5 in 5: Brainwashing No Longer Required! Update 8/10!

[stackyallred]

5 in 5: Brainwashing No Longer Required!​

Hello! If you are reading this, it means that either:
1. My attempt to somehow come up with a new, clever TR title worked!
OR
2. You accidentally clicked on my link while trying to read the TR you love and have followed for weeks.

Whether by accident or by choice, welcome and I hope you will stick around! In the spirit of Dr. Doofenshmirtz and his love for backstories, let us begin with some history, shall we?

Side note: My son has heard the phrase “back story” on Phineas and Ferb multiple times and now asks, “Is this a backstory?” when someone starts to tell about their past.

We are a 3 person family established in 2009 and prior to that we were a 2 person family that was established in 2003. In other words, my husband, Philip and I got married (and honeymooned in WDW) 11 years ago and our son ( we shall call him “E”) joined us 5 years ago. It was never our plan to have only one kiddo but that is who we are and we are thankful for our little family. We like to joke that God knew we would only have one and so he packed the personality of 3 kids into one just for us (just wait, you will see)!

Our honeymoon... so long ago that I don't have a digital copy!


Our first trip with E (including my MIL and SIL)!


Philip and I both had the chance to visit Disney World a few times with our families growing up but our love for it definitely did not really reach the point of fan girl proportions until we were married. As I said, we honeymooned there and then had another vacation there in 2005. In 2007, at 3 weeks out, a friend offered us a week long stay in his condo at Bonnet Creek. Something happened that trip that we can only chalk up to Disney magic. We had loved WDW before, but something just clicked this trip. Maybe our surface love grew into something deeper or more meaningful... Maybe we unknowingly drank some kind of kool-aid... Maybe we finally understood that when they say, “Welcome Home” that they mean it and it really is now our new home. Whatever the reason, we got the bug and have been trying to get back whenever we can every second since.

On our 3rd trip together... when we became officially hooked!


Philip and I will be taking our 15th trip together back “home” soon and E will be taking his 6th later this year. But this trip report you are reading is celebrating E's 5th WDW visit in 5 years as the title suggests. As for the “brainwashing” tagline... When we first knew we were about to be blessed with a baby, we had many conversations between us and with others about how we would attempt to brainwash our child into loving Disney World like we do. Well, attempt, we did.

On our "Babymoon" trip. We had the characters hold these up for our Disney baby on the way!


We had him watching Youtube videos of Wishes by 8 months and knowing the Magic Kingdom Welcome Medley word for word before his 2nd birthday. He seemed to have an early love for all things Disney so it wasn't any effort to get him into the spirit of things!

Introducing Baby E to Wishes!


By his 4th trip in 2013, he was leading the way through each park and resort, no maps needed.

Our family (including my awesome SIL again) dressed as the Jake and the Neverland Pirates crew at MNSSHP on E's 4th trip



Just 10 days before this most recent trip, E turned 5 and had already been a Disney World aficionado for approximately 3 years. He had been in the habit of asking daily if we could go back and it was clear to us that by now, brainwashing was no longer required. Success! We had another Disney World-obsessed family member on our hands and two equally excited parents ready to pull off a surprise trip!
So there you have it.. our backstory! Stay tuned for the who, the what, then when and the where!

 

[stackyallred]

Saved for links to come!

 

[DisneyAndrew]

How am I the first one to comment? This looks like it's going to be awesome! Can't wait to follow along.

 

[nilla]

I'm in! Love the photo of your son watching Wishes as a baby

 

[stackyallred]

How am I the first one to comment? This looks like it's going to be awesome! Can't wait to follow along.

Thank you for joining in! I am working on our next installment right now!

I'm in! Love the photo of your son watching Wishes as a baby

Welcome! I am glad that he loves Wishes just as much in person now as on video back then!

 

[stackyallred]

The Who, the What, then When and the Where! ​

Now that you have traveled down backstory lane with us, I will get to the details of this trip!
The Who (in this case, a Disney fanatical family- not the band):
Philip, Stacey and E. Of course you probably figured that out by our back story... however, the “who” is unique for us because we have never gone to WDW as just the 3 of us. Our last four trips either included my in-laws or my mom.

With my SIL, before heading to the airport in 2013:


With my mom, right before heading to the airport in 2012:


With my in-laws before heading to the airport in 2011:


With SIL and MIL in 2010 (before the “Mickey ears before leaving” tradition began):

Having our family join us has always been great. They would join us for the first half of our trip and then take E home with them so we could celebrate our anniversary for a few days alone. My parents were supposed to go with us for this trip but sadly, the details didn't work out so it was just the three of us (Philip and I had a secret WDW trip just 8 weeks prior to this one while E stayed with his grandma... yes we are spoiled!). Even though we were sad to not have family go with us, we were excited to take on the world as a family of 3!

My DH, Philip is a very energetic, often loud without meaning to be, fun guy. He is like a big kid in all the good ways and a fantastic dad. He loves Star Wars, Goofy and thrill rides.

This photo does a good job of showing his personality!


E is a very sweet kid who makes his dad look quiet and tame. His energy is boundless and his excitement is contagious . He likes to know what is coming and to have a plan now that he knows what all WDW has to offer... that can sometimes be tricky because he wants to do it ALL but he is great about understanding when things don't work out. He is never without words and loves all things related to Disney World. He also has a few food allergies so he loves being in Disney World where eating out isn't a challenge.

Read the sign above him and notice his movement... perfectly captures all that is E.


When he first saw the POP Century sign on our 2013 trip lol!


Then there is me- your very long-winded and overly detailed trip reporter, Stacey. I love planning our trips ALMOST as much as taking them. I am organized to a fault and though not loud like my guys, my excitement when at WDW can rival theirs. My favorite part about Disney World is probably just the feeling of being there with my family but second to that is that I CAN EAT! I have over 50 foods that I have to avoid due to health issues, allergies and intolerances. Wheat, soy, dairy, egg, peanut, garlic, bananas, etc etc etc... just to name a few. Disney World is amazing with feeding me safely. At home, I make almost every item I eat from scratch and eating out is basically impossible. Not only is Disney World fun, it makes me feel almost normal!

At Hollywood Brown Derby... such a treat for me to eat a meal I didn't cook!


The What:
Who really needs a reason to go back to WDW? But if we needed a reason, E's 5th birthday was one week before this trip so we did do some celebrating. How could we not?

The When:
We had always taken E in either September or October. We love the fall décor and going to MNSSHP! Philip and I had been years ago in December and also loved MVMCP and the Christmas decorations. So we decided it was time for E to see that side of Disney. Our trip was Nov 13- 20.

The Where:
POP is our home away from home when E is with us. Philip and I like to rent points at Kidani for our adult only trips so that we can lay by the pool and enjoy the resort. With E on board, there is no such thing as taking it easy so POP is fun and affordable when you don't plan to do much AT the resort.

As I said before, I am very detailed so thanks for sticking with me as I go on and on... and we aren't even to the actual trip yet! But that is what is next! So how exactly do you surprise a 5 year old who has already been to WDW every year of his life? Stay tuned to find out!

 

[nilla]

Great to hear that Disney is very accommodating to people with specific dietary guidelines!

LOVE the picture of E under the "I can never stand still..." quote

Sounds like a fun report! Detailed is good. Can't wait to read more!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

joining in! Congratulations on your successful brainwashing, er, I mean, parenting!

I was recently at at DISmeet and the Podcast topic was the inclusiveness of Disney and several people brought how great Disney restaurants are about handling people with food related issues and that you get great meals not just what they can manage to put together .... seems like you have definitely been able to experience that sense of inclusiveness firsthand

 

[stackyallred]

Great to hear that Disney is very accommodating to people with specific dietary guidelines!

LOVE the picture of E under the "I can never stand still..." quote

Sounds like a fun report! Detailed is good. Can't wait to read more!

We loved Disney World before my dietary limitations but their accommodating chefs have really made it extra special. I have had some amazing meals! And thanks, the picture of E was perfect! We tried to take a picture of him smiling and he couldn't wait to explore some more lol!

joining in! Congratulations on your successful brainwashing, er, I mean, parenting!

I was recently at at DISmeet and the Podcast topic was the inclusiveness of Disney and several people brought how great Disney restaurants are about handling people with food related issues and that you get great meals not just what they can manage to put together .... seems like you have definitely been able to experience that sense of inclusiveness firsthand

Welcome! DH and I are behind on podcasts but I am looking forward to hearing that one! I have had 5 trips equaling probably 35 meals since having to follow this diet and have only about 5-6 meals that weren't fantastic. And even those were not terrible- just basic "let us find something for you that's safe" situations. I did a lot of research on what places would be able to give me the most choices and most of my experiences have included chefs that went totally out of their way to make my meal the best one at the table. So, yes I have experienced that inclusiveness in many ways! One of these days I will do a report just on my food!

 

[stackyallred]

Getting There is Half the Fun!
If They Quit Holding our Car Ransom, that is...​

My alarm was set for 6:00 AM because we needed to leave the house by 8:15 AM and I had a lot to do! When my alarm went off, I immediately texted this photo to Philip to wake him up!


Before E's first 3 trips, we had no problem telling him that we were about to head to Disney World. As an 11 month old, it meant nothing. As an almost 2 year old, he understood a little that we were going on vacation to a Disney place. At almost 3, he understood and when our countdown came to a close, he DROVE US BONKERS! He asked nonstop for days if it was time to go yet and of course time meant nothing to him so he couldn't understand that we couldn't just leave RIGHT THEN. So we vowed that until he was much older, all trips would be a surprise affair. We told him that yes, we would be going back but the date was a surprise.

Last year, we bought him an “I'm Headed to Walt Disney World” shirt and showed it to him about 6 months prior to our trip. We told him that on the day he woke up and saw the shirt and his Mickey ears hanging on the mantle was the day we were headed back. He would ask occasionally to see the shirt so he'd remember what to look for. This worked out great and the morning that he did wake up and see it hanging there was magical and full of squealing.

The reveal in 2013:




This year, we didn't give him any heads up. We just told him that when the time came, he would know and that we would be driving the 20 hour trip since my parents had retired conveniently to a half way point for us to stop at. We had only flown in the past so this was a new adventure. My mom had bought him a new Mickey shirt that I wrapped in a cardboard box along with his Mickey ears. The morning started normally for him. Breakfast, a little Disney junior on the iPad and then lego playing with dad. Little did he know that I was running around getting all of our last minute stuff together! Philip and I both had Mickey shirts on but that is a fairly normal occurrence so he wasn't the slightest bit suspicious. While Philip and E played legos in his room, there was a knock at the door! Of course, it was me knocking but he didn't know. I quickly set the box outside the door and then stood back inside. Because of his very nosy nature, E ran into the living room to see who was there. I showed him that a box had been “delivered” so we brought it in. I told him it was addressed to him and that alone made him happy! We opened it up and he was like, “Oh, cool a new shirt...” He was happy but not quite sure what it meant. I said, “Look, mommy and daddy both already have Mickey shirts on. Now, think about it... why would you need a new one?” He looked at both of us and then back at the box and with great hesitation (as if to not get too excited lol) asked, “Are we going to Disney World today?” We exclaimed, “Yes, we are being picked up in just a few minutes!” This resulted in screaming, jumping up and down, and then him recalling everything he had done that morning and how funny it was to him that he had done all of it while not knowing he was headed to Disney World. He is such a funny kid! We have a video of the whole reveal and Philip will be putting together a compilation video that will include it.

If you remember, we had told E that we would be driving to Disney this time. Well... we had planned to rent a car for the drive to save the wear and tear on our vehicle (its paid off so we want it lasting a long time!). However, at about 2 months out, we ended up finding great plane tickets into Tampa! We decided it was worth the extra cost since rentals at the time and gas weren't that much cheaper (yay for a two hour flight + one hour drive rather than driving for two days!). We have a friend who almost always takes us to the airport for our Disney trips. He was on his way and we told E that this friend was taking us to get our “transportation” while never telling him that we were actually headed to the airport.

All buckled in!


As we were driving to the airport, one of us (I honestly don't remember who) accidentally said something about our flight to which E replied, “WHAT?!?! We are flying?!?” So the cat was out of the bag! Because I wasn't expecting it, I don't have a photo to document his excitement but just know that there was dancing in the car seat and several shouts of joy. Not long after this, I realized that when I packed my carry on cooler just 30 minutes prior, I forgot my whole week's worth of safe breakfasts for me in the freezer. I couldn't believe it! I am a dedicated list maker and I had checked it twice! Turns out I grabbed one item needed from the freezer but not the most important one. We were too far along to turn back and still make it on time so I had to leave it behind. Because we were renting a car once we were at Tampa we had plans to stop at Whole Foods so I was hoping and praying I would find something full of healthy protein there. I was bummed but we were on our way to WDW! I wasn't going to let that stop my excitement! Plus, if all else fails, there was always bacon.


Continued in next post...

 

[stackyallred]

Once we made it the airport, it was time to try and get all 5 of our bags (Thank you Southwest for 2 free bags each! Those who must travel with lots of food love you!), the car seat, soft sided rolling cooler (my carry-on) and one excited 5 year old inside. We usually take the first flight out of the day which is usually somewhere between 6 and 8 AM. This time we had to take a 10:20 flight to get to Tampa with no connections. Unfortunately, that meant much longer lines at the airport.

He talked nonstop while we waited in line!


The lines moved fast and soon we were at our gate! We do not buy games and shows for the iPad during the year. That is a treat reserved for vacation. So as soon as E saw we had the iPad with us he asked if we had bought anything new. He had gotten an iTunes card for his birthday a week prior and mentioned what he wanted then. So daddy handed him the newly loaded iPad and he actually sat still playing for all of maybe 5 minutes before he was up running off his excitement again.



It was in the 40s that morning and that is crazy cold for some of us Texans- especially in November! Even though most of us were dressed for and acting as if we were in the middle of a winter storm warning, the weather was still safe for travel. Our plane arrived right on time and soon we were settled in our seats.

Ready to go!


Because of The Muppets (the newer movie with Jason Segal), E really loves the song, “We Built this City.” Anytime he sees a city skyline, he belts out the song proudly. So there we are, slowly making our ascent into the air and E very loudly and unexpectedly starts singing, “We built this city... We built this city on rock and roll!” Turns out that he was able to see the city skyline and couldn't help himself, I guess! This of course cracked us up and thankfully made lots of people around us laugh rather than scowl at our loud boy... which made him want to do it again and again. We convinced him that a few times was enough.

Having food allergies requires organization and thankfully, I love organizing! I had packed snack bags for all three of us for every day of our trip so we could just throw them in our backpack and go. Philip is... how do I put this... organizationally challenged so he often takes pictures of my attemps at staying organized so he can brag on me. Hes very sweet that way!


Our flight #1 snack bag:


Soon, we were snacking, playing games and partaking in a little more screen time:






We landed and as he has done on all previous trips since he could talk, E promptly yelled, “Welcome to Disney World, everybody!”


Continued in next post...

 

[stackyallred]

Tampa has its own little fake-orail so we hitched a ride and E sat in the front window:

We grabbed a cart, picked our luggage off the carousel and headed to Alamo to pick up the car. Ihad gotten a really cheap rental car rate for a mid size car. Philip and I travel a lot in the summers to lead children's camps and know how to fly with a lot of luggage and fit it all in to a fairly small car. In other words, this wasn't our first go at this and I do pride myself on organizing a tightly packed car- a trait passed onto me by my father. However, when the Alamo representatives saw us with our cart of luggage, they gave us SUCH a hassle about the size of car we wanted. They kept telling us we would never fit it all in. We tried to be kind but they were verging on outrightly mocking us. The rep we spoke to called over a manager and she acted the same way. They kept wanting to upgrade us (of course for over $100 or more) and we stood firm. They basically wasted 20+ minutes of our time because we weren't budging. Their rudeness was not a fun way to start off our trip but I KNEW we would be fine with room to spare. Then they kept questioning the rate we got. I was getting really aggravated. We had the confirmation with the price listed so again, we just kindly but firmly stated we wanted the car listed. Finally, they gave us our rental slip and as we were walking out the door, one of them said, “You'll be back!” As in, we'd see it wouldn't fit and need a bigger car. Well by now, I would have had Philip strap me to the top of the car with all our extra magic bands before I would have gone back in there! The way Alamo does rentals in Tampa is kind of neat, though. You show the attendant the slip and they just point to a whole section you can choose from and the keys are in it. These cars all looked more than capable of holding our belongings! We let E pick what car we would use for the week and we began packing. In no time, we were all loaded with plenty of room in the car to feel comfortable. Here are the pics I wanted to take back in to the Alamo reps. I'd like to have said, “You were right, I am back... to prove you wrong! I only thought it, I never did it!





Make sure you go back and look closely at the back windshield between the trunk door and the trunk. You can see E's little smile poking through lol!

So we were packed up and ready to make our way to our home away from home! The drive went by quickly thanks to Disney Parks music and a quick nap for myself. We made a stop at Whole Foods for a few cold items we needed and I did find some makeshift breakfast items for myself. We ate a late lunch there (their hot bars have ingredients listed for every dish- a food allergic person's heaven!) and soon, we were headed under “THE” sign of happiness (at least when you are going in this direction).


My view from the back seat with E:


Next, we saw this!

Once we parked, E and I played outside while Philip got us all checked in.


Our requests for a top floor, quiet location were granted and we made our way over to the 80's section. Our room looked good so Philip took E to the arcade and to do some exploring while I unpacked and got us all settled in, waited for bed rails etc. We spent the rest of the day just relaxing, and then had dinner at POP. We were all tired and we got into bed early in preparation for our first full day at MAGIC KINGDOM!


Coming up... will dreary weather make for dreary attitudes?!

 

[dvc at last !]

I am in ,,,

 

[N8sgirl12]

Your writing style is so fun! Can't wait to read the rest...E is a hoot!

 

[Sailormoon2]

E is absolutely adorable! What a smart boy he seems to be. I am so anxious to read more of this report!

 

[LindseyJo22]

So much fun! I enjoyed the backstory and can't wait to read more!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Joining in - love your writing style

I bet more of us should explore rates flying to Tampa instead of Orlando - especially if getting a rental car anyway.

And how rude of those Alamo workers! I get trying to sell an upgrade but there is a better way to do that!

Glad you got your room preferences

 

[nilla]

He asked nonstop for days if it was time to go yet and of course time meant nothing to him so he couldn't understand that we couldn't just leave RIGHT THEN.

This sounds like me.

Great build up for the surprise! I miss that about little kids, since it gets tougher and tougher to pull one over on them as they get older.

When I first saw your snack bag for the plane, I thought it was a pillow. "Wait, they have different pillows for each leg of the trip?"

The people at Alamo clearly didn't recognize that you would take their mocking as a challenge. Too bad you couldn't text them later with a photo!

Great start to the trip! It sounds like you should all have a wonderful time. I mean, you get to the resort, and there are giant Legos there? Could Disney have welcomed you any better?

Loving this report. Keep up the good work!

 

[stackyallred]

How did a week go by already?!? My parents came to stay with us last week so we were busy hanging out with them. I am ready to get back to reporting and am working on a new update right now. Thanks for joining in our fun!

I am in ,,,

Thanks for joining in!

Your writing style is so fun! Can't wait to read the rest...E is a hoot!

Thank you! I am hoping to be more disciplined this week in getting some updates!

E is absolutely adorable! What a smart boy he seems to be. I am so anxious to read more of this report!

,
Thank you we are pretty fond of him! Glad you are enjoying it!

So much fun! I enjoyed the backstory and can't wait to read more!

I am glad you are enjoying it. We did have a lot of fun and we hadn't even visited the parks yet! More coming soon!

Joining in - love your writing style

I bet more of us should explore rates flying to Tampa instead of Orlando - especially if getting a rental car anyway.

And how rude of those Alamo workers! I get trying to sell an upgrade but there is a better way to do that!

Glad you got your room preferences

Yay, glad you are here! Yes, we have flown into Tampa twice now because of better airfare and car rental rates. We love flying in to MCO for the fun of Magical Express but with little ones, having a car is really nice!

This sounds like me.

Great build up for the surprise! I miss that about little kids, since it gets tougher and tougher to pull one over on them as they get older.

When I first saw your snack bag for the plane, I thought it was a pillow. "Wait, they have different pillows for each leg of the trip?"

The people at Alamo clearly didn't recognize that you would take their mocking as a challenge. Too bad you couldn't text them later with a photo!

Great start to the trip! It sounds like you should all have a wonderful time. I mean, you get to the resort, and there are giant Legos there? Could Disney have welcomed you any better?

Loving this report. Keep up the good work!

LOL about the pillows! I am pretty organized but not quite that structured! And when we returned our car, the Alamo people did sort of make up or it but I won't skip ahead with those details yet! Thanks for reading. More coming hopefully in a few hours!

 

[stackyallred]

Will dreary weather make for dreary attitudes?!​

After a great night's sleep for my two guys and a pretty good night's sleep for me (it always takes me a few nights to sleep well in a new room- even a room that feels so familiar!), we were up early with plans to make rope drop at Magic Kingdom! We love the opening show and wanted to be there in plenty of time. Our WDW morning routine has been the same for years:

• Philip and E shower the night before and we get all our clothes sat out for the next morning.
• While they shower, I unload the stroller and back pack from the current day's activities and then pack up all snacks, jackets, toys, and backpacks for the next day and get their breakfast ready to take to the Everything POP food court.
• When the alarm goes off, I wake up and shower while they get up and brush teeth, change clothes and try to contain their excitement that we are in fact, still at Disney World. At some point, Stacey usually ends up on our TV screen (the Must-Do's host, not me lol) and I end up with the “Livin' it up, love that feelin'” song in my head for a few hours.
• They head down to eat their brought-from-home breakfasts while I finish getting myself ready and fill up my cooler bag with ice and any cold food we will need during the day.
• I eat my breakfast as I walk down for us to all meet up for transportation, which in this case was our own rental car. Then it's off to the chosen park of the day!

Wow, that sort of sounds exhausting and the day hasn't even started yet... No wonder I am always tired after a vacation. Dear adrenaline, us parents salute you!

So, the boys were down eating their breakfast and Philip enjoyed his coffee while E enjoyed some Disney Junior. He is at the little yellow table taking in some Sofia the First:

Prior to leaving for Florida, the weather forecast was looking really nice. Lots of sun and highs in the 80s and 70s. After being mostly hot and rainy September travelers in the past, this looked heavenly! I was a little disappointed that when I walked outside it was sprinkling and super gray. I don't expect perfect weather, but I guess I had never, in all our trips, had a first day start that way. As you can guess, it really ruined our morning. Just kidding! We were excited even in the blustery weather as Winnie the Pooh would put it. We drove over to MK, got a pretty close parking space and were on the tram in no time:

That was new experience for E and he liked it (but not so much later as you will see in a bit). We then had to make our choice: Monorail or Ferry? It was still in the low 60's and sprinkling so the Monorail won!
E was chatting through smiles about all he wanted to do:

For some odd reason, I have no pictures of us watching the MK opening show! All I can figure is that we have so many photos of us watching it that I decided to just take it in rather than take pictures. That, or it was a little too wet for me to want to mess with it. I know, bad trip reporter... Anyway, we made our way with the crowds under the railroad station and Philip mooed like he always does because of the feeling of being herded cattle. Once we were by the fire station, it wasn't shoulder to shoulder and I guess I took this photo to show how dreary it looked. I promise I wasn't whining, really! I was just documenting:

We rounded the corner and yay, we saw the Castle! Let's get some use out of that Memory Maker, shall we? I wish we would have had E stand up with us but we were lucky he sat still and smiled for a photo. He was ready to GET GOING!


I'd like to make a little side note here: You will see that yes, E was 5 and still in a stroller at times and we will probably take it at least one more year too. He walks and runs (literally) all over the place for probably 75% of the day but when we need to quickly get from point A to point B (like from the castle during Wishes to the ferry to the tram to the car), I like knowing he is in front of me and resting a bit for when he needs to be up walking again. Also, I am not in denial that the stroller is as much for me as for him. We have to carry a lot of food with us and that plus the ice in the cooler bags gets heavy. Our backpacks hook on the stroller and probably ride in it more than E does! Plus, I have been known to sit in the stroller a few times myself when waiting for a bus or a show, so yeah, I love our stroller and may just have to keep taking it even when E is long past using it!

Honestly, this trip was 9 months ago so I am a little fuzzy on what exact order that we did things. But, I know we did a lot of them before our lunch ADR! Since we have had the blessing of visiting WDW so often (for which we are truly grateful), we make a touring plan, schedule ADRs, and seek out those important FP's but then we remind ourselves that it IS a vacation. We don't overdo it and if any of us wants to stop and try something we hadn't planned, we just go with it. We find we are much more happy that way! I think we did a lot of unstructured fun this first morning.

Headed into Pirates with no wait:


We walked over to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad but it was closed and if I remember right, Splash Mountain was down too. The CMs seemed to think it wouldn't be too long before the rides were up but we didn't feel like waiting was the best use of our time so we headed over to Storybook Circus. E was disappointed because BTMR is one of his favorites but he knew there was plenty more to do!

We all played a long time in Dumbo. Philip and I took turns climbing with E and Philip really banged his head hard once. I guess he forgot he was a full grown adult! He had to take a break and an ibuprofen.
I just love the atmosphere in here:



Once I was sure Philip was ok (he really was in a lot of pain for a while!), we headed out to get in line.


For the last three years, we have a photo like this of E with either Philip, my SIL or myself with the castle in the background. We like comparing how E has grown over the years.


Next up was a sentimental favorite! E loves The Barnstormer because it was his introduction to roller coasters 3 trips ago. We walked on and road several times. I think we didn't even have to get out of our seats between one of the rides since the line was so small. Poor Philip isn't in hardly any of the pics so far. I guess he was on camera duty all morning!




Continued in next post...