Take the 2 year old they said...It'll be fun they said...They were right!

[themommy]

The pool down time looks like just what was needed. I wish I was there! Wine in your Disney mug? Bad girl!

I am so glad that I found that Olaf! He really seemed to love him. Thank you Toys R Us.

 

[themommy]

Thanks to your mommy, themommy, I found your trip report! Such a cute family you have!

There's simply too much to comment on so I'll just say that I'm all caught up and looking forward to reading more of your adventures.

Awww thanks for coming and checking her TR out! That was very nice of you. Aren't my GSs cute? I'm not biased or anything.

 

[KatMark]

A little down time at the pool is always a good thing and all the boys look to be having a lot of fun.

I LOVE the Olaf...great job grandma on finding it.

And you girls all look so cute on your night out with Justin.

 

[ashleymrush]

Thanks to your mommy, themommy, I found your trip report! Such a cute family you have!

There's simply too much to comment on so I'll just say that I'm all caught up and looking forward to reading more of your adventures.

I'm so happy to have you join! I don't quite have the following that you've got but I'm enjoying building new Dis friendships through this process! I hope you enjoy our story.

The pool down time looks like just what was needed. I wish I was there! Wine in your Disney mug? Bad girl!

It was great! The wine was too.

I am so glad that I found that Olaf! He really seemed to love him. Thank you Toys R Us.

Me too! He loves it a little too much. I've heard the summer song about 10 million times now.

A little down time at the pool is always a good thing and all the boys look to be having a lot of fun.

I LOVE the Olaf...great job grandma on finding it.

Jackson loves him too!

And you girls all look so cute on your night out with Justin.

Oh if only it were "with" Justin! Our seats were so high that I never had a chance of him setting eyes on me. But let's be honest...we're both married, where could it go? A girl can only dream!

 

[ashleymrush]

It's time now to talk about one of my favorite experiences on the entire trip. This part of the journey started months at the end of last year. To fully understand the significance of this day, you need to know a little more about my husband. Don't get me wrong, I love and adore my DH, but he is not the most outgoing and adventurous type. I fulfill that part of our relationship. He tends to be a reserved man who doesn't do anything to draw attention to himself. This includes no dancing (except slow dancing at weddings) and no Halloween costumes...EVER! This is the important part. My DH and I were sitting on the couch one evening while I was planning our trip and I brought up the idea of the Pirate League to him. My mom had agreed to pay for DS5s experience as his birthday gift. I was worried because my son can often be shy and I didn't want to waste the money on it and him back out. I knew that if daddy did it with him it would be a hit. So I posed the question - "Hey honey, do you want to dress up like a pirate with Brody? Puh-lease!" At first he was resistant. His response was "You want me to pay $30 to get some eye make-up and a fake sword?" (He already has the beard.) I then said, "No, I want you to pay $30 for a possible once in a lifetime experience and make a wonderful memory with your son that both of you will always remember." With that statement my DH paused for a moment. He then looked at me and said "Yes, I'll do it." My jaw DROPPED to the floor!!! So I made the reservations and that brought us to this day.

Our reservations were for 3:00 which in hindsight isn't the best time to try to come into the MK because the parade chaos is in full swing. We made it through and checked in though without any issues. I was hoping that I would be able to stick around and participate but DS2 was not having it. This is where that whole not taking a nap issue showed up. I took DS2 and we went for a fussy stroll. We walked around the gift shops in adventureland until we eventually got to this...


Sweet sleeping bliss! I found a quiet place to sit and we just hung out until I knew it was time for the boys to be done.

While we were resting, here is what they were up to...Sorry if it's too many pictures (is that possible?) I just can't narrow them down because I love them SO much!


That Blackbeard flag on the right holds a very special place in my DH's family, he couldn't help but get a picture.






He's so happy here!


The finished product! I must say, DH was happy he did the experience but also happy it was daytime and he could hide behind his sunglasses.






This is my favorite! I LOVE this picture!!!





All in all, both boys had fun and DS2 got a nap out of it! There is more to come and I wanted to write about it now but DS2 just woke from his current nap and I've got to go snatch him up. I'll have the rest of our evening update tonight or tomorrow afternoon.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

bummer your son was too short for EE .... we are hoping that my daughter will be able to ride it - she is like less than an inch short at this point. She refers to it as "the gorilla roller coaster"

We have the same pirate dog shirt for my son - love it!

And love the pirate makeovers - that photo of your son and husband as matching pirates is great! Your son looks so happy

 

[KatMark]

Ashley, what a great update.

I am so happy that your DH agreed to do it (how could he NOT when you put it the way you did ).

They both look great. That was one of the most fun things we did on our girls trip. The CM's in there are terrific.

I'm glad the little one finally took a nap. Just sorry you missed out on watching your son and DH get done up.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Awww, what a sweet story! I love how Disney can wash away the shyness! They make a great pair of pirates.

 

[MonsterWDWmom]

That is awesome of your DH to do. I think mine would have been hesitant also and I'm not sure I could have convinced to participate!

They both look great!

 

[ebradley23]

Following. We're taking our son who will be 2yr 9 mo in Sept, so your title definitely caught my eye.

 

[Laura Bell]

OMG! Your DH and DS5 look sooo great in their pirate get-ups...
Wonderful pictures.

 

[ashleymrush]

bummer your son was too short for EE .... we are hoping that my daughter will be able to ride it - she is like less than an inch short at this point. She refers to it as "the gorilla roller coaster"

It's so funny how they come up with their own names for rides! Good luck with her height. I hope she can ride it. It's so great when little ones are so brave to ride the thrill rides, it just stinks when you have to tell them no.

We have the same pirate dog shirt for my son - love it!

Isn't such a cute shirt! I love it too! Anything with a pirate on it is always welcome in our house. My DH even has a shirt with that scary Blackbeard flag on it. Luckily he only wears it to the gym. I'm sure that coupled with his bald head probably scares some people.

And love the pirate makeovers - that photo of your son and husband as matching pirates is great! Your son looks so happy

They both loved the experience. It was well worth the money. It was magical memory making. He still talks about it all the time.

Ashley, what a great update.

I am so happy that your DH agreed to do it (how could he NOT when you put it the way you did ).

I have a pretty good way of making him do what I want. I was surprised he agreed so quickly. I figured it would take me a couple weeks.

They both look great. That was one of the most fun things we did on our girls trip. The CM's in there are terrific.

I didn't even get to meet the CM that did his make-up since I was out with the little one. I wish DH would've gotten a picture with her and got her name. DH said she was really good with Brody and that he was shy, as usual, in the beginning but that she really got him to open up. Anyone that can do that is AMAZING in my book.

I'm glad the little one finally took a nap. Just sorry you missed out on watching your son and DH get done up.

We knew when we decided to bring DS2 that I would lose out on the experience at Pirate's League but it was nice for them to have their own father and son time.

Awww, what a sweet story! I love how Disney can wash away the shyness! They make a great pair of pirates.

It's amazing how much he came out of his shell. He's even been a little more open since we've been back. I think WDW helped a lot.

That is awesome of your DH to do. I think mine would have been hesitant also and I'm not sure I could have convinced to participate!

Just use the same line I did. It worked like a charm! Show him the pics of my DH and maybe you can convince him. "She how much her DH liked it! And he doesn't even dress up at Halloween!"

They both look great!

On a separate note, I saw your comment on KatMark's TR that your DD loves Dumbo and wants a Mrs. Jumbo. When I was searching for a stuffed Dumbo online for DS2, I saw that Mrs. Jumbo that comes with a little Dumbo also. I saw it on either Amazon or Disneystore.com, I can't remember which but I do know it's out there. Good luck!

Following. We're taking our son who will be 2yr 9 mo in Sept, so your title definitely caught my eye.

Thanks for joining in! I hope you enjoy reading about our adventures. I was so scared to take DS2, and while we did have some bumps in the road, it really was magical and worth it. I had so many people tell me, "why are you taking him, he won't remember anything" to which I would just reply, "those memories are for my DH and I, not him." I hope you have so much fun! He will love it!

OMG! Your DH and DS5 look sooo great in their pirate get-ups...
Wonderful pictures.

Thanks for following along! Don't they look so cute in their pirate gear. DS5 was walking around the house the other day with just the earring on. It was too funny!

 

[themommy]

I am so glad that they both had so much fun becoming pirates. It's a great thing when someone can get a kid to relax and have such a great experience. They both made very handsome pirates. Arrrgh!

I love this quote you had for the previous poster- "I have a pretty good way of making him do what I want." Here's hoping he never sees this quote!

 

[BStew]

Subscribing! We go in Nov with our DS2 so I am enjoying reading about your experience and hope to gain a couple tips!

 

[ashleymrush]

Just as a heads up as I start this post. We are lacking in pictures from this evening but I think you'll understand why as you read the post and then understand why I cried.

So we finished our Pirate's League experience and DS2 had gotten about an hour nap in. We were waiting to do the pirate parade, which is why I booked the experience so close to 4pm. But as luck would have it some ominous storm clouds were rolling in and you could hear the thunder in the background so they cancelled the parade. To be honest, I was worried that DS5 would be too shy to take part in it anyway but we were at least going to give it a shot.

We had a FP ready to go for Pirates of the Caribbean. (What else do you ride right after becoming a pirate?!) The sun was still out at this point though and since we knew it was bound to rain I suggested that we go get a snack and wait for the rain to get closer and then go on POTC when it was raining. So what do you get for a snack when in Adventureland?


DOLE WHIP PLEASE!!!! For some reason it looks like the tiniest Dole Whip ever in the photo. It really wasn't that small.

DH and I shared the Dole Whip and DS5 also go an ice cream (just vanilla...if he only knew what he was missing) and he shared that with DS2.


Aaaargh!! Brain freeze!!!

After we finished our ice cream we headed to POTC. It still wasn't raining but our FP was going to expire so we headed in. We went through the FP line and everything was moving along...until it wasn't anymore. The ride had broken down just before it was time for us to board the boat.


It's a bit dark, but why not grab a quick pirate pose while waiting?!

So we waited and waited and after about 15-20 minutes the line finally started moving along. As you can imagine, DS2 having just woke up from his short stroller nap was getting very antsy and frustrated. We got to our boat and loaded and then you would have thought it was the end of the world and DS2 started SCREAMING! It was decision time, do I stay on the boat with the child in mid-tantrum or do we leave gracefully while we had the chance. Some other people on the boat tried to get me to stay and feel ok about staying on but I just couldn't do it. I didn't want to ruin the experience for someone else. What if it was the only time someone could ride on their own trip. DH, being wonderful as always, offered to leave with DS2 so I could ride with DS5 but I insisted that he stay. They needed to complete their pirate experience. So a screaming DS2 and I took the long walk of shame back through the line and out into the world. Nothing it seemed would stop his tantrum. I was holding myself together quite well though...at this point.

At this point I turned and saw a good friend of mine that I work with and her DH. We had been talking all year about meeting up since we knew we'd be at WDW at the same time. Her and her DH were taking a trip for their anniversary. They are now "on the market" for adoption and knew that this would be their last pre-child trip. We both love Disney so much and it was nice to see them. Even if my child insisted on screaming the entire time we chatted. Unfortunately, no picture was able to come out of our meet but I'm glad the opportunity to meet occurred.

After DH and DS5 came out of POTC we headed over to the Jungle Cruise. At this point the weather was still a bit ominous but no rain had started to fall. DH was finally able to get DS2 to calm down. (He's usually pretty good at that. I'm mean mommy and he's awesome daddy!) We loaded up on our cruise boat and set off to finally see what we had been waiting for our entire trip...the back side of water!!! I was so excited about it I forgot to take a picture. That, and how can I resist taking a picture like this instead?


I love this picture!


Another Dumbo!!!

After the JC we saw that the Flying Carpets only had a 15 minute wait so we decided to hop on. Many people had started to clear out with the weather being iffy but it stayed away and never did rain! The boys LOVED the ride. Especially the spitting camel!







The boys were in good spirits so we decided to take the time to eat dinner. We got our food (burger for me...yum!, ribs for DH...too fatty!, and PB&J for DS5...same ol' same ol') and sat. DS2, who still hadn't used the bathroom, refused to eat and didn't want to sit and watch us eat. Tantrum #2 began and then DS5 told me that he didn't want to do BTMR with me (after I had switched it to that from a coveted 7DMT FP mind you). DS5 started to get very whiny. At this point I started to cry. So there was my DH, amazing as he is, dealing with a crying wife and two crying kids! God bless him! He stepped it up, talked DS5 into riding BTMR with me and agreed to take DS2 back to ride the flying carpets again. Have I mentioned how much I love this man? He always knows how and when to handle a situation when I can't.

After dinner we split up and DS5 and I went off to ride BTMR! We scanned our magic bands and were headed below and then the line stopped and we waited and waited and waited...again! I texted DH and told him to head to the store to get the boys some Mickey ears embroidered and that we would meet him there. After a bit of a wait a CM's voice came from above and said that they didn't know how long it would take to fix the ride. DS5 was once again at a breaking point so we turned around and walked back through the line...again. Sorry, no pictures since the ride didn't happen. Wish I would've taken a sad face selfie at this point. (Don't worry we will eventually ride it on another day!)

We had a nice walk back up to the front of the park and met up with DH and DS2 in the store. As we were leaving we passed the popcorn stand and we decided to grab some since DS2 hadn't eaten, loves popcorn, and it is a natural laxative!!!


You'd never even know from this picture the craziness that had occurred!

We got back to the hotel and it was still light out. DS2 desperately needed to go to bed so I suggested that DH and DS5 head off for a quick night swim while I got DS2 to sleep. This worked like a charm! WHEW...what a day! It had it's ups and downs but was still a great day. Looking back now, the memories of the tantrums are fading and only the good shines through. Kind of like the pain of childbirth or getting a tattoo! It's amazing how our minds can clear out the bad stuff and keep the good sometimes.

UP NEXT: Toys, toys, and more toys!!! A morning in DTD!

 

[KatMark]

I'm so sorry that DS2 was having a moment and you couldn't do Pirates with the rest of the family. But you were right...a nice way for Dad and DS1 to "finish" their experience. I absolutely LOVE the photof DS2 and Dad on the Jungle Cruise...priceless.

Wow...very seldom have I seen the Carpets at anything under 25-30 minutes (unless it's first thing in the morning). Score on that one.

Bonus points for Dad for handling the second tantrum! He is a great hubby.

about BTMR breaking down again and you not getting on it (but glad to know you get on it another day).

Popcorn...my favorite Disney snack.

 

[MonsterWDWmom]

Wow sorry the rest of your day was so hard.

It seems like even though it was tough at times you all still had a blast!

 

[themommy]

Yum, Dole Whip I thought the Brody acting like a pirate picture was a picture of him being ticked off because the ride was broken down. LOL Those were great pics on the Jungle Cruise and Magic Carpets.

I am so sorry about Jackson being such a little stinker. It's bound to happen with all kids and I think all of us with kids has been there before. You are right about one thing...we do tend to remember good times much better. The bad ones fade. Or is it just the ?

 

[ashleymrush]

I'm so sorry that DS2 was having a moment and you couldn't do Pirates with the rest of the family. But you were right...a nice way for Dad and DS1 to "finish" their experience. I absolutely LOVE the photof DS2 and Dad on the Jungle Cruise...priceless.

It wasn't that big of a deal. I've ridden it more times than I can count. I thought it was really nice how some people were trying to tell me to stay on but I just couldn't do that to them. I love that Jungle Cruise photo too. I've got about 3-4 different ones but that one was my favorite.

Wow...very seldom have I seen the Carpets at anything under 25-30 minutes (unless it's first thing in the morning). Score on that one.

We were excited to ride it. I didn't know that the camel spits until it was too late though. It was my first time riding too.

Bonus points for Dad for handling the second tantrum! He is a great hubby.

He really is.

about BTMR breaking down again and you not getting on it (but glad to know you get on it another day).

Me too. It's one of my favs!

Popcorn...my favorite Disney snack.

They ate every last kernel!

Wow sorry the rest of your day was so hard.

It seems like even though it was tough at times you all still had a blast!

It had it's rough points but I'm the kind of person that likes to find the positive in everything. I was at Disney after all. We knew that we would have moments like this so we were prepared and were not going to let them bring us down.

Yum, Dole Whip I thought the Brody acting like a pirate picture was a picture of him being ticked off because the ride was broken down. LOL Those were great pics on the Jungle Cruise and Magic Carpets.

I love them too.

I am so sorry about Jackson being such a little stinker. It's bound to happen with all kids and I think all of us with kids has been there before. You are right about one thing...we do tend to remember good times much better. The bad ones fade. Or is it just the ?

Maybe a little of both.

 

[ashleymrush]

Day 4 was to be our "off" day. We wanted a day in which we could shop, swim and just relax half way through the trip. We slept in that morning to a "late" 8:00. My boys have always been early risers. We had an ADR for this evening which meant he had an extra CS meal to bank. We decided to go eat breakfast in the food court. Most mornings we had just been eating bagels, poptarts, applesauce, etc. A good breakfast was definitely needed.

The good news is that DS2 LOVES breakfast food. I was really hoping that we could finally get a good meal in him. We all got pancakes or Mickey waffles (because they are necessary at all Disney breakfasts). Luckily, DS2 took the bait! He devoured an entire serving of pancakes. I was over the moon excited. Sorry there are no pictures. I was too excited that food was being eaten to take photos.

After eating breakfast we planned to head down to DTD and let the boys spend some of their money on some toys and souvenirs. I don't think I mentioned this before but at the birthday party for DS5 we asked our friends and family to give cash or gift cards so that he could buy his own birthday gifts while we were on vacation. I never imagined that it would amount to DS5 having about $225 in spending cash. The rational side of me would have wanted to save that money for him or at least keep some of it aside but this was Disney money and I wanted him to enjoy. He literally spent every last penny while we were there. DS2 also had just under $100 of spending money so he got to get some items as well.

We decided to brave driving to DTD since it was so early. I knew there was a lot of construction going on that was effecting the parking lots. We were right to try though because we got a spot right in front without any problems. We walked through the construction walls and found ourselves in front of the Lego store. Ever since DS5 saw the Lego Movie he's been obsessed. We had yet to purchase any Legos for him so he was VERY excited to be able to pick something out. Not before a quick picture though.



DS2 was resisting being in his stroller at this time. Too be honest I think that full stomach of food was hurting his stomach since he had still not gone to the bathroom. Poor guy! So while this was going on...



I left DH and DS5 to shop around the Lego store and took DS2 to calm down and to get myself a drink from Starbucks. Yum! DS2 calmed down after about 10 minutes and we went trotting around the Lego store to get a few more photos.





After leaving the Lego Store we headed over to the World of Disney. I had one thing in mind to purchase for myself and it took me all of 5 minutes to find it. I purchased this bound journal with the purchase of keeping writings about all of our family Disney vacations in it throughout the years. I had seen another person on the Disboards discuss how they did the same and their kids love going back and reading about their adventures. I'm so excited about this and hope that I can keep the tradition going from trip to trip without slacking on it.




We found a couple items for the boys in here as well and then headed over to the actual toy store in DTD where even more goodies were bought. These pictures were taken once we got home but you can see that both of them hit the Disney toy jackpot! Now that the boys are back to reality they have quickly learned that every trip to a store does not result in a toy anymore.






These are DS2's toys. He refused to pose with them.


Their hats, even though they never wore them until we got home. Jackson still hasn't put his on.


Daddy and Brody putting together the beloved Lego robot once we got home!


Finished product! This is as valuable as gold in our house now.

We only had one last item to purchase at this point, our Christmas ornament. I've been collecting an ornament from the Christmas store for the last 12 years. Those, coupled with numerous Hallmark ornaments, have turned our tree into an official "Disney" tree. Here is this year's addition to the collection. I found it to be very fitting and can't wait to hang it on our tree!



We had plans to eat at Earl of Sandwich (my favorite) for lunch but the line was already quite long when we arrived and we decided to just head back to the hotel to eat lunch at the food court...again. This would allow us time to swim before naps and before heading to Poly for our ADR.

UP NEXT: My first Disney sushi...DELISH!!!!