Spinal Dalmatians, Eliminations, and The Merry Go Round of Life...June 2011 New 2/19

[Sooze]

And at eating. I was having a conversation with Scott about this today. He is always amazed at how fast I sometimes eat. It's not ALWAYS, but occasionally it's crazy. When you are used to eating lunch in 5.5 minutes because you have to go to the bathroom, eat, make copies, prepare for an art/science/food project, return 4 phone calls and emails all in a 20 minute period of time, eating fast becomes an art!

COMPLETELY agree!!!

 

[ZFamily5]

Too funny that Sophie was so excited for Pop Tarts! I don't really care for fruit that much, so finding a balance of healthy and a little bit of junk food can be hard! Love the pictures of her in front of the Sorcerer's Hat!

 

[kittylady1972]

Cute Sophie photos! I totally know what you mean about rope drop. While we always plan to TRY to make rope drop several times per trip, it very RARELY happens when you are trying to get three kids and a husband out the door! Ok many times it ends up being ME slowing us down as I'm scrambling to pack the bag for the day and make sure I have everything I need (camera, video camera, tickets, snacks, meds, whatever else I can carry!).

 

[teachermommy78]

After meeting up with Scott's parents (his mom was fine, by the way, just a little sore), we decided to head straight to Star Tours. It was still right after rope drop and we didn't have a fast pass, so we decided to get in line right away. Finn, of course, couldn't ride. My MIL hesitantly took him. THANKFULLY there was a Jedi show starting right at that moment. Phew. Finn was excited to watch. He is a Star Wars fan, too!

We got into the queue which listed 20 minutes in the standby line. Not terrible!

We talked to Ethan, wondering if he would want to try to get into Jedi training later. His response...NO WAY! Good. That's one less thing to try to fit in! None of us had ever been on the original Star Tours so we had no idea what the orginal queue or ride were like. We thought the queue was interesting! Lots to look at. And we were moving fast! Suddenly Ethan spotted these guys coming out of a door next to the outside part of the queue!

Soon we were inside and ZIPPING through the line. No way this was a 20 minute wait! There wasn't even time to take pictures of anything!

Then we were on the ride! I think it was less than a 10 minute wait! AWESOME! Ethan loved the ride. I thought it was entertaining, but not something I'd want to do over and over again. Then again, I'm not much of a star wars girl. On the way out, we had to pass through the store. Of course, what is at the end of the store? The build your own light sabers. UGH. That is one of the things Ethan and Finn definitely wanted to do. But we weren't doing it today. Finn and my MIL were waiting in the heat and the line was long. It was Ethan's turn for a melt down. He was so mad, and hitting, and pouting. I don't put up with hitting. Straight to time out, sir. He sat for his 5 minutes. We got up, and he immediately started squeezing his nails into my hand. We found my MIL, I had them move on (she was chatting with a new friend) and I sat E down in our stroller and he had ANOTHER time out. At this point he had calmed down. The group was headed toward the Muppet Show. I was crabby and hot. But Ethan was feeling better and had apologized and hugged me. I took my time and by the time I arrived, I was feeling a bit less hostile!

That last picture is Scott discovering that the wall is NOT brick!

The holding area was air conditioned and a welcome relief!!! It was a HOT one!!! We all enjoyed the show. Especially Finn and my MIL who seem to get ripped off a lot with us all riding the rides (luckily my MIL only enjoys rides that 3 year olds are allowed on!).

After The Muppets, we are getting a little hungry! We need a counter service meal. What should we choose?

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

I find they always overestimate the wait times in the morning, glad Star Tours was pretty much a walk-on for you.

 

[teachermommy78]

I find they always overestimate the wait times in the morning, glad Star Tours was pretty much a walk-on for you.

much better to over than under estimate!

 

[teachermommy78]

Where we left off, we were leaving the muppets and getting ready to eat! I think Sophie and I headed off to the bathrooms because we weren't sure where we were eating and she had to go BAD. We stopped to trade a pin on the way and saw these guys.

The line was about 104 hours long (you know, one for every day of their summer vacation!) so we opted to just wave and snap a picture from afar. Scott called me and told me where they were headed and Sophie and I enjoyed the sights!

We were headed here!

I really love the idea of pizza planet. I think it's so cool that the kids can pretend that they are in Toy Story's restaurant. But it was SO CROWDED! UGH!!! We got in line to order, and Scott ran for the next fast passes. We headed upstairs in the elevator. Every single table was full. But...Right there! All the way in the corner a family was getting up and we grabbed the table. Phew. It really is difficult traveling with 7 people.

Ethan dropped his applesauce all over the floor and was really sad. A few seconds later a mom comes over with a cookie and unopened applesauce and offers it to him. She said they weren't going to eat it and would like for him to have it. It was really, really nice. I was just grateful that Ethan hadn't had a meltdown over it dropping, and just looked kind of forlorn! It was one of those moments when the kids were being really good and I was so proud. We all LIKED pizza planet's pizza. Nothing spectacular, but we liked it! Scott hated his sandwich. The sandwich LOOKED phenomenal, but was kind of bland. While we were waiting for Scott to finish up, I took the kids downstairs for some games. I got them each $2 in quarters. Which lasted about 43 seconds.

Then we hit the streets like the city goers we are.

We decided to go on the backlot tour. Sophie found a hidden mickey while we were wating.

We, of course, had to take a picture of the Hannah Montana shed.

On our way to meet Uncle Ron and Aunt Judy, we found this guy!!!

And this one...

We met up with Uncle Ron and Aunt Judy. Get this...they didn't get into their room until 11 pm the night before!!! We told them that they NEEDED to complain, but they weren't going to. They were staying at POR and the building they ended up with was preferred, if I remember correctly, so I think they got an upgrade. But sheesh! They came bearing gifts for the kids. Each got a shark tooth necklace and some candy!

Then it was off to...The TOWER OF TERROR!!!!

Uncle Ron came with grandpa, Sophie, Ethan, Scott, and I. Sophie was peeing in her pants scared. But she made it through and liked it. Ethan said he LOVED it, but didn't want to do it again.

Up next...Sophie's FAVORITE RIDE!!!!

 

[ZFamily5]

We too, love the concept of Pizza Planet, but it is way too crowded! Love the picture of Ethan and Finn playing in the water! Too cute! Can't wait for more!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Love the Sully picture, adorable!

 

[teachermommy78]

We too, love the concept of Pizza Planet, but it is way too crowded! Love the picture of Ethan and Finn playing in the water! Too cute! Can't wait for more!

Thanks!!! I had high hopes for pizza planet. It was good, but we would probably take it to go or something next time.

Love the Sully picture, adorable!

Thanks! Doesn't he look so snuggly?

 

[Scarlett824]

Loving your trip report so far. Getting excited for our trip in 21 days! Woo hoo!!!

I love how Sophie & Ethan will go on most of the rides. Jake won't go on TOT or RNRC or even Test Track.

 

[PirateKate]

Pizza Planet seems good in theory, but I'm always afraid it will be too loud and too crowded. We frequently end up at the ABC Commissary on DHS days. It may not be the best food, but it is peaceful, air conditioned, and never crowded.

I think it would be really fun to meet Phineas and Ferb. Too bad the line was 104 hours long.

 

[teachermommy78]

Loving your trip report so far. Getting excited for our trip in 21 days! Woo hoo!!!

I love how Sophie & Ethan will go on most of the rides. Jake won't go on TOT or RNRC or even Test Track.

You are SO close. And I am SO jealous! Both kids are very brave when it comes to rides! We watched some youtube ride videos, and that helped a bit. I also talked about how silly TOT and HM were. That made them a bit braver. Plus we go to Six Flags a TON and are a roller coaster family. Start em young!

Pizza Planet seems good in theory, but I'm always afraid it will be too loud and too crowded. We frequently end up at the ABC Commissary on DHS days. It may not be the best food, but it is peaceful, air conditioned, and never crowded.

I think it would be really fun to meet Phineas and Ferb. Too bad the line was 104 hours long.

HS doesn't really have too much to choose from in terms of counter service. I don't think we'd do pizza planet again, unless it was deserted. And, how I love Phineas and Ferb!!! It is the best show, and they are the CUTEST characters! Bus yes, the line was painful to look at. If they were face characters (wouldn't that be odd?) it MIGHT be worth it. But it wasn't worth it for a quick 2 second picture. Maybe we'll get there early next time if they are still there.

 

[teachermommy78]

Where we left off, we were headed for a new ride for Sophie!!!

"Mom, I don't feel good...my tummy hurts."

This was the first of COUNTLESS times I heard this from Sophie on this trip. I did what any red blooded American mom would do. I panicked. Check the forehead, ask 8 million questions, push the water, potty break, etc. etc. etc. Then the light bulb went off...

"Are you nervous for this ride?"

"NOOOOO! Let's just do this!"

So we get in line for Rock N Roller Coaster. Scott, grandpa, Sophie and I would be riding. Ethan was a smidge too short and he would be staying back with Finn, grandma, Uncle Ron, and Aunt Judy. We had fast passes and zoomed right on through. Sophie was TOTALLY fine and enjoying the queue. Especially the preshow. Then she saw the cars leave! She started whimpering. I would never FORCE my child to ride a ride, but I knew she would love it so I encouraged her to try it out. Soon we were loading, and we were off. She is SQUEALING, and GIGGLING, and WOOOHINNNNG! Super cute.

And miracle of miracles, her tummy STOPPED hurting! We got off the ride and found Finn and Ethan in a a little craft area outside of the ride having a BLAST. Sophie joined in and they each made a sticker craft. The remnants were generously given to grandpa.

After that, Uncle Ron and Aunt Judy had to head to EPCOT for a reservation in Germany and we had a date with Woody and his friends!!! Our FPs for Toy Story were ready! Even grandma and Finn could ride, so they were excited.

Tell me these two don't look like twins! We get asked that constantly. I never make the people feel bad when they somehow don't notice the humongous height difference!

Sophie pretending to be Jessie

I really do love this ride, but I kinda don't see what the CRAZY, PSYCHO fuss is over it!!! I would definitely be sad if I didn't get to ride it on a trip, but not enough to wait 2 hours! Or to trample small children to get there! Anyway, we had lots of fun. And I TOTALLY kicked Finn's butt. SUCKER!!!!

Grandpa beat Sophie, and this is her angry face

It was JUST about time for our ADR, so we start wandering over!

We are going to...

when we ate at Hollywood and Vine last trip, we saw this place while going to the bathroom (they share bathrooms). We thought it looked SO FUN! We were all excited to try it out. We got there about 20 minutes early, so we just hung out for a bit.

After we checked in, we got to lounge for a few minutes. The set up in the waiting area reminds me a lot of my inlaw's house! Did I just type that out loud?

Up Next...Grandma gets in TROUBLE!!!

 

[Kat in GA]

I bet you were just so proud of her for riding RnR!! When we went over the summer, Madalyn's friend that joined us was all psyched to ride RnR - but when we got past the pre-show and she saw the cars taking off - she started to panic. And then when it was time to get in our limo - she refused. ACK!! I just don't get it. She goes on ALL the rides at Six Flags. She wouldn't ride Everest either. But. Oh well. More fast passes for the rest of us

My kids LOVE 50's Prime Time, too. We have ADRs for there when we go in October. I have been making quite a few ADRs for clients at Hollywood and Vine - but my kids have outgrown the characters there - what did ya'll think of the food?

 

[Sooze]

So glad Sophie toughed it out and got to experience RnRCoaster!!

I totally laughed out loud at the "did I just type that out loud?" comment! So funny!

We LOVE 50's PTC. I cannot wait to hear about the trouble maker!

 

[teachermommy78]

I bet you were just so proud of her for riding RnR!! When we went over the summer, Madalyn's friend that joined us was all psyched to ride RnR - but when we got past the pre-show and she saw the cars taking off - she started to panic. And then when it was time to get in our limo - she refused. ACK!! I just don't get it. She goes on ALL the rides at Six Flags. She wouldn't ride Everest either. But. Oh well. More fast passes for the rest of us

My kids LOVE 50's Prime Time, too. We have ADRs for there when we go in October. I have been making quite a few ADRs for clients at Hollywood and Vine - but my kids have outgrown the characters there - what did ya'll think of the food?

It's very odd how kids get things stuck in their heads in terms of fears! Ethan will ride any and all roller coasters, but won't go down a waterslide (even with a zero depth pool at the bottom). Are you talking about the food for H & V or 50's prime time? From what I remember of H&V (3 years ago, remember), it was OK. Regular old buffet. We really thought the character interaction and dancing were great. We probably would have done it again this year, but we had so many other places we wanted to try! As for the food at 50's, I will report about that next!

So glad Sophie toughed it out and got to experience RnRCoaster!!

I totally laughed out loud at the "did I just type that out loud?" comment! So funny!

We LOVE 50's PTC. I cannot wait to hear about the trouble maker!

I'm glad she loved it, too! She went on it a total of 5 times this trip. She would take any leftover FPs and go. She may have even gone by herself one time. I was back at the hotel that day (foreshadowing!) and she was with the rest of the family. I'm only slightly kidding about my inlaws' house. At least they moved the black velvet painting of Hawaii out of the living room and into the porch a few years back!

 

[teachermommy78]

Beep beep beep...We take a break from the normal TR writing for this special update...beep beep beep!

We bought tickets for the Taylor Swift concert back in April for Sophie's bday. We don't normally buy the kids anything for their bday (we count the party as their present), but this came up and we knew it would be super special. Anyway, we didn't tell her about it. Yesterday we went shopping and I got her this black tule (sp?) skirt. She is so oblivious to what she wears that she didn't even question that I asked her to change into this concert outfit after gymnastics today. We told her that we were going school supply shopping. We pull past the arena (a target we frequent is right across the street from the arena) and she sighs about how lucky all those people are who get to see Taylor Swift. Then we pull into the parking lot. She notices that I'm videotaping her and she gets annoyed, thinking I'm just being annoying or something. Me? Annoying with pictures and video? Never!!! Here is the big reveal! Disclaimer, she has her hands in her mouth for some reason here, but is not a thumb sucker. She wanted me to be sure to put this in before I posted it. . If this doesnt work, I will have to upload to photo bucket when I get home. Please repsond and let me know if you can't see it.
http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri=%2F&gl=US#/watch?v=WWBH-NT2-gM

 

[Kat in GA]

It's very odd how kids get things stuck in their heads in terms of fears! Ethan will ride any and all roller coasters, but won't go down a waterslide (even with a zero depth pool at the bottom). Are you talking about the food for H & V or 50's prime time? From what I remember of H&V (3 years ago, remember), it was OK. Regular old buffet. We really thought the character interaction and dancing were great. We probably would have done it again this year, but we had so many other places we wanted to try! As for the food at 50's, I will report about that next!

I was asking about food at H&V - I've never been - so it's hard to know if I should steer people with young children there or not But - it's great to know about the dancing and interacting. Sometimes it's all about the atmosphere!

 

[teachermommy78]

I was asking about food at H&V - I've never been - so it's hard to know if I should steer people with young children there or not But - it's great to know about the dancing and interacting. Sometimes it's all about the atmosphere!

Oh yeah...people with young children would definitely be interested in this. Like I said, run of the mill buffet, but the experience is fabulous!