“They gave us an extra trash basket!” A Surprise Trip 6 day POR. Nov and Dec 2014. Updated 2/8

[crepemyrtle]

What a first day! I'm exhausted and happy right along with you.

 

[Nazran]

Just found your report and have loved the start. Sounds like a great first meal at Coral Reef. Can't wait to hear more!

Thank you for reading! I would say that as good as Coral Reef was it was my 3rd favorite meal that we did!

What a first day! I'm exhausted and happy right along with you.

Thanks! I will post again tonight or tomorrow.

 

[Txshadow]

The Bailey's and Jack dessert at Coral Reef is my absolute favorite. I found a copycat recipe online and made it for Thanksgiving AND Christmas this year...so good! Kudos on having the energy to hang in there for Illuminations. What a magic packed first day!

 

[Nazran]

The Bailey's and Jack dessert at Coral Reef is my absolute favorite. I found a copycat recipe online and made it for Thanksgiving AND Christmas this year...so good! Kudos on having the energy to hang in there for Illuminations. What a magic packed first day!

Yes that was my fav desert I think the whole time I was there.

 

[Nazran]

The Did We Make Rope Dr....bwahahahah! Post?

Rope drop? Not this morning... My body being on CST was not prepared for the 7 EST 6 CST alarm clock. After snoozing that bad boy twice I finally drug myself out of bed to start some coffee. (not a fan of the room supplied coffee) We debated bringing our Keurig and some good coffee but didn't want to break it in travel. It was about 7:45 and the everyone was starting to wake up. We had to get dressed and Mattie bathed and dressed. We laid nothing out to wear the previous night. We sort of just collapsed in to bed after showers.

We took care of all of that and it was about 8:45 when the first "I'm hungry" and "what's for breakfast" statements and questions started. I did a little self cursing right there as I imagined Leslie's trip to Walmart last night was probably a good idea no matter how tired we were! I explained we would need to eat at the park. We got all loaded in the van at... 9AM about the same time Leslie and Chad were walking in to Hollywood Studios.

Speaking of Leslie we received our wonderful gift from Her.. I mean Mickey! Each one monogrammed with our kids names!

Where's Waldo?

As we were driving over to DHS I began to realize that I knew nothing about the layout. I had done so many years of research on Disney World and I pretty much knew how to get around Magic Kingdom and Epcot even though I had never been there before. All I knew about HS were the attractions I wanted to see but had no idea how to get to those locations. This would be important because my lack of knowledge and our lack of sleep contributed to some early morning crankiness for Jen and I at one point.

We got to the park got out and walked up. I thought the way you enter the park from the parking lots was a bit off but we made it to the entrance by about 9:20.

Christmas in FULL swing!

Getting from Point A to B!

We got in about 9:30. We had a FP+ for Toy Story Midway Mania beginning at 9:50. I grabbed a park map oriented myself and got the group moving towards our goal! I think we missed a lot. I loved Hollywood Boulevard! We grabbed a few pics as we hurried along! Literally Jen having Nathan stop and smile while I pushed on with Mattie and Michael. (Me in turquoise shirt)

I have never known DHS from my research not to have Mickey's Hat so count me in the sad to see it go column.

I finally saw the Little Mermaid Show building that told me Pixar Place was to the right and not to much further we saw...

The Green Army Men were out in force!

We got some photos but as you can see... multiple photos and not a one where all were looking at the camera at the same time.

We jumped in to the Fastpass line and shot pretty much to the front. The queue for Midway Mania is very cool! I loved it.

Mattie was very happy!

I rode with Nathan and Mattie and Michael rode with Jennifer. As far as Nathan knows he thought he was green He was soo proud to 'beat' his daddy.

After our ride we needed to get the kids something to eat. Only problem was I did not know where any counter service place was located! We looked at maps...

...but were not sure how to get from A to B. We argued a little...(as I eluded to being cranky) and eventually we wandered back towards the entrance and found the Pixar Place Joffrey's and got MUCH needed coffee and the kids wanted Chocolate Milks. I was still dragging a bit. We got 3 big cinnamon rolls and sat down past the Midway Mania entrance. We all felt a bit better after we had a bite to eat. We decided while sitting there to jump in line for Woody and Buzz character greet.

Nathan was a little sad we weren't going to find another ride right away!

After about 20 minutes it was our turn...

A couple of bro hugs before we left!

This gets us up to about 11:00. Our next big deal was lunch at Hollywood and Vine at 12:10 with Chad and Leslie and family and then head back to the Hotel for a break. After lunch we made a decision though that would change the way we handled the rest of the vacation!

 

[Vernie822]

Great updates! Excuse the fact that I am so behind and am just catching up..

Needless to say Chad and the boys did the Orange Mission Space. I wouldn't even DARE step on the ride. Green or Orange!

Me too. Never. Not in a million years. You'd have to get me on kicking and screaming, haha. I get awful motion sickness, too.

My planner radar went off and anxiety set in! We have a 5:45PM Coral Reef reservation for 10.

I would be right there with you, hahaha. Glad everything worked out though!

I am not sure if my family is like others but it is darn near impossible to get all three kids to look at the camera and smile. Invariably one of them will blink, look to the right, pick nose, or not smile! If I uploaded the other pictures from the group shot that made the one pictures this post would be huge! Anyways more pics from the way in...

Cute pictures!!

Michael being very black and white had to have Fastpass+ explained to him 2 or 3 times because he thought he was breaking a rule about line cutting

Awwww. What a good Disney park-goer.

Finally was Minnie! Mattie as you can tell LOVES Minnie, and Minnie was VERY impressed with Mattie's Minnie dress!

I love Mattie's Minnie dress.. and all of the meet and greet pics. What a great first attraction! Good job.

My kids never ask for desert because they know I will always say something about it costing too much, etc. They were very happy we got to order desert. I ordered the Bailey's and Jack Daniel Mousse dressed up for my birthday. This thing was awesome. Best desert I had at WDW.

It was the same way in my family growing up, so I am sure the kids just loved getting dessert all week!

Can't wait to read more. I too never know my way around DHS.. I feel like it just twists and winds and drops you off in all sorts of places. Anxious to hear what you think about POR as well once you get to spend a little more time there.

 

[GAN]

Great cliffhanger ....I love it!

 

[Chief Powhatan]

Thanks for sharing your trip report!

I was there the same week.

Crazy story about the family with the cussing father.

Awesome story about your son's baptism!

I look forward to reading more.

 

[Nazran]

Can't wait to read more. I too never know my way around DHS.. I feel like it just twists and winds and drops you off in all sorts of places. Anxious to hear what you think about POR as well once you get to spend a little more time there.

Thank you for the kind comments and reading!

Great cliffhanger ....I love it!

Haha I hope to post tonight or tomorrow!

Thanks for sharing your trip report!

I was there the same week.

Crazy story about the family with the cussing father.

Awesome story about your son's baptism!

I look forward to reading more.

Thank you!

 

[Nazran]

Monsters and Lunch!

So it was getting close to lunch but we still had some time to kill. I had no idea how to get to Hollywood and Vine from Pixar Place but I wasn't too worried about it. It turns out we went the wrong way but it was good because we had no idea about the Monsters Inc Student Union! There was virtually no line so we jumped right in! The queue area is so neat with all of the Monsters University bulletins on the walls. Jennifer took a photo of each one I think while I wrangled mattie from trying to cut in line! She was desperate to get close to Sully! She (even though told many times Sully did not do autographs) was gonna pen him down on one!

All three children really enjoyed this meet n greet!

I think what stands out about this to me was that I had not discovered this in my gazillion planning hours spent on the computer. Michael had joked with me that I would not be surprised by anything when we got to Disney World because he thought I knew everything there was to know


To Lunch!

That took about all of 20 minutes to do and we looked around a gift shop adjacent to the character greet for a few more minutes when we were done. I didn't get any photos of that. Leslie called us about that time and they were headed to Hollywood and Vine. I had gotten my bearings on the map and proceeded to head the right way back to the area we needed to go. We got there before Chad and Leslie and so we waited outside (Beautiful weather!) and listened to the kids go on and on and on about starving... like we forgot to feed them or something that first day!

I had no expectations about lunch at Hollywood and Vine because it really was one of the few character lunches available for the little's (Mattie and Zane) that worked with the schedule. I had read a lot of reviews and they all leaned towards pretty good. The big boys (Michael CJ, and JD) were more interested in eating than getting their photos made with say,, Jake or Sofia the First Nathan I could tell was trying to act like he wasn't too interested either but photo evidence will prove otherwise! It took longer than expected to get seated so we waited an extra 20 minutes. Planner radar fired off again. That was gonna eat in to afternoon break time but what could we do?

We got seated around 12:30 and I must say the way it appears it is set up where parents face towards the character shows is great. If your kid jumped up and joined in a show it was OK! You didn't have to chase after them because they were being entertained.... by someone else....while I actually got to eat!

Mattie absolutely loves all Disney Jr characters so her eyes lit up when she saw what this was all about. They were dancing when we walked in and Mattie joined in as soon as we all got seated about 2 feet from us.

Now watch the progression of Michael int he foreground as this fiasco goes on... he has only food on his mind!

Still no food...

I can't take it anymore!! Mattie in the background just jamming out and Michael was DIEING! Notice Nathan is very ok with this even though the big kids thought it was too old for them

To be fair to Michael he was doing these faces quietly He wasn't crying even though it looks like it. He was just rubbing his face because he was a little tired too by then.

Sofia was first character to come by right after the song was over. Mattie loves her amulet.

Michael graciously stopped rubbing his face to get a photo for us! Nathan looks pretty happy here!

We stopped taking a lot of photos and I took Michael and Nathan to get their plates. Nathan is pretty picky but Michael was very open to trying new foods. He never had lobster before so he had his first taste in the lobster mac n cheese. He got seconds on that. Whenever we go buffet Nathan is all about the fruit. He had me fill half his plate with fruit! Many more characters stopped by and I was not taking photos. The food was actually what I would call the "surprise meal of the trip". Everything was above average for buffet food! The lobster mac n cheese was really good! Multiple plates of desert of course were consumed!

The Vacation Plan Altering Decision!

As we were wrapping up lunch we started chatting about going back to the Hotel for some downtime. It took the older kids by surprise even though we had reminded them several times about leaving mid day. There were some seriously disappointed faces in the crowd. Leslie started to explain to the kids that Zane (who is 2) needed his nap, etc. etc.

I know it is apparent in my photos that I am gleaming example of being in shape but the truth is I am not I am almost 6'1" and my weight is north of 320, and since I turned 40 a year ago I am starting to feel all of that weight. Particularly in my feet and ankles. I have to pop Alieve and Tylenol like candy to stay in front of my sore feet. Prior to the trip I purchased some Skechers walking shoes with the gel insole. These shoes were amazing. When walking I was feeling NO pain. Only if we stopped and I had to stand for a long time and the gel was fully compressed then my feet bothered me. As long as shuffled my weight right and left slowly it was very manageable! I popped up and asked the adults how they felt and I could tell no one wanted to leave the park. We were having too good of a time. So we all decided that day to stay at the park all day! As it turns out we never went back any day to the hotel... we were park warriors just like that!

Needless to say the kids were very excited! We got our stuff together and we also decided to spend the rest of the day together which was a big departure in our plans. I decided then to stop worrying about the schedule all together out side of our ADR's and Fastpasses. I am soo happy I decided this because everyone always looked at me when it was time to go do something. I got to ask them what they wanted to do... So we wandered with the idea of going down Streets of America and then seeing the stunt show.

Nathan telling Leslie about his morning. CJ with his sorcerer hat.

It took all of about 5 minutes for Zane to fall asleep.

Random walking shot.

Me and Jen

Jen and Leslie

"Yooo hoo. Big summer blowout!"

So we missed the stunt show when we got there by a country mile! No problem we sauntered over to Wandering Oakens Trading Post and Sauna! I knew this was here but I only thought it was a merchandise shop. I was sooo unprepared for this too! There was a serious crush of people in this place.

We got a photo from some nice people before we walked in.

I have to say it was pretty cool in there quite literally as it was getting a bit warm in the sun outside. We waited our turn and we got in and made our snowman.

The finished masterpiece!

Next up? A semi-minor panic attack at Honey I Lost Your Kids!

 

[Nazran]

Honey I Almost Lost the Kids!

Having never been to Disney World I relied on a number of crowd prediction websites. On two occasions during the trip there was something way out of whack! The day at Hollywood Studios was predicted to be a 4 on a scale of 10. Before lunch that seemed about right. (as far as what I imagined about the crowds) Sometime after lunch and 2pm that all changed. I had noticed that in Wandering Oaken's the crowd seemed pretty stout. I was a little flustered in there. When we exited though it seemed like a switch was flipped! There was a crush of humanity before my eyes. It was night and day!

I didn't have any big plans about what was next. All I really had planned was ABC Commissary and I wanted to try and make one of the Fantasmic shows. The big kids really wanted to do Honey I Shrunk the Kids. Looking at this as an out of shape 41 year old I was very dubious. You really can't see a great deal from the outside but I got the sense through sounds and some cracks that it was literally vibrating with kids! I am not even sure what this is a photo of other than a bunch of people.

I was not disappointed upon entering. It was packed to the gills with kids and parents. Michael, Nathan, CJ, and JD took off immediately with Chad and I (Leslie and Jennifer would be directly there after getting a soda.) yelling to stay together. Mattie was desperate to do anything. Slide, climb, get soaked, etc. I let her down and...

<poof>

She was gone! I started to panic because she is a runner and will take off on you and not stop until she is absolutely lost and has no idea where she is. I fast walked the way she went and caught a glimpse of her headed towards the spider web thing. I tool one look at that and felt I had not change getting through that at my weight and fitness level. I needed to stop her before she got to entrance!

Luckily JD happened to run across her and grabbed her arm surprised to see her there. He held on to her and saw me. He then volunteered to walk her through the spider maze. I was very relieved! Having ascertained that she was in good hands for at least five minutes I scanned the area for Nathan 7 whom I left with a 11 year old Michael and his friends (One who I just interacted with was not with them) I caught a glimpse of Chad who had Zane and did not seem to be willing to let his 2 year old take his chances unlike me! I managed to see Michael going down a slide but no Nathan... Just as I started to head that way I saw Nathan come down the slide. I returned my attention to the spider web maze and finally spotted JD and Mattie slowly making their way past the top. I caught a glimpse of Nathan one more time and saw his general direction. Chad walked up and I can tell he was flustered because he could not find CJ or JD. I told him JD was up in the maze with Mattie. He decided to wait over by entrance in case any of our kids tried to leave. After what seemed like an eternity Mattie and JD emerged Just as Michael and Nathan showed up with CJ in toe. Whew... all children accounted for. They all begged to do the maze and I let them. As they were going up I walked Mattie back to the entrance and saw Chad. I let him know I found CJ. Mattie and JD went to Jennifer and Leslie. I went back to the spider maze and after a while rounded up the other kids. They wanted to stay and I issued a "Heck No!".

My Wife Loves Ariel!

Jennifer had really only two bucket list attractions the whole time and both were Little Mermaid themed. She loves Ariel! Naturally she wanted to see the Voyage of the Little Mermaid show. I had seen a Youtube video of this once and thought it might be fun for Mattie. The big boys were not soooo thrilled but they managed to get through it. Big line by this time but we eventually got in. We were seated hereish...

I was soo impressed at the light show and just how well this stage show is done! Since I was done I got to try and play with low light photos and super zoom features. Now for each of these photos there are probably 3 to 5 blurry shows but oh well...

Mattie was very engaged in this show! She loved it!

The One Where Mattie got in BIG Trouble....

Big Hero 6 was the big Disney movie at the time we were there. When we exited we saw signs for the Big Hero 6 meet n greet along with The Incredibles and Mickey Sorcerer. Jennifer and Leslie felt bad for the Honey I Shrunk the Kids mess so they offered to take all 6 kids in there for three character greets. All I have are picture and what I saw when they arrived after 40 minutes. Chad and I hung out near the entrance to the Animation Academy. We grabbed some sodas and just relaxed and chatted. Here are some of the photos Jennifer got while in there.

now here are the photos I got of them as they exited and rounded the corner... Notice the happy big kids? Notice Jennifer with a not very happy look on her face and a death grip on Mattie?

A few seconds later....

Apparently she was a little out of control in the Mickey meet n greet lines Cutting in line... trying to crash other kids photos... etc. Mommy was not happy with her and she knew it...

Ho Hum Dinner.

It was now getting close to dinner time and all kids were hungry again. Our plan was to go to ABC Commisary and the Humprheys would be headed to Pizza Planet. Only problem was they were kind of in the opposite direction of Fantasmic and Tower of Terror which the kids and even I were really interested in. So we decided to stay together and find something to eat along the way. We made the turn around the Brown Derby and went down Sunset Blvd. It was getting to be dusk and the Christmas lights were coming on. Sunset Blvd was absolutely beautiful and weather to make you think you might be in California. It was about 70 degrees with low humidity and light breeze.

Crowds were still large...

When we got down to the Tower of Terror we realized we had to jump in line for Fantasmic and NOT eat until it was over or we would eat then see the late show. We opted to eat. We stopped at Sunset Ranch Market. This was the only 'meh' meal we had the entire time. I don't remember what we all got but I got a /meh cheese burger and it was not very good. I did run back up the street to Anaheim Produce where they were serving all golden margaritas. I got Jennifer and I one each. Very good! Even for $10 margaritas...

We had some time to kill now. Talk turned to Tower of Terror... I really wanted to ride this. I thought I would be ok with it as going up and down doesn't really bother my motion sickness. We were surprised stand by was only 40 minutes. We had time for a silly photo.

About this time is when the kids started noticing the semi-spookiness and then seeing the doors open and people dropping that opinions started to change. First Michael whispered to me that he was not sure about this ride. He was ashamed about being nervous. I convinced him that there is no shame in being scared about riding. The only one of the kids that was gung ho was my 7 year old Nathan! he couldn't wait! We started up the walkway and not long JD stated he was scared and didn't want to ride. He walked back to entrance. This left Me, Chad, CJ and Nathan. I forgot my camera in the stroller What a cool ride! I looked over when we were getting dropped and Nathan was off his seat a little and weightless. He was cackling with laughter! Then I saw CJ was having the opposite reaction and crying

A Fantastic Fantasmic!

When we got done is was about time to get in line for Fantasmic late show. The crowds (believe it or not) were extreme now. After all of the bathroom going was done we jumped in line and waited until time for seating. We were on the right side of the amphitheater...

This was another attraction I think I had undervalued... boy was that about to change!

Candid photo of Leslie and Zane watching...

and me...

Belle (She and I would have a moment later in the trip...)

Jennifer's favorite!

This snake was SOOO cool!

Of course Dragon Maleficent was amazing!

After the show was over Leslie and Chad expressed to me how glad they are that I suggested seeing Fantasmic. They did not think they would like it. All of the kids LOVED the show!

Something Weird Just Happened and I Nearly Throw Up!

So the show is over. We find our stroller finally. We head back up Sunset in another HUGE crush of people leaving Fantasmic. Saw some Christmas lights.

We were then headed to the Osbourne Lights before heading back to the hotels. When we got to Echo Lake it was like the Red Sea parted. Even though it was Extra Magic Hours people were headed up Hollywood Blvd and out of the park! Not knowing how to get back to Streets of America exactly we wandered by Star Tours. We had never even made it over here in the morning. My boys had no idea there was a Star Wars section of HS! Chad and his boys had done Star Tours already but they asked if we could go. My boys were all in! So Chad and i and the older boys went to Star Tours. I was jazzed being a huge Star Wars fan. Stand Bye was 5 minutes!

We walked all the way up and boarded the simulator. The show started and it was very apparent within 1 minute my body was not going to handle this ride well. As soon as the Hoth battle started I was already in a cold sweat and by the end of the ride I was forcing myself to not throw up! I am such a weeny!

I was able to compose myself and we headed over to the Osbourne Lights. If anyone is debating skipping this please don't! If you love Christmas lights you will not be disappointed!

We were all just stunned at this...

Kids danced... kids played... crowds were small... I had to buy lighted led necklaces for us all.

We took photos...

I ordered an egg nog night cap! Chad and Leslie headed out at this point and we decided to stay another 30 minutes.. I was having a hard time making us leave!

I made a short video.

We finally headed out. This was our only trip to HS and I have to say I wish we had another day here! What an absolutely unexpected good time! A few last photos on the way out... Never to be seen by my family again the Hat.

We finally made it to the van about 10pm. We were all tired...

We got back to the hotel and while Jen was getting kids ready for bed and tomorrow I decided to make that journey to Walmart to get some breakfast items. I got back to hotel around 11:15 and was asleep by 11:30.

Up next was our first Magic Kingdom day! So many years of waiting for this moment were finally a reality the next morning and I almost ruined it for my sweet son Michael...

 

[cstorm65]

Sounds like it was a great day overall. You all got to fit a lot of things in including both Fantasmic! and the Osbourne Lights. Can't wait to read more.

 

[deannaf87]

Love your trip report! Can't wait to hear about your first experience with the MK!

 

[xlsm]

We always travel in summer, but are planning a 2016 week of Christmas trip and I can't WAIT to see the Osborne Lights.

 

[ash901]

Loving your report! It passes my time while working the weekend! Its nice to see someone brag about Hollywood Studios! Update soon

 

[Nazran]

Sounds like it was a great day overall. You all got to fit a lot of things in including both Fantasmic! and the Osbourne Lights. Can't wait to read more.

I am sooo glad we did decide to be Park Warriors. I think we would have missed a lot otherwise. If this was a once in lifetime trip for us it was better time spent in park to me!

Love your trip report! Can't wait to hear about your first experience with the MK!

Thank you!

We always travel in summer, but are planning a 2016 week of Christmas trip and I can't WAIT to see the Osborne Lights.

They were very very cool. We stayed about 45 minutes and I think we missed some still.

Loving your report! It passes my time while working the weekend! Its nice to see someone brag about Hollywood Studios! Update soon

Thank you. I thought HS was very good. Updating this weekend I hope.

 

[disney-inspired]

Michael's Big Day

Up next.... Friday the 28th Travel Day 2

Just reading now and oh my gosh, that is so great! God continues to show His mercy and grace even when we have doubts. What a great way to start off a family trip.

 

[Disneylover42]

Hello from a DFW reader. Waiting patiently for more...

 

[Vernie822]

Caught up - can't wait for more.

I can't take it anymore!! Mattie in the background just jamming out and Michael was DIEING! Notice Nathan is very ok with this even though the big kids thought it was too old for them

Hahahahaha.. Michael is like "Seriously? I just want to eat!" and she is having the time of her life.. LOL! What a great big bro for being so patient!

The food was actually what I would call the "surprise meal of the trip". Everything was above average for buffet food! The lobster mac n cheese was really good! Multiple plates of desert of course were consumed!

Awesome!! I have never been here.. maybe back in the day as a kid.. but I never hear amazing things about this place. Lobster mac n cheese would reel me in for sure.

I popped up and asked the adults how they felt and I could tell no one wanted to leave the park. We were having too good of a time. So we all decided that day to stay at the park all day! As it turns out we never went back any day to the hotel... we were park warriors just like that!

Such troopers. Even I need a mid-day break sometimes as a 24 year old haha. Glad to see you guys enjoyed HS so much and that you really got a ton done that day.

I decided then to stop worrying about the schedule all together out side of our ADR's and Fastpasses. I am soo happy I decided this because everyone always looked at me when it was time to go do something.

We kind of did the same last trip. It's nice though cause you spend so much time analyzing and planning, that once you schedule the big stuff like ADRs and Fastpasses, you can enjoy the rest of the time with no stress!

We walked all the way up and boarded the simulator. The show started and it was very apparent within 1 minute my body was not going to handle this ride well. As soon as the Hoth battle started I was already in a cold sweat and by the end of the ride I was forcing myself to not throw up! I am such a weeny!

Omg, thanks for the heads up. I am a ride weenie and anything simulated will make me nauseous and miserable. Did you do Dinosaur at AK? That one made me hate myself for like an hour after riding it, haha.

Such a nice picture!! Love the necklaces. We're seeing the lights this year, I can't wait.

We finally headed out. This was our only trip to HS and I have to say I wish we had another day here! What an absolutely unexpected good time! A few last photos on the way out... Never to be seen by my family again the Hat.

Awesome!! It looks like you guys had a seriously awesome day. Minus honey nearly losing the kids.. and the Mattie moment lol.. Sounds like a pretty great day to me.

 

[Nazran]

Day 3 Dec 1st - Magic Kingdom!

Today was the first of two whole days in the Magic Kingdom! This is it! This is where the memories I have from Disneyland are most relevant to this entire experience! We got up on time and got cleaned up, dressed, and fed as fast as we could. We weren't going to make rope drop but we were going to get there within 30 minutes I had surmised. We got to the parking lot and got out and got everything ready for the walk to the TTC.


How to Crush a Tiny Heart in 15 Min or Less!

I really approached this morning in a bad way. I placed my own desires in front of my family's fun. I needed to get to the Magic Kingdom as FAST as possible. I didn't want to waste a minute! Looking back at it now I am not sure why I felt that way. It wasn't going anywhere. I am not sure if a more leisurely pace would have made a difference in the day but at the time I felt like I was losing time I guess.

So looking at the picture below. One child is happy and the other is sad for whatever reason. (I don't even remember what about)

Naturally the "You're at the happiest place on the planet. Act like it!" went over like a lead balloon. While this was not holding me up it aggravated me

Soon we were up to here...

...and under the bridge and then to the TTC.

On queue as we reach the lost and found at the TTC every bladder in our group was suddenly full and about to bust! This was holding me up and as you probably guessed... it aggravated me.

When You Promise the Monorail but Deliver a Ferry!

Up until this point it did not seem like there were many people at the TTC. This seemed to fit with the crowd prediction level of 4 by the previously-mentioned-subscription-based-crowd-predicting-website! As we approached the monorail queue the line was halfway down the ramp. As I looked over at the ferry one of the boats was returning and there was only about 50 people that I could see between me and the launch.

When you tell your spectrum child that you will take the Monorail to the MK you had better deliver. a Monorail ride. As I had mentioned in the first posts Michael sees the world very literally and when you tell him something he believes it and gets his heart set on it.

What poor decision do you think I made at that moment? No monorail in sight and line down the ramp vs a Ferry that was almost there that had tons of capacity.

"Look guys. We are going to ride the monorail to get to O'hana tonight. There is a line at the monorail and really no wait for the ferry. We need to get there as fast as possible." I said. I saw the look in Michael's eyes and followed it up with something to Jen that he will be ok and just needed to "suck it up". His inability to "suck it up" once again... aggravated me. Jennifer was now aggravated too... but at me!

I was not in a picture taking mood as we boarded the ferry but Jen snapped a few.

Michael being old enough to realize I was disappointed spent the entire ride trying his hardest to not let the tears flow. This picture was NOT a happy picture for Michael.

Mattie was oblivious to all and was having a blast.

I spent the entire ride to MK trying to figure out why I was being such an Ogre. It was selfishness and me trying to run roughshod over others vacations. I debated even talking about this on the boards but I felt it was an important part of the trip to show that a little grace goes a long way.

Before long this view...

turned in to this view...

and finally we were at the MK. Each time I looked at Michael I could tell he was still sad. I felt worse and worse. I looked up and saw...

but I walked right on past it with Mattie in the stroller... Jen kept asking me what are you doing? I stopped and turned and explained we can ride this Monorail. I had spied the Resort Loop monorail entrance and headed up to it.

Dad Redeemed!

It took about 3 minutes for the monorail to arrive. Michael was happy, but he did feel bad because he cried and apologized to ME for not being tough enough. I just told him that he did nothing wrong and I was sorry I was selfish. Some pics.

Happy Michael in the Monorail

So we made it around all resorts in the loop. Yeah we wasted some time but in the end I was in a much better frame of mind when we got in.

Up Next? This is a 4?!