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

[eandesmom]

Fun morning! I remember being in the kids area when the E's were 4&5 and oh they loved it! It is really well done with a lot for them to do, yet fairly contained at the same time.

Hmmmmm parents of the year huh?

 

[Poolrat]

A wonderful day at the waterparks. Parker really likes that tube ride and yes that kid in front of Parker is wondering when the ride is going to start.

I am glad you got to swim with the sharks. TL has not gotten any love from me lately. The last 2 times I went over there I was dry since I was an afterhours party there. I guess I need to make the time while I have the PAP to do that.

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

Looks like it was a fun water park day!

Love that picture of Noelle by your leg.

it was a really good relaxing day, and i love that picture as well. thanks.

Eek, a bobcat! I'm glad you guys turned around!

My trip was great, thanks for asking! We loved AoA and would definitely stay again. Made sure to point out the hidden Mickeys you and Candi found to my sister!

That first picture of Parker looks like he's testing the water with a toe, haha!

You've got some hilarious pictures of Noelle! What a little flirt!

Lucky for Candi, Parker's too short to use his well practiced aiming skills with the water cannon!

Definitely jealous you did the shark snorkeling. I was dying to do that last time I visited the Lagoon but forgot. Everyone always seems to rave about it! Glad you went, even if by yourself!

glad you had a good time, hope she was inpressed with your hidden mickey knowledge.

she is a little flirt for sure, waves at everyone at stores.

also lucky for parker i came and helped him aim better candi didnt like it too much but parker cracked up over me blasting her with the water cannon.

it was a good time, a short trip across the water but still alot of fun.

Looks like the rest of day at water park was great

Looks like a cute little kiddie area

Noelle really liked that Mickey sandwich I see

Love the family shots with her focus totally on that

the kid area is fun, but i think it needs a little update...BB seems to be a little more fun for the kids with extra slides there.

she sees food she wants it...hard to keep it away from that little one.

this is such an entertaining trip report! I especially love that you cover the water parks because I haven't seen much of them before.

and thanks for reading along, glad you are enjoying it.

we have 2 more water park days to come in the second week, which means more water park pictures.

Great update! Love the pic of Noelle taking a bite of the ice cream sandwich!

have to document that first mickey ice cream bite. she loved it.

That there would be saag paneer, pretty much my favourite foodstuff in the world. Now I might have to go over to AoA for a lunch...

Its basically a indian cottage cheese (paneer - the white stuff) cooked with spinich (saag) and depending on the chef, different (mild) spices / aromatics.

Yummm.

The food there does look delicious. So exciting to see Disney mixing things up at the food courts. The naan looks great too.

And now I need a curry.

Looking forward to your next update. This TR has been a delight to read.

i thought it was okay the cheese was not bad, but i could only eat about half of it then i had enough of that flavor, thanks for giving me the name and what it is.

is the naan the beef mixture? that stuff rocked i loved it especially since the CM gave me extra beef since i told her it was okay.

thanks for reading alog and glad you are enjoying it.

also i think this is your first post so

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

The kid in front of Parker on that tube ride is priceless!

The water in the shark reef is like ice compared to the rest of the park!

his face does say it all, like yeah not so great of a ride dudes.

it sure is cold, i remember when i was young everyone had a wet suite that you had to wear, then they switched to wearing life jackets now you have to ask for life jackets.

Great Update Dan !! Noelle is quite the flirt I see!!! Just wait Dan !!!The kids slide looks about my speed !! Parker's fav though looks a little scarey

ohh ill be sitting on the porch cleaning a gun when the little kids come rolling around.
im thinking that slide is still to fast for you.

Fun morning! I remember being in the kids area when the E's were 4&5 and oh they loved it! It is really well done with a lot for them to do, yet fairly contained at the same time.

Hmmmmm parents of the year huh?

parker really enjoyed it as well, but us parents seemed to favor BB, although when asked parker said he liked BB too, i think the family tube slide there won him over and made it his favorite park.

it is in a small area and you can see the whole thing really easily which is nice.

A wonderful day at the waterparks. Parker really likes that tube ride and yes that kid in front of Parker is wondering when the ride is going to start.

I am glad you got to swim with the sharks. TL has not gotten any love from me lately. The last 2 times I went over there I was dry since I was an afterhours party there. I guess I need to make the time while I have the PAP to do that.

he had a blast on that ride, would be back at the top to go again before i could walk halway up.

or wondering when it is going to be over.

hmm afterhours party? work thing? you would love the crush in gusher ride, that is a ton of fun.

 

[glennbo123]

I love that shot of Noelle at the bottom of the slide. It looks like a slow-motion splash-landing.

And Parker shooting that water cannon. If you hadn't said that he was trying to hit Candi, I never would've guessed it!

Add-in a Mickey Bar and it looks like a nice time at Typhoon Lagoon.

 

[mnmrmustard]

Hey Dan! It has taken me a while but I’ve circled back to your TR! I’m way back at the first day so bear with me here and don’t feel obligated to do a detailed reply.

I know what you mean about headbands on wee little girls, they never lasted long with our DDs either. Nice that you were at DHS for the 8:45am opening And thanks again for telling us they opened the gates early so we didn’t linger at Hollywood & Vine for our early entry breakfast. LOL, nice one with the ‘it must be a brand new one’ about the ramp leading towards TSM. That ramp does have a bit of a dangerous blind corner at the top though so maybe you made the right call after all.

Thank you for getting a pic of Mr. Potato head and the upstairs hall Since we had an ECV in our party we got to avoid some line wait but also missed out on Potato head. Good job smoking the competition in your car. Great pics in the Buzz & Woody character meet – we got pictures with them when they were where Lightning and Mater are now but didn’t bothered with the new area the past two trips. It was nice to see the great theming they have in there. Nice shots with the guys!

So cool that you took some slow strolling time through the streets, great family shots And way to better your score on TSM the second time around.

Disney Junior looked fun, I haven’t been to one of those since 2005, the girls are teens now and want nothing to do with the “kiddie characters”. Parker looked like he had a great time. Nice lunch and what a great pic of Parker hugging Mickey at the character greeting. And yeah, the eyes when he posed with Mickey were classic. Cool family pics and nice ending with one more hug! The Poo Pooh interaction was funny, but bummer you missed the Incredibles. Handy Manny was next aye? LOL

Crazy good scores on TSM, nice high score for you. I couldn’t believe that 566,400 for the month though – how could a person pull that darned rope that fast??? I’m glad you still made the B&tB show and that Parker enjoyed it.

Nice spot for the parade, and frozen cherry coke makes for an enjoyable cool-down. Thank you for the stop light shot, I never noticed that either and love those little details. It looked like a fun parade, we never caught it. The girls just are parade lovers

Nice job with the “we’re with them” bit at the Backlot Tour, you gotta do what you gotta do to ensure good family fun! Nice splashy shots from the show and the canyon.

I had no idea they had added Lightning McQueen to LMA, how cool! Nice capture of the finale jump and explosions at the end, looks like your camera kept up very well! And cool how well Noelle snuggled in and slept.

Sounded like a good lunch and the theming in there is pretty cool with the aliens hanging around. And nice catch with the firehouse façade, I had missed that also. You guys were lucky in getting pics in front of the hat before they erected the stage – that stage obstructing the bottom of the hat annoyed me to the point that we didn’t get any PP pics in front of it. Great funny pic, I think Noelle won that one. And cool Stitch pics too.

Thank you for taking me through One Man’s Dream – due to the hustle of our trip I didn’t get to go through it. Great panorama of the new Fantasyland. Glad the potty break right before Fantasmic! didn’t make you miss any of the show. Nice highlights for your day, certainly outweighed the things you missed

I’ll start on your day 2 and hopefully get it posted here faster than I did this one!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

All caught up! Looks like it was a good time at TL. I think the kiddie area is the one spot we never even looked at there!

So, nobody got abandoned in the shark tank, huh?

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

I love that shot of Noelle at the bottom of the slide. It looks like a slow-motion splash-landing.

And Parker shooting that water cannon. If you hadn't said that he was trying to hit Candi, I never would've guessed it!

Add-in a Mickey Bar and it looks like a nice time at Typhoon Lagoon.

he would def. hit her now, he has grown alot since then, i looked at him the other day and said hey wait a minute your head is well above the kitchen counter tops when did that happen...i remember when he barely was able to see what was on the counter last year...

ice cream is a must at the water parks.

Hey Dan! It has taken me a while but I’ve circled back to your TR! I’m way back at the first day so bear with me here and don’t feel obligated to do a detailed reply.

I know what you mean about headbands on wee little girls, they never lasted long with our DDs either. Nice that you were at DHS for the 8:45am opening And thanks again for telling us they opened the gates early so we didn’t linger at Hollywood & Vine for our early entry breakfast. LOL, nice one with the ‘it must be a brand new one’ about the ramp leading towards TSM. That ramp does have a bit of a dangerous blind corner at the top though so maybe you made the right call after all.
i noticed that tight turn also a few times going down it we ran into people, at least they should have a half wall there to let people see others are there or something. someone could get hurt there.


Thank you for getting a pic of Mr. Potato head and the upstairs hall Since we had an ECV in our party we got to avoid some line wait but also missed out on Potato head. Good job smoking the competition in your car. Great pics in the Buzz & Woody character meet – we got pictures with them when they were where Lightning and Mater are now but didn’t bothered with the new area the past two trips. It was nice to see the great theming they have in there. Nice shots with the guys!
i never saw them in the other location in fact i dont think i ever knew they were there.
So cool that you took some slow strolling time through the streets, great family shots And way to better your score on TSM the second time around.

Disney Junior looked fun, I haven’t been to one of those since 2005, the girls are teens now and want nothing to do with the “kiddie characters”. Parker looked like he had a great time. Nice lunch and what a great pic of Parker hugging Mickey at the character greeting. And yeah, the eyes when he posed with Mickey were classic. Cool family pics and nice ending with one more hug! The Poo Pooh interaction was funny, but bummer you missed the Incredibles. Handy Manny was next aye? LOL
i was upset we missed them but parker didnt seem to mind so it was okay in the end. always next time right.
Crazy good scores on TSM, nice high score for you. I couldn’t believe that 566,400 for the month though – how could a person pull that darned rope that fast??? I’m glad you still made the B&tB show and that Parker enjoyed it.
i have read somewhere a detailed report on what order you need to hit certain targets in to get bonus points etc. and for other high score points to appear, it was way to much to remember but i bet if you took the time to memorize it you would smoke that high score listed.


Nice spot for the parade, and frozen cherry coke makes for an enjoyable cool-down. Thank you for the stop light shot, I never noticed that either and love those little details. It looked like a fun parade, we never caught it. The girls just are parade lovers

Nice job with the “we’re with them” bit at the Backlot Tour, you gotta do what you gotta do to ensure good family fun! Nice splashy shots from the show and the canyon.

I had no idea they had added Lightning McQueen to LMA, how cool! Nice capture of the finale jump and explosions at the end, looks like your camera kept up very well! And cool how well Noelle snuggled in and slept.
thanks, i was pleased with the pictures, i just need to work on night time firework shots. although they are better than the point and shoot so far, but not where i want them to be.
Sounded like a good lunch and the theming in there is pretty cool with the aliens hanging around. And nice catch with the firehouse façade, I had missed that also. You guys were lucky in getting pics in front of the hat before they erected the stage – that stage obstructing the bottom of the hat annoyed me to the point that we didn’t get any PP pics in front of it. Great funny pic, I think Noelle won that one. And cool Stitch pics too.

Thank you for taking me through One Man’s Dream – due to the hustle of our trip I didn’t get to go through it. Great panorama of the new Fantasyland. Glad the potty break right before Fantasmic! didn’t make you miss any of the show. Nice highlights for your day, certainly outweighed the things you missed

I’ll start on your day 2 and hopefully get it posted here faster than I did this one!

okay i wont reply. thanks for posting just kidding through comments in red above.

All caught up! Looks like it was a good time at TL. I think the kiddie area is the one spot we never even looked at there!

So, nobody got abandoned in the shark tank, huh?

well there was someone close to the bottom but i think they were just cleaning rocks.

 

[KatMark]

Slowly catching up after my not being around at all last week.

I loved your real life update. Sounds like the two of you had a great time (although you wouldn't catch me hiking or walking when it is that darn cold out). Nice to have a long weekend away without the kids.

I love Parker on the raft pictures (and the video)...you can tell he was having a really good time (the kid in front of him looks bored out of his mind).

That little hussy daughter of yours...expsoing her shoulder the way she was.

I love the family shots...ice cream and all.

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

Chapter 31. Parents of the Year Award.

After lunch we went back to the room to relax.

Noelle ended up falling asleep on me in the bed while parker watched stacy on tv.

We were all up and ready to go to dinner after some down time.

A few more resort pictures along the way.

The favorite mine birds.

and the activity area was just getting into full swing with games as we went by.

the drop off (bar) and drink refill station since i think i forgot to post it before.

another angle of the wall with all the art between the lobby and the gift shop.

the light fixture during the day.

the lobby, notice the parts of the floor covered.

and also in this one.

those little squares were popping up all over the place of the lobby our first week there and we never knew what they were.

well a few days later i found out.

there were about 8 big disney execs there talking with some contractors one day i lingered around the penny machine to over hear what was going on, they were talking about the floor.

turns out the floor was some recycle type material that was not keeping clean as was sold to them.

and now they were in the phase of trying new products of recycle materials and so forth.

a day after that i talked with a CM that was cleaning the floor and he said the stuff they had was terrible. that it was not holding up to the heavy daily traffic that was wearing it out.

I asked how they know what is what since they were trying out new pieces all over.

he said there was a CM that had a diagram with each and every tile on it and every one was numbered in her program that she knew when it was laid down, what type of material it was manufacturer and pretty much everything you wanted to know about that particular square piece.

all of the CM's that cleaned the place were really hopping they found something good that didnt show dirt and cleaned well, as they said it was a pain to work with. so they we have it mystery solved.

we were on to our dinner destination of

we browsed around the pin store and all found some pins that we liked for our stockings...including a cheese ball boy with mickey and minnie.

right across the way was once upon a toy...where we had to fill another box of potato head parts...

and of course i did not take a picture of my master piece....that sucker was slammed packed full of goodness.

and according to the CM at the register both sides had to be closed to count, so i pinched them together and smiled. she accepted that, good thing for the disney niceness otherwise i bet other stores might not have accepted it.

as we leave the store we noticed the rain have moved in, and not a drizzle but starting to pour.

so we quickly ran to world of disney and walked through on our way to the other side of the store...which got us closer to our destination.

as we waited by the door there was a CM that heard us say that our dinner reservations were coming close and that we did not want to be late so she offered a poncho for parker.

and when he said what about my head, candi grabbed a clear bag from her and tour an opening for his head to fight through...i mean after all it isnt safe to put that bag over your head with out an opening right.

parker all secure from the rain, noelle under the stroller covering and mom and dad out in the elements it was time to go store to store and get to our dinner spot.

if you think that is the reason we won parents of the year award then you would be wrong, we outdo ourselves shortly.


dinner tonight would be dinning at T-Rex

when we planed this trip we knew how much parker loves dinos. so it would be perfect, all of his favorite animals would be here and he could eat with them, then make a dino to take home in the build a dino shop. perfect.

think that he clamed us to be parents of the year for bringing us here, well not just yet.

we walk past the bar area/undersea portion and see the huge fish tanks.

then the mammoth.

a little ice cave eating section.

and finally our table. right next to a few dino buddies.

this little baby one was talking and making noises and was cracking candi up as we sat down.

hey parker what do you think is this place awesome or what.

hmm, not a normal smile, maybe he is just in shock at how awesome his parents are for bringing him here.

pretty soon the dino starts talking again and we laugh, well me and candi do.

parker says he wants to sit on candis side of the table, so we move him. then the meteor show starts, and it is awesome

well we think so anyway.
parker starts to cry and wants to leave...not just i want to leave but a bawl, throwing a fit cry...so candi takes him outside the restaraunt to talk to him

no dice, he wont come back in under his own power.

so i take him to the gift shop to talk and he is good calms down and says he wants to go sit down.

so we go back in, we order our food, and one of the dinos then growls or something and he jumps in my lap like the cartoon shows type jump in my lap spills the water on the table. candi takes him outside again, when the waiter came over i asked if we could move tables to the water tank area.

that is what it looked like when we came in, but since then they had cleared the tables and were not seating anyone else in there right now.

he said no problem we could move.

i picked a table that was not in view of any dinos, right by the fish tank, we were the only ones over there.

well candi brought him back in and he sat in his seat for about 10 seconds then was under the table holding onto my leg.

we knew this would not end well.

so since we had scared him to no end, tormented him by having him eat there, as soon as our food came out which was less than a minute later, i asked the waiter for to go boxes for everything , he said no problem.

we packed our food up i paid the bill, and gave him a large tip for having to deal with it. he told me to not worry it happens pretty often with kids in there, being much larger and bigger than there toys and books etc.

and we went outside to no rain and sunshine.

now how did we react as parents, probably not the best, during the whole thing we were upset that he didnt like it, the dinner was no where close to what we pictured it would be like for him.

and we both pretty much yelled at him for acting that way at one point or another during the whole fight back and forth, not scream yell but the stern talk to yell/whisper that you do in there ear.

now dont get me wrong we also tried the comfort hold close technique which did not work either.

we all just had a melting point event going on there.

now the thinking was where do we eat this dinner we had boxed up.

we started walking. and found the tables by the girardelli chocolate shop and sat down.

we opened up the food and while sitting there, i thought that isnt how it was suppose to be.

so i apologized to the family and parker especially for how everything happened and went down, and for getting upset at him for him being upset.
it was just no where near what we expected to happen and we should not have gotten mad like that, so we made our amends with each other and i hugged it out with parker. and i told him how sorry i was for the whole thing.

i asked him if he wanted to still build his dino after we ate and he said yes.

noelle how was she in all of this, good as every she loved the animals, but she doesnt know scary at that age. and everything is roses to her.

with our dinner done it was time to head back over to the t-rex to build that dino.

and there you have our parents of the year story at t-rex

but how will this turn out?

 

[Millie12591]

Whew!! Finally made it through all your updates!!

Looks like the trip is turning out to be a really great trip. So many people decide not to go with a little toddler in tow, I'm glad to see you didn't wait, I don't think I'd be able to wait either. My DS20 use to do the same thing as Noelle when he got tired, well into his grade school years even!
No joke! The first time he went to sleep regardless of his surroundings it was a Monster Truck Rally show. Yes, I actually went to one, and no I'm not a red-neck, far from it honestly.
Tyler-my boy saw a commercial for the show and any excuse for my husband to be around loud souped up cars he was all over it.
It came 9 o'clock and Ty turned himself around in dad's lap (when he was about 5 years old), laid his head against daddy's chest and went to sleep.
AT A MONSTER TRUCK RALLY!! We of course put ear plugs in his ears when we got there, but still!! I would have never been able to do that.

The second time was in Calif. when he was about 8, we were there for his Aunt's law school graduation. We were in a room full of very loud mouthed family members (half of them Italian-need I say more ) from both sides going, he found an empty table pushed a couple of chairs up to the baquet table and went to sleep.

We had a mini panic attack at first when we couldn't find him, but then we realized the time and the time difference for us and knew he was asleep somewhere, we eventually found him.

The kids interaction with the characters is so awesome, especially the looks Noelle gives to them. I know it's not very Disney of me to say this, but I swore in the first couple of pictures of Sleeping Beauty I thought it was a man. No joke! Go back and look at them with that in mind and then tell me what you think. As you go further through the pics you realize it's not, but seriously go look.

You ninja posted on me!! Now i'm not caught up any more!

 

[jenny105]

Poor Parker That restaurant is REALLY loud. We got sat by baby dinosaurs and by the end of the meal I couldn't wait to get out of there because the thing wouldn't shut up. Maybe he'll enjoy more in a year or two.

 

[Millie12591]

Poor little guy. I can't imagine how impressive those dino's were to him. Everything is literal in their little worlds at that age, something we parents easily forget, I know I have.
And no beating yourself up over it, it happens.

All of parents win the parent of the year award from time to time, and I hate to break it to you.....but it will probably happen again from time to time over the years.
It's all apart of parenting kiddos, we are sometimes sleep deprived, hungry, or they are or we all are at the same time and the key is to not allow yourself into the situations if possible.
This one creeped up on y'all, you did what needed to be done to rectify it. The best a parent can do is to show your kiddos you aren't perfect, apologize, ask forgiveness when we mess up. Then we get the privilege of raising kids who know that life isn't always fair, but it's still a good place, with people who are flawed and who can own their own stuff when they let us down, or we let them down, even the one's we love the most. In turn, they grow up and do the same for their kids, and hopefully for their co-workers, church members, and so on.
To me, that really does earn you Parent of the Year. Good job, Daddy Dan and Mama Candi.

 

[Trentmom]

Aw. Poor Parker and poor Parents

We have all been there and had our moments

No worries.

Maybe try it again in couple years when he is older

 

[FancyNancy]

When April was Parkers age I took her to the Rainforest Cafe in Massachusetrs and we sat right in front of these larger then life gorillas that would howl and beat their chest like every five minutes. Let me tell you she was freaked! She's eight now and I took her to T-Rex on our last trip and she loved it! I bet Parker will too in a few years!

 

[KatMark]

I've heard that a lot of kids are scared in that restaurant because of the loudness. My kids were older than Parker when we took them to Rainforest Cafe, but I remember Markie didn't like it at all and sat in my lap the entire time and wouldn't eat his food. It happens to the best of us. And with us wanting our kids to have a great experience and it doesn't go that way, we tend to get a little upset when it doesn't go that way. But in the long run, you guys did great with getting the food to go.

 

[MEK]

Poor Parker. It's so hard to know how a child is going to react to scary situations. My oldest son scared very easily and I have a much better parent of the year story than yours. It's so bad I don't think I can even tell it.

I don't blame you for being frustrated because you thought it was going to be so great for him. And in a couple years it will be.

 

[englishrose47]

Oh how awfule for Parker and you both!!!Have never been in there so no idea how loud it is !!!

 

[rachel09985]

Aw poor Parker scared of the dinos!!!

I think you guys are great parents! You seem like you are doing a great job!

 

[eandesmom]

Aw, poor Parker and poor Dan and Candi! It happens to ALL of us. Well, most normal people anyway. I had a co worker telling me she's never been mad at her son. And well, I'm not sure that's a good thing for either of them.

But I digress. You rebounded, made amends and moved on and most importantly, didn't let hurts and disappointments fester. That's huge in my book.
And you didn't penalize him by not letting him build a Dino which I think a number of folks may have done. It is so hard when we build up something in our mind that our kids are going to go nuts over...and it just doesn't play that way. We take it harder than they do I think!

I LOVE Parkers poncho and rain hat. Classic!