked straight through the queue and right into our Clamobiles (is that correct?). DD and I were together and she was mesmerized by the ride, I was a little bored but it was cute and a good way to enter into the Seas. As we unboarded we heard someone yelling “Last Call for Turtle Talk, Hurry!” We ran and made it in as the last people.

The best part of researching something like this before hand is anticipating how your kids will react when they see Crush! DS and DD sat down on the floor with the other kids without hesitation and DH and I scored a seat in the first row pretty close to them. We all agreed afterwards that Turtle Talk was AMAZING. DS was amazed! He wanted so bad to be called on by Crush (his arm never went down) but I am quite sure he wouldn’t have known what to say to him if he was called on. Who know though, he didn’t have any problems talking to the Princesses, LOL. DD spent the entire show running back and forth between us and DS, I don’t think she understood that Crush was interactive. After Turtle Talk we found the live versions of Nemo and Dory before being eaten by Bruce.

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The kids weren’t really into the aquariums so we decided to see what lay ahead for us in Epcot. We started walking to nowhere unparticular and stumbled upon The Land Pavilion and Soarin’. I told DH I would go in and check how long the wait was and be back…….. Wow is it a far walk! I think they should but a wait time on the OUTSIDE of the building, unless they do and I was blind. Lucky DH was hot and decided he didn’t care what the wait was he needed air conditioning and by the time I had started up the escalator he was headed down with the kids. We met up at bottom and decided that 25 minutes wasn’t that bad if we could do a baby swap.

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I headed in first with DS, the baby swap pass and a line timer pass and DH headed to the food court to get DD a cookie. I had to laugh when I saw the picture of her and the cookie it was as big as her head. I can’t imagine was going through her mind when she got it all to herself. We don’t give the kids many sweets at home since they don’t have big sweet tooth’s and they are usually happy with ghrapm crackers. Certain sugars make them so hyper that we can’t control them; luckily we are usually safe with cookies (its icing and ice cream that is our downfall).

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The line moved pretty quickly, although it was our longest wait of the week, and I enjoyed a quite few moments with DS in the line. I could tell he was getting tired but he was holding up very well and was excited to learn that he was going to be flying. He is such a fantastic kid and very curious and ask about a million questions throughout the line, but since he was cuddling up to me I was happy to answer all of them. When the time came to board he climbed up in his seat and I buckled him in. I ask him if he wanted to hold my hand and he didn’t, “Nope, I’m okay.” What a kid! He actually pulled his feet up and set cross-legged for the entire flight with his hands in his lap. Meanwhile I caught myself gripping the bars a few times, lol. We both loved Soarin’ and I can’t wait to take DD on it next trip if she ever gets any taller, the munchkin.

After the ride I ask him if he wanted to ride it again with Daddy and he was all for it. We headed out and found DH and DD at a table. Apparently the line is longer when you aren’t in it, he was getting grumpy. As DH and DS headed off to use the baby swap DD and I went to set in the exit area where she could move around a bit.

Within’ minutes she made a friend and they began to twirl around like Princesses together. She even shared her sour gummy worms with DD and I talked to the Mom while we waited for our families. It was adorable but I knew it wasn't a good sign for DD. She is ALOT like me and when she is very tired, past grumpy tired, she gets giddy. She was EXHAUSTED I could tell. I have to add the video because it was so darn cute!!!

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It seemed like an hour before we saw DS and DH again. Our original plan had been to possibly try the line at Test Track but we were exhausted as well as the kids. I'm not sure what time it was, I am guessing around 11:30 or so.

We left Epcot with the knowledge that this would be the park we would devote more time to the next trip…but our Epcot adventure wasn’t over yet. We started our trek to the farthest bus stop, the one we had been dropped off at not looking at the signs directing us; we knew where we were going… When we arrived MILES away we saw that it was the POP bus stop not our wonderful WL’s. That’s right folks we had to trek back MILES to the very closest bus stop to the entrance to wait on our bus. The ride home was quick and uncrowded, but I do have to say I don’t like the fact that the trek from the buses to the WL is uphill, not good when you are bone tired.

We entered our room and found the tornado we had left behind, but no Pack n’ Play. DH was perfectly ready to call it a night and let DD sleep on the bed with DS. I on the other hand knew that was a BAD idea! The only way we have been able to keep DD taking naps or even falling asleep at night at home is keeping her in the crib. We tried out a toddler bed for a week at the beginning of the summer and DD didn’t sleep for a week, no naps and a couple hours of sleep at night if at all and we had a VERY GRUMPY princess. The crib came back and we were ALL happy to welcome it back, DS especially since he shares a room with her and she wouldn’t let him sleep either.

We picked up our phone and learned the quick buttons didn’t work on it, oh well we’ll just dial “0”. I plucked the kids in the bathtub and by the time the water was run they were knocking on our door with the Pack’n’Play, it fit very nicely in the spaced next to the TV and was out of the way and comfy for DD. DH offered to bath the kids while I attempted to organize the room, it was quite an undertaking and I was trying to put away clothes in the dresser and find PJ’s for everyone, all the while feeling like I had been hit by a truck. By the time DH finished with the kids I had at least found their PJ’s and got the dry and dressed and in bed while DH took a shower.

I had FINALLY found DH’s PJ pants right before he got out but the room was still a disaster area. I begged DH to put the rest of the clothes in the dresser since my body was aching for a shower and when I got out he did quite a good job of straightening up! The kids were already asleep with their new Princess and Wall-E blankets from Tinkerbell and DH was already watching Sportscenter.
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I grabbed the laptop and downloaded our photos off the camera and fully intended on writing our highlights out. By the time I downloaded the photos my eyes were closing on their own, no TR writing tonight. I barely remembered to request a wakeup call before I was out like a light.

Our first day at WDW had come to a close. Although it was busy and stressful at times it was magical! We had since decided that although we like the idea of visiting a park on our first night at WDW we will defiantly NOT schedule an ADR that we have to rush to again!

Next up: How do we get a Taxi? Look Mommy its Lorelai’s castle!!!

TinkerbellLuvr7

11-04-2009, 07:29 PM

GreatBiscuit

11-04-2009, 07:47 PM

He has defiantly become a Disney convert since our trip and was saying over and over he wanted to go back as soon as we left! Lets see how that turns out....Yes! Another convert to the cause!

Stay tuned for stories of DS hitting on the Princesses, DD's hair fiasco, DS finally meetin’ the Duck, 10 sets of clean towels, magical call from Goofy and touring MANY WDW bathrooms. popcorn::

Here We Go (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33689464&postcount=3)
We Have Arrived (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=33796019#post33796019)
Disney Meltdown (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=33890590#post33890590)
Dining With the Princesses (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=33998340#post33998340)
Around the World Part 1 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34120452&postcount=21)
Around the World Part 2 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34120614&postcount=22)
Illuminations and EMH (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=34170895#post34170895)
[/SIZE][/FONT]Thank you, Thank You, Thank You! I LOVE a table of contents. :thumbsup2 In fact, I rarely stick with a TR that doesn't have them. (Just not enough time to scroll through all the posts!)

I'll be catching up with the rest soon!

PrncessA

11-05-2009, 09:21 AM

sounds like a great first day!!!!

My mom and dad always took pics of us sleeping in our disney beds as well!!

I'm curious to see how you got a taxi, where you are going, and how much it was!!

Those WL buses are not always the most magical since you have to share with neighboring resorts!

I love the photos of them sleeping at Disney since it seems like they barely slept there we have proof! LOL

We were pretty lucky and ALL of our transportation from the WL ended up being fantastic, even with the extra stops. We only had one bus that was HORRIBLE HORRIBLE BAD and that was from another hotel and an adventure!

Yes! Another convert to the cause!

popcorn::

Thank you, Thank You, Thank You! I LOVE a table of contents. :thumbsup2 In fact, I rarely stick with a TR that doesn't have them. (Just not enough time to scroll through all the posts!)

I'll be catching up with the rest soon!

Great to have another reader! I love reliving our trip it for other people, just gets a little discouraging with no posts, lol.

I love table of contents as well, so much easier! But look who's talking the king of the table of contents!

PrncessA

11-05-2009, 06:52 PM

Sorry about the lack of photos in this chapter but it picks up with almost too many in the next, LOL.

When we left off we had finally settled into our first Disney dream filled night of sleep. Surprisingly the kids had fell asleep with only minimal whining and I figured since DH and I were dead tired we would have at least a full night’s sleep. Yeah right! Being that our last stay at a hotel months beforehand had ended up with the kids not sleeping at all we were on the right track at least with them asleep. I am not sure what kept us up the most that night between the kids and me changing the thermostat a million times.

I spent the entire night being waked up by the smallest sounds and being too cold… then too hot…then cold… you get the picture. To my memory DD slept pretty well but DS gave me a fright that made up for her lack of excitement.
DS is a pretty deep sleeper and he will talk in his sleep and on a few occasions he has gotten out of bed. Once while we were visiting my grandma he was sleeping on a blow up mattress on the floor next to our bed. Beside him was a glider chair that was stacked with our luggage. Middle of the night DH and I woke up to DS calling to me in a weird half asleep voice, I lunged over DH half asleep to grab him but he wasn’t on the floor he had climbed (still half asleep) to the top of the pile a good 4-5 feet above the floor.

Since he has been fully potty trained he very rarely wakes up in the middle of the night to go, he is firm believer in at least 5-10 potty trips before he falls asleep, but every once in a while he wakes up and it always hilarious with him half asleep.Needless to say the poor guy was too tired to make his normal half a dozen trips to the bathroom before he fell asleep and when the urge hit him at around 3am he shot straight up in bed and started yelling incoherent things and I couldn’t calm him down. I was half asleep and it never occurred to me that he needed to go potty, luckily DH understood him and it was all good. Let me just say that the panic you feel when you wake up instantly to your child screaming pulls even with the panic of loosing track of them in a store for a few seconds. It is not fun!

After a long night of tossing and turning I had finally fell asleep…then the phone rang. “GOOD MORNING, NO SLEEPING” That’s right folks after 5 ½ hours of restless sleep it is now time to start your day! 6:30am came very quickly it seemed! I honestly had half a mind to close my eyes and not get up but the MK was calling and we had an 8:05 date with Tigger and Pooh! Since our trip had been such a spur of the moment booking I was VERY lucky to have gotten all of our ADR’s. This one I was very excited about since this was our first trip to the MK and our first walk down Main St. would be in a nearly empty park.

I drug myself out of bed and I pestered DH until he did as well. The kids had slept through our wakeup call and that was good news, nothing like two kids running around excitedly with no place to go to stress you out before your coffee. LOL It didn’t take long for the realization of our first morning at Disney to hit us and DH and I were fully awake! After we both quickly dressed in our new Disney t-shirts (Grumpy & Tinkerbell), I sent DH downstairs with two missions. He needed to find the Roaring Canyon Café and grab our new (free) refillable mugs, with caffeine preferably, and figure out how to get a taxi to the MK.

I finished getting myself ready and putting on makeup (I still have no idea why since it melted off the moment I walked out the door) and gave my hair a disgusted look. Growing up in the south I spent my entire youth hating my frizzy hair, no matter what I did to it, it was awful. I have been through a dozen straightening irons with no luck! Last Christmas DH splurged on me and bought me a FANTASTIC super hot flat iron. It is my love and gave me lovely hair! In June we visited my family and just so happened to visit during a VERY hot and humid week. My hair completely ignored the flat iron and I felt like I was in high school again with horrible hair. I have no idea why I packed my flat iron at WDW other than nostalgia because the humidity in FL kicked my flat irons butt!

While DH was gone I pulled the kid’s first day outfits out of the handy labeled zip top bags and added an extra set to the park bag. I was not going to be caught with an under packed bag again! I put the freshly charged batteries in the camera and put it in the case. I even remembered to grab a hand towel for the bag and pack the fans. But I could not find my ADR and itinerary cards anywhere. I had made them the night before we left and stuck them in my Unofficial Guide Book… the book that I had decided at the last minute was too heavy and took out of my carry-on. Luckily I went a little overboard and had a excel spreadsheet in my planning notebook and I pulled that out for our confirmation numbers. We were just going to have to wing our touring plans.

As I was filling the kids’ sippy cups with milk DH finally made it back with our new mugs and a statement that the RCC was miles away and he was NOT going back! The front desk told him to call down when he needed a taxi. Surprisingly we were pretty much on schedule but the kids were still asleep and we planned to keep them that way until we were sure all we had to do to get out of the room was dress them and leave.

Since we didn’t know how long a taxi would take to get there we went ahead and called down to request one with a car seat. The front desk put us through to the cab company who said it would be 10 minutes! Hustle time! It was past 7:00 and we needed to get our grove on. The kids woke up fairly quickly and they were dressed in a flash! I wrestled DD’s hair into a pony tail and they threw on their Crocs and we were ready! The kids were staying pretty happy with their sippy cups. We grabbed our handy dandy lanyards with our KTTW and we were out the door. We made it to the elevator before I realized we (I) had forgotten the camera on the bed…

By the time we made it to the entrance our taxi was waiting and I loaded the kids in while DH dealt with the stroller, super easy and fast. The taxi ride was fast and cheap and worth it since we saw many people throughout our stay having problems with early transportation to the parks. We were dropped off at the unloading area at the TTC and we were a little hesitant about what to do next. Being a new comer to WDW the TTC is a little confusing, surprisingly this is the only time we used it during our stay. We decided on the Monorail to take us across the lagoon instead of the boat, it looked empty and we didn’t know how long it would be before it left.

Being that I have dreamed about Disney World for as long as I can remember the Monorail held a big place in my dreams. It is distinctly Disney in my mind and I was very excited for my first ride. It lived up to my expectations but it also seemed to be “old Disney” and surrounded by so many advancements it feels like it has been overlooked. Both ways it was a thrill and a memory that I have been waiting forever to achieve!

We arrived at the MK and my heart was racing! After making our way through bag check we were directed toward Customer Service where people with reservations were being let in. I convinced DH to let the kids out of the stroller for our first walk down Main St.; he was hesitant since DD is a sprinter. I have no words to describe my first moments on entering Main St. and watching my children run happily toward the castle. This moment had been in my head since childhood for me and for years I had dreamed about this moment for my kids. It was surreal! I honestly felt EVERY worry in our overly stressful lives lift away and they were replaced by pure joy! Even the dreary weather didn't bring us down!

As I had hoped the park was pretty much empty and we were able to let the kids run down Main St. unrestrained. Unfortunately this became a huge fight when they learned we were not headed into the Castle but were stopping short at the Crystal Palace to eat breakfast. It was quite a fight to get them to redirect and ended with DD running away and tripping on the curb in front of a CM. So began our very large collection of Mickey stickers! As we pulled the kids away from the Castle and back toward the Crystal Palace they were both screaming at the top of their lungs “LORELAI’S HOUSE” and “MY HOUSE” fighting to get away from us and run toward their shared destination! It was time for some breakfast for sure!

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Only photo we managed to get of Ethan that morning on Main St. and he ended up looking like he was picking his butt. LOL
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DD sprinting toward "her house".
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Next up: Our first non-face character meal, our first Disney ride, our first Disney downpour!

TinkerbellLuvr7

11-05-2009, 09:27 PM

PrncessA

11-05-2009, 10:29 PM

so you took a taxi from WL to the TTC?? You could have taken the bus which takes no longer than 10 mins and it's a direct bus. I can't believe the front desk did not suggest that..wow. Hopefully your short cab ride was no more than 10 bucks!!!

We had planned to take a bus or boat (which we did every other time) but when we inquired at the front desk they said the buses didn't start until an hour before the park opened and since our reservation was an hour before the park opened we wouldn't have had time.

We had a hard time getting straight answers to transportation questions the entire week, and we weren't the only ones. Answers about the boats were the worst.

msce2

11-11-2009, 11:01 AM

I'm really enjoying your report! Your kids are absolutely adorable!!!!

PrncessA

11-11-2009, 08:44 PM

I'm really enjoying your report! Your kids are absolutely adorable!!!!

Thank you! They keep us entertained daily!

PrncessA

11-13-2009, 06:26 PM

Next update is almost finished...

Things have been so hectic at work for me and trying to find DH a job, but hopefully things will calm down soon.

GreatBiscuit

11-13-2009, 06:32 PM

Only read the first so far, but great start. I'll be back to finish up on Monday.

thegreggersmom

11-13-2009, 11:42 PM

Just found you and am now all caught up. Your kids are adorable!

PrncessA

11-15-2009, 07:42 PM

After an eventful walk up Main St. we were ready for some FOOD! The Crystal Palace was extremely easy to find and identify (unlike a few later in our trip) and the kids settled down a bit when we joined the crowd. DH went to park the stroller and I joined the check-in line behind a lady who somehow didn’t have an ADR but wanted a table… RIGHT NOW. I didn’t think you were able to get into the park before opening without an ADR so she must have lied at the front gate. Not very Disney like! The CM was trying to be nice and work with her but she told her it would be a wait. The lady was not happy at all but finally stepped aside and let me check in.

I joined the “fam” and we waited for our name to be called. Both DH and I thought that the Crystal Palace was gorgeous. Even the details on the benches were superb and lovely.
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Our wait was very quick and we were shown into the beautiful restaurant, can I just say again how lovely it was. Our table was to the left of the entrance all the way to the back against the window. It was a great location since it wasn’t too far from food but set out of the way of traffic. It wasn’t crowded when we arrived but it got that way pretty quick!

We took our seats with the kids on the outside for the characters, but not without a meltdown over setting in a highchair from our resident princess.
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Then came my first glass of FL OJ! I am an OJ lover and I think I had to have drunk a couple gallons of it during our trip! CP was one of my top two OJ breakfasts; our waitress was great and kept the OJ comin’. Our waitress explained the buffet and the characters and we were set… and hungry. But one cannot head to the buffet when Piglet and Tigger are a couple tables away, food must wait!
Waiting patiently (with a cameo of the lovely OJ)…
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Since this was our first non-face character meal we were both worried on how the kids would react to the large characters. We had tried to prepare DS by telling him in “real life” Mickey Mouse is bigger than Daddy; he is just little on TV and hoped that he wouldn’t be overwhelmed by the size. DD on the other hand was a wild card, she tends to be the adventurous one most of the time but timid around characters even like Chuck-E-Cheese. On the other hand these were Disney characters and she loves her some Disney, even if Winnie and friends aren’t her favorite.

First up was our pink friend Piglet and the verdict was……
LOVE! Yay!
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Piglet’s visit was short and sweet, a little disappointing since there was hardly anyone in the restaurant yet. The kids both were very comfortable with hugging and posing for pictures, woohoo. Next up was our favorite bouncy pal and DS was excited! He was all about bouncing with Tigger! Luckily our Tigger was much more interactive than our Piglet and DS had quite a bouncy time with him. We could barely get him to stand still for a picture.
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Next Tigger headed over to DD who jumped off DH’s lap and ran to Tigger…
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Stopped mid-hug, did a roundabout and ran the other way…
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I’m not sure what scared her or changed but she wanted nothing to do with Tigger. I like that the characters know when not to push an interaction when a child is uncomfortable, some more than others. I was prepared for this to be the case for DD so it wasn’t a shock. She was happy watching them walk around and interact with Ethan, but she did NOT want to be touched.

Since breakfast is the kids’ favorite meal of the day I scheduled all of our breakfasts as TS meals so we could take our time and eat our fill before we hit the parks. As with the dinner the night before the kids were distracted with the characters and it was a struggle to get them to eat, it became a struggle the entire trip even with their favorite foods. DS surprisingly ate more than DD at that meal, but they both ate a good amount of fruits and muffins. Unfortunately Mickey Waffles were not liked by either of the kiddos, nearly every place we had them they were way too hard.

Out of all of our breakfasts Crystal Palace ranks at the top. The food was really good and they had one of the best selections. DH is an omelet lover and it was his favorite omelet station of the trip if I remember correctly. I am a born and raised southern girl and so I love biscuits and gravy and it was pretty good. The kids loved the muffins!

Before long it was time for our visit from Pooh himself. Ethan was already use to the routine by now and jumped up for his hug and photo like a pro. He really enjoyed meeting the characters more than we could have hoped. Don’t let his expressions fool ya, he was bouncing up and down happy. He has been in a “serious” stage for photos for a while and the smiles we get are goofy if we get them, lol. Pooh was great with DD and let her touch him and interacted with her from a distance instead of approaching her.
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Next came Eeyore and DS jumped right up for his photo…
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DD on the other hand….
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I have to admit that Eeyore wasn’t that great of a character interaction. I only snapped two photos and he was gone. DD was terrified of him but DS had no time with him at all. It could have been the fact that the parade was about to start. Thank goodness I knew what to do and what was coming because no one explained it to us or anyone around us either. After trying to explain it to DS very fast we ran to catch up to the parade. DD ran after us and ended up smashing into a few tables and banging her head, poor thing. She didn’t cry though, the excitement was getting her.

The characters disappeared for a while and we were able to concentrate on eating for a little while. The kids were in great moods… DS was acting a little funny and was standing up beside his chair, I ask him if he needed to potty and he said no. I should have gone right then but he rarely EVER has accidents. Next thing I know he is turning red and I realize he is pooping! OMG! He has NEVER done this before! I think he just didn’t want to miss anything, but jeez! DH ran him to the bathroom to clean up and they were back in a flash, wasn’t too bad DH said. Oh life with children!
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DS wanted me to take pictures of his hands for some reason. Hey we’re in Disney why not!
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Before long Tigger came back around and DS jumped up for another round of… well… JUMPING! Tigger started to approach DD and she got started to look panicked so he scooted her food toward her and she was happy. He made a relief sign on with his hand on his forehead and I cracked up!
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Since we had made it through all the characters and we were all pretty stuffed we figured it was time to get a move on. Another parade was starting up as we were leaving so DH walked around with DS while DD and I waited at the door.

We were ready to get our MK on and our day was just beginning!

Next up: Tut Tut It Looks Like Rain

PrncessA

11-19-2009, 09:17 PM

Next update on it's way!

GreatBiscuit

12-03-2009, 02:31 PM

GreatBiscuit

12-03-2009, 02:49 PM

Just made it through page 2. Glad you felt the Epcot love! Isn't evening EMH the BOMB! That Pop stop is insane though isn't it? Glad you finally scored a Pack N Play. We still have ours, even the the girls have outgrown it. It's come in hand more than once when my sisters & in-laws have brought their kids for a visit.

PrncessA

12-03-2009, 09:04 PM

Well my plans to return after the weekend turned into returning in a month! Just finished page one and am loving your TR! The ditching DH on the WL elevator cracked me up! Looks like the princess lunch was a hit. (Your Ariel was much more true to the orig than ours.) Sorry Snow White never showed up. That's a bit odd. Looking forward to reading more.

I still can't believe I did it, it is so unlike me. I guess that's what happens when WDW overwhelms you!

I have had the next update ready for a while but it took me forever to find the time to upload pictures and resize them. Thing have been so hectic with Thanksgiving and Black Friday. I was one of the crazy people who stood in line at midnight at Toys-R-Us to buy a Sleeping Beauty Vanity for 65% off. DH said I was crazy and I went alone, luckily the couple behind me were wearing WDW jackets and as I learned had just got back from vacation so the time flew talking to them of course. I will post the update in the next few minutes.

I had to add some pictures of the kids on Halloween (wow I am slow at uploading pictures) as a Princess and Buzz Lightyear. Lorelai was going to be Tinkerbell but it was just too cold out and I ran out last minute to find a princess costume for her and couldn't find a Disney Princess costume that was in the least warm. This was the last time Ethan could possibly wear his Buzz costume he barely fit in it this year.

At a zoo Halloween Party:
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A bit blurry but too cute..
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Trick or Treating
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PrncessA

12-03-2009, 09:34 PM

I'm not sure how many photos are allowed per post so I might have to break this into two....

Even though our table had been by a window neither of us had noticed the weather outside while we ate. When we emerged from the Crystal Place we were amazed that the day had not lightened one bit and it was drizzling. This was actually great news to us! The park was still pretty empty and if we could get on most of the rides in Fantasyland with little wait our day would be perfect!
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Onward to Dumbo!

Not before a Photopass stop (we ended up not getting the Photopass since we didn’t take that many photos).
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Gotta add this for DH since he laughs that I took so many photos just like this of his back.:thumbsup2 But you can see my Dis homage Lime Green Mickey tag.
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This was one of only two times we actually walked through the Castle, which was surprising to me since for some reason I thought you had to enter it get to the other side. It was pretty crowded so we didn’t get to look around much, but the mural is beautiful.

Our goal was to wing our touring plan since I forgot ours at home and our first ride was Dumbo of course! I remembered enough to know to ride Dumbo early or be prepared for a wait! But when we emerged from the castle DH headed to the left to Tinkerbell’s Treasures, he remembered me telling him that DD could wake Tinkerbell up possibly. Turns out now they let anyone who wants to call her do it, neat little hidden secret. DD wasn’t sure what was going on but she played along ringing the bell and calling for Tink and there she came! DD was stunned. Too bad we didn’t get any photos but it was a pretty quick process anyway!

While we were there we saw our first pressed penny machines and we let the kids make pressed pennies and DH bought them both a book to keep them in. These were a huge hit and very inexpensive! The only problem is they are slightly time consuming digging out the m&m holder and getting the change for both of them, picking the penny, changing their mind a thousand times, making the penny, putting the penny in the book. In the long run a few pennies were lost in pockets and the backpack but it will be a book to be filled over the course of our many trips to come!

Finally we were headed out toward Dumbo with minimal fights over merchandise; boy does Disney merchandise it up at DW! They sure do know how to market that is for sure. Since we had watched many of the rides on YouTube the kids already recognized a lot of them and they were very excited to ride them. By the time we made it to Dumbo it was starting to do a little more than drizzle but since it was hot out we didn’t care. I pulled out the Dollar Tree shower curtain and covered the stroller when we parked it and it covered the double stroller completely. What a fantastic idea I got from the Dis!

Dumbo was nearly empty and only had a 5 minute wait, whoohoo Pixie Dust! We jumped in line and we were the next group on. Since I had the camera here is DH and DS….
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DD loved being able to control Dumbo and figured out quickly how to stay at the top. She was in heaven! As soon as we landed it was a round of “Again Again” from both of them. Since there was still no line we headed back to board and ride again, this time I gave DH the camera. DD looks so happy, she had that smile nearly the entire trip, she was on cloud 9.:cloud9:
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After our double Dumbo we decided to leave our stroller and head over to Snow Whites Scary Adventure. I had read that it was a rated a little scary for preschoolers but our kids are very good with make believe scary as long as they don’t have to touch anything. There was a 10 minute wait if I remember right but we walked right on. DD and I ended up in a different car than DH and DS but that was fine. Neither of the kids were frightened by the ride but they never mentioned it again either, good thing since there was always a long wait every other time we passed it.
DD and I are in the back...
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We grabbed the stroller and continued our tour of Fantasyland and headed to Winnie the Pooh. The kids watch Playhouse Disney but Tigger and Pooh are not their favorite show and after one failed attempt at letting them watch the original “Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh” I thought that this, like Snow White, would be a onetime ride. The wait said 5 minutes and we walked right on…
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All I can say about this ride is again how amazingly simple the concept was and how perfect that makes it! Since the kids and DH had never watched the movie they didn’t know the story line but it doesn’t matter. It was an instant hit, especially the bouncing with Tigger part! Of course this meant we had to ride again… so we did.
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They actually wanted to ride again but DH and I wanted to take advantage of the empty park for as long as possible and there were still many rides to go. Next up was the teacups and DH was very wary about these. He does not like to spin, I do, LOL. I offered to ride with the kids alone and let him take photos but he wanted to ride so he took DD to attempt a no-spinning teacup (DD likes to spin too) and I took DS to see how fast we could spin. We hurried to find the “right color” teacup and ended up blue and pink cups. DS loved spinning and kept yelling faster, faster.
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Of course to DH’s horror the kiddos wanted to ride “again again” and we were on again with a small wait. The crowd was beginning to pick up. While waiting for the ride to begin DS began our photos of funny faces!
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Since we had no touring plan I knew we had a decision to make should we head to Toontown now or head toward Tomorrowland. We decided to go ahead and ride the TSW since the wait said 20 minutes and I thought that would be the shortest of our trip. We don’t have any photos of this since it started to rain at this point, yay. Luckily we were able to stay under the umbrellas most of the time but the wait was not 20 minutes it was closer to 30-40 and neither of the kids really liked the ride.

After allowing DD to “steer” since I would not have been able to deal with her if I didn’t allow her to try she went around a corner and when the car hit the guides and it shook (pretty hard) she let me steer the rest of the way happily. She was happy to get out of the car! DH says it was pretty much the same story with DS. Needless to say when we walked by it again there was no one asking to ride it again!

DH took a picture of the raceboard (is that what it’s called?) since his favorite driver’s number was #1! Woohooo Go Tony! LOL
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We were all in need of a potty break but we didn’t want to break up our serious park mojo! So far we had far surpassed our hopes for rides in less than two hours. We were blowin’ through Fantasy Land and WDW didn’t know what hit it! We ended up pulling out our trusty MK map that informed us of a restroom right across from TSW and we did a happy dance. Well DH did a potty dance, he really had to go. He had informed me of this BEFORE our longer than anticipated wait for TSW and I am sure the bumps didn’t help, LOL.

While the men were taking a potty break I decided to try out Toon Town. I figured that Pixie Hollow would already be a long wait but it was planned for priority on another day. Since the park wasn’t too crowded yet, but getting more crowded by the minute, I figured that we might be able to tour a few attractions. ToonTown here we come.
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Well let me just say ToonTown is where they were keepin’ the people that day! It was packed from the moment we entered, pretty deceiving since you don’t see it until you round the corner. There was people everywhere and every parent seemed to be in charge of 52 children. Yikes! I am pretty sure we thought about turning and running but the kids had spotted Goofy’s Barnstormer and there was no turning back now!

Since DD is a tiny little thing I was convinced she was too short for the Barnstormer and was ready to ride out the fit that was going to ensue when DS got to ride and she didn’t. I left DH and DS parking the stroller and walked up to the CM at the entrance to measure DD. Wouldn’t you know she was plenty tall enough. Over an inch! I was amazed since I had measured her at home before we left and she didn’t make the cut. DH and DS finally fought the crowds and caught up to us and we began our journey in the very long queue, it goes on forever! We finally stopped right before the hill to the loading deck, surprisingly very little wait with the crowd outside the place.
We boarded and DD and I got the front row, that was when I realized just how tiny she is. Surely they made a mistake and she was too little. It felt like she was going to fly out the side of the ride but she kept trying to push my arm off of her so I finally gave up until we got going and she didn’t notice it was back (cue evil mom laugh).

Before the train had even stopped she was yelling “again again” and I could hear DS with his coruse behind me. So we made the LONG trek back to loading area to ride again, this time DD threw a fit and wanted to ride by herself. That’s right folks if you were in line behind a completely embarrassed woman trying to board Goofy's Barnstormer with her daughter all the while her daughter screamed like a banshee and pushed her away, that was me. The CM ask if she was afraid, I said “No she’s just indepent”.:headache: I finally fought myself into the seat and we were off.

Continued in NEXT POST (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34555466&postcount=45)...

PrncessA

12-03-2009, 09:39 PM

We managed to pull the kids away from Goofy with promises of Minnie’s house, believe me it was not easy. We left our stroller parked and covered by the shower liner and I thanked the Dis silently again for not listening to DH and thinking it would be useless. It was raining pretty hard at this point and I was glad to be going inside with no line to stand in. Minnie’s house didn’t disappoint, even if it was a bit crowded with other parents with the same idea to get out of the rain. Since everything is so “safe” we let the kids explore and make their way through the house. The kitchen was the most crowded by far so I was a bit disappointed DD was timid about exploring it.
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We strolled through Minnie’s garden and exited back out into the drizzling rain. We loaded the kids into the dry stroller and a mom next to us told us what a good idea the cover was. We pulled out the very long shades on the strollers between that and the cover the kids were completely out of the rain. DH and I thought about the ponchos but after pulling one out and it sticking to my hand with humidity we thought we were fine. LOL Next time we are investing in good ponchos and bringing umbrellas. The rain wasn’t so bad with the heat, famous last thoughts.

We made a quick swing through the Hall of Fame tent and found a 90 minute wait for Pixie Hollow so we made a few pennies and headed out of Toontown toward the exit. By the time we reached the Carosel we noticed the crowds had cleared out again and of course we should take advantage of it. Since IASW was right there with no wait we decided that was our first ride. As we passed Peter Pan we grabbed our first FP of the trip and the return time was almost immediate. We parked the stroller and joined the 10 minute wait right behind a very large church group, I am sure the wait went up.
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We made it to the loading area when DS very urgently declared he needed to pee, NOW. So we boarded and walked right across to the exit and rushed to find a bathroom.

DH and DS turned to the left in a desperate search and DD and I waited at the entrance of IASW for them to return. I have to say a lot of the CM’s are attuned to the facial expressions of parents and one noticed DH was searching for a potty and told me there was one right across from us. I couldn’t for the life of me see DH although the CM pointed him out a few times. The episode ended with me sitting in Pinnochio’s waiting on DH to come back the way he went, only to figure out by cell he was back at IASW waiting on me and DD.

We reentered the queue and it was a VERY fast line this time and we boarded for our first ever ride on the Disney classic. I was beyond excited and the dancing/singing dolls did not disappoint. We placed the kids on the outside so they could take it all in and they were entranced. It became an instant favorite and we would have rode again but we wanted to make our way to the exit, but first we had a ticket to Neverland to use.

Using our first FP ever we boarded our flying boat with no wait and off we flew (on the same boat amazingly) with Peter Pan and Wendy. I am not sure why there was always such a long wait for this ride since it is one of the more boring ones IMO, but it was one of DH’s few memories from his trip 10 years ago that he liked and the kids seemed to like it as well. After we stepped out of our boat onto the moving walkway that always worried me we decided we really needed to get going. We grabbed the stroller and we had every intention on leaving as we passed by Mickey’s Philharmagic. We noticed it was a 5 minute wait and who could pass that up?

Apparently not us and we quickly parked the stroller and hurried inside straight to the queue area and grabbed our first pair of Opera Glasses and joined the couple dozen other people waiting. Within a few minutes the door lights flashed and we entered and found our seats. I am pretty sure we sat right in the middle of the theater since it wasn’t crowded. Soon we were off on an 3-D adventure with that wacky Duck, full of jewels and wind and water. It was an instant favorite of everyone, although this was the one and only time DD wore the glasses for any of the 3-D films. I think the 3-D spooked her a little, they both reached for the jewels and the pie, it was a great movie. The end with Donald in the wall was DD’s favorite part and she cracked up every time.

After depositing our glasses we decided that we absolutely needed to get back to the resort if we were going to sneak in a midday nap before meeting the head Mouse that evening. I am not sure what time it was but I am guessing it was around noon. We had got a LOT done for our first morning at MK and it was hard to let go of the fact that the crowds were low and we could probably push for a few more rides but it was comforting to know we had 3 days planned for MK.

As we were heading under the tunnel exit a CM walked up and handed us a handful of “Honorary Citizen” pins and walked away. Not the most magical way to receive them but I was excited none the less, I am easy to please. It was then I realized I had forgotten to ask at check-in for our 1st Visit pins, I know next time I will have a checklist at check in time, lol.

We headed out the turnstiles and easily found the boat launch back to the WL… if only the rest of the afternoon was that easy.

Next up: 10 Sets of Clean Towels and Sleeping at the CR

kcandbella

12-03-2009, 10:06 PM

Wow, looks like fun! You got a lot of stuff in early. I would have been exhausted after the long first day!

PrncessA

12-03-2009, 10:30 PM

Wow, looks like fun! You got a lot of stuff in early. I would have been exhausted after the long first day!

I know, we were so surprised to have hardly any wait for any ride. We were blessed with Pixie Dust for sure!

PrncessA

12-14-2009, 11:58 PM

The next update was nearly done when life decided to kick up and be busy!

Turns out it was all for the best! DH finally landed a good job and bonus it is literally 5 minutes from our house. I recieved a raise and promotion at my job and now I will be making twice the money, which can be saved.

All of this adds up to one thing! WE'RE GOING BACK TO DISNEY WORLD!!!! I am starting to try and figure it out but right now we are planning for the middle of November!!!

mickeystoontown

12-15-2009, 09:47 AM

PrncessA

12-15-2009, 11:29 AM

Congrats to both you and your husband!

Thank you!

nathanyell

12-16-2009, 09:09 AM

That is so awesome!!! Sounds like you brought Pixie Dust back with you from your last trip!!!!

PrncessA

12-17-2009, 07:54 PM

That is so awesome!!! Sounds like you brought Pixie Dust back with you from your last trip!!!!

We did! We are so thankful for the blessings that have showered on us! It is hard sometimes to see the forest for the trees.

I am uploading the photos for the next update right now...

IheartDDuck

12-17-2009, 08:24 PM

I just joined and love the TR so far. Your kiddos are absolutely adorable! I love Lorelei's face when she met Eeyore. Priceless!

PrncessA

12-17-2009, 08:34 PM

Last we left, our first morning at the MK was nothing less than perfect in our eyes. The kids were having a blast and it was very hard to tear ourselves away and return to the WL for a afternoon break. We headed to the boat launch for our first ride on a Disney boat. While we waited the kids blew off a little steam and before we knew it we were headed “home” on a nearly empty boat.
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Like expected the kids loved the riding on the boat and since it was basically empty we were free to spread out in the back, which became our favorite. The kids played with their penny books and Epcot masks and DH and I enjoyed the relaxing ride back to the WL. I can say with all certainty that we would not have traded the boat rides on this trip, even if it added 20 minutes on our commute to the park. With the exception of only a couple they were all very comfortable and relaxing. I managed to catch DS mid-yawn even though he claimed he wasn’t tired at all.
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Our plan: Get back to our room, take a nap or quiet time, get ready for our ADR and catch a boat by 4:00pm to get to the CR. Since it was only 1:30 we had enough time and we were defiantly ready for some rest! I was starting to feel pain in one of my feet that wasn’t the normal “walk too much pain” and the kids were defiantly ready for naps. It literally took us 15 minutes to figure out a way to get into the building with our stroller, thank goodness we figured it out after that, and we passed mousekeeping a few doors down from ours. Our chances were 50/50 that our room was done….
Verdict was NOT done.

This instantly put a quash on our plans since we stupidly thought we needed mousekeeping. Looking back on this moment I could kick myself for not staying put, hanging our “Do Not Disturb” and taking the much needed nap. Can anyone see where this is going? Probably not if you are smarter than we are. We had no idea that you could schedule your mousekeeping or that is what we would have done, instead we decided to head down to the pool for a quick swim and give the mousekeeper time to get to our room.

We changed and were down by the pool in less than 5 minutes, it was fast since we found a elevator closer to our room that came out right next to the RFC and the exit to the pool. This made DH VERY happy since he could run down for coffee now in a jif. To say the kids loved the pool is a gross understatement. They were enamored by the pool and DD could not be drug out of the kiddie pool. She was head over heals for it! I wish I had brought the camera down for pictures but I didn’t want to worry about laying it down. We moved to the empty warm “hot tub” and the kids played with the bubbles and DH and I relaxed. In the back of my mind I still thought we would have time for naps, who was I kidding? We stayed at the pool a good hour before we headed back to the room.

We were positive she had gotten to us when we saw her cart had moved past our door the opposite way by a good margin, think again. We were greeted by no mousekeeping but by this point we didn’t care. All we wanted was some clean towels and to relax a few minutes before we had to get ready. DH called the front desk and ask for clean towels and we dried us and the kids off with our pool towels we brought up (yeah, I know I broke the rules). We had just got the kids sorta settled when there was a knock at the door.

Was it our clean towels? Well yes and no, it was Mouskeeping and apparently it was training day since there were two and one looked helpless.
They ask if we wanted our room cleaned and we said no just towels since we wanted the kids to settle down. They grabbed our dirty towels and left us clean ones and went on their way. The fact they were training took the edge off of it not being done yet but it was still a headache. DH and I laid down and the kids were still talking but they were at least laying down, when the someone knocked on the door again. DH was a little annoyed even though I pointed out we didn’t have the DND sign on the door.

Who was it you ask? Well it was our clean towels we had requested from the front desk…10 sets of them! The CM had a luggage cart filled a quarter of the way up with towels it was hilarious. She laughed and said she should have known there was a mistake, why on earth would we need 10 sets of clean towels. Now 10 towels I could possibly understand a little, but 10 sets. I felt bad telling her we already were visited by Mousekeeping. By that time we were about to give up on any quiet time and I figured it was time to start getting ready.

I pulled out our coordinating outfits to honor the main mouse and prayed that we would make it through the evening without any major meltdowns. I can’t imagine how many clothes I could have bought for this trip had I had a long planning time, but in the month of planning I had I managed to buy quite a bit of Disney themed apparel. DH and I donned our Mickey t’s, DS had on his new Mickey Mouse outfit and DD had a new Minnie outfit. I had an extremely hard time finding a lot of things I liked for DS in his size (the outlet had almost nothing in his size) but DD was easy since she can wear 18 or 24 months. After doing DD’s hair and pretending to ignore the rat’s nest on my head we headed out ahead of schedule. I let DH go out first and I stayed behind long enough to set out some Tinkerbell surprises for the kids to find when we got back.

We headed down to the lobby so I could use a pair of scissors at the front desk to cut some moleskin for my now throbbing toe. We headed down to the boat docks and got in line for the CR boat. We were a little ways back in line but it wasn’t long before a boat arrived and they are deceptively accommodating. DH did end up sitting toward the front with the stroller while I sat in the back with the kids. DS made a friend with a little boy sitting next to him and they had a nice conversation about their “favorites” and something about fish before we arrived at Ft. Wilderness and the boy left with his family.

The boat cleared out and DH moved back to sit with us and we had the back to ourselves again. The kids were in great moods concidering they hadn’t taken a nap. The boat ride was relaxing again and I surprised them by pulling out their Minnie and Donald stuffed animals. The kids became rock stars with their new shades before we docked…

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We unboarded at the CR and immediately saw how different the themes really are. It is easy to accept the WL as the common when you are there since the themeing is so grand so even the outside of the CR was a little shocking to us. Not to say we didn’t like the CR but we knew immediately it wasn’t our comfort style, although the pool looked amazing! We loaded the kids into the stroller and walked to one of the tables so I could doctor my toe, since I was beginning to limp.

We learned quickly that comparing the resorts was pointless since every resort we visited was so vastly different it was like comparing apples and oranges. The inside of the CR, though vast, seemed a little cold to us. We headed up to Chef Mickey’s in an elevator and I told DH to park the stroller and I would check us in. As I was standing in line I looked around and noticed the counter service area almost blends in with Chef Mickey’s but Chef Mickey’s was defiantly empty. That was when I realized we had the first seating for dinner. The line was pretty long and not moving so they were not seating people yet.

DH was taking a very long time to get the kids when I saw that he was carrying DD and that was strange. When he reached me I learned that she had fell asleep naturally and she was so asleep that she didn’t wake up when he picked her up. This is VERY strange for DD since she is a very light sleeper; she was OUT like a light. DH handed her over and she didn’t even stir. The wait was quick and they checked people in fast. We had our photo taken but since DD was asleep I didn’t purchase it and ours came out very blurry.

I then made the mistake of sitting on the couch and felt like I nearly sank to the ground. Those are some low couches!
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We were called very quickly and seated very close to the buffet to the left. Thankfully we had a half booth table and I laid DD down and she barely stirred, I knew this was tricky since she would probably wake up GRUMPY and hungry but we could deal with that when it came.
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Since we booked our trip a little over a month before I had worried that I wouldn’t be able to get any ADR’s that I wanted and Chef Mickey’s was on my wish list. Luckily I got all my ADR’s and more and ended up moving them around so much it made me dizzy. Our dinner at Chef Mickey’s was a last minute addition after reading GreatBiscuit’s TR and their ease at going between the CR and MK. We had already scheduled a CM’s breakfast for our AK day since I wasn’t able to get into the Tusker House (our only ADR we couldn’t get), but I kept it since I figured who could turn down more Mickey and gang! I was a little weary about eating here since the reviews on the Dis usually go to one extreme or the other but DS getting to meet Donald Duck was a big positive.

We settled down and gave our waitress our drink orders before we headed to the buffet. Although they have a “kiddie bar” there really wasn’t much to the buffet I hate to say. I was slightly disappointed but mostly in the salad bar portion it was practically non-existent. I grabbed a salad and DS had mac & cheese and pizza. DH had a bit of everything and he can only remember the pasta in red sauce and hashbrown casserole, personally I think he is blocking it from memory so he doesn’t have to relive it. Harsh I know but just wait! I ended up picking at a bit of the buffet as well and also had some of the hashbrowns and that is all I really remember. On to the more important part of our meal… the characters!

When we sat down the characters were pretty far away from us so it gave us time to get our food and relax a bit before they came. DS was getting excited since he saw Goofy as they were sitting us. He kept standing on his knees watching him. Before long Goofy made his way to our section and DS couldn’t sit he was so excited. He wasn’t intimidated in any way! I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves…
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Then he saw who was next and he literally didn’t look at us again until he came. His eyes were all for his Duck, it was adorable.http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/100_0913.jpg
He was standing ready with his stuffed Donald Duck behind his back waiting when Donald finally made it to our table. I am so happy to say that our Donald Duck did NOT disappoint! He was fabulous and when DS “surprised” him with his stuffed Donald the real Donald jumped up and down kissed it and rocked it like a baby. DS was so excited! Finally they calmed down enough to take a picture and we waved goodbye to our new friend.
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DS had now learned a valuable lesson for dealing with characters and he was going to use it to his advantage. Since Mickey Mouse was right behind Donald he didn’t sit down, instead he was clinging to the chair. I ask him why and he said he was going to surprise Mickey with his head on the chair. It was adorable but when Mickey got to us he was so animated DS forgot all about showing him. He kissed Mickey’s nose and his nose shook it was so cute!!
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Next up was the napkin twirling and DS was so excited he just didn’t understand why I kept trying to pull him at least back to our table. He assumed it was like CP and there was a parade. He was really into the twirling!
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Next came Minnie and boy did DS love her! I was surprised but Minnie was his girl! I just love this picture!!
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We grabbed our desserts quickly since Pluto was on his way and we had our first (and only of the trip) Mickey Oreos! How cute are they! DS had me and another guy cracking up at the ice cream buffet. I was adding toppings to his ice cream and he kept saying “Okay and a little bit of that and a little bit of that and a little bit of that.” But he kept going back and forth between the few toppings they had, very precise.
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Next up was Pluto and he was so quick that these are the ONLY pictures I got. It was FAST let me tell you! I think DS got whiplash!
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We were all done eating and ready to go when the inevitable happened and DD began to wake up and SCREAM. I mean scream like she was on fire! It was LOUD and everything and everyone stopped and looked at us. We were in for it I could tell...

Next up: The Meltdown and our night at MK.... if we make it that far... where's the closest restroom! RUN!!!

PrncessA

12-18-2009, 10:39 PM

I just joined and love the TR so far. Your kiddos are absolutely adorable! I love Lorelei's face when she met Eeyore. Priceless!

Thank you! It is one of my favorite photos of the trip!

GreatBiscuit

12-23-2009, 07:14 PM

Loved the character interaction. Great photos! The Mickey karate moves had me cracking up. Sorry to hear about DD! :scared1: Hope you were able to recover!

You guys have a Merry Christmas!

courtneylauren

12-23-2009, 11:48 PM

Great TR! Your kids are so cute! Waiting for the rest!

PrncessA

12-26-2009, 10:49 PM

:stitch:Bumping so my DH can find it... Welcome!!!:stitch:

Chef_Skinner

12-27-2009, 12:46 PM

Since this is my first post....I would like to thank my DW (PrncessA) for inviting me to join...and I hope that I won't bore anyone with my rants and stories...

As for the trip report...Love it so far...maybe because I was part of it...or maybe just your attention to detail about every aspect of our trip! I can't wait to go back.

But for those that are reading...let me take you back to the beginning of it all for a quick moment...

Back in July I came to find out that I would be 1 of 1500 to lose my job with the company that I was at. DW and I new that things would be tight, but we also new that we had to maintain our sanity in the months to come while I searched for a new job.

I remember it so well as I sat in my favorite chair thinking of things that could help decrease the stress that we were already going through. As DW arrived home from work, she walks in the door...and I simply suggest to her that we go to Disney. It was a dream of ours for years, and now that I was out of work...well what better time than the present.

DW was a bit skeptic as she continued to ask me...reassuring herself and my intentions. "Are you serious?", "We are really going to go?"

LOL...I assured her that we were...I wasn't much the planner so I was going to have to rely on her for the majority, but that actually worked out for the best, seeing as for the past two years I had bought her the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World.

As we started to discuss the possibilities of our trip, I conveyed to her that we should go for it all....my last trip to Disney, back in 1998 was not all that magical, and I did not want the same to happen with this one.

We agreed that we needed the dining plan and I told her that I simply loved all the photos she showed me of the WL so I think that we should try and stay there if we could.

She made it all happen...from finding a good airfare...to the stay at the WL, to securing numerous ADR's that would insure a wonderful and magical stay at the happiest place in the world. Grant it, I wasn't all that much help, but offered my opinions when and where I could.

But the end result is that from the moment we landed and stepped foot in Disney....I felt like a big kid and it was not only magical...but it was the best vacation I have ever taken before....which is why we are planning on going again in November.

PrncessA

12-27-2009, 10:23 PM

Welcome to my wonderful DH to the TR and the Dis!!

Slight amendment to the last segment:

As I was cutting some veggies last night I was thinking about our first day at the MK and I was sure we had ate lunch somewhere but I hadn’t wrote about it. I ask DH and he had no clue… then I remembered. After we FINALLY figured out how to make it into the WL from the pool area with a stroller (I couldn’t believe how simple it really was) we stopped at the RFC for a quick lunch. It had to have been after 2pm since they had the cookie table set up.

Using the DxDDP for quick service the first time was NOT fun. The kids were grumpy in the stroller so DH left me to figure it out myself. At first glance (and a few after that) the Roaring Fork Café is not user friendly, but I eventually ordered 2 tuna sandwiches and a PBJ and applesauce for the kids. When I got to the register I was informed that I needed a dessert for the adult meals, but not for the kid meal (little weird IMO). I think I got an extra applesauce and a bag of chips as snacks. We ate pretty fast since our plan had been to nap but we learned NEITHER kid liked the Uncrustables at all. Good thing we had bought bread and PB and jelly!

Now on with the show!!!!

After trying to calm her down at the table for a minute and it NOT working I took off to the lobby and left DH to handle the bill and DS.

One thing you have to know about DD is that she is a screamer more than a crier. She is a very loud screamer! When DS was a baby we had nice meals out and shopped without worry, it was fantastic. Since DD came ALL that changed. Quiet restaurants seem to mock her and she gets loud! She is completely defiant and once something upsets her it is very hard to change her mood, she is a lot like me. I tend to be able to handle her better since I can sympathize with her moods.

I headed to the restrooms to change her diaper and wipe her face off. Getting her out of the restaurant did not help, she was not giving up. I knew she had to be starving but going back to the restaurant was not an option and I wasn’t standing in the cafeteria line with her. DH arrived quickly (like he could lose us when DD was a portable siren) and I RAN to the café to fine something (ANYTHING) the DD would eat happily. I found a big banana muffin and grabbed it and found the shortest line, behind one guy.

I have a knack at picking out bad lines; I should really ignore my first instinct and go with my next choice it would serve me better. Turns out this was the guys first time using his meal plan and he was buying for 4 different people (none of them were up there helping him) and his TWO trays were overflowing. By the time I made it back to DH he was a nervous wreck and DD was still crying loudly. I wish I had video of this because her stamina when screaming is amazing! As soon as she saw the muffin she went silent!

When it was safe to move we loaded DS in the stroller and we headed off to find the Monorail. Turns out we were right in front of the elevator that takes you to the monorail level, but we of course walked to the other elevators went to the wrong floor before figuring that out! We finally made it on the monorail and DD was still mildly upset but the crying was mostly over and it was more whining than anything. Luckily by the time we made it to the MK we she had calmed down completely.

DD recovering:
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DS wondering when she will stop:
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DH and I on the other hand were NOT feeling the Disney love. Turns out something at Chef Mickey’s did not agree with us AT ALL! DH was feeling bad and I told him to head through the no bag entrance and I would meet him at the restrooms. I made it through the bag check and made haste to the restrooms. To spare details I can safely say that we did not enjoy how Chef Mickey’s treated us after we left. The ONLY reason we didn’t head back to the resort is there were not restrooms on the boat, lol. We did however end up touring MANY restrooms between the two of us that night!

We made it onto Main St. right at dusk and decided to head to Aventureland and Frontierland for the evening. I don’t have a lot of pictures from this portion of the evening since it was drizzling and I didn’t get the camera out.
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/100_0956.jpg

The kids saw the Magic Carpets but there was a line and I figured it was die down soon. Our first stop ended up being The Enchanted Tiki Birds since DH had seen it on his last trip and wanted a revisit. Why I don’t know, but to each their own. I was afraid that the storm was scare the kids but they didn’t mind, but I don’t think they understood the concept. I’m not sure I followed along either but it was inside and we got to sit down.

We exited to find a longer line for Aladdin and we convinced the kids to hold off a bit longer. We headed next to the Jungle Cruise with no wait and ended up sitting right up front. Our guide used DD as example many many times but she was clueless. DS was hilarious and followed every order that was given including ducking a zillion times. It was fun ride and certainly classic Disney but I wondered what it would be like in daylight.

We made our way to Pirates next and boy was DH excited. This was one ride that he remembered loving and he couldn’t wait for DS to ride it. I have to admit that I was excited as well since this was one of the rides that I had dreamed about for what felt like a lifetime. We made our way through the long queue without encountering anyone before we boarded our boat. The ride was a hit all around and remained DH’s favorite ride throughout the trip. DS was singing along after one ride! It is one of my top rides as well; it is just so fun and BIG. The scene with the ships on either side of you is fantastic, you feel right in the middle of it all. We spotted our Jack Sparrows and we moved on.

Finally when we made it back outside we saw the line for Aladdin was practically nothing and we jumped in line. We were flying in no time and the kids loved it! DD loved the fact that it “bounced” a bit if you went up and down.
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We decided that the Haunted Mansion would be our next adventure but on the way we made a pit stop for DS. When I returned from the restroom with DS, DH was laughing hysterically and holding the pink fan… and it was attached to DD’s head!
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/100_0960.jpg

I have no idea how she did it but she had managed to get her hair on the back of her head wrapped around the fan. She wasn’t crying which was surprising; I think she was shocked herself. I tried to untangle it from her hair but it was not budging and I was worried that working on it too much might cause her to become upset over it and that wouldn’t be fun for any of us. I sent DH into the gift shop next to us to ask to borrow a pair of scissors and they let him. And then (only days away from her first haircut) I had to cut a fan out of my daughter’s hair. This is was the first time she had ever had a hair cut from her head and I had been saving it for Disney world… just not in that way, lol.

After DD hair debacle we were all getting a bit tired but we decided that experiencing the Haunted Mansion at night first could not be missed. We headed toward the Haunted Mansion and I began to worry that our very rarely frightened kids might start to get frightened. There was no wait and we headed straight into the stretching room, where we held our 30lb kids for what felt like eternity. I didn’t catch hardly any of the monologue in the stretching room since DD felt like she weighted about 200lbs and I am sure I was more exhausted than she was, since she at least got a nap.

We boarded our Doom Buggies and began our happy haunt. I rode with DD and she loved it. She was silent through the entire ride, just wide eyed and taking it all in. It was fun to see everything for the first time and I tried to follow along with the story line a bit but I was keeping an eye on DD making sure she wasn’t spooked. When we came to the graveyard I and things kept popping up I tried to shield her eyes but she kept pushing me away. I was very impressed with both kids that they weren’t afraid in the least.

We were now all getting tired and we decided to head back home. I am not sure of the time although it had to be well before 10pm since Wishes hadn’t started that we had heard but there wasn’t much of a crowd on Main St. We walked with little crowd to wait in line for our boat back to the WL. DD couldn’t understand why DS was asleep, she was happy and awake.
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This was our most crowded boat ride of the trip and DD ended up getting VERY upset again that she had to stay in the stroller on the boat (one of the large ones) but it was crowded and we were standing and there simply wasn’t room to hold her safely. She eventually calmed down but it wasn’t a fun boat ride. We were one of the first to unload and head up the hill. As we were walking I made a decision about our next day of touring. We literally felt like the walking dead and I knew we would never be able to make rope drop at DHS the next day.

When we made it to the room the kids unloaded and found their first Tinkerbell surprises and boy were they happy! We had decided to buy them each two sets of figurines before we left and spread them out throughout the trip. We had no idea what a huge hit these would become, at WDW and home.
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DD's hair:
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They are still the most played with toys they own. You can very rarely find DD not holding one of her Princesses and she sleeps with a few every night (she falls asleep slowly so she plays with them). The only thing is that the Wall-E set that we got for DS had a very fragile Wall-E and within hours of him getting it the arms were missing and the head had popped off. The head luckily pops back on (as does the larger one he has now) but it is not uncommon for me to go in their room and see two decapitated Wall-E’s on the floor.

We let the kids play with their new toys for a few minutes and I began to notice my throat was getting pretty sore. I knew this was a bad sign since I have chronic sore throats and usually lose my voice at least once a year. I can’t sleep in a breeze (even if I am burning up) or I will wake up with a horrible sore throat. The day of rain was catching up to me fast and I wasn’t happy about that. We had opened the patio door and all of the sudden we started hearing fireworks. That’s right folks we had a view of Wishes from our patio!

I remember thinking that I thought it was later than 10pm but it had to be around that time because of Wishes. We were all spent and ready for some good sleep. I sent DH downstairs to fill our cups and I plopped the kids in the bath. I let them play while I tried my best to work the knot out of DD’s hair bit by bit. She was a good sport about it but I know it didn’t feel good. By the time DH got back I had barely been able to work any of the knots out and decided I was just going to have to cut it out. I grabbed the fingernail clippers and got the rest of the knot out of her hair and finished their bath. We got them in bed and this time they were asleep within minutes.

DH took his turn and I downloaded our photos and charged the camera batteries. I hoped that my shower would make me feel like myself again but no such luck. I felt like death run over twice, but I was willing to get up early and start again. DH and I however decided that our morning plans would NOT have us making rope drop at DHS the next day to run to TSM. Instead we would take our time and our only goal was to make by 10:05 for our ADR with June & Leo at Hollywood & Vine.

We left the patio door open since it was too quiet for us and I was only up half a dozen times during the night to change the temperature or grab another cough drop. There was no way a sore throat or a cold was going to ruin my trip!

Next up: Is Disney known for MONSOONS?

nathanyell

12-28-2009, 08:54 AM

Loved your update. :-) It's really helping me get excited.

Brian

Chef_Skinner

12-29-2009, 01:31 AM

Allow me to add just a bit on the whole DD hair incident.

During the time while DW and DS went to use the washrooms, I was overheated and could use a few minutes off my feet. As I sat down and plucked one of our portable fans off the stroller than DD was sitting in to help cool me down, DD had the other and was blowing it on herself, more so to copy me than anything else.

I kept on eye on the washroom to wait for the return of DW and DS only to hear my name being called by DD, and as I turned to see what it was that she wanted...horrified at the sight of a large amount of her hair tangled into the blades of this very small and rubber fan. What made it all so comical, is that as DW has mentioned...DD is a screamer. If anything does not go her way, she responds quite loudly by letting us, and everyone in a miles radius know. Although, with her hair wrapped up in the blades of this fan, she simply called out my name quite calmly and asked for help.

I tried my best to untangle her, and to do it quickly so that DW would not notice, as I knew I would get a earful from her upon her return. But my attempts were not successful, and I think I might have managed to get even more of her hair wrapped up in the fan than she did. As DW and DS returned from the washroom, I filled her in on the situation...and maybe because of the hour, or maybe because of how calm DD was at that moment, everything just seemed to be funny.

DW sent me to find a pair of scissors from one of the shops that was directly across from us, and let me tell you...they certainly had no problem giving a complete stranger a pair of razor sharp scissors in the middle of the happiest place on Earth! Is it possible that they are often asked to have their scissors borrowed, or did I just have a trusting face at that moment? Oh, I promised to bring them right back, and did so promptly as DW cut free DD's hair.

Good thing that she was going for her first haircut in a few days!

msce2

12-30-2009, 11:53 AM

Really enjoying your trip report! And yes, we found out in May that Disney can be the place for monsoons. Approx 7 straight days of them. Hope your trip dried out quickly!

PrncessA

12-30-2009, 02:17 PM

Please disregard the date stamp on the photos. It reset with the batteries and I never noticed, LOL.

After a restless night I woke up feeling like a truck had hit me and putting my feet to the floor was one of the hardest things in the world to do. Amazingly I was up before the wake-up call arrived and DS was stirring in the next bed. He is a VERY early riser at home and no matter his bed time he always wakes up between 6-7am. He NEVER sleeps in. Because of this and the fact he doesn’t take a nap he has an early bed time. I was still surprised he was waking up on his own this morning. Since we were the only ones awake we cuddled for a few minutes but we were both anxious to get on the move.

I allowed DS to jump on DH until he got up (sorry) and I started pulling out the day’s outfits and getting things ready. We were all up and almost ready by the time our wake-up call came. We were ready and out the door well before we had planned!

Since we hadn’t really taken the time to really let the kids explore the lobby yet we took our time. The kids LOVED the WL lobby and even now when we talk about WDW he talks about the bridge, lol.
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Like I said before I can see why the WL is the favorite resort of kid’s. It is great for exploring and there is a ton of room to let them spread out without them beign out of eye shot. After we let the kiddos explore a bit we rubbed Humphrey’s nose and headed out to the busses. I am pretty sure there was a bus waiting when we got there and we got right on with no wait. It was then we noticed that DS was missing his new Toy Story Bo Peep and he must have laid it down in the lobby. He was upset but I held hope that someone would turn it in.

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We arrived at DHS fast and we were excited to get a move on! It was pretty busy and crowded but we were a bit ahead of schedule so we headed for TSM to grab FP’s hopefully! We were able to grab FP for 12:45-1:45 and headed back to find Hollywood and Vine. At first we took our time and took some photos as we looked but then we passed it. For some reason we walked by it 3 times before we realized it was in front of us!

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/DAY%203/100_0997.jpg

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I checked us in and we sat on the patio and melted for a few moments:
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This meal is one that I wasn’t sure about the kid’s and the characters since they don’t really know JoJo and Goliath but love the Little Einsteins. We were seated to the right, nearly directly in the middle. I have to say that our waiter here was my favorite of the entire trip! He was attentive and great with the kids! The restaurant was almost empty since we missed the breakfast crowd.

We were able to grab some food from the buffet before any characters made it to our table. The food here was comparable to Crystal Palace and neither DH or I had any complaints, DH again liked the omelet station. The kids ate muffins and I believe (though it doesn’t show up in the photos) that I had a bowl of oatmeal that they ate a few bites of.

First up was JoJo and I learned a lesson. It doesn’t matter who the character is, DS loves them! He was as happy to see JoJo as he was to see Mickey. DD touched hands and that was a stretch for her.

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Then it was time for the entertainment and although we tried to get DS to go up and join he was being a bit shy. He did sing along from his chair or standing beside his chair but he didn’t dare step into the “party area”.
Finding Mickey during the "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Theme Song":
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/DAY%203/100_1010.jpg

Leo was next and DS jumped up for his hug. Leo saw DS’s Buzz and even picked him up and zoomed him around a bit. DD was very uncomfortable with Leo and wouldn’t even touch his hand. DS kept saying “Lorelai its okay its little Leo,” over and over.

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Then it was time for another song or two. This time DS got into it a bit more but didn’t join the crowd yet. He did yell as loud as he could when our side needed to yell “DOG” for the “HOT DOG” competition.

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June was next and DS seemed determined that DD was going to like her. He was insistent saying “Lorelai, she’s a PRINCESS like you.” What a kid we have! He is such a great big brother! She did however warm up to June and even allowed her to get close enough for a picture and gave her a hug!

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Goliath made his way next but DD want NOTHING AT ALL to do with him and she seemed to have satisfied DS’s need for her character interaction for the day since he enjoyed Goliath all himself.
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/DAY%203/100_1037.jpg

Cont. next post:

PrncessA

12-30-2009, 02:17 PM

Again it was time for more music! At this point it was a little annoying but we had finished our breakfast for the most part so I let DD down to dance and that gave DS the courage to go up as well. They boogied down!
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Now for some reason at this point DD got upset but I can’t remember why. She wasn’t screaming but I she was crying a bit. When our waiter came with our checks he brought both DD and DS a star glow cube that was flashing. It instantly made DD stop! Great Pixie Dust! Great CM!

Before leaving we posed for a few pics and hugs with the entranceway display, lol.
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Since we didn’t have a touring plan we figured we’d wing it, how hard could it be! More famous last words and lessons to learn from for our next trip! We stopped to take a couple Photopass pics but the CM’s camera wasn’t scanning the cards so she told us to go to the camera station to have them uploaded before we left.
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/DAY%203/100_1058.jpg

Since we had a little while until our FP’s for TSM were good we decided to stop in for Playhouse Disney Live. The line was long but the wait for the next show was close so we got in line.

Here began my first encounter with losing a child in WDW. For some reason while we were in line the line suddenly moved drastically (the doors did not open yet). DS was walking right beside us but all the sudden he was GONE. I have no idea how; he must have ducked under the bars or something. I left DH with DD and I was yelling for him but nothing. I was fighting against people trying to retrace backwards, it was obvious I had lost a child but no one was moving out of my way most just looked annoyed. I finally found him buried in a group a good ways away. He had no idea he was lost.

We entered Playhouse Disney live and sat to the left right in front of the stage really. The show was pretty good but it didn’t really keep the kid’s attention. The bubbles were their favorite and it was very hard to get them to sit back down after the bubbles. DD was restless and took off toward the stage before I could stop her. The CM at the stairs stopped her in time. She wasn’t the only one though many kids headed that way as well!
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DD making a run for it:
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It was still a few until we could enter TSM so we decided to hit The Little Mermaid. It is amazing to me the size of stroller parking in that area. It is huge!!! It would be very easy to lose your stroller there! We parked the stroller and headed into a nearly empty queue with not a cloud in the sky. See where this is heading? It was a beautiful day! We were nearly alone in the waiting area and most people were sitting down against the walls, so that’s what we did as well. The doors were closed to the outside so it was nice and cool. The kids were exploring a bit and we relaxed.

Then out of nowhere the doors slung open and we were invaded by TONS of people. It was crazy! Then we noticed that it was not only raining outside but POURING!!!!! HARD!!!! I didn’t cover the stroller and we had left our backpack hanging on the back of it. There was nothing to do about it now, it was already wet but the rest of our wait wasn’t that fun with the crowd that had descended to get out of the monsoon outside!

The show was good and I can’t wait to go back since The Little Mermaid is DD’s favorite princess now. She doesn’t remember the show so it will be great for her! The bubbles did send the kiddos into another fit of trying to reach as many as possible and pop them, but at least they didn’t have as far to move as in PDL so it was over faster. The one thing I remember about the show that Ariel “flapping” her tail was distracting to me, I felt like I was a drinking game at times, lol.

When we exited it was still raining so I moved to the side into the gift shop and let DH run to find the stroller. As expected it was drenched but the backpack had stayed mostly dry shielded by the stroller. I tried to dry the seats as much as possible with the towel that had been in the backpack and the kids climbed in with very few complaints.

Next Up: WOODY’S ROUNDUP!!! Or TSM to those who are technical!

PrncessA

12-30-2009, 02:32 PM

I just had to add this video of the kiddos doing the "CHA CHA CHA" that morning.

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/DAY%203/th_100_1044.jpg (http://s557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/DAY%203/?action=view&current=100_1044.flv)

Chef_Skinner

12-31-2009, 12:03 AM

What I still remember from that morning is that even though it was hotter than blazes out that morning...notice the pic of me with my towel wiping the beads of sweat from my face, is that from the first moment upon walking into Hollywood and Vine, it was like walking into the artic circle.

They must have cranked the air conditioning, cause I swear the temperature had to have been in the 30's and that is no joke. I remember my sniffles coming, and coming quickly, and I had to ask for additional napkins to keep one situated on my nose at all times.
Other than that, the meal was great...and DW was right, I did love their omelette station.

Now as for the rain...if I can pass along any helpful hints...it would be to cover your stroller or anything else you are leaving behind while attending a show or riding a ride. Even if the Sun is out and the sky is blue. That is exactly how it looked as we stood inside for the Little Mermaid show, but it amazed me how fast and furious it came about. Good thing the Sun showed up shortly after and dried the stroller in just minutes.

PrncessA

12-31-2009, 10:25 AM

It did end up being a strange day for weather for sure. One minute it was a monsoon the next it was blazing hot.

GreatBiscuit

12-31-2009, 02:53 PM

Since this is my first post....I would like to thank my DW (PrncessA) for inviting me to join...and I hope that I won't bore anyone with my rants and stories...Welcome to the DIS! Now that you’ve joined the dark side, there is no going back. :darth:

DH and I on the other hand were NOT feeling the Disney love. Turns out something at Chef Mickey’s did not agree with us AT ALL! :scared1:

I have no idea how she did it but she had managed to get her hair on the back of her head wrapped around the fan. Wow! I’m actually shocked we managed to avoid a similar predicament. My two kept bumping the fans against their heads.

DW sent me to find a pair of scissors from one of the shops that was directly across from us, and let me tell you...they certainly had no problem giving a complete stranger a pair of razor sharp scissors in the middle of the happiest place on Earth! Is it possible that they are often asked to have their scissors borrowed, or did I just have a trusting face at that moment? Oh, I promised to bring them right back, and did so promptly as DW cut free DD's hair. I’d love to read a book someday about the stories CM’s have to tell.

Here began my first encounter with losing a child in WDW. :faint: I was paranoid about that our entire trip!

Then out of nowhere the doors slung open and we were invaded by TONS of people. It was crazy! Then we noticed that it was not only raining outside but POURING!!!!! HARD!!!! I didn’t cover the stroller and we had left our backpack hanging on the back of it. There was nothing to do about it now, it was already wet but the rest of our wait wasn’t that fun with the crowd that had descended to get out of the monsoon outside!Brings back memories from my honeymoon trip.

Now as for the rain...if I can pass along any helpful hints...it would be to cover your stroller or anything else you are leaving behind while attending a show or riding a ride. Even if the Sun is out and the sky is blue. That is exactly how it looked as we stood inside for the Little Mermaid show, but it amazed me how fast and furious it came about. Good thing the Sun showed up shortly after and dried the stroller in just minutes.Those instant monsoons they have down there are a trip!

PrncessA

01-01-2010, 10:58 AM

Welcome to the DIS! Now that you’ve joined the dark side, there is no going back. :darth:

I'm pulling him in! :woohoo:

I'm going to try and get ahead in my TR this weekend so I have some time to devote to my new.... Pre-Trip Report!!! :banana::banana::banana: Woohooo!!!

cheryterese

01-02-2010, 06:22 PM

Subscribing! Can't wait to read more. :)

flafan

01-02-2010, 07:49 PM

All caught up - thanks for sharing - Your kids are adorable :goodvibes

PrncessA

01-02-2010, 09:36 PM

Subscribing! Can't wait to read more. :)

Welcome! A new update is about done!

All caught up - thanks for sharing - Your kids are adorable :goodvibes

Thank you and Welcome!!!

PrncessA

01-03-2010, 09:22 AM

Here is another picture packed update that has to be split in two! :confused3

After the show it was finally time for TSM!:banana:
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/DAY%203/100_1087.jpg

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/DAY%203/100_1088.jpg .

We handed in our FP’s (which were already gone for the day by that time) and we headed into the FP queue. We still had quite a wait even with our FP’s!
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We grabbed our 3-D glasses and finally got into our cars. I rode with DD and she had no interest in the game portion but she did like the “show”.

I have to say we all loved the ride very much! I can’t remember what my score was (I think it was respectable and in the 80,000’s) but I know DH beat me. DS did pretty good as well! It was an immediate “again again” from DS, and let’s be honest, from DH and myself. But the wait was out the door and there was no way we would or could wait.

Our next course of action was meltdown control in the form of snacks! DD and DS are snackers and that was our deciding factor on buying the DxDDP, we got 2 snacks per day per person for a total of 6 snacks a day and we didn’t have to worry about it. We grabbed popcorn for the kids and I got a Mickey Ice Cream and I think DH got something but I don’t remember what it was. While I was standing in line DH ran up to me and grabbed the camera from the case, grabbed DS and ran away. I had no idea what was going on.

After I got the snacks (hands full, trying to steer the double stroller at the same time) I tried to maneuver through the HUGE crowd outside of TSM and finally found DS next in line to meet a Toy Soldier. I think these are some of the coolest characters at DHS and DS LOVED him. You can’t see the crowd in the picture because the character handler moved us down a bit from TSM. The soldier guided DS with him holding his hand. It was great seeing how much DS loved all the characters.

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We had made the decision at breakfast that this was a do or die day, no hotel breaks would be taken since the bus ride was longer than expected. At this point we should have consulted the show schedules and headed for a show, but we were rookies and figured we’d hit them in the evening (note this is a BAD plan!). We took a stroll not really looking at the map and ended up here:

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I love that Disney adds hidden touches everywhere and if you didn’t know what it was you would walk right by it, which is what everyone was doing. I nearly screamed when I saw it! DH had no clue what it was or why I was excited. He got the camera ready and I did my pose! And down came the water! You can’t see it in my photo but it was there! DH was now excited and wanted a picture but tried and tried but no water came.

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By this time other people had stopped to watch us and they now could enjoy the hidden treasure and we didn’t want to hog it so we headed off again! We did however have a loose destination, we wanted to find Cars! We ended up asking a passing CM for directions and found them in no time. There was a bit of a line but it was fairly fast and we made pressed pennies while we waited.

I have to say the Character Handler and the photographer were very rude here! They were shuffling people through and when DD was a bit afraid of Mater they didn’t even allow me enough time to calm her down for a photo.
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/DAY%203/100_1095.jpg

DS was pushed out of the way (not literally but the other kid was called) and DS didn’t even get to pose with Mater. We managed to get this photo but the CM was not happy and was looking at us like we were doing something wrong.
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/DAY%203/100_1097.jpg

At this point we really had no direction on where we were going, again we should have gone to a show at this point but we were newbies and didn’t think it through. Instead we headed around the corner and another corner and another corner looking for Muppets 3-D.
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It took forever it felt like! We are not Muppets fans but we like 3-D and we figured we would like it. We of course had to take a pit stop at the Muppets’ water fountain with our insane love of water fountains.
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I am not kidding that it is insane. The kids FREAKED over the water fountains and waterfalls! Pulling them away from them was like pulling teeth. There was screaming and crying and yelling…. “water, water, water” like they were dehydrating and that fountain was their link to life. When we got back from WDW we took a trip to an outdoor mall to the Disney Store (WDW withdraw) that weekend to get DS a new Wall-E since he had broke his. The mall apparently has a thing for fountains as well since they are EVERYWHERE! It was a disaster and they screamed the entire time trying to get to every fountain.

We headed into Muppet’s 3-D and stood in the loading area which if I wasn’t holding a very heavy DD I would have enjoyed exploring but it was packed and DD and DS wanted to see the TV’s. At this point DH and I realized we didn’t like the Muppets and DD and DS had no clue who they were, “What were we waiting to see?” But we were already committed so we stood and stood and stood and stood.

We must have just missed going in to a show but it was packed already. By the time we sat down in the theater I was bored stiff! The show didn’t do much to lighten our mood since I fell asleep I was so bored and the 3-D seemed so forced. I like the style of 3-D more in Mickey’s Philharmagic so I wasn’t really into the show. The kids and DH weren’t really impressed either and DD straight out refused to wear her glasses.

We headed back out to make the very long trudge back to the stroller and the kid’s popcorn which they had whined about the entire wait. We were happy to let them sit and enjoy the popcorn and we explored the “Streets of America”. We again didn’t have an agenda just time and we walked around and enjoyed. I am looking forward to visiting here again during the “Osborne Lights” this year. If the kids would have been in better moods we could have got some great pictures!

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/DAY%203/100_1103.jpg

TONS MORE PHOTOS UP NEXT!!!

PrncessA

01-03-2010, 09:23 AM

Before long we came upon a world of Jedi and Sith! The Jedi training was about to begin and there was already a big crowd around the stage. I ask DH if he wanted to try and get DS closer but he said they would ride “Star Tours” instead. Fine by me! DD was grumpy and I needed a break!

Us girlies headed into the outside seating area for the CS restaurant. I parked my tired tushie under a table umbrella and grabbed the stroller fan out of the backpack and positioned it on the handles for a nice breeze. I knew I could get DD to sleep if I kept her moving so that’s just what I did.

She was out like a light in minutes and I sat there enjoying my Disney quiet. The seating area was completely empty besides me and DD and it was very relaxing. I tried checking my voicemail since we had been so busy we hadn’t even talked to my mom since we arrived and had been playing phone tag with her, but there was barely any service where I was sitting so accepted defeat and took to studying the shows schedule. DH did not want to see the car stunt show but he had wanted to see Indiana Jones, and so did I. This is when I realized we had been looking at the wrong day of scheduling and the last show we could have watched was about to start! There was nothing I could do at this point but wait for DH to come and break the news!

As I was waiting I was watching the Jedi Training from afar and I could have sworn that DS was on stage. The kid looked just like him and his shirt was the same color! I almost was upset at DH for not coming to get me! Then DH and DS walk back from the opposite way! DH and DS finally arrived back I could tell DH wasn’t too impressed with the ride but DS liked it well enough. I broke the news and we tried to make it to the show but we were pretty late!

There were other showings but the timing was bad for us since we had an early dinner ADR at The Brown Derby for a Fantasmic package. We were not giving that up! We consulted the times schedule and everything we wanted to see just didn’t work out for our schedule. We decided the shows of DHS would wait for another trip (which we were already sure was going to happen) and decided to let the day be what it wanted and that was relaxing.

Since it was close to time for the Block Party Parade and although DD was passed out DS was ready to boogie!! While DH scoped out a place to watch the parade and I took DS on a hunt for a potty and cold snacks and drinks. Does anyone else think they hide the bathrooms in DHS?

I didn’t have our map so I actually found the guest information area while looking for the bathrooms and DS fell in love! Another strange obsession is maps for him. He loves them! I was cleaning out my Disney planner to start new and found some park maps I brought home and gave them to him, he was ecstatic!

We finally found a bathroom hidden at the back of the alley across from Starring Rolls. It was crazy hidden IMO and we almost didn’t make it! DS had to GO! After our potty break we were on the search for cold caffeine and I had promised DS ice cream. Luckily they had a snack vendor near the map we had found and we headed back there. DS was literally bouncing around waiting for his ice cream Mickey! He was so excited! I grabbed DH and I pops, yes pops I’m a northern girl now and DH broke me of my southern habit of calling everything coke. Then we headed to find DH and DD. We found them pretty close to us actually and DH had a great story to tell about Disney at its best. I’ll let him share it!

I let DS sit down on the edge of the sidewalk and opened his Mickey Bar. It was crazy hot out and DS tends to be a SLOW eater even with ice cream and it began melting instantly. I tried to speed him up but he was so distracted with the performers he went at his own pace. I did manage to get a few pictures of DS and his first Mickey Bar before the inevitable happened and part of it fell to the ground. He was so upset but luckily promises of another one later and the parade starting made him happy.

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/DAY%203/100_1109.jpg

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As for the Block Party Bash, we loved it! DD slept through the entire thing and only stirred during this part:
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/DAY%203/100_1124.jpg

When we were competing with the other side of the street. It wasn’t enough to wake her up though, she was out! Pixar movies are DH’s favorite Disney movies so he loved the parade and tried (and mostly succeeded) to take pictures of every Pixar character in the parade, but he missed his favorite. I loved the Toy Soldiers! They were so fun!

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/DAY%203/100_1112.jpg

When they started pulling people from the audience for the “dance party” DS was chosen and we were a bit surprised how willing he was to just walk away and join the parade! He was fantastic and so adorable!

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/DAY%203/100_1126.jpg

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We watched the rest of the party and hated when it was over! We had a little bit until our ADR at Brown Derby and we were all ready for some quiet. DS was begging to go back to the map so we headed over to let him see it again. On the way we saw parts of BPB again and DH finally got a picture of his favorite character!

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/DAY%203/100_1141.jpg

By the time we got there (a quick 2 minute walk if that) he was asleep! This made the decision for us that we were not going on any rides now! LOL Instead we decided to explore a bit more and found a great little quiet nook down next to Echo Lake. It was perfect, quite, shaded and uncrowded. I am not sure how long we sat there just talking and letting the kids sleep. It was a perfect Disney moment in my opinion and one of my best memories from the trip. We were able to talk about everything that had happened so far in the trip and just enjoy the moment.
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DD woke up after quite a while and got a treat as well:
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/DAY%203/100_1147.jpg

We don’t let the kids have pop very often so this made her happy! I knew they needed a bit of a snack but dinner was close. DH ran to find them something, my request was apples and he delivered! He returned with two packs of apple slices! DD seemed to enjoy our relaxation spot as well and loved the view and the ducks!
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/DAY%203/100_1150.jpg

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We decided after a long while that we needed to clean up for our ADR as DS was waking up. I didn’t bring me and DH extra clothes since I assumed we were going back to the resort, oh well. We headed to the hidden bathrooms and I gave DH strict instructions on what to do. Wipe DS down with cool wet paper towels to clean and refresh him then put on his clean clothes. And I would do the same with DD. Apparently DS gave DH a run for his money and pulled a meltdown the DD would have been proud of! DD on the other hand was fantastic and even let me fix her hair!

We stopped and took some photos before heading in for our ADR!
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NEXT UP: A “Goofy” phone call and our first Signature Meal!

linnell

01-03-2010, 11:24 AM

I started reading last night and I'm all caught up now! We are taking kids in October and they'll be 4 and 2 years old by then, so I am very interested in how your two did and how you handled things. Great TR!

Chef_Skinner

01-03-2010, 12:23 PM

So as DW mentioned earlier, there was a special moment as I waited on the curb before the BPB began. As DW and DS left me and DD to find the washrooms and snacks, I found us a nice little spot that offered a bit of shade and wasn't too crowded...at least yet.

The citizen's of Hollywood (Streetmosphere) were passing by and making quite a rukus, as they should be, everyone was really getting into the whole act. The citizen's were talking to people along side of the road, engaging them into quite funny little bits and everyone was having a great time. Although, as one of the final cars drove by, in it was a very elaborately dressed actress that was yelling quite loudly. Her sight caught the fact that DD was sound asleep in the stroller, and she immediately put her fingers up to her lips signifying that everyone should be quiet. She stepped down from the car, walked over to DD and I, and told me how precious she was. She then returned to the car, pulled something from it, and returned with a ring for DD upon her waking up.

It was quite magical how she took one moment to notice DD asleep and managed to quiet down the entire crowd and offer her something that DD would be so happy with upon her waking up.

We have looked through our pictures, but I failed to take a single one of this wonderful CM, but that doesn't deny how special she made that moment. Thank you!

As DW also stated, DS and I went to ride on Star Tours, and let me tell you, if you don't mind being thrashed around for a good couple of minutes, this is the ride for you! LOL I guess I didn't really know what to expect, but I figured...Hey, this is Star Wars, how can we go wrong. And being that it is one of my favorite films, I wanted to share this with DS as he has watched the movies ( at least the first of the most recent releases ). The wait wasn't all that long and we pretty much just walked right onto the ride. We were in the first row and seated in the far right seats. I helped DS with his seatbelt and then secured mine and honestly, I thought that it was a mobile ride. Guess I should do a bit more research rather than just assuming.
As the lights dimmed and the show started, I realized that we were not going anywhere. The seats that we were in began to shake, toss us from side to side, and I instinctively placed my arm around DS's head so that he wouldn't hurt himself as the movements were quite bumpy.

All in all, the show was pretty good, and if you enjoy Star Wars, it should be a definite hit with you and the kids.

PrncessA

01-08-2010, 03:52 PM

We parked our stroller and covered it and headed into the Brown Derby. This was to be our only 2 credit meal and only because it was the only Fantasmic package that was available. We are not fancy eaters more the steak and potatoes clan really, but we decided this was going to be a step outside the box for us. We made a pack to order things that were a bit outside the comfort zone and experience something new. Yeah, that’s what we said! :sad2:

The Brown Derby was packed with people and I checked us in. DH wasn’t in the best of moods (hungry) so I took our kids (the only in the waiting area) back to the tiny back room behind the waiting area. They had a ton of room to play and there was another little girl there as well. Already we felt like the HBD wasn’t the place for kids, although I had asked on here and had good reviews for kids. While we were waiting the kids were dancing to the music and a CM came up to us and we started talking. He was very nice (Brian I think) and ask DS if this was his first time at WDW and who his favorite characters were.

DS was a bit shy but was talking to him. The CM asks we were waiting on a table and I said yes. He told me that he wanted to give DS a surprise. Next thing I know we are leaving the HBD through the back door he had DS by the hand and I was carrying DD, I barely had time to tell DH a quick “be right back”. We went across the street to the gift shop and this is where we lost it! I am so grateful for this CM to try and give DS a magical moment but I think he was a little new at it and lost DS’s understanding somewhere along the way.

First he tried to take DS behind the counter and the other CM stopped him (but didn’t even try to help him). Then he asks them to give him the phone over the counter and they literally rolled their eyes at him. Then he dialed the phone at least 4 times before it worked. Then when he gave it to DS he was so confused he had no idea what was going on. He didn’t hear who was on the phone or he didn’t understand it, then the CM says “Leave a message!” DS was very confused and starting to become a bit nervous. On top of the phone drama DD had been fighting against me to get to the TONS of Princess Merchandise everywhere. It was crazy!

When the CM finally accepted defeat (I felt so bad) he walked us back over to the HBD and moved on to the little girl who was waiting as well. It was a very weird experience to be honest! The kids went back to dancing and I was left with a semi-magical moment, I think. ::confused:
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/DAY%203/100_1165.jpg

Here you can see the CM talking to the other girl:
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After a good wait our name was called and we were seated. I can tell you that we felt completely out of place here from the very beginning. Our kids did not like the atmosphere at ALL. Immediately I had to remove DD from the restaurant to calm her down so she would sit in a high chair. I ordered a margarita and DH had a beer. I won’t bore you with the details of the meal because honestly it was mostly filled with us trying everything under the sun to keep the kids happy!

The tables are very close to each other and the couple that was set next to us was very nosey and stared at us the entire time and I promise did not say a word to each other the entire meal. DH and I thought it was very strange.

Since I can’t find the receipts I can only partially remember what we ate. I am pretty sure DH had the crab cakes and I had some kind of salad (that was too vinegary for me) for starters. The kids had veggies and ranch (which I ate some of). For our main course I had the salmon and I think DH had the duck and venison. All I can say is that I wish I had played it safe and went with the steak! The salmon was good and the sauce was amazing, but I am not a fish person so I ate only half of it. We got both of the kids’ grilled cheeses and had planned on paying OOP for DD’s since she was not on the dining plan. DH and I splurged and ordered drinks as well; a margarita for me and beer for him. Dessert was the best part although the kids ate most of mine! I had the chocolate cake and I think DH had the grapefruit cake.

All in all it was a stressful meal with the kids and the fact I was trying to eat out of my comfort zone. Another lesson learned! We are a comfort seeking family and this restaurant was defiantly not comfortable for us! DD was about to lose it at the end of the meal so I left DH to pay the bill and took her outside. While we were inside it had started to drizzle a bit but it wasn’t too bad.

We had a little while before we had to head to Fantasmic with our nice little package vouchers so we headed towards TSM just to check out the wait. DS had been begging to go back to “Woody’s Roundup” the entire day. The line was still out the door so we turned back and started toward “One Man’s Dream” which I had been dying to go into the entire day. DH on the other hand was “dying” to see the Prince Caspian “ride”, I KNEW this was a bust but he was insistent. We actually stood in line for this! :teacher:

If you ever have an urge to enter this building, hit yourself on the head and continue walking and you will get the same effect. It should be renamed “Keep walking nincompoop, it’s just a trailer for the sequel”.:rolleyes1 It was awful the kids were restless and we had to hold them through the “pre-show” then the show. It was AWFUL, can I say that again AWFUL AWFUL. I still will not let DH live it down!

After that we finally headed to OMD and DH did stop to ask the door CM if the theater was a sit down theater, lol. At this point it was more than drizzling and we were afraid that Fantasmic would be called off. I loved the exhibit and wish we could have spent hours in there reading all the history and seeing everything. I think that Walt Disney was such a wonderful man and that the world it’s self would not be the same today if he had not contributed what he did to it! The kids were not interested in the “movie” part but they did stay relatively quiet so DH and I could watch it. If they move this exhibit it will break my heart, I can’t wait to explore it more!

We decided it was time to head toward Fantasmic before it got too crowded. On the way we stopped and picked up some popcorn to snack on and caffeine for DH and me. We found a CM waving a pink Fantasmic Package Voucher and she showed us our “special” entrance, lol. It was nice not to have to wait in the line forever. We showed up at about 8:15 and the show started at 9:00, not a bad wait! We parked the stroller and grabbed our backpack and hiked up the hill to the seating area. The reserved seating was about half full and there was plenty of room to choose our seats. We sat almost right in the middle of the reserved seating. The benches were wet so I pulled out the useless ponchos I bought and laid them on the bench, perfect!

While we waited the kids ate their popcorn and played with their glow cubes from breakfast. DS and I had to hike to the restroom but other than that it was a relaxing wait and we never did get crowded. The kids wanted move around more but the time went by fast and before we knew it the show was starting.

What can we say about Fantasmic other than we thought it was fabulous and a must see for our family now! We loved everything, the music, the action, the lasers, the boats and the fireworks. The kids weren’t scared of any of it and didn’t move during the entire show. DH and I thought it was fantastic! The only part not fantastic was hiking up the hill when we left, but it could have been worse and we could have had to deal with 4x’s the crowd.

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I am sure that the end of Fantasmic cleared a lot of people out of DHS because the park seemed a lot emptier when we headed to Pixar Place. The wait for Toy Story said 30 minutes (which was amazing) so we decided to wait. I actually liked the longer wait for this ride since we got to see more of the decoration and of course Mr. Potato Head!

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I look weird here, but DD looks adorable!
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The wait was actually pretty short (shorter than our wait with the FP’s I think) and in no time we were grabbin’ our glasses. DH suggested I ride with DS this time and said that it was priceless to watch him. It was! He was so into the game and kept giving me tips! LOL I upped my score a bit and I think I was at 108,000 but DH beat me again and DS nearly beat my original score!!

A few nighttime photos:
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We were all pretty beat and it was getting late but we had one more ride to fit in before we left! The Great Movie Ride of course!! As we were searching for the stroller parking a very nice CM offered to park the stroller for us and we could go on in! We walked all the way up to the loading door and there was only a couple other people waiting in line with us.

Now this is was a weird wait for sure! The CM who was “guarding” the door (and I say guarding because that is what best described it) was in a BAD mood. Her bad mood was clashing with some of the bad moods of the people in line. We stood in line for quite a while and after the third or so round of the same trailers on the screen a woman ask why the wait was so long. I can’t remember the CM’s comment but it was rude I do remember that. EVERYONE was shocked and we were all looking at each other. The lady said something back and her and the CM were almost yelling at each other.

Then the doors opened and the CM (rudely I might add) told the lady not to move she had “other people she had to deal with”. The other people were handicapped and were in wheel chairs and she was very rude to them as well. We were all shocked at her behavior; she must have had a BAD day. Luckily we all liked the ride although we hadn’t really researched it and it was a surprise to us with the “show” and the acting. I liked that it was new to us and we didn’t know exactly what to expect!

The park was nearly empty at this point so we headed toward the exit. We did however stop at the Photopass shop to have them upload our photos to the card, what a waste of time that turned out to be! There were only 2 photos and the CM was rude about the entire thing. DH was upset at this point (we stood in line there for 20 minutes or more) and the kids were very grumpy!

Finally we made it to our bus stop and just missed a bus but we were fine with that since it looked to be standing room only. We sat on the bench and rested for a few minutes before getting into line before anyone else came. The next bus arrived pretty quick and ended up being pretty empty. I figured the kids were tired but they were wide awake and talking a mile a minute.

There was another family with kids slightly older than ours and they looked bone tired. They ask us if we did a whole day or a half day and we said whole and they were amazed at how great our kids had survived. To be honest I was amazed as well, DH and I however were not surviving that well. While DH and I both used the stroller as a walker up the uphill walkway to the WL the kids sprinted and hopped the entire way!

We actually remembered to check with the front desk to see if Bo Peep had been found and while I was standing in line to ask the kids discovered this area:
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This area is well hid IMO behind the bell services desk and the kids loved it, I think they thought it was a special area just for them since there was never any other kids there! Pixie Dust struck again and Bo Peep was saved! We headed upstairs and we all literally fell into bed! I did remember to call for a LATE wake-up call before passing out!

All in all we loved DHS but we learned that you have to plan well if you want to see all the shows. On our next trip we are devoting at least a day and a half to DHS to see everything plus the Osborne Family Lights!

cheryterese

01-08-2010, 04:09 PM

PrncessA

01-08-2010, 08:21 PM

Yay, another post! We've got one day planned at DHS for our upcoming trip (less than 3 weeks to go!) as well and I've been wondering about Fantasmic. Glad to hear your kids loved it. Mine are 1, 2, and 4 and I've been on the fence about it. I think they will like it though. Did you think it was worth eating at Brown Derby for the reserved section of seats at Fantasmic? I know you didn't love the restaurant, but was it worth it for the shorter line? I'm wondering if I should do that or just take a chance with the regular line.

I'm really enjoying your trip report! Please post more before we leave on the 26th!!! I'm anxious to hear about the first haircut. We're getting our youngest son's done. :)

Wow, so soon! Have a great time!! :woohoo::woohoo: You are braver than I with 3 kiddos in tow! Let me know how it goes! I am trying to work hard on the next day and that includes the haircut!!

Honestly I think it was completely worth it, even if I wasn't a fan of the Brown Derby! Next time we are going to try for H&V or Mama Melrose if we can get it. I am sure the Brown Derby is a great place to eat but it wasn't our style and we are set in our ways.

Our kids did better than expected waiting in lines and we didn't really bring anything extra to keep them entertained but I think the Fantasmic line would have been a bit much. I seriously thought about canceling our ADR for HBD right before the trip and going to the later showing of Fantasmic that they added about a week before our trip and I think our kids would have been good with that, but it depends on how well the kids are doing late at night.

klacey1

01-10-2010, 06:32 PM

Subscribing to catch up later!!:)

PrncessA

01-11-2010, 12:25 AM

Subscribing to catch up later!!:)

Yay, welcome!

Next update is almost done!

PrncessA

01-11-2010, 12:39 PM

To say that we were exhausted would be an understatement but the wildlife at Disney had other plans for us that night than to let us sleep! I am not sure what time it was but in the middle of the night that night it sounded like a siren started going off in our room! It was LOUD and both DH and I bolted out of bed and were freaking out. Eventually we narrowed it down to our patio door and DH slammed it shut and the siren stopped, finally.

Now being born and raised in the south in the middle of nowhere I am very accustomed with the noises of the woods and I recognized the sound as a katydid but let me tell you that 3 days of Disney and waking up to one of them echoing in your room is an experience I will never forget! I am positive that it wasn’t as loud as either one of us remember since the kids didn’t even roll over but in our memories it was like a fire truck next to the bed!

We woke up at around 8:30 the next morning and both the kids were still passed out. I was in serious pain with my throat and was losing my voice at this point! Since this was one of our off mornings we were going to let the kids sleep in a bit but as soon as we started moving around the room at around 9:00 our resident alarm clock woke up. They were happy to find that Tinkerbell had added to their growing collection of toys.

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These pictures show how tired DD must have been since she NEVER sleeps with anything in her hair!

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Our plan for the day was to take the morning slow, have breakfast downstairs at the Whispering Canyon Café at 9:40, explore the WL and head to the MK for the late afternoon and evening. I figured that scheduling us time “off” was a good idea and it would restore us for the rest of the trip.
DH ran down to the RFC to grab some coffee and I dunked the kids in the bath and got them dressed. We tried our best to take our time and we managed to get downstairs only at 9:30. This was a feat as the kids were bouncing around ready to GO and once they are awake it is hard to slow them down!
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We checked in for our ADR and I was surprised to find the dining room was practically empty. We were seated pretty close to the kitchen entrance near another large family and a table with two college age guys who left both left about 5 minutes after we got there. The only other people in the restaurant were 3 or 4 tables at the other end of the restaurant. I had told DH nothing about the atmosphere here so he had no expectations and although I read a bit about the restaurant I really didn’t either.

We did however have expectations about the food and about the service. We had had nothing but fantastic servers at every meal so far and every CM we had encountered at the WL had been wonderful. Also since I am from the “country” I am all about southern breakfast food and both DH and I were looking forward to digging in to the all-you-can-eat skillet! We noticed that a there was a bit of excitement at the other end of the restaurant and DS was excited and waiting for it to come his way!
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Notice this is the last picture I took at this restaurant! Our waitress showed up and the fun was over!
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We sat for quite a while (every other table around us had left) before we met our waitress. She did not smile or greet us and that right there should have tipped us off! She looked at DD playing with my coffee cup and said “Well I guess I can’t put your coffee in that now.” I told her I didn’t want any coffee and she rolled her eyes at me. We ordered our meal and drinks and she left. DH was ready to leave already and to be honest so was I. It was so quiet the kids picked up on it and sobered as well. There was excitement going on at the other end but we were so far away and they never came toward us.

I will not go into ALL the details about how bad this waitress was but it was bad! We hardly ever saw her when we ask for refills she literally huffed out loud and when I ask for more gravy and bacon she rolled her eyes again and said “I guess.” It was BAD! I have had my fair share of servers in my time but this was the worst. She was HORRIBLE and not only did she make us uncomfortable she made the kids uncomfortable and that is something that I think is inexcusable at Disney! DH took DS to the restroom while I ask for the bill and when I told her we were on the dining plan she said “Of course you are!” and took my KTTW card. I was near tears at this point!

When she brought back the receipts I was very upset and I was NOT going to tip her the way we normally would have tipped. I did tip but I will be honest it was only 10% and I thought that was generous considering she almost had me in tears! I signed the receipt and grabbed DD and we headed out. All the sudden our waitress was chasing us down in the lobby of the hotel and yelling that I forgot to sign the receipt for the tip. She comes up to me and says “You forgot to sign the receipt for the “tip” you think you left me.” and she rolled her eyes. I signed and by the time DH found me I was in tears. I was so looking forward to this meal and she had ruined our entire morning!

DH is not one to complain to managers but he was fed up and left me with the kids in the lobby while he went back to the WCC to talk to a manager. I let the kids explore a bit more while we waited and eventually they found the cartoon area again.
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When DH came back he said he had talked to a cook since all the managers were in a meeting and the cook said “sorry” that was the extent of it. We didn’t push farter because really what would have been the point. It was a shame though! This did cause us to cancel our ADR for lunch the next day because we didn’t want to chance having her as a server again. I regret this because we really liked the food and the style of food.

We decided to cool down and explore outside a bit and I will let the picture speak for themselves:

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We loved the WL and it’s ambiance inside and out! It is such a beautiful place! I wish there was swimming in the lake but I can understand why there isn’t!

We explored until we got too warm and headed back up to our room to find that Mousekeeping had already come and left this for us:
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I just want to note as well that we left Mousekeeping tips in very well marked envelopes everyday and set them very they were seen very easily everyday. Mousekeeping never took one of them!

Now if there had been any day to take a nap this would have been the day and I do think we actually got a bit of one but I can’t remember how long! I know DH kept asking me “When are we going to the MK??” “Is it time to leave yet?” and I think that at some point DH or I ran downstairs and grabbed sandwiches for the adults. This will teach me not to take daily notes! LOL

Now I have to regress a bit because I forgot one of the cutest stories that happened on our first night. When we got back from Epcot our first night the kids were a little hungry so we decided to make them a PB&J sandwich but we realized we didn’t have any utensils to spread the pb or jelly. All the ingredients were on the end of the bed and DH made a joke that “We should scoop some PB on our finger to eat then he would squirt some jelly in their mouth and then they could take a bite of bread.” LOL We didn’t think anything of it and we continued cleaning up before we made them sandwiches. Next thing we know DS says “Okay Daddy I’m ready for my squirt!” he had opened the PB and had a finger covered and a scoop in his mouth. It was hilarious! We remembered to grab a few plastic knives the next time were downstairs, lol!

We all dressed in our newly made tie-dye Mickey shirts and I discovered that mine was stretchy and “enhanced” Mickey, lol. Nothing I could do at this point! We headed out at around 1 or 2 I think and we made the kids PB&J sandwiches with goldfish crackers and put them in a baggie to take with us. We headed down to the docks to catch our boat…

Next up: First Haircuts and a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow!

MarriedToAPrince

01-15-2010, 01:52 PM

Great trip report! I had no idea that you could do a Playhouse Disney dining with characters! We are going to have to check that out in May with our DD. Your kiddos are adorable! Looks like they love Disney!

MarriedToAPrince

01-15-2010, 02:01 PM

PrncessA

01-15-2010, 02:17 PM

I wanted to add that your service you received for breakfast was unexcuseable and I honestly would have complained at the front desk. They should have refunded you the dining credits and tip you gave. I am sorry but that waitress didn't deserve anything! If a customer leaves in tears, especially at WDW, then something is seriously wrong!

Thank you, I agree completely. I regret not handling the situation better (and keeping our next day ADR) and talking to the front desk. We had such wonderful servers and service everywhere else it was a bit of a shock to us in the moment.

GreatBiscuit

01-15-2010, 04:46 PM

Okay I had this nice long reply done and when I went to paste it back, I click on the wrong Browser window and replied to your TR on my TR. Which was humorous, but would be quite confusing. So I got rid of quickly and somehow lost my clipboard and well....long story short it is gone.

I'll see if I can piece it back together though.

Loved that you were able to sit and chill a bit at Holywood Studios.

The parade interaction was a neat moment.

The Brown Derby magical moment was odd.

Glad you loved Fantasmic.

Sad you missed Indy.

The bad waitress in WCC stinketh. The fact that the managers were absent stinketh even more.

The PBJ story had me cracking up, as did the midnight howler out on the patio.

There. I think was pretty much it.

Enjoyed the updates!

PrncessA

01-18-2010, 11:26 AM

The update has been done for a couple days it was uploading the pictures that was the headache. I am going to have to break it into at least 2 parts to fit all the pictures in...

We headed down to the docks to catch our boat and the kids munched on their sandwiches and goldfish. Looking at the pictures we have I am guessing that the kids did take a nap because Ethan looks grumpy and he is usually grumpy when he wakes up from a nap! LOL

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We attempted to get a few photopass photos before heading into the park.

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I am telling you I have a lot of friends who complained to me before I went to Disney and told me that they never found any characters in the parks but nearly every time we walked through the front town square there were half a dozen characters scattered around. That day we saw Daisy but we there was a line and we weren’t sure if DD would actually go up to her or not even if she is one of her favorites.

We headed over to the obscure little barber shop in the corner of the town square and boy do hide it back there! If you didn’t know where it was you would walk by it a hundred times without giving it a second glance. We headed in and found the place nearly empty. There were two CM’s working and they both had grown men sitting in their chairs getting a trim and said it would be about 5 minutes. Yay almost time for DD’s first OFFICAL haircut!

When we had walked in DS had noticed Chip and Dale outside the barber shop and wanted to see them. We KNEW DD wouldn’t go near them and there was no line so DH took DS out to meet them and I waited inside with DD. The pictures are too cute although DS seems to be squinting; I think the sun must have been in his eyes.

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DH was pulled into the picture by Chip and Dale and the character handler took a picture.
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By the time DH and DS were done it was time for DD to climb up in the chair. I was very unsure about how she was going to act having someone mess with her hair. She HATES me messing with it! Our CM was Norma and she was great. We tried a few things to distract DD before we found the one that worked.
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BUBBLES!
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DS was a trooper but he was bored and another CM (who thanks to princess momma’s TR I recognized and know was named Janet) noticed and pulled out some bubbles for him to play with as well. I just love the CM’s at WDW!
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Before we knew it DD was finished and receiving her ears….
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It was a very fast process and Norma worked quickly! She ask me if I wanted pony tail and pixie dust and I said “YES!” I have NEVER seen my daughter sit this nicely through someone messing with her hair especially putting in a pony tail! I don’t think she even noticed until Norma sprinkled the pixie dust on her hair.

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Notice the Hidden Mickey on DD's cheek... lol.
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And here is my favorite picture from the experience!
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This was all for $14 plus a tip and we got her first Mickey Ears, the experience and a certificate! It was great and I recommend this to EVERYONE! I am hoping we can hold off on getting her hair cut again until our next trip but her hair has been growing fast and is getting pretty long. DS I would love to get the hair gel colors and pixie dust but I just don’t think he would go for it. He is pretty low key with his hair and hates haircuts. I was thinking about the Pirate League for our next trip for DS but he is so picky about things like that I don’t think it would be a good idea.

I charged everything to our KTTW card and we headed outside into the excitement of kids hula hoopin’ everywhere. I am thinking it was near parade time since they had roped off parts of Main St. but we had a date with a certain Space Ranger that could not be passed up!

PrncessA

01-18-2010, 11:27 AM

We fought the crowd up Main St. and cut in front of the Plaza Restaurant where I stopped to confirm our ADR for 6:20, I wasn’t sure of the time. We walked through the tunnel (is that the Noodle Station?) and entered Tomorrowland!
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First up was a trip to defeat the Evil Zurg!
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The park was pretty crowded but the line was only 15 minutes I believe and we were on pretty fast. DD and I rode together and DH and DS shared a car. I have to admit after riding TSM this was a bit of a letdown but DS loved it none the same. DD on the other hand did not! I had assumed that she would like the control over the car but it was way to jerky for her and she refused to touch the gun. Oh well. She wasn’t afraid so she just watched the scenery go by.

DD would not get anywhere near the bars...
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We thought about riding again but the wait had gone up and we had spotted our hero right across from us!

We got in line when DS announced that he had to go…. NOW. So DH left me and DD in line to wait and he ran off with DS to find a restroom. During this time DD was not happy that DS left without her and I snapped a picture of her pouting, one of MANY that we have accumulated.
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She loves to pout and we have a firm decision to ignore her when she does. I have to share this picture to prove that she will pout anywhere and everywhere. The photographer had arranged the boxes for her to sit on the purple one and put her feet on the green one. We placed her there and she stood up turned around did the opposite and pouted. It is one of my favorite pictures since it shows her personality to a tee.
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DS and DH made it back in plenty of time since the line was pretty long and slow moving. The kids were doing pretty well with the wait but some of the other kids in line were not. There was a mini war that broke out between a brother and sister in front of us. Does this ever make anyone else feel better when they see other families having the same problems you have? It makes me feel more normal, let me tell ya, and I don't often feel normal, lol.

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When we were next the Character Handler stopped us and said Buzz had to leave for a moment on Space Ranger business but he would be right back. True to her word she arrived only moments later with a slightly shorter Buzz, lol. It was then DS’s turn (DD refused to go as we had expected) and DS rushed up to meet his Pal!

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The interaction was completed with a “pound”:
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While standing DH and I had discussed what to do next and I wanted to ride the Carousel of Progress and DH was up for anything. We headed into the CoP with no wait and took our second row seats. By the time the door closed there was only about a dozen people in the seats. I had NO idea what this ride was only that it was classic Disney and I love classic Disney.

True to form this ride delivered for me and surprisingly DS who LOVED it and watches it on YouTube now. DH was more than impressed with the animatronics and DD just continually got in and out of her seat. LOL I loved the ride and would have rode it again if DH hadn’t requested riding the TTA next.

We headed over to the TTA and found ourselves in line…. For a while. This was a little strange since most reports I read say there is never a line and they ride it continually more than once. While in line DS spotted this guy and HAD to have his picture taken with him.

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We finally headed up the moving sidewalk which freaked me out to let DS stand alone on and before we knew it we were on a peaceful ride around Tomorrowland. And boy was it peaceful we could have rode again happily! DH took photos as we rode:
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Space Mountain area:
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We thought about the Astro Orbiters as we left but there was a LONG wait for them and the kids hadn’t ask to ride them so we didn’t mention them. Instead we headed to Monster’s Inc. Laugh Factory. The wait was longer than will wait for it again for sure. While in line the kids got a little grumpy and what is the cure for grumpy kiddos in this family?

Funny FACES!
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That kept them happy until we got to the pre-show room. OMGoodness could they drag it out any more was our thoughts. LOL The show was funny and we were entertained but the kids lost interest fast so the majority of our attention was on them. The technology is fantastic though!

PrncessA

01-18-2010, 11:59 AM

Since we had no interest in Stitch (and DD was too little) or the Speedway again we grabbed some chips and pop and headed to Toon Town to the kid’s favorite ride!
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The line queue here is so deceivingly long but again we only had a short wait so we rode again of course!

Next up was Mickey’s house and we were very disappointed! Minnie’s house is so interactive and the kids were able to touch everything. Mickey’s house was more like a cartoon museum and we were in and out FAST due to the constant stream of movement you get caught in. We headed out through Mickey’s garage as we had already seen the main Mouse and had another appointment with him in a couple of days. At this point we had no direction and we weren’t sure what our next adventure would be.
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It was HOT and the kids only wanted to eat their chips and we didn’t feel like walking for a while and all the sudden the train appeared! All Aboard! And that is what we did. We hurried and parked the stroller and made a mad dash toward the train. We made it and in no time we were headed toward Frontierland.
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DH and I were suffering from low blood sugar and hunger as well and we were being quite snippy with each other. When I suggested we get off the train in Frontierland and get FP’s for Splash Mt. he was NOT happy. I have to admit if I had seen us at that moment I would have thought “Wow, that’s not very Disney like.”

None the less we unboarded at the Frontierland station and with enough arguing to embarrass me even now we got our fast passes. We were all very grumpy and DH was mad that now we had to get back on the train to go back to Toon Town to get the stroller. Humm I would have thought the half a day off would have made us less grumpy! By the time we made it to Toon Town we had cooled down and calmed WAY down. We had almost an hour until our ADR and we decided we were not going to make it. I didn’t have my cell and neither did DH so I hate to admit it but we decided to be a no show for our ADR. We needed AC and quick food and we needed it now…

That was of course until we walked by Mickey’s Philharmagic and saw 0 wait and DS said he wanted to go in. This turned out to be one of our favorite shows in WDW and the kids still refer to it as Donald’s movie. They love to watch Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast and dance to the songs from Donald’s movie.
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We really needed food at that point and although we were closer to our ADR time we had decided quick and easy was our course of action that evening. We headed in to Pinocchios’ and after we made the decisions on food I sent DH to hopefully find a window seat overlooking IASW. I got pizza and salad for DH and me and a PBJ and two sides of grapes for DS and DD to share, drinks, desserts and an extra drink for DD (snack). I think I also added an order of french fries as a snack as well. A CM was nice enough to help me carry the trays back to find DH.

He had set at a table close to the windows but all the window seats were taken. Just then a family got up to leave and we moved over. DH wasn’t sure why I wanted to sit there but I knew the kids would love it and they did! I think this was one of the best meals of the trip. The kids ate part of my pizza since I was really after the salad and we all ate happily and waved to the people on the ride. It was a very relaxing meal and I am glad we decided to skip the Plaza (even if I felt bad cancelling).
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After we all filled our bellies and were happy once again the kids decided that we needed to ride IASW so we did. The kids just loved this ride as expected and they sat on the same sides as the first rides.

We headed toward Frontierland and decided a ride on POTC would be nice, so we walked on. I almost regret not having a few lines in rides like this to appreciate the theme of the queue, but I was not complaining!

DS and I were looking forward to Splash Mountain but DH didn’t like that type of ride (silly boy). People were starting to scope places out for Spectromagic so DH said he was going to look for a good place to watch. If DS and I made it back before the parade we would find him if not we would wait till after the parade and meet at the corner of Splash Mt. DS and I were super excited to get our splash on and we headed toward the FP entrance.

In no time we were climbing the stairs and weaving our way to the front of the line. We again practically walked right on and we were immersed in the world of Brer Rabbit. DS LOVED this ride and you can see his excitement here:

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I didn’t take but two pictures because I got worried about getting the camera wet and I wanted to concentrate on DS. Everytime we would climb to drop a bit he was literally bouncing with excitement. I ask him if I could put my arm around him, to tell the truth I was afraid he was going to fly out, but he said “No, I am a big boy.” Then my handsome little boy said “You can put your hand right here if you want.” and indicated his knee. I had tears in my eyes. He knew I needed that and let me have an inch even if I wanted to hold on to him tight and that was enough for me.

Splash Mountain was ended with a ton of “Can we PLEASE go again?” and to be honest with you I thought about standing in the standby line to ride again since it wasn’t too bad but I didn’t want to worry DH. We headed down the street to find DH and surprisingly found them walking toward us, DD holding a new Tinkerbell light up toy. DS was all a flutter telling his daddy about how the boat fell. DH said he had found a nice spot for the parade but a woman had literally pushed him over and he decided she wanted the spot more than him so they came to find us. LOL

We let DS pick out a light up toy for himself and we headed through Adventureland to find a place to sit and relax for a while. On the way we passed a little snack shack that seemed awfully busy… could it be… yep it was… Dole Whips! DH had no idea what these were but I was not passing them up. I LOVE pineapple and pineapple juice so a float was coming my way! DH had to see what the deal was so he got one too. We headed toward Main St. with our dole whips and found a nice little area with benches that wasn’t crowded at all. We parked and set and relaxed and ate our Dole Whips.

To be honest I liked the Dole Whip but it wasn’t as fantastic as I thought it would be. It was a little over poweringly sweet for me and for DH (who loves sweet) but they are still on my “to do” for the next trip. The kids like them and ate some of both of ours. While we were sitting we realized that Spectromagic was turning the corner and we had a great (if not far) view of it and we moved a bit to watch it. We also realized we had a great viewing of Wishes if we stayed put!

I pulled out some glow sticks for the kids and DH went to find a drink for us since the Dole Whips had left a sweet aftertaste. The kids and I sat comfortably and waited. I let them walk around a bit until it got crowded and then I herded them back into the stroller. http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/Day%204/100_1411.jpg
I am surprised we don’t have any photos after this point, but DH videoed Wishes and that was that, lol.

A nice family stopped behind us and DS and DD shared their glowsticks with them. Before we knew it the fireworks were starting and that is when I smelled DD. It was BAD and there was no way for me to fight my way through the crowd that had descended behind us. I did the best I could and changed her in the stroller. The grandpa from the family behind us held the stroller still for me so it would move, what a nice family!

The kids get fidgety during fireworks at home and they didn’t care for Illuminations so I am not sure why I thought Wishes would be different but since DH was videoing I had my hands full with the kids. I did see Tinkerbell fly and some of the fireworks but I wasn’t able to enjoy the story or the emotion behind it. Next time!

Since the kids were grumpy after Wishes we decided to call it a night with everyone else. We joined the herd of people and made our way SLOWLY down Main St. If you ever see me at Disney world and think that following me out of a crowd is a good idea, it isn’t. Like checkout lines I am the worst at choosing who to follow. As soon as I get behind someone they will stop even if they had been the fastest moving people around me. Then I swerve and get behind another crowd of moving people, they will immediately stop, this continues forever until DH takes the stroller then we magically move forward. It is weird!

When we finally exited we saw that the boat line was pretty crowded so we decided we weren’t in a hurry and we grabbed a bench and sat. We kept the kids moving and within minutes they were asleep. We sat on the bench for a long while just discussing our day and letting the crowd die down. I think just sitting and people watching that night was our perfect ending to the day.

Finally we decided to head to the boat line and we were on in no time. We made it back to the WL and to bed with no excitement and we were all in bed and asleep before we knew it. Our next day was our OFF day and we had a lot to do…

PrncessA

01-18-2010, 12:10 PM

tigerdragon

01-18-2010, 07:36 PM

I'm lovin' your TR so far! Your kids are adorable!

I want to add that our experience at WCC three years ago was not so great too. We were there for dinner and it took forever. We were a large group but it literally took 3 hours from the time we arrived at the podium to the time we left. We were not happy. The waitress was okay, not very attentive though. She was one of the reasons it took so long. She never checked on us and she was always missing. I'd try it again myself and hope for better service next time.

Can't wait to read more!

PrncessA

01-19-2010, 10:50 AM

Khill

01-19-2010, 12:15 PM

Just read your entire trip report this morning, only ytook 4 hours between calls.:rotfl:

Thank you for all the insite, and have really enjoyed ready it, and look forward to more.

PrncessA

01-20-2010, 11:58 AM

Tuesday was supposed to be our “off” day from the parks but as it turned out it was one of earliest days out of the hotel. We had a surprise “cruise” for DS at 9:30am and we needed to get to our 1900Park Fare ADR by 8:00. When I booked his surprise we had originally wanted to feed him breakfast with snack credits, send him on his cruise and the rest of us eat at 1900 Park Fare. Unfourtunaltly we couldn’t get a later ADR than 8:00 so we stuck with it.

That morning we defiantly had to wake the kids up although I felt HORRIBLE and didn’t want to get out of bed myself. I am not stretching the truth to say HORRIBLE, I felt like a stay in the hospital would do me well. I had completely lost my voice and my throat was BAD, I am sure I had a fever. However I was very excited to see DS’s reaction to his surprise so I dragged myself out of bed.

We have great video of DS waking up but since he slept in his shirt and underwear I don’t really feel comfortable posting it online, but let me tell you it is cute! What wasn't cute is my attempt at talking that morning, my voice was GONE. DS was half asleep but the first thing he noticed was his new Tinkerbell surprises of Wall-E and a few of his “friends”. Then he was simply amazed that Tinkerbell brought herself to DD. It was adorable. You can tell in the photos that they didn’t wake up as quickly as usual this morning, but it didn't stop them grabbing their new surprises, lol.

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We dressed pretty fast and dressed them both in a bit of a “tropical” feel. They looked so adorable! I was feeling really rough so DH suggested I take one of his EXTRA strength Tylenol from his surgery that he had brought and I tell you it helped me get through the morning. I also had some tea with honey that DH ran down and got for me and I was starting to feel a bit better.

We took a cab to the GF since we just didn’t know how long it would take us to get there that early any other way. We could have taken the boat to the CR and then the monorail to the GF but cab was much faster and easier. By the time we got there the kids were in great moods:

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Although the GF doesn’t really fit our family comfort style I LOVED it and I am really working on DH to stay here when we finally take a “just the two of us” trip. It is so beautiful and elegant! I could sit in the lobby all day and be perfectly happy, I just loved it! I took pictures but it would put me over the image limit so I might post them later.

We went to check in for our ADR like a few other people but they were not open yet so we made some pennies and relaxed a bit:
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Right before 8:00 we checked in and were moved to another line, then we were moved to an outside line and the kids were getting restless and grumpy. By the time we had our photo taken DD was crying and DS wouldn’t look at the camera. Needless to say we didn’t get the photo, lol.

We FINALLY got to the table and ordered our drinks. OJ for me of course!!! The kiddos had chocolate milk (remember this) and DH had coffee. The buffet here seemed very small but included really everything we needed. I loved that they had yogurt since the kids actually ate that! They also ate a bit of cereal and pancakes but they did not care for the muffins here surprisingly.

This restaurant seems a lot smaller than many we went to so the characters seemed to come around fast. Which was good since we were on a schedule to get down to the docks by 9:15! First up was Tigger and he was fantastic! I just loved both Tiggers that we saw during the trip, they were bouncing around and DS had a lot of fun with them. He still talks about this Tigger and tells the story about how Tigger drank all of HIS chocolate milk!

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Pooh was next and he didn’t really seem into the interaction and neither did DD:
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DS however was a seasoned Character Meeting vet and when Pooh started to walk away before the obligatory posed photo DS pulled him back and said “Wait I need a picture.” LOL It was hilarious.

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Mary Poppins was next and I was hoping that DD would warm up to her but she was terrified of her. I have to say our Mary Poppins was a little standoffish and didn’t really do much too warm DD up to her either. DS didn’t notice and was all about talking to her and I think they discussed toys or games before they posed.

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Next up was Alice and how cute was she! Neither of the kids had ever seen Alice in Wonderland (I tried but they couldn’t get into it) but they didn’t care they both loved Alice! Even DD allowed her to hug her and get a picture in!
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Now the reason I had wanted this ADR is because of all the great things I hear about the Mad Hatter and how fun he is. DS LOVES being goofy and funny so I thought what a great character for him to meet! I prepped DS a bit before he reached our table and told him to tell the Mad Hatter about his “funny faces” he likes to do.

When the Mad Hatter arrived the interaction went great the Mad Hatter ask Ethan a question about what he liked or something and Ethan said he liked making funny faces. The MH asks him if he showed Alice and DS said no and this is where it got FANTASTIC!

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The MH started screaming at Alice who was on the other side of the dining room saying “Alice, ALICE, Ethan is distraught.” Then he grabs DS by the hand and leads him over to Alice and tells DS to show Alice his funny faces and Alice began making the same ones back. It was such a wonderful Character interaction and made waking up early totally worth it!

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They came back we tried to get DD to look at us for a photo but she wasn’t taking her eyes off the MH behind her so all we got was MH and DS:

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We finished up, paid our bill and headed out. We stopped at the front desk to ask which way to the docks at DH’s suggestion although I thought it was obvious. There was a bit of construction going on in the lobby that we made our way around before making it outside and down to the docks to send DS off to be a Pirate!

I had worried if “surprising” him with this was the best way to go since he would be going alone and I wasn’t sure if he needed time to prepare to be without us. He is a very outgoing kid and although he is very conscious of where we are at all times he adventures out by himself easily. He has NEVER had a problem being left with babysitters or daycare so we took a chance.

We broke the surprise to him and he was excited!
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I went to check him in at the boat house and DS headed over to become a “pirate” complete with tattoo, bandanna and life jacket, lol. He was by far the smallest one there, but that doesn’t mean he was the youngest he is just so tiny. He looked a bit overwhelmed so I went to talk to him and ask me if I was going to be here when he got back, awww.

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I started having second thoughts about sending him but DH went and talked to him and had a man to man talk and reassured him more. He seemed to be very content after that.

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The kids were paired up in groups and DS was paired with “Jack Sparrow” as DS called him and although he was the biggest kid on the cruise I hoped DS wouldn’t get forgotten, lol. After they boarded the boat I heard the kid say something about the cruise not really being “real” and I was a bit disappointed in DS’s partner but there was nothing I could do. As they moved away the captain had the “pirates” scare us parents away by saying “arrrgh”. It took them saying it about 4 times before we all got the picture and left, LOL. It was hard watching my baby sail away by himself but I knew he would love it!

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Now DH, DD and I had 2 hours to spend… what would we do????

PrncessA

01-20-2010, 12:09 PM

Just read your entire trip report this morning, only ytook 4 hours between calls.:rotfl:

Thank you for all the insite, and have really enjoyed ready it, and look forward to more.

Welcome! You sound like me! I love trip reports!

PrncessA

01-21-2010, 12:32 AM

A few extra Grand Floridian photos. I honestly can't get over how beautifully elegant it was. When I was little my grandparents use to take me to visit Opryland Hotel every year around around Christmas and I loved how elegant it was and my favorite room was the atrium. For some reason the GF reminds me of my childhood and that atrium.

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PrncessA

01-25-2010, 11:03 AM

After watching DS sail away we didn’t have any solid plans to do anything. DH needed a restroom break so DD and I headed into the TINY gift shop at the GF to wait for him. It made the WL gift shop look HUGE! When DH found us we decided to hit the monorail and explore the Poly for a while. We went upstairs and first explored the larger gift shop and began looking for a specific plush for DS. He had been enamored with the “baby” plush characters at all the parks and we were on the hunt for a “baby” Donald. We found nearly every baby character in the parks and gift shops including Goofy if I remember correctly but no Donald.

After our search turned up fruitless we headed to the Monorail platform and had no wait since it was just pulling up. Now thinking back it would have been simpler and faster to walk to the Poly but it was HOT outside and I didn’t even suggest it to DH. We arrived at the Poly with no real plans other than to explore since we heard how beautiful it was. We spotted Lilo and Stitch as I made my restroom stop and DH and DD saw a parade. We headed downstairs and took turns admiring the beautiful artwork in the shop. DH and I love this type of painting (where they capture the light), if only we could afford it!

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DD was being very good so we decided to let her explore out of the stroller.
She was in a mood to hamm it up for the camera so we let her:
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She was afraid of this guy till I held her:
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I’m telling you she is a born actress! She loved all the attention and a few people actually stopped and ohhed and awed for her, lol. I think DH was calculating in his head how long he had to worry about how long he had before boys began ohhing and awing at her, lol. We moved outside to walk the paths around the buildings and DD discovered flowers as big as her head!

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It really is amazing how Disney can create such vastly different worlds in their resorts. It is hard to imagine that the WL is so close but it feels like you are in a completely different world. While the WL is earthy and relaxing and homey, the Ploy is fresh and pristine and refreshing. I added another resort to my list of “PLEASE can we stay here?” On our next trip I want to visit a few other resorts and I have a feeling I will say the same thing, LOL.

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Before long it was time to head back to the GF to be ready to see DS return. It was a bit early but I had read reviews of the cruise coming in early and parents not being notified and we didn’t want to scare him if he arrived and we weren’t there to greet him. On the monorail I saw Tinkerbell “sitting” on the back of the stroller and it looked just like DD to me. I think DD had a bottle of Tinkerbell Pixie Dust dumped on her the moment she was born! She may be a “Princess” but she has the attitude of a PIXIE!
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DD was defiantly missing her big brother and was holding on to his new Wall-E toys. She kept asking “Where’s Ethan?” It was adorable. We caught the Monorail back to the GF and by the time we reached the docks DD was asleep clutching DS toys. We sat down and waited for DS to arrive and finally we see the Pirate Ship approaching.
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I have to admit although it was fun to let him go on this adventure it was very scary to let go of him. This is the FIRST time he has ever done anything like this and I admit I was worried the entire time! We hustled up with the other parents to the railing to catch the first glimpse of our Jr. Jack Sparrows and were greeted with a ship full of tired looking children, lol. Seems being a pirate takes a lot out of you!

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DH stayed put while I moved nicely down to the exit of the docks to meet DS, meaning I ran like a woman who had just sent her baby off and wanted him back NOW. The Captain opened up the “treasure box to distribute to the crew. Then they called out names and I think checked ID’s from the parents standing at the railing before giving the child their booty and making them walk the plank (or exit their choosing).

What happened next I am not sure since I was at the far end of the docks waiting for DS but according to DH, DS was called and received his booty. He had his lunch, bandanna and booty in his arms and when he stepped out of the boat he didn’t step high enough and he took a nose dive onto the dock. I heard everyone gasp all the way at my end but by the time I could see he was already upright and seemed okay. DH said he didn’t let go of his loot for anything, lol. What a pirate!

After he fell he calmly walked up the dock and to me waiting. I felt like I could cry, he was such a big boy!

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I was very close to flinging myself on him and smothering him with kisses but I held myself back and was content with a quick hug and kiss. He was very excited to see his loot but I convinced him that he needed to take off his life jacket first, “awww, mom”. We headed back to join DH and DD (who was still snoozin’) before ripping open the treasure!

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I know there is a lot of variations of “loot” that gets distributed on the Pirate Adventures so here is what DS received:
1 Small (2 inches or so) Plastic Parrot (This has lasted and still is played with a lot.)
4 or so Pirate Gold Coins (Still turn up around the house.)
2 Plastic Rings
2 Beaded necklaces a red and a black
Play Eye Patch (better quality than the ones he has gotten from Chuck-E-Cheese in the past)
And a Treasure chest to keep it all in.

He also got “lunch” with his adventure but I think my pint size pirate either swiped someone else’s lunch or someone gave him extra because he had 2 of everything in his lunch bag. One uncrustable was opened and a bite taken and one pack of goldfish was empty but he had two unopened rice crispie treats. I tried to ask him why he had two but all I got was “argh”, lol.

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We were all ready to head back to the WL and we had planned on eating at the WCC but had cancelled after our experience the day before. I am trying to remember how we got back to the WL but I am drawing a complete blank. I know we took the monorail away from the GF and I THINK we got off at the MK and grabbed a boat back to the WL or we went to the CR and grabbed a boat. I am not sure but I know I was exhausted and was not feeling well at all.

We stopped at RFC and grabbed lunch (nothing special) and headed upstairs. We didn’t have solid plans until 5:00pm that evening! I needed to do a load of laundry and wanted to try and take a nap with DD. I banished DH as he tells the story… which I will let him do. DD and I gathered the laundry, changed into our swim suits and headed downstairs to the laundry room, when I left the elevator DD however didn’t and if I had not have quickly stuck my foot in the door she would have been left inside, lol. Her face was priceless with shock, lol.

I was so exhausted that I started the load of laundry and had no intention of sticking around. I believe our plan was to swim until DH and DS came back and swim a bit with them then go upstairs to get ready for the evening. After about 15-20 minutes of swimming I was not feeling well at all, I felt like I was about to pass out and it was HOT.

We headed back to the room and after changing DD and hanging the DND sign on the door, I put her in the Pack and Play and I collapsed on the bed. I was EXHAUSTED but I think it was mostly from being sick. I just kept thinking “All I need is an hour! Just one hour and I will be fine.” DD put up a mild fuss but was out pretty quick as well. I don’t know how long we were out before DH and DS came back and I groggily ask him to move the laundry to the dryer and again “banished him”.

Would we make it to our ADR? Would I be able to pull myself out of bed?

ethansmommy

01-25-2010, 12:08 PM

PrncessA

01-25-2010, 12:46 PM

Oh no I hope your not getting sick on your trip!!! I cant wait to see if you feel better. I am considering letting my little one (also an Ethan) go on the pirate cruise when we go back in November and reading about how your experience was is helping me decide that I can let go and be brave for him to do it on his own. He will have just turned 5 on our next trip so Im hoping he will be okay doing it on his own. Im glad to see your son had such a good time, but that sure is a mystery how he ended up with two lunches?? When you booked the pirate cruise what number did you call and is it 180 days out or 90??
~Jen

Since we only decided to take a trip about a month before I only had a month to make all of our ADR's and plans. We were VERY lucky and I was able to book every ADR minus one or two that we wanted at the time we wanted. I called to book the Pirate Cruise on the same day and it was about a month before we went.

Ethan really loved the Pirate cruise and he still talks about it and wants to do it again. I would give more details about what they did on the boat but in the words of a four year old "We found treasure with a map." and that is that. LOL

Chef_Skinner

01-26-2010, 09:48 AM

DW is exactly right. I knew that she wasn't feeling well, and with her being so tired, it was definitely a much needed rest that she required. And as much as I wanted to rest as well, she ushered DS and I out of the room as quickly as she could.

It was DW's suggestion that we use the coupon that we received for a free 30 minutes of speedboat when purchasing 60 mins. I took DS and headed on down to the beach and then over to the dock where all the boats were located. DS was a bit hesitant, but after building up the excitment a bit as I told him how fun it would be, he was all for it.

We received our receipt and after walking down to the docks, we were seated inside our own little personal speedboat and ready to take on the waves. LOL Let me tell you, this boat has a top speed of like 10 mph, and if you are looking for a thrilling ride, this certainly is not it. Although, if you are in the mood for a nice and relaxing boat ride to catch in the sites you might not otherwise see...well then by all means you should take this opportunity.

As we pulled away from the docks, I began speeding away from the WL and heading towards the campgrounds, as I slowed the boat down so that we could look around at the scenery, I asked DS how he was enjoying the ride. When I got no answer, I realized that he was enjoying it either quite well as it put him to sleep...or that it was quite boring...but either way I was on my own.

I sped around the lake, visiting the MK, the CR, GF, and once again returned to the WL. I made two laps around the lake, and let me tell you, riding in a boat that isn't going all that fast and having no one to talk to...well it can make someone batty, and it certainly was for me.

I returned to the WL after my second lap, hoping that I had utilized the 90 mins I had paid for, and found that I had only been gone a whopping 45! LOL Oh well, I wasn't about to get strapped back in, and especially since I had to wake up DS and pull him from the boat he was so tired.

We returned to the room, finding DD and DW asleep, but trying to be as quiet as possible, but as it turned out, it wasn't quiet enough. DW stated how DD had just fallen asleep, and she did not want DS around to wake her up. She suggested I take DS down to the pool and swim with him for awhile. After spending 45 mins in a very hot boat in the middle of the lake, going swimming was the very last thing I wanted to do...but I knew that DW and DD needede their rest as well. I took DS by the hand and we headed out to the pool.

The water was refreshing as the Sun was ablaze that afternoon, but being out in it wasn't all that much fun for me at the moment. DS wanted to ride down the little water slide as he saw a few of the other kids enjoying it, so I helped him find the entrance and up the stairs he went. He came down the first time with such a smile on his face, that I forgot all about the Sun and how hot I was and was in the moment with him. I helped him out of the water and watched him speed back to the stairs..and then down again he came.

Time and time again he went down, on his bottom, on his back, and a few times on his tummy...which we were told by the lifegaurd that he should not do. I know the reason for this, but I won't share it as it might make some of you cringe. After about 45 mins or so, I was ready to go back up to the room and I didn't care if DW and DD were still sleeping or not. I needed a break.

As we got back to the room, DW apologizedfor kicking us out. LOL Oh well, at least her and DD got the rest that they needed and we were raring to go for our evening...and what an adventure that turned out to be.

lexmas

01-27-2010, 08:24 AM

Just found your trip report yesterday! I read it all in one day! I love it! Can't wait to read more!

zeferjen

01-27-2010, 08:58 AM

More more more!

PrncessA

01-27-2010, 12:37 PM

Welcome! The next update is almost done!!!

KatiJ

01-27-2010, 03:53 PM

I'm loving your report! My son will be almost 4 when we go in March and my daughter was 2 in December, so it is really fun to hear what kids those exact ages like to do! Can't wait to hear the rest.

Cynsational

01-27-2010, 05:57 PM

All afternoon, your trip report kept me motivated to clean. I would clean for 20 minutes or so and then take a break to read a section of the report. If I'm ever going to finish cleaning, I'll need more to read! ;)

lisabor

01-27-2010, 06:10 PM

I just came across your trip report and read the whole thing through this morning. I had no idea it was still a work in progress and now I am suoer anxious to read the rest as soon as you have time to post!!

Thanks so much for sharing all the details of your wonderful trip. It is making me so excited for our first time to Disney this fall :)

Lisa

PrncessA

01-28-2010, 11:59 AM

When DD woke up I MADE myself pull myself out of bed. The bad news was that I felt awful, like I had a horrible case of the flu, but the good news was that my toe that had killed me for days was magically perfect. I mean it didn’t hurt at ALL, it was weird almost! By the time DH and DS came back they were not as rested as DD and me for some reason, I did feel guilty. Since we were still on our “day off” we were headed to DTD. DH had no idea what to expect and neither did I. Take the advice of so many people on the Dis I assumed that a day off was the right plan for our family, you live and you learn.

Things that make sense for one family doesn’t always make sense for the next family. We learned that we loved the parks and that the MK was very relaxing for our family and we should just plan for MK day instead of a day off which seemed to wear us down more. We all cleaned up and got dressed to head out to DTD. Now I am not sure what made us call a taxi instead of taking a bus, honestly we should have taken a bus, but that is what we did.

The cab ride was SLOW and it took FOREVER to get there, it was the most expensive cab by far. We were dropped off here:
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Not sure where that is because at that moment all I cared about was finding a restroom. We headed left into Pleasure Island and we felt like we had walked into a people oven! It was HOT and there was no shade. DH was grumpy, I was on a mission and the kids were hungry. Not a good combination! We finally found a restroom and DH found a table with an umbrella. By the time that I got back DH had made a decision, he hated DTD.

I tried to explain we were in Pleasure Island and it really isn’t open and busy till nightfall but he didn’t care. Total we only saw about a dozen people the entire time we were at PI. We were all very hungry but we were a while away from our ADR, the problem was we didn’t want to walk down to DTD just to walk back to PI to eat. I had assumed we would get dropped off near T-Rex and then we could walk up to PI when we needed. Again we should have taken the bus!

We decided to try and get into our ADR early. Out of all the ADR’s I let DH pick this one. He was adamant about eating here and when I tried to change it hurt his feelings so I kept it. I think it was mostly because he wanted Irish beer; we were headed to Raglan Road. When we walked in it was EMPTY in the foyer and I ask if we could get in early. The hostess seemed very surprised but said she could, SCORE! We parked the stroller and we were lead to a table secluded from everyone, which was fine we were starving we didn’t care.

Our waiter came and we ordered our drinks and appetizers. For the life of me I can’t remember what DH had for an appetizer but I am pretty sure I had the potato soup and it was pretty good. Since authentic food isn’t really our forte I was worried that stepping out of our comfort zone again would turn out bad, but I held hope. Before long we were joined by a few other tables and we didn’t feel like we were banished to Siberia alone, although it was hot enough. The high windows were streaming in the sun and it was HOT. Not to mention we had about a half a dozen other mini guests… the flies. They were everywhere and we spent a lot of time shooing them away. Bit of a turn off.

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The food here was very slow and the kids were not taking it very well at all! They were grumpy! We even let them drink our pop to keep them happy! We ordered the kids mac and cheese and learned that it was a white sauce when we got it. They didn’t like it but ate a bit since they were hungry. DH got the Sheppard’s Pie and he loved it! I didn’t push my limits and ordered the Heavenly Ham which turned out to be what I know as “smoked pork chops” and I LOVED them. It was one of my favorite meals of the trip. It came with potatoes and cabbage and I love both of them! We paid our bill and we headed out into the fly free outdoors.

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We were all in better moods with a bit of food in our stomach, although I was worried that the kids didn’t eat enough. I had a backup plan of stopping at McDonald’s if they got hungry and picking up “normal” food in the form of a burger and chicken nuggets. We headed toward DTD marketplace and came across this place:

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The kids were curious about it and I thought about exploring the “build-a-dino” but it was packed! Plus we had another surprise for DS coming right up! A little bit of history here: Before our trip the kids LOVED watching (still do) the YouTube video of the “Wolf’s Dance Orlando”. DS’s favorite part was seeing the Lego dinosaur and he would wait the entire video for it and get so excited. Also when I bought my 2009 Unoffical Guide one of the front color photos is of the same dino and when it fell out (pretty quick) DS grabbed it and carried it around forever. We were really excited to bring him to see the real thing! And his reaction did not disappoint…

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Before I could get a picture of him in front he discovered that there were millions of Legos just begging to be played with! I did manage to pull him away long enough for this:

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We spent A LOT of time here. DS was in Lego HEAVEN! He built his car, raced it, built another car, raced it, built another car, raced it… it went on for a long time. DD was content as well and played with Legos as well as the small playground.

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Max pics... cont. next post....

PrncessA

01-28-2010, 12:07 PM

Last pic...
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It was getting very grey outside and threatening rain so we had to wrap it up so we could make it to World of Disney. We headed inside the Lego Store and DS HAD to pose with every Lego figure, lol.
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I let DH and DS fill their cup full of Legos while I tried to keep DD calm that DS was getting something and she wasn’t yet. Then I had to pour out their cup and refill it myself to fit more in. MEN! When I refilled it with what they filled it with it was only half full, lol.

Finally we arrived at WoD and met some Princesses!
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Wow this is a Disney Lover’s Dream Store! Everything you could ever want Disney was here it felt like. Unfourtunaltly the kids were already over shopping and were getting very grumpy. We hurried through not buying anything and headed outside to find it rainy and dark! Now I am sure that DTD is fun during the day or even on warm non-rainy nights when you know where you’re going. Unfortunately we were cold and wet and had no clue which way was which. We stopped and got the kids popcorn and headed off to find “Once Upon a Toy”.

We knew we wanted to visit here so DD could fill up a My Little Pony Box and DS could build a Lightsaber. Boy is this a store for the kids! Toys as far as the eye can see! First thing that was spotted was the Mr. Potato head boxes (boy are they tiny) and the kids went wild, weird since they have a ton of Mr. Potato head stuff at home and never was interested before. They were all about creating their Potato heads but I assumed it was just because it was one of the only toys available to play with. After a while (and a fight) we moved farther in the store and we found the Lightsaber station, “whoa” was the response from DS! He fell in love with Star Wars the year before and Santa had brought him a Lightsaber for Christmas, but Daddy had his eye on a double bladed one, lol.

DD and I made our way farther back and we finally found the MLP station, now we can talk about a small box! While DD played with a pony and pieces I managed to shove one or more of each item, a big pink plastic thing (which DD informed me was a bed) and a new Pink pony. I want to say that I managed 2 ponies but I am not sure, I will have to look. DD was VERY upset with me when I told her we had to leave the station and she couldn’t play with her Pony yet. We paid and found DH and DS with their double bladed Lightsaber and we were all ready to call it a night when we looked outside and it was still VERY wet. I promised one last stop and we would find the bus stop.

We found the Christmas store and started searching for the perfect ornament while the kids whined. They had popcorn and that usually kept them happy but they were done for the day! I picked up many packs of ornaments that I wanted but I didn’t think I had room to bring them home on the plane, next time I will have them shipped home. Finally we found a Mickey Head ornament with the four parks on it that we loved and was big enough to have the year wrote on it. We grabbed a red one (our tree is decorated with red and gold) and I went to pay. The kids were getting loud so DH headed outside to try and find cover and fresh air.

The line moved VERY slowly here and it took forever for the 2 people in front of me to get checked out. Eventually I paid and got our year painted on the back. I just love the ornament and this year while it was on our tree it would always catch my eye and make me smile remembering our vacation and the great times we had. It is my favorite ornament we own!

I found DH under an awning sitting on a bench talking to a little old man. They were talking like they had known each other for years and the kids seemed to have relaxed. The man’s wife arrived about the same time so DH said goodbye and we prepared to leave. But not before the art shop that was behind us… or the shop where you make your own ears. We finally made it to the bus stop and our bus pulled in almost immediately. We were all happy and relaxed that the day was closing and that made the night as a whole seem lots better.

Now this is where we left Disney World and entered the movie Speed! The bus was pretty full, but there was no one standing up and we all had the same thought. “Is this guy nuts?” I am not kidding you everyone on the bus was talking about it! Our bus driver was FLYING and we were passing cars like they were standing still. He would turn and everyone held on for dear life. It was scary at points, especially for someone who HATES driving. We were back at the WL in no time and we were VERY grateful. DH grabbed the stroller and DS and I was in charge of the shopping bags and DD.

DH and DS jumped out the back door and DD was in front of me. I had all the shopping bags in one hand and was holding DD’s hand with the other about to help her step down off the bus. All the sudden the bus doors start to close with DD in them!!! EVERYONE on the bus screamed “NO!!!!!” and I jerked DD back as hard as I could and managed to save her from being smashed in the door although it nearly sent me falling backward. The bus driver quickly reversed the doors opened and the ladies that were toward the front of the bus were giving him an ear full. I was stunned and wanted OFF the bus. DH was pretty mad but I just wanted to get back to the room.

We had had a LONG day and it seemed like NOT being in the parks and scheduling a full day was more exhausting for us than the Parks themselves. Not sure if it would have made a difference doing nothing that day, just taking the morning off the day before and doing nothing had exhausted us.

We made it upstairs and wound down a bit watching what little TV we could find (WDW should have a channel devoted to cartoons on their TV’s don’t ya think!!) before we all went to sleep very happily, unaware of the horrors the next day would bring!

Next up: People actually ENJOY this?

lexmas

01-28-2010, 12:28 PM

PrncessA

01-28-2010, 01:33 PM

Yay, an update (and a cliffhanger)! I've definately pondered taking the day off, but I suspect it wouldn't be right for us either.

We're thinking about either the lightsabres or legos for DS this year (he'll be almost 4). Is it all tiny legos with the cup? Maybe too small for him, but I'm not sure. He hasn't played with anything smaller than duplo yet, but I'm sure he'd love to. We've done the Mr. Potato head thing a few times, and loved it! Too funny that you had to re-pack the legos, I do that too! (Umm, with everything. Including luggage.)

DD will only be 17 months...too young for my little pony? LOL. I loved them as a kid!

Anyway, thanks for the tour of downtown disney! That driver sounds crazy. Glad your DD didn't get hurt!

Can't wait to find out what happens next!

Honestly I was a bit dissapointed in the Legos. The cup is very small and the most of the Legos are tiny. If you want the bigger pieces you take up so much room and it isn't worth it. I wish we would have done the Potato Head boxes since the kids have played with their Potato Heads ALOT since we returned. It will probably replace the Legos and the MLP and both of them can fill one up... I mean they will attempt and I will succeed, lol.

I was looking for the other Fill-your-own items, Pirate Treasure Chest and the Jewelry Box but all I found was the Treasure Chest at WoD store but it wouldn't have been fair to DD w/o the jewelry box.

PrncessA

02-01-2010, 11:00 AM

I am trying to get the next update ready but the weather here is really kicking my butt! I barely pulled myself out of bed today with the horrible sinus pressure that won't go away!

tigerdragon

02-01-2010, 12:51 PM

DS makes us go to the Lego store on every trip and my DH and I have become somewhat of an expert at getting a lot of Legos in those tiny containers. My DD will be almost 2 on our trip coming up and I think I might do the My Little Pony for her since DS always gets the Legos.

I can't wait for another update!

lexmas

02-02-2010, 08:46 AM

waiting patiently! Hope you're feeling better!

PrncessA

02-02-2010, 12:37 PM

Hopefully I will be able to work on the update tomorrow. I went to the doctor today and he doesn't think it is a sinus infection although we are treating it that way right now, he thinks I might be having migraines. Here's hopin' the antibiotics work and it isn't migraines!!!!

PrncessA

02-04-2010, 11:41 AM

When we woke up the morning of Thursday September 15th there was a definite feeling of regret from both DH and I. This was our last full day at WDW and we were not ready to go yet! We had a full day planned today at the one park we had not visited yet, Animal Kingdom! I had scheduled our one AK day on an EMH day, forgetting or ignoring all the advice I had read in my books or online about the crowds on EMH day, surely it wasn’t that bad. When I woke up, although it still felt like my legs were made of lead, my throat felt much better and I didn’t really feel sick! Woohoo!

We woke the kids and found our new Tinkerbell surprises for the day before getting dressed and headin’ on out.

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As I have said before we were extremely lucky with getting nearly every ADR we wanted but the Tusker House was the elusive little bird and we were not able to get a Donald Breakfast. I had scheduled a Chef Mickey breakfast instead and when I had added the Chef Mickey Dinner I didn’t cancel this one since I knew the characters would be a hit. Since DD has slept through the dinner I was glad to have a second meal for her to meet Minnie Mouse (although at the Tusker House, Daisy would have been a huge hit I think), but we knew we were risking a lot since our last meal at CM had not treated DH or myself very well.

We headed down to the docks and were on a boat to the CR in no time, I can’t really remember if we stopped at Ft. Wilderness or not. Both kids were in fantastic moods and we were excited to see the main characters again, and hopefully DD would be happy as well since she was in a good mood.

We were checked in for our 8:10 ADR, had our photo taken and was seated pretty fast. We were seated pretty close to where we had sat the previous time and we headed up to find out what CM had for breakfast. Turns out they serve the same hash brown casserole for breakfast as well as dinner; needless to say we didn’t try it again. Other than that it was pretty much the same as all of the other breakfast buffets we went to, but not as good quality. The food seemed very greasy here more than the other buffets and I didn’t eat much other than fruit (which was very good). The kids ate quite a bit of fruit this morning as well, DD ate her weight in watermelon and was happy to do it, lol. DH wasn’t impressed either and didn’t eat as much as he usually does for breakfast.

But again the food is not what we came for (although it would have been a nice bonus); we were here for the characters! DS was a seasoned pro by this point and KNEW what and who was coming! We were sitting for a while before the first character made it to our table. Goofy was up first and I don’t think he had a good nights sleep before because he wasn’t very Goofy. In fact he didn’t actually seem very awake! Luckily DS didn’t seem to notice or mind and was happy to hug him and pose without much help from Goofy himself. DD wasn’t afraid of Goofy but she made no attempt to get near him and Goofy completely ignored her.

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Next up was Mickey. Now I am not sure why DD isn’t in her seat in the photos, either I took her out so she could meet Mickey and she balked or we had run to the buffet or potty and DH was taking pictures. I don’t remember either way, lol. From the photos it seems like Mickey was a fast talker as well as we only have two pictures with him in them! So far the breakfast characters didn’t impress.

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Next up was the Duck DS had been waiting for. He had his stuffed Donald with him again and was happy to “surprise” the Donald with him. This Donald wasn’t as animated as the nighttime Donald but he was worlds better than the previous characters that morning! I love the smile on DS’s face in these photos; he was so in love with Donald! I am so glad that he was able to experience this and believe in all the magic!

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Before we knew it Pluto surprised us and stuck his head right between DD and DS! Luckily DD didn’t freak out and if I remember correctly she even petted his nose although we don’t have a photo of it. DS however jumped up and happily hugged Pluto. Since our last Pluto was so hyper that we barely got a photo of him it was nice to have a toned down Pluto that DS at least got to hug this time!

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Next up was some good ole napkin twirling where DS again wondered why there was no parade, lol!

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Last but not least we were visited by Minnie herself and I let DD down and hoped for the best….

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Score! Although she looks a bit shy a she was very happy to see Minnie and give her a hug!

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We were finished eating and had seen everyone we came to see, it was time to pack up and head out. We paid our bill and headed downstairs to find the bus stop to AK. When we walked outside we were shocked at how warm it was already and added ourselves to the throng of waiting people at the AK bus stop. This should have been a warning sign to us but we didn’t pay any attention. Buses came and went for all the other parks but it took FOREVER for a bus to show up heading to the AK. By that time there was more than a bus full waiting. We were on in the first wave and took 3 seats with DD on my lap and DS in between us. The bus filled up but no one was standing, yet. Then the bus driver opened the doors again and let another 100 people in. It was PACKED and DD was NOT happy to be sitting on my lap.

I tried to get her to make friends with the other little girl about her age sitting on her mom’s lap next to us but she would not stop crying. Again this should have been a sign! We finally headed out of the CR packed on the bus like sardines and next thing we knew we were pulling into another resort bus stop to pick up more people! (GF or Ploy I don’t remember) Luckily only a couple people got on but it was HOT and LOUD and very crowded on the bus. Neither of the kids liked it at all and DD would not stop crying and even DS who had been VERY go-with-the-flow the entire trip was crying and saying he wanted off the bus. It was the worst transportation of the entire trip!

The bus stopped again at Blizzard Beach and although the bus was PACKED with people only a couple people got off. I had a bad feeling that AK was going to be a very busy park that day! I have to also say that some people can be so rude, even at DW. A couple (the lady who was sitting beside me) had laid their double stroller in the second doorway to get it out of the way while the bus was moving, the husband had picked it up out of the way when we stopped at the second resort. He had made his way toward the front of the bus to comfort one of their kids (on the lap of grandma) so when the bus stopped at BB he didn’t make it back in time to be in front of the couple of people getting off. He was however yelling something to the effect of “I’m coming to get my stroller!! Just a second!” He jumped out the front door and ran to the back one to grab it. He was very fast I have to admit but in the few seconds between the door opening and him getting there the stroller was stepped on by more than one person and then another person started to pick it up and shove it out of the bus on the ground! I understand being in a hurry but WOW how rude. The guy was there to partially catch his stroller being pushed out of the bus. I felt very bad for this couple because we ourselves were struggling with the crowd with our own stroller.

During the very LONG transit from the CR to AK this is what happened to DS:

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/Day%206/100_1607.jpg

We knew waking him up was not going to be fun. At this point we should have read the cards fully but we were hoping that things would get better INSIDE the park. We woke DS up and unloaded at the CR bus stop and walked miles to the front gate. It was very crowded even at this point.

After we made it in I decided I wanted to confirm our ADR at the Rainforest Café for an early dinner. When we rounded the corner we found DiVine:
The kids were grumpy and I was in a hurry to get to the RFC so I left DH to take pictures and that is the only one he got, lol. He didn’t see what was so special until I explained it to him later; he was also a bit stressed from the bus ride and the kids.

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/Day%206/100_1610.jpg

Cont. next post....

PrncessA

02-04-2010, 11:50 AM

After I got back we headed further into the AK. I knew right then that the AK was not our sort of park. It made me personally feel a little claustrophobic and boxed in. I had been looking forward to the Tree of Life but unlike the Castle, Spaceship Earth and even Mickey’s hat I wasn’t moved at all. It was a bit disappointing for me since I was looking forward to it! I don’t know if it was the rough bus ride that did it or the crowds or even that AK just wasn’t our type of vibe but we weren’t feelin’ it.

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/Day%206/100_1613.jpg

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/Day%206/100_1614.jpg

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/Day%206/100_1615.jpg

We headed back to get FP’s for the safari and realized we had NO plan for the day at all and unlike DHS or MK where winging it had did fine for us AK was WAY spread out and we needed some sort of plan. We headed toward the opposite side of the park and along the way DS at least had a few moments of fun while DD slept.

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/Day%206/100_1617.jpg

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/Day%206/100_1620.jpg

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/Day%206/100_1621.jpg

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/Day%206/100_1623.jpg

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/Day%206/100_1625.jpg

Our plan was to hit Dinoland and DH and DS were going to ride Dinosaur. DS was VERY excited about this ride since he LOVES dinosaurs and we had let him watch the ride on YouTube and while I found it a bit scary for him, he was VERY into how COOL it was, lol. It was VERY hot out and for some reason it took is a long time to find the ride, I think we thought the entrance was around the Triceratops-Spin and we looked at the map several times before realizing we were wrong, lol. By the time we got there I was ready for a nice long sit on a bench, which they have many of on the walkway up to Dinosaur, but they were ALL taken. I parked myself next to a bench up against the stone wall and waited for the people to vacate before I grabbed it for myself.

I had told DH that I would be waiting for him on one of the benches and I had no intention of moving when I sat down. I left plenty of room on the other end of the bench and it was soon occupied by a lady with her granddaughter in a stroller about DD’s age. She didn’t attempt to talk to me so I kept quiet and enjoyed people watching. Honestly out of all the parks this park seemed to have more stressed people. I saw A LOT of grumpy kids and grumpy adults and quite a few people who were having disagreements, I had a feeling the heat and the crowd was affecting other people like it was us!

While I was waiting the other lady’s daughter and husband found her and I learned they had just ridden Dinosaur and the daughter was NOT impressed. I have to say she was very rude to her mom and dad while she was telling them what “she” was going to do next. The mom was trying to explain that she wanted to find some air-conditioning and the daughter was telling her she didn’t care what she wanted she was going to ride Everest and that was that. They started arguing and I felt very uncomfortable being so close to them during the argument so I decided to head into the exit of the ride since I didn’t think DS and DH had exited yet.

I walked around and watched the photo screens for a sighting of DS and DH but nothing. Finally I figured I had missed them and headed back out to the benches when I saw DH walking toward me, not happy. Apparently I had just missed them finding me and they had walked around trying to find me in the heat while I was waiting for them in the gift shop… woops! The ride although DH wasn’t impressed (too bumpy) it was one of DS’s favorites and he managed to talk DH into buying him a foam Dinosaur as they exited.

Although DS claims that Goofy’s Barnstormer is his favorite, if you remind him of Dinosaur he will talk your head off for an hour about the ride and the bumps and the dinosaur and this and that. It is so adorable. Having kids of my own now I am completely convinced that either kids when I was a kid weren’t as smart as kids today or we were not given the credit we should have been. I can honestly say that my son is one of the smartest kids I have ever met and some of the questions he asks me blow my mind. He is so curious and has the memory of an elephant. He can name all planets already, something I didn’t learn until I was in the 4th grade!

Here are a few photos while they were in line:

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/Day%206/100_1630.jpg

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/Day%206/100_1631.jpg

We decided to head toward the Safari (can you tell that we not thinking straight, walking clear across the park again) and on the way we saw the entrance for “It’s Tough to Be a Bug”. The wait said 15 minutes so we headed on in when we finally came to the stroller parking DD was still asleep so I carried her the rest of the way. The wait was A LOT longer than 15 minutes I am positive and I am pretty sure we waited about 30 minutes or more. It was HOT and I was tired very quickly of holding a hot toddler as well. Luckily the theater was cooler and DD woke up right before the show started.

I had heard that it was potentially scary for kids but since our kids hadn’t been frightened of anything yet I wasn’t afraid that this would scare them, boy was I wrong. All I could think of the entire show was “What in the world was Disney thinking making this show?” DS quickly climbed into DH’s lap and for that I am glad since I am sure the effects on the seat would have freaked him out. The stink bug was disgusting and the part with the spiders dropping down from the ceiling was way too much for DD and she spent the rest of the show with her face hid on my chest. I saw quite a few families with smaller kids get up and leave during the show but we did stay, only to get poked in the back with a stinger that I was NOT ready for nor did I enjoy! DS didn’t get really frightened but he didn’t like the show either. Needless to say we did not enjoy the show and will NOT be seeing it again on our return trip!

After escaping the “Tree of Life” we headed toward the Safari again but we were all a bit hungry so we found a snack shop that had corn dog nuggets and after the girl FINALLY figured out how to use meal credits we finished our trek toward the safari. We parked outside of the Safari and munched on corn dog nuggets and chips before we headed over to use our FP’s. Even with the FP’s we still had about a 10-15 minute wait but we were excited about the Safari.

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/Day%206/100_1637.jpg

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/Day%206/100_1638.jpg

At home we buy a yearly membership to the WONDERFUL zoo right outside of Chicago. We go many many times a year and LOVE animals. DD is a huge animal lover (she adores monkeys) and we were excited to see animals from this prospective. Saying this in advance since we did not see many animals at all! Oh we spent a lot of time trying to show the kids the bit of animal that was not hidden behind a tree or WAY off in the distance or hiding behind a rock. We managed to see a couple of elephants and bits and pieces of other animals… we were not impressed. Seems the animals wanted out of the sun as much as we did that day! We will probably do the safari again but we will try to do it early in the morning or late in the evening.

We left the safari in plenty of time to get to Nemo about an hour before show time, we booked it across the park AGAIN (why we did this I still don’t know) and by the time we arrived about 45min-1hr before the next showing the line was HUGE!!! We parked the stroller and got in line and waited. About 10 minutes later a CM came and stopped about 20 people in front of us and said that anyone behind them would not get in; the line was already to capacity for the show.

We were all very hot and the kids were VERY grumpy! Since we were so close to Dinoland we jumped inside for spin on the TriceraTop Spin and there was surprisingly hardly any wait. Not sure why we chose different dinos though:

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/Day%206/100_1676.jpg

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/Day%206/100_1679.jpg

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/Day%206/100_1683.jpg

After we decided we needed to let the kids blow off a little steam. We headed over to the Boneyard and I took DD in while DH took DS to the potty before they joined us. I don’t have any pictures of DS because when he saw he could explore he was GONE. DD did stay on ground level and for that I was very happy. However DD need a diaper change badly and I didn’t want to hike to the bathroom a mile away (wouldn’t it have made sense to have one right there) like DH did with DS so I changed her in the stroller again, not fun.

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/Day%206/100_1684.jpg

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/Day%206/100_1687.jpg

We sat and tried to cool down a bit while the kids played but it was still very hot. I was pumping DD full of water because I was terrified she would dehydrate and whenever I could get a glimpse of DS I made him drink as well. As we were sitting (melting is more like it) a lady came up to us and introduced herself, she recognized us from the WL (where they were staying too) and she told me about dig site at the top and that it was very cool up there and they had just spent an hour up there trying to cool down. We thanked her profusely and waited for DS to show himself before heading up to the dig site.

It wasn’t crowded at all and she was right it was a lot cooler but the kids weren’t allowed to take off their shoes and they didn’t like the feeling of the “pebbles” in their shoes. It was a no go for them and we were out of there in mere minutes. At this point we were finished and decided to head over to RFC and try to get in early for our ADR and then head back to the WL. On the way we stopped and let DD pick out a plush since DS got a Dinosaur and she chose a baby monkey. We exited the turnstiles and DH let the kids explore the patio outside while I went in to see if we could be seated early.

Now I take COMPLETE responsibility for this mistake as I am the one who made the ADR and KNEW the RFC was not on the dining plan. But for some reason I thought that it was only the DTD location that wasn’t on the plan and I SWORE the one at the AK was…. It isn’t. I headed back out to tell DH and ask if he wanted to eat there anyway and pay oop but he just wanted to go back the WL and eat there. The kids weren’t complaining that they were hungry so we decided we were through with the AK and headed out to find our bus home.

The kids were in very good moods as soon as we boarded the bus. The wonderfully air conditioned bus!

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/Day%206/100_1691.jpg

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/Day%206/100_1692.jpg

Now we were NOT the only people who were headed out of the AK early that day, nearly every bus stop had a line of exhausted looking people waiting for their bus as well. I was looking at my planner for the trip last week and saw that on the paper I printed out at Touring Plans.com it said to avoid AK that day, boy I wish I had listened to them! I don’t hold it all against the AK it’s self, I fully take responsibility for not planning the day properly attempting the day completely unprepared, plus the crowd level and the heat did not help!!!

Next up: No park… what to do with our last night at Disney!

lexmas

02-04-2010, 06:02 PM

topdog

02-04-2010, 07:59 PM

Hi there. :wave2:

I am a little late to your TR but I made it.

I found your TR very refreshing compare to mine. I like how you explain the view from your kids on how they see the characters. It never even cross my mind the different between a normal face character compare to a full custom character.

You wrote so much:thumbsup2, it took me a couple day to read through everything. I will try to comment as much as I can remember.

Your kids are very cute.

Good choice on your resort. WL is my favorite too.

DxDP is the bomb.

I know my trip was the opposite compare to yours but we are only 2 adults so we rode nothing but thrill ride. However, I can see how the Disney magic began when a couple of parents watching their kids or join their kids to ride the kiddy rides. I can now totally see from your view and how it meant to you. It was totally an eye opener for me.

You have a beautiful family. So glad to hear the trip was such a success even with a few bumps and stressful moment. In the end, it's all worth it.

I hope you have a magic ending with your trip. Now, I have to cross over to read your PTR. :goodvibes

Cynsational

02-04-2010, 08:11 PM

My husband, my four year old daughter and I are going to Disney World for the very first time in a couple months. I'm new to the boards and I've really enjoyed reading your report and look forward to more!
:thumbsup2

PrncessA

02-05-2010, 07:14 AM

I was so excited to see an update! Hope this means you're feeling better!

So sorry AK didn't go well...it's one of our favorites. I bet it was the heat that made the safari so boring. The animals were smarter than everyone who came to the park that day, finding the shade.

Is there a reason you didn't go to Festival of the lion king? It's my favorite attraction at any park!

So disappointing to wait in the line for Nemo and then not be able to go. If it's any consolation, Nemo is cute, but there are better shows.

I know what you mean about It's tough to be a bug...what were they thinking? It gives me the heebie-jeebies and I'm not a small child! We haven't taken DS yet at WDW or Disneyland that's how against it I am!

I am so surprised your DS loved dinosaur! That ride is frightening! I'm so glad he did though, at least something good came of this park! (Side note: I was showing DS the planning video, and he was watching the part with Dinosaur...so they show like this huge scary T-Rex and he says, "I want to meet that T-Rex! He has sharp teeth! I want to give him a hug!" LOL. That dinosaur is vicious looking, and all my 3 year old wants to do is hug him. Smart.)

I am feeling alot better, the wonder of antibiotics, lol. Boy do I hate sinus infections!!!

Honestly I am not sure why we didn't head to FOTLK. :confused3 I have no idea why we didn't even attempt to head toward that section of the park. I KNOW I will have this park well planned on our next trip. We are going to give it another try for sure and hope that the magic finds us there next time!

Hi there. :wave2:

I am a little late to your TR but I made it.

I found your TR very refreshing compare to mine. I like how you explain the view from your kids on how they see the characters. It never even cross my mind the different between a normal face character compare to a full custom character.

You wrote so much:thumbsup2, it took me a couple day to read through everything. I will try to comment as much as I can remember.

Your kids are very cute.

Good choice on your resort. WL is my favorite too.

DxDP is the bomb.

I know my trip was the opposite compare to yours but we are only 2 adults so we rode nothing but thrill ride. However, I can see how the Disney magic began when a couple of parents watching their kids or join their kids to ride the kiddy rides. I can now totally see from your view and how it meant to you. It was totally an eye opener for me.

You have a beautiful family. So glad to hear the trip was such a success even with a few bumps and stressful moment. In the end, it's all worth it.

I hope you have a magic ending with your trip. Now, I have to cross over to read your PTR. :goodvibes

Wow, you made me cry! You are so right on how different families experience Disney in different magical ways. While we were there, we never even thought of the rides we were missing or not experienceing since the kids were too little. We were so wrapped up in the experience of seeing things the first time and with them. It truely was a magical once in a lifetime experience.

My husband, my four year old daughter and I are going to Disney World for the very first time in a couple months. I'm new to the boards and I've really enjoyed reading your report and look forward to more!
:thumbsup2

Welcome!!! There is sooo much information on the boards but I think that I learn more from reading trip reports than any other resource (it is my favorite hobby,lol).

Chef_Skinner

02-06-2010, 09:50 AM

I let DH and DS fill their cup full of Legos while I tried to keep DD calm that DS was getting something and she wasn’t yet. Then I had to pour out their cup and refill it myself to fit more in. MEN! When I refilled it with what they filled it with it was only half full, lol.

Oh, how dare you! Let me set the story straight! LOL

Now before I go on, let me just say that when I was a kid and had a Lego collection of my own, and it was quite extensive. I had a lot of Space sets that I could use to build my starships and definitely plenty of pieces to build cars, trucks, trains, and anything else my heart desired.

So of course being given free reign to pick out pieces for DS to fill his cup with, I began to add in pieces that he would actually use. Bigger pieces, specialty pieces, and rare items you might not find in a set that you buy in a store.
Although, when DW saw what I was filling DS's cup with, she stated that it would be better to fill it with smaller pieces so that we get more for our buck. Okay...well that made sense. But what she failed to convey was to only use the small pieces as fillers to go along with the bigger pieces.

So, as she continued to look around the shop, DS and I began to fill his cup with every little piece we could find, filling it completely to the top. Sure, there were a few bigger pieces here and there, but let me tell you, it was mostly one slot pieces that are used more for decoration than building anything.

As she returned and saw that we had filled his cup basically to the top with every little piece available, I could see in her expression that this is not what she meant. LOL I should have probably thought a bit more about it myself at the time, but I was going off what she had said...that is my story and I'm sticking to it!

At least now, when we return we can get him a cup filled with some of the larger pieces to go along with all the little ones I picked out for him.

Princess_Au

02-09-2010, 01:31 PM

I have to let you know that I have thoroughly enjoyed your tr. We have a 4 year ds and 14 month dd and it so helpful to hear your story with young children. And your children are so adorable.

Did I read correctly that you pre-packed each outfit in it's own zip lock bag for the day? I think I like that idea. That way you just grab it and go. I love the shower curtain idea too!

PrncessA

02-09-2010, 02:29 PM

Welcome! It was a very magical experience with them being so young! I love reading TR and I learn most of my tips from them!

I tried to pack each day in baggies and it did work for over half the trip until I did laundry and then I had to figure it out on the day. I also suggest bringing an extra outfit (or two) everyday. It was a lifesaver to have extra clothes!!! And I thouroghly endorse using a shower curtain over the stroller! It was one of the best purchases of the trip!!!

PrncessA

02-09-2010, 02:31 PM

Oh, how dare you! Let me set the story straight! LOL

Now before I go on, let me just say that when I was a kid and had a Lego collection of my own, and it was quite extensive. I had a lot of Space sets that I could use to build my starships and definitely plenty of pieces to build cars, trucks, trains, and anything else my heart desired.

So of course being given free reign to pick out pieces for DS to fill his cup with, I began to add in pieces that he would actually use. Bigger pieces, specialty pieces, and rare items you might not find in a set that you buy in a store.
Although, when DW saw what I was filling DS's cup with, she stated that it would be better to fill it with smaller pieces so that we get more for our buck. Okay...well that made sense. But what she failed to convey was to only use the small pieces as fillers to go along with the bigger pieces.

So, as she continued to look around the shop, DS and I began to fill his cup with every little piece we could find, filling it completely to the top. Sure, there were a few bigger pieces here and there, but let me tell you, it was mostly one slot pieces that are used more for decoration than building anything.

As she returned and saw that we had filled his cup basically to the top with every little piece available, I could see in her expression that this is not what she meant. LOL I should have probably thought a bit more about it myself at the time, but I was going off what she had said...that is my story and I'm sticking to it!

At least now, when we return we can get him a cup filled with some of the larger pieces to go along with all the little ones I picked out for him.

:rolleyes1 It could have went a bit that way as well. I did end up removing HALF of the smaller pieces and adding some larger ones. I just don't think we will do it again. We will probably let him choose a set instead this time.

cheryterese

02-09-2010, 03:04 PM

[COLOR="Purple"]
Now this is where we left Disney World and entered the movie Speed! The bus was pretty full, but there was no one standing up and we all had the same thought. “Is this guy nuts?” I am not kidding you everyone on the bus was talking about it! Our bus driver was FLYING and we were passing cars like they were standing still. He would turn and everyone held on for dear life. It was scary at points, especially for someone who HATES driving. We were back at the WL in no time and we were VERY grateful. DH grabbed the stroller and DS and I was in charge of the shopping bags and DD.

DH and DS jumped out the back door and DD was in front of me. I had all the shopping bags in one hand and was holding DD’s hand with the other about to help her step down off the bus. All the sudden the bus doors start to close with DD in them!!! EVERYONE on the bus screamed “NO!!!!!” and I jerked DD back as hard as I could and managed to save her from being smashed in the door although it nearly sent me falling backward. The bus driver quickly reversed the doors opened and the ladies that were toward the front of the bus were giving him an ear full. I was stunned and wanted OFF the bus. DH was pretty mad but I just wanted to get back to the room.
COLOR]

Oh my gosh! How awful!! Glad she was okay!

I agree with you on DTD. We left MK early one day to spend time here and were so sorry we did. We would have much rather stayed in the park! We did enjoy our lunch at T-Rex, but next time we won't bother with DTD. With 3 kids ages 4 and under we really couldn't shop, and our 4 year old kept asking when we were going to go on more rides!

PrncessA

02-10-2010, 12:42 PM

I have about a half hour before I need to leave to make the kiddos birthday party reservations and they are pretending to take a nap right now so I thought I would take the time to write a small bit of my TR… rather than cleaning the bathroom which I should be doing. LOL

Our ride back to the WL was A LOT less stressful than the ride from the CR to the AK! The kids set on the back row of the bus and kept me constantly terrified that the driver would slam on the breaks and they would go flying. Our original plan for the evening had been to stay at AK till about 5 to return to the resort to swim and relax. We had called it quits long before that. We were all pretty beat and instead of heading to RFC to eat we headed straight to the room to unwind.

The kids had to be hungry although they weren’t complaining but we made them PBJ sandwiches anyway and actually opened the cookies we had bought and gave them each one. DH and I were hungry but we didn’t feel like going downstairs to eat. I suggested ordering a pizza from room service and he was ALL for it. He called down and ordered pizza and salads for us with dessert and I headed downstairs to the RFC to fill up our cups

I headed down to the lobby and strolled around. It really is such a relaxing place even at this time of day which happened to be the busiest time I encountered. I strolled around the mercantile and found lots of stuff in the end I decided to not buy. Not sure why I didn’t buy anything other than I was terrified we had gone over budget for our spending. That’s when I thought about going over to the front desk and getting a copy of our dining plan credits and our room bill. Don’t know why I hadn’t thought of that before!

The concierge CM was super sweet and had my papers printed up in a jif. I headed over and found a very comfy chair and sat down to examine the damages. I was surprised to find out that it was mostly great news! This is also when I found out that on the DxDDP all the credits are pooled the same and there isn’t a difference in child credits vs. adult credits. This might have changed the way we ate at a couple CS meals. I believe we had 9 credits left for meals (after the pizza was taken) which turned out perfect for us. I can’t remember how many snack credits we had but it wasn’t too many. The funny part was that we had so much less charged to our room than expected! I had been worried about going overboard with spending and we hadn’t spent a ¼ of what I had budgeted for. Nearly all of our tips had been made in cash since we had a lot of buffets and I had pre-calculated them and had them in envelopes. I realized we hadn’t bought hardly any souvenirs!

I rushed over to the RFC and filled our cups and grabbed a bowl of chili. Why? I don’t know! I knew dinner was coming but it was there… it looked good… and it was a snack credit… why not? LOL

By the time I got back upstairs the kids were both already out like lights and DH was watching some sort of sports on TV. I plopped myself next to him on the bed and started eating my chili and let me tell you it looked and smelled better than it tasted, only a few bites made past my lips before I gave up. Almost immediately there was a knock at the door and DH got up to grab our pizza, salad and dessert. Now I can’t remember if the room service came with drinks. I want to say it did and it was cans but I really can’t remember and I didn’t take ANY pictures after we left AK minus one later on.

I DUG into my salad and was happy for the extra dressing that I picked up while I got my chili since they didn’t bring us enough. I ended up eating a bit of DH’s salad as well. The pizza to me was sorta gross and we didn’t eat much of it. DH is a HUGE pizza eater and will eat pizza no matter the taste but he only had 2 pieces or so… that is saying A LOT!!! At least we had some great dessert! I had the chocolate cake (had mousse in it I think) and DH had some sort of cheese cake and we cleaned those plates!

DH was fading fast I could tell so I let him relax and before I knew it he was asleep. I tried going to sleep, believe me I was exhausted, but I couldn’t settle my mind.

What would I do next? And who else was stirring in the room?:idea:

Monny2AE

02-11-2010, 12:05 PM

tigerdragon

02-11-2010, 12:11 PM

Ooh, now you have me curious! I want another update! popcorn::

I'm sorry you didn't like AK. Hopefully next time you go you will enjoy it more.

PrncessA

02-12-2010, 01:19 PM

I was in such a hurry to finish the last chapter I forgot to add a small detail. When I looked over our Dining Credits I realized that the Brown Derby had charged used credits for DD’s meal instead of us paying for it OOP. I didn’t realize since I left DH to pay the bill. Turns out it didn’t really matter and saved us some money OOP, but I wish it had been at a 1TS meal instead.

When I last left off everyone was asleep and I was the only one left awake. I tried shutting my eyes and about the time that I started to relax and possibly drift off to sleep I heard a very familiar rustling coming from the next bed. I looked up and DS was sitting up in his bed, wide awake. Although he was up and ready to go, I knew that DD needed more sleep and I was NOT going to wake DH because he would have been GRUMPY! LOL

I decided to take DS and head out to explore a bit more. We put on our shoes, I let a groggy DH know we were leaving, he grunted at me and we headed out quietly. We didn’t really have much of a plan other than look around. We headed down the back elevator and as we walked by the RFC DS reminded me that I had promised him another Mickey Ice Cream the other day. He was completely right and had great timing. We headed in and grabbed a Mickey Ice Cream and sat down at a table inside (didn’t want this one melting like the other outside) and he began to eat his ice cream.

Now my kids don’t get sweets very often. I am defiantly not a nutrition crazed mom who doesn’t allow any sweets near her kids. But more often than not my kids prefer graham crackers or apples for snacks or dessert and I figured if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. This is not to say they do not love cookies or and couldn't eat their weight in M&M’s, but if they will be just as happy with raisins I am not going to fight them. LOL

They do however love ice cream but DS is SLOW when eating it. I mean S L O W!!!! We were sitting in a very cool air conditioned room and by the time DS had finished one Mickey Ear the entire thing was melting to the point of a HUGE mess. I went and ask for a bowl and grabbed a spoon and he ate a few more bites that way before it was a puddle. Does that tell you how slow he is? LOL

All was well now though! He had gotten his promised ice cream and I had enjoyed a nice Disney moment alone with DS. It was a very nice moment for sure! We had talked about everything that we had done on the trip and what he wanted to do again at the MK. Donald's Movie, Goofy's Barnshop and the Mountain were his picks :rotfl2: and I agreed that they couldn't be missed!

We walked around the lobby and the mercantile but didn’t go outside since I was sure it was still hot. DS was leading the way and he just loved the WL! It was by far the best choice for us. I would have loved to sit and let him explore but he was a bit all over the place so I followed him around. It was fun! We rode the elevators a couple times before heading back to the room.
When we got back DH and DD were up and watching TV. Not sure how long they had been up before we got there but I hoped DS and I hadn’t woke them up leaving.

We talked about what to do for the remainder of the day. We had a few things at the lodge that we hadn’t taken advantage of yet. I had yet to see the geyser and we still had the arcade voucher that we knew DS would love. We decided to split up for a bit and I would take DD to the pool and DH would take DS to the arcade and meet us back at the pool when they were done.
We all changed into our suits and headed down.

It was still pretty warm outside but at least there was water! LOL DD was beyond thrilled to be swimming and jumped in the kiddie pool before I could take off her shoes, lol. I think in my previous chapters I had to have forgotten to add that we had went swimming at least one other night after we got back late at night. For the life of me I can’t remember which night it was though, probably the DTD one. The pool was a big hit!

DD and I played in the kiddie pool and was joined on and off by other families with kids around the same age. I struck up a conversation with another mom who was just beginning our vacation and she picked my brain for tips from their vacation. It made me happy to share some our experiences and possibly help out a bit! Her DS was getting his first haircut the next day so I explained where the barber shop was. I also ask her if she wanted an entire case of water since we only used one of the two we bought. She said they had ordered a ton from Garden Grocer but thanked me.

This is the only picture I have of that night. I had to have one of DD in the pool she loved so much. LOL
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/Day%206/100_1695.jpg

Before long the boys found us and DH had a said the arcade was horrible. I’ll let him share the story if he wants. DS was ready to swim so he jumped in with DD and DH ran inside to the Territory Lounge to grab us some drinks since the outside bar was closed. He made it back and with my margarita and his beer and we sat and watched the kids playing in the kiddie pool and talked for a while. Then the kids wanted to move over to the big pool so we finished our drinks and headed over. DS was able to touch in the shallow end and that was great since he jumped in about 100 times and it would have been tiring to catch him every time. I had not packed either of the kids’ life jacket swimmie things so this was actually a bit scary for me!
DD jumped in and played on the stairs and we enjoyed our last night at Disney.

It was sad to leave the pool and head back upstairs. The kid’s said they weren’t hungry but ate half a sandwich each and some goldfish. DH and I started packing our stuff up and organizing for the sad sad day coming.
When I finally finished packing the bag we planned to check I remembered that there was a scale at bell services we could use. I called downstairs and confirmed that they would be able weigh and that they were still open I sent DH downstairs with the bag. I continued packing our carryon bags and organizing our next day clothes both for the park and for the flight. DH returned pretty quickly and said that they were closed and couldn’t weight the bag. This was slightly more than annoying since I had JUST called to ask that. But non-the-less we were not going to get it weighed that night.

We finished doing as much packing as we could before turning the lights out on our last night at Disney and the beautiful Wilderness Lodge!

Our plans the next morning were to head over to the Poly for an Ohana breakfast before hitting our last day at the MK. Right before we went to sleep DH ask me if I would rather spend more time at the MK or eat at Ohana. I decided that we would hit the MK EMH instead the next morning and we called down and changed our wake up call.

All in all it was nice relaxing end to our vacation by staying at the WL and not pushing ourselves further at the AK. It was nice to relax and just let the kids swim and enjoy the pool one last time and I wouldn’t have changed the night for anything.

Next up: The End Begins…. So Sad!!

PrncessA

02-12-2010, 01:38 PM

I'm a little late but am joining in! Oh my we have lots in common! I'm on antibiotics to clear up a sinus infection too. :headache: I'm avoiding mopping my kitchen floor so apparently we both like to avoid cleaning to DIS. :lmao:

I loved DD's first haircut. Her face was priceless! Once my DD's hair is long enough I would love to have her hair cut in Disney! :lovestruc

I have a picture of my DH on the bus with our double stroller and the facial expressions are almost identical. :laughing:

We had our share of meltdowns and NUMEROUS potty trips. Must be something about a 2 yr old girl that feels the need to see EVERY potty in WDW. :sad2:

I loved that you were given 10 towels. :lmao:

Can't wait to read more!

pixiedust: Welcome!

I think DH had a strong love hate relationship with that stroller! He said we are NOT renting from them again if he can't figure out how to lock it! LOL :confused3

We are still in the the middle of trying to potty train DD. She is soooooo stubborn!!!

Ooh, now you have me curious! I want another update! popcorn::

I'm sorry you didn't like AK. Hopefully next time you go you will enjoy it more.

I am hoping! We are planning another try at it on our next trip and are visiting on a day that the crowd projector says is the least crowded!!!

cheryterese

02-12-2010, 03:32 PM

Yes! Another convert to the cause!

popcorn::

Thank you, Thank You, Thank You! I LOVE a table of contents. :thumbsup2 In fact, I rarely stick with a TR that doesn't have them. (Just not enough time to scroll through all the posts!)

I'll be catching up with the rest soon!

Please, please, if someone has a chance could you PM me and tell me how to add a table of contents to my trip report, and a trip report link to my signature? I've posted my request in Tech Support but haven't gotten any answers. Thank you!

lexmas

02-13-2010, 12:16 PM

So sad your trip is coming to a close. At least there's one more day left! Sounds like a relaxing evening though...I can't imagine how slow your DS must eat to melt an ice cream bar in air conditioning! Too funny.

I had no idea they could weigh your bags for you at bell services. Is that at all hotels? Good to know, anyway.

Since the stroller was brought up again, do you think it's worth it to have a double vs. two singles? DH and I go back and forth about it, since we have lots of strollers at home anyway (including one purchased at disney last time when we realized that carrying DS in the sling was not going to work at WDW like it did at Disneyland!). I kind of hate to buy a new stroller (we don't use them much at home) but I think maybe it's worth it since we have potentially 3 WDW trips and a DL trip on the horizon for the next 3 years. DD and DS really love sitting next to each other, so they'd like that. Plus, I'm not sure how we would stand on the bus with two strollers and two small children. Input?

Anyway, can't wait to hear about your last day!

PrncessA

02-13-2010, 08:36 PM

Please, please, if someone has a chance could you PM me and tell me how to add a table of contents to my trip report, and a trip report link to my signature? I've posted my request in Tech Support but haven't gotten any answers. Thank you!

PM'd you. :thumbsup2

So sad your trip is coming to a close. At least there's one more day left! Sounds like a relaxing evening though...I can't imagine how slow your DS must eat to melt an ice cream bar in air conditioning! Too funny.

I had no idea they could weigh your bags for you at bell services. Is that at all hotels? Good to know, anyway.

Since the stroller was brought up again, do you think it's worth it to have a double vs. two singles? DH and I go back and forth about it, since we have lots of strollers at home anyway (including one purchased at disney last time when we realized that carrying DS in the sling was not going to work at WDW like it did at Disneyland!). I kind of hate to buy a new stroller (we don't use them much at home) but I think maybe it's worth it since we have potentially 3 WDW trips and a DL trip on the horizon for the next 3 years. DD and DS really love sitting next to each other, so they'd like that. Plus, I'm not sure how we would stand on the bus with two strollers and two small children. Input?

Anyway, can't wait to hear about your last day!

I completely say take a double instead of two strollers! I know that if I had had a stroller to wrestle with as well as the kids we wouldn't have made it. I am in complete awe of people who are able but my mind doesn't work that fast. :idea: LOL We got rid of our double stroller about a year ago but after falling in love with the one from Orlando Strollers we have thought about buying a new one. We HATED our last one (it was Jeep)!

I will try to work on an update soon. DH and I treated ourselves this month to some new toys since our anniversary, vanentines day and both of our birthdays are in Feb. and March. He got a new GPS (and has been making excuses to drive around all day :lmao:) and I FINALLY got a camcorder. All of our video has been on our kodak (which I love as a camera but not a camcorder) and it is a pain to switch back and forth for video or pictures. So DH is now at the Best Buy looking at video cards since our video card is VERY basic and I can't edit videos. Now I am trying to figure out how to turn all of my .MOV files to mpegs:surfweb:. Wish me luck! LOL

PrncessA

02-15-2010, 01:30 AM

I can name about a thousand things I would rather be doing than resizing picture after picture on Photobucket... while it is moving at a snail's pace! I have the next update ready but photobucket has gotten the best of me and I am giving up... giving in... giving it a few choice words and going to bed. :headache:

Happy Valentines Day to all and to all a good night!!!:love::love:

PrncessA

02-15-2010, 02:44 PM

It makes me so sad to write this chapter… so sad. It really is like leaving home when you end a vacation at Disney and you really don’t know when you will make it back. DH and I woke up that morning feeling very sad that our vacation was coming to an end. That is not to say we didn’t have a very full day ahead of us!

We got ready and finished packing what was left out. I tried to return all of the liquids returning home with us into a baggie in the carryon, but I know I forgot a few. Coordinating a park bag, checked luggage and carryon luggage is not a fun task! I made sure to have a nice change of clothes folded in a carryon to change into later for everyone and pack the park bag with everything we needed and nothing that violated FSA regulations before we woke the kids up… and I realized I didn’t pack their plush and blankies. Yay, more packing. We managed to get everyone dressed and call bell services pretty quickly. Our goal was to make it to MK for EMH at 8am and enjoy as much of the MK as we could on our last day.

After bell services (very quickly I might add) came up and took our bags we walked around a half a dozen times looking for anything we could have missed. All clear. I will admit I was teary eyed as I said goodbye to our room. The kids weren’t sure what was going on but they understood we were saying goodbye. We jumped in the elevator and saw this little guy for the last time:

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/DAY%207/100_1698.jpg

The kids loved this guy and named him Ottie since I love River Otters and we spend a LOT of time watching them every time we go to the zoo. Although I think this little guy is actually a beaver, oh well where else better to use your imagination?

We took our customary stroll over the bridge… the last one… before bidding it farewell.
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/DAY%207/100_1699.jpg

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/DAY%207/100_1700.jpg

We headed outside to bell services to do our airline check in. The kids were really very well behaved as DH and I tried to figure out what was going on. We had no idea we could check our bag there and us the ME service to take it to the airport! I called the baggage number they gave me, charged the fee and they gave me a confirmation number for the bell hop. Easy-peazy! They printed out our boarding passes for us, gave us a luggage slip and sent us on our way to enjoy the rest of our day! How easy was that? We would pick up our carryon baggage later that evening. The entire process took about 10 minutes and mostly because we had no idea what was going on at first, lol.

Since we had decided to forgo visiting Stitch and head straight to the MK we were in need of some FOOD. As we were headed toward the RFC we came upon this little guy so we went outside...

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/DAY%207/100_1702.jpg

(SIDENOTE: This is for any of you parents out here who has ever had a child forget to put on underpants… I just noticed in these photos that DS is wearing his swimming trunks. Why, you ask? Because his mommy forgot that he needed them for the last day and packed them in the luggage and when it came time to dress him she could not find them…. Anywhere!!! I tore apart the suitcases and not one pair! He did however have one pair that I had laid out for him to wear later that day but I was terrified of him having another accident and not having any for the flight so I let him wear his trunks. Note to self: Don’t hide the underwear! He looks like he is itching here but they didn’t give him a problem so in the end all was good. )

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/DAY%207/100_1703.jpg

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/DAY%207/100_1704.jpg

The kids were so excited to see the bunny! I think DD had ideas of taking it home with her! She kept saying “Come here little bunny! Come here! I hug you!” LOL

The bunny on the other hand did not come; he backed up a bit but didn’t bolt. Just watched us… watching him. LOL

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/DAY%207/100_1706.jpg

Before DD made a lunge to grab her new pet we headed back inside and toward the RFC again. Taking a few pictures before heading indoors.

Really what can compare to this?
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/DAY%207/100_1705.jpg

Next up: A MK Morning!

cheryterese

02-15-2010, 08:59 PM

PrncessA

02-16-2010, 10:11 AM

I'm sad for you!

Thank you! :sad1:

GreatBiscuit

02-16-2010, 07:07 PM

I'm all caught up and it's time for departure? That stinketh! The AK day was sad but familiar. It didn't real vibe with our crew either. Glad you felt better the last day or two. Looking forward to seeing how it all ends.

lexmas

02-17-2010, 07:24 AM

Oh no, it's almost over!

I love all the little details disney puts into things. That little beaver/otter is just adorable. How easily they could have left it out, but they seem to know it's the little things that make us happy!

DS has never forgotten underwear, but for the longest time after potty training, he absolutely refused to wear them. He requested specifically, "just pants" LOL. But swim trunks are so smart, I never would have thought of that. I'll put it in my "parenting ideas" section of my brain for later!

Excited for your last day!

PrncessA

02-17-2010, 08:36 AM

I'm all caught up and it's time for departure? That stinketh! The AK day was sad but familiar. It did real vibe with our crew either. Glad you felt better the last day or two. Looking forward to seeing how it all ends.

We are hoping that our next AK day is better and I will definatly better plan it! I was glad that I started feeling better as well. My voice didn't come back all the way while we were there but at least I didn't sleep the rest of the vacation away! :banana:

Oh no, it's almost over!

I love all the little details disney puts into things. That little beaver/otter is just adorable. How easily they could have left it out, but they seem to know it's the little things that make us happy!

DS has never forgotten underwear, but for the longest time after potty training, he absolutely refused to wear them. He requested specifically, "just pants" LOL. But swim trunks are so smart, I never would have thought of that. I'll put it in my "parenting ideas" section of my brain for later!

Excited for your last day!

I loved that the WL is so FULL of small details. They are everywhere!

LOL, My son has a problem with pants more than underwear. If we are at home I have to constantly remind him to put on pants. He always says they itch. :confused3

klacey1

02-17-2010, 07:17 PM

I had sort of forgotten that I subscribed to this TR, but I just sat and read the entire thing-- and I'm so glad I did! Your children are adorable and I loved reading about their antics and discovering the magic! :wizard:

PrncessA

02-21-2010, 07:33 PM

I will try to get an update out early this week. Things have been hectic at work for both DH and myself and so outside work is double hectic!

I surprised the kids and DH with a trip to Medieval Times today and WOW if ppl think Disney World is expensive they should spend a few hours here! I plan to write a mini-trip about it tomorrow since we had a BLAST and the kids loved it. Although in the back of my mind I was thinking "For the cost of 3 hours here we could have had an extra night at Disney!!!!" LOL

Charlefours

02-22-2010, 08:08 PM

PrncessA

02-23-2010, 08:24 PM

This is from the new Disney Vacation site. It has to be one of the funniest things I have ever seen. :lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao:

Click Here (http://www.mymagicaldisneyvacation.com/32860)

lexmas

02-23-2010, 09:23 PM

Oh you so should not have showed me that. TOO FUNNY, and now I'm going to spend the next hour making a few of them...

PrncessA

03-01-2010, 08:34 AM

Hello! :wave2:

I am a new reader and I am thrilled to have read your PTR and have caught up with your TR! I think your children are adorable. I have a four year old DD, she seems like your Lorelai--spirited on some days and an angel other days. :cutie: (I have to ask if you watched Gilmore Girls because I cannot help but think of it when hearing the name Lorelai).

What a great vacation you have seemed to have overall. I am enjoying your TR because it seems like you are being honest--as oppose to sugar coating or denying the difficult/not so magically moments.

We are taking DD to WDW for her first visit come September and I am really enjoying finding PTR/TRs of those who went this past year around the same time we are heading off this year. I love learning all kinds of fun tips and such.

Looking forward to seeing how it wraps up...popcorn::

Gilmore Girls is my all time favorite show and yes that is where we got the name from. It completely fits her to a tee! She is very spirited!!! LOL:littleangel:

I have a hard time writing anything but the exact truth, it just feels... wrong.:confused:

I didn't get to write anything at all last week as we had a death in the family, my MIL. Please keep my husband and his sister in your prayers. My DH and his mother didn't have the best relationship and he has taken her death on Monday very hard. His birthday was Wednesday and he feels like his birthday is cursed (his aunt and grandma passed away on his birthday when he was a child). It has been a very long and rough week for our family. I hope to continue writing soon.

linnell

03-01-2010, 09:08 AM

Gilmore Girls is my all time favorite show and yes that is where we got the name from. It completely fits her to a tee! She is very spirited!!! LOL:littleangel:

I love GG too, and I wanted to use Lorelai if we had a girl, but then I named our first Lucas "Luke" (after watching a GG marathon!)

I've been enjoying your write up. I think I posted before, but we're taking our 2 and 4 yos in Sept and staying at WL! I can't wait!

lexmas

03-01-2010, 02:19 PM

I'm sorry to hear about your MIL and that your DH is having a hard time. Losing a parent is always difficult. I hope your DH is in better spirits soon, I'm keeping all of you in my thoughts! :grouphug:

cheryterese

03-01-2010, 04:52 PM

Very sorry to hear about your MIL. Prayers for you and your family and hugs to all. :hug:

Charlefours

03-01-2010, 08:58 PM

Gilmore Girls is my all time favorite show and yes that is where we got the name from. It completely fits her to a tee! She is very spirited!!! LOL:littleangel:

I have a hard time writing anything but the exact truth, it just feels... wrong.:confused:

I didn't get to write anything at all last week as we had a death in the family, my MIL. Please keep my husband and his sister in your prayers. My DH and his mother didn't have the best relationship and he has taken her death on Monday very hard. His birthday was Wednesday and he feels like his birthday is cursed (his aunt and grandma passed away on his birthday when he was a child). It has been a very long and rough week for our family. I hope to continue writing soon.

I wondered! GG is my favorite show ever! :goodvibes If we had had a boy than we were going to name him Logan. :)

Sorry to hear bout your MIL! Saying a prayer for you, your husband and the rest of the family. :hug:

PrncessA

03-03-2010, 03:03 PM

I love GG too, and I wanted to use Lorelai if we had a girl, but then I named our first Lucas "Luke" (after watching a GG marathon!)

I've been enjoying your write up. I think I posted before, but we're taking our 2 and 4 yos in Sept and staying at WL! I can't wait!

LOL, who doesn't love Luke! The WL is the perfect resort for little ones, it is great for exploring!!

I'm sorry to hear about your MIL and that your DH is having a hard time. Losing a parent is always difficult. I hope your DH is in better spirits soon, I'm keeping all of you in my thoughts! :grouphug:

Thank you for your thoughts. DH is doing better although he still has not opened the birthday card that arrived for him that she had already sent. I'm not sure if he will or not.

Very sorry to hear about your MIL. Prayers for you and your family and hugs to all. :hug:

Thank you very much.

I wondered! GG is my favorite show ever! :goodvibes If we had had a boy than we were going to name him Logan. :)

Sorry to hear bout your MIL! Saying a prayer for you, your husband and the rest of the family. :hug:

Thank you. We were going to use the name Logan for DD if she was a boy, lol.

PrncessA

03-03-2010, 03:08 PM

Sorry for going a bit off topic in this update but since we had such a wonderful time at our adventure this weekend I just had to share it and a few pictures. If I am able to figure out our new video camera uploading I might be able to get some video up as well. We decided to visit Medieval Times for the first time this weekend (we live 20 minutes from one) to celebrate the months of Feb and March. All of our birthdays plus DH and my anniversary are in these two months.

Our adventure begins…

The morning began pretty late for us as both DH and I are getting over a horrendous cold that I thought at first was the flu! Luckily (knock on wood) neither of the kids are prone to getting sick and haven’t caught it. Ethan woke up a bit later than usual at around 7:30am and was happy eating cereal and watching cartoons. DH is an early riser as well but was exhausted so neither of us really got up until around 9:00am when Lorelai finally woke up. The kids wanted pancakes and neither of us felt like making them that morning so we decided to order breakfast from Denny’s and DH would go pick it up. Anyone else love the to-go option at Denny’s?

I was pretty excited about trying out Medieval Times although I was not happy about the price! Even with a coupon code for b1g1 we ended up paying $220 for the upgraded seats! I had read a lot of reviews online and heard that it VERY expensive once you get there as well and they push other sales on you. We were prepared…

We arrived about an hour before our show and the kids were very excited to be going in a real castle! We checked in and were given our table tickets and photo tickets and where to go. Boy was it crowded! We handed over our photo ticket and were told we could dress up as princes and princesses if wanted. DH said yes immediately… lol. Not sure why but he thought it would be fun. So we paid the extra $12 and headed over to find our costumes.
Before I could blink DH and Ethan were dressed to the nines in their costumes leaving Lorelai and I to try and figure out what to wear. Lorelai wanted NOTHING to do with putting on the oversized dresses! And the dresses wanted nothing to do with oversize me. LOL It was not fun. To make matters worse there were wooden bleachers behind the costumes that the kids decided would be a hoot to climb over and over. Yay! Finally I found a dress, any dress, and tried to convince a very annoyed princess to wear a dress. She was not happy with it! I finally bribed her with grapes and she happily put on the dress. LOL My dress however kept falling off my shoulders and DH had no idea how to pin it with the clip. OH WELL, Can we just take the picture??? LOL
Here is the picture. Everyone looks pretty good except DS looks like he was in the middle of sneezing, LOL. Four copies of the photo plus a VERY nice book/frame came with our tickets. Not sure what to do with all four…lol.

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/2-22-201080602AM.jpg

After we finished our photos we grabbed our new “burger king” style hats corresponding to our knight’s colors (red and yellow) and headed into the lobby. The very FULL lobby. We kept moving until we got out of the majority of the crowd and went in search of the stables to see the beautiful horses! We were rewarded with a lot of horse butts, lol. But the kids didn’t care they loved it!
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/100_2284.jpg

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss17/witteckdisneyphotos/100_2285.jpg

They were making all sorts of announcements over the intercom but we couldn’t hear them so we headed back and came across an all too familiar sight. A man selling light up toys! Boy they sell these things everywhere don’t they! None the less Ethan asks for a sword pretty politely and Lorelai had spotted the light-up rose. DH tried to talk her into a light up septor which looked a lot more sturdy but she was determined she wanted the rose. We paid $17 for both, which I don’t think was too bad considering Disney on Ice sells the same things for twice the price or more. The sword is pretty cool if you ask me and the rose is… well a rose… oh and it lights up.

DH decided that he would check out the bar and I let the kids play with their new toys. As Ethan was swinging his sword around a “knight” walked by and held up his hands looking scared and said “I surrender!”, lol. Ethan had no idea what he was talking about and looked at him like he was crazy, it was hilarious. The guy turned out to be the MC of the show. DH returned with a very large souvenir glass of beer and we decided to head back toward the photo area to sit at the tables. Luckily they had a lot of tables left! The kids made friends with another little brother and sister and after strict instructions from me and their parents the boys given permission to play “fight” with their swords as long as the swords only hit swords. They both did very well and had a great time. I have video of it if I can upload it…

DH ran and got me a HUGE margarita! I had no idea they came in that size! The price for each of our drinks was $25! A piece!! If had been the one running to the bar we wouldn’t have got them, lol. But when I think about it the price isn’t too bad since you get a souvenir cup and the cup holds about 4-5 regular drinks which if priced out at a restaurant would have been over $25. The refills were $10 a piece but I struggled to finish the entire drink in the next 2 ½ hours anyway, lol.

Before long it was time to find our seats and they did not disappoint. We were seated front row almost exactly in the middle of the arena. Our plan was to set the kids between us but when I started down our row of seats I noticed the lady who I would set next to was pooh sized and me being slightly pooh sized myself did not want to make her or myself uncomfortable sharing arm space so I sat Lorelai next to her, then me, then Ethan and DH bringing up the rear. This turned out well since DH were close enough to talk and Lorelai ended up sitting on my lap half the time anyway.

Let me regress a bit to say getting to our seats was pretty stressful. The crowd was large and pushy and both Dh and I had our hands completely full with coats, purses, camera bags, crowns and very large drinks. The kids were really fantastic but it was still stressful, especially going down the stairs to the seats. By the time we sat down Lorelai was MAD! I could make out one word and that was grapes, oh yeah I forgot I had bribed her an hour ago. LOL Since I knew the food wouldn’t capture the kids liking I brought snacks for them and grapes are Lorelai’s favorites!

I settled our bags and we discovered our upgrade “freebies” a DVD, very nice program and a red and yellow flag. Our waiter came very quickly and introduced himself as Spike and he was fantastic. I ask about boosters and he said it would take him some time but he would get them. Our “table” or row had about 20 people in it and he was great at making you feel like he really cared about your family. He took our drink order and took my plate as I was getting the veggie food (I am not a chicken eater) and before long we the show was beginning.

Spike:
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As for the food I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was and the service was very efficient. I am certain that they were able to feed everyone in the show a course of food in a matter of less than 3 minutes. It was very fast! First was the tomato soup, which was very good. I drank mine and Lorelai’s since she was afraid of drinking from the soup bowl, lol. Ethan wanted nothing to do with the soup but ate both his and Lorelai’s garlic bread, which was very good!!

Next came the HUGE chicken, a spare rib and a roasted potato. DH dug into his with his fingers and ended up eating his and Ethan’s, lol. He said it was delish and he was STUFFED! The kids chomped on their PB crackers and I ate my very good veggie plate! The pita chips and hummus was great and veggies and beans and rice were delish! Dessert was a “mc donalds” style apple pie thingie and it tasted a lot like Mc Donalds only very fresh. All in all the meal was great and we took Lorelai’s home and DH ate it the next day, no wasting food for us! LOL

As for the show it was good as well. The only princess in the show was pretty far away up high and didn’t come down so Lorelai only saw her from afar. Our knight (the red and yellow one) was great and the kids really got into the show waving their flags and cheering when we did. Our knight was the spitting image of James Marsden, yum! LOL After each set of “tests” that the knights went through they received flowers to give to a few princesses in their cheering section.

Both Dh and I were hoping Lorelai would get a flower but by the time he reached us every time he was out. The next to last time he passed by he spotted DD and waved and winked at her. It was so cute!

After the next test of course he saved her a flower and brought it down to her. He stopped and kissed the flower and threw it to her then winked and rode away. I wish DH had videotaped it because it was adorable. DD was so excited she got a flower and loved it A LOT more than the rose we bought her. It stayed in a vase on our dining room table for about a week (carnations last forever don’t they!) before I let her have it since it would die soon. She put it in her purse and that is where it still is. It dried out very well and still looks pretty. She carries it around with her all the time.

After the tests they did the tournament and although our knight was brave and won his first match he was defeated by the bad guy, boo! The bad guy of course was defeated by the long lost prince and all was right in the world. The tournament I had heard was pretty violent and I agree but both kids knew it was “pretend” so I wasn’t worried. They do lower a mesh curtain around the arena during the tournament due to the danger of flying shards of the jousting sticks or even weapons I am guessing (nothing flew toward us either way).

I am very happy we decided to go even with the expense and although it is way too expensive to do again anytime soon it seemed like a fun experience to do again in a couple of years. I completely recommend it to anyone! My only complaint was that I didn’t think about cash for tipping our waiter and we had NONE. I was so relieved that he was able to let us tip with our credit card! I should really carry more cash!

Next up: Back to the real story of the hour! The Magic Kingdom!!!

GreatBiscuit

03-03-2010, 07:29 PM

lexmas

03-03-2010, 11:11 PM

Sounds like fun! I haven't done this since a band trip back in high school. I don't know what they were thinking bringing 300 kids to one! Seems like you had a great time. $25 for a margerita though? Wow!

stayhomemom77

03-05-2010, 07:13 PM

Hooray for GG's!! I LOVE that show. I too have a Lorelei (although she's nearly seven) and we call her Lori for short.

I'm very sorry to hear about your loss. I hope things will get better in time.

We're heading to the world in 7 weeks and I think your next trip sounds very exciting.

Looking forward to more when you are able to update.

stayhomemom77

03-05-2010, 07:14 PM

oops, subbing....forgot to do it in last post.

Charlefours

03-07-2010, 03:04 PM

I have never done the Medieval Times either--I am glad it seemed to be a great night overall. Whew, those are expensive drinks--I hope they were good!! I am horrible about carrying cash around too. I am planning on making the tip envelopes before we go down and have the cash in them so I do not have worry about it.

TFS!!!

PrncessA

03-08-2010, 10:26 AM

Great review! I've only been to MT once back in Orlando in 1990. We have one fairly close up in Dallas, but it seems we always vacation in San Antonio instead.

popcorn::

It was a lot of fun and we will probably do it again in a few years... if we get a good deal. It is just so expensive and I couldn't stop thinking about the money that could have went to Disney, lol.

Sounds like fun! I haven't done this since a band trip back in high school. I don't know what they were thinking bringing 300 kids to one! Seems like you had a great time. $25 for a margerita though? Wow!

I know if I had been the one going to the bar I would not have picked one up. Neither DH or myself are big drinkers, I am really not sure what he was thinking. :rotfl: The cup is nice though!

Hooray for GG's!! I LOVE that show. I too have a Lorelei (although she's nearly seven) and we call her Lori for short.

I'm very sorry to hear about your loss. I hope things will get better in time.

We're heading to the world in 7 weeks and I think your next trip sounds very exciting.

Looking forward to more when you are able to update.

Welcome! I am hoping that the name becomes more popular and I can start finding things in stores with her name on it. Right now I have to get generic "Princess" or get it completely customized if I want her name on it.

I have never done the Medieval Times either--I am glad it seemed to be a great night overall. Whew, those are expensive drinks--I hope they were good!! I am horrible about carrying cash around too. I am planning on making the tip envelopes before we go down and have the cash in them so I do not have worry about it.

TFS!!!

The drink was okay...

I did tip envelopes for Disney on our trip and it was great. Although we ended up with all of our Mousekeeping envelopes left over since they wouldn't take them. Since we did a lot of buffets they were easy to predict and have the tip ready.

klacey1

03-08-2010, 05:16 PM

We went to MT a couple of years ago in New Jersey and thought it was pretty fun. I'm not one for eating with my fingers :scared1:, so I had brought a plastic fork/knife in my purse. Got quite a bit of ribbing from our waiter! I do remember that the soup (not tomato, don't know exactly what kind is was) was one of the best I had ever had! I am still trying to wrap my mind around $50 for two drinks, though!!! :scared1::scared1: Glad your family had fun, though! It's nice to splurge once in a while!
So sorry about your MIL, and I hope your DH is doing better...

PrncessA

03-09-2010, 11:01 AM

We grabbed a breakfast sandwich and a couple breakfast platters and grabbed a seat in the dining room. DH and I ate quickly since the kids can eat on the go in the stroller and headed out pretty fast toward the docks.
The kids munched on their pancakes we had brought with us and we waited for our last ride to the MK. It was a beautiful morning and we could tell already that it was going to be warm! Luckily it was not as warm as the day before as we were soon thankful!

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I have to admit the ride was bitter sweet. The kids seemed to sense that we were nearing the end and DD even humored me and wore the Minnie ears that I had bought her. LOL Before we knew it we were jumping off the boat and making our way through the turnstiles for the last time this trip. Heartbreaking, I know.

Although it was EMH our first stop was to get Mickey ears of course! Could they hide this place anymore? LOL We had spent the entire trip looking for Donald duck themed ears and the closest we had come was the Donald “butt” hat and it was just too warm. We found a pair of ears that had Mickey, Pluto, Goofy and Donald on them and DS was very happy with them. DD on the other hand had a slew of Princess ears to choose from and instead of one she wanted all of them, lol. We finally decided on a pink pair with a crown and sparkly ears that said Princess.

Thank goodness we were the only ones in that side of the shop since we took forever deciding and there really isn’t room for more than one family at a time to stand directly in front of that section of ears. We paid and handed them over for their names to be added and the kids were officially eared’. Is that a word? Maybe in the wonderful world of Disney it is.

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After earning our ears we headed down a more crowded main street than our first day even though it was still EMH and the park wasn’t open yet. Our last “first” walk toward the castle…

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DH was going picture happy and took pictures of everything he could and more than enough of the back of me walking in front of him. I will spare you all from those photos. LOL We did manage to grab a last photo in front of the castle before heading through.

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Our ultimate goal was Dumbo but since it was our last morning we were taking our time and not rushing (what WERE we thinking, always Dumbo THEN take your time). We had walked right by the Sword in the Stone many times during the trip and never once noticed it! The kids didn’t know the movie but it is one of my favorites. My photography teacher in high school looked exactly like Merlin when he turned into the squirrel. I am not kidding, it was eerie. LOL The kids tried their hardest to be the chosen one but alas we were defeated by the sword.

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By the time we made our way over to Dumbo can anyone guess what the wait time was???? 25 minutes!!! I believe we wasted a lot of time picking our ears! That was the longest we waited for ANY ride our entire trip minus Soarin’. There was no way putting it off and it was likely to get worse so we jumped in line. I’m not sure what we are staring at in this photo but I want to say it was a bird in the tree.

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The line was HOT and crowded and made the kids grumpy. Not at all sure it was worth waiting for this time. But we got our last ride on Dumbo and that was the important thing at the moment.

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Our plan for the day was pretty open. We knew what rides we wanted to redo and that meeting the Fairies was our goal but other than that we had no real plan. After Dumbo we headed to the always favorite Winnie the Pooh. There was no wait except for this:

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That’s right another pouting session. No clue what it was about, could have been anything really. Most people would be inclined to think that Disney had tired her out and that is why she was so moody, but we know better. This use to happen on a daily basis at home and now it still happens pretty frequently. She is a very emotional little girl. She also seems to think that she is in charge in the family and the two of us have been having a lively debate over that one for a couple weeks now. :lovestruc

Next up was either Peter Pan or Small World, I don’t remember… Does anyone recognize this line queue, I am pretty sure it was Small World.

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It looks like there was a line but I am sure we didn’t wait long. I believe we grabbed Peter Pan fast passes at some point. After the ride DS wanted to ride Mickey’s Philharmagic (and so did I) but we were afraid that if DD and I rode it would cause us to miss rope drop at ToonTown and that was a NO NO if we wanted to see the Fairies. Instead we decided to split up and while DD and I headed to ToonTown DS and DH would watch Donald again.

DH and DS entered MP and DD and I started off toward the fairies. I had taken 2 steps before I realized that DH had our only camera! Since we had decided that DD and I would walk (easier to run into the line queue without having to stop and take her out of the stroller) I picked DD up and ran back and entered MP and managed to stop DH right before they entered the loading area. Then DD and I sprinted toward ToonTown….

Next up: Our first rope drop and meeting Tinkerbell!