I'm Going Over The Hill and I'm Taking Everyone With Me!--HUGE 3 post update 7/9

[t-beri]

Ok. In defense of myself, I was caught up to the photopass pics, I just somehow missed the mac/megan discussion. Of course he says...Can't you see I'm leaning the other way?

Lily's face on TOT is so great! I don't think I would have had the nerve to take Little. She is not big on surprises

Of course all of the kids outfits are adorable. And Lily must be much braver than Little because she wouldn't go anywhere near Lightning and Mater. So our pics from Radiator Springs are just of Mac and B. But we tried to get both kids in for a pic for my inlaws, FIL is a "car guy"

I'll try not to fall behind again, I wouldn't want you to get the impression that I dont' care

 

[MouseTriper]

Thanks Beth! Seth has a thing about collecting confetti. It started on our Disney cruise. It got to the point where the kids club CMs would help him.

How funny!!!

 

[jessica52877]

 

[MouseTriper]

I agree...lol.....

 

[jham]

Today’s Florida Weather: High Temperature 77 degrees, sigh, does it get any better? Precipitation, 0

That’s right, it was a GORGEOUS day. We got up early for our 8am breakfast ADRs at Tusker House and walked over to the bus stop. I was a little concerned after yesterday’s bus nightmare, in fact I had called the front desk the night before to see if there would be a bus to get us there that early, The woman on the phone told me “hakuna matata” which made me laugh. Indeed it was a hakuna matata kind of day. Our bus arrived within 5 minutes and we were on our way to my 2nd favorite park, Animal Kingdom. We were walking toward the entrance when I called our friends and they were just behind us getting off their bus.

A very squinty, suninoureyes sort of photo:

When our friends were planning their trip we had already made ADRs so they made a new breakfast reservation for all 11 of us. Then my sister planned her trip, so she used our original ADR so we all had breakfast at the same time…not exactly together. My sister and her family happened to get seated in a different room. You didn’t ask to be seated by us, did you Cathy? So we stopped and had our photo taken.

I think I was reading a TR of scottny’s (hi Scott!) When I decided I wanted to do the character breakfast at Tusker House. I’m glad we did! It was great. We had fun. The kids sat at one table and the adults at another. As I mentioned, my sister’s family were in another part of the restaurant. You may notice in the photos that this limited adult supervision at the kid table resulted in some interesting plates of food. I apologize for the apparent waste of Mickey waffles. I’m sure that was Seth’s. Wait! Actually it kinda looks like Pal Mickey is to blame! The juice actually lived up to expectations, it was yummy! I had to alternate it with Diet Coke though to get the morning caffeine flowing.

The kids joined the characters and CMs in a parade. Hey, this child looks familiar! Where did she come from?

When we finished breakfast the park was just opening so our first move was to hop in the quick line for the safari. Even though my photos on this ride never turn out, no matter what setting my camera is on, I still take them. Every time. I'll just share this one because I think it is funny. Luke's head and a rhino's...uhm...tail.

 

[jham]

As we walked off the safari we wandered over to the Pangani Forest Trail. We had never done this before. It was okay. I do not know why I don't have any pictures. Feel free to post some Cathy! DH had to race off to EE with everyone’s tickets to pick up FPs. We told him where to find us, but he decided instead to stay at EE and ride it over and over again until WE found HIM. So a few potty trips and phone calls later and we were all at EE. Where we rode it. Again and again. Now I enjoy this ride and probably went on it 4 or 5 times the entire trip, but when DH loves a ride, he wants to do it over and over again. We rode in shifts because of the small children and...um…scared people (who shall remain nameless). I didn’t mind too much, but I think the people we were with were thinking ENOUGH ALREADY! I think Jayden managed to go on with every group. She said she went 7 times. Finally nearly everyone had had enough of EE, some had had way too much, and we walked on over to the Dinosaur ride. I offered to sit out with Lily. When Luke found out we were going to wait at the Boneyard he decided to come with us. Not sure where my sister and niece went.

When they got off the ride, the rest of the kids wanted to play for a while. I told the girls I’d let them get their faces painted so I decided now would be a great time. Jayden said no, she wanted to go to the playground with her friend. I said, and I did, no matter what her side of the story is, “then you won’t get your face painted, because I’m not waiting in line twice.” So off I went with Lily.

what is up with those people in the background?

I'd say she was pretty pleased. She does this with her lips whenever she has lip gloss on. That girl LOOOOOVES her some lip gloss!

Now I had never seen Festival of the Lion King and it was my one “must do” of the day, so once we got all 9 kids out of the playground (no small feat, trust me, it took more than one search and rescue team) I dragged everyone off to FLK. We managed to arrive just in time to be near the front of the line. Everyone was getting hot and tired and hungry. Too bad. Mama wants to see her show! We were seated in the Elephant section. As soon as we sat down, Lily fell asleep in my arms. Much like at the Beauty and the Beast show the day before, she woke up when the show started and loved every minute of it. We all liked the show. At the end Lily and one of my friend’s sons (Luke’s friend) got picked to go out and dance around. Lily was happy to go even though she was still a bit slow and sleepy.

Here's a video to make up for the really bad pictures.

 

[jham]

After the show, we broke out the snacks and started working our way over to Kali River Rapids. We stopped to get some photopass photos.

How cute are these matchy kids?

apparently Lily's Simba cradling skillz weren't up to par because those photos never showed up.

Now here developed a new problem. Luke suddenly decided that every time Lily would get out of the stroller, he would steal her spot. He said he was too tired to walk. So Lily would walk until she got to tired but he wouldn’t get out of the stroller, so we sat her on top of him thinking that would change his mind. It didn’t. He didn’t care if she was sitting on him.

Now usually I don’t like getting soaking wet on rides. I don’t do river rides without a poncho. And yet here we were at Kali River Rapids, no poncho, I went. It was kind of hot out, Lily was big enough to go so I had no excuse to sit out, and my friend was going, so why not? We get on our raft and joke around that my friend’s DH was a “water magnet” and he was going to get wet hahahaha. Two hot, scantily clad college girls got on our raft. They didn’t speak English and the CM kept trying to tell them to put their stuff in the covered thing in the middle and they just didn’t understand so someone had to grab their stuff and do it for them. Surely, they’d be the ones to get wet. Hahahahahah. I’m sure you can tell by now that my friend and I were SOAKED as was Lily. Everyone else was pretty dry. My friend’s DH had maybe 3 drops of water on him total. UGH!

After that we…umm…went on EE again, a couple of times.

We decided to go over to It’s Tough To Be a Bug. I love looking at the Tree of Life.

After Bug’s Life we split up. Our friends went off in search of a churro and eventually dry clothes, my sister’s family and ours stayed for the parade. I hate sitting on the hard ground when I’m wearing crocs. Those little black rivets that hold the strap on just dig into the sides of my feet! Then of course at least one or two children have to sit on my lap to add their weight to the problem. Ouch!

Can anyone spy a stranger in a custom in the photo? There were two matchy sisters in fact. They looked very cute!

 

[jham]

After the parade we intended to go to DTD for our dinner ressies at T-Rex, but I was still wet, at least the inner layers… so we hopped the bus back to our hotel for a quick change,

at POR:

then took the boat to DTD. My niece was done for the day so my sister and her family stayed at the resort. We met up with our friends. They got there before us so they waited in the huge check-in line, actually I think there were 2 lines to wait in, but other than that we did not have to wait. Yay for reservations! (That I made directly with the restaurant over the phone some weeks ago).

We loved it here! Of course having 4 dinosaur-loving boys aged 5-9 didn’t hurt. We had a boy’s table and a girl’s table.

We were seated in the ice cave. It kept glowing red during the meteor showers which made our food look really weird. (I never did figure out if those were olives or tomatoes in my salad.)

Most of the food was very good, some was meh (Wolly Mammoth Chicken was kind of bland, it sounded a lot better than it tasted). Service at the boys table started to get pretty ugly. They had to wait a loooooooooooong time for their entrees. The DHs got this appetizer that they LOVED. My DH said it was the best thing he ate on the trip: "Triassic Tuna - Ahi tuna diced in a soy and lime marinade with mango and avocado, served on wontons with wasabi aioli and a Thai chili sauce." The boys also got this for dessert: "Chocolate Extinction - A gigantic portion of chocolate fudge cake served with ice cream, fresh whipped cream drizzled with fudge and caramel sauces and sprinkled with Butterfinger crumbs. Enough for two or more." It served the whole boys table. And maybe some of the girls snuck over for a bite…

We were tired and ready to go home, but not without a little shopping first! Luke was due some Legos and I wanted a birthday shirt. I went to the make-your-own tee shirt place and started working on a design when an employee told me it wouldn’t be done until tomorrow and I’d have to come back then to pick it up. That wasn’t going to happen, so I went over to WoD to see if they had any birthday shirts. They said no. I was bummed! But I looked around anyway and found…A BIRTHDAY SHIRT! Which I looked awful in, but you’ll see plenty of that coming up in DAY 5: Happy Birthday to ME!

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

FUN!!! Updates! Love all the pics of the kids in their customs. Aisling asked if I made all of them. OH silly naive Aisling She said: those kids look FABULOUS!

Who can ride EE 7 times in a row? I've gotten over the fear of EE, but I don't think I could do it 7 times!

Love Luke and the rhino tail!

What is on the boys' table at TRex? Is it some kind of dry ice thing? It's really neat!

 

[jessica52877]

The dessert looks so yummy! I should have followed suit and made reservations for the evening there. I think it would be fun.

I love the way Mike is just like a kid! I bet he is alot of fun to be married to. Dallas also loves the playground!

All the shirts and pictures with them all are so cute! I also like the picture of Mike and Jayden at the hotel!

 

[t-beri]

What a great day for AK!! I LOVE those perfect AK days. Good weather, light crowds... You know AK is quickly becoming my 2nd favorite park. I can't quite bring myself to forsake MK But we've had some really great days at AK the last 2 years. It is definitely my favorite park to tour sans kids.

I'm sorry you didn't get to sit w/ your sisters family too but I'm sure you had a wonderful dinner. We love the tusker house, partially b/c my inlaws don't like to eat at the Marrakesh and Tusker House has the same veggie cous cous so I don't feel like I missed out (except for the Moroccan mint iced tea)

How adorable were all the matchy matchy kids?!?!?! Man, you must have been sewing your little heart out. You friends are so lucky!!!

And I'm proud of you for braving the river rapids without a poncho. We make fun of those people

 

[Stephres]

Those are some cute matching kids!

Megan is forever picking up the confetti while Jacob lectures her on germs and grossness. She can be Seth's confetti buddy.

My silly husband insists on taking pictures on the safari. I finally got smart and bought some postcards and put them in our scrapbook. See, we saw a giraffe!

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

And I'm proud of you for braving the river rapids without a poncho. We make fun of those people

that's so funny! We make fun of the people who WEAR the ponchos

 

[MouseTriper]

Loved the update!!! The pictures of the kids with all their matching shirts are my fav!!! I have never been on EE. Hopefully I can conjure up the courage during our next trip...whenever that may be!

We ate at T-Rex last December and loved it.

Ohh I can't wait to see your birthday shirt and hear all about your special day!

The next installment is coming very soon, right??? LOL

 

[kimmylaj]

everyone looked adorable in their matching clothes, as far as your hubby riding ee and you had to find him....i would be one cranky lady, but thats how i am. the face painting looked great, my kids never want that so it saves some money, but i really like it. and kudos to you for getting all those kids out of the playground...that is one impressive feat

 

[jham]

FUN!!! Updates! Love all the pics of the kids in their customs. Aisling asked if I made all of them. OH silly naive Aisling She said: those kids look FABULOUS!

Who can ride EE 7 times in a row? I've gotten over the fear of EE, but I don't think I could do it 7 times!

Love Luke and the rhino tail!

What is on the boys' table at TRex? Is it some kind of dry ice thing? It's really neat!

Jayden has always been a fearless thrill-seeker! The boys' volcano/dry ice thing was the countdown to extinction dessert

The dessert looks so yummy! I should have followed suit and made reservations for the evening there. I think it would be fun.

I love the way Mike is just like a kid! I bet he is alot of fun to be married to. Dallas also loves the playground!

All the shirts and pictures with them all are so cute! I also like the picture of Mike and Jayden at the hotel!

You should have joined us Jessica! You could've sat at the much calmer girls table! I guess we'll have to go back...

What a great day for AK!! I LOVE those perfect AK days. Good weather, light crowds... You know AK is quickly becoming my 2nd favorite park. I can't quite bring myself to forsake MK But we've had some really great days at AK the last 2 years. It is definitely my favorite park to tour sans kids.

I'm sorry you didn't get to sit w/ your sisters family too but I'm sure you had a wonderful dinner. We love the tusker house, partially b/c my inlaws don't like to eat at the Marrakesh and Tusker House has the same veggie cous cous so I don't feel like I missed out (except for the Moroccan mint iced tea)

How adorable were all the matchy matchy kids?!?!?! Man, you must have been sewing your little heart out. You friends are so lucky!!!

And I'm proud of you for braving the river rapids without a poncho. We make fun of those people

Hey, I don't mind getting made fun of, I only mind being soaking wet!

Those are some cute matching kids!

Megan is forever picking up the confetti while Jacob lectures her on germs and grossness. She can be Seth's confetti buddy.

My silly husband insists on taking pictures on the safari. I finally got smart and bought some postcards and put them in our scrapbook. See, we saw a giraffe!

I know, we have a seasons pass to the zoo and I finally stopped taking pictures every time we went!

that's so funny! We make fun of the people who WEAR the ponchos

Like I said, I don't mind getting made fun of for wearing a poncho. In fact I make fun of people who walk around the parks with a soggy wedgie.

Loved the update!!! The pictures of the kids with all their matching shirts are my fav!!! I have never been on EE. Hopefully I can conjure up the courage during our next trip...whenever that may be!

We ate at T-Rex last December and loved it.

Ohh I can't wait to see your birthday shirt and hear all about your special day!

The next installment is coming very soon, right??? LOL

I can't believe you haven't ridden it! Doesn't Taylor like the fast rides? I'm not even sure I have a decent picture of the Birthday shirt

everyone looked adorable in their matching clothes, as far as your hubby riding ee and you had to find him....i would be one cranky lady, but thats how i am. the face painting looked great, my kids never want that so it saves some money, but i really like it. and kudos to you for getting all those kids out of the playground...that is one impressive feat

Oh, did I forget to mention I was cranky? I had expected him to join us on the Pagnini Forest trail to help me keep track of 4 kids running in opposite directions. I ended up having to leave Seth with my sister. Some were running ahead and some were lagging behind. And that was BEFORE I found out that while I was trying to keep track of all the kids, he was RIDING EE! More than once even! I was bummed Jayden didn't get her face painted. So was she. But we didn't have time to stop for face painting every time someone got the urge! Now if they had a face painting station right next to EE, that would be another story!

 

[HeatherSue]

I love all the matchy-matchy and mickey heads in the picture outside of Tusker House!

WOW! That's a lot of Mickey waffles and a whole bowl of syrup? Didn't you feed Pal Mickey any other day?

LOVE the Luke and the rhino picture!

SEVEN times on EE???

I can't believe how nice it was at AK! This was just a few days after we were there wearing winter coats, hats, and gloves, and wishing for some snow pants!

Lily looks so pretty with her face painted up! Those people in the background are hilarous!

How cute are those matchy kids? Very, very, very cute!

I can relate to the stroller problems with Luke and Lily. But, Tessa threw a fit when we put Sawyer in with her. We almost left the park because she was acting so naughty!

EE TWO more times??

What is Luke riding on in that picture?

Awww..that's a cute little girl in the covert customs picture.

Does that sign by the dino bones that Luke is climbing on say "Please don't climb" or something to that extent?

That's an awesome dessert!

that's so funny! We make fun of the people who WEAR the ponchos

Oh yeah, well see-through pants aren't too attractive, either! I know this from experience.

 

[jham]

I love all the matchy-matchy and mickey heads in the picture outside of Tusker House!

WOW! That's a lot of Mickey waffles and a whole bowl of syrup? Didn't you feed Pal Mickey any other day?

LOVE the Luke and the rhino picture!

SEVEN times on EE???

I can't believe how nice it was at AK! This was just a few days after we were there wearing winter coats, hats, and gloves, and wishing for some snow pants!

Lily looks so pretty with her face painted up! Those people in the background are hilarous!

How cute are those matchy kids? Very, very, very cute!

I can relate to the stroller problems with Luke and Lily. But, Tessa threw a fit when we put Sawyer in with her. We almost left the park because she was acting so naughty!

EE TWO more times??

What is Luke riding on in that picture?

Awww..that's a cute little girl in the covert customs picture.

Does that sign by the dino bones that Luke is climbing on say "Please don't climb" or something to that extent?

That's an awesome dessert!



Oh yeah, well see-through pants aren't too attractive, either! I know this from experience.

I KNOW! What a difference a few days makes! I wish you'd still been there! That sign on the dinosaur says "no video photography allowed" (seriously, how can they actually enforce that? That is outside the restaurant right in the middle of DTD) but climbing is okay.

 

[MouseTriper]

I can't believe you haven't ridden it! Doesn't Taylor like the fast rides? I'm not even sure I have a decent picture of the Birthday shirt

Nope, never been on it. Taylor actually has a heart murmur and our Dr. told us to not take her on the fast rides. She is supposed to grow out of it but so far hasn't.

Oh come on, you must have one picture of your new Disney Birthday shirt!! I am sure you look as cute as ever in it.

 

[revrob]

GREAT update! EE 7 times - what a GREAT day! I think I need to try Tusker House and T-Rex now too!