A Tale of [family madness in] Two Cities - Final Thoughts & PTR Link!

[SoonerGirl]

Great update!

Love, love, love the pics of Henry with his Mickey Ice Cream Bar! That is so funny that he wouldn't let Joe have a bite

That Christmas parade just looks amazing, I'm so sorry we missed it. That just seals the deal though, I gotta go back and try again!

We ate at CHH on one of our MK days as well, they do seem to be able to handle the crowds pretty well. We found a table without any trouble upstairs too. And you're right, that tuna sandwich is really good!

 

[GreatBiscuit]

Awesome update BE! I loved all the photos. I think my fav's were the worm's eye view shots of the tomorrowland tower.

The parade video was awesome. I don't know they managed to march and play in those costumes either. It was hard enough marching in a parade in a regular band uniform. Amazing talent they have there.

 

[k_reile]

we missed the HoP...both times there were extra magic hours at the MK it was SOO COLD...that we had to miss it.

I too LOVE the CoP...they also tell you not to eat during it...but i gave crackers to caleb during it to keep him busy...my DH nearly had a heart attack..."they said you are not allowed to do that" LOL! they don;t even stay in the room with you!

My brother and DH got ice cream from the Ahola Isle one MK day that was 40 degress outside...I could barely stand to look at them...probably was because I had the chills that day from my bronchitis i was coming down with too! LOL!

 

[PopArtGal]

I heart the Christmas parade.

You can smell the gingerbreads now?? When I did the Keys to the Kingdom tour last summer they were working on it. So cool"

 

[gellybean]

A 3 page udpate?!!?! I'm in AWE!!!!!




I can't believe you remembered to check that stinking exit sign!!! That's toooo funny. I didn't think I was stupid enough to exit a door that said Emergency Exit but then again... you never know!!

The problem I had, was I knew that it would move and knew I was at a good point in the show that it would be safe to step out and I did it so quickly because I was aware of the danger that I didn't hear the Please sit back down announcement!! Poor lady. I think her situation was much worse than mine!!! She had to face all of you with the lights blaring. I managed to escape and leisurely walk around the back side of CoP before a huffing and puffing, red face CM came running around the corner asking me if I was alright! And the worst part was he was slowly walking back around with me, when he really needed to get that red card back in the slot to start the ride back!!!! I at least found an out of the way bench so no one would notice the idiot that managed to stop CoP.



Oh memories!!


Brook!! Ty for checking for me and letting me know I am not alone in my mommy-ness brain fog of exiting rides while in progress!


I loved loved loved all the pics. You are gonna make it hard for me not to buy a new camera. I may be holier for some advice!!


The parade shots so make me wish we'd taken more time to do the parades. Just one more reason to go back. Like I need anymore reasons, but still!

Henry saying "No Mine!" is priceless!! Jack-Jack just learned to say "mine" and it's with such conviction it makes me giggle everytime. Except he thinks he can "mine" anything he wants and get it!

Fabulous update, as usual Miss B!

 

[CJsMom]

Great pictures - I SO love the Christmas Parade!

 

[andrews1ma]

We opted to go back to Tomorrowland and do the CoP!

As we entered and were seated on CoP I thought of gellybean. I recall her nearly being "crushed to death" on the CoP when she left through the door clearly marked 'EXIT' halfway through to nurse her little one. A CM totally flipped out that she did that, being the ride could have moved and caused her harm; however, it has her left wondering if the door had an "EMERGENCY EXIT ONLY" sign on it.

Well, I was so happy when I remembered to look.

It does NOT!

It merely says "EXIT"!

They say no pictures on the ride, but you know how rebellious my FIL is! (I'm secretly glad he took pictures, I love this attraction!!!!!)

And I do believe it was halfway through this scene when we heard the telltale sound of a child fussing. It became quite loud...so the mother stood up to try and console the little one. It didn't work. I noticed her walking up and down the side aisle, glancing at the EXIT door, and I just waited for her to do it...she was going to try and leave!!! I just knew it!!

Sure enough, SHE DID!

Gelly, you aren't alone!

And I knew what would happen next....

The ride stopped for a brief moment. An announcer came over saying we were NOT to leave the ride, and the woman suddenly came back through the door. All eyes were on her as light poured back into the theater. Poor thing!! Thankfully for her, the child had fallen asleep during this and she could enjoy the rest of the attraction.

This scene is so cheesy-fabulous!

By the time CoP was over Henry was awake...and hungry! We zipped through the Tomorrowland Noodle Station - YES-it was open!

http://brookelizabeth.smugmug.com/Disney-World/TRDecember-
[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Arial Black][SIZE=3][COLOR=DarkGreen][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/QUOTE]

[COLOR="Navy"][SIZE="3"]OK so I apparently missed an entire update :confused:

I had do a double take when I was looking though the batch of pics from CoP and thought the last pic was part of the ride-

I thought wow they have added a new scene with a high tech "nescafe" machine and such real looking animatronic people :rotfl::lmao:

Another great update! So between your TR and a few others that I am reading, including Memoms, I now realize that I must go to Disney for the holidays! I neeeeeed to see that parade! I need to see all the gingerbread houses and smell all the holiday smells. I need to see those lights and hear the music! Just need to sort out a few minor details, silly things like $$$$, time off from work, etc... :rolleyes1 and convincing my grumpy non-disney-loving DH

Oh and I love that Henry was sitting on your lap while you were posting an update...I miss those days :sad2: my baby is now 10 and weighs too much to sit on my lap! enjoy every minute![/SIZE][/COLOR]

 

[princess&her4princes]

WOW...i've been keeping up with you on FB but not on DIS. What a lot of great updates!! Love all the pics and loved the Mickey ice cream pop story...how funny is that? Henry is such a smart little boy!!! Hope to keep up to date from now on!!!

 

[ClaireW]

Great update, thanks for all the photos

And we love those Mickey ice cream bars too - but guess what we can get them at our local supermarket? There's a new range of Mickey shaped pizzas, potato shapes, etc and ... ice cream bars
They're small, the chocolates thins and the ice cream is no-where near as tasty (although WDW food always tastes better right?)

My mom found them and, knowing DD (2 1/2) well, stocked up her freezer in case they were a one-time only offer

 

[Lady Lallie]

Another wonderful update.

It was so sweet of the family to stay for the parade for you. You just have to see the Christmas parade! It always looks so neat on TV every Christmas.

CHH does handle crowds well, I've always been able to find a seat upstairs no matter how crowded it is.

Henry has got to be the cutest little boy EVER! The pictures and stories you tell of him just put a smile on my face.

 

[MEK]

Brooke -

I was several updates behind, but now I am all caught up and loved every minute of it - the pictures, the commentary, the foot picture, Henry's cute comments about Mickey's house and butterflies.

MK looks extraordinarily crowded but you seemed to find your grove and make efficient use of your time there. I think the wheelchair definately helped. I was cracking up of the stares you captured in that one picture with you in the chair. The..."hmmmmmm.....What is SHE doing in that chair?" look you got from several people in the crowd.

I think you are doing a fantastic job being the fearless leader. That's a lot of pressure when the parks are so crowded. Anyway - great job! I'm so glad you got to see the parade. That was really nice!

 

[PrincessCaitlin]

Great update!

CHH looks so good! I really need to try that tuna fish sandwich!

I am glad you enjoyed the HOP I haven't seen it since it was refurbed

Great parade pictures! That parade is my favorite Disney parade!

Henry looks so cute with the mickey ice cream

 

[MeMom]

Aww, how sweet of you to get these pictures just for me - two of my favorite things in the world!

Gotta have a Mickey bar.
Also gotta have a couple dozen napkins.
Very cute pictures of Henry enjoying some creamy deliciousness.

I'm glad your family chose to give you a special surprise to stay for the parade. I'm a fan of all the parades, myself. This Christmas one is a great one.

 

[Charleston Princess]

Wow! Great long update!

The CHH crowds are amazing! As were the Tomorrowland crowds! You are right! I was practically sweating just looking at them and contemplated crawling under that table!

Henry slept for a long time!!! How nice that he is able to sleep so long while on the go! Connor used to be able to do that, too. Once he was out, nothing woke him up!

Your wheelchair perspective photos are neat! It's a whole different view from there!

How sweet of your family to insist you stay to watch the parade!

Henry was too funny with the Mickey ice cream bar, and I love that he wanted more when he saw the picture. Me too, Henry! Me too!

 

[praisehisname]

So cute!

I had mentioned I wanted to see the parade a few times, and apparently while I wasn't paying attention the family decided that instead of going back to AKV like planed, we would all stay and see the parade because I wanted to!

What a sweet thing for them to do for you!

Pure enjoyment!

[Henry is sitting on my lap as I finish this update, pointing to the picture of him eating the Mickey bar and saying "More of that Mommy, more of that!" )

Me, too! Me, too!

 

[RachelNinja]

Those pictures with Henry and the Mickey bar? If that's not the perfect advertisement for the ice cream, I don't know what is! It would have to end on Joe's sad face!

 

[jenseib]

I would rather be at Disney than here too - I prefer a slower time, but I'd take ANYTHING!!!

Did Claire's reaction bother her? Henry's didn't at all....it didn't match up to anything the doctors know as a reaction to that medicine. The bumps were white mosquito bite looking instead of red bumps, it didn't itch or hurt, it was inconsistent...very odd. He hasn't reacted in two days, so we'll see! Thankfully he was given an "all clear" yesterday, so if we do have to stop the antibiotic I know he's already healthy!

No her's never bothered her either....but they were reddish I think.

Love the updates. That parade looks so fun. We love parades. Claire an I just watched all the video and she asked why we haven't seen that one yet. I told her to as kdad if we can go for her birthday and then we can see it! LOL! I'm with Henry, if you gave me the first bite of the bar....it's mine! We have has similar experiences wit hClaire in the past...she picks something and then one of ours looks better so she trades...then eats most of it and wants her original back then. LOL!

 

[disneydusted]

Brook, you outdid yourself! So many pictures!!! Wow! I love all off the photos of Henry and his expressions. Very sweet picture of your FIL holding him while he slept.
You did a good job being the "director of operations'!! It's hard when all eyes turn to you and you need to have the perfect plan of action. I had that role with our family but it was just the 4 of us and not the holidays... I'm glad they all decided you needed to stay for the parade!
Love the palm trees! It's just so inviting to see them... especially with our 2 feet of snow still on the ground here!

 

[ladybugmom]

I can completely picture Claire running up and trying to hug the Castle! Btw, I cannot recall if I mentioned this, but if Henry was a girl, his name would have been Claire!

Ha ha!! Claire keeps us laughing--that's for sure!! She has begun asking everyday now when we're going to HER castle and when we're going to meet Ariel!! Poor thing has no concept of time!! Aww--I didn't know that!! Claire is a great name!! Great minds think alike!!

What an incredible update!! WOW! I love the pics you took while sitting in the wheelchair--very cool perspective! And we love eating at CHH! YUM!! I especially enjoyed seeing all of your pics from the Christmas parade and Henry eating HIS Mickey bar!! That is classic Disney right there! Precious! I can't wait to watch the videos with my girls later today! Thanks for posting those!! Oh--and we love the CoP! I tried to get Brent to take pics last time but he wanted to sit and enjoy it. My girls still sing the song, "It's a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!" Can't wait to read more!

 

[micandminforever]

Your last report was fantastic, I loved all the pictures and it was great that you were able to share the parade with family. CoP is a must for us every trip, it needs an update bad, but it brings back great memories of my past trip to disney with my parents and different friends.

Once again Henry put a smile on my face, enjoying the ice cream. I am more a ice cream sandwich person so I glad you showed a picture of that also. I wish I was there now, munching on a Mickey treat.

Great news that Henry got a good report from the Dr.