Photo Trip Report: My 6 and 4 year-old park commandos -- How we conquered the World!

[jake&samsmom]

It did take 50 or so minutes to get on Dinosaur. The boys sat in between myself and DH. The ride was dark, bumpy and quite frightening (even for an old theme park-goin' gal like me!

This is the first time we had been on this ride, and those dinosaurs that jump out from the darkness just scared the beejezuz out of me!

Of course the boys loved it :rolleyes

The vehicle we rode on is much similar to the jeep that you ride on the Indiana Jones ride in Disneyland. The motion/bumpiness level is also pretty much the same. I love the theming of Indiana Jones -- it is my favorite Disney Park ride of all!

Dinosaur, on the other hand, I give a B+ grade (sorry to the Dino fans out there)

On our way out, we stop and watch the balancing/juggling show by Smear, Splat and Dip...

They are actually pretty funny!

Derrick then heads to the Dino arcade, while I bring the boys to play in the Boneyard, but I haven't even started to warm up the camera when Jake says he really needs to go to the bathroom! Meanwhile, Sam is somewhere up there in the maze of slides/rocks/steps! I start calling out for Sam to come down while Jake does his hilarious pee-pee dance

Thankfully, Sam hears me, and slides down to where we were. We ask a CM where the closest bathroom is, and literally fly in that direction. I call DH on the cell phone to meet us there, and he and the boys make it to the men's room just in the nick of time! I wait for them outside on a bench, and guess who walks by.....

I give him a big hug.....

In the meantime, the boys have snuck out of the restroom, and are playing arcade games! They win one green turtle, one purple turtle, and one green spotted dinosaur!

 

[jake&samsmom]

Mickeys Jammin' Jungle Parade is about to start, so we race to Discovery Island and reserve our viewing spot right across from the Beastly Bazaar gift shop.

Here comes the parade!

Rafiki looking straight at us....

What a cool Giraffe!

Anyone up for a Hippo ride?

Is that Chip or Dale?

Here comes Miss Minnie!

Sam says this is a camel...

We all know this is a monkey...

Those are some tall stilts!

Here's Goofy guffawing!

Our old grill used to look like this

Watch out, Sam! That tiger might get you!

Timon gives us all a meerkat hug...

Donald waves to his fans...

Sam is excited to see Donald up close

Mickeys JJ Parade is most unique. It brings back memories of the animal costumes/puppets/masks/statues that were used in Lion King on Broadway.
It is a must-see in my book!


Coming soon -- Nemo vs. Flik?
Who will get the Family's vote??

 

[melsmom12]

Oh my word, your boys are ADORABLE! Your family is just too cute. I'm loving your trip report so far, can't wait to read more!

 

[jake&samsmom]

Oh my word, your boys are ADORABLE! Your family is just too cute. I'm loving your trip report so far, can't wait to read more!

Thanks for reading my trippie It's nice to "meet" fellow die-hard Disney fans like me!

 

[jake&samsmom]

After the parade, our family sits down to decide what final attraction to go to, since it was almost closing time.

Sam and I vote for Finding Nemo the Musical. Dad is definitely seeing It's Tough To Be A Bug. Poor Jake is torn between the two.

Jake then decides to come with us to Nemo, but makes a turn-around at the last minute just as DH is walking away. I'm going with Dad, he says. Nemo is for babies he whispers.

Here's some pics of Jake and the Tree of Life which houses ITTBAB (DH's behind the camera):

Here's Jake just about to enter the theater

This one was taken after the show

Meanwhile, Sam and I head to the Nemo theater. We are crossing our fingers, hoping for good seats this time

We get in, and secure awesome seats about 6 rows from the front of the stage. We sit right beside the platform/walkway that extends from the front!

I play with my digital camera, trying out different settings, but didn't really like the results....

This one's a little better, but you can't see the Nemo curtain background

The show then begins...Now I can't get that song out of my head... "In the big blue world...."

This show is perfect for children my Sam's age (4 and below). The story is sweet, the music soothing, and just lovely overall... I think I'm going to purchase the soundtrack CD for Sam (and myself) for Christmas.

After the show, we get a call on the cell phone from Jake, ordering us to hurry up and rush to the front exit of the park because I have his autograph book, and Mickey and Donald are waiting for him!


Here's Jake patiently waiting for us outside the gates...

I put Sam in the stroller, and push/walk/run as fast as I can to meet them at the gates....


Will we make it?
Or do we miss out on meeting the Big Cheese?
Stay tuned!

 

[kaysmommie]

Great update and aweseom pics. I love the boys with thier face paint, so cute. My DD wants to have that done next time. I have never seen the AK parade in 6 trips , after seeing your pics I will put it on the list.

 

[jake&samsmom]

Great update and aweseom pics. I love the boys with thier face paint, so cute. My DD wants to have that done next time. I have never seen the AK parade in 6 trips , after seeing your pics I will put it on the list.

We also skipped one parade this trip I didn't tell the boys....

 

[jake&samsmom]

Sometimes, long lines work to one's advantage.

When Sam and I exited the AK, we were met by looong lines of children waiting to meet Mickey. My DH and Jake were already in line, and Sam was able to join them.

In the meantime, I was rummaging thru the backpack for the Autograph book and the retractable Sharpie marker (they are great for character autographs, btw).

After a few minutes, the boys get to the front of the line....

The boys get their very first character autograph...

The boys pose with their favorite mouse....

Then we all line up to meet Donald (per Sam's request). Jake asks to have his face paint wiped off, he sees himself in the camera's sceen and knows that his tiger face is half erased The paint is water - based and comes off easily with baby wipes.

It's our turn to meet Donald now...

There is a photopass photographer present, and takes lots of pics of the boys. I'll post them here when I get our CD

I then notice that one of our photpass cards is missing! I ask the photographer if there is a way to find our "lost" pictures, and he says to ask the photopass desk in any park, and they can search for them.

Btw, I never got a chance to go to any photopass desk because of our "commado" ways, but I filled up a lost photpass card report online.

True to the Disney tradition of superb customer service, they emailed me back and found my lost pics in less than 48 hours!


We say goodbye to Animal Kingdom....No, not goodbye, but rather "see ya real soon!" (fingers crossed)

I ask the boys to take their caps off to get a better view of their faces (OCD!)

We ride the bus to ASMu after a fun-filled day at AK.

 

[melsmom12]

Yay, they got their first autograph from the Big Guy himself! Your boys are just so adorable.

By any chance are you all Filipino? One of my best friends is and I just got to go to my first Filipino wedding, it was magical!

 

[Nicole786]

Great day at AK!! I love your parade pics i've never seen that one! Last time we got rained out!

 

[jake&samsmom]

When we get back to our room, Mickey has left a big surprise for my Birthday boy Jake....

It is a personally autographed Birthday card from Mickey Mouse along with a Birthday balloon! This was a surprise to all of us, including myself I mean, I know they did this occassionally for some, but I didn't request nor expect it from them. Thanks, ASMu staff!

They also leave a surprise for me on the table (cough-cough)...Ya know, I found these little guys in my luggage as I was unpacking a few days ago! I think they followed me all the way to Texas!

The day doesn't end there for us commandos, because Mom has another surprise for Jake up her sleeve -- Birthday dinner at Chef Mickey's!

But we run into transportation issues -- DH wants to take the bus to MK, then monorail it to the Contemporary. But it is almost 7:00 pm, and our ADR is at 7:20.

I say get a taxi or we'll lose our ressie!......

Do we make it on time?
Will we get to twirl our napkins in the air?
Find out in the next installment!

 

[jake&samsmom]

Yay, they got their first autograph from the Big Guy himself! Your boys are just so adorable.

By any chance are you all Filipino? One of my best friends is and I just got to go to my first Filipino wedding, it was magical!

My DH and I are of Filipino ancestry My sons were born here in Houston, but have visited Grandad and Grandma in the "real" Asia twice.

It's funny that you mentioned Filipino weddings, we have one to go to here in Houston and another one in Manila, both in January! How'd ya like the food?

 

[jake&samsmom]

Great day at AK!! I love your parade pics i've never seen that one! Last time we got rained out!

We also got rained out at a parade on this trip too. I'll let you know more about it in the coming posts Thanks for reading along!

 

[Blessed_wth_Triplets]

How FUN!! Can't wait to see what's next!

 

[melsmom12]

My DH and I are of Filipino ancestry My sons were born here in Houston, but have visited Grandad and Grandma in the "real" Asia twice.

It's funny that you mentioned Filipino weddings, we have one to go to here in Houston and another one in Manila, both in January! How'd ya like the food?

Oh my word, the food was incredible. They had 2 seperate buffets, one with "American" food that the country club catered, and then they had an entirely Filipino buffet that they had specially brought in. There was a WHOLE PIG! I would say about 1/2 the "American" buffet was gone by the end, but the Filipino buffet was stripped bare!

It was a beautiful wedding, they had a Filipino folkloric troupe from James Madison (??) come and perform. It really made everything so special. And after the ceremony, all of the groomsmen and the groom changed into these really beautiful shirts that the bride had her relatives bring with them from the Philippines. Very cool.

 

[jake&samsmom]

After we all clean up and change, we have 20 minutes left to make the drive to the Contemporary Resort from ASMu.

There is no way we could have made it if we didn't take a taxi. So reluctantly, DH agrees to have the valet call for one -- and off we go to meet Chef Mickey and the gang!

We arrive at the arrive at the CR via Mears taxi at 7:19 pm, one minute left before our ADR! We get on the elevators to the 4th floor, and.....surprise! There is a line about 20 people long, all waiting to check in at Chef Mickey's podium!

So, the boys decide to take a look around, while Mom stays in line. They finally give us a pager, and we wait for them to call us.

We browse around the shops in the meantime. Also, we check out the fireworks viewing area on the same floor. I found out from the DIS that there is actually a little outdoor viewing area on the 4th floor with a good view of the fireworks from the Magic Kingdom.

The spot is located at the north end of the fourth floor, past the gift shops. Exterior doors there lead to an area with views of Cinderella's Castle and the Magic Kingdom. There is a bench where you can actually sit on, and it's open to everyone, not just CR-staying guests.

Our pager buzzes, and just in time too because we are famished at this point


Up next, lots (and I do mean lots) of character pics!
Please stay tuned!

 

[jake&samsmom]

Oh my word, the food was incredible. They had 2 seperate buffets, one with "American" food that the country club catered, and then they had an entirely Filipino buffet that they had specially brought in. There was a WHOLE PIG! I would say about 1/2 the "American" buffet was gone by the end, but the Filipino buffet was stripped bare!

It was a beautiful wedding, they had a Filipino folkloric troupe from James Madison (??) come and perform. It really made everything so special. And after the ceremony, all of the groomsmen and the groom changed into these really beautiful shirts that the bride had her relatives bring with them from the Philippines. Very cool.

When we had our house warming party years ago, we ordered the whole roast pig too! It is a Filipino tradition to serve that for important events.....Imagine the surprised looks on my American friends' faces when they saw it laying on the table -- and with an apple in its mouth! It was sooo yummy, and by the end of the party, it was all gone

 

[jake&samsmom]

Chef Mickey's food was very good! I think it's because it was a busy night, so they kept replenishing the food at the buffet. The prime rib was excellent, cooked just right. I loved the salmon with some type of pesto sauce on top (and I'm not much of a fish eater). My kids ate loads of chicken nuggets and plates full of mac and cheese. We were so stuffed that we hardly ate any dessert!

Of course, one does not go to Chef Mickey's for the food....we want to meet the fab 5 without having to stand in looong lines.


Here's Chef Goofy meeting the boys for the first time:

Chef Pluto signing the boys' autograph book:

Say Woof-Woof guys!

Oooooohhhh! Now it's time for some napkin twirling action -- the boys really get into it

Miss Minnie leads our section...

Jake takes a little break, napkin twirling is a tiring job!

Chef Donald comes to greet the other table while Sam stares at his ducky tail

Sam gets a hug from his favorite Duck (sweet!)

Chef Donald on his way to greet Jake...

Chef Donald signing our autograph book...

Say Quack-Quack boys!

The Head Chef comes to our table.....

He greets Sam and Jake:

We ask for his autograph...

Say Cheese!

Here's one with the Birthday Boy:

 

[jake&samsmom]

I loved the section we were seated in... ....the folks around us were fun, happy and loud (in a good way).

They would start chanting "Mi-ckey! Mi-ckey! Mi-ckey!" to get his attention, prompting Mickey to come over.

Then Donald would pretend to get jealous, and follow behind Mickey. They then would switch and chant "Do-nald! Do-nald! Do-nald!"

Then Goofy would come over, wanting to know what all the chanting and cheering was about Then they'd switch again and chant "Goo-fy! Goo-fy! Goo-fy!" It was hilarious!

Chef Goofy giving a "pound" greeting to my husband (see the small hand on the right side of this photo):

Ever since Derrick was small, whenever he'd go to DL or WDW, he never misses to take a picture with Goofy (see page one of this trippie for Derrick's Goofy pic from DL this year). This is his own little tradition. Here's this trip's Goofy photo:

It is now time for Jakob to blow the candle on his Birthday cake! Our server calls on Miss Minnie to join in our celebration....

Here's Jake looking all embarrassed because Minnie's been fawning all over him

Jake about to blow his 7th Birthday candle:

A close-up view of the cake...

"No more pictures, Mom! I want to make my wish!"

I love ya Jake! Happy Birthday from your first best friend

We've been at Chef Mickey's for a while now that Chef Goofy and Chef Pluto make a second table meet and greet:

The boys clown around with their chairs

Sam first...

Then Jake next...

We forgot to ask Miss Minnie for her autograph on her first visit to our table, but she comes over after a little while....

Daddy has a new Girlfriend:

 

[jake&samsmom]

They do another round of napkin twirling, and this time the boys really get into it!

Our friends at the other table are about to leave, but they want to have one last encounter with the charcters, so they again chant "Do-nald! Do-nald! Do-nald"

Donald comes right over....

Minnie pretending to be jealous of all the attention Donald is getting:

"Do-nald! Do-nald! Don-nald!"

Uh-oh, Mickey hears the cheering for Donald, so he comes right up to our area again; we all start chanting "Mick-ey! Mick-ey! Mick-ey!"

A cute moment between Mickey and his gal....

Here's the family with Chef Donald:

Just the boys:

Now with Mom:

And with Chef Mickey:

By this time it is almost 9:30 pm, and the boys then leave to view the Hallowishes fireworks from the 4th floor observation deck.

I stay behind to take care of the bill (we were on the DDP )

As I was diging thru my purse for my KTTW card, Chef Goofy sneaks up to my left, and when I turn around he is staring right at me, one inch from my face! Of course I let out a small scream! We all start laughing out loud, including the people in the tables surrounding ours! That Chef Goofy is really naughty -- this one was a magical moment for me


Is the night over for the Park Commandos?
Or is it just starting?
Stay tuned for more!


P.S. My son Jake's baseball team is having a party tonight.

And tomorrow they play in the championship game of our little league division.

Please send some pixie dust his way. They are facing a very good team that beat them twice before (but not by very much ).

Thanks everyone!