Hicks on Holiday 3: "2nd Biggest Rodent We Ever Seen" Update 7/6/10

[micandminforever]

She is a little doll, can't wait until she gets her Disney nickname.

 

[akayek31]

OMG she is so cute. It makes me want another one.

 

[FairyGodmotherJen]

WOW! I thought I was lucky to deliver a week early with my youngest (as he was 9 lbs, 13 oz. when I delivered). But to deliver 4 weeks early and have her be that big....WOW!!! And she is a beauty - all that hair!!!

Congrats! I hope you're getting at least SOME sleep!

 

[dillydilly]

She is so sweet! Congrats!

 

[DisneyMom5]

I'm BAAAAAACK!

I have some time on my hands,
due to the constant non-stop nursing that BabyJ and I are doing,
so I thought I'd attempt an update.

When we last left the Hicks, they were cruising down I-75 on their way to WDW!

We are always excited when we get to FL.
We really should temper ourselves, because it's still a LONG haul to WDW.

The palm trees make us happy, though.

We stopped at a FL rest area, and had a bit of excitement!

See that little green blob? That’s an alligator.

As we don't get many wild alligators in Michigan, this was pretty cool!


At this rest area, we also noticed an oil spot on the pavement that was a perfect hidden mickey...
but we didn't think to get a pic of it!

We were REALLY hot and tired at this point, and just ready to get there.

While we were travelling, SIL and kids made a trip to Downtown Disney.
Her flight had arrived on time,
and was early enough that they had time to do something that day.

[SIL had decided to only get 4 basic park days,
and spend one day at a water park,
which made things a bit more complicated for planning,
but was a good value for them.]

Although they had ADRs at Planet Hollywood for 5:30pm,
they were able to be seated early.
Stitch Jr. did NOT like the noise and decor, but they said the food was good.
They were in and out of DTD by the time we finally arrived.

But I digress...
Since our 2007 trip, I have discovered the "secret bypass highway" near WDW.

This highway ROCKS!!!

There was NO ONE, not one car, NADA, on the whole road!!!

We could even see Disney landmarks from there! This got us REALLY pumped up!

It's kind of funny coming in that direction...it seemed like WDW was deserted.
But it was really conveniently located for our stay at All Star Sports.

The Arch and our bug splattered windshield:

The first sight of a Disney bus:

We all went in to check in, and Bionic SIL just happened to be in there!

Our rooms were really close to the main building, especially for John and I, and Mom and SIL were just around the corner and halfway down the hall.
We were right on the football field, only a few rooms from the food court and pool.

The CM we had was MUCH more helpful than SIL's, but said it would be a few days before they could be moved near us,
so we left it as it was.

We were still feeling a little lonesome for Pop Century, but made the best of it.

All Star Sports was very quiet those first few days...
[Insert ominous foreshadowing music here...]

After unpacking, we got some dinner at the food court, and turned in.

DisneyGirl and Poch Jr. in the hotel:

Up Next: I only get up this early for Puffed French Toast...

 

[micandminforever]

You made it to Disney, I look forward to reading about what park you went to first. Disney girl looks so much older than she did in the last report. I love the expression on her face, being at Disney does that to you.

 

[dr&momto2boys]

I'm loving your TR! Congrats on your beautiful baby girl! All of your kids are adorable! Can't wait to read more!

We have a lot in common. We're Disney fanatics and have 3 kids going on ? (We'd like at least two more.) I'm getting up there for any more than two more, I think. Did you say you homeschool or was that someone else on the thread? We do that too. We also travel with extended family on our Disney trips. We'll have 11 on our May 2010 trip.

 

[kimmylaj]

yeah. you are at disney . woohoo. excited to read more

 

[FairyGodmotherJen]

Oooh - I'm going to have to ask you about that secret bypass to Disney! It's our first time driving this June, so I'm ready for all the tips I can get!

Glad you felt comfortable at Sports. Our first three trips as a family were at ASMo, and we enjoyed ourselves. Hope that ominous music doesn't mean much though....

Hope you and baby are doing well! Is she a good sleeper (since we already know she's a good eater)?

 

[DisneyMom5]

You made it to Disney, I look forward to reading about what park you went to first. Disney girl looks so much older than she did in the last report. I love the expression on her face, being at Disney does that to you.

Yeah, she's totally grown up now. Sniff.
Thanks for reading!

I'm loving your TR! Congrats on your beautiful baby girl! All of your kids are adorable! Can't wait to read more!

We have a lot in common. We're Disney fanatics and have 3 kids going on ? (We'd like at least two more.) I'm getting up there for any more than two more, I think. Did you say you homeschool or was that someone else on the thread? We do that too. We also travel with extended family on our Disney trips. We'll have 11 on our May 2010 trip.

Thanks for reading! Yeah, we homeschool. Makes it easier to go to Disney during the school year! [Ok, that's not the ONLY reason. LOL]

yeah. you are at disney . woohoo. excited to read more

We were excited too! That second day takes WAY too long!
Thanks for reading!

Oooh - I'm going to have to ask you about that secret bypass to Disney! It's our first time driving this June, so I'm ready for all the tips I can get!

Glad you felt comfortable at Sports. Our first three trips as a family were at ASMo, and we enjoyed ourselves. Hope that ominous music doesn't mean much though....

Hope you and baby are doing well! Is she a good sleeper (since we already know she's a good eater)?

Well...It can't be TOO secret...it came up on Mapquest. LOL
But seriously, NO ONE was on it!

Sports was fine...at first...but we're hoping to go back to Pop next time, if that tells you anything.

Sleep? We don't need no stinkin sleep. LOL

She'll get there eventually...that's my only hope!

Thanks for reading all! Disneygirl has the next update's pics ready to go...I just have to write the words! Soon, I promise!

 

[Chelley00]

4 weeks early and almost 10 lbs! Oh my! She's just beautiful! Congrats!

Glad you are back to updating!

 

[DisneyMom5]

4 weeks early and almost 10 lbs! Oh my! She's just beautiful! Congrats!

Glad you are back to updating!

Thanks!

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

I cannot believe that I missed seeing this post before. Congratulations to you all. You sure do make beautiful babies. Adorable. Bought her shoes yet? She looks ready to walk. I had one like that myself. Mine was three weeks late though.

Disney Girl looks nearly grown up. I am the oldest of a large family so I know what she has in store for her and it is pretty darned nice. Just got off the phone talking to my baby sister, who is younger than my own daughter.

Welcome to the world Not So Little One and what a lucky little lady you are to have been born into such a lovely, loving and downright likable family. I hope to meet you one fine day at our favorite place.

What a wonderful Christmas present! I am delighted that it all turned out so perfectly.

Love, Slightly Goofy/Linda (saving one more seat for the parade)

 

[DisneyMom5]

I cannot believe that I missed seeing this post before. Congratulations to you all. You sure do make beautiful babies. Adorable. Bought her shoes yet? She looks ready to walk. I had one like that myself. Mine was three weeks late though.

Disney Girl looks nearly grown up. I am the oldest of a large family so I know what she has in store for her and it is pretty darned nice. Just got off the phone talking to my baby sister, who is younger than my own daughter.

Welcome to the world Not So Little One and what a lucky little lady you are to have been born into such a lovely, loving and downright likable family. I hope to meet you one fine day at our favorite place.

What a wonderful Christmas present! I am delighted that it all turned out so perfectly.

Love, Slightly Goofy/Linda (saving one more seat for the parade)

Thanks Linda!

We are HOPING to go in December the next time we go, though it might not be until 2012. I know you like to go then, so maybe we WILL meet up!

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

Sarah, hopefully by the time you come down for your next trip I will be a DW neighbor and will just be able to pop over for a visit. If I could move this big old house down there I could invite you all to stay with me but that is not likely, a really big hurricane notwithstanding.

You got snow? Want any? I will share.

SG/Linda

 

[3princesses+aprince]

All right!! Congrats on your baby! She is a big, pretty girl!!! Can't wait to hear all about the rest of your trip

 

[DisneyMom5]

Sorry it's taken so long to get back to this...first bedrest,
then baby,
then my mom had a heart attack,
several heart caths,
and then open-heart surgery to do a bypass. WHEW!!!

So where did I leave off????

Park Day #1 – Magic Kingdom
Aug. 31, 2009

When we last left the Hicks,
they were getting ready for their first park day at Magic Kingdom.

Bionic Sis in Law was stressing over her airline overcharge,
and was to be calling the “woman in charge of refunds” at 8 am.
Our breakfast ADR was for Crystal Palace at 8:30 am.

We decided to leave a bit early,
to have a leisurely stroll down an empty main st.,
to give Bionic SIL time to call
and maybe to get seated early.

We arrived at MK in good time,
and lined up by the sign that said breakfast and b.b.boo reservations.
No one checked our info, and just before 8 am we were allowed in.

The street was indeed pretty empty,
and we stopped to visit with Mr. Goofy and get pics.


Danger Boy and Stitch Jr. relaxing with Goofy:

All of the kids with Goofy:

Take two:

Whereas on our first pre-Halloween trip I was kind of bummed to see the decorations covering my beloved MK, I actually got nostalgic seeing them this trip!

Halloween Decorations:

Then it was time to admire the castle, free of overwhelming crowds.

The Castle:

The Crew walking towards the Castle:

The Crew standing in front of the castle:

The kids love the baseball player…

In front of Casey’s Corner:

The castle from Crystal Palace:

We found everyone a seat in the shade, and let Bionic SIL try to make her call.

I lined up at the window to get checked in,
and noticed there was also a CM with an electronic check in device.
Between these two options, the check –in went smoothly and quickly.

Bitsy, Poch Jr., Princess K and Mom in front of Crystal Palace:

Bionic SIL found out that the person she needed was NOT available (surprise, surprise),
So she left a message. This would be her story for the rest of the week.

We actually were seated by 8:15 am, and had a seat on the left side of the buffet, which was new for us.

Our waiter, Dan from PA, was fabulous, and kept the juice and coffee coming,
was exceptionally attentive, without being obnoxious,
and super fun and friendly with the kids, in a good not weird way.

Dan, we salute you. You are what Disney waitstaff should be!

Our Waiter, Dan from Pennsylvania:

More in the next post...

 

[DisneyMom5]

We’ve eaten here several times, and there is two reasons we keep coming back…
Awesome food, and nice character interaction.

With the Characters:
Piglet:

Pooh:

Eeyore:

Tigger:

Food. Drool, drool, drool:

This pic features my absolute fav Disney Breakfast food...

Puffed French Toast!!!

Disclaimer...I wasn't able to get close enough to the hot bar to take pics of that,
but suffice it to say there was a lot of yummy hot food also!

All in all, this was a VERY successful breakfast,
and it even put a smile on the face of Bionic SIL,
who, up until now, was having a pretty craptastic trip.

We highly recommend Crystal Palace,
but stick with "off" times, because it can get crowded VERY quickly.

Up next, the Hicks make a maneuver.

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

Man MOM, when you come up with a good excuse you come up with a GOOD excuse.

How is your mom doing? Will she behave herself and live to bug you for many decades? I most sincerely hope so. I would love to meet her one fine day. I can only imagine how special she must have been to found such a wonderful and loving family.

BTW, those first pictures are fabulous and that area is a great one to see the parade from as well. There used to be many more rocking chairs than there have been the past few times though.

Has the newest addition got you well trained yet? Will she ever learn to walk? From my experience, of being the oldest in a large family, the more older siblings the less necessity to learn to walk or even talk as most every want/need is fulfilled without much input.

Slightly Goofy/Linda

 

[micandminforever]

Good to have you back. Your family pictures were great.