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[Dugette]

Just caught up again. Love the Easter bunny and bunny-ette pictures! So cute! Glad Blake was tall enough for the Barnstormer and kind-of enjoyed it. So cool that Alice spotted Andrew during the parade! Also love all the detailed pictures of Mickey's house!

 

[jc040404]

Along the way, another browsing stop was declared. I had to check out the Christmas goodies and displays in the Emporium!

^How adorable are they?

Too silly Doesn’t Stitch have a girlfriend? I think I’ve read about her, but we’ve only seen the first movie.

The urge to decorate the house in Mickey’s image had returned!

We moved in to leave our compliment and Andrew took control. This was his girl, so he wanted to tell the CM how awesome she was. He and John went up to the counter while Blake and I checked things out. Andrew talked for a minute or two before hopping down. He loves the map in here!

John shared our happy experiences with Alice during MNSSHP and this day. The CM took down all of our compliments and promised they would be passed on. I hope they were. This “friend” will always be our favorite!

While Blake and I were checking things out, we noticed something outside and had to explore.

Hmmm.. I wonder what was going to be happening here? We looked around at the decorations a bit.

I sooo want one of these!

That was the end of this Disney day. We all took the monorail back to the TTC..

...next..

 

[jc040404]

The fun couldn’t end just yet, of course. It was... race time Bet you didn’t see that coming Haha..
Andrew and I ran to the tram, while Blake and John took off running to the car!

busy tram..

Did they have doors before?

Did we win again?

Of course we did!

Coming Soon! It's December! Time to see Santa & we do three parks in a day again! (..Still haven't managed all four!)

 

[jc040404]

Just caught up again. Love the Easter bunny and bunny-ette pictures! So cute! Glad Blake was tall enough for the Barnstormer and kind-of enjoyed it. So cool that Alice spotted Andrew during the parade!

So weird.. I didn't see your comment at all until I replied to the thread. You were listed as the last poster, but nothing was there until just now.

Blake was scared, but he did better the second time. He begged to go back and ride again when we got home!

That Alice moment was pretty special. I didn't think it would be the same "friend" at all, so having her spot Andrew was nifty. He loved it!

 

[PirateKate]

Glad Blake was able to overcome his fear of the Barnstormer. I'd take nervous laughter over hysterical screaming and tears any time. Just curious, why didn't Andrew ride the Barnstormer with you and Blake? Wouldn't a four-year-old still enjoy it?

That Alice is amazing! It was nice of you all to remember to go by Guest Relations for her. Andrew must have been so happy she spotted him.

I can't believe you all won the tram race! We've done that race before and walking usually wins. That's some good racing luck you have going.

 

[snowmanlover]

Loved your report and pictures as usual!! Someday we will make it to see the Christmas decorations!

So AWESOME that Alice saw Andrew and blew him kisses!! How special he must feel!

Glad Blakers liked the Barnstormer and got to ride it before it disappeared!!

DH bought a Disney book at AAA yesterday and is glued to it!! I like reading the DISBOARDS and he likes reading
Birnbaum's Unofficial Guide to Disney!

Don't think the trams had doors! Maybe some do and some don't!! I can ask my son. He was in the college program in 2003 and drove the trams!! We fly and don't rent a car so we don't really see the parking lots.

DH and I will share a funnel cake for sure in Sept.!! I'll think of you guys and your love of them and CHH when we eat there too!!

 

[jc040404]

Glad Blake was able to overcome his fear of the Barnstormer. I'd take nervous laughter over hysterical screaming and tears any time. Just curious, why didn't Andrew ride the Barnstormer with you and Blake? Wouldn't a four-year-old still enjoy it?

That Alice is amazing! It was nice of you all to remember to go by Guest Relations for her. Andrew must have been so happy she spotted him.

I can't believe you all won the tram race! We've done that race before and walking usually wins. That's some good racing luck you have going.

Andrew does love it, but we take turns. I didn't think it would be all that comfy to squeeze all three of us together. They both love it, but get clingy on faster rides. I've always thought the Barnstormer a rougher ride than BTMRR and doing one at time would work out better.

Andrew was thrilled about Alice! She was so sweet to him.

Awesome on beating the tram! We can beat it in the morning, but if there's one waiting as we're leaving the TTC, it'll win if we didn't get the best lot. The only tough part is deciding when to get off since I don't usually remember where we parked! It's come close a couple of times as Andrew and I race back after going one too many stops.

Loved your report and pictures as usual!! Someday we will make it to see the Christmas decorations!

So AWESOME that Alice saw Andrew and blew him kisses!! How special he must feel!

Glad Blakers liked the Barnstormer and got to ride it before it disappeared!!

DH bought a Disney book at AAA yesterday and is glued to it!! I like reading the DISBOARDS and he likes reading
Birnbaum's Unofficial Guide to Disney!

Don't think the trams had doors! Maybe some do and some don't!! I can ask my son. He was in the college program in 2003 and drove the trams!! We fly and don't rent a car so we don't really see the parking lots.

DH and I will share a funnel cake for sure in Sept.!! I'll think of you guys and your love of them and CHH when we eat there too!!

I think all the trams have doors now! Maybe they've had too many jumpers or lost items? I have the worst time trying to open them! Driving a tram is on Andrew's looonngg list of Disney dream jobs.. after the monorail, of course!

Have fun in September! Wish I was going then! (Okay, so I wish I was at Disney all the time.. Why am I not there right now??)

 

[jc040404]

December 9th, 2010 * Thursday * day fifteen

Our day began as the last had and once again we were riding into the MK monorail station. This day was going to busy, as it had multiple goals, all focused on squeezing in as much Disney Christmas magic as possible.

We had missed the welcome show yet again, but we’ve mostly gotten used to that. This time Blake’s missing diaper changing pad was to blame. As wonderful as it is to watch, it’s not a big loss either. I was happy we’d managed to find the missing item!

The line at the turnstiles were near chaos this morning with no one seeming to know what to do. We stood for quite sometime as the group ahead had mixed up their KTTW cards. Here was proof that you can’t use someone else’s ticket! The clueless crowds would seem to work in our favor in a moment though.

As we entered the park, a princess was spotted by Andrew and many others. Thanks to our previous visits, we knew which way to go and were first in line! Everyone else just walked back and forth before following us. Sadly, the meet with Snow White was mostly boring, with a pushy photopass person mixed in. The boys chatted with Snow White about the Christmas trees while I tried to avoid being taken down by bouncy PP guy! Half my pics had his head covering a third of the shot.

With the bounce factor in play, most of his shots weren’t all that wonderful. I did like one, and for the very first time.. You’re going to see one of our photopass pics! This is where the cd I ordered started including pictures, even though they had already expired.

A quick stop at GS for Santa times, we moved into the park.

Along the way, something was going on as we neared the castle. Any clue? I didn’t wanna be too nosy, but snapped a walking pic anyway. It’s tough to make out.

The plan was to go into Tomorrowland first, but we obviously walked too far. This put us in line to see the Tangled mess. Andrew wanted to stop and join in, but it was already a group or two deep! We made a promise to try back in the coming months, hoping the morning rush might die down a bit. We all know that hasn’t happened yet, but we did keep the promise!

Continuing on to Fantasyland, we ran into Alice’s line. Andrew actually hesitated for a minute, but then said he wanted to see her. I was surprised he’d initially considered just moving on to the rides. He was starting to make up his mind about these characters. His decision was that those that don’t talk are just CMs in a suit. We did have a bit of magic left as he considered the talking characters to be the real deal. I think this day might’ve been the beginning of the end for that, too.

We joined the line and Andrew entertained us all by taking over my camera. He kept up shots of everyone’s legs and the ground. His picture choices were pretty wild, so I’ll spare you for now. As we neared our turn, John and I noticed we were seeing the same Alice again! Andrew would be thrilled!

Alice loved posing for our little photographer first..

Then she quickly turned to let the White Rabbit know this was the boy she was going marry. She definitely remembered him this time! We were all freezing in the cold this particular morning, and you can see Alice was prepared. The first part of the conversation was spent as she showed off her new cold weather additions!

They spent quite a bit of time going over those gloves. What an odd color, right? She and Andrew thought so, too. They debated what might be better, bouncing between white and blue. It was clear that she really did not care for these at all! With as cold as it was, any color glove was decided to be better than no gloves.

They talked a bit about the weather and the tea cups again, before saying goodbye. Alice had to show off one last detail before we got too far.

The hood!

I wasn’t quick enough with the camera, but she pulled it up and down again. Andrew had to promise to keep his on to stay warm for her. It was quite cute, as these meetings always are. After the secret kiss, we were on our way. Something new was waiting just around the corner!

All the fun at Pooh’s ride was finally open! After learning it had opened up the day after our last visit, we couldn’t wait to get here and check it out. I was so happy to see that they’d kept the tree mostly like it was. We have had some fun memories of the boys playing in there. I peaked in for a few pictures.

It was slightly different, but in a good way. Everything was so cute! The boys loved it and would have been content to spend much of the morning here.

I eventually called them out by reminding the boys there was more new stuff waiting just ahead.

...next post...

 

[jc040404]

Blake loved the map and was quick to point out his buddy!

behind us - I would love a mailbox like this!

We turned the corner and a big Blaker surprise came into view. He stopped and his eyes went wide. They have Eeyore’s house now? He couldn’t believe it and ran inside!

They knocked on Piglet’s door..

but Andrew said Piglet was rude. He told them to go away!

The area wasn’t open completely, but we wandered into Rabbit’s garden to play.

I know most that read my TR have already seen the new fun, but for those that haven't.. I'm going to post way too many pictures! Enjoy! The boys had so much fun playing and exploring in here!

Blake loved hopping to make the gophers pop out!

Teamwork! This thing takes some muscle!

That part made no sense to me at all. Since, they’ve added a “raddish” sign..Still doesn’t make much sense!

That sign with the Pooh sticks game is one of my favorite details. It always reminds me of my mother and playing pooh sticks in Ohio. There are quite a few creeks and streams in the area I grew up in and she taught my sisters and me how to play when we were little. It was always so much fun to run from one side of a bridge to another to see who won.

We moved back to join in the line for the ride, but it didn’t go so well. I think the cold was really getting to my Florida boys! We walked back to the stroller and a warm up restroom break. It was quite a change from our last visit to the parks in November!

Warmer and happier, we gave it another try and joined Pooh’s line. Luckily, crowds were not an issue in the least! There wasn’t much of a wait at all!

We tried to keep the boys contained a little and didn’t play this time through. I could see it being tough to pull them away for the ride!

He loves that part of the story!

The honey walls were another favorite. Everyone was racing by, just letting a finger break the flowing honey. We didn’t even notice the pictures hidden behind at first!

Coming sooooon.. More fun! I'm *finally* getting sleeeeepy! That's all for tonight!

 

[AprilRenee]

Love Blake in Eyore's house!!
I'm scared to find out what was the beginning of the end for Andrew's belief in face characters. I'm glad it wasn't your Alice interaction. I can't believe you guys keep getting the same "friend!" That's so awesome. Though I am a little nervous of what is going to happen when you meet Alice and she doesn't remember about the wedding! Yikes! (though... I bet those Disney characters are good at playing along so maybe it'll be fine)

 

[CAStevens218]

December 9th was the first day of my trip! We didn't arrive until the evening though, so no parks for us. It sure was cooolllddd though!!!

The new line for Pooh is so much fun! The picture of Blake in Eeyore's house is adorable. AND, I used to play Pooh sticks with my mom as well! Anytime there was water and a bridge we would have to play, but I particularly remember it at one park in my town. I'm sure we spent hours of my childhood on that bridge!

 

[PirateKate]

We were there on the ninth, too. That was the night we went to MVMCP. It would be funny if we crossed paths.

I love the new queue at Winnie the Pooh. I think we're going to spend some more time playing there this trip. I think the color of Alice's gloves were supposed to match her skin so she didn't appear to be wearing gloves at all. Weird.

 

[jc040404]

Love Blake in Eyore's house!!
I'm scared to find out what was the beginning of the end for Andrew's belief in face characters. I'm glad it wasn't your Alice interaction. I can't believe you guys keep getting the same "friend!" That's so awesome. Though I am a little nervous of what is going to happen when you meet Alice and she doesn't remember about the wedding! Yikes! (though... I bet those Disney characters are good at playing along so maybe it'll be fine)

Nothing really happened in particular on this day to change the face character idea. I could just see the wheels turning in his little head and knew it was a matter of time. I think he was starting to put it together just before that meeting. To be honest, I'm kinda shocked Andrew believed in it all as long as he did.

It was pretty amazing that we got the same Alice visit after visit back then. Sadly, we've never seen this one again. You'll see the outcome of a new friend very soon.

December 9th was the first day of my trip! We didn't arrive until the evening though, so no parks for us. It sure was cooolllddd though!!!

The new line for Pooh is so much fun! The picture of Blake in Eeyore's house is adorable. AND, I used to play Pooh sticks with my mom as well! Anytime there was water and a bridge we would have to play, but I particularly remember it at one park in my town. I'm sure we spent hours of my childhood on that bridge!

Wasn't it nuts?? We were freeeezing! It's too bad we didn't mange to meet up at all. I remember everyone was having trips in December, it seemed.

LOVE that you played Pooh sticks, too! It's so much fun. I need to find a place for the boys to play that around here.

We were there on the ninth, too. That was the night we went to MVMCP. It would be funny if we crossed paths.

I love the new queue at Winnie the Pooh. I think we're going to spend some more time playing there this trip. I think the color of Alice's gloves were supposed to match her skin so she didn't appear to be wearing gloves at all. Weird.

Busy day for DIS'ers and Disney, it seems! Were you there earlier in the day? I can't remember from your TR now. We didn't stick around too long before heading off to the next park.

We figured that was the idea behind the gloves. I still think they're ugly though.

 

[jc040404]

Eventually, we passed the fun and were waiting for our turn on the ride. We all loved the new queue! They could’ve left most of it an attraction in itself, I’d think!

The ride was same fun, with Andrew calling for everyone to “DUCK!” at the smoke part this time. I switched up my “Hooray!” picture a bit though.. This time you get video! Haha..



It’s only about two seconds long, in case you’re not interested. You won’t be missing much.

“Hooray ”

As it was now December, Christmas shopping was perfectly acceptable. Andrew and I took full advantage of that fact in 100 Acre Goods. We had John run off with Blake to get PPF FPs and did some shopping for the little guy. You know he wants half the store here!

Andrew knew exactly what he’d planned to buy brother at this point, so we assumed this would be a quick stop. It proved to be the opposite once we made it to the register. There was a lady ahead of us having some issues with a credit card. We were in line for quite some time as the CM sorted it out. This wouldn’t be all of register adventure though!

Andrew presented his gifts for Blake and I paid with cash. This CM had no idea how to react and clearly didn’t know how to count coins. I was due ninety-two cents. Simple enough, right? Nope. First he gave me thirty-seven. I left my hand out, expecting the rest. I had no idea that he felt the four coins in my hand were good enough. He thanked me and shut the drawer? I stood there confused, but didn’t say anything right away. Another CM rushed over to help. Together the two brilliant minds Disney employed to handle money presented me with... sixty-seven cents! Is it that rare for a guest to use cash? I know I usually don’t, but this was a separate envelope of Andrew’s Christmas limit. It took a bit of discussion between them, and my eventual counting the coins out before they got it right. I’ll admit I found it all very entertaining and wished them luck in the rest of their day.

Needless to say, John did wonder what had happened to keep us so long! He and Blake chased some bubbles and found a bench near Pinocchio’s during the wait.

This did put us in perfect view of the most exciting ride in all of Walt Disney World.. Dumbo! Amazingly, the wait time was only ten minutes. I was shocked to see it so low this late in the morning, but I’m going to guess the cold must’ve played a part. Who really wants to fly around and freeze? Hmmm.. US!

I took a few pics of the expansion progress while we were in the air.

John attempted to take some pictures of us in the air. It resulted in a several shots of another family in the same color Dumbo! Should I be offended that my husband doesn’t know what we look like? Haha..At least he had the right Dumbo color. He did manage one of us as it ended. Too bad I had my camera up at the time and didn’t pay attention to him.

After racing for a picture in the yellow Dumbo, Andrew called lunchtime on us. We moved over to the usual spot.

CHH was soooo packed this time. They had also roped off a section for wheelchairs and such. The section picked for the job was “our” section! It’s been like this every visit since. The boys enjoyed sitting upstairs, so it all worked out just fine.

Tummies full, it was time for Santa! To the front of the park we went!

There was already a decent line waiting, so we joined in for our turn. The boys were so excited to meet Santa Claus.

During our wait, we got a bit of fun entertainment as the street party made it’s way out. As soon as I heard the music begin, I had a picture goal..

How awesome. A huge present to go under the giant MK Christmas tree! I was ridiculously happy with my idea. John just rolled his eyes when I made him check it out. C'mon.. I thought it was nifty!

The wait was far from short.

Our total wait time ended up being just around twenty minutes! Thankfully, there were lots of distractions in that area. Andrew spotted two lights that didn’t work and had a fun conversation with a CM about his upcoming wedding. The children in line around us were little terrors though. They were all older than Andrew and seemed set on breaking something. They changed the numbers of days until Christmas and broke part of Santa’s mailbox John did fix the mailbox. What were their parents thinking? It made me so proud of how well my babies (usually!) behave in lines.

..pic limit..next post..

 

[jc040404]

Andrew raced up when our turn came!

The conversation started with the usual “Have you been good boys?” line but then turned into something completely different. The CM we’d been chatting with told Santa about Andrew’s Alice love. Santa offered to bring the rings, and stay to do the ceremony! Andy-Roo said he was just fine getting his own ring for Alice, but Santa was welcome to do the music. Silly boy!

Blake mostly kept quiet at first, but this Santa was wonderful. He spent just as much time talking to Blakers about his Christmas wishes, too. The personality in this Santa Claus was great. You could really tell he had a Disney touch, as we’ve never met one so into character. I was definitely impressed. (And hope we make it back to MK for Santa this year!)

Santa squeezing them tight to make Blake laugh!

Photopass! But I’m pretty sure I’ve shared this one already.

Santa gave each of us a mini candy cane before we could go, including an extra for Andrew to give to his love the next time we saw her. I carried that silly cane in my bag until it was so crushed you couldn’t tell what it was anymore!

We did some more shopping in the Emporium for Christmas next. Andrew even made his final decision on that stocking issue. Did he go with the sorcerer Mickey? Nope! He stuck with Mickey, but decided he liked another one just a little bit more. He said it was more like Blaker’s so they could match. I forgot to take any pictures of it.

“What do we do now?”

We stood just outside the store and tried to make a decision. There had been so many goals for this day, but I was already starting to abandon some. We were supposed to head over to AK for the Christmas themed parade next. The more I thought about it, the more it didn’t seem worth the journey. Plus, we did have that set of PPF FPs to use.

“Are you going to be sad that we missed the parade if we don’t do it?” my husband asked me.

“Probably when we get home.”

“Have we done PPF before?”

“Nope. Never.”

“What time do the FPs say?”

I pulled them out of my pocket to check, already knowing the exact minute we'd be able to use them. I think I already knew what he was thinking. John smiled at me and gave our FPs away. Guess that decision was made! I don't know what I was really thinking at the time. We were going to AK!

We raced. Again. And team monorail won. Again. At least Andrew was kind enough to hold the gate for them!

Return of the monster double! With the cold weather and our late plans, it seemed the best choice.

We started the second race to the car, this time with a little something different. We were long due for a partner switch. Blake jumped off the stroller and joined the tram team!

Mommy & Blaker win!!

Coming sooon.. Park Two! Christmas fun @ AK with characters and a new-to-us parade!

 

[jane2073]

That is a really good looking Santa!!

It makes me so sad that Andrew is losing his love for Alice.

We love AK but the AK Christmas parade is our absolute favorite!! So much fun!

 

[arubio0801]

Woo hoo all caught up! The boys are getting soo big!!

 

[eecteacher82]

Great updates! Add us to the list of being there on the 9th as well! It was the second to last day of our trip, and we were at MK that morning as well!! It is actually my next day to work on in my TR!

Love all the pics you took! You always get some really great shots!

How sad that Andrew started to loose his belief in the characters. Olivia thankfully still believes and thinks that they are all real! I don't know what I will do when she outgrows that!

 

[jc040404]

That is a really good looking Santa!!

It makes me so sad that Andrew is losing his love for Alice.

We love AK but the AK Christmas parade is our absolute favorite!! So much fun!

I wish I liked AK! We went there yesterday since we'd only had three AK days so far on this set. I just can't find a whole lot to love about it to go back again and again. The boys like the animals and shows, but we're ready to move somewhere else soon. For being the biggest park, it feels sooo crowded sometimes! Yesterday was just icky sticky hot, too.

Woo hoo all caught up! The boys are getting soo big!!

Glad you're still out there!

Great updates! Add us to the list of being there on the 9th as well! It was the second to last day of our trip, and we were at MK that morning as well!! It is actually my next day to work on in my TR!

Love all the pics you took! You always get some really great shots!

How sad that Andrew started to loose his belief in the characters. Olivia thankfully still believes and thinks that they are all real! I don't know what I will do when she outgrows that!

Wow! Definitely a busy day for DIS'ers then! I take random crowd pics all the time. I'll be following along on your TR to see if we passed!

Love that Olivia still believes in it all. The not talking is what did it for Andrew. He says he didn't think Mickey was supposed to be so tall either. He is really nice about it and hasn't tried to convince Blake (or anyone in lines!) of anything.

 

[jc040404]

We’re here! Animal Kingdom isn’t our favorite park, as I’m sure you’ve noticed. We did really want to check it out at Christmas though. In the last year, we’d skipped over doing the holiday parade and wanted to accomplish it this time around.

Despite not being a huge AK fan, this park is home to my favorite Christmas tree. We spent a bit of time looking over everything underneath.

Hope you like Christmas trees. I went a little nuts at Animal Kingdom over them!

We stopped inside to grab a map and a times guide. I already knew the times, but wanted to be sure we didn’t miss this parade. This was the first time we’d ever noticed the separate kids’ maps! The boys were crazy over them and loved pointing out their own favorites.

Being very early for the parade, we moved on to Camp Minnie Mickey. Seeing the characters in their holiday outfits was another must on our Christmas list.

^That just looked awesome to me.

We were sure just how many we’d be able to squeeze in, so we’d hit them in order of importance to us. First up, GOOFY! He was dressed as Santa afterall. This it one time of year he takes priority over the mouse.

Joining his line to wait, it wasn’t long before we learned that Goofy had been out for a while now and needed a Christmas cookie. Just at the moment Goofy waved goodbye to the waiting line, Andrew had an announcement of his own. I couldn’t believe I was suddenly in the position I’ve seen thread after thread locked over. My child had to pee!

I debated on how to handle it. Get out of line? Have John take him while Blake and I wait? We went with the second plan and I kept our spot. The line wasn’t terribly bad, and Goofy was gone. Andrew could make it before we ever move. Thank goodness for the restroom placement in Camp Minnie Mickey. I knew this would be close, but hoped he made it back before Goofy.

It was so funny how reading the DIS had messed with my mind. I’m sure no one in line really would’ve cared one way or another. The boys would be going up to meet him together anyway so it didn’t exactly add anything. As each new person joined the line behind us, I still grew nervous.

Andrew made it back just after Goofy, but in plenty of time for our turn. There wasn’t one look or comment from the rest of the line when he and John came back. All that stress for nothing. Remind me to stay off line cutting threads!

Andrew was more interested in Goofy’s presents though

As we left Goofy’s trail, I remembered something from the last year. I absolutely LOVED the character themed Christmas trees here and was sad I’d only manage a picture or two. I decided to change that this time around by making a point to locate and photograph every character’s tree! It turned out to be a fun game for the boys. They loved running up and picking out who it must belong to based on the ornaments.

Some were really easy..

They were located at the end of each meeting trail, too! Some won’t be so easy later on.

Keeping the parade time ruling our plans, we made a moment to prioritize the remaining characters. Who would you rather be sure to see, Mickey or Minnie?

“Mickey!”

It was unanimous. That’s always good when you have two little people to keep happy. They did spot Minnie’s tree along the way.

We joined Mickey’s not-so-short greeting trail line to wait. The boys loved listening to the Christmas music and danced along during some. It wasn’t a very long loop of music, as we heard it restart at least once. Who really wants a hippopotamus for Christmas? I had fun making my husband nuts over that one. You just can’t help but get it stuck in your head after the first time through, and we got to hear it twice in this line alone!

...next post...