"But Mom, I want to come back to WDW!"

[blue_river]

It just doesn't get any better than that. When I first told my wife we were going to WDW for the first time in 1997 we also had a cruise booked a couple months afterwards. Alll she thought about was the Carnival Cruise and never ever thought about WDW. Well, guess what? Cruise? what cruise? We have no desire to go on a cruise again but as you know, our family is addicted to DISNEY. Even Buzz! The biggest naysayer of them all

It's so fun to read about "converts". To me, that's the most exciting thing to read since you get to find out first hand how other people became addicted to the whole "Disney Thing".

Love it, keep 'em coming!!

PS: JoJo, your mom is pretty darn smart, eh? (that's my Canadian eh? )

PSS: That Cast member from the Haunted Mansion needs to visit a dentists office

I would love to take a cruise someday. Preferably a Disney Cruise.

Myself, I find it interesting to read a wide range of TR's because I've learned a little bit from each and every one. Of course I'm new to the whole Disney thing so I'm like a kid in a candy store - wanting to sample everything

Sure, we could spend an October in northern Canada near a frozen lake but have found it would probably be more enjoyable to stay home and lock ourselves in a freezer with a butchered antelope.

Speaking of Canadian - eh...I had to cut and paste this quote from your TR. I just love your sense of humour

Same here. Our vacations were horrible so now I OVER compensate by going absolutely hog wild on vacations. I keep asking my wife: "Now, you're sure it's ok to have the kids out of school for 9 days right?" She assures me, at their age, it's ok. Good, because I'd hate to send them all home early while I stayed an extra week.

You're children are very lucky.

Where is the Christmas store? I missed that!

Linnie - you're asking me???? Haha. All I can tell you is that is somewhere around Pirates, Haunted Mansion and the castle.

I loved your story about the haunted house! It reminds of my first WDW experience. Buzz took me on Alien Encounter first thing on our very first day all those years ago and I was scared out of my mind. I grabbed his hand so hard my wedding ring had turned sideways and punched a hole in his finger. I still hear about that... For the next few days, I expected every WDW attraction to be scary. I was even nervous the first time I rode Pirates! So glad AE is gone!

I used to love the HM, but this year, I was totally fine if we didn't get to go on it. I have a book and record set (but the record is long gone) that is from the 70's and it is the Haunted Mansion story. It is just like the ride-exactly. When I first went on it, I fell in love with it b/c it was that book from my childhood. I'm kind of passed that now though and have ridden it enough. I do like the CM's and the parts they play though and I hear that at Christmas they dress it up and it looks really pretty.

I remember when I was there with my parents when I was 12 and I wanted to go through so badly but my dad said the line up was too long and wouldn't wait. Funny thing is - he remembered that also and when we got back he asked me if we went and wanted to know how it was. I told him that he didn't miss much and he laughed.

Buzz always tells me it's too hard to get ADR's for this meal. "You have to get up early and call, call, call and call again..." Is it really hard or is he just trying to get out of a Cinderella meal??

I read on the boards that you need to book way ahead for this - I tried anyways (5 months ahead) and got in. Actually, I had originally booked our reservation for breakfast but changed my mind a few days later because I didn't want to get up so early and had no problems. Maybe it depends on the time of year? I dunno.

That is AWESOME!!! Btw, JoJo looks very cute in her sweatshirts and skirts and there is something about Goofy that just makes me smile every time I see her picture. They are both beautiful girls. Your pictures are incredible.

Awww...thank you. You're sweet.

He can laugh, but it's really true! He left me at home not once, but twice while he went to WDW without me!! And once was when I was 8 mos. pregnant with DD. I'm still doing "get even shopping" for that one.....

Heeeeyyyyyyyyyyy! That's so totally unfair! As much as I love it there, I'd never go alone.

YAY!!! I think that those of us moms who are also the family vacation planners put so much effort and energy and thought and time into it-- of course I enjoy the planning and I wouldn't have it any other way-- still it is SOOO rewarding when the kids appreciate it and let you know that your choices have pleased them. Especially when you hear about kids who don't want to go places with their parents.

Your royal lunch sounds nice. I would kind of like to do that but my girls aren't very interested in the characters. Well, one of them isn't, and I think the others take their cue from her. Maybe if I announce, "We'll go without you since I know you won't enjoy it," she'll change her attitude!

I can't wait to hear about the surprises at your resort. Please post again soon.

SOLGENT!!!!!!!! What a nice surprise to see you back

It was very rewarding. I worried far too much about it beforehand. Heh. I should have known better.

I bet your daughter would change her attitude

Have you started planning for your next trip yet?

I'm going to post my new installment as soon as I can. I want to consult with the family first because they often remind me of events I've forgotten.

How did I miss this TR? Awesome! Just read it all.

Your family is beautiful- so happy that they want to return already- very magical indeed

Your pics are some of the best - especially the one from the trains station of the castle- what a great perspective. Why didnt I think of that? It really is great. What type of camera if you dont mind my asking?

And it seems that you are enjoying ASMo? We were booked for there but changed due to pool refurb (POP was awesome) but I would really like to go there on our "next" trip!

I am very sorry to hear o your loss.

Thank you again

Thank you for your kind words.

We used four different cameras on our trip. The majority of the pictures were taken by my DH with our DSLR - EOS Digital Rebel XT 350D. It has an 8 megapixel, high-resolution CMOS sensor. I was using a sony cybershot (mainly for mpegs) and JoJo brought her own Kodak digital cam. The fourth camera was an underwater throwaway that we bought at Typhoon Lagoon.

ASMo was great. We allowed Goofy to make the choice from the values. There was an area by the pool that had an awful stench coming from it but other than that it was fine. Next time I'd like to stay at AKL - depending on our finances.

Thanks for your condolences. It does get better with time but there are still days when I find myself really missing my mom.

Great installment! I'm so happy that your family felt the magic. Looking forward to finding out what the surprises are.

Thank you swankybeth

My family

I was 11 years old and my parents told me we were driving to disney, I was so excited. Turns out we borrowed some sleeper/van thing and stayed in KOA campgrounds.

I thought we were staying the contemporary

Then we went to MK for a half day. My parents didn't want to ride any of the big rides and we only did jungle cruise/small world/country bears. I was sooooo disappointed

I asked for an ice cream and they bought me some frozen banana thing that I refused to eat and they yelled at me for not appreciating the trip

No wonder I stay concierge now when I travel I should have had therapy after that trip

ack! Sounds like my trip. I still appreciated my half day. It was better than not going at all!

I noticed in your siggie that you've been often and also stayed at AKL. Do you have a TR somewhere on the boards? I'd like to read about your AKL experience.

When I see those frozen banana abomnations in the park I have panic attacks and need a margarita.

JoJo had one of those on our trip and she said it was good! I'll have to try one and see for myself.

Great trip report!

I appreciate your comments

 

[Beana9802]

Linnie and Blue...
The christmas store is across the "road" from presidents. It is in Liberty Square.

 

[blue_river]

Linnie and Blue...
The christmas store is across the "road" from presidents. It is in Liberty Square.

Heh..thanks Beana!

 

[jojo05]

PS: JoJo, your mom is pretty darn smart, eh? (that's my Canadian eh? )

- well that all depends, but in this case yes.
shes a little crazy sometimes, like disney.

 

[Montana Disney Fan]

Linnie and Blue...
The christmas store is across the "road" from presidents. It is in Liberty Square.

Christmas Store?? MK has a Christmas Store??

To be honest, we never roll down that street. We go from PotC to Splash then to Haunted Mansion and Fantasy Land. I'll bet in all our years we've only walked past the Hall of Presidents maybe 4 times and that was prior to children.

And JoJo, Crazy is good !!!!

 

[blue_river]

Day 2 - Part 6

As much as I hated to leave the MK knowing I’d miss out on the afternoon parade, we figured it was a good time to go back to our resort for some downtime. The crowds were building and the heat was starting to get to us. This was another little piece of advice I picked up from the disboards and followed regularly except on day 4 in AK.

While walking along the waterfront, I noticed a quick moving creature scurrying from the hedges and stopped to see what it was. JoJo and Goofy were right behind me curious to see what I was up to. It didn’t take them long to figure out what I was looking at. Tiny lizards were running all over the place. They both dropped their bags and began yelling and screaming at Prince Grumpy and I to help them try to catch one. This was harder than it appeared. The darned things are fast and managed to escape my darting fingers.

Now you need to know a little bit about my daughters. When it comes to creatures, they have absolutely no fear at all (except for spiders) but they come by that naturally.

They’ve been coming home for years with snakes, bullfrogs, birds, half dead mice, turtles, preying mantis….well you get the picture. The list just goes on and on. They have a natural curiosity and fondness for insects, reptiles, and amphibians – basically anything that moves and breathes.

We live along the river where there is an abundant supply of wildlife to amuse them. In their explorations, they’ve dug up turtle eggs and observed them hatch, trying to save each and every one of them. They have raised tadpoles until they developed into frogs, filled up their plastic wading pool with a school of baby catfish. One time they lured a duck into our house with food – that was a real disaster! I remember one sunny evening; JoJo came running into the house yelling that she had just petted a beaver. ACK! Hubby and I ran outside to the boat launch to discover a sickly beaver sitting there rubbing its face with its paws. We explained to her that she has to be more careful.

Each year there is a new discovery, this summer JoJo brought home a nymph and we witnessed it transform into a beautiful dragonfly. It was spectacular. The procedure took about 30 minutes.

A dragonfly emerges

Anyways, like always, I’m off topic again. We must have chased the lizards for at least 30 minutes before finally giving up and went to catch our bus. At the bus stop the scores of ducks hanging around entertained the girls.

Once we reached the resort, Prince Grumpy and I decided we’d go back to our room to cool off and rest. JoJo and Goofy asked us if they could stay outside and look for more lizards. I allowed them to do that as long as they kept their radios on so we could reach them.

When we opened the door to our room we were pleasantly greeted with surprise number 1. Mouse keeping left two towel animals on our bed! Woohoo! I knew the girls were going to be ecstatic when they returned.

Surprise number 2 was sitting on each pillow of the girls’ bed. There were two Princess Ariel bags filled with some wonderful Disney goodies. I read about that somewhere on the disboards - that Tinkerbell sometimes leaves surprises for the children.

I couldn’t wait any longer and called Goofy and JoJo on my radio to tell them there was something waiting for them in our room. JoJo answered and in the background I could hear Goofy yelling, “I got one JoJo! Come here!” “Mom, we can’t come right now – we almost caught one”. Silence. Finally they returned to our room, empty handed – heh heh. No lizards today. But you haven't heard the end of it yet

First I showed them the towel animals.

Goofy: Wow! Can I have the small bunny mommy?
JoJo: I knew she’d leave one for us! Can we keep them????
Me: Yes we can keep them (no flames please)
I watched and waited for them to notice the bags on their bed.
Goofy: What’s that!?
JoJo: (runs over and dumps her bag) Did you buy this for us Mom?
Me: NO! I think it is from Tinkerbell, I read on the Disney boards that Tinkerbell sometimes leaves a little present for the children.
JoJo: rolls her eyes at me – “Come on mom, you bought it for us”
Me: NO! When would I have had time to do that? Okay, maybe it isn’t from Tink, maybe mouse keeping left it.
Goofy: Wow, cool!
JoJo: I’m going to write her a nice thank you note.
Me: OH…that’s a great idea. (thinking about it) You know what, I don’t actually think it is from mouse keeping because they wouldn’t spend their own money on guests. I think it must be from Disney World.
Goofy: I LOVE Disney World!!!
JoJo: How will we thank them then? I’m still writing mouse keeping a note for the towel animals
Me: Sure. That’s a great idea and we’ll give her a little extra with her tip tomorrow morning.

Goofy suddenly runs over to one of the bags she’d been toting around all morning and pulls out a big yellow Disney box.

Goofy: Dad, I bought something for you today
Prince Grumpy: For me?????
Goofy: smiling – Yes
Prince Grumpy: What is it? When did you do that?
Goofy: In the Christmas store where mom was AAAALLLLLLLL day
Me: I wasn’t there ALL day.
Prince Grumpy: That was very nice of you.
Me: Why did you do that? You don’t have to spend your money on us. It’s for you.
Goofy: I know. I just wanted to.

Goofy is such a thoughtful little child. She never said this, but I believe she bought the gift as a way of thanking her father for taking us all to WDW.

Surprise number 3 was a special tree ornament of Mickey Mouse on a Motorbike just for dad. Cause he’s special. Cause he loves bikes. Even though he doesn’t have one. But he wants one. He and Goofy are always talking about getting a Harley. So this was just another little push on her part.

Coming Up - Part 7 - An evening in the Kingdom

 

[jojo05]

thanks for posting the gross picture of me. eeewww.

 

[awesomepinktink]

can't wait for the rest!

 

[amy2girls]

How awesome is your trip report so far. Your two girls sound so funny. We will be taking our two princesse 5 and 7 in April. I hope you and your family are all feeling well and stay that way for many years to come. I know how scary it can be to be sick and go through a battery of testing. My oldest daughter is recovering from surgery this summer and is doing great, but some scary moments. Our April vacation is to celebrate her bravery. Cant wait to hear more, good luck and god bless.

 

[blue_river]

thanks for posting the gross picture of me. eeewww.

tsk - you look fine

 

[blue_river]

How awesome is your trip report so far. Your two girls sound so funny. We will be taking our two princesse 5 and 7 in April. I hope you and your family are all feeling well and stay that way for many years to come. I know how scary it can be to be sick and go through a battery of testing. My oldest daughter is recovering from surgery this summer and is doing great, but some scary moments. Our April vacation is to celebrate her bravery. Cant wait to hear more, good luck and god bless.

Thank you amy2girls. I'm sorry to hear about your daughter. That's awfully young to have to go through something like that. She does sound very brave and I hope you all have a wonderful trip! Hugs.

 

[Philadisney]

i just stumbled upon your report and i am enjoying it! thank you for sharing your pictures and stories!

 

[Montana Disney Fan]

Those little "animals" that housekeeping makes sure are cool. We had two in our room when we moved in. We never even touched them, just left them on display for the entire week. That was a nice surprise for you guys!

That duck thing is a "hoot". Three or four times we were also entertained by the ducks.

Once, right around lunch time at MK, we noticed a group of about 6 ducks, single file, heading towards Pecos Bills for lunch. We came out with our food a little later and there they were, waiting for some lunch to be tossed their way.

On the way out of MK, we went to the bus stop and there were two ducks, in the line behind some people, even facing the right direction in the line. It looked like they were waiting for their bus to arrive.

Then the ducks at AK were like a pack of half-starved hyenas hunting our meal. I couldn't even scare them off! It was cute at first then got a little creepy as more and more joined in until there were about 12 ducks surrounding our table. It was like a "Far Side" cartoon or something.

 

[PrincessJasmine08]

Thanks for continuing to share your trip, you are a wonderful storyteller.

 

[blue_river]

i just stumbled upon your report and i am enjoying it! thank you for sharing your pictures and stories!

It's very nice to hear positive comments. Thank you.

 

[blue_river]

Those little "animals" that housekeeping makes sure are cool. We had two in our room when we moved in. We never even touched them, just left them on display for the entire week. That was a nice surprise for you guys!

That duck thing is a "hoot". Three or four times we were also entertained by the ducks.

Once, right around lunch time at MK, we noticed a group of about 6 ducks, single file, heading towards Pecos Bills for lunch. We came out with our food a little later and there they were, waiting for some lunch to be tossed their way.

On the way out of MK, we went to the bus stop and there were two ducks, in the line behind some people, even facing the right direction in the line. It looked like they were waiting for their bus to arrive.

Then the ducks at AK were like a pack of half-starved hyenas hunting our meal. I couldn't even scare them off! It was cute at first then got a little creepy as more and more joined in until there were about 12 ducks surrounding our table. It was like a "Far Side" cartoon or something.

I was pleased with the towel animals because from what I've read, not everybody is lucky enough to get them.

We had a simliar experience with BIRDS while lunching in Typhoon Lagoon - you'll hear about it on day 3.

Thanks for returning Buzz

 

[blue_river]

Thanks for continuing to share your trip, you are a wonderful storyteller.

Well I don't know about that....but thank you for your kind words

 

[Bee]

More please.. cant wait!

 

[blue_river]

More please.. cant wait!

I'm working on it!

 

[PrincessJasmine08]

Well I don't know about that....but thank you for your kind words

No, really! I feel like I was there.