TRWCN - September 16-27, 2012

[Hotmamac aka Misty 11]

More great photos!

LOL @ Vaughn's 1000 LMA photos.

It is not often that I get mad props for anything, so I can't wait to hear where you went next.

I think I know.

TCD

Were you right? We seriously would never had stopped in there if I hadn't seen it in one of your reports. See...FF.net is educational too!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Were you right? We seriously would never had stopped in there if I hadn't seen it in one of your reports. See...FF.net is educational too!

Kind of.

I thought you were going to do the animation class. Which you should.

Also, those characters that you saw are there all day long. Except Pooh is about to be replaced by Wreck it Ralph.

It is around 5 on certain nights that a bunch of extra and different ones come out- like Bolt, the Genie, Mary Poppins, The Big Bad Wolf, etc. They are performers for Fantasmic, and they come and do unannounced meet and greets many nights.

TCD

[stefa70 205]

"mouse-jack Minnie when she's with my kids" :rofl2:

I give YOU mad props for riding RnR!

My boys try every time to get me to ride, NOT happening.

I think I soiled my drawers a bit just looking at your ride face.

[Hotmamac aka Misty 11]

Kind of.

I thought you were going to do the animation class. Which you should.

Also, those characters that you saw are there all day long. Except Pooh is about to be replaced by Wreck it Ralph.

It is around 5 on certain nights that a bunch of extra and different ones come out- like Bolt, the Genie, Mary Poppins, The Big Bad Wolf, etc. They are performers for Fantasmic, and they come and do unannounced meet and greets many nights.

TCD

Oh. Well, we wouldn't have gone in if you hadn't mentioned something, so you still get your mad props. My kids were thrilled to meet Frozone and Mr. Incredible.

"mouse-jack Minnie when she's with my kids" :rofl2:

I give YOU mad props for riding RnR!

My boys try every time to get me to ride, NOT happening.

I think I soiled my drawers a bit just looking at your ride face.

Yep...there was about to be a smack down in the middle of Chef Mickey. :argh:

RnRC is definitely a drawer soiler...but it was really fun after that first bit.

[Hotmamac aka Misty 11]

So we're up to Friday of our first week in Disney. Today was the day we had tickets for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. We also had reservations for dinner in the Castle at 5:25. So we decided to use the Water Parks part of our passes and headed here...

Vaughn and I had been here on our Honeymoon, but the kids had never been to either water park. And we LOVE water parks.

Our favorite ride was the Teamboat Springs ride that all four of us ride down in one raft. We were having a great time.

And then it happened.

Wil said his stomach was bothering him. I figured he might just be hungry so we decided to leave and head back to the CBR for a light lunch. On our way out, Wil has to make a mad dash for the bathroom. Ok, this might be more than hunger.

We got back to CBR and told Wil to lay down for a while so that he would feel better for dinner and the party. He promptly fell fast asleep. About the time we were needing to be leaving to make it to the castle on time, Wil was still asleep and showing no signs of waking up. So Vaughn makes the hard decision that Ali and I should go on to dinner and he will stay with Wil. If Wil wakes up and feels better, he will bring him to meet us for the party. Wil did wake up long enough for me to explain what was going on and to say good-bye before falling back asleep.

So Ali and I get ready and head out. Since Vaughn isn't going, we take the bus. And it was jam packed! I had to stand and Ali hung on to me until we got to the MK. We made it with time to spare and headed to the Castle.

Ali was Merida.

We got a lovely table by the window.

And then the princesses made their way around.

First, Dave's girlfriend.

Dinner was yummy, but I was worrying about whether Vaughn and Wil would make it. About the time dessert came, I got a text from Vaughn that he and Wil were on their way over. Before the ever made it in to the gates, Wil threw up on the ground so Vaughn took him back to the resort. My poor little man was going to miss out on the party.

But I had to try and make the best of it for Ali's sake.

So we headed out of the castle and in to a driving rain. I think Walt was trying to tell me something.

There aren't any other pics from this night because I was afraid of getting the camera wet. It rained the entire time. Ali stayed pretty dry because of her costume and wig. And we got a little bit of candy. But some of the special things they normally do for the party were nixed because of the rain. Finally, we just decided to head back to the room.

But never fear...all is not lost!

Up next...

Another day at EPCOT

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I love Ali's costume. That wig is great!

I am so sorry that that Wil got sick- the poor guy must have felt really bad about that.

Bummer that it was pouring for the party. I remember that storm- it was a bad one!

I'm glad to hear that all is not lost!

TCD

[Hotmamac aka Misty 11]

On our way back from the party on Friday night, I had the idea to ask at the concierge desk if it might be possible to switch the two unused tickets to Tuesday night so that Vaughn and Wil wouldn't miss out totally. So when we got back to the room, I told Vaughn about it and he raced on down to Old Port Royale. They weren't able to do anything from there, but suggested that we try guest services. So we figured we would try the next morning at EPCOT.

Saturday morning brought good news...Wil was feeling much better. So we were up and at 'em again.

On to EPCOT for the World Showcase. When we got to EPCOT, Vaughn headed to Guest Services. At this point, the kids had no idea we would even be in Disney World on Tuesday so we told them that Daddy was trying to see if we could get our money refunded for the two tickets we didn't use.

The kids and I spotted Stitch while we were waiting so we went over for a visit. There was no line and it was in the shade.

Vaughn comes walking up and I asked him if they had "refunded" the money for the two tickets. He smiles and says "not only did they 'refund' the money for those two tickets...they 'refunded' all four!"

NO WAY!!! Of course, I couldn't ask him much at that point because the kids were standing right there. But eventually, I got the story out of him.

He spoke to a CM named Sarah in Guest Relations. He told her the story and she disappeared for a bit then came out and handed him to brand spanking new tickets to Tuesday's MNSSHP. She asked him what his wife and daughter would do while they were at the party. He told her we were staying at the Fort and he was sure we would find something to do. She asks him to wait another minute and then comes back with two more tickets and tells him there's no reason to split our family up for the night! Needless to say, we were beyond thrilled!!! And this meant that we had yet another surprise to unleash on the kiddos!!

(upon returning home I promptly sent an email to Disney Corporate to tell them of how well we were treated and to sing Sarah's praises!)

So, now...on with the show.

We had one stop to make before seeing the Showcase.

We hadn't been to see Ellen's Energy Adventure since our Honeymoon and wanted to check it out again.

If you've seen EEA recently, or ever, you may remember that Jamie Lee Curtis plays Ellen's college roommate Judy and that Ellen nicknames her "Stupid Judy". For some reason, my kids found that hilarious. So for the rest of the trip, if something didn't go right, or something was weird they would mutter "stupid Judy". They still do it.

We had reservations for lunch at Le Cellier, but decided we had time to try and save the world first.

Yes, we were collectively "Agent C" for Agent P's World Showcase adventure. We got our phone and headed to London.

I thought I had more pictures of this, but I think we did more videotaping. Anyway, we LOVED it! I think it was just great. We had to talk to castmembers and go into places we might not normally go in to find the clues. It was a lot of fun. We only did the one mission because it was time for lunch.

Ahhhh...Le Cellier. There are no words. We had an amazing lunch. I had the Filet with mushroom risotto. Or as I like to call it, Heaven on a Plate.

Ali was really getting in to the whole Pood Forn...

And of course, dessert.

Up next...

Touring the world.

[dblr....Rennie 224]

Le Cellier our favorite resturant, great pictures!!!!!!!!!

[Southern Blessings 4]

Glad to hear Wil was feeling better! Kids can get over thing so quickly. That is awesome that Disney, aka Sarah, gave y'all four new tickets! Hope to read more soon!

[Seals 111]

What a fantastic TR. Looks like you did a lot. You should send it all to Disney for a commercial. Your children are adorable and I love the way they will pose as you tell them and wear various head gear. You have them well trained. Or maybe they are just really great kids. Or both. I am always fearful of the stomach virus on vacation. I'm glad yours turned out ok and that the rest of you didn't get it.

[stefa70 205]

Aww poor Wil!

But totally cool that they gave you new tickets. :jumpforjoy

Ali made a beautiful Merida, though her natural red hair is much nicer than that wig.

I am not a fan of Disney food, but after having the filet from Le Cellier at the F&W, I may make an exception.

[SCTigerCock 171]

That is flippin awesome about the tickets! :jumpforjoy

I'm glad you sent corporate a letter. Which reminds me, I still need to do the same for Angie's service at the Fort's L&F. :batman: I think people are quick to complain but don't take the time to appreciate and recognize great service.

And I agree that steak was awesome. Well the little bit of the sample of the steak we enjoyed at the F&W festival!

Le Cellier is one of the few places I would like to try at Disney. I think most of the buffets are just the same food rebranded. The other place I may try on my next trip would be Cape May. :clint:

[Hotmamac aka Misty 11]

Le Cellier our favorite resturant, great pictures!!!!!!!!!

Thanks! Le Cellier may be my fav now too!!

Glad to hear Wil was feeling better! Kids can get over thing so quickly. That is awesome that Disney, aka Sarah, gave y'all four new tickets! Hope to read more soon!

On our last trip, I got sick for one night. I guess this time it was Wil's turn. Thankfully it was only the one night and no one else got it!

What a fantastic TR. Looks like you did a lot. You should send it all to Disney for a commercial. Your children are adorable and I love the way they will pose as you tell them and wear various head gear. You have them well trained. Or maybe they are just really great kids. Or both. I am always fearful of the stomach virus on vacation. I'm glad yours turned out ok and that the rest of you didn't get it.

Maybe I will send it on! LOL! Vaughn and I went to college to become actors so they come by their "hamminess" honestly.

Aww poor Wil!

But totally cool that they gave you new tickets. :jumpforjoy

Ali made a beautiful Merida, though her natural red hair is much nicer than that wig.

I am not a fan of Disney food, but after having the filet from Le Cellier at the F&W, I may make an exception.

Thanks Stef! Ali loves her Merida costume. I tried to talk her out of the wig and told her we could just curl her hair, but she was having none of it! And actually, it is alot easier to just pull that thing on her head and go. :rofl2:

That is flippin awesome about the tickets! :jumpforjoy

I'm glad you sent corporate a letter. Which reminds me, I still need to do the same for Angie's service at the Fort's L&F. :batman: I think people are quick to complain but don't take the time to appreciate and recognize great service.

And I agree that steak was awesome. Well the little bit of the sample of the steak we enjoyed at the F&W festival!

Le Cellier is one of the few places I would like to try at Disney. I think most of the buffets are just the same food rebranded. The other place I may try on my next trip would be Cape May. :clint:

Cape May was another great meal. But Le Cellier is definitely a cut above the rest!

[Hotmamac aka Misty 11]

So now we had full bellies and we ready to see the world!

We headed over to get the kids started on their Duffy Bears. To be honest, we had skipped the World Showcase last time because I thought the kids would find it boring. And at ages 7 and 4, the most likely would have. But now, with Agent P and the Duffy Bear kidcot stop thing, I think they really enjoyed it.

Wil decided wearing R2-D2 ears was cramping his artistic ability so I became his hat rack.

In France.

Morroco

Vaughn seemed to take a lot of pictures of this lady. I can't imagine why.

We stopped into Japan, where Wil did the pick a pearl. Not sure that I think this is worth the $17, but he was really into it so we let him pick one.

Also, while in Japan, Ali found a Yoshi. For those of you that don't know, Yoshi is a character from Super Mario Brothers. I'm not sure where Ali's love of Yoshi actually came from , but she owns several smaller stuffed Yoshis. Upon entering the store, the first thing Ali sees is a big Yoshi backpack hanging from a display. She flipped! That thing never left her side the rest of the trip. So be forwarned...pictures of Ali from here on out will likely also have our "third child" Yoshi in them as well.

I'm really surprised neither of my kids tried to pick the Troll's nose.

At this point it was really hot. The sky was looking overcast, but I don't remember it raining this day. We stopped and used some snack credits on ice cream.

A first for Wil.

Such a smart a$$

Up next...

Mom's calling us for dinner

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Hang on a second.

If Vaughn took so many belly dancer photos, how come you only posted one?

I can't believe your kids didn't pick the troll's nose either. Every photo I have seen of kids and that troll has involved nose picking.

TCD

[Hotmamac aka Misty 11]

Since Wil and Vaughn hadn't been able to make it to our resies at the castle on Friday night, that left us with 4 adult table service credits left to use. Problem is, there were very few places that we wanted to eat that still had available reservations.

While I was planning this trip, I mostly made reservations at places we hadn't eaten before. About two days before we were to leave, Vaughn asked if I had made a reservation for 50 Prime Time Cafe. Well, no...we'd eaten there on our honeymoon. So he continued to whine and poke fun the whole trip because he wanted to eat there. He even took a picture of the sign when we were there on Thursday.

Well, it just so happened that they had a reservation for Saturday night at 8 pm. So we left EPCOT and headed back to DHS.

One of the main reasons he wanted to go back was for the milkshakes

This was Ali's dessert

I have to say, our experience was just "eh". It was alot more fun 13 years ago. I certainly wouldn't make it a point to go back anytime soon.

We also had to go back over to RnRC. Vaughn missed out the first time we were there so it was his turn to ride with Wil.

Wil plays the drums in 5th grade band so we bought him those drum sticks and his teacher lets him use them for band practice.

So pretty at night!

Up next...

The last day...or is it???

[Hotmamac aka Misty 11]

Hang on a second.

If Vaughn took so many belly dancer photos, how come you only posted one?

I can't believe your kids didn't pick the troll's nose either. Every photo I have seen of kids and that troll has involved nose picking.

TCD

One is enough. I wouldn't want anyone to get bored.

Potty humor is big in our house, so I'm still shocked that they didn't even think of it. They just wanted to do their Viking faces. Somewhere, I must have failed as a mother. :rofl2:

[Southern Blessings 4]

I am enjoying reading your TR, so I hope tomorrow isn't the last day!

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

Great update!!

[Hotmamac aka Misty 11]

Here we are on Sunday morning. We'd been in Disney for a whole week now.

We told the kids our plans for today would be to pack up, go spend a couple of hours at Typhoon Lagoon and then head to the train station.

And by train station, I mean the Fort...but they didn't know that yet.

I don't have any pictures of Typhoon Lagoon, because our waterproof camera died on us. Well actually, it was my sister's waterproof camera. She'd had it for several years and I guess the seals that keep that water out of the important parts had just had it.

I really liked both water parks. I don't know if I could pick one or the other. Each has certain features that the other doesn't.

We had a great time at TL. If we had honestly been trying to get to the train, we never could have taken the time to play at TL. But the kids didn't know that.

So, we played and then went to get changed. We piled into the van and started driving. The kids were in the back seat with long faces. My original plan was to drive into Fort Wilderness and say "boy isn't this beautiful!? Wouldn't you love to stay here?" and then say "OK!" and pull Tentzilla out and start setting up. But then I remembered that you have to stop at that little guard booth and you do the check in from the vehicle.

So instead, I asked the kids "wouldn't it be great if we didn't have to go home today?" and when they said yes, I said "well guess what? We're NOT!!!" Ali just stared at me and Wil kept saying "What?!" I don't think it registered until we pulled into the Fort and told the guard we were checking in.

It wasn't quite the monumental joyful reaction where they declare me to be the best mother that ever lived, but they were completely surprised so I'll have to settle for that. :rofl2: I have it on video somewhere, but I don't know how to put that on here. I will try to figure it out.

So anyway, we checked in and were assigned site 1501...which, I have to say, might be the most perfect site in all of Fort Wilderness. At least, it was for us. Right next to a comfort station, right behind a bus stop (and no, road/bus noise didn't bother us at all) and right across from the Meadow stuff. Perfect!!!

I dragged Tentzilla out and got to work setting up.

I had tried to get my official Fort Fiends sign, but unfortunately, Jen was all out. So while Vaughn and I set up camp, I gave the kids some supplies to start making our own sign. I wanted to make sure any and all Fiends could find me!

Here's what they came up with.

About this time, I got a call from Kenny letting me know my cart was waiting for me at the Meadow trading post!! So the kids and I hot footed it over and found our cart. Driving a golf cart really brought back memories for me. When I was 16, my parents bought a permanent site at a campground and a shiny green golf cart to go along with it. I loved driving that thing around.

And of course you know what we did next!

WE WENT LOOPING!!!

Is there any better feeling than looping? No, no there isn't. It's crazy how in the midst of all the expensive, carefully planned out family fun that is Disney World the most amazing feeling came from looping. My kids are still talking about it. They can't wait to go back just so they can go looping again. Did I raise them right, or what? :rofl3:

Here's Ali doing her best "Barker's Beauty" impression.

Ok, here's where I have a little confession to make. I lied. After EPCOT on Saturday we went back to CBR and chilled. We ate at the food court and went swimming.

We didn't go back to DHS until Sunday after camp was all set up.

My bad.

Up next...

another surprise (honest!)

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Oh, this TR just got so much better!

You're at the Fort!

And in the 1500 loop.

My favorite.

I've camped in 1501 a couple of times. I like it too!

It's got to be the closest site to a bus stop in all of the Fort.

But you have a Kenny Cart, so that doesn't matter.

I love how you surprised the kids! That must have been sweet for them.

TCD

[stefa70 205]

Wil and Allie did a great job posing. It makes the pictures so much more fun when they're doing silly stuff.

You as a hat rack? Priceless! You should wear R2D2 ears daily.

The kids did good on your sign. Too bad you lost it before I saw it in person.

[momof3kids-Yvonne 594]

Love that you surprised the kids with the stay at the fort.

We did that when we went back in January 2010. Well actually we only surprised the girls. We let ds help us choose which resort to stay at while at Disney. Being a family of 5 it came down to the cabins at the Fort or a room a Port Orleans. He liked the cabin idea better. So one Saturday we took off to check out a campground that we might want to stay at some day.

The girls literally thought that was all we were doing. Even after we got there and started unloading the car, they were still clueless. They thought we were just going to rest for the night then go back home the next day.

[Hotmamac aka Misty 11]

Oh, this TR just got so much better!

You're at the Fort!

And in the 1500 loop.

My favorite.

I've camped in 1501 a couple of times. I like it too!

It's got to be the closest site to a bus stop in all of the Fort.

But you have a Kenny Cart, so that doesn't matter.

I love how you surprised the kids! That must have been sweet for them.

TCD

It did get a whole lot better at the Fort.

I wish I had planned an extra day so we could have had a whole "down" day there, but it was not to be. But we will be back. Ali has taken to using our window markers to write "I miss Fort Wilderness" on our sliding glass door.

Wil and Allie did a great job posing. It makes the pictures so much more fun when they're doing silly stuff.

You as a hat rack? Priceless! You should wear R2D2 ears daily.

The kids did good on your sign. Too bad you lost it before I saw it in person.

I think I might take your advice and start wearing the ears! Of course I might look a little silly when I go to the school for parent/teacher conferences tomorrow. :rofl3:

And yes, my poor sign. LOL!

Love that you surprised the kids with the stay at the fort.

We did that when we went back in January 2010. Well actually we only surprised the girls. We let ds help us choose which resort to stay at while at Disney. Being a family of 5 it came down to the cabins at the Fort or a room a Port Orleans. He liked the cabin idea better. So one Saturday we took off to check out a campground that we might want to stay at some day.

The girls literally thought that was all we were doing. Even after we got there and started unloading the car, they were still clueless. They thought we were just going to rest for the night then go back home the next day.

Oh that's great!! I was going to try to make the whole trip a surprise, but couldn't stop myself from talking about it. I have poor impulse control.

[Hotmamac aka Misty 11]

Here's a little back story for our next update.

Wil is a MEGA HUGE Lego fan. 3/4 of his Christmas wishlist is Lego sets. He creates his own stuff out of Legos and has all the video games and gets the magazine. When he heard that they put a Legoland in Florida and that we were going to be in the area, he naturally wanted to go. Bad. But, sadly, Legoland is closed in the fall.

Or, at least, that's what we told him.

Actually, they're not closed. And I had managed to score buy one get on free tickets. So we were going to be going to Legoland.

But he didn't need to know that.

Monday morning, we got the kids up and got them ready without telling them where we were going. Vaughn plugged the address into Betsy (our GPS) and off we went.

Ali had started to get a slight cold so we stopped at a Target along the way and bought some cold medicine.

As we got closer, Ali says "Look! Legoland!" Wil wasn't even paying attention. When he saw the sign he started laughing and saying "Legoland" over and over again.

Mind=blown!

Right before we headed in, I gave Ali some of the cold medicine...which will come back to bite me in the behind later.

Literally everything there is made from Legos. Wil was in paradise!

Especially when he saw this...

And only a mere $180. Actually as Legos go...that's not the worst. He still wants the Lego Death Star which is $400.

In that last picture, you can see the Yoshi backpack straps on Ali.

We had a lot of fun. I think the recommended ages for the park are 2-12 and I would have to say that's pretty right on. Even with as much as Wil loves Legos, I can see that park not holding his interest for much longer. The rides are fairly tame. And it's only open 10-5 which makes it hard to get everything in. They've also added a water part, but that part was closed.

Right as we got to the mini-land Ali started getting really cranky and tired. In all my parental wisdom, I had given her Benadryl right before dragging her thru the Florida heat and humidity all over Legoland. As TCD would say, FAIL! So I found a bench in the shade and held her on my lap. She fell asleep almost instantly. So I sat and people watched while Vaugn and Wil toured the mini land.

It really is fascinating! The detail they are able to create with Legos is unbelievable!

When they were done, and we woke Ali up, she was none too pleased. Vaughn ran and rented a stroller for her since she still seemed under the weather.

After we ate lunch, she seemed a little better and perked up for the rest of the day.

Up next...

more Legoland

and we Giddy up and go!