The Rebel Forces Were Strong But The Smith's Are Stronger TR-7/20 FINAL THOUGHTS

[Charlefours]

Umm!! I want a soft pretzel!! Yummy!!

Looks like you enjoyed your time at Ohanas. I want to try it sometime!!

Aisling's dress and the shirts are adorable. I bet they got tons of compliments.

Wonderful photopass pictures!!

I love the sidewalk drawings I have seen in TR. I would love to see them but I don't think we will late enough to see them.

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

Oh, and I agree that Ohana was hit and miss. We went in september with my parents and I HATED it. The boys loved it, but I just ate noodles and salad. It was free dining, so I didn't really complain. My parents really liked it too. I wasn't super excited to go back, but I knew Kristine and family wanted to go, I thought the boys would eat well, and let's face it, I never miss a chance to dress the kids up! I LOVED it this time. I don't remember chicken the first time, but it was really really good this time. That was the only meat I ate and for some reason, that makes it all better, I guess. The boys didn't eat well, but I think that they were constantly distracted by having someone else to play with. They didn't want to waste precious time eating when they could play! I agree though that I probably wouldn't pay OOP for it. And I am totally with Kristine that I will never go again with DDP. I like having everything paid off before I get there. i was constantly worried about how much I was spending (which ended up being much less that I thought).

I think we spent less on the food budget than I had planned to but still...having to look at the receipts scared me

Wow...I'm impressed! 2am with a happy 6 year old, you don't see that often! My DD17 has always been a bit of a night owl so I totally get it!!

Aisling is the same way...has always been a night owl. We closed down MK 2 nights in a row during her birthday trip.

I love the pics you got from the train station showing Main Street all lit up!

I can't believe how insane the waits were even at 2am!!!

Thank you! Wasn't that Space Mountain line crazy????? Those people probably weren't getting on because it's definitely more than an hour wait from that point!

Ok, that pic of Randy carrying Aisling down Main Street gave me chills! So neat!

What a freaking busy day/night! I can't believe the lines at 2am Y'all are some troopers!!!

Great night time pics. Was Fantasyland already under construction?

Thank you! To be honest, I didn't realize that Aisling and Randy were in those pics until I got home and downloaded them! I was just trying to take pics of Main St!

Fantasyland is already under construction....2012 won't be here fast enough. Aisling is panicking that she'll be "too old" for princesses when it's done!

Great updates!

Your photopass pictures are awesome. What was on your shirt...balloons??

I really want to stay late enough at MK so I can see those sidewalk drawings. They look amazing in the pictures I have seen but I bet they look even better in person. So cool!

I love your Wishes photo with the carousel. It's really pretty. A photo you don't see a lot on here.

Those are balloons on the shirt. Minnie is hold them I think. That is my organic Disney T!

I don't know when they typically do the sidewalk drawings. Maybe just during EMHs???? I've been at MK at closing before and have never seen them. And trust me...you can't miss them or the crowd watching the guy.

It's really funny watching WISHES from behind the castle. Really shows you where they are shooting from. And it really smells like something is burning back there!

Love all of the photos - yours and pp! The Ohana outfits are amazing! We had breakfast there and were not overly impressed either - especially when paying OOP. We stayed at the Poly for two nights in May and loved it! The rooms are huge! But at those prices, I don't think we would do it again. I love how well the kids got along! I am finally caught up on your TR and plan to stay that way!

Ya the Poly prices kinda scare me! I showed Randy the prices I posted on FB last night and he was like "what? that is what a trip typically costs" Um, ya...for the whole trip...not just the hotel room!

wow that is amazing how late aisling stayed up. we stayed up at a friends swimming till midnight with my 4 and 7 year olds and its a quarter to ten and they are still asleep. that could cause me a rope drop problem in august

And now you understand why we have never done rope drop before! Aisling would rather sleep in and be in the parks at night! And we are fine with that 1) it's cooler at night 2) there are usually less crowds and 3) the parks seem more magical all lit up.

Umm!! I want a soft pretzel!! Yummy!!

Looks like you enjoyed your time at Ohanas. I want to try it sometime!!

Aisling's dress and the shirts are adorable. I bet they got tons of compliments.

Wonderful photopass pictures!!

I love the sidewalk drawings I have seen in TR. I would love to see them but I don't think we will late enough to see them.

The kids did get a lot of compliments...which as Stacy mentioned, Aisling ate up! Sadly, I think the dresses got a lot more compliments that the boys shirts. When they were standing together, people were amazed at all 3 but when they were separated, I think the dresses wowed people more.

You should try O'Hanas if you eat meat. We've had to good experiences there. But I would suggest an early lunch that day. I always feel like I can barely carrying my own weight walking out of there we are so stuffed! And I have yet to try the dessert!

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

Monday was a holiday and that meant we were sleeping in!!! We were splitting up with Stacy's family today so that meant that left to our own devices...there would be NOOOOO rope drop! We had things to do so we didn't sleep that long but just not setting the alarm was a treat!

Today we were going off property for the first time ever!

Here's a hint

Our friend Shell works at Sea World and we had yet to go with them. On Aisling's birthday trip, M begged begged begged us to go with them but we were booked up everyday at WDW. So this trip we made sure to factor in Sea World time!

The plan was for us to take the bus to DTD and take the LYNX from there. The LYNX only costs $2/person and Aisling is free so it made financial sense....that's about the only sense it made!

First off, there is no where on the LYNX website that indicated WHERE the bus picks you up at DTD. We got to DTD early so a lot of things weren't open and there weren't many people walking around. There was an environmental service CM so I stopped and asked her. Of course I stopped the CM who speaks limited English. God love the poor woman because she tried to help us. And it turns out the the info she gave us was accurate. Problem was that we were looking for an actual bus stop and she was talking about a spot you could stand and hail the bus. So we got to the spot and figured we were in the wrong place. So we kept walking. Issue was the DTD bus from AKV took a really long time to show up so we only had a couple of minutes (literally) to find the bus stop or we would be waiting another 30 minutes. But we just couldn't find the bus stop. I was pratically in tears at the point. It was hot, we were supposed to be meeting people, and we had gotten very little sleep this trip.

We found a security guard who laughed when we asked him where we were supposed to go. Now we were down at the toy store. Turns out we needed to be way down past La Nouba. The security guard was really nice though and gave us a ride in his cart.

We got over to the spot where the buses pick up and there are NO signs saying what bus stops where. We asked a bus who pulled up and the driver was unbelievably rude. He actual told us that it wasn't his problem that we weren't sure where to stand. Oh ya, in Orlando but definitely not in Disney anymore!

Aisling was joining in our frustration. Randy remembered that he had bought a pixie stick at the Chocolate Moose before we left and it was in his back pack. So Aisling tried that...only to discover that she hates pixie sticks. So into the trash it went!

Finally the right bus arrived and we got on. The new bus driver was very helpful and apologized for his co-worker. We got to Sea World relatively quickly but at this point it was almost 11am and the park had opened at 9 (we were hoping to get there by 10).

I texted Cindee, Shell, and M and they were already in the park watching the Shamu show. They came and met us at the front. The park was insanely packed (I has really been hoping for a break from the Disney crowds). As we started walking past the lines, they were all over an hour wait.

So we headed to see some fish!

I think this might be my favorite pic from that whole trip

Next up was the Penguins!

At this point, the girls wanted to do something a little more hands-on so we got them fish to feed the seals. Holey Moley does Sea World have a racket going on here! $20 for fish!!!

The seals were appreciative though!

Seals fed, we needed a little AC break. So we went to see the Elmo and Friends show. The girls really got into it singing along. When Elmo was over, we had a much needed lunch break.

After lunch, Aisling was ready to see some bigger fish. Luckily they were willing to go see Shamu again with us! Now I have never been to Sea World in Orlando. I've been to SW San Diego a few times. And I thought that Shamu stadium was huge....it was NOTHING compared to Orlando!

I think Cindee, Shell, and M had a better experience at the 2nd show. Apparently at the morning show, there were people talking loudly behind them about the trainer incident. They had asked them not to talk about it because that trainer had been a friend of theirs but the people kept going! Seriously...some people clearly never learned manners.

I have seen Believe plenty of times but this was very different. They did a beautiful tribute to the trainer who passed. And the trainers are no longer allowed in the pool so that changed the whole tone of the show. Because it was Memorial Day they did a tribute to the Armed Forces which was nice too.

After this...the ladies had something very specific they wanted to check out!

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

SHARKS!!!!! We wanted to go in the "shark tube" I had some very specific "Jaws" related fears but it ended up being really cool! The example they had of how thick the glass was made me feel a lot better

I also like the moving sidewalks at Sea World...nice for when you tired from 4 days of Commando park touring!


After checking out all the sharks, we decided to go see the Sea Lion Show....where there ended up being an incident! We were sitting down waiting for the show when a dad with a bunch of little ones (including a brand newborn) fell right next to us. How that guy managed not to drop and/or fall on that baby is beyond me. Shell was a firefighter/EMT in a former life so he went into emergency mode. He grabbed the baby and passed her off to Cindee. We got the little kids sitting down with us. Kudos to Sea World staff for getting their EMTs there QUICK! Dad's ankle was totally swelling up. Meanwhile, Mom (who must have been parking the carriages or something) comes over and sees the commotion and FREAKS. Totally ignores Dad's injuries and immediately became concerned for the baby. It was actually kinda humerous afterward because mom must have been really POd because she stayed and watched the show with the kids while the husband was getting checked out by the EMTs.

Doesn't Aisling look like she's boiling???

After the Sea Lion show, the guys went to give an accident report statement while the mommies took the girls shopping. Aisling wanted to spend some of her spending money on a stuffed Shamu. And for $12...go right ahead. I got the girls some Silly Bandz so we went to a table and sat down. The adults chatted while the girls divided up the Bandz

At this point it was already dinner time. M had school the next day so they decided that they better get going. We decided to stay and ride some rides!Problem was that EVERY ride had a 120 minute wait. Ya...all of them. Aisling started to cry. We suggested that maybe she could go feed a dolphin. YUP we had JUST missed the last feeding of the day We checked out the dolphin's anyway because they are just so pretty

We also went to pet the Sting Rays

They even had a "nursery" of baby sting rays (you can't really tell in the pic how small they are though

At this point, Aisling was getting really upset about the ride situation. We had spent a bunch of time before this trip checking out the website, watching YouTube videos, etc so she would know what to expect and we didn't get to do a SINGLE RIDE. We felt really bad. But there was still time to do SOMETHING back at WDW today. We threw out a bunch of options to Aisling and one of them finally stopped the tears

We had long since decided we were never taking LYNX again so we hailed a cab. According to the temp thing in the cab, it was 96 out! The cab driver had a lot of humerous stories that he shared along the way. The cab ride ended up costing $25 including tip. So yes, $21 MORE than the bus but the stress that it saved was WAAAAAY worth it

Back at the hotel, we got ready to head out to.....

 

[mermaid764]

Noooo not a cliffhanger lol...don't leave us hanging too long!

Those crowds are insane, I've only been to the Sea World in San Diego, but I don't think we've ever even waited in a line period there so I can't imagine what disney would have been like that day if Sea World was that insane.

Can't wait to hear what happens next!

 

[eecteacher82]

Great update!!! I was waiting to hear about this day after hearing the bit about the headache of getting there on FB!! Glad you ended up having a good time and were able to find something to end Aisling's tears! We were just at Sea World a couple of weeks ago and I did a mini TR in our PTR. It was jammed packed while we were there as well! Lucky for us, Olivia is only 35 inches tall so the only roller coaster she rides is the Barnstormer (but she thinks that she should be able to ride any roller coaster).

 

[jenjolt]

WOW I have always enjoyed Sea World but never with those type of crowds, that is crazy!! Sorry Asiling didn't get to do any rides, can't wait to see what you guys decided to do at Disney!!!

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

Noooo not a cliffhanger lol...don't leave us hanging too long!

Those crowds are insane, I've only been to the Sea World in San Diego, but I don't think we've ever even waited in a line period there so I can't imagine what disney would have been like that day if Sea World was that insane.

Can't wait to hear what happens next!

I'll try not to leave you hanging to long! Pics are loaded on PB already so I just have to write it!

The last time I went to SW San Diego it was 114 out. Which NEVER happens in San Diego. It was crazy. The lines were crazy. But since I didn't have Aisling with me (I was with friends for a wedding) and it was sooo hot, I waited an hour and a half to go on each of the water rides.

Great update!!! I was waiting to hear about this day after hearing the bit about the headache of getting there on FB!! Glad you ended up having a good time and were able to find something to end Aisling's tears! We were just at Sea World a couple of weeks ago and I did a mini TR in our PTR. It was jammed packed while we were there as well! Lucky for us, Olivia is only 35 inches tall so the only roller coaster she rides is the Barnstormer (but she thinks that she should be able to ride any roller coaster).

Aisling is about 50 inches so we had told her that she basically could ride whatever she wanted so it was a huge disappointment to get on NOTHING! Lesson learned about getting there 2 hours after opening on a holiday!

 

[Charlefours]

love the pic of the girls in front of the aquarium glass! Wonderful silhouette!

Your pictures from Sea World are fantastic! I love the pictures from the show. Did you feel Sea World is worth a visit? We are considering it our next trip in May.

 

[jenb1023]

I loved the photo of M & Ash in front of the tank until I saw the photo of them with their arms around each other. So cute! SW looks like fun - sorry the rides were a bust. At least if there was FP, you could have gotten on one or two rides. Tell Shell he needs to arrange for a front of the line pass next time. I can't believe Ash is 50 inches tall! My poor child (who is 6 weeks older I think) is about 46 inches. She is dying to ride some bigger rides at Hersheypark but she has another 2 inches or so to go. Poor thing - I think she takes after her grandmas who are 5'0 and 5'2". Can't wait to see what option at WDW dried up those tears!

 

[Lady Lallie]

What a cliffhanger!!

I love Sea World. Your post makes me want to go, just not on a crowded day. The last time I went, we took a backstage tour and I got to pet a penguin! It was so freaking cool.

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

Your update reminds me of how long it's been since I've been to SW! I would really like to go again, and Miguel's never been...but its so hard to leave the world, isn't it?

I completely know what you mean about being in "Orlando" as opposed to Disney! They are too very different places. I actually lived in Orlando for a few months a few years back and hated it.

I can't wait to see where you decided to go that night!

 

[Dugette]

Great updates. Can't believe you didn't get to ride a single ride at Sea World! Those lines were crazy, though!

I hope you found a way to make up for it that night at WDW!

 

[twob4him]

So smart to take a taxi home!!! That Lynx thing would have had me in tears too!!! Sea World looked like both fun and hot!!! Yes, Ash did look like she was boiling watching the sea lions! Sorry she was so dissappointed in the rides..that stinks.
My guess is that you're going to see Wishes and ride Splash Mountain! Oh maybe that was what would stop me from cryin.....

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

love the pic of the girls in front of the aquarium glass! Wonderful silhouette!

Your pictures from Sea World are fantastic! I love the pictures from the show. Did you feel Sea World is worth a visit? We are considering it our next trip in May.

Sea World is definitely worth a visit. It is pricey though so I would only go at a non-busy time of year. However, we did find enough to do without rides to last the entire day!

I loved the photo of M & Ash in front of the tank until I saw the photo of them with their arms around each other. So cute! SW looks like fun - sorry the rides were a bust. At least if there was FP, you could have gotten on one or two rides. Tell Shell he needs to arrange for a front of the line pass next time. I can't believe Ash is 50 inches tall! My poor child (who is 6 weeks older I think) is about 46 inches. She is dying to ride some bigger rides at Hersheypark but she has another 2 inches or so to go. Poor thing - I think she takes after her grandmas who are 5'0 and 5'2". Can't wait to see what option at WDW dried up those tears!

Yup...Aisling is very tall (thankfully since she clearly has my slow metabolism ). It's more of an issue with what rides she just shouldn't go on because she'd be afraid! They do have front of the line passes at Sea World but at $16/person...no thanks! (Although we couldn't complain about the admission prices if you know what I mean We always have nice relaxing days with Cindee and family so just seeing the shows worked out!

What a cliffhanger!!

I love Sea World. Your post makes me want to go, just not on a crowded day. The last time I went, we took a backstage tour and I got to pet a penguin! It was so freaking cool.

We love it too! Everyone definitely wants to go back at a slower time. And Aisling REALLY wants to feed those dolphins!

Your update reminds me of how long it's been since I've been to SW! I would really like to go again, and Miguel's never been...but its so hard to leave the world, isn't it?

I completely know what you mean about being in "Orlando" as opposed to Disney! They are too very different places. I actually lived in Orlando for a few months a few years back and hated it.

I can't wait to see where you decided to go that night!

It really is a whole different world (no pun intended). That's exactly why I prefer WDW to DL too. I love the feeling of being completely immersed in Disney happiness.

Great updates. Can't believe you didn't get to ride a single ride at Sea World! Those lines were crazy, though!

I hope you found a way to make up for it that night at WDW!

I will tell you that Aisling never complained again about the rides! I really do think part of the meltdown was about M leaving. She really loves playing with her.

So smart to take a taxi home!!! That Lynx thing would have had me in tears too!!! Sea World looked like both fun and hot!!! Yes, Ash did look like she was boiling watching the sea lions! Sorry she was so dissappointed in the rides..that stinks.
My guess is that you're going to see Wishes and ride Splash Mountain! Oh maybe that was what would stop me from cryin.....

If we go off property again, I think I'll budget the money for taxi's both ways. Sometimes it's just easier to fork up the extra cash than deal with the insanity of public transportation!

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

For those marveling at Aisling's height...for a giggle, I should point out that there is a 3 year age difference between Aisling and M!!!

 

[jenb1023]

Although I love (for the most part) the transportation system WDW has, sometimes it is absolutely worth it to get a taxi even if still on site! I agree that less stress and wasted time makes an expensive cab ride make sense.

I didn't know M was that much older than Ash. I can see where you would have to be careful on whether she can handle the things she is old enough to ride. Poor Jordan - not only is she on the short side but with a September birthday she is the youngest in her class too so she will be the last one to drive, last one to turn 21 etc.

Can't wait to find out what stopped the tears!

 

[DisneyTiger]

Great update!!! The pics you got of Shamu are awesome I still get the heebie geebies when I see those whales after that terrible accident. And how rude of those people to keep talking about it. Really, I just don't understand some people!

We're like you, we've NEVER left Disney grounds on any of our trips. I have always felt like it would interrupt our "magic". I've always wondered why people go to Sea World. I just never understood what the big hype was. Well, from your pics I can tell this place looks AWESOME, minus the crowds of course. I think we may have to check it out one day. And the $25 cab ride isn't that bad. Esp when you know it will get you where you're going on time. There is nothing more stressful when at Disney and worrying about getting somewhere. We've taken cabs on property a few times just to avoid that stress. We even took a cab from WL to Chef Mickeys for an early ADR because I didn't want to have to depend on the buses... getting to DTD then back to CR. It was just too much trouble. The $10 cab ride was worth it

Sorry that you didn't get to do any rides. I hope you ended up having fun back at WDW! I'm sure you did

 

[praisehisname]

Sea World looks really fun; sorry you didn't get to ride any of the rides. Good call on the cab back to the hotel. I'm wondering what it was that stopped Aisling's tears.

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

Although I love (for the most part) the transportation system WDW has, sometimes it is absolutely worth it to get a taxi even if still on site! I agree that less stress and wasted time makes an expensive cab ride make sense.

I didn't know M was that much older than Ash. I can see where you would have to be careful on whether she can handle the things she is old enough to ride. Poor Jordan - not only is she on the short side but with a September birthday she is the youngest in her class too so she will be the last one to drive, last one to turn 21 etc.

Can't wait to find out what stopped the tears!

Yup...our pal M is 9! See here you are the youngest in your class if you are born in August. Septembers have to start the following year. I have a friend who's son was born at 12:15am on Sept 1...has to pay a whole extra year of day care for 15 minutes

We take cabs on property sometimes too. If we are going to another resort for dinner, we often take a cab. Too much work to go from our resort to a park to another resort. The worst is Fort Wilderness! That place is MASSIVE! Luckily there is a bus IN the resort because if you are going to Hoop Dee Doo or BYBBQ, you aren't walking it!

Great update!!! The pics you got of Shamu are awesome I still get the heebie geebies when I see those whales after that terrible accident. And how rude of those people to keep talking about it. Really, I just don't understand some people!

We're like you, we've NEVER left Disney grounds on any of our trips. I have always felt like it would interrupt our "magic". I've always wondered why people go to Sea World. I just never understood what the big hype was. Well, from your pics I can tell this place looks AWESOME, minus the crowds of course. I think we may have to check it out one day. And the $25 cab ride isn't that bad. Esp when you know it will get you where you're going on time. There is nothing more stressful when at Disney and worrying about getting somewhere. We've taken cabs on property a few times just to avoid that stress. We even took a cab from WL to Chef Mickeys for an early ADR because I didn't want to have to depend on the buses... getting to DTD then back to CR. It was just too much trouble. The $10 cab ride was worth it

Sorry that you didn't get to do any rides. I hope you ended up having fun back at WDW! I'm sure you did

Sea World is really cool if you like marine life. But it is steep if you happen not to know an employee That is the reason we haven't done it before. 1) there always seem to be enough to do on property and 2) $80/person when you have already paid for tickets at WDW seems nutty for 1 day. Then again MNSSHP is $55 per person for 5 hours

We do the cabs on property too. Esp if we have a breakfast ADR at another resort. OR a lot of times we take one for dinner at another resort so we can have extra time to swim/nap

Sea World looks really fun; sorry you didn't get to ride any of the rides. Good call on the cab back to the hotel. I'm wondering what it was that stopped Aisling's tears.

It is really fun! I hope to do Discovery Cove some day. We are obsessed with dolphins. Aisling even had a marine life themed nursery complete with framed pics of Randy and I kissing dolphins in Mexico!