Sometimes.....you just gotta stop & smell the Sharpie! Sept./Oct. 2015 at AKL ~ Updated 9/25 pg 10

[punkin413]

The beginning of this update is on page 2!

After Philharmagic we headed for Dumbo so the boys could play in the waiting area for a bit. It was still pretty crowded which doesn’t make playing as enjoyable, but still fun! When we walked in, Ray had Seth by the hand. I didn’t see how or when he got away from him but he did. Ray asked me where he was and I told him I had no idea, that he had him. Panic set in!!! I kept telling myself that he couldn’t get out, but I kept seeing people opening the emergency exit door so I was worried he’d somehow gotten out that way. His shirt was blue but in that lighting everyone’s shirt is blue! For about 3 long minutes we couldn’t find him but then I believe Lynda or Josh (her hubby) spotted him up in the top of the play area. Phew….talk about relieved. First and only time he’s gotten away from me at WDW and it’s not a good feeling!

In case you have noticed the little tattoo on his forearm, that’s a safety tattoo and has my cell phone number on it. Love those things. I bought a pack of 24 a couple years ago and use them whenever we’re in a crowded place. Thank goodness we’ve never had to rely on them!

After a few minutes of playing we headed to fly on Dumbo! Me and Lynda sat together while the boys rode with their daddies.




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After Dumbo we split up again. I believe Lynda & Co. had Little Mermaid fastpasses? We headed over towards Enchanted Tales with Belle and saw that the standby was only like 15 minutes, so we hopped in line. This was a first for us! I’d been to WDW once since it had opened but Seth was only 2 and I didn’t think he’d be patient enough for it. And back then the line for it was huge so I didn’t take the time to do it by myself. I snapped a couple of pics in line because the theming is outstanding!

The Beast’s castle in the distance….



Love the picture of Belle and her mother.





In case you’ve never done this, they have the kids stand at the front and the adults behind. I love this because I hate it when the kids are behind adults and can’t see. And it’s enclosed so your kids can’t get away from you.




We got into the room with the wardrobe and I was so hoping Seth would get picked for a part (and secretly hoping Ray might get picked as a knight…). And guess what……



Seth got picked to play Chip!




She told them that Chip and Mrs. Potts bounced around since they didn’t have feet, so they’re bouncing here.




We entered the library and in came Belle.




They started to tell the story of Belle and the Beast and it was super cute. Here are a few pictures….









Here they are taking a bow (Seth in the background behind Belle)….


Continued in next post: http://www.disboards.com/threads/so...pdated-3-26-pg-2.3491817/page-3#post-55468842

 

[punkin413]

These videos explain better what's going on in the above pics.

(Click to play.)





Then the kids got to each come up and have their picture made with Belle….





It’s so cute when she fixes his hair. (Click to play.)

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She gave them each a special bookmark. Here are some photopass pics….


http://i1108.photobucket.com/albums/h417/punkin41302/Disney 2015/IMG_0037_zpsw6kyjfyr.mp4

http://i1108.photobucket.com/albums/h417/punkin41302/Disney 2015/IMG_0037_zpsw6kyjfyr.mp4


It was super cute and I’m glad we did it!

While Ray and I were sitting on our bench inside the attraction, he tapped me on the leg and said his stomach was feeling weird. When we left he went to the bathroom and got pretty sick. Great….the dreaded Disney stomach bug strikes!!!! It happened to me in 2008 and it’s the worst thing in the world to be sick at Disney World! I told him we’d go back to the room and he insisted we not leave. I even told him to go ahead and head back and Seth and I could take the bus back later. He still didn’t want to leave. He just wanted to do a couple more things before we headed out. I insisted but he wouldn’t budge, said he was fine and didn't want to ruin the day for Seth. We compromised and agreed we'd do a couple more things and then head back to take a break. I texted Lynda and told her what was going on. I felt SO bad about it.....I knew Avery would be so disappointed but I didn’t want any of them to be around Ray if he was sick. And they didn’t either! It really was disappointing!!!

I thought about keeping him away from Seth, but at that point we had all spent the last 48 hours together. So I figured if Ray was contagious (hopefully not), Seth and I had already been exposed to it. We were hoping it was something he ate!

We had a FP for 7 Dwarfs Mine Train so we went ahead and used that. Seth rode with Ray this time.
http://i1108.photobucket.com/albums/h417/punkin41302/Disney 2015/IMG_0037_zpsw6kyjfyr.mp4

http://i1108.photobucket.com/albums/h417/punkin41302/Disney 2015/IMG_0037_zpsw6kyjfyr.mp4


Here’s the FP pictures and the video…..



I love Seth’s face in this one!



(Click to play.)



And Ray took a video of it….his little face is hilarious and I love how he holds his hand like halfway up the whole time. And his delayed screams are too funny!

(Click to play.)


http://i1108.photobucket.com/albums/h417/punkin41302/Disney 2015/IMG_0037_zpsw6kyjfyr.mp4


Still fun in the daylight!!

Next update….just how sick would Ray be??? And how will it affect our plans…..

 

[Wonders10]

Cool!!! How old will she be? I took Seth at 13 months. I have a TR linked below (from October 2011) if you're interested. Probably some helpful info in there about taking a baby!

She'll be about 10 1/2 months. I remember that trip...I'll have to go back and re-read it!

 

[Wonders10]

We are going in June, as well! 6/4-6/11. I hope you have a great trip!

Thanks you too! We are checking in on the 13th, but we are staying at SSR too!

 

[ArielSRL]

She'll be about 10 1/2 months. I remember that trip...I'll have to go back and re-read it!

My son was 9.5 months on our last trip!

 

[MickeyReeds]

Bummer about your DH not feeling well--being sick on vacation is awful! We saw Enchanted Tales with Belle for the first time last summer, but my kids were hiding in the back trying not to get chosen! I though the whole show was really cute!

 

[ArielSRL]

Hey! Did you get your Alice shirt from Hot Topic? I saw a couple that looked like it on their site. I just ordered 4 Disney shirts from there and am planning to order like 4 more! I had no idea they had such cool Disney shirts. But someone here on the DIS clued me in.

 

[punkin413]

Hey! Did you get your Alice shirt from Hot Topic? I saw a couple that looked like it on their site. I just ordered 4 Disney shirts from there and am planning to order like 4 more! I had no idea they had such cool Disney shirts. But someone here on the DIS clued me in.

Yep! Yes, they have some really cute Disney stuff. I do have to order my sizes bigger than normal there bc their sizes are made for anorexic people.

 

[ArielSRL]

Yep! Yes, they have some really cute Disney stuff. I do have to order my sizes bigger than normal there bc their sizes are made for anorexic people.

I was a little worried about that - I usually wear large, sometimes medium (well, when I'm 10lbs lighter...lol) - and I ordered large and I was shocked they fit fine.

 

[hokieinpa]

Fun breakfast at 1900 Park Fare! Love the picture of Seth and the Mad Hatter!

Fun morning in Fantasyland with your friends. That's great that Seth got a part in Enchanted Tales! How fun!

And too bad Ray got sick. That Disney stomach bug is the worst. My oldest son got it while we were at MK for the Christmas party. Not a fun way to spend your park time!

 

[DisneyJo]

Seth makes the cutest Chip - so sweet. I also love his face with Tinker Bell

So sorry Ray was sick, I hope it passed quickly and he didn't pass it to you and Seth.

 

[punkin413]

Bummer about your DH not feeling well--being sick on vacation is awful! We saw Enchanted Tales with Belle for the first time last summer, but my kids were hiding in the back trying not to get chosen! I though the whole show was really cute!

Being sick at Disney World is the WORST! I hate it when that happens to my clients. It's awful!

Fun breakfast at 1900 Park Fare! Love the picture of Seth and the Mad Hatter!

Fun morning in Fantasyland with your friends. That's great that Seth got a part in Enchanted Tales! How fun!

And too bad Ray got sick. That Disney stomach bug is the worst. My oldest son got it while we were at MK for the Christmas party. Not a fun way to spend your park time!

We really loved Enchanted Tales with Belle! I knew I would b/c I loved the old show they did over near Cosmic Ray's (where Merida is now). But it was better than I expected! And yes, the Disney sickness is always so awful!!!

Seth makes the cutest Chip - so sweet. I also love his face with Tinker Bell

So sorry Ray was sick, I hope it passed quickly and he didn't pass it to you and Seth.

Thanks! I thought he made a good little Chip too. We shall see about Ray being sick.....oh, the suspense!!

 

[punkin413]

So onward we go.....a sick Daddy and all!

After Seven Dwarfs Mine Train we decided to head towards Tomorrowland to ride Buzz. I don't remember the wait time being long. Seth sat with me and I aimed the gun while he shot and Ray was steering and had his own gun. I am totally blaming the fact that he beat us on him steering....he wasn't letting us get near the bigger targets!!!



Here's the fastpass picture. You can see the intensity on our faces....



After that we decided to relax a little and take a ride on the People Mover before we left the park. Seth loved this one and still talks about it!



While we were on the People Mover we saw that Buzz had come out for a meet and greet. The line was pretty short so we decided to do that before heading out. Seth was excited to meet Buzz again! Buzz was the first Disney character Seth loved, and one of the first words he ever said! In fact when he was a baby, whenever he wanted to watch a movie, he'd just look at me and say, "Buuuuuzzzzzz!!!!" I think he thought all movies were just called Buzz.

I have to do a flashback here. Last trip Seth was 2-and-a-half and that was the first time he met Buzz. He was completely starstruck. This is my favorite picture. He's looking back at him like, "Is that REALLY him?????" (That's my mom in the pic with us.)



Okay, back to present day.....









We also stopped at this photopass spot on the way out for some pictures. These are hilarious b/c you can see that we were done at that point....I guess Ray's sickness was affecting us all in some way!



This one of Seth is just too much.




We took the boat instead of the monorail back to the Grand Floridian. It was a nice little boat ride!





Sigh......



I love the semi-new (to me) Alice in Wonderland water feature area they have for the kids at the GF!



That big green hat at the top tips over when it fills with water.



We stood and watched that for a few minutes and I'm sure Seth was wishing he could go play in it too!



Finally back at the car and at this point it's like 3:30 and we hadn't eaten anything since breakfast. We did have a big, late breakfast so it wasn't that unusual. I was fine with going back to AKL and getting something at The Mara. But no. Not my stubborn, sick husband. He was dead set on Earl of Sandwich. That's what we had in mind since we had planned this day out and that's what we were gonna do....dagum it! So off to Downtown Disney we headed (it actually changed to Disney Springs later that week, so I'm still calling it Downtown Disney since that's technically still correct. And it will always be that to me anyway!)

We got behind this on the way out of the Grand Floridian parking lot.







It was pretty but sloooooowwwwwww..........

Continued in next post: http://www.disboards.com/threads/so...updated-4-1-pg-2.3491817/page-3#post-55546815

 

[punkin413]

Okay, so get ready for my Downtown Disney vent. We drove. Because driving there usually isn't a big deal. BIG MISTAKE. Because they are doing a major overhaul on the parking area, they funnel you -- as in you have no choice but to go into -- this huge parking deck on the West Side. You can't park anywhere near The Landing or Marketplace. We had no interested in going to West Side or the Landing....we only wanted Marketplace! But we couldn't park anywhere near it. Add to that that the stroller rental area on West Side is on the other side of Quest, which is even further away than where we were ultimately heading, and we were not happy. Seth walked a bit but he was tired, too, and being only 5 and trying to keep pace with adults is tiring, I know. So Ray and I ended up taking turns carrying him. And I know it was killing Ray with him feeling like crap. It was killing me too.....the kid weighs almost 50 pounds! I sent an email to Disney Guest Services when we got home about this. It was just a nightmare. Later in the trip we tried to approach it from the other end, but it was just as bad....ended up in the same stupid parking deck. I understand they have to do things like this to improve the parking but I don't understand why they couldn't do it in stages. And it BAFFLES me that there was NO parking anywhere near 2/3 of the area!!!!

I headed to Wolfgang Puck Express to get Seth a kids chicken tenders meal to go because I knew he wouldn't like the stuff at Earl of Sandwich. He and Seth stopped by the Lego store while I headed to do that. I don't think they could resist going in there!







I met them back at Earl of Sandwich and we found a seat, then I went to order. It wasn't that busy in there....which was a first!

Ray got the original roast beef and I got the Caprese and a cup of chicken tortilla soup. I usually get the Hawaiian and I wish I had stuck with that old favorite. The Caprese was good but I wish the cheese had been warmer or melted...it was a little cold.

Ray's sandwich....



My sandwich....



My soup....



I forgot to take a picture of Seth's chicken but chicken tenders are chicken tenders. They were yummy though! Here's the cookie he got with them!



We also had to hit Goofy's Candy Company since it's so close. My boys were in heaven!



We stopped back by the Lego Store on our tromp back to the car - they had decided what they wanted to buy while we ate.

Surrounded by Legos!



Seth loved this display. He really likes the 7D cartoon that's based on the Seven Dwarfs.







Boys take selfies too!



I couldn't believe Ray even attempted this but I guess he had no other choice. He told me later when he took him off his shoulders near the parking deck he thought for a second he might pass out.



Finally we made it back to AKL to relax....4 hours after Ray started feeling bad! I was so peeved that he was being stubborn. It was around 5:30 by that point and we just sat around the room, watched the animals and relaxed for the rest of the evening. It was nice!

Some pictures of the animals from our room.....





This storm was moving in and the bottom fell out shortly after we got to the room. Glad we missed it at Downtown Disney!



After the storm.....







A panoramic shot, which I love!



A night shot. I took this around 8:30. If you look closely you can see 2 giraffes (1 sitting down) and then 3 deer-like things right outside our room.



It's so weird to think all that stuff is snoozing just yards away from you when you're dreaming of Mickey Mouse!

Next update.....Seth's battle with the Dark Side!

 

[stitchfan75]

Following! We were at AKL the exact same dates as you and went to MK that night! I was looking through your photos trying to see if my family was in the background...LOL

 

[punkin413]

Following! We were at AKL the exact same dates as you and went to MK that night! I was looking through your photos trying to see if my family was in the background...LOL

Oh how cool! Where was your room? We were at the pool that Monday afternoon and that Wednesday afternoon. Stayed pretty much near the slide b/c Seth loved it. Go back up and read the end again - I forgot to include the panoramic picture I took and it's pretty cool!

 

[Stasieki]

So happy you are doing a TR... I remember you from the Memom/Jill trip reports!! Seth is adorable.

 

[ArielSRL]

Did you pretty much see animals quite a bit from your room? I've read reports and threads here where certain savanna view rooms don't get many animals. Like I mentioned before, I am choosing between AKL Savanna view, BCV and BWV for June 2017. So I'm not sure I want to risk not seeing animals, as that would be one of the main reasons to choose AKV.

Thanks, in advance, for your experiences!

As for the update: Men can definitely be stubborn! Though I find most of them big ole babies when sick. So its refreshing to see a man who isn't....

Yum for Earl of Sandwich. I'm fairly certain we ate their in 2012. Yay for People Mover and meeting Buzz! I hope we get the opportunity in June. My boys would love him! Love the GF photos!

Great update! Enjoyed it!

 

[punkin413]

Wow.....wondering if I should continue with this. Thank you to those who've posted since the last update. But this is kind of sad!

 

[ArielSRL]

Just my 2 cents....on my PTR, I don't have many people keeping up with it but I guess I'm more doing it for me. And it will be the same for my TR. I mean, I live on these boards these days and I still don't have many people reading. I just think there is so much to read here on the boards that I'm just a drop in the bucket. But, I do understand that it can be a little disappointing to not have much of an audience. So, I say do what makes you happy. But I'm definitely enjoying it and looking forward to it, if you decide to continue!

ETA: I'm actually currently re-reading your previous TR, too.