9 days, 7 bladders, 3 strollers, 1 tropical storm and... lots of fun. UPDATED JUNE 24

[Queila]

Day 2- Monday- Aug. 27th, 2012- Post- storm afternoon at Magic Kingdom

So any "itinerary" I had in mind for that day was officially thrown off the window because of the storm.

Once we got into Magic Kingdom I literally had no idea where to start our touring from. Should we go to Fantasyland? Tomorrowland? Or maybe Adventureland? I couldn't care less! I was just so happy to be there. ANYthing was better than being in the hotel because of the rain.

After some quick discussion with Joey we decided Buzz Space Ranger Spin was a good way to start and it would allow all seven of us to play at the same time.

Mandatory picture with Zurg:

From there we took FP's for Space Mountain and we also saw Buzz was out taking pictures. Unfortunately he was about to take a break so we were told to come back later.

Believe it or not we are all hungry again by now. Cosmic Rays was right THERE and for a moment I was tempted to just get in and avoid the dragging of seven people across the park to eat at Columbia Harbour House but Joey talked some sense into me and we made the trip to Liberty Square.

It was my first time at CHH and I was looking forward to it.

While Joey was getting our food downstairs Beatriz and I went up to secure a table and we goofed around with the camera:

Notice the cover on the window blocking the view of the construction in Fantasyland:

On to the food:

I had the lobster roll with a side of chips and the strudel for dessert.

Unfortunately the lobster roll did not hit the spot. Maybe it was my mistake. After a rainy morning I think I would have preferred a warm dish like the salmon or the clam chowder but I wanted to try the roll so bad. It was still ok but I wouldn't order it again though. The strudel was delicious and I saved the bag of chips for another time.

Beatriz had the standard mac & cheese with a side of grapes and Joey had the fried shrimp basket and he loved it. But really what is not to love about fried shrimps?

I thought I had taken more pictures of the food but I guess not. Sorry.

As soon as we finished eating and everybody went for what it seemed their 100th potty break of the day already we realized the 3 o'clock parade was just about to start. Luckily all we had to do was to go outside to find a place to watch it.

For some reason the parade was running on the opposite direction that day (from Frontierland to the Main Street) and we got a good viewing spot:

Beatriz and M got a lot of attention from the princesses since they just wouldn't stop shouting their names until the would get a little wave:

As soon as the parade finished, M (the 7 year old girl) asked me how come Rapunzel and Merida were not part of the parade. I gave them my best answer babbling something about them being busy with some sort of royal duty somewhere and M looked at me and said: "Well, we are modern girls so we like modern princesses". :jawdrop:

I just about died laughing!!

We then crossed to Fantasyland and the crowd level was still pretty low all over the park so we took advantage of it and got quite a few rides done: "It's a Small World", "PhillarMagic", "Prince Charming Carrousel" and "Mad Tea Party".

Mandatory picture with PhilharMagic" glasses:

From then we went back to Tomorrowland to use our Space Mountain FP's. Beatriz and J (the 3 year old boy) were not tall enough to ride it so Joey and I told our friend to ride it with their 7 year old and we were going to sit this one out with the kids. Joey was not upset to miss the opportunity of riding Space Mountain (he finds it too jerky) but boy oh boy was Beatriz ever mad that M got to do it while she was denied access.

All was good once we went back outside and finally got our pics with Buzz:

The original plan was to have an early start at MK that day, go back for a swim/nap and the go for super at Kona at 20h20. It was a late ADR but it was the only time I found available for a party of 7. I wasn't too concerned since I had assumed the kids would have had a chance to nap.

Well, we know things did not turn out this way. We ended up "sleeping in" because of the rain but now it came the time to decide what we wanted to do. Do we want to stay at the park until it is time to head out to the Polynesian or do we want to go back to the hotel to shower and dress up for the evening? I let the people vote and the consensus was to go back to the hotel.

On our way out the CM's were inviting kids to play with hoola hoops and skipping rope. Beatriz wanted to hoola so we obliged:

Next up:
Dinner at Kona

​

 

[Queila]

xxx Queila xxx

A friend of mine had very many miscarriages with no reasons given as to why at all, sometimes she lost her baby at the beginning and sometimes going upto 4 months before she lost her much wanted baby, she decided to give up and focused on her life with her hubby,job etc ,which she has done for a few years, they travelled a lot with his job and have now settled in Bahrain for a couple of years, she had a lot of love to give and decided to get a little dog which she loved to bits , Bailey is its name , then completely out of the blue she announced that she was pregnant and is due in May , so far so good and all is well with her. It was obviously meant to happen to her and kevin.

What I am saying is don't give up hope but maybe give yourself a rest from trying. I know you have your gorgeous Beatriz and the age gap might be important as well but its very hard to go through what you guys have and still stay sane . xxx of love to you and i hope that one day your dreams will come true. xxx

I keep hearing stories like that all the time. It is just so hard to "let go". I wish I had an off button for that. The age gap is definitely a factor and also the fact that I am 35 years old. I don't think my chances of it happening naturally later are too good but... really... what do I know? I keep telling myself that God must know something I don't so maybe it is for the best but we will see. Thanks for sharing your friend story. It is definitely encouraging.

I am excited for your upcoming trip! OKL looks like such a lovely resort. Are you writing a PTR? Do you have your AdR's I would love to hear all about them.

 

[cherjp]

again xxx and hugs to you xxx

Not sure about the trippie , i am not that sure about it, i love reading other peoples and they are so interesting but we will see.

So far we have booked Tusker house for breakfast for the morning after we arrive, as its one of our friends birthday's ( we are 2 families going ) , really liked it at Tusker house , food was great and a lovely variety to suit all needs and tastes.
Also booked Sci fi diner , loved that too last time we were there. Chef Mickeys twice , 1st time on the 2nd day for my birthday, even though its 10 days before we arrive !! and also on the last day to finish off our holiday.
Le Cellier as well as we really like it there . lovely food and very interesting place and servers.
Booked House of Blues for good adult night out ! our kids are all teens , 18 ,18 and 15 so they are going to have dinner with us then off to disneyquest or bowling, while we enjoy a little beverage or ten !! At least we can sit and watch the world go bye whilst the kids have their fun too, then we can all go back by boat to OKW .
Still to make other decisions about restaurants, but we intend to go to Planet Hollywood, Olivias, Kona Cafe . Thats about us for the moment. We have free dining for 2 weeks !! so the diet has begun in earnest now to accommodate this . xx
loved the latest installment of your trippie. Love seeing Beatriz and my... how she has grown? x

 

[cherjp]

ps my friend is 42 years old , so dont give up hope xxx

 

[ronnmel]

Great parade pictures. I love the one of the girls from the back.

 

[Queila]

Great parade pictures. I love the one of the girls from the back.

Thanks Mel!

 

[Queila]

Day 2- Monday- Aug. 27th 2012- Dinner at Kona Cafe.

So we had a little over an hour in our room to get ready for the evening.

I was a little nervous about all seven of us being able to respect a "schedule" but thankfully that was never an issue during the trip and before we knew it we were all hopping on the bus back to Magic Kingdom.

From there we took the monorail to the Polynesian!

It was late and Beatriz was overly excited:

We were there right on time for our 20h30 reservation at:

My friend A. brought her own leis so we adorned ourselves for the occasion:

The kids were a little hyper that night but they were also hungry so when the food came things calmed down:

Joey had the steak:

I had the Oscar tuna which apparently is no longer on the menu:

I have to say that the Kona beer with my meal hit the spot!

Everybody had the chocolate/banana creme brulée for dessert which is probably the best creme brulée in Disney:

Now if you read my TR last year you will remember how we had a hard time enjoying some of dinners because of an overtired Beatriz. At the time it made me regret getting most of my sit downs for dinner time. And I was wondering wat was going to happen this time around.

Well, apparently she got the memo and this year THIS is what happened almost every night after she finished her meal:

It was if she knew she had experienced everything she was supposed to for the day and it was okay to let herself go. What a difference a year makes!!!!!

As we were finishing our meal we heard Wishes across the lake but never got up to see it.

With all three kids sleeping in their strollers we (the four adults) took a little time to explore the Polynesian:

I loved all the resort specific merchandise. Wish I could bring everything home.

We did not stay too long. Everyone was getting tired and we had an early morning planned for the next day.

So we took the monorail back to Magic Kingdom but once we got there we hit the crowds leaving the park. Apparently the POFQ bus was having a hard time because the line was huge and people seemed to be running out of patience.

Finally one bus came and filled to capacity. We stayed behind dreading the next one. Then a MAgical Express bus pulled over to pick us up. Everybody got to sit down in the comfy seats and watch Donald Duck cartoons on the way back to the hotel.

We thanked the bus driver and he called it a magical moment.

You bet!

*************** End of day 2***************

Next up:
Day 3- Animal Kingdom

​

 

[Queila]

again xxx and hugs to you xxx

Not sure about the trippie , i am not that sure about it, i love reading other peoples and they are so interesting but we will see.

So far we have booked Tusker house for breakfast for the morning after we arrive, as its one of our friends birthday's ( we are 2 families going ) , really liked it at Tusker house , food was great and a lovely variety to suit all needs and tastes.
Also booked Sci fi diner , loved that too last time we were there. Chef Mickeys twice , 1st time on the 2nd day for my birthday, even though its 10 days before we arrive !! and also on the last day to finish off our holiday.
Le Cellier as well as we really like it there . lovely food and very interesting place and servers.
Booked House of Blues for good adult night out ! our kids are all teens , 18 ,18 and 15 so they are going to have dinner with us then off to disneyquest or bowling, while we enjoy a little beverage or ten !! At least we can sit and watch the world go bye whilst the kids have their fun too, then we can all go back by boat to OKW .
Still to make other decisions about restaurants, but we intend to go to Planet Hollywood, Olivias, Kona Cafe . Thats about us for the moment. We have free dining for 2 weeks !! so the diet has begun in earnest now to accommodate this . xx
loved the latest installment of your trippie. Love seeing Beatriz and my... how she has grown? x

Love your choices. Makes me wish I was there right now. We loved Kona Cafe but Olivias is on my radar for a future trip too. I think we are probably one of the few families at the DisBoards that hasn't been to Le Celier yet so have some soup for me! Haha.

 

[ronnmel]

Yay for Kona!

What a smart little girl, going to sleep on the bench. I'm sure it helped to be sitting at a booth and not a table with just chairs.

How cool to get to take a Magical Express bus back to the resort. Must have been so comfy!

 

[JAMIESMITH]

We loved The Polynesian during our trip last year, but never tried Kona Cafe. It looked good!

 

[brookelizabeth]

I'm so sorry about your loss. Prayers to you and Joey as you go through all this.

Wonderful updates though! I love your dress for Kona, you look fantastic.

And YAHOO that B just crashed after the meal! It is pretty amazing how much they change in a year, and how they react to similar things on each trip, isn't it?

 

[Pseudacris]

I'm late to the party, but I love your TR so far! You all look like you're having so much fun and are able to roll with the punches with a hurricane, etc.

 

[sue_88]

Enjoyed reading your report today.

 

[Queila]

Yay for Kona!

What a smart little girl, going to sleep on the bench. I'm sure it helped to be sitting at a booth and not a table with just chairs.

How cool to get to take a Magical Express bus back to the resort. Must have been so comfy!

Hey Mel,
I was so happy she wasn't fighting her sleep on this trip. The same thing happened in more than one occasion. She eats, soaks in a bit of the atmosphere and crashes down. What a difference one year makes!

We loved The Polynesian during our trip last year, but never tried Kona Cafe. It looked good!

Kona was on the top of my list of restaurants to try this trip and it did not disappoint. Next time I would like to try their breakfast.

I'm so sorry about your loss. Prayers to you and Joey as you go through all this.

Wonderful updates though! I love your dress for Kona, you look fantastic.

And YAHOO that B just crashed after the meal! It is pretty amazing how much they change in a year, and how they react to similar things on each trip, isn't it?

Thanks and thanks. I love that dress too! Doesn't get out too much here in cold Montreal though.

I know! That is why we never get tired of going to Disney. It really is a completely different experience every time.

I'm late to the party, but I love your TR so far! You all look like you're having so much fun and are able to roll with the punches with a hurricane, etc.

Enjoyed reading your report today.

Welcome and thank you!

 

[Queila]

So three months without an update is unacceptable even to my own super slow standards.



The truth is I have changed jobs and have been working more of a full time schedule lately. Consequently, I have completely run out of time and energy to keep up with the Dis boards.

I take my hat off for all you full time workers out there. I have been leaving home at 6h30 am and coming back at 6h30 pm 4 days a week and I HATE it!

I talked to my new boss and miraculously he agreed on me going down to part time starting in June.

I work at an orthodontics clinic now and I am learning a new job from scratch. No more dental cleanings and check-ups. Now it is all about wires, bands, brackets and adjustments. While I enjoy learning new things I am not sure I love what I am doing either which causes a lot of conflict in my head.

I am mentally very tired from all the learning and I spend most of my day on a constant fear of making mistakes. They told me it takes six months to learn this job well. It has been two months and I am exhausted.

How hard can it be to find a job that you really like?!?

Also a couple of months ago I had a health scare that kindda threw me off my balance for a while.

I suspect I am suffering from a little depression due to the frustrations I have been going through in the past couple of years (professionally unhappy, unable to keep a healthy pregnancy, homesick, long grey Winter etc) and the feeling of being "stuck" in a situation you don't enjoy is a bit overwhelming.

Therapy is helping but it is a process that takes time. I can't wait to start feeling better. Thankfully I have a wonderful husband and a delightful healthy daughter. My love for them and the loving kindness of my God help me to keep pushing forward.

On a lighter note: WOULD YOU PLEASE JUST TAKE A LOOK ON MY NEW TICKER??

That's right baby. We are going to California this Summer. Let the planning begin!

In the meantime, let's get this TR cracking. Shall we?​

 

[Queila]

Life update on previous page.

Day 3- Tuesday, 28th August 2012- Animal Kingdom Day

So even though we were spending almost 10 days at Disney I had planned for only one day at Animal Kingdom and I absolutely wanted to make the best of it.

I had prepared my friends mentally for the long day ahead. I explained that I was probably going to be a little more pushy than on the two previous days when it came to moving effectively around the park and making it in time for shows and attractions. They said they were ok with it.

So I said we should meet at 8h15am at the lobby of the hotel and by that time everybody should be properly fed, with mugs refilled, bathroom brakes taken and ready to go. Surprisingly enough, it worked! It worked so well in fact that it became our routine for the entire trip. Everybody knew we should meet at 8h15 am at the lobby and in that manner we were able to make it for rope drop every single day of our trip!



That was a first time we were able to see the rope drop on all four parks and, you know what they say, once you go rope drop you cannot go back.

So we made it to Animal Kingdom with time to spare.

Mandatory entrance pictures:

Once inside, I realized for the first time that the rope drop ceremony at AK actually happens around the Discovery Island. I didn't see much of it because we were too far back but I heard the countdown and we followed the crowd to Kilimanjaro Safaris.

The safari is probably one of my favorite things to do in all WDW and I loved the expressions of pure amazement of my first time visitor friends.

Mandatory animal pictures:

And the human beings:

Monkey face:

Immediately ater the safari we decided to give the kids animal face painting.I had told Beatriz about it before leaving for our trip and she was pretty excited about it. So while the guys went to grab FP's for Expedition Everest, my friend A. and I brought the three kids to the face painting stand.

Decisions, decisions, decisions:

Let the transformation begin:

And... voilà!

Next up:
How much were we really able to accomplish at Animal Kingdom? And is the tropical storm really over?

​

 

[Queila]

Day 3- Tuesday, 28th of August, 2012- A full day at Animal Kingdom.

With their faces widely painted and with potty breaks properly taken we made our way to "It is tough to be a bug".

Have I mentioned how difficult I found to move 7 bodies around the park in a good pace? Specially with three strollers!

I had brought Beatriz to "It is Tough to Be a Bug" on her very first trip at 14 months old. She was way too young to be scared and chances are she was sleeping on me during the attraction anyways. So I was a little nervous about it this time but decided to give it a go. We told the kids it was going to be dark and the animals were going to try to scare us and they were fine with it.

The movie started and everybody is enjoying it until... spoil alert... the big spiders start coming down over the audience. Somehow I ended up with both girls hanging on my neck screaming and crying! I kept them held tight against me until the end of the show and by then they were all laughing about it. So...mixed feelings about bringing her back there on a future visit.

So after ITTBAB it was time to use our FP's for Expedition Everest. So the 7 of us made our way to Dinoland so we could keep the kids entertained while the adults went on the ride.

Both guys went on the ride twice: once together and once with the respective wife. In the meantime, whoever was not at Everest kept company to the kids.

So we rode the dinos:

Watch out for the photobomber!!!

And we brought them to the Boneyard:

After every adult had had their fill of Expedition Everest we were ready for lunch. However, after all the playing and sweating at the Boneyard the kids were hot, hyper and overly excited. We kept telling them NOT to spray water or scratch their faces because of the painting and they were not having it.

Then it happened: a collective melt down! All three kids freaking out at the same time.

I don't even know what the freaking out was about but it was bad. I brought Beatriz to the bathroom to calm her down. She was hungry, hot and sticky and the face painting wasn't helping at all. So I washed her off, cleaned her face and changed her clothes. It calmed her down. My friend A. did the same thing to her kids and everybody was happy it was time to go grab some food.

So, there you have it... face painting lasted a total of about 2 hours.

At least we got lots of pictures.

So we headed to our favorite counter service restaurant in all WDW: Flame Tree BBQ. We LOVE it there and we always have a relaxed meal by the water. However, by the time we sat down to eat it started pouring down again. The rain and the wind made eating there a bit of a challenge with the flying napkins and rain drops on our food. At least we had food in our bellies and the grumpiness was being kept to a minimum. I was starting to wonder how we were going to continue our day when the rain stopped. Yay.

The clouds were still looming over us so I thought it was the perfect time to go see a show. The Festival of the Lion King it is!

Mandatory picture before the show:

Daddy-daughter love:

Going for TFOTLK was a great move because by the time we left the sun was back but we could tell it had rained some more while we were inside:

I am not sure why but we did not stay for pictures with characters at the Greeting Trails this time. Maybe we were in a hurry to make it to the next show of Nemo- the Musical across the park.

Both shows were amazing as usual and our friends were officially in love with Disney by then. With the sun and heat back on full blast it was the perfect opportunity to introduce them to a classic Disney snack!!

With our sweet tooth satisfied we headed to DINOSAUR!

Once again, the adults took turns taking care of the kids so everybody could enjoy the ride. Because I am not a big fan of this ride I actually gave up my turn so my friend A. could go twice. On her second turn she actually brought her daughter M. who was tall enough to ride. Everybody loved it.

While I was waiting outside with Beatriz I just let her have it with the water spray bottle. Knock yourself out kid!

So by this time we maybe had an hour left before park closing time and we still hadn't met any characters. Our friends also wanted to do some shopping. Because Joey and I are not really into spending time in the souvenir stores we kindda assume everyone feels the same.

Not cool, I know.

So I suggested to stay in line with the kids to meet some characters while they went to browse a nearby store.

We wanted to meet the characters from Up. By the time we got in line Russle was taking pictures but then he went on a break and Doug was the one who came back. It is ok because we love Doug. SQUIRREL!!

And there you have it, K. and A. did their shopping, we had our hundredth potty break of the day and we left the park maybe 15 minutes before closing time.

How is that for a full day at Animal Kingdom?!?

I still don't understand how people can do this park in half a day. There were still quite a few things I would have like to have done: Kali River Rapids, Flights of Wonder, Conservation Station, the forest trail etc. But hey... there is always next time!

Next up:
Evening at PORFQ

​

 

[ronnmel]

I'm sorry to hear you are suffering from depression, but I'm glad you are taking the steps to take care of it.

Yay for Disneyland this summer!

As for Animal Kingdom, I totally understand you in saying it's a full day park, not half day. There is so much to do there, when you take the time to explore. Glad your friends liked it!

 

[wiigirl]

Great pics!

 

[PrincessesX3]

Sorry to hear. Hang in there. Glad to see you back updating. Missed it!