This Trip Report Is Under Refurbishment For Your Future Enjoyment (UPDATED 9/13 with final bonus chapter)

Go through the pockets and look for loose change.

Nice work.

We are quite fond of each other. I mean, obviously I think that I got the cream of the crop with him. Despite the Beverly drinking and constant Disney song singing, he still wants to hang out with me, so.....I've got that going for me, which is nice.

It's a sign of true devotion if he's willing to drink Beverly for you.

It's too bad about your Mom's foot injury, but sometimes slowing down is a good thing.

If only we knew how to do that! :rotfl2:

Nice that you can have some time together and some time apart.

I really think that's the only way to successfully travel with a large group. You can't do everything together.

I'm sure Drew appreciated that more, but I love Mission Space.

I used to love it...

Hmmm....I wonder if anyone else has ever been fed to a shark? :scratchin

If only we had some photo evidence...:rolleyes1

They say that it's supposed to be the largest indoor coaster ever constructed.

I read that, too. The fact that the cars spin while traveling has me worried, though.

Since I'm always a solo rider, I'm always apprehensive about my ride mates, but I haven't had a problem yet and I almost always do Orange team.

Some people have strong stomachs!

Huh, and here I was thinking that I would do Green team next time I rode it to see the new ride.

Well, there's nothing stopping you. It just feels more boring to me.

Well thanks for sharing the DIS dad's secrets! :thumbsup2

That plus $11.00 will get you a coffee at Starbucks!

Definitely hamming it up for the camera. He knows you're going show it to everyone. Especially now that I know your kids see your trip reports.

Well, Drew doesn't read the TR's. Maybe goofing for the camera just comes naturally to this family.

Ugh, as if the parks don't suck up enough of your phone battery normally.

It's like their goal is to get you staring at your phone for the whole trip.

I can't imagine where he would get ideas like that. :scratchin

:rolleyes1

I can't believe that you polished off both those pizzas! That cheese one was HUGE! I call photoshopping!

You obviously haven't seen my teenagers eat. As soon as I open a bag of chips at home, it's empty in less than 24 hours.

I'll probably get to ride that one before I ever get to Shanghai.

Me too. The only complaint I hear about the one in Shanghai is that the ride is too short.

And this is why I need to get to Shanghai somehow.

::yes::

Sounds like you made a good call. That was already a long day.

They always are!

Don't say that Vincini!

No more rhymes now, I mean it!

time-squeeze-clamp-squeezing-a-clock-on-white-picture_csp3691397.jpg

This is how I feel everyday.

Well.... makes sense. We're all Dads after all.

I can't even remember what I had for breakfast today.
 


I really think that's the only way to successfully travel with a large group. You can't do everything together.

I'm somewhat fretting my trip with my folks this March. We've already decided to leave my Dad in the room on Saturday morning so we can do rope drop at DHS.

I read that, too. The fact that the cars spin while traveling has me worried, though.

Huh, I hadn't read that but I hope it doesn't bother me at all. I can't do the tea cups or Mater's Junkyard Jamboree.

Some people have strong stomachs!

I've been told that I do. :rolleyes1

You obviously haven't seen my teenagers eat. As soon as I open a bag of chips at home, it's empty in less than 24 hours.

Well that does happen in my house after I go to bed. :rolleyes1 Then again Sarah plays hockey and I remember when I was on swim team at her age, I was pretty much a human vacuum cleaner when it came to carbs. One of my favorite meals back then was Wide Egg Noodles, Stove Top Stuffing, topped with Heinz Turkey/Chicken Gravy. I came home in college when I wasn't swimming any longer and tried it again and almost gagged at the amount of carbs. It's amazing how your body changes when it's not working out so hard.

Sorry I've been scarce on the boards lately. Had the flu all week, and it wiped me out! Hoping to get a new update posted soon.

I hope you're feeling better, but I'm glad you haven't been able to get a new update cause I'm starting to get caught up! :flower3:
 
Cool! Miami vice? Or...?

Squeezed for time.

If you had the flu, just wait, you'll see it again soon.

:rotfl2::rotfl2:

Sorry to hear that. Hope you start feeling better soon. :)

This has been a bad one. I've had a headache for almost a week now. I think I'm on the upswing, but it's lasted longer than I thought it would.

I'm somewhat fretting my trip with my folks this March. We've already decided to leave my Dad in the room on Saturday morning so we can do rope drop at DHS.

What we usually tell the people traveling with us (especially since I'm usually the one who has planned the itinerary) is: Here's our plan; we'll be in this park and doing these rides. If you want to be in the same place at the same time as us, great! If not, we'll catch up later.

Huh, I hadn't read that but I hope it doesn't bother me at all. I can't do the tea cups or Mater's Junkyard Jamboree.

It doesn't look like it spins fast, but it might still be disorienting.

I've been told that I do. :rolleyes1

I would agree with some of the stuff you're willing to eat! :rotfl:

Well that does happen in my house after I go to bed. :rolleyes1 Then again Sarah plays hockey and I remember when I was on swim team at her age, I was pretty much a human vacuum cleaner when it came to carbs. One of my favorite meals back then was Wide Egg Noodles, Stove Top Stuffing, topped with Heinz Turkey/Chicken Gravy. I came home in college when I wasn't swimming any longer and tried it again and almost gagged at the amount of carbs. It's amazing how your body changes when it's not working out so hard.

:rotfl2: on the chips.

Wow, that is quite the carb load. You're right that regular hard exercise really makes a difference.

I hope you're feeling better, but I'm glad you haven't been able to get a new update cause I'm starting to get caught up! :flower3:

:rotfl: I know that feeling! And I feel like I'm falling way behind.
 


Really enjoying your report so far, I love your writing style, and your family is adorable! Also you've made me want to go back to Via Napoli :lovestruc Following along :goodvibes
 
Fresh squeezed?

Always.

Oh, man. Sorry to hear that. Had a bad flu twice in my life. Not fun.

Thanks. In the end, we think it was a really bad sinus infection. I had a really bad headache for a week. Woke up this morning finally feeling ok, so I could return to the office and get some new headaches.

Really enjoying your report so far, I love your writing style, and your family is adorable! Also you've made me want to go back to Via Napoli :lovestruc Following along :goodvibes

:welcome: Katie! Thanks for being so kind! I'm hoping to get an update finished soon.
 
Thanks. In the end, we think it was a really bad sinus infection. I had a really bad headache for a week. Woke up this morning finally feeling ok, so I could return to the office and get some new headaches.

I'm sorry for your recovery. My condolences.
 
Chapter 6: O’hana Means Family, and Family Means Lots of Standing Around and Staring At Your Watch and Wondering Where Everybody Is


It was Monday. Normally, that fact alone would have the entire family starting the day in a grumpy mood, but Mondays at Disney World have been scientifically proven to be 1836% better than Mondays anywhere else.


We were headed back to the Magic Kingdom to meet up with everyone (all 13 of us) for the first time during this trip. My mom and dad weren’t ready to catch the bus at the butt crack of dawn like we were, so we did what any loving, considerate family that respects its elders would do, and ditched them at the hotel.


Actually, they told us they were moving slow and would catch up with us later in the morning.


Meanwhile, my brother and SIL had a sleeping baby in their cabin, so they followed the First Rule Of Parenting, which is Never Wake A Sleeping Baby. But we had no idea when they would be arriving.


No big deal, I’m sure we could find something to do on our own in MK.


We got there at Rope Drop (8:00 a.m.), and went to the character greet area at the Main St. Hub (again, trying to make sure we don’t wait for characters longer than absolutely necessary). Scotty is a huge fan of Chip and Dale. He’s always loved them ever since he was a toddler. Since you guys always seem to need proof of every statement I make, let’s set the Wayback Machine to 2010:


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Yep, any excuse to post a manipulatively cute photo and sucker readers into thinking this is a good TR. When Scotty was that age, he had met these guys in various places--wearing Hawaiian shirts on a Disney Cruise, and futuristic outfits in Tomorrowland. But he had really wanted to meet these two, since they matched his stuffed animals and were, in his words: "Naked Chip and Dale".


Anyway, Sarah knew how much of a fan Scotty was and had painted a Chip and Dale portrait as a gift for Scotty. Then they had the bright idea of having Chip and Dale autograph it for him.


It’s been our experience that Chip and Dale are consistently two of the best characters as far as interactions with kids go. They’ve always done a great job of messing around with my kids, anyway—stealing their hats or sunglasses, pretending to eat Sarah’s hair wrap, reacting with glee over Scotty’s stuffed animals, etc. They went wild over the painting Scotty presented.


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Then they heard Sarah was the artist, so she got a proper thanks as well.


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Drew was fully onboard with the autographs at this point as well.


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So yeah, that was a fun meet-up.


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While we were there, we figured Drew might as well get Pluto’s autograph, too.


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We wandered over to Tomorrowland. By this time, I’d gotten a text that my parents were on the way. We were going to ride Buzz Lightyear, but we saw that Stitch had no wait time, so we figured we’d knock out another autograph first. Stitch is another consistently fun character, and this time Sarah was the favored child, as Stitch took a liking to her t-shirt.


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Three character meets, all with less than 5-minute waits. That’s the only way to fly. I was itching for some rides at this point, though. By this time, my parents had found us, so we decided to jump in line for Buzz. Once again, the wait was basically non-existent. I was excited to get another crack at my Ultimate Life Goal of becoming a Galactic Hero. I stretched my muscles, rolled my shoulders, and cracked my knuckles. I tried to remember the correct sequence: inside of the robot’s left had, top of the volcano, bottom of Zurg’s space ship. I was locked in. Laser-focused. Gold-5, targeting computer activated.


I found my laser dot and zeroed in, moving the control joystick and the laser cannon in a symphony of coordinated action that would make a football coach weep with joy. Tom Cruise didn’t fly his Top Gun jet any better than I piloted my Space Ranger ship.


Alas, I fell just short.


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Somewhere, Zurg is laughing.


Undeterred, we got right back in line since there was still no wait and Drew really loved the ride (like there was any doubt? Boy + Laser Cannon = Win). But I’d used up my mojo, and could only score in the 300,000 range this time through. Still, not all was lost. Scotty and I managed to pull off our “Crazed Psychotic Killer” look for the ride photo.


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Now, I normally hate posting lots of versions of the same photo, but we had some good ones from the ride. So, I apologize in advance. Scotty changed it up for the second ride:


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I’m posting these back-to-back shots of my mother just because of her over-the-top intense concentration. She may not have moved during the entire ride. In fact, she may not have left the car.


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And Dave may have won the prize for best “Crazy Eyes Killa” look. Come to think of it, I’d better keep an eye on him.


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It was getting past 9:00 in the morning now, and still no word from my brother. We’d covered a good bit of MK already on Saturday, save for Adventureland. So we decided to take Drew over there for his first taste.


I honestly don’t understand why people don’t bother to get up for Rope Drop. I never see Jungle Cruise this deserted except at park opening. I do understand that the lines go away very late at night, but that approach doesn’t work with a 4-year-old.


Anyway, since nobody was around, I had lined up everyone for a family photo, and then a Cast Member came running up and said, “No, no, no—you have to be in the photo, too!” I’m not sure why—I don’t improve any photo in any way, but I followed orders.


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The Jungle Cruise was, and is, a Disney classic. It’s 10 minutes of Dad Jokes, which of course are near and dear to my heart. But it really all depends on the enthusiasm and delivery of the skipper, and we happened to get one who put her best energy into it. I could go on and on about her timing and the setup to sell every joke, but—well, you get the point.


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Right next door was Pirates of the Caribbean, with little wait posted. And we already knew Drew liked this ride, so why not?


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I think the second ride is always better than the first for little kids. Now, the fear is all gone and there’s just anticipation left. I don’t think my mom needed to be so protective of him.


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Exiting Pirates, we started walking towards Frontierland since we had a 9:30-10:30 Fastpass for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. We finally got word from my SIL that they were in the park and waiting near Big Thunder. Perfect.


We made our way over and found SIL and her infant son sitting near the fence overlooking Tom Sawyer’s Island. We asked where my brother and their other two kids were.


“Oh, they got in line for Splash Mountain,” she said.


Oh. You mean with the posted wait time of 40 minutes?


So…we waited. Having no idea when they actually got in line, it was hard to say when they’d get off. So we didn’t want to stray far in case they were closer to the end than the beginning.


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My father and I wandered over to the bridge to see if we could spot them on the ride. As it turned out, they must have been closer to the beginning of the line. We stood there…and stood there…and stood there.


Finally, we saw their raft float around the corner at the start of the ride, so at that point we knew they would be done in around 10 minutes or so. It was going to be close, but we’d still be able to make the window for our FP. It looked like my brother had managed to get himself, DD (5) and DS1(3) a front-row seat.


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If you don’t tell my brother, I’ll admit to no small measure of glee at the fact that he took the brunt of the splash on the drop.


Now that we were (finally) all together, we got ready to jump in line for Big Thunder, my personal favorite ride in the Magic Kingdom. We’d been priming Drew to ride this for months. He was so excited to ride the “fast train” whenever we brought up Disney World during the months prior. We parked our two strollers next to the fence and headed for the FP entrance.


And then, at that moment…he turned into a giant scaredy-cat. Complete with yelling, kicking and screaming.


“I DON’T WANT TO GO ON THAT RIDE!!!”


We tried multiple times to coax him into the FP line, and he wasn’t budging. We even tried to shame him by pointing out that his younger cousin was going on. (Yes, we’re jerks.) He just made a scene. We were dumbfounded. He’d loved the Mine Train, had been talking up Big Thunder for months, and now that we were here, he wanted nothing to do with it.


Finally, we gave up. My parents offered to take Drew and the baby on the WDW Railroad while we rode Big Thunder. We figured we’d text on a place to meet up afterwards.


The rest of us got on the ride, and loved it, as always. Even Drew’s 3-year-old cousin. We were sorry he’d missed it, but still had another FP for this ride later in the week. Hopefully he’d have some more good rides and build up his courage by then. Hopefully.


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We gathered our belongings and texted my father that we were finished with the ride, so he could meet us at the Frontierland train station. After a few minutes, we received a reply:


DREW FELL ASLEEP. WE’RE GOING AROUND AGAIN.


Um…what? Sorry, but I’m not going to stand around waiting for the train to make another loop. I quickly shot back a text saying that we’d meet them at the station by Dumbo’s circus tent. He said: OK.


My brother and SIL put their kids into their strollers, and we piled our stuff on Drew’s stroller and started the long walk to the other side of the park.


“Is that your dad’s bag?” my SIL asked. She was pointing to a black bag sitting on the ground by the fence. None of us really had any idea. I didn’t know what his bag looked like, and I was sure he would have taken it with him on the train. So we marched off.


You know what happened next. We were finishing our walk, moving between the Little Mermaid ride and Dumbo, when I got another text:


DID YOU GRAB MY BAG?


I barely restrained myself from throwing my phone onto the roof of the Big Top. After Julie and I uttered variations of, “You’ve got to be kidding me”, I took one for the team and made the trek back to BTMRR while the others waited for me. As I leave you here, you can ponder the various creative profanities that may or may not have been uttered along the way.


Coming Up Next: This becomes an expensive day, in more ways than one.
 
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Normally, that fact alone would have the entire family starting the day in a grumpy mood, but Mondays at Disney World have been scientifically proven to be 1836% better than Mondays anywhere else.

I have nothing to refute this fact. The same goes for early mornings.

No big deal, I’m sure we could find something to do on our own in MK.

Most definitely.

Scotty is a huge fan of Chip and Dale. He’s always loved them ever since he was a toddler.

And your TRs are why that particular version of Chip and Dale are known to Joe and I as "naked Chip and Dale."

It’s been our experience that Chip and Dale are consistently two of the best characters as far as interactions with kids go.

And adults!

While we were there, we figured Drew might as well get Pluto’s autograph, too.

Yes!!!!! Pluto is my favorite. Somewhere I have a picture of me meeting him with a Pluto plush and wearing a Pluto shirt.
I also told him this once where Goofy could overhear. That did not go over well :rolleyes:

I tried to remember the correct sequence: inside of the robot’s left had, top of the volcano, bottom of Zurg’s space ship.

There's also a sort of lamp/claw thing right before you go into the second room that's got high point value as well. You have to aim up almost as soon as you get into the first room, but I wanna say it'll give you 100,000.

I found my laser dot and zeroed in, moving the control joystick and the laser cannon in a symphony of coordinated action that would make a football coach weep with joy.

Joe actually suggested next time we sit in separate cars so we can both aim :eek: Honestly it had never occurred to me before


I love this!!! I have a similar photo of myself and Joe on our first trip. I'd link it but they're all on my laptop at home.

The Jungle Cruise was, and is, a Disney classic.

::yes::

But it really all depends on the enthusiasm and delivery of the skipper, and we happened to get one who put her best energy into it.

This and the safari. I think my favorite skipper was the guy who at the end said "Stay in school kids. Otherwise you'll end up on a boat repeating the same spiel every 14 minutes."

And then, at that moment…he turned into a giant scaredy-cat. Complete with yelling, kicking and screaming.

Oh no!!!!

We even tried to shame him by pointing out that his younger cousin was going on. (Yes, we’re jerks.)

I'm pretty sure my parents tried this with me and Tower of Terror. It didn't work then, either.

I barely restrained myself from throwing my phone onto the roof of the Big Top. After Julie and I uttered variations of, “You’ve got to be kidding me”, I took one for the team and made the trek back to BTMRR while the others waited for me. As I leave you here, you can ponder the various creative profanities that may or may not have been uttered along the way.

This sounds like any trip with my in-laws. The very same in-laws who sent an email to my husband last week saying "We're planning on going to Epcot the day after Christmas. Any suggestions on where to stay and what to do?" :headache:
 
Mondays at Disney World have been scientifically proven to be 1836% better than Mondays anywhere else.

I think your math might be off. I don't believe that's possible.
Monday's would have to be exponentially worse than....


Yeah... maybe that number is big enough.

We were headed back to the Magic Kingdom to meet up with everyone (all 13 of us)

:faint:

My mom and dad weren’t ready to catch the bus at the butt crack of dawn




so we did what any loving, considerate family that respects its elders would do, and ditched them at the hotel.

:laughing:

Everyone for themselves!

they followed the First Rule Of Parenting, which is Never Wake A Sleeping Baby.

Correct!!!!

Since you guys always seem to need proof of every statement I make, let’s set the Wayback Machine to 2010:


xliWewjhWsRXki1i2Yc_nfclz2UbBQ0-_0qcX-56Hr4MXhjMAcvy7sjSz8SWEHbQIgi3b538tgEaOyOVbQfn6B4mhADojBlFCCulAJvA0hJ7c0iz0IImwp1Z0Ws4cNC7hj3_nllqtgz86yUlfFG7OyVWYI8gnGlXuQI5LYApngvl2QWl5iAEBDovV_PDG3cdH29tomGmE8ZjwTg43c2td20RypaMaQ8-ODSGDBTIrQuXKm0MiLDx050xj6__Ot-84rc_zV5S9qoTaRYhM-Y1Hni_jtOH5D-Q-Md3fBLSjJwa365DSoUoGePPkKtr1SzpkhgYz7GVATnVG2ETiwMfUYqv-XY4ltajswBOuKgWY0hQE10ZwdAh0w2vd3o_GZpxtcVAi2UQCbM0Zdld03xIw5_egNSnao8_sOlT9EBkayqIVVAHdshTAbXcCUm6diTfVk6LEKhj3Is-nlkV2JADpwUQ9cxvip_yya1bQZ3Wl-u6XNEES9UPJvbAs8ecQIjcIpd5-AAnh9Z6nFcR-XgO3Dlg20rfUfCqDdnuBCcRlopGLvGdYyRxLlDUhw4O48VmaosAAwNe74nS7tyRLMWZ7nNzBwh4ss7BlKebQ8eRIKKS3A47RvlEmmU673YIa3u_IEUNlWKWx27r8EObo8TsA3WH1g=w1228-h819-no

Nah. Not buying it.
Obviously photoshopped.
Could do it myself:

upload_2018-12-11_21-54-16.png

Yep, any excuse to post a manipulatively cute photo and sucker readers into thinking this is a good TR.

Nah. That ship has sailed.

But he had really wanted to meet these two, since they matched his stuffed animals and were, in his words: "Naked Chip and Dale".

:laughing: And he ain't wrong!

Anyway, Sarah knew how much of a fan Scotty was and had painted a Chip and Dale portrait as a gift for Scotty.

Nice! The girl has talent.

It’s been our experience that Chip and Dale are consistently two of the best characters as far as interactions with kids go.

Oh? Wasn't aware of that. Then again, my girls weren't into the characters. Except for one time. Winnie the Pooh. Great interaction with the youngest DD.

pretending to eat Sarah’s hair wrap,

:laughing:

They went wild over the painting Scotty presented.

I bet! Glad they did.

Then they heard Sarah was the artist, so she got a proper thanks as well.

:goodvibes

So yeah, that was a fun meet-up.

Definitely sounds like a winner. :)


very nice. Great job, especially the castle.


I believe you're supposed to hit him on the nose with a rolled up newspaper.

Stitch is another consistently fun character, and this time Sarah was the favored child, as Stitch took a liking to her t-shirt.

I bet! Did she do that on purpose?


Love the ladies' smiles. :)

Three character meets, all with less than 5-minute waits. That’s the only way to fly.

Not too shabby!
Beats 2.5 hours.

I was excited to get another crack at my Ultimate Life Goal of becoming a Galactic Hero.

Good luck, space ranger

I was locked in. Laser-focused. Gold-5, targeting computer activated.

A sure recipe for disaster.

Alas, I fell just short.

You need to loosen up. You're too tense.

Hmmm.... ever seen Steve Martin in Parenthood?



:rolleyes1

Somewhere, Zurg is laughing.

Well yes. But just at you.

Drew really loved the ride (like there was any doubt? Boy + Laser Cannon = Win).

::yes::

Scotty and I managed to pull off our “Crazed Psychotic Killer” look for the ride photo.


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:lmao:


Poor child is exhausted.

She may not have moved during the entire ride. In fact, she may not have left the car.


H42v-9dUEjXoOJx7TAnbz6bf034bld5ZzjE5Xx3X_VfVk3sFUgiMgDsMu6uyBB7iSUKDaIeUsScG7MUEIO7AQHJyH7UaNWSCKB1JJZid4fgAZlnayJYh4cISBkgcZYFneP4nR4JPYzXAMJOu8xozo_vr43T4N0XSSVS-Tv1vLydd0_ZHh7XEIcn-cX6GUOJ420mDREoZd_FrYh16OHcPxmUppoFePjr-nwm7fTNpEHGwX3uOUYnDcC2TUN7A3yIXye_cbBaKTU6mXHXMfkV04ijET-0LoaZ6Nn2PAxBz48LM6A2ckUDHPfdPYRFcuOGWJQFwa8WL9ps5-NgR0Ai9eX6m5T6pTeOXT2W_XT0xzWYt-CELWkE3fw3IdSTqLF6xTuMIf8ZIfT1e0OB4yE_RLmNb_hJc8c213SCufUpzuV7WdRCwWmxrHvOb3hOy_k_sZCgG-h9sIEqB1mPehsWDfM2XQetsRQ-6S1VIYYdl3Y9Wkp1HRJUtIE4uiu8lp_zDkyryO2PjV0t0jyy5hPhA3mXyrKiBrahwu3tDOZvwKeZSHnT8GM7GjODKvcfdTYV4zsd62WMziqduNw3lJ2ENqN4d6sBOSymCUqMvi8ivA8FHEPxbkt3fDiykI44W5Qz87rTZ3McedZFZUDQd1KsMlByDjg=w1228-h819-no

Those two photos are almost carbon copies.

And Dave may have won the prize for best “Crazy Eyes Killa” look. Come to think of it, I’d better keep an eye on him.

Sleep with one eye open.

I honestly don’t understand why people don’t bother to get up for Rope Drop. I never see Jungle Cruise this deserted except at park opening. I do understand that the lines go away very late at night, but that approach doesn’t work with a 4-year-old.

Agreed. Rope drop. More rides with little to know wait versus.... hour long waits for... one ride.

Anyway, since nobody was around, I had lined up everyone for a family photo, and then a Cast Member came running up and said, “No, no, no—you have to be in the photo, too!” I’m not sure why—I don’t improve any photo in any way, but I followed orders.

Nice of him (or her).

Not that I'm disagreeing with you.

The Jungle Cruise was, and is, a Disney classic. It’s 10 minutes of Dad Jokes, which of course are near and dear to my heart.

::yes::

well, you get the point.


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I don't get it.

I don’t think my mom needed to be so protective of him.

:laughing:

Grandmoms are the same worldwide.

“Oh, they got in line for Splash Mountain,” she said.


Oh. You mean with the posted wait time of 40 minutes?

:sad2:

If you don’t tell my brother, I’ll admit to no small measure of glee at the fact that he took the brunt of the splash on the drop.

Ever notice that in all my Splash photos... I'm always in the back row?

:rolleyes:

Big Thunder, my personal favorite ride in the Magic Kingdom.

My second favourite.
With PP a very close third, I think.

We’d been priming Drew to ride this for months. He was so excited to ride the “fast train” whenever we brought up Disney World during the months prior. We parked our two strollers next to the fence and headed for the FP entrance.


And then, at that moment…he turned into a giant scaredy-cat. Complete with yelling, kicking and screaming.


“I DON’T WANT TO GO ON THAT RIDE!!!”

:sad2:
And yet... I'm not surprised.

It happens.

We even tried to shame him by pointing out that his younger cousin was going on. (Yes, we’re jerks.)

:rolleyes1

DREW FELL ASLEEP. WE’RE GOING AROUND AGAIN.

That would also explain his not wanting to go. Tired. Ergo, cranky.

“Is that your dad’s bag?” my SIL asked. She was pointing to a black bag sitting on the ground by the fence. None of us really had any idea. I didn’t know what his bag looked like, and I was sure he would have taken it with him on the train. So we marched off.


You know what happened next. We were finishing our walk, moving between the Little Mermaid ride and Dumbo, when I got another text:


DID YOU GRAB MY BAG?

OMG. You're kidding...

As I leave you here, you can ponder the various creative profanities that may or may not have been uttered along the way.

Oooohhh… I can think of a lot.

This becomes an expensive day, in more ways than one.

Uh, oh.
 
Mondays at Disney World have been scientifically proven to be 1836% better than Mondays anywhere else.

What if you were leaving Disney World on a Monday?

Yep, any excuse to post a manipulatively cute photo

::yes::

Sarah knew how much of a fan Scotty was and had painted a Chip and Dale portrait as a gift for Scotty.

How sweet of her. You both must have been so proud of her thoughtfulness. It really is a nice portrait - very talented.

Scotty and I managed to pull off our “Crazed Psychotic Killer” look for the ride photo.

Did you know where the picture would be taken and discuss expressions beforehand? My pictures always turn out like your mom or Julie - or something in between.

He’d loved the Mine Train, had been talking up Big Thunder for months, and now that we were here, he wanted nothing to do with it.

Noooooo......I was sure he would love that one the most. It's such a fun ride. I'm going to hold out hope that he rides later in your trip and declares it his favorite.

DID YOU GRAB MY BAG?

:furious:

I hope the post for the next day isn't as bad as it sounds......
 

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