You can take the girl out of Disney, BUT

[jenseib]

I only pick a flat full, it makes about 20 jars of jam. I took Kadence with me last year for the first and ONLY time. She was bored in 10 minutes and wanted to go home. She freaked every time a bug came close to her, and just whined.

On our farm, the crop every year seemed to be ROCKS! And we had to pick them out of the re-plowed fields,and I HATED that more than anything I've ever done. I always got yelled at for throwing them, and missing some.

Kind of sounds like my strawberry experience. I got in trouble for missing and throwing too. LOL

What a fun evening! Hoop de doo is one of the things we have never done and I am not sure we will - language barrier.
I hate having to use a bus at Fort Wilderness - so not fun!

But then I LOVED your adventures in strawberry picking. We have the pick your own fields here too and I too am allergic to strawberries. But it doesn't stop me eating some.

The buses there are very intimidating.

We used to laugh at the people who came to pick their own...we wondered why anyone would be so dumb as to "want" to pick strawberries. Of course, they only had to do it it one time, we had to do it daily, so there is a major difference there. They wouldn't like it so much if they had to do it daily too.

Why did I think Hoop de doo had characters in it like Mickey mouse and that? It looks interesting though

I think others have thought that too. There used to be a Mickey review at MK, and that might be what gets people mixed up.

Wow that show looks/sounds amazing!! How did you get such great pictures?! And I recognized at least 1 of the players as a member of the Adventurer's Club - the woman who came to your table has been a part of the Club since I was a kid! I remember her so well.

I used the telephoto lens and shot in manual. I shot in a high iso, a wide open aperture and the slowest Fstop I could get away with.
I think the redhead was in one of the other HDDR shows we have seen in the past, but I would have to go back and look at pictures to be sure.
She must really like working for Disney to be there all those years.

We've never done that show, it was one that when I was a kid, I really wanted to do. It seemed like so much fun to me then.

The food doesn't look too bad, especially the fried chicken.

We camped in FW our last family trip to WDW. It was fun, but one night we were late because of our dinner. The boat had stopped & we couldn't get a bus back to FW. It was getting scary that wouldn't be able to get back to our motor home. A CM saw our distress & took us on his golf cark back to FW. That was an adventure!

You should give it a try sometime. It's a lot of fun.
That would be scary, but I have stories like that before too where the CM's will find a way to get you back if things stop running.

I have enjoyed your TR (I have been keeping up with you, but finally took the time to comment). Your pictures are great! We have been debating on when to make the trip back to IOA and US. Life has just been extremely busy with grad school and the kids' activities. We finally took the plunge and made reservations for late July - staying at PBH (looks beautiful and can't wait)!

We went back in 2009. DS wasn't tall enough at the time for coasters, but now at 12 we will be riding everything! DD8 (will be 9 in a few weeks) has absolutely no interest in "fast" rides. She also isn't a fan of HP, so we'll have to do child swap for FJ (which I read that they watch HP movies in the child swap area and I don't think that will work for her). We'll make it work for both of them and we'll have lots of fun. I am planning on taking more time for swimming and resting (yes, mom needs those naps!)

Loved reading about your night at HDDR. We never made time for it in all our trips to Disney over the last 8 years with the kids. I don't think they would enjoy it as much at their age right now. One of those wish I would have done that sooner. I know I would enjoy it, so will have to keep it on the to do list.

I grew up in a small town in OH. Moved to GA 22 years ago! Been in the south so long now, though. Would be hard to tell I was from anywhere but a small southern town with my accent. Thanks for taking the time to write the report and put in all the great pictures!

Thanks for following along. You will have a good time. Have your 8 YO watch some you tube videos of a few things and I'm sure you'll find a few rides she will like. I know they have child swap, but hadn't heard about the movie room...that kind of sounds cool.

Do think about going to HDDR, you might be surprised. I bet your 8/9 YO would like it.

Great pics of the HDDR show! I love that one. They don't sing Hoop De Do anymore? That song was going through my head the whole time I was reading your update and looking at the pics!

That Strawberry Shortcake looks so yummy! I wish I could have some right now..

It is sad they can't sing the song anymore. It's one of those songs that you can't get out of your head. In fact, the show that exited before ours had some people singing it on their way out. I assume they missed the song, so decided to sing it.

The shortcake is pretty darn good.

Thanks for sharing! I have never been to one of those shows. We did do the Pirates show once.. but dh really did not care for it and hence we have done not a single once since.

Looks like it would be easy to eat a LOT of food. I would be all over the strawberry shortcake. YUM!

The plan for Nov is to try Spirit of Aloha. I hear mixed things about that show, but I figure we might as well give it a try to see if we like it. Eventually I would like to do Mickey's backyard BBQ too, but that one only plays certain days of the week and then not year round either, so we've never been able to make it fit in our schedule yet.

 

[tripplanner2]

Kind of sounds like my strawberry experience. I got in trouble for missing and throwing too. LOL



The buses there are very intimidating.

We used to laugh at the people who came to pick their own...we wondered why anyone would be so dumb as to "want" to pick strawberries. Of course, they only had to do it it one time, we had to do it daily, so there is a major difference there. They wouldn't like it so much if they had to do it daily too.



I think others have thought that too. There used to be a Mickey review at MK, and that might be what gets people mixed up.



I used the telephoto lens and shot in manual. I shot in a high iso, a wide open aperture and the slowest Fstop I could get away with.
I think the redhead was in one of the other HDDR shows we have seen in the past, but I would have to go back and look at pictures to be sure.
She must really like working for Disney to be there all those years.



You should give it a try sometime. It's a lot of fun.
That would be scary, but I have stories like that before too where the CM's will find a way to get you back if things stop running.




Thanks for following along. You will have a good time. Have your 8 YO watch some you tube videos of a few things and I'm sure you'll find a few rides she will like. I know they have child swap, but hadn't heard about the movie room...that kind of sounds cool.

Do think about going to HDDR, you might be surprised. I bet your 8/9 YO would like it.



It is sad they can't sing the song anymore. It's one of those songs that you can't get out of your head. In fact, the show that exited before ours had some people singing it on their way out. I assume they missed the song, so decided to sing it.

The shortcake is pretty darn good.



The plan for Nov is to try Spirit of Aloha. I hear mixed things about that show, but I figure we might as well give it a try to see if we like it. Eventually I would like to do Mickey's backyard BBQ too, but that one only plays certain days of the week and then not year round either, so we've never been able to make it fit in our schedule yet.

We did Sprit of Aloha last summer. I think the key is to get a good seat. We had a hard time getting reservations and were seated in the back of the theater. It was so boring we left early. We LOVE all things Disney and hated it. We tried to stay and I tried to tell the kids to have a good attitude and enjoy the show but finally we all decided that we would much rather go back to the pool and swim or see the movie on the lawn than stay at the show. But I think if you were right up front you would have a different opinion. This is probably the reason for the varied reviews of the show.

 

[Beth D]

MMM strawberry shortcake! I've only picked strawberries 1 or 2x, and that was for mom to make jam. I must say they do taste better right off the fields! We also like a pick your own raspberry place over in Marblehead!

But I can definitely understand the aversion from your childhood! The stuff you had to do everyday as a kid is a turn off now! 12 years of wearing skirts/jumpers to catholic school, you can hardly force me into one now. Occasionally a dress for a super dressy occasion, and even then I still try to get away with pants and a dressy top!

 

[mickeystoontown]

I could feel your frustration with Skip right the computer screen. Don't you just hate it when our men can't make up their mind what they want to do? It can drive a perfectly sane woman nuts. Seriously, I am sure you were glad when he decided on Hoop Dee Doo Review and you were able to get a reservation. We've been several times and I have to agree that the food quality has gone a tad. But, it's still a lot of fun.

 

[Wicket's Mom]

I forgot to add that I know what it's like to pick lots of strawberries. When I was a teen my grilfriends father needed to get his strawberries picked. I figured that would be an easy job, wouldn't take much work to fill those quart boxes. Was I ever wrong! That was one of the most wretched jobs ever, never did it again!

 

[jenseib]

We did Sprit of Aloha last summer. I think the key is to get a good seat. We had a hard time getting reservations and were seated in the back of the theater. It was so boring we left early. We LOVE all things Disney and hated it. We tried to stay and I tried to tell the kids to have a good attitude and enjoy the show but finally we all decided that we would much rather go back to the pool and swim or see the movie on the lawn than stay at the show. But I think if you were right up front you would have a different opinion. This is probably the reason for the varied reviews of the show.

I hear mixed reviews all the time too. I have even told people that with small kids I've heard it can be boring...but I figure we might as well give it a shot this time around. Hopefully Claire will be into the costumes they wear...and I can take pictures. I also feel that it is really good to try and experience different things. I'm getting lots of new experiences this time around!

MMM strawberry shortcake! I've only picked strawberries 1 or 2x, and that was for mom to make jam. I must say they do taste better right off the fields! We also like a pick your own raspberry place over in Marblehead!

But I can definitely understand the aversion from your childhood! The stuff you had to do everyday as a kid is a turn off now! 12 years of wearing skirts/jumpers to catholic school, you can hardly force me into one now. Occasionally a dress for a super dressy occasion, and even then I still try to get away with pants and a dressy top!

12 years of Catholic school for me too. But luckily the 1st 8 we didn't wear them. It's the school that Claire goes to now and when Paige started K there it was the 1st year the started uniforms. I hated it..she hated it. Michael hated it. We all hate it.
I still grumble every year about the uniforms and all the other Moms think I'm nuts. But I said I did it for 4 years in highschool and hated every day of it and even though Claire is easy going, and doesn't complain about them, when Paige went I fought with her every day because either the favorite skirt wasn't clean or her best shirt, etc. And white shirts stain when you have sloppy kids. Michael would tear the knees out of his pants all the time. The boys always played rough on the playground. if he had jeans on, it would've had more of a chance against tears....
Ik, done ranting about my hate for uniforms!

I could feel your frustration with Skip right the computer screen. Don't you just hate it when our men can't make up their mind what they want to do? It can drive a perfectly sane woman nuts. Seriously, I am sure you were glad when he decided on Hoop Dee Doo Review and you were able to get a reservation. We've been several times and I have to agree that the food quality has gone a tad. But, it's still a lot of fun.

It wasn't a hard decision really...lets just go somewhere. But he didn't like anything, which was maddening. And I wasn't about to go back to Burger King that night!

I forgot to add that I know what it's like to pick lots of strawberries. When I was a teen my grilfriends father needed to get his strawberries picked. I figured that would be an easy job, wouldn't take much work to fill those quart boxes. Was I ever wrong! That was one of the most wretched jobs ever, never did it again!

You are so right. it takes forever to fill a quart...8 quarts to a flat...and my Dad wanted the filled high. If it wasn't high enough, we were sent back to add more. LOL> I think we made like 20 -30 cents a quart. Took quite awhile to make any money.
The year I made the most was the year they said I could get a moped if I made the money. (I actually got a motorcycle as it didn't have peddles, but only went about 35 miles an hour) I picked so fast! I had graduated 8th grad that year and was supposed to get a 10 speed. They said they would give 100 towards the moped, so I was working like a dog! I got that moped in like 3 weeks. I miss that thing too. It was awesome! Excpept they made me get the "basket" attachment that went on the back and hung on each side. They said I would need to carry thing back and forth to the field. I thought that was so geeky, but after awhile I never even cared. I would ride that sucker everywhere.
When I got married at 19 for the 1st time, they sold it without even asking me. I was so mad.

 

[englishrose47]

Strawberry picking brings back teenage memories !! We used to do it while in High School, we were paid buy amount we picked and never made too much as we goofed around so much, but we had fun !!

 

[jenseib]

Strawberry picking brings back teenage memories !! We used to do it while in High School, we were paid buy amount we picked and never made too much as we goofed around so much, but we had fun !!

Sounds like us!

 

[MEK]

Great Hoop De Doo pictures. It's been SO long since I've been there and your pictures look like so much fun. I remember my kids (who were probably 10 and 12 at the time) absolutely loving it. The wash board was so fun. We sat up near the piano player and had a great view of the stage.

 

[Wicket's Mom]

Another of my country jobs was harvesting potatoes! The tractor would turn over the rows, then you would place bushel baskets along the rows. The next things was to fll the baskets with potatoes, made a whole 8 cents for each one! We did have lots of fun & it was heck a lot easier than picking those stupid strawberries!

 

[jenseib]

Great Hoop De Doo pictures. It's been SO long since I've been there and your pictures look like so much fun. I remember my kids (who were probably 10 and 12 at the time) absolutely loving it. The wash board was so fun. We sat up near the piano player and had a great view of the stage.

That is the same spot we sat at for the first time we went. It was a funs spot. We bonded with the banjo player...It's always the same guy too. I assume they have more than one, but we always get the same one.

Another of my country jobs was harvesting potatoes! The tractor would turn over the rows, then you would place bushel baskets along the rows. The next things was to fll the baskets with potatoes, made a whole 8 cents for each one! We did have lots of fun & it was heck a lot easier than picking those stupid strawberries!

Sounds like yuck too. We also grew melons or as city folks call them....."cantelope"... That was much easier to pick and I usually had to pick an hour or two and then I went off to drive the tractor that pulled the wagon that they loaded the bushels on. That was a great job....A/C and radio!

 

[jenseib]

I may be slightly MIA for a few days. I'm gonna try to catch up with my subscribed threads and we also have a busy weekend with dance practice and the rectial and then Suday we are all going to clean up the fire stuff at my parents (I posted about this in my PTR) and I also have a wedding shower that day too.

I hope to be back to updating by Monday!

 

[mousetravel]

The plan for Nov is to try Spirit of Aloha. I hear mixed things about that show, but I figure we might as well give it a try to see if we like it. Eventually I would like to do Mickey's backyard BBQ too, but that one only plays certain days of the week and then not year round either, so we've never been able to make it fit in our schedule yet.

I have read a lot of mixed reviews about Spirit of Aloha, too. I went back & forth debating & researching on it before we decided to go for it on our upcoming trip. I'll definately let you know how it turns out!

 

[annmarieda]

I may be slightly MIA for a few days. I'm gonna try to catch up with my subscribed threads and we also have a busy weekend with dance practice and the rectial and then Suday we are all going to clean up the fire stuff at my parents (I posted about this in my PTR) and I also have a wedding shower that day too.

I hope to be back to updating by Monday!

Have a good weekend!!! I think we all understand how busy life can get.

 

[mickeystoontown]

We've gone to the Spirit of Aloha dinner show twice and we liked it. The food was good and, even though parts of the show were cheesy, the traditional dancing and the fire twirler more than made up for the cheesiness.

 

[stephielela]

I really want to do Hoop de Doo sometime. I thought about trying to fit it in on this trip but its just not going to work. Maybe after our cruise next year...

 

[jenseib]

I have read a lot of mixed reviews about Spirit of Aloha, too. I went back & forth debating & researching on it before we decided to go for it on our upcoming trip. I'll definately let you know how it turns out!

I can't wait to hear what you think.

Have a good weekend!!! I think we all understand how busy life can get.

It's been busy, but we'll make it through it. I had about an hour to myself this morning and Now I need to get a shower.....catching up on Dis isn't working yet though.

We've gone to the Spirit of Aloha dinner show twice and we liked it. The food was good and, even though parts of the show were cheesy, the traditional dancing and the fire twirler more than made up for the cheesiness.

I knew I had read about your experiences and you always enjoyed it. I know another family that also goes to it often as well and they love it too. I think it's good to give it a try...I'll never know otherwise.

I really want to do Hoop de Doo sometime. I thought about trying to fit it in on this trip but its just not going to work. Maybe after our cruise next year...

It is fun, do try to work it in if you can.

 

[jenseib]

 

[LuvEeyore]

Just voted!! I love your picture!!

 

[jenseib]

Just voted!! I love your picture!!

Thanks!!!