A Smile in my Heart–Magical Week of Friends,Fun & Freezing-10/28-COMPLETE!

[mom2mek]

Boo on the rain. It looks like you made the most of it though. Kona sounds delish! Poor Emily. My dd Chloe has those meltdowns too, especially after a long day. Glad you could cheer her up! Piña Colavas and Lapu Lapus need to have a taste next time!

Yes, she is definitely my emotional little girl! It doesn't bode well for us for the teenage years! She definitely felt better after a little Mommy time and ice cream!

Sara

 

[mom2mek]

Oh man! I can't believe I forgot to mention what was in our room when we got back from the Studios to get ready for our dinner at Kona. Both Shawn's tripod had arrived and been delivered to our room (yay) and also....drum roll please.....Katie's rainbow shoes that she had lost on the beach on our first night.

They were cleaned up and wrapped up in a little plastic bag and sitting on the table for us! We figured that the beach "combers" who rake the sand every night probably found them and brought them in and then when they got my sheet that I had filled in Monday night that described them, they matched them up. Very cool! Just wanted to put that in here as a seperate post for those of you who have already the latest update. Now I'm going to go put it up in the original post!

Sara

 

[SurfinTX]

It sounds like Emily was just worn down from the day. Even with my older kids if I push them too far you will get crankiness and moodiness like that. Even with planning in rests sometimes they get even more run down by the end of the day. I'm sure the rain and darkness was a factor as well.

I'm glad Kona did so well for you that night. We didn't get to go there on this trip although we used Capt. Cooks and 'Ohana. I loved the Lapu Lapu as well and they are really eye catching by the pool on those hot days.

 

[mom2mek]

It sounds like Emily was just worn down from the day. Even with my older kids if I push them too far you will get crankiness and moodiness like that. Even with planning in rests sometimes they get even more run down by the end of the day. I'm sure the rain and darkness was a factor as well.

I'm glad Kona did so well for you that night. We didn't get to go there on this trip although we used Capt. Cooks and 'Ohana. I loved the Lapu Lapu as well and they are really eye catching by the pool on those hot days.

Yep - even if it's not misbehaving, just having a few late nights in a row, can make a child have overblown emotions. She was better after a few minutes, but was needing some rest at that point.

Love those Lapu Lapus. They are so heavy - did they give you a rolling cart to carry them out to the pool??

Sara

 

[mommytothreeboys]

The pics of the little wet children are way too cute! Rain stinks, though.

What a great hubby to bring you a Pina Colava! LOVE that!

Yay for finding the rainbow shoes! Did they happen to drop off the Tink watch I lost at the POR pool in 2009?

Dinner at Kona sounds amazing! My mouth was watering just reading it!

My youngest does the Bakugan thing too. I've lived through Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh and now Bakugan. I'm still finding Pokemon cards in the boys' rooms when I clean.

 

[mkluvsmickey]

I swear I commented on this yesterday, but I don't see it anywhere so I guess I was dreaming.

So glad they found Katie's shoes! What a nice surprise.

We love Kona, great choice for your dinner that night! Love the pictures of you and Monica enjoying your Lapu Lapu's.

So cool that the boys got a playdate while in WDW, and by monorail! Can't really beat that one, huh?

 

[ladybugmom]

WOW!! That's awesome that they found the rainbow shoes!! Disney magic at its best!! I hate that it rained but it looked like it all worked out nicely in the end! The dinner at Kona looks fabulous!! I can totally relate to the melt downs--especially with two girls--there always seems to be some sort of drama!!

 

[mom2mek]

The pics of the little wet children are way too cute! Rain stinks, though.

What a great hubby to bring you a Pina Colava! LOVE that!

Yay for finding the rainbow shoes! Did they happen to drop off the Tink watch I lost at the POR pool in 2009?

Dinner at Kona sounds amazing! My mouth was watering just reading it!

My youngest does the Bakugan thing too. I've lived through Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh and now Bakugan. I'm still finding Pokemon cards in the boys' rooms when I clean.

about that Tink watch! I remember reading about that! You never know...guess you could check there next time you go!

I don't understand bakugan AT ALL!!! It only makes sense to 8 to 10 year old boys, I'm positive!!

I swear I commented on this yesterday, but I don't see it anywhere so I guess I was dreaming.

So glad they found Katie's shoes! What a nice surprise.

We love Kona, great choice for your dinner that night! Love the pictures of you and Monica enjoying your Lapu Lapu's.

So cool that the boys got a playdate while in WDW, and by monorail! Can't really beat that one, huh?

Those lapu lapus were so good Michelle!

Yeah, Michael pretty much thought that was the coolest thing in the world!

WOW!! That's awesome that they found the rainbow shoes!! Disney magic at its best!! I hate that it rained but it looked like it all worked out nicely in the end! The dinner at Kona looks fabulous!! I can totally relate to the melt downs--especially with two girls--there always seems to be some sort of drama!!

The night really turned out fabulously, Becky! It felt so good to go back to the room, get warmed up and in new clothes, and enjoy a wonderful meal with great company!

The meltdown was unfortunate, but not unexpected. Too many late nights for her, I think. (This night was slightly earlier, but not by much )

Sara

 

[cdotla]

Ugh! Sorry about the rain...do the girls ever look wet in the backseat!

Sounds like a great dinner at Kona...sometimes the meals at the less popular places end up being the most memorable.

Looking forward to more!

 

[mom2mek]

Ugh! Sorry about the rain...do the girls ever look wet in the backseat!

Sounds like a great dinner at Kona...sometimes the meals at the less popular places end up being the most memorable.

Looking forward to more!

Yes, they were drenched. Emily and Michael were wearing the cheap-o ponchos so they got it a little worse than Katie who had a raincoat on, thanks to Monica!

Dinner at Kona was fabulous! We have never been disappointed with a meal there!

Sara

 

[kaysmommie]

You girls absolutely did the right thing changing plans and ditching Sci Fi for Kona. Yay for Katie's shoes being found and put in your room. It looks like you all had a great meal and good time with friends at Kona. that the boys had a blast and a playdate coming up that evening. Love the pic of you and Monica with your Lapu Lapu's. Poor Emily glad she felt better when the waitress got her some fries and she spent some time with her mommy. I guess even the sweetest children get tired and cry at Disney.

 

[goofy's_gurl]

I've gotten behind! But im all caught up. At least the rain didnt dampen your moods. I've always did want to try Kona.

 

[mom2mek]

Your girls absolutely did the right thing changing plans and ditching Sci Fi for Kona. Yay for Katie's shoes being found and put in your room. It looks like you all had a great meal and good time with friends at Kona. that the boys had a blast and a playdate coming up that evening. Love the pic of you and Monica with your Lapu Lapu's. Poor Emily glad she felt better when the waitress got her some fries and she spent some time with her mommy. I guess even the sweetest children get tired and cry at Disney.

I think Emily was just tired and all it took was one little "sharp" comment from Daddy about "eating your dinner" for it to all come flooding out! At least it was short lived!!

I definitely think leaving DHS for dinner at Kona was the best choice - we had a great dinner and it ended up being one of the best night!

I've gotten behind! But im all caught up. At least the rain didnt dampen your moods. I've always did want to try Kona.

I have had breakfast, lunch, and dinner at Kona and have never been disappointed. Definitely put it on your list to try sometime!!

Update coming right up!!

Sara

 

[mom2mek]

Day 3 - February 9, 2010
Disney Hollywood Studios
Chapter 6 - An adventure to end the day!!

Michael was off to ride the monorail "home" to BLT with Monica's family after we finished up at Kona. The plan was to give the boys a "suitable" amount of time to play Bakugans together before I would ride over to pick him up and bring him back to the Poly. However, considering that it was still fairly early (about 7:00, I believe) and still raining and cold outside, I thought this would be a great night to do something I had read about from a fellow trip report writer.

Emily had become very fond of collecting the pressed pennies at the various parks and I thought tonight, especially considering her emotional escapades at dinner, would be a great night to take a Monorail Pressed Penny Scavenger Hunt with my oldest daughter!! She was all on board and so we took a few minutes to run back to the room to first of all, change out of my boots I was wearing (it felt good to put on some "real" shoes for dinner that night, but I wasn't about to go running through the resorts in them ), and collect her brightest and shiniest pennies that she had brought from home. We also grabbed her fanny pack for her to carry her quarters in, and we were off on our adventure.

I was a little worried that Katie might be upset that I was taking Emily by herself on our little adventure, but she was totally fine - she WANTED to stay in the room with Daddy so she could play with her new Minnie Mouse and her Tinkerbell set that she had bought at DTD on our first night. Yay!!

Emily and I set off towards the monorail with just her pressed penny book she got at DHS that day, her quarters and pennies, and my cell phone. No purse, no camera, no stroller...just the two of us holding hands and going out for an adventure!! I took a few pictures with the phone but we basically just talked and giggled most of the time and since our times on the monorail were pretty dark, I didn't take too many pictures. I highly recommend doing this if you are staying at a monorail resort, or just at the MK for the day and looking for a little escape from the parks. It was a great rainy evening activity and really fun to share that time with just her.

Our first stop was the Polynesian lobby (didn't have to go too far....) where we already knew where the pressed penny machines were located. We made our way out towards the monorail station to continue our hunt.

Our next stop was the Grand Floridian and it was so fun to go running through the fancy resort in the evening amidst all of the fancy dressed folks and little princesses and go hunting for the pressed penny machines. We eventually found some and collected the ones she wanted and then we wandered the beautiful resort for a little while and enjoyed the atmosphere before heading back out to the monorail.

Our intention had been to be over at Monica's room at BLT in time to watch the fireworks with them out on her balcony, but as we were sitting at the MK stop, Wishes started. We watched what we could from the monorail as we headed to our next stop, the Contemporary.

We found the numerous pressed penny machines at the Contemporary (at least the ones in the lobby) and then looked around the resort shops a little bit.

Emily really wanted to find the five legged goat on the mural, so we searched for that and with her newly acquired pressed pennies collected, we made our way over the bridge and up to Monica's floor (I want to say she was on the 8th floor, but now I can't remember) - she had a fabulous room - I do remember that!!

When we got to Monica's room, surprise, surprise, Michael looked very disappointed to see us! I assured him he still had plenty of time to play as I was going to hang out for a while and talk with my friend since they were leaving the next night.

They had a one bedroom unit at BLT and it was beautiful. I took a few pictures of the room while the kids hung out and continued to play and have some snacks.

Monica and I sat out on the balcony and talked for a while and boy the clock ticked away super fast. Before we knew it, it was like 9:30 so I had to break the news to my two that it was time to go. We said our SUPER SLOW goodbyes and headed back out to the elevators. We walked across the bridge to the Contemporary (boy that thing was slippery from all the rain, I just knew someone was going to slip out there at some point), waited for the monorail, rode back to the TTC and then walked the short walk to Samoa.

Upon arriving, we found both Katie and Shawn sound asleep and we were quick to follow. We had rope drop at the Magic Kingdom (FINALLY) the next day!!

Up next....my favorite day of the trip......

Sara

 

[ladybugmom]

What a fun update!! I love that it was just you and Emily! It's hard being able to do things with just one kid. I bet she will never forget that night! How special!! And how fun to be able to share it with friends as well! That's wonderful that your kids get along so well! Can't wait to hear about your favorite day!!

 

[*Meagan*]

I love love love your TR!!! soooo detailed and amazing!!!

I loveeeeeeeee the idea of a pressed penny scavenger hunt!! That is definitely on my list for our next trip this december!

 

[jeremysdisneymom]

Sara:

What a fun evening! Did you buy a book at DHS with all the pressed penny locations or what was it? Jeremy would like that.

Erika

 

[taymacsmom]

That pressed penny hunt sounds so fun! We are planning a 10 day trip in 2011 so that we can have time to do some of those type of things! I have already started a little note book with a list of new things to do!

 

[mom2mek]

What a fun update!! I love that it was just you and Emily! It's hard being able to do things with just one kid. I bet she will never forget that night! How special!! And how fun to be able to share it with friends as well! That's wonderful that your kids get along so well! Can't wait to hear about your favorite day!!

Thanks Becky! It is one of my favorite memories of the trip! Now I want to plan some "alone" time with each of my kids when we are there - it was very special and fun!!

We adore Monica and her family and were so happy that our trips overlapped for 4 days and the kids could spend time together (and the Moms )

I love love love your TR!!! soooo detailed and amazing!!!

I loveeeeeeeee the idea of a pressed penny scavenger hunt!! That is definitely on my list for our next trip this december!

Thanks Meagan! I tend to be long-winded in my reports which is why it takes me FOREVER to finish them, but I'm glad you like all the details!

The PP scavenger hunt was so much fun - definitely try it out!!

Sara:

What a fun evening! Did you buy a book at DHS with all the pressed penny locations or what was it? Jeremy would like that.

Erika

Thanks Erika! No, the book we bought at DHS was just a "holder" of the pennies for once they were pressed (I didn't bring the M&M tube like so many people here on the DIS and on TGM reccommend). It's a great little keepsake though, and she has them all lined up in there and can't wait to get more next time! I think a pressed penny location book would be fun (of course part of the fun was attempting to "hunt" for them at the resorts too....).

That pressed penny hunt sounds so fun! We are planning a 10 day trip in 2011 so that we can have time to do some of those type of things! I have already started a little note book with a list of new things to do!

Oooo....10 days?? Color me green with envy!! That's gonna be great! It will definitely give you lots of time to do some of the other stuff! It was a great evening and a wonderful memory!! She still talks about it and how fun it was!

Sara

 

[goofy's_gurl]

A pressed penny adventure!! That sounds sooo awesome. I may be doing that on my upcoming trip I have a few pressed pennys. LOL.