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[AprilRenee]

I'm with Dugette!! This can't be the end!! We'll all have TR withdrawl and it won't be pretty!

Seems like a good day overall, major bummer about the line cutters though. They really were stalking you! I like that you ended the trip the same way you began

I'm gonna take bets that there is a final tram vs. walkers race coming though so we're gonna need at least 1 more update!

 

[jc040404]

Nice choice of ride to end the day. And I'm glad the "Hooray" was working again! I can't believe those line-cutters, though...it's like they were stalking you all day!

So, is this the end?....... I guess we'll see. I do hope you tack on the December trip. There are a lot of us that will go through some crazy TR withdrawal if you don't.

It does seem like the were stalking us! With as big as the park is, it was crazy that we kept running into them like this.

I'm going to be going through TR withdrawal without this to work on! December wasn't much, but it'll be a part.

I'm with Dugette!! This can't be the end!! We'll all have TR withdrawl and it won't be pretty!

Seems like a good day overall, major bummer about the line cutters though. They really were stalking you! I like that you ended the trip the same way you began

I'm gonna take bets that there is a final tram vs. walkers race coming though so we're gonna need at least 1 more update!

I couldn't believe it was the same woman again. I totally took her picture at the carousel and nearly put it in the TR. In the end, I couldn't. It would be mean.. Not quite as mean as throwing peach pits and the gate incident, but still mean..

I'm thinking two more to go. We have another bump in the day to get through. I'm almost there anyway! What am I supposed to do when this is done?? I'm going to be lost.

 

[jc040404]

The sky looked very unhappy when we left the 100 Acre Wood, so cover would be needed soon. John and I had discussed bringing the ponchos with us, but left them in the car. Silly us. Could we beat the rain to the TTC? Odds were against that, so we decided not to bother trying. Florida rains don’t last long anyway.

TTFN, Pooh & Friends!

“How about a snack?”

Everyone agreed. One last journey to Sleepy Hollow would be perfect. We hurried over, hoping to be under cover before the rains came. We weren’t alone in our plans and walked into a mess in the snack line. John and Blake went ahead to find a table, while Andrew and I waited in line. It worked okay for a bit. I made our order and moved up to wait to collect our snacks. As it started to sprinkle, guests tried to crowd under here and the line grew. I sent Andrew off to wait with his father, for fear he’d be trampled. This was the scary experience during MSEP all over again, in front of Sleepy Hollow!

I began to wish I hadn’t suggested such a silly thing, and the clouds opened up. It was pouring now and people were getting nasty. I watched guests cut the line and take others’ snacks instead of waiting. It was a mess, but I kept watch so it didn’t happen to me. I wanted out of here fast!

When the CM making what would be our funnel cake began to lift it up to me, a woman pushed forward.

“I was here first!” she snapped at me.

Already stressed by the growing mess around me, this wasn’t the time to play such a game. I simply told her she was mistaken and moved forward.

“Check my receipt!! I was here first!” she snapped again.

Seriously? I wasn’t in the mood for this, but didn’t want to let another get away with this foolishness either. She’d been behind me the whole time and knew it. She was behind the people who were behind me, if I was recalling correctly! If she wanted to compare receipts so bad, fine. Let’s compare. I held out my receipt and she looked at the times. Imagine that. I was there several minutes before her.

The CMs inside looked equally amused and scared. A part of me felt the same. She could’ve done anything next! Visions of the chaos from one year before flooded my mind. Thankfully, the woman simply backed up in the line and I took the cake. How ridiculous. I grabbed our drink, another plate to cover the funnel cake and hurried into the rain. I heard her grumbling and talking about me as I walked away. Isn’t that how it always works? I hope she had a magical trip..

Finally under cover at the table, I listened to John tell of their adventures while I was gone. A family had tried to push them off the table! He said a group took seats at the table and stood surrounding them. One bluntly said to move it. They were in the same situation, waiting for another to bring their snacks. John didn’t share what he’d told their leader, but my family still had the table anyway. July is the month for Disney bullies, it seems! I hated myself for this snack idea now. Our year seemed to be ending the way it started. Reaching over the table, I took my husband’s hand in mine.

“Maybe it's okay to let the APs expire like this.”

“We had a great day. Forget about all of them.”

Easier said than done. I wanted a perfect “happily ever after” ending to our year, not a bunch of rude guests who wanted to cause trouble over deep fried cakes and powdered sugar. Parts of this year had been far from fun. He was right though. This particular day had been pretty good, despite the few problem people. I told myself to remember it that way and let it go. The boys began to pick at the cake so we quietly enjoyed our snack.

And the rain, rain, rain, came down, down down..

The cake was gone, but the rain wasn’t. It didn’t show any signs of stopping and everyone in the area was getting restless. A few raced out into it, but we kept our seats. These things aren’t supposed to last long. I pulled out my emergency supplies.. tootsie pops.

Blake’s “I don’t want to go home” face!

The boys enjoyed their second rush of sugar and started to talk about our year. Andrew wished that the summer never had to end. He didn’t care if he ever went to school, so long as he could always go to Disney!

Eventually the rain started to let up and we decided to make our move.. to the exit.

This is the day that never ends.. Yes, it goes on and on...
Only one more update to go! Promise!!

 

[orangecats2]

I was going to ask if that was it but it was already asked and answered.

DH and I will be there this September. It would be fun to say hi to you and your family if you are there when we are.

***And you posted another update***

 

[jc040404]

I was going to ask if that was it but it was already asked and answered.

DH and I will be there this September. It would be fun to say hi to you and your family if you are there when we are.

***And you posted another update***

Update me when it gets closer! I don't know what our plans are for the next day most of the time. Really, I'm not sure what Blake and I are going to get into while the big boys are gone tomorrow even! I do really want to try to do at least a day each month, and the year will definitely have started by then!

When I started typing about this day, every second flooded back into my mind. I'm kinda on a roll at the moment.. The ending might be up before I give up and go to bed tonight.

 

[CAStevens218]

Great choice with Pooh for your last ride! I'm glad everyone joined in on the "Hooray!" at the end!!

Ick with the peach pit! What a classy group...I was almost expecting the attempted line cutter at the funnel cake place to be this woman again!! I'm glad you were able to prove that woman wrong!!

Isn't it crazy how everyone goes crazy in the rain? Rain is not an emergency people!

 

[jc040404]

Great choice with Pooh for your last ride! I'm glad everyone joined in on the "Hooray!" at the end!!

Ick with the peach pit! What a classy group...I was almost expecting the attempted line cutter at the funnel cake place to be this woman again!! I'm glad you were able to prove that woman wrong!!

Isn't it crazy how everyone goes crazy in the rain? Rain is not an emergency people!

I have no idea how I would've handled things if the funnel cake woman had been the line cutter lady. Thank goodness that didn't happen! I've never had someone challenge with a receipt time though. How silly was that one?

When people get super nuts, especially when there's something out of your control happening, I reeeeeally try to be forgiving. I know many could be on that "once in a lifetime" kind of trip, so things going wrong could be tough to deal with. But this is rain! It's Florida. It rains a lot! Geesh.. Everyone was in such a rotten mood around there.

 

[jc040404]

The walk from the castle up Main Street is supposed to take longer than this. Seconds after leaving our table, I was somehow walking by Casey’s. It was happening too fast. That feeling I wondered about had finally hit me and my insides were in a panic. It was really over now and I wasn’t ready. I fought the urge to turn and run back to the castle, wondering how my husband would react. Would he follow? No, that would’ve been silly. But it couldn’t be over. How could an entire year have gone by already?

I noticed Andrew peeking back at the castle a couple of times. If I ran, I knew he’d come with me!! I considered it again. Then, I remember that rain. The ground was wet and he was sure to fall. We couldn’t have that either.

We walked on. Nearing the train station, I had to stop. Taking Andrew’s hand, I looked at my husband. It was one of those sweet moments when no explanation was needed at all. I love that man. He smiled and walked under the tunnel with Blake.

Andy-Roo and I carefully climbed those steps and walked across to say goodbye to our castle. I fumbled through my bag to find a camera and snapped the last castle picture of our Disney year.

Wiping away a few silly tears, I smiled down at my little man.

“Are you ready to go?” I asked.

“No.”

We stared at our castle for just a moment longer. He said how great it would be if Peter Pan got his wish. During the fireworks, he wanted to never have to grow up. Andrew wished for the same. If he could just stay little, this could last forever. We could always go to Disney whenever we wanted. It was a sweet idea, but not one either of us really wanted.

“Are you ready, mommy?”

Ready for what exactly? I wondered for a second. The Disney year to end? That wasn’t so bad. I knew we’d back in time and brand new adventures would be waiting for us. Disney wasn’t going anywhere. Maybe I really was ready for that. It was the other side of the ending that worried me. This meant so much more to us than just not visiting the parks often. Was I ready for what it would bring to my little boy and me? Ready for my sweet baby to start taking those big steps towards growing up?

“Of course not.”

He smiled.

With a deep breath, I took my big kid’s hand once again and we carefully walked back down the wet stairs. It was time.

Choosing our transportation was easy. We couldn’t possibly leave without giving the boys the monorail and I knew just which one. The Express takes the longest, so the Express would be winner. We climbed the ramp and found a car. Lucky for us, we were going to be paused for “one minute” yet again. I thanked Mickey for this moment and begged him to make it last forever. Too much change waited on the other side of that minute. I didn't want to stop it, but I wasn’t ready for it either.

We moved sooner than I’d have liked. Andrew leaned against the window and watched our favorite place for as long as he could.

At the TTC, the rain was gone.

We walked so slowly, even stopping in the gift shop. I’d forgotten to buy a bag of Goofy’s jellybeans before leaving the park. It was suddenly the most tragic thing that could have happened this day. Resisting an excuse to race back to MK, we simply added it to the “Next Time” list when there were none to be found. It was time to go home.

As we were crossing in front of the parked tram, Blakers began to sing..

“There’s a great big beautiful tomorroooowww... shinin’ at the end of ev'ry day!”

He made us laugh and I found his timing so perfect. All the way to the car, my little family sang the song. This Disney year may have been over, but tomorrow would bring new and exciting adventures for my babies. It couldn’t have been a more perfect ending for me.

“There’s a great big beautiful tomorrow.. Just a dream awaayyy!”

 

[Dugette]

Well, first off,

I'm so glad I never got stuck at Sleepy Hollow in the rain. People are crazy! I'm so glad you were able to prove her wrong!

How sad to be leaving your happy place behind! Blakers sure came up with the perfect way to sing you out, though!

You know, if you miss writing TRs, you can always do mine for me I am way too slow. Oh, well. I hope you do a continuous one for your new year! It can be the never-ending TR!

Thanks for sharing all your memories and stories with us!

 

[GaRain]

Wasn't it? Have fun in May! Ya never know when we might need a Disney day, so maybe we'll run into each other finally. (Did you have a ticker? Why doesn't siggy stuff show when you reply to posts anyway? Annoying! ) I don't see anything special that month for us, since Andrew's still in school then but who knows... I'd love to be able to do at least a day trip every month this AP year, whenever we start it!

I do have a ticker....I will be there in 2 months - the first weekend in May!

 

[partyof2]

Oh Andrew I always wish the summer will never end too!

I cannot believe Andrew finally made 44 inches, that seems like such a fitting end to the year. So funny that he chose not to ride Space Mountain in the end anyway. All the way through the TR I've been on edge waiting to find out if he ever rides, and then he doesn't. I'm so disappointed, it's like a bad movie!

I cannot wait to read about your next adventures.

 

[jane2073]

Very excellent, well-written ending!
I understand your feelings completely!

 

[bushdianee]

I have followed along both of your TRs and really enjoyed your adventures and seeing your adorable boys turn into handsome boys. I teach and in my district the students are off at least one day each month, usually attached to a weekend. Either holidays or teacher work days. I bet if you look at Andrew's school calendar you might find a lot of possible Disney days! I will be in WDW the end of May/beginning of June on a special aunt/niece trip to celebrate DN6 finishing kindergarten. It will be the 3rd time I've taken her but the first trip just the 2 of us. After reading about all of you meals at CHH I really want to try there as I've never eaten there.

 

[jc040404]

Well, first off,

I'm so glad I never got stuck at Sleepy Hollow in the rain. People are crazy! I'm so glad you were able to prove her wrong!

How sad to be leaving your happy place behind! Blakers sure came up with the perfect way to sing you out, though!

You know, if you miss writing TRs, you can always do mine for me I am way too slow. Oh, well. I hope you do a continuous one for your new year! It can be the never-ending TR!

Thanks for sharing all your memories and stories with us!

I suppose funnel cake lady really could have thought she was ahead in line, but I don't see how. She'd been standing behind me. It was a silly idea to challenge with the receipt time anyway.

Blake breaks into song all the time, but this time it was too perfect. I love that memory.

The TR has been fun. Glad to have you along again!

I wasn't going to bring up how much I wish you'd get back to your TR though..

I do have a ticker....I will be there in 2 months - the first weekend in May!

It'll be here in no time! I'll let you know if we can fit a day in that week.

Oh Andrew I always wish the summer will never end too!

I cannot believe Andrew finally made 44 inches, that seems like such a fitting end to the year. So funny that he chose not to ride Space Mountain in the end anyway. All the way through the TR I've been on edge waiting to find out if he ever rides, and then he doesn't. I'm so disappointed, it's like a bad movie!

I cannot wait to read about your next adventures.

I have a good feeling he's going to start wishing that every year, now that it means a fun school break!

It was crazy to worry so much about making it to 44 inches and then not even riding! Oh well. I could've probably pushed it a bit more, but it needs to be his decision. We'll get there soon enough.

Thanks for reading! I can't wait to start our new adventures!!

Very excellent, well-written ending!
I understand your feelings completely!

Thanks! It was a big last day for me! Amazingly, I managed to get him off to that first day of kindergarten without a tear. Even his teacher was amazed, knowing that he'd always been home with me before. (No pre-K, daycare, etc.) Okay.. so I cried when I got home from the school. I'm glad we had the fun we did, and can't wait to start the next Disney chapter.

Renewed yet?

I have followed along both of your TRs and really enjoyed your adventures and seeing your adorable boys turn into handsome boys. I teach and in my district the students are off at least one day each month, usually attached to a weekend. Either holidays or teacher work days. I bet if you look at Andrew's school calendar you might find a lot of possible Disney days! I will be in WDW the end of May/beginning of June on a special aunt/niece trip to celebrate DN6 finishing kindergarten. It will be the 3rd time I've taken her but the first trip just the 2 of us. After reading about all of you meals at CHH I really want to try there as I've never eaten there.

Thanks for following along! You have to try CHH! MK wouldn't be the same without that place. Finishing kindergarten sounds like a great reason to celebrate with a trip to Disney. We'd definitely being doing that if we weren't going to be at WDW anyway. The big birthday is the week after Andrew's year is over. We'll have a lot to celebrate! Hope you have a wonderful trip with your niece!

Oh, Andrew's school calendar works the same way. He's had an extra day off, usually a Friday, every month. It was part of how I tried to justify renewing this last set, but thought we should hold off until he got into the routine. He's huge on routines and throwing it off can make him a bit crazy at times. I'm hoping we'll be able to take advantage of some of those days for this set anyway.

 

[jane2073]

No. We are where you were last year. We are not renewing.
We have had seasonal passes three years in a row. When we first got them, my daughter had just turned four and we did our first Disney day without a buggy.

We both love Disney and it will be sad to not have the passes. Change is not fun.

 

[CAStevens218]

I'm so sad that this report is over, but what a great ending! You wrote it beautifully!

I love that you got to spend those last minutes at the train station with Andrew and Blake's song at the end! What a perfect ending!

Looking forward to following along with your new adventures!

 

[jc040404]

No. We are where you were last year. We are not renewing.
We have had seasonal passes three years in a row. When we first got them, my daughter had just turned four and we did our first Disney day without a buggy.

We both love Disney and it will be sad to not have the passes. Change is not fun.

This kind of change definitely isn't. I bet you had lots of fun in those three years anyway! I wish seasonal passes worked for us. Those silly June birthdays have to fall when blackout dates start. Have bunches fun with whatever the future may bring!

I'm so sad that this report is over, but what a great ending! You wrote it beautifully!

I love that you got to spend those last minutes at the train station with Andrew and Blake's song at the end! What a perfect ending!

Looking forward to following along with your new adventures!

I loved that moment with Andrew, too. It was nice and a little sad, even if he didn't quite understand what part was making me sad.

Blake's song was incredible. Such wonderful timing and a sweet ending. I loved it!

I'm excited to start our new adventures!! I'm really hoping to add some fun new stuff. I want to try the silly Family Magic Tour, that balloon at DTD, finally get to Andrew's mini-golf.. and the list goes on! It's wild that we've gone so much, yet there's so much we haven't experienced yet! We're going to be brave and use the kids' clubs a bit to give me and John a few hours without the boys at times. It should be an interesting year! I don't know how/if a TR will work for this one, but I'll definitely get started on our little weekend December 2011 fun soon.

 

[Lisa29]

Nooooo, I can't believe your year is over!! I haven't posted in forever, I got really behind and have just spent the last few weeks catching up.

I am so happy that you have annual passes ready to use again. Your husband is awesome - my dad is the same, he always puts my mum and us kids (all now adults!) first. My husband is getting to be the same. We now just need to get A LOT of money together to move to Florida and be able to buy AP's ourselves!!

I will be eagerly awaiting your December report and hope Andrew managed to try Space Mountain. I hate rides with big drops (e.g. Splash Mountain) but I love Space Mountain. I laugh the entire time!

Really hope you do a third 'many adventures of andy-roo and blakers' report, I love reading about all you do, pretty pretty please!

For now, enjoy planning your birthday trip and starting a countdown to the start of your next year.

PS. My 2 DD's also share the same birthday, 3 years apart, along with my brother and we will be in WDW next year for their 2nd, 5th and 25th birthdays. Yay!!

 

[jc040404]

Nooooo, I can't believe your year is over!! I haven't posted in forever, I got really behind and have just spent the last few weeks catching up.

I am so happy that you have annual passes ready to use again. Your husband is awesome - my dad is the same, he always puts my mum and us kids (all now adults!) first. My husband is getting to be the same. We now just need to get A LOT of money together to move to Florida and be able to buy AP's ourselves!!

I will be eagerly awaiting your December report and hope Andrew managed to try Space Mountain. I hate rides with big drops (e.g. Splash Mountain) but I love Space Mountain. I laugh the entire time!

Really hope you do a third 'many adventures of andy-roo and blakers' report, I love reading about all you do, pretty pretty please!

For now, enjoy planning your birthday trip and starting a countdown to the start of your next year.

PS. My 2 DD's also share the same birthday, 3 years apart, along with my brother and we will be in WDW next year for their 2nd, 5th and 25th birthdays. Yay!!

First, how awesome on the birthdays! I can't believe how common sharing birthdays within the same family really is! Very neat! Even better that you'll be celebrating at WDW!

Maybe a TR spoiler, but Andrew isn't going to be trying Space Mountain on the next visit either. I think not being able to see what it is from outside might be a bit too much for him. He doesn't know what to expect from it. I keep meaning to look for a video or something, but we don't really think of this one. I've been more surprised that he doesn't want to do EE at Animal Kingdom actually. I asked about it when he made it to 44 inches, but he declined that one, too. I'm in no hurry for it, but he was really looking forward to it before. We'll get there!

Glad to have had you following along. Our new year is just beginning!

 

[jc040404]

^That was Thursday!

We went back already. With Andrew's free Friday, we took an unplanned getaway.