The Darling Family June Beach Club Trip:Hugging Ewoks and Finding Peter Pan

[liznboys]

Love my LB's! #'s 1-4!!

You know, I thought it was just utterly shameful that you didn't take your poor, suffering children to the pool that day...

LOL

I was glad you did Energy with us though!!

We wondered what the kids ended up buying with their "bonus money" lol I love Wendy's fan! I used to have some pretty fans as a girl and I had them hanging on my wall, I loved that.

 

[PracPerfPatricia]

I liked the idea so much I did incorporate it into the TR. Post 288 has been edited Thanks for the fabulous idea

I'm glad you liked it......My DD was Mrs. Darling in her school play this year so I've had PP on the brain...

...
So after dinner I had to keep my promise and buy each of them something in the Japanese store. Both boys ended up with Pokeman cards. Something we can get in almost any store we go in. Wendy went for something a bit more exotic. This lovely fan. The Japanese CM even wrote her name on it.

It had been a long day. John kept reminding me about his Nemo webkinz, but that was all the way in the Seas, so I put it off again. It was close to 8:00 and we’d been at the park since open so we decided to head back. After a short walk we were back in our room and before we knew it we were all snoring.

Next up: The boys want to be Jedi’s

Lovely fan...-I happen to have a weakness for that store in Japan...but I do agree with you with the Pokeman stuff-my ds tends to gravitate towards the stuff in there that you can get anywhere...right now he's into Bakugan-I hope they don't have any of that...

Ah webkinz...we had a couple of years of that a couple of years ago with DS ( I don't miss them or the search for that "special" one...

I can't wait for the boys wanting to be Jedi's...

 

[dismagiclover]

I had a big reply and my computer froze! Grr!

Glad you kids tried some new foods. I know I've bribed Hannah into trying new things. It's the only way to get her away from chicken nuggets and mac and cheese!

Gotta love computers I'm glad the kids ended up liking Teppan Edo. Next time I'm going to maybe have them try Biergarten or Marakesh.

I enjoyed your update. Too bad it was so hot. I have never been in the really hot part of the year, and I don't think I would enjoy it as much. Of course I would still go if that was the only time I could. At least a lot of things are inside.

I have certainly been known to bribe my kids, and probably will do it again. I am glad you enjoyed your meal. We are going to try and eat at Teppan Edo when we go back.

It was super hot! It wasn't bad if you stayed out of the heat of the day which we generally did. It was just those couple of times that we did Kim Possible in the middle of the day that we really felt it. I'd definitely recommend Teppan Edo! It was fun and tasty

Love my LB's! #'s 1-4!!

You know, I thought it was just utterly shameful that you didn't take your poor, suffering children to the pool that day...

LOL

I was glad you did Energy with us though!!

We wondered what the kids ended up buying with their "bonus money" lol I love Wendy's fan! I used to have some pretty fans as a girl and I had them hanging on my wall, I loved that.

My poor children. They do live such deprived lives I was happy with Wendy's choice. It's a pretty souvenir that we will remember where it came from. The boys Pokemon cards, however, are already mixed up or lost. Oh well. It was worth my dinner

Lovely fan...-I happen to have a weakness for that store in Japan...but I do agree with you with the Pokeman stuff-my ds tends to gravitate towards the stuff in there that you can get anywhere...right now he's into Bakugan-I hope they don't have any of that...

Ah webkinz...we had a couple of years of that a couple of years ago with DS ( I don't miss them or the search for that "special" one...

I can't wait for the boys wanting to be Jedi's...

I have some bad news. I just asked my boys about Bakugan in the Japanese store and they said, "Oh yeah. They have em." So be prepared And that webkinz Definitely should have bought it when we saw it the first time.

 

[dismagiclover]

Day 6, Part I
Today was another Hollywood Studio’s day. Our previous Studio days had been during Star Wars Weekend so we’d focused primarily on that. And today was about Star Wars as well. The number one priority of the day was for the boys to receive Jedi Training. We’d done everything my DIS research recommended. Here are the boys dressed and ready to go.

To accompany their bright yellow shirts that clearly stated their intentions and their shorts (actually swim trunks) that proclaim to all they are die hard fans we brought along their light sabers to wave. We also planned on going to the 1st show and parking ourselves in the front row. We’d done everything we could to get them a spot in Jedi Training. Would it work?
We headed out the door around 8:15 and walked over to the Studios. Have I mentioned how much I love the location of the Beach Club? We arrived about 8:40 and there were already quite a few people there. We went thru the turnstiles and joined the rest of the throngs that are part of the madness of Toy Story Mania rope drop. Our plan was to ride once and then pick up fastpasses. Sounded like a great plan, but I underestimated the crowds heading to the attraction. It was madness!! I thought it would be comparable to a Soarin Dash or a Dumbo Dash. I was way out of my league with the Toy Story Dash. There were people everywhere. When we arrived in the ride vicinity I saw the fastpass line. It looked long, but it looked like the ride line would be even longer. We weren’t anywhere near the entrance and people were everywhere. Once again time to call an audible. I went for the fastpass line knowing we couldn’t afford to wait 30 minutes in the regular ride line. Top priority was Jedi Training. We wanted to be there well before the 1st show began. DH soldiered ahead. I’m not sure he believed all of these people were actually going to the same place. Once he finally made it close to the line entrance he called and confirmed they were. The thousands of people that were at rope drop had only one destination: Toy Story Mania. The boys were with DH so I instructed him to take them and head to the Jedi Training stage. Wendy and I would wait it out in the fastpass line. And wait we did. Even with 6 machines running and arriving at the park at 8:40 we waited 20 minutes in the fastpass line! When we finally got the fastpasses they were for 11:40. Wow, this ride must be something special.

Fastpasses in pocket, we exited Pixar Place as the hordes kept coming. We headed over towards the Jedi Training stage, but were distracted by . . . what else? A Photopass guy. Here’s what we got.

Notice how empty the park looks behind us. They were all at Pixar Place. In the next picture you can see some late arrivals (it was 9:25) heading to Pixar Place.

I think this picture turned out cute. Kinda silly, but cute

We reached the boys around 9:30. Here is what they were up to.

As you can see we had no problem getting our front row seats. There were a few other families there as well, but at this point everyone was spread out pretty well. The first show was scheduled to start at 9:55. Now all we could do was wait.: The crowd began to fill in and show time arrived. The Jedi Master walked out onto the stage and scanned the crowd. We had done everything in our power to get picked. Would the Force be with Us?

 

[cjackearl]

Cute outfits on your boys. I bet they get picked. I know, that TSM crowd. And Pixar Place is awfully narrow.

 

[luvdumbo]

i think for sure at least one of the boys are going to be picked. How could they pass on those cute little jedis

 

[dismagiclover]

Cute outfits on your boys. I bet they get picked. I know, that TSM crowd. And Pixar Place is awfully narrow.

The boys were definitely dressed for the occassion and yes they got picked

i think for sure at least one of the boys are going to be picked. How could they pass on those cute little jedis

You're right. They got picked. Happy day for all of us

 

[dismagiclover]

The Jedi Master had just walked onto the stage. The first thing he did was scan the crowd looking for potential students. I saw him look directly at my boys and felt pretty confident that they would get picked. I did feel sorry for the kids on both sides of them, however. There was no way he would pick 3 or 4 kids right next to each other. My advice to kids wanting to get picked would be to avoid standing next to other kids that are dressed in Star Wars shirts especially if they are yellow. The Jedi Master began calling up his class. He called two or three kids up and then pointed at my boys and said, “You two young men.” There were 14 kids picked for the show and at least a third had on yellow shirts. And I didn’t see any yellow shirts left in the audience. So at least at this session the key to being picked was wear a yellow shirt. Anyway, are you ready for the pictures? (There are a lot of them.)
First up was the training

Michael was having a bit of wardrobe trouble

He needed a little help

The Jedi Trainer showed the Padawans some techniques

Michael listened intently

John was focused too

Then they practiced the moves

Then the “surprise” visitor appeared.

Darth Vader challenged the Padawans.

Would the younglings rise to the challenge? Or would the Dark Side prevail?

 

[letstalkboutdisney]

How great for the boys to get picked! They must have been thrilled!

 

[shannon47142]

so cool the boys got picked!!It makes for a great memory

 

[Happy Elf]

Cool! I bet the boys loved it! Can't wait to see if they beat Lord Vader!

 

[PracPerfPatricia]

Oh-I'm so excited for John and Michael... I can't wait to see what happens...and you-great photos....

(it's kind of cute to see how all the Padawans are grouped together when Darth shows up...)

The yellow shirts are cute-how did you know/decide to do yellow?-ie is there something about the yellow that attracts the CMs?

(I am dreadfully sorry to hear about the Bakugans in the Japanese story but at least I am forewarned...

 

[Angies1274]

Wow!! on the TSM crowds!!! Love the boys outfits and that's so wonderful that they were picked!! So many great pictures!! Oh, and I love the balloon photopass picture--very cool!!

 

[cjackearl]

What great looking little Jedis you've got there. Very focused. Did you see any girl Padwans?

 

[dismagiclover]

How great for the boys to get picked! They must have been thrilled!

so cool the boys got picked!!It makes for a great memory

Cool! I bet the boys loved it! Can't wait to see if they beat Lord Vader!

This was a definite highlight of the trip for the boys. I was so glad they got picked the first time we tried. I was scared we would have to spend all day at Jedi Training trying to get picked. Luckily that didn't happen

Oh-I'm so excited for John and Michael... I can't wait to see what happens...and you-great photos....

(it's kind of cute to see how all the Padawans are grouped together when Darth shows up...)

The yellow shirts are cute-how did you know/decide to do yellow?-ie is there something about the yellow that attracts the CMs?

(I am dreadfully sorry to hear about the Bakugans in the Japanese story but at least I am forewarned...

I can't take credit for any of the photos. Some of them my DH took and some the Photopass guy. I really liked how they had the photopass guy taking pictures. We just went to a photo center later (we actually went to the one in our hotel) and they pulled up the pictures from the session and we picked the ones with our kids to add to our photopass card. I wasn't expecting that. It was great
One of the tips to getting picked is to wear a bright shirt with a Star Wars logo. Yellow is the brightest shirt I could think of for boys. (I don't think they'd go for hot pink) You just want your kids to stick out to the CM and you can't miss that yellow. I think wearing the Star Wars logos help as well. It sends the message to the CM that you came specifically for this and that increases your chances.

Wow!! on the TSM crowds!!! Love the boys outfits and that's so wonderful that they were picked!! So many great pictures!! Oh, and I love the balloon photopass picture--very cool!!

Those TSM crowds were crazy! I wonder how long that is going to last. When we did the balloon photopass picture it seemed a bit odd, but it turned out kinda cute

What great looking little Jedis you've got there. Very focused. Did you see any girl Padwans?

There were a few girls. You can see 2 behind my boys in the pictures. The majority was definitely boys though.

 

[dismagiclover]

Michael was up to do battle. Usually Michael has no fear, but Darth Vader made him a little nervous.

He had a bit of trouble with his light saber

But he figured it out and was ready for battle.

He deftly ducked away from Vader’s weapon

Michael did a fabulous job. He was one of the smallest ones up there, but he fought through the fear. Next up is John. Usually John is the more timid one. Would he conquer his fear?

John went at Vader with a vengeance! He was really swinging that light saber!

Look at that ferocity! DH and I were amazed.

John was hitting so hard the Stormtroopers approached to protect Vader. The Jedi Master told John to do a “Force push.” He did this!

The stormtroopers were forced back by the power of the Force! Amazing. The Jedi Master had him do it again.

Darth Vader was forced to retreat in defeat.

The Padawans all valiantly passed their big test.

This was a great experience for the boys, especially John. He asked DH, “How did I get to be so good with a light saber?” DH’s reply, “Son, the Force is strong in our family.” It definitely brought out Peter Pan. DH told me many times that fighting Darth Vader would have been one of the highlights of his childhood. Watching his sons do it was one of the highlights of his adulthood (though he might not admit that when his inner Peter Pan is hidden.)

For the boys our day was complete, but it wasn’t even 10:30. What’s up next?

 

[Happy Elf]

Loved seeing your boys defeat Lord Vader! What wonderful memories! I can just hear them telling their friends about battling Darth Vader. So cool!

 

[letstalkboutdisney]

How brave your boys were to face and fight darth vader! He looks scary!
Does DHS have the jedi training everyday?

 

[letstalkboutdisney]

How brave your boys were to face and fight darth vader! He looks scary!
Does DHS have the jedi training everyday?

 

[bballbabe]

Just wanted to check in to let you know that I am starting to read your trip report. I have a lot to catch up on.