Introducing My Princess to the Magic of WDW 05/03-05/09 Completed 08/12

[aGoofyMom]

This is my first attempt at a Trip Report. After being so inspired by those that I have read here, this trip was dramatically different than any of my other Disney trips. I hope this lives up to the offerings here.

Cast:
Me, Donna: works in emergency services, 2 days, 2 nights (14 hours) per week; crafty; creative; student belly dancer. I should also mention I have always done Disney commando style. I have promised DH for this trip I will relax & not try to do everything.

DD4, Siri, a.k.a. the princess, my little princess: loves both princesses and villains, smart, chatty, friendly, polite, loves to play elaborate games of pretend with little props

Rajah: a stuffed leopard, I mean tiger…OK this is a leopard from Ikea that the Princess got at a large family reunion. The princess LOVES her cats. Rajah was Simba briefly then once he was named Rajah, has been THE stuffed toy. You know that one that heaven help you if he isn’t right there at bedtime… He has gone to school for Show and Share and that usually means another “chat” about tigers and spots. The princess gets it but doesn’t care. He is her spotted tiger. That makes him special.

DH, Carl: is the IT department for his company, gets to work from home 2 days a week, devoted to family, friendly, taking college courses on line, enjoys martial arts, writing (why am I doing this?).
Carl has also recently given up coffee completely and is not a morning person. However he is on this trip with full knowledge that I am a morning person, and a coffee drinker & as the Value resorts do NOT offer in room coffee, he is likely to be the one taking the mugs over every morning.


Setting the Stage: Due to plans POSSIBLY getting messed up for the planned summer road trip to Nova Scotia, I decided a back up vacation plan is needed. The obvious choice - Disney would be a good back up, but May would be much better than August, so decisions must be made soon. Next I work out some numbers (Thanks Connorsmom!) and discover it will be cheaper than Nova Scotia. OOOHHHH I know! What if we do BOTH? (oooh danger zone!) As I am now completely ready to wave the wand and make it happen and it is time to defer to
DH for the final decision. Maybe a day and a half later, he caves, (and fully admits it was caving) and consents to the extra Magical Adventure. YIPPPEEEE! We quickly decide to keep the trip a secret from Siri. Quickly the trip is booked – 6 nights in the All Star Music, preferred room location. Flights booked just as fast. 7 am the next morning, from work no less, I call the 800 number and add the Dining Package, reservations at Cinderella’s Royal Table for the Dreams Come True dinner for the Friday night of our trip. It is only 6 weeks away. BooYa!
The next few weeks are spent making plans and ADR’s and changing the ADR’s and booking the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. I am beside myself in keeping the secret. I am so excited I just want to blurt it out. We have been dropping hints & “preparing” our little princess to the point where she keeps asking when we can go to Disney. We promise to take her in 2009. I even describe the Haunted Mansion and she thought it sounded like fun. I keep asking if she is looking forward to getting to ride on an airplane some day. She always says it will be very exciting.
Finally in the last week before the trip, we are out trying to pick up the last few items for the trip, the princess and I were in the mall, she really wasn’t sure why we were picking up stuff, but she asked to go to the toy store as we walked by. We didn’t have time and she already knew I was on vacation the next week. I promised her to take her to a toy store one week from Friday (Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique day!). I pinky swore & we were good.


Day 1: This could actually be called Day -1 for some. Today we are announcing the surprise trip, and heading across the border to be close to the airport for our early morning flight. This gives Siri a chance to adjust to the idea of her first ride on an airplane, let alone her first trip to WDW. She knows I have vacation – it affects her daycare schedule. I have worked a 14 hour nightshift, finishing at 7am. At 5:30 am one (ahem) woman called in with a migraine. No real surprise there – EXCEPT THERE IS NO ONE TO CALL IN! I contain my panic and after her break, my co-worker has a solution. Problem solved and my co-worker also decides I need to be the first to leave. No one would have wanted to be with me staying any longer than my shift today. Carl is working from home, and is there when I arrive. I explain to him my morning of panic. We decide to toast our anniversary & polish off the wine in the fridge to help me sleep. (Hey – shift workers have totally different clocks!) I stay up to run off our boarding passes and head to bed around 9 am.

Up again before noon to shower, and pack, and spur DH to move as well. The packing wasn’t going too bad, but not done. Turned out he really did have to get some work done, but at least he didn’t have to either lose a vacation day or drive in to the office. By 3:15 it is time to walk over to the school and pick up the princess from JK. It is a beautiful sunny day. We arrive, and exchange knowing looks with her teacher and 2 other Moms – all in the know. We convince Siri to give up recess and come home now. As soon as we get in the door, we tell her we have made some plans for vacation. We tell her Daddy got time off work too & would she like to go away. Yay! Would she like to go on a plane? Ya, great! Where would she like to go? The 4 year old mind can not comprehend this question – whatdoyameanwhere??? Does it matter? So we ask would she like to go to Walt Disney World? REALLY????? WHEN? NOW????? “I love you Mommy, I love you Daddy!!”

Carl heads off to tackle his list, and my little Princess comes to help me pack and check out the WDW Planning DVD. One look at the Haunted Mansion ride and no way is she going near it. Darn, I thought I had her hooked when she had rented a Scooby Doo video with ghosts and we made up stories about riding around with ghosts. Siri is excited, but overwhelmed. We finish packing and decide which way to go so we can try to get cheap (in what world?) gas, dinner & the shortest way to the highway of choice. We need to make 2 stops on the way. At the second stop we realize we forgot to mapquest the hotel we are staying at that night OOOPS! – back to the house we go. Pit stops for everyone, print out the directions, grab the map, the anti-itch & first aid kit we forgot and we are off, again.

We find gas for less than $1/L, then, stop for dinner. I don’t really know how, but we had found the slowest restaurant possible. We order frosty drinks & a milkshake & decide to just go with the pace – this IS vacation after all. Part of the delay is due to one burger being made twice. This is easily determined by the other orders that have obviously sat under heat lamps while we were wondering what that smell was… This, combined with the Princess’ habit of needing her throne as soon as hot food is delivered had me anxious for a better meal. We used the time to fill the Princess in on what to expect, particularly about meals for the next day with our early flight & to expect late lunch. When we are finished our meal, the manager is the one who stops by to clear up. We tell him our plans & suddenly we have really quick service to get us on our way.
The Princess managed to stay awake for at least another hour. Shortly after she dosed off, we hit the bug region. I mean bugs like you have never seen before. Clouds of black were just hovering in the air. Swarms of bugs were hitting our car in a way that sounded like rain. Forget trying to see much through the windshield – the wipers could do nothing to deal with the disgusting remains. We finally made it to the border, and across with no problems. The Princess had awoken from her Royal Nap again for that.
We found the hotel without problem, and checked in around 9:30 pm. 2 hours past the Princess’ bed time. Alarm set for 4:00am. We need to be on the 5:30 shuttle. We were told at check in that the Airport Shuttle runs every 30 minutes on the hour & the half hour. This will be important at the end of the trip.
Sleep. Please.

[connorsmom911]

ok, since I knew it was posted (we're sitting across the room from eachother...dualling DIS screens!!) I had to read and post a reply. It is interesting how funny the trip reports are in print...I've heard the story in person, but I still found myself giggling reading the first post.

I still have yet to get to my own trip report...kinda like the whole scrapbooking thing. My dh has forbid me from buying anymore scrapbooking stuff until I get caught up. I'm still on the "cruise" with "that other cruiseline" from 2001, not to mention any of the other trips in my sig line...

This is going to be such a great keepsake for Siri when she grows up...you better be keeping a copy with all the replies!!!

[Lisa_Belle]

Sounds fun so far. Can't wait to find out if Siri sees ghosts!

[OhMari]

I can so relate to that bug thing. We just came home and my dd asked me if it was raining-"ya" I told her, raining bugs. Yuck.

Looking forward to, "Are you there yet?" I really do like the pre-trip reports.

OhMari

[roberrl187]

:thumbsup2 Good start. I look forward to more.

[TLinden16]

Great surprise for your little girl! I can't wait to hear about your adventures in the parks.

Thanks for posting.

[BlueBayou]

I am having fun reading your trip report. Can't wait until the next instalment.

[aGoofyMom]

4 a.m. – Coffee please - IV if possible. “I’m too excited to sleep.” Actually the pillows were so soft, they kept squishing down to nothing and weren’t very comfortable after all – stiff neck. I head into the shower – Yahoo! Good water pressure & I feel much better. Coffee in hand, things are looking good – even that early! The time arrives to try to awaken our Princess. Nothing works. Tickling, teasing, poking, prodding - not even “it’s time to go to Disney”…oh wait. What’s this? A gift? It is addressed to Siri. It seems Tinkerbell found her way to us and left a little something for our Princess to get her trip off to the right start. Good thing too, since that was the only thing that got her out of bed. Tinkerbell left her 2 pair of sunglasses, a new bathing suit & a new beach towel – Tinkerbell of course - and a card all dusted with a little pixie dust too.

Siri was stunned that Tinkerbell would come all this way for her. It is enough to get her motivated to get dressed fast & get off to the airport. We don’t have to wait long for the shuttle. We meet up with 2 businessmen. Poor guys, lucky for them we weren’t on the same flight. We arrive at the airport and we are dropped off first. I had forgotten to warn Carl about curbside baggage check in. He was soooo startled and confused as our bags were being grabbed by some strange guy standing there and he could see that I was fine with it. Sorry hon, forgot to mention we don’t have to carry those until they are full of souvenirs… Being the first time at this airport for us, we still have to stop at the ticket counter, just to ask directions. We line up for security and explain that process to Siri. She is nervous. This is a lot of tall people surrounding her and that makes it hard to see the way out sometimes Hmm…When our turn arrives, they let her keep Rajah with her to go through. I walk through, and ask her to come to me. She is frozen with fear. NO WAY is she going there. She is actually frozen with fear – no shaking no crying just deer in the headlights. The guard tells me to go pick her up and bring her through. I go back to pick her up & as soon as I do, the trance is broken. The princess throws a Royal Fit. She becomes absolutely hysterical about having to go through that strange doorway type thing. The other guards start teasing our guard that he made her cry. She is NOT amused that someone would DARE snicker during the Royal Fit – have they no knowledge of Protocol???? ALL efforts are to be directed towards soothing her Royal Highness. I am trying to calm her down, grab our stuff, and get out of the way. To have the appropriate picture of this, put in your mind that this Princess is only 16” shorter than I. The 4 year old is less than a foot & a half shorter than I, the adult. Visually it looks ridiculous, me trying to carry her. Physically speaking, with my arthritis, it is just plain difficult. It ranks as one of those things Mothers can do when the need arises, but without the need, wonder how it happens.

I grab our stuff, and move off to the side and turn my focus on stopping the Royal Fit. Once assured that there will be no further security checks to further distress the Royal Temperament, she calms down, along with the hope of some breakfast. Carl is assigned to conjure up more coffee, juice and a muffin. That helps. We make it to the gate and all is fine for her. The coffee wasn’t good –not so fine for me. She checked out the plane through the window. She was curious, but not bouncing off the walls. She and I discuss that once up in the air, the flight may be a little boring, and probably a really good time for a rest since we will be busy having fun later. (I have almost-never-failing optimism, but I also know that if I plant an idea, later on when she remembers it, she will think it was her idea in the first place.) We were near the end of the pre-board line by the time we decided to queue up.
The Princess chose our seats, about half way between the wing & the front. Once everyone boards we get the announcement. Turns out the airport doesn’t have a long enough runway for our plane. (That still just sounds ominous doesn’t it?) Southwest had to make a choice – leave behind some passengers, some luggage or some fuel. They chose the fuel, which meant a brief refueling stop in Pittsburgh. No need to de-plane, so only add maybe 5-15 minutes to the flight. Good choice. Once airborne I discover that both my DD and DH have the same good fortune – no ear problems with take off. [For those familiar with Hamilton Ontario, I can’t even make it up or down the “mountain” there without popping my ears several times. I don’t think I could ever live there again for that reason alone.] I am sucking back lifesavers like there is no tomorrow and they are both fine. Good for them – more lifesavers for me. We get juice & coffee again. The Princess can’t believe her luck – there is ice in her juice! I am just loving a hot coffee that I might have the chance to finish. If only I knew…another announcement. Sorry to those folks who have gotten their juice or coffee, but it is time to chug it. Yes he really said CHUG IT. We are approaching Pittsburg and about to make our descent. I do not chug coffee well. Between my job, and motherhood, I do believe the last coffee that was still even really warm when I finished it was probably many years ago. I have become accustomed to the lukewarm, almost-ready-for-the-ice cubes coffee. It is a small coffee, and the last thing I want is a migraine. I need 2 cups of coffee per day or the equivalent in caffeinated products to avoid the headache. Not usually very hard but something to be wary of when on vacation. I CHUGGED my coffee. UGH. That was a mistake. Tum-ta-ta-ta-TUMS! This is the only time on a flight that I have moved the barf bag closer. (or are they now officially Zzub bags from what I have read here?) I don’t blame the airline at all for that landing. Totally my own fault. Mental note for next time, wait more than 24 hours after a night shift before boarding a plane. Or at least ensure half decent meals in the days leading up to the trip. Apparently 3 days of not eating well, not sleeping well and chugging airline coffee do not sit well in flight. Maybe it was all those lifesavers…

Oh well. Once on the ground in Pittsburgh, Siri decided ok so that is flying then eh?, well if we are just going to do that again…she put Rajah on the arm of the seat by the window as a pillow and was asleep before we taxied back the runway. This is probably my first Magical Moment. She not only didn’t question the nap, but didn’t even ask to take her seatbelt off or anything. She just curled up and went to sleep. So I took my jacket and made it into a pillow for DH’s shoulder and tried to do the same. Part way to Orlando, I raised the arm between us and she cuddled up – still with her seatbelt on – until the announcement came – we made it! Oh no – another landing???? Where did I stash the TUMS??? I really need to remember to take care of myself better before trips. The landing really was a little better for me this time – only minor “ick” feeling.

We make our way to the Magical Express desk, and Siri was just taking it all in. She even thought the little shuttle ride to the main building was cool. We checked in at the desk and headed over to our line. My little Princess, with her rolling Princess carry-on just followed along, and waited PATIENTLY in line. We were only there for about 20 minutes, but I will freely admit to knowing how lucky I am to have her and her patience. (maybe she will teach me the secret to the patience someday?)
ASIDE: I don’t think we ever even had to explain queues to her much at all. Just before her 3rd birthday we took her to Sesame Place. She saw Bert & Ernie, looked around for the end of the line and was the first one in our family to get in line. No questions, no arguments, no fuss. When she knows what she has to wait for, and sees that it is a queue with other people waiting also – no problems (YET – knock on wood!!)

We got a Disney Cruise Lines bus and climbed aboard. Some of our time had already been spent discussing the possibility of finding Hidden Mickeys. Siri looked at the seat covers and decided they were covered in Hidden Mickeys and we MUST count them. We managed to stop counting after discovering that ALL the seats had them so maybe they weren’t really hidden…
We arrive at ASMu and head for the check in desk. It was about 1pm so we were hopeful about the room being ready – no such luck. The wonderful CM is so enthusiastic I almost had to wonder who was on vacation. He was thrilled for us for room location, even though it wasn’t ready so he didn’t tell us why, and for including the Dining Package – he said “No MacDonalds for you”. Seriously. He really said that. He made sure I knew about making ADR’s – I told him everything was already booked including CRT for Friday. He was impressed that I was organized (hmm… even without having the binder in sight?). He asked us to check back in about 2 hours for our room number.
Great – I want lunch. We try to make it to the food court but Siri can see the pool. We go look, then explain that no, we will eat lunch, and then go for a swim. She is torn between food & the pool, but Food wins. We had opted not to check our carry-ons since our bathing suits etc. were in there, so I sit with the stuff while Carl takes the Siri to check out the food. I managed to get his attention enough to remind him to get the refillable mugs. Once they have their choices, I get to go grab something. Carl had suggested a sandwich he thought I would like. (Why didn’t he just grab it for me if he thought I would like it you might ask? Because the fear of buying food I didn’t want was larger than the fear of sending me to get my own, even with a suggestion from him – I am a VERY picky eater. And remember, I haven’t eaten well, and been nauseous twice already this day)
After scarfing down a great lunch & making sure the cold drinks were full, we take turns going to the washroom to change. Now I can’t remember where or who I got the suggestion from but somewhere I learned to bring post it notes for the automatic toilet flushing motion sensors so little ones don’t experience an ill-timed flush. This is the best suggestion I followed for our trip & now for good. Every time we are in a washroom she asks if I have the post its. You just need the little ones and cover the sensor until they are done. Excellent tiny little huge tip.

My next Magical Moment. Tinkerbell brought the Princess a Disney towel, and my intention, to help keep costs down was that we would use hotel towels for the pool. WELL. Carl promptly went to Maestro Mickey’s and purchased PAL Mickey and 2 towels. It seems he remembers that when dragged to Florida for our honeymoon I mentioned that in my family, every trip to Florida meant a new beach towel as a souvenir. I made him buy one even though he didn’t really want to. He remembered and INSISTED that I get a new towel. He chose one with the 2006 logo on it for me, and a Sorcerer Mickey for him. Wow – I had actually forgotten that whole towel business. Now that is what I consider romantic. Not so much a beach towel as the perfect gift, but that he remembers how much it meant to me and wouldn’t let me give it up.

Up next: We get our room and make our way to MK!

Thanks to all who are enjoying - I love seeing the responses.

[Sleeping Jedi Beauty]

Ahh, the joy of Disney through the eyes of a child.

[Lisa_Belle]

She is NOT amused that someone would DARE snicker during the Royal Fit – have they no knowledge of Protocol???? ALL efforts are to be directed towards soothing her Royal Highness.

Sounds vaguely familiar. I think our princesses must be distant cousins. Does yours do the crossed-arms, foot-stomping, permascowl thing when you snicker at her Royal Fit?

[princessjv]

Once they have their choices, I get to go grab something. Carl had suggested a sandwich he thought I would like. (Why didn’t he just grab it for me if he thought I would like it you might ask? Because the fear of buying food I didn’t want was larger than the fear of sending me to get my own, even with a suggestion from him – I am a VERY picky eater.



The is EXACTLY how my DH would have handled it and what I would have thought! Great TR so far, please keep it comin!

[aGoofyMom]

glad to hear from eveyone & that you are enjoying my first effort - the next installment is at least a couple days away - I am a little swamped.


LisaBelle - my princess only does the arms crossed before we get to the point of the Royal fire and usually with her head turned and nose in the air with the little Harumph. Once we hit Royal Fit stage she usually puts her hands on her hips sticks one hip out and gives her version of "the Look" It is very hard not to laugh at it.

more soon!

[catherines_mama]

Oh I am loving your report, cannot wait to read more!

[Minniespal]

Enjoyed reading your report ~ Thanx for sharing.

[scanne]

This is a great report! I love the idea of a present from Tink to wake your daughter on departure day. We have to get the kids up at 4:45am the day we leave, so I think I'm going to "borrow" the idea and have presents for them. Maybe from Mickey and Minnie? It is a GREAT idea! So is the post-it notes idea. Those are on my "must buy for Disney" list!

Can't wait to read more!

[aGoofyMom]

Siri is totally enthralled with the guitar pool. We tell her we are in one of the 2 Calypso buildings. We ask her if she wants to stay at the pool until the room is ready, or go to a park. The Princess puts on that look of total Royal Confusion – you want to leave this fabulous pool – isn’t this it? This is Disney – right? Look – there’s Donald with a water pistol in the pool – what more do we need?
After some fabulous pool time, and the beginnings of sunburn for the fair-skinned females of the bunch, we check on the room – YAY it’s ready. It turns out the CM was right about our room location. We had the main floor, building 1, parking lot view, but the end closest to the main building. No foot traffic going by, but close to everything. What more could we ask for? (ok The Poly? - maybe next trip!)

We freshen up and check out the room. Our luggage has indeed magically arrived. But the package I am expecting from Connorsmom is not here. Drat. And there is no safe key? I let DH call while I am freshening up.

Aside: I should point out here, that once Carl caved on booking this trip he wanted NOTHING to do with the plans. As my Obsessive Compulsive Disney Planning binder grew, he really wanted to know nothing. I would tell him about ADR’s, and ask if he wanted to switch things around and he would humour me but wanted to make absotlutely NO DECISIONS. Therefore he knew nothing of our plans. Heck he also did not know what an ADR was He assumed I would take charge of where to be when, and he understood that missing I meal I had arranged would be a problem. That was enough in his mind.

I announce that once everyone is ready we can head to MK for the evening. (Hmm…anyone notice a miscommunication here? Calling for assistance in the room and then leaving? Bad guest! Bad guest!– it will sort out later)
Out to the bus stop and– oh wait – autograph book first, she chooses the Princess book with space for photos. Now we can go. Off to MK We just kind of stopped at Main Street and tell Siri “Look – there’s Cinderella’s Castle”. Ok we now have a little Princess on a Mission. Get to the Castle, walk in the front door & say Hi! to Cinderella. By the time we reach the Castle, we have convinced her that Cinderella may not be home right now. This, after she had just the week prior, written a letter to Cinderella, and one to Sleeping Beauty in hopes that some day she would be able to deliver them to the castles herself. (Silly Mommy forgot the letter at home too – good thing the Princess had forgotten about it too!)
As they are set up for Cinderellabration, we can’t go in the front of the castle. Our Princess is quite put out over this. I tell her – no worries, Mommy knows how to get to the back door. We head around back & just kind of look around the castle. Then we head over to the Cinderella’s Carousel. I spotted Cinderella’s horse, but couldn’t find it again once the ride had stopped. After a turn on the Carousel, we head over to Dumbo. We offer the option of which parent to ride with. The Princess chooses Daddy. Great. Did I mention that the man of our house is afraid of heights? (yep – that’d be the tall guy) Very afraid. He looks at the ride, looks at me, then looks at the Princess & knows that he can’t say no. Off they go. I go to a good photo spot – not the most recommended spot though. I have recently checked out my parent’s pictures from my childhood trips & know that there are pictures of myself and my sister on Dumbo and I want to get similar pictures here. The plan is to recreate some pictures from as many previous trips as possible so that Siri understands this is something I did as a child and introduced Daddy to on our honeymoon – now it is her turn.
Of course since the Princess has absolutely no fear of heights they spend the entire ride up as high as she can get it. She has a ball, and the look on her face gets Carl through the ride without a barf bag.

We still have a little time before our ADR at Liberty Tree Tavern, so we decide to check out It’s a Small World. The Princess is a little leery of any ride she can’t check out first, but is willing. IASW works its magic and she is hooked. She mimics the dancers, and bows to the dolls leaving the Asian room. She is ready to go on it again, but it is time for dinner. Oh my we are walking past the Haunted Mansion. Siri is asking what it is. Siri does not want to even walk past it. She does not want to look at it. I was beginning to wonder if I had to find another way to walk over to the restaurant. Finally she agrees to walk past if we hold her hands. Is this really the same child that loved the “Boo Brothers in that Scooby Movie? And loves villains? Ok Ok – I can tell this is her line – if I push this one we will have a meltdown that will put any royal fit to shame, and the trip might as well be over. Not worth it – great ride, but it’ll have to wait. For now.

Once we check in at the Liberty Tree Tavern and sit down to wait, it is, of course, throne time. By the time I get directions to their washrooms, they call our name. We get our table & the Princess & I take off for the throne room. In the time we are gone, Dale drops by but assures the Carl he will be back. On the way to the throne room, we pass a little Belle on the stairs. My little Princess checks her out, then suddenly gets that knowing look on her face. The flash of one look that says “So THAT’s why Mommy rushed to make this year’s Halloween costume princess dress, and packed it along with last year’s! Yay!”
And finally no stalling in the stall since she knows the characters are out there.
Camera and autograph book ready, the characters start to come around – she is thrilled! She doesn’t have to wait for them because THEY will come to HER. Wow – special! Carl may not have wanted to be part of all the planning, but he was sooooo happy to have such a hearty meal after spending the day traveling and getting settled. The Princess saw the bowl of mac and cheese arrive and her eyes just grew – until she tried a mouthful. My ever-loving Kraft Dinner kid choked it back dropped her fork and announced (not all that loudly) that “that is NOT mac and cheese!” Fortunately she liked other options on the table and we instantly knew not to order Mac and Cheese for her again on this trip. (a.k.a. the start of a week of chicken strips and hot dogs!)
ASIDE: for those outside of Canada and not familiar with that Barenaked Ladies song…Kraft Dinner is our version of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese – a.k.a. KD. Boston Pizza’s Bugs & Cheese is perfectly acceptable but anything that tries to pass itself off as KD but isn’t KD doesn’t fly with this child.
Once dinner was over there was only one place to go – IASW again. BUT we have to walk by the Haunted Mansion again. More reassurance and we are past it in no time. After IASW, it was starting to get late, but I thought we would have time for a quick jungle cruise, especially after reading that it is funnier at night. Siri didn’t even notice walking past the Haunted Mansion this time. It was dusk as we got on, right up front. They were right – it is funnier. The Princess laughed at every corny joke even if she didn’t know why. I think the CM got cornier the more she laughed. Ok enough now, long day, must sleep.
Back to the room and there is the package from Connorsmom – “oh (dirty word) it was NOT supposed to be that big” was all I could blurt out. After I apologized for such language, Carl & Siri couldn’t wait to see what it was. Knock at the door. OH ya, that miscommunication, - they were watching for us to correct that whole safe key problem. We had 2 CM’s (one maintenance) there while it was opened – darn. Somebody forgot something. Now we need to call a manager before anyone can remove it. No worries. While waiting, the Carl & Siri check out the boxes – Tinkerbell garden lanterns and a set of 3 Tinkerbell wind chimes. Carl has talked about creating a fairy garden with the Princess. Connorsmom was placing an order to Disneyshopping.com with free shipping to her resort so I jumped in on the order and she left them for me to cram into suitcases. She also picked up a case of water for me – Thanks again Connorsmom! The Manager didn’t take very long to get there. Once he arrived they documented what had been left behind and removed it. They lock had already be adjusted so they were gone again in no time. Finally sleep again.

[Lisa_Belle]

Siri is totally enthralled with the guitar pool. We tell her we are in one of the 2 Calypso buildings. We ask her if she wants to stay at the pool until the room is ready, or go to a park. The Princess puts on that look of total Royal Confusion – you want to leave this fabulous pool – isn’t this it? This is Disney – right? Look – there’s Donald with a water pistol in the pool – what more do we need?


You gotta love the innocence of little princesses. Mine has her own "vision" of Disney World that doesn't even include Donald. Or Mickey for that matter. There is a castle of sorts. But you have to wait until September (possibly October) to see what it is ;)

I hope you got a photo of Siri when she met the REAL Donald Duck. And, if so, please post at the appropriate time! OK? :wave2:

[aGoofyMom]

I know I have been slow to get this up, so we shall see if anyone is still reading...

Day 3 – May 4
As usual, I am first up and to the shower. This is not just because I am a morning person, but because I take so long. I am a morning person who does not like to be rushed. I got up and asked Carl if he would throw some clothes on and find some coffee for me. I have to believe at this point that if he didn’t already know I am too grumpy without my coffee that I would be on my own for this.
I also should mention that here that up until this point, Siri does not usually manage to sleep alone in a hotel. When she was younger, and only had a toddler bed, low to the ground at home, I would worry that she would tumble out of bed in a hotel and we would trade off sleeping with her. The night before the flight, she picked Daddy (lucky me!) and the first night at Disney, it was my turn. We both sleep on angles so it actually makes it very difficult for the 2 of us to share a double bed. I think I was up 4 times because she was pushing me off the bed or she was falling off the other side trying to find room. Our goal with this trip was to have her sleep all by herself. But we knew enough not to start with the first night – we have 6 nights here, we can sort it out!
Coffee in hand and freshly showered, I am puttering doing my thing while Carl gets his shower. I start trying to slowly wake up Siri before I turn on the hair dryer. She is the type that a bad start to the morning, like the unexpected hair dryer noise, will put her in a bad mood for the rest of the day. Kind of like me without my morning coffee. We get sorted out and head out to the buses. We explain on the way that we will get out at the Magic Kingdom, but take the monorail to the Contemporary (just because I love the monorail!). This puts my “Simpsons”-watching husband singing “monorail, monorail, monorail, monorail!” And since I have seen that episode I chimed in. Next thing you know all 3 of us are singing it. Sorry to anyone who was close enough to hear it.

Once we arrive and check in we line up for the photos. Goofy was the host of the day. Siri was very excited to see all the activity. We got to wait and have a little fun with Goofy before we got our table. Goofy knocked over a sign loudly, and pointed to Siri. She just ran up and hugged his legs. She didn’t care about anything other than he pointed at her. Once we got settled, I took Siri up for some food. She was thrilled that there was so much fresh fruit. She is a fanatic for fruit. She has passed up cookies and candy to have fruit. Now that she has had the PB & J pizza though, it may be a tough call! We realized after going to the buffet once, we should just keep one of us with her at the table so as not to miss any characters going by. Because Mickey was the only character we hadn’t seen the night before, we were just keeping the autograph book out of sight. But for Siri’s class back home, I had made up a sign for her class. I had downloaded a Mickey font and put a clip art of the Castle on it. We were just going to have a picture with Mickey and the sign, and have Mickey sign the sign, but it snowballed. We had every character sign the sign, and a photo with Siri and the sign and each character. When Siri went back to school, she took in the sign and shared it with her classmates. I made up a page with the photos from the home printer and sent it in as well.
That way she could share a little of her trip & I didn’t spend any extra $$. Not that I want to be cheap, but not everyone can do it, so I don’t want to start something other parents feel pressured to continue.

Breakfast was wonderful but we finally did head out and back over to MK. The guide sites had predicted it would be packed and it was. We were headed to Fantasyland and I noticed the castle was open. Our little princess was thrilled to be able to “walk through the front door” finally.
We managed to ride IASW again, but the wait for Aerial was over an hour, so we had to skip that. We talked Siri into Philharmagic – she was hesitant because she couldn’t see what it would be but we got her in and she loved it. I was just glad there was no wait. We did the stand by line for Peter Pan after that because the FastPass return time was not going to work for us. This was our only long wait – maybe 20-30 minutes, but Siri was patient. I think this is where she decided that maybe it was ok to trust Mommy about the stuff inside all these buildings. That and she does tend to believe that if people are lined up for anything it must be worth the wait. One more round of IASW and maybe we should head back for a swim & rest.
I should mention here that at some point during all of this Siri notices that many other people are wearing Crocs. One of my pre-trip purchases were to buy Crocs for at least myself and Siri. I showed them to Carl and suggested he at least think about getting some himself. He went out and picked up a pair as well. Siri had no idea I did this because of reading the Disboards. She did think it was fabulous that we all had the same shoes. Until I went and ordered the Nile Crocs (open toe crocies in Siri’s books) and they didn’t come in her size. Her princess sandals are now referred to as her “open toe crocies”. By the time we were thinking of heading back to the hotel, it was no longer startling (to us at least) for Siri to point and say loudly ‘Crocies Mommy look!” I would like to apologize now if we startled any croc wearers out there.
So we went through the castle again only for me to realize I haven’t checked the time. 2:50pm Crumbs! – the parade is going to start soon – we will never make it. DH & I quickly assess the situation and notice there is a fairly good spot right there, so we stay to watch. Siri enjoyed the parade, even though she wasn’t close enough to interact with the characters too much. When the Villain float arrived and she got to see Maleficent in person – she liked that almost as much as the Princess float at the end. If I haven’t already mentioned, she has a very active imagination. She understands that movies are pretend. So for her, at the end of the movie, the bad guys don’t necessarily stay bad – it was all pretend right? I love this outlook for her. I will be sad when reality strikes.

Up next - wrapping up a long day with Spectromagic, Wishes and more Magical Moments for me!

[averill94]

Still reading- thanks for reporting!

[aGoofyMom]

Ok - I have been really busy, but here is the next installment finally...

We made it back to the hotel and had a swim and cooled off. We had a quick dinner there at Intermission. The dinner wasn’t bad, the portions were, of course, huge. We then headed back to MK for Spectromagic and Wishes.
I have mentioned trying to recreate certain photos for Siri – well the Spectromagic in 1999 was my DH’s first experience at Disney on our honeymoon. Slight visit back in time: When we arrived at Disney on our honeymoon, our first night there was the only night Spectromagic was on. I dragged him to the MK early that night and decided to stake out a spot in front of the castle. Sitting on the curb with him that night just staring at the castle is something I will not forget anytime soon. He just kept staring at it saying “wow it really is real”. Flashback over. – and the point – I am hoping to recreate some of the “float photos” for Siri. Not that she knows that. Yet.

We realize before we get there that a good spot is not very likely but we are ready to accept our fate. Next Magical Moment: A big thanks to the group visiting with the Frazier High School Marching Band. We stopped at an open space near Casey’s and discuss staying vs moving on. We are behind a group of tall adults. (ok I am 5 foot tall. My version of tall is slightly distorted as there are plenty of 14 year olds that appear tall to me) One gentleman turns and asks if we are thinking of finding another spot. We said yes. He said don’t go. We are here to watch the band. I have not looked that far ahead and ask about the bands. He explains that 2 marching bands will come down before the parade. Theirs should be first, after which they are leaving. Leaving? Before the parade? Woo Hoo! Freeing up a curbside spot? Magic. We cheered on their band as best we could – they were good too. Not that I know much about marching bands, as they are not quite as popular up here. The group takes off to find their kids, making sure we get their spot. We are not sitting on the curb as there is a group there but it is close enough. DH puts Siri up on his shoulders when the parade starts. Siri sees the clowns come down the street first and gets a VERY confused look on her face. What is this? She was momentarily incredibly miffed. Then Mickey arrives and the relief is evident. Siri was bouncing up and down on her Daddy’s shoulders. (Many reading this can probably feel that pain!) With the break between Spectromagic and Wishes, Siri is taken down from her perch only to collapse on the ground in tears. Her legs have fallen asleep and she can not stand. Magic Garbage Can Moment: I am standing next to a trash can. We pull Siri up to sit on top of the garbage can. Carl takes off to find a drink and Siri & I start chatting with a family from New York, whose youngest is sharing the trash can seat. I had purchased some glow necklaces & bracelets at home and brought them, so we shared with the family. Who knew the bracelets came in 3’s. Ok I would have had I read past what colour they were. Then I realize Carl is taking to long even for this crowd, so I start trying to look for him. Again remember – 5 foot doesn’t see much in a crowd. I finally spot him about 50 feet away, looking for us. It seems he got lost. I start waving the Tinkerbell light up spinner. Nothing. He is oblivious. I yell. Nothing. I am now stuck. My child probably still can’t comfortably stand and I can’t get his attention. The kind family from New York offer to watch her for me. Darn. If only they knew I have spent weeks preparing my child by talking to her about the dangers of strangers. She is so friendly that it scares the crap out of me some times. Another family we met on a bus is close by, realizes my quandary, and she offers to go get him. Carl makes it back just in time to put Siri back on his shoulders – apparently the garbage can seat is not good enough. I don’t see why not she had a higher line of sight from there than I did from standing…

THE Magic Moment of the trip: This was my first time seeing Wishes. I cried. It took me back to the intro to “The Wonderful World of Disney” and my childhood. I looked up at my daughter (bouncing again) and she was so excited, and I could tell by the look on her face that she finally got it. Up until that point she had trouble wrapping her head around the entirety of Disney. In that moment – she understood. This is the place of happily ever after, where dreams really do come true and magic occurs everywhere. This is where good always wins over evil, but when the show is over the villains are simply finished playing their roles and not truly evil. If happiness is what you make it, this is where you stock up on supplies. I cried. I told DH I had to have a copy of the Wishes soundtrack. Sometimes a smell can take me back, but music has always had more power over me. I can get energy from the right music, change my mood even. Now whenever I play that music, I relax, and get all teary. I am getting all teary writing about it. Ahh.

Back to the hotel for rest – Siri slept all the way. But I did make sure to rub down her legs before I fell asleep. I figured they were still pretty crampy. This can be an important tip for some parents – if your child has trouble sleeping while on any vacation but particularly with the activity and walking, a quick, light, leg rub has worked well for my child, and to a few other Moms’ I have spoken with. It just seems to settle them down and help them sleep.

Up next – Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique Day – a little stress…and of course some Magic thrown in.

[missj1975]

I love your trip report so far. It was so sweet when your husband bought you the beach towel. Very magical. Can't wait for the rest!!! :sunny:

[Lisa_Belle]

Ooh, I can't wait to hear about Princess Siri's day at Bibbidi Bobbodi Boutique. BTW - I'll back up the leg rubbing. Works wonders on my princess. princess:

[MagicMe]

Really enjoying your trip report! :thumbsup2

It's so magical when you have a child with you. I love it any time but some of my really great memories are taking each of my DS's when they were around 3-4 years old. Seeing it again through their eyes was such a moment. I've been there many times since (so have they) and every time I walk through the gates at the MK and see the castle, those memories just fill me up. :cloud9:

Can't wait to hear more!

[KathyRN137]

Subscribing! :goodvibes

[aGoofyMom]

Ok I tend to type this up first in Word to be a little sure of what to say (and since I usally do this at work it is easier to leave and come back to it that way.). I have been typing almost all morning and a certain Disser' across the room is getting a little frustrated that I have not posted anything yet. I will put this on and go have lunch then. (gee, only another month and we will be on different shifts...no more competing computers) Here you go.

And to those who are replying - I am glad you are enjoying this. It seems to be getting longer and longer every time I sit down to write.

Day 4 – May 5

(That day 4/May 5 is really beginning to mess with my mind!!)

Now other than breakfast at Chef Mickey’s our plan was to have breakfast in the room. I do firmly believe that breakfast is important, however, I also believe that a bowl of cereal is sufficient. In order to ensure we had room to take souvenirs home, we brought a box of cereal, a box of oatmeal, a kettle, Carl’s favorite tea and a couple of boxes of portable snacks in one suitcase. (Gee that box from Connorsmom just fits in that space…uh oh what about everything else?) So we picked up some milk from Maestro Mickey’s on the coffee run and have breakfast in the room – it suits us better as well. I am just not a fan of breakfast out. This also allowed Siri to have some down time while she woke up.

I had told Siri she would be getting a princess makeover today, so we pulled out her Cinderella dress. Now as this dress is a Halloween costume, it is big on her. It is too cold at Halloween to not leave room for at least a sweatshirt underneath. The Cinderella dress is last year’s costume, it is not as big. We still need to put her in a blue shirt and shorts underneath. As I don’t know if I can post pictures yet – I will describe the dress. It is “Cinderella-blue satin”, with light blue tulle sleeves and drape. For Halloween she had the (plastic) glass slippers (again thanks to Connorsmom’s DH for tracking those down at the Disney Store on his way to work!), crown and black ribbon necklace however I “forgot” the accessories thatI couldn’t be bothered to carry around anyways. I made this one, and the one for this Halloween (she wears it on Day 5). Siri didn’t even notice the lack of Princess footwear as I had conveniently chosen blue crocs for her. How about that? So with the Princess appropriately attired, we head for the bus stop. I haven’t said much about the transportation and the All Stars. I think enough people in other reports have said enough. Next time, maybe back to CBR, likely a rental car regardless. (even :moped: would be better...)
Once we arrive at Downtown Disney I coax her away from the fountain (not today please!!!) and we go buy & mail some postcards. I can not for the life of me remember the name of that store – Pitney Bowes? – regardless it is also where they are set up for the photos for the little princesses with the whole kit & caboodle package from the Boutique. Siri is really anxious to get her makeover. It is time, so we start towards the World of Disney and the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. Once inside she is blown away by the Princess Room. I purposefully used that entrance of the store to keep the Princess theme going. We checked in – line-butter alert. With 2 of us waiting patiently, a woman barged up and interrupted the woman ahead of me as she was speaking to the CM to announce her daughter had arrived and was ready for the makeover. Well let’s stop the world now. I can see how vital it is for her daughter to be served immediately. Perhaps I wouldn’t feel so sarcastic had she not also announced the time of the appointment for which she is now 5 minutes late. Ok UNmagical moment over – the CM actually ushered her inside the Boutique very quickly. Not my first choice of silencing her, but it worked none the less. I like to try to imagine I have missed a large part of the situation in cases like this, but somehow I doubt it. I think Ms. Entitled is just that. Entitled. Well I am sure someone has to be. Entitled. And she seemed to understand the importance of handing down her beliefs to her child. Great. Always nice to have tradition.

Moving on… We had a wait (hmm…wonder why?) so we wandered around the store. I immediately sent Carl off to shop on his own. I like to consider the first 2 weeks of May as my special time. It starts with our anniversary, proceeds to usually my birthday, then, of course, Mother’s Day. He needs to get busy!!! Siri takes a quick look at her makeover options and chose the Disney Diva – extensions with ribbons & Mickeys.
Important note for mothers: If your child needs the washroom at the World of Disney – it is tucked in the back corner of the Princess section – very handy to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique!

Ok, so after 20 minutes, we are finally called in. It isn’t just flashing lights pager, it is a wand that lights, vibrates & the Fairy Godmother speaks to you. We go in, and Gennifer is our Fairy Godmother in training. All of a sudden, Siri becomes shy & quiet. This is very much unlike her. Gennifer did her best to try to bring some life into her but Siri just seemed nervous. She loves our “salon days’ when she gets her hair cut but apparently only Sue is capable of dealing with her hair. I think the “Diva” was a good choice eh? Likely she was just annoyed that she was turned away from the mirror and couldn’t watch the transformation. She is a bit of a sponge for absorbing everything she sees. She doesn’t like it when she can’t see what’s going on.
As the makeover progresses with both me and the photopass CM taking pictures she loosens up a little. She spent the time watching another little Princess makeover and was getting anxious to see herself. She really loosened up with having her nails painted. She was able to see that. Once the transformation was complete and she was spun around to the mirror – she was thrilled. She used to have hair to her waist. She convinced me to let her get it cut to shoulder length. It looks cute on her, but she was so happy to have the long extensions to play with, I was sure she was going to want to grow her hair back. (nope – this princess is way to practical – long hair gets in the way of playing)

She walked out of there with a very Regal attitude. She got comments from almost everyone she passed. We finally located Carl and he decided they should grab a quick snack (wait – he said Lunch?!) while I finished my shopping. I figure we should have time. (mistake #1) I sent them off and continued. It didn’t take long before I finished – I picked up a silk tie with a subtle Mickey design and a tie tack for his anniversary present. Then it dawned on me what time it was. Crap. We need to leave NOW or we will be really pushing it to make our ADR at CRT! This is the ONLY ADR that I was really hung up on – our anniversary dinner.

ASIDE: Ok Carl’s first Disney experience was our Honeymoon. I managed to co-ordinate that trip without the knowledge of the bounty of information on the DIS to spend the first week off-site, ending with my first stay on property at CBR. When we arrived on site, Carl called to enquire about a reservation (PS?) at CRT on my birthday, which would be our last night there. We had no trouble getting it. If only I knew how lucky we were. Wow. So now we have the history of dinner at the castle on our Honeymoon on my birthday. I see a tradition forming. And I love tradition. At least my own anyways.
Ok where was I? I go back to meet up with them at Wolfgang Puck Express, only to find they have ordered a full hot lunch and were waiting for food. We have around 2 hours to reach the MK for dinner. We had really discussed this earlier. Somehow we wound up in a time warp at DownTown Disney. We both managed to mess this one up. We had planned to leave earlier, go to the resort, then straight to the MK. Not Going To Happen. Now we are carting gifts & stuff. Crap. We don’t want to send stuff to the resort as we wanted to do the gifts at dinner… OK I scoot back to the World of Disney to grab a backpack. We would have needed it as a personal item on the plane anyways! We meet back up and I am trying desparately not to get upset.
Personal aside: I detest being late. I go completely nuts over the thought of being late. My sister made me late for school one day back in Grade 2. I remember being HORRIFIED. I started crying uncontrollably at being late for school. We weren’t even 5 mintues late but I lost it. I have improved, but still get incredibly nauseous at the though of being late. I don’t know where it came from or why I react that way. This is just a personal struggle for me. I get very tense when I don’t have control over whether something is on time as well. Like Planes. I usually am very tense in travel. I managed to arrive in Orlando without tensing over the flight or the Magical Express. For me that is HUGE progress.

Carl & Siri ate enough to take the edge off their hunger, we pack up and leave. I am now getting pretty high strung. We are stopped by a CM - would we fill out an online survey from home after our trip? Ya sure fine whatever here's my email. We decide to get the bus to the Contemporary and go from there. For whatever reason, it does not clue in to me to ask or even consider NOT jumping on the Monorail. Yes I know (now) that walking would have been faster. We waited what seemed like forever for the monorail. Got on the monorail and switched to the express monorail at the TTC. As you can already see I haven’t been able to think clearly for some time now. I cried. :sad1: Ok - I really tried not to, but I couldn't help it. Sorry to anyone who had to see it or be brought down in spirit by my tears. I didn’t really yell at anyone. I knew I was the only one to blame. I also know that chosing to wear my dressier black sandals for this dinner instead of my crocs probably affected my reaction with the 4 blisters that had already formed by this point. No excuse. We are past our ADR time. We are still trying ot get to the MK.

Up next...Dinner at...?

[Backstage_Gal]

Great report, really enjoy reading it. At least you didn't need Zzub bags on the monorail.

Keep it up, cant wait to hear how things turn out.

[KathyRN137]

popcorn::

[javamom]

Oh dear, I think I would have been in tears too. Can't wait to see how it turns out.

[princessjv]

Oh My! What happens next? Did you make it in time for CRT? Were they still able and willing to seat you? I hope your anniversary was great either way. I think that I would have been in tears too...So much planning that we do, it is hard when the plans fail.

[Disney owl]

Great start thanks

[aGoofyMom]

Thanks to everyone for replying.

LisaBelle - I will be watching for your report, but maybe you should PM me when you start so I don't miss it! I can't promise pictures, but I will try.

Backstage_Gal - Nope, no ZZub bags for the monorail. Actually I usually have the iron gut (lined by all that coffee of course) so I still don't really know what was wrong with me.

Kathy RN137 - I think you found popcorn quicker than DH did when we were waiting for Spectromagic! ;)


For the rest of you wonderful people who are actually reading, I will post more in just a little bit!
:wave2:

[aGoofyMom]

When I left you last, we were late for the Dreams Come True Dinner at CRT. :sad: (Why couldn't I find this guy last time?)

We rush to get to the CRT. Carl is walking so fast, trying to carry a princess in a slippery satin dress and wearing a backpack. This all means I can keep up at least. With my blisters. He is a foot taller than I am. I need every advantage to keep up without blisters. Of course the first aid package with blister stuff is back at the room. With my Crocs Dagnabit! We are 15 minutes late as we rush up to the podium. We are listening to a woman representing a large group explain that her ADR was really for tomorrow but she figured they could maybe get in today. Okay then… Good luck with that. (actually I think the CM may have let a little laugh escape) Another CM waves us over. We check in, explaining our situation. NO WORRIES! The reservation was held. I am standing at an angle that lets me see his screen. There we are at the top.

YIPPEE!! :banana: :Pinkbounc :woohoo: :banana: :yay: pixiedust: :jumping1: :goofy: :dogdance:

We can go right in to the lobby for our photo session. YAY! We are IN. I can continue to apologize to my family for my uncalled-for-over-reaction and try to fix myself so I don’t look completely freaked in our family photo. Deep breath. Let it go. We made it, we are in, and if I apologize one more time DH is going to lose it on me. :furious:

Did I mention that I have an apology problem? :blush: When I get stressed & tensed about being late & can’t help but cry – I apologize. A lot. I become a sobbing blubbering apologizing mess. I had NO IDEA how this felt from the other side until DD pulled it. UGH Must stop that habit NOW. It never comes off as sincere as it is meant and becomes more annoying than what you are apologizing for. She & I are both working on stopping that one. She has done better than I however I have so many more years of experience at it…makes me wonder how I ever found my wonderful hubby. Hon- I would be lost without you! :lovestruc

Moving on…in reading up on our Dreams Come True dinner package, it was not marked as a character dinner, and I continuously read that there was NO guarantee that Cinderella would be there for photos. We walked in the lobby and there she was. As I had made no mention of Cinderella, my little Cinderella-in-Crocs was blown away. Once it was our turn, Siri was so happy she could hardly contain it. She got to meet Cinderella right in the castle. She was showing Cinderella that she didn’t have her glass slippers this time but had blue Crocs to match her dress. Cinderella told her she wished she had Crocs too! I bet! I would too. In fact I do. I wish I had Crocs on that night. My feet REALLY wished I had Crocs on. We got some photos of the Cinderellas and then had our family photo for the package shot. We headed upstairs and got our table right away.
We were seated up close to the door. Not a bad location when you KNOW there will be a trip to the throne room anytime now. Our server was excellent, and the food was great. We had 2 trips to the throne. A touch of the Royal indigestion. Nothing a few Tums can’t handle. Not me, the little one. I am still good.
When Suzy and Perla and the Fairy Godmother made their appearance Siri was thrilled. We had her sitting so she could see, but I switched with her for a quick photo as Perla (or was it Suzy? I can’t remember & don’t have the photo album handy…) went by our table. The Fairy Godmother was talking about how some people went through a lot to make it to dinner. She mentioned the gentleman in the blue shirt who practically ran to get there. My DH was positively glowing as he raised his hand. I eventually told him 4 other men in blue shirts raised their hands too. Sorry – but it makes you wonder if anyone makes it there on time! No wonder they warned me about travel time when I made the ADR.
We also raised our hands for celebrating our anniversary. This was our celebration dinner. There was a couple celebrating 40 years. I love seeing that. My parents have been married 42 years. It gives me hope as so many of our friends have split. We exchanged our gifts. Carl opened his tie and was happy with it. He found the Tie Tack at the bottom too. He doesn’t have to wear a tie often and prefers something with a bit of humour. The Mickey pattern is subtle enough that he can wear it for pretty much any occasion.
I opened my gift, and it was a watch. It was a really nice watch. It had a stainless steel band. The kind that are more like a shrunken version of the men’s’ watch. I love the thought but…not quite what I wanted.

Another Personal Aside: My wonderful loving husband can NOT take a hint to save his life. When we got married, I hinted for diamond earrings. I got a watch. Very similar to this anniversary present. The wedding gift one is much more feminine though. Either way – no earrings, no diamonds. We talked. He said he thought I was hinting for the earrings but wasn’t sure so he figured the watch was safer. We have a system now that works for us. I will take flyers, websites, catalogues – whatever I can get my hands on, that comes with photos. I mark the flyers and catalogues with post-its, and send photos & website links by email. At Christmas there will be at least half a dozen catalogues with hints from the $2 range up to infinity and beyond. This allows him the option to buy me something I want and still surprise me, without blowing whatever budget he has. My Mom is completely horrified :scared1: by this and thinks it shows how selfish I am. I make sure I offer plenty of lower cost items for hinting and a good variety of things – from clothes to crafty stuff, anything goes. But I always specify as much as possible on each hint to try to make it easier for him. When I do it, I know that I will not get everything. I don’t get my heart set on any one item, and for me it is fun to see what he chose. Sometimes he strays away from the hints, but usually that means he has been paying close attention and caught something I said somewhere along the line and knows he will score brownie points for it – like the beach towel thing. :cloud9: Either way it works for us. We have our own system for dealing with the toilet seat up or down issue and the infamous “Do I look fat in this?” question as well. We are different that way.
Anyways, back at the castle. I am not over the moon about my wonderful splurged upon gift. When asked what I wanted, as I could not provide my usual hints, I said, something subtly Disney, that I can keep with me, something “pretty”. This watch, although very good quality, was just not pretty. The Mickey was a small full silhouette that I really couldn’t see without my glasses. (ugh I can’t believe I had to put that in.)
No, I did not say anything to ruin the mood at this point. I had done enough for one day. I told him it was nice, but he did have to point out the Mickey – I couldn’t quite figure it out.

Our server had noticed our hand raising at the Anniversary part of the Fairy Godmothers’ celebrations. She asked us about it, then brought us the declaration to celebrate our anniversary, and champagne flutes. We already had a pair of the glasses at home from the honeymoon so that was very nice. Our picture package and the lithograph were also brought to the table. Our picture turned out pretty good. Everyone smiling with eyes open.

I had been hearing the family at the next table talk about the time for the next Cinderellabration show. I figured there was a chance we could make it. It was grad night so MK was closing early. As we were leaving CRT there was no one in the lobby. We had the perfect chance to recreate photos again. On our honeymoon, as we left CRT we have a photo of me upstairs on the balcony, taken from the lobby. We took the same picture, but with me & my princess. On our honeymoon I took a photo of Carl with a suit of armor. You guessed it! Daddy & his little princess stood with a suit of armor for a picture.

We went around to the front of the castle, and got a spot front and centre for Cinderellabration. My princess was thrilled by the show. By this time everyone is content and relaxed again. After Cinderellabration we headed back to the resort. I sent Carl over to the hotel bar to bring back drinks (Dacquiri and virgin dacquiri and a beer for him) to enjoy while we tried to undo the Disney Diva Do.

Moms – that is a LOT of gel. Be ready for that. It was nice to have the somewhat early night. Again – a LOT of gel to wash out. After pulling out the bobby pins, braid and elastic. And trying to memorize how they did that so I can try my hand at it again some other time. I think her hair would have stayed up without the elastics and pins. There is a nice tip for BBB Moms – send hubby to the bar for something frosty for you and the other version for your little princess. That way you can make the evening wash up after the makeover just as much fun.


Up next: Epcot. (taking a photo? Don’t say cheese – say Epcot!)

[Lisa_Belle]

As we were leaving CRT there was no one in the lobby. We had the perfect chance to recreate photos again. On our honeymoon, as we left CRT we have a photo of me upstairs on the balcony, taken from the lobby. We took the same picture, but with me & my princess. On our honeymoon I took a photo of Carl with a suit of armor. You guessed it! Daddy & his little princess stood with a suit of armor for a picture.


Oh how romantic :love: I love mushy stuff like that! You should put the pictures side-by-side in frames so you can compare. It's cool you've got Siri in them, too.

Looking forward to a day in Epcot with a preschooler. ;)

[connorsmom911]

Loving it as always...gee, so many stories that you didn't tell in person at work (or I've forgotten...it's bee a month or so!). :thumbsup2

[Princess Aurora45]

I love reading your reports they are really great.

I two can not stand to be late, and burst out crying when my mama decided to go to the bathroom just as we were about to board the plane. I would gladly be an hour early to something than a min late. It comes from my mamas inability to be on time - first day of secondary school (erm I think that may be middle school in the US) and my mama was 2hrs late in picking me up - she turned up at 7!

[3princesses+aprince]

Great Report, I'll be watching for the rest.

[aGoofyMom]

Thanks everyone especialy for your patience. I tend to keep ahead on my report, and left my file at work. Sorry for the delay in the next installment.

Princess Aurora45 - exactly! It is so nice not to be alone. My first job my Dad drilled it into my head you show up for work 10-15 mintues early, but my boss was always 10-15 min late so we would have to wait outside the restaurant at 6 am waiting for someone to let us in.

Anyways - new installment soon!

[aGoofyMom]

Epcot

Still no early risers here. I promised to take my time this trip & we are. Still, a wake up call just one day would have been cool. Maybe next trip. We don’t manage to arrive at Epcot until around 11. We spent some of that getting ready time trying to persuade our 4 year old princess that perhaps a stroller would be a good idea for today. Yep. We didn’t bring one. She has turned up her nose at strollers for a while now. Actually, we did 2 days at Sesame Place without a stroller just before her 3rd birthday. She walked. Now it wasn’t that big, either. But she really just doesn’t like the stroller.
Anywho. By the time we leave for the bus we had her convinced. We will get a stroller when we get there. The Princess approves of her Carriage and settles in quickly.
We spent some time in Innoventions. My Ubergeek DH actually likes the House of the Future. We know the princess won’t so I assure him we will be fine while he goes in. BUT we also set the alarm on his watch for a full 30 minutes ahead of our Princess Lunch ADR so we will have no stress (wishful thinking) today. So - a little girls’ time in Innoventions. Yippee. It dawns on me that we didn’t agree to a meeting place - Hey wait! That’s twice now. We didn’t agree on a meeting place or time after the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique either. We need to get better at this. We haven’t planned to use my cell phone due to the beyond all comprehension roaming charges I will wind up paying, and it means nothing anyways as he plans to only turn on the Blackberry he is carrying if we get lost and the Princess is required to have a CM track us down for her. Oh – did I mention that one? No? Shoot. OK for Siri’s ID, I have taken a craft kit with ball chain, and alpha beads. I bought an extra pack of number beads. We put our resort name, and DH’s cell phone number on it. She has been wearing every day. She is trying to memorize the number to. But every morning we put it on, and we talk about when & how to use it. By the end of the trip she was very tired of it, but it worked for us. For the week. With a little motherly encouragement.

Back to Innoventions. Wandering aimlessly in Innoventions. The Princess screws up enough courage to enter into a game of video tag with some other kids. I take some pictures and quickly think a phrase I wouldn’t have dreamed of before this. My child needs to play more video games. Ok she doesn’t actually play much of anything. We have an old laptop for her (DH is a geek, we inherit a lot of worn out equipment) that we have loaded some age suitable stuff on for her. Again, just something that works for us. This machine would need overhaul to even be worth donating anywhere. The laptop’s battery doesn’t actually work so it must be plugged in at all times, and our wireless home network requires the card to be put in for her to be on line. She can be on the computer and we don’t have to worry about her going to the Internet by accident.
Again back to Innoventions. We found some kid computer stuff that worked out better for us. Carl found us at about that time and we made our way out.

Note: My comment about the video games was swiftly dealt with. It apparently translated into a dutiful Daddy MUST go buy a PS2 since they won’t be that expensive right now with the new model out later this year. Of course Kingdom Hearts is not really her speed… but I managed to find something in a bargain bin about a week later. Amazing how that works eh? :rolleyes:

We headed for WS by way of Mexico. We went on the boat ride. Siri liked it but was loudly disappointed in the faux fireworks. This Princess has now seen Wishes and she KNOWS fireworks. This ain’t it. Great. We were stalled there for a bit. The display in our local parks on Canada Day really won’t go over well now even for our little patriotic Princess.
We had to make a pit stop before leaving Mexico. The only washrooms are in the restaurant. She was dancing by the time we figured that one out. Ok then. Crisis averted.
We head on over to Askerhus for our Princess Lunch. My Mom was born in Sweden and I know the food is going to be very similar to some of what I grew up on. I have been anxious for this one. I don’t tend to get excited about food either. Not having been to any parts of Europe (yet!) I am thrilled about trying authentic food not made by members of my family. We approach, thinking we may have time for Maelstrom or shopping first. The line up was nuts. Might as well jump in. Up to this point we had carried the Aurora pink dress in a backpack. Long sleeves at noon in Florida – I don’t think so. Besides this is this year’s Halloween costume – again REALLY big – hence the choice of pink shorts & shirt today. While in line to check in, we put on the Aurora dress. I should have brought the safety pins. Oh well. Even though there was very little shade to wait in, she held up ok because of all the other little princesses in their dresses. We didn’t wait very long either. Once we had checked in at least. Then we got to line up near the air conditioning to go in. Then we realize aha! Arial is waiting for a photo op with everyone. The Princess is excited about that prospect. I am snapping pictures of some of the décor. I feel like I am at my Grandma’s house in so many ways right now. Once it was our turn Arial was great, Siri had fun talking to her. Arial helped adjust the too big dress so I told her about our chilly Halloweens. She mentioned that mermaids don’t usually go that far north – too cold.

Autograph signed and picture taken we get our table. Our server Sijle was great. (so was her English!) We ordered right away, and I went up to the cold table buffet for appetizers leaving the princess with autograph book and camera with DH. I filled plates for both the Princess & I and came back to excitedly report on what was available. I knew DH was going to be in Heaven with the pickled herring (yep – he eats it, I have tried many times but no way) and salads that will all be familiar. He mentioned to me later, that while I was at the buffet, Sijle returned with the drinks & he called Siri by name to get her attention. Sijle was so startled hearing her name that she had to ask. Carl explained that she was named for her Grandmother on my side & that my Mom was born in Sweden, immigrating to Canada as a child. She now knows she has a table that will definitely appreciate the food. The Princesses started coming around – Aurora in the pink dress was first. My Princess was thrilled. A little chat and a photo – Aurora warned Siri to be on the lookout for Merryweather since she would try to turn her dress blue. My princess proudly told her that I made the dress for her and she complimented my abilities telling us how Aunt Flora had tried to make her a dress one time but it didn’t turn out near as well. Aurora moved on and we went back to the food. Siri was enjoying it, but I had completely forgotten to warn her about the cucumbers. They are basically soaked in vinegar. My Mom & Sis do this all the time. I don’t mind it but don’t bother setting it up much myself. The look on her face was just beyond. OOPS. Bad Mommy. I didn’t actually get it much – she loves pickles…ok oops on my part. We got past the vinegar. Belle came around next. My little Princess got a big lesson in diplomacy at this point, kinda fitting to be in WS for this one. She sat there dressed up like Aurora, with a Jasmine doll beside her. Belle asked her who her favourite Princess was, while she was signing her autograph. She replied, Cinderella and Aurora. Belle smiled for the photo and moved on. Wow – that was fast. Jasmine came around next, and one of the first things out of my daughters’ mouth – you are one of my favourite princesses. If nothing else – she learns quick. I get my picture taken with Jasmine as well – so I can show it to my bellydance friends. Mulan came by dressed for the matchmaker (you are one of my favourites!) Siri barely ate anything until dessert probably because by then we realized no more Princesses would be coming out, but we really enjoyed our food. I had the Jarlsberg cheese soup and open face grilled salmon sandwich and Carl had the pan seared trout. It was Awesome. Dessert was fabulous too. Rice Cream, was the favourite for Carl & Siri but I loved the Lignonberry cheesecake. The Rice Cream was good, but I was having flashbacks to a not-so-good-dessert that was similar but not quite as a child. And as we are leaving, Sijle comes by and I get to use a phrase I have only ever said to family “Tuck formatin” (spelling?) It means Thank you for dinner.
After lunch was done, we headed into the stand-by line for the Maelstrom. Siri just wanted to get back in the stroller (HUH?) but we convinced her. A little shopping, and we checked the line up at the Bakery – maybe we can come back? (ya, like next trip…)

We moved on to China. DH was anxious to shop here. His interest in Martial Arts has him currently reading up on Qigong (Chigung) a lot right now – me too actually. I take the stroller and tell him to take his time & find us when he is done. Then we see Mushu come out. Crumbs. DH has the book. We track him down & make him stop everything to get the book out. We go out to see Mushu and no one is with him. A little fun there and back into the air conditioning. Our Princess is getting tired and really enjoying having the stroller today. Physically speaking she is very much like her Daddy – and he is a custom built furnace. He throws so much body heat it is amazing I even need a blanket. Handy in Canada in January. Not so much in Florida in May. She is just as bad. Hats actually make her even hotter as she has a lot of hair too. She is sitting back with her fan – no spraying while inside please. Once DH is done we are ready to move on. He did manage to find me a book on Qigong for Arthritis so I am happy about that. Anything that might help is welcome.

We went to move on but there was 2 CM’s closing off the path. Huh? Wow – I had no idea that was a drawbridge. We waited while they brought out the barges for Illuminations. It was interesting to watch the globe go by but after that kinda boring. Again, not a whole lot of shade handy so Siri was really using the spray bottle. I was trying to keep the spray limited to us, and a woman near by said oh no I would welcome that. She was pushing her DH in a wheelchair with a wrapped up ankle. Oh. I have been there. On my ’94 trip with my DS, her arthritis has always been so much worse than mine that she could only manage to do WS in a wheelchair. That really makes you realize how hilly that place is. We sprayed her a little to help cool her off. Once the bridge was re-opened, we found Rafiki at the Trading Post once we were able to move on. Now I realize why we aren’t finding much shade – that’s where the characters hang out when they come out. Makes sense. I was really glad we found Rafiki. In my stealth-trip-planning-couldn’t-give-up-the-Dis-Boards mode, I would try to check in without my Princess seeing from home. Every time I pulled up the main site there would be a picture of Rafiki on the side & little Eagle Eyes would spot it and come over to check it out. This was usually followed by “Mommy, I want to go to where Rafiki is.” Ok. Someday. 2009 for sure.
Oh Crumbs! After Rafiki our autograph book is now full. No worries, how many characters can we bump into in Epcot if we aren’t really looking? (Never ask yourself this question – it will fall under a Murphy’s Law kind of thing)
Now we arrive at Morocco. Yippee! I can hear the belly dance music already. Mo’Rockin’ is on stage. But here is Jasmine & Aladdin. Ok. You wait in line, I will be back. I move ahead to check out Mo’Rockin’ and find a Henna thing. OOHH! I so want to get a Henna Tattoo. They tell me to come back when Mo’Rockin’ is done. Excellent. I go back to the line. They are still waiting. Hey – I know this song. I am dancing a little, and realize so is Siri. She recognized the song too. :dance3: Then Carl grins. Yep, he knows it too. Apparently I listen to my dance music a lot. Dance music has more than one definition in my house. Once it is our turn, I realize that this is a different Jasmine. I had the autograph book open to the page Jasmine signed at lunch, and ask that since we met Jasmine at lunch, would Aladdin mind signing the same page. Jasmine was quick to ask Siri if she had a good time at lunch meeting her other friends…slick and seamless. Siri was so happy to finally meet a “Prince” that she almost became a little shy. We got some great photos and moved on. Carl told me it was my turn – go shop and have fun. I asked him if he would mind waiting while I got the henna tattoo – no worries have fun. :woohoo: The Henna didn’t take long at all, and out of curiosity I asked about kids getting them. I explained that my daughter was 4 and since I take belly dance classes she is pretty fascinated by the whole culture. She told me that really it was up to the parent, but the child needs to leave it for at least 15 minutes. I also learned that the dancer here has a studio where she teaches in Orlando. Cool. Maybe next time I should check into workshops. :teeth: Ya OK that one might not go over well. DH may be my biggest fan, but there are limits…
I was checking out the merchandise when Carl grabs my attention. Pit stop, NOW. Crumbs. My Henna isn’t dry yet. Ok let’s go. I tell the Princess, who is positively fascinated by my Henna, that she has to manage everything completely on her own as I can’t use my left hand or it will smudge my tattoo. Now I know the drill – just look for the restaurant and you will find the washroom. Then try to dig a post it out of the purse one handed. :rolleyes: Siri starts asking to get a tattoo before we can find Daddy again. I stalled on the answer and run it by him. Sure-whatever. Cool! I already know which one. They have a butterfly design I think she will love. (Ok so I figured from the start if I got one she would wind up with one too.) :rolleyes1 The woman started on it while I went to pay. By the time I had paid, and bought some jewelry, they were finished. Carl had sat back and kept an eye on her from a distance (20 feet?) so she felt incredibly grown up at having been left “alone” for a bit in a new place. We sat by the fountain for a bit, and one guy walking by saw us posing for a picture of our tattoos and loudly asked why anyone would do that to themselves. Hmm...maybe big burly guy doesn’t have any tattoos himself. Maybe he just “doesn’t get” another culture. Maybe this isn’t the place to be if you aren’t interested in another culture…Maybe he thinks they are done like other tattoos – with needles etc. The henna does really stick up from the skin. I suppose it could look painful if you didn’t know it was just a natural dye that sits on top of the skin and then dries. And sticks like glue. To all those little hairs on your arm. This makes movement interesting. We were told to leave it on for at least 24 hours to ensure it would be dark and stay for about a week.

Moving on – we check out the other shopping areas. Inside the Moroccan CM’s are wandering about with drums. One drumming CM is tapping out rhythms that I can recognize. As I wander, I start doing a few moves. Next thing I know, the drumming CM is following me around. Very cool – my own personal drummer for a bit. :cool1: I had a little fun with it. Drop a hip here, little undulation and sit kick combo there…I didn’t wind up buying anything else, which was a little disappointing for me. Either it was items I could find at home, in better quality, or something I wouldn’t get enough use out of. Regardless the whole shopping experience was fun. We also ran into some adults here who were having an adult time. I.e. intoxicated. They had a girl in their group cornered in a change room and one of the guys commented loudly that if they kept feeding her drinks they could keep her doing anything they said for the rest of the day. Time to move on. I don't mind adult fun at Disney in the least. I simply know that for this trip it was time to move the family on.
Total aside here: As I type, I am listening to my MP3. It is on random. I have just gone from a track from my Wishes CD to an Arabic/belly dance track. Nice mood-setter.
Ok. Back on track. As we head out of Morocco, we realize we haven’t used ANY snack credits. Huh? How did that happen? Bring on the Mickey Ice Cream Bars!! Actually I love the strawberry fruit ones. Siri loves fruit so she liked that too. But Mickey won out in the end. We probably had 2 of them just walking through the rest of WS. We didn’t stop much after Morocco to look at the other pavilions simply because Siri was just tired and a little bored. She had been holding up so well we didn’t want to push it. We had already hit our key spots so that was enough.
Ok another aside – the MP3 player just found Do-Re-Mi from the Sound of Music. If you have read this far, you know that Connorsmom & I work together. If you read the first installment of her trip report, than this song coming on is just kind of funny. “Let’s start at the very beginning…”
Where was I – oh yes, making our way out of WS. I knew we would have to stop at either the UK or Canada for a beer break. DH is also a bit of a beer snob. The Bud offered at the snack carts is great, but this man has spent the last 3 days pretty much entirely in the MK. He doesn’t drink a lot, nor does he complain if he doesn’t get a beer. He also knows that this is his chance to grab a favourite somewhere. He chooses the long line at the Rose and Crown to have a Harp. Other than the fact that we didn’t have the sense to grab Fast Passes for Soarin’ when we arrived, we have pretty much done what we hoped to do here. We mosied towards Figment – I have always wanted to check it out but haven’t gotten around to it. And I won’t this time – technical difficulties. Ok, hopping fountains are good for some fun. We head over there & Siri is out of her stroller and having a ball.
(Oh – another Disney song – “I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream…” I use my MP3 player in the car too, so yes, Siri has her own playlist on it.)
By this point we realize our late lunch carried us to almost 7. FW is closing up and we are tired and hungry. We weigh the options know that if we stay here to grab dinner we will stay for Illuminations. We really hadn’t planned to stay. All signs from the Princess indicate we shouldn’t even mention fireworks because she won’t have it in her to stay, even if she wants to.

Up next: The stress of the day- threatened at Disney.

[Lisa_Belle]

Hmmm - I like calling the stroller a "carriage." Did that help persuade Princess Siri to ride in it? If not, how did you do it? Mine also refueses to ride in one, and I know there is no way she can make it through Epcot without one.

[aGoofyMom]

Hmmm - I like calling the stroller a "carriage." Did that help persuade Princess Siri to ride in it? If not, how did you do it? Mine also refueses to ride in one, and I know there is no way she can make it through Epcot without one.


Yep! We also tried a wagon with your own personal shade. She will ride in wagons, but has decided that strollers are for babies. Those 2 descriptions did the trick!

[aGoofyMom]

I completely forgot to explain the "say Epcot" thing. Siri loved the word Epcot so much that she would repeat again and again. When we started taking pictures on that day, she would pose and say Epcot to smile. We still do this now!

d

[connorsmom911]

Another great installment...I giggle everytime I come up in your trippie!! ;)

Actually, the roaming charges were not all that bad...I actually called dh from the line inside Wolfgang Puck Express while he was outside saving a table to ask what he wanted off the menu...silly I know. We used those 2 way radios soooooo much after that!!!

[aGoofyMom]

Ok it has been a nutty week to say the least - the highlight for me last week was a funeral. Before trying to catch up on my reading, I will post more, as I believe there are still a couple of readers and I can't ask for more than that!

I left you with a teaser regarding a threat. I have edited and edited this section, and had a couple of people read it over first, I had even thought to leave it out. I decided to included it, and wanted to reflect what happened without being unfair to the other party. Here goes.

Transportation nightmare:
As we approached the bus stop, we see a bus there. The line doesn’t even empty but the bus is full and leaves. We were pretty much last in line – there was a large group ahead of us. We stood there waiting for over 30 minutes. We watched a LOT of empty buses drive up to empty bus stops. It was almost Twilight Zonish it was so completely bizarre. Our stop was becoming a mass of people. The other bus stops were oddly deserted. A bus FINALLY arrives. The family that mosied up near the front in the last 10 minutes or so to sit on the curb decides they should just try to walk straight on to the bus. Excuse me? The people in front of us had been waiting Heaven only knows how long for the last bus while standing and couldn’t get on and you wait sitting down for 10 minutes and think you are entitled to skip the now huge line up. I couldn’t watch it. I couldn’t stand by. I spoke out. Ma’am if you are out there reading this I will give as accurate a telling as I can but I don’t remember exact words. After I said something about getting into the line up, her Hubby tried to lead them to the back of the line but she was putting up a stink. Great. Stress. Why be like this at Disney. With your kids in tow. The Hubby manages to steer the family back about half way. As we get on the bus my DD tells me I was rude. Great. We are sitting in the very last row of the bus. Then the family has found their way on the bus and has sat down in front of us. The woman is STILL going on about how she had better not see that ***** again or she will make sure I regret it. (Or something to that effect. I don’t remember exact words but the threat aspect was there). Her Hubby tells her maybe she should turn around since we are sitting behind them. PERFECT. How long is this bus ride? I tried to be civil. I tried to explain in my very Canadian way (I’m so sorry you don’t feel the need to allow people who have been standing…) that the group in front of us had watched a bus fill up and leave at least 30 minutes before this one arrived. She wasn’t going to hear it. Her Hubby told her that perhaps she could adjust her attitude since I was trying to be civil. Nope. I had ruined her son’s first trip to Disney and his Birthday. Oh well. Her Hubby then proceeded to strike up conversation with us. Turns out that this was their last day and their memory card had been mysteriously deleted either that morning or the night before. They had lost ALL their pictures :scared1: I was horrified for them. I could completely empathize with their situation and tried to express that to him. She was fuming & ignoring me at this point. He went on to say that they had spent the entire day going from park to park trying to recreate all their pictures. That stinks. But that doesn’t provide free license to be nasty or threaten other people.
I expect I am now the scapegoat for a bad trip for someone. Too bad. I truly hope that instead the memories that family has chosen to focus on is of all the fun they must have had and not how the trip ended. Really. I don’t like hearing about someone having a bad time at Disney anymore than I like seeing someone trying to line cut in that kind of situation. Everyone there was tired, and wondering what was going on with the delay in the buses. People were making rumblings about the number of empty buses stopping at empty bus stops. I don’t think a little fairness is too much to expect. As no one else in line spoke up I can only guess that they didn’t see a problem. Either that or it was because the husband was kind of big.
Ok. Unplesantries over with.
Dinner at Intermission and BED.
Tomorrow will be better.

[Backstage_Gal]

Sorry that I missed your last two installments somehow, but found the one today and am now all caught up. Fabulous job on the TR, just sorry about the bus episode.

PS: I read Connorsmoms reports too..

[SmithFamily2003]

Great trip report! I can't wait for the next installment. So sorry about your bus incident. I had a woman that was standing on a bus from Downtown Disney fall on me (I was sitting) and she didn't even apologize. She laughed for several minutes while I hoped I didn't have a black eye from the elbow in my eye.

[aGoofyMom]

Backstage Gal: glad you are enjoying...Connorsmom was such the inspiration for this trip...

Smithfamily2003: Welcome! the strangest things do happen on the busses. I think I am going to follow my buddy Connorsmom to car rental next time!

[aGoofyMom]

Day 5/May6

Ok first I have to back up before going on. Before going to bed after Epcot, I tell Carl my thoughts on the watch. Which didn’t fit anyways. He takes it very well, and admits it was very hard for him to figure out “something pretty” but he wanted to have something for me right then and there. He insists that we will return it before leaving and find something else. I love my hubby very much, and I love even more, that I know I can be honest with him. I don’t think either one of us would want it any other way. We agree that since we want to ensure we are at the hotel to have our SW boarding passes run off on time, we will forego AK for our last full day and just spend some time back at Downtown Disney then wherever the mood takes us. We don’t have any ADR’s for that last full day anyways, and the top I grabbed for myself without trying on first, doesn’t fit. (too big – always better than too small) And yes, I know that DD4 is a pre-boarding pass but I had heard that if there are too many families with young'uns, they might cancel that so I want to be sure I have "A" boarding passes. Just in case. Only a little anal!

Back to first things first - the pool. We haven’t gone to the pool since Thursday. On Friday, in DownTown Disney, we purchased a Nemo floaty for $3. Back at Maestro Mickey’s we had also purchased Goggles. Neither have been tried yet. :teeth: OK ok lets’ go pool side.

Well, not completely first. First and foremost before anything else, we are picking off the remainder of the Henna. Ahh, something to do while the in room breakfast digests. I have lots to pick off. All over my hand & fingers, and half way up my arm. In the hair. Stuck. Some has fallen off in bed over night. Make sure that is left out so Mousekeeping ensures the sheets are changed. Siri doesn’t have as much left to pick off. Mine is darker because of that. She is mildly disappointed over that but that will be resolved in the end. (stay tuned!)

Ok back to poolside. I went in with Siri first. I got cold pretty quick. It was early - not that hot yet...at least not in the water! ;) We traded off. I was hanging out on the deck & Daddy went in. The goggles were a big hit, but Nemo –not so much. This is a split ring inflatable with an inflatable Nemo smack dead centre. I finally show Carl that Nemo is a separate air chamber. Nemo is deflated and all is well with it. While I am hanging out on the deck, a family near by is squabbling. I have no choice but to hear it. This too, shall return later. Carl and Siri are blissfully unaware. Regardless I will have no stress today. I have decreeed it.
We spent the entire morning poolside, and are now very relaxed. No Stress. After lunch at Intermission we head over to MGM. We ate at Intermission a lot. We are not complete foodies but I will admit we are heading in that direction. The food was good at Intermission but again – the portions were huge. While at Intermission though, I checked out the snack boxes. Hmm.. a juice box, box of raisins, napkin, and peanut butter with crackers and M & M’s. This could be a good idea. I picked one up. Siri was happy with her little box. We did cave and pick up a small autograph book too.

For any Mom looking at those snack boxes - it was a big hit. She used it for her snack for school afterwards too. It has still really held up well.

Once we arrived at the park, we have, of course, bag check. Siri is carrying her snack box herself. I inform her that she will have to open it for bag check. She is suddenly thrilled with the prospect of having her own bag to be checked. The guard played along, and checked out her snack. She was walking proud now. :teeth: Here Daddy you can carry this in the backpack now. Siri wants a stroller. We disagree. We intend for an easy afternoon, ADR at the SciFi Dine In followed by Fantasmic. I don’t want to be saddled with a stroller for Fantasmic. DH agrees. Siri isn’t really happy, but accepts it. She was a little moody as we strolled through a couple of shops on the way to Playhouse Disney. I try hinting for the stuffed Minnie Mouse for Mother’s Day (Nope. Didn’t work. I really don’t hint well do I? I really should just stick to what works.) Siri had gotten a Minnie Mouse hat with ears on it on the first day. She wore it for maybe an hour before she got too hot. I had hoped she would want ears, but didn’t want to push it. My little grumpy princess decides these ears look good. She picks out some colourful ears with Mickey, Donald, Pluto, and Goofy on them. Ahh – she wasn’t interested before because she wanted colour. Makes sense. Knowing her. Although she can pick one favourite colour, I think she would claim rainbow as her favourite if she didn't think she would be told about it not being a colour.

I found some build-your-own-watch stuff. I love these. The elastic beaded bracelets, and different watch faces. I then make my own bracelets, that fit a little better and create enough bracelets to go with the main colours in my wardrobe. I find a watch face with a little Mickey head on it and some bracelets in pink and purple – I don’t have those colours yet. I also bought a Tink charm and a castle charm. I put the charms on the watch, but quickly wind up taking the Tink one off and put it on my backpack purse. It was driving me a little nutty.

On to Playhouse Disney. We had to wait before the next show so we wandered around and thought about Fast Passing The Voyage of the Little Mermaid. No guarantees for it though – technical difficulties. We got in line for Playhouse Disney and didn’t have much of a wait. I had been warned previously that the characters come up out of the floor of the stage so front row is not necessarily best. We did the line well because when we went in, we were pretty much in the middle, dead centre. Bear had been a huge favourite early on in our house.

Aside: Did I mention that part of my creative endeavors have included making Teddy Bears? No, I look back and no. Well I was a Bearsmith (one who makes teddy bears) for a while. I have always collected Teddy Bears. When Carl proposed it seemed only natural to have bears in the wedding. We gave away bears, I made a Bride & Groom bear to sit at the church, and reception head table. I am allergic to pollen so wasn’t having real flowers. I made bear head boutonnières and corsages and included said bear heads in my bouquet and for my sister’s bouquet as well. I made tiny bears to be the bride & groom for the cake topper. Her little wedding dress even matched mine somewhat and I had to hide it from DH. All told, I believe we made well over 100 bears for the wedding. Our photographer gathered all the bears before the wedding and did a photo-shoot with them. We put the pictures of them up at the reception. He created an entire scene with the giveaway bears and a scaled model of a hot air balloon taking off. It was quite well done. Anyways, I had a business making bears for a while. On our Honeymoon I had the Disney Channel on in the room and was quite fascinated by the dancing huge Bear. When pregnant, what was supposed to be one of my last bears, was a large stuffed Bear. Bear in the Big Blue House Bear. I thought it was fabulous. Then my little Princess discovered Bear. One night when she was up too late, and we were on the road and trying to calm her down, I started to sing the Good-bye song. It worked. As long as we kept singing it. We sang it over and over all the way home. That became her lullaby before bed. Along with one I made up. We still sing it. Every night. She sings along now too.
Anyways, back at the Playhouse, the show hadn’t started yet, and people were still trickling in. They were playing music from the show. Eventually I look around to see that we are not the only parents singing. Whew. :rolleyes1
Once the show starts and Bear comes out the princess is enthralled. This is cool. For her. Actually I had a ball too. Watching her, and trying to capture some pictures. Then it switched to JoJo’s Circus. Apparently they watch that at Daycare sometimes. Good, since I really don’t know this one. Then Stanley. Again, not so familiar with this one. Then the Book of Pooh. Siri is blown away. Then the big finale. Yippee. Oh ya, The Good-bye song. Got that as a video clip! This was a fabulous show for us.

Up next - more Studios, a couple of cars, a frog, and cheering for the villians.

[Princess Aurora45]

YEAH your back :) thanks for sharing.

[aGoofyMom]

When I last left you, we were hanging out at Studios.

We decide to continue on to MuppetVision 3D. I love Muppets. Carl loves Muppets. We danced to the Rainbow Connection at our wedding. We walk right in but something got messed up because we not only can’t sit together but there aren’t enough seats. We manage to find 2 aisle seats close together and I try to get Siri on my lap. The Princess, who doesn’t normally ride in a stroller but wanted one today, definitely doesn’t want to share a seat. I still love the show, but it was awkward. Once the show was over, Siri wanted to go again, but out of nowhere it was lined up out the door. :confused3 Instead we take a picture by the fountain. Again this is a re-creation photo. I have one from my ’94 trip with my sister, and from my Honeymoon. Hee hee. All this plotting and re-creating photos. We wander through the Muppet Store. As we are wandering I realize they are playing our song. :listen: Rainbow Connection. Our eyes meet across the store :love: and we both grin. Then it dawns on me :idea: that if they are playing the song, they have the CD here somewhere and we don’t have it. After some searching I locate a CD. We don’t even look at the price. No question. Gotta have it. :yay:
Once out & wandering again, we found some face painting, :artist: and the Princess chose one with a Kermit on one cheek, with a rainbow from Kermit, up across her forehead ending in a cloud. And lots of glitter. Of course. Because we didn’t get enough glitter at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. She thusly became “Frog-Cloud-Rainbow-Girl” - She also has a thing for superheroes occasionally.

We head in to the Sci-Fi Dine In – I could not get over how quiet it was in there. :ssst: Wow. We are “parked”, but can’t squeeze together in one row. Carl has to sit behind us. That was just weird. And a little disappointing. It felt like he wasn’t really with us. The food was fast, not the best, but not that bad. The portions were way too big again.
Once we were done dinner we wandered the streetscape a bit. We decide to try to get in to the next Beauty and the Beast show and start in that direction. We walked in with no line. We got pretty good seats and didn’t have to wait long at all. I snapped a few pictures during the show. I was about to snap a picture of the Beast dying and the Frog cloud rainbow girl grabbed my arm (out of nowhere of course) and said NO MOMMY! You can’t take a picture – it’s SAD. Ok :bitelip: This is the same child who firmly believes the villains are only pretending right? I get Frog-Cloud-Rainbow-Girl’s permission to take a picture after the Prince rises. After the show we had to backtrack to check out the “Villians in Vogue” Store. My plan had been to do a little shopping in MGM and maybe find a book or two. That would provide entertainment while awaiting Fantasmic. In Villains In Vogue I am also looking for a gift for my sister. We all wind up loving this store. I found some flip story books. They are “My Side of the Story” with both hero/princess side then flip to the Villain version of what happened. I picked up the Maleficient/Sleeping Beauty for my princess and Captain Hook/Peter Pan for my sister. Princess-Frog-Cloud-Rainbow-Girl has discovered :maleficen a stuffed Maleficent dragon. :maleficen (one Maleficent is never enough) (No Haunted Mansion but let’s sleep with an evil fairy in all her dragon finery every night – sure). We also find a travel coffee mug with Maleficent for my sister.

Have I explained adequately about my daughter and Villains? When Aladdin was the favourite movie, Jafar made regular appearances in her pretending, usually as her brother. With Sleeping Beauty being a favourite right now, Maleficent has been appearing. Last year, when she had her Cinderella dress for Halloween she decided 2 weeks before Halloween that I should be the Fairy Godmother. Yes - ,I made a Fairy Godmother costume quick - no problem, big blue robe with a pink bow. This year with the Aurora dress she wants me to be Maleficent. For weeks before the trip. I have been asking for a good fairy instead. Or at least the queen. I know small role but maybe more fitting? We shall see.

We make a quick pit stop and gather to wait for Fantasmic rope drop. Once in there I realize I forgot the bug repellant. What was I thinking? I know this is sitting in front of pretty much stagnant water. Ok sit still and they will go away. After they have sampled enough of my blood anyways. I tend to be the live bait for biting insects. We read a bit of our storybook, chatted with a near-by family. We shared our glow stuff again. We basically were just kinda relaxing and I notice I am hearing some bickering. I look over and guess what? The bickering bunch from poolside this morning are down the row. Fortunately they decide their spot isn’t good, and move far enough away that we don’t have to listen. Cheer up people – it’s Disney!

By now we have talked about Fantasmic a little so Princess-Frog-Cloud-Rainbow-Girl is ready to cheer for her Villians. You do that. I will stick with the Mouse thanks. We all enjoy the show. After the show Siri is a little disappointed. She really wanted Maleficent to win. After all – Mickey always gets to win. I get this. Kind of. Kind of like reading Archie comics and wanting Betty to get Archie in the end just once. Or wanting to see Charlie Brown actually kick the football. Just once. I did read an Archie comic where Betty did get Archie in the end. It wasn’t as good. Especially not when they added the disclaimer that it was written just for that purpose.

We had much better luck with transportation and mosey back for sleep. Ok first, some packing to determine if another suitcase will be needed before heading towards any further shopping. Ok we can fit the internet purchase in the suitcase – but what’s this in the bottom of that bag? Carl has found a pink pin lanyard with 2 pins on it? And a note - :confused3 The note was from Connor (Connorsmom) to my little Princess.
Another aside: Before I had even thought about booking my trip, I had purchased a package of double A batteries. The package had a very nice Tinkerbell pin in it – we gave it to our princess without a second thought. Our last trip to Disney was just a few months before pin trading started. Once trip planning started in earnest (& stealth mode!) I mentioned the pin to Connorsmom at work one day – are these the pins they trade? OMG – we were suddenly nearing the end of this promotion from Energizer offering 5 different pins in packages of AA batteries. Can we get them all before we go? I am on a mission. I get coupons, I enlist family, I am GOING to get these pins. DH decides I am completely off my rocker. How can we go wrong I ask? The cheapest pins at Disney are $6.95. I have been researching. I know. The battery packs are just over $7. Between remote controls, the cordless mouse, toothbrushes, my portable speakers for my MP3 player, the digital camera, flashlights… tell me we won’t use these up in no time! It finally spread. By the time we left we had 2 of each. Ok overboard before being out the door. :crazy: Yikes! We have been at Disney with all these pins & Siri didn’t care. Now, Siri is finally interested in the pin thing. After all someone was kind enough to buy a lanyard. Why didn't I think of that? :upsidedow
We also still have 10 snack credits left. We really haven’t used those wisely. Hey – now I remember, the plan was to use the snack credits to get the milk in the morning. Oops. In bed by midnight.

Up next: our last full day :sad1:

[connorsmom911]

hehehehe...gotcha!!! How could I go about this trip without getting someone else hooked on the pin trading too? Now what fun would that be?? And I just thought it would be cute to leave a little something for Siri from Connor. We let him do most of the pin trading, let him pick which pin he wanted to get and which one to give. Since he's going through that "princess thing" of course he would spot a few of those and daddy would diligently direct him to another pin on the cm's lanyard. He did manage to pick one when daddy wasn't looking and I said we could put that one on the lanyard for Siri. He was good with that. One word for your next trip and pins...ebay.

Another great installment! :thumbsup2

[1000thhappyhaunt]

A Trip Reporting Machine.

I'm lovin' it. I'm in.

I believe I know a friend of yours, too.

I love that you danced to "Rainbow Connection" at your wedding.

Who doesn't LOVE the Muppets?

Keep it comin'.

Cheers, Mel.

[arizonacolbys]

Great trip report so far! :thumbsup2 Sounds like Siri is having a great 1st trip to the World! (I just love her name by the way! ;) )

Can't wait to hear the rest! :teeth:

[aGoofyMom]

Connorsmom - Siri is learning from Connor too - you will see what soon...(don't want to leave a spoiler for my own report!)

Mel: I believe a friend of mine reading a report of yours earlier this spring was the reason this trip even happened - thanks! And you have reminded me I am not sharing enough of the "goofyness" I shall have to work that back in! I admit that work is dragging it out of me right now.

arizonacolbys - welcome & glad you are enjoying.

[aGoofyMom]

Ok time for some pictures! - hope I didn't make these tooooo small.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/111429dumbo-thumb.jpg

About to be Flying high! (much to DH's chagrin!)

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/111429cinderellas-thumb.jpg

My Cinderella & her favourite Princess

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/111429daddyprincess-thumb.jpg

My princess & her Daddy

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/111429auroras-thumb.jpg

My little Auora and her favourite Princess

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/111429jasmine-thumb.jpg

I had to get a picture with Jasmine to show my belly dancer friends!

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/111429mommysfavourite-thumb.jpg

This is just my favourite picture.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/111429Princessfrogcloudrainbowgirl-thumb.jpg

And this is how she became Princess Frog-Cloud-Rainbow Girl

"...some day we'll find it, The Rainbow Connection, The lovers, the dreamers and me!"

[Lisa_Belle]

Still lovin' every word of your report - and the photo of your beautiful Princess Frog-Cloud-Rainbow Girl (that can be her Indian name when she goes to camp :thumbsup2 )

[3princesses+aprince]

Your report is awesome. I want to be there right now. :bounce:

[cjhinch]

I am really enjoying your trip report!! Your little girl is just adorable.....and she sounds very sweet! My boys didn't get into the pin trading until the very last day on our trip last year either......boy were they HOOKED!!

[Tanya90210]

Thank you so much for sharing... your daughter looks so adorable!!! I can't wait/// yet am sad... to read your final day...
planning on starting my pretrip report today...

[aGoofyMom]

Day 6/May 7

Sleeping in again. We lazily get ready & have breakfast. We need to have our boarding passes printed at 9:50. Carl actually has to hang out in the lobby because the first attempt was 5 min early according to the clock on the website and the CM warns him that another early attempt will mean locking out and waiting an hour or more. He was quite happy to sit and watch cartoons. Ok we get our precious “A” passes. (I know DD4 is our preboarding pass however I had heard that if there are too many parents of youngins’ preboarding it can be cancelled. I am anal enough to want the insurance of “A” passes)
We head off to DownTown Disney for returns (my ill-fitting shirt, and the watch anniversary gift) and a hope of a replacement gift for me. Siri is wearing her pin lanyard, but still doesn’t quite get it yet. Of course I can’t quite find all the pins either. I found 3. She had already traded one.
When we arrived, we scooted over to that Christmas character statue display at the Marketplace entrance. Again – this is me recreating photos from earlier trip(s? – I can’t remember if I have this one from ’94) hee hee – there is a plan for these!
While there, I see the splash fountain sidewalk thing is up and running and there is a VERY wet little boy having a ball. We conveniently stay there until the wet little one has moved on. Then my little princess spies the water and remembers that mean ol’ Mom wouldn’t let her play in it the last time we were here. I send her in with a warning not to get TOO wet. DH looks at me as if I am nuts. I remind him it is soooo warm she will be dry in no time & she wasn’t allowed last time. I sent him into the stationary store for the pen he was coveting. Siri was having a ball in the splash fountain, and heeding my incessant reminders to not get TOO wet. She would run, and the water would follow her. I was trying to snap a couple of pictures when I notice this guy on the bench with a black bag. Hmmm…wasn’t he there when the really wet little guy was playing? He wasn’t there when Siri started… COOL! Pixie dust for us! pixiedust: One magical moment for me. My little princess would stand right over top of a jet and NEVER get splashed directly. Thanks Dude! DH comes out with his purchase. I try to explain to him what is going on. He doesn’t quite get it. More Magic (kinda!) as he watches the water follow her back and forth with a look of wonder. Siri’s clothes are a little wet here and there, but not dripping. I am loving it like Christmas morning. She has no idea how the water is chasing her around. It has been a while since our last Magical Moment! pixiedust: We finally drag her out and head in to the Christmas store. I want a simple dated ornament. Sounds simple right? That took forever to find one. In fact our princess had goosebumps by the time we find it. I wound up taking her outside to warm up while DH was paying. Carl said at least 2 people saw him in line and were asking where he found the ornament.
Siri and I sat on a brick wall surrounding a flower bed. Siri picked a few flowers and we tucked them behind our ears. I snapped a couple of casual pictures of her. One of them is my favourite. She looked so relaxed, and thoughtful – very serene. No expectations, no impatience, just content. Magical just-happy-to-be-alive-and-in-the-moment-type Moment! :p
Once Carl came out of the store, we headed towards the Pin Traders store. We buy 2 new pins for Siri. Maleficent :maleficen (of course) and Kim Possible (with Dr. Drakken and She-go – gotta have the villains). :maleficen She poses for pictures with more statues. I tried to talk her into doing some trading with the CM’s here – nope. Moving on to the World of Disney store, we split up for the returns. I exchanged my shirt, Carl returned my watch. He encouraged me to window shop through the jewelry section but I just couldn’t decide on anything. (what is wrong with me?) :crazy:
Onward to Once Upon a Toy Store. We missed this last time. Siri picked out a colouring book for her friend, and we chose some Freeze Dried Ice Cream for her and her 2 cousins. (I did try it. It is ice cream. A little dry, but not bad) After a once through of the store, the Princess chose a stuffed Scar to take home. Of course – more villains. We have a Simba at home, why not Scar? :simba: Then, as DH is paying I realize Siri has lost her big princess pin from Connor(smom). Crumbs. Ok everybody back track staring at the floor. As we are attempting to walk back through the store like this, I notice a CM watching us, green lanyard, and the exact pin we are searching for. I have no idea if that CM found it, or if hers had been there for a while, but after we mentioned what we were doing, and I tried to encourage Siri to trade for the pin, the CM gave us the pin. No trade. Magical moment! pixiedust: Thanks again!

With such a Magical morning, we decide to have lunch at Wolfgang Puck Express. I kind of wanted to try the Earl of Sandwich but Carl loves Wolfgang Puck and he is the chef of the family. He has taken many cooking lessons lately and since I don’t cook, I can’t deprive him (yet – read on!) Ok I can’t cook. As in my DD will get a horrified :scared1: look on her face when told Daddy won’t be home to make supper and say – “You aren’t really going to try to cook are you Mom?”
Enjoying our lunch at WPE, my wonderful loving husband says to me “Hon, I hate to tell you this but…” Huh? Hello – wonderful relaxing Magical Moments happening here – why on EARTH would you even THINK about starting to say ANYTHING starting with THAT PHRASE?????
“…You really are getting some grey hair there.” :bitelip:

I just kinda stopped for a minute. I have a big choice here. Part of the whole how to answer the “Do I look fat in this?” question is that I have agreed I want honesty from him. I have some grey hair. I know this. I have not been shy about saying this. He knows this. He has, up until this very moment, been the gentleman about it. He has chosen, at Disney, to inform me of how much he can really see it at that moment. Apparently it is very visible. At this exact moment.
I realize in my split second that I need to choose my reaction. I don’t remember exactly what my reply was, but freaking out was not an option. I think I questioned his need to comment on this here and now. I think I may have also explained the finer art of understanding how excessive sunlight & pool water could affect hair colour and the choice to not bother with it until after we return home.

He later said he didn’t know it bothered me at all until I said something again later. The truth is, it wasn’t that I was bothered by his actual words. It was more that they were bringing me back to reality and I was going to fight tooth and nail to stay in my Disney state of mind. It was our last full day & I wanted to stay in that moment as much as possible. I wanted to soak in as much Magic as possible so that when I was physically back in reality I could mentally return in the blink of an eye. Just long enough to regain my senses. I am very Type A. Probably Type AA. Ok I really don’t know if there is such a thing or if that describes me. I am quick-tempered, judgemental, have very little patience, and I am easily frustrated. I have been trying to change that for a loooonng time. Long story short, becoming a mother has done more in helping me make changes than anything else thus far. And my husband is the reason I have wanted to make those changes. My family means everything to me. For our fifth anniversary, DH & I spent a week in Cuba. I could bring back the memories from that trip for at least a year later –just to help me relax. Anytime I wanted. But as we weren’t able to go away anywhere last year I was losing the mental relaxation ability. I had managed to spend so much of this trip living up to my simple expectations. Don’t get tense in the airport, don’t try to do it all, just take it moment by moment and just relax and enjoy the family time together. By this time I had seen so much Magic, wonderment and love in my daughter and husband – I was not ready for that to go away. This trip and these memories were the only thing I needed for my anniversary. I know I am not very good at expressing this to my husband. So it is here for everyone to read. He said he would be reading this eventually. I know if he does get this far he will realize – it wasn’t the words hon – it was the return to reality. It was too harsh, and too unexpected. That and I hadn’t asked for it. So Honey – sorry if I made you feel bad by bringing it up again after the fact. Maybe now it can all make sense. That and really I am so lucky – he really doesn’t do the stupid comments very often. He helps out around the house and spoils me rotten. And he is carefully honest with the “Do I look fat in this?”. I am so lucky to have him. And he really is an amazing aspiring chef - if I could send his Baked Alaska through here to you all - I would!

And as much as I like the food at Wolfgang Puck Express - I don't think we are going back. End of discussion on that one!

Up next: An afternoon in MK...

[aGoofyMom]

And to you fabulous people who replied - thanks! I have been swamped lately and haven't had much time to answer everyone but I appreciate hearing from all of you.

[connorsmom911]

Ok, see, it is borg thing!!! ::yes:: I just jumped on from home to check my e-mail, and look who's posted!!! They might have split us up at work so that we don't work the same days anymore, but they can't take away our DIS boards!! Although I will admit it just wasn't as fun surfing the boards or reading Mel's trip report without you reading the same thing across the room today. Miss you already!!! :(

Great installment...I admit I got a bit weepy reading it, especially at the end. Not only are you one lucky lady, but you're dh is pretty lucky to have you too! :cloud9: Now I get it about the WP express. But do yourself a favour next trip and make ADR's for WP West Side. TS. It's awesome!!! :thumbsup2

[aGoofyMom]

After lunch and a quick photo of the pin lanyard in case of further losses, we decide to go back to MK. We grab the bus to the Contemporary (sound familiar?) and want to take the monorail, but maybe relax this time. (Monorail, monorail, monorail, monorail – yes we are still singing it!) A CM greets us and informs us that the best way to the MK is to walk. (where were you on Friday?) We thank him, but tell him we want to ride the monorail anyways – last ride for this trip. Once on the Monorail, we meet up with a lady who is asking how long it will take to get to MK – she is late for CRT. Hey – we know this one! (She must have missed the guy in the lobby!) Get off at the next stop – TTC, and switch to the express monorail. We tell her our story, and assure her we were able to get in without a problem. I still wonder if she made it? She was meeting others in a large group…
Siri had to have her snack box for bag check again. The guard carefully inspected her snack box, and focused in on the M & M’s. He asked her if they were for him. She wasn’t quite sure how to respond. This is a guy in uniform doing a security check, but that was her chocolate. She managed to tell him no. A meek little no, but with enough certainty that she wasn’t giving up chocolate for ANYONE. We got a stroller, and discovered about the stroller rental following you from park to park during the day. Good to know – not that it had mattered to us…at this point.
We headed out and saw Baloo and King Louie there. After that photo op, we made a bee-line up Main Street. The parade was about to start, and we had already done that… Siri decided she wanted to go on Buzz hmm…Can’t help but wonder if that has anything to do with Connor’s gift and his favorite character being Buzz? I am just glad she was looking for something different. Less than a 20 minute wait – no worries. Siri decided Daddy should drive so she could play – we had squeezed into one car. :crowded: With the 6 foot dude in the middle. Hee hee! We came out just as the parade was ending – we had tried to locate our picture, but never did. Siri was running out of patience. We headed over to the Teacups, and the Honey Pots. The Honey Pots were our longest wait – again no Fast Pass co-ordination. I think DH will be more agreeable to these things next time. :idea: We waited 30 minutes. (I think I forgot that bit when I go back and read the earlier installments – sorry!) I also didn’t know until sometime on this trip that DH really likes Poohbear. He bought a Poohbear t-shirt on our Honeymoon. He was so insistent on that trip to not buy useless souvenirs, that I figured he bought it because it was on a clearance rack for only $5. He bought a Poohbear hat on our first full day of this trip – aha! pooh: (Next trip Crystal Palace for sure!)
We stopped to use more snack credits and have more ice cream. I also picked up one of those water bottle lanyards. We have an older Epcot one, and had picked up a new one at Epcot, but I decided since Siri liked it so much she needed her own. This way hers is different too. We headed off to Toontown after our snack, and Goofy’s Barnstormer. This is her new favourite ride. After finally getting the hang of this place, she is becoming a Daredevil. She loved it. She rode with Daddy so I sat in front of them and snapped a picture going up the first hill. Daddy was ducking & squirming. Apparently that is a high hill. For him. Not for us short folks! ;) At least next time, I may actually ride Space Mountain. Have I mentioned that in 5 trips, I have NOT made it on to Space Mountain? I was too chicken as a child, my sister was pg and too chicken in ’94 and on the honeymoon, it was closed due to a bird inside. Yep – saw it with the lights on riding the TTA. Maybe next time.
Anyways, back at the barn, we have to go again. Then we mosey on out to try for some dinner. Dinner at Pinocchio’s – I don’t know why I do this. I don’t really enjoy the food there. But yet I have probably eaten there every single visit. Bizarre tradition? Who knows. After dinner we head over to the shop in the Castle. Carl still hasn’t replaced my anniversary present and is insistent on doing so. Looking through the character sketches, I found my favourite. Goofy - you might think. No, Goofy is my hero, but “Our Hero” is my all time favourite. He is the flamingo with the yo-yo :yo-yo: in Fantasia 2000. The story line is called “Our Hero and the Snotty Six”. This movie was in theatres at a time when I was stressed beyond belief. Carl took me and for that flamingo storyline- I was laughing so hard I had tears streaming down my face and couldn’t stop. I love watching that bit, or listening to the music. The kind of release I got from the first viewing of it was huge. So now I have a sketch of my dude and it makes me smile and think of DH’s efforts to get my mind off my troubles. :cloud9: (My ever-splurging hubby got me a pair of crystal earrings there as well... :love: )
We move on to the Enchanted Tiki Room. One of my favourites. I have the original song on my MP3 player but I don’t mind the New Management either. The Princess had a catnap on the way over but was anxious to see the Tiki birds. Once she wakes up. I have played the song quite a bit I think. She got a little nervous at the Tiki Goddess but she did ok. She was dancing & a little mesmerized. Then a quick carpet ride and a few pin trades – she finally got the hang of that and even chose a Buzz pin from one CM – I swear it was all because of Connor! We figured it was time to head back. It would be an early morning to fly home. One last picture at the Mickey garden below the train station on the way out. Then a melancholy bus ride back to pack up. Why does DH even bother looking at me?? He should realize there will be misty eyes at the thought of leaving MK!! Deep breath - we will be back, 2009 (unless... :rolleyes: )

We still had one counter service credit left. 2 of our group had lunch on a certain stressful day. Carl decided during the packing that he couldn’t let it go. He went over and got a chicken strip meal at 9:30. Once the packing was done, and his “snack” finished. He decides he shouldn’t leave it in the room for us to smell all night. His hand was on the door when he realized his “jammies” were not the best bet for heading out of the room. With all the extra plastic bags, he tied it off & that worked. Time for lights out!!

Up next: the journey home.

[princessjv]

The last day always makes me sad too! The two worst things are leaving the last park of your visit and checking out...watching all of those happy people coming in for their first day...thinking, they are soo lucky!

[javamom]

good stuff :)

[Tanya90210]

The last moments are truly sad... makes me sad reading about other ppl's last moments...

[Lisa_Belle]

Up next: the journey home.

No, no, no :sad1:

[connorsmom911]

The parade was about to start, and we had already done that… Siri decided she wanted to go on Buzz hmm…Can’t help but wonder if that has anything to do with Connor’s gift and his favorite character being Buzz? ...Then a quick carpet ride and a few pin trades – she finally got the hang of that and even chose a Buzz pin from one CM – I swear it was all because of Connor!

It was all part of a master plan....mmmmmwwwwwwhhhhaaaaahhhhaaaa! :smooth:

Seriously, one of us has to buy into DVC pretty soon...this is going to get ridiculous!!! I'm not buying any trader pins for the October trip...dh said I'm not allowed to...can't wait to see what we end up spending on pins at retail!!! I'm sure I can sneak another couple home to magically appear in Siri's xmas stocking or something...hehehe!! :rolleyes1

Another great installment! Sorry it's coming to an end. Guess that means I'd better get another installment posted on mine soon! ;)

[aGoofyMom]

Thanks to everyone still reading & espcially those taking the time to reply - I love reading from you.

I figured I had better wrap this up before I head up north. Ok here goes nothing...

[connorsmom911]

uh....waiting!!

Have a good trip!!

[aGoofyMom]

soon :badpc:

bad laptop bad laptop! I have to use the other one...

soon!

[aGoofyMom]

May 8/Day 7

Up early to catch the Magical Express at 6ish. Ya know what? Even for morning person, there is nothing Magical about heading home that early. After Florida had been 45 days without rain, it looked like they wouldn’t be waiting much longer. DH cashed in a snack credit to get me a coffee (mugs were packed). We left 5 snack credits behind. Oh well. (a little math :teacher: after the fact and we still saved $100.) Siri was being a real trooper again. She was told she had to stay awake until we got on the plane. Then she could go back to sleep. The bus arrived and we found our seats. That was about when the rain started. I got all teary pulling away from ASMu. :sad1: One more stop at All Star Sports and we are headed to the airport. As we drove away from the Disney property – the princess still couldn’t wrap her head around how big the place is – I start to cry. :sad: Carl is sitting across the aisle trying to re-assure me we are coming back.
They started playing a movie about your next trip with Disney. You just can’t deny the Mouse and his marketing skill. Siri was pretty drowsy but promised to walk through the airport on her own. She was half watching the movie, and as she drifted off, she asked “When we come back Mommy, where will we stay?” I said I wasn’t sure, but we thought maybe Caribbean Beach, or the Contemporary, maybe the Grand Floridian or the Poly – why? She answered “Oh. I want to stay at All Star Sports.” She promptly fell asleep before I could ask why. If they had a glowing Mom smilie I would put it here. :goodvibes This guy will do. I got all teary again :sad: – Carl was getting bewildered. :confused3 I was fine again by the time we got to the airport.
Of course by then it was a complete downpour. Our driver announced that he would like everyone to stay on the bus and stay dry. In the time it took him to get soaked and get our luggage off, another bus had pulled up, emptied and pulled out. That’s ok – I was dry! We checked our luggage in and made our way to the gate. OH CRUMBS. Security again. Siri had woken up on the bus, and had pulled her little self together enough to manage her own carry on. Siri got very nervous. :scared: We talked, I encouraged and comforted. Scar was the comfort of choice for the day. Then, the guard said nope – we need a picture of your kitty. Beg Pardon? I tried to gently get it from her. The guard was behind the machine, reached over, past me and literally SNATCHED IT from her arms. :furious: Every parent, heck anyone who has seen a child knows what came next. HYSTERICS. Ok scoop her up and let’s go. She was beyond inconsolable. She was tired, and in no mood to have her comfort snatched away like that. The line was not that bad – the guard could have given me another chance to coax it from her. Ok – off to the side and calm down again. Off to the gate, and find a seat. I noticed a place just close to the gate with a fruit bowl on the breakfast menu. Exactly what the princess and I need. We sit down with food & coffee for Mommy with plenty of time. Siri is dividing her time between the older couple sitting across from us and just dancing :dance3: around – she has found her second wind after the fruit. In one of the many trips to the garbage can, I heard someone call my name. I turned around, and there is one of the girls from the front office of the Fire Department back home. NO WAY! She recognized my daughter first. Figures – I wasn’t in uniform – I know how that goes. So we chat – she had spent some time at a Condo with friends. She shared part of a sandwich with Siri. She had to be back at work the next day. I still had until Sunday. Yippee – back to work on Mother’s Day. And, we check out the plane – cool it is painted up as Shamu. We decide to line up for pre-boarding a little earlier this time. Once boarded, and the princess has chosen our seats, we relax and settle in for a snooze. After a peaceful, uneventful flight, we arrive in Buffalo 15 minutes early. The flight attendants sang “We love you, you love us, ‘cuz we’re faster than the bus” (every parent knows that tune!) and reminded us that had they been 15 minutes late, we would have told everyone we know, so make sure we tell everyone they were early. You have been told that Southwest Airlines provided a phenomenal service to us. And my DD is STILL singing that version of THAT song. :bitelip: (At least the plane wasn’t painted purple!!)
Once we gather luggage – hey it’s WET!!! We head out for the hotel shuttle. We wait. Everyone else gets their shuttle and goes. Now I am positive I was told by the hotel in Buffalo that their shuttle runs every 30 minutes. We have waited 30 minutes – no shuttle. I find a receipt, Carl calls. Oh – why didn’t we call sooner? Turns out we were supposed to call for pick up. Thanks for that. They will have someone there in no less than 20 minutes. I hope so - it is a 10 minute drive. Another 30 minutes later we are about to call back to advise them to expect a cab fare to be paid by them upon our arrival and the shuttle arrives. No apology or explanation offered. Oh – where are you parked, I will drop you off at your car. Great – keeping us away from the front desk & manager? You know what? At this point, I don’t care. Siri sees the front of the car and is completely disgusted-she is very vocal about how gross the bugs on the car look. She actually refused to get in for a bit. She wanted nothing to do with the “buggy car”. We finally manage to get her in and we have to get moving to avoid rush hour traffic at the bridge, and the highway home. An uneventful ride home and we unload the car. I wanted to open the suitcases right away. Good thing. The top layer or two of my suitcase were soaked as well. Remember the downpour at MCO? Well it really soaked our suitcases. Nothing but clothes got wet, thankfully. I am just so glad my sketch wasn’t damaged. Something to remember next time I pack!

So the princess never made it in to the Haunted Mansion. Next time I think we will be there several times. (After all she wants to try Scooby’s Haunted Mansion at Canada’s Wonderland later this week!)


My Magical Wishes Moment – the highlight of the trip for me? Turns out it was also the highlight of the trip for Siri –At the end of the school year she brought home a journal they had drawn pictures in every month. Her drawing for May – watching Fireworks with Mommy & Daddy – and she drew the Castle. Awesome! pixiedust:

Just the other night, Carl was coming up with ideas on making sure we visit WDW for MNSSHP and MVMCP – ok not this year, but whatever the celebration sometime soon. I think we have an official convert. :smooth: We will have to see if he appears here. But I won’t hold my breath. At least on him reading this or anything else here. He works on computers all day and won’t touch them much at home. (glad he’s not a chef – I would never eat!)

And re-creating all those pictures? I intended to put them together somewhere. Connorsmom had given me a tip about putting together a collage at the Walmart photo finishing area. My Walmart didn’t have that and hers, although closer to work, I just haven’t gotten there. Instead I went to another place and put my pictures together for a photo book. As I was putting it together, I realized it is 30 years since my first trip to Disney. I put together pictures of my first meeting with Disney, and the second and the third, along with Siri’s first meeting with Mickey. I have pictures of me & my sister on Dumbo together with Siri & DH on the same page… The book is going to be bound as a hardcover book (coffee table style book, not to look like a coffee table but like a published book) with 21 pages of 30 years of Disney Magic. I have one page with a picture of me, my sister and our Grandparents with Chip (or was it Dale?) from 1978. A picture of my sister & I with our parents & Pinnochio from the same trip & a picture of our family with Cinderella from this trip. I am hoping this book will be incentive for my parents to join us on our next trip. We have invited DH’s Aunt & Uncle (the in laws are beyond anything that can be mentioned here, and his Aunt & Uncle are close enough to be that almost second set of grandparents.) I should have the book in two weeks. Complete with it’s purple suede cover. (I didn’t choose purple – Siri did, with Daddy's help. Interesting how things work out isn't it :rolleyes: )

So until next time…hopefully next year…I will be living through everyone else’s magic here! :teeth:

[connorsmom911]

Oh sure, make me cry here at work...the new co-worker is already thinking I'm nuts, lets just rub it in!!! Miss you btw...Disneyspeak just doesn't have the same effect when I say it here...who we talkin' 'bout?!?! :lmao:

Wonderful installment...I hope you never lose that Disney magic that you've captured here. And I'm sure dh will poke his nose in here sometime...curiosity will get him, just like the cat. Can't wait to read the next trip report...and the next...and the next...

Get your list ready...what's my ticker reading now??

[javamom]

awwww so sweet, thanks for sharing your memories with us :)

[Tanya90210]

:goodvibes What an awesome Trip Report!! Thank you so much for sharing!!! :surfweb:

[mikamah]

What a great trip report. I really enjoyed it. It's always helpful to hear of others trips with their preschoolers, meltdowns and all. Also loved the pics. Your princess is adorable. I am envious of you and your coworker. I am travelling to WDW with my Disney Sister-in-law who is a lurker on the boards, and I wish she would join. It would be so fun to share our love of disney on the Disboards. Maybe some day I'll see you here Krumpette. Thanks for sharing your magical memories.

[Lisa_Belle]

Great report! I hate it that your trip is over now, but at least you'll have that nice book coming in a couple of weeks so that you and Siri can relive the magic until your next trip.

Lisa