1 crazy family+2 resorts+5 parks+1 snake+1 surprise=A Mickeystoontown report 4/3x2

[mickeystoontown]

Loved the update as always. Wow, the portion size at the Wave looks really small. I mean Hunter had what, 8 french fries?

You were posting here while I was posting over on your report. We think alike.

Yeah, the portions were definitely on the small side compared to other Disney restaurants. It was good but it will probably be a while before we return.

 

[KatMark]

Lisa, sorry that dinner was a little stressful. You have to love Momma though for her caring and wanting to help. But I can see where it would bother John.

I've not seen many reviews of the Wave for dinner (I've seen them for breakfast). I keep bringing this one up every year but so far Mark hasn't wanted to go.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Lisa, sorry that dinner was a little stressful. You have to love Momma though for her caring and wanting to help. But I can see where it would bother John.

I've not seen many reviews of the Wave for dinner (I've seen them for breakfast). I keep bringing this one up every year but so far Mark hasn't wanted to go.

Oh yeah, I love Mama with all my heart and I love her for caring but she can sometimes overdo it with John. That's her number one boy. Wait, I take that back. He's #2 behind Hunter.

The dinner was good but the portions were pretty small compared to other Disney restaurants.

 

[momabbate]

Sorry to hear John had a moment during dinner. I understand how John must feel, I hate being hovered over. I don't know why The Wave has never made it very far on my list. Glad you were able to go to park after dinner. Can't wait to hear more.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Sorry to hear John had a moment during dinner. I understand how John must feel, I hate being hovered over. I don't know why The Wave has never made it very far on my list. Glad you were able to go to park after dinner. Can't wait to hear more.

Even when he's not feeling bad, he still doesn't like the hovering so when he is ill, it's magnified.

The Wave was good and, although the portions were fairly small, it's one that we'd return too. But, not until we try some other new places first.

 

[aidensmom31]

Oh no I didn’t! You did! Blame it on Mamaw!



Even though John was feeling better, Mama continued to constantly ask if John needed anything. He would insist that he didn’t but she’d ask again anyway. Poor thing, she simply can not help herself. By the time the waitress came around to take our dessert orders, John was frustrated to the point that he would only answer questions with a word or two. Part of that was because of the epilepsy/mood issues and part of it was due to the hovering/question asking. He was ready to get out of there but he didn’t want to go off on his own or have us leave without having dessert.

When it was John’s turn to order, he told the waitress that he didn’t want anything but she insisted. He told her to just decide for him. Have mercy, now the waitress was getting in on the question asking action. (Unknowingly of course). A little while later, our desserts came out and I didn’t take any pictures because, honestly, I was more than ready to go too. I asked the waitress for our tickets so that we could leave when we were done. They were testing some new handheld thingamabob that worked with our KTTW cards and we had been there long enough that it had timed out and we had to go through the whole process again which took a little while.

Oh gosh, as I am typing this and going back to read, I realize that I sound like an ungrateful little snothead. I’m not! I’m really really not! You just have to live with epilepsy to know what I’m talking about and relate to how John was feeling. You also have to know my Mama was my Daddy’s caregiver throughout his long bout with various major illnesses and that my Daddy actually liked for my Mama to be there 24/7. But, my Daddy also didn’t have a brain injury or epilepsy. Epilepsy sucks I tell ya!

Once we had our bill settled up, we walked out into the resort and John and Hunter went to the bathroom. This is probably TMI but the twitches and seizing of epilepsy also affects your stomach and John usually has a bit of stomach “issues” afterward so I knew that he would be in the bathroom for a little longer than usual. Mama found a sitting area nearby and we sat down to wait. But, not before I took a few more pictures:

After a while, John was back with us and was feeling better. We weren’t sure what to do. Go back to the resort? Go to the Magic Kingdom for more of the 24 hour celebration? John said that he felt well enough to go back to the park so we found our way to the monorail station and, let me tell you, I won’t be staying at the Contemporary any time soon. I was about to freak out! Good goobly goo! You could see out and down into the resort and I started feeling all swoony and light headed. If nobody would have looked at me funny, I would have fallen to my knees and crawled over to the monorail. Heck, I almost didn’t care if they did look at me funny. Just get me low to the ground so I can’t see how far up I was. Eeeek!

****Up next: First a parade and now fireworks! Hunter, WDW loves you!

My brother in law has Epilepsy and has the same feeling when people hover (his mom is like that and luckily my sister isnt, she makes sure he takes care of himself and knows how to handle episodes but just does good at not hovering ). We are always aware of it even when its not showing up.

And I love your trip report so far

 

[MEK]

Poor John. That's got to be terrible to have to deal with the mood swings and twitches when trying to enjoy an evening out.

In a way, I can relate. I tend to get sensory overloaded easily. I don't like a lot of background noise (like when Denny has two TV's on simultaneously and one is just behind the other in timing so you hear everything twice) or annoying , repetitive noises (fire alarms). It never seems to bother other people at work, but to me its just horrible. I know its not at all the same, but I understand that feeling of wanting to just close in on yourself or just go somewhere where you can avoid everything. I imagine that's how John feels when his nerves are all in a bundle.

Poor Maw. She just can't tone down those maternal instincts.

Anyhow - I love that picture you took while entering the Contemporary. The sky looks really cool. Your food also looks delish!

 

[lovethattink]

I thought about you last night as we watched Duck Dynasty!

I'm so sorry John had an aura/tics before and during dinner. I understand completely. I understand Mamaw wanting to help John and fix it. And I understand John needing to be left alone.

How did the food taste? The chicken looks like something I'd enjoy.

 

[Marsheliz]

Love the Duck Commander shirts! Where did you get those? We love Duck Dunasty too! As a matter of fact, Lawson had to decorate a pumpkin last night for school and he had to incorporate DD in it.. Lol!!!

 

[Clarf]

Poor John. I can't imagine having to deal with that anytime, and then especially on vacation when you're supposed to be having fun. And I can definitely see how he would have been annoyed with Mama. Obviously she means well, but probably not the right time.

The Wave looks like a cool place, though. Is it 1 dining credit? We may have to think about that one sometime, and my husband loves steak!

As for the being on time thing, I can relate. I was on time or early for everything before I met my DH. Now we're lucky to be 5 minutes late, and it's all him. I can get myself and 2 little girls ready faster than it takes him. It's so frustrating, so know you are not alone!

 

[mickeystoontown]

My brother in law has Epilepsy and has the same feeling when people hover (his mom is like that and luckily my sister isnt, she makes sure he takes care of himself and knows how to handle episodes but just does good at not hovering ). We are always aware of it even when its not showing up.

And I love your trip report so far

Then you know what John was feeling that night.

I'm glad that you're enjoying it all. I have another installment coming right up!

Poor John. That's got to be terrible to have to deal with the mood swings and twitches when trying to enjoy an evening out.

In a way, I can relate. I tend to get sensory overloaded easily. I don't like a lot of background noise (like when Denny has two TV's on simultaneously and one is just behind the other in timing so you hear everything twice) or annoying , repetitive noises (fire alarms). It never seems to bother other people at work, but to me its just horrible. I know its not at all the same, but I understand that feeling of wanting to just close in on yourself or just go somewhere where you can avoid everything. I imagine that's how John feels when his nerves are all in a bundle.

Poor Maw. She just can't tone down those maternal instincts.

Anyhow - I love that picture you took while entering the Contemporary. The sky looks really cool. Your food also looks delish!

The symptoms and situations that you are describing are some of the same that John feels. It's odd that he can go somewhere such as Disney and have a ton of people around him and he'll be fine but then something simple can make him feel bad.

Mama just can not tone them down. She's already a Nervous Nelly but in John's case, she does go a bit overboard.

I thought about you last night as we watched Duck Dynasty!

I'm so sorry John had an aura/tics before and during dinner. I understand completely. I understand Mamaw wanting to help John and fix it. And I understand John needing to be left alone.

How did the food taste? The chicken looks like something I'd enjoy.

Love me some Duck Dynasty!

I know that you know just how hard it is to not hover and show you how nervous you actually are when our loved ones suffer from epilepsy.

The food tasted pretty good except there wasn't a whole lot of it. The portions were pretty small.

Love the Duck Commander shirts! Where did you get those? We love Duck Dunasty too! As a matter of fact, Lawson had to decorate a pumpkin last night for school and he had to incorporate DD in it.. Lol!!!

We bought our shirts at the Duck Commander store. Now, with everybody in the whole world knowing where the store is, you can't even get near the store without there being a traffic jam. I don't know if you can see it or not but Hunter's shirt is autographed by Si, Korie and Missy. They were at our mall last Christmas for a "Stuff the Bus" toy drive and we had them sign it. John Luke, Sadie and Cole signed a picture for him. Hunter had his picture taken with Si and then with the teens and we had a lot of people comment, including the teens, that Hunter looked like them.

Poor John. I can't imagine having to deal with that anytime, and then especially on vacation when you're supposed to be having fun. And I can definitely see how he would have been annoyed with Mama. Obviously she means well, but probably not the right time.

The Wave looks like a cool place, though. Is it 1 dining credit? We may have to think about that one sometime, and my husband loves steak!

As for the being on time thing, I can relate. I was on time or early for everything before I met my DH. Now we're lucky to be 5 minutes late, and it's all him. I can get myself and 2 little girls ready faster than it takes him. It's so frustrating, so know you are not alone!

John is easily annoyed when he feels the seizure symptoms anyway but combine Mama with them and it's a frustrating situation for him.

Yep, The Wave is just one credit. The food was good but the portions were a bit on the small side. I'd go back again but it will be while.

Isn't it crazy how people think that it's the women who are slow but a lot of times, it's the men?

 

[mickeystoontown]

First a parade and now fireworks! Hunter, WDW loves you!

I kept my eyes forward as we continued to make our way to the Contemporary monorail station. I do not understand how some people are not afraid of heights. Don’t ya’ll know that you can fall to your untimely death? Heights!

The monorail pulled up about 5 minutes after we arrived and it was decorated with the Monster University gang:





As soon as we got off at the Magic Kingdom monorail station, we could see that it was going to be crowded. I figured that it would be given the fact that this was one of their Limited Time Magic nights...actually, day AND night since the park would be open for 24 hours. John and Hunter went through the no bag entrance while Mama and I had to go through bag check. All of the tables were being manned so it went pretty quickly.

We made it through the turnstiles and under the train station and Boom! Bam! Fireworks! First a parade and now fireworks! Hunter, WDW loves you! I had my cheap point and shoot so the pictures are not that great but it didn’t stop me from taking a crap ton of them.





























I also took some cellphone pictures and sent texts to some of my family and Dis friends and told them that the Magic Kingdom had fireworks in honor of Hunter’s 16th birthday. The location that we watched the fireworks from was not the best and I certainly wouldn’t have chosen it but it was what it was.

Once the fireworks were over, I had a good look around us and saw all of the people coming down Main Street and we could see that it was c-r-o-w-d-e-d! Crapadelic!











**continued in next post

 

[mickeystoontown]

We made our way to the shops along Main Street and holy guacamole! It was ridiculous! In all of our years of going to Disney, I had never ever, I mean NEVER seen it as crowded as this. We would shuffle a little and then stop. Shuffle a little and then stop. When I say a little, Im talking about a foot or two. People were smooshed up against the buildings waiting for a break in the crowd but they werent finding any breaks. Finally, we made it to the ice cream parlor and people were stopped again. There were three ladies standing there and one said I hate cherries! and then asked John if he wanted it. John plucked it right off the top of her sundae and gobbled it up. Everybody around us thought it was so funny. Yep, he was feeling better.

When we got to the turn in front of The Plaza we had had enough. There was no way that we could get through all of the people. So, what were we to do? Right at that same time, castmembers opened up a big gate between The Plaza and the bathrooms and were telling guests who were trying to leave to use that exit. We went with the flow and through the gates but we quickly moved to the right side until we could figure out what to do. Do we stay? Or do we go?

I could tell that Mama, who is claustrophobic, was uncomfortable. So, I suggested that I take Mama back to the resort and then come back and meet up with the guys. Everybody agreed that would probably be the best thing to do but we also agreed that Mama and I would let some of the people flow out of the park before we headed out. We waited probably 20 minutes before we decided to leave and then I gave Hunter one camera and I took another. I couldnt miss the opportunity to try and take a few backside of Main Street pictures. Which, by the way, didnt turn out too good considering it was dark back there and, really, theres not a whole lot to see.





We exited near the end of Main Street. You can see that there were still a lot of folks staying in the parks:



Mama and I walked to the bus stop and she tried to get me to just let her go back to the resort by herself and that she would be fine. She does know how the bus system works because shes been there before but this was our first day in the parks and it had been a couple of years since she had been. I wanted to make sure that she made it back okay.

We got in the line along with quite a few other people and waited for the bus to arrive. I could tell by the number of people in front of us that we wouldnt make it onto the next bus and that wed have to wait. After about 10 minutes or so, here come not one but two Caribbean Beach buses. There were castmembers helping guests onto each bus and we were loaded up in no time at all.

Once we got back to the resort, Mama and I said our goodnights and, just as I opened our room door, I got a text from John asking me to bring his tennis shoes back with me. He had on some Sketchers boat/loafer type shoes on and he wasnt used to walking in them. I took a couple of things out of my backsack and stuffed in his tennis shoes, took a tinkle break and went back out to the bus stop. I was headed back to the 24 hour celebration!

As I walked across the parking lot, I looked at the time and it was almost Midnight. Jeeze! I knew that we had moved in slow motion to get down Main Street but I didnt realize just how long it had taken us to go down and then Mama and I to cut through the back way. I sent a text to John letting him know that I was waiting on a bus and that it was kinda creepy standing there all alone at the bus stop at Midnight. Now, dont get me wrong, Caribbean Beach itself, isnt creepy. Just standing around with absolutely nobody else there was creepy. It was quiet. You could hear the frogs croaking in the nearby water. There was no one talking. There were no cars driving by. I wasnt scared or anything. It was odd feeling being by myself out there when its normally hustle and bustle at Disney.

A Magic Kingdom bus came and two people got off and I got on. The bus driver finished up the loop despite the fact that no one else was at the bus stops and we were off to the Magic Kingdom. Just me and the bus driver.

**Up next: What mischief did the men get into while I was gone? Whos that in the picture?

 

[GrammyJudy]

ILOVE Main St after dark And I adore the fireworks How lucky for Hunter on his birthday. But wow those crowds are scary. And how about you going back after midnight. Can't wait to heat how long you all stayed.

 

[DisneyJo]

How funny that John ate the ladies cherry from her sundae, I'm so glad he was feeling better

You naughty girl taking back stage photos It is very boring though isn't it!!

Ooh it does sound creepy at the bus stop, even though it's Disney I think I would have been scared

 

[mickeystoontown]

ILOVE Main St after dark And I adore the fireworks How lucky for Hunter on his birthday. But wow those crowds are scary. And how about you going back after midnight. Can't wait to heat how long you all stayed.

I love Main Street all lit up and glowing at night but this time it was super crowded and hard to enjoy.

I didn't even realize that it was midnight until I started walking across the parking lot. I just shook my head at myself for venturing out that late by myself.

How funny that John ate the ladies cherry from her sundae, I'm so glad he was feeling better

You naughty girl taking back stage photos It is very boring though isn't it!!

Ooh it does sound creepy at the bus stop, even though it's Disney I think I would have been scared

Yes m'am, he was definitely feeling better. Thank goodness!

I was surprised that the CMs were letting people take pictures. They even smiled at us and waved us by while we people were taking them. Like you said, though, it's kind of boring.

I wasn't scared standing there all alone but it did feel kind of....hum...I guess odd. I'm used to everything being busy.

 

[Tiggerrn2]

So sorry your dinner at the Wave was a bit stressing. I do understand. DH has diabetes and sometimes will have a seizure due to his low blood sugar. It is hard to not keep asking if he is feeling OK when his sugars are low. And he just gets more irritated the more you keep asking. (but then I feel like a heel if I just try to keep going on like nothing is amiss)

The 24 hour nights looks NUTS!

I love being by myself in the quiet at Disney. (it happens so seldom) I was overly slow leaving MK after a MNSSHP one night. Had to wait for photos and such and DH had taken the kids and gone back to the WL. So I sauntered out with the last of the guests and had a boat back to WL to myself. The Capt. even gave me a tour of the lake and the area hotels. It was the Year of a Million Dreams, and I got a certificate for winning a dream cruise of the Lake. Getting back to WL and walking the dock area all by myself was a little creepy, but worth every peaceful moment.

 

[KatMark]

Parade, fireworks. What more could the boy ask for?

We've gone that back route before through the gates. You were lucky to get pictures. We were back there for our Keys to the Kingdom Tour (I've not gotten that far in my TR) and NO pictures are allowed to be taken at all during the tour.

I'd feel a little odd waiting for a bus all by myself at midnight too. I think the bus drivers have to stop at each stop whether people are waiting or not.

Glad to see John was back to himself with plopping the cherry.

Can't wait to see what kind of mischief they got into while you were gone.

 

[mickeystoontown]

So sorry your dinner at the Wave was a bit stressing. I do understand. DH has diabetes and sometimes will have a seizure due to his low blood sugar. It is hard to not keep asking if he is feeling OK when his sugars are low. And he just gets more irritated the more you keep asking. (but then I feel like a heel if I just try to keep going on like nothing is amiss)

I totally understand the "heel" feeling. I've learned to keep the questions at a minimum and keep an eye on him without him seeing me keep an eye on him. I will leave a room but I don't leave the house if something like this happens.

The 24 hour nights looks NUTS!

It was nuts!

I love being by myself in the quiet at Disney. (it happens so seldom) I was overly slow leaving MK after a MNSSHP one night. Had to wait for photos and such and DH had taken the kids and gone back to the WL. So I sauntered out with the last of the guests and had a boat back to WL to myself. The Capt. even gave me a tour of the lake and the area hotels. It was the Year of a Million Dreams, and I got a certificate for winning a dream cruise of the Lake. Getting back to WL and walking the dock area all by myself was a little creepy, but worth every peaceful moment.

Wow! that was a "dream" cruise!

Parade, fireworks. What more could the boy ask for?

Absolutely Nuttin'!

We've gone that back route before through the gates. You were lucky to get pictures. We were back there for our Keys to the Kingdom Tour (I've not gotten that far in my TR) and NO pictures are allowed to be taken at all during the tour.

I wasn't the only one taking the pictures but I think that the CMs were too busy trying to get people out and weren't worrying about pictures.

I'd feel a little odd waiting for a bus all by myself at midnight too. I think the bus drivers have to stop at each stop whether people are waiting or not.

I did feel a little odd to be there all alone. The bus driver didn't stop for long, just the required short time and we were on our way.

Glad to see John was back to himself with plopping the cherry.

I was so happy to see him back to his old self. It was so funny when he ate the cherry from the top of the lady's sundae.

Can't wait to see what kind of mischief they got into while you were gone.

Oh there was mischief! No surprise right?

 

[mickeystoontown]

I almost forgot to share some Hunter news. Guess where he and the school orchestra may possibly be going for Spring Break? Guess! Hurry up and guess! I can't hold it in any longer! WALT DISNEY WORLD!

They used to go every year but, last year, they didn't go and Hunter was bummed. He has continually begged and pleaded with the teacher to let them go in 2014. Looks like all those sad puppy dog faces worked 'cause the director told him that there's a parent meeting Monday on the specifics.

Ya'll keep your fingers crossed that the cost will be reasonable and that enough students sign up so that the trip can happen.

Hunter laughed and said that everyone in the class turned to him and had a "You're my new best friend!" look on their face when the director made the announcement. They are going to use Hunter as a tour guide.