Girls Trip Revisited-- Final Day (Part 3) -- August 14

[MaryAz]

Thanks for all the nice comments. It was a little time consuming having Cam walk everywhere but it was what he wanted to do. They did have to carry him at times. We mostly divided the group up so no one had to wait to long. Their kids did nap every afternoon though.....

Here are my part 1 AK pics

 

[glennbo123]

Aw, the girls are obviously having a blast!

 

[Disney9.9.10]

I'm here! I read some of your PTR (before my computer went off and died) so I'm glad that I can catch the TR before it gets too far in. It is looking like a great trip and the girls are so cute!

 

[englishrose47]

Mary all 4 girls are sooo cute !!!

 

[Chicago Mo]

The girls are so beautiful!
3yo = stroller. I don't care. if i could i would still put them in a stroller!
Just kidding. Their first trip they were 6 and walked everywhere without whining.

 

[MeMom]

Cute!
I can imagine the chatter, silliness, and giggling that might have been going on with four Disney-happy girls!

 

[afwdwfan]

I was NOT happy the entire week at the BCV because their cappuccino maker was out the entire week and I was stuck drinking that nescacrap stuff they have.

All coffee tastes like crap anyway...

I am NOT a Star Wars fan by any means and couldn't tell you who any of these people were.

And what did the girls think? They LOVED it and wanted to know why they had never gone on before?

Apparently because their dad is a chicken like Mark.

Thanks for all the compliments on the girls. They can be very cute at times-others not so much.

Well... that's pretty typical.

On to the stars of the trip!!! Please feel free to skip over the shameless bragging.....

Shameless bragging about your kids is encouraged. Congratulations to the little gymnasts.

We ended up having to wait near the Great Movie Ride by a spot where the cast was coming off the stage.

Do you at least know who this one is????

We finally got out of the Studios and headed back to the Beach Club. We checked in at the pool and got our wristbands

I so want to stay there sometime, just for the pool.

Yes, that would be Beaches and Cream.

MMMMM..... I swear I will get there one of these days!!! I have to find a way to make it work out!

Yes, it was our Animal Kingdom Day. I know a lot of people don't like this park, but I have grown to love it (and like it more than the Studios).

Let me just say that I do love Animal Kingdom, but in relation to the other 3 parks... not so much.

The group consisted of Mary, the girls and I, Judy, Ryan and their two boys and Heather and Kenzie and Brenna. It would be a slow-moving day as Ryan and Judy did not want to get Cameron (all of 3-1/2) a stroller. So we walked at a snail's pace all of the time.

What a crowd. I can't even keep track of everybody. I hope nobody got left behind anywhere.

ride the dinosaur Dumbo ride (never can remember the naem of it)

Dumbo's Great Great Great Great Grandfather.

I know the whole 3 1/2 year old thing all too well. DS walked whenever we went anywhere on our vacation last week, but our problem wasn't that he "couldn't" keep up. It was that he was easily distracted.

 

[KatMark]

Yay for an AK day! I so love that park, especially Kilimanjaro Safari I've never spent much time in Dinoland beyond Dinosaur.

I love it too...it's just so well themed and beautiful. We used to spend mroe time in Dinoland when the boys were little to ride Primevil Whirl, etc. And of course play all those carnvial games.

I have no idea how you can go to Disney with a 3 year old and not get a stroller.

I love Animal Kingdom. It's a totally different pace than the other parks, and it's not a bad thing.

Cameron won't sit in a stroller...he wants to push it. It was challenging at times and perhaps why we didn't get as much done as we wanted to. But as Mary says down below, we did split up on occasion and that helped.

I like that AK is different...I really feel like I'm in another country when I'm there with the safari, etc.

i thought i subed to this but i guess not, i enjoyed catching up, but that soup at the castle looked really good, was it a french onion one?

That was the french onion soup, Dan, and it is very good (not too salty like a lot of onion soups).

Count me as one of the people who loves AK. It is a different sort of park. Disney...but maybe not totally. KWIM?

I know exactly what you are saying. You know you are still at Disney, but you also really feel like you are in Africa.

You had me "dino dumbo ride" Yeah... it is the same ride isn't it.

Yep, same as the Magic Carpets too.

AK parade is my favorite afternoon parade , we have found a great spot at the end and near the exit which is always a great spot to watch, then we high tail it out as this is usually our DTD evening with supper at Raglan Road mmmmmm!!!!

We haven't seen that parade in ages; we are planning on seeing it in December though.

Oh Good Grief 3 1/2 and no stroller you surely have more patience than me

It was different traveling with someone that young without a stroller; and ask Mary about HOW patient I was at times.
So this is going to be the favorite part of the trip report for me

Now you are at MY favorite park I was there the day it opened in 1998 yes one of those crazy people sitting in a car outside the entrance at 3:00 am waiting for it to open I think I was 2nd or 3rd in line Not much I've been willing to do that for in my entire life ( the other 2 times were Billy Joel and Elvis Presley concert tickets ....)

We are big animal lovers so it is easy to love it. That is so that you were there for the opening and the 2nd or 3rd person in line.

I love Animal Kingdom as well! I think I might like it better than the Studios too!

Wow you got some good pictures of the animals! That is cool you saw the lion's tail. I have never seen a pic like that before!

I think if they updated the Studios, it would tie the AK in our hearts.

I didn't even notice the tail until you mentioned it.

love the safari pics.

Thanks!

You know I love AK! I prefer DHS at night as opposed to being there during the day! It's a really nice place to just wander around and SHOP!

I agree that DHS is beautiful at night with the lights, and they do have some great shopping.

We're going to try Beaches and Cream this year! I can't wait! I've been wanting to try it for a while but never had the chance to go that way! Now that we're staying at the BWV, it's more convenient!

You must. You and Lumar will love it! Just get there early as it does fill up fast and the wait can be very long.

Adorable pictures but oh 3.5 and no stroller? Yikes. Some kids won't do them till they pass out but having it there for when they do....is prudent. I think the hardest past is holding the rest of the group back. Meaning the bigger kids.

We were often yelling for the older kids to hold up as they got too far ahead of us. Thankfully, we did split up some to help.

 

[KatMark]

I just realized Avery is squinting...the sun must have been right in her eyes, poor girl.


That place always smells soooo good!!!

We love Flame Tree.

Like a popsicle treat? This is the park where I almost get an icy cold strawberry bar. Yum!

Oooh...you shall see in the next update as I believe I have pictures.

Favorite show? Not sure if it has to do with lions or fishies..... I will watch and see. Or I suppose it could have to do with birdies, too. Lots of good shows in Animal Kingdom.

I love them both, but we only had time for one this trip. I can tell you it did not have to do with birdies.

P.S. The name of the ride you couldn't think of is TriceraTop Spin.

Thank you; I don't know why that name always escapes me.

Love this picture! It is so cute!

Ahhh - the loooooooooooong walk to which you referred to when I saw you the next day. You did seem just a tad frustrated with that.

I love that picture...the girls are all so happy and excited...you can just tell.

Yes, it was a tad frustrating at times for sure.

Yum, Beaches & Cream! Love that place!!!

Isn't it yummu?

Your anniversary trip is SO close! I bet you're getting super excited. What a nice way to commemorate your anniversary!

25 days; I cannot wait.

I love AK too - I could do the safari three or four times a day, I just love it.

Mark and I are hoping to do the safari in the a.m. and the p.m. in December; we've only done it in the a.m. on all of our previous trips.

AK has grown on me too. I really fell in love with the detailed theming on the last trip.

There's a lot of detail and it makes it very special.

Now, Kathy, you know that ride is completely different from Dumbo. And the magic carpets. And the Astro-Orbiter.

On what planet?

I'm glad to see you caught that!

 

[KatMark]

UGH! I am so pro stroller. I probably would've volunteered to rent one and push the 3 year old around. LOL
But it sounds like you still had a lot of fun even if it was slow going. I realize parents want the kids to be independent, but I believe the strollers are life savers for the parents (and those with them).

I was very tempted to offer.

Boo for a toddler without a stroller. Ugh. That must've been a long journey.

It made for an interesting trip.

I love AK. Haven't made it there yet since the move. It's one of those parks I'll need to get to first thing in the morning before it starts to feel like the surface of the sun. These pics are getting me itching for a visit.

You must take a day and do that. See, I find the
Studios "hotter" than AK. I guess I'm a little weird though.

I love Pizzafari. I agree with PP... it does always smell so good in there.

We were actually at Flame Tree. I'm not a fan of Disney pizza, but I must say that our lunch at Pizzafari on my first girls trip was not too bad.

We love AK too. My kids were brave enough to ride Dinosaur last trip, one loved it and one said never again, lol. Love the big picture of the dinosaur bones. Again the kids are darling. You got a lot of great animal pictures.

Glad the kids tried it; that's always been my thing...try it and if you don't like it you don't have to do it again. That whole dinosaur area is done well by the bone digging, etc.

Thank you...luckily the girls had to sit on the "inside" so I got out the outside spot for taking pictures.

Mary, so excited for the girls with their gymnastics success! So exciting, and you have every right to be proud of having such well rounded girls!!!

Yes she does.

Beaches and Cream is so much fun, and I can never make a good decision on their desserts............I always want to try them all!

Dessert is easy for me...I love my hot fudge sundaes.

So much fun when you finally made it to DHS, and congrats on your being half-brave with the one arm up!!!

Next time I'm going to try to be "all brave" to show Captain_Oblivious what he is missing.

I love AK! You got some great pictures on the safari. Of course you got some good ones of your beloved Giraffes, but surprised so many more of the elephants! That is one great picture of the lion!

I was happy with the giraffes; last time I didn't get many. That's because Mark wasn't there and he loves elephants so I took them for him.

Looks like a good trip but a bit confusing I am sure with all those kids. I am sure you are looking forward to your anniversary trip.

It wasn't confusing, just hard to keep everyone on the same pace. I am very excited about the trip coming up.

Thanks for all the nice comments. It was a little time consuming having Cam walk everywhere but it was what he wanted to do. They did have to carry him at times. We mostly divided the group up so no one had to wait to long. Their kids did nap every afternoon though.....

Here are my part 1 AK pics

Mary, I love ALL of those pictures, but especially the last two. The girls sure had a blast together.

Aw, the girls are obviously having a blast!

Yes, they were.

I'm here! I read some of your PTR (before my computer went off and died) so I'm glad that I can catch the TR before it gets too far in. It is looking like a great trip and the girls are so cute!

good to see you again. I'm sorry about your computer. It was a great trip, and I love those girls. So happy I'll see two of them again in less than five months.

Mary all 4 girls are sooo cute !!!

I can attest to that!

The girls are so beautiful!
3yo = stroller. I don't care. if i could i would still put them in a stroller!
Just kidding. Their first trip they were 6 and walked everywhere without whining.

Yes, they are beautiful, and good most of the time.

I think my kids were in strollers until they were five.

Cute!
I can imagine the chatter, silliness, and giggling that might have been going on with four Disney-happy girls!

Not having girls, it is so fun to be around them. They truly crack me up with their chatter.

 

[KatMark]

All coffee tastes like crap anyway...

I will have to disagree with that statement; although both of my boys and my daughter-in-law would agree with you.



Hey, my husband doesn't like the movies I watch.

Apparently because their dad is a chicken like Mark.

Obviously!

Well... that's pretty typical.

That can be said of all kids.

Shameless bragging about your kids is encouraged. Congratulations to the little gymnasts.

I concur.

Do you at least know who this one is????

Ummmm...give me a minute. Would that be Darth Vader?

I so want to stay there sometime, just for the pool.

Just be sure to know that you'll have to follow your kids around!

MMMMM..... I swear I will get there one of these days!!! I have to find a way to make it work out!

You really should; your kids would love it.

Let me just say that I do love Animal Kingdom, but in relation to the other 3 parks... not so much.

When the kids were little, we never felt that way about AK (could be for the fact that the kids always complained it was hot, Markie got stung by a bee two years in a row; but as we've gotten older, we appreciate it a lot more.

What a crowd. I can't even keep track of everybody. I hope nobody got left behind anywhere.

I thought of leaving one or two behind on occasion.

Dumbo's Great Great Great Great Grandfather.

Good one.

I know the whole 3 1/2 year old thing all too well. DS walked whenever we went anywhere on our vacation last week, but our problem wasn't that he "couldn't" keep up. It was that he was easily distracted.

That's half the problem; their little legs don't go as fast as ours, and they find something that fascinates them and want to stop for 20 minutes.

I hope you had a great trip.

 

[KatMark]

So when we last left you, we had done some attractions and finished lunch. We were on our way to a favorite show, but along the way since we knew we'd have a little wait, we stopped for some treats:







Everyone say hi to Donald and his nephews:





Treats finished, we lined up and waited to be let in here:





My two blondies:



Then it was time for the show.











Pat's monkeys:





More entertainment:





As luck would have it, Brenna and Avery were on the end sitting by Mary, and they got picked to be in the show:







Continued in next post

 

[KatMark]

After The Festival of the Lion King, Judy, Ryan and the kids decided to head back to the resort for a nap for the boys.

We had promised Cayley and Avery they could get their hair done. Okay...I am totally brain-dead this morning and can't remember what it's called that they do, but here are the final results:

Miss Cayley



Then I went and did some shopping while Miss Avery got hers done:









And Miss Avery's final look



After that, we decided to head out of the Animal Kingdom. Heather and the girls, Brenna and Kenzie, had to head back home. They were leaving us. We were all very sad to see them go, and I got this photo of me and Kenzie before all the tears started flowing:



We went back to the resort and Avery to rest a bit before our evening plans.



Up next, our evening adventures.

 

[shan23877]

Hi Kathy! I think I'm all caught up on your adventures!

I'm with the group. 3 year olds need strollers-at least have one there to put them in for when they get tired or cranky! Yowza!

Those girls look like they're having a great time together. How fun to tour WDW with your friends!

I think it's just called hair wrapping. It's cute!

 

[Linda67]

Another lovely day

The girls hair wraps look super cute!

 

[Amy&Dan]

What better way to spend my lunch than getting caught up on this trip report???

Love the photos, I just cannot believe how big Mary's girls have gotten.

I toured Disneyland once with two three and a half year olds that were not in strollers. Lets just say that when I go with kids that age again they either need to be in a stroller or I need to break off and do my own thing!

How did you like BCV? You probably say somewhere on here but I did the quickie and just read your links!

 

[afwdwfan]

I thought of leaving one or two behind on occasion.

Who hasn't had that thought?

I hope you had a great trip.

We had fun. I was ready to leave the beach after about 3 days, but it was fun.

I think I might just have to start a PTR for our Nov/Dec 2014 trip sometime soon and post about our past trip in it. Unfortunately the pictures will be limited in volume due to me, electronics and the Gulf of Mexico not making a great combination.

So when we last left you, we had done some attractions and finished lunch. We were on our way to a favorite show, but along the way since we knew we'd have a little wait, we stopped for some treats:

Looks like a great idea to me!!!

As luck would have it, Brenna and Avery were on the end sitting by Mary, and they got picked to be in the show

Cool!

After that, we decided to head out of the Animal Kingdom. Heather and the girls, Brenna and Kenzie, had to head back home. They were leaving us. We were all very sad to see them go, and I got this photo of me and Kenzie before all the tears started flowing

So who's tears are we talking about? Yours or hers?

I'm with the group. 3 year olds need strollers-at least have one there to put them in for when they get tired or cranky! Yowza!

That's half the problem; their little legs don't go as fast as ours, and they find something that fascinates them and want to stop for 20 minutes.

We went to the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga on our way south for our trip. We didn't want to take the big double stroller since we didn't plan to do much "walking around" on this trip aside from the aquarium. DW borrowed her sister's umbrella stroller for DD and DS was just going to walk with us. By the time we were done in the aquarium, DD was the one walking and DS was in the stroller. And the 1 year old was actually willing to hold my hand and stay with us better than the 3 year old.

 

[Millie12591]

Wow, Ms. Kat....sounds like your trip was turning out to be very eventful.

I love that you are having such a great time with the girls, they seem like they are having such a wonderful time together. It just proves what I thought about with Mackie on our trip, they have much more fun with other kids their age along on the trip.
Mackie and I were just talking about that last night and how the next trip has to be with one of her closest friends, we discussed who would be the best one to go with, and who would be the most grateful for a trip like that, not to mention who would be the least irritating to travel with.

I said it would just have to be during a time when I know other Dis'ers were going to be on the trip so I wasn't alone most of the time.

Sorry about the drama with part of your group. It's really hard to travel with that many people in a group, the best way to travel with that many people is to break up and do what you want to do with the people that want to do those same things with you. It's the only way to keep one's sanity. That and steer clear of those who irritate the snot out of you.

You are so ready to be grandma, I love how much you love being with the girls and enjoy the heck out of them.

 

[GrammyJudy]

I love the lion king show. My grandson Cody has been picked the last two years but I think he will be "too cool" this year to even consider it.

 

[Chicago Mo]

HOW awesome they were picked!!!! That's fantastic!!!
Lion king is a great show!!!