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

[jake&samsmom]

After Wishes, we are all famished again. DH and Sam want to eat hotdogs and fries, so we head to Casey's. Jake is getting really sleepy, and by the time we get our yummy, fresh, hot fries, hotdogs and corndogs, Jake is asleep on Sam's stroller

We also did not want to join in the mad rush to get to the buses, so we take our sweet time eating, people-watching and talking to each other about how lovely our day had turned out to be (in spite of the occassional rain).

After he finishes a whole hotdog sandwich, Sam plays by the "stadium bleacher seats" inside Casey's. It is right in front of a TV playing vintage Disney cartoons. DH and I sit and eat contentedly, while Jake continues to snooze in the stroller, oblivious to all the noise around him.

With DH still finishing up dinner, I tell him I want to browse around the Main Street Emporium connected to Casey's. I leave Sam in his care, while I push Jake around in the stroller.

There were so many things I wanted to buy, but by this time, I had used up all my Disney Rewards points. So I was getting acutely aware of the price tag of every item I thought would go home with us.

I decide on some jibbitz for my Crocs, but called DH to come to the register to pay for them.

While DH is paying, Sam lets out a shrill cry --- his YOAMD Donald is missing! (Check a few pages back, we adopted Donald from the Philharmagic store)

Leaving Jake (still asleep in the stroller) with DH, Sam and I scour every single inch of Casey's, and search in every nook and corner of the Main Street Emporium

Sam is inconsolable.


Will Donald stay lost?
Or will he find his way home?
Stay tuned!

 

[princessreilly]

Great pictures! THanks for sharing!

 

[eyenjeff]

Great pictures! THanks for sharing!

Have a great trip!!!

 

[eyenjeff]

Oh I hope he finds his Donald!! You leave us hanging feeling sorry for a small boy who lost his friend???!!!

How cruel!!!

Awaiting the next post!

 

[jake&samsmom]

Sam and I must have searched for Donald for at least 45 minutes. But nary a sign of the Duck.

DH was getting impatient as it was almost 11pm, so he calls me on the cell phone to tell me that he and Jake (still asleep on the stroller) were heading to the bus stop, and that we should just meet at the hotel.

OK, I say. Sam and I are not leaving Main Street until we find Donald. Sam continues his anxiety/crying spell. I repeatedly ask him, "When was the last time you saw Donald?" He repeatedly answers, "I dunno Mom!"

Finally, a nice CM comes up to us and asks what the problem is. After I explain the missing Donald situation, he tells us to wait where we were.....and comes back with a brand new YOAMD Donald! He tells Sam to take care of him, and to make sure he doesn't get lost again. When I offer to pay, he smiles and shakes his head, and tells us to have a Magical evening....

I read a lot of complaints on the DIS about how the "magic is gone" from WDW. Well folks, I have witnessed first-hand, and I can positively confirm that the Magic is still very much alive at Disneyworld!

When we got home to ASMu, it didn't take long for this......

I had time to take pictures of our (finally) completed window display....

Here are all the Birthday cards Jake received from WDW so far.....

Btw, I found one more Wishes pic I wanted to share. See how cool the stars on the castle look This picture is dedicated to my friends out there who view Wishes from Main Street and beyond, and aren't able to clearly see the detail on the castle during Wishes.

I think that is a befitting end to our day at the Magic Kingdom.


Up soon --- Day Four: an EPCOT encounter with the Dream Team
And...... MNSSHP (commando-style!)

Please Stay Tuned!

 

[jake&samsmom]

Oh I hope he finds his Donald!! You leave us hanging feeling sorry for a small boy who lost his friend???!!!

How cruel!!!

Awaiting the next post!

 

[Nicole786]

Great wishes photos! i'll have to youtube the DL fireworks.....

Awesome CM interaction!

 

[foodrocksluver]

Subbing.

You have two of the most beautiful little boys I have ever seen!

 

[jake&samsmom]

Subbing.
You have two of the most beautiful little boys I have ever seen!

Great wishes photos! i'll have to youtube the DL fireworks.....Awesome CM interaction!

Great pictures! THanks for sharing!

Thanks for reading and for your very kind comments More to come later.....

 

[kaysmommie]

Love the wishes pics! Awesome CM for replacing Sam's Donald .

 

[earthfaries]

I started reading your TR today, and I have to say it's great! I love all the wonderful pictures, and the details. This has to be the best trip report I've read, you guys just look like you had such a fun and magical time!!!
By the way, your boys are so adorable!!!

I am about to start on page 7, I can't wait! I feel like I'm on vacation already!!!

 

[earthfaries]

I just caught up on your TR and clicked on the next page for day 4 and my favorite thing...MNSSHP which I missed this year for the first time and I see you haven't gotten that far yet
Can't wait to read more of your wonderful trip report!!!

BTW, your pictures are incredible, esp. the castle pics with the purple castle and fireworks and the last one you posted with the pink smokey background...incredible

 

[mikeymyles]

I love your trip report. Can't get enough of the wonderful pictures. My son and I are going in June '08. He will be 17 by then but I rememeber thee first time we went and the magic as his eyes lit up.

 

[earthfaries]

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

 

[jake&samsmom]

Firstly, I would like to apologize for not updating my trippie as promised.

It had been a very busy few months for me. Work is a killer! And since I had been "goofing" off for weeks/months after our trip, I had an enormous backlog of paperwork which had to be completed ASAP or else my company would not fund my next Disney Trip, er, I mean convention in Orlando in late July/early August of this year!

So let me greet all of my friends here a (drumroll please)....Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Valentines, Happy Easter and all the other important Holidays I've missed while away from the Dis.

Also, another reason why I've been away was that our family went out of the country to attend my BIL's wedding in the tropical Isand of Boracay, Philippines in Asia. We flew to LA, stayed overnight, then flew to Honolulu, then weht to Guam, then flew into Manila. Stayed there a few days then flew to Boracay, and enjoyed the beach life for a whole week.

Then Jake and I flew to Tokyo, Japan (but not to Tokyo Disney )then from there we took a direct flight home to Houston.

Here are a few pics of my BIL's church wedding and reception on the beach....

View from our timeshare at the Fairways and Bluewater resort in Boracay:

Sam on the beach:

Jake on the beach:

The boys were ringbearers in the wedding:

DH's family (L to R) BIL, SIL, new SIL, BIL, MIL, the boys in front of myself and DH:

Another beautiful day on the island ends.....

 

[earthfaries]

I am so excited you're back!!!

I really enjoyed your TR, and was so sad it seemed I'd never get to see it end.

Wow, what a wonderful time you've had! The island is absolutely beautiful and amazing! I bet the boys had a fun time

Too bad you didn't get to go to Tokoyo Disney though I'd love for us to go there one of these days.

I am so excited, I can't wait to hear more of your wonderful TR!!!

~Amy

 

[jake&samsmom]

When I last left y'all, we had just fallen asleep after a long day at the MK...

Of course, being park commandos as we are, and I, being the chief of staff of my "army," woke up bright and early the next day, and proceeded to wake the boys. The biggest boy (DH) was out of comission and begged off an early park day. The two little boys, though still sleepy and tired from last night, agreed to shower, change, eat breakfast and to get on the EPCOT bus (all within 30 mins!)

While on the bus, I could sense some ******* among my soldiers/commandos...they were bugging each other and were basically getting on each other's nerves. By the time we got off the bus at EPCOT, the boys were full on their way to a massive meltdown!

I blame myself for thinking I could drag them 4 days in a row without any downtime at the resort/pool.

We get to the giant EPCOT golfball (as the boys call it), and pass by a PP. I ask if they could take a picture of the boys in front of Spaceship Earth, which they smilingly do attempt, but lo and behold, there were no smiles from Jake and Sam! They were grouchy and frowning and complaining about everything and nothing!

So I take a solo Photopass photo instead while the boys fight/argue on the side (out of the photographer's lens! )

We then walk some more until we reach the Character spot. We line up, but the wait is too long, plus we were having a major cranky crisis. So I decide to cool off at Innoventions West, and regroup the troops!

As soon as we enter the building, we were greeted by a member of the Dream Team! (I thought to myself, please let it be a stay at Cinderella's Castle ) He handed each of the boys a pair of YOAMD Mickey Ears!
The look on the boys' faces was priceless And with that, the crisis was averted. Meltdown over.

Here we are lining up for The Land Boat ride:

Actually, there was no wait at all, so we walked up to the boat in less than a minute:

 

[jake&samsmom]

I am so excited you're back!!!

I really enjoyed your TR, and was so sad it seemed I'd never get to see it end.

Wow, what a wonderful time you've had! The island is absolutely beautiful and amazing! I bet the boys had a fun time

Too bad you didn't get to go to Tokoyo Disney though I'd love for us to go there one of these days.

I am so excited, I can't wait to hear more of your wonderful TR!!!

~Amy

Thanks, Amy! I am off today and want to update my trippie as much as I can!

 

[jake&samsmom]

We got to sit in front of the living with the land boat, and it was nice. The boys were still happy about winning their dream ears, so every sight was "cool!" and "awesome!" to them. We especially liked the Cinderella pumpkins in the greenhouse area. I didn't take photos here, but I did take a few later on (we rode it again on our last day!)

The boat ride in itself was not all that exciting, but it was a nice respite from the heat outside, and it was slow and calming. A good place to rest/cool off.

We then rode the escalators up to the upper floor where we watched the Circle of Life "documentary" (for lack of a better word ) The boys found it interesting enough, but personally, I think its on last breath, what with very few people in the audience...

We went to Soarin' thinking we were early enough to get on via the standby line, but no, it was a 60 mins wait already!!! So we get Fastpasses to it, and walk to The Seas pavillion to ride Nemo again!

There is no wait, so we walk briskly to the clamshells, Sam in between me and Jake. Sam got scared of the Lightning fish the last time, so no way was he gonna sit on the sides. BTW, I got dizzy during the part where we go through the East Australian Current (you remember the part when the walls turn to spinning water?) I had to close my eyes there

We got off the Nemo ride, and walked straight to Turtle talk with Crush:

We hung out by Mr. Ray's lagoon:

We were in front of the line, so we sat down beside Mr. Ray:

Sam pointing to Mr. Ray and friends:

We were ushered in. The boys were seated in the front and center of the room:

We all thought it was sooo hilarious! This is a must-see in my book! Too bad DH was still asleep at ASmu at this time, so he missed it. I recommend this show to anyone, with or without kids! Loved Crush's "beach dude" accent -- like totally!


Gotta pick up Sam from school now. I'll be back later today (yes, today! with lots of pictures of our Garden Grill adventure (aka "I need my dramamine, or else!")

See y'all real soon!

 

[dopeyfanatic]

Just found your TR. Really enjoying it. Your boys are adorable and those wedding pics look beautiful. Very tropical! I'm sure that was a fun trip!