I Just Want to See the Dancing Lights Gleam! Nov 2015 TR *COMPLETE* 3/29

[amberdc1987]

Thanks for following along!!

My son is about 36 lbs and 42-43" and he fit very comfortably in the stroller. It is a City Mini Double stroller that we rented. It is pretty sturdy, but doesn't feel huge or hard to push at all. The only thing I didn't like was that the storage underneath was a bit tough to get in and out of because it was so shallow. Other than that, we loved using the stroller! We are planning to get the double up until our trip in October this year when he turns 6. After that, we will probably just get a single for DD or bring ours from home and he will have to do more walking. By then, we might be hitting the weight limit on it anyway!

Awesome. So I know she will fit comfortably then. She is still in that stage where she complains after walking long distances. She says "her knees hurt" . I think we may just get a single, cause our other daughter is closing in on 50". I may see if I can find one around here and have her sit in it, just to see how well she would fit. I know she will get tired also. But we plan on taking a lot of breaks, and taking times off for the room. I know i'll need to rest also

 

[amazingact21]

Sounds like a frustrating morning! I mean, you were in MK and got to experience the Jingle Cruise, but I can understand you being frustrated with everything not going as planned.

I don't think I'm ready for the day when Landon refuses to ride certain attractions, especially if it's a favorite of mine. The joys of parenthood, I suppose...


Those shots of the castle are gorgeous! Oh my goodness. I have to say, if you go on any more Disney trips while I'm in Germany (which I'm sure you will) and write reports on them, your photos are sure going to make me miss Disney! Your DH really captures all the beauty and magic of the parks.

 

[khertz]

Love your writing style - between that and your DH's photos, your TR's are the best! Your DS is looking so grown up and your DD is adorable. Christmas is my favorite time to go to Disney. Even though your trip was short, you're getting the most out of it. Wish I could have seen the lights one last time but maybe they will pop up somewhere else one of these days. Looking forward to reading about how the rest of your day went!

Aww, thank you so much!! You are way too kind!

We absolutely LOVE Disney at Christmas, and it had just been far too long since we had been at that time. It was just too tempting to go back for DS's birthday at Halloween time, so we kept putting off another Christmas trip. But with the Osborne Lights ending we knew we had to go, no matter how short the trip would be! I sure do hope they find another home for them somewhere down the road, because it is so incredibly sad to think they could be gone forever.

Awesome. So I know she will fit comfortably then. She is still in that stage where she complains after walking long distances. She says "her knees hurt" . I think we may just get a single, cause our other daughter is closing in on 50". I may see if I can find one around here and have her sit in it, just to see how well she would fit. I know she will get tired also. But we plan on taking a lot of breaks, and taking times off for the room. I know i'll need to rest also

Yes, my DS is the exact same way!! I keep saying we need to cut him off from the stroller soon, but it's so much easier than having to listen to him whine. And it is a lot of walking! My feet are hurting at the end of the day, so I can imagine it's the same for little ones.

Sounds like a frustrating morning! I mean, you were in MK and got to experience the Jingle Cruise, but I can understand you being frustrated with everything not going as planned.

I don't think I'm ready for the day when Landon refuses to ride certain attractions, especially if it's a favorite of mine. The joys of parenthood, I suppose...


Those shots of the castle are gorgeous! Oh my goodness. I have to say, if you go on any more Disney trips while I'm in Germany (which I'm sure you will) and write reports on them, your photos are sure going to make me miss Disney! Your DH really captures all the beauty and magic of the parks.

It was definitely frustrating, especially just because it was our one and only morning to spend in MK.

Oh yes, the joys... I was tempted to just drag him on, but I'm also not interested in the potential meltdown situations that could happen as a result. lol It seems like on our February trip, he has moved past his fear, so hopefully we won't have any more mornings like that!

Well, hopefully it will make you feel like you can still access a little bit of home! I was just thinking the other day how much I would love to go back to DLP, so it will be really cool for you to have easier access to that park! It's so amazing.

 

[khertz]

Day 3 Continued: Saturday November 28th

It was time for our first FP+ for Under the Sea, so we headed that way and ran into Princess Aurora going to her meeting spot near Enchanted Tales With Belle.

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Unda da sea!


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By then, DD was ready to eat, so I headed over to the Baby Care Center with her while DH and DS went back to Storybook Circus to ride Barnstormer 3 times in a row!

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While DD was eating I was playing around on MDE and saw Santa would actually be out for his first set of the day soon! For some reason when I had looked into it the day before, it had looked like he was coming out for the first time around 1 pm. It was later than we had wanted to stay in MK, but we were willing to do it if it didn’t mean having to go to Disney Springs. But in the app, I saw he would be out from 10-11 am. I sent DH a text to let him know to meet up at the restrooms next to the fire station so that we could change the kids into their nice outfits to see Santa.

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Main Street was pretty mobbed as people kept pouring into the park!

Once we had gotten the kids changed we got in line and waited maybe 10 or 15 minutes before it was our turn to meet Santa! Probably a much better choice than seeing him at Disney Springs or even at our local mall! Plus even better was that the photos would be included with our AP Memory Maker and we could take our own, which is not the case at the mall where you pick the best pose and pay $30 for an 8x10!

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Now for the Photopass versions…

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These were perfect enough to use on our Christmas cards last year too!

With Santa pics under our belts, we changed the kids back into their play clothes and headed over to use our Peter Pan FP+. We got to see some lovely atmosphere as we walked past the trolley show happening.

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Continued in next post...

 

[khertz]

Day 3 Continued: Saturday November 28th

Then we used our last FP+ for It’s a Small World. The CM at the merge point where we scanned our band a second time noticed DS was a little whiny. She made me laugh when she remarked that either needed a nap or a Snickers.

DH is evidently sick of taking photos on Small World because all he took was this beautiful portrait of Drunk Hippo.

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We decided to go to lunch early to try and beat the crowds, so we left there and went over to a nearby favorite, Columbia Harbour House. We passed along the way another favorite, the Tangled Toilets!

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We ate upstairs and were talking about what we wanted to do next. The plan was to pick up DD’s ornament and then go ride the Peoplemover. But as we sat eating lunch, DH was looking like he wasn’t feeling well, and DS was whining like crazy. So we decided to forego a ride on the Peoplemover and just pick up the ornament and leave. While I was standing in line, DS was having fun in the sleigh outside.

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When I got the ornament, I immediately fell in love! My favorite souvenir of this trip for sure.

It was a little sad saying goodbye to MK so soon, but it was time to head out as in addition to DH not feeling the best, the park was really getting crowded! We savored the last little bit of MK Christmas on the way out to the monorail.

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We got back to the room, and after I fed DD, we all passed out for a good nap. After a long road trip and nothing but early mornings and busy park time for the past couple of days, we all really needed the rest! We were up by 3:45 and started packing up since we would be leaving to drive home super early the next day and didn’t want to have to pack up everything once we got back to the room that evening.

We decided to eat an early dinner before leaving to head to DHS for the night, so DH went over to the food court and brought us back some food to eat. DD did some tummy time while waiting!

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Then it was time to say a final farewell to the Osborne Lights...

UP NEXT: Now It's Time to Say Goodbye...

 

[amazingact21]

MK looked really busy that day. Not surprising, since it was post-Thanksgiving weekend, but still. Whew.


Those are great Santa photos! Both kids are too cute in their nice outfits. Smart thinking using Memory Maker for the annual Santa photos, too!



DD really captured every baby's reaction to tummy time in that last photo...

 

[Leshaface]

I'm late but here!

we did take a 26 hour road trip with 2 small children to see the Osborne Lights one last time!

You are definitely brave, but it was for a good reason after all

and I almost didn’t want it to happen!

Yikes! Is it possible that two DIS'ers didn't want to go to WDW?!? Crazy that we both thought the same thing, but in the end, aren't you so glad it happened??

We couldn’t imagine not getting one last visit to say a proper farewell to the lights, and we wanted at least DS to have a chance to experience them when he was old enough to remember.

Exactly, I wanted to see them one last time. Too bad our new baby won't be ever be able to see how cool they were.

The benefit of driving was that we had brought DD’s Pack’n’Play so we didn’t have to wait on the hotel to bring us a portable crib.

That and sometimes the hotels are pretty gross

What a vibrant tree, how fun!

It took her a bit of time on the phone, but she was not only able to get us a first floor room, but we were upgraded to a water view preferred room in Trinidad North!

Pre-kids, all I wanted was upper floors, now i'm just praying for first level floors

This was our first time renting from Orlando Stroller Rentals, and I would absolutely recommend them to anyone looking to rent a stroller for their trip!

Cool, i'll have to remember this company. DH was really set on the idea of renting through a company or even renting the strollers at WDW, but I knew there were tons of places we could rent them from, and really, I didn't want to do any type of research this trip. Super lazy!

How are you taking these pics?!

This is a kids platter?! Good grief that is an adult sized serving, IMO! Or at least, my size serving

You guys take some beautiful shots. What camera do you use? My poor DSLR has been neglected for a while now. I remember in 2010, I took my video camera, DSLR and my P&S. Every trip it seems i've dropped an item out of the 'list' so it would be less to carry around. This was the first trip ever in history, I only used my iPhone to take pics/video with! But boy was it nice not having to carry multiple items!

Aw love the running shot!

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How cute you are with the carrier!

There’s DH’s and DS’s scores. I can only assume that since there is no photographic proof of my score, I must have wiped the floor with them!

That's my kind of thinking!

Agh, I just LOVED watching Dinosaurs growing up!

I think they also played the one where you pick up the body parts off a conveyor belt and place them correctly. Yes, that’s a thing.

Since typing all of this, they have closed Habit Heroes permanently!

Oh no! I hadn't even heard of this before, but the way you talked about it, I thought for sure DS would be interested in something like this for next time. Geez, that's too bad.

When we got to the end outside part, DS looked at me and yelled, “But I didn’t make a fast car!” lol It gets him every time!

You don't hear boys wanting that often!

I spotted some Cheerios on the floor and pointed them out to DS, joking with him that I’d found him something to eat for a snack. He dropped down to his knees to pick one up and I barely managed to swat it out of his hand before he put it in his mouth! He thought I was serious!!

I find it hilarious how serious they take us! Just now while putting DS down for a nap, DH and I were in there helping him and he was looking for his Woodstock stuffed animal to sleep with and I stupidly said (mainly to DH), "maybe it's up your butt!" Wouldn't you know, his hand starts going for his butt before I stopped him Not going to be saying stuff like that anymore

I just didn't think I could go all the way to Disney during Christmastime and not see the Castle lit up.

Her outfit is so sweet!!!

I'm pretty sure we've all made that face when the monorail leaves without us

That is adorable!

Will be back to finish the rest!

 

[Leshaface]

It was getting closer and closer to the time of the opening show and they weren’t opening the turnstiles on our side! I have no idea what the hold up was, but they didn’t start letting people in until the welcome show had actually started, so I was pretty annoyed at that since we had gotten up and to the park early specifically to see the opening show!

That is very strange that they 'selective' in choosing which turnstiles to let through

As if that wasn’t bad enough, they only opened a few of the turnstiles, and they hadn’t bothered telling all of the people lined up at the rest of them that they should get in another line. So when all of those people realized they weren’t in the right line, they all started trying to filter into the lines of the turnstiles that were open. Basically, it made getting into the park a giant cluster-you-know-what. Add to that all of the people trying to get in who kept getting blue Mickeys, and instead of pulling those people out of line and letting the CMs with iPads help them, the CMs at the gates just kept getting them to try to scan their bands over and over again. It was awful!

OH geez! I always wondered why they just wouldn't pull those folks aside to have the iPad CM's help instead of holding up the lines!

Love the empty shot. Rarely see these nowadays!

But the family that had been ahead of us went straight for the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House! Even the CMs working at the entrance to the tree house looked at each other and shrugged.

That definitely wouldn't be my first attraction choice!

It was fun to see such a classic attraction with a bit of Christmas flair.

Isn't it fun?! I love that they try to incorporate the Season into attractions instead of just decorations on Main Street.

However, DS was just not having it! He was actually in tears saying he didn’t want to do it because he was too afraid of the drop. In case you forgot, he was totally traumatized by the double drop on the Disneyland version, and the mere mention of it now had him horrified.

Welp, that sucks!

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Well at least one of us is happy. I was still a bit pissed off about Pirates!

I can see that you look a bit perturbed and DS is like having the best time ever right next to you!

Gorgeous shot!

OMGosh her face! How weird and freaky!

Aw he is definitely having the best time!

Once we had gotten the kids changed we got in line and waited maybe 10 or 15 minutes before it was our turn to meet Santa! Probably a much better choice than seeing him at Disney Springs or even at our local mall! Plus even better was that the photos would be included with our AP Memory Maker and we could take our own, which is not the case at the mall where you pick the best pose and pay $30 for an 8x10!

This is perfect!

Aw so cute!

What a cool shot!

Ugh, so jealous, I'm always trying to get this shot but never succeed!

Drunk Hippo.

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but it was time to head out as in addition to DH not feeling the best

What was wrong with him, was it something he ate? Poor guy.

 

[hokieinpa]

I love all of the pictures from Little Mermaid! It's my favorite princess movie so I love that ride, especially the Under the Sea room!

It looks like DS had a great time on the Barnstormer!

So happy you got to meet Santa with a short wait! And those are great pictures!

It sounds like the nap was just what everyone needed to make the night happier all around. Excited for more pictures of the lights!

 

[missangelalexis]

DS must have had a blast riding Barnstomer so many times!

What better place to meet Santa than at Disney World! And like you said, shorter wait and cheaper than going to a mall! The pictures came out so great

The park did look pretty crowded! Probably a good decision to get out of there. And definitely worth it since you all got to get some much needed rest!

 

[IowaTater]

But the family that had been ahead of us went straight for the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House! Even the CMs working at the entrance to the tree house looked at each other and shrugged.

Really??? That is too funny! I would love to know what their reasoning was behind this.

In case you forgot, he was totally traumatized by the double drop on the Disneyland version, and the mere mention of it now had him horrified.

Aww, poor kid I hope this doesn't affect him on future trips.

Our first stop was Winnie the Pooh, but just like Pirates, it was down.

Sheesh!! You just weren't having any luck I'm glad you got a couple of rides in eventually.

I love this. And you're right. There's no better place to meet Santa than at Walt Disney World.

 

[Imagineer5]

I laughed out loud at the drunk hippo comment! I am surprised at all the pics he gets each ride, each trip. I have really pared down my photo taking although of course I love seeing his pics - they are better than Disney official ones. Same with the santa photos - they were perfect!! So nice you were able to do it there and forego the Disney springs visit. LOLing at the whiny lunch too (not at your dh's feeling bad, but at Paxton). I think 4 has been our whiniest age yet, what do you think about 5?

Oh I saw your comment but it must have been on your other thread. That is funny about Delilah rolling over and then getting stuck on her belly. I think Maya is headed that way as well, she is getting on her side easily and just one more little movement and she will have fully rolled back to tummy, but doesn't do anything once she is on her tummy. Sometimes she will deal with it other times it's immediate screaming. Fun times! She is doing SO much better after the diet change, although the last 4 nights have been horrible, thanks to the 4-month sleep regression I guess? She refuses to sleep in her crib. I am SO tired! I got very spoiled with her sleeping 7-5:30 straight for the past month!

 

[Nermel9]

Heyyy!!! I'm here, I have to go back and read, I just wanted to make sure I subbed, I'm just slowly getting back into the DIS and reading TR's and everything! I'll comment more once I catch up!

 

[saintstickets]

Loving this TR even though it is so sad that the Osborne Family Lights are gone. I sure hope they find some way to bring them back once all the construction is completed at DHS. Do you remember when there were lights in the crepe myrtle trees that lined the bridge connecting EPCOT's Future World with the World Showcase? At least put some of the Osborne lights there during Christmas until a place can be found to display them all again! In the spirit of this longgg election season, the first candidate that promises, "If elected President, the first thing I will do is bring back the Osborne Family Lights" will have my vote!!!

 

[afwdwfan]

It was getting closer and closer to the time of the opening show and they weren’t opening the turnstiles on our side! I have no idea what the hold up was, but they didn’t start letting people in until the welcome show had actually started, so I was pretty annoyed at that since we had gotten up and to the park early specifically to see the opening show!

As if that wasn’t bad enough, they only opened a few of the turnstiles, and they hadn’t bothered telling all of the people lined up at the rest of them that they should get in another line. So when all of those people realized they weren’t in the right line, they all started trying to filter into the lines of the turnstiles that were open. Basically, it made getting into the park a giant cluster-you-know-what. Add to that all of the people trying to get in who kept getting blue Mickeys, and instead of pulling those people out of line and letting the CMs with iPads help them, the CMs at the gates just kept getting them to try to scan their bands over and over again. It was awful!

That really stinks. That's frustrating when you do all you can to be there on time and then something like that screws it all up. Totally out of your control, but definitely something Disney could have done better with.

There was actually one family ahead of us, but DH waited for them to get further ahead so he could take this photo and the ones of empty Adventureland.

Great picture. Looks beautiful and peaceful.

I want to be there right now!

Our first destination was to ride the Jingle Cruise! We had never seen it with this overlay, didn’t want to use a FP on it, and figured it would be a long wait later in the day, so we thought going there first would be a smart move. We might have had a lame rope drop strategy the past couple days between doing Spaceship Earth and Habit Heroes the day before, and now heading for Jingle Cruise. But the family that had been ahead of us went straight for the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House! Even the CMs working at the entrance to the tree house looked at each other and shrugged.

You know, it is way off the beaten path, which is why it makes sense. I've done the same thing... well not the tree house, but JC. JC and Pirates, especially since FP+, tend to get some long lines. If you go there you can hit them with zero wait and get through Adventureland and into Frontierland while everyone else is in Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. If you've already done headliners, or don't plan to do them it is actually a nice way to start the day off.

It was fun to see such a classic attraction with a bit of Christmas flair. Even Trader Sam had gotten in on the festivities!

I really like that overly!

As we exited the ride, I expressed interest in riding Pirates before the lines got long because we didn’t have a FP for it and didn’t know if we would have time for any additional FPs after using up our 3. However, DS was just not having it! He was actually in tears saying he didn’t want to do it because he was too afraid of the drop. In case you forgot, he was totally traumatized by the double drop on the Disneyland version, and the mere mention of it now had him horrified. Despite me reassuring him over and over that it wasn’t scary and that I would prepare him before the drop, he was starting to panic at the idea. Needless to say, I was a bit ticked off by then, but it didn’t matter anyway as Pirates was down when we went to check it out.

Oh no... that stinks. I guess if you'd known it was closed anyway it could have spared you the fight, but that really stinks that he still isn't over the Disneyland experience.

Well at least one of us is happy. I was still a bit pissed off about Pirates!

I can definitely relate to how you felt.

The line wasn’t long, so we got in, but…as soon as we got to the outdoor part when you are about to board, the CM told us it would be just a little bit longer because it too was down! I had just about had it that morning by that point.

Wow... for being such a busy time, that is a lot of ride closures. I can only imagine how crazy it would have been once the crowds really settled in if the problems continued throughout the day.

It was time for our first FP+ for Under the Sea, so we headed that way and ran into Princess Aurora going to her meeting spot near Enchanted Tales With Belle.

How did I not know about this one? For all the princess meet and greets we did, I didn't even know this existed. I thought after she got forced out of Fairytale Hall, she was only in the character dining and EPCOT.

Once we had gotten the kids changed we got in line and waited maybe 10 or 15 minutes before it was our turn to meet Santa! Probably a much better choice than seeing him at Disney Springs or even at our local mall! Plus even better was that the photos would be included with our AP Memory Maker and we could take our own, which is not the case at the mall where you pick the best pose and pay $30 for an 8x10!

MK Santa was definitely the right choice. Great Christmas card pictures!

DH is evidently sick of taking photos on Small World because all he took was this beautiful portrait of Drunk Hippo.

Because everybody knows the drunk hippo is the best part of the ride.

We ate upstairs and were talking about what we wanted to do next. The plan was to pick up DD’s ornament and then go ride the Peoplemover. But as we sat eating lunch, DH was looking like he wasn’t feeling well, and DS was whining like crazy. So we decided to forego a ride on the Peoplemover and just pick up the ornament and leave.

Oh no... I hope it was just fatigue setting in. It would be awful to not enjoy the last evening and then suffer through the drive home.

It was a little sad saying goodbye to MK so soon, but it was time to head out as in addition to DH not feeling the best, the park was really getting crowded! We savored the last little bit of MK Christmas on the way out to the monorail.

Yeah, it's always hard to leave the MK for the last time. Especially since you didn't get to spend much time there.

 

[Dugette]

Love the Santa meet. Great photos!

 

[khertz]

MK looked really busy that day. Not surprising, since it was post-Thanksgiving weekend, but still. Whew.

Those are great Santa photos! Both kids are too cute in their nice outfits. Smart thinking using Memory Maker for the annual Santa photos, too!

DD really captured every baby's reaction to tummy time in that last photo...

It was a good thing we went so early in the morning and got to enjoy it while it was peaceful, because that sure didn't last long! However, as busy as it was, it still wasn't as bad as I had expected it to be.

Thanks! It was a pain changing them in and out of those outfits, especially with it being so warm outside, but totally worth it in the end. Having the included photopass on our APs made it even more of a steal!

Haha That was about the time she stopped freaking the heck out every time she was on her belly!! But yeah, definitely NOT a fan of tummy time,

I'm late but here!

Welcome!!!

You are definitely brave, but it was for a good reason after all

That's what I had to keep telling myself! Luckily I imagined it to be way worse of a drive than it ended up being. Doing a big stretch of it at night helped too!! I guess it wasn't too bad because we are planning to do it again the week DS gets out of school. lol

Yikes! Is it possible that two DIS'ers didn't want to go to WDW?!? Crazy that we both thought the same thing, but in the end, aren't you so glad it happened??

I know!! I never ever thought I would resist the idea of a Disney trip!! The idea of those crowds and that long drive had me absolutely terrified. But I told DH several times over those few days we were there how glad I was that he had talked me into it.

Exactly, I wanted to see them one last time. Too bad our new baby won't be ever be able to see how cool they were.

It's such a shame for all of the generations who won't get to experience the awesomeness of those lights. I'm glad at least DS got to experience them once that he can hopefully remember as he gets older.

That and sometimes the hotels are pretty gross

This is true. lol I always bring all of my own pack & play sheets from home!! And lots and lots of Clorox wipes!

Pre-kids, all I wanted was upper floors, now i'm just praying for first level floors

I don't mind upper floors in places with elevators, but hauling 2 kids and all their crap up a flight of stairs?? NO THANKS!!

Cool, i'll have to remember this company. DH was really set on the idea of renting through a company or even renting the strollers at WDW, but I knew there were tons of places we could rent them from, and really, I didn't want to do any type of research this trip. Super lazy!

They were fantastic! Both strollers we have rented were clean and almost brand new looking. Plus it's the only company I found where all of their strollers come with a little parent console to hang off of the handle. We had rented the same style of stroller through another company in October and hated the lack of cup holders! And they worked with us on the return time in October when we wanted to hang onto the stroller a little later in the evening than the website would let me select.

How are you taking these pics?!

If I'm remembering right, DH just held the camera up as high as he could over his head.

This is a kids platter?! Good grief that is an adult sized serving, IMO! Or at least, my size serving

Once I saw how much food it was, I was definitely glad I had gone for the kids platter! Sooooo much food! I never could have finished the adult one.

You guys take some beautiful shots. What camera do you use? My poor DSLR has been neglected for a while now. I remember in 2010, I took my video camera, DSLR and my P&S. Every trip it seems i've dropped an item out of the 'list' so it would be less to carry around. This was the first trip ever in history, I only used my iPhone to take pics/video with! But boy was it nice not having to carry multiple items!

I'm going to have to defer to @DDuck4Life on this one. I can tell you it's a DSLR and I'm pretty sure it's a Canon, but beyond that, I know nothing.

Aw love the running shot!

As much as he moaned and groaned every time I asked him if he wanted to see a character (and then still made him do it after he said no), he sure did love running up to them when it was his turn!

That's my kind of thinking!

Agh, I just LOVED watching Dinosaurs growing up!

Me too!! In fact, after this trip I checked both Netflix and Prime Instant Video, but it's not available on either one.

Oh no! I hadn't even heard of this before, but the way you talked about it, I thought for sure DS would be interested in something like this for next time. Geez, that's too bad.

Yeah, while it's not the greatest by any means, little kids would enjoy it. It involves shooters like on TSM and running around like a crazy person. What kid wouldn't love that?!

You don't hear boys wanting that often!

I know! He has since embraced the speed lol

I find it hilarious how serious they take us! Just now while putting DS down for a nap, DH and I were in there helping him and he was looking for his Woodstock stuffed animal to sleep with and I stupidly said (mainly to DH), "maybe it's up your butt!" Wouldn't you know, his hand starts going for his butt before I stopped him Not going to be saying stuff like that anymore

OH MY GOSH!!! YES, we definitely gotta watch what we say!!! Sometimes I forget that kids take things so literally.

I'm pretty sure we've all made that face when the monorail leaves without us

That is adorable!

Thanks!

 

[khertz]

That is very strange that they 'selective' in choosing which turnstiles to let through

I have never seen anything like it! Totally bizarre. It was more infuriating that they weren't letting people know ahead of time that those turnstiles would not be operating, so tempers were flaring.

OH geez! I always wondered why they just wouldn't pull those folks aside to have the iPad CM's help instead of holding up the lines!

Especially on a morning that already seems like such a cluster! It's absurd to continue holding everything up when there are already only a limited number of turnstiles opening and tons of people crushing towards them.

Love the empty shot. Rarely see these nowadays!

It was nice that rope drop still had its advantages, even Thanksgiving week!

That definitely wouldn't be my first attraction choice!

No way, no how!

Isn't it fun?! I love that they try to incorporate the Season into attractions instead of just decorations on Main Street.

I think that is a great addition! They should do it on more than just the one ride.

Welp, that sucks!

Ugh, tell me about it. I hate when they get old enough to have an opinion!! lol

I can see that you look a bit perturbed and DS is like having the best time ever right next to you!

Yeah, I have never been the best at hiding my feelings... lol

Ugh, so jealous, I'm always trying to get this shot but never succeed!

DH has been trying for years as well! It's such a difficult ride to photograph.

What was wrong with him, was it something he ate? Poor guy.

By now, I really don't remember and I didn't make note of it any more than he wasn't feeling well. But I think maybe he was starting to have cold symptoms?? Combined with the early mornings every day, it didn't make it much better.

I love all of the pictures from Little Mermaid! It's my favorite princess movie so I love that ride, especially the Under the Sea room!

It looks like DS had a great time on the Barnstormer!

So happy you got to meet Santa with a short wait! And those are great pictures!

It sounds like the nap was just what everyone needed to make the night happier all around. Excited for more pictures of the lights!

Little Mermaid has always been one of my favorite movies too, so I love that she has her own attraction. And the queue in WDW is phenomenal! I love that castle.

He definitely did! It's one of his favorites now.

It was really the perfect set of circumstances. So glad we got to do it there and without waiting long. It turned out really perfect.

Oh yeah, nap time was definitely what we all needed by that day! Even though it was such a short trip, we had packed a lot in and it was starting to catch up with us!

DS must have had a blast riding Barnstomer so many times!

What better place to meet Santa than at Disney World! And like you said, shorter wait and cheaper than going to a mall! The pictures came out so great

The park did look pretty crowded! Probably a good decision to get out of there. And definitely worth it since you all got to get some much needed rest!

Barnstormer is definitely one of his favorites now, so he loved riding several times in a row.

Absolutely! We have never done it there, but it was really perfect, and he was a GREAT Santa, both in looks and personality. A million times better than fighting through the mall to do it and paying an arm and a leg for a couple of photos.

Our plan had been to escape around lunchtime every day because of the influx of crowds over the mornings, and that turned out to work out pretty perfect for us.

 

[khertz]

Really??? That is too funny! I would love to know what their reasoning was behind this.

Me too! Clearly the CM didn't understand either!! lol

Aww, poor kid I hope this doesn't affect him on future trips.

I think by now he has gotten over it. We rode it a couple of times in February and he was ok as long as I kept my arm around him. But at the time, it was soooo frustrating.

Sheesh!! You just weren't having any luck I'm glad you got a couple of rides in eventually.

It was really annoying to feel like so much precious early morning time was being wasted just walking around and trying to find something that was open. Our luck finally turned around, but it was starting to get ridiculous!!

I love this. And you're right. There's no better place to meet Santa than at Walt Disney World.

Definitely!!

I laughed out loud at the drunk hippo comment! I am surprised at all the pics he gets each ride, each trip. I have really pared down my photo taking although of course I love seeing his pics - they are better than Disney official ones. Same with the santa photos - they were perfect!! So nice you were able to do it there and forego the Disney springs visit. LOLing at the whiny lunch too (not at your dh's feeling bad, but at Paxton). I think 4 has been our whiniest age yet, what do you think about 5?

Oh I saw your comment but it must have been on your other thread. That is funny about Delilah rolling over and then getting stuck on her belly. I think Maya is headed that way as well, she is getting on her side easily and just one more little movement and she will have fully rolled back to tummy, but doesn't do anything once she is on her tummy. Sometimes she will deal with it other times it's immediate screaming. Fun times! She is doing SO much better after the diet change, although the last 4 nights have been horrible, thanks to the 4-month sleep regression I guess? She refuses to sleep in her crib. I am SO tired! I got very spoiled with her sleeping 7-5:30 straight for the past month!

I think he always tries to outdo himself, so he still takes a ton of ride photos. At least, most of the time! Apparently that didn't hold true this time for Small World. lol

I was so happy with how the Santa pics came out! And we loved that the wait was so short. @hokieinpa had done the Santa meet in Disney Springs that same day and it was a 2 hour wait! I would have been so pissed if we had gone all the way there just for Santa and found a 2 hour wait.

Paxton is just a whiny kid in general, I think. lol 5 doesn't seem much different than 4 when it comes to whining!!

She just FINALLY figured out how to roll the other way at 7 months! She's still working on trying to get her knees underneath her when she's on her belly, but at least it's no longer an all out scream fest when she's on it. I'm glad she's been doing better, but I feel ya on the sleep thing. She was sleeping all the way through the night for like 2 months, and then for the past 3 months she's been waking up in the middle of the night around 1 or 2 to eat. The past few nights she has been sleeping through the night again so I'm hoping it's not a fluke!

Heyyy!!! I'm here, I have to go back and read, I just wanted to make sure I subbed, I'm just slowly getting back into the DIS and reading TR's and everything! I'll comment more once I catch up!

Welcome back!!! Glad you found me!

 

[khertz]

Loving this TR even though it is so sad that the Osborne Family Lights are gone. I sure hope they find some way to bring them back once all the construction is completed at DHS. Do you remember when there were lights in the crepe myrtle trees that lined the bridge connecting EPCOT's Future World with the World Showcase? At least put some of the Osborne lights there during Christmas until a place can be found to display them all again! In the spirit of this longgg election season, the first candidate that promises, "If elected President, the first thing I will do is bring back the Osborne Family Lights" will have my vote!!!

I would love it if they found away to bring back the lights. They are too amazing to just toss out completely! I totally agree with your brand of politics, sir.

That really stinks. That's frustrating when you do all you can to be there on time and then something like that screws it all up. Totally out of your control, but definitely something Disney could have done better with.

It absolutely could had been handled better, and I'm a bit surprised Disney let it get so out of control. People who had been lining up at the turnstiles that didn't open were pushing and shoving to get to the front of the lines that were opening because they had been there first. It was a total mess! People were yelling and tempers were flaring. Then you have the people whose MBs weren't working and the CMs at the touch points just kept having them try over and over again instead of pulling them out of line. It was a hot mess!

Great picture. Looks beautiful and peaceful.

I want to be there right now!

Me too, man, me too!

You know, it is way off the beaten path, which is why it makes sense. I've done the same thing... well not the tree house, but JC. JC and Pirates, especially since FP+, tend to get some long lines. If you go there you can hit them with zero wait and get through Adventureland and into Frontierland while everyone else is in Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. If you've already done headliners, or don't plan to do them it is actually a nice way to start the day off.

I guess it's not such a surprising RD strategy now with FP+ as it would have been before without it. They do seem to boast much longer standby lines now! We have been so trained on going to Fantasyland first with 1 and now 2 small kids! It was really nice to be kind of on our own in the park for that little bit of time while everyone else was headed in opposite directions.

I really like that overly!

It's very cute! I love that they are bring Christmas out into the park, even if only at this one spot. Hopefully they start adding more Christmas.

Oh no... that stinks. I guess if you'd known it was closed anyway it could have spared you the fight, but that really stinks that he still isn't over the Disneyland experience.

I totally wish I would have known it was down. Would have spared me the headache and frustration of trying to reason with a 5 year old! Some stuff I will just make him do even if he doesn't want to because it's everyone's vacation, not just his. But he was truly freaking out and I was not about to drag him through the queue kicking and screaming.

I can definitely relate to how you felt.

I'm glad I'm not alone!!

Wow... for being such a busy time, that is a lot of ride closures. I can only imagine how crazy it would have been once the crowds really settled in if the problems continued throughout the day.

It was totally ridiculous that they didn't have their you-know-what together at opening on such a busy week!

How did I not know about this one? For all the princess meet and greets we did, I didn't even know this existed. I thought after she got forced out of Fairytale Hall, she was only in the character dining and EPCOT.

She kind of stands out by the bathrooms, I guess you could say? Near the little wall that separates ETWB from old Fantasyland. I didn't know about it either! If I wouldn't have seen her walking down to there, I probably still wouldn't know.

MK Santa was definitely the right choice. Great Christmas card pictures!

Thanks! I was so happy I checked MDE and saw he would be out earlier than I thought. It really worked out perfectly.

Because everybody knows the drunk hippo is the best part of the ride.

Of course!

Oh no... I hope it was just fatigue setting in. It would be awful to not enjoy the last evening and then suffer through the drive home.

I think he was feeling some cold symptoms, combined with being on the go for 3 straight days with little sleep!

Yeah, it's always hard to leave the MK for the last time. Especially since you didn't get to spend much time there.

It was hard leaving and feeling like we hadn't done much there. Short trips are so tough for that reason!

Love the Santa meet. Great photos!

Thanks!!