Monthly Archives May 2009

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Mother’s Day at Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Everyone was very tired after our dinner at Chef Mickey. We decided to call it an early night and head back to Pop Century. Our luggage had arrived in the room and we got the boys settled into bed. They faded quickly.

The next morning was Mother’s Day. We had planned to go to Disney Hollywood Studios. My parents went to use some snack credit on our dining plan for their breakfast. The boys and I took extra time putting sun lotion on. We opted to take some oatmeal bars for a breakfast on the move. As you can see…the lines were sparce when we arrived for the buses. 

Bus area before leaving for the day

We arrived at Disney Hollywood studios an hour before the park opened. This gave us time to make a plan for when the park opened. JL was going to take all of our tickets to walk quickly to Toy Story Mania. We would make our way there to the line for a ride. It was neat seeing the park so quite before everyone was there.

Before the park opened

Quiet street before opening

They finally opened the main gate for everyone to see the spiel that they do at the opening of the day. JL made his way to the front. When the director said action, he was off to Toy Story Mania. Mom, Dad, the boys and I quickly found our way to the Pixar area. JL already had our Fast pass tickets to return, so we opted to go onto the standby line. Within 5 minutes we were on the ride. The people that designed this attraction did an amazing job taking you inside the life of the toys. You are immediately transformed into a world from Toy Story.

Toy Story Mania


About the photos from top left-right and bottom left-right. 1. The entrance of Toy Story Mania, 2. Giant Candyland, 3. Monkey along the way, 4. Toy Story Mania, 5. Fabulous game/ride – Toy Story Mania, 6. Happy to try Toy Story Mania, 7. Ready to ride and play the game, 8. Nana and Papa ready to go

After riding Toy Story Mania the first time we decided to wander to the Muppets area. This took us along the back lot. Mom took a photo of the four of us and then some kind people took the only photo that we had of our entire group. 

With the boys 

Our only photo with all 6 of us

Just around the corner from NYC, we found ourselves surrounded by familiar Muppet friends. We wandered around and then went to see the show. 

Muppet Time!

 1. Time for the Muppets, 2. Ready for the show, 3. Glasses a bit too large, 4. Outside Muppet Vision 3D

Upon stepping out of the Muppet theater, we quickly saw that they were opening up the area to meet Lightning McQueen and Mater from the movie Cars. We waited for the photo opportunity. NHL and JSL were not too sure. We actually had to switch sides since Mater’s loud noises were really bothering the little guy.

Time spent with Cars

After we said goodbye to Lightning and Mater, we went back to Toy Story Mania to ride with our Fast Pass. When the ride was over we parted ways with Nana and Papa. They went to explore the park and get a Fast Pass for Dad and I to go on the Rockin Roller Coaster. The boys and I opted to try out the Playhouse Disney Show. This was a cute show. The only negative in my mind, as an adult, is sitting on the floor scrunched next to a ton of people. It was well worth the sleepy legs since both of the boys loved seeing familiar faces. 

The Super Sleuths  Goofy and Mickey Mouse

The Playhouse Disney show

By the time the show was over it was already time to use our Fast Pass for the Rockin’ Roller Coaster. Dad and I went on line and the boys and Nana went to get fast pass for the Tower of Terror and look for a place to have lunch. Fifteen minutes later we were off the coaster. It was absolutely amazing! It was the first time I kept my eyes open and enjoyed a coaster. It was fast, smooth, and the light show made it even more fabulous. It took us a while to get a hold of the rest of the gang. They had found a restaurant that was inside and had a decent menu. We walked over and had lunch while JSL slept.

While walking away from the restaurant after lunch something happened. I suddenly felt my glasses shift and was queasy. Sure enough the nose pad on my glasses was gone. There was no hope in finding it. This was not a good start to the vacation since I had no clue where or how to get them fixed. Papa, JL and NHL went off to the Tower of Terror. JL refused to do this on our honeymoon, but this time did not want to be out done by his five year old son.

Brave little Tower of Terror boy

 1. The ride that NHL wanted to go on, 2. Before Tower of Terror, 3. What goes up . . .

Meanwhile my mother and I wandered with sleeping JSL to get a spot to watch the Beauty and the Beast show. This show had major memories from the last visit I had with my family. I was able to get an apple for JSL to have while waiting for the show. When the boys arrived we went to our seats and enjoyed the beautiful show. As you can imagine the boys were mesmerized and barely moved during the performance.

All of the favorites from Beauty and the Beast Belle and the Beast

After the show Dad and I decided to go back on Rockin’ Roller coaster since the line was very short. This time the boys and Nana waited in the Aerosmith store for us to come out. Lucky me, since it meant that JL was able to capture the photo from our ride. 

First time on the coaster with my father Amazing ride - best coaster I have ever been on 

Family at Disney Studios

At this point there was not a lot of time before our dinner reservations at the 50’s Prime Time Cafe. We decided to walk over to the Voyage of the Little Mermaid to enjoy the show sitting in a nice air conditioned theater. 

Waiting to see the Little Mermaid 

Ariel The face of real trouble

Finally it was close to dinner time. We all walked toward the restaurant. NHL stopped to see some topiaries and JSL enjoyed walking with Papa.  

NHL looking at the Snow White topiary

Papa takes the little guy for a stroll

Our meal at the Prime Time Cafe was very good. We were on the dining plan, so each of us was able to get a beverage to start. JL, Mom and I all had Berry Smoothies, Dad had a Diet Coke Float and NHL wanted milk. The boys shared NHL’s macarroni and cheese, JL had a Tuna meal and the rest of us had an amazing salmon dish. The antics of the server are well worth the visit. We also had yummy desserts with our meals before heading out of Disney Hollywood Studios. 

Mother's Day Meal Memories 

1. Boys trying to be sweet, 2. Back to before I was here, 3. Mother’s Day dinner, 4. Our wacky server

Rather than go right back to Pop Century we followed my parents to Downtown Disney for a little while. NHL was curious to see the monster World of Disney store and we were all curious about Goofy Candy Co.

Quick trip to Downtown Disney 

1. The boys outside the Winnie the Pooh Store, 2. Stitch spits at you as you enter, 3. Mirror fun time, 4. Never did buy anything here

Quickly we realized it was time to go. We had been away from our room for over 12 hours and we were all getting cranky. By the time we got to our resort the boys were ready to recline in their stroller. 

Resting in the rented stroller

Then we walked back to our room in the 80’s area of Pop Century with the glow of the Rubics Cubes lighting our way. 

Heading back to room after a long day

As expected the little guy was fast asleep by the time we made it to our room.

Night-night little guy

All four of us quickly fell asleep as we caught some Z’s before our big day at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

TheAngelForever

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A photo tale of Chef Mickey

My mostly wordless photo tale of our first dinner in Disney World at Chef Mickey. If you want a little information, feel free to hover over the photos for the brief captions. 

The calm before the storm 

He spots something 

It's the Donald 

Not sure about this 

Death grip on Daddy 

Not letting go 

Uh, oh here comes another one 

Poor Daddy 

Pluto is the character culprit this time 

Clutching Mommy after birthday celebration dance 

Sleeping boy gets visit from Donald 

Even Pluto comes back to say hello 

Shhhh. . . . don't wake the little guy 

Goofy Papa

Goofy with the sleeping boy

TheAngelForever

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Up up and away…finally on the way

As our first trip on an airplane neared I felt pretty at ease. The calm nature actually scared me at times since it is not like me. The Sunday before we left I had 95% of our clothing packed and ready to go. Of course, leave it to the 5% and other items to be the biggest pain.

Friday night we got the kids into bed early since we had to leave for the airport bright and early. Then the fun started. JL realized that our scanner was not working and we needed copies of the birthcertificates for the boys. Thank goodness my father bailed me out and went to the grocery store at 9:00 that night. When I got home we had all of the additinal suitcases out to get ready. I packed one, sat it up and saw something. There was a hole and I could see the contents of the luggage. Oy!  Back to the drawing board it was for me.

JL and I finally went to sleep at about 1:00. Our alarm went off at 5:00 in the morning and we met my parents to head to the parking place by the airport at 6:15. We were lucky and scored online boarding passes for Group A on Southwest airlines (more to come about that in the future). By 8:30 we were on the plane and ready to go. NHL sat with Nana and Papa and JSL sat with JL and me. NHL was eager to go and had fun looking out the window:

Ready to take off 

Meanwhile JSL was busy reading the on board snack card. He was scoping out what was included on our flight.

Checking everything out

We were very lucky and both of the boys were wonderful on their first flights. The flight attendents on our Southwest  trip down were fabulous. We had one male flight attendant that kept on the microphone telling hilarious jokes. It certainly helped to break the tension of the turbulance that we experienced. The boys ate their snacks, played with toys and about 30 minutes before we landed this is what JSL looked like:

Tired little flyer

After landing we made our way to the Magical Express area. This is the bus that guests of the Disney Resorts may take. We opted to allow them to collect our checked luggage and bring it to our rooms. After over an hour and a half we were on a bus heading to Pop Century – our resort of choice. We checked in and were told that the rooms would not be ready for 2 hours. We went and had lunch at the hotel and called an hour later to find that everything was set. I went off to get the stroller that we rented from Orlando Stroller Rentals. It was waiting for us at Baggage Check and had amazing instructions included (kuddos to Shannon for a classy act).

We dropped our things off at the room and went to the Magic Kingdom. We had about an hour before we had to head to the Contemporary Resort for our 5:30 reservations at Chef Mickey. During that time we wandered around Main Street, got the boys 1st Visit buttons, took some photos, and saw the show in front of the castle. Just a taste of the magic for the boys who were melting in the 98 degree weather that greeted us in Orlando.

Walking to Main Street USA

A fun view blocking the castle 

Gorgeous view of the castle

Mickey and Minnie topiary

Then we opted to walk to the Contemporary for dinner. Along the way we saw beautiful palm trees which really made us feel like we were in Florida. 

A true vacation sign

More from our Chef Mickey experience and more coming soon!

TheAngelForever

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The original Disney fanatics in the family

Growing up I went to Disney World almost every year. My parents were huge Disney fanatics and wanted all of us to have a special vacation each year. Of course, they claimed it was for my brother and me, but let’s be honest they wanted to have fun as well. Our recent trip was the first time JL and I took the boys to Disney World. It was only fitting that Nana and Papa go along with us. They went to celebrate special birthdays and to see their grandsons experience the Disney magic for the first time.

Nana and the birthday boy

Papa helping JSL to be brave to honk Pooh Bear's nose

Before I get into posting about everything from our trip (still tons of photos to go through), I wanted to take a minute and thank my parents. Thank you for not only making me the huge Disney fan that I am, but thank you for experiencing the magic with us this past week. The boys and I were so glad to have you there during most of the day and each evening for our special dinners. It was so amazing seeing not only NHL and JSL’s faces, but also yours as you watched your grandchildren becoming little Disney fanatics of their own.

TheAngelForever

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Back from the House of Mouse

This morning we were up at an obscene hour, had breakfast at our Disney Resort and by 7:45 were on the Magical Express toward our airplane home. There is so much to tell and share from our magical week long vacation.

For now, I wanted to give a glimpse of one of the photos that we had taken the first evening at the park. It is hard to believe that this was taken just over a week ago before we had our first Walt Disney World meal at Chef Mickey. 

First minutes at Magic Kingdom

JL and I had a wonderful time watching the boys take in their first Disney World experience. It was also fun watching the boys interact with Nana and Papa who also came along. In short we had a wonderful time. Many stories to share, tips to give and a few whines to mention. Of course before that the boys must get into the tub and tucked into their beds. Then it will be time to sort through our thousands of photos.

TheAngelForever

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