Let's turn around. Magic Kingdom is open till 1AM! 3/23 Some Final Thoughts

[afwdwfan]

Hello everyone, and thanks for joining me as I write my first ever Trip Report. I wrote my first ever Pre-Trip report for this trip as well. Those of you who read it know what it said, but if you didn't and would like to check it out, here's the link. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2662484

If you didn't read the PTR and don't want to, that's fine too. I'll summarize here. DW and I have been taking vacations over the past few years with her parents or mine. We decided that this year we wanted to take DS on a family trip with just the 3 of us. We hadn't decided 100% where we were going until one day last January we had a card in the mailbox for 40% off Deluxe Resorts at Disney World... and one of the weeks available was one of the weeks we were looking at for our vacation. DW isn't as big of a Disney fan as I am, but this discount and some pictures of the Wilderness Lodge were all I needed to convince her.

Who went?

Me, Andy: Just turned 30 a week before we left. This was my 7th trip to Disney World. My favorite park is Magic Kingdom. My favorite ride is Rock n Rollercoaster.

DW: She's not 30 yet... :rolleyes1 This was her 4th trip to Disney World (and I think her favorite). Her favorite park is Magic Kingdom. Her favorite ride is also Rock n Rollercoaster, although she had to sit it out this time.

DS: He is 22 months. This was his first visit. We'll see what his favorites are as the trip goes, but Mickey and "Duck" are most definitely his favorite characters.

D?: He/She is approximately negative 5 months old, but was along for the ride.

Our plan of attack for this trip was to leave around midnight on Black Friday and drive to St. Pete Beach. Were were going to spend Friday - Sunday night there, then head up I-4 to check in at the Wilderness Lodge and have breakfast at Chef Mickeys on Monday morning. We were then to check out of Wilderness Lodge on Saturday morning, spend a day in the parks and drive to Valdosta, GA for the evening before making the remainder of the drive on Sunday. As always, everything went 100% according to plan!:thumbsup2 :lmao:

ADR's we had for the trip were:
11/28: Chef Mickeys Breakfast
11/29: Whispering Canyon Lunch
11/30: Via Napoli Lunch
12/1: Tusker House Breakfast
12/2: Crystal Palace Breakfast
12/3: Le Cellier Lunch

This was my first visit since stumbling across this fantastic community on the internet and my eyes had been opened to several things that I either didn't know about or just walked by not realizing they might be worth my time as much as some of the tried and true experiences. Since we were traveling with a toddler, I planned to slow down and try some new things, eat at some new restaurants and just thoroughly enjoy my time at Disney World.

I'm sorry for the lack of pictures in this first post, but I'm writing from work and there just aren't any good "cover" pictures on my phone that I can post. We did take pictures, and we're getting a Photopass CD, so I hope to have plenty to post, especially once I get to the Disney World portion of the trip. Thanks for reading along!

Table of Contents:
What the fog??? (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43467626&postcount=34)
Life's a Beach (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43505228&postcount=54)
Life's a Beach 2.0 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43556491&postcount=77)
Duck!!! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43564436&postcount=86)
Breakfast with Character (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43613354&postcount=101)
When it Rains... We Get Wet. (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43649119&postcount=121)
Who doesn't want extra magic? (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43680663&postcount=141)
Toy Story Mania Mania (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43723667&postcount=163)
Bring on the Corn!!! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43723735&postcount=164)
Waste a Fast Pass??? Never!!! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43753786&postcount=175)
A Day of Firsts (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43784517&postcount=186)
BEVERLY!!! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43832518&postcount=201)
Houston, We need a clean up. (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43855448&postcount=224)
A Half Day Park (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43905219&postcount=242)
I Love it When a Plan Comes Together (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43967084&postcount=256)
Yes, We know Wishes is about to start. No, We don't care. (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43988720&postcount=288)
We should have taken the bus (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=44082820&postcount=310)
An Infinitely Holly Jolly Christmas (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=44111805&postcount=325)
Where in the World Should We Eat? (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=44150975&postcount=340)
A Night With Friends (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=44189609&postcount=356)
The Magic of Disney First Aid (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=44310299&postcount=379)
Lunch in the 51st state (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=44368222&postcount=399)
Some Final Thoughts (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=44403799&postcount=417)

[KatMark]

Great start, Andy. I didn't know that a new one would be arriving at some point -- congratulations.

I'm so glad you are doing a TR. :)

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

I'm in... and you'll never be rid of me!!!


Bwahahahaha

[FreezinRafiki]

Puns! Puns! All good trip reports need puns!

[that's nice]

Yo..... :wave2:

I'll try to keep up better here than I do with Barry's TR. :rolleyes1

[KatMark]

Yo..... :wave2:

I'll try to keep up better here than I do with Barry's TR. :rolleyes1

Hey, Tim...that should be possible because I think Andy will update a lot quicker than you and Barry. :lmao::lmao::lmao:

[that's nice]

Hey, Tim...that should be possible because I think Andy will update a lot quicker than you and Barry. :lmao::lmao::lmao:

I will give him some advice...

Andy, finish your TR before the baby comes or it will end up like mine! :surfweb: :lmao::lmao:

[Grooovertoo]

I said I was in....and let's get this TR going!!!!:thumbsup2

[DWGal210]

I'm on board! Great start!

[AJRitz]

It's got a good beat, and you can dance to it. I'll give it a 7.

Oh. Wait. Um. I'm in! Yeah, that's it. I'm in!

[trennr]

:wave2:

[twokids0204]

Can't read now - but am bookmarking to catch up tonight.

Love the title - perfect argument for Park Hoppers.

[FreezinRafiki]

Yo..... :wave2:

I'll try to keep up better here than I do with Barry's TR. :rolleyes1

Hey, Tim...that should be possible because I think Andy will update a lot quicker than you and Barry. :lmao::lmao::lmao:

Wow. It took until post #5 for someone to take the first shot at me.

What took you so long?!:rotfl2:

[glennbo123]

Hi Andy! I've seen you posting on a few other threads, so thought I'd ride along on your TR here. Looking forward to it!

[Captain_Oblivious]

I'm in! And please take Barry's advice about the puns, and replace the word "puns" with "explosions". :thumbsup2

Yo..... :wave2:

I'll try to keep up better here than I do with Barry's TR. :rolleyes1

Let alone mine... :rolleyes1 :rotfl2:

[that's nice]

Let alone mine... :rolleyes1 :rotfl2:

:sad2: I hang my head in shame..... I have a lot of catching up to do around here....

Now what thread was it where I posted my "Why I can't keep on the DIS' excuses? :rotfl2::rotfl2:

[baseballmickey]

subbing. :thumbsup2

[theduck619]

It is now an Indiana gathering....I'm in :thumbsup2

[scott2997]

I'm in thanks to the [shameless plug]. :thumbsup2

[cj9200]

Didn't know you had a little one on the way. Congratulations. I am in for the long haul.

[Colleen27]

I'm in!

[GoHerd1028]

Hope I havent missed much yet!!!pirate:

[TanzUnited99]

Hi Andy! I'm joining in and looking forward to reading all about your trip!

Congrats on your new arrival :goodvibes

[khertz]

Marking my place. :goodvibes

[afwdwfan]

Great start, Andy. I didn't know that a new one would be arriving at some point -- congratulations.

I'm so glad you are doing a TR. :)
Thanks! We actually were supposed to find out what we were having on Monday, the day after we got home. Legs were crossed and there was a hand in the way. :confused3

Glad you stopped by!

I'm in... and you'll never be rid of me!!!


Bwahahahaha
:headache: I forgot the line about everyone, except my nemesis when I posted the shameless plug.

Puns! Puns! All good trip reports need puns!
You know, I think I'll just leave that to the Jungle Cruise captains and you.

Yo..... :wave2:

I'll try to keep up better here than I do with Barry's TR. :rolleyes1
See Barry, Tim doesn't like puns either.:lmao:

Hey, Tim...that should be possible because I think Andy will update a lot quicker than you and Barry. :lmao::lmao::lmao:
Well... maybe once I get rolling. I'm out of town from this afternoon till Tuesday afternoon so don't look for anything real soon.:rolleyes1

I will give him some advice...

Andy, finish your TR before the baby comes or it will end up like mine! :surfweb: :lmao::lmao:
Noted, and hopefully I can do that.

I said I was in....and let's get this TR going!!!!:thumbsup2
::yes:: Yes, yes you did. Thanks for stopping by.

I'm on board! Great start!
Thanks, glad to have you here!

It's got a good beat, and you can dance to it. I'll give it a 7.

Oh. Wait. Um. I'm in! Yeah, that's it. I'm in!
I thought it was the inconsistent beat of kids pounding on drums in Animal Kingdom.:confused3 I guess that is kind of an enjoyable sound too though.:rotfl2:

:wave2:
:wave2:

Can't read now - but am bookmarking to catch up tonight.

Love the title - perfect argument for Park Hoppers.
You know, we always get park hoppers... and we always use them. *Spoiler alert* I love having the freedom of just deciding at the last second to go eat lunch in the World Showcase.

Wow. It took until post #5 for someone to take the first shot at me.

What took you so long?!:rotfl2:
I thought about doing it in post #1, but I knew someone else would step up to the plate.

Hi Andy! I've seen you posting on a few other threads, so thought I'd ride along on your TR here. Looking forward to it!
Hi! Glad you came by. I kind of lurked on your TR, but I was about a thread behind by the time I started reading it. Still haven't caught up, but what I've read looks good!

I'm in! And please take Barry's advice about the puns, and replace the word "puns" with "explosions". :thumbsup2
We might fit a few of those in... :rolleyes1

I'm kind of kicking myself now though. We were watching Holiday Wishes and DW asked me if I wanted her to take pictures or tape it. I told her to just put the cameras away and enjoy the show. Kind of wish we had taken some pictures now.

Let alone mine... :rolleyes1 :rotfl2:
Tim has more excuses than Barry has puns though.

[afwdwfan]

:sad2: I hang my head in shame..... I have a lot of catching up to do around here....

Now what thread was it where I posted my "Why I can't keep on the DIS' excuses? :rotfl2::rotfl2:
I think I've seen them once or twice.:rolleyes1

subbing. :thumbsup2
Glad you're here!

It is now an Indiana gathering....I'm in :thumbsup2
Hey, it's the guy who takes 2 to 4 hours longer to get there! :lmao::rotfl2:

I'm in thanks to the [shameless plug]. :thumbsup2
Awesome! It worked! Glad to have you here!

Didn't know you had a little one on the way. Congratulations. I am in for the long haul.
I think I posted in DDC a while back, but we all know how that thread can get. :lmao: Thanks, glad you're here!

I'm in!
Welcome! I've been lurking on your PTR as my trip approached and yours got farther away. :rotfl2: Looks like you've got a fun one planned though.:thumbsup2

Hope I havent missed much yet!!!pirate:
Not at all. But I'm at one day into this thing and already have a pirate on the second page. It is officially a DISdad Trip Report. :lmao:

Hi Andy! I'm joining in and looking forward to reading all about your trip!

Congrats on your new arrival :goodvibes
Thanks for stopping by! ... and thanks for the congrats.:thumbsup2

Marking my place. :goodvibes
Hey, glad you're here. I need to give you credit later on for an idea you gave me.:rolleyes1

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

:headache: I forgot the line about everyone, except my nemesis when I posted the shameless plug.



Hay, it could have been worse…



I missed snagging the prestigious position of "first to sign on" by less then a minute.

Now “that”… would have been insulting.
:lmao:

[katoot]

DW isn't as big of a Disney fan as I am

[COLOR="Red"][SIZE="4"]Table of Contents:

sounds like my DW....

[CandleontheWater]

I'm here, I'm here! Can't wait to read all about it! :thumbsup2

[petals]

joining in! :)

[khertz]

Hey, glad you're here. I need to give you credit later on for an idea you gave me.:rolleyes1

Hmm, now I'm intrigued! :scratchin

[Moodyzblu]

Joining in !! popcorn::

[afwdwfan]

I missed snagging the prestigious position of "first to sign on" by less then a minute.

Now “that”… would have been insulting.
:lmao:
Yes. Yes it would.

sounds like my DW....
At least I don't have to convince mine to fly halfway around the world.:lmao:

I'm here, I'm here! Can't wait to read all about it! :thumbsup2
I'm glad you came by!

joining in! :)
Good to see you. Maybe we can see if we crossed paths at any point.:confused3 :rotfl2:

Hmm, now I'm intrigued! :scratchin
:rolleyes1

Joining in !! popcorn::
Thanks for stopping by for my slow start! :lmao:


Ok, I'm finally back at work and hopefully getting into a somewhat "normal" schedule. Between vacation and 2 conferences, I figured yesterday that I'd slept in my own bed for a total of 4 out of the last 20 nights. I used to work for the USDA and traveled all the time. I'd routinely be away from home 4 nights each week. I even got a Christmas card one year from Holiday Inn Express congratulating me on being in the top 1% of their customers for the year. :lmao::rotfl2: Just being away for a couple of conferences over the past week has made me grateful that I've had a new opportunity come about. It took a bit of a pay cut, but for the last 3 years, I've been working about 10 minutes from home and I'm there every night. I don't know how I used to do all that traveling.:headache:

Anyway, now that I'm working my way back to a routine schedule, hopefully I can get an update in here soon!

[afwdwfan]

What the fog???

We spent Thursday afternoon doing all the traditional Thanksgiving driving around and stuffing ourselves to no end. We usually end up with my dad’s side of the family where we watch a Christmas movie and hang out until very late at night. This year, we left before movie time and I was in bed by 7pm while DW kept DS awake and played downstairs to ensure he’d be thoroughly worn out for the drive. I had my alarm set for 11:45 and we were going to be on the road by midnight.

We loaded up the truck and I backed out of the garage at 12:23 am. We were on the road and Florida bound.:woohoo:

We had talked about flying, but decided to drive. I don’t mind flying, I actually enjoy it. What I don’t like is the hassle of getting to the airport and onto the plane. Since traveling with a toddler means taking half of your worldly possessions with you everywhere you go, we decided that it would just be easier to drive while he hopefully slept. That and we didn’t want DS to be “that kid” on a plane.:rolleyes1

We pulled out onto the road and that’s when I realized this might not be a fun drive. There was fog. Heavy fog. So heavy it was dripping off my mirrors and forming ice sickles:eek:. It was a heavy fog when we left and it only gained intensity as we approached Louisville. I was driving through downtown Louisville barely able to see anything in front of me. I was starting to regret the plan to drive through the night, because if that fog didn’t break soon, it was going to be a long, miserable drive. I pressed on and finally about halfway through Kentucky the fog cleared. I was extremely relieved. I have never seen such an intense, widespread fog like that.

We made it to Georgia after just one quick stop for gas in Tennessee. Atlanta is always the wild card of the trip and we wanted to make sure we had a full tank of gas and full stomachs before we hit the metro area. McDonalds did the trick for a quick breakfast and we sailed through Atlanta during the tail end of a Black Friday morning rush hour without hitting any traffic to speak of. It sure was better than the drive though Louisville!:lmao:

One of the best things about a road trip is the fact that you get to see interesting things. I’m not referring to the numerous billboards for adult bookstores and strippers that line I-75 in Georgia. I’m kind of an Ag nerd. I live on a corn and soybean farm, but growing things fascinates me. Crop science was my minor when I was in college. This was the first time I had ever driven through Georgia during the fall and I was kind of excited when I saw mature cotton plants standing in the fields. Better yet, I even got to see them harvesting it. Not something you ever get to see in Indiana. I really wish I had stopped to take pictures, but we pressed on. I thought it was interesting to see something new though. Little discoveries like that make the drive worthwhile!

We arrived at St. Pete beach at around 4pm. DS was a very good passenger for most of the drive, but started to get a little bit whiny for the last hour or 2. Who could blame him though? We kept him entertained with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse in the DVD player and once we got checked in, we headed down to the beach to burn off some energy.


http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7152/6511534863_75347a0200_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/62716900@N02/6511534863/)
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7151/6511540859_cfb9a65b91_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/62716900@N02/6511540859/)

[Moodyzblu]

I'm not a huge fan of driving to WDW (we used to drive from MA to FL and t's just WAY too far) but I love seeing all the side things. Farms and little towns are fascinating to me. I definitely love stopping at beaches too !

Love the pic of your ds on the beach !!

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

…I was in bed by 7pm
I had my alarm set for 11:45…
I backed out of the garage at 12:23 am…


This sounds like my evening the night before Thanksgiving (but there were a very different set of circumstances for that schedule)



That and we didn’t want DS to be “that kid” on a plane.


I understand that one. Our boy’s first plane trip was at the age of 2-months :eek:, but thank the maker, he slept the whole time. Good thing too… this was before the advent of Air Marshals, and I suspect there’d have been blood shed had we been the parents of “that kid”.



We pulled out onto the road and that’s when I realized this might not be a fun drive. There was fog. Heavy fog. So heavy it was dripping off my mirrors and forming ice sickles.


I have yet to drive to Fla without getting rained on at least once. I do believe that fog of that caliber would count as precipitation in my book.



…we sailed through Atlanta during the tail end of a Black Friday morning rush hour without hitting any traffic to speak of. It sure was better than the drive though Louisville!



Fog worse then Black Friday traffic?
What the fog!



One of the best things about a road trip is the fact that you get to see interesting things. I’m not referring to the numerous billboards for adult bookstores and strippers that line I-75 in Georgia.


They’ve got those in mass quantities along I-95 through GA as well. It must be something about Georgia. We may need to ask Fed about that one.



I really wish I had stopped to take pictures…


Me too. Then you could have thrown in a side discussion on the process.


Topic… we don’t need no stinkin’ topic!



We arrived at St. Pete beach at around 4pm. DS was a very good passenger for most of the drive, but started to get a little bit whiny for the last hour or 2. Who could blame him though? We kept him entertained with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse in the DVD player


Better then the “Barney” that mine was into at that age.

Awwww… who an I kidding… DVD players in vehicles wasn’t happening back then. Long trips were torturous until the advent of the affordable “Game-Boy”.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7152/6511534863_75347a0200_z.jpg


That… sir… is one great father-son picture.

[that's nice]

Andy, your DS is a handsome young man!

That is some crazy fog!

We flew when Juliana was almost 2. It wasn't bad though. We packed her carry-on with all kinds of games and activities and a portable DVD player. It is only a 2 1/2 hour flight from here so it wasn't too bad.

[CandleontheWater]

Don't worry- the "that kid" spot on the plane is usually reserved for Everett. I'm sure you would have been safe! :rotfl:

Widespread fog does not sound like fun! I don't like driving across town, let alone across states, so that just sounds like a nightmare to me! Glad you made it to St Pete in one piece!

[KatMark]

Love the update, Andy. We used to drive to Florida from Chicago all the time (we first started flying in 2000, so made about six or seven trips driving :scared1:). Atlanta is the absolute worse spot to drive through...I used to try to time it so I would be asleep when we went through Atlanta.

I love the pictures on the beach with your son...so sweet.

[amazingact21]

I'm joining in! Aside from the fog, the drive didn't sound too bad, which is a good start to any trip.

[amandaw]

Hi! I came on over to join in on your fun!

First....congrats to you & DW for the new baby on the way!

Sounds like y'all were off to a good start for the trip. Well, besides that crazy fog! :scared1: Your DS is sooo adorable! Can't wait to hear all about y'alls trip.

[glennbo123]

Once I drove in fog so thick that I missed my exit on Interstate 80, despite only going about 30mph. Couldn't see a blasted thing and shouldn't have been on the road, but hey, I was young and invincible. ;)

We've done the drive to FL from PA, straight-through with a baby also. You think it's bad during the drive and then you get there and realize that the baby is raring to go when all you want to do is crash for about 12 hours. (Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. :scratchin )

[afwdwfan]

I'm not a huge fan of driving to WDW (we used to drive from MA to FL and t's just WAY too far) but I love seeing all the side things. Farms and little towns are fascinating to me. I definitely love stopping at beaches too !

Love the pic of your ds on the beach !!
I kind of go back and forth... I love being able to get somewhere in a couple of hours, but I really do enjoy the drive and seeing the sights. If I can get there in less than a day, I tend to lean towards just driving.:confused3

This sounds like my evening the night before Thanksgiving (but there were a very different set of circumstances for that schedule)
Ok, here's the first shameless plug of this trip report. If anyone is interested in reading about a high school band's trip to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, check out this guy's TR.

I understand that one. Our boy’s first plane trip was at the age of 2-months :eek:, but thank the maker, he slept the whole time. Good thing too… this was before the advent of Air Marshals, and I suspect there’d have been blood shed had we been the parents of “that kid”.
And I believe that was also before 9/11. I'd be more likely to want to fly before all the new rules went into effect.

I have yet to drive to Fla without getting rained on at least once. I do believe that fog of that caliber would count as precipitation in my book.
Hadn't thought about it from that angle... good point.

Fog worse then Black Friday traffic?
What the fog!
I know, right? :lmao::rotfl2::rotfl:

We actually took the long way to get onto the interstate. There's an outlet mall off an exit about 5 miles south of where we normally get on I-65. They were opening at 12 and we were leaving at about that time. I-65 was a parking lot the year before, so we just avoided the area.

They’ve got those in mass quantities along I-95 through GA as well. It must be something about Georgia. We may need to ask Fed about that one.
I know... it's all you see :eek:

Me too. Then you could have thrown in a side discussion on the process.

I could have, but I wouldn't know much about what I was discussing. Just enough to get myself into trouble.:rotfl2:

Better then the “Barney” that mine was into at that age.
Where's the gun to the head smiley?:confused3

Awwww… who an I kidding… DVD players in vehicles wasn’t happening back then. Long trips were torturous until the advent of the affordable “Game-Boy”.
Loved my Game Boy. I still have my original one from when they first came out... and it still works. They don't make electronics like that anymore.:lmao:

That… sir… is one great father-son picture.
Thanks... I kind of like it too.

Andy, your DS is a handsome young man!
Thanks... he obviously takes after his dad.:rolleyes1

That is some crazy fog!
::yes::

We flew when Juliana was almost 2. It wasn't bad though. We packed her carry-on with all kinds of games and activities and a portable DVD player. It is only a 2 1/2 hour flight from here so it wasn't too bad.
Well, that would keep me distracted for 2 1/2 hours, but I still don't know what we'd do about Landon. :lmao:

Don't worry- the "that kid" spot on the plane is usually reserved for Everett. I'm sure you would have been safe! :rotfl:
:lmao::rotfl2: Ok, next time we'll drive to DC and fly out of there then.

Widespread fog does not sound like fun! I don't like driving across town, let alone across states, so that just sounds like a nightmare to me! Glad you made it to St Pete in one piece!
Yeah, I really wasn't enjoying it at the time. I even considered stopping and just staying in a hotel in Kentucky for the rest of the night. It kept teasing me by getting lighter and then coming back more dense than before.

Love the update, Andy. We used to drive to Florida from Chicago all the time (we first started flying in 2000, so made about six or seven trips driving :scared1:). Atlanta is the absolute worse spot to drive through...I used to try to time it so I would be asleep when we went through Atlanta.
You know, everybody talks about how bad Atlanta is... I don't even know how many times I've driven through there, but I can only remember 1 time that I've actually had to sit in traffic.:confused3

Don't take this the wrong way, but I like driving through Atlanta better than Chicago. :scared1: :rotfl2:

I love the pictures on the beach with your son...so sweet.
Thanks!

I'm joining in! Aside from the fog, the drive didn't sound too bad, which is a good start to any trip.
Welcome! It wasn't bad at all. And anytime you end up in nice warm weather is a great start to a trip.:thumbsup2

Hi! I came on over to join in on your fun!
Hi! Glad to see you here!

First....congrats to you & DW for the new baby on the way!
Thanks!

Sounds like y'all were off to a good start for the trip. Well, besides that crazy fog! :scared1: Your DS is sooo adorable! Can't wait to hear all about y'alls trip.
Well, we survived and made it there despite the fog. Otherwise it was a nice drive.

[Captain_Oblivious]

We had talked about flying, but decided to drive. I don’t mind flying, I actually enjoy it. What I don’t like is the hassle of getting to the airport and onto the plane. Since traveling with a toddler means taking half of your worldly possessions with you everywhere you go, we decided that it would just be easier to drive while he hopefully slept. That and we didn’t want DS to be “that kid” on a plane.:rolleyes1

I enjoy flying as well--even the security stuff doesn't bother me that much. But I can definitely relate to not wanting to be "those parents" of "that kid". Not that it's ever happened before.

I was driving through downtown Louisville barely able to see anything in front of me. I was starting to regret the plan to drive through the night, because if that fog didn’t break soon, it was going to be a long, miserable drive.

Either that, or it was going to be a very short miserable drive. :eek:

But did you stop? Never!

It sure was better than the drive though Louisville!:lmao:

Funny how two different TR's can make Louisville sound so different. :rotfl2:

One of the best things about a road trip is the fact that you get to see interesting things.

::yes::

Great pictures of you and your son! I'm sure everyone was relieved to have made it.

[afwdwfan]

Once I drove in fog so thick that I missed my exit on Interstate 80, despite only going about 30mph. Couldn't see a blasted thing and shouldn't have been on the road, but hey, I was young and invincible. ;)
I felt that way once... then I turned 30. :headache:


We've done the drive to FL from PA, straight-through with a baby also. You think it's bad during the drive and then you get there and realize that the baby is raring to go when all you want to do is crash for about 12 hours. (Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. :scratchin )
:lmao::rotfl2::rotfl: I considered that possibility. Actually it wasn't bad. I wanted to get back on a regular sleep schedule, so by the time I was ready to go to bed, he was too.:thumbsup2

I enjoy flying as well--even the security stuff doesn't bother me that much. But I can definitely relate to not wanting to be "those parents" of "that kid". Not that it's ever happened before.
I'm sure you never have "that kid." You just have Scotty.:thumbsup2 :lmao:

Either that, or it was going to be a very short miserable drive. :eek:

But did you stop? Never!
Touche. And of course not!

Funny how two different TR's can make Louisville sound so different. :rotfl2:
I don't think you'd be writing nice things about Louisville if you had to drive there on I-65 a few months after you did. Had a friend who said he sat on the busiest parking lot in southern Indiana this morning for an hour and 6 minutes... only 11 minutes longer than yesterday.

Great pictures of you and your son! I'm sure everyone was relieved to have made it.
Thanks! And yes, it was great to be at the beginning of a great vacation.

[petals]

Good to see you. Maybe we can see if we crossed paths at any point.:confused3 :rotfl2:

Defo I think by our pre trip plans we were due to be in Hollywood studios the same day maybe you're in the crowd in one of my 3000 pics :rotfl:

I started my trip report btw (see link in sig!) :)

You're DS is a little cutie. That fog sounds crazy though.

I don't actually think we had a that kid on the plane going over. There was a baby crying on the way back but I just felt sorry for the baby being on a through the night flight and obviously not being comfortable enough to sleep.

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

I felt that way once... then I turned 30. :headache:



Pup!

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

I felt that way once... then I turned 30. :headache:



Pup!

[afwdwfan]

Defo I think by our pre trip plans we were due to be in Hollywood studios the same day maybe you're in the crowd in one of my 3000 pics :rotfl:
Yeah... That day wasn't our finest. We weren't in HS for long, but if you saw us, I'm sure you'd know it. :lmao::rotfl2::rotfl:

I started my trip report btw (see link in sig!) :)
I will definitely make my way over.

You're DS is a little cutie. That fog sounds crazy though.
Thanks!

I don't actually think we had a that kid on the plane going over. There was a baby crying on the way back but I just felt sorry for the baby being on a through the night flight and obviously not being comfortable enough to sleep.
Yeah... I would hate to travel that long on a plane with DS... He did ok driving for that long of a time, but it's like traveling with a time bomb. You know it's going to go off eventually.:lmao::rotfl2:

Pup!

Pup!
And now you're just using my Trip Report to pad your post count... :sad2:

[My sister's princess]

Joining in, this is going to be a fun one, I can tell!

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

And now you're just using my Trip Report to pad your post count... :sad2:

Naaaaa…
The DisBoards did that favor for me. I figured the “Pup!” was selfexplanitory…
There’d have been no need to say it twice…



on the same page…



without additional provocation… :rolleyes1

[petals]

Yeah... That day wasn't our finest. We weren't in HS for long, but if you saw us, I'm sure you'd know it. :lmao::rotfl2::rotfl:

Yeah... I would hate to travel that long on a plane with DS... He did ok driving for that long of a time, but it's like traveling with a time bomb. You know it's going to go off eventually.:lmao::rotfl2:


Hollywood studios was prob our best day timing wise no idea how we managed it lol!

I think all kiddies are like that.. I've a recent vid of my nephew he's one and just started crawling so he's dancing in middle of floor as such and then next song starts and he starts to bawl no idea why?! :confused3

[afwdwfan]

Joining in, this is going to be a fun one, I can tell!
Hi, welcome! It was fun to live it, I can say that for certain!

Naaaaa…
The DisBoards did that favor for me. I figured the “Pup!” was selfexplanitory…
There’d have been no need to say it twice…



on the same page…



without additional provocation… :rolleyes1
Well, I had to either accuse you of padding your post count or being outsmarted by your computer. :confused3

Hollywood studios was prob our best day timing wise no idea how we managed it lol!
The lines really didn't seem too bad that morning. Smooth sailing until we had to head out.

[afwdwfan]

Life's a Beach

On Saturday morning, we woke up at around 8:30 am… well, I woke up at 8:30 which is unusually late for me. I went to sit on the balcony and enjoy this view while I waited on DW and DS to wake up.

http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l611/fixy2273/2011-11-26_08-52-27_896.jpg

Allow me to vent a bit now. We have stayed at this hotel at St. Pete Beach before and enjoyed it… that’s why we came back.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7171/6544254901_64068a68f2_z.jpg

Last time we were there, we had a partial beach front room. I had booked the same for this trip, but about a week before we left, I checked the hotel rates and they were significantly lower than what I had booked. I tried to see if they would change our rate, and they said they couldn’t give us the new lower rate for the same room type, but we could upgrade to direct beach front at the lower rate. This was only going to be about $5/ night more than we were already booked at, so I went for it. The hotel is somewhat round in shape, so I guess technically the windows in our room had a direct view, but to see the Gulf from our balcony, I either had to hang out and look around a wall, or I could sit at the very far corner right against the rail and get a somewhat unobstructed view. It was ok, but I was extremely disappointed. We ended up with really no better view than our partial beach front room we’d had the time before. It is a nice enough place to stay, but I think next time we go back to St. Pete, we’ll probably try something else. There were just a few minor things like the room placement that didn’t sit well with me this time.:headache: I could probably write about 2 updates just on things that irritated me while we stayed there that weekend.

We’ll try to put this train back on the tracks now… we headed down to the beach to grab a cabana at around 10:00 am. We sat out there and just relaxed.

DS played in the sand

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7031/6544284663_3a73ccd325_z.jpg

We splashed around in the water

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7145/6544285633_922d28545f_z.jpg

We even got to see some dolphins playing just a short distance off shore right in front of us until somebody on a water trike got a little too close and ran them off. We kept trying to get pictures, but by the time the camera would actually take one, this all we’d get.:lmao:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7160/6544286655_9e00315916_z.jpg

All in all, it was a relaxing, enjoyable day. We grabbed some lunch at the hotel’s beach bar and headed back to our cabana. DS didn’t want to eat much for lunch, but when we got back to our spot for the day, he showed us he was more interested in eating shells than chicken nuggets.

We decided at that point, that it was nap time.

DS and DW both laid down for naps for the rest of the afternoon. I set my computer up inside our room facing the balcony window, so that I could see score updates for the Indiana/Purdue football game and headed out to my corner of the balcony with that “direct” view. I sat there for a couple of hours and enjoyed a few cold beverages and a Boilermaker win.

http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l611/fixy2273/2011-11-26_17-20-44_787.jpg

I had to wake DW and DS up to tell them they missed the sunset and that it was time to grab some food. We headed next door to a place called Crabby Bill’s. Pretty good food. I typically prefer turf over surf, but I had a grouper sandwich and I thought it was great. DW and DS both had chicken fingers.

We got back into the room to settle in for the evening. I was watching football on TV but somebody wanted to watch Mickey. Since there was only 1 TV, I had to turn the game off so we could pop in a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse DVD. I rolled over and tried to sleep while DS was jumping on the bed and running around the room doing things like this.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7143/6544287143_155eb5773a_z.jpg

All of a sudden DW is yelling at me to help her. I might have forgotten to mention that in addition to his chicken fingers, the little man chugged 2 bottles of chocolate milk with his dinner. Unfortunately, the chocolate milk had made a spectacular reappearance all over him and a couple of pillows.

Once I realized what happened, I laughed… it could have been much worse. He missed me by at least a couple of feet.:lmao::rotfl2::rotfl:

After we got him cleaned up and housekeeping brought clean bedding, we settled in and got some sleep.

[KatMark]

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7143/6544287143_155eb5773a_z.jpg



I would NOT have been happy with that "full view" either. I can see why you were irritated.

Sounds like a fun day on the beach.

I love the above picture...so typically a boy thing to do. :lmao::lmao::lmao:

Sorry DS got sick from his chocolate milk, but glad housekeeping was good to bring clean bedding and that DS missed you. ;)

[CandleontheWater]

I would have been mad at the hotel too! That stink that you paid more for a worse view.

How long were you guys at the beach? I'm thinking of taking Everett on a cruise, but I'm not sure how much "beach time" he could log without getting bored or crazy. I'm also concerned with the "running into the water in an attempt to drown myself" factor.

Too bad you had to clean up chocolate milk puke, but I agree its better to clean it up off the bed, then off of you! :thumbsup2

[My sister's princess]

Life's a Beach

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7143/6544287143_155eb5773a_z.jpg




:lmao:

See I knew this would be a fun report to follow!

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

Well, I had to either accuse you of padding your post count or being outsmarted by your computer. :confused3


Well… you know how it is. Sometimes computers just have a knack for causing problems or adding frustrating complexity to processes that would have been just fine without the electronic upgrade. I’ve even heard tell of otherwise reliable mechanical equipment being brought to a complete standstill due to nothing more then a little bit of a computer glitch.

But I don’t suppose that you’ve had to deal much with that type of nuisance recently. :rolleyes1








Life's a Beach


“And then you…”

No, no, no, no… I’m not going there.
The beach is relaxing, calming… a place of Zen like magic.
Ahhhhhh….
What could go wrong?



Allow me to vent a bit now.


Ummmmm…. Spoke too soon did I?



…We ended up with really no better view than our partial beach front room we’d had the time before…


Don’t you just love when a downgrade or a “non-grade” is promoted as an upgrade (and then they went and included a price adjustment to emphasize the point)?
:sad2:



We sat out there and just relaxed.

DS played in the sand…

…We splashed around in the water…

…We even got to see some dolphins playing just a short distance off shore right in front of us


There’s that Zen like experience I was talking about.
Ahhhhh…. that’s better.


DS didn’t want to eat much for lunch, but when we got back to our spot for the day, he showed us he was more interested in eating shells than chicken nuggets.


I do miss the toddler years…

Whooo… did I say that out loud?
Am I going out of my mind?



We headed next door to a place called Crabby Bill’s.


Convenient…


I rolled over and tried to sleep while DS was jumping on the bed and running around the room doing things like this.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7143/6544287143_155eb5773a_z.jpg


Oh wait… Maybe I do miss the toddler years just a bit.



All of a sudden DW is yelling at me to help her. I might have forgotten to mention that in addition to his chicken fingers, the little man chugged 2 bottles of chocolate milk with his dinner. Unfortunately, the chocolate milk had made a spectacular reappearance…


No… no, I was right when I second guessed myself the first time.
I love my son… and he was absolutely adorable when he was an itty-bitty, but…
It’s just easier now. The problems are different and of the type that I’m more geared to deal with.

My DW will disagree profusely, but her job and my job were and are different in relation to raising the young’en.


Sounds like a good trip so far. Eventful… to be sure, but good so far.
Looking forward to the next update Andy.

[Lynn57]

So cute! I'm joining in!

[TanzUnited99]

Love the pics of the beach and the sunset.

Oh no on DS being sick but like others am glad he missed you :thumbsup2

[amandaw]

That stinks about the room view! :headache:

But, it sounds like y'all had a really nice day at the beach. And I LOVE the picture of DS in front of the AC unit. Too cute! :goodvibes Of course, I'm sure the re-appearing chocolate milk wasn't too cute. :eek:

[afwdwfan]

How long were you guys at the beach? I'm thinking of taking Everett on a cruise, but I'm not sure how much "beach time" he could log without getting bored or crazy. I'm also concerned with the "running into the water in an attempt to drown myself" factor.
We spent 2 full days there. The first day, we spent probably 2 hours at the cabana, went and ate lunch, and then came back for another hour or 2. Second day, we spent about 3 hours at the cabana, ate lunch, went to the room for naps and then returned to the beach for 2 more hours.

He really enjoyed just playing in the sand. If he hadn't started eating sea shells we probably could have stayed longer that first day. He loved getting into the water and playing, but actually was afraid to walk into it by himself. If he wanted to go in the water, he'd grab my hand, drag me to the edge of the water and wait for me to pick him up and take him into the water.:lmao:


Too bad you had to clean up chocolate milk puke, but I agree its better to clean it up off the bed, then off of you! :thumbsup2
Yes... at least he pretty much kept it on him and the pillows. I just grabbed a trash bag to drop the pillows into while DW hosed him down in the shower.

:lmao:

See I knew this would be a fun report to follow!
I'm glad I'm not disappointing you... yet. :lmao:

Well… you know how it is. Sometimes computers just have a knack for causing problems or adding frustrating complexity to processes that would have been just fine without the electronic upgrade. I’ve even heard tell of otherwise reliable mechanical equipment being brought to a complete standstill due to nothing more then a little bit of a computer glitch.

But I don’t suppose that you’ve had to deal much with that type of nuisance recently. :rolleyes1
:headache:

“And then you…”

No, no, no, no… I’m not going there.
The beach is relaxing, calming… a place of Zen like magic.
Ahhhhhh….
What could go wrong?
Hurricanes? Tsunamis? Oil slicks?

Ummmmm…. Spoke too soon did I?
Oh, yeah. Stupid hotels and stupid inaccurate room types.

Don’t you just love when a downgrade or a “non-grade” is promoted as an upgrade (and then they went and included a price adjustment to emphasize the point)?
:sad2:
Granted our bedroom window was what I'd call a direct beach view, but I'd have rather had that view from my balcony. :confused3 I do think that since we were in a corner room, it seemed a bit bigger. Or I might just be trying to find reasons to justify the extra money I spent.:rolleyes1

There’s that Zen like experience I was talking about.
Ahhhhh…. that’s better.
::yes::

I do miss the toddler years…

Whooo… did I say that out loud?
Well, it certainly is a fun age right now.

Am I going out of my mind?
Yes. Yes you are. It has nothing to do with your comments though.:lmao:

Oh wait… Maybe I do miss the toddler years just a bit.
Hey, you never know what will happen next.:lmao::rotfl2:

No… no, I was right when I second guessed myself the first time.
I love my son… and he was absolutely adorable when he was an itty-bitty, but…
It’s just easier now. The problems are different and of the type that I’m more geared to deal with.
Well, it ain't glorious, but puke clean up is pretty easy.:confused3 :lmao:

Sounds like a good trip so far. Eventful… to be sure, but good so far.
Looking forward to the next update Andy.
Thanks!

So cute! I'm joining in!
Hi! Glad you're here!

I see the Wilderness Lodge and DVC logos in your sig... do you own at WL? If so, I'm jealous...

Love the pics of the beach and the sunset.

Oh no on DS being sick but like others am glad he missed you :thumbsup2

Me too! I didn't even hear anything. He was just sitting there like nothing happened. We had a rule the rest of the trip... no running around and jumping on things after drinking chocolate milk.:thumbsup2 :rotfl2:

That stinks about the room view! :headache:

But, it sounds like y'all had a really nice day at the beach. And I LOVE the picture of DS in front of the AC unit. Too cute! :goodvibes Of course, I'm sure the re-appearing chocolate milk wasn't too cute. :eek:
He has always loved to sit, lay and stand on top of the AC and heat registers at home, so it really doesn't surprise me that he was hanging out in front of the AC in the hotel. Apparently his belly must have gotten a little warm though.:confused3 :lmao::rotfl2::rotfl:

[KatMark]

Sure...go ahead and ignore my coment (even though I was the first to post after your update). I know when I'm not loved. :sad1:

[afwdwfan]

Sure...go ahead and ignore my coment (even though I was the first to post after your update). I know when I'm not loved. :sad1:
Just checking to see if you're still paying attention. :rolleyes1

:headache: Sorry. That's what happens when I try to multi-quote and work at the same time.:lmao:

I would NOT have been happy with that "full view" either. I can see why you were irritated.
Yeah... quite a disappointment.

Sounds like a fun day on the beach.
Yeah, very relaxing. I needed that. I need one of those days right now, actually.:lmao:

I love the above picture...so typically a boy thing to do. :lmao::lmao::lmao:
Thanks... I think...:confused3

Sorry DS got sick from his chocolate milk, but glad housekeeping was good to bring clean bedding and that DS missed you. ;)
Yes, it could have been worse. Much worse. :rotfl2:

[khertz]

That is a great pic of him with the a/c unit!! :lmao: Kids come up with the funniest things to keep them entertained.

That really sucks about the beach view. I would have been VERY annoyed!! We had a great experience at the Wyndham in Panama City Beach. ALL of the units had beach views! You would think more hotels would catch onto this when they are beachfront properties. Who wants to stay at a hotel on the beach and not be able to SEE the beach??

Oh man, DS just switched recently to whole milk and we still have protein spills from time to time, but not as bad as when he was younger and puked every time he ate. Sour milk pukes are the WORST! Haven't experienced a chocolate milk one yet, thank goodness. Although yes, it is MUCH easier (and less unpleasant) to have it go on the sheets instead of yourself. DS did that to us in Best Buy a couple weeks ago, and it was horrifying!! You just can't get away from that smell when it is on your shirt directly under your nose!! :sick:

[Captain_Oblivious]

On Saturday morning, we woke up at around 8:30 am… well, I woke up at 8:30 which is unusually late for me. I went to sit on the balcony and enjoy this view while I waited on DW and DS to wake up.

Did the beach have a Rope Drop? Because you're in serious jeopardy of missing it.

Allow me to vent a bit now. We have stayed at this hotel at St. Pete Beach before and enjoyed it… that’s why we came back.

:headache:

Sorry you had a bit of a bait-and-switch there. Good thing your DS had revenge on the hotel later that evening. :rotfl:

We’ll try to put this train back on the tracks now… we headed down to the beach to grab a cabana at around 10:00 am. We sat out there and just relaxed.

Ahhh...:beach:

Didn't have anything to say, just wanted a chance to use that smiley.

We even got to see some dolphins playing just a short distance off shore right in front of us until somebody on a water trike got a little too close and ran them off. We kept trying to get pictures, but by the time the camera would actually take one, this all we’d get.:lmao:

Dolphins, huh? Surrrre they are. Hey, look, I see the Tooth Fairy!

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7160/6544286655_9e00315916_z.jpg

DS didn’t want to eat much for lunch, but when we got back to our spot for the day, he showed us he was more interested in eating shells than chicken nuggets.

I'm sure they're rich in minerals.

I rolled over and tried to sleep while DS was jumping on the bed and running around the room doing things like this.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7143/6544287143_155eb5773a_z.jpg

:lmao::rotfl2::rotfl:

Did you teach him that one, or did he learn it on his own?

Unfortunately, the chocolate milk had made a spectacular reappearance all over him and a couple of pillows.

Hopefully his head wasn't spinning around.

[FreezinRafiki]

I'll bet you forgot about me, didn't you? You can't get rid of that easily. Maybe with penicillin...I've never tired that yet.


I had my alarm set for 11:45 and we were going to be on the road by midnight.
I've tried that before - trying to "bank up" some sleep. Never works for me. I just lay there in bed thinking about what I need to be doing in 4 hours and 17 minute. In 4 hours and 6 minutes. In 3 hours and 52 minutes....

That and we didn’t want DS to be “that kid” on a plane.:rolleyes1
:wave2:
Evan screamed from take off in Orlando to literally 5 minutes before we landed in Milwaukee.

We pulled out onto the road and that’s when I realized this might not be a fun drive. There was fog. Heavy fog.
If you had packed a butter knife, you could have cut through it and had a better drive. Remember that for next time.



We made it to Georgia after just one quick stop for gas in Tennessee.

You sure can go far on a 26 gallon tank.

But it sure does hurt when you do have to stop and fill it up.


Atlanta is always the wild card of the trip and we wanted to make sure we had a full tank of gas and full stomachs before we hit the metro area. McDonalds did the trick for a quick breakfast and we sailed through Atlanta during the tail end of a Black Friday morning rush hour without hitting any traffic to speak of.
Those HOV lanes really help in Atlanta. Except they don't always follow the main route of I-75 and really confuses my GPS. We'd be in a tunnel and it would tell us to turn right in 500 feet. :rotfl2:

This was the first time I had ever driven through Georgia during the fall and I was kind of excited when I saw mature cotton plants standing in the fields. Better yet, I even got to see them harvesting it. Not something you ever get to see in Indiana. I really wish I had stopped to take pictures, but we pressed on. I thought it was interesting to see something new though. Little discoveries like that make the drive worthwhile!
Cool! I would love to stop and watch that some time. Bambi of course wouldn't, but Evan and I out number her. And she won't hit him with a frying pan.




http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7152/6511534863_75347a0200_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/62716900@N02/6511534863/)

Awesome picture!



On Saturday morning, we woke up at around 8:30 am… well, I woke up at 8:30 which is unusually late for me.
Did you forget to pack the rooster?



All in all, it was a relaxing, enjoyable day. We grabbed some lunch at the hotel’s beach bar and headed back to our cabana. DS didn’t want to eat much for lunch, but when we got back to our spot for the day, he showed us he was more interested in eating shells than chicken nuggets.
What do shells go better with? Ranch dressing or BBQ Sauce?


http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7143/6544287143_155eb5773a_z.jpg

There's old saying that goes "Sometimes your belly gets hot.". It's not a very good saying, but I think it applies here.

Unfortunately, the chocolate milk had made a spectacular reappearance all over him and a couple of pillows.
I've seen many a "second coming of chocolate milk." It's never pretty.
Oh, and welcome to the club. The Loyal Order of the Guys Whos Kids Have Puked in a Hotel Room meets on the 2nd Thursday of every month. But never at a hotel.

He missed me by at least a couple of feet.
Don't worry, his aim will get better. :thumbsup2

[afwdwfan]

That is a great pic of him with the a/c unit!! :lmao: Kids come up with the funniest things to keep them entertained.
It's rare that a day goes by that he doesn't do something to just make me shake my head and laugh.

That really sucks about the beach view. I would have been VERY annoyed!! We had a great experience at the Wyndham in Panama City Beach. ALL of the units had beach views! You would think more hotels would catch onto this when they are beachfront properties. Who wants to stay at a hotel on the beach and not be able to SEE the beach??
We like PCB a lot. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Sunspree there a few years ago for free on points. It had all the rooms facing the beach too. We'd probably just have gone there if it wasn't farther out of the way. It might be worth thinking about doing that next time though. There's more to do there within walking distance of all the hotels too.:thumbsup2

Oh man, DS just switched recently to whole milk and we still have protein spills from time to time, but not as bad as when he was younger and puked every time he ate. Sour milk pukes are the WORST! Haven't experienced a chocolate milk one yet, thank goodness. Although yes, it is MUCH easier (and less unpleasant) to have it go on the sheets instead of yourself. DS did that to us in Best Buy a couple weeks ago, and it was horrifying!! You just can't get away from that smell when it is on your shirt directly under your nose!! :sick:
:scared1: I don't envy that situation one bit. Fortunately, aside from the "spit up" puke from back in the bottle days, we've only had 2 incidents to clean up. Both were in beds and both resulted in him being the only one puked on. We've been pretty lucky.

Did the beach have a Rope Drop? Because you're in serious jeopardy of missing it.
If we missed it, then so did the cabana rental guy. :rolleyes1

:headache:

Sorry you had a bit of a bait-and-switch there. Good thing your DS had revenge on the hotel later that evening. :rotfl:
If there is one positive thing I can say about that hotel from this trip, it is that they responded quickly when we called the front desk that night.

Ahhh...:beach:

Didn't have anything to say, just wanted a chance to use that smiley.
:thumbsup2

Dolphins, huh? Surrrre they are. Hey, look, I see the Tooth Fairy!
No, the Tooth Fairy is in Don's trip report.

I'm sure they're rich in minerals.
I'm sure there's good calcium content. Between the shells and his newfound love for chocolate milk, his bones are going to be solid as steel.

:lmao::rotfl2::rotfl:

Did you teach him that one, or did he learn it on his own?
No comment

Hopefully his head wasn't spinning around.:rotfl2:

I'll bet you forgot about me, didn't you? You can't get rid of that easily. Maybe with penicillin...I've never tired that yet.
Tried it and you came back...

I've tried that before - trying to "bank up" some sleep. Never works for me. I just lay there in bed thinking about what I need to be doing in 4 hours and 17 minute. In 4 hours and 6 minutes. In 3 hours and 52 minutes....
You know, sometimes it works for me and sometimes I get that way too and my mind won't let me relax. Fortunately, it worked this time and it didn't take long before I was out.

:wave2:
Evan screamed from take off in Orlando to literally 5 minutes before we landed in Milwaukee.
At what point did Evan's screaming make you start screaming?

If you had packed a butter knife, you could have cut through it and had a better drive. Remember that for next time.
I'll remember that. Thanks.:thumbsup2

You sure can go far on a 26 gallon tank.

But it sure does hurt when you do have to stop and fill it up.
:headache: Don't remind me... I just traded trucks this week too. Now I get to fill a 36 gallon tank with diesel fuel. I've got to have 5 credit cards just to get fuel. At least I should be able to go a couple of weeks between fill ups.

Those HOV lanes really help in Atlanta. Except they don't always follow the main route of I-75 and really confuses my GPS. We'd be in a tunnel and it would tell us to turn right in 500 feet. :rotfl2:
Did you listen to the voice in your van? :eek:

Cool! I would love to stop and watch that some time. Bambi of course wouldn't, but Evan and I out number her. And she won't hit him with a frying pan.
We actually probably could have stopped. DW wouldn't have minded and Landon would have loved it. We wanted to try to get to the hotel before it got dark though, so we didn't have a lot of time to waste.

Awesome picture!
Thanks!

Did you forget to pack the rooster?
:headache: My sister and Bil have chickens and a rooster that runs around the yard with her dogs. DW told them we'd watch the rooster while they're on vacation. I then reminded her that the rooster likes to play with the dogs and our dogs kill animals that are smaller than they are. Problem solved!:thumbsup2

What do shells go better with? Ranch dressing or BBQ Sauce?
Neither. It's seafood. Tartar sauce.

There's old saying that goes "Sometimes your belly gets hot.". It's not a very good saying, but I think it applies here.
:rotfl2::lmao:

I've seen many a "second coming of chocolate milk." It's never pretty.
Oh, and welcome to the club. The Loyal Order of the Guys Whos Kids Have Puked in a Hotel Room meets on the 2nd Thursday of every month. But never at a hotel.
Better to be in that club than the Loyal Order of the Guys Whos Kids Have Puked in the Van. :scared1:

Don't worry, his aim will get better. :thumbsup2
It can't get any better than it is now.:thumbsup2

[FreezinRafiki]

:headache: My sister and Bil have chickens and a rooster that runs around the yard with her dogs. DW told them we'd watch the rooster while they're on vacation. I then reminded her that the rooster likes to play with the dogs and our dogs kill animals that are smaller than they are. Problem solved!:thumbsup2
My brother and I hit a chicken with his truck once. We we doing about 50mph down a country road and it wandered out. No time to hit the brakes and we certainly weren't going to swerve into the ditch to avoid a chicken. POOF. All you could see behind us was a big ball of feathers.


Neither. It's seafood. Tartar sauce.

:thumbsup2

Better to be in that club than the Loyal Order of the Guys Whos Kids Have Puked in the Van. :scared1:

We meet on Wednesdays.

[afwdwfan]

We just got our Photopass CD, so after the Christmas craziness slows down, I'll get the second beach day posted and get to the good part!

Thanks to everyone who is following along.



Merry Christmas!!!!

[Moodyzblu]

Have a wonderful holiday ! Looking forward to the pics. :thumbsup2

[KatMark]

Andy, Merry Christmas to you and your family.

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb136/Luvwrestling/poohchristmas.jpg

[afwdwfan]

My brother and I hit a chicken with his truck once. We we doing about 50mph down a country road and it wandered out. No time to hit the brakes and we certainly weren't going to swerve into the ditch to avoid a chicken. POOF. All you could see behind us was a big ball of feathers.

:lmao::rotfl2::rotfl: Reminds me of the best Randy Johnson pitch ever.

Have a wonderful holiday ! Looking forward to the pics. :thumbsup2

Andy, Merry Christmas to you and your family.


Thanks for the Holiday wishes. We had a great Christmas and I hope you all did as well!

[My sister's princess]

My email dinged that you had posted here... I come over expecting an update to distract me from work and I was sad :sad2:

Kidding, but really, I wana know what happens next!

[afwdwfan]

My email dinged that you had posted here... I come over expecting an update to distract me from work and I was sad :sad2:

Kidding, but really, I wana know what happens next!

Sorry to disappoint.

^^ I'll have to remember where I wrote this so I can just quote this post for future instances. :lmao::rotfl2:


I think I can make it up to you though...

[My sister's princess]

Sorry to disappoint.

^^ I'll have to remember where I wrote this so I can just quote this post for future instances. :lmao::rotfl2:


I think I can make it up to you though...


And another email with no update. What are you doing!!!!!??????? :rotfl:

[afwdwfan]

Life’s a Beach 2.0

This will be a quick and boring update. I don’t have any beach pictures from this day, so you’ll have to tolerate my use of words.

Our second day at St. Pete started at around 8 am once again. We ate some cereal in the room for breakfast and watched for the cabana guy to start setting up for the day. Once we saw the 4 wheeler head out to the beach, we decided it was time to head down and pick our spot for the day. We were the first ones there, so we chose one on the front row at the very end so DS would have plenty of room to run and play without having to worry about him bothering other people.

We sat on the beach until about noon and headed up to the hotel’s outdoor bar to grab some lunch. DS was getting a little impatient but we made it through lunch and took him into the pool for a bit. We (meaning DW and I) decided it was time to get out of the pool and go back to the beach. DS didn’t agree with that idea and decided to let us know about it.

Change of plans… I let DW go back to the cabana to relax while I took DS back to the room for a bath and a nap. We laid down on the bed with a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse DVD playing and he was out fairly soon. I turned the DVD off and started watching football. I think it was Tampa Bay vs. Tennessee. A game I didn’t really care about, but it was something to watch.

DS slept a couple of hours and DW came up to the room to check on us. Apparently she felt that everything was fine and I was doing an adequate job of the parenting duties so she headed back down to the beach. DS finally woke up about an hour later and we headed back out to join her. Today would be different from yesterday, and they would be awake to enjoy the sunset… on the beach, from our cabana.

After the sun set, we went back to the hotel’s outdoor bar for some (nasty) buffalo wings and (delicious) potato skins. I always love some good buffalo wings. I saw someone eating them at lunch and thought they looked great. I decided then that we would come back and just share some appetizers for dinner. They brought the wings out and they looked good, but that is by far the nastiest sauce I’ve ever had. I really can’t even describe it. It really wasn’t all that hot, but I was drowning the wings in ranch just to make them edible.

We finished our dinner and headed back up to the room. We got everything packed with the exception of the clothes we’d be wearing on Monday and a couple of bags. I went ahead and carried everything else out to the truck so that we could get an early start in the morning.

We went to bed early that evening. We were going to need our rest. We had to get up early and drive about 2 hours so we wouldn’t be late for our breakfast plans with a few of our favorite rodents, water fowl and dogs.

[afwdwfan]

And another email with no update. What are you doing!!!!!??????? :rotfl:

:eek::scared1: Wow, you're fast!!!

[My sister's princess]

:eek::scared1: Wow, you're fast!!!


Makes me appear to be far creepier than I am :upsidedow



Great update though!!!

[FreezinRafiki]

This will be a quick and boring update.
Oh, so par for the course, huh? (Sorry, I've got a lot of work ahead of me if if I want to catch up to the number of zingers I've felt from you. :) )


Our second day at St. Pete started at around 8 am once again. We ate some cereal in the room for breakfast and watched for the cabana guy to start setting up for the day. Once we saw the 4 wheeler head out to the beach, we decided it was time to head down and pick our spot for the day.
To heck with the cabanas, I want to take the 4 wheeler for a spin. Those things float, right? :rolleyes1


We (meaning DW and I) decided it was time to get out of the pool and go back to the beach. DS didn’t agree with that idea and decided to let us know about it.
I'm sure he did this is calm, dignified manner befitting any toddler.

and they would be awake to enjoy the sunset… on the beach, from our cabana.
:thumbsup2

They brought the wings out and they looked good, but that is by far the nastiest sauce I’ve ever had. I really can’t even describe it.
How's this for a description ---> https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-9MZmrR1ymCI/Tc2SY9oM7QI/AAAAAAAAJuY/fqDzZzbl-48/s800/puke.gif


so we wouldn’t be late for our breakfast plans with a few of our favorite rodents, water fowl and dogs.
That sounds almost as nasty as the buffalo wings...

[that's nice]

Love the update! (no wings)

Sounds like a nice relaxing day... minus the temper tantrum. :rotfl2:

Can't wait to hear about the rodents!!!!!:scared1::scared1: :scared1::scared1::earboy2:

[amandaw]

I love a good relaxing day at the beach.......until the toddler decides it's time for the obligatory temper tantrum. Oh, yeah, that just makes the day soooo much better! :rolleyes1

And I'm scared to think of what must've been in that wing sauce to make it so nasty. :sick:

Can't wait to hear all about y'alls Disney adventures!

[petals]

Yay Disney next! :)

[Moodyzblu]

Thats weird about the wings .. how do you mess up Buffalo wings ?? Oh well .. sounds like a nice, relaxing day anyway ! :thumbsup2

[afwdwfan]

Makes me appear to be far creepier than I am :upsidedow



Great update though!!!
Hmmm... I hadn't considered the creepy factor.:scared1:

I was just honored to have someone that eager to read the garbage I'm writing. :lmao:

(the next ding will be an update:thumbsup2)

Oh, so par for the course, huh? (Sorry, I've got a lot of work ahead of me if if I want to catch up to the number of zingers I've felt from you. :) )
Well, good luck. You've got 1 TR to get them in. I've still got part of your July report and your cruise to help pad my lead.:lmao:

To heck with the cabanas, I want to take the 4 wheeler for a spin. Those things float, right? :rolleyes1
He took the key... not that I looked or anything.:rolleyes1

I'm sure he did this is calm, dignified manner befitting any toddler.
If you mean kicking and screaming, then yes. You just have to be careful picking him up when he's kicking. I 've learned to always keep him at arm's length until I can secure the legs. The alternative is rather painful.

How's this for a description ---> https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-9MZmrR1ymCI/Tc2SY9oM7QI/AAAAAAAAJuY/fqDzZzbl-48/s800/puke.gif
That works better than any words I could use on these boards.

That sounds almost as nasty as the buffalo wings...
Not to Cousin Eddie.

Love the update! (no wings)

Sounds like a nice relaxing day... minus the temper tantrum. :rotfl2:

Can't wait to hear about the rodents!!!!!:scared1::scared1: :scared1::scared1::earboy2:
What's a vacation with a toddler without a tantrum or 2 thrown in for good measure? :confused3 :rotfl2:

This one was actually minor in scale.

I love a good relaxing day at the beach.......until the toddler decides it's time for the obligatory temper tantrum. Oh, yeah, that just makes the day soooo much better! :rolleyes1

And I'm scared to think of what must've been in that wing sauce to make it so nasty. :sick:

Can't wait to hear all about y'alls Disney adventures!
He just needed a nap. He likes to refuse to sleep when there's anything else that he can be doing, but when he's tired it's like a ticking time bomb. We were hoping he'd nap in the cabana, but there was just too much going on.

I don't know what the sauce was. It didn't really have the hot flavor to it. It had kind of an odd sweet taste to it that just wasn't right. That's why I just use Franks when I make them at home. I put that $#!% on everything.:lmao::rotfl2::rotfl:

Yay Disney next! :)
Yes, getting to the good parts!

Thats weird about the wings .. how do you mess up Buffalo wings ?? Oh well .. sounds like a nice, relaxing day anyway ! :thumbsup2
That's what happens when they mess with something good and try to make their own sauce. All I can figure is that they must have left an ingredient out or added too much of something. Surely that isn't the way they always taste. At least I hope that's the case.:rotfl2:

[afwdwfan]

Duck!!!

We woke up bright and early on Monday morning. The forecast had indicated some storms moving into the area overnight so I looked out the window to find that the sun was shining and it was a beautiful morning.:confused3 The waves coming in from the Gulf gave me an indication that the storms would probably be arriving, but maybe just slightly later than predicted. Oh well, can’t control the weather. It either will rain or it won’t. Either way, we’re headed to Disney World!

I told DW that I wanted to be on the road by 7:30. We were in the truck and on the road right on time at 7:45.:lmao: To be quite honest, I’ve learned a little trick. If I need to leave by 8, I tell her 7:30. Occasionally, we end up making it out the door by the actual target time. Odds are still no better than 50/50.

We made the drive across Florida on I-4 and arrived at Wilderness Lodge at around 9:30.

http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l611/fixy2273/2011-12-02_14-25-20_3.jpg

DS fell asleep on the drive, so I left him and DW in the truck while I went to check in. We knew that we were early and didn’t know if our room would be ready. We were planning to just check-in and get our KTTW and head over to the Contemporary to look around. I walked into the lobby and was blown away by what I saw.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7033/6594000291_af1a2d34c8_z.jpg

I had done the online check-in, so I proceeded to that part of the counter. To be quite honest, there was no line at check-in at all. I think there was maybe one other person checking in at that time. The CM gave me my paperwork and some pixie dust. Our room was ready!

We decided that since we had a little over an hour before we’d have to head over to the Contemporary, we’d unload the truck and get settled into our room. We had bell services come and help haul all of our worldly possessions up to our room. I think the bell man only had to stop 3 or 4 times to rest on his way in.

When we walked into the lobby, we had our first “Disney through your kid’s eyes” moment. DS took one step through the door and just stopped and pointed at the Christmas tree. “Tree, Mommy, tree!!!” He was pretty excited and had to run around it and investigate.

We went on up to the room and unpacked everything and got it all situated in its proper place. I had an epic battle with the bedrails we requested for DS and I think I won. I’m really not sure how they’re supposed to work (since there are no instructions) but DS was climbing on them and jumping on the bed and they held, so I must have done something right.:thumbsup2

A few pictures of our home for the week:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7012/6593979809_7a3cc32893_z.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7156/6593981101_df65248530_z.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7017/6593982017_08c3ecef88_z.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7011/6593982747_4a1bd111ae_z.jpg

The room was beautiful, but I have to be quite honest. I was a bit disappointed by our “woods view” room. We really just had a few trees, a courtyard and a view of the Villas.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7170/6593986585_3fc003aebc_z.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7035/6593984809_4160e05750_z.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7145/6594047807_43761490ae_z.jpg

It was about 10:45 at this point so we made our way out to the docks and hopped on the boat to the Contemporary. This is the point where I got goosebumps. I could see the Contemporary, the monorails, Space Mountain, the castle… we are really here!!!! :woohoo::banana::cool1::yay:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7170/6593978475_b4fabf0c97_z.jpg

We checked in for our breakfast at Chef Mickey’s about 20 minutes early, so we were going to have to wait.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7167/6594018243_a6454da6a5_z.jpg

The waiting area was packed! DS ran around and settled down for a couple of minutes to watch Little Einsteins on the TV. He got bored with that and started running around some more. I happened to see Donald just on the other side of the wall, so I picked DS up so he could have a look.

“Duck!!!”

“Yes, that’s Donald Duck. Can you say Donald?”

“Duck!!!”

“Eh, close enough.”

It was his first time seeing a Disney character ever and he was pretty pumped about it. Having picked him up once, he wanted to be held so he could keep watching them. He had found his favorites, Mickey and Duck and he’d even pointed out Plu. He seems eager to see them, so maybe it was a good plan to introduce him to the characters right away with a character breakfast!





Or was it???

[glennbo123]

I told DW that I wanted to be on the road by 7:30. We were in the truck and on the road right on time at 7:45.:lmao: To be quite honest, I’ve learned a little trick. If I need to leave by 8, I tell her 7:30. Occasionally, we end up making it out the door by the actual target time. Odds are still no better than 50/50.

If this isn't already a DIS-dads rule, I think it should be!

The room was beautiful, but I have to be quite honest. I was a bit disappointed by our “woods view” room. We really just had a few trees, a courtyard and a view of the Villas.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7170/6593986585_3fc003aebc_z.jpg

That looks like a corral for humans down there!

It was about 10:45 at this point so we made our way out to the docks and hopped on the boat to the Contemporary. This is the point where I got goosebumps. I could see the Contemporary, the monorails, Space Mountain, the castle… we are really here!!!! :woohoo::banana::cool1::yay:

Always such a great moment.

Having picked him up once, he wanted to be held so he could keep watching them.

See what you started...now you're going to get a workout.

Or was it???

Uh oh, cliffhanger.

[amandaw]

Awww, that's so sweet that your DS was so excited by the tree at WL. They do have some gorgeous Christmas decorations there.

Can't wait to hear how did with getting all up close & personal with the characters!

[KatMark]

I told DW that I wanted to be on the road by 7:30. We were in the truck and on the road right on time at 7:45.:lmao: To be quite honest, I’ve learned a little trick. If I need to leave by 8, I tell her 7:30. Occasionally, we end up making it out the door by the actual target time. Odds are still no better than 50/50.

I'll have you know that I am the one always making sure everyone is on the road by the time I want to go; my dad always said that I was very reliable and prompt for a woman. :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

DS fell asleep on the drive, so I left him and DW in the truck while I went to check in. We knew that we were early and didn’t know if our room would be ready. We were planning to just check-in and get our KTTW and head over to the Contemporary to look around. I walked into the lobby and was blown away by what I saw.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7033/6594000291_af1a2d34c8_z.jpg

I had done the online check-in, so I proceeded to that part of the counter. To be quite honest, there was no line at check-in at all. I think there was maybe one other person checking in at that time. The CM gave me my paperwork and some pixie dust. Our room was ready!

Gotta love that pixie dust of your room being ready.

When we walked into the lobby, we had our first “Disney through your kid’s eyes” moment. DS took one step through the door and just stopped and pointed at the Christmas tree. “Tree, Mommy, tree!!!” He was pretty excited and had to run around it and investigate.

Love this!

It was about 10:45 at this point so we made our way out to the docks and hopped on the boat to the Contemporary. This is the point where I got goosebumps. I could see the Contemporary, the monorails, Space Mountain, the castle… we are really here!!!! :woohoo::banana::cool1::yay:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7170/6593978475_b4fabf0c97_z.jpg

:woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo:

We checked in for our breakfast at Chef Mickey’s about 20 minutes early, so we were going to have to wait.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7167/6594018243_a6454da6a5_z.jpg

The waiting area was packed! DS ran around and settled down for a couple of minutes to watch Little Einsteins on the TV. He got bored with that and started running around some more. I happened to see Donald just on the other side of the wall, so I picked DS up so he could have a look.

“Duck!!!”

“Yes, that’s Donald Duck. Can you say Donald?”

“Duck!!!”

“Eh, close enough.”

It was his first time seeing a Disney character ever and he was pretty pumped about it. Having picked him up once, he wanted to be held so he could keep watching them. He had found his favorites, Mickey and Duck and he’d even pointed out Plu. He seems eager to see them, so maybe it was a good plan to introduce him to the characters right away with a character breakfast!





Or was it???[/COLOR]

Uh oh...now you have me worried. :confused:

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

I was originally planning to hunt down some “good” pictures to illustrate your last update for ya’ (just cause I’m such a nice nemes… errrr… guy), but you put this one up so quickly that it just wouldn’t be all that humorous any more. Meh… maybe next time.




Duck!!!


:duck:


To be quite honest, I’ve learned a little trick. If I need to leave by 8, I tell her 7:30.


I do that with my in-laws, but subtract a minimum of an hour to hopefully be on time.
If I actually NEED to be on time, I subtract two.


The CM gave me my paperwork and some pixie dust. Our room was ready!


First win of the day… may there be more to come.


We had bell services come and help haul all of our worldly possessions up to our room.


We were lost having bell services haul our bags.
Only richer folks then I get that kind of attention.
It was very, very strange.

Actually, it was so strange that I was compelled to haul all the bags out to the car myself when we checked out.

Having someone else do it for me just seemed soooo wrong.


“Tree, Mommy, tree!!!”


Leave it to our kids to get right down to the heart of the matter.


I had an epic battle with the bedrails we requested for DS and I think I won.


A video of this would have been good… but I suppose we can take your word for it that you won.



The room was beautiful, but I have to be quite honest. I was a bit disappointed by our “woods view” room. We really just had a few trees, a courtyard and a view of the Villas.


Naaaaa…. You got a good one. We had a “standard view” room
(which I’ll be talking about in the next chapter over in my excuse for a TR).

Trust me… the view that y’all got is quite nice.


Quite…




It was about 10:45 at this point so we made our way out to the docks and hopped on the boat to the Contemporary.


I loved being able to use the boats to get around the different spots in the loop.
They are like attractions all by themselves.


This is the point where I got goosebumps. I could see the Contemporary, the monorails, Space Mountain, the castle… we are really here!!!!


::yes::


“Duck!!!”

“Yes, that’s Donald Duck. Can you say Donald?”

“Duck!!!”

“Eh, close enough.”


:lmao:


…and he’d even pointed out Plu.


Priceless


Or was it???


***queue ominous John Williams soundtrack here***

[khertz]

I just LOVE the lobby at the Wilderness Lodge, especially decorated for Christmas!! That tree is just amazing. What a special moment it must have been for DS to get so excited over it too!

Oh yes, a packed Chef Mickey's waiting room & a restless toddler...does that sound familiar! You must have copied my update. :rotfl: Hopefully he liked the characters...I can't believe you stopped there & left us hanging!!

:thumbsup2 Looking forward to the next installment.

[Captain_Oblivious]

I told DW that I wanted to be on the road by 7:30. We were in the truck and on the road right on time at 7:45.:lmao: To be quite honest, I’ve learned a little trick. If I need to leave by 8, I tell her 7:30. Occasionally, we end up making it out the door by the actual target time. Odds are still no better than 50/50.

You're giving away our secrets! :sad2:

I walked into the lobby and was blown away by what I saw.

I forget, had you been in there before? Hard not to be blown away the first time you walk into that lobby. Especially with the Christmas decorations.

The CM gave me my paperwork and some pixie dust. Our room was ready!

:eek: At 9:30? :woohoo:

When we walked into the lobby, we had our first “Disney through your kid’s eyes” moment. DS took one step through the door and just stopped and pointed at the Christmas tree. “Tree, Mommy, tree!!!”

:goodvibes

The room was beautiful, but I have to be quite honest. I was a bit disappointed by our “woods view” room. We really just had a few trees, a courtyard and a view of the Villas.

Looks like woods to me. :confused3 Some rooms give you a view of the dumpster.

This is the point where I got goosebumps. I could see the Contemporary, the monorails, Space Mountain, the castle… we are really here!!!! :woohoo::banana::cool1::yay:

Am I supposed to get goosebumps reading about it?

“Duck!!!”

“Yes, that’s Donald Duck. Can you say Donald?”

“Duck!!!”

“Eh, close enough.”

Then you got smacked in the head by a tray a waiter was carrying. :sad2:

[dramaqueenemj22]

Hi! I just caught up on your installments and I must say I'm very excited to be subbing right as your getting into ALL things Disney! Your son is very cute and its a adorable that he calls Donald Duck, Duck. Can't waiting to read more! :surfweb:

[My sister's princess]

No adorable photos of you son!!!???? That is hardly an update! :sad2:


Kidding, kidding! Glad you guys liked the lobby, sorry about the view from your room. Are you a spend alot of time in the room kind of family?


Can't wait for more!

[Shannon84]

What a beautiful beach view during the beginning of your vacation!! Besides the chocolate milk incident it looks like you guys had a wonderful time there :goodvibes

WL is beautiful, the tree looks stunning, I couldnt imagine in person what it looked like!! I am excited to hear DS was having a good reaction to the characters!

[afwdwfan]

If this isn't already a DIS-dads rule, I think it should be!
I think it is an unwritten rule. And I might be in trouble for putting it in writing.:lmao:

That looks like a corral for humans down there!
It does kind of look like that guy is scratching his head trying to find a way out.

Always such a great moment.
One of the best feelings in the world.

See what you started...now you're going to get a workout.
I never seem to learn.:sad2:

Uh oh, cliffhanger.
Well, I would have continued, but I had to get back to work.

Awww, that's so sweet that your DS was so excited by the tree at WL. They do have some gorgeous Christmas decorations there.

Can't wait to hear how did with getting all up close & personal with the characters!
In all honesty, I was just about as excited as he was. That tree is a spectacular sight, especially inside that lobby. Disney definitely does Christmas decorations well.

Uh oh...now you have me worried. :confused:
You can't be anywhere near as worried as we were. We had no idea what would happen.:lmao:

I was originally planning to hunt down some “good” pictures to illustrate your last update for ya’ (just cause I’m such a nice nemes… errrr… guy), but you put this one up so quickly that it just wouldn’t be all that humorous any more. Meh… maybe next time.
I'm glad I have a nemesis who isn't highly motivated to antagonize me.

I do that with my in-laws, but subtract a minimum of an hour to hopefully be on time.
If I actually NEED to be on time, I subtract two.
But does it ever actually work?

First win of the day… may there be more to come.
Don't we hope!

We were lost having bell services haul our bags.
Only richer folks then I get that kind of attention.
It was very, very strange.

Actually, it was so strange that I was compelled to haul all the bags out to the car myself when we checked out.

Having someone else do it for me just seemed soooo wrong.
I typically carry my own, but we had so much stuff, it would have taken several trips. Since we didn't have a lot of time and wanted to get unpacked before we left, it was just easier to get the bell man and his big cart to come to our aid.

I actually hauled stuff back out when we left, but as we'd get a bag full of dirty laundry throughout the week, I'd go ahead and haul it out. We didn't have nearly as much stuff in the room by the end of the week.

Leave it to our kids to get right down to the heart of the matter.
Indeed.


A video of this would have been good… but I suppose we can take your word for it that you won.
I think I did. They were on there. I can't be sure they were on there the right way though.:rotfl2:

Naaaaa…. You got a good one. We had a “standard view” room
(which I’ll be talking about in the next chapter over in my excuse for a TR).

Trust me… the view that y’all got is quite nice.


Quite…
It really wasn't a bad view. Just not quite what I expected with woods view. I might be spoiled by the woods view that I have here at home.

I loved being able to use the boats to get around the different spots in the loop.
They are like attractions all by themselves.
We loved the boats. Especially the big ones that we could roll the stroller on to.

***queue ominous John Williams soundtrack here***
Jaws, maybe? :confused3 :lmao:

[afwdwfan]

I just LOVE the lobby at the Wilderness Lodge, especially decorated for Christmas!! That tree is just amazing. What a special moment it must have been for DS to get so excited over it too!
It was a special moment just to be there. It is one of the resorts I've always wanted to stay at, but had never even visited. The Christmas decorations there were just perfect.

Oh yes, a packed Chef Mickey's waiting room & a restless toddler...does that sound familiar! You must have copied my update. :rotfl: Hopefully he liked the characters...I can't believe you stopped there & left us hanging!!

:thumbsup2 Looking forward to the next installment.
It sounds vaguely familiar... I don't know where I might have possibly seen something like that.
I haven't had a chance to read it yet, but I saw that you did an update about Via Napoli. I'll probably be using the copy and paste on that one too here in a few days.:thumbsup2 :rotfl2:

You're giving away our secrets! :sad2:
Don't worry. Julie doesn't read this garbage.

I forget, had you been in there before? Hard not to be blown away the first time you walk into that lobby. Especially with the Christmas decorations.
No, first time there. And it is extremely breathtaking.

:eek: At 9:30? :woohoo:
When she told me it was ready, I actually asked her if she meant it is ready for us now. :lmao:

Looks like woods to me. :confused3 Some rooms give you a view of the dumpster.
:lmao: Yeah, it is. I guess from the woods view description I was expecting a view of trees... thick trees that you don't see a building through just a few yards on the other side of the tree line. I guess the woods view I have at home just kind of ruins that aspect for me. It was very nice sitting on the balcony though.

Am I supposed to get goosebumps reading about it?
Probably. I get them anytime I even think about it.

Then you got smacked in the head by a tray a waiter was carrying. :sad2:
I've still got a knot back there.:headache:

Hi! I just caught up on your installments and I must say I'm very excited to be subbing right as your getting into ALL things Disney! Your son is very cute and its a adorable that he calls Donald Duck, Duck. Can't waiting to read more! :surfweb:
Welcome! I'm glad you stopped by for the good stuff! Hope to get some more updates up this week.

No adorable photos of you son!!!???? That is hardly an update! :sad2:


Kidding, kidding! Glad you guys liked the lobby, sorry about the view from your room. Are you a spend alot of time in the room kind of family?


Can't wait for more!
I'm sorry we didn't have any pictures. The next update should make up for it.

The view wasn't bad at all, just not what I expected. We spent more time in the room than normal this trip. Partly because we had a toddler with us, but also partly because we wanted to enjoy the lodge. Personally, I'm the go, go, go mentality at Disney World. I want to see and do everything I can.

What a beautiful beach view during the beginning of your vacation!! Besides the chocolate milk incident it looks like you guys had a wonderful time there :goodvibes

WL is beautiful, the tree looks stunning, I couldnt imagine in person what it looked like!! I am excited to hear DS was having a good reaction to the characters!
The beach was nice and relaxing. I would have preferred to just have 2 more Disney days, but I'm glad we went.

It really was incredible to see the WL. I hadn't ever stepped foot in the lobby and it definitely met and exceeded all expectations.

[petals]

I used to do that when I was going up and down to college interviews and stuff if I had to be there for 10 I'd tell Momma 9 so we woudl get there on time. It's a good trick :lmao:

The Say Donald and getting Duck story is cute. My niece now 13 when she was little and we were trying to teach her santa we'd go say "santa" and she's go "man." Kids versions of names are better anyway :rotfl:

The or was it bit at the end doesn't sound to good!

[that's nice]

I swore I posted something here after your last update... :confused3

That tree in WL is amazing. I just love the WL lobby.

The view from your room wasn't horrible. This was ours once....

http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo351/djtimbct/Disney%20October09/DSC06039.jpg

I can't wait to see how breakfast went. popcorn::

[afwdwfan]

I used to do that when I was going up and down to college interviews and stuff if I had to be there for 10 I'd tell Momma 9 so we woudl get there on time. It's a good trick :lmao:
It's a good trick until they catch on... then you have to keep moving the time up earlier and earlier.

The Say Donald and getting Duck story is cute. My niece now 13 when she was little and we were trying to teach her santa we'd go say "santa" and she's go "man." Kids versions of names are better anyway :rotfl:
I guess as long as they know what they mean and we can figure it out, that's what counts. :lmao:

The or was it bit at the end doesn't sound to good!
We'll find out soon...

[afwdwfan]

Breakfast with Character

We were finally seated for breakfast about 5 minutes later than our 11:20 ADR. We sat down and started scouting the character rotation to see when we could make a break for the buffet line. It looked like they were still a couple of sections away, so DW and I decided we’d take turns getting food. Just as we were getting ready to head to the buffet line, the music started so that the characters could do their dance and all their guests could fling crumbs and globs of jelly on one another using their napkins as sling shots.
This was the turning point for DS’s interest in the characters. He’s never really seemed to care much for Goofy, and as luck would have it, our first character interaction was a 7’ tall dog running right by our table dancing and jumping around. His reaction looked something like this.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7025/6628466293_c807594ee6_z.jpg

He never cried, but it was obvious much to my dismay, that he didn’t have any love for Goofy. Coincidently, guess who the first character was to come to our table.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7032/6628468525_a14a59d630_z.jpg

It really didn’t go all that badly. While we were eating, Donald and Mickey were coming through the section next to ours, and he was standing up in his seat watching them and pointing them out.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7143/6628470139_1f97be92d8_z.jpg

We didn’t get any good pictures with the characters during breakfast, but by the time Mickey came along, DS did decide to give the Chef his complements in the form of a high 5.

As for my comments on the breakfast, I love breakfast buffets, so I enjoyed the meal. It’s obvious though that you’re really paying more for the experience than the food when it comes to character meals. It wasn’t worth the price of admission for us, because we didn’t get to take full advantage of the character interactions. I think we will probably give it another try in the future, though, once DS decides he’s ready to be more comfortable with the characters on a consistent basis.

Having enjoyed a nice breakfast, it was time to head to the Magic Kingdom. We headed up to the monorail platform and got there just in time to see the doors close on a departing train. We were first in line for the next and one of the CM’s on the platform chatted with us a bit and gave DS a trading card.

We boarded the next monorail and rode around the loop to our destination.
I was nervous about bag check, because prior to this trip, I had never taken a bag into the parks. Turns out it wasn’t so bad. We sailed through and soon we had this view.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7018/6628471879_3fe951007d_z.jpg

Followed by this one.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7006/6628473089_91cc352114_z.jpg

We headed over to Adventureland, because you’re always supposed to go left at Disney World. Actually it is just kind of tradition. For some reason we seem to ride Jungle Cruise first… always have. Well, we got to stroller parking and when we started to get DS out of the stroller we found he was asleep. So much for worrying that there’d be too much to see for him to sleep in the parks.

Where do you go when you’re in Adventureland with a sleeping toddler? Aloha Isle, of course.

We grabbed a couple of Dole Whips and walked over to Tomorrowland to grab FP’s for Buzz so that we could ride when DS woke up. I grabbed FP’s and we found a bench in the shade to sit and formulate a plan for the afternoon. We have a friend who was there as a CM on the college program, so DW was trying to call her to let her know where we were and she told me I should go ahead and ride Space Mountain since we were right there. I’m certainly not going to argue with that logic. I headed to the standby line with a 25 minute wait. Not too bad with the games they have in there now. Space was fun as always and I came back outside to see that the skies were turning grey and DS was still sound asleep. We were in our window for Buzz and our CM friend was on her way to meet us. I decided to run over to get FP for Winnie the Pooh while DW stayed to wait for our CM friend.

DS woke up by the time I got back, and our CM friend was there. The skies were getting darker and it was apparent rain would be upon us very soon. I suggested heading to Buzz, but DW wanted to do something a little less intense first to get DS fully awake. With that in mind, we rode what would turn out to be DS’s first ride as well as the scariest, coldest and wettest ride of the entire trip…

[afwdwfan]

I swore I posted something here after your last update... :confused3

That tree in WL is amazing. I just love the WL lobby.
It really is great. I think Whispering Canyon will become a fixture in future trips, just so we can get an opportunity to visit.

The view from your room wasn't horrible. This was ours once....

http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo351/djtimbct/Disney%20October09/DSC06039.jpg
Are you sure this was WL???? :eek: That looks more like a view from a room in POP.

I can't wait to see how breakfast went. popcorn::
Well, all you have to do is look down a couple of posts. You snuck in on me.:rotfl2:

[that's nice]

Are you sure this was WL???? :eek: That looks more like a view from a room in POP.
Yes that was POP... but your view was much better than mine. :lmao:

Well, all you have to do is look down a couple of posts. You snuck in on me.:rotfl2:

Well the kid is waking up... I'll be back later to read! :surfweb:

[My sister's princess]

That first photo made the update email so worth following up on. Your son is way to cute, and that photo is way to funny

[amandaw]

Your little boy is just too cute! :goodvibes At least he didn't cry when the characters came up to him. Did he warm up to characters more by the end of the trip?

I'm interested about the scariest/wettest ride coming up....

[that's nice]

we rode what would turn out to be DS’s first ride as well as the scariest, coldest and wettest ride of the entire trip… [/COLOR]
the Speedway? :confused3:confused3



Dole Whips are always a great place to stop for a snack. So are you a DW Float kinda guy? Inquiring minds wanna know.... :confused3

It is interesting to see how your DS does on his first trip. I have a feeling this is what we will be in for when we take Christopher for the first time. He will be a lot younger than Juliana was for her first trip. Juliana was amazing.. I can see some serious meltdowns in my future! :lmao:

[FreezinRafiki]

Just as we were getting ready to head to the buffet line, the music started so that the characters could do their dance and all their guests could fling crumbs and globs of jelly on one another using their napkins as sling shots.

Disney sure has developed an efficient food particle delivery system, haven't they? I'm still surprised every time we go there that I don't see the janitorial staff forming a picket line at the check in desk.


He never cried, but it was obvious much to my dismay, that he didn’t have any love for Goofy.
Uh oh.


http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7143/6628470139_1f97be92d8_z.jpg

Ah, the patented "grab the back of the pants" restraint system. A fool proof method if I've ever seen one. :thumbsup2 Also a favorite: bib overalls for kids. It's like putting a handle right on their back!


We didn’t get any good pictures with the characters during breakfast, but by the time Mickey came along, DS did decide to give the Chef his complements in the form of a high 5.
:woohoo:Awesome!:woohoo:


As for my comments on the breakfast, I love breakfast buffets, so I enjoyed the meal. It’s obvious though that you’re really paying more for the experience than the food when it comes to character meals. It wasn’t worth the price of admission for us, because we didn’t get to take full advantage of the character interactions. I think we will probably give it another try in the future, though, once DS decides he’s ready to be more comfortable with the characters on a consistent basis.
I think even with the character interactions, it's very hard to get your money's worth at a breakfast. $30 for eggs, french toast and bacon? Bacon is awesome, that's not debatable, but the price you pay for it is. I'm a notorious cheapskate, and if I can get away with breakfast in the room, I',m going to do it.


Having enjoyed a nice breakfast, it was time to head to the Magic Kingdom. We headed up to the monorail platform and got there just in time to see the doors close on a departing train.
The bright side would be that you would be first in line to ride up with the pilot. The bad side is that they don't allow that anymore. :headache:


We boarded the next monorail and rode around the loop to our destination.
I was nervous about bag check
Why was that? Hiding something there, Andy?

because prior to this trip, I had never taken a bag into the parks.
Oh. That's significantly less scandalous. Boring, almost. Moving on then...


We sailed through and soon we had this view.

What was little dude's reaction to the castle? :confused3



Where do you go when you’re in Adventureland with a sleeping toddler? Aloha Isle, of course.
I'd better order one for him, just in case he wakes up. And if he doesn't, well, someone's got to eat it before it melts.


and she told me I should go ahead and ride Space Mountain since we were right there. I’m certainly not going to argue with that logic.
No, honey, I'll sit here and wait with you...just kidding. SEE YA!



With that in mind, we rode what would turn out to be DS’s first ride as well as the scariest, coldest and wettest ride of the entire trip… [/COLOR]

It's a small world, and your boat tipped over.


Dole Whips are always a great place to stop for a snack. So are you a DW Float kinda guy? Inquiring minds wanna know.... :confused3

I'm a float man myself. Hmm....I'll need to check the fine print of our agreement to see if floats are covered...:surfweb:

It is interesting to see how your DS does on his first trip. I have a feeling this is what we will be in for when we take Christopher for the first time. He will be a lot younger than Juliana was for her first trip. Juliana was amazing.. I can see some serious meltdowns in my future! :lmao:
Well, I'm sure Mel, Juliana and Christopher will get through them. And when you're ready to act your age, you can get back to having fun. :thumbsup2

[BelleTinkMom]

Hi :wave: joining in.

The beach looks so relaxing. We usually head to the beach on the Florida panhandle, either Destin or Panama City Beach.

Dole Whip floats are one of my favorite snacks in the MK.

Will People Mover be the scariest and wettest ride???

[Captain_Oblivious]

Just as we were getting ready to head to the buffet line, the music started so that the characters could do their dance and all their guests could fling crumbs and globs of jelly on one another using their napkins as sling shots.

Not to mention those that blew their noses in their napkins... :crazy2:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7025/6628466293_c807594ee6_z.jpg

Hey, that looks like me on ToT! :rotfl:

How is he going to be a future DISDad if he doesn't like Goofy? :confused3

We didn’t get any good pictures with the characters during breakfast, but by the time Mickey came along, DS did decide to give the Chef his complements in the form of a high 5.

Cool! Did he have any stray food in his hand when he high-fived Mickey?

It’s obvious though that you’re really paying more for the experience than the food when it comes to character meals.

::yes::

It's Disney, though. Best just to not even look at the price tag.

I was nervous about bag check, because prior to this trip, I had never taken a bag into the parks.

Just what are you taking in there, Andy? :confused3

Well, we got to stroller parking and when we started to get DS out of the stroller we found he was asleep. So much for worrying that there’d be too much to see for him to sleep in the parks.

He was practicing for It's A Small World.

Where do you go when you’re in Adventureland with a sleeping toddler? Aloha Isle, of course.

:woohoo:

If I recall, this was your first "official" Dole Whip, right?

We have a friend who was there as a CM on the college program, so DW was trying to call her to let her know where we were and she told me I should go ahead and ride Space Mountain since we were right there. I’m certainly not going to argue with that logic.

Good woman there! :thumbsup2

I suggested heading to Buzz, but DW wanted to do something a little less intense first to get DS fully awake. With that in mind, we rode what would turn out to be DS’s first ride as well as the scariest, coldest and wettest ride of the entire trip… [/COLOR]

:eek: TTA?

[KatMark]

Breakfast with Character

We were finally seated for breakfast about 5 minutes later than our 11:20 ADR. We sat down and started scouting the character rotation to see when we could make a break for the buffet line. It looked like they were still a couple of sections away, so DW and I decided we’d take turns getting food. Just as we were getting ready to head to the buffet line, the music started so that the characters could do their dance and all their guests could fling crumbs and globs of jelly on one another using their napkins as sling shots.
This was the turning point for DS’s interest in the characters. He’s never really seemed to care much for Goofy, and as luck would have it, our first character interaction was a 7’ tall dog running right by our table dancing and jumping around. His reaction looked something like this.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7025/6628466293_c807594ee6_z.jpg

Poor guy. Are you sure he didn't see one of those "goofy" DisDads and that scared him? ;)

It really didn’t go all that badly. While we were eating, Donald and Mickey were coming through the section next to ours, and he was standing up in his seat watching them and pointing them out.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7143/6628470139_1f97be92d8_z.jpg

Love this "hold" on the child...a well used hold.

We didn’t get any good pictures with the characters during breakfast, but by the time Mickey came along, DS did decide to give the Chef his complements in the form of a high 5.

Perhaps as the trip goes along, he will get a picture with a character?

As for my comments on the breakfast, I love breakfast buffets, so I enjoyed the meal. It’s obvious though that you’re really paying more for the experience than the food when it comes to character meals. It wasn’t worth the price of admission for us, because we didn’t get to take full advantage of the character interactions. I think we will probably give it another try in the future, though, once DS decides he’s ready to be more comfortable with the characters on a consistent basis.

You are right...the breakfasts aren't really worth the price except easier access to the characters.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7018/6628471879_3fe951007d_z.jpg

Followed by this one.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7006/6628473089_91cc352114_z.jpg

Great photos!!!!


DS woke up by the time I got back, and our CM friend was there. The skies were getting darker and it was apparent rain would be upon us very soon. I suggested heading to Buzz, but DW wanted to do something a little less intense first to get DS fully awake. With that in mind, we rode what would turn out to be DS’s first ride as well as the scariest, coldest and wettest ride of the entire trip…

Oh oh...this doesn't sound good. :scared1:

[CandleontheWater]

Sorry that Chef Mickeys wasn't a smashing success. The look on your son's face pretty much mirrored how Everett was around the characters this trip. Everything was fine, as long as they kept a respectful distance. He got better the more he saw of them though, so I'm hoping Landon takes the same route.

Now you having me wracking my brain for what ride you could have been on- Astro Orbiter maybe? I am always afraid I'm going to fall out of that ride, and if it started raining, well, you'd be out of luck.

[afwdwfan]

Yes that was POP... but your view was much better than mine. :lmao:
I'm always happy to stay at POP, regardless of the view.

That first photo made the update email so worth following up on. Your son is way to cute, and that photo is way to funny
I'm glad you liked it. We think it is kind of a funny picture too... more so than we did at the time that it happened. :rotfl2:

Your little boy is just too cute! :goodvibes At least he didn't cry when the characters came up to him. Did he warm up to characters more by the end of the trip?

I'm interested about the scariest/wettest ride coming up....
Thanks! He had moments when he did well with them and other times not so much. We didn't have any experiences with characters that I would call bad though. It just depended on his mood and who we were meeting.

the Speedway? :confused3:confused3
Good guess...

Dole Whips are always a great place to stop for a snack. So are you a DW Float kinda guy? Inquiring minds wanna know.... :confused3
No, I typically prefer my ice cream and my drink to be separate. Unless it is a milkshake.

It is interesting to see how your DS does on his first trip. I have a feeling this is what we will be in for when we take Christopher for the first time. He will be a lot younger than Juliana was for her first trip. Juliana was amazing.. I can see some serious meltdowns in my future! :lmao:
Reading TR's and PTR's was a huge help to me. I started looking for people writing about traveling with toddlers or infants so that I could get ideas. I'm sure I'll leave someone out, but I got some helpful tips and ideas in TR's and PTR's written by amandaw, khertz, candleonthewater and PirateKate.

There's probably a 50/50 chance that I might be working on another TR in about a year. This one would include an almost 3 year old and a 7 month old. I can only imagine how bad the meltdowns might be in that one.:rolleyes1

[lilpixiebabe101]

Caught up now! Didn't realize you had started your TR till you posted on mine!

Sorry DS son got sick. Remember those nights where Lexa would drink more milk that she should... Ick

Glad y'all made it to WL in time for your ADR. Poor DS with the characters! We lucked out and saw Snow White before any other characters!

Can't wait to see what you rode. I almost want to guess the people mover (TTA) though... hmmm

[afwdwfan]

Disney sure has developed an efficient food particle delivery system, haven't they? I'm still surprised every time we go there that I don't see the janitorial staff forming a picket line at the check in desk.
I think it was you who wrote about this in a TR before... anyway, I remember reading something about unsanitary this practice is and that's all I could think about when they started the song. I was probably giving dirty looks to this kid across the aisle from me, because I could tell by looking at him that there had to be some gravy or ketchup or something about ready smack me upside the head once the twirling started.:rotfl:

Uh oh.
I was devastated.:sad2:

Ah, the patented "grab the back of the pants" restraint system. A fool proof method if I've ever seen one. :thumbsup2 Also a favorite: bib overalls for kids. It's like putting a handle right on their back!
They really need to put a weight rating on the ones that fasten with snaps though.:rolleyes1

I think even with the character interactions, it's very hard to get your money's worth at a breakfast. $30 for eggs, french toast and bacon? Bacon is awesome, that's not debatable, but the price you pay for it is. I'm a notorious cheapskate, and if I can get away with breakfast in the room, I',m going to do it.
True... but that's why we had Cheerios for breakfast before we left our hotel. This 11:20 ADR was basically lunch with Mickey waffles.


And bacon.:thumbsup2

The bright side would be that you would be first in line to ride up with the pilot. The bad side is that they don't allow that anymore. :headache:
It's a shame. I never did get to experience it, but I'd rather see them err on the side of saftey.

Why was that? Hiding something there, Andy?
That dirty diaper in there might be classified as a WMD in the wrong hands. :confused3

Oh. That's significantly less scandalous. Boring, almost. Moving on then...
Sorry to disappoint.

What was little dude's reaction to the castle? :confused3
Non existant really. He was leaning forward with his arms on the tray in his stroller just looking around taking everything in.

I'd better order one for him, just in case he wakes up. And if he doesn't, well, someone's got to eat it before it melts.
I had a hard time just carrying/eating mine and pushing the stroller. But DW didn't finish hers so I at least got 1 and a half.:thumbsup2

No, honey, I'll sit here and wait with you...just kidding. SEE YA!
It might have been one of those tests to see if I was going to offer to stay there with her. If it was, I failed. :lmao::rotfl2::rotfl:

It's a small world, and your boat tipped over.
That might actually make IASW a little bit less scary. :confused3

I'm a float man myself. Hmm....I'll need to check the fine print of our agreement to see if floats are covered...:surfweb:
I thought it covered the entire Aloha Isle menu.:thumbsup2

Hi :wave: joining in.
:wave: Hi, glad you stopped by!

The beach looks so relaxing. We usually head to the beach on the Florida panhandle, either Destin or Panama City Beach.
We love Panama City too. We might have to make that our next beach destination. I always enjoy eating out on the deck/pier thing at Pineapple Willys there.

Dole Whip floats are one of my favorite snacks in the MK.
I find it hard to really say any snack is my favorite. I really haven't found many that I don't like. :rotfl2:

Will People Mover be the scariest and wettest ride???
Another good guess...

[afwdwfan]

Not to mention those that blew their noses in their napkins... :crazy2:
:scared1:

Hey, that looks like me on ToT! :rotfl:
At least you're willing to publically admit you're a chicken. :confused3 :lmao:

How is he going to be a future DISDad if he doesn't like Goofy? :confused3
I don't know... It looks like I've really got my work cut out for me.

Cool! Did he have any stray food in his hand when he high-fived Mickey?
He ALWAYS has stray food in his hands. :thumbsup2 :rotfl2:

::yes::

It's Disney, though. Best just to not even look at the price tag.
Maybe if we were on the regular dining plan... but we weren't and I at least had to make sure my credit card had a high enough limit. :rolleyes1

Just what are you taking in there, Andy? :confused3
Sippy cup, Cheerios, diapers, wipes, toys, hand sanitizer... you know... since they don't sell alcohol in the MK. :lmao::rotfl::rotfl2:

He was practicing for It's A Small World.
:sad2:

:woohoo:

If I recall, this was your first "official" Dole Whip, right?
::yes::

Good woman there! :thumbsup2
Sometimes


I mean absolutely, 100% all the time! :thumbsup2

:eek: TTA?
Another good guess...

Poor guy. Are you sure he didn't see one of those "goofy" DisDads and that scared him?
Just because Goofy is the official mascot of the DisDads doesn't mean we're goofy.


Although it is a pretty accurate description.:lmao::rotfl2:

You are right...the breakfasts aren't really worth the price except easier access to the characters.
Honestly, no matter what, it seems like you're paying for the atmosphere/experience for most of the Table Service places in WDW. Only a few would stand alone at their price level based on their food... and we did get to experience some of them.:thumbsup2

Oh oh...this doesn't sound good. :scared1:
It was less than spectacular... I'll just leave it at that.

Sorry that Chef Mickeys wasn't a smashing success. The look on your son's face pretty much mirrored how Everett was around the characters this trip. Everything was fine, as long as they kept a respectful distance. He got better the more he saw of them though, so I'm hoping Landon takes the same route.
It was really a day to day, minute to minute thing. He might like one and then have no interest in the next. He never had any meltdowns about the characters though, so I'll take that as a victory for the first trip.:thumbsup2

Now you having me wracking my brain for what ride you could have been on- Astro Orbiter maybe? I am always afraid I'm going to fall out of that ride, and if it started raining, well, you'd be out of luck.
It wasn't, but that was a very good guess. I hadn't even thought of that one.

[FreezinRafiki]

I think it was you who wrote about this in a TR before... anyway, I remember reading something about unsanitary this practice is and that's all I could think about when they started the song.
Yes, that was me. It has been firmly established that I am not above reusing jokes.


True... but that's why we had Cheerios for breakfast before we left our hotel. This 11:20 ADR was basically lunch with Mickey waffles.


And bacon.:thumbsup2

Well played, Andy. Well played. ::yes::

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

I'm glad I have a nemesis who isn't highly motivated to antagonize me.


I was about three quarters of the way through the process and havig trouble finding just the right images for a few of your paragraphs when you posted the new one. It just wouldn’t have been as funny after that. But then again… if you’re even short on images in the future, I might be able to help you out in that instance.




We were finally seated for breakfast about 5 minutes later than our 11:20 ADR.


Not too bad for a Disney ADR.


Just as we were getting ready to head to the buffet line, the music started so that the characters could do their dance and all their guests could fling crumbs and globs of jelly on one another using their napkins as sling shots.


Perfect description! I haaaaaate when they do that.
A room full of kids swinging half full napkins is like having an army of “Davids” slinging stones at every one else in the room.


He’s never really seemed to care much for Goofy,


That will change as he get to know you better


http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7025/6628466293_c807594ee6_z.jpg



Quite the picture!

He got to that stage but still kept it together? Nice… he may have a good bit of self control going for him. Of course the events that fill the rest of this TR will eithere confirm or disprove this theory.


It really didn’t go all that badly. While we were eating, Donald and Mickey were coming through the section next to ours, and he was standing up in his seat watching them and pointing them out.


The boy knows what he likes


It’s obvious though that you’re really paying more for the experience than the food when it comes to character meals.


Depending on the venue this is unquestionably true. The best character interactions I had during meals were at the Chrystal Palace, Garden Grill and Liberty Tee Tavern. Breakfast is more convenient a time frame, but dinner will always come with a better meal.


Having enjoyed a nice breakfast, it was time to head to the Magic Kingdom. We headed up to the monorail platform and got there just in time to see the doors close on a departing train.


You could have walked from the Contemporary, but then again, you wouldn’t have gotten on the monorail. Too bad you couldn’t take advantage of the wait to ride up front. We did it once and hate that you can’t do it anymore.


We boarded the next monorail and rode around the loop to our destination.
I was nervous about bag check


Not carrying any contraband in there are ya’?


For some reason we seem to ride Jungle Cruise first…


I love a good bad joke in the morning!


Where do you go when you’re in Adventureland with a sleeping toddler? Aloha Isle, of course.


Wise beyond your years (and I likely won’t be saying that very often).


She told me I should go ahead and ride Space Mountain since we were right there.


You got a good one there.


I’m certainly not going to argue with that logic.


Also… wise (savor it now… I suspect I’ll be giving you a hard time later on).


I suggested heading to Buzz, but DW wanted to do something a little less intense first to get DS fully awake. With that in mind, we rode what would turn out to be DS’s first ride as well as the scariest, coldest and wettest ride of the entire trip…


I like how the opening sentence set up the fact that what is about to transpire was not “exactly” your fault.

Hummmm… lets see… Tomorrowland, less intense, scariest, coldest and wettest ride… sounds like the TTA during a driving rain squall, but I could be wrong.

[afwdwfan]

Caught up now! Didn't realize you had started your TR till you posted on mine!
I think you were gone when I started it anyway. :confused3

Sorry DS son got sick. Remember those nights where Lexa would drink more milk that she should... Ick
Such a pleasant surprise...:sad2:

Glad y'all made it to WL in time for your ADR. Poor DS with the characters! We lucked out and saw Snow White before any other characters!
I really don't think he felt much differently about face characters vs. furry characters:confused3 He could tell they weren't dressed like everybody else, I guess.:lmao:

Can't wait to see what you rode. I almost want to guess the people mover (TTA) though... hmmm
Good guess... this seems to be the leading vote getter.

I was about three quarters of the way through the process and havig trouble finding just the right images for a few of your paragraphs when you posted the new one. It just wouldn’t have been as funny after that. But then again… if you’re even short on images in the future, I might be able to help you out in that instance.
Great! This means I foiled your attempt to foil me! :woohoo:

Not too bad for a Disney ADR.
No, not bad at all. We had a bit of a wait, but we wanted to make sure we got there plenty early.

Perfect description! I haaaaaate when they do that.
A room full of kids swinging half full napkins is like having an army of “Davids” slinging stones at every one else in the room.
It really is a fun concept, but just think about it this way. You're walking back to your seat with a plate full of food and the music starts. A kid sitting near the aisle has just wiped approximately 2.5 gallons of syrup off of his face and starts twirling his napkin just as you pass. You get back to your seat and finish your meal, but when you go to stand up, the chair goes with you. :eek: :lmao:

That will change as he get to know you better
It better.:rotfl2:

Quite the picture!

He got to that stage but still kept it together? Nice… he may have a good bit of self control going for him. Of course the events that fill the rest of this TR will eithere confirm or disprove this theory.
Sometimes he does... sometimes he doesn't.:confused3 He does love the Fab 5... for the most part, so that definitely helped. I think he was just caught off guard by the size of Goofy in particular, especially when he was running towards us.

The boy knows what he likes
And what he likes can be different in 5 minutes. :rotfl2::rotfl:

Depending on the venue this is unquestionably true. The best character interactions I had during meals were at the Chrystal Palace, Garden Grill and Liberty Tee Tavern. Breakfast is more convenient a time frame, but dinner will always come with a better meal.
I will have to agree with you about Crystal Palace and Liberty Tree. I've never done Garden Grill. We tried to get an ADR there for dinner on our last day, but it didn't happen.

You could have walked from the Contemporary, but then again, you wouldn’t have gotten on the monorail. Too bad you couldn’t take advantage of the wait to ride up front. We did it once and hate that you can’t do it anymore.
And now you know why we did what we did. :thumbsup2 :rotfl2:

Not carrying any contraband in there are ya’?
:confused3 I didn't pack the bag. I guess I'd have found out at security though.:lmao:

I love a good bad joke in the morning!
:thumbsup2 Me too. Except it was about 1 pm.

Wise beyond your years (and I likely won’t be saying that very often).
Thanks... I think.. :confused3

You got a good one there.
::yes::

Also… wise (savor it now… I suspect I’ll be giving you a hard time later on).
I'm sure you will...

I like how the opening sentence set up the fact that what is about to transpire was not “exactly” your fault.
Just stating the facts... :rolleyes1

Hummmm… lets see… Tomorrowland, less intense, scariest, coldest and wettest ride… sounds like the TTA during a driving rain squall, but I could be wrong.
And another guess for TTA.


Hopefully things will be slow enough at work in the morning that I can get this next update posted.

[amazingact21]

Character breakfast with young kids is always a new adventure. Sometimes they decide out of nowhere that characters are scary and sometimes they fall in love with them. :confused3

Dole Whips are the perfect solution to a sleeping son. :love: Glad the beginning of your MK day was smooth and relaxed.

[petals]

Lol cute update. At least he didn't cry or worse. The first time my DN met Pluto he punched him :lmao:

[afwdwfan]

When it rains… we get wet.

We prepared for the rainstorm that appeared to be approaching by putting the rain cover (great investment) on the stroller and parking it next to the entrance of the TTA Peoplemover and headed up to climb aboard for our nice peaceful, relaxing ride.

Is it just me, or is the part after you go through the ride area of Space Mountain is darker than is naturally possible? Obviously DS couldn’t see that he was still sitting right next to me, and right across from his mommy and began flipping out. Needless to say, this trip, the Peoplemover wasn’t the peaceful relaxing ride I’m used to enjoying.

We worked to calm DS as we rode through the dark. Finally we could see the light at the end of the tunnel. Only it didn’t look as light as it did when we entered. We emerged from the dark to see that the rain had started. In addition to the rain, there was a nice strong breeze that was just perfect for whipping the rain right underneath the overhead covering as we slowly… crept… through Tomorrowland.

We got off the Peoplemover looking more like we were just getting off of Splash Mountain and headed over to use our Buzz FPs. DS seemed to enjoy it. I never could get him into the idea of shooting the gun, but once he figured out that he could make us spin with that lever in the middle, he was entertained and enjoying the ride. He really seemed to have a good time just taking it all in and nearly making DW require the use of a barf bag.

We met back up with our CM friend in the exit shop and the rain let up a bit so we decided to walk in the general direction of Fantasyland looking for a short line and a roof. We rode the Teacups (3 adults and a toddler in a cup is a bit tight:rolleyes1) and Snow White and then used our FP’s for Pooh. The rain was picking back up, so we ducked into It’s a Small World for shelter, despite a 20 minute line. Want to guess where IASW ranks on DS’s list of favorites?

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7162/6648017291_99e0b8821f_z.jpg

Our main objective for the day was to make sure we saw MSEP, so we decided it was getting close to time and we should find some food. We asked CM where she did/didn’t want to eat since she spends a bit more time there and she said she was sick of Cosmic Ray’s, but hadn’t eaten at Pecos Bills in a while. We headed that direction, and decided we had time to catch a performance by the Country Bears along the way. DS absolutely loved this show. He was clapping and dancing along with the bears the whole time.

We grabbed some food at Pecos Bills. I don’t remember what everybody else had, but my cheeseburger was delicious as always. It was getting dark as we finished our meals, and I decided to step outside and check the rain situation. It was coming down steadily so we finally brought out the ponchos and headed off to a section of sidewalk near Casey’s, but just a bit up the street toward the castle. Parked the stroller behind a trashcan and settled in just in time for the castle lighting show.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7020/6648018577_803746133c_z.jpg

We didn’t really worry about getting to the curb and fighting for our territory. DW went to get snacks and a spinning light up Mickey toy for DS (best $15 we spent the whole trip). I took DS to run back and forth along the walkway to Crystal Palace to burn some energy after Mickey became less entertaining.

We thought we had a good plan… by taking a spot behind the trash can, we didn’t have to be there super early, our spot was fairly easy to hold, people didn’t really try to push in front of us, and there wasn’t room for anyone behind us since they were keeping half of the sidewalk open for traffic. DW and CM would have a clear view over the top and I’d stand behind them with DS on my shoulders.:thumbsup2 All of a sudden a few minutes before the parade was to start, a family came along Main Street, laid a poncho on top of the trash can and sat 3 kids up there right in front of us.:headache: Thankfully, a CM came along quickly and made them leave. After what seemed like forever, in the cold, damp weather, the parade began.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7019/6648021491_88c322caf1_z.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7001/6648020015_6ae33990e7_z.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7030/6648108631_0f1f933325_z.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7168/6648109871_d7b74fbb9f_z.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7022/6648110903_4d42478300_z.jpg

We enjoyed MSEP, but I have always personally preferred SpectroMagic. We headed into the Emporium to look around and warm up. DW and I thought we’d be back at the WL before the evening’s events so we didn’t pack jackets when we headed out that morning. The timing of DS’s nap threw a wrench in those plans.

We stepped back out onto Main Street to watch Magic Memories and You.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7156/6648022631_be7119a587_z.jpg

I have to admit, I really liked this show a lot better than I thought I would. I really didn’t like the idea when I first read about it, but they really did an excellent job. We actually ended up seeing this show a few different times from some different angles. The pictures of people on the castle aren’t very big though. You’d almost have to be in the hub or closer to see them in any detail… either that or I need a new prescription for my contacts.

DS has never tolerated fireworks… at all. We decided to stand near the Train Station to watch Wishes and if he freaked out we’d leave. We had a secret weapon in our arsenal that we thought might help us though. Thanks to khertz for posting a link to these things in her PTR.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7158/6648024505_ee9ef7aa88_z.jpg

The Drew Brees inspired earmuffs worked great. He didn’t have a single problem with fireworks the whole trip with these things on. He didn’t want to wear them at first, but I think he realized they helped make it quieter, and once he figured that out, he was happy to have them on. I highly recommend them… and again thanks to khertz for posting a link to them in your PTR:thumbsup2.

Gratuitous explosion shots:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7017/6648025731_ee09504663_z.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7010/6648026905_321f38b9d0_z.jpg

We said goodbye to our CM friend and made plans to meet up with her again later in the week. We left the park just as the last few fireworks were going off and made our way to the dock to catch a boat back to WL. We were quickly on board and on our way. It was a great day at the Magic Kingdom, but there were a few more hours of valuable EMH park time...

[amandaw]

Well, in spite of the rain, it sounds like y'all had a wonderful time at MK! And it seems like DS did well with the rides.

I have to ask where you bought the ear phone things for your son. Reid doesn't like fireworks but won't wear ear plugs. Maybe I should buy some like you did before our next trip.

[CandleontheWater]

Good plan using the trashcan for cover! I might steal that idea next time, you read how camping out on the curb worked for me. :rolleyes:

Landon looks really cute with those earmuffs, like he is getting ready for a recording session! Glad they worked out so well! :thumbsup2

[Captain_Oblivious]

Is it just me, or is the part after you go through the ride area of Space Mountain is darker than is naturally possible?

How would you measure that? :confused3

Obviously DS couldn’t see that he was still sitting right next to me, and right across from his mommy and began flipping out. Needless to say, this trip, the Peoplemover wasn’t the peaceful relaxing ride I’m used to enjoying.

I'm sure the noises from the ride such as people shrieking calmed him down. :thumbsup2

We got off the Peoplemover looking more like we were just getting off of Splash Mountain and headed over to use our Buzz FPs. DS seemed to enjoy it. I never could get him into the idea of shooting the gun, but once he figured out that he could make us spin with that lever in the middle, he was entertained and enjoying the ride. He really seemed to have a good time just taking it all in and nearly making DW require the use of a barf bag.

Nice work buddy! :thumbsup2 Random spins really help your score on that ride, too.

The rain was picking back up, so we ducked into It’s a Small World for shelter, despite a 20 minute line. Want to guess where IASW ranks on DS’s list of favorites?

He looks entranced to me. Better make quite a few return trips.

All of a sudden a few minutes before the parade was to start, a family came along Main Street, laid a poncho on top of the trash can and sat 3 kids up there right in front of us.:headache:

:headache: I guess I shouldn't be, but I'm always amazed at the amount of people who think they can stroll right into a heavily crowded event without any wait and act like they own the place.

Great parade pictures! The castle looks awesome, too.

You’d almost have to be in the hub or closer to see them in any detail… either that or I need a new prescription for my contacts.

Can't beat Father Time...

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7158/6648024505_ee9ef7aa88_z.jpg

The Drew Brees inspired earmuffs worked great.

I was going to bring up Drew Brees! Looks like they made your son drunk, though.

Gratuitous explosion shots:

These are never, ever gratuitous.

[mommytominnie]

Enjoying your trip report!! Can't wait to read more about your trip. Your son is precious!!

[FreezinRafiki]

When it rains… we get wet.

Woa. That's graduate level stuff at Purdue, isn't it? :rotfl2:


We prepared for the rainstorm that appeared to be approaching by putting the rain cover (great investment)
Agreed. :thumbsup2 (Until the kids start to suffocate under the plastic, that is.


In addition to the rain, there was a nice strong breeze that was just perfect for whipping the rain right underneath the overhead covering as we slowly… crept… through Tomorrowland.
Slowly creeping through Tomorrowland. Add in a center rail to bang into, and you've got a speedway!


We got off the Peoplemover looking more like we were just getting off of Splash Mountain
Were you whistling Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah too?

He really seemed to have a good time just taking it all in and nearly making DW require the use of a barf bag.
You may be planning to address this later, but how was you DW with her, um...condition...during the trip?

We rode the Teacups (3 adults and a toddler in a cup is a bit tight:rolleyes1)
Yes, but it does add more horsepower to spin with!

All of a sudden a few minutes before the parade was to start, a family came along Main Street, laid a poncho on top of the trash can and sat 3 kids up there right in front of us.:headache: Thankfully, a CM came along quickly and made them leave.
Mark already pointed how how people seem to think they can walk right up at the 11th hour and get a great spot, so I won't beat that dead horse. However, do people look down the street and see all these trashcans with no kids on them and think to themselves "I have a great idea that no one has ever had before! I'll put my kids on this here trash can. It's a perfect viewing spot!" Typically, when no one else is doing something, it probably means it's now allowed. :sad2:

(Great pictures, though!)


I have to admit, I really liked this show a lot better than I thought I would. I really didn’t like the idea when I first read about it, but they really did an excellent job. We actually ended up seeing this show a few different times from some different angles. The pictures of people on the castle aren’t very big though. You’d almost have to be in the hub or closer to see them in any detail… either that or I need a new prescription for my contacts.
Agreed. But when I saw how strong those projectors were and the graphics they used - I was blown away!

He didn’t want to wear them at first, but I think he realized they helped make it quieter, and once he figured that out, he was happy to have them on.
Nice. :thumbsup2


How would you measure that? :confused3
Close your eyes on the ride for a baseline. Then open them. If it's darker than your baseline, well, there you go. Proven.


I was going to bring up Drew Brees! Looks like they made your son drunk, though.
Now you're thinking of Kyle Orton.

[afwdwfan]

Character breakfast with young kids is always a new adventure. Sometimes they decide out of nowhere that characters are scary and sometimes they fall in love with them. :confused3
This whole trip was an adventure. We never knew what to expect. It sure was fun though. :thumbsup2

Dole Whips are the perfect solution to a sleeping son. :love: Glad the beginning of your MK day was smooth and relaxed.
Dole Whips could be the perfect solution to a lot of things.

Lol cute update. At least he didn't cry or worse. The first time my DN met Pluto he punched him :lmao:
:scared1: :lmao::rotfl2::rotfl: Poor Pluto... :sad2:

[petals]

Those trash cans are a great space saver! :goodvibes
Were you in Magic Kingdom on the 28th? Think we were in Epcot and it poured that day :sad2:

[khertz]

I guess I missed the CM update, but I'm all caught up now! :thumbsup2

It stinks Landon wasn't more inviting for the characters, but at least he didn't completely freak out. We are skipping the character meals for our DL trip due to limited time, but I'm planning on at least one if not two for our next WDW trip, so hopefully Paxton still likes the characters by then. You are so right, it's barely worth the money when they ARE into the characters (I mean, seriously...$35 for a breakfast buffet?!), but definitely not worth the money when they don't like the characters! Hopefully by the next time you go he will be a less nervous around them.

Bummer about the rain! And TTA in the rain sounds depressing. :laughing: It does get pitch black in there at the Space Mountain park (I couldn't see my hand in front of my face) but luckily DS was still too young to be afraid of the dark. I'm now reading your TR as preparation for our next trip when DS will be 2! :rotfl: I haven't thought of these things yet!


The Drew Brees inspired earmuffs worked great. He didn’t have a single problem with fireworks the whole trip with these things on. He didn’t want to wear them at first, but I think he realized they helped make it quieter, and once he figured that out, he was happy to have them on. I highly recommend them… and again thanks to khertz for posting a link to them in your PTR.

I'm so glad they worked for you!! I can't take credit for the idea, that was DH, but you're still very welcome. Really, we should all be thanking Drew & Brittany Brees for thinking of their son's hearing and inspiring Disney World lovers to use them for fireworks! :lmao:

That picture of Landon from behind watching the fireworks is precious!!

[amandaw]

I'm so glad they worked for you!! I can't take credit for the idea, that was DH, but you're still very welcome. Really, we should all be thanking Drew & Brittany Brees for thinking of their son's hearing and inspiring Disney World lovers to use them for fireworks! :lmao:


In the update, Andy said you gave him the link of where to purchase these headphones. Would you mind sharing that link with me?

Also, I saw that you are in Youngsville...my family & I live in Lafayette! We just moved to Lafayette this past June and are seriously considering moving to Youngsville for the schools.

[My sister's princess]

Lovely update! I am glad you have a way to help your little one with the noise. I always feel bad for the kids crying during fireworks

[petals]

:scared1: :lmao::rotfl2::rotfl: Poor Pluto... :sad2:

I wasn't there but the story actually sounded really funny and the picture is even funnier. He was only about a year and a half and in the pic his Daddy is holding him beside pluto and the look on DN's face is kind of like who exactly do you think you are at Pluto and apparently after the pic was taken he just punched him on the nose! :lmao:

[afwdwfan]

http://www.earplugstore.com/ear-muffs-for-children.html

Here is the link to where we got the earmuffs. We bought the second one down in the right hand column, basically just because we wanted black ones instead of blue.:confused3

[khertz]

In the update, Andy said you gave him the link of where to purchase these headphones. Would you mind sharing that link with me?

Also, I saw that you are in Youngsville...my family & I live in Lafayette! We just moved to Lafayette this past June and are seriously considering moving to Youngsville for the schools.

http://www.earplugstore.com/ear-muffs-for-children.html

Here is the link to where we got the earmuffs. We bought the second one down in the right hand column, basically just because we wanted black ones instead of blue.:confused3

There ya go, Andy beat me to it & posted the link.

How crazy (& funny!) that you are practically my neighbor!! I have heard great things about the schools in Youngsville, which is a plus. It is growing so quickly around here compared to when we moved here a few years ago.

I always figured I was probably the only crazy DISer in Lafayette until one day at work, a nurse on another unit stopped me in the cafeteria to tell me she had read my TR! :lmao: Needless to say, we are now "Disney friends" at work!! Well, if you ever see me around at Rouse's or something say hi!

[afwdwfan]

Well, in spite of the rain, it sounds like y'all had a wonderful time at MK! And it seems like DS did well with the rides.
Any day spent in MK is a wonderful day.:thumbsup2

I have to ask where you bought the ear phone things for your son. Reid doesn't like fireworks but won't wear ear plugs. Maybe I should buy some like you did before our next trip.
See the post above.

Good plan using the trashcan for cover! I might steal that idea next time, you read how camping out on the curb worked for me. :rolleyes:
Yeah, I can't say that I'm envious of your experience. :lmao: I wasn't sure about the idea of standing behind the trash can at first, but as long as the CM's do their job and keep the vultures from getting in front of them and standing in the edge of the street, it really works very well.:thumbsup2

Landon looks really cute with those earmuffs, like he is getting ready for a recording session! Glad they worked out so well! :thumbsup2
I was shocked by how well he tolerated them. We can't even keep a hat on the kid.

[afwdwfan]

How would you measure that? :confused3
Don't ask me. You're the engineer.


I'm sure the noises from the ride such as people shrieking calmed him down. :thumbsup2
You must be thinking of Tower of Terror. This was Space Mountain.

Nice work buddy! :thumbsup2 Random spins really help your score on that ride, too.
I was going to watch the Youtube video and study so that I could get 999,999. I forgot to do it though. Somehow in the midst of his spins I managed to hit 2 100k targets... :confused3 so yes, random spins most definitely help.

He looks entranced to me. Better make quite a few return trips.
:sad2: and get it on video tape.


:headache: I guess I shouldn't be, but I'm always amazed at the amount of people who think they can stroll right into a heavily crowded event without any wait and act like they own the place.
Don't you have any idea how much money they paid to be there?

Great parade pictures! The castle looks awesome, too.
Our CM friend actually took the pictures that night. I had the kid and DW had the video camera... but thanks.:rotfl2:

Can't beat Father Time...
:sad2: I think a switch flipped when I turned 30. I used to play basketball twice a week every fall/winter. So far I've played 3 times since I turned 30 because I keep getting hurt.

I was going to bring up Drew Brees! Looks like they made your son drunk, though.
Yeah but he obviously wasn't. We were in MK.

These are never, ever gratuitous.
I knew you'd approve.

[amandaw]

Thank you for the link!

There ya go, Andy beat me to it & posted the link.

How crazy (& funny!) that you are practically my neighbor!! I have heard great things about the schools in Youngsville, which is a plus. It is growing so quickly around here compared to when we moved here a few years ago.

I always figured I was probably the only crazy DISer in Lafayette until one day at work, a nurse on another unit stopped me in the cafeteria to tell me she had read my TR! :lmao: Needless to say, we are now "Disney friends" at work!! Well, if you ever see me around at Rouse's or something say hi!

I grew up in Lafayette but I haven't lived here for about 20 years. I cannot believe how much this side of town (around Kaliste Saloom & Verot) have grown! It's unreal! When I was growing up it seemed like Youngsville was far away. But, now with everything on this side of town, it's really just a jump away.

That's too funny that your co-worker found your TR on here! Who knows....there's probably enough of us in this area to organize a DIS Lafayette meet.

[afwdwfan]

Enjoying your trip report!! Can't wait to read more about your trip. Your son is precious!!
Hi, thanks for stopping by. We kind of like him too... most of the time.:lmao:

Woa. That's graduate level stuff at Purdue, isn't it? :rotfl2:
Just stating the Obvious for the Oblivious.:confused3


Agreed. :thumbsup2 (Until the kids start to suffocate under the plastic, that is.
Ours is vented. :thumbsup2


Slowly creeping through Tomorrowland. Add in a center rail to bang into, and you've got a speedway!
:lmao::rotfl2:

Were you whistling Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah too?
:confused3 Possibly. I was in Disney World.:goodvibes

You may be planning to address this later, but how was you DW with her, um...condition...during the trip?
It was really a "non-issue" for the most part. We got some breaks in during the day, she got plenty of sleep and I didn't hear any complaints. I was told I was walking too fast and we needed to slow down a few times, but that was it. :lmao:

She had been suffering some nausea though. She never did get sick so DS spinning the car in Buzz wasn't exactly something she appreciated. I had to eventually take the stick from him because I think she really might have lost her lunch if he kept it up.

She got on the Tea cups, but we didn't spin our cup at all. She handled that better than Buzz.

Yes, but it does add more horsepower to spin with!
Yeah, but not when one of the adults is pregnant.


Mark already pointed how how people seem to think they can walk right up at the 11th hour and get a great spot, so I won't beat that dead horse. However, do people look down the street and see all these trashcans with no kids on them and think to themselves "I have a great idea that no one has ever had before! I'll put my kids on this here trash can. It's a perfect viewing spot!" Typically, when no one else is doing something, it probably means it's now allowed. :sad2:
Quit being silly. It's not that it isn't allowed. It's just that of the thousands of people who come there every day, 365 days a year, for the last 40 years, nobody else has ever been smart enough to think of it.:thumbsup2

(Great pictures, though!)
Thanks, but again, credit goes to our CM friend...

Agreed. But when I saw how strong those projectors were and the graphics they used - I was blown away!
Absolutely. I think my jaw hit the ground during the Buzz Lightyear part with the rocket launch.

Close your eyes on the ride for a baseline. Then open them. If it's darker than your baseline, well, there you go. Proven.
:lmao::rotfl2::rotfl:

Now you're thinking of Kyle Orton.
See, when I think drunk quarterback, I think Joe Namath. :lmao::rotfl2:

[afwdwfan]

Those trash cans are a great space saver! :goodvibes
Were you in Magic Kingdom on the 28th? Think we were in Epcot and it poured that day :sad2:
Yes, that was the 28th. Quite the miserable afternoon, but it was nice later at night.


It stinks Landon wasn't more inviting for the characters, but at least he didn't completely freak out. We are skipping the character meals for our DL trip due to limited time, but I'm planning on at least one if not two for our next WDW trip, so hopefully Paxton still likes the characters by then. You are so right, it's barely worth the money when they ARE into the characters (I mean, seriously...$35 for a breakfast buffet?!), but definitely not worth the money when they don't like the characters! Hopefully by the next time you go he will be a less nervous around them.
I haven't got to this part yet, but we ended up canceling all of our character meals. I kind of regret it now though, because I think if we had done another one at the end of the trip he would have been fine.

Bummer about the rain! And TTA in the rain sounds depressing. :laughing: It does get pitch black in there at the Space Mountain park (I couldn't see my hand in front of my face) but luckily DS was still too young to be afraid of the dark. I'm now reading your TR as preparation for our next trip when DS will be 2! :rotfl: I haven't thought of these things yet!
I'm glad I mentioned that part then. I never even thought about it myself. It's the Peoplemover... where will you ever find a more tame ride that that???? :lmao: He did fine on other dark rides, I think it was just the fact that it was so completely dark and there was just nothing to look at or listen to for part of it.

I'm so glad they worked for you!! I can't take credit for the idea, that was DH, but you're still very welcome. Really, we should all be thanking Drew & Brittany Brees for thinking of their son's hearing and inspiring Disney World lovers to use them for fireworks! :lmao:

That picture of Landon from behind watching the fireworks is precious!!
Ok then credit goes to DDuck4Life too.:thumbsup2

Lovely update! I am glad you have a way to help your little one with the noise. I always feel bad for the kids crying during fireworks
I'm glad too. I'd have hated to have to skip out on all the fireworks displays.:rotfl::lmao:

I wasn't there but the story actually sounded really funny and the picture is even funnier. He was only about a year and a half and in the pic his Daddy is holding him beside pluto and the look on DN's face is kind of like who exactly do you think you are at Pluto and apparently after the pic was taken he just punched him on the nose! :lmao:
Sometimes a good character interaction like that can be better than a positive one. I'm sure that story will be told for years to come. It would have been great if they could have caught it on video. :lmao: :rotfl2:

[petals]

Yes, that was the 28th. Quite the miserable afternoon, but it was nice later at night.
We were in Epcot that day.. It was a fun day :rolleyes: (I'll leave the story to the trip report don't want to spoil it lol)

Sometimes a good character interaction like that can be better than a positive one. I'm sure that story will be told for years to come. It would have been great if they could have caught it on video. :lmao: :rotfl2:

I dunno if they caught that one I think he also had a moment that same trip where he randomly started cooing and smiling at a blonde lady and I'm pretty sure they caught that. He was only about a year and half at the time.

[afwdwfan]

Who doesn’t want extra magic?

Let me start this update by mentioning one of my favorite things about Wilderness Lodge… The boat to the Magic Kingdom. I love the fact that we could roll the stroller right onto the boat and then roll it up the dock and up to our room. It made things so much easier in the evenings.

We got back to WL and made a quick detour through Roaring Forks to pick up our refillable mugs. We made it back to our room and it still wasn’t 9pm yet. We gave DS a bath and got him settled in for the evening with his Mickey Mouse Clubhouse DVD playing while DW got ready for bed.

I unpacked the stroller and reloaded the park bag with diapers and snacks so we’d be ready to get out the door in the morning. By about 9:30 all the housekeeping tasks were taken care of and DW and DS were both lying peacefully in bed. The Magic Kingdom would still be open for another 3 ½ hours and I had some mountains to climb.:yay:

DW and I had discussed this during our trip planning. She wanted to have plenty of rest time, especially being pregnant. I had mentioned the possibility of my going back to the MK for EMH after they went to bed that first night. She was fine with the idea, and especially since she couldn’t ride everything, this would give me ample opportunity to get some rides in without them having to wait for me.

I gave the bus a shot on the trip back to MK, but this would be one of only two times I’d step foot on a Disney bus the whole trip. Not that the bus was bad, but the boat was just easier with a stroller.

I was walking down Main Street just before regular park closing at 10 pm and the majority of the crowd was heading for the exits. It was nothing like the crowds we’d seen just a couple of hours ago. There was a sense of calm and quiet as I walked through the park. The rain had stopped, the sky had cleared and the temperature was comfortable. It was an absolutely perfect evening.:goodvibes

I realize it is a MAN LAW that the electronic device is to be put away at Disney World, but since I was solo for a few hours, I decided I’d log in on the DISboards and join in on some of the banter in the DisDads Club as I toured MK. I snapped a quick picture to post in the DDC thread… just to rub it in that I was there and they weren’t.

http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l611/fixy2273/2011-11-28_21-47-24_16.jpg
Here right now for emh... Now wheres that duck

As for the duck part… well, Dave, aka theduck619, was in the MK that very day. We’d texted back and forth a few times and I was hoping we could meet up during EMH. It turns out they’d had enough misery being wet and cold and left the park just as I was heading back. We live about 40 miles from each other and were in the MK on the same day and still have yet to meet face to face.

My first stop was at my favorite ride in the MK, the wildest ride in the wilderness. After a walk on ride, I thought I’d do it again… and then again. After that it was a quick visit to the Haunted Mansion and then I was off to Space Mountain for a brief scientific experiment. I believe I rode Space 4 times (walk-on every time) and I followed it with this post to the DDC:

After thorough testing the right side of space is clearly rougher. Loving my finirst solo evening in the parks but still looking for the duck.

And that was supposed to say “first.” My smart phone is apparently not as smart as it thinks it is. Or maybe it is smarter than I am… I really don’t know.

After I finished my research in Tomorrowland, I decided I’d head back over to Frontierland . I was planning to soak myself on Splash to end the evening and then make my way towards the exit. Unfortunately, I got there to find that Splash Mountain was closed. Well, I thought I’d hit up BTMRR once more and then see if it might re-open. Splash was still closed indefinitely, but as I walked across the bridge by the briar patch I could see a log on the lift belt to the left of the falls and people with flashlights were walking down. I was just standing there with maybe 10 or 12 other people watching what was happening and I pulled out my phone to post about it to the DDC. I had just pulled my phone out of my pocket when a CM ran over and yelled at me telling me I couldn’t take pictures. It hadn’t even crossed my mind, but now that you mention it… Eh, why bother. It would just be a dark picture taken from far away with a phone anyway.:confused3

It didn’t take long until a wall of CM’s swept across the bridge to clear all the onlookers and keep anyone from crossing it. I didn’t know what happened, and still don’t. They definitely didn’t want any onlookers, but it was back up and running the next day.

As I was posting to the DDC about Splash, I noticed that someone had posted a request for me to stop by Aloha Isle for a Dole Whip in honor of the Dads at home. Since I wanted to try an orange float anyway, I thought that sounded like a great idea. To my utter shock and horror, this is what I found :scared1:

Aloha is closed. Sorry.
http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l611/fixy2273/2011-11-28_23-51-14_146.jpg

I decided while I was in the area, a ride through the Caribbean would be fun. After that I just slowly walked through the hub, stopping to just take in the sights. I looked at the castle and just enjoyed the fact that I was standing there in middle of the Magic Kingdom. It was the first time I’ve ever spent any time in a park by myself. I wasn’t sure if I’d have fun alone, but it was actually quite nice to just have some time to myself to take in the sights, sounds and smells and go at my own pace.

I walked down Main Street trying to take in some of the details I often overlook in our rush to get to the rides. I headed for the exit and was on a boat back to the Wilderness Lodge by 12:30. I found DW and DS both still asleep and I quickly joined them. We needed our rest, because tomorrow was going to be a big day...

[amandaw]

What a nice night by yourself in MK! I've never thought about doing that myself but may have to see if I could work something out like that during our next trip. I wonder what was going on at Splash!

Can't wait to hear about the big day ahead!

[scott2997]

Great update Andy! :thumbsup2

This experience is what I'm also hoping to get a chance to do when we take our trip down in April.

We're staying at BLT and I'm hoping for a night or two that I might be able to make a solo trip to MK during EMH to catch a few attractions!

[theduck619]

Who doesn’t want extra magic?

Let me start this update by mentioning one of my favorite things about Wilderness Lodge… The boat to the Magic Kingdom. I love the fact that we could roll the stroller right onto the boat and then roll it up the dock and up to our room. It made things so much easier in the evenings.

We got back to WL and made a quick detour through Roaring Forks to pick up our refillable mugs. We made it back to our room and it still wasn’t 9pm yet. We gave DS a bath and got him settled in for the evening with his Mickey Mouse Clubhouse DVD playing while DW got ready for bed.

I unpacked the stroller and reloaded the park bag with diapers and snacks so we’d be ready to get out the door in the morning. By about 9:30 all the housekeeping tasks were taken care of and DW and DS were both lying peacefully in bed. The Magic Kingdom would still be open for another 3 ½ hours and I had some mountains to climb.:yay:

DW and I had discussed this during our trip planning. She wanted to have plenty of rest time, especially being pregnant. I had mentioned the possibility of my going back to the MK for EMH after they went to bed that first night. She was fine with the idea, and especially since she couldn’t ride everything, this would give me ample opportunity to get some rides in without them having to wait for me.

I gave the bus a shot on the trip back to MK, but this would be one of only two times I’d step foot on a Disney bus the whole trip. Not that the bus was bad, but the boat was just easier with a stroller.

I was walking down Main Street just before regular park closing at 10 pm and the majority of the crowd was heading for the exits. It was nothing like the crowds we’d seen just a couple of hours ago. There was a sense of calm and quiet as I walked through the park. The rain had stopped, the sky had cleared and the temperature was comfortable. It was an absolutely perfect evening.:goodvibes

I realize it is a MAN LAW that the electronic device is to be put away at Disney World, but since I was solo for a few hours, I decided I’d log in on the DISboards and join in on some of the banter in the DisDads Club as I toured MK. I snapped a quick picture to post in the DDC thread… just to rub it in that I was there and they weren’t.



As for the duck part… well, Dave, aka theduck619, was in the MK that very day. We’d texted back and forth a few times and I was hoping we could meet up during EMH. It turns out they’d had enough misery being wet and cold and left the park just as I was heading back. We live about 40 miles from each other and were in the MK on the same day and still have yet to meet face to face.

My first stop was at my favorite ride in the MK, the wildest ride in the wilderness. After a walk on ride, I thought I’d do it again… and then again. After that it was a quick visit to the Haunted Mansion and then I was off to Space Mountain for a brief scientific experiment. I believe I rode Space 4 times (walk-on every time) and I followed it with this post to the DDC:



And that was supposed to say “first.” My smart phone is apparently not as smart as it thinks it is. Or maybe it is smarter than I am… I really don’t know.

After I finished my research in Tomorrowland, I decided I’d head back over to Frontierland . I was planning to soak myself on Splash to end the evening and then make my way towards the exit. Unfortunately, I got there to find that Splash Mountain was closed. Well, I thought I’d hit up BTMRR once more and then see if it might re-open. Splash was still closed indefinitely, but as I walked across the bridge by the briar patch I could see a log on the lift belt to the left of the falls and people with flashlights were walking down. I was just standing there with maybe 10 or 12 other people watching what was happening and I pulled out my phone to post about it to the DDC. I had just pulled my phone out of my pocket when a CM ran over and yelled at me telling me I couldn’t take pictures. It hadn’t even crossed my mind, but now that you mention it… Eh, why bother. It would just be a dark picture taken from far away with a phone anyway.:confused3

It didn’t take long until a wall of CM’s swept across the bridge to clear all the onlookers and keep anyone from crossing it. I didn’t know what happened, and still don’t. They definitely didn’t want any onlookers, but it was back up and running the next day.

As I was posting to the DDC about Splash, I noticed that someone had posted a request for me to stop by Aloha Isle for a Dole Whip in honor of the Dads at home. Since I wanted to try an orange float anyway, I thought that sounded like a great idea. To my utter shock and horror, this is what I found :scared1:



I decided while I was in the area, a ride through the Caribbean would be fun. After that I just slowly walked through the hub, stopping to just take in the sights. I looked at the castle and just enjoyed the fact that I was standing there in middle of the Magic Kingdom. It was the first time I’ve ever spent any time in a park by myself. I wasn’t sure if I’d have fun alone, but it was actually quite nice to just have some time to myself to take in the sights, sounds and smells and go at my own pace.

I walked down Main Street trying to take in some of the details I often overlook in our rush to get to the rides. I headed for the exit and was on a boat back to the Wilderness Lodge by 12:30. I found DW and DS both still asleep and I quickly joined them. We needed our rest, because tomorrow was going to be a big day...

It toatlly stunk Beverly that we missed meeting :headache:

We were soaked and everyone (except me) was ready to head back to the resort. We'll have to make a resolution to meet in 2012! And get Stopher involved as well.

[lilpixiebabe101]

Love that you got to do MK by yourself. I really really wanted to. The one night it was open till 3 that we were there this last trip, my brother and I discussed sending my mom and Lexa back to the room after they got tired... who do you think wanted to crash first? My brother! My mom and I did a little shopping after Wishes and then we went and did the Princesses and watched the MSLP for the 2nd parade showing. Then we um took about pictures with every photopass person from the train station to the castle.. all while Alexa was asleep in the stroller! That's how we did the 3am EMH!

[amazingact21]

I've never thought about going into MK alone, but your update made it sound kinda fun. I bet it was nice to the rides in the order you wanted, and go on them as many times as you liked without having to convince others to take one more spin.
I can't believe Aloha Isle was closed, though. Normally, EMH is a busy time for them. :confused3

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

Who doesn’t want extra magic?
Ummmm… let me think about that and I’ll get back to you.



Let me start this update by mentioning one of my favorite things about Wilderness Lodge… The boat to the Magic Kingdom.
::yes::


The Magic Kingdom would still be open for another 3 ½ hours and I had some mountains to climb. :yay:

YAAAAAAA-HOO-HOO-HOO-HOOOEEEYYYY!!!
http://media.bigoo.ws/content/gif/disney/disney_85.gif


I had mentioned the possibility of my going back to the MK for EMH after they went to bed that first night. She was fine with the idea, and especially since she couldn’t ride everything, this would give me ample opportunity to get some rides in without them having to wait for me.
You got a good one there, and…
You owe her.



There was a sense of calm and quiet as I walked through the park.

I’d like to see that some time. We’re always there during peek season, but that will change soon (of course, I’ll be paying for collage so depending on the scholarship situation, I may not be going back for a while either)


I realize it is a MAN LAW that the electronic device is to be put away at Disney World, but since I was solo for a few hours, I decided I’d log in on the DISboards and join in on some of the banter in the DisDads Club as I toured MK.
The Law is that you ought not be replacing time with your kids and family in general with time on the devices.
If you’re on your own… it’s all good


As for the duck part… well, Dave, aka theduck619, was in the MK that very day. We’d texted back and forth a few times and I was hoping we could meet up during EMH. It turns out they’d had enough misery being wet and cold and left the park just as I was heading back.
That’s understandable (it’s basically why I couldn’t put together a meet with Barry back in July).

We live about 40 miles from each other and were in the MK on the same day and still have yet to meet face to face.

That however…


My first stop was at my favorite ride in the MK, the wildest ride in the wilderness. After a walk on ride, I thought I’d do it again… and then again.
One of my favorites too! Three walk ons in a row… that’s a win


After I finished my research in Tomorrowland
Yah… research… that’s the ticket.


I had just pulled my phone out of my pocket when a CM ran over and yelled at me telling me I couldn’t take pictures.
Wow… I’d never heard of that kind of anti-photo vigilance on the part of Disney before.
Rather surprising.

Aloha is closed. Sorry.

:headache:


After that I just slowly walked through the hub, stopping to just take in the sights. I looked at the castle and just enjoyed the fact that I was standing there in middle of the Magic Kingdom.
Having that kind of time to just stop and enjoy…
Ahhhhhhh…


It was the first time I’ve ever spent any time in a park by myself. I wasn’t sure if I’d have fun alone, but it was actually quite nice to just have some time to myself to take in the sights, sounds and smells and go at my own pace.
It should be a DisDad Goal to do this at least once.
Once may be enough, but at least once.

[KatMark]

I missed two updates (sorry...a rough week...a dear friend's daughter passed away last Tuesday).

Sorry the baby got scared on the People Mover; I don't especially like that dark part myself. ;)

Love the Electric Parade pictures; we've missed this since it came back.

How great you got some solo time at the MK and got to do some of the attractions that pregant DW couldn't do and then not making them wait for you while you rode. You are so thoughtful. :thumbsup2

[petals]

sounds like something secret happened on splash mountain I so want to know what happened now!

Glad that you got to enjoy all the coasters on your own!

[FreezinRafiki]

DW and I had discussed this during our trip planning. She wanted to have plenty of rest time, especially being pregnant. I had mentioned the possibility of my going back to the MK for EMH after they went to bed that first night. She was fine with the idea, and especially since she couldn’t ride everything, this would give me ample opportunity to get some rides in without them having to wait for me.
Was she "fine" with the idea or was she "FINE." with it? Those words may seem alike, but they have completely different meanings.

I gave the bus a shot on the trip back to MK, but this would be one of only two times I’d step foot on a Disney bus the whole trip. Not that the bus was bad, but the boat was just easier with a stroller.
Bus = transportation
Boat = awesome

I'd take boat over bus any day.:thumbsup2


I was walking down Main Street just before regular park closing at 10 pm and the majority of the crowd was heading for the exits.
That's the best kind of "fighting the crowds" you can have!


It was nothing like the crowds we’d seen just a couple of hours ago. There was a sense of calm and quiet as I walked through the park. The rain had stopped, the sky had cleared and the temperature was comfortable. It was an absolutely perfect evening.:goodvibes
:worship:


I realize it is a MAN LAW that the electronic device is to be put away at Disney World, but since I was solo for a few hours, I decided I’d log in on the DISboards and join in on some of the banter in the DisDads Club as I toured MK. I snapped a quick picture to post in the DDC thread… just to rub it in that I was there and they weren’t.
There is a corollaryto that MAN LAW - that you must be present and engaged with your family. Since your family was back at the hotel sleeping, no laws were broken. :thumbsup2


My first stop was at my favorite ride in the MK, the wildest ride in the wilderness. After a walk on ride, I thought I’d do it again… and then again. After that it was a quick visit to the Haunted Mansion and then I was off to Space Mountain for a brief scientific experiment. I believe I rode Space 4 times (walk-on every time) and I followed it with this post to the DDC:

Its the night of the living walk on!

Or maybe it is smarter than I am… I really don’t know.
Biting my tongue. Biting my tongue. Biting my tongue.


It didn’t take long until a wall of CM’s swept across the bridge to clear all the onlookers and keep anyone from crossing it. I didn’t know what happened, and still don’t. They definitely didn’t want any onlookers, but it was back up and running the next day.

Sounds like a cleanup unit from Men In Black. You're lucky they didn't erase your memory.
Now that I think about it, we're all in danger of being hunted down my the Mouse's Secret Service and having our memories modified just for reading this.

To my utter shock and horror, this is what I found
It's the start of the downfall of civilization...

After that I just slowly walked through the hub, stopping to just take in the sights. I looked at the castle and just enjoyed the fact that I was standing there in middle of the Magic Kingdom. It was the first time I’ve ever spent any time in a park by myself. I wasn’t sure if I’d have fun alone, but it was actually quite nice to just have some time to myself to take in the sights, sounds and smells and go at my own pace.
Sounds like a great night!

[Captain_Oblivious]

Let me start this update by mentioning one of my favorite things about Wilderness Lodge… The boat to the Magic Kingdom. I love the fact that we could roll the stroller right onto the boat and then roll it up the dock and up to our room. It made things so much easier in the evenings.

Definitely. Hated dealing with the stroller on buses. We had 3 to fold up every time we got on a bus way back when. :scared: The boat is awesome.

DW and I had discussed this during our trip planning. She wanted to have plenty of rest time, especially being pregnant. I had mentioned the possibility of my going back to the MK for EMH after they went to bed that first night. She was fine with the idea, and especially since she couldn’t ride everything, this would give me ample opportunity to get some rides in without them having to wait for me.

Like Barry said, the intonation of the word "fine" is very important here. It's sometimes known as the f-word in our house.

I gave the bus a shot on the trip back to MK, but this would be one of only two times I’d step foot on a Disney bus the whole trip. Not that the bus was bad, but the boat was just easier with a stroller.

I realize it is a MAN LAW that the electronic device is to be put away at Disney World, but since I was solo for a few hours, I decided I’d log in on the DISboards and join in on some of the banter in the DisDads Club as I toured MK. I snapped a quick picture to post in the DDC thread… just to rub it in that I was there and they weren’t.

Only when your family is around. If you're by yourself, using electronic devices to taunt others is perfectly legal. It's what Walt would have wanted. :goodvibes

We live about 40 miles from each other and were in the MK on the same day and still have yet to meet face to face.

I dunno...you have a history of avoiding DisDads who are in the area...:rolleyes1

I believe I rode Space 4 times (walk-on every time)

:woohoo::cool1::banana:

I was just standing there with maybe 10 or 12 other people watching what was happening and I pulled out my phone to post about it to the DDC. I had just pulled my phone out of my pocket when a CM ran over and yelled at me telling me I couldn’t take pictures. It hadn’t even crossed my mind, but now that you mention it… Eh, why bother. It would just be a dark picture taken from far away with a phone anyway.:confused3

You might have seen prattpak doing something inappropriate for the camera on the ride.

As I was posting to the DDC about Splash, I noticed that someone had posted a request for me to stop by Aloha Isle for a Dole Whip in honor of the Dads at home. Since I wanted to try an orange float anyway, I thought that sounded like a great idea. To my utter shock and horror, this is what I found :scared1:

NOOOOOOO!!

It was the first time I’ve ever spent any time in a park by myself. I wasn’t sure if I’d have fun alone, but it was actually quite nice to just have some time to myself to take in the sights, sounds and smells and go at my own pace.

Sounds like I'm gonna have to try that.

I found DW and DS both still asleep and I quickly joined them.

Good thing. What would have happened if they were awake? :confused3

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

Sounds like a cleanup unit from Men In Black. You're lucky they didn't erase your memory.

Now that I think about it, we're all in danger of being hunted down my the Mouse's Secret Service and having our memories modified just for reading this.



Wait a second…

How do we know that the memory he has of that event is correct at all? If the DisMIB were out and about, it’s possible that something else went down that evening this is the new memory that Andy was given…

For that matter how do we know Andy had such a great time on his solo trip at all… the whole thing could be an implanted memory…

Which means…

All of our memories of Disney could be implanted!!! :eek:



Oh, wait…
There still great memories, so I can live with that.
:goodvibes

[that's nice]

Great update!

I hope to one day have a few hours of solo time in a park.

Too bad you missed the duck. :donald:

That boat to WL is key! We took it after eating dinner at WCC once and it is the best way to travel to MK.

It seems like you had the run of the park... it's nice to be able to walk on everything! :thumbsup2

[afwdwfan]

What a nice night by yourself in MK! I've never thought about doing that myself but may have to see if I could work something out like that during our next trip. I wonder what was going on at Splash!

Can't wait to hear about the big day ahead!
I think you should definitely try to do it. It really was nice to just do whatever I wanted for a few hours without worrying about somebody else not having fun.

Great update Andy! :thumbsup2

This experience is what I'm also hoping to get a chance to do when we take our trip down in April.

We're staying at BLT and I'm hoping for a night or two that I might be able to make a solo trip to MK during EMH to catch a few attractions!
BLT... wow, you definitely have to do it if you're withing walking distance. :thumbsup2 :lmao:

It's well worth it. It is a completely different experience.

It toatlly stunk Beverly that we missed meeting :headache:

We were soaked and everyone (except me) was ready to head back to the resort. We'll have to make a resolution to meet in 2012! And get Stopher involved as well.
Out of curiosity, where did you watch MSEP and Wishes from?:confused3 We might have actually been close. I didn't really want to abandon DW and DS for a meet though, especially since we were there with our CM friend for most of the day.

I'm sorry they made you go back to the resort. You should have just told them to go on ahead so you could stay like I did.:thumbsup2 It really was a great night in the MK once the rain cleared out.

Love that you got to do MK by yourself. I really really wanted to. The one night it was open till 3 that we were there this last trip, my brother and I discussed sending my mom and Lexa back to the room after they got tired... who do you think wanted to crash first? My brother! My mom and I did a little shopping after Wishes and then we went and did the Princesses and watched the MSLP for the 2nd parade showing. Then we um took about pictures with every photopass person from the train station to the castle.. all while Alexa was asleep in the stroller! That's how we did the 3am EMH!
It was a blast! I hope you get a chance to do it sometime. That's funny that your brother was the first one who wanted to leave though.:rotfl2:

I've never thought about going into MK alone, but your update made it sound kinda fun. I bet it was nice to the rides in the order you wanted, and go on them as many times as you liked without having to convince others to take one more spin.
I can't believe Aloha Isle was closed, though. Normally, EMH is a busy time for them. :confused3
It was nice. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about being there by myself, but it honestly wasn't bad. I had to ride a lot of rides as a single rider anyway, so it really wasn't much different, except for the fact that I could just do anything I wanted as I felt like it.

[afwdwfan]

Ummmm… let me think about that and I’ll get back to you.
Well, I can name 2 people who were sleeping through it in WL. :lmao:

You got a good one there, and…
You owe her.
Yes. But do you remember that day at the beach that I spent in the room with a toddler throwing a tantrum while DW spent a few hours at the cabana. Credit in the bank. :thumbsup2 :rotfl2:

I’d like to see that some time. We’re always there during peek season, but that will change soon (of course, I’ll be paying for collage so depending on the scholarship situation, I may not be going back for a while either)
This was the first time I've ever gone in a month that wasn't July or August. It was incredible.

The Law is that you ought not be replacing time with your kids and family in general with time on the devices.
If you’re on your own… it’s all good
:woohoo:

That’s understandable (it’s basically why I couldn’t put together a meet with Barry back in July).
Yeah. It really is hard. Especially when you take into account that there are other people with you. I was hoping we could meet up for EMH because DW isn't crazy about the idea of meeting strangers from a message board, but it just didn't work out.

That however…
We've tried once or twice...

One of my favorites too! Three walk ons in a row… that’s a win
It was hard to leave since I could just keep walking on. There were other things to see and do though.

Yah… research… that’s the ticket.
Science is fun.:lmao:

Wow… I’d never heard of that kind of anti-photo vigilance on the part of Disney before.
Rather surprising.
Shocked me. I'm assuming it was just a typical Splash Mountain breakdown, but that type of behavior is what causes rumors to start... and believe me people were talking around there.:lmao::rotfl2:

Having that kind of time to just stop and enjoy…
Ahhhhhhh…
Words can't describe it.

It should be a DisDad Goal to do this at least once.
Once may be enough, but at least once.
Once may be enough... or it may just be the beginning.:rotfl:

I missed two updates (sorry...a rough week...a dear friend's daughter passed away last Tuesday).
I saw that, I was sorry to read it.

I'll try to be easier on you. I know that was too much updating in one week for a DisDad TR.

Sorry the baby got scared on the People Mover; I don't especially like that dark part myself. ;)
I've never really noticed how long and dark it is before. There should be something visual along there just to make it interesting.:confused3

Love the Electric Parade pictures; we've missed this since it came back.
It was wonderful to see it again. Brought back some memories. Now I just want to see Spectro again.:lmao:

How great you got some solo time at the MK and got to do some of the attractions that pregant DW couldn't do and then not making them wait for you while you rode. You are so thoughtful. :thumbsup2
Yeah, thoughtful. :thumbsup2 :rotfl2:

sounds like something secret happened on splash mountain I so want to know what happened now!

Glad that you got to enjoy all the coasters on your own!
I have no idea what happened. Rumors were starting to go around the MK and the way CM's were acting, I thought I'd wake up and see something on the news about a horrible accident and the ride would be closed for an extended period of time. I checked Mobile Magic and Lines on my phone the next morning though and both showed it up and running. :confused3 Must have just been a typical breakdown, but the whole "no pictures" and clearing the bridge certainly isn't a good way to keep people from thinking it was something horrible.

[afwdwfan]

Was she "fine" with the idea or was she "FINE." with it? Those words may seem alike, but they have completely different meanings.
When I came back to the room, my key worked. :confused3

Bus = transportation
Boat = awesome
Monorail = awesome X infinity

That's the best kind of "fighting the crowds" you can have!
::yes::

There is a corollaryto that MAN LAW - that you must be present and engaged with your family. Since your family was back at the hotel sleeping, no laws were broken.
Thanks for the reassurance.

Its the night of the living walk on!
:thumbsup2

Biting my tongue. Biting my tongue. Biting my tongue.
Why? I'd expect so much more from you. :lmao:

Sounds like a cleanup unit from Men In Black. You're lucky they didn't erase your memory.
Now that I think about it, we're all in danger of being hunted down my the Mouse's Secret Service and having our memories modified just for reading this.
No, you're thinking of Universal Studios. Oh wait a minute, am I allowed to say that here??? :scared1:

It's the start of the downfall of civilization...
I assumed it was the zombie apocalypse.

Sounds like a great night!
It definitely was.

Definitely. Hated dealing with the stroller on buses. We had 3 to fold up every time we got on a bus way back when. :scared: The boat is awesome.
3 strollers? :eek: Was there anyone else there with you and Julie?

Like Barry said, the intonation of the word "fine" is very important here. It's sometimes known as the f-word in our house.
And as I said, my key card still worked to open the door when I got back, so I'd say it's all good.:thumbsup2

Only when your family is around. If you're by yourself, using electronic devices to taunt others is perfectly legal. It's what Walt would have wanted. :goodvibes
Walt's blessing is the only thing I need. :worship:

I dunno...you have a history of avoiding DisDads who are in the area...:rolleyes1
:sad2: Yeah, I know. But customer appreciation picnic or Dismeet. In other words, my choice was to make my employer happy and eat free porkchops, or have peanut butter and jelly with the Captain.

It was too bad Stopher had all your time locked up in the evening.

You might have seen prattpak doing something inappropriate for the camera on the ride.
I wouldn't expect anything less from him.:lmao:

NOOOOOOO!!
That pretty much says it right there.

Sounds like I'm gonna have to try that.
You definitely should. It really is a lot of fun. I probably never would have tried it myself if it hadn't been for reading about Stopher's solo trips.

Good thing. What would have happened if they were awake? :confused3
:confused3 I guess I would have had to tell them to keep it down so I can sleep. :lmao::rotfl2::rotfl:

Wait a second…

How do we know that the memory he has of that event is correct at all? If the DisMIB were out and about, it’s possible that something else went down that evening this is the new memory that Andy was given…

For that matter how do we know Andy had such a great time on his solo trip at all… the whole thing could be an implanted memory…

Which means…

All of our memories of Disney could be implanted!!! :eek:



Oh, wait…
There still great memories, so I can live with that.
:goodvibes
Wow. You are quite the conspiracy theorist. I think I just went to the park and had fun. My mind didn't feel like it was erased. I have a picture of a closed Aloha Isle, so unfortunately, I know that really happened. :lmao:

Great update!

I hope to one day have a few hours of solo time in a park.
Thanks. It really was fun. Definitely worth doing if you ever have the opportunity.

Too bad you missed the duck. :donald:
And I always thought Ducks liked the water.:rotfl2:

That boat to WL is key! We took it after eating dinner at WCC once and it is the best way to travel to MK.
The boat is awesome... about 99.9999% of the time. :rolleyes1

It seems like you had the run of the park... it's nice to be able to walk on everything! :thumbsup2
It was great. I've never had that experience before so it was incredible being able to take advantage of it.

[FreezinRafiki]

Monorail = awesome X infinity
Except when you're "waiting for traffic clearance" :headache:


I assumed it was the zombie apocalypse.

I don't think I could think of a better place to make a last stand against the zombie apocalypse than inside Aloha Isle.

[CandleontheWater]

Thats awesome that you were able to log some solo time in the MK. I used to take a lot of solo trips back when we lived in Florida (pre-DS). I really enjoyed solo trips, and I kinda miss the freedom sometimes. Maybe on our Feb trip, I'll steal your idea and sneak back out for some extra magic! :thumbsup2

[theduck619]

Out of curiosity, where did you watch MSEP and Wishes from?:confused3 We might have actually been close. I didn't really want to abandon DW and DS for a meet though, especially since we were there with our CM friend for most of the day.

I'm sorry they made you go back to the resort. You should have just told them to go on ahead so you could stay like I did.:thumbsup2 It really was a great night in the MK once the rain cleared out.


We watched it from the right side of Main St. across from Casey's facing the castle. We saw the second MM&Y from the Candy store at the beginning of Main St.

[theduck619]

And I always thought Ducks liked the water.:rotfl2:


Duck's do, In-laws do not :mad:

[afwdwfan]

Except when you're "waiting for traffic clearance" :headache:
:headache: Yeah, that is the one miniscule downside of riding the monorail. :lmao:

I don't think I could think of a better place to make a last stand against the zombie apocalypse than inside Aloha Isle.
Well, I might be able to come up a with a few, but that topic could be a thread on it's own.

Thats awesome that you were able to log some solo time in the MK. I used to take a lot of solo trips back when we lived in Florida (pre-DS). I really enjoyed solo trips, and I kinda miss the freedom sometimes. Maybe on our Feb trip, I'll steal your idea and sneak back out for some extra magic! :thumbsup2
It was great to spend some time there. I would love to have a chance to just stop by the parks after work or soemthing like if I lived nearby. I interviewed for a job about a year ago that likely would have involved traveling to FL once or twice each year for a couple of weeks at a time to adjust crop insurance claims for orange farmers. One of the first things I did was try to figure if it would make more sense to buy 10 day non-exp tickets or an AP.:lmao::rotfl2:

I hope you do get an opportunity to sneak away for some me time next month. :thumbsup2

We watched it from the right side of Main St. across from Casey's facing the castle. We saw the second MM&Y from the Candy store at the beginning of Main St.
Wow. So, along Main Street, kind of in front of the Plaza? Or in other words, probably right across the street from me. :headache: :lmao:

Duck's do, In-laws do not :mad:
Your in-laws drive slow too. I started laughing when I heard you talking about your 17 to 19 hour drive on the podcast. :lmao::rotfl2::rotfl:

[theduck619]

:headache:

Wow. So, along Main Street, kind of in front of the Plaza? Or in other words, probably right across the street from me. :headache: :lmao:


Your in-laws drive slow too. I started laughing when I heard you talking about your 17 to 19 hour drive on the podcast. :lmao::rotfl2::rotfl:

Yes, probably right behind you.

Andy,you have no idea how slow. Not to hijack your thread, but it was painful man. We had to stop constantly as well :scared1:

[afwdwfan]

Toy Story Mania Mania

We woke up well rested and ready for a big day touring the parks. The plan today was to be at Hollywood Studios for rope drop so that we could ride Toy Story Mania. I didn’t implement the strategy for leaving the hotel room that I’d used the day before. This came back to bite me.

I couldn’t convince someone that we really needed to be out of the room by just after 8 so that we could be in the park before Rope Drop. The last time we went was 2008, shortly after TSM opened. It was a popular ride, but we were on an adults only trip. We hit up Sunset Blvd first and then headed over to grab TSM FP’s for later in the day. We completely missed all of the mad rush during that trip and she thought I was over-reacting.

We drove to DHS and we got through security right at 9:00. We were at the turnstiles just in time to see the masses already inside the park making their way around the corner near the hat. The plan was for DW to take DS and park the stroller while I grabbed FP’s, but by the time we got to Pixar Place, the FP line was back to the arches and the Standby time was 30 minutes. We were planning a long mid-day break, so FP’s were going to be out of the question at this point, and we took our place in the standby line.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7143/6690209329_335ef1304d_z.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7143/6690210527_13c891ef18_z.jpg

DS really loved this ride. I’d have to say that this was his favorite ride in any of the parks. He laughed and giggled as the car would spin and whip us around from scene to scene. He sat on my lap and helped pull the string as I aimed the gun. We even managed to work together and get a higher score than mommy.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7149/6690211437_690fbbed8c_z.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7002/6690212891_ba330daea7_z.jpg

After we left my toy box and returned to our normal size, I took our tickets over to Sunset Blvd to grab an FP for Tower of Terror and Rock n Rollercoaster. I headed back over to rejoin DW and DS in line for Disney Junior on Stage. DS absolutely loved this show… but he absolutely loves watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, so he was completely awestruck watching it.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7023/6690214065_03546d5eda_z.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7023/6690214973_fccdbd3ed6_z.jpg

As always, Toodles came in to save the day and with the help of some other Disney Junior friends, Minnie’s Birthday party was a huge success.

If you’re not familiar with this show, the audience sits on the floor. We had to take a couple of minutes to get the feeling back in our legs before we left the theater. I got DS strapped back into his stroller and I headed over to Star Tours to grab a couple of FPs. DW was going to take DS to watch the show that was playing on the stage in front of the hat and then meet me on Sunset after I rode ToT and RnR.

I got on ToT first and just as I was fastening my seatbelt in the elevator, I felt my phone vibrate. Hmm… well, there’s nothing I can do about whatever it is right now.

It was a great ride on ToT, probably the best I’ve ever had. I was entertained by a woman in the front row who screamed profanities every time the ride dropped and then profusely apologized to everyone afterwards. I thought the ride was over twice and it shot us back up for more. We actually sat in front of the screen at the bottom long enough for people to start talking before it shot us back up one time.

I checked my phone as I left the hotel and saw that I missed several phone calls from DW. I called her up and asked where she was. They were in front of RnR, and somebody wasn’t happy.

I quickly found them and once we assessed the situation, it was determined that we needed to head back to the hotel for nap time. We strapped DS back into the stroller and he began screaming and trying to wiggle out of it. I pushed the stroller straight to the exit as fast as I could and he was kicking and screaming the whole way. We got a few sympathetic looks and some dirty looks. I really didn’t care, I just wanted them to get out of my way.

We were back at the room with about 2 hours to nap before our 1:20 ADR at Whispering Canyon. We tried to get DS settled down for a nap, but he was having none of it. We debated calling to cancel the ADR, but we needed to eat and he was bound and determined to fight sleep anyway, so we decided to suck it up and head downstairs to eat a table service meal with a toddler on the verge of another meltdown...

[afwdwfan]

Bring on the Corn!!!

We checked in at Whispering Canyon and were seated promptly at 1:20. Our server arrived at our table and we explained to her that DS was a bit temperamental today so we wanted to go ahead and order. DW and I each ordered a milkshake and the skillet. Our waitress was absolutely fantastic. She brought our drinks and even brought DS his own milkshake in a child’s cup.

I can’t remember our waitress’s name right now… I’m not very good with names and I’m writing this update at work, but I do still have the receipt at home.

It wasn’t long before our food arrived. With the mood DS was in, we didn’t want to put him in a high chair, because we knew it would be a full blown, all out screaming meltdown, so DW and I took turns holding him on our laps as we ate and fed him. He had a Mickey plate that our waitress brought out for him to use and we gave him plenty of food to choose from. As it turned out, he was only interested in one thing… corn.

We were trying to eat and keep him distracted. Our waitress even came and sat down at the table with us and started talking to him and trying to get him to try some other food. She was wonderful with him. When it became apparent that corn was all he was going to eat, she made sure to get more so that he’d have plenty.

At the table next to us, a girl who was probably around 9 or 10 years old was playing with a Nintendo DS and not eating. The waitress went over and took it and started playing it at one point. A little bit later the same girl got up to go to the bathroom and when she came back, the waitress was sitting in her seat, and a cookie that she had brought with her and left on the table had mysteriously disappeared. The waitress was just fantastic and she was great about spending time talking and getting to know the people in her section. We didn’t really participate in any of the loud shenanigans that WCC is known for, but she really was great about getting to know the people she was serving and making it a great experience.

DW and DS had finished eating and quickly headed back to the room. We’d been in WCC long enough without any screaming and we were afraid to push it too far. I still had about half of my second milkshake left and a few ribs to finish. They were too good to waste.

When I got to the room, maybe 15 minutes after DW and DS, he was still awake and unwilling to try to sleep. I strapped him into the stroller and we went for a nice long walk while DW laid down for a nap.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7010/6690208145_1c1d7381fe_z.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7010/6690207115_381aa41250_z.jpg

We walked all over the 4th floor. We walked inside the building and outside pacing the balcony. We walked down every hallway, some of them more than once. We did a few laps around the balcony above the lobby. Finally, at around 3:30, DS was napping peacefully.

So much for our plans to be over at the MK early for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party…

[FreezinRafiki]

I couldn’t convince someone that we really needed to be out of the room by just after 8 so that we could be in the park before Rope Drop.
I'm so lucky to have a DW that knows the ins and out of Disney as much as I do. :thumbsup2

The plan was for DW to take DS and park the stroller while I grabbed FP’s, but by the time we got to Pixar Place, the FP line was back to the arches and the Standby time was 30 minutes.
You're lucky! We've been 5 minutes late before and the FP line was past One Man's Dream! All in all, 30 minutes isn't too bad for TSM.



DS really loved this ride. I’d have to say that this was his favorite ride in any of the parks. He laughed and giggled as the car would spin and whip us around from scene to scene. He sat on my lap and helped pull the string as I aimed the gun. We even managed to work together and get a higher score than mommy.
Family time and memories are great, but ultimately all that matters in the long run is beating mommy at Toy Story Mania. :thumbsup2

DS absolutely loved this show… but he absolutely loves watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, so he was completely awestruck watching it.
He's a big fan of Jake and the Neverland Pirates, isn't he? How did he like that part?

I was entertained by a woman in the front row who screamed profanities every time the ride dropped and then profusely apologized to everyone afterwards.
:lmao::lmao:


I thought the ride was over twice and it shot us back up for more. We actually sat in front of the screen at the bottom long enough for people to start talking before it shot us back up one time.

Since I'm sure you won't hear it from Mark: "That's an awesome ride! Glad you had so much fun on it!"

DW and I each ordered a milkshake and the skillet.
Excellent choices. What kind of milkshake. Did you order off the "secret" menu?

She brought our drinks and even brought DS his own milkshake in a child’s cup.
Nothing calms a temperamental child like a milkshake. :thumbsup2 (Or reinforces that behavior:sad2:)

As it turned out, he was only interested in one thing… corn.
How stereotypical. The Indiana kid eating corn. It's like kids from Wisconsin loving chee... oh.:rolleyes1

We were trying to eat and keep him distracted. Our waitress even came and sat down at the table with us and started talking to him and trying to get him to try some other food. She was wonderful with him. When it became apparent that corn was all he was going to eat, she made sure to get more so that he’d have plenty.
I love the service and interaction there!


We walked all over the 4th floor. We walked inside the building and outside pacing the balcony. We walked down every hallway, some of them more than once. We did a few laps around the balcony above the lobby. Finally, at around 3:30, DS was napping peacefully.
My DS has always been an early riser. I remember long morning walks around Saratoga Springs with him while everyone else slept.

[amandaw]

That's so cute that DS kept giggling with the spinning car on TSM. It's those little things that can just mean so much. :goodvibes

The new Disney Junior Live show really is great for the little ones!

I think we've all been there (well, all of us with kids at least)....the screaming kid in the stroller. I can't stand those people that give ugly looks. Like that parents aren't having a hard enough time! :sad2:

Your waitress at WCC sounds superb! How sweet of her to try & do what she could to help with DS. And then to bring out more corn. Excellent service! :thumbsup2

[Captain_Oblivious]

We completely missed all of the mad rush during that trip and she thought I was over-reacting.

Proof that sometimes Daddy really does know best. :thumbsup2

The plan was for DW to take DS and park the stroller while I grabbed FP’s, but by the time we got to Pixar Place, the FP line was back to the arches and the Standby time was 30 minutes.

30 minutes is not terrible, so you did well.

He sat on my lap and helped pull the string as I aimed the gun. We even managed to work together and get a higher score than mommy.

And that's all that matters. :goodvibes

As always, Toodles came in to save the day and with the help of some other Disney Junior friends, Minnie’s Birthday party was a huge success.

My daughter decided she was too old for this show and we left to go on the Great Movie Ride instead. We chose...poorly.

It was a great ride on ToT, probably the best I’ve ever had.

That's an awesome ride! Glad you had so much fun on it! :thumbsup2

I said that for 2 reasons:
1) To spite Barry

and

2) What was 2 again?

Oh yeah, I really do think it's an awesome ride, right up to the part where it starts to drop. The effects are amazing.

I was entertained by a woman in the front row who screamed profanities every time the ride dropped and then profusely apologized to everyone afterwards.

:lmao::rotfl2::rotfl: Pretty sure this is what Walt had in mind for his family park.

I pushed the stroller straight to the exit as fast as I could and he was kicking and screaming the whole way. We got a few sympathetic looks and some dirty looks. I really didn’t care, I just wanted them to get out of my way.

I love the dirty looks. Show me a parent who says their kid never acts like that, and I'll show you a liar.

Our waitress was absolutely fantastic. She brought our drinks and even brought DS his own milkshake in a child’s cup.

Good CM's make all the difference.

As it turned out, he was only interested in one thing… corn.

Farm kids. :sad2:

At the table next to us, a girl who was probably around 9 or 10 years old was playing with a Nintendo DS and not eating. The waitress went over and took it and started playing it at one point. A little bit later the same girl got up to go to the bathroom and when she came back, the waitress was sitting in her seat, and a cookie that she had brought with her and left on the table had mysteriously disappeared.

:rotfl2::rotfl2: There's some shenanigans for you.

We didn’t really participate in any of the loud shenanigans that WCC is known for, but she really was great about getting to know the people she was serving and making it a great experience.

I'm guessing she took it easy on you because you told her how close your son was to a meltdown. They're good at "reading" people there.

I still had about half of my second milkshake left and a few ribs to finish. They were too good to waste.

Thanks for abiding by the Law of Conservation of Milkshakes and Meat.

We walked all over the 4th floor. We walked inside the building and outside pacing the balcony. We walked down every hallway, some of them more than once. We did a few laps around the balcony above the lobby. Finally, at around 3:30, DS was napping peacefully.

...after I finally gave up and forced him to gulp down some whiskey. :rolleyes1

[petals]

Sorry your DS was being moody. They all seem to fight sleep at that age afraid of missing something. Hope he got well rested for MVMCP! :goodvibes

[Moodyzblu]

Sounds like you still managed to have an "ok" time even though DS wasn't in such a great mood ! :thumbsup2
We love TSM .. I hope my guys will still want to do Playhouse Disney even though they are outgrowing it. :sad1:

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

I couldn’t convince someone that we really needed to be out of the room by just after 8 so that we could be in the park before Rope Drop.

… she thought I was over-reacting.


I foresee a hard lesson in the process of getting learned.



We were planning a long mid-day break, so FP’s were going to be out of the question at this point, and we took our place in the standby line.


30 Min is not as bad as it could be.
I foolishly waited longer.


He laughed and giggled as the car would spin and whip us around from scene to scene.


We have a winner.


http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7149/6690211437_690fbbed8c_z.jpg


Great Picture




After we left my toy box…


It’s best that you beat us all to that particular joke. :lmao:






As always, Toodles came in to save the day and with the help of some other Disney Junior friends, Minnie’s Birthday party was a huge success.


Yay!!!!



I got on ToT first and just as I was fastening my seatbelt in the elevator, I felt my phone vibrate. Hmm… well, there’s nothing I can do about whatever it is right now.


Ominous


I was entertained by a woman in the front row who screamed profanities every time the ride dropped and then profusely apologized to everyone afterwards.


:sad2: :lmao: :lmao:


I checked my phone as I left the hotel and saw that I missed several phone calls from DW.


Very Ominous


They were in front of RnR, and somebody wasn’t happy.


I’m guessing it wasn’t the woman in the front row on the ToT


I quickly found them and once we assessed the situation, it was determined that we needed to head back to the hotel for nap time.


The nap-time cry has it’s own special sound. It’s distinctly different from the hungry cry, the mad cry, the board cry and certainly from the ill cry.


We got a few sympathetic looks and some dirty looks. I really didn’t care, I just wanted them to get out of my way.


The folks with the dirty looks just don’t know better.


We were back at the room with about 2 hours to nap before our 1:20 ADR at Whispering Canyon. We tried to get DS settled down for a nap, but he was having none of it. We debated calling to cancel the ADR, but we needed to eat and he was bound and determined to fight sleep anyway, so we decided to suck it up and head downstairs to eat a table service meal with a toddler on the verge of another meltdown...


Risky… but sometime you just gotta do what you gotta do.



As it turned out, he was only interested in one thing… corn.


That ear didn’t fall too far from the stalk.
But if he’s happy… so much the better.



Our waitress even came and sat down at the table with us and started talking to him and trying to get him to try some other food.


Extra mile! Tip earned.


DW and DS had finished eating and quickly headed back to the room. We’d been in WCC long enough without any screaming and we were afraid to push it too far. I still had about half of my second milkshake left and a few ribs to finish. They were too good to waste.


Goes with out sayin’


When I got to the room, maybe 15 minutes after DW and DS, he was still awake and unwilling to try to sleep. I strapped him into the stroller and we went for a nice long walk while DW laid down for a nap.


‘Cause… that’s what you do.


Finally, at around 3:30, DS was napping peacefully.


:woohoo:


So much for our plans to be over at the MK early for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party…


Win some, loose some…

So what did the backup plan end up being?
Staying tuned for the next update..

[twokids0204]

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7149/6690211437_690fbbed8c_z.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7002/6690212891_ba330daea7_z.jpg



Very cute pic...

Is it REALLY your room?

[afwdwfan]

I'm so lucky to have a DW that knows the ins and out of Disney as much as I do. :thumbsup2
And she appreciateds it as much as you do... that has got to be a big help too. :lmao:

You're lucky! We've been 5 minutes late before and the FP line was past One Man's Dream! All in all, 30 minutes isn't too bad for TSM.
Yeah, it wasn't too bad, considering. We were really hoping to FP and ride standby though, so we could get 2 rides in.

Family time and memories are great, but ultimately all that matters in the long run is beating mommy at Toy Story Mania. :thumbsup2
::yes::

He's a big fan of Jake and the Neverland Pirates, isn't he? How did he like that part?
Actually Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is his favorite, but he loves Jake and Little Einsteins too. He really just took it all in... and jumped around and danced with the music, of course.

Since I'm sure you won't hear it from Mark: "That's an awesome ride! Glad you had so much fun on it!"
:lmao: :thumbsup2

Excellent choices. What kind of milkshake. Did you order off the "secret" menu?
No, I thought about it, but personally, I enjoy just a good, standard chocolate milkshake. :thumbsup2

Nothing calms a temperamental child like a milkshake. :thumbsup2 (Or reinforces that behavior:sad2:)
The sugar rush was a concern, but he wasn't napping anyway, so what harm could it do? :confused3

How stereotypical. The Indiana kid eating corn. It's like kids from Wisconsin loving chee... oh.:rolleyes1
Yeah, go figure.:confused3

I love the service and interaction there!]
I have to say that accounting for the food, service, and value of what we got for the cost, this is probably the best overall meal experience I've ever had on Disney World property. We'll definitely go back.

My DS has always been an early riser. I remember long morning walks around Saratoga Springs with him while everyone else slept.
I don't envy you. :sad2:

[afwdwfan]

That's so cute that DS kept giggling with the spinning car on TSM. It's those little things that can just mean so much. :goodvibes
It was great. We decided then and there that we were going to have to find a way to ride again.

The new Disney Junior Live show really is great for the little ones!
It really is a good show. One of the few that would actually keep his attention long enough to sit through it.

I think we've all been there (well, all of us with kids at least)....the screaming kid in the stroller. I can't stand those people that give ugly looks. Like that parents aren't having a hard enough time! :sad2:
Yeah, it happens. The fun we had definitely outweighed the hard times we experienced... although they were brutal to go through at the time.

Your waitress at WCC sounds superb! How sweet of her to try & do what she could to help with DS. And then to bring out more corn. Excellent service! :thumbsup2
Yes, it was just a great all around experience there. This might be an "evey trip" restaurant for us now.

Proof that sometimes Daddy really does know best. :thumbsup2
Would you mind telling DW? :lmao:

30 minutes is not terrible, so you did well.
Yeah, I've waited longer there.

And that's all that matters. :goodvibes
It's all about the "W"

My daughter decided she was too old for this show and we left to go on the Great Movie Ride instead. We chose...poorly.
I appreciate TGMR, but it needs some updates. We didn't ride it this time... I think that's the first time I've ever skipped it.

Disney Junior really isn't a bad show to watch. Definitely geared to the kids, but there are worse things to sit through.:confused3

That's an awesome ride! Glad you had so much fun on it! :thumbsup2
:eek:

I said that for 2 reasons:
1) To spite Barry

and

2) What was 2 again?

Oh yeah, I really do think it's an awesome ride, right up to the part where it starts to drop. The effects are amazing.
It is a fantastic ride... especially the drop. :thumbsup2 :rotfl2:

:lmao::rotfl2::rotfl: Pretty sure this is what Walt had in mind for his family park.
It's the little things that make it fun. :rotfl:

I love the dirty looks. Show me a parent who says their kid never acts like that, and I'll show you a liar.
It didn't really bother me much. It was actually kind of like I had a horn... or a siren. People could hear us coming and choose to get out of the way or get run over. :lmao::rotfl2:

Good CM's make all the difference.
::yes::

Farm kids. :sad2:
Your point??? :confused3

:rotfl2::rotfl2: There's some shenanigans for you.
Yes... she really was great.

I'm guessing she took it easy on you because you told her how close your son was to a meltdown. They're good at "reading" people there.
Yes. I wouldn't ordinarily think this is a "good" thing to have happen at a restaurant, but she sat down and just chatted with us for a while. She is about our age and has a kid about DS' age, so it was very nice to sit and talk with her for a while.

Thanks for abiding by the Law of Conservation of Milkshakes and Meat.
I don't think it is a MANLAW, but it probably should be.

...after I finally gave up and forced him to gulp down some whiskey. :rolleyes1
I didn't have any whiskey with me on this trip.






I had a bottle of rum.

[afwdwfan]

Sorry your DS was being moody. They all seem to fight sleep at that age afraid of missing something. Hope he got well rested for MVMCP! :goodvibes
It's all part of the toddler experience. Just have to take the good with the bad. :lmao:

Sounds like you still managed to have an "ok" time even though DS wasn't in such a great mood ! :thumbsup2
We love TSM .. I hope my guys will still want to do Playhouse Disney even though they are outgrowing it. :sad1:
It was still a good morning. The highlights tend to outweigh the bad. Otherwise, I don't think we'd have ever even attempted this trip. :rotfl2:

I foresee a hard lesson in the process of getting learned.
Will it be learned though? :confused3

30 Min is not as bad as it could be.
I foolishly waited longer.
As have I.

We have a winner.
Yes, easily his favorite ride of all the parks.

Great Picture
Thanks

It’s best that you beat us all to that particular joke. :lmao:
It's been a joke in my family since the origninal movie came out. :lmao:


Ominous




Very Ominous
:sad2:

I’m guessing it wasn’t the woman in the front row on the ToT
No, she seemed to be thoroughly enjoying herself. :lmao::rotfl2:

The nap-time cry has it’s own special sound. It’s distinctly different from the hungry cry, the mad cry, the board cry and certainly from the ill cry.
:sad2:

The folks with the dirty looks just don’t know better.
If they only knew that I was only making him cry just to make their day a little bit less enjoyable.:sad2:

Risky… but sometime you just gotta do what you gotta do.
The food wasn't going to eat itself.

That ear didn’t fall too far from the stalk.
But if he’s happy… so much the better.
The kid is the pickiest eater I know... and it is never the same food that he wants. If we went back the next day, he'd probably eat mashed potatoes and not touch the corn. Makes meal time an adventure. :thumbsup2

Extra mile! Tip earned.
Definitely.

Win some, loose some…

So what did the backup plan end up being?
Staying tuned for the next update..
Well, I had to find some way to occupy myself while they napped. :rolleyes1

Very cute pic...
Thanks

Is it REALLY your room?
Yes, yes it is. :rolleyes1

[afwdwfan]

Waste a Fast Pass??? Never!!!

Now that DS was asleep, we headed back to the room. I got inside and decided it best not to tempt fate, so I just reclined his seat and left him in the stroller. DW woke up when we came in and I told her about our travels as I tried to get DS to sleep. I asked DW what she wanted to do now that DS was asleep. She said she wanted to go back to sleep and nap for a while before we left for MVMCP.

Since I was sure DS would sleep for a couple of hours and she likely would as well, I asked permission to take my pocket full of Fast Passes for a quick trip over to the Studios. Permission was granted and off I went.:woohoo: I arrived at DHS at around 4 pm. First up, I had 2 FP’s for Star Tours. I hopped on and rode it twice, but frankly there was no need for the FP’s. It was a walk on anyway. I absolutely loved the changes to it. I never get motion sickness on a roller coaster or anything like that, but motion simulators tend to leave me feeling a bit uneasy. After riding twice in a row, I felt great and even considered a third ride, if I hadn’t been in a hurry.

I quickly crossed the park and walked under this archway towards my most favoritest ride on Walt Disney World property.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7003/6708650359_c4dde4eb45_z.jpg

Unfortunately, our studio tour was cut short, but I really appreciated the limo ride to the show.

I made my way to the exit and headed back to Wilderness Lodge. It was about 5 pm and just as I parked at WL, DW called to ask when I’d be back. She had just woken up and DS was still sleeping soundly.

DW and I got ourselves ready for MVMCP and finally decided to wake DS up to change his clothes and head to MK. Our original plan was to be at MK by about 4:30 or 5, grab a bite to eat and be ready for the festivities to get under way at 7. Instead we were just walking in the gates at around 6:30.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7169/6708698855_939ca0e3cc_z.jpg
Note: This picture is a representative image taken later in the week. We were not there early enough to get any daylight pictures.

The first order of business: food. We headed to Cosmic Rays and just got our food as the party began at 7. DS was in a much better mood. I was disappointed that we weren’t going to be able to take full advantage of the party, but as long as he was in a good mood, it would be ok.

DW, on the other hand, returned from the toppings bar less than happy. Some guy was being rude and asked to cut in line in front of her if she wasn’t going to move. Not that she could move, because she was waiting in line behind someone in front of her. He finally came up and butted in between the 2 of them, reached around the other person for something and walked away. Have a magical day! :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2

We had decided that we didn’t want to see the first parade, so we just took our time walking around. We thought the red and green lights on the trees and this image projected on Cosmic Rays looked cool

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7011/6708652867_1a66987036_z.jpg

The Speedway had virtually no line, so we checked DS’s height… just barely tall enough. DW wanted to take him on his first ride and thought she might be ok to ride, despite the “expectant mother” warning. After she saw a car come into the station at its full speed of approximately 2 mph and ram into about 4 cars in front of it, she changed her mind and took the chicken exit.

I was brave about it and let DS take the wheel (insert crappy phone picture in a moving car slamming into a center rail).
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7163/6708651191_be9ecd7f36_z.jpg

We decided not to tempt fate, and tried to find things that DS might enjoy. We watched some characters… from a distance and then headed over to IASW. After that, we took a bit of a calculated risk. DW wanted to ride Haunted Mansion. We decided that we’d ride and DS could play with a drawing game on my phone that he enjoys. That would give him a little bit of a glow (hopefully not so much to distract other people) and give him something to keep him distracted. It worked quite well.

We took the line to the left through the graveyard and… well… nothing. I don’t know if they had all of the effects turned off, but nothing was happening. We tried to play with some of the new interactive things in the queue and we weren’t getting any results.

After we left the mansion, it was approaching time for Magic, Memories and You and then Holiday Wishes, so we headed up to the walkway by Crystal Palace and I found a clear spot to lean on a rail, with an unobstructed view while DW grabbed some hot chocolate, cookies and apple slices.

We didn’t take any fireworks pictures. DW asked me if we should, I told her to just put the camera away and enjoy the show. It would have been nice to have pictures, but it was a great show and I’m glad we just enjoyed it. DW said the Holiday Wishes show alone made the price of admission worthwhile.

The fireworks ended and we decided that we'd like to see the parade along Main Street. The crowd was already camped out on Main Street, so we decided we’d try to come back and find a spot near the back to stand and watch. Instead of wasting time sitting around, we headed to the Caribbean. We rode Pirates and then came out to enjoy the Pirate band performing Christmas songs with a pirate twist. DS loved them and just danced along.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7156/6708654421_35c591d1ce_z.jpg

We headed over for a spin around Agrabah’s version of Dumbo, and then put DS back in the stroller to head to Main Street and find a spot to watch the parade. By the time we got there, DS was sound asleep. Oh, so now you want to nap... :confused3 :lmao: We decided to park the stroller underneath the awning at the Plaza ice cream shop and took our spots at the back of the crowd to wait for the parade. The parade started and we could see fine from our vantage point, but DW wanted to get closer to get pictures.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7160/6708655609_af91e85306_z.jpg

She stepped out to the side and had one foot across the tape line and got yelled at by the parade Nazi CM. Now this guy was very protective of his line. If you so much as touched his tape, he was all over it... and his tact in dealing with people must have worn out by the time the first parade ended.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7001/6708656753_4bd7f674c2_z.jpg

To the parade Nazi: Yes, you who wear the Santa hat, but lack the Christmas spirit. I understand you have a job to keep the sidewalk open, and I respect that. Please, just realize that if nobody is trying to get through, it is ok for someone to step out to take a quick picture and then step back, especially when you’ve seen them standing behind the line watching the parade the rest of the time. You’ve been standing right there and you know that is where she’s been. She just wanted a freakin’ picture of a float with the snow falling on it on Main Street. If you feel the need to ask someone to step back, please ask and if you want to tell them to get back, I suggest you do so in a more respectful manner. Next time you want to yell at a hormonal pregnant woman, you’re going to get to deal with the consequences. I’m not covering for you again. Got it? Good.:thumbsup2 :thumbsup2

After I calmed DW down, we got back to watching the parade and grabbed another parade picture before we walked through Tomorrowland Terrace to catch the end of the Tomorrowland stage show.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7151/6708657723_7f67900108_z.jpg

We then headed back to Main Street and caught the show in front of the castle. We looked through the Emporium, hoping to find some MVMCP souvenirs to purchase… needless to say we were disappointed by the options and left without spending any money.

We headed out the entrance and boarded a boat back to Wilderness Lodge. This boat was packed, standing room only, and there were a lot of strollers with sleeping kids. DW found an empty seat, and I pushed the stroller to the back of the boat with the rest of the parents with kids in strollers. I moved as far back as I possibly could in the aisle and had DS’ stroller parked tightly next to another one. I was standing in front of the strollers and right in the doorway between the inside part and the open area in the back, holding onto the doorway for balance. There was an empty seat in the second to last row in the outside area of the boat and a “gentleman” probably in his mid-30’s worked his way through the standing crowd inside the boat until he reached the back door… and me. He started complaining about all these *edited* strollers and said he was going to go sit in that empty seat back there. I asked him how he planned to get there and he told me he was going to climb over those *edited* strollers. He proceeded to point to DS. I may or may not have implied that he was going to swim the rest of the way to WL if he tried to step over my kid. He turned around and didn’t say another word to me, but I heard him whining to someone about all these kids and strollers when we were walking up the dock to the hotel.

If kids are that much an issue for you, I suggest you find someplace else to spend your vacation dollars in the future…:thumbsup2 :thumbsup2

Despite some of the disappointments of the evening, we truly did have a good time. I don’t feel like we got our full value out of the MVMCP ticket, but that was due partly to the fact that we didn’t get started when we wanted to and didn’t really get to take full advantage of everything. I’d like to try it again sometime, and hopefully be able to get off to an earlier start. I was somewhat disappointed though, that despite paying for an after-hours party, this was by far the most crowded evening of the 3 we spent in the MK.

Oh, well, this difficult day is behind us. It is time to rest up so that we can head to Walt’s vision of the future in the morning.

[lilpixiebabe101]

Ya'll just seemed to have a night full of RUDE ppl. So sorry for all that!

At least y'all got to enjoy the special fireworks/parades and a few rides with DS in a good mood. :goodvibes

[petals]

it must have been the time of year for rude people in disney we had a few as well I will tell about as the tr goes on.

[amandaw]

I am sooo jealous of your alone time in DHS! But, good for you! :thumbsup2 Rock n Roller Coaster is my favorite ride at Disney, too.

That's great that DS was in a much better mood when he woke up. That's always helpful when trying to have some fun.

Sounds like y'all had a really great night, with the exception of those people who were lacking the Christmas spirit. :sad2:

The fireworks at MVMCP are really great! I don't know that we'll do another party until Reid is a little bit older & can actually stay up for them. But, they are quite fun!

[Captain_Oblivious]

Your point??? :confused3

I was supposed to have a point? :confused3

DW woke up when we came in and I told her about our travels as I tried to get DS to sleep. I asked DW what she wanted to do now that DS was asleep. She said she wanted to go back to sleep and nap for a while before we left for MVMCP.

She woke up and decided she wanted another nap?

I was sure DS would sleep for a couple of hours and she likely would as well, I asked permission to take my pocket full of Fast Passes for a quick trip over to the Studios. Permission was granted and off I went.:woohoo:

OKTHANKSBYE! :rotfl2:

First up, I had 2 FP’s for Star Tours. I hopped on and rode it twice, but frankly there was no need for the FP’s. It was a walk on anyway. I absolutely loved the changes to it. I never get motion sickness on a roller coaster or anything like that, but motion simulators tend to leave me feeling a bit uneasy. After riding twice in a row, I felt great and even considered a third ride, if I hadn’t been in a hurry.

I can't wait to try that one out! Glad you got back to DHS to do the rest of the "big" rides.

Some guy was being rude and asked to cut in line in front of her if she wasn’t going to move. Not that she could move, because she was waiting in line behind someone in front of her. He finally came up and butted in between the 2 of them, reached around the other person for something and walked away. Have a magical day! :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2

I'm guessing those aren't thumbs.

The Speedway had virtually no line, so we checked DS’s height… just barely tall enough. DW wanted to take him on his first ride and thought she might be ok to ride, despite the “expectant mother” warning. After she saw a car come into the station at its full speed of approximately 2 mph and ram into about 4 cars in front of it, she changed her mind and took the chicken exit.

I was all set to make a crack about being hesitant to go on a ride that barely moves...but then you mentioned ramming 4 cars, and I thought, "Yeah, I guess that makes sense."

I was brave about it and let DS take the wheel (insert crappy phone picture in a moving car slamming into a center rail).


Let's see if we can take a trip down memory lane:

RRRRrrrrr......bang! RRRRrrrrrrr.....bang! RRRRRrrrrr....bang!

We took the line to the left through the graveyard and… well… nothing. I don’t know if they had all of the effects turned off, but nothing was happening. We tried to play with some of the new interactive things in the queue and we weren’t getting any results.

No "You're #1" salutes here?

We rode Pirates and then came out to enjoy the Pirate band performing Christmas songs with a pirate twist. DS loved them and just danced along.

Harrrrrrrrrrrk the herald angels sing...

We headed over for a spin around Agrabah’s version of Dumbo,

What are you talking about?! Those rides are completely different! They have a camel!

Next time you want to yell at a hormonal pregnant woman, you’re going to get to deal with the consequences. I’m not covering for you again. Got it? Good.:thumbsup2 :thumbsup2

I'm thinking this guy could really be useful at the toppings bar in Cosmic Ray's.

He started complaining about all these *edited* strollers and said he was going to go sit in that empty seat back there. I asked him how he planned to get there and he told me he was going to climb over those *edited* strollers. He proceeded to point to DS. I may or may not have implied that he was going to swim the rest of the way to WL if he tried to step over my kid. He turned around and didn’t say another word to me, but I heard him whining to someone about all these kids and strollers when we were walking up the dock to the hotel.

If kids are that much an issue for you, I suggest you find someplace else to spend your vacation dollars in the future…:thumbsup2 :thumbsup2

Who would ever expect to find kids and strollers at Disney World? I don't think you're really understanding things from his point of view. Clearly he would also expect to be able to watch a game in Lambeau Field without having to listen to Packers fans cheer.

I'm glad you still got to experience MVMCP, even if it wasn't the full experience. Sounds like your plan to get your fun in while the others nap is working well!

[glennbo123]

Don'cha just love people? :laughing: Where's the line nazi when you need him to knock some sense into people at the fixin's bar or a crowded boat?

[Moodyzblu]

I think the parade Nazi's and the annoying people with the runway lights that "urge" the crowds towards the exit at the end of the night, are one in the same !
I can't tell you how many times I've gotten scolded by one of them because I was trying to cut onto the sidewalk to enter the Emporium or stopped for a second to attend to a fussy child. What a great way to end a "magical" evening. ! :rolleyes:

[KatMark]

:headache::headache::headache: I don't know how the heck I got so far behind (at least next week I'll have an excuse!).

I love that DS giggled and loved TSM. That is so great!

Sorry about the "not wanting to nap." I remember those days; they'd fight the sleep and then be out like a light within a matter of seconds (I think all that crying wears them out all the more).

Sorry the party was so crowded (our MNSSHP event was the same way and we didn't enjoy it nearly as much as the year before).

What a rude, rude man on the boat to the WL. Hey buddy, take a hike and go somewhere else on your next trip; this is a magical place and not for jerks like you!

Looking forward to the next update.

[CandleontheWater]

Sorry nap time was such a challenge! Everett may not be the best sleeper on vacation, but one thing I am thankful about is that he cannot resist the siren song of a moving stroller- puts him out every time!

I had to laugh about lunch time, eating only corn is pretty funny. Toddlers, you never know what food they are going to decide is their favorite! Good call on the milkshake, I sure it went a long way to keeping the little man happy during lunch.

Good job not letting FPs go to waste, you DW was so nice to stay back at the room and nap with DS. You'd never catch me being that nice to my DH! :lmao:

Sorry your MVMCP experiences were not what you anticipated. I've never actually done at MVMCP, but from what I hear the parade and the fireworks are the highlights, so you did well to hit those! :thumbsup2 Someday I'll give one a shot, I think DS will have to get a little older before I can convince DH to fork over the cash for the tickets.

[afwdwfan]

Ya'll just seemed to have a night full of RUDE ppl. So sorry for all that!
Yes, but fortunately we got most of these experiences all out of the way in one day.:lmao:

At least y'all got to enjoy the special fireworks/parades and a few rides with DS in a good mood. :goodvibes
Yes, we did have a good time, despite some of the people around us.

it must have been the time of year for rude people in disney we had a few as well I will tell about as the tr goes on.
I'll be interested to see what you have to say about them. I think there were 1 or 2 others, but most of the rudeness we encountered was during MVMCP of all things. The irony of it is what just really struck me.:lmao:

I am sooo jealous of your alone time in DHS! But, good for you! :thumbsup2 Rock n Roller Coaster is my favorite ride at Disney, too.
I'm so glad I got to go back. I would have been the rude, grumpy guy at MVMCP if I had let a Rock N Rollercoaster FP go to waste.:rotfl2:

That's great that DS was in a much better mood when he woke up. That's always helpful when trying to have some fun.
Yes, it was a great improvement. I think it was just a hard adjustment, since this was our second day and he was probably a little overwhelmed from our first night in MK. We probably should have just left the park after MSEP to get him to bed, but we're cruel parents and wanted to see Wishes.:confused3 :rotfl:

Sounds like y'all had a really great night, with the exception of those people who were lacking the Christmas spirit. :sad2:

The fireworks at MVMCP are really great! I don't know that we'll do another party until Reid is a little bit older & can actually stay up for them. But, they are quite fun!
Yes, it was a fun night anyway. I'm not going to let somebody else ruin my fun at Disney World...

The party was fun. I'm not sure it is worth the cost, but it is very nice to get some extra time in the parks, see some different characters out and about and the fireworks show is very, very good.

I wouldn't worry about Reid being old enough to stay up for the whole party. DW and I actually enjoyed just walking around and catching some of the shows and doing some shopping after DS fell asleep.

I was supposed to have a point? :confused3
Good point.

She woke up and decided she wanted another nap?
Yes. She likes to nap when DS naps. Works for me though because I can get stuff done at home and ride a rollercoaster on vacation.:lmao:

OKTHANKSBYE! :rotfl2:
::yes::

I can't wait to try that one out! Glad you got back to DHS to do the rest of the "big" rides.
It really was a lot of fun. I always enjoyed Star Tours, but never really "loved" it. The new version is AWESOME!

I'm just disappointed that I got the pod racer segment every time I rode. :headache:

I'm guessing those aren't thumbs.
Good guess. :thumbsup2

I was all set to make a crack about being hesitant to go on a ride that barely moves...but then you mentioned ramming 4 cars, and I thought, "Yeah, I guess that makes sense."
:lmao: We talked about her riding with DS and I'd just take the car behind them and lay back... until we saw the pile up. I never realized something that moves so slow could cause such a violent impact. :scared1:

Let's see if we can take a trip down memory lane:

RRRRrrrrr......bang! RRRRrrrrrrr.....bang! RRRRRrrrrr....bang!
You still have frequent nightmares about it, don't you?

No "You're #1" salutes here?
No... I guess it was cool to just walk through and look at the things that I've read about people playing with though... :confused3 :lmao:

Harrrrrrrrrrrk the herald angels sing...
We missed that one... but I'm sure they probably played it. :lmao::rotfl2:

What are you talking about?! Those rides are completely different! They have a camel!
...and the carpet is a 2 seater.

I'm thinking this guy could really be useful at the toppings bar in Cosmic Ray's.
No Tomato for you!!!


Who would ever expect to find kids and strollers at Disney World? I don't think you're really understanding things from his point of view. Clearly he would also expect to be able to watch a game in Lambeau Field without having to listen to Packers fans cheer.
No kidding. I understand how they can be inconvenient to those without children. I mean, that was me the last time I went, but I've always understood the fact that kids love Disney World and parents love taking kids. It may not be the most convenient thing to have to move through a sea of strollers, but what's the point of complaining about it?

This guy obviously had no idea I was a parent when he started talking to me. He just rubbed me the wrong way, late at night on my way back to the resort.

I'm glad you still got to experience MVMCP, even if it wasn't the full experience. Sounds like your plan to get your fun in while the others nap is working well!
It was a good time, overall. A less than spectacular day at Disney World beats a great day at work, anytime. I'm glad we did MVMCP, and I really hope we get a chance to try it again and experience more of the shows/characters sometime in the future.

Don'cha just love people? :laughing: Where's the line nazi when you need him to knock some sense into people at the fixin's bar or a crowded boat?
I don't mind calling out rude park guests, but I really hate to pick on a CM like that... I mean I understand he was just doing his job. He was very protective of his tape though. I honestly wouldn't have been surprised if he'd yelled "No Parade for You!"

We were on the walkway in front of the plaza that goes from Main Street to Tomorrowland Terrace... a walkway that isn't typically crowded anyway. Across from us they had a very narrow section taped off, just wide enough to basically stand in a single file line. There was a lady over there who kept stepping on and over the tape and just taunting the CM. It was a bit rude, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't think it was more entertaining than the parade.:rotfl2:

[afwdwfan]

I think the parade Nazi's and the annoying people with the runway lights that "urge" the crowds towards the exit at the end of the night, are one in the same !
I can't tell you how many times I've gotten scolded by one of them because I was trying to cut onto the sidewalk to enter the Emporium or stopped for a second to attend to a fussy child. What a great way to end a "magical" evening. ! :rolleyes:
Yeah, it is just kind of frustrating. I will say though, that the previous night, when we were there for MSEP the parade CM patrolling our area was very nice. She was a little more "subtle" about asking people to move and actually very pleasant and interacted with people. It all comes down to how the CM wants to handle the situation. This guy was just a... :sad2:

:headache::headache::headache: I don't know how the heck I got so far behind (at least next week I'll have an excuse!).
I've got a pretty good idea... you're used to following some "other" TR's. :lmao::rotfl2:

I love that DS giggled and loved TSM. That is so great!
Yes, I loved it. I even started yelling and hollering as we'd move from one scene to the next to get him even more excited. We were just feeding off of each other. :lmao:

Sorry about the "not wanting to nap." I remember those days; they'd fight the sleep and then be out like a light within a matter of seconds (I think all that crying wears them out all the more).
I just wished it would have worn him out sooner. :headache:

Sorry the party was so crowded (our MNSSHP event was the same way and we didn't enjoy it nearly as much as the year before).
I've been reading a lot of similar reviews of the parties. It seems like they're pretty crowded these days. I can't say from experience though, this is the first party of any kind that I've ever been to. It was fun, regardless, though.

What a rude, rude man on the boat to the WL. Hey buddy, take a hike and go somewhere else on your next trip; this is a magical place and not for jerks like you!

Looking forward to the next update.
You know, anytime you go out in public, you're going to run into people like that. This guy just obviously just assumed that I was another guy around his age, probably bummed that I had to deal with kids on a night that I couldn't get a beer in the MK. :confused3

Sorry nap time was such a challenge! Everett may not be the best sleeper on vacation, but one thing I am thankful about is that he cannot resist the siren song of a moving stroller- puts him out every time!
The stroller seemed to do the trick every other day... just not this one.:headache:

I had to laugh about lunch time, eating only corn is pretty funny. Toddlers, you never know what food they are going to decide is their favorite! Good call on the milkshake, I sure it went a long way to keeping the little man happy during lunch.
Meals are always an adventure. He might love something today and refuse to touch it tomorrow.

Good job not letting FPs go to waste, you DW was so nice to stay back at the room and nap with DS. You'd never catch me being that nice to my DH! :lmao:
Well, it helps that DW doesn't really enjoy the parks quite as much as I do. She's always willing to take naps when we're on vacation. I on the other hand, want to be doing things I can't do at home.:lmao:

Sorry your MVMCP experiences were not what you anticipated. I've never actually done at MVMCP, but from what I hear the parade and the fireworks are the highlights, so you did well to hit those! :thumbsup2 Someday I'll give one a shot, I think DS will have to get a little older before I can convince DH to fork over the cash for the tickets.
It was fun. I really felt like we had to go because we'd never been to a party before and you never really know if or when the opportunity will arise again. It was fun and the fireworks were great. I'd probably go back again if we had a chance, but it really is hard to justify the price tag for a few hours in the park.

On the flip side, it made it more attractive to us to do the party this time, because DS is still young enough to get in without a ticket.

[afwdwfan]

A Day of Firsts

It was Wednesday morning and we learned something valuable from yesterday. DS would decide when we start our day today.

I was the first one up and ready to go so I headed down to Roaring Forks to grab a breakfast platter once DW and DS woke up. It’s too bad it took a couple of days to discover this little convenience. We’d eat some cereal and divide all the food that came on the platter so we could have some hot food for breakfast. There was plenty on that plate to go around.

Today was an EPCOT day and we got there probably about 30 - 40 minutes after the park opened. We walked through Innoventions and signed up for our first ever Kim Possible mission and then went to grab Soarin FP’s in the Land. Our return time was for noon.

We went to the Seas to look for Nemo.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7153/6725858693_c0fc556ce2_z.jpg

Somebody was a little excited to be free from his stroller.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7150/6725860123_5df6631132_z.jpg

After we found Nemo, we headed into Turtle Talk with Crush. We checked out the trivia game while we waited for the show to start.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7166/6725861443_fa99d58e03_z.jpg

This is the first time I’ve seen this show. I enjoyed it, but DS didn’t seem to care for it. He was impatiently crawling all over us and eventually ripped DW’s bracelet off. It wasn’t an expensive one, but it had a lot of little pieces that scattered everywhere across the floor. We did our best to pick up all the pieces and the CM’s turned on the lights for us after the show and helped us out with that.

After we left Crush, DS wanted to run around the aquarium. Nothing seemed to keep his attention for very long, until we found the manatees. Eventually we decided it was time to go, because we had an ADR coming up soon. We made our way back past the Land and stopped for a quick visit with Figment while we were in the area.

We almost lost our appetite in the smell portion of the ride, but only temporarily. We had an ADR that I’d been looking forward to for a long time… our first ever visit to Via Napoli. We were seated promptly at 11:30 and our server was great. She was hard to understand, but very friendly and very fast. I always enjoy a good beer with my pizza so I tried a La Rossa… not bad. We ordered a pepperoni pizza to share. DW says it is the best pizza she’s ever eaten. I’ve had a lot of great pizzas, so I’m not sure I can conclusively say it’s the best I’ve ever had without doing thorough side by side blindfold taste testing. It is definitely near the top of the list. :thumbsup2

If you’re thinking about eating at Via Napoli, here’s some advice. First of all, do it. Secondly, there’s an option to get a side salad with the pizza… skip it. We got a large pizza and didn’t get any salad or appetizers. I believe the menu says the pizza serves 2 -3 people. We ordered it for 2 ½ and it was way more than enough for us. I ate 2 pieces after I was so full it hurt to keep eating, but we didn’t want to carry leftovers around and I wasn’t about to leave a single crumb of that deliciousness to go to waste. We really felt like of all the table service meals we had, this was definitely the best value.

We waddled out of Via Napoli and headed around the corner to get our Kimmunicator. DS walked up to the CM and handed her our pass. She chatted with him a bit and folded the pass into some origami and handed it back to him with some Mickey stickers and then issued our Kimmunicator.

Our first mission had us going to Japan. We worked on our mission with about 2 other groups doing the same thing, but DS just wanted to keep pushing buttons. We were able to see all the effects, but it was a battle to follow along with what was actually going on as he kept pushing random buttons.:lmao: He didn’t seem to care about any of the effects that resulted from following the clues, so we ended up quitting after our half hearted effort to save Japan.

We made our way back up to the Land to use our Soarin FP’s. DS fell asleep on the stroller ride, so DW rode while I sat out in stroller purgatory and enjoyed this view from my seat up on a landscaping wall.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7146/6725862505_d6ee293881_z.jpg

I took my turn to ride and grabbed 2 more FP’s for 5:30. I got to ride with a very nice couple. The wife was terrified as we were waiting to board our flight. Her husband was trying to tell her what was going to happen and she swore he was lying to her. I tried to re-assure her that he was telling her the truth. She was afraid it was going to be really jerky and whip her all around. I think in the end she really did enjoy it. When I came back out DS was awake and eating some popcorn. DW saw some royalty out enjoying the sunshine and though DS might like to meet her.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7160/6725864113_8c78922d08_z.jpg

After meeting Belle, we heard some music being played just around the corner. We decided to see what was going on and found these guys putting on a fun show. We’d never seen the Jammitors before… it was yet another first for us.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7169/6725865311_6c7dea51df_z.jpg

We headed in to try the Visa character picture for the first time. We got in line and then noticed that something smelled horrible. It didn’t take long to realize that smell was coming from DS’ diaper, so rather than making everyone around us suffer, we were off to the restroom for a diaper change.

We saw that the line for Space Ship Earth was pretty much nonexistent so we took a journey to the past and our future while we were in the area.

We walked out of SSE and DW asked what I wanted to do next. I said we should probably go back to the Visa Character meet soon, but there was someplace else I wanted to visit first. Our day full of firsts would continue with a visit to a place we’ve never been before…

[amandaw]

I am so excited about your Via Napoli review! It sounds like a great lunch option. And I'm glad to know that a large pepperoni pizza can feed a lot of peeps! That would be perfect for my family of 3. That does indeed seem like a good value! :thumbsup2

Love the picture of DS running towards the Nemo ride....so cute! :goodvibes We haven't done Turtle Talk yet. I don't know if Reid would sit still for it. Is it really long?

Can't wait to hear what y'alls next "first" was!

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

It was Wednesday morning and we learned something valuable from yesterday. DS would decide when we start our day today.


This will be true for a while yet.


I was the first one up and ready to go so I headed down to Roaring Forks to grab a breakfast platter once DW and DS woke up.


Will have to check this out if I get to stay there again in the future


There was plenty on that plate to go around.


This is something we noticed about Roaring Forks… it was a little pricey compared to some of the other resorts, but any one serving was so large, that you really only needed to get one meal per 2 or 3 people and share it.



Somebody was a little excited to be free from his stroller.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7150/6725860123_5df6631132_z.jpg



I bet he was…



He was impatiently crawling all over us and eventually ripped DW’s bracelet off. It wasn’t an expensive one, but it had a lot of little pieces that scattered everywhere across the floor.


:headache:



Nothing seemed to keep his attention for very long, until we found the manatees.


There is something mesmerizing about watching something so big and so homely that also behaves so gently and moves so gracefully. It’s like the “Dance of the Hours” sequence from Fantasia… it appears improbable, but you’re transfixed anyway.



…stopped for a quick visit with Figment while we were in the area.

We almost lost our appetite in the smell portion of the ride


That will just about do it..


…but only temporarily.


But you rebounded pretty quickly


We had an ADR that I’d been looking forward to for a long time… our first ever visit to Via Napoli.


And as reasons go… that will just about do it


there’s an option to get a side salad with the pizza… skip it.


Pizza > Rabbit-Food


We waddled out of Via Napoli


No, no… you kind’a shuffle out of Via Napoli…
You waddle out of ‘Ohana


Our first mission had us going to Japan. We worked on our mission with about 2 other groups doing the same thing, but DS just wanted to keep pushing buttons.


Proper preparation for a future texting championship (I do believe that it will be a competitive sport in the near future).


DW rode while I sat out in stroller purgatory


:lmao: I like that description.

We’ve take many pictures of the various “Stroller Worlds” at WDW just to show folks who really don’t believe us when we say it exists.



We’d never seen the Jammitors before… it was yet another first for us.


I’ve not seen them either so I’ll have to make a point to hunt them down during the next trip.

The concept reminds me of Mulch Sweat and Shears over at HS.


We saw that the line for Space Ship Earth was pretty much nonexistent


This is pretty normal in the afternoon. Folks queue up for it right out of the gate because it’s the first thing you encounter.



Our day full of firsts would continue with a visit to a place we’ve never been before…


popcorn::

[Captain_Oblivious]

It was Wednesday morning and we learned something valuable from yesterday. DS would decide when we start our day today.

Either 4 a.m. or 11:30. No in-between.

Somebody was a little excited to be free from his stroller.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7150/6725860123_5df6631132_z.jpg

I'm free! I'm free!

This is the first time I’ve seen this show. I enjoyed it, but DS didn’t seem to care for it. He was impatiently crawling all over us and eventually ripped DW’s bracelet off. It wasn’t an expensive one, but it had a lot of little pieces that scattered everywhere across the floor. We did our best to pick up all the pieces and the CM’s turned on the lights for us after the show and helped us out with that.

Get any comments from Crush over that incident? Sorry he wasn't interested. It is a pretty cool show.

We made our way back past the Land and stopped for a quick visit with Figment while we were in the area.

You forgot to mention the Fastpasses you picked up for that ride. :rolleyes1

DW says it is the best pizza she’s ever eaten. I’ve had a lot of great pizzas, so I’m not sure I can conclusively say it’s the best I’ve ever had without doing thorough side by side blindfold taste testing. It is definitely near the top of the list. :thumbsup2

Awesome! I think we're going to try it out on our next trip. If I get the massive-size pizza, will that feed my family?

She chatted with him a bit and folded the pass into some origami and handed it back to him with some Mickey stickers and then issued our Kimmunicator.

Origami? That's cool! :thumbsup2

We worked on our mission with about 2 other groups doing the same thing, but DS just wanted to keep pushing buttons. We were able to see all the effects, but it was a battle to follow along with what was actually going on as he kept pushing random buttons.:lmao: He didn’t seem to care about any of the effects that resulted from following the clues, so we ended up quitting after our half hearted effort to save Japan.

:lmao::rotfl2:

I can see where the actual game might be over his head. Still, I enjoy pushing buttons too.

DS fell asleep on the stroller ride, so DW rode while I sat out in stroller purgatory and enjoyed this view from my seat up on a landscaping wall.

Well...it's a very nice sign you have there.

The wife was terrified as we were waiting to board our flight. Her husband was trying to tell her what was going to happen and she swore he was lying to her. I tried to re-assure her that he was telling her the truth. She was afraid it was going to be really jerky and whip her all around. I think in the end she really did enjoy it.

I seem to recall a certain Frozen Monkey having a similar experience, only working hard to convince the rider that there were loops involved.

We headed in to try the Visa character picture for the first time. We got in line and then noticed that something smelled horrible.

That's an awful thing to say about Belle. Sure, she could have married someone with better hygiene, but it's tacky to point it out.

It didn’t take long to realize that smell was coming from DS’ diaper, so rather than making everyone around us suffer, we were off to the restroom for a diaper change.

Darn. This could have been the funniest VISA Disney character photoshoot ever.

I said we should probably go back to the Visa Character meet soon, but there was someplace else I wanted to visit first. Our day full of firsts would continue with a visit to a place we’ve never been before…

Does it include Beverly? :confused3

[glennbo123]

I'm glad that to read your great review of Via Napoli. I've heard great things about the table service, but that the pizza at the take-out window is not as good...which is weird.

I think Soarin' would be better if they did whip you all around! :laughing:

Hmmm, were you thirsty before heading to your next adventure?

[khertz]

LOVE that pic of your DS running around Epcot in his Mickey t-shirt & baby Crocs!! They do seem to have more fun running wild about the parks rather than being cooped up in their strollers, don't they? :laughing:

Mmm, Via Napoli! I'm glad you didn't post any pictures of your pizza because I am already craving that yummy 4 cheese white pizza, I don't need a visual to have me literally drooling!! ;) I think that is the one ADR I am super anxious to book! It was soooooooo good. Glad that y'all enjoyed it too. Now that we have introduced DS to pizza, we might have to do like y'all and get a big pizza for us to split instead of getting the individual pizzas. DS will probably put away quite a bit of pizza himself!!

Disappointing about MVMCP not being all you wanted it to be. That's why I'm a little hesitant to shell out the money for a MNSSHP this year, despite the fact that I have been really wanting to try out the party. I think it might be one of those things that we will just have to wait until DS is older to take part in. Even though we will likely be having to pay for a ticket for him at that point, I think I'd rather spend the extra cash and get our money's worth from the party rather than saving on his ticket but only getting to spend a few hours in the park for the money we spend on ourselves.

[that's nice]

SO I guess I was a little behind.... :rolleyes1

I couldn’t convince someone that we really needed to be out of the room by just after 8 so that we could be in the park before Rope Drop.
You should of told her all your DIS buddies said to get there at 8:30...

Standby time was 30 minutes. We were planning a long mid-day break, so FP’s were going to be out of the question at this point, and we took our place in the standby line.
30 minute wait is a score! Nicely played!

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7149/6690211437_690fbbed8c_z.jpg

Great pic!

As always, Toodles came in to save the day and with the help of some other Disney Junior friends, Minnie’s Birthday party was a huge success.
Wouldn't it be cool if just once Mickey forgot about the party, Donald burnt the cake, Goofy decorated the wrong house, and Daisy bought herself a gift?

It was a great ride on ToT, probably the best I’ve ever had. I was entertained by a woman in the front row who screamed profanities every time the ride dropped and then profusely apologized to everyone afterwards. I thought the ride was over twice and it shot us back up for more. We actually sat in front of the screen at the bottom long enough for people to start talking before it shot us back up one time.
Nothing like some F bombs to up the Disney spirit. :eek:

I checked my phone as I left the hotel and saw that I missed several phone calls from DW. I called her up and asked where she was. They were in front of RnR, and somebody wasn’t happy.
I'm sure I'll be dealing with an unhappy kid in Disney come November. pirate:



Our waitress was absolutely fantastic. She brought our drinks and even brought DS his own milkshake in a child’s cup.
Honestly, good service makes the meal sooo much better. :thumbsup2

As it turned out, he was only interested in one thing… corn.
At lest you didn't add any corny jokes here...

Finally, at around 3:30, DS was napping peacefully.
WHEW! I thought he'd never fall asleep.

I asked permission to take my pocket full of Fast Passes for a quick trip over to the Studios.
Well played!

I quickly crossed the park and walked under this archway towards my most favoritest ride on Walt Disney World property.
This is mine too. Good choice!

Our original plan was to be at MK by about 4:30 or 5, grab a bite to eat and be ready for the festivities to get under way at 7. Instead we were just walking in the gates at around 6:30.
Plans? Where you were going you didn't need plans!

He finally came up and butted in between the 2 of them, reached around the other person for something and walked away. Have a magical day!
:sad2:

I was brave about it and let DS take the wheel (insert crappy phone picture in a moving car slamming into a center rail).
Our kids must have gone to the same driving school. :drive:

To the parade Nazi: Yes, you who wear the Santa hat, but lack the Christmas spirit. I understand you have a job to keep the sidewalk open, and I respect that. Please, just realize that if nobody is trying to get through, it is ok for someone to step out to take a quick picture and then step back, especially when you’ve seen them standing behind the line watching the parade the rest of the time. You’ve been standing right there and you know that is where she’s been. She just wanted a freakin’ picture of a float with the snow falling on it on Main Street. If you feel the need to ask someone to step back, please ask and if you want to tell them to get back, I suggest you do so in a more respectful manner. Next time you want to yell at a hormonal pregnant woman, you’re going to get to deal with the consequences. I’m not covering for you again. Got it? Good.
Note to self... never tell Andy's DW not to step over the tape. :sad2:

If kids are that much an issue for you, I suggest you find someplace else to spend your vacation dollars in the future…
LOL... also note to self... never try to step over Andy's kids stroller.

I don’t feel like we got our full value out of the MVMCP ticket, but that was due partly to the fact that we didn’t get started when we wanted to and didn’t really get to take full advantage of everything. I’d like to try it again sometime, and hopefully be able to get off to an earlier start. I was somewhat disappointed though, that despite paying for an after-hours party, this was by far the most crowded evening of the 3 we spent in the MK.
It is hard getting the full value out of these tickets... especially with small children. I think the first MNSSHP we went to we were leaving at 9:15. The parties are getting more and more crowded too. They need to limit the amount of ppl they let in the party (yea right).

[that's nice]

It was Wednesday morning and we learned something valuable from yesterday. DS would decide when we start our day today.
He's already running the show! :lmao:


Somebody was a little excited to be free from his stroller.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7150/6725860123_5df6631132_z.jpg
Love the shirt! :thumbsup2

I’ve had a lot of great pizzas, so I’m not sure I can conclusively say it’s the best I’ve ever had without doing thorough side by side blindfold taste testing. It is definitely near the top of the list.
Let me know when you make it to Connecticut... we'll go on a pizza and beer tour. popcorn::

We headed in to try the Visa character picture for the first time. We got in line and then noticed that something smelled horrible.
Was it the Beverly machine?

It didn’t take long to realize that smell was coming from DS’ diaper, so rather than making everyone around us suffer, we were off to the restroom for a diaper change.
Oh, whew! At this this smell can be rectified! :rotfl2::rotfl2:

[afwdwfan]

I am so excited about your Via Napoli review! It sounds like a great lunch option. And I'm glad to know that a large pepperoni pizza can feed a lot of peeps! That would be perfect for my family of 3. That does indeed seem like a good value!
It really was. Where else on Disney property can you sit down at a table service place and feed 3 people for around $30? We will definitely be making return trips.

Love the picture of DS running towards the Nemo ride....so cute! :goodvibes We haven't done Turtle Talk yet. I don't know if Reid would sit still for it. Is it really long?
It isn't very long... somewhere between 5 - 10 minutes. I think DS would have been fine at other times, but he just didn't want to be still that morning.

This will be true for a while yet.
Until #2 comes along and tries to set the agenda.

Will have to check this out if I get to stay there again in the future
It was good. A big plate with bacon, pancakes, eggs, a biscuit & hash browns. We don't usually eat a big breakfast (although I'd like to) so we could probably have just split this platter and had plenty of food, but combining it with a little bit of cereal that we already had in the room made it more than adequate to start the day.

This is something we noticed about Roaring Forks… it was a little pricey compared to some of the other resorts, but any one serving was so large, that you really only needed to get one meal per 2 or 3 people and share it.
I didn't have any problem finishing a whole meal from the lunch and dinner menus. :lmao: I thought the food there was good, but having stayed at POP, I was a bit disappointed. I guess after experiencing the food court at POP, I'd expected to find a few more options at a deluxe food court than what was available.

There is something mesmerizing about watching something so big and so homely that also behaves so gently and moves so gracefully. It’s like the “Dance of the Hours” sequence from Fantasia… it appears improbable, but you’re transfixed anyway.
Off-topic, but do you watch Ax Men on History Channel? In the episode this week, a guy was swimming in a river in FL with manatees. He even kind of looked like one in the water. :lmao::rotfl2:

That will just about do it..
:sick:

But you rebounded pretty quickly
When pizza is involved, you do what ya gotta do.:thumbsup2

Pizza > Rabbit-Food
::yes::

No, no… you kind’a shuffle out of Via Napoli…
You waddle out of ‘Ohana
No, you waddle out of Via Napoli and you have to be rolled out of Ohana. You shuffle out of the buffets.:lmao:

Proper preparation for a future texting championship (I do believe that it will be a competitive sport in the near future).
I think it already is...

:lmao: I like that description.
Thanks. I was thinking about that when I was sitting there. He's asleep in the stroller, so we can't park it and go in, and they have people standing at the bottom of the ramp so you can't even get close to the building with a stroller. It really was like purgatory. Stuck there waiting until he either woke up and we could park the stroller or we were done at the Land and could move on to something else.:lmao:

We’ve take many pictures of the various “Stroller Worlds” at WDW just to show folks who really don’t believe us when we say it exists.
It is insane sometimes. I'll get to this in AK, but I wish I had taken a picture of a stroller that was parked there.

I’ve not seen them either so I’ll have to make a point to hunt them down during the next trip.
Good show. Sounded pretty good for beating on trash cans and tool boxes. And they had the comedy element down pretty good too.:thumbsup2

Either 4 a.m. or 11:30. No in-between.
You mean when he finally goes to sleep, right? :lmao:

He's pretty good about waking up. Usually he'll wake up at around 5:30 or 6 and then go back to sleep until about 7:30 or 8. He is a bit of a night owl at times though. :headache:

Get any comments from Crush over that incident? Sorry he wasn't interested. It is a pretty cool show.
No, we were towards the back of the theater. He was busy learning about humans from a little girl in the front. I think I learned a few things too. :lmao:

You forgot to mention the Fastpasses you picked up for that ride. :rolleyes1
Not everybody remembers to make up all the details like you. :rolleyes1

Awesome! I think we're going to try it out on our next trip. If I get the massive-size pizza, will that feed my family?
I saw a few of the really big rectangle ones on tables. It might feed your family, depending how much your boys eat, but I'd probably go for at least 2 of the large ones. Just eat there before you're getting ready to leave the park so you can take the leftovers back to Kidani. :thumbsup2

Origami? That's cool! :thumbsup2
Origami in Italy? That's... odd. :lmao:

I can see where the actual game might be over his head. Still, I enjoy pushing buttons too.
Buttons are awesome. How else are you supposed to learn what they do?

I seem to recall a certain Frozen Monkey having a similar experience, only working hard to convince the rider that there were loops involved.
:lmao: That's right, I forgot about that.

I really didn't want her to be scared though. I was going to be sitting next to her and she had finger nails. :scared1:

That's an awful thing to say about Belle. Sure, she could have married someone with better hygiene, but it's tacky to point it out.
:sad2: :rotfl2:

Darn. This could have been the funniest VISA Disney character photoshoot ever.
10 years later... Mommy, why is Mickey holding his nose?

Does it include Beverly? :confused3
::yes::

[afwdwfan]

I'm glad that to read your great review of Via Napoli. I've heard great things about the table service, but that the pizza at the take-out window is not as good...which is weird.
I think from what I read the pick up window was temporary? :confused3 I don't recall seeing anything when we were there. I guess part of it could be that they have to pre-bake some pizzas and put them under a heat lamp or something. The table service was excellent though.

I think Soarin' would be better if they did whip you all around! :laughing:
I could live with that... :rolleyes1

Hmmm, were you thirsty before heading to your next adventure?
Why, yes. Yes I was.

LOVE that pic of your DS running around Epcot in his Mickey t-shirt & baby Crocs!! They do seem to have more fun running wild about the parks rather than being cooped up in their strollers, don't they? :laughing:
Yes. He was just full of energy that morning.

Mmm, Via Napoli! I'm glad you didn't post any pictures of your pizza because I am already craving that yummy 4 cheese white pizza, I don't need a visual to have me literally drooling!! ;) I think that is the one ADR I am super anxious to book! It was soooooooo good. Glad that y'all enjoyed it too. Now that we have introduced DS to pizza, we might have to do like y'all and get a big pizza for us to split instead of getting the individual pizzas. DS will probably put away quite a bit of pizza himself!!
I really enjoyed that pizza. Just writing about it was making me hungry. I'm craving one right now.

Disappointing about MVMCP not being all you wanted it to be. That's why I'm a little hesitant to shell out the money for a MNSSHP this year, despite the fact that I have been really wanting to try out the party. I think it might be one of those things that we will just have to wait until DS is older to take part in. Even though we will likely be having to pay for a ticket for him at that point, I think I'd rather spend the extra cash and get our money's worth from the party rather than saving on his ticket but only getting to spend a few hours in the park for the money we spend on ourselves.
It really is a tough call to make. If we had it to do again, I think we would have planned for Wednesday night instead of Tuesday. I think Tuesday our problem was that it was just our second day in the parks. He was still adjusting to being there and taking in all the sights and sounds. Our EPCOT day was so much better, as was the rest of the week.

If we'd only known what mood he'd be in Tuesday ahead of time...

SO I guess I was a little behind.... :rolleyes1
It happens. Just so you know, I've got the next 2 updates already typed out in Word... :rolleyes1

You should of told her all your DIS buddies said to get there at 8:30...
I probably would have gotten this response... :thumbsup2

Great pic!
Thanks

Wouldn't it be cool if just once Mickey forgot about the party, Donald burnt the cake, Goofy decorated the wrong house, and Daisy bought herself a gift?
:rotfl2::rotfl:

Nothing like some F bombs to up the Disney spirit. :eek:
Fortunately, I don't think there were any kids on at the time. Pretty much everybody was laughing about it.

I'm sure I'll be dealing with an unhappy kid in Disney come November. pirate:
Yes. Yes you will. It will be worth it though. :thumbsup2

Honestly, good service makes the meal sooo much better. :thumbsup2
It absolutely does.

At lest you didn't add any corny jokes here...
Well, I was just trying to set Barry up for some puns.

WHEW! I thought he'd never fall asleep.
No kidding. :headache:

Well played!
I'm still shocked that it worked...

Note to self... never tell Andy's DW not to step over the tape. :sad2:
Or at least just don't be an A-hole about it.

LOL... also note to self... never try to step over Andy's kids stroller.
I'd have offered him a swim if it was any other stroller though, too.

It is hard getting the full value out of these tickets... especially with small children. I think the first MNSSHP we went to we were leaving at 9:15. The parties are getting more and more crowded too. They need to limit the amount of ppl they let in the party (yea right).
That's funny! :lmao: Yeah, they're going to keep selling them as long as people keep buying them... unfortunately. It was fun, and I'm glad we went. We'll probably do it again if we get the chance. We had other days/evenings in the parks that were just fantastic. Unfortunately, the MVMCP day just wasn't one of them.

He's already running the show!
We already knew that. We just failed to remember.

Love the shirt! :thumbsup2
Me too. I wish I had it in an adult XL. :lmao:

Let me know when you make it to Connecticut... we'll go on a pizza and beer tour. popcorn::
Sounds like fun. :thumbsup2

Was it the Beverly machine?
No, it was the smell of excellence. :rotfl:

Oh, whew! At this this smell can be rectified! :rotfl2::rotfl2:
There's just always that few minutes where there's a stare down, a match of rock-paper-scissors, or the famous call of "not it" to decide who gets to rectify the situation.

[My sister's princess]

PHEW all caught up. How dare you update so much while I was gone. KIDDING!!! It made for great reading this morning!

I am so glad you had such a good time at the whispering canyon. I want to give it a try, but have seen mixed reviews!

[petals]

I love your DS's t-shirt in his break free pic.

[khertz]

If we'd only known what mood he'd be in Tuesday ahead of time...



Kids should be required to submit in writing in advance when they plan on having meltdowns. It would just make life so much easier!

[amandaw]

Kids should be required to submit in writing in advance when they plan on having meltdowns. It would just make life so much easier!

::yes:: :thumbsup2

[afwdwfan]

PHEW all caught up. How dare you update so much while I was gone. KIDDING!!! It made for great reading this morning!

I am so glad you had such a good time at the whispering canyon. I want to give it a try, but have seen mixed reviews!
I'm just trying to keep rolling with this thing before I forget everything. :lmao::rotfl2:

We really enjoyed Whispering Canyon. I think it really depends on how much you appreciate or want to participate in the antics and how your server is. I took note of a few more "animated" servers in the restaurant when we were eating and I see how they could get annoying pretty quick if you weren't really 100% into their antics.

That said, the food was excellent, and I really felt like the value for the lunch skillet was pretty good for the amount of food and the quality of it.

I love your DS's t-shirt in his break free pic.
I like it too. I kind of wished I could have found one to fit me. :lmao:

Kids should be required to submit in writing in advance when they plan on having meltdowns. It would just make life so much easier!
This needs a like button.:thumbsup2

[afwdwfan]

BEVERLY!!!

We made our way over to Club Cool and went inside to rehydrate. We have never visited Club Cool before, but since I’ve joined Disboards, I’ve seen a lot of descriptions about a certain drink and how disgusting it is. Club Cool was somewhat crowded, so I grabbed a couple of cups and filled them up while DW waited back a little way with the stroller. We started on the left side of the dispenser and worked our way across. I finally reached the dispenser labeled “Beverly” and I gave myself a little pep talk in my head. I was ready for it. I put the cup to my lips. I took a sip… I… I... hmm… Did I get the right thing? Let’s try it again. I filled the cup back up, yes, this one is definitely from the Beverly dispenser and it tastes the same. I guess the nastiness of it was so overhyped that my expectations weren’t met. :confused3

Now, if I were thirsty, paying for a drink and had to choose from the drinks available in that dispenser to fill my cup with, Mezzo Mix would be my choice, hands down. I definitely wouldn’t choose to drink Beverly when other options are available, but if I was thirsty and it was the only thing available, I wouldn’t have a problem drinking it. I really thought the Japan drink was worse.:sick:

DW on the other hand thought Beverly was the most disgusting thing she had ever tasted.

DS was just happy that I was letting him drink whatever I was drinking. :rotfl2:

Having experienced the wonders of Beverly, we decided to head back over to take our complementary Visa picture. We didn’t know who we’d get to see, but they pulled back the curtain and we were greeted by the main cheese and his pet dog. DS still didn’t want to get down and walk to them, but he was interested in Mickey and gave him a 5 and interacted a bit. Pluto came over to join in the fun, however, and was denied. Poor Pluto.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7006/6754872943_b72d24849f_z.jpg

We had talked about meeting up with our CM friend on Wednesday or Thursday, so we thought we’d call her and see what she had planned for the evening. It turned out she had some things to take care of this evening before her brothers got in to town, but we made plans to meet up with them all on Friday. We had been walking aimlessly while trying to call her and arrived in front of a beautiful Christmas tree.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7172/6754875363_a05072d300_z.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7008/6754876215_80b83a46d9_z.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7153/6754877103_f2c08b38a3_z.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7001/6754878107_497195de5c_z.jpg

We took a left at the T and grabbed some Mickey ice cream bars from a cart before parking the stroller and heading in to ride…

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7005/6754878585_477e015c95_z.jpg

It’s a Small Mexico!!!

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7168/6754880041_b91fb9a752_z.jpg

As it would turn out, DS LOVED this ride. I think he liked riding in the boat and seeing all the different scenes, but most importantly, he loved finding Duck participating in his many different activities as we chased him through Mexico.

Our next stop was Maelstrom in Norway. We enjoyed the ride, but walked through the theater after we left the boat. We needed a quick restroom break, so we stopped at the restrooms between Norway and Mexico. I was sitting outside with DS waiting on DW and the Norway Christmas story had just ended. We never caught that story time, but the story tellers came through on their way backstage. They were chatting with everyone as they passed by and I was blown away with how well they were improvising and staying in character on their way out. It was just a little bit extra Disney magic to be able to enjoy.

DW wanted to go to Mouse Gears to look around, so I headed to Test Track to grab myself some FP’s and told her I’d meet her in Mouse Gears. Once I found them, I took the stroller so she could shop. DS was trying to grab everything he could reach, so I decided to take him outside. We walked out the door and I had just found a place to sit down when all of a sudden, DS starts yelling. “Shoe! Shoe!”

Uh, oh. :headache: We lost a shoe. I tried to retrace my steps and we even went back into the store to look around the area where he started getting antsy. We couldn’t find it anywhere. I found a CM and asked him if there was a lost and found in the store and he told me I’d have to check with Guest Relations in an hour or 2. At the same time, DW was checking with another CM. After a quick call, it turned out there was a CM walking around carrying a shoe, looking for the prince who lost it. She quickly found us and returned the shoe and spent some time talking to DS. He loved the attention. It was another great CM interaction for us.

We left Mouse Gears and headed back to the Land to use our Soarin’ FP’s after a quick stop to pick up our free Visa picture. DW rode first while I took DS to the restroom and changed him into jeans. We then headed to Sunshine Seasons and got some grapes, apple sauce and chocolate milk. DW came out, and I gave her my FP and told her to ride again. DS and I just hung out and enjoyed our snacks.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7026/6754880871_ec79a9bd29_z.jpg

DW came back and said she was hungry. She looked at the menus for Sunshine Seasons, but didn’t see anything she wanted to eat. We decided instead to cross the park once again and grab some food in Mexico.

[KatMark]

Hey, you'd be ecstatic to be out of your stroller too if those "big" people made you stay in it all the time. :lmao::lmao::lmao:

Okay, now back to read your latest update (I am determined to get caught up BEFORE I leave in two days).

[KatMark]

Great update. I love the picture with Mickey and Pluto (Pluto is one of my favorites).

DS looks quite pleased with that Mickey bar.

Obviously, your wife is the smarter one of the family as she realized how awful the Beverly is. It must be a man thing...as my DH did not think it was that bad either. :lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao:

[that's nice]

[COLOR="Green"]BEVERLY!!!

I was ready for it. I put the cup to my lips. I took a sip… I… I... hmm… Did I get the right thing? Let’s try it again. I filled the cup back up, yes, this one is definitely from the Beverly dispenser and it tastes the same. I guess the nastiness of it was so overhyped that my expectations weren’t met. :confused3
Now I know what to get you for your birthday.... a case of Beverly! :lmao:

I definitely wouldn’t choose to drink Beverly when other options are available, but if I was thirsty and it was the only thing available, I wouldn’t have a problem drinking it.
:rotfl2:

DW on the other hand thought Beverly was the most disgusting thing she had ever tasted.
Did you trick her into drinking it?

DS was just happy that I was letting him drink whatever I was drinking.
:lmao:


http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7006/6754872943_b72d24849f_z.jpg
Great pic! :thumbsup2<-- thumb


It’s a Small Mexico!!!
:rolleyes1 Es un mundo de la risa, un mundo de rasgones :rolleyes1

DS starts yelling. “Shoe! Shoe!”

Uh, oh. :headache: We lost a shoe. I tried to retrace my steps and we even went back into the store to look around the area where he started getting antsy. We couldn’t find it anywhere. I found a CM and asked him if there was a lost and found in the store and he told me I’d have to check with Guest Relations in an hour or 2. At the same time, DW was checking with another CM. After a quick call, it turned out there was a CM walking around carrying a shoe, looking for the prince who lost it. She quickly found us and returned the shoe and spent some time talking to DS. He loved the attention. It was another great CM interaction for us.
We had a shoe incident at MK once... guess where lost articles show up? The kennel outside of MK. wanna see what it looks like? Check out the bottom of this post.

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=37795689&postcount=1682

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

BEVERLY!!!

I definitely wouldn’t choose to drink Beverly when other options are available, but if I was thirsty and it was the only thing available, I wouldn’t have a problem drinking it. I really thought the Japan drink was worse. :sick:


Everyone has their own variety of Kryptonite. I now know what to get you for your birthday (deceptively mislabeled of course).

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_XU9x8G7khv0/SiQ3kELWXBI/AAAAAAAAEus/3hcnWOlDt1Y/s400/Vegitabeta.jpg



DS was just happy that I was letting him drink whatever I was drinking. :rotfl2:

Try him on it again next time you’re down there and see which of you he takes after.



he was interested in Mickey and gave him a 5 and interacted a bit. Pluto came over to join in the fun, however, and was denied. Poor Pluto.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7006/6754872943_b72d24849f_z.jpg



Nice… for a freebie, you got a good image.



It’s a Small Mexico!!!


:lmao:



Our next stop was Maelstrom in Norway. We enjoyed the ride, but walked through the theater after we left the boat.


Good Decision



We never caught that story time, but the story tellers came through on their way backstage. They were chatting with everyone as they passed by and I was blown away with how well they were improvising and staying in character on their way out. It was just a little bit extra Disney magic to be able to enjoy.


I really liked the various holiday story tellers. They all do an excellent job and you get a little glimpse into how life is lived beyond Madison Ave.



We walked out the door and I had just found a place to sit down when all of a sudden, DS starts yelling. “Shoe! Shoe!”…

…it turned out there was a CM walking around carrying a shoe, looking for the prince who lost it. She quickly found us and returned the shoe and spent some time talking to DS. He loved the attention. It was another great CM interaction for us.


Cool…
It is generally true that the phrase “Disney Magic” is abbreviated as “CM”



DW came out, and I gave her my FP and told her to ride again.


A) Don’t care that much for Sorin’
B) Wanted to do something nice for DW
C) Was just having too much fun with DS
D) All of the above



Excellent Update

[amandaw]

That's great that DS warmed up to Mickey at least a little bit! But, poor Pluto! No love! :laughing: That's a great picture of y'all. We have yet to go get our Visa character picture. But, I am determined to do that this year.

I'm so glad they were able to find DS' shoe! And that's so great how quickly they were able to track down a CM walking around with a shoe. Disney continues to amaze me!

[glennbo123]

I can't believe that you did not succomb to Beverly's power to disgust! :sick:

That's a nice family picture you got with Mickey and Pluto. I've never been in that part of the park at the right time to take advantage of that.

[CandleontheWater]

I can't believe you liked Beverly. Granted its probably not the most vile thing in the whole world, but I'd never choose it drink it.

I do however take great glee in making DH drink it every time we go. He always forgets which is "the gross one", so I always helpfully point him toward Beverly since "thats the one that tastes like watermelon". He falls for it every time! :rotfl:

I've got to try that Via Napoli pizza one of these days. I bet it would be a great lunch ADR! :thumbsup2

The pic of you guys at the character spot is very cute. Too bad DS didn't show Pluto more love, but at least he got in some face time with the big cheese.

[afwdwfan]

Hey, you'd be ecstatic to be out of your stroller too if those "big" people made you stay in it all the time. :lmao::lmao::lmao:
Poor kid. We're so cruel to keep him confined to his stroller.:lmao:

Okay, now back to read your latest update (I am determined to get caught up BEFORE I leave in two days).
Don't you have more important things to be doing 2 days before you leave? :confused3

Great update. I love the picture with Mickey and Pluto (Pluto is one of my favorites).
Thanks! It's funny, Pluto is the second character that DS learned. He has a sippy cup with Mickey and Pluto on it and he always points them out. He just really didn't seem to care for either of the dog characters live and in person.

DS looks quite pleased with that Mickey bar.
The kid loves his ice cream. I wouldn't know where he gets that from.:rolleyes1

Obviously, your wife is the smarter one of the family as she realized how awful the Beverly is. It must be a man thing...as my DH did not think it was that bad either. :lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao:
:headache: No comment

Now I know what to get you for your birthday.... a case of Beverly! :lmao:
Hmm... according to the DDC birthday list, yours is the day before mine. Why don't you just keep it and we'll call it even? :thumbsup2

Did you trick her into drinking it?
No, I just filled a cup and handed it to her. She tricked herself into drinking it.:lmao:

Great pic! :thumbsup2<-- thumb
Thanks! :thumbsup2

:rolleyes1 Es un mundo de la risa, un mundo de rasgones :rolleyes1
Thankfully, the Spanish version doesn't drive me to the verge of insanity.

We had a shoe incident at MK once... guess where lost articles show up? The kennel outside of MK. wanna see what it looks like? Check out the bottom of this post.

I wonder how many lost crocs turn up in the parks on a given day? :confused3 :lmao:

[afwdwfan]

Everyone has their own variety of Kryptonite. I now know what to get you for your birthday (deceptively mislabeled of course).
Thanks, DS will appreciate it. He seemed to love that stuff. :thumbsup2 :lmao:

Try him on it again next time you’re down there and see which of you he takes after.
That kid will drink/eat anything.

Unless he's just in "one of those moods" :sad2:

Nice… for a freebie, you got a good image.
Actually, that one was from DW's camera. I didn't have the flash drive with our Photopass pictures when I uploaded them for the update. :rolleyes1

I really liked the various holiday story tellers. They all do an excellent job and you get a little glimpse into how life is lived beyond Madison Ave.
Having read about them in your TR, I wanted to try to catch a few of them. It always turned out that we'd walk up in the middle or as they were finishing though. I don't think we ever caught one in its entirety. They were definitely interesting though.

Cool…
It is generally true that the phrase “Disney Magic” is abbreviated as “CM”
::yes::

A) Don’t care that much for Sorin’
B) Wanted to do something nice for DW
C) Was just having too much fun with DS
D) All of the above
Definitely D. I always have to ride Soarin once when we're there, but I'm usually good after that. If it had multiple destinations like the new Star Tours, I'd probably enjoy it more. I really do enjoy it and the sensation of flying is cool, but I really think it is overrated.:confused3 Definitely not worth waiting an hour for, IMO.

Excellent Update
Thanks

That's great that DS warmed up to Mickey at least a little bit! But, poor Pluto! No love! :laughing: That's a great picture of y'all. We have yet to go get our Visa character picture. But, I am determined to do that this year.
He just never really came around to Pluto and Goofy the whole time. I don't know what it is, just something about the big dogs, I guess.:lmao: It is definitely worth going to get the picture. It's nice to have something free from Disney World, for once.:lmao:

I'm so glad they were able to find DS' shoe! And that's so great how quickly they were able to track down a CM walking around with a shoe. Disney continues to amaze me!
Yes, they were great. I was a bit frustrated when the guy I talked to seemed to have no interest in helping me, but thankfully, DW had better luck. :thumbsup2

[afwdwfan]

I can't believe that you did not succomb to Beverly's power to disgust! :sick:
:confused3 I guess I was just expecting it to cause every meal I'd eaten over the past 2 days to make a re-appearance. The reaction just wasn't that strong.:lmao:

That's a nice family picture you got with Mickey and Pluto. I've never been in that part of the park at the right time to take advantage of that.
Thanks! It was definitely worth our time to stop by. We tried to get there sometime in the middle of the time range that it was open and the line wasn't bad at all.

I can't believe you liked Beverly. Granted its probably not the most vile thing in the whole world, but I'd never choose it drink it.
Ok... like is a bit strong. I like Cherry Coke. I can tolerate Beverly. :lmao::rotfl2:

I do however take great glee in making DH drink it every time we go. He always forgets which is "the gross one", so I always helpfully point him toward Beverly since "thats the one that tastes like watermelon". He falls for it every time! :rotfl:
That is just cruel... I like it! :thumbsup2 :rotfl2:

I've got to try that Via Napoli pizza one of these days. I bet it would be a great lunch ADR! :thumbsup2
It is definitely a great place to get lunch. I've got a feeling it will be a recurring lunch ADR for us in future trips. It's Table Service that had fast service, great food and is actually somewhat reasonably priced. We thoroughly enjoyed it.

The pic of you guys at the character spot is very cute. Too bad DS didn't show Pluto more love, but at least he got in some face time with the big cheese.
Thanks. It was a lot of fun to see him warm up to Mickey and Donald over the course of the week. As much as he seems to like Pluto, it's just a shame he wouldn't pose and interact with him in person.

[Captain_Oblivious]

I finally reached the dispenser labeled “Beverly” and I gave myself a little pep talk in my head. I was ready for it. I put the cup to my lips. I took a sip… I… I... hmm… Did I get the right thing? Let’s try it again. I filled the cup back up, yes, this one is definitely from the Beverly dispenser and it tastes the same. I guess the nastiness of it was so overhyped that my expectations weren’t met. :confused3

I remember that it took a second or two for the nasty aftertaste to hit me. But I think I took a second sip because the first one didn't seem to hit me that bad. Then after the second one I thought, "Ok, it is pretty gross."

In any event, if we ever travel together, you can be the guinea pig. :thumbsup2

DW on the other hand thought Beverly was the most disgusting thing she had ever tasted.

No pictures?

DS was just happy that I was letting him drink whatever I was drinking. :rotfl2:

Hey, what's in this flask?

It’s a Small Mexico!!!

:eek::scared1:

Our next stop was Maelstrom in Norway. We enjoyed the ride,

Really? But Soarin' is overrated? :confused3

They were chatting with everyone as they passed by and I was blown away with how well they were improvising and staying in character on their way out. It was just a little bit extra Disney magic to be able to enjoy.

That is impressive. I've always been amazed by actors with good improv skills.

Uh, oh. :headache: We lost a shoe. I tried to retrace my steps and we even went back into the store to look around the area where he started getting antsy. We couldn’t find it anywhere. I found a CM and asked him if there was a lost and found in the store and he told me I’d have to check with Guest Relations in an hour or 2. At the same time, DW was checking with another CM. After a quick call, it turned out there was a CM walking around carrying a shoe, looking for the prince who lost it.

Thank goodness. Plus, you were saved from having to buy him $80 flip-flops.

DW came out, and I gave her my FP and told her to ride again. DS and I just hung out and enjoyed our snacks.

:goodvibes Way to earn extra brownie points with DW!

[afwdwfan]

I remember that it took a second or two for the nasty aftertaste to hit me. But I think I took a second sip because the first one didn't seem to hit me that bad. Then after the second one I thought, "Ok, it is pretty gross."
I really never noticed an aftertaste, but I didn't spend a lot of time savoring it. I drank it and was on to the next drink.

In any event, if we ever travel together, you can be the guinea pig. :thumbsup2
The tradtional Sambuca shots that my friends dad always brings out at football tailgate parties makes any non-alcoholic drink go down a lot easier.:lmao:

No pictures?
She had the camera and I was on cup duty. :confused3

Hey, what's in this flask?
Nothing. It isn't nap time yet. :rolleyes1

Really? But Soarin' is overrated? :confused3
Ok, Soarin is fun and the technology is impressive. Like I said, I always make a point to ride it once, but it just isn't that re-rideable.:confused3
It isn't like we rode Maelstrom multiple times. I'd probably jump in line for a 5 - 10 minute wait there before I'd wait 60 - 75 min for Soarin' though.

That is impressive. I've always been amazed by actors with good improv skills.
It was quite impressive. They were even going out of their way to start conversations with people as they passed.

Thank goodness. Plus, you were saved from having to buy him $80 flip-flops.
We actually bought him those crocs when we were at St. Pete. My first thought was we spent $20 on shoes that he wore twice and were about to go deeper in the hole oh shoe purchases. :headache:

:goodvibes Way to earn extra brownie points with DW!
It's the least I could do. She was letting me use her fastpass allotments to get extra turns on fun rides like Tower of Terror!:thumbsup2

[FreezinRafiki]

BEVERLY!!!
I'm getting thirsty already!


I took a sip… I… I... hmm… Did I get the right thing? Let’s try it again. I filled the cup back up, yes, this one is definitely from the Beverly dispenser and it tastes the same. I guess the nastiness of it was so overhyped that my expectations weren’t met.
Must be all that fertilizer you've inhaled over the years. It's messed with your taste receptors.


DW on the other hand thought Beverly was the most disgusting thing she had ever tasted.

Be careful giving that to a pregnant woman. I think there's an FDA warning or something.


DS was just happy that I was letting him drink whatever I was drinking.
Does he have a little plastic helmet with beer holders too?



Having experienced the wonders of Beverly, we decided to head back over to take our complementary Visa picture. We didn’t know who we’d get to see, but they pulled back the curtain and we were greeted by the main cheese and his pet dog.
Nice picture!



It’s a Small Mexico!!!
But with out a drug lord doll cutting the head off a chief of police doll.
That's over at Universal...

We enjoyed the ride, but walked through the theater after we left the boat.
Are you supposed to stop? :confused3


After a quick call, it turned out there was a CM walking around carrying a shoe, looking for the prince who lost it. She quickly found us and returned the shoe and spent some time talking to DS. He loved the attention. It was another great CM interaction for us.
Cool!

We then headed to Sunshine Seasons and got some grapes, apple sauce and chocolate milk. DW came out, and I gave her my FP and told her to ride again. DS and I just hung out and enjoyed our snacks.
Hmm...tough choice - Soarin' or hangin' with the little guy. I'm just glad mine are tall enough to ride, thus, two birds with one stone. :thumbsup2

DW came back and said she was hungry. She looked at the menus for Sunshine Seasons, but didn’t see anything she wanted to eat. We decided instead to cross the park once again and grab some food in Mexico.[/COLOR]
We're big fans of Sunshine Seasons. But then again, the general rule of thumb is eat where the pregnant one wants to eat.

[afwdwfan]

I'm getting thirsty already!
:thumbsup2 I was up for the challenge to outdrink you, but I forgot what the number was and I wasn't about to explain to DW why I wanted pictures of me drinking Beverly. :rolleyes1 :lmao:


Must be all that fertilizer you've inhaled over the years. It's messed with your taste receptors.
:confused3

Be careful giving that to a pregnant woman. I think there's an FDA warning or something.
Hmm... never considered that. :scared1:

Does he have a little plastic helmet with beer holders too?
No. It holds chocolate milk.


Nice picture!
Thanks

But with out a drug lord doll cutting the head off a chief of police doll.
That's over at Universal...
:lmao::rotfl2::rotfl::lmao::rotfl2::rotfl:

Are you supposed to stop? :confused3
Only if you can't outrun the closing doors.

Hmm...tough choice - Soarin' or hangin' with the little guy. I'm just glad mine are tall enough to ride, thus, two birds with one stone. :thumbsup2
That works too. I guess I could have gone to the entrance with him and started screaming at the CM that they should let him ride anyway because the rules don't apply to me. Not that I've ever seen a parent do that at Disney World or anything.:sad2:

We're big fans of Sunshine Seasons. But then again, the general rule of thumb is eat where the pregnant one wants to eat.
It looks good. It has been several years since I've actually had a meal there. I do like the fresh fruit and snack options though.

[petals]

great update. I haven't experienced the joy of Beverly yet!

[PirateKate]

I'm finally here! Good old page 15!! :rotfl:

Landon looks like he's having a fun time so far. I'm glad you were able to find his shoe that quickly. It's much harder if it goes to Guest Relations or the Lost and Found Center.

Imagine how nasty Beverly would taste if you hadn't heard the stories on here and took a big drink expecting a pleasant flavor.:laughing:

[afwdwfan]

A little bit off-topic, but yesterday was Landon's second birthday. We had a little party for him last night and for the main event, right before he started opening his presents he told everyone that he's going to have a "sheeshter" or as the Landon to English interpretation goes, sister.princess:




great update. I haven't experienced the joy of Beverly yet!
I'd hardly call it the "joy" of Beverly. :lmao::rotfl2:

I'm finally here! Good old page 15!! :rotfl:
Welcome!!! I'm glad you made it. We get to try one of your suggestions in the next update. :rolleyes1

Landon looks like he's having a fun time so far. I'm glad you were able to find his shoe that quickly. It's much harder if it goes to Guest Relations or the Lost and Found Center.
He really had a good time. It was a lot of fun to experience everything seeing his excitement. I'm ready to go back and do it again.:lmao:

I'm really glad we didn't have to go through the whole process of getting it back like you did with your stuffed animal. I think we probably would have just bought some Mickey Crocs and let it go...:rolleyes1

Imagine how nasty Beverly would taste if you hadn't heard the stories on here and took a big drink expecting a pleasant flavor.:laughing:
:confused3 I guess I'll never know. :rotfl2:

[FreezinRafiki]

A little bit off-topic, but yesterday was Landon's second birthday. We had a little party for him last night and for the main event, right before he started opening his presents he told everyone that he's going to have a "sheeshter" or as the Landon to English interpretation goes, sister.princess:


Happy Belated Birthday Landon!

I thought there were strategic legs and hands in the way at the ultrasound? Did you have another one or am I thinking of someone else?

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

A little bit off-topic, but yesterday was Landon's second birthday. We had a little party for him last night and for the main event, right before he started opening his presents he told everyone that he's going to have a "sheeshter" or as the Landon to English interpretation goes, sister.princess:



HBD to Landon!!


"sheeshter" :lmao:

That… is priceless. Sounds like baby sis may already have a potential nickname.


I have an “Uncle Bo”, because at the time he was born, my Momma couldn't say “boy”. His given name is Howard, but I’ve never heard it said out loud by him or any one else. It's just: “Bo”.

[Captain_Oblivious]

A little bit off-topic, but yesterday was Landon's second birthday. We had a little party for him last night and for the main event, right before he started opening his presents he told everyone that he's going to have a "sheeshter" or as the Landon to English interpretation goes, sister.princess:

Happy birthday Landon! :woohoo:

And congrats on the new shyster. Sheeshter. Sister!

So...you have a sister...Obi-wan was wise to hide her. :darth:

[afwdwfan]

Happy Belated Birthday Landon!

I thought there were strategic legs and hands in the way at the ultrasound? Did you have another one or am I thinking of someone else?
Yes, that was us.

One of the Ultrasound techs does free ultrasounds just for sex checks on a first come, first serve basis on Wednesday afternoons if her schedule isn't full. She was able to do 2 last week and we got one of them.:thumbsup2

HBD to Landon!!


"sheeshter" :lmao:

That… is priceless. Sounds like baby sis may already have a potential nickname.


I have an “Uncle Bo”, because at the time he was born, my Momma couldn't say “boy”. His given name is Howard, but I’ve never heard it said out loud by him or any one else. It's just: “Bo”.
He actually is getting good at enunciation of most words. This one is a bit different though. MiL has been a pain in the beverly about trying to trick DW into telling her what we were having all week. She was going to be watching DS yesterday, so we had to do a last second cram session before the party to learn the word and to know to use it to answer the question "Are you having a brother or a sister?"

Happy birthday Landon! :woohoo:

And congrats on the new shyster. Sheeshter. Sister!

So...you have a sister...Obi-wan was wise to hide her. :darth:
So, what are you trying to say about me??? :confused3

:lmao::rotfl2::rotfl:

[amandaw]

A little bit off-topic, but yesterday was Landon's second birthday. We had a little party for him last night and for the main event, right before he started opening his presents he told everyone that he's going to have a "sheeshter" or as the Landon to English interpretation goes, sister.princess:


:bday:party: Happy Birthday Landon!!!

And a big congrats on the baby sheeshter! :goodvibes

[afwdwfan]

Houston, we need a clean up.

We stopped along the way to Mexico to get a few Photopass pictures. We got a few taken with a photographer in front of a Christmas themed topiary… unfortunately they were lost to some kind of a Photopass black hole. The ones we didn’t lose weren’t bad though.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7148/6767100815_43a90bbcce_z.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7001/6767101669_e1a3875bea_z.jpg

We got to La Cantina and since the sun went down, it had started to get cold… especially near the water. We hurried up to finish eating and then walked toward Test Track to use my FP’s from earlier. Unfortunately, these FP’s would go unused. TT was experiencing some technical difficulties and would be shut down for the evening. I guess that means it is time to experience another “first” on our day in EPCOT.

I decided to check the line for Mission Space. The wait was listed as 5 minutes for green and 10 minutes for orange. I had to pause at the entrance. I’ve always wanted to try orange, but as much as I enjoy roller coasters and other thrill rides, motion simulator type rides tend to make me a little bit motion sick. I debated it back and forth, and finally decided that since I wasn’t riding with anybody else, this was going to finally be my opportunity to ride orange. I was going to ride it and I was just not going to allow myself to get sick.

I walked in the building, and there was a crew in need of an engineer. Since I was a single rider, the CM sent me to join them. Apparently being an engineer doesn’t require much training.:confused3 When the doors opened, CMs came out and said that it was going to be a couple of minutes and that they couldn’t let anyone go in yet. As much as I’d been trying to mentally prepare myself, this was the last thing I needed. The first thought that crossed my mind was I hope they didn’t puke in the simulator I’m getting ready to get into. The second thought that crossed my mind was I hope they restock the barf bags. I’m not sure which of those 2 points is truly more important.

They finally let us in and I did just fine on the ride. I loved the sensation of gravity at take off, and honestly, I don’t think orange was any worse from a motion sickness perspective than green. When I ride green, I’m always ready for the ride to be over by the time we land and it was no different for orange. I’m glad I gave orange a chance and finally experienced it for the first time.

I met DW and DS at the exit shop and found out they’d had some excitement of their own while I was in hypersleep. On the stroller ride from Test Track, DS was playing with his light up Mickey toy. He dropped it, DW ran over it, and the sorcerer hat part that lights up and spins broke off. She found a CM selling them and went to buy another one for DS. When he saw the broken one, he asked where she bought it and if she had a receipt. She told him we bought it at a cart in MK, and didn’t have a receipt. He said that was ok and traded a new one for our broken one anyway.

We honestly didn’t plan to be in the park this late today. We were having a good time, and enjoying a much better day than yesterday, so we didn’t feel compelled to leave, especially since DS had napped well in his stroller this afternoon. By this point we had done a lot in the park and were ready to leave, but it was dark and Illuminations would be starting in a couple of hours. We decided to stick it out and stay for the show. We weren’t going to sit outside and wait for it though… it was COLD.

We headed to Mexico to help the other 2 caballeros look for Duck and get warmed up for a little bit. We decided we’d just walk around the World Showcase to see the sights and stop in the various shops to keep warmed up unti it was time for Illuminations. DW grabbed a warm tea in China and we stopped in Germany for a Chewy Caramel Bar, made famous by PirateKate’s TRs. Fortunately there were plenty in stock when we arrived. Let me just say that I’m not a big caramel fan. I enjoy it and won’t hesitate to eat it, but it just isn’t typically one of my favorite snacks when other options are available. We got some chocolate caramel brownie or cake thing too, but the Chewy Caramel Bar was better and it definitely lived up to the hype.:thumbsup2

We moved on and arrived at the US Pavilion while the Candellight Processional was underway. Our stroller passenger was soundly sleeping, so we stood and watched it for 15 or 20 minutes before we decided it was too cold to just stand around.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7166/6767104777_1a3f52b70a_z.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7019/6767103023_c66a65e65f_z.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7027/6767105879_48fcd48c04_z.jpg

We looked in a few stores, unsuccessfully, for a hat and gloves for DS. I quickly realized we should have done this BEFORE we passed Norway.:headache: We took advantage of the light inside one of the stores to get a picture of DS sleeping despite being full of sugar.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7022/6767107271_c9550fe53f_z.jpg

Disclaimer: Before I get to the next part, I personally, am completely in favor of drinking around the world. I have no problem with it and would love to do it myself sometime. That said, if you plan on drinking that much alcohol, be respectful enough to ensure that you can handle it without acting like a complete moron who is incapable of walking and breathing at the same time. Thank you!:thumbsup2

We got over to the UK pavilion and encountered a group of guys probably in their 40’s, but acting less than half their age. I was outside the restrooms waiting for DW when 2 of them walked past me. One of them was carrying a full beer as he passed me… until he dropped it… and then kicked it as it was falling with his next step.:sad2:

Thankfully, the stroller was just outside the splash zone. Sadly, my leg was not.:headache: DW came out to take the stroller and I headed into the restroom. I got inside to find 3 other guys, who appeared to be with the 2 I’d already encountered. They were using empty beer cups to have a water fight at the sinks…

Yeah, they were that cool. :cool2: :rolleyes1

One of them, after being soaked, ran outside yelling and screaming obscenities. DW about came unglued. DS was sleeping soundly and started to wake up with the activity going on around him. Needless to say, we didn’t spend much time exploring the UK pavilion.

We continued our trip around the world and ended up in the area along the lagoon between the gift shops to secure a spot for Illuminations. It was really a cool evening and there wasn’t much of a crowd. We walked up about 10 minutes before showtime and got a great spot.

We put the earmuffs on DS and made sure he had a blanket pulled up around him snugly as well. He managed to stay asleep through all the fire and explosions.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7167/6767108319_a9523ab332_z.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7004/6767109079_6af1019223_z.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7018/6767110139_43365d5556_z.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7164/6767103679_5d537671e7_z.jpg

Illuminations ended, and we headed out of the park in front of most of the crowd. We were quickly in the truck and back to our room at WL. We laid DS in his bed and I cleaned churro crumbs out of the stroller and got our park gear ready for the next day.

All in all, this was a fantastic day. We got to try several things we’d never done before. We got some good Photopass pictures and had some great interactions with CMs. The positives from today definitely made up for some of the less than magical experiences during our MVMCP evening. Our experience in EPCOT left us feeling a little bit more confident about touring the parks with a toddler and really made us look forward to our plans for tomorrow.

[petals]

great update. Love the pic in front of the tree and yay for pixie dust on the light up toys!

[My sister's princess]

Great update!

I hate seeing people acting stupid in Epcot, but it seems to be something unavoidable. I don't want them to stop selling their tasty drinks, but those same tasty drinks cause grown men (sorry it always seems to be guys) to become idiots!

Glad you got to enjoy the fireworks!

[amandaw]

:woohoo: for a fabulous Disney Day!

Those are some great family photopass pictures! And that's awesome about finding another great CM....that was so sweet to replace DS' broken toy.

As for the guys in UK....:sad2:

[that's nice]

A little bit off-topic, but yesterday was Landon's second birthday. We had a little party for him last night and for the main event, right before he started opening his presents he told everyone that he's going to have a "sheeshter" or as the Landon to English interpretation goes, sister.princess:

:woohoo::woohoo: Happy Birthday LANDON!!!! :woohoo::woohoo:

Congratulations on the baby girl!!!! princess:



[COLOR="Green"]Houston, we need a clean up.
[QUOTE]Unfortunately, these FP’s would go unused. TT was experiencing some technical difficulties and would be shut down for the evening. I guess that means it is time to experience another “first” on our day in EPCOT.
This ride is almost broken as much as the Yeti. :sad2:


I met DW and DS at the exit shop and found out they’d had some excitement of their own while I was in hypersleep. On the stroller ride from Test Track, DS was playing with his light up Mickey toy. He dropped it, DW ran over it, and the sorcerer hat part that lights up and spins broke off. She found a CM selling them and went to buy another one for DS. When he saw the broken one, he asked where she bought it and if she had a receipt. She told him we bought it at a cart in MK, and didn’t have a receipt. He said that was ok and traded a new one for our broken one anyway.
Gotta love that! :thumbsup2

We headed to Mexico to help the other 2 caballeros look for Duck and get warmed up for a little bit.
You could of stopped in the cave and got some tequila to help warm you up! LOL

Disclaimer: Before I get to the next part, I personally, am completely in favor of drinking around the world. I have no problem with it and would love to do it myself sometime. That said, if you plan on drinking that much alcohol, be respectful enough to ensure that you can handle it without acting like a complete moron who is incapable of walking and breathing at the same time. Thank you!:thumbsup2
Ummmmm...

We got over to the UK pavilion and encountered a group of guys probably in their 40’s, but acting less than half their age. I was outside the restrooms waiting for DW when 2 of them walked past me. One of them was carrying a full beer as he passed me… until he dropped it… and then kicked it as it was falling with his next step.:sad2:
We usually go in March... during spring break... enough said

Thankfully, the stroller was just outside the splash zone. Sadly, my leg was not.:headache: DW came out to take the stroller and I headed into the restroom. I got inside to find 3 other guys, who appeared to be with the 2 I’d already encountered. They were using empty beer cups to have a water fight at the sinks…
You should of picked one of them up and threw him into the world showcase lagoon.

One of them, after being soaked, ran outside yelling and screaming obscenities. DW about came unglued. DS was sleeping soundly and started to wake up with the activity going on around him. Needless to say, we didn’t spend much time exploring the UK pavilion.
Maybe they were hooligans?

Great update!!! :thumbsup2

[FreezinRafiki]

We stopped along the way to Mexico to get a few Photopass pictures. We got a few taken with a photographer in front of a Christmas themed topiary… unfortunately they were lost to some kind of a Photopass black hole. The ones we didn’t lose weren’t bad though.
Nice pics. We once lost our Photopass card, but were able to go to one of the photo stores (in our case in Epcot). We gave them a time and location of one of the pictures we knew were on the card. They pulled up all of the pictures from that spot for a range of time around it, we looked through them until we found ourselves and he was able to recover all of our pictures onto a new card. :yay:
Of course, this really doesn't help you if you get home and find that the pictures just aren't on the account. :headache:

I was going to ride it and I was just not going to allow myself to get sick.
Mind over Matter! (But a word to the wise, if you start to vomit, it doesn't Matter what your Mind thinks.)


Apparently being an engineer doesn’t require much training.:confused3
I think we already knew that, didn't we?

The second thought that crossed my mind was I hope they restock the barf bags. I’m not sure which of those 2 points is truly more important.
I don't know why they bother with barf bags. There's no way those things have the capacity to hold 2 Mickey Bars, half a bag of caramel corn, a school bread from Norway, a pint of Guinness, an order of fish and chips, 6 pieces of sushi and a bratwurst with extra sauerkraut.
Wait, I think I found my problem. It's that 2nd Mickey Bar that made me sick!


When he saw the broken one, he asked where she bought it and if she had a receipt. She told him we bought it at a cart in MK, and didn’t have a receipt. He said that was ok and traded a new one for our broken one anyway.
CMs are awesome!



We got over to the UK pavilion and encountered a group of guys probably in their 40’s, but acting less than half their age. I was outside the restrooms waiting for DW when 2 of them walked past me. One of them was carrying a full beer as he passed me… until he dropped it… and then kicked it as it was falling with his next step.:sad2:

Thankfully, the stroller was just outside the splash zone. Sadly, my leg was not.:headache: DW came out to take the stroller and I headed into the restroom. I got inside to find 3 other guys, who appeared to be with the 2 I’d already encountered. They were using empty beer cups to have a water fight at the sinks…
Ug. That's all I can say. Ug. (Now anyway. Had I been there and experienced that first hand, especially if my kids were with me, I'm quite sure I would have had much more to say)


He managed to stay asleep through all the fire and explosions.
Oooo, but those are the best parts!


All in all, this was a fantastic day. We got to try several things we’d never done before. We got some good Photopass pictures and had some great interactions with CMs. The positives from today definitely made up for some of the less than magical experiences during our MVMCP evening. Our experience in EPCOT left us feeling a little bit more confident about touring the parks with a toddler and really made us look forward to our plans for tomorrow.[/COLOR]
:yay::yay:

[khertz]

Happy Birthday Landon!! And congrats on the baby sheester! princess:

We encountered a couple of drunkards in the World Showcase ourselves, but nothing as bad as what you did! That's ridiculous that adults can't behave themselves in a Disney park like that. With how expensive drinks are, it's kind of amazing that anyone can even afford to get that drunk in the first place!

The pic of your DS sleeping in the stroller with churros in front of him is priceless!

Glad you got to stay for Illuminations. :thumbsup2 It's great that your DS "allowed" you to stay in the evening for a great show!

[afwdwfan]

:bday:party: Happy Birthday Landon!!!

And a big congrats on the baby sheeshter! :goodvibes
Thanks!

great update. Love the pic in front of the tree and yay for pixie dust on the light up toys!
That picture is one of my favorite photopass pictures we have from the trip.

It was a relief that they replaced the toy. That thing made life a lot easier for us in the evenings. As long as he had it to play with, he was pretty much content.

Great update!

I hate seeing people acting stupid in Epcot, but it seems to be something unavoidable. I don't want them to stop selling their tasty drinks, but those same tasty drinks cause grown men (sorry it always seems to be guys) to become idiots!

Glad you got to enjoy the fireworks!
I completely agree. I love going to EPCOT and trying some new drinks and beers that I would probably never experience otherwise. It is a shame when people can't handle their alcohol and become a nuisance to everyone else though.

We were really glad we got to see Illuminations. We missed it last time we went, so it was something we really wanted to do.

:woohoo: for a fabulous Disney Day!

Those are some great family photopass pictures! And that's awesome about finding another great CM....that was so sweet to replace DS' broken toy.

As for the guys in UK....:sad2:
Thanks!

The CM's we encountered all day in EPCOT seemed to be everything you expect from Disney and more. He didn't have to replace the toy, DW was ready to buy another one, but it was very nice of him to do so.

Unfortunately, the guys in UK aren't exactly a rarity in the World Showcase.:sad2:

[afwdwfan]

Congratulations on the baby girl!!!! princess:
Thanks!


This ride is almost broken as much as the Yeti. :sad2:
Very true. It will be interesting to see if the upcoming refurb improves the reliability.


Gotta love that! :thumbsup2
Yes. A good CM can always make a bad situation better.


You could of stopped in the cave and got some tequila to help warm you up! LOL
Believe me, I considered it. But we drove to the park and DW doesn't like driving my truck. Especially somewhere she isn't familiar with after dark. I figured I'd better not start drinking.:rotfl2:


We usually go in March... during spring break... enough said
:sad2:


You should of picked one of them up and threw him into the world showcase lagoon.
I could have taken them one on one, but I'm not sure about the whole group. :scared1:


Maybe they were hooligans?
If I knew anything about soccer, I'd have started talking some trash.:confused3


Great update!!! :thumbsup2
Thanks!

Nice pics. We once lost our Photopass card, but were able to go to one of the photo stores (in our case in Epcot). We gave them a time and location of one of the pictures we knew were on the card. They pulled up all of the pictures from that spot for a range of time around it, we looked through them until we found ourselves and he was able to recover all of our pictures onto a new card. :yay:
Of course, this really doesn't help you if you get home and find that the pictures just aren't on the account. :headache:
I'm glad you were able to recover yours, but sadly, we didn't discover it until we were home. The pictures we had with Spaceship Earth were actually taken at the same time as the ones we lost. It was 2 PP photographers standing in the same place, back to back. Apparently one of them knows how to properly scan the card.

Mind over Matter! (But a word to the wise, if you start to vomit, it doesn't Matter what your Mind thinks.)
That is a very Rafiki-like statement.:thumbsup2

I think we already knew that, didn't we?
I had my suspicions...

I don't know why they bother with barf bags. There's no way those things have the capacity to hold 2 Mickey Bars, half a bag of caramel corn, a school bread from Norway, a pint of Guinness, an order of fish and chips, 6 pieces of sushi and a bratwurst with extra sauerkraut.
Wait, I think I found my problem. It's that 2nd Mickey Bar that made me sick!
Don't forget the 5 cups of Beverly you drank. :lmao:

CMs are awesome!
This is a true statement... 99.99% of the time. :rolleyes1

Ug. That's all I can say. Ug. (Now anyway. Had I been there and experienced that first hand, especially if my kids were with me, I'm quite sure I would have had much more to say)
I wanted to say more, but they were drunk enough that anything I would have said, likely would have had no little to no effect. That and I was severly outnumbered.:scared1:

Oooo, but those are the best parts!
Very true, but when the kid is asleep in the stroller after 9pm, it is always best that they remain in that state. :rotfl2:

Happy Birthday Landon!! And congrats on the baby sheester! princess:
Thanks

We encountered a couple of drunkards in the World Showcase ourselves, but nothing as bad as what you did! That's ridiculous that adults can't behave themselves in a Disney park like that. With how expensive drinks are, it's kind of amazing that anyone can even afford to get that drunk in the first place!
That's the first thing that crossed my mind too... They must have spent a LOT of money. Unless they snuck something in or got a really good start outside the parks.

The pic of your DS sleeping in the stroller with churros in front of him is priceless!
We thought it was kind of funny. The picture is a little bit blurry, but he was absolutely covered in crumbs.:lmao:

Glad you got to stay for Illuminations. :thumbsup2 It's great that your DS "allowed" you to stay in the evening for a great show!
We were glad we got to see it. It was a bit cool, but the fire barge felt great! :lmao: I'm really glad he stayed asleep through the show.

[FreezinRafiki]

That is a very Rafiki-like statement.:thumbsup2

Thanks. When my son is born, I plan on smearing some dried fruit powder across his head and whispering "Ryder"

No, I have not cleared this with Bambi yet.


I wanted to say more, but they were drunk enough that anything I would have said, likely would have had no little to no effect. That and I was severly outnumbered.:scared1:
Or as Ron White says, "I know know how many of them it would take to kick my a$$, but I know how many they were going to use"


Very true, but when the kid is asleep in the stroller after 9pm, it is always best that they remain in that state. :rotfl2:
::yes::

[afwdwfan]

Thanks. When my son is born, I plan on smearing some dried fruit powder across his head and whispering "Ryder"

No, I have not cleared this with Bambi yet.
You have to get a savanna view room at AKL and do this on the balcony overlooking the animals.

Just make sure you hide your Rafiki stick when you do this. I'd hate to see how much damage she'd do to you with that thing.:scared1:

Or as Ron White says, "I know know how many of them it would take to kick my a$$, but I know how many they were going to use"

::yes::

[FreezinRafiki]

Just make sure you hide your Rafiki stick when you do this. I'd hate to see how much damage she'd do to you with that thing.:scared1:

How interesting that you mention this mere minutes after I read on the Disney Parks Blog (http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2012/01/guests-hold-the-power-with-sorcerers-of-the-magic-kingdom-cards/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+DisneyParks+%28Disney+Parks+B log%29) about the new "Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom" game and some details about the cards available in the game. It listed several cards, inlcuding

Rafiki’s Wisdom Stick – This card shows Simba’s counselor ready to imbue some knowledge on the enemy’s forehead.

http://parksandresorts.wdpromedia.com/media/disneyparks/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/smk440211LARGE.jpg


I think you're on to something Andy!

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

Looks like I’m arriving incredibly late to this party. All the good (bad) jokes have pretty much been taken (and by far better writers then I, to be sure), and I ain’t feeling all that nemesis-ie at the moment so you might as well just ignore this post.


That however…


http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7148/6767100815_43a90bbcce_z.jpg


Is a nice picture!


Unfortunately, these FP’s would go unused.


Say it ain’t so Joe


I’ve always wanted to try orange…

First road when there was no difference… never ridden the Green side


I was going to ride it and I was just not going to allow myself to get sick.

Famous last words?


CMs came out and said that it was going to be a couple of minutes and that they couldn’t let anyone go in yet.

That sentence takes me back to a memory I relayed in one chapter of my first attempt at TRs (it had the words “Protein Spills” in the title somewhere I do believe).


They finally let us in and I did just fine on the ride. I loved the sensation of gravity at take off, and honestly, I don’t think orange was any worse from a motion sickness perspective than green.

Glad you enjoyed… this is interesting to hear. My favorite part it the force of speed. If that’s the only real difference, then there are a lot of folks riding the green side that would likely do just as well on the orange. As for those folks who don’t do well in any “dynamically aggressive” simulator, they ought to skip this one totally.


…He said that was ok and traded a new one for our broken one anyway.
More magic. Somehow I’m not surprised.
Ya’ gotta’ love disney


Yeah, they were that cool. :cool2: :rolleyes1


Wow… just wow. Hate that y’all encounter that nonsense.
I’ll let it stand at that.


http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7004/6767109079_6af1019223_z.jpg



Oooooooo


http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7018/6767110139_43365d5556_z.jpg



Aaaaaaaaaaa



http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7164/6767103679_5d537671e7_z.jpg


Perrrrrrrrrty!



Our experience in EPCOT left us feeling a little bit more confident about touring the parks with a toddler and really made us look forward to our plans for tomorrow.


Most Excellent!

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

Rafiki’s Wisdom Stick – This card shows Simba’s counselor ready to imbue some knowledge on the enemy’s forehead.




This explains Barry’s the new avatar. I like it.




I’m not certain that you can rationally combine the words “Barry” and “Wisdom’, but…

I like it (in an oxymoronic way).

[Captain_Oblivious]

We stopped along the way to Mexico to get a few Photopass pictures. We got a few taken with a photographer in front of a Christmas themed topiary… unfortunately they were lost to some kind of a Photopass black hole.

The PP people must have looked at the pictures and seen nothing but people's elbows and shoulders, so they trashed them. :confused3

Unfortunately, these FP’s would go unused. TT was experiencing some technical difficulties and would be shut down for the evening. I guess that means it is time to experience another “first” on our day in EPCOT.

:sad1:

I was going to ride it and I was just not going to allow myself to get sick.

How do you accomplish that? A Zen-like Buddha pose?

I walked in the building, and there was a crew in need of an engineer. Since I was a single rider, the CM sent me to join them. Apparently being an engineer doesn’t require much training.:confused3

:sad2:

I wish I'd known that before I spent all that money on college.

When he saw the broken one, he asked where she bought it and if she had a receipt. She told him we bought it at a cart in MK, and didn’t have a receipt. He said that was ok and traded a new one for our broken one anyway.

Gotta love awesome CM's!

We weren’t going to sit outside and wait for it though… it was COLD.

Indiana guy complaining about the cold in Florida. :sad2:

Thankfully, the stroller was just outside the splash zone. Sadly, my leg was not.:headache: DW came out to take the stroller and I headed into the restroom. I got inside to find 3 other guys, who appeared to be with the 2 I’d already encountered. They were using empty beer cups to have a water fight at the sinks…

Don't you wish you were that cool? And owned the parks so you could act however you wanted? :headache:

One of them, after being soaked, ran outside yelling and screaming obscenities. DW about came unglued. DS was sleeping soundly and started to wake up with the activity going on around him. Needless to say, we didn’t spend much time exploring the UK pavilion.

Have a magical day! :thumbsup2:thumbsup2

We put the earmuffs on DS and made sure he had a blanket pulled up around him snugly as well. He managed to stay asleep through all the fire and explosions.

Why would you want to do that?

[afwdwfan]

Rafiki’s Wisdom Stick – This card shows Simba’s counselor ready to imbue some knowledge on the enemy’s forehead.

Cool card. It makes for a nice new avatar. :thumbsup2


That however…



Is a nice picture!
Thanks

First road when there was no difference… never ridden the Green side
I've only ridden green before. One of my sisters wanted to try orange, but everybody else wanted to do green so we all went that way. I'm glad I got a chance to try orange this time. I'll probably do it in the future.

Famous last words?
I certainly hope not! :scared1:

That sentence takes me back to a memory I relayed in one chapter of my first attempt at TRs (it had the words “Protein Spills” in the title somewhere I do believe).
Protein spills are never a good thing.

Glad you enjoyed… this is interesting to hear. My favorite part it the force of speed. If that’s the only real difference, then there are a lot of folks riding the green side that would likely do just as well on the orange. As for those folks who don’t do well in any “dynamically aggressive” simulator, they ought to skip this one totally.
I have to agree. It really doesn't make any difference from the motion sickness side of things. It just feels more intense with the gravity. Although, I'd been told that many times before I tried orange myself, but I failed to believe it until I found out first hand.:rotfl2:

More magic. Somehow I’m not surprised.
Ya’ gotta’ love disney
::yes::

Wow… just wow. Hate that y’all encounter that nonsense.
I’ll let it stand at that.
It was one of those "not a thumb" moments. :thumbsup2

Most Excellent!
Thanks!

I’m not certain that you can rationally combine the words “Barry” and “Wisdom’, but…

I like it (in an oxymoronic way).
:lmao::rotfl2::rotfl:

The PP people must have looked at the pictures and seen nothing but people's elbows and shoulders, so they trashed them. :confused3
:confused3 You mean they actually check things for quality???? :scared1: That's unheard of! :eek: :rolleyes1

How do you accomplish that? A Zen-like Buddha pose?
I'm not really sure. I guess whatever I did worked though.:lmao:

:sad2:

I wish I'd known that before I spent all that money on college.
Yeah... you could have just gone to EPCOT.

Gotta love awesome CM's!
::yes::

Indiana guy complaining about the cold in Florida. :sad2:
Truthfully, I was in shorts and a fleece jacket... and I wasn't really uncomfortable. I just remember how cold it was because I kept hearing about it. :rolleyes1

Don't you wish you were that cool? And owned the parks so you could act however you wanted? :headache:
Actually, yes! :rotfl:

Have a magical day! :thumbsup2:thumbsup2
:rotfl2:

Why would you want to do that?
Well, I wouldn't. But I'm not one to want a sleeping toddler to wake back up after 9 pm, because that makes for a very long night.

[CandleontheWater]

I'm glad you got the chance to try out M:S orange. It really isn't all that bad, I think people make too much of the thrill factor. I don't think its any worse than the backwards part of EE.

It sounds like you guys had a great night, minus the drunk guys. Glad you got to watch Illuminations, and the Landon kept snoozing away!

[afwdwfan]

I'm glad you got the chance to try out M:S orange. It really isn't all that bad, I think people make too much of the thrill factor. I don't think its any worse than the backwards part of EE.
EE is pretty mild, IMO... green effects me more than it does. But orange really isn't any worse than green. Now I know I can ride it and I enjoyed it. I'll definitely have to do it again.

It sounds like you guys had a great night, minus the drunk guys. Glad you got to watch Illuminations, and the Landon kept snoozing away!
It was a great evening. It would have been nice to explore the UK pavillion a bit more, but there will be other times. :thumbsup2

[afwdwfan]

A Half Day Park

We woke up Thursday morning and prepared for our day in Animal Kingdom. We had scheduled a breakfast ADR for 8:15 at Tusker House, but after Chef Mickeys, we decided to cancel our other character breakfasts. Breakfast this morning would be cereal and a bounty platter from Roaring Forks that we’d all share.

We drove over to AK and discovered something shocking. We were there before the park opened! They let us in and we were waiting with the crowd in the Oasis area. DW and I had talked about the safari since it has an expectant mother warning on it, and decided not to take a chance. Since we wouldn’t be riding it, I handed the stroller off and headed for the Himalayas as soon as they dropped the rope.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7029/6801672805_4be85ba944_z.jpg

I made it there quickly and was on the second train of the day for Expedition Everest. I really wish I could have jumped back in the line, but I didn’t want to keep DW and DS waiting. We headed on around the bend to Dino Land. We took a ride on Prehistoric Dumbo and DW wanted to walk through some gift shops. I thought about riding Dinosaur, but passed on it. I kind of regret that. I really think it is a fun ride.

We continued on around and came to the character meet area with Pooh, Eeyore and Tigger. There wasn’t any line, so we stopped for a quick visit. DS liked Pooh, but was kind of indifferent about Eeyore and Tigger.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7022/6801687417_79ce0daf1c_z.jpg

We headed over to the Maharajah Jungle Trek and saw some neat sights.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7172/6801674617_a91468ee8e_z.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7164/6801675903_9abeb62df2_z.jpg

DS really liked the birds. There was a big one standing on the fence right on the edge of the path. He was probably eye level with DS in his stroller and they seemed to be pretty interested in checking each other out.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7028/6801677169_5d2c636a47_z.jpg

We headed out and walked by the drums. Of course we had to stop and let DS try to play them. He kept hitting them, but would hit on the edge so that he was hitting the wood part instead of the middle and then get this frown on his face and look at his hand… then he’d do it again.:lmao::rotfl2:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7155/6801806387_b1db5df3f7_z.jpg

We headed around to catch the train to Rafiki’s Planet Watch. We hadn’t ever been there before, so it was interesting to see, but we didn’t spend much time there. It will probably be someplace we could spend quite a bit of time once DS is a little older though. We did find a cricket hopping around while we were there.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7156/6801678505_2a5b32987c_z.jpg

We got on the train to head back to Africa. When we got there, we saw some guys standing next to the water fountains that spray water from pillars that are… well, they’re approximately crotch height. They were posing for some fun pictures. I was laughing too hard to even think about getting pictures.

I headed over to the stroller corral to grab our stroller and knocked an umbrella stroller over. I never saw these people, so I'm not sure if they actually had any children with them , but this stroller had probably 3 or 4 Wal-Mart bags full of who knows what sitting in the seat, and just as many hanging on the handles. I brushed against it and it fell over backwards. I picked it up and delicately balanced it and got the heck out of there. :lmao::rotfl:

We headed on back past to the Pangani Forest Trail. We got to see some more animals.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7017/6801680065_12f5d8175b_z.jpg

It is my understanding that there was a baby gorilla out there somewhere. We got to the observation area and couldn’t even get anywhere near the glass. We stood and waited… and waited… and waited. I think I saw a few tents and campfires up there on the front row. We finally realized that we just weren’t going to be seeing whatever it was that these people intended to spend all day looking at, so we moved on around the corner to watch these guys playing.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7007/6801681593_46646d86ab_z.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7013/6801683517_3c765e564d_z.jpg

We decided that we had pretty much done most of what we wanted to accomplish in AK by this point, but we decided that we’d head over to Camp Minnie Mickey to meet a few more characters. We had just gone past this landmark...

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7027/6801685429_9e4eb93980_z.jpg

When we looked in the stroller and found this…

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7155/6801686603_a329215c1e_z.jpg

We decided to head back towards Discovery Island and get a few pictures in front of the Tree of Life. DS even got in a few of them.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7141/6801688493_9e4902b7f9_z.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7141/6801689227_07136d1b5b_z.jpg

We headed on over to a Quick Service place that I’ve seen some great reviews of, but have never tried myself. Actually, this was the first time I’ve ever been in this park until lunch time. Flame Tree BBQ was as good as advertised. I had the rib and chicken combo. If there is a better use of a Quick Service meal credit anywhere in the parks, I’d be shocked. There was plenty of food and it was excellent. :thumbsup2

We finished eating and headed up to the entrance for some pictures while somebody continued to nap.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7143/6801690139_547c6dee66_z.jpg

But along came a trouble maker to try to end naptime.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7017/6801691115_c23b8016e4_z.jpg

Whew… that was close.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7020/6801691955_3a0a601e43_z.jpg

We didn’t really have set plans for today after we left AK, so we were headed back to WL to spend some time at the resort and decide what we’d do for the rest of the day.

[amandaw]

Woo Hoo! for getting onto EE so quick! I do enjoy that ride, but is it bad that I just consider it "cute"? :confused3

Your son looks like he was happy to be meeting Pooh! Jiminy Cricket, on the other hand, not so much.....:laughing:

I love the pictures of him asleep in the stroller! Reid sleeps the same way - with his hands behind his head. So cute! :goodvibes

Glad you go to try Flame Tree. You can't really go wrong there. I was so happy that I recently got Ed to agree to not eating there on our next trip because I want to try the CS @ Yak & Yeti. But, now, I'm re-thinking my decision. Flame Tree is just so good!

Can't wait to hear what y'all ended up doing with a free afternoon!

[FreezinRafiki]

We drove over to AK and discovered something shocking. We were there before the park opened! They let us in and we were waiting with the crowd in the Oasis area.
Rope Drop: check! :thumbsup2


DW and I had talked about the safari since it has an expectant mother warning on it, and decided not to take a chance.
Probably a good idea. Some of those roads they drive on are worse that Delaware's.

I made it there quickly and was on the second train of the day for Expedition Everest.
Nice! Let me guess - the Yeti was still sleeping that early, right?

We took a ride on Prehistoric Dumbo
They're totally different rides, you know.

DS liked Pooh
GREAT Pooh Picture! (That sounded dirty, but wasn't)

We headed out and walked by the drums. Of course we had to stop and let DS try to play them. He kept hitting them, but would hit on the edge so that he was hitting the wood part instead of the middle and then get this frown on his face and look at his hand… then he’d do it again.:lmao::rotfl2:
Daddy, my hand's broke!


It is my understanding that there was a baby gorilla out there somewhere. We got to the observation area and couldn’t even get anywhere near the glass. We stood and waited… and waited… and waited. I think I saw a few tents and campfires up there on the front row. We finally realized that we just weren’t going to be seeing whatever it was that these people intended to spend all day looking at,
Start lobbing dirty diapers in there. They'll move.

When we looked in the stroller and found this…

He sure looks comfy!
We headed on over to a Quick Service place that I’ve seen some great reviews of, but have never tried myself. Actually, this was the first time I’ve ever been in this park until lunch time. Flame Tree BBQ was as good as advertised. I had the rib and chicken combo. If there is a better use of a Quick Service meal credit anywhere in the parks, I’d be shocked. There was plenty of food and it was excellent. :thumbsup2

Amen, brother!

The Stitch pictures are cute!

[that's nice]

Rafiki’s Wisdom Stick – This card shows Simba’s counselor ready to imbue some knowledge on the enemy’s forehead.

http://parksandresorts.wdpromedia.com/media/disneyparks/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/smk440211LARGE.jpg
Why does the final 1/3 of Rafiki's wisdom stick look like.. ummmm... I guess I have to get my mind out of the gutter. :rolleyes1 popcorn::




We drove over to AK and discovered something shocking. We were there before the park opened!
SWEET!

I made it there quickly and was on the second train of the day for Expedition Everest. I really wish I could have jumped back in the line, but I didn’t want to keep DW and DS waiting.
I bet you could of sneaked on and they wouldn't of known. ;)

We headed on around the bend to Dino Land. We took a ride on Prehistoric Dumbo and DW wanted to walk through some gift shops. I thought about riding Dinosaur, but passed on it. I kind of regret that. I really think it is a fun ride.
I'm not a huge fan of Dinosaur... I don't think it at all scary. I wish it was.

We headed out and walked by the drums. Of course we had to stop and let DS try to play them. He kept hitting them, but would hit on the edge so that he was hitting the wood part instead of the middle and then get this frown on his face and look at his hand… then he’d do it again.:lmao::rotfl2:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7155/6801806387_b1db5df3f7_z.jpg
:rotfl2::rotfl2:

He looks so mad here!
I never saw these people, so I'm not sure if they actually had any children with them , but this stroller had probably 3 or 4 Wal-Mart bags full of who knows what sitting in the seat, and just as many hanging on the handles. I brushed against it and it fell over backwards. I picked it up and delicately balanced it and got the heck out of there.
Walmart bags huh? weird.

When we looked in the stroller and found this…

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7155/6801686603_a329215c1e_z.jpg
Goodnite Landon!

I hope to see a lot of that in November! ::yes::


We headed on over to a Quick Service place that I’ve seen some great reviews of, but have never tried myself. Actually, this was the first time I’ve ever been in this park until lunch time. Flame Tree BBQ was as good as advertised. I had the rib and chicken combo. If there is a better use of a Quick Service meal credit anywhere in the parks, I’d be shocked. There was plenty of food and it was excellent. :thumbsup2
Good plan! I've skipped FT the last few times for Y&Y... I AM eating at FT in Nov.

We finished eating and headed up to the entrance for some pictures while somebody continued to nap.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7143/6801690139_547c6dee66_z.jpg

But along came a trouble maker to try to end naptime.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7017/6801691115_c23b8016e4_z.jpg

Whew… that was close.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7020/6801691955_3a0a601e43_z.jpg
[/COLOR]
Ooooh look! It's Kathy's favorite character!!!!!! :lmao::lmao:

:stitch:

[Captain_Oblivious]

We drove over to AK and discovered something shocking. We were there before the park opened! They let us in and we were waiting with the crowd in the Oasis area. DW and I had talked about the safari since it has an expectant mother warning on it, and decided not to take a chance.

Sorry you missed out on the safari. I hear Disney has been having a problem with poachers there, and could use some help warding them off.

Also, you know that song The Lion Sleeps Tonight? The writer came up with that after going on that ride. True story.

I made it there quickly and was on the second train of the day for Expedition Everest. I really wish I could have jumped back in the line, but I didn’t want to keep DW and DS waiting.

Everest is such a cool ride. Making the 2nd train is pretty impressive.

We headed on around the bend to Dino Land. We took a ride on Prehistoric Dumbo and DW wanted to walk through some gift shops.

I thought it was the Prehistoric magic carpets. :confused3

I thought about riding Dinosaur, but passed on it. I kind of regret that. I really think it is a fun ride.

I'm not sure why Dinosaur gets dumped on so much. I like that ride. Beats the snot out of IASW.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7022/6801687417_79ce0daf1c_z.jpg

Great smile!

We headed out and walked by the drums. Of course we had to stop and let DS try to play them. He kept hitting them, but would hit on the edge so that he was hitting the wood part instead of the middle and then get this frown on his face and look at his hand… then he’d do it again.:lmao::rotfl2:

:lmao::rotfl2::rotfl:

We headed around to catch the train to Rafiki’s Planet Watch. We hadn’t ever been there before, so it was interesting to see, but we didn’t spend much time there. It will probably be someplace we could spend quite a bit of time once DS is a little older though.

My kids are a little older, and...you'll probably spend the same amount of time there. :rotfl:

We got on the train to head back to Africa. When we got there, we saw some guys standing next to the water fountains that spray water from pillars that are… well, they’re approximately crotch height. They were posing for some fun pictures. I was laughing too hard to even think about getting pictures.

:rotfl2:

There's a fountain in Morocco that's good for that purpose as well. I'm sure glennbo can help you find it. :rolleyes1

I never saw these people, so I'm not sure if they actually had any children with them , but this stroller had probably 3 or 4 Wal-Mart bags full of who knows what sitting in the seat, and just as many hanging on the handles. I brushed against it and it fell over backwards. I picked it up and delicately balanced it and got the heck out of there. :lmao::rotfl:

Did it have lots of Wisconsin stickers on it, and were the bags full of frozen water bottles?

It is my understanding that there was a baby gorilla out there somewhere. We got to the observation area and couldn’t even get anywhere near the glass. We stood and waited… and waited… and waited. I think I saw a few tents and campfires up there on the front row.

The Occupy Pangani Trail movement has been a thorn in Disney's side for a while now. :sad2:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7141/6801689227_07136d1b5b_z.jpg

:lmao::rotfl2::rotfl:

Perfect border for that picture.

Actually, this was the first time I’ve ever been in this park until lunch time. Flame Tree BBQ was as good as advertised. I had the rib and chicken combo. If there is a better use of a Quick Service meal credit anywhere in the parks, I’d be shocked. There was plenty of food and it was excellent. :thumbsup2

:woohoo::cool1::banana:

Love that place. The WDW cookbook has a recipe for their BBQ sauce that replicates it really well, FYI.

But along came a trouble maker to try to end naptime.

:scared1: That is truly evil.

Probably a good idea. Some of those roads they drive on are worse that Delaware's.

Hey, Andy was the one who said engineers don't need any training. Can't complain about the results after that.

[glennbo123]

Yeah, I'm not happy when people camp out at spots like what you described on the trail. Take your (reasonable) turn and move on, I say.

That's funny that the Photopass-created Stitch almost woke your son up from his nap. :rotfl2:

[afwdwfan]

Woo Hoo! for getting onto EE so quick! I do enjoy that ride, but is it bad that I just consider it "cute"? :confused3
:lmao: No, not bad at all. I like the backward part, but it could stand to be a bit more thrilling. It's a fun ride regardless and the theming is incredible. I just wish the Yeti would move. :rotfl2:

Your son looks like he was happy to be meeting Pooh! Jiminy Cricket, on the other hand, not so much.....:laughing:
Well, he does have a Pooh bear at home. That was probably the first time he's ever seen a big cricket though. :lmao:

I love the pictures of him asleep in the stroller! Reid sleeps the same way - with his hands behind his head. So cute! :goodvibes
He always sleeps like that. Just kicked back and relaxed. :rotfl2:

Glad you go to try Flame Tree. You can't really go wrong there. I was so happy that I recently got Ed to agree to not eating there on our next trip because I want to try the CS @ Yak & Yeti. But, now, I'm re-thinking my decision. Flame Tree is just so good!
It really is great. I'd like to try Yak & Yeti CS sometime, but... eh, might as well stick with what we know and like. :rotfl:

Rope Drop: check! :thumbsup2
Took half a week, but we finally got our morning routine figured out. :thumbsup2:lmao:

Probably a good idea. Some of those roads they drive on are worse that Delaware's.
Yeah, but only some of them...

Nice! Let me guess - the Yeti was still sleeping that early, right?
The rumor going around was that someone on the first train shot it with a tranquilizer dart.

They're totally different rides, you know.
They're in different parks anyway.

GREAT Pooh Picture! (That sounded dirty, but wasn't)
::yes::

Daddy, my hand's broke!
This drum hits back!

Start lobbing dirty diapers in there. They'll move.
Don't think I didn't consider that. They'd probably just use them as fuel for their camp fires though. :rolleyes1

He sure looks comfy!
I'd love to be pushed around the park like that.

The Stitch pictures are cute!
Thanks.

[afwdwfan]

Why does the final 1/3 of Rafiki's wisdom stick look like.. ummmm... I guess I have to get my mind out of the gutter. :rolleyes1 popcorn::
Come on Tim! Disney wouldn't ever intentionally make something look like something it isn't... :rolleyes1


I bet you could of sneaked on and they wouldn't of known. ;)
Possibly... but they were sitting right by the exit, so I would have needed a diversion. And when you're working alone, that's kind of difficult.

I'm not a huge fan of Dinosaur... I don't think it at all scary. I wish it was.
I don't think it is very scary either, but I am impressed by the audio animatronics. I think it is a fun ride and I enjoy the scenery.

He looks so mad here!
He couldn't quite figure out why it was getting his hand. :lmao:

Walmart bags huh? weird.
::yes:: They had it loaded down with them. I don't know if they were packing extra clothes for Kali or what, but they sure brought everything they needed and more with them to the park. I'd hate to be behind them in the bag check line. :rolleyes1

Goodnite Landon!

I hope to see a lot of that in November! ::yes::
Good luck.

Good plan! I've skipped FT the last few times for Y&Y... I AM eating at FT in Nov.
Meaty goodness.

Ooooh look! It's Kathy's favorite character!!!!!! :lmao::lmao:

:stitch:
He seems to have a lot of "fans" :lmao:

Sorry you missed out on the safari. I hear Disney has been having a problem with poachers there, and could use some help warding them off.
Rumor has it that they have some kind of red elephant out there. I've never seen a red elephant before. :rolleyes1 :rotfl:

Also, you know that song The Lion Sleeps Tonight? The writer came up with that after going on that ride. True story.
I can't argue with that logic.

Everest is such a cool ride. Making the 2nd train is pretty impressive.
I was scooting along through the crowd... without dragging anyone else with me. That helped quite a bit.

I thought it was the Prehistoric magic carpets. :confused3
No, you've got it all wrong. A triceratops and an elephant are much more closely related than a triceratops and a carpet. Just ask Scotty, he'll explain it to you.

I'm not sure why Dinosaur gets dumped on so much. I like that ride. Beats the snot out of IASW.
It beats the snot out of its passengers too.

But yes, I still enjoy it despite the rough ride. :lmao:

Great smile!
It was nice to see that with a character meet.

My kids are a little older, and...you'll probably spend the same amount of time there. :rotfl:
:confused3 We'll see, I guess.

:rotfl2:

There's a fountain in Morocco that's good for that purpose as well. I'm sure glennbo can help you find it. :rolleyes1
I thought I'd seen something like that somewhere before. That must be it.:lmao::rotfl2:

Did it have lots of Wisconsin stickers on it, and were the bags full of frozen water bottles?
Yes. Yes it did. And there was a nasty looking Wisconsin Badgers sweatshirt draped across the top of it too.

The Occupy Pangani Trail movement has been a thorn in Disney's side for a while now. :sad2:
Bring in the tear gas!!!!


Perfect border for that picture.
I thought it seemed fitting.

Love that place. The WDW cookbook has a recipe for their BBQ sauce that replicates it really well, FYI.
You know, I didn't use much sauce. The meat was pretty good on it's own. I still might need to look into getting that cookbook though. Is that where you got your recipe for cheddar soup too?

Hey, Andy was the one who said engineers don't need any training. Can't complain about the results after that.
He basically said you did a better job than a Disney engineer. I'd take that as a compliment.

Yeah, I'm not happy when people camp out at spots like what you described on the trail. Take your (reasonable) turn and move on, I say.
It was pretty frustrating. We probably could have pushed and crowded our way up close enough to at least get a glimpse of something, but it just wasn't worth it.

That's funny that the Photopass-created Stitch almost woke your son up from his nap. :rotfl2:
We didn't even realize he almost woke up until we saw the pictures. :lmao:

[KatMark]

I am all caught up! :goodvibes (hate doing that vacation thing, then trying to catch up with a VERY SLOW DIS).

Love your Epcot afternoon/evening. You are a braver soul than me...I don't do green or orange on Mission (did it once...never again :scared1:).

I'm with you on the "drinking around the world." It's great if you can handle it, but not when you act like a total idiot. In case those clowns haven't noticed, there are a LOT of children at Disney World.

Love your morning at Animal Kingdom. We got to see Pooh, Tigger and Eeyore when we were there last week -- my favorites. :love:

Sorry that you didn't get to see the baby gorilla. Rafiki's Planet is great when the kids get a little older.