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[jc040404]

You got some good answers, but I was going to add that the only park that takes you to other parks is Animal Kingdom. I've never seen a park to park bus at other locations. However, if you wanted to go from DHS to Magic Kingdom, you could take the bus to the Contemporary and walk. Or vice versa. Walk to the Contemporary and take a bus to DHS.

The idea of no park to park buses seems kinda crazy with how they push adding park hopping. We've set on just driving the whole time now. I don't think it'll take too much time.

If I had a free evening at Disney World with two little boys, I'd do one of two things:

1. Eat dinner at Captain Cook's at the Polynesian, let the boys play in the sand on the beach, tour the monorail resorts and check out the Christmas decorations at each, (maybe include some sort of a game, like buying a cookie or trinket at each resort), and if there was any time left, we'd take the boat over to Fort Wilderness for the bonfire.

2. Eat dinner at Mara at Animal Kingdom Lodge, explore the resort, maybe find a playground, see the animals through night vision goggles, sit by the fire-pit, and get lots of zebra domes, which I haven't had before, but I'd love to try some.

Meeting Rapunzel and Flynn looks like it was a cool experience, although an hour and a half still seems a bit daunting to me. It was nice that you and the boys got to go on some rides, though. I do wish Flynn was still there.

Yuck to sand. I'm not a fan.

Those both sound fun though. I remember looking at the Chip & Dale campfire thing before, but didn't know if it was open to everyone or just those staying there. I'll read up on that!

I thought the wait was nuts for Rapunzel, so it was super nice that John held the spot instead. I'm glad we did it for them to meet the characters anyway, especially with Flynn gone now.

 

[akayek31]

Yes Neveen is still there. So is Prince Eric with Ariel. Aladdin with Jasmine, but no Flynn

 

[jc040404]

Yes Neveen is still there. So is Prince Eric with Ariel. Aladdin with Jasmine, but no Flynn

Awesome. I didn't realize Naveen was still there! The last I'd read, he was being sent away, too. I guess I really need to do some reading before we go back. I've been avoiding keeping up with it. It's just too depressing to read about the current stuff in parks when we can't go all the time!

Still sad about Flynn though..

 

[jc040404]

Back at the stroller, everyone guzzled down some water before moving on. Though it started out cold, it was warming up already. We moved on to use those FPs next, but not without a stop for more. We seemed to be doing great with FP collection that morning!

Off to Neverland!!

This visit was big for me and PPF. Despite the many times I’d been on it, I had never noticed the first Tink! John mentioned her on a few visits before this one, but I didn’t get where she was. My focus is to the left during that part of the ride. This time, Andrew picked me as ride buddy just for this reason. And I finally saw her!

Leaving PPF, we headed for the logical choice. It was IASW time! The wait was posted at ten and John argued it would be sooo much longer based on the crowd. I told him he was nuts. This didn’t even look ten minutes long. We made a bet and joined the line..

Great timing! Tough getting a pic over all those people in line though!

I grabbed John’s watch as our boat started to move. Eight minutes. I win! What did I win? I didn't win anything! Our bets are kinda pointless most of the time!

Our ride on IASW kinda stunk this time. We were in a boat of flashers. ALL flashers. Every row of our boat contained one guest taking pictures with their flash on. How annoying.. What do you do in such a situation? I decided to be bad and join them. This Disney year was lacking in pictures of my girl!

Isn’t she beautiful? I love that hair!

Double fun was waiting for us at the end of our ride. “It’s all the same line!” CM was now at IASW! We hadn’t seen him in a while, and I actually started to wonder where he’d gone. He was all smiles when John greeted him. Yay! Maybe IASW would be a better fit for him.

Next, the crazy family from the Rapunzel M&G got to take our seats when we left! Their day didn’t seem to have changed much. Blah.. I hoped for the best for them after we left, too. Disney is stressful stuff, I guess.

We moved up the ramp and headed back to the stroller. Along the way, the most unusual Andrew meltdown to date seemed to be starting. He squealed and stomped his feet at the exit to Mickey’s Philharmagic. It was pretty odd to watch and I was clueless for a moment. He suddenly dropped to the ground and ripped off his shoe. Uh oh.. I feared the worst, but found it was his sock.

Since day one, John and I have had sock issues. He doesn’t believe there is a right sock and a left sock. When doing laundry together, he would drive me nuts mixing up my socks! Of course there’s a right sock and a left sock. Maybe not when you buy them, but your toes are not straight across, are they? If you put a right sock on your left foot, you are just going to be uncomfortable. Right? This has been a hotly debated topic in this house for years! Maybe I’m buying the wrong kind of socks..

Okay, I’m wandering away from the point. Andrew’s shoe is off. I hurried to find out the problem and immediately saw what it was. John must’ve been in charge of sock matching, for Andrew was wearing a left sock on his right foot. His other foot was fine. We faced certain disaster now, and I really didn’t know how my poor child had managed to walk until this point anyway. I sympathized with my sweet boy. John just laughed and offered to rent him a wheelchair. The man does not get it..

We did the best that we could and just missed being crushed by the stampede of guests leaving the show. I crossed my fingers for no major sock mishaps during the rest of our day and he did great. Hooray!

On to Tomorrowland! We crossed back by the castle out of curiosity over that Tangled line. It had really grown during our showtime and I could only imagine how it must be now. Seeing the mess would make that 75 minutes of wait time seem worth it.

Yep, it was getting wild out there..

Time for Buzz!!

We didn’t do very good this time.

John got just over 179,000. Rides like this just leave me frustrated and wanting another turn!

I managed to resist my urge to beg them to wait in standby for round two when we entered the shop after. A promise had been made to Blake after the last trip and now it was time to fill it! Brother had gotten that nifty Jedi training tag, but there was nothing to be found with Blakers’ name on it! We offered the boring, no name type tags at the time, but something more interesting had been requested. Blake wanted to be a galactic hero!

He was thrilled with that thing and still wears it all the time. He even had it on today!

Next Up.. Routine! It was CoP time!

I bet you’re not supposed to pose by that? Blame my husband!!

We had the usual fun time, with Andrew reciting along with most of it. It’s nuts how much he still remembers of this thing and brings up at the oddest times. Haha.. Blake broke into song at each scene change. Those two are crazy over the Carousel of Progress!

Outside again, we moved over to the Peoplemover, of course.

Seeing the Space Mountain sign inspired talk about measuring Andy-Roo for the ride again. Of course, we all instantly forgot about it and called lunchtime when we were back on the ground! I didn't think he was there just yet, so we didn't miss the big moment by forgetting.

Hey, it’s the band.. I’m not sure where this picture fits, so it’ll go right here.

CHH was an absolute madhouse that day, but we still had a nice lunch. The boys picked their usual kids’ mixed greens and we got another set of those awesome Mickey straws. Both choices caused some stress for the mom at the table beside us. Sorry, stranger mom. When in doubt, buy the straw!

We decided to grab a round of BTMRR FPs after lunch and wandered in that direction. The park was really getting packed and the temperature was rising. I began to doubt how much longer we’d really last with that early start. We’d managed most of our favorites at this point, so whatever happened would be fine.

Since we were this far, John brought up that Dole Whip everyone is crazy over. I’d mentioned a few times that I wanted to try one, but never seem to remember in the park. (Big shocker, I’ve still not tried one!) He pointed us in that direction, but I decided to skip it. We’d just had lunch, so I wasn’t interested. Someday I’ll learn to put dessert first. Haha.. We decided to ride POTC instead and moved back across to use those Pooh FPs finally.

Along the way..

Hey, it’s a band we don’t know!

We’d never come across the woodwinds before, so everyone wanted to stop and listen for a moment. They were playing “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” from Toy Story! How nifty. I liked their look and enjoyed the music.

Over at Pooh’s ride, the FP line was crazy. I think. I never can tell with this ride. We had a bit of a wait, but it was nothing compared to standby.

Hooray!!

Leaving the ride, and deciding it might be time to leave the park itself, we ran into those nifty woodwinds again! This time, they were following Mary Poppins! It was cute to watch her twirling around. She started dancing with a little girl next. I loved it! What a special memory for her!

The End! Let’s get out of here!!

 

[jc040404]

But first, let’s do something else. No one ever really wants to leave WDW, do they? We’re no different! I suggested going up in the train station to watch the castle show!

How fun! We all loved seeing the fireworks go up from here!

Since we were already here, the park leaving plan was pushed some more. Who wants a train ride??

He did!

They did!

We jumped on and were off on a crazy ride around the MK! This sometimes seems like one of the bigger, boring time wasters that we never bother with. It was perfect for this day!

At the stop at Splash, we picked up a less than happy family. They had reason though. It seemed that every time they attempted to ride that one, it was down! That would bug me, too. I didn’t realize anything was going on, but they were having terrible luck with lots of stuff that day. We decided to brighten it a little and gifted those BTMRR FPs to them. I was one short for the whole family, but they were excited at the idea of a quick ride on something. It made me feel nice to be nice, too.

On we went! I was excited to see a bit of what was going on around Toontown on our journey, too. As we neared, I saw we’d be going much too fast when our part of the train passed by. I managed a silly pic of the sign..

Is it 2012 yet? Is this still on schedule to open then??

We caught a glimpse of the Barnstormer from over the wall, too. This broke little Blakers’ heart!

After the Toontown excitement, one of those other passengers was ready for this train ride to be over! A baby, that I guessed well under a year old, started HOWLING! Ugh.. Thank goodness we were near the end! I felt bad for the mother, until I saw how she was attempting to handle this. The woman repeatedly tried to force an unwanted bottle into the baby’s mouth.. Of chocolate milk! Huh? Who gives a baby chocolate milk? I can’t imagine why he’s so upset. Uh oh.. Did I just say that out loud?

Mom behind us agreed with me and soon everyone around us was talking about it! I felt terrible. I suppose everyone was thinking the same thing. I shouldn’t have been the one to voice it and open all judgement though! I only hope the poor mom didn’t understand it all. They were speaking Spanish, but you never know. They hurried off the train at the front stop.

Hello, stroller.

Now it was really the end. The ferry won our goodbye ride with little complaint from my monorail buddy, Andrew.

^standing like this, that guy was just begging for me to take his picture! Hahaha..

We took our time at the TTC for more pictures..

to smell the flowers..

and skipped the tram, as usual.

It was a shorter day, but a full day with an early start. We all had a great time!

See ya real soon, Mickey!

Next Up!! Day Thirty!! On the 30th even!! We only have 11 Disney Days left!

 

[AprilRenee]

Hey, it’s the band.. I’m not sure where this picture fits, so it’ll go right here.

Bahahahaa!!! I keep having to do this in my TR too!! I can't remember anymore and didn't take notes of my last day and a half so I'm going from pseudo memory and pictures!

 

[GaRain]

Skip the lunch and go straight to the Dole Whip!!!
I just love those things! So much that when I was there in January once, I was freezing and shaking, but still eating and loving my dole whip!

Hey - you could always go to the Poly and get one at Captain Cooks - not the same as you can't have it as a float, but still yummy!!

What a cute train ride - until the screaming baby.....poor thing!
Boys are growing up so fast....

 

[jc040404]

Bahahahaa!!! I keep having to do this in my TR too!! I can't remember anymore and didn't take notes of my last day and a half so I'm going from pseudo memory and pictures!

Is it that obvious that I don't remember a lot of this day? I'm getting like that on some of our days. I did notes on all of them, but some of the things I have written down are starting to make no sense to me. Thank goodness for pictures, I guess. I know where we were all the time, but some of the details and stories are tougher to recall. I knew turning 29 was a BAD idea! I'm losing my memory. Totally forgot that "28 Forever" idea I had earlier in the TR!

Skip the lunch and go straight to the Dole Whip!!!
I just love those things! So much that when I was there in January once, I was freezing and shaking, but still eating and loving my dole whip!

Hey - you could always go to the Poly and get one at Captain Cooks - not the same as you can't have it as a float, but still yummy!!

What a cute train ride - until the screaming baby.....poor thing!
Boys are growing up so fast....

I need to remember that thing! The line over there is always so crazy that sometimes it's enough to make me keep walking. It's on the list anyway! If you still wanted one while freezing and shaking, they must be good! Floats are better? I've never really looked into the details on this. What should I get??

Screaming babies are part of life, especially at WDW. I can look beyond that. The chocolate milk bottle was crazy though!

 

[jane2073]

Fun day!
My daughter hates the "hairdresser lady" on TTA. I have to hide her eyes every time!

 

[CAStevens218]

Blake looks soooo happy with his galactic hero card!!!

I read about the peoplemover in so many trip reports, but we have never taken the time to ride! It is definitely going on my list for January, looks like fun!!

The picture of the boys on the train is adorable!!

 

[Dugette]

You guys sure make a lot of bets and have a lot of contests! I forgot, I was going to suggest that on your transportation trip-planning, you should split up and do a Disney transportation versus your car contest! That would be a fun one!

Okay, I have to be the one to say: I have never heard of a right and a left sock! Maybe it really does depend on what socks you buy. Or else I'm just undereducated on socks!

That's crazy about the chocolate milk in the baby's bottle!

I can't believe you've never had a Dole Whip! We like the floats, but both are good. However, after all this build up, hopefully you won't be disappointed whenever you do try one!

 

[jc040404]

Fun day!
My daughter hates the "hairdresser lady" on TTA. I have to hide her eyes every time!

Awww.. I can so see that though. She is kinda scary! The boys love her. I always get "It's mommy!" from Blake when we pass her. I have no idea why.

Blake looks soooo happy with his galactic hero card!!!

I read about the peoplemover in so many trip reports, but we have never taken the time to ride! It is definitely going on my list for January, looks like fun!!

The picture of the boys on the train is adorable!!

The Peoplemover isn't the most exciting ride, but you've got to try it!

& Thanks! I love their faces together in that pic. Definitely one of my favorites.

You guys sure make a lot of bets and have a lot of contests! I forgot, I was going to suggest that on your transportation trip-planning, you should split up and do a Disney transportation versus your car contest! That would be a fun one!

Okay, I have to be the one to say: I have never heard of a right and a left sock! Maybe it really does depend on what socks you buy. Or else I'm just undereducated on socks!

That's crazy about the chocolate milk in the baby's bottle!

I can't believe you've never had a Dole Whip! We like the floats, but both are good. However, after all this build up, hopefully you won't be disappointed whenever you do try one!

We considered that race when we were at CBR! After watching the buses all the time, Blake wanted to race with me, while John and Andrew took the car. Kinda we'd tried it. My family is a little crazy about this stuff.

I'll skip trying to convince you on the sock thing.

I hope I'm not disappointed on the Dole Whip! Beyond the shared funnel cake now and then, we just don't do a lot of snacking at WDW.

 

[GaRain]

I need to remember that thing! The line over there is always so crazy that sometimes it's enough to make me keep walking. It's on the list anyway! If you still wanted one while freezing and shaking, they must be good! Floats are better? I've never really looked into the details on this. What should I get??

I personally like to get the pineapple/vanilla swirl float - which means it is floating in pineapple juice! Hey - its at least 2 servings of my fruits for the day that way - right!? My friend Melissa said I wasn't a purist because I get the vanilla/pineapple swirl instead of going all pineapple....too each their own!

 

[jc040404]

I personally like to get the pineapple/vanilla swirl float - which means it is floating in pineapple juice! Hey - its at least 2 servings of my fruits for the day that way - right!? My friend Melissa said I wasn't a purist because I get the vanilla/pineapple swirl instead of going all pineapple....too each their own!

Sounds good to me! I LOVE pineapple, so it is a little nuts that I've never really made a point to try one. I'm sure a bigger reason is that we don't spend much time in that part of the park maybe. It's on my list for December anyway!

 

[jc040404]

March 30th, 2011 * Day Thirty

Day thirty is on the 30th! I didn't notice this until the TR. How nifty!

March turned out to be our most Disney filled month of this AP year. We’d already spent seven days there and would add another before it was done. It was a last minute push for a dose of Disney fun before the ban. April was planned to be WDW-free.

This day started as all the other day trips we’d done. We were on our way to the parks early, hoping to make it for opening at EPCOT. Unlike every other day trip we’d done, this journey seemed endless. Traffic was not on our side at all, so our drive took so much longer than usual. I was pretty surprised to see it all so early in the day. Tampa was a disaster! With all that sitting still, the boys didn’t relax and it made for a less than happy ride. I feared how this day might go.

Thankfully, all moods had drastically improved once we stepped out of the car at Epcot. The amazing powers of Disney, right? None of us gave the terrible ride another thought.

Checking the wait time board, Soarin’ was posted at just ten minutes. Not bad. Despite the long ride, we’d left early enough that it wasn’t too far from rope drop yet. Aside from the JAMMitors goal, a ride normally skipped would be added to break up the day’s routine. We debated and then separated. Andrew and I would attempt standby for Soarin, while John took Blake for Test Track FPs!

So close!

Making it down into the Land, Andrew and I remembered something about Soarin. Ten minutes at the sign didn’t exactly mean ten minutes when you finally got there, especially just after rope drop! It was up to thirty now, but we stuck with it.

Our wait went fast enough, with fun people watching and silly Andrew comments on everything we saw. The guests ahead of us repeatedly spoke of Mr Whatever (not his real name) and how they should’ve just “used” him to get through the lines faster. He was always referred to as “Mister Whatever” as they talked. I found it interesting and was a bit nosy. Who wouldn’t listen in this case? Andrew even picked up on it and whispered that this must be some sort of Disney super hero.

Throughout the queue, they made up an elaborate plan to invite Mr Whatever to DHS for dinner, with the real intention being faster access to the rides. I began to wonder about this man. How did he manage never to wait in line? Perhaps Andrew was right about the super hero thing. Whatever it was, I was sad for him, too. This silly family was putting on quite a show just to, as they admitted, use him. Poor Mr Whatever. I hope that meal was good!

Finally in our row to wait for our Mickey ears lecture, we were almost ready to take flight. We got row two, as we always seem to. Soarin’ Perfection. Our ride neighbors were newbies and so nervous about it all. All older adults, they used Andrew as an example. He loves when this happens. If he could handle this and love it, they could do it, too. He encouraged them and said how great it was. By the end, they definitely agreed. I love riding with WDW newbies!

Back outside, we spotted Blake almost immediately. He rushed up to me with a big smile.

“Can I have a penny??”

I assumed to press, but was wrong. He wanted to toss it in the water and make a wish.

Andrew followed with the same request, of course. I love his Disney wishes. Blake wouldn’t tell me what he had decided on, but I did listen in on Andrew’s. He held the penny over the water and closed his eyes.

“I wish to live at Disney!”

If only I could make that one come true for him.

We took a short break to watch a hopping bunny and let the boys snack. They weren’t interested in food before we left, so I’d packed along some of their favorite bars. We had just about twenty minutes until the JAMMitors would be coming out, so another attraction was added to fill the time.

Let’s go visit Figment! No matter what anyone says about hating this ride, I love it!

As the boys have gotten older, rides like this have been even more fun. The two of them sit in front of us and we have so much fun watching them interact with each other. Andrew made sure to point how the butterfly “disappears” to his brother, even though Blake knew it was coming. They can be so sweet.

And we get to make totally inappropriate jokes about the attractions, knowing little ears can't hear us.

Figment is too much fun. The skunk smell didn’t seem as bad this trip. I actually have this written down so it must’ve impressed me. Haha.. They could really change it up a bit and alternate which scent comes up.

The snack/Figment idea was perfect for the time we had. The JAMMitors were due out at 10:10 in Future World East. We thought this would work out great Then we realized this family never gets the East/West thing right at Epcot! We went to the wrong spot and waited for a few minutes. No JAMMitors. Hmm..

“Maybe they’re late?”

“Maybe we’re on the wrong side again?”

I popped my head into Innoventions to see where we were. Yep, wrong side. Why can’t we get this one right?

Rushing over to the other side, the sounds of drumming helped us find our way. The boys were thrilled when we finally spotted them. These weren’t the JAMMitors anymore. It was the Jammin’ Gardeners!

It was crowded already, but the boys found an empty spot in front to watch. I waited back with the stroller and enjoyed the show. At the end, Andrew rushed to me for his autograph book. I couldn’t help but laugh. He wanted them to sign his book!

Everyone loved how the show had changed based on the F&G stuff. We were disappointed to have missed the nifty stuff they had during F&W, but were told there might be something different for Christmas this year! Sadly, we’re probably not going to make it to EPCOT at all to find out.

Next up.. Test Track, baby!

When I asked John to collect TT FPs, I hadn’t done so with the idea that he’d be riding this. With his motion sickness issues, I always figured he’d never attempt it, even though it’s not all that exciting. For some crazy reason, John took Andrew’s hand and said they’d go ride. He was confusing Test Track and Soarin that day and thought this was the ride I said he’d be okay on. I’m not one to argue with him trying something new, so I didn’t exactly clear this up. (Honestly, I didn’t realize that was behind it until later!) This ride wouldn’t be a problem for him, right?

Two of my men off on a high speed adventure, Blake and were left to entertain ourselves. I admit to being a little lost on what to do with him. Thankfully, he was fine playing around outside and doing a little shopping with me.

He had fun picking out a pressed penny design. I’m glad I snapped a picture, because he’d lose it before we left the store! He did find more than a few cars that he just couldn’t live without so I can see why the penny wasn’t important enough to hold onto. We looked over all the spots he’d been shopping, but I never found it. How sad. It was my last penny, too.

 

[jc040404]

We moved inside to look at all the cars and watch for brother and Daddy. It wasn’t terribly long until they joined us with the story of their wild ride. John even took pictures! I had never tried pics on my Test Track turns before.

Andrew complained about the hot/cold chambers and said this ride is “skippable” in the future based on just this. I’m okay with that. I’ve never really found it all that exciting. John definitely agreed with never riding again. It made him sick! We really needed a time out after that to let his tummy calm down!

I decided to take the boys over to the Pixie Hollow stuff while John ran away for a few minutes. It was a fun morning. Haha.. We were slightly distracted when they noticed a “Sounds of Nature” sign ahead of us.

It must’ve been interesting, because I remember spending quite a bit of time in here. Sadly, I don’t remember what the little stops were about now. Sounds of nature, I’m assuming. We spotted loads of butterflies in here and a CM across from one side had a table of Pixie stuff that she was giving to the children. The boys got some coloring pages and Tink & friends stickers that we’d never seen. Andrew is big on collecting stickers to bring home, so that was awesome in his book!

When John finally returned to us, his face looked much better and he was smiling again. I was questioned about how I could possibly think that ride was okay. This is when I would learn about the Test Track/Soarin confusion. Uh well! He just laughed it off, but I never would get him on Soarin now. I might’ve done something like this with Dinosaur in 2005. He’ll never trust me about rides again!

We detoured into Mouse Gear next. I had some Easter basket shopping to do.

I didn’t buy one of these. I just knew someone would steal it. Looking back, I wish I’d gone for it anyway. How cute

Shopping for children while with the children who aren’t supposed to see what you’re buying is a challenge. Their baskets didn’t have much Mickey in them.

A new-to-us restaurant was in the works for this day and our ADR time was approaching soon. With about thirty minutes left of free time, Blake placed a Nemo request! John decided to wait out for this one, so the boys and I headed under the sea without him.

Nemo oddly had a decent wait at the time, so we were now in a rush to get to lunch. John met us outside with the stroller and we were off to China!

Next Up! Nine Dragons!

 

[AprilRenee]

Oh no!! Poor John!! I'm sad that he'll never trust you about Soarin'! He just doesn't know what he's missing!! :-(

Have you ever watched the Behind the Scenes Disney World DVDs? (They're on instant cue on Netflix) They show the Soarin' mechanism and maybe if he saw how tame it was he'd go for it.

Looks like you're having a fun day so far though!

 

[CAStevens218]

Awww, your poor husband on Test Track! I get motion sick as well, but not as severely as him! I can't do things like Mission Space or the tea cups! That nasty feeling in your stomache is the worst! Too bad he won't try Soarin' though! I usually can't do big screens like that, but I'm fine on Soarin'!

It seems like a great day anyway though! I can't wait to hear about your meal!

 

[PirateKate]

It would be really nice to have the boys sitting alone in front of us on some of the rides! Probably not much longer, either.

Test Track is skippable? I'm very surprised...I would have guessed Test Track would be very popular with little boys.

 

[Dugette]

Fun morning. It's cool to see all the Flower & Garden stuff and the modified JAMMitors. Can't believe that John took a spin on Test Track! Maybe someday you'll get him to brave Soarin'. I love Test Track, even though it's skip-able for Andrew. Looking forward to more of this day!