Welcome Gurley Family--you are FAMILY OF THE DAY!!

[blessedby3]

Continued from previous post
After eating lunch, we headed over to Adventureland. Kayla had seen a shirt at Pirates on our first day, that she wanted to buy for her boyfriend. We made that purchase and were going to take a mid day break. Tony, Jonah and Alexa decided to go back right then, since Olivia wanted to try and catch Ariel. They walked back to BLT, while Kayla, Olivia and I went on the hunt for Ariel. When we got to the area where she was, they had of course closed the line. Just our luck! We wandered around and found where Princess Tiana was by chance. Her line was also closed! Our luck again!! The CM told us to come back about 30 mins before the next showing. YIKES! The girls and I decided to stroll down Main Street and go in a few shops. Olivia was on the hunt for something sweet. We did a bit of looking and then purchased a carmel apple from the Sweet shop. Everyone (but me and Alexa) loves these, so there would be lots to share
Kayla, Olivia and I left the park and took the monorail over to the CR and then walked to BLT. We rested and Kayla and Olivia went to the pool for a while. After our rest, we headed back to the MK at 3:00. Jonah decided to stay in the room a big longer and meet up with us later. We headed straight for the Princess Tiana line and got there at 3:30. The line was already CLOSED!! Im not sure how we messed that up, but that tends to be the Gurley luck (or curse)! We ran quickly over to Ariel and yep--CLOSED!! What in the world
We decided to try and get on the Jungle Cruise. It was a 25 min wait and so we got FP's instead. I realized that we didnt have Jonah or his ticket to get a FP, so I asked the nice CM if there was anyway to get one for him as he was meeting us later. She pushed a button on the back of the machine and poof--we had one for Jonah Most CM's are SO nice It was very nice of her.
We figured if we were ever going to see Tiana that we had better just go hang out by her area. Back to sit on the rock wall and WAIT. This was literally the longest wait we had the entire week. We got there at 4:05 and there were already 5 families waiting in front of us. We waited till 4:35 until they came out.

Here is the Prince trying to get Alexa to open up

It was good to finally get to see them, after spending so much time trying to. We ran back over to Ariel, but the line was CLOSED again. I dont know why they were on the exact same schedule, but we just couldnt get to both. We never did end up getting pics with Ariel
We met up with Jonah on Main Street and decided it would be a good time to get Alexa her FIRST haircut. I was so excited to do this. My other kids had never had their FIRST haircut there, but we had been before. There was only about a 3 minute wait and we were in the chair. I didnt know how Alexa would react to this, but the CM's are great. They kept her so distracted with a gazillion stickers and a light up toy.
Here are the pictures

And some Pixie Dust to finish her off...I only let them take off the least little bit. Alexa has pretty curls at the bottom of her hair and I didnt want them to disappear just yet!

I guess the pictures of her with her "First Haircut Ears" are on my camera...I dont have any in my photobucket for some reason
Olivia also got some gel and pixie dust in her hair

We finished up there and headed back down Main Street. We saw some of these along the way

The mylar ones dont freak me out...just the regular ones. My poor deprived kids have never had one of the cute Mickey balloons!

We also had to get our regular picture with Casey. Kayla's best friend (since they were 10) is named Casey. She will be coming with us in May. We have brought her twice and she loves to come with us!

Continued in next post

 

[blessedby3]

Continued from previous post
We decided that since we were standing right next to Casey, that we may as well go in. I saw people eating some delicious nachos (one of my favorite snacks) and Brook has long talked about how wonderful the hot dog nuggets are (even though I dont like hot dogs--Tony, Jonah and Olivia do). So we got 2 orders of nuggets and a Ballpark nachos, along with some sodas. The nachos were SO yummy and the ones that ate the nuggets said that those were just as tasty. Looks like we will be hitting this place back up come May!
After eating our snacks, we headed over to ride the Jungle Cruise with our FP's. We had an enjoyable ride as usual. I love the CM's on this ride...some are much better than others, though. We had one that was okay, but not the best. We headed over to Splash upon exiting JC. We had FP's and with the baby swap the kids would each get to ride twice. I waited with Alexa at the Splash playground while Tony took the other kids on SM. The wait time was only 15 mins for standby, but we used our FP's anyway. Alexa really enjoys this little playground and got to spend some good time there by the time she waited for us all to ride SM twice.

While I was sitting there on the wall waiting, I notice the man to the left of me kept looking to my left. I turned to look to my left and there was a (foreign) lady literally nude....her breast hanging out. No wonder this man kept looking that way!!! She had a little boy, probably about 2 1/2, that kept coming and going from her to get a drink!!! She didnt make any attempt to cover, and obviously didnt mind that the man beside me was STARING at her!! Im all about nursing, I have nursed 4 children, and each of them in public, but good grief---Cover up a bit--it was completely exposed at all times!! Maybe it is the culture--Im not sure where she was from, I didnt understand her language. I was so distracted at that point--mainly by the man who was looking past me at her...and I was hoping the family would hurry up and get out. They finally came and Kayla's eyes got HUGE. I said "Keep moving" as I didnt want my 15 yr old son eyeing that, so we moved quickly on and I told Tony what was going on. He ended up waiting elsewhere with Alexa while the kids and I rode SM.
What an experience!! After SM, the kids wanted to ride BTMRR again (its a favorite of ours) so we went and did that with the baby swap too.
Then we headed over to do Alexa's favorite ride---Its a Small World. She loves this so much, and the older kids dont love it so much! Tony told Jonah they would go find a treat while us girls went on the ride. Its a walk on so on we go...here is Olivia and Alexa walking to get on

Kayla has had enough of the music--lol

Alexa just loves it....as you can see in the background...Olivia is a little bored!

Goodbye...

We came out of IASW and found Tony and Jonah enjoying a shake. Not sure where they got them, but they were enjoying them.
We decided to head over to the Tea Cups
Here we are walking along...not too crowded for evening time

and on to the fun teacups!

Olivia has to ride by herself...because she will make the rest of us sick!

Kayla, Jonah and Alexa

Alexa loved this ride

and a picture of Olivia like the one I have from when I was her age standing in front of the teacups

continued in next post

 

[Shannon84]

Aww what a special experience to say you had your first haircut in Disney!! She looked like she did a great job sitting still and being patient with it...I have seen some bad first hair cut reactions before

 

[blessedby3]

continued from previous post
We left the teacups hoping to get some Fariy pictures. We headed to Toontown and I discovered something new....Toontown closes at 8pm (or at least that day). They must close before the rest of the park, and I never knew this! So, as I have said before--Gurley luck (or curse)! We headed back towards Main Street to get a spot to watch Wishes. Olivia wanted ice cream so she and Jonah (against my better judgement since he had a shake a while ago) got some on Main Street. We got some photopass pictures along the way and then waited at the front of the MK for Wishes to start. Here are some pictures while we waited and watched. The actual pics of the fireworks didnt turn out so good!

It was a great day at the MK...busy...and we got to end it with Wishes on Main Street
We normally watch from the bridge in Tomorrowland and I must say it is much better there than in front of the train station on Main Street. I was just trying to avoid the rush of crowds, but I dont think we will pick that spot again. We headed out after the show, and took a leisurely stroll on the walkway back to BLT. We decided to hit up the lounge for desserts --heck yeah, why not-- and then to bed.
Tomorrow is rest time, DTD and Cirque

 

[blessedby3]

Just wanted you to know that I'm still here and now I'm caught back up again. I understand your reluctancy of blessing Kayla's purse purchase. My daughter bought a $70 purse at Cirque de Soliel and we almost fainted when the teller rang us up.

Glad you are here
Yep, I agree at the fainting...I dont think I will ever own a $160 purse like Kayla...or even a $70 one like your daughter!!!

 

[blessedby3]

Aww what a special experience to say you had your first haircut in Disney!! She looked like she did a great job sitting still and being patient with it...I have seen some bad first hair cut reactions before

Thanks, it was special and they gave her a certificate of bravery as well as her ears. So cute!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Ummmm....I wouldn't have known what to think about the "exposed" lady. I mean, like you said, couldn't she have covered up?

 

[wlake]

I love that you took a picture at the teacups like one you have of yourself! (Does that make sense?) My dad pulled out our slides from 1973 right before we went this summer, and I tried to have a PP person (love my DH but don't trust him with the camera! ) recreate one in front of the Plaza -- except I got the picture wrong! Oops! Still, it's a nice picture of me with my boys. (Both the new picture and the original are somewhere in my TR.)

Thanks for the info on the Visa. I pay mine off every month, so it might very well be worth it for me!

 

[blessedby3]

Ummmm....I wouldn't have known what to think about the "exposed" lady. I mean, like you said, couldn't she have covered up?

I agree...it was awkward to say the least! Maybe in her country is is common?? Yikes

I love that you took a picture at the teacups like one you have of yourself! (Does that make sense?) My dad pulled out our slides from 1973 right before we went this summer, and I tried to have a PP person (love my DH but don't trust him with the camera! ) recreate one in front of the Plaza -- except I got the picture wrong! Oops! Still, it's a nice picture of me with my boys. (Both the new picture and the original are somewhere in my TR.)

Thanks for the info on the Visa. I pay mine off every month, so it might very well be worth it for me!

Yes, we have a couple of pictures of my dsis and I at Disney in the '70's. They are so fun to have, and I love that I can have the same shots of my kids. Just wish I had more from the early years...especially since I grew up 30 mins from WDW! Guess my parents didnt take too many pictures since we were there often. I wish I knew how to get old pics onto the computer. I am just not computer savy.

And the Disney Visa is great as long as you pay it off and its extra great if you can get an introductory deal!

 

[wlake]

Yes, we have a couple of pictures of my dsis and I at Disney in the '70's. They are so fun to have, and I love that I can have the same shots of my kids. Just wish I had more from the early years...especially since I grew up 30 mins from WDW! Guess my parents didnt take too many pictures since we were there often. I wish I knew how to get old pics onto the computer. I am just not computer savy.

And the Disney Visa is great as long as you pay it off and its extra great if you can get an introductory deal!

All of my childhood pictures are on slides, which are terribly expensive to turn into pictures! I ended up taking pictures of the slides projected onto a white wall just to have copies!

It's interesting about the numbers of pictures we take now. Despite having been last year and planning to go again in 3 years, I have almost 1000 pictures from a 7 day WDW trip between our two cameras, my DS's kid camera, and a PhotoPass CD. When my parents took me in 1973, we spent two or three days and have a couple dozen pictures -- that's it! -- and it was a once-in-a-lifetime trip for us. My theory is that it's "free" to take digital pictures while every click of the shutter had a double cost with both film and developing, not to mention how many more cameras we have nowadays. Anyway, maybe I'm being too introspective, but it's something that's crossed my mind many times lately!

I'm almost sold on the Disney Visa. I'm in no huge hurry, so I'm going to keep my eyes out for a good introductory offer!

 

[blessedby3]

All of my childhood pictures are on slides, which are terribly expensive to turn into pictures! I ended up taking pictures of the slides projected onto a white wall just to have copies!

It's interesting about the numbers of pictures we take now. Despite having been last year and planning to go again in 3 years, I have almost 1000 pictures from a 7 day WDW trip between our two cameras, my DS's kid camera, and a PhotoPass CD. When my parents took me in 1973, we spent two or three days and have a couple dozen pictures -- that's it! -- and it was a once-in-a-lifetime trip for us. My theory is that it's "free" to take digital pictures while every click of the shutter had a double cost with both film and developing, not to mention how many more cameras we have nowadays. Anyway, maybe I'm being too introspective, but it's something that's crossed my mind many times lately!

I'm almost sold on the Disney Visa. I'm in no huge hurry, so I'm going to keep my eyes out for a good introductory offer!

I think you are right about the not taking too many pics in the "old days" since you had to pay to have them printed. It is much easier with digital now. We have lots of slides for pictures, but also those hard square ones that are pictures. Not sure what type of camera took those, but they must have been all the rage

Good luck with the visa. I checked mine today when I was doing the bills, and my reward dollars dont expire until 2015, so longer than I thought.

 

[blessedby3]

Sorry I haven posted in a few days, but I have had a bit of an emergency........I can find the last few days of my trip report notes
I must have jotted them down somewhere else and I cant find them
I may have to go to my "memory" for the last few days of my trip report and thats NOT GOOD!!!!! Im still looking, and will be back soon with or without them

 

[mickeystoontown]

Sorry I haven posted in a few days, but I have had a bit of an emergency........I can find the last few days of my trip report notes
I must have jotted them down somewhere else and I cant find them
I may have to go to my "memory" for the last few days of my trip report and thats NOT GOOD!!!!! Im still looking, and will be back soon with or without them

Oh no! I sure hope you can remember what you did next 'cause I wanna know!

 

[brookelizabeth]

Love this pic! It's such a cool angle!

Yay for the first hair cut! They do a great job there, Henry had his first and second there. (and such a deal for WDW!)

Another convert to Casey's. There is something about those Corn Dog Nuggets...yum!

The exposed lady had me . I get it, nurse away - I'm cool with it! But when your child isn't nursing, cover up a bit!!!!! Like you said, there are teen boys all over the place, they do NOT need to be seeing that!

Sorry to hear you missed out on Ariel! That is so frustrating when you try and try, but always missing it. We tried a couple times to hit Buzz and Woody at DHS this past trip, but we missed it too.

Overall, sounds like a very magical day at MK! And what a perfect way to end it all with Wishes! We've mostly watched it all from the hub, we'll have to try the Tomorrowland bridge sometime!

 

[blessedby3]

Oh no! I sure hope you can remember what you did next 'cause I wanna know!

Well, cant find my notes, darn it, so I guess I will have to remember by my pictures. It will be more general info now, though
I dont know if Alexa got into my stuff, or what. Its weird that the last few pages are gone!

Love this pic! It's such a cool angle!

Yay for the first hair cut! They do a great job there, Henry had his first and second there. (and such a deal for WDW!)

Another convert to Casey's. There is something about those Corn Dog Nuggets...yum!

The exposed lady had me . I get it, nurse away - I'm cool with it! But when your child isn't nursing, cover up a bit!!!!! Like you said, there are teen boys all over the place, they do NOT need to be seeing that!

Sorry to hear you missed out on Ariel! That is so frustrating when you try and try, but always missing it. We tried a couple times to hit Buzz and Woody at DHS this past trip, but we missed it too.

Overall, sounds like a very magical day at MK! And what a perfect way to end it all with Wishes! We've mostly watched it all from the hub, we'll have to try the Tomorrowland bridge sometime!

Thanks Brook....thats the only angle my short self could get, but it did look kinda cool! And hopefully we will get to see Ariel in May. I will give it my best shot!
It was a GREAT day in the MK We just love this park....its our favorite and we spend multiple days here each trip
You should try the Tomorrowland Bridge...Tink flies right over you!

 

[blessedby3]

Okay, so I am going noteless.....I cant find my last days notes, so I will have to rely on my memory and the order of my pictures.

This was our "rest" day. We were feeling tired from a busy week, and wanted to take advantage of the beautiful BLT resort! We slept in a bit and then headed up to our home away from home the CR lounge for breakfast! It was good as usual and after eating we came back to the room to get our suits on. We headed down to the pool for a little relaxation

Im not sure why I only have one picture...guess I was relaxing too much. Here is Kayla and Alexa at the pop jets

After spending a bit of time at the pool, I went over to check and see what activities were going on in the kids club area. My older two had been wanting to do a Mickey tye dye shirt, but they always did that when we were in the parks. Today the CMs said they were painting ceramics, so I told the girls and in we went while Tony and Jonah stayed at the pool.We were the only ones in there for most of the time.
Alexa was in heaven to just paint with water on paper. We do this at home--cuts down on the mess
They also had beads out to make necklaces and bracelets, and coloring papers with markers. Here are some shots of the girls doing their art

Kayla and Olivia with the beads

Alexa with her water paint and Disney picture

I love the determined look on Alexa's face here

Alexa was having a blast--in her element, arts and crafts--just like Olivia!

More hard work for Alexa

After Kayla and Olivia finished painting their ceramics, we left them there to dry and told the CM we would pick them up later. We went back out to grab Jonah and Tony and went up to the room. We were going to DTD and Cirque du Soleil later and the kids really needed to do a bit of schoolwork.
We grabbed a snack and Jonah and Olivia got started on some make up work that they were missing. Good thing we had that nice big table in the kitchen area for them to work!

While they were doing that, Alexa was doing something she NEVER does-----

This child never naps at home---EVER--- and she did fall asleep a couple of times in the stroller, but a nap in the bed-WOW!

She looks so sweet

Continued in next post

 

[blessedby3]

continued from previous post

After the kids got their work done, Alexa napped, and we all got cleaned up and changed, we headed out from BLT to drive over to DTD. We were going to eat at Earl of Sandwich before our Cirque show. Tony had been wanting to see this show for a while, and I always said it was so expensive for a large family. I got a discount code on the disboards and bought tickets right before we left for our trip. Tony was surprised and excited and the kids had no idea of what to expect.
We arrived at DTD and went straight over to eat as we were HUNGRY!


Tony and Oliva enjoying their sandwich

Kayla with hers

Jonah and I

Alexa was still feeling the effects of waking up from that nap and not intrested in eating anything at all, but she really never eats much of anything!! She just wanted to chill with her paci

After eating we walked in a couple of stores to kill time before our show. We saw lots

Alexa's favorite

Kayla and Jonah trying on hats

Peter

Kayla and Jonah--notice she is carrying that EXPENSIVE purse

The balloon ride outside

Alexa isnt looking anymore awake than she was at dinner!

After walking around for a bit we headed over to Cirque.

The theater is small and I dont think there is any bad seat in the house. We had seats far up, but right in the middle. We all enjoyed the show....it was a little different and not like any regular circus, but Im glad we went and got to experience it. I dont think it is a "do every trip" type of thing, but maybe we will go back in a few years---if they have a discount again


After the show we headed back over to do a bit of shopping and grab a yummy snack from Goofys.
I loved this and wanted to bring it home...but didnt

Love this

Our traditional picture with Pooh and friends. Notice Alexa holding her new best friend's hand....too precious!

We finally headed over to Goofys Candy Company to get a treat!
We saw these there and oh, how lovely they looked! I believe they were $50 each!!!

Kayla ended up with a chocolate covered strawberry

continued in next post

 

[blessedby3]

continued from previous post

Olivia got a rice krispie treat covered in chocolate and m & m's

I got a rice krispie treat in while chocolate and m & m's and ate off of it till we left!! They are so sweet and big, but delicious! I cant remember what Tony and Jonah got, and Alexa wont eat any of this stuff! Weird kid!!
We decided to head back to the room and get a good nights rest! We were tired and had to be up early for our breakfast ressies at Boma--yum yum! We didnt hit the dessert offerings at the lounge that night since we had been to Goofys. Tomorrow, Boma and AKL......EE here we come!

 

[Shannon84]

Great update!! I love Alexa holding Piglets hand at DTD that is too cute!!

I do love the Cirque shows, but I wasn't sure what to expect when I first saw one at DTD. That theater is really great, because I have seen ones other places and ended up with terrible seats lol

 

[Holly324]

Love your trip report! Can't wait for our family's trip. We are staying at BLT, and can't wait to just be able to walk to MK!!