jsmla
12-18-2001, 03:49 PM
Here we go again:
Me (41) Mother, daughter and hostess. Confirmed Disney nut.
Sam (16) Son. The Cursed One.
Liz (14) Daughter. Successful Nutcracker Angel. Quickly learning her value.
Mom/Grandma (Aquarius) Trip savior.
Liya (15) The Contrite
Saturday November 17, 2001 9:00 am
I graciously allow everyone to sleep in till the unseemly hour of 7:30 and we depart the HIFS for Epcot. Looking around the parking lot I notice that there are a lot more cars than last night. The Thanksgiving crowds are beginning to roll in. Once again the drive is less than 5 minutes. This hotel really is very close to Epcot. Parking and security check are quick and the turnstiles are already open. We wait near Spaceship Earth for the ubiquitous rope drop next to a Hispanic family with a VERY excited 9ish looking son. He’s definitely going to give me a run for my money in the race to Test Track. Actually, our plan is to get Fast Passes for this and see the attractions in Wonders of Life first. This, however, is not to be. A Cast Member tells us that the FP machines are down for maintenance. I survey the growing crowds and decide it’s time. The dreaded moment. WE’RE GOING TO HAVE TO SEPARATE FROM MOM! Now, my mom is the most wonderful person you could ever hope to meet. She is kind, she is patient, she is loving, she is very, very intelligent. She also has a talent for disappearing. Once she and my dad lost each other for two hours in the Houston Galleria. They were to meet at “the sign”. They were both at “the sign” at the duly appointed hour. Unfortunately, they were on opposite sides of “the sign”, for two hours. My dad still talks about this one. I was inches from becoming the product of a broken home. I digress; Mom is unreasonable enough to dislike unruly hordes rushing at top speeds to get tossed around like underwear in the dryer. Since she won’t be riding I suggest she meet us at the exit. I explain the route, describe the building and suggest a meeting point. She nods and smiles; I cross my fingers and pray.
9:45 am: Liz and Liya have wandered off to freshen up. I have no doubt that Liya has every intention to make prompt and legitimate use of the bathroom. Liz, however, has never met a mirror she doesn’t like.
The minutes tick away. A huge crowd has formed behind us. The nine-year-old is in a three-point stance. Our little band has been reduced to Sam and myself. Sam votes for leaving the girls to fend for themselves.
9:59 am: Liz and Liya sashay up. Liz is looking particularly fresh. Fortunately there’s no time for fighting. The rope drops and, oh my goodness! What begins as a rush to be at the front of the line quickly becomes a battle for survival. I know most of you have seen The Lion King. Well, remember that wildebeest stampede? No dignified walking behind the rope here. I haven’t moved that fast since college. We arrive near the front, all four of us and the nine-year-old. His family is nowhere to be seen and the mom in me kicks in.
Me: “Where is your mother?”
Boy: Shrug
Me: “Isn’t she riding with you?”
Boy: Shrug
Me: “Well, stay here by us.”
Boy: Eye roll
There is a lull in the action and I spot the mom wildly shouting and clawing her way through the crowd. I jump up and down and wave and a somewhat less than joyous reunion occurs. She thanks me and lays into him. I don’t understand Spanish but there is an international inflection of voice I call the Frantic and Furious Mother. I’m pretty sure our little bud won’t be pulling that stunt again! The lull continues and a massive crowd forms behind us. No sign of Mom.
10:15(ish): We’re finally ready to board. The roaring of the cars has alarmed Liya but we convince her to ride. Once again she enjoys it and emerges looking only mildly shaken. After only a slight, if panicked, search we find Mom. Since the park looks pretty crowded she and I go to get Fast Passes for Honey I Shrunk the Audience while the kids go to ride Body Wars. I should have known better. Far from the eyes and ears of myself Liya and Sam have chosen to indulge in another spat. As a result Mom and I enter Wonders of Life to find Sam on a bench looking grim. The girls are riding without him. I won’t go into the wearisome details but somehow during the course of their time together Liz does the impossible. She gets Liya to apologize! Let me say we are all very impressed. Mom, Sam and I ride Body Wars while the girls play with the exhibits. Next, we’re off to see Cranium Command, which is a family favorite. Thinking it must be getting close to our FP time for HISTA I reach into my bag for the passes. I reach a little further. I dig, I unzip, I empty, I recheck. The passes aren’t there. Our FPs and our admission tickets are gone! I empty my pockets. I turn the bag inside out. I finally have to face it; they’re just not there. Thinking that maybe they fell out on Body Wars I send Liz and Liya to look. Mom suggests checking Cranium Command, but no, I’m sure they’re on Body Wars. (They’re not, of course.) Mom heads off to Cranium Command while I sit, go through my bag again and grieve. Sam goofs off. Mom returns triumphant. Always listen to your mother.
We have missed our FP time so we check on the wait time at Ellen’s Energy Adventure. It’s just beginning so we go in. I really prefer this version to the old one especially since I’m a big Jeopardy fan. We get into the next showing of HISTA even though the show is full. Found Mom, found passes, Liya apologizing, Lady Luck is with me today. The kids have their picture made at the Image Works (Is it still called that?) Left to right they are Liya, Liz and Sam..
http://www.geocities.com/cavefishdp/LiyaDisney.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/cavefishdp/LiyaDisney.jpg
11:55 am: It’s time for Norway. We ride Maelstrom where Sam tries to convince Liya we’ll be going over the waterfall. I’ll leave the rest to your imagination. After Maelstrom we pick up Fast Passes for the Land and have a snack. After all, Liz hasn’t had any sugar for 3 hours. She and Liya have ice cream and Sam has fries. (Hey, they’re my kids, not yours) Mom and I opt for vegetable soup. We ride Listen to the Land and see The Living Seas (the ride is closed) and call it a morning.
Me (41) Mother, daughter and hostess. Confirmed Disney nut.
Sam (16) Son. The Cursed One.
Liz (14) Daughter. Successful Nutcracker Angel. Quickly learning her value.
Mom/Grandma (Aquarius) Trip savior.
Liya (15) The Contrite
Saturday November 17, 2001 9:00 am
I graciously allow everyone to sleep in till the unseemly hour of 7:30 and we depart the HIFS for Epcot. Looking around the parking lot I notice that there are a lot more cars than last night. The Thanksgiving crowds are beginning to roll in. Once again the drive is less than 5 minutes. This hotel really is very close to Epcot. Parking and security check are quick and the turnstiles are already open. We wait near Spaceship Earth for the ubiquitous rope drop next to a Hispanic family with a VERY excited 9ish looking son. He’s definitely going to give me a run for my money in the race to Test Track. Actually, our plan is to get Fast Passes for this and see the attractions in Wonders of Life first. This, however, is not to be. A Cast Member tells us that the FP machines are down for maintenance. I survey the growing crowds and decide it’s time. The dreaded moment. WE’RE GOING TO HAVE TO SEPARATE FROM MOM! Now, my mom is the most wonderful person you could ever hope to meet. She is kind, she is patient, she is loving, she is very, very intelligent. She also has a talent for disappearing. Once she and my dad lost each other for two hours in the Houston Galleria. They were to meet at “the sign”. They were both at “the sign” at the duly appointed hour. Unfortunately, they were on opposite sides of “the sign”, for two hours. My dad still talks about this one. I was inches from becoming the product of a broken home. I digress; Mom is unreasonable enough to dislike unruly hordes rushing at top speeds to get tossed around like underwear in the dryer. Since she won’t be riding I suggest she meet us at the exit. I explain the route, describe the building and suggest a meeting point. She nods and smiles; I cross my fingers and pray.
9:45 am: Liz and Liya have wandered off to freshen up. I have no doubt that Liya has every intention to make prompt and legitimate use of the bathroom. Liz, however, has never met a mirror she doesn’t like.
The minutes tick away. A huge crowd has formed behind us. The nine-year-old is in a three-point stance. Our little band has been reduced to Sam and myself. Sam votes for leaving the girls to fend for themselves.
9:59 am: Liz and Liya sashay up. Liz is looking particularly fresh. Fortunately there’s no time for fighting. The rope drops and, oh my goodness! What begins as a rush to be at the front of the line quickly becomes a battle for survival. I know most of you have seen The Lion King. Well, remember that wildebeest stampede? No dignified walking behind the rope here. I haven’t moved that fast since college. We arrive near the front, all four of us and the nine-year-old. His family is nowhere to be seen and the mom in me kicks in.
Me: “Where is your mother?”
Boy: Shrug
Me: “Isn’t she riding with you?”
Boy: Shrug
Me: “Well, stay here by us.”
Boy: Eye roll
There is a lull in the action and I spot the mom wildly shouting and clawing her way through the crowd. I jump up and down and wave and a somewhat less than joyous reunion occurs. She thanks me and lays into him. I don’t understand Spanish but there is an international inflection of voice I call the Frantic and Furious Mother. I’m pretty sure our little bud won’t be pulling that stunt again! The lull continues and a massive crowd forms behind us. No sign of Mom.
10:15(ish): We’re finally ready to board. The roaring of the cars has alarmed Liya but we convince her to ride. Once again she enjoys it and emerges looking only mildly shaken. After only a slight, if panicked, search we find Mom. Since the park looks pretty crowded she and I go to get Fast Passes for Honey I Shrunk the Audience while the kids go to ride Body Wars. I should have known better. Far from the eyes and ears of myself Liya and Sam have chosen to indulge in another spat. As a result Mom and I enter Wonders of Life to find Sam on a bench looking grim. The girls are riding without him. I won’t go into the wearisome details but somehow during the course of their time together Liz does the impossible. She gets Liya to apologize! Let me say we are all very impressed. Mom, Sam and I ride Body Wars while the girls play with the exhibits. Next, we’re off to see Cranium Command, which is a family favorite. Thinking it must be getting close to our FP time for HISTA I reach into my bag for the passes. I reach a little further. I dig, I unzip, I empty, I recheck. The passes aren’t there. Our FPs and our admission tickets are gone! I empty my pockets. I turn the bag inside out. I finally have to face it; they’re just not there. Thinking that maybe they fell out on Body Wars I send Liz and Liya to look. Mom suggests checking Cranium Command, but no, I’m sure they’re on Body Wars. (They’re not, of course.) Mom heads off to Cranium Command while I sit, go through my bag again and grieve. Sam goofs off. Mom returns triumphant. Always listen to your mother.
We have missed our FP time so we check on the wait time at Ellen’s Energy Adventure. It’s just beginning so we go in. I really prefer this version to the old one especially since I’m a big Jeopardy fan. We get into the next showing of HISTA even though the show is full. Found Mom, found passes, Liya apologizing, Lady Luck is with me today. The kids have their picture made at the Image Works (Is it still called that?) Left to right they are Liya, Liz and Sam..
http://www.geocities.com/cavefishdp/LiyaDisney.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/cavefishdp/LiyaDisney.jpg
11:55 am: It’s time for Norway. We ride Maelstrom where Sam tries to convince Liya we’ll be going over the waterfall. I’ll leave the rest to your imagination. After Maelstrom we pick up Fast Passes for the Land and have a snack. After all, Liz hasn’t had any sugar for 3 hours. She and Liya have ice cream and Sam has fries. (Hey, they’re my kids, not yours) Mom and I opt for vegetable soup. We ride Listen to the Land and see The Living Seas (the ride is closed) and call it a morning.