2 Wild Childz their mom and dad take on DL TR!

[2wildchildzmom]

Background: Me: 41 year old teacher who LOVES Disney. My first trip was when I was nine and rode Space Mtn.(my first roller coaster) when it first opened in ’77. Next trip was with a friend in ’86 and then back again in ’89 when my little brother was 9. Then Tokyo Disneyland in ’94 with friends and finally with my family to WDW in ’06. Every year I read Walt Disney’s biography to my class. The first year I did this a girl in my class said “Someone named their kid Walt Disney?” She didn’t know that he was a real person!

DH 51 Does not like amusement parks, but loves Disney. First trip was WDW in ’06.

Ian 12 Lego maniac and Star Wars fanatic, loves fast rides and everything Disney.

Isaac 8 loves Star Wars, fast rides and hates anything associated with girls ie princesses!.

Last May a local radio station held a month long contest call Disneyland or Dollars. Every week callers would call in when they heard the Disney sound of the day and if they were caller 9 then they would get put in for the drawing held on Friday. Then on Friday if you were chosen then you could pick a Disneyland trip for 4, including airfare, parkhoppers and hotel OR $1000. (no brainer right? About half the winners picked dollars…..must not have the Disney gene). When the contest first aired my youngest asked me “When are we going to win that?”, and he continued to ask that throughout the contest. Well I had tried the previous year to even get through and never did, plus a lot of the times that you had to listen for the sound I was at work. I teach 5th grade in a rural Idaho district. I still tried everyday that I could though. I found out that one of the sounds would be played at 6am the next morning so I got prepared to dial and when the sound came on (Winnie the Pooh!) I dialed and got through and I was the correct caller! That was so exciting, it was the last week of the contest and my birthday was Thurs. so I thought that would be a good birthday present. The kids knew we were in the drawing, but I didn’t want to mention anything on Friday because we might not win and I didn’t want them to be disappointed. Before school started one of my fellow 5th grade teachers announced that she was engaged, this was a total surprise to the rest of us so we went crazy in the hall, then my cell phone rings and it’s KLCE! We all went even crazier as I answered the phone and they announced that we had won!! Of course I picked the Disneyland trip.

My oldest, Ian, happened to be in the 5th grade hall at the time (he was in 5th grade at the time) and so he got to celebrate with us. I called Isaac and told him the news and he was happy, but kinda like duh I knew that. Of course he thought we would leave for the trip the next day. The radio station had a trip planned for 4 days and 3 nights with 3 days of parkhoppers in August.

I arranged it so that I could go at the end of Sept. to coincide with my school districts two week hiatus called “Spud Break” when the potatoes are harvested from the field. Also because I went at that time I arranged to get the 5 for 3 deal and we even got a rental car thrown in because we choose a different hotel (we were able to put our package together with the amount that the radio station was going to pay for the trip) It was a long time to wait for a trip but I jumped on the Disboards and learned all that I could and I was prepared!

We had been to WDW four years earlier and at that time I used Tour Guide Mike as my guide. A big thanks goes out to all of the dis’ers that helped me with my trip, and to all of the disigners who made our trip extra special with all of the shirt disigns.

 

[2wildchildzmom]

Day 1 Saturday Sept. 26
We drove 3.5 hours from Idaho Falls to Salt Lake City last night so we could stay overnight and catch our 8:20am flight in the morning. We got dressed in our Star Wars name shirts and the boys also wore their Clone Wars baseball caps. We were set for the Jedi Training Academy later in the day. The hotel staff was very impressed with our “outfits” and the boys loved the attention.

Our flight arrived at Long Beach Airport on time at 9:30 am and we were promptly picked up with Super Shuttle and we were on our way. We stayed at the Best Western Stovall Inn because they had a breakfast and they were within walking distance. Our package included ART transfers, but we ended up only using them once. They let us check in early and our room was fine for what we needed, two queen beds and a fridge. They did also have a microwave but we don’t use those. The breakfast was the same everyday and we have had better hotel breakfasts and we have had worse. The hot item was biscuits and gravy, they also had plenty of donuts and pastries. Nothing too great. After about 10 mins in the room we were off to find Disneyland, we had a date with Goofy at 12pm. We could see DCA from our room so we knew we weren’t too far away. We walked though Downtown Disney and it was hard to keep the boys focused on getting into the park, esp. when they saw the Lego Store. I had to promise that there would be plenty of time to shop later.

We needed to get to Goofy’s Kitchen, but we had to get our tickets first (we bought them through Getaway Travel) and the line to buy tickets was long! Now we had to walk all the way back to the Disneyland hotel. If I would have known I would have had the boys shop while I ran to get the tickets. Oh well. We love the Disneyland hotel, so fun! We had PS so we got seated right away (after a pic with Pluto)

At Goofy's

Chef Pluto:

Dessert:

Snow White, where's Isaac?

We thought the food was great and a good selection for both adults and children. We saw Baloo, Pluto, Goofy and Dale. Then Snow White and Jasmine came by and Isaac disappeared…..under the table and refused to come out! It was so funny and the princesses tried to coax him out but he would have none of it.
under the table hiding from princesses;

Ian wanted pics with Snow White and that’s when the batteries in the camera went dead! I though I had charged it before I left. We were going to JTA next and of course I would want pics of that. I sometimes wish this camera took reg. batteries in times like these.

Oh well, off to the parks.

On the way we stopped at the Lego store and bought a disposable camera and the boys got to look around.

We finally got into the parks and loved all of the Halloween decorations! We headed right to Star Tours and the kids loved it, they also can’t wait to get back to DL for the update.

Next JTA. We arrived about 20 mins before the show and there were a few kids there but not many. We got on the front row and the kids got there signs out.

I was surprised that no one else had signs. When the Jedi Master came out he picked the boys together, yeah our plan worked! They were so excited and Ian took it so seriously.

It worked out perfectly too because Ian wanted to fight Darth Maul and Isaac really wanted to battle Darth Vader and that is just what happened!

After JTA we headed over to the Star Tours gift shop. The boys really wanted to do the build your own lightsaber, but I had read on the boards that the quality was not good. I steered them over to the lightsabers that had the mickey button and they each got one of those.

I tried to get FP’s for SMGG, but they were all ready gone for the day. We rode Matterhorn with not too much of a wait and headed over to Indy to get Fps. We rode PoTC because it would be closed after tomorrow. By now we were tired and we knew we wanted to come back and catch the late show of Fantasmic so we headed back to the hotel for a nap.

Everybody slept for a good couple of hours and we were refreshed to go back. We stopped at Wetzles Pretzels for a snack and enjoyed DTD before heading back in.

Once back in the park we had a great time on Indy, a first for all of us and a favorite on the whole trip. I knew we needed to be over by the HM when the first Fantasmic ended so that we wouldn’t get caught in the crowds leaving from the first show. We ended up getting FP for NBCHM because the wait was so long, the return time was 11:10pm. We rode Splash as a walk on and saw the fireworks from the top of the mountain, that was cool. We loved doing Splash at night. Now it was time to stake out a spot for Fantasmic.

We were able to get a sitting area by the ropes. The show was amazing and the new dragon was so impressive! We were all blown away as this was the first time we had seen Fantasmic. Next off to NBCHM, we were a little earlier and had to wait about 10 min for our FP time, but then we went straight to the front. Loved the theme, but also missed the old HM. Now it was really time to head back to the hotel, we had to be at rope drop in the morning!

 

[2wildchildzmom]

Day 2 Sunday Sept. 27
Today we were all wearing our Happiest Haunts Tour t-shirts designed by Rustman. It was hard for me to sleep I was so excited. Everyone got up on time and we made our journey to the park.

The walk was only about 10mns which was nice, but DH feet were already showing signs of wear and tear. DL opened at 8 am so we had about 1.5 hours before heading over to DCA. We rode Nemo, star tours, buzz and maybe others (can’t remember).
Nemo:

Then we headed over to DCA, our first visit! I was amazed to see everyone lining up in front of one entrance when there were several entrance that were marked as entrances. We lined up first in line in one entrance and the cm was so nice.

She told us the only ride that would be open was soarin, so when the gates opened that is were we headed. I love this ride! We rode 3 times while we were there, loved it. After Soarin we headed over to Toy Story MM, the line was already long. We were assured by others that it was worth the wait. This was the longest wait that we had, about 20mins. We did like this ride, but we enjoyed others more. We ended up riding this twice during our stay.

After TSMM it was time to pick up our rental car from DTD Alamo. This was going to be DH job, with strict instructions to be back in time for the 1:50pm Aladdin show. It was 11:30am now so no problem right? Well…….., so as DH takes off I convince the boys that this is the time for Screamin! Isaac was a little nervous, but excited that he was tall enough. He told everyone who would listen that he was 48”! Screamin was awesome!

Everytime I got on a ride I would say that is my favorite and it was true, until the next ride…. Screamin turned out to by Isaacs favorite ride and we rode it 4 times.

It was getting hot so off to GRR. A small wait 10min or so. We got soaked but it felt so good.

waiting in line:

after the ride

I had brought a garbage liner from the hotel to cover our backpack. Time for lunch, they boys couldn’t resist the look of the Taste Pilots Grill so that is were we ended up.

I can’t remember the name of the chilli fries, something like the ultimate fries or something. Anyway they were so good and about $6. We shared these and the boys shared a miniburger kids meal, also about $6 and a large drink for all of us. Very satisfying.

Now off to Alladin and our priority seating. We got in line and I called Casey, he said that he was just coming up DTD. The CM said that we could get in line and she would send him in when he got there. We got in line and called Casey again to tell him, he said there was a huge line at Security to get in. Now we were going into the theater and still no dad.

One more call, he was at the gate, but I was holding all of our tickets!! I thought he could get back in with just the hand stamp, but no you have to have the stamp and the ticket. The boys and I were very sad that dad would not get to see the show. We love the show and the genie was so funny. He even incorporated current events into his shtick, like the Kanye West incident at the MTV music awards.

Now our plan was to take a break after Alladin before our Happiest Haunts Tour, but since Casey hadn’t had much time in the park we wanted him to get some rides in. We did GRR and Screamin before heading over to DL for our tour.

When I made my reservations they told me to go to the Tour booth next to City Hall in DL. So we got some ice cream and went and sat by city hall to eat. About 4:20pm I went up to the booth and the CM there told us we needed to be at guest relations over at DCA. Small panic as we rushed over. Our tour wasn’t until 4:45pm so we had plenty of time. When we got our tickets the CM’s went wild over our shirts and one even came out of her booth to take a closer look and gave us I’m Celebrating pins.

Then she went and got one of the writers of the tour. She came out and told us that we had made her so happy with our shirts. It was pretty fun. Another CM came out and asked us if we would go on the 4:30pm tours since another family had not shown up, and if they did show up they could take our 4:45pm spots. Of course we were fine with that.

I don’t want to give too much away about the tour, but we thought it was awesome. My husband considers it the highlight of the trip. We got to walk right on to ToT, SMGG, BTMRR, NBCHM plus we got an education on Halloween and ghosts.

Our special guide. Amy

Isaac kept asking “Is this for real?” He was a little freaked out, but loved hunting for ghosts. Ours were the only kids on the tour, but all of the adults were just as into it. At the end of the tour we got a special invitation to watch the fireworks at the Carnation plaza (I think that is what it is called?). I thought it seemed far away and lots of trees in the way. We had a few minutes before the show so we went to ride POTC one more time before it closed for the rest of our trip.

Now we were really tired, the tour is A LOT of walking, and it lasted for over 3 hours. Ian wasn’t feeling very good. He was complaining that he was cold and he was coughing a lot. We went back to the fireworks spot and got our treat and decided that we needed to get Ian back to the hotel so we skipped the fireworks.
our treat:

This was the only time that we used the ART buses to get us back to the hotel and it was a welcome ride at that point. Now Ian is feeling hot so we gave him some ibuprofen and cough syrup and went to bed. Tomorrow Legoland.

 

[2wildchildzmom]

Day 3 Monday Sept. 28

I woke up about 5am and checked on Ian and he was burning up. I couldn’t believe this, our kids never get sick and this is the one place that Ian has been talking about going to for two years!!

I gave him so more medicine and let him sleep. We would have to leave by 8:30am if we were going to go.

Ian said he felt better and I made him take a cool bath. We were off by 8:30 am and Ian said he was going to be OK.

This was his dream to go to Legoland and nothing was going to stop him. We got to the park just as it opened.

We had a free admission pass from the Brickmaster club that Ian got for his birthday, plus it was teacher appreciation week so I got in free with my ID and the kids (teacher guests) were only $25. So for $50 all four of us got into LL!

Now I was like a fish out of water here.
Me asking for directions:

I had looked at the map online but now I was totally lost. I knew that we should head to the back for the big rides that would get busy during the day so off we went. We rode the Technix roller coaster, then the Indianna Jones adventure ride. (like Buzz Lightyear ride)

then off to Knights Tournament. This is a crazy ride, you pick your level of intensity and sit in a “hand” that spins you all around. Ian and I picked a level 5 the highest and Casey and Isaac rode a 2 because Isaac was too short to ride anything higher.
The ride was wild and we were loving it and then just as the ride ended my cell phone fell out of my pocket into the lagoon below!

Oh well, we needed new phones anyway. They said they would fish it out at the end of the day. The rest of the day was spent with the kids riding rides and looking at the miniland. Miniland was very cool, so amazing.

We wore our Legoland shirts today and so many people wanted to know were they could buy them.

We ate at the Upper Deck Sports Café, actually very good food. We recommend the fish and chips.

The kids each got some money from Grandpa before we left so they wanted to spend it in the Big Store. Both kids had a blast here and they would love to go back. I would say that unless your kids are totally into legos, skip it. I had a restaurants.com certificate for a little Mexican place in Oceanside, on the way back to Anaheim. When we got there the place had changed hands, but they still honored our cert. which was very nice of them. By the time we got back to the hotel we were very tired, but watched Jungle 2 Jungle on the Disney channel. Next day DL and the beach!

 

[2wildchildzmom]

Day 4 Tuesday Sept 29

Today we wore our orange mickey spiral shirts. Our plan today was to finish DCA and then go to the beach.

We again rode Soarin first thing and then rode our favorite Screamin and then Toy Story again. Then to Hollywood and saw Sully on our way to ToT.

Then on to Monsters Inc. and Turtle Talk with Crush. We enjoyed the animation building and loved the TS Zoethrope.

I wanted to see what the new World of Color would look like so we headed over to that exhibit. DH said we could come back when that is finished yeah. I would like to come back sooner but I will take what I can get! Of course if I can win another contest…….

Next off the Bug’s Life. I had forgotten about what happens on that ride and it was fun to go on it again. We loved the theming for the whole bugsland.

through candy corn acres:

Another run on GRR and one more time on Soarin.

Ian really wanted to run over to DL and do Indy once before we left but if we wanted to get to the beach and back in time for the fireworks we needed to leave.

The kids took a nap on the way to Huntington beach, it was about 30 mins. with traffic. I had another restaurants.com cert for the Himalayan Grill so I called to get directions and they were closed until 5pm for dinner.

We were hungry now so we decided to find something at the beach. We asked the lady at the information booth and she recommended Fred’s just across the street. We went over and it was Taco Tuesday starting at 4pm only 5mins away.

We love Fred’s, we got to eat on the patio overlooking the ocean. The atmosphere at Fred’s is very fun and the menu is large. Ian got the cheeseburger and fries taco, it actually had a cheeseburger and fries in the taco! I had the mahi mahi and crispy chicken taco, so delicious. Casey had the shrimp taco and some other fish taco, the loved them. Isaac had the bean burrito kids meal. The tacos were only $2 a piece and Isaacs kids meal was $6.

Next we headed to the beach, there were a few surfers in the water but for the most part the beach was empty.

Isaac and I went in right away and had a great time playing in the waves. It was the first trip to the pacific for the kids and we decided our next vacation should be an all beach vacation.

Ian and Casey buried their feet in the sand and built sand castles. So fun. We hadn’t had a chance to see the fireworks up close yet so we headed back .

We walked up to the castle about 7:20pm and there were lots of people but we found a spot up front about two people back. When everyone stood the kids went up to the ropes and sat in front and watched. (The next night the cm’s did not let them sit)

I cannot say enough about the fireworks, they were amazing! We were blown away, I hope everyone gets a chance to see them.

Before we left for our trip I asked the kids what is the one thing that they want to do while in DL. Isaac said the Kitchen Sink. We had watched an episode of Great Hotels and they showed the Kitchen Sink in Florida and he has wanted one ever since.

So off to Paradise Pier to get a kitchen sink. Once we are seated a kitchen sink comes out for another table next to ours and is set in front of this skinny kid like he is going to eat it by himself. His friend starts laughing and hollering and is so excited. I think to myself, that guy looks familiar and I look at their backpacks and sure enough LGMH! So I ask the one not eating the KS if he is DisneyNerd (from the disboards) I think he thought I said are you a Disney nerd? Because his response was “I am a huge Disney Nerd!" We got that settled and made introductions. Chris was trying to eat a whole kitchen sink by himself. I think we distracted him though. (Chris feel free to use us as your excuse!)

Our new friends:

We told the waitress that we will have what he is having! It was so great meeting Chris and James, they were so nice and friendly and gave us lots of tips on where to find hidden mickeys. Isaac loved listening to them and soaked up everything that they said. We indeed did see the hidden mickeys on screamin the next day and Isaac was thrilled. He asked everyone after that "Have you seen the Hidden Mickeys on Screamin? oh you didn't, hmmm I did!"

The kitchen sink was amazing and we loved it. Ian took about 4 bites and said I’m done.

We put a good dent in it but didn’t finish it. Off to bed and a full day at DL tomorrow.

 

[2wildchildzmom]

Day 5 Wednesday Sept. 30

We were at the front of the line at opening and our plan was to do all of the lands one at a time today, except for Fantasyland (we were saving that for our MM tomorrow).

We wore our yellow pirate mickey head shirts today. We were actually surprised at the number of comments made about our matching shirts, it was great for spotting each other in a crowd.

We started off in Adventure land with another ride on Indy with FP’s for later. Then over to BMTRR and Splash.

Then we went to ride the Mark Twain with hopes of getting to steer the boat with the captain. When we inquired about this they said they were not letting anyone do that until they could “figure something out”. Apparently someone fell while up there just recently. Ian was bummed but we enjoyed the ride and got excited to head over to Tom Sawyers Island.

Before the trip we watched Tom Sawyer and also the Adventures of Huck Finn so that the boys would be familiar with the island. They loved it and had a great time running around.

We kept going over to the HM to see if Jack and Sally were out, but they never were and noone knew when they would be out. Next we rode Jungle Cruise. We didn’t get a chance to do this in WDW so it was my DH first time. I told him to listen to the captain and he was not disappointed. We loved all of the corny jokes. Off to the Tiki room, the kids liked this but we thought we could skip this next time. We headed to the Golden Horseshoe for lunch. Billy Hill wasn’t playing today, but I had heard that they had good food. We split cheese sticks, chicken nuggets and the fish and chips. The food was fair and filling. Next off to TomorrowLand. We rode SMGG again (with FP’s), then Star Tours and Buzz. We were really excited to see the house of the future in Innoventions. It wasn’t as cool as I thought it was going to be. Matterhorn had too long of a line so we skipped it. Next Toontown to see Mickey. We rode Roger Rabbit and played with some of the gags around town and then went to Mickey’s house. Love that house! After we tried to see some princesses in the princess land but too long of a line. Ian wanted to get a picture with Belle for his teacher. We saw Capt. Hook on the way out but the boys were getting tired so we decided to head to DCA for the Pixar Parade and a rest. We got waffle cones at the BRRbank Ice cream shop and asked a cm were the best spot to sit was. He showed us a place to sit up front and in the shade.

waiting Ian style:

We waited about 30 mins for the parade. We thought we would see the guys from UP but they didn’t show.

Next we raced to Screamin to ride it before it closed, we were able to ride once and then get in line just before they closed and got the last ride of the day.

Now we headed back to DL to get a great spot for the fireworks up front again. On our way we stopped at main street and did some shopping. I bought the boys a Pluto fluffy pillow/stuffed animal. He velcros in the middle to make him skinny and when you undo him he is a nice fat pillow.

I bought a jack skelington ceramic jackolantern that you can put a candle in. Casey and Ian saved our spots and Isaac and I got another ride on Indy with FP’s.

Again the fireworks were amazing.

We had PS at the Rainforest Café at 8:30pm so we had to leave right after the fireworks. DL made an announcement that they would stay open until 9pm instead of 8pm. This was the second time during our stay that they stayed open an hour later than planned. I ran ahead to make sure we would make our time while Casey walked with the boys.

We were seated right away, with a few people making comments (why are they getting seated?) It’s called planning ahead!! The kids loved the atmosphere, it was our first time at a RFC. The food was ok, we had a coupon for a free appetizer and we chose the spinach dip. I cannot recommend this, it was hard and chewy. Overall not bad, next time we will try a different restaurant in DTD. Ralph B. Jazz Kitchen looked good.

 

[disneynerd420]

OMG.. i'm loving the pics! It sounds like you guys had such a good time!!! I love the fact that you won the vactation. I have entered every contest I can to win a Disney vacation, including a contest that a local radio station out here does, and have never even had so much as a runner up prize. I'm sure that made the trip extra magical.

I wish I had known you were taking a picture of me, I would have looked at the camera.


I think Chris underestimated the size of that sundae. I'm sure he will be attempting it again though.

It was great meeting you and your family! I hope you guys had a great time.

 

[disneynerd420]

We were seated right away, with a few people making comments (why are they getting seated?) It’s called planning ahead!! The kids loved the atmosphere, it was our first time at a RFC. The food was ok, we had a coupon for a free appetizer and we chose the spinach dip. I cannot recommend this, it was hard and chewy. Overall not bad, next time we will try a different restaurant in DTD. Ralph B. Jazz Kitchen looked good.

I have heard other people say similar things about RFC. I ate at the one in tempe, arizona once and was not thrilled, but a lot of people really seem to enjoy it as part of their DLR vacation. I still don't think I am ready to try it yet, but I do want to try Ralph Brennan's. It looks super yummy.

 

[2wildchildzmom]

DAY 6 Thursday Oct. 1 Last Day


Our last day, so sad!!

We had our MM tickets so we were at security a little after 8 and they let us through at 8:30am, they let us though the turnstiles at 9am.

We got to FL and rode Peter Pan first, which I am glad that we did because it got busy fast! Next we rode Pinocchio, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, Snow White, Teacups, Carousel, and then headed to SMGG. The Matterhorn had a 30 min. wait.
I am glad that we chose to ride it the first day.

We met a family from our small Idaho town just behind us in line. I heard hey there’s Mrs. Hill! It was fun to chat with them. It was there last day as well, but we were trying not to think of that.

We rode Star tours again and made the comment that that will be the last time that we will ever ride it in it’s current form. One more time on Buzz and then we wanted to ride the monorail. We were the only ones on the platform so we got to ride up front. I have pics but they are not loaded yet. While I was on the monorail I saw the Lilly Belle car and I really wanted to ride it but it left just as we were getting off the monorail. I am not sure if you can get on it at any station or only from main street?

We had a PS at Carnation Café for 11:50am so we headed that way. I told Casey about the Loaded Baked Potato soup so we each ordered a bowl and split the three cheese sandwich with fresh fruit.

Ian wanted the soup as well, but he also wanted the mac and cheese. So he got the cup of soup and kids mac and cheese.

Isaac got the Peanut Butter palette.
A peanut butter sandwich with an assortment of items to make it your way, including raisins, marshmellows, jelly, bananas and a strawberry and orange slice.

It was so filling! Then I saw a man come out to a table in a chef’s hat. I figured that must be Chef Oscar, he has worked at DL since 1956, one year after opening. We asked if we could get a pic of him and he was so nice. He stayed and talked with us and told us stories. He is retiring from DL after this year to go on and do other things. He even gave us a signed copy of the loaded baked potato soup recipe! He told us to frame it.

While waiting for the bill Ian saw an artist drawing right next door to the Café. He was super great and took the time to talk to Ian about drawing. Ian is a budding artist and loved watching Todd create. We were able to get a picture with Todd and Ian.

Todd's work, showing Ian the drawing process:

I wanted a little time to shop so we figured we had time for one more ride and then about 30mins to shop before we had to get back to the hotel for the shuttle at 2pm.

Of course we picked Indy, (with FP’s) Ian wanted to ride Mailboomer but we didn’t have enough time to get over to DCA.
Isaac trying to disturb the bats:

our last ride on Indy:

Indy was great of course and we headed back toward the entrance of adventureland.

I looked back and I didn’t see Ian who was just behind me as we exited Indy. I called to Casey who was up ahead. We went back to the ride and no Ian. I had Casey stay at the entrance while I looked everywhere for him.. It had been 10mins since we had gotten off the ride. I saw a cm sweeping up so I asked her about finding our son. She was great and got security for us. We were all wearing the same shirts so the description was easy and I showed him a pic from our camera. Once he called we found out that Ian had also found a security person when he realized that he was lost.

He had heard us talking about trying one more time to see Jack and Sally before we left so he thought we were going there and turned left to New Orleans instead of right to the exit. No big deal except now we needed to rush to get back to the hotel and I still wanted to shop.

Isaac knew that he wanted Mickey hands so we rushed into the shop and grabbed Mickey hands, a Halloween t-shirt for me, a jack S. backscratcher for my dad, a mouse pad and some suckers.

Now we were on the verge of being late so once again I ran while Casey stayed with boys. I got to the hotel at 1:55pm and the shuttle showed up at 2:05pm just as Casey and the boys walked up. Yeah!

We had a wonderful trip and can’t wait for the next one!

on the flight home:

 

[2wildchildzmom]

I wish I had known you were taking a picture of me, I would have looked at the camera..

Sorry James! I thought I did have one with your handsome face in it and then NO I didn't.

 

[kokotg]

Loved the TR!

We've had our share of table diving at character meals ourselves

 

[2wildchildzmom]

Loved the TR!

We've had our share of table diving at character meals ourselves

I can imagine with 3 boys!!

 

[disneynerd420]

I too have often done the last minute mad dash through through the stores looking for souvenirs. It can be very stressful.


I'm so glad you had a good time.

I was supposed to get a copy of the soup recipe too, but they never got it to more before I left. Isn't carnation cafe good?

 

[2wildchildzmom]

I was supposed to get a copy of the soup recipe too, but they never got it to more before I left. Isn't carnation cafe good?

So good! If you still want the recipe I can get it to you......

 

[disneynerd420]

It's ok. I already got a recipe pulled up online. I'm gonna try it soon. First I am attempting to recreate pumpkin fudge. YUM!

 

[2wildchildzmom]

That sounds yummy James, share the recipe when you get it perfected!

 

[Chris420]

Loved the trip report, looks like you guys had such a good time

It was great meeting you and your family
Next time that sundaes goin down, i've got training to do

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

I really enjoyed your trip report! Your kids are so cute! I've never won a contest in my life; you're very lucky! Too bad your husband missed Aladdin, but that gives you something to look forward to for your next trip.
Btw, your shirts are really cute! What did you have to do in order to make them? I know you got the designs from the DISigners, but do you just iron them on? Did you print it out yourself? Does it require special product to print it on? I know nothing about this, so please share all you know..
Thanks!

 

[Yakety76]

How lucky you are to win a trip to Disney!! Looks like you all had a wonderful trip. Your boys seem very adventurous.

As an aside, I also live in Idaho and taught 5th grade in Nampa before I had my kiddos. Love that age.

 

[2wildchildzmom]

Btw, your shirts are really cute! What did you have to do in order to make them? I know you got the designs from the DISigners, but do you just iron them on? Did you print it out yourself? Does it require special product to print it on? I know nothing about this, so please share all you know..
Thanks!

Thanks Disneysuitefreak! I bought the transfer paper at a craft store (Michaels) and just printed them out from my computer and ironed them on. They are not good for long term use though, after one wash they look terrible. On the disign boards there is a person that sells higher quaility transfer paper, I think her name is Amy. I would go that route next time. But overall it is a very easy process and so much fun to wear in the parks.