We love Donald Duck, oh yes we do! - Link to the PTR - COMPLETE

[brookelizabeth]

Ok, the 18 month post has me in tears too. Why o why did I scroll back that far? He's a doll Brook. An absolute cutie pie.

I love the new updates. Gifts from Mickey are always good. The chicken looks yummy!

Aw, thank you! That is so sweet. I got quite a few people's water works going--including my own when I was writing it. Joe even choked up a bit with a smile when I read it to him.

I love gifts from Mickey - esp when they are so unexpected, we were celebrating nothing, and for my little man!

 

[brookelizabeth]

We left off after a yummy lunch at Studio Catering Company and a quick, and successful (read: no blow-outs!) diaper change.

We swung around through the Pixar area to just see, by chance, if the stand-by line was doable.

I wonder what the next "new production" will be over in the Pixar-land?

The themeing is awesome in this area!

It wasn't.

Big surprise, huh?

We walked through the Chinese Theatre area and looked at the hand prints,

I admire Jim Henson and his incredible creativity. When I was a Senior in High School I did a report on him, focusing on Sesame Street. It was one of the most interesting things I have ever researched!

I LOVE that C-3PO and R2-D2 have their prints here!

A very cool light fixture

then down the side road past the ABC Commissary

Joe and I like this street with all the palm trees, the shade...so pretty.

It looks like a nice place to eat, but I've heard such poor reviews...

and we ended up at Muppets! The wait was minimal, and we enjoy this show, so in we went.

Silly humor!

This made both Joe and I chuckle, even the broom is themed

I don't do hats and I do do glasses!

Back in November Henry got a tad antsy during this show, this time we gave him his own seat-which was adorable because the front of the seat popped up so much he was basically wedged in there.

Mommy, I can't see over the chair...

Then the theatre got darker and the show started. The loud noises and stimulation of it all frightened him, so I scurried out of our row (Joe smartly made sure we were on an end), and to the back of the theatre. I hed Henry tight to me and spoke softly to him, which helped a teeny bit. But he was VERY happy when the movie ended and we were on our way o-u-t!

I think Joe enjoyed the show again-I didn't see it!

After we hit up the gift shop,

Love the doors

I was on the hunt for a new Muppets tee. Back for our November trip I bought a Kermit one off DisneyShopping.com but when it came it fit funny and I forgot to return it, it has since hung in my closet. I should really sell it/give it away! Anyway, the gift shop was fun-Henry found several things he wanted...

Kermy!

He did keep this hat on for about 8 seconds. Maybe because it's an adult sized hat? He's got a huge head...maybe kid ones squeeze a bit...

It was difficult to pry Beaker from his hands, he's one my and Joe's faves too!

And I really liked this Beaker shirt! I wanted it in the brown, but they only had it in either very large, or very small sizes. I was going to opt for the orange, but it was like $8 more expensive and I refused to buy it on principle. I'm thinkin' I'll hit up Zazzle.com and just make my own!

After the gift shop we headed back toward Star Tours,

Joe went first using the FP. While Daddy was riding Henry said "Momma, I want an Itzakadoozie!"

How could I resist my little man? And for Pete's Sake, a 16th month old said "Itzakadoozie"! He did, I tell ya, he did! (okay, mayyyyyybe not...maybe it was just me hoping he'd say that!)

Yum.

After Joe got back, we realized it was getting close to parade time, so we opted for me to use the Baby Swap pass later for Star Tours and try to get a spot for the parade and then hit up Playhouse Disney. We had been trying to get to Playhouse Disney since we first arrived, but kept missing the time - we only had a couple shows left for the day and I did not want to miss them, we had to stay FOCUSED!

Continued in next post

 

[brookelizabeth]

Continued from previous post

We found an "eh" spot for the parade, but what can you expect when it's 10 minutes to show-time? Henry was a bit apprehensive of the parade, but did seem to enjoy it a bit. I snagged a couple bad pics...

"What in tarnation is this?!"

"Oh, I can see better up here...I think this is okay...."

"Ya, I like it...I think...I'll clap a little..."

We left just before the parade ended to get a good spot at Playhouse Disney.

"MICK!"

We generally go straight to the front so Joe can see shows, but we learned back in November the front seats are not very good here due to the height of the stage, and Joe didn't really care to see the show, he just enjoyed watching Henry's reactions! So we grabbed a spot in the middle section toward the back, it worked out great. The familiar tunes from Playhouse Disney were playing, Henry was bopping around, and soon it all started.

We got so many compliments on his shoes! They were $5 Payless cheapies!

Despite it being a bit loud he once again enjoyed this show! He clapped along and danced, pointed and smiled.

Pointing at his buddies on stage

Clap, clap, clap!

That woman has a lot of energy!

Oooh, poor Pat.

I videotaped a lot of it so we could show him the show on the computer again, but until just now, I've completely forgotten I did that! I still have to download that video...

After Playhouse Disney Joe suggested we go into the Animation Studio-he couldn't remember what was in there. I couldn't really remember either, other than being able to learn to draw a character, but it would just be fun to look around I figured.

We started to wander through, looking at pictures and the many Oscars,

I like this pic. It's so classic Disney.

and soon found ourselves in the big room with all the characters...it was so busy in there! We walked around a bit, pointed out various characters to Henry and then saw HIM.




Dut Dut.





Dut Dut was on the other side of the room and down a ramp. We walked to the edge of the room-standing right next to the side of the ramp and picked Henry up out of his stroller so he could see Dut Dut better. By this time he was pointing and saying "Dut!" over and over again, wide-eyed and excited.

Dut Dut finished up with the two children he was visiting with and then saw Henry on the other side of the ramp, he waved, Henry waved back and blew Dut Dut a kiss. Dut Dut, realizing his #1 fan was in his presence, came BOLTING (well, as fast as Dut Dut can run anyway...more like waddling!) up the ramp and around the corner to come meet Henry face to face!

Then Dut Dut noticed the plush that Henry was clinging to...he grabbed it out of Henry's hands (no easy feat and got me a tad worried we were going to have tears), but then he got Mickey's attention and "bragged" to Mickey that Henry had a Dut Dut plush but NO MICKEY! (We didn't dare tell Dut Dut that Mickey was back in the hotel room...) We were all laughing and Henry was in awe, and perhaps a little dumbfounded by it all! Dut Dut took quite a bit of time with Henry, kissing, hugging and posing. I was grinning so hard my cheeks hurt, it was such a wonderful moment for our family!

Continued in next post

 

[brookelizabeth]

Continued from previous post

After we said our good-byes to Dut Dut we found ourselves in the gift shop for quite a while.

This is so creative...I have no idea if an artist ever really sits here and works, but everything down to the cup of water and the tissues...I just thought it was so neat!

Donald colors!

These two pieces are so cool.

And the price tag shows it! (I think they might be worth the bucks though...!)

A much larger, but less desirable price, for a more desirable price tag.

What an awesome gift shop, so many unique things! I was very tempted to buy a few pieces, but resisted the urge...we are trying to DOWNSIZE our stuff at home! We had a lot of fun just looking through everything in there--all the artwork is amazing. And....I was still glowing from our encounter with Dut Dut!!

Up next: Don't you just love it when you laugh so much your cheeks hurt?

 

[BellaSoleil]

I'm holding back the tears as I read about Henry and 'Dut Dut'! That is so sweet!

The GMR light fixture is one of my favorite of your pictures. I have never (in all my days at MGM) noticed that.

 

[jenseib]

awesome! How cool was Dut Dut. Did he step out of his spot then to visit with Henry. What a sweetie that Dut Dut is. LOL!
I was getting all excited about it just reading it.
Awesome pictures

 

[princess&her4princes]

OMG..where do I start!? Great update, again, Brook!!

Loved Henry's expressions during the parade....too cute and it was like he wasn't too sure of things. The Playhouse Disney show, on the other hand, he was really getting into it! Too cute!! Loved the pics of him clapping and getting into the show. And he had a great encounter with Dut Dut!! How priceless and how awesome of a family moment for you guys! Did you tear up? I was reading your TR, I could only imagine how excited (you!) were for him to see Dut Dut in person!! That is awesome!!!

You found some great souvies...did you buy any of them? Why was the orange Beaker t more than the brown one? That was weird?!! And those collectable pieces were beautiful but with a little one, where could anyone display them? GULP!! We do alright with the boys monorail as a keepsake...and they do a number on that!! LOL!!

Can't wait to hear more!!!

 

[SoonerGirl]

What a special encounter with Dut Dut! I bet little Henry was so excited. Your pictures are so cute. I love that gift shop too, most everything in there is out of my price range, but it's all so fun to look at!

I'm loving your DHS day! Keep it coming!

 

[k_reile]

LOVED the pictures with Henry and Dut Dut. Ok loved all the pictures of Henry!

Question for you since Henry was 16 mos old when he went on this trip! Is Henry an average size baby (meaning that when he is 16 mos old techically he should wear 18 mos size clothing??) Our trip Caleb will be 16 mos old and i have bought a couple of Disney clothing items (and this was before we knew we were going too) that were 18 mos size. I am seeing more but do not want to invest $ in something he is not going to wear in Disney (cause I will probably hit the after summer sales/early fall since we will be there in Jan/Feb.) Right now he is 6 mos old and is in 3-6 mos clothing...i guess I just find it hard to judge what he will be. I want him to be decked out in Disney cuteness the whole time even thuogh I know my DH will just roll his eyes

 

[tiggrbaby]

Oh, how wonderful that Henry got to bond with Dut-dut! And your pics are great!

 

[PopArtGal]

Awe.... we love DUT DUT too. Especially my dad.

 

[jenseib]

LOVED the pictures with Henry and Dut Dut. Ok loved all the pictures of Henry!

Question for you since Henry was 16 mos old when he went on this trip! Is Henry an average size baby (meaning that when he is 16 mos old techically he should wear 18 mos size clothing??) Our trip Caleb will be 16 mos old and i have bought a couple of Disney clothing items (and this was before we knew we were going too) that were 18 mos size. I am seeing more but do not want to invest $ in something he is not going to wear in Disney (cause I will probably hit the after summer sales/early fall since we will be there in Jan/Feb.) Right now he is 6 mos old and is in 3-6 mos clothing...i guess I just find it hard to judge what he will be. I want him to be decked out in Disney cuteness the whole time even thuogh I know my DH will just roll his eyes

I'll give you my experience.... My first two kids grew out of clothes VERY fast. They were always at least on size, alot of times 2 sizes bigger than the "months" size posted on the clothes. Usually at a year old they were wearing 24 months. With Claire, she seemed a bit smaller, and stayed close to the size according ot her age. Claore to the year range she started wearing some bigger sizes. I know alot of 12 month stuff did not fit her at 12 months. I would say she was mostly wearing 18 months at a year old, some 24 months, and some 12 month stuff that ran bigger.
It differs from each child, but from what I have heard, most kids pass that size/age thing pretty much by a year. I do know none of my kids could wear the newborn or 0-3 months after the first month.

 

[brookelizabeth]

I'm holding back the tears as I read about Henry and 'Dut Dut'! That is so sweet!

The GMR light fixture is one of my favorite of your pictures. I have never (in all my days at MGM) noticed that.

The Dut Dut meeting was completely unexpected and SO wonderful!!

I have never noticed that GMR light fixture either--though you have spent a lot more time at MGM than I have! It's just huge and beautiful!

awesome! How cool was Dut Dut. Did he step out of his spot then to visit with Henry. What a sweetie that Dut Dut is. LOL!
I was getting all excited about it just reading it.
Awesome pictures

I was surprised when Dut Dut came waddling up the ramp, out of his location just to meet my little man! Surprised and thrilled! It was so sweet.

OMG..where do I start!? Great update, again, Brook!!

Loved Henry's expressions during the parade....too cute and it was like he wasn't too sure of things. The Playhouse Disney show, on the other hand, he was really getting into it! Too cute!! Loved the pics of him clapping and getting into the show. And he had a great encounter with Dut Dut!! How priceless and how awesome of a family moment for you guys! Did you tear up? I was reading your TR, I could only imagine how excited (you!) were for him to see Dut Dut in person!! That is awesome!!!

You found some great souvies...did you buy any of them? Why was the orange Beaker t more than the brown one? That was weird?!! And those collectable pieces were beautiful but with a little one, where could anyone display them? GULP!! We do alright with the boys monorail as a keepsake...and they do a number on that!! LOL!!

Can't wait to hear more!!!

Thank you! Henry just LOVES that Playhouse Disney show. He was bopping and dancing, squealing, it was so fun!! But, I do hope they eventually bring in a new story...

I did tear up a bit with Dut Dut! I was so excited and surprised, it was a bit of a blur. We haven't gotten on the characters yet-so I have NO idea where the meeting places are, so when we went in there we were taken by surprise with so many of them hanging out in there. Then when Dut Dut came "running"...it was so awesome!! Joe and I were grinning so much and still talk about how it was such a great moment.

We didn't buy any souvies! I'm a big window shopper, but don't buy a whole lot. And thankfully Henry doesn't yet freak when we take a beloved item away-he's still easy to distract. The Beaker shirt prices were really weird! Kinda irritating...maybe they were mislabled or something? I'll have to check again in December if I don't get around to making one on Zazzle ever. The collectables were awesome-soooo pretty. But ya, NO WHERE to display with with a little one!

I love the monorail toy! I think we'll be getting that in the future!

What a special encounter with Dut Dut! I bet little Henry was so excited. Your pictures are so cute. I love that gift shop too, most everything in there is out of my price range, but it's all so fun to look at!

I'm loving your DHS day! Keep it coming!

The gift shop is so unique - so many things to look at. I think I could spend quite a bit of time just going through the artwork they have!

More DHS is still coming...a very fun event for ME and more food!

LOVED the pictures with Henry and Dut Dut. Ok loved all the pictures of Henry!

Question for you since Henry was 16 mos old when he went on this trip! Is Henry an average size baby (meaning that when he is 16 mos old techically he should wear 18 mos size clothing??) Our trip Caleb will be 16 mos old and i have bought a couple of Disney clothing items (and this was before we knew we were going too) that were 18 mos size. I am seeing more but do not want to invest $ in something he is not going to wear in Disney (cause I will probably hit the after summer sales/early fall since we will be there in Jan/Feb.) Right now he is 6 mos old and is in 3-6 mos clothing...i guess I just find it hard to judge what he will be. I want him to be decked out in Disney cuteness the whole time even thuogh I know my DH will just roll his eyes

Thank you!

Henry pretty much is an average sized kid-he was HUGE at birth, but has since slowed down in growing. He has always been right in his range for clothes-whatever the label said (in general) is where he was in age. In both our November trip (14 months) and our January trip (16 months), he was wearing 18 month shirts (but had some 12 month back home that fit too). At 14 months they were a tad big, but not unbearable, 16 months they fit a bit better-and at 18 months, he's still wearing them. Shorts are 12 month because he's a skinny! Henry even has a 3T Disney shirt he wore at 14 months and it wasn't horribly huge. I think you should be safe with 18 month shirts.

I can't wait to see pics of all your gear for him, isn't it so much fun to buy?! I LOVE the deals too. All his shirts (except one) were super cheap, discount rack-last season, etc. In December he'll most likely be a 24 months/2T, so we'll have to get all new Disney shirts...oh darn!

 

[brookelizabeth]

Oh, how wonderful that Henry got to bond with Dut-dut! And your pics are great!

Thanks! It was such a fun time! I just showed Henry the pics again and he was pointing and exclaiming "Dut!" at every pic.

Awe.... we love DUT DUT too. Especially my dad.

Dut Dut is awesome!! He's so stinkin' cute.

I'll give you my experience.... My first two kids grew out of clothes VERY fast. They were always at least on size, alot of times 2 sizes bigger than the "months" size posted on the clothes. Usually at a year old they were wearing 24 months. With Claire, she seemed a bit smaller, and stayed close to the size according ot her age. Claore to the year range she started wearing some bigger sizes. I know alot of 12 month stuff did not fit her at 12 months. I would say she was mostly wearing 18 months at a year old, some 24 months, and some 12 month stuff that ran bigger.
It differs from each child, but from what I have heard, most kids pass that size/age thing pretty much by a year. I do know none of my kids could wear the newborn or 0-3 months after the first month.

I have a girlfriend who's boys are like this too-her little guy is short, but round-so he always needs the next size up. Henry is bigger overall, but wears a smaller size!

Henry has always been almost right on with the sizes, so I suspect he'll stay that way for a while.

 

[Vexorg]

You probably already saw it on my TR, but on my last trip I actually got one of the character drawings of Donald flipping out over nothing in particular. The price wasn't too bad (especially for something hand-drawn) and framed even though I had to add shipping onto it since it wouldn't be ready until after I got home. As a bit of an animation junkie, I could probably drop a few bucks in that place.

...And now I'll probably be calling Donald "Dut Dut" forever now. Thanks a lot Henry.

 

[disneydusted]

Oh Brook, Henry is adorable in your last photos! He looks so sweet soaking everything up! I know I have said this before but it is really fun to see Disney through his eyes, to experience the little things and see his delight.
When we went into Animation Studio our last time they had us drawing Donald, it was pretty fun to do. You should try it some day when you can. It's nice to have a free something from Disney!

 

[IluvXU]

What a cutie! I have two girls that love Donald too... infact McDonald's was Donald Ducks for a while around here. Great pics as always!

 

[Hollywoodhaha]

AWWWW. Him and Dut Dut!

 

[Lady Lallie]

It's those unexpected moments of magic that are the best! Henry looks so cute with Dut Dut.

 

[IWISHFORDISNEY]

What a great day. I love that Henry got to meet Dut Dut in person. That is pretty cool. I love moments like that. I thought the Playhouse Disney show was fantastic for the little ones. We did the drawling thing that was neet and that shop was wonderful!! We got a few drawling kits in there and other fun stuff. I love the pic with the rows of Palm trees very pretty.