Princess Phoebe's Pre-WISH-Trip Report (arriving in MK 4/17/10)

[pnutallergymom]

Hi Melissa!!!

Just wanted to stop in and say hello!! I'm still around....just not feeling like doing my own PTR. Still following yours though!!!!

I totally can relate to the "poop".....with 4, seems like someone is always going!!!

How excited are you guys?? Its almost here, all ready???

 

[cantwaittoseemickey]

Stopping by to say hello

I can so do my own kids throw up and poop but not anyone elses kids lol. The puke really gets to me though. Ty just yells VENT ME when he's going to blow although alot of times its too late. I would love to be a nurse but only the things that doesnt include the above

 

[Granna4679]

I'm glad to hear about everyone liking the Nikon. I've been having doubts since I started playing with it and DH is sad that I'm not in love with it, yet. I have to remind myself that it IS just a point and shoot. I'm experimenting with the different modes. We did some sight seeing the other day and the landscape mode had everything kinda yellow. Definitely need to experiment more.

I have continued to follow your PTR but haven't been commenting. Looks like everything is coming together. I can't believe your trip is almost here. So excited for all of you.

I just wanted to add that I got a Nikon Coolpix last September (for our Oct trip). I used is for a couple weekends before and also experienced that everything sort of had the yellow haze about it. I figured it was just my inexperience or that the settings were wrong, so I took it back to the store and they told me that a lot of people returned them for the same reason.
I went with a different point and shoot and have been really happy with it.
I would have been so disappointed if I had taken it to Disney and all the pictures would have been discolored. I hope since you have a lot more experience than I that you can figure out the settings and get great pictures.

Happy planning...its almost here!

 

[yinyanggirls]

Oh my gosh!!! I'm getting SO nervous!!! Stop counting for me!!!

Few camera tips from a 'non-expert'!

Take your time with the camera... if all else fails use auto mode. I never use red eye reduction. IT takes longer for you to take the picture. Just use an editing program to take out any red eye. Keep in mind even in auto you can turn on & off the flash. The camera might think there is enough light- say an indoor pic- but you want the flash on so your subjects face isn't dark. If you are shooting the fireworks you want to keep the flash off. That will allow more ambient light into the camera and give you decent pics. Also hold the camera as steady as you can for nighttime pics or steady it on a railing or garbage can.

Very useful tips for everyone to benefit from Tim. Thanks. You're always so willing to help people out here. I'll add that it's also nice to keep your flash off during fireworks and rides so as not to annoy everyone around you.

Lovin your px of Disneyland!

Your 'poop' stories? Not so much

Actually poop doesn't bother me so much as throw-up

I've got a bunch of those stories from just last month if you'd like??????

Ummmm, no thanks!

Hi Melissa!!!

Just wanted to stop in and say hello!! I'm still around....just not feeling like doing my own PTR. Still following yours though!!!!

I totally can relate to the "poop".....with 4, seems like someone is always going!!!

How excited are you guys?? Its almost here, all ready???

Thanks for hanging out over here. I hope you will do a TR when you get back though!
I can imagine the messes that 4 kids can produce.

Stopping by to say hello

I can so do my own kids throw up and poop but not anyone elses kids lol. The puke really gets to me though. Ty just yells VENT ME when he's going to blow although alot of times its too late. I would love to be a nurse but only the things that doesnt include the above

I've thought the same thing....I'm already dealing with this, that and the other, why not get paid for it....then I wake up to reality. God bless the nurses who do their jobs well!

I have continued to follow your PTR but haven't been commenting. Looks like everything is coming together. I can't believe your trip is almost here. So excited for all of you.

I just wanted to add that I got a Nikon Coolpix last September (for our Oct trip). I used is for a couple weekends before and also experienced that everything sort of had the yellow haze about it. I figured it was just my inexperience or that the settings were wrong, so I took it back to the store and they told me that a lot of people returned them for the same reason.
I went with a different point and shoot and have been really happy with it.
I would have been so disappointed if I had taken it to Disney and all the pictures would have been discolored. I hope since you have a lot more experience than I that you can figure out the settings and get great pictures.

Happy planning...its almost here!

Thanks for the info on your Nikon. Hmmmm, I really need to hurry and figure this thing out. I feel so bad because I let DH pick it and now he's hurt that I don't like it. (yet) I'm hoping there's a simple solution and I just need to read the instructions!

 

[yinyanggirls]

I can't believe we're going to GKTW in 9 days!!! A few days ago we got a packet from Disney with the Genie stickers in it! We're really going!

This past week just disappeared because my family decided to visit for Easter at the last minute. My parents, an aunt, and my recently widowed grandfather. It's really an adjustment for him but he's doing pretty well emotionally. Physically he's giving everyone cause for concern because he keeps falling, this last fall broke his nose. They've done MRIs and tests that reveal nothing unusual so he might just be shuffling his feet and not paying attention. I'm hoping the relatives who live near him will keep close tabs on him.

As my parents were leaving our house last night, headed towards my sister in Phoenix, my sister calls to say "bring Tessa with you". I had to think about it only because it was almost 9pm and she was already crashed out in bed. I then came to my senses and realized how much more I can get done, and, dare I say it, maybe even relax with her gone. So off she went to auntie's for the weekend!

Today, I'm doing laundry, trying to get the bags as packed as possible (some things will have to be last minute, but the less of that to worry about the better!). I'm also about to go finish making some reservations for week two of our trip while waiting to switch loads. Maybe I'll surf the net a little and see if I can't get some tips for this tricky little Nikon. But first.....

 

[Wee Annie]

I can't believe we're going to GKTW in 9 days!!! A few days ago we got a packet from Disney with the Genie stickers in it! We're really going!

Now I'm worried. What packet from Disney with Genie stickers? Huh? Should I have gotten one? Or is it something your local MAW chapter provided? What's in the packet?

Clearly I am now officially stalking you on your PTR. Perhaps it's the first stage of panic in my denial of planning for us.....

 

[yinyanggirls]

Now I'm worried. What packet from Disney with Genie stickers? Huh? Should I have gotten one? Or is it something your local MAW chapter provided? What's in the packet?

Clearly I am now officially stalking you on your PTR. Perhaps it's the first stage of panic in my denial of planning for us.....

Okay, I went and looked at the envelope and it was mailed from MAW, not Disney. It says "WDW Resort Wish Kit) in the return address area but has the AZ MAW address (not out local chapter).

I'm going to take a pic of what was inside. That'll be faster.

 

[cantwaittoseemickey]

Yay for Auntie for having Tessa for a visit I hope you figure out your camera. At first I didn't like my new one (it was too complicated for me) but now I really like it. If only we could figure out how to take pics of fireworks and night time without it blurring. We have had it for close to a year now and I still have no idea

 

[yinyanggirls]

So we're done with the Princess meet and greet. A memorable experience for me (for all the wrong reasons), but probably no one else in the group and certainly not the kids.

My ILs had gone over to Toontown to let Baby J play while we did the princess thing so we went to go meet up with them. I was surprised that Tessa was really not that thrilled with the area in general but she did have one particularly fun moment. She got to meet Pluto.

She liked him much more than the Princesses.

My little scientist checking out Pluto in detail. Maybe she saw inside the eyes?

SIL and niece. Baby J really liked the stuffed characters.

They wanted to continue to play in Toontown but Phoebe was bored and Tessa was just kind of walking around, plus we wanted to do Small World and they didn't so we decided to leave them again and meet up later. As we walked back into Fantasyland we decided to go back to an interesting little area we had seen near the Princesses and go check it out. I'm guessing this was the DL equivalent to BBB, although I don't remember seeing any name on it and it was outdoors, no roof and only "pretend" walls. Inside this area was a gift shop and some "stalls" for makeup and hair. We inquired about the options available and found that face painting was relatively cheap and Tessa just might be able to sit through it so we get on the short waiting list. When her turn comes up she chose to be a kitty cat (Marie appears to be the character they were aiming for).

For a simple face painting I thought it was actually quite cute.

It's a Small World had a very long line, even longer than Dumbo, and we had some popcorn to snack on while we waited. We just happened to get in line behind the family that was on the tram with us. We chatted with them some more. Finally we get to the front and I'm so excited to share a classic childhood favorite with the girls.

Tessa wondering where on earth this boat is taking us.

Tessa looking back at something interesting.

Phoebe was a little apprehensive at first.

She loved the singing.

Then we indulged the girls in another turn on their favorite. They loved it just as much the second time.

We met back up with the ILs to have lunch at the Village Haus. It was just basic burgers and such but all good and it's the biggest restaurant in that area and has lots of seating. I was happy to see that Disney has adopted the fast food trend (or maybe Disney set the trend) of having some healthy options for the kids meals. This meal was memorable for DH because as he and sis stood in line to order (the rest of us were finding tables to hold all of us together) she confided in him (who then confided in me) about some problems in her rather new marriage. Later, upon returning from Afghanistan her DH ended it and they are going through divorce proceedings now. Weird how memories attach themselves to a place like that.

So on to the rest of the land. To be honest I don't remember too many more places or things that we did once we left Fantasyland. That was definitely our main goal, to cover everything there that the kids would enjoy and we did, despite the crowds. I know that Pirates was the one ride all the adults were interested in so we headed over there. Got in the one line, no separate wheelchair line.
Getting bored in the Pirate's line. She HAD to see what was behind the fence. (the boats going by on the ride)

We waited about 15 minutes only to find out that the ride had closed down. My SIL thinks she is the biggest Depp fan on earth (she's wrong, I am! lol) so she was quite annoyed but having just upgraded her park tickets to annual passes she decided the baby had had enough and they were ready to go home. We said goodbye and found something else to do. Again, I have no idea what! Sorry! I remember watching a show over the lake near N.O. Square. Don't remember what. At dinner we found a nice little restaurant near Pirates (none of us had ever tried!) that was part cafeteria style, part made to order entrees called the French Market. The food was all very good, lots of interesting choices but the line was long and by the time we all had our food, paid, and found a table it was cold. I think it was actually the drink filler that held everyone up. My dad complained (he's a hot food person, hot plates, etc) and the manager gave him a discount. He took it (of course, lol) but told the manager he was just trying to give some constructive criticism. It was still very good food and I'd definitely go back.

After dinner we went back and checked on Pirates which was open now. We rode Pirates, my first time since they added the movie aspects to it. It was great, as always. Didn't think the movie parts took anything away from the original. And who can protest a little likeness of Johnny here and there? (I loved JD since 21 Jump Street if that ups my status as biggest fan). Tessa seemed to like it and Phoebe fell asleep.

It was getting late and we thought we would hang out long enough to catch the fireworks. We thought we found a good spot but once it started the spot didn't really matter because the girls hated the noise and Phoebe was screaming. We hightailed it out of there and found an indoor place to hide out, a gift shop outside in Tomorrowland. It was still pretty loud so we decided to start walking away. Phoebe was calmer now, Tessa still covering her ears. We got in the line for the steam train to go back to the entrance only to figure out that the train doesn't run during the fireworks. (Can anyone explain why?) So we waited, in the relative calm and quiet. Both girls were falling asleep and once we were on the train they were out!

Once Tim ran to the lockers to get our coats and such we were ready to leave. Still have to wait a while for the tram, but a bus offered to take us because of the wheelchair. Well, an old lady came up to use the bus also and it just took a while to get both of the handicapped passengers situated and the tram we would have been on left before the bus did. Oh well. The girls fell back to sleep in the car, and crashed very quickly when they were in grandma's guest beds.

Crashed hard back at their grandma's house.

Looks like Phoebe feel asleep while she was rubbing her eyes.

It was a great experience and they did really well with such a long day and Tessa having no nap (Phoebe only having cat naps). I'm excited to go to WDW for another first for the whole family this time!

 

[yinyanggirls]

The package we got the other day. Addressed from MAW but letter inside is signed by Disney.

The letter.

 

[cantwaittoseemickey]

I love your Disney Land memories. (well except the one for sil that has to be so hard) I love the pic of Tessa giving Pluto a squeeze. She is a doll. Pheobe looks like she was having a great time on Dumbo. I looove Dumbo!! I know I said that before but I do!! How nice to go home after a long day to nice cozy beds. They sure looked so comfy!

 

[jordanyosh]

Glad you got some time to catch up with chores after the fam left.

It does seem like you got alot done even with the long lines....

Great sleeping pix!

 

[Charleston Princess]

I can't believe you are leaving in nine days! You are down to single digits!!!

Hope Tessa has a great time at her auntie's, and you enjoy your "downtime" (which I know probably isn't really downtime since you will be getting ready for your trip -- which is in NINE days! )

Cool package from MAW -- I never knew that about the genie stickers.

The sleeping pics of the girls are adorable!

 

[pacrosby]

Nine days

But the Gingerbread Boy is still cooking????????

I'm in trouble now huh?


So you and Kelly will be there at the same time???? Who else? Anyone? I've lost track of you all. I expect some group pictures!!

Great DisneyLand memories

 

[eyor44]

9 days!!!

I'm all caught up again and I love the DL pics.

 

[All7OfUs]

Great recap of a lovely day! The face painting was really well done; glad to hear it was a resonable price!

Funny you ran into that same family again. sometimes connections like that are fun to make.

 

[yinyanggirls]

Yay for Auntie for having Tessa for a visit I hope you figure out your camera. At first I didn't like my new one (it was too complicated for me) but now I really like it. If only we could figure out how to take pics of fireworks and night time without it blurring. We have had it for close to a year now and I still have no idea

That's what I'm afraid of. I'm sure that the camera is capable of good pics, I just have to figure out how to capture them.

Glad you got some time to catch up with chores after the fam left.

It does seem like you got alot done even with the long lines....

Great sleeping pix!

We really did hit everything in F-land that we wanted. I can't think of anything we skipped. We even walked through Sleeping Beauty's castle, which in all my years I had never done before. That one scared Tessa, but she did great on Peter Pan and Snow White.

Cool package from MAW -- I never knew that about the genie stickers.

The sleeping pics of the girls are adorable!

Thanks! I knew about the GKTW ones but the genie ones are a recent discovery.

Nine days

But the Gingerbread Boy is still cooking????????

I'm in trouble now huh?


So you and Kelly will be there at the same time???? Who else? Anyone? I've lost track of you all. I expect some group pictures!!

Great DisneyLand memories

You better hurry up girl!!!

Kelly and Ann (doesn't have her own PTR, just hijacks ours, lol) will be there mostly the same days. We all hope to meet up at the Cmas party if not before.

9 days!!!

I'm all caught up again and I love the DL pics.

Thank you for reminiscing with me.

Great recap of a lovely day! The face painting was really well done; glad to hear it was a resonable price!

Funny you ran into that same family again. sometimes connections like that are fun to make.

It was definitely neat, especially since they were really nice about giving us info on the wheelchair.

 

[All7OfUs]

I think you and I are the only ones "up". Hope you're having a nice quiet evening!

 

[yinyanggirls]

Okay, camera check here...

While my family was here visiting we went to a place called Sabino Canyon and my dad and I both took lots of pics. His camera is a few months old. It's a Canon Powershot. I downloaded his pics to my computer and went through to see what I could compare to my Nikon Coolpix. I have no idea what setting he used on any of these. Probably just auto, but not sure. I will indicate which setting I used, when I remember.

Canon PS -

Nikon CP - (landscape because I wasn't prepared to take a people pic)

Canon PS -

Nikon CP - (close-up setting)

Canon PS -

Nikon CP - (beach/snow setting)

Canon PS -

Nikon CP - (beach/snow setting)

I think the coloring is richer on the Nikon shots, but sometimes too rich or too yellow. The Canon seemed more accurate coloring but also a little muted or overexposed. Again, I don't know what settings he used, or what the Canon offers but I'm liking certain aspects of the Nikon for sure. On to Experiment number 2....

 

[yinyanggirls]

When Phoebe got home from school we walked through the neighborhood to go get the dog we are dog sitting in the evenings. (kennel trained dog can't stay in a kennel while the dad is at work for 12 hours, mom (my friend went to NJ to visit family for 2 weeks. They are the ones who are going to watch our dog while we are gone) So as I'm walking along, it's almost sunset, the best portrait lighting possible, so I decide to walk another block or so farther to the entrance of our neighborhood to take some pics. They have a nice stone wall, plants and benches and stuff, and you can see the mtns in the background. So I set Phoebe up in some warm sunshine, shielding her eyes from the sun, but utilizing both the bright light and the shadow for my experiment. I then proceeded to take two pics of her on each setting the camera offered. By the time we got through about half of them she was really getting bored and tired (after school is her most tired time of day) so I did end up skipping a couple settings, like the museum setting. After I uplaoded all of them to my computer and labeled each one, I found that there are some settings that the coloring is certainly not lifelike (at least for people/skin tones) but there are some settings where it seems to take great pics. Here are a few of the better ones.

This is on auto - the tree is overly bright green, but the skin tones look pretty good.

Portrait setting -

Sports setting -

Party/indoor setting-

Backlight setting -

And then I quit torturing Phoebe and went and got the dog. We turned Phoebe's chair into a power chair.