SWW 2013:One tiny goal: A picture with every character!-New 6/11 - Link to TR

[lsenquiz]

We tried Rainforest on our last trip and liked it also. The food was good and the atmosphere was fun.

I am so glad to hear this. We have eaten at the Rainforest in DTD but never at AK.

I can't remember if you will have a car on this trip (I'm reading too many PTRs, ha) but if you do, you might want to keep your clothes in the car. This is the only parking lot where I'd consider it. But, it's fairly close and you could just send one person to grab your stuff at the end of the day.

We do have a car but we never use it once we arrive at Disney. One of my favorite things is to park it when we get to the resort and not get back into it until it is time to go home. We spend far too much time in our car at home and have to deal with pretty horrific traffic on a daily bases. It is my dream to retire somewhere where they do not allow cars at all

Since I won't get to visit AK on our trip, I'm going to thoroughly enjoy reading about this day in your TR!

I will be sure to take lots of good notes about this day for my TR!

 

[lsenquiz]

Day 6 – Wed May 29th​

Today will be our first Magic Kingdom day for this trip. The plan as always is to arrive in time for the Welcome Show. We will separate for a few minutes when we go through the gate because I will head here:


Peter_Pan_FastPass by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from internet

I have read on the DIS that you can get FPs to Dumbo and Barnstormer at the same time you get FPs to Peter Pan so I will get my Peter Pan FP first, than try for Barnstormer and then Dumbo.

And DH & DS will head here:


Astro-orbiter by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from internet

I do not like this ride because it makes me nauseous for some reason(not many rides do this to me).

So DH & DS will ride this while I am getting the Peter Pan FPs.

Once we meet back up we will all head here:


speedway by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from internet

DH and DS will ride and I will be in charge of standing on the bridge to get a picture.

After that it is off to DS’s 2nd favorite ride in all of Disney:


buzz ride by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from internet

We will ride this many, many, many times during this trip. I am still after the allusive score of 999,999. I even know the cheats to get it and have never been successful.

And then it is finally over to New Fantasy Land to ride this:


Little-Mermaid-Ride-Outside-Magic-Kingdom by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from internet

I know , I know, I cannot believe I waited until now to make my way over to FLE.

After exploring for a while, we will split up again and I will head here for FPs:


thunder mountain by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from EasyWDW

While the boys head here:


teacups by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from internet

This is another ride that makes me sick so I will not be on it. However, I do hope to get back in time to take a picture of my boys riding it.

I also hope to see this fellow:


white rabbit by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

I expect our early morning FPs will be open so we will take a magic flight through Neverland:


Peter_Pan_s_Flight_Sign by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed for Mouse Planet

Then off we go for a wild flight with Goofy:


Barnstormer by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from internet

Up next is a ride on a very special elephant:


dumbo by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from internet

Then we will head to the Fantasy Land station and jump on the train to Frontier Land.

By now it should be time for lunch so we will stop in here for a quick bite:


PecosBill by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from internet

This is my DHs favorite place to eat in all of Disney. He loves the fixins bar.

With our tummies full we will run over and pick up FPs for this:


Splash_Mountain_Fastpass_at_Disneys_Magic_Kingdom by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from internet

Then ride this:


big thunder mountain by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from internet

I am also hoping to see these guys while we are in this area:


woody&jessie by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from internet

The next thing on the list is a ride with Aladdin on his magic carpet:


aladdin's magic carpet by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from internet

Then a relaxing trip with some pirates:


pirates of the caribbean by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from internet

I am hoping our FPs for this will be open by now:


splash mountain by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

After Splash Mountain we have a bit of a walk to get back over to tomorrow land where we will ride Buzz again. I am also hoping to meet up with this Space Ranger in person:


buzz by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from internet

I would also love to spend some time with this guy:


stitch by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from internet


We have dinner reservations here so we will be heading to Fort Wilderness:


whispering canyon cafe by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from internet

I am really looking forward to the boat ride over and checking out the resort since we are planning to stay there for some of our September trip.

After dinner we will head back to MK for the last few attractions of the night:


MSEP by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from internet


wishes by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from internet

I know it seems crazy to arrive at MK for rope drop and not leave until the park closes but Day 7 is another down day so I am thinking we can handle it. We will take as many breaks throughout the day as we need and we will adjust the schedule if we need to since we have another MK and some catch all days planned during this trip.

 

[lsenquiz]

Day 7 - Thurs May 30th​

Today will be another down day. (remember, I promised DH we would have several of these on this trip.)

We will spend a couple of hours at the pool in the morning. Then we will head up to the room to shower and change and then head over here:


downtown-disney-sign by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo Borrowed from the internet


I am not much of a shopper so with the exception of the food, DTD has never quite appealed to me. However, I thought it might be a nice way to spend what is probably going to be a hot afternoon now that they had added this:


splitsville by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo Borrowed from the internet

To be honest my first thought when they started building this was; What? Who in the world would go to Disney and bowl? Well that was before the concept of a down day was drilled into my head by DH. So we will while away the afternoon bowling. If anyone else has done this I would love to hear your reviews.

When we are done, I will probably browse through some shops(honestly just from a lack of anything else to do) while DH & DS head here:


quest by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo Borrowed from the internet

This is one area I steer completely clear of. It is so incredibly loud in there and I always leave with a headache. Even DH & DS cannot stay in there for more than a couple of hours. I am thinking it will be dinner time when they are done so we will head here:


t-rex by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo Borrowed from the internet

This is another really loud place. DS loves it though so we tolerate it.

After dinner we will head back to BC as I really want to enjoy the pool in the evening:


beach club pool night 2 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo Borrowed from the internet


beach club pool night by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo Borrowed from the internet

 

[indimom]

Your plans sound like a lot of fun. I had NO idea that added a bowling alley at DD? Where on earth have I been???
Your MK day sounds busy, but very doable, especially with a down day after!
I'm with you on DQ. We spent a few hours on our last trip and not only was it noisy, there was no where for a bored mom to sit down except the floor or in the cafeteria area away from the kids. Who planned that place with no seats?? NOT my favorite place. I'm so glad I won't have to go near it on this trip. lol.

 

[lsenquiz]

Your plans sound like a lot of fun. I had NO idea that added a bowling alley at DD? Where on earth have I been???

I know I am really hoping to hear from some people that have done it so I can get an idea of what to expect.

 

[lsenquiz]

Unique Items from our Packing List​

Now that I am half way through posting our plans for this trip I thought I would take a little break and post some of the unique items on our packing list.

Since we have been going to Disney for several years our packing list is pretty standard and consistent from one trip to another. However, we do have some items on it that I think are unique.

First up is our DSs ID bracelet. We ordered these online for less than $5.00. The bracelet says if lost call and then lists both DH and my cell phone number. DS wears it the whole trip only taking it off to shower and sleep. Last year for our September trip I encountered a record number of 7 lost children and not one of them knew more than their parents first name.


ID bracelet by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

Auxiliary phone battery; We took this for the first time last year and it was a huge help. Normally I can go a few days without charging my phone but quickly realized that at Disney that is simply not the case. I am constantly checking wait times and FP availability and found that it can be a huge drain on a battery. So I bring this which allows me to recharge my phone without an outlet:


Extra Battery by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

Dealing with the heat; I also bring these cute little fans with us. You can actually put water in them for a mist while you are trying to cool off. They put out a really strong breeze for their size and clip right to your belt buckle.


o2 cool by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

Keeping things dry; We like to bring a water proof phone holder on our trips because we usually do at least one water park day. We actually wear this around the park and can hear the phone ringing inside. It really helps with our September trips when we have a big family that tends to separate. We also keep our KTTWC, some cash and our ID in here. Everything stays completely dry.


water proof case by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

Just for fun; I love to bring temporary tattoos on each trip for the kids. I have amassed a huge selection and all the kids enjoy putting new ones on every couple of days while we are at Disney. I am the type that would never have the courage to get a real tattoo but will even get into the swing of things and put one on while we are on vacation.


Tattoos by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

Souvenirs from previous trips; My DS loves the light spinners that you can get at Disney. He especially likes having one while we wait for the parade. However, we realized several years ago that these do not change often and our DS is just as happy with the one he got last year as he would be with a new one. This resulted in the establishment of the Disney tub at our house. It has every souvenir DS has ever gotten. We bring it back year after year and he is just as excited to see these come out of the box as he was when he first got them. Here are some of the things we will be bringing with us on this trip:


Buzz spinner by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

To entertain while we wait for a parade.


Mickey Lightsaber by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

Goes perfect with our SWW plans!


mickey fan by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

DS prefers this to the little fans DH and I carry.


Mickey Ears by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

These are actually mine. I love everything that lights up so I tend to bring a lot of light up stuff with us when we go. This includes my own light up glasses. I love, love, love, drinking a glass of wine, champagne or even my favorite Grand Marnier Slushie from my own light up glass:


glasses 2 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr


glasses by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

Yes I am that goofy. I actually carry my own glass into EPCOT and pour the slushie into it when I get it(only when it is dark out though). I usually have tons of people stopping me to ask me where I got the glass.

Welcome Bags; Last year I got the idea from the DIS creative board to bring a welcome bag from a special character that DS would find in the room after we checked in. I filled the bag at home before we left and brought it with us. Because we always check into the resort early in the morning our room is never ready. When I got the text last year that it was ready I ran up to the room and made sure the bag was where DS would find it. Then when DH, DS and I went to the room for the first time, DH and I acted very surprised that the bag was there. DS loved it and really felt like Peter Pan had left it just for him:


DSC01676 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

I filled the bags with inexpensive stuff that had a Disney theme and included a cute poem(again borrowed from an idea on the DIS). For anyone that is curious the poem goes like this:

I flew in to leave you
a welcome treat

Im so happy you are here
because you are so Neat!

Take some time to settle in and
Enjoy the goodies too.

Then come to the parks
I'll be waiting there for you!​

It is signed by Peter Pan with a little sword under the signature.


DSC01675 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

I also included invites in the bag(compliments of the great designers on the Dis creative board) to all the special events we were doing for that trip. Again the kids loved it and putting this together was something for me to focus on while I counted down the days until our trip.

I plan to do this same thing this year.

 

[lsenquiz]

101 days until summer vacation!
School needs to end so we can start it!
It's no problem for this generation
To find a good way to spend it

14 days at Disney​

​

​

101 days to disney by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr


Photo0526FourBySix by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr​

 

[mommytothreeboys]

Wow...I missed a few updates!

Your MK day looks great. Coming from a "Rope Drop to Wishes" girl, it looks completely do-able to me!

I have those little fans...they're awesome! I got them for our first trip in 2007 and they stay in my "vacation stash." Perfect for a hot day at the parks!

The light up glasses are fantastic! What a great idea. I always bring glow sticks for the boys, but a little light up fun for the adults sounds like a good time!

I'm glad I saw the temp tattoos. I like to take those as well and have to remember to buy them! Where do you find such a great variety?

 

[lsenquiz]

The light up glasses are fantastic! What a great idea. I always bring glow sticks for the boys, but a little light up fun for the adults sounds like a good time!

I love, love, love these. I am not usually a big drinker and honestly the glass is more important to me than the actual drink

I'm glad I saw the temp tattoos. I like to take those as well and have to remember to buy them! Where do you find such a great variety?

Most everything comes from Amazon. I am constantly looking for new ones. My kiddos love them. I actually just took a picture of a few of them. I have quite a large collection.

 

[mommytothreeboys]

I love, love, love these. I am not usually a big drinker and honestly the glass is more important to me than the actual drink




Most everything comes from Amazon. I am constantly looking for new ones. My kiddos love them. I actually just took a picture of a few of them. I have quite a large collection.

I'm going to have to check out Amazon. I usually just pick them up when I see them at Target or elsewhere...but I have limited choices. Thanks for the tip!

 

[StitchIsOurHero]

Caught up on all of the updates!! Love the light-up glasses! Happy 101 days!!!

 

[lsenquiz]

pooh by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr​

We have some very special plans for tonight so I will provide a "real life" update tomorrow!​

 

[lsenquiz]

As I mentioned in my last post, we had some very special plans for Valentine’s Day. Can you guess what we did?


DSC02629

Yep we went to the circus We had a blast. The company that both DH and I work for has a suite in the venue where the circus was being held. I received 4 tickets to the suite last week. They were amazing seats:


DSC02676 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

We took our DS8 and his cousin who is 10.


DSC02670 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

They both loved it. The theme for the circus was the Dragon. It has been a lot of years since I have been to a circus and the acts and stunts were pretty amazing.


DSC02645 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

For the Pre-show we got to watch an Elephant paint(the picture turned out very good and someone in the audience got to take it home)


DSC02640 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

The horse show was really good. My DD21 would have loved it as she used to show horses through middle and high school.


DSC02647 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

Of course they had some trapeze stunts


DSC02649 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr


DSC02657 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

They had acts with animals:


DSC02653 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr


DSC02660 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

My favorite was the act with the dogs. For some reason I have no pictures of that (maybe I was just watching too intently?)

The final act was with motorcycles. They drove 8 of them into this round cage and drove them around at full speed. The boys love, love, loved that. I could not get a picture because they were going so fast but I do have a picture of DS on one of the motorcycles during the preshow:


DSC02633 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

The Dragon in the finale was pretty awesome:


DSC02672 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

We really had an amazing time. One of the best parts; the boys thought it was the best Valentine’s day ever and it cost us $0

 

[Kitkat6595]

How fun! We have gone to that circus, but it's been a few years. I remember that elephant that paints. Glad you had a good time!

 

[indimom]

That's an awesome Valentines Day! We took the kids to Ringling Bros once when they were small. They really loved it. Especially the pre-show (do they still do this?) where the kids get to come down to the ring and pet some of the animals, see some close up clowning around. A great time!

 

[lsenquiz]

How fun! We have gone to that circus, but it's been a few years. I remember that elephant that paints. Glad you had a good time!

Thanks, we did have a good time. The boys really loved it.

That's an awesome Valentines Day! We took the kids to Ringling Bros once when they were small. They really loved it. Especially the pre-show (do they still do this?) where the kids get to come down to the ring and pet some of the animals, see some close up clowning around. A great time!

Yes they still have the preshow. It was very cool to get to hang out with the clowns.

 

[mommytothreeboys]

What a great Valentine's Day! We haven't been to the circus for so long....since Jonah(12) was little. It really is so fun! Great pics!

 

[lsenquiz]

What a great Valentine's Day! We haven't been to the circus for so long....since Jonah(12) was little. It really is so fun! Great pics!

Us too. The last time we went our DD21 was 10!

 

[lsenquiz]

Day 8 - Fri May 31st​

We will be heading to Hollywood Studios on this day for our second SWW. As always, we will be there by 8am for the 9am opening in case they open the park early(which they more than likely will). We will be following DIS prodigal so as soon as we enter the park my DH will head here:


TSMania_FP_Machines by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from Allears

Since my DS will have already done Jedi training early in the week we will head here:


padawan mind challange sign up by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from EasyWDW

With our FPs and hopefully our Padawan Mind Challenge admittance ticket in hand we will head here:


star tours by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo Borrowed from the internet

This is DS8s favorite attraction so I suspect we might ride this a few times.

The Star Wars characters will start coming out at 9am so we will spend quite a bit of time meeting and greeting with them. Remember we will have done this one day already so the focus will be on anyone we did not get the first day.


P1020242 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

This will be our first priority because she is hard to get since she helps with Padawan training.

I know we will wait at least 1 hour for this guy:


P1020075 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

Hoping that we time it right so this little fellow is out with the big guy when it is our turn:


P1020248 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

Another good guy that DS will want to spend time with:


kit fisco by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

We will also keep a close eye on the time so we make sure we use our FPs for this within the allotted window(if we need to we will stop M&Gs and run over to ride TSM and then come back and finish M&Gs):


TSM by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from the internet

After we ride TSM we will head to this new attraction:


legend-jack-sparrow-sign by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from Allears

I have not read good reviews about this attraction but feel like we have to go one time so we can decide for ourselves.

Since we saw the SWW parade earlier in the week, I want to get in line for this M&G during the parade.


P1020220 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

I am hoping the line will be empty because everyone is over watching the parade and that the droids will be the first ones out after the parade(we will check with a CM before we get in line). This was the hardest picture to get last time because they share a line with Luke and Leia. It took us almost 2 hours and we had to let people ahead of us in line to make sure the droids were out when we got to the front.

By this time we will be more than ready for lunch. I think we will just buy a few hotdogs and chips because we do not enjoy the counter service food at DHS.

After lunch it should be time to head here:


Padawan mind challange by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from the internet

I hope DS does ok with this. He is just 8 but he does know a lot about Star Wars.

After that we might try for a few more M&Gs. We may just focus on some of the characters that roam around instead of dealing with the lines:


the band by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr


the band2 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr


Gamorrean Guard by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr


Tuskan Raider2 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

This one is my favorite:


P1020226 by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

Finally we will head here:


lights, motors, action by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from the internet

By now it will be time for dinner. We have reservations here:


50's Prime Time Cafe by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr
Photo borrowed from the internet

Honestly, I am having second thoughts about this place. Although I know the food will be excellent, I just don’t know if our DS can handle the interaction with the waitresses. He is a picky eater and does not handle it well if he thinks someone is scolding him. So, I may end up canceling this. If I do we will head back to the boardwalk and probably just grab a pizza from the pizza window over there.

Either way we will be done with DHS(for this day at least – we still have one more day planned!). I hope to spend another relaxing evening at the amazing YC/BC pool.

 

[mommytothreeboys]

I had to smile when I read your concerns about your son at Prime Time. My DS12 is the same way. He is very sensitive about being scolded and hates to feel like he has disappointed someone or done the wrong thing. We are working on it with him, but I'm not sure he would handle the interaction at Prime Time very well. I totally understand!