Memories of Little Green Men and Sardines (6/8-17, 2010) **FINAL UPDATE 2-25-2011**

[photographymom517]

Hey Hope--catching up before we leave tomorrow morning

Hope you are having a great trip!!!

I'm not sure if this has been answered, but you asked about booking and moving dates. Yes, you pay the $200 deposit and you can shift dates around as needed. However, from day 44 on, you cannot make any changes without penalty and no refunds any longer (this year they allowed partial refunds). If you move your dates, you do not keep the same rate or special necessarily. If you book under free dining but switch dates, if free dining is "sold" out than you do not get it any longer. Does that make sense? So we have a tentative trip booked for next fall to take advantage of the free dining offer out. This way we know we will have it but we know we can cancel it all the way up to day 45 before our trip without penalty. We could also elect to shift the dates but lose free dining (unless it is extended out).

Nope, I didn't get an answer to that question yet! I was actually thinking about calling Disney to ask what I should do. Thanks for the response, it saved me a phone call & from being on hold forever! I seem to get more credible info on the DIS anyway. I called the information number the other night & got 3 different answers from 3 different CM's. I'm not saying they don't know what they're talking about, but its nice to have DIS to talk to people who you know have actually lived through it & are telling you first-hand. I hope that makes sense & doesn't sound rude!

What you said completely makes sense. Thank you for the detailed explanation! I understand now what I need to do! I had a feeling it worked that way...that once the free dining promotion was "sold out" for that particular resort, I wouldn't be able to change dates. I'm kind of hoping I am able to book a trip by November or early December. I know we won't know our exact dates until about a month before we go, but I'd much rather have a tentative plan. Worst case scenario, we change the dates & lose free dining. I'd be disappointed but its not the end of the world as long as I still get a trip to Disney! I'm having LOTS of trouble deciding when to go. I wanted to go during the MNSSHP and F&W but now that I found out when the Vinylmation Trading event for 2011 is (Sept 9-11) I want to book a trip around that & the MNSSHP I know, I know...I am obsessed & have a problem!

I think I'll book something & make sure to write "DAY 45" on my calendar so I don't miss out on the refund and/or changing the dates. THANK YOU so much for the info!!! Extremely helpful!!!

I've been debating on D23 too. You will have to let me know what you think of it.

I just got my D23 card in the mail today!!! I was so excited! I have the website saved under my favorites online & am already planning on buying one of the hoodies or tshirts after my birthday next month!

They said it takes 1-2 weeks to get your card but like I said, I got mine today so it wasn't nearly that long. They also said it takes 3-4 weeks to get the rest of your packet which includes the magazine. I can't wait to get it! I hope it comes early as well!

Did you have a light up toy for the dark rides? If not, it might be a good thing to consider having for your next trip for DS--even if he is not afraid of the dark, it would still give him a bit of comfort.

You won't believe this...I did have light-up toys purchased before our trip. And guess what? I left them at home! I didn't have them written on my packing list & I think it had something to do with my paranoid-thinking about packing my carry-on vs checked bag! I have no idea why I stress so much over that but I always do! I wish I was a frequent flyer or we could drive down to FL and I wouldn't have so many worries about our trips! lol I got the light-up toys at Target for very reasonable prices & will definitely remember them next trip! I actually always keep a few at home because we have a fireworks festival in our hometown & they sell them there for like $7 a piece! I bought an entire pack at Target for $1 and 4 kids shared them (and they each got more than one!)

I know next trip I definitely need to take something to make my son feel more comfortable on the rides. I'm thinking about taking his favorite stuffed animal, a blanket, and the light-up toys. We actually had his favorite Handy Manny toy on our trip but I never thought to take it to the parks.

We did not do SSE the on our last trip, so I am looking forward to trying it out. Living with the Land is fantastic! It is one of my favorite Epcot rides, next to Soarin'. (You know you can do Baby Swap right? All three of you go in, they give the first person a rider swap ticket and the second adult and DS go play and wait. Second adult takes rider swap ticket through the FP line and gets to ride much faster).

I did know about the Rider-Swap tickets. I read about it alot on DIS and asked some questions about it. I completely forgot about it once we got there...I'll blame my poor memory on the humidity in June!

Another question: Did you know you can send things back to your resort for free if you are staying on property? The exception would be the last 24 hours before you leave because it may not make it back to the resort in time. So if it is something you want, but do not need right away, it is a great option instead of having to carry it around/being worried it would be taken if you left it in the stroller.

I did know about sending things back to the resort! I actually learned about that from a very nice CM in the store beside The Judges Tent last March on our trip! I sent a package back to AKL last year & I think I picked it up the next afternoon. It was a wonderful convenience! Last year, I didn't take a "park bag" with me. I only had my camera and credit card & stuck them in my pocket on the rides so I had no choice but to send stuff back to our resort! I love all the "extras" that Disney provides!!!

I told a few people in my family about sending them back to their resort & made sure to stress (like a million times!) not to send stuff back their last few days because they won't get it before they leave!

Cute picture of your DS and you at CR.

Thank you!!!

I am really looking forward to exploring and taking lots of pictures at WS.

Everytime I come back from Disney, I look at other peoples photographs & see something from WS that I never saw before! Its my favorite at Disney!!!

Thanks for the great breakdown of the QSDP--I want to do it for the DDP on my trip to see if we got our money's worth.

No problem! I'm glad so many people were glad to see the breakdown!

Hi Stephanie! I know I wrote it on your PTR but I'm sorry I didn't log-on the DIS & get to tell you good-bye before you left on your trip! I hope you are having an amazing trip!!! Can't wait to hear all about it when you get back!!!

I actually decided to go back through your quote & just type my responses to you in blue!

 

[brookelizabeth]

All caught up again! Wonderful updates! So sorry to hear about your camera settings though!!! Ugh! Did you go back and re-take some of those beautiful shots in Epcot?

I may have a good shot of the farm scene from Livin' with the Land. I know I took one, but not sure how it turned out - I haven't reviewed all the pictures yet. You were also looking for Figment house pictures, right? I might have some of those too! I can't check right now because iPhoto is in the process of uploading the pictures to SmugMug and I can't change it to another album.

Also! Glad to read it all got figured out with Shutterfly!

 

[photographymom517]

All caught up again! Wonderful updates! So sorry to hear about your camera settings though!!! Ugh! Did you go back and re-take some of those beautiful shots in Epcot?

I may have a good shot of the farm scene from Livin' with the Land. I know I took one, but not sure how it turned out - I haven't reviewed all the pictures yet. You were also looking for Figment house pictures, right? I might have some of those too! I can't check right now because iPhoto is in the process of uploading the pictures to SmugMug and I can't change it to another album.

Also! Glad to read it all got figured out with Shutterfly!

Glad you liked the updates & are all caught up!

I know, I was soooo upset about the camera settings. It still makes me mad when I think about it! I don't know how I managed to control myself from getting more upset than I did, but I was just enjoying Disney so much I didn't want to make a big deal out of something I couldn't change!

I ended up with over 4,000 pictures from the entire trip! I have to go through them & get rid of the ones that haven't turned out. So far, I think I've found about 200 that weren't good quality & most of the ones that didn't turn out were the ones I couldn't delete right away because I wasn't able to put my camera on "review". I usually take a few shots just in case one doesn't turn out & delete them later. So I'm sure I'll be around 3,000 or so once I edit & delete some pics, but I definitely made up for the pics I lost!!! No worries!

That would be great if you have the pics of that Living with the Land scene and/or Figment's house! Let me know once iPhoto uploads them!

You should definitely try Shutterfly if you don't already...so simple!!!

 

[photographymom517]

Just a Vinylmation update for anyone who is obsessed as much as I am!!!

I have family currently at Disney & they called me this morning to tell me that they purchased me 4 of the new Animal Kingdom Vinylmations!!! I sent them down with a list of the ones I really wanted & a picture of the set.

When they went to an AK gift shop to look for the giraffe, it was sold out. I guess only about 6 or 7 come in with each shipment & the CM's say the giraffe is sold out within 10 minutes! It must be the hard-to-get one (I'm guessing because of the extra neck piece???) Anyway, just wanted to update anyone who will be going to the parks in the near future or who love Vinylmations!

I also heard that right now, they are only being sold at AK but will soon be available at store locations throughout all Disney parks & at DTD.

I will post pics of my new Vinylmations on Sunday!!!

 

[brookelizabeth]

Glad you liked the updates & are all caught up!

I know, I was soooo upset about the camera settings. It still makes me mad when I think about it! I don't know how I managed to control myself from getting more upset than I did, but I was just enjoying Disney so much I didn't want to make a big deal out of something I couldn't change!

I ended up with over 4,000 pictures from the entire trip! I have to go through them & get rid of the ones that haven't turned out. So far, I think I've found about 200 that weren't good quality & most of the ones that didn't turn out were the ones I couldn't delete right away because I wasn't able to put my camera on "review". I usually take a few shots just in case one doesn't turn out & delete them later. So I'm sure I'll be around 3,000 or so once I edit & delete some pics, but I definitely made up for the pics I lost!!! No worries!

That would be great if you have the pics of that Living with the Land scene and/or Figment's house! Let me know once iPhoto uploads them!

You should definitely try Shutterfly if you don't already...so simple!!!

I do the same thing with taking pictures - I often do multiples of the same thing, especially when I'm taking them of Henry because he moves so fast!

iPhoto has been giving me issues. I'm NOT a Mac person, but DH is - and I've been using his laptop. It's sooooooooooooo much slower to upload than my PC for some reason, so I've only gotten Days 1 and 2 uploaded so far.

I do like Shutterfly! I used to print a lot of pictures, but don't anymore. Since we have such a small living space we've made everything digital and keep it that way. I would like to make a couple books though, it could be fun for a reading book for Henry even.

 

[wdwgirl03]

Just a Vinylmation update for anyone who is obsessed as much as I am!!!

I have family currently at Disney & they called me this morning to tell me that they purchased me 4 of the new Animal Kingdom Vinylmations!!! I sent them down with a list of the ones I really wanted & a picture of the set.

When they went to an AK gift shop to look for the giraffe, it was sold out. I guess only about 6 or 7 come in with each shipment & the CM's say the giraffe is sold out within 10 minutes! It must be the hard-to-get one (I'm guessing because of the extra neck piece???) Anyway, just wanted to update anyone who will be going to the parks in the near future or who love Vinylmations!

I also heard that right now, they are only being sold at AK but will soon be available at store locations throughout all Disney parks & at DTD.

I will post pics of my new Vinylmations on Sunday!!!

Hooray for new vinylmations! I ordered a couple of the Toy Story ones on ebay and got them last week. It took me forever to decide which ones I wanted but I ended up getting Lotso and Woody! Ahhh I love them.

 

[photographymom517]

I do the same thing with taking pictures - I often do multiples of the same thing, especially when I'm taking them of Henry because he moves so fast!

iPhoto has been giving me issues. I'm NOT a Mac person, but DH is - and I've been using his laptop. It's sooooooooooooo much slower to upload than my PC for some reason, so I've only gotten Days 1 and 2 uploaded so far.

I do like Shutterfly! I used to print a lot of pictures, but don't anymore. Since we have such a small living space we've made everything digital and keep it that way. I would like to make a couple books though, it could be fun for a reading book for Henry even.

I completely know what you mean...ever since Luke started walking (or should I say running?) around, I take tons of pictures when I want to capture a special moment! It used to be hard for me to delete any pictures off my memory card or laptop...I felt bad deleting even one. But now I just take tons & delete away!!!

I have NO IDEA how to use a Mac at all, so you have me beat!!!

Good idea to go completely digital with your pics!!!

I have ALOT of trouble with that! I can't ever choose my favorites to display & I've collected waaaay too many picture frames over the years!

I think I've finally come to the realization (after taking over 4,000 pics on our last Disney trip!) that I will probably never in my life develop every single photo I take. I'm planning to just get copies of my absolute favorites and the ones that are special moments. I'll put those in my son's scrapbook or baby book & keep the rest on my laptop. I always get 1 photobook made each vacation. Luke LOVES looking through them! And I agree, even though he can't read yet, the pictures tell him such wonderful stories!!

 

[photographymom517]

Hooray for new vinylmations! I ordered a couple of the Toy Story ones on ebay and got them last week. It took me forever to decide which ones I wanted but I ended up getting Lotso and Woody! Ahhh I love them.

I know, I'm most looking forward to the Holiday 2, next Park & Urban series, and those special WDW ones to come out. I also think the Nerd series sounds neat (mostly because I love Chip & Dale and they were the ones they showed!) I loved the first Cutesters series, but I'm not sure what I think about Cutesters Too. I mean, those 3 little kids in the costumes are cute but I'll have to see the rest of the series to decide if I want to buy them or not.

My problem is I all of the 9" holiday ones coming out...especially the Reindeer, Birthday Cake, and Snowman! But I know there's no way I'll be able to buy them The 9" regular ones are $39.97 and the snowman is a 2 pack with a 3" so it will be $74.95 (the snowman set is supposed to be an online exclusive).

Oh, and I forgot to mention this before but I actually called Merchandising to ask about the upcoming Vinylmations. They told me that Park #5 will be released at the end of September (it just said September on the Vinylnation site so I asked for something more specific). They were the ones who told me about the AK series only being sold right now at AK but will soon be at all the parks. And they said they weren't sure about Disney having a special release for MNSSHP...but I guess we will find out tomorrow!

That's awesome that you got Lotso & Woody! Its so sad to me because Lotso is such a cute bear! He looks so soft & cuddly...but he was sooo mean in the movie! Maybe they'll decide to make a TS4 & he'll turn nice...

I still haven't decided what to do. I don't know if I just want to have someone pick me up 2 or 3 & just keep whatever I get or if I want to get them from ebay. I have the same problem, I just can't choose who to get! I think I'd choose Woody & Buzz, but Buzz is going for ridiculous prices on ebay. I think I saw one go for over $22 plus shipping! Plus I really liked Jessie in the movie & T-Rex always makes me laugh! I also collect penguins so it would be nice to have Weezy. Decisions, decisions!

 

[photographymom517]

This is an update but its not trip-related in anyway. BUT it is Disney related which is why I'm posting it for you to see!

Last weekend we went to a local fair & I couldn't believe how many Disney-related things I saw!!! We were walking into the fair & I saw a girl wearing the Epcot hoodie that I HAD to have last trip...but I couldn't find it anywhere so I made my parents search for it again when they went back a few months later! (and I actually did feel horrible that they went to so much trouble finding it for me) Its the white hoodie with all the Mickey heads all over it (each Mickey head is a different countries flag). I didn't take a picture of the girl wearing the hoodie but I saw her a million times throughout the day! It was nice to see something Disney-related.

Then, we went into the big pumpkin building. I was assuming I'd just see pumpkins...but I saw this!!!

And this...

And this...(my favorite at the fair!)

It was so awesome to go to a country fair & see Mickey Mouse, the Queen of Hearts, and IASW!!!!

 

[brookelizabeth]

Isn't it amazing how many little Disney touches there are in everyday life??? I love the Small World pumpkin! VERY cute, and clever!

I saw that hoodie all over the place this trip! It's really cute, I wanted it too, but resisted!

 

[photographymom517]

Isn't it amazing how many little Disney touches there are in everyday life??? I love the Small World pumpkin! VERY cute, and clever!

I saw that hoodie all over the place this trip! It's really cute, I wanted it too, but resisted!

Hi Brook! I was just on my way over to your TR!

I really loved that pumpkin too! It was funny because I think all 3 of us noticed it at the same exact moment & we all just said "Oooooh look!!!"

I'm so glad my parents found the hoodie for me on their last trip...this trip, I didn't get a hoodie (since they were all $50+) BUT I did come home & find a Vinylmation hoodie on sale through the Disney Outlet for $12.99 (originally $45...can't beat that!) I was happy to find it! I love finding Disney stuff on sale!

 

[photographymom517]

I actually finished my next update so I will post it this evening!

But I had a few things I wanted to tell everyone before my actual update. First of all, and most importantly, I just talked to my parents...they are (right now!!!) on the bus on the way to MNSSHP!!!! Its the very first one so I can't wait to hear all about it! Its their first party at Disney and I know they will love it!!! I am sooo jealous, wish I was there right now!!!

Second, my husband just said the WRONG thing to me...he bet me that I couldn't run a 1/2 marathon. Boy was that the wrong thing to say, especially when I am missing Disney so much right now! So...anyone know when the next 1/2 marathon is? I'm going to look into it right now! If I can somehow manage to work it in near the same time as Food & Wine, Vinylmation Trading, MNSSHP, MVMCP, or Flower & Garden, then I will definitely be training for this ASAP & be in it next year!

 

[ChildAtHeart82]

I actually finished my next update so I will post it this evening!

But I had a few things I wanted to tell everyone before my actual update. First of all, and most importantly, I just talked to my parents...they are (right now!!!) on the bus on the way to MNSSHP!!!! Its the very first one so I can't wait to hear all about it! Its their first party at Disney and I know they will love it!!! I am sooo jealous, wish I was there right now!!!

Second, my husband just said the WRONG thing to me...he bet me that I couldn't run a 1/2 marathon. Boy was that the wrong thing to say, especially when I am missing Disney so much right now! So...anyone know when the next 1/2 marathon is? I'm going to look into it right now! If I can somehow manage to work it in near the same time as Food & Wine, Vinylmation Trading, MNSSHP, MVMCP, or Flower & Garden, then I will definitely be training for this ASAP & be in it next year!

It looks like the marathon schedule for 2011 so far is:

WDW Marathon: 6-11 January (includes a half-marathon)
Princess Half-Marathon: 25-27 February

In the time frame you're looking at, the event you'll probably want is the Food & Wine Half-Marathon. I can't find dates for 2011 and I don't think they've been released yet. This year it's 1-2 October. I looked at the Run Disney website which is:

Run Disney

I hope this helps!

 

[photographymom517]

It looks like the marathon schedule for 2011 so far is:

WDW Marathon: 6-11 January (includes a half-marathon)
Princess Half-Marathon: 25-27 February

In the time frame you're looking at, the event you'll probably want is the Food & Wine Half-Marathon. I can't find dates for 2011 and I don't think they've been released yet. This year it's 1-2 October. I looked at the Run Disney website which is:

Run Disney

I hope this helps!

Thanks for the information! That website will be helpful! I guess I'll have to wait until the next year (2012) or later. Next year, we really want to go sometime in September but I'm not even sure if that will happen. "Normally" my husband works OT in Aug/Sept/Oct so we rarely get to go anywhere during those months...but nothing has been normal the past 2 1/2 years with work so who knows!

I had no idea there was a Food & Wine Half-Marathon...good to know!!!

Thanks so much for the information!

 

[photographymom517]

Sorry I didn't post another update this evening as I said I would. I was spending some time catching up on some of my subs & the cable just went out (for some unknown reason!) I'm sure the Internet will go next since we have a cable modem so I'm logging off DIS for this evening.

Good night everyone! Will post tomorrow, I promise!

 

[brookelizabeth]

$12.99 is AWESOME for a hoodie!

I want to run a Disney race too, I think I'll start with a 5K, since I am training for that now, but do one of the 1/2 marathons in 2012. I've been doing the Couch to 5K plan, it's GREAT!

 

[photographymom517]

$12.99 is AWESOME for a hoodie!

I want to run a Disney race too, I think I'll start with a 5K, since I am training for that now, but do one of the 1/2 marathons in 2012. I've been doing the Couch to 5K plan, it's GREAT!

I know, I couldn't believe that price for a hoodie! And it was the Vinylmation pink one...so of course I was excited!!! I love pink, its my favorite color & I love Vinylmations (as everyone knows from reading my TR...lol) You should definitely check out the Disney Store website & then go to their "outlet" section. I think the link is way down at the bottom of the main page of DisneyStore.com. I got some great deals on pjs for my son too!

I think your plan sounds great to run a 5K first. I think I'm stretching it a little with the 1/2 marathon. Yes, I'm sure it is doable, but I'm just not sure I have the time for it right now! I might scale back a little & look into a 1/2 marathon for a few years in the future. My friend is helping me find races locally & most of them are over for this year so I'd have to wait until next summer (some are 5Ks, some are 10Ks). Honestly, I don't care about my time at all...I just want to finish it!

Its funny you mention the Couch to 5K plan...I was just reading about that last night & have it saved on my favorites now!

 

[photographymom517]

It’s so funny because when we were at Disney, on Saturday I felt like our trip was almost over even though we still had 4 more days!

Now, as I’m writing my trip report, I feel the same feeling…like its almost over even though I have so much more to write!

We started out our day at

Here’s some pictures on our way to OPR from our room.

I actually staged this picture to make sure no one was in it! The pool was surprisingly busy that morning…I have no idea how I got this shot!

The only time we were ever at OPR & every single table wasn’t full!

We ended up getting 2 breakfast platters (called the Isle Bounty) from the Hamburger Shop. You can also order breakfast from the Pizza & Pasta Shop or the Bridgetown Broiler. This platter came with eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, a biscuit, and French toast. We figured that we would just divide 2 of them up since there was so much food. We got a chocolate milk, orange juice, and 2 grapefruit juices for our drinks.

We thought we’d just save the juices for walking around DTD since it was again over 95 degrees with high humidity which made it feel close to or over 100 degrees…and it was only 10:03am at this point! We also got a bag of Doritos and apples with caramel dipping sauce. Oh, I remember now…I didn’t want to eat a lot so I just got the apples with the caramel and our son wanted the Doritos. Our total bill would have been $34.34 if we paid OOP but we used 2 snack credits and 2 QS meals.

Not sure if I mentioned it before or not, but Disney’s French toast is absolutely horrible. It is dry & tastes like cardboard. This of course is only my opinion, but I didn’t order it again after this! Our son ate most of the sausage from both platters and his biscuit, Doritos, eggs, and some potatoes. He really loves breakfast & enjoyed the platter (and part of my husband’s!)

This is a picture of the drink area. We got many, many refills here throughout our trip! (and you have no idea how hard it was to get a picture of it without a gazillion (yes a gazillion!) people standing around it!) We used the refillable mugs so frequently that even if they aren't free next trip, I will still purchase one for each of us!

Today was the first day (and ended up being the only day) that we went to the front of OPR’s building. It actually seemed more like the back of the building to me since we never went there & we were at the “back” of the building every single day at least 3-5 times! Anyone who’s stayed at CBR before knows what I mean. I hope it makes some sense to anyone who hasn’t stayed there, sometimes I don’t explain things correctly! Here are some pictures of the front of OPR and the OPR bus stop!

I actually stood in the same spot for about 5 minutes waiting for a people-free picture of this! I told my husband to just continue to the bus stop while I took a few pictures. They ended up making it the whole way to the bus stop by the time I got this one pic!

 

[photographymom517]

It is so cold back home right now…I am soooo wishing I could see this in person right now!

And now, we’re on our way!

To…

Today was our DownTown Disney day! I was soooo excited for this day because it would be my very first trip there! Last year, we only spent 3 days at the parks so we only visited MK, AK, and Epcot. Before that trip, the last time I was at Disney was way back in 1998. On that trip, my parents and brother went to DTD but I didn’t get to. This was because I had traveled there with the band/drill team/majorettes. We were in a parade at Epcot (I was on drill team) and we had to follow the school’s schedule. My parents & brother went along but used this as a vacation opportunity. Some days, they followed our schedule & went to the same park, but they also had free time whenever we had scheduled practices and/or meals.

I was so excited to be going to DTD for the first time, nothing was going to spoil it! (Not even a cranky toddler & a man who HATES to shop! After all, I had BIG plans for today…I had my shopping list with me!

On the list:
1) Box of Mr. Potato Head parts for my son
2) Build a Dino for my son & nephew
3) Christmas ornament for my son
4) Vinylmation (of course…you guessed it before I said it, right???)
5) Gift for my mom (for watching our house/pets for us)

I also wanted to look in the Lego store, World of Disney, Tren-D, World of Memories, and Goofy’s Candy Co. I wasn’t sure what else I wanted to buy, but I wanted to get all the kids a souvenir today. Lunch plans today were for Earl of Sandwich (of course another first for all of us!)

We arrived at

When we first arrived, I was attempting to get a picture of my son in front of the Christmas display (this was as close to “Disney at Christmas” that I would get for a few years! Lol) I tried taking a few pictures, but my son was terrified of the statues. I had a bit of Disney magic come along…actually it was a Disney custodian! He offered to take a picture of me with my son & I got this awesome picture! I wish I knew his name, but he was a very nice older gentleman & I really appreciated it (he took a good picture too!) I also thought it was very nice…after he took the picture, he handed me the camera & asked me to look at it while he was still standing there to make sure it was ok. He said if it wasn’t good enough, he’d take it over again! Very nice!

First, we went inside

I thought I could pick up a few little souvenirs here so that I could buy each of the kids a few things instead of just one big thing. It turned out that I didn’t buy anything here. I really liked a lot of the little girl stuff in here & could’ve gotten some great deals but my niece is too young for any of it yet!

Next up

I loved these lights! So cute!

Luke loved the Pooh characters everywhere & pointed to all of them & said their names over and over! It was nice to see him enjoying himself.

Next up…my favorite store!!!

I loved how Woody was looking over Mr. Potato Head!

I think I was more excited to see this than I was to visit D-Street and get my Vinylmations! I was looking forward to this for Luke since I first found out it existed!!!

They actually have 2 choices now…one is a small paper box (which ended up holding a lot more than I thought it would!) and one is a large clear Mr. Potato Head (it’s a plastic container shaped like him). I think the box costs $24.95 and the large Mr. Potato Head costs $44.95 but I will double check my notes for the exact prices. I was actually really tempted to choose the larger container, but I had a large shopping list for the rest of the day & wanted to make sure Luke got other things at DTD not just the Mr. Potato Head.

I got a box as soon as we walked into the store (and was jumping around & clapping like a 2 year old! Ha ha!) I walked around the entire circle just to see what larger parts I wanted to get. I wanted to put them in the box first and then put smaller parts all around them. When I started to fill it up, my son figured out what I was doing & wanted to hold the box.

I wanted to get a million of the cute Minnie parts but I knew my son would prefer the Pirate themed parts and the hats. He loves hats & shoes! Here he is trying on the green hat!

I loved the things on the ceilings at Once Upon a Toy!

I LOVED this My Little Pony fill-a-box area! How cute for little girls! I always look at things like this even though we have all boys in the family!

I actually forgot part of the story. Right after my son and I filled up the box of Mr. Potato Head parts, I went to the cashier to pay & our son found a MLP table. He started playing with the ponies & trying to put shoes on all of them! While I was at the cash register, I talked to the CM a little bit about trading. I had my double in my bag, so I went to the stroller to get it & traded for one of the Muppets. After I paid & traded my Vinylmation, I went over to see Luke. He was still trying to put shoes on all of the ponies but he ran out so he was looking all over the floor to find extra shoes. It was too cute but unfortunately I didn’t have my camera out!

I found my first Hidden Mickey of the day!

We then went to

 

[photographymom517]

My treat for the family because I am obsessed with ice cream!!!

I loved how Disney disguised their pipes by making it look like a chocolate factory! I guess I pay attention to things like this because we used to travel to Hershey every single year & tour their factory!

It was sooo busy there we barely found a table! My husband and son went to find one while I ordered. They have seating inside & outside, we ended up sitting inside right beside the kitchen area.

I got the Homemade Waffle Bowl (dipped in chocolate) with 1 scoop of chocolate ice cream and added the toppings hot fudge & peanut butter. The waffle bowl with 1 scoop was $5.25 and it cost $1 for each topping.

My husband got a large vanilla milkshake ($6.50) and I ordered a single scoop of chocolate ice cream with hot fudge for our son (plain bowl with 1 scoop $3.95 plus $1 for the topping).

I really, really wanted to get “The Gold Rush” but thankfully my eyes weren’t bigger than my stomach for once! Ask me my favorite places to eat & most likely, I will tell you something dealing with ice cream (Coldstone Creamery, Dairy Queen, or a restaurant that serves delicious ice cream sundaes!). When it comes to ice cream, sometimes I don’t have enough sense to control myself & order something waaaay too big! Lol Luckily this time I didn’t, but if you’re traveling with a few kids or adults who love ice cream, please try The Gold Rush and let me know how it is!!!

Straight from Ghirardelli’s menu, it is “Vanilla ice cream with freshly homemade hot fudge and melted peanut butter throughout. Perfectly topped with whipped cream, chopped almonds, a cherry, and a Ghirardelli Squares Milk Chocolate.”

Looking back on how large my ice cream sundae was and considering that it cost close to the same amount, I probably should have just gotten The Gold Rush! I just think it would be better to share with someone else. You can also see from the picture how hot it was that day, our ice cream was melting immediately when we got it!

After eating our ice cream (and dealing with a small meltdown from our son) we walked over towards

I knew there was a play area there & figured he would feel a lot better if he had a chance to get rid of some of the built-up energy! He loves riding in the stroller, but it was so hot outside that I wanted to give him a break. I took the picture above in between guests taking pictures of their kids with the Lego family. I wish I could’ve gotten one of my son with them, but he wasn’t in the mood for a picture & I wasn’t in the mood to wait forever just for one picture.

I thought this was really neat. Immediately when I saw it, I thought of all of you traveling to Disney in December! I thought that maybe someone from DIS who is going to DTD in December could get a picture of the entire year!

I loved this wall, but this is as close to it as we got. It was soooo busy there. We actually were a lot further away than what it looks since I used the zoom on my lens.

I wish I would’ve gotten a crowd shot of the Lego store. I think it was the busiest store at DTD and any park during our entire trip!!! I didn’t even look at anything there because of the amount of people…I just wanted to get out of there! We finally made our way outside and went to

Construction

I really, really wanted to ride this…maybe next trip!

Next stop was

Luke just recently started loving dinosaurs. I wanted to get him and my nephew each a Build A Dino & thought it would be fun to let him make both of them. I had just taken him a few months before our trip & let him get his very first Build a Bear (he got the brown puppy). He LOVED the whole experience & carried the puppy around for days after our trip to the mall & refused to put him down! I figured he’d love the dinosaurs!

Well, I was wrong! I didn’t realize it was so loud (even after reading reviews on DIS) and the dinosaurs are HUGE. He was scared to death & I could barely get him to go inside. I finally got him to go in & my husband pushed the stroller behind us. Once we got this far, he calmed down a little bit but refused to go near the Build a Dino.

I ended up coming home from our trip & ordering 2 of them online through their website. I was actually very impressed...the shipping was very fast (quicker than what it states on the website) and I even got 2 boxes with them! I was disappointed that we didn't make them while at DTD because I love that the kids get the whole experience...then the animal, the birth certificate, the box, etc. Well, much to my surprise, I came home one day & had a HUGE box on my porch. I was confused because I knew I didn't order anything big.

Well, I opened it & it was from Build a Dino!!! There were 2 boxes...dinosaurs inside with their birth certificates & an extra bonus gift (a small yellow backpack for the dinosaur & a matching one for the child). Its the type of backpack thats vinyl & has the two shoulder ties. I'm not good at explaining, but I'll post a picture of it so you know what I mean. My nephew was ecstatic when I gave him his & he loved the backpacks! I told him they were a special gift for his dinosaur & he immediately put it on his dino! When I went back to his house a few days later, he had the large backpack on his T-Rex doll which I thought was cute since its from Disney as well!

Anyway -- back to being at T-Rex at DTD...

I let him look around & he picked out 2 small dinosaurs. He also was really interested in the gemstones so I let him look at those. He picked out a yellow heart & handed it to me & said “here mommy, heart mommy” so I ended up buying it and a light brown chain to go with it. I think our bill was around $12.

While at the cash register, I had to sit him up on the counter because he was so terrified that he wouldn’t let go of me. I tried to leave the shop a few times, but he insisted on buying those dinosaurs! The CM asked if we wanted to buy a dinosaur bag or poncho for $2. I said “no” but Luke said “bag mommy, here” and tried to scan it himself. So I told the CM that I would buy it & it would be his special bag for the rest of the trip to hold his souvenirs.

He got into his stroller at this point & didn’t want to hold the dinosaurs. He now wanted to hold the bag. I think he held it until he fell asleep later that afternoon! (I think it was because it had a cute dino design on it…I’ll try to find a picture of it)

I know it must be crazy to even think of this since he was so afraid, but I’m making ADR’s here next trip. He seems to be outgrowing some of his fears & he’s actually going to be a dinosaur for Halloween (he picked it out!) so I think it will be ok.