You Seem Taller In Your Trip Reports. A Baby at WDW - *HOLY COW! AN UPDATE!* 4/17 p26

[amandaw]

Boo! for delayed flights!

But, I'm glad y'all made it to Orlando safely!

[afwdwfan]

Originally Posted by FreezinRafiki

We interrupt this playful banter to bring you a trip report entry. Your regularly scheduled banter will continue as soon as you're done reading this.

That's a relief. I was afraid that there was going to be a TR somewhere in this TR thread.

Originally Posted by FreezinRafiki

Yes, Ryder is so excited for his first Disney trip that he fell asleep. And yes, Evan is giving himself bunny ears. Not sure if I've ever been prouder.

Evan giving himself bunny ears...

Ryder is sound asleep...

Madison is cheesing for the camera...

Looks about right to me!

Originally Posted by FreezinRafiki

Actually, this is the recipe for disaster:

Ingredients
3 small children, under 8 years of age
5 .01oz (ish) peanut packages (Because mom and dad will one too, but be guilted into giving it up a "starving" child)
1 Boeing 737, preferable packed full

Mix the first two ingredients in the 737. Let stew for 3 hours over dinner time. Use caution when opening the door. Contents will be under extreme pressure.

That's why we drive.

Originally Posted by FreezinRafiki

On the way to our gate, we passed one of the airport giftshops. After I pulled myself back up off the floor from laughing so hard, I got my phone out to take a picture. However, as soon as I saw the shirt through my viewfinder, I started laughing all over again and had to take another minute to compose myself before I could snap the picture.

They say a picture says a thousand words. This picture and the above paragraph pretty much explains everything about your sense of humor.

Originally Posted by FreezinRafiki

We boarded the not-a-monorail and headed to the not-quite-Magical-Express.


Which is basically Grandma and Grandpa sitting curbside waiting for us.

I thought Grandma and Grandpa were even better than the Magical Express.

Originally Posted by FreezinRafiki

Since we are now a family of 5, we can no longer all fit in their Ford Explorer. Thus, they brought their other car, saving us the cost of renting one.

So, are you saying Bambi didn't think it was a good idea to have a kid sitting with you behind the back seat? Does this tell you anything???

Originally Posted by FreezinRafiki

We arrived in time for to take care of that, but after the stores had closed for the night. We were heartbroken, so decided to drown our sorrows in double scoops of Ghirardelli's ice cream on the drive to Lakeland. Contrary to popular belief, ice cream at 11:30 at night is a good idea.

Great timing! I know I'd be hearbroken that the stores were closed...

I think ice cream at 11:30 pm is always a great idea.

Originally Posted by FreezinRafiki

Up Next: A Day at the Beach. Unless it rains. Which it will.

Originally Posted by Captain_Oblivious

Geez, how about a spoiler warning?

No kidding.

[Blessed_wth_Triplets]

Your kids are soooo cute! Can't wait for more! Oh...and I didn't even know h Emys were on last night...DH and I were busy watching Dexter.

[KatMark]

Originally Posted by FreezinRafiki

We interrupt this playful banter to bring you a trip report entry. Your regularly scheduled banter will continue as soon as you're done reading this.

Unlike most of our Disney trips, this one started out very shi...oh, wait, I can't use that particular adjective on these family friendly boards. None the less, it wasn't your typical happy-go-lucky we're-going-to-Disney-World type of day. Mostly because our flight wasn't scheduled to leave until 6:15pm, so to conserve precious vacation days, we went to work that morning. Unless there is an overwhelming demand, I'm going to skip all the boring work stuff and skip ahead to where I leave and head home.

We had the van packed the night before, and by the time I got home Bambi had the kids all picked up from day care. We grabbed the last minute things, packed them up and got ready to go.

(Oh, and I apologize in advance for the quality of the pictures in this update. The camera was packed away, so all photos in this update were taken with the crappy camera on my iPhone.)



That is just SO Evan.

Yes, Ryder is so excited for his first Disney trip that he fell asleep. And yes, Evan is giving himself bunny ears. Not sure if I've ever been prouder.

Since the flight was scheduled from 6:15-9:50, we knew we'd be getting quite hungry about halfway into the flight. Even first time parents know this is a recipe for disaster. Actually, this is the recipe for disaster:

Ingredients
3 small children, under 8 years of age
5 .01oz (ish) peanut packages (Because mom and dad will one too, but be guilted into giving it up a "starving" child)
1 Boeing 737, preferable packed full

Mix the first two ingredients in the 737. Let stew for 3 hours over dinner time. Use caution when opening the door. Contents will be under extreme pressure.

Having perused that cook book before leaving, we decided to stop at Wendy's on the way to the airport because of two of the three following reasons. You can decide which two are valid
a)it's cheaper than anything you'll get at the airport
b)it's right on the way to the airport
c)quality food

We arrived at the airport in plenty of time, so we conducted our usual airport drop off procedure - I dropped Bambi and the kids off at the curb with the luggage to check (thank god for Bags Fly Free on Southwest!) while I then drove to the cheap remote parking place and took the shuttle back. By the time I met up with them outside security, they had all the bags checked and we were ready to cruise...wait. Let me try that again. We were ready to fumble through security, separating everything we've packed so nicely from everything else and getting all discombobulated. Luckily, Milwaukee's airport has a place to remedy that.



Great shirt, Evan, but GET RID OF THAT HAT!

On the way to our gate, we passed one of the airport giftshops. After I pulled myself back up off the floor from laughing so hard, I got my phone out to take a picture. However, as soon as I saw the shirt through my viewfinder, I started laughing all over again and had to take another minute to compose myself before I could snap the picture.



Ok, we were finally on our way again. Nothing was going to stop us now from getting on that plane!



Ok, that might.

Our 6:15 departure had been delayed to 6:25. Ok. No big deal. Then our 6:25 was delayed to 6:35. Hmmm...I've seen this movie before and I don't like how it ends. I think it was pushed back one more time to 6:45, but eventually the plane did land, get cleaned up for us, we were seated "comfortably" and ready to fly.





About 3 1/2 seconds after the flight attendant announced that we could use approved electronic devices, Madison and Evan were asking to watch a movie. Being a normal brother and sister, they couldn't agree on one. Thankfully I planned ahead and brought both laptops. 18 points will be awarded to the first person to identify what each child is watching.



Ryder fussed and cried for the first 20 minutes or so of the flight, but then fell asleep on comfy ole daddy's shoulder.



What a sweet picture...minus that darn hat again!

Aside from landing about 20 minutes late, the rest of the flight was fine. We boarded the not-a-monorail and headed to the not-quite-Magical-Express.



Which is basically Grandma and Grandpa sitting curbside waiting for us. (For those new to my TRs, Bambi's parents live in Lakeland, FL and we always combine Disney Trips with visits to them.) Since we are now a family of 5, we can no longer all fit in their Ford Explorer. Thus, they brought their other car, saving us the cost of renting one.

Bambi and I took Ryder with us while Madison and Evan went with their grandparents to get a snack and head to their house. We had a different destination in mind - Downtown Disney. It would be cutting it close, but we wanted to get there before they closed so we could exchange our vouchers for the actual Annual Pass, saving us that time on Monday morning - our first scheduled park day. We arrived in time for to take care of that, but after the stores had closed for the night. We were heartbroken, so decided to drown our sorrows in double scoops of Ghirardelli's ice cream on the drive to Lakeland. Contrary to popular belief, ice cream at 11:30 at night is a good idea.

Up Next: A Day at the Beach. Unless it rains. Which it will.

Nice update, Barry. Glad you all arrived safely (which obviously you did or we wouldn't be getting this TR!). And ice cream at 11:30 seems like a perfect nightcap to me.

[noahandcjsmom]

My first time reading a trip report.

Loving all of the banter too.

[DisneyDadC]

Originally Posted by FreezinRafiki

About 3 1/2 seconds after the flight attendant announced that we could use approved electronic devices, Madison and Evan were asking to watch a movie. Being a normal brother and sister, they couldn't agree on one. Thankfully I planned ahead and brought both laptops. 18 points will be awarded to the first person to identify what each child is watching.

Well Madison is watching the laptop on the left and Evan is watching the laptop on the right ... 18 points thank you lol

[DisGirlAllie]

I'm intrigued! Looking forward to an update and your whole family is adorable!

[twokids0204]

Great update...

Love the bunny ears!

Madison is Watching Camp Rock
Evan is watching...
Oh wait, I think Carl already got it.

Spoiler... "which it will"

While you're at it... can you finish my trip report!

[petals]

Originally Posted by DisneyDadC

Well Madison is watching the laptop on the left and Evan is watching the laptop on the right ... 18 points thank you lol

I loled!


I see High School Musical on Madison's laptop... Evan's I'm lost. is it UP?

[MEK]

I'm in for another one of your TRs. Ryder is so cute!

I laughed again over the recombobulation area.

Yeah for arriving in Orlando.

[lauren_elizabeth]

Yall have adorable children! Madison definitely has a contagious smile!

Madison is watching High School Musical Is it bad that I know that? I was going to take a guess at what Evan is watching, but I have no idea.

Looking forward to more!

[katoot]

Originally Posted by FreezinRafiki

Unless there is an overwhelming demand, I'm going to skip all the boring work stuff and skip ahead to where I leave and head home.

Overwhelming demand! Overwhelming demand!

[FreezinRafiki]

Originally Posted by Captain_Oblivious

I'm ok with that, as long as you put a cover sheet on your TPS reports.

I'm still trying to figure out what the *&#$ PC Load Letter means.

Originally Posted by Captain_Oblivious

If you can give one of them an ear or sinus infection ahead of time, that would really do the trick.

It was so much nicer flying when they had tubes in their ears. No way for pressure to build up!

Originally Posted by Captain_Oblivious

I'm just going to assume there was no Taco Bell on the way, or else you'd satisfy all 3.

There is, but it's on the left side of the road, requiring us to not only cross traffic getting into it, but leaving as well. That time sitting and waiting for traffic to clear was something I was just not will to gamble with. Darn the luck.

Originally Posted by Captain_Oblivious

Ever get that feeling of deja vu?

It was funny then, it's funny now. Spoiler warning: It's going to be in my next TR too!

Originally Posted by Captain_Oblivious

Don't worry--I'm a limo driver!

Wanna hear the most annoying sound in the world?

Originally Posted by Captain_Oblivious

I got nothin'. They need more explosions.

Agreed.

Originally Posted by Captain_Oblivious

You mean there was any doubt?

Rumor has it that people training for long runs should avoid that type of stuff. Luckily, I don't listen to rumors.

Originally Posted by Captain_Oblivious

Geez, how about a spoiler warning?

Sorry. How about this: read the next update backwards. Then you'll be surprised at the beginning!

Originally Posted by amandaw

Boo! for delayed flights!

But, I'm glad y'all made it to Orlando safely!

Luckily it was only about 20 minutes. We've sat at the airport for 2 hours in the past.

[FreezinRafiki]

Originally Posted by afwdwfan

That's a relief. I was afraid that there was going to be a TR somewhere in this TR thread.

And eventually, if you wait around long enough, it will even be about Disney!

Originally Posted by afwdwfan

Evan giving himself bunny ears...

Ryder is sound asleep...

Madison is cheesing for the camera...

Looks about right to me!

The only thing you can't see in that picture is me telling a fart joke and Bambi rolling her eyes.

Originally Posted by afwdwfan

That's why we drive.

Driving is good, but I'm not about to test just how long Ryder will be content strapped in a car seat. Because I'm sure it's much less than the 21 hours it takes to drive to WDW.

Originally Posted by afwdwfan

They say a picture says a thousand words. This picture and the above paragraph pretty much explains everything about your sense of humor.

Wow, I'm not sure I even know a thousand words.

Originally Posted by afwdwfan

I thought Grandma and Grandpa were even better than the Magical Express.

They don't play the Welcome Video.

Originally Posted by afwdwfan

So, are you saying Bambi didn't think it was a good idea to have a kid sitting with you behind the back seat? Does this tell you anything???

Hmmm... Let's go with "Barry is a fully grown adult who can take care of himself in case of an emergency. Also, his life insurance is fully paid."

Originally Posted by afwdwfan

Great timing! I know I'd be hearbroken that the stores were closed...

We were actually looking forward to having a few minutes to shop without having to keep an eye on the older two that tend to touch (and break) things in the stores. And Bambi planned on having me hold the baby so I wouldn't do that either.

Originally Posted by afwdwfan

I think ice cream at 11:30 pm is always a great idea.

11:30 am, too.

Originally Posted by Blessed_wth_Triplets

Your kids are soooo cute! Can't wait for more! Oh...and I didn't even know h Emys were on last night...DH and I were busy watching Dexter.

Thank you!
We saw a few episodes of Dexter when it was on NBC a few years ago. That dude has issues....

[afwdwfan]

Originally Posted by FreezinRafiki

The only thing you can't see in that picture is me telling a fart joke and Bambi rolling her eyes.

Did the fart joke include a pun?

Originally Posted by FreezinRafiki

Driving is good, but I'm not about to test just how long Ryder will be content strapped in a car seat. Because I'm sure it's much less than the 21 hours it takes to drive to WDW.

I'll let you know... we're going to have about 6 or 7 hours less (I hope), but we'll be testing it with a 7 month old.