Over the River and Through the Woods to Mickey's House We Go! And Grandma is in Tow!

[Kathy Jetson]

Nice haul with the shirts. I always find myself thinking how will this look at Disney when I buy clothes. Hearing you talk about your trip with mama is getting me more excited about my first trip with my mom. Hope your detergent works out ok.

 

[Angies1274]

Hi Lisa!!

Sorry about the whole washing machine incident!! So glad you didn't have to buy a new one!!

Love all your Mickey shirts!!! So cute!! I'm anxious to hear how your homemade laundry detergent turns out! (I saw the Duggers do it also...and I wondered about it.)

Your Epcot plans sound great so far!! I'm sure your mom will love Soarin'. My mom can't stop talking about it!! It was one of her very favorite rides at Disney!

 

[leamom2princesses]

Hi Lisa! You've been busy with updates over here!

Sorry bout the washing machine incident but glad to hear you didn't have to spend your Disney money.

I love your shirts too! Great pics Lisa. Your EPCOT pics crack me up. The kids look so happy. What a funny bunch y'all are.

 

[MaryAz]

I was over wading through the first 100 pages of ur TR. Yay for fun Epcot plans!

 

[MHTeacher]

Sounds like a good start to Epcot. Soarin' is definitely my bunches' favorite thing at EP. What about Test Track? Do you think your mom will ride that?

 

[racefanof88]

Love the Epcot plans . I can't wait to get back on Soarin' it is my favorite Disney ride.

 

[shelbys mommy]

I'm here!!!! I have the same exact white classic Mickey shirt bought from Walmart, for the same price! I also got a Chip & Dale shirt! I really need to take pics & post them on my PTR!

 

[GrammyJudy]

I'm a little bit concerned about Mama and her depth perception problem. She sometimes has problems stepping on and off escalators because of her trifocal glasses. I usually stand beside her or behind her and tell her when to step on/off. I know we will be able to handle the escalators but I'm wondering about the rides that require you to step onto a moving conveyor belt thing in order to get to the ride vehicle (clam mobiles, doom buggies, etc.) Guess we'll figure it out.

I love your posts. BTW I have bifocals and have never had a problem with rides...they move slow enough and the CMs always help me. I am 64 and we travel to WDW every other year as 3 generations. It is so much fun to see it through the kid's eyes. Our first trip my DD was 3 and DS was 5. We are going Jan 2011 and I have a DGS 10 and one 2 so it will be fun

 

[mickeystoontown]

First, great sounding plans...kinda what I have in mind for our Epcot day...although we are only doing one park one day...so, I need to be sure to catch the stuff I really want to cover (like Soarin')...fun recaps with the pics...I would think to treat the flat conveyors like you would an esculator






I always do that when I where white or when ever I wear a new shirt and try to eat boiled crawfish...
but the shirt I was referring to was red and black with a big black dirty bird...where is your LA spirit...

We used to do Epcot in one day but then liked it so much that we built two days into our itinerary. The Atlanta Falcons shirts was just $2.99 and I couldn't pass it up.

OH! BTW if you need a coupon let me know I have one and will not be using it this year

I actually have one of the coupons but thanks anyway!

Nice shirts! You are the shopping QUEEN!

I so love Epcot! I'd love to do that Behind the Seeds tour. I love the Living with the Land boat ride so I think I'd enjoy it.

I know that you struggled as to whether or not to go to Magic Kingdom or Epcot on your upcoming trip because you love them both so much.

You really should do the tour. It's pretty inexpensive too. I think it's about $14.00 a person. Cheap compared to other tours.

What cute shirts! I too am anxious to hear how the homemade laundry detergent turns out. It's just ridiculous how much that and softener costs!

The laundry detergent worked well! I was very pleased with it. I'll post more on it in a separate post.

 

[mickeystoontown]

LOVE the Mickey shirts!!! And the Epcot day plans!! I cannot wait to run in to Epoct and get our Soarin fast passes. I can't wait for Manny, Sam and Anthony to ride it. It was just Me, Lizzie and Emily who got the chance last trip and it was so amazing! We also love the seas with Nemo and friends.

So you'll be the official Fastpass getter too! I didn't remember that Manny, Sam and Anthony didn't ride it last trip. I bet they will love it!

Nice haul with the shirts. I always find myself thinking how will this look at Disney when I buy clothes. Hearing you talk about your trip with mama is getting me more excited about my first trip with my mom. Hope your detergent works out ok.

Is that a bad thing to wonder those things? Hope not 'cause I do it all the time. Is your mother getting excited?

Hi Lisa!!

Sorry about the whole washing machine incident!! So glad you didn't have to buy a new one!!

Love all your Mickey shirts!!! So cute!! I'm anxious to hear how your homemade laundry detergent turns out! (I saw the Duggers do it also...and I wondered about it.)

Your Epcot plans sound great so far!! I'm sure your mom will love Soarin'. My mom can't stop talking about it!! It was one of her very favorite rides at Disney!

The washing machine fiasco was horrible! But, at least I know that the floor underneath my appliances are clean now.

Hi Lisa! You've been busy with updates over here!

Sorry bout the washing machine incident but glad to hear you didn't have to spend your Disney money.

I love your shirts too! Great pics Lisa. Your EPCOT pics crack me up. The kids look so happy. What a funny bunch y'all are.

I certainly didn't want to waste my precious Disney money on something so trivial as a new washing machine so I was thankful that we were able to fix it ourselves.

My kids love acting silly. I have to really try hard to make them take a serious one.

I was over wading through the first 100 pages of ur TR. Yay for fun Epcot plans!

At least by reading my Stop Making Me Laugh report, you can get a true feel for my family. Still sure you want to meet us in public?

 

[mickeystoontown]

Sounds like a good start to Epcot. Soarin' is definitely my bunches' favorite thing at EP. What about Test Track? Do you think your mom will ride that?

I am just a little concerned about Mama getting on Soarin' but not at all concerned about her getting on Test Track. She's riding that baby no matter what!

Love the Epcot plans . I can't wait to get back on Soarin' it is my favorite Disney ride.

I am soooo scared of heights and have to turn my head during certain parts of Soarin' but it's definitely one of my favorites!

I'm here!!!! I have the same exact white classic Mickey shirt bought from Walmart, for the same price! I also got a Chip & Dale shirt! I really need to take pics & post them on my PTR!

Welcome! I bought a Chip & Dale shirt from WalMart for our 2008 trip but haven't found a cute once since then.

I'm a little bit concerned about Mama and her depth perception problem. She sometimes has problems stepping on and off escalators because of her trifocal glasses. I usually stand beside her or behind her and tell her when to step on/off. I know we will be able to handle the escalators but I'm wondering about the rides that require you to step onto a moving conveyor belt thing in order to get to the ride vehicle (clam mobiles, doom buggies, etc.) Guess we'll figure it out.

I love your posts. BTW I have bifocals and have never had a problem with rides...they move slow enough and the CMs always help me. I am 64 and we travel to WDW every other year as 3 generations. It is so much fun to see it through the kid's eyes. Our first trip my DD was 3 and DS was 5. We are going Jan 2011 and I have a DGS 10 and one 2 so it will be fun

I think as long as one of us stands near her and helps her on, she'll do okay. Practice makes perfect so I am sure she'll get the hang of it after a few times.

My mother absolutely ADORES Hunter. She kept him the first three months of his life while I was waiting for a spot to open up at our church daycare. They formed a bond that lasts to this day. The last time she went to Disney with us, Hunter was 3 1/2. He can't wait to show her "the world".

 

[mickeystoontown]

I know many of you were wondering how the homemade laundry detergent worked. Well, I was wondering too until last night. I used it for the first time and it worked very well. John's been laying ceramic tile in a lady's house and comes home with all sorts of grout and sticky stuff on his pants and shirt. How he slings it all over his shirt, I don't know. But he does and I don't ask.

Anyway, l washed two pairs of his ceramic tile grout laden pants and shirts with the detergent. I used one cup of detergent, set the load setting on high and the water temp on warm. Once the washer had stopped (with no overflows I might add), I pulled the clothes out and they were as clean as a whistle. No grout or sticky stuff to be found. I think the laundry detergent passed the test!

So, if anybody wants the recipe, let me know and I'll post it for you.

 

[mickeystoontown]

I'm thinking once we've tasted some nasty and not-so-nasty Coca Cola products, we'll see how long the wait is for Spaceship Earth. Hopefully, it won't be too bad. If the line is too long, we'll just skip it and go back later or on our second day.

Here are a couple of our "Hollywood" pictures we took just outside of Spaceship Earth last year:

Probably by this time, we'll be hungry and, since Electric Umbrella is right there, we'll stop in and pick up something to eat. For those of you who read my previoius trip reports, you'll know that we have had some "interesting" experiences at Electric Umbrella. Let me tell you just two of them.

In 2008, John, Hunter and I were having a nice burger meal at Electric Umbrella when I felt a pop in my mouth. I opened my mouth and, to my surprise, my tooth (yes I said tooth) falls out of my mouth and bounces like a grasshopper across the table. I drop my burger and slap my hand across the runaway tooth. John and Hunter look at me like I have grown three heads and ask me what's wrong. I simply held my tooth up for them to see. John said "Is that what I think that is?". I just nodded. Hunter said "I don't believe you. Smile." I put my hands around my mouth, shielding the view from others and grin just a little just so they can see that my front tooth was missing. And, what do they do? They start laughing hysterically!

I was ticked off that they were laughing at me in my time of need. So, I started digging around in my backpack to find my trusty ziplock bags. Thank goodness I never go to Disney without 'em. I found one and put my tooth in it. While I'm rummaging through the backpack in search of the tube of Super Glue I brought along, the two male members of my party are laughing their butts off at me. I give them the evil eye and search even more frantically for the elusive Super Glue. Just as I am at the point of pouring out the contents of the backpack onto the floor and crawling around on my knees in front of everybody, my fingers find the tube.

I take the ziplock bag containing my tooth and the super glue, mumble through half closed lips "I'm going to the bathroom" and march to the bathroom. As I get into the bathroom, I realize that there's a line and that I had forgotten my little mirror in my backpack. So, unless I go back and get the mirror, I'm going to be gluing my tooth in in front of total strangers. Ummm, I think not.

With head held high, I walk back into the restaurant, snatch up the backpack (barely looking at John and Hunter), find the mirror and go back to the bathroom where I stand in line to wait for an open stall. Once one becomes available, I sit on the toilet, open up my compact mirror and try to balance it so that I can see what I am doing. Still, I have to lean back and forth to get a good view. After a few minutes, I finally get the tooth glued in but not before the automatic flush on the toilet flushes twice and sprinkles my shorts with droplets of water.

Satisfied with my work, I went back to the table to find John and Hunter still laughing and wiping the tears from their eyes. Stupid fartheads! I have to admit, I did start laughing later on but at that very minute, I wasn't in the mood to laugh.

For those of you who are wondering why in the world did she glue in a tooth...let me explain. About a week or so before we went to Disney, I had a temporary crown set while we were waiting on the permanent crown. It had already fallen off once after it was set. So, when I went to the dentist, I jokingly asked what to do if it fell out while at Disney. He joked back "I hope you take super glue with you." I took him very seriously and I'm glad I did. When I got back home, I went to the dentist who said I did a fine temporary fix.

So, that's one of my "interesting" stories from Electric Umbrella. The other?

When Hunter was about 5 or 6, we were sitting outside the Electric Umbrella and he dropped a fry on the table. He was about to pick it up and eat it (ten second rule) when Lacey grabbed it up and held it in the air exclaiming "You can't eat that! It's dirty!" Just as she said "dirty", a big black bird came by and dive bombed the fry right out of her hand. It scared the bejeebers out of her. While we were still laughing, the same bird came back and landed right on John's shoulder. We were slapping at it and I had to, literally, hit it before he let loose of John's shirt.

Needless to say, Electric Umbrella holds some rather fond memories for us.

***Okay, so when I started this, I thought I'd post more plans but I didn't. Now it's about time to start cleaning off the desk so I'll sign off for now. Hope I was able to give ya'll a chuckle or two.

 

[shelbys mommy]

Those were great & after a day like today I needed a laugh!!!

 

[jenseib]

Of course we want the recipe. If it can get the smell of "cows" out of my DH's clothes it would be a miracle!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Homemade Laundry Detergent:
1 bar laundry soap (Fels Naptha or Zote)
1 cup baking soda
1/2 cup borax

Grate the bar of soap into a small saucepan. Cover with hot wter. Cook over medium heat, stirring continually, until the soap completely dissolves.

Put washing soda and borax in a 5 gallon bucket. Pour in the hot, melted soap mixture. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill the bucket to the top with more hot water. Stir, cover securely and let set overnight.

The next morning, stir the mixture. Mix equal amounts of soap concentrate and water in a smaller laundry-detergent dispenser or container. Shake before using.

For top loading machines: Use 1 cup of soap mixture per load.
For front loading machines: Use 1/2 cup per load​

Ya'll know the troubles I had with my washing machine last week and I'm still a little paranoid of an overflow. So, I stood by and watched the washing machine. The homemade detergent didn't suds up a bunch but it certainly worked getting out the tile grout and the other sticky stuff on John's pants and shirts.

I bought a 5 gallon bucket at Home Depot for a little over $2.00 and I think the lid was 98 cents. The bar of soap was 97 cents. The baking soda was cheap cheap. I could only find a medium size of borax and it cost about $2.50. All total, including the bucket, I spent less than $10.00!

 

[cinderella crazy]

Those are some great stories! What eventful meals you have there.

Thanks for the laundry detergent recipe!

 

[MHTeacher]

I How he slings it all over his shirt, I don't know.

Probably the same way my bunch manages to constantly sling the toothpaste all over the bathroom counter!

AND, by the way you are too smart for making your own laundry detergent!

Just as she said "dirty", a big black bird came by and dive bombed the fry right out of her hand.

Same thing happened to us at Wilderness Lodge while we were eating our breakfast outside one morning.

 

[MaryAz]

Cross Electric Umbrella off my list due to scary winged creatures that don't take no for an answer! And after reading part of the TR I am even more convinced that we will get along great!!

 

[coteau_chick]

Your Electric Umbrella stories are