Welcome Gurley Family--you are FAMILY OF THE DAY!!

[brookelizabeth]

[blessedby3]

Okay...I need to get moving on this report to finish it up!
I left off with us at the AK...we were very hot and had been in Dinoland. We decided to go grab a bite to eat and relax. We went to Restrauntasaurous (sp?) and grabbed some burgers and sodas. It was VERY crowded and we were crammed in a corner to eat. At least we were sitting and it was cooler than outside. We ended up staying in Dinoland for a couple more rides after lunch, then the kids decided they wanted ice cream. We went back over to to the Restraunt and while the kids waited outside to get the ice cream, Tony, Alexa and I went inside. It had cleared out and was much calmer and nicer in there. They also had this little eating area that was a camper. We decided to grab the booth in there and wait for the older kids to come in with the ice cream.
Dad and Alexa



Alexa



Looking out the camper window



Alexa and Mom



We ate the ice cream (sorry no pictures) and headed over to Festival of the Lion King! Jonah decided to give Alexa a ride over



Thankfully we didnt have to wait to get in the show..we walked right in and it was almost ready to start
Alexa really loved this and wanted to sit on the row in front of us instead of on the row with us. Olivia sat with her.



It was great as usual...we love this show!









After the show, we headed over to the character trails to get some autographs and pictures. We saw the big cheese first It was so funny because Alexa wanted to hand Mickey the pen for the autographs, but instead of putting it in his hand, she went and carefully laid it down at his feet and then backed up. He and his handlers got the biggest kick out of this and he proceded to laugh into his hands as he bent down to pick up the pen.







After coming out of Mickey's trail we saw Koda





Then it was on to Goofy



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[blessedby3]

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After getting pics with Goofy, we found some characters we had never seen before....Thumper and his Lady friend I cant remember her name, but we loved this interaction. The bunnies were goofin' off with each other and my kids.









Next we saw Minnie Mouse







Then it was on to Donald
Kayla and Alexa waiting in line



and Donald





Alexa really enjoyed the character interactions. I love these trails for getting autographs.
After we left the trails we headed over to ride EE
Tony of course didnt ride and sat on baby watch, while Kayla, Jonah, Olivia and I rode this a few times. It was close to closing and there was no line...we just got off and back on--I think 3 times in a row. The kids and I love this ride While we were on the ride, Tony had a slight problem in the diaper division. Sorry to anyone who was sitting nearby when he decided to change a very messy diaper right there in the stroller....right next to onlookers!!!! It was so bad that Alexa left with no shorts...thank goodness for that washer and dryer!

Olivia, Kayla and Jonah



Jonah and Olivia ready to go



Nice View



The tracks



Ride pics
Jonah and Olivia



Oh how I miss this



After riding EE, we headed up to the front of the park where the exit show was going on. Alexa again loved seeing all the characters, and didnt want to leave. We watched for a few minutes and then headed to the van.





Alexa enjoying the show...notice she is missing her shorts.....





It was a fun day, although a hot one.

We ended up back at our beloved BLT and I dont remember what we did for dinner. Im thinking we went to the Concourse to eat CS. We did end up at the yummy dessert buffet in the lounge, because I have photo evidence



Back to the room and we showered and washed clothes and packed up most of our stuff. Its hard to believe that our vacation was almost at an end.

[blessedby3]

Only one day left...and its a sad day....our last day. I hope to get back on her in the next couple of days to finish it up. Right now I need to get to the laundry that has piled up It seems to never end. And tomorrow this old lady turns 44....hopefull y I will finish up the trip report by the weekend Hope you all had a great Christmas and will have a Blessed New Year

[brookelizabeth]

Awww, I love how she laid the pen down at Mickey's feet! That is too cute! What a fun time at AK. We've never done those character trails, but Henry is very into the characters now, so that might be a first on the upcoming trip!

Totally been there, done that with the diaper. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do! This summer we were at Central Park and that happened to us - we disrobed Henry and put a jacket we happened to have around his legs. Thankfully it was just #1, so we dried out his shorts in the bathroom hand dryer.

[blessedby3]

Originally Posted by brookelizabeth

Awww, I love how she laid the pen down at Mickey's feet! That is too cute! What a fun time at AK. We've never done those character trails, but Henry is very into the characters now, so that might be a first on the upcoming trip!

Totally been there, done that with the diaper. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do! This summer we were at Central Park and that happened to us - we disrobed Henry and put a jacket we happened to have around his legs. Thankfully it was just #1, so we dried out his shorts in the bathroom hand dryer.

Yes, you will have to do the character trails....they are GREAT and there are other characters off the trails you can get autographs with! Funny about the Central Park mishap
We have had to buy clothes way too many times (during the course of 4 kids) when out. I try and keep a spare with me at all times, but sometimes I dont change them out at seasons end, or they are outgrown.

[brookelizabeth]

Originally Posted by blessedby3

Yes, you will have to do the character trails....they are GREAT and there are other characters off the trails you can get autographs with! Funny about the Central Park mishap
We have had to buy clothes way too many times (during the course of 4 kids) when out. I try and keep a spare with me at all times, but sometimes I dont change them out at seasons end, or they are outgrown.

I am TERRIBLE at remembering to bring an extra set. Even when he was a baby. Such as the Diaper Debacle on the Royal Carousel of 2008. Thankfully Mickey's Philharmagic sells BOYS clothing.

[OThopeful35]

I just read your whole trip report! It seems like you and your family had a blast! Your daughter Alexa is adorable Congrats on being the Family of the Day. We cannot wait to go on our 2nd DW trip in August. I am looking at all the wonderful pictures you took and I cannot wait to go back

[blessedby3]

Originally Posted by OThopeful35

I just read your whole trip report! It seems like you and your family had a blast! Your daughter Alexa is adorable Congrats on being the Family of the Day. We cannot wait to go on our 2nd DW trip in August. I am looking at all the wonderful pictures you took and I cannot wait to go back

Thanks for reading! We did have a blast and we cant wait to go back either. We are returning in May and it seems so far away at the moment! Where are you all staying on your August trip?

And I really need to get on here and finish this report!!!

[blessedby3]

Soooo..guess Im gonna finally finish up the trip report today. I left off with us having been at AK and packing up most of our gear. I was happy to have all clean clothes for the trip home. One less thing I would have to do once we got home! I LOVE that washer and dryer at BLT
Anyway, we got up Saturday morning and got dressed, packed the stroller and walked over to the lovely lounge for breakfast. We really enjoyed the use of this lounge, and hope to be able to stay CL one day
After breakfast, we headed back to the room and got all of our bags and took them down to the van. I wanted to get the stuff in the van because I knew we would be at the MK during checkout time. It took a bit to get everything loaded back into the van. When we opened the car top carrier, we were met by all those lovely balloons we got at check in. Thankfully they were pretty much deflated, so I had DH cut the ends of them to deflate them all the way and we brought them back as a souvineer.



After packing up the van, we walked on over to the MK. We didnt have too much on the agenda today as we knew it would be pretty crowded today...just like it was on our check in day the previous Saturday. They were definately NOT green days (TGM), but we decided to just soak in as much MK as we could before we had to get on the road. We would have to leave by 1 or 2 pm to get on the road.
We headed into our most favorite park and soaked up the atmosphere of Main Street and the beautiful castle.



I never get tired of seeing that castle
We headed over to Toon Town to get in the Faries Line. We were waiting at the rope and while there I put Alexa's Tinkerbell costume on her. Once they dropped the rope, we headed straight for the big tent. We got in line and there was already a 40 min wait. Crazy. Im not sure where all those other people came from. Anyway, we got in line and waited it out. Here are some pics of the kids waiting in the shrinking area...
Alexa



Jonah, Alexa and Olivia





Olivia



And one of Tony and Kayla



Before long we were inside with our Fairy Friends
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[blessedby3]

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We rounded the corner and there were the faries we had been waiting for. Alexa seemed a bit intimidated by them for some reason. I dont know why, but she seemed to prefer the fur characters to the face characters.
Here are some pics of our time in there













After making our way out of Pixie Hollow, we headed back over to Tomorrowland. It was already getting pretty crowded. We found a friend at the bottom of the People Mover and snapped a few pics with him!





We decided to get on the People Mover and had a relaxing ride over Tomorrowland.

Tony and Alexa



Olivia, Jonah and Kayla



Me, Alexa and Tony



We decided we had better be heading back to the van. I wanted to hit a few shops on Main Street on the way out, so we fought the crowds in Tomorrowland to get to Main Street. We were all feeling a bit sad
Here are a few pics on the way out

I love these from a distance









These were adorable, but I didnt buy one...figured it would be slush in that heat on the car ride home



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[blessedby3]

Continued from previous post
More deliciousness







I ended up buying some Mickey sprinkles, a Mickey address book and a carmel apple for Tony. Kayla picked up a few last minute things too, but I cant remember what. After walking through the stores we dragged ourselves back to our van and loaded up. I wasnt looking forward to a 2 day drive home when I was feeling so low

Walking back











Our Beloved Bay Lake Tower



We loaded up and with heavy hearts exited our most favorite place...WDW...anticipating our next trip back
So, that is my first trip report. It has only taken me forever to get it all written (we went 8 mos ago)
We are very excited about our next trip in May 2011...only 123 days to go!! Im in full swing getting things planned out for that trip
Its a value trip this time as we are bringing Kayla's best friend with us again(we have taken her on 2 previous trips), so we have to have 2 rooms. I know I will look longingly at BLT when we go to the MK, but hopefully we will stay there again!
Thanks for those who have read my report. Glad to have a few followers. Does anyone know how to get my report moved to the finished reports? Thanks and hopefully I will see ya'll on my next trip report

[brookelizabeth]

I loved your report!!! And am so glad to read you loved BLT. I am really looking forward to our stay there. I wish we had enough points for a 1 bedroom, but all well!

That last day is the pits, isn't it? It's so sad to say good-bye! I'm always on the verge of tears unless I already have a trip in the works. Glad to hear yours is just around the corner too! Are you going to write a PTR? If you do, let me know! Or if you write another TR!

As for getting this to the Completed Reports, you can PM OhMari and she'll move it for ya.

[blessedby3]

Originally Posted by brookelizabeth

I loved your report!!! And am so glad to read you loved BLT. I am really looking forward to our stay there. I wish we had enough points for a 1 bedroom, but all well!

That last day is the pits, isn't it? It's so sad to say good-bye! I'm always on the verge of tears unless I already have a trip in the works. Glad to hear yours is just around the corner too! Are you going to write a PTR? If you do, let me know! Or if you write another TR!

As for getting this to the Completed Reports, you can PM OhMari and she'll move it for ya.

Thanks for the info Brook...I will pm OhMari I probably wont do a PTR, but will try and do a trip report for that May trip! And the last day....it really is the pits. Im sure you will love BLT!!! I have heard that the studios are a bit small and set up weird with the bathroom, but hey, its BLT!!!! Location, Location, Location!! And you guys only have one small fry so Im sure it will seem big to you! Cant wait to read that TR, and I am enjoying your current one too

[Cherlynn25]

just found your trip report,i really enjoyed reading it. now you have me wanting to stay at BLT.