Live TR ~ 9/7-9/17

[kcp1377]

 

[kcp1377]

Auntbj- we weren't at the beach so I can't say for sure but we could hear music and hear the fireworks together. We figured it was from the fireworks show but given that we weren't at the beach itself I can't say with 100% certainty.

 

[AuntBJ]

If you could hear it at your site, it must have been piped in at the beach. I hope they keep it up.

Your family is beautiful! I have never seen a triple stroller like that before. It is amazing.

If you decide to do the wagon ride one evening, could you get some pictures of the back as you load? A couple of posts on the theme parks board were asking about steps, etc. While I could find lots of pictures of the wagons, none were while loading.

It is great to hear you are having a great time both at the Fort and the parks. Keep it up!

 

[iuki]

What a beautiful family (including the parents ). Enjoying your TR and photos. Looking forward to more. Great TR!

Here's a few from my phone..

Me and Griffin (he had just woken up from a nap)

DH and the kids! We were headed to the pool!

Leaving Epcot

 

[iuki]

Forgot to mention that Griffin looks just like my great-grandson.

 

[kcp1377]

Aunt bj - I checked out the wagon and they load on the side. I got some pictures but haven't downloaded them from the card yet. Were they asking about something specific?

 

[kcp1377]

Thanks iuki!!

 

[Clemson Campers]

I don't know how you do it Kim! You are a gifted momma! Your family is beautiful. Enjoy! - Gretchen

 

[kcp1377]

Thank you Gretchen! We just take it one day at a time! Actually tonight I was sitting here pondering our oldest sons 8th birthday on Friday and thinking about how fast those 8 years went. And I know one day they won't be excited to meet the princesses or mickey. And then they won't want to come on vacation at all. I hope that day doesn't come too quickly.

 

[AuntBJ]

Aunt bj - I checked out the wagon and they load on the side. I got some pictures but haven't downloaded them from the card yet. Were they asking about something specific?

Someone was asking about their elderly mother doing a ride and wanted to know about the steps, etc. It is one of those things I have seen but didn't really pay attention to.

 

[angelmom27]

Most definitely will be doing a trip report when we go.

Love babywearing pics. That is the new thing that I just got into with #7. Don't know why I didn't start sooner. Lol. What kind of carrier are you wearing in the pic? Looks like a WAHM one. Recently convinced hubby to start too. Totally LOL when you talked about the counting. Yep been there. I love it.

 

[kcp1377]

Aunt bj - the first step is quite high IMO. I think it would be pretty tough to get up to, but I'll get a better picture and upload it. I got some but not dead on enough to really see well.

 

[kcp1377]

Angelmom27 - isn't BWing great? Don't know what I would do without it! I usually wrap but do have a few SSCs and MTs. This one is a half buckle Ocha and SO comfy. Its a wrap conversion, so the straps are made from a Hopp and are wider than normal straps and very soft. II could barely feel him back there! The top part wraps like a MT and the waist is a buckle like a SSC. I highly recommend them for toddlers if you can find one! Are you over on TBW?

 

[kcp1377]

Day 3: We started out the day by going to the Canyon Cafe at the Wilderness Lodge. My parents had eaten there the day before and loved it, so all 12 of us met for breakfast. The waitress (Wandering Wendy if you’re interested) was fantastic and so sweet. She handled all of us without any trouble at all. You can’t say that about every waitress out there.

After breakfast we headed to the Magic Kingdom, thinking it would be pretty quiet. It wasn’t - but later we found out that Monday is the worst day to go to MK. It seems most people start their vacation package on Monday and that’s the first park they hit. We managed to grab fastpasses for the Princesses and Mickey and headed into the park to spend some time walking around before the fastpasses called us back to Main Street.

Snow White happened to be coming out at that time, so we stopped and met her. At this point it was about 11am and everywhere we went there was a line long enough that we didn’t want to risk getting caught in it and not making it back to the meet-and-greets in time. So we walked around Adventureland before heading back. DD1 was quite upset at that point because none of the stores had the Merida crown. Finally one woman took pity on us and said they may have a few crowns at the kiosk next to her meet-and-greet. DH took the 3 youngest over in that direction while we went back to meet Mickey. Sure enough there was 1 crown left - and it was a nice metal one (not one of those plastic and bead crowns they usually sell).

Mickey and Minnie were wonderful as usual. After them the girls and I went to meet the Princesses (DS1 decided he was too old for them, so he went outside with DH, who had just gotten back with the crown.) DD1 popped the crown on her head and we went inside. I’m always so impressed with the Princesses. They spent a long time with the girls and were really in no hurry to get them through the line. First they met Cinderella, then Belle and then Rapunzel. The girls were with Belle for so long that Rapunzel actually left for a few minutes and came back. I was a bit nervous that she wouldn’t come back (thinking maybe she was going out for a break) but she did. And of course we got some great pictures of the girls with the Princesses.

I had mentioned earlier in the thread that I made shirts for the kids. Well, I had no idea they would be such a big hit. We have been stopped so many times and complimented on them. The princesses called the girls by their names - which was awesome. Random CMs call out hello to the kids and stop to chat - all because of the shirts. It makes you feel like a celebrity. Well, between that and all the people talking about the stroller (I had no idea that people would comment on that too!) Too funny! We take the boat back to FW and one of the CMs on the boat said he actually saw us in MK and noticed our shirts and was going to stop us, but had to get back to the boat. So he spent the entire trip sitting with us and chatting. Again, all because of the shirts. The kids had on their “Brave” inspired shirts today. Tomorrow they’ll be wearing their Mickey shirts. If you’re even thinking about doing special shirts, DO IT! You won’t be sorry! I was going back and forth about whether or not to put their names on them (you never know what kind of creepers can use that information - I really did think long and hard about if I should do it) but I’m so glad I did. Plus the matching shirts make it obvious that we’re all together.

So back to the TR. After meeting the princesses the twin boys were both asleep so we firgured we’d walk around a bit before heading back for lunch. We walked back to where Merida was and lo and behold her line was open! No wait at all to get inside the play area. The kids flipped over the archery and her area was really beautiful. We had met Rapunzel and Flynn there in Feb 2011, so it was neat to see how they had changed it for Merida. Of course she commented on the kids’ shirts and was also as sweet as can be. My only disappointment was that the baby bears weren’t part of the exhibit. They had a big piece of cloth there over the wagon that usually holds them, so I wondered where they went - if they were broken (they are anamatronic, right?)

Then we headed back to the site, had some lunch and went to AK. It was really quiet at AK by then (this was at 2:30, with the park closing at 5pm). We got fastpasses for the Rapids (didn’t really need them, but there was nothing else we needed FP for so we grabbed them) and went to Everest (no wait at all there either). Walked around a bit, bought one of those fans the spray for the boys to play with and finally headed back.

We stopped for a pretzel and once again I’m reminded how amazing Disney is. I got the girls a pretzel to share and when the CM found out they were sharing she gave them another one for free. Now, that pretzel would probably have been thrown out anyway since it was 5pm, but she didn’t have to do that. But we’ll remember that. They really are smart about things like that.
After AK we went back to our site, ate dinner and put the babies down for the night. I took the older kids in the pool, then came back and DH took them for the remaining hour. There were literally 2 other kids in the pool at that point - it was great!

I think we’re planning on trying MK again tomorrow. We didn’t get to do any rides at all there today. And DDs want to meet Tinkerbell and Ariel, so hopefully we’ll get in with them first thing. Fingers crossed we don’t have long to wait for Tink!

 

[Boomer1]

Thank you Gretchen! We just take it one day at a time! Actually tonight I was sitting here pondering our oldest sons 8th birthday on Friday and thinking about how fast those 8 years went. And I know one day they won't be excited to meet the princesses or mickey. And then they won't want to come on vacation at all. I hope that day doesn't come too quickly.

We are planning our 9th Christmas/New Year holiday trip to DW/FW for this year. Our family has been towing a trailer for 30+ hours with our three children since 2004. Our oldest DD18 is beginning her freshman year at university. All three children DD18, DD16 and DS14 still look forward to this trip. Our DD18 is disappointed that she will have to fly home before we leave as not to miss any classes.
It is true that now they are more excited about the thrill rides than the characters but we still enjoy the family time together.
We have made some wonderful memories at Disney and I hope that as our family grows up ( and perhaps one day includes new members) we can continue this tradition.

 

[kcp1377]

That's wonderful to hear! I hope our kids do the same!

 

[angelmom27]

Angelmom27 - isn't BWing great? Don't know what I would do without it! I usually wrap but do have a few SSCs and MTs. This one is a half buckle Ocha and SO comfy. Its a wrap conversion, so the straps are made from a Hopp and are wider than normal straps and very soft. II could barely feel him back there! The top part wraps like a MT and the waist is a buckle like a SSC. I highly recommend them for toddlers if you can find one! Are you over on TBW?

It is great. Right now I have an ergo, ecosash MT, RS, and a bali stretch. I love it. Hoping to get some woven wraps soon. I really like Anaira creations she does wrap conversions. A bunch of my local moms have MTs from her and love them. I am still trying to figure out which wrap I want converted into a MT. In the toddler size for sure. It is also addicting. Wraps are just so beautiful. I am on TBW and the swap on FB. Just waiting for finances to get better.

Glad you guys had fun at MK and AK. We love the princesses. Thanks for the tip about mondays and MK.

 

[kcp1377]

Wraps are awesome. About 90% of my stash is wraps. When I finally get to post pictures you'll see some wrap pictures. they are just so awesomely versatile!!

 

[bama_ed]

Here's a few from my phone..

Me and Griffin (he had just woken up from a nap)

Kim,

That picture is precious!

I'm enjoying your TR.

Bama ED

 

[Tented1]

Here's one of the sets of shirts I made for the kids. The black heads for the boys are made from flocked vinyl and the girls' are glitter vinyl cut with my silhouette. The backs are like this:

I made a few other sets too (one for each day we're at the parks and another for signatures) but these are my favorites! (And pay no attention to the image quality - these are just quick iphone pics!)

LOVE the shirts! Where do you get "glitter vinyl"? I was just planing on doing iron ons :hangs head Eyore:: So enjoying your TR!