Wait, weren't you just at Disney World? An August '14 Pre-Trip Report *updated 8/24*

[Leshaface]

We really enjoy the Yard House for the same reason as you. Our apartment in Long Beach was minutes away from us and we loved it! We finally got one closer to us now where we live currently, about 45 minutes. Unfortnately, not close enough to order a half yard.

I was thinking the same thing about the Mother's Milk. Probably good for any lactating woman!

Chambord? Like the liquor?

Super nice of them to remove the charge.

iPood!

What a cool place that is! I think DS would really enjoy that moving duplo train that you got for Peter.

That is so cool that they have divider cups for the frozen yogurt!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Great updates, Phil.

Emma is darling; love the t-shirts you got the older kids.

Mark went to a Yard House for the first time in March in Vegas and continues to rave about the place. I just found out we have one in a suburb about 40 minutes from us...now we just have to find the time to go.

The Lego Store looks like a lot of fun. Olivia looks quite pleased with her choice and no doubt that Peter loves his.

IPood

Thanks Kathy!

We really like the Yard House - that location is nice too because there are always tons of families there so I get access to great beer but don't feel weird brining my kids into a bar (I mean, not like that would stop me, but still )

Oh, and I didn't post a picture but in the Lego miniland area they had a mock up of the mall and they had a lego YardHouse except they called it the Inch House

I love the Yard House! Hoegarden is one of my favorite beers, and the addition of Chambord sounds really good!

That Lego Discovery Center looks awesome!

And the splitter for the Froyo is genius. I have never seen one of those before!

We've had Hoegaarden with Orange Juice before (like a Hoegaarden Mimosa) but not chambord - Judi was very happy with it

The splitter is great if you want to try a couple of things but aren't sure how they would taste together

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I remember seeing those shirts on Teefury! I think half of my wardrobe is from that site.

I also own the Frozen/Doctor Who mashed potato you pictured earlier. The artist who designs arguably the most popular Disney/Doctor Who mashups is Karen Hallion. She's making a great Star Wars/Haunted Mansion series as well!

I just saw on on there with Princess Leia as the tightrope walker over the deathstar garbage area that looked really cool.

I just love the mashed up things ... that is one reason I really want to get to a Mickeys Halloween Party some time to see the characters dressed up as other characters. As a kid I had a Tigger wearing a Pooh costume that I loved.

Thanks for sharing the website - I'd never heard of teefury before but I will be watching for shirts for our girls weekend!

That Lego place looks great! You guys sure know how to have fun - and eat and drink well.

The way you describe your job does sound interesting (especially to the numbers geeks in me) - way better than if you say you work in finance for an insurance company

There are a lot of cool shirts there and they aren't crazy expensive ... definitely a bit NSFW (Not Safe For Wallet) though

We have been trying to mix in outings to keep the kids entertained ... and what's an outing with some good food and drink! (probably one reason we love going to Disney so much)

It's a fun job - just totally not what I thought I would be doing when I grew up

 

[TheMaxRebo]

We really enjoy the Yard House for the same reason as you. Our apartment in Long Beach was minutes away from us and we loved it! We finally got one closer to us now where we live currently, about 45 minutes. Unfortnately, not close enough to order a half yard.

I was thinking the same thing about the Mother's Milk. Probably good for any lactating woman!

Chambord? Like the liquor?

Super nice of them to remove the charge.

iPood!

What a cool place that is! I think DS would really enjoy that moving duplo train that you got for Peter.

That is so cool that they have divider cups for the frozen yogurt!

if there was a Yardhouse minutes away from my house we would be there all the time!

Mother's Milk is a milk stout - but that is true! Actually, my latest home brew is a good dark stout so Judi can just drink that

Yup - Chambourd like the liquor! Best way to make alcohol better is to add more alcohol!

Oh, I think your son would love the train set. Only issue we are having is he is not used to Legos so he keeps coming over saying "train broken!" ... and I am all "yeah, well, that is Legos - you get to fix it" but he doesn't really get it

 

[HarkiQuinn]

I love the Batman/Haunted Mansion shirts! Although I'm offended by the lack of Harley Quinn (my namesake)! Haha. Gotta check out teefury more often.

AND HOLY MOTHER OF LEGOS BATMAN! It looks like you guys had a lot of fun (and ate a lot of great food).

 

[Imagineer5]

Great updates - your meal looks fabulous and nice that the manager made the error right. Those tacos looked amazing!

As for the Lego Discovery Center - I am SO glad you posted that!! They recently opened one near Boston, and I was thinking of taking Aria but wasn't sure if she would really enjoy it. Their website was awful to see if the rides had a height requirement, but I think we have the same set up with the mini land and all. Aria loves Duplos though - and I bet she would love the "earthquake" just as Peter did. AND that Duplo train is SO neat! I wonder if the Lego store at DTD has that one, I don't remember seeing it but she would love it!!

I think we will need to check it out sometime though!

Oh as for the frozen yogurt place. We have one near us, and a few weeks ago I took Aria there randomly after picking her up at daycare. I did NOT know they weighed it as I'd never been to one before. We loaded that sucker up soooo high. It ended up being like $14! whoops! it was good though and we split it so not that bad, I guess.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I love the Batman/Haunted Mansion shirts! Although I'm offended by the lack of Harley Quinn (my namesake)! Haha. Gotta check out teefury more often.

AND HOLY MOTHER OF LEGOS BATMAN! It looks like you guys had a lot of fun (and ate a lot of great food).

I am not sure if they made it into a t-shirt, but the artist that did the images did use Harley Quinn in one of the other paintings. Here is the full set he did:

Yeah, there were quite a few legos there - the miniland was cool just to look all the stuff they made

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Great updates - your meal looks fabulous and nice that the manager made the error right. Those tacos looked amazing!

Everything was pretty darn good. I was pleasantly surprised that the manager not only corrected the error but took the entire cost of that dish off so we got it for free, so that was even better!

As for the Lego Discovery Center - I am SO glad you posted that!! They recently opened one near Boston, and I was thinking of taking Aria but wasn't sure if she would really enjoy it. Their website was awful to see if the rides had a height requirement, but I think we have the same set up with the mini land and all. Aria loves Duplos though - and I bet she would love the "earthquake" just as Peter did. AND that Duplo train is SO neat! I wonder if the Lego store at DTD has that one, I don't remember seeing it but she would love it!!

I think we will need to check it out sometime though!

Just so you know there are some minimum heights for a few things - the Merlin's Apprentice and the big play area you need to be 3 feet to go on with an adult and like 4 feed by yourself ... so Peter couldn't do either of those. But the laser one and then the other play areas and the movie anyone can do.

Plus, under 3 is free to get in

Oh as for the frozen yogurt place. We have one near us, and a few weeks ago I took Aria there randomly after picking her up at daycare. I did NOT know they weighed it as I'd never been to one before. We loaded that sucker up soooo high. It ended up being like $14! whoops! it was good though and we split it so not that bad, I guess.

Yeah, it does get pricey. Peter wanted a shake which was cheaper per oz so I probably over filled it thinking it was cheaper - but I guess it is heavier - so per volume is more oz and it wound up being more than Olivia's. Oh well

 

[Leshaface]

if there was a Yardhouse minutes away from my house we would be there all the time!

Mother's Milk is a milk stout - but that is true! Actually, my latest home brew is a good dark stout so Judi can just drink that

Yup - Chambourd like the liquor! Best way to make alcohol better is to add more alcohol!

Oh, I think your son would love the train set. Only issue we are having is he is not used to Legos so he keeps coming over saying "train broken!" ... and I am all "yeah, well, that is Legos - you get to fix it" but he doesn't really get it

It's so true about the dark beer. When I was researching information about increasing milk supply, it had mentioned dark beer. At first I was a little but decided to give 8 ounces a shot and whoa, it really did help. And it felt like such a treat after not drinking for almost a year at that point.

I bet that would taste delicious! Such an odd combination, but the flavors sound right on. Did the server suggest this or have you tried this before?

 

[Marsheliz]

Yardhouse looks like a wonderful, different place to eat!!

My boys would die over the Lego Discovery Center- we have one in Atlanta, Georgia ( about 3.5 hours away) and I keep saying we need to take a weekend trip. Hmm, that's an idea!

Love the Cinderella legos! If I had a girl, she would definitely have that in the playroom!

I bet you are going to be busy, busy getting ready for the trip this weekend!

 

[missangelalexis]

Nice day spent with the family!

The Yardhouse seems really impressive. And the Lego Center looks so cool! Especially love the model of MetLife stadium

Wow my mind is pretty blown by the froyo cup splitter, wish my local place had that!!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

It's so true about the dark beer. When I was researching information about increasing milk supply, it had mentioned dark beer. At first I was a little but decided to give 8 ounces a shot and whoa, it really did help. And it felt like such a treat after not drinking for almost a year at that point.

I bet that would taste delicious! Such an odd combination, but the flavors sound right on. Did the server suggest this or have you tried this before?

Oh definitely aware of the dark beer impact ... does feel funny at times like forcing beer on my wife though

It was just on the menu and Judi likes Chambord a lot so figured she would give it a try - and she was glad she did!

Yardhouse looks like a wonderful, different place to eat!!

My boys would die over the Lego Discovery Center- we have one in Atlanta, Georgia ( about 3.5 hours away) and I keep saying we need to take a weekend trip. Hmm, that's an idea!

Love the Cinderella legos! If I had a girl, she would definitely have that in the playroom!

I bet you are going to be busy, busy getting ready for the trip this weekend!

The Lego Discovery Center was really fun - not sure if I would do a weekend just for that ... but as part of a weekend it would be great!

If you go make sure you look online for tickets as they are cheaper than at the door and your get a reserved time slot

Yeah, definitely didn't push back when both kids wanted to get some Legos

I know - I still need to make some of our shirts and waiting on other deliveries and we need to do our packing list, etc. ... going to be busy this weekend!

Pluse, while I am technically on vacation I have been working from home a few hours a day which is starting to be a pain

Nice day spent with the family!

The Yardhouse seems really impressive. And the Lego Center looks so cool! Especially love the model of MetLife stadium

Wow my mind is pretty blown by the froyo cup splitter, wish my local place had that!!

Thanks Alexis! The miniland had a lot of cool stuff. I didn't get a great picture of it b/c there were always a ton of kids around it but they had a baseball stadium that was split half Citi Field and half Yankee Stadium

Funny how such a simple thing seems to impress so many

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Pre Trip Report: Part 36 - Into the home stretch​

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Well we are just over 1 week away from our Disney trip - and in fact 3 days from now we will be on a place down to Florida.

Starting tomorrow I plan to do "1 week from today .... " posts - parly just to help me get more of the details set/thought about. Hopefully you enjoy them too.

First though, had a few planning updates to cover today that we worked on this weekend ... but first, random cute picture of Emma:

Oh, and since Peter was enjoying his Duplo train so much I couldn't help but get the expansion track set ... he's really enjoying making up new layouts - and he and Olivia also love to put the Duplo goat on the crossing and move him right before the train gets there ... and some times not move him and laugh as the train pushing the goat down the tracks

One thing we worked on this week was going through outfits for each day at Disney, etc. Generally we don't really do the matching out fit thing but I want to get one picture of the family on Main St. in Mickey/Minnie shirts. The kids all have theirs (including that Minnie onsie for Emma posted a few updates ago) but neither Judi nor I had one. So I ordered one for me I saw that I liked:

We didn't really find one for Judi that she liked so I made one for her - I think it came out really cute:

I made a few other shirts - some I won't reveal until the main trip report, but I liked this one that I plan to wear our first Disney day to MGM studios - figured it was appropriate:

We also got a portable bassinet for Emma which seems to be working so far. We thought about getting one of those pods that I know Dugette got, but were afraid Emma was too small for it. Hopefully this one works out:

We also thought about how we would transport everything at the airport and figured out a way to rig up a car seat to a rolling bag with the idea of strapping Peter to it while we move through the airport. Hopefully it works, otherwise I don't think we will have enough hands

I tried to take a wider shot and told everyone to say "cheese" and Olivia, well, she did something else:

... and with that we are really into the home stretch

TTFN

 

[horse11]

WOW!!!!! One more week!!!! I am sooooo excited for you guys and I am not even going LOL!!!! Emma looks soooo cute and Judi looks fantastic!!! She does not even look like she had a baby!!! I just love the shirts! My favorite hands down is the Mickey Star Wars one, that is great!!!!!

 

[MidnightParade]

So close! So close! Soooo cloooose!!

lol! Love that car seat rigging for Peter! I'm sure you'll get a few looks at the airport and atleast a a few families trying to duplicate themselves!

Yay for making t-shirts! The Minnie looks great! How did you do it? Painting or iron-ons?

 

[Dugette]

Sorry, I got a bit behind!

Love all of your outings! I think you must have inspired us, as we had a loaded weekend of zoo and Mall of America yesterday, then Children's Museum and Science Museum today! Whew, exhausted!

That Lego place looks awesome! And I bet Izzy would love that Duplo train! She has a Duplo train, actually, but it doesn't have tracks or move on its own. I might have to track down one of those ones!

It looks like the bassinet is a good choice. You are right, the Peapod is supposed to be used from 1-year-old on up, I think. When Izzy was little, we used our Fisher Price Rock 'n' Play all the time and brought it with when we travelled, but we never had to get on a plane at that age and I'm guessing your bassinet folds a lot smaller.

Good job rigging up the carseat to the luggage! Hope everything goes smoothly!

By the way, as someone in accounting, I'll agree that your job sounds kinda fun.

Anyway, so close to the trip now!!

 

[amberg93]

This means starting tomorrow I'll make sure to check this every day

Love the shirts. And I think Judi's shirt looks very cute too, so it all works.

Brilliant rig. Truly, I hope to be so innovative when I have children

 

[annie170]

On my very first visit to WDW in 1985, I bought that Mickey Mouse t-shirt. My first souvenir. It probably doesn't fit anymore, but I'll never get rid of it. I love that it is still available.

Very smart strapping the carseat to the bag! Are you bringing three carseats? I remember the baby days when you feel like you're packing everything but the kitchen sink!

 

[Imagineer5]

yay for packing and planning your airport moves! It's tough with 2 parents and 3 kids I can imagine! Hopefully Peter will enjoy his car seat ride! If not, maybe you can rig up the car seat like I do with it on the back of the stroller?

Definitely going to look for that Duplo train set at DTD, if I can't find it there then I'll order it online. It looks like so much fun and the perfect size for Aria.

Looking forward to zooming through this week by reading your "This time in 1 week..." posts!! Mine have really helped me narrow down times and such.

 

[schmass]

It's getting so close!!

I love the t-shirts! And I like the creativity with the car seat! We have enough trouble going through the airport with two adults and only one little one!