More Fun Than Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock-Adventures of the Sweet 16!New8-15

[FairyGodmotherJen]

We don't have a DS- I have considered packing the Wii for the ride home. I just have to figure out how to rig the sensor bar. We do have a DVD player. I like the idea of giving them money to buy stuff in the gas stations. Candy, candy and more candy...not too worried about it. Soon, they will have to have expanders and won't be able to have the sticky stuff they love. I will have to figure out some items for the ride home.


Shelly, Tim must still be so excited about meeting Jeremy Bulloch!

Great pictures of the parade. I plan on having my daughters watch the Star War movies before we go. I better get on that soon!

I love that you have pics of your gang watching the parade.

Sorry part of the party wasn't well. I hope it doesn't become a problem for anyone else and Mom enjoyed herself anyway.

Deb

You guys will be ok in the car. It really went better than I had feared - even the coming home part!

i enjoyed your pics of the parade, we skipped the parade on our day in there because there were so many people already waiting to watch it we got lunch instead during it, which worked out great, cause then when it was over everyone watching got lunch and we had hte park.

but we did see the block party bash parade later in the day

We didn't see much of any parades except for this one. I missed being able to see them! Did you enjoy Block Party Bash? I hear you have to be careful which spot to get to be able to really see it since they stop at different places.

just found your trip report - going back to read and catch up! Sheldon rules in our house! The heat in Florida can be unreal - I went last summer with my two DSs end of June into first week of July, thought I was literally melting Very interested to see how you all did with such a big group!

Welcome! My DH and I enjoy watching Big Bang after we finally get the kids settled in. My FIL, who stays with us several days a week to babysit, just sits and shkes his head, though.

Yes, it was pretty darn toasty. I laughed listening to the DIS Unplugged podcast for last week, as they were talking about how the weather was so very hot and everyone coming down should be carefull. We meant to download it to listen to on the drive home - if we had, we'd have both been laughing as we drove down the road!

That Big Bang Theory title sucked me right in (sorta like a black hole......no, that would be Glenn's TR)! How could I resist. Signing on, then I'll go back and get caught up!

Glad you're coming along! We actually got Tim a rock-paper-scissors-lizard-Spock t-shirt for his birthday. It's like a flow chart, so you can see what beats what. You can follow it exactly with the clip from the show - pretty funny.

 

[FairyGodmotherJen]

sorry about that, i find that just knicking the backs of there shoes a little will clear them out of your way or at least cause them to lean to the side while walking to look back and give you that opening you need to whiz right on by, and leave them in your dust



it has not made its way into our report yet, but pretty soon candi passes her PMS onto me at Epcot.



if you read my other reports, it is referenced in there as well.



but her PMS is the "people manuevering skills" when she is leaving the parks and dodges in and out of people to make our way out much faster.



it causes some people to turn there head and look at you when you say



" way to go hunny great PMS on that one"

That's too funny - have to share that one with the DH!

very nice, update, did you have any pictures from your drawing, i have never seen daisy drawn before.

We'd never done it. We really enjoyed it, though Haley refused to let anyone see her picture when she was done because she said it "looked bad." Oh, the tweens are coming....

joining in! Can't wait to hear about all the adventures and like the different perspectives!

Hi, Laura! Good to hear from you! Are you back from your trip, too? How was your first DVC stay?

 

[FairyGodmotherJen]

When I last left off, Jen and I had found a bench with an umbrella. The guys and kids caught up with us and we had a snack. Tim and I had a frozen lemonade and a frozen blue raspberry drink. We spent the time before the parade trying to stay as cool as possible. Here is Jack waiting:

He cracks me up!

This was probably our craziest meal for a variety of reasons. Jack and Haley weren't thrilled with the as they called them "scary" movies playing. I think they like the cute concession stand cartoons though. There was a lot going on with our other diners too. I will say that our shakes were good. Here is the cookies and cream:

He is too much! Definitely my laid-back kid.

Some people in our party weren't feeling good and had to leave early during the meal. Jack and Haley were signed up for the Jedi Training and they had to leave to make it on time. The food was good but, I don't think anyone finished it. We took our desserts to go. The Celebration cheesecake was very good as a snack later. Tim and I headed back to the resort. We went swimming and later that night we all met up and had dinner at the food court. I had the pizza and Tim had the chili cheese hot dog. They were both good.

Oops - I think I just deleted a bunch of them as I was trying to respond (I tried to put my comments in red, but that didn't work well), but great pictures, Shelley! Sci-Fi was such a cool place to see! I'm glad we did it, but it wasn't my favorite of the trip. Between the craziness of sick people (FIL had a reaction to something, and my mom still looked pretty green - she went back to the resort right after this with my aunt), both my older kids freaking out over the horribly campy, fake movie trailers (they did enjoy the cartoons, though, as Shelley said), and Will just having woken up from a nap and therefore being disoriented and crabby, it was not exactly a relaxing meal. Top that off with the time crunch due to Jedi Training... I think if I go back, I'll just order a milkshake and a dessert and sit in the dark, cool air conditioning for a while! I'll come back to post a few pictures I have of it, and of Jedi Training, a little later....I'm not on my laptop, and so don't have any pictures with me.

 

[belle8306]

joining in! Can't wait to hear about all the adventures and like the different perspectives!

Welcome! Thanks for joining!

Oops - I think I just deleted a bunch of them as I was trying to respond (I tried to put my comments in red, but that didn't work well), but great pictures, Shelley! Sci-Fi was such a cool place to see! I'm glad we did it, but it wasn't my favorite of the trip. Between the craziness of sick people (FIL had a reaction to something, and my mom still looked pretty green - she went back to the resort right after this with my aunt), both my older kids freaking out over the horribly campy, fake movie trailers (they did enjoy the cartoons, though, as Shelley said), and Will just having woken up from a nap and therefore being disoriented and crabby, it was not exactly a relaxing meal. Top that off with the time crunch due to Jedi Training... I think if I go back, I'll just order a milkshake and a dessert and sit in the dark, cool air conditioning for a while! I'll come back to post a few pictures I have of it, and of Jedi Training, a little later....I'm not on my laptop, and so don't have any pictures with me.

It was nice and cool in there! I am so glad that Jack and Haley were able to do the Jedi Training. That was a definite trip highlight.

 

[FairyGodmotherJen]

After our Sci-Fi dinner (or kind of in the middle of it…the time we got wasn’t the best with our ADR, but it was Jedi Training!), I grabbed Haley and Jack and headed out for some Jedi training. I am SOOOOOO glad we did it this way…the only time we had to spend standing in line was first thing that morning. I figured out where I needed to get the kids and we paraded to the stage area. I was able to stand in an area roped off for parents and had a front row seat, which I gave to Bryan once he was done signing for our dining credits at Sci-Fi. This was something he’d been so excited about, and I knew he wanted to get pictures and video. I stood in line not too far from my in-laws (who had taken charge of Will again)…it was so nice to have so much help this trip!

The Jedi Master we had was actually pretty entertaining…

Because it was SWW, Ahsoka Tano from Clone Wars (one of my kids’ favorite characters) was assisting. Both kids ended up in the bottom area, which actually made it easier to get close pictures, so it worked well. Here they are listening to the Jedi Master…

And being put through their “lightsaber paces” with Ahsoka.

Jack was in the very back of the kids on the bottom level, and so was closer to the Jedi Master guy on the stage. There were times when the poor kid didn’t know who to look at!

Then, there was a disturbance in the Force….

And we were pretty excited to see this person come out a few minutes later…

My DH’s favorite character is Darth Maul, so he had been hoping to see that particular baddie. But both my kids get a little freaked out by pictures of him, so I was relieved to see they wouldn’t have that scary face coming at them with a lightsaber!!

Here’s Haley’s shot at Ventress…

Jack was at the very end of the line for the lower group. He kept high-fiving the kids coming back into the line and telling them they’d done a good job (yes, I was proud), but the whole time I was worried they’d forget about him because he wasn’t staying in line. There were so many kids there! But the adult helpers were really good at what they do, and they got him back in line when he wandered. Then all of a sudden, one of them takes Jack and walks him up to the stage…I guess there were uneven numbers or something, so Jack got to go onstage and fight Vader himself!

All we heard for the rest of the trip was how he had fought Vader! He spends most of the day, when my parents watch them during the school year, lightsaber/sword fighting with my dad, so he kept saying how he couldn’t wait to show Papa his new “moves.”

The kids loved the whole experience! Here’s a group shot at the end…

They each got a diploma and a figure when they were finished. Jack’s already trying to figure out when we’ll go back – he’s afraid he’ll be 12 and won’t be able to do it anymore! (I told him he was nuts…there’s no way it’ll be six years before we get back to Disney!!!!)

After all of that fighting (in a Jedi robe in 95+ degree heat, no less), Haley was done. By now, our plans of staying until Hyperspace Hoopla were starting to look pretty daunting. Bryan immediately conceded when Haley announced she’d rather go back to the hotel with my in-laws and Will than use the Star Tours Fastpasses I’d gotten earlier. He said he had no problem not watching Hoopla because he was pretty fried, too. (Of course, now that we’re home we’ve all watched it on YouTube, and the kids are whining that they should have stayed….to Bryan’s credit, I haven’t heard a peep out of him! ) So Jack, Bryan and I rode Star Tours together, since we were right there (Jack’s first time – he loved it, so I know when the new film is done it’ll blow his mind!). I don’t have pictures of that except for this one I shot when I was getting the Fastpasses earlier…

That’s someone in a C-3PO costume interacting with the crowd. I don’t know how they did it, but it sure sounded like Anthony Daniels (3PO’s original voice).

We had one more set of Fastpasses we had to use – Toy Story Mania!

Wow, even with Fastpasses, it was a 15 minute-plus wait! Better than stand-by, I know, but still. We did have a very nice family from the UK to talk to in line with us, though. The young man had a Give Kids the World lanyard on and a guest access card, so I’m guessing they were on a Wish trip. His parents said he’d been praying for another eruption from the Icelandic volcano so that they could be stuck here for another week! It was fun chatting with them. I rode on my own so the boys could ride together…

When we originally went over, we figured we’d use the Fastpasses we had for some of the people who’d left already and hadn’t used them to go a second time, but after waiting that long we decided to just give them away. Bry made three people very happy that afternoon, I’m sure! He went back to Boba’s Bounty to shop a little more (that’s a trend that would repeat itself quite a bit that week…my DH enjoys shopping more than I do!) and Jack and I headed back to the room, where we joined everyone at the pool. We enjoyed dinner with everyone at the food court, including my mom and FIL, who were looking much better (Mom had slept some more that afternoon). We took a group shot in the Star Wars Weekends shirts we’d made for the guys from designs here on the DIS…

And one of the kids outside the food court…

(The shirts didn't hold up too well in the heat...half of the back of Will's got stuck to the stroller when he fell asleep in it! Plus, Will's has food all over it, and Jack didn't understand where the retractable Sharpie came out, so he'd had permanant marker all over his since first thing that morning...) I'm not sure what's up with Haley and that pose....

Then we basically dropped into bed – though Haley ended up taking the extra bed in my in-laws’ room since Jack moves so much that he kept her up the previous night (his head was at the bottom corner of the bed when we woke up).

Tomorrow…Epcot (and more heat…)

 

[disneydreamingdebby]

Great update! We watched Star Wars (I) last night so I have a little more background. (It has been about 25 years since seeing the original.)

The Jedi training looks so awesome; was it the kids' favorite part of the trip?

We are headed to SciFi; I am curious to see what my girls think of the movies...

 

[Queenofallthings]

Came across your TR this morning and am thoroughly enjoying it!!

Can't wait to read more

 

[FairyGodmotherJen]

Great update! We watched Star Wars (I) last night so I have a little more background. (It has been about 25 years since seeing the original.)

The Jedi training looks so awesome; was it the kids' favorite part of the trip?

We are headed to SciFi; I am curious to see what my girls think of the movies...

My kids have always been touchy about things in the movies. They still spend the first few minutes of any movie (including Toy Story Three this week) with their hands over their ears. They've sat through ALL SIX of the Star Wars movies (with my DH talking them through it, to his credit), but they got freaked out by the "Incredible Growing Man" on the screen at Sci-Fi.

Yes, it was definitely a highlight of the trip. I joke that the only thing Haley liked better than Jedi Training was Bippity Boppity Boutique...she's my well-rounded kid.

Came across your TR this morning and am thoroughly enjoying it!!

Can't wait to read more

Glad you're enjoying things! We had a really good time - it's fun to share@

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

you know all of these characters i am seeing makes methink i have never seen the 3rd movie, is that where they are from? those 2 girls?

they are not looking familiar to me.

 

[belle8306]

you know all of these characters i am seeing makes methink i have never seen the 3rd movie, is that where they are from? those 2 girls?

they are not looking familiar to me.

I asked my husband (because I had no idea) and he said they are both from the Clone Wars animated series and the Clone Wars animated movie.

The red one is Ahsoka and the blue one is Ventress.

 

[belle8306]

Great update! We watched Star Wars (I) last night so I have a little more background. (It has been about 25 years since seeing the original.)

The Jedi training looks so awesome; was it the kids' favorite part of the trip?

We are headed to SciFi; I am curious to see what my girls think of the movies...

How did they like Star Wars?

Came across your TR this morning and am thoroughly enjoying it!!

Can't wait to read more

Welcome! Thanks for joining us!

 

[disneydreamingdebby]

We watched SWII tonight. It is hard bc DH gets frustrated with their questions in the beginning when he and I are trying to understand exactly what is happening.

For instance, they needed to know how the queen became a senator and what a senator was...good questions.

They are staying interested though. I think that they will appreciate more at DHS with this background. They love Star Tours; now it will make sense!

I can't imagine getting into the animation too, though. I did hear an interview on a Podcast with an actress from Clone Wars. She was wonderful; she is married to a baseball player if that helps id her. If I remember the story correctly. Their first date was on her birthday, which the date matched the age she turned, and it was the players number. Her fifth grade teacher told her that birthday would be a special one. Obviously, they were meant to be.

Aren't you glad you asked how they like it? I am a bit long-winded tonight.

 

[belle8306]

Monday
Epcot Future World

Today we headed out for Epcot. We started the day with Jen and family, our FIL and MIL, Norah, Ruby, UT and Tim and I. We arrived at Epcot and took our first large group photo pass. We split up to cover more territory. Tim and I went to get the fastpasses for Soarin'. It worked pretty well with both of us going. We each got into a different line and took half the cards so it went quickly. While we were there we saw The Land was only a 5 minute wait. We jumped in line and we were soon on a boat. I know that it is not the most exciting ride, but I do enjoy it. My favorite part is the greenhouse. On our family trip in 2007, the ladies in our group including Jen and I took the Behind the Seeds tour. We really enjoyed it.

We saw huge bunches of bananas. My DH is allergic to bananas, so when we saw them we were joking that this was the scariest ride ever for him.

"]We headed over to The Seas to meet up with everyone. Nemo had practically no wait so we rode that next. Afterwards we met up with everyone going into Turtle Talk. My inlaws, UT, Tim and I headed over to Club Cool. I avoided Beverly. I think Krest the ginger ale was my favorite.
We continued on our way and UT decided to explore on his own. He is a big photography buff, so he wanted to get some pictures. The four of us headed over to Mousegears. We cooled off (it was still early in the morning but it was HOT) and had fun looking around the store.

We explored Epcot a little more and then we headed over to Sunshine Seasons to have lunch before our Soarin' fastpass was ready. We all really liked our food. I had the cashew chicken and Tim had the pork chop. They both tasted really fresh. The rest of our group joined us and also had lunch. Jack enjoyed eating his food with chopsticks.

Once we were done eating it was time for Soarin'! I don't think I could ever get tired of this ride!

After Soarin' we headed for the buses. Tim and I went to fill up our mugs after we got back to CBR. We stopped to take some photos along the way. CBR is really beautiful.

Up next, dinner with Chef Mickey and our first viewing of the new fireworks.

 

[belle8306]

We watched SWII tonight. It is hard bc DH gets frustrated with their questions in the beginning when he and I are trying to understand exactly what is happening.

For instance, they needed to know how the queen became a senator and what a senator was...good questions.

According to my husband she is the Queen of her people on Naboo, and she is the senator/representative from Naboo. She isn't queen of the whole planet of Naboo. Just her people. She represents the whole planet as a senator. I hope that makes sense.

 

[Lady Lallie]

I love how that you went as a big group but you all split up and did your own things too. I dream of a trip like that with my family someday, it's a perfect balance or so it seems.

 

[belle8306]

I love how that you went as a big group but you all split up and did your own things too. I dream of a trip like that with my family someday, it's a perfect balance or so it seems.

It worked well for our group. Jen and I had a plan and we let everyone know that they were free to join us, or they could do their own thing.

 

[belle8306]

I love how that you went as a big group but you all split up and did your own things too. I dream of a trip like that with my family someday, it's a perfect balance or so it seems.

It worked well for our group. Jen and I had a plan and we let everyone know that they were free to join us, or they could do their own thing.

 

[disneydreamingdebby]

According to my husband she is the Queen of her people on Naboo, and she is the senator/representative from Naboo. She isn't queen of the whole planet of Naboo. Just her people. She represents the whole planet as a senator. I hope that makes sense.

It does make sense. Thanks - I explained it similarily, but didn't know myself how a senator was higher rank than a queen. (Sometimes I am glad my girls are eight; it makes explanations so much easier.)

 

[disneydreamingdebby]

I love the Epcot update. CBR is very lovely; it is amazing to me how much it and CSR really do look alike.

The Toy Story merchandise in the sundries shop is a riot. I bet many little kiddos are finding it easy to pick out souvenirs!

 

[FairyGodmotherJen]

We watched SWII tonight. It is hard bc DH gets frustrated with their questions in the beginning when he and I are trying to understand exactly what is happening.

For instance, they needed to know how the queen became a senator and what a senator was...good questions.

They are staying interested though. I think that they will appreciate more at DHS with this background. They love Star Tours; now it will make sense!

I can't imagine getting into the animation too, though. I did hear an interview on a Podcast with an actress from Clone Wars. She was wonderful; she is married to a baseball player if that helps id her. If I remember the story correctly. Their first date was on her birthday, which the date matched the age she turned, and it was the players number. Her fifth grade teacher told her that birthday would be a special one. Obviously, they were meant to be.

Aren't you glad you asked how they like it? I am a bit long-winded tonight.

Those sound like the kind of questions Jack asks...thankfully, I can pawn him off on DH, the Star Wars expert!

According to my husband she is the Queen of her people on Naboo, and she is the senator/representative from Naboo. She isn't queen of the whole planet of Naboo. Just her people. She represents the whole planet as a senator. I hope that makes sense.

I think you're doing pretty good! He's rubbed off on you a bit, hasn't he? I know the first three (techincally the last three???) from being a fan as a kid, but not Episodes I, II, or III!

I love how that you went as a big group but you all split up and did your own things too. I dream of a trip like that with my family someday, it's a perfect balance or so it seems.

We really all did kinda do our own thing - which is great, because Shelley and I were a little worried that not everyone would and we would be trying to walk around the parks in that big group!! There were even days when I'd wave to Shelley from across the table (or at the next table) at our sit-down meal, and that was about all I saw her! We joked as we left on the last day that we'd have to get together back home and catch up...

It does make sense. Thanks - I explained it similarily, but didn't know myself how a senator was higher rank than a queen. (Sometimes I am glad my girls are eight; it makes explanations so much easier.)

It's like the time thing - I like the fact that I can give them a "five minute warning" at the park, and then tell them two minutes later that we're leaving. If Haley starts wearing a watch, that won't work anymore - she only buys it because there's no clock there.

I love the Epcot update. CBR is very lovely; it is amazing to me how much it and CSR really do look alike.

The Toy Story merchandise in the sundries shop is a riot. I bet many little kiddos are finding it easy to pick out souvenirs!

I've never been to CSR - this was our first moderate, really. I'd still like to try POR at least once after hearing Shelley and Tim rave about it. However, I think I'm going to look into renting DVC points next time - fitting five people and their stuff into one room that size just doesn't work well for a week! And that was with one kid sleeping somewhere else every night but the first one...