We took the family to WDW....and Survived!

[Chellymouse]

I'll begin with a quick PTR....June 2011 Las Vegas....I find that my conference for 2012 will be at the Orlando convention center...quick check on google maps shows it's 8.4 miles from the parking lot at CP/SSR to the convention center. SWEET! no dirt bag hotels for me! DH and I decide we're both going. DSIL (who cancelled on us the year before) decides that they ARE going this year and after a series of events and discussion, the family trip is planned. June 14-24...yes, that is 11 days, however, 5 of those days I had to attend my conference.

The Cast:
The "Vets"
Me--chellymouse 35 years old and a Disney addict, Disneyfile, NDW#1, Disneyaholic...ect. (pick your adjective...) Started at DL at age 2 (thanks to family that lived in LA) and finally made it to the world at 22 where we've been going ever since.
DH-39 years old and as we call him...our "closet mouse lover" Started going to the world at 26 (with me)
Those "earning their ears"
DMIL-aka Fairy Godmother (FGM for short) she's the best MIL anyone could ask for. On a side note...DFIL (RIP) passed away suddenly in Feb 2008 however, he was with us in spirit...more on that later
DSIL-aka Grumpy and DH's sister. Again...awesome to have amazing in-laws (DH's other sister and her family did not join us)
DBIL-Grumpy's spouse and aka Dopey
DNiece-8 aka Minnie
DNephew-turning 6 aka Stitch

So, it's finally June 14th and for the first time in a long time, we had to be at the airport at the crack of dawn. Had a 7am flight which meant we needed to be at the airport by 5:30am. Grumpy and family live about 2 hours away in Columbus, FGM lives about half away from DH and I, so they arrived Wed evening as it was cheaper to fly out of CAK then Columbus. At 4:10am the alarm rang and DH and I were up pretty quickly. I don't thing Grumpy found my WAY too happy text messaging at 4:30 humorous though.. We all arrived at the airport on time and by the time we checked bags and were through security, it wasn't long before it was time to get on the plane! DH and I felt a little bad as we had an upgrade we had to use or lose so we sat business class with everyone else in coach. No one was annoyed though so that was good. Eventually Stitch and Minnie both sat with us a for a few minutes just so they could say they were in business class..
We took off and landed on time and everyone heeded my "you'd better go before we land because we don't stop at the powder room until we get down to ground level" Family was surprised at how big MCO is, but we managed to get down to groun level, everyone took care of business and then it was off to ME. Thankfully, our bus was loading so were on our way to SSR by 9:45am (not bad having landed at 9:05) We made it to SSR by 10:20am and here's where we had our first hiccup. Everyone (except DH and I ) was NOT ready to go to the parks...everyone had to change and blah blah...grrr. I had done online checkin which took all of 5 minutes then went to get the family's tickets placed on their room cards. (DH and I have AP) Long story short, the CM was trying to put the kids tickets on the adult cards and vice versa which a manager pointed out so that took WAY longer than necessary! Finally by 11am we were on our way to MK. DH and I sent everyone with our stuff to bag check while we picked up our AP and TIW (which took all of 5 minutes) then it was time to head in.
Here we are a few minutes after arriving in the park:

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Now everybody is hungry..I want snacks and POTC however, I was heavily outvoted so we made a pit stop at Casey's. Minnie, Stitch and I were done and I desperately needed a Dole Whip so after grabbing some $$ from DH, I took the kids to the Dole Whip stand. Bought the kids a rootbeer float to share while I got my beloved Dole Whip. Just as we were receiving our yummies, DH was bringing the rest of the family to meet us. Now the kids decide they need a pit stop...... it's time for POTC!! Oh well...now that everyone has been fed, watered and pottied, it's time for POTC! Awww...much better. I left DH with the family in the gift shop and ran ahead for FP for Splash. They had a hard time getting Stitch out of there with a promise they could go back if he behaved....there is a reason he's Stitch! DH and family met up with me at the popcorn stand where I was getting my fix on. Grumpy makes an observation about how much I've eaten...I say we haven't been here for 13 months, leave me alone! (this will come back later) and it's off to HM. We chose the new queue as we thought the family would enjoy it. Here's a few pics:
Minnie and Stitch

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Minnie, Stitch and FGM

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Minnie, Stitch and Dopey

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After HM, we did ISAW (where we pointed out that any misbehavior would result in being placed on this ride repeatedly) then the carousel. It was close enough to head back to Splash so I ran ahead to grab FP for BTMRR then met everyone. We had a few minutes to spare so stopped in the gift shop. DH and I take notice that a storm is brewing.....up next...will we make it onto Splash? and what happens at dinner....

 

[dapod423]

This sounds juicy!!! I'll subscribe!

 

[SusieBea]

I'm in ...

 

[Chellymouse]

Ok, I'm back..had to take off for our Sunday night ice cream run!

So it's finally time to ride Splash and just as we have entered the last section of queue (up the steps and indoors) the storm lets loose. No sense going out in it, so we decided to wait out the storm in the queue. Finally the storm let up and the ride reopened. We rode Splash, I can honestly say, I wished we'd bought the pic..FGM and Grumpy sat together and hid under a poncho (a decision that will come back to haunt them later), it was rather humorus! We went to use our FP for BTMRR however it was still down...for a ride that just re-opened after a major overhaul, it sure was down quite a bit this trip. We decided to go back and ride POTC again...Stitch was begging, so we rode and then Stitch spent most of his money after the ride. New hat, sword, gun, the whole deal! It was close enough to our ressie so we made our way over to LTT. The sky was also starting to look threatening again. Stitch's Birthday was going to occur during the trip....it turned out that celebrating Stitch's birthday was going to the tune of groundhog day..... More on that later! At least he was wearing his button. We were seated within a few minutes of our arrival at LTT. Our server took our drink order and brought bread. Stitch had plans other than dinner....

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Poor kid...he hadn't slept much the night before, we had all been up since shortly after 4am, he'd had his first airplane ride, and first time at MK. During our meal, which the rest of us devoured like we hadn't seen food for a month, the manager came over. The plan was to do a B'day surprise for Stitch, however, he was still napping. They were VERY kind and did not charge us for Stitch as the only thing he ate was half a roll before he decided a nap sounded better than dinner. Eventually, we finished our meal and woke Stitch up. Remeber how the sky looked threatening? Well, it was POURING cats and dogs! Remember FGM and Grumpy sharing a poncho on Splash? Well, it turns out that Grumpy did not adhere to the packing list very well. I thought I'd made it clear to pack your park gear IN YOUR CARRY-ON...well, ponchos are park gear, right? Guess where their ponchos were? Yep...checked luggage. DH and I had our ponchos in our bag and FGM had 1 left. Grumpy sent Dopey to buy ponchos and Dopey came back a few minutes later muttering something about $9 for a poncho and they were going to get wet because he wasn't spending $9 on ponchos for everyone because all of theirs were in their luggage....I'm sorry....I shouldn't laugh, but it was funny! FGM shared her poncho with Minnie, DH and I had our own and Stitch "made" one.....

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It was a good thing Stitch was allowed to shop and as you can see....he's well recovered from his nap. By now it was after 7pm and everyone was pretty spent, it was raining and didn't look like it was going to let up anytime soon we decided it was best to head back to SSR. So much for the text message with our room number but oh well. We waited only a few minutes for a bus and were soon off to SSR. We got off at the Springs as it was still raining. I went in to get our info, I knew we were in CP, but didn't have a room number yet. Found out we were in 2121 CP.......DH and family were at bell services collecting our menagerie of carry on luggage, they very kindly locked up my laptop, and our mountain of groceries. We all piled into a golf cart and headed home! We arrived, got unloaded, gave our poor bellman a huge tip (we had a ton of stuff) then set to getting unpacked. It took nearly an hour to put all of the groceries away and get luggage emptied. We were on the ground floor, which I wasn't thrilled about, but we could open the slider and be right at the pool which was cool! We were also in CP which was awesome. We've stayed at SSR 5 times and we've only stayed in CP. I'm so happy that request has been honored! We were in a newly refurbished room and I was disappointed that the carpet seemed to be coming up and that we had to call maintenance twice about the tv in the second BR. We were in a dedicated 2BR. Stitch was now starving so he had microwave mac and cheese! I decided I needed a spin in the jacuzzi tub so I went there while DH took a much needed shower. We put FGM on the pullout in the living room, which she was fine with and had plenty of room. DH and I also shared our bathroom with her as we had 2 of us and 4 of the rest of the family sharing the other bathroom. I had really wanted a THV, however, given the fact that there is basically no bus service, I was glad we were at home in CP. Since we'd had very little sleep the night before and had a big day, everyone was in bed by 10:30pm.
Up next...our first full day at WDW..... family, you're doing what?????

 

[Thumper4me]

I'm in.

Can't wait for more!!

 

[nutz2notz]

Great start to your trip report.

Your nephew is so cute napping and he did a great job on making a poncho for himself!

Looking forward to more.

 

[Chellymouse]

Great start to your trip report.

Your nephew is so cute napping and he did a great job on making a poncho for himself!

Looking forward to more.

Thank you! yes, he's cute and fluffy and rather naughty! Just like Stitch!

 

[Chellymouse]

This sounds juicy!!! I'll subscribe!

I'm in ...

I'm in.

Can't wait for more!!

Thanks for following along! Plenty more pics to come!

 

[Chellymouse]

Friday...our first full day at the World and what does the family do?? They need a break day!! WHAT??? We just got here!! Apparantly the early flight and all of the excitement wore the whole bunch out! Not DH and I! We were both wide awake shortly after 7am...no alarm or anything. I should mention that DH and I usually do 1 RD per trip and it's always MK. We just don't see a need to go commando much anymore. We looked at each other and said RD at MK? Yep! We were both up, ready for the day, bags packed and out the door by 7:30am. We walked up to AP for our traditional breakfast of Mickey waffles and bacon. After we inhaled our food, ok...more like Hoovered our food, we were at the Springs stop and on a bus by 8:20am. I should also mention that bus service has been quite good thus far! Made it to MK, grabbed a locker for our gear and enjoyed watching the opening show. Sorry I don't have pics....we didn't have that great of a spot. DH and I scooted up Main St and went and rode Space Mtn and grabbed a FP for 9:45am. We then did Buzz twice and TTA. In between our rides, we met up with a few "old friends"

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We did Space again and then I agreed to my "obligatory" ride on the tea cups... Loved those things when I was a kid...now...not so much! Definitely needed a Sprite a few minutes after that one. DH finds it quite amusing to try to get me to expel the contents of my stomach on the tea cups. We went over to Dumbo, however, only 1 was running and the line was pretty long so we grabbed FP for Peter Pan then went and rode HM again. After visiting the 999 happy haunts, we took a quick spin on POTC then it was time for PP. In between time we met up with REAL FGM!!

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We decided to head over to Epcot for lunch so we hopped the monorail and arrived around 12:30pm. We ate at Sunshine Seasons and last time we were there it was pretty bad so we were giving it a second chance. Glad we did because the meal was excellent as we are used to. Lines at Epcot were insane and DH was itching to go over to DHS to see if there was any left over SWW merchandise so we walked..yes walked from Epcot to DHS. Guess DH thought we needed some exercise. We arrived at DHS and dropped our gear. Grabbed FP for TOT then went over to ST. DH found a couple of items and it was cool because the items were marked down and with our PAP discount, was even better. We did ST twice then it was time for our visit to the 5th dimension! DH and I stopped for a couple of pics.

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We left a note for the family to call us around 4ish to meet up for dinner. They wound up spending the day exploring the Spings and CP pools! They had fun and said they all felt recharged. Grumpy sent a text that they were ready to meet up.We told them how to take the walkway over to DTD to get a bus....they wound up taking the bus to DTD and then jumped on a bus to BWV. We planned to eat at ESPN. They let us know when they were pulling out of TL so DH and I started walking, yes walking, back to BWV. So, failed to mention...my "snack count" for the day was 2 popcorns and 1 strawberry bar. Grumpy thought it was funny so they started calling me the "bottomless pit" and it stuck! No kidding....when you're walking 10 miles a day, of course a person is going to be hungry! Plus, I'm on VACATION!! The family finally arrived (90 minutes after we talked to them) so DH went ahead to grab a table while I waited for them at the bus stop. Wow! Now I remember why we weren't overy thrilled with BWV...shared bussing stinks! The BW was the 8th stop since they had boarded the bus at DTD!! Needless to say....they were a bit frazzeled. DH and I had planned for everyone to eat at ESPN then head over to Beaches and Cream since we had 7 of us to tackle a kitchen sink. However, the kids had dessert with their meals and all us "grown up" kids had been indulging in adult beverages so we wound up walking the BW for a bit then boarding a bus back to DTD. We decided to shop for a bit and grabbed a pic of the kids near the Christmas shop!

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FGM puchased ornaments for each of our families to commerate our trip, we got her back when we got home, and the kids and DH found ornaments to have personalized. I needed a snack at this point...Earl of Sandwich and Ghiradelli smelled so good, but both places had long waits so it was more popcorn for me! Now the bottomless pit jokes REALLY started! After some good natured ribbing and some "wine" shopping at the pantry, we decided to walk home. DH and I thought about going to the pool, but we were tired...no kidding after all that walking so we all turned in a little early.

Up next.....what??? 2 RD in row???? and the Benadryl blues!

 

[SSRmonkey]

Greetings from a little bit east! I'm excited to read your TR, Chelleymouse! Thanks for posting your adventures. And don't worry, I'm a bottomless pit too, I think it's something to be proud of! Can't wait to read more!

 

[SusieBea]

You really got a lot done on your first MK day ! (and you don't LOOK like a bottomless pit!)

 

[homeatssr]

Love hearing about all your snack breaks!

 

[Chellymouse]

Greetings from a little bit east! I'm excited to read your TR, Chelleymouse! Thanks for posting your adventures. And don't worry, I'm a bottomless pit too, I think it's something to be proud of! Can't wait to read more!

Hi SSRMonkey!! I'm finding there is pride in being a bottomless pit! My only response is we only get so many days a year at the World and there are some things we can only get at the World!!

You really got a lot done on your first MK day ! (and you don't LOOK like a bottomless pit!)

It was actually a slow by DH and I's standards, however, we didn't want to overwhelm the family and running all over the park. Glad we didn't! Especially since Stitch didn't make it through dinner without needing a nap! The late arrival didn't help either!

Love hearing about all your snack breaks!

The snack counts continue!! Minnie and Stitch started keeping a running tab!

 

[Chellymouse]

Saturday! It's Epcot Day! Hope the family enjoyed their early break day cause it's 3 days of parks up ahead... Given that fact that it was June, crowds were larger than what DH and I are used to...being DINKS we often travel when school is in session so we decided the best plan of attack was to make it for RD... I know...not our usual style, but in order to make sure that the family's "wanna" lists were met, this is what needed to be done. DH and I set the alarm for 7:30am, however, having 2 early nights we were both awake before the alarm so we were up, bags packed, cooler bag packed and ready to walk for our Mickey waffles by 7:30am. The family, who are not big breakfast eaters, just ate their stuff on the bus. Stitch was up and rearing to go so DH and I took him with us and fed him breakfast too! The rest of the crew texted at 8:20am they had boarded the bus and were heading to the Springs where we jumped on the bus and made it to Epcot for RD!! Again, the bus service was eerily good this trip! DH and I went to throw our junk in a locker while the rest of the family went to meet Daisy and Stitch!

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DH and I decided that he would take the family to character connection as the line was quite short and I would run for FP for Soarin'. Made it back just as there was 1 family in front so I just waited for them to walk toward Mickey and joined them. The CM looked at me a bit funny until DH said I was with them! Here's our family meeting Mickey's family!

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It was time to ride Soarin' so we went over to the Land. I should mention that DH is the only person in the Western Hemisphere that HATES Soarin....says it's too real. So he's telling the family this and when our glider has completed it's ride, the rest of the family proclaims to DH that he's NUTS and asked if when we could ride again! We secured FP for a second run in the afternoon then headed back up front to grab more drinks from the locker and grabbed a few more pics while we were at it!

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After a our quick break we went over to Mission Space. Now DH and I LOVE this ride! We've never done the weenie, I mean green side and don't have any intention of doing so. We gave the family fair warning...including "space sickness bags" on the orange side and they all opted to do weenie, I mean green! That's everyone except Minnie. After a quick discussion and some ground rules, DH and I agreed to take Minnie with us. The kids were quite excited about becoming "astronauts" and thank heavens for these great CMs!

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Surprisingly, everyone really liked MS, even Dopey who's prone to motion sickness. They were done before us and Stitch made a beeline for the training lab and Minnie was begging to go again so DH and I took her for round 2 while everyone else stayed with Stitch...apparantly once was enough! DH and I noticed Minnie had gotten kind of quiet and quiet frankly a little dopey. We rode again and fearing the worst, grabbed a bag from the ride just in case. We met up with the family and found out that Grumpy had drugged Minnie!! WHAT??? Minnie had gotten a bit much sun the day before so Grumpy, worried about rashes gave her Benadryl on the way to park this am!! What were you thinking???? So Minnie is "out to lunch" and Stitch was getting a little tired so they went to the Electric Umbrella for lunch then went back to the villa for awhile so that Minnie could "sleep it off" ...btw, she never did get a rash! DH and I were ready for WS and FGM asked if she could stay with us...of course, so after a few instructions on how to get back and forth, we parted ways. DH, FGM and I went to the Cantina in Mexico for lunch! I really do love that place! DH and FGM each had tacos, while the bottomless pit (missed my morning snack) had tacos and cheese empanads! Yum!! We decided to wander around the countries and met Donald...DH's fave!

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We did the boat ride then continued to wander around WS. We also took FGM on Malestrom! At least DH didn't get wet this time! Made it to Germany where I picked up a carmel apple (yes, I shared) and a flight of wine for FGM and me a flight of beer for DH. (We were teaching FGM how to drink around the world...) Then it was off to Italy where I was really itching to try Tutta wine cellar. Very nice place. Had a nice pinot grigo (should have bought a bottle...good thing we're going back soon) and ordered a mozzarella appetizer from the cheese list. Now, I was expected 2 small pieces of cheese, oh no....got a huge brick of mozzarella! DH was starting to turn green while I ate the WHOLE THING!! And it was GOOD!. We left Italy and continued to wander around. FGM and I split a grand marnier slush then FGM said no more adult beverages for her! Now we had a dilemma...we had 7 FP for Soarin and it was time........
Up next...what happened to all those FP? Did we make it on again? Does the family make it back in time for dinner and has Minnie effectively slept it off?

 

[Chellymouse]

Ok, back from zumba class and on with the TR!! Zumba and our pre-trip walking routine is how I'm able to keep the bottomless pit from showing!
So DH, FGM and I head over to Soarin'. Behold...there are still FP available with an 8pm return time. Lightbulb! We decide to use 3 of our 7 FP for now, get 3 more for later and I decided to see if I could find 4 people who would like to trade FP. The Mouse is with us! We found 2 parties of 2 and gave them our FP for now and they traded us theirs for later. Sweet and Score!! So the three of road Soarin' with DH crabbing as usual and FGM reminding him he's nuts! As soon as we got off Soarin' Grumpy texted that the Benadryl has worn off and they are on the way back. We agreed to meet them at the gate and decided we were thirsty so DH and I took FGM over to Club Cool. Of course we did the Beverly trick....another Disney vet was lurking and hanging with us while we got FGM to try the Beverly and....you won't believe this....FGM LIKES Beverly!!! Are you kidding me??? Of course our new friend was laughing like crazy then we attracted a few others who also couldn't believe she liked it! After our drinking our fill, we stopped at the Art of Disney store so DH could purchase his Star Wars box. (first art he's ever purchased) then we walked up to the gate. Grabbed a pic with just us!

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The rest of the family arrived and we had about an hour to kill before dinner. First thing Minnie and Stitch wanted to know was Aunt Chell's snack count for the afternoon. After deciding that the pit shouldn't need fed again until dinner time, Minnie and Stitch were begging to do Mission Space again and after some discussion we decided to take Stitch with us on the orange side. FGM sat this one out and Grumpy and Dopey did the weenie, I mean green side again!
After MS, we went over to the land and did the boat ride. The family found it interesting. After the land it was time for our ressie at Garden Grill. DH and I haven't been here for awhile and we enjoyed it last time. The kids loved the character meal...as did the rest of the family. The food was good and the service was also pretty good. Here's a few pics from dinner.

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Remember...we're celebrating Stitch's b'day this week. Stitch was wearing his button and got an extra dessert along with a bunch of people singing. He loved it! After dinner, we went over to the living seas and rode Nemo then went to have a chat with Crush. They all loved it! Finally it was time to ride Soarin' again. DH was trying hard to sit this one out, however, Minnie and Stitch really started giving it to him so on we all went to Soarin' again! Discussion time...stay for Illuminations or head back. We decided to head back and stop and pick up our packages from our previous shopping. After collecting our gear, we stopped for one last photo, then headed out to the bus.

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The bus pulled in just as we were walking up so we were on our way home to SSR within a few minutes. We got off at the grandstand and walked to Carriage House. Now Dopey starts whining. He's an avid golfer and it's positively killing him that we are on LBV and he doesn't have a tee time. We picked up our packages then headed home to our villa. Us grown up girls had our wine while the kids were taking turns in the jacuzzi tub. Since I had to have my laptop for my conference, (normally the laptop is a "banned" item during vacation) I got online (lovin' the free wireless and did not have a single problem with it!) checked out the golf rates and Dopey and Grumpy were discussing his "wanna" to golf! There were some conflicting reports as to what time DHS opened in the morning....8 or 9am. Up next....EMH or not and do we make RD for the third day in a row???? And...does Dopey get a tee time?

 

[Chellymouse]

Sunday and DHS for day! So the day starts the night before with conflicting information as to what time the park actually opens. WDW site and tourning plan site are both showing EMH at 8am. The card we picked up at the desk Sat evening says 9am. CM at desk says, yes it's 8. So, we make the family get up at 6:45am. DH and I walked up the street and were at AP when they opened at 7am and made it to the bus stop just as the DHS bus was pulling up. Thankfully, the family was on it! We arrived at DHS and were the second family at the turnstile. There were several other families and we were all discussing the controversy regarding opening time. Well, guess what? Yep, park did NOT open at 8am. The park did open at 8:40am finally. The family was grousing a little, but they really couldn't blame us because they were aware of the conflicting opening times and with us when we asked the CM at the desk. DH and FGM stopped to drop gear in a locker while I escorted the rest of the gang to TSM. I had everyone's tickets so I sent the family ahead to ride while I grabbed FP and waited for DH and FGM who were walking up as I was pulling out the FP. The 3 of us rode then we sent FGM, Grumpy and Stitch to JTA sign ups while DH, Dopey and I took Minnie over to RNR. We made it on RNR twice in a row and just as we were getting off the second time, Grumpy sent word that Stitch was signed up for the 11am show and had to be there by 10:30am. They met us on Hollywood Blvd and I took Dopey, Grumpy, Minnie and Stitch on TOT. We let FGM opt out and DH waited with her. Suffice it to say that once was enough for them, even though Minnie is starting to turn out to be a thrill ride junkie!! I should also mention that Stitch was too short for RNR. We made our way back over to TSM for our second ride, quick pit stop to feed the pit...I needed a popcorn which I polished off before we arrived in line and then we had to stop because everyone found change on the ground. This wasn't the first time we've seen change on the ground and picked it up. As I mentioned earlier, DFIL passed away suddenly in 2008 and anytime any of us sees change (or sometimes a dollar) we always pick it up because we assume it's from DFIL (or papa as the kids say) DFIL was always finding change or something or other. After TSM, we sent Dopey and Stitch to report for JTA while DH and I took everyone else on ST. We also grabbed FP for after JTA for everyone to ride together. Here's a few pics of Stitch during Jedi training.

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We had 45 minutes before it was our FP time and Grumpy, Dopey and Stitch wanted to see Indy. Minnie and I did not! DH took them and FGM to see Indy while Minnie and I went to the animation studio. I've been wanting to do that forever, however, haven't been able to convince DH so this was perfect! Minnine and I got to draw Grumpy, which was fitting! We finished up class, then stopped in the art store where Minnie and I could have spent a small fortune.....good thing all I had on me was snack money! We left the shop, stopped for another popcorn and yes, I shared a few bites with Minnie, dropped by the locker for some drinks then met the family at ST for round 2. Dopey was a bit woozy (I mentioned earlier, he's really prone to motion sickness) so went to meet Phineaus and Ferb.

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Now it was decision time. Grumpy didn't really want to leave, but the kids were getting cranky and hungry. Dopey said he needed a break and DH and I knew better than to try to get CS at DHS because...well....just yuck. We decided to leave and head back to SSR. Grumpy, FGM and the kids ate in the villa while DH, Dopey and I walked over to the Earl of Sandwich! Oh do we love the Earl!! Yum!! After lunch we walked up to the golf shop and Grumpy had given Dopey permission to play. I called and was fortunate enough to get them a tee time for Friday am. We then stopped and picked up our latest round of purchases from the gift shop and met a wonderful CM, Barbara. We wound up meeting up with her quite a bit after today and DH and I are looking forward to seeing her again in Oct. She's AWESOME!! (day manager at AP/Gift Shop). We headed back to the villa and just chilled for a bit. A few minutes before 4pm we made our way back to the bus stop and again, caught the bus just as it was pulling in and made our way back to DHS. We stopped for a few pics on our way back in!

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Now we split up. FGM and I took Minnie to the art store so she could buy a "learn to draw the characters book" DH headed back to Tatooine Traders to exchange his shirt. (the one he bought was a little snug) and Grumpy and Dopey took Stitch to the Indy store to buy whatever junk it was Stitch wanted. We had ressies at 50's Prime Time and we arrived first. Turns out, they could seat us and thankfully I saw DH walking so I yelled to him and he picked up the rest of the family and met us at 50's. We were seated right away and we had the ABSOLUTE, BEST SERVER EVER!! We even left her a hefty cash tip on top of the 18% because she was so good. The family loved 50's...memories of our grandparents' homes then we found a copy of the bowl that FGM actually has at home!

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Now, I should mention that Stitch's table manners generally leave something to be desired. He was the most well behaved I have EVER seen during this meal! DH got quite a "large" Coke after sucking down his drink in about 2.4 seconds!

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Best part of the meal....aside from the food? Grumpy has a very bad habit of elbows on the table, to the point of driving Dopey nuts. Well, Kaydee (our server) was having no more warnings about Grumpy's lack of table manner and promptly not only put Grumpy in the corner, but made her stand holding a sugar packet with her nose. Not to mention we were in a very crowded section of the restaurant so a ton of people were shaming her! It really was priceless!

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Stitch was of course wearing his B'day button and scored dessert and half the restaurant singing Happy Birthday....Stitch's B'day is really starting to remind of us groundhog day!

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Finally we are through with dinner!
After dinner, we went back to Indy to get Stitch and Dopey their stuff, then DH and I put the family on the great movie ride while we shopped for pins. We bought the kids the Mickey airline wing pins. I went and got in line for F! and DH brought the family with him shortly thereafter. Stitch scored some popcorn (wearing his B'day button) and was kind enough to share with his Aunt Pit (now I'm aunt Pit!) which I actually ate most of! We parked in our favorite spot for F! and grabbed snacks! Yes, I just ate most of Stitch's popcorn and went and got a big bucket of carmel corn for DH and I. Stitch was chosen by the preshow guys since it was his "b'day"

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Everyone loved F! After the show, we decided to head out and stopped for some pics along the way!

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Once again, a short wait for a bus and home to SSR. Up next.....EMH/RD at AK in the am??? 4th in a row???? No way! or way?

 

[SLM]

Your family pictures are wonderful! What a great trip you had!

 

[STAYC18]

Great trip report...the pics came out wonderful of your family...

 

[Jacksonev1]

Loving your trip report. We are taking MIL, FIL. SIL, and the 16 year old nephew in September for MIL and FIL 70th Birthdays! This will be our first vacation together....hoping we have as much fun as it looks like you are having!

Would you like some ?

 

[Chellymouse]

Your family pictures are wonderful! What a great trip you had!

Thank you!

Great trip report...the pics came out wonderful of your family...

Thank you! We really did have a great time!

Loving your trip report. We are taking MIL, FIL. SIL, and the 16 year old nephew in September for MIL and FIL 70th Birthdays! This will be our first vacation together....hoping we have as much fun as it looks like you are having!
Would you like some ?

I would LOVE some! I don't know what Disney does to their popcorn, but I just can't get enough of it! This was the first time we have ever traveled with family and I was definitely nervous about it. We made sure to include them in the planning, we were very clear about what to expect with crowds and how we manage the parks. We also made it clear that there was no way that we would be able to "do everything" and made sure that they had their list of must do's, want to do's and if we have time do's and it worked out well. We also didn't plan to spend every minute of every day together either and overall, everything really worked out very well! Would we do it again? Yes, but when the kids are older. They got very tired very quickly which we weren't expecting and they took quite a few breaks but they did what they needed to do! Everyone was able to do everything they wanted and then some!