They Should Really Put a Bar in Here - Closing Thoughts - 4/1

[that's nice]

Originally Posted by afwdwfan

I was constantly checking the time and we got to the bag check at about 3:50. Mom texted and said that they were already in the park and headed back to LTT. We made our way through bag check and went to enter the park, but they had all turnstiles, except for 3, set up for MVMCP.

I hate when you can't get somewhere fast enough... keep watching the time and you don't move. I get anxious like this only in Disney.

Hey we have MVMCP tickets!!!

YAY!

Um... No we don’t… Mom has them.

BOO!

So, we went to the logjam trying to get through the 3 regular turnstiles. Turns out there must have been some football games that had just ended, because I think the rest of the Pop Warner kids that weren’t in the pool at CSR were trying to get through the gate to enjoy the last 3 hours of the MK being open to the general public.

You just can't get away from them, can you?

Sis came back in and sat with us for a while as we ate, but she didn’t last long before she got up and left again. Mom went to check on her again. Even though her little girl was grown up, she was still her Mom. I think this scene repeated itself a few times throughout the course of dinner. Finally she just said she was going to go outside and sit down somewhere.

My ex-sister in law had a severe gluten allergy. Same as your sister. Once they cut it out of the diet 100%, any little contamination messes them up.

At about this time, our waiter brought out our dessert. He saw Sis get up again and said he was sorry that she wasn’t feeling well. BiL, managing to keep a straight face, just shook his head and looked at the waiter with a sad look on his face and said “I don’t think she’s gonna make it.”

We didn’t get many pictures from dinner, but Mom got a few. She seemed to have a somewhat specific subject for the pictures she took…

You've done good Andy. She is adorable!

Either way, the CM did give Sis and BiL each a 1 day pass to make up for the fact that she didn’t even use one of her days and he actually spent a pretty big chunk of the day with her back at the resort. They ended up with several unused QS and snack credits at the end of the week though, and wasted MVMCP passes.

I'm glad Disney did something for them but there was still a lot of $ left on the table.

[afwdwfan]

Originally Posted by GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes

Life Happens…
I’m behind in responding to you updates.

Obviously

Eh, I'll get over it...

Originally Posted by GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes

You’re a good man
(Whoa… did I just say that?)

Well, let's see...

Originally Posted by GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes

You’re a good man

Yes. Yes you did.

Originally Posted by GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes

Hard to pass up on affordable adventures

They are the best kind.

Originally Posted by GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes

Poor fell’er
Were you headed farther south, that would’a bee in direct violation of a Man-Law.

If only... it would have been a great weekend to be headed that far south.

Originally Posted by GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes

Just didn’t think that would be “Plusing” the experience I take it?

That's a good way of saying it.

Originally Posted by GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes

Glad you dodged the flu so far. May that continue.

Fingers crossed, knocking on wood, etc, etc.

Originally Posted by GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes

Yah… I remember hearing a little something about that.




Yep… that was the story I heard

And I was most impressed by the fact that the word wife didn't have an ex in front of it.

Originally Posted by GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes

Would like to have heard some of those stories.

He could have talked for a few hours and I'd have been more than happy to sit and listen.

Originally Posted by GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes

Hate I didn’t get to hear this story.
Strong family.
Terrible circumstances.

Definitely, but it says a lot about them by the way they handled everything.

Originally Posted by GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes

Nice…
Imagine what that would cost at WDW.

More than I've ever spent for a room there.

Originally Posted by GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes

I’ve hade that explained to me before, but it still don’t make any sense.
I will say in my DW’s defense, that she has learned to cut waaaaay back on the amount of “stuff” that has to be packed when we’re traveling.

Way back.

Well, here's the sneaky thing. When we're leaving home, I haul bag after bag out to the car. I don't think much about it, because we're traveling with 2 kids under the age of 3.

Then we get there and one of those bags gets dumped out and it looks like a shoe store.

Originally Posted by GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes

Kind’a like staring in the Truman Show.
But you have a clue as to where you are.

Yeah... something like that.

Originally Posted by GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes

We’re all brainwashed already, it wont take much to convince us of the wisdome behind this argument.

Good point.

Originally Posted by GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes

I’d expect that of Los Vegas, but Nashville?

Well, I had a friend from high school who went to Vanderbilt. She always referred to the city as Nash Vegas.

Originally Posted by GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes

20% is my standard…
They wouldn’t have gotten it that night.

That's how I felt about it...

Originally Posted by GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes

The foulest mood my son was capable of was a direct result of being woken from a nap. If he slept it off, all was golden. If for any reason time or scheduling forced us to wake him…

Things went bad quick.

Our experience is the other end of that equation. It is always at the worst when everyone in the room except for DS, realizes he needs to sleep.

He decided the other night that we were ridiculous to think bedtime is 9:00. He apparently thinks 2:00 is a more reasonable bed time and wasn't about to let anyone else convince him other wise or get any sleep themselves.

Originally Posted by GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes

Sounds like “Shark Week” may have to become a tradition in y’all’s house.

May have to become???? Try already is.


Consequently, it is DW's least favorite week of the year.

Originally Posted by GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes

Goes without sayin’.

The thing is, it was DW's idea to go there. So I guess the pro-Disney brainwashing is starting to take hold.

Originally Posted by GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes

It’s just a simple request.

She really had to twist my arm to get me to go along with it.

Originally Posted by GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes

Invited Murphy along for the ride, did ya’?

You can't leave home without him.

Originally Posted by GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes

Strike Two!
Tough inning so far.

Well, we had a bunch of little football players around, so let's just say it was third and long.

Originally Posted by GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes

That could have been much worse.
So… all is right with the world then?

Well... for most of us.

Originally Posted by GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes

Sorry to hear this.
Hopefully she’ll mend fairly quickly.

Well, it never happens over night. Always takes her a while to get back to normal... unfortunately

Originally Posted by GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes

And now we know. They need to change that police.
I’ll keep this in mind; it’s good information to know for when othere folks ask us Disney freaks their first-time traveler questions.

Your insights and lessons learned here were good to read. I’d like to think that Disney will take some of the conversations your mom had with them to heart.

Sorry that your sis had such a difficult time.
Even more sorry that she has to have a difficult time day in and day out.

Yes, I really hope some changes are made to how they handle this. Especially when they're counting on their QS managers to verbalize this issue to allergy patrons and it obviously isn't being done consistently. At least add a page to "the book" or something.

Originally Posted by My sister's princess

Booooo for sis getting contaminated. My boss also has issues with gluten and it will stop her in her tracks for a few days if she is

Sis never used to be that bad. She could actually eat a little bit as long as she monitored it and did so in moderation. It has really gotten a lot worse for her over the past couple of years.

Originally Posted by My sister's princess

I hope that she felt better soon!

Well, it will definitely take more than just a few hours, but it didn't completely ruin the trip.

Originally Posted by Shannon84

As usual I am catching up on multiple updates again. I don't have as much free time at work to get on like I used to!!

That's ok... I hardly ever see you around here anymore though.

Originally Posted by Shannon84

I loved reading about Universal, I haven't been in years and we constantly debate whether to go or not.

If you haven't been in a while, it is probably worth it. Especially after this summer when they open the new Transformers ride. I want to go back just for that one.

Originally Posted by Shannon84

I'm sorry to hear about the noise at the resort, I always worry about that at values. DH can sleep soundly, but if I can hear things outside the room I have a hard time taking a nap or falling asleep. CSR looks beautiful, I've never seen it in person.

The resort is very bueatiful and I really think that it would be very peaceful during any other week of the year.

Originally Posted by Shannon84

After reading about the allergy issue, I have to say, if you dedicate a specific fryer for specific fries, why the heck would you get lazy and reuse other oil. If you go that far to seperate and have fries for those with allergy why not take that extra step to keep it safe. I don't get that

Exactly!!!

Originally Posted by amandaw

OMG! Your poor sister! That's just awful. I can't believe they reuse the oil. I mean, how is that helpful to people with allergies? That's really scary! And like your mom said, especially for kids.

Yeah, it was just kind of one of those things that was hard to comprehend. We actually thought the manager at the American Pavilion must have been wrong until Mom got home and started communicating with them. It turned out that manager seemed to be the only one who was on top of it!

Originally Posted by amandaw

On a lighter note - your DD is such a cutie patootie!!

Thanks!

Originally Posted by glennbo123

Oh man, I'm sorry that your sister got so sick. It sounds like she was miserable. You'd think that they could keep the recycled oils segregated too.

I had that same thought too. I really don't understand why they couldn't do it that way! Unless they blend it all together and run it though some kind of cleaning or reconditioning process... Either way, it just doesn't seem to make much sense to have dedicated fryers when they know there is potential contamination of the oil.

[afwdwfan]

Originally Posted by that's nice

I hate when you can't get somewhere fast enough... keep watching the time and you don't move. I get anxious like this only in Disney.

Exactly! It felt like the clock was speeding up too!

Originally Posted by that's nice

You just can't get away from them, can you?

Almost like the Brazillions.

Originally Posted by that's nice

My ex-sister in law had a severe gluten allergy. Same as your sister. Once they cut it out of the diet 100%, any little contamination messes them up.

That's pretty much how Sis is now. She used to eat some in moderation and she'd be ok, but now, she can't take it at all.

Originally Posted by that's nice

You've done good Andy. She is adorable!

Thanks!

Originally Posted by that's nice

I'm glad Disney did something for them but there was still a lot of $ left on the table.

Actually, yes... I mean, we really didn't call expecting them to make amends in that regard, but we paid for 2 MVMCP tickets for BiL and Sis and they had to leave the park before it even started, they ended up with several unused meals and snacks on their QSDP because she basically didn't eat anything for about a day and a half. So yes, it was a costly illness.

[Leshaface]

I'm here...late, but here! Gonna try to catch up now

[Leshaface]

I'm halfway done.

Wow! I can't believe your composure with the kid banging on your parents door! In fact, my heart was racing for you. Maybe it's the Mexican in me, but I would have gone out there and spanked him with my sandal at the first chance

at the woman who asked if the line was closed for FP's too! Seriously, some folks crack me up.

Your sis2 (I believe it's 2) and my brother could be related with their questions. I just had to laugh at her with her question regarding 'Push' and her ET question

I enjoyed seeing the nativity scene too at DHS.

[Leshaface]

Agh! I need to get over to Universal stat. I'm a huge Harry Potter fan and have always been since the first book came out, so i'm anxious to check out the village and the rides.

You don't happen to come over to CA in February for the World Ag Expo do you? You mentioned that you work on a farm, and Tulare holds the largest expo in the world that showcases the latest in farming equipment, etc. Just curious.

Oh my gosh, your poor Sis. I don't have a food allergy, but I have gotten food poisoning while on vacation and it's definitely not fun to be sick when you're not at home. I've always told DH that if DS ever gets some kind of food allergy, Disney will be the only place we'll vacation at because of all the great feedback I hear about CM's making sure to help those with food allergies. But now that i've heard this story and the CMs' lack of stating the oil isn't segregated, this concerns me.

[petals]

bummer bout your sis being sick in Disney because of an allergy but your DS is to cute... Does that outfit she has come in adult sizes

[MEK]

That is such a bummer for your sister. And to think she got that ill just from remnants in the oil. I can't imagine what would happen if she ate actual gluten food. That must be terrible to have such a severe food allergy.

Glad they were at least comp'd a one day pass. And I'm happy the rest of you enjoyed your meal.

[afwdwfan]

Originally Posted by Leshaface

I'm here...late, but here! Gonna try to catch up now

Originally Posted by Leshaface

Wow! I can't believe your composure with the kid banging on your parents door! In fact, my heart was racing for you. Maybe it's the Mexican in me, but I would have gone out there and spanked him with my sandal at the first chance

Well, I was kind of a zombie by then, so my brain had a hard time registering everything. Once I figured it all out, I did consider just opening the door and tackling him, but then I did consider the whole aspect of not wanting to get kicked out of Disney World or something.

Originally Posted by Leshaface

at the woman who asked if the line was closed for FP's too! Seriously, some folks crack me up.

I know... I'm not big on people watching, but I love catching random comments like that. Cracks me up!

Originally Posted by Leshaface

Your sis2 (I believe it's 2) and my brother could be related with their questions. I just had to laugh at her with her question regarding 'Push' and her ET question

Yeah, that's right... sorry, I don't mind sharing my name, but trying to keep everyone else somewhat anonymous. I'm just not so creative with the nicknames. She is definitely the "blonde" of the family.

Originally Posted by Leshaface

I enjoyed seeing the nativity scene too at DHS.

I know! I didn't see it last year, and you don't see much about it, so I was kind of surprised to find it.

Originally Posted by Leshaface

Agh! I need to get over to Universal stat. I'm a huge Harry Potter fan and have always been since the first book came out, so i'm anxious to check out the village and the rides.

You need to do that! Like I said, I've never really got into all the Harry Potter stuff and I was still very impressed by it.

Originally Posted by Leshaface

You don't happen to come over to CA in February for the World Ag Expo do you? You mentioned that you work on a farm, and Tulare holds the largest expo in the world that showcases the latest in farming equipment, etc. Just curious.

No, I've never been to that one. There's a National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, KY (about 1 1/2 hours from home) every winter that is probably kind of similar and closer to home.

Originally Posted by Leshaface

Oh my gosh, your poor Sis. I don't have a food allergy, but I have gotten food poisoning while on vacation and it's definitely not fun to be sick when you're not at home. I've always told DH that if DS ever gets some kind of food allergy, Disney will be the only place we'll vacation at because of all the great feedback I hear about CM's making sure to help those with food allergies. But now that i've heard this story and the CMs' lack of stating the oil isn't segregated, this concerns me.

Being sick sucks, but I would definitely not want to deal with it on vacation. Not only are you miserable, but I know I'd be thinking about how I'm wasting a valuable vacation day the whole time.

I don't really want to paint a negative picture on the way Disney handles allergies, because I truly do think they go above and beyond what most places do. I just want to share what we found out. I really feel like the TS places are excellent in this regard, but I guess the places where you have to talk to a manager instead of an actual chef could be a little bit more questionable...

Originally Posted by petals

bummer bout your sis being sick in Disney because of an allergy but your DS is to cute... Does that outfit she has come in adult sizes

Well... I've never seen it in adult sizes. I'm sure one could be made though!

Originally Posted by MEK

That is such a bummer for your sister. And to think she got that ill just from remnants in the oil. I can't imagine what would happen if she ate actual gluten food. That must be terrible to have such a severe food allergy.

She really has become more sensitive to gluten over the years as she's cut it out of her diet entirely. It obviously doesn't take much at all to affect her.

Originally Posted by MEK

Glad they were at least comp'd a one day pass. And I'm happy the rest of you enjoyed your meal.

We always love LTT!

[afwdwfan]

Well, I have the next update written, but I'm having all sorts of trouble getting pictures uploaded. Hopefully, I'll be able to get it posted soon...

[afwdwfan]

MVMCP

Tuesday, Dec 4

By the time we finished dinner, we knew that the party was going to be starting soon. The park was pretty crowded, so we decided we’d do a few less crowded things that would be closing later. The Hall of Presidents and Country Bear Jamboree were at the top of the list, but DW and I still needed to get over to Tomorrowland to get our MVMCP arm bands. DS wanted to go with everyone else, so we sent them on to the Hall of Presidents while DW and I went to get our bands.

I was carrying DD after we left LTT and headed over to stroller parking. After we fed her at dinner, we gave her a bottle and apparently she must have had an air bubble because some of it came back up. Right down the front of my shirt. Well, I guess we’ll be shopping for a new shirt too.

We headed over and got our bands, and by the time we made it around to the gift shops, my shirt had dried and you really couldn’t see it. It really didn’t smell either, unless I picked it right up to my nose, and I didn’t see any shirts that I just had to have (except for that Perry shirt in stupid kid sizes) so we just went on.

I pulled out my phone and tried to get a few pictures of Beast’s castle as we walked through Fantasyland… And the results were disappointing.





We waited right outside the Hall of Presidents until everyone came out and then off we went to see the Country Bears. By the time we got out of the show it was almost 7. By that time, Sis just wanted to leave. She was miserable, and as much as she wanted to stick it out and enjoy the party, she really just wanted to go back to the room. She and BiL left before MVMCP even started.

The rest of us were trying to decide what we wanted to do and we were strolling down the street when all of a sudden the lights came on, the music started, and the Country Bears escaped from their theater. Who wants to be the first in line to meet these guys?






DS was being a little shy, so I had to tell Big Al that we just saw them perform and DS liked them a lot more when they were on the stage. He nodded, so I think he gets that a lot. I also told him they were one of my favorite shows at Disney World when I was little. I’ve got to admit, I was tempted to sing Blood on the Saddle right then and there… but then again, I don’t sing. But I guess Big Al doesn’t really sing either.

I have to mention that after we met the Country Bears, a few cheerleaders and parents walked up and got in line. The CM asked to see their wrist bands, and of course they didn’t have any. They started to argue with him when he told them it was a hard ticket party and they had to leave the park. Of course I minded my own business, but this is what I was thinking…



After we finished there, I looked across the street toward the Diamond Horseshoe and saw some big guy in a cowboy hat dancing. We went to check it out.








A PP photographer tapped me on my shoulder and asked if I had a card. He managed to get a few shots of DS also.





DS had some fun dancing with Woody for a little bit, but we were starting to think about what we wanted to do for the parade. We headed up to Main Street, but holy cow… no way. Well, we’ve seen it snowing on Main Street now. How about we just watch the parade from Frontierland?

We had a plan, but DS had other ideas. He wanted to ride something, so we detoured over to the Teacups for a quick spin.



The line to meet Pooh was long and DS didn’t show much interest, but the line for Pooh’s ride was pretty much abandoned, so we might as well do that while we’re here! We considered skipping, because DD had fallen asleep, but decided we’d take her out of the stroller and see if she would stay asleep. DW held her and she slept right through the ride!



We finished riding Pooh and stopped by Pinocchio’s to get some snacks for the parade, but the line must have been crazy. It took Mom, Sis2 and DW forever to get through there. By the time they got back it was almost parade time so we quickly headed on over to Liberty Square. We didn’t have a great place to see the parade by the time we got there and had to stand behind the crowd, but we could see ok. He had a blast. DS was waving at the characters and just taking it all in.







DS went on my shoulders, but then he decided he wanted to be higher and tried to stand up. That didn’t seem too safe, so we ended up compromising.





After the parade, we went over to the walkway in front of Crystal Palace to get a good fireworks spot. It was perfect. We were right along the rail with an unobstructed view of the castle. Not only great for Holiday Wishes, but also perfect for the projection show!

DD woke up from her nap and had a bottle while we waited for the fireworks to start. After the fireworks ended, DS was still wide awake and ready to go, so we decided to just go with the flow and let him call the shots. He might have been nudged in this direction a bit by his Grandma, but he chose It’s a Small World. We headed over to the cruise through he… sorry. We headed over to the “happiest cruise that ever sailed.”

DD was awake by then, so I parked the stroller and got her out. I also put on my sweatshirt. It was getting a little bit cool. This would actually be the only evening of the entire trip that I put on a sweatshirt or jacket.

After we finished our boat ride, DS wanted to go to the Carousel and then Dumbo.





I chose to skip Dumbo this time, so I walked around the Storybook Circus area and took in the scenery.









Wow! Between having spare batteries for the camera and Photopass pictures from this evening, I actually have some pictures for this update… Just don’t get too used to it.

Continued in the next post

[afwdwfan]

MVMCP Cont.

I walked over to the character tent and poked my head inside. It was a ghost town. I realize you can see them anytime, but we were going to be able to see them right now with no wait. We headed in and met

Daisy:











Minnie:







Goofy:









And then Donald:









DD really loved the characters and they loved her. So did one of the Photopass CM’s. Goofy’s handler abandoned him to follow us around. After we finished, DW mentioned that we forgot to take DD’s jacket off and she had on a Minnie outfit. We took DD’s jacket off and sent DS out into the shop with Grandma and Grandpa. We went back in with DD and our personal Photopass CM was standing at Daisy’s station waiting for us, but Daisy and Minnie had stepped out for a break apparently. When they returned, she reminded them that we had just visited and explained why we were back. We took a few pictures with Daisy:



And then got some great pictures with Minnie:













DD was in a great mood, which is really impressive, because it was almost 11:00 pm by then. When we met up with everyone in the gift shop, they had all had enough and were ready to call it a night. DS was in the early stages of being a zombie, so we loaded the kids back into the stroller. There was just one little problem. I didn’t get to do EMH last night, which means I hadn’t had a chance to ride Thunder Mountain after dark. We all know that it is an entirely different ride at night, so this would have to be rectified before I could leave. We walked over and Mom, Sis2, DW and I all went for a ride on the wildest ride in the wilderness.

After that, we wandered back up towards Main Street. We paused to take some pictures along the way.





DW and I went into the Main Street bakery to grab some cinnamon rolls to have for breakfast in the morning.

After a Ferry ride back to the TTC and a quick drive back to CSR, we were quickly in bed and asleep. The only question was whether we’d be able to wake up and make a Rope Drop in a few short hours…

[petals]

I love all the pics. Your DD at the dance party looks like she's singing at the top of her lungs lol! Love the way all the characters got down to their level as well

[Poolrat]

Caught up and that absolutely stinks about the allergic reaction.
Mine are not that severe but if I don't catch it, it can certainly get me feeling pretty crummy.


Getting the book( I really just need to check ingredients and then take preventive measures if needed ) and then talking to soemone is key.

Some go overboard and just wont let you have anything - even if you tell them it is fine if it is a little.

Some can't really give advice wither way and the Food and Wine booths were a mess sort of.

Finally at EPCOT I got information that there is a chef per zone and can counsel you on what you can have in the zone. Since I need an ingredient list that become hard.

Finally I had someone tell me to check out the cookbook for an ingredient list.

Sorry they had to leave early and not even get to enjoy the party.

[jecskc]

Ahhh the old "staying out at the parks late, but determined to get up for rope drop" conundrum. The plans we make for ourselves months in advance. It seems all well and good on paper, but when you get there and realize how tired you are going to be .... you don't know what a bad plan it is. I imagine with little ones it was easier to wake up in the morning though.

My family had a dairy farm in Iowa. I always joked that my kids got the cow milking gene when they would get up and be wide awake at 4 AM - haha