Thankful for Disney - SOOZE's Thanksgiving TR FULL of PICTURES! NEW!! 6/5

[jwwi]

Wow have your kids grown! Loving all the pictures of the yummy treats at the new shop in Germany. Their caramel corn is very good too.

 

[tigerdragon]

I'm really enjoying your TR! You have such a lovely family!

Your caramel treats look so yummy! I can't wait to stop in there on my next visit.

Looking forward to reading more!

 

[Sooze]

Wow that carmel shop looks delicious...did the treats taste as good as they looked?

Your TR's have made me really want to try and take in the Voices of Liberty on our next trip, we just never seemed to find the time for it before

I'm loving your TR and can't wait to hear more

Ha! I guess that would've helped if I told y'all how it tasted, eh?

The caramel apple= AWESOME! They also cut it up and put it in a container, so it was easy to eat and store the leftovers!
The pretzel rod= DELICIOUS! You can't go wrong with chocolate, caramel, and pretzel
The peanut butter/caramel cookie= MEH. A little too dry and not enough caramel
We also bought a bag of caramel corn with nuts/chocolate= FABULOUS!!

Sure hope you try out Voices of Liberty. They only sing for about 10 minutes so if you DON'T like them (which I just can't imagine you wouldn't), it doesn't last too long! And if you DO like them, you can catch them several times throughout the day. Just amazing talent and beautiful sounds!

I'm subbing! We were there over Thanksgiving too.

Thanks for subbing! Looks like I may need to check out your TR and see how our whirlwind Thanksgiving trips compared!

Wow have your kids grown! Loving all the pictures of the yummy treats at the new shop in Germany. Their caramel corn is very good too.

Haven't they, though? I love looking back at my earlier TRs and seeing the changes... scary! We did get some caramel corn and enjoyed it when we returned home... probably the most delicious of all of our treats from that store. YUM!!

I'm really enjoying your TR! You have such a lovely family!

Your caramel treats look so yummy! I can't wait to stop in there on my next visit.

Looking forward to reading more!

Thanks so much!! We are always much more lovely when we are in Disney and have the 'glow'

Hope you get to try some caramel goodness... it really is worth the wait!

 

[PrincessV]

Then Shae realized how loud it was... and began to cry.. and cry hard. It was the LONGEST Mission: Space ride EH.VER. She wasn't upset by the simulator, she was upset with the sheer LOUDNESS of it all!!

We finally got off of the ride and tried to get her excited about the fact that it was over, and that she DID IT!! She didn't buy it. It took a while for her to recover.

Oh my gosh, do I ever understand this entire scene... just went through it ourselves! Poor Shae. She'll give it a try again someday, though!

Earlier in our walk around WS, we stopped for a Kim Possible Mission. Tyson just ADORES these! We had an awesome CM who asked us if we had done them before (Yes, we have) and then asked us which countries we hadn't done yet. Tyson almost screamed "GERMANY!!!"

LOL, another Borg moment... we only had one KP mission left to do, and yep - it was Germany! That was a fun one, wasn't it? Methinks Tyson and Leo would get along famously.

What an amaaaazing first day! Can't wait to read more.

 

[Sooze]

Oh my gosh, do I ever understand this entire scene... just went through it ourselves! Poor Shae. She'll give it a try again someday, though!

Hmmmmmmmm.... Space Mountain
She is already talking about riding it again. She's such a brave girl!

LOL, another Borg moment... we only had one KP mission left to do, and yep - it was Germany! That was a fun one, wasn't it? Methinks Tyson and Leo would get along famously.

What an amaaaazing first day! Can't wait to read more.

ME thinks we need to get Leo and Tyson together ASAP!!!

 

[Sooze]

The day was almost over and we hadn't split up the family yet. What is THAT about you ask? Those of you who have followed my TRs for a while know that we ALWAYS split up so that Tyson can enjoy his thrill ride stuff and Shae can get her little-kid thrill on! It was time...

The boys went off to do the orange side of MS while Shae and I headed to the Living Seas. On our way over, we stopped to smell the roses:

and to wave at the monorail:

We had to WAIT for the Nemo ride, which isn't too bad since the queue keeps moving (and it is designed phenomenally!) The ride was great, and we immediately headed into Turtle Talk with Crush. There was no one waiting and we walked right up to the 'rope' at the entrance. We spent time visiting with the fish:

While we were waiting, a MOB of people formed behind us. I have NEVER seen so many people waiting to get into this show. As soon as they let us in, Shae grabbed a spot right in front of Crush's screen.

I was secretly hoping her pretty princess ears would make her stand out to Crush, like they did last time. Of course, LAST TIME, there were only about 12 kids on the floor. This time?!?! HOLY COW!!! THere had to have been 50! It was SO SO crowded!!

The show was fun, though... it had a cool energy with so many people in the room, even if Shae didn't get to talk to Crush this time!

We hung out with the marine life until Matt and Tyson texted us and said, "Let's go to MK!" We were just dying to show the kids the beautiful Christmas castle, and to see Wishes. This is not our normal first-night routine. We are DIE HARD Illuminations lovers and always start AND finish our trip with this favorite show. But since this trip was so short, we had to redo our normal plans. Off to MK for us tonight!

We enjoyed the sidewalk lights on the way out:

Then headed to the monorail... oh, excuse me, TRONORAIL line!! YES!!! We got a Tronorail!

The kids were so happy to see the unique monorail!

Our first order of business was to walk down Main Street and take in all of the amazing Christmas magic. The kids' eyes truly sparkled when they first took in the castle. It was breathtakingly beautiful, and as I've said before, pictures can NEVER capture the beauty of the Christmas Castle, even with the BEST camera!

Our next order of business was to EAT!! It was quite crowded, but we made our way to Pinnochio's eatery in Fantasyland. I knew it would be near impossible to score a table by the "It's a Small World" window, but we meandered that way just in case. Of course, it was packed full. But, wait... what is this? There's a family getting up and leaving?! SCORE!!!

The kids were so happy that they'd be able to eat and wave at the same time!

Uh... Shae? I said the kids were so HAPPY!!!

SHAE?! Really?

This, my friends, is the result of waiting until after 7 to eat. Not only that, but having to wait another 15-20 minutes at the table while Daddy stood in line to get the food. Waving at the IASW boats helped, but only for a bit. She started getting downright CRANKY. This breaks one of the CARDINAL rules at Disney:

NO BOO-BOO face at Disney.... EVER!!

Look... even when the tray of steamy-hot, yummy Disney food got to our table, she was still being stubborn about her boo-boo face:

It was okay... once the food was in her belly, life was good again! We decided to ride IASW, just to experience going in the exit! For those of you who may not know, after the refurb they just did on IASW, they switched the entrance, exit. It actually makes so much more sense! Another measure of the crowd situation was how long we had to WAIT for IASW. Yes... I said WAIT!!

GAH!!!

What do you think of this WAIT for IASW, Ty?

What do YOU think of this WIAT for IASW, Daddy?

(Cont'd next post)

 

[Sooze]

So, we kept ourselves entertained by finding lightbulbs that were out:

Can you see it?

This is DH's reaction when he sees lightbulbs out at Disney:

Come ON, people.... no lightbulbs out at Disney!

Can you tell we were bored waiting in that long IASW line? FINALLY, we were on board the boat:

We sang our way through the whole ride, and tried to find little 'extras' that the refurb may have added. I swore I saw new things, so I pointed them out. For example, I noticed clouds/fog in the Great Britain scene that I had never seen before, so I assumed they may have been added. Matt then began to make fun of me, and pointed out the most ridiculous 'extras'. For example, "Hey... look at that guy's sombrero. I think it used to have a blue band around it, now it's red!" He kills me!

After the ride, we started walking around through Frontierland to Adventureland for a quick ride on Pirates. There was no line at all (especially on the LEFT side!) We were disappointed, though, because the fake waterfall with Davy Jones was NOT there!!! Does anyone know if that's temporary or permanent? We missed it a lot!!

After our encounter with Captain Jack Sparrow, we decided it's time to start tackling the crowds and trying to find a spot for Wishes. I was DREADING this. I despise battling for a viewing spot for Wishes... despise it!!! As we crossed the bridge from Adventureland into the Hub, it really wasn't too bad. There was still a good 30 minutes before Wishes was to start, and there was plenty of room in the hub. So we quickly grabbed a spot, and sat down for the wait. Cell phones helped pass the time for both the grown ups and kids, and, before we knew it, the show was beginning!

I tried to capture a few pictures, some came out better than others:

It was a beautiful show, and we had a magical time enjoying it! When it was over, we also enjoyed watching the crowds battle it out trying to leave. WOW! It was crazy!! We were right in the middle of the hub, so we didn't even move for a good 15 minutes!! We were able to catch this photo of Ty and Shae pretending to be the Walt and Mickey statue:

Once the crowds thinned, we made our way over to Tomorrowland. Ty shocked us all when he announced that he wanted to ride Carousel of Progress. I could hear DH's groan a mile away!! But we ventured over to the classic attraction and immediately got on!

20 minutes and a few naps later, we emerged, and Tyson announced that he LOVED it! We managed to squeeze in a few more rides (TTA and BLY) before our exhaustion got the better of us. We trudged back to the Contemporary, found the car, drove back to POFQ, and stumbled into our beds. What an AMAZING first day!!!

Tomorrow = TSM or bust!

 

[micandminforever]

I love your waiting in line pictures for Small World. Thanks for posting about the change of the entrance and exit line. At Disney I am on autopilot and sometime miss new signs, and changes.

The pictures from wishes were great. I will be there in two more months I can't wait.

 

[PrincessV]

Hmmmmmmmm.... Space Mountain

LOL, you know it!

ME thinks we need to get Leo and Tyson together ASAP!!!

On our way over, we stopped to smell the roses:

Aw, love this!

Then headed to the monorail... oh, excuse me, TRONORAIL line!! YES!!! We got a Tronorail!

Sweet! Wanna hear something funny? I can't remember if we did or not. I distinctly remember saying "Hey look - Tronorail!" But have no idea if we actually boarded it!

Our first order of business was to walk down Main Street and take in all of the amazing Christmas magic. The kids' eyes truly sparkled when they first took in the castle.

Awesome!

It was breathtakingly beautiful, and as I've said before, pictures can NEVER capture the beauty of the Christmas Castle, even with the BEST camera!

SO true - I've quit trying!

So, we kept ourselves entertained by finding lightbulbs that were out:

Too funny!

After the ride, we started walking around through Frontierland to Adventureland for a quick ride on Pirates. There was no line at all (especially on the LEFT side!) We were disappointed, though, because the fake waterfall with Davy Jones was NOT there!!! Does anyone know if that's temporary or permanent? We missed it a lot!!

Temporary - it seems to go on and off with some regularity; there've been days when we rode POTC twice and it was there once but not the second time.

I tried to capture a few pictures, some came out better than others:

They're really, really good! And no tripod?!?! I'm not that steady, lol!

Once the crowds thinned, we made our way over to Tomorrowland. Ty shocked us all when he announced that he wanted to ride Carousel of Progress. I could hear DH's groan a mile away!!

But, but... it's a great big, beautiful tomorrow!

20 minutes and a few naps later, we emerged, and Tyson announced that he LOVED it!

Yay, that boy has good taste!

 

[Sooze]

I love your waiting in line pictures for Small World. Thanks for posting about the change of the entrance and exit line. At Disney I am on autopilot and sometime miss new signs, and changes.

The pictures from wishes were great. I will be there in two more months I can't wait.

I think we get the most interesting pictures when we are the most in need of entertaining ourselves!! Glad I could help out with the IASW change!

You are going at such a GREAT time of year!! I'm jealous... Happy Planning!

 

[Sooze]

LOL, you know it!

YES!!! I'm a winner! Can't wait to hear all about it

Aw, love this!

Thanks! She's such good little model... especially at Disney!

Sweet! Wanna hear something funny? I can't remember if we did or not. I distinctly remember saying "Hey look - Tronorail!" But have no idea if we actually boarded it!

That's funny, but I completely understand random memory lapses like this! I was looking ahead at the pictures for the next day of the trip and had to call in the family to help me remember what most of them were about!!

SO true - I've quit trying!

Don't get me wrong.. I've seen quite a few AMAZING Christmas Castle pics (and I'm sure you could get some of those!) But, you know what I mean... you just can't capture that feeling you get when you see them.

Temporary - it seems to go on and off with some regularity; there've been days when we rode POTC twice and it was there once but not the second time.

Whew! Good to hear!!

They're really, really good! And no tripod?!?! I'm not that steady, lol!

Thanks, V! It's me holding as still as I can with my crappy point and shoot. I keep thinking about retirement, when Matt and I move down there.. my #1 priority (after securing employment at WDW) is to get me a REAL GOOD camera and take up a new hobby!

But, but... it's a great big, beautiful tomorrow!

According to Matt, it's a great big, beautiful waste of time! He just doesn't get the classics...

Yay, that boy has good taste!

Well, I guess SOMEBODY has to like that attraction. I'm glad to know there are at least two...

 

[mermaid764]

What an awesome ending to your first day...scoring a table by IASW, and getting a great spot for wishes=awesome!

Love the pic of your kids in front of the statue...too cute!!

Yikes about the crowds....that's insane

Looking forward to more

 

[JenSop]

Subscribing! I'm just joining in - can't wait to read about it!

 

[Blueyed Girl]

OMG, Sooze!! I swear I subscribed to this TR!! Apparently I haven't been getting the updates in my "subscriptions". BOO!!! Ok, going back to read all that I've missed!

 

[Blueyed Girl]

The kiddo's are getting so big!!! Tyson is handsom as ever and Shae is so adorable!! I love the pic of him pushing her in the stroller. Brought tears to my eyes.

I love starting Epcot off with Spaceship Earth! Although, our last trip (June) was SO busy and the line was I swear 10 miles long! We had to wait till later.

Ok, going back to read more.........

 

[Blueyed Girl]

Oh no!! Poor Shae on Mission Space. I forgot how loud it was. I've only ridden it once but I bet our next trip will be the one when DS is ready to ride for the first time. He also says he's going to ride BTMRR for the first time too! We shall see.

I love the VoL!! I'm so glad I read your TR's because we had been passing this up and finally I told DH we were going in! I told him Sooze said we HAVE TO SEE THIS. And yes, of course he was like "who's sooze?" Before I could get the word "DIS" outta my mouth he had already figured it out....sooze must be another one of my "imaginary" friends.

That Kim Possible mission in Germany is SO MUCH FUN!! We really enjoyed that and laughed a lot in that shop.

Ok, going to read more.........

 

[Blueyed Girl]

Wow, what an awesome first day!!! You guys did a lot. Especially considering the crowds! That's how it was in June plus the heat!! We were definitely out of our planning range. We had to really plan and work those fastpasses each day.

 

[JenSop]

Loving your TR so far!!! I can't believe how much Shae grew in just a few months!

(One of the ways we've been getting my oldest niece to eat more - she's super tiny - is to tell her that she'll be tall enough to go on all the big rides at Disney on our 2012 trip. It totally works - and she talks about it all the time, apparently!)

I just love hearing about surprise Disney trips!

By the way, I think I missed it as to why you guys were staying at POFQ instead of a DVC?

 

[Sooze]

What an awesome ending to your first day...scoring a table by IASW, and getting a great spot for wishes=awesome!

Love the pic of your kids in front of the statue...too cute!!

Yikes about the crowds....that's insane

Looking forward to more

It's always fun to do these TRs, look back on the days you spent there, and realize how VERY MUCH you actually did each day! Sometimes it feels like we are spending all of our time waiting in lines, eating, or traveling from place to place. I love seeing how much we truly did!

The crowds were definitely THICK! We were expecting large crowds, but had also heard it didn't start getting crowded until AFTER Thanksgiving... I'm saying the crowds DID NOT wait!

 

[Sooze]

Subscribing! I'm just joining in - can't wait to read about it!

Thanks for coming over... hope I didn't beg too badly! And I've been reading your Girls-only report... just need to go back and reply!!

Loving your TR so far!!! I can't believe how much Shae grew in just a few months!

(One of the ways we've been getting my oldest niece to eat more - she's super tiny - is to tell her that she'll be tall enough to go on all the big rides at Disney on our 2012 trip. It totally works - and she talks about it all the time, apparently!)

I just love hearing about surprise Disney trips!

By the way, I think I missed it as to why you guys were staying at POFQ instead of a DVC?

I tell Shae every day to STOP GROWING! It's crazy how fast it goes.

I love the story about your niece... that is a GREAT way to get her to eat!

We stayed at POFQ because this trip was a last-minute thing. We had airline vouchers we realized we needed to use, and we had already used up our points for the year on our big Grand Gathering next June. So we found a good AP rate at a resort we had never visited! It all worked out great!