[packerbeth]

Originally Posted by dznylvr

I am so enjoying this TR!! It is obvious you guys are enjoying yourselves and each other's company. The kids look so happy!!
I wish I could talk my DH into the matching shirts thing. He flatly refuses. I may just take your spin on it-the rest of us can match, if he doesn't want to, then he will be the one looking goofy!!

Absolutely! Make one for him (or two or three) and give him the choice. After a day or two of you all looking adorable in your matching shirts, he may feel the peer pressure and go along with it!

[vlogilvie]

Your photos are some of the best I've seen. Everyone looks like they are having so much fun. All the photo pass ones are great!!

[packerbeth]

Originally Posted by vlogilvie

Your photos are some of the best I've seen. Everyone looks like they are having so much fun. All the photo pass ones are great!!

Thanks! I love to take photos, because then I get to put them in scrapbooks! Of course, I take so many, that lots of them don't end up in the books!

[dancing4disney]

I love the photos of the girls with the pom poms...how adorable. My family went to the art class 3 times on our last trip. It was so much fun and great to do when it is hot or rainy.

[mickeymotto]

Originally Posted by packerbeth

There's an instructional thread over on the disboards; I'll find the link and let you know tomorrow. It's messy, but pretty easy and fun!

Oh thank you!!!!

I just wanted too add ~ all your children are so adorable, but your youngest looks like she is ready for Hollywood! What a great smile!!!!

[packerbeth]

Here ya go...

Tie Dye Instructions for Spiral Mickey Shirt - The DIS Discussion Forums - DISboards.com

[mickeymotto]

Originally Posted by packerbeth

Here ya go...

Tie Dye Instructions for Spiral Mickey Shirt - The DIS Discussion Forums - DISboards.com

I have to make these for our next trip! Thank you so much!!!

I actually like the Mickey head better on your shirts than the one in the guide. What did you use for a template?

[Goofy3230]

Thanks for the instructions, if I have some spare time, I may give it a try for my DH, he likes tie dye (and Mickey, too!). Where did you get the ideas for your other shirts? I'd love to make one for all of us going down. We will be 9 with my brother's family and we're doing a Magical Gathering. I was going to order shirts for it, but they are so pricey, it would cost over $200 (which I'd rather spend at WDW) Any tips where I could get some of your patterns would be great!!

[packerbeth]

Creative DISigns - The DIS Discussion Forums - DISboards.com

Check the disboards for designs you like; post to the thread, asking for the names you want; when they design it for you, save it on your computer and then you can print them out on t-shirt transfer paper and iron them on! I didn't do any of my shirt designs; I found most of them on the disboards thread.

Have fun!

[packerbeth]

Originally Posted by mickeymotto

I have to make these for our next trip! Thank you so much!!!

I actually like the Mickey head better on your shirts than the one in the guide. What did you use for a template?

I actually used the plate from one of our CS meals at WDW (yes we brought it home! ) It worked perfectly!

[packerbeth]

Originally Posted by dancing4disney

I love the photos of the girls with the pom poms...how adorable. My family went to the art class 3 times on our last trip. It was so much fun and great to do when it is hot or rainy.

I'm hoping to get to go when DH and I are there alone over Labor day!

[packerbeth]

After the Block Party Bash, we scooted off to the Playhouse Disney show, since there were only two showings left for the day. We didn't wait too long before they ushered us in. Christian and Rick went to the h/c section, while the girls and I sat on the floor in the main area. We loved the new show, although I really miss Bear in the Big Blue House. It makes sense for it to be about Mickey, though, since Bear is only on at 6:30 a.m. on the weekend, if at all anymore. During the show, Kate called out, "Mickey! I love you!" At one point, I got up to talk to Rick and he said they had asked if we wanted to stick around afterwards for a special meet & greet! Awesome! We got to meet the host of the show first...





...and then they led us outside, right to the front of the line to meet Handy Manny! Grace needed to use the facilities, so Rick took her while the rest of us met Manny. It was cute; we started singing his theme song and he was dancing around! Christian has his eyes closed, but he was smiling!





After meeting Manny, we had one more thing to do in Animation Courtyard: VotLM! Rick wasn't all that excited about it, but it was inside and it was cool, so off we went. It seems shorter than the very first time I saw it...

We took a bathroom break afterwards, but since Grace had already gone, she waited outside with Christian and me. There was a store across the way, so she asked if she could go in there while I waited with Christian. I could see the store from where I was sitting, so I told her to go ahead. A female security guard was standing in front of the store, and when Grace tried to go in, the woman told her she couldn't. Being the inquisitive and curious girl that she is, she asked why she couldn't go in. She wasn't being sassy or rude, she just wanted to know what the reason was. "Because I said so!" the woman replied. Hmmmm...I'm sure there was another reason, but there were other stores down the way, so when the rest of the group showed up, we left the grouchy security guard to grump at other people so we could spend our money elsewhere. Believe it or not, this was not the only time we were told this by a Disney employee...

When we passed by the store that is all Princess stuff, Kate caught sight of a Jasmine plush doll and said, "She belongs in my bed!" Rose took a fancy to this same doll, so I quickly directed Kate to another soft and cuddly baby Princess. She liked Cindy and Grace wanted a Tinkerbell. They're cute; they come all wrapped in a soft blanket. They all had their own money to spend, so after they parted with their Disney dollars, we were on our way. You can tell by the next couple of pictures that it's the end of the day; everybody was pretty weary.







On our way through the hat area, I noticed there were lots of characters out and about. One in particular caught my eye - Prince John from Robin Hood! This was my favorite movie as a kid; I even had a record of the entire soundtrack, so I knew it by heart. This may have also been the start of my love of the English accent. Alas, I have yet to meet Robin himself, but last year I met Friar Tuck, so perhaps a meet & greet with RH is in my future!

Anyway, PJ was meeting & greeting with the Evil Queen from Snow White, who told me that the fact that she is evil is a common misconception! I talked with PJ about how much I love his movie, how he probably wouldn't like my DH because his name is Richard (like PJ's brother who was his mom's favorite)...it was a really fun interaction. You can see in the photos that he's sucking his thumb, just like in the movie! It was great fun! Grace wasn't interested, and Kate was asleep, so it was just the three of us with the "evil" pair! We didn't have either of their signatures, so we had them sign all four books; they were good sports about it.







We still had two things left on our list: RnRC and ToT! Rick rode with Rose first, and then I went by myself. I'm really looking forward to being able to ride with Rick when we go on our kid-free trip! It's just not as fun going alone.

After the concert, we had two FPs for ToT. Grace hadn't been completely sure whether or not she would ride ToT, so I still held out hope that I'd get to go on it. But, she was brave after all, so she and daddy went off to the haunted hotel. The standby time at 5:20 was 20 minutes, but we had an ADR at Coral Reef at Epcot to get to, so I couldn't ride it. Would I get to ride ToT this trip? Stay tuned to find out...

The original plan was to take the boat to the Beach Club to see if we could find Mr. Art the greeter, but we were really running late for Coral Reef, so we'd have to see Mr. Art another day. We waited a while for the boat, and got some compliments on our shirts from the folks waiting with us. The boat took a long time to travel from the Studios to Epcot, but it was a very peaceful ride.

Up next: Would we make it in time for CR?

[Tinkfan]

Just read the entitre report, and once again, top job!!!! I really like reading your TR's Beth. And your pics are outstanding. Your kids have grown so much since the last family trip. Very beautiful family!

I wish I could get my family to wear the matching T's. They hate to go out in the same color shirts, much less with the exact same pic on it

I will definitley have to do EMH at AK on the next trip, whenever that is EE at night is really cool!!!

Can't wait to read the rest.

[packerbeth]

Originally Posted by Tinkfan

Just read the entitre report, and once again, top job!!!! I really like reading your TR's Beth. And your pics are outstanding. Your kids have grown so much since the last family trip. Very beautiful family!

I wish I could get my family to wear the matching T's. They hate to go out in the same color shirts, much less with the exact same pic on it

I will definitley have to do EMH at AK on the next trip, whenever that is EE at night is really cool!!!

Can't wait to read the rest.

Thanks for reading; I'm glad you're enjoying it!

We're done with school, so I should be able to update more often.

[packerbeth]

After taking the slow boat to Epcot, we still had to walk all the way through the World Showcase and around to Coral Reef. We were tired, it was hot, and if I had been smart, I would have cancelled the ADR and called it a day. I don't remember that walk through WS; I just remember that we were an hour late for our ADR and I worried they wouldn't seat us! When we finally arrived and checked in, they said they would seat us when they could. There was some discussion about whether or not Christian would be able to transfer out of his chair. The seating is in three tiers, so the places they could seat us were limited if he couldn't transfer. Well, he couldn't, so we had the feeling that we were in for a long wait.

The buzzer did go off, but it was only so they could ask again if he could transfer. Hello, you just asked us that! And here we thought that it was time to go in and eat! The kids were cranky, Kate fell and did a faceplant, we were all hungry...eventually we made the decision to try to reschedule for another day and head back to the Poly. It had been a long day and we were about to crash and burn!They were able to reschedule us for Saturday lunch; I was glad because I had really been looking forward to this meal.

Remember when the nice CM at the Studios gave the girls a Tink pin to give away? They found someone to give it to while we were taking a bathroom break and checking out the menu at the Electric Umbrella. Grace was taking too long for my liking, so while she was washing her hands, I was heading out of the bathroom. Well, she couldn't reach the paper towels, so a woman helped her get some. When Grace joined me in the hallway, she wanted to give the pin to this woman and her daughter. They were very appreciative; just goes to show that the little things you do for other people can make a difference.

I have in my notes that Rick and the girls rode Test Track. It was something they hadn't had a chance to do the other day, and it was a priority for them. The wait time must have been short enough that they decided to go ahead and do it tonight. Kate was awake by now, so I let her run around while I sat on the bench, almost too tired to move. The girls LOVED Test Track, but the photo part was down so we didn't get photographic evidence of that fact. At the end of the trip, we got each of them a pin from their favorite attraction; Grace's was TT!

Our next stop was SOMEWHERE to get something to eat. We settled on Sunshine Seasons. I had gotten lunch there on my last trip, so I figured it would be a good choice for the whole family. I don't remember what we got, and I don't have the receipt, but I do remember that we were waited on by two lovely CMs, and the girls gave out another set of thank you cards. We didn't want to take time to eat now, so we packed it up in the Disney World bags the girls' baby dolls had come in, and headed for the monorail. We were leaving Epcot as Illuminations was starting; I was just as glad to be leaving, because I really didn't want to handle four kids in those crowds! However, it did mean that it was another trip without a proper viewing of Illuminations!

We got back, we ate, we all took a quick shower and collapsed into bed. I had been so tired, I didn't even take any photos this night! I would be taking plenty tomorrow, though, because Chef Mickeys, BBB and the Pirate & Princess Party were on the agenda!