Memories that will live on forever! Oct. 17-24, 2010-UPDATED 10/7/11 and New TR Link

[LoveMyTwoPrincesses]

After finishing up in Morocco we made our way towards Italy. We had never really gone into the Italy area, but the girls were inspired by the beauty and decided it was time for a photo shoot! WARNING: You will now be subjected to many pictures of my family, but they were on a roll and I was not about to stop them!

Even I had to get in on the action. I have to get a photo of myself every now and then to prove that I was there!

I love Ava's Kool-aid moustache!

After we had our fill of modeling we went to get our Kim Possible assignment. We were given Japan, but we asked if we could receive a country in the other direction. They obliged us by assigning us to Germany. Erin and I did the mission while Stu and Ava found some shade. I have to say that I find these missions to be very enjoyable.

We decided that it was time for another snack. We went into the new caramel shop in Germany, but it was packed! We decided to get a snack at the Germany Food and Wine booth. We ordered a Sausage Roll and Apple Strudel. The CM that was working wished Erin an early Happy Birthday and gave her an Apple Strudel of her own, which I thought was very sweet. One of the guys asked Erin if she wanted them to sing Happy Birthday and she said yes. They all started clapping and singing while the CM that gave her the strudel said "What is this? Do you think we are working at Chilis?" It was absolutely hilarious.

The line was starting to form for Snow White, so we made our way in that direction. Stu ran to get a FP for Maelstrom while the girls and I made friends in line. The little girl behind us and Ava hit it off quickly. Soon they were all playing a game of Duck, Duck, Goose. It definitely helped them pass the time.

Snow White made her way out and she was very sweet. She even lifted her skirt to show Ava her shoes, because Ava just had to know what her shoes looked like. I am so in trouble with Ava and her love for shoes!

Here is Ava asking about her shoes.

My favorite princess.

We made our way to Mexico and took a spin on the Gran Fiesta Tour since our FP time wasn't quite up for Maelstrom. By the time we finished in Mexico it was time to head back to Norway. After finishing Maelstrom we had to get a couple of pictures in the gift shop. Erin just cracks me up!

We decided it was about time to make our way towards the exit. We decided to walk past Test Track to see what the wait time was. The single rider line was only 10 minutes, so Stu and Erin decided they would go in that line while Ava and I went on Spaceship Earth. As Ava and I were walking towards Spaceship Earth, Erin and Stu came running up. They told Erin that she was too young for the single rider line, so they couldn't do it. Does anyone know what the age limit is for the single rider line? I was kicking myself that we hadn't gotten a FP for TT before we left Future World that morning. Oh well, you can't think of everything!

As a family we all decided to ride Spaceship Earth before we headed out. It was a great way to end the day! We exited the turnstyles at 4:45. I think we got alot accomplished in our day at Epcot!

We ended up having dinner at Bahama Breeze, which was right next to our hotel. It was really good and the portions were HUGE! After stuffing ourselves we took a drive up to Universal so Stu and Erin would know where they were going in the morning and how long it would take them to get there.

We made our way back to the hotel and took the kids down for a swim. After chilling out for awhile we headed up to the room and had the kids in bed by 8. What a great day we had!

 

[enyaj40]

My favorite picture from the Italy photo shoot is the one with the flower.

Every time I read about someone doing "Pick a Pearl" I go one step closer to doing it for myself, and I'm not even much of a jewelry fan. The experience just looks like a lot of fun. Maybe I'll pick one for my granddaughter?

 

[MeMom]

I believe this is where I saw you guys from a distance and snapped a picture from the side of your girls getting their picture made. I was walking around with Bella while Brooklynn did the Kim Possible Mission there. It was either Mary or Alice, but I think Alice. We'll see when we get to that in the October trip, but it'll probably be January before we get to it.

 

[dismagiclover]

Fabulous afternoon! I love the carriage settings. Perfect! I also love all the Italy pictures! Your girls are just adorable

 

[onescgirl]

Joining in on your TR. I was at WDW a month before you.
Your girls are just precious looking. I love their pillowcase dresses. And, I have your exact red Mickey shirt too! It will be showing up in my TR soon!
Your 2nd hotel room looks very nice! I'm glad you were able to change.
That is so cool about meeting with two other Diser's!
Looks like ya'll had a great 1st day & I'm looking forward to reading more.

 

[laashley]

Looks like you definitely got a lot done! I think we left the park that day right around the same time you guys did. Glad the girls got to meet so many characters.

 

[IheartDDuck]

Looks like you guys had a great time. I love the pictures with Erin in the Norway shop and the viking helmet. Priceless!

I love how you said that you have to take an obligatory picture to prove you're there. It's like that with me, because I'm always taking the picture. On my last trip, people actually asked me if I was there.

 

[LoveMyTwoPrincesses]

My favorite picture from the Italy photo shoot is the one with the flower.

Every time I read about someone doing "Pick a Pearl" I go one step closer to doing it for myself, and I'm not even much of a jewelry fan. The experience just looks like a lot of fun. Maybe I'll pick one for my granddaughter?

The girls had so much fun doing Pick a Pearl. The CM really makes it worthwhile even if you don't enjoy jewelry.

I believe this is where I saw you guys from a distance and snapped a picture from the side of your girls getting their picture made. I was walking around with Bella while Brooklynn did the Kim Possible Mission there. It was either Mary or Alice, but I think Alice. We'll see when we get to that in the October trip, but it'll probably be January before we get to it.

The girls really met their fair share of characters that day. Did Brooklyn enjoy the Kim Possible Mission? I think that they are a really fun way to see what each country has to offer. It will be fun to see the picture that you snapped of the girls!

Fabulous afternoon! I love the carriage settings. Perfect! I also love all the Italy pictures! Your girls are just adorable

The kids had so much fun having their pictures taken in Italy. If they are in the mood to have their pictures taken I am more than happy to oblige!

Joining in on your TR. I was at WDW a month before you.
Your girls are just precious looking. I love their pillowcase dresses. And, I have your exact red Mickey shirt too! It will be showing up in my TR soon!
Your 2nd hotel room looks very nice! I'm glad you were able to change.
That is so cool about meeting with two other Diser's!
Looks like ya'll had a great 1st day & I'm looking forward to reading more.

Thanks for joining in! The pillowcase dresses were perfect for the weather that we had on our trip and super easy to pack since they didn't take up much space.

It was really fun to meet everyone at The Seas. I was really hoping to see Ashley, so I was glad that she us. MeMom and Jill were a great bonus.

Looks like you definitely got a lot done! I think we left the park that day right around the same time you guys did. Glad the girls got to meet so many characters.

Did you guys end up going to Hollywood Studio that night? I suppose I will have to wait and see in your TR! I was so happy that Ava enjoyed the princesses this year. Last year she didn't want anything to do with them!

Looks like you guys had a great time. I love the pictures with Erin in the Norway shop and the viking helmet. Priceless!

I love how you said that you have to take an obligatory picture to prove you're there. It's like that with me, because I'm always taking the picture. On my last trip, people actually asked me if I was there.

Those pictures of Erin crack me up every time that I see them. We didn't tell her to do that, she just came up with that on her own.

That is funny that people wondered if you were there. It is really easy to get caught up behind the camera.

 

[Kathy Jetson]

HI! I read along on your last TR we were there the same time. Well I was just going through my old dis subscriptions and decided to pull up your old one to see if you had a ticker going and found your new TR. We were there the same dates again 10/16-10/24!

I'm glad you got to switch rooms and get a new one it looks really nice.

Sounds like you had a great first day at Epcot. My ds River is also 7 his b-day was the week before we went but he got to wear a b-day button all week. He loved all the attention! River wanted to have my camera and take pictures but I was so afraid he would drop it I only let him take 3 or 4 shots. I think I'll get him his own camera for Christmas. Erin's pictures look better than a lot of mine!

If your going to do the pin trading next time you go you should go on ebay and you can find a bag of 20 pins for around $20 I kept the ones I really liked and bought River a lanyard for $1.00 at Michaels craft store and let him take the others to WDW to trade. This was his first year doing it and he really liked it too.

I can't wait to hear about your next day!

 

[LoveMyTwoPrincesses]

HI! I read along on your last TR we were there the same time. Well I was just going through my old dis subscriptions and decided to pull up your old one to see if you had a ticker going and found your new TR. We were there the same dates again 10/16-10/24!

I'm glad you got to switch rooms and get a new one it looks really nice.

Sounds like you had a great first day at Epcot. My ds River is also 7 his b-day was the week before we went but he got to wear a b-day button all week. He loved all the attention! River wanted to have my camera and take pictures but I was so afraid he would drop it I only let him take 3 or 4 shots. I think I'll get him his own camera for Christmas. Erin's pictures look better than a lot of mine!

If your going to do the pin trading next time you go you should go on ebay and you can find a bag of 20 pins for around $20 I kept the ones I really liked and bought River a lanyard for $1.00 at Michaels craft store and let him take the others to WDW to trade. This was his first year doing it and he really liked it too.

I can't wait to hear about your next day!

I'm glad that you found me!

We really did have a great time at Epcot. I couldn't believe how early we arrived in the morning. I guess it gave Erin a chance to work on her photography! I bet River would love to have his own camera. Erin took such good care of her camera and was just so proud of it.

I got the girls their lanyards at Michaels as well! What a great deal. Pin trading turned out to be a lot of fun for the kids.

 

[LoveMyTwoPrincesses]

When we planned this vacation Stu didn’t care what we did, as long as he had a chance to go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. While looking into it I found that Ava was going to be too short for the majority of the rides at Islands of Adventure. We decided that we would split up so that Stu and Erin could ride everything they wanted to at IoA and Ava and I would get an extra day at MK. Fine with me! While we were still at home I sat down with Ava and told her that this day would be all about her. I was amazed at how much she remembered from last year and she had definite ideas about what she did and did not want to see.

Since Stu and Erin would be taking the car to Universal, Ava and I caught the shuttle from our hotel this morning. It picked us up at 7:50 and made a stop at another hotel along the way. We reached the TTC at about 8:20 and there was a monorail waiting! We hopped on and we were soon on our way.

While we were waiting I snapped a few pictures.

As the time went on the crowd was starting to build. I really felt like the crowds were bigger this year.

Finally it was time for the opening show. When Ava saw the train pull up with the characters and the opening family she was pretty interested. She talked a little bit about how she did that last year. I really wonder how much she remembers.

When the rope dropped we headed directly to Dumbo and jumped in line. They were just finishing up loading and they asked if any groups had just two people. I raised my hand and we were able to get on the first run of the day!

Next on Ava's agenda was to ride Peter Pan. She was so excited and we were making our way through the line. When she reached the spot along the line where the turnstyle is the floor was wet and she ended up falling and hitting the back of her head. She really smacked it hard and was crying. The CM that was loading the ride didn't see it happen and was telling Ava she didn't need to cry because the ride wasn't scary. I told her that Ava wasn't scared and that she had just slipped on the wet floor and hit her head. She just shrugged her shoulders and walked away. Thankfully Ava was fine and we were on our way.

We decided to ride Pooh on our way to the rope drop for Toon Town.

We arrived at the rope at about 9:30 and there was already a few people waiting. Ava had fun visiting with a girl that had one of those mister bottles and she obliged Ava in spraying her a few times. When the rope dropped at 9:45 there was quite a few people behind us, so I picked up Ava and carried her. I'm glad that I did. There was a woman that was bent on being first in line for the fairies and I don't think it mattered who was in her path. We got in line for the fairies behind her and the rest of her family caught up a minute or two later. When they joined her, her mother got after her about how she was running over kids just so she could get there first. The woman said she didn't run over anyone, she just walked with purpose!

We waited for about 10 minutes before they brought us to the hallway to shrink down to fairy size.

After we were brought down to size we were brought in to find Rosetta. She was kneeling down, so Ava thought she should too!

Tink really liked that she was on Ava's dress.

Vidia wasn't so sure that she liked that Tink was on Ava's dress.

When we finished up with the fairies the wait was already 60 minutes! I'm glad that we had that out of the way. We had fun looking through the store before heading on to Ava's next whim.

 

[mermaid764]

Joining in

I'm loving your TR and your girls are adorable...love the photoshoot in Italy.

can't wait wait to hear more

 

[IheartDDuck]

That's so great you were able to plan a day together that was all about Ava! I always cherished those days with my mom when I was little.

 

[LoveMyTwoPrincesses]

Joining in

I'm loving your TR and your girls are adorable...love the photoshoot in Italy.

can't wait wait to hear more

Thanks for joining in! Thanks for the kind words as well. We had so much fun doing our photoshoot. I don't know what came over the girls. I think they were inspired by their surroundings!

That's so great you were able to plan a day together that was all about Ava! I always cherished those days with my mom when I was little.

I had a great day with Ava. It was a great way for Stu and Erin to have some special time together at Harry Potter and not have to be worried if Ava was having fun. She liked having the power to decide what we did with our day!

 

[onescgirl]

That's great you were able to get Dumbo & the fairies done 1st thing! Adorable pictures!

 

[Kathy Jetson]

Thats great you and Ava got on the first ride for Dumbo. I can't believe the cm just shrugged and walked away when you told her Ava fell and hit her head! I'm glad you made it to the fairies without getting run over by that women. I'm still kicking myself for not making it there. River is 7 now and if its still there the next time we get back to MK I think he will be to old for a "girly" thing.

Did Erin like her day at IOA? We are going back in June but mostly for Universal and IOA this time we've never been. We will only get 1 Disney day and thats at DHD.

I can't wait to hear the rest of your and Ava's day.

 

[dismagiclover]

I'm not sure how I missed the last update, but it's a great one! I love the one on one time with Ava. One of my favorite things to do in the parks is just take one of my kids and do whatever they want. Makes for great memories!

 

[LoveMyTwoPrincesses]

That's great you were able to get Dumbo & the fairies done 1st thing! Adorable pictures!

I was so excited that we got on the first Dumbo ride of the day! It was such a fun way to get things started.

Thats great you and Ava got on the first ride for Dumbo. I can't believe the cm just shrugged and walked away when you told her Ava fell and hit her head! I'm glad you made it to the fairies without getting run over by that women. I'm still kicking myself for not making it there. River is 7 now and if its still there the next time we get back to MK I think he will be to old for a "girly" thing.

Did Erin like her day at IOA? We are going back in June but mostly for Universal and IOA this time we've never been. We will only get 1 Disney day and thats at DHD.

I can't wait to hear the rest of your and Ava's day.

Being a party of two sure helped us out when it came to getting on rides on this day!

The CM's response surprised me a little bit. A week before our trip Ava had also slipped in some water at our local shopping mall. (She sure has a knack for finding the slippery spots!) Before I even had her picked up off of the ground there was someone there taking an incident report, giving us insurance information in case she was hurt, and someone from maintenance was called to clean up the water!

I sure hope that River will be willing to see the fairies. I think it is one of the best meet and greets!

I think that Erin and Stu had a good time at IOA. I told Stu that I would like him to write about their day, so hopefully he will do that. I have never been so I am looking forward to going in the future.

I'm not sure how I missed the last update, but it's a great one! I love the one on one time with Ava. One of my favorite things to do in the parks is just take one of my kids and do whatever they want. Makes for great memories!

Thanks! I had so much fun with Ava! I hope that I get the opportunity to do something like that with Erin in the future.

 

[LoveMyTwoPrincesses]

After meeting the princesses Ava decided that she wanted to check out Mickey's house. We didn't go into Mickey's place last year, so I thought this sounded like a grand idea! The details are so adorable.

After a short wait we were brought in to meet Mickey and Minnie. Just as we were walking up I received a text message from a friend back home asking if we had turned on our furnace in our house before we left because it was so cold back home! It really made me appreciate the October weather that Florida has to offer.

In this picture Ava told Mickey that Donald had messed up the kitchen in his house. Their reactions were very cute.

Ava decided that she wanted to give the Barnstormer a whirl. This was new to us. I thought it would be a good starter coaster for Ava before we tackled Big Thunder Mt. She absolutely loved it and asked if we could go on it again right away, so off we went again. After getting off she spotted Donald's Boat and asked if she could go in the water. I asked if she would be willing to wait until the afternoon when it was warmer and she thought that sounded reasonable. We decided to head across the way and check out Minnie's house.

I think she would have stayed here all day!

We decided to start making our way to the other side of the park. I asked if she wanted to go to the Haunted Mansion. She wasn't too sure, but I was so happy when she agreed. I loved it, but it wasn't a favorite for Ava.

We decided that now would be a good time to grab a bite to eat. Ava said that she wanted a PB and J with the crust cut off, so it was off to Columbia Harbour House for an Uncrustable for her and a tuna sandwich for me. I don't typically care for tuna fish sandwiches, but I really enjoy the one at CHH.

After a satisfying meal we decided it was time for the Jungle Cruise. I know that this ride is so cheesy, but I just enjoy it so much!

On our way over to ride Pirates of the Caribbean, we spotted Goofy.

We took a quick spin on the Magic Carpets and decided it was time for our first Mickey Bar of the trip. I Mickey Bars!

We still had plenty of time before the afternoon parade, so we headed over to Tomorrowland. We spotted Buzz Lightyear, but his line was closed. I told Ava that we could try again later and she thought that sounded good. We decided to take a spin on Buzz Lightyear and took the mandatory picture with Zurg.

The next show at Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor was going to begin shortly, so we decided to check it out. This was also new for us and it sure was fun!

Up next: Alice, hey Alice!

 

[IheartDDuck]

My niece absolutely adores Minnie's house too, and would absolutely stay there all day if given the option!