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

[DisneyKid4Life]

No matter how many times I see it or hear, "Restaurant-osaurus" never fails to make me giggle.

I'm not even sure if I've ever gone into the Boneyard before. I guess without kids, it's easy to pass by.

OK, those are some ridiculously awesome PP photos.

So I just want to be clear here. The Monster U photos were photopass? And they failed to actually get the topiaries in the photo?

Aww the pic in front of the hat with the frame is pure gold.

Characterpalooza is cool, but seeing them all coming out like is MEGA COOL!!! A whole army of characters and handlers led by, of course, an army man.

You know, I'm curious why the army men don't scare more kids. They're a little creepy looking.

Meeko is a really good find!

 

[MEK]

I can't believe your DH got a picture in Dinosaur. Kudos to him!!!!

I'm glad you found the dig site because Paxton looks like he is absolutely loving it.

I love your shirt - so cute.

I'm glad Paxton at least met half of the characters. He takes such a good picture.

Bummer that you got into a disagreement with your mom, but I completely understand why you wanted Paxton to stick with his bed time. You still had a lot of trip in front of you.

So I bet I know which park you went to next - Hmmm - let me take a wild guess - Epcot!

 

[khertz]

No matter how many times I see it or hear, "Restaurant-osaurus" never fails to make me giggle.

I'm not even sure if I've ever gone into the Boneyard before. I guess without kids, it's easy to pass by.

OK, those are some ridiculously awesome PP photos.

So I just want to be clear here. The Monster U photos were photopass? And they failed to actually get the topiaries in the photo?

Aww the pic in front of the hat with the frame is pure gold.

Characterpalooza is cool, but seeing them all coming out like is MEGA COOL!!! A whole army of characters and handlers led by, of course, an army man.

You know, I'm curious why the army men don't scare more kids. They're a little creepy looking.

Meeko is a really good find!

I always second guess myself when I type the name of that restaurant!

Yeah, before kids and even when Paxton was what I thought was just too little, we always skipped that area. Hence why I had NO idea where the dig site was! I thought the whole Boneyard was the digging area.

Okay, you made me go back and look. There actually are some pictures with the topiaries! I just chose the ones I did for the borders I had added. I do have this one that I actually added the Monsters U border to but it covered up almost everything on us but our faces!

wdw201329815836314_6875426816 by disneymom1024, on Flickr
​

Seeing the character coming out reminded me of the scene of the Scarers coming out onto the Scare Floor in Monsters Inc.! It was so cool seeing them turn the corner like that.

Yeah, they are pretty creepy with the bags over their faces, but it doesn't seem to bother them!

I can't believe your DH got a picture in Dinosaur. Kudos to him!!!!

I'm glad you found the dig site because Paxton looks like he is absolutely loving it.

I love your shirt - so cute.

I'm glad Paxton at least met half of the characters. He takes such a good picture.

Bummer that you got into a disagreement with your mom, but I completely understand why you wanted Paxton to stick with his bed time. You still had a lot of trip in front of you.

So I bet I know which park you went to next - Hmmm - let me take a wild guess - Epcot!

He couldn't believe it either!

We know for future trips that we need to allot more time for AK and specifically the Boneyard because Paxton definitely enjoyed himself in there.

He is so crazy about characters that I thought he would be SO excited at Characterpalooza, but I think maybe it was just a little overwhelming for him at that moment on that day. The rest of the afternoon we met more characters and he seemed more excited about it!

I understood her wanting more time, but we had some late nights planned coming up, and I didn't want to add another one. I was just really annoyed with how she called me up and said, "We decided we will just come get him now" as if we had nothing planned.

Hmmm...I wonder how you figured that out?!?!

 

[RachelNinja]

Ahhh, I bookmarked your TR and then I lost track of it in the folders I have! Catching up from NOVEMBER!

It'd be interesting to really get inside kids' heads to know what they're thinking when they're scared on a ride but then proclaim that they enjoyed it! Maybe DS was worried that something creepy was going to happen and once it was finished and nothing TOO big happened, it was safe. I remember ET from going to Universal years and years ago. I really enjoyed it especially since we had that movie on the TV so often. Do they still have ET say your name at the end of the ride?

Ooo, it's nice to hear that the food at WWoHP was good! When my cousins went, they said that they were disappointed after having had food at Disney. I don't remember what they ordered, but they were eager to go back to Disney again.

OMG, I love DS's bed head! Howard often gets bad bed head, but he's not 3 anymore, so it's not acceptable for him to walk out with it, haha.

I too would have felt bad about going through the line after leaving for a potty break. Yay for your mom being willing to go back and get you! I definitely would have appreciated it when DS announced where he was, haha, as if to "prove" that we really were just re-joining the line to meet up with the rest of the family!

During our trip last week, we saw so many people run across in front of floats! We were baffled as we had never seen it before! We've always seen CMs catch or stop people, but like, people just flew past somehow! It was ridiculous. I mean, they don't even want people WATCHING the parade to be down on the street; clearly, they don't want you running across the whole thing!

How wonderful that you were able to watch the fireworks from your balcony! What a treat to have especially when it's easier for you to be back in the room to put DS to bed!

I loved all your mini Magical Ribbons! What a perfect touch of Disney without having to wear a huge bow.

WHOAAA, completely jealous of your private safari! It would've been awesome for pictures, but I think the interactions are even better to read about! How fun it must've been to have the CMs there kind of "out of character"!

YESSS for the new trip! Yay for getting to stay at Wilderness Lodge!

BTW Howard doesn't often read TRs except for bits and pieces here and there that I link to him, but I always send him the full TR of the ones that have great photography! So he's going to be reading along with yours too!

 

[JessM]

So funny that kids will go back and forth year to year as to which rides they like and which ones they hate. I remember the first year my brother was big enough to ride BTMRR he LOVED it, the next year you would of thought he was just subjected to chinese water torture or something I don't get it.

DS looks like he had a great time in the Boneyard! Disappointing that you didn't get to meet all the characters you wanted but he looked like he was having a great time!

Characterpalooza looks like a lot of fun! I'm glad you guys found it!

 

[amazingact21]

I've heard that the Boneyard is one of the best playgrounds at Disney. Understandably so. What kid doesn't love digging stuff up?


It's too bad you missed the Dug and Russell Meet and Greet, but at least you made it to Characterpalooza! I didn't even know DHS did that. I kind of love how it is such a random array of characters. Who wouldn't love meeting Stitch and then Mulan?!?


By the way,the outfit you wore in your PP photos is really cute!

 

[missangelalexis]

Those pumpkins are awesome!

Love your Minnie outfit! The picture with the frame came out adorable!

Great characterpalooza pics, I'm sorry DS wasn't as into it though!

 

[DDuck4Life]

BTW Howard doesn't often read TRs except for bits and pieces here and there that I link to him, but I always send him the full TR of the ones that have great photography! So he's going to be reading along with yours too!

Well now I feel special! Thanks!

 

[wiigirl]

Great pics!

 

[afwdwfan]

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!

Life with a toddler... you just never know what the reaction will be.

Because slides are ALWAYS a hit!

We'd never be able to get DD pried away.

We've still never made time for that play area, although I know our kids would love it. We might just need to plan more time for AK and make a point to do this.

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!

Cool pumpkins, but at the same time, I can't help but think that a Mike Wazowski pumpkin is just taking the easy way out.

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.

That is a really good picture. I'm glad that the frame got him to play along with it!

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.

Ugh... Can't be a fun filled family vacation without a little bit of drama!

I'm sorry that it dampened your mood for a while.

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.

A couple of Rockin Rollercoaster FP's probably would have made life a lot more enjoyable at that moment in time.

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.

Well, I'm glad that you finally found San Francisco, and that the characters finally made their fashionably late entrance. It is too bad that Paxton wasn't really in the mood to play along, but at least you got some good pictures and had a little bit of fun with Stitch.

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.

That was the first thing I noticed when I saw it. I'm glad you got a picture of that ride photo, because it is definitely a classic.

 

[courtneybelle]

I haven't been to the Boneyard since my sister was little, but it was so much fun when we were younger!

Those pumpkins are awesome. Someday I'll get to WDW in the autumn...

I really hope we can get a frame picture in July! We haven't done PP for the past few trips but we're planning on it for our next one.

The Green Army Men

Meeko is so cute! I haven't seen him in years.

 

[Pixel Dust]

04-125 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​

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.

That is just too funny.

 

[Imagineer5]

Since I have a character-hesitant little one it is funny (and nice) to see Paxton acting up a little bit! LOLOL. Love the frame PP pic though that was great!

YAY for wilderness lodge!! I will hopefully be starting my Dec. TR from there soon, just need to finish up august

Back to AK - it is funny to hear your thoughts on the affection station. I have never even worried about Aria picking up poop or whatnot, so it is funny you were worried about that. it looks like you all had a great time there!

Characterpalooza just went on my to-dos for october. I wish there were PP people, I'd go in August w/ Aria but without them I wouldn't get any photos

Anyway looking forward to reading more, as always!!

OH BTW what are your ABD plans? Did you decide to go to DLP?

 

[TruLovesKiss]

That BIG NEWS is pretty darn awesome!!! To go from no WDW trips to having one less than 3 months away- Whoo hoo!!! I'm SO excited for you! And YAY for staying at a dream resort. The Wilderness Lodge is going to be SO awesome! My in-laws stayed there in Sept. and LOVED it! And they had great luck with the boat transportation to & from MK.

Working overtime is pretty addicting when Disney trips are involved. Believe me!!

Great AK updates! So jealous that you got to ride EE twice in a row! I'm making it my goal to ride more than once next trip... and hopefully Jorie is tall enough to ride with me.

Love Paxton's "mid-roar" face. What a cute pic!

I was afraid to let my kids play in the dig site for that very reason... I would never get them out of there. haha It does look like a lot of fun though.

Such adorable PP pics on your way out of AK. And oh my... that DHS frame pic is perfection!

Sorry you had a tiff with your mom and it put you in a sour mood. I can totally relate! Hopefully it didn't ruin your evening.

Yay for Characterpalooza!! You met some awesome characters. Can't wait to read more.

 

[DDuck4Life]

Great pics!

Thanks!

That was the first thing I noticed when I saw it. I'm glad you got a picture of that ride photo, because it is definitely a classic.

And to think I almost passed on looking at the photo to hurry back and catch up with the family. Glad I took the few seconds to check it out.

That is just too funny.

Definitely got a laugh from everyone when I met back up with the family.

 

[emmysmommy]

I would love to see Pinocchio at Characterpalooza! I haven't seen that since they had it in the Animation Academy exclusively. Your Stitch interaction sounds hilarious! Looks like Paxton liked it as well.

Sounds like a fun night ahead for your date night.

That's awesome about your May trip. Wilderness Lodge is so beautiful. Your DS will love the boat rides. We have similar dates and already had made plans to be in DHS on Saturday for EMH. We may run into you there!

 

[khertz]

Ahhh, I bookmarked your TR and then I lost track of it in the folders I have! Catching up from NOVEMBER!

It'd be interesting to really get inside kids' heads to know what they're thinking when they're scared on a ride but then proclaim that they enjoyed it! Maybe DS was worried that something creepy was going to happen and once it was finished and nothing TOO big happened, it was safe. I remember ET from going to Universal years and years ago. I really enjoyed it especially since we had that movie on the TV so often. Do they still have ET say your name at the end of the ride?

I know!! I would just love to be able to know what is going on up there when he has those kinds of reactions. Still, months later, he talks about flying with ET and finding his friends! They do still ask for your name at the beginning, but we didn't hear him say our names. Since we were in the front of the bicycle, we might have passed it too early.

Ooo, it's nice to hear that the food at WWoHP was good! When my cousins went, they said that they were disappointed after having had food at Disney. I don't remember what they ordered, but they were eager to go back to Disney again.

Maybe it's just because we don't ever go all out at Disney, but we thought the food at WWoHP was great! It felt so authentic. And it was all very tasty!

OMG, I love DS's bed head! Howard often gets bad bed head, but he's not 3 anymore, so it's not acceptable for him to walk out with it, haha.

Poor Howard!!

I too would have felt bad about going through the line after leaving for a potty break. Yay for your mom being willing to go back and get you! I definitely would have appreciated it when DS announced where he was, haha, as if to "prove" that we really were just re-joining the line to meet up with the rest of the family!

My mom is not shy, so she had no problem letting everyone know as she was leaving that we were coming back after a potty break! And I was slightly relieved on the inside that Paxton made his announcement, just like you said, because it was proof where we had been!

During our trip last week, we saw so many people run across in front of floats! We were baffled as we had never seen it before! We've always seen CMs catch or stop people, but like, people just flew past somehow! It was ridiculous. I mean, they don't even want people WATCHING the parade to be down on the street; clearly, they don't want you running across the whole thing!

I had never seen such a thing! I can't imagine how anyone thought that was a good idea?!?! Those floats are constantly starting and stopping, the performers are dancing all over the place...

How wonderful that you were able to watch the fireworks from your balcony! What a treat to have especially when it's easier for you to be back in the room to put DS to bed!

The fireworks view is always a treat when we are able to experience it! Sure, it's not ideal for every night because we do want to be in the parks to see them too. But when you can't do that every night, this is a great alternative.

I loved all your mini Magical Ribbons! What a perfect touch of Disney without having to wear a huge bow.

Thanks! I knew the big bows were just not for me, but the minis are perfect!

WHOAAA, completely jealous of your private safari! It would've been awesome for pictures, but I think the interactions are even better to read about! How fun it must've been to have the CMs there kind of "out of character"!

It was so fantastic!! I only wish Paxton would have been a little older to understand and appreciate it. But other than that, it was a perfect morning. And the CM's were absolutely wonderful! So friendly, informative, and enthusiastic!

YESSS for the new trip! Yay for getting to stay at Wilderness Lodge!

We are all so excited!!

BTW Howard doesn't often read TRs except for bits and pieces here and there that I link to him, but I always send him the full TR of the ones that have great photography! So he's going to be reading along with yours too!

That's too sweet of you! When I read this to DH, he very much appreciated the compliment.

So funny that kids will go back and forth year to year as to which rides they like and which ones they hate. I remember the first year my brother was big enough to ride BTMRR he LOVED it, the next year you would of thought he was just subjected to chinese water torture or something I don't get it.

DS looks like he had a great time in the Boneyard! Disappointing that you didn't get to meet all the characters you wanted but he looked like he was having a great time!

Characterpalooza looks like a lot of fun! I'm glad you guys found it!

Oh goodness, that's too funny! Yes, with little kids, it's always a guessing game of how they will react to certain things, even when they have done them so many times. I sure don't get it either!!

He was definitely having a great time, which helped soften the blow a bit. I definitely took that autograph book as more of a personal challenge during the trip, although it does result in a nice souvenir for Paxton once we get home. I am sorely disappointed when I have blank spaces, though!!

Characterpalooza was definitely great! I think it was even better this time on Streets of American than when it was in the Animation building.

I've heard that the Boneyard is one of the best playgrounds at Disney. Understandably so. What kid doesn't love digging stuff up?

It's too bad you missed the Dug and Russell Meet and Greet, but at least you made it to Characterpalooza! I didn't even know DHS did that. I kind of love how it is such a random array of characters. Who wouldn't love meeting Stitch and then Mulan?!?

By the way,the outfit you wore in your PP photos is really cute!

It's definitely great for kids. Even the play area is really cool!

I was bummed to miss the AK characters, but Characterpalooza more than made up for that! It's something I learned about on the DIS before our last trip, and it's become a must do ever since! It's really fun not knowing what kind of mash up of characters you're going to get.

Thanks!

Those pumpkins are awesome!

Love your Minnie outfit! The picture with the frame came out adorable!

Great characterpalooza pics, I'm sorry DS wasn't as into it though!

Thanks, thanks & thanks!

I was disappointed that DS wasn't more enthusiastic about the Characterpalooza characters, but at least he wasn't scared. He was more interested in holding onto that safari truck.

Great pics!

Thanks!

 

[khertz]

Life with a toddler... you just never know what the reaction will be.

This is so true!

We'd never be able to get DD pried away.

We've still never made time for that play area, although I know our kids would love it. We might just need to plan more time for AK and make a point to do this.

I guess I kind of get the appeal of slides to toddlers, because I'm sure they feel like they are flying. But seriously, stop the madness. You have a perfectly good slide in the backyard, Paxton, there's no need to spend 30 minutes at the AK ones!

Just don't think like me and say, "Oh we will just go in for a few minutes, and we should still have time to do that other thing before we have to leave."

Cool pumpkins, but at the same time, I can't help but think that a Mike Wazowski pumpkin is just taking the easy way out.

It really is!! It's just paint for crying out loud! Needless to say, I didn't vote for those, although they are cute to look at.

That is a really good picture. I'm glad that the frame got him to play along with it!

Thanks! I was happy it got him out of his funk for the moment and made for a nice picture of the three of us.

Ugh... Can't be a fun filled family vacation without a little bit of drama!

I'm sorry that it dampened your mood for a while.

Usually my mom and I can get along pretty well, but she can go from 0 to 100 on the overbearing scale in no time flat!

A couple of Rockin Rollercoaster FP's probably would have made life a lot more enjoyable at that moment in time.

ABSOLUTELY!!!

Well, I'm glad that you finally found San Francisco, and that the characters finally made their fashionably late entrance. It is too bad that Paxton wasn't really in the mood to play along, but at least you got some good pictures and had a little bit of fun with Stitch.

We still had a great time, even if Paxton was being a dud. I was impressed with the variety of characters!

That was the first thing I noticed when I saw it. I'm glad you got a picture of that ride photo, because it is definitely a classic.

This was one redneck ride photo I was happy DH took!

I haven't been to the Boneyard since my sister was little, but it was so much fun when we were younger!

Those pumpkins are awesome. Someday I'll get to WDW in the autumn...

I really hope we can get a frame picture in July! We haven't done PP for the past few trips but we're planning on it for our next one.

The Green Army Men

Meeko is so cute! I haven't seen him in years.

It's definitely a nice place for kids to burn off some energy! I really liked that the dig site is mostly covered so it gave me a spot to cool off and get off my feet for a bit while Paxton played.

It seems like a lot more PP photographers have them now, so hopefully you come across one! They make for really cute photos.

I was so excited to see Meeko! The last time I saw him out was when I was a tween and thought I was too cool to have my picture taken with characters.

Since I have a character-hesitant little one it is funny (and nice) to see Paxton acting up a little bit! LOLOL. Love the frame PP pic though that was great!

Not sure what his deal was, because we met a lot of characters later in the day and he was great! Might have been having them all around at one time or something. Hopefully one day soon Aria will be excited to be around the characters.

YAY for wilderness lodge!! I will hopefully be starting my Dec. TR from there soon, just need to finish up august

Yay! I look forward to your WL experience! The ONLY way I think I could be more excited would be if we were going at Christmas! But this will definitely do.

Back to AK - it is funny to hear your thoughts on the affection station. I have never even worried about Aria picking up poop or whatnot, so it is funny you were worried about that. it looks like you all had a great time there!

I don't really know why I worry about that either, because Paxton has never really been the type of kid to put everything in his mouth anyway. He definitely enjoyed it a lot, and I had to admit, I liked it more than I would have imagined!

Characterpalooza just went on my to-dos for october. I wish there were PP people, I'd go in August w/ Aria but without them I wouldn't get any photos

Anyway looking forward to reading more, as always!!

OH BTW what are your ABD plans? Did you decide to go to DLP?

It would be a lot better with PP, but there are usually a lot of CM's milling around that I would hope would take pictures with your camera. Maybe by August, she will be going up to the characters on her own??

I think going to DLP is just inevitable! I still hate to think about leaving Paxton for that long, but DH REALLY wants to do it. And I think it really only extends us by like a day longer than what we would be getting home if we didn't do it. Hopefully we can find lots of opportunities to Face Time!

That BIG NEWS is pretty darn awesome!!! To go from no WDW trips to having one less than 3 months away- Whoo hoo!!! I'm SO excited for you! And YAY for staying at a dream resort. The Wilderness Lodge is going to be SO awesome! My in-laws stayed there in Sept. and LOVED it! And they had great luck with the boat transportation to & from MK.

Thanks!! It has been unreal to go from no trip planned to suddenly putting up our countdown calendar! Paxton is too excited about it, and keeps talking about getting super strong so he can pull the sword from the stone. I really can't believe we are staying at the WL still! I hope we have your in-laws' luck with boats!!

Working overtime is pretty addicting when Disney trips are involved. Believe me!!

I have been quite a sight, going from unit to unit in the hospital to see if they have any needs that I can pick up.

Great AK updates! So jealous that you got to ride EE twice in a row! I'm making it my goal to ride more than once next trip... and hopefully Jorie is tall enough to ride with me.

It's such a fun ride! Hopefully Jorie will be tall enough. I am so excited for the day that Paxton will be tall enough to ride Splash with me!

Love Paxton's "mid-roar" face. What a cute pic!

I was afraid to let my kids play in the dig site for that very reason... I would never get them out of there. haha It does look like a lot of fun though.

It's definitely a challenge to get them out!! Save it for a time when you don't have anything pressing to do, is all I can suggest.

Such adorable PP pics on your way out of AK. And oh my... that DHS frame pic is perfection!

Thanks! I loved how that one came out. I felt like we didn't get a lot of family pictures this trip compared to previous trips, so I was happy we got a few really great ones of the family.

Sorry you had a tiff with your mom and it put you in a sour mood. I can totally relate! Hopefully it didn't ruin your evening.

Such a bummer! I tried not to let it get to me too much, and we still had a good time.

Yay for Characterpalooza!! You met some awesome characters. Can't wait to read more.

We are definitely crazy about Characterpalooza! When making our must-do's list for the upcoming trip, it was on all of our lists!

I would love to see Pinocchio at Characterpalooza! I haven't seen that since they had it in the Animation Academy exclusively. Your Stitch interaction sounds hilarious! Looks like Paxton liked it as well.

Sounds like a fun night ahead for your date night.

That's awesome about your May trip. Wilderness Lodge is so beautiful. Your DS will love the boat rides. We have similar dates and already had made plans to be in DHS on Saturday for EMH. We may run into you there!

Pinocchio is so adorable! It was fun seeing him again since you don't see him in the parks anymore! Paxton definitely enjoyed seeing mommy grossed out at getting a booger wiped on her.

Oh my goodness, as it gets closer, we'll definitely need to compare plans! I'd love to meet up with you & Em!!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Finally getting a chance to catch up after coming back from our trip. I'm having some major Disney withdrawal issues.

We have the toughest time trying to get the kids to leave the Boneyard as well. They just love it too much in there. And I'm embarrassed to say that despite spending all those hours in their I'm seeing the jeep for the first time in your pictures!

We did characterpalooza last week and loved it. Mulan was the best part. She became our own personal character when she spent a good 7-8 minutes with our kids. It was great.

Congrats on your May trip!!

 

[MagicalMerida]

Hi! It's me Rachel! I followed the link and I'm finally here! I can't wait to read more! The intro looks great! No matter how many pictures I see of your son, I just can't get over how cute he is!