I didn't know the baby's powers so I covered the basics: An Oct. '11/March ‘12 PTR

I didn't think I'd get to put this up until tomorrow, but Franklin (my hero!) edited the photos when he got home from work and before we went to a basketball game.

Basically, I always knew I was going to do goodie bags for Tanner. But then I also decided to do goodie bags for Lala, Keith and Kotkham. Those bags started out including things I thought none of them would think to bring to Disney (ponchos, filtered water bottles, etc.) and then the project grew from there.

Let's start with Tanner's travel-day goodie bag:

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I found the cutest little Cars backpack to put everything in. It's filled with a bean bag Mickey Mouse, a travel Magna-Doodle to draw on during the flight, a couple of books, a Cars sipee cup, an autograph book and a letter from Mickey (saying how excited he is to meet Tanner).

For Franklin's mom, Kotkham:

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Everything goes in a vintage Mickey reusable bag. It includes a Minnie Mouse T-shirt, a Bobble filtered water bottle, a poncho, a Disney gift card and I put a Mickey applique on a new set of gardening gloves. Franklin's mom is an avid gardener, so I'm so excited to show her the Flower and Garden Festival. Shadowryter over on the Disigns board is working on an invite to the event for me to roll up and put with the gloves.

For Franklin's sister, Lala:

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Her goodie bag is in a Cars reusable bag. It includes a sorcerer Mickey T-shirt (Fantasia is her favorite Disney movie), a poncho, a Bobble filtered water bottle, a Disney gift card and an invitation from Mickey to join him for breakfast at Chef Mickey's.

For Franklin's brother-in-law, Keith:

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His goodie bag is also in a Cars reusable bag. It includes a Lightning McQueen T-shirt that says "My other car is a Camaro" (Keith's passion in life is anything Camaro-related), a poncho, a Disney gift card and the Imagineer's Guide to the Magic Kingdom.

And finally, Tanner will get small goodie bags each day of the trip. Just little things he can play with in his stroller or while waiting in line.

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He's getting a new bean-bag animal every day (Buzz, Woody, Nemo and Pluto). There will be a couple of Tanner-sized books in there. There's a Winnie the Pooh bubble blower (which we won't let him play with in line, so as not to anger other guests). And a Mickey cellphone. There are also three Fisher Price Cars Wheelies.

Yes, yes, it's clearly too much. But he's just so darn cute and it's his birthday trip, so I just want to spoil him rotten. :rolleyes1 So there you have it, what do you guys think?
 
Mmmmm- the funnel cake looks awesome! I'm with you on the sugar- less is more. It seems like you have a system worked out, but would you be able to have the CMs split your funnel cake into two and then you could each "have it your way?"

The goodie bags are AWESOME!!! This is going to be such a great trip for everyone.

Do you have clickable Sharpie markers for the autograph book? I don't know if it is true or not, but I have heard that the characters do not like green because it is difficult to groom out of their "fur"
 
Mmmmm- the funnel cake looks awesome! I'm with you on the sugar- less is more. It seems like you have a system worked out, but would you be able to have the CMs split your funnel cake into two and then you could each "have it your way?"

The goodie bags are AWESOME!!! This is going to be such a great trip for everyone.

Do you have clickable Sharpie markers for the autograph book? I don't know if it is true or not, but I have heard that the characters do not like green because it is difficult to groom out of their "fur"

Hmmm, we should try the half and half technique on our next funnel cake, great suggestion!

I have the clickable Sharpie on my to-buy list. I knew they preferred the clickable to the regular Sharpie, but I hadn't heard anything about color preferences, good to know. :thumbsup2
 
30 Things I LOVE About Disney World

No. 12 -- PeopleMover

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Confession time. I could probably spend hours on the PeopleMover and be perfectly happy. I love this ride. It’s so delightful to kick up your feet and take a spin around Tomorrowland. The views are spectacular (we’ve even seen parts of the Main Street Electrical Parade from up there). And it’s such a wonderful break from the hustle and bustle of the park and the other attractions. It’s also a great kid-swap attraction while adults switch off riding Space Mountain.

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I looovvvve the People Mover. We suggested my in-laws do it on their first trip and they hated it. :confused3 I just like the relaxing time off my feet that comes with a little Disney commentary. :thumbsup2
 
I looovvvve the People Mover. We suggested my in-laws do it on their first trip and they hated it. :confused3 I just like the relaxing time off my feet that comes with a little Disney commentary. :thumbsup2

At first I thought it was pretty lame. But after a hectic start or a long day this relaxing ride does the trick. Cruising around, people watching from above, and a little breeze.
 
I looovvvve the People Mover. We suggested my in-laws do it on their first trip and they hated it. :confused3 I just like the relaxing time off my feet that comes with a little Disney commentary. :thumbsup2

How can someone NOT LIKE the PeopleMover??!?!?!? :eek: Well I guess I can understand it. After all, I'm not the world's biggest fan of Pirates of the Caribbean, which is basically blasphemy on these boards. :rolleyes1
 
30 Things I LOVE About Disney World

No. 11 -- Potstickers, noodles and bread pudding at 'Ohana

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It is utterly ridiculous how popular ‘Ohana has gotten. You can’t get in unless you book six months in advance :scared1: (or are like us and are completely fine eating dinner at 9:50 p.m.). But let’s face it, dinner there is totally worth it. Dinner at ‘Ohana is one of the things I’m looking forward to most about our March trip. And it has very little to do with the meats the restaurant is known for.

Give me the potstickers, the noodles and the bread pudding and I’ll be a happy camper. :yay: Throw in a little of the salad with the delicious lime dressing and you’ll have to roll me out of there. I knew going into my first meal at ‘Ohana that I’d like the potstickers and noodles, they’re right in my wheelhouse. But I didn’t expect to like the bread pudding at all. Let’s go over why: I don’t like bread pudding. :sad1: I don’t like bananas. :sad2: I don’t like caramel. So there’s literally nothing in that dessert I actually like (save for the vanilla ice cream). And yet? This is one the best desserts I’ve ever eaten. I don’t know what it is about the combination, but I loved it! :lovestruc Weird, right?

11 days until we leave, 14 days until dinner at ‘Ohana! Sigh, time can’t move fast enough.​
 
The People Mover is a total hidden jewel!

I don't think we have ever had to wait to ride it, which makes it the perfect ride if you are looking to burn some time before your FP time for Space Mountain comes due. We have even used it when the FP time and standby time for Buzz Lightyear has been the same (30 minutes). We pull the FP and ride that, then go on Buzz.

The ride is such a great place to sit down, cool down, relax.

Love it!!!
 
The People Mover is a total hidden jewel!

I don't think we have ever had to wait to ride it, which makes it the perfect ride if you are looking to burn some time before your FP time for Space Mountain comes due. We have even used it when the FP time and standby time for Buzz Lightyear has been the same (30 minutes). We pull the FP and ride that, then go on Buzz.

The ride is such a great place to sit down, cool down, relax.

Love it!!!

Part of the perfection of the PeopleMover is its location. Its centrally located between a bunch of rides on which people spend a good chunk of their time at Magic Kingdom. This makes PeopleMover the perfect place to kill time and the perfect place to meet up. Love!
 
We have had one meal at 'Ohana. Due to circumstances entirely beyond the restaurant's control, it was not one of our favorite meals. The food was fabulous. The dessert was awesome (although we were all too full and too tired to make a dent in it)

But that night, our last night of a punishing, commando trip, my family hit the Disney wall. Unfortunately, that really impacted the enjoyment of the meal for us.

We really like Kona at the Poly, so I suspect that my family will vote for that on future trips. Fair? Maybe not. But that means more 'Ohana for all of you!

Either way, you can't beat watching the Electrical Water Parade, or the MK fireworks, from the beach.
 
We have had one meal at 'Ohana. Due to circumstances entirely beyond the restaurant's control, it was not one of our favorite meals. The food was fabulous. The dessert was awesome (although we were all too full and too tired to make a dent in it)

But that night, our last night of a punishing, commando trip, my family hit the Disney wall. Unfortunately, that really impacted the enjoyment of the meal for us.

We really like Kona at the Poly, so I suspect that my family will vote for that on future trips. Fair? Maybe not. But that means more 'Ohana for all of you!

Either way, you can't beat watching the Electrical Water Parade, or the MK fireworks, from the beach.

I'm sorry you guys hit the wall that hard. Everyone has very different experiences at 'Ohana. Even two people who go on the same night may come away with very different takes on the restaurant. We lucked out and had a great experience, I hope that lucky streak continues!

We also love Kona. That bread alone, how can you not love that place?
 
30 Things I LOVE About Disney World

No. 10 -- Minnie Mouse

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Minnie Mouse and I share a very special relationship and it goes way back. We both share an affinity for polka dots and pop-of-color heels. We’re both in very long-term relationships with boys that we love very much, and we both get asked all the time when we're going to get married. :lmao: And let’s face it, I’d take up residence at Disney World if I could!

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And my love of the mouse doesn’t end with Minnie, Mickey has my love too!

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I'd like to interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to do a little dancing. Single-digit dancing, in particular.

:cool1: :yay: :dancer: :dance3: :dancer: :yay: :cool1:

Nine days! Wuh-hoo, it's getting so close! :woohoo: And now back to your regularly scheduled program.

30 Things I LOVE About Disney World

No. 9 -- Disney cupcakes

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Ask 10 Disney-goers what their favorite sweet snack at the World is, and nine of them will say Mickey Bars. Me? I’m the 10th person, and my favorite sweet snack at Disney is the cupcakes. There are many different kinds of cupcakes that I cannot wait to try. But for now, my good old standby is the yellow-cake, pink icing variety. :cloud9:

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(Photo borrowed from the cupcake thread over on the restaurant board).

This type of cupcake comes in a couple of different colors. But I learned the hard way the green and blue ones turn your mouth those colors (for a couple of days!) :scared1:. So pink is the safer choice. The cake is moist, but for me, cupcakes are all about the icing and the icing on this cupcake is awesome. It’s sugary without being overly sweet and there’s so much of it piled on top of the cupcake! These cupcakes also make a pretty good vacation breakfast. My goal is try a new kind of cupcake on every Disney trip, sounds doable right?​
 
I love that Wizard of Oz inspired cupcake!

You know, I don't think I have had a cupcake at Disney. My son has had a couple of birthday cupcakes during our July trips, but we have never ordered one.

I have seen pictures, though, of some majorly amazing and obscene cupcakes.

Have you seen the spaghetti and meatballs cupcake on the kids menu at Mama Melrose?

Or the incredible animal cupcakes at AK?

I plan on herding the teens in June to Starring Rolls for lunch, so we can try one of their specialties. Maybe the red velvet. Maybe a Butterfinger. Perhaps something with coconut (I hope they have something with coconut). Or...

Maybe I will benefit from whatever you try on this trip.
 
Oh those pink cupcakes look amazing! I am definetly hoping to smaple some cupcakes in July. Cupcakes are my all time favourite treat!
 
I love that Wizard of Oz inspired cupcake!

You know, I don't think I have had a cupcake at Disney. My son has had a couple of birthday cupcakes during our July trips, but we have never ordered one.

I have seen pictures, though, of some majorly amazing and obscene cupcakes.

Have you seen the spaghetti and meatballs cupcake on the kids menu at Mama Melrose?

Or the incredible animal cupcakes at AK?

I plan on herding the teens in June to Starring Rolls for lunch, so we can try one of their specialties. Maybe the red velvet. Maybe a Butterfinger. Perhaps something with coconut (I hope they have something with coconut). Or...

Maybe I will benefit from whatever you try on this trip.

I haven't seen the spaghetti and meatball cupcake, I'll have to hunt down some photos.

I have two cupcakes targeted for my trip in March (and I'll happily be your cupcake guinea pig :lmao:): The animal cupcakes at Animal Kingdom and the new marble cupcake at Starring Rolls. Fingers crossed, I'll try them both!


Oh those pink cupcakes look amazing! I am definetly hoping to smaple some cupcakes in July. Cupcakes are my all time favourite treat!

They taste every bit as delicious as they look! I cannot wait to have one (just eight days now!).
 
30 Things I LOVE About Disney World

No. 8 -- Space Mountain

For those of you who haven’t read my past trip reports, I used to be quite a thrill-ride chicken. The only roller coaster I would ride was Big Thunder Mountain (and that was only because my dad lied to me when I was little and told me we were just going on the train). But back in 2010, Franklin went on a campaign to get me onto Space Mountain. He swore up and down that there were no big drops and it was pretty much like riding Big Thunder Mountain with your eyes closed. I didn’t believe him, I thought he was lying just to get me on the ride. Then we found a YouTube video that showed a ride on Space Mountain with the lights on and I saw for myself that there were no big drops, so I agreed to give it a try.

And how did it go? Well, considering the attraction landed on my list of 30 Things I Love About Disney World, I’d say it went pretty darn well!

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I even got an “I’m Celebrating” pin to mark the occasion.

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And now Space Mountain is one of my favorite Disney rides and I’ll happily ride it over and over again.

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Which is good, considering there will be no Big Thunder Mountain on this trip. :sad:
 














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