A Disney Dream Come True - Nov/Dec TR ~ Oct10 Another TR :)

[ellajeansmom]

I'm caught up again now, glad the picture issue is resolved

Loved all the pics from the MVMCP, the castle looks beautiful - and of course you all look great too! We're pretty certain that we're going that same time next year and I'm already trying to decide whether to do the party on the Sunday or the Tuesday...any thoughts (besides doing both )

I'm glad Demetri enjoyed his special lunch, but sorry that you felt things weren't going well.

I like your weather and clothing update at the beginning of each day

If I don't get back on before next week, have a great time on your mom's trip

 

[Mickey_Mom]

Wonderful Photopass Pictures! This one is my favorite:

So, so sweet. It brings tears to my eyes and really shows that Disney magic!

Thanks That is definately one of my favorites as well, she was soooo happy.

This is so cute! I can picture it completely. What a GREAT surprise! How was the food there? I am tempted...

So sorry to hear this day was a rough one. I understand how sometimes little things pile up.

The food wasn't bad at all, there's a number of choices and we both had a great lunch. He loved meeting Handy Manny and Special Agent Oso!

Your photo pass pictures turned out great!

I know what it is like to have one of "those" days in Disney. I am glad to hear though that it got better after that. I love the fact that they have Handy Manny and Agent Oso at Hollywood and Vine. My nephew would love that!

Thanks! It did get better but, boy by the end of the day I thought the trip was going to be a write off.

It was so fun keeping Handy Manny & Oso a secret from Demetri I knew the look on his face would be priceless -- too bad I didn't get a picture of that but he loves to reenact it for me too!

I'm caught up again now, glad the picture issue is resolved

Loved all the pics from the MVMCP, the castle looks beautiful - and of course you all look great too! We're pretty certain that we're going that same time next year and I'm already trying to decide whether to do the party on the Sunday or the Tuesday...any thoughts (besides doing both )

I'm glad Demetri enjoyed his special lunch, but sorry that you felt things weren't going well.

I like your weather and clothing update at the beginning of each day

If I don't get back on before next week, have a great time on your mom's trip

Yay for a Christmas trip! I remember reading that a weekday MVMCP is a better choice because locals tend to attend the weekend ones. Hope that helps! Oh and plan, plan, plan!

Broken down, the little things weren't major and sound silly when I write them here, but all together they sucked.

 

[Mickey_Mom]

Sorry I've been a bit MIA over here.... the Spectrum Mom's trip is two days away and you all know the crunch of last minute planning!!

I won't have any updates before I go but promise to be full steam ahead after I'm back.

 

[Kathy Jetson]

I hope you have a great trip! Have fun

 

[Stefy]

Hope you guys have a fantastic time

 

[Angies1274]

Hey Tracy!!

I hope you all have a magical trip!! Can't wait to hear all about it!!!

 

[brookelizabeth]

I hope your travel day has gone smoothly and you have a wonderful, magical trip!!!

 

[Mickey_Mom]

I hope you have a great trip! Have fun

Hope you guys have a fantastic time

Hey Tracy!!

I hope you all have a magical trip!! Can't wait to hear all about it!!!

I hope your travel day has gone smoothly and you have a wonderful, magical trip!!!

Thanks you guys! We had a FABULOUS trip and I'd like to take this opportunity for a shameless plug to our Group TR Spectrum Moms Take on the World! that starts on page 72 continuing from our PTR with Julie's (mousescrapper) post #1058.


For this TR, I think I'll switch it up a bit and get away from the storytelling for the sake of telling the story. Frankly, I talk alot and I'm not doing updates because I just take too long to write them. Now I love to take as many pictures as I love to write so I'll post them of course with smaller little monologues about them. I hope you all enjoy!

 

[mickeysmyboy]

I am shamelessly behind! But I will catchup and get over to spectrum mom's to see how fabulous your trip was!!!!

 

[Mickey_Mom]

Monday, November 29th
Day 3 – Disney’s Hollywood Studios Day
Weather: high of 80 degrees, low of 68 degrees
What we wore: shorts and t-shirts


Coming out of RnR, I noticed I had a text from Danica (ZeroToHero). She was at DHS that day for a training session of some sort – didn’t you have a scavenger hunt too that day Danica? – and we’d have the chance to meet up before she had to be there. Sweet! If you remember, the first time we met, we had only a moment or two to say our hellos before my family was whisked away on our spaceships catapulting through Space Mountain. Today, we’d actually have a chance to have a conversation! So I let her know we were on our way to Toy Story Mania and she’d meet us outside the ride after we were done.


I have so many pictures of this area I tried to get a new angle. I like the way the sun shines through.

Howdy partner!

Demetri soon hollered and booted it towards this guy…..

I LOVE the plastic around his boots and the edges of his uniform!



Monkeys!

Time to head on!

My first time ever seeing Mr. Potato Head as I tried to contort around the fast pass line. He wasn’t doing anything when I took the picture.

A silly picture from Demetri…..

….and the two of us were partners for this round.

Is that a bear on the left? Anyway, a hoot and a half was had by all and as we came out the exit I could see Danica waiting. I made my way over to say hi and introduced her to the kids thinking Ariana was ahead with George who’d come out of the ride first. But then George made his way back towards us and I introduced him to Danica and after saying his hello asks where Ariana is.

Say wha??

Now it was pretty busy right then, lots of people milling about and when I started looking around for her, all I could see were stranger’s faces. I had no idea if she’d gone left or right coming out of the ride so I didn’t even know if she was in front of us or behind us. George lets out an, “Oh !#$%” and started off in one direction and Alex headed off in another. Danica whips out her cell phone and asks me what she’s wearing. I blank out and I think I said something along the lines of, “Uhhhh, black tights and uhhhh, a Mickey and Minnie shirt….”

Well that really narrowed it down, didn’t it? I wanted to flip to the recent pictures I’d taken on my camera to give a better description but I also didn’t want to stop looking.

All the while I was craning my neck backwards and forwards going on my tip toes to try and see over the crowds. I ended up staying in one spot so George and Alex would have a single spot to come back to, and what simultaneously seemed like a few minutes and eternity, George came walking back towards us with Ariana. She’d gotten as far as “the hat” according to George. We paused long enough to let Alex catch back up with us and I was wondering to myself just what kind of first impression we’d all made. How was that for a how-do-you-do Danica? Awkward!

Heading back towards the hat, we got the chance to chat a bit about the college program and when it was finishing up for her, Christmas and her up and coming vacation as we strolled toward the parade. George was hanging back to keep Ariana's wandering in check and we settled in to watch.

Ariana LOVES Flik and Princess Atta so she was thrilled they were singing and dancing right in front of us. Kathryn went out to dance and Ariana went with her.

The parade finished up and moved on and Danica's short visit had to come to an end. But first.... a picture!

Heading into the Animation building we were too late for a drawing class so we moseyed in to see what characters were there. Funny story..... we saw the meet and greet area for Lotso and were strolling around looking at the backdrop picture. Just as we got to the far side of the area we noticed where the line forms and started to head over when suddenly the door we were in front of flew open and Lotso came out with his CM. Demetri was literally two steps away from where Lotso was and he threw himself into Lotso's tummy for the biggest hug you've ever seen!

Heading over to the line area, we were amused by the pictures in the queue that made it look like we were in Sunnyside Day Care.

CONTINUED IN NEXT POST.....

 

[DisMomAmy]

Oh no - how scary to lose Ariana!! We lost Alex in one of the stores at Disney - I think it was at Animal Kingdom. He hadn't gone far & was still in the store, but I was scared to death for a minute or two. Now I worry about Zach - he gets more distracted.

 

[Mickey_Mom]

There were tons of pictures Sunnyside children had drawn and Demetri chose which ones he'd like pictures of.....

One of my favorite characters - Chuckles the Clown....

Of course we had to have "Baron Von Shush".....

Then it was our turn to meet Lotso. He's such a NAUGHTY character but he is soooo hugable and smells so sweet!

Waving goodbye to Lotso, we headed over to where Mr. and Mrs. Incredible were... just in time to say goodbye to Elastigirl. Boo!

Frozone came out with Mr. Incredible and as short as this line was, it took forever for it to be our turn cranking up George's impatience level a few notches.

I LOVED the area we came out to -- a huge Snow White display. Ariana was looking at everything.

One more area to move into.... Ariana and Demetri could spend a ton of time here!

CONTINUED IN NEXT POST......

 

[KathyRN137]

Oh my! That's scary about Ariana wandering. I remember how I felt when I lost track of Billy during the MNSSHP! So glad you found her quickly.

It's a great idea (one that I've read lots of parents do) to take a pic of your kids each morning so you can show CMs exactly what they look like that day.

I remember you telling us how much Ariana enjoyed the Snow White exhibit...and Demitri looks so happy next to Lotso!

Looking forward to more.

Kathy


p.s. how are you feeling?

 

[Mickey_Mom]

So could I!


As we headed out of the Animation building we found our stroller and I had another major moment that contributed to my Really Bad Day. George had gotten so irritated at the waiting for the characters that he withdrew from everything to the point where he'd just stand in one spot waiting for direction from someone to point him where to go. This annoyed me to no end and when I tried to talk him out of his funk, he'd just shrug to no avail. A little more pleading and more shrugging and I had to walk away with Ariana to the nearest shop. Coming back there was still no change so off we went to..... more characters!

Making the decision to head off for something to eat, we made our way over to the ABC Commissary.

Very out of character for me, I have no food porn pictures!! Must have still been fuming a bit.

It was getting close to Fantasmic time so we headed off in that direction, stopping to give our regards to the Hag.

It took a mightly long time to find a spot but eventually we were settled in and awaited the show to start and had fun with the audience wave.

My favorite part of the show.... the boat at the end. Enjoy!



We still had Boma dinner to get to but as we were leaving Fantasmic and making our way out of the park, Ariana asked for a candy apple. Knowing the selection might be a little limited for her at Boma, we stopped to get one for her.

Awesome store!

A few last decoration pictures.....

.... and we were off to Boma! I was so excited to try it! Things were still crusty with George but I was determined to make the most of the night.


CONTINUED IN THE NEXT POST.....

 

[Mickey_Mom]

Now being the expert at the difference between Jambo and Kidani at Animal Kingdom Lodge.... I wasn't then and sure enough, I hustled everyone off at the wrong bus stop.


Not one to let a photo opportunity go by however.....

Once again it took a LONG time to get over to Boma, the wait for the shuttle was awhile but I had THE most entertaining conversation with the CM outside. He was going to school in the area and we were talking about our stay so far and the best parts of the different parks. Oh and I think he said his school was very near a Universal park and certain shows would boom through the classroom periodically. Seriously one of the highlights of my day.

Eventually we made it over and I could tell right away things were not going to go well when more CMs were having an absolute blast pounding away on the drums. I mean they were just wailing away and you had to shout to be heard. Oy.

We were seated almost right away and it was clear our table was very much feeling the effects of a long day in the park, short tempers and drum overload. We had a great server but it was lost on us and I could feel myself slipping further into the doldrums, once again feeling guilty at how little of a good time everyone was having.

Still trying to salvage things, I walked thru the buffet and loaded up my plate somewhat.

Despite her candy apple and limited food likes, Ariana surprisingly had a lot on her plate that she enjoyed as well.

A few scenery shots....

..... and our night officially ended on a sour note. Despite Ariana and I loving everything we tried, no one else liked anything that was offered in the buffet and so just sat looking miserable.


The drums were getting even louder.


Ariana reached for something on the table and knocked over a soft drink glass. She tried to help clean it up but Alex swatted her hand away with an impatient flick.


I chided Alex for refusing Ariana's help.


George was critical of me for chiding Alex.


The drums were insanely loud and the CMs were chaotically chanting along.


I brightly (fake) smiled, abruptly stood up and announced it was time to call it a night.


George wanted to know why I was acting that way and turning things into a big deal.





This was the point in which I grabbed Ariana's hand and without a single word led her to the bathrooms wherein I locked us both into a stall and had a cry out. Even then, when I needed that alone time, I took Ariana with me so I wasn't putting the others in a position of having to look after her and seemingly being selfish. Gah!

Quietly rejoining everyone, I sat on my own at the bus stop and the night blissfully ended without further incident. It was an overly polite entrance back to our rooms and bed, and I was resolved in starting the next day off completely forgetting the day before. THE DAY was over.

 

[Mickey_Mom]

I am shamelessly behind! But I will catchup and get over to spectrum mom's to see how fabulous your trip was!!!!

Yay! Glad you can make it over.

Oh no - how scary to lose Ariana!! We lost Alex in one of the stores at Disney - I think it was at Animal Kingdom. He hadn't gone far & was still in the store, but I was scared to death for a minute or two. Now I worry about Zach - he gets more distracted.

Not many feelings are worse than the unknown of where your kids are *shudder*. I need to put a beeper on the poor girl and just have a siren go off with a swirling light beacon whenever I can't see her.

Oh my! That's scary about Ariana wandering. I remember how I felt when I lost track of Billy during the MNSSHP! So glad you found her quickly.

It's a great idea (one that I've read lots of parents do) to take a pic of your kids each morning so you can show CMs exactly what they look like that day.

I remember you telling us how much Ariana enjoyed the Snow White exhibit...and Demitri looks so happy next to Lotso!

Looking forward to more.

Kathy


p.s. how are you feeling?

Do you want a swirling beacon too? I should market it.

The Snow White exhibit was most definately a highlight of Ariana's day and the Lotso memory still makes Demetri laugh.

Can you believe I still have a nagging cough? Not like those Spectrum Mom trip nights (sorry about that ) but still hanging around. I was back to work for one day and then off the next two sick again. But thanks, I am much, much better now!

 

[skiwindham]

Fabulous pix! Thanks for sharing!

 

[Mickey_Mom]

Fabulous pix! Thanks for sharing!

and thank you! Glad you can follow along!


*** Well, the storm has hit! Anyone affected, please take care and stay safe! ***

 

[DisMomAmy]

Home with a snow day here too. Between yesterday & today we're expecting 12-22 inches... and we're south so we're closer to the 22 inch side.

Apparently the groundhog didn't see his shadow today so we're in for an early spring! Not quite sure how he even made it out of his hole though...

I'm sorry you had a little meltdown at Boma... wouldn't it be nice if when we are tired & cranky, everyone else could be happy & refreshed to help us through our moments of weakness. Unfortunately when we overdo it at Disney, we all tend to be tired & cranky at the same time. That never makes for a fun time.

I hope you can leave it all behind and have a magical day the next day.

 

[Tinkermom76]

wow that was quite a day. Don't you hate when someones mood ruins the day? But i'm sure you still love him

I would have been freaking out if I lost the kids

I love F! and thank you for recording that, I will make sure we see it next trip (I think we are doing the dinner package.. shhhhh don't tell I haven't started my PTR yet)