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[Dugette]

Totally OT, but.... I had such a rough day!! We're about 90% finished with Andrew's school shopping and it's starting to get to me. Not that today wasn't a lot fun and super exciting for both of us, but... How is my baby old enough to go to school already?? He kept going crazy over picking out crayons and glue, while I wanted to hurry to turn back the clock as fast as I could! I see myself crying sooo much in a couple of weeks! Instead of working on my TR tonight, I was going through old photo albums of my little man. I know a few of you don't have children yet, but be prepared if you plan to. Time will start to fly sooooo fast! Interested in hearing about his first trip? It was a short one. Reading through the photobook makes it feel like yesterday.. and it was over four years ago??

I totally understand how fast time flies by. Even without kids, it's going too fast. But we just realized the other day that one of our friends' kids (the younger of the two who will be appearing soon in my TR) just turned 5!! I can't believe that. Which means the older one, who I actually spent a lot of time with when he was a baby, is almost 7 now! It seems like yesterday that he was a little baby still. Crazy.

I'm considering doing one about his first bday still, but it was sooo long ago. I don't see any rules about how recent TRs need to be, but it might be odd. A bit of what we did no longer exists! (Mostly Toontown) I think the two of you would be the only readers!

I would also read that TR. And there are no rules that I'm aware of about how recent a TR should be. Can you see my 1990 TR link in my signature? I posted that in 2010, simply because I thought it would be a fun read for some people, since things have changed so much since then. (And it was "written" by stuffed animals, so no worries about yours being "odd" )

 

[AprilRenee]

I'm considering doing one about his first bday still, but it was sooo long ago. I don't see any rules about how recent TRs need to be, but it might be odd. A bit of what we did no longer exists! (Mostly Toontown) I think the two of you would be the only readers!

And there are no rules that I'm aware of about how recent a TR should be. Can you see my 1990 TR link in my signature? I posted that in 2010, simply because I thought it would be a fun read for some people, since things have changed so much since then. (And it was "written" by stuffed animals, so no worries about yours being "odd" )

I was totally about to say "well Dugette wrote a TR from when she was a kid so a TR from 4-5 years ago is totally acceptable I think!!" And I think you have more fans than just the 3 of us! I bet lots of people would read it! Give it a catchy title and maybe you'll get some new fans!

I wish there was an easy way to upload my photo album from our first trip. I think there must be a good way. Maybe I'll just take a picture of each page! I'd love to put up a mini-TR with the photos from my photo book.

 

[jane2073]

I would read Andrew's first trip report!!

Maybe you could have it as a flashback story in the middle of this report or at the end of this report.

My baby is starting first grade on Wednesday.
At least she is super excited.

 

[jc040404]

I totally understand how fast time flies by. Even without kids, it's going too fast. But we just realized the other day that one of our friends' kids (the younger of the two who will be appearing soon in my TR) just turned 5!! I can't believe that. Which means the older one, who I actually spent a lot of time with when he was a baby, is almost 7 now! It seems like yesterday that he was a little baby still. Crazy.


I would also read that TR. And there are no rules that I'm aware of about how recent a TR should be. Can you see my 1990 TR link in my signature? I posted that in 2010, simply because I thought it would be a fun read for some people, since things have changed so much since then. (And it was "written" by stuffed animals, so no worries about yours being "odd" )

I loved that TR! I wish I'd done something like that on family trips when I was young! I loved the pound puppies, too. Great point. Yours' was a lot of fun to read, even about so long ago!

I was totally about to say "well Dugette wrote a TR from when she was a kid so a TR from 4-5 years ago is totally acceptable I think!!" And I think you have more fans than just the 3 of us! I bet lots of people would read it! Give it a catchy title and maybe you'll get some new fans!

I wish there was an easy way to upload my photo album from our first trip. I think there must be a good way. Maybe I'll just take a picture of each page! I'd love to put up a mini-TR with the photos from my photo book.

I'd love to see yours'! I'm sure I'll end up doing this one in time. I only have 18 more days left in this one with no Disney days in sight. I miss it so much!!

I would read Andrew's first trip report!!

Maybe you could have it as a flashback story in the middle of this report or at the end of this report.

My baby is starting first grade on Wednesday.
At least she is super excited.

Great idea! Adding it to this means I don't have to think up a title, too. That's the toughest part!

Andrew is thrilled about school! Crazy kids.. He finally picked out a backpack yesterday and insisted he needed to "try it on" about thirty times today! I hope they can always stay this excited about school anyway!

 

[AprilRenee]

I'd love to see yours'! I'm sure I'll end up doing this one in time. I only have 18 more days left in this one with no Disney days in sight. I miss it so much!!

I think after I finish my trip report I will go ahead and post my first trip album. I did the same thing as you and my album is kind of a mini-trip report. Like I jam packed photos and text into that thing. Sometimes I pull it out and read it like it's a favorite children's storybook and remember all the fun we had on that trip. Does that make me pathetic?

It's so sad that you don't have any more Disney days in sight. But you're planning on doing something for Halloween right? That's not so far away!!

 

[jc040404]

I think after I finish my trip report I will go ahead and post my first trip album. I did the same thing as you and my album is kind of a mini-trip report. Like I jam packed photos and text into that thing. Sometimes I pull it out and read it like it's a favorite children's storybook and remember all the fun we had on that trip. Does that make me pathetic?

It's so sad that you don't have any more Disney days in sight. But you're planning on doing something for Halloween right? That's not so far away!!

Not pathetic at all! I've read through Andrew's soo many times. I wish I'd made something like it for the visits John and I had before him.

I'm hoping for MNSSHP. The only week that would work best Andrew, there isn't a party that friday. We might have to head over when Andrew gets out of school, but it'll work out somehow. I haven't really started any actual planning though. No clue on what the boys want to dress as yet either! Halloween seems so far off, but I guess you're right. It'll be here in no time!

 

[arubio0801]

Before I move on, let’s jump back a little..

On our visit to ASMu for MNSSHP, we explored the resort the morning before leaving. While in the shop, I found the most incredible, most amazing, most awesomest antenna topper Mickey EVER! And I didn’t buy it. I think I mentioned this. I didn't put a lot into it, but the quest to find this Mickey continued each visit. If we noticed a display of toppers, one of would glance over, just in case. Sadly, we always left without Mickey. It really seemed as if ASMu was the only place to find this, and I wasn't that interested.

Fast forward to our last day with Toontown!!

After that very last ever ride on Goofy’s Barnstormer, we weren’t really ready to quickly leave Toontown. Before playing in the Toon park, the boys and I slowed it down even more by browsing around the little merchandise area at the exit. It was here that something amazing was discovered.. They had that awesomest Mickey antenna topper! We had been looking for it all along, but with no luck. It seemed meant to be and I immediately purchased one for my car.

Sadly, someone stole it and we never again put anything on the antenna.

I knew I should've followed the second set of directions and placed it inside the car!

The End.

I can't believe someone actually stole it off your antenna!! So sad The boys are getting soo big!! We'll be making a trip soon sept 1-7!! I can't wait should be fun and HOT!!

 

[jc040404]

I can't believe someone actually stole it off your antenna!! So sad The boys are getting soo big!! We'll be making a trip soon sept 1-7!! I can't wait should be fun and HOT!!

That's the risk you take when you put something this awesome where someone could run away with it. I miss it!

Your trip is sooo soon! I'm so excited for you, and soo jealous, too! Hope you have a great time!

 

[jc040404]

March 6th, 2011 * day twenty-three * CBR Vacation!!

It’s vacation time! This update begins our six day stay at CBR! We’ll have some new dining, new adventures and characters, and a whole lot of trouble..

The morning began like so many others and we were walking into DHS in no time. Unlike all the others, this one would start with a surprise. ESPN The Weekend was going on! This is more evidence of our no planning style of park touring. It's not always a good thing. I had no clue and knew nothing about this event!

John and Andrew followed the routine from before, making their way into the crowd to the left. Blake and I joined the mess on the right, waiting for the TSM stampede to begin. Before park opening time, there were already activities going on. The Jacksonville Jaguar cheerleaders were on stage! Everyone stood and watched them jump and dance, but I didn’t think to take any pictures. Blake didn't seem to understand how anyone could have such ridiculous amounts of energy so early in the day. Something must be wrong with these girls! He wasn't amused by it either. I agreed on the energy thing, but they were fun to watch.

After their dancing ended, several people took the stage to talk. I have no clue who any of them are. I did recognize one of their voices and later found out it was Dick Vitale. What an awful man he seemed to be! Another heavyset guy was up there talking and all Vitale seemed to do was pick fun at his weight. He listed off all the things this man must’ve had for breakfast from potato chips and soda to M&Ms. Really? The man laughed, but didn’t seem to be enjoying. How weird was this? I don’t know anything about this Vitale person, so maybe he’s always like that and people are okay with it. Maybe I was interpreting everything wrong? Who knows! It was a crazy way to start our DHS day anyway!

I didn’t have a lot of interest in looking into the events of the day after that. It was too bad because the pics I’ve seen from others show some fun activities. Andrew would’ve been into it, but we were never in those parts of the park to notice anything. The Harlem Globetrotters were also there
and it would’ve been nifty to see them. I’d say “next time!” to this stuff, but it looks like Disney has discontinued it all now.

The people on stage continued talking, but the park seemed to be open now. Blake and I followed along in the crowd, taking our time. I don’t like that mess, so I don’t really care if anyone pushes by us if they don't bump Blakers. I simply concentrated on not hitting anyone’s feet and telling him to keep his arms and legs inside the ride. Most of them will run beyond the FP line and have to join behind us anyway.

Blake and I were stopped back by One Man’s Dream in that wild FP line. It took forrrever to make it up to the machines and lots of people backed out. How silly! A group of older couples behind us didn’t even know what they were standing in line for. I turned to let them know just as one of the men called a CM over.

“Is this a show?”

I may not have known about the ESPN stuff, but my planning wasn’t that bad! This group stuck it out and got FPs anyway.

The plan had Blake and me waiting here for John and Andrew to join us. After a couple of minutes, we found out the jedi training sign-up line was just as crazy, so we were off in that direction instead.

Our timing was pretty good. John and Andrew were just leaving the line of children as we approached. He said that Darth Vader was out and we should get in line quick. I wasn’t about to pass that one up! (Even if I wasn’t getting my picture with him..)

Andrew wasn’t so thrilled about the idea and didn’t want to bother at first. He humored us and joined the line anyway for autograph book purposes only.

Photopass wouldn’t let him get away without a pic!

Blake was really into it this time. He walked up, pointing up at Vader. He was ready to battle!

He’s too cute! I loved that photopass caught that one. Being behind on the other side, I missed catching a shot of anything.

Lucky for all of us, Blake’s warning had been enough to keep the big guy in line (Too bad!), so they all posed for a group pic before we left.

^Andrew said this was a “jedi squirrel” since he was running around on stage! Haha!!

With time to kill before Andrew’s training, we wandered first into the shop to purchase that forgotten light saber. In addition to that, he wanted a jedi training academy card with his name on it. It seemed like a silly thing for eight bucks, but we got it anyway. I’m glad now because he LOVES to wear that crazy card. He’s even requested another to hang from his backpack for school. Hmmm.. Wouldn’t that wish take another DHS trip to grant?

With no particular place to go and not tons of time to fill, we found ourselves here. Muppet Vision 3d anyone? We stopped to catch a show!

The boys enjoyed the show, but they never ask to see this one. Not really knowing anyone beyond Kermit hurts it for them. I only really care for Fozzie and Gonzo myself, and that’s all based on the animated Muppet Babies show! No one minds that we usually skip it.

As we moved around the park, the boys heard music! We followed the sound until Disney Channel Rocks was spotted! For a few minutes, we watched from the edge of the crowd. A happy CM bounced over and gave the boys each a bracelet. It was advertising Lemonade Mouth. None of us had a clue what that was, but the boys were thrilled all the same. They thanked her before joining in a big dance party with everyone.

The CM just in front of them was awesome. He really helped them get into the music and dance. They seemed to have a great time and it was a lot of fun to watch for us!

With the show over, we were back to exploring. The boys made two requests and we were able to cover both of them in no time.

First Up! Pressed pennies!

May we have an unhealthy snack next, please? I loved how he asked just that way, too. We grabbed a bag of Goofy’s jelly beans to share.

 

[GaRain]

I was there on ESPN weekend too!!!! I didn't really do much with all the goings on though - I did check out the play area that was behind Tower of Terror....wonder if we passed each other???

 

[CAStevens218]

Sounds like a fun, relaxing morning!

Everybody loves and unhealthy snack!! Too cute that he asked in those words!!!

 

[IheartDDuck]

A Jedi squirrel. That's just priceless.

Don't you love how people just follow the crowd and wait in line for something without really knowing what's going on? Gotta love our lemming nature in society.

 

[jc040404]

I was there on ESPN weekend too!!!! I didn't really do much with all the goings on though - I did check out the play area that was behind Tower of Terror....wonder if we passed each other???

Ya never know! We weren't at DHS terribly long though.

We never made it over by any of the fun ESPN stuff. I wish we had now! That part of the park isn't of much interest to us. Just seeing ToT makes me nervous!

Sounds like a fun, relaxing morning!

Everybody loves and unhealthy snack!! Too cute that he asked in those words!!!

Andrew is sooo crazy about what he eats. He listened to a news clip about food dyes in particular once and usually refuses to touch anything with them. I don't mind it in the least, as I can really see the difference in his behavior when he does have that kind of stuff. Jelly beans are one of our favorite treats at Disney, so this was okay for a change. I like the blue ones myself.

A Jedi squirrel. That's just priceless.

Don't you love how people just follow the crowd and wait in line for something without really knowing what's going on? Gotta love our lemming nature in society.

That squirrel was nuts!

The lemming thing is hilarious sometimes. I just listened for a minute or two, wondering if they were really serious about this. If there's a line, it must be something good, right? I've heard this a lot around Voyage of the Little Mermaid!

 

[jc040404]

Okay, now I’m a little lost. Andrew’s training wasn’t until 11:45, but it seems a little off that all we did was wander around the park after seeing the Muppet show. That’s all I wrote and the pictures fill the minutes, so apparently we didn’t have the most exciting morning. Haha..

Whatever we did to fill out wait, it was now time for Jedi training! John took Andrew to get signed in, while Blake and I found a spot to wait. With brother away, it was time to steal that light saber!

Since he’d never been trained on how to use one of these, Blake had a bit of trouble figuring this thing out. The biggest obstacle were those two tiny arms. This must be why you have to be four to participate. He couldn’t reach far enough to deactivate! Blake is a smart one and found a solution. After activating, he simply pushed it on the ground. Problem solved! This game could’ve gone on for hours! Other parents began to fill in the area around us, so he had to put the toy away too soon.

While we waited, a little boy and his father stood beside us. When they first walked near, I overheard the boy talking about how he hoped he’d be picked again. I felt bad, knowing that they clearly weren’t up to date with the sign up changes. The father asked a nearby CM and got the new info. It was too sad! This isn’t exactly spelled out on the WDW website is it? I don’t recall seeing anything anyway. He was a sweet kid and didn’t fuss over it, like some of the others I’ve seen learning the news too late. They both joined the crowd to enjoy the show, even though he wouldn’t be in it. I hope they were able to fit it on another day.

Training time!

We had a new Jedi Master this time. A CM we’d spoken to proclaimed this as her favorite, but I didn’t find him quite as funny as the last. It was obvious that he reeeeally loves playing the Jedi game though. He made such a show of coming out onto the stage! It was kinda silly.

Andrew took the same spot as last time!

The show was the same fun, with the same jokes along the way. Even knowing what was coming, it was still so funny! I will say that one of the boys did not look anything close to be old enough for it this time. I wondered during the last if we might see someone questionable, and I guess this was it. Of course I don’t know for sure and shouldn’t judge, but he appeared to be just a bit over Blake’s age! The poor thing seemed lost and didn’t really do anything but stare in fear of the crowd.

I felt bad for him, but his mom seemed to love it. She pushed sooo much to snap pictures of him. By his turn to fight Vader, she was about a foot in front of the “do not pass” line! How nuts. (Note-I did double check to make sure that particular child is not in any of these pictures!)

Darth Vader spent more time on our side of the stage this time anyway. That was nice. Haha..

And my favorite part!

The End!

Andrew raced off the stage, grabbing his new diploma along the way. We all had a great time watching him again.

Now that it was after noon, we had one destination in mind.. It was lunch time!

Sci-Fi was packed this day! We had quite the wait ahead of us, but it wasn't too bad. A very light rain quickly passed by and cooled things off for a few seconds. That’s always pleasant if you don’t think about how bad the humidity will get just after! We were thankful to be called in with perfect timing!

While it doesn't seem to be the highest WDW restaurant on everyone’s wish list, Sci-Fi is my family’s favorite! It is definitely the CHH of DHS for us and somewhere we’ll return a few times in the rest of the year. The food isn’t terribly special and the service is a little rough sometimes, but you can’t beat sitting in a car and watching these silly clips while you have lunch!

No, Over there!

Before we could go, our car hop offered to take a picture of us in our car. Me in a picture? She insisted and took my camera from me! What a meanie.

I miss this place!

Outside in the hot sun again, it was Toy Story time! On the way over to the ride, we saw we’d just missed a motorcade. We did pause to check out the characters in their awesome outfits!

How cute!

At TSM, we followed the normal split up routine. Blake would go first, since Andrew had just done Jedi Training. It was only fair!

I have no clue what a “good” score is on this thing so I’m not even going to post them. Playing the Wii game at home has me confused in some of the scenes at the park. I lose a second trying to remember what the special spots are! I do know that I’ve only been beaten by someone in the other car twice that I recall, so I must be doing okay. This ride has nothing on Buzz’s Space Ranger Spin!

We’d planned to check out the new Disney Junior show after our TSM adventure, but two sets of tired eyes changed those plans. It was time to check in at CBR!

Next Up!! A midnight train to GA?? & Our scary night in Jamaica!

 

[Dugette]

Ah, Muppet Babies...I loved that show!

So cute that he asked for "an unhealthy snack"!

Looking forward to hearing about the rest of this trip!

ETA: You just added another update while I was posting. Cool to see Andrew doing Jedi Training again. And, wow, a family picture at the Sci Fi! (very nice) I like TSM, but the "cheats" are nothing like Buzz--not on the same scale. I'm dreading your resort experience...

 

[AprilRenee]

Ok so I bought Andrew (DH...not your son ) the TSM Wii game for his birthday and I was so excited cause he loves the ride and I have an iphone app version that's really close to the ride and it's lots of fun! Well the wii game was quite disappointing to us We can't aim very well and it's not the same as the ride and it was just confusing. We tried it like 2-3 times and now it just sits on our game shelf and collects dust. So sad!
I wish that they had just made the game exactly like the ride! It doesn't need the challenges and levels and stuff that it added in. We would play it for hours if it was the same as the ride.

Anyway, can you tell you hit a sore subject?? How do you guys like the wii game? Is it worth another try?

Oh dear!! Your next update sounds scary!! Can't wait!

 

[CAStevens218]

Andrew looks so into it when he was battling Darth Vadar!!! He must love it!

Your family picture from Sci Fi came out great!!! Ben and I are taking my dad and brother there in Janaury...I can't wait!!

The characters look great in their sports outfits!!!! I love seeing them in different clothes!

 

[arubio0801]

That's the risk you take when you put something this awesome where someone could run away with it. I miss it!

Your trip is sooo soon! I'm so excited for you, and soo jealous, too! Hope you have a great time!

Lol yes that is true! It still is horrible that someone stole it though! I've got some what bad news we had to cancel our trip! BUT its a good thing because remember I told you DH needed a transplant well we actually got called but the kidney was usable so we got sent home so now it can be any day now we could get a call tonight! So it def is worth it and disney isn't going any where but def alittle about not being able to go. Hope you guys are doing great is andrew excited for school??


That photo of you guys in the car is soo cute! You look so pretty!!

 

[jc040404]

Ah, Muppet Babies...I loved that show!

So cute that he asked for "an unhealthy snack"!

Looking forward to hearing about the rest of this trip!

ETA: You just added another update while I was posting. Cool to see Andrew doing Jedi Training again. And, wow, a family picture at the Sci Fi! (very nice) I like TSM, but the "cheats" are nothing like Buzz--not on the same scale. I'm dreading your resort experience...

The Muppet Babies were one of my favorites! Kids' shows today don't come close to the awesomeness of back then.

I almost skipped the family pic in the update, but I don't think I'd ever posted one before. It was due!

The TSM cheats are kinda fun, but the scoring just doesn't mean much to me. That hurts it. It seems pointless in a way? Buzz feels like a challenge everytime I get in line.

Ok so I bought Andrew (DH...not your son ) the TSM Wii game for his birthday and I was so excited cause he loves the ride and I have an iphone app version that's really close to the ride and it's lots of fun! Well the wii game was quite disappointing to us We can't aim very well and it's not the same as the ride and it was just confusing. We tried it like 2-3 times and now it just sits on our game shelf and collects dust. So sad!
I wish that they had just made the game exactly like the ride! It doesn't need the challenges and levels and stuff that it added in. We would play it for hours if it was the same as the ride.

Anyway, can you tell you hit a sore subject?? How do you guys like the wii game? Is it worth another try?

Oh dear!! Your next update sounds scary!! Can't wait!

I'm not a huge fan of the wii game. The boys enjoy it, but it gets old reeeally fast. I've never noticed aiming issues, but the games are nuts. Find the chocolate coin? I guess that one's good for the boys, but I don't get it. I was expecting it to be like the ride, too.

This CBR visit definitely didn't go as well as the last!

Andrew looks so into it when he was battling Darth Vadar!!! He must love it!

Your family picture from Sci Fi came out great!!! Ben and I are taking my dad and brother there in Janaury...I can't wait!!

The characters look great in their sports outfits!!!! I love seeing them in different clothes!

Andrew loves doing that! I can't wait until Blake is big enough for it. (Well, I can but you understand!) He really wants to give it a try, too!

Sci-Fi is so much fun. Hope you all have a great time!

I agree on the different character outfits. I wish Disney used more of them all the time! I'm not sure if this group was out to meet and wish we'd checked it out. They were adorable!

Lol yes that is true! It still is horrible that someone stole it though! I've got some what bad news we had to cancel our trip! BUT its a good thing because remember I told you DH needed a transplant well we actually got called but the kidney was usable so we got sent home so now it can be any day now we could get a call tonight! So it def is worth it and disney isn't going any where but def alittle about not being able to go. Hope you guys are doing great is andrew excited for school??


That photo of you guys in the car is soo cute! You look so pretty!!

Sadness to the lost trip, but that is great news for you! Disney will make a great celebration trip after, right?

Andrew is sooo excited about school starting. It's so close now!

You're too sweet on the car pic. I think I look so uncomfortable!

 

[jane2073]

First of all, I love Blake's shirt! So cute!!
And he is fearless!! There is no way I would be pointing back at Darth Vader! I would run the other way!!