Escaping Irene: A NY family "evacuates" to Disney! *Update 7/7 WWoHP*

[DrMomof3]

Monday morning Tom packed up the 2 big kids and took them, sans stroller, over to AK. It was an EMH morning and I honestly have NO idea when they got there!
They rode Safari and took lots of pictures. I know they rode EE at least 3 or 4 times. This was the kids first time on EE and apparently they love it! Yes, these are the same kids who refuse to set foot on ToT.
Tom remembered to use Photopass:

As you can probably tell from this picture, this was not Nathaniel's best trip...

They had lunch at Rainforest. Our former au pair works in Guest Relations at Epcot and her sister and niece were visiting AK that day, too. Tom treated the whole group to lunch (I was very sad to miss it but I saw Delphine later in the trip).

Nathaniel as Atlas. Weight of the World on his shoulders.

Jessica with Delphine who took care of her when she was a baby!

In the meantime. Back at BLT....

Nothing in life that a Mickey Mouse lollipop doesn't make better!

Zachary got a little antsy as the day went on so we went exploring....

Zachary was sad that the big kids were going on rides without him so we walked over to MK. A big plus of BLT!!!

Excuse my weird expression. We did photopass!

We used stroller as wheelchair to go through the queue at Buzz and then popped on the Peoplemover. By the Zachary was starting to fade and we headed back to the hotel to rest.

When Tom and the older kids returned home, we changed into dinner clothes and drove over to Epcot for our ADR at Teppan Edo. Dinner was fine. Tom is not a huge fan of Teppan Edo. He feels that our local Hibachi place is better and less expensive. He's probably right but sadly my kids LOVE Teppan Edo and think it's a must-do.

We did stop for some photopass pictures:

There was NO vomiting on Monday! I still remember lots of children NOT sleeping well but at least there was no vomit.

Amanda

 

[firecracker725]

You are rolling with the updates today. The kids must be otherwise occupied.

It's awesome that you were able to take a short outing to MK with Zachary. When we were there in May 2010, Avery (who was just over 2 at the time) spiked a high fever and ended up at urgent care. Luckily my MIL was with us and just kept her entertained with movies in the room. Once we found out it was just an ear infection and nothing contagious, we dosed her with ibuprofen and headed back to the parks. Horrible parenting, I know, but she felt fine and enjoyed herself.

 

[DrMomof3]

You are rolling with the updates today. The kids must be otherwise occupied.

It's awesome that you were able to take a short outing to MK with Zachary. When we were there in May 2010, Avery (who was just over 2 at the time) spiked a high fever and ended up at urgent care. Luckily my MIL was with us and just kept her entertained with movies in the room. Once we found out it was just an ear infection and nothing contagious, we dosed her with ibuprofen and headed back to the parks. Horrible parenting, I know, but she felt fine and enjoyed herself.

Considering this trip was in August I figure I better finish it up! it's very cold in NY so we were indoors a lot today. And I can't remember all the details anymore so I might as well just summarize?

On Sunday we dosed Z with ibuprofen but after another vomiting incident we thought we should keep him quiet.

Amanda

 

[natebenma]

So sorry that you and Zachary missed out on AK. It is great that you could easily make it over to MK, but the fact that he faded fast really should underscore that you made the right call.

There was one trip we had when I had to stay behind with Nate while Mark and Ben visited HS. It was the first and only time Ben did Jedi training! And had his picture taken at the end with Darth and the Stormtroopers and the hosts from the show! At least Mark got a picture. ONE!

Wow, the EPCOT ball is so beautiful at night!

 

[beebeeryan]

Well I'll admit, this is the first I've been back on the DIS Boards in quite awhile with no planned trip in the future. I'm trying not to torture myself.

But I saw the email update from you and thought, wait, did she ever finish??? Did she go back? Did she just do the Marathon? So here I am.

It's awful the kids kept getting sick, but you guys seemed to work around it quite well. My boys love AK, it's not my favorite park either, but they love it so we ended up there twice this last August trip. I finally got to do EE for the first time and did it twice, it was AWESOME! I don't do upside down rollercoasters, but that kinda thing I love. I have to agree that being able to walk over to MK from BLT or the CR is incredible. We did that so often, just walk over to do a couple of things or eat and then go back to the hotel. So convenient. You just cannot beat that.

I have not been doing well on my running in the past few months but want to do that 5k in June again and maybe one in May so I gotta get back on track here, can't wait to hear about your marathon weekend!

 

[DrMomof3]

So sorry that you and Zachary missed out on AK. It is great that you could easily make it over to MK, but the fact that he faded fast really should underscore that you made the right call.

There was one trip we had when I had to stay behind with Nate while Mark and Ben visited HS. It was the first and only time Ben did Jedi training! And had his picture taken at the end with Darth and the Stormtroopers and the hosts from the show! At least Mark got a picture. ONE!

Wow, the EPCOT ball is so beautiful at night!

Thankfully a day of rest seemed to be just the thing Zachary needed! Tom can be good about taking pictures but I think being outnumbered was stressful for him!

Well I'll admit, this is the first I've been back on the DIS Boards in quite awhile with no planned trip in the future. I'm trying not to torture myself.

But I saw the email update from you and thought, wait, did she ever finish??? Did she go back? Did she just do the Marathon? So here I am.

It's awful the kids kept getting sick, but you guys seemed to work around it quite well. My boys love AK, it's not my favorite park either, but they love it so we ended up there twice this last August trip. I finally got to do EE for the first time and did it twice, it was AWESOME! I don't do upside down rollercoasters, but that kinda thing I love. I have to agree that being able to walk over to MK from BLT or the CR is incredible. We did that so often, just walk over to do a couple of things or eat and then go back to the hotel. So convenient. You just cannot beat that.

I have not been doing well on my running in the past few months but want to do that 5k in June again and maybe one in May so I gotta get back on track here, can't wait to hear about your marathon weekend!

I totally agree about walking to the park. CR/BLT and the Epcot resorts all are great for this!
Definitely sign up for the 5k. It'll motivate you!!!

Amanda

 

[klacey1]

Aww sorry the AK day was a bit of a wash for you! I'm glad you got to get out to MK at least for a little while-- poor Zachary! Being sick is no fun, especially in Disney!

 

[DrMomof3]

Aww sorry the AK day was a bit of a wash for you! I'm glad you got to get out to MK at least for a little while-- poor Zachary! Being sick is no fun, especially in Disney!

Thanks Kylie! We had a decent day. I was feeling a little sorry for myself but we managed to have fun!

Amanda

 

[DrMomof3]

Tuesday was AM EMH at Epcot. We ended up driving over instead of taking the monorail because we were having trouble mobilizing the troops. We missed rope drop but made it well before regular park hours. The plan was for me to run to Soarin' to grab FPs and then meet everyone at Test Track. The one glitch is that Nathaniel insisted on coming with me for FPs. The difference in speed between someone training for a marathon and a 7 year old without an agenda.... well, you get the picture!
I guess Tom and the younger 2 got antsy waiting for us because they hopped in line for Test Track. Nathaniel and I got in line once we were back. I was a little sad because it was Zachary's 1st time on Test Track and I missed it.

Nathaniel

A rare picture of me with my oh-so-sexy hip pack!

Nathaniel and I played a game in line where he decided he'd be the grown-up and I would be the child. The single rider who sat with us was an older teenager/young adult (I'm guessing college age) who played right along with our game. When Nathaniel told me to put my arms in the air, this guy did too. It was really fun. I thanked him at the end of the ride for being such a good sport (he was at Disney with his similarly aged brother and his parents - we saw them later in the day).
We met up with the rest of the family in the car exhibit. Unfortunately, Zachary was having fun playing in the cars and didn't want to leave....

Look at how well-trained he is! He's putting on a seatbelt!

I finally bribed him enough to leave Test Track and we had a quick snack before heading to Nathaniel's favorite ride - Mission:Space. There are 2 issues with Mission:Space for my family. One, Zachary isn't tall enough. Two, Tom gets motion sick on the Orange Side. Tom first took the big kids on the Green Side while Zachary and I went to the indoor play area at the exit of Mission:Space. Then I took Jessica and Nathaniel on the Orange Side (which is ok for me but I just don't love it).

At this point it was time to head over to France for lunch....

Amanda

 

[DrMomof3]

One them of this trip (besides vomiting ) was the obsession with wildlife. Especially Nathaniel. So on the way to France we had to stop for some ducks.

And the obligatory Totem Pole pictures in Canada:

I think the pacifier really adds to the photo.

Nathaniel, who is part monkey, climb to the highest opening.

We had a nice lunch in France. My kids weren't super well behaved which didn't make me terribly happy. This trip it became obvious that Zachary is not at a great age for sit-down meals. I left many meals early to take Zachary for a walk when his behavior became unacceptable. In the beginning of the trip I figured it was because he wasn't feeling well but later it became clear that he just gets super antsy. He's not really old enough for the games on the children's menu (his fine motor skills are at least 6 months behind his chronological age) and there's a limit to how long an iPad can entertain him.
On the way out of World Showcase, we stopped in England.

While the kids were playing in the phone booths, something magical happened. The telephone which is not in a booth (there is a phone in between the 2 phone booths) rang. I decided to pick up the phone. It was Belle calling! She was trying to pick out some books for Beast's library and wanted some recommendations. She and I had a lovely conversation (I couldn't get my kids' attention in time for them to talk to her). I know it's silly but it was a really fun little thing!

At this point we decided to head back to the hotel for a swim.

and maybe a nap????

The BLT pool is small-ish. It was not an issue at all for us during this trip but I can easily see that during peak season, it could get crowded. The slide was good. Not the best one on Disney property but good enough to be fun. Zachary was able to go down with a life jacket and we'd "catch him" at the bottom.
Another little bit of magic occurred while we were at the pool....

Miss Jessica lost her 1st tooth!!!!

The skies started to get a bit dark and Tom and I had a dinner reservation at Jiko that night so we headed back for a warm bath and to put some PJs on. And we learned an important lesson about adding bubbles to a whirlpool tub...

There were bubbles still in the tub in the morning!

At this point the skies opened up in a most impressive way! Torrential downpour is actually an understatement!!! Fortunately our Kids Nite Out sitter arrived on time and Tom and I were ready to go to AKL for the 1st time. Our babysitter was a college-aged girl with lots of fun ideas. Since the weather was bad, she took the kids to the completely empty convention level and had them run around. She created games and scavenger hunts for them. She also slipped a note to the front desk and got a button from the tooth fairy for Jessica. It was an I'm Celebrating button and said "I'm celebrating losing my 1st tooth at Disney World". Very sweet.

Tom and I hopped in a cab to AKL. I think it cost about $20. So worth it so that we didn't need a designated driver!!! AKL is beautiful. We were a little early so we stopped in the store to buy Jessica a Tinkerbell pin (we figured that at Disney Tinkerbell must help the tooth fairy). We also bought a NY Yankees Mickey Mouse pin for Nathaniel and a Mickey Mouse keychain for Zachary. That Tinkerbell is very generous!!!
We had some time to see some animals outside before heading to the restaurant. It really is a beautiful place! Jiko is gorgeous. Our server was very knowledgeable. We ordered a lovely bottle of wine and started with some appetizers. I always find that the servers get a look of relief when we say we have a TIW card instead of the dining plan...
I was a little worried about Jiko because I hate any and all forms of curry. I've tried a million times and I just don't like curry. Thai curry, Indian curry, it doesn't matter. I also find that many people don't understand that I can identify the smallest trace of curry in something and then I won't eat it. (Tom swears that I can identify spoiled milk 2 days before anyone else - I'm sensitive to smells and tastes.) I'm not a picky eater - I like spicy and I'll eat a lot of things - but curry is a no-no for me. Tom ordered the taste of Africa appetizer which I knew I couldn't do. The waiter tried to convince me that I would probably be ok tasting it but Tom immediately knew that 2 of the 4 dips were not ok for me (there are advantages to 11 years of marriage!). I think I ordered a salad but can't remember anymore (and we shared a bottle of wine!). I had the filet mignon for an entree. The waiter recommended that I have no sauce. The food was outstanding. We shared a cheese plate for dessert. Apparently they moved the cheese plate from dessert to appetizer because of the dining plan but since we were paying out of pocket we were able to have it for dessert. It was delicious. Feeling very full and happy, we hopped in a cab back to BLT.
One beautiful thing about a babysitter is that all 3 children were sleeping soundly. The tooth fairy did her thing and we went off to sleep. Another good day!

Amanda

 

[natebenma]

A much better day!!!

Too bad about not riding TT together, but it sounds like you made it fun.

With Zachary's recent illness, it's actually a good thing he couldn't ride Mission Space.

Cute pictures in Canada and the phone booth. I didn't know about the Belle phone calls, but I do have the telephone number for the booths:

Phone numbers for booths in United Kingdom

Right Booth 407-827-9861 (closest to the road)
Left Booth 407-827-9862
Center Booth 407-827-9863

Other phones in the world showcase

Canada 407-827-9884
Morocco 407-827-9747 (back by Restaurant Marrakesh)
Germany 407-827-9662 (at the restrooms near the model railroad)


Great picture of the bubble bath.

Congrats to Jessica for losing her first tooth. Ben lost one at Disney one year, too. Not the first. I think it was on the day we were leaving so we didn't have to worry that the tooth fairy wouldn't find him.

I'm glad you had a nice dinner at Jiko. At least you got close to AK.

 

[firecracker725]

I feel the same way about curry. I just can't handle it, even though I came to develop a taste for spicy foods during my first pregnancy. I'm glad you found something good at Jiko. I think my DH would love it there, as he's a curry fan.

 

[DrMomof3]

A much better day!!!

Too bad about not riding TT together, but it sounds like you made it fun.

With Zachary's recent illness, it's actually a good thing he couldn't ride Mission Space.

Cute pictures in Canada and the phone booth. I didn't know about the Belle phone calls, but I do have the telephone number for the booths:

Phone numbers for booths in United Kingdom

Right Booth 407-827-9861 (closest to the road)
Left Booth 407-827-9862
Center Booth 407-827-9863

Other phones in the world showcase

Canada 407-827-9884
Morocco 407-827-9747 (back by Restaurant Marrakesh)
Germany 407-827-9662 (at the restrooms near the model railroad)


Great picture of the bubble bath.

Congrats to Jessica for losing her first tooth. Ben lost one at Disney one year, too. Not the first. I think it was on the day we were leaving so we didn't have to worry that the tooth fairy wouldn't find him.

I'm glad you had a nice dinner at Jiko. At least you got close to AK.

I knew that you had the phone numbers for the booths. I thought about looking them up on my phone but decided to just go with the flow. It was a special treat for me to talk to Belle!
Zachary seems pretty immune to motion sickness but you're certainly right that it's lucky that we didn't have to test his stomach.

I feel the same way about curry. I just can't handle it, even though I came to develop a taste for spicy foods during my first pregnancy. I'm glad you found something good at Jiko. I think my DH would love it there, as he's a curry fan.

Jiko was lovely. It was a pretty restaurant with good service. And there was enough for me to choose from. I know it's hypocritical but when we get our date night at Disney I always hate when there are poorly behaved children in the restaurant. We tend to dine early with our kids to try to not bother adults who are dining so our children won't be the problem.

Amanda

 

[beebeeryan]

I feel the same way about curry, not a fan. I can't do aspartame either and I swear I can taste it in the tiniest of sips. I can't to diet or zero sodas at all. Good thing I'm not a big soda fan.

I remember the Tuesday downpour. That was our last night. We got wet at MK if I recall.

How fun that Belle called, those little magic moments make the trips so special, those are the things that just make you want to keep going back.

I swear we are all getting the itch right now. No trip planned for this year, but this is the time we'd be thinking about it and booking and comments are flying around the house by everyone. LOL

I thought the slide at BLT looked really cool and was better than the CR? but we've never tried it or seen it up close. So is the CR slide better? My boys loved it and I did go down it twice. It was a lot better than the WL one which is much small and not as high. Slides are a very important feature for us, since we spend a lot of time at the pool on these trips.

 

[DrMomof3]

I feel the same way about curry, not a fan. I can't do aspartame either and I swear I can taste it in the tiniest of sips. I can't to diet or zero sodas at all. Good thing I'm not a big soda fan.

I remember the Tuesday downpour. That was our last night. We got wet at MK if I recall.

How fun that Belle called, those little magic moments make the trips so special, those are the things that just make you want to keep going back.

I swear we are all getting the itch right now. No trip planned for this year, but this is the time we'd be thinking about it and booking and comments are flying around the house by everyone. LOL

I thought the slide at BLT looked really cool and was better than the CR? but we've never tried it or seen it up close. So is the CR slide better? My boys loved it and I did go down it twice. It was a lot better than the WL one which is much small and not as high. Slides are a very important feature for us, since we spend a lot of time at the pool on these trips.

I think the BLT slide was better but we haven't stayed CR for a few years so it's hard to compare. I liked the BLT slide but BC (obviously) and probably Poly are better.
I'm glad my DH let me book a bounceback...

Amanda

 

[DrMomof3]

When planning the trip, I realized that we would want a more mellow day after our date-night dinner. Wednesday was that day! It was also probably the single most expensive day we've ever had at Disney but it was so worth it!
We got up in the morning and decided to check out breakfast at the Wave. They have 2 options for breakfast - a la carte (order off the menu) or a breakfast buffet. The buffet was nice. It wasn't huge like Chef Mickey or Cape May but had everything you could want. My family doesn't eat pork (except me) so I don't always feel that breakfast buffets are a good value but my kids love smoked salmon which probably makes up for the lack of meat! Anyway we enjoyed a nice breakfast and then headed over to the dock for our 1st ever fishing excursion!!!
A little background about the fishing trip. My kids, especially Nathaniel, are obsessed with fishing. Tom and I are complete non-fisher people. I don't know the first thing about catching fish. And, to be perfectly honest, I'm a teeny bit squeamish about the whole thing. So booking a guided fishing trip seemed like an excellent solution. And it was!
We got life jackets for the kids and hopped into the fishing boat. The driver was great! He had a cooler full of cold beverages (water and soda) and lots of fishing poles and bait. He taught us everything. It was nice and quiet on the lake and we had great views of everything. Zachary was a bit of a handful and Nathaniel got a little stressed about doing everything by himself. And then there was the emergency bathroom stop at Fort Wilderness for Jessica. But overall it was really fun and something I would recommend.

The Poly from the water.

The Contemporary. You can see the beautiful weather!

Yes, I was the only one who didn't catch a fish.

It was all catch-and-release fishing.
I can honestly say it was worth the price (I can't remember how much it was but it was expensive) and I would totally do it again.

Amanda

 

[natebenma]

What a fantastic backdrop for a fishing trip! I love your pictures- such a beautiful view.

The fish everyone caught look HUGE! In the pictures, they almost look as big as the kids.

My DH grew up in a family of 3 boys, and they all fish, so he will take out our boys locally. Always catch and release.

It looks like everyone was feeling ok for the trip, so that's good!

 

[DrMomof3]

What a fantastic backdrop for a fishing trip! I love your pictures- such a beautiful view.

The fish everyone caught look HUGE! In the pictures, they almost look as big as the kids.

My DH grew up in a family of 3 boys, and they all fish, so he will take out our boys locally. Always catch and release.

It looks like everyone was feeling ok for the trip, so that's good!

It was a really good experience. It's so nice to just "show up" for something like that and have someone else do all the prep. No illness on the boat - just some crabbiness.

Amanda

 

[beebeeryan]

That looks like fun, I wouldn't be doing any catching, but the boys would love it. I'd be taking the pictures.

That was the day we left to go home.

 

[Shannon84]

hi!!!

I am catching up and following along!!