Our 2nd Trip to Disney! Did it Measure Up? (w/pics) **THE END**

[carissanboys]

~ Earl of Sandwich ~

Food -

Atmosphere - (The only reason it gets 3 Mickey's instead of 2 is because it's in DTD and if you eat outside, you get to soak in that great ambiance.)

Overall - ​

Up Next...Day 5 - Part 2

 

[ENSOCK]

wonderful review! I am loving this report and your kids are beautiful!

 

[carissanboys]

wonderful review! I am loving this report and your kids are beautiful!

Tina

Thank you so much

 

[earthfaries]

Another wonderful installment

Loved the pictures ~ your boys are so adorable!

I know they had fun making light sabers and picking out their legos

Sounds like a great day at DTD, can't wait to hear about the rest of your evening.

I LOVE the shirts ​

 

[scottny]

sounds like a great time at DTD. anything Star Wars related is great.

I mgiht try EOS next time we go.

great pics

 

[carissanboys]

So, we head back to the townhouse after stopping for gas and a newspaper for my dad. I told the gang they only had about 20 minutes before we needed to head back out again. Our dinner wasn't until 5, but I wanted to leave around 3 for a couple of reasons. I didn't know how long it would take us to get to Fort Wilderness and then to get to Pioneer Hall. We were suppose to pick up our tickets an hour before the show started. And I wanted some time to look around and explore.

After listening to some groans (I just cracked my whip to get them movin'), everyone got changed and loaded back up in the van.

Speaking of the van, the seating arrangements for the week were a bit cramped. I did the driving (remember my driving tips?), Chuck was in the passenger seat because he has long legs, my dad was in one of the bucket seats next to Connor (which wasn't so fun when Connor was screaming through a tantrum - remind me to talk about that at some point), and poor Memere was crammed in the back between both boys in their booster seats. She's a trooper.

Now we were ready for what would become one of my favorite moments of the trip. Allright - yes, I did have MANY special and favorite moments of the trip, but this one ranked up there pretty high.

It didn't take us long at all to find the Fort. I just went through the Magic Kingdom gate (the lane all the way to the right - not the bus lane!!) and told them I was going to Fort Wilderness. Not a problem. I then took the first right and followed the signs. Easy Peasy. They even have special parking for just going to Pioneer Hall and I didn't have to go through any gate. We quickly figured out which bus we needed and it showed up immediately. I was feeling a bit silly at this point for dragging the gang out so early.

We were the only ones on the bus. How special! They sent it just for us. Regardless, the bus driver kept stopping at each stop - briefly though. I think he suspected where we were headed. It was neat to get a peak at the campsites. I thought I saw Christmas lights up on some (from reading the Camping Board, I knew some people did that), but was later told they were Valentine's Day lights and decorations.

We arrived at our stop and I headed to the ticket window where I received a piece of paper and was told to check in with the CM 30 minutes before the show. We had quite a while to wait. Memere and Pepere, in sticking with the whole grandparent thing, spied some nice rocking chairs on the porch and decided to plop themselves down for a while. That looked pretty tempting to me as well, but the boys had already spotted the playground so Chuck and I followed after their running figures.

The boys quickly made friends and had a good time playing on the equipment. I even got to go check out the store to buy some water. The gentleman running the register and myself had a brief conversation about the flu vaccine and our agreement that we don't believe in getting them. I also mentioned something about how we've never gotten the flu before. You think I jinxed us? Seeing as Sully most definitely has it...

Anyway, more kids began making their way to the playground and Chuck and I decided it was time to make our exit to the beach, with the boys of course. They enjoyed playing in the sand for quite a while. I enjoyed watching the guests come back in with their little jet skis-wannabees. Not sure what those things are called, but they're cool! I was most definitely falling in love with the Fort.

At one point I looked over and Owen was using his hat as a shovel. You've got to give the boy credit for using his head.

A sandcastle was made and pictures were taken. But, first I had to go get the camera from my parents and I kicked them out of their chairs to see the beach.

It was now time to go sign in for the show. I found the CM and gave him our ticket. He then welcomed us to get our photo taken.

Are you ready? This will be one of only two pictures that you'll see of me in this TR! Prepare yourself. Steady yourself.

Actually, when we got back to the townhouse later and I got a real good look at the picture, I just kept repeating out loud, "I look pretty good in that picture!" It didn't matter what anyone else looked like. I only had eyes for myself Seriously, it's a great picture of everyone.

With the photograph out of the way, we went to stand in line. Or sit on the fence, as the case may be. Some pictures taken while we were waiting:

That is my absolute favorite picture. Don't you just want to eat him up? I can't decide if he's giving a thumbs up or if he just wanted to get his most favorite buddy in the picture (he's a thumb sucker - although, it's his other thumb actually).

Do you see the pimple beginning to make an appearance on Owen's chin? Just wait until the next day

It was at this time that I learned of the very sad and shocking news that Heath Ledger had been found dead in his apartment (that really puts a damper on this TR, eh?) A woman was standing next to me talking to someone on her phone and was quite loud about it. When she got off the phone I asked her what had happened, but at the time no one knew. It's so hard when something like that happens when you're at Disney because you're in such a happy place, it's like reality hits you in the face.

Very soon after a little girl, who was celebrating a birthday, got chosen to ring the dinner bell. She was very cute. Then it was time to eat!!

We got table #34 for those of you that might be familiar with it. It was up front, but not against the stage. I ended up having an amazing seat, facing the stage. Per our server's suggestion, we seated Sully and Owen in the two chairs with their backs to the stage so that we would have a better view over their heads. And they just turned around to watch the show.

There was already salad and cornbread waiting for us. Yumm!! The salad and dressing totally reminded us of the Olive Garden's salad. Very good. And the cornbread was rather tasty as well. Owen loved it!

After our drinks were served, the show began. We were all greatly impressed with the performers and the show itself. It was so much fun and highly entertaining. We all laughed A LOT. The actors laughed a lot too, but it felt very natural and not put on at all.

When it was time to serve the main course, the nerdy guy (can't remember the character's name) came out carrying a bucket of fried chicken and placed it on my plate. That was my big moment of stardom for this trip!

We all were pretty impressed with the food. I loved the chicken and ribs. Everyone thought the beans were excellent, although they were a bit too hard for my liking, but still tasty. The only thing we didn't really like were the mashed potatoes. They were much too runny for our liking. We like our potatoes a bit hardier. But, otherwise, the meal was wonderful.

Shortly after they brought out desert, the actors began making their way around recruiting for the finale. I had joked with my dad after our meal about getting chosen again like he did in the Monster's Inc Show. He said, "I'm too full to get on stage."

I also need to back up a smidge. One of the woman in the show had a crazy laugh. My dad really liked her. He told me that she reminded him of Goldie Hawn on Laugh In.

Well, who do you think should come up to my dad and ask him to join in the show? We all began laughing, not believing that Pepere was chosen again for something!

Here he is with his "girl" who chose him "for his intelligence" as she pointed to his glasses:

When my dad saw that picture, I commented that he was playing with his wedding ring, which is something he is NOTORIOUS for. He has dropped that thing thousands of times, I kid you not. We all cannot believe that he hasn't lost it (they've been married for 27 years now). Anyway, he said, "I'm saying to myself, remember you're married. Remember you're married" like a mantra.

They take all of the recruits backstage and the show continues.

That guy on the right (the one that put the chicken on my plate) was amazing! So, so funny. He reminded me a little of John Ritter. I thought the one on the left was rather cute

We keep waiting for my dad to come out, wondering what part they're going to give him. Remember, we've never seen this show so have no idea what to expect. Here's a picture of another "volunteer":

Finally, we know all of the other people have played their parts and gone on stage. We're just waiting for my dad. And then they say something about the star of the show. Uh oh. Pepere's the star?! Out walks this:

I cannot tell you how hard we all laughed! I had tears streaming down my face. I wish I had gotten better pictures. He was suppose to be Davey Crockett's angel, I think. When he came out, he had to do some sort of a dance. It was crazy. My dad in a tutu. Never in a million years. What a great sport he was.

That look really says it all, doesn't it?

The show finished and we made our way to the bus stop. We stopped to see some horses along the way and my dad received compliments from his peeps for his role in the show. He was famous!

When we arrived at the bus stop, the bus was waiting for us. We quickly got on and spent the ride talking with another family. That's the great thing about Disney. You can very easily strike up a conversation with anyone!

We returned to the townhouse fairly early and put the younger two boys to bed. Guess what Memere, Pepere, and Sully did? I think this pool thing is becoming an addiction for Pepere!

After an extremely enjoyable evening, everyone was in bed by 9:30. We needed to rest up for our first full park day with my parents.

Important Info

* Gas - $45

* Hoop Dee Doo Musical Revue - $332 (4 adults and 3 children)

* Pictures from Hoop Dee Doo - $30​

Up next...Hoop Dee Doo Rating

 

[becca011906]

How awsome that your dad was so involved in the show!!! That's awsome really cool!!!

 

[carissanboys]

~ Hoop Dee Doo Musical Revue ~

Food -

Atmosphere -

Overall - ​

Up Next...Day 6

 

[carissanboys]

Another wonderful installment

Loved the pictures ~ your boys are so adorable!

I know they had fun making light sabers and picking out their legos

Sounds like a great day at DTD, can't wait to hear about the rest of your evening.

I LOVE the shirts ​

Thanks I like the shirts too. I think only one person said anything about them. A CM at DHS asked Chuck where we got them and thought they were cool.

sounds like a great time at DTD. anything Star Wars related is great.

I mgiht try EOS next time we go.

great pics

You should definitely try EOS! Very good sandwiches. And I don't like sandwiches too much so that's saying something.

 

[carissanboys]

How awsome that your dad was so involved in the show!!! That's awsome really cool!!!

It WAS very cool

 

[liznboys]

That is an awesome picture!! It's a framer!

Awwww

I just love hearing how much fun your parents are having. And how they are doing things they never would have done otherwise!!

 

[carissanboys]

That is an awesome picture!! It's a framer!

Awwww

I just love hearing how much fun your parents are having. And how they are doing things they never would have done otherwise!!

Thanks I love that picture.

There's more to come involving my dad!!

 

[pamouselover]

You pics to me back to the hoop! The young girl was great wasn’t she? We had the same actors. Your Dad getting picked is so great. The man who was pick when we were there became famous too. We saw him the next day at the parks and said hey there is that tutu guy again. I am not a big fan of mashed potatoes and loved the ones at hoop. It really is a great show, so glad you enjoy it.

 

[dddisrunner]

I was cracking up at you saying how your dad was back in the pool in the morning! I love the picture at HDDR. It is nice to see what you look like! Your dad is really a good sport and it looks like you had sooo much fun!

 

[winkers]

How fun that your dad was the star of the show!!

 

[scottny]

great update and pics. The Hoop de doo pic is fantastic.

I cried when I saw him come out in a tutu. that is funny.

 

[kaysmommie]

Loved your Hoop De Doo revue update and pics. Your dad in the tutu is so . Seems like he had a great time too. How did you like Windsor Hills? We debated staying there last year but then got a 40% code for Poly, so we couldn't pass that discount up.

 

[carissanboys]

You pics to me back to the hoop! The young girl was great wasn’t she? We had the same actors. Your Dad getting picked is so great. The man who was pick when we were there became famous too. We saw him the next day at the parks and said hey there is that tutu guy again. I am not a big fan of mashed potatoes and loved the ones at hoop. It really is a great show, so glad you enjoy it.

The potatoes definitely weren't BAD (they were far superior to the ones at Cosmic Ray's!!), just not how we liked our potatoes to be.

I wondered if the same actors do all 3 shows each night? That'd be a lot of work!

I was cracking up at you saying how your dad was back in the pool in the morning! I love the picture at HDDR. It is nice to see what you look like! Your dad is really a good sport and it looks like you had sooo much fun!

It was a TON of fun. I highly recommend it. And my dad really loved it.

How fun that your dad was the star of the show!!

He had quite an experience on this trip

great update and pics. The Hoop de doo pic is fantastic.

I cried when I saw him come out in a tutu. that is funny.

I hadn't laughed that hard in a long time! Well, we did laugh quite a bit at Monster's Inc Laugh Floor, but this was even funnier.

Loved your Hoop De Doo revue update and pics. Your dad in the tutu is so . Seems like he had a great time too. How did you like Windsor Hills? We debated staying there last year but then got a 40% code for Poly, so we couldn't pass that discount up.

Thanks We loved Windsor Hills. Did you see the pictures of our townhouse in an earlier update? I'll talk more about the place and our experience in general later.

 

[earthfaries]

I really enjoyed your update

What a great time you all had!!!

I LOVE Fort Wilderness. We go almost every year (not this past time though, not enough time ) and go to Trail's End. It's great, you should try it next time.

The pics were great ~ that is so funny about your dad I bet you were NOT expecting him to be dressed up like a fairy

Great update and a great day ~ sounds absolutely perfect ​

 

[carissanboys]

I woke up at some point during the night to the sound of a downpour. It was still lightly raining when we awoke the next morning. We quickly checked the forecast, and it wasn't looking good.

We were headed to DHS this morning. I wanted to get there as close to opening as possible. I'm afraid there aren't many pictures from this day. Because of the rain, I didn't want to bring my big camera to the parks and risk it getting wet. So, I was going to bring my little camera that fits in my purse. But, the batteries were dead and I had never recharged them. I wasn't too upset though. I'd already taken pictures at DHS earlier in the trip and the thought of just enjoying the day and not having to deal with a camera sounded somewhat appealing.

We arrived at DHS around 9:30. Luckily, the rain had stopped and we'd have no issue with the weather. We did have some issues with our tickets working (this happened a lot on this trip), but finally we all got through. Immediately I spotted a Brazillian tour group. They had their flag and everything. We saw some in Epcot as well, but I have to say they were fine. No issues at all.

The first thing we spotted was the High School Musical 2 performance. We glanced in its direction while we continued to walk towards Star Tours. None of the boys wanted to ride it again, so Chuck took my parents on it. They had just started a Jedi training session so we hung out to watch.

I have to say that was pretty cool. I totally was not expecting Darth Vader to come out!! I think Sully would have loved to do it. Maybe next time.

It was perfect timing because just as the training ended, the rest of our gang showed up. Both Memere and Pepere enjoyed Star Tours, but that would really be the only thing that my dad had fun on that day. He wasn't really impressed with DHS. Not sure why.

We then strolled over to MuppetVision 3D. Somehow we ended up sitting in the back and all the way to the right (you know how they tell you to move all the way across your row?). We really could have stopped in the middle, but oh well. With the seats we had, we didn't have a very good view of the back of the theater (and you know some fun things happen there!). The first time we saw MuppetVision, we hadn't yet seen Mickey's Philharmagic. So we thought it was pretty cool. But, this time around, we'd already taken my parents to Mickey's Philharmagic and we were all a bit unimpressed with MuppetVision.

On the way out of the theater, we looked over and spotted Buzz Lightyear so Owen went to see him again. The boys also did some pin trading. I think that might have been the only pin trading they did on this trip. In the beginning I kept forgetting the lanyards when we went to the parks. Then, while we were in line somewhere we spotted some kids that had their pins on their hats. I thought that was pretty cool so we did that for the remainder of the trip.

We quickly showed my parents the Streets of America, which they thought was cool. And then it was time to head to 50's Prime Time Cafe for lunch.

We ended up with big brother Tom. My dad immediately told me how neat he thought the place was (I figured he'd like it). Right after we sat down Tom headed towards my dad with a napkin and said, "Come on." It took a minute for us to realize he wanted my dad's gum

Tom did all sorts of silly things for us including falling through one of the "windows" near our table. It wasn't until later that night or the next day that my dad told me something.

"I was just reading through this Unofficial Guide to Disney about the Prime Time Cafe. I thought our waiter was just being really weird and was lonely. I didn't realize it was all part of the act."

Ahhh...Pepere. He's a little slow on the uptake sometimes.

Normally when I go to a restaurant, I order water to drink. So, that's what I did at Prime Time. It wasn't until I tasted the water that I remembered reading how horrible it is. That's no lie. Water at Disney is pretty disgusting. I ordered a soda after that.

Memere and I each had the pot roast, which was delicious. The guys had the meatloaf. They said it was good, but my dad thought there should have been a lot more of it for the price. I agree.

The only pictures I have of the day (courtesy of Memere) are of the boys eating their Make-Your-Own-Sundaes, which they thought was lots of fun.

I don't think I'd go back to Prime Time. I think it's much too pricey for what you get. It was a neat experience though.

After lunch we had a bit of time to kill before we needed to line up for Indiana Jones Show. We decided to go through One Man's Dream. That is a really neat exhibit and I'm sure my parents could have spent even more time in there. We didn't have time for the movie though.

We stood in line at Indiana for a bit before they let us in. It was a fun show, but I enjoyed Lights, Motor, Action more and I think my parents would have too. I'm glad we saw it, but I wouldn't do it again.

We had walked by The Great Movie Ride before lunch, but the line was quite long. It had now emptied out so it didn't take long to move through. We all enjoyed it, especially since the "story" changed, which I wasn't expecting. We had a great gangster guy this time and he was much better than the Wild West guy on our last time through. I love the movie clips at the end

Then it was time for something I'd been very much wanting to do this trip. I wanted to make sure that I got to see Voyage of the Little Mermaid. Sully really didn't want to see it and my dad wasn't too keen on it either. At first I was going to let them sit it out, but I decided that we ALL would see it. I'm so mean

Even my dad said afterwards that he enjoyed it and it wasn't anything like he thought it'd be. It IS pretty cool, although too short. I was really expecting a duet at the end. I'd really like to see Beauty and the Beast next time.

When we were exiting the theater, we spied Leo from the Little Einsteins out (I didn't know it was Leo - Owen and Connor informed me of that). Per usual, Connor didn't want to go see him so it was just Owen and I. I even got in the pictures (but they're on photopass). I felt like Leo and I bonded over the fact that we both wear glasses

My dad was getting tired so we decided to get a snack and then head out. My dad has a bad knee and he's not use to walking so much. Every night he'd pop some motrin to help with the pain. I easily could have stayed in the parks until probably closing this time around. Without having that heat to drain me, I had a lot more energy and stamina. If it hadn't been for my parents and the kids, I could have lasted much longer.

We all wanted icecream (more Mickey icecream sandwiches, please!) except for Connor. He wanted popcorn. So, I bought another souvenir bucket. He seemed to think the entire thing was just for him and he didn't want to share. Memere went and bought one herself so that we'd have 3 buckets to take home and popcorn for others to eat.

The parade started while we were eating our snack so we were able to catch glimpses of it on our way out. I thought it would be impossible to walk down that street with everyone lined up, but it wasn't too bad and we managed. I would have liked to stay and watch the parade, but I was afraid the tram would get busy once it ended and lots of people left.

We jumped on the tram that had just arrived and the driver came up to us. He was having fun joking with my dad (he was an older guy). He asked where our purple citizen pins were. I didn't know what he was talking about, but he told us to go to guest services and get some while he waited for us. There were only a few people on the tram, so Memere and Sully ran over to get 7 pins. I thought that was cool of the driver.

We spent a leisurely evening back at the house. You already know that we spent time in the pool playing killer ball. I was feeling lazy so I suggested we order pizza delivered. We used a brochure that had been dropped off at the house the day before and got some pizza from Pizza Best. It was really quite good. There were some breadsticks and chicken wings as well (manager's special).

Some nights I had homework to do, which was hard because I was totally in vacation mode. But, I managed to get everything done with no issues.

We all made it an early night in preparation of our big day at Epcot.

Important Info

* 50's Prime Time Cafe - $120

Food -

Atmosphere -

Overall -

* icecream and popcorn - $30

* Pizza (including tip) - $37​

Up Next...Day 7 - Part 1