Welcome to Our Family Time! Lots of pics! Trip in Progress as of 4/30!!!

[Misskitty3]

Looks like you had an AWESOME trip!! Yay!!!

 

[charmama4]

Sunday:


And then we were going to get a bucket of popcorn and watch the parade. However, as we approached the castle from the Fantasyland side, we saw the Wicked Queen from Snow White!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We sort of rushed her, and she asked us to follow her. So we did, naturally.

DD was not afraid AT ALL which was awesome, because that could have gone either way.

And then it was time for the parade!!!

Coming soon, in another post...

AAAHHHHH!!!! she's my favorite!!!! glad your DD got to see her.

 

[kadee_29]

And then as he walked away he turned back and called out to her. It was something like "Hey, Thindewella, I have a big Monsntah Twuck and it is called Ninja Tuwtle." And she took it in stride and asked how big it was, and he said "It's just a toy." And she asked if it was green, like his shirt, and he ran away. But that was the most he voluntarily interacted with a character this trip. He must have a thing for the princesses.

After that we had to rush over to the Blue Bayou for lunch. And it is very late and I need to sleep, so that will have to wait until tomorrow or Wednesday.

He is so freaking adorable. I am loving the trip report. I knew you guys would have a great time even though you have to come home at some point. Just think...the experience you gained will help you out for the next trip.

 

[nancy drew]

He is so freaking adorable. I am loving the trip report. I knew you guys would have a great time even though you have to come home at some point. Just think...the experience you gained will help you out for the next trip.

Thanks, K. I'm still quite depressed about vacation being over. If I take one thing away from this, it is that 5 days is not enough for us. I need more.

Ok, so picking up where I left off...

We got to the Blue Bayou late, and I was sure they would have given our table away. But no, we waited about 5 minutes and were seated waterside!!!!! I hadn't even asked! I ordered the Monte Cristo, without ham:

and it was awesome, of course. The kids had mac and cheese:

which was also quite good! And we shared a Flying Dutchman for dessert:

We tried Haunted Mansion next, which the kids loved last year, but as soon as we walked in both kids started whimpering and whining, and DD started freaking out, so we left. DS wanted to ride Pirates, and DD said she was afraid (despite the fact that last time she rode it she said she loved it and wanted to ride it again). I made her go, and she said later she loved it again and keeps saying it was her favorite part of the trip. I'm not sure I believe her, but hopefully she isn't scarred for life or anything.

We rode Small World next, to sort of clear out the fear from Pirates. See the duck on the side of the water? She was in the water about 5 seconds earlier, being "chased" by the boat:

The clock was opening up:

it was apparently 3:something:

Next up was the monorail! I thought DS would get a kick out of riding in the front, so we waited as the orange line passed us:

and the blue line, which had a pilot in training riding in the front:

and then boarded the orange line!

Riding in the front was pretty freaking cool!

And then DS wanted to ride Nemo. I hadn't really wanted to, because last year I felt kind of claustrophobic. But he wanted to ride it, and he hadn't wanted to ride much else, so we rode it. And I am very glad we did. He was really into it.

I'm not sure what we did after this. I know we were supposed to go do Monsters Inc and TSMM, but I stopped to get DS a corn dog, and stopped to pick up some stuff for our cat sitters (our neighbors, who are 8 and 10 and have never been to Disneyland), and by the time we were done DCA was closed. I felt horrible. I totally forgot it closed early that day and we missed our chance to ride those 2 again. We ended up going back to the hotel and eating a little bit, and packing, and going to bed. I was really, really depressed that vacation was over and we were going home.

Today we woke up and probably should have gone swimming, but I thought we wouldn't have enough time and I was debating staying an extra day. Super Shuttle said they would arrive between 12:05 and 12:20, so I had most of our stuff packed up. I still had the computer and a few things out at 11:44, when I got a call that SS would be there in 1 minute. Nice advance notice!!!! SO we shoved everything into bags and flew over to the front desk to check out. I somehow lost my memory card, and I sincerely hope housekeeping finds it and returns it. I do have all of the photos on the computer but I really want the actual card back.

So, blah blah, we are home. Nothing exciting, easy flight home, kids were great, I was sad.

I've been sad at the end of all our vacations, but I honestly think this is the worst year yet. I posted a thread about it in the DL Community board, but I'll put it here too. I just felt like I needed a do-over. I barely slept on this trip, because I had to share a bed and my kids are rollers/kickers. And DS snores. So I hardly got any sleep. I was crabby a lot, and I feel like it really put a bad spin on much of our trip. I just wanted one more day so I could let go of my bad mood and let the kids do what they wanted, instead of me being grouchy and bossy. My kids are seeing their dad tomorrow, otherwise I would have added a day to our trip. I asked their dad if we could reschedule their visit so we could stay, and he said no. I felt like if we just had that one more day it would be enough.

I'm trying to use this as a learning experience, and hopefully I will be able to come back and look at this later without feeling too horrible about it. Next time:

1) Plan more than 5 days. It sounds like a lot, but the time passes so darn quickly.
2) Go ahead and plan one day for Sea World if we are staying 7 days. We can give up one DL day for SW. The kids will love it. Who cares if they are "too young", we will go again when they are older.
3) Less character meals/table service. I'm not sure I will stick to this, we did 1 per day, but I feel like it kind of made the rest of the day difficult and took time away from rides and shows. We had to tear ourselves away from fun things to go eat, and we had to run across the entire park or plan a day around a dinner reservation. We did fine with snacking all day and sharing food and eating at the room.
4) Don't pack so much stuff for the kids to do on the plane. A few activities and the DVD player are all we need. No need to weigh them down wit ha thousand things they won't touch.
5) Think about the food I bring. Don't bring too many snacks, and don't bring things we won't eat.

I'm not sure how much I can visit this board when I'm not planning a trip. It might make me feel better to visit, or it might make me sad. Who knows. Right now I am very very sad that our vacation is over, and I need to snap out of it. Maybe a good night of sleep in my own bed will help.

 

[pixleyyy]

Thanks for sharing your wonderful trip with us. I really appreciate it.

And I know what you mean about not visiting the boards if you're not planning. It's almost depressing to be here and know you're not going to DLR anytime soon. I think that's why I only visit while planning and for a few weeks after the trip.

 

[blabbermouth]

Your kids are sooo cute.

You know what though? You may feel sad now, but reading your trip report, you never really let your grouchies out. Maybe re-read it for yourself and see how much you did and how cute your kids were and relive it a little bit! Might make you feel a wee bit better.

And really now, if you spent every day at Disneyland, where would you go on vacation?

 

[M & K + 6]

Loved your report! I get really depressed the longer time passes between visits on DLR and WDW as well. Just think that one day you WILL be back.

 

[Misskitty3]

5) Think about the food I bring. Don't bring too many snacks, and don't bring things we won't eat.

I'm not sure how much I can visit this board when I'm not planning a trip. It might make me feel better to visit, or it might make me sad. Who knows. Right now I am very very sad that our vacation is over, and I need to snap out of it. Maybe a good night of sleep in my own bed will help.

What food/drink stuff did you bring? What could you have brought more of and less of?

I TOTALLY understand about the sad feelings. Disneyland is the BEST and when you have to go home it is very, very sad. However, as you have already pointed out, you will be back so focus on that and start PLANNING!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[nancy drew]

Your kids are sooo cute.

You know what though? You may feel sad now, but reading your trip report, you never really let your grouchies out. Maybe re-read it for yourself and see how much you did and how cute your kids were and relive it a little bit! Might make you feel a wee bit better.

And really now, if you spent every day at Disneyland, where would you go on vacation?

It is really funny you said this, because it reminded me of something from my honeymoon. We were in Tahiti, and I couldn't imagine a more perfect location. Beautiful scenery, beautiful weather, middle of nowhere, everything is perfect! I asked a bartender, who was a native Tahitian, where Tahitians go on vacation. She said some go to Hawaii, and some go to California. She may have said some go to Disneyland, but I may be making that up. Anyway, your comment reminded me of that and it made me smile.

What food/drink stuff did you bring? What could you have brought more of and less of?

I TOTALLY understand about the sad feelings. Disneyland is the BEST and when you have to go home it is very, very sad. However, as you have already pointed out, you will be back so focus on that and start PLANNING!!!!!!!!!!!!

We brought:

Easy Mac
Propel water mix (should have brought less)
Freeze-dried fruit from TJs
granola bars (should have brought less)
Fruit leather (should have either brought less or brought to the parks more often)
individual packages of cheese crackers and Bunny Grahams (these got smashed)
Horizon Organic individual milk boxes (honestly, the kids drank about half of each and tossed the rest)
Dried apple rings (too chewy, should have tasted them first)
A package of crackers that no one ended up eating
shelf-stable pouches of tuna for me (I just had leftovers instead)

It is so hard to predict what we will want to eat so I'm not sure I really could have done much differently.

I did bring our Klean Kanteen bottles and those were handy.

******
Just want to thank all of you for the support for being so sad to be done with our vacation. I know things could be much worse, I just have a really hard time adjusting. So much time and energy is spent anticipating and planning, and then it is all gone in a few days.

 

[Desert Dwellers]

I enjoyed reading your trip report very much. I know taking the laptop was a hassle, but so much fun to read your progess reports, and with pictures! I'm glad someone took a picture of the three of you together. When I look at the albums from all our past trips, it looks like I didn't go on the trip, because I'm never in the pictures. I hope the photopass will help with that this year.

Like blabbermouth said, you never showed any grumpies in your progess reports. It sounded like you were attentive to their needs and what would be the most fun for them. As far as feeling like you were being bossy, that's part of being a mom, I guess. Especially at my house. Even when you're on vacation, you're still on the job. But I think you made a magical time for your children. Good on you!

 

[nancy drew]

Thank you

Ok, even though I'm not planning a trip, this IS Disney related so darnit I am putting it here!

We had Disney Family Fun night tonight! I figured it would help with the post-vacation blues, and it did! We had a Nemo themed night!

I had them watch the movie first, because I wanted some time to prep the art stuff and clean up a little. After the movie, it was art time. DD made Nemo and Dory.

DS didn't want to make anything, he just wanted some time to play with the seashells.

He had a blast, talking to them, talking about them, giving them personalities, etc.

Then it was dinner time! I had salmon scared1: ) and pasta, and the kids had anemone and cheese (with Marlin and Nemo), an octo-dog (DD didn't want one), and some fruit.

DS thought the octo-dog was hilarious, and told me he didn't want to eat it because it would get hurt. I told him the octo-dog wanted to be eaten so he could be with his friends Marlin and Nemo in his tummy. He said the octo-dog wanted to go in his tummy to EAT Nemo and Marlin. Ok, whatever works, kiddo!

Dessert was ocean Jello (was supposed to have gummy fish but I forgot to buy them). No photos, because its just blue Jello.

It was a good night!

DD picked Dumbo from the movie bag, so that's what we will do next week! We haven't watched it yet, hope it isn't scary!!!

 

[prettyprincessbelle]

I love your pictures! The one with your DS and Cinderella is just too cute. I think it's wonderful when the characters remember certain kids from the day (or days) before. They have to see so many dang kids each day and for them to remember is just fantastic.

So seriously, I want to go to your house so I can have Disney theme night too!!

 

[jelloarms]

just got done reading your TR and loved it. Your kids are so cute, I especially enjoyed reading about your son's interaction with Cinderella! These Disney themed nights of yours are a cool idea as well! I don't think I could eat the octo-dog either...it's just too cute!

 

[nancy drew]

You guys are so sweet. I too thought it was great that Cinderella remembered us. One of my favorite Disney memories was from last year, when we were walking in DL and Jasmine and Aladdin walked right past us. I addressed DD by her name and told her to look at who was walking by, and Aladdin must have heard me because he then called her by her name and said Hi. We then followed them to where they were going for photos and autographs, and he called her by her name again. She was shocked that he "somehow" knew her name and kept talking about that for months.

I love the octo-dogs too. In case anyone wants to make them: Slice up the bottom half of a hot dog before you cook it, then toss it in a pot of water and boil. The legs curl up as it cooks.

And thank yo to everyone who ignores the mess in the background of every photo. I'm working on it.

*****

Tonight was Dumbo night!

We had our own circus! The kids pretended to be animals and jumped through hoops (including the "Ring of Fire"):

We did some tightrope walking, too:

One of our cats did some tightrope walking, too:

Then it was craft time! We made Dumbo puppets:

Hey, wait a second...

Oh, that's more like it. We will add the feather later. We also made pretend cotton candy:

We made popcorn bags, to be filled with popcorn to eat during the movie:

And played some (junky) circus games from the dollar store:

Dinner was, as DD said, a "Feast" of circus type food. We had sausages, corn, giant pretzels, fruit, and "Dumbo Ears". I know some of that isn't really circus food, but oh well.

Dessert was ice cream clowns:

We are watching the movie right now!

I have no idea why some of my photos are so blurry. The "Ring of Fire" one was taken by DD, so that could explain that one, but the others are a mystery.

 

[blabbermouth]

OMG! You are amazing, so creative.