Oh no my trip will be lost forever if it is not on Disboards! A photo journal.

[estherhead]

Here's the big scoop: I started a TR last year. I like to write TR's as it helps me remember the trip better & my sister & dh & kids (I like to refer to them as the Accuracy Police) can read my thoughts & explain to me why my memory of the trip is faulty. Perhaps this would annoy others but I live with the Accuracy Police and truly believe my memory is faulty.

That's why I always keep excellent notes at Disney World. I was a journaller before I found Disboards. If I write it down it's like it really happened. If it isn't written down, it never happened.

On this trip, however, I decided to listen my dh who had a new Mac. He had this great idea of putting all of our memory cards onto his Mac & it would sort them by date & time and I would be able to journal off of that. Genius! No more spending time writing a journal. I'll photo journal!

One problem: all our dates/times were off on our phones & cameras. Thus when put into the miraculous sorting machine called the Mac, the pics were NOT it proper order but VERY confusingly out of order.

I tried my best to TR despite this set back but my life was busy & I could not figure it out & my Accuracy Police didn't have time to read it & fix it all for me. And so after trying & trying & dragging it out of the Completed TR's numerous times I allowed it to be forever sent to the archives, dying a slow & painful death.

Now, however, we leave for our 2010-2011 Year of Disney in 40 days. We are going to buy AP's & go 3 times this year! And if I don't TR 2009's trip it will be lost forever, buried in the memories of all our Disney trips without a TR or scrapbook to remember it by. I simply CANNOT let that happen. So today, on a Saturday off, my girls & I are sitting down to sort through the receipts (timed) and unsorted photos while we watch Disney movies (currently Tuck Everlasting) and we ARE going to archive this trip. It will not be lost forever.

So stick with me for this non-journalled journal. Shortly to be followed by my PTR & TR of our Sept/March/June year of Disney!!!

 

[estherhead]

So here is Dh (Donald) and the Mac in question.

We totally just had a fight while looking for said disorganized Disney photos. He claims I am disorganized & loses things. I say his organizational systems are always BEING organized & all over the house in piles & the finished systems are so complicated none of us can put anything away. As far as me being disorganized I manage to run a business & a household & hardly ever lose my things. In addition to this I plan amazing trips & am an event coordinator which takes serious organization. Sigh. The Mac gets more respect than me & yet still managed to mess up my TR.

For future reference: my AMAZING iphone (that my sweet Donald talked me into getting) will be where I take notes during our year of Disney AND Donald is going to make us syncronize our cameras so his plan will work too. So hopefully all our archiving troubles are behind us.

Does anyone else struggle with these too many digital photos & not enough time problems? Grrr!

So back to the trip.

We drove down from Ohio.

We started this trip by going to Amelia Island first & renting a condo. This was super great. It was so relaxing & helped us miss the Thanksgiving crowds at WDW.

Here are some highlights (since I know you all came for the Disney portion.)

Our Condo:

Adding a Hidden Mickey to the beach:

NOT Jack Sparrow:

It was just a grand time. I gave everyone Mickey manicures on the last day, boys & girls. The boys had glow in the dark mickey's on their fingers that was clear in daylight but glowed in the dark. They loved it. And the girls had traditional but cool ones. Fingers & toes!


Mine:

So after our swimming & relaxing & pampering we got up one magical morning and drove to Disney World!!!!

At this point I should introduce our whole crew:

My sister Suzy.
Her dh Milo.
Their 4 boys: Charming (13) Buzz (10) McQueen (6) Jack-Jack (2.5)
Me: Perla
My dh Donald.
And our 3 girls: Mulan (9) Ariel (8) Boo (3)

We'll be doing this upcoming year of Disney mostly together, but not always together. But that's for another PTR/TR.

So, Milo is a professor & had to fly back home for 24 hours to give a lecture. Flights are cheap for just one person to fly home so it wasn't too much of a hardship. And we only did DTD & AK without him. Two things (animals & shopping) which are not is critical Disney things (Scotch flights & thrills with his boys.)

So we got up & packed up the condo & Suzy dropped Milo off at MCO. Donald & I went to check into the Comfort Inn for just one night. It wasn't my favorite place but it sure was convenient. You can see the Disney World sign from it. And it is dirt cheap.

We couldn't get into our room cause it was too early so we killed time in a tourist shop which was more expensive than Disney property. I did buy a Nemo bathing suit on clearance for Boo. Good thing, too, cause the one I had brought her turned out to be way too little.

Once Suzy arrived, minus Milo, we talked the front desk into giving us our rooms & we checked them out. And then we headed to DTD to fight the Thanksgiving weekend crowds.

We started off by finding killer parking spots.

Then to the sights!

Boo was frightened by almost everything on this trip. Donald bought her this Simba which she still carries around. It gave her a lot of joy & comfort.

We did not buy this for McQueen but we should have:

This store is always nuts. But this night it was Super nuts. With 3 adults & 7 kids and 100's of other people it was crazy. Donald & I & Suzy broke up the kids & we really did try to not lose anyone. But it was not a nice, enjoyable, leisurely shopping trip. Plus i bought a Mickey necklace which IMMEDIATELY broke & so I had to go back in & trade it in. That was annoying. But it had it's nice moments too. Watching Boo with all the stuffed animals were wonderful.

After this we braved the Lego store. I opted to get in line first & not browse. This turned out to be smart. I was just at the front of the line when the kids had filled up their cups from the wall of Legos.

Ok, so at this time we made a decision which changed everything, for good or bad. I'm going to describe it in detail because it effected our ENTIRE trip.

 

[disneyaddicted]

ugh! you can't just leave off right there. What decision did you make? I have to know.

Oh by the way, I'm ty and I'm really enjoying your TR so far.

 

[estherhead]

Already have two corrections. First, I accidentally put the kids ages they are right now. Subtract 9 months and you have it.

Second this photo of Boo & Simba didn't come up in last one:

Hopefully that works.

Okay, so the decision:

Facing the Lego store is this:

We've eaten here before & loved it. And it was dinner time. But Boo is a big scaredy cat. What to do?

I decided to carry her past the terrifying T-Rex and show her that it was just a restaurant & not scared. Then I would call the family & tell them yes we could eat there or no we couldn't. She was screaming & I mean screaming as we walked past the T-rex. She actually grabbed onto a stranger as we walked in like I was kidnapping her! Intense doesn't really begin to describe Boo on this trip.

Anyway, we got inside and she realized it wasn't that bad & there was chocolate milk & french fries and she thought it was a good idea. So I went to call Donald & tell him it was safe. But I had NO cell phone service! Oh no! I would have to walk back past that T-rex. Immediately she started crying again. But the hostess tells us we're ready to we say ok we'll eat here. She goes to seat us & where is our table? Directly under that cursed dino. It could not have been any worse.

The view from our table:

Both Jack-Jack and Boo had melt downs.

Donald stepped in and saved the day by playing the Lion King on his iphone.

Thank you thank you Donald!

Also, the family behind us was really irritating. But they finally finished & left and the babies fell asleep and we got our food. And we remembered why we liked this place:

But even still it wasn't as wonderful as our last trip. You can't really recover from people thinking you are kidnapping your own child and then promising that child she wouldn't have to be near the scary dino only to be placed right next to the scary dino & then being a liar. That's the problem with having lots of kids. Had I said once we got to our table that we couldn't eat there then all the OTHER kids would have been crying. One way or the other, kids are going to be crying.

I've still to decided if this experienced made Boo have a better or worst week. She totally distrusted me in every way, just sure I would let all the monsters in the world eat her. And yet she also was in ways braver as how could it get worse than it already had been?

But food & naps out of the way, we headed back into DTD.

And Boo decided the plastic characters (which she'd refused to pose with pre-T-rex because they were so scary) weren't so bad after all.

We then went to Goofys where the big kids got make your own treats & Charming learned that $20.00 worth of jelly beans isn't as many jelly beans as you think it should be.

And Jack & Boo amused themsleves:

Then we went outside & found a table so Jack & Boo could eat their chicken & french fries since they had slept through dinner.

And we met these guys in the courtyard.

I bought a scrapbooking book in the photo shop there (the scrapbooking supplies at WDW are just not what they used to be.) And looked in the under $10.00 shop. And after everyone was done eating we looked for pins. We were looking for a Mittens pin which we didn't find on property at all. Well, we still don't have one. Maybe they don't even make one?

After this we took the family back to the hotel so Suzy & I could head to Walmart & get water and granola bars. Donald generously offered to keep the kids. I'm sure he thought it's be for just a minute. But we got a little sidetracked and I found matching t-shirts for all of us! Yea me! Plus more scrapbooking stuff.

So Donald was MORE than happy to have us arrive back at the hotel. And then it was to bed.

I didn't sleep well. Our room faced I-4 and there was some kind of racing police chase, there was a psycho woman walking by, AND I was excited because I was going to Disney World the next day. I was grateful to get up the next morning.

 

[estherhead]

So we get up & give the kids cereal. Suzy & I when we were kids travelled a lot. And our parents would buy individual cereal boxes. They had perforated sides & you could pour milk right in them and use them as bowls. We bought these for the kids. Except today they don't have perforated edges & are not made to be bowls. Oops. I somehow maverick-ed them and we all semi-effectedly ate cereal.

And then, with shocking efficiency, we were off to Disney! We even managed to make to the vans in only one trip.

Us!

Everyone: to the lobby!

My check in lady was not the swiftest & in addition to that her printer was having some issues. The children amused themselves as best they could:

We got put in Country. Since we had cars this wasn't an issue. And our rooms were READY! At 7 am! We went to park & half the parking lot was blocked off. Annoying! This annoyed us all week.

But we were thrilled with being able to unload all our stuff first thing in the a.m.

I opted to fix our tickets which the not so swift CM had messed up while everyone else unloaded the vehicles. And I would take Jack & Boo with me to keep them out of the way. But as I started to push them to the front I realized the tires were flat on our double stroller. It was like pushing to babies through tar. Not fun.

But there was no air compressor on site. So I waited to be picked up so I didn't have to push all the way back.

Aren't they adorable?

And after that, we were off to rope drop at AK! We were on a serious roll this day!

The fam broke off to ride Primeval Whirl while I got the tires pumped, got EE FP's & took the babies on Triceratop Spin.

The tires were pumped before the rope dropped. So not a big deal. At the stroller rental place.

And then we checked out these guys to see how freaked Boo would be:

Jack-Jack was ready to hop on out & give them a big hug. Boo was pretty freaked out. So we just watched from here even though there was no line & Tigger especially wanted us to come meet him. But Boo was having none of it.

I then went to get the FP's where a really nice CM did it for me. Talk about service! And then it was on to the first ride of the trip!

More Scary Dinos!

But they did agree to get on:

We then went to take pics of the rest of the fam who had opted to ride Primeval Whirl again:

And then it was time to head over to EE! Since I had only ridden Triceratop I got to ride this on the first go round. And as a bonus I got the front!!!!

Awesome!

After this I went to the Yak & Yeti & got some food. It was only 10:45 but if you recall we fed our children very small amounts of cereal at like 7 am. So I used 2 CS & 2 snacks and got egg rolls, honey chicken, sweet & sour chicken & fried rice. We all shared (Suzy's kids too) and it took the edge off nicely. Then we wandered past these guys:

And ran into my favorite lady:

And Terk!

 

[estherhead]

ugh! you can't just leave off right there. What decision did you make? I have to know.

Oh by the way, I'm ty and I'm really enjoying your TR so far.

Welcome! And don't worry, I'm gonna keep this TR going at a quick pace. No week long cliffhangers here! The decisions already posted!

Check back often.

 

[estherhead]

So there was still so much to do. And we had a Crystal Palace lunch ADR so there was no time to waste.

Back tracking, we had gotten Photopass photos done BEFORE we wandered past the monkeys & DeVine & Terk. Sorry, go back to 10:30 & Chinese food:

We were supposed to look scared. Only Boo pulled it off. Probably because she was on the look out for terrifying things which she was sure lurked around every corner. Charming looks in pain.

OK, so NOW back to the story. We were on our way to KS! Knowing us someone dashed over here & got FP's earlier. I have a feeling it was Suzy when I was having my wonderful EE front seat ride. We're efficient that way. FP's just magically appear & we don't really remember the inconvenience of getting them.

We had a great safari. The animals were super active & Jack & Boo were pointing fools.

Is that a baby elephant? Awwwww......

After this we made yet ANOTHER fateful decision. We decided to see It's Tough to Be a Bug. Boo loves bugs. And so we thought it'd be a good idea. It had been a few years since I had seen it & I thought I'd have Boo not wear her glasses & sit on my lap so she didn't get the special effects. Having no idea what was going to happen to her she willing went in to see the bugs.

Oh dear. This wasn't even a good/bad decision. This was a very, very bad decision. Hopper is SO scary. And the spiders. It was really not ok. And after that my very own daughter looked at me suspiciously for the rest of the trip. It wasn't Hopper's fault. It was mine. My fault for not protecting her. My fault for continuing to force her to stay at this horrible place called Disney where Winnie the Pooh is huge and grasshoppers are giant and huge spiders fall from the sky and roaring Dinosaurs terrify you while you innocently try & have some chocolate milk and your horrible mother, who could have chosen to go anywhere else in the world, took you to this terrible, awful place.

We may have walked out of this. I'm not sure. I've blocked it from my mind & so has Donald. If I could do it all over again having the same knowledge I had at the beginning of this trip I would probably still choose to do T-Rex but I DEFINITELY would have skipped ITTBAB. Sigh. Hindsight is 20/20.

By the way, Boo still loves bugs. And spiders intrigue her. Just this week she asked me if there were spiders outside. I said yes, spiders lived outside. So she says, "I don't want to go see the spiders." "Boo," I said, "The spiders don't want to see you either. Spiders don't like you & don't want to see you." So she thought about that a moment & said with a shudder, "The spiders are thinking about me?"

Sigh. I just can't win. She turns any comfort I try to give her into something even SCARIER than if I were to simply leave her alone. Monsters live in her bed. Dinosaurs lurk around every corner. And Dragons live in our bathroom & all other dark spaces. I can't fault her imagination.

So, with Boo fully scarred in every way, we left AK. Off to our 1:00 ADR at MK!

 

[estherhead]

So we ran back to the vans, well, ok, it was probably more of a leisurely stroll. And then drove over to MK. And then we BOOKED it! Normally I cry every time I enter MK. But to be honest I have no idea how we got to MK nor do I remember seeing the castle as we dashed down Main Street. I zipped up to the desk & put in our names & they said it'd be 15 minutes. So I decided to run to Frontierland & get some FP's. I think to Big Thunder. Yeah, I'm pretty sure it was Big Thunder.

Anyway I turned into Adventureland & ran into some big crowds. It was tricky to get around them. So after getting the FP's I decided to go back through Liberty Square past Prince Naveen. Much faster. But I got a text half way back saying we'd been called. So I took off running. I know, I know. Slow down & enjoy the magic. Well it WOULDN'T be magical if I missed my food so I ran. So there.

Whew, got back & in we went. Suzy sat at a seperate table/area from us. Right next to the buffet. We were in a back corner. These were perfect spots for both of us.

Our waiter, Vinnie, was from NY and we adored him. He told us all kinds of things we didn't know about the DDP & we're vets! And our DDP was free. So not sure what all the complaints about wait staff hating DDP are. He seemed to like us, our free DDP, and Disney.

We got some grub & the characters started rolling around. I was terrified of Boo being terrified. So Donald & I blocked her in a corner to protect her & she genuinely seemed to enjoy the characters from her safe little spot. She may even have smiled a tiny bit at Piglet. But maybe not. Because Disney World & everyone in it is in cahoots to get her.

Suzy's experience first:
Her table placement, nice for the single mom to allow her kids to get food & still be in sight (Jack-Jack slept through this entire meal)

I think Buzz has something to say:

This was a GREAT Tigger, but more on him later:

And our experience:
First of all, we told them we were celebrating our anniversary (it was close to this day so we decided to just celebrate it our first day & on our date night.) Anyway this greeted us:

And to tell you what a Disney freak I am, I scooped these glitter Mickeys into a plastic baggie & hairsprayed them in my girl's hair the rest of the week. Ok?? I admit it. I have a problem. But this baggie full of Mickey heads gave my girls & I such pleasure who are you to judge me?

Then we got food! Love Crystal Palace food:
Boo's plate:

My first plate:

And my desserts (forgot to take photo of the savory stuff on the other half of the plate

Who could be afraid of this adorable guy?

He approaches the table but is careful not to touch Boo:

And do you see? It's VERY close to a smile:

Pooh actually got a real smile (kind of):

And Eeyore who seems to be vigorously hugging Mulan:

There are no Tigger photos of our family & Tigger as he was still far away from our table when we decided to leave.

The big girls really didn't want to leave without him so I told him we'd go to the empty table that was next to the table he was with & they could have a quick autograph & pic. Well, Tigger saw our plans & was very excited. And VERY BOUNCY! He was a truly excellent Tigger. So he comes bounding towards us & Boo FREAKS! I mean absolutely loses it. And he was like 5-7 tables away from us. So I yell, "Girls! Run towards Tigger. Daddy will take your photo!" And I literally run the other way around the restaurant & out the door.

Who knows what the other families actually in line for Tigger next thought of us. Seriously, I was not TRYING to disturb every person in Crystal Palace. But sometimes a Mom's gotta do what a Mom's gotta do. And on this day it was to sacrifice my elder children to the bouncy Tigger while I ran like a mad woman out the door. Fortunately, according to Donald, things worked out fine inside the place. But I've yet to find the photo taken. Perhaps it was video? Yeah, I bet that was it.

Anyway, I thought our CP experience was quite successful, all things considered. Also to mention, it was 2:20 when we paid (on our check) and the Bengals (you may have noticed our NFL Sunday gear) were in the middle of a battle in the jungle. Thanks to the population of WDW having streaming video on 100's of iphones & Blackberries we were kept informed by every NFL fan in the place of the scores. It added a nice touch, I thought. It bonded all we Disney lovers even closer. We can love the NFL AND Disney all on the same day. Go us.

And on a side note, yes the Bengals won. Of course. Because are no longer the Bungles. Well, mostly. Mostly we are now a cool team. And go me because I loved them through it all. So there!

We paused to get pics taken:

So we decided to use our FP's. And then we watched the parade. But while we were riding Big Thunder Suzy & McQueen realized he had left his pin lanyard at CP. Now, I haven't talked much about McQueen yet but I will take a trip here to say he is a trip. He is also intense. He has intensity issues. Not in a crazy kind of way. But in a 6 year old way. He just... can't get over stuff. So this was a true emergency. Suzy rushed to get it (& found it) but she got stopped on the wrong side of the parade! Oh no! I'm stuck with all the kids with another mom with all her kids!

Plus, then she couldn't see the joy in the kid's faces. And Buzz (who has asperger's) was struggling to keep his body parts & limbs to himself. Normally this doesn't bother me but in close quarters & with so many kids it was a bit crazy & I spent a bit more time of my day bothering other WDW patrons. Sorry ya'll! I did finally get control of him & sat him in Jack-Jack's stroller so her was contained.

Despite the chaos, I enjoyed the parade. Though it seemed shorter than normal.

JOY!

 

[estherhead]

Then we opted to ride Jungle Cruise

Boo had her suspicions:

I enjoyed this Jungle Cruise. The driver had new jokes which was refreshing.

After this we split up. I believe Suzy went to ride Pirates. But I'll do her stuff later.

We went to the front of the park to Exposition Hall to see a part of WDW I'd never seen before:

Fun! Nice & quiet fun.

After this we took the monorail to the GF.

We had a ressie for the GFC that I was looking forward to. It started with us getting a table at a lovely table next to a window. I handed out the toys (to entertain the kiddos) and we ordered drinks. I had my first super overpriced girlie drink called a Magical Star. It was yummy. Donald had a Sam Adams. And we got the two eldest girls Tinkerbell drinks so they could have the light up toys. Boo we figured wouldn't care (she didn't).

Then they brought this:

Yummy! After I scraped the salt off the butter (which I don't understand) this was awesome!

I wasn't overly hungry so I just ordered soup. Donald & Mulan ordered steak:

And Ariel & Boo shared chicken:

Followed by lemon cheesecake:

Since I hadn't used a dining credit I didn't get dessert. I had a tiny taste of this but Mulan wolfed it down so I assumed it was good.

As we were leaving our excellent server came racing after us. "Wait!" she called. I knew we had paid & I had my bag so I was confused. She had felt bad that we didn't order Boo a Tinkerbell thing & had gotten permission from her manager to give her one. How adorable is that? Her name was Quanhang.

After this my family let me fulfill a dream. Gingerbread house! I'm a baker and this was something I had always wanted to do!

Coming up what Suzy was up to with her 4 boys & 3 balloons on a boat!

 

[estherhead]

So Suzy, I think, did Pirates. Then she had ressies at Wilderness Lodge Whispering Canyon Cafe.

So onto the boat they went. 4 boys, 3 balloons, & a mom. The video Charming took is quite amusing.

I think they may have enjoyed themsleves:

That's all I've got of theirs. Sorry.

My family took a little side trip at 8:15 to the ASM. I got dessert: an awesome caramel sundae! mmmmmm!!!!! And Donald got a refillable mug. And yes, I did share my sundae with Boo. She ice cream.

So after that we all met back at our rooms. And who should be there? Milo! By the way, we had three rooms. The big kid all shared a connecting room to Milo & Suzy. Sweet for Donald & I, eh?

 

[estherhead]

Ready for more?

The next morning we decided to use public transportation, well, half of us did. Milo & Suzy aren't too fond of it. But Donald is a huge fan.

I had bought a cheap coffee maker at Walmart so every morning I filled up our mugs first thing. I'm a morning person so I easily had it ready for Milo & Donald by the time they were ready. It worked out great. For $10.00 you can have a coffee maker & for another $10.00 you can have decent coffee & cream. $20.00 for all of us to have coffee every day was a-ok by me.

And then before we left Boo decided to "fix" Simba with a super sticky band aid which she then wanted off & we could NOT get off. Donald spent a fair piece of time on this & it wasn't until weeks later I finally got it all off & even to this day you can see the scar. Poor Simba.

So we walked to the front where Donald filled up his coffee mug and we hopped on the bus.

I know people who like to sleep in don't understand us rope drop people. But I'm not a party girl. I'm not saying I can't enjoy a good party, it's just if it's between a party & the quiet peace of dawn, I'll take quiet peace every time.

The pools & fountains were so dreamy:

The bus ride was so easy I don't remember it. But I did take a pic:

We did shadow family pics all the way from the bus stop. Sorry people behind us who were confused when we would stop walking:

And then we were there! MK at rope drop. I find it interesting that the day before in the rush & all the people & trying to get somewhere I didn't tear up on Main Street. But in the relative peace of the morning, Main St. touched me just as always. My little happy place.

The morning show:

Boo having a sneaking suspicion her day would be terrifying:

I had this great idea to get our pic taken on the bridge to Tomorrowland. The castle would be behind us & no one was in line. Once in position I realized the error of my idea. The sun was like the giant hydrogen ball it is shining right in our eyes! It was horrible. We were blind forever & Ariel & Boo couldn't even pretend to open their eyes. This was NOT a great idea. Just stand in line the traditional spot. I'm just sayin'

First ride of the day, Astro Orbiter:

View:

To be cont.

 

[estherhead]

Tomorrowland without the crowds. LOVE it!!!!

So Milo had gotten us SM FP's which left us plenty of time to do Buzz. I didn't want to take Boo because she was scared but Donald said we were taking her. She was skeptical of everything so too bad. Lo & behold, she LOVED it. Who can know?

I also enjoyed it thoroughly as I am normally focused on playing & don't look around. I was in a car with Boo & Donald so I decided to just look around. How crazy is that? It's a really nice ride when it isn't a video game where I'm trying to crush my competition.

Wonder why I took this picture? There must surely be a reason but I can't find one.

You can see I quit pretty early on:

Yet another shocker, Boo wanted her pic with Zurg.

Ariel havin fun

After Buzz we went to see Laugh Floor. Donald always texts jokes & they actually used one this time!

And Mulan got to be on camera! And I think Milo may have been that guy. Unfortunately, I missed all that because once the show started and Boo heard the word "monster" she was out of there. Yes, I was BANISHED to the human world! It was horrible. And no snow cones either.

So instead I got some cream cheese pretzels & dug some bananas out of my bag and Boo & I had ourselves a snack, as did everyone else when they were done with the show.

It was 9:51 when I bought these:

Oh no the people are coming!!!!

Since it was close to 10 we went to Toontown to hang out with Goofy:

Yet again, Boo was scared. But like Buzz, she Goofy

As a matter of fact, she & I snuck back on & rode it again while everyone else explored Minnie's house.

Then McQueen insisted on hanging in Donald's Boat. Why is Donald's boat so boring?

We picked up the key to the bathroom & took a potty break:

The fam waiting on me:

This would be a good, Where is WDW was this taken? pic:

Then Boo played in the park for a long time. I could NOT get her out of this park & we needed to get going. So Donald rescued me & caught her.

We took the secret Toontown/Space Mt. passage

Train!

And when we got to SM it was closed. We did the only logical thing which was to hop the TTA & hope to see it with the lights on. But by the time we got in it was working. So we just enjoyed our TTA time & then rode SM.

I volunteered to separate from my family so I could get good photos of them at the exit:

 

[estherhead]

We normally eat at off times but this day we at just after noon at a very crowded Cosmic Rays. Suzy & Milo were sitting not near us at all:

I don't have a photo of our seat but I really like it. It was off in a corner right next to a window.

Because it was less than 2 hours since our pretzel/banana snack we weren't super hungry so we split an 8 chicken nugget meal & a chicken sandwich meal with carrot & chocolate cake.

After this meal we opted to split as we were going to DHS & we can't do that park together at all. DHS, in my experience, is boys vs girls and you can't fit in Beauty & the Beast AND Indiana Jones. You just can't. So we split. We would have parallel afternoons.

We moseyed to the front watching the mini parade. We all thoroughly enjoyed this.

Look at this crowd picture! This was when we were still moving at the tomorrowland bridge. LOTS of people right there. We skirted around since this was the front & headed quickly to the potties.

Walking against traffic:

Waiting for potty users:

Roy & Mulan:

Bronze characters are fun!

The parade caught us so we watched it from here:

Look at Ariel & Boo, so happy:

Jesse & Woody! No way!

OK, so we were using public transport & needed to get to DHS. So we decided to go to the Cont. & hop a bus there. But half our party wanted to do the monorail & half walk. Donald walked & I took the monorail. Here is how the race turned out:

We arrived at the bus stop at the EXACT same time and we could see them walking the entire way we were riding. So it doesn't matter. Either way takes about 10 min. Then we waited about 10 min. And the bus ride was about 10 min. So after bag check it probably took us about 45 minutes to get from MK to DHS more or less. I don't think that's too bad.

How did our day go from there? Can you say, Doctor's Office?

 

[estherhead]

I also forgot my Photo pass photo that we got. You see the parade coming behind us? I think it's funny. We were doomed to have strange MK photopass shots this day.

But as we entered DHS we had better fortune. This is one of my favorites of the whole trip:

First we grabbed FP's to ToT which had a really short return time. Then we did our Photopass shots (we got a lot) and went to Muppetvision.

Then we came back & did TOT and as you can see there was no need to fastpass:

With the FP we literally walked right on. The amount of time it took to walk into the basement was how long it took us. And as you look at our car you can see it wasn't even full! Mid day empty ToT car? What in the world?

Mulan a few years ago swore off ToT but decided she was ready to try again:

You see both girls clutching me? Too cute:

I'd be surprised if we didn't do RnR single rider but I don't remember it so maybe not. I know we rode it later in the week & remember it then so maybe not. That strikes me as odd since it's a favorite.

But if memory serves me we walked through the stores. Donald wanted to get a coffee cup for a guy who roasts his own coffee & generously roasts us some too. So we were on the look out. We did end up buying a coffee cup for another friend of the Cheshire Cat in the cat store. Boo loves cats so the Siamese cats were intriguing to her.

Anyway, we then did Playhouse Disney which Boo really, really enjoyed:

Then we all went to do a family favorite: Animation Studio art class. We Animation art class. This day there was a bit of a wait, normally we just get right in but for some reason no one was on ToT & everyone was at Animation art class?

I wanted to draw so I sat Boo on the bench at the back of the class (there were so many people I didn't want her to take the spot of someone who could really learn). She was bored to tears and of course ended up on my lap with my pencil drawing on my picture. The stools aren't really made for two people but I love her cute little pencil marks on my drawing.

Maybe art class isn't for 2 year olds?

We played around with the animation computers for a bit and then it was time for dinner!

Amanda was our cousin & she did a nice job. You can see our toys we brought.

We were sat at a table VERY close to a couple from Pennsylvania. We talked with them a little bit but a lot of this meal was silent. Kids playing with toys & Donald playing on his iphone. Me people watching and taking pics.

Our biggest problem with this restaurant was we didn't really like the food. Donald got Top sirloin steak & he really didn't like it. I got the fried chicken and it was just OK. The kids got chicken strips which they were fine with except Mulan who was an adult & got what Donald got and didn't really like it. So that was a bummer.

Amanda, though, was the just the right level of play acting. Donald didn't eat his green beans (or really any of his food) and she did the airplane to make him. But Donald is simply not cooperative so she held his nose. Then he did open his mouth. I thought it was highly amusing.

She then very quietly thanked him for playing along. It was nice. She was good.

And dessert was crazy!

I mostly let Boo eat this. I would not go to Primetime again. I wish I could say differently as the year before we had a kind of bummer trip at Sci-Fi so I really have take TS places in DHS off my list & since it's our favorite park this is a bummer. I LOVE the atmosphere of these places, but the food.... Food is kind of important when you are at a restaurant, right? Donald said had he paid for this meal he would have been irked. So that tells you right there.

After this we went to do what we had come to DHS to do in the first place. Fantasmic!

Unfortunately I have nothing to report as I opted out. I didn't think there was anyway Boo could handle this. So Boo & Jack & Charming and I went home. Charming handled the stroller for us while I got the kids on the bus.

We then did what turned out to be Boo's favorite thing of the entire trip. She & Jack had a bath together. Yes, we came all the way to Disney World to bathe.

I got them some toys & they played in that tub like you cannot believe. Forever. Charming went to watch sports by himself in his room. And probably eat some jelly beans

The family really enjoyed Fantasmic and Donald got AMAZING footage with his new HD video camera. But I had been slowly getting sick all trip. On our 2008 trip to WDW I had refused to go to the Dr and this was a truly bad plan. So I decided to just go.

So late at night I got in the van & drove the medical clinic. Where I proceeded to sit for an hour & chit chat with a Disney CM who had been driven over by an ECV and another family who had colds. For a doctor's waiting room, we had a very nice time.

Here's the view from my little room:

And here is me trying to look as sick & horrible as possible so they'd give me antibiotics:

They did. Cause the thing is, I'm a strep carrier with all kinds of throat issues. So pretty much if my throat is red I can say, "Will you do a rapid strep test?" and it ALWAYS comes back positive. So I can get antibiotics at will. Which is good because I generally need them because I'm always sick, really sick, in the fall. But that is a tale for another time.

So I pick up my antibiotics & it's almost 11:00 pm.

And here is my scary attempt to take a photo of the Disney sign while driving:

Don't try this at home, kids! You get a yucky photo & it's just as dangerous as texting while driving!

And then I was back to the resort. It took about 2 hours for me to go get medicine. Not too bad. The unfortunate thing is it didn't work. I never did feel fully back to health this trip. The low dose antibiotics they gave me just kept the infection at bay, it didn't kill it. That would take another trip to a ENT specialist when I got home.

But it did keep the infection from turning into a raging inferno, well the antiobiotics AND the pharmacy of decongestants, antihistimine, oregano nasal spray, etc. I carry around with me from Aug-Dec. I have a bit of an allergy issue, you might say. It's sad, but true. All in all my trip to the doctor had been a good one.

And I hopped into bed, exhausted, and ready to get up the next morning for another Disney day!

 

[houseful of boys]

O.K. here goes some accuracy checks

We were on our way to KS! Knowing us someone dashed over here & got FP's earlier. I have a feeling it was Suzy when I was having my wonderful EE front seat ride. We're efficient that way. FP's just magically appear & we don't really remember the inconvenience of getting them.

The reason you don't remember this is because I ran to get these FP's while you were in It's Tough to be a Bug. I knew better than to take my 2 yr old into that movie. So Jack Jack and I went and got FP and got Donald a coffee then waited for you guys to come out.

Enjoying everything so far. Hope I can keep up. This Trippie is moving at light speed!!

 

[estherhead]

O.K. here goes some accuracy checks



The reason you don't remember this is because I ran to get these FP's while you were in It's Tough to be a Bug. I knew better than to take my 2 yr old into that movie. So Jack Jack and I went and got FP and got Donald a coffee then waited for you guys to come out.

Enjoying everything so far. Hope I can keep up. This Trippie is moving at light speed!!

Why, oh why do I not listen to you? Now that you mention that I do remember. Donald truly appreciated that coffee.

Does anyone know why I can't see all the photos on my iphone? I thought maybe it was a Mac thing & came home to Donald's computer but I can see photos on his computer just fine. I can only see about half on my iphone. I'd fix this, if I could, so all the mobile readers could enjoy this mostly photos journal. But I am not very computer savvy & I'm especially limited when it comes to Mac quirks (which Mac users claim don't exist but in reality do.)

 

[estherhead]

So the best way to know that I do NOT remember this day well is that I was just telling Suzy yesterday that I hadn't ridden Test Track in two years. Only to discover that there is a photo to PROVE I rode it just 9 short months ago. Whoops! Now you see why I need stuff documented. I remember vibes, as vague as that is, not details & facts. It's sad but true.

So beware, this might be interesting, but it probably isn't true.

You could call it a Trip Report. But that would be inaccurate. It really is more of a Trip Hunch. Or a Trip Possibility. A TP, so to speak, instead of TR.

But one thing I know for sure: We started with the Toy Story Mayhem.

We were so early, why did we ride the tram? Musta been one waiting for us

Despite her terror of all characters, Boo was very entranced by the Army Men. She even talked to one. Go figure. This is why I'm always scaring her to death because I can't figure out WHAT will scare her. Later you will find out that the scariest thing of the week was American Idol which I'm yet to understand. But the Army Men yelling at us some how made her happy.

So I took a photo.

Empty!

Full!

We did a slow walk on where you are mostly walking through the dividers but we did pause here (and at the circus tent area right before you actually get on)

Full mode:

We're ready!

Boo figured out how to shoot things but was between Mulan & I and so didn't have her own. So I tried to aim for her while she shot. But if she could tell I was aiming she had a fit. So I secretly aimed. And she did good!

Next year I'll let her have her own gun.

After this we went to the Writer's Shop. I the Writer's Shop. Here's the walk:

We had paused at the store next to Backlot Tour so I could buy Boo a Pixar pack of bath toys. She still plays with them every day. It was only $10.00 and super cool. Best $10.00 of the trip. Anyway, Donald & the girls went to ride Star Tours with Suzy & Milo. So Boo & I headed to the Writer's Stop. I can't imagine I didn't have Jack-Jack but I really don't think I had him? We bought treats & coffee (with syrup) and played in the little book store with her new toys. It was really nice & relaxing.

So then the fam caught up with me & it was time to split as again, boys v. girls at DHS.

We did Backlot Tour. I didn't want to take Boo on it but Donald said she'd be fine. He'd been right & I'd been wrong so I trusted him.

But in this case I was right:

After this we headed over to ToT RnR area.

 

[estherhead]

But before I take you there I wanted to say that Suzy & Milo, among other things, took Jack-Jack to meet Woody & Buzz & the Cars which are his all time favorites. So I just wanted to add that into my TR because even though I wasn't there it was still a part of my good time too because Jack-Jack talked about it all week. And Boo was very jealous. Later in the week we went & looked in the window at Buzz & Woody but I was scared she would freak out then by the last day she really wanted to visit them & we headed over there and it was about to close and we weren't allowed. Plus, that was a bad day & I was afraid we'd get in there & then freak.

Anyway, here's some awesome photos & this something on the TO DO list of Boo this trip around (though characters still really freak her out.)

 

[¡WDW!girlrox(:]

Good luck with your sorting and such!
I'm in!

 

[houseful of boys]

So Boo & I headed to the Writer's Stop. I can't imagine I didn't have Jack-Jack but I really don't think I had him?

I don't think we were together at all this day. That picture that you posted of the full line at Toy Story Mania is us. You can see Charming's head in the picture. This was the one day that I convinced Milo to eat breakfast at the food court and then take Disney transportation all day long. Because of this, we were about 2 minutes behind rope drop which meant we ended up at the end of the "mayhem run to Mania" We had about a 15 minute wait.

After this we went to the Writer's Shop. I the Writer's Shop.

We also spent some lovely time in the Writer's Shop. Milo enjoyed his coffee and the kids and I looked at the books and DVDs. Buzz bought a DVD with classic Goofy cartoons that we all enjoyed the rest of the trip.


For some reason I can't get your pictures to copy and paste. But if you check out Jack Jack in the photo of him with Lightning McQueen, he was running for dear life. To all you moms out there, be aware that McQueen and Mater like to rev their engines every once in a while.