"Mommy! Dey heads is fweaky!" 8 (otherwise) wonderful days in March 2011

[MyPeanut&Bug]

That is so funny. I would laugh too. My older DD was almost 5 when I took her for her first time. She was in awe at Epcot and wasn't looking where she was going and walked right into a pole,...even though we kept saying "look where you are going". My mom was with me and she quickly grabbed her as she was crying and both my mom and I were trying really hard not to luagh out loud. Of course her borther did!

Yep, sometimes you just can't help yourself! We've had those moments too...and our dog is forever turned around looking behind her and walking into parked cars on walks...

Great TR so far! Your kids are adorable! Cant wait to read more!

Thanks for joining in!

That was so funny! What a sweet girl. Love that you waited in the Dumbo line with her, too. Her face said it all! Love the pic of Ben on Buzz. They both look like they're having such a great time!

Great update!

Thanks! She was so happy, it made the wait worthwhile (although, geez, you always forget how dang short that ride is after waiting for any length of time!!)

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Loving those outfits!! They are so cute..unfortunately the reaction from
Minnie was probably exactly what you were hoping for as far as Character interaction goes, too bad it's just too much for her right now. Ironically, my youngest DD had no problems from the get go with characters and she had just turned 4 on our first trip..it was the older one at 8 yo that was creeped out by some of the costumed characters..you just never know?

 

[lovethattink]

Great pics and TR!! I love the Etsy clothing! Glad she got her Dumbo ride! It will be nice once the new one is opened!

 

[MyPeanut&Bug]

Loving those outfits!! They are so cute..unfortunately the reaction from
Minnie was probably exactly what you were hoping for as far as Character interaction goes, too bad it's just too much for her right now. Ironically, my youngest DD had no problems from the get go with characters and she had just turned 4 on our first trip..it was the older one at 8 yo that was creeped out by some of the costumed characters..you just never know?

I know! If she would've been ok with it, it would have been awesome! You're so right - you just never know what will freak them. Eliza developed a fear of octopuses after TS3...not Lotso, not creepy Big Baby, but the octopus who barely had any screen time! She STILL gets freaked at pictures of them!

Great pics and TR!! I love the Etsy clothing! Glad she got her Dumbo ride! It will be nice once the new one is opened!

Yes, it will be! I can't wait to see how it all looks when it's completed!

 

[teachermommy78]

Subbing! Your kids are so cute!

 

[lovethattink]

I know! If she would've been ok with it, it would have been awesome! You're so right - you just never know what will freak them. Eliza developed a fear of octopuses after TS3...not Lotso, not creepy Big Baby, but the octopus who barely had any screen time! She STILL gets freaked at pictures of them!



Yes, it will be! I can't wait to see how it all looks when it's completed!

Who was the Etsy seller you used?

That's so cute about the octopus. I don't even remember the octopus, but I know it's part of one of Anakin's lego sets. He hated TS3 because of Lotso. He never wants to see TS3 or Up ever again. He growls when he sees Lotso or Up at DHS, or in a store somewhere.

 

[MyPeanut&Bug]

Who was the Etsy seller you used?

That's so cute about the octopus. I don't even remember the octopus, but I know it's part of one of Anakin's lego sets. He hated TS3 because of Lotso. He never wants to see TS3 or Up ever again. He growls when he sees Lotso or Up at DHS, or in a store somewhere.

The Etsy store name was Stitches n Bows, I believe. She had the cutest stuff - I could blown all our spending money there before ever leaving home.

Yes, the octopus was purple and named Stretch. She loves the color purple, so I try and sell her with, "It's not scary! It's purple!" She's ok with cartoon octopuses now but man...pics of real ones sending her screaming. We were at Cocoa Beach for a little bit this past trip and she and I spent a lot of time discussing (and reassuring!) the fact that there would be no octopuses.

 

[MyPeanut&Bug]

The next day, Sunday March 6, my mom decided to skip the morning, so the rest of us got to Epcot about 8:40a for a 9a opening. It was overcast and breezy and started sprinkling as we waited in line to get in but thankfully it quickly cleared up.

Benjamin really liked the Toy Story topiaries at the entrance.

We headed to TT first and grabbed FP then went to Soarin’. We waited in the standby line there for about 25-30 minutes. Buddy had done Soarin’ last trip but Benjamin hadn’t wanted to and Eliza was too short so I waited with them and didn’t get a chance to get back and do it myself. I was excited to and so were the kids – we all LOVED it. Eliza squealed the whole time and I thought Benjamin was getting a little scared at parts but when I looked at him, he was all smiles. After that we headed to Universe of Energy, which I’ve always liked. The kids were bored in parts but liked the dinosaurs. When we were done there, we could use our TT FP’s. All 4 of us were planning to ride – Benjamin had done it last time and hadn’t been crazy about it but said he wanted to try it again. Eliza was too short last time and I can still remember how ticked off she was while we waited for Buddy and Benjamin to ride, so she was thrilled she could do it this time. As we headed in to the FP return line, poor Benjamin started freaking and saying he didn’t want to do it after all. Buddy took him out and I rode with Eliza. She cheered and squealed the whole time during the indoor portion of the ride but immediately clammed up when it went outside – not a word, just a wide eyed look. When it was over and we pulled back inside, she turned to me and said, “I liked the inside part but not really the outside part!” She was a trooper though and said she was glad she went on it. Met up with Buddy and Benjamin and Buddy used one of the remaining FP to ride alone (he couldn’t talk Eliza into another ride) At that point, the kids were starting to get hungry and a little grumpy so we decided to head back to the hotel.

We ate at the food court and the kids went to my mom’s room to nap while Buddy and I headed to the grocery store - We were planning on going there on arrival day and it just didn’t happen and we like getting food to keep in the room for quick breakfasts and snacks. We can both remember how easy it was last trip to go a Publix nearby so we asked at the front desk for directions. They sounded easy enough and my husband generally has a really good sense of direction, but we didn’t something wrong! Our quick trip ended up being almost 2.5 hours roundtrip and we never did find the dang Publix and had to settle for the more expensive Goodings. We finally got back, the kids were up and ready to go so we had a snack and got back to Epcot shortly before 5pm.

It was sunny and gorgeous by that time.

We then did Spaceship Earth, which Benjamin vaguely remembered from last time and loved once again. We spent some time playing with some of the hands on stuff that’s there after you get off and then headed over to the Seas pavilion.

We rode the Nemo ride, saw Turtle Talk with Crush and spent a lot of time checking out all the tanks.

It was dark by the time we came out and had cooled off quite a bit. Benjamin had been dying to run through the fountains over by TT and I had promised him on our way out earlier that he could when we returned, not realizing how cool it would be then! But as with Dumbo the night before with Eliza, I knew there’d be no living with him. I also had jeans and sweatshirts in the bag so I knew he could change as soon as he was done – it was definitely another of those “Mom is nicer in Disney!” moments and we turned ‘em loose.

Other kids were watching, but my 2 were the only ones actually in the water….I’m sure that’s a commentary on my parenting, huh? They ran through for about 2 minutes before they realized just how chilly it was, so I took them into the restrooms and got them dried off and changed. After that we ate dinner at the Electric Umbrella and headed to WS to see how the crowds were for Illuminations – we were planning on just playing it by ear whether we saw it or not. We were pleasantly surprised to find crowds fairly light so we walked around WS for a little bit and then parked ourselves on a bench between Mexico and Norway to wait for the show. I broke out the glow bracelets I had brought from home (Thank you, Target Dollar Spot!) and those kept the kids completely occupied.

We had about a 20 minute wait until it started. Benjamin was still more interested in the glow bracelets once Illum. Started but the rest of us enjoyed it. I’m so annoyed that I didn’t get any great pictures – I had neglected to bring the lens I should have into the park that night and I should have better figured out what settings I wanted. So you get one lame shot. Boo.

The crowds were still pretty manageable leaving the show and we were in the parking lot by about 9:30pm. Back to the hotel and into bed for the kiddos – hot chocolate and big cookies from the food court for Buddy and I!

 

[always]

The family pictures by the fountain are lovely!

 

[jc040404]

LOVE that first fish pic. I actually made dh get up and come look at your pics this time. They're great!

Looks like you all had fun! Lovin that the kids played in the water while everyone watched on. Who cares what they thought.

It was cold that week though! This was our arrival day.. Now I can start checking if we cross pathes at some point.

 

[norybell]

Joining in -- love your pics!

 

[lovethattink]

Enjoying your pics! We can always tell which families aren't from Florida when we walk by the splashing fountains. Our little guy begs to go in them and all he hears from us, is when it gets warmer. Last night was the perfect night, and of all times I didn't have extra clothing with us.

 

[jenseib]

What a fun day. Luckily Claire hasn't asked too much about the water fun yet. I hate those things in the parks. I know kids love them though. My older 2 could find them in a heartbeat!

 

[MyPeanut&Bug]

The family pictures by the fountain are lovely!

Thank you!

LOVE that first fish pic. I actually made dh get up and come look at your pics this time. They're great!

Looks like you all had fun! Lovin that the kids played in the water while everyone watched on. Who cares what they thought.

It was cold that week though! This was our arrival day.. Now I can start checking if we cross pathes at some point.

Thanks - I had a lot of fun playing around w/my new camera! Yes, it was disappointingly chilly that week! I was so annoyed that the forecasts I had been checking up until a day before we left were all warmer than it ever got - I didn't have nearly enough warm weather clothes for DH and I and he now says never early March again. I'm interested to see now if we cross paths!

Joining in -- love your pics!

Thanks and

Enjoying your pics! We can always tell which families aren't from Florida when we walk by the splashing fountains. Our little guy begs to go in them and all he hears from us, is when it gets warmer. Last night was the perfect night, and of all times I didn't have extra clothing with us.

I'm sure it's very obvious who's not from FL!!

 

[reelmom]

Enjoying your TR. Love the Fweaky Head comment. I might have to use that from now on. My two have the same personalities as your kiddos. My oldest is very cautious and thinks through everything. My youngest doesn't have a care in the world. Together, they make a great team. Looking forward to reading more.

 

[MyPeanut&Bug]

What a fun day. Luckily Claire hasn't asked too much about the water fun yet. I hate those things in the parks. I know kids love them though. My older 2 could find them in a heartbeat!

I swear my 2, especially my son, has a built in radar or something for locating them!

Enjoying your TR. Love the Fweaky Head comment. I might have to use that from now on. My two have the same personalities as your kiddos. My oldest is very cautious and thinks through everything. My youngest doesn't have a care in the world. Together, they make a great team. Looking forward to reading more.

Thanks and You're right - they often do balance each other out. Though I'll admit I sometimes find myself wishing that they each had just a touch of the other in them!

 

[MyPeanut&Bug]

(Breaking this up into multiple parts because there’s a lot of pictures and info! )

We decided it would probably not be warm enough for a water park this trip (and it sure wasn’t most days!) so we would do Kennedy Space Center and a quick stop at the beach one day. DS thought the space center sounded very cool and he and DH were excited about it – me, I’d rather be at the MK, but hey, gotta keep ‘em happy.

We slept in a bit, at least by Disney standards. Well, I didn’t because we all know who has to get the bag packed up, iron any wrinkled clothes, get the kids ready, etc. Thankfully I can be a morning person and DH doesn’t seem to have that ability, so it works out well. We all got up and ready, ate breakfast in the room and were on the road shortly after 8:30. We arrived at the space center visitor complex by about 9:45am.

We checked times for the IMAX shows and had about an hour before one started. We checked out some of the exhibits and hands on stuff, which DH and DS really liked.

(this is a lunar electric rover and the sign said it was in President Obama’s innuagural parade)

We then headed outside to check out the “Rocket Garden.” It was a gorgeous sunny day – blue sky, white clouds but it was CHILLY! I made sure everyone else had a jacket but thought I’d be fine. Yeah, that was a mistake. There was a pretty good breeze at times and I was so cold most of the day! (But not cold enough to drop $50-60 on a sweatshirt…my true cheap nature kicked in!)

The Rocket Garden was really neat – the kids liked the ones you could climb inside. DH liked reading all the info. I liked taking pictures.

(being an astronaut is not comfortable!)

(a neat mural of the International Space Station and flags of the participating nations)

Benjamin, always on the look out, was thrilled to find that the space center had pressed pennies too, so we made a bunch of those.

By then, it was time to return for the IMAX show. There were 2 and we saw one about the Hubble Telescope and a team of astronauts who went up to repair it in the spring of 2009. It was really neat with absolutely mindblowing footage. Eliza slept the whole 45 mintues, which was just as well and worked out great. Benjamin can go without the rest at Disney, if need be (though we tried not to let that happen) but Disney is so much happier if Eliza has napped!

After our IMAX show we ate lunch and decided to do anything else we wanted at the visitor complex before taking the bus tour (more on that later)

The kids played in the play dome, we checked out the mock up of the shuttle Explorer that you could actually walk inside

and we saw the memorial wall, in honor of astronauts who have died while on the job. That was really touching and we explained to the kids what it was – Benjamin wanted us to read Judith Resnick’s bio to him when we told him that she was originally from our part of Ohio.

And of course, if there is water, my children will find it!

After finishing up at the visitor’s complex, we were ready to board the buses for a 2 stop tour of additional buildings on the Space Center property – and definitely the coolest part of the visit.

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Wow, great day at Epcot!! I understand the last minute chicken out!! My youngest has done that to us many times!! The pics of KSP are great!! We've never been there, don't know if my DD's would be too interested, but I know for sure my teckie DH would..

 

[lovethattink]

Never been to the Space center. Closest I ever got was turning around and asking directions at the astronaut museum when we made a wrong turn going to the Disney cruise line. Great pics. How did the kids like the space center?

 

[MyPeanut&Bug]

DH and DS really liked the space center. DD was pretty bored most of the time but was a total trooper and just went with it, no complaining or anything. Knowing we had a stop at the beach when the space center was over kept her going, I think. It was more interesting than I thought it would be - without getting all political, I'm not a fan of NASA and the space program in general and will be the first to admit that I wasn't all that excited to go. But I'm glad we did and we spent more time there than I thought we would.