Travels With Teens: Take Two “I Can Organize This Trip in My Sleep!”BC Dee in DC Roti & Fini p. 40

[jenseib]

Is it just me? I tried 2 browsers and these pics are showing up.
I did read this the other day though and just didn't comment.

I hate when I have my portable charger but leave the cord at home (or in the room). You would think I would be smarter than that. hahaha

 

[natebenma]

Is it just me? I tried 2 browsers and these pics are showing up.
I did read this the other day though and just didn't comment.

DIS has been pretty wonky this weekend!

Earlier tonight, the pictures in my last 3 updates weren't showing up. So I deleted and readded the photos in the last update. But now I can see them all again.

Not sure if everyone is seeing them now or not, though.

 

[natebenma]

And yes I HAD to sing the IASW song Awesome castle pic from the mountain, very impressive Dee! I love the then and now pics from Peoplemover, why does time pass so quick

I must be turning into a sentimental sap. This is the second time in 2 years that I have voluntarily gone on the cruise. Last year was great- I was going solo, but BC friends (Tarak and family) were in line to board after me and we rode together!

I love taking pictures at the top of Splash and also at the top of Rip Saw Falls, even though I get yelled at on that ride.

I know, looking at the picture is bittersweet. Where is that little, sweet boy???

 

[natebenma]

Wow... talk about a month of highs and lows. I'm glad that is behind you.

Unfortunately, September is also starting out with some heartbreak.

Not a bad schedule at all. Nicely done!

I was pretty pleased with the MK FP I was able to get. Even though we were staying onsite, because of the way the group reservation was recorded we were not able to book our FP until 30 days before the trip. So I am really happy we could get the 3 mountains for all of the boy groups on Tuesday, and all of the girl groups on Wednesday.

Cool! I'm glad they could work with him. But really, you could probably sneak one person in in the middle of a group like that anyway.

That's true, I'm sure we could have snuck him on with us, but what kind of lesson is that for the children? I'm glad the CMs we encountered were willing to let him join in with us. Then again, they probably liked the idea of an extra adult with all those teens.

Ok, you've always got to make time for the classics. And ice cream.

Both turned out to be good moves. I didn't post any pictures of the kids on the ride, but there were actually smiles.

But this was a great idea as well.

I'm glad S. wanted to do the FP and I got to ride.

Oh no... too cool for mom?

It was more that he knew it would be more fun riding with friends. And I am very proud about how well I handled my disappointment. I understood...

Alright, that definitely makes up for it. Good picture!

And was rewarded with this picture.

I'm sorry. You said there is a decision to make? I must be missing something? You've got a group of kids full of energy who just loaded up on sugary snacks. What is this break thing you speak of?

OK, when you make a case like that it does seem silly that we offered up a return to the resort.

:

 

[natebenma]

Glad you were able to get some juice for your phone! Love the pictures and the ride pictures especially!
Aww, that's a really cute picture on the Peoplemover from 2004!!
Glad everyone was up for a true classic ride!

That slushie...was it really that blue? For a second I thought it was the color of the cup!

It was a relief that I could charge up my phone, especially since we didn't go back to the resort.

I don't have a lot of pictures of us from that first family Disney trip in 2004. That was back in the days when you had 27 pictures on a roll of film, so we only took a few select pictures. And then didn't know until a week or so later which pictures came out and which ones didn't. Barbaric times!



I was surprised that the boys did not argue about riding Small World.

Really that blue! Isn't that gross! That's why I had to take a picture, and post it.

Great ride photos especially the older pic on the people mover.

The recreation of the photo was a good idea. I should lol at some of our old photos and see if We can do that somewhere.

Thank you!!!

There is no way my older son, at this point, would agree to recreating photos but Ben is still game if the situation is right.

 

[natebenma]

I think this parent deserves some sort of award!

Apparently, the school agreed, because I got one!

Yay! You got to charge!

I love all the mountain pictures!

It is scary as you watch the little battery symbol on your phone and/or camera go from low to red to the critically low battery message.

I love taking pictures while on rides. I use my camera because it has a strap. I would be too scared that my phone would fly out of my hand.

I know this is an unpopular opinion, but ... I love It's a Small World. It really is such a classic and to me it's pretty much synonymous with Disney Parks. So I definitely would have been the one to say this.

Thank you, I think I will.
And thanks for the pictures!

This is the second year in a row I have voluntarily gone on It's a Small World, and both times were very enjoyable. What I like most about the ride is that the ride is really bright so there is at least a chance of some of the photos coming out.

We didn't sing, though.

Cute picture! Sorry that Ben didn't recreate it with you, but at least you got a picture with him in the PeopleMover area!

I ended up in hysterical tears during Nate's class trip over trying to get a photo of the two of us, so this was a MUCH better outcome!

Epcot! Pick Epcot!
With a bunch of boys with 8th grade energy levels, I'm guessing it was definitely Epcot.

Great suggestion!

 

[natebenma]

No doubt about it - you went to Epcot.

Great review

Thank you!

:

What an awesome chaperone you were to get up so early on Mother's Day to book those fast passes!

I love ride photos. Two years ago, I actually found a good friend in a DISer's EE ride photo. Of course, I had to send them the link and they got a got a kick out of it.

I haven't been to Pinocchio's Village Haus since 1985. (Is it weird that my Disney trips come back to me like total recall?) I didn't know they had ice cream there.

That 2005 People Mover photo is just priceless! I'm glad you got the exit photo. Adorable!

I actually get up between 4:30 and 5 every morning, so it really wasn't too much earlier than normal. I'm happy with what we got.

That is really funny about your friend being in a photo that was posted by a stranger. A friend of mine once spotted her family in a photo taken at the Beach Club pool posted by someone else. Do you remember the story of the married couple who discovered they took trips to either Disneyland or Disneyworld at the same time when they were kids and ended up in each others photos? At the risk of getting started on that song again...

I think that is the first time I have been there. I'm not sure what they had for ice cream selections, but Ben got a small cup of chocolate gelato and there was also a sugar-free mango gelato available.

I really like the picture of Ben and me on the TTA escalator.

Dee, I am finally here and catching up. So far still laughing at your falling asleep sitting up and then demanding your papers back. I woke Johnny up reading some parts of it to him!

If you like that story, you are gonna LOVE one of the chapters in the Orange Banded Monkeys report.

Sorry for the disruption of your sleep, Johnny!

Ok now I'm all caught up! A great solo morning, but oh so close on the backstage at haunted mansion!
Yay! You guys got to eat at CHH!

I had a great solo morning and I really thought I was going to top it off by going backstage at Haunted Mansion but I guess I had used up my allotment of pixie dust. At least I didn't have join the group for Stitch!

Nice FP selections! All 3 mountains in one afternoon makes for a pretty entertaining time.

That slushie at the Village Haus is so sweet, I'm not surprised some of the teenagers went for it. Talk about a sugar high afterwards.


Aw, that's too bad that you couldn't recreate the PeopleMover photo. But, at that age, friends always trump riding with the parents. Maybe on a future trip...

It was a fun afternoon lineup. Although there were a couple of boys who skipped Space and Splash. I think we all rode Big Thunder.

It was vacation, but I may have put my foot down if Ben had wanted to get that slushie. Too blue!

I totally understood Ben wanting to ride with friends. Later in the trip, we rode a few things together, though.

 

[pas130]

I must be turning into a sentimental sap. This is the second time in 2 years that I have voluntarily gone on the cruise. Last year was great- I was going solo, but BC friends (Tarak and family) were in line to board after me and we rode together!

I love taking pictures at the top of Splash and also at the top of Rip Saw Falls, even though I get yelled at on that ride.

I know, looking at the picture is bittersweet. Where is that little, sweet boy???

That makes me a sap too, and I'm okay with that. My kids roll their eyes at me, I get teary eyed watching the planning DVD

As big as my DS14 has gotten, I cherish every snuggle, since he still snuggles with me (when one or four of his younger siblings isn't hogging Mom).

I think Jurassic Park they yelled at someone for their camera...I think...are they scared you'll drop it, I wonder why they don't want the cameras out

 

[natebenma]

That makes me a sap too, and I'm okay with that. My kids roll their eyes at me, I get teary eyed watching the planning DVD

As big as my DS14 has gotten, I cherish every snuggle, since he still snuggles with me (when one or four of his younger siblings isn't hogging Mom).

I think Jurassic Park they yelled at someone for their camera...I think...are they scared you'll drop it, I wonder why they don't want the cameras out

Ben has been far more willing to show affection at a much later age than Nate. Nate stopped acknowledging me sometime between age 12-13. He is coming around now. Ben is still willing to give hugs and even put his arm around me a couple of times during the class trip.



I tried to be good with my camera when we were at Universal. Or at least I tried to hide when I was using it on Rip Saw and Blutos. But on Jurassic Park, I was really good about putting it away when we were inside the building, but it made me mad about the announcement to put away my camera during the boat ride part of the attraction.

 

[natebenma]

Remember in my last chapter when I wanted to re-create and update this picture from 2004 on the PeopleMover?





Look what I found when I was looking at the pictures from my 2011 trip!

Now I'm not sure if I'm ok we didn't do the photo or even more disappointed that we didn't do a 2015 version!

 

[natebenma]

The Golf Balls Made it To Florida, But Not California


As you all figured out, we decided to proceed on to EPCOT for the evening.


The only problem is that I had planned on a stop back at the resort after our day at Magic Kingdom. You see, I had packed a couple of golf balls for Soarin’ but they were back in my room! My friend Linda was in on the plan to plant a couple of golf balls with students who would pretend to catch them during the golf course scene.

I had pulled this off during Nate’s class trip. I gave the golf ball to one boy to “catch” and for a brief moment a couple of the boys said “Really???” Their surprise at the trick quickly turned into “What kind of nut brings a golf ball to EPCOT?”

Linda and I considered purchasing a golf ball somewhere, but we didn’t really know where to get one.


Nevertheless, we got onto the monorail for the ride from MK, to the TTC, to EP (YES, the monorail is TOO a ride!)

I love the previews as you ride through the park!

We got to the entrance and one of the parents suggested that we take some Photopass pictures. Thanks, S. This is the only set of pictures we have of the whole group. I won’t post these, but here is one from the entrance:

The boys were pretty fascinated by the granite things on the way in. They asked me what they are, but I really don’t know.


It was probably around 6:30. We had to decide what to do.

Sum of All Thrills was one option, but I think that closes at 7 pm (if not earlier) and we were afraid of the lines.

Dinner was another possible choice, but the kids said they could wait.

Finally we decided on Soarin’ since we didn’t have a FP for this the following day.

We got to the building and the wait time was 70 minutes. UGH!!!

I figured that this was possibly an inflated wait time, so we decided to get in line.

Unfortunately, the wait time ended up being pretty accurate.

The boys played some of the games, but there was definitely some grumbling. Ben especially was not pleased, for a few reasons. We NEVER wait in lines that are 40 minutes or more. He was tired and hungry. He also had gotten “Soarin’-ed” out during our trip to Disneyland- Nate suggested Soarin’ whenever we had any downtime at California Adventure.


When Ben found out I didn’t have the golf ball, he asked “Why are we even here, then?”

We made it to the loading zone and we asked to ride in the top row. Yay!!!


The kids enjoyed Soarin’, despite the long wait.


No Salad For You!!!


It was around 8 pm and it was (past) time for dinner. Conveniently, we were at Sunshine Seasons, home of a variety of options for all tastes and more importantly, the place where I could get one of my very favorite meals in the world, a salad I dream about…

Here is a picture from my August 2014 trip… because THEY HAVE REMOVED THIS ITEM FROM THE MENU!!!


Roasted Beet & Goat Cheese Salad, with Candied Pecans and Honey Sherry Dressing






Ben and I both ordered the Asian Tuna Noodle Salad. It was good, but it was not the salad I dream about!









When we were finished with dinner, I proposed riding one of my favorites, Living With the Land, since we were right there, and there shouldn’t be much of a line at 8:30.

I was right. There was no line at all.

A couple of CMs were there and informed us that the ride had shut down for the night.

Bummer!


When we got outside, we discovered that it had started to rain. I can’t remember if there was lightning and thunder at this point, but we regrouped and decided that anyone who wanted could stay at EPCOT with a couple of chaperones and the rest could return to the resort the with the other chaperones. I opted to stay. Ben decided to leave.

Here is a picture I took as we were walking away from The Land. I love this because it reminds me of the volcano in the Mexico ride:

As it was approaching 9:00, announcements were being made that Illuminations would be delayed due to the inclement weather- rain, lightning and thunder. We went into one of the gift shops because the boys wanted to look around. When we came back out, I think around 9:10, they were still making the same announcement so we decided to leave.


We saw lightning hit the Spaceship Earth (no picture though) but here are a couple of pictures as we quickly exited the wet park:

Next Up: Y.E.S. Class- Behind the Seas at EPCOT

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

DIS has been pretty wonky this weekend!

Earlier tonight, the pictures in my last 3 updates weren't showing up. So I deleted and readded the photos in the last update. But now I can see them all again.

Not sure if everyone is seeing them now or not, though.

Loving the report but I cant see half of the photos Missing all the fist set of peoplemover ones and the last lot of Epcot photos! Crazy dis!!

 

[pas130]

Ben has been far more willing to show affection at a much later age than Nate. Nate stopped acknowledging me sometime between age 12-13. He is coming around now. Ben is still willing to give hugs and even put his arm around me a couple of times during the class trip.



I tried to be good with my camera when we were at Universal. Or at least I tried to hide when I was using it on Rip Saw and Blutos. But on Jurassic Park, I was really good about putting it away when we were inside the building, but it made me mad about the announcement to put away my camera during the boat ride part of the attraction.

Being at HS back to school night last night made my head spin. So when DS and his lanky 5'7" or whatever height he is now plopped across my lap for a backscratch I eat it up Not TR related but I'm glad Nate is coming around Ben will probably always give hugs!! We mommas need them. One of the most precious parts of vacation is the older kids being kids

 

[pas130]

YES the monorail IS a ride Too bad about the Land. I love that ride. I did my Soarin FP for DH and I specifically making sure the Land will be open! Sorry about the salad, that stinks. I can picture the looks from some of the teens regarding the golf balls LOL.

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Continued from Previous Post

Our chaperone had obtained FP for Buzz Lightyear, but it wasn’t quite time to ride yet.

So what is the right move in this situation?

The PeopleMover, of course.

Before the trip, I found this photo of Ben and me on the TTA from 2004.


View attachment 123670


I asked him if he would recreate it with me when I showed him the picture and he agreed. However, when it came time to actually ride, he wanted to go with his friends, and I understood.


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We did manage to get a photo together on the exit conveyer belt, and I love it!


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Then we kicked some alien butt on Buzz.


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It was early evening at this point and we had a decision to make.


Did we want to return to the resort for dinner and a quick break or plug on to EPCOT for the night?


Next Up: The Golf Ball Made it To Florida, But Not California

Okie doke Dee I can now see all the other photos except these ones. Hope this helps you fix the problem

 

[rteetz]

Great photos from the monorail!

I haven't ridden soarin' in a while because of the waits. I like Test track better I think. I have heard of the golf ball idea before but we have never done it.

Living with the land is a must do for me sucks that it was closed.

 

[natebenma]

Okie doke Dee I can now see all the other photos except these ones. Hope this helps you fix the problem

Thanks so much, my friend! :

There have been some issues with pictures uploaded through direct attachment during the past week or so. Just got home from work/lunch/walk and will try to upload those pictures to photobucket.

GRRR!!!

 

[jenseib]

I have always wanted to do the golf ball trick and never think of it till I am there already...and no golf ball packed

 

[Wood Nymph]

Look what I found when I was looking at the pictures from my 2011 trip!

That is a really cute picture.

Now I'm not sure if I'm ok we didn't do the photo or even more disappointed that we didn't do a 2015 version!

You'll just have to plan another trip to WDW.

The only problem is that I had planned on a stop back at the resort after our day at Magic Kingdom. You see, I had packed a couple of golf balls for Soarin’ but they were back in my room! My friend Linda was in on the plan to plant a couple of golf balls with students who would pretend to catch them during the golf course scene.

I had never heard about the golf ball trick until this August. Did you play this trick during Nate's school trip?

The boys were pretty fascinated by the granite things on the way in. They asked me what they are, but I really don’t know.

They are something you could buy to commemorate your trip to Disney, kind of like a memory wall. You could add your family's image to it, for a price, of course, between 1999 and 2007.
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/attractions/epcot/leave-a-legacy/

The boys played some of the games, but there was definitely some grumbling.

Are there games to play in the stand by line? We've only done fp.

Here is a picture from my August 2014 trip… because THEY HAVE REMOVED THIS ITEM FROM THE MENU!!!
Roasted Beet & Goat Cheese Salad, with Candied Pecans and Honey Sherry Dressing

I wanted to try it, too, and I waited too long.

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

The boys were pretty fascinated by the granite things on the way in. They asked me what they are, but I really don’t know.

They are part of the leave a legacy program that began in 199 before the millennium and ended a few years ago. Each tile has picture of guest who bought space on them similar to the bricks in the esplanade at Disneyland and the walk way round the world at the TTC and the MK entrance. I have one but can't remember the location of it.