Hakuna Kidani, What a Turtleful Phrase!

[MEK]

Really late, but I WILL get caught up!

 

[MEK]

Great introduction. Beautiful pictures of the girls - then and now.

Ahhh - the Florida welcome center. I've never driven, but if I ever do it really looks like a cool place. Are they all the same? I love that they give juice.

How fun to stay at AoA to start off your trip.

I absolutely LOVE that lion king suite. Wow - Amazing.

CBR - nice choice for dinner.

Caren - glad to see you made it into the MK. You got great pictures of the mine train.

 

[MeMom]

I am drooling over the breakfast pictures now.

The girls look like they are having a lot of fun in the pool.

And a Disney trip, short or long, is not complete without a visit to DTD and more window shopping with MeMom. By the way, I liked the black bag the best (the Mickey over the Minnie one).

Swimming is always a hit with the girls. If they had their way, we would spend more time swimming.

DTD is an easy way to get a Disney fix, even when you can't be in the parks. Sometimes I wish I could just zoom down for an evening walking around DTD.

One could have a big closet full of Disney purses and totes, because there are so many cute choices! A Disney bag - large or small - is another good way to keep a smile going when you are back at home.

Well this sure brightened my hump day. It was a bit dreary (work!).

I chuckled at the pool pictures - my Paige does just what Bella does - hangs on the railings! We joke about pole dancing.

I would love a waterfall plant display like that too. As much as I try, my yard just doesn't look like that!

It's so fun to take the same pictures of the kids each year and see how fast they grow. Time just keeps on flying by...

We also have several 'growing up' pictures of the girls with the elephants at the Rafiki's Planet Watch Train Station and at the Humphrey totem pole at Wilderness Lodge. I'm sure we have more, but those are the two that immediately come to my mind.

When I get the money one of these years - and I am guessing that will be when I get this house paid off in a few years - I can put that money into repairs and upgrades. I would love to have a sunroom leading into a pretty backyard with a small fountain that mimicks that Mickey one. Mine might only have 3-4 pots, but there is something about the flowers and the flowing water that I just love!

It will never happen, but I would love to have a small pool, too, and a privacy fence. I was always an avid swimmer. It would be great non-weight bearing exercise for me, and it would be fun to have it for family and friends to share.

Glad to be (finally)joining in to the report!

You guys always have such a way of making me desperate to plan a new vacation whenever I read your reports!

I love window shopping with you, MeMom

Disney trip planning keeps life happy, doesn't it???

Certainly glad you are still with us.

There's nothing like a Disney breakfast! Hmm, breakfast for dinner may be on the menu for me tonight! That sounds good!

I have debated getting that Snow White shirt more than once. Maybe in December it'll come home with me.

I'll have to wander over to AofA this time. Do you know if Pop-stayers can use that pool? It looks lovely!

Maybe someone will get you a Disney gift card - BEST GIFT EVER - and you can use that to buy that shirt.

Pop people are not supposed to use the AoA pools, as far as I know. To my knowledge, Pop and AoA have not been deemed 'sister resorts' and are separate entities.

Jill fixes breakfast for dinner sometimes, because the girls like breakfast foods. They eat eggs, pancakes, waffles, bacon, sausage, and fruit very well.

Love all your pictures. We are going to fly in a day earlyand stay one night at AOA so we can hang out at the pool. 61 days and we are getting so excited.

Yay for a night at AoA! Can't wait to see pictures! Which section are you staying in?

Oooh I want that Snow White shirt!!

Sophie looks so cute with her silly ears on! Super adorable! As are the girls with their croc pictures!

I hope they keep the Snow White shirt in stock. Looks like it could be very popular.

Love your breakfast pics! I bet we will be walking over there for a meal or two.

I want to wait til December to experience everything then when we stay there but I may not be able to wait.
Being so close to POP is just so darn tempting.

No matter how cold it will be...Lexi and I will be swimming in the Mermaid pool in December.
Looks like the girls had a nice time at the pool before DTD shopping.

Always fun shopping at DTD!
I would choose the bag with the pink trim.

I did spot a bag in one of your pics that I have on my "to buy" list.
Here's a pic. Will make the perfect lunch bag for work.


Sophie looks adorable in her purple Mickey princess ears.

I can't wait to get to DTD and see all the new merchandise...it seems like forever since I was there last.
The new Small World towel is so cute!

Well, it seems like we will be taking a cab to Walmart for supplies. Both my DMom and Lexi want to go pick things out.

I hope you are right and these days will fly by til we go.
I just wanna get there!

We enjoy an Art of Animation breakfast. Seeing the girls march across the bridge in their jammies in the morning is a sweet little moment in a trip, too. Declansdad has just returned from a Pop trip, and he was not pleased with the menu changes there. I'm wondering if AoA is going to have a lot of people trip-trapping over that bridge to eat their meals!

Love your lunch tote!

Well, your grocery shopping will take on a new excitement when it is grocery shopping for your WDW stay.

Really late, but I WILL get caught up!

Great introduction. Beautiful pictures of the girls - then and now.

Ahhh - the Florida welcome center. I've never driven, but if I ever do it really looks like a cool place. Are they all the same? I love that they give juice.

How fun to stay at AoA to start off your trip.

I absolutely LOVE that lion king suite. Wow - Amazing.

CBR - nice choice for dinner.

Caren - glad to see you made it into the MK. You got great pictures of the mine train.

Glad you caught up with us.

I think the 75 Welcome Center is the biggest one.

CBR is a popular favorite with us for dinner. We need to go over there for breakfast sometime, just to be different.

I am glad I got to spend some time in Magic Kingdom, too. Just that little bit gave me enough 'magic' to make it through to December. My December 'to do' list is already a mile long, though!

 

[crzy4mickey]

Yeah Shopping!!! Shopping, thanks MeMom! Did you take any pin pictures? I started collecting Mickey shaped pins, my new adiction!

 

[jillyb]

I love that Small World towel!!

 

[PanIsMine]

I really need to back to DTD. I haven't been there since 2009.
The girls are way too cute.
I think I'll get an AOA pen and just use it for show when I stay there. I got a pack of pens in November and they didn't last long at all. I was really disappointed.

 

[MeMom]

Yeah Shopping!!! Shopping, thanks MeMom! Did you take any pin pictures? I started collecting Mickey shaped pins, my new adiction!

Throughout the report, there will be quite a few pin pictures. I don't think we went to Pin Traders on this day, though. We enjoy collecting pins, too, and the girls like to trade sometimes. Jill and I mostly buy pins for special events, like F&G Festival, Christmas, etc., when the girls conquer new rides, and when we stay in new resorts.

I love that Small World towel!!

It is cute. I should have opened it up and gotten a picture of the whole thing.

I really need to back to DTD. I haven't been there since 2009.
The girls are way too cute.
I think I'll get an AOA pen and just use it for show when I stay there. I got a pack of pens in November and they didn't last long at all. I was really disappointed.

The ones in the multi-packs that I have gotten have not been good. They are cute on the outside, but the pen itself doesn't write well. I don't even try those any more.

The next time I will be back in DTD, it will be decorated for Christmas!

 

[pooh'smate]

Yay for a night at AoA! Can't wait to see pictures! Which section are you staying in?

We are at 60 days today and we are staying in a Little Mermaid room. Then the next day we check into POP for 14 more nights!!!!! So excited.

 

[CanadianWDWfan]

Declansdad has just returned from a Pop trip, and he was not pleased with the menu changes there. I'm wondering if AoA is going to have a lot of people trip-trapping over that bridge to eat their meals.

Oh no! I'm afraid too look at the new POP menu for frear that they got rid of my beloved.....



Please say this is still on the menu! If it's not there anymore, I may have to change resorts!

 

[Lovemy3babes]

I'm finally here and am loving all of your shopping pictures! I will get caught up up on this fun trip report ASAP.

 

[Wicket's Mom]

Love the shopping pictures, giving me ideas for spending my money!

When we drive we like to stop at the Florida Welcome center on I75, but lately on our drives to Florida it is 11:00 PM when we stop there. I can tell you it is a very creepy place in the night hours.

 

[MeMom]

We are at 60 days today and we are staying in a Little Mermaid room. Then the next day we check into POP for 14 more nights!!!!! So excited.

Who wouldn't be excited with all that Disney time?!?!?!?

Oh no! I'm afraid too look at the new POP menu for frear that they got rid of my beloved.....



Please say this is still on the menu! If it's not there anymore, I may have to change resorts!

You might want to have your hankie handy when looking at things Pop got rid of. I think we are going to have to be open-minded about the changes at Pop's food court and see what happens in the months ahead. I am going to put a link to what is supposed to be the updated menu. If that is not allowed, someone let me know so that I can take it off. They got rid of some popular favorites, but they have added some new things that might end up becoming new favorites. If they are going to have rotisserie chicken and chicken and dumplings, I'm going to give those a try.

http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2013/...hes-at-disneys-pop-century-resort-food-court/

I'm finally here and am loving all of your shopping pictures! I will get caught up up on this fun trip report ASAP.

Always glad to have you hanging out with us, Kelli!

Love the shopping pictures, giving me ideas for spending my money!

When we drive we like to stop at the Florida Welcome center on I75, but lately on our drives to Florida it is 11:00 PM when we stop there. I can tell you it is a very creepy place in the night hours.

We have been there late at night and early in the morning, and you are right. We get out, get to the potty, snap a picture, and move on. Usually there are other families stopping, too, which helps, but it's much more welcoming in the daytime!

 

[punkin413]

I must have one of these. Maybe I'll send money to a client who I know personally to get me one soon. I can't believe I missed them! But I will admit, I didn't do a ton of shopping last trip. Being with a newbie (my mom) and a two-year-old, we stuck to the main attractions for the most part. And what little shopping we did was mostly done by Mom while I chased Seth around!

That is the best entrance to a land, in my opinion. The physical entrance itself is cool as it transitions you to another area, but add the music in, and it's really effective in whisking you away to adventures with pirates, flying carpets, and jungle animals.

I never really thought about it but I totally agree!

I would choose the purple one.

By the way, is anyone else 'bothered' by the fact that Epcot is not listed after Magic Kingdom?

YES!!!! Why??? What's the logic there?? They should be in the order they were opened, alphabetical order....something!

Although the more I look at it, the more it makes sense to me because it's in the order of my favorite parks, the top of the list being my fav.

I ended up getting this.

Love it!

Poor Sophie has to put up with so much silliness.

So sweet!

 

[vamassey1]

Breakfast sure looked good! I like you nice relaxing morning. I think most kids like to spend as much time in the pool as possible.

Shopping pictures are great. I love all the many things hanging from the ceiling in WOD. So much to see. Of course Sophie in her ears is just too cute. She's already modeling. The girls and I love Basin. We were late to find it but now it's a favorite.

 

[MeMom]

I must have one of these. Maybe I'll send money to a client who I know personally to get me one soon. I can't believe I missed them! But I will admit, I didn't do a ton of shopping last trip. Being with a newbie (my mom) and a two-year-old, we stuck to the main attractions for the most part. And what little shopping we did was mostly done by Mom while I chased Seth around!


I never really thought about it but I totally agree!


YES!!!! Why??? What's the logic there?? They should be in the order they were opened, alphabetical order....something!

Although the more I look at it, the more it makes sense to me because it's in the order of my favorite parks, the top of the list being my fav.

Love it!

So sweet!

I was looking for logic, too - alphabetical order or whatever. It didn't come to me that they had consulted you for the proper order! Smack my head!

You will have plenty of shopping days when Seth is bigger. Riding Small World with him is much more important now.
And I am sure he'll know the words by heart in no time.
It's a world of laughter, a world of tears,
It's a world of birdies which Mommy fears.....

Breakfast sure looked good! I like you nice relaxing morning. I think most kids like to spend as much time in the pool as possible.

Shopping pictures are great. I love all the many things hanging from the ceiling in WOD. So much to see. Of course Sophie in her ears is just too cute. She's already modeling. The girls and I love Basin. We were late to find it but now it's a favorite.

I remember when I was kid, I never wanted to get out of the pool! One of my aunts had a nice pool, and my cousin and I would stay in for hours. My aunt would fix us sandwiches - always tuna - and we would get out for a short time to eat, but we'd be back in as soon as we could be. She always had that '30 minute' rule, though, and it was torture!

Basin is a good place to buy souvenirs for people who aren't really into Disney things. I've brought back bars for teacher friends before, and they loved them. I'm sure they probably appreciated them more than something with Mickey on it that would have made them feel childish...even though Mickey things are perfectly acceptable for me at almost 56.



***********************************

Just wanted to say thanks to a sweet DIS person who sent me a very nice gift in the mail today. She said she wanted me to have it because she enjoyed our reports so much, so of course I was shocked, overwhelmed, flattered, and humbled! I can't imagine the blurry pictures of all the crazy things I put up being gift worthy, but it does make me happy that she enjoys them so much. Whenever I am out taking pictures, I truly am thinking of all of Distown and the things all of us like and dislike. I try to capture the moment I am standing somewhere in a way that will also bring you there when you see it. I know how much I love seeing all of your pictures on reports and FB and feeling like I just want to jump into them! Anyway, to our DIS friend, who shall remain nameless unless she decides she wants to be known, THANK YOU! The gift I got was one of those Mickey baking pans that I have looked at for about the last ten trips. I am so excited to be able to use it! That was so unexpected and beyond kind for her to do that. Now I have to pay it forward and go do something nice for another Disney friend.

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Everything looks so good at the AoA food court. I'm sorry you guys didn't find your Mickey waffles or Mac N Cheese but everything looks good otherwise. I love how they have the characters represented at the resort on the waffles, so cool, almost better than Mickey waffles! :O

Does Brooklynn no longer have to use floaties? Big girl! And I love that pic of all three of them next to Sebastian, so cute.

I totally wish I could have that awesome fountain too. They better not get rid of it for Disney Springs. I would cry, it is just too amazing to get rid of. Or at least give it to you for free

Love all your photos around DTD! Oh, Sophie... one with the madness already! Haha And I think I may have to get a photo with Brooklynn's Crocodile friend. His little "codfish" dance and him are perfect. He's in World of Disney, right?

Can't wait to hear how Vero Beach was for you guys!

 

[punkin413]

I was looking for logic, too - alphabetical order or whatever. It didn't come to me that they had consulted you for the proper order! Smack my head!

EXACTLY!!!

You will have plenty of shopping days when Seth is bigger. Riding Small World with him is much more important now.
And I am sure he'll know the words by heart in no time.
It's a world of laughter, a world of tears,
It's a world of birdies which Mommy fears.....

That's awesome! I will have to remember that one.

Just wanted to say thanks to a sweet DIS person who sent me a very nice gift in the mail today. She said she wanted me to have it because she enjoyed our reports so much, so of course I was shocked, overwhelmed, flattered, and humbled! I can't imagine the blurry pictures of all the crazy things I put up being gift worthy, but it does make me happy that she enjoys them so much. Whenever I am out taking pictures, I truly am thinking of all of Distown and the things all of us like and dislike. I try to capture the moment I am standing somewhere in a way that will also bring you there when you see it. I know how much I love seeing all of your pictures on reports and FB and feeling like I just want to jump into them! Anyway, to our DIS friend, who shall remain nameless unless she decides she wants to be known, THANK YOU! The gift I got was one of those Mickey baking pans that I have looked at for about the last ten trips. I am so excited to be able to use it! That was so unexpected and beyond kind for her to do that. Now I have to pay it forward and go do something nice for another Disney friend.

That's just a teeny bit of what I felt like when I received the goodie box you and Jill sent me a few years ago.

ETA: Went back and found that post. Such a good memory! http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34890381&postcount=731

 

[MeMom]

Everything looks so good at the AoA food court. I'm sorry you guys didn't find your Mickey waffles or Mac N Cheese but everything looks good otherwise. I love how they have the characters represented at the resort on the waffles, so cool, almost better than Mickey waffles! :O

Does Brooklynn no longer have to use floaties? Big girl! And I love that pic of all three of them next to Sebastian, so cute.

I totally wish I could have that awesome fountain too. They better not get rid of it for Disney Springs. I would cry, it is just too amazing to get rid of. Or at least give it to you for free

Love all your photos around DTD! Oh, Sophie... one with the madness already! Haha And I think I may have to get a photo with Brooklynn's Crocodile friend. His little "codfish" dance and him are perfect. He's in World of Disney, right?

Can't wait to hear how Vero Beach was for you guys!

The character waffles are cute - and quite tasty.

Maybe they will put that fountain or some like it in more prominent places around Disney Springs.

Mr. Crocodile is in World of Disney in the nicer jewelry section.

Vero Beach is coming soon!

Brooklynn is a swimmer now. She thinks she is better than she is, so she likes to wander way out in the 'deep' (for Disney pools) sections more than Jill would like her to.

EXACTLY!!!


That's awesome! I will have to remember that one.


That's just a teeny bit of what I felt like when I received the goodie box you and Jill sent me a few years ago.

ETA: Went back and found that post. Such a good memory! http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34890381&postcount=731

We were happy to send a little 'magic' to you at home. Cards, gifts, FB pictures, and phone messages from Disney friends are day brighteners!

 

[Stasieki]

I'm spending this quiet morning (quiet since no one is up) catching up on my favorite reports. And hungry after the last update. Makes me want to pack the car and drive to the World. Looks like we won't be back until Nov 2014

 

[MeMom]

I think we left off here.



Can you smell it when you see the picture?

Then we looked at some pretty glass things in Arribas Brothers.



I like the flamingos, of course, but the pelican with the fish in his mouth is pretty fun, too.



Team Mickey.



Then over to Once Upon a Toy.

A Precious Moments doll show was going on.











I have never eaten here, and the door was propped open, so I peeked in and got a picture.



We had come to Downtown Disney for the specific purpose of seeing this car show. We really have little interest in cars, except for that we are glad to have them to get us from place to place, but this was something different in Disney World (for us), so we wanted to experience it.





Now I present to you - cars.....of which I know nothing about, so just take it for what it is.







And then there were Cars cars, but you had to get in a line to go in and see them.



We pretty much just walked through, took a few pictures, and then turned around and headed back to the parking lot. Jill did send Drew a couple of phone pictures, I think.





How many of you have seen a movie here?



We have not done that yet.

I think I remember it feeling like it was about 112 degrees right here.







Back in the car, we were on our way to the turtleful part of our journey.

This is what Sophie does when she gets in her car seat.