Life Could Be a Dream- A May 2011 PTR

I think that leaving a day early is a great idea! That will leave you plenty of time to get to Disney and beat rush hour traffic! It really is awful, I guess the problem is that I-4 is the only real road in and out of Orlando, and everyone lives in the 'burbs.

Since I've already been an enabler this trip, I figured I'd mention that there is a GREAT Disney outlet just outside of St. Augustine. Its called Character Connections and they get the Disney park merchandise for super cheap. Its a really easy on and off I-95, you can see it right from the highway. When we lived in Jacksonville I used to go down every Friday night because they had a pin trading event. I bought most of my Disney clothes there for a super discount, and they have good prices on trader pins.

I hope you guys have a nice time in Jacksonville. I wish I could give you a recommendation for a nice place to have lunch, but I am honestly having a hard time thinking of a non-chain, kid friendly restaurant. There isn't anything too exciting about Jacksonville, maybe thats why I don['t really miss the city, only the proximity to St. Augustine and Disney.
 
Reading your Vinylmation stories makes me want to start a collection of my own! :rotfl:
I'm sorry that you got another Big Baby; I really like the Bullseye one, and I can see where you'd want to trade the baby ones.

I can't wait to see which ones you end up with on your upcoming trip!
 
Yikes! Big baby is scary! I can't believe you got another one instead of Buzz. Bummer.
 
Trade the Clock Cleaner!?! I just bought one on ebay, I love it so much! Just goes to show, to each her own!
 

I like the mini see 'n says. I've never seen those before. Looks like you should be able to keep the boys entertained for at least 15 minutes or so with all those goodies.

Probably a good idea to leave a day early. Always hate to cut it close when you have to drive that far and be somewhere by a certain time. Never know what might happen.

Your last TR started to get me interested in Vinylmations. I went to the Disney Store a couple of weeks ago looking for some Mickey Mouse Clubhouse DVDs, toys, shirts, anything. Unfortunately, they didn't have anything worth buying, but I'm pretty sure if I had found something to buy, I would have bought a Vinylmation too. I actually picked one up, but decided I didn't want to stand in line just to buy 1 little Vinylmation.:lmao:
I think I'd be getting rid of the Big Baby ones... very creepy looking.
 

Whenever I know we have a road trip coming up, I try to stock up on cheap little toys for Carter and Landon to play with on the road.

I've been picking up a few items here and there and I finally sat down to evaluate this trip's selection.

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I do the exact same thing! I just collect them all the time and put them in a extra closet we have.

It is funny that you posted this because I was planning a similar post for my PTR with some Disney items I got on the Easter Clearance aisle this week!


"Maybe we should leave Wednesday night. Drive to Savannah or so and then stop and get a good night's sleep?"

"Okay, that's probably a good idea."

So our trip is now officially beginning on Wednesday. I went ahead and booked the Quality Inn on the south side of Savannah. Hopefully it will be all right. We'll just be sleeping there, so it doesn't need to be too great, but safe and clean would be nice.

I agree this is a good idea. It will make the trip less stressful and more enjoyable! I am sure the Quality Inn will be just fine!


Probably around nap time, the boys and I will leave for Disney World. With a bit of luck, one or both of them may sleep most of the way.

Hoping that they sleep the whole way for you!

I think we will still eat dinner at Everything Pop, but afterward, if the boys have gotten an adequate chance to run around, we may venture out to Epcot for a night of adventure.

Hooray for the possibility of extra time in the parks!

I am so excited for you! I wish that I was leaving so soon! I hope that you have good luck with your trading this trip. It is funny that your boys love Big Baby... I always find amusing what my kids will deem their "favorite toys."
 
It's nice that you are leaving a day earlier and breaking up the drive, so hopefully the boys will be content when you are driving solo. They seem like angels though! :angel:

You've acquired quite the collection of vinylmations! You are the reason I will finally be buying them for myself and possibly trade them too. We do have two that my sister got us, and on the last trip I got the boys the decorate your own. They are still naked though :laughing: thanks to washable marker.

Your trip is so close! Have fun!
 
We just got a bunch of cute dollar toys all Disney themed at Michael's craft store, if you have one by you might be worth taking a gander. I have to admit never really got the whole vinylmation thing but after your TR and PTR and seeing how cute some of the toy story ones were at the Disney store are I think I may have to take up trading!
 
Just in case I don't make it back to your PTR have a wonderful trip:banana::banana::cheer2:
 
OH no!!! He did jinx you!!! Bummer!

Looking forward to seeing what you get in your trades!

P.S. My husband's fireman vinylmation came today...he was pretty excited! ;)

Next time, maybe Jeremy can tell me that it's probably not a Buzz, but an Evil Dr. Porkchop. At least that way, it will be something cool, still.

I'm getting so excited to get back to trading. I hope I get some cool ones, but if not, there's always next time.

The fireman one looks cool. :cool1:

Like your trip changes. It sounds like it will make things a little easier for you all. Big plus for potential Epcot time, too! Do the boys understand how soon the trip is?

Those big babies are not cute at all. Hope you can trade around and end up with your Buzz! Good to know these are at the Disney store. I may check it out tomorrow. You have me considering letting Andrew get into this trading game. It seems fun enough and a little easier to deal with than pin trading. :thumbsup2

I think it will be much easier to leave Wednesday night. Now I just have to get everything ready to go a day sooner. :rotfl: I hope we do get some Epcot time Thursday night. I love to have extra time in the parks. I don't think the boys do understand how soon the trip is. I think Landon has forgotten anything about Disney World, and while Carter remembers it, he has a hard time with the concept of X days til something.

No, those Big Babies are not very cute. I'd love it if a Buzz turned up this trip, but that would probably take a lot of luck. I am leaning toward trading the Babies. I think Vinylmation trading is much easier to manage with little kids than pin trading. Nothing sharp about Vinylmation.

I love your Vinylmation stories and seeing the ones you get and trade. Your theory on Buzz made complete and total sense....why did Big Baby not move around:confused3

Thanks! I still think the Buzz theory may be correct. Maybe I didn't shake the box quite right? Or maybe I picked up the wrong box and left the one that hadn't moved sitting on the shelf for the other guy? :confused3 I'll probably give it another try someday.

I think that leaving a day early is a great idea! That will leave you plenty of time to get to Disney and beat rush hour traffic! It really is awful, I guess the problem is that I-4 is the only real road in and out of Orlando, and everyone lives in the 'burbs.

Since I've already been an enabler this trip, I figured I'd mention that there is a GREAT Disney outlet just outside of St. Augustine. Its called Character Connections and they get the Disney park merchandise for super cheap. Its a really easy on and off I-95, you can see it right from the highway. When we lived in Jacksonville I used to go down every Friday night because they had a pin trading event. I bought most of my Disney clothes there for a super discount, and they have good prices on trader pins.

I hope you guys have a nice time in Jacksonville. I wish I could give you a recommendation for a nice place to have lunch, but I am honestly having a hard time thinking of a non-chain, kid friendly restaurant. There isn't anything too exciting about Jacksonville, maybe thats why I don['t really miss the city, only the proximity to St. Augustine and Disney.

I'm very relieved to be missing Orlando's rush hour. I think the drive will be okay, but not if we spend a couple hours in stopped traffic. And hopefully the boys will get a good nap along the way.

Character Connections. Maybe I'll see if Jeremy would want to stop there on our way home. I can never bring myself to stop when I am so close to getting to Disney. On the other hand, when it's time to leave, I certainly don't mind lingering a little longer.:rotfl:

That's okay, I'm sure something will turn up, once we get there. It doesn't need to be anything too special. The boys would probably be happiest with a Chick fil a, so they can play. We do like Sonny's, too. I know there's one of those along our way, because we frequently stop there on the drive.

Reading your Vinylmation stories makes me want to start a collection of my own! :rotfl:
I'm sorry that you got another Big Baby; I really like the Bullseye one, and I can see where you'd want to trade the baby ones.

I can't wait to see which ones you end up with on your upcoming trip!

I've been having a lot of fun with my Vinylmation collection. It's funny, Big Baby is pretty much the only Toy Story Vinylmation I really didn't want and now I have two. Definitely time to do some trades.

I can't wait to see, either. I actually made up a little booklet of Vinylmation trading locations, so if I'm in the parks and get one I don't like, I'll know exactly where to go to trade again.
 
Yikes! Big baby is scary! I can't believe you got another one instead of Buzz. Bummer.

I sure was hoping for a Buzz. Big Baby is scary, although Carter and Landon seem to like them. Go figure.

Trade the Clock Cleaner!?! I just bought one on ebay, I love it so much! Just goes to show, to each her own!

:lmao: Yep, I'm planning on trading the Clock Cleaner. The cartoon all right, but there's just something about the eyes on the Vinylmation that creep me out. :scared1:

I like the mini see 'n says. I've never seen those before. Looks like you should be able to keep the boys entertained for at least 15 minutes or so with all those goodies.

Probably a good idea to leave a day early. Always hate to cut it close when you have to drive that far and be somewhere by a certain time. Never know what might happen.

Your last TR started to get me interested in Vinylmations. I went to the Disney Store a couple of weeks ago looking for some Mickey Mouse Clubhouse DVDs, toys, shirts, anything. Unfortunately, they didn't have anything worth buying, but I'm pretty sure if I had found something to buy, I would have bought a Vinylmation too. I actually picked one up, but decided I didn't want to stand in line just to buy 1 little Vinylmation.:lmao:
I think I'd be getting rid of the Big Baby ones... very creepy looking.

I found the See N Says at Target and I thought they looked like fun. Hopefully the boys think so to. And fifteen minutes? I've got at least twenty minutes worth of toddler entertainment. :rotfl:

I'm very glad we decided to leave early. We've never been very good at hurrying on road trips. I think we stop too often or something. It would be stressful to have that far to go and have to be there by a certain time.

I'm often disappointed with the selection of baby boy stuff at Disney Store. There's so much princess and faires and a small section of Cars and Toy Story for the boys. Too bad you didn't find anything to buy, though, if you were going to get a Vinylmation, too. Aren't you always going to wonder now, which Vinylmation was inside the box you didn't get?:laughing: Yeah, I'm thinking the Big Babies need to go.

I do the exact same thing! I just collect them all the time and put them in a extra closet we have.

I don't think the boys have had any new toys since Landon's birthday. I've been saving all the little stuff I buy for awhile now. I hope they like it all.


It is funny that you posted this because I was planning a similar post for my PTR with some Disney items I got on the Easter Clearance aisle this week!

I didn't think of getting any Easter clearance stuff. Except for those Bambi Easter plates at the Disney Store. I bought those. Next time, I'll have to remember to shop after Easter for Disney trinkets.

I agree this is a good idea. It will make the trip less stressful and more enjoyable! I am sure the Quality Inn will be just fine!

I hope the Quality Inn will be fine. We're really not very picky about hotels, when we just want a place to crash for the night. Hopefully, low expectations will be easily met. :rotfl:

Hoping that they sleep the whole way for you!

Me, too! Not only would it make the drive easier, but it would also mean checking in with happy, well-rested boys.


I am so excited for you! I wish that I was leaving so soon! I hope that you have good luck with your trading this trip. It is funny that your boys love Big Baby... I always find amusing what my kids will deem their "favorite toys."

I'm getting really excited about our trip. It's getting to that stage where almost everything you do is somehow trip related, which adds to the fun and excitement. I'm hoping that the only reason they like the Big Babies is because there are two Big Babies. One for each hand and they can bang them together. I may try to get two of another kind and see if those are just as good.

It's nice that you are leaving a day earlier and breaking up the drive, so hopefully the boys will be content when you are driving solo. They seem like angels though! :angel:

You've acquired quite the collection of vinylmations! You are the reason I will finally be buying them for myself and possibly trade them too. We do have two that my sister got us, and on the last trip I got the boys the decorate your own. They are still naked though :laughing: thanks to washable marker.

Your trip is so close! Have fun!

I think the drive should be more fun, done over two days. And of course, an extra day is always great. The boys have their moments of Angelhood as well as their moments of...non-Angelhood. Overall, they're both pretty easy to get along with.

We just got a bunch of cute dollar toys all Disney themed at Michael's craft store, if you have one by you might be worth taking a gander. I have to admit never really got the whole vinylmation thing but after your TR and PTR and seeing how cute some of the toy story ones were at the Disney store are I think I may have to take up trading!

We do have a Michaels here. I wouldn't have thought of looking for Disney stuff there, but I'll keep that in mind. Vinylmation is a lot of fun. I actually ended up having a lot more fun with them than I had expected to at first. :thumbsup2

Just in case I don't make it back to your PTR have a wonderful trip:banana::banana::cheer2:

Thank you!!
 
i love all those goodies. I agree, i will buy those light up toys from home as long as i can!!!
 
Just finished catching up on you PTR, your plans sound great. Congrats on the new stroller, I wish my boys were still little enough for one.:)
We had a sit and stand stroller which worked out really well until my youngest, Jack, decided that he wanted to be able to stand too. Thankfully by then my older DS, Connor, felt he was to old for a stroller and we either let Jack walk or if it was a quick trip went back to the umbrella stroller.

Love the toys you got, I never saw a mini see and say before it's so cute. I loved hitting Dollar Tree and the dollar section at Target before out trip last year, found some really great stuff. I think I need to bring an Ariel wand for myself for out next trip.:rotfl:

Have a safe trip and look forward to reading about it when you get back.
 
Enjoyed getting caught up today! Lots of fun stuff planned for those cute kiddos, and hurrah for extra park time!
 
You're only a couple of days away now, so I thought I'd just give a quick post to say I'm excited for you guys and I hope you have a great long weekend. I'm sure Landon and Carter will be on their best behavior for you until Jeremy gets there. Have fun!:thumbsup2
 
Your toys for the trip down look awesome! I kind of want that Ariel wand...:laughing: And yay for leaving a day early! :cool1:

Ew, I don't like that Big Baby Vinylmation at all...creepy! :eek: I can't believe Jeremy jinxed you like that! I almost bought my first Vinylmation at the Disney Store the other day, but I think I'd rather save that experience for WDW instead! I can't wait to see what you trade for when you are there! :)
 
Kate- have a great trip! I hope the drive down and back go smoothly and that you guys have a magical time at WDW!
 













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