delete

[jc040404]

Our next stop wasn’t one of my favorites, but it was due. Blake hadn’t really seen the stunt show, since he was just a little guy the only time we tried it. We headed over to find seats for the next Lights, Motors, whatever.. car show thing! You can just feel my excitement, huh? The boys were thrilled at the idea!

There was already a huge crowd of people waiting to make the journey and we became a part of it. Simply standing still for a while, Andrew quickly made a new friend of a pre-teen aged girl named Tyler. He thought this was nuts. Tyler is a boy’s name, ya know. She was amused with our little guy and they would chat for the rest of the wait. It was cute that both had someone to help pass the time and he was sad when we wanted to sit higher than her family did. Sorry, Andy-Roo!

The rest of us had a very boring, very long wait until time came to climb those endless steps to find a good spot. It turned out well for us anyway. I loved our location, and the row seemed full enough that we wouldn’t have to scoot down very much and lose it. Yay for that! We settled and began the next long wait until showtime.

Unfortunately, as it often goes, we were repeatedly instructed to move as far to the right as we could. With the first move over, we seized a big opportunity and simply row hopped down, leaving us in the same spot as before. A woman sitting to my left jumped at the chance and we both congratulated ourselves on such superior thinking. We’d beaten this CM seat ruining plan!

Sadly, it didn’t work here either. Several minutes later, we were again asked to move down. It didn’t even seem possible. Everyone was shoulder to shoulder and I thought Disney was nuts. Even so, we managed to open up a few more inches for late comers.

And again! I began to the check the time, thinking it must be starting soon. With each scoot and slide, our nice view was falling apart. We were told to move down yet again before it began.

Then it was showtime!

For a few minutes anyway!

Technical problems began about ten minutes into the show that caused everything to come to a major halt! While we waited for things to be straightened out and resume, the seat watching CMs decided we weren't quite squishy enough. Blah.. I thought we’d be safe once it started!

“Move all the way down!” began the shouts again.

This time, I knew they’d lost their minds. Everyone had scooted and squished until more just couldn’t be possible. I glanced to the right as John started to slide again. What was happening down there? Lyrics to a song I remembered from my childhood began to play in my head.

“And they all rolled over and one fell off..”

Hmm.. As soon as it entered my mind, I had to check. Nope, nobody was plummeting to their doom on the other end as far as I could tell. I took a mental note anyway. Do not arrive early to this show expecting to claim a good spot. You're just going to be moved later.

Problems all fixed and guests nearly sitting on each other’s laps, the show was allowed to go on again!

It went as expected. The boys were crazy over most of it, and Andrew took some parts a little too seriously. He was very concerned about the man covered in fire until it was explained. It was nice that he did realize all of this was “pretend” in a sense, unlike the Indiana Jones experience from before. My boys love “boy” stuff and it was a hit. Their favorite part was definitely that ending!

The mess trying to escape was completely crazy. We were separated in seconds and shouted a meeting spot outside. I held tight to Andrew’s hand and we made our way out of here. By the time we located the stroller, both boys decided this show was fun but not one they were eager to try again!

Our day at DHS was pretty full for coming in without a plan, and we decided it was probably time to head out. There just really wasn’t much else to keep us. We moved through the park to the entrance, noticing a lone photopass CM twiddling his thumbs in the middle of the street.

“Let’s put that boy to work!”

He jumped at the chance to snap some pictures of the boys and started to set something up.

Andrew didn’t agree with this shot in front of the hat and insisted a picture would be much better facing the other way. I started to hush him for the moment when John broke in.

“I’m sure he goes both ways!”

“Of course I go both ways!” the CM responded.

I admit it. My mind is usually in the gutter I guess, because I thought something entirely different. I looked at my husband and the CM started to laugh.

“I can take a PICTURE both ways,” he added.

Now I felt like an even bigger pervert. It must’ve been all over my face! Needless to say, my photo wasn’t taken this day and it had little to do with my camera fear for once!

This CM was excellent. He was so funny and the boys had a lot of fun posing for him. We even got our one and only magic shot!

And just as he’d cheerfully informed us, the CM did go both ways.

We had to stop and leave a compliment about that one!

After our little stop, it was battle time. We paused at the restrooms on our normal exit route and a new race was born. We never bother with the trams here because they’re always packed and it isn’t much of a walk to the lot. However, Andrew was begging to ride one instead. We decided to go with it and split up for a new race. John seemed oddly confident, but I knew we were untouchable. I expected to see him take off running soon after our parting kiss, but he simply strolled away. Weird.

Andy-Roo and I hurried to the tram and grabbed a seat right away. They were just about to go, so I knew this was going to be a piece of cake. We’d be off at the first stop and to the car before they passed the bus stops!

Or so I thought. As we began to cruise into the parking lots, we passed this awful sight..

We were on the wrong side!! The tram had to go all the way to the back of the lot, with our section being the LAST stop. Oops.. Like I said, we never used the trams here. I’d never paid attention to their direction, but it seemed that somebody had. He and Blake waved and laughed as we passed.

Somebody isn’t thrilled about this..

Knowing our undefeated status was officially gone, Andrew and I agreed to take this like the winners we knew we were. Cheering ourselves up, we’d congratulate them on their one and only win. Let ‘em enjoy it. It wouldn’t be happening again!

At the final stop, we hopped off and slowly walked down to the car. John was leaning against it, pretending to check his watch as we got closer and closer. A big grin was plastered on his face.

“What took you so long?”

Blake was even already buckled in his seat when I opened Andrew’s door. He smiled at me..

“Come on, old lady!”

Yep, let them enjoy it..

 

[CAStevens218]

I am with you on the craziness of seating for the stunt show! Without fail, I end up with a pole in front of me, no matter how hard I try!!!!

I love the photopass photo shoot! And I would have had the same thoughts as you did...I guess my mind is in the gutter as well!

Its probably good that John got a chance to win a race for once...everyone needs a little morale booster every now and then!!

 

[GaRain]

I love all the DHS PP pictures!!! so cute!

 

[tnccon]

I just recently found out how great trip reports are. It's like getting to re-visit Disney World from my couch! I stumbled across yours and just fell in love with your family. I haven't posted anything to you before, but those pictures your "I go both ways" photographer took of the boys facing away from the hat are the cutest ever, and the one of your husband waving to you with that look on his face made me laugh so hard that I had to post to tell you how much I have enjoyed reading your posts! Thank you for taking the time to write all of this for everyone to enjoy...looking forward to more!

 

[jc040404]

I am with you on the craziness of seating for the stunt show! Without fail, I end up with a pole in front of me, no matter how hard I try!!!!

I love the photopass photo shoot! And I would have had the same thoughts as you did...I guess my mind is in the gutter as well!

Its probably good that John got a chance to win a race for once...everyone needs a little morale booster every now and then!!

We thought we were so smart by jumping down a row, too! I understand the moving down thing, but that just stinks when you try to get nice seats early. Thank goodness it didn't work that way for Fantasmic! I could some major troubles for CMs with how long some wait to see it.

Glad you thought the same about the PP guy! He was so much fun.

I'm kinda glad we finally lost a race actually. Andrew wasn't so thrilled, but it was time they managed a win!

I love all the DHS PP pictures!!! so cute!

Thanks!

I just recently found out how great trip reports are. It's like getting to re-visit Disney World from my couch! I stumbled across yours and just fell in love with your family. I haven't posted anything to you before, but those pictures your "I go both ways" photographer took of the boys facing away from the hat are the cutest ever, and the one of your husband waving to you with that look on his face made me laugh so hard that I had to post to tell you how much I have enjoyed reading your posts! Thank you for taking the time to write all of this for everyone to enjoy...looking forward to more!

Thanks for reading! I'm glad you're enjoying it! I love reading TRs, but they make me miss WDW soooo much!! Have any trips coming up? I want to go back sooo bad!

I need to get back to work on this thing, too!!

 

[jc040404]

The car ride back to CBR would be one of our most exciting yet. With that early morning and lots of DHS fun before, I was determined to make the boys last the drive without spoiling naptime. It would be a challenge, but one I would end in victory. John and I spent the ride cheering about every tree, cloud, and car we passed. Yes, our children were a little annoyed at us, but they stayed awake. Mission accomplished.

In the room, they settled for a nap while John and I began to chat. This was the last full day of our visit and our time had gone much too fast. I wasn’t ready to go and said so. Besides, all the CBR troubles and that morning rain had hurt some of our planning. We played with the idea of adding another day to the stay, but decided against it. We still had a few months left on these APs and it would’ve been silly.

Two well rested boys would eventually wake up and the dinner discussion began again. Where would we eat tonight?

“Happy’s!” Blake shouted.

Yeah, Happy’s!” Andrew agreed.

“Happy’s?”

We were clueless, but it didn’t take long to figure it out. They both wanted to return to Friendly’s! I’d decided to cancel a dinner ADR (Garden Grill ) when we made the Sci-Fi lunch, so we were open. John and I weren’t hungry anyway, and decided to fill the request. Blake and Andrew really loved that place!

We headed out away from the world once again and had a nice dinner. It wasn’t as wonderful as the time before, but it was okay. We spent our time after exploring a couple of those crazy stores along the way back to the resort, but I only remember buying a pack of stickers?? We had a pretty boring evening! Looking back, I wish we’d stayed on property a lot more than we did that week. I do know it’s just because I miss the place so much right now though.

In our room again, time was creeping up on Illuminations so Andrew and I decided to finally cover that “watch fireworks at our resort” goal. We just had to figure out where to go. The sounds outside told us that our best bet would be the other end of the parking lot. Once there, flashing lights over the trees suggested we move onto the sidewalk. This wasn’t the best idea and Andrew was quick to tell me so. A sign was posted at the end of the sidewalk with “Walkway closed after dusk” on it. Andrew looked up at me with wide eyes as I passed it without pausing.

“Mommy, isn’t it after dusk??”

I’m an awesome parent. Despite the sign, I convinced my son that a few steps wouldn’t get us in trouble. I didn’t think anyone from the resort would even notice us and we wouldn’t go very far. The idea of snakes, alligators, frogs, and other scary things didn’t have me terribly brave about exploring in the dark anyway.

It would only be a few steps..

Our spot wasn’t perfect, but our mission was accomplished. We were watching fireworks from CBR! Some were obviously too low, but the higher stuff was pretty cool. We were able to see quite a bit and enjoyed our special time together in the cold dark.

After a few minutes of fun, a resort van pulled into the parking lot and stopped near us! We were both afraid to move. Hmm. Maybe I shouldn’t have been teaching my son to break Disney rules, huh? Andrew just knew I’d gotten us in big trouble and we’d be hauled off to Disney jail at any minute

“Pretend to be a tree!”

I was kidding, but Andrew tossed his arms wide in the air immediately. I had a terrible time trying to control the giggles that wanted to escape. He made such a convincing tree.

The van simply sat there and I couldn’t see well enough to tell if we were being watched. Maybe it didn’t even notice us? It was dark and the headlights never went our way. Andrew dropped his tree act and grabbed my hand. I debated about leaving the forbidden sidewalk, but didn’t want to draw attention to us if they’d not noticed. Who knows what the punishment would be anyway? Really, I assumed we’d just be told to move if we were spoken to at all.

The seconds would drag on, but the van soon pulled over to a building. A CM with an arm full of what looked like towels ran up to it and disappeared. I was certain this was all a coincidence now. She returned just seconds later and drove away.

The threat of Disney prison behind us, we enjoyed the rest of the show! We saw some more high fireworks, with Andy-Roo providing the soundtrack. He sang along and had me laughing the entire time. I’m pretty sure WDW doesn’t use the music from his Wii Sports Resort game. It was sooo much fun!

This is how far away from the lot we were. It really wasn’t very far!

Do not pass this sign after dusk!

As soon as it seemed to be over, we both ran back to our room Andrew wasn’t about to give the CM time to bring in back up. I'd like to say we learned an important lesson that night, but I'm not going to lie. It might not have been the right thing to do, but it made for a fun memory!

Blake was now sound asleep in bed, and Andrew would join him as soon as his little head hit the pillow. John and I stayed up watching television for a while, whispering about what we’d done and how the next day would go. So many things didn’t happen, but the world was ours’ for four more months. We’d get to it.

 

[IheartDDuck]

Andrew's such a smartie! "But mommy, isn't it after dusk?" That's just absolutely priceless. I'm always nervous when I break Disney rules too. Who knows what the deal with that is.

 

[AprilRenee]

Hahaha "Pretend to be a tree!" LOL so he does! I hope my kid ends up as awesome as yours!

Sometimes rules are meant to be broken (and this is from a follow the rules kinda girl) but look at the awesome memory you got. I think it was worth breaking the rule a little.

 

[jc040404]

Andrew's such a smartie! "But mommy, isn't it after dusk?" That's just absolutely priceless. I'm always nervous when I break Disney rules too. Who knows what the deal with that is.

I was slightly impressed that he even knew what dusk was. Not a word I think I ever use. Can't imagine why you'd get nervous about breaking rules.

Hahaha "Pretend to be a tree!" LOL so he does! I hope my kid ends up as awesome as yours!

Sometimes rules are meant to be broken (and this is from a follow the rules kinda girl) but look at the awesome memory you got. I think it was worth breaking the rule a little.

We only broke it a little bit! Andrew was too funny with the tree thing. It just seemed like the best idea to me at the time. Never thought he'd actually do it!

 

[jc040404]

This was it. The End. Our longest stay of the AP year was at its end and we were packing up to head home. No one was very happy about it and the mood was made worse by how terribly COLD it was that morning! As John carried each bag out to the car trunk, the boys and I did the only logical last morning activity in our resort room..

We took pictures!

Everyone does this, right?

Despite that sign, mousekeeping always takes the “I will use it again” towels anyway!

Couldn’t leave without saying “goodbye ” to this table..

Bus stop! The boys really want to ride a Disney bus, but we haven't made that one happen just yet.

Goodbye, Aruba 56 I doubt I ever see you again..

We had slept a little later that day, so the Tangled idea was still being put off. Even so, we’d planned to spend our last moments of this trip at MK. Andrew had oddly requested a photopass pic in front of the castle in the shirts they’re wearing this day. It was kinda cute watching him set everything out that morning.

You know us though.. What was the key word here? Planned! The line at the TTC for the MK monorail was madness. What do you do when facing a slight wait before getting to MK? You walk up the empty EPCOT ramp instead. Andrew decided that picture wasn’t such a big deal after all.

The monorail ride into Epcot turned into the perfect choice for us. The boys love riding into the park like this, and it was even better now that the F&G Festival was going on. All the colors of the flowers were gorgeous!

Passing over the entrance, we also spotted a new addition to the topiaries. Lotso had joined our Toy Story friends! I was determined to get a picture of them this visit.

Immediately inside, I joined the mess of people trying to take a picture of of the TS characters. This would be why I skipped it the last time. It didn’t go all that well, but I did manage a couple. I really liked the second one of just Lotso, but we never did smell the strawberry around here that everyone writes about.

He is kinda cute..

From here, we had one destination in mind. Warmth! I’m not kidding about it being cold that day and we were not prepared for it! We jumped into the first shop we came to, and weren’t alone in this escape plan. The place was packed. I had no intention of buying anything, but those adorable candy boxes caught my eye. Disney is too smart. All it takes is a nifty box and we buy the most ridiculous stuff. I couldn’t resist this Tink package and I don’t even like lemon candy!

We hid from the cold for quite a while and checked out a times guide. The boys missed seeing the JAMMitors so we needed to make sure they fit into our day. With no plans, it wasn’t exactly difficult. We had quite a bit of time to fill and moved back into the park to find something fun.

Love this

Before we could do much, we needed to get our tushies to the Land for Soarin’ FPs! You know the drill. Up the ramp. Watch the crowds. Down the stairs. Andy-Roo, watch your steps.. Wait in FP line. Collect FPs. Back up the steps. Down the ramp. Andrew, please slow down... All for one set of FPs!

Next up.. Nemo! Gotta love our WDW routines. What else would you do if over here?

Andrew convinced us to check out Turtle Talk with the promise of a pose with Bruce. I never bring this one up because I know they’re both too scared of that shark. Checking in with Crush must’ve been important this day! Andrew bravely joined the line and smiled for a picture in his mouth. I really loved Blake’s..

Time for Turtle Talk!!

Crush was the same as always, including the part where he never picks Andy-Roo for a question! My poor boy.. Andrew wasn’t thrilled about it, but did remain a big kid about it all.


more coming..pic limit fun again..

 

[jane2073]

Your trip reports never fail to crack me up! I love the "act like a tree" part.

 

[tnccon]

Thanks for reading! I'm glad you're enjoying it! I love reading TRs, but they make me miss WDW soooo much!! Have any trips coming up? I want to go back sooo bad!

I need to get back to work on this thing, too!!

We're hoping to go back soon. I'm thinking sometime between Dec. 2012-Feb. 2013. Boy, that sure doesn't sound soon!
I see that there's more TR since I last checked so I'm off to read!

 

[jc040404]

Your trip reports never fail to crack me up! I love the "act like a tree" part.

That was pretty funny. Think the CM would've bought it?

We're hoping to go back soon. I'm thinking sometime between Dec. 2012-Feb. 2013. Boy, that sure doesn't sound soon!
I see that there's more TR since I last checked so I'm off to read!

But think of how awesome the parks will be then! Planning is half the fun anyway. Right?? I'm kinda excited to finally have a ticker for once and get to look forward to going for a while. That probably sounds nuts though.

Expect lots of updates! I'm trying to get this finished up before December. I've not been so great at keeping up with my TR this time, so I think it's a realistic goal..

 

[jc040404]

Blake had a big moment before we left the Seas and finally found a “cool” item to spend some of that gift card on. Showing that his love for Ariel was still going strong, Blakers picked out a plush Flounder! He was so proud of his choice and loved presenting his gift card to the cashier.

We stopped over to visit Figment and started talking food again. It was nearly lunchtime now and I had no plans. There was a unanimous request for a funnel cake, so we started a WS journey. Playing it safe, we’d simply eat at Liberty Inn. The boys love wraps, and they have a version of one. I knew it would make for a stress free meal time. That's always good!

While we enjoyed our lunch break, we had a DIS’er sighting! Well, sorta.. A CM brought an older couple into the dining room and announced their 60th anniversary! The couple seemed to be loving all the attention and everyone acted excited for them. I later learned that this particular couple was the parents of a DIS’er. I read a post on the resort board and it sounded like Disney really treated them well. It was super sweet.

After our inside lunch, the boys and I claimed a table outside while John grabbed dessert. He returned with a funnel cake just in time to watch the Fife & Drum Corp do their show. The boys always loved seeing them, so it made a fun unplanned addition to our treat. That was needed, as that treat wasn’t very exciting. We could’ve just been too full from lunch for a dessert, but decided it might be best to stick to Sleepy Hollow cakes in the future. They seem so much better.

We moved on after tossing most of that snack to see what other F&G excitement might be ahead. The topiaries did mostly remain the same as the year before, but we still wanted to see them! Walking around WS, we discovered Rapunzel’s tower.

This was pretty neat. Is it still there? Alice probably won’t be thrilled to learn this, but she’s been replaced by a certain princess with reeeeally long hair! Andrew is a huge Tangled fan now. I think I read that it’s no longer here, but it would be nifty for him to see it again. I loved when the music started.

This area was big for us this day. We explored a store for a bit and checked out the caramel shop. I’d been reading such awesome things about one caramel bar and wanted to see what this was.

Sadly, the place was packed and I didn’t see anything that resembled this amazing bar PirateKate raves about. I decided to put this one off, but it wasn’t any big loss. We were too full for that funnel cake, so I didn’t see anyone being particularly thrilled about having another snack yet.

We walked a bit more and spotted Snow White’s line. The boys couldn’t pass up meeting one of their favorites, even though it looked like we were in for quite a wait. We all enjoyed the topiaries while the line waited for Snow White to make her big entrance.

Crazy line!!

It was a really long wait in line, but several things made it fun. For one, Andrew was hysterical with that camera! He made several self movies, as if he was doing a news story on the topiaries. It was too cute! I may upload one later. Second, a couple ahead of us made for some great entertainment. They had clearly been having some fun with this “drinking around the world” idea. They were both so happy! I’ll just leave it at that.

Snow White is always so sweet. She commented my Grumpy shirt, which I’d forgotten I was wearing. In even more excitement, our PP photographer was the same lady we’d had when seeing Belle a couple days before. She remembered chatting and wanted caught up on all we’d been doing. I was impressed to see she’d paid attention during that last conversation enough to remember us and even recall so much. Before we left, she told us to hurry to China to add Mulan to the boys’ books. She should be out right now!

Along the way, we saw the Lion King topiaries.. Same as last year, but still so cute!

Saw the park was starting to get packed..

And then made it to Mulan’s line just as it closed. Next time! There were more fun topiaries to check out when we decided to head out of WS.

Now it was time for something new!

 

[jc040404]

We knew the lines to meet the actual fairies would probably be crazy and that turned out true. Instead, we could see them all in topiary form!

I was thankful for these signs because I still had no idea who they all were!

Her hand is kinda creepy..

Tink!!

They were all pretty cute. The boy wandered around into a little play area, but we didn’t stick around very long. It was packed with unsupervised kids and they weren’t interested in the chaos and pushiness. I appreciated Andrew’s choice and we were able to move on to another fun new adventure.

I was sad about missing the butterflies the year before, so this was a “must do” for the 2011 F&G Festival!

A CM was stationed just outside the chains, handing out little packages of seeds to the children. The boys thought that was awesome and loved walking through the chains!

Did you see all the butterflies?? Neither did we! I think it was a little early for this place because we only spotted that one the entire time. We’d actually seen lots of butterflies that day, just not in here. Haha.. We’d try again later in the festival.

We left Bambi’s Butterfly House on the opposite end and were greeted by yet another seed giving CM. The CM held a package down so Andrew could see.

“Did you get one?”

“Yep! But I’d love another!”

He’s something else sometimes. The CM laughed and gave each boy a second package of seeds.

Next Up! Innoventions!!

Always fun, but not a lot to say about it, huh? We split up for the Piggy Bank Adventure first. Blake and I teamed up and tried for the bedroom make-over.

We really tried, but came up short in the end. John and Andrew managed theirs’, but I forget the goal now. I’m pretty sure they picked the same anyway.

Blake and I were on a big losing streak because we’d fail again at Where’s the Fire! John ran off to the restroom while I took both boys in here. Everyone was just lining up and we decided not to wait for him. I'm sure he understands. Trying to do this flashlight aiming thing with both boys was next to impossible! Blakers loves this one, but it’s definitely not designed for little guys. The scores were close when the game was over, but our side mostly let the house go up in flames.

With that loss behind us, it did look like the boys could use another lesson about fire safety. A CM near the little house was gathering children to start, so they found a spot at the table to listen.

This is cute and had much better results! All of the children got a sticker for going a good job again. We love stickers!

The boys requested the “garbage game” next so it was off to try Don’t Waste It!

Blake thought I must’ve been a jinx so we split up the other way for this one. He could have something with that idea. When I was out of the picture for the fire safety lesson, he did great! I pretended to be really sad that he didn’t want to be my partner anymore, but wished him luck. John took him and I took Andy-Roo. This time both teams made it to their goals!

I dislike that part!

I think I bug the CMs in here everytime we do it. I have the worst time trying to move those heavy trucks from stop to stop and someone always takes over for me at the end. Haha.. It was fun anyway!

 

[jc040404]

We were asked in to the Timon & Pumbaa home safety show as our last Innoventions activity. The boys didn’t want to do this again at first, but loved it as much as the last time. The CM running it must’ve been a little new at this though. He didn’t seem to know the words to the song at the end and had trouble with his lines. It made the characters seem more like a cartoon we watching than someone he was interacting with. I’m sure you know what I mean by that.

I did find myself wanting to play with the giant plug-in thingies (Wow.. What are those things called??) The whole time. How dangerous, right?? They shouldn’t make them so big and cute!

Seeing Timon & Pumbaa put us in the mood for a brand new adventure with the Lion King. Our Soarin’ FP time was coming up soon, so it made perfect sense to head back to the Land and finally see the Circle of Life show with the boys.

The wait was a bit long when we joined, but wasn’t too bad. I had fun playing with the kids until the doors opened. The show itself went well. Blake first claimed he didn’t enjoy it, but immediately changed his mind. He liked the animals. Andrew said it was okay, but we could always skip it. I was okay with this, as I still left feeling guilty about humans destroying our world. It wasn’t something I was eager to experience again.

We moved down the stairs to take in Living with the Land so Blake could have another fun ride before Andrew and I abandoned them for our flight. We all love this one and it rates as one of the rides the boys claim to miss most right now! I can’t wait to get back to the parks!

Then it was Soarin’ time, our last ride of the day. The FP wait was ridiculously slow, with much of the waiting being done at the end. I watched a very unhappy family rushing away from the ride, one of them looking very ill. This was my guess for the hold up, and it proved true. We split into our rows and found our seats. One section was left open where a CM was cleaning up. Yuck!

We’d sit here for what seemed like forever, just watching that CM clean. He didn’t seem to be in a hurry to finish up, but I took that as a good thing. If anyone ever gets sick in a seat before me, I’d hope they spent a looonnngggg time making sure it was clean and sanitized again! Unfortunately, it looked like a family in the front row was fine with riding with ick. They made lots of loud complaints about the wait and rocked their seats. Ugh.. I do like when people start swinging these! One member of their group got so fed up with his waiting that he wanted to leave.

As you might’ve expected, the ride started less than a minute after the man was gone! People are crazy, right? He wasn’t in the FP line in front of us, so I can only imagine how long that wait must’ve been. How could someone just give up and go once they’re in a seat? It did make for one of the more memorable Soarin’ waits anyway.

I’m pretty sure we called dinnertime after the ride and just ate in the land. I can’t remember for certain, but I do know our day was now at its end. This trip was over and we were soon riding back to the TTC on the monorail. And we completely forgot about the JAMMitors! Oops.. After we started in WS, no one remembered this was on the agenda at all. Funny how that happens. We’re really so bad at planning! The boys weren’t upset when we realized this on the ride to the parking lot, so we just added it to the “Next Time!” list. It’ll happen!

Overall, this trip was good. CBR was a massive disappointment, but we got over it. We all had a fun time and skipping the Tangled experience left us with only one option as soon as we were home. We needed to go back!

 

[jc040404]

March 16th, 2011 * day twenty-nine


The Magic Kingdom had a crowd rating of nine. It probably wouldn’t have been my first choice of days to go to the parks, but we had that mission. Besides, we'd tackled worse! The high crowds meant an early opening. With an early opening, it meant that early breakfast guests couldn’t fill up Rapunzel’s line before we got there. This was our mission. Eight am in the MK, in that endless line for the Tangled M&G!

Leaving as early as I could get my family in the car, we were greeted with cold again. It wasn’t as bad as the trip before so I questioned whether or not we really needed to prepare. Silly me even asked John if we should bring jackets. He replied by asking if I wanted to carry them around all day. Good point. I decided to listen to him and didn’t bring anything. Thank goodness it warmed up!

We made it the TTC with lots of time to spare. This was a very good thing because we were in for a long journey to the MK. Our monorail stopped just before the Contemporary and didn’t budge for the longest time. We had a pretty nice view out the window, so it wasn’t too bad!

We got to watch a boat appear and disappear..

And the sun slowly showed itself. It was a nice start, even if it was spent on a stuck monorail.

By the time the monorail did resume moving, I started to worry we might miss the welcome show. With such an early arrival at the TTC, this would’ve been disappointing for all of us. We were not good at all at making it in time to see this, so I would've been especially sad over missing it.

My fear was made worse by spotting the train already on its way!

Luckily, we made it to bag check just as it was beginning. John skipped the lines and took the boys ahead to watch. I made it through the check just in time to see the end.

Hooray! Love this!

Now began our mission. I’d been somewhat stalking the Tangled M&G threads since the day we first spotted that endless line. We’d promised Andrew and we couldn’t back down now. We’d planned a straight shot back to wait, but my silly husband detoured into the Emporium first!

As we walked through the empty store, I questioned my husband. Why on earth had he gone this way?

“To skip the crowds on Main Street!” he announced with pride.

Huh? We needed to move to the right side of the castle.

“You do realize we’re going to have to walk back into them, right?”

No, he didn’t. Geesh. And he thought he was so clever!

Back on Main Street again..

We were third or fourth in line when we finally got there. Not bad at all! I did whisper to John that we might’ve been first if not for his little detour, but it was all in fun. The boys would get the first group and this would be a piece of cake. Until then, we’d wait. In the moment, I did wonder if this was the best idea after all. Our total wait time would amount to one hour and fifteen minutes! I guess it’s still better than the three hour wait we’d been quoted the first time we paused by here!

After setting the boys up with a breakfast snack, I abandoned my little family to run to Fantasyland. This wait time was going to be put to good use. My mini-mission was a PPF FP collection.

Collecting the FPs for later, I couldn’t help but slow down and enjoy how empty FL was. This was one of the perfect mornings you dream of. Everything was quiet. The lines were empty. We could’ve conquered FL in no time and I almost wished the boys were with me. At the same time, being alone was heavenly. I began to wonder if I could handle a solo trip, not that my family would hear of such a thing! It was so peaceful.

I decided to enjoy my bit of MK alone time some more and slowly walked back to join my waiting family. They weren’t going anywhere, so why not?

I spent some extra time just right there, checking out the little Cinderella details. I love these..

Eventually, I had to come back to reality and remember I have two energy filled little boys that were probably making their father nuts by now. I returned just in time to hear a CM begin the all important rules to meeting Rapunzel.

He went over the times and took count of everyone waiting. Once he had a number, we were allowed to leave the line so long as one person stayed put. We were given a time that we had to return, so there would be some waiting involved for all later on. I believe our party couldn’t grow either, but I don’t remember all the details. The only one that caught my ear was the official knowledge that part of our group was now free to enjoy those empty lines.

Before I could say a word, John smiled told us to go play. Love him! He held the boys’ spot while we took off to Fantasyland!

We passed by the tea cups, with no one interested in early morning spinning. Fine with me! Our wait time was spent hitting our favorites.

We walked on at Pooh’s ride after the boys spent some time playing..

I almost forgot to use it this time!!

Then we moved into the empty line for Snow White’s ride. Blake called it “walk right on” time!

Finished with this fun journey, we paused at that impossible sword..

A photopass photographer jumped up behind me during Blake’s turn and nearly scared the poor little guy half to death! They both did have a fun time trying to pull it free. Unfortunately, neither of my boys will be king. We still hadn’t seen that sword budge!

 

[jc040404]

I began to worry about timing anything else and decided we should probably join John back in the line. There was still a wait ahead, but we’d give him a coffee break. He declined the offer of caffiene, but did suggest another set of FPs. Our first set was ready now, so he soon collected another for Buzz. After seeing him run off for that set of Fps, I did giggle when a couple other fathers started making the same offers and heading out into the park. I think we made pretty good use of this wait!

As time neared for our new experience to begin, we became painfully aware of our line neighbors. The two little girls behind us were obviously at their wait time limit and starting to act a little crazy. John said they’d opted to wait here instead of breaking up during that hour! Silly parents! The girls bounced and bickered, danced and I was the constant victim of a set of vicious fairy wings! Mom never calmed then and only displayed any concern if they happened to near a CM. Now I couldn’t wait for this to move along! Little did I know that this particular family would become a memorable part of my day.

Thankfully, it was quite close to showtime and we were all moved ahead soon. It was coloring time!

When I first read of this change to the park, I was disappointed. VERY disappointed. I really liked our visit to Belle’s storytime and the concept of coloring before a M&G was just silly. Our experience proved exactly as I’d expected. All of the children seemed fine with the idea, but they were only given a few short minutes on this project. It was really a pointless activity to me.

This is an example of where our line neighbors stole my attention away. Just moments into the coloring fun, a tragedy was discovered. One of their girls was missing her birthday button! You would have thought the sky was falling for the drama that began between mom and dad. Mom blamed Dad. He should’ve been paying attention. She first ordered him to go find another, but then said they couldn’t miss a moment.

I picked up early on that their trip was about pictures. All the smiles and fun seemed so ridiculously forced! It all ended with a firm instruction to tell every CM that interacted with anyone during this M&G that it was their daughter’s birthday. This woman had some big plans. I couldn’t help but shake my head at it all and vowed to stalk any new TRs in the coming weeks. They had to be crazy DIS’ers! Haha.. (Just a note, I've never seen this family on the DIS, or I wouldn't bring it up. All your crazy park secrets are safe with us..haha.. I won't share any pics/video with them either.)

After the children were settled into coloring, a CM took their attention away from the pictures. They first learned to dance around before she presented some questions. She offered two colors and asked what they would make, if combined. The children were silent. Well, most of them were..

“I don’t know!” Andrew called to her.

I guess he was just saying what they were all thinking, right? She gave the answer and started to move on. Coloring mixing clearly wasn’t a hit for this group!

Lucky for the CM, she didn’t have to provide entertainment much longer. The stars of the show were now here!! Flynn ran out first, with Rapunzel joining moments later.

Sadly, I don’t remember any of that! I couldn’t hear a lot of what was being said over the line neighbor father. The birthday girl had returned to him and was frozen against the wall. She wasn’t interested in participating in this and he wasn’t happy about it.

“Stop being so shy!” the man was very close to her face, and much too loud.

I turned to them, just enough so he might remember where they were and that others could see this exchange. Too shy?? I couldn’t believe this one at all. Having been the shy kid myself, I felt terrible for this poor girl on so many levels. What a way to remember your birthday, right?? My look had worked, for he did see me and step back from her. The little girl reluctantly agreed to go back before Rapunzel and Flynn joined the kids at the table.

Mom was crazy over the top when it came time to dance with the characters around that table. She’d done her homework and knew exactly where to line up to be beside Rapunzel. It meant squeezing the child that was already there out of her way, but she didn’t seem to mind. This would make great pictures! I didn’t take any myself because I was grabbing bits of video throughout. I was shocked when Mom joined in the group, the only parent to do so, and danced around with them. She repeatedly waved Dad over to video them. These people were nuts!

The short dance over, now it was time to line up again. The boys joined us and seemed pleased with all that had happened. They couldn’t wait to meet these two!

While in this line, it was time for more fun! This CM held up Pascal and asked if the kids liked playing games. Once again, Andrew was quick to answer..

“Board games? I like Mousetrap!”

Not that kind of game, Andy-Roo! Haha.. She explained we’d be playing a hot potato game with Pascal. They loved it!

The wait here was what you’d expect in a normal character line. Since I know that most of this has been cut out of the experience, I really wish they’d just do a regular M&G with her and save all the silly frustration. (Have they yet??) A few rounds of “Pass poor Pascal” later, we were next in line! The CM waiting at the end immediately spotted Andrew’s shirt.

“There’s 108 days of summer vacation,” she started to sing.

The boys both giggled and corrected her. It was 104, silly CM! They both loved chatting with her!

And finally.. It’s time!! All this long winded rambling had finally made it to the point. It was time to meet Rapunzel and Flynn Rider!

That silly shirt was still in the spotlight, as they wanted to comment on Phineas & Ferb first! They both seemed to be fans, which was odd to me. I don’t recall a television in that tower? Andrew entertained it for a moment, but he had more important business to address here. What’s in that bag, Flynn??

Ooohhh.. Okay, so I read about that on the DIS. In this respect, I was just as nuts as crazy Mom behind me in line, I suppose. I didn’t tell Andrew to ask, just mentioned that he was wearing the same bag as in the movie. Andy-Roo’s curiosity grew on its own. The boys were given an order to keep this one a strict secret by Flynn and Rapunzel. You didn’t find this out from us!

A big plus to this set up was that the characters did seem to spend more time with each group than in the regular lines. Not sure if that’s still true, but it was a fun experience and the boys loved talking to them!

John had his own concern to address with Flynn. My husband had repeatedly tried to convince me that something just wasn’t right with the guy’s face. I didn’t know what he was talking about, but he was determined to ask about it. Is his goatee crooked?? Yep, that’s what my silly man was all worked up about!

Flynn found this funny and explained that maybe it was. If it were straight, that smoulder wouldn’t look so hot, would it? He even demonstrated for us! It was pretty funny, and a confused Rapunzel joined their discussion. She claimed to have never noticed this before.

He gave the look again. It made perfect sense now! I do have to admit that I didn’t really see it as being all that crooked to begin with though! We all had a laugh and now it was time to say goodbye. We moved on to head back to the stroller.

But we didn’t. In all the fun of talking and playing with the boys, no one had remembered those autograph books! We couldn’t walk away without getting that! I mentioned it to a CM, which was heard by Flynn. He asked us to wait to the side and they took care of it after the next family.

Great characters! Flynn was a lot of fun in particular, but I still love Naveen best. We were all really glad that this had finally worked out!

 

[AprilRenee]

John's so nice, letting you guys go explore while he held the line! Glad you got to enjoy that empty fantasy land! I just realized that you updated since I opened your thread (should have refreshed before starting to read)
Gonna go finish now!

 

[AprilRenee]

Yay! Now I actually read the whole thing! (I hope!)
I'm glad you guys finally got to meet Rapunzel and Flynn. It seems like you guys had a lot of fun! Well, in the actual meet at least. I totally agree with you...the play part was kinda stupid. We didn't have any kids to take pictures of but I think I would have thought it was stupid even if my kids were down there coloring. The normal meet and greets are just fine! And besides you end up waiting in a line while watching other people meet the characters ANYWAY! Basically, you have to wait TWICE to meet them!
Yep, as Cogsworth says "If it's not baroque...don't fix it!"