May 25, 2911 * Day 35
Packed and out the door at 7:00am, this day was going to be problem-free and perfect. John took our bags one direction, but the boys and I headed off into the resort. My decision not to return to Pop for a while was set, but one detail needed to be taken care of. Our annual Potato Head picture would be slightly early, but it was close enough to their birthdays that it would work. How much could they really change in nineteen days anyway?
Despite my insistence that Pop Century really isn’t as big as some would like you to think, this day it must’ve doubled in size. We took the sidewalk along the water and were soon completely lost. I didn’t remember finding those potatoes to be such a project! Luckily, there were lost of bunnies and ducks to make the journey fun.
The boys weren’t very interested in posing for their pics with Mister Potato Head’s hand, but I think it went well enough. I can’t believe how fast they’re growing!!
And my comparison pics!!
Andrew through the years..
And Blakers through the years...
It's going so fast!
Turning back to the Fifties, John met us halfway and we loaded into the car. It was DHS time!
DHS had AM EMH this day, something we’d never experienced before. I’d read wonderful things about being able to ride TSM twice in that time, but it wouldn’t be happening this day! The crowd gathered in the street was just as intimidating as a regular park opening. It was no problem, Andrew and I didn’t have TSM on the brain anyway. The new Star Tours had been up and running so we couldn’t wait to check it out first!
We split from our family and raced over to another rope closer to our destination. Soon enough, the park was open and it was Star Tours time!
*Andrew pic!*
The line was long when we made it, but neither of us cared. This would be worth the wait. After quite a while of not moving, it became apparent that something was up with the ride. We didn’t budge and watched several guests give up on it completely. Blake and John joined us, with TSM FPs in hand, long before we began to inch forward!
Thirty-six minutes after joining the line, we finally made it in the building!
Despite the long wait starting our day, everyone was so excited as we walked through the queue. Andrew waved to C3PO and pointed out a character’s silhouette as they walked by above us. My Star Wars knowledge is lacking, but I really liked that part of it!
Finally in our seats, Andrew was in love with the 3d glasses and hurried to put his on. Our voyage was so much fun and took us to the Wookie planet, whatever it might be called. I think C3PO is adorable and a much better pilot than whoever that was before. (Plus it’s nice to know who it was! Haha!!) We were both instantly in love with the changes and planned to ride this one as much as possible! Andrew told me I needed to watch the movies a few more times before we come back! He’s silly.. but I did listen! (& I'm still clueless!)
Blake and John were checking out some Star Wars Potato Heads in the shop when our ride was done. It was nearly time for that mystery breakfast, but we had a small stop first. It didn’t seem that the CM at Everything Pop had run our snacks through correctly the night before and I was uncertain about what was left. Planning to let the boys load up on treats to bring home, this was important to keep up on. We were off to guest services yet again, but this time I wasn’t worried much.
Along the way, Andrew practiced his “balancing walking” along the edge of a sidewalk. He’s usually quite good at it, and would make a nice little tight rope walker. Sadly, this day his skills were off. At the end of the sidewalk, my little man tripped and scraped his knee. Instant water works! Andrew can’t stand the sight of blood, and I don’t blame him. I don’t like it either! This was only a scrape, but did bleed a bit. His reaction would have you believing he’d broken every bone in his little body. He cried and limped, fully believing that he might never walk again. No amount of cuddles and kisses could cure this one. He needed immediate medical attention! John scooped him up and headed to first aid.
Knowing Andrew was really just fine, Blake and I journeyed on to guest services. I have one thing to say about DHS guest services… it must be a tough place to work. Everyone in here always looks miserable, never really smiling. I don’t quite understand it, and we make every effort to avoid the place. It’s sad to me, because there have been quite a few DHS CMs that I’d leave compliments about if it weren’t so painful to walk in there. (Yes, I could email when we get home, but I’d rather do this at the parks.)
Anyway, I walked in and approached a grumpy CM. I can’t imagine that they could’ve had too many difficult guests so early in the morning. She was rude and simply thrust a piece of paper with our scribbled balances on it. Not a word was said. Oh well. I wished her a nice day and walked to first aid.
Those inside the first aid station were in much brighter moods. Andrew resists the idea of bandages with everything he’s got when John and I bring them up. With this woman, he wasn’t hesitant at all and she cheerfully took care of his injury. It didn’t really need a bandage, but I hoped having it covered might stop the tears. It worked well enough and she had him laughing and smiling. That bandage would unfortunately serve as a constant reminder of how he nearly lost his leg so our problems weren’t over just yet. He limped out of the building and begged Blake to switch roles so he could be the stroller kid. Little brother obliged. So much drama!
What time is it? It’s time for breakfast!
We’d all enjoyed bananas and juice in the room, but our tummies were grumbling and ready for something new. When facing the extra TS credit issue the evening before, there weren’t many “kid” restaurants available. My choices were the princess meal in Norway at Epcot, or Hollywood & Vine here at DHS. I’d never had any interest in this one, but Blake's new Little Einstein love had me sold on it now. The fact that we could only meet Oso here would be perfect for Andrew. He’d be able to collect a new autograph for his book! I didn’t have the highest expectations, but thought the boys would enjoy this one.
We checked in and found some seats outside to wait. We only had about ten minutes until being called, so Blake enjoyed playing around a pole.
Our server fit the theme of waitresses we get at Disney. It was more comical than annoying, but she did pull the same chocolate milk assumption that our Ohana waitress had. Is it so rare that a child requests white milk? They certainly made me think so! We had it corrected soon. Being a buffet, she wasn’t around much and forgotten about. We really enjoyed this one.
The food reviews for this place have been some of the worst I’ve read. Isn’t that true of all DHS restaurants?
I couldn’t imagine how they could really mess up a breakfast buffet though. It was the same food as all the other character breakfasts! I actually enjoyed this meal more than the ‘Ohana breakfast. The food was fresh and tasty for a buffet. I do love my breakfast buffets!
As soon as we were digging into our plates, the characters began to arrive!
Blake was excited to see Leo, but absolutely thrilled to see June again! I think she just might be the little guy’s favorite Einstein!
Andrew informed June that she was NOT his mom’s favorite Einstein and said it was sad that Quincy didn’t get to have breakfast. June laughed and pointed outside. We could still find Quincy by the Disney Junior show!
After June danced away, it was party time! A CM began to gather children to participate and dance. Andrew hopped down and raced to the group. Little Blakers decided the Ohana project was enough mealtime excitement for one trip and kept glued to his seat. He did enjoy watching anyway, and pointed out that the CM in charge was one we’d seen at the Disney Junior show.
Andrew loved this! He ran back to the table with a huge smile and thanked me for planning this one. Even though he said these characters were for babies, it was obvious that he loved it. I couldn’t believe how much all of us were enjoying this one.
I cannot resist doing this..
Handy Manny stopped for a quick visit next, with the big star of the show joining us last. Special Agent Oso is far from my favorite Disney Junior character, but the boys were thrilled to see him and collect this autograph.
What an unexpected hit!
Packed and out the door at 7:00am, this day was going to be problem-free and perfect. John took our bags one direction, but the boys and I headed off into the resort. My decision not to return to Pop for a while was set, but one detail needed to be taken care of. Our annual Potato Head picture would be slightly early, but it was close enough to their birthdays that it would work. How much could they really change in nineteen days anyway?
Despite my insistence that Pop Century really isn’t as big as some would like you to think, this day it must’ve doubled in size. We took the sidewalk along the water and were soon completely lost. I didn’t remember finding those potatoes to be such a project! Luckily, there were lost of bunnies and ducks to make the journey fun.
The boys weren’t very interested in posing for their pics with Mister Potato Head’s hand, but I think it went well enough. I can’t believe how fast they’re growing!!
And my comparison pics!!
Andrew through the years..
And Blakers through the years...
It's going so fast!
Turning back to the Fifties, John met us halfway and we loaded into the car. It was DHS time!
DHS had AM EMH this day, something we’d never experienced before. I’d read wonderful things about being able to ride TSM twice in that time, but it wouldn’t be happening this day! The crowd gathered in the street was just as intimidating as a regular park opening. It was no problem, Andrew and I didn’t have TSM on the brain anyway. The new Star Tours had been up and running so we couldn’t wait to check it out first!
We split from our family and raced over to another rope closer to our destination. Soon enough, the park was open and it was Star Tours time!
*Andrew pic!*
The line was long when we made it, but neither of us cared. This would be worth the wait. After quite a while of not moving, it became apparent that something was up with the ride. We didn’t budge and watched several guests give up on it completely. Blake and John joined us, with TSM FPs in hand, long before we began to inch forward!
Thirty-six minutes after joining the line, we finally made it in the building!
Despite the long wait starting our day, everyone was so excited as we walked through the queue. Andrew waved to C3PO and pointed out a character’s silhouette as they walked by above us. My Star Wars knowledge is lacking, but I really liked that part of it!
Finally in our seats, Andrew was in love with the 3d glasses and hurried to put his on. Our voyage was so much fun and took us to the Wookie planet, whatever it might be called. I think C3PO is adorable and a much better pilot than whoever that was before. (Plus it’s nice to know who it was! Haha!!) We were both instantly in love with the changes and planned to ride this one as much as possible! Andrew told me I needed to watch the movies a few more times before we come back! He’s silly.. but I did listen! (& I'm still clueless!)
Blake and John were checking out some Star Wars Potato Heads in the shop when our ride was done. It was nearly time for that mystery breakfast, but we had a small stop first. It didn’t seem that the CM at Everything Pop had run our snacks through correctly the night before and I was uncertain about what was left. Planning to let the boys load up on treats to bring home, this was important to keep up on. We were off to guest services yet again, but this time I wasn’t worried much.
Along the way, Andrew practiced his “balancing walking” along the edge of a sidewalk. He’s usually quite good at it, and would make a nice little tight rope walker. Sadly, this day his skills were off. At the end of the sidewalk, my little man tripped and scraped his knee. Instant water works! Andrew can’t stand the sight of blood, and I don’t blame him. I don’t like it either! This was only a scrape, but did bleed a bit. His reaction would have you believing he’d broken every bone in his little body. He cried and limped, fully believing that he might never walk again. No amount of cuddles and kisses could cure this one. He needed immediate medical attention! John scooped him up and headed to first aid.
Knowing Andrew was really just fine, Blake and I journeyed on to guest services. I have one thing to say about DHS guest services… it must be a tough place to work. Everyone in here always looks miserable, never really smiling. I don’t quite understand it, and we make every effort to avoid the place. It’s sad to me, because there have been quite a few DHS CMs that I’d leave compliments about if it weren’t so painful to walk in there. (Yes, I could email when we get home, but I’d rather do this at the parks.)
Anyway, I walked in and approached a grumpy CM. I can’t imagine that they could’ve had too many difficult guests so early in the morning. She was rude and simply thrust a piece of paper with our scribbled balances on it. Not a word was said. Oh well. I wished her a nice day and walked to first aid.
Those inside the first aid station were in much brighter moods. Andrew resists the idea of bandages with everything he’s got when John and I bring them up. With this woman, he wasn’t hesitant at all and she cheerfully took care of his injury. It didn’t really need a bandage, but I hoped having it covered might stop the tears. It worked well enough and she had him laughing and smiling. That bandage would unfortunately serve as a constant reminder of how he nearly lost his leg so our problems weren’t over just yet. He limped out of the building and begged Blake to switch roles so he could be the stroller kid. Little brother obliged. So much drama!
What time is it? It’s time for breakfast!
We’d all enjoyed bananas and juice in the room, but our tummies were grumbling and ready for something new. When facing the extra TS credit issue the evening before, there weren’t many “kid” restaurants available. My choices were the princess meal in Norway at Epcot, or Hollywood & Vine here at DHS. I’d never had any interest in this one, but Blake's new Little Einstein love had me sold on it now. The fact that we could only meet Oso here would be perfect for Andrew. He’d be able to collect a new autograph for his book! I didn’t have the highest expectations, but thought the boys would enjoy this one.
We checked in and found some seats outside to wait. We only had about ten minutes until being called, so Blake enjoyed playing around a pole.
Our server fit the theme of waitresses we get at Disney. It was more comical than annoying, but she did pull the same chocolate milk assumption that our Ohana waitress had. Is it so rare that a child requests white milk? They certainly made me think so! We had it corrected soon. Being a buffet, she wasn’t around much and forgotten about. We really enjoyed this one.
The food reviews for this place have been some of the worst I’ve read. Isn’t that true of all DHS restaurants?
I couldn’t imagine how they could really mess up a breakfast buffet though. It was the same food as all the other character breakfasts! I actually enjoyed this meal more than the ‘Ohana breakfast. The food was fresh and tasty for a buffet. I do love my breakfast buffets!As soon as we were digging into our plates, the characters began to arrive!
Blake was excited to see Leo, but absolutely thrilled to see June again! I think she just might be the little guy’s favorite Einstein!
Andrew informed June that she was NOT his mom’s favorite Einstein and said it was sad that Quincy didn’t get to have breakfast. June laughed and pointed outside. We could still find Quincy by the Disney Junior show!
After June danced away, it was party time! A CM began to gather children to participate and dance. Andrew hopped down and raced to the group. Little Blakers decided the Ohana project was enough mealtime excitement for one trip and kept glued to his seat. He did enjoy watching anyway, and pointed out that the CM in charge was one we’d seen at the Disney Junior show.
Andrew loved this! He ran back to the table with a huge smile and thanked me for planning this one. Even though he said these characters were for babies, it was obvious that he loved it. I couldn’t believe how much all of us were enjoying this one.
I cannot resist doing this..
Handy Manny stopped for a quick visit next, with the big star of the show joining us last. Special Agent Oso is far from my favorite Disney Junior character, but the boys were thrilled to see him and collect this autograph.
What an unexpected hit!
We can see them growing, but having them in the same place helps to see it more! 
It was a huge distraction, but seemed to entertain Andrew at times. Super annoying! 
