All you need is to believe....~Our Sizzling Summer Getaway! July 2012~~ TR started!:)

[Angies1274]

Well, I have a little free time so I thought I would post our most recent Disney movie night....Cars!

Such a cute movie! The boys love it!

Unfortunately, since it was such a hectic night I didn't get any pictures of our food that night but this was what we ate--

Sally's Spaghetti
McQueen's Meatballs
Tow Mater Salad

And for dessert we had Luigi's Leaning Tower of Tires (chocolate donuts)

Here are the boys working on an activity sheet I printed from the Disney website--

We also attempted this---

But, ours didn't turn out anywhere close to looking like the picture. The boys quickly grew tired of trying to figure it out and I wasn't much help to them. Oh well...we tried.

After that we settled down with some popcorn and Mater oil (juice) and watched the movie. Overall, it was a fun night. We didn't do as many activities as we normally do but the boys still enjoyed themselves.

While we are still on the topic of Cars. Has anyone seen these pics....

It's the Cars section at AoA all lit up at night. We just might have to make a point to walk over one night and check it out!

As far as things around here...it's still as busy as ever. In the midst of all the craziness I somehow came up with the idea to have a garage sale this weekend. I thought it was a win-win. We could make some extra money for Disney plus I could clean out our closets in the process. Hmm... a good idea--but maybe I should have waited until it slowed down around here. Oh well.

I'm excited to say that I did do a little bit for the trip yesterday. I went over to Walgreen's and picked up 4 Disney gift cards, one for each of us for our souvenirs. We do it every trip and it works out great. We each get a certain amount of money to spend. It really helps us stay within our budget.

Oh...Noah has chosen our movie night for this month....Hercules. It should be fun to plan. We haven't seen that movie in so long.

Next month we'll be in Disney!!!

Up Next-- Past trips (finally!!)



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[BrerMama]

Fun movie night. Hercules is one of my favorite Disney movies. I love the music.

The Cars section at AofA looks gorgeous. I'm so tempted, but it's a little over the top for my teens. That place would be a boys' dream though.

 

[newtexan]

Cars night looks like it was fun.

A garage sale! Good luck.

AoA looks really cool, I hope we get a chance to check it out one night. Thinking about grabbing one of our CS meals there.

 

[Angies1274]

Fun movie night. Hercules is one of my favorite Disney movies. I love the music.

The Cars section at AofA looks gorgeous. I'm so tempted, but it's a little over the top for my teens. That place would be a boys' dream though.

Noah is doing great planning our Hercules night. He's already got a menu and activities. It should be a fun night!!

I showed the boys the pictures of the Cars section of AoA last night and they were definitely impressed. They can't wait to check it out!

Cars night looks like it was fun.

A garage sale! Good luck.

AoA looks really cool, I hope we get a chance to check it out one night. Thinking about grabbing one of our CS meals there.

It was a really fun night! I wish I would have had time to plan a few more activities though.

The garage sale was a success! I made my goal...plus a little left over. Unfortunately, we ended up having to close early because it started to thunderstorm but at least it was later in the afternoon.

Great idea on maybe using a CS meal at AoA. It looks like they have a lot of new healthier choices. I like the idea of the make your own pasta bar.

 

[Angies1274]

I think one of the best things about planning a trip to Disney is…..

So, you can imagine my excitement when I went to the mail box the other day and found these-

Love the new Mickey head luggage tags!! They are so cute!

I love getting Mickey Mail! It makes the trip feel that much closer. Which by the way we are less than a month to go!!

As promised I thought I would share some memories of our past trips to Disney. Our first trip was in April of 2008. I had always wanted to visit Walt Disney World as a child but unfortunately it wasn’t possible. But, that didn’t stop me from tuning in to watch the Wonderful World of Disney every Sunday night and dreaming that someday those dreams would become a reality. In 2007, I began to start researching vacation possibilities for the following year when on a whim I began to price out a Walt Disney World vacation just for the fun of it, really not expecting to be able to afford it. But, once I began comparing it to what we were planning to spend and suddenly I realized it didn’t seem like such an impossible dream after all. I called and booked us at Pop Century Resort staying 5 days 4 nights with a 5 day MYW package with dining. We were so excited but also a little nervous because it was our very first time flying. Obviously, it went well because here we are on our 5th visit with plans to return in the future. We could never have imagined that we would love it so much.
We decided to visit Hollywood Studios on our arrival day which you already know wasn’t exactly what we were expecting. But we learned from our mistakes and now we can’t wait to return. There’s still so much we haven’t seen.
Here is a picture of the boys outside of Muppets 3D.

Which by the way… the boys were terrified of this show as it was their first experience with anything 3D. Seriously, though it took a lot of convincing to get them to watch anything in 3D for a long time.
The next morning we were off to the Magic Kingdom for the very first time. Honestly, it was everything I had hoped it was and more. We were in love!

Did I mention it was a little chilly that week?
It was also on this day that we experienced our first character meal at the Liberty Tree Tavern.

On our 3rd day at Disney, we decided to check out Epcot. Would you believe we didn’t visit Soarin’ or Test Track on this trip? Now, you know why we needed to go back!
But, we did make it to the Seas with Nemo and Friends

We also managed a quick walk around the World Showcase.

Then it was off to Chef Mickey’s for dinner which proved to be one of the best memories of the trip as the boys were chosen to open the restaurant. They announced their names and they got to walk down the red carpet with Mickey. They also both got certificates autographed by all the characters.

We enjoyed our dinner and got some great pictures.

On our 4th day at Disney the plan was to visit Animal Kingdom. But, first we had a breakfast with Lilo and Stitch at Ohana’.

We had a great breakfast and then it was off to Animal Kingdom. I wish I could say that we were all enthusiastic about visiting this park but really it was just Noah and I who were excited. DH and Nick were just going along for the ride and it felt like I spent most of the day trying to get them to enjoy things. Honestly, it was very frustrating because all I wanted to do was just enjoy the park because it was so beautiful but they just weren’t feeling it. Before we left that day I happened to suggest that we see Finding Nemo the musical and I’m so glad I did because it was the first time that my boys had experienced anything like that. Noah’s face was priceless to watch. I think I spent more time watching him than the show. He was amazed. The boys fell in love with the music and spent many hours after singing “Go with the Flow.” It really turned the day around.
On our last day at Disney we decided to head back to the Magic Kingdom. We had an early ADR at Crystal Palace.

Love this picture!!
Of course, we met a few Hundred Acre friends.

Sadly, though this was the worst meal of our trip. Nothing seemed to go right. Noah was already agitated due to an earache and a loose tooth (his first) He didn’t want to eat anything. Pooh didn’t even stop at our table but walked on by with just a wave. Our server was nowhere to be found and it took us forever to get our check so we could leave. It definitely wasn’t the magical experience I had envisioned our last morning to be. But, we made the best of it. Noah began feeling a little better as we headed to Adventureland and since it was The Year of a Million Dreams as we were waiting in line at Magic Carpets of Aladdin we won Mickey ears. Our day had definitely gotten better!

Soon after it was time to leave the Magic Kingdom and I realized as we were walking out that day that even though this was supposed to be our once in a lifetime trip that somehow, someway we needed to find a way to come back. We had an amazing trip full of special moments, the boys opening Chef Mickey's, sitting in the front seat of the safari ride, and they were also picked to sit in front of the monorail. Not to mention, we fell in love with Pop Century and now can't bring ourselves to stay anywhere else.

Until I started writing this though, I didn't realize how many "bad" moments occurred on this trip. But...isn't it funny how our memory works? Even though we missed a lot on that first trip. We still had a wonderful time. Sure, there were some bad moments but there were also a lot of really great ones. When I think about that trip, I remember those memories the most. Even today when I ask my boys what trip was their most favorite, they always say the first one. It’s what started our love for Disney after all.

Up Next—Our 2009 trips! It was a good year!

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[mommytothreeboys]

I love walking down memory lane and reliving past trips! Can you believe how much the boys have grown??

I can't wait to see what you do for your Hercules night. That is one of our family's favorites....and one we haven't watched for a while. We may just have to pull it out!

 

[wdwgirl03]

The Cars movie night looks fun! And the pictures of the AOA...WOW. That whole section looks like it's going to be amazing. Well, the whole resort does.

Love the new luggage tags. I always get a little jealous that we don't get them as part of DVC but I guess I can't really complain.

OMG, look how small the boys are! They have really grown up. Ahh, breakfast at Ohana. I remember doing breakfast at the Polynesian on one of our first trips! Only back then I don't know if it was called Ohana and it was breakfast with Minnie!

 

[ellajeansmom]

Hi Angie,

Sorry about your uncle, it is always hard to lose a loved one

On a happier note, great movie night! We haven't watched Cars for ages... I may have to add that to our fall movie line-up

Love the look back to your first trip, the boys are so cute! It is definitely part of the draw to WDW that even when things don't go according to plan it is still a fun time

 

[newtexan]

Your look back reminded me to slow down and go with the flow on our upcoming trip. I'm really gungho Disney but the rest of the 10 are not so much. I'll have less bad moments to recall if I remember your advice!

 

[Angies1274]

I love walking down memory lane and reliving past trips! Can you believe how much the boys have grown??

I can't wait to see what you do for your Hercules night. That is one of our family's favorites....and one we haven't watched for a while. We may just have to pull it out!

Aww...I know! It's so much fun walking down memory lane! It's crazy to see how much the boys have grown. They were so little!

I think we are going to try and squeeze our Hercules night in this weekend. It's going to be a fun night! I love the music!

The Cars movie night looks fun! And the pictures of the AOA...WOW. That whole section looks like it's going to be amazing. Well, the whole resort does.

Love the new luggage tags. I always get a little jealous that we don't get them as part of DVC but I guess I can't really complain.

OMG, look how small the boys are! They have really grown up. Ahh, breakfast at Ohana. I remember doing breakfast at the Polynesian on one of our first trips! Only back then I don't know if it was called Ohana and it was breakfast with Minnie!

I can't wait to see the new AOA resort! Although, I wish the Lion King section was going to be open when we are there. Besides Nemo, I think that's the one I'm looking most forward to seeing how it turns out.

I don't think we have visited the Polynesian since that trip. I can't wait to go back and see it again!

Hi Angie,

Sorry about your uncle, it is always hard to lose a loved one

On a happier note, great movie night! We haven't watched Cars for ages... I may have to add that to our fall movie line-up

Love the look back to your first trip, the boys are so cute! It is definitely part of the draw to WDW that even when things don't go according to plan it is still a fun time

Thanks Lara.

We had a lot of fun doing our Cars night. Can't wait for Hercules!!

I agree about WDW. There really is no other place like it. We've never let a few bad moments ruin our trip. We just make the best of things because we can see past them and focus on the good stuff!

Your look back reminded me to slow down and go with the flow on our upcoming trip. I'm really gungho Disney but the rest of the 10 are not so much. I'll have less bad moments to recall if I remember your advice!

We have always tried to focus on the good moments. It can definitely be stressful when you go with that many people because everyone has different opinions. We brought family members with us a few years ago and I had to keep reminding myself to just slow down and try to relax even when things got stressful. It seemed to work because we had an amazing trip! I'm so glad we did it!

 

[Angies1274]

I have a little time this morning so I thought it would be fun to share my top 10 favorite attractions at Walt Disney World.

10. Dinosaur

I finally talked the boys into riding this trip! I can't wait to see their reaction.

9. The Haunted Mansion

Who doesn't love a bunch of happy haunts?

8. Toy Story Mania

So...it would probably be higher on my list if I could just get a better score! I'm a little competitive...can you tell?

7. Expedition Everest

Backwards, in the dark and a Yeti? Need I say more?

6. Tower of Terror

Love this!! It's even better at night!

5. Fantasmic

We love this show! For us, it was definitely worth the wait!

4. Peter Pan's Flight

Classic....

3. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

Definitely a family favorite! There is nothing better than riding at night and seeing the castle lit up in the distance.

2. Soarin'

Aww...there is nothing like it.

And my number one most favorite attraction/show in Disney is..........


1. Wishes

Did you really think it would be anything else? Love Love Love this show!

So, there you have it my top 10 favorite attractions/shows in WDW.

What are your favorites???​

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[BrerMama]

Super fun list! I'd agree with all of them but Tower of Terror. No can do on that one. I don't do heights or drops... how in the world can anyone think that's fun?

 

[wdwgirl03]

I would agree with a lot of your list but I'd add Splash Mountain and Space Mountain. Love the triple mountain whammy! And also Kilimanjaro Safaris.

 

[mickeystoontown]

I love each and every one of your top Ten attractions. It's so hard to narrow it down to just ten though.

 

[Angies1274]

Super fun list! I'd agree with all of them but Tower of Terror. No can do on that one. I don't do heights or drops... how in the world can anyone think that's fun?

Too funny!! My oldest son feels the exact same way!! No Tower of Terror for him either!!

I would agree with a lot of your list but I'd add Splash Mountain and Space Mountain. Love the triple mountain whammy! And also Kilimanjaro Safaris.

So true! You gotta do the triple mountain whammy! Although, it seems every time we are at Disney it's chilly and I always get soaked on Splash...not too fun. But, I'm sure it will feel great this summer!!

I love each and every one of your top Ten attractions. It's so hard to narrow it down to just ten though.

I completely agree!! I know there was probably quite a few more I could have added to the list!!

 

[Angies1274]

Ugh...I can tell it's going to be one of those days. I just spent the last half hour typing up my look back post for 2009. I usually do it in word but for some reason today I decided to to just type it up. Big mistake...one wrong key and now it's gone! So, instead of retyping everything today. I will probably wait until next week to share our 2009/2010 trip memories and instead do a quick recap and share our must-do's this trip.

Recap

July 9--Leave for Burlington, do some sight seeing/shopping and spend the night.
July 10- Airport by 7:00am, Arrive in Orlando at 12:00pm. Off to Pop Century and then to Epcot we go.
July11- Animal Kingdom Day/ T-Rex Dinner in DTD
July 12- Magic Kingdom (EMH)/ 'Ohana Dinner
July 13- Epcot (EMH)
July 14- Disney Hollywood Studios (EMH) Sci-Fi Lunch
July 15- Magic Kingdom (EMH-Evening) Wishes Dessert Party
July 16- Breakfast AoA/ Mini-Golf at Winter Summerland (Last Day)

Must-do's

I thought it would be fun to compare this list when we get back to see what we actually accomplished.

Epcot

Spaceship Earth
Soarin'
Sum of All Thrills*
Sea with Nemo and Friends
Figment
Living with the Land
Explore more of the World Showcase especially Canada, UK, France, Morocco. (We haven't spent a lot of time in those countries)
Agent P Mission*
American Adventure*

Hopefully

Mission Space*
Ellen's Universe of Energy*

Magic Kingdom

Buzz Lightyear
Space Mountain
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Haunted Mansion
Peter Pan
Winnie the Pooh
Splash Mountain
Mickey's Philharmagic
IASW
Pirates of the Caribbean
Jungle Cruise
People Mover*
Hall of Presidents*
Wishes
Magic Memories and You*

Hopefully

Tom Sawyer Island*
Carousel of Progress*
Tiki Room*
Swiss Family Treehouse*

Disney Hollywood Studios

Toy Story Midway Mania
Tower of Terror
Great Movie Ride*
Animation Academy*
Little Mermaid*
Rock n' Roller Coaster*
Star Tours
Muppets
Fantasmic

Hopefully

One Man's Dream*

Animal Kingdom

Dinosaur
Expedition Everest
Finding Nemo the Musical
Primeval Whirl
Kilimanjaro Safari

Hopefully

Parade*
Explore Trails

So, that is what we hope to accomplish on this trip. Of course, we want to ride our favorites but also add in some new things as well. Anything with a star is new for us.

I'll work on our past trips this week and try to post soon. Hopefully, we can fit in our Hercules night this weekend and I can post that as well.

Oh and I almost forgot.....we only have 20 days left!!! It's hard to believe that it's coming up so quickly. I can't even put into words how excited we are!! It won't be long and I will be doing online check in!!


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[newtexan]

Sorry about the computer thing.

I like the list of must dos. And what a lot of new things you are going to try!
Time is flying by - we leave Wed for the inlaws first, so packing for both is consuming my brain functions! I can't wait to get there!

 

[andapanda]

Yay! We're both so close to being at Disney. My husband keeps laughing at me because I'm excited about our online check-in countdown being in the single digits

I actually e-mailed my husband a list of the rides last week and told him to write yes, no, or maybe beside each one. Most of them were yes...I suppose we'll just have to prioritize. Neither of us are big on many of the shows, so we may skip out on those this trip.

 

[Angies1274]

Sorry about the computer thing.

I like the list of must dos. And what a lot of new things you are going to try!
Time is flying by - we leave Wed for the inlaws first, so packing for both is consuming my brain functions! I can't wait to get there!

I'm so excited! I didn't realize we had so many new things to try until I started writing out the list.

Wow! You are so close!! I can't imagine having to pack for two trips. I'm having enough trouble packing for one! That's why I have decided that we are going to have a packing day here so that everyone can help!

Yay! We're both so close to being at Disney. My husband keeps laughing at me because I'm excited about our online check-in countdown being in the single digits

I actually e-mailed my husband a list of the rides last week and told him to write yes, no, or maybe beside each one. Most of them were yes...I suppose we'll just have to prioritize. Neither of us are big on many of the shows, so we may skip out on those this trip.

We are!! I can't believe how close!! It feels like we just entered double digits not too long ago and now we'll be there before we know it!

for online check-in being in the single digits!!

 

[Angies1274]

So, I realized when I was looking over our list of must-do's last night that I completely forgot about Dumbo or Storybook Circus. Of course, that's one of the top things on our list that we want to check out!!

The best part....they have apparently took the walls down around the second Dumbo! Aww...I can't wait to be there so we can see it in person!!

A few of the new Casey Jr. Splash and Soak area--

(easyWDW pics)

From what I have read, you get completely soaked in this area (think Kali River Rapids) I'm sure it will be a welcome relief in July. Although, they have suggested a change of clothes may be necessary. Ugh..another thing to remember.

On a different subject entirely, I read yesterday that they are doing a soft opening for the Agent P Mission in Epcot!! So excited for this!! The boys have already requested that this be one of the first things we do in Epcot.

Lastly, they have finally extended hours for July.

On the days that we are there--
July 10- No change to Epcot
July 11- Animal Kingdom hours were extended until 8pm (original hours 9am – 7pm.)
July 12- Magic Kingdom hours were extended until 11pm (original hours 9am – 10pm.) Second Main Street Electrical Parade was added at 11pm.
July 13-No change to Epcot
July 14-Hollywood Studios hours were extended until 10pm (was 9am – 9pm.) Second Fantasmic added at 10:30pm.
July 15-Magic Kingdom hours extended to 11pm. (was from 9am – 10pm) Second Main Street Electrical Parade added at 11pm.

I had heard that usually MK extended hours to midnight in July. Maybe as we get closer it will change again...not that we will be staying up that late. Well, except our evening EMH.

Still working on my look back update. Tomorrow is the boys last day of school and Nick's graduation or "moving up" ceremony. I can't believe my little boy is going to Jr. high next year. It feels like he just started kindergarten. Hopefully, I will have more time to update next week as things start to quiet down. Although.....our plans are pretty solid right now. I'm so proud of myself...usually I'm doing last minute tweaking at this point.

Have a great day!!

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