You Seem Taller In Your Trip Reports. A Baby at WDW - *HOLY COW! AN UPDATE!* 4/17 p26

[FreezinRafiki]

Really? Really? I'm back from vacation now and can haunt you daily.

HA! I beat you by a minute!

 

[KatMark]

NINJA POSTER! Now I have to go back and read the update (I'll leave my post alone for the next time we are waiting or an update )

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

And our little bundle of joy / alarm clock had us up around 6, so it seemed like as good a time as any for that picture.

Were you really calling him a "bundle of joy" at 6 a.m.?

They blow up an air mattress in the living room, and between that and the couch, they all find a place to snuggle. Until the kids fall asleep, anyway. Then grandma and grandpa sneak off to an actual bed.

Good plan. Grandma and Grandpa ain't no dummies.

We did take an hour or so to help Bambi's cousin move into her dorm at Florida Southern College (home of the Fighting Moccasins! And no, I didn't make that up. If I had made it up, it would have been funnier.)

My favorite: The UC-Santa Cruz Fighting Banana Slugs.

We were hoping that killing time by hauling all of the worldly possessions of a college freshman up a flight of stairs would let the weather clear.

Only one flight? You got off easy.

It was a bit past lunch time when we arrived, so we made a bee line to Earl of Sandwich for a Hawaiian BBQ and whatever everyone else had.

It doesn't matter what everyone else had. You chose wisely.

So I got that straightened out while Ryder gave his Grandmother dirty looks.

Evan got a bottle of water and finished most of it within a few minutes. Much like his cheapskate father (no, wait. Let's go with "frugal father." It makes me sound better), he decided to refill it for free. With Alien Spit.

He may have caught a little bit in the bottle, but not enough that we needed to worry about some kind of extra-terrestrial bacteria mutating him into some kind uber-strong super genius.

...und genius!

After a little snack at Pollo Compero, we made like a banana and left. Or maybe it was split?

That's about as funny as a screen door on a battleship.

Mini golf? Oh. Hold on while I put this big bag back in the trunk.

What for? You'd definitely win the Long Drive competition.

I know you're asking yourself "how the heck did he putt with a baby hanging off of his chest?" Very well, actually. Ryder helped line up all of my putts - reading the breaks, judging with wind speed and direction, and making adorable cooing noises to encourage me.

Looks like someone was snapping pictures in your backswing, too. I hope Ryder took care of business.

The hockey hole was a big hit with Evan. I sent one top shelf - where momma keeps the cookies - and beat him glove side. I then sent a wrister 5-hole that had too much pepper for his butterfly to catch up to. Hockey is just as fun to talk about as it is to play!

We got there at an awesome time. The sun was just starting to set, so we started the round illuminated in it's golden glow (fancy words, there, huh?) But as we played, the lights started to turn on, bathing the course in the multicolored beauty of Christmas lights. I have a thesaurus.

It shore was purty out there.

And just to up the degree of difficulty, around the 14th hole Ryder started getting hungry. Yup, feeding a baby with one hand a putting with the other. I should be expecting my Ryder Cup (no relation) invitation any day now.

I think you still would have putted better than Steve Stricker did. Oy.

Ah, Evan's favorite hole. Sink a putt, and Frost starts squirting all over.

Hey now!

 

[dvc4life]

Great update Barry. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I just don't know how you were able to golf with Ryder on your chest. But he looks like he was having fun by flying in your one picture. His arms were out and ready.

 

[that's nice]

I show up, make fun of you for not posting an update, then you go and post 2 updates before I get back.

Glad you made it to Florida safely! (I'm assuming you made it home safely too or how else would this TR be written?)

Nothing worse than expecting to board the plane and it's not even there.

DTD at 11pm with on arrival night? You are hard core!

Love the mini golf pictures... Ryder looks like he was enjoying himself.

 

[petals]

Luvin the update! I loled at Evan's way to fill the water bottle! Alien Spit

 

[twokids0204]

Priceless....

 

[afwdwfan]

We did take an hour or so to help Bambi's cousin move into her dorm at Florida Southern College (home of the Fighting Moccasins! And no, I didn't make that up. If I had made it up, it would have been funnier.) We were hoping that killing time by hauling all of the worldly possessions of a college freshman up a flight of stairs would let the weather clear.

Well that was nice of you. I'm not sure how many people out there would want to take part of a day out of their vacation to move stuff into a dorm room.

It seems that when we were there at 11:00 last night, they assigned the adult Annual Passes to Madison and Evan and age 3-9 APs to Bambi and I.

Well, I can understand them confusing you with a 3 - 9 year old, but I'm not sure what their excuse was for Bambi.

So I got that straightened out while Ryder gave his Grandmother dirty looks.

That Sorcerer Mickey statue with the brooms used to be over in Hollywood Studios in front of the Brown Derby restaurant. I made a mental note to see what they had over in that space when we went there in a few days. Don't get your hopes up that I'll tell you what it is - I completely forgot to look.

What a letdown. I guess I'll have to wait until December now.

Much like his cheapskate father (no, wait. Let's go with "frugal father." It makes me sound better), he decided to refill it for free. With Alien Spit.

His cheapskate father drinks alien spit????

A dance troupe was just getting set up on the Downtown Disney stage and Madison wanted to watch.

In other news, the sun rises in the East.

(and as you can see, Stitch got more on him than in the bottle.)

A sure sign of a good time.

"how the heck did he putt with a baby hanging off of his chest?"

No worse than normal.

I have a thesaurus.

I have a triceratops. Oh, wait... nevermind.

Yup, feeding a baby with one hand a putting with the other.

But how are you supposed to hold the beer?

We finished up the round, turned in our putters, and headed back to Bambi's parent's house for an early bed time. Well, earlier than last night anyway.

Hopefully there was time for some of Madison's homemade cookies before bed time.

 

[FreezinRafiki]

NINJA POSTER! Now I have to go back and read the update (I'll leave my post alone for the next time we are waiting or an update )

I'm sure you'll need it eventually.

Were you really calling him a "bundle of joy" at 6 a.m.?

Yes. It was more a reminder to myself why we don't eat our young.

Good plan. Grandma and Grandpa ain't no dummies.

Well, they do keep letting us stay there, so your assumption may not be totally accurate.

My favorite: The UC-Santa Cruz Fighting Banana Slugs.

How can you reference Banana slugs without this guy: ??

Only one flight? You got off easy.

I was carrying the microwave, got half way up, and offered to buy her a toaster instead.

It doesn't matter what everyone else had. You chose wisely.

To be fair, just pointing blindly at the menu and choosing something is a pretty wise choice there.

...und genius!

That's about as funny as a screen door on a battleship.

It's "screen door on a submarine," you dork.

What for? You'd definitely win the Long Drive competition.

Don't be so sure. Evan put one onto the hole in front of us, and somehow - to this day, no one knows how - Bambi put one onto the hole behind us.

Looks like someone was snapping pictures in your backswing, too. I hope Ryder took care of business.

Why do you think all these pictures are off of my phone instead of the fancy camera with a putter shaped dent in the lens?

It shore was purty out there.

That's what I said.....I think.

I think you still would have putted better than Steve Stricker did. Oy.

He's from Wisconsin, you know. But he went off to college in Illinois, so we can blame that.

Hey now!

Would "melting" have been a better word?

 

[FreezinRafiki]

Great update Barry. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I just don't know how you were able to golf with Ryder on your chest. But he looks like he was having fun by flying in your one picture. His arms were out and ready.

He had a good time just being carried around and looking at all the lights. Besides, actually seeing your ball when you try to hit it is overrated anyway.

I show up, make fun of you for not posting an update, then you go and post 2 updates before I get back.

I was motivated by anger.

Glad you made it to Florida safely! (I'm assuming you made it home safely too or how else would this TR be written?)

Bandwidth from the Great Beyond is actually pretty good.

Nothing worse than expecting to board the plane and it's not even there.

I can think of one thing: expecting to board the plane and seeing the maintenance crew re-attaching a wing with duct tape.

DTD at 11pm with on arrival night? You are hard core!

What can I say - they have ice cream.

Love the mini golf pictures... Ryder looks like he was enjoying himself.

Of course, he was strapped to me.

Luvin the update! I loled at Evan's way to fill the water bottle! Alien Spit

I wonder how long he would have stayed there to fill that bottle if I hadn't coaxed him along?

 

[FreezinRafiki]

Priceless....

I've got some - dare I say it - better ones of him coming up!

Well that was nice of you. I'm not sure how many people out there would want to take part of a day out of their vacation to move stuff into a dorm room.

Most of the heavy lifting was done by the time we got there. Besides, it was worth it to watch a very nerdy upperclassmen stand in the rain and awkwardly give directions to all of the incoming freshmen girls.

Well, I can understand them confusing you with a 3 - 9 year old, but I'm not sure what their excuse was for Bambi.

She wasn't with me. They probably won't believe I married that far up even if she was standing next to me.

What a letdown. I guess I'll have to wait until December now.

Well, you've got that to look forward to then.

His cheapskate father drinks alien spit????

I don't often drink alien spit, but when I do, it's Experiment 626.

In other news, the sun rises in the East.

I didn't exactly lay down a huge shocker there, did I?

No worse than normal.

Pretty much, yeah.

I have a triceratops. Oh, wait... nevermind.

But how are you supposed to hold the beer?

That's why those helmets with cupholders were invented.

Hopefully there was time for some of Madison's homemade cookies before bed time.

We may have had a few....

 

[amandaw]

Who needs the beach when you can have so much fun at Downtown Disney & Disney mini-golf?!? Really looks like y'all were having a fun day! I finally got to try Earl of Sandwich last weekend.....YUM!!!

 

[KatMark]

I usually save the "Holy cow, look how tired these kids are!" pictures for later in the Trip Report, after several days in the parks and pools. But since we didn't get to the in-law's house until midnight, and the kids were all wound up to see their grandparents, sleep didn't come until the wee hours of the morning. And our little bundle of joy / alarm clock had us up around 6, so it seemed like as good a time as any for that picture.

That is a sure sign of exhaustion and needing sleep.

(What's the deal with the sleeping arrangements, you ask? The kids love to have "sleepovers" with grandma & grandpa. They blow up an air mattress in the living room, and between that and the couch, they all find a place to snuggle. Until the kids fall asleep, anyway. Then grandma and grandpa sneak off to an actual bed.)

Our kids loved sleepovers at Grandma & Grandpa's when they were little.

So, the original plan from the Pre-Trip Report (well, if I had done a Pre-Trip Report, this would have been in there) was to spend the morning and afternoon at Clearwater Beach, playing in the water and making sandcastles and stuff. However, the weather was not looking very cooperative. We checked the forecast and the radar, and neither looked conductive to a good time at the beach.

We did take an hour or so to help Bambi's cousin move into her dorm at Florida Southern College (home of the Fighting Moccasins! And no, I didn't make that up. If I had made it up, it would have been funnier.) We were hoping that killing time by hauling all of the worldly possessions of a college freshman up a flight of stairs would let the weather clear. We we wrong.

While the rain did eventually stop, we had no way of knowing if or when or how hard it would start up again, so we decided to forgo our beach plans and go to Downtown Disney instead. I know, the sacrifices we have to make to enjoy ourselves.

Sorry you didn't get your beach day.

It was a bit past lunch time when we arrived, so we made a bee line to Earl of Sandwich for a Hawaiian BBQ and whatever everyone else had. I think they had sandwiches, but I can't be certain.

Love Earl of Sandwich.

After we finished, I had a little more business to attend to at Guest Relations. It seems that when we were there at 11:00 last night, they assigned the adult Annual Passes to Madison and Evan and age 3-9 APs to Bambi and I. So I got that straightened out while Ryder gave his Grandmother dirty looks.

Now that's funny...both the mix-up in tickets and the look on Ryder's face.!

That Sorcerer Mickey statue with the brooms used to be over in Hollywood Studios in front of the Brown Derby restaurant. I made a mental note to see what they had over in that space when we went there in a few days. Don't get your hopes up that I'll tell you what it is - I completely forgot to look.

Hmmmm....I don't think anything was there if I remember correctly.

It was a rather warm day, and with all of the rain for that morning; quite humid as well. Evan got a bottle of water and finished most of it within a few minutes. Much like his cheapskate father (no, wait. Let's go with "frugal father." It makes me sound better), he decided to refill it for free. With Alien Spit.

He may have caught a little bit in the bottle, but not enough that we needed to worry about some kind of extra-terrestrial bacteria mutating him into some kind uber-strong super genius. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

A dance troupe was just getting set up on the Downtown Disney stage and Madison wanted to watch. Evan, however, knew was was just down the path. They're small, they're plastic, they hurt like the dickens when you step on them at 1:00am in a dark house with bare feet, but they provide hours and hours of entertainment - LEGOs!

I hated stepping on those darn things when a child was crying in the middle of the night.


After the "weird Chinese dancing" (Madison's professional review), they joined us at the Lego store and together built an impenetrable lunar fortress! Or maybe it's a quaint cottage in the woods nestled between a babbling brook and a wild-flower meadow. I think they were working off of two separate sets of blueprints there.

Not only a dance, a cheerleader and an actress, she is now also a critic.

After a little snack at Pollo Compero, we made like a banana and left. Or maybe it was split? Whatever. Madison went back with Grandma and Grandpa to bake cookies (hard to find fault in that logic) while Bambi and her Boys loaded up the Big Bertha Drivers, Titlist Irons and Scotty Cameron putters and headed for...

Where are my cookies?

Mini golf? Oh. Hold on while I put this big bag back in the trunk.

Being Wisconsinites (aka "Cheeseheads", "Sconnies" or "Completely Awesome People") we couldn't stay away from the snow for long, so we chose the Winter course.

I'm hoping the snow stays away for as long as possible.

I know you're asking yourself "how the heck did he putt with a baby hanging off of his chest?" Very well, actually. Ryder helped line up all of my putts - reading the breaks, judging with wind speed and direction, and making adorable cooing noises to encourage me.

Thank God you had Ryder....I've decided MOST grown men cheat at mini-golf.

The course itself is really neat. Santa and his elves have set up camp here after a freak Florida blizzard dumped a bunch of snow and ice every where. And no, those aren't Gulfstream trailers. They're Elfstream.

Isn't it a great course? I love playing mini-golf at Disney.


And just to up the degree of difficulty, around the 14th hole Ryder started getting hungry. Yup, feeding a baby with one hand a putting with the other. I should be expecting my Ryder Cup (no relation) invitation any day now.

A man of many talents.

Ah, Evan's favorite hole. Sink a putt, and Frost starts squirting all over.

The final three holes are inside a really cool little pavilion, complete with stockings (er, flippers) hung by the chimney with care. And a nice hug from Bambi's big guy.

We finished up the round, turned in our putters, and headed back to Bambi's parent's house for an early bed time. Well, earlier than last night anyway. Tomorrow was going to be a big day!

Up Next: More LEGOs than you can shake a stick at.

Sounds like a great day!

 

[Bethislucy]

Love Evan's Cubs shirt.

 

[FreezinRafiki]

Who needs the beach when you can have so much fun at Downtown Disney & Disney mini-golf?!? Really looks like y'all were having a fun day! I finally got to try Earl of Sandwich last weekend.....YUM!!!

It was a great day! Hard to beat EoS!

That is a sure sign of exhaustion and needing sleep.

In case you were wondering what happens when two bed hogs share a bed - the crash into each other and create a mini black hole.

Our kids loved sleepovers at Grandma & Grandpa's when they were little.

Mom and dad like them too. It's a little quiet time for us!

Sorry you didn't get your beach day

Meh. It happens. Better to get rained out from the beach than a day at Disney.

Now that's funny...both the mix-up in tickets and the look on Ryder's face.!

That kid had a million expressions!

I hated stepping on those darn things when a child was crying in the middle of the night.

And he was probably crying because he lost that LEGO that you just "found"

Not only a dance, a cheerleader and an actress, she is now also a critic.

Multi-talented!

Where are my cookies?

They were delicious.

I'm hoping the snow stays away for as long as possible.

Yeah, good luck with that.

Thank God you had Ryder....I've decided MOST grown men cheat at mini-golf.

Regular golf, too.

Isn't it a great course? I love playing mini-golf at Disney.

And the 50% AP discount helps too.

Sounds like a great day!

Yes, yes it was.

Love Evan's Cubs shirt.

Thanks. It killed Bambi (a White Sox fan) to buy that for him. I didn't even know she did it until she surprised me with some photos she had taken.

 

[KatMark]

I love Bambi because she is a Bears fan. But a White Sox fan. Really???? Such a disappointment.

Oh, hi Bambi...still love you girl...just not your taste in baseball teams.

 

[FreezinRafiki]

Waaaaaaaay back during our last trip Evan discovered a map of Legoland at a Port Canaveral hotel we were staying at the night before our cruise. And if you recall from the introductions in this TR, he loves maps. So, confine a 5 year old Lego fan with a Legoland map on a cruise ship for 4 days, and you get a lot of big plans for our next trip to Florida.

A few weeks before we left, Legoland ran a promotion on their Facebook page where you could get admission to both their Legoland Theme Park and their waterpark for $45, a savings of over 50%! The deal was so popular that it crashed their online ordering system several times. Finally, I got through, ordered our tickets, and Legoland was officially on the schedule. And Evan (and Madison!) were beside themselves with joy. (Think about that for a second - 2 Madisons, 2 Evans. Holy cow, I need to sit down for a sec, I'm feeling light headed. Anyone have a paper bag to breathe into?)

So the big morning arrived, and we packed up our park bags and made the 45 minute drive from Lakeland to Winter Haven through some...um..."sketchy" neighborhoods along the way. One of those Deliverance paddle-faster-I-hear-banjos kind of areas.

I'm a bit confused by the sign. Ummm...we are here, aren't we?

This may come as a bit of a shock, but just about everything was made out of Legos. Except the toilet seats - they were nice and smooth.

Bambi's Dad and I took our bags back to the water park located in the back of the theme park. The not-to-scale maps made it look like a fairly short hike. 20 minutes later, we found the women and kids.

Madison and Evan rode the carousel...

...meanwhile, Ryder rode his stroller.

Giant Plastic Dudes!

Clearly, they were taking a loss on the cheap tickets we bought if this is the landscaping team they hired.

The kids at the drawbridge to the Lego Kingdoms area

Themed to a midevil castle courtyard, their first stop the Dragon roller coaster (a little bigger/faster than Goofy's Barnstormer), then Merlin's Challenge.

They then decided to take their little brother over to the local blacksmith so see if they could get him pounded into something cooler, like a sword or a frying pan or something. Smelting, anyone?

Right next to the blacksmith was the Royal Joust. Lego horses on a track complete with real jousting lances! Unfortunately, the lances were fastened to the horse, lowering the coolness factor of the ride. The kids still liked it, though. (The horses do bob and rock, giving the ride more of a horse riding feel)

Even though the lances are fixed on the horses, this was as close as the kids came to each other. Clearly, the attendant knew what he was doing. He could see it in their eyes that they would stop at nothing to knock their sibling off their horse. In a loving and caring way, of course.

Across the path from the Royal Joust is The Forrestman's Hideout. It's a large, multi-level climing/sliding/exploring tree house type of play area. Nice place to let the kids burn off some energy while the parents take a quick rest in the shade.

Honestly, I have no idea where Evan gets his dramatics from.

Wait, yes I do.

Finishing up in Lego Kingdoms, we moved on to the Land of Adventure. (While overall, we really liked Legoland, their naming team could have worked just a little bit harder on some of their area names.)

Our first stop there was the Lost Kingdom Adventure. It's sort of a Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin set in Egypt. Just about every target you hit triggered some kind of action - a snake popped up, a mummy emerged from a casket, someone parted the Red Sea, etc. Your vehicle doesn't spin, but your gun/zapper is handheld so you can spin and aim it where ever you want. Even at your kids! If you were into that kind of thing, I mean.

It does keep an LCD readout of your scores, but I didn't get a picture snapped of that. Rest assured, I won.

Just outside of Lost Kingdom Adventure was a ride called Beetle Bounce. It's a pretty straight forward bouncy upy and bouncy downy ride. (Sorry to use "amusement park insider" terms there. Did I ever tell you I was kidnapped and forced to work as a carny when I was little?) I'll let the next series of photos tell the sad and tragic story of how Madison and Evan had to endure the perpetual up-and-down torture of the Beetle Bounce.

Usually when we let the kids go on a ride by themselves, they come back to wherever we were watching them from and either ask to ride it again or we continue on our merry way. This time, however, they got off, gave us a look that clearly said "There is nothing you can say or do to prevent us from riding again" and hopped right back in line.

Oh, as for the lines, so far on this day we didn't wait more than 5 minutes for any ride. The place was just about empty!

With all that excitement going on, I should probably calm things down a little bit with this....

Shhh.....leave your comments quietly, the baby is sleeping.

up next: I can't believe we let these kids drive.

 

[MagicShell]

I enjoyed your last two updates. Mini golf looks fun, but I can never make myself play it at WDW. I would feel like I was wasting park time, I guess.

Those pictures of Evan and Madison on the "bouncy" ride are precious. They were having some serious fun!

 

[afwdwfan]

So, confine a 5 year old Lego fan with a Legoland map on a cruise ship for 4 days, and you get a lot of big plans for our next trip to Florida.

There are worse plans he could be coming up with.

(Think about that for a second - 2 Madisons, 2 Evans. Holy cow, I need to sit down for a sec, I'm feeling light headed. Anyone have a paper bag to breathe into?)

Wow. You'd be outgunned 5 to 2 and that's just if Ryder doesn't join the fun.

The not-to-scale maps made it look like a fairly short hike. 20 minutes later, we found the women and kids.

Maybe you should have consulted Evan before making that hike?

Clearly, they were taking a loss on the cheap tickets we bought if this is the landscaping team they hired.

Sketchy neighbors and employees that show up with rollers in their hair. You're really selling it!

Finishing up in Lego Kingdoms, we moved on to the Land of Adventure. (While overall, we really liked Legoland, their naming team could have worked just a little bit harder on some of their area names.)

Hmmmm... a castle, an adventure themed land. Seems like I've seen this story before somewhere.

That guy in the bottom left looks like Indiana Jones as played by Elvis Presley.

With a soul patch.

It does keep an LCD readout of your scores, but I didn't get a picture snapped of that. Rest assured, I won.

If this was Mark's TR, I'd be calling this a lie.

Oh, as for the lines, so far on this day we didn't wait more than 5 minutes for any ride. The place was just about empty!

I can tell from your pictures. One of the first things that stands out is the lack of people in the background. Looks like you broke in when they were closed or something.

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

i dont see the baby in the family picture on the ride? was there a convenient carrying pouch to store luggage on the ride.