For the First Time in Forever-

[mdsouth]

Chapter 12 – Early Morning at PORFQ

Monday, February 10, I woke up at my usual time, well before sunrise. I was anxious to get up and go out and experience all that Disney has to offer, but I knew as a mother that my daughter would be a much happier travel companion and be able to go longer if I let her sleep in. So, as hard as it was for me, I let her sleep until 8:30 or so before I got her out of bed and dressed for the day. I spent the time checking my email messages and just standing out on the balcony looking out at the beautiful scenery.





will post more today - Up Next - Experiencing the World of Tomorrow - EPCOT's Future World

 

[vleeth]

I can't help with the picky eating, but my daughter is also tall and thin. I'm not sure her percentages, but she is 9 years old, 4 ft 11 in and 50 lbs. But in her case she has Marfans Syndrome and there isn't much we can do to help her gain weight. She will be able to put on weight once she is an adult.

 

[mdsouth]

I can't help with the picky eating, but my daughter is also tall and thin. I'm not sure her percentages, but she is 9 years old, 4 ft 11 in and 50 lbs. But in her case she has Marfans Syndrome and there isn't much we can do to help her gain weight. She will be able to put on weight once she is an adult.

My daughter's doctor was concerned she might have Marfans Syndrome, so he sent us to a specialist. She had many of the indicators for it but he said he didn't think she had it. She had seven out of the nine indicators I think. So, we are going to continue to watch her development. We also had her heart checked and she is fine for now.

I hope your DD does not have any complications. I have a friend whose son has it, so I am aware of some of the things to watch out for.

You probably have similar issues with trying to find pants that are long enough for your DD but also fit around the waist. For several years now, we have bought her jeans and pants at Gap Kids since they have the elastic inside that can be adjusted around the waist. Haley is in a 12/14 for length now. They work since we can cinch in the waist with the elastic. But that is the last size they have in the Gap Kids side. I have tried regular junior jeans on her, size zero but they are way to big in the waist. So, if she continues to grow up and not out, her pants will look like cropped pants year round!

 

[vleeth]

My daughter and my husband were both diagnosed by a geneticist. They both have a mild case. He has had a detached retna and dislocated lens. She has scoliosis and has to wear shoe inserts because she is so flat footed.

The pants thing is causing us issues now. The 12's are way to short and the 14's are baggy even with the elastic as tight as it will go. I have no hopes of her fitting a 0 or a 00 anytime soon. I'm trying to decide if I will try to sew up the sides of the jeans that I buy or make them myself...and I should say I have NEVER sewed a pair of pants before. So it will be an adventure, to say the least.

 

[mdsouth]

I can't help with the picky eating, but my daughter is also tall and thin. I'm not sure her percentages, but she is 9 years old, 4 ft 11 in and 50 lbs. But in her case she has Marfans Syndrome and there isn't much we can do to help her gain weight. She will be able to put on weight once she is an adult.

My daughter and my husband were both diagnosed by a geneticist. They both have a mild case. He has had a detached retna and dislocated lens. She has scoliosis and has to wear shoe inserts because she is so flat footed.

The pants thing is causing us issues now. The 12's are way to short and the 14's are baggy even with the elastic as tight as it will go. I have no hopes of her fitting a 0 or a 00 anytime soon. I'm trying to decide if I will try to sew up the sides of the jeans that I buy or make them myself...and I should say I have NEVER sewed a pair of pants before. So it will be an adventure, to say the least.

I can't sew even a straight hem let alone pants or a shirt. My mother on the other had sews beautifully! She has sown lots of clothes for Haley in the past, so I know I can count on her if I need to.

It appears that you are a crafty person with the tie die shirts and scrapbooking, so perhaps sewing pants will be natural for you too.

I too love to scrapbook but it has been years since I have done so. I have a cabinet full of albums and supplies but I just don't sit down and do it anymore. Perhaps this winter, I will pick it up again. I used to scrapbook once a month with friends. It was fun to chit chat and share pictures with each other while we got our albums done.

We did not have a geneticist evaluate at the time. However, her doctor and us will be watching her closely and we might go that route in the future. She is not very athletic, so we do not have to restrict her activity at this time.

 

[jwwi]

mdsouth, yes I will be headed to POFQ the end of next week. We have one night at SSR, then switch to POFQ. I have not stayed there in years, so I am excited to go back. I found your TR on the POFQ thread, I just love the pictures of the river. We plan on heading over to see Bob at POR. We never miss going to see him, even if we stay somewhere else. I hope we have some nice weather for the great boat ride to DTD, and for our two park days.

 

[mdsouth]

mdsouth, yes I will be headed to POFQ the end of next week. We have one night at SSR, then switch to POFQ. I have not stayed there in years, so I am excited to go back. I found your TR on the POFQ thread, I just love the pictures of the river. We plan on heading over to see Bob at POR. We never miss going to see him, even if we stay somewhere else. I hope we have some nice weather for the great boat ride to DTD, and for our two park days.

I am envious! You have picked a wonderful time to go! The weather should be just about perfect and low crowds too!

The boat ride to DTD is enjoyable. I only wish it would have been in the daylight so we could have seen more of the scenery.

Will you be writing a trip report upon your return? If so, I will be sure to subscribe.

Have a magical journey!

 

[mdsouth]

I am working on my next chapter. I hope to have it posted later today.

On this day, I would like to thank each and every Veteran of our armed forces and their families including those serving now!

I appreciate the commitment you have given our country or are giving our country now.

god Bless You and thank you

 

[DynamicDisney]

Subbing. Great report so far! I was at POFQ for a solo trip - checked in Tuesday 2/11, and checked out on Thursday 2/13. You are so lucky to have gotten a room upgrade! I was in building 5, facing the pool that was under refurb at the time!

 

[mdsouth]

Subbing. Great report so far! I was at POFQ for a solo trip - checked in Tuesday 2/11, and checked out on Thursday 2/13. You are so lucky to have gotten a room upgrade! I was in building 5, facing the pool that was under refurb at the time!

Thanks for joining in! Hopefully you did not pay for the pool room! We may have run into each other while were there. What parks did you go to?

 

[mdsouth]

Chapter 13 – EPCOT here we come!
I finally managed to get Haley up and out of bed. She quickly dressed, I grabbed my Minnie ears and she threw on her Peter Pan hat and we were off! We headed straight to the bus. I decided we would just get breakfast somewhere in the park. Here is a photo of the beautiful fountain that we passed each day. I knew that I wanted to get a picture of Haley in front of it sometime. But, this morning I was really wanting to just get to Epcot, so we headed on to the bus stop.

We had a little wait at the bus stop for our bus. We spent the time chatting with other people. I remember seeing a cute little girl wearing a beautiful handmade skirt that had different colored panels on it with different Disney princesses on it. I was later when I was home and reading trip reports of people who had been at Disney at the same time as me that I figured out that the little girl I saw must have been the granddaughter of a fellow DISer, disneychic2. Here is a link to her trip report with a photo of her granddaughter wearing the skirt on the first page http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3242057
Once we arrived at EPCOT, I planned to just head towards The Land and see what we could do. Knowing my daughter, I had scheduled my three FastPass+ rides for the afternoon, they were:
Monday, February 10, 2014 - Epcot®
The Seas with Nemo & Friends® 1:50 - 2:50 pm
Soarin'® 2:50 - 3:50 pm
Turtle Talk With Crush - 4:05 - 5:05 pm



By the time we got to Epcot it was close to 10:00 am. We checked out the line for Soarin. It was longer than I wanted to spend in line, we had fast passes for it later, so we just went to Sunshine Seasons to have a late breakfast. My DD got cereal and I got a croissant. Haley also talked me into a bag of pretzels (for later) and a big chocolate chip cookie. When else but on a vacation, do you let you child have a cookie as part of his or her breakfast?

It was pleasant sitting and eating there. After breakfast, we walked onto the Living with the Land. I always enjoy the behind the scenes glimpses you see on this tour. Haley really seemed fascinated with how they grew their own food that is served in the parks. She also, pointed out the sand sculpture of Olaf that she saw.

At the time we were there, the Disney parks had not been completely taken over with Frozen elements. There was just a nod here and there. There really wasn’t even much of the merchandise in the stores as I had expected. It was obvious that Disney was really caught unaware of the huge popularity of Frozen. I think it was in the months of Jan-Feb that Disney picked up on it. We would see for ourselves later that morning, when we saw the exceedingly long line to meet Anna and Elsa in Norway.

After Living with the Land, we headed upstairs and caught the movie, The Circle of Life. Haley is a big fan of the Lion King so it was a must do!

 

[vleeth]

Vacation is the perfect time to get a cookie with your breakfast!

 

[mdsouth]

Vacation is the perfect time to get a cookie with your breakfast!

I would have to agree! I am sure some people would love a Dole Whip for breakfast too while at Disney.

I really want to try some Tonga Toast some time for breakfast. It just has never fit into our plans very well.

We did have the beignets one morning at PORFQ! They were fluffy, powdery mess!



So, what is everyone's favorite thing to eat on vacation for breakfast?

 

[mdsouth]

Chapter 14 – Journey into Our Imagination

Next, we went on Journey into Imagination with Figment. Haley got a kick out of the smells that were emitted during the ride. Haley commented that her older brother, Jake would have really gotten a kick out of the skunk smell!
It was nice being in the parks when the crowds were low. Haley was able to explore the area in Imagine Works and try out some things that she otherwise would not have done if the crowds had been large. I played alongside her since no one was waiting behind us. Haley enjoyed creating the musical scores by waving her hands around. I wish I would have thought to stop and take a picture, but at the time, at the time I was just in the moment and having fun with my DD.
We popped into the ImageWorks store to do a little shopping. I saw the perfect t-shirt for my son, Jake. It was black with a picture of Donald Duck on the front. Donald is wearing glasses and it says, “Mad Genius” above his head. I bought it and had the CM, a nice young man named Jonathon, send it to my resort, PORFQ. I loved having this option. It was great not having to drag around a bag with the purchase in it the rest of the day.

Next Chapter – Our adventure in Norway with lunch with the princesses and a glimpse of the newest princesses – Anna and Elsa

 

[librarygeek]

I'm catching up! Dinner at Crystal Palace looks like fun. My brother is a picky eater, and still is (at age 24). I know it can be really tough but I'm glad she found some things that she liked!

The first half of your Epcot day sounds like a good one. Gotta love having a cookie for breakfast! I have, on occasion, had ice cream for breakfast while on vacation.

 

[vleeth]

Chapter 14 – Journey into Our Imagination

Haley was able to explore the area in Imagine Works and try out some things that she otherwise would not have done if the crowds had been large. I played alongside her since no one was waiting behind us. Haley enjoyed creating the musical scores by waving her hands around.

I bought it and had the CM, a nice young man named Jonathon, send it to my resort, PORFQ. I loved having this option. It was great not having to drag around a bag with the purchase in it the rest of the day.

We all enjoyed playing in that area on our last trip. I think Dave & Hope would spend half the day at places like that and Innoventions.

I have never used the service. Hope doesn't know it's an option, so I tell her to wait to purchase things at the end of the day/trip so she doesn't have to carry it around. I just find she buys less if she waits.

 

[mdsouth]

We all enjoyed playing in that area on our last trip. I think Dave & Hope would spend half the day at places like that and Innoventions. I have never used the service. Hope doesn't know it's an option, so I tell her to wait to purchase things at the end of the day/trip so she doesn't have to carry it around. I just find she buys less if she waits.

I agree it is a good idea to have kids pick their souvenirs at the end of the day/trip. It really cuts down on the junk they buy.

Haley spread out her purchases over our trip. She ended up getting a Simba stuffed animal, a cool book that gives step by step directions on how to sketch Disney characters and her Mickey ears and Peter Pan hat.

I bought her the ears and hat on the first day so she could enjoy wearing them in the parks all week.

 

[mdsouth]

I'm catching up! Dinner at Crystal Palace looks like fun. My brother is a picky eater, and still is (at age 24). I know it can be really tough but I'm glad she found some things that she liked! The first half of your Epcot day sounds like a good one. Gotta love having a cookie for breakfast! I have, on occasion, had ice cream for breakfast while on vacation.

Ice cream is a nice treat any time of day!

 

[mdsouth]

We arrived in the World Showcase and headed towards Norway. We checked in for our lunch with the princesses at Akershus.


Noway was packed!!! The line to see Anna and Elsa weaved in and around all of Noway and the path leading to Norway. The wait at the time was 6 hours! Yes, six hours! Unbelievable! We saw lots of beautiful visiting royalty waiting in line to greet them.

 

[vleeth]

I wouldn't wait in line for 6 hours to meet a real queen and princess.