How I Survived 11 Days at WDW with a Disney-Resistant Husband **2/20 THE END **

[acejka]

I was lurking along with the tr, but I had to come out and comment-that was a terrific birthday party! I would've loved to go to something like that when I was a kid!

 

[DrMomof3]

Another awesome birthday party!!!

Amanda

 

[karebear23]

Looks like the party turned out great!

 

[ladybugmom]

WOW!! Another fabulous party!! From the cake to the decorations to the games, etc.!! You outdid yourself yet again!! Your property looks beautiful!! It looks like you live on quite a bit of land!! Oh--and the graduation pictures are precious!!

 

[Spartangirl]

Do it Lynne, do it!!!

You are too funny, Michelle!

 

[Spartangirl]

The Pirate Party looked like a huge success! Wow, you are so creative! What an awesome party!!!

 

[valleygirl]

I just found your report and I'm loving it. I'm also loving your updates with the graduations, recitals and birthday parties. I so miss getting into the birthday party planning! My son is 24 and my daughter is 15 so I don't get to do the elaborate birthday parties anymore. I figure I might be able to get another one in for my daughter's sweet sixteen this September but she told me she doesn't want to have a confused: Oh well, she did say that she would like to go into Boston for the weekend with a few friends and maybe see a play, so I'm trying to plan a girls weekend and get tickets for Wicked for her birthday but I'm still missing planning those theme parties!

 

[MagicShell]

What a great party, and what a FULL day!

 

[edk35]

(Continued from last post)

Then it was time for the Hunt for the Buried Treasure. The kids listened to the story of Peyton the Shipwrecked Pirate, how he lost his leg and hid his treasure. They were instructed that once the pirate ship's canon could be heard firing in the distance, they could race to the Backyard Shed to find their first clue. After DH set off the canons (home fireworks), the race to the Hidden Treasure Chest began.

This was a real hit. It was so fun seeing all the kids (ranging from 2-10 years old) racing around the property looking for clues and working together to solve the mystery of the hidden treasure chest.

Finally, after a long, hard search, they were narrowing in on the prize. The last clue led the group to this:

Peyton's signature Black Rock with a Treasure Map beside it. The kids used the map to then show them where the Treasure Chest was hidden:

Soon those little pirates tracked down the Treasure Chest, and we hatched a plan to get it open.

At long last, after each pirate had two swings at it, the chest was finally broke open and the Pirates could share in their loot:

After all that hard work, those Pirates were hungry and decided to stop for some lunch:

Then it was indoors to have some cake and other goodies.

All in all, we had a great time at the Party, and then immediately headed over to the movie theatre for another Birthday Party to watch Toy Story. I know I am in the minority, but I was a little disappointed. I did not find this movie to be as good as the original Toy Story or Toy Story 2. Still a great movie, but not as good as I was expecting. But the Barbie - Ken moments were classic! So funny!!!

Then, after the movie, we went out to dinner for Declan's Birthday with our good friends.

Unfortunately, it seems the weekend has completely gotten away from me. I was hoping to get another trip segment up, but I may run out of time. I will do my best to update as soon as I can!

WOW so nice. I am sure the kids had a blast!!! You host amazing children's parties.

 

[declansdad]

Very cool party but isn't one of these pirates a little older than the rest?

 

[Native NYer]

You are a party planning wiz
Love the pirate themed dessert table.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Hey Trish. All caught up now.

I love that Pensive look on Declan's grad photo. And that offer of coming over to Australia to be my personal shopper and party planner still holds.... That's one fantastic pirate party you threw. I think I recognised the cake stand (with a different ribbon).

 

[cdotla]

I was lurking along with the tr, but I had to come out and comment-that was a terrific birthday party! I would've loved to go to something like that when I was a kid!

So glad you came out of lurkerdom! Welcome!!!

I was lucky to attend some pretty fabulous birthday parties in my day, many hosted by my mom. Now it is my turn to reciprocate!

Another awesome birthday party!!!

Amanda

Thanks Amanda!

Looks like the party turned out great!

Thank you! Out of all my kids' birthday parties, my sense is that this one was most enjoyed by the kids.

WOW!! Another fabulous party!! From the cake to the decorations to the games, etc.!! You outdid yourself yet again!! Your property looks beautiful!! It looks like you live on quite a bit of land!! Oh--and the graduation pictures are precious!!

Thanks Becky! We had fun at both the party and the graduation was also pretty special. With the kids born exactly 2 months apart (April 28 and June 28), combined with my birthday, mother's day, the end of the school year, and our annual vacations the 1st week of May, this is definitely the busiest 2 months for us the entire year!

And yes, we are lucky to have a large backyard for the kids. Our house is on a double lot plus we bought the vacant lot next to us a few months ago (which had sat vacant for years) to preserve both our privacy and ocean views.

The Pirate Party looked like a huge success! Wow, you are so creative! What an awesome party!!!

Thanks! It was fun...and so worth it because the kids enjoyed it!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Have you ever thought about being a party planner? You throw the most unbelievable bashes! The pirate party looks like it was a huge hit!!

 

[cdotla]

I just found your report and I'm loving it. I'm also loving your updates with the graduations, recitals and birthday parties. I so miss getting into the birthday party planning! My son is 24 and my daughter is 15 so I don't get to do the elaborate birthday parties anymore. I figure I might be able to get another one in for my daughter's sweet sixteen this September but she told me she doesn't want to have a confused: Oh well, she did say that she would like to go into Boston for the weekend with a few friends and maybe see a play, so I'm trying to plan a girls weekend and get tickets for Wicked for her birthday but I'm still missing planning those theme parties!

Thanks for posting, and WELCOME!!!

You have reinforced the exact reason I enjoy throwing parties for the kids - because I know someday very soon they won't want one! I am going to keep doing them as long as they will let me.

That certainly sounds like a fun (and expensive!) weekend birthday celebration you have in store for your daughter. I guess as they get older, the price tags increase! My kids are still impressed with cupcakes! Good to know what I have in store for future!

What a great party, and what a FULL day!

Thank you! Yes, it was a full day for sure! When we got home at 8:30pm I fell right asleep with Declan putting him to bed!

WOW so nice. I am sure the kids had a blast!!! You host amazing children's parties.

Thank you!

Very cool party but isn't one of these pirates a little older than the rest?

You are a party planning wiz
Love the pirate themed dessert table.

Thank you! As usual, I had a bunch of other ideas but ran out of time. And about $35 of craft supplies from Michaels that I bought but didn't have time to implement.

I have to learn to start prepping earlier, instead of always leaving it til the last minute!

Hey Trish. All caught up now.

I love that Pensive look on Declan's grad photo. And that offer of coming over to Australia to be my personal shopper and party planner still holds.... That's one fantastic pirate party you threw. I think I recognised the cake stand (with a different ribbon).

I would love to help you with any party...just send me a ticket and I am there!!!

And yes - all of my vessels and serving dishes were recycled from Katie's Party. See how versatile they can be with just a change of ribbon and embellishments?

 

[cdotla]

Have you ever thought about being a party planner? You throw the most unbelievable bashes! The pirate party looks like it was a huge hit!!

Thanks Christine! In my next life I am going to come back as a Disney Parks Event Planner! That would be my dream job!

 

[cdotla]

The Kids Meet the Yeti!!!

After walking out of Tusker House with our bellies full, and Fast Passes for the Kilimanjaro Safaris in our pockets, we headed out to Battle the Yeti.

While we had our brave faces on, we took them off momentarily to enjoy a few moments of silly drum banging.

Then we were back on our trek to the large, imposing snow-capped mountain in the distance.

I so wanted to stop here for a caffeinated beveridge...but I knew it would not be a good idea to eat or drink anything else before we put the Yeti in his place.

So on we went.

I think I mentioned that before the trip, I had measured Declan. He was exactly 44 inches. Expedition Everest, with a height limit of 44 inches, was one of many rides he would be experiencing for the first time on this trip. The last time he was in the parks, he was just shy of 40 inches.

This would also be Katie's first time experiencing the Yeti. Although she hit the height limit on 2 past trips, at 4 years old she was nervous to ride it, and at 5 years old, the ride was shutdown on our trip.

Suffice to say, excitement was in the air! Chris and I were looking forward to sharing our Yeti experience with the kiddos.

After making the hike over from Africa, we finally arrived at Base Camp. Unfortunately, just as we started to go in the que, we noticed the height limit sign and realized that Declan was not tall enough.

I couldn't believe it! I had been so diligent in measuring him at home and was sure that he would make it. While he was barely 44 inches, he had indeed reached it. To make matters worse, because I had assumed he had reached the height limit I had talked up this ride so much. I was crushed to have to disappoint him! But he took it in stride. I was so proud!

While I offered to stay behind with Declan, my MIL volunteered so I could ride with Chris and Katie. So off we went.

Katie was a little nervous in the que for her first battle with the Yeti. So we distracted her by talking about the amazing que. We got her to ring one of the bells:

And threw some coins for good luck:

And before we knew it, we were climbing into our train.

Katie put up a brave face with the Yeti...and won. She loved it!!! And wanted to ride again.

On our way back to greet Declan and my MIL after the ride Chris and I noticed a couple of kids getting off the ride who looked awfully close to Declan's height. So even though we were sure he didn't meet the limit, we decided to investigate further and actually get him measured.

Imagine how ridiculous I felt when we discovered that we had misinterpreted the height indicator. There is actually an arrow or line (I forget which exactly) which is *higher* than the kids have to be to ride. The 44 inch indicator is underneath the part of the measure that Chris and I mistook for the height requirement. I wish I had taken a picture of this to better explain what caused our confusion, but at the end of the day, Declan did in fact reach 44 inches and was clear to ride!

I don't even have to tell you that my little daredevil loved it too!

My MIL rode it as well, but for some reason I didn't get a picture of her. I think it was deleted before I could snap the photo. While she was glad she did it, once was definitely enough for her!

With the Yeti accomplished, we headed across the Bridge over Discovery River to the Nemo Show. While we were a bit early, it was mighty hot, so we were happy to spend 20 minutes or so in an air conditioned theatre.

Once again, I was surprised to see that the Nemo Show had received some changes and upgrades since we last visited in 2008. As usual, family consensus is that this is an awesome show!

Once Nemo finished, we headed towards Africa as it was time to use our FastPasses for the Safari.

As it was high noon, there were not a lot of animals out, save for the usual suspects.

These aren't real, right? I don't think I ever heard the real answer to this.

Once the Safari came to an end, and with just 3 attractions under our belt, Chris and the kids were done. Admittedly it was hot. But I at least convinced them to stick with the plan of eating lunch at the Flame Tree BBQ. This is my favourite counterservice restaurant on WDW property, and the only counterservice restaurant we ate at the whole 11 days!

Mmmmm....I just love their chicken! And Chris loves the ribs. Combined with the view on the water, with Expedition Everest in the background, this place is top-notch in my books!

The one thing that I love seeing when we dine here is the raft with the Fab 5 Characters going down Discovery River. Unfortunately we missed them this time.

Although we hadn't seen a number of things on my AK wish list (like Festival of the Lion King, Kali River Rapids, Devine, and the characters at Camp Minnie-Mickey), my family was ready to leave. As it turned out, we did not get back to AK the rest of the trip, so all of these will have to wait for another trip. (We also always seem to miss both the Maharajah Jungle Trek and Rafiki's Planet Watch, but I am determined to fit these in on our next trip!)

Because it was hot, and my family was once again not in the mood for photos, we didn't get a family snapshot in front of the Tree of Life. Once again, kicking myself for not getting up earlier and arriving at the Park on time for our 8am ADR so we would have had time to do this before breakfast. (See...I can trace all of the problems of the day to a simple 15minutes of extra sleep!)

So with that, we bid the Animal Kingdom farewell for this trip and headed back to the Beach Club where (hopefully) we would be given the keys to our 1 Bedroom Unit!


UP NEXT: Checking In...again...at the Beach Club Villas

 

[ToddyLu]

Loving the trip report. I have to admit, I had the Cobb salad once at Brown Derby...yep...once. It was a texture thing with me....like someone had already chewed it for me. We love the crab cakes, though. You do a great job with the children's parties. My mother always had special parties for my brother and I. Usually the favors were as good as the gifts. They are some of my best memories. Can't wait to read more so I am subbing.

 

[PrincessInOz]

What a sequence of mis-haps and highlights at AK! But I'm glad to see that Declan made it on Everest in the end. It's such a great ride and I think it is a perfect rollercoaster for the kids.

Looking forward to seeing BC through your camera next.

 

[ashleighbass06]

That pirate party was SO creative! I don't think I ever could've come up with something that detailed and it looked like the kids loved it!

I wish I could've done Everest...we only had a couple hours in AK and we had to skip it. Definitely will have to go next trip!

But, I always love the Safari! And I'm pretty sure those Ostrich eggs are fake...at least they were there in March and I don't think they take that long to hatch.

Can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip! I'm interested to hear about Backyard BBQ..I considered doing that last trip but there just wasn't enough time. Isn't that how it always goes?