Hang In There Joan-May '14 TR-video links 2/2

[DisneyKid4Life]

Despite our (i.e. guys) need to exaggerate, so very glad the injury wasn't as bad as it could have been.

Maddie got one of the flowers. I'm shocked...

Oh my goodness, that quilt looks AWESOME Shannon. I just so love the whole idea of it. Just beautiful and really special.

Maddie just has the BBB poses nailed. I bet she doesn't even need to be directed.

 

[MEK]

Maddie's BBB pictures are beautiful. It must be really hard to decide which ones to get.

That quilt - love it! Nice work and such a cute idea!

I have to say that Maddie's back to school outfit is SO cute!

I'm glad your DH wasn't seriously hurt. OUCH!

Looking forward to your BOG dinner!

 

[RGirl]

Hey! I didn't realize you updated while I was gone! I'm SO GLAD that your had a CRT experience to restore your faith in the place.

Excellent update today as well, of course! The rain kind of bites though.

I can't wait to hear about what you have planned for your next trip. Hmmm, are you traveling with Anna and Elsa? Mickey and Minnie? Flynn and Rapunzel?

 

[TheMaxRebo]

gotta love guys ... that they can use the phrase "everything is ok" and "I almost cut my thumb off" to describe the same situation

I still get thrown at how early some people go back to school - we don't even know who my daughter's teacher is yet and don't start until September 4th - just crazy how different school calendars are around the country.

I know you said it was the hardest but the Anna quilt square looks great! I love the draping on the Belle one as well (ok, clearly I watch too much HGTV and Bravo) ... and the quilt as a whole looks amazing - really great job and what a great way to remember the trip!

Definitely some long lines - so great for FP+! ugh, hate when the app has incorrect / not current wait times ... and double bummer about BTMRR and Space both being down.

 

[katt789]

Maddie’s so cute!! Can’t believe school’s started for you already!! Insane!

LOVE THE QUILT!! SERIOUSLY!! IT’S AMAZING!!!
Great updates! Glad you weren’t scared of the rain lol!! Looks like you’re having fun!

 

[pkondz]

Hey guys! Hope everyone is enjoying their last few weeks of summer!

Good Lord! Don't say that!

Ready for the twice-monthly roundup of what we've been up to?

Nope.


Hang on...



Just a sec....



Wait....




Almost....





Okay, I'm ready now. Go ahead.

About 2 weeks ago on a Saturday afternoon I was a work when I received the following text message from my husband: Everything is okay, but call me immediately.

See, I would take that as, "We've won a prize!!"

"I'm at the ER. I was trimming the trees and I think I cut my thumb off".

as it turned out was being an eensy bit dramatic.

Men! pshaw. Just let them try giving birth!


I have no idea what I'm talking about.

He did not lose the thumb, and luckily barely missed the tendon.

<phew!>

Our Knight won a challenge and threw some flowers to select ladies in the audience. Look who got one!

You? Then you gave it to Maddie?
(Or she grabbed it out of your hand... whichever.)

EVERYTHING cost extra.

When we've gone, I tell them going in, "We are not buying anything else!"

And then yesterday it was upon us, the first day of school.

Already??



Awesome.

Oh, boy. Boys will be beating a path to your door in the not-so-distant future.
Probably, oh... about five-six years from now. (You'll see. They start earlier nowadays.)

And then, it was 1:30 in the morning and I had this

Looks great!

I'll post a link here when it's up and running if anyone would like to join in!

We still had that “bonus” FP, and decided that Peter Pan would be an excellent use for it. The standby line was 60 minutes, but we were on in 10. Excellent!

Sweet.

so we even took our ponchos off for a bit.

A bit?

On our way into Frontierland we spotted an open Mickey Pretzel cart, and after the morning’s failure we couldn’t not stop.

Hello! It's pretzels! Of course you stopped.

Maddie had never experienced the Jungle Cruise,

Didn't realize that.
Why didn't she go before?

Whoa!
Note to self. Do not cross Shan.... ever.

Bry has a hard time passing by the Plaza Ice Cream Shop without popping in to say hello,

Very reasonable.

Our last FP of the day was good, so we trekked all the way back to Frontierland and BTMRR only to find that the ride was down.

Oh, for Pete's sake!

we walked allll the way back to Tomorrowland to use the FP for Space. It was down too.

Newsflash! MK all broken! Tourists mill about with nothing to do! Gift shops have record sales!

so we just browsed some shops to pass the time until we checked in for our ADR at BoG-which you’ll hear about next week. And there will be photos!

Looking forward to it! Thanks for the update, Shanvanan.

 

[Clarf]

Wow, that quilt is just beautiful! You are a great mom!

I can't believe Maddie started school already! We still have 2 weeks here. Love her outfit, though.

Sorry about Bryan's finger. Glad it's okay! Men are such exaggerators.

Beautiful BBB pics. I'd have a hard time choosing.


You had a full day at the MK! Sounds like a lot of trekking back and forth, but also a lot of fun.

 

[SkubaDis]

Looks like such a great trip!!

 

[afwdwfan]

When I talked to him, he was in a lot of pain and as it turned out was being an eensy bit dramatic. He did not lose the thumb, and luckily barely missed the tendon. It was a very, very ugly gash (I have pics, but I'll spare you) and we spent most of the afternoon and evening at the ER having it stitched back up.

I'd be a little bit panicked in that situation too. I'm glad it wasn't any worse than it was.

And then yesterday it was upon us, the first day of school. Here's my second grader ready to head out.

Wow. Kind of hard to believe she's in second grade, yet she looks even older...

Sorry to point that out, mom.

In the end I'm actually super happy with it. It's very very rare that I make something that turns out exactly like I've envisioned, and since I'm a perfectionist it's even more rare that something turns out better than I envisioned but this did! I'm beyond happy with it and can't wait to put the layers together and have it finished!

I'm glad it exceeded your expectations! I think it is a great idea and it turned out very well.

The standby line was 60 minutes, but we were on in 10. Excellent!

That worked out pretty well.

We always save Philharmagic for rainy or hot afternoons, so that was the next stop. I just love this show.

One of my favorites!

We watched for a few minutes and then headed to BTMRR since the app was showing a 20 minute wait.


The app was wrong. It was 45, and was Splash was 60.

Stupid lying app.

Maddie had never experienced the Jungle Cruise

WHAT!?!?!?!?!?

Once our cruise was over Maddie declared it to be one of her new favorite rides.

And you've been depriving her of it all these years!!!

All business in this car-a man that doesn't like to lose to his wife

You play to win...

It was sort of frustrating, but seemed like a reasonable solution.

Yeah, that's about the only reasonable solution, but it is a pain when you go to 2 different headline attractions and both are down.

By then it was almost time for our dinner reservation so we just browsed some shops to pass the time until we checked in for our ADR at BoG-which you’ll hear about next week.

We're going to hold you to that promise.

 

[Tangelders Ahoy]

The quilt is beautiful! Maddie's school outfit is great. Love the sneakers!! I'm so excited to hear about your next potential trip....I have a feeling I know who the 2 are! Can't wait to hear about it.

 

[KatMark]

Do you know that we have NEVER been to Medieval Times and it's only like 20 minutes from our house? It looks like you all had a great time.

Love the quilt; and Maddie looks so grown up on her first day of school. Time is flying fast.

I love the photopass pics from her makeover.

You got quite a bit accomplished despite the rain. Hmmmm...I think my husband cheats. Maybe you and him should ride together and I'll ride with Bryan.

 

[scholastica]

Glad Bryan is ok! How scary!

I LOVE the quilt. I still think it is a brilliant idea and it turned out great!

You know I'll be tuning in to any other TRs or PTRs you do.

 

[amandaw]

Hope school is going well for Maddie!

The quilt looks amazing!!

Sounds like y'all were having fun despite the rain!

 

[shan23877]

I SWEAR I'm going to get replies done! I swear!

I/We did get the PTR up and running though! I hope to see you there!

2 DIS Princesses Are Taking On The World-And They Don't Even Know It!

 

[jedimeg16]

The quilt is incredible! Off to sub your PTR.

 

[Disney Khaleesi]

That quilt is amazing! If only I had the powers of a needle and thread...(I'd probably stab myself about 80 million times.)

Looks like Medieval Times was fun! I love going there!

 

[blabbermouth]

Awesome quilt! And TR so far, I'm subbing.

 

[Cinderella909]

Honest... I did write a rather long response to your last update and included quotes and photos... well.. it just didn't work out and now it's late Thursday and here I am...

So, I love the quilt! It's such a wonderful memory, made with love and is beautiful to see finished or semi finished!

School starts really early out your way, and love her first day off to school photo. But, I do want to see the frozen outfit...

And, just watched the "Inside Actor's Studio" tribute to Robin Williams and when he did the wave and said "Scew in the lightbulb" had to laugh as I thought you and Maddie perfecting that wave!

So, now, I'm off to read the new pre-trip report!

Two at once is exciting! Karen

 

[shan23877]

Yeah, wendy’s pretty much gone now. Half the cast members have a #whereswendy2014 hastag going on on instagram, bahha! She still does dream along & usually day parade but that’s it now. I don’t think the tremaines are going anywhere though, they expanded their sets when the parade changed!!

Love the frozen backpacks!!

I totally bought that vera for myself last trip!

Having met both those friends of princesses before, yeah, I’d say nothing memorable happened…bahaha!

Now the castle Cindy, seems much better!!

MODERN FAMILY SNOW!! RIGHT?!?!?! I knew exactly who you were talking about right away! Lol I had the same thought! She’s wonderful! I really like her and she’s super friendly through insta too lol! Also I love that Ariel, we had the same one, I totally didn’t know she also had a pocket in her dress! Defs not the same Jas we had though, and glad aurora was awesome too!

So glad that ya’ll had a much better experience this time! It really can screw with how you feel about a place, I know I won’t be returning to BOG for a while now, like, it’s great, Shelly’s amazing, but the only reason I didn’t complain big time last time we were there was because of her….it was not great lol.

Can’t wait for more, hope the rest of your summer goes fantastic!!

Poor Wendy! We've always enjoyed meeting her.

LOL! I'm glad it's not just our memories. Those gals weren't memorable at all.

Modern Family Snow was one of the best we've met. We really liked her.

Pockets in the dresses! Makes sense I guess-especially there where they don't have handlers with them.

I'm pretty much done with BoG myself. The service was fine, but the food was meh at best. Too bad it's the only place to meet the Beast.

Hope you're enjoying your trip!

Sounds like y'all have been busy, indeed!

That's great that Maddie has done so well with her summer reading challenge! And your quilt squares are coming along quite nicely! It's going to be beautiful when all put together!

I also bought the Vera Hipster in that same pattern just a couple of weeks ago. I love it! I don't like a big purse so it's a really good size for me.

I'm glad y'all had a much better experience @ CRT this time around. Although, I don't think it could have gotten much worse from last time.

That stinks that y'all couldn't find a pretzel though.

thanks Amanda! It's a cute bag, I'm glad that I went for it.

Yeah, we had no where to go but up at CRT. It was much improved.

Wow, that is just so super awesome that Maddie did all that reading. Prizes or not, that's a great accomplishment.

Hehe, I feel like I had a sneak peek on the Amazon purchases via our post on my TR.

Ooooh nice... Disney purchases for research... I gotta remember that Shannon.

Ooooh and another good piece of advice... pretend to argue and get free stuff. I am totally writing all this down.

“My wishes all came true, I’m at Disney World with my family”. OMG that is just too precious!!!

thanks Rob! We were super proud of her.

Haha! Frozen seeking moms have to stick together!

Yes, it's totally research. And arguing gets you free stuff-an excellent lesson. LOL

She knows how to get to us...

Sounds like so much fun! I'm so happy your CRT experience was better this time! We didn't go on our last trip.... I do miss eating in a castle! And the picture of the mice are so cute! I never noticed them when we were there.

No Mickey pretzels? That's not right.....I have faith that you find one eventually!

We were much happier this time at CRT! So glad that we gave it another chance.

I couldn't believe we struck out, but don't worry-we'd find them!

Congrats to Maddie on reaching her reading goals! Good job getting the matching backpack and lunchbox.

It appears you had pretty good seats at Wrigley! I was kind of surprised they traded Samardzija. We're White Sox fans, here. Southside Irish!

I'm glad you had a better experience at CRT. The presentation of the desserts was remarkable. We generally go to Akershus because of the one dining credit.

Nice Vera! Will you use it for everyday or save it for Disney?

Thanks so much!

We had Bryan's boss's seats, and they are great! we love using them. We were actually at the Cell earlier that week too! Seats weren't nearly as good there though LOL

We like Akershus too. It's become a breakfast place for us. I hate using 2 credits at CRT, but I know she won't want to go forever.

Loving your trip report!!! Your daughter is too cute!!!

My name is JOAN - and my granddaughter, Cady, and I were in Disney May 7-14!
I'm hanging in there! lol

Thanks so much for joining in!

hahaha! I love that! We overlapped by a few days! So glad you're hanging in there!
Dont' be a stranger!

Well Done to Maddie for completing all her reading challenges!
How amazing are all your quilt patches, can't wait to see the final piece!
How cute is Maddie as Princess Anna, she loves being a princess and the whole BBB experience!
I'm so glad that your CRT experience seemed to have redeemed itself! Your server seemed amazing compared to last year, and Maddies wish is just so precious!

Thanks so much! You are too kind.

Our experience was MUCH better this time around. I was so relieved for all of us!

Great job Maddie for completing your reading challenge! That's wonderful

We ate at Cinderella's Royal Table back in January for dinner and it was easily our favorite meal of the trip. I had the same desert as your MIL and really enjoyed it!

Thanks! We were proud.

We love eating at the castle. I'll have to try that dessert next time!

wow - sounds like you have had a busy summer! We still haven't even started thinking about back-to-school (haven't gotten a school supply list yet). Great job out of Maddie doing all that reading!

Oh I am so holding out on Olivia never hearing about American Girl - or at least my wallet is

your quilt squares are coming along great - the Chip & Dale one looks super cute

***************

Bummer about the pretzel quest ending in defeat.

oh, glad to see CRT started off better - your last experience was just so sad and poor

"and ate about as much as you’d expect her to in a room teeming with princesses" - ok, that made me chuckle

“My wishes all came true, I’m at Disney World with my family” - and that made me a little misty eyes

glad you felt the magic returned to CRT

If an American Girl catalog ever makes it's way to your home, throw it out immediately. Do not wait. Little girl radar will be activated and she will find it-even if you've hidden it very very well. Your bank account will thank me.

Hahaha! yeah, she doesn't eat much at character meals. Bigger fish to fry.

She's a sweet kid. Things like that always get to me.

Me too! SO happy we had a great server this year.

Shannon, I didn't know you had started a new TR! I am all caught up and subbing!

Welcome! So glad to have you!!!

<sigh> Here I go to the trouble of giving you a cut and paste excuse...
and you type in the truth instead.

Add ungrateful to the list....

In matching outfits no less!

Would you have expected anything less?

A great accomplishment. Well done, Maddie!

Thanks Ponz. We were very proud of her.

Oh, I know.
I wonder if I can get you to make a map for me.
For research purposes, of course.

I'd be happy to!

Maybe I should ask someone else for that map. :

Harrumph. Well, I can tell you where they sell them, just not the hours of operation.

Wow! What a wonderful woman to make such an amazing sacrifice!!!

Totally selfless. Glad you recognized that.

Heh.
Met two princesses.
Chatted with them.
Had pictures done.
"Pretty standard."

Just another day in the life of Maddie

So... you see yourself as the villain, do you?

Well, the villains do always get the best lines.

moseying is good.
sashaying is better.

dully noted. I will make a note to sashay much more often

That sounds funny.
"go right in to wait."

"Quick! If you run and really hurry, you can stand in line for even longer!!"

Pretty much a standard day at WDW right? "hurry up we have to be an hour early for rope drop!" "We have to get to our ADR 15 minutes early so we can wait!"

Oh? Too bad. She and Ariel (in her fish attire) are my faves. :

Why's that? It's the long hair isn't it?

What????
No more camera for him!

He was fired.

You think?
That big horking strawberry on top isn't a clue, for you?

okay, okay I'll wear my glasses when I upload pics from now on.

Too bad. I usually pick lemon when choosing gelato or sorbet.
Then again, the "no sugar added" probably would've warned me off it.

Thanks for the updates, Shanzipop!

We should have known better.

Thanks Ponzicino

I'm sorry your previous experience at Cindy's wasn't "great." It does sound like "Joe" was having a bad day (or maybe he was on his way out...) but it sounds like this trip made up for it!

The desserts look amazing, especially the Signature plate.

Did Jasmine like her bracelet anyway? That's too bad that she didn't stay long to chat. And you're right about Snow White! She definitely favors Hailey!

We were very happy to have a MUCH more magical visit to Cindy's this time around.

They were very good, my favorite parts!

I love your quilt so much! So cute! I love seeing the boarders you come up with for each character!

I am so glad huge CRT magic has been restored for you! And Maddies comment about being there with her family, wow what a sweet moment! So many people always ask, don't you ever get sick of WDW, and moments like that are exactly why it's worth it to go time and time again!

Thanks so much! I had so much fun coming up with them.

It was so much better this time! I was so relieved! We'll never get sick of it as long as we keep having moments like that!

 

[shan23877]

Yay for the reading challenge! Isn't it great to see reading just click with them? So glad to hear she always has a book with her now!

I love the Wrigley pics. I don't know if we'll get there this season. It's always fun to go, though. And LOL about your comment about no Major League ball being played in Chicago.

Still love the quilt. Can't wait to see the finished product.

I'm so glad to hear you CRT meal was much better this trip. It's hard to return someplace when you've had less than stellar service, especially at Disney, but glad to see Tina redeemed the faith!

And I totally see Hailey in Snow White! Crazy.

thanks!

We are in the "one game a year until they start playing well" camp. LOL.

it was so much better. Bless that Tina for bringing the magic back!

Great job on the reading challenge, Maddie.

I have to agree Shannon. Although I would NEVER cheer for the south side team, neither team is worth watching this year. We are going August 22 to Wrigley and I wish I could get out of it.

Sorry you didn't find the pretzel, but nice of the CM to give Maddie her own Princess sized popcorn so she didn't have to share with Dad.

Love Dumbo; Mark and I always sit in separate elephants...much more comfortable.

I'm glad lunch at CRT was an improvement over your previous meal there.

Ugh. Bad baseball. Looks like the game you're going to is today though? I'm behind on your TR and PTR so I'm not sure. Say hi to Baez for me! I"m excited to see if he's the real deal!

We had a MUCH better time this year. So happy the magic was restored!

More lovely pictures of Maddie in the beautiful dress! Love all the PP shots.

Your dinner at CRT sounds lovely. But dare I say that the cheddar cheese actually LOOKS hard in the picture. I mean - hard like it wasn't wrapped right. Boo!

What a beautiful sentiment from Maddie during her wish. So cute and so sincere.

Overall, a lovely meal.

Thanks so much!

The cheese was just BAD. And I don't know that I've ever said that before. I love cheese! LOL

She's a sweetie. Keeps us going back too

Can't wait to see the quilt all finished! And, wished I heard about your reading challenge pre summer, as Angie has spent most of her summer here and getting her to read was difficult. She needs the reading, and if I heard about your challenge I would have done the same. She returned home tonight and will only be back for a quick weekend in a couple of weeks. But, I'll do this challenge next summer.... may even try to do this over the fall.

Glad to hear that CRT was so much better this time around. You deserved it! And, I just love that dress on Maddie! I love the picture of Maddie walking up the steps in CRT... I have a couple of Angie, and I always have her stop and pose by the stain glass window on the way up!

Love the American Girl dress alike... did you make that too? Obviously, I've not kept up with the latest AG clothes.

Can't wait to read more! Sounds like things with MIL is going well... hope it continues!

Karen

The Reading Challenge worked really well for us. She improved so much that it was almost unbelievable. I would totally suggest it. Mads had fun earning her little prizes and we didn't have to nag her. It was great!

It was so much better! We'll definitely return!

Well it wasn't all good believe me. I am going to try to gloss things over a bit in that regard, I'm trying to remember the good stuff.

Sounds like you had fun at MK! I'm glad you enjoyed your dining experience at CRT more this time around Looking forward to reading more!

It was a great first morning, and we were so glad that CRT's magic had returned!

Ok... it has been a couple of weeks, so I probably should get through this update in case you have one planned for tonight/tomorrow morning.

Hahahah! You know me, I'm not that reliable!

I think that is a great idea! I'm glad that it has been a useful tool to get her to enjoy reading and do some fun things together along the way.

It was actually a lot of fun for all of us. We'll do it again.

What? No Lilo dresses?

Oh there are always Lilo dresses. Sigh...

Well, that should certainly go a long way towards making up for the missed pretzel.

it was so sweet. I love those little moments.

I'm relieved that this experience was much better than the last. You know, now that I have finally booked an ADR here.

I feel confident that you will have a great time. Just steer clear of Joe.

I hope dinner is worthwhile. We're going for an early dinner on our MVMCP night. And someone in our group might just be dressed as Cinderella.

Spoiler: It isn't me.

I so hope you love it! (or that the kids do which is obviously what matters) And way to break our hearts. I was hoping we'd have a pic of you as Cindy!

Nope. Not buying it.
I think it is you.

You're the Photoshop master...

That would be the ugliest Cinderella ever.

Don't sell yourself short, you'll be LOVELY!

Despite our (i.e. guys) need to exaggerate, so very glad the injury wasn't as bad as it could have been.

Maddie got one of the flowers. I'm shocked...

Oh my goodness, that quilt looks AWESOME Shannon. I just so love the whole idea of it. Just beautiful and really special.

Maddie just has the BBB poses nailed. I bet she doesn't even need to be directed.

Thanks Rob! I was pretty relieved that it wasn't as serious as we originally thought.

She's pretty used to them by now! LOL

Maddie's BBB pictures are beautiful. It must be really hard to decide which ones to get.

That quilt - love it! Nice work and such a cute idea!

I have to say that Maddie's back to school outfit is SO cute!

I'm glad your DH wasn't seriously hurt. OUCH!

Looking forward to your BOG dinner!

Thanks Mary Ellen! I love having those pics of her year after year.

The quilt has been fun, I can't wait to get it all done.

I was too! He was very lucky.

Hey! I didn't realize you updated while I was gone! I'm SO GLAD that your had a CRT experience to restore your faith in the place.

Excellent update today as well, of course! The rain kind of bites though.

I can't wait to hear about what you have planned for your next trip. Hmmm, are you traveling with Anna and Elsa? Mickey and Minnie? Flynn and Rapunzel?

Oh the rain. 2 days worth. UGH.

CRT is back on the list of approved places. I'm so glad.

Well the cat is out of the bag now...

gotta love guys ... that they can use the phrase "everything is ok" and "I almost cut my thumb off" to describe the same situation

I still get thrown at how early some people go back to school - we don't even know who my daughter's teacher is yet and don't start until September 4th - just crazy how different school calendars are around the country.

I know you said it was the hardest but the Anna quilt square looks great! I love the draping on the Belle one as well (ok, clearly I watch too much HGTV and Bravo) ... and the quilt as a whole looks amazing - really great job and what a great way to remember the trip!

Definitely some long lines - so great for FP+! ugh, hate when the app has incorrect / not current wait times ... and double bummer about BTMRR and Space both being down.

Haha! He sent some mixed signals for sure!

It's crazy early I think. They won't get out until nearly June!

I'm pretty excited to finish up the quilt. I am really glad that i did it. ANd very impressed that you have the lingo down. I watch those channels way too much myself.

I hate when the app is wrong. especially when you walk all the way across the park because of it!

Maddie’s so cute!! Can’t believe school’s started for you already!! Insane!

LOVE THE QUILT!! SERIOUSLY!! IT’S AMAZING!!!
Great updates! Glad you weren’t scared of the rain lol!! Looks like you’re having fun!

thanks so much Katt! We did manage to have a great day despite the rain, but the next day we didn't do quite as well...