Day 3 parks

Well we started the day knowing that we bought park tickets with an extra morning hour that we could use and Saturday was going to be the only day we could use it.  That meant getting up and out the door a little earlier than usual.  We made it to the gates at 7:30, so we got a half hour start on everyone.  It was drizzling, and I let Russ take the kids to go on some early rides while I took the passes to get a fastpass for Radiator Springs Racers.  One of the big bonuses to being in nearby parks!  We had our only character dining reservation that day at 2:50 in the California Adventures Park, so we could spend most of the day at Disneyland making sure we got all the rides in we wanted.  I also wanted to check out the Jamboree where they had a place to meet a Villain.  Russ and the kids went on another round of Star Tours and the Nemo Submarine ride that always gets packed.  I met up with the family at Pixie Hollow where the kids got to meet Periwinkle (the new Disney Fairy that turns out to be Tinkerbelle's sister) and then Tink herself. 

I had wanted to go on the Alice and Wonderland ride because there wasn't one in Disney World, but the ride was down for the morning.  So we ventured over to its a Small World and grabbed some popcorn on the go.  That ride was working, so we went on it.  It goes part of the ride outside, and seemed to be a longer ride than Disney World.  It seemed like they tried to put at least one Disney or Pixar Character in each theme which was cool.  So the only other ride I wanted the kids to try was Big Thunder Mountain Railroad coaster.  Gwen was tall enough, and I knew there weren't any big dips for her.  I didn't remember there being any dark tunnels for Trevor's fear, but apparently there were too many for him.  So Gwen loved it and Trevor hated it.  I wonder if it was after too many days of not enough sleep for him that he was just tired of being apprehensive about going on a new ride.  If that was the first ride we went on, I don't think he would have cared as much. 

So then we went up to the Jamboree that they put on during the Halloween season.  They had a band, people carving pumpkins, special food, arts and crafts, and a Villian conjuring station.  They take a group into a tent, cast a spell and a villian comes out you can get your picture taken with and talk to.  So we did that, and the first time it was Cruella De Ville.  She was AWESOME.  She was so interactive, snotty, and exactly like the character in the movie.  But she wasn't mean at all.  She asked Gwen what her favorite color was, and she said purple, to which Cruella said, "well, that makes one of us."  She also asked her what her favorite animal was, and Gwen said a cat, and Cruella said that she loves dogs.  If Gwen happened to see Pluto, tell him that Cruella is looking for him.  Gwen laughed at that and will laugh and tell anyone that asks about it.  Then they kind of put on a fashion photography session.  Cruella had Gwen get into her coat, and then the picture was taken when she opened the coat.  Trevor got his own time with her, and she asked him to show her some of his model poses.  That's the pictures that we got.  Trevor had to strike a bunch of poses, and Cruella evaluated them...most of the time saying that they were really good poses.  When she signed his book, she signed it on the first page, because she knew he saved that spot just for her, the most important person. 

I took Gwen over to try to get some time with Rapunzel, but the wait was 90 minutes.  So she settled for the Merry go round and a walk through Sleeping Beauty's castle.  They had a story to see about Sleeping Beauty.  So we decided to go back to see another villain.  Russ wanted to try to get on Space Mountain, but the fastpass was already past 8:00.  Our villain this time was the Queen from Snow White.  Gwen was the one that got to wave the magic wand to conjure her, so she was pretty psyched.  Unfortunately, this one wasn't as interactive.  Just kind of quiet and thinking she was the best thing ever.  So we did get her autograph and picture and met the boys outside the park to head over to California Adventures. 

They stopped in for ice cream to tide them over until the 2:50 lunch/dinner meal.  I went and got fastpasses for Trevor's favorite rollercoaster - California Screamin.  We rode on Radiator Springs Racers, and luckily got the other track so this time we got Luigi's tire shop and changed tires instead of Ramone's to change the paint job.  We didn't get a racing partner, so we still "won" and got a picture with my bangs in my face, but Gwen was still completely blocked from the picture.  We knew that the last day at the park meant to get a gift for each of the kids.  Trevor looked all over the Radiator Springs gift shops to see if he could find a prized Miguel Cabraro (I think that's his name) racecar from Cars 2 movie.  Unfortunately, there wasn't one that they could find.  So I found a reference book...all about the diecast cars.  I believe the cover boasted something like over 300 diecast cars listed.  Immediately Trevor was sucked in.  He learned about the cars he had and cars he didn't have yet.  It probably was somewhere right at his level for reading...so I don't know that it will stand the test of time, but for now, it had his interest. 

We decided to head across the street to go on Mater's junkyard jamboree one last time.  Trevor read his book the entire ride wait time.  He pointed out to me facts like "Jeff Gordon was the voice of Jeff Gorvette in the movie!" and how many Mater cars he doesn't have yet. 

That reminds me...I did miss one event on our first park day.  Before we went on Radiator Springs Racers for the first time, we ate at the real Flo's V-8 Cafe.  They served diner food.  I had beef with gravy, mashed potatoes, grilled corn and pasta salad.  I was worried that Gwen wouldn't eat anything, but she had her beef, bun, and fruit.  Trevor wasn't too thrilled with the meat...but I thought he would be.  I got a cute picture of Gwen in front of the cafe.  Another one of those things they really got just like the movie. 

Ok...so back to day 3....we had yet to go on the Ariel Undersea adventure ride.  Gwen enjoyed it...it was very typical...like Peter Pan or other storybook rides Disney does.  Since we were right there, we headed over to our lunch/dinner place.  We were a few minutes early, but nothing we couldn't wait a few minutes for.  First up was to get our picture taken with Ariel.  Then get our 3 course meal....antipasta, salad, main meal, and dessert.  Gwen got spaghetti and meatballs and Trevor ate Russ's fish while Russ ate some of his side dishes and some of Trevor's spaghetti.  I got more meat and gravy....yummy.....and dessert was great too.  Cookies, white chocolate, flourless chocolate cake, 4 different kinds of cupcakes and fruit.  During the meal, our princesses came out to visit:  Cinderella, Belle, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White. 

After the lunch/dinner the boys went to go on the roller coaster their last two times.  I took Gwen on the Ariel ride again.  Outside was the Phinneas and Ferb dance party that we saw the first park day.  She joined right in to dance again.  Then we walked over to meet the guys again over by the front of the park.  We missed a different dance party that I know Gwen would have enjoyed, but I never saw it advertised anywhere, so I'm wondering if it was super secret or something.  Instead we decided to do the Monster's Inc ride again.  This time, at the end, the Roz talked to Gwen.  She said, "Hey girl in the second row, I like your hair!"  Gwen still had her hair done up with the black Jasmine hair extensions.  And of course, just like the Mr. Potato Head a few days ago, she was just shocked that the character could see and talk to her! 

I checked my phone to see that Alice In Wonderland had a 30 minute wait (at least it was operating) so we decided to trek one more time over to the other park.  We waited in line, went on the ride and then knew it was close to the end.  I believe it was close to 5:30 or so.  I had asked if Gwen wanted me to run over to the Haunted Mansion to pick out a Sally shirt for her but then I knew I wouldn't be able to pick out what she would like.  Two shops later, her choice was a soft Sally doll, similar to her soft princess dolls she takes to sleep with her.  She LOVED that thing.  I'm glad she was able to get something she too would like and remember the trip by.  She also had a new Jasmine costume from the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, so she wasn't just leaving with Sally.  Disneyland was very packed at this time, the busiest by far we had seen since we had been there.  I'm so glad we got to the parks when it was significantly less crowded.  I was also seeing a lot of groups that day at the parks.  I bet a lot of locals go during the weekend. 

So we were back to the hotel, although it was already getting dark...we needed a little bit of food which we ordered from the hotel restaurant, and started packing.  Our flight was 8am on Sunday, so we packed as much as we could, got up at 6, on the road by 6:30 and made it through security by 7:15.  Flight back was uneventful and most of Sunday was spent organizing and cleaning up, ready for school on Monday. 

And with that...our trip to California was over.  Russ stayed back to do laundry, get a nap in and go back to work on Monday in San Diego.  In looking back, I think both Russ and I were surprised at how neat it was.  We had both been to Disneyland before, but it had been about 20 years ago.  Especially since we knew Disney World really well, I don't think either of us were expecting much.  It was nice to be able to visit Carsland while Trevor hasn't hit his teenage years yet.  But everything on top of that was spectacular.  We have even mentioned, maybe we could do that again sometime.  It was so convenient to be able to park hop...and completely unrealistic at Disney World.  Rides - they were both really equal.  The Land doesn't have Epcot and its rides...except the family's favorite ride - Test Track has been transformed into Radiator Springs Racers....better than Epcot, in our opinion.  The Pirates ride was better in the Land.  We got to experience the changes that they do at Halloween, decorations and rides.  I will say the one big difference they don't have is all the different food options.  If you want to eat at the World, you have at least 100 options.  I'm pretty sure you have half that at the Land.  Epcot has so many different cuisine options, not to mention the other parks.  That was my biggest challenge.  I was glad to make a reservation at the princess dining place, but the other ones, I wasn't sure.  "Next time"...if there ever is one....I want to eat at the Blue Bayou.  The smells were sooo good riding on Pirates.  I would love to stay at a hotel that really was within walking distance.  We were able to stay at our hotel completely on points, but it wasn't within true walking distance.  It was probably a half a mile away...which wasn't too bad, but I knew coming back at night wouldn't be fun to carry Gwen that far. 

And next is finishing up all those pictures....that may take a while.....   

Disneyland Day 2 - Our Halloween

I learned that because this was a Friday, the parks opened an hour earlier and even an hour before that was extra magic morning hour at California Adventure for hotel guests.  We were there on Thursday at 8:30 before the park opened, and we made it just a little after 8:00 to Disneyland for the day.  I brought our costumes in the car, in case we weren't going to go back to the hotel to change, but that was the goal.  To get a little rest before our "Mickey's Halloween Party" started at 7:00.  That was when the park closed to guests not having a party ticket.  They were sold out for the evening, so we expected a crowd. 

But first, I sent the boys to get a fast pass for Autopia...it is a car ride around a track, like the old time cars at Valleyfair, or the similar ones at Disney World.  Gwen and I went to look at Sleeping Beauty's castle and get her picture taken in front of it.  Then we went over to meet Merida (from the movie Brave).  She was about to open for the day, so we were one of the first ones to get her picture.  Afterwards, we went right next door to meet 3 of the princesses.  Gwen saw Ariel, Belle, and Tiana.  Trevor wasn't all that interested.  We met back up with the boys in time to go to Toontown.  I had had the kids watch Who Framed Roger Rabbit a few weeks ago so they knew what it was about.  We rode Roger Rabbits ride, with Trevor complaining the whole time.  He didn't like how dark and unsure of what was going to be around the corner.  It wasn't exactly like a pooh ride, but I wouldn't say it was scary either.  Just one of those things you could scare yourself about if you were 8.  Gwen had a good time though.  Outside, they had a bunch of characters....goofy, pluto, and Mickey and Minnie in their houses.  They also had a bunch of gags...Trevor found the TNT lever that blew up the house only 25% of the time.  The other time it made funny noises.  He had a good time finding all the funny things that happen when you push buttons or pull door handles or such.  It was outside, in the sun, so he didn't mind.  Then he would try to gag someone else with it.  There was one roller-coaster ride, and we all went on it, but Trevor wasn't even kind-of impressed.  Gwen loved it.  It was for younger kids.  So we moved on.

We had an appointment at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique for 11:30, but it was only 10:30 so I figured first thing was to eat.  We found someplace where Russ could get a breakfast burrito, I got some eggs, bacon, and breakfast potatoes, Gwen got fruit, and Trevor got french toast.  While watching the cool Jedi Training Academy, we ate, and Trevor explained, he's already a Jedi Knight, so he didn't want to essentially be demoted to Padawan again.  Fine by me!  After eating, we used the fastpasses for the Autopia since we were nearby and I took Gwen over to the BBB to pick out her outfit.  I admit, in Florida, I picked out her hairstyle and dress since I knew I could buy it cheaper at the Disney Store and bring it with to the appointment, but I figured she had some time to think about which princess she wanted to be, and while she is going to be Merida from the movie Brave for Halloween, the dress was too warm to wear all day, so she got to pick out a new princess outfit.  Of course she picked out the skimpy Jasmine outfit.  I figured, she is 5, I'll let her win this one, but if she pulls it at 13, I'm hoping Russ won't allow her out the door.  She also picked her hairstyle, which included black hair extensions, called "pop diva princess".  Good grief...there went my cute little toddler.  I asked Trevor if he wanted to do his knight makeover again, and he was all for it, because that meant getting another sword and shield to play with.  A big difference between this BBB and the one in Florida is the space, the "reveal" and the photo studio.  Much better than in Florida.  When you are done, they have birds that pull the curtains always over the mirror while your makeover is happening.  It makes it much more dramatic.  Then the photo studio has fake animals, and a coach for the princesses to ride in.  Pretty cool set-up.  So now that that was done, Gwen was set for her Halloween costume for the evening.

We decided to make our way across the park to Pirates of the Caribbean.  The way they built the ride, you sail in and around their restaurant where the smells are wonderful.  I believe it was the Blue Bayou restaurant.  It wasn't the same ride as Disney World and I liked the little changes.  It seemed to be longer as well.  Since we were right nearby, we decided to head to the Haunted Mansion.  Disneyland changes this for Halloween through Christmas to put it into the theme of Nightmare Before Christmas.  I borrowed the movie from Netflix because I wasn't sure what the kids would think of it.  I had never seen it before.  I was amazed that they loved it.  I thought it was ok.  I have boycotted Tim Burton films because I thought they were too dark.  I had stayed away from the Disney movie Ponyo because I didn't think it would be interesting enough for the kids.  I was wrong on both counts.  And when I explained after watching the Nightmare Before Christmas movie, that it was how the Haunted Mansion was decorated for Halloween, both kids were excited to go on it.  It wasn't perfectly harmless, in that there were a few dark and jump-out parts, but I rode with Trevor, and he remembered where they were so he "shielded" his eyes (with his shield...har har).  It was significantly less scary.  Both kids wanted to go on it again, but we didn't have time.  We decided to take an hour break back at the hotel to get in our costumes and take a little down time before coming back to the park for the Halloween Party. 

So we got checked in to the party with our magic wristbands and headed for a ride on Star Tours since we had fast passes.  We were a little early since the party started at 7pm.  After the Star Tours ride, we used the map that had all the treat stations out.  Trevor was set on hitting as many of them as possible.  I brought the gang up to where I thought we could meet the villains, but it turns out they were only there during the daytime.  Oops...my facts were goofed up.  So we hit some treat stations then saw that Dumbo's ride and Pinocchio's ride had almost no wait.  Trevor hated Pinocchio's ride because it was too dark and scary but was ok with Dumbo.  At least we got those off of the to-do list.  Dumbo's ride was down when we were in Florida.  The kids said they wanted to do the Haunted Mansion again, so we started making our way over there, but still hitting the treat stations as we walked.  Russ made it to the meet-and-greet with Jack Skellington (main character of Nightmare Before Christmas) and called me to see if we wanted him to stand in line.  The kids said a loud:  YES, since they didn't get their picture with him before.  We went through two treat lines before meeting up with Russ, and the line didn't move much.  45 minutes later (the longest we had to wait in line all weekend) we made it to Jack.  After the kids got his autograph, suddenly, his girlfriend Sally appeared.  Gwen was in HEAVEN.  She LOVED Sally from the movie, and got her autograph.  After a few pictures, we asked if Jack wouldn't mind moving out of the picture, to which he said that his feelings were hurt.  But he did it.  I cannot tell you how much that picture and meeting with Sally made Gwen's whole trip. 

We only ended up spending 2 1/2 hours at the party, but it was really neat to see all the decorations, and to get a better feel for what it is like....if we ever do something like this again.  Pictures of the day included:  Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, family picture in front of the Mickey Pumpkin with our costumes, Tianna, Belle, Ariel, Merida, Jack, and Sally.  There were fireworks going on when we left, but they really aren't the kids' thing.  They needed sleep, and wanted to sort their candy....They got so much that we had to say they could carry two kinds of their favorites home, but the rest had to stay in California.  I have to say, after this "Halloween" at Disney, I never thought I would enjoy a Halloween celebration like I did when I was a kid.  But again, Disney surprised me.  I LOVE how Disney does Halloween! 

We are back...

So much to do...to get caught up on.  Thankfully, we now have a little break before we start having to think about baseball schedules being thrown into our mix.  I have warned the kids that I am going to go on a "spring cleaning" turn this weekend and they are welcome to help me to earn money for a few of the toys they want (Trevor wants Sonic vs. Mario Summer Olympic Games and Gwen wants Lego Friends).  I don't know that either kid cares THAT much about their toys but I guess we will see. 

I guess I should make sure to mention that on our last morning of Disney, Trevor and I headed out for his last three rides of the trip.  He mentioned he wanted to go on the Speedway and Buzz Lightyear ride again in Magic Kingdom.  I had gotten an extra day free on our two passes, so we were there a few minutes after the park opened, went on those two rides plus the Astro Orbiter since he didn't get to go on that one and then headed back.  It was a beautiful day to leave, and except for a few small hiccups we made it home, actually earlier than scheduled. 

Gwen decided that she wanted to go to her dance class that evening at 6:30 even though we strolled into the house at 5:00 and had absolutely no food to eat in the house.  So I scrounged around and decided to make some crescent rolls, apples and cheese and crackers for her dinner.  I couldn't tolerate leaving the house again, especially for some kind of prepared food since that is what we had been eating all week.  Gwen was in a surprisingly good mood and listening to me well enough to be able to go to dance and did very well!  I was glad she was able to dance herself out of any cooped up feelings she had during our travels that day.

Trevor got to go back to school on Tuesday and Gwen and I really just hung around that day.  I was doing laundry non-stop as Russ had to leave to go back to Florida for a golf event that evening.  I also had a PTA meeting that same evening so the poor kids had to make do with sandwiches for dinner until I went to the grocery store on Wednesday.  Here we are now on Friday and I finally feel like things are slowly coming together.  All caught up on laundry, immediate meetings and such are taken care of, I am assembling our photopass pictures....250+ from photopass directly, I'd say we did good!  Then there are over 350 pictures between Vicky and my camera!  My plan is to edit a bunch, make a photo book out of a good chunk and print off a select few for Gwen's autograph book.  I don't know if I can get to the point of ordering the CD this weekend, but it should be shortly.

Both kids have had a little trouble at school getting back into the swing of things, but I will say that the weather that I decided to bring back from Florida has been AWESOME!  It looks like there will be a string of 80 degree days here and who would have ever guessed that we would see 80 degrees when it is still technically WINTER??!?!?  I really would like to break out the sprinkler tomorrow and get a few pictures of the kids in it just so I can say that we did this in the winter.  It is absolutely crazy! 

So we have two weeks of school left before the real spring break and hopefully we will have enough to do until then.  Trevor should be all caught up on his school work...I think...but still is having a lot to do just in terms of regular homework.

For now, we are back to our "normal".  It was sort of funny as Gwen keeps talking about the next time she will get her princess makeover.  I have already said it will be at least 3 years, probably another 4 before we go back.  Trevor wants to make sure we don't pull another one over on him so he started giving me the look and the questions about when are we REALLY going to go back.  Guess we won't ever get to pull another trick like this one again. 

Our last Magical Kingdom Day

It was a sad day, in more ways than one although we are leaving tomorrow not really having felt like we missed out on anything.  Sure, Thunder Mountain Railroad was down for construction, as was Dumbo and all of Fantasyland, but we rode many of our favorite rides more than once. 

One thing I will say, I probably wouldn't schedule an early morning breakfast, before park opening on the last big day of our trip AND add daylight savings on top of it.  Way to go family for making it there on time, ready to go even if it did take a little prodding.  But true to form, once we were there the kids loved it.  Yes, Pooh and friends was probably a little young for the kids but Gwen was talking about Piglet since the first time we were at Magic Kingdom.  So I was glad we toughed the morning out and made it.  Unfortunately, (and maybe a little fortunately for a lower level of crowds than predicted) it rained almost the entire day we were there.  I felt vindicated that we got to use my dollar store ponchos for the day, and it never came down hard, but it sure was bothersome. 

We were out of Crystal Palace by 9:30am so the park had been open for a half hour.  We would spend most of the day on the West side of the park, by Splash Mountain and Pirates of the Carribbean.  But our first stop ended up being in the fairy hut where Gwen got to meet Terrance (boy fairy) and Tinkerbell.  Score...they were really the only people we didn't get to see and wanted through the rest of our trip.  It also filled up her autograph book.  We then rode Aladdin's magic carpet ride, sort of in place of Dumbo.  It was then time to head over to Tom Sawyer's Island to see if we could find any paintbrushes.  Turns out they weren't doing it anymore while Thunder Mountain Railroad was down for construction.  We toured the island anyway...it is pretty cool! 

We headed off the island right on to Splash Mountain.  Gwen was very excited, but then was worried that we were going to crash at the bottom of the drop and go underwater.  So the photopass picture we got is of me covering her eyes and everyone else looking kind of worried themselves.  So we got those out of the way for the day.  I then wanted to also get the Haunted Mansion out of the way as well.  Trevor sucked it up and went on it without any real problems.  He even asked to go on it again so he could read all the inscriptions on the headstones in the graveyard.  Gwen was really upset at the end of the ride because they had to stop the ride before we could get off but RIGHT after Russ and Trevor got off.  Most of the ride she didn't want to watch but I knew she wasn't really scared...it was that darn Tower of Terror that did her in.  So...to make her feel better, we went over to grab a fastpass for her requested ride:  Peter Pan and walked right on to Its a Small World.  We tried to get over to Pirates of the Carribbean but they just shut it down for technical difficulties.  Decided to get out of the rain for lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern.  I was a bit chilled at this time from being wet so I had to have some hot chocolate.  We had a good meal where Trevor and Gwen both had a change of pace macaroni and cheese and Trevor totally scarfed down a bowl of Chicken Noodle Soup...complete with carrots, celery and all. 

Before heading to Peter Pan I asked to stop off and see the Hall of Presidents.  I'm pretty sure the last time I saw that show was before I was a teenager because it wasn't anything like I remembered it.  Waiting for that show was our longest wait of the day....20 minutes or so.  We then caught our fast passes to Peter Pan and then went back to get on a quick ride of Pirates which was working.  We then decided that there wasn't much left for us to do.  Trevor was asking to do the speedway and Buzz Lightyear ride one last time, but I think I'm going to take him tomorrow morning before we head out.  He is my early riser and we can run in and out and be back in under and hour I think.  We'll see how tomorrow morning goes. 

All in all though, we were back at the hotel by 4.  I think we maybe stood in line a total of 30 minutes not counting the Hall of Presidents.  Yes, there were some of the fastpass rides that had long wait times but it was as though the East side of the park was packed and the West side was not interesting enough for people.  I LOVED the apps for the phone we could use and see the wait times.  Completely invaluable.  Today, the Disney run app was down so I used the Undercover Tourist one.  One day the Undercover Tourist was down so Russ had to rely on the one I had.  The Disney one also added when the fastpasses were going for.  That was very nice. 

And I will also say I think the pin trading caught on towards the end.  We will probably do it again next time and just have them in case they see any pins they want to trade.  Gwen got an Aurora pin today and she was as happy as a clam.  That was a very fun moment. 

Hopefully tomorrow we can have a smooth ride back home and get back into the swing of things in what is going to be a very easy transition back to Minnesota!

Last time at Epcot

Today was the first day I think everyone was feeling a little tired.  We didn't really rush to get ready this morning, but with a quick bus ride we were still at the park shortly after it opened at 9am.  The kids got pictures with Daisy and Stitch at the entrance before us bag ladies could get in (they search any bags you have before the entrance).  We then decided we would head over to Test Track as it was the most fun ride for the kids.  We also got a fast pass for the time that was given which was 40 minutes or so after the ride.  The ride was quoting a 25 minute wait time so we took it. 

Word of advice to those traveling to Disney any time soon:  Fast passes are being strictly enforced.  In the past, they would allow any fast pass as long as the time had lapsed.  Fast passes are only given out for an hour window so if you are now later, you are out of luck.  Because of this strict enforcement, you can now get fast passes for different rides either 2 hours after you had gotten your last one, or after the beginning window started, whichever is first.  So we could get another fast pass after our 10:20am window started for Test Track.  If you are deciding to actually do the stand by, it REALLY increases your wait time.  Even though the line might not be as long, they always let the fast pass people go and you maybe get 20% of the group from the stand-by line.  I recommend planning out your route and getting as many fast passes as you can for those popular rides. 

Thankfully we did all the fast pass rides during our other trip to Epcot so we were good.  After the second test track time, I promised Gwen we would see all the princesses we could before our lunch reservation at 1:25pm.  I also asked her if she wanted another stroller and when she said yes right away, I knew that if I didn't grab it then, it was going to be a very difficult trek around the world.  SOOOO glad I did today at least.  We made it to see Mulan, Jasmine and Aladdin before we had to wait a few minutes to catch a few more princesses.  So we waited 5 minutes to see Belle, had an ice cream snack (on a day that was SUPPOSED to be pretty yucky: showers all day an high of 78 or so...it was bright, sunny, and hot), and then moved back to Alice and Marie (kitten from Aristocats).  Then we were told Aurora was also around and had to wait 15 or so minutes to see it but that one was well worth it.  Actually, they were all worth it.  None of the lines were unbearable and Gwen had her face plastered with a smile the entire time.  Aladdin even asked her to play a game with Aurora by asking Gwen if she would pass along a message.  She said she would and he said, "Tell Aurora "Tag...you are it!"  And we did.  We were the last ones in line before they had to take a break and we scooted over to get our lunch reservations at Akershus.  I had never eaten there before and while we probably didn't need to given that we had already done a Princess dining experience it was a nice change of pace again with the food.  Norwegian! 

We all got our picture taken with Belle at the start and then Mulan, Ariel, Cinderella, and Aurora came by our table to say hi.  During our day at Disney Hollywood Studios, Gwen asked for a Journal which I thought she was just wanting to be able to use for herself.  Well, she saw the other kids using them as an autograph book and that was what she wanted to do as well.  So we have been collecting autographs and this book also has one side of each page dedicated to a spot for a photograph.  So when I get these photos developed, I will be getting an extra copy for her photograph book and matching them with the autographs.  What I am amazed at (and it makes sense but I cannot believe that the Disney people actually do this) is that they have all their princesses sign the same way.  We have two Belle, Princess Aurora, and Mulan signatures and they are virtually identical.  Not with each other, but the same characters.  It looks so cool!

So after our lunch, we headed over to Journey into Imagination, made our way to Soarin for our fastpass time, did one last Spaceship Earth and headed out.  A solid 8 hours at the parks and I think a big part of what made that possible was separating the kids.  They seem to be on each other and pushing one anothers' hot buttons all.day.long.  That might mean we do another separation although we'll have to see how crazy it is at the park.  It is scheduled to be almost a 10 out of 10 on the crowd scale.  But how can you be sad when you are in Magic Kingdom?  Maybe I should wish for bad weather so it will keep some of the crowd away.  Gwen is happy to be meeting Pooh and Piglet for our breakfast so she can round out her autographs.  Until next time Epcot! 

DHS our first "last day"

So today was our first last day at a park.  Since we were going to do all our chosen parks twice this trip, this was our first last day trip to Disney Hollywood Studios.  It is nice to be able to visit all the parks to make sure we get to do all the things we missed the first day, in this case it was Beauty and the Beast and Jedi Training Academy.  We had heard that you need to get in and sign the kids up for the Jedi Training Academy as opposed to the kids getting picked out of the audience as was the last time we were there 3 years ago.  So I went early and the park actually opened before the 9am listed start time.  I walked down to the ABC building where they held the sign ups and yeah, you have to have your kids with you.  Whoops.  So I called Russ who was only 15 minutes behind me to tell him that he needed to bring the kids over to the building as soon as he could.  He gave our backpack to his mom (because they inspect all bags you bring in to the park) and he took the kids and rushed them to the sign-ups.  I had snuck into line where I hoped would be enough time to get the kids to me.  And I did let a few families ahead of me when I wasn't sure if I would make it to the front too soon.  They got there with 5 families to spare.  They were both signed up for the 2:20 show.  That was the 7th show of the day and the other previous shows were already booked.  There were about 7 shows after that as well, but it was very lucky that I didn't get sent to the back of the line or we would have had to stay at the park until very late at night.  Advice to anyone doing this anytime soon:  Get to the park BEFORE it opens and bring YOUR KIDS WITH YOU to the Jedi Training Academy sign-up, which is the ABC tower building right next to American Idol. 

Ok, so that part was taken care of, but it threw us for a little loop.  When the kids got there, I noticed that Trevor didn't have his hat.  He had forgotten it, so I said we could get him a Disney cap.  The first one we saw that he liked we bought, and the clerk asked if he was going to wear it right away and we said yes.  So he put it on and Oops!  It was a toddler hat.  TOTALLY didn't fit him even with the closure on the biggest setting.  Guess who's getting a hat from Disney when we see him next!  Ethan!!!  Hope you like Buzz Lightyear! 

Alright, so the hat is taken care of.  Russ got us fast passes for Toy Story Mania, and the time on those was from 4 to 5pm.  We went on the great movie ride, got right on and then I remembered that it did have a scary sci-fi Aliens scene in it that would probably not be a big favorite with the kids.  I was right...so they were shielded from it and made it through our first ride of the day.  After that ride we ran into a short line for Minnie Mouse.  We took some pictures with her and then started walking over to the roller coaster and I noticed a cute bakery selling some pastries.  Trevor got a cinnamon roll, Gwen got a chocolate muffin, I got a blueberry muffin and Vicky got a danish.  Wow...those really hit the spot.  I love disney for the variety of foods...they always seem to offer just what I'm looking for!  We headed over to the roller coaster to figure out what we were going to do there and found out that the single person riders was closed for the time being.  Russ was going to do that, but because the fast pass for the roller coaster didn't work out for us, we ended up catching the first showing of Beauty and the Beast.  Like the Little Mermaid that we saw the last time, she loves her princess shows ;-)

So after Beauty and the Beast we headed right back to the roller coaster where they were accepting single riders and Russ got on while we got lunch.  It took a good chunk of time for him but he grabbed fast passes for Trevor, himself and me to go back around 3.  We ate our lunch at the Commissary and then checked out Star Tours again which only had a 10 minute wait (although it said 20) just in time for the kids to be checked in to their Jedi Training.  I ran back to the entrance while the training was going on to grab a stroller for Gwen.  We were getting a little tired of carrying her around and thought that if she made it this far without needing a stroller, we could give her a break.  So the Jedi Training started, and I stayed in the back not seeing much.  Russ was in the front row videoing it and Vicky had her own camera going.  Next thing I know, Gwen was off the stage crying.  Apparently she got scared of Darth Vader.  She was having a great old time with the training up until that point.  Now that I think about it, we should have had her watch a show beforehand so she could see Darth Vader and know that all the kids got to fight him and he runs away in the end anyway.  But oh well, we got some GREAT pictures of both of the kids, just none of her fighting Darth. 

Then, we headed back to the roller coaster and used our fast passes.  Trevor started to convince himself that the ride was too scary.  He has really started to put a lot of thoughts in his head and compound them until they become so fearful to him that it makes him freak out.  When he came off the roller coaster the first time, he had a big smile on his face.  When I asked him if he would go on it again, he said he would one more time because he would go with Russ.  And yet here we were and he said the ride was too scary.  So we brought him on anyway.  He wasn't very happy with us, but I know it wasn't going to be giving him nightmares or cause him to be afraid of anything unrelated which was why I wasn't going to make him go on Tower of Terror. 

So after the roller coaster we had to head back to Toy Story Mania and play one last game.  Gwen doesn't care much for anything 3-d so she didn't wear her glasses, but isn't scared of it anymore as a result.  After Toy Story, we started to walk around to grab some dinner when it started to downpour.  We were under a covered area so we could let the worst of the storm pass.  This was the only part of the day where we got just a little wet.  It might have been the reason why we didn't have very many people around at the time.  But we got to Pizza Planet, had a leisurely dinner and asked the kids if there was anything they wanted to do one last time.  When they said Muppet 3d I was a little happy!  We did that and then also went on Star Tours one last time as well.  Did you know they remade that ride so that they have over 50 variations in the ride?  We saw two similar ones and one completely different one.  It is pretty cool!  Especially for the Star Wars fans.  And with that we departed our park.  It was a fun park...I usually rank it #2 in my book, although I think the kids would go #3...I guess we'll have to ask by the end of the trip.  For now....that's it from DHS for this trip.  Can't wait until next time!

Epcot and relaxation

Well, day 4 was actually our day of relaxation, but in a way, it wasn't exactly totally relaxing.  I had booked a breakfast at 'Ohana....one of our (ok well maybe mine more than anyone) favorite places to eat....Hawaiian themed and character dining.  I prefer to stay at the Polynesian hotel because of the Hawaiian theme, but to eat breakfast there once during our trip is ok with me too.  Especially since we did the Wilderness because of the bunk bed option. 

But I will get on to today in a minute.  I need to re-remember our Epcot day.  We had dining plans at our usual Teppan Edo which is very similar to Benihana back home.  They don't open until noon for lunch so we have to hold out until then.  We still try to get there around park opening so we can get some of the bigger rides out of the way before heading over to Japan for lunch.  Well, unfortunately, the transportation gods were not on our side that day.  We ended up waiting a good 45 minutes for a bus to get there.  So we arrived around 9:30ish.  We headed over to Soarin to grab our fast passes and then decided against standing in line for 50 minutes so we could get over to Test Track instead.  While the estimated wait time for that ride was 30 minutes, there was a huge influx of fast pass people going in and we were in line for well over an hour...I think it was closer to 90 minutes.  It was really hard to keep the kids from bouncing off the walls at this time because we had done a fair amount of walking and waiting without anything to show for it.  We did test track, which the kids LOVED and then had to power walk over to our lunch.  Another big hit.  After lunch we had to go right back to Soarin to use our fast passes.  A good ride, but compared to Test Track, it wasn't as good.  We did the Living Land right next to Soarin, Nemo, and then I decided to call our Disney Rewards Visa number because I remember that they had a card members only Character Greeting place somewhere in Epcot that I thought I should check out.  They said it was nearby where we were and I knew about the Character greeting spot that we had seen earlier so I asked in that location and they said no, it was nearby but I wasn't where I should be.  So we went where the woman directed us, and saw a relatively short line with black curtains all around.  I guess it really was top secret, members only exclusive thing.  Hmmm....it was inside one of their science museum places, so while Russ held our place in line we could hang out with the kids for a bit.  Turned out to be a quick line because we had to come back and get in line within 5 minutes.  The curtain was revealed and we saw.....Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy all together for a photo shoot with the kids.  It was SO nice not to have to wait in a 30+ minute line to see these guys!  Russ said, that was well worth the fee to upgrade our account (we are premium members now...since we spend so darn much).  I agree.

So after our character greeting, we headed over to check out Mission Space.  We didn't know that it had a height restriction, and even with Gwen's hair up with her princess 'do they wouldn't let her on.  I told the rest of the group to go ahead without us and found the exit place to the ride.  Gwen hung out in the climb place for little kids so she was good.  I cannot speak for the ride, but Trevor said that he didn't much care for it because of how it went into manual.  We then decided to walk through the Pixie Hollow display of topiary in the shape of all the Disney Fairies.  And then headed back over to France because we saw Crepes on our way back from lunch.  Those were very yum.  We stopped over in USA because Gwen was getting hungry, then also decided to stop in Mexico to grab dinner for ourselves.  Because Gwen was happily fed, she was able to sit and color quietly while the rest of us ate. 

We hit Spaceship Earth on our way out as another quiet ride.  Although we didn't get a lot of rides, we do not have a lot left to do either.  Gwen was slightly upset that we didn't stop at all the places where the princesses were in different countries.  I think she would have liked to have met the ones that are not seen very often in Magic Kingdom.  So next time I might have to take her away from the group so she can get some of those pictures taken.  Specifically Alice, Jasmine, and Mulan.  So far, the kids favorite ride of the whole trip has been Test Track so we will probably have to do that one again.  And they want to do the science museum type exhibits too, so we'll see what we can get done.  We have been so lucky so far with weather.

That brings me to our day of rest today.  We went to the breakfast, then came back for some swimming time.  The kids would have lasted longer, but we stayed over an hour and a half before pulling them out.  The pool here has a slide which kept the kids entertained.  And got them very hungry for a late lunch.  We ate it at the dining place here called the Whispering Canyon.  They are known to be a very excitable place to eat, but we were at the tail end of lunch so I don't think we really got a true taste of what it would be like.  The food was really good though.  That's another thing, we have been getting very lucky with food choices.  I like that there have been more than the usual cheeseburgers or chicken nuggets and fries at various places.  Gwen has been eating eggs, shrimp, and bacon in addition to her grapes and french fries.  Trevor is not someone I'm worried about because he will eat a variety of main meals.  We also let the kids have ice cream or Popsicle treats once in a while too. 

So, on to our repeat days at the parks.  Hopefully the crowds won't make it completely unbearable because they are supposed to start coming this weekend.  We'll see if anyone notices.  The things we have left to do, don't seem very difficult to accomplish.  Even if the trip ended today, I can say it was a definite success.  But a chance for more fun will be happily taken!

Our first day at the Magical Kingdom

Well we had a full day packed into our first day of Magic Kingdom.  There is SO much to do here and so many great rides.  Plus the fact that we got Trevor and Gwen into the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique in the morning and dinner with Cinderella in the late afternoon.  We had never done the BBB before but I am SO glad that I got Trevor a deal.  Immediately when I told him about how Gwen was going to get made up like a princess, he asked what he was going to have done.  I was a little nervous about her being her "favorite" Aurora because whenever we brought it up, she said she wanted to be a different princess any time you asked.  That day she said she wanted to be Belle because she had brown hair like her.  She even started pouting when I explained I wasn't going to get a different dress.  She did get to pick out Aurora's crown and wand, and that made it a bit better.  I had asked my mom to take the dress and sew into it a tee-shirt so that it wouldn't "itch" as some of the dresses do to her, but of course when she put it on for the first time, she said the sheer sleeves itched.  Thankfully I rolled them up a little bit and she was ok.  The salon was a little chilly so she wore her jacket over the dress while she was getting made up. 

They did Trevor's hair first, and even did a reveal for him.  Oh, I HAVE to say that I LOVE photopass for this.  Photopass is Disney's "professional" photographers that take pictures for you, then you can edit them with little clip art and buy a CD of all your pictures.  I am SO not creative when it comes to scrapbooking, photo editing...well really, you name it, I am NOT creative.  But for both kids, the fairy godmothers that did the hair nails and make-up for the kids knew not to sprinkle with pixie dust and turn them around until the photographer was there.  So they got those priceless looks on their faces when they saw themselves.  It was SO worth it. 

Gwen's hair took a while, but they put a lot of product in it, so as of day 2, it is still together and in one piece.  Tomorrow we are planning a pool day so I'm pretty sure we'll have to take it out tomorrow.  But anyway, her fairy godmother was so gentle with her hair and she never said "ow".  We had our photo session and Gwen got to walk around all made up for the rest of the day.  She got so many compliments and everyone working at the park always does call the girls princesses anyway, but you could just see in her eyes that she felt like a princess. 

We did most of our rides this day:  Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, Pirates of the Caribbean, Magic Carpets of Aladdin, Philharmagic, Peter Pan, Small World, Snow White, Speedway, Cinderella's Carousel and Pooh.  All we really have left for our last day is around Liberty Square:  Splash Mountain, Hall of Presidents, Haunted Mansion, and Tom Sawyer's Island.  Most of the rides, the kids were very nervous about which ones were going to be scary.  Most of the rides were very short lines, under 30 minutes except for Pooh.  That one took forever because they had to fill the fastpass people first before the rest of the group.  I think we were in line for over an hour.  Oh, and for the record, Dumbo was under construction and so is Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.  We would ride those if we could.  I believe the favorite is the Buzz Lightyear ride. 

So, we will be going back for our last park day, when it is scheduled to be very very busy.  Hopefully we'll survive getting the last few things done and then have our pick to do whatever we would like.  It has been a great trip so far!

Day 1 at the parks...

I worked it out so that although our favorite park is Magic Kingdom, we would start with Disney Hollywood Studios for our first day.  That way we could end with Magic Kingdom.  Even though we got in late, we were still out the door before 9am.  We were able to get there shortly after 9:30 to head right for Toy Story Mania.  It is always the one that gets the busiest the fastest, and we already had a half hour wait.  But there is one thing about Disney, the line waiting isn't bad at all because they always try to entertain you while you wait.  Trevor enjoyed the ride and tried his best to get a high score.  Gwen didn't care for the 3-d effects but we had already gotten our fast passes for later in the afternoon.  We headed over to the Star Tours but got sidetracked by the Honey I shrunk the Kids playland.  We had an early lunch (for us anyway, being on CST) but with as early as everyone eats, it always works out well for us.  We dined at the Sci-Fi Drive In, and like last time we were there 3 years ago, Trevor was not happy with the entertainment.  Because they show black and white movies with Sci-Fi scenes, we couldn't tear Trevor's eyes off the screen.  They even break the short shows with cartoons with a space theme.  Those, he said were "ok" but he didn't like being there.  Gwen, was not bothered in the least and decided to eat her weight in food.  Hot dog, grapes, french fries (hers and mine), and a chocolate shake.  I knew she didn't get a lot to eat the previous day but I was still a bit surprised. 

So we moved on to Star Tours, Voyage of the Little Mermaid then decided to head on over to the Tower of Terror/Rockin' Roller Coaster.  Gwen again didn't care for Star Tours because of the 3-d effects.  Trevor wasn't impressed about the loud noises and also took off his glasses for some of the parts.  We found out that the Tower of Terror took kids 40" or taller, but the roller coaster had to be 48".  That made the choice easier....Gwen went to the Tower of Terror and Trevor came on the roller coaster with me.  Trevor wasn't exactly happy after we got off of the coaster, but the more we talked about it, the more I could convince him it was a fun ride.  He has been on plenty of coasters before but that one is FAST.  But I have to say, now after going on Space Mountain again, it is so much smoother.  We headed back to our fastpass time for Toy Story Mania, and found out that Gwen didn't exactly have a good time on the Tower of Terror.  It wasn't the ride part, she would take any roller coaster you could put in front of her.  It was the "story" they give you before you actually are on the ride.  I have a hard time believing we will get Trevor to go on that one.  But we have now learned that Gwen just needs to take off her 3-d glasses, so we could see Muppets, ride Toy Story Mania again, and then for the future shows we saw at other places.  After we came off of the Muppet ride, we saw some characters, and wanted to get some pictures, but Gwen fell asleep in Russ's arms.  Actually, she fell asleep in Vicky's arms but Russ had to carry her once we headed out to the exit. 

We had to save Beauty and the Beast for the next time, and try to get into the Jedi Training Academy but other than that, a very successful first park day!

The travel day is always the hard one

I know everyone has been waiting for the big reveal on the morning of our Disney trip.  Well it has been a crazy last 48 hours, but I do need to write it down before it all leaves my mind:

So the clues were hidden, and I wrote a little note to each kid in case one woke up earlier than the other and started to go downstairs.  Apparently the little note was one of the best things... not to say that the whole treasure hunt wasn't fun, it was just one of those things that both kids remembered after it was all done.  And of course, both kids had to be woken up, because Trevor had a hockey event early that morning.  So once the kids were awake, they went from clue to clue....Trevor needed a little help..guess his clues were a bit harder.  Then they uncovered the suitcases, Trevor read the welcome notes, and got this completely puzzled expression on his face, and of course asked, "We are really going to Disney World.....today??"  If I remember correctly, Gwen did a little jump and said Yay!  Yay!  We are going to Disney World...but it took her a few minutes.  No screaming...so I'm sure it won't win us any awards on AFV.  But it was a nice experience to have.  I'm sure the kids will remember it for a long time. 

So Trevor went to his last hockey game of the season, scored a goal in his last shift of the game, and throughout the day would say, "I'm SO excited to be going to Disney World".  Our flight left at 5:50pm so we had a while to wait to just get to the airport.  Gwen is at the age where she really can't understand all the steps that it takes to get to our final destination so she started assuming we were at Disney World after every leg of our trip.  Starting at arriving at the airport.  Then when we finally got there, she assumed we were going to one of the parks. 

Our flight and getting to the hotel was pretty smooth.  Unfortunately, we were the last resort on the bus to be delivered, but we were lucky enough to get right on a bus, so we were in our hotel room before midnight.  We got our food, had a little snack and went to bed.  It was a tough night of sleep but we were up to go to Disney Hollywood Studios shortly after it opened at 9am. 

And that, in a nutshell, was our first day of travel to Disney.

It's surprise Disney Eve!

Well, we made it so far!  We have the clues hidden, the letter written, the bags mostly packed (our flight doesn't leave until 5pm so we have some time) and no one spilled the beans...as far as I know...and as far as the kids are aware.  Today has been a really hard day for me to get through because I'm so excited about the trip and to see how well the kids enjoy it.  It was 3 years since our last trip, and will probably be another 4 or so years until the next one. 

I have to share a few of the clues that a disney designer made for us.  It isn't fancy, and I know a lot of crafty people could do better, but for me...I was jumping for joy!

Russ says he is a little concerned that the kids won't really get it...or at least it won't sink in..specifically for Gwen.  But with as much as she has looked at our pictures, and had been saying the entire year she was 3...."when I'm 4, I get to go to Disney"...I think she'll get it right away. 

Trevor has a hockey game at 9am...so it will be quickly eating breakfast and going to the game before coming home for a little breather.  Or maybe we'll go out for a brunch....I have no food left in the house....ha!  Good planning on my part! 

But for now...I will try to get some sleep.  This morning I was up a little after 5am.  Oh well...I can get sleep some other time.  For now, I gotta stay awake for this week ;-)

Getting ready

So we are just a few short days away from our trip and it is amazing how the kids don't suspect a thing.  I have had to let just about every adult in their lives know about it, and none of them have let it slip either.  I have been gathering information, even though I would call myself a pretty seasoned veteran.  Not quite a fanatic but I do know my stuff.  We have our grocery order placed, although I'm continuing to add to it while I can think of more stuff.  We have our online check-in completed, although because we are coming in so late, I doubt there will be much of a line.  We have our park tickets bought, we have our eating reservations placed.  We have our Bibbidi bobbiti boutique reservations made...and yes I did book a "knight package" for Trevor as I thought he would be interested in anything that made Gwen the center of attention.  At his school carnival one of the most fun stations for him was the colored hair spray he got which is just what they do for them at the BBB.  Gwen will be getting as much of a make-over as possible and I know she will be just thrilled.  I got her a fancy Aurora gown, sparkly shoes and they will take care of the rest.  We have dining reservations at Cinderella's castle that evening for dinner. 

We have a day off from the parks to hang out by the pool or go to downtown disney.  I've been watching the weather and it looks like the time we are there is going to be remarkably average.  Upper 70s for the high, maybe low 80s but no big rain showers except for the day we get there....but it is late so it isn't a concern. 

I bought the kids pin trading lanyards and got a bunch of pins off of ebay.  I think the social aspect of the trading is what will be fun for them.  We'll see.  If they aren't into it, I'm not crushed because I didn't spend a ton of money on them.  The crowds are due to be minimal the week we are there until the next weekend.  Then they get hairy, but I'm glad we get full days at our three favorite parks with low crowds.  That way it won't be stressful to be back for a second day and feel like we have so much we didn't get to do the first time. 

I heard about an app for wait times on various disney rides.  I got that for my phone, but THEN a new app just came out which includes interactive maps for each of the parks and when you are actually inside the gates of each of the parks, it unlocks wait times for things not just including the rides.  Already got that one downloaded too! 

We are actually heading off this evening to go to Disney on Ice.  It is heavily princess focused, and I thought Trevor might not want to go to see it, but he was not wanting to do anything else if Gwen and I were going. 

Oh, and for those of you wondering, we are doing a treasure hunt with 3 clues for each kid.  I'm not sure of exactly how it will all end up but the ending will be that we have the bags packed under a tarp in our porch.  They will uncover the tarp and their gear and gifts, and possibly a letter of some kind will be there saying we are leaving that evening!  I'm wondering who will be more surprised.....or maybe who will be more excited.  We will do our best to take video of it, as well as many of the other adventures during the trip.  Like last time, I will try to blog about it every day or every other day.  If it is like last time, we should be up pretty early but able to crash somewhat early too.

Return trip and final thoughts

Coming back to Minnesota, it could have been much smoother. We were supposed to be able to check in for our flight at the hotel. When we went to do so, they said that they couldn't pull up the reservation because it was under Gwen's name. WHAT??? I had already paid our checked bags fee, but since they couldn't print out our tags, I would have to deal with the ticketing agents at the airport to try to print out the tags there.

We were to get on the bus to the airport 3 hours before our flight take-off. The bus was a little late, and we were the second concourse run around the airport, so we got there about 2 hours before our flight was to take off. I had already noticed that I couldn't assign us 3 seats together, from even when I was checking in for our trip down to Orlando.

So we went to meet with the ticketing agent, and I had to explain how I needed my checked bags fee refunded and then re-purchased according to the people at Disney. She said that was correct, but had to get on the phone with someone who could do that. And then we had to explain all over again, given the fact that no one understood what was going on. They still couldn't assign us seats together, but that I was supposed to check with the ticketing agent before we got on the plane.

We ate a quick lunch, and got to the gate. I was happy to see that the plane was already there. We were flying back with a group of cheer/dance high school girls from Blaine. So that's where most of the seats went on the plane. The best they could offer us was two together and one in a bulkhead seat. So we ended up using that configuration. I took Gwen in the bulkhead seat and Russ and Trevor sat 15 rows behind us. I ended up sitting with half of a Canadian family that had came from Universal Studios. He was very nice and helped me with the big backpack that I carried with me.

The flight itself was good. Gwen slept for about half of it, I believe. That was the best scenario as she had been wanting to sleep since we were in the bus. We arrived a few minutes early although being as how MSP is such a big airport, it took us a while to get to our gate and off the plane. My mom picked us up, and Russ's mom stayed with Russ to get the bags. The car ride from the airport to our house was hilarious. BOTH Trevor and Gwen were talking a mile a minute and just wanted to tell all their stories to Bubba that day. We came back to an immaculately clean house with a crock-pot of beef stew started for our dinner. It is such an easy landing to come home to a house like that. And so appreciated. THANK YOU MOM!!!

A few overall thoughts on our trip:
- I had made 2 breakfast and 4 dinner reservations before going down to Disney. The only day that I kept to my plan was the first park day. The only dinner reservation we kept was at Cinderella's castle. It seems the best meal to do "counter service" would be for dinner. And our lunches should be early. Walking around in the morning really burns through your energy! (All of our dinner reservations were switched to lunches)

- Although yes, it was a good idea to come back for a rest time, Gwen only napped once during those times, and Trevor never really did.

- At the first character interaction, Gwen was very afraid. The more we talked about all the characters, the more comfortable she was with them. Now, she only needs a minute before she gives them hugs and kisses.

- Gwen's vocabulary of Disney/Pixar characters is hilarious to me - "Mouse" for Mickey, "Minnie" for Minnie, "Hot Dog" for Goofy, "Puppy" for Pluto, "Ack-ie" for Mike Wazowski, "Ta-Doug" for Mr. Potato Head, "Duck" for Donald Duck, "Manny" for Handy Manny, "Rocket" for the Little Einsteins characters, "Pooh" for both Tigger and Pooh, "Sich" for Stitch, and "Buzz" for Buzz Lightyear. Before coming here, she wasn't talking much at all of these names. But meeting them has sure given her an impression of them.

- Being at the Polynesian, and using the monorail with a stroller was INVALUABLE. Yes, we paid more to stay at a nicer hotel, but not having to fold up the stroller when we went to Magic Kingdom, the Contemporary Resort for breakfast one morning, and for our trip out to Epcot was SO NICE.

Using my friend Christine's awesome knowledge of Disney trips, as well as her suggestions of using the Disney discussion boards and Touring Plans....it just helped everything go that much smoother. There will be a learning curve since this isn't something we do every year, so we aren't sure how the kids are going to react, but trying to get some idea of what we were going to do and when really helped me.

And with that, I will conclude my trip report. Now I just have to get back into what has happened the past few days.....

Day 7 - Last Park Day at Magic Kingdom

Magic Kingdom is our last hurrah. Kids have now acclimated to the hour time difference and are waking up ready to go before 7:00 EST. We had our breakfast of Cheerios, put on the sunscreen and made it to Magic Kingdom in time for their rope drop ceremony. It was the only show we made it to all week, and it was good to see once.

We went over to Dumbo, Peter Pan and It's a Small World first. I'm pretty sure that was the only time I've ever been on Peter Pan. It always has a long line and wait time. And after going on it, I have no idea why it has such a long wait time. It is cute, but nothing special in my opinion.

After those rides we moved over to Frontierland. Although I had brought up riding on Splash Mountain and Trevor had seen the youtube video, I seriously didn't think he was going to want to ride on it, and wasn't going to push him into it. But as soon as we were over there, he wanted to go on it. So I started talking about it again, and he stopped me when I started comparing it to the log ride at the Mall of America. He said that he didn't want to hear that. Uh ok.... We practically walked onto the ride, and saw the story of Briar Rabbit, Briar Fox, and Briar Bear. He asked at every tunnel if it was the big drop. And when I finally told him it was, he didn't seem scared at all. After it dropped us, he said he didn't like it, but then it finished up the story and he was fine again. We didn't get very wet because we were in the back of the log, but that was ok....it wasn't that warm out. When we got off the ride, he told me he liked the ride except for the big drop.

After Splash Mountain, he wanted to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. And he loved it. He wanted to go on it with me after dad. We got fastpasses and headed for an early lunch. After lunch dad and Gwen headed back over to tomorrowland and the Buzz Lightyear ride. By now, he wanted to ride on that ride again. We even went on the Tomorrowland Transit ride. I'm pretty sure we could have talked him into going on Space Mountain at this point. He knew what to expect and given that there are no big drops on the ride, I would have had him go on it, but I didn't want him to get too afraid of the dark again. So after my turn with him on the Buzz Lightyear ride (Gwen was sleeping at this point), we went to meet the real Buzz himself. We then went back to the hotel for a break. I took Gwen on a walk so poor sick Trevor could try to get a nap. When we went back to MK we had an early dinner at the Lady and the Tramp Italian restaurant. After that we headed over to Toontown for some souvenirs and for Trevor to ride Goofy's rollercoaster. When Russ and Trevor came back to meet up with us in the souvenir shop, Russ almost ran right into Jeff Gordon. (The Nascar driver) He tried to get Trevor to notice him, but I'm pretty sure when he said, "Trevor, there's Jeff Gordon" Trevor was looking for the number 24 car. So he missed him.

So after the final gifts, we went on the final rides. We went on the Pooh ride and then It's a Small World. We stopped and watched the parade, but Gwen wasn't interested and she started to melt down. So I took her back to the hotel. Russ and Trevor went on Peter Pan and saw the fireworks.

It was a jam packed day at the end of a jam packed week. There were only two things that could have made the week better. Trevor to not have gotten sick and the weather to have been warmer. Now, this is not to say that we didn't appreciate what we had. At least all Trevor had was a bad cold. And at least the temperature was only cold for a few days. It could have been much worse. Oh well. Tomorrow we go back to the real winter. See ya Mickey! Thanks for stoppin' by!

Day 6 - DHS

Even last night we weren't sure as to how today was going to go. Because we had a very similar timed reservation for breakfast this morning, we weren't sure if we should take it or not. The difference was, that today the reservations were right at our hotel, so we knew our way around and didn't have to deal with any other forms of transportation that we were unfamiliar with. Yesterday we were at Animal Kingdom at 10:45 with an 8:40 breakfast reservation. Today we arrived for our breakfast a bit earlier and were out of the restaurant by 9:15. It was again a very well served breakfast and the kids got to see Lilo, Stitch, Mickey, and Pluto.

After breakfast, we arrived at the park by 9:30 and Gwen and I went to get fastpasses for Toy Story Mania while Russ and Trevor went to get ready for Jedi Training Academy. And he was about the 3rd "trainee" or padawan picked! Russ took the video of the show, I got some pictures, and they took a photopass handful of pictures as well. I will be sure to post the video of the show after I'm all caught up with blog posts. He did great. He really is meant for public performances. As soon as he figures out what is going on, he will do anything.

So after the show, we tried to make the Playhouse Disney show, but we just missed it. So we went to the Honey I shrunk the kids playground. Gwen fell asleep on the ride there, so she didn't get to enjoy it.

We had an early reservation for lunch that I wasn't sure we were going to use, but everyone was already hungry. Our lunch was at the Sci-Fi Dine in. It is a drive-in setting where all the tables are 50's style cars and the movies are old 50's commercials, cartoons, or clips of old sci-fi movies. Trevor wasn't very happy with the scary movies, but loved the cartoons. Gwen woke up before our food was served, and loved to look at all the cars. They had really good drink options....shakes, flavored sodas, and frozen flavored lemonade. Trevor ate the cheeseburger he got, I got a Reuben, Gwen got her usual pizza, and Russ got a burger. It was very yummy.

Trevor wanted me to go on the Star Tours ride after lunch so we went and did that. Then we had our Toy Story Mania fastpass time so we did that, but as soon as we were next in line for the ride, it completely broke. We were given fastpasses good for the next week, however we knew it wasn't something we were going to be able to use.

Finally, we went over to the Playhouse Disney show. They don't even have seats so that the kids can run and jump around all over the place. Gwen had a BLAST. She knew all the characters...Rocket, Pooh, Mickey Mouse, and Handy Manny.

We went back to the hotel at 2:00 and would have gone swimming had the weather been warmer and the kids not been sick. Poor Trevor hasn't been feeling well for the past two days and now Gwen is getting it. At least we haven't had to deal with any rain, but I sure wish we would have had warmer weather.

Day 5 - Animal Kingdom and Downtown Disney

Trevor started a bad cold and cough last night which would not let him sleep after somehow my phone got an unknown call at 4 am this morning. Thank goodness I changed our breakfast reservations from 9:35 to 8:40. We arrived late, but it was a quick breakfast and Gwen and Trevor really enjoyed seeing Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, and Pluto. Gwen has names for all of them!


However, after breakfast, trying to get over to Animal Kingdom was tough. It was a long wait, it was a long ride, and they stopped at a water park before AK. It was NOT a waterpark day so I wish there was a way to avoid having to stop there. When looking at the list of things to do at Animal Kingdom, we had already crossed off many of them due to either having to wait for a good seat at a show (suggested 45 minutes before showtime), too wet, or too scary. Then there were a few that were broken or not accepting fast pass tickets. After seeing both Muppet 3D and Honey, I shrunk the audience in 3D, we decided not to wait for Bug's Life 3D show.

We did go on the safari, although Gwen was asleep through all of it. Trevor enjoyed seeing animals that he knew. I think part of the draw was that it was like playing an I Spy game with animals. Sometimes they would be hiding, sometimes they would be out in the open. But really, I wasn't all that thrilled at the fact that the whole park was pretty much a glorified zoo. They had rides that didn't have anything to do with animals, but those would be things you could do at our park in the Mall of America. We did run into Stitch as a character meeting, and Gwen actually had a better time than Trevor did.

So we had lunch and went back to the hotel for a break. Then we attempted to go to Magic Kingdom using our 7 day passes, thinking that we could use another day for another park, but they wouldn't let us do that. You can only go to two parks in one day if you have the park hopper option. Oh well. It just turned us to go to Downtown Disney instead. We found a McD's, ate dinner there, then did a little souvenir shopping. I had never been to Downtown Disney so it was nice to know what that was all about. Then we headed back on the bus to the Polynesian. I'm pretty sure both kids are sick of the bus by this point, and I'm tired of having to collapse the stroller every time we have to ride a bus, but at least no one is throwing temper tantrums unless they are overly tired, and even then they are still distracted by other things.

Tomorrow is our last "MGM" day. It is supposed to be a nice day...thank goodness!

Day 4 - The park formerly known as MGM

I still cannot place exactly how many times I have been to the Disney Hollywood Studios (I knew it as MGM). I had thought the first time I had ever been was with the Johnson's in 1999. But I think that was the first time the Rockin' Roller Coaster was open, but I had been to the park before that. I remember being in a house right near the Swan and Dolphin hotels, and taking a bus to the parks. The only reason this popped into my mind was because I was pretty sure I have seen the Muppet 3D show at least twice on two different occasions, but I know it wasn't when we were staying at the Polynesian in 1989.

So the day started off way early with Gwen waking everyone up before the sun. We ate breakfast from the groceries that I had bought and delivered to the room before we arrived. When we got to the park, it was in time to be the first group through the park. The rope drop ceremony was just getting done. We headed right to the newest ride called "Toy Story Mania". It is a 3D game where you pull a gun-type toy to shoot out different things in order to get points. Of course this was everyone's idea that was entering the park.

Gwen was introduced to the MC of the waiting area - Mr. Potato Head (who Gwen calls Ta-Dough) and FINALLY Trevor was not in the least bit scared. Probably because it was so bright and cheerful. I was really impressed. The ride made me jump at least 3 times because it would shoot a blast of air at you if you shot off a rocket right by you, or sprayed you with a little water if you popped a water balloon.

After we got off the ride, we got fast passes for the afternoon. We then headed over to the Little Mermaid show. It was a good performance, and Trevor said he really liked it. Gwen was trying to fall asleep at this point, but the show kept her awake.

We moved over to the Jedi Training Academy where I knew that they picked kids out of the audience to "train to become a Jedi". While he probably would have been picked if he had seemed interested, he was a little unsure about what was going on. So he watched the first show. After that, of course, he wanted to be part of the show. We came back for two other shows that day, but he didn't get picked. Of course that meant that we were going to have to try again another day. It was obvious he is meant for stuff like this.

Then we went to the Muppet 3D show, and nearby to Pizza Planet for lunch. Before the Muppet Show, the kids got a treat of ice cream sandwiches (it was FINALLY warm enough) so I'm not sure if Trevor wasn't a fan of the pizza or was full from the ice cream but he didn't eat much of his pizza. Gwen ate all of hers.

We went back to the hotel for a short break, and Gwen slept for the entire time in her stroller. As we headed back for our fast pass rides of Toy Story Mania, we ran into part of the parade. Gwen got to see her favorite "ack-ie" (Mike Wazowski) and Trevor got to see most of the parade as it went backwards. So we rode Toy Story Mania, did another few Star Wars Jedi Training and then found a few characters to take their picture with. We did leave a few things for our other day we are going to be there. It also might be our day for swimming at the hotel. We have a character breakfast that morning so I'm not sure how early we can be there. We opted out of the Fantasmic show based on how well the kids sit still when they have to wait for the show to start.

Hopefully we'll get a little more sleep tonight!

Day 2 - Magic Kingdom

I was surprised to learn that we had to actually use the 7:00 am wake-up. Although it wasn't because the kids slept the entire night. They were both up a few times during the night. We had an 8am reservation with Pooh and Friends at the Crystal Palace Breakfast Buffet. This was the only reservation we had with Trevor the last time we were there, so I knew that if you made a reservation before the park opened, you can get in early. You can avoid the crazy rush that way.

So we went and got really lucky with all the characters. Pooh came right over, followed shortly after by Eeyore. Gwen was a little unsure of Pooh and by Eeyore was freaked out. Trevor was having a blast seeing all the characters. Also by way of experience, I knew to try to catch the server early to request our check. It probably took 20 minutes from when I asked for the check to when I signed the bill.

We followed a touring plan for this day as I wanted to make sure that we hit rides that we may not have considered before. We hit the Tomorrowland Speedway first. Trevor was immediately a little uneasy. I think the whole trip hit him suddenly. It was a relatively simple ride. You are on a track, but you have the ability to control the speed and some direction. But the second we sat in the car, he didn't want to be there. When we got going, he got better and understood that there wasn't anything going to be scaring him.

The next ride was called Astro Orbiters. A very simple dumbo-like ride except it takes place in spaceships. It was a good second ride to get him in the mood.

Next was the Buzz Lightyear ride. It was no wait, and when we went to the big Buzz, Trevor again started to freak out. He had already seen this ride via Youtube but already had reservations. It took a little talking, but he eventually got on but was still scared by the end of the ride, saying he didn't want to go on it again.

The next show we went to was right next door was the Laugh Floor with Mike Wazowski. Gwen loved it seeing as how she was already saying the name "Ack-ie" any time she saw the eye. It's a funny show....you should see it if you get the chance.

We then went on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority that brings you around Tomorrowland. Again Trevor was nervous at simply going through both the Buzz Lightyear ride and Space Mountain.

We moved over to Toontown and the boys tried to go on Goofy's rollercoaster. Unfortunately it broke right before they could go on it. We stayed in the area and got a few small souvenirs at the gift shop so that Gwen could stretch her legs. She got some magnets and Trevor got some Star Wars characters that were turned into vehicles.

Then we moved to Frontierland and Gwen fell asleep in transit. Trevor went on Aladdin's magic carpet ride - again like Dumbo's ride. Then went on the Jungle Cruise. He was a little timid on that one because he wasn't sure what was up ahead.

After that ride, Gwen was awake and we needed to look for a place to lunch. We decided to go back to the hotel for Captain Cooks again followed by a few hour break. The break really was just a time for the parents to catch their breath. Since Gwen already had her nap and Trevor was geared up to go, there wasn't going to be much else going to happen during rest time.

We headed back to the carpet rides so we all could go on them together. Then made a quick move to Pirates of the Caribbean. At first Trevor was afraid of it, but by the end, he liked the pirates. Gwen seemed to love any ride that Trevor didn't. It was pretty funny.

We started to go to Cinderella's Castle for dinner, but before we got there, we had to stop at the Haunted Mansion. There was no way Trevor was going to go there for the ride, however he did request to stand next to the sign and spell the words that made up "haunted mansion".

Dinner time came, and Gwen fell asleep again. So she missed the picture with Cinderella and most of dinner. Unfortunately, Trevor tried to order the fish, but he didn't like it. We did get some wands for the girls and swords for the boys. Both kids did get ice cream for dessert.

We then got to ride Pooh's ride a few times before we decided our day was perfect enough and went back to the hotel. It was a pretty chilly day, but yes a cold day in Disney is better than any day at home.

Disney Trip Day 1 - Arrival

These posts are going to be way too technical for you all, so I apologize but I want a record of them in case I ever want to plan something like this again. Not that it will have any relevance because the kids will be older but hey....I like to remember my thoughts....

Our plane left at 10:15. It was a pretty ideal time to travel because we didn't have to wake the kids at some insane hour to get them to the airport early. We got some much needed help from both of our parents so we didn't have to leave a car at the airport or take a cab. Probably saved us a few hundred dollars or so.....

Gwen napped for about an hour on the plane ride. That was nice of her!

Magic Express was the busing service that they used to bring us to our hotel. We got lunch at McD's in the airport before we checked in at the bus. We got right on and the bus left almost within a few minutes of when we got on. Our hotel was the first stop. Check-in was horribly slow. They had every check-in person working, but it seemed as though everyone that was checking in had like 50 questions for the agents.

Our room was in a building on the farthest west of the grounds, however it was very near what they call the "Grand Ceremonial House" that is also where buses and the Monorail runs. We requested a ground level room and with the stroller, it was invaluable.

We had a semi-enclosed "porch" area but Gwen could escape to next door rooms so we didn't ever really have the glass door open.

We rode the monorail for fun which both kids seemed to enjoy. However we tried to transfer to head out to Epcot and got caught in the cold wind. We could tell it was not going to be too much fun in the cold. At this point Trevor could not stop talking about the Haunted Mansion. He wanted to know where it was....thinking he could see it from the monorail because we could see the park where it was at.

The counter service food they had was called "Captain Cooks". I absolutely loved their adult grilled cheese sandwich. Everyone seemed to find something they enjoyed to eat. I did however, buy from a grocery delivery service so I took care of any breakfasts we hadn't already had reservations for. The kids love their cheerios in milk!

We were able to get 30 free minutes at the arcade. Trevor played the old Star Wars Arcade, Russ played Mario Kart, and I entertained Gwen with a few random games. Very worthwhile to do for free.

And of course, it took Gwen a good hour or so to fall asleep that first night. Even with the lack of a good nap. It'll be interesting to see how she does the rest of the week.