So Many Characters..So Little Time! Our April Adventure to the World! Complete:)

[Angies1274]

April 14, 2010....MK continued....

We were so excited! Finally after three previous trips we would get to see an afternoon parade. I took a ton of pictures and I'll try to share as many as I can.

I'll also let them speak for themselves...so sit back, relax and enjoy the parade!

After the parade, we picked ourselves up and headed back to the train station. Sadly, it was time to say goodbye to the Magic Kingdom this trip. The boys were anxious to head to DTD for the night. I looked back one more time at the castle as we were making our way out and breathed in the sweet smells from Main Street trying to hold on to the magic as long as could. I was so sad to be leaving but happy that we had so many more wonderful memories to take home with us.

Up Next....DTD and Disney Quest!!!

 

[Cory's Gal]

Great update Angie!!! So awesome that Noah braved the Haunted Mansion and liked it!! What a brave guy!!! The picture of the two boys holding hands... So cute!!! It sounds like BTMRR was the favorite ride for the two of them!! Awesome that you got to see the parade! It's a good one and starting it off with a Mickey Bar before, even better!!!! I hate the feeling of leaving the Magic Kingdom like that too, I always seem to have a knot in my stomach and a tear in my eye!!! Looking forward to hearing about DTD and Disney Quest!!!

 

[Believeinfairytales]

What a great pic of the boys holding hands. So glad they got another opportunity to ride BTMRR. My son LOVES that one, too. And like you, we haven't made it over to TSI yet, either. It is always an afterthought for me, to be honest, but one day we will ride the riverboat and go to the island, too. (I think)

Great parade pics - that's another thing I haven't stopped to see yet. Always so many rides and attractions to see, but I also hope to see it start to finish on my next trip! Looks like you had a good spot.

MK is always the hardest park for me to leave. It is my favorite and to me, the most magical (hence the name, I guess!) and I could totally relate to you trying to hold onto the sights and smells as long as possible. I usually take long, deep breaths all the way to the exit, LOL!!!

 

[dismagiclover]

Love the updates! I know exactly what you mean about how Disney World seems to bring your boys together! That is what I love about it too. And I love all of the Main Street pictures. It gets me so excited for my upcoming trip

 

[mickeystoontown]

Oh my goodness, I love the picture of the boys holding hands. Like you said, that's why you love Disney.

I was pleased to hear that Noah was a brave young man and decided to continue on with his trip through Haunted Mansion. It can be a little scary at times but once you are in there and adjusted to it, it's not all that scary. Who knows....maybe one day you'll all get to enjoy the Haunted Mansion together.

In all of our trips to the Magic Kingdom, we have never given Columbia Harbour House a try. We thought we would this trip but we totally forgot about it.

You got a really really good seat for the parade. The pictures were fantastic! I hate leaving the Magic Kingdom too. It's always so sad knowing I won't be back for a whole year.

 

[Angies1274]

Great update Angie!!! So awesome that Noah braved the Haunted Mansion and liked it!! What a brave guy!!! The picture of the two boys holding hands... So cute!!! It sounds like BTMRR was the favorite ride for the two of them!! Awesome that you got to see the parade! It's a good one and starting it off with a Mickey Bar before, even better!!!! I hate the feeling of leaving the Magic Kingdom like that too, I always seem to have a knot in my stomach and a tear in my eye!!! Looking forward to hearing about DTD and Disney Quest!!!

Thanks Beth! I'm so happy that Noah decided to stick it out and brave the HM. He still talks about it and how fun it was. BTMRR was definitely their favorite ride this trip! I'm sure if we would have let them, they would have rode it over and over again all day. Ahh...leaving Magic Kingdom is the worst feeling. I just wasn't ready to say good-bye yet.

What a great pic of the boys holding hands. So glad they got another opportunity to ride BTMRR. My son LOVES that one, too. And like you, we haven't made it over to TSI yet, either. It is always an afterthought for me, to be honest, but one day we will ride the riverboat and go to the island, too. (I think)

Great parade pics - that's another thing I haven't stopped to see yet. Always so many rides and attractions to see, but I also hope to see it start to finish on my next trip! Looks like you had a good spot.

MK is always the hardest park for me to leave. It is my favorite and to me, the most magical (hence the name, I guess!) and I could totally relate to you trying to hold onto the sights and smells as long as possible. I usually take long, deep breaths all the way to the exit, LOL!!!

Thanks!! I love that picture of boys! It was so unlike them....it just goes to show what Disney can do! It's funny we always put TSI on our list of things we want to do each trip but like you it always becomes an afterthought as we are trying to get in all our favorites. Hopefully we'll make it there one day.

I was happy with the spot we got for the parade. I love the fact that I was able to get some pics of the Main Street shops in the background.

MK is definitely my favorite park too! I love everything about it. Usually we try and visit it on our last morning before we leave just so we have a little bit more magic to take home with us. Unfortunately, because of everything else we wanted to do this trip, we couldn't fit it in on our last day.

 

[Angies1274]

Love the updates! I know exactly what you mean about how Disney World seems to bring your boys together! That is what I love about it too. And I love all of the Main Street pictures. It gets me so excited for my upcoming trip

Thanks!! Disney definitely brings out the best in my boys! Oohh...your trip is getting so close!! Only 6 days left!

Oh my goodness, I love the picture of the boys holding hands. Like you said, that's why you love Disney.

I was pleased to hear that Noah was a brave young man and decided to continue on with his trip through Haunted Mansion. It can be a little scary at times but once you are in there and adjusted to it, it's not all that scary. Who knows....maybe one day you'll all get to enjoy the Haunted Mansion together.

In all of our trips to the Magic Kingdom, we have never given Columbia Harbour House a try. We thought we would this trip but we totally forgot about it.

You got a really really good seat for the parade. The pictures were fantastic! I hate leaving the Magic Kingdom too. It's always so sad knowing I won't be back for a whole year.

Thanks Lisa! It was definitely my most favorite picture of the trip!

I was so happy Noah decided to continue on through the Haunted Mansion! There were some spots that I could tell scared him but by the end he was really enjoying it. He was so proud of himself that he was brave enough to ride it...especially since his big brother didn't. But, Nick did say when we were talking about it yesterday that on our next trip, he would give it a try. I really hope he does!

There were a few CS places that we wanted to try this trip but forgot about them as well. I think once you find a favorite you tend to keep going back.

We loved the parade! I'm glad we finally got around to seeing it this trip.

 

[mommytothreeboys]

I knew you could do it Noah!! Great job, buddy!

So sad that you had to skip TSI again, but like you said, it gives you something to look forward to next time.

I agree that Disney definitely brings out the best in the boys. My boys seem to always get along and enjoy each others' company when we are there....for the most part anyway! Those moments are the reasons we keep going back. Magic I tell you, pure Magic!

I LOVE the afternoon parade! And you are so brave for watching it from Main Street. We watched one parade from Main Street...Spectro in 2007. It was the first and LAST time I'll try that! What a nightmare! It looks like you had a great spot, though....and it doesn't appear that you are squished like sardines! I'm so glad you were able to enjoy it for the first time!

 

[Angies1274]

I knew you could do it Noah!! Great job, buddy!

So sad that you had to skip TSI again, but like you said, it gives you something to look forward to next time.

I agree that Disney definitely brings out the best in the boys. My boys seem to always get along and enjoy each others' company when we are there....for the most part anyway! Those moments are the reasons we keep going back. Magic I tell you, pure Magic!

I LOVE the afternoon parade! And you are so brave for watching it from Main Street. We watched one parade from Main Street...Spectro in 2007. It was the first and LAST time I'll try that! What a nightmare! It looks like you had a great spot, though....and it doesn't appear that you are squished like sardines! I'm so glad you were able to enjoy it for the first time!

Hi Missy!

Noah was so proud of himself for being so brave on the Haunted Mansion! It's so funny hearing him try and convince Nick for next time. Of course, Nick doesn't like to be outdone by his younger brother so he may just go on it yet!

I was sad that we missed TSI....again! Especially after seeing such great pics on your TR. Hopefully, we'll make it next time!!

Last April, we watched Specto from Main Street and it was sooooo crowded. We actually did feel squished like sardines. But this trip, we wanted to leave right after the parade and figured sitting as close as we could to Town Square would be a good idea. It ended up working out great because the crowds weren't bad at all.

 

[jenniferkeala808]

awwww what a great sport Noah was! I bet he's glad he went on it! LOL@a piece of cheesecake...so cute! wow! BTMRR five times?!!?!? that's crazy! Oh my...i just love that pic of the boys holding hands!! So cute! ahhh the magic of Disney! and you got some really great pics from the parade! Hey! We were right across from you! Of course not on the same day! LOL! Can't wait for the next update!

 

[Angies1274]

awwww what a great sport Noah was! I bet he's glad he went on it! LOL@a piece of cheesecake...so cute! wow! BTMRR five times?!!?!? that's crazy! Oh my...i just love that pic of the boys holding hands!! So cute! ahhh the magic of Disney! and you got some really great pics from the parade! Hey! We were right across from you! Of course not on the same day! LOL! Can't wait for the next update!

Hi Keala!

Ahh...he really was a great sport! He was definitely happy that he faced his fear because he really enjoyed himself. I know...I still can't believe we rode BTMRR 5x...but the boys love it and I had pretty much accomplished most of our must-do list for that day. It looks like we both were able to get a great spot for the parade! I guess it does pay to stake out a spot early...huh? You were able to get some really great pictures as well.

 

[wdwgirl03]

Aww, that picture of the boys holding hands is adorable! I love that about Disney too...one of the things that always gets me is seeing younger guys (like in their teens/early 20s) wearing the goofy Disney hats. I always wonder if they'd ever admit to that when they got home. haha!

Awesome parade pictures too. I just love the colors in it...so bright and festive!

 

[Mickey_Mom]

Hey Angie... I'm a couple updates behind but caught up again.

Oh boy I can't wait to try Columbia Harbour house, it just sounds yummy. Love your HM pics... Oh oh Noah... did you do it?? .... yay, you did! Good for you! Next time, Nick! Love the cheesecake comment

I really like the part of Mickey's Philharmagic when the champagne corks pop out during Be Our Guest and you're spritzed a bit.... and we always reach out for the jewels Ariel tosses too

Very sweet picture of the boys

Great seats for the parade. I can't remember the last time I saw an afternoon parade...? Love the balloon close up picture and all of your parade pics!

 

[petals]

luvin your pics and report.

 

[Angies1274]

Aww, that picture of the boys holding hands is adorable! I love that about Disney too...one of the things that always gets me is seeing younger guys (like in their teens/early 20s) wearing the goofy Disney hats. I always wonder if they'd ever admit to that when they got home. haha!

Awesome parade pictures too. I just love the colors in it...so bright and festive!

Ahh...thanks!! I love that picture of the boys!! That's what is so great about Disney....acting all silly and not caring what other people think because you're having too much fun to care!!

The parade was great! We loved it! It was great seeing all the characters at once like that...although DH was really hoping he would get to see Grumpy....oh well.

 

[Angies1274]

Hey Angie... I'm a couple updates behind but caught up again.

Oh boy I can't wait to try Columbia Harbour house, it just sounds yummy. Love your HM pics... Oh oh Noah... did you do it?? .... yay, you did! Good for you! Next time, Nick! Love the cheesecake comment

I really like the part of Mickey's Philharmagic when the champagne corks pop out during Be Our Guest and you're spritzed a bit.... and we always reach out for the jewels Ariel tosses too

Very sweet picture of the boys

Great seats for the parade. I can't remember the last time I saw an afternoon parade...? Love the balloon close up picture and all of your parade pics!

Hey Tracy!

Columbia Harbour House is so yummy!! Definitely a nice change from the regular stuff you find at CS places. We were watching a Disney special on the Travel channel the other day and they were showing a behind the scenes look at the HM. It was so funny because Noah kept telling Nick..."See...it's not that scary!" I'm not sure but I think we may have convinced him!!

Oh...I love that part in Mickey's Philharmagic!! I forgot about that part.: We reach for the jewels too!! So much fun!!!

We loved the parade! Normally, we do the afternoon rest thing, and always miss it. So glad we were able to fit it in this trip!! It was definitely worth the wait!

 

[Angies1274]

luvin your pics and report.

Thanks for reading!!

 

[Angies1274]

April 14, 2010--Downtown Disney/Disney Quest

After we sadly waved goodbye to the Magic Kingdom, we headed for the monorail. This was our first and only time riding it this trip, so of course the boys were excited! We were headed over to the Contemporary to hop on a bus to DTD. I had read on the Dis that this would be the best way to get to our destination.

Luckily, we made it just in time! The monorail was just about to leave. We found a spot towards the back but unfortunately we had to stand. Oh well...it's not like the CR is too far away. Holding on tight...away we went. It wasn't long before it came to a stop and it was time to get off. We made our way down to the 4th floor. We stopped for a minute to look over at Chef Mickey's. If you have read any of my other reports you know our love for Chef Mickey's. It's a tradition to eat at least one meal there during our trip. However, this trip was all about trying new things and honestly I had a hard time trying to fit it in anywhere anyway. We had thought about eating dinner at the Contempo Cafe but nobody was really hungry after just having some ice cream an hour before. So, we waved goodbye to Chef Mickey's promising to see them again real soon and took the elevator down to the main floor to wait for a DTD bus.

I have to admit when we finally made it outside to wait, we were very happy to see an empty bench. We hadn't had our normal afternoon rest that we have become so accustomed to on our Disney trips so being able to sit down again was a nice treat! I reminded DH and the boys that it might take awhile for a bus to DTD to show up. Honestly, we never have good luck with DTD buses. It always seems to be a much longer wait than any of the other buses. At this point, though we were okay with that if meant a longer time to rest.

But.....before we got too comfortable and after maybe 3 games of rock, paper, scissors with the boys. What was the first bus to show up? A DTD bus!! Okay, I was confused but pleasantly surprised. We picked ourselves up and got on the bus. DH stopped really quick on the way by to ask the bus driver if he stopped over near Pleasure Island as well. We wanted to head to Disney Quest first and figured getting off over there would be better than having to walk all the way through the Marketplace especially since we would be heading back that way later on.

A short time later, we were dropped off at our Destination. I decided to finally pull out the camera on our walk on the way over.......

After a little bit more walking we finally arrived at Disney Quest!

I admit it. When the boys first asked to come here....I reluctantly agreed. I'm not really into playing video games. But after reading a lot of positive reviews I decided to keep an open mind. I'm glad I did because I knew after stepping into that elevator it was going to be a fun time!

The boys first choice....CyberSpace Mountain! They were originally going to ride together but DH and I decided we'd like to give it a try too so we split up. Noah was with me and DH was with Nick. I stood back and let Noah create our rollercoaster for us. Was it wise to let a 7 year old do all the designing? Probably not, since it was a mixture of corkscrews, loops, twists and turns. After our coaster was designed we waited in line to ride the actual ride. Soon, we were strapped in going through loops and twists, upside down...then right side up. After it was done, I looked over at Noah laughing. All he would say was....Wow!

After creating our own rollercoaster, we stopped so the boys could play a little at the Living Easels.

They were able to create their own artwork adding scenes, plants, characters etc.

When they finished with the Living Easels, we headed over to Radio Disney Song-maker. We weren't sure what to expect at first. I think the boys thought they would be able to sing a song and then hear their voice back. But, it was actually a place to create the lyrics for a song. Here they are working on their song-

I really wanted to give the Animation Academy at try but the boys didn't want to wait for another class to start especially since there was so much more to do. But I did manage to get a picture with Pinocchio...even though he wasn't the real one. I couldn't let another Pinocchio picture opportunity go by....

Our next stop was the Virtual Jungle Cruise, so we climbed in our boat....

(picture by wdwinfo--I had already put my camera in safe place at this point)

This ride was my favorite...so much fun!! It felt like we went in circles a lot though...Although, I'm not sure because at some points I may have closed my eyes a bit.

After the Jungle Cruise, we checked out Pirates of the Caribbean and then made our way back up to levels 3 and 4 to check out some of the classic arcade games like Frogger, Donkey Kong, Pac-man, etc.

It was around 6:00pm at this point, and our ice cream snack had worn off long ago. The boys were getting hungry, DH was getting hungry. Now, I had wanted to wait and head over to Wolfgang Puck Express. But I knew the boys couldn't last that long so up we went to level 5 to grab something to eat at Food Quest. Definitely not my choice of places I had wanted to eat that night but was pleasantly surprised. I had the grilled chicken BLT with fries and a chocolate swirl cheesecake for dessert. DH had a burger and fries, Nick had baked ziti, and Noah had chicken nuggets. Everything was hot and fresh...plus you couldn't beat the atmosphere it was quiet and relaxed. I know I took some pictures during dinner but for some reason some of my pictures from this point on were lost.

After dinner, we decided it was time to leave if we wanted to do some shopping so we headed out of Disney Quest for the night. We had a great time! I'm so glad I gave it a chance. We will definitely be heading back in the future. (when we have much more time to explore)

Continued on next post.......

 

[Angies1274]

I took a few pictures on our stroll over to the Marketplace.We stopped to watch the street party that was going on.....

The boys were very excited when we stumbled upon this place.

We were going to go inside but it looked very busy. We decided to skip it and head to the Lego Store instead.

and they played for a bit....

I grabbed a quick picture of the boys. I think Noah was pretending to be scared!

Then it was finally time for the World of Disney!

Now...I love this store but we always go when it's soooo busy and DH has no patience when it comes to shopping. What usually happens is he takes off to look for his souvenirs and I help the boys find what they want and then by the time it's my turn to look they are all ready to leave.

So this trip, I had a plan. He would take Nick and I would take Noah. We would each help them and then have time to look for ourselves. Now..I thought this would be a good plan since I figured both the boys had a pretty good idea of what they wanted to get....or so I thought? When we got over to the boys toys. I think Noah was just in awe of the selection and couldn't make up his mind. He wanted this...but no...he wanted that. Finally, he picked out a few things, mostly Toy Story stuff and off we went to look for something for me. But...of course who do we see coming toward us? DH and Nick. DH had found a hat and shirt he liked but Nick was having trouble. He wanted Club Penguin stuff and only Club Penguin and for some reason they couldn't find it anywhere. They told me to look around and they would wait. I looked around a little but it was so busy that I didn't pick up much. I think I got my photo album, a Christmas ornament,and a new 2010 pen. We headed to the register to pay. Nick was disappointed because he didn't get anything. I promised him we would stop and look at Once Upon a Toy.

I grabbed a couple quick pictures while DH was in line waiting to pay.

Then we were off to Once Upon a Toy. We were in luck because when we arrived Nick spotted a whole wall of Club Penguin things. He was very excited. I think he got a couple puffles, books, and a card game. At this point, I picked up a DTD map near the register and while looking it over I realized I that I had completely missed Basin again. I didn't want to backtrack and I knew we still wanted to stop at Goofy's to get some treats. So sadly, I didn't get to visit Basin again this trip. Hopefully...next time!

Yay! We've arrived!!

We quickly got in line and grabbed the paper for the make your own snacks. The boys chose the pretzels again which I was very happy about because they are so yummy!!! They found something to occupy their time while they waited......

Realizing that I had managed to get in the picture...I quickly moved out of the way!

and we waited.......and waited.....and waited some more. Okay, I may be exaggerating a little but boy it took a long time to get those snacks. When they were finally done. We picked them up and brought them to the register and sadly found out they are no longer a snack credit anymore. If fact they jumped to $6 a piece. Oh well...we still love Goofy's and I'm sure we'll be back.

After Goofy's, we decided to head out. We stopped quickly to grab a picture of the boys....

Oh wait...where's Nick? Well..he was busy doing something else at the time and wasn't interested in getting his picture taken. Noah was more than willing though.

We arrived at the bus stop just as a Pop Century bus pulled up. We had to stand again but we didn't care as long as we were heading back to the resort and didn't have to wait. It wasn't long before we arrived back at Pop...tired after a long day. DH grabbed our bags of souvenirs and then headed back to the room to grab our mugs while we looked around the gift shop. When he arrived back, we filled our mugs, grabbed a quick snack and headed back to the room for the night. The boys weren't ready to go to bed yet though. They were anxious to check out all the new things they bought. Here is Noah pretending to be a Pirate. This was the purchase he made outside of Pirates of the Caribbean earlier that day!

Somehow or another we managed to be back to the room around 9:00pm. So, I decided to head outside to see if I could see Illuminations. It was a pretty good view. I watched them for awhile and then it started getting pretty chilly and I headed back to the room for the night. DH had been watching Stacy while I was gone so I joined him for awhile before deciding to turn out the lights and go to sleep. It was another great day! But we were so excited for tomorrow...it would be another first for us!!


Up Next---Typhoon Lagoon

 

[mommytothreeboys]

I'm so glad you gave Disney Quest a try! I felt the same way you did at first, but ended up having a great time! Sounds like your roller coaster ride was awesome....way to go Noah!

Ahh....DTD! What's not to like....food, shopping, Disney...it's the whole package. I finally got to Basin this past trip....but probably only because it was just Jeff and I. I'm not sure I could drag the boys along!

Love the Pirate purchases!