Cross your heart we're going! Cross it!An Unexpected April Adventure! TR Started!!!!

[wdwgirl03]

Oh gosh, I have so many good memories (just read all my TRs! ) but a few that stand out are staying at the Polynesian for so many years...playing on the beach when we were little, coming back at night to the torches lit, eating at Captain Cook's. Pretty much anything related to the Poly is good.

Umm, becoming DVC members and when we got to be in the parade at the Animal Kingdom.

 

[Mickey_Mom]

Wow, some of the answers given here.... sniff!

Mine in no particular order.....

1. Watching Prince Charming fix the crown on Ariana's head after he'd knocked it askew because she'd hugged him so hard.

2. Cinderella resting her head on top of Ariana's head and just letting her hug her for as long as she wanted.

3. Alex's teeth smiles from our first trip that he no longer likes to show anyone.

4. Demetri as a baby kissing the noses of all the characters he met.

5. Ariel giving Ariana a lipstick kiss on her cheek.

6. Snow White sitting down at our table for breakfast and giving Ariana a 'cup full of Pixie Dust'.

7. Alex inventing his Jube-Jube-Sundae at Chef Mickey's.

8. Pooh Bear, Tigger, Piglet and Eeyore's visits from our first time at Crystal Palace..... Tigger giving us all high-fives.

9. Demetri knocking Pluto over at Ohana because he gave him a running jump hug when they were both on all fours.

10. Ariana's and mine Mother-Daughter breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table.

 

[Angies1274]

All those moments are why we LOVE WDW so much! Thanks for sharing!

I love your Favorite Moments list. I always always always tear up when I see the castle for the first time. I just can't help it.

I know....me too!!

Great list!!

I love how DH becomes a child for just a little while when he rides ToT & RnRC with Alex several times in a row! (They generally butt heads quite a bit...)

Watching Wishes from BTMRR!

and so many others I can't think of right now!

Thanks for sharing!! Watching Wishes from BTMRR is something we hope to do someday!!

Love your top 10! Here are mine in order of occurrence.

1. Cinderella kneeling down to greet my then 2 year old DS#1 and watching him run into her arms for a huge hug.

2. That same son at 4 years old meeting his hero, Buzz Lightyear.

3. Experiencing the Osbourne Lights with the music playing and the snow falling.

4. Walking down a darkened almost deserted Main Street with then 5 year old DS #1 during the Pirate & Princess Party. Music was playing, light figures of skulls & crossbones on the building and my precious little boy holding my hand

5. Minnie giving my DD (then 7 years old) her own private tour of her house at Toontown rope drop.

6. Jumping the trolley tracks on an almost deserted Main Street with my then 3 year old DS#2 before an early breakfast at Crystal Palace.

7. Sitting in a chair on the beach at Beach Club during Movies on the Beach. I dug my toes into the softest sand in the world and watched the Illuminations fireworks

8. Watching my then 4 year old DS #2 hug an ewok. As he put it, "Mom that was the best day of my whole life."

9. Sitting in Stormalong Bay shallow section watching the kids build sandcastles and talking to my DH about our future Disney plans

10. Running that last mile of the Half Marathon through Epcot. I was wet and freezing, but I couldn't quit smiling.

I could come up with a hundred more, but don't want to bore anyone too much. Can't wait to hear your new top 10 come April!

Love your list!!! Thanks for sharing your moments too!! Oh...and #7 sounds wonderful!! I think I remember it from your TR....sounds like it was a perfect night!!

 

[Angies1274]

In no particular order...

1. My first Mickey Bar. And seeing Eric's first mickey bar all over his face.
2. Arriving at ASMusic after the red eye and breakfast from you know where to find our room ready!
3. "Discovering" MGM
4. Seeing the backside of Evan for a week as he hugged and hugged and hugged characters and waited patiently in line for autographs.
5. Running late to dinner thanks to bad directions, having to take a boat there, stressed and frazzled... and finding ourselves in the middle of Wishes on a stopped boat, gazing into the sky.
6. Pixie dust and haircuts at MSB
7. Kendall's face after she realized we had deliberately not mentioned RRC went upside down...and admitting that she LOVED it
8. The joy and fascination on my kids faces watching the "show" from our Chef at Teppan Edo.
9. Watching our CM give Kendall a hard time at PTC and her give it right back
10. Watching our "cool" 16 year old buy a mickey head pin and wear it all week (it's still on his jacket).

Ahh...thanks for sharing! There's nothing like you're first Mickey bar...huh? Loved reading all of them...especially #5 (unexpected surprises are always the best!)

Oh gosh, I have so many good memories (just read all my TRs! ) but a few that stand out are staying at the Polynesian for so many years...playing on the beach when we were little, coming back at night to the torches lit, eating at Captain Cook's. Pretty much anything related to the Poly is good.

Umm, becoming DVC members and when we got to be in the parade at the Animal Kingdom.

The Poly...my dream resort! Sounds like so many great memories!!Thanks for sharing!

Wow, some of the answers given here.... sniff!

Mine in no particular order.....

1. Watching Prince Charming fix the crown on Ariana's head after he'd knocked it askew because she'd hugged him so hard.

2. Cinderella resting her head on top of Ariana's head and just letting her hug her for as long as she wanted.

3. Alex's teeth smiles from our first trip that he no longer likes to show anyone.

4. Demetri as a baby kissing the noses of all the characters he met.

5. Ariel giving Ariana a lipstick kiss on her cheek.

6. Snow White sitting down at our table for breakfast and giving Ariana a 'cup full of Pixie Dust'.

7. Alex inventing his Jube-Jube-Sundae at Chef Mickey's.

8. Pooh Bear, Tigger, Piglet and Eeyore's visits from our first time at Crystal Palace..... Tigger giving us all high-fives.

9. Demetri knocking Pluto over at Ohana because he gave him a running jump hug when they were both on all fours.

10. Ariana's and mine Mother-Daughter breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table.

I know...I was thinking the same thing!! So many wonderful moments!

Ahh...love your top ten list!! It sounds like you have such great memories with the characters....Ariana with the princesses.and Demetri knocking Pluto over...too funny! Thanks for sharing them with us!

 

[Angies1274]

Hi Everyone!! Only 24 days (by my counting) and we will be arriving at Walt Disney World!!! YAY! It seems like we just booked and started planning! I looked at the countdown calendar this morning and realized that we started counting down at 56 days so...it's already been 32 days since we started it! WOW! I hope the next 24 days goes by just as fast!!!

Since we managed to squeeze in DHS after all!! I need to share my plans right? Well...I plan to but in my next update! First I thought I would look back at our previous trips to DHS.

I will admit that when we visited in 2008....I wasn't that impressed... I think it was because we went on our arrival day, didn't even get to the park until close to 2:30pm. We were starving since we hadn't eaten lunch yet. So, we made a beeline straight for Toy Story Pizza Planet. The lines were horrible...backed up almost into the eating area. When we finally got our food..it was good but we already feeling frustrated and we'd just arrived. We finished up our lunch and headed toward Lights Motor Action! It was one of the things the boys were most excited about seeing on their first trip. So at about 3:40pm we started heading toward it--the next show was supposed to start 4:00pm so we thought we would make it just in time! Unfortunately, just as we started making our way over...a CM stopped everyone heading that way and told us that the 4:00pm show was completely full!! The boys were so disappointed! We decided to head back to see Muppet 3D, and check out the Streets of America. The next thing we had wanted to do was see Mr. Incredible (Noah's favorite at the time) By the time we made it over to the Animation Building...Mr. Incredible was gone. We waited around a bit but he still didn't show up. Remember, Toy Story Mania wasn't opened yet, and the boys had no desire to ride TOT and RNRC. (I'm still trying to talk them into riding this trip...well, except Noah he can't wait to ride!) We were starting to get tired...the wait times were crazy so we decided to leave the park.) Once, we finally made it out (not fond of the layout of the park and we got lost a few times) I'll admit for our very first day at WDW...I felt a little bit of disappointment. Of course now I realize it's all about the planning!!--and although I did plan that trip I now realize if you are going to go during Spring Break you need to be prepared...get up early and have a plan of what rides are a must-do! So anyway, here is few pictures from our trip in 2008!

In 2009, I learned my lesson. I planned DHS for a full day! So, we could actually take our time and enjoy the park! Toy Story Mania had opened and we were so excited to give it a try! We arrived at opening made our way over and grabbed fastpasses, saw Playhouse Disney, enjoyed the Animation Building, got pictures with the characters. Rode Star Tours, TSM, Backlot Tours, Explored HISTK Playground, yes...the boys finally made it to Lights Motor Action and LOVED it! We finished up the day with the Block Party Bash! It was a great day and we had so much fun! These are a few pics from last year at DHS...2009!

What a difference a year makes!! So glad we were able to go back and see how great it really is!!!

Next up--DHS Plans!

 

[mommytothreeboys]

Yay! Great pictures! Can't wait to hear about your plans for this year!

My boys are big fans of Lights, Motors, Action as well...a MUST DO! Are you going to try to see Fantasmic this year? It's a great show! And you are totally right about having a plan...it makes all the difference.

 

[DisMomAmy]

I'm glad your DHS "do over" was a success in 2009! It really is a great park that has a lot to offer!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Yay! Great pictures! Can't wait to hear about your plans for this year!

My boys are big fans of Lights, Motors, Action as well...a MUST DO! Are you going to try to see Fantasmic this year? It's a great show! And you are totally right about having a plan...it makes all the difference.

Hey, great minds think alike 'cause Missy said exactly what I was going to say.

 

[eandesmom]

wow! what a difference a year makes is right.

Love the turnaround but what a bummer of a first day in '08. I'm impressed you were willing to give it another try after that.

 

[Mickey_Mom]

Not the best introduction to DHS in 2008, that's for sure. That kind of a day on your first trip to WDW would leave me wondering what all the hype was about. Good thing you stuck it out eh? Your boys in front of the fountain are just too stinkin cute by the way!

Nice turn around for 2009... Bolt, TSM and the Stunt Show.... Now we're talking! Can't wait to hear your plans for this time....

 

[Angies1274]

Yay! Great pictures! Can't wait to hear about your plans for this year!



My boys are big fans of Lights, Motors, Action as well...a MUST DO! Are you going to try to see Fantasmic this year? It's a great show! And you are totally right about having a plan...it makes all the difference.

Thanks Missy!
Yes, we really want to try and make it to Fantasmic!!! Hoping they add some more shows though...they only have 2 scheduled the week we are there! DHS plans coming up soon!

I'm glad your DHS "do over" was a success in 2009! It really is a great park that has a lot to offer!

I agree!! DHS is a great park! I'm glad that we decided to give it another chance!

Hey, great minds think alike 'cause Missy said exactly what I was going to say.

wow! what a difference a year makes is right.

Love the turnaround but what a bummer of a first day in '08. I'm impressed you were willing to give it another try after that.

2008 was really disappointing!!! I'm very happy we gave it another try!! I think the fact that TSM had just opened up had a lot to do with it! It got us to go back to the park and then we were able to see how much more DHS has to offer!

Not the best introduction to DHS in 2008, that's for sure. That kind of a day on your first trip to WDW would leave me wondering what all the hype was about. Good thing you stuck it out eh? Your boys in front of the fountain are just too stinkin cute by the way!

Nice turn around for 2009... Bolt, TSM and the Stunt Show.... Now we're talking! Can't wait to hear your plans for this time....

Definitely glad that we stuck it out!!! After so much planning and looking forward to our first trip..it was definitely a disappointment! But...MK the next morning more than made up for it!! We were hooked! As I was telling Cynthia TSM lured us back to DHS and I'm so glad it did!!! It's such a great park! Can't wait to go back!

 

[Angies1274]

Hi Everyone!! Hope you are having a great weekend!!! It's been good here! It hasn't been as warm as I hoped. They were predicting almost 60 yesterday but I think it barely got into the 50's. Oh well..spring is still here!!

So we had our weekly Disney movie night on Friday and what did we watch?

Princess and the Frog!! YAY!

It was such a cute movie!! I loved it and so did the boys!! I don't think they've done too bad...having to watch two princess movies in a row! I'll have to pick something just for them next weekend. Any suggestions? Hmm....

As you know, I changed our reservations a couple weeks ago with a new discount--Disney Visa kids discount and have been anxiously awaiting our new Mickey Mail. Plus, I was starting to get worried because when I looked at my reservation online our park tickets were showing as error. I couldn't stand it any longer and yesterday decided to call Disney to confirm. Thankfully, she said that everything was fine...whew! I figured while I was on the phone I would also ask her how much it would cost to add another park day. Even though the discount was for 5 day tickets, at the time I opted for only 4 because we had planned to spend our arrival day at the resort. But..I thought it wouldn't hurt just to find out the price in case we maybe..um.. we decided to head to MK for a couple hours on our first night since we will be missing Wishes on our MK day. Anyways, she came back with a $6.00 total! Yup, only $6 dollars and we could head to MK on our first day if we wanted to! I was so excited so of course I agreed. I figured even if we were too tired and decided to just hang around the resort we could...I mean we would only be out that little bit. It would just give us options which I always like!

The funny thing is...we finally did get our Mickey Mail yesterday!! Too funny! An hour after I called too! If I had just waited. Oh well..glad I didn't because now we have an extra park day if we want!! The best thing is that they sent another arcade voucher with our new packet. Hmm...anyone know if we can use both? It would sure eliminate fighting over the one voucher. I doubt we can-they are probably the same numbers..I'll have to check!


Yesterday, I also spent a lot of time researching Photopass. We have only had a few pictures taken but we've never gotten the CD before. Well I'm thinking about it for this trip, especially since we are now going to all 4 parks. So what do you think? Is the CD worth it? We've added Tink to a few of our pictures but I know that there are so many other options. Does anyone have any photopass pics they would like to share? I would love to see them!! Or just any thoughts about photopass would be great too!! Thanks!

Up Next--Finally DHS Plans and Characters we'll be on the lookout for!!

 

[DisMomAmy]

Yay for the extra day & Mickey Mail!!

We loved PhotoPass on our last trip! If you look through my last TR you'll see quite a few PP pictures. They are probably the only Disney pictures I have of myself. I'm always the one taking the picture, unless a CM offers to take a family picture. However, it is expensive...

You should get a pre-order discount code about 10 days prior to your trip. It used to be 45 days prior, but now I'm hearing it's closer to 10. It's one of those emails you get that has a whole bunch of links to Disney stuff... the PP link doesn't advertise the discount, but when you click on it you'll get an offer for $50 off. But you have to buy it then because I don't think the link works a second time. And from what I understand, you can pre-purchase the CD then cancel it after your trip if you don't end up with enough pictures to make it worth the cost... but double check on that if you might want to do that.

The other thing we do is join a photopass share. They don't let you organize them here on the DIS, but I am a Tour Guide Mike member and I organized a share over there. I'd invite you to join, but I've already divided it up and started collecting money. We are paying only $17 each! Everyone pays a portion of the CD price then we share an account. I receive one CD with all of our pictures then either burn copies for everyone or upload them to a website like Picasa for everyone to download their own (that's what we're trying for the first time this year). If you know others who are going to be at the World around the same time as you (within 3 weeks) you could all go in together on a CD. PM me if you want more info on sharing.

There's also a ton of information about PhotoPass at stitchkingdom.com.

 

[wdwgirl03]

Yay for your mail!

Glad you all enjoyed Princess and the Frog. We have to watch our DVD soon.

Can't wait to hear your plans for DHS.

 

[jenniferkeala808]

hey! yay for Mickey Mail! I loved getting mine! Also, online, under park tickets, it also said Error. I freaked as well! So I called Disney and made sure. they said it's a glitch!! I also upgraded my park tickets from 7-day to 10-day and I asked how much it would be...I was prepared for a big number! My total to upgrade? $19.18!! Crazy right? Yours is even better! $6!! Might as well!

I'm hoping to do the Photopass CD as well. I've never used it before and the pictures I've seen are really cute! Can't wait for my pre-order email!!

Yay for Princess & the Frog. I haven't seen it yet! I'm hoping to before we go! Can't wait to hear more! Your trip is coming up fast!!

 

[Mickey_Mom]

Perfect! Another park day for $6... can't beat it. It's really nice to have that option, whatever you feel like doing on the day you arrive - planned spontaneity! As much as I love having that first day to just arrive and relax, going to MK in the evening is verrrrrry tempting too.

I've never done the PhotoPass but I'm determined to do it next trip for the same reason DisMomAmy mentioned... I'm never in any of our vacation pictures because I'm the one taking them. (Thanks for the share details too! I'd heard about it and now know where to find out more! )

Hmmmm, suggestions for your next movie night for the boys..... Monsters Inc? Emperor's New Groove? Hercules?

Mickey Mail!!!

 

[mickeystoontown]

I understand your anxiousness to get your Mickey Mail. I do that every year....Is it coming? When is it supposed to arrive? How much longer do I wait before I call?

I don't blame you for adding another day to the tickets. I usually buy one additional day just in case we want to use it. Like you said, if you don't use it, you're not out much money anyway.

Our weather here is the craziest thing ever. It was 80+ degrees just last week and this morning it's snowing!

 

[dismagiclover]

for Mickey mail! And I can't believe you got your boys to watch Princess and the Frog! What is your secret? My boys won't have anything to do with princess movies, though I think they would love this one! Those prices for adding on extra days over four are great! It's like once you buy 4 days you might as well buy 10. I think they only add on $3 a day per ticket. Now if you remember my trip report from last summer you know my opinion on photopass. Love it! You can get shots of the whole family plus I love not having to worry about taking pictures at the Meet 'n Greets. You just let the photographer do it and enjoy the moment. Totally worth it. So here are a few of my photopass pictures.

I have hundreds more, but you get the idea

 

[mommytothreeboys]

On our first trip, the photopass CD only had about 60 pictures on it. It didn't seem worth it to buy it so we just ended up purchasing one 5x7.

Last spring, I made it a point to use the PP photographers as much as possible. Plus..they were at the waterparks so I was able to get shots I never would have taken with my own camera. And I'll DITTO what Amy said....I get to be IN the photopass pictures which is a nice change!

I'd say if you can pre-order with a discount and have the option to cancel, do that. IF not, wait until you get home and see how many pics are on the card and if it's worth it to you to have them all. That's what we did. It seems like a lot of $, but if you even like 2 or 3 of the poses, it's more cost effective to buy the whole CD.

Here are a few of my favorite PP pics from last spring.

 

[Angies1274]

Yay for the extra day & Mickey Mail!!

We loved PhotoPass on our last trip! If you look through my last TR you'll see quite a few PP pictures. They are probably the only Disney pictures I have of myself. I'm always the one taking the picture, unless a CM offers to take a family picture. However, it is expensive...

You should get a pre-order discount code about 10 days prior to your trip. It used to be 45 days prior, but now I'm hearing it's closer to 10. It's one of those emails you get that has a whole bunch of links to Disney stuff... the PP link doesn't advertise the discount, but when you click on it you'll get an offer for $50 off. But you have to buy it then because I don't think the link works a second time. And from what I understand, you can pre-purchase the CD then cancel it after your trip if you don't end up with enough pictures to make it worth the cost... but double check on that if you might want to do that.

The other thing we do is join a photopass share. They don't let you organize them here on the DIS, but I am a Tour Guide Mike member and I organized a share over there. I'd invite you to join, but I've already divided it up and started collecting money. We are paying only $17 each! Everyone pays a portion of the CD price then we share an account. I receive one CD with all of our pictures then either burn copies for everyone or upload them to a website like Picasa for everyone to download their own (that's what we're trying for the first time this year). If you know others who are going to be at the World around the same time as you (within 3 weeks) you could all go in together on a CD. PM me if you want more info on sharing.

There's also a ton of information about PhotoPass at stitchkingdom.com.

Thanks for all the info!! I'll have to go back and look through your last TR! I feel the same way! I'm the one who takes all the pictures and when we come home there are a ton of the boys and some of DH but of me...hardly any to be found. It will be nice to actually show pictures of our trip and be able to say.. see I was there too!! I'll be on the lookout for the discount code. The photopass share does sound more affordable...I might have to look into that too.

Yay for your mail!

Glad you all enjoyed Princess and the Frog. We have to watch our DVD soon.

Can't wait to hear your plans for DHS.

Oh we did!! It was such a great movie! DHS plans coming up soon!!

hey! yay for Mickey Mail! I loved getting mine! Also, online, under park tickets, it also said Error. I freaked as well! So I called Disney and made sure. they said it's a glitch!! I also upgraded my park tickets from 7-day to 10-day and I asked how much it would be...I was prepared for a big number! My total to upgrade? $19.18!! Crazy right? Yours is even better! $6!! Might as well!

I'm hoping to do the Photopass CD as well. I've never used it before and the pictures I've seen are really cute! Can't wait for my pre-order email!!

Yay for Princess & the Frog. I haven't seen it yet! I'm hoping to before we go! Can't wait to hear more! Your trip is coming up fast!!

I was so worried when my park tickets said error. I kept thinking..oh no we are going to get there, and have no tickets to get into the parks. The CM told me it was a glitch also, that it happens a lot. YAY for upgrading your tickets!! Hey, adding 3 extra days for only $19.18..that's great too!!

You need to watch Princess and the Frog!! It's such a cute movie!!

Perfect! Another park day for $6... can't beat it. It's really nice to have that option, whatever you feel like doing on the day you arrive - planned spontaneity! As much as I love having that first day to just arrive and relax, going to MK in the evening is verrrrrry tempting too.

I've never done the PhotoPass but I'm determined to do it next trip for the same reason DisMomAmy mentioned... I'm never in any of our vacation pictures because I'm the one taking them. (Thanks for the share details too! I'd heard about it and now know where to find out more! )

Hmmmm, suggestions for your next movie night for the boys..... Monsters Inc? Emperor's New Groove? Hercules?

Mickey Mail!!!

I know...too funny right? --planned spontaneity!! I'm still really torn what to do. While I would love just hanging around the resort and taking it easy...the thought of seeing MK on our first night seems like a perfect start to our vacation. I guess for now..we'll just play by ear and see how we feel when we get there. It sure is nice to have the option though!!

Oohhh....Monster's Inc!! Good one! We haven't seen it in a while and I love that movie!! The boys also mentioned watching Aladdin again the other day. They must have saw a preview for it on the Disney channel.

I understand your anxiousness to get your Mickey Mail. I do that every year....Is it coming? When is it supposed to arrive? How much longer do I wait before I call?

I don't blame you for adding another day to the tickets. I usually buy one additional day just in case we want to use it. Like you said, if you don't use it, you're not out much money anyway.

Our weather here is the craziest thing ever. It was 80+ degrees just last week and this morning it's snowing!

80+ degrees!! Wow!

It's been snowing here all day....and just when I thought Spring had arrived!! Apparently, I spoke too soon!