13 Days of Disney - Everything We Never Knew We Always Wanted - June 2016 TR Update 1/30

[ArielSRL]

Hooray for overlapping again! We will have to make a mini meet-up happen this time. At this point I know for sure we'll be in Epcot on Wednesday, 6/7, as we love starting in Epcot, but haven't gotten much further than that.

I hope you are able to hook your DH! Mine was also skeptical before our trip in 2013, but is now as addicted as I am. I'm jealous of your WL stay! That was actually the resort I most wanted to try next, but Cora really wanted to go back to BCV and I wanted a do-over because of everything I missed out on this time. I told Cora I'd leave it up to fate and reach out to our past DVC owner. If he had points he was willing to rent we'd do BCV again, otherwise I would look toward WL or AKL. We know how that one went now...

Right now I am planning for Epcot on 6/7 as well! Regardless of any changes, we definitely need to plan a meet! As far as WL, we actually won't be able to put in until 7 months out for that bc my coworker's home resort is SSR, but she seems to think we won't have any issue. I'm just afraid to count my chickens before they hatch. If VWL didn't work out, I'd probably try for BCV or BWV...but I'd be ok even if we ended up back at SSR. I mean, it is Disney, right??

And thanks on the hope for DH. I guess we will see. His dad loved it, and passed away about 15 years ago, so I hope he really sees it through his dad's eyes and it envokes only positive memories for him.

Well now you have an excuse for a return trip! You just have to try WL! Not that you need an excuse....

 

[ArielSRL]

I love, love Alex on 7DMT! Reminds me a little of a kid I know...lol.

Love the dual color dress and the meets just look wonderful!

The kid getting carried off, though! Lol. Fortunately, knock on wood, we did not have any huge melt downs at Disney! We briefly brushed with one our first night but AJ managed to put it back together to finish out the night, when I was thinking we were going to have to head out early. Watch now, they will both flip all kinds of out next trip when I'm trying to hook DH! Lol.

 

[Jfsag123]

Right now I am planning for Epcot on 6/7 as well! Regardless of any changes, we definitely need to plan a meet! As far as WL, we actually won't be able to put in until 7 months out for that bc my coworker's home resort is SSR, but she seems to think we won't have any issue. I'm just afraid to count my chickens before they hatch. If VWL didn't work out, I'd probably try for BCV or BWV...but I'd be ok even if we ended up back at SSR. I mean, it is Disney, right??

And thanks on the hope for DH. I guess we will see. His dad loved it, and passed away about 15 years ago, so I hope he really sees it through his dad's eyes and it envokes only positive memories for him.

Well now you have an excuse for a return trip! You just have to try WL! Not that you need an excuse....

I'll bet you've got a pretty good shot at WL at the 7 month mark. June doesn't seem to be an especially high demand time for DVC. With similar thinking as yours I'm probably going to wait until 7 months to book the second leg of our stay and just cross my fingers that BLT will be available. There are a ton of lake view studios, which is what we book. However, if it's not then we'll take what we can get because wherever we are we'll be at WDW!

I hope your DH is able to feel the connection to something his dad loved at WDW. I think that was part of it for my DH. His mom is a big Disney fan, though DL is her home park. But it meant that he had been exposed to it and it brought up some nostalgia and positive memories.

I love, love Alex on 7DMT! Reminds me a little of a kid I know...lol.

Love the dual color dress and the meets just look wonderful!

The kid getting carried off, though! Lol. Fortunately, knock on wood, we did not have any huge melt downs at Disney! We briefly brushed with one our first night but AJ managed to put it back together to finish out the night, when I was thinking we were going to have to head out early. Watch now, they will both flip all kinds of out next trip when I'm trying to hook DH! Lol.

Ha! Yes, we have some boys with good faces on 7DMT lol. He actually loves the ride, but is a complete drama king while on it.

That kid is the best, right?? Congrats on minimal melt downs this trip! I think Alex was just overloaded when we went when he was that age, as most of the melt downs happened toward the end of the trip. We stayed off-site and did 5 park days in a row, 4 of which did not include a mid-day break, so it was a lot. It was supposed to be a "once in a lifetime" trip so we were trying to cram as much in as possible. Of course now here I am planning our 4th trip in as many years... But hey, on the positive side DH still fell in love with WDW despite the screaming child so there's hope!

 

[gracer9977]

Hi!! Joining your TR and loving it so far. I found you from ArielSRL's TR. I still have to go back and finish your report I am only a few pages in so far. Love your adorable kids and you have such great pictures. I was reading comments about getting pictures with the characters and I have to say I love the Characters. I spent an entire afternoon for the first time ever by myself character hunting last year. My family thinks I am weird but I love it. So probably no matter how old my kids get I will still be torturing them to pose with characters. Anyway I wanted to reply to this quote.

We couldn’t actually get down to the IG entrance to line up to be let inside. There were a few other groups also waiting. We’ve never come from the IG before, so I’m not sure if this was normal, but from the reactions of some of the other people waiting, I’m going to guess it wasn’t. One couple actually had a photography appointment scheduled and were supposed to be in the park by 7:40. I’d heard that they start letting people in for PPO breakfasts at the front gate at about 7:45. It wasn’t until around that time that we were able to get someone’s attention and have them come open the gate. We excitedly made our way up toward the entrance – back on track!

Except, not so fast. They held us there and told us they had to receive a call from the front gate in order to let us in. They even gave us a little speech about how we wouldn’t be penalized for being late to our breakfast reservations. I wasn’t worried about being penalized – I was worried about being behind the front gate crowd! We booked the reservation hoping to be able to not only have breakfast and meet the characters, but be able to ride Soarin’ with a minimal wait as well. I didn’t have a FP for it and I had seen pictures of the crazy lines right after RD. I know all having a breakfast reservation guarantees is having breakfast, but come on – they’re in the same building!

A few minutes before 8:00 we were finally let in. I have never walked so fast in my life, and on a bum toe no less. However, I still managed to snap a couple of empty World Showcase pics along the way because of course!

We had the same thing happen to us the last 2 times we made 8am ADR's for Akershaus breakfast. They let us in the front of the park by Spaceship Earth at 8am for our 8am ADR's!! Hello!! everyone knows how huge Epcot is and having to walk all the way to the back where the countries are and then practically half way around to get to Norway and there is no way we are sitting down at 8am. In 2014 it totally derailed our plan to meet Anna and Elsa. We specifically planned to eat at Akershaus at 8am and then be standing outside right across from Akershaus by 8:59am to be one of the first people in line to meet them. Instead we didn't even get to check in till almost 0820 and then by the time we sat down it was almost 0845. My niece and I ended up leaving breakfast early at 9:10am and running out to get in line. Already there was 30 people in front of us and we just barely made it into the que for the first meet. By the time the rest of the family was done eating and came outside the line was all the way around the courtyard so I am glad we went out when we did. They kept us from going in early again this past year. We didn't have a meet and greet but we were trying to get to Test Track by park opening so we could ride standby since our FP's were for Soarin. The funny thing is they let us in at 0745 at MK for our Crystal Palace 8am ADR and they let us in at 0755 at HS to sign up for Jedi training so we were able to sign up and be at rope drop literally walking right behind the Cast Members all the way to TOT. I don't know why Epcot wont let anyone in early anymore.

 

[quandrea]

This is a wonderfully written report. I enjoyed the whole thing with my coffee this Labour Day weekend. We leave in ten days and your report really gets me excited. We don't usually bother with characters but u just might this time.

We own DVC and rent out points. It's nice to see first hand how people really enjoy staying on rented points. I always get excited when making reservations for peoples' trips.

 

[merry_nbright]

I know it's early but do you have plans for what you want to do on your birthday?

That's so nice that they still recognized your birthday! Disney seems to know just how to make it special! For mine, my mom is special ordering a cake for me, we're spending the day at Magic Kingdom, and eating dinner at either The Wave or Narcoossee's. Haven't decided yet!

 

[ArielSRL]

However, if it's not then we'll take what we can get because wherever we are we'll be at WDW!

Exactly! I mean, I'd stay in a value or offsite, if I had to, just to be able to do Disney! I don't prefer it, but I'd make do!

I hope your DH is able to feel the connection to something his dad loved at WDW. I think that was part of it for my DH. His mom is a big Disney fan, though DL is her home park. But it meant that he had been exposed to it and it brought up some nostalgia and positive memories.

For me, what I love most about Disney is the feelings and the memories...so I'm really hoping DH gets all that stuff, too! Glad your DH does!

Ha! Yes, we have some boys with good faces on 7DMT lol. He actually loves the ride, but is a complete drama king while on it.

I hope AJ comes around...but so far, no go. We've got 9 months, though, right?

That kid is the best, right?? Congrats on minimal melt downs this trip! I think Alex was just overloaded when we went when he was that age, as most of the melt downs happened toward the end of the trip. We stayed off-site and did 5 park days in a row, 4 of which did not include a mid-day break, so it was a lot. It was supposed to be a "once in a lifetime" trip so we were trying to cram as much in as possible. Of course now here I am planning our 4th trip in as many years... But hey, on the positive side DH still fell in love with WDW despite the screaming child so there's hope!

I can totally get that. I'm sure my kids would've done the same. Fortunately for me, I'd been to Disney so many times before I had kids and knew we would be back several times, so I went against character and planned a much more relaxed touring style. Even when we took AJ at 9 months, we didn't even make 1 ADR. We knew we were going to let him dictate our schedule. It was a weird trip bc we probably didn't get a ton done, but I didn't care because we were in Disney. Did I want to do that type of touring every time? No, but I knew it was necessary then.

Now your touring is so much different bc you know you'll be back!

 

[B4DlandOpened]

This is a wonderfully written report.

What quandrea said!

 

[Jfsag123]

Hi!! Joining your TR and loving it so far. I found you from ArielSRL's TR. I still have to go back and finish your report I am only a few pages in so far. Love your adorable kids and you have such great pictures. I was reading comments about getting pictures with the characters and I have to say I love the Characters. I spent an entire afternoon for the first time ever by myself character hunting last year. My family thinks I am weird but I love it. So probably no matter how old my kids get I will still be torturing them to pose with characters. Anyway I wanted to reply to this quote.

Welcome and thank you! Take your time getting through it. I tend to be long-winded. Character hunting is great! It takes up a huge amount of time though. I always go back and forth about doing so much of it because it's so time consuming, but then I look back over the pictures and realize that it's always time well spent. We love it! If you are weird we are right there with you.

We had the same thing happen to us the last 2 times we made 8am ADR's for Akershaus breakfast. They let us in the front of the park by Spaceship Earth at 8am for our 8am ADR's!! Hello!! everyone knows how huge Epcot is and having to walk all the way to the back where the countries are and then practically half way around to get to Norway and there is no way we are sitting down at 8am. In 2014 it totally derailed our plan to meet Anna and Elsa. We specifically planned to eat at Akershaus at 8am and then be standing outside right across from Akershaus by 8:59am to be one of the first people in line to meet them. Instead we didn't even get to check in till almost 0820 and then by the time we sat down it was almost 0845. My niece and I ended up leaving breakfast early at 9:10am and running out to get in line. Already there was 30 people in front of us and we just barely made it into the que for the first meet. By the time the rest of the family was done eating and came outside the line was all the way around the courtyard so I am glad we went out when we did. They kept us from going in early again this past year. We didn't have a meet and greet but we were trying to get to Test Track by park opening so we could ride standby since our FP's were for Soarin. The funny thing is they let us in at 0745 at MK for our Crystal Palace 8am ADR and they let us in at 0755 at HS to sign up for Jedi training so we were able to sign up and be at rope drop literally walking right behind the Cast Members all the way to TOT. I don't know why Epcot wont let anyone in early anymore.

Yes! All of the other parks let in early, but Epcot wouldn't budge even with a PPO ADR. They assured us we wouldn't be penalized for being late to our ADR. Um, that's night what I was worried about lol. Stupidly, we will probably try the same thing again next year. It did work out for us in the end with our ride on Soarin', but it was more stress than I typically like with my breakfast.

This is a wonderfully written report. I enjoyed the whole thing with my coffee this Labour Day weekend. We leave in ten days and your report really gets me excited. We don't usually bother with characters but u just might this time.

We own DVC and rent out points. It's nice to see first hand how people really enjoy staying on rented points. I always get excited when making reservations for peoples' trips.

Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it. And also glad to potentially be spreading the character love - they can be a lot of fun! How exciting to be going in 10 days. I'm desperate to go during fall season at WDW at some point, but I don't see it happening any time soon.
I always wondered if the DVC owners actually do enjoy booking trips for people as much as they say they do. To quote Adele, Hello from the other side. We have so appreciated the wonderful DVC owners that have helped us with our trips, as I'm sure you have been appreciated by your renters!

I hope AJ comes around...but so far, no go. We've got 9 months, though, right?

I can totally get that. I'm sure my kids would've done the same. Fortunately for me, I'd been to Disney so many times before I had kids and knew we would be back several times, so I went against character and planned a much more relaxed touring style. Even when we took AJ at 9 months, we didn't even make 1 ADR. We knew we were going to let him dictate our schedule. It was a weird trip bc we probably didn't get a ton done, but I didn't care because we were in Disney. Did I want to do that type of touring every time? No, but I knew it was necessary then.

Now your touring is so much different bc you know you'll be back!

Alex did not like 7DMT last year as a 4 year old, but enjoyed it enough to do it twice this year. He also hated Test Track last year and loved it this time, so in our case a year made a big difference.

And yes, our touring has changed so much with the knowledge that we'll always be back. Pressure is off! That first time I felt like we had to cram in everything. The only time we still tour that way is in the time right after rope drop. Another big difference is that we now view the resorts as a large part of the vacation in addition to the parks so time spent hanging around the hotel isn't seen as wasted but instead valued and enjoyed.

What quandrea said!

Thank you!

 

[MrsSykes2014]

Hi there!!! I am loving this TR. my husband is a HUGE toy story fan (32 years old haha) he can recite the movies and when we went for our Disneymoon in November last year he was star struck.

We are going next October with our daughter and I can not wait to be back. Can not wait to read more

 

[ArielSRL]

Alex did not like 7DMT last year as a 4 year old, but enjoyed it enough to do it twice this year. He also hated Test Track last year and loved it this time, so in our case a year made a big difference.

Good to know there is hope!

And yes, our touring has changed so much with the knowledge that we'll always be back. Pressure is off! That first time I felt like we had to cram in everything. The only time we still tour that way is in the time right after rope drop. Another big difference is that we now view the resorts as a large part of the vacation in addition to the parks so time spent hanging around the hotel isn't seen as wasted but instead valued and enjoyed.

I think this is why I am trying to choose my resort more wisely than when I was younger. We spend so much more time there than I used to do. Pretty much with kids (and with my parents the last few times), a more relaxed touring style just works out better for everyone!

 

[ariane37]

I love the Aurora meet even more than the Mary Poppins meet! Cora's dress is fantastic and Aurora dancing with Alex is And it didn't hurt that your Aurora was decent looking, I've seen a few that were suspect Even forgetting a couple accessories I give you props for carrying all the costume changes arouns with you. I can't even stand holding someone's drink for more than a few minutes, my purse is enough! Luckily Steve doesn't mind the backpack when the kids are with us but he watches what goes into it very carefully lol. No extras!

 

[Jfsag123]

Hi there!!! I am loving this TR. my husband is a HUGE toy story fan (32 years old haha) he can recite the movies and when we went for our Disneymoon in November last year he was star struck.

We are going next October with our daughter and I can not wait to be back. Can not wait to read more

Hello! I'm glad you're enjoying it - thanks for joining in! You are never too old to love Disney characters and movies in my (very self-serving) opinion! Your DH has good taste. And OMG, the first trip with your child is so exciting! It's amazing getting to watch the discovery of WDW through their eyes.

I love the Aurora meet even more than the Mary Poppins meet! Cora's dress is fantastic and Aurora dancing with Alex is And it didn't hurt that your Aurora was decent looking, I've seen a few that were suspect Even forgetting a couple accessories I give you props for carrying all the costume changes arouns with you. I can't even stand holding someone's drink for more than a few minutes, my purse is enough! Luckily Steve doesn't mind the backpack when the kids are with us but he watches what goes into it very carefully lol. No extras!

Lol! On several counts And Rees handles most of the costume cargo. He carried the backpack, which he doesn't mind being loaded down thankfully. I tend more toward your feelings...

 

[Jfsag123]

Day 8 – June 13: Magic Kingdom, Part 3

Freshly de-costumed, we began the trek to Frontierland to ride Splash Mountain with our last FP+ – one of my absolute favorites! It was at this point that Cora decided to have a bit of a freak out. She is not a fan of drops and started to get upset in the line. I’m sure to many of the other folks in line we looked like “those parents” - the mean mommy and daddy who force their child on a ride she’s scared of for our own selfish reasons. Well I assure you, this was not that. Cora has ridden Splash Mountain before. Twice. She had previously freaked out about riding it twice and previously ridden it and ended up enjoying it twice. It’s just what she does. On our first trip she freaked out about Soarin’, then proceeded to ride it twice in a row. I assured her that I would ride with her and we would close our eyes, scream, and cuddle together during the drop, and she knew she didn’t want to miss out on the rest of the (awesome) ride just because of the couple of seconds of the drop.

My drop plan didn’t exactly work, as she turned away from me rather than leaning in, but it made for a funny picture, as I look absolutely terrified as I’m trying to comfort her.

True to form, when the drop was over she laughed hysterically at her own silliness.

She promised next time would be different. I’m not holding my breath.

After Splash we decided to do something that we’ve never done before – ride the train around the park! I took no pictures as my phone was dying at this point and I was trying to recharge it with one of the 3 (yes, 3) portable chargers I brought with me. It was peaceful and beautiful and Alex got a kick out of pulling into the Main Street station and realizing we were in the same spot where the characters appear during the Welcome Show.

We made a complete circle and got off back in Frontierland again to pay a visit to the Country Bears Jamboree. Alex was thrilled to see Wendell in the show, having claimed him as a friend the previous day due to their blue bowtie connection.

Next we grabbed spots on the edge of the porch outside of Pecos Bill’s to wait for the Festival of Fantasy parade. This is my favorite spot to watch from. It’s shady, we can sit, and it doesn’t fill in until the 30 minutes or so before the parade. We showed up about 45 minutes early to make sure we got to be where we wanted, but provided ourselves with a diversion while we waited – Dole Whip Floats!

This was me trying to take a Dole Whip selfie, but I couldn’t get my voice command to work because of the noise so Rees reached over to press the button for me. Excellent photography skills on display yet again.

While we were waiting, a photopass photographer randomly came up and started snapping photos of the kids. He didn’t take shots of the families around us, just Cora and Alex, then handed me a photopass card and went along his way.

The same thing happened again during the parade with a different photographer. He just came up behind us and started snapping pictures of the kids watching the parade, then handed me a card and moved on. I’m guessing this is something they do regularly, but it was the first time we had experienced it. Anyway it was nice and I’m grateful for the extra pictures!

After the parade, we ducked through the breezeway from Frontierland to Adventureland to hop in line to meet Jasmine and Aladdin. Unfortunately, Jasmine was by herself with no sign of Aladdin. At this point it was hotter than the surface of the sun and the line was already decently long. The memory of this wait is seared into my brain (pun intended). It felt like it took forever to make it to the covered portion of the queue. However, we ended up being happy that we were not near the front of the line for the set, as part of the way through it Genie joined Jasmine.

This was another fun meet. Genie gestured to Cora’s Pluto cap and Alex told him that he had a Goofy one just like what Genie wears at the end of his movie. They were fast friends after that.

At this point the heat had pretty much drained the life out of us, so we called it a day and headed back to the resort. Originally, I had ‘Ohana booked for this night, but was glad I had moved it to later in the trip because I don’t think we would have made it. Rees and the kids hit the pool for a bit, I sat on the balcony with my foot up and read, then we enjoyed dinner and a movie (later with popcorn) in our room.

Up next: Venturing back to Animal Kingdom for the first time in 3 years

 

[gracer9977]

OMG!! I love that Alex's room is just like Andy's room. My Jack went though a Toy Story phase but we just had boring old sheets and comforters. That room is amazing.

I have to go way back and just say that I thought that Alex's in heaven eating pizza face was SO cute.

Amazing character pictures and meet and greets and the Mary Poppins/Bert costumes were awesome. That is so great that your MIL makes them costumes. My kids totally let me down in the costume department. Neither of them will wear costumes. 2 years ago we did the BBB and Aurora got the Crown package and Jack did the Knight package. Aurora had a full Ariel costume, that she insisted she wanted. I had to threaten her just to make her wear it while she was having her makeover and then I dragged them both over to Castle Couture to have their pictures done and my kids and my DH fought me the whole time. They wanted to go on rides not waste time with pics. I managed to get a bunch of pics taken anyway but when they were done the costume came right off. Ah well at least I have one group of pics to remember them. We did the MNSSHP last year and same thing. Aurora had the beautiful blue Cinderella ball gown and matching butterfly shoes. She wore the shoes so I could take a few pics and then the crocs went back on and the dress was gone 15 min into the party. Jack was Ant Man and his costume was gone about 10 min after that. So envious of all you parents who had amazing pictures with Characters and your kids in matching costumes.

I have never been on Mission Space Orange or Green and I don't think that will happen ever. You were very brave to try the Orange Side. I love thrill rides and coasters but I have seen and heard to many horror stories. I sit with my mom and my sister while everyone else goes on.

Love Be Our Guest. I love that whole area of the park, BOG, Enchanting Tales with Belle, Gaston's Tavern and the very awesome LaFou Brew, and the store. I love that glamour picture you took with Alex in front of the stained glass.

Another awesome update. I am on page 9 now. Almost all caught up.

 

[ArielSRL]

That's funny about Cora. AJ enjoyed Splash EXCEPT for the drop! He really does not like drops at all. After we finished the ride, he said he liked it but as we get further and further away from the trip he claims not to have liked it so I'll probably be THAT parent next trip!

I definitely need to make time for the train next trip. I had planned a couple rides this past June but you know how that went...lol.

We were also supposed to do Country Bears but ended up skipping that as well. It will most definitely be back on the list for next June, most specially because my DH has requested it. But I really love it too. Classic MK show.

I like the FoF spot. I just don't think I am up for a daytime parade in June. Besides, at least for this year, we will have breaks planned at that time. But it looks like you guys made the best of it.

Awesome M&G with Jasmine and Genie. And I do like your evening plan, though I most likely would've forced my family back out to a park in the dark...but maybe not.

BTW, you are putting me to shame with all your updates. I am currently trying to get about 150 items prepared to sell in the consignment sale at my son's church preschool and it is quite a lengthy process when I only have after the kids go to bed to do it. I'm hoping to grab a few minutes here and there to start writing something and save it to Word and eventually, when I get a moment to add the photos, post it. But, it could very well be next week before I have time. Oh well.

 

[ariane37]

So cool that you got to meet Genie! He's a bit elusive nowadays other than at characterpalooza. Back in 2010 at our first MNSSHP, Christopher fell asleep around 8 so basically for most of the party. He loved/loves Genie and didn't get to meet him. When he finally woke up around 11 Genie had stopped meeting but we saw a guest dressed in a great Genie costume. Steve explained the situation to the guy and asked if he'd come over and say hello to Chris, which he did. Chris was thrilled lol! Luckily he's been able to meet the "real" Genie a couple times since then.

 

[Jfsag123]

OMG!! I love that Alex's room is just like Andy's room. My Jack went though a Toy Story phase but we just had boring old sheets and comforters. That room is amazing.

Thats' all we had too until my MIL got her hands on the room. Thanks!

Amazing character pictures and meet and greets and the Mary Poppins/Bert costumes were awesome. That is so great that your MIL makes them costumes. My kids totally let me down in the costume department. Neither of them will wear costumes. 2 years ago we did the BBB and Aurora got the Crown package and Jack did the Knight package. Aurora had a full Ariel costume, that she insisted she wanted. I had to threaten her just to make her wear it while she was having her makeover and then I dragged them both over to Castle Couture to have their pictures done and my kids and my DH fought me the whole time. They wanted to go on rides not waste time with pics. I managed to get a bunch of pics taken anyway but when they were done the costume came right off. Ah well at least I have one group of pics to remember them. We did the MNSSHP last year and same thing. Aurora had the beautiful blue Cinderella ball gown and matching butterfly shoes. She wore the shoes so I could take a few pics and then the crocs went back on and the dress was gone 15 min into the party. Jack was Ant Man and his costume was gone about 10 min after that. So envious of all you parents who had amazing pictures with Characters and your kids in matching costumes.

My sister's kids are like yours and it frustrates her to no end! Sometimes it's nice to be on the other side of it, though, as my kids also regularly ask to wear their costumes at home. It's a pain having to drag that stuff out! I'm glad you at least got your one set of pics!

I have never been on Mission Space Orange or Green and I don't think that will happen ever. You were very brave to try the Orange Side. I love thrill rides and coasters but I have seen and heard to many horror stories. I sit with my mom and my sister while everyone else goes on.

I'm fine with Green, but I would be ok with never setting foot on Orange again...

Another awesome update. I am on page 9 now. Almost all caught up.

You're quick!

 

[Jfsag123]

That's funny about Cora. AJ enjoyed Splash EXCEPT for the drop! He really does not like drops at all. After we finished the ride, he said he liked it but as we get further and further away from the trip he claims not to have liked it so I'll probably be THAT parent next trip!

We can be THAT parent together.

I definitely need to make time for the train next trip. I had planned a couple rides this past June but you know how that went...lol.

We were also supposed to do Country Bears but ended up skipping that as well. It will most definitely be back on the list for next June, most specially because my DH has requested it. But I really love it too. Classic MK show.

This was the first time we ever caught the Country Bears. It's always been on the list and always ended up getting skipped, so we made a point of it. We loved it! Agreed, it's classic.

I like the FoF spot. I just don't think I am up for a daytime parade in June. Besides, at least for this year, we will have breaks planned at that time. But it looks like you guys made the best of it.

Awesome M&G with Jasmine and Genie. And I do like your evening plan, though I most likely would've forced my family back out to a park in the dark...but maybe not.

My kids are crazy about the afternoon parades, so we HAVE to see them. But yes, it was super hot and it makes scheduling kind of hard because it's right when we'd want to be on afternoon break. Last year we were helped out by Disney adding a noon parade to the schedule during our days, so we just saw the earlier one and still took our breaks. This year I knew I'd have to swap out an afternoon break for an evening break for us to be able to catch it. Don't think I didn't consider marching everyone back out - it's especially tempting at BLT, as it's right there! But I wanted to give my foot a break and with such a long trip there was less pressure to be in the parks every minute.

BTW, you are putting me to shame with all your updates. I am currently trying to get about 150 items prepared to sell in the consignment sale at my son's church preschool and it is quite a lengthy process when I only have after the kids go to bed to do it. I'm hoping to grab a few minutes here and there to start writing something and save it to Word and eventually, when I get a moment to add the photos, post it. But, it could very well be next week before I have time. Oh well.

Ha! Here's my secret shame: I use writing my trip report as a distraction/coping mechanism. The vast majority of my time these days is spent working on my dissertation, as I'm scheduled to propose next month. Whenever I start getting really overwhelmed and anxious, I back away from the work I should be doing and focus on reliving my Disney trip instead. More updates = I'm super stressed and procrastinating (which, of course, just leads to more stress). However, I sent off a chapter draft tonight, so progress is happening...slowly...

So cool that you got to meet Genie! He's a bit elusive nowadays other than at characterpalooza. Back in 2010 at our first MNSSHP, Christopher fell asleep around 8 so basically for most of the party. He loved/loves Genie and didn't get to meet him. When he finally woke up around 11 Genie had stopped meeting but we saw a guest dressed in a great Genie costume. Steve explained the situation to the guy and asked if he'd come over and say hello to Chris, which he did. Chris was thrilled lol! Luckily he's been able to meet the "real" Genie a couple times since then.

We were thrilled to see him! Awesome about the guest who helped you out lol. I'm pretty sure Genie was one of our characterpalooza characters last year, but we weren't counting on ever meeting him again outside of somehow getting to a Halloween party. Love those little surprises!

 

[ArielSRL]

We can be THAT parent together.

Sounds like a plan!

This was the first time we ever caught the Country Bears. It's always been on the list and always ended up getting skipped, so we made a point of it. We loved it! Agreed, it's classic.

I truly do love it but I admit, I fall asleep in there sometimes, too....lol.

My kids are crazy about the afternoon parades, so we HAVE to see them. But yes, it was super hot and it makes scheduling kind of hard because it's right when we'd want to be on afternoon break. Last year we were helped out by Disney adding a noon parade to the schedule during our days, so we just saw the earlier one and still took our breaks. This year I knew I'd have to swap out an afternoon break for an evening break for us to be able to catch it. Don't think I didn't consider marching everyone back out - it's especially tempting at BLT, as it's right there! But I wanted to give my foot a break and with such a long trip there was less pressure to be in the parks every minute.

Oh, a noon one would be so much better! As it is, it makes complete sense to do it the way you did it.

Ha! Here's my secret shame: I use writing my trip report as a distraction/coping mechanism. The vast majority of my time these days is spent working on my dissertation, as I'm scheduled to propose next month. Whenever I start getting really overwhelmed and anxious, I back away from the work I should be doing and focus on reliving my Disney trip instead. More updates = I'm super stressed and procrastinating (which, of course, just leads to more stress). However, I sent off a chapter draft tonight, so progress is happening...slowly...

Ah...I see. So maybe I shouldn't feel so bad...lol. You have been posting a lot lately! Glad to hear you are making progress!