Hicks on Holiday 2 - Done Brung the Kin Folk-Sept. 07 w/pics UPDATE 12/10/08 pg 41

[beckanoah]

Bumping in search of more!

 

[DisneyMom5]

DisneyMom5, I am so pleased that you were not intimidated by me. As I said, I am not so good at remembering names, probably because I cannot hear them often, but YOU made a definite impression. You are overwhelmingly nice and seeing your children shows me what a special mother you are as well. I do so hope that we will be at DW again some day and if you cannot persuade your mom to come with I will gladly fill in holding parade seats and such. I am slow so that is what I am really good at. I pick good ones too, as you know.

When I get my new camera I am taking some pics so you can see how well I speak 'boy'. I warn you that yours will want to visit me though. I have so many Lego's that it is going to be a major part of my estate when I die. I have all my sons and he is in his mid 30's now. I know the layout of the Disney Lego Store by heart and Lego.com has its own shortcut on my desktop.

SG/Linda

You are too kind Linda!
With your wealth of Lego knowledge, once you meet my boys you will have friends for life!

Hey! I finally got a chance to get over here and catch up on your trip report.

It's great so far!! Sounds like you guys had a good time! Can't wait to read the rest of the trip!

Thanks! Working on an update soon.

Bumping in search of more!

Here's my update for today:
My new carpet is coming on Friday.

Then I should finally have time for an update. Right now we are figuring out how to move all of our furniture out of our living room, and where to put it when we do.

Thanks all for your support!

 

[DisneyMom5]

Sept. 18, 2007
Day 4, part one - Magic Kingdom
"Is that a Castle I see before me?"

Well, I figure I have left you all hanging for long enough.
It's time for an update.

The carpet is installed.
Thanksgiving is over.
The presents are wrapped.
And I am avoiding doing Christmas cards, for the moment.

Besides, FlyLady says you can do anything for 15 minutes!
[Once again that address is flylady.net]

So I am going to attempt 15 minutes of an update.
Let's see where that gets us!

Our second day at the world was one we had much anticipated.
We were headed for Magic Kingdom.

In anticipation of this event, we had planned on wearing our brand spanking new,
matching Mickey Mouse shirts, acquired from disneyshopping.com at a hefty discount, with free shipping.

[Walmart, eat your heart out.]

So I had arranged with Bionic SIL to be ready to go around 8 am so we could get there before rope drop.

Early rising is NEVER a problem for Bionic SIL.

And if she says she's going to be there, she will be there early.

I do like that about her.

It came in handy because they would come to the room and help with socks and shoes.

Did I mention we got up early that morning?

How early?

I'm not sure Bitsy was even awake yet when she was getting her shoes on! LOL

We all had a snack in the room, and headed out.

The ride to Magic Kingdom is one of the longer bus rides from Pop Century, but it still isn't bad.

We like the views on the way, especially when you see the castle for the first time. Sigh.

Magic Kingdom was all decked out for Halloween, which was a new one for us.

At first I didn't like it, because it didn't look like MY Magic Kingdom.
But eventually it grew on me.

We arrived and blended in with the crowd.




No really, we didn't stand out at all.



Well, here's a pic so you can decide for yourself:


Our motley crew

I would LOVE to say we were there early enough to be picked as the opening family.
But no, it was not to be.

I'm not sure they have ever picked a group of 13 to open the park.


Here's the family that did get to open it:

Opening family

Singing was done, greetings were made, confetti was thrown, and we were...
IN BABY!!!

Around the corner, and what do we see?

A CASTLE!!!

I just LOVE the look on DangerBoy's face! Precious!


Some of the Halloween decorations were really cute:

And so we were off for Tomorrowland!


Well looky there, I DID manage to do a bit of an update in 15 minutes!!!

More later.

Next up: Sarah shares her super secret Hick Holiday Magic Kingdom short cut. SHHHHHH! Don't tell!

 

[winkers]

All 13 of you in bright blue shirts..................nope, you don't stand out at all! I'm still trying to figure out how to get my family to wear matching shirts.

 

[DisneyMom5]

All 13 of you in bright blue shirts..................nope, you don't stand out at all! I'm still trying to figure out how to get my family to wear matching shirts.

I don't leave them any other options! LOL

As you can see, dh decided not to play along with the Mickey shirts...due to me mistakenly asking him if he wanted to wear one.

So SIL and I decided to get him a shirt in a matching color, and only pack his matching color shirts! Problem solved. LOL

Then I just lay out everyone's outfits in the morning and presto, matching family.

Mom didn't always match, but she really liked the Mickey shirts.
And SIL was totally into it.

It really helps to keep track of everyone.

The only downside to those shirts is EVERYONE had them this trip, in blue and all the other colors.
[Lime green was apparently a big favorite, as you can see in the corner of my castle pic, and not all wearers were dis'ers.]
Apparently the sale was too good to pass up for more people than just us. LOL

So my advice to you is...coercion. Make them dress alike by giving them no option.

Thanks for reading!

 

[DisneyJo]

I have to agree with Cherie, no you didn't stand out at all

So the LG shirt wearers weren't DISers? I definitely would have thought with LG shirts and a LG Bagalini they were a dead cert

 

[DisneyMom5]

I have to agree with Cherie, no you didn't stand out at all

So the LG shirt wearers weren't DISers? I definitely would have thought with LG shirts and a LG Bagalini they were a dead cert

To be honest, I didn't actually question that family, but I did approach some other LG wearers later and was rebuffed and it made me more paranoid about approaching anyone.

Thanks for reading!

 

[DisneyMom5]

1st. Day at Magic Kingdom
Sept. 18, 2007
Part two
Sarah shares her super secret Hick Holiday Magic Kingdom short cut. SHHHHHH! Don't tell!

So when we left the Hicks, they were --

wait, here's a good place for a story....

Before our trip, the kids and I found a little website called Mouse World Radio.
I'm not sure if it still is up and running, because we haven't been able to make it work since we got back.

We would turn it on every morning, before starting school.

The best part about it, is that it plays WDW music around the actual time it is playing.
First it plays the monorail speil,
then the pre-opening MK music,
then the opening speil (the pre-recorded, not the opening family one),
then the main street march,
and then an hour of mainstreet music.

Most nights it plays Wishes around 8 or 8:30 pm, and then Illuminations.

In between it plays background music, ride speils, and songs from shows.

We LOVED it.

One day we made up words for the Mainstreet march.
And they go:
Marching down the mainstreet
Headed for the castle
Everyone is going there
La, la la la la
Marching down the mainstreet
headed for Space Mountain
Everyone is going there
La, la la la la
There's Mickey Mouse
There's Mickey Mouse
He's the leader of this great big house
Marching down the mainstreet
Headed for Splash Mountain
Everyone is going there
La, La La La La!
[Then it goes into Zippity doo dah, so I won't go into that. LOL]

So, needless to say, this is the song that goes through our head everytime we walked down mainstreet,
which is where we find the Hicks right now.

[We also are well versed with the Music Man songs that are played,
so if you ever see a group of identically dressed people with seven kids
singing along to the MK soundtrack "Gary Indiana, Gary Indiana..."
Say "HI."
It's most likely us.
Except for dh.
Who thinks we're dweeby when we do it.
But he can deal.
Because everyone is allowed to be dweeby at WDW.
That's my new rule.]

But I digress...

Here is the super secret tip that I have been waiting to tell you,
but you must SWEAR you will not tell the general populace,
or the tip will become worthless.
I am sharing it with you, my close personal friends, ONLY.

Ahem...

When you are going down mainstreet,
and you desire to go to Tomorrowland,
instead of heading to the castle hub and crossing the bridge,
turn right onto the sidewalk when the buildings end,
and head toward the Tomorrowland Noodle Terrace,
or whatever that restaurant is called.

There is a covered, air conditioned sidewalk that goes directly into Tomorrowland,
and comes out across from, I think, Stitch.
Most people don't even know it exists,
and you can walk in relative comfort and not as crowded.
Most people will be distracted by the castle,
and you will gain valuable time to get to the attractions at Tomorrowland before much of the crowd.

We did this manuever, and found ourselves in a relatively empty Tomorrowland.
We decided to head to Space Mountain,
and Mom had agreed to stay with the smaller kids so the rest of us could ride.

In the midst of this process, two CMs in office attire were passing by.
They stopped and started chatting with the kids,
and the woman spotted my lime green fanny pack tag.
She asked if I were on the Disboards,
and excitedly said that her mom was "SAFETY MOM" on the boards.

I did recognize that name,
but haven't seen her since I have been back.
So if you know Safety Mom, let her know I met her dd,
and that she is an absolutely lovely and friendly young lady!

Space mountain posted a 10 minute wait, but it definately was less.

I don't know what it is about Space Mountain --
I like it, but usually am only good for one ride a trip.
And that ride consists of me screaming this high pitched squeal.

I can't help it.
It's totally embarrasing, and Disneygirl will not let me live it down.
At least I keep my eyes open a little more than I used to! LOL

[The whole ride Stitch Jr. was yelling "THIS....IS...AWESOME!"
That was his standard on all the good rides. LOL]

All the newbies gave Space Mountain a resounding !!!

Then we headed over to Buzz Lightyear, for no line, and two trips through.
Mom even enjoyed that one.
Except for the "MOVING WALKWAYS MOM!!!"
She really loves how we all look out for her.

Then when we were done with Buzz,
we still had a lot of time available to work with,
so we decided to finish out Tomorrowland.
We headed out to Carousel of Progress, only to spot....STITCH!
WELL...as you can imagine, someone was in heaven!

My kid's had never gotten his autograph, so a few of them got into the mix also.

That important signature under our belt, we headed in to COP.
My mom LOVED this,
and it was to be the standard that all other attractions were measured by.
All historical animatronics were a-ok with Mom.



Everyone was interested in riding the TTA.
This kind of surprised me, as it is rather tame,
but I like it so on we went.

I think this attraction is severely under-rated.

You're sitting, it's mostly in A/C, you get a behind the scenes look at things...it's all good.

A few of the group then wanted to see the Stitch attraction,
so Mom, Disneygirl, Bitsy, Babycakes and I headed to the gift shop.

We thought they would be in the next group out,
but instead it took two groups.

We made do by thouroughly looking that shop over. LOL

This series is called:

"The Giftshop at Stitch's Great Escape, starring the ever-adorable Bitsy."

Bitsy the Bad

Bitsy and some Stitch ears

Awwwww....Don't you JUST want to squeeze HER!

The crew finally got out,
declared the Stitch attraction thouroughly disgusting and fun,
and foul smelling Stitch Cheetos breath forgotten,
decided they were all starving.

This was fine, as we decided to skip the car race thingy
[too much time for too little return.]

So that concludes our tour of Tomorrowland.

Next up:
Lunch, and a Lesson in Piracy

 

[DisneyJo]

We use that shortcut too and you're right it is a good one

I love your songs and that radio station sounded great, hope it is still around!

I love the Stitch photos your kids are adorable and the Bitsy photos are just so cute

 

[winkers]

Bitsy is so adorable! I want to pinch her cute little cheeks!!

I'll have to file away the tip for how to get to tomorrowland!

 

[kindakrazy2]

Yeah! I checked in with you and got 2 updates! Way to go Sarah!

Love the one of Bitsy with the Stitch ears - so darn cute!

 

[HeatherSue]

Mom and I found that secret passage to Tomorrowland on accident on our last trip. It was like being magically transported to another world.

Love the pics from the gift shop. That girl is too cute!

I can't wait to see your new carpet on the 31st!

 

[DisneyMom5]

We use that shortcut too and you're right it is a good one

I love your songs and that radio station sounded great, hope it is still around!

I love the Stitch photos your kids are adorable and the Bitsy photos are just so cute

Bitsy is so adorable! I want to pinch her cute little cheeks!!

I'll have to file away the tip for how to get to tomorrowland!

Yeah! I checked in with you and got 2 updates! Way to go Sarah!

Love the one of Bitsy with the Stitch ears - so darn cute!

Thanks everyone! We think she's pretty cute too.
It's a good thing, because it saves her many times.
Did I mention she is EVIL???
LOL
One time, many months ago (so, before she was 3), she grabbed her bigger sister, Princess K (4yo) by the ponytail and dragged her across the room.
Yikes.
She's also the only child I have had to call poison control for. Twice.

Anyway, we still love her and enjoy her...when she's not trying to end civilization as we know it.

Mom and I found that secret passage to Tomorrowland on accident on our last trip. It was like being magically transported to another world.

Love the pics from the gift shop. That girl is too cute!

I can't wait to see your new carpet on the 31st!

Looking forward to seeing you!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!!


This was our Christmas picture this year:

I have had some medical stuff going on the last week or so, so I didn't get a chance to post.
Hoping to do updates again soon.

Anyone heard from SG/Linda?

Hope you had a nice Christmas and a have a Happy New Year!

 

[kindakrazy2]

Love the photo! So darn cute!

 

[DisneyMom5]

Hold onto your Mickey ears Eunice, it's another Hick update!!!

Day 2 at the parks/ Sept. 18, 2007
Magic Kingdom, part 3 (?)

Lunch and a Lesson in Piracy

When we last left the Hicks they had just spent some time with Stitch
and his gift shop.
Growling tummies encouraged the Hicks to hunt down some vittles.

Oh, but before we do, I forgot one humorous event while riding the TTA.
As we were getting on, the CM working there said,
with a very serious face and a droll tone of voice,
“Oh look, it’s the smurfs.”

Well, that was kind of funny,
but when we were getting off the ride, he,
again with a very straight face,
started singing
“La, la, la, la la la, la, la, la la la.”

Smurf theme music.

Later that week, when we were again in MK,
and again wearing the blue shirts,
we ran into the same CM.
This time he said “YOU again!?!” and sang smurf music again.

Then he cracked a big smile.
It’s amazing he remembered us, with all the people he sees everyday.

Especially since we don't stick out in a crowd.

But back to the show already in progress...

I had planned our morning in such a way as to drop us at the door of Cosmic Ray’s around lunch,
and my timing was excellent.

My review of Cosmic Ray’s can be found in my food report. http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=21938289&postcount=73

On our way to Ray’s we found a friendly little metal fellow named PUSH.
Yes, indeed, it was the talking trashcan.

Everyone was freaking out...in a good way...except for Bitsy.
Bitsy had nothing to say on the matter,
she just preferred to hide behind our legs and shut her eyes.

Moving along, we hit Ray’s just as it opened, which is ideal, as it is not crowded.
A good lunch was had, and we were off to find more fun.

I had planned to hit Fantasyland later in the week,
so we headed over to Adventureland.

Disneygirl and I had planned to hit Adventureland around the time of the Pirate Tutorial
that we had heard so much about.

No one else knew this, because
1) we wanted it to be a surprise and
2) we didn’t want anyone to complain about waiting around for a “show.”

Our memories on this part are a little fuzzy, but I think we convinced everyone to go straight to the POTC courtyard.

And stand there.

Which prompted John to ask the inevitable:
“What are we doing?
Why are we just standing around here?
Couldn’t we be going somewhere?”

“Um,” says I, looking at the map, cleverly stalling for time, “mumble mumble mumble....”

“What?!?” says my hard of hearing dh.

Me, looking at map “Well, the mumble fumble blah,
if we stand right here,
then they should be mumble mumble mumble....OK?”

Sometimes, it is best to confuse and daze your party into submission.
For their own good.

Here is a picture, we believe, of a man whose family conned him into standing still at WDW, to wait for a show:

We only really stood there long enough for that conversation to take place,
when suddenly,
out comes Mack,
Capn’ Jack’s faithful sidekick.


Mack and the pirate gear

Mack looking for Jack

"He's right behind you!!!"

Continued in the next post:
A Lesson in Piracy...

 

[DisneyMom5]

A Lesson in Piracy, continued...

Mack and Jack looked for victims,
ahem, VOLUNTEERS,
among the crowd,

and who do you think they found?

Yes indeed, it was Stitch Jr.,
heretofore the luckiest member of our party.

They asked him up, calling him Blueberry
(matching bright blue shirts apparently help in getting yourselves noticed.)

All of the volunteers were taught piratey ways,
and allowed to fight Mack,

until Stitch Jr was the only one left,
and Jack decided to take on“The Blueberry” himself.

When prompted to say to Jack “Look, it’s the Governor’s Daughter!”
Stitch Jr instead said “Look, it’s a HOT GIRL!”

To which Jack replied, much to the hilarity of the crowd,
“What, is she on fire?”



[Kids these days. Where do they get this stuff???]

All of the crowd took the pirate oath,

and many were given scrolls proclaiming them pirates.

Tutorial over, Jack Sparrow escaped,
and we were off to ride the actual pirates ride.

Even with the new additions, I still love this ride.
It is CLASSIC Disney magic at it’s best.

The newbies were also duly impressed,
with the exception of maybe Mom,
who is unfamiliar with the Pirates, or any other Disney back story,
though she seemed to like it ok.

We hit the bathroom right next to POTC, because we know it’s there.

I don’t think I have mentioned it before,
but we managed to hit every bathroom in WDW this trip,
some of them multiple times.

The Inquisitor was mostly to blame for this,
with Princess K close behind.

They seem to like to check out every bathroom they see.

We also had two in diapers – Babycakes and Bitsy.
AND Bitsy decides on the trip she also wants to sit on the potties at WDW.

Of course she never actually USED them.
Just managed to take up more time than necessary.

Add to the mix that we were a group of 13.

We tried to do our standard rule of “When one goes, all go.”

But considering the frequency of potty stops,
it was impossible to implement.

So, anyway, potties out of the way,
we then headed to the Jungle Cruise,
for some lovely punny moments.

Then we realized that animatronic animals don’t smell,
so the smell we were experiencing must be in our group.

So as Bionic SIL and John took the bigger kids on Alladin,
Mom and I took Bitsy and Babycakes BACK to the POTC bathroom.

Sigh.

Did I mention we spent a LOT of time in the bathrooms.


The only saving grace is that they are blissfully air-conditioned. Ahhhh......

We met up with the rest of the group,
and decided to check out the local avian night club,
which was apparently under new management....

Next up: Tikitikitikitikitikitikitikitiki Room...OR...What the Heck Were THEY Smoking???

 

[winkers]

Love me some Capt.Jack! How lucky your little blueberry got picked!

 

[peanut1967]

Hiya

fab update..ta very much.

just a quick note to let you know hopefully our family will be increasing soon, we have been okayed to be foster carers. We are now just awaiting for the phone to ring.
A

 

[kindakrazy2]

Yeah for an update!

Great photos of the pirate tutorial. Great about "blueberry" getting picked to be in it.

 

[HeatherSue]

Hold onto your Mickey ears Eunice, it's another Hick update!!!

Were you aware that my grandma's middle name is Eunice?! Bethel Eunice...no wonder she's so crabby!

I thoroughly enjoyed your latest installment! We visited many bathrooms on our last trip (when Tessa was almost 3), many of which Tessa was too scared to actually use (was having a bit of public restroom phobia at the time).

Great Captain Jack pictures! Were your kids getting a little jealous of the ever popular Stitch Jr?