I was trying to figure out who I could ask to take our picture when it occurred to me.
Aidan could take our photo.
"Turn the thingy and then press that doohickey right there."
What do you guys think? I like both of them.
It really doesn't look like a dolphin at all.
These buildings are just so ugly.
There were large desks with spots for several employees to assist people but there wasn't anybody at the desks. It was a ghost town.
both boys immediately found something that interested them (video games ).
We received two free hours of babysitting for each meal so the babysitting was FREE!
Plus they took the boys over to the quick service restaurant Picabu for dinner.
"I understand not asking for a picture if we were dining in Providence but this is Disney World. Everyone here is a tourist."
He consented and Greg snapped this photo:
When I sat down I heard a strong Boston accent at my left and we ended up talking to them about the miserable winter we had.
I was slightly concerned that Sam had run out before any of the camp staff had noticed him. I knew that the door was locked to prevent anyone from entering but he was able to slip out the door quite easily. If we hadn't been there Sammy probably wouldn't have gone far and someone would have caught up with him but you never know. He's not cautious and he often ventures further out on his own than I'm comfortable with.
It sounds like Sam was winning all the games and then "Jim" won one so Sam ran out of the room in hysterics.
The whole way home we listened to Sam tell us how he was supposed to be the winner and how much he didn't like "Jim" anymore.
It was a beautiful night and I wrote at the end of my notes for the day, "I am so happy!" I wish I could bottle that feeling.
I got this picture of the boys as they headed in for the night:
Not as good as day one but I was pretty close considering Sam's mood.
Tomorrow we go to Magic Kingdom.
Wow! I missed so many updates!! So, let me go back -
Sorry about the sunscreen. I hate wasting money so I would have been very upset. The strange things they have decided are "liquid".
Your room looks gorgeous and such a nice view too!
LOL about the "rule breaking" at the pool. We have broken plenty of Disney rules in our day. Oops.
I think you can feel the fire at Illuminations all around WS but it looks like you got a nice clear view from the FP location. What a nice way to start your vacation!
So happy that your boys liked Kali! I wish I could get all of mine on it.
Great safari pictures! It looks like lots of the animals were out for you.
There is a baby gorilla? How did I not know that? Great pictures!
I can't wait to hear how you felt about bluezoo. I might need to go find your dining report.
oh no - sorry they didn't like Dinosaur either ... but at least lunch worked out. I do like the idea of the kids meals coming in the sand buckets. I think a lot people get that and then go use them in the bone yard dig site
The Oswals plushes are cute and that is cool that you got Goofy's signature on a Goofy hat
Probably didn't go exactly as you planned but seems like you got in what you wanted at AK and had a nice afternoon before your dinner
Following along! I will be in wow next year during this week and I'm enjoying reading about your trip so far!
Lol on your Dolphin review! Not my favorite, either, but cool photos.
Good for you getting photos of you and your hubby. It's fun when the kids can take photos!
And too funny how the other kid wasn't supposed to win!
Following along... And i would just be lurking, but I laughed OUT loud (and nearly woke up a sleeping baby) at that photo of your terrified family on dinosaur, and you with a grin from ear to ear! Haha! That would be me! (And i distinctly remember crying through the entirety of Pirates of the Caribbean at about 7 years of age... And no ill effects).
Your bat story also killed me. If there was a large spider in the house (like tarantula size), that would be me. Peace, baby! Best of luck!
What a great day and night!! That's a bit scary about the kids' club...ie: that your son almost got away without anyone seeing...it's good that nothing happened but I'd be a bit annoyed. How nice that you even got to enjoy a quiet drink after dinner and then the kids got in a night time swim!!
So I found a good spot and handed the camera to Aidan. Jamie and I got in position and I was trying to teach Aidan how to use the camera. It sounded something like this: "Turn the thingy and then press that doohickey right there."
A nice man walking by overheard my word vomit, took pity on us, and offered to take the photo. Aidan had pretty much figured it out so we let him take it. The man stepped in and took his photo taking the time to get the boat in the background. He was really nice, saying Aidan's photo would be just as good. What do you guys think? I like both of them.
It really doesn't look like a dolphin at all. These buildings are just so ugly. The giant clam shell fountains are ridiculous. Maybe it's because I was coming from the beautiful and tastefully themed Disney resort but I didn't like it at all.
Despite a few complaints from Aidan about having to play with babies both boys immediately found something that interested them (video games ).
So I turned to J and said, "I understand not asking for a picture if we were dining in Providence but this is Disney World. Everyone here is a tourist."
I love it!
It seemed like almost everyone at Disney this week was from New England. I saw so many Red Sox caps and Patriots shirts if it wasn't for the weather I'd have thought I was still in Rhode Island.
Aidan and I met up with them outside and we got the story of his hasty exit from Camp Dolphin. This will forever be known as the "Jim" incident. Apparently there was another little boy named "Jim" who Sammy was playing video games with. It sounds like Sam was winning all the games and then "Jim" won one so Sam ran out of the room in hysterics. The whole way home we listened to Sam tell us how he was supposed to be the winner and how much he didn't like "Jim" anymore.
It was a beautiful night and I wrote at the end of my notes for the day, "I am so happy!" I wish I could bottle that feeling.
Not as good as day one but I was pretty close considering Sam's mood. We didn't even try to get in the extra safari between breakfast and Kali. Lunch was not where we planned but we enjoyed it. We missed FoW and Nemo but I think I meant to say FOTLK or Nemo so really we just missed FoW.
Tomorrow we go to Magic Kingdom.
My girls are older now, but I distinctly remember that transition from "We have to do everything for them" to "They can do stuff too!"
Well, see there's your problem.
You need to make sure he doesn't put his finger on the whatchamacallit.
I looked at both photos and decided not to be nice and immediately say "Aidan's!".
I looked at both and thought, "Which one is the better portrait?"
Well, that's obviously the first one.
So it looks like I can say it after all... "Aidan's!"
It's not a dolphin, actually. It's a dolphin fish.
You can find the same ones (in the fountain) in Italy, except the mouths are frowning in the fountain and grinning at the hotel.
Read the back story on them and it will make more sense.
Explains why they're shaped (to some extent) the way they are.
No! I'm shocked! Shocked!! Young boys, liking video games???
Babysitting and dinner provided?
I'm quite impressed, actually.
Very nice photo of you guys.
So you go to Disney to get away from the cold and what do you do????
A bit scary, but did he run out because he saw you coming?
You'd think it would be harder for a child to leave, unattended.
Gorgeous. Nice shot.
Great shot. Look how happy they are! And a great angle, too.
I'm pretty impressed with how close your days have been to your plans.
I think both photos came out well - nice to have options!
I think the dolphin is supposed to be a dolphin fish not a porpoise - but yeah, definitely odd. I'm not crazy about the look of those hotels either (though I know some people love them and it was a famous architect who designed them) I just think they are too big and I hate how they can cut the "skyline" view of the boardwalk area if you look in that direction
Wow, that is a great deal that dinner for two covers the babysitting cost! And they even take care of feeding them! Will have to keep that in mind for future trips
Glad dinner worked out so well and that you even had time for a drink after!
Oh, that makes more sense.
They should have called the Swan and Fish to avoid confusion. Just saying.
Still wish it was books.
This is the kid who ran across a busy street without looking a couple of months ago. I think that incident took a couple years off my life.
I thought about slowing down my updates here so it wouldn't seem like I don't have anything better to do. But I don't want to do anything else.
Unfortunately we were a little later than I wanted to be getting down to the bus stop. Everyone was in good spirits:
I try not to post pictures of strangers on Social Media but I can't not share this. The girl sitting next to them started talking to them about their pins. She gave them two pins each and spent the whole bus ride listening and talking to them. Not once did she look over for me to translate something Sammy said (this happens a lot). I just sat back and enjoyed watching them. I could tell they felt really special.
I told her how great she was with them and wondered if she worked with kids because if she doesn't she should.
Aidan told me later that he felt sad because when you make friends at Disney you never see them again.
When the bus finally pulled up to MK I could see that the Welcome Show had already started. I tried to race to catch it but I kept having to stop and wait for my family to catch up.
I had bought a cute wide brimmed hat the day before that I was carrying. It looked like rain and I didn't want to hold it all day so I put it in the locker. $12 (I got $5 back when I returned the key)
The boys immediately spotted this guy:
And were quickly told to stop climbing the statue.
I noticed there was a short wait for Mickey so we got right in line. I asked the CM at the door if he was talking and she said he was in a wink, wink, nudge, nudge way. Well he wasn't and he didn't talk. I was disappointed but the boys weren't because I didn't tell them as I wanted them to be surprised.
So this is the best my hair looked all day.
I love Sam's face in this picture and how he's holding Aidan's hand.
I remember thinking oh, look at the pretty trees.
Wait a minute. Those aren't trees!
What will we ride first?
I also underestimated how long it would take to get to MK by bus. I think this was because we'd always stayed at WL and it's a lot closer to MK. It looked like we weren't going to make it for the welcome show. That's when one of my favorite moments of the trip happened.
The girl sitting next to them started talking to them about their pins. She gave them two pins each and spent the whole bus ride listening and talking to them. Not once did she look over for me to translate something Sammy said (this happens a lot). I just sat back and enjoyed watching them. I could tell they felt really special.
Aidan told me later that he felt sad because when you make friends at Disney you never see them again.
When the bus finally pulled up to MK I could see that the Welcome Show had already started. I tried to race to catch it but I kept having to stop and wait for my family to catch up. This happens all the time. I walk fast and I'm always getting out in front and then having to stop and wait.
I noticed there was a short wait for Mickey so we got right in line. I asked the CM at the door if he was talking and she said he was in a wink, wink, nudge, nudge way. Well he wasn't and he didn't talk. I was disappointed but the boys weren't because I didn't tell them as I wanted them to be surprised.
Wait a minute. Those aren't trees!
What will we ride first?
Yeah, definitely can't blame them. Especially when your pool is Stormalong Bay!!!I had made a couple of FPs for the afternoon at Epcot but the boys wanted to go in the pool. I couldn't blame them after the winter we had so that's what we did. We changed into our suits and headed down to Stormalong Bay!
I checked it out. I'm still drooling over the No Way Jose.Dinner was great. If you want to know more about the meal and see some pics they are over at my dining report. The No Way Jose was the best part of it. We absolutely destroyed it and nearly fought over every bite.
That would be a nice spot for a private party.They were setting up for a private event on the beach. They had torches along the water and tables set up on the beach.
I think that's a fair assessment. I don't think I'd ever want to use FP+ for it, but as you said, it's all you were doing that evening anyway so it isn't like it kept you from booking other ones. I've seen it from all around the Lagoon. It pretty much is what it is and you can see it well from everywhere. Just try not to be downwind if you don't want to breathe smoke.We were eventually let in and we were early enough to get a spot in front right along the rope. I think the draw of this FP is the fact that the ground slopes upwards so if you arrive later and get a seat at the back you will still have a good view. I was happy with our spots but since I'd never seen the show I'm not sure how much better the view was from anywhere else along WS. The FP worked out since we didn't do anything else at Epcot that day but if we had a full day planned I might have skipped it.
Very good!Some pictures that came out alright:
Agreed.I enjoyed the show and was glad we saw it but it's probably my least favorite behind Wishes and Fantasmic!
I was tempted to tell them it was because I burned my fingerprints off that time I robbed a bank.
I'll buy it.He's a Galapagos Tortoise. I think. I might be completely making that up.
Kind of like the theory that you don't have to outrun the bear, you just have to outrun the other guy.I have mixed feelings about bats. I love seeing them come out at dusk in the summer to eat mosquitoes. But up close they are really creepy. We had one in our house when Aidan was a baby. At first I thought it was a bird but when Jamie said it was a bat I ran out of the house in terror completely forgetting the baby. Jamie came out and was like, "Are you forgetting something?" He handed Aidan to me and went back in the house to shoo it out. I appreciate bats from afar.
Hmmm... interesting.Jamie mentioned that the smell of the antelope must be driving the tiger crazy. The CM told us that they installed a - I can't remember what he called it - system to prevent the tiger and antelope from smelling each other. If it wasn't for that, they wouldn't be as relaxed as they are. I found that fascinating.
I'm trying to withhold my judgment too. But dang, it's tough.We drove past an area that was under construction for their night time safari. I guess there are nocturnal animals that they are hoping to feature for nighttime safaris. I'll just reserve judgement on this and some of the other stuff they're planning at AK until it's complete.
Ok... that's funny.He was really having a tough time but I needed to see the gorillas so I kept walking. At this point he was loudly stating his wishes for all animals to go extinct. I was mortified but also kind of happy that he used the word in the proper context.
Awesome!!! Well worth dealing with a grumpy kid for the payoff.And then this happened:
You guys. I can't believe I was lucky enough to see this!!
NOOOOOOO!!!!We walked past EE and I said goodbye to my chance to ride it solo. Oh, well. Another time.
I had to check out your DR after our poor service there. I'm glad to see that it was good, if not all that memorable. I mean, that's pretty much what it is. Just a regular CS type of place.This place hadn't even been on my radar but it was fine. You can read more at my DR if you're interested. Although busy we got our food and found a table pretty quickly. We all liked the food and I think it gave Sam the energy he needed to keep going. He was also happy that his food came in a pail and shovel that our pack mule, uh Jamie, got to lug around all day.
I'm sorry it wasn't a hit. Why Didn't Jamie like it? The man chased a bat out of the house, he surely wasn't scared of a dinosaur!I loved this ride. I was laughing the entire time but the boys and Jamie were not fans. Poor Aidan was terrified. When we got off the ride he said, "When I saw that big dinosaur my mouth went completely dry." I felt bad that he was scared but it was funny. Here's our ride photo:
Mickey bars do it every time.That put a smile on Sam's face
He was really nice, saying Aidan's photo would be just as good. What do you guys think? I like both of them.
I call it the carp.It really doesn't look like a dolphin at all.
Not a bad deal at all. Great way to spend an evening.Despite a few complaints from Aidan about having to play with babies both boys immediately found something that interested them (video games ). I filled out some paperwork and they gave us a card to show the server so we would get credit for ordering entrees at bluezoo. We received two free hours of babysitting for each meal so the babysitting was FREE
Yeah, that's definitely concerning that he was able to just get out the door without being stopped!I was slightly concerned that Sam had run out before any of the camp staff had noticed him. I knew that the door was locked to prevent anyone from entering but he was able to slip out the door quite easily. If we hadn't been there Sammy probably wouldn't have gone far and someone would have caught up with him but you never know. He's not cautious and he often ventures further out on his own than I'm comfortable with.
Poor Sam. It just wasn't his day.Aidan and I met up with them outside and we got the story of his hasty exit from Camp Dolphin. This will forever be known as the "Jim" incident. Apparently there was another little boy named "Jim" who Sammy was playing video games with. It sounds like Sam was winning all the games and then "Jim" won one so Sam ran out of the room in hysterics. The whole way home we listened to Sam tell us how he was supposed to be the winner and how much he didn't like "Jim" anymore.
Any architecture can look good when it is dark and you have some well placed lights.I know I wasn't kind when I described the look of these hotels but I liked this view at night:
I still prefer my Yacht Club.
I totally understand. Although it is hard to catch up!I thought about slowing down my updates here so it wouldn't seem like I don't have anything better to do. But I don't want to do anything else.
That's great! Always nice when you can get a little extra magic from another guest.I try not to post pictures of strangers on Social Media but I can't not share this. The girl sitting next to them started talking to them about their pins. She gave them two pins each and spent the whole bus ride listening and talking to them. Not once did she look over for me to translate something Sammy said (this happens a lot). I just sat back and enjoyed watching them. I could tell they felt really special.
I totally know how you feel.When the bus finally pulled up to MK I could see that the Welcome Show had already started. I tried to race to catch it but I kept having to stop and wait for my family to catch up. This happens all the time. I walk fast and I'm always getting out in front and then having to stop and wait.
Well... that's something. I've seen the fake facades in front of construction for buildings, but never trees!I remember thinking oh, look at the pretty trees.
Wait a minute. Those aren't trees!
FREE and dinner!!!! Think I need to eat somewhere at the Swolphin next trip.We received two free hours of babysitting for each meal so the babysitting was FREE! Plus they took the boys over to the quick service restaurant Picabu for dinner.
Wow, this is scary You'd like to think they had noticed, but yikes either way.I was slightly concerned that Sam had run out before any of the camp staff had noticed him.
Love it!I got this picture of the boys as they headed in for the night:
I just love the people you meet on Disney buses. How lucky of the boys to make such a special new friend.The girl sitting next to them started talking to them about their pins.
I thought Mickey always talked. Guess that isn't the case?Well he wasn't and he didn't talk. I
You got one up on me. Florida and my curly hair do not mix. I gotta rock a pony on almost every trip.So this is the best my hair looked all day.
These are great. I can't believe how empty the park is!In the last update I forgot to include the MM photos we had taken after breakfast in front of the castle.