Hop, Skip and a Week!! A TR Full of Mayhem, Masticating and Mortification!-Updt 4/29

[gellybean]

Let's hope that the third time really is the charm because this will be the third time I attempt to write this update! The first time, as I posted, internet explorer froze and I lost it and then this afternoon Jack-Jack grabbed the mouse and the browser went back a few pages and poof there it went again!

So here goes nothing!

We made our way out of the Aerosmith shop to meet back up with the g-ma's. We grabbed Honey and Dash and headed toward ToT. In all my years of going to Disney World I've always been to chicken to ride this ride. After Dash assured me that it wasn't that scary, I decided I couldn't let my six year old show me up and off we went!

I loved, loved, loved it!
I cannot believe I wasted so many opportunities to ride this ride over the years!!! Can't wait to ride it again in September! Dash clung to me pretty tightly through this one, but survived happy that I rode it with him. Honey and Frozone weren't as enamored as I was with ToT. They declined to ride it again. Mr. Incredible enjoyed it nearly as much as I did, so we kept the remaining two FPs we had from using the g-ma's tickets, to ride it again later!

We met back up with the g-ma's and Jack-Jack and decided to split off for a bit. We had a 1:15pm reservation for all of us at Brown Derby so we agreed to meet back up there. We only had about 30 mins til then so Mr. Incredible and I took Jack-Jack to the baby center for a quick change and to have a chance to talk just the two of us about how we thought it was going as such a big group! (Our conclusion was so far, so good! )

Mary Poppins, Honey and Frozone hit the villain store and FGM and Dash shopped for FGM a hat as it was definitely getting sunnier! Mr. Incredible and I ran into Dash and FGM on our way back to BD and I bought Dash a pair of PoC sunglasses that you'll see in photos later on! It was definitely warming up... the weather was brilliant. We had our jackets stuffed underneath Jack-Jack's stroller! Thank God for that stroller!

We arrived at BD right at 1:15pm to find Honey, Frozone and Mary Poppins waiting on a bench. I checked us in and we were asked to wait in the lobby for a few minutes.

Honey and Frozone waiting patiently!

We were called to our table in no time! Moses, from Kenya, was our server and he was great. We all loved his accent, especially Honey. She claims she's always a sucker for a man with an accent! Jack-Jack got fussy so I had to go feed him after I ordered. He took what felt like forever to fall asleep. To anyone wondering what someone was taking so long doing in that stall in the ladies restroom on Saturday, January the 24th.... Sorry!!!

I returned to find my food waiting. Thankfully, I had ordered the BBQ chicken and romaine green goddess salad so it didn't matter if it wasn't warm. Mr. I cut up my chicken for me so I could eat one handed.

Fuzzy but you get the idea. He was OUT!

Moses knew it was the boys' birthdays. He brought out two little chocolate mousse cake things all decorated, as well as the assortment of desserts we ordered to share amongst all of us!

Dash blowing out his candle! He was very impressed with the edible decorations, though decided they didn't taste very good.

FGM took this pic of me blowing out the candle for Jack-Jack, took one look at the picture, died laughing and said... um I think we should take another one!
This makes the second picture I have of myself with my mouth wide open! I guess it's a normal expression for me between talking, laughing, eating and blowing out candles!

Second attempt


The desserts won the award for best food at BD. My salad was good, not great and everyone else but FGM ordered the Cobb. They were happy with it but none felt it was as special as they thought it would be. FGM ordered the braised short rib appy for her meal. After listening to us rave about the short ribs at Jiko, her curiousity was definitely piqued and she had high praise for her dish.

The desserts were really great though! We ordered one flourless chocolate cake, one creme brulee, one grapefruit cake, and one banana toffee tower thing and eight spoons! We all had our favorites but I think the banana dessert won!! Yum!

Moses offered to take a picture of all us, which was really great of him. This is the only pic we got of all of us together!

Our nearly-Grand Gathering! You can see the yet to be eaten desserts at the far end of the table.

We left satisfied but I doubt we'll return next trip, especially since we'll be on the DDP with free dining. To us, BD isn't worth the two credits... especially when you put Jiko on the same two credit list! No comparison for us!



Where would we head next? Would we ride anything else? Will we manage to stay together? Will we make our dinner reservation at 'Ohana? Will my plans to watch Wishes from the Poly beach work out or will I miss Wishes yet AGAIN?!


Stay tuned!!!

 

[faerieprincess]

Yayyyyy an update! You really should consider writing your updates in Word or something and saving them just to protect them from Jack-Jack and your vicious IE!

i still love the pic of you with your mouth wide open hehe.

Jack-Jack looks so sweet an' innocent when he's sleeping

i'm glad you loved ToT, i didn't know you hadn't been on it before! At least you had Dash to cling to

 

[karajeboo]

Just read your whole report! Wow, and I thought I was wordy - I love it!!! Let me just say, you are waaaaaay more patient than I am. When we went with DH's whole family, and we were the ones who made all the plans, we did NOT respond well when plans got changed. Or people slept in late. Or people complained. So good for you for "going with the flow." Speaking of which (yes, I HAD to go there!), I loved the CSI TMI part! I was laughing out loud just picturing Dash doing what my DD would do too!!!! Yes, TMI, but so funny!

 

[gellybean]

Just read your whole report! Wow, and I thought I was wordy - I love it!!! Let me just say, you are waaaaaay more patient than I am. When we went with DH's whole family, and we were the ones who made all the plans, we did NOT respond well when plans got changed. Or people slept in late. Or people complained. So good for you for "going with the flow." Speaking of which (yes, I HAD to go there!), I loved the CSI TMI part! I was laughing out loud just picturing Dash doing what my DD would do too!!!! Yes, TMI, but so funny!

Thanks Kara and !!! I'm definitely wordy! You should hear me talk! Poor Dash didn't have a chance when he started school. He gets Chatty ChooChoo cards pulled all the time! He gets it honest at least!

I did intially get all het up over the deviation in plans, but honestly, I had to accept that was part of the whole gig, bringing along so many people. I'm really looking forward to all the possibilities that a two person only trip will provide in September!!

The CSI TMI cracks me up now, but man I was NOT laughing then. I seriously wanted to curl up and die! Time heals all wounds I suppose!

I saw that you're in Jacksonville! That's where Mr. I was living when we met.... we met in an online trivia chat room. There needs to be a dork smilie that I could put here. I spent many a long weekend in Jacksonville when we were dating. It has a special place in my heart! I dreamed of moving there, and being much closer to Disney but it worked out better that Mr. I moved to Texas instead. When we go visit his family, we have to fly into Jacksonville. It's the closest airport to where Mary Poppins lives in GA.

Yayyyyy an update! You really should consider writing your updates in Word or something and saving them just to protect them from Jack-Jack and your vicious IE!

i still love the pic of you with your mouth wide open hehe.

Jack-Jack looks so sweet an' innocent when he's sleeping

i'm glad you loved ToT, i didn't know you hadn't been on it before! At least you had Dash to cling to

I know I should write it in word, it just doesn't feel the same. Bad flash backs of writing papers for school! I figured out to put photo bucket in a different window instead of just a new tab and that way if photobucket had to close, it wouldn't close my work. AND I copied it to the clipboard a few times! Go me for getting it posted!

He is sweet and innocent! For at least a few more months at least!

Yup my first time! Dash and Mr. I. sandwiched me on either side! I'm surprised I actually lifted off my seat with the drops, cus they had me pinned down pretty good!

 

[lazydoxy66]

Fabulous update!

It's hard to believe that Brown Derby wasn't that great. Seems like everybody raves about it and the Cobb salad. I've never eaten here. There are so many great places that only use 1 TS, I don't know that I ever will.

Kudos to you for trying RnRC. DH and I loved it too! I've always been a coaster conqueror though. ToT is what I had trouble with. We ended up riding it 3 times.

I can't wait to hear about Ohana and the fireworks.

 

[brookelizabeth]

We're definitely in the same boat with the sad business!!! I try not to think about it and just enjoy it. I have a sign hanging in my kitchen that says "Enjoy this moment for this moment is your life." I keep it there to remind me to not overlook the enjoyment of the moment worrying about how quickly it will pass.

I'm sure you know exactly what I mean!

I know EXACTLY what you mean! I love that saying..."Enjoy this moment for this moment is your life." I think I might steal that for my "life motto". It's such a good reminder. Esp when your 18 month old is screamig while you are on a conference call with a Client for work.

Sorry for the delay in update everyone. The boys have been sick! I think it's just a cold and seasonal allergies but it's been difficult to find time to get online! I'm sitting down right now and writing at least something out, though it may not be as long as originally planned.
Thanks for hanging in there!

Edit!!!:I just typed out a huge update and internet explorer crashed and I lost it all!!! And now it's time to go to bed! I'm so sorry!! I'll write it out again tomorrow in word and post it tomorrow while Dash is in school and Jack_Jack is napping!

Oh no! I'm so sorry to hear the boys have been sick! Henry came down with some mild croup, but last night HE SLEPT THE WHOLE NIGHT!!!!!!

I hope your little men are feeling better!

Let's hope that the third time really is the charm because this will be the third time I attempt to write this update! The first time, as I posted, internet explorer froze and I lost it and then this afternoon Jack-Jack grabbed the mouse and the browser went back a few pages and poof there it went again!

And about loosing the TR TWICE! I write mine in Google Word and then paste into the DIS. But, I only do that because I can write during free moments at work, or when I need a "brain break" from work. But I understand your paper-writing phobia!

Great update! I have heard wonderful things of BD - I really want to try it. But, I have heard more than just your review, that people don't think it's worth 2 TS. We are going OOP, so that doesn't affect us quite as much...but we'll see if it makes the cut for December.

I would have a hard time deciding between the banana dessert and the grapefruit cake. Maybe we'll do a variety and try 'em all too! YUM!

I love the pic of Jack-Jack sleeping on you. Henry doesn't do that too often anymore, just when he's feeling sick.

And how do people always manage to get "those shots"? The ones with with a crazy look on your face, or your mouth wide open?!

Also, glad to hear you loved RnRC!!!!!

I'm super eager to hear if you ever were able to catch Wishes!!!! I hope so!

 

[gellybean]

Fabulous update!

It's hard to believe that Brown Derby wasn't that great. Seems like everybody raves about it and the Cobb salad. I've never eaten here. There are so many great places that only use 1 TS, I don't know that I ever will.

Kudos to you for trying RnRC. DH and I loved it too! I've always been a coaster conqueror though. ToT is what I had trouble with. We ended up riding it 3 times.

I can't wait to hear about Ohana and the fireworks.

I was really surprised too but then again maybe we just didn't order the right thing. It can happen! I'm not saying we'd never return, just not on the DDP. I agree about there being so many great places that are just 1TS. That part of the planning will be uber fun for me-trying to get the most out of our credits and trying to not upgrade to Deluxe!

I actually did do RnRC once before this trip! and I loved it much more this time because the music was actually working! It's no fun without it!

TOT was a first for me this time! I was a big chicken before, not because of the theming but because I didn't think I liked drops. I did one at Six Flags once where you could see while you were falling and NO THANK YOU! But the fact that on TOT you can't really see as you are falling, just can see out at the top, helped a lot and made a believer out of me!

Stay tuned for 'Ohana-y goodness... or badness?? Hmmmmmmmmmmmm

I know EXACTLY what you mean! I love that saying..."Enjoy this moment for this moment is your life." I think I might steal that for my "life motto". It's such a good reminder. Esp when your 18 month old is screamig while you are on a conference call with a Client for work.

I stare at my sign many times throughout the day. Thankfully no conference calls to deal with from home but I did type an entire research one handed because Jack-Jack decided that he would cut his first tooth the night before a major term paper was due. Boy did I stare at the sign THAT night!

Oh no! I'm so sorry to hear the boys have been sick! Henry came down with some mild croup, but last night HE SLEPT THE WHOLE NIGHT!!!!!!

I hope your little men are feeling better!


Dash missed school Monday but went back Tuesday. He's still got a cough but declined his allergy medicine this morning and I let him... I figured he knew his body better than I did. One huge perk as they get older! They can tell you how they are feeling and help you know when they are getting better!

Jack-Jack's got a runny nose and a bit of a cough. (Dash had it first... but so far I haven't gotten it. We need a knock on wood smilie!) He isn't running fever, though, and it hasn't affected his mood any so I'm thinking it's just a mild cold he's fending off on his own!

YAY for Henry sleeping the whole night! Jack-Jack doesn't even do that when he's feeling well! I'm super glad that Henry is better!! Nothing worse than a sick kid!


And about loosing the TR TWICE! I write mine in Google Word and then paste into the DIS. But, I only do that because I can write during free moments at work, or when I need a "brain break" from work. But I understand your paper-writing phobia!


I just don't feel as trip-reporty writing in word. The juices don't flow. I never said I was anything but weird!

Great update! I have heard wonderful things of BD - I really want to try it. But, I have heard more than just your review, that people don't think it's worth 2 TS. We are going OOP, so that doesn't affect us quite as much...but we'll see if it makes the cut for December.

OOP would be a definite good plan for BD. When I was running the numbers v. DDP credits over and over before we had to decide on our package, I had BD as one of our OOP meals. When you can use 1TS for breakfast at Kona or 1TS for dinner at Tutto Italia... 40$ v. 120$ Gotta play the system!

I would have a hard time deciding between the banana dessert and the grapefruit cake. Maybe we'll do a variety and try 'em all too! YUM!

Do both! They were soooooooooo good! The chocolate flourless cake was good but not what I'm used to with chocolate flourless cake. It was cold and therefore dense. I've had them before at other restaurants (and Mr. I made it for me one year for my birthday ) where they heat it which makes it run all ooey-gooey. MMMMMMM that way is wonderful! *insert mouth watering smilie here*


I love the pic of Jack-Jack sleeping on you. Henry doesn't do that too often anymore, just when he's feeling sick.

Awwww... at least he still does it when he feels sick. Dash won't do it at all now. He's a 'big boy' he informs me!

And how do people always manage to get "those shots"? The ones with with a crazy look on your face, or your mouth wide open?!

I have no clue!!! But the law of averages, at least when it comes to me, says that I'm gonna end up with pictures of me with my mouth open because it's open so much!

Also, glad to hear you loved RnRC!!!!!

I'm super eager to hear if you ever were able to catch Wishes!!!! I hope so!


Wishes you say? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

 

[gellybean]

OOOO an Update within a few days! What on earth has the world come to?!



I last left you as we were finishing up at Brown Derby and were about to decide what to do. Jack-Jack had woken up by the end of the meal... actually I think when I stood up and then sat back down in the loooooooow chairs in the lobby and then attempted to stand back up again with him... I think that woke him up.I say attempted because I didn't quite manage to get out of the chair without some help!

We decided since we were so close to Great Movie Ride we'd head that way. I don't think Mr. Incredible or I were wanting to ride TOT or RnRC again on full stomachs. We're daring but not that daring. So all of us went to ride Great Movie Ride. I know this ride gets some slack from some DISers and I understand why. But I still love it. I remember being so enthralled with it when I first went to MGM ( there I said it-M G M!) in 1990. My mom really loves this one too because -her words not mine-she's old enough to remember a lot of the older movies.

Jack-Jack had fun going from one person to the other as we waited in line. Thankfully the line was short enough that we were able to walk right into the movie screen holding area. I don't know how people hold infants while standing in looooooong lines. He got heavy!

We enjoyed the ride. Jack-Jack spent more time flirting with the lady sitting on the same row as us, as he did paying much attention to the ride. I was anxious to see how he would do. I was prepared to cover his eyes and distract him at the Alien part but he didn't even notice. Interesting enough, this was the first time in all my Great Movie rides that we had a cowboy bandit and not a gangster bad guy.

When we were done with the ride, we stopped to discuss our plans. It was about 3pm at this point... the block party was going on is how I remember.... and Honey and Frozone were getting tired. They aren't big ride people anyway, and I had promised Dash we'd head to Star Tours at least. So they opted to head back to the hotel for a bit, knowing that we had dinner plans at 8:50pm that night. Mary Poppins decided to stay with us so we split up... to head to bathrooms by the animation studio. FGM and I headed with Dash and left Mr. Incredible and Jack-Jack on a bench in front of Voyage of the Little Mermaid. It was at this point that I realized I had something white and grimey looking all over my black tshirt. Why no one told me I have no clue and I really don't know what it was! But it looked nasttttttttty! Wonderful. I tried to get it off with a wet towel as best I could. Don't know how sucessful I was but oh well.

We met back up with our bench warmers to discuss what to do next. We seriously considered catching Little Mermaid but I knew I'd probably be the only one that really wanted to see it. Mr. Incredible just isn't a mermaid kinda guy ... he prefers legs on his women... and I didn't know how Jack-Jack would do in a dark, sitting down kinda place. He tends to want to eat and and pass out.. which would be fine except he still wants to use ME to eat. I was trying to wean him this whole trip but EVERYTIME we sat down in a dark room he wanted nothing but the momma. And the momma has problems with popping the goods out in a crowded room full of people! So we skipped Little Mermaid.

We walked toward Pixar place ... and who do we pass? ? ?

Honey and Frozone!

They had made an entire loop around DHS in just the time it took us to potty and make our minds up! They didn't ride anything... just explored and they were off again. We waved and catcalled at each other and then went on our merry way. TSM was at 90 mins standby so we looked around the area and sighed wistfully as we walked past. NEXT time!

We happened along this guy signing autographs and stopped for a quick pic:

Didn't realize Dash's eyes were all squinty when I cked the display on the camera... oh well!

We walked around the long way. The back of DHS was EMPTY! We found these guys on our way up New York Street:

You can kinda see them... mulch something and shears? I think.

We stopped to listen for a bit and the g-ma's had fun trying to get Jack-Jack to dance.

Hillarious! What g-ma's won't do for their grandkids!

Jack-Jack was not that impressed.... I think he thought they were silly!

Mom! Help me!

We stayed til they finished... they were really good! These kind of impromptu things are what makes Disney so great when you actually have time to slow down... or are forced to slow down because you have two gimpy limps! And by two gimpy limps I'm referring to my airport injuries not the g-ma's!

We cut through the short cut to the Muppet area to find a 5 mins wait for the show! No line at all, we could walk straight into the holding area! We jumped on that!

I love how they play together even being 5 years apart! I know I better enjoy it now cus it won't be that way forever!

The boys enjoying the pre-film....and the glasses... and the floor. We never sit on the floor when it's full in there but it was E M P T Y.

And thankfully so because Jack-Jack decided he wanted DOWN in the middle of the 3-D show. And he wanted to cruise down the empty row of chairs to the exit. I had to pick him up and stand over by the exit doors to make it through this one. It's not the same without the 3-D glasses, I found out.

After the film we snapped some more pictures in the area.

Dash requested this one and climbed up there all by himself.

I have a similar picture to this with just Dash and FGM from our trip in 2007.


We made our way back around to get the strollers and the line was OUT THE DOOR ! Maybe because they were holding it for another show to let out or something... I don't know but it was amazing the difference 20 mins made.

We grabbed strollers and headed to Star Tours. We left Jack-Jack with the g-ma's and Mr. I and I rode this with Dash stand-by. Maybe a 15 mins wait, so not too bad. They still had FPs available but we didn't have a lot else to cover in the time we'd be waiting for the FP window to open up that wasn't clear across the park. So we waited. Dash loved this one! He wanted a Clone costume and we had agreed he could have one. Other then spending $10 on a sword, knife and telescope at PoC he hadn't gotten any souvies and it was his birthday present too so I was fine with him getting the costume. They just didn't have his size! Oh my he was inconsolable! I offered him tons of other things in the Star Wars store, from the Indiana Jones cart, and NOTHING would do. He wanted that Clone costume. Poor guy! If they had had the next size up from his size, we would have gotten it but they had XS and XL. I felt so bad for the kid.

We found the g-ma's and Jack-Jack in Backlot Express. They were feeding him a burger and chocolate pudding. I should have taken a picture of his face. Oh my! I think I didn't want evidence that I let my 12 mth old eat that much pudding! I asked my mom if she could find her way to the ToT and RnRC area by herself and she said sure, no problem! Mom! So we left the boys with g-ma and Mr. I and I headed to use up our fast passes!

(I think I failed to mention that we got FPs for RnRC after we got off of TOT the first time )

We had a blast! We held hands, checked out a few shops, rode RnRC first... barely waited at all to get in. A little girl and her mom and aunt were in front of us and were asking if we'd ridden it before. The mom was scared! So I was telling them how much fun it is and worse case how fast it's over with! It seemed to help her a little!

It was great for Mr. Incredible and I to be able to ride it together this time since we'd had to split up on single rider the first time!

TOT was next and it was getting dusky dark. I knew what that meant but didn't say anything to Mr. I in case he hadn't put two and two together. Sure enough the view over the park at the top was SPEC TAC U LAR! OMGoodness! Sunset was gorgeous -the park lights had came on! It was a perfect ending to what had been so far our best day in the park!

We came back down to earth... literally... and met up with the g-ma's and boys. They were waiting for us where we'd left them before. for my 66 yr old Mom getting around the park all by herself. I knew she could do it but she's expressed concern before so I didn't want to push her!

We strolled out of the park toward the exit. I have to admit this was the first time I had ever been sad to leave DHS. It has a new special place in my heart and I can't wait to go back and give it more time, to soak up more of the details I've apparently overlooked in the past! From the CM antics at the beginning of the day to the actors on Hollywood Blvd., the music acts on the back streets and my new found love of TOT-DHS is a new old favorite!

I was worried the lines would be bad for the bus because it was 30 mins before park close, but they weren't. We were maybe 10th in line and the bus came in no time.


Whew!! We'd almost managed to close down a park and we had a hot little date with 'Ohana and Wishes from the Poly Beach!

Stay tuned!!!

'Ohana manana I hope!

 

[princess~yo]

Great update! And so quick...I'm impressed! It sounds like you all had a wonderful time. I can't tell you how badly I'm in withdrawals for DHS now. The sunset sky off the ToT moment...priceless.

I love the progression of pics from the g-mas and then Jack-Jacks smile, and then the expression on his face in the next one. "Mom, help!" indeed!

 

[karajeboo]

We decided since we were so close to Great Movie Ride we'd head that way. I don't think Mr. Incredible or I were wanting to ride TOT or RnRC again on full stomachs. We're daring but not that daring. So all of us went to ride Great Movie Ride. I know this ride gets some slack from some DISers and I understand why. But I still love it. I remember being so enthralled with it when I first went to MGM ( there I said it-M G M!) It will always be MGM to me too! in 1990. My mom really loves this one too because -her words not mine-she's old enough to remember a lot of the older movies.

Jack-Jack had fun going from one person to the other as we waited in line. Thankfully the line was short enough that we were able to walk right into the movie screen holding area. I don't know how people hold infants while standing in looooooong lines. He got heavy!

We enjoyed the ride. Jack-Jack spent more time flirting with the lady sitting on the same row as us, as he did paying much attention to the ride. I was anxious to see how he would do. I was prepared to cover his eyes and distract him at the Alien part but he didn't even notice. Interesting enough, this was the first time in all my Great Movie rides that we had a cowboy bandit and not a gangster bad guy.

Awesome! Never had a cowboy bandit either!!!

We met back up with our bench warmers to discuss what to do next. We seriously considered catching Little Mermaid but I knew I'd probably be the only one that really wanted to see it. Mr. Incredible just isn't a mermaid kinda guy ... he prefers legs on his women... and I didn't know how Jack-Jack would do in a dark, sitting down kinda place. He tends to want to eat and and pass out.. which would be fine except he still wants to use ME to eat. I was trying to wean him this whole trip but EVERYTIME we sat down in a dark room he wanted nothing but the momma. And the momma has problems with popping the goods out in a crowded room full of people! So we skipped Little Mermaid.

"And the momma has problems with popping the goods out..."


We grabbed strollers and headed to Star Tours. We left Jack-Jack with the g-ma's and Mr. I and I rode this with Dash stand-by. Maybe a 15 mins wait, so not too bad. They still had FPs available but we didn't have a lot else to cover in the time we'd be waiting for the FP window to open up that wasn't clear across the park. So we waited. Dash loved this one! He wanted a Clone costume and we had agreed he could have one. Other then spending $10 on a sword, knife and telescope at PoC he hadn't gotten any souvies and it was his birthday present too so I was fine with him getting the costume. They just didn't have his size! Oh my he was inconsolable! I offered him tons of other things in the Star Wars store, from the Indiana Jones cart, and NOTHING would do. He wanted that Clone costume. Poor guy! If they had had the next size up from his size, we would have gotten it but they had XS and XL. I felt so bad for the kid.

Did you ever find the custume??? I'll be there next weekend if you need me to look for you!

TOT was next and it was getting dusky dark. I knew what that meant but didn't say anything to Mr. I in case he hadn't put two and two together. Sure enough the view over the park at the top was SPEC TAC U LAR! OMGoodness! Sunset was gorgeous -the park lights had came on! It was a perfect ending to what had been so far our best day in the park!

Never ridden this at night - this is a new "must do" for me!

We strolled out of the park toward the exit. I have to admit this was the first time I had ever been sad to leave DHS. It has a new special place in my heart and I can't wait to go back and give it more time, to soak up more of the details I've apparently overlooked in the past! From the CM antics at the beginning of the day to the actors on Hollywood Blvd., the music acts on the back streets and my new found love of TOT-DHS is a new old favorite!

I totally agree! I fall a bit more in love with DHS every time I"m there. It's a great park to just sit back and WATCH for a few minutes.


'Ohana manana I hope!

Great update! Looking forward to Ohana and Wishes! And why is it that people let you walk around with yuck on you? That seems to happen to me all the time? Maybe I'm just a slob and they've given up on me.... but I digress. Hope whatever it was came out in the wash.

And if ever there were a place to "pop out the goods" and have nobody notice? A dark theater in Disney. I'm sure nobody would care at all - how many moms are there? How many moms who are or have nursed their kids? I wouldn't recommend it at, say, the parade route... or while riding TSM, cause it might mess up your score ......

 

[faerieprincess]

Yay! Great update twinnie!

i promise i wouldn't let you walk around with yuck on you.... yuck!

Awesome you got to ride RnRC and ToT again! i wish i had done RnRC one more time. i'm glad you liked DHS more than you have previously. Y'all had a wonderful day, that's awesome!

Now i hope 'Ohana is yummy... and i'm wishing for Wishes for you!!

 

[jenjolt]

Great Update!! I found a new love for DHS when I went this last time!! I really enjoyed exploring the streets and meeting new characters!! I loved watching the street shows it was fantastic!! I had an amazing time!!! Glad you found a new love for it too!!

Can't wait to hear about your dinner at Ohana's

 

[gellybean]

Great update! And so quick...I'm impressed! It sounds like you all had a wonderful time. I can't tell you how badly I'm in withdrawals for DHS now. The sunset sky off the ToT moment...priceless.

I love the progression of pics from the g-mas and then Jack-Jacks smile, and then the expression on his face in the next one. "Mom, help!" indeed!

I'm impressed too!! They take me forever, cus I get so picky about it and reread and rewrite and ! I'm a dork I can't help it! The fact that I installed a new keyboard on the laptop yesterday helped facilitate the quick-ish update. Thankfully the laptop was still under warranty because the spacebar was toast-with a little help from Jack-Jack and a lot of help from the insane amount I type!

There were more pics in the progression I'm afraid. I'm not posting a 1/10th of the pictures I took! But I thought it was pretty funny too..... they were trying so hard to get him to dance and he was looking at them like..."Oh you funny little g-ma's. You go right ahead and keep trying to get me to dance, but it's noottttttttttt gonna happppppppppen!" Kinda in the evil Plankton kinda voice... but not EVIL! Oh you know what I mean!

The sunset out of the view from the top of ToT stole the day for me and nearly the trip. It came in closely behind Jiko for best magical experience!

Great update! Looking forward to Ohana and Wishes! And why is it that people let you walk around with yuck on you? That seems to happen to me all the time? Maybe I'm just a slob and they've given up on me.... but I digress. Hope whatever it was came out in the wash.

And if ever there were a place to "pop out the goods" and have nobody notice? A dark theater in Disney. I'm sure nobody would care at all - how many moms are there? How many moms who are or have nursed their kids? I wouldn't recommend it at, say, the parade route... or while riding TSM, cause it might mess up your score ......

Ya know I don't know. My mom said she hadn't noticed, but I mean c'mon! It's a black shirt with white ick ! It did come out in the wash, thanks !

I agree about Disney being a fairly understanding place to pop out the goods. And you'll have to stay tuned to see if I came to that conclusion while I was still in Disney!

Yay! Great update twinnie!

i promise i wouldn't let you walk around with yuck on you.... yuck!

Awesome you got to ride RnRC and ToT again! i wish i had done RnRC one more time. i'm glad you liked DHS more than you have previously. Y'all had a wonderful day, that's awesome!

Now i hope 'Ohana is yummy... and i'm wishing for Wishes for you!!

It was wonderful!! I'm wishing for Wishes for me too!

Great Update!! I found a new love for DHS when I went this last time!! I really enjoyed exploring the streets and meeting new characters!! I loved watching the street shows it was fantastic!! I had an amazing time!!! Glad you found a new love for it too!!

Can't wait to hear about your dinner at Ohana's

Thanks Jen!! I was totally surprised at how much I had been overlooking and dismissing about DHS! It just clicked for me! Maybe cus Mr. I was loving it too... it was just a great day!


'Ohana tonight I hope!!

Have a great day everyone! Leaving to pick up Dash from school!

 

[princess~yo]

There were more pics in the progression I'm afraid. I'm not posting a 1/10th of the pictures I took! But I thought it was pretty funny too..... they were trying so hard to get him to dance and he was looking at them like..."Oh you funny little g-ma's. You go right ahead and keep trying to get me to dance, but it's noottttttttttt gonna happppppppppen!" Kinda in the evil Plankton kinda voice... but not EVIL! Oh you know what I mean!

I know exactly what you mean

About the posting only a fraction of what you've taken... you are not alone in your picture-taking obsession. Seriously.

 

[gellybean]

We left DHS and got back to Pop in no time at all. Love that quick commute between the two. We made it back to our room and rested a bit. I changed shirts first thing!

We didn't have long to kill and I really wanted to make it to Poly for Wishes at 8pm. We left at 7:30pm from Pop... which I thought was plenty of time. Except that Mr. Incredible looked at the map and found a different way to go from the directions I had gotten by calling Poly. But Mr. Incredible thought his way would be shorter. He looked at a map and disregarded any of my questions as to why the Poly front desk person would tell me to go the other way... *insert foreboding smilie here*

I don't argue with him. I mean what's the point. He assured me that his way was better. This from a man that had never been to Disney before in his life. I look at the map and I see why he thinks his way is more straight forward so... we go his way.

We load up Jack-Jack in his carseat, click it into the stroller so we don't have to get him into the stroller, then out and then back in, and we're off. Everything is going smoothly... looks like Mr. Incredible's way is working out. Until he misses the exit for World Drive. And we have to go way out of our way to turn around to try to come back to go the wrong way to turn around again to take the exit we should have taken in the first place. Not a big deal... we weren't lost. But we managed to lose about 10 mins.

We find Poly and eventually find a parking spot, waaaaaaaaaaaaay in the back of the parking lot. We make our way into the lobby. I'm hobbling along again. For whatever reason, after I quit moving for a while, my foot would stiffen up and hurt much worse than after I'd walked on it for a while. So it takes us a while to make it back to the beach. I can hear the fireworks going off. We literally make it to the beach as the last firework crackles in the air. Mr. Incredible saw the last few bursts because he beat us to the beach. Not me and my slow self. I missed it. I miss it all. AGAIN!

I try to suck it up. We still have one last day in MK right? It doesn't matter that this is the third time I had planned to view Wishes and I missed it yet again. Because we've got birthdays to celebrate.

We call Honey and Frozone and they were on a pier somewhere. They had managed to catch the whole fireworks display. I was happy for them. They found a little bench and caught the whole show. Which was fortunate, because they weren't going to be with us on our MK day. They were very thankful that I had suggested the viewing from the Poly Beach and since they had left from their own hotel, in their own car, they made it in plenty of time to catch it. I hope that sitting out on a bench, on a pier on the lagoon watching the fireworks together was a magical, romantic moment and I'm honestly glad they got to experience it.

They said they'd meet us at the lobby for 'Ohana. We took our time getting back into the building, peering into rooms as we went by. Dash was very impressed with the pool and I dream of staying here one day, though it's not my first priority of Deluxe hotels to stay in.

Sure enough, Honey and Frozone are waiting for us. I check us in. Boy was it crowded! When our pager went off, I asked the guy that was seating us if this was normal for January and he said no way. He said normally it's just conventions and cheerleaders. He said it has been like this all month... he thought because of the buy 4, get 3 free and because of the massively bad weather they were having up north. Made sense to me!

We were seated at a large table in the very middle of the room. Great location because we could really see the cook station. I noticed there were no large tables on the perimeter of the room, only 2 and 4 tops. All the big tables were in the middle. The only problem with our table was I felt like we were under a spotlight! Man was it bright under there. Our cousin greeted us soon enough and the food started flowing quickly after.

The bread was warm and nutty and we all liked it, even Jack-Jack. The salad was great! Dash even tried it and wanted me to find that "honey lemon" dressing at home cus it made his lettuce taste goooood! The sticky wings were my personal fave! The pot stickers were ok... some of us liked them more than others. The broccoli was just broccoli.. nothing special and the noddles were ok. I wish I had eaten there during the cheesy potato days!

I think FGM took this picture of us all watching our cousin dish out the meats.

Of the meats, we all liked different ones best. I got more pork and shrimp. My mom got more shrimp. Frozone got more pork and turkey. Mr. I got more shrimp, pork and turkey. I think Honey and Mary Poppins got a few more shrimp.

Making her way around the table with the MEAT! If you don't eat your meat, you can't have any pudding! How can you have any pudding, if you don't eat your meat?! *Notice how bright it was at that table!*

No one got more steak. But in all fairness... Mr. I does work for a steakhouse and we're from Texas. It'd be like going to Hawaii and ordering Tex-Mex. Just doesn't make a lot of sense. (Though I'm sure there are great Tex-Mex restaurants in Hawaii! ) We didn't get seconds of anything else. Our cousin kinda disappeared in the middle of our service and another server took over.... don't really know why buttttttt .

Jack-Jack entertained us through the meal... playing with spoons and holding the wet hand towels up to his ears. I guess this amused Mary Poppins because at some point she got tickled!

I have no idea what Jack-Jack was doing, but he did this entirely on his own. He played with those towels forever!

Mary Poppins laughing her heinster (that's a combinatin of heinie and keister) off!

Dash didn't want to do the coconut race but when he heard they were offering hula lessons he was all over that. Away he went.

He looks so grown up in this picture!!

"Moooooooooooom, must you take pictures and embarass me!"

They wanted all the mom's to join them for a dance but I had my hands full with Jack-Jack so FGM went. It was sweet!

I love this one. I had to ask Frozone to take these pictures because I had Jack-Jack and he was started to melt down at this point. I was really happy that FGM got to do this dance. I hope it's a memory she'll cherish for a long time.

Apparently the picture-taking-of-the-open-mouth syndrome is genetic!!

Fairy God Mother-take two!

Mary Poppins and Honey feelin' the 'Ohana love!

Honey and Frozone posing for the camera-post pork hungover!

I had a little surprise set up for Jack-Jack and Dash. A little cupcake for Jack-Jack and the Pirate chest cake for Dash. I didn't want to order a big cake because I knew we'd all be eating the bread pudding instead! BUT I knew Dash wouldn't like the bread pudding, so this was the only ADR I had made with an additional birthday dessert for Dash other than the standard one. He was very surprised and perhaps a bit confused!

Little cupcake for Jack-Jack and pirate chest cake for Dash! Jack-Jack wanted nothing to do with his cupcake but Dash was alllll over his treasure chest cake!

Just when the bread pudding arrived, Jack-Jack reached the end of his rope. He'd been great all day, hadn't had a long long nap and had sat in his high chair for the majority of the meal. I'm surprised he lasted that long, to be honest. But right as the bread pudding arrived! I love bread pudding. It's one of my favorites and definitely what I had been dreaming of most from 'Ohana's. I got up and took Jack-Jack over to watch the cooking station. He was mesmerized. I tried to not pout and did a pretty good job. We were there maybe five minutes when someone tapped me on my shoulder. It was Mr. Incredible. He'd shooved in a few bites of bread pudding and was there to relieve me of Jack-Jack so I could go back and eat my dream dessert.

And eat it I did. I think there was half of that family serving left and I nearly finished it. OMG! It was the BEST dessert I had all trip. Topped Jiko, topped the cheesecake at Narcoosee's, topped the eclair at the Patissier , topped the other desserts y'all don't know about yet.

We settled our bill and headed out to find an asleep Jack-Jack in his stroller and Mr. Incredible sitting on a bench rocking him gently back and forth. Said night night to Honey and Frozone in the second floor lobby and waited for the elevator. Made our way back out to the Mary Poppins mobile and headed back to Pop the way we came. Only to end up on some dark road heading toward Fort Wilderness. Um how did we end up here? Apparently it doesn't work the same way going back as it did coming. Thankfully we had the map with us and figured out that we could go down and catch another road and come back. So we took the scenic route home. Jack-Jack had woken up in the transition back to the carseat and he officially had ENOUGH and was fussy. I managed to nurse him while the car was driving and yes he was still buckled into his carseat. I'm talented what can I say. He conked out and we enjoyed the relative silence. I think we were all pooped. It had been our longest day yet. We all turned in and crashed. We had a date to get to the Animal Kingdom around 10am because it was our only AK day and I didn't want to miss out on EE FPs!

All in all we had a great meal. I don't know if Mr. Incredible and I would go back just the two of us, but it was a lot of fun for a large group. Dash enjoyed the interactive aspect of it and I definitely the bread pudding, sticky wings and shrimp! So who knows. For 1TS we might just be back in September!


Other than missing Wishes..... AGAIN.... it had been a great day! We were glad to get to spend some time with Honey and Frozone. We only get to see them about twice a year. They hadn't seen Jack-Jack since he was six months old and at that age they change so much in six short months. We really enjoyed DHS and everyone really enjoyed 'Ohana. They all told me what a great choice I had made in planning it for our big group dinner. So that was a nice thing to hear after all the stress and changing and rechanging of our ADRs. When Mr. Incredible and I turned in that night he quietly apologized to me for being a stubborn male and insisting we go his way. I wasn't angry with him... I knew he hadn't done it on purpose... but the fact that he knew me well enough to know I was upset at missing Wishes again and apologized for it... was really sweet of him.


Next on Hop, Skip and a Week! Animal Kingdom day!! Would Mr. Incredible like what is really my least favorite park? Would we get to ride EE or would those FPs be gone too?? Would we manage to make it back to the hotel early for a nap like I had planned so we could make a late night of it at DTD?


Stay tuned!!!!!!!!!!

Random trivia question: Can anyone tell me where I got the title of my TR from: Hop, Skip and a Week?

 

[gellybean]

I know exactly what you mean

About the posting only a fraction of what you've taken... you are not alone in your picture-taking obsession. Seriously.

It's good to not be alone!!! I can see where I will get worse at the picture taking thing. As I get more into writing TRs, it will definitely get worse. As I write this one, I keep thinking " Why didn't I take a picture of THAT?" and kicking myself for not taking more than I did and I thought I had taken a lot of pictures!

I think the picture posting is going to get worse as the TR progresses. I realized at some point I hadn't taken as many pictures as I wanted so I tried to make up for it on the last few days!

I warned y'all!!

 

[kschafer]

Oh I'm so sorry you missed wishes again I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you!

Ohana looks like so much fun and the food looks delicious. It is on my must do list for next time!

 

[faerieprincess]

Thank goodness for Mr. Incredible! The bread pudding was by far the best part of 'Ohana and it was the best dessert i had on our trip, too!

Poor lil Jack-jack all tuckered out. i'm sorry you didn't get to see Wishes

"Warn" us? BRING ON THE PICS!

 

[brookelizabeth]

I have a new found love for DHS from our January trip as well! We had such a magical day there - so nice and smooth. It was my least favorite (and Joe's favorite ), but now I cannot pic a least favorite. I love them all for different reasons!

And Ohana----------yuuuuuuuuuuuummmmmmmmmmm! I totally PIGGED OUT in November there (so much that I am pretty certain it is what made me sick! I ate myself sick!) and yes, the bread pudding-AMAZING!

I am so happy to read what a wonderful day at DHS and at Ohana you had! That so stinks about missing Wishes again though! I really, really hope you were able to catch it on your MK day. What sweet moments with your DH taking Jack-Jack so you could enjoy the bread pudding and then apologizing!

 

[Lovemy3babes]

Wow, you have a great report started here! I hope you don't mind another reader. You are hilarious, I've been reading the whole thing throughout my day here. I can't wait for more!