Disney's Hollywood Studios Day 2

Gommie, Grandpa, Todd, Cole and Gavin under the big hat!

Day two we awoke to rain, rain, and more rain. I purchased disposable ponchos for my crew and we headed out. Here we are in our ponchos, just having arrived at the park, all smiles of course! We had no idea how wet we were really gonna get!

We got to the park early because it opened an hour early for resort guests, we figured it would help with the lines, unfortunately even though it opened an hour early, none of the stuff the kids wanted to do was open! OH well c'est la vie! We went to the Muppet's area and took in a really cool 3D movie. It took Cole a little while to get used to the 3D movies because they are REALLY loud. But, he learned to really like them. My father in law really got to enjoying them as well!

The crew heads for a show and a break from the rain.

Gommie and Grandpa pose for a photograph.

In front of the Miss Piggy Fountain

They have a fake "movie set" area which was actually pretty neat. They also have a large play area modeled after the "Honey! I Shrunk the kids!" movie. Everything is larger than life sized and the kids can run around and play, they really enjoyed this.

Todd in front of a Streets of San Francisco movie set

Disney Back lot area, I think we were the only ones there!
Cole on the "Cars" movie set

Movie set area

Cole exploring in the "Honey! I Shrunk the Kids!" Play land.
Cole and Gavin ridin' a big bug!
Gavin doing some explorin' in play land

The architecture is amazing and so is gardening. They have the most beautiful topiaries throughout the park.

As we left the "Honey! I Shrunk the Kids" Play land there we were lucky enough to stumble upon The Power Rangers! They had been out in the street giving autographs etc... All the kids had been waiting in line for quite a while apparently. We were lucky enough to get there right as they were getting ready to leave... so Cole and Gavin were able to pretty much walk right up and get Power Ranger White's autograph and pose for some photos. Both kids really loved this!
The kids meet Power Ranger White!

Later in the day we met up with some of the kids favorite Disney pals and they were able to get more autographs and pose for photos. There was supposed to be a "Cars" movie meet and greet but due to weather it was cancelled. So was the High School Musical Stage Show, which the kids were really looking forward to!

Cole absolutely loves Buzz Lightyear... so this was one of his favorite moments!

C&G meet Quincy... from The Little Einsteins

C&G and Handy Manny

During one of many down pourings we were able to get into the Indiana Jones Action Adventure movie set. They do a demonstration where they show you how certain effects are created. We all thought it was pretty interesting. Cole of course thought it was too loud and kept his ears covered most of the time!

Cole playing around while waiting to meet Buzz Lightyear

Exhausted and wet at the end of day two, Gavin winds down on the bus ride home.

Due to weather we ended the day early and headed back to the resort. We decided to have the kids eat at the resort, Gavin was so exhausted he fell asleep eating his spaghetti, yet continued to try to chew! I carried him back to the room, it poured rain on us the whole walk back and he didn't so much as move an inch! Todd and I cleaned up and went out for an evening of fine dining at one of Disney's best restaurants Jinko, an African inspired dining experience. The food and wine were exceptional, and would recommend it to any of you who may have the chance, GO it was great!

Day 1- Epcot

Day one- Epcot, this is the big "attraction" at this park.
But the kids enjoyed Nemo and Friends more.

Cole and Gavin- all sun and smiles outside the Nemo attraction!

We decided to do Magic Kingdom the last 2 days because we had heard if you do it first that for the kids, everything else is sort of a let down. So, we did Epcot first. Despite the fact that it is really tailored for teens and adults the kids did enjoy themselves. This was also the only day it did not rain on us from sun up to sun down!

Their absolutely favorite thing here was the Finding Nemo ride and Turtle Talk with Crush experience! Cole and Gavin both love the movie Finding Nemo so they thought the ride was enjoyable, and Turtle Talk with Crush is an interactive show with Crush the turtle from the movie. They also enjoyed seeing the different fish in the many aquatic tanks they have in the Oceanarium exhibit.

Todd, Cole and Gavin have been swallowed by Bruce, the shark from the Finding Nemo movie.

Grandpa Armstrong and Cole enjoying the sights and sun!

At the end of a long Day 1, we headed for dinner. We got really lucky and scored a "character meal" our first night. Character meals are locations that a.)serve dinner and b.) have Disney characters available to entertain while you eat. This particular restaurant had Chip and Dale, Pluto, and Mickey. The food was actually very good and the kids got major face time with all the characters! The kids had brought autograph books with them so it was nice to get some autographs on day one!

Todd receives a big wet smooch from Pluto!

Gavin gets up close and personal with Chip or is it Dale?

See, Disney isn't' just for kids!

Cole, hanging with his buddy Mickey!

Cole and Gavin get hugs from Chip or Dale, we can't tell them apart!

Gommie looks on as Todd gets a kiss from Pluto

The kids enjoy their time and getting autographs from Mickey and Pluto

As Day one came to a close we had no idea what we were in for the rest of the week. We started hearing "rumors" of a tropical storm as the wind picked up and it started to rain on us. By the time we made it back to the resort and were able to watch the weather the rumors were confirmed. They said the parks were going to stay open, so I purchased some ponchos and we crossed our fingers, hoping day 2 at Disney's MGM parks wouldn't be rained out! Either way Day 1 was a success, the kids got to to a lot of neat things and saw a few really neat interactive shows that they enjoyed. They also got to have a great dinner and hang with some of their favorite Disney Pals!

Disney anyone...anyone?

Well, as I said we journeyed to Disney. It was quite a vacation. Todd and I had made the decision NOT to tell the kids we were going until we were actually getting ready to go. We figured it would be a nice surprise and we wouldn't have to hear them ask "How many more days till we leave?" constantly. Cole had really wanted to go. He had several friends from school go and return in the weeks prior to us leaving so he had been asking us to go and talking all about the things his friends had said we could do there. He also would inquire about going when we would see commercials on TV. We figured he would really be excited!

We told the kids we were going to Gommie and Grandpa's house, rented a van and loaded it up and headed for Southern Indiana. The kids were not suspicious as we've taken trips to their house before and my father in law had called Cole earlier in the week and had asked him if he would like to come and visit for a few days.

The trip was long but when you have 2 kids who insist on stopping repeatedly it's what we've come to expect. We arrived and got settled in for the night. The following morning we woke very early and decided it was time to wake the kids and tell them we are going to Disney- right now!

Expecting a lot of celebration we turned on the video camera and snuck into the kids room to wake them. What happened next, surprised us both so much that we laughed ourselves to tears.

Watch the clip below, it's kind of quite so I've typed the transcript below!

Todd: Hey you guys, know what? We were thinking we'd go to Disney World today!

Cole: Well...... I don't want to go.

Todd: You don't want to go?

Cole No....... Maybe tomorrow.

Todd: How come? You got some busy stuff on your schedule today?

Cole: No. I just don't want to go. ....... I just want... to go tomorrow.

Needless to say, we had not prepared ourselves for this kind of response! We both were laughing so hard we were in tears. We brought the kids downstairs for breakfast thinking they might come around. Cole was given a birthday present from his godfather Chris, Disney bucks, a Mickey Mouse shirt and coloring book but was still not convinced a Disney Vacation was right for his future! Gavin on the other hand seemed to come around a little more quickly.This definitely proved to us beyond a doubt that kids do say the darndest things!

By the time we loaded the in-laws into the van and were on our way the kids seemed to share our enthusiasm for the trip. It was long to say the least and not without some melt downs but we arrived there the following evening ready to tackle Disney. Many of you may remember our Texas vacation and all that ensued. We had hoped to have a hospital (and puke) free week. I am happy to report that we left Disney without visiting any hospitals however what we had not prepared ourselves for was TROPICAL STORM FAY!

The Armstrong's can not seem to catch a break when it comes to family vacations (are the vacation gods trying to tell us something?). Tropical Storm Fay hit us at the end of Day 1 at Disney. She came in with just a little rain as we were finishing up Epcot, however she was there in full force days 2-5. I had worried when we left that I had not packed enough sunscreen. Well that turned out not to be a problem for us. Instead of buying more sunscreen I invested in over $100 worth of disposable ponchos! They became our "second skin." One which I was never so happy in my live to shed as we were leaving!

Despite the horrific weather, gusts of wind, and at times down right torrential downpours the kids did remarkably well. Thanks to Fay the lines were not nearly as long for rides, the kids got to find out what it's like to try to eat a sandwich, and drink from a 100% recycleable cup and cardboard straw in the rain, and I didn't have to worry about doing my hair all week. It was to say the least a different kind of Disney. Not the one from the brochures or commercials, but the parks were not closed and we were all determined to make the best of it, and I think we did!

I'll post photos from each day we were there in later posts! Enjoy!

Behind the Times

Okay so it's October and I've not posted since August. Sorry! Things have been so crazy around here. At the beginning of August we took a 2 week journey to DISNEY! We came back and Cole started kindergarten and soccer. I guess I thought with him in school full time and Gavin going 3 half days a week I would have more time. I could not have been more wrong! I'm not really sure where all my time is going. Between PTO meetings and running the kids around it's been really quite hectic. So, forgive me. I'll be working on getting this blog updated ASAP. In other great news my sister in law announced she is expecting another child, a girl! We are quite excited about that as well. Our home is still on the market, our realtor quit so we now have a new guy who doesn't really seem to give us the same attention our old one did. Our contract will be expiring soon, we have decided if it doesn't sell by then to take it off the market over the winter. It's been over a year and we could really use the break. So, I'll quite blabbing and get busy updating this blog!