Ten Sleeps in Disney World!! - An Aug Trip Report *5/9 Departure Day & Final Thoughts

[jordanyosh]

Have fun at the Casino!

 

[ellajeansmom]

Oh man, I got way behind again...that's what happens when you go away for two weekends in a row! And now that the girl's evening activities are back in full swing the week nights seem to disappear

Anyways, sounds like you had a wonderful afternoon/evening at Epcot despite the brief storm There's so much of WS that we didn't see, I like how you took your time and just enjoyed!

What a fun day at TL - except for poor George. We decided not to do the waterparks but Ella has given me plenty of grief over that decision - like Arianna she would be in mermaid heaven!

Good times at CM's - those sundaes look yummy! I was worried that it would be too busy and noisy for DH but he handled all the other character meals fine so its definitely a "next time" possibility

Oh, and a belated happy birthday to Arianna and happy anniversary to you and George

 

[PracPerfPatricia]

Hope you had a good time at the Casino...

Sending good vibes...hoping all is well with you, George and the kids...

 

[Mickey_Mom]

Have fun at the Casino!

Hope you had a good time at the Casino...

Sending good vibes...hoping all is well with you, George and the kids...

Thanks, we did have fun! We didn't stay very long and we only lost eighty bucks by the end of the night. Those Wheel of Fortune slots machines are sooooo fun!

Oh man, I got way behind again...that's what happens when you go away for two weekends in a row! And now that the girl's evening activities are back in full swing the week nights seem to disappear

I hear ya! I'm so behind on this TR..... Thanks for sticking with me!

Anyways, sounds like you had a wonderful afternoon/evening at Epcot despite the brief storm There's so much of WS that we didn't see, I like how you took your time and just enjoyed!

We saw so much by slowing down too.... sounds odd I know, but we really did. There's a lot I still haven't seen either but I'll be back!

What a fun day at TL - except for poor George. We decided not to do the waterparks but Ella has given me plenty of grief over that decision - like Arianna she would be in mermaid heaven!

Despite the sun he got, he really did have a great time too. Its fabulous fun.... I hope you get there!

Good times at CM's - those sundaes look yummy! I was worried that it would be too busy and noisy for DH but he handled all the other character meals fine so its definitely a "next time" possibility

Oh, and a belated happy birthday to Arianna and happy anniversary to you and George [/QUOTE]

Thank you!

 

[jordanyosh]

glad u had fun and kept those losses to a minimum

 

[Mickey_Mom]

Well, it's been a pretty crappy couple of weeks for me. I won't dwell on it, but as a result, I haven't been feeling too Disney-ish. This past weekend however, as busy as it was, was exactly what I needed to cheer me up.

My boys are in house league hockey. Alex had his evaluations on Thursday and Friday and with his growth spurt this past summer is now one of the tallest players on the ice. Sigh... where has the time gone?

Demetri is playing for the first time too He's super excited!

George has taken him skating the last two winters and darn if he's not really good for a four year old.

His evaluations were Saturday and Sunday and it was so fun to watch him out there....

Ariana and I also went on a secret mission on Sunday. Since Snow White was being re-released on DVD, she was front and centre at the Disney Store and we wanted to check it out. So we hopped in the car and headed out.

Ariana constantly asks to go to the Disney Store. It's actually not very often we buy something, we just love to look... but when they have sales we do pretty good!

One of the first displays was Snow White....

.... and Ariana was quick to start showing me things....

When she's there, she's allowed to carry around whatever she wants to as long as everything goes back to where it came from. She often pairs toys up and this time she chose Timon and Pumba to go along with Snow White.

Can you tell her sweater is a Mickey head?

Look at all the characters!!!

How many can you name?? My favorite from all of these is Squeezie!

PPP, I smiled thinking of you while taking this picture....

Right after this picture I heard an "Excuse me...?" I turned to smile at a CM who politely explained I couldn't take any pictures of the scenes on the tops of the displays. Seems its a copyright issue and while I was welcome to take any other picture, I just couldn't take any more of the character displays. Who knew?

Santa will be notified shortly of all of the wonderful gifts to choose from here.

After our secret mission, and after Demetri's second evaluation day, at George's suggestion we all hopped in the car and went on a road trip to the US. The Canadian dollar is almost at par with the US dollar and so we set off to look for a portable DVD player for Ariana to watch movies while the boys are playing hockey this season. We didn't come back with anything, but it was soooo fun to just let loose and have fun in the stores.

We grabbed dinner at the Olive Garden (yum!!) and the kids watched Stuart Little 2 in the van DVD player on the drive home. A busy weekend, but a good busy.

Well, as much as I've loved writing the long updates each time, I've decided to shorten them down and space them out a bit longer in the interest of getting them done! I'm trying to get ahead right now too so it's not super long between updates.

Next Update: DTD and DisneyQuest

 

[Mickey_Mom]

glad u had fun and kept those losses to a minimum

Thanks Jordan!

Huh..... I forgot to say in my mini update that I got a promotion at work today!

 

[ZeroToHero]

Yayyyy promotion!

Wait... did you get the Snow White DVD?

 

[Mickey_Mom]

Yayyyy promotion!

Wait... did you get the Snow White DVD?

Thanks! No, we didn't get the DVD yet. There wasn't any savings from the CDN price so we decided we'll get it back home. George almost bought it in a set that came with cute plushie dwarfs but it was $55... yikes! I talked him out of it.

 

[jordanyosh]

Thanks Jordan!

Huh..... I forgot to say in my mini update that I got a promotion at work today!

all i have to say about your update.....

hockey!!!!!!!!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Aww, I'm so jealous you have a Disney Store near you! The one around here was sadly one of the stores that closed. Now I have no way to get my Disney fix when I'm at the mall. haha

I am so excited to get the Snow White DVD. We're waiting until the end of November when they release the "regular" version...we don't have a Blu-Ray player yet.

 

[Mickey_Mom]

all i have to say about your update.....

hockey!!!!!!!!

Alex plays his first game this Thursday. He'll likely win his first game before the dang Leafs do.

Aww, I'm so jealous you have a Disney Store near you! The one around here was sadly one of the stores that closed. Now I have no way to get my Disney fix when I'm at the mall. haha

I am so excited to get the Snow White DVD. We're waiting until the end of November when they release the "regular" version...we don't have a Blu-Ray player yet.

Oh that sucks! We've been spoiled, its only 15 minutes away from us. I hear all the stores are getting an overhaul and they're bringing back more of the adult clothes.... Ariana hasn't been able to buy any jammies since she grew out of kids size 10 a few years ago.

I noticed at the checkout a sign that said they were hiring. I was thisclose to asking for an application!

 

[Lady Lallie]

I'm glad things are looking up for you!

I loved the trip to the Disney Store. It's so weird they wouldn't let you take pictures of those displays. Strange.

 

[ZeroToHero]

Oh that sucks! We've been spoiled, its only 15 minutes away from us. I hear all the stores are getting an overhaul and they're bringing back more of the adult clothes.... Ariana hasn't been able to buy any jammies since she grew out of kids size 10 a few years ago.

I noticed at the checkout a sign that said they were hiring. I was thisclose to asking for an application!

Adult clothes!!! Really? We just had one open near us, and there was this tiny little rack of sweatshirts. That was it. I hope that was just because of the grand opening. I would love to work there, but until I get a car, that's not happening. It's a little far away.

 

[Angies1274]

Aww...sorry you've had a crappy couple of weeks. I'm really glad to hear that things are starting to look up though!!

Love the Disney Store!! Unfortunately, our closest one is 3 hours away. We're lucky if we get there once or twice a year, so I'm really enjoying looking at all your pictures!!

Yay! for Demetri playing hockey!! What a big boy!! Nick starts basketball Saturday. It's his first year playing so we'll see how it goes. He usually plays soccer so this is quite a change for us.

Can't wait to hear about Disney Quest!! The boys have been begging us to take them there next trip.

Ohhh...and DTD? Shopping? I can't wait!!

 

[jenjolt]

WOOT!! Even though we live in the South this family definitely has a hockey heart!! Of course I'm sure we don't root for the same team but I love that your boys are playing!! I really really enjoy hockey and YAY for Demitri being out there on the ice doing his thing LOL!!!

Sorry things have been so rough lately! I'm glad things are looking up...I have missed your updates!!!

Hmmm...I wish I lived closer to a Disney Store, what fun it looks like you and Arianna had together!!! I'm sure she will be very excited when Santa comes in December!!!

Can't wait for more!

 

[Mickey_Mom]

Check this out.... I hope this includes Canadian stores:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/13/business/media/13disney.html

 

[ZeroToHero]

I saw that! That looks soooo cool!

 

[Mickey_Mom]

I'm glad things are looking up for you!

I loved the trip to the Disney Store. It's so weird they wouldn't let you take pictures of those displays. Strange.

Thank you! Family time always does the trick.

I thought it was a strange request, its not like I was going to sell the pictures or anything.

Adult clothes!!! Really? We just had one open near us, and there was this tiny little rack of sweatshirts. That was it. I hope that was just because of the grand opening. I would love to work there, but until I get a car, that's not happening. It's a little far away.

They've definately scaled back their selections to mostly t-shirts and the odd hoodie. I'd love to see more come back -- I'll buy them! I asked Ariana if she wanted Mommy to work at the Disney Store and her expression was priceless.... I wish I had the time!

Aww...sorry you've had a crappy couple of weeks. I'm really glad to hear that things are starting to look up though!!

Thanks Angie, we're almost there!

Love the Disney Store!! Unfortunately, our closest one is 3 hours away. We're lucky if we get there once or twice a year, so I'm really enjoying looking at all your pictures!!

I'd show you more but apparantly I'd be breaking the rules!

Yay! for Demetri playing hockey!! What a big boy!! Nick starts basketball Saturday. It's his first year playing so we'll see how it goes. He usually plays soccer so this is quite a change for us.

All the little ones in their hockey equipment.... they look so small! Good luck to Nick for basketball... he seems to have the height for it... I hope he has fun!

Can't wait to hear about Disney Quest!! The boys have been begging us to take them there next trip.

They'll love it! Everything you could possibly think of is in there. Everything!

Ohhh...and DTD? Shopping? I can't wait!!

WOOT!! Even though we live in the South this family definitely has a hockey heart!! Of course I'm sure we don't root for the same team but I love that your boys are playing!! I really really enjoy hockey and YAY for Demitri being out there on the ice doing his thing LOL!!!

Hmmmm, Panthers? Stars? Our team, I'm sad to say, is the Leafs. They're not doing so well yet but they'll turn it around. We almost had the Coyotes

Demetri's been holding a stick in his hand before he could walk. He is LOVING being out on the ice.

Sorry things have been so rough lately! I'm glad things are looking up...I have missed your updates!!!

Thanks..... but you were a tad busy recently weren't you? I love hearing about yours and Nobby's adventures! (If there's anyone here not reading Jen's TR... get over there!)

Hmmm...I wish I lived closer to a Disney Store, what fun it looks like you and Arianna had together!!! I'm sure she will be very excited when Santa comes in December!!!

Can't wait for more!

The release of Snow White has definately guaranteed Santa will be the hero this season.

I saw that! That looks soooo cool!

It does. I wonder how crowded it would be.

 

[Mickey_Mom]

Today was another day that Alex was REALLY looking forward to. My family’s favorite character breakfast is, hands down, Ohana. The beautiful Polynesian, the yummy juice, Lilo and Stitch, the Hawaiian theme, the yummy juice (yes I said it twice, it’s that good!), the parades, the leis and maracas….. we love it all! We then had plans to spend the day at Downtown Disney -- we would go to Disney Quest, have dinner at Planet Hollywood and then see where it went from there. The possibilities and combinations were plentiful… shopping, eating, game playing… waa-hoo! Alex’s must do’s were the Lego Store, Disney Quest and Planet Hollywood and he was pretty excited.

My first snag was George letting me know late in my scheduling that he was planning on skipping Planet Hollywood. Say what?! He just wasn’t feeling it, wasn’t inspired in the least to try it out. Of course he waited until the last second to tell me after clearing the ADR list with him twice no less…. I was going to reschedule it to something else but by then the kids were looking forward to it and he didn’t mind missing it so I left it. My second snag was George waking up this particular morning and still not feeling good from his sun overdose the day before. I was starting to get a little more concerned if we should have him checked out or anything, but he insisted he was fine, he just needed to ease into the day a bit, so we "made plans" to meet at Disney Quest at 11am.

The kids and I headed out for the Magic Kingdom and then grabbed the monorail over to the Polynesian. We were exactly on time for our 9:25 am reservation and after checking we walked around a bit for pictures.

We grabbed some chairs around the check in area, and I should have realized at that point there were a tad more people waiting there then was usual. Ten minutes later we were still waiting and I was randomly taking pictures from my chair.

Twenty-five minutes after checking in I was watching my children droop in front of me. We were waiting….

And waiting….

And waiting….

When finally, forty minutes... forty minutes!... after our scheduled breakfast time, our buzzer went off.

That is the longest I have ever, ever had to wait for a seating. If George had been with us, we would have just rolled with it but because we were working in a schedule to meet him at 11am, I was distracted to get there on time. I would have called him to let him know about our delay, but oh yeah, wait, nope….. we couldn’t do that. Sigh.

Once seated, I couldn’t really see what the holdup had been. We’d been placed at a round table that easily could have held five, so reducing our party by one couldn’t have been it…? I don’t know, but whatever the reason, I was anxious to finish up and get going. We had our bread, fruit, coffee and juice right off the top and all was incredibly yummy. I was adding sweetener to my coffee and awaiting my first sip when I noticed out of the corner of my eye a certain four legged someone sneaking up on Demetri’s left. I had just enough time to grab the camera when he pounced his hello.

He stayed with the kids on the floor for quite a bit of time. He was patting their heads and of course signed our book up on his nose. He played with Baby Simba and gave each of them a hug. Great start and our food hadn’t even arrived yet!

We had gone thru a couple glasses each of the yummy juice and our server kept swinging over to give us refills. When she was filling the fourth glass and the first glass was already gone again…. she decided to just leave the whole bottle on our table!

Within a few minutes our breakfast arrived…. The sausage and bacon are delish and the potatoes are wonderfully seasoned. I love the eggs and the biscuits and of course the Mickey head waffles are yummy.

A few bites in our next visitor arrived. With the exception of the wait for our table, this was the best timed breakfast of our trip. The characters arrived bing, bang, boom with reasonable times in between to eat and when it was time for the parade we’d seen everyone.

More fun with Baby Simba….

…. and our autograph book….

And a short time later, Alex’s favorite character showed up.

That's one of my favorite pics from our trip. Stitch was a hoot and spent a good chunk of time with the kids.

Our last visitor was Mickey….

And he too had fun with Baby Simba and the kids.

By now we had finished up our breakfast and they announced the parade was going to start. Ariana and Demetri grabbed their maracas, I found a prime spot for video taking and the music began. Ariana scored the best spot within the parade itself, behind Mickey, Demetri followed along and they had a blast. I’d take video as they came along one side of the restaurant, then I’d scoot across and film from the other side and then I scooted over one more time to film the end. Here’s the one from the start….



Bellies full, characters met, parade… well, paraded , it was time to freshen up and head out. It was now ten minutes before our scheduled meet time with George. Do you think we’ll make it to DTD in time?

Next Up: Disney Quest Discovered!