"I'm NOT a Princess, I'm Izzy!" - May '15 Land/Sea ~ Updated 6/4: Link to Disneyland TR!!!

[Dugette]

Mini-TR: Wisconsin - Part 5

The mini golf course was included in our free passes as well, so I decided to take Izzy over to introduce her to the sport. I intended to just try a few holes with her and teach her what to do. She had other ideas, though. She had her own style of putting and had no interest in the “right” way to do it. And she wanted to do every hole, because, well, you just have to do everything, all the time. Luckily, the course was nearly empty (one other group), so we were free to run randomly from one hole to another (not in order, just whatever she saw next). She actually did surprisingly well for her first time out:



I have video of her getting her putt too:

(click to watch)

More holes:





I look forward to when Izzy gets a bit older and we can play “for real.” I always loved mini-golfing as a kid – it’s one of the things my dad would do with us on a pretty regular basis – and I hope to share the fun with Izzy.

Meanwhile, Dug had completely won the Star Wars video game, with an employee audience watching him:



Yay, Dug! I think he got his $10 worth, just on that.

Izzy declared that she wanted another ride on the Ferris Wheel, so I took her there while Dug went to go try the Go-Karts:



View of the interstate from the Ferris Wheel:



Go-Kart selfie:



After we got off and met up with my mom, we looked up and saw Dug in a traffic jam on the track above us :



While we waited for him, Izzy jumped into the Jurassic Park video game nearby. Dug had the game pass, so I had no way to activate it. Izzy wanted me to jump in and play with her (two seater game). I did and soon realized we weren’t just pretending to play – the game was somehow active and in progress. So, we went to town getting points and I won:



When Dug returned from the Go-Karts, Izzy wanted to play with him, since he could activate the game again:



However, his pass wasn’t working on that one, so they just pretended. Good enough for her.

After that, she had fun playing with this giant piano thing:



It was finally time to head off by then. We’d done everything we cared to and were getting hungry for lunch.

One thing to note: this whole trip, I was hoping to ride on the Original Wisconsin Ducks before heading home. They are the army vehicles that go on land and in water and a really fun highlight of the Dells. Izzy had never gone, but is free until she's 4, so I thought this would be a good chance. However, the weather really was not cooperating with us and it was just a bit too windy and chilly for it to be an enjoyable thought. Next time, I guess!

Dug’s sister had turned us on to a place they love called Moosejaw Pizza, so we headed over there for lunch:



Best delivery vehicles ever!

We were given antlers:





Dug and my mom shared some coconut shrimp and we all shared the amazing cheese sticks (mozzarella sticks, but wrapped like eggrolls):





Mmmmm, so good!

Shocker, but Izzy got mac and cheese:



They came with star-shaped tator tots:



(and I had just given her some cheese puffs to snack on, right before the order finally showed up ) – Guess what we brought home leftovers of? Yes, all her food.

Oh, and the funny story: towards the end of the meal, I thought Izzy was pretending to pour milk into her mac and cheese. She said she was watering it so that her pink and purple flowers would grow. Cute. After a bit, though, I realized she really was filling her mac and cheese dish with milk! Since it was a large serving of mac and cheese, we wanted to bring it home for later, so we had to get that excess milk out. It was in a little dish with a handle and that worked great to use the handle as a spout and pour the milk into a glass. And then we boxed up the leftovers. Well, turns out that Izzy was VERY serious about her gardening efforts and spent our last few minutes in the restaurant loudly crying because her pink and purple flowers weren't going to grow now! Poor thing - she was devastated. And here we are thinking that macaroni flowers are silly.

Anyway, my mom got her own personal pan pizza and Dug and I shared a small Taco Pizza:



It was super good, but we probably should have shared a personal size. We all brought home pizza leftovers. Thank goodness we had our cooler along, but I don’t know how we crammed so much into it.

Bellies full, we hit the road. (After briefly driving around the Dells and looking at all the eye candy). Very uneventful drive home. Didn't even stop at the Mocha Mouse. I found myself thinking about the lost boy amidst the sounds of snoring passengers and iPad nursery rhymes. I hope Izzy never ends up lost like that, but hopefully she will know her name and maybe even her room number and who to ask for help, if it were to happen (the boy didn’t respond to any of those). I really hope they found his family quickly and everything was okay. Poor kid. I’ll never forget that incident.

We pretty much just drove and drove without stopping. As we got very close to home (into MN), my mom wanted to make a stop at the rest area. Izzy welcomed the chance to enjoy another playground:







And we were home probably 15 minutes after that. It was a great little getaway and I sure felt recharged for my 2-day work week remaining after that. Nice to have a trip where you don’t come back completely exhausted. I would even say I was refreshed. But, who needs that when you can go back to the breakneck pace and lack of good sleep we had on our May Land and Sea? So, back to that report soon!

Thanks for indulging me on this one!

 

[schmass]

Wow, you were busy with the updates! I enjoyed reading this mini-TR.

Nice room upgrade - that is quite the deal you got!

That place looks very cool and so much fun for Izzy. It's nice that there were no crowds, but kind of a bummer that it also meant not many people working there. Too bad about the condensed lazy river.

At least for Izzy's first mini golf experience there was no one else around and she could play how she wanted. Rory thinks he's going to play on the cruise, but I don't think people will be happy with his antics. Of course, he didn't want to play at Vero Beach, when we would have had the whole course to ourselves!

I'm glad you felt relaxed and refreshed after your getaway!

 

[Imagineer5]

Wow what fun updates!! That place looks like SO SO much fun. First, awesome job on the room upgrade, that seems like a really good deal. The hotel seems really nicely themed and clean for sure. I am really impressed by the water park too, looked like it had some awesome things for everyone (though sorry about Dug not being able to do as much, that is true how Disney is really great in SO SO many aspects -from fitting all sizes, to allergies, to handicap etc. so great that izzy loved the water slides and was able to do some of them.

And to have the indoor amusement park too, that is awesome! Looks like some really fun rides. Love the idea of the bumper boats (and the lady moving some around so Izzy can bump into something lol!). I'd be annoyed about constantly having to get an employee to start the rides or waterslides or whatnot. With just you there, they could certainly pay attention a bit more and be ready to start the rides IMO.

The mini golfing looked great, nice she was able to learn the ropes a little bit without a line.

 

[afwdwfan]

I still cannot believe it was only $20. (I just looked up standard prices and this room is normally $70 more than the one we’d reserved. So, if you are ever staying here during a slow time, rent the cheap room – so long as you’re okay with it – and ask for available upgrade prices at check in!)

Cool! Good tip! I'm glad it worked out for you.

(And, yes, we realized afterwards that we are not good readers, as the carts say not to bring them in the rooms – oops! )

Like, apparently you need to be thinking, “I’d like a cookie, but that’s just not sweet enough. I think it needs to be covered in a giant pile of candy bars and M&Ms, then drizzled with chocolate before I’d eat it.” Those things were HUGE!

I'll take a dozen!!!!!!!

(awww, baby Izzy!)

Awwwww....

Oh, also wanted to mention that it was nice that all of the tube slides had conveyor belts that brought the tubes up, so you don’t have to lug them up with you like at Aulani (which was still pretty fresh on my mind, since Izzy wanted to go down that tube slide about a million times).

Conveyor belts make a huge difference!! I'm glad they had them.

As you can see by the ball falling, she didn’t do so great.

Oh, come on now! That ball looks like it is right under the basket. Based on that picture, one could easily assume she hit the shot and it was falling to the water after going through the hoop.

Dug was rather upset, as the lazy river was one of the few things he could do and now he couldn’t. Again, it increased his appreciation of Disney, where things like that are unlikely to happen. They don’t shut major attractions down just to save money on CMs during slow seasons.

That stinks. Everybody likes a lazy river! That would be a disappointment, even if they did have a small part of it open.

You can see her walking over a bridge here:

Such a big girl!

One time, she told me which slide she was going to, but never showed up. I had to wander around and search for her and eventually found her going down a slide on the other side. Luckily, I never lost her. Again, low crowds helped.

Oh wow... that's a little bit scary.

It was a cheap bag, but still. Boo hoo, guess I need to go back to Aulani and get another one now.

Seems like a good excuse to me!

We were the only ones on the ride. So, no annoying stop-and-start to load/unload everyone:

That always makes it nice!

It was a fun ride. My mom was probably smart to skip it, though, as it was rather fast and could possibly make you dizzy.

Well, the guy running it had to get to another ride, so he cranked it up a notch or 2...

I apparently should have looked up, as this giraffe was the only animal on the carousel that didn’t go up and down.

That's because it has a long neck. You can't have it poking it's head through the roof.

Once we were ready to head out, we got some luggage carts and packed up our stuff to bring out to the car. We got down the hall to the elevator and I think we all did a double-take when we saw a young boy (probably about Izzy’s age) running around completely naked. At first, I expected to see a parent or sibling running after him. But, no, it was just him. And I realized that he was terrified and lost. (And I think we can all agree this situation is one of everyone’s worst nightmares ).

Holy crap! That's a really scary story. I'm glad you were able to be of some help. I hope they were able to quickly locate his parents.

This is one of the things I'm always nervous about at hotels. I could see one of the kids getting out the door while we're not looking or asleep or something.

And she wanted to do every hole, because, well, you just have to do everything, all the time.

Well, yeah!!!

Her mini golf style actually reminds me of DD. Not sure what she's doing, but she has so much fun!

Meanwhile, Dug had completely won the Star Wars video game, with an employee audience watching him:

Awesome! Way to go Dug!!!

Best delivery vehicles ever!

Quite an impressive fleet. Or herd.

 

[wiscbugs]

Great update! The Kalahari looked like a lot of fun....we always stay at the Wilderness but will have to try out the Kalahari one of these times.

Did both you and Dug graduate from UW-Madison? What year? I graduated in 99.

 

[soniam]

Man, talk about naked and afraid Sounds like a nice little trip though. I remember Alex's first "amusement park". That didn't last long. He's really only know the big parks, like Disney and Legoland. We have never been to any of the Six Flags in Texas. I keep thinking we should go, but then I remember no FP. I guess they have rope drop though

 

[FantasiaMagic]

So, she immediately responded that it would be $20 and we had a choice of two different floor plans. Um, $20?!? I don’t care what it is, sign me up! I don’t remember the other choice, but she told us that her favorite one was the Royal African Queen Suite.

How cool you were abelto upgrade to a much bigger room for only $20! What a great deal. The room looks so nice too!

Reminded me of Animal Kingdom.

Me too! Great hotel that you stayed at! It's great they gave you passes to the waterpark and amusement park. Sounds like you really did well!

They were playing 80’s music out there, which was awesome. I realized afterwards that they probably do that to drown out the traffic noise from I-94 running right by it. Enjoyable, nonetheless. A video clip, if you’d like to relax to ‘80’s music:

Nothing better then listening to some good 80's music!

That waterpark looks like a lot of fun! The slides all look like a lot of fun. Reminds me of Great Wolf Lodge. Not sure if you have one of those near you, but in the East there are a few!

It was really awkward, standing there with a naked little boy that was not mine. Then I remembered that Izzy had some extra pull-ups that she didn’t use during our trip. I’d just packed and we had all our bags on the luggage carts, so I went to go find one when he reacted positively to the word “pull-up.” The one I grabbed was even a boys’ style (blue with Mickey), since the store was out of the girls ones when I bought them – and who doesn’t love Mickey anyway? I brought it over and held it up so he could put his feet in, then helped him pull it up, being VERY careful not to touch him, only the pull-up. Success! (I had in mind that the Kids Club CMs at Aulani were not allowed to touch kids at all if they needed help in the bathroom and felt that I should be extra cautious too).

That is so scary. Glad you were able to help the boy out and that his family came eventually. It's good you were able to keep him safe and calm him down. very scary though.

More holes:

That looks like a great mini golf course! I love the theme - very fun!

We were given antlers:

Too cute! And that food looks/sounds so good!

It sounds like you and your family had a great mini vacation! Thanks for sharing this!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Looks like a fun mini-gettaway! That was a great deal you got! We have a few places like that sort of near us (though generally just the water park part) and they are crazy expensive! Awesome upgrade too!


I hope, unlike with the luggage carts, Dug read the warnings and didn't Slam Dunkin' the basketball Those water slides look really cool - but those are some big ones in that last kids area you went to - and to be able to go between areas, yikes! Glad it was empty so you could keep an eye on Izzy

The indoor/outdoor hot tub area looks pretty cool, and gotta love the 80's music!

guess I need to go back to Aulani and get another one now.

... well, I mean, if you have to - seems like good justification though

Wow, that is a scary story with that lost boy! really glad you were there though to help - that could have been really dangerous! Glad to hear it turned into a teachable moment with Izzy though

 

[Princess Leia]

Thanks for sharing your recent adventures in your mini-trip report. I enjoyed reading it. That was a great deal you got on the hotel in Wisconsin Dells. Looks like Izzy had a fantastic time. She clearly loves being in the water. I can see some very big slides happening in the near future. My son, Peter, was Izzy's age when he first to WDW. Once he found out about the water parks people would be talking to him about going to meet Mickey Mouse and he would chime in with "and the water parks". He went on Summit Plummet when he was 6. Anyway he still loves the water parks and has insisted on getting Aquatica tickets for our next trip.

I know, it freaks me out sometimes to see how big she is. I mean, she was just a little baby not too long ago...

Prior to having children I didn't get it when parents said "They grow up so fast" but I do now! Those first years they are changing all the time.

We noticed that Izzy’s favorite “ghee” from last time had been re-located into the fountain. This guy:

(awww, baby Izzy!)

Izzy must have rubbed his snout last time so she could come back. What a good idea!

This picture reminded me of Il Porcellino and some photos we had from our visit to Butchart Gardens which included a carousel with hand-carved animals.





You've got me all nostalgic! Your trip reports will be great to share with Izzy in years to come.

 

[chunkymonkey]

Wow your mini TR looks like so much fun! That resort looks like an all inclusive waterpark/theme park/arcade mega attraction!!! Plus the AKL-like theme of your resort looks like fun! The food looks great and your room was huge! Good call on the 20 dollar upgrade!

Oooh when is this Disneyland trip going to happen? Been dying to go again for years!

 

[cindianne320]

Thanks for the thorough mini report of the Dells! The Kalahari looks like a lot of fun. Glad you got the room upgrade! Izzy seems to love the water! Bummer that Dug couldn't go on many of the attractions. What a scary story of the little boy! I hope they found his parents quickly.

 

[pkondz]

Holy smokes, lady! When you update... you update!!!

Or, more accurately, "We drove to my grandmother's house and stopped at the Dells on the way back. Waterslides. The end."

Well, you were there, so I'll have to give you that one.

However, the Madison hotels are actually cheaper on the weekends, it seems - I'm guessing they cater to business travelers and such.

Makes sense.

I know, it freaks me out sometimes to see how big she is. I mean, she was just a little baby not too long ago... (but she's still not quite big enough for those 40" rides, so she's gotta keep getting bigger, I guess...)

Oh, don't worry.
Tomorrow (figuratively speaking) she'll be telling you she's gotta run because she's late for work.

Well, sometimes that's true too.

in Black River Falls, same exit as the big orange moose

I copied and pasted that right into my "to do" document. Thanks!

No, I'd say mostly non-kid - just a mix of all sorts of things. It's like going to somebody's old attic full of books. Very, very random.

Good. I like random.

They were great! And I like that they are small enough that you have some variety, but can get everything done quickly and get back on the road.

Someday, hopefully we'll move on to the stage where she will allow her hair to be brushed each day.

I know my DW is still doing it and oldest DD is 19.

She was probably more concerned that she was going to bowl me over, since I was ducking up the bottom of a tube slide she was coming down. (I got out in time).

Have you ever had long hair?

You accidentally typed the word "long" in that sentence.

Kind-of like twirling it or something, but slightly more intricate. I don't know - I've braided a LOT of Barbie's hair over the years, could do it in my sleep, I'm sure.

Okay. I can see how it could happen still.
I guess for me, if my DD asked me to braid her hair it would be a bit of a process.
Step 1. Google how to braid hair...

I actually think I might've done it once, maybe 10 years ago.

The funny part was that we were not even together (I went ahead with Izzy) and we BOTH were laughing at it (he mentioned it after and I was like, "Yeah, I even have a picture of it!" )

The Kalahari is right next to interstate 94,

Seen it a few times.
We've stayed twice at Great Wolf Lodge.

We knew we’d have to drive to our room

As the clerk points to a door and says "You're room's right there."

However, because I had made the online reservation, she insisted that she needed MY drivers license and the same credit card I’d used (already paid in full) – could not use Dug’s license or credit card.

Oh, brother. That's sticking to rules without understanding them.

As I walked back in, I remembered that I’d been planning to ask for a room upgrade and I was upset that I let myself get a little snippy with the front desk lady before doing that.

Whoops.

we’d take Izzy in the bedroom with us (in a pack ‘n’ play, since they have them).

We always packed and traveled with our pack 'n' play. Took up so much room too.
Nice they have them there.

we got the suite, 4 full-stay waterpark passes, and 4 full-stay amusement park passes all for $200 total (includes taxes/fees).

Nice! That's not bad at all.
At least I think so.

I mean, the idea of having my mom come into the bedroom in the middle of the night to use the bathroom felt weird.

Ew. No.
If I was in Dug's shoes I'd be like. "Okay! See you later, I'll be in another room... preferably in another hotel... in another city.

I asked the front desk lady (I keep wanting to say CM!)

I hear you! I do that too on my TRs.

So, she immediately responded that it would be $20 and we had a choice of two different floor plans.

Score!

Oh, and best little bonus? Not far away! Very close to the pool and amusement park!

Even better! Especially with Izzy in tow.

So, if you are ever staying here during a slow time, rent the cheap room – so long as you’re okay with it – and ask for available upgrade prices at check in!)

I'll remember that.

Dug and I were a *little* excited as we completed the check-in process.

I guess!

Izzy decided to check the King bed for bounciness:

This is the hallmark of the seasoned traveller.

(And, yes, we realized afterwards that we are not good readers, as the carts say not to bring them in the rooms – oops! )

Oh, who cares. You didn't get busted, and it looks like you didn't bang them into furniture or have dirty wheels.
(And you didn't get caught. That's the most important part.)

Kitchenette, where we prepared our plethora of leftovers:

I never want a kitchen.
Well, maybe if we were staying for weeks or longer.
I'm on vacation. The last thing I want to do is cook.

I couldn’t get over the idea of this “Loaded Cookie”:

That's a cake with a cookie crust!

And these made me laugh:

What makes me laugh is the sign that tells you that they're cookies with eyes.

Yes, she is that blur.

Awsome.

Yay for being potty trained!

It's like you're let out of jail.

On the way, we stopped to admire the fountain in the lobby below

That's pretty elaborate. Nice.

(awww, baby Izzy!)

She sure was a cutie then. As she is now, of course.

She had a good time there, making sure to do each and every thing before we moved on.

Of course.

We didn’t wait in lines at all – just the time it took to climb stairs and get a lifeguard’s attention.

That's great. Can you imagine if you had MK all to yourselves?
Or maybe Blizzard Beach?

The slide actually goes outside briefly too. It was pretty wild and we had a great time. Izzy loved it – she is my little ride buddy!

Yay!

As you can see by the ball falling, she didn’t do so great.

Every little kid wants to try.
None succeed!

there was a “roller coaster” type slide that I wanted to try.

No way! That sounds cool!

I got to the slide and took a quick picture before launching:

Go! Go! Go!

It was a fun slide, with water pushing you up hill, etc.

Really! I've never seen or heard of anything like that.

However, I didn’t like that there was a spot towards the beginning that completely drenches you in water without warning. Not fun when you wear contacts.

Whoops. I hear you. I will wear mine at pools, etc.
But I don't want to get chlorine in them.

Dug learned from a lifeguard that the lazy river was currently closed, due to lack of lifeguards to staff all the stations. Apparently, they do this during the slower times. Dug was rather upset, as the lazy river was one of the few things he could do and now he couldn’t.

Crap. Well that just sucks.

At that point, we went to get out of that pool and a large group of people were taking a photo, which blocked our access to the stairs. See background:

"But Mom. How will we get out? Do we have to live here from now on?"

One of those times, we got to the platform and the two lifeguards were both completely oblivious to us standing at the rope, waiting to be let in. One was laying back napping and the other was just staring absently down her empty slide. It was almost comical. I eventually had to yell, “HELLO!!!!” and the napping guy slowly got up and casually came over and got us on the slide.

Typical, unfortunately, of so many of today's youth. And instead of apologizing, he pretends like that's what he meant to do.

And, yes, I see that sign below her, but only noticed it in this picture, not while there. We didn’t have any issues and she’s only 38”, so I don’t know that they care. Or maybe it was for some very specific thing? No idea.

Meh. I would think that if they really cared, someone would've mentioned it.

The lazy river was at least partially open!

Yay! Glad Dug got to go on it, at least partially.

And doesn't he look totally relaxed?

One time, she told me which slide she was going to, but never showed up. I had to wander around and search for her and eventually found her going down a slide on the other side.

Scary. Possibly not the best design.

Almost looks like she’ll make a basket (she didn’t).

Future WNBA star.

These swings had a maximum weight limit of 35 pounds and she was exactly that, so she just barely qualified. They are meant more for the babies/younger ones. She still enjoyed a few minutes on them, though.

Who doesn't enjoy a good swing?
Heck, I still do!

Oh, I forgot to mention that he tried out the swim-up bar earlier too. Pretty cool.

I've never done that. That would be cool.

I headed out for a few minutes in the hot tub in the chilly air. The warm water actually made it very pleasant :

mmmm.... love hot tubs.

Boo hoo, guess I need to go back to Aulani and get another one now.

Seems like a perfectly logical excuse to go.

I knew that I wanted to take Izzy on the ferris wheel, as she hadn’t been on one before (spoiler alert for pending Disneyland TR!)

Oh, no! TR completely ruined!!!

We were the only ones on the ride. So, no annoying stop-and-start to load/unload everyone:

Nice. But did they stop it at the top for you?

Izzy made Dug proud by wanting to sit in this one:

Atta girl.

And then we made it to our other objective for the evening - the Carousel:

Not a fan of carousels, but... I want to ride that green humming bird.

This one makes me laugh:

I apparently should have looked up, as this giraffe was the only animal on the carousel that didn’t go up and down. Weird.

I've done that.
I was like "What the????" and moved to another one.
I get that they need poles.
I get that it looks prettier with animals on the poles.

But I kinda wish they wouldn't.

And this game makes me laugh

Me too!

We considered going to breakfast or ordering room service, but ended up just finishing off our very random collection of leftovers and calling it breakfast.

Nothing wrong with that.
We'd do the same.

We got down the hall to the elevator and I think we all did a double-take when we saw a young boy (probably about Izzy’s age) running around completely naked.

What???

And I realized that he was terrified and lost.

Oh, no! Poor little guy!

(And I think we can all agree this situation is one of everyone’s worst nightmares ).

I took a look around, verified nobody was coming for him, then grabbed the phone by the elevator and hit “0”. Told them what was going on and they said security would come right away.

Good move.

I don’t know what I expected – probably a Disney-like moment where security comes out of nowhere and saves the day – but I felt like we were waiting forever.

Not surprised by that.
Disney has security, what, every five feet or so?
A hotel like that probably has two guys, maybe three for the whole place.

I’d just packed and we had all our bags on the luggage carts, so I went to go find one when he reacted positively to the word “pull-up.” The one I grabbed was even a boys’ style (blue with Mickey), since the store was out of the girls ones when I bought them – and who doesn’t love Mickey anyway?

What are the odds that you'd have pull ups, and boy's pulls too?

After a few minutes, we saw someone coming down the hall. I asked if she was security, but she was actually the manager-on-duty and was carrying a towel for the boy to wrap up in. I told her I’d given him a pull-up and that he probably came up the elevator and was looking for his dad. She took his hand and assured him that she would take care of him and find his family. They headed off towards the front desk.

Wow. That was really something.
The likelihood of something like that happening again is practically zero.

I never did find out anything more, but I have to assume they located his family and all was well.

I'm sure they did.

At least it was us that came along to help him, prepared with a pull-up, so he has good memories of people coming to his aid.

You were probably just about the best people he could've bumped into.
If it'd been me, I don't know what I would've done.
Put him in an oversize T-shirt??

We used the experience to teach Izzy about what to do if she ever gets lost.

Did she grasp that he was lost?

And then we made it to our first destination: the toddler bumper boats.

Cool!!!! I want to go on them!

She had to put on her boots and go out and retrieve a boat for Izzy. Then, since Izzy was the only one there, she walked around in the water and guided the other boats for some bumps:

That was really nice of her!
I think that's going above and beyond.
Hope for today's youth yet!

Next up was my one request. There was a ropes course where you wear a harness and walk across all the crazy rope bridges and such. I haven’t done something like that for a very long time, but it sounded fun.

Ohhh... I've wanted to do that forever.
I figured it was more for the kids, so never went.
I had no idea grown ups could go.

I kept trying to wave to Izzy, since she was down there with Dug and my mom, just bawling her eyes out. I don’t know if she was scared for me or wanted to be with me or what?

I bet she wanted to go too.
Who wouldn't? (unless you're scared of heights of course.)

The very last section (at the top, near the ceiling) only had two bad choices I didn’t like. One was a beam that swung back and forth with nothing to hang onto and the other was a rope with nothing to hang onto. I went back-and-forth, setting one foot on each, then pulling back. Eventually, I decided to do the beam and hold my support rope for balance:

How scary was that? And were you wondering just how strong that rope above your head was?

We had noticed a sign that indicated you could get a 2-hour unlimited arcade game pass for $10.

Not bad. I'd do that.

She had her own style of putting and had no interest in the “right” way to do it.

My DDs were exactly the same.

we were free to run randomly from one hole to another (not in order, just whatever she saw next).

Sounds like you guys had a blast.

I look forward to when Izzy gets a bit older and we can play “for real.” I always loved mini-golfing as a kid – it’s one of the things my dad would do with us on a pretty regular basis – and I hope to share the fun with Izzy.

And it never gets old, right?
Every time I see a mini golf course, I ooh and ahh over it.

Meanwhile, Dug had completely won the Star Wars video game, with an employee audience watching him:

Way to go, Dug! But next time, include the score in the selfie!

while Dug went to go try the Go-Karts:

How were they? Slow? Not bad?

Izzy wanted me to jump in and play with her (two seater game). I did and soon realized we weren’t just pretending to play – the game was somehow active and in progress.

Score. I wonder if some kid (or adult) started it and realized they had to leave.

However, his pass wasn’t working on that one, so they just pretended. Good enough for her.

Good way to save on money too.

One thing to note: this whole trip, I was hoping to ride on the Original Wisconsin Ducks before heading home.

I've seen the ads for those, but never actually saw them (or rode, either, of course.)

However, the weather really was not cooperating with us and it was just a bit too windy and chilly for it to be an enjoyable thought.

Too bad.

Best delivery vehicles ever!

Okay, those are just cool.

we all shared the amazing cheese sticks (mozzarella sticks, but wrapped like eggrolls):

Huh! Never seen them like that before. Interesting.

Shocker, but Izzy got mac and cheese:

No!

(and I had just given her some cheese puffs to snack on, right before the order finally showed up ) – Guess what we brought home leftovers of? Yes, all her food.

After a bit, though, I realized she really was filling her mac and cheese dish with milk!

Whoops! Bet she was happy, though.

Well, turns out that Izzy was VERY serious about her gardening efforts and spent our last few minutes in the restaurant loudly crying because her pink and purple flowers weren't going to grow now!

Awww....

I really hope they found his family quickly and everything was okay. Poor kid. I’ll never forget that incident.

I'm sure you won't.

When DW and I were checking into a hotel once, a little boy was at the front desk. The front desk lady (CM dang it!) was on the phone. The boy looks at me and says "Our toilet is overflowing." Just then, water starts to leak from the ceiling into the lobby. Oh, boy. I ask the girl at the desk if she wants me to take a look. I follow the boy up to his room, go in (squish, squish on the carpet), zip over to the toilet and turn off the water supply. Bathroom had about an inch of water all over the floor.

Not as dramatic as your story, but I still remember it... And that was probably about 20-30 years ago.

I would even say I was refreshed

Good!

Thanks for indulging me on this one!

Thanks for writing all about it! I really enjoyed it and even got some tips out of it!

 

[Dugette]

Wow, you were busy with the updates! I enjoyed reading this mini-TR.

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it. Yeah, I wrote it out as one big update, but had to split it into 4 because of how many pictures I had.

Nice room upgrade - that is quite the deal you got!

I was so surprised at how well that worked out!

That place looks very cool and so much fun for Izzy. It's nice that there were no crowds, but kind of a bummer that it also meant not many people working there. Too bad about the condensed lazy river.

It was a lot of fun, even if we were a bit limited on what we could do. Having no lines for anything was a huge perk of being there during a slow time - I doubt I would have the patience to deal with the busy times there.

At least for Izzy's first mini golf experience there was no one else around and she could play how she wanted. Rory thinks he's going to play on the cruise, but I don't think people will be happy with his antics. Of course, he didn't want to play at Vero Beach, when we would have had the whole course to ourselves!

That's exactly why I suggested to her that we give it a try. I could see it was pretty much empty and I had no idea how she was going to do. I know that her style of play (run randomly from hole to hole, etc.) would not have gone over so well with others around.

I'm glad you felt relaxed and refreshed after your getaway!

Me too! I'm used to being wiped out after a trip!

Wow what fun updates!! That place looks like SO SO much fun. First, awesome job on the room upgrade, that seems like a really good deal. The hotel seems really nicely themed and clean for sure. I am really impressed by the water park too, looked like it had some awesome things for everyone (though sorry about Dug not being able to do as much, that is true how Disney is really great in SO SO many aspects -from fitting all sizes, to allergies, to handicap etc. so great that izzy loved the water slides and was able to do some of them.

It really was a lot of fun - I can see why you and Aria love Blizzard Beach. The hotel is pretty nice and that was definitely a good package deal we snagged (I think it was sort of like a PIN code offer, in that we got an email since we had stayed there once before and I didn't see our promo code available in general). The waterpark is really huge and has so many things we didn't even consider doing - not to mention a whole outdoor waterpark too (that was closed until summer).

And to have the indoor amusement park too, that is awesome! Looks like some really fun rides. Love the idea of the bumper boats (and the lady moving some around so Izzy can bump into something lol!). I'd be annoyed about constantly having to get an employee to start the rides or waterslides or whatnot. With just you there, they could certainly pay attention a bit more and be ready to start the rides IMO.

The amusement park was a nice bonus. I don't know that I'd pay much to go there, but having it included for free was great. It was weird with so few people working there, but at least there were no lines. I still can't believe the lifeguards that were oblivious to our presence - most of them were more on the ball than that one.

The mini golfing looked great, nice she was able to learn the ropes a little bit without a line.

It was a fun chance to let her try it out without having to worry about mini golf etiquette.

Cool! Good tip! I'm glad it worked out for you.

I'm glad it worked out so well.

I'll take a dozen!!!!!!!

Good luck with that!

Awwwww....

Conveyor belts make a huge difference!! I'm glad they had them.

Aulani, though great, was such a pain trying to hold Izzy's hand and carry a double-tube up those stairs every time.

Oh, come on now! That ball looks like it is right under the basket. Based on that picture, one could easily assume she hit the shot and it was falling to the water after going through the hoop.

I was trying to get shots that could at least *look* like she made it.

That stinks. Everybody likes a lazy river! That would be a disappointment, even if they did have a small part of it open.

I agree! I was surprised they would shut most of it down, as a business decision.

Such a big girl!

Oh wow... that's a little bit scary.

It was! I was glad the place wasn't more crowded or it would have been a lot harder to keep track of her. Oh, and I forgot to mention, as I walked around trying to see the different slides, I kept getting water dumped on my head by the "fun" sprayers, which made it slightly more challenging to follow her.

Seems like a good excuse to me!

Any excuse to go to Aulani is a good one.

That always makes it nice!

Yes, especially since the main reason we skipped the Disneyland one was that it looked like it would take forever to do with all the stops/starts to load/unload.

Well, the guy running it had to get to another ride, so he cranked it up a notch or 2...

This is probably true.

That's because it has a long neck. You can't have it poking it's head through the roof.

I was thinking that too!

Holy crap! That's a really scary story. I'm glad you were able to be of some help. I hope they were able to quickly locate his parents.

This is one of the things I'm always nervous about at hotels. I could see one of the kids getting out the door while we're not looking or asleep or something.

I hope they found them quickly too. And, to your point, I kept pondering exactly HOW this would have happened. Best guess is that it was bath time and he slipped out and siblings were distracting parents? I just don't know. It was all just so odd and unfortunate. But I know it can happen in the blink of an eye.

Well, yeah!!!

Her mini golf style actually reminds me of DD. Not sure what she's doing, but she has so much fun!

Glad to know that they could have a great time mini golfing together.

Awesome! Way to go Dug!!!

Quite an impressive fleet. Or herd.

Haha, it really is. Just so wild to see that.

 

[Dugette]

Great update! The Kalahari looked like a lot of fun....we always stay at the Wilderness but will have to try out the Kalahari one of these times.

We considered staying at the Wilderness, but the Kalahari deal was too tempting.

Did both you and Dug graduate from UW-Madison? What year? I graduated in 99.

Just me - and you and I may well have crossed paths, since we graduated in the same year.

Man, talk about naked and afraid

Poor kid!

Sounds like a nice little trip though. I remember Alex's first "amusement park". That didn't last long. He's really only know the big parks, like Disney and Legoland. We have never been to any of the Six Flags in Texas. I keep thinking we should go, but then I remember no FP. I guess they have rope drop though

True, we are spoiled with FP and would have a hard time waiting in lines. Thank goodness for slower times/seasons.

How cool you were abelto upgrade to a much bigger room for only $20! What a great deal. The room looks so nice too!

We were pretty excited to get a nicer and closer room for $20! Perfect to give my mom her own space too.

Me too! Great hotel that you stayed at! It's great they gave you passes to the waterpark and amusement park. Sounds like you really did well!

It was pretty nice that we could do almost everything at the resort during our stay.

Nothing better then listening to some good 80's music!

Indeed! I could have stayed out there a lot longer.

That waterpark looks like a lot of fun! The slides all look like a lot of fun. Reminds me of Great Wolf Lodge. Not sure if you have one of those near you, but in the East there are a few!

There's a Great Wolf in the Dells too, but I haven't been there. I'd guess it's similar, though.

That is so scary. Glad you were able to help the boy out and that his family came eventually. It's good you were able to keep him safe and calm him down. very scary though.

Well, hopefully his family came soon. I wondered what the manager would do to locate them. Or maybe they called in looking for him? That would be the easiest thing. Poor kid - I felt so bad for him.

That looks like a great mini golf course! I love the theme - very fun!

It was a cute course, though I saw it in a blur of running after Izzy.

Too cute! And that food looks/sounds so good!

It was so yummy!

It sounds like you and your family had a great mini vacation! Thanks for sharing this!

Thank you!

Looks like a fun mini-gettaway! That was a great deal you got! We have a few places like that sort of near us (though generally just the water park part) and they are crazy expensive! Awesome upgrade too!

Yeah, I think all of the big resorts in the Dells are pretty expensive, but mostly once it gets warm out. And multiple nights would be pricey, but one was all we needed.

I hope, unlike with the luggage carts, Dug read the warnings and didn't Slam Dunkin' the basketball Those water slides look really cool - but those are some big ones in that last kids area you went to - and to be able to go between areas, yikes! Glad it was empty so you could keep an eye on Izzy

Yes, that kids area had much bigger slides (and was much more expansive) than I expected. I didn't see anything that said it was for older kids, but it made me wonder. She had a great time, though.

The indoor/outdoor hot tub area looks pretty cool, and gotta love the 80's music!

It was better than I expected.

... well, I mean, if you have to - seems like good justification though

Wow, that is a scary story with that lost boy! really glad you were there though to help - that could have been really dangerous! Glad to hear it turned into a teachable moment with Izzy though

It was super scary and I'm glad we were able to help him. Just hope the manager was able to reunite him with his parents quickly.

Thanks for sharing your recent adventures in your mini-trip report. I enjoyed reading it. That was a great deal you got on the hotel in Wisconsin Dells. Looks like Izzy had a fantastic time. She clearly loves being in the water. I can see some very big slides happening in the near future. My son, Peter, was Izzy's age when he first to WDW. Once he found out about the water parks people would be talking to him about going to meet Mickey Mouse and he would chime in with "and the water parks". He went on Summit Plummet when he was 6. Anyway he still loves the water parks and has insisted on getting Aquatica tickets for our next trip.

Ha, that's cute how excited he got about the waterparks. We have yet to visit the WDW ones and WI Dells is the reason why - so hard to justify using Disney time for waterparks when we live less than 4 hours away from the "waterpark capital of the world." Maybe someday.

Prior to having children I didn't get it when parents said "They grow up so fast" but I do now! Those first years they are changing all the time.

Totally agree. It just seemed like something people say, then it became so much more real with Izzy.

Izzy must have rubbed his snout last time so she could come back. What a good idea!

This picture reminded me of Il Porcellino and some photos we had from our visit to Butchart Gardens which included a carousel with hand-carved animals.





You've got me all nostalgic! Your trip reports will be great to share with Izzy in years to come.

Wow, that really is similar! Funny to think about Izzy reading the reports someday!

Wow your mini TR looks like so much fun! That resort looks like an all inclusive waterpark/theme park/arcade mega attraction!!! Plus the AKL-like theme of your resort looks like fun! The food looks great and your room was huge! Good call on the 20 dollar upgrade!

It really was a mega attraction. The place is HUGE! Loved the room upgrade and so glad we decided to ask.

Oooh when is this Disneyland trip going to happen? Been dying to go again for years!

Well, the trip itself happened in February. The report, well, probably after I finish this one...eventually.

Thanks for the thorough mini report of the Dells! The Kalahari looks like a lot of fun. Glad you got the room upgrade! Izzy seems to love the water! Bummer that Dug couldn't go on many of the attractions.

It was a fun trip and the upgrade was a great treat! And Dug still enjoyed himself, since it was just the one night, he wasn't bored.

What a scary story of the little boy! I hope they found his parents quickly.

I sure hope they found them fast. Poor kiddo!

 

[Dugette]

Holy smokes, lady! When you update... you update!!!

Well, when you reply...you reply!!!

Well, you were there, so I'll have to give you that one.

I think I at least remember that much.

Makes sense.

Normally works out pretty well for us, when we stay on the weekend, but a bit tougher to get decent rates this time...yay for point usage!

Oh, don't worry.
Tomorrow (figuratively speaking) she'll be telling you she's gotta run because she's late for work.

And the scariest thing is that I'm sure you're right about that.

I copied and pasted that right into my "to do" document. Thanks!

You're welcome. We like our quirky little pit stop.

Good. I like random.

Then it's for you!

I know my DW is still doing it and oldest DD is 19.

You accidentally typed the word "long" in that sentence.

Okay. I can see how it could happen still.
I guess for me, if my DD asked me to braid her hair it would be a bit of a process.
Step 1. Google how to braid hair...

I actually think I might've done it once, maybe 10 years ago.

I wonder if my dad remembers how to braid hair. He braided mine on a very regular basis for several years when I was a kid...and did a great job.

Seen it a few times.
We've stayed twice at Great Wolf Lodge.

How was Great Wolf? I've been hearing good things about it.

As the clerk points to a door and says "You're room's right there."

Pretty much!

Oh, brother. That's sticking to rules without understanding them.

Seemed silly to me.

Whoops.

I was a bit worried that I'd ruined my chances at a decent upgrade.

We always packed and traveled with our pack 'n' play. Took up so much room too.
Nice they have them there.

Yeah, it takes up a ton of room, so we never bring it anywhere (in fact, it's been stashed at my in-laws' house for quite some time...). But I LOVE our little travel tent - Izzy enjoys it and it's so small and portable. It's been a very worthwhile purchase for us.

Nice! That's not bad at all.
At least I think so.

I'm thinking it's about as good as it gets to stay there and do all that stuff. In an awesome room.

Ew. No.
If I was in Dug's shoes I'd be like. "Okay! See you later, I'll be in another room... preferably in another hotel... in another city.

And my mom's a pretty nice, laid-back, easy to get along with person, but that just seems awkward. Especially because she mentioned she often gets up to use the restroom in the middle of the night. So glad that room upgrade worked out so well.

I hear you! I do that too on my TRs.

Everything should use Disney terminology, dang it!

Score!

I couldn't believe it was only $20!

Even better! Especially with Izzy in tow.

And great for Dug's back too - a shorter walk is easier on him, for sure.

I'll remember that.

Me too!

I guess!

This is the hallmark of the seasoned traveller.

And that she is!

Oh, who cares. You didn't get busted, and it looks like you didn't bang them into furniture or have dirty wheels.
(And you didn't get caught. That's the most important part.)

Agreed on all points!

I never want a kitchen.
Well, maybe if we were staying for weeks or longer.
I'm on vacation. The last thing I want to do is cook.

Sometimes it can be nice. On the North Shore part of our recent Hawaii trip, we stayed in a condo with a full kitchen and got a fair amount of use out of it. But the full-sized fridge was probably the best part. Oh, and the dishwasher. But, yeah, we can mostly make do with a microwave and mini fridge.

That's a cake with a cookie crust!

That makes more sense.

What makes me laugh is the sign that tells you that they're cookies with eyes.

Awsome.

It's like you're let out of jail.

And you don't have to carry around nearly as much stuff everywhere you go.

That's pretty elaborate. Nice.

It was really a nice feature.

She sure was a cutie then. As she is now, of course.

Thanks!

Of course.

Have to do all the things, all the time.

That's great. Can you imagine if you had MK all to yourselves?
Or maybe Blizzard Beach?

Well, I think you can pay to have the MK nearly to yourself in the early morning or late night these days. Or maybe go to Blizzard Beach on a chilly day? All I know is that it would be much more functional and staffed at WDW than Kalahari.

Yay!

I love that she loves these things.

Every little kid wants to try.
None succeed!

No way! That sounds cool!

It did sound cool, which is why I had to try it. And it was fun, but not quite in the same way an actual roller coaster is. Still good, though.

Go! Go! Go!

Really! I've never seen or heard of anything like that.

I have heard of them before, in fact, I think there might be one at WDW...maybe Typhoon Lagoon? But I had never been on one.

Whoops. I hear you. I will wear mine at pools, etc.
But I don't want to get chlorine in them.

I have to wear mine, as I am super duper near sighted and couldn't see anything without them (and really don't want to try to keep glasses on while riding waterslides, etc.)

Crap. Well that just sucks.

It did. He was not too pleased.

"But Mom. How will we get out? Do we have to live here from now on?"

Typical, unfortunately, of so many of today's youth. And instead of apologizing, he pretends like that's what he meant to do.

It was one of those things where you get the vibe that you are annoying them with your presence. He just wanted to nap, I think. No apologies at all.

Meh. I would think that if they really cared, someone would've mentioned it.

If there were more staff around, maybe...

Yay! Glad Dug got to go on it, at least partially.

Me too. He took a couple laps.

And doesn't he look totally relaxed?

Scary. Possibly not the best design.

No, and I was really surprised at all the other places she could come out of that structure after going up the set of stairs near the slides I waited by.

Future WNBA star.

Who doesn't enjoy a good swing?
Heck, I still do!

I have tried a few playground swings recently (at Izzy's request) and they no longer feel so great on my hips. I guess I am outgrowing them.

I've never done that. That would be cool.

I wish I'd had a chance to do that, as I haven't either. I think he enjoyed it, though he was upset about not being able to do the lazy river at that time, I think. A drink helped.

mmmm.... love hot tubs.

Me too. And this one was HUGE. And there was one outside the swim-up bar too, actually (another indoor/outdoor).

Seems like a perfectly logical excuse to go.

Oh, no! TR completely ruined!!!

Don't worry, by the time I get to writing about that day (sometime in 2018, maybe? ), you'll have long since forgotten.

Nice. But did they stop it at the top for you?

No stops.

Atta girl.

Not a fan of carousels, but... I want to ride that green humming bird.

Pretty cool, huh?

I've done that.
I was like "What the????" and moved to another one.
I get that they need poles.
I get that it looks prettier with animals on the poles.

But I kinda wish they wouldn't.

It was really odd and never occurred to me (until it was in motion) that mine wouldn't go up and down. Oh, well.

Me too!

You just gotta wonder what they were thinking when they designed that game.

Nothing wrong with that.
We'd do the same.

Free, quick, tasty - if a bit unconventional for breakfast fare.

What???

Yeah, all of us were kind-of in shock for a moment, not sure we should believe our eyes.

Oh, no! Poor little guy!

I felt SOOOO bad for him. Just hope he's not scarred for life. He'll probably have a fear of elevators or something.

I think this is literally what people have nightmares about...being naked in public, then lost on top of that?

Good move.

I was so glad to see that phone right there. I grabbed it so quick that I don't even know what the directory said, just figured "0" would get me some help.

Not surprised by that.
Disney has security, what, every five feet or so?
A hotel like that probably has two guys, maybe three for the whole place.

Probably. I actually wondered if they had anyone on, since the manager-on-duty came vs. a security person.

What are the odds that you'd have pull ups, and boy's pulls too?

That was some luck, for sure. We just happened to have them all, since we'd just packed and were bringing everything to the car. Otherwise, I don't know that I would have thought to run back to the room for one. He was so happy to see it, though.

Wow. That was really something.
The likelihood of something like that happening again is practically zero.

I hope I never encounter something like that again. So scary!

I'm sure they did.

I'm sure they did too. I have to admit, I searched the internet the other day for "missing boy Kalahari", figuring it would have made the news if they hadn't been reunited. The only thing that came up was a rather creepy and odd story from years ago about a boy that was last seen there and has been missing since (there's more to it - very odd). But not this boy! So, I'm sure he's fine.

You were probably just about the best people he could've bumped into.
If it'd been me, I don't know what I would've done.
Put him in an oversize T-shirt??

I actually wondered why the manager only brought a towel, figuring they must have had some souvenir t-shirts around. Hopefully she got him something more to wear. I did tell them he was naked when I called, hoping they'd have something for him.

Did she grasp that he was lost?

Yeah, she did. She had literally just seen The Good Dinosaur a few days beforehand, so the idea of getting lost and needing to find your family was fresh on her mind.

Cool!!!! I want to go on them!

They were pretty small. But she had a great time. I thought it was cool they had a little kid/toddler version of this.

That was really nice of her!
I think that's going above and beyond.
Hope for today's youth yet!

She didn't seem very happy about it, but she did it. I suspect it was following her training.

Ohhh... I've wanted to do that forever.
I figured it was more for the kids, so never went.
I had no idea grown ups could go.

Yeah, so far as I know, it's for everyone. There were other adults doing it. Give it a try if you get a chance!

I bet she wanted to go too.
Who wouldn't? (unless you're scared of heights of course.)

I think that might have been the case, as she perked up when she got to go on the kids version.

How scary was that? And were you wondering just how strong that rope above your head was?

It was pretty scary. I was really hoping that rope was strong and my balance was good, so that I didn't have to find out what would happen if I was dangling from it.

Not bad. I'd do that.

I thought that was pretty reasonable, especially with no waits for anything. They also had an all-day pass for $20, I think, but we didn't need that.

My DDs were exactly the same.

Sounds like you guys had a blast.

It was fun and very faced-paced.

And it never gets old, right?
Every time I see a mini golf course, I ooh and ahh over it.

Totally agree. I love mini-golf. I'm not so great at real golf, though I can putt okay (thanks, mini golf!)

Way to go, Dug! But next time, include the score in the selfie!

Good point!

How were they? Slow? Not bad?

He just said they were okay. So, average, I guess? They did go up above the main level, which was kind-of interesting.

Score. I wonder if some kid (or adult) started it and realized they had to leave.

Must have. Not that there was anybody around.

Good way to save on money too.

I've seen the ads for those, but never actually saw them (or rode, either, of course.)

I LOVE the Ducks. Definitely my favorite thing in the Dells...feels like a classic must-do to me, since I've done them many times since childhood. Hope we can do them next trip! They are expensive, but worth doing.

Too bad.

I was really hoping the wind would die down a bit, but didn't happen until the next day.

Okay, those are just cool.

They are! A lot better than a little sign tossed on top of a delivery car.

Huh! Never seen them like that before. Interesting.

We'd never seen them like that either, until SIL sent a picture. They are so good!

No!

Whoops! Bet she was happy, though.

Oh, she was.

Awww....

She was SO upset. Poor thing really seemed to think she was growing macaroni flowers.

I'm sure you won't.

When DW and I were checking into a hotel once, a little boy was at the front desk. The front desk lady (CM dang it!) was on the phone. The boy looks at me and says "Our toilet is overflowing." Just then, water starts to leak from the ceiling into the lobby. Oh, boy. I ask the girl at the desk if she wants me to take a look. I follow the boy up to his room, go in (squish, squish on the carpet), zip over to the toilet and turn off the water supply. Bathroom had about an inch of water all over the floor.

Not as dramatic as your story, but I still remember it... And that was probably about 20-30 years ago.

Yeah, that one's pretty memorable too. And timely, as I was fixing a small toilet leak here tonight.

Good!

Thanks for writing all about it! I really enjoyed it and even got some tips out of it!

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it and happy to pass along tips!

 

[Dugette]

Star Wars Galactic Breakfast

We were at the elevators at 7:23am this morning:



Izzy had insisted on carrying her blankie along again. My notes also are reminding me that Izzy got very good at using the elevator. When we came back to the room, she could find the outside door to enter the building, press the button that opened it, go to the elevators, press the elevator call button, get on (not sure she knew what floor to press ), get off, then go straight to our room. This kid is probably much less likely to get lost than I am. (In fact, she gets angry when I make a wrong turn...then tells me where I need to go. Seriously).

At any rate, a mere 5 minutes later, we were on a boat bound for DHS:





I believe it was just pulling up as we got to the dock, so worked out perfectly.

We were excited to be heading to the Sci Fi’s Star Wars Galactic Breakfast this morning. Dug forgot to wear the Darth Vader w/bacon shirt that I’d found him for this day (“come to the dark side, we have bacon” ), but he had another Star Wars shirt on, so good enough.

On the boat ride, I was rather amused by this guy:



He was giving advice to a WDW newbie about anything and everything at WDW. And he was doing a pretty good job, but he totally lost me when he recommended Stitch’s Great Escape as a fun attraction.

We were off the boat at 7:54am for our 8am ADR. So…not bad? For us?

Izzy was happy to find grass to run around in:



We were fortunate to breeze right into the park without delay:





We saw a bit of Star Wars action taking place as we walked by:





We checked in for breakfast only a few minutes after 8am, so we’ll call this ADR arrival “on time.” We hopped in the car out front and a nice guy offered to take a family picture for us. These are the two most adequate, as none really had us all looking and non-blocked at once :





We were called inside within a few minutes and got in the short line for the Photopass opportunity with the characters. The gal in front of us had a pretty intense face-off with Darth Vader, which was fun to watch. And then it was Izzy’s turn…to go show Darth Vader her shirt and probably wonder why he wasn’t all excited and hugging her :





She's showing off her Star Wars shirt. Vader does not seem impressed.

Time for the family pictures:





We were seated in our car by 8:15am, Dug in the middle row and Izzy and I in front:



We were each given little lightsabers that could alternate between blue and red:



Star Wars preview playing on screen, I guess (remember, this was well before the "new" movie came out):



They brought out a pastry platter for each row, so it was WAY too many, but we were all able to nibble at whichever ones we wanted:



A peek at the menu:



More photos of the atmosphere:





We had a choice of yogurt parfaits or fruit cups after that. I thought Izzy would get one too, but she did not. Dug and I both got the yogurt parfaits:



We ordered blue milk all around (and Dug apparently got coffee):



Izzy wasn’t very into eating or drinking at this breakfast – probably too much else going on to look at. I ended up drinking most of her blue milk myself – tasty. She barely touched the yogurt or the Darth Vader waffle I tried to share with her later (and she normally loves yogurt and waffles – and milk!). I think she ate a chocolate stick and a strawberry off my plate. Dug ordered the Kessel Run (beef tenderloin):



Here’s my Vader waffle, bathed in the blue glow from my lightsaber:



Our waitress wasn’t terribly friendly, but she was fine. I also have noted that I ran to the restroom once and had to take Izzy a bit later – and we were very close to it, which was a big perk during this trip!

Up next: Well, this…

 

[FantasiaMagic]

Here’s my Vader waffle, bathed in the blue glow from my lightsaber:

The breakfast looks and sounds like fun! Do they still do this now? I don't remember reading too much about it!

 

[soniam]

This is one of the things that I regret about not being able to go to Star Wars Weekends. All of us were looking forward to it. It looks like you guys had a great time. The bacon shirt sounds awesomeI know many vegetarians who swear that bacon is the only meat they regret they can't eat. I refer to it as the gateway meat, so that shirt sounds perfect.

 

[pkondz]

Well, when you reply...you reply!!!

Touché!

I think I at least remember that much.

You think???

You're welcome. We like our quirky little pit stop.

I like quirky.
I'm usually white bread normal.
But every now and then, I go multigrain.

I wonder if my dad remembers how to braid hair. He braided mine on a very regular basis for several years when I was a kid...and did a great job.

Ask him to do it! See if he remembers.

How was Great Wolf? I've been hearing good things about it.

We really enjoyed it. But I don't recall a giant hot tub, or swim up bar.
I'm not saying they're not there... just don't remember.

But I LOVE our little travel tent - Izzy enjoys it and it's so small and portable. It's been a very worthwhile purchase for us.

We did that for Kay. She loved it too.

Everything should use Disney terminology, dang it!

Or maybe go to Blizzard Beach on a chilly day?

Nah. I'm on vacation. I don't need to be surrounded by Canadians again.

I have heard of them before, in fact, I think there might be one at WDW...maybe Typhoon Lagoon? But I had never been on one.

Oh? I've never heard it mentioned.
But it's been decades since I've been there.

I have to wear mine, as I am super duper near sighted and couldn't see anything without them (and really don't want to try to keep glasses on while riding waterslides, etc.)

I'm the same.
Except when I snorkel/scuba. Then I don't.
But when I went scuba diving in Epcot, they gave me a prescription mask. Wow! That was great!

It was one of those things where you get the vibe that you are annoying them with your presence. He just wanted to nap, I think. No apologies at all.

Don't worry, by the time I get to writing about that day (sometime in 2018, maybe? ), you'll have long since forgotten.

It was really odd and never occurred to me (until it was in motion) that mine wouldn't go up and down. Oh, well.

I remember going on one with... Elle, maybe? Years ago. And I put her on a horse and the operator told me that it didn't go up and down.
I thought it was nice of him to give me a head's up on it.

I felt SOOOO bad for him. Just hope he's not scarred for life. He'll probably have a fear of elevators or something.

From what you wrote, he didn't sound too upset. Hopefully it worked out and he'll be okay.

I think this is literally what people have nightmares about...being naked in public, then lost on top of that?

Whoa. Two for one nightmares.

I was so glad to see that phone right there. I grabbed it so quick that I don't even know what the directory said, just figured "0" would get me some help.

Still, very quick thinking.

Probably. I actually wondered if they had anyone on, since the manager-on-duty came vs. a security person.

I thought the same when I read it.

The only thing that came up was a rather creepy and odd story from years ago about a boy that was last seen there and has been missing since (there's more to it - very odd).

Now that's scary!

Yeah, she did. She had literally just seen The Good Dinosaur a few days beforehand, so the idea of getting lost and needing to find your family was fresh on her mind.

Oh, that's right. You mentioned that.

She didn't seem very happy about it, but she did it. I suspect it was following her training.

Oh. Oh, well. At least she did it and didn't pretend you weren't there.

Totally agree. I love mini-golf. I'm not so great at real golf, though I can putt okay (thanks, mini golf!)

That describes me too.

He just said they were okay. So, average, I guess? They did go up above the main level, which was kind-of interesting.

Ah. Good karts are few and far between.
We have one good one here.
You have to have a driver's licence to drive them and sign a waiver.

I LOVE the Ducks. Definitely my favorite thing in the Dells...feels like a classic must-do to me, since I've done them many times since childhood. Hope we can do them next trip! They are expensive, but worth doing.

Huh! And here I thought they'd be dull.
Guess I'll have to revise my thinking.

She was SO upset. Poor thing really seemed to think she was growing macaroni flowers.

I'll come back later to read the next update,
I'm in the middle of writing my own!

 

[cindianne320]

That looks like a fun breakfast! I, too, am sad that there are no more Star Wars weekends, but hopefully the new land will have some fun restaurants. Love that Izzy knows her way around- I get lost all the time! (Except at Disney World- I've got that down!)