Showing posts with label Disney. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Disney. Show all posts

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Walt Disney World - Day 4: Animal Kingdom

*** Join me as I blog my way through Walt Disney World with Hubs and Lil man. Go to my home page to find more posts of my journey. Enjoy!

9:30am - Even later for breakfast than yesterday. This is not good.

[caption id="attachment_655" align="alignleft" width="225" caption="Happy to go to the bug show"][/caption]

It's Tough to be a Bug - Here we go again. Lil man doesn't want to put on the glasses because he's scared. we finally convinced him to put them on, but he saw the entire show on his dad's lap. Good thing too, because he would've been super scared of the poking and tingling things that the chairs do.

Kilimanjaro Safari - LIl man loved this one! Every time we saw an animal, he would check the sign on the roof where it has a picture of all the species, and ask us where that animal was on the pictures.

Pangani Forest Exploration Trail - I didn't think lil man would be excited about this one, but he was. The most exciting part was the gorillas. One of them was a supermodel wanna-be, posing for pictures, and the other one was busy with a large sheet, like a throw, tossing it over his head to cover himself, or pulling it around. Finally he sat against a wall and covered himself with it. It was hilarious, and all the kids were screaming with excitement.

Expedition Everest - Very dissappointed with the rider swap, or lack thereof. They wouldn't let lil man go inside at all. I had to stand outside while hubs went in, and when he came out, then I went in. I don't get it.

[caption id="attachment_656" align="alignright" width="300" caption="I took this pic of the monitor... shh, don't tell Disney!"][/caption]

Dinosaur - OK, so seeing as lil man has been scared of every single ride after Tower of Terror, I wasn't too excited to come here. Turns out, he loved it! He laughed when the car started going fast, and also when the dinosaurs appeared. It's a very rough ride with a lot of darkness, but he was FINE! Laughing all the time. "Mama, this is very cool!" I give up.

Finding Nemo: The Musical - We had priority seating because we had lunch at Tusker House (which by the way, YUM!) I loved the fact that I was super close and I was able to appreciate the actors more, but missed the entire scope of the show, with all the stuff that happens on the aisles. It was good for one time, but next time, I'll sit in the back.

Downtown Disney - I can't go to Walt Disney World and not go to Downtown Disney. However, we only have a few hours to spare, so we can only go to the Marketplace. Gotta get my shopping on!

Mickey's Days of Christmas - Gotta find a 2010 ornament (I always buy one for each year) but man, they're pricey! Finally find a cute one for $10.95, score!

Mickey's Pantry - I'm in heaven! THIS is why I come here, to get my kitchen fix. But I just noticed that they don't sell a lot of stuff that they used to here, like the Mickey waffle maker. Drats, just when I was convincing myself to get it!

World of Disney - I have a love/hate relationship with this store. It has pretty much everything that's available, but since I'm retail-challenged, I can never get through the entire store without getting tired, overwhelmed, or both!

Pollo Campero - We met hubs' cousin who lives here and she told us about this place that just opened up where the McDonald's used to be. Gotta say, it's pretty darn good! The food is very authentic, tastes just like home.

-- Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.

P.S. - This post was originally published remotely from my BlackBerry. Upon returning home, I added pics and links. Hope you enjoy reading!

Check out my other posts here:

Friday, December 3, 2010

Walt Disney World - Day 3: Magic Kingdom

*** Join me as I blog my way through Walt Disney World with Hubs and Lil man. Go to my home page to find more posts of my journey. Enjoy!

9:00am - Late for breakfast, but recharged and ready for the day. Also? It's about 60 degrees, I love it! Hubs already put on his sweater. Wimp.

Jungle Cruise - I don't get lil man. He absolutely loved Tower of Terror, and right now he's scared of the animals! Dude, they're fake! "Mama, I don't wanna watch anymore." He's weird.

Pirates of the Caribbean - Same thing happened here. There's something wrong with this kid!

[caption id="attachment_649" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="The scene of the crime"][/caption]

Mickey's Toontown Fair - Lil man loves this area! We're at the park, and lil man is inside the small house when all of a sudden he starts screaming and crying. I went up to him as he came out, tears flowing, and still crying extremely loudly. Another small girl came out the same way. Her mom and I start asking them what happened. Lil man: "He won't let me play!" When I peeked inside, I saw a small boy standing against the back wall, furious look in his eyes. Apparently he was screaming at them to get out. His mom got him out and made him apologize. It was all very loud and dramatic, pretty much all the parents at the park noticed. 2 minutes later? Everyone is running around, screaming and laughing again. Ah, to be a kid.

Donald's Boat - It's amazing how cautious lil man is. He's running around in the water squirts by Donald's boat, but he manages to stay dry. All the rest of the kids are soaked! Good thing too, because I'm not in the mood for him to get sick.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - Lil man can't stop laughing nervously. "This is so fun!"

[caption id="attachment_650" align="alignright" width="225" caption="Marching with Pooh"][/caption]

Crystal Palace - For an extremely shy kid, it was a huge deal when we got lil man to march in the Pooh parade through the restaurant. All the kids look adorable.

Haunted Mansion - Since the moment lil man saw the walls of the library stretch up, he got scared. When we got in line to board the ride, he started to cry and hid his face on hubs' neck the entire time. But apparently he managed to see everything, because as soon as we were out, he started to talk about everything that happened. Me: "so you liked it?" Lil man: "sure." Me: "were you scared?" Lil man: "a little bit, but it was OK, nothing happened." His face was hilarious!

Philharmagic - Same thing here. He spent the entire show on hubs' lap, and wanted to take the glasses off, but we convinced him to keep them on. Shame that I couldn't take a pic of him, he had one hand covering half of one eye the entire time, and the other grabbing on to his dad. Also? He kept laughing nervously the entire time.

Space Mountain - We used the Rider Swap here. Pretty cool because lil man got to go on the stand-by line with us. Once we got to the end, hubs got on the ride, and lil man and I exited through a side door and went back down to meet him. Then I went up again through the same side door, and they let me in.

Astro Orbiter - Are you kidding me? It's like 45 degrees, and you want me to ride in circles up there? Should have put on my scarf and gloves, I'm effing freezing!

*** As soon as I got back down, I put on my scarf and gloves. I don't care if the rest of the people are in shorts and flip flops, it's effing freezing! (Did I mention that already?)

[caption id="attachment_651" align="alignleft" width="225" caption="My two boys watching the fireworks"][/caption]

Wishes - There are no words. In my opinion, Illuminations is far more complex and grand, but what gets you here is the music. I had a lump in my throat the entire time. Also? Watching lil man ooh-ing and aah-ing? Swoon.

Bus stop - Holy crap, there are seriously like 200 people waiting in line for the bus! All of a sudden, a big-ass motorcoach comes by, and parks in our lane. Everyone starts cheering and screaming and whistling at the driver! If I wasn't freezing, I could've sworn we were in Puerto Rico.

[caption id="attachment_652" align="alignright" width="300" caption="The window display, starring his very own friends"][/caption]

Hotel room - I have noticed that when we're walking past the rooms in the hotel, you can see little animals made from towels displayed on the windowsill. They're too cute, these cleaning ladies are super talented. Tonight, when we got to our room, there was a huge display! They had taken one of the chairs in the room, covered it with a white towel, and displayed 2 little towel animals, plus 2 of lil man's stuffed animals! One of them was dressed like Santa, and another had a Christmas tree outfit. It looked like a store window display. Lil man was beyond excited, he couldn't stop screaming! Seriously? This is what the Disney experience is all about.

-- Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.

P.S. - This post was originally published remotely from my BlackBerry. Upon returning home, I added pics and links. Hope you enjoy reading!

Check out my other posts here:

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Walt Disney World - Day 2: Hollywood Studios

*** Join me as I blog my way through Walt Disney World with Hubs and Lil man. Go to my home page to find more posts of my journey. Enjoy!

[caption id="attachment_641" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="The upside-down sleeper"][/caption]

8:30am - My alarm clock went off an hour and a half ago, and I've been hitting the snooze button. Hubs is snoring and lil man did a 180 in bed, with his feet on the pillow. It's a safe bet that we're not getting to the park early today.

10:00am - Went to the Concierge desk and showed them a picture of my "beautiful" balloon bouquet, and they called the Disney Gift Shop, who assured me that lil man will have his balloons tonight. Even the hotel manager sat down with me and told me how shocked he was about what had happened. We'll see.

*** The line at the Concierge was so long that I kept myself busy trying to decipher if the notes that appear on the bottom part of the front desk were part of an actual song or just random notes. After a while I figured out that even though the tempo and punctuation are off, the notes are actually from "When You Wish Upon A Star". Cool!

[caption id="attachment_642" align="alignright" width="300" caption="His fave channel"][/caption]

Playhouse Disney - We came here last summer when lil man was 2 and a half years old, and he had a good time, but this time? O. M. G. Now that he knows all the songs and the shows, he was singing and dancing along, even though it was in English, and he only understood a word here and there and what I translated for him. Swoon!

Toy Story Mania - Stand-by line said 70 minutes. We risked it and spent only 25 minutes in line. Score!

Stores - Hubs wanted to go to the Tower of Terror but I don't like it, so I decided to go shopping with lil man while hubs went there. I left the stores the same way I went in: empty-handed. Something is seriously wrong with me.

Beauty and the Beast - I feel like I'm watching the movie in fast-forward.

[caption id="attachment_643" align="alignleft" width="224" caption="Apparently his new fave ride, go figure"][/caption]

Tower of Terror - Hubs has been telling lil man all day that this is his favorite ride, giving him all the details of what happens trying to make it look less scary. He even told him that when the elevator falls, you HAVE to scream, because that's part of the ride. Well, when we left Beauty and the Beast, first thing that lil man says is: "Tower of Terror is my favorite ride!" Hubs: "You want to go?" Lil man: "Sure!" Hubs and I looked at each other in shock - this is the guy that doesn't want to go to the Haunted Mansion because he's scared of the ghosts! So we decided to go - he even convinced ME to go too. "Come on, Mama, it's not scary, you just have to scream when you drop!" Holy shit, my husband just created a monster! We could tell he was nervous once inside, because he wouldn't stop talking about how it *wasn't* scary. But he did it! His face was of pure panic, and when it was over, he was still grabbing at my sleeve. Me: "Did you like it?" Lil man: "Yeah!" Me: "Did you scream?" Lil man: "Yeah, it was very cool!" Me: "Wanna go again?" Lil man: "No."

9:00pm - On the bus ride back to the hotel, lil man told me that Pepo (one of his stuffed animals) was crying back in the hotel room, and asked if he could call him. I gave him my cell phone (locked) and he proceeded to have a long conversation with him. I think he was able to calm him. :)

[caption id="attachment_644" align="alignright" width="225" caption="Balloon fiasco resolved!"][/caption]

9:30pm - We get to our hotel room, and sure enough, there's a Mickey balloon bouquet on the table. Lil man's face when he saw them was priceless! He played with them for a long time. My faith in the Disney customer service is restored. Not that it was ever gone,,,ahem.

-- Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.

P.S. - This post was originally published remotely from my BlackBerry. Upon returning home, I added pics and links. Hope you enjoy reading!

Check out my other posts here:

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Walt Disney World - Day 1: Arrival and Epcot

*** Join me as I blog my way through Walt Disney World with Hubs and Lil man. Go to my home page to find more posts of my journey. Enjoy!

5:00am - We're running late, we're supposed to be at the airport at 5:30am and my hair is still wet. Drats!

5:50am - Finally at the airport. Thank goodness the counter is empty to do the check-in. Now to get some breakfast.

[caption id="attachment_634" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Waiting patiently at the gate"][/caption]

7:05am - Waiting patiently at the gate when suddenly they announce that one of the flight attendants is sick and without her or a replacement, the plane can't leave. This doesn't sound good.

7:15am - They found a flight attendant, but since she arrived at midnight and needs mandatory rest, she will arrive at 8:40 and the flight now leaves at 9:20am. Are you kidding me? I was planning on being at Epcot by noon! My vacation has been greatly compromised. (Note the drama - I'm giving myself permission.)

8:40am - They finally call us to board, and as we're heading down the ramp to the airplane, hubs asks me: "where's the suitcase?" I check our belongings: I'm carrying my purse, lil man has his backpack and his 2 bears, hubs has the other backpack and the stroller. Holy shit, the carry-on! He runs back through the line of people as lil man and I reach the plane where the baggage handlers take our stroller. And then we wait, and wait. People are passing through to the plane and we're just standing there. Lil man: "Mama, where's Papa?" Me: "He's coming, sweetie, he just forgot something." At this point, I'm getting nervous and I call him on his cell. He's out of breath. "We left it out at the security checkpoint!" Shit. Shit. SHIT! And then we wait, and wait. Lil man: "Mama, why aren't we going on the plane?" Me: "We're waiting for Papa, sweetie." Lil man: "Where is he?" Me: "Looking for the bag, he'll be here soon." And then we wait, and wait. Finally he calls me. "I'm back, they wouldn't let me go out to the checkpoint to get the bag, I had to plead with them til they did." OMG, can we please stop all this drama even BEFORE our vacation starts?

[caption id="attachment_635" align="alignright" width="225" caption="The boys playing in flight"][/caption]

In Flight - We're supposed to have free Wi-Fi, but after trying on both my cell and laptop, I gave up. I haven't had any sleep, so I'm getting a well-deserved nap. Lil man is playing with both his Vsmile and PSP, so we're good. Oh, BTW, the bathroom? Smallest one ever! I've been in my share of airplane bathrooms, but I think this one takes the cake.

11:00am - At the Orlando airport - Did I just pass a Starbucks and not get coffee? what is wrong with me?

[caption id="attachment_636" align="alignleft" width="225" caption="Hello giant golf ball!"][/caption]

2:00pm - Entering Epcot - Me: "Look, it's the giant ball!" Lil man: "It looks like a big golf ball!"

Spaceship Earth - Freaking ride broke down mid-way! We were stranded at the top in the dark for like 5 minutes. Are you kidding me?

Soarin' - Lil man was laughing nervously the entire ride. when the final fireworks exploded, he jumped so high that he even scared me. While walking out, he was trembling but laughing nervously. Hubs: "Did you like the ride?" Lil man: "Yeah!" Hubs: "Were you scared?" Lil man: "A little bit, but it was very cool!" Hubs: "Wanna go again?" Lil man: "No."

*** BTW, this same exact conversation happened after Test Track. It was hilarious!

Mouse Gear - Getting my feet wet. The only 3 things we bought were actually hubs' idea.

[caption id="attachment_637" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Hubs & lil man with the Three Wise Men"][/caption]

Mexican Pavillion - Disney always says that all their World Showcase cast members come from the country they're representing, but when we tried to talk in Spanish to the Three Wise Men, they replied in English! Major Disney fail!

As a side note, the Margarita was yum! Oh, and on a related note, if you're drinking said Margarita while sitting on the floor, when you get up, hang on!

8:30pm - La Hacienda de San Angel - I was very hesitant to come here because I had read some lukewarm reviews. But we had a great time, and the food was yummers! Hubs and I had the Hacienda Parrillada (for 2) and we were fighting over the refried beans. I even had to ask for more tortillas, they were THAT good. Oh! And watching Illuminations from the comfort of our dining table? Bonus!

[caption id="attachment_638" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Our "beautiful" balloon bouquet."][/caption]

11:00pm - Finally at our hotel room. Complete shock and dissappointment! We had ordered a bouquet of Mickey balloons to be delivered to our room, and instead of displaying them on the bed like they usually do, they were stuffed into a plastic bag in the corner of the room. I almost cried because I wanted to see lil man's face when he saw all the balloons, like he did last time. I call the front desk to file a complaint, but they want me to call back tomorrow after 8:00am. I will definitely be calling back - I demand a refund! But who will refund the surprise I had for him? Another major Disney fail!

-- Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.

P.S. - This post was originally published remotely from my BlackBerry. Upon returning home, I added pics and links. Hope you enjoy reading!

Check out my other posts here:

My Journey through Walt Disney World

This week hubs, lil man and I are taking a vacation at Walt Disney World. It's a special vacation for hubs and I because exactly 10 years ago when we got married, this is where we went on our honeymoon. So this is kinda like a second honeymoon for us, except now we're traveling with the fruit of our love, lil man.

So I decided to document my trip, journal-style. I brought a notebook and pen (very retro, I know) and will be writing down random thoughts and stuff that happens throughout the day.

My plan is to compile it all into a daily post here. Let's see if I can do it, because I just found out that the hotel charges $9.95 per day for internet use, and hubs already said no way.

Wish me luck!

-- Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.

P.S. - This post was originally published remotely from my BlackBerry. Upon returning home, I added pics and links. Hope you enjoy reading!

Check out all my posts here:

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Scared & in pain

Tonight marks 1 week since my back pain started. I have been sleeping in the recliner for 6 nights. I miss my bed. I miss my husband. But mostly, I miss my bed (sorry hubs!)

I have been on meds. I have been doing physical therapy. And yet? I'm still in pain. OK, so the pain is not as strong as it was 1 week ago, but it's still there. It still hurts when I'm sitting. It still hurts when I'm standing. It still hurts when I'm walking. And I don't know how to make it stop.

I am scared. I don't know when I will get better, and I HAVE to get better, and soon. You see, in 2 weeks I am leaving for Disney World with hubs and lil man. This is not a normal vacation, it is my 10th wedding anniversary. It is a very special trip for me, plus everyone who has gone to Disney World knows that there's A. LOT. OF. WALKING! I have a very bad feeling that I'm not going to enjoy this trip as much as I should.

Since there's apparently nothing I can do about this, I will just say 3 little letters:

F. M. L.

-- Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.

Friday, October 15, 2010

Mickey's Rockin' Road Show

All who know me know that I'm a huge Disney fan ever since my Cast Member days. Thankfully, it has rubbed off on lil man; still not sure if hubs simply tolerates it because he loves me. :)

Anyway, every time there's a Disney show, whether it's Disney on Ice, or any other, I try my best to be there. This time for Mickey's Rockin' Road Show, I was lucky enough to score Arena tickets on the 11th row, center isle. The seats were awesome, and we had a great view of the show and all the characters. Saying that lil man had a blast is a huge understatement.

[caption id="attachment_373" align="aligncenter" width="224" caption="Lil man with his new Mickey toy"]Lil man with his new Mickey toy[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_374" align="aligncenter" width="224" caption="Hanging around with "Abu""]Hanging around with "Abu"[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_375" align="aligncenter" width="224" caption="Having a great time with my fave lil guy!"]Having a great time with my fave lil guy![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_376" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The show was great for the kids... oh yeah, me too"]The show was great for the kids... oh yeah, me too[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_372" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Grand finale. Bravo!"]Grand finale. Bravo![/caption]

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Wordless Wednesday 1: Disney memories!

[caption id="attachment_198" align="alignleft" width="224" caption="Lil man's first visit to Magic Kingdom, 2009"]Lil man's first visit to Magic Kingdom, 2009[/caption]

Starting off my very first Wordless Wednesday with Disney seemed like a no-brainer, so I chose my absolute favorite pic from lil man's first trip last year. He was so in shock to see the "castle from the movies" in person, that he was still a bit shy when I took his picture in front of it. Enjoy and comment!

Here's a fun thumbnail linky:

If the thumbnail doesn't work for you, or if you prefer to leave a text linky, enter it here:

Thanks to Resourceful Mommy and 5 Minutes for Mom for introducing me to Wordless Wednesday.

Thanks to Uisce for creating Wordless Wednesday.