The Disney-fication of our Non-Disney Vacation...an October 2013 TR
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oopsiDAISY
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Wakey, Wakey, Eggs and Bakey....or something of the sort. 
We took a slow start on our third day of the trip. We knew what our plans for the day were, and we knew they did not require an early start. Photos from my Mom's camera show that Gabe may have been the first one up:
The girls were soon to follow:
After a light breakfast of microwave oatmeal, and plenty of lounging around we were off! We knew we had about an hour's drive to get to our destination, but again, we were in no hurry. We first headed to Port Canaveral. One of Brian's requests for the trip was to go somewhere for some "good seafood", so that was the first order of business.
This is where I am a bad Diser. I do not, for the life of me, remember what the name of this restaurant was. Sorry! But, I do remember that it definitely fit the bill for "good seafood".
Brian and I shared some sort of seafood feast. Here is the plate I made for myself from the REALLY LARGE platter of seafood that came to us:
See that plate full of fried goodness? That is: Clam Strips, Flounder, Shrimp, and Fries. We also had a plate full of these:
Everything was so delicious!!!
Here are two of my favorite people in the world, just enjoying each other, the Florida sunshine, and being with grandkids all week:
After lunch we waddled out of the restaurant with one last mission in Port Canaveral...our Daily Disney-fication!!!
Our mission: to get a good picture of a Disney cruise ship. Did we succeed?
Why yes, yes we did! I have no idea WHICH ship this was, she was turned in such a way that covered her name. But she was a beautiful sight to behold.
We marveled at her from afar since we couldn't actually get into the terminal. We dreamed about how we would be boarding her (or one like her) next time we were down there. 
BTW: 319 days to go!!!!
We then loaded back into to car...headed for our final destination for the day. Somewhere along the way we picked up an extra passenger:
He rode that way for a while. And I kid you not when I say as soon as I took the camera out to snap pictures he decided to come and say hi:
Yep, this little guy rode like that for a good 15-20 minutes!!! I guess we finally got to HIS destination, because he finally jumped off at a stop light.
Where did we go? Here is the BEST picture EVER!!!!
We went to Cocoa Beach for a day of fun in the sun!
Sadly, Brian spent much of his time on the blanket doing schoolwork:
The kids came equipped with sand toys, so plenty of time was spent doing this:
Oh, and we must ALWAYS bury each other:
A work in progress:
And a finished masterpiece:
More swimming in the surf:
Love the sailboat in the back of this picture:
After playing at the beach for several hours, we found a picnic pavilion and enjoyed some sandwiches, chips and cookies we had packed for just such an occasion. After our dinner picnic we headed back to Orlando for showers, TV time and bed. It was a FANTASTIC day at the beach!
We took a slow start on our third day of the trip. We knew what our plans for the day were, and we knew they did not require an early start. Photos from my Mom's camera show that Gabe may have been the first one up:
The girls were soon to follow:
After a light breakfast of microwave oatmeal, and plenty of lounging around we were off! We knew we had about an hour's drive to get to our destination, but again, we were in no hurry. We first headed to Port Canaveral. One of Brian's requests for the trip was to go somewhere for some "good seafood", so that was the first order of business.
This is where I am a bad Diser. I do not, for the life of me, remember what the name of this restaurant was. Sorry! But, I do remember that it definitely fit the bill for "good seafood".
Brian and I shared some sort of seafood feast. Here is the plate I made for myself from the REALLY LARGE platter of seafood that came to us:
See that plate full of fried goodness? That is: Clam Strips, Flounder, Shrimp, and Fries. We also had a plate full of these:
Everything was so delicious!!!
Here are two of my favorite people in the world, just enjoying each other, the Florida sunshine, and being with grandkids all week:
After lunch we waddled out of the restaurant with one last mission in Port Canaveral...our Daily Disney-fication!!!
Our mission: to get a good picture of a Disney cruise ship. Did we succeed?
Why yes, yes we did! I have no idea WHICH ship this was, she was turned in such a way that covered her name. But she was a beautiful sight to behold.
We marveled at her from afar since we couldn't actually get into the terminal. We dreamed about how we would be boarding her (or one like her) next time we were down there. BTW: 319 days to go!!!! We then loaded back into to car...headed for our final destination for the day. Somewhere along the way we picked up an extra passenger:
He rode that way for a while. And I kid you not when I say as soon as I took the camera out to snap pictures he decided to come and say hi:
Yep, this little guy rode like that for a good 15-20 minutes!!! I guess we finally got to HIS destination, because he finally jumped off at a stop light.
Where did we go? Here is the BEST picture EVER!!!!
We went to Cocoa Beach for a day of fun in the sun!
Sadly, Brian spent much of his time on the blanket doing schoolwork:
The kids came equipped with sand toys, so plenty of time was spent doing this:
Oh, and we must ALWAYS bury each other:
A work in progress:
And a finished masterpiece:
More swimming in the surf:
Love the sailboat in the back of this picture:
After playing at the beach for several hours, we found a picnic pavilion and enjoyed some sandwiches, chips and cookies we had packed for just such an occasion. After our dinner picnic we headed back to Orlando for showers, TV time and bed. It was a FANTASTIC day at the beach!
missangelalexis
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That is such a great picture of your parents with your kids! 
Yum at all that seafood!
What an adorable extra passenger you picked up! haha can't believe he stayed with you guys for so long!
What a wonderful day at the beach. Great sand castle too!
Yum at all that seafood!
What an adorable extra passenger you picked up! haha can't believe he stayed with you guys for so long!
What a wonderful day at the beach. Great sand castle too!
Pluto0809
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You can tell how much fun you were having by that first picture of Gabe dancing in the waves!
That seafood plate does look really good, lots of fried yumminess!
Bummer that Brian had to do schoolwork. I'm usually that one sitting under the umbrella reading though because too much time in the sun leaves me a bit of a lobster!
That seafood plate does look really good, lots of fried yumminess!
Bummer that Brian had to do schoolwork. I'm usually that one sitting under the umbrella reading though because too much time in the sun leaves me a bit of a lobster!
KatMark
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What fun pictures!!! I love the photo of all the kids with their grandparents.
It looks like a really good restaurant (I LOVE seafood).
And the beach pictures are so fun. The kids are definitely having a grand time (nice work on the sandcastle!).
It looks like a really good restaurant (I LOVE seafood).
And the beach pictures are so fun. The kids are definitely having a grand time (nice work on the sandcastle!).
disny_luvr
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Great picture of the Disney cruise ship! Seeing that must've made you really excited for your cruise. It looks like you guys had a great day at the beach and the weather looked perfect. Too funny about the frog. I'm glad he posed so nicely for you to take his picture. 
DMGeurts
Never open texts with the "Hand Sewn Button" attac
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I swear - this is the BEST non-Disney trip ever!
The food from your Brave movie night does look delicious - and I am glad you found another menu item to add... That is the hardest part - IMO.
I love how all of your kids piled into bed with their grandparents - that is so sweet!
The seafood looks marvelous!
And the cruise ship... Ahhhh... Ok - just that picture alone makes me want to sneak off on a cruise for a few days... WOW! It's huge and beautiful!
I love all of your photos at Cocoa Beach too... And the sand castle is a masterpiece for sure! It looks like everyone had a lot of fun!
Great update as usual!
D~
The food from your Brave movie night does look delicious - and I am glad you found another menu item to add... That is the hardest part - IMO.
I love how all of your kids piled into bed with their grandparents - that is so sweet!
The seafood looks marvelous!
And the cruise ship... Ahhhh... Ok - just that picture alone makes me want to sneak off on a cruise for a few days... WOW! It's huge and beautiful!
I love all of your photos at Cocoa Beach too... And the sand castle is a masterpiece for sure! It looks like everyone had a lot of fun!
Great update as usual!
D~
Chicago Mo
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your food pictures look BETTER then the pintrest pictures!!! it does look AWESOME!
i really need to get my act together and start cooking different stuff.
The bed picture... HOW ADORABLE! reminds me of 10 little monkeys.. ONE FELL OFF AND.. well you know!
now i am starving.. the food is just DELISH!
OH MY SWEET DISNEY that ship is BE-U-TY-FUL!!!! i bet you had goose bumps from head to toe! i did just from the picture! she is HUGE! i have seen tons of pictures also saw the video of it. NOTHING showed just how HUGE it is!!!! I honestly cannot wait to hear all about your cruise. So you can educate me when i decide to go!
OK the frog picture totally took me off guard. i laughed SO HARD. then he came CLOSER to the window!
what a RIOT!!! I LOL a little to loud...
LOVE your pictures of the beach! fantastic sandcastle!
awesome report Oopsi!!!
i really need to get my act together and start cooking different stuff.
The bed picture... HOW ADORABLE! reminds me of 10 little monkeys.. ONE FELL OFF AND.. well you know!
now i am starving.. the food is just DELISH!
OH MY SWEET DISNEY that ship is BE-U-TY-FUL!!!! i bet you had goose bumps from head to toe! i did just from the picture! she is HUGE! i have seen tons of pictures also saw the video of it. NOTHING showed just how HUGE it is!!!! I honestly cannot wait to hear all about your cruise. So you can educate me when i decide to go!
OK the frog picture totally took me off guard. i laughed SO HARD. then he came CLOSER to the window!
what a RIOT!!! I LOL a little to loud... LOVE your pictures of the beach! fantastic sandcastle!
awesome report Oopsi!!!
oopsiDAISY
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I love that my kids are so close to their grandparents...on BOTH sides. My kids are blessed with grandparents that adore them, and want to spend all the time they can with them. So many children don't have that.
Our beach day was great. It felt so good to get my toes in the sand. It had been about 8 years since I had been to a beach at all.
Such a travesty since I grew up in Florida. 
That is the one disadvantage of going on Disney vacations every year. 
This was only Gabe's second time at the beach, and he thoroughly enjoyed himself that day. I just love seeing my kids having fun and making lasting memories!
Yes, I would have been the REALLY white mom on the sidelines CAKED with SPF 1000 sunscreen.
Did you notice there were no pictures of ME posted from our beach day? 
What fun pictures!!! I love the photo of all the kids with their grandparents.
It looks like a really good restaurant (I LOVE seafood).
And the beach pictures are so fun. The kids are definitely having a grand time (nice work on the sandcastle!).
They worked on that sandcastle for over an hour. And they wanted to make sure I got pictures of it after they had applied the sea shells as the finishing touch. I thought they did a fantastic job with it!
Great picture of the Disney cruise ship! Seeing that must've made you really excited for your cruise. It looks like you guys had a great day at the beach and the weather looked perfect. Too funny about the frog. I'm glad he posed so nicely for you to take his picture.
Seeing that cruise ship made us LONG for the cruise so badly!!!
Your cruise is approacing FAST! BTW, better stop letting your kids watch Titanic! That frog cracked us up the way he turned around and hopped right up to me!
We definitely could not have asked for a better consolation prize when it came to our non-Disney vacation. We had no complaints from anyone, it was a fantastic vacation.
Well, I think that sometime in the future we should definitely have a Dis-friends cruise. I am thinking that would be EPIC!
We had a gorgeous day for the beach. It was a very perfect day.
your food pictures look BETTER then the pintrest pictures!!! it does look AWESOME!
i really need to get my act together and start cooking different stuff.
The bed picture... HOW ADORABLE! reminds me of 10 little monkeys.. ONE FELL OFF AND.. well you know!
now i am starving.. the food is just DELISH!
OH MY SWEET DISNEY that ship is BE-U-TY-FUL!!!! i bet you had goose bumps from head to toe! i did just from the picture! she is HUGE! i have seen tons of pictures also saw the video of it. NOTHING showed just how HUGE it is!!!! I honestly cannot wait to hear all about your cruise. So you can educate me when i decide to go!
OK the frog picture totally took me off guard. i laughed SO HARD. then he came CLOSER to the window!
LOVE your pictures of the beach! fantastic sandcastle!
awesome report Oopsi!!!
Wow! My food looks better than pinterest?!? BEST compliment EVER!
I try really hard to make a good plated presentation before I snap my food porn pictures. The were like little monkeys all lined up there in that bed! They love Grandma and Papa!
I cannot wait to step foot onto that gorgeous cruise ship! Would it be overkill if I were to wear a floor length traveling suit and an over-sized hat like Rose Dawson in Titanic?
Because that is just how glamorous and flabbergasted and in awe and amazed and dreamy I am going to feel on the inside when I gaze at that gorgeous ship and atrium... 
oopsiDAISY
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Another beautiful day dawned in Florida, and today we had a GIANT dose of Disney-fication planned. Still not a park day...so then what do you do to Disney-fy it? Well you start by passing through these pearly gates:
I had forgotten to pull the camera out in time for that photo-op when we went for the campfire, so I was poised and ready to pounce this time around.
This time we were headed to DTD~ not to catch a bus, but to get our shop on!!
We stopped first for a picture in front of T-Rex...and apparently the sun was in Charity's eyes!
We headed first to the Lego store. When in the Lego store, gotta get your picture taken with Lego sculptures:
I am thinking Gabe could give David Banner a run for his money, how about you?
Charity collects the Legos Friends, so she was excited to see this sculpture:
From there we headed over to the World of Disney store. I had shopping lists from a co-worker and my favorite Cheekypoppins I needed to tackle. Gabe and Brian split off to see if there was a Jack Sparrow costume to buy. That was the one souvenir that Gabe had wanted for this trip. I was able to find only one thing on the list for my co-worker, and nothing for Cheeky. And sadly, no Jack Sparrow costume could be found here either.
We did find a Walt Disney World t-shirt for Jillian that would match the rest of the shirts our family had. I won't post a picture yet, since it will show up in a later update. Jillian did get a picture of this beauty:
Gabe, Charity and Brian all had to find a restroom at this point, so Jillian and I jumped over to Pin Traders. She had decided she wanted to buy pins with her money this trip. Here she is posing with her purchases:
From there we met back up with the rest of the family and headed to our favorite DTD store, Once Upon a Toy! Our favorite thing to do here is to make Potato Head creations:
The kids played at this table for quite some time, and I even made Brian put one together!
Darth Tator:
Jillian says this is her Storm Trooper "before Disney":
Charity and her girly-girl creation:
And doesn't Brian look just thrilled with his creativity?
Jillian's Storm Trooper after proper Disney-fication:
Where to next? Hmmmmm...we shall see!
I had forgotten to pull the camera out in time for that photo-op when we went for the campfire, so I was poised and ready to pounce this time around.
This time we were headed to DTD~ not to catch a bus, but to get our shop on!!
We stopped first for a picture in front of T-Rex...and apparently the sun was in Charity's eyes!
We headed first to the Lego store. When in the Lego store, gotta get your picture taken with Lego sculptures:
I am thinking Gabe could give David Banner a run for his money, how about you?
Charity collects the Legos Friends, so she was excited to see this sculpture:
From there we headed over to the World of Disney store. I had shopping lists from a co-worker and my favorite Cheekypoppins I needed to tackle. Gabe and Brian split off to see if there was a Jack Sparrow costume to buy. That was the one souvenir that Gabe had wanted for this trip. I was able to find only one thing on the list for my co-worker, and nothing for Cheeky. And sadly, no Jack Sparrow costume could be found here either.
We did find a Walt Disney World t-shirt for Jillian that would match the rest of the shirts our family had. I won't post a picture yet, since it will show up in a later update. Jillian did get a picture of this beauty:
Gabe, Charity and Brian all had to find a restroom at this point, so Jillian and I jumped over to Pin Traders. She had decided she wanted to buy pins with her money this trip. Here she is posing with her purchases:
From there we met back up with the rest of the family and headed to our favorite DTD store, Once Upon a Toy! Our favorite thing to do here is to make Potato Head creations:
The kids played at this table for quite some time, and I even made Brian put one together!
Darth Tator:
Jillian says this is her Storm Trooper "before Disney":
Charity and her girly-girl creation:
And doesn't Brian look just thrilled with his creativity?
Jillian's Storm Trooper after proper Disney-fication:
Where to next? Hmmmmm...we shall see!
Pluto0809
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There's nothing better than a day spent browsing the DTD stores!
We spent quite a bit of time in the Lego store this time too. Jim liked it so much he's probably going to visit there again in February. Since he's only coming for the Wedding and not going to any parks, he will be on his own his first night when the rest of us are still in Epcot. I just hope he is able to find his way to DTD and back without getting lost. He is very directionally challenged.
I love all of the Potato Head creations but the duck lips on Brian's had me.
We spent quite a bit of time in the Lego store this time too. Jim liked it so much he's probably going to visit there again in February. Since he's only coming for the Wedding and not going to any parks, he will be on his own his first night when the rest of us are still in Epcot. I just hope he is able to find his way to DTD and back without getting lost. He is very directionally challenged.
I love all of the Potato Head creations but the duck lips on Brian's had me
.
Chicago Mo
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I cannot wait to step foot onto that gorgeous cruise ship! Would it be overkill if I were to wear a floor length traveling suit and an over-sized hat like Rose Dawson in Titanic?
it's show your Disney side.. i would TOTALLY DO THAT!!!!! or something like it!
Do something fabulous!
LOVE DTD!!! i can walk that forever.. ya know i have NEVER been there during the day?
not that the Potato head creations aren't priceless works of art.. BUT the duck lips are my favorite...
Lovin the trip report!!!!
keep it comin...
cheekypoppins
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I love the potatoe head creations but wheres yours mom? Not much longer until I'm looking around for something for you at disney lol.
DMGeurts
Never open texts with the "Hand Sewn Button" attac
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I would totally dress up as Rose too... that is one of my favorite movies of all time - but I can never watch the end - it's just too sad. But that shot of her looking at the ship and all glamourous is one of my favorite shots - I am so fascinated with fashions of that era - so I love seeing everything going on in that frame! I think you should dress up!!! That would be so EPIC!
Your DTD looks great! We love going there too... I always wish I had brought more $$ with me though. LOL
I love everyone's potato creations, especially the before and after Storm Trooper. LOL
Sounds like a GREAT Disneyfied day!
D~
Your DTD looks great! We love going there too... I always wish I had brought more $$ with me though. LOL
I love everyone's potato creations, especially the before and after Storm Trooper. LOL
Sounds like a GREAT Disneyfied day!
D~
disny_luvr
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It looks like you guys are off to a great day at DTD. Love all the Mr. Potato Head creations!
missangelalexis
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What a great start to your DTD day!!
KatMark
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oopsiDAISY
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Today turned out to be uber-busy at work. Sorry, but I do not have time to post replies to comments. Just wanted to jump on here and post a few pictures of IRL stuff.
Over the weekend the kids shopped and packed shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child. This was our first year doing it, and it will not be the last. We gave each of the kids some money, and each one purchased and packed gifts for a child his/her own age. They loved doing this.
Today is our first SNOW of the season...and it's not even Thanksgiving yet!!! I just stepped out of my office to snap a few pictures just for fun:
Now it is sleeting out, and I still have to drive home in it.
Have a great evening everyone, and I will be back to post replies and do an update tomorrow!-
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