9/16-10/3 The trip that dreams are made of....

[jaycns]

Jay,

What a wonderful report! Those rooms are great and the view is awesome! Thanks for sharing your photos of the room!

You have a great looking family!

I can't believe you have started you TR already - I guess I better finish mine.

Thanks again!!!


PS - I stayed in room 6314 I had the same view as you did and we loved watching the water parade too!

Yep, that's me punctual (or is that obsessed?!). I couldn't help but start my trip report. I want to be living it all (minus the night in the roach motel) over again....right now!

 

[jaycns]

Jay, you are only into day 1 and I already have tears in my eyes as I read your report. I am vicariously living and anticipating the same reactions in my girls thru you until I can go. What a great report!!!!! I am loving every minute of it.

Awww...thanks! I have had more than a few teary moments sitting here writing this report. Teary in a great way, but teary none the less.

 

[PrincessAlways]

Really enjoying your report! Sounds like quite the magical trip! Can't wait to read the rest....

 

[momoftriplets]

Hi Jacyns! We met on my TR a few months ago & I have been anxiouisly awaiting yours. I'm just about to start reading about day 2. Can't wait to get at it. Great so far! Except for the bugs, of course! ISH!! We don't have cockroaches in my part of the world, thank goodness!
Barb

 

[jaycns]

Hi Jacyns! We met on my TR a few months ago & I have been anxiouisly awaiting yours. I'm just about to start reading about day 2. Can't wait to get at it. Great so far! Except for the bugs, of course! ISH!! We don't have cockroaches in my part of the world, thank goodness!
Barb

Glad you made your way over to this report! It's great to see you again! Welcome to my dream come true trip report. This trip really was the things that dreams are made of...some of them nightmares (ala the roaches and a few other things to come) but all in all wonderful dreams!!

 

[Yzma and Kronk]

Jaycns.....great report. I love the pictures!

As you can see from the picture Dinoland was really empty

Our family loves Dinoland. And once we had the pleasure of having it almost all to ourselves. It was really cool!

The bugs in Georgia part made me laugh. We lived there once and I loved our 'quarterly pest control". Made my day when the "bug guy" came!!



I'll be sure to note the Day's off I-75!!!

Looking forward to more!

 

[jaycns]

Day 2 continued...

As we pulled back into the Contemporary parking lot I patted myself on the back. Being the ever so clever (no need for responses from the peanut gallery on that one) woman that I am, I had brought our refillable mugs down from the room with us in the morning and left them in the van while we were at AK. Now, upon our return, we had only to park and head over to the Food and Fun Center in order to get liquid refreshment. No need to trek all the way back to our room (and as the week wore on, our feet would thank us for thinking of them and trying to reduce the extra steps). Not only did we need a few drinks to refresh us...but "Stitch" had some important business at the Food and Fun Center...he had been chosen as Artist of the Day and it was now time to view his coloring creation in all of it's framed (at least for this one day) glory.

After filling our mugs "Stitch" proudly posed next to his work of art. That boy was ear to ear smiles as soon as he glimpsed "his work" up for everyone to see. As you can see from the picture, he was VERY proud of his work!!

Upon trying to claim his Magical Moments certificate it was lost. Not only that, but they couldn't find the blank ones either...so they offered "Stitch" a free snack while they tracked it down. Then the cashier noticed his brothers and told them to grab one too...as they were grabbing one she said "might as well make it one for each of you, mom and dad's need treats too". THANK YOU!! Although we were on the dining plan (and had gotten it for "free") this extra magic made us happy.

We all chose Mickey Bars . At least once every vacation we try and all enjoy one at the same time. So five Mickey Bars in hand we picked a table and dug in. Anyone passing by would have surely thought we looked crazy. HUGE grins on our lips and parts of Mickey Bars on our faces we looked a little bit crazed I bet. But we were really just enjoying being there together. The cold treats were really hitting the spot after a hot day walking around at AK and I would never have guessed it but sitting around a Formica table top in the Food and Fun Center turned out to be one of my best memories of the trip! We were just all so totally happy at that moment that nothing else even mattered.

As with all good things, it all too quickly came to an end. "Aladdin" lost a good chunk of his Mickey Bar to a pesky thing called gravity and the spell was instantly broken. So, while dh scooped up what was left of Mickey and threw it away, I picked up "Stitch's" now ready certificate and we then made our way back up to the room.

I must take time here to say even though I had now previously been in the new rooms in person, I was still pleased enough to smile and think "how beautiful" when I walked through the door. Those muted colors, the textures, the light, the view....it was all so wonderful. If you are at all inclined to try the Contemporary...do it! Those rooms are so peaceful and serene! When we redo our master suite at home...I will be "borrowing" some of their design ideas! But, back to the trip...

I must admit, we tend to be a very happy go lucky family in general. It's just the way we are wired...but even the happiest of families in the happiest of places can sometimes have a not so happy moment. Upon returning to our room we had one of those. No, we were not invaded by bugs...THANK GOODNESS!! It was just one of those times when the boys started in with the "He looked at me", "He did it first", "He said it" kind of tirades. Even after the Mickey Bars we were all hot and tired. That being true (and the boys acting like bears) I called and canceled our dinner ADR at the Crystal Palace. It just didn't seem like a good time to head back out to the parks. Even after our planned swim.

The time in the water though, that did seem to be just what the doctor ordered. So in the midst of all of the "he did its" and "I did nits" flying back and forth we somehow all ended up in our swimsuits and we headed down to the pool. Once there it was as if everyone had taken a happy pill and things were again right with the world.

Then again, with that awesome water slide standing before you, I don't know what kind of person could be anything but excited and happy. The pool at the Contemporary may not be overly themed (or themed at all really) but it is a totally fun pool! The water slide is one of the best (lots of curves, pretty long, just plain F-U-N). The pool is big. The water is warm (as we would later come to value even more). And the lifeguards were friendly.

When we entered the pool a few other people were swimming...but by the time we got out around 2 hours later, we were one of only two families using the pool. Even after such a long swim, our boys were not ready to leave...but with a promise to do a lot more swimming on this vacation we got everyone out without much of a fight.

Up to the room for a quick change and it was back to the Food and Fun Center for us. I was now regretting canceling our ADRs. With free dining it was going to be impossible to get anything else now. And with the boys now back to their normal selves....we were cleared for outside contact. We didn't even bother checking anywhere. It was about 7:45PM and we were hungry. So we made our way down and had some more pizza, a chicken sandwich, cheeseburger and some hot dogs. Oh and I know I have mentioned it before, but the cake...that chocolate cake....YUM...we had some more of that too!!

After eating everyone was ready to tackle MK. So up, up, up we went on our way to the monorail station. Along the way we stopped to do a bit of shopping. And check out some of the cute displays.

Of course part of shopping at Disney (for us) is trying on crazy hats...here is "Aladdin" trying on a Viking Goofy hat. Too funny!!

This image is just more than a funny picture...it is also the start of my son's migraine . Right after the picture clicked and the flashed he cringed and started rubbing his head. His eyes seemed to instantly get dark circles under them and dh and I both knew, "Aladdin" was mere minutes from a full blown attack. "Aladdin" himself was starting to complain of not feeling right and we knew, there would be no MK for him this night. So we split up. Dh took the "Aladdin" back to the room (dh was looking for time to log on and check in with some work stuff anyway, so to him, this was no big loss) and the younger boys and I continued on.

We made our way up to the monorail platform and once again got lucky enough to be able to sit up front.

This time we had a very friendly monorail pilot. He made the trip a lot of fun!!In fact, "Goofy" and "Stitch" were having so much fun that they didn't want to leave the monorail at MK!! So, we stayed on and looped back to the resort.

I swear, the boys had more fun riding up front for that full loop then I thought possible! What kid choses NOT to go into MK? Maybe they were missing their brother. Maybe they were a bit on the tired side. But whatever it was, they were just content to keep riding. And the co-pilot license they were given? Again, a treasure to my boys. Both of them keep them in their wallets (nothing much else in the wallets at their ages except for a few of the Mickey head stickers they were given all week long) but they carry their wallets around and show off their co-pilot licenses to this day! My only problem with it is I am now wondering how long it will be before I can snatch them to put in the box to be scrapbooked. Yep, I am that kind of mom, the one who sneaks her children's treasures away after they tire of them...but in my own defense, it is for their own good!! One day they will be happy I didn't let them shred their licenses when they are able to share them with their own children! Or so I hope.

Upon our return to the resort, it was already after 9:00 PM. The boys and I stopped and watched the fireworks from the fire escape stairwell (thanks for the tip DIS boards). Then we started to make our way back to the room. Along the way we stopped to take pictures.

As we cut across the pool area, I was drawn to an open hammock. I plopped down in the hammock and swung away. All the while, my two little pirates searched for buried treasure in the sand. They found shells (which they called jewels) and "Stitch" even found an old quarter...he called that pirate gold! Of course while digging they had to do something with the sand so they built castles and found little feathers and twigs to act as people and had battles to retain control of the castles.
They even found the time to do a little bit of hammock swinging themselves.

We watched the light parade go by from the beach (and it was nice...but honestly, we liked the view from our room even better) and then it was time to head up to the room for bed.

Thankfully upon our arrival we found dh working (grrr...work at WDW) and "Aladdin" watching a show on tv. They had gotten to his medicine and had him lay down in time so all was well. They were surprised to see us back so early. After explaining to them about our fun on the monorail, the pirate gold and jewels we found on the beach and the fun we had swinging away in the hammocks I sent the boys in to shower, sent dh down to refill our mugs (only for the adults this time) and did a small bit of DISing. Work is not a worthy reason to log on during vacation...being addicted to the DIS boards is!!

Once again just as I was going to crawl into bed I spotted our message light flashing and this time it was "Aladdin" who had been chosen for tomorrow's Artist of the Day.

With that last happy little bit of magic, we drifted off to sleep. Some time in the night I heard "Goofy" mumbling in his sleep about pirates, shells and castles. For him at least, his awake dreams and his asleep dreams on this night were a match!

Best Moments of the Day: TOO many great moments to even try and sum them up or pick favorites. Basically almost any time but the listed "worst" moments.

Worst Moments of the Day: "Aladdin" getting a migraine. The boys getting grumpy before our swim. Yep, that's it...two moments....everything else made the best of list!

 

[poohluvrs]

How was the Contemporary? We just got back from GF & DH was interested in Contemp. next time....

 

[cyjmhill]

Wow!!! What an awesome TR!

Can't wait to read more!

 

[horsegirl]

Hay! I am loving this trippie! We were in room 6313! right down the hall from you! We had nearly the same view. We got that upgrade too! Didn't you love the new rooms.... And our favorite thing was the water parade! Can't wait to read more....You have a cute family.

 

[jaycns]

How was the Contemporary? We just got back from GF & DH was interested in Contemp. next time....

We have stayed at many Disney resorts. Up until this trip our favorite value was ASMovies. Our favorite moderate was Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort. And our favorite deluxe was Animal Kingdom Lodge (all of that background info gives you a little hint of our taste maybe). Our new all time favorite resort is the Contemporary. WE LOVED IT! We will stay there again and again and again. In fact, we may be hard pressed to try another resort again. We really did fall that in love with the Contemporary! It was magical in an understated kind of way. You were in the middle of it all but it was still calming. It was just a wonderful vacation resort and I cannot speak highly enough of the experience we had there or of the updated rooms. I know that everyone has different tastes but if it appeals to you (or your dh as the case may be) I would say to at least give it a try! Our family had a magical time there!!

 

[jaycns]

Hay! I am loving this trippie! We were in room 6313! right down the hall from you! We had nearly the same view. We got that upgrade too! Didn't you love the new rooms.... And our favorite thing was the water parade! Can't wait to read more....You have a cute family.

Were you there during the week of 9/16-9/23? If so, we truly were neighbors!! And yes...the new rooms, really, I feeling the need for a master suite redo that incorporates lots of the design elements. Those rooms were so soothing and so very "me". I LOVED them!!

Thanks for reading my trip report! I have always enjoyed yours! Most recently, the pumpkin patch trip. How fun!!

 

[disneyloverforchrist]

I love reading about your family's amazing trip! This is getting me so excited for my trip in December!!! I am going on my honeymoon there but my fiance isn't really as obsessed as I am (to say the least), he is just going because I have wanted to get married at DW since I was 4 and we couldn't do that but could do a honeymoon! Any suggestions on how to get him pumped up? I know you said your husband doesn't share the same enthusiasm you do as well

Can't wait to read more!!!!

 

[dolphinrescuegirl]

This is a great trip report! I feel like I am there with ya. Can't wait to read more!

 

[paigevz]

Very well written Jay. I loved it...............and I want more, more, more...........

Your youngest looks such the rascal......his personality comes right out.........and your Goofy has a very sweet look about him.

I was sorry to hear about Aladdin's migraine before, and I feel all sorry about it again now................so young to have to deal with that kind of pain.

Your family really takes time to enjoy all the little stuff and not just jump ride to ride. It's a great report for showing all the varied experiences at WDW.............

I still can't believe you took time to share with us (me) while you were there.........but it sure was great to hear from you too.

Keep it coming!

Oh, and I didn't know you'd camped in a Rain Forest.....................I want to hear that trip report too..............oh,oh and I see you couldn't get dh to wear Crocs..............

 

[momoftriplets]

I forgot to ask - I see you went in the middle of September for almost 3 weeks. Do you homeschool? Can't wait for the next installment!
Barb

 

[jaycns]

The Cast of Characters-

Me- a 30 something mom who loves Disney.

Dh- a 30 something dad who does not love Disney but does love his family enough to humor us!

Aladdin-(aka Prince Ali aka ds1) is now 10 years old. Lucky for us, he is still a Disney addict and still loves everything about WDW...including the characters!

Goofy-(aka Goof aka ds2) turned 7 on our vacation. Loves Disney, period.

Stitch-(aka Stitchity Stitch Stitch aka ds3) is 5 years old and the magic is all still "real" for him. He loves Disney but has trouble with "new things".

Our plans- 9/15 depart for WDW drive to Valdosta, GA and stop for a quick sleep. Continue to WDW arriving early on 9/16. 9/16-9/23 stay at Disney's Contemporary Resort. 9/23-9/30 cruise aboard the Disney Magic. 9/30-10/3 arrive at Disney's Polynesian Resort.

Day 3-

This morning was another morning with a beautiful sunrise. This time, no camera. Just me and the morning air (door sized window open) and the beauty of nature. I have no idea how long I sat there...but all of a sudden I got the whole slow down and just breathe thing. It was a time just for me (and as the mom of three young boys, I don't get a whole lot of those). Oh and I must confess...one of those really great slices of chocolate cake I have been raving about? Well, dinner the night before found us with an extra slice and not one to waste (hee hee hee...when it's such a yummy slice of cake) we had run it back to the room fridge. At some point (although again, I have no concept of how much time passed, I was lost in my own little relaxing world), I got up and retrieved my very decadent breakfast and proceeded to eat it while doing some more scenic viewing from our window.

**SIDE NOTE about room refrigerators....turn them up to high the second you walk in, it takes them a long while to cool down and the setting that Disney has them on by default wouldn't keep anything cold...mildly cool, maybe. Refreshingly cold, not by any stretch!!**

After my little zen moment came to an end, I showered and completed getting ready before even bothering to wake the sleeping masses. Of course, the moment they were up, I turned into the "gotta go, let's hurry, we are wasting EPCOT time" woman. In my defense, they would have taken all morning to get ready to go (trust me on this one, I have seen it firsthand). About 8:30AM and we are all ready to go.

Our morning adventure began in the Food and Fun Court. We all used a snack credit and grabbed a quick breakfast that way (I did remember my earlier slice of cake and I used mine to grab a drink). While at the Food and Fun Center our "Aladdin" had to of course, take the time to pose by his picture . Again, what a fun program for kids staying at the resort! Here is "Aladdin" and his "Artist of the Day" picture.

After grabbing our snacks and eating them as we went up, up, up to the monorail we took a quick ride to the TnTC. From their it was a simple matter of walking down one ramp and back up another and we were back on the monorail...no waits!! Getting to EPCOT via the monorail is a treat all in itself. The little loop that the monorail does inside the park is a whole lot of fun! The boys really enjoyed it! Heck, I really enjoyed it. And yes, even dh was pointing out things as we zoomed by overhead!!

The only bad part about the little loop? It showed me other people already in the park...ahhh...we didn't make park opening ...months of planning and reading every tip and I didn't follow up on the most valuable one...be at park opening. As we walked in, I was worried. Would we have to *gasp* wait in line? Would all of our favorite areas be swamped with other people? Would we have to skip something in order to fit something else into our day?!!
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

Nope... The park was still really empty!! And the best part of that??!! It basically stayed that way all day long!!

Our plan for the day was to skip the World Showcase all together. We had another day planned later in the week which we were going to devote entirely to the WS. On this day we were going to concentrate on all there was to do in the "Future World" area.

To start out day we took a ride on Test Track. Always fun, always fast (unless broken) and the best thing about it? It wasn't broken down (later this trip, TT seemed to be shut down as often as open). After riding TT we hoofed it over to Soarin'. This is "Goofy's" favorite ride here. The rest of us like it a whole lot...but "Goofy", he loves it!! After less then a five minute wait (we only waited for the ride in front of us to finish before we were able to board) we grabbed a fast pass and went over to see our favorite turtle, Crush.

During Turtle Talk, "Aladdin" was singled out. Crush held up an itsy bitsy teensy weensy red polka dot bikini...and asked him what it was for!! Then, as "Aladdin" thought about his answer, Crush slipped it on over his head like a bow tie. "Aladdin" finally answered with "Umm...it's made for a girl." To which Crush answered "Yeah, but does it make me look fat?!" When ds told him it didn't Crush told him "Just remember, that is ALWAYS the right answer...you don't even have to look...just answer that way...trust me dude, this is the best advice". That exchange was totally funny!! We always enjoy Turtle Talk. Even dh is a big Turtle Talk fan!

Back to the Land we went and we rode on Living with the Land. It was in it's soft opening after being updated. We hadn't planned on being able to ride it (it was listed as closed for updates) but we were very glad we did. Later on in our trip we would be going to MNSSHP. During the ride we saw them growing pumpkins with Mickey ears (they put them into plastic shells that can open like a clam shell when the bolts are undone...as they grow, the pumpkin forms to the container it is in...presto instant Mickey head pumpkin).

I know, we are nerdy, but we like the ride. "Aladdin" especially is really into science stuff and was totally geeked about it. "Goofy" too really got into this ride. The boys were so interested we almost signed up for the behind the scenes tour...but didn't as we had ADRs for lunch and dinner and didn't want yet another "have to be there at this time" thing as part of our day.

Soarin' again. Seriously...if you have not been on Soarin'...go. It's one of the few rides I think would be worth a wait in line (although why with fast pass??). I love the scents. The forest, the orange grove, the salty air. I love the sensation of the wind rushing past your face and your entire body shaking (not really shaking, but you can feel the vibrations) when the fireworks explode in the night sky. I get so into the ride that when we drop down over the surf, I raise my feet not to get them wet!! As we exit we grab another fast pass for use right after lunch...which was up next at the Coral Reef.

I have always been a big Coral Reef fan. So when it came time to chose where to celebrate our anniversary, I chose the Coral Reef. I had heard that if I called and spoke to the right person, we could have a diver go down and hold up a happy anniversary sign. So two months before our vacation I found the above mentioned "right person" (a manager at the Coral Reef) and I spoke with them about having a diver hold up the sign. Not only did she agree to do that, but she told me she would personalize a menu for us as well!! This may be the best kept Disney secret of all time! Disney will do this for you free of charge (yes that's right folks, I used the words Disney and free in the same sentence without using the word not)!! They only do a very limited number of dives per day and they must be arranged well in advance...but if you have something special to celebrate and you are ready to do a bit of pre planning (and why would you even be on the DIS boards if you were not!?) you too can look like the most romantic and thoughtful spouse ever!! There's nothing wrong with tooting your own horn every once in a while, is there?

For lunch we dined on lobster soup, shrimp cocktail and salad for starters (the kids didn't want their own starters so we just ordered what we would like off the kids menu...the lobster soup...YUM). For the main course dh and I both chose steak. All of the kids chose pizza. My favorite part of the meal was the lobster soup. That stuff was bowl licking good (although I did restrain myself)!! I used to be a big fan of the shrimp cocktail here...but it has changed. It's not bad. Just not the great shrimp cocktail of the past.

When we entered the lobby to check in, I was worried since I had not called to confirm our plans within the last week (something I had meant to do but that had totally slipped through the cracks in the hectic last days before our trip). However, I was very happy to find that not only was everything in order...they were ready and waiting for us . Our wait was a short one and before we had even had chance to get antsy we were seated in the second row with a great view of the tank. Our server was friendly and at first dh didn't even open his menu, he was busy ordering a drink without even looking...COME ON...I have been keeping this secret surprise so long I am about to pop and my dh doesn't even open his menu!! Seriously, it had to be about 3 to 4 minutes later that he finally picked it up and cracked it open...

When he did, the planning (not that hard) and the not spilling the beans early (VERY hard) was worth it!! He looked amazed, stunned, shocked, joyful, confused and puzzled all at once!!

The staff at the Coral Reef did a lovely job putting the menu together. They had allowed me to personalize it with a message and pictures!! What a special keepsake! It was more beautiful then I had even hoped for. And dh, being the "non DIS board" man that he is, he had no idea that a diver could go down and hold up a sign, so he thought he had already gotten the entire surprise. Well, I held my tongue on that count a bit longer and we all enjoyed our meal.

We got some great shots of our friends in the tank. Our family favorite is the sea turtle! "Stitch" is a huge lover of turtles! Anything with a turtle on it is way cool in his mind. So he was so excited to be the one that spotted the turtle first this trip (we play that game each time we go to the Coral Reef...who will spot the sea turtle first).

I was so excited when the diver popped up in the window with the sign that I forgot to tap dh on the shoulder and point his attention toward the tank...lucky for me, "Aladdin" had no such problem and shouted out "Dad look!" and dh turned toward the tank.

Turns out they had another surprise in store for us that even I didn't know about. While talking with the manager, she had asked the purpose of our trip. I had responded that the purpose of this trip was to celebrate our 11th anniversary and our middle son's 7th birthday which would take place at the start of our vacation. She remembered our son too! Not only did we have a happy anniversary sign...but he had a happy birthday sign held up as well! HOW THOUGHTFUL! We hadn't asked for that. We hadn't even known...just another Disney employee going WAY above and beyond to try and bring a bit of magic into the life of a guest! We were so happy! Of course, nobody more then "Goofy" himself!!

What a special treat!! We loved the diver! The only thing that was a bit "not so special" about the entire thing was the people at a table near us. They were talking very loudly and we could hear them clear as day (maybe they wanted us to hear them) saying things like "Well, what makes them so special to think they need a sign held up?!" "Some people are just such attention seekers" "That diver just detracts from everyone else's enjoyment of the tank"... NO IDEA on earth what crawled up their sandal and died!! We couldn't see them but we heard their rude talk go on for a minute or two...then we heard them change their object of distaste from the greedy family (us) to the bad server, poor lighting, noise level and the list goes on and on...

Those rude people by no means detracted from our happiness. I didn't even feel " " with them. In fact, I felt sad for them . Those poor people were at the happiest place on earth and at least as far as I could hear they spent an entire meal doing nothing but complaining about every single thing they ate, saw or heard. Those poor people.

It wasn't long before I felt a few raindrops on my head...raindrops??!! INSIDE the Coral Reef? No, maybe a server was dripping something on my head...nope...it was the diver!! He had come out to bring us our sign! THANK YOU CORAL REEF DIVER!!

Right after I was thinking, this meal just cannot get any better out came dessert!! YUMMY! Once again we were to leave a meal stuffed and happy!!

TO BE CONTINUED...

 

[jaycns]

After lunch we went right back on Soarin' (third time that day). After Soarin' we went back to Turtle Talk. YEP, had to do it again! We enjoy it that much. So we ran back over and enjoyed another show. This time nobody in our family was picked to talk with Crush but it was still just as funny and just as much fun!

On our way out of the show we stopped at the gift shop and did more then a little shopping. Packages safely sent to our resort we headed back over to TT.

The standby line was listed at 10 minutes...so we grabbed our fast passes and got in line (but we had to think about it...we hadn't had to wait that long in line yet and we weren't sure if we wanted to do it ). Lucky for us the wait ended up really being nothing more then the line once you come out of the pre show. We had walked right into that.

It was then I looked at our fast passes...and attached to them was a surprise fast pass for Mission Space. Well...okay....umm...this might be a good time to refresh your memory. Me and thrill rides...ummm....well....they don't mix well. But...we did have those fast passes...I did hear they now have a "wimp version" aka the less intense side and "Aladdin" was really wanting to try it (and dh does not do motion simulators due to his middle name, "motion sick"). OKAY, I will try it. Just once. It won't kill me, hopefully. So while dh and the younger boys head to the small playground near the end of MS, "Aladdin" and I step up and present our fast passes. The entire time before the ride starts I am a chicken...but once I am on the ride and we start our mission to Mars... I am totally engaged, happy and loving every minute of it. I loved it so much that I am now even willing to consider the "extreme" version for our next trip...I SAID CONSIDER PEOPLE...sorry for yelling. I just needed to make it clear that I didn't promise anything!

Another high speed test on TT and we were ready to do Soarin' again. So dh went to get fast passes and I took the boys to Innovations. By the time dh got back they were just starting to play the game where you run around and grab ice cream cones in Toon Town. It's a video game...so that made them happy. They have benches for the parents...so that made us happy!

We spent a good deal of time exploring Innovations. Then we took a stroll over to see the most imaginative dragon we know...Figment. "With F-I-G-M-E-N-T you can see things differently" That song really gets stuck in my head...but I don't mind...it's a Disney song for a Disney day! "Stitch" is in LOVE with Figment. His favorite characters are trouble makers (other then Buzz Lightyear who is more of a real hero to him then just a character). Figment, Chip and Dale, Donald Duck, Stitch...all of the mildly naughty characters...yep, my son loves them! We rode it three times in a row. I still cannot figure out why nobody else seems to love this ride. We find it amusing and full of silly moments.

After leaving we noticed our fast passes were already expired and it was almost dinner time...but being the risk taking family we are (and the fast passes were only a few minutes overdue at this point) we tried our luck anyway and we were allowed in to ride on Soarin' for a 4th time!!

After Soarin' it was time to head up to our dinner. Before we did, you can probably guess what we grabbed...yep, that's right another set of fast passes for Soarin'.

Before we took our last flight of the night we had to dine with a few members of the rodent and canine families.

The Garden Grill is a fun place to eat. It's good food, friendly staff and even more friendly characters never fail to put smiles on our faces. This meal had been highly anticipated by "Stitch". Chip was his new all time favorite character (that started on this trip). For the past two days he had been trading for every single Chip or Dale pin he came across!! By the time we had dinner this night, he was in possession of 14 of them. When Chip first approached our table "Stitch" jumped up and showed him his pins. I was worried that "Chip" wouldn't be able to see them well enough to understand what he was looking at and "Stitch" might be crestfallen. But, I was wrong (yes, it happens to the best of us). Not only did Chip see it...but Chip did something my son will NEVER forget for as long as he lives. Chip grabbed a passing handler and pulled them into the kitchen. About this time we were thinking...okay, we didn't even get to snap a picture...hope he comes back around before we leave...

No more then 2 minutes later Chip was back at our table (handler in tow) and Chip tugged on "Stitch" and pulled him right out of the booth. Then Chip motioned for him to hold out his hand and close his eyes. When "Stitch" did that, Chip opened his furry paw and out dropped a Chip pin into "Stitch's" hand. This moment brought tears to my eyes!! "Stitch" was so in awe that he didn't even move. Not one muscle. He just stood there looking at the pin for a few seconds. Then he smiled a ten thousand watt smile and grabbed Chip in a bear (I mean chipmunk) hug!! While "Stitch" was thanking Chip his handler gave our other boys pick a pin. Just when you think the day cannot get more magical. It does! We couldn't have planned this moment if we tried! It was priceless!! Here is a picture of the "stunned" moment. Moments later it was nothing but hugs!!

YES, other characters were present...Dale, Pluto, Mickey...but for Chip's sweetness he gets this portion of our trip report all to himself...well, he does have to share our thanks with the CM who was his handler...she was so sweet to think of our other boys as well!!

In the next picture, "Stitch" had just said (in a very dramatic voice) "This is just too much for me...ahhhhh!!!" **take note of some of his many Chip and Dale pins**

I cannot count the number of times that Chip returned to our table during the meal. Suffice it to say that our little Chip lover got a whole lot of Chip's love!!

After our dinner we took one last ride on Soarin' (Soarin' ride number 5 for the day) and headed out of the park. We would be back another day and "Aladdin" was once again starting to "look funny". This time it was not his head that he started to complain of...it was his chest (he has asthma too...yep, poor guy really lucked out on the genetic lottery, getting both asthma and migraines in the bargain). He didn't have an asthma attack or start coughing, he just said his lungs didn't "feel right". With either of the other boys I would not have worried. But "Aladdin" is tough. He plays soccer and gets really huge bruises that he never even bats an eye at. He gets colds that have the rest of us crying and he smiles. So, when he says "I don't feel right" it is the cause for major concern.

Once at the monorail station "Aladdin" reminds me that he missed out on riding up front last night because he was not feeling well. So, we request to ride up front once again (this time just "Aladdin" and I). Even feeling "not so hot" he managed to have a great time! We had another really funny monorail pilot who joked and visited with us.

Once back, we spent the night watching cartoons and sipping juice/tea from our refillable mugs. Oh and did I forget to mention that snack I ran down for late at night? Yep, a slice of cake. I only ate half that night...the rest was saved for tomorrow morning!

Would "Aladdin" be able to enjoy the next day? Find out in our next installment!!

 

[jaycns]

I love reading about your family's amazing trip! This is getting me so excited for my trip in December!!! I am going on my honeymoon there but my fiance isn't really as obsessed as I am (to say the least), he is just going because I have wanted to get married at DW since I was 4 and we couldn't do that but could do a honeymoon! Any suggestions on how to get him pumped up? I know you said your husband doesn't share the same enthusiasm you do as well

Can't wait to read more!!!!

I have never cracked the secret of how to get him pumped up. BUT..I do try and make sure that every single day we do at least a few things I know he will really enjoy (even if that is just heading back early and letting him catch a game on tv). I know that does not help very much at all...but CONGRATS on your upcoming marriage!! And you might want to give the Coral Reef a call to see about a diver with a sign as a surprise for your dh (woo hoo, you will be able to call him dh) on your honey moon!

 

[jaycns]

This is a great trip report! I feel like I am there with ya. Can't wait to read more!

Thanks!!