Castles & Hogwarts & Blizzards...OH MY! LAH LAH's TR *Update 12/18 ADOPTION DAY*

[LAH LAH]

Meema on a Mission​

Meema was very disappointed when we checked the Dino Land gift shop for Mr. Potato Head pieces, only to find the display was all gone. I had filled up a box last December and she was super excited to get some for her house. My sister has a little boy, Jack who is 14 months and lives the next town over from Meema and Peepa. He comes to visit a lot. We live a little over 4 hours away, but they are really good about having the right toys for all the boys when we come to visit. (Poor Elsa. 6 grandchildren and she's the only girl. I am one of the lucky ones who's family accepts the foster babies as their own family...and pretty soon I don't even have to say foster babies! They will officially be mine...all mine!!!!!)

Anywho, we were told the only place that now carries them is Once Upon a Toy at Downtown Disney. Well, that was all Meema needed to hear. The rest of us weren't so sure. We wanted to go back to the resort, eat, swim, rest, and just generally veg. Meems was really hinting about how much she wanted to go to DTD. She would have skipped it if we all put up a big enough fuss (remember the whole EPCOT wheelchair situation? She tends to back down fairly easily) but I made the decision that we would all go together. Peepa was starting to feel more and more under the weather and I know he really just wanted to go to the resort, but I felt like we needed to all stick together. I tend to be a bit bossy!

So we hopped a bus to Animal Kingdom Lodge and then waited for the next bus to Downtown Disney. I don't think Meema and Peepa have ever been there before. We were really jokingly giving Meems the business about not wanting to be there, and she had a good attitude about it. Elsa was a bit tired, so she hopped a ride on Peeps:

We quickly made it to Once Upon a Toy and the Potato Head display was fantastic! Meema set off to fill up a box (all you can fit in for $19.95) and it wasn't too long until Elsa, Michael and I started filling up a box for us to take home too. We worked hard not to get anything we bought last December. Did we need anymore? Ummmm...no. Did we have any trouble cramming in piece after piece? I think you know the answer to that!

On our way out we took pictures to text to the little boys. They love, love, love Toy Story, well at least E and C do. N is too little to like anything more than rice cereal and formula!

I think if Meema had her druthers we would have walked the whole way around. But we could not be convinced. We were hungry and tired so we didn't go any further. We walked through the pin store and took some pics:

And try as we might we couldn't get Meema to skip the Christmas store. I plopped in a plush chair while everyone wandered around. Boy, oh boy was I t-i-r-e-d. Meema purchased a few things and we were ready to go back to the resort and eat! It was close to 7:30, but that didn't keep us from a few more pictures:

On the bus ride back to the resort a competition of sorts was under way. I was telling Meema how I was sure I was superior in packing my Potato Head box, and how I was betting that I had more pieces than she did. So one by one we counted them out as the other bus riders watched. I lost by like 2 measly pieces. I hate losing. We did each have 20+ pieces in our boxes, though. That is a pretty impressive haul! Congrats Meems!!

By 8:30 we sitting in front of some Disney pizza and ready to eat. By this time in the trip the kids and I were a little soda and desserted out. We chose some veggies and fruits as our sides with some water:

Michael took his pizza outside to watch the movie on the lawn at POP while the rest of us ate our fill! Elsa was ready to swim and Meema headed off to do some laundry. Peepa wasn't feeling up to par, but we somehow got him to swim with Elsa.

...Elsa with her treasures found on the bottom of the pool. gross....

...Meema and her $5 for laundry. Obviously the changer was not her friend...

...they worked on this for quite some time...

...this too...

...Michael joined them when the movie was over...​

I could tell you a funny story about how Meema dragged her laundry the whole way from the 1950's to the 1960's. I had told her there was a laundry outside her pool. So I was surprised when she showed up at the Hippy Dippy pool, tired from carrying it all. I asked her why she didn't just do it at her pool...and she said "What pool? We don't have a pool". I walked her back to her room laughing the whole way. Somehow she walked past the bowling pin pool for 3 days and never knew it was there. But I'll skip telling it as it might be too embarrassing. Hee hee hee

We were in bed by 11pm and Peepa needed every minute of sleep as he was about to battle the dreaded crud sickness.

UP NEXT: Hooray for Hollywood!

 

[Lady Lallie]

Yay! Another update! I love updates. Makes the last 20 minutes of work go by faster.

I'm very happy that Meema was able to get her potato head pieces, those are very important you know! I hate losing too, I feel your pain.

I really like that the resorts have the movies now, what a nice way to wind down at the end of a long Disney day.

 

[jenjolt]

Another update!! WOOT WOOT!!! Loved it!! Seems like a lot was accomplished going down to DTD!!

Sorry you didn't win the pieces competition...however I think its a win win for all involved when you get to take home Mr. Potato head pieces...cutest things ever!!!

Love the way you ended your evening, Pizza, movie, and swimming!!! Sound awesome!!!

 

[Jennifer48]

Oh no I don't like hearing when people get sick on Disney vacations!

Meema on a mission at DTD!

 

[LAH LAH]

Yay! Another update! I love updates. Makes the last 20 minutes of work go by faster.

I'm very happy that Meema was able to get her potato head pieces, those are very important you know! I hate losing too, I feel your pain.

I really like that the resorts have the movies now, what a nice way to wind down at the end of a long Disney day.

I am so happy I could help your work day go by faster!!!

Let's have a moment of silence for my uncharacteristic loss. <--- I made it a mad moment.

The only problem with the movie time being at 8:30 is Michael felt like he was missing out on something big while we were at the parks and the movie was playing at the resorts. That EPCOT day, when Meema's foot hurt so bad, he was continually telling her if she needed to go back and rest he would graciously go back with her. Seemed so generous until the movie started, he wasn't there, and the offers stopped. Bless that boy!

Another update!! WOOT WOOT!!! Loved it!! Seems like a lot was accomplished going down to DTD!!

Sorry you didn't win the pieces competition...however I think its a win win for all involved when you get to take home Mr. Potato head pieces...cutest things ever!!!

Love the way you ended your evening, Pizza, movie, and swimming!!! Sound awesome!!!

OK, I will have to agree! We have all but about 10 of the pieces they offer and we love them!!

It was a great evening to relaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaax! *happy sigh*

Oh no I don't like hearing when people get sick on Disney vacations!

Meema on a mission at DTD!

We have never really had to deal with sickness at Disney before, but this trip was knocking us down.

 

[littlezar]

Yay for Meema meeting up on the way to lunch!

Love the hat pics! Bummer about Primeval Whirl. Glad the trio was able to make it for most of the show!

Too funny about Kali! I’d be the one to get soaked so I have decided that I’m more than happy to wait and take pics!

Love the Yeti family pic!! LOL @ the Potato Head Pieces competition!!

Pizza looked yummy ~ but that cupcake looks delish!! I know what ya mean about getting tired of soda & dessert. Oh no on Peepa getting sick!


(By the way, for Halloween my 5 yr old was Woody and my 10 yr old was a gangster and sort of growled "Thanks for the loot, pal!" everytime someone gave him candy. The 14 yr old had a scream mask & robe and the 16 yr old had a creepy skeleton zombie mask & gloves and they handed out candy. My 14 yr old said they didn't have to take off their masks for little kids as much as they thought they would! My 5 yr old was scared of the 16 yr old and he saw him put the mask on!)

 

[LAH LAH]

Yay for Meema meeting up on the way to lunch!

Love the hat pics! Bummer about Primeval Whirl. Glad the trio was able to make it for most of the show!

Too funny about Kali! I’d be the one to get soaked so I have decided that I’m more than happy to wait and take pics!

Love the Yeti family pic!! LOL @ the Potato Head Pieces competition!!

Pizza looked yummy ~ but that cupcake looks delish!! I know what ya mean about getting tired of soda & dessert. Oh no on Peepa getting sick!


(By the way, for Halloween my 5 yr old was Woody and my 10 yr old was a gangster and sort of growled "Thanks for the loot, pal!" everytime someone gave him candy. The 14 yr old had a scream mask & robe and the 16 yr old had a creepy skeleton zombie mask & gloves and they handed out candy. My 14 yr old said they didn't have to take off their masks for little kids as much as they thought they would! My 5 yr old was scared of the 16 yr old and he saw him put the mask on!)

Hahahahahaha! I love it!

 

[LAH LAH]

Hooray for Hollywood!​

Another 9am meeting at the bus, and this time everyone was boarding the bus together! Peepa was still not feeling well, but he seemed determined to push through. During this trip I was really working on the gentleman aspect for Michael. He was directed to keep standing until every single woman on the bus was seated. I can't say he was thrilled or excited about this, but I guess that's not the point. This is standard practice for Peepa and Michael is plenty old enough to be a gentleman, and so the training begins.

Anywho, we quickly made it in through the turnstiles and the hat was waiting for us!

The chipmunks were waiting too!

After the Great Movie Ride (our CM's were greatly lacking ) we stopped to look at the busts. I don't think I have ever paid them any mind before. It's amazing what you find when you slow down just a bit:

...I love how her joy just spills from her smile...

...opinions differed here...

...the man who started it all...​

We quickly headed over to the new Star Tours. It was down and out on our last trip and we were ready to experience the hype! Peepa had to sit out...that simulation stuff really messes him up. Poor Peepa

It was fantastic! Meema couldn't see the 3D clearly, but she thinks it's because of all the movement. Michael had died and gone to heaven. It was pretty much like walking into a video game and this is one of his biggest dreams. We were told there was something like 40 different senarios. He begged us to ride it again, but we bowed out as Peepa was waiting for us. We did take a moment to capture this:

We were excited to experience Indiana Jones, but it wasn't open yet, so we decided to head towards Tower of Terror! On our way we happened upon some of the funniest side shows we have ever seen. The first was Shelby Mayer and Melvin Macheezo:

​

He kept trying to hand Elsa a business card and pulling it away at the last minute and asking her "Are you drunk child?". We were laughing so hard! He asked if she ever had a boyfriend to which she answered "yes". He then wanted to know why they were no longer together and she just kept giggling and saying "I don't know" (she was in Kindergarten) which prompted him to start calling her a hussy! It was hilarious!!! Then he turned on Michael harping on the fact that he didn't have full time employment and getting angry at him for being taller than him:

Michael usually doesn't like to be singled out, but he was really enjoying this! They drove away and we didn't make it 20 feet down the road before we got pulled into another situation. Officer Percival Peabody was trying to pick up a single piece of litter, which he was terrified of. He was trying to get the director's shot clear of all debris, but his screams and ruckus was making the Director very nervous. He called on Elsa to hold his billy club and help protect him from the litter and had Meema rub the directors shoulders to calm him down.

As the officer was working up the courage to pick up that piece of paper, he instructed Elsa to continue to guard him but once he used the tweezers to pick it up, she must run over and open the garbage can with the club. After many false alarms he finally picked it up and off they went!

I don't think any of us have laughed that hard in a looong time!​

UP NEXT: More MGM, errrrr, Hollywood Studios

 

[Lady Lallie]

Gentleman training for Michael is a good thing, that whole bus scenario is a VERY good example of being a gentleman.

Oh my goodness, sounds like you had a great time interacting with the characters. I just love those little shows they do but I watch with slight trepidation as I do NOT want to pulled into it. I just like to watch.

 

[jenjolt]

Oh that is so awesome!! I just love the steetsmophere people!! What a great experience!! They are hilarious and I'm so happy for you guys that you got to be a part of it!! What great fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[LAH LAH]

Gentleman training for Michael is a good thing, that whole bus scenario is a VERY good example of being a gentleman.

Oh my goodness, sounds like you had a great time interacting with the characters. I just love those little shows they do but I watch with slight trepidation as I do NOT want to pulled into it. I just like to watch.

It was a whole vacation learning experience for him...he wasn't too thrilled. It will do him good with the ladies later on in life and is the right thing for a young man to learn now!

Those characters were extremely funny!

Oh that is so awesome!! I just love the steetsmophere people!! What a great experience!! They are hilarious and I'm so happy for you guys that you got to be a part of it!! What great fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't wait to go back and do it all over again!

 

[reelmom]

I am loving your TR. I seems like you had a wonderful time. I also wanted to say that I think it is great that you are adopting.

 

[LAH LAH]

I am loving your TR. I seems like you had a wonderful time. I also wanted to say that I think it is great that you are adopting.

Thank you! Happy to have you join in on the fun!

 

[LAH LAH]

More MGM, errrr, Hollywood Studios​

We walked away from the street actors ready to enjoy more of the parks! We had 200+ photo pass pictures taken on this vacation and I used them in our photobook, but I didn't like enough of them to justify the cost of the CD. There was one I fell in love with, but I am saving that for later! So, a lot of our group pictures are missing me.

We made our way to Tower of Terror and enjoyed riding it, as usual!! Peepa was still feeling poorly, but was being a trooper! Back to Indiana Jones, just in the nick of time. Standing room only for us. We didn't mind, but Meema's foot was a paining her, so she sat on a ledge way in the back. I'm not sure she could even see. Meema and Peepa had already spent their first day (half day) here, so anything else now is a bonus!!! Great show and then off to lunch!

...that's a lot of french fries...​

After lunch we headed over to Muppet 3-D and Meema could see it! Upon leaving the show it started raining. BOO. I hate when my head gets wet! Michael, Elsa and I wanted to make a run for it, but Meema and Peepa weren't budging. So we waited it out. Peepa was fading fast, but doing his best to keep going.

We sat down for Voyage of the Little Mermaid, per Meema's request. Not one of our favorites, but we had a good Ariel and Meema was happy...so it was all worth it. Next we visited One Man's Dream and stayed for the film. It gave us all a chance to relax and get prepared for the rest of the day, plus it's about Walt and what's not to love about that?!! Then one of our most favorite rides: Toy Story Mania!!! Peepa was sure this was his first time ever riding this. We tried to convince him he rode this with us in 2009. He was sure we were wrong. Well, I am here to tell you *drum roll, please* WE WERE RIGHT!!! (excerpt from my 2009 TR) Then we rode on Toy Story Mania while Meema waited in some shade...We all felt bad that the Meems was sick. The Peeps totally crushed all of our scores. I just don't know how he does that. I am not sure how someone forgets they ever rode this ride. I guess I will just have to chalk it up to old age. Hee hee hee (and what's up with all the sickness...then, now?)

Michael crushed all of our scores. Figures.

We made our way back towards Tower of Terror and Peepa sat out and kind of slumped down onto a park bench while we rode Rock 'n' Rollercoaster! It was fun, fun fun!

...Elsa ~ hahahahahaha...​

When we came out it was clear Peepa could go no further. He was hoping if he could just go back to the resort and sleep, maybe he could recover enough for our final day tomorrow at the Magic Kingdom. By this point Peepa's throat was on fire, he had a fever, chills, and just generally hurt all over. We felt so bad for him as he walked towards the exit.

But since we were already there we decided to ride Tower of Terror. 5 times. Well, they rode it 5 times in a row. I only made it through 3 and bowed out. I had the start of a sore throat and was pretty tired, so I spent some time watching people exit ToT and I really enjoyed seeing the rush of excitement as they exited.

After our fill of ToT we grabbed some good seats for Beauty and the Beast:

Elsa said she isn't all that impressed with the Disney shows. Ha! This is the strong opinion of a 12 year old. Take it how you see fit.

We headed back towards Toy Story (who could resist, right?) and I pulled us all in for this picture. Michael was less than thrilled:

Michael beat us all again, but Elsa and I improved our scores and that's all one can ask when it comes to playing video games against Michael. I think Meema is sometimes just along for the ride, but that's ok because we love her.

We kept texting Peepa but we weren't getting any response. He must be awfully ill to leave a park and sleep during the day! Poor Peepa

Meema wanted to show us where the Singing in the Rain umbrella was, but had no idea where it might be. We wandered around and finally came across it in a very isolated area. I am not sure we have ever come this way before. Fun stuff though, when you step under the umbrella the rain starts!

And then we happened upon Coke stuff for our friends back home:

It was getting late and we were ready for dinner. We all agreed on Pizza Planet, but I was so unsure of this area and we got lost. A couple times. But that's OK because we got another fun picture!

We did finally find it and we ate, and ate and ate!

I got the veggie pizza and it wasn't something I would ever get again. Meema got the salad and she tried a piece of my pizza and she quickly set it down. Not so good. The kids cheese pizzas were yummy as always and thankfully they shared them with me. We all got the cappuccino cupcakes, on the recommendation of Meema (remember they were here earlier in the week). Now here's the deal, Meema loves coffee...Peepa does not, but he had said earlier that it was good. I don't like coffee at all and was unsure of getting this specific cupcake fearing I wouldn't like it and waste my dessert (it's a great day when that is all you have to fear during a day at Disney). Here is my two cents: if you don't like coffee, don't get this cupcake. Meema loved hers. Hahahahahaha​

It gave us just enough energy for 2 more rides; Star Tours and Rock 'n' Rollercoaster!

We were the final group to ride R'n'R and the CM's were all waiting for us at the exits, clapping and cheering like we had just won the Super Bowl. We still hadn't heard from Peepa and we were hoping he was alright. We made our way to the exit, seeing as the park was closed, and were greeted with the longest line for our bus I am ever seen. Thankfully, they doubled up on buses again and we made it hope before too long.

It turns out Peepa had spent the afternoon sleeping and trying to break this horrible sickness. He slept restlessly through the night battling a fever and was so congested he actually took some over the counter medicine, which is HUGE for him. We were really hoping he could join us in the morning for our final day!

UP NEXT: Kingdom, Here We Come!

 

[Lady Lallie]

Oh no, poor Peepa and feeling sick! I can't imagine being sick enough at Disney to have to go back to the room. That must be a very depressing feeling!

I can't believe tomorrow is already your last day!

 

[LAH LAH]

Oh no, poor Peepa and feeling sick! I can't imagine being sick enough at Disney to have to go back to the room. That must be a very depressing feeling!

I can't believe tomorrow is already your last day!

I went back and finished our day in the previous post.

I hate when the vacation is ending

 

[Lady Lallie]

I love it when the CMs clap for you! We had that happen when we rode Splash Mountain, they told us we had only been the third group to ride that day so far! It was crazy how excited they got.

 

[LAH LAH]

I love it when the CMs clap for you! We had that happen when we rode Splash Mountain, they told us we had only been the third group to ride that day so far! It was crazy how excited they got.

I love it!

 

[Curiouser&curiouser!]

Boy you had a fun day at HS, even with all the sickness! You really got a lot done.

Poor Peepa. Hopefully he feels better for the MK!

 

[LAH LAH]

Boy you had a fun day at HS, even with all the sickness! You really got a lot done.

Poor Peepa. Hopefully he feels better for the MK!

Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studio days seem to just fly by. That's good because we are having so much fun, but slightly stinky because there is so much rushing around involved. But with WDW it's all good!!!