Bumps, bruises, too many teenagers & swimming with sharks! NEW 11/17 pg. 32

[DisMomAmy]

We will go back one more time- Ben and I have passes for this year, we have one "Bring a friend free" and we got Nate a pass for next year (valid for the remainder of this year, too). My DH isn't interested in going so we will go during the week. Probably the week after next. Sounds like you are shooting for a weekend, but I'll send you a message to let you know when we end up going.



The family ride at Blizzard Beach is awesome!!! Blows away the family ride at TL.

I would take the boys during the week but we haven't been able to find a day to do it. Alex was in a camp pretty much every day. This week is a little different, but Zach has soccer camp every morning & Alex has orientation & band camp most of the afternoons this week. I had thought maybe Monday afternoon but then we had to fit some appointments in. So I think it's going to end up being a weekend... which means more crowds but oh well. I bet it wouldn't be crowded if we went now in the rain.

Can't wait to check out the BB rides!

OMG - I thought the same thing. I had to do a double take! Love all the in-ride photos!

Funny, huh?

 

[DisMomAmy]

I only have a couple pictures for the rest of today so I'll write a short update to get the day finished up.

After leaving Typhoon Lagoon we headed back to our villa and, of course, went swimming!

After sitting around the pool for a while we realized how happy we were with the decision to flip our Tuesday & Thursday plans. Had we gone to Typhoon Lagoon on Tuesday, we would have had plans to take the kids to the Sandcastle Club & eat dinner at Shula's. We definitely weren't up for anythng like that today! Luckily we had an early dinner ADR at Raglan Road... a first for us.

The restaurant is gorgeous!! I love the stained glass windows.

We really enjoyed our meal there. It wasn't my favorite meal of the trip but it's such a nice restaurant and we got to see this:

We also saw them outside after dinner doing a little demo & pulling in some kids to dance with them.

We also ran into Heidi & her family at Raglan Road. They weren't sure what they were going to do for dinner that night so it was nice bumping into them.

After dinner, we we did a little more shopping. Alex wanted a couple more NBA Vinylmations & Zach wanted to check the Lego store to see if they had gotten anything new... which, as I expected, they hadn't.

We also stopped at Goofy's & I got this:

Zach decided he wanted a candy apple, then realized that he couldn't have it because he has a space maintainer in his mouth! Between that & the Lego store, he was so disappointed.

On the way back to the resort, we decided to find a Target. I needed a couple grocery items & we knew they sold Legos. With a few breakfast items, waters & a new Lego toy in hand, I came back out to the car (where the family waited) and made Zachary's day!

We spent the rest of the night hanging out at the resort, showering the boys & getting a good night's sleep. We had two park days left & wanted to be at Epcot bright & early.

 

[ddluvsdisney]

Sounded like a great night! We haven't tried Raglan road yet. Looks like it could make it to the list next time.
It's so hard to make ADRs you just never know how you'll feel that night. Good thing it wasn't your date night!!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[disneyfan61]

Amy I also had tears in my eyes when reading about Alex & snorkeling. How wonderful that he did it.

Looks like you all had I great day at TL. I get tired just reading about all that you did.

We have done our trips to Water Country & I have always come out of there totally wiped out! Between the sun, water & climbing up to the rides it always did me in. I don't think we have ever been to TL but have done BB a few times. It was fun.

Hey it's not raining right now & the sun is making appearances every so often.

 

[MRYPPNS]

Ah yes Ragland Road. It's becoming common place for Amy and I to bump into each other at Disney....like you might do at your home town grocery store.

I actually think your family will like Blizzard Beach better then Typhoon Lagoon (except for Crush n' Gusher). The family raft ride is so much better at BB, food is better too). Our plans now are to go to TL when we want a shorter wp day and BB when we really want to do it all.

Story about Crush n' Gusher from our April trip. I wanted to try it and it says that there is one single rider "shoot". So DH stayed with the kids in the shallow pool and I waited in line. For like 20 minutes which was ok until the girl directly ahead of me in line says party of "one" and the CM tells her "no single riders today". Somehow I was quick thinking enough to say to him "I'll ride with her if she wants" . She was fine with it (I think neither of us wanted to waste all that time in line for nothing.) I was a bit miffed that Disney didn't post any signs warning of no single riders as they must do this often

 

[Mickey_Mom]

Caught up! An advantage to being so late to the party is reading everything all at once.

Yay for Alex's accomplishments at TL and good thinking with the Lego treat!

 

[natebenma]

Great afternoon/evening following a fantastic day! Having some mellow time after the water park is important. But- more swimming??? Everyone must have been waterlogged!

We haven't eaten at Raglan Road, but hear really good things about it. Can't tear Ben away from T-Rex!

What a great mommy to get a surprise Lego set to help ease Zachary's disappointment (of course, it doesn't hurt that they are less expensive at Target, does it?)

 

[eandesmom]

After sitting around the pool for a while we realized how happy we were with the decision to flip our Tuesday & Thursday plans. Had we gone to Typhoon Lagoon on Tuesday, we would have had plans to take the kids to the Sandcastle Club & eat dinner at Shula's. We definitely weren't up for anythng like that today! Luckily we had an early dinner ADR at Raglan Road... a first for us.

Zach decided he wanted a candy apple, then realized that he couldn't have it because he has a space maintainer in his mouth! Between that & the Lego store, he was so disappointed.

On the way back to the resort, we decided to find a Target. I needed a couple grocery items & we knew they sold Legos. With a few breakfast items, waters & a new Lego toy in hand, I came back out to the car (where the family waited) and made Zachary's day!

We spent the rest of the night hanging out at the resort, showering the boys & getting a good night's sleep. We had two park days left & wanted to be at Epcot bright & early.

What a nice evening!!!!! I love Raglan Road, we really though about going there this trip as we all like it. Big bummer about the spacer, those are such a drag for kids! Taylor despised it. Sounds like the lego eased the double dissapointment.

 

[DisneyCrafter]

Greg and I loved Crush 'n Gusher on our trip back in April. We rode each one with no line first thing. I do have to say though that you definitely don't need an entire day at the park, we pretty much paid $90+ dollars for a couple hours of entertainment. I'd definitely go again if we added the Waterpark option on our park tickets in the future. Our trip in November is going to be short so I definitely don't see us going to a waterpark (I'm not really sure what the temps will be like either.)

 

[scottny]

Hi,
Great report and pics. The resort looks so nice. Way too much to comment on being I read between last night and tonight, thanks for the links. We were there the same time and looks like we will be there in October when you are there. LOL

Looking forward to reading more.

 

[Angies1274]

Yay for Alex!!!

It sounds like a fun day at Typhoon Lagoon! I could really go for the lazy river right about now...so relaxing!!

Too funny about the pic with your knees.

Glad you enjoyed your meal at Raglan Road. I've heard great things about it!

 

[MeMom]

Much to my surprise, Alex wanted a turkey sandwich! He’d had one earlier in the week at Pecos Bills but it was very plain on a plain hamburger bun. Today’s sandwich was on a very seedy multi-grain bread with tomatoes & lettuce on it. Tim & I looked at each other as he opened up the sandwich but didn’t say a thing. Alex removed the veggies, put the bread back on and took a huge bite! He loved it!

Would he do it???


I had one picture left in the disposable camera…

HE DID IT!!!!! Tim said Alex went so fast he could barely keep up!

It was so exciting!

After that adventure, we called it a day and headed back to empty out our locker and return our key. We did make one stop for Alex’s favorite popsicle on the way out!

Love it! I think a popsicle was definitely in order for such an exciting day for Alex!

 

[PracPerfPatricia]

Hey Amy,

I've just gotten to page 13 and am subbing on...

Your little guys are beautiful! Kudos to them for growing into such young gentlemen with their sports and music accomplishments...you must be very proud...

Beach Club is my bucket list resort so I'm enjoying reading about your stay there and am quite curious to see how the sharks come into the story...:0

 

[jeremysdisneymom]

Way to go Alex!!! Such an accomplishment. I am glad they did the shark reef. It is very cool!!!

Glad you had a good day at TL.

Raglan Road looks like fun. We will have to try it sometime.

 

[MEK]

I missed you last update because I guess I thought I had already read it. DOH! Not be able to see pictures at work definitely messes me up. Some updates that I put off I think I have read.

That ceiling of Raglan road does look pretty cool. I real need to go back there to eat. I've been there once but it was not in the main dining room. I think I really missed a lot.

Yeah for Target and their stock of Legos.

That cupcake looks so pink and pretty.

 

[DisMomAmy]

I already wrote these replies once before they went "poof"! Let's try again!

Sounded like a great night! We haven't tried Raglan road yet. Looks like it could make it to the list next time.
It's so hard to make ADRs you just never know how you'll feel that night. Good thing it wasn't your date night!!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

We really enjoyed Raglan Road & it wasn't busy at all. Could be a good spot to go without an ADR... as long as you go early enough.

Amy I also had tears in my eyes when reading about Alex & snorkeling. How wonderful that he did it.

Looks like you all had I great day at TL. I get tired just reading about all that you did.

We have done our trips to Water Country & I have always come out of there totally wiped out! Between the sun, water & climbing up to the rides it always did me in. I don't think we have ever been to TL but have done BB a few times. It was fun.

Hey it's not raining right now & the sun is making appearances every so often.

The snorkeling with really amazing!

We were going to go to Water Country on Sunday but decided to save it for this weekend. We knew it would wipe out the kids & with school starting Monday, we decided that might not be a great idea.

Ah yes Ragland Road. It's becoming common place for Amy and I to bump into each other at Disney....like you might do at your home town grocery store.

I actually think your family will like Blizzard Beach better then Typhoon Lagoon (except for Crush n' Gusher). The family raft ride is so much better at BB, food is better too). Our plans now are to go to TL when we want a shorter wp day and BB when we really want to do it all.

Story about Crush n' Gusher from our April trip. I wanted to try it and it says that there is one single rider "shoot". So DH stayed with the kids in the shallow pool and I waited in line. For like 20 minutes which was ok until the girl directly ahead of me in line says party of "one" and the CM tells her "no single riders today". Somehow I was quick thinking enough to say to him "I'll ride with her if she wants" . She was fine with it (I think neither of us wanted to waste all that time in line for nothing.) I was a bit miffed that Disney didn't post any signs warning of no single riders as they must do this often

We've been at Disney at the same time for the past four trips & will be for the next two as well!

Glad you were on your toes & figured out a way to ride Crush 'n' Gusher! Can't wait to check out BB!

Caught up! An advantage to being so late to the party is reading everything all at once.

Yay for Alex's accomplishments at TL and good thinking with the Lego treat!

Glad you found me! I should be finishing the rest of the updates fairly quickly so you jumped on board at the right time.

Great afternoon/evening following a fantastic day! Having some mellow time after the water park is important. But- more swimming??? Everyone must have been waterlogged!

We haven't eaten at Raglan Road, but hear really good things about it. Can't tear Ben away from T-Rex!

What a great mommy to get a surprise Lego set to help ease Zachary's disappointment (of course, it doesn't hurt that they are less expensive at Target, does it?)

Tim & I opted for sun bathing but the boys couldn't get enough of the pool!

We'll be trying T-Rex in April! I'm sure the boys will love it.

What a nice evening!!!!! I love Raglan Road, we really though about going there this trip as we all like it. Big bummer about the spacer, those are such a drag for kids! Taylor despised it. Sounds like the lego eased the double dissapointment.

Poor Zach will be a metal mouth for at least 5 more year! The space maintainer has to stay in until his adult molar starts to fill the space (at 11 or 12), then he'll be just about due for braces!

Greg and I loved Crush 'n Gusher on our trip back in April. We rode each one with no line first thing. I do have to say though that you definitely don't need an entire day at the park, we pretty much paid $90+ dollars for a couple hours of entertainment. I'd definitely go again if we added the Waterpark option on our park tickets in the future. Our trip in November is going to be short so I definitely don't see us going to a waterpark (I'm not really sure what the temps will be like either.)

Hitting Crush 'n' Gusher first thing is the way to go! We loved it!

The waterpark + option definitely makes it more desirable to visit the waterparks.

Hi,
Great report and pics. The resort looks so nice. Way too much to comment on being I read between last night and tonight, thanks for the links. We were there the same time and looks like we will be there in October when you are there. LOL

Looking forward to reading more.

Great DISers think alike! Maybe we'll cross paths in October!

 

[KatMark]

Dang, I missed a mini-update.

We've done Raglan Road twice and enjoy it (not the best meal of our trips, but good food, and fun music).

I'm glad you were able to find a Lego at the Target and made Zach smile.

 

[DisMomAmy]

Yay for Alex!!!

It sounds like a fun day at Typhoon Lagoon! I could really go for the lazy river right about now...so relaxing!!

Too funny about the pic with your knees.

Glad you enjoyed your meal at Raglan Road. I've heard great things about it!

It was a fun day & we enjoyed that lazy river too! It's just hard to keep track of each other!

Raglan Road is such a cool restaurant!

Love it! I think a popsicle was definitely in order for such an exciting day for Alex!

Absolutely!!

Hey Amy,

I've just gotten to page 13 and am subbing on...

Your little guys are beautiful! Kudos to them for growing into such young gentlemen with their sports and music accomplishments...you must be very proud...

Beach Club is my bucket list resort so I'm enjoying reading about your stay there and am quite curious to see how the sharks come into the story...:0

Nice to see you back around the DIS!

I am super proud of both of the boys. They are getting so big & doing so much!

We liked the BC & would have enjoyed it more if the weather had cooperated! Just wrote about he sharks so you are almost there!

Way to go Alex!!! Such an accomplishment. I am glad they did the shark reef. It is very cool!!!

Glad you had a good day at TL.

Raglan Road looks like fun. We will have to try it sometime.

The shark reef was cool... I wish I could have done it (and been able to actually see anything). I should probably look into contact lenses again... even if it's just for times like this.

You should definitely try Raglan Road!

I missed you last update because I guess I thought I had already read it. DOH! Not be able to see pictures at work definitely messes me up. Some updates that I put off I think I have read.

That ceiling of Raglan road does look pretty cool. I real need to go back there to eat. I've been there once but it was not in the main dining room. I think I really missed a lot.

Yeah for Target and their stock of Legos.

That cupcake looks so pink and pretty.

I hate when that happens... Sometimes I read the updates (without pictures) when they are in my inbox as a notificatoin then forget to go back!

We were just off the main dining room but we could see in there. We had to get out of our seats to see the dancing on the stage. We'll know to ask for better seats next time.

 

[DisMomAmy]

First I want to share a couple pictures of the boys on their first day of school yesterday! Alex started 6th grade, which means he moved up to the middle school!!

He had a great first day & I hope it is going just as well today!

Zach started 3rd grade, which means he moved up to the "bigs" (K-2 are often referred to as the 'Littles' and 3-5 the 'Bigs').

He also had a great day and made a new friend! His little class had a new boy join them & so far so good.

Moving back to the TR... Having spent Day 8 out of the parks at Typhoon Lagoon & DTD, we were anxious to get back!

One of our traditions is to visit all four parks on the last two days. I’m not sure we’ll keep up with this tradition on our next family trip in April because I’m trying to slow the pace a bit & add more relaxation. But last April, we spent our second to last day visiting Epcot & Magic Kingdom! I don’t have too many notes from this day so I’m going to go mostly on pictures.

We started our day at Epcot.

We arrived just as they were shooting confetti over the waiting crowds at the turnstiles. This is where we got our first look at the crowds of teenagers that seemed to have taken over the parks since we were last there two days ago. There were cheer competitions, dance competitions and several other types of school groups EVERYWHERE!
Upon arriving we headed to the far right & got through the turnstiles quickly.

First up was Sum of All Thrills. Today we decided to let the boys ride together while Tim supervised. I thought I’d head over to the Flower & Garden Festival Center to get a pin… unfortunately they weren’t open yet! But apparently I left the camera with Tim:

Or maybe I stayed while they rode once, then went to find my pin while they rode a second time?? Somehow I have pictures of my walk to the Festival Center too. Or maybe I took these after?

We wanted to check this out, but not yet…

We had somewhere else to go first:

After meeting back up with the family, we rode Mission: Space.

We checked out the play area & stopped in the gift shop & Alex bought a USA Vinylmation. Although this is the only picture I seem to have taken in there.

After Mission: Space the Festival Center must have been open.

Then it was time to ride something the kids had never been on. Ellen’s Universe of Energy! I know I’ve been on this before, but I can’t remember when. Alex really liked the Jeopardy theme. It was cute & I’m glad we rode it, but it is very long so it won’t be at the top of our list for next time. And I was a bad DISer and didn’t take ANY pictures!

We headed to visit with Nemo next.

Continued...

 

[DisMomAmy]

Continued...

We wanted to ride Figment but were running short on time so we opted for a quick stop at Club Cool instead. After a quick drink we were off to Canada for lunch at Le Cellier! This is always a favorite for us & I’m anxious to see the new 2TS credit lunch menu. We always pay OOP so we’ll probably continue to eat there as long as the prices haven’t gone up too too much.

After lunch we headed toward the Kaki Gori stand, stopping to hit the Kitcot stations in Canada, UK & France along the way. This is when we REALLY noticed the teenagers! There were many groups of girls in cheer/dance outfits warming up outside theWorld ShowPlace Pavilion (between the Canada & the UK). Some pictures from our walk:

OK, no crowds down here…

Tigger & Pooh weren’t there but I wanted to check out their M&G refurb:

Moving on…

Tim took the boys to get their books stamped in France, I tried to pick up some Elephant Ears for my friend Laura. She & her girls REALLY loved them when they were at Disney the previous year. They were on the menu, but unfortunately they were out of them that day!

After France we headed to Japan to get Kaki Goris for each of the boys. We stopped in Morocco on the way.

I love this pavilion.

Continued...