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[AprilRenee]

So I was reading your TR on my iphone while waiting in the dr. office for my gender ultrasound and thinking to myself..."if this baby is a boy, I hope he's as sweet as Andyroo and Blakers" Sure enough...it's a boy! And I still hope my kid turns out as cute and sweet as your two boys!

 

[jc040404]

That sunrise picture is AMAZING! So beautiful!

What a fabulous picture of Andrew and Blake waiting in line...they really know how to pose for the camera!

Sorry your Pooh ride was ruined by the possibility of a lost bag. I wouldn't have been able to relax either! I'm glad everything worked out.

I feel for the CM and the guest in the language barrier situation! It can be so difficult!!

I love that pic at PPF! It's really sooo tough to get one of the boys looking the same direction, even if it isn't at the camera.

The lost bag thing really had me worried. I didn't want the lost wallet situation again and was so worried. Thank goodness it was still there!

Language barriers are not fun sometimes! I could totally relate to how that CM must've felt, but I don't know if I'd have just agreed with the seven minute thing.

I always forget how to post pictures on here....I need to figure that out and post it!

I use photobucket! It's a piece of cake, copy/paste job.

So I was reading your TR on my iphone while waiting in the dr. office for my gender ultrasound and thinking to myself..."if this baby is a boy, I hope he's as sweet as Andyroo and Blakers" Sure enough...it's a boy! And I still hope my kid turns out as cute and sweet as your two boys!

Congrats!! Boys are the best!! Any names yet? One of the most annoying pregnancy questions, right? We kept Blake's a secret for as long as possible after the stress I got about Andrew's! How has the pregnancy been going? I've been wondering about ya!

 

[AprilRenee]

Congrats!! Boys are the best!! Any names yet? One of the most annoying pregnancy questions, right? We kept Blake's a secret for as long as possible after the stress I got about Andrew's! How has the pregnancy been going? I've been wondering about ya! [/QUOTE]

I'm VERY excited! We have 2 names that we are trying to choose between, Caden Douglas or Caleb Douglas. BOTH of our dads are named Douglas so that was an EASY choice
You got trouble about Andrew?? How could anyone not like that? It's very traditional and normal! It's not like you wanted to name him something way out in left field. Odd!
Pregnancy has been fantastic actually...I could totally do this again. I felt him move for sure on Friday night and now I feel him all the time! It's the coolest thing!
I really do intend on getting back here and updating the TR, sorry I've been gone so long. I have been so busy getting ready for this Christmas Festival that I do that I haven't even really had time to read anyone's TR, except yours, cause it emails me when you update. Also, I'm so distracted by baby planning that I haven't even been obsessing about our upcoming trip. I'm excited...don't get me wrong...just MORE excited about this little guy!

 

[jc040404]

Congrats!! Boys are the best!! Any names yet? One of the most annoying pregnancy questions, right? We kept Blake's a secret for as long as possible after the stress I got about Andrew's! How has the pregnancy been going? I've been wondering about ya!

I'm VERY excited! We have 2 names that we are trying to choose between, Caden Douglas or Caleb Douglas. BOTH of our dads are named Douglas so that was an EASY choice
You got trouble about Andrew?? How could anyone not like that? It's very traditional and normal! It's not like you wanted to name him something way out in left field. Odd!
Pregnancy has been fantastic actually...I could totally do this again. I felt him move for sure on Friday night and now I feel him all the time! It's the coolest thing!
I really do intend on getting back here and updating the TR, sorry I've been gone so long. I have been so busy getting ready for this Christmas Festival that I do that I haven't even really had time to read anyone's TR, except yours, cause it emails me when you update. Also, I'm so distracted by baby planning that I haven't even been obsessing about our upcoming trip. I'm excited...don't get me wrong...just MORE excited about this little guy!

Love the names!! How nifty that they both have the same name. Andrew doesn't seem like a problem causing name, but some members of my family search for reasons to be upset with me. He's named after John's father, Walter Andrew. Bet you can't guess Andrew's middle name! Yeah, we just flipped 'em around. Have fun trying to choose which one!

So glad everything's going well for you. Aren't those little movements the best?? I miss that! Enjoy all the baby planning! This is definitely more exciting than another Disney trip!

 

[jc040404]

The down time was extended with a break for lunch. CHH is not shocker, but the boys didn’t get their favorite mixed greens this time. Three different CMs stopped me in various spots of the restaurant to say that sandwiches and salads weren’t available right now. Something was wrong with a cooler perhaps? One of them told me what was going on, but it wasn’t worth remembering to me. There were lots of CMs without anything to do. I had several offers to bring our food out to the table and twice someone stopped to inquire about condiments This quiet little CS had suddenly gone crazy, unorganized TS in a sense. Nothing against CHH. The CMs in here never disappoint and we love the place. You already knew that.

Blake and Andrew settled with splitting the fish/nugget basket and were thrilled at the idea of having french fries. It was all in their little heads, I think. Neither really touched them and spent most of our meal making letters instead!

“I made a CAP-I-TAL Y.” No, not a big Y.. Not just a regular old Y.. This was a capital Y. They’re cooler, ya know.

“Can we go now?”

With happy tummies and much more energy, we were ready to attempt the bunny picture one more time. Our timing was pretty good. As we entered the Easter Bunny’s line, a CM informed us that they’d be leaving for a carrot break in about five minutes but we might make it. I spent the time checking out all the pretty flowers.

Smile, Blaker!!

Total bunny wait time was four minutes. We just made it! I don’t think five minutes is the same in Disney time anyway.

This visit went so much better and the boys had fun. They ran up for hugs and enjoyed talking to them. I loved how adorable these bunnies were!

Mission Completion!

Goal of the day was done and we could’ve left happy in that moment. We weren’t about to leave before noon though! The 3 o’clock parade would be passing by in twenty minutes. At Noon. I guess there were two during that time of the year. That could make for some fun over that parade time question for a bit. We found our usual spot to wait for the fun!

Twenty minutes of parade waiting was perfect. I slipped into the Emporium to do a little solo Easter basket shopping. John kept the boys occupied on the sidewalk, so I had a nice time not worrying about what they might see. I could easily hide anything I bought in my bag.

After picking several small basket worthy items, I presented them with my card at the register.

“Can I see your ID?”

Annoying. They never asked for that during the first year, but I suppose it’s a good thing. Had my bag actually been taken from the stroller, I’d really appreciate the added step. I fumbled through my bag, searching for my ID. Nothing. I explained my situation to the CM. Nothing. She wouldn’t budge on this. No ID meant no Phineas & Ferb. Thank goodness for those gift cards. I pulled one out and she ran the order through without issue. Yay!

There was one plus to all the card drama. When I made it back outside, it was parade time!

Waving @ Blakers

The Fairy Godmother tossed down a bunch of confetti. The boys would both scramble to scoop up as many as they could quickly stuff in my bag. This wasn’t regular Mickey confetti. This was super special Fairy Godmother “Wish” confetti! Being silly silver circles, I never expected it would rate higher to them than the cute Mickey stuff. These must have special powers to help grant wishes! I've tried it a couple of times, but never get that "living in Cinderella's castle" request filled. Maybe it only works for kids?

Seeing Ariel in the parade provided the inspiration we needed to finally take Blake to see her in the park. We had no clue where she was, but knew it would start with a journey to Adventureland

While we didn’t spot Ariel right away, we did notice another new-to-us character was out with a newly forming line. The boys raced to join and were third to see Angelica!

“Who is she?”

“I dunno. Maybe some pirate lady?”

They had no idea who it was. John and I had no idea who it was. It was a character we hadn’t seen, so that was enough for us all Haha.. No, I still haven’t watched the POTC movies!

The line moved quickly and soon it was time for the little girl in front of us.

“Keep your children TOGETHER, please!” a photopass photographer barked at us.

I was confused and glanced at the boys. My children were right beside us. I looked around to see if he’d been referring to someone else.

“Keep your children TOGETHER, please!" he repeated, staring at us.

We just stared back, confused. This guy was crazy.

“Isn’t she YOURS’?”

“I think she belongs to the lady with the camera,” John said and pointed to the woman beside PP guy. She was grinning ear to ear at the little girl.

“Oh.”

The end. The photopass guy finally started taking pictures of the girl, but had missed almost all of her time with Angelica! Geesh. Aren’t the best pictures those first few when a child sees the character? He missed ‘em all with that foolishness. We learned an important lesson. Don’t let your children talk to other kids in line unless you plan to add them to your family!

The boys’ turn came and they were rushed over to Angelica by the same CM. I couldn’t hear anything that was said, but they had a fun time talking to her!

Our turn done, the pp guy rudely pushed our photopass card back at me. So uncalled for! I turned to complain to my husband, not noticing several more important looking CMs were filling the area. One stopped us from taking another step.

“Is everything okay? Did something happen?”

She had one of those sooo sincere Disney smiles. I glanced at John again.

“Nah, we’re okay. Do you know where Ariel might be?”

 

[CAStevens218]

Love the picture of Andrew with his head on the table!! It sounds like you had a very educational lunch, with the french fry art and all!

The Easter bunnies are adorable! Very cute picture.

You certainly had a lot of restraint to keep from saying something about the rude photopass guy!!! I envy you...I'm not sure if I would have been able to stop myself! Deep down I know its better to just let it go but sometimes its sooo hard!!!!!!!!

 

[jc040404]

Love the picture of Andrew with his head on the table!! It sounds like you had a very educational lunch, with the french fry art and all!

The Easter bunnies are adorable! Very cute picture.

You certainly had a lot of restraint to keep from saying something about the rude photopass guy!!! I envy you...I'm not sure if I would have been able to stop myself! Deep down I know its better to just let it go but sometimes its sooo hard!!!!!!!!

French fry art is awesome! I think John got him started doing that. It was pretty neat to see all the stuff they came up with, but the Y really stuck out in my mind when I wrote that.

I don't have a high opinion of photopass most of the time. They've done ridiculous little things like this sooo many times, but we just walk away from it in the parks. Saying anything would've been pointless. I have another comment on this, but had to run before putting up the next post. This day is finished and should be up soon!

 

[jc040404]

We left it at that, but I did see another CM hurry over to help photopass guy. I wonder what they heard. I’d only told John this guy was crazy rude and that he missed all the best shots. Why can’t all photopass people be like awesome guy from DHS that day?

The happy CM gave information on where to go for Ariel, but she wasn’t around at the time. It seemed so warm and crowded around here that we chose to save this for another day. The boys mentioned POTC since it was close, but the wait was at FORTY minutes! Yikes. Don’t we usually walk on that one?

We'd all wait in line for a few minutes. The wait was long, but it would be nice and cool in there. It seemed like a good plan for a moment or two, but we all soon gave up on it. POTC is not worth forty minutes.

Andrew and I collected a set of BTMRR FPs with a 2:15 return time (It was 1pm. I wrote that down?) as our final act on this side of the park. The crowds were getting crazy, so our journey across to Fantasyland was going to take a while. Along the way, we spotted something new-to-us again..

They were playing “Bare Necessities” from The Jungle Book! These guys were even better than the Woodwind group we’d seen before and so much fun to listen to. Sadly, we only caught the very end of the show. I never knew they existed before. Looking it up at home, it looks like they're the Notorious Banjo Brothers and Bob. Nifty!

Coolest part of crowded day? Tape arrows! Even cooler part of coolest part of crowded day? People were actually following them!! John made such a ridiculous game of being sure to follow them exactly. He was like the arrow-following Zax, not one step to either side when we came upon another on the ground. If it turned at a sharp angle, so did he! Blake was full of giggles and begging to walk this area “one more time” just for the silliness! It was crazy, but awesome that people paid attention to the tape lines, too.

I still had a set of Pooh and PPF FPs to use up, so these were our FL missions. We stopped first to check IASW, but the wait was up to fifty minutes now. Yikes and not happening!

Crazy!!

Our FP wait for PPF was only six minutes, with standby at 70! It was a crazy day. We saw our favorite CM was back at his PPF post though. Too bad. He seemed happy, but IASW would’ve been perfect for him. I’m guessing they all must bounce around, huh?

I didn’t note the wait at Pooh’s ride, but our FP time was eight minutes. I must’ve been super interested in wait times this day. I’ve written most of them down. It’s kinda funny.

Don’t try to steal Mickey’s opera glasses! This made me smile when we walked by. (It wasn't us!!)

The ride was so disappointing. We got stopped just before our big “Hooray!” in the rain and simply pushed through without any of the rest of the audio. It was sad, but the boys made sure it shout it out anyway.

“Let’s ride the Pooplemeter!” Andrew broke my hooray sadness with his request. He’s too silly.

We detoured first for a Space Mountain check..

Almost! His head was just touching the mark then. We're sooo close!

People were so funny over here. All the chairs from the tables along the side were pulled out into the shade instead. I thought it was great. Do they usually do stuff like this? I can see why a shady spot would be preferred. It was getting toasty!

In more disappointment, the Peoplemover was closed when we got there. What a rough MK ride day, huh? We survived. The dance party at Club 626 was playing that “Gitchi Gitchi Goo” song from Phineas and Ferb. It’s kinda tough to have a sad face when the boys start singing along. We all headed straight for it to let them dance a bit.

Watch out, Andy-Roo!

Blake was really getting into it this time!

“Carousel of Progress now?”

“YESSS!!”

I love that the boys get into these parties, but I could skip every one of ‘em and be happy.

CoP was even packed and had... hope you’re sitting down for this.. A FASTPASS LINE! I stopped in my tracks to stand in awe of this. There are FPs for CoP?? I had to have one! John asked a CM and found out that the Buzz FP machine was giving them out. We assumed that ride would be skipped, but we’d at least be getting a FP round now!

CoP must like to be different. The standby people, us included, all made it to the door before the FP group. That little bit of ticket taking slowed them down. I found it funny and wondered by they didn’t make our group wait. The idea of FP for CoP seems pretty pointless.

CoP continued to keep things interesting when we made it inside. We had our very first incident with a flash camera inside! Two different groups on the other side of our row were snapping away. Twice a CM had to announce that it wasn’t allowed before the flashing stopped. Once more before the cameras were put away altogether! I was a little jealous. I’ve always wanted CoP pics, but I won’t break the rules.

We caught the “Pooplemeter” and collected those Buzz FPs next. Sure enough, a bonus set popped out for CoP. Andrew and I squealed in excitement. This was huge for us. The people next to us hurried away, but I’m sure it had nothing to do with the celebration at the FP machine.

Had they stuck around, I would’ve given them our Buzz FPs! I was only interested in the Bonus set. We picked a family at the other end of the machines to gift our Buzz and BTMRR FPs to. They were FP pros and didn’t give me that crazy look when I brought it up. Their kids were thrilled over the BTMRR set. Hope they had fun!

It was only nearing 3pm, but we’d had enough for this adventure. Waits were nuts and FP return times were growing later and later, too. We could’ve gone around to BTMRR but it seemed sooo far away then. Haha.. I think we were all feeling that early morning now. Next time!

 

[jc040404]

The 12pm parade was making its way down Main Street, but we had no trouble getting through. MK had EXCELLENT crowd control that day! I was super impressed. I paused to admire a window at the Confectionary, but the parade music was louder than I could be. I didn’t manage to get John’s attention to stop for some treat shopping. I think he was focused on finding a parade spot for Andrew. My silly boy wanted to see Alice again!

While those two were parade occupied, Blake and I explored around with the stroller. I spotted the new signs for Mickey’s new M&G. How cute! Then I spotted the wait time.. Only five minutes! We were definitely doing that one.

Five minutes in Disney time can go either way, I guess. At the bunnies, five minutes lasted forever. Waiting for Mickey, five minutes was more like “however long it takes you to walk back here ” instead! I made it a longer by slowing down to snap pics of the stuff on the walls. Andrew was disappointed that the magic tricks weren’t going on at the time, but we’d see them another day.

There was only one family ahead of us, with not a soul in sight coming in line behind. The boys were rushing to their friends’ arms in no time.

I made a bit of a mistake with Andrew by watching a video of the new M&G area one afternoon. He already knew what it would look like and that Mickey was doing tricks in those pictures before. Having those not working was more disappointing to him than I’d realized. He didn’t act quite like himself during the meet and kept quiet. He would finally speak when it was time for goodbye hugs.

“When are you doing your magic tricks?” he asked.

That simple little question led to a super fun Mickey experience. He took Andrew over to a cage on the opposite wall to show off his magic trick!

The bird inside the cage disappeared. It didn’t fool Andy-Roo though. He knew this trick from Figment and said so. Silly Mouse, I know what you’re up to! Mickey went a bit further (with the help of a CM ) and showed Andrew another trick with a bunny. Could we find it? It wasn’t in the cage! The boys looked around with Minnie to find it.

“He’s up there!” an excited Blakers was the winner!

Every now and then, we’d spy a bit of bunny poking out of that hat. How cute!

The boys’ fun didn’t end just yet. Minnie took Andrew’s hand and started to leave. She was taking off with brother and Blake was perfectly happy with idea. I was shocked! He told brother “Bye” and went back to Mickey. Poor Andy-Roo. If it ever comes down to you or Mickey.. Well, you see how it might end!

Minnie didn’t make it very far with Andrew anyway. She was simply showing off more fun details in their new spot

They spent most of the time going over that trunk on the floor. I feel awful for not being able to remember a thing in it, but Andrew was loving every minute!

So nifty!

I’m always so thrilled when they have a chance to spend a little extra time with a character. With the usual “pose and get out of here” way M&G times really have to go to fit everyone in, I never expect it. It makes little moments like this extra special and I think they’ve been pretty lucky for the few we’ve had. The photopass photographer joked it was a perk to being last in line during a slow time. (Kinda wish she'd been taking pics. Mine are awful in here!!)

This was definitely one of the more memorable visits with Mickey that the boys have ever had! I’m crossing my fingers for a chance to see the new talking Mickey when we’re there next. How awesome that would be!

We took some time to explore the gift shop after before heading out of the park. All the displays were so cute in here. Too bad there wasn’t any nifty magic theme merchandise. We would’ve probably bought way too much of it in that happy Mickey mood!

A ferry ride back to the TTC and we were done with day thirty-one!

Next Up!! It’s Nemo Day!!


This year is almost over! Nemo Day, Pixar Weekend, our CRAZY experience with Pop & the dxdp, the big birthday stay @ POR, and one more overnight adventure.. Then this TR is done!

 

[AprilRenee]

This year is almost over! Nemo Day, Pixar Weekend, our CRAZY experience with Pop & the dxdp, the big birthday stay @ POR, and one more overnight adventure.. Then this TR is done!

No!! Don't be done!!

 

[jc040404]

No!! Don't be done!!

With how long it's taking me to get updates done, I don't see this being over all that soon. I'm awful at keeping up with this one. I'll work on it when the boys nap in a bit!


Guess What! MVMCP is out. We did a sort of test run with Andrew this weekend and there's no way he'd be able to manage such a late night and then be up for a full day on Saturday. I'm sad, but it's smarter than trying to push him too much and having a weekend of meltdowns instead of fun. Glad I didn't let the boys know about it yet!

Now I'm back to planning that first evening again..

 

[Dugette]

I fell behind again, but catching up now from Day 30. I love all the F&G pics! I'm glad you all enjoyed Universe of Energy, but what a bummer end to the day with the rain destroying all the stuff (and the missing bag)! By the way, I relate to the "fighting hair in the wind" thing...I kept a little hair binder in my pocket every day on our last trip (since I almost always wear my hair down too) and was able to pull it back out of my face when the wind kicked up. Very handy.

Very cool giant sun picture! Funny about the "lady who talks too much"! So weird about the CM making you pull that stuff out of your bag! Never heard about that happening. Awww, Mr. & Mrs. Easter Bunny are so cute! Weird Photopass experience with Angelica.

Tape arrows are interesting...especially that people were following them! Wow, a Fast Pass for Carousel of Progress...crazy! Those wait times are nuts that day! Wow.

What an awesome M&G with Mickey and Minnie. I had no idea there were magic tricks involved (we went during a 5 min. wait time too). How great that they spent all that time with the boys!

Aw, too bad the MVMCP is out! I hope you figure out another fun surprise to replace it!

 

[GaRain]

Look at all that time you had with Mickey and Minnie - that is awesome!
I do like Bunny picture take 2!
Did Andrew see Alice in the parade again?
Can I borrow some of that Fairy Godmother confetti!?

 

[jodi90]

Somehow I missed you were planning on going to the Christmas Party. Too bad it's sold out. What day were you planning on going? I'm going to be there on 12/13. I'm super excited.

 

[jc040404]

I fell behind again, but catching up now from Day 30. I love all the F&G pics! I'm glad you all enjoyed Universe of Energy, but what a bummer end to the day with the rain destroying all the stuff (and the missing bag)! By the way, I relate to the "fighting hair in the wind" thing...I kept a little hair binder in my pocket every day on our last trip (since I almost always wear my hair down too) and was able to pull it back out of my face when the wind kicked up. Very handy.

Very cool giant sun picture! Funny about the "lady who talks too much"! So weird about the CM making you pull that stuff out of your bag! Never heard about that happening. Awww, Mr. & Mrs. Easter Bunny are so cute! Weird Photopass experience with Angelica.

Tape arrows are interesting...especially that people were following them! Wow, a Fast Pass for Carousel of Progress...crazy! Those wait times are nuts that day! Wow.

What an awesome M&G with Mickey and Minnie. I had no idea there were magic tricks involved (we went during a 5 min. wait time too). How great that they spent all that time with the boys!

Aw, too bad the MVMCP is out! I hope you figure out another fun surprise to replace it!

I should really keep something in my bag for my hair, huh. I do carry a brush, but I guess I've never thought that far. The wind is such a pain sometimes.

Those posters before you meet Mickey are kinda like cartoons, I guess. We watched a cup game on a visit to the princesses coming up.

Glad you're caught up! I'm sure we'll figure something out to fill the time. Even if they just play at Pop, the boys will be thrilled and thankful just to be at WDW. I'm not worried. All they ask for is to see the lights at DHS.

Look at all that time you had with Mickey and Minnie - that is awesome!
I do like Bunny picture take 2!
Did Andrew see Alice in the parade again?
Can I borrow some of that Fairy Godmother confetti!?

John put Andrew up on his shoulders and joined the crowd. He saw her!

Would it be silly to admit that I have four little pieces of Fairy Godmother confetti on my desk right now? Start wishing!

Somehow I missed you were planning on going to the Christmas Party. Too bad it's sold out. What day were you planning on going? I'm going to be there on 12/13. I'm super excited.

I don't think the party we were going to try is sold out. This was a bedtime issue more than anything else. The boys are always in bed between 7:30 and 8:00pm now that Andrew is in school. It would've just been a little too much on him to push bedtime so late on a school day. Attempting a rope drop the next day would've been a disaster, too! I'm doing the "smart" thing instead of the fun party thing. Being an adult stinks sometimes, huh? Have bunches of fun at your party though & know I'm super jealous!!

 

[jc040404]

Hello out there! Hope anyone left reading had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Totally a turkey, right? They spotted this at the pumpkin patch last month!

My plans to get this TR done by December aren't looking so good right now, but I'm still working on it! My computer decided to crash for the holiday, so I'm in a bit of a mess. Cross your fingers for my pictures please. I stand to lose a big chunk of this year if they can't be recovered. It's a lesson in making sure your files are safe should something like this happen, right? It was not the best holiday for me.

Updates coming soon! I'm in the process of taking over my husband's desk today.

 

[Dugette]

Love the turkey pic!

Sorry you had such a crummy holiday! I will definitely keep my fingers crossed for your pictures! We've had some close calls ourselves, so I know how that is (luckily, we've been able to recover things). Good luck and I hope things get better from here on out!

 

[jc040404]

Love the turkey pic!

Sorry you had such a crummy holiday! I will definitely keep my fingers crossed for your pictures! We've had some close calls ourselves, so I know how that is (luckily, we've been able to recover things). Good luck and I hope things get better from here on out!

Isn't this the worst feeling though? It's the second time it's happened to me since I started this TR, I think. I don't know what I'm doing wrong with my computer, but it's time for a new one. I've been told that it's probably fine, so that's good.

Our Thanksgiving wasn't that bad really. John's pumpkin pies are sooo yummy and the Christmas tree is up. We had a nice day.



I WILL update this TR tonight!

 

[jc040404]

May 3rd, 2011 * day 32 * Nemo Day!

This day started slowly. Very slowly. We all wanted to go to the World for the day, and we all wanted to go to AK in particular. However, we all wanted to sleep until noon, too. That plan wouldn’t work very well, so slowly everyone got moving and into the car.

Our slow start continued after we walked through the gates to Animal Kingdom. I was starting to feel “off” and knew it wouldn’t end well. First, my hand started to grow numb. Then came the auras. If you’ve experienced this before, you know just how bad it all is. A major migraine was about to hit and I wasn’t at all prepared for it.

Migraines had simply been a part of life for years. They were awful. Hand and arm numbness, insane sensitivity to sound, scents and light, and those awful visual disturbances always had me running to my cold, dark room for sleep. Nothing I took brought any relief and sleep was tough to reach. But it worked in time. Hours later, I’d still be in pain, but I could function again. On a happy note, the many crazy hormones pregnancy brought on seemed to be my cure. After Andrew was born, I didn’t have another migraine. My monthly terror had simply vanished. That is, until May 3rd, 2011, while walking into Animal Kingdom.

Given the extreme issues with light, scent, and sounds in particular, this wasn’t the best place for my migraine problem to return. All the people and food around me turned my stomach and I searched for a quiet hideaway. Luckily, AK is definitely good for that part. I found a bench, some Excedrin, and prayed for the best. John and the boys explored the animals all around me. They still had a nice time, but it was not one of our better mornings!

Thankfully, the combination of Excedrin and meditation had the pain manageable sooner than I’d expected. I still didn’t feel well, but at least I wouldn’t spoil the day for the boys.

We all had once destination in mind for this one. As you already know, it was Nemo Day! The boys absolutely love the music from the show and listen to it a lot at home. We planned this day trip just to see it again.

Along the way, John brought up a measurement. We’d already lost quite a bit of the morning and he wanted to be sure I could get some FPs, if needed. Was Andrew tall enough for Everest yet??

“He is!” John was ready to celebrate.

“He’s so not.”

He joined me at the measuring stick and inspected closer. Again, he declared our son to be forty-four inches tall and Andrew grinned. He was so wrong! I moved Andrew’s head a bit as he giggled. I guess it was a little silly to be bouncing the little guy’s head back and forth, but it proved the point. He was clearly still under the mark. I’ve read the reports on paper being slipped just under. He would never pass that test! So so close, Andy-Roo. I will admit to being secretly thankful not to have to tackle this ride on migraine day!

When we made it around to the show building, we had just thirty minutes to kill until Nemo time. John quickly parked the stroller and we found seats inside. This early, it worked out much better than the late arrival the visit before.

We spent the wait time searching for Nemo in those silly bubbles, of course! I never managed to catch a pic with him in it. The boys love it.

Showtime!

It was fantastic! No matter what I read about this show, it’ll always be my favorite here. (I did love that Tarzan show though.  ) The music is adorable and fun, and that story melts my heart at times. Poor Marlin. I can totally relate to how you felt letting little Nemo head off to school.

After Nemo, we decided to do some Dinoland exploring. The games were all three for ten bucks, if anyone out there wonders. The boys weren’t interested in them, which was a little funny. I had planned to let them play a couple, but was perfectly okay with saving the money instead. Haha.. I think the CMs made Andrew nervous.

We had a fun time and took a turn on the dino-Dumbo ride. It had a bit of wait, but that was okay. Blake gets really excited over it and it’s something we usually skipped. Oddly, Dinosaur didn’t have much of a wait at all when we wandered over there. I expected thirty minutes or so after dino-Dumbo’s mess. Yay for a quick ride anyway! Andrew and I ran into the building while Blake and John did some exploring.

Dinosaur was (and is!) still one of my favorites. I had an awesome time on it, but Andy-Roo didn’t handle it quite so well. This time, it made my poor little man feel ill! He decided that we’d not be riding this one again. Too bad. My head felt just fine by then and I was up for another try. We found the rest of our family and made lunch plans instead.

AK was picked for more than just the Nemo show. We wanted to finally try Restaurantasauras. It had made the list of places to check out, but no one really remembered why. Looking over the menu, I spotted the sweet potato fries and guessed that must’ve been it. I went with the Vegetable Subasaurus. John picked a burger and the boys split the adult nuggets. Everything on the kids’ menu was declared “yuck!” and skipped over. (hotdog, PB&J, or nasty kids’ burger) It wasn’t until later that I saw the kids’ meals were part of the reason for this restaurant choice. They wanted those nifty sand pails and now weren’t going to get one.

The food was interesting. I didn’t find the fries all that impressive and that veggie sandwich was downright icky. It tasted like mush on a stale bun. When I commented on it, John switched our meals. Andrew decided the burger looked better than the nuggets, so we’d make another trade. Blake was the only one to stick with what he picked out! In the end, everyone was fed so it worked for us! We did decide that an ADR at Yak & Yeti is a must if we plan to eat at AK in the future.

Deciding it might be worth a walk over to the safari, AK “What do we do now?” started to hit. We ventured off into the Maharajah Jungle Trek for the first time. Somehow this one had always been missed before, but I suppose that happens when you give up on a park early.

The Jungle Trek was interesting, but quite crowded. When we found an empty spot, I pulled out the boys’ cameras to keep them entertained and extra interested in spotting the animals first. It worked really well and they both snapped away.

One of the big highlights of this experience for them was checking out the bats!. The snake was even “cooler” to them. Andrew asked a CM in here loads of questions, which really made her smile. Most guests just walked through. He’s always good for a chat with anyone.

ewwwwww

We didn’t have a lot of luck with tigers, but did manage to see them anyway.

Blaker the “camera guy” taking pictures!

John and I debated about buying Blake a kids’ camera after Andrew got his Kodak for Christmas. After reading the reviews, it seemed like the picture quality was mostly terrible on those, which wasn’t too shocking. The only “plus” was the kid tough aspect of it, but we could teach him how to take care of it instead. While trying to pick the perfect camera for the little guy, I found a reeeeeally old digital camera packed away in our closet. It was perfect! It instantly became Blakers’ and he loves it!

The only downside to Blake’s camera seemed to be that he doesn’t quite understand that you need to push the button all the way down. Haha.. He only took five or six pictures the entire day. I was glad that he managed this bicycle shot anyway. He put lots of work into getting it just right!

probably out of order..

At the end of our jungle experience, the park was getting very full and very hot. AK just seems so much more miserable when it comes to the heat and humidity! Guests weren’t taking it well either and acted cranky and in need of naps. Two women nearly ran down Blakers as we walked into a restroom! In another spot, a woman trying to take a picture managed to press Andrew up against a wall?? People are completely insane. We looked around a bit more but decided this day needed a change.

Bye-bye Animal Kingdom! We do try to love you, but this day needed more Nemo. We headed straight to EPCOT next!

 

[jc040404]

Epcot was so much more pleasant! It didn’t feel so sticky and the guests were happy. Our goal was to find Nemo, of course, but the short wait a Spaceship Earth called to us first!

Check it out! A pic of me.. sorta.. hahahahaha

The ride stopped at the end when you’re going down backwards. That didn’t go over so well with Blake and I got worried. He was uncomfortable and terrified! I calmed him as best as I could, but he wanted off of it and NOW. Thank goodness it soon started back up or we might’ve been in for some trouble. He had tears in his little eyes when we stepped outside!

John and Andrew ran off to collect the stroller while I calmed him some more. A few minutes talking about the Daisy topiary seemed to work and he was all smiles again before moving on to Nemo. Poor baby. He never has much trouble on rides, but I can see why stopping on this one would make anyone uncomfortable. I hoped it didn’t spoil it for him in the future.

Nemo was the usual fun and perfect for our theme of the day. We kept it going and moved on to Turtle Talk. I had the usual talk with Andrew first, but he remained confident. Each visit was declared “the” visit. This would be the day and Andrew was certain of it. Today’s plan? He was leaving his sunglasses on? It made sense in my four year old’s mind and I wasn’t going to discourage him.

Crush was a little different this day. If it’s possible, he really sounded kinda bored by it all? I found it hilarious. Even funnier was the bit where he swims off, telling the children to count how long it takes him. Crush was gone and they began..

“1…2…3….4….5…”

Crush did his spin around and returned to the screen.

“7…8…9…10..”

He stared down at the group on the floor. The children didn’t stop counting..

“12…13…14…15…16..”

“You do realize I’m back, right?”

All of the adults were cracking up, so the kids finally stopped. As goofy as it was, it rates as funniest Crush show ever for me!

It wasn’t over yet.. Crush got to the part when he asks the kids if they have any questions. As they always did, both of my boys raised their arms high in the air. All of the children were waving back and forth, hoping to be picked. He chose a little girl, and I could feel Andrew’s disappointment growing. Silly Crush. I found myself silently begging an animated turtle.

Pleeeeease, Crush.. Make this be the one. Pleeeeeease.

“How about the little rocker up front?”

Crush picked him!! It had been that silly shirt and sunglasses, just as Andrew planned. I grabbed John’s arm in excitement as Andrew went on with his question.

“I was just thinking, how fast do you swim?”

I was so excited for Andy-Roo that I don’t even remember what the answer is! Nemo day was huge now and I couldn’t wait to talk to my little man when the show was done. This had to be the best Epcot day ever.

Outside, we began to discuss the show. How awesome was this?? Andrew couldn’t believe that he’d finally been picked to talk to Crush! I always ask the boys their favorite part of the day when we leave, even though I’ve never remembered to write that important note down. Today I just knew this would be Andrew’s answer and one favorite I’d never forget. Best Turtle Talk ever!

Moving on, we headed into the Land. I guessed Soarin FPs were out at this time of the day, but LWTL wouldn’t have a wait! We checked it out first.

Mickey!

^^Andrew’s favorite part of LWTL^^

The ride was fun, of course, and inspired something in me. I saw a group of guests with a CM and guessed it must be the “Behind the Seeds” tour. How perfect. Andrew is wild about LWTL. The wheels started turning and a secret plan began..

Being in land, we might as well just stay here and eat! We walked through Sunshine Seasons after our ride. I just grabbed a couple of sandwiches to split. The effects of this horrible head day were still with me, and the smell of everything in here made me feel awful. Ick. The sandwiches are great though. Two are more than enough to feed all four of us. They’re huge! (We get the Turkey and Monterey Jack Cheese on Foccacia.)

While we were eating, I was watching the Soarin’ waits. By the end of our meal, it was down to twenty or thirty minutes! Awesome. Andrew and I were definitely riding now. John took Blake for another ride through LWTL while we joined the line.

The line moved quickly at first, but was soon crawling along. Andrew and I had been playing with the camera, so I didn’t notice what was causing it at first. When I glanced ahead, I saw an older lady with a cane. She was having a rough time trying to walk and the group behind wasn’t happy about it. At the first chance, they raced ahead of her, cutting the line!

I was in shock. Who does this? I understand that she couldn’t walk terribly fast, but that hardly seemed like a reason to be so awful. Andrew couldn’t believe how rude they were being and began to talk about respecting others. He was too funny, but he was totally right! Everyone would pass her until we were next in line behind her. That’s where the cutting stopped. I like to think Andrew’s speech helped discourage the rest from trying it.

We all made it to the last long wait in time, where we saw the cutting groups hadn’t gotten that much farther ahead after all. How ridiculous. While we stood here, a CM came around the corner asking for parties of three. Wouldn’t you know.. The older lady was in a party of three! I bit my lip to keep the smile in when I watched her walked around all the cutters to board the ride first. Perfect!

On the ride, Andrew and I were given a rare treat. We got row one! Of course, preferring row two, it wasn’t such a huge treat for me, but he was absolutely thrilled in the moment. We had a fun ride.

John and Blake were found in our quiet spot behind the character spot. (Whatever that place is called!) Blake had fallen asleep in the stroller and John suggested heading home for the night. We’d had a fun day, right?

I wasn’t ready for this. It was still so early! Okay, so it wasn’t terribly early, but it was early enough that lots more fun could be waiting for us in the parks. I suggested MK and he entertained it for a moment but complained of being tired. I wasn’t going to push him over this, but it something awful was happening. Do you get that feeling when you trip is almost over? My Disney year was almost over and I wasn’t ready for it. This was going too fast. How could this be over already anyway?? I wanted to squeeze every second out of these APs that I could.

Andrew and I said we’d just go outside alone to snap an updated purple kale pic before leaving...

I think I have a date wrong here.

I didn’t update with the last one, but my silly project was still going strong. It is the same plants for the entire F&G Festival? It really changed a lot!

While checking out our special plant, Andrew spotted another new addition to the F&G Festival. We had to go see that, right?

John must’ve realized we’d gotten distracted because he was soon with us, a barely waking Blake along for the ride. He spotted us by Mater and shook his head with a smile. He was ready to go to MK now, but I said we were okay. “Disney isn’t going anywhere” became the words I’d live by. We’d be back and this year wasn’t done just yet.

We slowly made our way towards the front of the park, playing with Andrew’s camera along the way. He’d just figured out there was a panoramic setting on his little green camera and we enjoyed trying to take some silly pictures. I kinda liked the Tigger shot!

Buckling him up in the car, I finally asked.

“Sooooo, what was your favorite part, Andy-Roo?”

Next Up!! Pixar Weekend!! AKA – CMs behaving badly..AKA- My kids become “THOSE” kids..AKA- We really should’ve skipped this one!