12 Days of Disney: Our Very Merry Vow Renewal, Christmas, Alligators and more!

[missjackiemcg]

Still here
Great Here is a nice place to be!
Still caught up
I'm about to post a little something!!
I like this report.
Thanks....I promise it'll get better!!
want to hear more about wrestling 4 year olds sounds dangerous!

To be honest, this kid probably outweighs me by a good 10-15 pounds, so every time I get him in his seat feels like a real victory!!

 

[missjackiemcg]

Happy day after Valentine's Day, everyone!!! Hope you're not all in a chocolate coma after yesterday! I spent the morning with my sick son got him dropped off at Grandma's house (thankfully she works from home, so he can lounge around there all day!) Got to school and spent a wild and crazy day in Kindergarten with my 35 darlings. It took us an hour and 45 minutes to pass out valentines.....goody bags galore!! Seriously, you would not believe the madness.

I got to wear the shirt I picked up at the Disney Store in January and was saving for this day!!! I thought my kids would love it and be so excited about all the characters.....they didn't even notice (grr) and one of them told me, "On Valentine's Day we wear red or pink." Mean Girls: Kindergarten Edition.

20170212_182614 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
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February 14th was also a MOST important day in the Disney World!! Open registration for the 2018 runDisney Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend opened yesterday at 12 p.m. Eastern. So, in the midst of Valentine's Day chaos, I was watching the clock like a hawk as it was inching closer to registration time. I got my windows open on the computer so I could just keep refreshing until registration opened up. With one minute to go, I clicked refresh one last time and BAM! This message popped up--this is it. I was in line!!!

20170214_124119 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
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I anxiously watched the little green bar with the man walking--he finally made it to the other end of the box and I was redirected to the sign up page!!! AAAAHHH!! Once I entered my log in information, I had 15 minutes to complete my registration for the 5K; however, I would have to wait again to get in for the 10K....so while I was waiting for the little walking guy, I had also fired up my phone and was waiting on a little walking guy there. When I his the final submit button on my 5K registration, my phone was redirected and I was able to sign up for the 10K. By 11:10 Central, I was all signed up and registered for my first runDisney races---eeeeep!! I am SO excited And best of all, my Dis-Friend Ariana was able to get into the race she wanted, too.

20170214_111439 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
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I can't wait to runDisney!!!! Now, to plan my trip dates, figure out if Jimmy will come along or maybe this will be a grown up trip just for me and Rob...AND the most important of all----COSTUMES!!!! yay, yay, yay!!!!

20170214_123859 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

Perhaps I will start a PTR for marathon weekend.......of course, there is the little matter of THIS trip report to contend with, so first things first.

Happy Wednesday!!
Love & Smooches,
Jackie​

 

[frostymojo]

Following along

 

[missjackiemcg]

Following along

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

Great start. I stayed a POP before and my kids absolutely loved it. That was back when they had icee machines in the food court and my son thought he was in heaven.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Hello! I am following along as well!

Here's Jimmy and Buddy, ready to fly!

I love the American Girl Doll! Did you see they just released a full size boy doll. I think it's great!

We walked right on and were the last people to get on the bus for a quick, quiet ride to Pop Century!!

Being the last ones on the bus is the best. You know the people that were the first ones on are jealous!

(For those who are interested, they did end up charging us $5 which is apparently a new charge if you have parcels shipped to the resort. I wasn't charged for the delivery of my Garden Grocer order though...hmmm)

That is good to know! I haven't shipped a box down yet. But I do usually order from Garden Grocer. Wonder how long before they charge for that? I mean they do keep milk and stuff cold for you. It's got to take up space somewhere... Still worth it.

Got to school and spent a wild and crazy day in Kindergarten with my 35 darlings.

35 kids!!!! Man that is a lot! Hats off to you. My girls are in 3rd and 1st Grade this year. And as a class mom, I know that, that has to be a lot of kids. Especially at that age.

Can't wait to hear all of the adventures!

 

[luckylady]

Congratulations on getting registered for both races. Me I would make it an adult only trip.

 

[thumper*]

Followin. Can't wait to read the rest.

 

[amazingact21]

Very cool shirt!

Wow, I did not know runDisney event sign ups had gotten that intense! I participated in the Everest 5K races in 2011 and 2012, but they weren't nearly that involved! I am glad you were able to register. runDisney races are fantastic; you'll have a blast!

 

[missjackiemcg]

Great start. I stayed a POP before and my kids absolutely loved it. That was back when they had icee machines in the food court and my son thought he was in heaven.

We've stayed at Pop a bunch of times over the past few years. I LOVED the frozen coke machines!!!!! It was a very sad trip for me when they first removed them Luckily they have them at some of the snack carts now, so I can still get my fix in the parks....AND at Epcot, they even have a stand that's sort of hidden off the beaten path where you can get one with Jack Daniel's or Captain Morgain in it!

Hello! I am following along as well!

Hi!! Thanks for joining in!!

Congratulations on getting registered for both races. Me I would make it an adult only trip.

Thanks!!! I had no idea it was so intense either. Thankfully Ariana gave me some very helpful tips leading up to registration day, so I knew how to be ready!!

Followin. Can't wait to read the rest.

Welcome!! Thanks for reading!

runDisney races are fantastic; you'll have a blast!

I'm really excited to do my first runDisney events!!! I did the virtual shorts series last summer, and getting the medals in the mail afterward was amazing--they were SO giant and adorable, but it was kind of anticlimactic to just run around my usual route.

 

[missjackiemcg]

Day 2, December 22nd​

Despite our late bedtime on the 21st, we were up bright and early for our first park day, Animal Kingdom! We had planned to be there right at 9 a.m. for rope drop to get on the first safari of the day, but as we were heading out to the bus my phone rang--our Garden Grocer delivery was here!! This was our first time using it, and while pricier than buying groceries at home, the convenience of it was awesome! We ordered 2 cases of beer, bagels and cream cheese, and water for my Dad's CPAP machine. Nothing too thrilling but easier than having to get to the store! So, we went down to Bell Services and Jimmy played with the beanbags, hula hoops and giant LEGOs while my Dad and Rob took the groceries back upstairs.
20161222_083412 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

They came back down and we hopped in line for a bus to AK. Of course, now we were behind schedule....already. We had a FP for Kiliminjaro Safari for 9-10; however, we had to be at Tusker House for our reservation at 9:40 a.m. I was nervous because I love to stick to the plan!!
20161222_085652 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
We made it onto a safari without much of a wait (probably didn't need that FP after all!!) and Jimmy was overjoyed because one of the horned cattle was close to our truck. The driver slowed down so we could take pictures and right before we drove away.....the cattle started to poop. He could not stop talking about it all morning....and don't worry, there's more poop talk to come!! Gotta love 7 year old boys!

After our safari, we headed back over to Tusker House to check in for our reservation. We were a few minutes late, but they were very friendly and also handled another little issue that had been making me crazy for the last 180 days!! When I made all of our reservations, the TH one was the most difficult (who knows why?! I had thought at the time they were just making reservation options limited because of the expected opening of Rivers of Light that just kept on being delayed). In any case, when I was FINALLY able to get a TH reservation, I could only get it to go through for a party of 4. Technically Jimmy wasn't on this reservation. I kept calling and nothing was ever available to bump us up to a group of 5. The last time I called, the CM was really sweet and she assured me if we just showed up there for our reservation, there would be no problem getting Jimmy added right at the podium. I was pretty sure she was right, but you just never know.....so I was beyond relieved when she just hit a button and bam, there he was We had to wait for about 5 minutes because the characters were in the middle of their parade, and then we were seated in a nice quiet back room, first table the characters would visit as they entered. It was delicious as always!!!
20161222_102631 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

Jimmy's favorite character until now has always been Cinderella--he has an 'ella he sleeps with that he got at the Disney Store when he was about 18 months old. He grabbed her off the rack and just wouldn't let go so she had to come home with us. He loves meeting characters, but for some reason on this trip from this breakfast onward, Donald Duck became Jimmy's fav!!
20161222_103640 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

20161222_104340 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

20161222_105232 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

After breakfast, we had some FPs to use for Expedition Everest--one of my favorite rides! I knew my Mom and Jimmy would never ride, but I still made our FPs for all 5 of us, so that whoever wanted to (ahem, ME) could ride again We started heading in the direction of Asia, but I spotted a PP photographer and got excited for our first batch of family pictures!!! I dragged them all to get in line with me.
wdw2016357630150315_7900417742 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
wdw2016357630150293_7900417738 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

Now I have to give you a little back story------back in 2004 when we were just kids but felt like we had our lives all planned out, I graduated from college on a Sunday and the following week Rob was coming over to take me out for my birthday. When he came over, he gave me a little gift bag with a birthday card and inside he had written a poem asking me to marry him! Of course I said yes, or you wouldn't be reading this vow renewal report, would you?! BUT, I have always teased him about the fact that he didn't get down on one knee. Over the past 10 years he's heard it many many times, "You owe me a knee." So, now that you're filled in...

We're done with the photographer and I bend down to get all the stuff we threw down to get our pictures taken, and he grabs my hand and says, "Let's get this over with while the photographer is here." I'm thinking, What??? I turn around and...
wdw2016357630159592_7900432076 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
wdw2016357630159598_7900427810 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
I finally got my knee He said, "Let's do it again." Everyone was clapping and I barely even noticed them...it felt like a dream and like we were the only ones around. He's not a mushy romantic and rarely does things like this so openly, so I was completely caught by surprise. He told me later, he was so nervous and that it wasn't any easier this time around, which I thought was so cute--like I would've said no?!

New ring in place (oh, yea, about that ring! Rob injured his ring finger on his left hand in a softball game about a year ago and hasn't been able to wear his wedding ring or get any ring over his injured knuckle since then. For this vow renewal, I ordered him a QALO ring--silicone and slides over that big knuckle--and I ordered myself a hot pink one, too, so I could wear it for working out and running. Well, he took my pink ring along on the trip and that's what he used for the "proposal.") we headed off to see everyone's favorite dancing Yeti. Rob's first ride, and I'd say he looks like he loved it!
wdw2016357630178831_7900457142 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
Afterward, Dad and I took on the yeti again using Mom and Jimmy's bands. I love this ride, but really do with they'd do something about the dancing Yeti.....he was just so much cooler when he lunged at you!

I have always wanted to see Finding Nemo the Musical, but because of the show times somehow we've never managed to get there. We had planned to see Finding Nemo the Musical, but our FP wasn't until 1:00. As we were walking from EE toward Dinoland, U.S.A. the CM at the podium said casually, "Show's about to start if you want to jump in here." OK, don't mind if we do!! We entered right as the show was beginning. We had to sit on the bleachers at the back but it was SO good!! I can't believe I've been missing it. I really enjoyed the music and Jimmy found the quote he continues to utter to this day.....every day....and almost became the title of this TR except I wasn't sure who it would actually attract!!! "We're gonna clog the filter and fill this tank with poop!"

Since we were able to see Nemo without using our FP, I exchanged that one for another we had never seen--It's Tough to Be a Bug! This was Jimmy's pick. We have a Disney CD collection and the finale song from the show is on his favorite disc, so we HAD to check it out. I was a little nervous having read some people's reviews and they were so right!! There were screaming little children everywhere once the show started. Jimmy loves the movie It's a Bug's Life, so Hopper didn't terrify him the way I thought he might. But I had him on my lap so he wouldn't freak about feeling bugs crawling under his butt!
20161222_130942 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr (looking just a little nervous, wouldn't you say?)

After the show let out, we entered into a crazy sea of humanity, but Jimmy spotted a lonely Wilderness Explorer lady along a little secluded path. We stopped over to see her so he could earn his next Wilderness Explorer badge and I got this picture of the Tree of Life from a brand new angle!
20161222_132331 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

We made our way out of the park to take a break at the hotel. Jimmy, Mom and I had big plans for the last Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party of 2016 tonight!! But of course I spotted a PP photographer and wouldn't let the family take one foot toward those buses without hopping in for a quick picture! I love the animal print picture frames they had too!
wdw2016357630316814_7900639759 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
wdw2016357630316899_7900639763 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

We made our way back to Pop and promptly tucked Jimmy in bed. He outgrew naps a long time ago, but at Disney World he still gets a mid-day snooze to survive!! And while he rests, we turn our outdoor walkway into a private balcony Sometimes we get funny looks from people passing by, but our downtime hanging outside our room are some of my favorite moments of this trip!
20161222_155835 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr

To be continued! Next up: MVMCP!!

Love & Smooches,
Jackie​

 

[WDBRDWLK]

Sounds like a great trip so far.. looking forward to reading more!

 

[epsmith921]

You have another reader here! I love the Up ears you have in the "balcony" photo. Looks like a totally fun trip!

If only I could get my almost 6 year old to nap, even at Disney. She falls asleep in the stroller at Disney, in the car at home, etc.

I also had to look up those silicon rings and think they're pretty cool. I feel like they could have an awesome market with pregnant ladies or moms in general. My engagement ring is not practical for baby care and I totally would have worn one of those!

So cute you got the knee finally! Looking forward to that part of the report for sure!

 

[missjackiemcg]

You have another reader here! I love the Up ears you have in the "balcony" photo. Looks like a totally fun trip!

Hi!!! I love those ears, too!! I had them made by Angie and Josh at Modern Mouse Boutique. You'll see my Mom's It's a Small World ears and Tiana ears later in the TR, too, all from MMB. They're the comfiest ears I own!!!

I definitely agree about the silicone rings--I had never heard of them but all of a sudden they kept popping up in my facebook newsfeed, and when I looked into it, I was so glad to find out how inexpensive and a perfect option for our situation.

 

[cyndiloveswalt]

I love those UP ears too, so cute! I've gotten a couple pairs at the parks but they give me a headache. Can you wear those all day without them bothering you?

 

[missjackiemcg]

I love those UP ears too, so cute! I've gotten a couple pairs at the parks but they give me a headache. Can you wear those all day without them bothering you?

Ears a must for me when we're at WDW and some of the ones I've purchased most recently in the parks are REALLY tight--the Christmas ones are the worst (even though I love how cute they are!!!) I have found the ones I bought from Modern Mouse Boutique to be the comfiest by far! They don't have that squeezy pinch factor--whatever headbands she uses are awesome and she puts little cushioned pieces at the ends, so that's another nice feature. I highly recommend them! You can follow them on IG @modernmouseboutique--they always post pics of their creations and coupon codes, too!

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

We've stayed at Pop a bunch of times over the past few years. I LOVED the frozen coke machines!!!!! It was a very sad trip for me when they first removed them Luckily they have them at some of the snack carts now, so I can still get my fix in the parks....AND at Epcot, they even have a stand that's sort of hidden off the beaten path where you can get one with Jack Daniel's or Captain Morgain in it!


Oh do tell. I'm leaving for Disney on Saturday. I need to find where this is.

 

[constanze]

following!

 

[missjackiemcg]

Ooh, exciting for you!!!!! I noticed your ticker that you're escaping Mardi Gras for Disney! I have to tell you, NOLA is one of my family's favorite places. My Grandma took me for the first time in 1996 and we rode the City of New Orleans all the way from Chicago. We haven't been back in a few years, but my son really wants to go from listening to us reminisce I try to teach my Kindergarten students a little bit of Mardi Gras tradition and have a classroom celebration even though they really have no idea what I'm talking about!!

Anyway--the most delicious adult froze cokes ever--the stand is called "Test Track Cool Wash" and has misters for cooling off, kind of looks like a car wash. You can find it on the My Disney Experience app and it will show you directions how to get there. It's sort of on a little side path near Test Track that we took as a short cut to avoid the crowds, but using the app you'll find it with no problem!

following

Hi! Welcome!! I hope to get another update in soon! I've got lots of great pics from our MVMCP adventure!

 

[MrsPMcD]

Following along too! How sweet of your husband to "give you your knee" and with a photopass photographer in place!