Conorama
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 18, 2012
Day 7 - Castaway Cay - in which we are, by the end of the day, actually, looking forward to getting home
I think we finally got off at 10:15 a.m. - we would have aimed to be earlier, but since it was on the cold side, we thought we'd give things a bit of time to warm up, and we didn't want to rush.
We had decided to take the tram, largely since we didn't want to tire out Conor before even hitting the beach, plus ... it's a TRAM! Very exciting in boy-land.
We got off at the family beach, found 3 chairs centered around an umbrella or two, and claimed our spots. While I was still sorting through our stuff, I looked down and saw this:
It was instant. DH captured this moment of total happiness:
Really, I could (almost) stop the CC report here- that's our boy. He could (and did) do this most of the day. Trying to get him to stop playing in sand to pee is beyond difficult.
Meanwhile, I ensured my comfort on a lounger, with my buddy Kobo. DH, being the adventurous one, headed off to check out the water and find beverages.
He came back reporting that the water was fairly cold, and he didn't want to take Conor in. At this point, Conor could not have cared less.
So, for about 2 hours, we sat, lounged, read, and played in the sand.
Lunch
I had read lots of dire reviews about CC food, so they served their purpose in that we were pleasantly surprised - it was totally fine. (We went to Cookies 2, if that matters.) The biggest challenge was de-sanding Conor enough for him to eat - I just brought a plate full of food back to our chairs, and we all ate there. Conor was excited by the corn on the cob, but since I was raised such that I can't eat the stuff unless it was picked the same day in a certain 2 week period in August, I refrained.
Bikes!
We bike a lot at home in the summer, so we were keen to try this out. Conor was quite worried that they wouldn't have bikes with training wheels, but they do have lots. Initially, he tried to persuade DH that he should ride on the back of one of the bikes (they say those seats will take kids up to 40 lbs, actually) but sitting on the beach does not equal exercise, kiddo, so pick a bike already.
Oh my. This is not something that happens quickly in boy-land. First, you rule out all pink and purple bikes. Then you pick 3 other bikes in quick succession, only to reject them for some reason or other. Finally, we found a nifty blue and orange bike (his fav colours, in case you had missed that subtlety in all the photos I've posted), so we were good. Once we played "find the helmet that fits" game, we were on our way.
This is a truly lovely idea - points for Disney. There is a nice loop, that they've embellished with "plane wreck" stuff, which Conor found fascinating. As usual, when biking with a 4 year old, it's not a quick process, but, who cares?
Checking out the plane.
Here he is standing on something (see why we don't go fast), telling some convoluted story about why Donald's plane crashed.
Checking out more wreckage - note the awesome colour coordination between bike and swimwear:
So - 3 firm thumbs up! for the bike deal. It's very manageable with a 4 year old, so long as you're not in a rush and you bring water. We just put our valuables in our back pack, and hoped that our other stuff would be OK on our chairs, and it was all there when we returned (mostly towels, bag of clothes, and a few snacks).
Wrapping up CC
We explorers clearly needed some ice cream at this point, so we rallied sufficient energy to make our way back to Cookies 2. It was about 1:30 at this point.
Conor then went back to the sand. I went back to my Kobo. DH was a bit antsy, so he decided to head back to the ship to pack.
Conor went back to the sand, and I went back to my Kobo. See why we get along well?
By 2:15 or so, Conor was interested in swimming on the ship, so we walked back. He was pretty sure he would perish along the way, but I was working hard on my parent of the year award, so I made him walk. Turns out, grapes have super-powers, so as long as he was munching on those, and because we were walking SLOWLY, he survived.
We waited about 5 minutes for a group of adults to finish their photo ops at the Mount Rushmore thingy - Conor was actually quite patient. As they seemed to be leaving, he jumped in (and who wouldn't?) only to be told to get out of the way as they needed to do more photos. Thanks, guys- way to keep in mind what's important in life.
We got through this, and had our bit of time with Mickey, etc., and made our way back to the ship.
Pool and Slide - again, and again, and again
Conor wanted to go directly to the pool (I'm in my swimming trunks mom!) but I persuaded him we should really pick up DH in the room. After subsequent intense negotiations, we got him into clean swim-wear.
DH and Conor went off to the pools, while I cooled down in the room - when I arrived, DH asked if I could spell him off at the Mickey slide stating: "Can you just stand here and say 'Sure' when he asks if he can go again?" It seems he was at about 10 slides at that point. I OK'd another 5 or 6. DH and I co-approved another 5 while we determined that I would head back to the room to pack without any "help".
90 minutes later, they returned - my boy was nearly blue with cold. (DH had procured beverages while I was up there, so he was happy.) In the end - Conor had insisted on going on the slide *40* times, at least with no exaggeration. Much cuddling was required at this point, but soon he was dressed in dry clothes and ready for supper.
And, more later!
I think we finally got off at 10:15 a.m. - we would have aimed to be earlier, but since it was on the cold side, we thought we'd give things a bit of time to warm up, and we didn't want to rush.
We had decided to take the tram, largely since we didn't want to tire out Conor before even hitting the beach, plus ... it's a TRAM! Very exciting in boy-land.
We got off at the family beach, found 3 chairs centered around an umbrella or two, and claimed our spots. While I was still sorting through our stuff, I looked down and saw this:
It was instant. DH captured this moment of total happiness:
Really, I could (almost) stop the CC report here- that's our boy. He could (and did) do this most of the day. Trying to get him to stop playing in sand to pee is beyond difficult.
Meanwhile, I ensured my comfort on a lounger, with my buddy Kobo. DH, being the adventurous one, headed off to check out the water and find beverages.
He came back reporting that the water was fairly cold, and he didn't want to take Conor in. At this point, Conor could not have cared less.
So, for about 2 hours, we sat, lounged, read, and played in the sand.
Lunch
I had read lots of dire reviews about CC food, so they served their purpose in that we were pleasantly surprised - it was totally fine. (We went to Cookies 2, if that matters.) The biggest challenge was de-sanding Conor enough for him to eat - I just brought a plate full of food back to our chairs, and we all ate there. Conor was excited by the corn on the cob, but since I was raised such that I can't eat the stuff unless it was picked the same day in a certain 2 week period in August, I refrained.
Bikes!
We bike a lot at home in the summer, so we were keen to try this out. Conor was quite worried that they wouldn't have bikes with training wheels, but they do have lots. Initially, he tried to persuade DH that he should ride on the back of one of the bikes (they say those seats will take kids up to 40 lbs, actually) but sitting on the beach does not equal exercise, kiddo, so pick a bike already.
Oh my. This is not something that happens quickly in boy-land. First, you rule out all pink and purple bikes. Then you pick 3 other bikes in quick succession, only to reject them for some reason or other. Finally, we found a nifty blue and orange bike (his fav colours, in case you had missed that subtlety in all the photos I've posted), so we were good. Once we played "find the helmet that fits" game, we were on our way.
This is a truly lovely idea - points for Disney. There is a nice loop, that they've embellished with "plane wreck" stuff, which Conor found fascinating. As usual, when biking with a 4 year old, it's not a quick process, but, who cares?
Checking out the plane.
Here he is standing on something (see why we don't go fast), telling some convoluted story about why Donald's plane crashed.
Checking out more wreckage - note the awesome colour coordination between bike and swimwear:
So - 3 firm thumbs up! for the bike deal. It's very manageable with a 4 year old, so long as you're not in a rush and you bring water. We just put our valuables in our back pack, and hoped that our other stuff would be OK on our chairs, and it was all there when we returned (mostly towels, bag of clothes, and a few snacks).
Wrapping up CC
We explorers clearly needed some ice cream at this point, so we rallied sufficient energy to make our way back to Cookies 2. It was about 1:30 at this point.
Conor then went back to the sand. I went back to my Kobo. DH was a bit antsy, so he decided to head back to the ship to pack.
Conor went back to the sand, and I went back to my Kobo. See why we get along well?
By 2:15 or so, Conor was interested in swimming on the ship, so we walked back. He was pretty sure he would perish along the way, but I was working hard on my parent of the year award, so I made him walk. Turns out, grapes have super-powers, so as long as he was munching on those, and because we were walking SLOWLY, he survived.
We waited about 5 minutes for a group of adults to finish their photo ops at the Mount Rushmore thingy - Conor was actually quite patient. As they seemed to be leaving, he jumped in (and who wouldn't?) only to be told to get out of the way as they needed to do more photos. Thanks, guys- way to keep in mind what's important in life.
We got through this, and had our bit of time with Mickey, etc., and made our way back to the ship.
Pool and Slide - again, and again, and again
Conor wanted to go directly to the pool (I'm in my swimming trunks mom!) but I persuaded him we should really pick up DH in the room. After subsequent intense negotiations, we got him into clean swim-wear.
DH and Conor went off to the pools, while I cooled down in the room - when I arrived, DH asked if I could spell him off at the Mickey slide stating: "Can you just stand here and say 'Sure' when he asks if he can go again?" It seems he was at about 10 slides at that point. I OK'd another 5 or 6. DH and I co-approved another 5 while we determined that I would head back to the room to pack without any "help".
90 minutes later, they returned - my boy was nearly blue with cold. (DH had procured beverages while I was up there, so he was happy.) In the end - Conor had insisted on going on the slide *40* times, at least with no exaggeration. Much cuddling was required at this point, but soon he was dressed in dry clothes and ready for supper.
And, more later!