Take the 2 year old they said...It'll be fun they said...They were right!

[MonsterWDWmom]

I was going to cry reading it! I am the same way especially when it comes to Disney

 

[sarahwill]

Hey , thats amazing, your photographs clearly show the the enjoyment in the trip

 

[ddstratton]

Beautiful birthday evening at Magic Kingdom!

 

[Mom22beans]

Have been following and reading your updates! We are heading to WDW for Christmas with our 3 and 5 year old. <3 the reveal!!! Thanks for the idea. Our DD-5- doesn't like surprises- still cries when you sing happy birthday to her!!! so we know we need to prep her.

I went once as a kid when I was 10- a LOT I am sure has changed. Hubby is not a terribly willing participant but is going to tow the line I guess.

How did you manage naps? Neither of my kids sleep in strollers but at this point will need a nap if we are to get to see ANY of the evening stuff.

We are staying at POP Century and will be relying on Disney transportation to get around. My plan is to get there early- the kids are early risers by nature- and have our big meal at lunchtime- we have the dining plan=- head back to hotel for a nap, swim, dinner? and maybe back for fireworks parade etc.

I am hopeful that this won't be our last trip as I am the one pushing for the magic (nice to have something to look forward to after heading back to school too!)

Any suggestions or tips for us- I don't really feel the NEED to see it all- I will get the kids back there again- maybe with hubby too!! Praying he feels the magic as your hubby did and doesn't rain on our pixie dust

THanks for your tips and repots!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

yeah for great weather - especially when that was not the forecast!

and I think "having an awesome time" is a good excuse for not having more pictures

your description of watching Wishes with you now 5 year old and just taking in all the feelings ... I mean, it must have been a little dusty in here as my eyes started tearing up a bit! It just is so magical - and you now have that memory for the rest of your life!

 

[JAMIESMITH]

Hi! I found your TR and I'm all caught up. The Pirates League looked like such a great experience! It makes me wish for a boy. I love the picture of your family with sorcerer Mickey.

 

[KatMark]

First, I love your Bulletin Board -- UP!

That was nice of the Irish family to give the boys suckers.

Okay, you had me shedding a tear as you described watching Wishes. I cry every time I see it too, and I remember shedding more than a tear or two the first time the boys saw it.

 

[themommy]

You did an awesome job on the bulletin board. Great idea!

I am so glad that the boys enjoyed the parade. That Irish family...don't ya just love a little pixie dust with the suckers to help you out?

You were a blubbering mess at Wishes? No, not you! I can only imagine just how bad you got with the boys there. I know you have been waiting for that moment your whole life. I am so glad you were able to realize your dream. Great, now I am tearing up because I am so happy for you! I love you!!

 

[Wills Mom]

What a fantastic finish to Brodys birthday Its like a flash forward for our trip next year, I am a ball of irrational emotion walking into MK let alone while watching Wishes so add my kids into the mix and I think I will explode! I love the lack of pictures, I can well imagine how much fun you 4 were having!

And by the way I. LOVE. THAT. CHART!! There should be more teachers like you, your students are so so lucky!

 

[ashleymrush]

I was going to cry reading it! I am the same way especially when it comes to Disney

I don't know what it is that gets me but I cry every time. This time was just a lot more than usual!

Hey , thats amazing, your photographs clearly show the the enjoyment in the trip

I couldn't believe how well they came out since I was only using my iPhone. We had a camera with us but I'm not a fan of it and just decided not to use it.

Beautiful birthday evening at Magic Kingdom!

It was the most amazing vacation experience I've ever had!

Have been following and reading your updates! We are heading to WDW for Christmas with our 3 and 5 year old. <3 the reveal!!! Thanks for the idea. Our DD-5- doesn't like surprises- still cries when you sing happy birthday to her!!! so we know we need to prep her.

We had to do the same thing. DS5 doesn't like when Happy Birthday is sung either. His hands are usually over his ears. I'm so jealous of your Christmas trip. We haven't been at Christmas yet. One day I'll make it happen though.

I went once as a kid when I was 10- a LOT I am sure has changed. Hubby is not a terribly willing participant but is going to tow the line I guess.

I hope your DH gets bit by the magic bug while y'all are there. Just remind him to look at the fun the kids are having and experience it through them. (and to quickly forgive and forget any tantrums!)

How did you manage naps? Neither of my kids sleep in strollers but at this point will need a nap if we are to get to see ANY of the evening stuff.

Mine won't sleep in stollers either. We would get to the park at rope drop every morning, leave around 11:30-12:00 and go back to the hotel for lunch and naps and then head back to the parks around 4:00. It worked perfectly! Everyone was well rested and happy. It was my first time ever doing rope drop but it was so worth it. I don't think I'll ever go without it again. We had to get up early everyday but DS5 is an early riser anyway so we were able to use that to our advantage.

We are staying at POP Century and will be relying on Disney transportation to get around. My plan is to get there early- the kids are early risers by nature- and have our big meal at lunchtime- we have the dining plan=- head back to hotel for a nap, swim, dinner? and maybe back for fireworks parade etc.

That's exactly what I would suggest. POP is a great resort too. I've stayed there twice. Their food court is really good!

I am hopeful that this won't be our last trip as I am the one pushing for the magic (nice to have something to look forward to after heading back to school too!)

Good luck! You're already ahead of the game by doing research before you go. Many people that have never been or haven't been since they were kids just go and wing it and really miss out. Planning is half the fun for me though!

Any suggestions or tips for us- I don't really feel the NEED to see it all- I will get the kids back there again- maybe with hubby too!! Praying he feels the magic as your hubby did and doesn't rain on our pixie dust

My best tip is to follow the lead of your kids. If they don't seem interested in doing something, don't do it. If they seem tired and like a tantrum is looming, it probably is. We definitely didn't get everything done but it is really impossible to do it all in one trip.

THanks for your tips and repots!

It's my pleasure. It's been so much fun to do! I highly suggest doing one yourself if you have the time when you get back.

yeah for great weather - especially when that was not the forecast!

I didn't think I would have gotten that lucky! It was amazing!

and I think "having an awesome time" is a good excuse for not having more pictures

That's very true. I mean we got over 500 pictures total so not getting a few here and there isn't a big deal.

your description of watching Wishes with you now 5 year old and just taking in all the feelings ... I mean, it must have been a little dusty in here as my eyes started tearing up a bit! It just is so magical - and you now have that memory for the rest of your life!

Haha! It makes me cry when I think about it too. I can always tell who the people are that "get it" because they cry too and don't make fun of me for doing so. I love people t hat "get it."

Hi! I found your TR and I'm all caught up. The Pirates League looked like such a great experience! It makes me wish for a boy. I love the picture of your family with sorcerer Mickey.

Haha! It was so much fun! Every time I see a girl that gets to experience becoming a princess at BBB I think the same thing! I so wish I had a girl sometimes. That picture is one of my favorites too. We'll see Mickey again before we're done.

First, I love your Bulletin Board -- UP!

Yay! Thanks! Me too! It was so much fun to make. I'm working on "Mickey-fying" my classroom. There is red and yellow everywhere! I'm going to make a new valence for my windows using Mickey fabric. Hopefully I can get it made soon and upload some pictures before my TR is over.

That was nice of the Irish family to give the boys suckers.

It was so nice! It made me feel bad for feeling a little annoyed with them before then. The sucker was gone in 5 minutes but it definitely redirected his attitude.

Okay, you had me shedding a tear as you described watching Wishes. I cry every time I see it too, and I remember shedding more than a tear or two the first time the boys saw it.

I don't know why fireworks get to me so much. Even ones on the 4th of July get me emotional. But when you add Disney magic + fireworks + my boys it's a combination that will always result in tears. Even when they are older I'm sure it'll still get me.

You did an awesome job on the bulletin board. Great idea!

Thanks! I can't take the credit...I saw it on pinterest.

I am so glad that the boys enjoyed the parade. That Irish family...don't ya just love a little pixie dust with the suckers to help you out?

They were so nice! Jackson loved that sucker too!

You were a blubbering mess at Wishes? No, not you! I can only imagine just how bad you got with the boys there. I know you have been waiting for that moment your whole life. I am so glad you were able to realize your dream. Great, now I am tearing up because I am so happy for you! I love you!!

Shocking, I know! It was an out of body moment for sure! I can't wait to do it again! (only 3 years to go...unless you want to take us before then )

What a fantastic finish to Brodys birthday Its like a flash forward for our trip next year, I am a ball of irrational emotion walking into MK let alone while watching Wishes so add my kids into the mix and I think I will explode! I love the lack of pictures, I can well imagine how much fun you 4 were having!

Good luck getting through it! Bring some tissues and be prepared to duck into a bathroom and compose yourself. Haha!

And by the way I. LOVE. THAT. CHART!! There should be more teachers like you, your students are so so lucky!

Thanks so much! It's really great when I have a student who loves Disney as much as I do. I'm in charge of the senior trip to Disney in the spring and the ones that love it usually go on the trip so being able to experience Disney with the students is pretty awesome too!

 

[ashleymrush]

First of all, before I get into today's chapter I want to acknowledge how impressed I am with those of you who have TRs and full time jobs and still update on a regular basis! I've been back at the high school for a week now, the kids haven't even started yet, and I'm already getting terribly behind! I don't know how y'all do it!

Back to the story though...after an AMAZING evening in the MK we headed back for a very restful sleep. We woke up the next morning refreshed and energized to take on our last day in the parks. We were up early to make it to AK by rope drop. We arrived just as they were opening and headed back to the safari. I didn't take a single safari picture that morning since I had already done so on our previous safari ride. I just sat back and watched the boys enjoy the ride.

After the safari we headed back to Dinoland, which we had previously skipped on our last visit. Brody was insistent on riding Dinosaur. I thought it was going to be a bit much for him but he had seen videos on youtube and was convinced it would be fun. My younger brother had an accident in his pants the first time he rode it and I was afraid that it could be traumatic for Brody as well. Jackson obviously couldn't ride it so I decided to stay behind with him. DH and Brody went to Dinosaur and while they were gone Jackson and I decided to have some fun of our own. We headed over to Triceratop Spin and got on with no wait at all.





Jackson loved it! We were on and off within a couple minutes and since DH and Brody had a 20 minute wait at Dinosaur we needed to find something else to do. I especially wanted to find something with shade because it was only about 10:30 and it was already BLAZING hot outside! It was definitely the hottest morning of the trip so far.

I decided we would hike over to the Boneyard to let Jackson play. I had always heard it was a great place but I had never been to it since I'd never had kids with me at the park. We walked through and Jackson played a little and then we found the sand pit where the kids could dig for fossils. There were only two other kids around playing so we basically had the whole place to ourselves. I found a place to sit and let Jackson go and have fun in the sand. It was shaded and cool and the perfect place to be on a hot AK morning. Jackson was loving it and would've stayed for hours if I let him.







DH and Brody were gone on Dinosaur longer than expected. I think this was due to looking at toys in the gift shop. After about 40 minutes they were finally done. We met them back over by Triceratop Spin again so that Brody could ride it. DH said he did ok on Dinosaur. He apparently just kept his hands over his eyes the whole time. He wasn't traumatized by it but if you ask him to ride it again he says "no thanks." He did enjoy our quick ride on Triceratop Spin though.

It was about 11:00 by this time and since it was SO hot we decided to go ahead and head back to swim in the pool a bit. I had wanted to eat at Flametree BBQ but it really just wasn't worth it. The pool sounded much better.

We got back to the hotel, ate lunch in the food court...again, and then headed for a quick swim. I didn't get any pictures of the boys playing this time. After we got them down for a nap, DH said he was ok with me going out to the pool and relaxing by myself a bit. I did capture this picture while I was out there. I distinctly remember that Justin Timberlake's Mirrors was playing at the time (my favorite song EVER) so I took the picture so I could post a message about having the perfect afternoon at Disney while Justin played in the background on Facebook.



That was about it for the AM for us. We've got another AWESOME evening coming up though!

UP NEXT: Jackson finds himself an Incredible dance partner!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Animal Kingdom does always seem to feel 10 degrees warmer than the other parks.

Glad Jackson enjoyed the bone yard and that you had a relaxing time at the pool enjoying the moment

 

[themommy]

I am not surprised Brody did not want to go back on Dinosaur. That can be a very scary ride for kids. Just ask your brother huh? You better hope he never decides to come here and read your trip report...he'd be so ticked off! Good thing he is the forgiving type and that was a long time ago.

Jackson looked like he totally enjoyed digging around. And a cooler spot too! I swear AK is the hottest park there.

 

[KatMark]

I'm glad that Brody survived Dinosaur without too much trauma; and how fun you and Jackson got to do a ride and spend some time in the Boneyard. It's a great place for little kids...but also very difficult to get them out of there.

for getting some pool time alone.

 

[ashleymrush]

Animal Kingdom does always seem to feel 10 degrees warmer than the other parks.

Yes it does! It's the worst. All that shrubbery seems to keep everything trapped in. That and it also seems to have the least amount of AC places to duck into.

Glad Jackson enjoyed the bone yard and that you had a relaxing time at the pool enjoying the moment

He loved it so much. We could've been there for hours. The goal was to get out before Brody figured out it was there though or we would've had to wait that much longer.The pool was so nice and relaxing. I wish I was back there right now.

I am not surprised Brody did not want to go back on Dinosaur. That can be a very scary ride for kids. Just ask your brother huh? You better hope he never decides to come here and read your trip report...he'd be so ticked off! Good thing he is the forgiving type and that was a long time ago.

Yeah I figured he was past the point of really caring. Besides it's not like anyone here knows who he is.

Jackson looked like he totally enjoyed digging around. And a cooler spot too! I swear AK is the hottest park there.

Agreed! I'd trade my air conditioned living room right now for it though. Mary, Terry and Bryson were there today. Bryson was napping and they were taking turns riding EE because it had NO wait! Ugh! So jealous!

I'm glad that Brody survived Dinosaur without too much trauma; and how fun you and Jackson got to do a ride and spend some time in the Boneyard. It's a great place for little kids...but also very difficult to get them out of there.

Luckily he left the Boneyeard pretty easily. He's so attached to Daddy that all I had to say was that it was time to go back and see him and he was all about leaving. Brody handled Dinosaur much better than I expected. He was very insistent on riding it.

for getting some pool time alone.

It was the best!

 

[ashleymrush]

The boys decided to take an extra long nap this day, which had both pros and cons. On the down side I was getting quite antsy since it was our last day and I wanted to get back to the MK. On the plus side however, the boys would be able to make it a VERY late night without any problems. I also took this time to do a little investigating for myself.

When I was finished at the pool, I hopped over the to the concierge desk ask a couple questions. I was going through the last day blues, desperate for more time (we've all been there...right?), and was still a little sad that we never made it to WS at Epcot. So I asked the CM behind the desk how much it would be to add one more day of tickets. She said it would only be $40ish!!! Suddenly things were looking up. Now I just had to beg my DH to grant me this one wish. We could go to Epcot the next day for half the day and then drive home. I posed the question to DH but after discussing it through, decided on my own that we didn't really need to spend anymore money and it would be nice to go ahead and get home. DH was happy with that because he didn't really want to do it anyway.

Since we knew that our time was running short we wanted to get a move on to capitalize on the time we did have left. Just like the previous day, there was a high chance of thunderstorms and this day we didn't end up being so lucky. As we arrived at the MK it was raining but it wasn't too bad. DH and I took out the ponchos but they only stayed on for a few moments. Truth be told, they are so sticky and humid that I would sometimes rather get wet. It was still raining a bit but it was just a steady drizzle.

We had a FP for 5:30 at BTMR but it was closed due to the rain so we decided to duck into Pecos Bill and eat dinner first. We were in there about 30 minutes before the rain let up completely and then we decided try out the FP. We got lucky and arrived there just as they opened it back up! Brody and I FINALLY got our chance to ride it together. I can't remember if DH and Jackson stayed at Pecos Bill or went to ride the Magic Carpets again. We have no photographic proof of either.

Brody and I were ready to go though!




By the time we were done on BTMR (which Brody loved again) it was time for our next FPs. DH and Brody were going to ride 7DMT again and Jackson and I were off to Winnie the Pooh! Once again, DH took no pictures but the boys enjoyed their ride on the Mine Train again. To this day, if you ask Brody what his favorite rides were he always says the two fast trains! I was able to steal a couple pics of Jackson on Pooh though.




He was enthralled with the ride!

After we were done on those rides, it was already time for our next FPs. The good thing about the rain is that it pretty much made all of our FPs run right together. We were a ride hopping family!!! DH and I decided to switch off on kids again. He took Jackson to go ride Buzz (no pictures...again!!!) while I headed off with Brody for a first for both of us, Tomorrowland Speedway. I can't believe I had never done it before. It was nice to have another first with Brody.


This is one of my favorite pictures from the whole trip. I don't think a kid can look any happier!





It was a fun ride but boys was my neck angry at me by the end. Hopefully this was not a precursor to his driving habits ten years from now.

As we exited the Speedway we started to head towards Buzz and DH and Jackson were coming out at the same time. We didn't have anywhere that we had to be and I looked over the left and there was a dance party going on! In fact, it was an INCREDIBLE dance party! We headed over to dance and have some fun. Brody, true to form, just like his father, was in no way interested in dancing. He didn't care if there were Incredibles characters dancing too. Jackson on the other hand is much more like his Mom and was all about dancing. So the two of us took to it! While we were dancing we were greeted by a special dance partner...Elastigirl aka Mrs. Incredible!!! Boy oh boy did Jackson have a blast!!













I'm hoping this loads right but here is a link to a video of his dancing. It's short but it makes me smile so much! This is by far my favorite Jackson memory from the trip!

Jackson's INCREDIBLE Dance

That's where we'll end for tonight but the night is not close to being over! There is still SO MUCH MORE!

UP NEXT: No one told me I was married to "That Guy!"

 

[KatMark]

Boo on the rain but at least you got dinner out of the way.

for getting back on BTMR with Brody.

Love the pics of Jackson on Winnie the Pooh.

You had never done the Speedway? Let's just say I'm glad I don't have to do that anymore. Between the jerking and the smell.

Jackson and Mrs. Incredible...absolutely previous and I just loved the video.

 

[MonsterWDWmom]

That was the cutest video!! I loved it

This year will be my first time doing Tomorrowland speedway also and I am worried about how my 6 and 4 year old will drive!

Can't can't to many rides though Pooh thats for sure.

 

[themommy]

Ya gotta love the trains! I am so glad that Brody enjoys them so much!

I can't believe that you have never done the speedway....hmmmm. I guess that puts me into the "bad mommy" category! Sorry! I don't think Brody could be happier about going on it. Great pic! Here is hoping that he gets better at driving!

Jackson is so cute dancing! Even though I had seen the video, I had to go watch it again. You go boy!

 

[ddstratton]

I think I missed replying to your previous update, so here's a two-fer.

Sounds like you and Jackson had a great time at AK, while waiting for DH and Brody to ride Dinosaur. Jackson just looks so intent on playing in the sand. Glad to hear that Brody made it through Dinosaur without being traumatized. That can be one scary ride for littler ones.

As hot as it was, heading back to the resort for food, rest and pool time for you sounds like a perfect idea!

Sounds like a great evening at MK, even with the rain. Brody just looks like one happy kid at the Speedway. Jackson’s dance was adorable, too!