"I Wanna See My Castle!" October 2013 TR *COMPLETE* **NEW TR LINK!!** 7/3

[khertz]

Before I get to the next update, I wanted to share some


PRETTY BIG NEWS!!!

So you might remember how I said we were skipping Disney World in 2014 because of the BIG and EXPENSIVE Adventures By Disney trip we are taking in September with the DIS Unplugged podcast. But, have you ever had one of those nights where you can't sleep and all you can think about is how you can make a trip, ANY KIND of trip, work and you just keep running scenarios through your head? That was me a few weeks ago. See, I have been picking up a lot of extra shifts at work to help pay for this Mardi Gras weekend package we are doing in New Orleans in March. And I started thinking, if I'm already used to picking up and working so much, why not just keep doing that and save for a short trip to Disney too? I brought it up to DH thinking he would tell me I was crazy, but he was on board!

I started looking into different hotel options, and found myself on the Disney website where I saw they had the spring resort discount out. I priced out a few options, but it started looking like our cheapest option was, of course, going to be Bonnet Creek since we don't have to pay anything out of pocket for that. We decided on a long weekend trip, driving down Friday, spending Saturday & Sunday at the parks, and driving home Monday. So that got me thinking...wouldn't it be so much better to stay somewhere closer to the parks, specifically MK? The parks are open later in May than we are used to, so it would be really great to get to our resort in just a few minutes, rather than having to wait for the Express Monorail back to the TTC, getting to our car, driving back to BC, etc. Renting DVC points sounded perfect, and we were hoping for Bay Lake Tower, but we quickly realized that wasn't an option when 2 DVC rental sites told us the only thing they had available was at Saratoga Springs, which is most definitely NOT close to anything we are interested in.

So in the end, we decided to go for a resort with easier access to Magic Kingdom, that will also give us a larger room since we will be sharing our sleeping space with DS for 3 nights, and will give us the bonus benefits of being able to book our FP+ in advance instead of waiting until the day-of, and also EMH. I'm more than a little excited to say that we will be staying at one of my dream resorts...




THE WILDERNESS LODGE!!!


wildernesslodge by disneymom1024, on Flickr

Oh my goodness, y'all, I just can express how ecstatic I am to be staying here!! PINCH ME!

Of course, that means for the next few months, I will be working my tail off at work. And this from someone who NEVER EVER picks up extra because I just don't want to be there any more than I have to be. Now I am begging for extra hours.

So the quick plans are as follows...

We will leave our house Thursday May 1st and stay the night at my parents' house in New Orleans to give us a 2 hour jump on the drive. Friday May 2nd we will leave stupid early in the morning, probably like 3 or 4 am, maybe even earlier. We want to have some time Friday evening to have a little fun after spending the day in the car.

Originally, when we were planning to stay at Bonnet Creek, I thought it would be great to drive over to Art of Animation to check that out and let DS see all of the character statues outside and have dinner at their food court. But now that we are staying at WL woohoo:) we figure we will not want to leave! Since the two park days will be busy, Friday evening will give us a chance to explore and enjoy the resort. Maybe if we are up to it, we can check out the pool, and they have the nighttime movie on the blow up screen and also a place you can roast marshmallows. Since we are going all out on the resort, we are not making any ADR's, so dinner will be something we pick up at Roaring Fork.

We are saving some money by skipping the park hoppers this time, and we chose our 2 parks as Magic Kingdom and DHS. I know, I know, Flower & Garden is happening, but we will probably never be those people that can spend a whole day in Epcot. DHS has morning EMH on Saturday and MK has evening EMH on Sunday. We had to decide between utilizing the EMH and risk being in the busier park for the day or doing our usual routine of avoiding EMH and hoping for better crowds. Ultimately, we decided we just can't pass up the opportunity to use those EMH hours since this might be the only time we stay onsite in the foreseeable future. So our park plans are...

Saturday May 3rd, at DHS with am EMH.


DHS by disneymom1024, on Flickr

And Sunday May 4th at MK, with pm EMH until 1 am! Not sure if we will be able to stay until the end, but with our resort only a boat ride away, we should be able to stay later than if we had to get to the car at the TTC and drive back to Bonnet Creek.


MK by disneymom1024, on Flickr

The of course, Monday the 5th will roll around and it will be time to head home.

I'm hoping with a few months to go before the trip, DS will grow another 1.5 inches and be able to try out Big Thunder Mountain, and maybe even Splash Mountain! We have been telling him about riding the "big train ride" and how if he eats all his vegetables and gets a good night's sleep every night, he will grow big and tall and be able to ride it. That was all fine and dandy until the first night I tried to make him eat all his green beans and he told me, "Mama, I don't want to grow big and tall, I just want to stay little." Oh, no, this boy is too smart for me!!

But anyway, that's probably enough rambling about it, but I just wanted to share my excitement! Definitely didn't think we'd make it to WDW this year, and that it would probably be late 2015 before we would be back, so I couldn't be any more excited that we are squeezing in this trip, no matter how short!
​

 

[khertz]

Day 4 Continued: Friday October 25th

After our private Safari ride, I had talked with my mom and we had all decided to meet up in Asia by Expedition Everest. So we headed in that direction, and DH took a couple of photos along the way.

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DS was just FASCINATED by the foot statue


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Too bad this place won't be open until next season, seems like it would be a fun place to stay in May. ;-)


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Prayer Flags!


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By the time we made it over there, our family still had not. So DH stayed with DS while I went through the Single Rider line and got right on. By the time I came out, everyone else was there, so my dad volunteered to stay behind with DS so that DH and I could ride together. Originally, my mom and MIL were going to come with us, but they were taking too long fawning over DS so we ditched them. lol I think they ended up on the train behind us. DH kept his camera out for this ride and got some great shots.

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While waiting for us, my dad got this cute picture of DS being Mr. Cool with his sippy cup and his hand in his pocket.

001 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​

DH wanted to go again Single Rider, but they had closed that line, so our only option at the moment was Standby and it had grown considerably. Instead, he grabbed a FP for later and took one more photo of that gorgeous mountain before we headed out for something else.

Since it was still a little early, I thought maybe now would be a good time to head out to Rafiki's Planet Watch to see if there were any animal surgeries going on. In 2012, we ventured out there for the first time and got to see a kangaroo on the table getting a dental exam, so I was hopeful we could see some kind of interesting procedure early in the day. DS was more than happy to take a train ride!

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Riding with Nonni & Poppi
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Soon enough, we were disembarking the train and Rafiki was welcoming us in.

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His "scared" face


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Mid-roar!

VIDEO: DS Mid-Roar


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That parrot was out, but I don't really remember anything interesting being said about it. I headed back to the viewing area hoping we might get to see one of the big cats or a gorilla or even another kangaroo getting worked on. There was nothing happening unfortunately, but the CM working there informed us that in just a little while, some rats were getting hysterectomies! Thanks, but no thanks. While I was inquiring about that, DH had gone to get in line for when Rafiki came out for his 10:15 set.

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Continued in Next Post...

 

[khertz]

Day 4 Continued: Friday October 25th

DS got a little nervous when he saw Rafiki (or as he still calls him, Freaky) come out, and he didn't want to go right up to him. MIL volunteered to take him up, and Rafiki signed his book first. He was very excited to see his picture in the autograph book!

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That's him pointing out his picture!


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And pointing to himself, in case we didn't get the connection.


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Eventually DS warmed up to him enough to take a picture on his own and give Rafiki a hug.

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But then his attention was caught by all of the reptiles in the tanks behind Rafiki, so he unceremoniously ran away as Rafiki was trying to give him a high 5. We said goodbye to Rafiki and followed DS.

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We also spotted a wishing well, and you know when there are 4 grandparents around, that's a lot of change for DS to throw in, so he had quite a fun time throwing pennies in there.

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Last year, I had chickened out on taking him into the Affection Section to get up close and personal with the goats. Something about it just makes me feel so icky! I am definitely not used to being around livestock. And all I want to do is wash my hands. But I figured DS was now of the age where he wouldn't terrorize the poor animals or try to eat the poop on the ground, so why not? Especially with so many other adults around to watch him should he try to do either of those things! So we headed in and grabbed some brushes.

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This just makes me want to say, "And in the morning...I'm makin' WAFFLES!"


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Okay, this goat LOVED attention! She reminded me of my cat because every time someone would stop brushing her, she'd go stand so close to someone else that she was practically leaning against them! Eventually, that person ended up being me.


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Once we were done petting the goats, we washed our hands and decided we should start heading back to the train. On the way out, DS spotted a little remote controlled Safari truck with Mickey & Minnie in it that he just loved! We didn't buy it for him then, but we did end up getting it for him later.

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Leaving Conservation Station​

We took the train back to the rest of the park. DH decided to go run and use his FP for Everest while I took DS to Dinoland USA to get him another FP to use on Dinosaur later. We have skipped it the past few years and DH was itching to ride, but I can do without it, so I just got the one FP for him. While he was gone riding EE, he took these pictures from the front row.

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Meanwhile, this is what I was seeing...

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I'll leave off here for now, as my little booger should be waking up from his nap soon!

UP NEXT: More Dinoland

 

[missangelalexis]

So jealous that you get to go back AND are staying at Wilderness Lodge! But I'm so happy for you guys, what a great getaway weekend that will be!

Love all the EE pics.

Looks like you guys had fun with the animals, despite the icky factor! Love that last pic of the sheep with the mickey!!

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

*PINCH* Still good??? OK

Wow, that's wonderful news. Wilderness Lodge is so glorious PLUS boating it to MK. Ahhhh the things we do for Disney.

Nothing wrong with your first day exploring plans. Take the time and really ENJOY IT I say.

I have to say, I really enjoy EMH evenings. I've only done it once, but I LOVED IT!!!

AHHH I love that crumbly statue in Asia. Can you believe I only just noticed it last trip? Just goes to show there is always something new to discover.

Haha, DS may be scared of characters but not GIANT ANIMAL CUTOUTS!!

""And in the morning...I'm makin' WAFFLES!"" Haha, wrong park.

Oh wow he captured the Yeti!!!! That's impressive.

 

[marDgreen88]

We will definitely have to say hi in May! I don't have set plans yet really, but I know I'll definitely be at MK for part of Sunday!

That single rider on Everest is the best. I wonder why they closed it that morning. I'm glad y'all got a couple rides in though.

How awesome that you got to see a kangaroo last time! That's seriously amazing. I'm with ya on the rats. That just seems creepy.

Affection section looks so fun! You got some great pics!

 

[eandesmom]

for a trip!!!!!!!!



for Wilderness Lodge!!!!!!!

Very exciting and absolutely worth working some extra hours. There is something about January that makes me NEED to be planning a trip and having something to look forward to.

Epcot is a bit tough at your DS's age, that will change with time.

LOVE the Rafiki pics!

 

[MEK]

[


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Now this is a picture I haven't seen before from EE. Interesting.

Congratulations on your upcoming trip. I am missing you by a few days since I won't be there until May 11th.

Paxton looks adorable,once again, in all his pictures. I love the way he posed over in Rafiki's planet. So cute. I keep saying I have to check out the conservation station. I haven't been there in about 8 years.

Looks like a great start to the day at AK.

 

[afwdwfan]

And I started thinking, if I'm already used to picking up and working so much, why not just keep doing that and save for a short trip to Disney too? I brought it up to DH thinking he would tell me I was crazy, but he was on board!

He's no fool. If you want to work a little bit more so that you guys (including him) get an extra vacation... Heck yeah, knock yourself out.

THE WILDERNESS LODGE!!!

My favorite!!!!

Definitely didn't think we'd make it to WDW this year, and that it would probably be late 2015 before we would be back, so I couldn't be any more excited that we are squeezing in this trip, no matter how short!

That's great news! Congratulations. Any Disney trip is a good thing!

but there were taking too long fawning over DS so we ditched them

I love it! Ditch them in the morning when they don't get ready to leave with everyone else, then ditch them going to the ride when they can't get moving fast enough. You do that enough, maybe they'll figure it out eventually.

His "scared" face

His expressions are priceless.

There was nothing happening unfortunately, but the CM working there informed us that in just a little while, some rats were getting hysterectomies! Thanks, but no thanks.

Last year, I had chickened out on taking him into the Affection Section to get up close and personal with the goats. Something about it just makes me feel so icky! I am definitely not used to being around livestock. And all I want to do is wash my hands.

We skip it for the opposite reason. We can see goats, sheep and cows anytime we want to.

But I figured DS was now of the age where he wouldn't terrorize the poor animals or try to eat the poop on the ground

Hey look! A raisin!

 

[khertz]

So jealous that you get to go back AND are staying at Wilderness Lodge! But I'm so happy for you guys, what a great getaway weekend that will be!

Love all the EE pics.

Looks like you guys had fun with the animals, despite the icky factor! Love that last pic of the sheep with the mickey!!

In all my wildest dreams, never would have thought it would have worked out this way. But thank you! I'm so excited!

Dh was pretty nervous keeping the camera out the first time, but those pics made it worth the risk.

It definitely wasn't as bad as I thought it would be!!

*PINCH* Still good??? OK

Wow, that's wonderful news. Wilderness Lodge is so glorious PLUS boating it to MK. Ahhhh the things we do for Disney.

Nothing wrong with your first day exploring plans. Take the time and really ENJOY IT I say.

I have to say, I really enjoy EMH evenings. I've only done it once, but I LOVED IT!!!

AHHH I love that crumbly statue in Asia. Can you believe I only just noticed it last trip? Just goes to show there is always something new to discover.

Haha, DS may be scared of characters but not GIANT ANIMAL CUTOUTS!!

""And in the morning...I'm makin' WAFFLES!"" Haha, wrong park.

Oh wow he captured the Yeti!!!! That's impressive.

YES!! Still good! I am really just over the moon excited about it. I have ALWAYS wanted to stay at the WL, since the first time we went there on a family trip because my dad wanted to eat at WCC. I walked into that lobby, and just fell in love! We haven't stayed onsite since 2007, so I'm also really excited that we get to have access to EMH again! Especially for only 2 park days, it will be so great to have a chance to maximize our time.

I always knew the statue was there, but never paid attention to the fact that it was feet until DS pointed it out this time!

Wrong park, but seriously, that guy looks just like Donkey!

It's a crazy looking photo for sure, but pretty cool that he got the Yeti. I think he said he was just snapping, not really hoping to get anything.

We will definitely have to say hi in May! I don't have set plans yet really, but I know I'll definitely be at MK for part of Sunday!

That single rider on Everest is the best. I wonder why they closed it that morning. I'm glad y'all got a couple rides in though.

How awesome that you got to see a kangaroo last time! That's seriously amazing. I'm with ya on the rats. That just seems creepy.

Affection section looks so fun! You got some great pics!

Looking forward to it!!

I wasn't sure why they closed it, especially since the standby line was getting longer and you'd think that's when single rider would be more useful. It was strange, but at least we were able to each ride twice.

Seeing the kangaroo was so cool that I don't even know what I'd do if I saw a bigger animal up there!! But the rats definitely seemed less than interesting to stick around for.

Thanks!

for a trip!!!!!!!!



for Wilderness Lodge!!!!!!!

Very exciting and absolutely worth working some extra hours. There is something about January that makes me NEED to be planning a trip and having something to look forward to.

Epcot is a bit tough at your DS's age, that will change with time.

LOVE the Rafiki pics!

Yep, I will work my tail off for Disney money, that's for sure! That's so true about January being a time to start planning a trip. We do have the big ABD trip coming up, but I feel like with the itinerary in place already, there's not much to plan that would be very exciting besides airfare.

Yes, that's definitely the biggest part of it. He is only really interested in the stuff in Future World, and we can easily finish that in a morning. Without a park hopper, that just doesn't make sense. I know F&G has the playgrounds and stuff that I'm sure he'd love, but (and this might be selfish of me!) the 2 day tickets are pretty expensive and I didn't pay all that money for him to play on a playground!

Thanks! We never tried it out until last year, but he definitely loves it so it's worth the train ride out there.

Now this is a picture I haven't seen before from EE. Interesting.

Congratulations on your upcoming trip. I am missing you by a few days since I won't be there until May 11th.

Paxton looks adorable,once again, in all his pictures. I love the way he posed over in Rafiki's planet. So cute. I keep saying I have to check out the conservation station. I haven't been there in about 8 years.

Looks like a great start to the day at AK.

DH got lucky with that shot, I think!

Oh, I was wondering about that! I saw on Cynthia's report that y'all were taking a F&G girls trip, and forgot to ask when y'all were going. Sorry we will miss you.

He's no fool. If you want to work a little bit more so that you guys (including him) get an extra vacation... Heck yeah, knock yourself out.

You nailed it right there! He's salary, so he could work all he wants and still have the same take home. He is definitely not complaining that I am the one working all the overtime!!

My favorite!!!!


That's great news! Congratulations. Any Disney trip is a good thing!

Thanks!! I'm so excited about the WL! I have always loved that place since the first time I step foot in the lobby, and it's been on my list of dream resorts ever since. The ONLY way this could be any better is if it was a Christmas time trip!

I love it! Ditch them in the morning when they don't get ready to leave with everyone else, then ditch them going to the ride when they can't get moving fast enough. You do that enough, maybe they'll figure it out eventually.

As a group of 6, they were definitely a lot harder to tour with compared to when just my parents came last year and we were staying in the same unit. DH and I decided very quickly that if they were taking too long, ditch them!

His expressions are priceless.

He is quite the ham!!

We skip it for the opposite reason. We can see goats, sheep and cows anytime we want to.

That's a good reason to skip!!

Hey look! A raisin!

True story, we were at the zoo in New Orleans a few years ago and saw a little boy maybe 8 years old there with an older woman who didn't look old enough to be his mom. Maybe an aunt or older sister. She looked around and said, "What is that all over the ground?" The little boy told her it was poop and she said EWWWWW!! He looked at her dead serious and said, "Well what did you think it was? Raisins?" I died laughing!!

 

[JessM]

So exciting that you are getting to go back in May! The Wilderness lodge is beautiful, what a great resort choice! I hope DS grows tall enough to do BTMRR!

You guys got some great pictures on Everest, I love them! That ride is fabulous!

 

[disneybarbie]

so excited for you about the May trip! Great resort choice too

Even though I've just been to WDW - I feel kind of sad that I won't be going again until probably next year.. Feels strange having no Disney countdown at the moment!

Emma x

 

[courtneybelle]

I'm so beyond excited that you're staying at the Wilderness Lodge. I never really had an interest in staying there until I saw pictures in Jess's College Program TR, and now it's one of my dream resorts! It's so stunning.

I really hope DS is tall enough to ride Big Thunder! He would love it. Also, off topic but what cities are you going to for the ABD trip? I'm going to Venice and Florence in March and I am so excited!

I really need to get over to Rafiki's Planet Watch sometime. The pics of DS with the animals are too precious.

Love the not-so-hidden Mickey on the goat. Disney details...

 

[Magic2000]

We're from the New Orleans area too! Grew up on the Westbank, and moved to the Northshore, outside of Covington!!!!!

We went to Disney last September with my DD, DSIL, and DGD! I NEEDED another trip and decided to take my granddaughter for a quick trip in May! We'll be there May 3-9! We're going to stay in a hotel near the airport the night before we leave, since we have an early flight! We're flying Southwest too!! I love their direct flights to Orlando!

We stayed at WL a few years ago and LOVED it!!! Since its just Cady and I, I'm trying to stay as inexpensively as possible. Right now, we're booked at Sports, but I think we'll switch to Pop!

Have a great trip!!! Maybe we'll run into yall there!

 

[khertz]

So exciting that you are getting to go back in May! The Wilderness lodge is beautiful, what a great resort choice! I hope DS grows tall enough to do BTMRR!

You guys got some great pictures on Everest, I love them! That ride is fabulous!

Thanks!! We are so very excited, and staying at the WL is a dream come true for me. I hope he is tall enough too, because I think he would love getting to ride a fast train.

Love Everest! We are big AK fans in general, but that's definitely a favorite.

so excited for you about the May trip! Great resort choice too

Even though I've just been to WDW - I feel kind of sad that I won't be going again until probably next year.. Feels strange having no Disney countdown at the moment!

Emma x

Thanks!! I can't wait!!

I felt exactly the same way when we left in October. It really sucked to think we wouldn't be back for almost 2 years after going yearly for so many years now. I know from England it is nearly impossible to do any quick weekend trips, so I feel for you there. Hopefully you will be back sooner than you think!

I'm so beyond excited that you're staying at the Wilderness Lodge. I never really had an interest in staying there until I saw pictures in Jess's College Program TR, and now it's one of my dream resorts! It's so stunning.

I really hope DS is tall enough to ride Big Thunder! He would love it. Also, off topic but what cities are you going to for the ABD trip? I'm going to Venice and Florence in March and I am so excited!

I really need to get over to Rafiki's Planet Watch sometime. The pics of DS with the animals are too precious.

Love the not-so-hidden Mickey on the goat. Disney details...

I didn't know much about any of the Disney resorts other than the All Stars back when we used to go on family trips. Then my dad wanted to eat at WCC once, and as soon as I walked into that lobby, I couldn't stop thinking how amazing it would be to stay there. Never in a million years thought that it would really happen!!

I hope he is too! He keeps telling me he wants to stay small because I keep telling him he needs to eat his veggies and get lots of sleep if he wants to be tall enough. Our ABD is the Viva Italia itinerary which visits Rome, Florence & Venice! Since we are going with the podcast it's a little different than the standard ABD itinerary in that we are actually staying in Florence instead of staying in the Tuscan countryside and traveling into Florence by bus every day. Have a great time in March!! I am getting so excited now that the trip finally feels close. We have been planning this for over 2 years! And I have been dreaming of it for countless years before that.

We always skipped Rafiki's Planet Watch, but once we checked it out on our 2012 trip, we realized there is quite a bit to see and do back there, especially with a little one. There are cool little sound booths that have rainforest sounds and other stuff like that but we don't really get to enjoy those with DS since it is pitch black in the rooms.

We're from the New Orleans area too! Grew up on the Westbank, and moved to the Northshore, outside of Covington!!!!!

We went to Disney last September with my DD, DSIL, and DGD! I NEEDED another trip and decided to take my granddaughter for a quick trip in May! We'll be there May 3-9! We're going to stay in a hotel near the airport the night before we leave, since we have an early flight! We're flying Southwest too!! I love their direct flights to Orlando!

We stayed at WL a few years ago and LOVED it!!! Since its just Cady and I, I'm trying to stay as inexpensively as possible. Right now, we're booked at Sports, but I think we'll switch to Pop!

Have a great trip!!! Maybe we'll run into yall there!

Another Louisiana DIS'er!! DH and I grew up just outside of New Orleans and now we are just outside of Lafayette.

Wow, so great that we will be there the same weekend!! If you see us, definitely say hi! We love flying Southwest to Disney. It's definitely the best and cheapest way to go for flying. This will be the first time we are making the drive with DS, so I'm a little nervous about that. But we were able to book one night at a Wyndham resort in Destin on Thursday night so we will be able to drive about halfway and get there a little earlier than planned on Friday afternoon.

 

[MeMom]

Great Animal Kingdom pictures! We very much enjoy going out to Rafiki's to watch the different animal procedures. I have seen creatures from a tiny mouse up to a huge tiger. So cool! The girls enjoy petting and brushing the goats, too. That's kind of not an everyday activity for them, so of course it's fun.

Yay for an unexpected trip! Wilderness Lodge is beautiful. We have stayed there only one time, but there will be more stays in the future, hopefully.

 

[khertz]

Great Animal Kingdom pictures! We very much enjoy going out to Rafiki's to watch the different animal procedures. I have seen creatures from a tiny mouse up to a huge tiger. So cool! The girls enjoy petting and brushing the goats, too. That's kind of not an everyday activity for them, so of course it's fun.

Yay for an unexpected trip! Wilderness Lodge is beautiful. We have stayed there only one time, but there will be more stays in the future, hopefully.

Thanks! Seeing the tiger must have been amazing! I would love to see one of the big cats there one day.

Same for DS! Being up close with goats is definitely not something he gets to do.

I am really excited about getting to stay at WL! I think that resort is just SO beautiful!!!

 

[khertz]

Day 4 Continued: Friday October 25th

Once DH had ridden Expedition Everest with his FP and I had picked up another FP for him to use on Dinosaur later, we met up and went to ride Triceratops Spin. The rest of the group decided to go ride Primeval Whirl instead, and we would meet up for lunch after.

There was a bit of a line for Triceratops Spin, but no more than 10 minutes.

04-114 by disneymom1024, on Flickr
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DS was ready to fly high! It's so funny because on our first trip, he loved riding this attraction and Dumbo and giggled the entire time. Then last year, he kind of whined for most of Dumbo like he was nervous but would get over it toward the end of the ride. This time, he was back to loving it!

04-116 by disneymom1024, on Flickr


04-117 by disneymom1024, on Flickr
​

After the ride, we took some silly pictures before heading into Restaurantosaurus to get something to eat.

04-118 by disneymom1024, on Flickr


04-119 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​

DS got the corn dog nuggets kids meal with apples, which came with a pail and shovel. I got chicken nuggets and DH got the macaroni & cheese hot dog he'd had last year and enjoyed so much. Eventually the rest of the family caught up with us. My mom had gotten a kids meal too, so she ended up giving DS her yogurt too. I have in my notes that after he finished eating, DH tried to run to use his FP for Dinosaur but the ride was down, so he came back. By the time DS finished up eating and I took him to the potty, it seemed like it had been enough time for DH to go back and try again. So while he went back to Dinosaur, I took DS to the Boneyard.

04-120 by disneymom1024, on Flickr


04-121 by disneymom1024, on Flickr


04-122 by disneymom1024, on Flickr


04-123 by disneymom1024, on Flickr


04-124 by disneymom1024, on Flickr
Evidence that DH encountered the Carnotaurus!


04-125 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​

Meanwhile, in much less terrifying areas, DS and I had made it to the play area. We wandered around a bit, and I let DS play while I searched around for the dig site everyone always talks about but I couldn't seem to find!

04-126 by disneymom1024, on Flickr


04-127 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​

Because slides are ALWAYS a hit!

04-128 by disneymom1024, on Flickr


04-129 by disneymom1024, on Flickr


04-130 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​

Finally, after about 20 minutes of me thinking maybe there was ANOTHER Boneyard area somewhere else in the park that I had never noticed that might actually contain the dig site, I figured out that we needed to walk over the bridge to get to said dig site. I was so glad to have found it, because DS had been talking about digging for dinosaur bones ALL DAY. We read a Curious George book where George goes to a dig site and discovers a dinosaur skeleton, so that only added to the excitement of getting to actually dig for bones himself.

Once there, DS was in his version of toddler heaven, and I was able to sit down and keep an eye on him while in the shade and updated my trip notes. I really love that the dig site is made up of tiny pieces of rock, which is so much easier to get rid of than sand!

04-134 by disneymom1024, on Flickr


04-136 by disneymom1024, on Flickr


04-138 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​

It was actually really cute watching him play in there, because he kept filling up his bucket to the top and trying to turn it over like he was making a sand castle, but then all the rocks would just fall over.

My plan for the day had included some character meets, and we hadn't seen any of them yet, plus it was dangerously close to the time we would need to leave for a nap! But I had no clue how we were going to get him out of here, he was having WAY too much fun! By this time, DH had met up with us, and Mitchell and my MIL had also found us. What eventually worked was Mitchell telling DS he was leaving and he'd see him later. Well, DS jumped right up and wanted to go with his buddy Mitchell!

We hustled over to the meet & greet area for Dug and Russell, and actually got in line, but it was definitely way too long and we needed to leave to get DS back for his nap. I was so disappointed! This was the only day we had planned for AK, and I had spots in the autograph book for both Dug & Russell and also for Baloo, but we hadn't even made it to Camp Minnie-Mickey at all.

On the way out of the park, we stopped at a store to get DS the Mickey safari jeep he had wanted from earlier and then took a few PhotoPass pictures.

PP-015 by disneymom1024, on Flickr


PP-016 by disneymom1024, on Flickr


PP-017 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​

When we left the park, it was about 1:15 pm and we headed back to Bonnet Creek for a break. DS went right down for a nap, and DH and I followed soon after. But we got up a little earlier than DS so we could change, since we had big plans for the night that did not include DS! We got DS up at about 3:30 and he was in a great mood! We made him a snack to take in the car and left the room at about 3:45. Before heading out to the car, I stopped to take some pictures of the pumpkin decorating contest going on down in the lobby. As you can tell, Minions and Monsters U were the big things at the time!

04-140 by disneymom1024, on Flickr


04-141 by disneymom1024, on Flickr


04-142 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​

Continued in next post...

 

[khertz]

Day 4 Continued: Friday October 25th

Our next stop of the day was DHS! DH spotted the Monsters U topiaries out front and we went over to get our pictures taken. DS was absolutely not having any part of it, and refused to get out for pictures, so he stayed in the stroller while DH and I went up.

PP-018 by disneymom1024, on Flickr


PP-019 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​

The PhotoPass photographer was SO sweet and tried her best to get DS to come out of the stroller for a picture, but he was still refusing. She even squatted down to his eye level and tried to get him to at least smile, but this was all she was able to get!

PP-020 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​

Well, so much for that great mood he woke up in!! Nevertheless, we entered the park. The weather was great! Sunny, but a nice breeze so it wasn't too hot out. Plus, the crowds seemed really light, which is ALWAYS a plus.

04-143 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​

We stopped again for the PhotoPass photographer in front of the hat, and again, DS wasn't cooperative. But we didn't even try to take him out of the stroller this time.

PP-021 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​

But then, we saw the photographer had one of the prop frames I had seen people posting, so I asked if just DH and I could pose with it since DS was still being grouchy. The photographer handed it to us, and suddenly, DS wanted to be in the picture! I'm so glad that frame was available, because this turned out to be one of my favorite PhotoPass pics in front of one of the park icons.

PP-022 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​

We decided to split up for a bit. I started walking over to Streets of America because our one and only goal for the afternoon was to experience Characterpalooza! While I was walking over there, my mom called and we got into a bit of a tiff over the phone. Since DH and I were having a date night, DS was going off with our parents and my sister for the evening. My mom was pretty annoyed with me that I was asking them to have him to bed at a decent time because she said it wasn't enough time for them to spend with him (meanwhile, they had chosen not to accompany us to DHS...). So now, she was calling to tell me they wanted to come pick him up NOW. I basically told her that wasn't happening because we wanted to do Characterpalooza and this was the only day we could do it. So neither of us were too happy at the end of that conversation. Eventually, we worked it out to where they would be picking him up a little earlier than we had planned on, and could keep him up just a little later than I had first said. But I'm sad to say that put me in kind of a sour mood for awhile.

While all of this was going on, DH was happily wandering down Sunset Blvd in hopes of picking up some FPs for us to use later on either ToT or RnRC.

04-144 by disneymom1024, on Flickr


04-145 by disneymom1024, on Flickr


04-146 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​

Unfortunately, there were no FPs to be found, so he made his way back to meet up with us and I filled him in on the dramatic conversation I'd just had with my mom. At this point, probably because I was so flustered, I lost all recollection of the Streets of America in general and had no idea where to find the San Francisco street where Characterpalooza would be taking place. I think I expected it to be an entire street the size of New York street or something? So we wandered around for awhile looking for it, and although I was starting to freak out that we weren't going to find it, DH was taking pictures!

04-150 by disneymom1024, on Flickr


04-149 by disneymom1024, on Flickr
(After taking this picture, we actually walked right past San Francisco street without even realizing it!)


04-152 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​

FINALLY, we found where we were supposed to be with only minutes to spare, or so we thought. It was supposed to start at 4:30 pm, but that came and went with no sign of a character anywhere. Then it was 4:32 and I started getting nervous that we were in the wrong place and it had moved back into the Animation Building. Then it was 4:35 and I was frantically pulling up Kenny the Pirate on my phone to confirm it hadn't changed. At 4:36 I was ready to start walking there anyway to check. And finally at 4:37, this happened.

04-153 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​

It was happening!!!

That characters that were out were Mulan, Jasmine, Stitch, Pinocchio, Meeko, and 2 Green Army Men. We managed to get photos with everyone except Jasmine. DS was being weird and didn't want to meet any. But since he was out of the stroller at first, he did take a handshake from one of the Army Men.

04-154 by disneymom1024, on Flickr


04-155 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​

After that, I made a beeline for Meeko, because OH MY GOSH, I love him!!! He's always been my favorite animal sidekick, and he is never out anymore it seems like.

04-156 by disneymom1024, on Flickr


04-157 by disneymom1024, on Flickr
I pulled DS in for a pic, but you can see how thrilled he is...​

Up next, we went over to Mulan because she didn't seem to have many people around her and I didn't want her to feel left out!

04-158 by disneymom1024, on Flickr


04-159 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​

After that, DS was asking to be put back in the stroller, so we did. But I still wanted to meet some characters! We went over to Stitch so I could take a picture, but since we were doing breakfast at 'Ohana later, I didn't have him sign the book this time.

04-160 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​

I tried to coax DS out of the stroller to take a picture with Stitch but he was refusing. I told him jokingly that if he didn't, Stitch would wipe a booger on him. But then Stitch wiped the booger on me instead! DS definitely got a kick out of that.

04-161 by disneymom1024, on Flickr


04-162 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​

Eventually, DH managed to convince DS to come out to at least go meet Pinocchio, who was also over by himself.

04-163 by disneymom1024, on Flickr


04-164 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​

As we were looking around trying to decide if we should go attempt Jasmine, DH caught this cute moment of Stitch putting on some Princesses Ears.

04-165 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​

We decided not to do Jasmine because she was kind of swarmed with little girls. At that point, DS just seemed done with the whole experience, and was hollering that he wanted to go meet a couple of revved up characters instead!

UP NEXT: More character meets & birthday surprises!

 

[DDuck4Life]

Day 4 Continued: Friday October 25th


04-124 by disneymom1024, on Flickr
Evidence that DH encountered the Carnotaurus!


04-125 by disneymom1024, on Flickr[/CENTER]

Continued in next post...

Even though I had not ridden in a few years I still wanted to try and get a photo of the Carnotaurus. Probably should have watch a video to refresh my memory on the ride and where things happened, but it was still fun. What a tough shot to get, I'm just happy you can kind of make out what it is.

I thought the ride photo was pretty funny with the two people next to me scared for their life and I'm causally there trying to get a photo. Had to snap a shot of that on the way out.