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

[ddluvsdisney]

Really enjoyed your TR again Amy!

We have never seen the parade at AK not even to get stuck. We are always out of AK before 2. I'm not a big parade person but it would be nice to see a little of it someday.
The last day is so sad!!
You must be so excited about your girls trip!! It's coming fast!!

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[PracPerfPatricia]

Awwww... a stuffie rescue... that Snow Bear is really cute too...

Poor Zach looks so sad to be leaving...

Nice photos in Animal Kingdom... that park is such a photogenic place... No matter where you look there is some great detail to photograph...

Very nice TR...

& now you have a new trip right around the corner...

 

[mommytothreeboys]

Great way to spend the last few hours!

So cool that you could rescue Snow Bear.

 

[Angies1274]

The last day is always so sad. I never want to wave goodbye either.

Glad you were able to see the parade as you were walking out! We still haven't seen the parade in AK. I was hoping we would see it in July but we didn't get to. It looks so cute!

Yay! Glad Snow Bear was rescued!!

 

[DisMomAmy]

SNOW BEAR !!!!!!

Every parents fear, to lose that one lovey that can not be replaced. But thanks to a bit of pixie dust and Amy's NH bound family we had Snow Bear back within 24 hours!

So glad we were still there to give him a ride home!

What a great last day Amy! How was it coming into AK so late in the day? Were the ride lines long at that time? I'm worried we only have a half day for AK. Wish time could stand still in Disney!

Great parade pictures!

It wasn't too bad - I think AK was a recommended park on easywdw. I used to follow Tour Guide Mike but easywdw gives equally good info, it's free & he updates his info quicker.

Oh No. Not your last day. What a great trip report.

The boys look so bummed to have to leave.

I love your shirt. So, so cute! You look like you are having a blast on EE. Too bad you got a battle scar to prove it.

I absolutely love the parade at AK. It really is my favorite!

Looking forward to your final thoughts.

And - and yeah for recovering Snow Bear.

I know... the last day is such a bummer! I hope we get to see the whole AK parade sometime. It's so colorful & fun.

Thanks on the shirt... I've got it in my suitcase for next week! Did I just say that... yes, next week!

We were happy to give Snow Bear a lift home!

Once again, I really enjoyed your pictures!

Not bad for your last afternoon at AK- Dino twice, EE twice and Kali. And getting some bonus parade time.

Did the cheerleaders get soaked?

So sad when you walk out those gates for the final time!

for your part in the rescue of Snow Bear!

I am woefully behind on your PTR for the girls trip, but it sounds like an absolute blast!!! You must be out of control excited!

We made out pretty well at AK! And yes, I believe the cheerleaders got pretty wet on Kali! I don't think anyone's make up got too messed up though.

It's always sad to leave... that's why we have to plan the next one right away!

One week until the girls trip! We are doing a fun countdown... you should at least stop by to check out the daily "Every day Disney" pictures!

that's pretty funny about the cheerleaders on Kali!

OW on the bumped head, hopefully the next trip will be minus bumps, bruises and too many teenagers!

YAY for finding and sending snowbear, that is so traumatic for all involved, what a relief!

It was kind of funny to be riding with a bunch of cheerleaders all decked out with their hair & make up done! Luckily they had already performed.

Let's hope for fewer bumps this time... I am fairly clumsy but this trip was an all time high for me!

We were happy to reunite Snow Bear with Liam!

What a fun afternoon at AK; I always regret not staying long enough for the parade.

I don't like waving goodbye either...it's so sad; but glad you have another trip to plan.

In April, I think we'll plan an afternoon at AK rather than getting there for rope drop.

Good-bye is so sad! But, yes, planning the next one always helps!

you really named your trip report correctly! you have several battle wounds!!!
Love, as always, your reports!!!
Can't wait for the next one!!!

Thanks Mo!!

Way too many bumps & bruises!

All too familiar.

The only way to survive leaving is to be planning your return.

Enjoyed the AK pictures!

Yup! Definitely have to plan the next trip right away!!

What a fun last day you had. Cheerleaders didn't look too bad.

Waving goodbye to Disney is so sad.

Great report.

Thanks Scott!!

The cheerleaders actually weren't all that awful but the various groups did seem to be everywhere those last two days. They were fresh in my mind when I got home & started the TR!

I don't want to wave when I leave Disney, either.

Thank goodness you were able to deliver Snow Bear to Liam -- I used to live in fear of losing Connor's Baseball Bear.

My boys each had (still have) blankies... we learned our lesson when we tried to buy a back-up for Alex & couldn't find one. Zach has 3 or 4 matching blankies!

 

[DisMomAmy]

Really enjoyed your TR again Amy!

We have never seen the parade at AK not even to get stuck. We are always out of AK before 2. I'm not a big parade person but it would be nice to see a little of it someday.
The last day is so sad!!
You must be so excited about your girls trip!! It's coming fast!!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

AK definitely isn't a full day park for us either. We aren't big parade people but this one is a little different so I'd like to see the rest of it sometime.

ONE WEEK until the girls trip!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So much to do!!

Awwww... a stuffie rescue... that Snow Bear is really cute too...

Poor Zach looks so sad to be leaving...

Nice photos in Animal Kingdom... that park is such a photogenic place... No matter where you look there is some great detail to photograph...

Very nice TR...

& now you have a new trip right around the corner...

Snow Bear is adorable! We were so glad the resort found him & were able to deliver him to us. It all worked out really well.

Zach is always so sad when fun things are over.

AK is a beautiful park - the details are amazing.

One week!!!

Great way to spend the last few hours!

So cool that you could rescue Snow Bear.

It's always fun to revisit our favorites on the last two days.

We were happy to bring Snow Bear home!

The last day is always so sad. I never want to wave goodbye either.

Glad you were able to see the parade as you were walking out! We still haven't seen the parade in AK. I was hoping we would see it in July but we didn't get to. It looks so cute!

Yay! Glad Snow Bear was rescued!!

It was fun seeing glimpses of the AK parade. It looks like a fun parade! It definitely seems like one of things that just happens if you have time... rather than a parade you plan to see. I wish we had seen the AK Christmas parade when we were there last November.

 

[DisMomAmy]

As promised, I want to share some pictures from our trip to NYC in early August. It all started when we bought tickets to see a Yankees game last spring. Tim grew up in Southern CT so he’s always been a Yankees fan & Alex has taken after him. Zach & I are Red Sox fans. Since we’ve been to a few Red Sox games, we thought it was time to see the Yankees in NY. Plus, even though Tim had been to many Yankees games, he hadn’t been to the new stadium. What started as an overnight trip turned into a three night trip with several other things added to the itinerary.

Alex had summer school through the first Thursday in August so we picked him up at noon & drove down to NY. We knew we might hit traffic so our only plan for the day was to get checked into the hotel. We figured we’d eat on the road.

There are some really pretty highways through CT.

Finally we were in NY & we could see NJ on the other side of the river.

We actually made really good time & didn’t hit traffic until we were in Manhattan! The hardest part was when we made it to Times Square & we couldn’t find the entrance to our hotel! The Marriott Marquis is right in Times Square so we could see it, but because the road is closed off in front of it, we couldn’t figure out where to go. We did finally make it!

The amazing view from our window (that's the New Year's Eve ball!):

After getting settled in, we went on a search for food. We had made such good time on the ride down we hadn’t stopped.

These creepy characters were outside Toys R Us.

With their tip bags…

Toys R Us was HUGE!

I think I took this picture the next day, but this is where we ended up eating!

It was sooo busy in there! But we’d promised the kids McDonald’s (thinking we’d be eating in the car) so that’s where we went. We walked in and it was CROWDED! Alex said, “Can’t we just drive through?”

After becoming fully sensory overloaded, we headed back to the room to get settled in & get a good night’s sleep.

Night view from the room:

Continued...

 

[DisMomAmy]

Day 2 - The plans for day two were to go to the Bronx for a tour of Yankee Stadium, then to the American Museum of Natural History.

A few pictures on our way to the subway:

Yankee Stadium!

Continued...

 

[DisMomAmy]

After lunch at the Hard Rock Café next door, we hopped back on the subway & went to the Museum of Natural History.

We didn’t spend very long there because we were all tired. Plus, Alex has a hard time with museums. He gets bored very quickly. We had dinner scheduled at Carmine’s but we it wasn’t until later so we went back to the room to relax a bit. After dinner I checked out the Disney store!

We also went back into Toys R Us for Zach to buy a souvenir & to get some goodies.

Continued...

 

[DisMomAmy]

Day 3 – Today was game day! The only plans for today were to see the NY Yankees play the Seattle Mariners. It was a HOT HOT day and we were sitting in the sun. We bought a lot of drinks, bought two misting fans & spent some time visiting the air conditioned store!

Unfortunately the Yankees lost.

These pictures are of the area where the old Yankee stadium was located (which is now a park), across the street from the new stadium.

We got there early to watch batting practice from the outfield.

From our seats:

Zach, wearing red in protest:

After the game, we went back to Times Square, but we still had to figure out dinner. Tim & I wanted to have some authentic NY pizza but Alex doesn’t eat pizza. So where do you think we ended up? Yes… McDonald’s again! Zach chose to eat with Alex.
We also went in search of the Lego Store which is by Rockefeller Center.

We also went to the M&M Store:

A half-naked cowboy:

After that, I took the boys back to the room while Tim went for a pizza. We packed up & got to bed at a reasonable hour.

Continued...

 

[DisMomAmy]

Day 4 (Last Day) – Today we checked out of the hotel & left our bags will bell services. We hopped on the subway & headed to the Financial District to visit the 9/11 Memorial.
On the subway at some point:

The Freedom Tower:

The memorial is beautiful & very overwhelming. We don’t know anyone, personally, who died on that day but it was still an emotional visit.
After the memorial, we got to have lunch with a special DIS friend… Kathy!!

That’s the only picture from the lunch but we got to see her son, Billy again and got to meet her husband, Ed and daughter, Tricia too! It was so nice to see Kathy again!

After lunch, we headed down to the South Street Seaport for a speed boat harbor tour!

That's our boat... the one with the teeth!

A little sun in the eyes:

We got the front row! (And we didn’t know how good that was until after the ride.)

Continued...

 

[DisMomAmy]

It was quite windy… we were going very FAST! It was also very loud - they blast loud music!

The boys were wet from the water balloons & water guns the crew pop & squirt on the people up in the "dry" seats up front.

The sun was really bothering Alex:

The tour was called the “Shark” speedboat tour, and it was sooooo much fun! The guide had told us that the front would be the bumpiest and the back would be the wettest. We knew we wanted bumpy so we sat up front. The people who sat in the back were SOAKED from head to toe! We were very happy we had chosen the front!

The boys loved the ride & it was a really fun way to go out & see some more of NY! I highly recommend it to anyone who’s kids enjoy rollercoasters. The boys renamed the ride to “the boatercoaster!”

And with that, we headed back to Times Square to pick up the car & get our bags. We headed home but not until we drove through Greenwich, where Tim grew up. We took a bunch of pictures & texted them to his brother in FL. It was a nice ride. We got home fairly late. It was a really fun trip!

Up next: Final thoughts on our April 2012 Disney trip & plans for our April 2013 Disney trip!

 

[ddluvsdisney]

Looked like a lot of fun Amy!!

We are going to Universal in April or July!!! Yay! I got my way. Well at least we're going to FL. We'll go to Disney for 1 day. I don't know how I'll handle that but at least we're going!!
Not sure about the flights yet though. I wanted to fly out on Friday. But missed the day they came out. We could fly out Thurs. night but I'm still not sure of the return flight. I'm thinking going in July would be better we could stay a little longer and flights are cheaper.
Not sure yet.

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[Chicago Mo]

What an amazing trip!!!
Looks SO BUSY!!!

 

[eandesmom]

What a fun trip! My boys would have been in heaven. Great hotel location, but yes, major sensory overload (and McDonald's overload...yikes! you poor thing!)

Day 3 – Today was game day! The only plans for today were to see the NY Yankees play the Seattle Mariners. It was a HOT HOT day and we were sitting in the sun. We bought a lot of drinks, bought two misting fans & spent some time visiting the air conditioned store!

Unfortunately the Yankees lost.

Sorry, I can't help it.

If you ever ask Evan who he wants to win, any game, it would be...

Whoever is playing against the Yankees.

the fact that it was OUR team....

Even better.

from Evan's perspective that is.

 

[mommytothreeboys]

Looks like a great trip to NYC! I actually can't stand the Yankees, but am a huge baseball fan. I'd go to Yankees stadium just for the history of it!

Gorgeous view from your room! I'd love to take my boys to NYC, but Jeff hates the city, so convincing him will be difficult. I'd like to go for a weekend during the holiday season...someday!

Cool boat excursion! The boys' smiles say it all!

 

[Lovemy3babes]

What a super cool trip! Those fake Mickey and Minnie characters sure are a little creepy!!

 

[natebenma]

What a fun trip! My boys would have been in heaven. Great hotel location, but yes, major sensory overload (and McDonald's overload...yikes! you poor thing!)





Sorry, I can't help it.

If you ever ask Evan who he wants to win, any game, it would be...


Whoever is playing against the Yankees.

the fact that it was OUR team....

Even better.

from Evan's perspective that is.

As Amy knows, Red Sox fans are familiar with that phrase as well!

 

[natebenma]

Wow!!! What a great trip to NYC! We really need to take our boys there, and would do a lot of the things your family did. Natural History Museum, 9/11 Memorial, harbor tour, Lego Store, Disney store, M&M...

We would probably skip Yankee Stadium, but it looks beautiful and the museum is very impressive. Nice choice of a generic baseball shirt for Zach, but I love that he wore red to the game!

Great hotel with an amazing location and fantastic view!!! What floor were you on?

Do your boys know much about 9/11? Nate was 3 and Ben was 4 months old when it happened. Bob Hayes, a really nice guy from our neighborhood who had boys the same ages as mine, was on one of the planes.

 

[ddluvsdisney]

Wow!!! What a great trip to NYC! We really need to take our boys there, and would do a lot of the things your family did. Natural History Museum, 9/11 Memorial, harbor tour, Lego Store, Disney store, M&M...

We would probably skip Yankee Stadium, but it looks beautiful and the museum is very impressive. Nice choice of a generic baseball shirt for Zach, but I love that he wore red to the game!

Great hotel with an amazing location and fantastic view!!! What floor were you on?

Do your boys know much about 9/11? Nate was 3 and Ben was 4 months old when it happened. Bob Hayes, a really nice guy from our neighborhood who had boys the same ages as mine, was on one of the planes.

OMG that is so sad! Does his family still live near you? Do your boys know a lot about 9/11?