The Disney Grump & Family Take on the World-Our '09 Christmas w/ the Mouse, COMPLETE

[marsa1969]

I liked the snow pictures. We had sleet and freezing rain Thursday night and it switched over to all sleet on Friday morning. Around 10ish it started snowing and it snowed alot! We had so much fun playing in it on Sat. & Sun. afternoon. I'm glad that we didn't get as much ice as you. We were hammered last year - we lost 56 trees on our property, plus we STILL have broken limbs that we need to trim. About 5 guys from my husband & my employer -city owned electric company - left for a town south of OKC to help with all of the storm damage.

 

[Disneygrl36]

Hey Michelle I am finally all caught up......
I loved your ideas for ways to get excited about the trip especially the chain you made with the Disney trivia.
I have never stayed at POFQ but it really looks cute with all the New Orleans theming....I expecially loved your pictures of the pool area with all the alligator statues. Would be fun to stay there after seeing the Princess & the Frog.
Your Welcome gifts for the boys were really cool.....did you arrange those through Disney or do them yourself?
Great picture of the cheetahs on the safari---they are always so hard to see. And I loved the one of the gorilla that looked like he was sleeping on his blankie.
The Storytellers at EPCOT look like so much fun. I have seen a few, but never taken the time to do all of them. Seeing your pictures that is on my list as a must do sometime.
The Captain Jack from the pirate tutorials looks like the one that is on Project Runway right now. They showed him at the beginning of the season all dressed up in his pirate garb at WDW. It is amazing how different he looks without it all.
The castle lighting is just breathtaking!!!!
I also much remark that you have seemed to have great luck with the buses this trip!!!!
Your green army man/giraffe story is Hi-larious.
And, your boys are so good about taking pictures & I love that Justin still lets Jared hug him in pics.
We got snow this past weekend too........ended up being about 3-4 inches here. We don't get alot either. I didn't get to enjoy it though as I had to work Saturday
Your Mother/Daughter plans sound awesome. I know you & your Mom will have such a special time together.

Ok, now I'm ready for more.

 

[SoonerGirl]

I know!! We are sooo excited!! Ally cannot wait to get back to WDW (neither can the rest of us)!!

Thanks for the setting info! I know what you mean! I would LOVE to take a photography class. We messed around with a lot of different settings on our last trip and got some great pics. I just wish I wasn't guessing all the time.

I tried learning what all the different settings were, and when to use certain ones - I got overwhelmed. I'll get there eventually!

Love the photo's of you guys in Hollywood Studio's. I've heard Germany is awesome. One place we can't go. My ds who is 14 wants to join the AF so I might get to go visit.

I was able to go spend 2 months with my dad one summer while he was in Germany - it's a beautiful place. I hope you get a chance to visit one day.

Ooo, I like the perspective of the pic you took of the Sorcerer Mickey hat!

I've been talking to my mom about staying until closing or at least close to it this trip. She said it's okay since Weird would be there with me, of course. She also said that she might stay with my younger brother if my dad wanted to go back to our condo for a while. It'll definitely be an experience! A tiring one, I'm sure!

I really think that DHS is probably the easiest park to stay in until closing. There are so many shows and places where you can sit for awhile - helps keep you going! I think the reason we weren't able to stay all day was just because of the crowds - it gets exhausting dodging people all day

I liked the snow pictures. We had sleet and freezing rain Thursday night and it switched over to all sleet on Friday morning. Around 10ish it started snowing and it snowed alot! We had so much fun playing in it on Sat. & Sun. afternoon. I'm glad that we didn't get as much ice as you. We were hammered last year - we lost 56 trees on our property, plus we STILL have broken limbs that we need to trim. About 5 guys from my husband & my employer -city owned electric company - left for a town south of OKC to help with all of the storm damage.

Wow, that stinks that you lost so many trees! When we moved in here there were zero trees on our property, we've planted about 8, they are young so they don't tend to break as easily.

I bet those guys were headed to Purcell or Pauls Valley, I saw on the news where they were hit pretty hard with power outages. That's really nice of them to come all this way to help get it back on!

Hey Michelle I am finally all caught up......
I loved your ideas for ways to get excited about the trip especially the chain you made with the Disney trivia.
I have never stayed at POFQ but it really looks cute with all the New Orleans theming....I expecially loved your pictures of the pool area with all the alligator statues. Would be fun to stay there after seeing the Princess & the Frog.
Your Welcome gifts for the boys were really cool.....did you arrange those through Disney or do them yourself?
Great picture of the cheetahs on the safari---they are always so hard to see. And I loved the one of the gorilla that looked like he was sleeping on his blankie.
The Storytellers at EPCOT look like so much fun. I have seen a few, but never taken the time to do all of them. Seeing your pictures that is on my list as a must do sometime.
The Captain Jack from the pirate tutorials looks like the one that is on Project Runway right now. They showed him at the beginning of the season all dressed up in his pirate garb at WDW. It is amazing how different he looks without it all.
The castle lighting is just breathtaking!!!!
I also much remark that you have seemed to have great luck with the buses this trip!!!!
Your green army man/giraffe story is Hi-larious.
And, your boys are so good about taking pictures & I love that Justin still lets Jared hug him in pics.
We got snow this past weekend too........ended up being about 3-4 inches here. We don't get alot either. I didn't get to enjoy it though as I had to work Saturday
Your Mother/Daughter plans sound awesome. I know you & your Mom will have such a special time together.

Ok, now I'm ready for more.

Hey there Melanie!! I'm so glad you made it over!

We really enjoyed POFQ - I loved how compact it was. I wish I could say that I've seen the Princess and the Frog, but I have not My boys won't go with me and I hate to go to the movies alone. I'm afraid I'm going to have to wait for video.

I ordered the boys baskets from Memories by Betsy. She was great to work with and was able to completely customize the baskets to what I wanted.

The sleeping gorilla with the blanket was cute, but there was another one that was hiding under his - he took, unfolded it and pulled it over his head. It was really pretty funny. I took a picture but that one didn't turn out, it was all blurry.

I haven't watch Project Runway this season, I didn't even know they had a Capt Jack on it! I may have to check it out.

On Justin allowing his brother to hug him - trust me, it doesn't happen often. Disney seems to bring out the love!



I've got a question for anyone who uses Photobucket. I got a notice today that I'm about to reach my bandwidth limit. I either need to upgrade to Pro or ignore my TR until after the 11th, which I really don't want to do. Does anyone here use Pro? Do you like it? Is it worth the $25

 

[stace208]

I've got a question for anyone who uses Photobucket. I got a notice today that I'm about to reach my bandwidth limit. I either need to upgrade to Pro or ignore my TR until after the 11th, which I really don't want to do. Does anyone here use Pro? Do you like it? Is it worth the $25

I know I saw on someone else's thread that you can click on "go pro" and pay just $3 for another month. You can then pay $3 the next month so on, so on if you're not finished. I am pretty sure that RinkyTinkyTinky shared this information but I don't remember what thread it was on...

Oh, and guess what I bought today??

 

[SoonerGirl]

I know I saw on someone else's thread that you can click on "go pro" and pay just $3 for another month. You can then pay $3 the next month so on, so on if you're not finished. I am pretty sure that RinkyTinkyTinky shared this information but I don't remember what thread it was on...

Oh, and guess what I bought today??

$3 isn't bad at all, maybe that's what I'll do - thanks!!


Oooooo, I'm guessing a camera bag - which one did you get??? I'm heading over to your PTR to see if you posted there......

 

[stace208]

Oooooo, I'm guessing a camera bag - which one did you get??? I'm heading over to your PTR to see if you posted there......

Ding, Ding! You are correct! LOL! I used my snow day wisely and did lots of looking. Decided on the giraffe (liked it better than the zebra) and almost ordered it on ebay. For some reason I checked Amazon again and found it this time for $25 less!! I'm so glad that I double checked before I ordered!!

I will post pics on my PTR when it gets here. Thanks for all your help!!

 

[SoonerGirl]

Ding, Ding! You are correct! LOL! I used my snow day wisely and did lots of looking. Decided on the giraffe (liked it better than the zebra) and almost ordered it on ebay. For some reason I checked Amazon again and found it this time for $25 less!! I'm so glad that I double checked before I ordered!!

I will post pics on my PTR when it gets here. Thanks for all your help!!

for saving $25! I hope you like it!

 

[praisehisname]

I've never been interested in doing the Indiana Jones show, but your pictures make it look interesting!

I'm so sorry your lost your drawings. I wonder if somebody somewhere is trying to pass them off as their own!

The photopass pics you got over at Osborne Lights are fantastic!

Denise

 

[wigdoutdismom]

Oh gosh, I would have been heartbroken if we had lost our drawings! That alone is reason enough to go back.....

Every time we miss a snow day I tell myself it's a good thing because we are leaving so close to the last day of school....

 

[MaryAz]

I was behind...All caught up. Great pics and Tigger drawings. Crazy crowds though..

 

[SoonerGirl]

I've never been interested in doing the Indiana Jones show, but your pictures make it look interesting!

I'm so sorry your lost your drawings. I wonder if somebody somewhere is trying to pass them off as their own!

The photopass pics you got over at Osborne Lights are fantastic!

Denise

We like the Indiana Jones show, but were big fans of the movie as well. My boys love that they blow stuff up at the end!

I was bummed that we lost the drawings too, it's a fun (not to mention free) souvenir.

Oh gosh, I would have been heartbroken if we had lost our drawings! That alone is reason enough to go back.....

Every time we miss a snow day I tell myself it's a good thing because we are leaving so close to the last day of school....

I think losing the drawings is a perfect excuse to go back! (Although the Grump would say that I think everything leads to a reason to go back....... )

I was behind...All caught up. Great pics and Tigger drawings. Crazy crowds though..

Thanks Mary. It was a pretty crowded day

 

[SoonerGirl]

Thursday, December 24th, Christmas Eve

We had no plans to go to a park this morning, so we slept in a bit and took our time getting ready. After eating a small breakfast of granola bars in the room, we headed out to the dock to take the boat to Downtown Disney. Only problem was, it was 9:20 and the boats didn't start running until 10:00. Soooooo, we changed directions and headed up to the bus stop. We had to wait about 30 minutes for a bus, so we could have just stayed and waited on the boat, but oh well we made it just the same!

First picture of the day (don't know what Jared is doing - I guess reading the book??)

Our first stop was at the Design Your Own Tee shop

I was disappointed in the boys creations, they basically got something that you can buy in the shops, just tweaked a little. I wanted them to get something fun and creative, but I let them get what they wanted. After all, it's not supposed to be about me, is it????

Now, I was on a mission this morning - I had one thing on my mind and I was determined to find it. I needed to get to World of Disney pronto! I took a couple of pictures

Loved the board game tree!!

Then I went in search of my prize. Into WoD I flew, leaving my family in the dust, and into the jewelry and accessory department I went. I scanned the room and then I saw it - the glass case holding the Dooney & Bourke Disney bags! This wasn't the bag that I was expecting, rather a new black version - but it was still very cute! The bags to purchase were behind the checkout counter, so I jumped in line to make my purchase. I got to the front not knowing if I wanted the medium or the large bag, but as soon as I saw that there was only a $10 price difference between the two, my mind was made up, I got the big one. Plus I got the 20% off AP discount that they were offering that day, so I was on cloud nine!

After my bag purchase was secured I met back up with my boys and we walked around and did a little more shopping.

Isn't Santa Genie cute?

After we were finished in WoD we decided to eat an early lunch. So, to Earl of Sandwich we went. We had never eaten there before and I had always wondered what was so special about a sandwich - well, now I know. YUM! Is all I have to say. I had the BLT and a bowl of potato soup, Don had the Original, Justin the Italian and soup and Jared had the pizza sandwich and chips. We all ate every bite and licked our fingers afterwards!

After lunch we went to Once Upon a Toy, luckily the boys got busy playing with the Mr. Potato Head pieces and I was able to slip off on my own. I made a few purchases to put into their stockings later that night. Took a picture of this guy

Then met them back at the front of the store. Next we went into Pin Traders. I let Don walk around with Jared while I shopped with Justin. I bumped into Don at one point and he asked how many we were letting them get. I looked down and Jared had probably 15 pins in his hands! Ummmm, sorry honey, no. I told him to pick 3.

Next was my favorite store in all of DTD - Days of Christmas! I could look in here forever, but I tried to hurry. I think I ended up with 4 ornaments for myself, and 1 for each of the boys.

Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum as we left.....

We were about ready to go at this point, but I wanted a frozen Coke so we popped into Goofy's and grabbed 3, one for me, Justin & Jared. I thought about getting the cute create your own cup, but the boys didn't seem to care one way or the other, so I saved the money and just used snack credits for our drinks.

After that we picked up the boys t-shirts and went to the boat dock to wait on the boat back to POFQ.

Waiting for our ride

I also took a picture of the balloon, I'd love to take a ride in this someday - I bet the views are amazing!

This was such a lovely boat ride back to the resort - a definite perk to staying at Port Orleans. Our building from the river

And the path walking back

We got back to our room and saw that mousekeeping had left us yet another new friend!

It was a beautiful day thus far and the boys were itching to hit the pool. We didn't have a ton of time before we needed to head out for Epcot for our dinner ADR, but we had a little. So, the boys quickly changed and ran out the door and to the pool. I took a minute to sort through what needed to go in their stockings later that night and then Don & I followed them down. We stopped at the bar to get a drink

Then I took some pictures

Looking back from the pool to the main building

The boys enjoying the 'kiddie' slide, as they put it

They look a little chilly don't they???

And a couple more around the pool

After I finished taking my pictures I took a seat on a lounge chair to enjoy my drink. While we were sitting there I called my mom to check in and wish them a Merry Christmas and she told me that they were in the middle of a blizzard. WHAT??? We live in Oklahoma, we don't have blizzards, we have ice storms and snow flurries. But, my mom is from Minnesota, she knows what a blizzard looks like and she said we were in the middle of a full on blizzard! She was very jealous when I told her that I was sitting by the pool and the boys were swimming....

I ended my call and Don & I finished our drinks. We looked around, it was starting to get really cloudy and dark

I was really hoping that we weren't going to get rained on. We had the Candlelight Processional tonight and I was looking forward to it, I didn't want the weather to ruin it!

Coming up: Norway, China & Germany - and would there be rain????

 

[Disneygrl36]

Yeah for shopping at DTD. Did you get that cute white D & B bag with all the colorful Disney details? I am not a purse/bag girl at all, but I thought it was really cute.

Where is that Capn' Jack--at Lego store or Once Upon a Toy. It's cool.

I lurve Earl of Sandwich.............yummo!

Love the Tweedledum/Dee picture of the boys.

We did the balloon so that will be coming up in my trippie!!!! It was cool.

Hope the weather doesn't get in the way of your Candlelight Processional.

 

[KathyRN137]

Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum as we left.....

Ah, boys! Ya gotta luv 'em!

Hey, where's a picture of the cool D&B bag???

The Candlelight Processional is just perfect for Christmas Eve... oh, I hope you didn't get rained on!


Kathy

 

[Spartangirl]

LOVE Earl of Sandwich!!! So glad you got to experience the yummy sandwiches!

Do you have pics of your D&B Disney bag.........I'd love to see those! It sounds cute!

The pics of the property at POFQ look really nice. I'm looking forward to being able to take the boat ride to Downtown Disney when we stay there!

Fingers are crossed that you were able to see the Candlelight Processional........such a good show!!!

 

[disneydusted]

Fun to read your update. We have yet to go to Downtown Disney! I am hoping to get there the next time we go... whenever that is.
Yes, I'd like to see a photo of your D&B bag... do show!
I hope it didn't rain on you guys!
We're getting ready to be dumped on again with snow! What a strange winter! We don't get this kind of snow very often.

 

[MHTeacher]

Thursday, December 24th, Christmas Eve
Then I went in search of my prize. Into WoD I flew, leaving my family in the dust, and into the jewelry and accessory department I went. I scanned the room and then I saw it - the glass case holding the Dooney & Bourke Disney bags!

As I was reading this, I knew EXACTLY where you were heading, and WHAT you were looking for! Might I say, that I'm EXTREMELY jealous!

They look a little chilly don't they???

I can almost hear Jared's teeth chattering!!

 

[shannon47142]

I enjoyed the fun update!!

 

[RachelNinja]

Ooo, I have to write down that I want to find the "Happy Holidays" photo op! I've seen it in so many TRs, and it just seems like a thing I have to do! Haha. I do like Jared's creativity in it!

I wish the Design-a-Tee had hoodies and whatnot too. I'd definitely spend to make that. I have t-shirst and am constantly looking/buying from the Disney Store or Walmart, so I technically don't need more t-shirts! Especially since I get very few dress down days at work!

YAY for the D&B bag! You go the black one with the Mickey silhouettes in diff colors? I just googled it. I really like that one! I think more than the original one just because I wouldn't worry about it dirtying so quickly and because it seems a bit more formal to me.

I'm telling myself to try a new sandwich at EOS, but I really do love that All American. That's the "bad" thing about these places! I love what I've had, but I want to try more. Yet I don't want to be disappointed and not have the one thing I know I'll enjoy especially being so far away from Florida!

Lastly, I'M SO EXCITED! You recently got the frozen Coke from Goofy's?!? I started a thread asking about Goofy's Glaciers, and someone said that the last time she went, she didn't see the frozen Coke anymore. But she was talking about last Feb, so I'm hoping it was just a mistake because that's the one I want when I make my cup!

 

[SoonerGirl]

Yeah for shopping at DTD. Did you get that cute white D & B bag with all the colorful Disney details? I am not a purse/bag girl at all, but I thought it was really cute.

Where is that Capn' Jack--at Lego store or Once Upon a Toy. It's cool.

I lurve Earl of Sandwich.............yummo!

Love the Tweedledum/Dee picture of the boys.

We did the balloon so that will be coming up in my trippie!!!! It was cool.

Hope the weather doesn't get in the way of your Candlelight Processional.

The white D&B was the one I was expecting to find, but they didn't have it anymore. The one I got is the new black one. I'm hoping maybe the white one will come back this spring, then maybe I will have both........

That Jack was in Once Upon a Toy - he was kinda hidden over by all the 'boy' stuff.

Can't wait to hear about your experience riding the balloon!

Ah, boys! Ya gotta luv 'em!

Hey, where's a picture of the cool D&B bag???

The Candlelight Processional is just perfect for Christmas Eve... oh, I hope you didn't get rained on!


Kathy

I did take a picture of the D&B bag - it will be coming up when I get to the end of this day, I took pictures of everything we bought that day when we got back to the hotel later that night.

LOVE Earl of Sandwich!!! So glad you got to experience the yummy sandwiches!

Do you have pics of your D&B Disney bag.........I'd love to see those! It sounds cute!

The pics of the property at POFQ look really nice. I'm looking forward to being able to take the boat ride to Downtown Disney when we stay there!

Fingers are crossed that you were able to see the Candlelight Processional........such a good show!!!

Loved Earl of Sandwich, I think I'm going to have to be sure and take Mom there in May so that she can experience it too.

I do have a picture of the bag, it's a couple of updates away though - sit tight!

I think you guys will really like POFQ - the boat ride was a big plus to staying there.

Fun to read your update. We have yet to go to Downtown Disney! I am hoping to get there the next time we go... whenever that is.
Yes, I'd like to see a photo of your D&B bag... do show!
I hope it didn't rain on you guys!
We're getting ready to be dumped on again with snow! What a strange winter! We don't get this kind of snow very often.

Oh my goodness, yes, you have to go to DTD - it's part of the Disney experience! Hope you don't have to wait too long for your next trip.

I promise I'll post a picture of the bag soon, just a couple of updates away.

I heard that Maryland was about to get another big snow storm - this has been one crazy winter! I'm ready for it to be over.

As I was reading this, I knew EXACTLY where you were heading, and WHAT you were looking for! Might I say, that I'm EXTREMELY jealous!
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He!He! I was sooooo pumped to get that bag! I had warned Don before we ever even left for WDW, that if I found that bag it would be mine. We cut waaaaaay back on Christmas, so he was okay with it

I enjoyed the fun update!!

Thanks!

Ooo, I have to write down that I want to find the "Happy Holidays" photo op! I've seen it in so many TRs, and it just seems like a thing I have to do! Haha. I do like Jared's creativity in it!

I wish the Design-a-Tee had hoodies and whatnot too. I'd definitely spend to make that. I have t-shirst and am constantly looking/buying from the Disney Store or Walmart, so I technically don't need more t-shirts! Especially since I get very few dress down days at work!

YAY for the D&B bag! You go the black one with the Mickey silhouettes in diff colors? I just googled it. I really like that one! I think more than the original one just because I wouldn't worry about it dirtying so quickly and because it seems a bit more formal to me.

I'm telling myself to try a new sandwich at EOS, but I really do love that All American. That's the "bad" thing about these places! I love what I've had, but I want to try more. Yet I don't want to be disappointed and not have the one thing I know I'll enjoy especially being so far away from Florida!

Lastly, I'M SO EXCITED! You recently got the frozen Coke from Goofy's?!? I started a thread asking about Goofy's Glaciers, and someone said that the last time she went, she didn't see the frozen Coke anymore. But she was talking about last Feb, so I'm hoping it was just a mistake because that's the one I want when I make my cup!

I don't know if that 'Happy Holidays' deal is there all the time, or just at Christmas - this was the first time I remember seeing it.

Yep, I got the black bag. The white ones weren't available anymore - I'm kinda hoping that they bring it back though, I wouldn't mind having it too....

I understand completely about wanting/not wanting to try something new at a place where you know you love at least one thing. You'd hate to waste an opportunity to get something you really like and maybe end up with something that is just ok. I'm like that at LeCellier - I ALWAYS get the filet w/ mashed potatoes. Someday I'll get something different......maybe

Yep, Goofy's definitely had the Coke flavor. I believe they only had two flavors, Coke & Cherry. The create your own cups are adorable too!