Our 10 yr. old twins take on the World-For Spring Break. Update 05/19-The End

[jaydoe]

and the piercing......don't for the piercing on the ears. Soooo it's tattooed and pierced!!!

 

[YukiPhnx]

that's definitely a cool hat. I can't wait to get there an look at all the hats! I can't even IMAGINE what they have!!

 

[LuvindisCruiser]

and the piercing......don't for the piercing on the ears. Soooo it's tattooed and pierced!!!

Yeah, thanks for reminding me ......

 

[LuvindisCruiser]

I have our beach day written.
I just have to post it, and add the pictures.
Busy weekend, hopefully soon.

Have a great Easter, everyone! We are so thankful for our blessings from such an amazing sacrifice for us !

 

[Believeinfairytales]

Have a great Easter, everyone! We are so thankful for our blessings from such an amazing sacrifice for us !

Amen!

 

[burly]

okay.....
I'm patient, I am, really....

 

[LuvindisCruiser]

Day 4- We’re going to the beach! (March 14th) Today’s forecast 71 and breezy in Orlando.

We got to sleep in a little this morning because we didn’t have to make any rope drops today. We slept in till about 8:00, so nice. Took our time getting ready, had breakfast, got our beach bag together, and hit the road.

We left CBR about 10:00 and headed to Wal-mart on Vineland Rd, not too far away. I went in to get some Chicken strips and chips for us to eat at the beach. I went by the Souvenir section and spent a few minutes there. I actually bought a few keychains and a photo album. I was about to pay and noticed they had some beach toys. So, I got the kids a pail and shovel, too. 1.99 for each one! Cliff called to see what the hold up was, I told him I was busy shopping. I really cannot just run into any Wal-mart no matter where I am!

It took us close to an hour to get to Cocoa Beach. We hit 3 tolls this time. Two were for 1.25 and the last was for 1.50. Our favorite sight on our drive was this:

It was Sunday, so I believe the Disney Wonder was scheduled to take off at 5:00 that evening? At least that’s how it was when we went on the Wonder in 2005. We drove to Ron Jons surf shop, and parked in the parking lot behind it. (free parking)

We went into Ron Jon’s and shopped a little and used the bathrooms. There was a lot of cool stuff in there. Cliff and I bought a t-shirt. I also bought a bracelet and earrings to match my shirt.

We got our beach bag, lunch, and sand pails to walk to the beach.

The beach was actually just about 2 blocks away from where we parked. It did seem windy on our walk to the beach, but by time we got to the beach it wasn’t as windy, just a bit breezy. We found a spot and dropped all our stuff and ran to the water. We live in the desert here in New Mexico, so we get pretty excited to see water, let alone the ocean!

The kids ran around and found some seashells to add to our collection at home.

Cliff and I made ourselves comfortable and ate our lunch. The kids weren’t hungry so we ate peacefully while listening to the waves roll in. There were a lot of people at the beach that day. It was a nice day.

The kids and I didn’t put on any sunscreen because it just didn’t seem hot enough. Cliff put sunscreen 55 SPF, and told me I better put some on too. I don’t need it, it’s not that hot, and I wouldn’t need it back home with 71 degree weather. Cliff never took off his sweatshirt because he didn’t want to get burned. Um OK, because it’s so hot, right?

So, we spent the day (Cliff and I) just relaxing, laying on the beach. I think we both took a little nap here and there.

The kids looked for shells, ran in and out of the waves, and made a sand fort! Disney Robin was the princess of the fort.

Matthew buried Cliff’s legs under the sand. Disney Robin wanted to play too, but she’s kinda hard to find once she is buried.

We did make sure to put some sunscreen on her today.

We stayed for about 4 hours and were just glad to have had such good weather. Not hot, but not cold and windy either. When we were about to leave I noticed my legs had gotten pretty red, hmmm maybe I should have put on some sunscreen. At least the 15 SPF might have been helpful. Megan was red, too. Matthew was fine, and Cliff was still as white as a ghost.

We went back to Ron Jon’s to use the restroom. Of course we had to buy a few more things. I bought a Ron Jon picture frame to put a beach picture in,
and just a few more little things. They also had a live band in there playing some pretty good music.

Cont'd next post: Dinner time and we visit MK

 

[LuvindisCruiser]

Cont'd

Our family picture at the Beach.

By this time it was about 4:00 and we were hungry. I had heard on the Dis boards that Florida’s Seafood was good, it was also recommended by the employees at Ron Jons. It was right down the street. We got there and were seated right away. We were seated by one of the aquariums and watched Nemo and Dory swim by.

Cliff and I ordered one of the combos with fish, scallops, stuffed crab and shrimp. All fried, yum. The combo was 16.99 each, pretty good price. Matthew got fish and chips, Megan got the pasta of course.

Our waitress brought us fritters to start out. We have never had fritters, they just looked like donut holes with powdered sugar. Before dinner?

We tasted them, they were good, but I would enjoy them more for dessert. We then realized here in New Mexico we get sopapillas before dinner at our Mexican restaurants. And, they are kinda sweet and then you put honey on them, so same thing. Although I like my sopapillas for dessert, too.

We really enjoyed our dinner here. The food was very good and the price wasn’t that bad at all. We left by 5:30, and on our way home we noticed the cruise ships were gone. It would have been cool to see them sail away, but we were too late.

We stopped in Orlando to buy Cliff some more beer wherever Emily (GPS) sent us to, and got back to our room at about 7:00. The kids wanted to get back by 7:30 because the season finale of Hannah Montana was coming on. And, heaven forbid if we don’t find out if Hannah Montana moves back to Tennessee or stays in California.

While watching the season finale and finishing my Choc/P butter cake, I decided I was not staying in a hotel room for the rest of the night.

If I leave at 8:00 to take the bus to MK, I could get there in time for Spectro at 9:00! I announce my plan, and only Megan was interested. That’s my girl. While they finished watching Hannah Montana I went to the gift shop to buy some aloe vera soothing gel for our legs. The gift shop does have all you may have forgotten.

We both changed into sweatshirts and jeans, and both grimaced when the jeans rubbed our sunburned legs! Cliff said for the 100th time, “you should have put on sunscreen.”
We got to the bus stop and of course the MK bus came right away, but it got full so we had to wait for the next one. The next one took a good 15 minutes to get there. So, by time we went all the way around the resort and picked up all our passengers it was after 8:30.

We got to MK about 10 minutes before 9:00, we can still make spectro! We got to mainstreet with about 5 minutes to spare. The popcorn was calling our name, so we got a bucket of popcorn and found a spot in front of the mainstreet vehicles. There was just one family in front of us, so we didn’t do too badly for a view. And, sprectro was starting on main street, so we did great with our timing.

We had a good view of the parade, which I also videotaped. (Also, why you don't see any pictures of this night.) We hadn’t seen it before, so we really enjoyed it.

After the parade we wanted to try to ride at least pirates, but we knew it would be very hard to get past the parade to get to Adventureland. So, guess what we did? As soon as the end of the parade went by, we got right behind it. There were about 30 of us that got right behind, and it felt like we were part of the parade.

So, we walked all the way up mainstreet behind the parade, it was so cool. When I looked back, there were hundreds of people that were following the last float up mainstreet. We followed it until it got to the entrance of Frontierland where we couldn’t follow anymore because they CM’s had it blocked. So, we crossed the bridge to the left and went into Adventureland. Pirates was a 5 minute wait, so on we went.

I really miss the 2 drops that Disneyland POTC ride has. But, the rest of the ride is basically the same. It seems like DLR has more fog around the area were the pirate ships are in battle.
We then got some cinnamon flavored almonds, which were yummy.

We kind of just hung out until Wishes started. While wishes was going on we started walking to the exit. We would come back another night so I could record wishes, because I love it so much.

We left after 10:00, and got back to our room by 10:30. Cliff was out when we walked in, and Matthew was reading his new Pokémon book. That boy should have been sleeping.

Megan and I took our showers and watched Raven until we fell asleep. We don’t get Raven back home anymore, so every night we would fall asleep enjoying some Raven fun.

Tomorrow: Day 5-We go to Hollywood Studios (March 15th) and Megan dances in the parade!

 

[tinkerbells mum]

sounds like you had a good day at the beach, hope the sunburn wasn't too bad xx

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

WOW...what a busy day you guys had!!!!! Love the family pic on the beach! So sorry about the sunburns

 

[burly]

I am a paleskinned girl. I always put on sunscreen, cause i don't tan, i just stay red until it goes away.
Hope your sunburn wasn't too bad.
I love running over to a park last minute.....it's fun.

 

[heaven2dc]

Ouch - jeans over a sunburn! I feel so bad for you both! I don't think I would have put on sunscreen either considering it wasn't that hot but I've gotten sunburned before when the temp wasn't even over 65 but I was near water.

You guys really had an awesome beach day So relaxing and peaceful - what a great idea plus you still got to MK at night.

 

[LuvindisCruiser]

sounds like you had a good day at the beach, hope the sunburn wasn't too bad xx

I finally have stopped peeling. But, it did leave a great tan !

WOW...what a busy day you guys had!!!!! Love the family pic on the beach! So sorry about the sunburns

Cliff and I are going to Vegas in May, I AM taking the sunscreen !

I am a paleskinned girl. I always put on sunscreen, cause i don't tan, i just stay red until it goes away.
Hope your sunburn wasn't too bad.
I love running over to a park last minute.....it's fun.

It is so cool to have the option to take the bus to the parks at any time!

Ouch - jeans over a sunburn! I feel so bad for you both! I don't think I would have put on sunscreen either considering it wasn't that hot but I've gotten sunburned before when the temp wasn't even over 65 but I was near water.

You guys really had an awesome beach day So relaxing and peaceful - what a great idea plus you still got to MK at night.

Love the beach ! I did have lots of sunscreen on my face, and just got a little red on my nose and forehead.

 

[tigerdragon]

So glad I found your TR! You have a beautiful family!

I don't wear sunscreen as often as I should either. I make sure I always put it on the kids though. I got a little red on our trip but it quickly turned into a nice tan.

I'm looking forward to reading more!

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

Cliff and I are going to Vegas in May, I AM taking the sunscreen !

Well I'm a Stage 3 Melanoma Survivor so I have to advocate for the sunscreen at all times.

 

[YukiPhnx]

Haha, I love what you said about sleeping in and waking up at 8am! I wouldn't call that sleeping in

I'm just like Cliff. If it's sunny, suncreen goes on, whether it's hot or not because that sun can still do damage.

I hate tanning, but it's pretty much inevitable in the summer. On my last trip to WDW, I got a Mater airbrush tattoo on my arm. When I came home and the tattoo had worn off, I had tanned so much that I ended up with a white Mater for a week! Now that's what I call getting the most out of your money. A double tattoo!

Also, I LOVE Raven. I don't get the Disney channel anymore, so it's gonna be heaven watching all those shows when I'm there

 

[LuvindisCruiser]

Day 5- Hollywood Studios & Megan dances in the parade! (today’s forecast 72and windy, but sunny!)

This morning I woke up at 6:45, so I could get a head start getting ready before everyone else. I got the coffee ready the night before so I just had to start the coffee machine. It was nice having the privacy curtain so I didn’t bother the rest while I got ready. Once, Cliff would smell the coffee brewing than he would start stirring.

Cliff and Matthew are easy to get up and around, they are such morning people. Megan on the other hand would sleep through all the commotion until we would threaten to leave her behind. Then she would perk up and get moving. Stitch and Mickey would call every morning about 7:30 to make sure we were up.

We ate our breakfast, listened to Perky Polly (Stacy), and packed our bags. The night before each park I would tell Cliff and Matthew what Tour Guide Mike’s park touring recommendations were for that park. I also already had maps of each park, so they would look at the map to have an idea where everything was. Also, Cliff was in charge of checking the map for bathrooms, because we are always on the search for a bathroom.

Our plan of attack this morning for DHS was: I would go to TSM and get fastpasses, they would go to TOT and ride. Then we would meet up at Rockin Rollercoaster so we could ride it together. The kids couldn’t ride in 2005, so I wanted to ride with them their first time. Then we would do TOT again together. (It didn’t work out exactly that way, of course)

We decided to drive to DHS this morning so we didn’t have to wait for any busses. The drive to DHS is very fast, it isn’t far at all. We got a parking pretty close to the main gate, we were able to walk instead of taking the parking lot tram. We got there about 20 minutes before opening. They don’t let you go in very far while you wait for the park to open; you just get past the turnstyles.

They had the American Idol team walking around the crowd to see who wanted to audition for the show that day. They just kept the crowd entertained while we waited. We didn’t audition because that was not on our itinerary that day, maybe next time.

Before opening there was a movie director who had us countdown with him to get the park opened. We did our countdown and I ran, I mean walked very fast to Toy Story Mania. I believe the whole crowd was following behind me; I didn’t turn to look in case they tried to pass me. I figured if the whole park was following me, than Cliff and the kids could probably ride TOT over and over before I even got there.

A lot of the crowd did go straight to the stand by line to ride. But, there were a few of us who knew what needed to be done immediately Get. Fastpasses. Right. Now. There was already a small line at each of the fastpass machines. It seems like there was a lot of stressful people trying to fastpass. It seemed like each machine was having some kind of problem. And, the CM’s were going from one to the next, already working up a sweat. The park had only been opened for 5 mintutes!

When it was finally my turn, I took a deep breath, said a little prayer and very carefully and gently put my parkhopper in the slot. Time stood still………………… my parkhopper came back out, and a fastpass was spit out. Whew! My machine worked, it worked. I glanced back at the line behind me and everyone was smiling. We picked the right line. This time. I don’t know why I didn’t take pictures during the drama of fastpassing.

As I walked to Sunset Blvd to find my family I called Cliff to make sure the tour plan is going as scheduled. NO, it is not. Tower of Terror is down. Nooooooo, we love TOT. So, they are in line for Rock-n-Roller Coaster. What! I wanted to ride with the kids their first time. Ugh. So, OK I’ll just roll with this change of plans.

By time I got to RNRC, I looked around to see if I could find them in line, but they weren’t anywhere to be seen. So, I went to the exit, and they were just walking out. Lucky’s! I said how was the ride. “Awesome, mom!” They loved it so much.

(Notice my Lovely Lobster Legs ?)

We considered riding again, but thought we would check out TOT and see what might be happening.

People were getting fastpasses for TOT and then leaving to ride something else. There were about 5 CM’s and some official looking CM’s standing in front of TOT so we couldn’t get to the entrance. A couple of the official CM’s had walkie talkie’s in their hands. So, being the Disney expert that I am, I came up with a plan. We would stay put and hope that TOT would open soon, We would watch those CM’s and if they start getting on the walkie talkie we would walk towards them and hopefully get on the ride before everyone else. We would give it 10 minutes.

Cont'd next post: Do we get to ride Tot ?

 

[LuvindisCruiser]

Cont'd from previous Post:

So, we stalked those CM’s and I think we were making them nervous because they were avoiding eye contact with us. About 8 minutes in our quest, most of the CM’s walked towards the entrance and just left the one CM and the 2 official looking ones, which one of them was on his walkie talkie. That’s our cue guys, GO! As we got closer to them, they just walked backwards and waved us through. Yeah!

Only one other guy was smart like us and he was ahead of us. I don’t know what happened to his family, he didn’t look back, he just walked on in by himself. I guess his family didn’t know his plan. Communication is the key buddy.

So, we walked right on. Awesome, too cool. I recorded the whole ride, and all you can hear is my screaming. That ride is so fun. I think TOT at WDW is a bit scarier that at Disneyland.

After that we went to get our photopass pictures taken with TOT in the background, and did some shopping on Sunset Blvd. Took some pictures of our legs in one of the mirrors.

Found a restroom on Sunset Blvd. which we visited a few times that day.
Matthew found a pin cart and traded with the CM there.

It’s funny that the kids started with 2 pins, and had so much fun trading 2 pins almost the whole trip. They did buy some others during the trip, but they wanted to keep those and put on their lanyard back home.

We then did Voyage of Little Mermaid, this was a new one for us. It was so cute. Megan and I love Ariel. It was adorable. Times like this I wished my nieces were with us to see it, they are 6 and 3. But, then I remember they are 6 and 3 and probably wouldn’t stick to my agendas. One of these days, I would love them to see WDW with us.

It was time for our fastpass for TSM. We had already done TSM at Disneyland in January of ’09, so we knew how cool it really was.

I saw these flowers on the way and thought they were so pretty. We got in line and retrieved our cool shades.

This is really a fantastic way to combine a ride with a 3D show. It is just a lot of fun. My brother and his family were in California Adventure the same day we were in DHS, so they did TSM also, and loved it. Matthew and I rode together, and I beat his score! I think by a whole 200 pts.

We then went to fastpass RNRC to ride after lunch. The fast pass lines for RNRC were not as crazy as TSM, everyone was calm and all the machines were working. The CM’s were a lot calmer and relaxed.

We went over to Streets of America and took some photopass pictures. I can’t wait to get my CD and post some of the pictures, they came out so cute. I actually got in a photopass group with 3 other families, so I only paid 30.00 for our photopass CD. But, I haven’t received it yet. Hmmmm. Let’s hope I get those pictures.

We did Muppet Vision, which is always such a cute show. I really am never too excited to do this show for some reason. But, once it’s done I’m glad we did it. I was a muppets fan back in the day. The kids don’t know The Muppets like we do, but they still always enjoy the show. I love the grumpy old men who are making fun of the muppets.

Next was the Great Movie ride, which I remembered to be just OK. I didn’t know if the kids would remember it, they said they didn’t. This was a walk on, so that’s probably why we decided to do it. But, you know what ? It was a cool ride.

I had forgotten how our tourguide would get off the boat and go into the bank where there was a gun fight. And, then the bank robber got on our boat. There was a lot more action than I remembered. I was watching Matthew just taking it all in, he was enjoying all the action on this ride. We liked the interaction our tour guide had on the movie scenes.

The interesting thing is, that about a couple of weeks ago Matthew told me what he wants to be. He said an actor. Huh ? I wondered later if it had something to do with all the action and fun he saw on this ride with our tourguide. Yeah, he can go work for Disney and invite me to visit every year ! Whoo- hoo.

We had lunch ressies at Sci-Fi at 12:30, we had about 15 minutes before it was time, but we thought we would try and see if we could get in early. Cliff and the kids waited while I went in to check.

No such luck, they were running about 15 minutes behind, so we really had about a 30 minute wait.

We decided to go to Hollywood Blvd and get some pictures in front of the Hat.

Then got some photopass pictures, too. We also had to see all the pins that were located under the hat. I don’t think we bought any at that time, surprisingly.

We went back to Sci-Fi

and waited only a few minutes before they called our name. We were walked to our car, we were seated in a purple car in the back row. What a cool idea! We hadn’t done this restaurant before and enjoyed it. The kids had never been to a drive in so we had to explain the concept to them. And, then we had to explain about sci-fi movies, which they thought were not scary at all. Especially compared to the scary movies we see these days. The kids sat together in front of the car and we were the passengers.

Cont'd next post:

 

[LuvindisCruiser]

Cont'd from Previous Post:

Our waitress was Ida and the kids had fun with her. She kept teasing them that they would have to pay for the bill since they were up front and we were just the back seat passengers.

Megan got the Mac n Cheese, a vanilla coke, and tomato soup. Matthew got the Hamburger (of course) oreo shake, and tomato soup. Cliff got the burger, I got the Turkey sandwich and we shared the BLT soup.

The soup was amazing ! It was a tomato soup but in the middle was a big crouton with cheeses and bacon on it. WOW, we licked the bowl clean, and then finished Matt’s soup too ! The kids soup was just the tomato soup without the crouton, but it was still very tasty. The kids meal came with a sundae for dessert.

We enjoyed the whole experience of eating at a drive in, it was all pretty fun. The bill came to $59.26. I used the last of my Disney Rewards which was 29.00. I guess my rewards lasted a little longer that I realized.

After Sci-fi we decided it was time to use our fastpass for Rockin Roller Coaster. The wait was probably just about 10 minutes or so. But, so worth it. We all love that ride, it’s kinda scary when it starts and shoots you forward, but the music and the loops are a blast.

It was close to 3:00 by this time and Cliff was ready to go back to CBR and rest. Megan and I weren’t ready yet, of course. So, Cliff and Matthew went back and us girls wanted to stay and watch Block Party Bash. We found a spot on Hollywood Blvd, and I was ready to record, so of course I didn’t have pictures again. We heard the music coming around the corner and then we saw the floats.

There was a lot of music and dancing and everyone celebrating with the characters and the dancers. Then they asked for the kids in the crowd to join them and celebrate. Megan looked at me, and of course I encouraged her to join them, what a video that would be ! But, then all of a sudden she got shy on me. There were only 2 other little girls dancing and Megan didn’t want to be embarrassed like them. But, I begged and pleaded and offered to buy her ice-cream, and it Worked!

So, Megan went with the other girls and they danced their hearts out! The CM would do some moves and the girls would imitate her and dance around. I did get some great video footage. Our video camera has a button for pictures, and a few times I have tried to take pictures, but it didn’t seem to work. I’ll figure it out someday ……………

We decided to do Prince Caspian next, because we do like Narnia. We stood in line right when they let a group of people in, so we had to wait for the next showing. So, we waited for 15 minutes for the next show. It was pretty warm, but we got to stand in the shade thank goodness. It had been windy that day, off and on, but it was a warm day.

It was finally time for us to see the show. We were not very impressed, I don’t know what we expected, but the wait of 15 minutes was not worth it. We stood inside and just saw scenes of the movie, and then they had the costumes and others items from the movie on display. Oh well, at least we did it, and won’t have to do that again.

We decided to get Megan’s ice-cream and go back to CBR and swim. We got to our bus stop and actually didn’t have to wait very long at all. Before we knew it, we were at CBR. Cliff was watching TV and Matthew was on his DSi. We walked in and said, who wants to go swimming ? Of course, we all did ! Well the kids wanted to swim, we just wanted to lay by the pool.

We hung out by the pool for a good hour or so, and then went to our room to get ready for dinner. Tonight it was California Pizza Kitchen. We don’t have one in Albuquerque, so we wanted to try it out. There was one about 10 minutes away at a mall, which we also noticed had an M&M store at that mall, Yay !

It was really good. Megan had the Alfredo pasta, Matt had a cheese pizza, Cliff had the Chipotle Chicken Pizza, and I had the Roasted Garlic Chicken pizza. And, we shared the Wedge Salad. Cliff said it was one his favorite meals of the trip. He loves his pizza. Hopefully we’ll get a Cal Pizza Kitchen soon.

After dinner we walked around the mall we were stuffed, again. We went in to the M&M store and looked around.

And, bought some Almond M&M’s and Peanut Butter M&M’s. We enjoyed them all the way home.

We got back to the room, watched some Raven and got ready for bed. We all had a good night sleep, resting for our first full day at Magic Kingdom !

Tomorrow: Magic Kingdom and Matthew meets Push.

 

[KidaniMom]

I'm loving you trip report - my oldest is 11 so I am enjoying hearing your stories. Sounds like an awesome trip so far!