"Don't cry over spilled milk" Sept 2009-1st family trip w/ a 4 and 2 year old

[mommyof2Pirates]

Hey Lindsey!!! Long time no talk!!! Do you have a good time at the Eagles game on Sunday?? How about those Phillies???

Anyway, awesome update!!! I can't believe your like gut fell out of the bed!!! So sad And the story about about the mom and MIL have be laughing out loud!!! To funny!!!

Yes it was quite funny to listen too their argument. I am so psyched for the game tomorrow. Hope the phillies can do it again!

Great update! You got so many cute pictures of DHS. I swear, we were always rushing to the next thing, I missed a lot of the little details. Oh well, next time, right? Great scores on TSM. We did it four times and I don't think I ever broke 100,000. Cooper couldn't figure out the pull thing, but the one time he rode with me he got 1,200 all by himself. Still not sure how that happened! I can't wait to see if Ryan got picked for JTA-my fingers are crossed!!!

Yes I also felt so rushed all the time too. Or if I did stop and notice things I then felt rush to take the pics cause the kids were getting restless. I guess the older they get the easier it will be. I was amazed by the kids scores too since they really didnt seem to completely get the idea other than just pulling on the cord. I am hoping to update tonight so keep watching to see if Ryan became a Jedi or went home disappointed. I havent seen any updates on your report in awhile, have you been super busy?

Great updates! I hope your sleeping got better as the trip went along. Having to share a room with my dad during the trip--oh my goodness, I need to buy ear plugs for me and DD! :rofl:

So you liked Hollywood and Vine? I am really considering it as a good option. DD likes the Playhouse Disney characters (some of them anyways) that I think it would be a lot of fun. I am leaning more towards lunch though since I think we will try to get an ADR at CP for breakfast and possibly Akershus. Did you go there?

Love that you were able to get pictures with Buzz and Woody! Hopefully DS got chosen for Jedi Training at some point along your adventure.

Oh I would not be able to deal with a snoring family member that is the worst. One night nick started snoring so loud when he first fell asleep. I think he was just so exhausted. We were able to laugh at that though since he is only 2. Good luck with that.

I would recommend H&V it was fun especially if she likes leo and june. Jo Jo and Goliath are not on anymore so I wonder if most kids even know them. You would think they should update it with the newer characters like handy manny or special agent oso. Anyway overall I would say give it a try. Im sure lunch would be just as good too. I had dinner at CP a number of years ago but never breakfast but I remember loving the character interaction even at age 18. We never did the akershus.

 

[Gabes_mommy]

Great update!!! It looks like you guys had a great morning at HS.

I'm anxious to hear how your afternoon went since you decided to skip nap time. I hate that all the parades fall right during my DS's naptime since I know he would love them.

 

[jana616]

Yes I also felt so rushed all the time too. Or if I did stop and notice things I then felt rush to take the pics cause the kids were getting restless. I guess the older they get the easier it will be. I was amazed by the kids scores too since they really didnt seem to completely get the idea other than just pulling on the cord. I am hoping to update tonight so keep watching to see if Ryan became a Jedi or went home disappointed. I havent seen any updates on your report in awhile, have you been super busy?

I know, whenever I tried to take a second and just enjoy the details, the kids got so bored we had to start moving. And they were totally over taking pictures by the 2nd day, esp. in the afternoons. I promise to update my report soon-probably tomorrow while the boys are at school. It takes so much time to upload the photos, write out the details, add in the pics...it can be hard to get the motivation! But I want to finish, partly so that I'll have a detailed report for myself, since I'm already forgetting things!

Oh, and whoever was wondering about H&V for lunch, if you see this, we did that meal there and loved it. Details are in my trip report!

 

[Charlefours]

I know, whenever I tried to take a second and just enjoy the details, the kids got so bored we had to start moving. And they were totally over taking pictures by the 2nd day, esp. in the afternoons. I promise to update my report soon-probably tomorrow while the boys are at school. It takes so much time to upload the photos, write out the details, add in the pics...it can be hard to get the motivation! But I want to finish, partly so that I'll have a detailed report for myself, since I'm already forgetting things!

Oh, and whoever was wondering about H&V for lunch, if you see this, we did that meal there and loved it. Details are in my trip report!

I asked about lunch at H&V since I knew you went to it (I am reading your TR too ). Based on these two accounts, it seems like an early lunch would be good to allow for more character interactions.

I think that will be hard to balance my need to take lots of pictures and keeping DD happy! Any tips on the juggling act? I guess DH will have to walk with her and I will catch up if need be. Also the photopass system seems like it would help to ensure I get group shots.

 

[mommyof2Pirates]

I left off as we finished lunch and decided to skip the nap and break for the day. While I waited for the bill; Mike decided to take Ryan to wait for the JTA to start again. After paying the bill I gathered nick and our back pack and headed out of the resturaunt. I looked all over for the stroller but did not see it anywhere. I called mike on his cell phone and he said he had it. I had to bite my tongue. Now why would he need a stroller for our 4 year old...who most likely walked next to the stroller while mike pushed it. Men! Nick and I made our way very slowly over to the JTA area. I saw mike and ryan were up in the front again. I quickly put the back pack in the stroller and got into the crowd behind them. The sun was once again beating down on us. I was holding nick who was starting to get tired and hot too. Shortly out came the Jedi Master. He went around picking out kids. This time I told mike to not be so obnoxious and just let ryan try to get picked on his own. So Ryan stood in the front yelling me....me... with his arms in the air. I crossed my sweaty fingers and hoped this would be our lucky moment..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Yes he made it.....Ryan got picked. He was put on a circle and given his brown jedi robe. Poor Ry he couldnt figure out how to get it on. I think mainly he was nervous but if you could have seen the worry on his face. I almost wanted to cry. He asked the Jedi Master to help him but he was still busy picking out more kids so he told him it was his first challenge to figure out how to do it. I kept yelling to him telling him its like a jacket but he couldnt hear me. Finally mike got his attention and he ran over and mike quick threw it on him. Whooo. What a stressful moment. By now I was sweating so bad. I swear at one point I thought I was going to pass out.

The Jedi Master had his group take the jedi oath. Then he handed out official light sabers.

He showed the kids how they would fight darth vader. Left...Right....Up.....Duck......and stab him in the face. Wow this is just what you want your 4 year old to learn in disney right? Here is Ryan doing the routine.

Now here come the storm troopers and darth vader

The boy in front of Ryan got scared and started crying and didnt want to fight darth vader so the lady helping said its ok he didnt have to he can just watch. Well I think ryan was a little scared too and saw this so he decided to tear up a little and tell her he was too scared and didnt want to fight him either. She took both kids to the back of the line. Now let me just say we are not mean parents who push our kid into things they dont want to do but with ryan he often needs a little push to get him over his anxiety and usually he turns out to like it and is proud of himself for doing it. So we are yelling to him that its ok not to be scared that he can do it. He seemed like he was getting up some more courage until the they got back to the front of the line. The Jedi Master told them it was ok because they learned their special routine to beat darth vader and that he would be right there with them. The little boy wouldnt go and we were telling ryan to go and we would be so proud of him. The lady helping told us to stop talking to him because we were going to make him cry. I was like what! Now this lady was very nice and compassionate with the kids but I could of popped her one. We were only trying to encourage our child to overcome his fear. I was really annoyed at her.
To finish DV off the group had to point there lightsabers at him all together to finally get rid of him once and for all. Ryan did this and refers back to this moment often in his memory of JTA. He makes sure everyone knows that even though he didnt fight DV he had a part in defeating him.

They all became official Jedi's and got a special diploma.

Ryan was very proud of himself and so were we!

Toward the end of the program the clouds began to look black. The Indiana Jones show was about to start so we headed in to watch. Just as we got under cover it began to pour. The boys really liked the show and it was just the right thing to do while it rained. By the time it was finished the rain had stopped. We got out to the stoller which was a little wet. I had forgotten about the extra ponchos I had brought to cover it if it was going to rain. At least I remembered the hand towels. I dried off the stroller and used the towels for the kids to sit on. Good thinking huh! I have to say my husband was quite impressed.

It was still drizzling a little and was very windy so we waited under the big hat for awhile. The kids found some pressed penny machines to keep them occupied. Once it looked clear we got a parade spot right in front of the hat.

Mike took ryan in the gift shops. This nice lady that was standing next to us offered to watch my stroller if I wanted to go along with them. I said thank you and started walking along but quickly decided I didnt want to go to far. I took nick and we got popcorn and drinks. Soon Ryan and Mike came back and we waited for the block party bash to begin. Well we waited and waited and waited. They kept making announcements that due to the weather the parade was being delayed.

Finally after 20 minutes it started. We thought it was very cute and fun. I loved the music and dancing. We almost caught a bouncy ball at the end. The kids seemed to love it too. We had gotten a spot the faced directly down the street the parade was coming from, so they were able to sit in the stroller and see perfectly.

Here is nick dancing in the stroller.

and a few of my favorite pics from the parade:

After the parade we headed back to TSM it was a 50 minute wait and FP were gone. We took a bathroom break and got some more to drink.

We made our way over to Lights Camera Action...Motor Stunt Show. At this point we were second guessing the skipping the nap idea. The kids were getting whiny and you could see they were so tired. The walk from where you park the stroller to the entrace was so long and the stairs you have to climb to get a seat are unbelievable. I carried nick and a huge lemonade up them and I thought I was going to die. It was so hot sitting on the bleachers and the kids were being so clingy. Ryan insisted on sitting on my lap and then nick was crying and yelling at him because he wanted to sit with me too. This was our moment of meltdown at DHS. It felt like hours while we waited for the show to begin but once it did the kids seemed to enjoy it. It was an awesome show and the stunts they do are amazing. I did not take one picture mainly because of the meltdowns that occured but hopefully we will be able to see it again someday. After the show we walked the 3 miles to get out.

At this point we all were tired and hot. We walked to the area close by where the power rangers were due to be soon. We waited under a tree and sat in the shade to try to cool down. While we were waiting ryan started to climb on the concrete wall around the tree, nick got up on it too. Mike told ryan to move over cause he wasnt sure what this kid was doing and his parents werent watching him. This kid that he was talking about was nick. I said to mike "that's nick" and we laughed so hard. I think we were both delirious from the heat. Mike didnt even know his own child and he was the parent that wasnt watching his kid. How funny!

Minutes later the power rangers showed up in this cool vehicle with their theme music playing.

Ryan really got into character for these pics.

We really had fun with the power rangers and they turned ryan's frown upside down.

We then did the 3D Muppet show. The kids liked it. Its such a classic! Then we went to Pizza Planet to grab some dinner we all were starving. We got there about 610pm and realize it closed at 530. Now how did I not know this? We were a little disappointed. Ryan was looking forward to it since his favorite movie is toy story. We let them play in the arcade for a little then decided that we were all so tired and got alot of what we wanted to done. We headed out of the park but not before stopping in a gift shop. Ryan got buzz lightyear oversized gloves and Nick got a package of rubber cars from the movie. We boarded the bus pretty quickly and were back to our resort by 715pm.

Mike took the kids to the room to get our mugs while I ordered and got our food. The food was delicious as usual. I think we were so hungry I didnt even take the time to get a picture of it.
Mike had Penne Alfredo w/ chicken and chocolate cake
I had Pepperoni Pizza
Kids shared a cheese pizza/carrots/pudding

The kids by this point were over the whiny stage and onto the I am so tired Im silly stage. They were cracking us up and everyone else around us. The poor people behind us. Ryan was talking there ear off. I think they got our whole trip report so far in a 10 minute conversation. They were really nice and I think they enjoyed his stories just as much as he did telling them.

After dinner we went swimming for a short while. We did decide to rent the life jackets so they could swim in the big pool on their own. Ryan loved it and even learned to swim under water. It was amazing he used to be so afraid to go under and now he was doing it over and over again. We had a great time in the pool that night.

It was getting late so we headed back to the room. Ryan clucked like a chicken and flapped his arms all the way back and we knew the night was over. He had officially reached the point of no return.

We got the kids in their PJ's and ryan had to try on his new gloves. He coordinated so nicely with his buzz PJ's.

I think we got to bed by 9pm. The kids fell asleep quickly. Nick was snoring so loud. Mike and I laughed so hard we were shaking trying not to wake them up. I had to move nick around a little but finally got him to stop.

Favorites of the day:

Mike: Star Wars Ride/TSM
Lindsay: Watching Ryan become a Jedi and acting like a power ranger/TSM
Ryan: Becoming a Jedi/TSM
Nick: Parade

UP NEXT: DAY 3- ANIMAL KINGDOM/DOWNTOWN DISNEY

 

[pamjb]

Personally, I am glad that you are a little slow in updating. Just got back from our Southwest Splendor Adventure by Disney (Wonderful!!) and wanted to keep up with you.
Is that your stroller or a rental? DH's aunt is taking her grandchildren in March and I want to give her options on strollers. I know those Disney rental prices are killer.
I will tell you what my mother-in-law told me when my kids were little...."Remember these times". My kids are 15 and 19 now and those trips to WDW when then were little are but a memory. But a memory that I will always cherish.

 

[Gabes_mommy]

Great update!!!

That is so cute that Ryan likes to remind people that he was part of taking DV down.

I love Ryan's Buzz jammies - where did you get those?

 

[mommyof2Pirates]

Personally, I am glad that you are a little slow in updating. Just got back from our Southwest Splendor Adventure by Disney (Wonderful!!) and wanted to keep up with you.
Is that your stroller or a rental? DH's aunt is taking her grandchildren in March and I want to give her options on strollers. I know those Disney rental prices are killer.
I will tell you what my mother-in-law told me when my kids were little...."Remember these times". My kids are 15 and 19 now and those trips to WDW when then were little are but a memory. But a memory that I will always cherish.

Well I am glad I am going slow then. How was your trip? Welcome back. The stroller was a rental from orlandostrollerrentals.com the double was 85$. It was the best 85$ spent. The stroller was extremely light weight and easy to use. It had plently of storage space and the canopy tops came so far over that during the heat of the day the kids were almost perfectly shaded. My dh did not once complain about getting it onto the bus which is the number one seller! I can not recommend this company more. They drop it off on your arrival day at the luggage area of your resort and that is where you return it on the day you leave. They also have single strollers and sit and stands available as well.

I will always cherish the memory of our first disney vacation. It was truly magical to see my children enjoy it.

Great update!!!

That is so cute that Ryan likes to remind people that he was part of taking DV down.

I love Ryan's Buzz jammies - where did you get those?

We got the PJ's at kohls. It came in a set with buzz and woody. They are adorable!

 

[dusten]

to my first ever Trip Report. For all the newcomers you may view my pre-trip report by clicking the link below:

To skip over the lengthy planning and get right to the nitty gritty here is a quick over view of the cast of our dream vacation.

There is me....
Lindsay (30) hard working, fun loving, disney fanatic, and best wife and mother in the world. (That comes straight from my dh's mouth on our disney vacation) All my planning and obsessions really paid off and made our vacation run so smooth even with a Pre-ker and a Toddler.

Next up is my DH.....
Mike (31) who wanted to relax on this vacation. He did not make one decision about our trip. When asked he would reply with "whatever you think". Surprisingly he came around on this trip and really carried his weight. He had a wonderful time and thanked me immensly for all the hard work I put into our trip......This has now given him the title of "Best husband and father in the world". Ive always thought that about him but in the weeks leading up to our vacation, I could have given him some other titles that werent as nice.

Now onto the main characters of our trip....
Ryan (4) will be five in a few weeks. This trip was mainly designed with him in mind. He loves everything disney. Currently his favorites are star wars, phineus and ferb, and power rangers. He also loves the playhouse disney shows too. He loved this vacation and is already talking about going back with his memaw and pop pop.

Nick (2 1/2). Although we werent sure how nick would be on this trip we knew he would just go along with the flow. He has such an easy going personality. We were surprised how much he really loved this trip and how much he really understood about it. He had a blast and was amazingly well behaved too.

My husband and I Disneymooned in Oct. 2003 and stayed at the AKL. We said then that our dream would be to come back one day when we have 2 children and let them experience the happiest place on earth......

So thats what we did!

9/20 - 9/26 at All Star Sports on the deluxe dining plan.

So grab your snacks and drinks of choice and enjoy our journey as we saw it through the eyes of our children!

I got a laugh after reading your entire trip report and then thinking back to where you wrote "he has such an easy going personality". My daughter (2 1/2 years) throws screaming fits where she tries to bite and scratch us, but she actually performed about the same on our trip in September. It was also about 93 each day with extreme humidity and 95-100 degree "feels like" temperatures. I have noticed that when on vacation everything is magnified so the slightest comments can set off an argument. Tension seems greater and wait times for everything also seem to be magnified. We are lucky because we live within 35mi driving distance of an airport with direct flights to Orlando. We probably would not have went if we had to take connecting flights or even stay the night at a hotel near the airport. Packing/unpacking is such a hassle with a toddler. Congratulations on getting your family down there. The expression on my daughter's face (in pictures) when she met the characters is priceless.

 

[dusten]

Here are some parade pics. Ryan did get to Hi Five Pluto and Mr Smee which was awesome. Nick slept through the entire thing.

After the parade we walked through the Emporium to cool down. Ryan tried on some hats. Here is a goofy one.

Ryan also saw a buzz lightyear shooter gun. He said this is cool and put it back on the shelf. This will come into play in a few minutes.
Nick finally woke up and we decided to go to the baby care center to change him. I got him all changed around and he went pee on the potty. This he did alot this trip so once he gets back on his BM routine I am going into potty training boot camp mode! I get back out to the stoller and there is ryan having a meldown. I asked what he is screaming about. Mike said he is crying that he wanted the buzz lightyear shooter gun. We told him we can get it after dinner and this caused a huge commotion. Ryan usually does not act like this for things so we knew the fatigue was setting in.

We made it over to the plaza to checkin early it was 3:50 and our ADR was for 410. We got nick a powerade because I thought he was looking a little dry in the mouth and boy did he gulp that thing right down. I guess all the sweating during his nap took everything out of him. He sure perked up after that. Mike walked over while we waited and got the buzz lightyear gun. This now made ryan a happy camper.

Our buzzer went off at 410pm. We got a window seat! Here is our beautiful view!

Our waitress was from philly so she loved our shirts and was happy to wait on us. Even thought the eagles lost Her name was Maryanne. She was so nice to the kids. We told her we were on the deluxe dining plan and that the kids would be sharing a meal. She told ryan he could choose an appetizer either salad or tomato soup. Ryan answers in a very grown up manner. My brother nick over there will have the salad w/ ranch dressing and I will have the tomato soup. We almost busted out in laughter. Not only from the way that he answered but the fact that he wanted tomato soup. This kid never eats anything but grilled cheese, chicken nuggets, pizza, and cheeseburgers. We told him he could only pick one but the waitress said not to worry he could have both. She also gave nick a drink and a seperate dessert for no extra charge. She was the one and only waitress with the disney magic. We loved her.

So here is ryan eating....yes eating his tomato soup. We couldnt believe it. It had croutons in it and he kept saying "I cant wait to tell my meemaw I am eating tomato soup with french toast in it"

and here is nick with his salad. This was the funniest picture. I laugh every time I look at it. He is such a silly character.

Mike got a bacon cheeseburger with mushrooms and fries.

He said it was good but the burger was a little dry.

I got the tuna croissant with fries.

This was awesome. The best tuna croissant I ever had.

and now for the report title.......while we were eating nick kept fiddiling with the lid on his cup and oops...there it goes. It fell right on the floor and chocolate milk splashed everywhere. I cleaned it all up myself and just told the waitress about it so they could scrub the floor later. I think a little splashed onto the guys legs behind me. This is only the beginning of the many spills that we had on this trip. Not only drinks but glasses and bodies as well. Stay tuned for more interesting stories. It only gets better.

Here is the kids dessert.

and we got cookies and cream ice cream. yummy!

overall we gave this place a 9 out of 10. If the burger wasn't dry we would have given it a 10.

After our meal we headed out of the park. Here is the exit. So cute and festive.

As we were leaving we stumbled across these characters.

Nick calls them "chicken dale".

We waited for about 15 minutes for the bus again. We got back to the resort about 600pm. Mike and Ryan played in the arcade a little. Nick and I refilled our mugs at the food court and looked around the resort. We got the kids baths and were in bed by 8pm. Ryan and Nick fought over who they were sleeping with. In the end Ryan won and got to sleep with me and Nick slept with mike. They fell asleep quickly. Mike slept well too. As for me....I must have been so excited for the upcoming days, I tossed and turned all night.

Overall we had a great and pleasant first day.

Favorites of the day:
Mike- Parade
Lindsay- Philharmagic
Ryan- Parade
Nick- giving "chicken dale" a Hi five.

UP NEXT: DAY 2- HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS AND SKIPPING A NAP....SEE HOW THAT TURNED OUT!

While eating at Whispering Canyon Cafe (Wilderness Lodge) my daughter knocked off her plate of food and it went all over the guy at a table next to us. I found myself wiping off the shirt of a total stranger and feeling really bad for him. I also told the waitress so she could get him something to wipe off with. So much is acceptable at Disney that would be totally unacceptable anywhere else. Also, gives us adults a chance to be kids again...

 

[Charlefours]

Yay for getting chosen for JTA! I'm glad he still remembers it fondly despite being a little worried at the beginning of it. Adorable pictures with the Power Rangers!! Ryan looks like he cheered up

Did you nap at all during the day (forgive me, I cannot keep all the TR straight--I am not even reading that many of them)? That is one of my biggest concerns at this point. DD is going through a spurt now where she does not want to take one but desperately needs one towards 5:00ish. With the hours Disney has in September, this may or may not be an issue. With the excitement, all the walking, sights, sounds and lets not forget the HEAT--she may need one regardless of whatever her schedule is here at home. What did you find overall?

I am looking forward to hearing about your experience at Tusker House.

 

[mommyof2Pirates]

While eating at Whispering Canyon Cafe (Wilderness Lodge) my daughter knocked off her plate of food and it went all over the guy at a table next to us. I found myself wiping off the shirt of a total stranger and feeling really bad for him. I also told the waitress so she could get him something to wipe off with. So much is acceptable at Disney that would be totally unacceptable anywhere else. Also, gives us adults a chance to be kids again...

so funny about your daughter. yes there is alot more that is acceptable in disney. I am all for adults being kids again, I know how excited when just the two of us went on our honeymoon. What I dont like is being disrespectful. I would never stand in front of people that have been sitting and waiting patiently to see a parade and then block someone elses view. I would not allow my kids to do that either. So I guess thats just the point I was trying to make. I hope no offense was taken.

Yay for getting chosen for JTA! I'm glad he still remembers it fondly despite being a little worried at the beginning of it. Adorable pictures with the Power Rangers!! Ryan looks like he cheered up

Did you nap at all during the day (forgive me, I cannot keep all the TR straight--I am not even reading that many of them)? That is one of my biggest concerns at this point. DD is going through a spurt now where she does not want to take one but desperately needs one towards 5:00ish. With the hours Disney has in September, this may or may not be an issue. With the excitement, all the walking, sights, sounds and lets not forget the HEAT--she may need one regardless of whatever her schedule is here at home. What did you find overall?

I am looking forward to hearing about your experience at Tusker House.

We were surprised at how much we skipped the naps. On our hollywood studios day we did skip the naps and the kids only had one short part of the day where they were acting miserable but we found that there were enough things to keep their mind occupied. It is hard with the early hours to take breaks. Especially if you also want to see the parades and shows because we found that most of them were in the middle of the day. We did notice by the middle of the week the naps were needed, so my advice would be to make sure you schedule in a nap/rest time at least a few times that week. You will see too that no matter how much you plan once you get there it might change a little depending on how your child is handling it all.

 

[Charlefours]

We were surprised at how much we skipped the naps. On our hollywood studios day we did skip the naps and the kids only had one short part of the day where they were acting miserable but we found that there were enough things to keep their mind occupied. It is hard with the early hours to take breaks. Especially if you also want to see the parades and shows because we found that most of them were in the middle of the day. We did notice by the middle of the week the naps were needed, so my advice would be to make sure you schedule in a nap/rest time at least a few times that week. You will see too that no matter how much you plan once you get there it might change a little depending on how your child is handling it all.

DD is going through a spurt where she really does not want to take a nap right now at home She may end up deciding for us that she is not going to need one by then. I noticed when I looked at September's park hours from this year that parade times seemed to be in the middle of the day. We want to catch them so we will probably just see how the day is going. Those are one of the things that can easily be cut out of this trip. I have been thinking we will want a break in the middle of day to cool off and to rest. Like you said above, I probably will anticipate at least a couple of the days taking a break in the middle such as the night we go to MNSSHP. Its good to know how other kids around DD's age reacted as it helps me anticipate a few things (or at least makes them on my radar).

 

[mommyof2Pirates]

DD is going through a spurt where she really does not want to take a nap right now at home She may end up deciding for us that she is not going to need one by then. I noticed when I looked at September's park hours from this year that parade times seemed to be in the middle of the day. We want to catch them so we will probably just see how the day is going. Those are one of the things that can easily be cut out of this trip. I have been thinking we will want a break in the middle of day to cool off and to rest. Like you said above, I probably will anticipate at least a couple of the days taking a break in the middle such as the night we go to MNSSHP. Its good to know how other kids around DD's age reacted as it helps me anticipate a few things (or at least makes them on my radar).

glad to be able to help give you an idea of what to expect. I would highly recommend not planning much for the day of MNSSHP we used it to sleep in, swim, play at the arcade, and take a good nap. I think it really paid off. The kids were in a great mood that night from the time we got to MK at 430 until the time we got back to the resort at 1245pm. It was awesome.

 

[mommyof2Pirates]

Hi everyone! I am sorry once again for the delay. Life always seems to get in the way of completing these reports. My kids have been battling the swine flu since monday I have finally found energy to download my pics and am ready to type away.

Day 3 we had planned to do Animal Kingdom and then just relax and swim at the resort at night. As the day went on our plans seemed to change quite a bit.

Grab your drinks and continue along with me on our journey through animal kingdom........................

Here we go!

We woke up nice and early at 645am. Nick was the first one awake as usual. I had run down to the food court to get some drinks and a snack for everyone since our ADR for Tusker House wasnt until 1010am. I grabbed some croissants for all to share and quickly got back to our room. We decided to just have the kids jump in the shower with us to quickly wash up. Now let me say they are not big fans of showers, but Ryan got in with mike with no problem and he was geared up and ready to go by the time mike was even done showering. Nicholas on the other hand was not so happy and eager. He cried the entire shower and gave us such a hard time getting him dressed. We did manage to get him ready and out the door on time. Not the most fun way to start the day.

We got to the bus stop at 8am.

The bus was there within 5 minutes and we were off to Animal Kingdom.
Here is nick being silly again. He just did not want to smile nice for pictures on this vacation.

We arrived at AK about 830am. There were already lines forming and since we were not in a huge hurry this day we decided to take time to explore and take some pictures.

This was taken by Ryan....Not a bad pic huh?

We then got into line. Slopped on the sunscreen and waited. I was surprised that they began letting people in 10 minutes before the park opened. I thought wow this is great. Then I realized we were just led to the rope. I did think this was a great rope drop ceremony. We loved seeing the characters. Here was our view.

Once the celebration was through we made our way to Kilimajaros Safari. My favorite ride in the park. I was nervous to see how long the wait was since I was hoping to get this done before our 1010am reservation at Tusker. We arrived in front of the safari and saw this.......................

I was a little worried since it was already 915 and I couldnt remeber how long the safari actually lasted but we got in line anyway. It was basically a walk on. We only had to stop for a minute or two close to where you hand off your strollers.

Here is Nick waiting patiently. You can see he is already so sweaty. The humidity was horrible on this day.

We got the front seat on the jeep so mike and I sat on seperate sides with the kids on our lap. It worked out great.

We saw so many animals on this ride. Here are some of my favorites.

Ryan got a little scared when the CM pretended the bridge was breaking. I guess at his age that all seems so real.

We made it out of the safari safe and sound, and headed over to Tusker House to check in. We had all worked up quite an appetite already. We got there to see the whole outside waiting area packed with people and a line of about 15 people to check in.
It went faster than I thought and we had our buzzer by 10 am. We got a little table to relax at and let the kids run around.
I took this picture of nick and did not realize what the pole said on it until we got home. It looks like nick is saying "yeah, I finally found the beer". We cracked up at this picture.

It was about 1015 and we were starving. We heard the family next to us say finally as there buzzer went off. My husband asked how long they were waiting and they said they had a reservation for 930. This was not looking good. We normally have breakfast by 8 and since this was the only reservation I could get we thought we would take the chance but with the kids being so hungry we decided to cancel our reservation. The CM felt bad and said we would be seated by 1040 but I could not see wasting the time waiting. We were sad but we traveled on.

We went to Pizzafari. They had a breakfast platter with eggs, hashbrown, biscuit, bacon or sausage and you got 2 drinks. The kids had french toast, applesauce, and grapes. I dont know if we were just so hungry or if it was really that good but we loved every bite of it.

With our tummy's full we headed over to Camp Minnie and Mickey. The Lion King show was about to start.

Here the kids are waiting patiently

The show was so amazing. I think Mike and I enjoyed it more than the kids. They seemed to like it but were not over thrilled.

As the show was letting out we saw pocohontas but no one wanted a picture with her except me but since I am the only girl I was out voted and we moved on.

Next we came across the entrance for Its tough to be a bug.
We contemplated doing this ride since I remembered there being lots of squirting and loudness. My dh talked me into it and said it wont be so bad if the kids get scared they can just take their glasses off.

Here they are looking so cute in their bug glasses.

Ok well lets just say I didnt quite remember this ride being so dark and scary and the big crazy bug coming out of the wall. Poor Ryan was so traumatized. He cried so hard and was yelling "get me out of this place". Nick just clung to me and hid his face. I felt so bad and so did mike for saying it would be fine. oops. The kids recovered quickly and seemed fine once we left the theatre.

Next up: Dino Land.....Nausea.......Near concussions......and learning about Dung!

 

[mommyof2Pirates]

So after the excitement from the bugs we made our way to Dinoland. Right before the entrance we saw Winnie the pooh and the gang were at the character spot.

I must say this was the greatest place to meet the characters. You got to see all three without waiting in seperate lines and there was shade while you waited. I dont have the greatest pics since the portrait ones were taken by the photopass guy. Here are some candids I got.

We then got into dinoland and that is where the meltdowns begin....
We get in line to ride Triceratop spin. A 20 minute wait in the blazing sun. 10 minutes into it Ryan decides he doesnt want to ride it. So I take him out of line. We go and get a frozen lemonade. Then we return to find mike and nick just getting on the ride.

Ryan starts to get upset saying that now he wanted to ride it. I told him since we got out of line and now have the frozen lemonade we cant go on right now. This brings out the full blown tears! I just let him sit there and cry and I felt like everyone was looking at me thinking I was being a horrible mom.

Here he is sulking in his misery.

Of course by the time mike and nick got off the ride he had stopped crying and when mike asked him what was wrong he said "nothing".

So mike thought it would cheer him up to take him into the bone yard to play. Since you cant take drinks in I stayed out with nick who was enjoying the frozen lemonade. I thought nick was nice and content in the stroller so I decided to call to see if I could get a reservation for thursday morning to go to Ohana's. Since we missed Tusker I wanted to replace it with another TS meal. Of course as I was on the phone Nick decides its his turn to throw a fit and he keeps hoping in and out of the stroller knocks over the lemonade and now hes crying hysterically. I managed to make the reservation. 745am at Ohanas on Thursday morning the day we are planning on spending at MK. Great. Now I just had to get nick back together and all would be good.

I get him calmed down and we go into the barnyard to find Ryan and Mike. I noticed Ryan right away climbing on this jeep, as I am walking towards him....he is waving to us and walking backwards. He thinks there is something to lean on but oops there is nothing and there he goes falling backwards about 4 feet off this jeep. Luckily the floor of the bone yard is the mushy stuff otherwise I think he definitley would have needed some medical attention. It took another 10 minutes to calm him down. At this point I was getting tired. I was hot. and I felt like I was going to throw up.

We walked into a gift shop to cool down. Nick got a pair of big mickey gloves and Ryan got a Jessie and bullseye figurine set.
Here is Ryan being a scary pirate.

He loved trying on all the hats in the stores.
I was starting to feel a little better but I was in need of some more food. It was about 1230pm by this point.

We got some pics with this guy.

We tried to find a CS resturant that we could eat inside but everywhere we tried was packed. We opted to just get some ice cream treats and sit in a shady spot. The kids loved that idea.

It was enough to settle my stomach so we moved on.

We traveled next to Pangini Forest Exploration. We walked into the reptile house and I couldnt believe my eyes. These turtles were gettin wild at Animal Kingdom. I felt like I had to cover my kids eyes.

We quickly moved on to the next exhibit. The Gorilla's my favorite! We saw this guy who wasnt looking to happy.

I could of stood there and watched him all day.

I also got this beautiful picture on our walk.

When we got to the end there was a really nice CM waiting and she started asking the kids questions about footprints.

She was really great with the kids and in the 10 minutes she had their attention she taught them alot. They learned all about Rhino's. At one point she started to tell them about there dung. There was this big pile of fake dung sitting there and nick walked over and touched it. She yelled oh no you just touched poop. Well nick thought she was serious and he got so upset. He was crying so loud. She felt so bad but continued on with Ryan.

When nick gets upset and cries he often yells for someone who is not with him. Like for instance if Mike has him and I am not around he will cry for mommy. Well nick started yelling...I want donald....I want donald. This got us lauging even harder at the situation. Poor guy.

Ryan really enjoyed talking to the CM and he even got a discovery card to keep with a rhino stamp on it. She said we could find another CM in Jungle Trek to learn about another animal so we headed there next.

The kids really enjoyed these two areas of AK the most.

We got into Jungle Trek and Ryan grabbed a map to direct us which way to go.

First stop the bats. These things were so creepy. I never saw a bat so big before and so many at one time.

Then we came across this beautiful animal.

We made it to the end with no CM in sight. We were disappointed that Ryan couldnt get anymore stamps on his card.

We were all getting a little tired and hungry. We thought we would try to get in early to Yak and Yeti. We had ADR's for 430pm and it was only 245pm. We thought we could eat and then catch the parade. No luck it was about a 40 minute wait.

We decided to just walk around and see what else we could discover. The kids played some bongo's.

and we got a nice family picture.

We came across Terk from Tarzan.

Then we decided to just sit and relax at a table in the shade. We all needed a water break too. It was swealtering out.

We then made our way to the area in front of Yak and Yeti. They had the area roped for the parade and we were the first ones there. We sat down and relaxed. The kids sprayed each other with the water fan. I called my mom to check in on how everyone was doing. She said my pop pop was doing ok but that she had to go to the doctor. Apparently she had mastoiditis which is and infection in the bone of your ear. The Dr said she had to start the antibiotic but if her fever did not go away by the next day she would need to be admitted and put on IV antibiotics. Well this is not what I wanted to hear. I was already worried about my pop pop now I was worrying about her. I tried to put it out of my mind and luckily the parade started shortly after.

It was an awesome parade but once again we had this guy who was sitting next to us that decided to stand up and position himself right in front of ryan's view from the stroller. I nicely asked him if he could just stand back a little when he was done taking a photo but I dont know if he didnt understand me or just didnt care because he kept standing in the same spot. Ryan and Nick jumped out of the stroller and sat in our laps and were able to see the parade just as it passed us. I dont know why this always happens to us. Every parade. It drives me insane.

Immediately after the parade was over we hoped right into Yak and Yeti. It was so nice and cold in their. It was the best feeling all day. We were seated quickly and our waitress was very nice. Her name was Jeanine from NY. She initially told me I would have to pay extra for Nick's drink which I thought was crappy considering so far everyone else just gave it for free. In the end she said it was on her. Yeah like she really paid for it. I was appreciative of her not charging me.

The menu choices were excellent. It was hard to decide.

Me: Egg rolls with plum dipping sauce

and chicken lo mein

I skipped dessert since nothing appealed to me.

Mike: Fried Green beans with some kinda sauce

and he had crispy honey chicken which he loved but ate it too fast before I could get a picture.

Mike had Fried WonTons for dessert which he said were the best things he ever ate. I am sorry I didnt get a picture I was in the bathroom when it came out.

The kids had cheeseburger, fries, and applesauce and topped it off with ice cream. The fries were really shriveled and dry.

We give Yak and Yeti: (on the scale of 1 to 5 being the best)

Atmosphere: 5
Service: 4
Food: 5 except the kids fries.

While eating dinner we decided that we just didnt want to end our day with this. We decided we would go back to the resort. Take a quick swim. and head to downtown disney. We wondered if the kids would make it again with no nap, but we thought it would be worth a try. I was starting to worry we wouldnt have enough time at MK so this would give us friday morning to go to MK if needed since we originally planned to do downtown disney that morning.
UP NEXT: A fun Swim...and what the market place is closed?

 

[Charlefours]

Hi everyone! I am sorry once again for the delay. Life always seems to get in the way of completing these reports. My kids have been battling the swine flu since monday I have finally found energy to download my pics and am ready to type away.

Oh no!! I am sorry the kids are sick!! How are you and DH doing? Hopefully you all are not sick too.

It was about 1015 and we were starving. We heard the family next to us say finally as there buzzer went off. My husband asked how long they were waiting and they said they had a reservation for 930. This was not looking good. We normally have breakfast by 8 and since this was the only reservation I could get we thought we would take the chance but with the kids being so hungry we decided to cancel our reservation. The CM felt bad and said we would be seated by 1040 but I could not see wasting the time waiting. We were sad but we traveled on.

We went to Pizzafari. They had a breakfast platter with eggs, hashbrown, biscuit, bacon or sausage and you got 2 drinks. The kids had french toast, applesauce, and grapes. I dont know if we were just so hungry or if it was really that good but we loved every bite of it.

Ah no! That's what you alluded to about TH! Darn! I am hoping to get an ADR there--I think I will be shooting for an early morning one! Hopefully they would not be far behind. Of course, I need to narrow down our list so perhaps we will bypass TH all together. It has gotten great reviews on other TR though. Hmmm.....

I'm glad you got good food at Pizzafari!!

Here they are looking so cute in their bug glasses.

too cute!

Ok well lets just say I didnt quite remember this ride being so dark and scary and the big crazy bug coming out of the wall. Poor Ryan was so traumatized. He cried so hard and was yelling "get me out of this place". Nick just clung to me and hid his face. I felt so bad and so did mike for saying it would be fine. oops. The kids recovered quickly and seemed fine once we left the theatre.

We are definitely planning on bypassing ITTBAB b/c I don't like them either!! I am glad the kids recovered quickly!!

So after the excitement from the bugs we made our way to Dinoland. Right before the entrance we saw Winnie the pooh and the gang were at the character spot.

I must say this was the greatest place to meet the characters. You got to see all three without waiting in seperate lines and there was shade while you waited. I dont have the greatest pics since the portrait ones were taken by the photopass guy. Here are some candids I got.

Sounds like a great spot! We definitely have to be on the look out for it when we are traveling. Did you order the photopass cd?

I managed to make the reservation. 745am at Ohanas on Thursday morning the day we are planning on spending at MK. Great. Now I just had to get nick back together and all would be good.

I need to program the numbers in my cell phone so I have them. I'm glad you were able to replace TH with Ohana's. I will be looking forward to seeing what you think of there.

When nick gets upset and cries he often yells for someone who is not with him. Like for instance if Mike has him and I am not around he will cry for mommy. Well nick started yelling...I want donald....I want donald. This got us lauging even harder at the situation. Poor guy.

Sorry but I could not help but laugh at this!

We were all getting a little tired and hungry. We thought we would try to get in early to Yak and Yeti. We had ADR's for 430pm and it was only 245pm. We thought we could eat and then catch the parade. No luck it was about a 40 minute wait.

What are your thoughts on the DDP? Did it work well for you and your family? I am wondering if you felt tied to it too much like I have read on other threads.

and we got a nice family picture.

Great family photo!

We then made our way to the area in front of Yak and Yeti. They had the area roped for the parade and we were the first ones there. We sat down and relaxed. The kids sprayed each other with the water fan. I called my mom to check in on how everyone was doing. She said my pop pop was doing ok but that she had to go to the doctor. Apparently she had mastoiditis which is and infection in the bone of your ear. The Dr said she had to start the antibiotic but if her fever did not go away by the next day she would need to be admitted and put on IV antibiotics. Well this is not what I wanted to hear. I was already worried about my pop pop now I was worrying about her. I tried to put it out of my mind and luckily the parade started shortly after.

I hope your family is feeling better!

It was an awesome parade but once again we had this guy who was sitting next to us that decided to stand up and position himself right in front of ryan's view from the stroller. I nicely asked him if he could just stand back a little when he was done taking a photo but I dont know if he didnt understand me or just didnt care because he kept standing in the same spot. Ryan and Nick jumped out of the stroller and sat in our laps and were able to see the parade just as it passed us. I dont know why this always happens to us. Every parade. It drives me insane.

I don't know if the adults are so keen on getting pictures they forget to be respectful of others--especially kiddos since they are so much smaller than them. It drives me insane too!

We give Yak and Yeti: (on the scale of 1 to 5 being the best)

Atmosphere: 5
Service: 4
Food: 5 except the kids fries.

Love the rating system btw! It such a nice summary of thoughts on the restaurant.

glad to be able to help give you an idea of what to expect. I would highly recommend not planning much for the day of MNSSHP we used it to sleep in, swim, play at the arcade, and take a good nap. I think it really paid off. The kids were in a great mood that night from the time we got to MK at 430 until the time we got back to the resort at 1245pm. It was awesome.

MNSSHP if it falls the same next year as it does this year, we are planning on attending it on our last night at Disney. I think it will be a great way to send us off. We are tentatively thinking of going to a park in the morning briefly than leaving at lunch so we can rest before heading back to MK.

Another question for you: Did you have Park Hoppers? I am really considering dropping them off though I will probably wait until closer when we go to decide.

 

[mommyof2Pirates]

Charlefours

I think you may be the only one left reading so thank you for at least giving me responses. I think I have taken too long that Ive lost everyones attention. I will keep going with the report though so try to hang with me.

My kids are starting to feel better. I am ok so far but did get the vaccine last friday since I am a healthcare worker. my DH is feeling crappy but no fever so hopefully he will be better soon too. Thanks for asking.

Yes we were disappointed about TH. I would still recommend getting an ADR just try to get it early especially if you are early risers and breakfast eaters. We will try it again next time for sure I will just try to get earlier ressies. I am glad we decided to add in ohana's I cant wait to tell you about it.

The character spot with winnie and gang was right before entering dinoland. Its on the right but easy to miss. It is on the map under the character locations. Its a great spot to hit. Unfortunately I did not order the photopass Cd we only had 40 pics on their and only about 10 I really wanted. I didnt think it was worth the money for so little pictures. It was hard for us to use photopass much just cause the kids were getting so tired of taking pictures and making them get out of the stroller a million times was irritating them. The heat was so bad too which didnt help.

I would not recommend doing deluxe dining if you are paying for it fully but we upgraded from the free dining so we didnt pay that much more than we had planned before the promo came out. So for us I thought it was great since we usually eat 3 good meals a day. We got 3 refillable mugs too. I did find it hard to try to juggle TS meals and doing everything else we wanted to do especially with the early hours of the parks in sept. I tried to get in 2 TS meals a day. There were some days we didnt. I do not regret it at all and I dont feel like it was too much food but next time we most likely will do basic.

We did park hopper but I can say we did not hop once. I think in sept with the hours being early we didnt really need it. Next time I will only do it if we go during summer hours where parks are open until midnight. It depends on how your planning. I tried to keep all meals in the park or near it per day. So for us I think I wasted money. Now I know for next time though.

Doing MNSSHP on the last night is a great idea. It worked out great for us. We had an amazing time and it was a night to remember. The perfect way to cap off our trip and the next day our flight didnt leave until 4pm so we were able to sleep in. It all worked out awesome.

 

[Lamping3]

I'm still reading! I think I am going to have to scratch ITTBAB off my list. It bums me out though because Amelia really likes "Bugs"....that is what she calls the movie.

Love the pics of the boys with their bug eyes on!

Can't wait for more!

 

[mommyof2Pirates]

I'm still reading! I think I am going to have to scratch ITTBAB off my list. It bums me out though because Amelia really likes "Bugs"....that is what she calls the movie.

Love the pics of the boys with their bug eyes on!

Can't wait for more!

oh good I am glad you are still reading too. I actually thought my kids would find it funny. Especially the stink bug scene where he passes gas and then it smells. I thought for sure the boys would have found that hysterical. But I was wrong. oops. I dont know what other people have said about it but I would probably skip it if your unsure. Thanks again for reading. I will try to post another update soon. But now I have to get back to the Phillies game. Nothing...not even disney can interupt the world series when the phils are playing.