A new baby, six months off...and Disney? WHY NOT!!!!

[belle8306]

I love the Wilderness Lodge pics. What do you think about doing Whispering Canyon in 2010? The milk shakes looked good. Although, the only thing that I like in bublegum flavor is bublegum. I am looking forward to more!

 

[FairyGodmotherJen]

Sounds like another great day! I'm sorry you had so many problems getting the little ones to eat! Although, it sounds very familiar to me...

As for WL and the ferry, we stayed at WL in 06 and never had a problem with the ferry service. There was always a ferry within 10 minutes of us arriving. One early morning we had a breakfast ADR for CRT and went to catch the ferry to MK. Little did I know there wasn't one at that hour!! Yikes! Luckily the very nice CM who was the captain of the boat to the Contemporary told me that and we got on with her and took the monorail to MK! In 06 WL and FW shared a ferry. That was the only the issue we had. We had to make another stop 1/2 the time. I believe they both now have their own ferry. We found the ferry much more relaxing then the bus and walk not bad and beautiful! I definitely recommend staying there! Ok, I sound like travel book now!

Can't wait to read more!

Good to hear about WL - it's actually a deluxe that might be within our reach some day! Also glad to hear that someone else struggles with picky kids! Although, it might be more of a general phase for Goofy - he hasn't gotten any better since the trip. He just isn't interested in eating. Snacking, on the other hand, is one of his favorite passtimes...

I love the Wilderness Lodge pics. What do you think about doing Whispering Canyon in 2010? The milk shakes looked good. Although, the only thing that I like in bublegum flavor is bublegum. I am looking forward to more!

The milkshakes were great, but DH and I weren't big on the rest of the evening. We'll have to keep it on the list for now, though. DH wants to take his dad for the milkshakes, too!

I have half of an update written, but it's on DH's laptop (wrote it while Tink was at gymnastics yesterday). I will hopefully have it up by tomorrow! Thanks for the encouragement!!

 

[DisneyMom5]

Hey, I'm returning the favor and reading your report.

Well, actually I'm subscribing to your report, but I will be back to read it all later.

Off to make dinner!

 

[FairyGodmotherJen]

Hey, I'm returning the favor and reading your report.

Well, actually I'm subscribing to your report, but I will be back to read it all later.

Off to make dinner!

Welcome!!!

 

[FairyGodmotherJen]

Day 4 – Epcot

The alarm didn’t go off today!!! At least, the electric alarm didn’t go off. Pooh, on the other hand, went off at 6:30. But that was late for him, and this was the first time during the trip he hadn’t been up at all during the night, so we’ll take it! We let the older two wake up whenever (which isn’t very late when you’re all crammed in together, but that’s ok) and ate a leisurely breakfast in the room. It is something we did for the first time on our last trip – not rush out to a park first thing! It was unheard of for us at Disney, but we were hooked. This was such a peaceful morning!

We went swimming all together this time (since we were out before 10, I didn’t feel bad taking Pooh). So there are no pictures since no one stayed dry. But it was great to just play in the water with the kids. Pooh isn’t a fan of being cold, so he didn’t last in the water too long, but between DH and I we had it covered.

We went back to the room, hit the showers and were dressed and ready to go ALMOST at the time I wanted to be. It’s inevitable with us, I swear.

This was our one and only Epcot day. Our plan was to eat our lunch at Garden Grill then spend the entire day at Epcot, ending with Illuminations (hopefully!). Since we wanted the kids to last a while, and it was supposed to be hot again, we decided we’d fork out the money ($31!!!!!!) for a stroller. We were glad we did it for the day, but whose budget allows for this every day???!!? Of course, getting to the bus stop late, and waiting longer for a bus than we had been (but we’d been having REALLY good luck with buses up until then) got us there just in time for lunch. I took the confirmation number and Pooh and headed to The Land while DH took Tink and Goofy to get the stroller.

I checked in once I got to the restaurant and waited for the others. While I was standing there, several people walked up and headed to the counter and were told it would only be about a half hour wait. I know for a fact at least one of those families got in sooner than that (closer to 15 minutes). This is something to keep in mind – even during free dining, it was fairly easy to get in here, at least for lunch. And as you’ll see, this was one of our favorite meals. The character interaction is ending sometime this fall, though, so I don’t know what will become of this place.

We were seated shortly after DH and the kids caught up with us. We were on the top tier, and had a great view (though I don’t think many seats have a bad view here). If you’re not familiar with the restaurant, it rotates slowly through some of the scenes from the “Living with the Land” ride. It was neat, and made me want to ride the attraction. Goofy, however, had a different reaction. The four-year-old-fear-thing reared its head again, and he spent most of this meal on a lap. We finally figured out, at the end of the meal as we were leaving, that the reason he’d been telling us to hurry because we had to leave was not just because he didn’t like the noises. He honestly thought that the exit was only available when we could see it! I wish we’d have figured this out before. We spent a lot of time trying to reassure him that it was ok – we didn’t really understand what he was afraid of, and if we had we probably could’ve helped him a whole lot more! Tink loved the different views, though.

This meal is served family style. They have a kid’s selection, too, which is the standard chicken nuggets, French fries and mac & cheese. The adult menu is great – marinated flank steak, southern-fried catfish, rotisserie chicken, fresh green beans, cheesy potato casserole and oatmeal pull-apart rolls. I think there’s a salad that’s grown there in The Land that’s only served at dinner. Everything we had was yummy!! I got to eat all of the catfish, since DH doesn’t do fish. We ended up asking for more of the steak and the potatoes when our very attentive server came around. For dessert, we had a yummy berry turnover-type thing. The kids got make-your-own cupcakes, which they LOVED (and which finally got them to eat a little!).

This is also a character meal (at the moment). It was Chip and Dale, Pluto and Mickey.

They were all great – lots of time was spent at each table, and they actually came back around during the course of our meal and played (since the pictures/autographs were over) with the kids – including Pooh.

He seems to get a kick out of Chip and Dale. The kids really had fun here, and DH and I would come back without hesitation. I just wish I knew what they were going to do here now!

After we finished, DH asked me if I wanted a Fast Pass for Soarin’. There’s a bit of a story behind this – on our first “our family only” trip back in 2005, we put Future World off until the last day and it was the only day that the crowds prohibited us from doing rides. Soarin’ was one of those rides we didn’t get to do. Of course, it was the only ride that I’d really wanted to try just for me! So last summer, DH was determined I would ride it. Actually, we all rode it. I loved it – the kids, not so much. And we couldn’t all ride it this time because of Pooh. So I went ahead and let him get me a Fast Pass while I got the kids downstairs. To my surprise, he came back with a Fast Pass time about 40 minutes from the current time! I couldn’t believe it. He said the standby wait was about 30 minutes. When I took the time to look at the Tip Board, the wait was listed as 20 minutes for Soarin’ and 30 for Mission Space. I loved going at this time of year!!

While I waited for my Fast Pass, we went to the Seas with Nemo and Friends.

This had been a highlight of our last trip. In fact, my kids had never seen Finding Nemo when we went last year. But we now were major Nemo fans (actually, they were hooked the moment they went on the ride – we came home with a stuffed Squirt for Goofy – his pick!). So we walked through the empty queue and jumped on our Clam Mobiles. This is a bit of a basic ride to me, but the kids love it. We went straight from there to Turtle Talk, since it was only an 8 minute wait when we got there. Tink was able to ask a question last trip, so DH was helping her come up with one to ask in case she got picked this time, too. And (thanks to her hat, I think), she did! She asked how Squirt was doing. We learned that he’s just starting the third grade, but is “totally surfing on a fifth-grade level, dude.” I love that show! It’s so much fun to watch the kids interact with him.

While we were leaving Crush, Goofy kept insisting that we needed to go “switch the sharks.” He was adamant that this was something he’d done last time we were here, but we couldn’t figure out what he was talking about. It turns out it was this:

You have to turn the wheel to match up the shark and fish heads/bodies. It’s odd what they remember!! After the obligatory picture with Bruce

And the other sharks

Tink remembered something, as well. She wanted to do the Kidcot stop upstairs. So we jumped the escalator and headed up. At this point, we would be able to get more Fast Passes, so DH took Pooh and left to get one for Mission Space for him and three for Test Track, since Tink and I wanted to try this one this year. Tink, Goofy and I had fun making their Kidcot things.

If you’ve never done this before, there are places at just about every attraction where the kids can add something to a necklace-type thing that they wear. At The Seas, Tink colored a dolphin and Goofy colored a shark for their little collection. (It’s different in World Showcase – more on that later). We then went to see the tail end of a manatee presentation, and we watched them for a little while. Goofy and Tink were actually pretty darn interested in the story behind these animals and why they’re endangered. The teacher in me loved explaining things to them that they heard in the video, especially since I was obsessed with sea life as a kid myself. We also caught the beginning of a dolphin session in the big tank, but it was pretty crowded and hard to see, so we only stayed for a little while.

We met back up with DH and walked to the fountains near the Imagination pavilion so that they could play while I road Soarin’. I didn’t remember, at first, that the Fast Pass line had a wait, too. I’d been waiting about 10 minutes in the line, and I was worried about DH and the kids getting bored. I sent him a text reminding him of the other water play area and telling him to move on with the kids if he wanted to. Of course, as I was sending it a CM came and asked if there were any single riders. Yeah!! I managed to shave off a decent amount of wait time this way. Of course, DH called me back as I was taking off on the ride, so I couldn’t really do anything. I was just a little disappointed – I was placed on the very end of the middle row, so I could see the edge of the screen unless I turned my head to focus on the middle. It was also a lot more focused in the middle, so I ended up just staying turned. I still enjoyed the flight, though, and headed out to meet with DH as, it turns out, they were just heading out. (He didn’t remember where the other play area was). When I found them, they were doing this:

“But it’ll keep me cool, Mommy!”

We made a pit stop at Club Cool (they hadn’t been in the air conditioning this whole time like I had). Just for the record, you can do the slushies here (NOT in the build-your-own cups) for a snack credit. Neither of my kids drink sodas (for once, the pickiness is good!) so this was a good option for us. Of course, Tink doesn’t do slushies, either, but Goofy would live on them if I’d let him!!

We decided to split up again. I’d keep the kids at the water area while DH went to Mission Space. Then we’d switch, and Tink and I would go to Test Track first, with DH heading in afterwards. It turned out that it was a good thing that Goofy decided that all these rides were too much for him (he’d been ready to ride Test Track until we got there – I wouldn’t want him to do Mission Space yet!), because he immediately got COMPLETELY SOAKED. I mean, to-the-bone, head-to-toe soaked. I know lots of people suggest that you bring bathing suits for this. Well, I couldn’t fit all of Pooh’s stuff plus ponchos (just in case) and bathing suits in the backpack!! As you can see from the pictures below, Tink tiptoed around, getting only her legs and feet wet. For Goofy, though, there was no going back!

DH left for Mission Space and I stayed with Pooh (who needed to nap) and the two water babies. Of course, five minutes after DH had left, the cooler water got to Goofy and he needed a potty break!! AAAHHHH!! I had no idea where the bathrooms were, neither kid had shoes on, Pooh was screaming because he was overtired and having trouble falling asleep, and Goofy was doing the peepee dance. I had to get moving – and then my phone rang. DH, it turned out, had forgotten his Fast Pass when he left everything behind to ride! I told him what was going on and he hurried over, arriving just as I was throwing Goofy’s socks and shoes back on. Apparently it was a close call, but they made it. Tink had made a little friend, so she was completely happy to stay and play, and while the boys were gone Pooh finally gave out and went to sleep. When DH came back, he was shaking his head at how very wet Goofy was. He took a little video of Goofy letting the jets of water go straight up the back of his shirt, and then took off again. I finally had to have Goofy get out of the water so I could wring out his shirt and socks (he’d taken them back off and put them into a puddle, of course) and put them on the railing to dry at least a little.

For the record, Mission Space is a long ride!! Even though DH walked right on, he was gone over a half hour. Of course, he did make a purchase in the gift shop as he was leaving…and it was a sale item, so you know he had to have searched for it! Anyway, he got back and started to put Goofy back together, and Tink and I headed off for Test Track. We both enjoyed this, especially the outside ride, and Tink went on again with DH with another Fast Pass he’d picked up on his way back from Mission Space.

While they were gone, Goofy, Pooh and I toured Mouse Gear. I love this store! I could buy half of it. I did end up making my one non-pin souvenir purchase here. I got a ladies’ Mickey T – the bling version, since Mickey is all sparkly. I don’t think I’ve ever bought a t-shirt at Disney since our little family started coming, so it was fun. Of course, I realized yesterday that I can’t wear it when I’m going to be home with Pooh. He was covered with black glitter yesterday!
(continued...)

 

[FairyGodmotherJen]

Once DH and Tink returned, we were all starting to run on fumes between the heat and (in the kids’ case) lack of food. It was after 5, so we headed towards World Showcase for the one meal I KNEW the kids would eat – Refreshment Port.

For those of you that are not familiar with this esteemed eating establishment…it’s a McDonald’s.

Yes, my children ate McDonald’s chicken nuggets in World Showcase.

Well, at least they ate!

Anyway…as soon as the kids had their McNuggets, I went with Pooh in search of my first Baby Care Center experience. The Baby Care Center in Epcot is in the best location, I think, because it’s more in the middle of the park (behind the Odyssey building, kind of in between WS and Future World. I can’t say enough about the Baby Care Centers! They are cool, quiet, places to recharge with your baby. Actually, I wish I’d have known – my whole family could have relaxed in the air conditioning while I nursed! As it was, I left DH with the older two and found the place on my own, figuring there wouldn’t be much there. I was very wrong! The nursing room was quiet, with comfortable chairs. Pooh loved it – he became much more animated once we were in there. I’m thinking it was due to the fact that he wasn’t baking out in the heat (a drawback to not being able to ride many of the rides!!) and he wasn’t being constantly over stimulated. There is also a separate changing area in each center, as well as an area for resting (usually with a TV and/or toys) and an area where you can purchase baby items. The MK center even had a room full of high chairs and a microwave where you could heat up baby food! I seriously wish more people knew about these. I mean, I’ve come across posts about them here and there on the DIS, but I didn’t realize what a great resource they were.

So, Pooh and I returned, refreshed, to find that the kids had FINALLY FINISHED A MEAL, and were eating a few snack credits worth of ice cream cones as a reward (I know, but it was so uncommon on this trip!!!).

(Yes, he's still wet! He was still wet when we put his pajamas on that evening!!!)
So they were feeling pretty good, too. Unfortunately, DH was not. He was hot and hungry, so we immediately headed towards the WS counter service restaurant we’d been planning to look at – Tangerine Café in Morocco. We’d eaten at Marrakesh in 2005, but hadn’t really been able to work a return trip in since for one reason or another. I was tempted to stop and tour the first few countries we passed , but when DH needs to eat, he needs to eat. He did manage to take a good photo of Canada (so pretty!), and we saw the entrance, at least, to Le Cellier (someday, I’d really like to try that place, after hearing so much about it here).

We arrived in Morocco and decided we liked the looks of Tangerine Café’s menu, so I sat with the kids while DH went to order his food. It was at this point, as Pooh decided he’d rather we have chosen an air-conditioned place to eat (the only drawback of Tangerine Café), that I realized we’d lost the pacifier. The last time we remembered having it was when I was trying to get him to sleep at the water play area. We searched through the backpack, the stroller – everything. No pacifier to be seen!! Now, we had two more back in the room (we’re not completely stupid), but none with us. And it was only about 6 or 6:30 – we really didn’t want to head back. So we worked on getting him to settle with some cereal while we ate. It wasn’t the most relaxing meal, let me tell you. I finally got up with the kids and went out to explore the fountain in the courtyard with the kids while DH finished his baklava in peace. My kids love fountains, so it’s cheap entertainment!

We’d been out there a few minutes when something caught my eye – Aladdin and the Genie were across the way! I yelled to DH through the window where we were going and high-tailed it over there with the kids (he ended up joining us in time to take pictures, as you can see below). We’d never seen these particular characters before, so we were excited. Well, Tink and I were. Goofy, for some reason, wanted nothing to do with them, so we didn’t push him. Pooh got a kick out of them, though, and Aladdin came right up to him and interacted with him for a few minutes. Pooh also seems to be drawn to the color blue, so you can see him just staring at the Genie in these pictures.

We all got packed back in the strollers and ready to head out.

It was time to hunt down some KidCot masks for the kids. We finally tracked one down in Japan, and the kids got a kick out of them.

We spent the rest of our time in WS browsing the different lands and stopping at all of the KidCot stops we could find.

By the way - I'm glad that Disney has a sponsor so that these stations can stay running, but WHY does it have to be Sharpie??? Goofy had permanent marker on his hands, legs and arms by the time we were done...

We didn’t get all of them, and Tink has said she wants to try to get them all in 2010. I think we’re going to need to do Epcot in two days that trip – one day starting early and ending earlier getting though Future World, and another day (starting later and staying out later) hitting WS.

At this point, we found a spot for Illuminations just off to the side of Cantina San Angel there in Mexico where there was a bench and a larger area to park the stroller. I was so excited to actually be getting to see it! DH took off to find a frozen espresso treat he’d seen earlier, and a soft pretzel for the kids. No luck on the espresso treat (this wasn’t his day) – the machine was broken, or they were out, or something. But we all settled in to wait (it was about 8:20 or so when we got our spot). We were right up against the railing, and there was another couple on the bench, but that was it. Tink and Goofy could sit in the stroller, and DH and I could take turns on the bench. We were pretty well set.

We had fun talking with the other couple, snacking, and (in DH’s case) getting the cameras ready. He videotaped it, but no pictures - too much going on!! The kids also passed on a little pixie dust of their own. I had a baggie of stickers from the dollar store for each of them (Cars for Goofy, Princesses for Tink), and I told them that they were magic stickers because we could give them to people who were hot and tired to make them smile. Goofy, with the sweet heart he has, said, “Yep, Mommy. See my face? I’m smiling! It’s because you gave me a sticker!” I had put one on his shirt just before this. So, they both had their light-up toys we’d bought them back in 2005 (best money we’ve ever spent – they’ve lasted through three trips, and I put them away each time so they’re “new” again) and a baggie full of stickers to share. Tink, in particular, couldn’t wait to give away her stickers. We had a great time passing them along.

Finally, the opening narration for Illuminations started. I LOVED the part where he says, something about hoping we enjoy Illuminations: Reflections of Earth and then it sounds like he’s blowing out all of the torches that have been lit!! Awesome!

It turns out, the globe that’s usually used for this show was being refurbished at the time (of course!!!). But I loved the show anyway. We’d gotten copies of the CD with all the music from the Millennium Celebration back in 2000, so the soundtrack was familiar to me (I have always really liked that CD!). The kids covered their ears, and remarked that “The fire was really, REALLY hot!” since you could feel it all the way out where we were on the shore, but they both really seemed to like it. And, since I held Pooh up against me so one ear was against my cheek and covered his other ear with my free hand, he was ok during it, too – only jumped a few times.

Then it was over, and we had to head back. Now, we’d gotten a spot near Mexico to make it easier to slip right out and not wait in that huge line for a bus. But by the time we packed everything back up, there was no escaping it. So, we made the best of it – enjoying more music from the CD that I liked so well (I really enjoy the song that accompanied that really cool parade they had in 2000 – with the guys on the stilts, remember?), walking slowly and attempting to take pictures, waving at the Cast Members as they waved goodbye to us. It was really enjoyable, especially because we had control of the children and I didn’t have to worry about someone getting separated. We ended up stopping at the really big pin kiosk there by the fountains. I got two pins – a summer 2008 pin and one that’s got Mickey in the umbrella scene from Singing in the Rain (my all-time favorite movie musical) that I just adore. Then we slowly made our way over to return the stroller, and our two wonderful older children didn’t complain even once on the way to the buses! We had a bit of a wait, but nowhere near as bad as I’d feared (probably a combination of low crowd levels and taking our time to get there). We talked to a very pleasant couple from New Jersey that had been for a parent’s night out that evening as we waited. DH made yet a few more friends on the bus ride home (he was standing, of course) and was trying to sell them on MNSSHP (yes, he is hooked).

We got back to the hotel, put the kids in bed

and DH went for ice cream for the two of us, since we hadn’t had a treat yet that night (hey – we were on vacation!). He ran into the huge crowds I’d run into the night before, and was amazed! Then we settled in to watch the Colts LOOSE their home opener at the new stadium (which, I have to say, is really cool to go to – our high school played there in a fundraiser for Peyton Manning’s charity and we got to go), which was a bummer. But then we had to go to bed. Currently, the plan was to hit THREE (yes, I said three) different parks/areas the next day – AK for the Nemo musical, Downtown Disney so that DH could pick up the items he hadn’t gotten our first night, and MK because we always end there. Let me also note that we had a 9:20 ADR at Chef Mickey’s for breakfast, which was going to seriously affect our ability to do all of this. PLUS, we realized that it was an early morning EMH at AK the next day…and we’d be getting there 2-3 hours later. I was getting worried about this combination. Stay tuned to see how it went!!

 

[belle8306]

I love Epcot! Two days there in 2010 would be fine with me! I love the picture with all three kids sitting in the strollers looking at the maps. I know how much they love those maps! Your pins sound cool! I love Singing in the Rain! We need to have a musical marathon day (with scrapbooking and chocolate of course). I really want to see Illuminations this time. I am hoping that we can do it. I also want to do Test Track. I think our DH's rode it together last time. The food sounded good. I wonder what is going to happen with Garden Grill? I guess the characters at Liberty Tree Tavern end in January. Hopefully, Disney has some cool replacement character meals coming out. Giving away the stickers was a good idea! Oh, and the sleeping kids picture was cute too! (Lilo made the trip!). I like the shirt you had on. Is that from the Disney store? I am going to try to update my PTR tonight. Great update!

 

[DisneyMom5]

Ok, just read the whole thing, so here's my random comments:

We go through Indy on our way to WDW. We take 65 down to TN, then across to Chattanooga, then 75 down to FL.

If you decide to go, I can recommend a hotel in Chattanooga. Let me know!

Garden Grill is eliminating a lunch seating, but I think it will still have characters at night???

Glad to hear baby tolerated it all so well! Like I said on my TR, if we were ever to be in that situation, it's good to know it could be done!

Love the MNSSHP shirts! Good job to your DH!

Sounds like you had a much better day the day at Epcot.

Looking forward to the rest!

 

[FairyGodmotherJen]

I love Epcot! Two days there in 2010 would be fine with me! I love the picture with all three kids sitting in the strollers looking at the maps. I know how much they love those maps! Your pins sound cool! I love Singing in the Rain! We need to have a musical marathon day (with scrapbooking and chocolate of course). I really want to see Illuminations this time. I am hoping that we can do it. I also want to do Test Track. I think our DH's rode it together last time. The food sounded good. I wonder what is going to happen with Garden Grill? I guess the characters at Liberty Tree Tavern end in January. Hopefully, Disney has some cool replacement character meals coming out. Giving away the stickers was a good idea! Oh, and the sleeping kids picture was cute too! (Lilo made the trip!). I like the shirt you had on. Is that from the Disney store? I am going to try to update my PTR tonight. Great update!

The kids really enjoyed giving out the stickers. I can't take credit for the idea, though - I know I must've gotten it from the DIS! Sign me up for the musical/scrapbooking/chocolate day!!!

Ok, just read the whole thing, so here's my random comments:

We go through Indy on our way to WDW. We take 65 down to TN, then across to Chattanooga, then 75 down to FL.

If you decide to go, I can recommend a hotel in Chattanooga. Let me know!

Garden Grill is eliminating a lunch seating, but I think it will still have characters at night???

Glad to hear baby tolerated it all so well! Like I said on my TR, if we were ever to be in that situation, it's good to know it could be done!

Love the MNSSHP shirts! Good job to your DH!

Sounds like you had a much better day the day at Epcot.

Looking forward to the rest!

If we decide to drive (we really are leaning that way for several reasons), we just might take you up on the offer of a hotel reco,mendation!

Oh, I hope you're right about Garden Grill!! Maybe I read it wrong. I really think it's a good meal and great interaction. It was definitely empty at lunch, though, so maybe it's just that they can't keep that up!

Thanks for reading!

 

[FairyGodmotherJen]

We woke up with Pooh again today. Our plan was to try and arrive (and be seated) early for our 9:20 ADR at Chef Mickey’s, then head out. We had three things to hit today: AK for the Finding Nemo musical, Downtown Disney, and MK. We always spend our last afternoon/evening in the MK. It just wouldn’t feel like vacation without it.

Our Magical Express information was hanging on the doorknob that morning. Isn’t that just the most depressing thing you see over your entire vacation??? And I knew that our pickup time would be obscenely early, since the airline had messed with our return trip. I was figuring that we’d need to be at the stop at about 6:45. So, as DH was packing up his cameras I opened up the envelope to test my guess…wait a minute. According to this, we didn’t have to be at the bus until 9:30. Seeing as how our plane was due to take off at 9:50, I was pretty sure this wouldn’t work. Apparently, ME hadn’t gotten word of our flight change! Now what? I decided to bring the kids to the lobby to talk to the concierge while DH went on one last photo shoot.

Now, if I’d have read the paper before charging out of there, I would have seen that all I needed to do was call the 800 number on the paper and I could’ve gotten it figured out in the room. I wouldn’t have had to bark at the kids to get their shoes on, or wait impatiently for the elevator, or wait behind the four people that were ahead of me at the concierge line while Tink and Goofy watched cartoons in the lobby. But, I didn’t. So, after I explained my predicament to the CM, she looked at me strangely and told me to call the number on the paper. Grrrr….I swear, if I’d listen to my own complaints (when I’m teaching, kids not reading the directions is a common complaint, trust me!) I would have been fine. As soon as I talked to the very nice CM on the phone, Igot my new time (I was right – 6:45).

This started our worst transportation saga of the trip, by far. The line to the MK was completely packed, and had at least three ECVs in it. So, we jumped a bus to Epcot instead. The bus took us to Epcot (via Blizzard Beach). We then realized that we had to clear the bag check area at Epcot to get into the monorail. So that set us back. Then we had to get up the really looooong ramp with two strollers to wait for the monorail. We had to have waited 10-15 minutes, which I hadn’t counted on. Then, after we rode that monorail we had to get off at the Transportation and Ticket center to get the resort monorail. And of course, the monorail circles around so that the Contemporary is the LAST stop on the loop of that particular monorail. Add to that the extra time to load/unload a wheelchair and an ECV at two of the stops on the line, and it took us an awfully long time to get there. We barely made it on time, let alone early!

Plus, this is when it happened again. I was sitting thinking about what steps we still had to take to get to the MK as we waited for the monorail, and there was a large family behind me discussing an ADR that they had that morning. “This will get us to the Magic Kingdom, then?” one of the teens asked. The adult that they asked replied back that, yes, this monorail would take them to the MK.

So, being the information nut that I am, I spoke up. “Actually, you’ll take this to the Transportation and Ticket Center. Then you’ll have to get on a monorail there. Are you going to Chef Mickey’s?”

“Yes.”

“Ok. You’ll have to get on the monorail that takes you to the resorts then. There are two, so be sure you get on the right one. You won’t want the express monorail to the MK.” At this point, one of them smiles, but then turns away with the rest of them and starts whispering to each other. One of them actually looked back over their shoulder at me a little warily. I swear, I’m only trying to help! I guess I need to learn to keep my mouth shut...

But the bad luck stopped there – we got seated right away at Chef Mickey’s.
This was a hard meal, though. Pooh had had it by this point. As usual, Tink and Goofy didn’t eat well – too interested in the characters, especially since we didn’t get Minnie when we’d been here on Thursday. There were several characters that were really close as we sat down, so we couldn’t jump up for the buffet for fear of missing them. DH ran up and got us some grapes and other things to pick at, because the kids (claimed they) were hungry. Pooh was just fried – wouldn’t eat, wouldn’t let you sit. It’s loud in there, but not loud enough to cover a baby crying inconsolably. And once DH and I got up to the line, we weren’t as impressed by the food as we were at dinner. So, I don’t think we’ll be doing Chef Mickey’s for breakfast next time. I actually don’t know that we’ll do many breakfasts at all, except for CP again (but early in the trip!). But we did get some good pics. You'll notice that I'm not posting all of the group pictures this time. That would be because DH wanted Pooh in the pictures, and Pooh insisted on being held, so I had to be in them, too. No one needs to see me that many times in a row!! Not a good picture morning for me, anyway!

We left Chef Mickey’s and headed down to the buses. I was trying to figure out how to broach the idea of simplifying our plans to DH. He was determined that it’d be easy to get everywhere we still wanted to go. I wasn’t that sure. But on the way to the elevators we found another pressed penny machine (the kids had gotten into these), so we had a break.

(Some of these are from another machine, too.)
DH and I discussed our plans. I asked him to choose between AK and Downtown Disney, as I couldn’t see us doing both. I really hoped he’d choose Downtown Disney, because I was worried about EMH having started two hours plus earlier at AK (plus, it’s just not my favorite place to be, especially when I knew we were all dragging a bit already). But he thought that the kids would rather go there. And he’s probably right – ever since our last trip, and then seeing both the movie and little snippets of the musical on the Travel Channel, they’d been talking about this thing. So I knew he had a point. I agreed to it (though I have to say I wasn’t all that excited).

We hopped a bus to AK, and walked up the walkway. I hadn’t been back here since 2005, so I tried to take it in – but I have to admit, I was in a bad mood and all I could think about was how hot it was. DH had the idea of getting a times guide from the little souvenir shop outside the gates. I did, and saw that the next time for the Nemo show was 11:30. I checked my watch…it was 11:30. At this point, I was done with AK. Honestly, I think DH might have been too. But we asked the kids (we couldn’t just change the plans without saying something to them, as we were right in front of the gates)…and they wanted to see the musical. So, in we went.

I have to admit, that first sight of the Tree of Life is pretty special.

But then where to go? We decided to go to Dinoland, USA, since that’s where the theatre is. We headed over, and there was no wait at all for Triceratops Spin, so Goofy, Tink and I hopped on.

We were going to ride Primeval Whirl, but it was being refurbished. Probably a good thing, with my stomach. At this point, we just wanted some shade. We found a bench on a shady walk where they have you park your strollers for Nemo. I tried to nurse Pooh again (I should have just gone to the Baby Center, but I was fried and wasn’t thinking), but he didn’t really want anything to do with it. DH walked off to find some ice for the bottles of water we brought with us and something cool for the kids. He came back with two glasses of ice water and McDonald’s fries. A little salt helped all of us! Then he ran to the restroom. While he was gone, Goofy had an accident (this was, finally, the last we would see of the stomach bug). We tried to make it to the restroom – I had to have looked demented, with a crying infant in the stroller, Tink trying to catch up holding onto the food, and me practically dragging Goofy (he’s even slow when he’s having a “potty emergency”). We didn’t make it – thank goodness for extra clothes, which I’d packed after yesterday’s fountain experience. We got everyone cleaned up and headed back to the bench, where DH was frantically trying to find us because they were allowing people to line up for the show.

We had to dump the fries, which no one got to eat but Tink (as she was standing in the ladies’ room, waiting for me to finish with her brother), and our drinks, which didn’t make me happy. Then we wound around this line, and I had it in my head that it was an outdoor line. How happy I was to see that they were letting us in to the theatre! We did the best we could to keep the kids occupied. We were sitting next to a woman who looked to be in her early 20’s, and who was not thrilled to be there. She was even less thrilled to be kicked by Pooh as he tried to push the blanket away while he was nursing (so much for it being easier in the dark, air-conditioned theatre). Goofy hit the lady in front of him several times as he tried to see the show. But we did enjoy it. I really liked the guy that played Crush – he had a great voice! I’ve heard several people talk about the soundtrack, but I stopped in one of the larger gift shops on the way out and couldn’t find it. Anyone know if you can get it anywhere else?

We high-tailed it out of AK and grabbed a bus to the T&TC to grab a monorail (again) to the MK. Here are the kids on the bus:

Goofy fell asleep so hard that we could not wake him! We ended up carrying him off the bus, sticking him in the stroller and taking him to the monorail – thank goodness you don’t have to collapse the strollers on the monorails!! We had to tip him back while we were walking down the ramp because he looked like he was going to fall out!

I had an idea – we’d go to Casey’s and get the kids something to eat for lunch (neither DH or I was very hungry) and let them watch the cartoons while DH tried to find a few of the items he’d hoped to find at Downtown Disney in the Emporium. This worked ok – only Goofy wouldn’t wake up. Here are the two boys at Casey’s:

So many people stopped to ask if Goofy would be all right! Honestly, we couldn’t wake him. I finally saw him stir and picked him up so he’d stay awake. After a while, he finished the other half of the hot dog Tink had left him, and the two of them became acquainted with Cracker Jacks. next morning.

 

[FairyGodmotherJen]

DH returned – not with all of the items he wanted, but he’d picked up a few things. He took the kids to see the show in front of the castle, which we’d wanted to see and was starting in about ten minutes, and I went to the Baby Care center with Pooh. Once again, I can’t say enough about these places – this was the first time he’d nursed well since we were in the room at 6:30 that morning! The kids enjoyed the castle show:

They had a great spot, even on a Monday in the MK (which, to my recollection, is a crowded day to go most days). After Pooh and I were done, I slipped into the Main Street Bakery to get one of their ice cream sandwiches. I’d read about them here on the DIS – YUM!!! If you’ve never had one before, it’s two colossal chocolate chip cookies with about three scoops of ice cream in between. I couldn’t eat it all, though. When I saw the crowds coming down Main Street after the show was over, I went to meet up with DH, Tink and Goofy. They were more than happy to help me finish it!

We hit a few of our favorites – Buzz Lightyear (again!!) and Goofy’s barnstormer are the ones I remember the most (I’m sorry – we were so busy packing, etc. that night that I didn’t jot down notes like I did the other days). We walked through Minnie’s house so that the kids could play in the kitchen, and then wandered over to Fantasyland. Most of the attractions here had some kind of wait, and we were spoiled by the crowd-less parks we’d had for our whole trip, so we didn’t actually ride anything but It’s a Small World (if anything doesn’t have a line in Fantasyland, it’s this ride).

The kids wanted Pooh to have his first ride on it. He did, and seemed to enjoy looking at all of the things there are to look at there.

Then, DH and I decided that we wouldn’t try Cosmic Ray’s again as we had planned, since the kids just didn’t eat there. We decided to go hit the food court at ASMo, hit the pool, then put the kids to bed and pack. After stopping in the Emporium again to let the kids finish their spending money, we slowly walked back down Main Street and did our traditional stop at the circle in front of the train station to wave goodbye. It was at least a little easier with an approximate date for a trip back!

We headed back to the bus (that’s one walk that I won’t necessarily miss!) and took our last ride back. Once back at the hotel, we dropped off our stuff and headed to the food court. I can say that the kids ate better today – Tink ate most of her plain pasta, and Goofy at least ate the applesauce and grapes that came with his! DH was able to find one of the things he hadn’t found at the Emporium in the hotel gift shop, and Pooh entertained (hopefully) all of the guests there as he shrieked at the top of his lungs as they shopped – happily, though. We hit the pool for a little while and put the kids to bed. DH and I were up until midnight packing everything back up (it really should be easier than that), and then fell into bed so that we at least had a chance of waking up when the alarm went off at 4:30 the next morning!

Only a little more - our trip home and some final thoughts. Thanks for sticking with me!

 

[DisneyMom5]

Whew. I'm exhausted just reading about your day!

We once managed a three parks in one day (and it was our first trip!)

We went to AK in the am to finish up a few missed things,
then back to our cabin for lunch,
then to Epcot in the afternoon to do World Showcase,
then the monorail to MK to see Spectromagic and the Fireworks.
I felt very accomplished that day! LOL

Now that there are nine of us, I kind of prefer to stay in one place for as long as possible.

Great update!

 

[belle8306]

Wow! That was a busy day! The last day at Disney is always so bittersweet. Last year DH and I went to 3 parks on the last day. We were beat! I don't think we will make it to AK. The Nemo show looks really cute (I can look for the CD for you if you want). I have never been inside Casey's. I just saw a picture of the ice cream sandwich on the dining threads. DH would love that! The cinnamon rolls look really good there too. I saw commercials for the new "What are you Celebrating" theme last night. It made me wonder if that will last through 2010 too. Knowing we will be back will make leaving easier.

 

[FairyGodmotherJen]

Whew. I'm exhausted just reading about your day!

We once managed a three parks in one day (and it was our first trip!)

We went to AK in the am to finish up a few missed things,
then back to our cabin for lunch,
then to Epcot in the afternoon to do World Showcase,
then the monorail to MK to see Spectromagic and the Fireworks.
I felt very accomplished that day! LOL

Now that there are nine of us, I kind of prefer to stay in one place for as long as possible.

Great update!

I know - we were pretty pooped out, too! The way we've done Disney the past several trips, we've needed a vacation afterwards!! I can't wait to spend a full 7 days there in 2010. I'm sure we'll still be tired, but maybe not THAT tired.

Wow! That was a busy day! The last day at Disney is always so bittersweet. Last year DH and I went to 3 parks on the last day. We were beat! I don't think we will make it to AK. The Nemo show looks really cute (I can look for the CD for you if you want). I have never been inside Casey's. I just saw a picture of the ice cream sandwich on the dining threads. DH would love that! The cinnamon rolls look really good there too. I saw commercials for the new "What are you Celebrating" theme last night. It made me wonder if that will last through 2010 too. Knowing we will be back will make leaving easier.

That "What are you Celebrating" Tour is coming to Indy (thanks for the email), but I can't get any information on where or what time on the 10th. I have a wedding that afternoon (I know - a Friday wedding, never done one of those before), so it will all depend on the time. I'd like to check it out, though, and maybe get more details. I think the only one that could be there on their birthday on our trip that year would be my DH. We'll have to see if they extend it. It's a bit of a letdown from the "Year of a Million Dreams," though. I don't think anything they could have introduced would have been that exciting! Definitely check out the Main Street Bakery - I saw those cinnamon rolls while I was there, and they smelled wonderful!

 

[mickeysmyboy]

WOW! You guys had one heck of a last day!

 

[belle8306]

That "What are you Celebrating" Tour is coming to Indy (thanks for the email), but I can't get any information on where or what time on the 10th. I have a wedding that afternoon (I know - a Friday wedding, never done one of those before), so it will all depend on the time. I'd like to check it out, though, and maybe get more details. I think the only one that could be there on their birthday on our trip that year would be my DH. We'll have to see if they extend it. It's a bit of a letdown from the "Year of a Million Dreams," though. I don't think anything they could have introduced would have been that exciting! Definitely check out the Main Street Bakery - I saw those cinnamon rolls while I was there, and they smelled wonderful!

Have you found any more information on times? I started registering on the web site to try to win a vacation. I do think that the "Year of a Million Dreams" will be a tough one for them to ever top. Maybe I am just sad that it is ending and that is why I am not into the new theme. I hope that it turns out cool. It would be neat if they had dreams that they still would reward people with (even if you aren't there on your birthday). It could be an "unbirthday" celebration.

 

[FairyGodmotherJen]

oops - forgot to quote...

 

[FairyGodmotherJen]

Have you found any more information on times? I started registering on the web site to try to win a vacation. I do think that the "Year of a Million Dreams" will be a tough one for them to ever top. Maybe I am just sad that it is ending and that is why I am not into the new theme. I hope that it turns out cool. It would be neat if they had dreams that they still would reward people with (even if you aren't there on your birthday). It could be an "unbirthday" celebration.

I think it'd be especially cool if they'd continue the Dream Fastpass giveaway. I mean, it's not like that costs much - pretty much just the cost of producing the passes themselves. It'd just be cool to be surprised with that, YOAMD or not!

 

[FairyGodmotherJen]

Day 6: Time to Leave

It came, though we didn’t want to – the alarm on our departure day. DH and I REALLY didn’t want it to come, since we’d been up so late packing! We dragged ourselves out of bed and got ready to go. I’d been to the food court the night before to use up most of our snack credits on treats for the plane, but we still had two CS meals left. The plan was to get ready, check in at the little airline desk, and then hit the food court one last time for some Mickey waffles.

So, how many of you that have been reading this report automatically knew that we didn’t make it when you read that last sentence???

As usual, things didn’t go as quickly as we’d hoped – there were still things to pack last minute, sleepy kids, a fussy infant and all kinds of other distractions. We did find out, to our delight, that Disney now checks you in automatically for your flight! I don’t know if this had something to do with my confirming our departure flight when I called to fix the ME information the day before or not, but we had an envelope on our door that morning with eight boarding passes (since we had a connecting flight) already printed off. We’d expected to have to do this after we left the room, so it was a really great surprise. We NEVER would have gotten ready in time if not!

We finally left the room (DH made his customary 3 final sweeps to make sure nothing had jumped out of our bags and hidden itself under the bed – he’s very thorough ) and headed to the main building. The kids kind of dragged their feet, and even Pooh was pretty quiet. DH headed to get the luggage tagged while I went to get breakfast. Of course, after being in there only about five minutes (and not even having made a decision yet), DH calls to say they’re heading out to the line because the attendant at the airline desk said the driver might not stop (at this time of the day) if he didn’t see anyone. So I ended up getting one full meal w/a Mickey waffle and then just getting a bagel and taking it to go – which means we left a free CS meal on our ticket that expired at midnight that night. Oh, well – it was Free Dining, and we’re always leaving something. The first time we went as a family in 2005, we had about 8 snack credits left on our last night, and I think we left three or four of them. We only had one or two snack credits left in 2007 (which is good, since the dining wasn’t free then!). So we were continuing the trend.

Our driver was very patient (and punctual). He waited for me to find my ticket/pass/whatever it is that they print out for you for the bus, since I was juggling all three kids and two plates of food as DH took charge of our carry-ons and the strollers. He was also a very pleasant man – nowhere near as exhuberant as Charlie (our bus driver on the way there) had been, but at 6 a.m. I don’t think I could have handled Charlie! We went to all three All Stars and to Coronado Springs. My best friend stayed there with her family when they came in Sept, 2007, and they really liked it. They’re serious foodies, and loved the Pepper Market. I’d like to try it some time, but I think we’re leaning towards a different moderate in 2010. It was nice to get to see at least a little more than you would see just driving past it.

Finally, we got to the airport and hauled all our crap – uh, I mean stuff – out of the bus. (When you’re going home, it feels a lot more like you overpacked, doesn’t it?) Here’s a picture of the two older kids with their backpacks.

And here's Pooh- he was just done...

They were troopers on this trip home!

We settled in front of the Disney store (not the one we’re used to – we were in a different wing) and took turns shopping (and playing).

We also grabbed some Krispy Cremes (hey, it was our last vacation day!), then took the little people mover-type things to security. I have to say, I really like the family line they have at the security area there. We almost missed it, but they directed us to it, and it was so nice not to feel rushed by all of the business travelers that were also trying to get through. It’s always an adventure getting us through security, but this area makes it much easier. And apparently we were the only family heading out of Orlando that day, because we were all alone!

We hit the fake monorail, and the kids got front row seats, which they love. You know, when you arrive, it’s a fun little ride to begin your trip. But when you’re leaving, it’s just a sad, fake little monorail (at least to the adults).

The wait for our plane was pretty uneventful. We had seats across the isle from each other again, though it was much more crowded than our flight out had been. The kids all continued to do well, and we got to Detroit for our connecting flight with nothing more eventful happening than my MP3 player running out of juice (and, of course, Pooh was asleep so I was actually free to listen). We were also on time, which put my mind at ease.

It was a good thing we were on time, because it seemed like we had to go clear across the state to get to our gate in Detroit. I was so glad that there was an airport employee that was taking a handicapped passenger to the same set of gates as us, or I don’t think we’d have found it in time with such a short layover! As it was, we had just enough time for the kids to get potty breaks and for us all to stretch for a bit before we began boarding. We had a very small plane on the way home – DH and I actually sat on one side of the aisle with Pooh on my lap, with Tink and Goofy on the other side so that they could take advantage of the DVD player together. This is actually where we caught Goofy imitating Charlie the bus driver. He had bought a set of three Disney buses with the last of his spending money. Yes, we now have a little set of metal Disney buses – a Magical Express, a park bus and a Disney Cruise Line bus. He adores them, and put them on a shelf next to his bed every night for the first week we were home. He’s explained them to everyone that will listen (multiple times). He was rolling the ME one across his tray asking his sister if she was, “happy, happy, happy?”

I was a little worried about the size of the plane, but it ended up being just fine. We arrived back in Indy without a hitch. My dad was waiting for us once we’d cleared the security area. It’s always so much nicer to have someone waiting there for you than to have to get the shuttle to long-term parking, isn’t it? We got to relive our trip all over again for him (the non-Disney lover, but he was very patient with us), and even showed him some of our pictures before he had to leave. It was a nice way to re-acclimate to “real life” again.


I’ll be back to post some final thoughts soon!

 

[DisneyMom5]

OH, so sad it's over.
My ds7 got those buses also. They have been played with so much, the paint is just about worn off. May have to get another set when we go again. LOL

Last trip we managed to use all of our snacks, but left 8 CS credits. We stay one more night than day, so we always have extra credits. Not to mention we often share CS, because we are soooo stuffed from our TS.

We're all missing WDW very much, so I appreciate people taking the time to post their reports. Helps get us through!

Great report!