The Darling Family June 2010 Trip Report: When are the Parents Showing Up?11/5 New TR

[dismagiclover]

Day 4 was a day at sea. I think they did some of the kids club activities. Like make potato cars.

They did some activites with my parents as well. They learned how to make towel animals. Wendy really enjoyed this.

Silly Grandpa

Another shot from around the boat

Taking a break in the state room.

This is some sort of closing ceremonies for the kids club.

I mentioned earlier how much the girls loved their Shirley Temples. Actually it was the cherries they really loved. On the last night their servers made sure they had as many cherries as they wanted.

Here the girls are with their servers.

Here are a few things Wendy brought back from the cruise.

This is a magnet clip.

A charm for her bracelet.

It’s pretty obvious they all had a fabulous time! Definitely the highlight of the vacation for Wendy! In fact, she told me it was the coolest thing she’s done in her entire life!

Coming up we will get back to our regularly scheduled trip report.

 

[klacey1]

Learning to make towel animals sounds soooo cool! That charm for her bracelet is really cute! Glad she had such an amazing time!!

 

[creativeamanda]

Wow--I'd love to learn how to make the towel anmals--that looks like so much fun!

 

[Planning fanatic mom]

I loved the cruise report. I am totally taking my grandkids on a \Disney Cruise some day.

Thanks for sharing!

 

[DrMomof3]

All I can say is WOW! It looks so amazing!!! I was already obsessed with going on a Disney cruise some day but now I'm convinced!

Amanda

 

[jmskinner]

I got a little behind, so going back to Michaels decision that he was done at AK. That is my Jacob, when he is done, he is done.

And those pics where he wouldn't look at the camera, even though it wasn't the best moment, it will be a funny memory later on.

The cruise pics look fabulous! I haven't really wanted to do one, think it is a control issue (can't leave when I want.). But that looks like so much fun.

OKW reminds me of POR, very pretty!

 

[praisehisname]

Yikes, I was dreadfully behind! School starting and all... Anyway, I'm all caught up and looking forward to staying that way!

 

[dismagiclover]

Learning to make towel animals sounds soooo cool! That charm for her bracelet is really cute! Glad she had such an amazing time!!

She gets a new charm each trip so that was perfect for her.

Wow--I'd love to learn how to make the towel anmals--that looks like so much fun!

Wendy came home all ready to decorate our bathroom with towel animals. It was cute.

I loved the cruise report. I am totally taking my grandkids on a \Disney Cruise some day.

Thanks for sharing!

Your grandkids will think you are the coolest grandma ever!

All I can say is WOW! It looks so amazing!!! I was already obsessed with going on a Disney cruise some day but now I'm convinced!

Amanda

I think Disney cruises are in a class all their own.

I got a little behind, so going back to Michaels decision that he was done at AK. That is my Jacob, when he is done, he is done.

And those pics where he wouldn't look at the camera, even though it wasn't the best moment, it will be a funny memory later on.

The cruise pics look fabulous! I haven't really wanted to do one, think it is a control issue (can't leave when I want.). But that looks like so much fun.

OKW reminds me of POR, very pretty!

I don't mind the pictures where Michael isn't looking at the camera. We got so many pictures on this trip that a little variety is good, right? I think OKW is probably similar to POR. Someday I want to visit the Port Orleans resort.

 

[Stefy]

I also think it is awesome Captain Jack was there. They actually met Captain Jack in the Caribbean! How cool is that?

You can't get more authentic then that

Thanks for sharing the Cruise report with us, was lots of fun reading along

 

[dismagiclover]

You can't get more authentic then that

Thanks for sharing the Cruise report with us, was lots of fun reading along

It is fun to read about, but it would have been more fun if I was actually there

 

[Stefy]

It is fun to read about, but it would have been more fun if I was actually there

totally there with you on that one

 

[dismagiclover]

Back to our regularly scheduled trip report. Quick refresher we’d just spent the afternoon at Old Key West hanging out with the cousins.

After our fun and relaxing afternoon with the cousins we headed over to Hollywood Studios. I wanted to try and catch the character bonanza that happens in the late afternoon at the Animation Building. But of course we had to get a Photopass picture on the way. Michael was being uncooperative so it’s me, Wendy and John.

We then headed over to the Animation Building and we were in luck. There were characters everywhere. Unfortunately this is no longer a secret so there were also people everywhere. The boys expressed very little interest in waiting in lines, but I convinced Wendy to meet these characters we’d never met before. (The boys went to play on the computers.)

They were cute with her. Pinocchio had a bit of a crush on Wendy and she was a bit embarrassed by it.

Gepetto seemed to approve of Pinocchio’s choice.

The other character I wanted to meet was Lotso. Now at this point I had not yet seen the movie, but Lotso looked so cuddly and cute I couldn’t resist. Wendy, on the other hand, had seen Toy Story 3 on her cruise. I mentioned we were meeting Lotso next and she said, “No way. He is a super bad guy.” I actually laughed at that and said, “Oh Wendy. How could he be a bad guy? Look how cuddly he is.” Wendy said, “Whatever, Mom.” But she agreed to get in line with us. When I later saw the movie I understood her reaction. How could Disney make such a bad guy so cute? Anyway Lotso was on a short break when this guy came out.

A rescue mission, I guess. Lotso arrived. Guess he doesn’t get along with the Army Men.

We finally got a turn to meet him. Michael believed Wendy about the Bad Guy thing and didn’t want anything to do with him.

Lotso is as soft and cuddly as he looks. Plus he smells like strawberries. Still can’t believe they made such a bad guy so incredibly adorable. So after meeting Lotso even Wendy rebelled and refused to wait in any more character lines. She joined her brothers on the computers, and I snapped a few random pictures.

There were more characters than this. I believe Goofy was also there and we saw Snow White as we were walking out. Plus Mickey in the Sorcerer’s Hat was in his regular spot as well as Mr. Incredible and Frozone. It really is a character jackpot. The kids were very entertained by the computers.

Since the kids didn’t want to meet any more characters and I didn’t want to play on the computers we decided to head out. Once again we had no immediate plans. Where did we head next?

 

[praisehisname]

I like the character pics you got; there were a lot there! Too bad the kids were not in a picture-taking mood.

 

[Stefy]

Great photos

I get how Wendy feels about Lotso, he is one mean Disney villain thats for sure, but like you say why make him so cute and cuddly.

 

[klacey1]

That's terrific that they make Lotso smell like strawberries!! I agree with you about the evilness of making Lotso so cuddly. All of the classic villains are obviously such-- like Captain Hook, and Sher Khan, etc. I don't think they should have had Lotso doing meet-n-greets before the movie came out and kids didn't realize he was a bad guy! He was in there before May!!
You got some great pics, even though the kids tired of it!

 

[dismagiclover]

I like the character pics you got; there were a lot there! Too bad the kids were not in a picture-taking mood.

I'm definitely more into the whole character thing than my kids. Especially with the rarer characters. I just try to be grateful they take as many character pictures as they do. I'm sure the day isn't too far away when it will be tough to get them to pose with any character.

Great photos

I get how Wendy feels about Lotso, he is one mean Disney villain thats for sure, but like you say why make him so cute and cuddly.

I really don't get the whole Lotso thing. You would never guess he's a bad guy by looking at him. And he is really bad! He never does anything to redeem himself.

That's terrific that they make Lotso smell like strawberries!! I agree with you about the evilness of making Lotso so cuddly. All of the classic villains are obviously such-- like Captain Hook, and Sher Khan, etc. I don't think they should have had Lotso doing meet-n-greets before the movie came out and kids didn't realize he was a bad guy! He was in there before May!!
You got some great pics, even though the kids tired of it!

Not only does he smell like strawberries, he is super cuddly. Tons of padding in that bear! I agree that he is the only Disney villian where it isn't obvious just by looking that he is really bad. I wonder why they switched the pattern.

 

[Charlefours]

The Cruise seems amazing!! I am really looking forward to ours--thank you for the great pictures from it. I have some research to do when I get back.

Everyone has said the same thing about Lotso. I wonder if he is still out in the parks after the movie came out and if he is, if people are still wanting to get a picture with him!!

 

[dismagiclover]

The Cruise seems amazing!! I am really looking forward to ours--thank you for the great pictures from it. I have some research to do when I get back.

Everyone has said the same thing about Lotso. I wonder if he is still out in the parks after the movie came out and if he is, if people are still wanting to get a picture with him!!

I'm sure you will love your cruise! I'm pretty sure Lotso is still at the Animations Building and people are still meeting him. He is pretty irresistable even if he is a bad guy.

 

[dismagiclover]

We walked out of the Animation Building with no particular plan. John kept suggesting we should at least go and see how long the Toy Story line was, but I kept telling him it would be at least an hour. (He wasn’t believing me.) As we were debating this we walked by the Little Mermaid and I realized my boys had never seen this show (though Wendy and I had.) So I insisted we go see it. Here the kids are in the waiting area.

Wendy was definitely more excited about it then the boys. Once the show started the boys were very glad we went. Everyone enjoyed it, especially the part where the bubbles fall from the sky. Love that. After the show I humored John and we walked by Toy Story Mania. Yes the wait was something like 70 minutes. So we passed on that. Wendy mentioned the Honey I Shrunk the Kids Playground and I thought that sounded like a great idea. So we headed over that way. The kids had a fun time there and since it was later in the day it wasn’t even too hot. Here they are after wearing themselves out.

It was getting close to our ADR time so we headed over towards 50’s Primetime. On the way we ran into this lovely prop.

The kids could not figure out how to get it to rain. So I finally gave it a tug and the water came pouring down.

Eventually we made it over to Primetime. The place was quite crowded. While we waited I told Wendy to take some pictures. Here is what she took.

We were seated and our waitress arrived shortly. She was nice enough, but there were no shenanigans. We were just happy to be in the air conditioning.

Really the only interesting that happened during this meal happened to the table next to us. They were seated at the same time as us and ordered right after us. Before the waitress had even brought out their drinks, their food arrived. It was crazy! They had the fried chicken and the pot roast. I guess that shows you they have pre-plated food here. As far as our meal went, it was OK. Nothing special. Except for the Peanut Butter and Jelly milkshake which tasted a bit like Reeses Pieces. This was our first time here, and I don’t think we’ll be back anytime soon. There was nothing wrong with it, but we all prefer the Sci Fi so if we want to do Table Service in DHS, we’ll eat there. After our meal we headed towards the front of the park.

There was a party going on the stage in front of the hat. Part of the Summer Nightastic Celebrations.

Another random shot.

Michael was in a much better mood so we tried Photopass again. These are my favorite pictures of the kids all together from this trip. The photographer told them to act like they really liked each other.

With that we headed out of the park and back to the resort for another night of Disney Dreams. The next day was our last full day at Disney.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Gracious! I was behind. I took notes about what I wanted to comment on but I betcha I still forget something.

I, too, have never understood why Triceratops Spin is a walk-on and Dumbo is not?

The pic of John with Terk is too cute. We've run into Terk several times and he interacts with the guests a lot which I like.

I have never seen the dance party at Animal Kingdom. Where is that?

Too bad Michael didn't want to pose for the Photopass pics at the AK. He just wasn't have any part in it was he?

Okay, let's see....oh yeah...Wendy's arrival and her cruise. I have either never seen or never noticed the opening of the slide at Old Key West. It looks like a Mickey head. Michael was too funny trying out the bamboo.

From the cruise pictures, it certainly looks like Wendy and the family had a great time on the cruise. I've always wanted to do a Disney cruise but can't talk my hubby or son into going on one. Wendy and her cousin posing reminded me so much of my daughter and niece. They were always together and always posing for pictures.

Back to the trip report: We didn't get to see Lotso when we were at HS. How can a bad guy smell so sweet? There certainly were a lot of characters in the building. Too bad the kids didn't want to meet more of them.

We have eaten at Prime Time once and it was okay. We weren't blown away by it but we would go there again.

I was happy to see Michael in the last Photopass pic you posted. Glad that he was in the mood to give his siblings some hugs.