Princesses, Slushes, LEGOs, and a maxed CC - Sept 2009 1st Timer TR

[longing2Batdisney]

Wonderful day 8!!! I love your descriptions of the facial expressions on the barnstommer, splash mtn, and the description of WL!

Whispering canyon is def on our list for next go round!!! that is too funny with the traffic and the ferry... I just wonder if I would have noticed if you had not pointed that out!! Peter Pan and Alice adorable as always!!! Looking forward to your next installment and wrap up...to start the new TR!!!

BTW: Just 9 days until your next visit...how exciting!!!

 

[crocko]

Wonderful day 8!!! I love your descriptions of the facial expressions on the barnstommer, splash mtn, and the description of WL!

Whispering canyon is def on our list for next go round!!! that is too funny with the traffic and the ferry... I just wonder if I would have noticed if you had not pointed that out!! Peter Pan and Alice adorable as always!!! Looking forward to your next installment and wrap up...to start the new TR!!!

BTW: Just 9 days until your next visit...how exciting!!!

Whispering Canyon is fun. A Disney place that I think everyone should try at least once to see if it fits them or not.

Yay....now only 8 more days!

 

[crocko]

Day 9 (Kids' Choice Day)
Chapter 1 -- The "First" Family of Hollywood Studios




Day 9. Our last full day in Disney World. I had been excited about this day, though, because we had decided to let this be kids’ choice day. Now, that said, the 4 of us had a character breakfast scheduled for 8:05am at Play’n’Dine at Hollywood Studios.

So, we got up nice and early to catch the first bus to the Studios and got there nice and early…we were the FIRST guests to arrive at Studios this day.

A few minutes before 8:00 we were let in to go over to the Hollywood & Vine restaurant. Joshua got to be the very first guest through the Hollywood Studios gates on Friday, September 25th, 2009!

Right at 8:05, we also managed to be the first guests seated at Play’n’Dine this today (we’re on a roll!) We got seated and got food for everybody and then waited for friends to come by. JoJo and Goliath were roaming around but didn’t start in our area. Then, I saw June come into the restaurant…..and believe it or not, she must have remembered her good friend Samantha from the other side of the park on Wednesday, because the first thing June did when she came out was to hustle over to Samantha and give her a hug.

Soon after, Leo came by and visited as well.

And then it was time for a break to do some dancing (they do dance breaks every 20-30 minutes I think)

Then, we went back to our food…..we all pretty much finished up but still hadn’t been visited by JoJo or Goliath. Finally, Goliath came by.

We were still waiting on JoJo. Bridgette mentioned it to a handler since we were already done with our meal. At this point, it was almost 9am, so I finished paying and went on out to get in line to rush to Toy Story Mania for FP’s. While waiting, JoJo finally came by

Quick Play'n'Dine summary. Food-wise, this is a very basic breakfast buffet. Nothing too special, you get more "exciting" food at the other character breakfasts. Characters are fun, but I like seeing some of the others better (there was a middle-aged couple that got seated about 8:30am. Apparently, they didn't realize what they had "reserved" and left shortly after. Haha! If you're on the DDP, then this can be a fun meal and a little easier to get booked. If not on the DDP, it is too expensive for the value....pick a different character breakfast.

Now....time to leave and head into the park…..

They all caught up with me shortly after I finished getting some early time FP’s.
We thought about getting in the standy line, riding and then getting back into the FP line afterward. We asked Joshua if we wanted to go ride Star Tours, though, and he said yes.

So….on over to Star Tours.

Just after park opening, this side of the park is DEAD. Absolutely no line over at Star Tours. We headed in and waited for our vehicles’ doors to open. While waiting, Joshua decided he was scared of this ride.

So, for whatever reason….on his 3rd time to ride it, he was nervous about Star Tours. I don’t know why…..for now, I’m just going to chalk it up to it still being pretty early on our 9th day of vacationing.....

Now, back through the Streets of New York to get over to Pixar Place.

Still a few minutes early for our FP times, Joshua wanted to go play at the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground (Samantha decided it was too scary for her).

Next…..time for our 5th and final Toy Story Mania ride of the trip.

Joshua was in my vehicle this time. I didn’t quite reach my 200+ record, but still did very well. Joshua’s score wasn’t too shabby either.

Bridgette did well at 115,700….and Samantha managed to get 6,500 (pretty solid at the 3-year old bracket)

We decided that’s all that we wanted to get accomplished at Studios this day, so time to head out. Before leaving, though, I made sure to snatch this picture for my wife.

Next up! Epcot. To get there, we decided to take a leisurely boat ride.

On this boat….Epcot is the 4th stop. 1st = Swan/Dolphin. 2nd = Yacht/Beach Clubs. 3rd = Boardwalk. 4th = Epcot.

Well, Joshua decided he really needed to use the restroom. So…..we decided to go visit the YBC for a few minutes and got off at stop 2. That was okay, because that put us in close walking distance to Epcot’s International Gateway and gave us a chance to walk between the Stormalong Bay ship.

(Note: during this part of the day, Bridgette and I realized that with little kids…. a 10-day trip is about 2 days too long. We started getting fussy at each other over really silly stuff…..I blame it on the gloomy clouds. Once they went away everybody cheered up better)

After a bathroom break and a not-too-long walk, we entered Epcot. This happened to be the first official day of the Food & Wine Festival.

Up next: Why are we walking this way? Oh!! Everybody hurry!!

 

[Clemson Fan]

Wow, these are some long threads.

 

[Charlefours]

Hmm...I have been looking at Play N Dine but for an early lunch. The food is suppose to be pretty decent. I LOVE that June remember Samantha--how sweet and what good memories for her.

 

[chicagoshannon]

Samantha got a great score! I think Madeline managed to get 600 on that ride. lol

I love the boat ride from MGM to Epcot.

 

[jenny105]

Impressive scores by everyone! Especially Samantha!

So sweet that June remembered her. I don't know any of the Playhouse Disney characters. I learned all their names through you! I do know Handy Manny though because my 3 year old nephew adores him.

 

[mommyof2Pirates]

great updates. Joshua looked so cute in his peter pan costume. I am glad you told me about a 10 day trip being a little too much. Next time we thought about going longer because we thought it would be less rushed but maybe 10days isnt the answer either.

I see you and your wifes trip is getting closer. How exciting. I am so jealous.

Cant wait to hear about the rest of your trip.

 

[WrightFamily06]

Wow ! I was several updates behind , you sure keep a steady pace ! LOL Samantha in the Cinderella Dress and Shoes , priceless ! Seems to me everyone had a very successful shopping TR at DTD , great pic's . Love all the early morning pictures of the empty Liberty Square . Priceless pictures of Samantha & Alice . Very cool Teacup and Astro Orbiter pictures ! Love the WL pictures . Joshua looked so adorable in his Peter Pan costume The food at WC looked so yummy , I love there milkshakes ! Toontown pictures were soo cute . How cool that Joshua got to be the 1st person through the turnstiles on the 25th . H&V pictures were too cute Your family should hold a record for riding TSM but I can't blame u it's so much fun !

 

[stacikristine]

Great updates! Tell Samantha that I like the horse with the flowers too And that's too funny that Joshua was nervous his third time riding Star Tours. You'd think he'd be a pro by then! I'm glad the BTMRR and Splash FPs worked out. And isn't that boat ride wonderful?! I'm excited to see what else the kids pick!

 

[crocko]

Wow, these are some long threads.

Long trip, lots of pictures.

Hmm...I have been looking at Play N Dine but for an early lunch. The food is suppose to be pretty decent. I LOVE that June remember Samantha--how sweet and what good memories for her.

Yep...it was definitely fun that one of her favorite characters gave her so much attention.

Samantha got a great score! I think Madeline managed to get 600 on that ride. lol

I love the boat ride from MGM to Epcot.

Yeah...very relaxing and peaceful ride and you get to see a lot of great sites with the 5 hotels that you pass.

Impressive scores by everyone! Especially Samantha!

So sweet that June remembered her. I don't know any of the Playhouse Disney characters. I learned all their names through you! I do know Handy Manny though because my 3 year old nephew adores him.

The PHD characters they have roaming around right now seem to be Little Einsteins, JoJo & Goliath and Handy Manny (of course, I think we'd all agree that Phineas & Ferb deserve their do somewhere in the parks...)

great updates. Joshua looked so cute in his peter pan costume. I am glad you told me about a 10 day trip being a little too much. Next time we thought about going longer because we thought it would be less rushed but maybe 10days isnt the answer either.

I see you and your wifes trip is getting closer. How exciting. I am so jealous.

Cant wait to hear about the rest of your trip.

Long trips are great, but handling young ones wears you out.....

Wow ! I was several updates behind , you sure keep a steady pace ! LOL Samantha in the Cinderella Dress and Shoes , priceless ! Seems to me everyone had a very successful shopping TR at DTD , great pic's . Love all the early morning pictures of the empty Liberty Square . Priceless pictures of Samantha & Alice . Very cool Teacup and Astro Orbiter pictures ! Love the WL pictures . Joshua looked so adorable in his Peter Pan costume The food at WC looked so yummy , I love there milkshakes ! Toontown pictures were soo cute . How cool that Joshua got to be the 1st person through the turnstiles on the 25th . H&V pictures were too cute Your family should hold a record for riding TSM but I can't blame u it's so much fun !

Thanks for all the great compliments. And yes...we definitley rode TSM a lot but come on....the ride is so fun. Shortly after returning, I started having TSM withdrawals.....we bought the TSM Wii game while at Disney World. It is super fun, but makes me miss the real ride even more!

Great updates! Tell Samantha that I like the horse with the flowers too And that's too funny that Joshua was nervous his third time riding Star Tours. You'd think he'd be a pro by then! I'm glad the BTMRR and Splash FPs worked out. And isn't that boat ride wonderful?! I'm excited to see what else the kids pick!

Joshua is so silly like that....he can be very unpredictable. Samantha, though...very predictable. Doesn't like villains....loves pretty stuff.....

 

[crocko]

Day 9 (Kids' Choice Day)
Chapter 2 -- 70 Minute Wait for Nemo & Friends!




I left off in which we had finished at Hollywood Studios for the day and had taken a boat trip/short walk over to the Epcot International Gateway. We weren’t here for the World Showcase this day, but got to pass through the UK and Canada on our way to Future World.

Backstory – Last December, while in the UK, we noticed the red phone booths. One of the pictures we had taken there was of Bridgette and I kissing in the phone booth.

The kids had seen this picture before the trip and thought it was really funny.

On our World Showcase day, we were getting tired….UK was busy and we moved through the country quickly enough that we didn’t really get to notice the red phone booths.

Well, on Day 9….the Showcase was still pretty empty and we were moving along leisurely. Samantha and Joshua quickly noticed one of the phone booths and wanted to get pictures.

It was fun that they remembered the picture and wanted to get their own pictures taken. The funny part had to do with Samantha. She specifically remembered that her mommy and daddy had been kissing in that red phone booth. So to her….the ONLY way to take a picture in the red phone booth at Disney World was to be kissing her brother.

We have like 15-20 pictures of her trying to give Joshua a kiss while in one of these booths.
We tried to get pictures of just Joshua in a booth and just Samantha in a booth, but she would have none of that!


Next….as we passed through Canada, we walked by some of the F&WF kiosks and noticed 3 familiar people in line to get some Canadian food….my sister and parents! (after a Kona Café breakfast, their main plans were to check out the F&W festival.)

Then, on toward Future World. We happened to walk straight up the main entrance…before heading to rides. I’m so glad we did, because to the right of the fountain (near MouseGears) I noticed a character that I was definitely not expecting to see but knew that Miss Samantha would be absolutely thrilled to see.

Marie!!!

I veered off and Bridgette was wondering where I was going until she noticed her as well….We quickly hustled and got in line and it was a good thing. We managed to be the LAST family to get pictures with Marie. Otherwise, it would be another hour or two before she’d come back out. Wow!!

Next, while close to Club Cool. We went in to get the kids slushies…and not just slushies, but cool “Make-Your-Own Slushy Holder” slushies.

Now, time to see what rides the kids want to do here. Between the two of them, they wanted to do Nemo and Imagination again. While walking toward that side of the park, the electronic board said that Nemo & Friends had a 70 minute wait!!!!!!! Ach! (uh, maybe we won’t be doing that today). Imagination only had a 5-minute wait time, so we decided to head there first.

While on the ride, I kept joking with Joshua that I hoped when we got to the smelling part of the ride that we got roses or oranges this time. As soon as we got close to that section, Joshua started holding his nose. He’s smart…because believe it or not, Figment sent us a not-so-rosy smell again.

Then…back to the board to check on the Nemo times. Now, the board said a 5-minute wait at Nemo & Friends. LOL….pretty sure there had been some mess-up earlier. We were very pleased….so, another walk up line for Nemo & Friends. This time, though, we took some time to get some pictures of the queue

Yay….we completed our two kids’ faves for Epcot (that gave us a trip tally of 3 rides for both Nemo and Imagination!)

Now, off to the monorail to head to Magic Kingdom.

At MK, we entered and quickly headed up to the Train Station (once again….not fun taking your own strollers on the train).
Bridgette didn’t realize that on your way to Frontierland you actually go through Splash Mountain. The kids thought that was cool.
The plan to start the day was to get over to ToonTown and the barnstormer…a ride that both kids really wanted to do. I also knew Joshua would want to ride Splash Mountain, so I went ahead and got off the train at Frontierland to get FP’s, while Bridgette and the kids went forward on to ToonTown.

It was turning into a pretty hot day (after noon, I believe and no lunch yet) so during my walk from Frontierland to ToonTown, I grabbed myself a strawberry bar. Yum….only one I got to have on the trip.

When I got to ToonTown, Bridgette called to say that the Princesses line was only 15 minutes so they had jumped in it. So, I waited for a couple minutes while they finished up.

(as of yesterday, Sleeping Beauty is currently Samantha’s favorite princess)

After that, we moseyed through Minnie’s house again…

And then went to tackle the Barnstormer. Samantha sat with Bridgette again and apparently she had the thrilled, but terrified look on her face the whole ride again. Haha!

Soon after, Samantha crashed out. It was about 2pm at this point and we were definitely getting hungry. So, we headed over toward Pinocchio’s knowing that it was a place that we would all be able to eat at. (Joshua and I took a sidetrip to get Buzz FP’s and then met back up)

Here’s Samantha at lunch:

Had our pizzas at Pinocchio’s (still not near as good as the pizza at Pizza Planet)…..then Joshua said he wanted to ride It’s a Small World (surprised me…didn’t know he had liked it). So, while Bridgette sat with Samantha, the boys went on IASW.

(Bridgette snuck over to a family’s table and waved to us….which Joshua thought was really fun)

After seeing all the singing kids (and geese)…..met up with the girls (Samantha still sleeping) and headed off to Splash Mountain.

Joshua wanted to go with Bridgette, so I waited near the splash point while they got in line. Not too long after, I saw them mosey on by….

I then proceeded to take pictures of about 20-30 logs that came down the big drop. The whole time, I was afraid that I would manage to miss them or…..I wouldn’t notice them and still be taking pictures of logs when they came around to tell me they were done. LOL. I finally managed to snap a picture in which I noticed what I thought was Bridgette

Yay! I got them!

Up next: What will be our final Disney ride of the trip? And the accountant crunches some numbers…..

 

[mommyof2Pirates]

I love the pics in the red telephone booths. So cute that samantha wanted to be kissing her brother. I cant believe how many parks you hopped to that day. Thats awesome. You got to do all the favorites. I cant wait to hear about the ending.

 

[aaaateamsgrandma]

Such good pics. Samantha and Joshua in the phone booth was priceless. I feel you should frame yours from last time and their's this time. So very sweet. What an excellent day you had. How nice it wasn't so packed and you got to do what you wanted to do. It's almost like the park was yours.

Getting so close to next trip.

Ginny

 

[MAJ RN]

Jumping in for your trip report!! Wanted to say I was in before a read the rest. Your children are beautiful, the pic of Samantha sleeping on the plane, precious!!! Can't wait to continue reading.


Melissa

 

[jenny105]

That picture of Samantha giving Joshua a kiss in the booth is ADORABLE!! Love it!!

I didn't know you could make your own slushy holder. The things you learn by reading other people's TRs.

 

[stacikristine]

Oh my goodness--the picture of Samantha giving Joshua a kiss in the UK phone booth is adorable! So cute. And I love that they were mimicking you and Bridgette! Woah--I was scared that the Nemo wait time was real, and that would have meant Soarin' would have been somewhere around a 4 hour wait What a great Kids' Pick day so far!

 

[longing2Batdisney]

Great updates! love the phone booth photos!!! too cute!
wow ya'll had a full and great last day!!! three parks! with two kids great job!!!
and you have to getting sooooo excited its just about time for the Adult only trip!!!

 

[crocko]

I love the pics in the red telephone booths. So cute that samantha wanted to be kissing her brother. I cant believe how many parks you hopped to that day. Thats awesome. You got to do all the favorites. I cant wait to hear about the ending.

Yep...lots of great rides this day!

Such good pics. Samantha and Joshua in the phone booth was priceless. I feel you should frame yours from last time and their's this time. So very sweet. What an excellent day you had. How nice it wasn't so packed and you got to do what you wanted to do. It's almost like the park was yours.

Getting so close to next trip.

Ginny

Great idea...we definitely need to do something like that with our pic and the kids' pic.

Jumping in for your trip report!! Wanted to say I was in before a read the rest. Your children are beautiful, the pic of Samantha sleeping on the plane, precious!!! Can't wait to continue reading.


Melissa

Glad you're here! Enjoy the TR

That picture of Samantha giving Joshua a kiss in the booth is ADORABLE!! Love it!!

I didn't know you could make your own slushy holder. The things you learn by reading other people's TRs.

That's why I wanted to make sure and point it out. We learned about it while on the trip. Goofy's Candy Co. and Club Cool are the two places you can do it. At GCC, they'll let you use a snack credit for a refill (I believe)

Oh my goodness--the picture of Samantha giving Joshua a kiss in the UK phone booth is adorable! So cute. And I love that they were mimicking you and Bridgette! Woah--I was scared that the Nemo wait time was real, and that would have meant Soarin' would have been somewhere around a 4 hour wait What a great Kids' Pick day so far!

Yeah....we were absolutely amazed to see a 70-minute wait. Definitely glad it was just a mistake

Great updates! love the phone booth photos!!! too cute!
wow ya'll had a full and great last day!!! three parks! with two kids great job!!!
and you have to getting sooooo excited its just about time for the Adult only trip!!!

Yes! So close....we'll be on a plane in less than 87 hours!!!

 

[crocko]

Day 9 (Kids' Choice Day)
Chapter 3 -- Take this Zurg!!


I left off our day 9 activities in which Bridgette and Joshua had just gone on Splash Mountain and I had managed to snap a picture of them on the way down the big drop.

During all of this, the 3 o’clock parade was passing through Frontierland not too far from my location. I was a little ways back and obviously had a bunch of people/heads in front of me. BUT…I had two things going for me.
1) I was standing on an elevated position
2) I had Bridgette’s camera with me which has 18x zoom

So, I also managed to snap a few character close-ups of the parade (while once again…Samantha was sleeping)

Then they met me at my spot. Joshua really wanted to get to ride Splash Mountain again (first time through, the standby line was so short that they hadn’t even used the FP’s yet). I said I’d go with him this time, but he still wanted Mommy. So, they went to get in line again, while I headed off to get a slushie. Before making it to the slushie place, my phone rang – Joshua had changed his mind…he wanted to ride with me (Yay!)

So, we met back up and traded children….and Joshua had a good ol’ fun time riding Splash Mountain together (so yes…that makes 4 big Splash drops for Joshua on his first Disney vacation)

After that ride, we met up with the girls in Adventureland….where Samantha had awoken and slushies had been purchased. There was one ride the kids wanted to do in Adventureland that we hadn’t made it to yet:

Aladdin’s Magic Carpets!!

Because of the drinks, I just stayed off and took pictures while Bridgette took them both on. The kids had fun on this and the lines were so small that they actually got to ride twice in a row.

After a couple carpet rides, I took Joshua over to an area I was sure he would like

Meanwhile, Samantha cooled off slushie-style….

She finally decided to get a piece of the action, though…..

To finish off our kids’ choice day, we then headed back over to the east side of the park

Bridgette had been talking to our CM friend (the one we met up with on Day 3) and found out that she was coming to MK for a little bit. The kids wanted to ride Buzz Lightyear with her, so while waiting we walked over to the Tea Cups for another good spin.

Now let me say something real quick. All-in-all, I handle weather good and I handle any type of ride well. But, this tea cup ride was probably the closest I’ve come to needing to puke during/after a ride. This was one of the warmer days of our trip and we had been outside a lot…..Plus, I was getting pretty hungry by this time and probably had not kept myself hydrated enough. So, add those elements with going spinning on the tea cups and things got a little bit wobbly inside for a couple minutes. Luckily, we got to just sit for a couple minutes while we waited for our CM friend and I felt all better.

Once she and another CM arrived, we chatted for a little while then headed over to Space Ranger Spin.
This would end up being our final Disney ride of the trip. And I would make sure to make it a good one!

Remember my score the last time? Somewhere in the vicinity of 60,000.

Well, I did a little bit better this time around….

Hahahaha!!!! Over 600,000 And I’m not telling how I did it….that will remain my little Disney secret.

After Buzz….we leisurely strolled down Main Street to head out (no big rush….just enjoying the day). We saw plenty of people coming into the park who were coming for the MNSSHP party. I saw some really cute shirts and some pretty good costumes. There was a black man that had he not been black, I would have thought was the actual Jack Sparrow….he was spot on!

Back to Animal Kingdom Lodge. We dropped the kids off with my parents and Bridgette and I headed down to the Mara.

This was a nice peaceful dinner by ourselves….it also had another motive, though. Number-crunching! Remember that innocent little DVC tour we went on to get $100 in Disney dollars. Well…all that tour really did was feed on the 8-year desire we’ve had to join DVC. I spent some time at dinner running over numbers and our financial situation to see what could work. We discussed several different things during dinner and finished the evening without having to a definite conclusion. There were lots of good thoughts on both side of the decision, so we decided to just sleep on it.

Back at the room, though, we could see that everyone was having a good time.

Kids’ choice day had been a fabulous day! We hit 3 different parks and managed to do some of the kids’ favorite things at Disney World. Fun, fun, fun! Just one more half-day to go though (sad face)







Up next: A stressful afternoon on departure day……..