New Year, New Experiences! A January 2016 TR - I’m here at WDW! 3/25

[Pinkocto]

I'm here I'm here I miss the hat too!!!

When you showed the 2012 photo I realized time really does fly by

Ok, that King of Queens picture literally had me laughing out loud. I have a few favorite foods that I am seriously sad when I get halfway through and know they're half gone

The Poly CM that took DH to OKW is awesome!!!

 

[franandaj]

I bet it saved him at least an hour and a half wouldn't you say?

Resort to resort is usually 90 minutes, so it may have even saved 2 hours.

Uh oh!!! Coming up soon??

I don't remember what I was going to say here now. Maybe it will come clear when I post the Poly part of our stay.

Yes! I thought the same thing. If Trader Sam's at DLR can fit a good amount of tables in that itty space, so can this one!

They could have got a few more tables into that room. We said that to the server and she laughed at us.

 

[NittanyKK]

I've been on a slight break from reading trip reports because of moving and planning a wedding... I just realized I missed the birth of your little boy so CONGRATULATIONS! You have some seriously adorable boys!

Seriously jealous that you stayed at the Poly... definitely my dream resort at WDW! I'm hoping maybe sometime in the future. It seems like it would be so convenient with the monorail and I love the rooms.

Also, I think I saw that you are going to Aulani in October? Have you been before? We are going in December for part of our honeymoon and I'm so SO excited!!

 

[khertz]

Holy crowds!!! It was definitely more crowded at the O Lights when we were there last year too compared to previous years that we had seen them. Not surprising because I'm sure them going away led to many many quick trips planned just to see them one more time like we did!! So glad we did though, it was totally worth it. Our DS loved the snoap too!!

WOW. That Poly villa is GORGEOUS!!!! How exciting to get to stay there!!!

 

[AussieMumma]

We were at HS in early December and it was crazy busy at the lights also. It was our first time seeing them so we just took our time, it was kind of tricky with the kids though.
The room at the Poly looks great, that Lilo & Stitch painting near the bed is adorable
Yay you've got the stroller back! We've had two City Mini's in the past, the same as yours plus a GT, and absolutely loved them. I just wish they had been around when my older kids were babies!

 

[Leshaface]

I am in awe over those Osborne lights pics...that is a LOT of people! I honestly don't know if I could have enjoyed that.
Like even on a regular day there when it wasn't about to close it would get crowded. So I cannot imagine the throngs of people trying to get in and see them before they were gone for good. I am sad they are gone but very glad I got to see them twice before!

Exactly! There was always crowds for the lights years before this, but this was madness!

I love these artistic and amazing photos you share with us...you have a true talent my friend

I should win an award for the best blurry pics!

What a pain! But there's that Disney service we know and love! Sometimes I worry that they are losing their touch and then I hear things like this and I know there are still amazing CM's there that truly care!

YES! I still hear about awful customer service every once in a while where i'm like , but then this happens

That is so awesome they did that! And that they worked! Woohoo!

It was like our own personal VIP CM!

This was my reaction when I saw this little Murphy bed with the Lilo and Stitch background:

I HEART EYE EMOJI LILO AND STITCH! Love love love

No joke, I was SOOOOO excited when I had first seen pictures of the murphy bed because 1) This was one of the movies i'm a huge fan of and 2) DS was going to freak out!

Such a cutie pie!!!!

My main dawg!

This picture is everything!

Isn't though?! I didn't ask him to do that, I just turned around and thank goodness i had my camera in my hand to capture it. So adorable!

This is acceptable in my book! I too could not deny my sushi cravings when I was pregnant with DS. It was only a few times

Yay glad i'm not alone in indulging our bad cravings!

Sigh, this is my husband.

We should honestly win "moms of the year" for our ability to refrain from consuming alcohol while pregnant. IT ISN'T EASY PEOPLE!

For reals. Especially because with this last pregnancy I LOVED the smell of beer and wine. Not the hard stuff, but oh my gosh, anytime DH would have a glass, I inhaled deeply

Mmmmmmmmm that looks so good!!!!

I agree with this!

Can't wait to read more!!!

Coming up!

I don't think it was even that bad when we visited.

You guys probably visited at the best time possible to view them. The last weekend, on a Saturday?! Not a wise combo.

Yeah, baby-stepping was really annoying. Still, I wouldn't have gotten to see these lights otherwise.

Yes absolutely. We're blessed that we were able to make this last minute trip even happen and for that i'm grateful

Goodness. That's just brutal.

In the video, everyone has that awkward duck waddle trying to take small steps while attempting to move forward All bad.

Yes. Yes, you are.

Er, I mean, sorry about that...[/QUOTE]

I'll proudly shout it from the mountain tops!

Because that's what you do!

I think I learned this from you

Hey! Stop trying to steal my award!

Sharesies???

I was so happy not to be a 'tourist' but to be a staying guest!

Hooray! You got lei'd!

4 times!

Wow! That's awesome service.

I couldn't have been happier, unless they comp'ed the room!

Love those rooms. The Lilo and Stitch art is just perfect.

It's not over the top character-y either, which I love.

Woohoo!

I could have stood at the bar for all I cared, gimme sushi!

D'oh!

Yeah. I froze.

Mark, meet Dan.

Yay for the return of the stroller! Also yay for fantastic Poly CMs for helping you get it back!
I love the Poly rooms and that trundle bed with the lilo and stitch picture is adorable!
How sad that Kona wouldn't give you your sushi but I am glad that Trader Sam's had what you wanted.

That stroller made my night! Well, so did the room too. Just everything was perfect! I wouldn't have cared if they have asked to given our sushi to go that would have been absolutely fine with me! But happy that Trader Sams worked out for us.

Oh my gosh...I didn't realize you were there at the end of the lights =! Did the park seem crazy all day or just at night?

You know, I always think that park is pretty busy, but for whatever reason, it felt the lightest in terms of crowds that day that i've ever encountered But woah, did everyone and their grandma come out at night!

I would be the same way...

I was really trying to not let the overcrowding get to me and make the best of it.

Great picture of the three of you!

Thank you!

I'm glad everything worked out in the end with checking in but I bet it's not the most fun to wait when it's really late. And yay for SW finally finding the stroller and that nice CM to help your husband get the stroller!!!

Yes! And that coupled with a toddler who doesn't want to sit still

I am in love with that bed. When I get a chance to stay at the Poly Villas, I just may have to try and sleep in it...too cute!

I told DH, that if we ever stayed again, just the two of us, i'm getting that bed It was really comfortable too!

Adorable.

I love it!

Cool! That's great you were able to get your sushi!

Don't mess with a preggo and her cravings

Wow! That was some great Poly customer service! And yay for getting the stroller back and with no damages! I bet DS was pretty excited about not having to ride in the yucky stroller anymore.

I think the stroller was harder on DH and I than it was on DS!

MMM, the sushi looks good. What all was on it, if you remember? Keep in mind that I don't have any kids and I am a horrible influence on others but I feel like a little sushi every once in awhile when you're pregnant is okay. Now, if you're eating it every single meal the whole 9 months, we might have issues.

I want to say it was similar to a rainbow roll? Cali roll in the middle with tuna and salmon on top? And you're so right all about moderation. Fish is really good for people, especially pregnant women, but I wonder if that's on the 'no eat list' because they don't want them to run the risk of eating bad fish But from a reputable place, i'm sure it's just fine! Like, what do Japanese women eat?!?

I totally love that bed!!! I wonder where I could put on in my house......hmmmmmm......

No kidding, DS would LOVE this!

 

[Leshaface]

I'm here I'm here I miss the hat too!!!

Yay Pam! Me and you together will shout it from the mountain tops that we miss the hat!!

When you showed the 2012 photo I realized time really does fly by

Right?! And that was the time we first met each other

Ok, that King of Queens picture literally had me laughing out loud. I have a few favorite foods that I am seriously sad when I get halfway through and know they're half gone

YES! One food in particular for me is Pad Thai at one of my fav restaurants here. I start slowing down when my plate is about to be emptied

The Poly CM that took DH to OKW is awesome!!!

No kidding, he was amazing to do that! To ensure that DH was able to physically get the stroller himself to bring it back was awesome!

I've been on a slight break from reading trip reports because of moving and planning a wedding... I just realized I missed the birth of your little boy so CONGRATULATIONS! You have some seriously adorable boys!

Ah I remember those days of planning a wedding. Not fun and ours wasn't even that big, like 150 people?! And moving is just Hope things are getting easier for you! Aw and thank you, I love my both my boys! Well, all three of them!

Seriously jealous that you stayed at the Poly... definitely my dream resort at WDW! I'm hoping maybe sometime in the future. It seems like it would be so convenient with the monorail and I love the rooms.

Oh I hope you can stay here one day, it's phenomenal! It may be even more convenient that the Grand Floridian, just cause you can take a 5 minute walk over to the TTC and get directly on a monorail to Epcot!

Also, I think I saw that you are going to Aulani in October? Have you been before? We are going in December for part of our honeymoon and I'm so SO excited!!

Yes we are, and i'm so soooo excited! I've never been before but i'm totally looking forward to it! How fun, we're going to celebrate our 10 year anniversary and you're going
on your honeymoon! I'm totally doing a TR on it too, which is why I need to hurry this one up!

Holy crowds!!! It was definitely more crowded at the O Lights when we were there last year too compared to previous years that we had seen them. Not surprising because I'm sure them going away led to many many quick trips planned just to see them one more time like we did!! So glad we did though, it was totally worth it. Our DS loved the snoap too!!

WOW. That Poly villa is GORGEOUS!!!! How exciting to get to stay there!!!

I'm sure the quick trips coupled with locals wanting to check out the last weekend too made it that much worse! But you're right, i'm so glad to say that we were able to see it in its last running year.

I never thought we'd be able to stay there, but with DVC, no joke, all our resort dreams our able to come true! So sappy right

We were at HS in early December and it was crazy busy at the lights also. It was our first time seeing them so we just took our time, it was kind of tricky with the kids though.
The room at the Poly looks great, that Lilo & Stitch painting near the bed is adorable
Yay you've got the stroller back! We've had two City Mini's in the past, the same as yours plus a GT, and absolutely loved them. I just wish they had been around when my older kids were babies!

Hey, but that's great you were able to catch the lights before they went out! Still makes me sad thinking that any future trips, we won't see them

I just looked at the GT, very cool! Adjustable hand bar and hand brake!? Very convenient! Now i'm looking at the City Mini Double for the two boys. The seats itself looks a little more compact than the single, but the City Mini brand is just the best and easiest to fold up and carry! And fairly light weight too.

 

[Leshaface]

All caught up on replies!

I wanted to make it official here (don't think I have yet?) but we're going to Aulani in October! I know i've mentioned it on a few comments here and on other TR's but wanted to wait to make the announcement until some physical postpartum stuff cleared up but it looks like things will be fine! Here's what we're looking at:

Where: Disney's Aulani
What: One Bedroom, Island Garden View
When: Saturday, October 8 - Friday, October 14, 2016 (6 nights, 7 days)
Who: DH, Cal, Q, DM and me!
Why: Our 10 year anniversary!

Don't have much planned as of yet but have some ideas thanks to the TR's here on the DIS, but we're both really excited about this trip! Have never been to Hawaii but have always wanted to. Also, we wanted to do something different than WDW for this special evenscared I know, BUT, it's still Disney related This TR will definitely be done before we go.


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DISNEYLAND AND KNOTT'S BERRY FARM




Before I get on with the next update, I wanted to include a recent trip we took to Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm a few weeks ago. DS has never been to Knott's Berry, but he’s grown a love for all things Charlie Brown and Snoopy since seeing his first Peanuts show in October, It's the Great Pumpkin, so we knew we needed to get him there before he grew out of that. Also, our touring style for Disneyland was MUCH different this time and it was pretty special and epic!





We actually left on DH’s last day of school before Summer so we picked him up since he’s on the way to LA.


Cal is ready!





Q is just along for the ride. BTW, he was 5 weeks here. He beat out Cal’s first trip to Disneyland by one week!





Now that we had an extra person with us, traveling was much different. I was forced to sit in the middle back because I was the only one that would fit!





I’d like to note, this was our last trip ever in a Volvo Our car wouldn’t start the day before the trip (We had planned on taking ours since the back seat was a bit bigger). I took it in to the shop thinking it was the battery, but it was the alternator - $700 – no thanks! We had planned on getting a new car in August but I guess God had different plans for us! The next day after we returned from our trip, we bought our first brand new car together, a 2016 Chevy Traverse and good golly! I had no idea how bad our shocks were on both our vehicles We are extremely happy with our new purchase!


We have Disneyland AP’s that were good to use that Wednesday and Thursday so we thought we’d try and do something at DLR Wednesday night and then spend all day Thursday in the parks, then drive over to Knottsberry the following day.


I’ve stayed at Tropicana before but it was a while back. I wanted to include this in case anyone was interested in staying here. Location is perfect! About 30 steps to the main crosswalk that takes you over to the Disneyland Resort and prices have always been fair but the rooms tend to go quickly.


I had booked just a regular two queen room but they upgraded us for whatever reason, to a Suite.


You can see through that doorway is a separate sitting room with a couch and a TV.








Directly behind where I’m standing when I took this picture (showing the bathroom area)





Is a full kitchen!


Looking to the left





And the right





It was huge! But perfect for families that needed space and planned on staying at the resort for a long period of time.


We wanted to catch some of the hockey game – am NOT satisfied the outcome of the Stanley Cup, BTW – so the best place to watch that at was ESPN Zone, where some little guy was trying to steal a bite










This was the trip I was absolutely DETERMINED to make the Paint the Night Parade. We’d missed it twice already so it was going to happen. DM was not interested and wanted to keep Q back in the room with her. So we decided we’d walk her back to the room, grab some sweaters and take Cal to the parade! We had plenty of time, our meal ended at 7:15 and the first showing was at 8:50pm.


On the way back though, we got distracted by this

And these little lovelies over at Marceline’s








By the time we got back to the room and left, it was already 8:40pm! Heck NO! We were going to make this! And make it we did. We were inside the park in 8 minutes. PHEW! @TheMaxRebo had told me about a great last minute spot that I really wanted to hit, but when we saw all the crowds we decided not to try it that close to
the start of the parade so we stopped near the street across the way from the Disney Gallery.

What I had forgotten about was that the first parade starts from near IASW and ends pretty much right where we were seated. Which meant, it didn’t start for us at 8:50 but around 9:10pm But OH MY GOSH. If you haven’t seen it or never planned on seeing it because you’re not a parade person, stop acting a fool and see this! The parade song is from Wreck it Ralph (which DS was totally into!) and the floats were absolutely gorgeous. Check out my not so great pictures!





Mack in the background was a very impressive ‘float’









He was like this the whole time






I’m not a Frozen fan, but the float was definitely 'cool' hehe





And some classic characters to wrap it up!









It was fabulous! DH thought it was so much better than MSEP. If you don’t think you’ll ever get a chance to see it in person, check out this high quality video from YouTube.


I don’t have any pictures for the rest of the evening, but we wanted to check on Cal's height. The last trip we took in March, he was RIGHT under the minimum height for some of the bigger rides. We went to the closest height check near us, which was Star Tours. We told him to go up to the bar and the CM said he BARELY makes it but he made it! YES!!! Our whole touring style was going to be so much different that what we were used to and DH was the most excited I’ve seen him in a long time. We now had an extra riding buddy for BTMR, Splash, Soarin’, etc!

So what’s the first ride we hit up? Buzz Lightyear of course All the waits for the ‘big’ rides were 35+ mins, so we’d try them out tomorrow. After Buzz we went back to the hotel to insure we got a good nights rest and hit the big rides in the morning!

The next morning, DH and I discussed spending the morning at DCA, grabbing FP’s for Radiator Springs Racers (DS would probably love that ride!) and attempting to ride Jumpin’ Jellyfish and Soarin’.

RSR FP’s in hand, Cal requested the ‘Mermaid ride’. Okie dokie, let’s go twice since it’s a walk on!

After that, on to Jumpin’ Jellyfish! I for sure thought he was going to love this ride, because he has always wanted to go on it before but explained that he couldn’t. But once we got in line, he started saying he didn’t want to go on. A little side story, that I’m sure none of you will be surprised to hear. When I was younger (7/8 years old) I was always afraid of any type of roller coaster or scary dark rides. My dad would always encourage me to at least try it, but my mom would put a stop to it right away. She was (uh, still is!) very anxious about our safety and sanity on the bigger rides. I told DH early on when Cal was born, that I didn’t want to be that type of mom. I wanted to encourage him to try things once and if he didn’t like it after doing something, that was it. No pushing.

Well he started whimpering a little bit



And once it went up he started crying, but towards the end he calmed down a little bit

and once we got off he wanted to go back on again I’m so confused by his emotions! I told him that if he wanted to later, we’d come back but let’s try some other rides.

I wanted to check on wait times for Soarin’ and it was only 15 minutes! In we went and we explained that we were going to be flying, like in an airplane and he was pretty excited about that!



And lucky us, his first flight was in the very front row!



HE LOOOOOVED it! Oh my gosh, how happy that made my heart. He told Nana, that he flew in the clouds and saw the ocean and Disneyland and fireworks! In honor of his first ‘big boy’ ride, I bought him a Soarin’ Pin


​

 

[Leshaface]

RSR was up next. I decided to skip it and take Q to the baby care center for some eats and diaper change. The verdict? He did NOT like it, but started crying and throwing a fit when they tried taking him out of the car, he wanted to go again. He needs to get his emotions in check quick so I can figure him out!


We hopped over to Disneyland for our lunch reservation at Café Orleans where we all shared the Gumbo, a salad, the Monte Cristo and the Fried Green Tomato Sandwich


Cal tore up the gumbo





The only other picture I took here was the Fried Green Tomato Sandwich, I’ve had one at the Jazz Kitchen before in DTD, but this one tasted so much better!





It was perfect with the Monte Cristo, which was also amazing and almost 10 bucks cheaper than Blue Bayou’s version


I don’t have many other pictures from this day, but this was funny. We all got some ice cream as a snack later on and sat by the CM entrance near the end of Main Street, where we got to see a few characters including Alice and the Mad Hatter (with the Mad Hatter commenting something about eating ice cream and not drinking tea), band members and then Aladdin and Jasmine. BTW, we did not stop any of them for pics cause we knew they were on their way for breaks. I kept telling Cal to turn around and wave at them but he kept turning the wrong way to find them. Aladdin started laughing and poor Jasmine kept trying to wave to no avail. But I got this picture, where he was saying, “What Nana!? Who?!”





We FP’ed Star Tours – he liked it, but didn’t like Lightspeed and kept putting his face in the armrest. BTMRR was sometimes running, sometimes not, so we skipped it this trip. Did a few other things like Pirates, HM, Winnie the Pooh and the Carousel then hopped back over to DCA where everyone crashed








And if you can see by where we’re sitting, we got prime spots for the Pixar Parade, which Cal slept through.





Oh and this was our first time renting a Disney stroller. Not bad! Doesn’t lean back (didn’t stop him from sleeping!) but it’s easy to maneuver with some good storage space. Not sure what we’re going to do for a stroller for next time. I saw @TheMaxRebo’s City Mini Double stroller that I did like so maybe that??


Cal was very into getting pictures taken of him so he asked for one with his sunglasses on. Such a Cali dude





We went on Soarin’ again per Cal’s request, did some shopping and decided to have dinner at the Storytellers Café – delicious as usual – and ended our night there. We drove over to a hotel near Knott's Berry farm (about 10 minutes away from Disneyland) so we’d be close to the park the next morning!
​

 

[Leshaface]

The nice thing about Knotts, is the earliest they open is 10, which means we can sleep in! The bad thing, is I have a toddler that doesn’t. Nope, the newborn does pretty good about making his last eat fest around 5am and then crashing till about 8:30am



Cal was up at 6:30

Our hotel has a free shuttle to the park, even though we were right across the street from the park itself, so decided to shuttle it over and walk back at the end of the day.

If you have Peanuts fans, this is the park for you! They have a whole section dedicated to everything Peanuts and Cal loved it! He talks about the Red Baron often when he plays with his planes at homes and what a coincidence that they have a Red Baron ride.

Some of the rides here did make me a bit nervous. On a couple of rides, you have to be a maximum height, meaning he has to ride without us. I wasn’t sure I could trust him to stay seated in a ride without trying to hop out but he did alright for the most part staying seated.

DH put him in one of the planes and this happened



I’m sure his poor flying buddy was like, “Get me a different flyer please!”

When he got off I asked him a question:

He eventually calmed down when he saw this cool photo op section. Looks like Cal is the one needing Psychiatric help





And then the big Dog came out!

Grand Sierra Railroad was across from the Photo Op, so we headed that way and when Cal saw it was a train, he started freaking out. I explained that ‘Baby Brother’ was going to ride too and he felt better that someone would be riding with him



Camp Bus was next

Meh. He didn’t cry, but he didn’t like it.

Pig Pen Mud Buggies – where I had to stop the video cause I died laughing! And nope, didn’t like this one either!

​

At this point, DH was getting frustrated that he wasn’t liking anything. Knott's was a bust so far. We decided to take a break and got some carne asada fries and some Knott’s Berry Punch (made with Boysenberry’s!) I’ve got to say, the food here definitely rivals Disney food. And thanks to the help of this article we found some very yummy stuff including a Boysenberry Cronut, which I declared, better than Epcot’s Cinnamon Sugar Cronut!!

After our yummy snack, we headed back to Camp Snoopy Land to attempt some more rides.

Rocky Mountain Trucking Company was next and it was a major hit! I went with him first. Then he asked for Nana, then DH. Three times we had to hear these annoying horns but he loved it and that’s all that matters

​

Up next was Charlie Brown’s Kite Flyer, where yep, everyone had to ride again.

This one was cute. It’s called the Huff and Puff where you pump your own lever to make your little car go. At first I thought wow, what an easy job for the worker here, the kids have to do it all on their own. Then I realized how wrong I was. The poor girl would end up having to give some kids a push to get them started, or some didn’t like it, so she would have to push them around the entire track herself. Hardest job there by far!

I purposefully put Cal in the ‘middle’ of the cars so he wouldn’t be at fault for holding kids back But he did ending up holding a few back who helped push him along. He still talks about the “Puff and Puff” today!





Then he really enjoyed the Balloon Race

Meanwhile, through all this, all this kid wanted to do was sleep. And get some hugs every once in a while!



For a break from the heat, we headed into one of the shops that had everything Peanuts. We geared up Cal with a hat and a Charlie Brown snap bracelet that you see him holding, along with some books and cups



We wanted to check out more of the park and headed to the newly opened Ghost Town Alive. Oh my gosh, it is really cool! It’s an interactive experience where you’re transported into the Old West, where actors pretty much drag you into the story line that’s going on in Calico (the town) either very subtly or full force. We were completely immersed as soon as we stepped into Calico. A woman named Goldie approached us, telling us that we shouldn’t vote for ‘X’ (can’t remember the name) because he’s corrupt and will damage the reputation of the town. We talked to her for several minutes and I asked for a quick picture. DH was smitten with her cute accent



When we left, DH was pushing the stroller that Q was in, when he got approached by a bandit asking him for help to form a riot at town hall. Of course, DH was all over that and he totally ditched the stroller to help him gather people! I was pushing the other stroller that had Cal in it and DM was browsing the windows of a store! After I secured the stroller, I took a picture to show DH later how he ditched his family to help a bandit. Priorities I suppose



I found shade under the Post Office awning when a Sherriff came out, tipped his hat to me and said “Afternoon ma’am. Why don’t you relax in the cold, quiet Post Office with those young’uns. The postmaster is out making deliveries for the important election that would be taking place at Town Hall shortly.” He noticed something behind me, not sure what I was tending to a crying baby, when he pardoned himself, tipped his hat again and went running out yelling something to somebody. So fun! Meanwhile, DH was no where to be found, DM was somewhere and I was left with two strollers. Luckily, DM found me and we headed to the stables to pet the horses, where DH decided to grace us with his presence



and told me to hurry up cause he was needed at Town Hall….




Dude was so into it!

I eventually left them to go change and feed Q but during that time they went to the school house and got a real lesson



And went and placed their vote at Town Hall of course.

We could have spend so much more time here, but everyone was getting hungry so we headed over to Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Dinner Restaurant for some amazing fried chicken with all the fixin’s!

If you’re interested in seeing more of the Ghost Town Alive antics, check out this video . The video looks pretty dead, but the day we went (with tons of graduate groups!) there were lots more actors out and about walking the ‘streets’.

We did some more attractions that were suitable for Cal, went back to Ghost Town but they had called it a wrap (I think about two hours before park closing), ate some more yummy food, and called it a night about 30 minutes till closing. I highly, highly recommend checking out Knott’s Berry Farm if you’re ever in the area. You can get discounted tickets through UT and there’s plenty to do! We felt like we didn’t have enough time to see the back of the park, so DH is trying to plan another trip there. But I’m pretty sure he has a hidden agenda, hoping to spend more time ‘acting out’ with Ghost Town Alive again.​

 

[Leshaface]

The next day we made the 10 minute drive to DTD for some shopping and lunch before going home for good.


DH relaxing with his new buddy before heading out





Cal got a new hat from the Quiksilver store





We had an amazing lunch at Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen, went to Marceline’s about bought the Nemo candied apple I was eyeing early on in the trip, with his lucky fin included!











But one of the highlights of the trip came next. I asked DM to stay with the boys so I could buy some stuff at Marceline’s and then use the restroom after. I gave Cal my phone to watch some cartoons, but instead he took some pictures and we may have a little photographer on our hands!








Never noticed that big Ice Cream cone before!





A shocked Quentin!























And probably one of the best pictures out of all 30-ish that he took:























This poor lady! She was probably like, “Do I smile or snarl at this kid?” so she kinda gave him both


I told DH that we need to give Cal a cheap camera for him to take pictures. He's got a cool perspective and see's things that we may not!





Thanks for letting me post about our recent family trip! ​

 

[Dugette]

I wanted to make it official here (don't think I have yet?) but we're going to Aulani in October!

I hope you have a wonderful time (and I'm sure you will).

What: One Bedroom, Island Garden View

I may have already mentioned it, but there is a big "Aulani Villas and Views" thread on here that is really helpful for room requests. If you end up in the right Island Garden room you might have a glimpse of the ocean too (my in-laws did on this last trip!)

I had booked just a regular two queen room but they upgraded us for whatever reason, to a Suite.


You can see through that doorway is a separate sitting room with a couch and a TV.

Wow, very nice!

But OH MY GOSH. If you haven’t seen it or never planned on seeing it because you’re not a parade person, stop acting a fool and see this!

So true, though. Great parade.

We went to the closest height check near us, which was Star Tours. We told him to go up to the bar and the CM said he BARELY makes it but he made it! YES!!! Our whole touring style was going to be so much different that what we were used to and DH was the most excited I’ve seen him in a long time. We now had an extra riding buddy for BTMR, Splash, Soarin’, etc!

Wow, that's awesome! Our next WDW visit (December) should be like that....Izzy is just under 40" without shoes right now, so she should be good to go in 6 months! She is excited to ride the "big rides" and has proven a little daredevil thus far (on smaller things).

And once it went up he started crying, but towards the end he calmed down a little bit
and once we got off he wanted to go back on again I’m so confused by his emotions! I told him that if he wanted to later, we’d come back but let’s try some other rides.

Haha, silly kid. By the way, Izzy was sitting near me while I read the updates and wanted to watch all the videos. She kept saying, "When I get big, I'm going back to Disneyland and I'm going to RIDE THAT!!!" (even the Knott's Berry Farm ones )

HE LOOOOOVED it! Oh my gosh, how happy that made my heart. He told Nana, that he flew in the clouds and saw the ocean and Disneyland and fireworks! In honor of his first ‘big boy’ ride, I bought him a Soarin’ Pin

Aw, making me all teary here.

I’m sure his poor flying buddy was like, “Get me a different flyer please!”

I told DH that we need to give Cal a cheap camera for him to take pictures. He's got a cool perspective and see's things that we may not!

Wow, he did pretty good!

Thanks for letting me post about our recent family trip!

Thanks for posting about it! I love to hear about recent fun!

 

[Carathryn]

I enjoyed reading about your quick DLR trip and Knott's Berry Farms!

In honor of his first ‘big boy’ ride, I bought him a Soarin’ Pin

Yay for Cal's first big boy ride! I can't imagine how exciting it is for you guys to finally get to experience the bigger rides with him! I also love the idea of getting him a pin to celebrate the big moment.

But I’m pretty sure he has a hidden agenda, hoping to spend more time ‘acting out’ with Ghost Town Alive again.

Your DH's antics had me laughing out loud while reading this post! If he does sneak back hopefully you will report back on his mischief in Ghost Town Alive.

That Nemo apple is so cute, almost too adorable to eat! I am also a fan of Cal's artistic photography skills. He really captured some great moment for all of us here to enjoy

 

[Clarf]

Aulani! So jealous. Some friends of outs from here just got back today. Their pics on FB were amazing. I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time.

Love your mini TR. I'm so glad Calvin was big enough for some of the bigger rides. Love that he loved Soarin'! And I love the video of him dancing to the Cajun music!

Knott's Berry Farm looks like so much fun! Those Snoopy pics. OMG. We are going to Cedar Point in Ohio in a few weeks, and they also have the Peanuts characters, so I hope we get to meet Snoopy!

Quentin is so cute. What a little sweetheart!

 

[FantasiaMagic]

wanted to make it official here (don't think I have yet?) but we're going to Aulani in October! I know i've mentioned it on a few comments here and on other TR's but wanted to wait to make the announcement until some physical postpartum stuff cleared up but it looks like things will be fine! Here's what we're looking at:

Yay! Congrats on the new trip planned! Aulani looks like such a great place to visit!

I had booked just a regular two queen room but they upgraded us for whatever reason, to a Suite.

Nice upgrade! The room looked very comfortable!

We have Disneyland AP’s that were good to use that Wednesday and Thursday so we thought we’d try and do something at DLR Wednesday night and then spend all day Thursday in the parks, then drive over to Knottsberry the following day.

Sounds like a fun couple of days!

The parade song is from Wreck it Ralph (which DS was totally into!) and the floats were absolutely gorgeous. Check out my not so great pictures!

That is awesome they used the music from Wreck-it-Ralph. I feel that movie and its characters are so underrated!

This parade looks and sounds amazing! all the floats are beautiful! I also love how Mickey is in his Sorcerer costume!

We told him to go up to the bar and the CM said he BARELY makes it but he made it! YES!!!

We now had an extra riding buddy for BTMR, Splash, Soarin’, etc!

Yay!!! That's so exciting!!!
That's great Calvin like riding Soarin!

The Knottsberry farm looked really cute and a lot of fun! And Calvin really does have some great photography skills, but I think that last one of the lady should be scrapbooked or something, that is just too funny!

Glad to her you all had a nice time, and also, Q is so cute!

Looking forward as always to read more!

 

[rdkeim]

What fun updates! I've been following your TR's since you took DS1 to WDW as a newborn baby. I can't believe he's now riding the big rides! Both your DS's are adorable. Your trip to Aulani sounds wonderful - hope you do a TR!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

First off - super happy for you that you are going to Aulani! No idea if we will ever get there (just scared of that plane flight with 3 kids) but it looks really nice!

Second, super glad you got to see Pain the Night - even if not my super, secret viewing location ... seems like you got a good spot! And with rumors of it leaving Disneyland for Walt Disney World as of September, probably good you got to see it when you did

Looks like fun at Knottsberry .. well, at least once you got to attractions Cal liked better, and does sound like good food too! That Ghost Town looks pretty cool - and DH definitely has his priorities straight

Great pictures by Cal! ... especially that last one which totally set the scene!

When we have rented strollers it has always been the City Mini double and that has worked out well. And we did that for DLR and got the standing board attachment so the third kid can ride on that (not that I am pushing you to 3 kids or anything, just mentioning that as an added option you can rent). I think for our upcoming trip since we are driving we will just bring our regular big stroller which is a uppa baby that we have the rumble seat attachment for so at least 2 kids can ride, but we actually haven't decided on this.

 

[BlvInMagic]

Really enjoyed your DL reporting. We may take our first trip there this October -- so it's great to get some perspective.

 

[TheLittleKatie]

Just caught up with WDW - I am SO jealous because I was planning out a trip for the exact same time - early Jan - just to catch the end of the Osborne Lights, but sadly the timing just wasn't working So even though it was crazy busy you were so lucky to see them!!! I never got to see them ever booooo.

Also, I loved your Poly check in coverage because it reminded me of my first night at the Poly Your villa is so cool! Love the two bathrooms, I bet that comes in handy when there are four of you. And YAY for retrieving your stroller!!! Finally. Hopefully things go smoother from here!

Now I'm off to read your Disneyland report!

 

[TheLittleKatie]

I wanted to make it official here (don't think I have yet?) but we're going to Aulani in October! I know i've mentioned it on a few comments here and on other TR's but wanted to wait to make the announcement until some physical postpartum stuff cleared up but it looks like things will be fine! Here's what we're looking at:

Where: Disney's Aulani
What: One Bedroom, Island Garden View
When: Saturday, October 8 - Friday, October 14, 2016 (6 nights, 7 days)
Who: DH, Cal, Q, DM and me!
Why: Our 10 year anniversary!

Don't have much planned as of yet but have some ideas thanks to the TR's here on the DIS, but we're both really excited about this trip! Have never been to Hawaii but have always wanted to. Also, we wanted to do something different than WDW for this special evenscared I know, BUT, it's still Disney related This TR will definitely be done before we go.

Yeeeeeaaahh! That is awesome. Are you going to write about it?

TWINS.

And once it went up he started crying, but towards the end he calmed down a little bit



and once we got off he wanted to go back on again

The verdict? He did NOT like it, but started crying and throwing a fit when they tried taking him out of the car, he wanted to go again. He needs to get his emotions in check quick so I can figure him out!

There seems to be a trend with this kid Also, it it totally heinous of me to find the crying videos/photos hilarious..?!

When he got off I asked him a question:

"Did you like it?" "NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!"

Owww this picture is everything. And that baby-carrying shirt is genius, is it comfortable?!

Pig Pen Mud Buggies – where I had to stop the video cause I died laughing! And nope, didn’t like this one either!

Ok, now I don't blame Calvin for not liking this one, it looks awful?!!?!? Rated 1/10 - would puke.

This one was cute. It’s called the Huff and Puff

Did someone say Hufflepuff..?

Meanwhile, through all this, all this kid wanted to do was sleep. And get some hugs every once in a while!

Sounds like the perfect kid to me!!!

and told me to hurry up cause he was needed at Town Hall….




Dude was so into it!

Hahah he's such a hoot.

Owww Mini-Me is a tiny little human!!!!!

Coolest kid in town. I need that Charlie Brown wristband in my life asap.

A shocked Quentin!

These two pictures are greatness.

Hey this is good!! Good job Calvin.

And probably one of the best pictures out of all 30-ish that he took:

I already saw this on FB but it's still funny the second time around Poor woman looks so awkward

Great mini-report! Are there any bigger rides at Knott's Berry, or is it just a kiddy place? Looks cute either way, I've loved Peanuts since I was a kid Thanks for sharing!