10 Days at Disney! Updated 3/4x2 Day 9 Typhoon Lagoon

[ampc3]

Just stumbled across your TR! Great family... looks like you got ALOT of Meet and greets in at MK!! wow... Do you have any room pics of or the view you had from WBC? WE are planning on staying there next year for the first time, as it is wayyy to $$$ to stay onsite now with our big family...

We are thinking of doing Y.E.S also it would save us about $400-$500 ( I know with all the changes now it really only saves familes that are more than 4) My twins will be 5 next year when we go and if I signed them up we could save even more $ but they are a crap shoot with their behaviour and don't know how they would do for 3 hours of "structure" lol...

Very impressed you precooked most of your meals! what types of things did you make? I have to figure out how to cut our food bill, but not sure I want to "cook" on vacation lol... but I might have to rethink that

Looking forward to reading more!

 

[MK2010]

I'm not sure what happened to my pics of the room . But there are several videos on youtube. We absolutely loved our stay there. We had a blast playing mini golf and swimming in all of the pools. Best of all, the drives to DHS and Epcot were only 5 minutes. It took a little longer to get to AK. The drive to TTC was short, but the hassle of getting over to MK was tiresome. It wasn't really bad, I just got annoyed because it wasn't as easy as pulling up at the other parks. I'm telling you, driving to the parks instead of relying on other transportation is definitely the way to go! At least when you're staying at Bonnet Creek! I loved passing under the sign that says Welcome just to get to Bonnet Creek!

Everyone who go to do their Y.E.S class loved it. If we were going back for a length of time that allowed another class I would totally sign my kids up for it even without a discount. Stephen our 7 year old is definitely a Tigger and not a Pooh. But he did great. They keep them moving and play lots of little games. That being said, at Lauren's class I noticed some of the parents had to work a little harder than others to keep their kids focused and on task.

I cooked a ton of different food. I made hamburgers, pulled pork, chicken for chicken salad, and a chicken mexican casserole. I pre-cooked chicken fajitas and double bagged them. I did a ton of taco meat for things like tacos, burritos, and taco soup. I took canned stuff to make a black bean chili. We have a discount store here where I can get bread for .69/loaf so I bought and froze bread ahead of time. I made a couple of breakfast casseroles that I froze.I think we took 2 huge ice chests filled with frozen food down there and then an additional ice chest with things like eggs, cheese, butter, condiments, etc. And then another 2 huge plastic bins filled with cereal, chips, bread. Anything that could be bought cheaper at the discount store than Wal Mart I bought here.

Now, I made a couple of trips to Wal Mart once I got there and made the mistake of taking my mother. She went crazy in there buying food we didn't need . But, I'm all about cheap, especially if it gets me to Disney World!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

I have considered relocating to Florida

I used Kenny the Pirate's app a LOT during our trip! The lines, especially in Epcot were so so long even before the characters came out. But I guess that's to be expected because little kids need to be entertained in the WS

 

[MK2010]

Not A Real Update​

Ha! I'm laughing at my own clever little title there. So, no this isn't a real update. Maybe later today. I really thought this TR would go faster than it has, but apparently, I'm busier than I realized! I don't really have the patience right now to mess with photobucket, but maybe later today all snuggled up under my warm covers I'll get the laptop out and update away!

In non-Disney related news: We're in the middle of a blizzard peeps! For those of you who didn't realize I live in WEST TEXAS!!! We're not supposed to get this kind of snow here. We currently have about 16" with drifts of 3-6 feet. Its crazy!! The snow should be coming to an end though. The wind isn't supposed to stop until the wee hours of the morning. That we're used to! Most of our spring is spent enduring sustained winds at 20-30 mph. Today I think its between 30-40 mph. So fun times for the Tx. panhandle. This is what we call Yankee weather. It was the real cause of the civil war. We don't like your business interferin' in our livin'! I am soooo kidding. But if you could please keep the next snow storm north of the Mason Dixon we would greatly appreciate it!

Really, we don't get this kind of snow often. The last time was five or six years ago. When the weathermen said it was coming, I ignored them because they are notorious for making a big deal out of nothing. Guess maybe I'll listen next time! And wouldn't you know it? My DH and DD both got a stomach virus last night. They have gone through all of the medicine in the house. I can't get out to get more. Luckily, I think DD's was just a 24 hour thing and she's on the mend. DH's seems better, but I think he may try to brave the roadways to get to Wal Mart for medicine. Its Texas so we have gigantour SUV's and trucks with 4WD.

Poor DD. I have felt bad for her. One of the reasons I haven't updated is because the kids have a big swim meet coming up and we've been doing two a days at the pool. (Guess I'll let 'em have today off though!) Yesterday after an hour and a half practice DD got out and tested her blood sugar and it was 35!!!! 35! Can you believe it? This is only the second time its been that low. I start getting a little freaked when it dips into the 40s and it was 35!!So she had an extra meal and I made her lay around on the couch. She never really recovered. Her blood sugar returned to normal, but then she started throwing up. Yuck! Today I've been having to force her to eat to get enough carbs in her to keep her sugars from dropping.

Yesterday was a big day for us. We made the final decision to use our house remodel money to buy a camper instead!! I wanted to go pick it up today 'cause we bought it off of Craigslist from an older couple in Wichita Falls, which is about 3 1/2 to 4 hours from here. We told them we would get it today, but they were expecting parts of this storm too so we decided to wait until Thursday. Boy, am I glad that we opted to wait now! Its a 2005 25 ft Frontier. Its got four bunk beds and a slide out with a Queen bed on it. It has an (RV) full size refrigerator and freezer. As well as, an oven and microwave. We got it because the hotel fees for the kids swim meets were killing us and we were having to leave at 3 and 4 in the morning to make the meets and then drive back in the same day, but as their times improve so will the lenghts of their meets. So, this will actually save us money in the long run. YAY!

Of course, you all know that my immediate thought was Ft. Wilderness here we come! As soon as DH was off the phone I was checking out vacation pakages for Ft. Wilderness! I'm quite impressed. Minus the cost of food we can all go for a week including travel expenses for about 4k. That's about as good as we're gonna get! I don't have a countdown yet for that 'cause we've got some busy times ahead of us. I have a potential countdown for Oct. 23 for a girls only trip and that's the only trip I can swing this year. Next summer (2014) I'd like to take the three youngest to DLR while DH and DS13 go on a 10 day 150 mile Boy Scout hike at Philmont. And in 2015 I'm hoping to do a 1 year web based Bachelor of Science Nursing program. So really the earliest we can look at going back will probably be around 2017. I know? Isn't that crazy? Of course everytime I think I have a timeline for our next trip planned out we always end up going way earlier than I thought we would. So we'll see what actually happens!

Okay, I'm off to go find the warmth of blankies! Y'all stay safe and in the future keep the cold stuff to yourselves!!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Mother Nature seems pretty mad! You guys are getting blizzards and we got Hurricane Sandy

I'm glad your daughter is feeling better! 35 is definitely scary!

As soon as I read about the camper, I thought of Ft. Wilderness
It seems like such a neat place to stay and since you guys already drive, it's not THAT much of a difference (except you're driving an overly oversize vehicle )! And cheaper is always better!

Stay safe and I hope everyone feels better!

 

[MK2010]

Courtney- it doesn't look like you'll escape this storm either. The wind was really bad with the snow. My kids left some toys outside would you grab them when they blow by your house and return them? Thx!

The DH and DD are better! The kids spent the day out in the snow. They were quite frustrated that I made them do their school work first since the public school kids had a snow day. Ahhh...the blessings of being homeschooled!

Tonight, I am back to the grind. We were supposed to have 21 patients which I find interesting considering our facility only has 20 beds! However, with the snow storm they rescheduled a bunch of the surgeries and we only have 6 patients. One of the patients is one of my nurses who will be going to Disney with me in Oct. So yay for a new knee!

Since it should be a fairly quiet night. (I know I said the nursing bad word-quiet. I'll knock on wood now.) I shall get right to an update- in my next post. So hold on tight here she comes!

 

[MK2010]

Day 7 Blizzard Beach​

Well, Mom and Dad had about all the fun they could stand and they were headed home today. They were going to head home via New Orleans 'cause Dad wanted to look around. Not real sure why. That's not typically a place that would really hold a lot of interest for us.But hey, its his vacation too! We were headed to Blizzard Beach that morning which didn't open until 10. It was nice to have a relaxed morning. DH and Dad took the scooter over to concierge where it would get picked up later that day. Everyone hugged and said their goodbyes and we all actually ended up pulling out of the parking lot about the same time.

The drive to Blizzard Beach was short, but when we pulled in we were already on the second row of cars. I guess since it was a weekend in September lots of people were looking for a cool place to spend the day. Plus, it was Night of Joy so there were lots of youth groups. With hubby being a youth minister we felt right at home!

I have quite a few pics, but of course, DH only uploaded a few so you'll have to bear with me. I will tell you, RD is important even at the water parks. I was amazed at how quickly some of the lines filled up. But here are the pics from the day, just so you can get an idea of what the place looks like.

This was the first thing we did once we got in the park. Because of course, Mom saw a photographer!

Here are another couple taken later in the day:

The big slide in the back? That was our next destination. Summit Plummet a 120 ft free falling body slide. We took the chair lift up. I was really hoping a couple of the kids would back out so I could use them as an excuse to go back down 'cause I really DID NOT want to go down that thing! We climbed the last flight of stairs and finally the middle two, Lauren and Cameron chickened out! Whew! We went back down and they had another couple of flumes right there (Slush Gusher) that we went down and we were able to be at the bottom to watch the others come down the big slide. I couldn't believe the baby was gonna go down. But he did! Not scared at all and had a blast!

I made this pic a little bigger so you could actually see Stephen. That's David standing behind him at the top. Watch out world 'cause this kid ain't afraid of nothin'!

Here are pics of David and Jonathan:

After the fun of that, we went over to the Toboggan Racers. There was a really long wait. IT wasn't that the ride itself was that busy, but I don't think that they had enough mats out. It was taking awhile to get the mats back up to the top. From here we went over to try the Snow Stormers, which was another mat racing ride, but instead of a straight shot there were switchbacks. Then finally we rounded out the morning on the Downhill Double Dipper which was a tube ride. It was all fun, except for the waiting in line part. No fastpasses at the waterparks.

We had found some loungers on the way in by the wave pool where we had deposited all of our stuff. Today we had packed in our lunch. The kids practically inhaled theirs because they had been begging to get into the wave pool all morning! By now that was fine with me. I enjoyed my leisurely lunch and laid back for a bit of a nap. However, not for too long. Blizzard Beach closed at 5 and I didn't really want to stay that long. There were still other parts of the park to explore!

So, after rounding up David and the kids, we took a little float on the lazy river. I could've stayed in there forever, but the kids were ready for some action. We made our way over to the family tube ride,Teamboat Springs!

David and Jonathan wanted to go back down Summit Plummet so I took the other three kids over to the play area.

Lauren:

Stephen:

Cameron

We were there for quite awhile because the line for Summit Plummet was really long. By this point, the other two had worked up enough courage to go. So David trekked everybody back over while Mommy waited at the bottom!

I was ready to go by now, but the kids still wanted one more pass in the wave pool and since I thought the funnel cakes looked yummy I was okay with that. As soon as they got into the pool, I made a bee line for the funnel cake! And boy was I right, it was yuuuuummmmmmy! Unfortunately the kids didn't stay in the pool long enough for me to eat it, so I wound up sharing.

Soon it was closing in on 4:30. All throughout the day they had given us little photocards on rubber bands that went around our wrists. They snapped the shot and then downloaded it onto a card and handed it to you. So each of us had like 5 or 6 of these cards hanging off our wrists. I stopped at Snowless Joe's to get them all consolidated onto my photopass card. That took awhile. There was some upset customer..I never did quite get what he was upset about, but the CM was staying really calm. I could tell she was a little frustrated by not being able to help the guy, but she was finally able to get her manager to come over and handle the situation. David had taken the kids to dry off and use the bathrooms and such. Apparently, it took me longer than I thought 'cause they were tired of waiting on me!

It had been a long day, but we weren't done yet! We headed back to the hotel for some dinner. (I don't remember what we thawed out tonight.) While dinner was cooking the we all showered and changed. After dinner we were headed for DisneyQuest!

We had never been to DisneyQuest before. Admittance was a little strange. THey whisked you right in and put you on these elevators and you come out on the third floor or something. Well, we got split up and when I made it to the third floor there was no hubby! We looked all around and went up a floor and down a floor and then we finally found him on the third floor! The place was really pretty empty for a Friday night.

The kids all wanted to go on the Buzz Lightyear's Astroblasters (bumper cars) so we did. After that, we almost didn't get off the floor! It was all of the racing video games you could imagine- airplane racing games, Star Wars racing games, motorcycles, etc. You get the picture! We finally peeled them away and went to ride Mighty Ducks pinball slam. You stand on a giant joystickand have to steer through a pinball course. I didn't do so hot at that one, but everyone had a good time. I was ready for a snack so we went up to the snack bar and spent a fortune on a cupcake that was so rich- it made me a little sick to my stomach!

The older kids wanted to go and ride the Comix. Stephen wasn't quite big enough, so he and I set out on an adventure of our own. We went to Cyberspace Mountian! He had a blast.After awhile we went to go find the rest of the crew. IT took a little doing, but we found them once again amongst the racing games. They had loved their time there, but it was time to head to bed. Tomorrow was another big day at DHS and we wanted to make RD of course!

 

[ampc3]

LOVE the update!!! Take some pics of the snow your kids must be loving it though!! We are from Chicago and only get snow here in Atlanta about once every couple years.... The last time we had any amount of snow to make a snowman was xmas of 2010... my kids are praying hard for some snow lol... but yes when you are not use to it, it does make for some messy everything shuts down!!

We are thinking of doing a water park this next trip, hubby is on the fence with the twins and not sure how much they would actually be able to do , to justify the cost etc..

IS there enough for the little ones at BP to occupy them??
How fun for a camper!! I think FW would be a soo much fun!

 

[LisaKeys]

Loved the update. The first photograph of the whole family standing in the water is perfect. Everyone is smiling and I think where everyone is standing is just right.

Sounds like you had a fun time at Blizzard Beach. Everyone was able to do quite a bit and you definitely hit the entire park.

We've never gone to Quest, but it sounds like fun was had by all.

Thanks for the update, and looking forward to reading more.

 

[wiigirl]

Great pics!

 

[MK2010]

LOVE the update!!! Take some pics of the snow your kids must be loving it though!! We are from Chicago and only get snow here in Atlanta about once every couple years.... The last time we had any amount of snow to make a snowman was xmas of 2010... my kids are praying hard for some snow lol... but yes when you are not use to it, it does make for some messy everything shuts down!!

We are thinking of doing a water park this next trip, hubby is on the fence with the twins and not sure how much they would actually be able to do , to justify the cost etc..

IS there enough for the little ones at BP to occupy them??
How fun for a camper!! I think FW would be a soo much fun!

Hi! Glad to hear from you! Thankfully the snow is almost gone! I live in Texas for a REASON!!! I want to visit snow not have the ugly reality in my front yard! I was a bad Mommy and didn't get any pictures. I'm having severe technology issues at my house! My phone won't keep a charge for more than about 30 minutes. Everytime I open up the camera app it shuts the phone down. My battery for my big camera is old and just needs to be replaced However, DH got a video of my oldest trying to do the fly (swim stroke) in the snow. We've seen a similiar video on youtube. Ours didn't work out too well. We waited until the second day and the snow had thawed some and then refrozen so it was really hard. You should see the scrapes all down DS chest!

How old are your twins? Do you have a waterpark near you that you go to anyway? I grew up going to Hurricane Harbor in Arlington (used to be Wet n' Wild) and we have Schlitterbahn in San Antonio. This is a good waterpark, but it isn't outstanding. However, if you're looking for a cool way to spend the day in Orlando, then I would totally recommend it. In addition, I would recommend BB over Typhoon Lagoon which we also visited on this trip. The wave pool at Typhoon Lagoon was serious business! It scared me. The waves were big and hard. But I liked the wave pool at BB. There was a great little toddler area that we didn't even check out. They even had pretty cool little toddler slides and depending on how water savvy your kids are you could take them down the double dipper. 1 with each parent. Teamboat Springs would be awesome for them. I wouldn't recommend Summit Plummet!

You might check out some Youtube videos of BB before you make your final decision, but ultimately I think you'd like it. We did!

 

[MK2010]

Loved the update. The first photograph of the whole family standing in the water is perfect. Everyone is smiling and I think where everyone is standing is just right.

Sounds like you had a fun time at Blizzard Beach. Everyone was able to do quite a bit and you definitely hit the entire park.

We've never gone to Quest, but it sounds like fun was had by all.

Thanks for the update, and looking forward to reading more.

Thanks for the compliments! I'm not much of a gamer, but the kids LOVED Disney Quest. This wouldn't be our only visit and I had way more fun on the next trip so stay tuned for that update....of course at the rate I'm going, that update may not be until June! Nah, I'll get there!

 

[MK2010]

Great pics!

Hi! I'm so glad to have readers! I see lots of peekers at my TR, but its nice to know that people are actually following and not looking at the first page and thinking, "OMG, are you kidding me? B-O-R-I-N-G. Next." (Not that any of us would do that of course!) I'm glad you liked the pics. On my last trip we didn't have PP and I took like 3000. I came home with maybe a total of 500 between our PP and what was on my camera. I just keep telling myself quality over quantity...but I don't really believe it! Anyway, I'm glad you're reading along.

 

[MK2010]

Okay! I wanted to make a quick note to you guys, and I'm hoping to maybe get back on here later and at least do a little update. But, first my nurses think I should do my work. Whatever. We all know TR's trump stocking the nourishment room and taking vital signs, right? Tomorrow is the big day! DH is headed to Wichita Falls to pick up our new trailer so we can take it to the swim meet this weekend! This trailer hasn't been taken more than 150 miles on any one trip by the people who own it. Just by bringing it to our house it will cover 250 miles. Then the very next day we're taking it to Midland which is about another 250 miles. I hope it doesn't fall apart on us. In 72 hours the little thing will cover about 750 miles. Wow!I thought some of you might like to see what it looks like so here is a Youtube link to a make and model just like ours. This isn't the one that we are buying but it is the same make and year model.

2003 Sportsmen Frontier 2505 25' Bumper Pull RV

Anyway, enjoy!

 

[Moira222]

Subbed so I don't lose you & will read . Long drive, so it makes sense to break it up into chunks.

Sounds like a fun group! I am looking forward to getting to know you all!!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Courtney- it doesn't look like you'll escape this storm either. The wind was really bad with the snow. My kids left some toys outside would you grab them when they blow by your house and return them? Thx!

The DH and DD are better! The kids spent the day out in the snow. They were quite frustrated that I made them do their school work first since the public school kids had a snow day. Ahhh...the blessings of being homeschooled!

Tonight, I am back to the grind. We were supposed to have 21 patients which I find interesting considering our facility only has 20 beds! However, with the snow storm they rescheduled a bunch of the surgeries and we only have 6 patients. One of the patients is one of my nurses who will be going to Disney with me in Oct. So yay for a new knee!

Since it should be a fairly quiet night. (I know I said the nursing bad word-quiet. I'll knock on wood now.) I shall get right to an update- in my next post. So hold on tight here she comes!

We did get A LOT of wind! Luckily the snow skipped us this time
I'll keep my eyes open!

Glad they're doing better! I bet I would've protested the school work too

Hmmm I guess it's a good thing procedures got rescheduled. That one patient without a bed would've probably been mad!

Hope you didn't jinx yourself lol! Off to read the update now!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Love this update! You covered 2 things I've never done but that are planned to be included in whenever our next trip is!

Everyone looks like they're having a blast at BB! I love that there's photopass photographers there too! I would be afraid of bringing my camera to the waterpark so now maybe I can get a throwaway waterpark one for a few of my own pictures and the depend on photopass to take care of the rest!

That slide looks like serious business!

Glad to hear you enjoyed Disneyquest! I've only heard a few reviews of it so I'm always interested to hear peoples' experience. I can't wait to hear how your next visit to Disneyquest went also.

Yay for picking up the camper! I hope you guys have a safe and uneventful trip!

 

[Moira222]

Jennifer, you have a very fun & funny writing style. love it!!!

I am not multi quoting but am making comments (in notepad!) as I get caught up on your TR. I did not know about the Disney Youth programs. Of course I had to look it up right away. Very cool!!! I wonder if my girl scout troop will ever have it together enough to save for a trip like that. how awesome would that be!


I would be with your mom and pass on even the green version of Mission Space. a day in the park sick to my tummy is a bummer. Last trip I used zyrtec and found that I was pretty crabby and irritable by evenin because the medicine made me so sleepy. I will be looking for a non-drowsy formula next time.

Mental note about Agent P: get one mission for each kid. (We will be traveling with friends in April)

I love the photo of you & hubby kissing & the kids covering their eyes. too cute!

Mickey head - spray the sides with cooking spray, it keeps eggs (and pancakes) from sticking

Honestly, I really was only a little annoyed. My husband and I were trying to have a romantic date and they were intruding. (The beach was actually kind of crowded that night. THere really wasn't quite spot.) But the kids were having the time of their lives and while it was inconvenient to me, and perhaps slightly inconsiderate on their part for playing tag literally right around me, they were making life long memories. I can only imagine those kids in 10-15 years thinking back on that night! And how great is it to have friends that you can travel to Disney with? So while I wasn't a fan of the group, I did think what a great experience itmust have been for them.

You are truly very kind hearted and generous! I think its important to remember that you're not the only ones on vacation when scenes like that come up. Sometimes its easier to remember than others! LOL

I'm glad some cool air and a shower prevented your migraine.

"Now this is my absolute favorite Opening show. Okay, thats a bit of an overstatement since now it is the ONLY opening show, but you know what I mean right? I just love it. Before our trip was over I had my husband video it and we watch it at least once a week around here. I listen to the song on average once a day. I LOVE it! Have I mentioned I love it?"

do you know how long it took me to figure out that only MK had an actual rope drop opening show? I dragged my family to every park 15-20 minutes early trying to catch the elusive show before I realized there were no others! DOH!


That is an awesome photo of the kids on Aladdin's magic carpets. Applause to Brett!!

Make your own laundry soap? I'm curious! You rock at grocery shopping!!! I often find myself bouncing between Aldi, Bottom Dollar and then which ever "mainline" grocery store has my other needs on sale.

BTW _ parking at DisneyParks is free if you are staying on property. We learned that last year. and yeah, it is nice to have a car esp when you are doing a lot of back and forth in a day.

"

We had great character interaction here. Probably because I flirted over the top and shamelessly with Mickey! I hugged him so tight and told him how much I loved him (With my husband standing right there as you can see!) I gave him my phone number and told him he should Call Me, Maybe and then after we took the picture, I asked him if he would come home with me! He nodded Yes and proceeded to leave the hut with me! Until his handler told him he couldn't 'cause he had other guests waiting to meet him. He looked very dejected. So we left Mickey and I was on cloud 9! My Dad was still scratching his head trying to comprehend all that had just happened. (I think he was a little taken aback at my meeting of the Mouse.) My children were suitably embarrassed, mainly the older one! (Yes! My job as a mother is done!) And my husband was just his normal easy going self. He knows I would never cheat on him.....well, except with a Mouse, but I think he feels pretty secure in Mickey and Minnie's relationship!"

OMG THis is soooo funny! I am just picturing your 12 year old. So not happy!

Our first stop was the Photopass Studio. It is by Team Mickey. One great thing is that anyone can use the studio. Stop by and they'll take portraits. You can even stop by more than once.

I did not know this. You are a wealth of information!

OOH the Holy Land. YAY that you are posting...I've been curious but DH has no interest in visiting.


Ok finished reading the HLE -- and your photos are great. but I confess my curiosity is completely satisfied having read your day. that sounds like a very admission

Your DHS Day sounds like so much fun! Being able to split into guys &girls mid day was a nice way to let everyone do their own thing. I have to chuckle at how Lauren poses with her knee bent & leaning back. I recognize the girlie girl drama queen from my 9 year old

"They didn't have Jonathan and Cameron on the list!!!!!!!!!! WHAAAAT??? Drama! Seems their class started at 7:30 and ran to 9:30!

YES classes -so what happened -- did they go to the class late or did they pick a different class on another day?



You were first to see Merida? AWESOME! and second to see Tiana? you are the princess hunt QUEEN. I am in awe of how many princesses you managed to meet that morning. My DD refuses to wait in lines that are more than 10 min long for any characters. I think I am sadder than she at not seeing them all. In fact, I know I am!


WOW crazy wicked snow storm! Your DD's blood sugar was probably also so low because she was getting sick. My friend, who has had T1 diabetes since she was 11 (she is 50 now) can always tell when she's about to be sick because her sugar goes wonky. And of course you know it will go wonky once a month too -- but at least your DD has a bit of time before that hits.

Blizzard beach looks fun. We've not done a water park at Disney before. One of these trips we'll get there!

DisneyQuest --once you pay the admission, are all the game included? Are they all "virtual rides" ? The bumper cars sound like real bumper cars. virtual rides make me really sick.

 

[MK2010]

Love this update! You covered 2 things I've never done but that are planned to be included in whenever our next trip is!

Everyone looks like they're having a blast at BB! I love that there's photopass photographers there too! I would be afraid of bringing my camera to the waterpark so now maybe I can get a throwaway waterpark one for a few of my own pictures and the depend on photopass to take care of the rest!

That slide looks like serious business!

Glad to hear you enjoyed Disneyquest! I've only heard a few reviews of it so I'm always interested to hear peoples' experience. I can't wait to hear how your next visit to Disneyquest went also.

Yay for picking up the camper! I hope you guys have a safe and uneventful trip!

That day was the last day for photopass photographers in the parks for the season. Hence, apparently they are seasonal. A couple of days later we went to Typhoon Lagoon and they weren't there. So guess what? That'll be a quick update when I get to it because there are no pictures!

David made it back in with the camper. He only got 9 miles/gal. But he said he fought a headwind the whole way home and there are some gentle rolling praries that he traversed. (We call those hills here, but since people from all over are reading this I didn't want to lead anyone astray.Y'all would look and say,"Hills? What hills? I don't see no stinkin' hills?") But if you look there are slight inclines and declines in the roadway!

It took forever to get it parked in our driveway. We have a rear entrance drive with a narrow alley. I'm thinkin after this trip this weekend that sucker is getting put in RV storage.

 

[MK2010]

Jennifer, you have a very fun & funny writing style. love it!!!

Thanks for the compliment on my writing! I can be very sarcastic and DS13 thinks that I could definitely be in the running for the Queen of TMI!

I am not multi quoting but am making comments (in notepad!) as I get caught up on your TR. I did not know about the Disney Youth programs. Of course I had to look it up right away. Very cool!!! I wonder if my girl scout troop will ever have it together enough to save for a trip like that. how awesome would that be!

Wow! You really had quite a bit to catch up on. It doesn't seem like much when its just a little update here and a little update there, but when you go back and look at it all at once there really is quite a bit to it.

It would be great if your girl scout troop could save up enough and go. There is a group enrollment on the YES program, but I think you only get 1 or 2 adult admissions with that one. I have seen a few threads on here where girl scout troops go to Disney for a program. I don't know if it is YES or something else.

I will be looking for a non-drowsy formula next time.

We get a lot of allergies around here. Our favorite brand is the Sudafed non-drowsy, non-drying. Of course, that's harder to get ahold of these days.

You are truly very kind hearted and generous! I think its important to remember that you're not the only ones on vacation when scenes like that come up. Sometimes its easier to remember than others! LOL

Aww thanks! I must admit though, I'm way more kindhearted after I've had sleep. LEt's not revisit this issue after I've worked my three nights! I might get voted off the Island. Oooooh....there's a thought. Disney version Survivor Island and we can use the old Discovery Island.

That is an awesome photo of the kids on Aladdin's magic carpets. Applause to Brett!!

I think he does amazing work. He's an amateur photographer. Just this week, after much harassment by friends and family, he finally set up a website where you can order his prints.

Brett Kiger Photography

You should check it out just to see how amazing his pics are. Carrie, his wife, says that they have a couple days on each trip when she makes him leave his camera in the room!

I often find myself bouncing between Aldi, Bottom Dollar and then which ever "mainline" grocery store has my other needs on sale.

I've heard such great things about Aldi's. I really wish we had one here!

I have to chuckle at how Lauren poses with her knee bent & leaning back. I recognize the girlie girl drama queen from my 9 year old

We've been pretty lucky with the whole diva thing. But I notice that the drama streaks are getting wider by the month!

YES classes -so what happened -- did they go to the class late or did they pick a different class on another day?

Unfortunately, they just missed out on the class altogether. Normally, if this happens they put you on the naughty list and you're banned form ever getting YES tickets again. (I'm not really for sure thats what happens, I kinda inferred.) Anyway, trying to take advantage of the program is NOT a good idea! Plus, my kids were really bunmmed.

[QUTOEMoira222;47657949]
You were first to see Merida? AWESOME! and second to see Tiana? you are the princess hunt QUEEN. I am in awe of how many princesses you managed to meet that morning. My DD refuses to wait in lines that are more than 10 min long for any characters. I think I am sadder than she at not seeing them all. In fact, I know I am![/QUOTE]

I used Kenny the Pirate's blog. Now he has an app. BUt that was in development/just released during our trip in September.

I think I posted the link but if not here it is again:
Kenny the Pirate

And of course you know it will go wonky once a month too -- but at least your DD has a bit of time before that hits.

From your keyboard to God's ears! With our luck it will start this weekend at her first big girl swim meet!

DisneyQuest --once you pay the admission, are all the game included? Are they all "virtual rides" ? The bumper cars sound like real bumper cars. virtual rides make me really sick.

Pretty much everything is free once you get inside. Now, they have an animation academy that is done on like a touch pad. If you want to buy your picture that costs extra. (I whipped out my phone and took a picture of my drawing before they erased it.) Also, they have a little recording studio where you can record your own song and if you want a copy of your recording that costs extra too. And of course the snack bar with their yummy,yummy cupcakes!

But, like the bumper cars, video games, virtual games those are all free. There is a ton to do even if you skip out on the virtual games. Like I said, I didn't think I was going to everyone else pulled away from traditional video games!