"This is NOT the once in a lifetime trip I was hoping for!" - (Baby Simba - 12/18)

[ronnmel]

Claudia looks like she's having so much fun in the nemo show! Awesome!

Sucks that okatu went all "teenager" I'll completely admit to having done that on trips, I usually just say that I'm "hangry" hungry angry, once you get some sugar in you, it kinda clears up everything.

Pizzafari is HUGE and so pretty! There's so much stufff in there to look at, glad you got some pics of the inside!

Yes, she enjoyed all the bright colors and the music. I'm surprised you didn't comment on the fact that I skipped FOTLK. Blasphemy, I know! I doubt she would have been so happy during the second show though.

I don't even know if she was hungry, since she refused to eat at Pizzafari. I think in this case it was just the hormones frying up her brain for no reason.

I really need to go back to Pizzafari and explore it more, so beautiful!

Teenage girls are all about drama! I have a 10 year old tween and the drama has already started. I also wanted to let you know how much I am enjoying your trip report! Thanks for sharing it here on DIS.

and thanks!

Otaku can be such a drama queen too at times. Good luck for the years ahead with your tween.

 

[shan23877]

Ugggghhh. The teen attitude does not sound very magical. Good for you telling her that she could join you in the fun when she chose instead of indulging the mood.

Claudia is so sweet! What adorable pics!

 

[KatMark]

I am in love with this photo...she looks like she is really enjoying what she is watching.

I really want to go and see that show this year...we saw it for the first time two years ago and want to see it again this year.

Teenagers!!! I have to be honest and say that I do NOT miss those years at all.

 

[PhoenixStrength]

The Nemo musical is something I have never seen! I had plans to this last trip, but left AK early to meet with Steve. I can see why Claudia loved it, since bright colors and movement are the biggest things for infants

The murals at Pizzafari are incredible! It's one of the most beautiful restaurants in my mind due to them. I do agree that their breadsticks are not good at all, though I like their pizza.

 

[Marsheliz]

Oh no about the teenage drama!! I have two boys and want a girl sooooooooooooooo bad one day and everyone tells me to be careful what you wish for.. BAHAHAHAHA...

I have never seen Nemo either as having two kids under the age of 5- its hard to sit through something like that but maybe next time!

 

[Pluto0809]

The last time I saw Finding Nemo was in 2010. I found it to be a cute show but not a must do for me. I've seen several posts about it lately and am sort of wanting to go back again. Maybe I'll drag DH to see it in October. He's not much of an animal person so we may not be doing a lot of trails. I'm glad that Claudia enjoyed the show.

I love Pizzafari! Your pictures made me hungry and I still have 3 hours to go till dinner! Might be time for a snack. Mom and I sat in the very room farthest back in Pizzafari. There are so many possible Hidden Mickeys in that room that it was driving us nuts!

I love Dinosaur for exactly the reasons that you do. Ron's pose is too funny! I never remember to pose on that ride either, I'm always having too much fun.

 

[monica23535]

I'm glad you all enjoyed the Finding Nemo show, we haven't seen it for a while so it might just get on the list for our next trip.

I love picture if Claudia, she looks so happy!

We've never eaten at Pizzafari, I certainly wanted to in the past but either Yak & Yeti or Flame Tree BBQ seemed to win every time.

 

[ronnmel]

Ugggghhh. The teen attitude does not sound very magical. Good for you telling her that she could join you in the fun when she chose instead of indulging the mood.

Claudia is so sweet! What adorable pics!

It wasn't magical at all. Ron tried to talk to her at first, but when I saw that was leading nowhere, I decided to let her be moody and we'll just do our thing. Years of teaching have taught me that.

Thanks.

I am in love with this photo...she looks like she is really enjoying what she is watching.

I really want to go and see that show this year...we saw it for the first time two years ago and want to see it again this year.

Teenagers!!! I have to be honest and say that I do NOT miss those years at all.

Thanks. I like having this photo because at the time I was so caught up in making her a bottle, holding on to her socks or shirt or something, and making sure she wasn't bothering other people, that I didn't even realize she was enjoying it that much.

I hope you get to see the show. It's Ron's favorite.

Most of the time Otaku is a great teenager, but once in a while she'll get in one of those moods. I'm just hoping it doesn't get much worse, since she's only at the beginning. What I'm really scared of, is Claudia's teenage years. I remember mine all too well...

The Nemo musical is something I have never seen! I had plans to this last trip, but left AK early to meet with Steve. I can see why Claudia loved it, since bright colors and movement are the biggest things for infants

The murals at Pizzafari are incredible! It's one of the most beautiful restaurants in my mind due to them. I do agree that their breadsticks are not good at all, though I like their pizza.

You've never seen Nemo?! I don't believe it's the best show, but then again it's hard to beat FOTLK. It certainly is a very good show, with lots of colors and great music.

I usually love breadsticks, so this was disappointing. I will certainly have to go back to the restaurant though, to look at all those murals.

 

[ronnmel]

Oh no about the teenage drama!! I have two boys and want a girl sooooooooooooooo bad one day and everyone tells me to be careful what you wish for.. BAHAHAHAHA...

I have never seen Nemo either as having two kids under the age of 5- its hard to sit through something like that but maybe next time!

Boys will drain you physically, and girls will drain you emotionally. I wanted a girl so bad though, and I'm willing to live with the consequences. Are you trying for a girl?

Nemo has giant puppets, lots of vibrant colors, and lots of songs. I'm sure it could hold your kids' attention. You should give it a try.

The last time I saw Finding Nemo was in 2010. I found it to be a cute show but not a must do for me. I've seen several posts about it lately and am sort of wanting to go back again. Maybe I'll drag DH to see it in October. He's not much of an animal person so we may not be doing a lot of trails. I'm glad that Claudia enjoyed the show.

I love Pizzafari! Your pictures made me hungry and I still have 3 hours to go till dinner! Might be time for a snack. Mom and I sat in the very room farthest back in Pizzafari. There are so many possible Hidden Mickeys in that room that it was driving us nuts!

I love Dinosaur for exactly the reasons that you do. Ron's pose is too funny! I never remember to pose on that ride either, I'm always having too much fun.

FOTLK is a must do (which I didn't do this time, oops), but Nemo isn't. Still, I like it and am glad I saw it.

Next time I go back to Pizzafari I'll have to sit in a different room, that's for sure. Maybe I'll check out that one in the back.

I'm totally okay with other people not liking Dinosaur. Shorter lines for us! I always forget to pose though as well. Maybe I should just hold the pose the entire ride. (I actually did that in another ride, you'll see later)

I'm glad you all enjoyed the Finding Nemo show, we haven't seen it for a while so it might just get on the list for our next trip.

I love picture if Claudia, she looks so happy!

We've never eaten at Pizzafari, I certainly wanted to in the past but either Yak & Yeti or Flame Tree BBQ seemed to win every time.

I've seen Nemo two trips in a row now, so I'd be okay with skipping it next time. Ron will probably want to see it again though, so we'll see.

I had no idea until I saw the picture how happy she was during the show!

I tried Flame Tree BBQ twice and was disappointed both times. Ron LOVES it, b t it's not my cup of tea. I like Yak & Yeti though. It's hard to choose sometimes!

She does look very happy.

 

[jenseib]

Teens can be moody. Believe me I have had gone through 2 already. UGH

 

[ronnmel]

Teens can be moody. Believe me I have had gone through 2 already. UGH

I had forgotten you have two older kids. How old are they now?
I do remember my own moodiness from when i was a teenager. It wasn't pretty.

 

[ronnmel]

Day 5 part 6 – The One Where She Gets Her Smile Back


Another attraction that I love that not everybody agrees with is Primeval Whirl. I had missed it on our first night and it had been closed during our Disneymoon, so I really wanted to ride it. I “forced” Otaku to come with me. There was only a 5 minutes wait.

As I suspected, it brought her good mood back. You can’t help but giggle on Primeval Whirl. In fact, we were still in the queue and she was already smiling. Gotcha!

Don’t be fooled by her face here. She had challenged herself to keep a straight face during the entire ride. Here’s a hint. She didn’t.

We giggled our way through the spins and turns.

The exit to that ride is sooooooo long, especially if you get on the right side coaster. I took a few pictures while walking back out.

Despite being tired, somebody was still awake during this whole time.

Now that she had her smile back, Otaku wanted to watch It’s Tough To Be A Bug. We walked towards the Tree of Life.

Claudia had finally fallen asleep in the stroller and Ron stayed with her while Otaku and I went in.

It was so crowded in there.

NOT!!!

We got in the theater and pretty much could sit wherever we wanted. No “go all the way to the end of your row” tonight!

Looking up.

After the 3D movie it was almost closing time and we started walking out of the park. We did stop for some more photopass pictures.

Doesn’t she look all cosy sleeping in there?

While walking through AK at night we kept seeing all these white spots in the trees and were wondering what it was. Finally as we walked on the bridge between Discovery Island and The Oasis, we realized they were birds! Hundreds of birds sleeping in the trees. I tried taking a picture without flash, but it was so blurry. I apologized to the birds as I took one with flash. Other people were doing it too though.

One final pit stop, then we were out of the park.

We didn’t have to wait too long for a bus and were soon back at Beach Club. It was not the end of the fun for two of us though. Who was it, and what did we/they do?

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[shan23877]

Yay for tricking a moody teen into smiling! Would you believe that we've never made it to Dinoland? I think we'd really enjoy all of the cheesey fun there.

Cool pics of the birds! That would have freaked me out a little though. I would have been worried that they'd wake up and attack!

Love the picture of Claudia sleeping so peacefully in her stroller. There's just something so angelic about a sleeping baby. I miss those days. I wanted to come through the computer and kiss her little cheeks.

 

[jenseib]

I had forgotten you have two older kids. How old are they now?
I do remember my own moodiness from when i was a teenager. It wasn't pretty.

They are 24 and 20. My daughter was much worse than my son though. She was a mean awful monster for a few years.

I am glad Otaku got her smile back. And the night ended on a good note then.

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

I LOVE Claudia's face at the Nemo show! We haven't done that one since our first trip (Julia was 3, Brynn was 1, Sawyer was not even conceived for another month). Now, all our kids love Nemo. In fact, Brynn's birthday is Thursday, and Friday we are having a Nemo party for her! I think we need to stop back by that show next trip. The air conditioning doesn't hurt, either.

Oh. My. Goodness. The teenager years terrify me, especially with TWO girls so close in age. And then I'll have a wild boy right behind that. At one point, they will all be teens together. What was I thinking!?!?!?!

We love Pizzafari. Their pizza is pretty good, it's so big you can always find a table, it's indoors (not like some other QS at AK!), and the paintings are gorgeous! We try to walk around and look at them all, but that place is so big that I'm sure we've still missed some. Julia did find several Hidden Mickeys there this time...that will be in a very soon update because that's the day I'm on!

Dinosaur...just...not for me. I honestly doubt I'll go on it again, unless we get to the teenage years and some kid is begging me. They aren't that daring yet, though.

Primeval Whirl makes me smile, too! Glad it got Otaku back to being herself!

We still haven't seen ITTBAB, mostly because I think it would terrify me...er, THEM!

 

[ronnmel]

Yay for tricking a moody teen into smiling! Would you believe that we've never made it to Dinoland? I think we'd really enjoy all of the cheesey fun there.

Cool pics of the birds! That would have freaked me out a little though. I would have been worried that they'd wake up and attack!

Love the picture of Claudia sleeping so peacefully in her stroller. There's just something so angelic about a sleeping baby. I miss those days. I wanted to come through the computer and kiss her little cheeks.

I've got plenty of tricks up my sleeve. There is lots of fun to be had at Dinoland! Does Maddie like playgrounds? If so, you gotta take her to the Boneyard. It's awesome in there.

Good think I didn't think of the possibility of the birds waking up and attacking me, otherwise I would have been running in the opposite directions.

I know! I love looking at a sleeping baby. Unfortunately, Claudia rarely gives me that opportunity these days. She wakes up the second I step in her room, so there is no "checking up on her". I'll kiss those little cheeks for you.

They are 24 and 20. My daughter was much worse than my son though. She was a mean awful monster for a few years.

I am glad Otaku got her smile back. And the night ended on a good note then.

My cousins are all around those ages now. I was much worse than my brother too.

We were quite happy to see her out of her pouty mood. The night was far from over though, only the Animal Kingdom part of it.

I LOVE Claudia's face at the Nemo show! We haven't done that one since our first trip (Julia was 3, Brynn was 1, Sawyer was not even conceived for another month). Now, all our kids love Nemo. In fact, Brynn's birthday is Thursday, and Friday we are having a Nemo party for her! I think we need to stop back by that show next trip. The air conditioning doesn't hurt, either.

Oh. My. Goodness. The teenager years terrify me, especially with TWO girls so close in age. And then I'll have a wild boy right behind that. At one point, they will all be teens together. What was I thinking!?!?!?!

We love Pizzafari. Their pizza is pretty good, it's so big you can always find a table, it's indoors (not like some other QS at AK!), and the paintings are gorgeous! We try to walk around and look at them all, but that place is so big that I'm sure we've still missed some. Julia did find several Hidden Mickeys there this time...that will be in a very soon update because that's the day I'm on!

Dinosaur...just...not for me. I honestly doubt I'll go on it again, unless we get to the teenage years and some kid is begging me. They aren't that daring yet, though.

Primeval Whirl makes me smile, too! Glad it got Otaku back to being herself!

We still haven't seen ITTBAB, mostly because I think it would terrify me...er, THEM!

You have an underwater creature loving princess and you haven't brought her to see Nemo? What kind of mom are you? j/k You do need to see the show next time. You won't regret it, and yes the AC is a big part of it. I'll be waiting to see those Nemo birthday party pictures pop up on Facebook.

You have every right to be scared of the teenage years. There is one little glimmer of hope though. Boys often go through their teenage crisis phase later than girls, so you might not have to deal with all three at the same time.

I do enjoy eating at a table by the water behind FlameTree, but it's true that eating inside in the summer is a big plus. I'm looking forward to reading about Julia looking for hidden Mickeys, and seeing which ones she found.

That's okay. You can avoid Dinosaur. The less people in line, the faster I can get on the ride.

Who can resist the giggling factor of Primeval Whirl?

Ah, come one, ITTBAB is not that bad for adults. Otaku is scared of every insect in existence (even butterflies), but she loves that 3D movie.

 

[PopArtGal]

Moody teens are something. I deal with them everday. You did the right thing. They come around.

 

[BridgetR3]

Whew! I'm all caught up again! Loving your TR even if I lurk most of the time!

I must disagree with you on ITTBAB. The first time I saw it I screamed my head off at the hornet scene. LOL....looking back at it now I laugh but even as a grown woman that part scared the @#()*)@#(*$ out of me!

Glad Otaku was able to enjoy the rest of her evening!

 

[ronnmel]

Moody teens are something. I deal with them everday. You did the right thing. They come around.

This is part of why I never want to teach high school. Even grade 6 I'd prefer to stay away. Kudos to you for dealing with that every day.

For all you non-Quebecois out there, here we call grade 7 to 11 high school, no middle school here. 1 to 6 is elementary school.

Whew! I'm all caught up again! Loving your TR even if I lurk most of the time!

I must disagree with you on ITTBAB. The first time I saw it I screamed my head off at the hornet scene. LOL....looking back at it now I laugh but even as a grown woman that part scared the @#()*)@#(*$ out of me!

Glad Otaku was able to enjoy the rest of her evening!

It's hard to stay up to date on all those TRs, and make comments for all of them. I apprecuate you popping in when you have a chance.

I was a bit apprehensive at a few ITTBAB scenes at first, but now that I know what to expect I just find it funny.

I was happy that she snapped out of it.

 

[ronnmel]

Happy Easter Everyone
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I hope you all had a great weekend. Mine was busy, but fun. Yesterday I went to a baby shower. Claudia had fun crawling around, but she skipped nap time so she was clumsy and tired so she got hurt a couple of times. Nothing a big hug from Maman couldn't fix. Today my family on my dad's side came over for dinner. We don't host dinners often, but we really enjoyed doing it tonight. It gave us the confidence boost to host again more often. Several of them had work tomorrow, so they all left early, too early for what we were hoping for. Next time we'll have to do it on a Friday or Saturday so they can all stay late. Ron had downloaded Fruit Ninja on the xbox, so we had fun playing. The girls (me, my cousin and my SIL) beat the guys (Ron and my brother). The other thing I did this weekend was prepare a little "tip sheet" for my colleague who will be in Disney this week. I think she's crazy for going right after Easter, but hopefully with my help she'll be able to have a great trip without waiting in line too much. I had so much fun preparing that tip sheet for her! I truly think I would do a great job being a Disney TA. I hope I find the time and courage to do it one day.

I'm just about to post my third update of the long weekend, so make sure not to miss the first 2 if you've been too busy to DIS this weekend.