Jedis, Pirates and Extended Family! A May/June 2012 TR Update: Lunch @ H&V

[amandaw]

Question: What did y'all think of the pirate beds? I've been close to booking that room before but have shied away because I've read so many reviews talking about how uncomfortable the beds are. We may spend a night or two at Disney next year either before or after our cruise & am toying around with the idea of a pirate room. I think Reid would love it.

I know, right? I don't know what is wrong with my dad! He took me to Disneyland when I was 16 and he hated how they handled crowds there. He even wrote Guest Relations about it. Then we had our disaster trip in 2005 which didnt help matters.

I think he has softened on Mickey though seeing Disney through his grand children's eyes. He actually really surprised me with how much fun he seemed to have this time. As my husband was saying all trip about things, " it was a Disney miracle!"

That's sweet that his grandkids are helping him enjoy Disney.

Back in 2004, my whole family went to Disney. At that time, there was only 1 grandchild (my sister's oldest son). Everyone seemed to have fun including my mom even though Disney is not her thing. I asked her a few months ago if she would come to Disney with us sometime now that we have a child. She said "no, it's not my thing." Oooookkkkaaayyy then. Even though it would be a paid trip for you & you get to spend time with our only child there? Moral of my story: Big kudos to your dad for going & having fun even if he doesn't love Disney.

Thanks about the pictures. Unfortunately this is the day my camera starts giving me fits!

Oh no! I hope it wasn't a big problem.

 

[RGirl]

Thanks so much for coming over! I'm happy to have you reading along. It's fun reliving our trip.

We really loved the pirate rooms! Anthony thought they were so cool. The SWW parade was so exciting. I couldn't believe it, total pixie dust

Ohana breakfast is fun. I like it because they bring the food to you. No rushing to the buffet like a mad person in between characters and we love visiting the Polynesian. The food isn't spectacular but I would recommend it!

I love the idea of being able to avoid the juggling of characters vs. buffet. That would be great! And it looks like a bunch of really good characters too. I am definitely moving that one closer to the top of our list for our next trip! I do love visiting the Poly too, but I am not a fan of Ohana at dinner - I think I may be the only one!!!!

 

[megan511]

Question: What did y'all think of the pirate beds? I've been close to booking that room before but have shied away because I've read so many reviews talking about how uncomfortable the beds are. We may spend a night or two at Disney next year either before or after our cruise & am toying around with the idea of a pirate room. I think Reid would love it.

That's sweet that his grandkids are helping him enjoy Disney.

Back in 2004, my whole family went to Disney. At that time, there was only 1 grandchild (my sister's oldest son). Everyone seemed to have fun including my mom even though Disney is not her thing. I asked her a few months ago if she would come to Disney with us sometime now that we have a child. She said "no, it's not my thing." Oooookkkkaaayyy then. Even though it would be a paid trip for you & you get to spend time with our only child there? Moral of my story: Big kudos to your dad for going & having fun even if he doesn't love Disney.

Oh no! I hope it wasn't a big problem.

I thought the pirate beds were fine but then again I'm pretty easy to please. The mattress did seem very thin and I hate to say it but the Marriott's beds were probably more comfortable! It didn't affect us but I could see how people would say that. I think for one or two nights it should be ok. Anthony thought the room was awesome, I'm not sure what he'll do if we go back and he's not in a pirate room!

Oh wow, I'm sorry about your mom saying that. I think even if something wasn't my thing I would do it to be around my grandchild! I would gladly pay for the chance at those memories and you offered it for free? Yeah, I don't get that. She is the one missing out in the end.

I was very proud of my dad. He doesn't like to be out of his comfort zone AT ALL but he really cooperated with us this time. He went to AK with us and Chad and I have laughed at the PhotoPass pics. The photographer made my dad pretend to hold the balloons! I can only imagine what my dad was thinking!

The camera was very annoying. Outside it was great but inside the pics were turning out awful. We had to mess with it a lot.

I love the idea of being able to avoid the juggling of characters vs. buffet. That would be great! And it looks like a bunch of really good characters too. I am definitely moving that one closer to the top of our list for our next trip! I do love visiting the Poly too, but I am not a fan of Ohana at dinner - I think I may be the only one!!!!

Me too! I am the buffet runner for both kids and myself so I always feel rushed at the buffets until we have seen all the characters. Unless of course, I decide to wait on the characters to come out first. Then they are no where to be seen! The characters at Ohana are fun! I love Mickey in his Hawaiian shirt and my son loves Stitch.

We had Ohana booked for dinner and then switched it to Kona, which we loved. I would like to try Ohana sometime but I'm not in a huge rush. I would mainly just like to try the dessert!

 

[megan511]

After breakfast we said bye to my dad and my brother. They were headed back to the condo until it was time to meet up for dinner. My mom, my sister and her kids got on the monorail headed to MK. We were driving so we made plans to meet up at Splash Mountain. We left the Polynesian and I guess we made a wrong turn because we ended up driving in a huge circle! We passed the dog care center and the Port Orleans resorts before we realized something was wrong. Next time we have breakfast at an MK resort and are headed to MK after we will park at the TTC and take the monorail. That would have been so much easier.

We finally got to the TTC and decided to take the ferry over. I know the monorail means you have arrived at Disney for a lot of people, but my Disney memories have always been of the ferry. (The monorail totally won me over later on in this trip though.)

The plan today was to stay in the Adventureland/Frontierland area of MK. Anthony had a Pirate League appointment at 11:10 and Tessa had an appointment at the Main Street Barbershop at 1. Since we had a little detour around Disney World we did not have much time before we needed to check into Pirate League. After a few PhotoPass pics we headed to Adventureland.

Chad and Anthony just had to have drinks even though we had just been at breakfast so we stopped at Sunshine Tree Terrace. I love the orange bird!

I seriously thought about getting a Dole Whip, (even though I had just had breakfast ) but I'm not even sure if Aloha Isle was open yet. We met up with my sister and mom at Splash Mountain. The wait was 20 minutes so we knew we would only have time for one ride before Anthony needed to get checked in for his pirate makeover. My mom waited with Tess and my niece while we rode Splash.

It was fun as always. We got our ride photos added to our PP+ card and then went to Pirate League. My mom and sister decided to go ride some more rides. I got a tiny bit annoyed that my mom wasn't going with us to Pirate League since it was Anthony's birthday but I shrugged it off.

We got Ant signed in and that's when he picked out which package he wanted. I thought for sure he would get the Jake and the Neverland pirate package but he picked Captain Hook. He picked Capt. Hook because the Jake package did not include getting a pirate name

Once Anthony was called in he spun this wheel which produced two dice which is how they get their pirate name.

Anthony's name was Enrique Foulstench. I don't think he was too happy about the "Foulstench" part!

After getting their name the kids wait on benches until their pirate calls them over. This is where Chad and I got into a little bit of an argument.

*We always have at least one at Disney. I don't know what it is, Chad blames the heat and I blame him! In all seriousness though, I think it probably is the heat and just trying to keep two kids happy on top of trying to maneuver crowds and what not. Chad is bothered by crowds a lot more easily than I am so it puts him a bit more on edge than normal. So he doesn't have quite his usual level of patience when dealing with me and my craziness*

Anyways, our argument started because of the camera. All my indoor pics were coming out a big blur so I started blaming the camera which I think Chad took personally because he bought it. Chad very lovingly informed me that it was probably not the camera but the user that was the problem which I obviously realized. So I shoved the camera at him and told him to figure it out since I couldn't. On top of this, Tess was getting antsy. She wanted to run around but the Pirate League is a very small space and she couldn't get down as she would have been running into people. We knew one of us was going to have to take her outside. Well, I was feeling entitled because the Pirate League was my idea and I had booked it so Chad took Tess outside. I felt bad though and had planned on switching with Chad halfway through.

Anthony finally got called to his chair. His pirate was Erin and she was great!

Right after Anthony sat down in came Chad with my mom and nephews. My mom and sister had surprised us by coming over! My sis had offered to keep Tess outside so Chad and I could both be with Ant. I was so grateful and immediately felt guilty for feeling annoyed earlier.

Anthony getting painted with "squid ink."

After his makeover "Enrique" had to say the pirate oath.

After the new recruit says the pirate oath, the pirate giving the makeover yells out, "Yo Ho we have a new pirate!" and everyone yells back. After Erin yelled for new pirate "Enrique" she yelled, "And he's a birthday pirate." So they sang a birthday pirate song for Anthony.

After the oath, the kids wait to go into Captain Jack Sparrow's secret treasure room. The treasure room was very cool and Anthony was given a piece of Aztec treasure. No cameras are allowed in there except PhotoPass. The picture package for Pirate League is included in PhotoPass plus. We had planned on buying this as well and it would have been $14.95. Another + perk! The package included one printed photo in a folder and the rest of the pictures were added to the PP+ card.

We thought the Pirate League was a great experience. Anthony's Captain Hook package cost $34.95 and included the makeover, bandana, sword, eye patch, sash, earring, aztec gold necklace and a pouch for his "treasure". We thought the experience was well worth the price! I would recommend Pirate League 100%!

When Anthony left Pirate League he was showing his cousins what he got in the treasure room because only Anthony, Chad and I were allowed back there. He showed them his Aztec gold and said really softly and completely serious, "This is from Capt. Jack's treasure. I have to put it in a VERY special place." Anthony really thought he had some pirate treasure and was so proud of it. It's the little moments like this that make Disney so magical.

 

[shan23877]

Sounds like a great morning so far! I can totally relate to the argument with DH. Sounds exactly like something that my DH and I would do. I always depend on him to fix technical stuff and then get mad at him when he can't.

I'm so glad that your mom and sister came back! I can't believe that your mom would have skipped it, but it's so nice that your sister was able to keep Tessa happy while you guys focused on Anthony.

Pirates League sounds like it is great! I am hoping that one of these days DD might want to try it instead of BBB, but so far no luck. She may just be too girly. That's a very reasonable price for the package. It's so sweet that Anthony thought he had real treasure. Those are the moments that keep us coming back again and again. I just love the Disney Magic.

 

[megan511]

Sounds like a great morning so far! I can totally relate to the argument with DH. Sounds exactly like something that my DH and I would do. I always depend on him to fix technical stuff and then get mad at him when he can't.

I'm so glad that your mom and sister came back! I can't believe that your mom would have skipped it, but it's so nice that your sister was able to keep Tessa happy while you guys focused on Anthony.

Pirates League sounds like it is great! I am hoping that one of these days DD might want to try it instead of BBB, but so far no luck. She may just be too girly. That's a very reasonable price for the package. It's so sweet that Anthony thought he had real treasure. Those are the moments that keep us coming back again and again. I just love the Disney Magic.

I am not on good terms with technology so I always expect DH to fix things! Plus he had been going on and on about what a great camera it was ( which it is very good outside during the day). We never stay mad too long though. At least I don't

I was sooo happy they came back and I felt bad for thinking they would have missed it. My sister is great, she even got Tess to fall asleep! It was nice for us to both experience that with Anthony.

Pirates League was a lot of fun. They have an Empress package for girls which is a girl pirate and they also have a Mermaid package which I think costs a little more. The mermaid was so cool, I wanted to have it done! Maddie does seem like a princess through and through though.

I love the little magic moments. It makes it all worth it

 

[amandaw]

Pirates League looks fantastic! That's so cute how he was talking about his treasure.

Oh yes....you are not alone....I think all couples/families/friends, etc get into at least one argument at Disney. I know Ed & I always do. I think it is just the combination of heat, crowds, exhaustion, etc. But I'm sure it didn't ruin the day!

I thought the pirate beds were fine but then again I'm pretty easy to please. The mattress did seem very thin and I hate to say it but the Marriott's beds were probably more comfortable! It didn't affect us but I could see how people would say that. I think for one or two nights it should be ok. Anthony thought the room was awesome, I'm not sure what he'll do if we go back and he's not in a pirate room!

Hmmmm.....they do look fun. But, I don't know if Ed or I could deal with a thin mattress. Even for a night or two. I'd really like to stay at a monorail resort since it'll only be a day or 2 & we'll probably only do MK. We'll see what happens.

Oh wow, I'm sorry about your mom saying that. I think even if something wasn't my thing I would do it to be around my grandchild! I would gladly pay for the chance at those memories and you offered it for free? Yeah, I don't get that. She is the one missing out in the end.

Usually my mom will do anything to spend time with her grandkids. So, it's so strange that she was just like "NO!" Ed & I just laughed & shrugged it off. She can be a little cuckoo at times. And anyway....her loss.

 

[megan511]

Pirates League looks fantastic! That's so cute how he was talking about his treasure.

Oh yes....you are not alone....I think all couples/families/friends, etc get into at least one argument at Disney. I know Ed & I always do. I think it is just the combination of heat, crowds, exhaustion, etc. But I'm sure it didn't ruin the day!

Hmmmm.....they do look fun. But, I don't know if Ed or I could deal with a thin mattress. Even for a night or two. I'd really like to stay at a monorail resort since it'll only be a day or 2 & we'll probably only do MK. We'll see what happens.

Usually my mom will do anything to spend time with her grandkids. So, it's so strange that she was just like "NO!" Ed & I just laughed & shrugged it off. She can be a little cuckoo at times. And anyway....her loss.

Pirates League was great!

I think it is a combination of those things. We get over arguments fast, me especially. It's not the last one we have either...

I can def understand how the thin mattress could be a deal breaker. We were just so tired at the end of the day that the floor would have felt good

Haha well I guess Disney isn't for everyone. And like you said it's her loss. This trip was the first time my mom kind of got why we love it so much. In fact on her way home she said she wanted to plan a next trip.

 

[megan511]

Here is the Pirate League photo package. I thought it was so cute. (Are pirates cute? Cool, I guess?)

I love that is says "piratical documents."

A copy of the pirate pledge.

Also, here is the certificate from the SWW parade. You had to fill in the name yourself later.

 

[megan511]

We walked out of Pirate League and Beryl had arrived! It was POURING! The rain was coming down sideways and in buckets.

You can't really tell here but there is a tropical storm out there!

We tried to decide what to do next. Tessa had fallen asleep and we didn't want to go out in the rain because we were afraid all Ant's makeup would wash off. We decided to go ride Pirates of the Caribbean. My mom had rode it with my sister right before they came into Pirate League so she offered to sit with Tessa. POTC was posting a 20 minute wait but we walked on. Anthony got a lot of attention in line for the ride. He was eating it up.

When we stepped outside the rain had lightened up considerably.

We needed to head toward Main Street because of Tessa's barbershop appointment. My mom and sister went to meet the fairies and we said we would meet back up at dinner. We got to Main Street and had some time yet before 1. We went to the Fire Station to get our Sorcerors of the Magic Kingdom cards. I knew as soon as we got these it was going to be all Anthony (and Chad) would want to do.

There were only a couple people ahead of us so we got our cards and did the training mission. We still had about 20 minutes before Tessa's appointment so Anthony went to the first portal. There were about four other families in front of us. While we were waiting the Move it, Shake it, Celebrate it Street Party went by and Tessa woke up.

Look at that sky!

It was finally Anthony's turn to use his cards at the portal. He waved his card and we were at the WRONG portal. We didn't have time to go to the right one now so we just went back to Tessa's appointment. You can imagine how happy Anthony was about this. I told Chad if Tessa was calm that he could take Anthony out but I was worried she might be scared.

We got Tessa all checked in and I told them that she had autism. I really didn't think she would sit in the chair herself so they let me hold her. Tessa's hair had never been cut before except her bangs. I thought I would be sad for her hair to be cut but after dealing with it for the past two days in the Florida heat I was ready for it to go! I'm sure Tessa was too. We got 10 inches cut off so we could donate it to Locks of Love.

Tessa does not like people touching her hair so I knew this was going to be a challenge. I told the stylist to just do the best she could.

My poor girl.

Tessa hated getting her hair cut. She started crying immediately. So I knew Chad was going to have to stay and help me with her. Our stylist had a few toys to use as a distraction including a bubble blower. Tessa loves bubbles so this really helped and we were able to finish up. The stylist did a fantastic job! Tessa received Mickey ears that read "first haircut" on the back, so cute!

I thought the first haircut package was a really great value. It was $18 for the haircut and Mickey ears. Tess also got a certificate. A child's haircut where we live is $12 so for $6 more to get ears and to have it done in Disney was well worth it.

All through Tessa's appointment Anthony had been itching to play more Sorcerors. Chad took Anthony to complete his mission while I changed Tess out of her Rapunzel dress. Tessa and I hung out on Main Street for a while and the band came out and played. Tessa loves music so she enjoyed that. We started to hear some rumbling of thunder as well. When Chad and Anthony came back we got some pictures.

It was around 215 now and we needed to get going to Downtown Disney. My brother had called and said that he and my dad were just getting there and would walk around while they waited for us. We headed out of Magic Kingdom and Chad wanted to take the ferry back to the TTC. One had just left so we waited on the dock. While we were waiting we heard this huge crack and boom of thunder! It was scary, it felt like lightning had hit something very close. Chad was worried about getting on the ferry but I told him I was sure Disney wouldn't let people on if it was dangerous. We got on the ferry and we knew it was going to start pouring any minute. Would we have time to get to our car before it started?

No. The rain starts when we are still on the ferry. It's just as bad as before. We put the kids raincoats on and head out. We got to the awning that is right near the ferry dock and sought cover.

I called my dad to tell him we were leaving Magic Kingdom but we were trying to wait for the rain to settle down. I called my mom and sister and they were on the monorail to the Polynesian where they would be catching a bus to DTD. We waited here for 20 minutes or so. Finally the rain started to let up so we dashed to our car. I felt really bad that my dad and brother were waiting on us because we were supposed to have been at DTD by now. We had planned on letting Anthony do some birthday shopping but it looked like we might not have time for that now.

next update

 

[amandaw]

Cute pictures of the Pirates League! And that SWW parade certificate is really neat!

UGH - the rain! At least y'all were able to still get some things accomplished.

That's nice that y'all were able to do Tessa's 1st haircut @ Disney. I think that's a fun thing to do. And the price is really good! Her hair looks cute! That's amazing that y'all were able to cut off 10" to donate.

Hope the rain went away for y'all!

 

[shan23877]

I feel so bad for you and Anthony that the rain was so terrible! At least he got lots of attention at POTC! The perfect place for a new pirate to be!

We meant to play Sorcerers, but never got around to it.

Poor Tessa, but she looks so happy in her Mickey ears! That's a great deal-only $18? Awesome!

I hope that Anthony got to do some birthday shopping!

 

[megan511]

Cute pictures of the Pirates League! And that SWW parade certificate is really neat!

UGH - the rain! At least y'all were able to still get some things accomplished.

That's nice that y'all were able to do Tessa's 1st haircut @ Disney. I think that's a fun thing to do. And the price is really good! Her hair looks cute! That's amazing that y'all were able to cut off 10" to donate.

Hope the rain went away for y'all!

Thanks! Oh, the rain! Luckily it stopped long enough for us to get where we needed to go. Anthony's makeup did run a bit but not too bad.

I love Tessa's hair! I'm sure she appreciates it too. She rarely lets me put it up so I know it has to feel better in the heat. Her hair was sooo long. We always called her Rapunzel because her hair hadn't been cut.

The weather was worrying me all day! Didn't those clouds know we had a date with pirates?

I feel so bad for you and Anthony that the rain was so terrible! At least he got lots of attention at POTC! The perfect place for a new pirate to be!

We meant to play Sorcerers, but never got around to it.

Poor Tessa, but she looks so happy in her Mickey ears! That's a great deal-only $18? Awesome!

I hope that Anthony got to do some birthday shopping!

He really had a great time on POTC. People kept saying, "wow there goes a real pirate!" Ant was loving it.

I didn't really play Sorcerors but Anthony loved it. In fact the only portal i saw was the one saying we were in the wrong spot! Chad likes that kind of thing too so there was no way we could skip it.

I felt so bad for Tessa! Once we got the bubbles going she calmed down a lot. She loved the ears! I thought the price was really reasonable.

 

[WDWJonasGirl]

I love it so far!! I, myself have autism. I was diagnosed at almost 4. I would love to do the Pirates Leaque for my high school graduation.

 

[RGirl]

Great updates!

The Pirates League looks like so much fun! Both my DD and I had appointments last October, but we ended up canceling them. Maybe next time.... Anthony makes an absolutely adorable pirate! How wonderful that you were both able to be there to watch the transformation.

Poor Tess - she was NOT enjoying that haircut at all. The cut looks so cute though, and how awesome that her first haircut was at WDW!

I have never even heard of this Sorcerer thing. How is that possible??????

The storm looks horrible. I hope you don't get too soaked!

 

[amandaw]

I have never even heard of this Sorcerer thing. How is that possible??????

You're spending too much time working & not enough time DISing. Now quit working so much!!!

 

[megan511]

I love it so far!! I, myself have autism. I was diagnosed at almost 4. I would love to do the Pirates Leaque for my high school graduation.

Thanks so much! I'm so happy to have you reading along!

Thanks so much for sharing. We are pretty new to autism; we are still trying to figure out what works and what doesn't for Tessa. We are learning new things everyday. I love hearing about other people's stories as it seems autism is different with every person.

Pirates League was a lot of fun. I think that would be a great way to celebrate a high school graduation!

Great updates!

The Pirates League looks like so much fun! Both my DD and I had appointments last October, but we ended up canceling them. http://www.wdwinfo.com/images/smilies/thumbsup2.gif Maybe next time.... Anthony makes an absolutely adorable pirate! How wonderful that you were both able to be there to watch the transformation.

Poor Tess - she was NOT enjoying that haircut at all. The cut looks so cute though, and how awesome that her first haircut was at WDW!

I have never even heard of this Sorcerer thing. How is that possible??????

The storm looks horrible. I hope you don't get too soaked!

Aww, I'm sorry you ended up cancelling your appointments. Pirates League was fun! I wanted to do it! Thanks, we thought Anthony was a pretty cute pirate. My mom kept saying he didn't even look like himself! I was so glad my sister offered to watch Tessa. I felt bad that Chad was outside with her, yet I wanted to watch too so it worked out great!

I felt so bad for Tessa! I knew she wasn't going to like it which is part of why we had put it off so long. We all love her hair, the stylist did a great job. I was glad we did it at Disney! It will always be a special memory.

Sorcerers is new, I think it started in April. There is always new stuff going on at Disney World, it is so hard to keep up! I wouldn't feel bad about not knowing that though. Chad walked into Fantasyland and said, "where's Dumbo?" He was WAY out of the loop!

The rain was pretty bad. We have always had some rain on our trips but nothing like that! We tried not to let it stop us though.

 

[megan511]

I got my PhotoPass CD yesterday! I am going to go back and edit these photos in to the appropriate posts.

Our first night at Epcot

Sunday at DHS

Han Solo in Carbonite

Jedi Training Part 1 (before Anthony had to leave)

Star Wars Parade; the kids came out right after the Fab 4

Leia Minnie is so cute!

Anthony marching in the parade

R2-D2

Ewok! (I know I am one of 10 people who like them)

Anthony in front of the hat stage (he was taking his role as a future Jedi very seriously)

Family Picture at Ohana

Magic Kingdom (Tessa was not mad when we took the picture, I guess this is just her picture face)

Because they were included in PhotoPass + I will include unflattering ride photos

Pirate League

 

[amandaw]

Your photopass pictures are great!

Princess Leia Minnie is adorable!

And just so you know....you're not the only one who likes the Ewoks. I love them! I had 2 stuffed Ewoks growing up & am still mad at my mother for throwing them away.

 

[megan511]

Your photopass pictures are great!

Princess Leia Minnie is adorable!

And just so you know....you're not the only one who likes the Ewoks. I love them! I had 2 stuffed Ewoks growing up & am still mad at my mother for throwing them away.

Thanks!

I love the Fab 4 in their Star Wars gear. Adorable!

OMGosh, if my mom had done that I would totally be holding a grudge! I love the Ewoks.