We Can Fly, We Can Fly, We Can Fly......We Flew Trip Report About This Page:

[KMB733]

Sounds like a great day at DHS and how exciting that Abby got to meet the gang from Wreck it Ralph!! Glad Lenny found his glasses. As someone who wears glasses, I know what a nightmare that would have been if he didn't find them!

[mcc0313]

Great day at DHS, love how Abby led the way . SOunds like a great penny day. Sorry that you felt off after Star Tours, sometimes I am ok with it, sometimes not....so strange but then again at DQ the Ailen game, I have to walk out it makes me so dizzy.

Glad Lenny found his glasses.

[OneLittleSpark]

Wow, you packed it in today! I am so glad that Lenny found his glasses. I can completely relate as my DH gets frustrated easily and does the same thing as Lenny. Grumpy, snippy, yelling, etc. I try to get him to understand there is a difference between yelling bc your angry, and yelling AT people when your angry. Taking it out on those around you. :

I can also relate to the ST. Ever since they went 3D with that ride, it makes me ill. I tried it again, for the second and final time with Dana, and I was sick again. Next trip DH and DD can ride it together, and I will do something else. It will be their ride, like the teacups. It's okay, bc I like that we each have rides that we do with her. For DH and DD, it's ST, teacups, and the Speedway. For me and DD, it's SM (though he will ride one time per trip, but it's one my DD wants numerous times), Dinosaur, and any other "thrill" rides that she wants to do, bc as you've probably figure out...DH doesn't do "thrill" rides.

Can't wait to hear about your tour!

[PAmommy]

"For me, it’s bittersweet Abby riding by herself. It’s good that she’s growing up but it does make me miss when she was younger and she rode with me or her dad on all the rides."

Aw! I gauge how my little ones are growing every year by how much of their faces we can see on the ride photos from "Space Ranger Spin!" My older son is now officially above the entire blaster...when we first started visiting it looked like my DH or I were riding alone because he was so small! Very bittersweet! As usual, I'm still really enjoying your report!

[mommapants]

So I was away and just getting back into the groove of everything and here I am 18 pages behind. All caught up with the TR. Sounds like you are all having a nice time. A few rough spots here and there but that is normal. Glad Lenny found his glasses and I love the food court resort hopping. Are you able to use your mug at any resort? I thought it was just your "home" resort - still not able to use in theme parks, right? Were these the mugs with the chip in them?

[buzzspal2]

Darlene, How many rolls of quarters and pennies do you take with you?

[mpwife153]

I am loving not only Abby's pictures, but the pictures of Abby! I cannot believe how much she has grown up! more please!

[lauriep]

I got so far behind but am caught up again now. You really know how to fit a lot into one day. Sometimes I'll be reading and suddenly realize this has all been ONE day! Love all the photos. I love the sig pic of Abby and Lenny, but if you do switch back to one of the three of you, that'll be a tough choice.

[shazza]

Still catching up (just finished your first MK day). I am impressed with how much you are getting done in these first days - and it looks like a good time, too. Your photos really give us a feeling for what you're doing and seeing.

Abby looks so happy in the photos from Ohana's - glad you had a good experience this time.

OK - gotta get back to reading about your fun-filled adventures...

[CinderAbby]

Originally Posted by num1DVCfan

It sounds like you got a lot done at Hollywood Studios and had a great day over all. I'm glad Lenny found his glasses. I imagine the rest of the trip would have been quite difficult for him without those.

Thanks - while we did get a lot done, I think it's because there are some things we just don't do. We don't do the stunt shows and we don't do ToT or RnRC and those four things alone take some time to do. As for Lenny, yes it would have been difficult. He needs his glasses all of the time.

Originally Posted by LegoMom

Abby is SO cute waiting for Wreck It Ralph!! You can see the excitement all over her face. That's cool they now have a M&G with him!

GMR -- I have never, ever seen anything BUT the Gangster scene. I'm starting to doubt that a Western one exists!!

Star Tours is a big NO for me, too!! I've never ridden it, I know I wouldn't handle it well.

And yeah, how sad that the CMs were so apparently shocked by an honest person! Wow. The world needs more people like you!!!

Great PhotoPass pics!!

.

Thanks. I'm glad to hear we're not the only ones who get the gangster scene all of the time. I do know once upon a time (way back when the studios first opened) I did experience the cowboy scene because I remember the bank going up in flames but I don't think I've ever seen it since. Abby was super excited for that M&G. I'm not sure how she knew about it but she couldn't wait until our Studios day for it. I too think it's sad that a person being honest surprises people but that's how my mother raised me and I can't be any other way.

Originally Posted by Mom24Girls

Sounds like you had a great day!! I had to giggle when I was looking at your Beauty and the Beast photos. We have only ever seen it once, and when we did, the Beast had a costume malfunction... his pants fell down! It was funny & we felt so bad for the actor! It was still a wonderful show and we cant wait to see it this Spring!

That is too funny about B&B. I hope your next time there are no costume malfunctions. I too would have felt bad had I seen it. I know I saw a YouTube video one day where one of the actors pushing the carts fell down and I felt bad for him and I wasn't even there.

Originally Posted by disney fan 46

Good pictures!

Thanks. I'm glad you're enjoying them

Originally Posted by manticorjenn

Sounds like you had another great day. I am glad Lenny found his glasses. I know how frustrating it is to not have them and have to fumble around. Luckily I have been able to now get contacts and only have to worry about losing the sunglasses.

Thanks, we did have a great day. Fumble around is definitely what Lenny does at times - unless it's something really close up then he needs to remove his glasses to see - but that's not often.

Originally Posted by B.M.

Great day at the Studio's!

Thanks, it was.

Originally Posted by Cam22

More excellent work on the penny search, especially running into TL to get those! You all covered quite a bit of ground at DHS. Glad Abby was able to meet the crew from Wreck It Ralph. You weren't kidding when you said Ralph's hands were huge. So glad Lenny found his glasses. All your PP pictures are great, too.

Thanks Cam for all of the comments. We have a lot of fun finding the pennies so when there are new ones at the WP or the resorts, we'll make every effort we can to get them.

Originally Posted by dutchdisneyfamily

I'm glad Lenny found his glasses! It's sad when honest people are so rare. I love the Photopass pics!

Thanks - and I agree on all three

[CinderAbby]

Originally Posted by patclairesmom

Another great update! I'm with you feeling sick from Star Tours. I can only ride it once(at the most). I'm glad Lenny found his glasses. That would have been a bummer not having them for the rest of the trip.

Glad you enjoyed the update. As I said earlier, there are things we don't do at the studios which helps us get "everything" done. As for ST, I'm not even going to try it the one time anymore. It's just not worth how I'm left feeling afterwards. Lenny not having his glasses would have made the rest of vacation difficult so it is a very good thing he found them.

Originally Posted by Roxie2006

I must say HS is not our favorite Park. Reason being that most rides are the same old, same old. Glad you were able to see all the shows. Abby riding curtain rides by herself, is possible because of the great parents she has. DH and myself will be taking our 1st couples only trip in 3 weeks and I want to see some of the shows. I'm not sure what else we will do, but this Park will be taken at a slow pace. Glad Lenny found his glasses. I know what loosing something important can feel like Once again you have great memories( I like all the Photos)!! And last, it is so good to hear some people still do the right thing. I believe in doing the right thing all the time, so good for you going back and doing what is totally right!!!!!!!

Thank you for the compliments. Some days I don't feel like I'm doing a good job with Abby but I do try and as I said before, my mother raised me not to honest and I can't be any other way. I just couldn't sit there and not do anything about it. I agree though that the Studios is not my favorite park. I was on a campaign to skip the park this year but it didn't work. If you get hopper tickets, just do the shows and hop to someplace like Epcot for the remainder of the day. Either that or do that as a down day - slow paced park time doing the shows and whatever back at the resort. Good luck deciding.

Originally Posted by omd

Another busy day at HS. I love the Beauty and the Beast show. TSM is my favorite ride but there is always such a wait and if you don't get there early the fast passes are gone. The GMR is good but I think they need to update it a little.
My favorite picture is Abby waiting for Wreck it Ralph.

Thanks Olive. I think that picture is one of my favorites too but I have so many to choose from on my computer that it's always hard to point to just one and say "this is the one." The fastpasses at TSM do go very quickly although I do have to say, I don't remember seeing the 150 or 180 minute wait times we've seen in the past. Either we went to the Studios on a "good" day (no EMH) or we just weren't there at the right time.

Originally Posted by Jakesmom1118

Abby's smile when she was waiting to meet wreck it Ralph and vanellope...OMG!!! She looks so happy! That is my favorite picture so far. That is what I call "the Disney look" and it's the reason I LOVE going to Disney. Her face explains how I feel on the inside.

I'm glad Lenny found his glasses, sounds like a rough time looking for them. I hope that nasty storm cleared up for you guys. Sounds like a fun day!!

Abby was super excited about that M&G. Other than the lines at AK this year, this was the shortest line we've ever been in for a M&G and I think that helped her to be excited about it. I agree though about the "Disney look." We may not be able to get away with those looks as adults but it's what the kid inside of us looks and feels like.

Lenny needs his glasses all of the time so basically in order to find his, he still needed a pair of glasses. Luckily mine help in a pinch but between having the wrong glasses on, it being dark out (with no moon either because of the clouds) and Lenny being color blind - his glasses kind of blended in with the cement around the pool - it wasn't the easiest thing for him to do.. The storm finally did clear up - they usually do - but it was sometime during the night.

Originally Posted by rhinohunter

Great day. Glad the GAC finally worked. It would be nice if all of the CMs knew how to handle them.

Thanks - and I agree. It would be nice if everyone knew to handle a GAC the same way at every attraction. It kind of is a pain the discrepancies among the attractions but I suppose it could be a lot worse than it was.

Originally Posted by Silvercat

Enjoying the report so far, you are very descriptive and your report is really fun and interesting to read! Thank you for taking the time to do this.

Regarding TGMR, the Western side does still exist, but they only run it in every 4th run of cars. A set of cars leaves the Hollywood loading room every 3 minutes, so if you want to do the Western set, ask the CM as you go in the door to the loading room. They will move you over to the far right hand side of the room, and you may have to wait up to 12 minutes for the right car. It is worth it though, as it is so much fun! We have done this on our last two trips.

Keep up the good work, Darlene, really enjoying this!

Thank you so much. I'm glad you're really enjoying my TR and I should print your reply for my mother. I gave her a printed copy of it to read (with a few changes here and there ) and my mother told me it was boring and uninteresting. I don't write it for her anyway, I write it for me and you guys but it just goes to show not everyone likes the same thing.

Next time we go, maybe I will ask for the Western scene. I mean lets face it, another 10 or 15 minutes isn't all that bad to wait to see something different.

Originally Posted by purplegal

Great pictures, you criss cross this park just like we do. While I like HS I find it the least organized.

How many pennies are you missing from a complete set?

I don't know if the Studios is the least organized or the hardest to navigate because of the shows which have set times instead of the continuous attractions that the other parks have. Whichever it is, it does get tiring seeing the same thing again and again and again.

For the pennies, we'll never have a complete set. Pennies get changed, sometimes they get removed completely and retired, others "go missing" for a while then show up again so we'll never have every one. We have a couple of "series" pennies (can't think of which ones off the top of my head) that we're missing pennies from because they've been removed and just haven't found their way back anywhere yet. Last count though we had several hundred pennies (and that count was I think in my 2009 TR).

Originally Posted by KMB733

Sounds like a great day at DHS and how exciting that Abby got to meet the gang from Wreck it Ralph!! Glad Lenny found his glasses. As someone who wears glasses, I know what a nightmare that would have been if he didn't find them!

Thanks Kathy. It was a great day and if you think that was exciting for Abby, keep reading (no other hints though ). I too am glad Lenny found his glasses. I thought he had an extra set here at home but it turns out that's his only set of glasses for the time being.

[CinderAbby]

Originally Posted by mcc0313

Great day at DHS, love how Abby led the way . SOunds like a great penny day. Sorry that you felt off after Star Tours, sometimes I am ok with it, sometimes not....so strange but then again at DQ the Ailen game, I have to walk out it makes me so dizzy.

Glad Lenny found his glasses.

Thanks. Today wasn't the first time Abby has led the way. You'll have to stay tuned though for more. We haven't been to DQ - and we have no plans of going as I don't go to Disney to play video games (that's just me) - so I don't know what game you're talking about but that's not good it makes you that dizzy.

Originally Posted by OneLittleSpark

Wow, you packed it in today! I am so glad that Lenny found his glasses. I can completely relate as my DH gets frustrated easily and does the same thing as Lenny. Grumpy, snippy, yelling, etc. I try to get him to understand there is a difference between yelling bc your angry, and yelling AT people when your angry. Taking it out on those around you. :

I can also relate to the ST. Ever since they went 3D with that ride, it makes me ill. I tried it again, for the second and final time with Dana, and I was sick again. Next trip DH and DD can ride it together, and I will do something else. It will be their ride, like the teacups. It's okay, bc I like that we each have rides that we do with her. For DH and DD, it's ST, teacups, and the Speedway. For me and DD, it's SM (though he will ride one time per trip, but it's one my DD wants numerous times), Dinosaur, and any other "thrill" rides that she wants to do, bc as you've probably figure out...DH doesn't do "thrill" rides.

Can't wait to hear about your tour!

I don't think guys understand that concept - yelling because you're angry versus yelling at people. I know Lenny doesn't and I'm sorry to hear your hubby is the same way. That's nice that you each have rides you'll do with your daughter - it creates "special" memories for all of you. Most everything we do, it's things we'll do together as a family because we all apparantely like and dislike the same types of rides.

Originally Posted by PAmommy

"For me, it’s bittersweet Abby riding by herself. It’s good that she’s growing up but it does make me miss when she was younger and she rode with me or her dad on all the rides."

Aw! I gauge how my little ones are growing every year by how much of their faces we can see on the ride photos from "Space Ranger Spin!" My older son is now officially above the entire blaster...when we first started visiting it looked like my DH or I were riding alone because he was so small! Very bittersweet! As usual, I'm still really enjoying your report!

That's cool that you have a gauge for your son on a ride. For Abby, it's been me in the photopass pictures. In some of them this year, she looks taller than me now I'm glad you're still enjoying it. As I mentioned, my mother was given a copy to read and she complained that I made it boring. It was our vacation, not hers, and I don't think it was boring.

Originally Posted by mommapants

So I was away and just getting back into the groove of everything and here I am 18 pages behind. All caught up with the TR. Sounds like you are all having a nice time. A few rough spots here and there but that is normal. Glad Lenny found his glasses and I love the food court resort hopping. Are you able to use your mug at any resort? I thought it was just your "home" resort - still not able to use in theme parks, right? Were these the mugs with the chip in them?

Sorry you fell behind but at least you can read at your leisure to catch up and I'm glad you're enjoying it.

As for the food court/mugs, the All Start resorts were advertising them as the Rapid Fill system versus just the refillable mugs. The Rapid Fill - as explained online - you can use at other resorts where there is a filling station and that's what we did. At AS Music, All Star Movies and Art of Animation, the drinks stations all recognized our mug (because of the chip) and told us our last usable day for it. At AKL, we were able to get drinks but I don't know if the RFID was operational yet as those screens were blank. The refillable mugs are not usable in the parks unless you purchase a drink then pour it into the mug.

Originally Posted by buzzspal2

Darlene, How many rolls of quarters and pennies do you take with you?

For this year? I took roughly the equivalent of 2 1/2 rolls of pennies (thereabouts) and 12 rolls of quarters. Keep in mind though about half of the quarters were for laundry, not pressing pennies. I don't keep them rolled though as I don't want them to appear as a weapon or something at the airport.

Originally Posted by mpwife153

I am loving not only Abby's pictures, but the pictures of Abby! I cannot believe how much she has grown up! more please!

She has grown so much - I can't believe it either. I'm glad you're enjoying everything and right now, I plan on posting more tonight after dinner.

Originally Posted by lauriep

I got so far behind but am caught up again now. You really know how to fit a lot into one day. Sometimes I'll be reading and suddenly realize this has all been ONE day! Love all the photos. I love the sig pic of Abby and Lenny, but if you do switch back to one of the three of you, that'll be a tough choice.

You're right Laurie. My signature picture is always a tough choice so for now I'll leave the one of Lenny and Abby. I'm sorry you fell behind but glad you caught up and are enjoying it. It's not always by design that we get so much done, sometimes it just happens by chance (hitting a ride at the right time for a smaller line, hitting a show with a short wait time instead of a long one, etc). Whichever way it works, it was all fun.

Originally Posted by shazza

Still catching up (just finished your first MK day). I am impressed with how much you are getting done in these first days - and it looks like a good time, too. Your photos really give us a feeling for what you're doing and seeing.

Abby looks so happy in the photos from Ohana's - glad you had a good experience this time.

OK - gotta get back to reading about your fun-filled adventures...

Thanks Sharon. Just when you think you'll get caught up, I come along and post more - which I plan on doing after dinner tonight. I'm glad you're enjoying it all but I must say this is a switch. You reading my TR trying to catch up versus me reading yours and trying to catch up . We had a great time but you'll see that as you continue to read.

[rhinohunter]

Abbey is certainly growing up fast. Isn't it funny how at this age they so want to be grown up but are still excited with the child stuff. We saw it with our 14 year old DGD in July. I love it. DGD still does not want to use the single rider lines much at all. Don't know how I will feel when we can take her to the park and she just goes off on her own. Scary thought.

[CinderAbby]

Originally Posted by rhinohunter

Abbey is certainly growing up fast. Isn't it funny how at this age they so want to be grown up but are still excited with the child stuff. We saw it with our 14 year old DGD in July. I love it. DGD still does not want to use the single rider lines much at all. Don't know how I will feel when we can take her to the park and she just goes off on her own. Scary thought.

She is growing up fast - and you're right. On one hand, they want to be grown up and on the other hand, they can still get excited. Abby especially because of the Autism. I can put myself in your shoes and I agree - letting someone go off at Disney is a scary thought (in the sense that they're old enough, not that something is going to happen scary). I know when I was a teen, I was allowed to go off and do what I wanted but for me, it was no fun. I enjoyed staying with my family so with any luck, Abby will be like that. If not, then I'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

[CinderAbby]

Many of you know, we do the pressed pennies. We also do the pressed quarters. The day before when we had been at the Studios, we got a new pressed quarter design and it didn’t come out all that well. Abby wanted to get to our first attraction (should have been B&B but it turned out to be the Wreck it Ralph M&G) so we didn’t try to get a new quarter at that time. By the time we left the park, we had forgotten about it. At some point in time Friday night (either before, during or after Lenny searched for his missing glasses) Lenny and I had discussed trying to get a new pressed quarter. Thankfully Disney has so many information channels because we turned on the one that has park information and we found out that Saturday was a morning EMH for the DHS. Knowing that, we decided to leave the hotel as early as we could, go to the Studios where I would run in for the quarter, then we would head to the MK for the day. With that plan in mind, Saturday morning, we were up at 6 am.

For the first time all week. we actually had a food court breakfast - and I was there bright and early at 6:30 to get it. I wasn’t overly hungry and Abby had started to eat some Pop tarts before I left the room so I got two bounty platters (eggs, bacon, 2 sausages, 2 french toast sticks and a biscuit), a chocolate croissant and four pieces of toast. The CM who rang me out gave me a bag as we didn’t want to eat in the food court and after toasting the bread, getting the butter, napkins, utensils and drinks I went back to the room. Once in the room, I then started to divide everything. The croissant I cut up into three pieces, the biscuits got tossed as we don’t like them and the french toast sticks went to Abby as that’s all she wanted (she didn’t even eat her piece of croissant). She might have had a piece of bacon too. I gave Lenny my sausages but kept the eggs and bacon for myself with a piece of toast. Whatever that left, Lenny ate .

I’m not sure what time we left the room, but whatever time it was, we had plenty of time to hit the Studios for the pressed quarter before going to the MK. By the time we got to the MK, I believe it was somewhere around 9:30 so we went right to package pickup to check in for the Family Magic Tour. So today was a "special" day. Not only was it the day for our tour, but it was also Lenny’s birthday . He likes spending his birthday at Disney and who can blame him. He’s even to the point he willingly wears his birthday button.

It was early and it was hot , so we waited inside Package Pickup for the tour to start. Our Tour Guide was Megan and you could tell she loves her job. She was really enthusiastic and really good with the kids.