I Am NOT a Bad, Bad Baby -- TR final updates 9/12

[JPFamilyMom]

What a fun AK day.

hooray for pool fun, that pool are looks cool, for the pool needing to be cleaned

Sounds like a nice relaxing evening, Lego and Goofy candy... those are my kids favorite stops in DTD.

2 ADR's in one day, hmmmm wonder where you spent the next day Looking forward to what adventures the next day brings

 

[nilla]

Great safari photos!

The Mine Cart sounds fantastic! We missed it by about a week

That slide at Old Key West....wow! Olivia's is definitely on our radar now, btw.

 

[that's nice]

Hello there!!

Just doing some late night reading…

I snoozed off and on when the kid behind me wasn't kicking my seat while his mother totally ignored him or the woman next to me wasn't snoring and her head falling on my arm.

Maybe the kid was going to Disney and was getting excited.

…. in Building 25 on *****ular Road…

Ummmmm… WHAT ROAD????

Let me just say I love those chips and I love Olivia's. It is truly a hidden gem. We had some of our best meals of the trip here (yes, we will eat here again).

We really liked the menu at Olivia's when we checked it out during marathon weekend a few years ago. Hopefully we will actually eat there someday.

 

[that's nice]

My mom is home, but I don't know for how long. She may have to go to a short term rehab facility and depending on her next doctor's visit, into a Nursing Home. Physically she is doing okay (issues, but nothing major at the moment; she does have cancer, but it is very small at the moment), but mentally she is not there and I'm not sure how long my brother can handle her.

I'm sorry to hear about your mom…. is she doing any better?

Mark: he had a rough night sleeping last night, but he sounded okay when I talked to him this morning (he was sleeping when I left). The severance package is unacceptable and I have my attorneys looking at it to see if there is an age discrimination suit. As of now, Mark will take the summer off unless something spectacular comes up. I think he needs some time to regroup and just relax. He's been so stressed since last October with the job. There is one opportunity that might come up in our area; we have Todd keeping his eyes open in Florida for him.

I'm so sorry about Marks job. Hopefully there is a lot of baseball being played in Chicagoland and not too many rainouts.

I did cancel a couple of the more expensive ADR's -- Flying Fish and Yachtsman which I didn't want to do, but figured we would just go with cheaper meals.

Ship some Ramen down and eat in the room.

Yes, Andy, I am at Starbucks:

Anybody know where we are?

Stitch's Great Escape?

Cute!!!!


Aaight… enough for tonight. Enjoying your TR as always.

 

[that's nice]

When we exited the Haunted Mansion, Wishes was going on. I tried to take pictures as I walked (not a good idea). Spoiler Alert: this is the only time we would see Wishes this trip.

WHAT??!?!?!??!??!!!!?!???!

Cayley ended up riding with me because Mary said she couldn't sit with her if she put her hands up in the air...too scared (there's nothing to Cayley).

Juliana rides with her hands up too.

 

[natebenma]

My, what a busy day you had!

We have never been over to Rafiki's but it looks like there are some really unique experiences there. You never know what you will encounter.

Too bad about Festival of the Lion King.

Pool time was a great idea. Really neat pool slide.

I really dislike the temperature differential from the outside heat and humidity to the limb-numbing cold of the buses and a lot of restaurants. I DON'T want to wear a sweater at Disney!

I love all the treats and gifts from DTD.

It looks like you may have signed up for the FP+ for the Turtle Krawl. Good move!

 

[mommy2mrb]

looks like you all enjoyed the rest of AK!

ewwww about the cleaning of the pool!

yay for shopping! Hope Mary got a big budget okay from the hubby
love those apples!

you need to start a Turtle Krawl punchcard

 

[teekathepony]

Looks like the girls had a lot of fun at Rafiki's! I love the pic of the goat laying on the bridge, just chillin. Cute.
Good idea with the pool, too bad it closed for cleaning though.
Oh those frigid busses! Of course everyone wants to get out of the heat, but the difference is just too extreme.
Great time at DTD and the playground too!

 

[afwdwfan]

We had messed up our FP+ for Festival of the Lion King in trying to change them and none of us really wanted to get wet on Kali River Rapids.

How did you mess up and lose an FP+? Just curious so I don't make the same mistake.

Unfortunately, pool time didn't last long as they had to shut it down for a "cleaning."

Did somebody throw a Baby Ruth in the pool?

I have NO idea what these three were giggling about. Cayley was wearing my sweatshirt because in typical Disney fashion it was freezing on the bus.

Would you prefer that they not have A/C? I'm sure that would be an enjoyable ride with 60 or 70 of your closest friends at the end of the day.

Yes, another Turtle Krawl.

You know, I think we've seen more mentions of Turtle Krawls in this TR than Starbucks. This is a nice change of pace.

 

[vettegirl]

Kathy little Prince is so perfect, we are so in love with him!! Can't wait to go back in Dec with him to the parks!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[vettegirl]

What a busy day you all had. I may need to investigate this turtle krawl next trip!!!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[KatMark]

Hello Miss Kathy! we are home and I got caught up on your TR!

Welcome back, Lisa. I loved following along on your adventures on FB.

sad to hear about your mom, hope she is doing better

Thank you; she's getting stronger and may come home in a week or two.

so sorry to hear about Mark losing his job something is out there for him, good he has his baseball umping to help keep him busy.

Thanks; I'm sure it will all work out in the long run.

exciting news about Andy and Des moving in together! maybe some wedding news coming soon??

Let's just say that he informed me he does NOT want my house when we move; Des wants a "new" house. I hope she finds a better paying job for that.

great view from your room!

It was a pretty good view; I wish we had more time to enjoy it.

the girls look so cute all made up!

Yes they do.

so many yummy food photos...making me hungry!

Me too; and it's almost lunch time.

love the photos from the meet and greet with the princesses and mine train (can't wait to ride that next year!)

Thank you; we had a lot of fun with Anna and Elsa.

yay for a DISmeet! nice hunter rode with the girls!

Hunter is a great kid.

happy you are still taking your trips to Vegas and WDW, you will have so much fun and deserve it!

Yes, I am too. We both just need to get away.

Maybe he and Des will visit MORE !!!

They've already told us that her parents and us will be their first dinner guests at their new place.

EWWWWW a cleaning someone didn't use their swim diapies

I really hate when that happens; just ignorant parents.


LOVE the AK pics, I really want to hit the Planet Watch since we've never been. Since our AK FP are for the Am we should be able to get a lot in before we hit the pool

You should be able to get a lot done and still hit the pool.

OK I keep posting during updates Making a Potato Head and the Candy Co....YES! I am gonna LOVE being so close to DTD...top it off with a hammock AND a Turtle Krawl!!! DHs dream combo

You remind me of someone else who does that (not mentioning any names). The Hammock and Turtle Krawl are the best part about it. This might just do the trick in getting hubby to want to go more.

I am really enjoying this Trip Report. It looks like you all have tons of fun.

Shannon; thank you for joining and I am glad you are enjoying it. Our girls trips are always a blast.

I love how much fun you all had at AK!! AK is not a favorite of ours, but this trip it was fun, which was definitely an improvement. Next time we will have to adventure more and visit more of the park!!

I'm glad you had an improvement at AK. As you know, it is a favorite of the girls, Mary, Mark and me. I prefer it any day over the Studios.

I shudder thinking about why the pool needed "cleaning"!

I don't blame you.

We missed each other by minutes at Goofy's! We were getting on our boat to go back to POR when I looked at Facebook and saw your post from the same time we were in there!

I think I remember you telling me that.

What a relaxing end to the day!

It really was and much needed with the next day's schedule.

Looks like a fun afternoon. Sorry to hear the pool time was cut short! Ewww!!

It wasn't the only time that pool time was cut short.

I have to admit, even as an adult I really like that Lego Store. One of my brothers and I would play Legos for HOURS when we were younger so they have a special place in my heart.

You young people; with us it was Erector Sets and Lincoln Logs.

Yay for a Turtle Krawl!!

You can never have enough of those.

I don't blame ya'll for skipping Kali River Rapids. It's been years since we have ridden it. I don't wanna walk around with wet underwear stuck to my behind all day long.

I like the ride, but we just weren't feeling it. I think if they made it longer it would be more worth my time.

Sounds like you had a fun evening. A little swimming, shopping and a delicious drink.

It was the perfect end to our awesome day of meeting you and the family.

 

[KatMark]

Did you keep a Turtle Krawl count? Eh, what's the point. You're on vacation!

Heck no; as you said I was on vacation.

I have never gotten so drenched on a ride as Kali River Rapids. Just not enjoyable. I understand people wearing ponchos on it.

My husband is definitely NOT a fan of getting soaked.

I could go a treat from Goofy's right about now!

I could too...my tummy is currently gurgling because it is hungry.

Cayley and Avery are very pretty little girls.

Yes they are!

I've been helping a co-worker plan a potential trip to WDW with her 3-year old, who loves animals, and I was telling her about the safari and the trails at AK, but I just realized that I completely forgot about Rafiki's Planet Watch! We usually skip it because it's not too exciting for our kids anymore, but her little guy might like it.

Mark and I did it last year just because it had been so long since he'd been there, but it is great for little kids or kids who have a deep interest in animals as Avery does.

I had to look for a while to find the bird!

But you did find him.

that is a pretty cool looking pool ... well, at least prior to the cleaning being needed

It's one of my favorite pools of all the resorts (I like it better than Stormalong Bay )

DTD is always fun - but dangerous for ones wallet. Giving the gift cards ahead of time is a great idea

Very dangerous on the wallet; my DH usually gives me a limit before we even get there (unless I tell him I'm purchasing for our daughter-in-law who he thinks walks on water).

BTW - doing a drinking game of taking a drink everytime you have a Turtle Krawl ... getting a little tipsy here

Good thing I spread out the updates then.

We're big fans of "girl legos" in our house. We definitely visited that store more than once.

I can see that about Maddie!

I love being so close to DTD at POR. Makes for a nice relaxing evening!

It sure does having that boat making it so easy to get there.

Can't wait to hear what you did next!

Hopefully later today or tomorrow the next update will go up.

So let me get this straight - you had a Turtle Krawl and Mary had a candied apple???? I'm going with the TK !

I'm with you; I love candied apples but I can get those anywhere.

Those are really cute candid pictures of the girls eating candy.

Thanks, MEK.

Why ARE the Disney buses SOOOOOO cold? There were a couple times in May I was so uncomfortably cold I didn't think I was going to make it without turning into an actual ice cube.

They really need to regulate them better. 90% of the time we were the only ones on the buses and we froze are you know what off.

I could go for a dip in that pool right about now! (minus the need for a cleaning )

Me too; I just love floating in that pool.

It looks like you had so much fun at AK! It's one of my favorites too. I'm actually a little bummed about the Pandora stuff being added because I know it's going to draw more people into the park. I like that I never feel crowded or stepped on there. I've always wanted to try Yak and Yeti but can't seem to get myself away from Flame Tree BBQ to do it.

Animal Kingdom has grown on me a lot over the years and we find ourselves staying longer and longer each visit. You need two days at AK so you can do both.

Thanks for the info about the Turtle Krawl. Hopefully I'll get to try one in the future. I looked up the recipe online and it looks delicious!!!

One of my top two drinks at Disney.

Can't wait for another update. Off to do one of my own now.

I caught yours...so much fun.

That does sound like a fun end to the day. Our family has a hard time just kicking out of gear and relaxing when we stay on property...you all did a great job of it. Swimming and shopping...

The girls were still getting used to the time difference and when Mark and I go we have to "kick back" or we would both pass out.

Claire is a big Lego fan as well. That taffy apple looked good, even if it was hard to cut!

It would have been fine if we'd had a real knife. Mary really liked it and I am pretty sure she had more of it later on in the trip.

 

[KatMark]

Two places I've spent very little time. RPW (been once) and DTD, at least to just stroll and look. Almost every time I've been there it was usually for a specific purpose, and then gone. I do love that boat ride from DTD back to OKW though.......so nice and peaceful on a pleasant evening. Of course, that's really true of any boat ride at Disney.

Seriously? You don't spend much time at DTD? I guess being a guy you aren't much of a shopper. Rafiki is good for a visit every couople of years (unless with the girls).

And can't blame you for not passing up the chance to grab another turtle crawl.

Never pass up an opportunity for one of them.

I like to get out to RPW in the AM to see any vet procedures going on. It is really hit or miss and I wish they would post the schedule at the Train station so you don't have to go all the way out there to find out only a bird is getting an exam.

Yes, we need to get out there earlier next time to see if anything is going on. I agree that they should have a board or something so you knew if anything was going on.

DTD is a disaster now too with all the construction but someday it should be better. Transportation too since they are building special bus lanes and all.

It was horrible in June and I'm sure it won't be much better in two months for us (one for you).

August may be the time for Kali.....

Yes indeed...it will be hotter than all heck then.

What a fun AK day.

It really was a great day!

hooray for pool fun, that pool are looks cool, for the pool needing to be cleaned

It's a really fun pool.

Sounds like a nice relaxing evening, Lego and Goofy candy... those are my kids favorite stops in DTD.

I think that is probably true of most kids, even the "grown" ones.

2 ADR's in one day, hmmmm wonder where you spent the next day Looking forward to what adventures the next day brings

Yep, 2 ADR's.

Great safari photos!

Thanks, Jon.

The Mine Cart sounds fantastic! We missed it by about a week

I hope you are going back next year; Em is going to love it!

That slide at Old Key West....wow! Olivia's is definitely on our radar now, btw.

I hope you make a point of going to Olivia's...it's really good (just ask MEK!).

Hello there!!

look who is here. I have missed you my friend but I know what a busy time this is for you. We have to talk soon...my FP+ day is coming up -- July 21!

Just doing some late night reading…

Glad you chose to come here for that.

Maybe the kid was going to Disney and was getting excited.

Probably, but it was NONSTOP!

Ummmmm… WHAT ROAD????

Don't start now that you just came back.

We really liked the menu at Olivia's when we checked it out during marathon weekend a few years ago. Hopefully we will actually eat there someday.

You didn't eat there? Are you crazy?

 

[KatMark]

I'm sorry to hear about your mom…. is she doing any better?

Twice in one night you post on my thread? I am honored. Yes, she is doing better and hope to have her home in a week or so.

I'm so sorry about Marks job. Hopefully there is a lot of baseball being played in Chicagoland and not too many rainouts.

Luckily, since he was let go, he's only had one game called because of rain. He has been doing doubleheaders almost every day during the week and then up to 12 games on the weekends.

Ship some Ramen down and eat in the room.

I think I'll pass. With these added games, I'm adding a signature back...just not sure which one yet.



Don't you start ganging up on me with Andy again.

Stitch's Great Escape?

Heck no! I don't think the girls have ever been on that.

Cute!!!!

Yes they are!

Aaight… enough for tonight. Enjoying your TR as always.

I think you lied!

WHAT??!?!?!??!??!!!!?!???!

Yep, you lied!

Yes, we never got to see the full Wishes. I will make up for it in September I promise.

Juliana rides with her hands up too.

Oh Mr. Mark will want to ride with her then!

My, what a busy day you had!

We sure did!

We have never been over to Rafiki's but it looks like there are some really unique experiences there. You never know what you will encounter.

My favorite part is when they bring out an animal and give you some facts about it...especially if it is one you don't see often.

Too bad about Festival of the Lion King.

It really was because it had just reopened the day before.

Pool time was a great idea. Really neat pool slide.

Yes; and the girls had fun and cooled off after the "hot" Animal Kingdom.

I really dislike the temperature differential from the outside heat and humidity to the limb-numbing cold of the buses and a lot of restaurants. I DON'T want to wear a sweater at Disney!

Me neither; but I always carry one with me.

I love all the treats and gifts from DTD.

I was tempted, but I really wanted that Turtle Krawl.

It looks like you may have signed up for the FP+ for the Turtle Krawl. Good move!

I like that Dee...nice job.

looks like you all enjoyed the rest of AK!

We did...it was a fun day.

ewwww about the cleaning of the pool!

Disgusting!

yay for shopping! Hope Mary got a big budget okay from the hubby
love those apples!

I don't think Mary really needs Jeffs okay.

you need to start a Turtle Krawl punchcard

Oooh...now there's a GREAT idea! I think I'll send an email to Disney and suggest it.

Looks like the girls had a lot of fun at Rafiki's! I love the pic of the goat laying on the bridge, just chillin. Cute.

They did; and that goat was all by himself most of the time. I wonder if he was on time-out?

Good idea with the pool, too bad it closed for cleaning though.

It was a good way to refresh ourselves.

Oh those frigid busses! Of course everyone wants to get out of the heat, but the difference is just too extreme.

Yes; it's like my train every morning and evening. I know it's hot out (well, when it is hot out), but we don't need to feel like we're in an igloo.

Great time at DTD and the playground too!

It was the perfect end to our day.

 

[KatMark]

How did you mess up and lose an FP+? Just curious so I don't make the same mistake.

Well, we didn't really lose it. After we decided not to do Kali, we wanted to move up the time. We had issues with the app when Mary was trying to do it, and she changed three of us, but not the fourth. When she went back in, there was no time for the fourth.

Did somebody throw a Baby Ruth in the pool?

Now that's funny.

Would you prefer that they not have A/C? I'm sure that would be an enjoyable ride with 60 or 70 of your closest friends at the end of the day.

I would prefer they turn it down so that I don't look like an icicle when I get off (and our buses were empty 90% of the time!).

You know, I think we've seen more mentions of Turtle Krawls in this TR than Starbucks. This is a nice change of pace.

are you! Let's see if that stands true up until the end of the report.

Kathy little Prince is so perfect, we are so in love with him!! Can't wait to go back in Dec with him to the parks!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

I am loving the photos on FB; he is certainly "Prince Charming." You will have so much fun with him at the parks.

What a busy day you all had. I may need to investigate this turtle krawl next trip!!!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

It was busy, but a whole lot of fun. Yes, I definitely know that YOU would like the Turtle Krawl.

 

[KatMark]

It was Sunday morning...June 1....day 3 of our trip (if you don't count arrival day).

I showered, went and got coffee and everyone else got ready. We nibbled on breakfast in the room...but not a lot because we had two ADR's this day and wanted to be hungry for both of them.

We walked to the bus stop to wait for our chariot to our first park of the day.

Can you stand the cuteness here?



Our chariot arrived and we were on our way. But where?



The first order of business was more coffee! We had time before our first FP+ selection, so we were headed to Starbucks. On the way, I got a picture of everyone's favorite fountain:



I just love the cupcakes that they have...they are so cute:



With time still to kill before our FP, we headed here:



And the most awesome thing in the world happened. We lost Cayley for a minute...NO that wasn't what was awesome! What was awesome is that when we found each other, she said "I found my birthday gift, Miss Kathy." I send the kids gift cards for Disney for Christmas and their birthday. Being that Cayley's birthday is not until September, I hadn't gotten her one and it was kind of silly to do so because they weren't going back to Disney any time in the near future. So I told Cay that she could pick something out at Disney, within reason, for her birthday gift from Mr. Mark and I.

So what was it that had her screaming and making us run to follow her?
















































Yep, they had JUST stocked the shelves when Cayley was in the area. We grabbed Elsa as fast as we could knowing that they would go like hotcakes. After I posted above picture on FB, I saw a posting later to pick one up for another friend who would be joining us later in the trip (find out later if I was successful). Avery ended up getting an Anna doll and both of the girls got t-shirts and I got Mark a t-shirt too.

Our purchases carefully in our bags, we headed to our first FP+ selection here:

















I'm not sure why we ended up heading towards Mission as we didn't have a FP+ for it this day, but as we were walking that way we saw that there was a 5 minute wait at the Character Spot (this is the third time I've seen only a 5 minute wait on our visits) so I suggested we go in since the girls were dressed so cute and as Minnie to boot.



Enjoy cuteness overload:





















Continued in next post

 

[KatMark]

With borders:









It was time for our FP+ for the Seas with Nemo. I didn't get a single picture. I sent the girls with Mary and I ran back at this point to Mouse Gears to try to get another Elsa doll. Was I successful? NOPE!!!! They were all gone. We would not give up and would keep checking in every store we went to during the rest of the trip.

I met the girls and we took a boat over to World Showcase as it was now time for our first ADR of the day.



And just where were we having lunch? Well, here, of course:



This was my third time and the first for Mary and the girls.

We were seated in the "back room" which I thought was kind of odd as the restaurant had just opened. We had a nice table by the window (it's located by the little sidewalk going to the shops).

Cayley (and Mary and I) really enjoyed the bread:





I have to say that our server was definitely NOT the best I have ever had here...I was quite disappointed in him actually. He spoke very softly and had a really thick accent. I could handle the accent if he would have spoken at a natural level of volume.

Mary and I both had the soup:



The kids had the mini-cheeseburgers. Now, when we ordered the girls meals, Miss Kathy screwed up and thought it said mini-grilled cheese. Neither girl is fond of cheeseburgers, especially Avery who doesn't eat a lot of meat. Well, it turned out that they ended up loving them. I had promised if they'd each one, they could split half of my sandwich.



My grilled cheese and ham (love this sandwich)



The salad that comes with it that I gave to Mary



Mary's mac and cheese:



If I recall, Mary was not a big fan of the mac and cheese but she made a pretty good dent in it.

Then it was time for dessert. I don't recall who had what, but here's what we had:





Up next, what happened to the sun?

 

[mickeystoontown]

How adorable are the girls' outfits!?! Love those two cuties. Oh and adult girls are looking fine too.

Yay for Cayley grabbing up the doll before they were all gone. Too bad, you couldn't get one too when you went back.

Good thing those cheeseburgers turned out so good or Mrs. Kathy might have been in a heap of trouble with the girls. Lunch looks delicious!

 

[DWGal210]

I love the girls outfits. Cute, cute, cute!!

That Cayley, way to grab that Elsa doll!! That merchandise does go crazy fast, doesn't it?!

The pictures with Mickey and Minnie and friends were just precious. And very nice group photos of all of you!

I really liked your Chefs pictures, I am eating there for the first time this fall and I can't wait. Sorry to hear the service wasn't stellar, though.