Twirling Through the World: Magic, Memories, & Maladies-Sept. 2011 TR- NEW PTR 6/18!

[danimaroo]

Holy cow, I read all of your updates yesterday and today! You are just cruising along through this TR! Can't wait to hear all about your next trip in your PTR! Can you just visit in January so we can meet and hang out together?!

That stinks that both Brynn and Brandon got sick. Ugh, I just can't imagine it's much fun to be sick in Disney World, nevermind the whole family getting sick! But you guys are troopers and still seemed to make the most out of it.

Looks like you and Julia had some fun one on one time though at Blizzard Beach! I haven't been there since I was 12, haha, and we don't usually try to go in January since the weather is so unpredictable.

I'm sorry you and Brandon didn't get to have your date night. That is a mega bummer! I hope you got to have some time later, OR are at least planning for it during your next trip!

 

[stepdisney]

What a great trip report. I've been reading or a few days and finally finished. Can't wait to read more.

So sorry that you all got sick. I think it is great that our DMIL is often walking around with Sawyer while you too are riding. It is nice to have a DMIL. I am not fortunate to have met my MIL, she passed away the year me and my DH met.

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

Time for our last full day of Disney! I'm going to finish it all right now, so keep reading until we sleep on this night, okay?

Let’s review for a moment, shall we?

Let’s see…so far, the following people have been sick on this trip:
1. Me—Tuesday night, better on Wednesday.
2. Sawyer—Tuesday night, better on Wednesday.
3. Brynn—Friday morning, not certain about the cause, but sick nonetheless. Better immediately.
4. Brandon—Friday afternoon, better Saturday upon waking.

Are we seeing a pattern emerging?? It was now Saturday. Brandon was feeling normal again, minus a loss of appetite. When we awakened, we learned that it would continue.
5. Julia—Woke up sick in the middle of the night. Currently sleeping.
6. Mamie—Felt the sickness coming. Still won’t admit she gets sick, even during the sickness.

Now, if you’re keeping track, you’ll realize that that is EVERY SINGLE PERSON in our group. Every person came down with whatever this odd virus was. It was a super-quick bug, but it was fierce. It would make you feel the worst you’ve ever felt, but luckily it was always over very quickly. Obviously we were not the only people around the parks coming down with this, as evidenced by how many times we’d seen it happening to other people during our trip. When we got home, I even saw a post on the DIS about this particular sickness. One person even had thirteen people in their party get sick, I believe! Anyway, it was rough.

Being somewhat experienced with this now, we knew that Mamie and Julia would be feeling better soon, so we decided to take the two little kids to Magic Kingdom for just a little bit while Julia was sleeping. Since Mamie knew she was about to get sick, she said she would love to just stay at the hotel with her and that we should go on.

We made it to the TTC and chose to ride the monorail over. That might not have been such a good idea. More than once, the monorail would just stop for “safety checks.” Now I don’t mean to accuse Disney of anything, but I highly doubt that just before park opening would be the time they would do these so-called “safety checks.” We sat (well, stood) for twenty minutes in the middle of the monorail loop.

When we arrived, we were able to get inside the turnstiles, but just barely. That area was packed out. We had made the rope drop show, but were packed in like sardines, so it wasn’t nearly as enjoyable as it usually is.

The first thing we needed to do was the Dumbo Dash, obviously. We needed Sawyer to have his first ride on Dumbo! The wait said 10 minutes, but that can seem like an eternity in a hot line with a squirmy Sawyer!

I rode with Sawyer and Brandon sat in the Dumbo in front of us with Brynn. Both of them loved it, of course! Brandon really had to focus on his camera to keep from getting sick—he really can’t do spinning rides at all, but he took one for the team and was fine.

This was our view of the construction, though it is way out of date now.

We then took another spin on “it’s a small world.” No pictures this time, since I think you’ve seen enough of our IASW obsession! After that, we grabbed FPs for Peter Pan’s Flight, Brynn’s other favorite of the moment. Brandon was starting to get an appetite about that time, but that would have to wait.

It was time to head to our appointment for something very special:

Brynn’s first haircut!

Originally, I had appointments for all three kids. Before the trip, I realized Sawyer would not have enough hair to get it cut, so I cancelled his. This morning, I explained that Julia was in the room sick, and they cancelled her appointment without a penalty.

Notice how beautiful and curly Brynn’s hair is? I definitely didn’t want to lose those curls. I told our barber, Judy, that this was pretty much purely ceremonial—Julia had her first haircut here, as will Sawyer—and that I just wanted the ends of her hair barely grazed. She completely understood!
Brynn is our sensitive child, remember. At first, she was not too sure about this…

Judy covered her in Mickey stickers and gave her a spinning Minnie toy to distract her. Within seconds, she had gently combed through her hair, wet it, and snipped a little off the ends. Then she gave Brynn her special “First Haircut” ears!

What do you think?

Then she asked if Brynn wanted pixie dust. Well, how could she NOT!?!
First, she pulled her hair up in the “Tinker Bell style,” as Brynn calls it.

As she was being sprinkled with pixie dust, Judy told her to make a wish.

She whispered, “I wish I could have pixie dust!” Well, gosh, I guess her wish came true!

We paid, and they put Brynn’s hair clippings wrapped in a tissue with a Mickey Sticker, a certificate, and her special ears in a bag for us.

Now it was time to deal with Brandon’s hunger! We stopped at the first place we saw/smelled…Main Street Bakery.

I don’t remember why we were in bad moods at that moment, but I do recall that we were. We grabbed a bagel, iced coffee, ham/egg/cheese croissant, and orange juice, and we carried them over to the baby care center. I nursed Sawyer and changed his diaper, and I tried to eat some of the croissant. It was nowhere near as yummy as the one at Pop Century (oddly enough), and tasted like the cheese had melted a little too much and made it soggy. The iced coffee was nice, though. Brandon’s plain bagel must have been okay. He let Brynn and Sawyer break off pieces of it. We spent a little down time watching a movie in there and letting the kids stretch their legs, but then it was time to go.

As we neared the castle, the Move It, Shake It, Celebrate It Street Party was moving our way. Both of the kids watched for a while from the stroller.

They danced a little in their seats, and Brynn stood up to dance half-heartedly for a few seconds, but the kids just weren’t in the mood for it just then. We decided to move on and use our Peter Pan Fast Passes.
Once again, the little kids were thrilled to be on this ride, yelling out our usual repertoire: “Bye, Nana! We’re Flying! I see Ariel!”

After flying over London and Neverland, I was in the need of another island stop…

Aloha Isle, to be exact!

It was Dole Whip time! The challenge with the Dole Whip is always whether or not you can eat it before it completely melts.

We were up for that challenge.

At this point, Sawyer was asleep. We cut through the “potty hallway” back into Fantasyland. Brynn was begging for the Teacups, and I had to oblige. Brandon doesn’t ride spinning things, so this one was up to me. He pushed a sleeping Sawyer around and took pictures while Brynn and I spun ourselves silly…or silliER. You be the judge.

We then made our way towards shopping by way of the Castle.

At that point, it was Emporium time! We hadn’t bought many souvenirs so far, but we made up for that here. I pretty much let Brynn walk around and pick out things, and the sweet girl wanted to make sure we got things to take back to Julia. We ended up buying a set of little Princess dolls, two multi-colored Mickey plastic bracelets, a mug I’ve been wanting for a long time (it has MOM on the handle in case anyone gets confused as to whose mug it is!), an Ariel ink pen, and a soft baby blue Mickey for Sawyer.

We decided this would be a good time to go back to the resort and check on the sickies, and most of all to cool down!

Once again, the monorail was not our friend on the way to the TTC. We were stopped because they needed to take a monorail in for maintenance, the voice said, and we were there inside the hot car for ten minutes.
After that, we decided to make a stop inside the store at the TTC to get some waters. We also ended up getting a First Trip sippy cup for Sawyer and the stick figure-type car stickers, one for each member of our family. They make me happy every time I look at them on the back of my van now!
Back at the room, Julia was still asleep. Mamie had not gotten sick yet, but she was really sluggish and still felt it was coming (and she was right).

(Keep reading below!)

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

We fixed Brynn and Sawyer peanut butter sandwiches, gave them some Cheerios, and got them lots and lots of water. They both happily watched (and quoted, in Brynn’s case) Stacey as they ate. Mamie decided on going to eat at the food court, and she brought me back a burrito and a muffin. I could only finish about half the burrito, but it was good!

At that point, Brandon was nice enough to rub my feet for me while I updated my TR notes. Brynn began a fun interaction with her new Princess dolls. At first, they were all riding IASW while Brynn sang the song. She made a boat out of their packaging.

She then began giving them their own storylines. Ariel was riding Test Track.

Rapunzel was back to riding IASW. Jasmine rode Peter Pan’s Flight. Before each ride, she very seriously turned to us and said, “She’s gonna ride that puppy!” She was showing the Stacey love!

Soon, Julia was up and feeling a whole lot better. For a while, we sat around playing Picnic on the bed. Then Julia got antsy because she was now all better and didn’t want to be stuck in the room anymore. Mamie was back and was now officially enduring the fun sickness, so she was out. We decided that the best thing to do was to get our crew out of the hotel while she was still in the throes of the illness in hopes of sparing us another round of it. Where did we go??

Downtown Disney! Since we skipped it when the kids fell asleep the other day, we needed to fit it in. Admittedly, Saturday is not ideally the best day for DTD, but we had no other choice. We made our way through all the areas.

Julia posed with this guy just like she does every year.

We never stop at the Lego store, but we love the sculptures!

We stopped to hug some Princesses.

It was time for dinner, and we seem to always end up at…

We never have a reservation here, but they always work us in really quickly. This time, they also had to keep in mind that we needed space for a stroller because Sawyer was zonked out! While we waited, only about five minutes, the girls looked at the waterfall and animals outside.

We heard our name and began our safari. We were seated near this guy:

Brandon and I decided to split something since we both still didn’t have much of an appetite. I’m not even sure what we chose, but it had pasta and red sauce and I think sausage.

Now, the girls had been working on behavior charts for the past month. You can print the charts off the RFC website and they have them for several different things. If you bring them into the restaurant, you get a kid’s meal for 99 cents with the purchase of an adult entrée. Since we were only purchasing one adult meal, we really only got to use one, but we didn’t tell the girls that.

They were proud of their charts!

Julia’s was for nice words and faces.

Brynn’s was for good night-night times.

They both almost always had smiley faces!

Both girls ordered hot dogs with corn (no butter), and I think they got a banana. All the food was pretty good, but nobody was very hungry.
Sawyer woke up part-way through the meal and ate a little bit. Then he started getting antsy, so it was time to go.

After eating, it was time for our next DTD tradition—the tiny little carousel.

We know nothing about pin trading, but Julia wanted to pose with Donald and Daisy.

Then it was time for more shopping, of course! We went into World of Disney. Sawyer and Brynn didn’t last too long in there. They were grabbing things off shelves and fussing when Brandon would put it all back. He opted to take them outside and drive in circles instead. Julia stuck with me. She helped me carry things as we worked our way around the suddenly thick crowds. I kind of just wanted to get out of there, but it took FOREVER! Brandon was panicking by the time we made it out. It was starting to thunder and lightning off in the distance and the clouds looked very, very scary. The mob was along the walkways all over DTD, and we knew we didn’t stand a chance getting all the way back to the other end that way. Instead, we walked the length of it on the sidewalk next to the parking lot. We were nearly running trying to get to the van before the storms were on us, and we barely made it, but we did! Success!

Once back, Mamie was conked out, and for good reason. We discussed it a bit and decided that since we had an extra day on our tickets due to not making it to Epcot on Friday, we would try to fit in some MK time the next morning so Julia could finish up her “must ride” list. She literally gave me a list—Dumbo, teacups, IASW, POTC, Jungle Cruise, Tom Sawyer’s Island, Hall of Presidents (yes, my five year old insisted on this…she’s a unique kid).

I put everyone in bed and tried to pack as quietly as I could. Then Brandon and I tried to finish up as many snacks as we could while we watched TV…you know…so they wouldn’t go to waste. We slept well, but how would things be in the morning??

 

[shan23877]

Boy, you guys really went through the ringer on this trip didn't you? I'm so glad that Julia was feeling better by evening.

World of Disney always seems so crowded even though it's so huge! Maybe it's because they pack so much merchandise in there.

I almost bought myself the family stickers for my Jeep, but I didn't. I just got the regular ones from Target. I regret my decision. My little brother makes fun of me for my regular ones anyway, may as well be sportin' the Mickey ears!

Maddie LOVES the packaging from her toys. It's like a ready-made backdrop for the little plays that they put on. She's also a Stacey disciple. Must Dos drives Bryan nuts, but we love it.

Hope that you got all of Julia's last rides in! Can't wait to hear the rest.

Happy Mother's Day!!

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Well if the sickness had to cycle through all of you guys, I'm glad to hear that it seems like it's on it's last bit!! How frustrating, though!

I loved Brynn's wish that she'd get pixie dust! How adorable!! And how sweet that she wanted to pick up toys for Julia!

DTD does get overwhelmingly crowded, I hate being in that too. Glad you guys were able to beat the storm! Hope everyone was feeling good for the last day!

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

Holy cow, I read all of your updates yesterday and today! You are just cruising along through this TR! Can't wait to hear all about your next trip in your PTR! Can you just visit in January so we can meet and hang out together?!

That stinks that both Brynn and Brandon got sick. Ugh, I just can't imagine it's much fun to be sick in Disney World, nevermind the whole family getting sick! But you guys are troopers and still seemed to make the most out of it.

Looks like you and Julia had some fun one on one time though at Blizzard Beach! I haven't been there since I was 12, haha, and we don't usually try to go in January since the weather is so unpredictable.

I'm sorry you and Brandon didn't get to have your date night. That is a mega bummer! I hope you got to have some time later, OR are at least planning for it during your next trip!

I really did love the one on one time with Julia that day, even under bad circumstances.
Brandon and I just went on our first "date" last weekend. We went to see The Hunger Games. Not as good as Le Cellier, but at least I got to watch it in a theater!

What a great trip report. I've been reading or a few days and finally finished. Can't wait to read more.

So sorry that you all got sick. I think it is great that our DMIL is often walking around with Sawyer while you too are riding. It is nice to have a DMIL. I am not fortunate to have met my MIL, she passed away the year me and my DH met.

Well, she isn't much of a ride person to begin with, PLUS we paid for her to come so that she'd walk around with him and sometimes Brynn. That's not to say I'm not grateful for her--I am--but I doubt she'd be doing that if she'd paid her own way.
I'm glad to have her in my life. Even when she says things that frustrate us, I really don't think she intends to do it. I just think she sometimes doesn't think before she speaks. She does love our kids, too, and that's always good.

Boy, you guys really went through the ringer on this trip didn't you? I'm so glad that Julia was feeling better by evening.

World of Disney always seems so crowded even though it's so huge! Maybe it's because they pack so much merchandise in there.

I almost bought myself the family stickers for my Jeep, but I didn't. I just got the regular ones from Target. I regret my decision. My little brother makes fun of me for my regular ones anyway, may as well be sportin' the Mickey ears!

Maddie LOVES the packaging from her toys. It's like a ready-made backdrop for the little plays that they put on. She's also a Stacey disciple. Must Dos drives Bryan nuts, but we love it.

Hope that you got all of Julia's last rides in! Can't wait to hear the rest.

Happy Mother's Day!!

We DID go through the ringer, but I promise it didn't ruin our trip at all! This trip is the one that showed me that I can be flexible.
Stacey is AWESOME! We all love her and quote her.
You have to get those stickers for your car next time. You won't regret it.
Happy Mother's Day to you, too (a day late)!!

Well if the sickness had to cycle through all of you guys, I'm glad to hear that it seems like it's on it's last bit!! How frustrating, though!

I loved Brynn's wish that she'd get pixie dust! How adorable!! And how sweet that she wanted to pick up toys for Julia!

DTD does get overwhelmingly crowded, I hate being in that too. Glad you guys were able to beat the storm! Hope everyone was feeling good for the last day!

It was a little frustrating, I'll admit. But as horrible as this sounds, we kind of started laughing about it in the end. We'd be like, "Another person sick? REALLY?! LOL!" It was like some sort of cosmic joke, and we had to laugh about it or cry.
Brynn is such a sweet girl. She is our little fireball and bounces all over the place, but she is golden on the inside!

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

We woke up on Sunday, the last day of our trip, feeling mostly pretty good. I had to finish packing the things I couldn’t pack quietly the night before, and Mamie had to pretty much pack up all her stuff since she was sick the night before. Brandon and Julia decided to take our luggage to Bell Services for them to store it until it was time to bring back our stroller, which had to be back by 2:00.

Apparently we must have given the kids a bath, because Julia’s hair is wet in that picture. I’ll be honest right now and say that the details on this day are a bit hazy. It was not planned for us to do anything but drive home today, but we couldn’t let Julia leave without doing some of the rides she had missed. Plus, we all had an extra day on our tickets since we didn’t end up going to Epcot Friday evening due to Brandon’s sickness.

Bags all checked, we headed for Magic Kingdom. We were on track for another rope drop, but the monorail again had “safety checks” right at opening. They must be super-safe with all the “checks” they made this week!

We missed the welcome show, but we were still in the crowd that entered at 9:00. Being smart, we headed straight to Dumbo. Brynn and Sawyer had ridden the previous day, but Julia hadn’t and it was on her list of “must-do” rides. As we neared the entrance to Dumbo, Brynn said she had to potty. Then she did this weird cough/gag thing that made me think she was getting sick again. I told Brandon to go ahead with the other kids and took Brynn to the bathroom. She was okay, but she didn’t like that cough/gag thing one bit, and I didn’t, either! Luckily, she was fine. It sounded a lot like the sound she made when she was a baby and had bad reflux, and since her throat was burning afterwards, that might be what it was. Still not sure, but I was happy that she wouldn’t be getting sick on our ride home!!

Julia got her ride on Dumbo, and they met up with us afterwards.

I believe we got FPs for Peter Pan at this point.

I think we went to the Mad Tea Party next, though I can’t be sure. What I AM sure of is that we went to get a snack and some coffee at Enchanted Grove, but our dining credits wouldn’t work. Now, I know my dining plan, and I not only knew that I had lots of snack and quick service credits left, but that they should be good until midnight tonight, even though we had already checked out. The CM behind the counter told us that he couldn’t do anything about it not working—if it didn’t work on his computer, he had no way of fixing the issue or overriding it or calling anybody to help. I shortened our order and paid cash for what we did get. I found out later that that place is sort of known for having issues like that. I think they need to fix their computers!

At this point, Sawyer was asleep, so we made our way to something we knew he wouldn’t sit through if he were awake—Hall of Presidents! Julia loves to learn about the Presidents and likes to randomly throw odd facts at us. We had never been here, but we enjoyed it. We sat all the way in the back just in case Brynn had squirmy three year old issues, and there were other families in the same situation next to us.

It made me smile a little because it reminded me that when President Obama was elected, two year old Julia kept telling people that the President was “Barack O-Momma.”

With Sawyer still asleep, we made our way to POTC with a stop at the Jungle Cruise FP station. Julia had been wanting to ride POTC to see the dog with the key’s in his mouth that is shown on the planning video. Brandon had never ridden it before, so he was happy to finally see it. Brynn was adamant that she was NOT EVER riding POTC. Mamie sat with the sleeping Sawyer and the scared Brynn in the shade on a bench, and after Brandon, Julia, and I rode, she took Julia back on it while I sat with the littles.

While Julia and Mamie were riding, Sawyer woke up and needed a diaper and some milk STAT, or he was going to very loudly tell the first person he saw that he had terrible parents and needed rescuing. Lucky for us, he allowed us to change him and feed him before he had to go to drastic measures.

With everyone back together, we all walked over to use our FPs for Jungle Cruise. I’m not sure how it happened, but we only had four FPs instead of five. Flame me if you must, but I came up with the idea that one of us would carry Brynn and that they’d assume she was two and didn’t need a FP. It worked, and I only felt a slight bit of shame.

Soon, we were cracking up at our captain’s antics. Our girls are notorious for bad jokes (their jokes actually make no sense) and loved the humor on our cruise.

I wonder if those guys ever got the point?!

I think the kids believed the animals were real, and I didn’t want to ruin their perspective.

We grabbed our strollers from the way too hot stroller parking and made our way over to Fantasyland again, which would be our final land of the trip. Our FPs for PPF were now past due, but this was when it was still acceptable to use them. They must have been trying to switch over to the new enforcement gradually, because for the first time on the trip we were admonished for being past the time window. The girl was not nice about it, either. “Next time try being on time,” she said in a nasty tone with an ugly look on her face. “That won’t be a problem since we’re leaving in a few minutes,” I snapped back, and we all filed into the FP line for one last fly over London and Neverland. Now, if she had said that nicely or smiled while she was saying it, I would never have said anything. I was, after all, the one in the “wrong,” though at the time it was official policy to allow you in past your time. Still, we had a great ride.

We then went across the walkway to “it’s a small world” for our final ride of the trip. No pictures. I think we have seen plenty!

We stopped in the gift shop outside of PhilharMagic and bought a few things. I know Julia got Mickey’s house with some tiny little figures that come apart all the time. It was not the best quality and is the only Disney souvenir I’ve not been impressed with. Brynn got a boat with characters from “it’s a small world,” and she still loves it to this day!

It was getting hot and pretty late, so we decided to go back to grab our luggage from Pop Century and to return our stroller.

We waved goodbye to Magic Kingdom.

It wasn’t yet 2:00, but we passed the stroller truck exiting as I walked the stroller to where it was supposed to be dropped off. They saw me walking and turned back around to pick it up. I left the rest of the crew to pack up the van while I went inside to take care of our credits.

When the man at the desk ran my card, he had no problem seeing how many dining credits I had left. He printed me off a sheet just in case it didn’t work when I used it at the food court, but I had no problems there, either. Just Enchanted Grove. Hmm.

I left the food court with two big bags full of food. I got some of their huge sandwiches with chips, some kids PB&J meals, drinks, candy, apples…lots of food for the trip! You can use QS credits for multiple snack credits, which is what I did.

I walked back across the sparkly floor of the lobby at Pop Century for the last time, and I got in the van to head home.

We immediately had to stop for gas and were worried that we’d run out, but after that the trip was uneventful. We made great time and were happy to arrive back to our house.

This trip definitely changed my way of thinking about Disney trips. I will always be a planner—it’s my nature—but this trip showed me that I CAN handle unexpected challenges and find a way to still have an extremely happy trip. I had to adopt more of a “go with the flow” attitude as each one of us, one-by-one, spent some time being sick. If that didn’t get us down, I’m not sure much could! I will plan and calculate and make a million changes before our next trip, but I’m going into it knowing that there will be mishaps and challenges and it will all turn out fine.

Thank you for joining us for our trip. I have loved interacting with each and every one of you and am grateful you followed this TR for so many months! I hope you’ll join my next PTR when I post a link soon! The next trip is definitely going to be amazing, and we’re doing things we’ve never done before!

See ya real soon!

Up next: A PTR link

 

[dara00]

we got told to be on time at peter pan's flight too! I wonder if it was the same cm. (we were also there before the enforcement, and before i knew it was coming!)

 

[shan23877]

I'm sad that it's over! You guys got a lot done that morning! Another rude CM? That's so disappointing. I expect so much from the Disney CMs, it's really startling when one is rude.

No more IASW photos? Don't worry, I'll post a ton in my TR Brandon (I assume) got some really cool shots that morning. What settings did he use? I have a Rebel T3i if it matters. I did read my manual like Brandon said, but didn't get it all read before the trip.

Can't wait to join the PTR!

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

I'm sad to see this TR come to an end - I enjoyed reading along with your adventures! I'm glad to hear you were able to accomplish Julia's must-do's on your last day! And that you got through one day without another sickness!!

Can't wait to hear about your next trip!

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

we got told to be on time at peter pan's flight too! I wonder if it was the same cm. (we were also there before the enforcement, and before i knew it was coming!)

Well, I distinctly remember what she looked like! She was about my height, a few years younger than me, and had blondish hair that was more like brown hair lightened with Sun-In...do you remember Sun-In? Gosh, I really hadn't thought of that stuff in years!! Her hair was in a low ponytail and she was NOT smiling at all. Not just for us, she was looking grouchy to everyone. I don't think we helped things much.

I'm sad that it's over! You guys got a lot done that morning! Another rude CM? That's so disappointing. I expect so much from the Disney CMs, it's really startling when one is rude.

No more IASW photos? Don't worry, I'll post a ton in my TR Brandon (I assume) got some really cool shots that morning. What settings did he use? I have a Rebel T3i if it matters. I did read my manual like Brandon said, but didn't get it all read before the trip.

Can't wait to join the PTR!

I expect so much, too. I did snap back at her snippiness, but I didn't really get down about it since I was past FP time, even though it was before enforcement. I think mostly I was caught off guard by it. Not long after we returned, we heard rumors of them beginning to enforce the times.
We really did do a lot of things, but we still missed some. I hope we get to do those things on our upcoming trip!
As for the camera, I'm not sure of the exact details of his settings, but I know for indoor shots (like POTC) he used a very open aperture and fast shutter speed. I remember him saying that he couldn't push the ISO to its max with the T1i because it caused pictures to have some noise...but now he's fixed the issue because he just bought a Canon Mark something or other full frame camera last week, and apparently it is magical. I don't know. All I know is that he'd better sell our T1i so I can pay off some of his upgrade!!
The Jungle Cruise pictures look like they're HD shots to me. I'm guessing he took three exposures of each shot and combined them in Photoshop.
Sorry, I'm obviously not much camera help!!

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

I'm sad to see this TR come to an end - I enjoyed reading along with your adventures! I'm glad to hear you were able to accomplish Julia's must-do's on your last day! And that you got through one day without another sickness!!

Can't wait to hear about your next trip!

Thanks! I'm so happy that we were able to go back in on Sunday. It didn't even make us very late getting home, and Brandon's already been hinting that he'd like to try something like that again on our upcoming trip.
Hopefully that trip won't have all the sickness! Hope you'll read along on my upcoming PTR and eventual TR!

 

[stepdisney]

Awwww. So sad that the trip report is over. I have enjoyed reading your report, perhaps more than any other because you shared so much honest information. This year we keep promising that we will slow down and just go with the flow. Your daughters are so smart and funny! Love how they sang the songs in the various languages and the comments in the "Stacy" voice were hilarious . You've encouraged me to write a trip report.....

 

[mommy2mb]

Just got caught up and finished your report. So sorry everyone got sick! I know the feeling in March we all came down with severe chest colds with fevers/chills. We even left a day early to drive home. Our oldest was sick the last 4 days of trip even with meds from doctor. Loved your report and can't wait to join your new pre-trip report. Loved the pics of blizzard beach my 7 year old requested this next trip.

 

[HilJoy14]

Thanks for sharing your trip report! I enjoyed reading it (except for all the sick parts - sorry about those!). Your girls are just adorable!

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

Thanks for sharing your trip report! I enjoyed reading it (except for all the sick parts - sorry about those!). Your girls are just adorable!

Thanks for reading it! My kids are my world, so anyone who compliments them is always appreciated!

Just got caught up and finished your report. So sorry everyone got sick! I know the feeling in March we all came down with severe chest colds with fevers/chills. We even left a day early to drive home. Our oldest was sick the last 4 days of trip even with meds from doctor. Loved your report and can't wait to join your new pre-trip report. Loved the pics of blizzard beach my 7 year old requested this next trip.

Oh, that stinks! Illness at Disney is the worst.
I should be starting the PTR soon. I'm trying to decide whether or not to start it now or after our upcoming beach vacation, since I most likely won't be updating it from the beach. I'm so glad you'll be reading along!

Awwww. So sad that the trip report is over. I have enjoyed reading your report, perhaps more than any other because you shared so much honest information. This year we keep promising that we will slow down and just go with the flow. Your daughters are so smart and funny! Love how they sang the songs in the various languages and the comments in the "Stacy" voice were hilarious . You've encouraged me to write a trip report.....

You just made my day! You are so sweet!
You should really write a trip report. I keep re-reading mine because I have already forgotten parts of the trip! It's so nice to be able to relive it and recall all the little details. I would love to read your TR!

 

[Elinor Dashwood]

Hello, I just finished reading your trip report. It's so cute, minus the puking that went on! Your kids are adorable too. Thank you for sharing this, I've been on the fence about returning to Disney World but after reading this, I am so ready to go back! I really enjoyed your candid posts. My kids love it there but they don't love getting up early on vacation to hit the parks for rope drop. Wish me luck!

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

Hello, I just finished reading your trip report. It's so cute, minus the puking that went on! Your kids are adorable too. Thank you for sharing this, I've been on the fence about returning to Disney World but after reading this, I am so ready to go back! I really enjoyed your candid posts. My kids love it there but they don't love getting up early on vacation to hit the parks for rope drop. Wish me luck!

Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it and that you want to enjoy WDW again! Good luck with rope drops. I only WISH my kids weren't such early risers.

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

Well, I promised you a PTR, and now I've started one! I would love it if you joined me on this journey!

It's called "Island Time: A WDW PTR for September 2012." This trip is sure to be our best yet!