Basking in the Glow of the (not so) Creepy Clown -2/11-Pictures, Final Thoughts, PTR!

[princessjv]

I'm utterly shocked that the wait time and actual was so far off. Shame on the CM's manning TSM. But I love the geek shot.

 

[CJsMom]

Woo - hoo for the 2 week trip!!!!
The job will work out - take your trip and have fun!
I was blown away by the line for TSM fastpasses when we went in November. The rest of the park was pretty empty - EVERYONE was either in line to get on TSM or in line for a fastpass! And they were all gone for the day by the time we got to our return time of 1:30pm. Crazy! It was an awesome ride though!

 

[tinacaplan]

Well, I have to say again, Brooke, that I am super impressed with your serene outlook on the happenings in your life and your decision to go on your trip! I can't believe the time has come up so quickly! As I said on my PTR, we'll probably miss eachother by a little bit on the 26th...

The pictures of Mater and Lightening are great...I'm wondering how Max is going to feel when they don't start talking to him or interacting in some way? We'll see....

Can't wait for another update!

 

[moparop]

Glad to hear the trip is on!! I am hoping that the job/nanny thing work out -- it sounds like it would be perfect!

 

[Jupiter&Wolfe]

Well I've been so busy since I got back from my trip 5 months ago I forgot to check in here - psyched to see another great TR from Henry and Co! Just got caught up and loving it already, and can't wait to hear about your 2 week trip once that is all said and done!

 

[Lovemy3babes]

Nice update Brook! Isn't it funny how kids grow quickly? Henry is big enough to have his own gun at TSM! Awww. Big boy.

Glad you were able to have a fun Dis meet. Great pictures! Congratulations on being able to go on the trip for sure. Lots of fun to plan now. Yay!!

 

[disneyfan61]

Great Dis meet!! I would look really tiny next to you too as I am only 5 feet tall

That's great that you made your decision about your trip & job. Going on the trip & then concentrating on the job is a good thing.

Sounds like a lot of fun for all of you meeting at IASW meet!! I will be thinking of you all that day.

 

[skhermsmeyer]

Holy cow! I haven't been on here much lately and I had a LOT to catch up on!


Loved all the updates and that you still get to go on your trip! A job will happen when it happens. Enjoy your vacation and eat a mickey bar for me!

Noah kept finding those same buses everywhere (it's like he could smell them), but we never gave in and bought them. He got a little toy monorail instead.

How is the potty training going? I hope H takes to it before long. It's so nice not to have to take a diaper bag everywhere as long as I don't have Audrey. I'm sure the ride maker at the Disney store will work some .

BTW, SO jealous of your disney store! I would love to get my hands on some of that stuff. You can never had too many Mickey shirts, right?

 

[Spoogle]

They didn't have it fixed in November either. I just had to take a picture of it too! I guess you actually have to be ON the ride for it to work?!?

 

[mrsksomeday]

I love seeing pictures of Henry with the Lightning McQueen and Mater, he looks so happy!!

Love the laundry pose!! How wonderful having a DISmeet in front of the China Bowl. Henry has some great karate moves, that boy has skillz!!

We had the same question when we went to TSM, the wait time said 75 minutes and the queue was as empty as yours was, what is up with that? Are the people just forgetting to turn in the red time lanyards to the CM's so it never gets updated?

Awww I love how Henry hugged the tinkertoy pole.

Sorry I hadn't been posting lately, Bill and I have been sick, but I have been reading along. I hope to keep up from now on. Congrats about your upcoming trip!

 

[All7OfUs]

I was just reaching this conclusion after seeing pictures of you and your friends on your thread. You need to take a picture with Liesa.

Well... we did have plans to meet...

 

[All7OfUs]

Arent' those on-the-spot DISMeets fun?? Love it!

yup, you must have only met the shorties on this one.

 

[dekkerdisneydreamer]

First:

CONGRATS ON YOUR TRIP!! HOORAY FOR TWO WEEKS OF DISNEY!!

Now, back to our regularly scheduled commentary.

How sweet is it that Henry was trying to talk to McQueen and Mater? I just love kids and their total innocence.

What a great homage to Jordan. Through the last few months I've read his TR and see what he is going through. He is honestly only about an hour from where I live, but I've never replied on his TR's before, so I'm nervous about sending him a letter.

I agree with PP, I don't think you're a giant, just that everyone else is slightly vertically challenged.

 

[norybell]

Hooray for your trip! (Though boo for the ongoing job-search frustrations.)

I might be there March 1-5 (though it's far from set in stone), so maybe we'll run into each other -- which would be funny, considering we live in the same city!

 

[brookelizabeth]

Awsome !!!!!
I knew at the end of the last update our meet was coming up but while catching up today I was not thinking about it until I saw the title.

It was so much fun meeting you and doing it there at the China bowl was great.

TSM 80 minute wait listed and no line!!!!!

I may have to check it out the next time just to see.

I have seen that phenomenon with TSM on MANY TRs. I think the line was probably more around 30 minutes, so it wasn't completely non-existent, but that first room was EMPTY! I think I might give it a look this coming trip too, I'd love to ride it more than once!

I think it's just perfect that we met right there by the China Bowl! I want to print off those pics and send them to Jordan, but I truly stink at remembering to do stuff like that.

Great update, Brook. Funny how different Henry was this trip compared to last (shy with the Cars and then wondering why they didn't talk) and being able to shoot his own machine on Toy Story Mania.

Very nice picture of you and Pat and the "Karate Kid".

It's pretty fun to watch him react differently to things each trip! He's already talking about what he's going to do this coming trip, so I know he remembers a lot. I wonder if he will start to remember the park layouts?

Aren't those pics of Henry showing his karate moves hilarious? It was fun to watch him attempt! I'll try to remember to get more this time too.

Oh and by the way -

You are not a giant-- I am short! Really short!

Great attitude about the looking for a job and putting it off. It will come sometimes you just have to wait for it.

I wish i could squeeze a quick trip down but I will have to wait until Oct and I am still looking at NYE.

And I really am tall for a female, I'm almost 5'9" -so I do tower above quite a few people.

The job will come, I'm so ready for it, but I know I just have to be patient and persistent. It'll work out! I don't want to settle for just anything either, I want something I care about.

We are still entertaining NYE as well. I haven't a clue if the finances would work out, but we just might book a room anyway at 11 months. We can always cancel. We would go down on the 30th and stay for a few days after the 1st.

You got some great pictures of Henry in that last update. Ah - so cute that he wanted the cars to talk.

Love your DIS meet pics and your Jordan pose.

80 minute wait time and there appeared to be no one in the queue. Great score Henry - way to go!

Glad the trip is still on, even though we would have loved to see you in May!

I would have LOVED to met all your ladies in May!!! Wouldn't it be nice if money was no object and both could work out?

I am over the karate poses for Jordan -- both yours and Henry's!

So neat you were able to meet up with Poolrat! Cute picture of the two of you!

Oh, the irony of your cell phone app saying you aren't at the Toy Story ride when you were right there!

Hurray for taking the trip! So happy for you! (And for me because that means another TR! )

Aren't we nuts?!? It was fun though! This time I wonder if I can convince Joe to do it? Hmmm...I doubt it, he knows it will get posted here!

I am SO SO excited about the trip! I want to start the PTR!

 

[brookelizabeth]

Yay another trip to read about!! Are you going to be posting on FB during this trip? I loved following you around the parks.

I would love to come to one of the DIS meets one of these days. We will be leaving for our cruise on the Magic in 69 days - no parks this trip. I am a little sad that we will be so close - but I am also super excited to relax on a week long cruise.

Yep! I will be posting to FB! I LOVED doing that last time. It's so much fun to share the magic! I hope to do a few more videos this time and upload those too.

Oooooh, a cruise. Joe and I talk about doing DCL at least 3 times a week. It would be VERY hard not to go to the parks when you are so close, but I bet you won't even hardly care once you are there - it's going to be incredible!

How cute that Henry is now big enough to man his own gun! And a decent score, too!

Glad to hear that the trip is still on. You need to keep going in life! A job will come when you least expect it; just keep making memories while you can.

It's so much fun now that he's big enough! He loves being a "big boy" on those rides too. I asked him the other day what the top four things are that he wants to do:
1) buy a toy
2) teacups
3) Test Track
4) Soarin'

Sounds good to me!

Wow, going again so soon?! That's awesome Brook! Wish I was going to be there for the DISmeet.

Sounds like you have a great friend!

Yep! We have had this trip on the books for a while, but it was so up in the air with getting a job. Which I do NEED. We could really use the finances to make life easier, but it will happen. I'm really excited that this trip is going to work out - and for two weeks!

Me, me, me!!! I'll be there!! I'm excited to hear you'll be there in March!! I think you have a good plan - at this point it's getting so close to the March trip to start a new job. If something happens between now and then, it will work out. If not, you can pick it up again after.

Great tip on the TSM game - I have the game app but didn't realize there was something special to unlock. We haven't played it much yet...

Exactly on the job! I'm going to start looking daily again at the beginning of Feb. It feels really good right now not to have it dwelling on my mind. It gets stressful when you apply for things you think you will get in a flash and then hear nothing... I've never had so much trouble getting a job!

I'm super excited for our Small World meet! I wonder what the headcount is for that???? I'd say around 20 or even more counting the families!

I think the TSM game has a secret wallpaper or something. I hope it works this next trip, supposedly one of the past updates to the game had the fix. We shall see!

 

[brookelizabeth]

So glad you got to meet Pat. That was pretty smart of her to look for you at the China Bowl. I'm impressed.

What was it with TSM? Where were all the people?

I was just reaching this conclusion after seeing pictures of you and your friends on your thread. You need to take a picture with Liesa.

It was very impressive of her to just show up! She's a smart lady!

Well, it was September. Crowds are 1, 2, and 3's generally. Love that. So, generally that means a max wait time of about 30 minutes for the headliners, and I'd say 30 was more realistic for TSM, not the 80 they posted! I think they try to trick people with it to filter them into other areas of the park.

It will be fun to find out who's taller, Pat or Liesa, when they get that far in their TRs. I wonder if the Liesa Greeting was done????

Love the update---and the "no line" at TSM!! What a remarkable thing to witness
I love this ride so much, but we usually only do one MGM day so I dont get to ride multiple times. On our next trip in May, we are doing 2 MGM days, so hoping for extra ride time
Henry did a great job on that ride! Great score for a 3 yr old
Good luck with the job hunt....and Great news about the trip being bumped closer! I wish I could bump ours closer.....ticker is at 132 today Guess that is better than the 200plus days I started with

I LOVE September. The 5 minute wait at Soarin', the short line at TSM. Love, love, love it. It probably won't happen this year again, but maybe next!

We never ride multiple times either, but I do hope to this coming trip! I'm going to peek into the attraction to see if the posted wait time is real or not, I've seen it too many times where it's way too high but there isn't anyone in line! I'll do standby for 30 minutes, no prob!

I hope these next 132 days fly right by! The hardest part, I think, is when you get so close and the days just draggggggg on and on.

Another fab update Brook! I swear, Henry gets cuter and cuter with each one! I love that he wasn't shy when meeting Lightning McQueen and Mater, what a big boy he is now! It's pretty cute that he was confused as to why they weren't talking! Girl, you had some great Karate skills there! Were you doing the Karate Kid one, the crane or whatever it's called? Henry's imitation is priceless, love it! Was he making sounds too? Ok, what was up with the posted TSM time and then an empty line? Nice app. you have too, so you're in the line for TSM and it says you're not? Love the last shot of him standing against the storybook.

For the record, you don't look like a giant, lol! I feel your pain though...I'm 5'9" and feel like I tower over some of my friends!

I'm going in Feb., well the very beginning. Do you mind switching your trip back a month so we can meet up?? Or just take 2 trips in Feb., that's an even better idea! Take your time to think it over!

Bummer about the job but hey, that just means your trip is moving forward. I'm sure the right one will present itself.

You asked if I was planning to write a TR, I'm thinking about it! I've never really posted pictures of my kids online before though. And pics can live on forever, as we sadly saw on Kathy's PTR with Tim's pic!

I haven't a clue what karate move I was doing - I've just seen it before. The Crane would make sense, it kinda looks like one with the leg and the arms being the wings.

Another tall female! Woo-hoo!!! I'm almost 5'9". We gotta meet up sometime and take a pic together so neither one of us feels like a giant! I like your idea of two trips. Oh, I wish! Your ticker is looking soooooo good. Do you have most everything together, or running around doing all those last minute things?

Or-wait! You could just EXTEND your trip to at least the 26th. That could work too, right????

LOL about Tim's whip pic! SO TRUE!!!! I love that she saved it to her computer so she could pull it out at anytime. Just hilarious!

On a serious note though-if it freaks you out to post your face, I think Photobucket has the tools where you can blur faces, or put a big dot over it - I know TarzansKat does that, and other DISers too. Or just show the pics without people. I'd love to read your TR!

 

[brookelizabeth]

Ummmm... no comment!
How cute that Henry tried to run over and see the Cars. I wish they talked back to you.

Love your tribute to J! You should of done a karate pose with Pat!!!!

Henry was really trying hard at those moves!!!

80 minute wait at TSM with no one in line????? What is going on there? I didn't know about the TSM app. I wonder if you needed to have your GPS enabled for it to work? I think I need to DL that!

It would be VERY cool if Mater and McQueen spoke back! I read (on another board *cough*) that over in DL Mater and McQueen DRIVE down the street for the Pixar Parade. That is stinkin' coooooooool. I wish they would do that here!

I have seen a long wait posted many times for TSM, only to have no lines - lots of TRs have reported that, so if it's a quieter season, give it a try, you can always turn around and leave. I'm going to try in Feb/March since the crowd level is still pretty low.

About 2 weeks after we got back there was an update for the TSM app that fixed the bug to unlock the easter egg. So hopefully it works this time!

I was coming from Star Tours while Brook and her family were at MM.
I knew they wer going to head to TSM after lunch. I got the text that they were stopping at Mater first then TSM. I figured going down the SoA I could catch them if I miss them at Mater.
I looked down the San Fran street with the China Bowl and saw a woman give her husband the camera. They had a stroller so it caught my attention.
I was still pretty far away so I was not able to see if I could recogize her, but I kept watching as I got closer. She went and did the crane pose, now I did not have to ask.
It was perfect that we met there.



Well, you might get that sooner than you think.
Just keep watching my TR and Liesa's TR and see if we meet.

I love that the pose gave it away! Jordan would be so proud! I'm guessing my very PINK shirt helped you spot us too!

There was no Liesa Greeting when she met you though, right????

 

[brookelizabeth]

Great updates, Brook
Congrats on your upcoming 2 week vaca! I'd love a 2 week vaca

Thank you! We figured this is probably the only chance we will get for a 2 week vacation. When I start with a new job I will most likely get 2 weeks TOTAL, and we have to fit WDW and Minnesota in - so, gotta take advantage why we can! Joe gets 4 weeks right now since he's been with the same company for 13 years (his NYC company is a distant branch of the same company-all owned by Thomson Reuters).

I'll be there for any possible DIS-meets 2/28 thru 3/6 !! Sadly I'll be at AK the morning of the big iasw meet. Maybe we can exchange cel phone #s before.

Ooooh, bummer that you are going to miss the meet!

Have your plans all changed, or is what is on your PTR currently your set agenda? I will compare and see where we meet up and hopefully our paths will cross. I'll PM you my cell # too.

I know you are taking off today (or is it tomorrow?) for the Spectrum Moms trip - ENJOY!!! Have a magical time!!

I love your 'Karate Kid' pose picture, too cute!

What a great DisMeet!

I CANNOT believe the line was that empty at TSM. I would have got in the stand-by line & then rode it again with the fast passes!

Congratulations on your upcoming trip. I am soooooooo jealous!!!!

I don't know why we didn't go standby after that??? We didn't even really think about it. I think we are just used to only getting to ride once and that's that. Who knows!

Sorry I forgot about this part. It was the Tuesday after Labor Day. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were probably some of the lowest crowds I have ever seen. We both have some pictures of the ridiculously low wait times for some popular rides.

Yep-exactly! I'll say it again, I LOVE SEPTEMBER!!!!!!!! Seriously, it rules.

Loving the picture of Amazon Brook & Poolrat Pat Just how tall are you anyway? I have an aunt that is 5'10", she feels like a giant all the time, and I feel like a midget next to her!

I don't know why you thought you were at the Toy Story ride, clearly you were not How odd that you were getting that message on your phone!

I love seeing Henry grow and blossom through your trip reports, he changes so much with each one!

I'm so glad that you decided to stick with your 2 week vacation, you guys are going to have a blast

I'm almost 5'9" - so ya, I'm tall! My Mom is 5'11", and my dad is 5'10", but he's the tallest in his family. My sister got the short gene, she's 5'3" and my brother is 6'3". We are an interesting bunch!

The app thing was a bit annoying - I tried several times, thinking I was doing something wrong...but about 2 weeks after we got back there was an updated with a fix for it. So hopefully it will work this time!

I am so, so, SO excited for the 2 week vacation. Henry is too - he asks about it everyday now. Today we made the countdown....which is an interesting piece of art...

 

[brookelizabeth]

Isn't it adorable in there? I love that place!

SOOO cute!

What a great story!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am so glad your trip is still on, selfishly if it was early May, we might have been able to meet! I know the job thing will work out as it's meant to be. It's hard and no fun but good for you for letting it go

I am bummed I'm going to miss all you guys too, it would be so much fun to meet you all! Your trip is going to be fantastic! It will be fun to see the differences between the F&GF pictures I take at the beginning and those you guys will snag at the end.

I hope to be stopping in at the Writer's Stop again this trip for another iced mocha and treat - I gotta take pictures in there, it is adorable!

Yay for getting to see Brook again and meeting an awake Henry instead of a sleeping one! (Can't blame the kid it was midnight!) See you guys at Small World in just a few weeks!!!!!

I'm SO EXCITED for our kiddos to actually MEET this time! I think Henry will think it's hilarious that you guys call Brooklynn, Brook or Brookie, since he knows that's my name. The Small World meet is going to be a lot of fun, so many DISers!

YAY for going to Disney next month!! WOOT WOOT don't you just love that feeling!!!!

Henry's pictures in front of the Chinese Laundry are just too cute! He is so adorable doing his karate moves!!

Yay for a great DIS meet!!!

YES! It's such a great feeling! What's even better is single-digit-dancing, isn't it?!??! And the weather has been looking a lot nicer down there, in the 70s.

Happy that your long trip is still on although it would have been great to meet all of you in May
What a great dismeet and I love the shout out to Jordan!!
I think I wil start wearing different shoes in my pictures so I don't always look like such a shrimp!!!
Great score Henry!!! I will have to remember the app when I go inside TSMM to see if it works

Tracy

about the shoes! Then another DISer will take a picture of your crazy shoes and say, "Look at these platforms this woman was walking around in!"

I think the app should work now, a fix for that did go about about 2 weeks after we got back. I will try again!

I am glad you have some direction on what you are doing. If they call now, I'd just tell them you can start after a certain date. If it is meant to be, they will be fine with that.

I told Jill yesterday that our short trips stress me out. Trying to prioritize what we are going to do is not nearly as easy as have 10-11 days to just take our time, do a few things each day, and have plenty of down time. That's especially true this time, because we will have a friend with us who rarely gets to go, and we want to hit all of her favorites and show her some new things.

We're glad you'll be joining us at the Small World meet. It should be a lot of fun! Our plan is to go straight to Dumbo and Peter Pan first, so we may cross paths at opening or in Fantasyland even before Small World.

Six weeks from this morning, we'll be opening Animal Kingdom. That's a nice thought with which to start today.

That is the exact plan I have for the job. Something will work out in just the right time.

The short trips are hard to plan! I can understand the stress. It is very strange to be planning a long one too - we aren't generally park hoppers (at least we don't plan to hop), and I tried to make a plan with hopping all over, but it just wasn't flowing for me, so we currently have plans for the first half of the trip, and NOTHING for the second half. We are just going to do whatever we feel like doing those days. Joe is lovin' it. Wake up, look at the projected crowd levels and think, "Hmmm....Hollywood Studios sounds good today, let's go." Perhaps we'll even do the "Whatever bus comes first" game at some point!

That is very fun about your friend coming along for all the magic and fun! I am certain you guys will be able to show her a great time.

I'm very excited about the DIS meet! If we get there at RD we will hit Dumbo first too. And we might join ya on Peter Pan, Henry hasn't ever ridden it, so it's on The List for this trip.

I'm utterly shocked that the wait time and actual was so far off. Shame on the CM's manning TSM. But I love the geek shot.

I have seen that on several TRs too! I think they post it higher in attempts to filter people to other areas of the park. Maybe I'll ask one of them if I see it again this trip. Call 'em on their game!

I try to nab a few geek shots when I see them. It's always interesting to me to see the gadgets and gears that make the ride work. If I ever work at WDW, I'd love to be a ride operator I think!

Woo - hoo for the 2 week trip!!!!
The job will work out - take your trip and have fun!
I was blown away by the line for TSM fastpasses when we went in November. The rest of the park was pretty empty - EVERYONE was either in line to get on TSM or in line for a fastpass! And they were all gone for the day by the time we got to our return time of 1:30pm. Crazy! It was an awesome ride though!

Isn't TSM nuts?! The FPs go very quickly. I think it's a fun ride, but it's not my favorite. I don't think I would wait more than 30 minutes for it. Now, RnRC, that will wait for! Love the thrill rides!

I wonder if when Star Tours opens if it will take away some of the TSM madness.

Well, I have to say again, Brooke, that I am super impressed with your serene outlook on the happenings in your life and your decision to go on your trip! I can't believe the time has come up so quickly! As I said on my PTR, we'll probably miss eachother by a little bit on the 26th...

The pictures of Mater and Lightening are great...I'm wondering how Max is going to feel when they don't start talking to him or interacting in some way? We'll see....

Can't wait for another update!

Man! That STINKS that we will be right there, yet miss each other! Our flight gets in around 3ish I think, so we are guessing we'll be at the BWV by 5ish and we will most likely go to Epcot for dinner since it's right there. Or DHS. I'll have to hop over to your PTR to find out the details of what time you leave.

As for the job - I feel a lot of peace about it all. It'll happen when it's right. I refuse to take something that is just a job-I want something I enjoy, feel passion about and care about. So that plays a factor too - I'm picky. I know the being out of work for the past year+ is a general hindrance against me too, but it'll work out at some point! Hopefully by summer or earlier.

As for Mater & McQueen, I wish I could remember what I told Henry... I might have just told him they couldn't talk. He already tells me that all the characters aren't really them, "they are pretend Mommy." We never once told him they weren't!

Glad to hear the trip is on!! I am hoping that the job/nanny thing work out -- it sounds like it would be perfect!

Thanks Mop! I do hope the nanny thing works out...but there is also a possibility my SIL might be moving here, so if SHE could be our nanny that would be even better! Who knows! (did you start your TR? i don't think i'm subscribed if you did!)

Well I've been so busy since I got back from my trip 5 months ago I forgot to check in here - psyched to see another great TR from Henry and Co! Just got caught up and loving it already, and can't wait to hear about your 2 week trip once that is all said and done!

I had sworn I saw you post before, but I don't exactly have a great memory - Mommy Brain FOR SURE. Anyway, glad to have you!!! I hope to finish this up in the next couple weeks and do a very quick PTR too!