Celebrating A 5th Birthday with Mickey & Rain,May 2009! Completed..

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

I am sorry but it is too funny that Kaylee is trying to see into the costumes and the picture is priceless!

Stupid waiter spoiling the surprise. This day just wasn't going your way!

 

[englishrose47]

Great update of CM's !! We are going there for the first time in Sept !!I did check out the buffet and it looked good but we are buffet lovers !! I know what you mean about the rain and blisters !! I have never got blisters at WDW before but that rain did it !! Luckily I also had all sorts and sizes of bandaids !!!

 

[kaysmommie]

That STINKS that the waiter ruined the surprise for Thomas! Nichole, I DIED laughing when I saw the pic. of Kaylee looking in Donald's eyeball, TOO FUNNY! That girl is no dummy, that's for sure! Sorry the rain put such a huge damper on your trip! Glad you got to ride Haunted Mansion! Thomas looked pretty happy in the pictures considering everything!

Thanks Diane.
Kaylee is ruining the magic Why can't she just pretend for her mom. The waiter, grrrrrr. Thomas still had a great day even with the rain. I was not leaving with out riding HM .

Awww...I just love your Chef Mickey's photos! That is too funny about her trying to see inside the costume AGAIN! That picture made me laugh out loud!!

I think the pirate cake looks adorable and just the right size. The one we had for Katie in october was just so big (even for 8 of us) and, like you said, we should have picked a different restaurant other than a buffet...there were already so many desserts to eat that were included. But, like you with Chef Mickey's, it's where we wanted to have her bday dinner, so whatayagonnado, right?!

Oh man - sorry about your feet. Seemed to be a common theme with all the rain....

Sounds like a very busy day coming up....

Sara

Thanks Sara,
I can't believe Kaylee, trying to look in there. The CM in there must have thought what the heck is with this girl . I agree with you on the cake thing. Usually at GF you get a really good one at least. Even last year for Kaylee's Bday we wasted the cake. I'm not going to bother with that anymore. Blisters must be a theme for May . A crazy busy day coming up. Hey I posted on your TR thread yesterday, not sure if you saw it as it was right before your update. I wanted to know if you felt bad leaving the kids home? Tom and I are debating getting away for a Weekend by ourselves on our Anniversary. I just worry that I will feel really guilty leaving the kids home while I'm at thier favorite place. I know that have been there so many times. Thomas would be heartbroken if we went without him, Kaylee knows but she is holding it for a mother daughter trip.

east tennessee and what time was the pirate show i would love to see it and happy birthday to thomas the real reason to see the pirate show is cause of capiton jack i him oh and back to dance you should check out my studio webpage the url is turning pointe preformaning arts .com oh i would love to see pics of kaylee's dance prefomances



peace love disney everybody

I'll have to check your studios web page. not sure if i have heard of that school. We are in Knoxville too. Yes Captain Jack is the reason us girls watch the Pirate show. Well that and to see our kids have fun. The times of the show change each week. Be sure to pick up a times guide when you get your map of MK. It should list all the show and character times on it. if it doesn't just ask a CM in Adventureland.

I am sorry but it is too funny that Kaylee is trying to see into the costumes and the picture is priceless!

Stupid waiter spoiling the surprise. This day just wasn't going your way!

It is sort of funny but sad at the same time. Oh that darn waiter . He is lucky we still tipped him 15% after I asked him to hush about the cake.

Great update of CM's !! We are going there for the first time in Sept !!I did check out the buffet and it looked good but we are buffet lovers !! I know what you mean about the rain and blisters !! I have never got blisters at WDW before but that rain did it !! Luckily I also had all sorts and sizes of bandaids !!!

Blisters were inevitable with all that rain. Mine were quite nasty, hard to walk with them on the bottom of your feet. If you like buffets then you will love CM. Have fun in September. I want to go too .

 

[cdotla]

Great updates! Sorry you had to deal with all that rain but you obviously didn't let that stop you!

And I feel your pain on the blisters! On one of our last trips I was wearing proper park shoes but still got the biggest blister ever! It looked like a small balloon! Not fun! Then on our last trip I discovered this special bandaid blister balm and blister bandaids. Worked like a charm! Try it!!!

So Kaylee is beyond the princesses now is she? I figure we maybe have another year or so left and then Katie will be out of it too. She just turned 6. How old is Kaylee again?

Can't wait for the next update!

 

[kaysmommie]

Great updates! Sorry you had to deal with all that rain but you obviously didn't let that stop you!

And I feel your pain on the blisters! On one of our last trips I was wearing proper park shoes but still got the biggest blister ever! It looked like a small balloon! Not fun! Then on our last trip I discovered this special bandaid blister balm and blister bandaids. Worked like a charm! Try it!!!

So Kaylee is beyond the princesses now is she? I figure we maybe have another year or so left and then Katie will be out of it too. She just turned 6. How old is Kaylee again?

Can't wait for the next update!

Thank you . I have never had blisters before this trip since I wear Crocs flip flops at Disney. I might have to pick up the balm and bandaids next time just in case. Kaylee turned 9 in March. She likes the Princesses but they are not a must see for her and she hasn't wanted to dress up at the parks since she turned 8. But for MNSSHP she will dress up. I guess you have maybe two years left so enjoy them. Kaylee's favorite characters are Marie, Tink and Minnie.

 

[joy13]

Sounds like a great birthday for Thomas!!! Considering the rain, you got to do quite a bit

 

[ladybugmom]

It was Wednesday the 20th around 2-3 PM. Y es I agree better that you didn't know. I'm actually surprised more people didn't know though since we were under a warning. That is another thing I don't like about TN, the storms are scary aren't they? I hate them too especially when Tom isn't home.

Oh my! We were in Epcot and had no idea!! YIKES!! Yes, the storms are super-scary! Just 2 years ago a tornado hit Jackson, TN and destroyed a lot of my alma mater, Union University. My mom and dad live there (dad teaches at Union). Thankfully their house was fine but my dad's office at the university had the roof taken off! The dorms were demolished with students in them--and amazingly no one was killed! Soooo scary!!

 

[ladybugmom]

Great update!! I almost laughed out loud at Kaylee looking into Donald's costume!! How funny! Sorry your waiter spoiled the surprise--uggh!! We got back to the Poly in time to see the end of AI as well. I totally agree with you--Adam should have won. He was WAY more talented than Kris!

 

[MaryAz]

That waiter was a jerk. Boo on Kaylee-all of them are real I tell ya! Hmm wonder who you will meet tomorrow at dinner

 

[mom2mek]

Hey I posted on your TR thread yesterday, not sure if you saw it as it was right before your update. I wanted to know if you felt bad leaving the kids home? Tom and I are debating getting away for a Weekend by ourselves on our Anniversary. I just worry that I will feel really guilty leaving the kids home while I'm at thier favorite place. I know that have been there so many times. Thomas would be heartbroken if we went without him, Kaylee knows but she is holding it for a mother daughter trip.

I'm sorry Nichole - I must have missed that! Well, I have to be honest with you, I did indeed feel guilty but it didn't really hit me until our last day there. We spent so much time at the resort that day and seeing all the families there together made me miss them even more.

Guilt, fun, guilt, fun.. I went back and forth honestly. Much more guilt BEFORE we left though, and I came home soooo happy!!! (Now, in full disclosure, I never actually said the words “We are going to Disney World without you”! LOL! I said we were going to Florida for a couple of days and they would get to stay at Grandmommy’s. But at some point, they figured it out, and surprisingly were absolutely fine with it. Go figure. Having just gone in October might have had something to do with it (and knowing they would go back soon…don’t know when, but soon…) also might have helped.

This is the way I look at it....You have great kids who require a lot of work, a lot of love, and a lot of attention, but you and Tommy need your own time – and doing things together is not only healthy for you and him, it teaches the kids that “mommy and daddy” time is important too! One of the best gifts you can give your kids is a happy, loving marriage, and a trip to Disney with just the two of you is a great way to reconnect as a couple. You should not feel guilty for doing things that help you to be a more refreshed and relaxed parent, and you certainly shouldn’t feel guilty for spending time with your spouse without your kids.

The way I look at it is Disney World is my happy place too – not just my kid’s. It’s a different vacation without kids and it’s not like you’ll be doing exactly what you’d be doing with Kaylee and Thomas, KWIM? I’m sure they have no interest in browsing leisurely through the shops in the World Showcase, or wandering from food stand to food stand (or drink stand to drink stand). Plus, you tend to see a lot more things that you’ve never noticed before and can make mental notes to bring your kids back to see. The “adult” trip is a very different kind of trip; not better, not worse, just a different experience.

That said, there is a difference between feeling guilty for leaving the kids behind, and missing them and wishing they were with you. A trip to WDW is fraught with potential to have you thinking about and missing your children. I certainly did. BUT I still had a fabulous time and I would do it again in a heartbeat! It is just as much fun, but different fun! Hope that helps a little.

Sara

 

[Jeanine3kids]

All caught up on your trippie finally I am sorry about all the rain. I know tht rainy trips stink I had the same problem last August it rained everyday a total nightmare.

Jeanine

 

[LaurenMic]

Great recap of Thomas's bday!

I am with you, I have to have makeup on everyday, even in Disney!

I cannot believe that waiter at CM's, I was getting angry reading it. Does he get some sort of sick fun out of ruining little kid's surprises? The cake was adorable though!

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

Kaylee is a trip! Looking at the characters that way. OMG girl I hope you didn't tip big at CM's! I would have been PO'ed about that. The cake is cute but that jerk ruined the surprise. I can't believe he didn't give him a place mat either! That's messed up. They do this celebrate crap and it's worse than ever! Don't you think? No more free balloons or cards...nothing.

I still can't believe how much rain we dealt with. That was a mess. I hope that was a one time only ordeal. Oh...the croc flops....DD has those too. Those girls...two peas in a pod huh?

 

[kaysmommie]

Sounds like a great birthday for Thomas!!! Considering the rain, you got to do quite a bit

Thanks

Oh my! We were in Epcot and had no idea!! YIKES!! Yes, the storms are super-scary! Just 2 years ago a tornado hit Jackson, TN and destroyed a lot of my alma mater, Union University. My mom and dad live there (dad teaches at Union). Thankfully their house was fine but my dad's office at the university had the roof taken off! The dorms were demolished with students in them--and amazingly no one was killed! Soooo scary!!

That is very scary. I'm terrified of tornadoes. Thankfully your parents and the students were all okay .

Great update!! I almost laughed out loud at Kaylee looking into Donald's costume!! How funny! Sorry your waiter spoiled the surprise--uggh!! We got back to the Poly in time to see the end of AI as well. I totally agree with you--Adam should have won. He was WAY more talented than Kris!

Kaylee also did that on our October trip. It must be pretty obvious in the Donald costume. The waiter uggh what a jerk. I liked Kris but yeah Adam is way more talented. I don't care what his preferences for me AI ia all about the talent. Now if he were very flamboyant that would have gotten on my nerves .

That waiter was a jerk. Boo on Kaylee-all of them are real I tell ya! Hmm wonder who you will meet tomorrow at dinner

Yes he was a jerk . Kaylee is ruining the magic . I got to meet 2 Dis families on our last day .

I'm sorry Nichole - I must have missed that! Well, I have to be honest with you, I did indeed feel guilty but it didn't really hit me until our last day there. We spent so much time at the resort that day and seeing all the families there together made me miss them even more.

Guilt, fun, guilt, fun.. I went back and forth honestly. Much more guilt BEFORE we left though, and I came home soooo happy!!! (Now, in full disclosure, I never actually said the words “We are going to Disney World without you”! LOL! I said we were going to Florida for a couple of days and they would get to stay at Grandmommy’s. But at some point, they figured it out, and surprisingly were absolutely fine with it. Go figure. Having just gone in October might have had something to do with it (and knowing they would go back soon…don’t know when, but soon…) also might have helped.

This is the way I look at it....You have great kids who require a lot of work, a lot of love, and a lot of attention, but you and Tommy need your own time – and doing things together is not only healthy for you and him, it teaches the kids that “mommy and daddy” time is important too! One of the best gifts you can give your kids is a happy, loving marriage, and a trip to Disney with just the two of you is a great way to reconnect as a couple. You should not feel guilty for doing things that help you to be a more refreshed and relaxed parent, and you certainly shouldn’t feel guilty for spending time with your spouse without your kids.

The way I look at it is Disney World is my happy place too – not just my kid’s. It’s a different vacation without kids and it’s not like you’ll be doing exactly what you’d be doing with Kaylee and Thomas, KWIM? I’m sure they have no interest in browsing leisurely through the shops in the World Showcase, or wandering from food stand to food stand (or drink stand to drink stand). Plus, you tend to see a lot more things that you’ve never noticed before and can make mental notes to bring your kids back to see. The “adult” trip is a very different kind of trip; not better, not worse, just a different experience.

That said, there is a difference between feeling guilty for leaving the kids behind, and missing them and wishing they were with you. A trip to WDW is fraught with potential to have you thinking about and missing your children. I certainly did. BUT I still had a fabulous time and I would do it again in a heartbeat! It is just as much fun, but different fun! Hope that helps a little.

Sara

Sara thanks so much,
You have some good points. One's that I have been weighing out in my mind. We definitely need some time without the kids and Tom suggested than going to Disney. But it would only be 3 nights because my mom is not as patient as yours unfortunately. Though she always says my kids are perfect angels. I worry about her aggravating them honestly. But it's okay with me if we just go to Nashville or something like that for the weekend. We just want to do something special for our Anniversary this year.

I had to ask you though because it seemed like you were missing the kids a bit but still happy to get away with Shawn. There is a good chance we might just go and fly in for the weekend. The touring plan looks much easier even with only 2-3 days. I won't be able to use my pin code still since it would be only 3 nights. Thanks for sharing your thoughts mom to mom.

All caught up on your trippie finally I am sorry about all the rain. I know tht rainy trips stink I had the same problem last August it rained everyday a total nightmare.

Jeanine

Hi Jeanine,
I'm pretty sure your away on your trip right now, hope your having fun. Rainy trips are awful. Thanks for reading.

Great recap of Thomas's bday!

I am with you, I have to have makeup on everyday, even in Disney!

I cannot believe that waiter at CM's, I was getting angry reading it. Does he get some sort of sick fun out of ruining little kid's surprises? The cake was adorable though!

Thanks Lauren. I have to wear at least a little something since we do take pics and I don't look like crap anyway. But on rope drop mornings i have about 20 minutes to shower dress, hair and makeup. The kids take up all my time . The waiter was a PITA.

Kaylee is a trip! Looking at the characters that way. OMG girl I hope you didn't tip big at CM's! I would have been PO'ed about that. The cake is cute but that jerk ruined the surprise. I can't believe he didn't give him a place mat either! That's messed up. They do this celebrate crap and it's worse than ever! Don't you think? No more free balloons or cards...nothing.

I still can't believe how much rain we dealt with. That was a mess. I hope that was a one time only ordeal. Oh...the croc flops....DD has those too. Those girls...two peas in a pod huh?

Tommy tip the waiter the standard 15% .At least he didn't give him 20%, I would have left him only 10% and thanked him again for ruining the surprise.
We did get a card in our room. it was there when we got back from MK that night. Oops I forgot to write that in my trippie. No balloons or anything though. She loves her crocs flip flops.

 

[kaysmommie]

Day 6, OUR LAST DAY, AK and Tusker HOUSE...

This was our last day in Disney. Thomas woke up to his favorite wake up call. We had to be up so early since we had a n early breakfast and so much to cram in this day. We got dressed and headed to the bus stop by 6:55 am. Of course we didn't get on a bus until 7:40 and still had to go around the entire resort. I was at my wits end with the SSR bus service. Even CBR had much better bus service.

We arrived at AK and still had that long walk to Africa to check in at Tusker House. We didn't arrive until 8:10 Am even though our ressie was for 8:00 am. They were so slow seating people for some reason. We were finally seated after waiting around for a good 15 minutes. Mind it's first thing in the morning and all the tables were empty . I'm not patient on rope drops day, I confess.

We had okay service, this waiter seemed to have a bit of a tude too . I don't get what was up with that. Two not good ones in one trip. The rest of the Disney wait staff were great though. Sorry i didn't take pics of the food here, we were hungry since we usually eat right away when we wake up. Except me though as I have to wait 40 minutes after my meds. It was a huge buffett and had tons of choices which was nice. The food was all really good. The characters though were really super quick. They practically tried to wave and run. It was very hard to get a picture since they were in a rush. This place is not the best meal for characters I have to say. But the costumes were cute and Donald loved Kaylee's shirt. I could not figure out why Ihave shadows in some of the pics, maybe because they were trying to run away. The family next to us also complained about this and I had to agree. hard not to hear since the tables are on top of each other. If not for Kaylee requesting to eat here again as she loved the food selection then I would not go back. So many better character breakfast places like. We like 'Ohana, Park Fare and Cape May better. on to the pics.

They had a cute little parade with the characters. Each kid was given a a little african instrument to play. It was also very brief to compared to other places we have dined.

When we were almost finished the waiter brought out a hge blue cupcake for Thomas' Birthday. I think by this time he had enough of desserts and didn't even take on bite. It looked yummy and Tom offered to have it boxed up for later but Thomas said no thanks. Excuse the bad picture Thomas eating but it's only cupcake pic I have.

We quickly paid and we got outside just in time for rope drop. Maybe it was good the characters walked and waved . This nice CM from Africa wanted Kaylee to come dance with her but she was being shy. Of course Thomas was too.

Continued in next post....

 

[englishrose47]

I wasn't overly impressed with this when it was Donald's breakfasaurus , but we had a great waiter That was our VERY first Disney meal and I remmeber it being crowded !! I haven't scheduled this one for Sept and am glad after reading your comments !!

 

[kaysmommie]

A minute later the crowds came charging up behind us and then they dropped the rope. We got right on line for the Safari. This is one Thomas and my favorites. I told Tom and Kaylee and that they could just go ride EE but they said no. Since they don't love this ride. But they decided they didn't care about riding EE . I think Tommy just wanted to take pics with the new camera. We wish we had it last October when we did the GG Safari dinner. Since we had plenty of time to take pics and ask questions.

We had a fun ride and saw lots of animals. I think this Safari is so well themed. I did a project at travel agent school all about Kenya. Since I'll never go there this is the closest thing for me. At one point we had to stop and wait since Giraffe's were blocking the truck in front of us. They gave us more time for pics though and they were so cute. I just love them and am hoping to stay at AKL one day so I can have coffee and watch animals from my balcony.

After the Safari Tom and I really wanted to see the Nemo Musical since we have missed it every trip. But we needed to check in for our flight on South west. We don't have internet on our phones so we had to go to guest services. Tom said he would just do it and we would meet up after. So I gave him my index cards and told him what he needed to do. Whilst we waited I tried to convince the kids to take the train to Harambe but no one wanted to go, But that does change later on . Stopping to play the drums was a must though.

We were walking out of Africa when saw Terk and a short line. Thomas loves Terk but always insists Terk is a boy gorilla. So I had to tell him again Terk is a girl and Terk nodded yes to confirm this to Thomas. Luckily Thomas still loves her .

Continued in next post, too many pics....

 

[kaysmommie]

Then we saw Lilo and Stitch were out too. So we hopped into the long line. It was probably a 20 minute wait. Tom called and met back up with us on the line. The CM at Guest services was a pro at on line check ins luckily and we were able to get A boarding passes. If we didn't get A passes I wasn't too worried since they let families with small children (Thomas) board in between groups A and B and you still have a good selection of seats. Back to Lilo & Stitch, we were happy to meet them since we didn't have a breakfast at Poly planned this trip. Thomas couldn't wait to tell him how much he loves when he calls to wake to us up each day.


Thomas is always giving me the hand

Our next character stop was to look for Chip & Dale since we had 't seen them yet and it was our last day. After Mickey they are Thomas' Favorite! tom took this on the way to Camp Minnie Mickey.

When we walked up they were leaving with the character handler. But he said they would be back after a short break. So we waited for them to come back out, they are worth the wait.

We said bye to Chip and Dale. Next the kids wanted to see Pooh and Tigger. So I checked the times guide and they were over towards Dinoland. We saw Pocahontas was out and Kaylee wanted to meet her. Thomas had zero interest meeting her.

After that the kids wanted to stop and check out the Kidcot stop. I guess this is new at AK. It's a great way for kids to get educated on animals and also learn what they can do to portect them. They had a kidcot stop in each section of the park and if you get all your stamps by playing the games you get a special sticker at the end. My kids love this kind of game. they had to reach into a hollow tree and tell the CM what each item was.

Of course Kaylee sees that she needs to go to Planet Watch to get a stamo, so now she wants to go there. Only I don't feel like spending and hour doing that now since we spent so much time meeting characters. But I agreed to do the rest of the kidcot stops with them. All I had to do was mention the possiblity of a swim and they wanted to do that more. only if the weather cooperated of course.

Kangaroo

There was a bit of a wait for the Pooh characters, but that was okay. It was a character meeting day! Since the rain was holding out we did get lots of pics this day.

Turns out it was time for Tiggers break. So he took Kaylee and Thomas for a walk on his way. The handler played along and yelled it at him for trying to leave and go into the park with his new friends.

Dinoland was next as Thomas wanted to go on rides and Triceratop spin was all there really is for him besides Dinosaur. He did ask about Primevil Whirl but he is not tall enough yet. Then we did the kidcot stop in DL and also the one in Asia. They had fun learning about dinosaurs and howler monkies.

We had trouble finding the next kidcot stop since it was down a path near the TOL. I had Tommy stop for popcron and drinks on the way since the kids were getting hungry. We finally found the kidcot stop. It was all about spiders and they had a huge tarantula out for the kids to see. Thomas liked looking at him but the rest of us not so much. Yuck see him in that tiny cage.

It was cool seeing this side of the tree of Life though. I wanted to do the whole path but we needed to head out before the rain if we ever wanted to swim in the main pool with the slide. But here a few pics of the animals craved into the TOL. The owl was just amazing! This path is on my list for next time.

Good bye Animal Kingdom

We tired to get out of there and beat the rain clouds to SSR so we could take a swim and maybe Thomas could get a much needed nap.


Up next: Do we ever get to the main pool or do they have another code brown???

Epcot, Le Cellier and two Dis meets!!

 

[kaysmommie]

I wasn't overly impressed with this when it was Donald's breakfasaurus , but we had a great waiter That was our VERY first Disney meal and I remmeber it being crowded !! I haven't scheduled this one for Sept and am glad after reading your comments !!

Hi Rosie
I don't blame you for not scheduling this again. tthe characters were fast and furious to say the least. Kaylee loved it and this would be her choice for a Disney meal. I even offered her CRT instead.

 

[Jeanine3kids]

Hey Nichole Didn't leave yet we leave monday I am just getting really stressed out I always do before we leave I can't help it I worry about stupid things to. I think I may have a problem I think I need Meds LOL. I love your Ak pics.