Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted October 29, 2015 Report Share Posted October 29, 2015 Wow, this picture makes me a bit misty eyed. I have VERY similar pictures from our first trip with our girls 15 years ago. Here is one of them. That girl in pink is turning 20 soon. And the one on the right in the blue dress just turned 18. I know you already know this as you have older kids....but enjoy every moment! Time sure flies by quickly. Awesome photo, Dave. The photos I have of my now 24 and 20 years olds playing in that fountain aren't digital, and are stored safely away in a scrapbook somewhere. But, you're absolutely right about enjoying every moment! The nest empties in a blink of an eye. TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DaveInTN 3,247 Posted October 29, 2015 Report Share Posted October 29, 2015 The photos I have of my now 24 and 20 years olds playing in that fountain aren't digital, and are stored safely away in a scrapbook somewhere. I highly recommend a simple self-feeding scanner to digitize your photo collection. Those photos will degrade over time. Plus, once digitized, you can provide the entire library to all 3 of your girls and not have to divvy things up some day. I bought this one 2 years ago and spent evenings that winter going through all our albums and boxes. It scans directly to an SD card so you don't need it hooked up to a computer while scanning. That made it possible for me to sit in my recliner and work on it. http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/301763478914?ul_noapp=true&chn=ps&lpid=82 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119 Posted October 29, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2015 Sunday October 4th Today we planned to ride bikes to the Wilderness Lodge. The weather was nice and cool but rain was headed our direction. With everyone loaded up we took off. If you have not enjoyed this path I highly encourage you to do so. I found it very relaxing and scenic. After our ride we met up with our friends at the pool. It was lightly raining and the pool was empty. As a child I had fond memories of swimming in the rain and was excited to share that experience with my children. After lunch and a good nap we had dinner and were off to the Chip and Dale campfire and sing-a-long. Tonight was the Princess Diaries. Needless to say, my boys were not thrilled with the movie choice, so we just stayed for the sing-a-long. We all had loads of fun and got a picture with this critter. Monday October 5th The temperature this morning was perfect for a brisk walk with Lucy. I had considered a shimmy over at the Settlement, but wasn't sure my recent surgery would allow it, so I passed. Like all Fort days for our family, the morning was spent swimming. Hudson wasn't into swimming this morning so he spent time with me in the shade with his blanket. The little guys seemed really tired today. We decided on an early lunch for the them and a late lunch for my husband and I. With everyone fed and enjoying quiet time we hopped on the golf cart and headed out for lunch. Next stop, Trails End. We had another great conversation with Josie and then sat down to eat. My husband ordered the chicken and waffles and I had the fresh berries with grilled chicken. Both were very good and the continued conversations with Josie made our dinning experience first class. After lunch we did some looping. Many sites were all ready setting up for Halloween. We really enjoyed our Fort days. The children loved swimming and my husband and I enjoyed our little get aways. Up next, a beautiful day at the MK. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119 Posted October 29, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2015 Great report so far, but you've got some nerve hijacking back a thread that was hijacked from you previously! :rofl: Keep up the good work, you'll get us heathens back in line sooner or later! lol well someone had to do it. I said i didnt mean to hijack.... I still dont...Love the updates! You all are cracking my up. I really don't mind the hijacking, it's what makes this site so awesome. I'm glad to see this trip report get back on track. That Fort day you spent at the pool sounds really nice! The birthday meal at T-Rex looks like it was a blast. And, I learned something from the kid's menu. I didn't know Apatosaurus means "deceptive lizard." That's a good name. Especially since back in my day we called them Brontosauruses. TCD Sorry for the long delay. Winter is closing in on us here in the North. That means clothing switch out time. I just crawled out of the craziness. I found this interesting web page that explains the difference between an Apatosaurus and a Brontosaurus. At one time they were the same thing but I guess recent research says otherwise. Anyway here ya go. https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-a-Brontosaurus-and-an-Apatosaurus Wow, this picture makes me a bit misty eyed. I have VERY similar pictures from our first trip with our girls 15 years ago. Here is one of them. That girl in pink is turning 20 soon. And the one on the right in the blue dress just turned 18. I know you already know this as you have older kids....but enjoy every moment! Time sure flies by quickly Glad I could bring back some good memories. I walked past my 14 year old yesterday, he is now pushing 6'2. I felt all misty eyed at the thought of how fast he is growing up. I hold my newborn and just want to savor every little minute. I am very thankful I have a while before they are all grown. Things I didn't enjoy with the older crew I now savor with the little guys. You are right however it goes by too fast. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Travisma 1,317 Posted October 29, 2015 Report Share Posted October 29, 2015 I highly recommend a simple self-feeding scanner to digitize your photo collection. Those photos will degrade over time. Plus, once digitized, you can provide the entire library to all 3 of your girls and not have to divvy things up some day. I bought this one 2 years ago and spent evenings that winter going through all our albums and boxes. It scans directly to an SD card so you don't need it hooked up to a computer while scanning. That made it possible for me to sit in my recliner and work on it. http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/301763478914?ul_noapp=true&chn=ps&lpid=82We have a similar one, looks the same different brand. Only problem scanning directly to the card is if you have a bad scan or it gets dirty and corrupts the images. You may end up having to rescan. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted October 29, 2015 Report Share Posted October 29, 2015 I highly recommend a simple self-feeding scanner to digitize your photo collection. Those photos will degrade over time. Plus, once digitized, you can provide the entire library to all 3 of your girls and not have to divvy things up some day. I bought this one 2 years ago and spent evenings that winter going through all our albums and boxes. It scans directly to an SD card so you don't need it hooked up to a computer while scanning. That made it possible for me to sit in my recliner and work on it. http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/301763478914?ul_noapp=true&chn=ps&lpid=82 You're right. I really do need to do that. We have huge boxes of photos from when the girls were little that are full of photos and negatives. Just last night, we got an urgent text from Twin #1 requesting a copy of a photo of her in her Teletubby Halloween costume. I guess Taylor Swift posted an Instagram photo of herself in a Teletubby costume, and Twin /#1 needed to do the same. Fortunately, Mrs. TCD knew just where to find the photo, but the best I could do on short notice was to take a photo of the photo and text it. It's amazing how just one old photo can make my smile: I know that there are negatives and prints from our early Fort trips in those boxes too. After our ride we met up with our friends at the pool. It was lightly raining and the pool was empty. As a child I had fond memories of swimming in the rain and was excited to share that experience with my children. Oooh! You POOL HOPPED!! Naughty, naughty. TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
swimmarz 72 Posted October 29, 2015 Report Share Posted October 29, 2015 I found this interesting web page that explains the difference between an Apatosaurus and a Brontosaurus. At one time they were the same thing but I guess recent research says otherwise. Anyway here ya go. https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-a-Brontosaurus-and-an-Apatosaurus I swear I m not hijacking.... do you have the Landry's select card?if you don't you should get it, you wont need ADR's for T-rex and Rainforrest cafe as it gives you priority seating Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119 Posted October 29, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2015 You're right. I really do need to do that. We have huge boxes of photos from when the girls were little that are full of photos and negatives. Just last night, we got an urgent text from Twin #1 requesting a copy of a photo of her in her Teletubby Halloween costume. I guess Taylor Swift posted an Instagram photo of herself in a Teletubby costume, and Twin /#1 needed to do the same. Fortunately, Mrs. TCD knew just where to find the photo, but the best I could do on short notice was to take a photo of the photo and text it. It's amazing how just one old photo can make my smile:I know that there are negatives and prints from our early Fort trips in those boxes too.Oooh!You POOL HOPPED!!Naughty, naughty.TCDNo I just worded that sentance poorly. It should say After our bike ride we returned to the Fort where we met our friends. I try not to be a rule breaker. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119 Posted October 29, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2015 I swear I m not hijacking.... do you have the Landry's select card?if you don't you should get it, you wont need ADR's for T-rex and Rainforrest cafe as it gives you priority seatingThanks for the tip. I will have to look into that. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted October 29, 2015 Report Share Posted October 29, 2015 No I just worded that sentance poorly. It should say After our bike ride we returned to the Fort where we met our friends. I try not to be a rule breaker. Oh, now that I look, I see your photo of the pool in the rain is at the Fort. As a fellow stringent rule follower, I am glad to hear that. TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
keith_h 420 Posted October 30, 2015 Report Share Posted October 30, 2015 Just remember when you digitize the pictures to keep something around that can still open, display or reformat them. It's estimated that half of the information has been lost since going electronic with the majority of it. It is similar to the loss of the Great Library of Alexandria. File formats change over time and frequently go away. The software use to format them becomes obsolete and no longer runs on current equipment/operating system. Another thing most folks don't realize that just because it is digitized doesn't mean it doesn't degrade over time. Recorded optical media has been shown to have typical lifespans as low as two years with roughly half being under 15 years. This is compared to the industry claims of 30-200 years. So unlike those pictures and films stuffed in boxes in the back of the closet and forgotten it is advisable to periodically recopy digitized data to new disks. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ependydad...Doug 176 Posted October 30, 2015 Report Share Posted October 30, 2015 We love T-Rex. Surprisingly, I think the food is better there than at Rainforest Cafe. Which is odd because they're the same thing with different packaging. We've had some really fun waiters at T-Rex, too. However, I won't/can't sit in the ice room. The color changes would be a no go for us. :) Love seeing the pictures of the kids playing in the water. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119 Posted October 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2015 We love T-Rex. Surprisingly, I think the food is better there than at Rainforest Cafe. Which is odd because they're the same thing with different packaging. We've had some really fun waiters at T-Rex, too. However, I won't/can't sit in the ice room. The color changes would be a no go for us. :)Love seeing the pictures of the kids playing in the water.It's a fun room but I would not sit there again. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
swimmarz 72 Posted October 31, 2015 Report Share Posted October 31, 2015 So it's 83 days till your next trip and iAm here looking for an update.... What happened to the bev? Is she gone, did she make it home? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119 Posted November 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2015 Please stand by..... swimmarz 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119 Posted November 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2015 Tuesday October 6th. The color of the day? Harmful to your eyes yellow. Today we decided to head back to the MK. Once again we gobbled up pancakes for breakfast. Ever wonder how many pancakes a large family of boys can eat? 72 pancakes later and the world may never know, they were still asking for more. With bellies sort of content we were out the door. This morning was very cool. Many folks were wearing jackets. As we reached the dock this boat was there to greet us. Wait isn't that the MK boat? Apparently they were training this morning and we were to be the privileged crew. We were all loaded and ready to go when a lady pulls up in her scooter. She says she has reservations for breakfast at the Contemporary. One of the crew members informs her that boats do not transport scooters and that she needs to go to the bus stop. She whines a bit and the captain sympathizes, welcome aboard scooter lady. Off to the Contemporary to drop off scooter lady and then we head for the MK. It took a few tries to get us docked up and secured but soon we were on our way. Being a card carrying member of the stroller club I like the big boats, no folding necessary. Babies can continue to nap and mom and dad can relax for a moment. As we excited the dock area the buses were dropping floods of people off to the right and the monorail was releasing the hoards from the left. That was enough motivation to quicken our step to the front gate. Beating the masses, we were almost right up by the rope. While waiting for the opening show to begin my son was picked to be an Honorary Citizen of the Day. Anyone know what that means? He wore his button all day but no one seemed to notice. Fail on the CM's I thought they were supposed to acknowledge those types of things. The children enjoyed the opening show and then the ropes were dropped. First up was the Mine Train. When we changed our plans to visit the MK from Friday to today we lost our FP reservations. I checked MDE everyday to see about snagging SDMT FP's.but to no avail. This meant we would be joining with the masses rushing towards New Fantasyland. Joy! With ropes dropped we were off. I was leading our crew as we headed down main street. I wonder how many twisted ankles occur each year on the trolly car tracks? Crossing the tracks we were in good position and moving quickly. As we rounded the tight bend into NFW a large woman had fallen. People were standing around observing the scene, others were hoping over her. As we passed she began to get up and seemed fine although a bit shaken. We made it to the mine train and were quickly handed our child switch pass. My husband took the older crew along with Bethanie as I waited nearby. Wow that was a bit crazy but we had made it. After only a few minutes there was a 30 minutes wait. By the time I got on the ride the wait time was 60 minute. When we had all gathered back together after all had ridden, I aked my husband if he thought Bethanie enjoyed the ride. I think the picture gives me his answer. Notice the number on the front of the cart? How many are there? Does anyone know? I must say that I really liked the mine train. My daughter and I were seated in the back which must make a difference in ride experience. We were whipped all over the place and felt the cars rocking back and forth. My husband was up front and didn't have the same experience. My only grip was that the ride is too short. Winne the Pooh was a walkon so we headed there next. What a cute queue. The idea of making line waiting for little guys and adults a little less boring was brilliant. New Fantasyland looks great. I can't wait to come back and look around a bit more and really take it all in. The Tinkle Tower We headed to Enchanted Tales with Belle next. What a fantastic experience. My husband said this was by far his favorite event of the day. The portal that leads you into the story is amazing. All of us were commenting on how cool that was. Two of my little boys and my two girls were picked to be part of the story. I was sad Bethanie did not get picked to be the beast. That girl can roar better than any kid I know but today she must have had a frog in her throat. When Belle entered the room I thought for sure Bethanie was going to tackle her. Thankfully big sister grabbed her hand and sat her down. Bethanie was in awe the entire time. At the end she was beyond tickled to get her picture taken with Belle. Dad was having major regrets on the meet and greet decision. After Belle we walked over to see what Gaston was up to. This character cracks me up. YouTube him sometime. There are some great videos of him interacting with guests. Ariel was next. then Dumbo and the Barnstormer. Again I think they did a great job designing this area. I didn't see anyone using the queue at Dumbo so not sure how that worked but it looked like a neat play area. Calm vs worried. Race cars were being requested by the little guys so we headed over in that direction. For months they had been talking about driving the race cars and we super excited to finally be here. We had a little bit of a wait until our next FP was ready so we visited the People Mover and the Carousel of Progress. I enjoy both of these classic rides and hope they never leave. My older boys went on Space Mountain. They said they liked it, but once was enough. I love my son's face in this one. We then headed to the Laugh Floor but it shut down while we were waiting. Not sure why but we got FP's for our trouble. Then it happened, My husband lost his magic band. He back tracked and asked numerous CM's but nothing turned up. He was told to head to City Hall for a new one. The line was not long at City Hall and we were in and out pretty quickly. They couldn't give him a new band so they gave him a card instead. On our way back to Tomorrowland We then had a FP for Buzz. So back we hauled into Tomorrowland. This is the kind of score you get when riding with the little guys. Fail. Hungry we decided to try out Pecos Bills new offerings. The kids meals here are terrible. This is what $6.99 will get you. $6.99 Rice Bowl? Really Disney?. Originally the plan was to pack lunches and bring them into the parks. After our first day we nixed that idea but wanted to eat on the cheap, hence the kids meals. Since this was a last minute change of plans I didn't have time to look into restaurants or look at what was the best values. Fail to plan, plan to fail. Up until now the cheeseburger kids meals seemed to work for us. They are not the greatest but they worked. At the MK there are no cheeseburger kids meals. This brings me back to Pecos Bills. We ordered cheese quesadillas and as you can see from the picture there is not much here. Had I known about the fixens bar that may have changed things a bit. Still we were very hungry upon leaving. It was now about 3:00pm and I knew the parade would be starting soon. We decided to make our way towards the Haunted Mansion. As we entered Liberty Square the parade began so we stood and watched for a bit. Best Disney Float IMO By for the parade ended we moved on to the Haunted Mansion and then back tracked to Pirates one last time for our final FP. Tonight was a MNSSHP and the park was filling up fast. A quick visit to the tree house and a final picture on Main Street and we called it a day. Coming up next, Search for the brick and yellow paint guy. swimmarz 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
swimmarz 72 Posted November 5, 2015 Report Share Posted November 5, 2015 Thanks for the update, got my fix! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
fladogfan aka Gretchen 259 Posted November 5, 2015 Report Share Posted November 5, 2015 This is fun following along with your family. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119 Posted November 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2015 Since I had the short delay I will do a double posting today. Wednesday October 7th Today we had loads of business to take care of. First up, we needed to head over to Lost and Found at the T&T. We needed to see if anyone had turned in my husbands magic band and also check to see if anyone found my daughters umbrella and son's lost camera. Off to the boat dock we headed. Nice to see people on the lake today. I failed to mention that on our first day at the MK my daughter had brought along her Vera Bradley umbrella. It had been a gift to her and she couldn’t wait to use it at Disney. Sadly she lost it on one of the rides that they went on that evening. She came back to the camper very upset. I also failed to mention that my son had left his camera on the bus to Disney Springs. He was very upset at his loss. That camera had very special pictures on it and the thought of losing them was very upsetting. We arrived at the Lost and Found. If you ever need to contact them here is their info. We found dad's magic band but had no luck in finding the camera or umbrella. Both children were heavyhearted. Since we were here we decided to give another try at finding our brick. This time we had a bit more information When we went to City Hall yesterday, in search of my husbands magic band, we inquired about the location of our brick. Apparently City Hall is the only place in all of WDW where you can gather information on these bricks. Unfortunately they had remolded the T&T area and just put the bricks back somewhat randomly. It would be difficult to locate it but we at least had a general idea. We searched and searched. CM's helped look, the children helped look. We were just about to give up when I spotted it. 16 years ago this brick had been laid. It was a gift from my mom and marked the very beginning of our marriage. Here we were now, 16 years and a few months later standing around it with our crew remembering the journey that we had been on. What started out as just the two of us had multiplied to a dozen. Memories flood our minds, it was a very special moment. And a moment was all that we had, the little man was not feeling the love vibes. He was hot and hungry and getting a bit cranky. Hey we are right by the Poly. That means Dole Whip! Everyone enjoyed this blessed gift from heaven. Refreshed and cooled down we wandered around a bit. The children traded pins at the boat dock and I snapped a picture of Trader Sam's. While we were inside we had a look around the gift shop where my husband bought me this beautiful watch. While he was in shopping the children camped out in the lounge area. Anyone know anything about these ladies? Time to head back to the Fort, we had a theory to test out. Oh the things you see. Yellow paint guy matches his yellow paint, and I am not talking about his vest. Okay so maybe it's just a lighting effect, maybe, it still made me chuckle. Anyway, If you remember, the last time we spoke of BEV we had determined that the transmission was not broken just really hot. She was pulling 4000 lbs over the recommended tow weight. We were in a fix. Do we try and pull Birdie back? Do we store the camper? Is our theory about the transmission even correct. Well it was time to face the looming elephant that had been following us the entire trip. When my husband had the Uber people take him to Wal-Mart the previous week he bought a ton of transmission fluid. I mean a ton, kind of over kill really, in my opinion. Anyway with trusty funnel in hand out he went with his mound of fluid. A few minutes later I hear BEV roar to life. Now to test her out. I needed him to go to the grocery store and also relieve me of a few little people. With helpers in tow off he went. I wasn't too concerned about him making it back as we have AAA so if he broke down it would not be a big deal. 20 minutes later I get a text saying he had made it. A few hours later he is back with needed supplies and a van that was not leaking. We were so relieved that all was working in proper order. With only a few days left to our trip we really needed to make a decision as to how we were getting back. I had no desire to try and pull the camper home. It was a terrifying trip down and the thought of going through that again brought tears to my eyes. I also didn't want to spend a bunch of money to store it. If we did store it when would we be able to come down and get it? Looking around I also realized that I would have to determine what needed to come home and what could stay with the camper in storage. Finally my husband suggested that we call and see if we could find a camping spot at the Fort in January/ February. I was extremely doubtful but called anyway. To my surprise they had a week available in a Full Hook-up site. We'll take it. As my husband grilled out hamburgers we devised a plan. Leave Birdie down in Orlando at a storage facility and drive back home. Once we got home we would begin fixing up a red 15 passenger diesel van we had access to. The diesel would have no problem pulling Birdie back. In February we would leave the gray dreary days of winter here in the north and head to the sunny south to retrieve the camper and stay a week at the Fort. We told the children and all agreed it was an excellent plan. I still had one question. Would we still have the terrible sway problem? Up next, Disney's Student Seminars swimmarz 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted November 5, 2015 Report Share Posted November 5, 2015 Great job on those updates! Wow, those yellow shirts are bright! Did you make them? Very cool that y'all were able to visit your brick with all the kids. LOL at Yellow Paint Guy, and good job getting that photo. TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DaveInTN 3,247 Posted November 5, 2015 Report Share Posted November 5, 2015 Makes me fear for additional knowledge on Brown Paint Guy. :panic: jmaul 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
swimmarz 72 Posted November 5, 2015 Report Share Posted November 5, 2015 When in Feb? ill be there 2/5-7 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
momof3kids-Yvonne 596 Posted November 5, 2015 Report Share Posted November 5, 2015 Great updates, but you forgot the highlight of your October 6th day. Well at least I think it was a highlight. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119 Posted November 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2015 Great job on those updates! Wow, those yellow shirts are bright! Did you make them? Very cool that y'all were able to visit your brick with all the kids. LOL at Yellow Paint Guy, and good job getting that photo. TCDThanksYes I did make the shirts. They WERE really bright lol but I didn't lose anyone. :D Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119 Posted November 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2015 Makes me fear for additional knowledge on Brown Paint Guy. :panic: :rofl: When in Feb? ill be there 2/5-7 Jan 24-Feb 4 Great updates, but you forgot the highlight of your October 6th day. Well at least I think it was a highlight.Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk I realized that as soon as I posted , fail on me. However all is not lost as I planned to talk about you on our last day. It would be a crime not mention my adopted sister who made our trip extra special just by being there. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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