Surprised the kids, wife, and my readers w/ a 2 week trip to AoA!(*NEW* 11-7)

[katt789]

Man, kids can fall asleep anywhere some days, and I find when at Disney, and they’re all tuckered out, they’ll pass right out in the most uncomfortable looking positions in the strollers! As if she didn’t wake up for that hammering, that’s crazy!!

Never knew there was a photopass person there, hopefully they’ll be there in Feb and we can get some pics! I also never noticed the movie scenes on the Dumbo ride!! How cute!! Ah! Chipmunks! You guys notice all the details I don’t! Bahaha. Let me tell you, with that green wall down, it sure is amazing to walk under that arch and be all “ASDNSDFNDLF SO EXCITED”…..

Yay for a window seat at Pinocchio’s! I had eaten there a few times before I even noticed that it overlooked Small World…durp. Wow…it’s really sounding like I need to pay more attention to things next trip! Aw man, Uncrustables are like, a God send when I’m in Disney (they don’t sell them up here in Canada *sad face*) they’re SO AWESOME.

Awww!! Those are great pics of the kids! So adorable!! Oh the Peoplemover, how I love you!! How cute Noelle is waving down at all her fans, she is just the cutest thing!! I also kind of wish her shirt came in “big kid” sizes, ahaha

I’m totally the same with Aurora! I never liked her or her movie, and up until recently, didn’t really care for her, I like the ones with SPUNK! Now that I’ve re-watched her movie, met an amazing in park character, she’s great! Noelle looks so unsure in those pics! She’s all “who is this lady in a dress I’m supposed to say hi to?”

I have yet to do Sorcerers of the MK yet, it’s on my list, but I always have so much other stuff to do in MK! One of these days!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Man, you guys are racking up the meet-and-greets!

My kids really loved the Sorcerers game. I'm interested to see what Parker thinks of it.

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

I've always loved the what not to do picture on the remain seated logos. Who does that??

I love Sleeping Beauty but there's something about her wig that bothers me! I think I mentioned this on your last TR lol

hey sometimes the music just catches you and you feel the need to shake everything and stand up. i guess they are covering all basis there.

i think you did, that looked like her real hair to me. but maybe not, i have seen some that it looks really fake, but hers didnt seem that bad.

aggghhhh cliff hanger really? aw shucks!!! That little Noelle is priceless with all her facial expressions too cute!! And Parker well he's just a little heart melter!!

yep just a little one, sorry hope to have the parade chapter up tomorrow.

she had some really good bewildered faces during that meet up. thanks for the kind words.

Noelle sure was checking Aurora out big time in that one picture! I do agree, looks like she has the wave down pretty good.

And Parker? My goodness, such a ladies man!

I love riding the train around. Excuse me while I sing along..."Can you paint with all the colors of the wind??" Yes, I embarrass DH every time we get to that part.

yep, all little princesses need to have that wave down for training.


have you read the kingdom keeper books? thats what disney is about embarrassing those who you love.

I love Noelle's expression in this picture!

Aurora was my oldest daughter's favorite princess....I think we had an old hand-me-down book, literally from the late 60's/early 70's, of the cartoon Sleeping Beauty that we read to her. Trouble was, Disney wasn't doing anything Sleeping Beauty around that time, about the year 2000. No merchandising, no character at the parks, nothing at the Disney store, etc. Lauren used to ask, "but what about Aurora???" We're glad to see that her popularity has improved!

then bam she just shows up and is everywhere with all the others...i still have never seen the movie.


but still like her all the same.
that stinks they didnt have stuff for her when little, hope she still enjoys her now so she can get some stuff.

I admit, I've never gotten the whole Aurora thing either, she is my little sisters favorite princess so I suppose she can't be all bad. I'm missing the hook with her somehow. Love that you all had such great interaction with her, that's wonderful!

i would think more out west would like her since the castle there was made for her afterall...but maybe not.

she has been very good on the last three trips, she better keep the momentum going for future ones.

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

Definitely THE BEST Princess wave I have ever seen. Noelle did great.

I've heard great things about the Sorcerer game; wonder if it will still be around by the time my grandbabies come and I can take them?

We totally missed the train in December which did NOT make Mr. Mark very happy.

thanks kathy, im thinking the same thing as well...


i hope it is as i would like to do it next time, read on in the next chapter to see if we ever made it back to the game.

you know you dont have to be a little kid to do it, i saw many adults playing the game and getting cards without kids.


i would be upset missing the train as well, you have to ride it double next time to make up for it.

Never been fan of Aurora either. No desire to see her movie or anything related to her

But looks like she was great and had a great interaction with the kids

Love Noelle's expression in some of those pics

Parker sure loves the ladies

im with you on seeing her movie dont really care to watch it, that is until noelle asks me to watch it with her, but now i like her as a princess.

yep a ladies man for sure.

Just finished catching up on your report! I love seeing your kids interact with the characters! I got teary at the pictures of Noelle and the Pluto pillow! The last time we went to WDW my youngest was 1 years old and randomly latched onto a stuffed Stitch doll....she still sleep with him also. It melts your heart when they love something so much right away!! Impossible to not buy those animals when they hug on them so much!!

Can't wait for more and I am excited to read about the game that starts in the Firehouse...I had not heard about it before and we are planning on going in May. My kids would love it so I hope it's still around when we go.

thanks for joining in.
try going into the disney store with her, every animal she thinks is her new best friend. luckily we can say no to her.

thats great that she still uses the doll.

find out more about the game in the following chapter.

a while ago it was still testing so not that well known, but now i have seen more for it, and seen a decent amount of people playing it around the park. dont forget to get everyone in your group a pack of the cards, so you can have more of the spell cards.

Man, kids can fall asleep anywhere some days, and I find when at Disney, and they’re all tuckered out, they’ll pass right out in the most uncomfortable looking positions in the strollers! As if she didn’t wake up for that hammering, that’s crazy!!

especially at disney. wait to you see where she fell asleep in one of the water parks. yep out like a light nothing was moving her during that power nap.

Never knew there was a photopass person there, hopefully they’ll be there in Feb and we can get some pics! I also never noticed the movie scenes on the Dumbo ride!! How cute!! Ah! Chipmunks! You guys notice all the details I don’t! Bahaha. Let me tell you, with that green wall down, it sure is amazing to walk under that arch and be all “ASDNSDFNDLF SO EXCITED”…..

im sure it was a new spot with the opening coming up i just hope they keep it there, its a great spot for a family picture. we try and look for more and more detail each trip and slow down a little since im sure when the kids get older it will be more go go go go go.

Yay for a window seat at Pinocchio’s! I had eaten there a few times before I even noticed that it overlooked Small World…durp. Wow…it’s really sounding like I need to pay more attention to things next trip! Aw man, Uncrustables are like, a God send when I’m in Disney (they don’t sell them up here in Canada *sad face*) they’re SO AWESOME.

honestly that was the first time we ate there i wasnt hugely impressed with the food but maybe i got the wrong thing.

somehow my son still finds crust to take off those.

Awww!! Those are great pics of the kids! So adorable!! Oh the Peoplemover, how I love you!! How cute Noelle is waving down at all her fans, she is just the cutest thing!! I also kind of wish her shirt came in “big kid” sizes, ahaha

I’m totally the same with Aurora! I never liked her or her movie, and up until recently, didn’t really care for her, I like the ones with SPUNK! Now that I’ve re-watched her movie, met an amazing in park character, she’s great! Noelle looks so unsure in those pics! She’s all “who is this lady in a dress I’m supposed to say hi to?”

I have yet to do Sorcerers of the MK yet, it’s on my list, but I always have so much other stuff to do in MK! One of these days!

gotta teach them young to love the people mover it is a classic and a ride we love as a family.

there are some cool kid shirts that would be neat in adult sizes, but i think im good on the tink shirt, doesnt really match any of my shorts.

i bet she was thinking that we were just meeting a random person dressed up, having never seen the movie either.

we try and do a few new things each trip....that way if and when you miss things it makes for a reason to go back.

Man, you guys are racking up the meet-and-greets!

My kids really loved the Sorcerers game. I'm interested to see what Parker thinks of it.

the little ones will do that for you, as well as two parents who love meeting them as well.

you will find out next chapter what he thought of it. which will hopefully be tomorrow.

 

[unbrelievable]

Pretty late to be joining in, but I couldn't help it! Your family is too cute!

 

[MEK]

Those pictures with the princesses are adorable! Candi is so pretty I bet she would make a wonderful princess - just in case she ever decides she has to be a Disney princess.

That was a cool vantage point to see Jesse and Woody.

I know I am always fighting the urge to dance on the seats on that darn train.

 

[emilyindisney]

Love all the princess interaction shots! I agree that some of the older princesses do ]nothing[/I] for me in the movies but are a lot of fun in the parks.

Thanks for the shot of the tepees from Kingdom Keepers! After you mentioned them at the beginning of your TR I picked up the first one from the library. It was a little tough to get into at first, but once the action picked up it was great! I'm about halfway through the third one now.

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Nice update! It is funny that Aurora is kind of a late starter. I was so surprised to meet up with her at DL once that I didn't even get into character with her. She was coming across a walkway toward Tomorrowland of all things from her castle - I just stopped and looked, thinking "why is she in Tomorrowland?" She said "Well Hello!" and I just said "Hi" and kept walking. I think she was going on her break and I didn't want to bother her.

I love Noelle's reaction to her -she is really checking her out, then decides she is okay! Parker looks like he still enjoys her company, too!

I haven't heard about the Sorcerer game, except foro lots of adults collecting and trading the cards. I always think we don't have time for those type of things, but I'm trying to learn to slow down. I think the new FP+ system will force us to do that! The parks will have to be more about entertainment than rides, I think.

 

[khertz]

a

didnt know there was another level above that one...are there windows up there too that look at small world?

They look out over Fantasyland! There are VERY few tables up there, and I don't know how it fills up when it's crowded, but we happened upon them on DS's first trip one night for dinner and we were literally the ONLY people up there. It was really quiet and relaxing, and you can look out at the Carousel. If I'm remembering right, if you chose a seat further down you would be able to see the Small World windows as well.

Oops, forgot to comment on the update!

Noelle's expression in those Aurora photos is priceless! First confused, then smiling as she perfects her princess wave, then totally not impressed. That is great though that Parker has had such awesome experiences with her. She has never been one of my favorites either. She was okay when we met her with DS this year, but not as great as the ones it sounds like Parker has been meeting in the past! Our big hit was Rapunzel, so I'm hoping we get a great one again next year.

Love that train ride around the park! And the new FL station is so great. It fits in perfectly with the Storybook Circus area. I hope y'all made it back in time for the parade!

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

Pretty late to be joining in, but I couldn't help it! Your family is too cute!

no worries you are welcome to join at any time, we still have over a week of the trip left. so plenty of things to comment on and join in. thanks for the nice comments.

Those pictures with the princesses are adorable! Candi is so pretty I bet she would make a wonderful princess - just in case she ever decides she has to be a Disney princess.

That was a cool vantage point to see Jesse and Woody.

I know I am always fighting the urge to dance on the seats on that darn train.

thanks i will tell her, im wondering what princess she could be? hmmmm any ideas. she said she would love to be the fairy godmother when we retire and move down there.

well then good thing that sign is there to keep you from doing just that.

Love all the princess interaction shots! I agree that some of the older princesses do ]nothing[/I] for me in the movies but are a lot of fun in the parks.

Thanks for the shot of the tepees from Kingdom Keepers! After you mentioned them at the beginning of your TR I picked up the first one from the library. It was a little tough to get into at first, but once the action picked up it was great! I'm about halfway through the third one now.

your welcome...after reading those books it makes for some interesting looking around the parks.

i was the same way they didnt start out to fast or exciting but once you got into them they went really quick.

the 5th book which is the longest, by far, i think almost 500 pages i knocked out in a week. just couldnt put it down...and i wont ruin anything but it left a cliff hanger...so waiting now on the next book in the series but havent heard when it will come out yet.

hope you are enjoying them.

Nice update! It is funny that Aurora is kind of a late starter. I was so surprised to meet up with her at DL once that I didn't even get into character with her. She was coming across a walkway toward Tomorrowland of all things from her castle - I just stopped and looked, thinking "why is she in Tomorrowland?" She said "Well Hello!" and I just said "Hi" and kept walking. I think she was going on her break and I didn't want to bother her.

I love Noelle's reaction to her -she is really checking her out, then decides she is okay! Parker looks like he still enjoys her company, too!

I haven't heard about the Sorcerer game, except foro lots of adults collecting and trading the cards. I always think we don't have time for those type of things, but I'm trying to learn to slow down. I think the new FP+ system will force us to do that! The parks will have to be more about entertainment than rides, I think.

that is a funny interaction, i bet she was hoping you would have stopped to talk but just kept going.

the progression of her faces is pretty funny.

the game is cool and i hope they keep it around i can see it being a big hit.

come to think of it im not sure where our cards are, i have to find those...

yep same thing we learned with little kids to learn to slow down and enjoy the other stuff in the park besides the big rides, makes for some great relaxed days..... for the most part.

They look out over Fantasyland! There are VERY few tables up there, and I don't know how it fills up when it's crowded, but we happened upon them on DS's first trip one night for dinner and we were literally the ONLY people up there. It was really quiet and relaxing, and you can look out at the Carousel. If I'm remembering right, if you chose a seat further down you would be able to see the Small World windows as well.

sounds kind of like the seating in the upstairs rooms at the columbia house, they have alot of quite areas up there that are a nice break from the parks, thanks for the tip will have to check those out up there.

Oops, forgot to comment on the update!

Noelle's expression in those Aurora photos is priceless! First confused, then smiling as she perfects her princess wave, then totally not impressed. That is great though that Parker has had such awesome experiences with her. She has never been one of my favorites either. She was okay when we met her with DS this year, but not as great as the ones it sounds like Parker has been meeting in the past! Our big hit was Rapunzel, so I'm hoping we get a great one again next year.

Love that train ride around the park! And the new FL station is so great. It fits in perfectly with the Storybook Circus area. I hope y'all made it back in time for the parade!

those are some great faces that she has for sure...

hope you get a good interaction as well, makes for some awesome memories.

the new train area is really cool, we had the intentions to play in the water area but forgot to bring clothes later in the trip when we wen for it.

parade chapter coming up soon, hopefully today.

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

We landed back on main street usa train station grabbed the stroller and made our way down to get a spot for the parade.

Excuse me what time is the 3:00 parade?

so we walked up main street a little bit, the spots on the left were pretty much full since they were in the shade. the other side was pretty much wide open, but we didnt want full sun.

So i said lets walk back towards the front, and we found a good spot right in front of the fire station on the curb that would be shade in the next few minutes. so we parked it and waited.

As we sat there, i figured this was a good time for a family snack.

I saw the stand for frozen lemonads...the lady asked strawberry or lemonade? i said why decide give me both please.

Our spots were getting a little more crowded but we had frozen delite to keep us company.

Soon enough we fought off the last of the tourists from the south and claimed our spot good and solid for the trumpets we were hearing around the corner.

We loved this spot all the entertainers were fresh at the start had there A game rolling and we were almost in the shade.

Also it seemed most of the people were on our side of the road here so all the characters paid attention to our side, we had some great interaction.

first off we got high fives from jessie and woody.

then mickey and minnie waved our way.

noelle isnt impressed.

best part of the day for parker came next.

the sneaky ol' crook captain hook.

he walked over from the other side of the road, passed every kid before us came right to parker and asked for a high five.

parker was thrilled. until the queen walked up next and tried to say hello he didnt know what to make of her.

when she was gone i asked parker what he thought of that, and i got a huge smile reaction.

there are many moments that make a trip, and this was defiantly one of them.
to know that parker hates all villains but loves captain hook he is pretty close to his favorite character. and that captain hook found parker out of the 20 kids around us and he was the only one that he gave a high five too was awesome for parker and a great moment.

not to leave candi out anastasia came over to offer her hand to her.

it was kind of funny.

we had waves from royalty.

and node from the beast, candis favorite couple.

so noelle how did you like your first MK parade?

yep the look says it all.


once the crowds cleared out we saw that minnie and roy were moved because they were doing meet and greets in the central area where they were previously sitting, so parker wanted his picture with them.

after the parade we made our way back up main street to go on one of the kids favorite rides again.

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

none other than buzz, but this time we used our fast passes from earlier.

check out this doozy of a score.

thats right, awesome score.

its almost like we stopped in the first room to load a handicap vehicle and we really raked up our score.

i kept telling parker while stopped to keep shooting but he takes too long to aim before he shoots hence his steller 700 score.

i mean look at that concentration.

when we got off i was thrilled to tell candi my score, she just looked at me smirked and said i got 750,000
something about that ride is hard to beat her, i mean look at this determination even while holding noelle.

after my utter defeat on buzz, it was time to go to monsters inc.

we had great timing we walked right through the line and ended up in the waiting hallway with the tv monitors.

we saw a bunch of vacant space farther down so we made our way down a little more. as we wait the area around us gets a little tighter and we are told to fill in all available space. candi is holding noelle i am standing next to parker.

okay everyone have a visual of this, us kids, people all around. good okay.

here is the following conversation.

parker "dad"
me "yeah buddy"
parker "can you hold me?"
me "why?"
parker "so i can see"
me "see what?"
parker "just see" ( one of the answers you give when you try and brush something off because it is getting later in the day and even though you are in disney and having fun, you are tired)


i drop down to a knee on his level. it was one of those moments where you wonder (or maybe it is just me) whats wrong with his view? what cant he see that i can see standing a good 3 feet taller than him?

now i am at his level face to face, i look straight, i look left, i look right, behind me, take in all the angles 45 degree, 30 degree, 138 degree and so forth....i came to the conslusion.

what could he see, well he stands and a certain height when you look around all you see, is well, since this is a family site, what we call the rear end view....ahh anyone seen this blue man group version of names for the rear end? if not click here its pretty good, some of the names are great that they come up with. turn your sound up to hear the names they come up with

me " okay buddy ill hold you"

monsters was good, parker thought the jokes were funny, most he didnt get but when everyone else laughed he did as well.

it was now time for a family favorite COP we made our way over and found our seats.

During this scene. (sidenote, i was pretty excited for my low level light no flash pictures here.)

a lady despite the warning that yo uare not to leave the show, just got up walked to the back and left. when it was time to move to the next scene we stayed in the same spot, didnt move. a CM came over the mic and said that we would be staying put one more rotation and then moving on.

so we got to watch it all over again. the kids just looked at us like uhh...what happened. we all enjoyed our little COP rerun.

i enjoyed the last scene as a kid, but i think it is time to update it and add a few new things...they changed a little of the speaking in the last 10 years but need to change some of the scene a little bit.

time for one more run on buzz before dinner, me and my master blaster noelle took to the galaxy to shoot some zurgs.

no room stoppage this time but we still had a decent score.

on the way to dinner we traded a vinylmation.

noelle was fond of this one.

we ended up keeping it and is on our shelf.

we love cosmic rays so that was on the menu for dinner. we even found a good seat down by sonny eclipse

candi had the half chicken dinner, parker had nuggets, no clue what i had as it is out of frame here but im thinking i had nuggets as well....noelle like always had something from everyone this meal. gotta love the warm cheese sauce to dip the fries in.

for desert, parker ate my chocolate cake, or at least the frosting part then gave it back to me and said here dad im done.

this is what i was left with.

 

[tinkgurl]

Looks like you found a good spot! Parker got lots of attention!

I have to say something off topic! Parker's eyes remind me of my Little Guy's. they get me every time!

I haven't posted it yet, but we were stuck in one scene of CoP for 3 times on the honeymoon!

 

[LindaBabe]

Love all your updates. Your family is so CUTE and energetic.

 

[MEK]

Too cute! And, yes, Noelle looked like she could care less. Give her a year or two. Then the fun begins!

Nice score on Buzz - shame on you for giving away your secret to a high score (similar thing happened to me last June and I was riding alone - so double high score!)

I love CoP. One of my favorites.

I never thought of watching the parade from the firehouse - but I like that. You got some great shots from that vantage point.

So which Princess for Candi - well I definitely think Belle, Cinderella, and Snow White. But I also think she would make a wonderful Mary Poppins. I love Mary Poppins - she always carries herself so well.

Anyway - right wig and makeup and she could do almost all of them.

 

[Trentmom]

Looks like you had a great view for the parade. Awesome character interaction



I stink at Buzz ride. I know where some of the big points are, but just can't manage to aim right

Cute vinylmation

Love COP. When we were there, one person left, then 2nd person, like almost whole theater. We too had to do a 2nd rotation. I hate when people can't follow simple instructions

 

[jenny105]

Wow! Candi got that kind of score while holding Noelle?

I agree with you 100% about the last scene in COP. It's almost laughable now because all of that technology is outdated. Give someone a tablet or something.

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Great parade interaction! I love Parker's big smile after the attention from Hook and the Queen!

Good for Candi for her Buzz score! I can't seem to get past 46000 :rotl:

Looks like you are having an awesome day - I think the cupcake frosting is almost a hidden Mickey! Did the band pop up and perform while you were eating?

Thanks for the update.

 

[Aburns8]

Love the updates. Reading the first one I wondered how Aurora looks so nice in the heat wearing that outfit? Must be Disney magic? Noelle's reaction will probably be the same as my son's when we take him for his first birthday. Your family seems to really love that Buzz Lightyear ride I don't get why people can't listen to directions. If COP is that horrible, just take a nap...

 

[eandesmom]

What a fun update. Parker is just at that perfect perfect age to soak it all up, to ask to be lifted up so he can actually see, to find Hook a blast and a half and to concentrate like heck on Buzz. Seriously magical moments, lots of them!