*~*~OFFFFFFFFFFF with their heads!!!!!! Oct. 19-27th 2009 TR~*~*

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Alright, where was I? Oh yes, we had just driven through the gates and followed the signs to DTD! WOOT! I LOVE DTD. The little twinkle lights in all the trees, music playing, the smell of those amazing waffle cones from Garadelli's and the stores! I actually put lights in the tree next to my back deck last year when I got home, trying to recreate that feel.

Now, I'm not a big spender, but I will put down some money at WDW if I have money. I brought 200$ for souvenirs, but it got spent on a myriad of stuff other than souvenirs and then I think I ended up spending MORE than that with the debit card during the trip. Oooops!

Rey and I had a little "altercation" in the parking lot b/c I had him pull in an area and then realized I was was to far down near TRex & needed to be at the other end near RFC. He got frustrated and I did as well, it was a long 2 days of driving and finally I just told him to let me drive and I drove over to entrance 1. I had forgotten about it until I read it in my journal, so it couldn't have been THAT big of a deal!



I love DTD. Did I already say that? I think Rey really liked it too! He went to DTD a couple times during the trip and spent WAY more money on souvenirs than I expected him to. Next trip I'll have to account for that. Who knew he would want a mickey head shaped beer bottle opener?!?!


I was in search of the perfect WDW hoodie, which I promptly found in the World of Disney store, but there were no XL, only medium and small. Wah! I wanted to take more pics in the WOD store, but the boys were just standing there (they don't really like shopping to begin with!) and Dallas wasn't feeling well, so I only got a couple shots.






it was dark, so some of my shots didn't come out, should have gotten that 35mm lens! (you'll hear that more than once in this TR!)


when we came out of the store, the sun was setting! Gorgeous...


Rey stopped to look at pins at a pin store, this became a quick obsession with him! There was no way his parents were going to make it on time for the 7:15 ADR, so I headed over to RFC to see if they could push it back. They couldn't even find my ressie in the system! Ack! I had called them directly! He was nice enough to give me an 8:15 (gotta love that magic!) and we went back to find Rey in the pin shop. It was pretty busy this evening in DTD and he wasn't sure about the crowds, but seemed to be enjoying himself.

It was COLD! Were we in Florida??? For the whole month of Sept. & October I had been watching the reports and everyone was burning up, heat waves and warmer than normal weather for October! Well, the weekend before we arrived (we arrived on 10-19) a cold front had come through and I was freezing. I had to laugh at that, but anything is better than sweltering in my book! The boys were annoyed with having to wait, but I was in WDW and happy as a clam to wait, I knew we had a whole week here!

[Twoboysnmygirl]

We stood by one of the entrances for a while until Rey's parents & sister arrived, waiting for them to get parked and situated. After hugs and kisses, we all headed to guest services to get those tickets! Rey's dad seemed proud that he was getting us a discount with his military ID. It was cute!

Off to RFC we went, it was a short wait and we were seated pretty quickly. The kids liked the fish tanks, most of my shots were blurry though, I was kicking myself for not getting the lens that would have worked with lower light, but I just hadn't saved up the money for it. Grph. Next time!



I had a portobella burger, mmmm, it was good! I also had a couple margarita's. I think I had a couple? Maybe I just had one?


I think Savannah had mac-n-cheese (not much else for her most of the time b/c of not eating meat, kids meals almost always have meat and she can't stand pb&j. Wierdo!) but, she wasn't there for the dinner, she was there for the VOLCANO! This thing is montrous. I had a couple bites and everyone shared.



It was a nice dinner, Dylan even got in the spirit!


no, really, that IS him getting in the spirit!

I think we left there around 9pm and had to stop back at guest services to get Savannah her birthday button. She was happy to get it until the wonderful CM said she would sing happy birthday to Savannah. Not sure what happened, but Savannah was mortified and went running out of the building. She was crying and embarrassed, it was just too much attention for her. This is normal for her at HOME, she is very shy, but last year when we were at WDW, she loved the attention from the CMs?!? I think b/c her friend was with her. This time, not having a friend, it was just too much.

We told her she didn't have to have anyone sing to her and calmed her down, I think she was just ashamed for leaving and I felt so bad for her. We made sure to tell all the CMs at our ADRs, the rest of the week, not to sing to her please and they were all very nice about it.

We finally headed back (froze our arses) to the house to get Rey's folks settled in and head to bed at around 11pm! We had an EARLY morning, reservations at Crystal Palace (I made this especially b/c Dela LOVES Pooh) at 8:15 before the park opened.

Would I get them up??? THIS became the question of the WEEK.

[Twoboysnmygirl]

I hope I'm doing ok, is anyone out there???


Soooo...They DID get up. (it was the ONLY day though!) I was amazed and delighted! It was my baby's 9th birthday, so we put out her gift and a card and she got to open that before leaving for Magic Kingdom.



She got another American Girl. She loves these dolls and we figure she won't have too many more years where she'll want dolls, so we were happy to get her another when this is really all she wanted.

I was amazed when they were all up, showered & ready to go. We arrived at the parking lot to MK around 7:20am! ahem...the last time I would get a sunrise pic of any of the parks...




the sun was coming up from the monorail:



I cannot tell you how excited I was. I just tried to take everything in and enjoy each second!



We went through bag check and got in line with some other people that were there early for reservations. Rope drop for the park wasn't until 9am and I was hoping we would be done with breakfast, but knew it wasn't that big of a deal if we weren't. We were in MK!!!

Mary & Dela. Keep in mind that in most pics Dela doesn't smile. When Mary tells her to smile, she says, "I am!" I did catch a rare smile during the trip, and she really did love the trip and enjoy herself, you just can't tell in the pics. To be honest, my boys are similar, they don't like pictures, but they enjoyed the trip!

[Twoboysnmygirl]

When I went to MK with my friend a year ago, we arrived at rope drop and practically RAN down mainstreet...it was the Dumbodash and our first trip. Although I appreciate that I didn't have to wait in lines that first trip, I missed out on mainstreet and wanted to take it easier this time.

I made this early breakfast at CP b/c I knew we would get in early and I would be able to take my time and get some pictures that I wanted. I could have used even more, but it was certainly more leisurely than last time! LEISURELY became the word that was thrown around quite a bit on this trip, but it seemed to me that everyone wanted to be leisurely (read: walk crazy slow) but when I wanted to take pictures, I couldn't be leisurely. Ahem.

So, here I am on mainstreet before MK has opened, and it was wonderful, magical, lovely...although I obviously had poor settings on my camera b/c my shots came out strange. But who cares?! Not me! I'm in Disney World! :

Dylan is a goon!





Dallas REALLY hates taking pictures. It was funny though, he really liked WDW more than he thought he would and Dylan liked it less (b/c he doesn't like the g-force or any kind of drop in rides)

More pics from mainstreet! We got photopass pics too, which I will get in a couple weeks.

[Twoboysnmygirl]

I did practically run up to the castle at this point b/c everyone was getting annoyed with my picture taking and apparently I was taking too long. Not so leisurely, huh?

Here's a group shot, don't we look happy? I stopped bothering with group shots after a couple when I realized they just don't translate well for our family. Candids are more our style and my IL's just don't smile in group shots!


Tried to get some more shots of the castle in the morning light, here are some...

[Twoboysnmygirl]

We checked in at Crystal Palace and were seated almost immediately. The table was decorated in honor of Savannah's bday! She saw it and asked if she could take her bday button OFF. She had already been trying to cover it up with her jacket (brr, still cold this morning!) so I just told her no worries and we took it off and put it away. If she didn't want all the bday attention, she didn't have to have it! I felt more bad b/c she was uncomfortable. It was her birthday in Magic Kingdom and I wanted it to be how SHE wanted it, not how it's "supposed" to be.



They did bring her a cupcake and a special signed card from the characters. She liked these as soon as she was reassured that no one was going to sing to her! I realized about this time that my lens cover was showing up in the corners of my shots! Argh! I'm just glad I caught it, I would have been horrified if the whole day I had black corners in all my shots. I just took it off and went without it (it was a rented lens & lens cover for the trip)





Pooh and Eeyore came around almost immediately after we had gone to get our food. Yummy buffet, I think I had eggs, fresh berries, and a bisquit. Lots of coffee & juice too, they brought me out some rice milk to put in my coffee, they didn't have soy.



I couldn't believe the smiles that I got out of Rey when those characters came up to him! Too cute!





Piglet was a big hit, he even kissed Mary! Priceless shot! It's one of my favorites!





Dela kept getting up and chasing the characters down and trying to grab them. She just didn't understand at first, but eventually she figured it out and was all about shaking their hands! It was cute. I was just worried that the characters wouldn't notice that she is Developmentally delayed b/c she looks more "normal" and I thought they might get upset with her, but it was all good.

They had a parade through the restaurant and then it took a while for Tigger to come around, but we waited. I was watching the clock, I admit it. I wanted to be at the castle rope drop BUT I knew it wasn't a big deal (self-talk does wonders!)

[Twoboysnmygirl]

So, we almost made it, walked out in time, but Ray Sr. had to go to the bathroom. Ok, I swear I'm not trying to be a witch here, I know everyone has to go potty and you gotta go when you gotta go. BUT, do you have any idea how many times you have to stop when there are 8 people and they all have to go at different times? Sometimes I felt like we were touring WDW bathrooms!

So, he comes out, but I can see from this vantage that rope drop has happened and there are already people doing the dumbo-dash! I didn't want to run or anything but I'll admit it was hard to watch the people pouring in through that castle and towards the ride I was headed for!

Here are a couple shots that I took while waiting, whenever I had to wait, I found myself taking more pictures to keep myself from looking annoyed or making them feel rushed! I tried!





Whenever you see a duck in my pictures, you will know I was waiting! I have quite a few duck pics!

We head towards the castle and Savannah & I are walking fast. We really want to get to Dumbo before there is a hour long line and are very excited, but I hear some griping and think my Mary or Rey told me to slow down.

Now here is where the whole "we have to be together every single second" thing started to annoy me. Savannah & I were the only ones who were interested in going on Dumbo, this had been established and they were just going to wait for us. So WHY can't we go ahead and get in line while they take their time and walk?

I've talked to Rey about it since and he just thinks it's rude to go ahead during a family trip where you are all supposed to be together. See, my logic says that if some people are going on a ride and some are NOT, then you will be separating anyway, so why not walk ahead, get in line...and then you will shorten the amount of time you are separate?!! Ok, I tried, but whatever!

Heading through the castle:



We got to Dumbo and the line was longer than last year, but it was fine. I think it took about 15 minutes. I got to take some pics while in line:










I warned Savannah that she may not get her favorite (PURPLE Dumbo) if someone else gets it. She assures me it's ok but walked straight to the purple one and got it anyway. She was uberexcited to be on one of her favorites and get the purple one!








and took some shots in the air, but they were just meh...


Dylan video taped us when we were on the ride, but it's pretty bad quality. The video camera was just a little something I picked up for the guys to mess with while on the trip.

[Missus Toad]

Beautiful pics-- so colorful, and wow is that sky ever blue!

Traveling with a large group is challenging, isn't it?

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Originally Posted by Missus Toad

Beautiful pics-- so colorful, and wow is that sky ever blue!

Traveling with a large group is challenging, isn't it?

Thank you! This was my first trip with my DSLR (I say first trip b/c I fully intend on taking another trip! LOL) and I just got it early last summer, so I'm a work in progress when it comes to my photography!

It WAS a challenge with our group, but I prepared myself before and read many trip reports about going in groups. I think there were just times it was difficult b/c I felt like we were just standing there or waiting and I cannot stand waiting! When I think about it though, with the exception of Epcot (I'll get to that on our 3rd day) we saw more than I thought we might with this large of a group.

[praisehisname]

I love your report so far! This picture is so cute!

Originally Posted by Twoboysnmygirl

[cdhale]

What kind of lens did you rent? January will be my first trip with my DSLR and I don't think the kit lens is going to cut it.

Love your early morning pictures... the light is great.

Cheryl

[Twoboysnmygirl]

I love your report so far! This picture is so cute!

Thanks!!

What kind of lens did you rent? January will be my first trip with my DSLR and I don't think the kit lens is going to cut it.

I have a Nikon D40 and the 2 lenses I have are a 18-55mm and a 55-200mm. the 18-55 is a kit lens and I don't like it. The 55-200mm has it's limitations if you are close to your subject (which I KNEW I would be on the trip) so I rented a Nikkor 18-200mm walkaround lens. This way I didn't have to switch lenses or mess with it on the trip.

I wish I had purchased the 35mm for low light though, it's on my wish list for Xmas!

[Twoboysnmygirl]

After Dumbo, we SLOWLY did a few other rides in Fantasyland. To be honest, I wanted to do some more, but even wrote in my notes that it was so much more enjoyable to just take our time and go slower and more LEISURELY.

We could do this b/c I planned for the least busiest days and did my research, AND we were there at rope drop. Ahem...something I would repeat throughout the week, but we never did make a rope drop again.

There were things I didn't notice from our previous trip, so there WAS something nice about it. I didn't do nearly the things on my list, but it was fun. No Philharmagic, no carousel, no Snow White...

All the rides were 5 minutes or so, so after another potty break (no clue who it was this time?) we headed to PeterPan.




We all went except Ray Sr. :shrug He didn't go on anything, I don't think? No, I take that back, at Epcot he rode 2 things. Rides aren't his thing, I didn't mind, but Mary was annoyed with him, I think. He only went with us 3 days though, the rest of the trip he stayed at the house. He's got some issues (forgot the medical term) from Vietnam and WDW or any place with crowds just isn't his thing. I knew this ahead of time and it didn't bother me, but Mary was annoyed a few times with him.

After Peter Pan they stood around messing with Mary's camera. I DID learn some patience on this trip!

Next we headed to Pooh, which was a hit for Dela, she LOVES Winnie the Pooh, it's one of the reasons I had scheduled the breakfast with the Pooh characters that morning.





This is an awful pic (just kept kicking myself for not getting that 35mm lens!) but it's one of those pics you wish had come out. Mary looks so cute, she threw her arms up and said, "Wheeee"!



In the Pooh shop Savannah found ROO! She loves Roo and we've found that he's very obscure, you usually can't find him. So, it was her first purchase. She had money that Mary gave her as well as money she had saved, AND she got a bday card from WDW for the amount of one child ticket. She spent most of it on her friends.

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Ok, I just have to take a moment to say that I was not commando/nazi on this trip like it sounds. I really did enjoy going a LITTLE bit slower and taking everything in, but their level of leisure was just too slow. We love the rides and there were many times we just didn't get to do a lot of them b/c it just took too long to get from one to another.

Since Ray Sr. didn't go on rides, we spent at least 10 minutes searching for him after EVERY.RIDE. Then someone had to go potty, etc.

Don't get me wrong, I even wrote in my journal that I enjoyed a slower pace, but a girls gotta have her balance and sometimes it was just SO slow. The problem with being so rigid about everyone being together at all times is that it's impossible for 8 people to all want the same things and to all get to do what they want in the period of a day. I tried VERY hard to make sure everyone was happy, but I had to wonder when I was getting to do what I wanted. I'm guessing though that if you talked to each person separately from this trip, they would all think that we all got a little of what we wanted. They probably didn't even want to arrive at 9:30 or 10am, so I'm guessing they thought I was getting MY way when we did that! Not quite!

There were quite a few times that Savannah would whisper to me "When are going to go on rides?" and I would have to tell her that we were compromising and doing what everyone wanted...and that we would come back, another excuse for another trip!

So don't think I was running ahead or standing with my whip forcing them onward, most of these feelings were just things that went through my head, not things I actually acted on. (although Rey could read it on my face sometimes!)

AND, we even had time for some pixie dust!...

[Twoboysnmygirl]

We headed over to teacups, one of my favorites! Not b/c I love to spin (I HATE it...no LOATH it!) but b/c I always get smiling pics on this ride! Everyone always smiles!



Dylan and I decided to get in a cup and NOT spin it (that's my boy) while Rey, Dallas, & Savannah went nuts with the spinning! And they did! I thought Rey was going to get sick at one point, but Dallas & Savannah were having a ball!