A Long Awaited (9 years!) Disney Return, this time with kids of my own!

[Rebecuberduber]

We’re going to Disney World!!! I’m so excited, I can’t sleep at nights. We leave in four days and will be there from the 13th to the 22nd of October. This is a little pre-trip entry, before we get there, and then I hope to do my very first trip report when we get back. I’ve never done a trip report, before, and I have very little experience on the dis boards. I only managed to find you guys a few months ago, and I mostly just lurk and read other people’s trip reports. So bare with me. I may need some answers and advice as I go along.
And now, without further adieu, the cast:

Me: I’m 24 years old, and this is the first time I’ve been to Disney World in, let’s see … 9 years. Gasp, choke, yes, I said 9 years. I can’t believe it, either. But as soon as I graduated from high school, I had a full time job, and was taking classes, and I just didn’t have time to tag along with the family on their Disney vacations. So they all up and left me behind. Actually, I don’t feel too badly about it because they only went to Disneyland a few times, and I much prefer the world. Disneyland is fine, but it feels like an appetizer for the real thing, to me. The real magic is at the world, IMHO.

DH: I’ll call him .. Donald Duck. He’s 29, and this will be his first time to the World. He’s been to Disneyland once or twice, but only with high school choir, and youth group, so those weren’t real Disney vacations. I don’t think he’ll be converted as a fan, but I do think he will have a great time. He’s not really the type, I don’t think, to truly appreciate the magic of Disney. He can’t get past the price tag. But, I know he will enjoy himself, and I know he underestimates just how wonderful a Disney vacation can be.

DS: I’ll call him Dash. He’s 3 years old. I am giddy with anticipation to take Dash to Disney for the first time. He’s so excited, too. He doesn’t even know what Disney World is, and he’s excited. He’s picking up on our anticipation. For months he’s been asking and asking, “are we leaving for Disney World, yet?” Finally I told him, when the mall is decorated for Halloween, then it will be about time to go. After that, every time he’d see any sort of random balloon, or bow, or any sort of festivity, he’d say, “Look, mom! It’s a decoration! Is it time to go??”

DD: I’ll call her Snow White, her favorite Character. She’s 19 months. She’s not old enough to understand what’s going on, yet, but I know she’ll enjoy our trip, once we’re there. She’s a little sweet heart. She’s such a lover. She loves to give hugs and kisses, and absolutely adores everyone. She especially loves babies and baby dolls. She gets this very maternal, tender face, when she sees a baby or a doll, and just has to give it love.

That’s my immediate family. We’re going with my mom and dad (Grandma and Grandpa), and all my sisters (the aunties). I have four sisters, as follows:

Auntie #1: We’ll call her Auntie Violet because she tries to do the hide behind her bangs, thing. She’s 16.

Auntie #2: We’ll call her Auntie Jasmine, because she’s got these big eyes, just like Jasmine. She’s 12, but looks and acts like she’s 15. She’s such a goof ball. She cracks up the whole family. I think she’ll be a comedian, one day.

Auntie #3: Umm … this is tricky … Auntie Wendy, I guess? She could be a Wendy. She’s very motherly with the younger kids. She’s 9.

Auntie #4: Can she be all the princesses? I guess we’ll call her Auntie Cinderella, since that’s sort of the classic princess. She’s 5, and is a major drama queen. She reminds me so much of myself when I was younger. She’s always hamming it up, especially when you pull out the camera. It doesn’t matter what you’re photographing, she’ll make sure she’s in it.

I have a little brother, too, but he’s in seminary and couldn’t join us. We’re a good ol’ Catholic family, hence the reason there are so many of us. I want to add a family picture, like the one in my avatar, but I can't find one, right now. Perhaps I'll add more, later. Anyway, there will be plenty of pictures to come, I promise!

Whew! Alright, so the cast intro is out of the way! Stay tuned for more, later!

 

[Rebecuberduber]

Wow, ok, quick question: Is there a way to make the images smaller? I don't mean to sound like a complete computer idiot, but I am, in fact, pretty close to a complete computer idiot.

--Edit--Never mind! I figured it out. I guess I'm not as much of an idiot as I though.

 

[Rebecuberduber]

Alright, time for the trip details. We will be staying at Shades of Green, because my father is retired from the Air Force. I’ve never stayed here before, so I’m not sure what to expect. I love the Disney resorts, but at least this one is on property. And it saves us money, which is definitely good. Plus, it’s walking distance from the Polynesian, which is one of my favorite resorts. It’s the one we stayed at on our first Disney World trip when I was 7. I still remember the Peter Pan club, the childcare service on property. I don’t know if it’s still called the Peter Pan club, but it was when I was there. I was a huge Peter Pan fan growing up. I had such a crush on him, and every night I thought he might come and take me away with him to Never Land. I still think it might happen. I'm very good at spring cleaning. Anyway, the Peter Pan club is one of the only things I remember about that trip.
We arrive in Orlando sometime in the afternoon, so we plan to check in, and then head over to the Magic Kingdom. We weren’t going to go to a park on the first day, since we don’t have a full day there, but Dad found out that an eight-day pass is only four dollars more than a 7-day. I’m thrilled, because the way we had it scheduled, we’d be going to Epcot and Animal Kingdom before spending a day at MK. It would have been hard for me to be that patient. MK is the one I’m most excited about taking DS, Dash, to. He’s going to love it.
On Friday, my two Uncles and their families, my cousins, will be joining us for two days. They live in Florida, and I haven’t seen them since my wedding. I can’t wait for this reunion. Even my cousin, Jordan, who is 25, will be able to come. She’s living near home and working, right now, so she’s going to tag along. Yay!
My dad is the Commander in Chief for this trip. He offered to let me plan, but then he pretty much took over. I’m happier this way, anyway. He’s had the most experience with Disney trip planning, and he enjoys it so much. We have this unspoken rule in my family, that once we’re in Disney, we go and do whatever my dad says in whatever order he says to do it. No one knows the full itinerary except him, and no one gets to argue. It works out well because then we’re not standing around debating about what to do next. We all like it this way. Plus it has an element of surprise for the kids, in that they never know exactly what to expect. I did get to be an insider with him, though, in that he let me see the whole itinerary for this trip before hand. He’s even got it mapped out to the order of rides. It’s great. He’s a bit of a Disney Commando, but with such a big group, someone’s gotta be.
One quick little anecdote, regarding what I told Dash about when the mall is decorated for Halloween it will be about time to go: My dad was playing with Dash, and asked him, can I take you to Disney World? Dash replied, excitedly, “Is the mall decorated??!” My dad of course had no idea what Dash was talking about. Now, Dash’s Auntie Wendy made him a count-down calendar. He puts a new sticker on each day, and when it’s all filled up, then he’ll know it’s time to go. That’s a better way to keep track. So, on Monday, the day we leave, I plan to secretly get all our bags by the door, (they’re already packed), then I’ll hand the calendar to Dash and let him put the last sticker on. When he does, I’ll say, “Wow! Was that the last sticker?? I guess it’s time to go! Let’s go!” and then I’ll load us up and go to the airport. It's a little thing, I know, but it will be fun for him, I think.
Ok, I guess I don’t have anything else to add, yet. Other than what I’ve already stated: I am SO excited!!!! Dash is just at the perfect age. He knows all the Disney characters, and loves them all. Plus everything is just so real to him. Everything will be so truly magical. I want to be with him to watch his reaction every second of the way. I don’t want to miss a single expression. That’s what I’m most excited for, is getting to see it all through his eyes. I know that he’s going to be sort of a VIP in our family, since this will be his first time, and everyone, his grandparents and aunties, are also super giddy to share it with him and see his reactions. But I told my husband, he’s got to be ready to bust some heads on the first ride, when we get there, to make sure his mommy is the one that gets to sit with him. The rest of the time, they can all take turns sitting with him, but I’ve got dibs on the first ride.

 

[Rebecuberduber]

Ok, I found some pictures of the family together. We were waiting around for our local Fourth of July parade. They aren't great shots, most of us are looking away or have our eyes closed, but they're all I could find:

The order is as follows, from left to right:
Auntie Cinderella in the hat, Auntie Violet with the bow, Auntie Wendy, Grandpa, and Grandma smooching Dash.

Here's a bad one of me, with my eyes closed:

I'm the one in the tan jacket.

And here is one I found of my husband. This was the card they made me for Mother's day. Snow White was still a baby. I loved this card. I don't even remember what present they got me, that year. The card trumped it.

Isn't that sweet?

Ok, so now you know us a little better.

 

[Rebecuberduber]

Well, it's 1:00am, here, and I can't sleep. Tomorrow's the day we leave. I'm even excited for the plane ride! Dash has never ridden on a plane, yet, and I think he's going to find it pretty cool. Take-off is what he'll mostly enjoy, and then probably get bored of the whole flying experience pretty fast, after that. I just hope he's tall enough to see out the window as we take off. We leave around 2:00 in the afternoon, tomorrow, and then make a connection for an all night flight into Florida. I really really hope the kids sleep. I hope at least Snow White sleeps. I don't know how I'll entertain her for eight hours if she doesn't. I packed a whole bunch of surprises for the plane ride. My husband helped me make customized coloring books for the kids. He even designed a bunch of really cool Disney stickers to decorate them. We had fun, and they turned out so neat. I don't have my camera charged, right now, but I'll take a picture of them as we hand them out, tomorrow. I also found a couple little sticker and activity books for them that I wrapped as presents to hand out through out our flights. I know that I probably over-did it, and we probably won't get through all of their "presents", since we're mostly flying over-night. But we also have the flight back, after the trip, so it would be nice if there's still some left un-opened for that. At any rate, I'd rather have too many activities for them, than not enough.
My mom bought all of the kids some lanyards with a few pins to get them started so we can try pen-trading. We've never traded pens before, so it will be fun to see how that goes. She passed them out to the kids, today, and we helped them stick all their pens on. They were pretty excited, even though they don't fully understand, yet, what pen trading is. Even Snow White has a little lanyard. I doubt she'll trade, but she'll certainly want to wear one like everyone else. You know how one-year-olds are. Not old enough to do most things, but old enough to want to try. She is very aware of what everyone else is doing, particularly her big brother and her aunties, and she always wants to do it, too.
It's been a whirl-wind of a weekend, let me tell you. My mom and I did a garage sale, together, on Saturday. The kids all sold a lot of old toys, and we let them divide the money for Disney souvenirs. The garage sale was very successful, but man was that an ambitious project, the very weekend that we leave! Somehow we still managed to get our houses clean and the last minute things packed away, as well. My mother, sisters, and I even had time to polish our toe-nails in a matching shade. The real kicker is, on top of everything, my mother and I decided to go to a local opera production of Puccini's Gianni Schicci, this afternoon. It was a short opera, only an hour long, but still, I can't believe we did that! Whew, what a weekend! I was having such a hard time sitting still through that opera, even though it was short, with all my anticipation of Disney. Good thing it was a comedy. I would not have been able to handle anything else, right now. We got some decaf lattes on our way to the show because we knew caffeine was the last thing we needed. Still, I could have sworn that latte was caffeinated. I was feeling so buzzed, just from adrenaline. I still am, hence why I'm sitting here typing all of this at almost 1:45, now. I don' t even know if it's coherent. I'd better read through and make sure ... Ok, I think it makes sense. I'd better leave it at that. I've got to have energy to get us all on a plane, tomorrow. I really need to get some sleep! I'll write more and tell you all about our trip when I return.

 

[Rebecuberduber]

Day 1:
The day finally arrived! It felt like it never would, but it came, and it went, and here we are back again. Of course, I’m awake at 5:30 am, adjusted to Orlando time. Snow White just woke up as well. So she’s watching Little Einsteins, and I’m starting off my trip report. We took soooo many pictures. I learned a lot, too, that I’m eager to share with those of you lucky ducks who are planning a trip soon. We didn’t bring our own camera, because DH loves photography and has a huge honking camera. So we decided to borrow Auntie Violet’s camera. The trip started off shaky, though, because she insisted on carrying her own camera, and us having to ask permission if we wanted to use it. I was so worried that we wouldn’t get many pictures, that way. She only takes pictures of things like silly close-ups of various body parts (hands, noses, etc.) or arms-length snapshots of herself making funny faces. I had a little sit down sisterly heart to heart with her about it, though, and she finally caved and let me carry the camera most of the time. Whew.
Alright, so back to day one. I could not sleep the night before we left. I was so excited. So DH (Donald Duck) and I watched a stupid comedy in the middle of the night, to try to distract from the trip to come. Didn’t really work. I was so wired. I had so much to get done the next day before we left. I was determined to have my house totally clean and sparkling so that in my depression upon our return, at least I’d have a clean house to come home to. I didn’t want to have to get right back into house work and the daily grind.
I got up bright and early the next day and completed most of what I wanted. That was a relief, and the housecleaning gave me something to do with my pint up energy and excitement. I had all of the presents for the airplane ready. Here are some pictures:

The coloring books were ready:

Donald created the covers, himself, using coloring pages that he photoshopped.
And the stickers that DH, Donald, made, also made from coloring pages:

I managed to put off letting Dash do his sticker chart until around an hour before we were supposed to go. He kept asking to do it, but I didn’t want him to see that it was the day until it was time to go. Otherwise he would be begging and begging to leave when it was still too early. Plus I thought it would be fun if as soon as he realized it was time, we walked out the door right then and there. Three year olds don’t do well with any sort of time delay.
Finally everything was ready and he kept asking to do his chart, so I just went ahead and let him even though it was an hour early.

And just as I suspected, from that moment, he was asking every second if it was time to go. I told him that we have to wait for Grandpa to come take us to the airport. Finally grandpa came. (Dash's other grandpa, not the one coming on our trip. Donald's father, not mine.) He took Dash and Snow White out for a walk to keep them out of our hair while Donald and I loaded the luggage and got together the last minute things. Donald made little cards with Dash and Snow Whites photo and our cell-phone numbers on them in case they got lost, heaven forbid. They carried around the cards in their pockets and we instructed them to show the card to someone if we ever get separated. Thank God it never came to that, but it was good to have the security. These are the photos he took of our kids earlier that day, which he used on the cards:

We arrived at the airport nice and early and met up with the rest of my family there. We got our bags checked, and then waited and watched the airplanes coming in. And took pictures.

Auntie Jasmine

Dash and Auntie Cinderella waiting

Auntie Jasmine and Dash
Dash doing some poses:

Auntie Cinderella doing poses:

The flights went great. We had a three-hour layover in Seattle, but we took the kids to this wonderful play area right near the Alaska Airlines gates to kill time. We also ate horrible Chinese food, and Grandpa and Donald took all the kids to ride around on the Shuttle.

A little taste of the monorail rides to come.
The next flight was the red-eye. Dash and Snow White slept through the whole thing no problem. The rest of us were in and out of sleep the whole time. It still went by relatively quickly, though we were all sufficiently exhausted upon our arrival.
We went down to baggage claim and there was the driver holding our sign waiting for us. That’s always fun to see. It makes you feel like a celebrity for a moment. I felt very important. He helped us get our bags and loaded us up in his Happy van.

We were happy, too.
And at last, we saw this (cue Hallelujah Chorus):

We’d arrived! None of us were too tired to appreciate the moment. It was surreal. After all this planning and anticipation I began to wonder if this place was something I made up once upon a dream. I thought it was too good to be true and would never be. But, here it was. Just waiting for us. Disney World.
To be continued …

 

[Rebecuberduber]

We pulled into Shades of Green, and it was beautiful! Apparently (I learned this later on the trip), it used to be a Disney golf resort, but there weren’t enough people who came to Disney World to just to golf, so they made a deal with the military. It is not at all what I expected from a military resort. There were huge waterfalls out front, and the lobby was large with chandeliers and a fireplace. Not at all standard Government Issue. I was impressed.
We weren’t sure if our room would be ready, yet. I was hoping and praying it would be. It was around 8:00am and we were ready to crash. We would have been miserable waiting until that afternoon.
Dad is the retired military guy, so he strolled up to the front desk to check us in, while we kept our fingers crossed. In the meantime, we found this guy to take some photos with:

The receptionist told Dad to check back that afternoon to see if the rooms were ready. He put on his tired face (which wasn’t anything difficult at that point) and asked if they’d please call him on his cell when they were ready. He explained that we’d been travelling all night and were extremely tired. She glanced over his shoulder at all the little ones in our party and said she’d go ahead and double check to see if it’s ready early. Sure enough, it was ready, and she relinquished our keys. Oh glorious key cards. They were a beautiful sight to behold, knowing what they unlocked: a room with beds and showers. What more could you want right then?
Well, actually, we were also pretty hungry. So we wandered to the hotel buffet before going to our rooms. It was a nice restaurant, and it was our last one that trip. We quickly decided that wasn’t the way to eat for our group. The kids were bouncing all over the place. Youngens just don’t do well at table service. They can’t stay in one place for that long. It was counter service for us the rest of the trip. We actually already planned that that’s the way we’d do things, but this clinched it for us. The wonderful thing was that right next to the restaurant there were these pretty pathways around a pond with big goldfish swimming around. Auntie Violet, our savior, took the little ones out to wander around and look at the fishies. Ah, us adults could relax. Momentarily. But that’s all we ask for.
When we’d all filled our bellies, we went to our rooms to rest and take some much needed showers. We stayed in our rooms for a couple hours, resting and refreshing. I couldn’t sleep, though, because I know that the next thing on our to-do list was…

 

[Rebecuberduber]

Yes, the Magic kingdom. We took the bus and then the monorail to get there. I was so excited to ride in a monorail, again. Here is ours, eagerly awaiting us:

And we’re there!

It was magical. Main Street was aglow. The parade was actually about to start, which normally makes for a head-ache, trying to navigate the crowds. Especially with a double-stroller. But I wasn’t annoyed. Not this time. I had my eyes on my son, watching him take it all in. He saw a CM playing red light green light with some children as they awaited the parade. This is one of his favorite games. Just up the way, we passed the first float with Sleeping Beauty and Prince Phillip, his favorite prince. He turned and saw a CM at a souvenir stall. He happily waved to them. They waved back and grinned. And then, he saw the castle.

He seemed pretty mesmerized by this enchanted place we wandered into. He also seemed to suffer a little from sensory over-load, because almost right after seeing the castle, he promptly fell to sleep. It was too cute. Almost like he fainted.

We passed through the castle, and each touched the slipper on the Cinderella mural. This is an important tradition to us.

We then navigated our way to Small World. This is such a Disney staple, it’s a great way to start the trip for us. We like it, even though we also gag a little at the same time. DH, Donald carried a sleeping Dash through the line.

Remember, before I was saying that I wanted to ride the first ride with Dash. Well, since he was asleep, and Donald was carrying him, this didn’t happen. It was ok, though, because I had Snow White with me, who adored this ride. She has such a love for dolls, so she was in heaven. A ride brimming with dolls. She also liked the boats and being on the water. Dash did wake up right when we were boarding, so he was awake for his first ride. I was relieved. I felt a little disappointed when he went to sleep so fast. I hated for him to miss anything. But, I understand that he’s only three, and being well rested is very important. It’s just not how I’d been imagining our first day, with him sleeping through it.
When we exited Small World, Grandpa got us all fast passes for Peter Pan. The line was around 80 minutes at that time. It was always long the whole time we were there. I don’t remember if the ride is always this popular or if it’s just because of the Tinker Bell craze that’s spreading the nation, right now.
Next attraction was Philharmagic. Snow White was terrified. She sat on my lap and clung to me, practically trembling, through the entire show. She wasn’t even wearing her 3D glasses. It was very loud. I wouldn’t recommend this as a first attraction for young kids. She recovered fast, though, and by the end of the trip she was used to loud noises.
After that traumatizing experience for the one-year-old, we decided it was time for something slower-paced. We headed to Tomorrow Land to ride what we always will refer to as the People Mover. I don’t even know what they call it now. The People Mover was a much better name. It was so descriptive. It moves people. It is a people mover. No confusion whatsoever, there.

While on the People Mover, Dash got a chance to look around a bit and was very excited to see the car ride amongst other things. But, just as the ride was returning to the station, Dash spotted one of his all time heroes: Buzz Lightyear.
We went straight towards him as soon as we got off the ride. Dash was so excited to meet him. Even Snow White was into it. She went right up to him, and didn’t want to leave. This was nice to see, that she wasn’t at all afraid of the characters.

After Buzz stamped his autograph in their books, and posed for a picture, Dash went up to Grandpa and said, exuberantly, “Thank you for taking me to Disney World”.
Buzz was right next to Carousel of Progress, another of our favorites, so we climbed aboard. I still like the show, but I have to admit it was a little embarrassing at times. The jokes are down right corny, and the “future” scene is incredibly out-dated. The video game they’re playing looks straight out of the nineties. Our graphics have improved so much since then. And stirrup pants? Really? Please tell me our future does not include a return of stirrup pants and eighties garb. Coming out of the ride, I felt people going, “huh?” “Disney has so many billions of bucks, and this is what they’ve come up with?” Those people, that is, who are new to Disney and don’t understand how steeped in history and tradition it is. Like my DH, for instance. He could not in the least understand why we liked that ride.
Ok, so after Carousel was the car ride. I know you Disney gurus are rolling your eyes that I don’t know the real names for these things, but it’s the “car ride” to me. So sue me. Dash got to drive his own car, while Donald did the gas. I rode with Auntie Violet and Snow White, with Auntie Jasmine behind us. I will never ride with Auntie Jasmine behind us, again. Not until they install air bags in those things. She banged into our car so many times, each time on accident. I got whip-lash. In fact, I think Dash drove the best of anyone. Auntie Violet drove our car and was swerving all over the place. So was everyone else, except for Dash. Give that kid a license. Well, maybe once he’s big enough to reach his own pedals, at least.
And to leave you on a cliff-hanger: what came next??? You’ll have to wait to find out.

 

[grandpaof3]

I have never stayed in Shades of Green because I was out of the Air Force before there was a Disney World. I was in Disney's Golf Resort a number of times in the 70's though. I'm sure it's much the same today as it was then.

Looking forward to your next update.

 

[wuv tigger]

.... what a GREAT trip report!

 

[Rebecuberduber]

I have never stayed in Shades of Green because I was out of the Air Force before there was a Disney World. I was in Disney's Golf Resort a number of times in the 70's though. I'm sure it's much the same today as it was then.

Looking forward to your next update.

It probably is. Like I said, it just doesn't say 'military resort' to me. It's very beautiful. But, maybe I under-estimate what the military will fund and produce. I'll update soon, I promise! I'm working on one as I type this.

.... what a GREAT trip report!

Thanks! I'm so glad you're enjoying it!

 

[Rebecuberduber]

Next was … lunch! With an alien! That sings! Yes, we ate at Cosmic Ray’s Sunshine Café, with Sonny eclipse to serenade us. The kids thought it was pretty cool, but Dash was unimpressed. We asked him about it later and I think he blocked it from his memory. He had no idea what we were talking about. A singing alien? Get real, guys.

We went to go find seats before ordering. It was a little crowded, but the seating area is huge, so we found some tables, no problem. Even two close together, to accommodate our large group. Only problem was, where was 5-year-old Auntie Cinderella? We knew she followed Grandma and me into the restaurant. But she wasn’t with us at the tables. Everyone else was there except for Dash and Donald who took a trip to the men’s room. Grandma went back to check at the entrance, to see if little Cindy was still hanging back there, somewhere. Nope, she wasn’t. Next Grandpa went to look around, too. The place was huge. She had to be around somewhere. She probably just lost track of us and ended up wandering by herself, somewhere, looking for us. She was nowhere to be found. All of us were now becoming frantic. This seemed more serious. Why would she leave the restaurant, when she saw us all go in, and was right there with us when we entered? I was sitting there with the other kids, wracking my brains, trying to think of a reason. It just didn’t make sense. Grandma and Grandpa both went outside to search around the premises. This was probably a short span of time, but it seemed like forever. Well, perhaps you’ve already figured out where she ended up. She got to see what no girl wants to behold: the inside of a men’s room. She followed Donald and Dash in. They came strolling back out, wondering what the look of panic was on all our faces. And there was Cinderella, right at Donald’s heal. Whew. I breathed a huge sigh of relief and thanked the Powers that Be, whom I’d been praying to that entire time. A particular shout-out here to St. Anthony, the patron saint of lost things and lost causes. Props, bro.
So, time to eat. The food was good and even better once I found out there was a condiment bar with grilled onions. I missed that the first time through. I had a chicken sandwich, which came dry. Apparently you’re supposed to add whatever toppings you want, yourself. So, I got to enjoy the second half of my sandwich with grilled onions. Yummy.
After dinner the elder set of kids decided the time was ripe to experience Space Mountain. Donald and Grandpa went with them, leaving Grandma and I to ride the Dumbo ride with the youngsters. You know, I don’t think I’d ever ridden the Dumbo ride, before. That was always the ride that the young ones did while the older kids were off on the big rides. Before I had kids, I had always been in the latter group. Dumbo was fun, though. It goes up and down. That’s kinda cool.

Grandma rode with Auntie Cinderella and Dash, while I rode with Snow White and Auntie Wendy. Just before boarding, Auntie Cinderella and Dash got into a fight about which color of elephant to fly in. Dash wanted blue, while Cinderella naturally wanted pink. Grandma, being the true diplomat that she is, declared they were riding green.

Much to Auntie Cinderella and Dash’s surprise, green turned out to be a pretty good choice. They enjoyed the ride, immensely. In fact, we would have ridden again, except that it was time to use our Peter Pan fast passes. Grandpa, Donald, and the older set were waiting for us at the exit. They actually got through the line and out of Space Mt., and walked to Fantasy Land before we were off Dumbo. Dumbo is a popular ride. To be fair, we also had some bathroom trips on the way there. So our time wasn’t completely spent waiting in line.
I was excited for the Peter Pan ride. I loved Peter Pan growing up. Peter Pan is also Auntie Jasmine’s favorite character. Grandma loves Peter Pan, too. But most importantly to me at that moment, Dash loves Peter Pan, and it being his first time in Disney, it’s also his first time on the ride. He adored that ride. He especially loved the part where Captain Hook is trying to shoot at you from his Pirate ship. Dash found that he likes being shot at in rides. He asked to ride the Peter Pan ride again several times on our trip. Unfortunately the line was so dang long all the time, we only got to go on it a total of three times. I guess that’s not bad, considering we spent three days in the Magic Kingdom. We rode it once every day we were there. Still, that wasn’t enough for Dash. We’ll have to return someday, just so we can do that ride again.
*****At this point, the kids had been on enough tame rides to see that Disney was a safe happy place. We decided it was time to throw them for a loop. We headed for Haunted Mansion. (Actually, they were doing very well, and not being scared, anymore, so we thought they’d be just fine on this ride.) In line, I explained to Dash that the only scary part is when they have you stand in a small room that stretches and a lady screams. This was always the scariest part to me, as a kid. I told him that after this part, it’s all just funny. Disney used lights and things to make it look like there were a bunch of ghosts, but it’s not real. I told him it’s just a joke. He was satisfied with this, and practically skipped into the stretching room.
The stretching room wasn’t scary at all. I think I was remembering the Disney Land version where everyone else screams as well. That scared me more than anything. They don’t seem to do this in Disney World. At least, not any of the times that we rode. Dash was a little apprehensive, though, as we walked into the queuing area. The darkness, the ghostly voice of the host, and the scary music prompted him to ask a lot of questions. “Is this all a joke, Mom? It’s not real?”
“Yeah, Dash, they’re just trying to scare us to be funny. I’m not scared though, are you?”
“No.” He answered, eyes wide looking around, grasping Donald who was carrying him. He remained apprehensive through out the whole ride, but he did fine. He never freaked out, and he just kept asking if this was a funny part. The one thing at the end of the ride that did kind of get him was when the host said that a ghost will follow us home. After I told him that was a joke, too, though, he was satisfied and never brought it up, again. Snow White was hunky-dory. She was too young to get any of the scary stuff. She was just a happy little tag along.
We had time for one more ride before Wishes, and I requested Jungle Cruise. At least, I think it was my request. Maybe Grandpa just took us there. Anyway, I thought this was a ride Dash would enjoy, so it was another I was excited for.
Dash did enjoy it. It was a very enjoyable snooze. He fell asleep right before we boarded, and slept on Grandma the whole way through. It was ok, though, because our guide was very dead-pan. You could tell it was the end of the day and she was starting to count the hours until closing. Or maybe that was just her sense of humor. It didn’t carry off well, though, and I didn’t find her very funny. It was the first time on the Jungle Cruise for Donald, though, and he thought she was great! The jokes were all new to him, and he found it very funny. Ha! Who’d have guessed?*****

NOW it was a good time to go stake out spots for Wishes. Wishes is best viewed, now that I have experience, with the castle centered in your view, no matter how close you are to it. The fireworks are all centered around the castle. Though we later watched Wishes from Fantasy Land and that was fun because it seemed like the fireworks were right over our heads. But still, the first time you watch I highly recommend you keep the castle in your center view. It’s so picturesque.
Dash had fallen back to sleep well before Wishes started. I think he actually zonked out on the walk over to it. I was hoping all the loud booming and banging would wake him up once it started, but no such luck. That’s ok, he needed the sleep, poor kid. What a day! Wishes was so beautiful, though. So beautiful that I must admit, even though I know my family is reading this, that I was having a heck of a time choking back tears. Just to be there, at Disney World, watching this incredible show right above the castle, oh, it was overwhelming. I was so surprised by the Tinker Bell part, too. Is that a real person?? That was so neat! Wishes is by far the best fireworks I have ever seen. Disney way outdid themselves. And what a finale! I was just amazed. It’s been too long, my friend. I’m not waiting 9 years to return, again, that’s for sure.

And that was the climactic end to our first day. Oh, wait! But it’s not over, yet! Grandpa decided he’d walk back to Shades of Green with the sleeping kids (Auntie Wendy was asleep, too, by the time we exited the park). It’s a nice walk, he says. My feet were always too sore by the end of the day to join him, but he made the walk several times on our trip. He especially liked walking through the Polynesian resort area. He says there are tiki torches lit along the paths. This particular time, though, with the sleeping kids, Dad managed to time it so that he reached the walkway to Shades of Green right as the sprinklers were coming on! Booms and Bangs didn’t cause Dash to budge, but leave it to a blast of cold water to wake him up real fast! Poor Auntie Wendy wasn’t too happy about it, either. So that was the true climax to end the first of all days in Walt Disney World.
Stay tuned for day 2 in Animal Kingdom …

 

[Rebecuberduber]

One day down, seven more to go. And here we are for day 2! Grandpa and the big kids took off early to do the big rides at Hollywood Studios while the rest of us slept in. It felt good to sleep in, but I was antsy to get to the parks. The children all slept much later than I did. I held it in, though, and let them get some much needed rest. There were extra magic hours at Animal Kingdom, that night.
Grandma was awake, too, so I wandered next door to her room to hang out and wait for the kids to awaken. Donald stayed behind with Dash and Snow White. Auntie Wendy woke up while I was over there, and Dash and Snow White both woke up right when I went back. That was everyone, now, except for Auntie Cinderella. And she was out. She, as the Ford song goes, was like a rock. Oh, like a rock.
I got my kids ready, and Auntie Wendy was ready and waiting. I suggested that Donald and I take them on ahead to the park while Grandma stayed back with Auntie Cinderella. Grandma was writing a letter to my brother, so she was in no hurry.
It was settled, then. I got coffee and crumb cake from the Express Café on our way out. It’s right on the way to the bus stop, so it’s a convenient breakfast spot. It wasn’t bad, but it was definitely on the pricey side. Everything was prepackaged, and for those prices it should have been baked on the premises. Oh well. That’s just the way it is in Disney World.
When we were first being driven to Disney World, on day one, the driver was talking about how many alligators there were in Orlando. I was determined to see one. Being from Alaska, I’d never seen a real one out in the wild before. Penguins and polar bears, yes. But alligators, no. (Just kidding.) Well, today was my lucky day. I saw a little one on the bus ride. Its head was poking up out of the water, seemingly watching us as we drove past. I don’t know if it was a baby or full grown, but it was kind of cute. In an ugly sort of way. I’d seen a real alligator. I felt triumphant.
We were to meet Grandpa and the big kids at Hollywood Studios, do some rides there, then head to Animal kingdom later, with Grandma and Auntie Cinderella. Grandpa was going to meet us at the giant hat when we got in. Auntie Wendy and Dash didn’t find anything they wanted at the Express Café, so they got stuffed apple pretzels and frozen lemonade from a stand as we entered Hollywood studios.
We took them to the hat to eat. There was some shade around the other side, and just as we were heading for it, we saw Grandpa and the big kids approaching, walking around the hat in the other direction. We chased after them, but they didn’t see or hear us. We had to chase them nearly all the way around the hat. That was a fun little game to start the day. All around the mulberry bush, the monkey chased the weasel. Haha, that makes them the weasel. Sigh, it’s the little things in life.
Grandpa greeted us with three fast passes for Tower of Terror, which were ready to use right then. Good! That meant Donald would get to ride it! He’s never been, and I was determined he’d go. I love the ride, but mostly hate it. It’s an important experience for any first-timer. He and the two grown-up Aunties could go while Grandpa and I stayed with the young ones. But, what? Wait a minute. Auntie Jasmine wants to stay behind with the small fries, sending me to go on the ride. Huh? That’s not what I … doh! They got me!
I tried everything. I even told them I was pregnant, again. But no, they were resolved to get me on that ride. Actually, I was kind of looking forward to riding it. I didn’t think I’d have to / get to this trip. Like I said, it’s very much a love-hate thing. The theming is incredible, and I love/hate the anticipation. My palms were sweaty with nervous anticipation through the whole line. The line moved way too fast, with fast passes. I wasn’t ready yet. I needed more time to prepare myself. Ugh, fine, just get it over with.

It was a blast! I never went again, that trip. No, but really, it was fun. Donald enjoyed it, too. He wished there were more drops, though. MORE DROPS????!!! Does everyone have a death-wish but me?? And Auntie Violet held her hands up. Crazy.
By the time we were off Tower of Terror Grandma and Auntie Cinderella were there, too. They didn’t lag too far behind us, I guess. Once reunited, we went to the Little Mermaid show. It was fun, and the wait wasn’t too bad. Snow White got a little impatient being shut in a small room for so long, while we waited for the doors to open. But there was so much to look at, that I was able to keep her distracted. “Ooh, look, another buoy!”
Dash and Auntie Wendy sat next to each other , once inside, and whispered in amazement through out the show. Auntie Snow white liked the bubbles part. I remember that show quite clearly from the last time I’d been. It hasn’t changed much. That’s quite a feat for ten years. I guess if you’ve got a good thing going, stick to it. What was with the long hair on Prince Eric, though? He looked like a dweeb. Prince Eric doesn’t have long hair.
As we exited, it didn’t take long for Dash and Snow White to spot Annie and Leo from Little Einsteins across the street. They were standing in front of Playhouse Disney. The line was long, so we didn’t wait for an autograph, but we couldn’t drag Dash and Snow White away that easily. Annie and Leo are two of their idols. I was happy that they got a chance to see them. Snow White even got a wave out of Annie. I had to keep a firm hold on her, though, because as soon as I set her down, she made a running attempt for her, bypassing the whole line. Even after eight days the whole line concept never seemed to set in to Snow White. “It’s right there. I can see it, Mommy. Why are we just standing here?” She’s got a point.
After gawking at Annie and Leo, we decided to do the Backlot Tour. We’re here in the Studios, we might as well milk it. Besides, we had extra magic hours in Animal Kingdom, and there aren’t very many rides there, still. We didn’t need to be in any hurry to hop parks.
The kids had no idea what to expect of Backlot Tour. Dash asked me and Auntie Violet about the ride. We said, “It’s going to explode!!” (neither of us really sure what this ride was, either. We were just trying to get him pumped.) Auntie Cinderella and Auntie Wendy, though, are very apprehensive about rides they don’t know. There are too many thrill rides around Disney World (according to them), and they didn’t want to be anywhere near or have anything at all to do with them. Grandma was calmly explaining to them that this was just a quiet ride where you ride around and tour a back lot (she also didn’t much remember what to expect But the title is pretty telling. Like the People Mover.) Around the time Grandma was finishing with this explanation, there was a warning on the overhead screens that this ride has loud explosions. Wow, lucky guess for Auntie Violet and me. Auntie Cinderella, on the other hand, started freaking out. There was no soothing her, and we didn’t really know if she’d like this ride, anyway. Grandpa volunteered to take her over to the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground while we rode. He also offered to take Dash, but I was pretty certain that I remembered this ride being tame. Besides, if something exploded he wanted to see.
Boy am I glad he did. And Auntie Cinderella could have done this ride no problem, in retrospect. It starts out with a show where they shoot at things and blow things up. Thumbs up from Dash. The “bullets” were shot at water, and Dash was pretty certain they were trying to shoot for alligators. I don’t remember this show at all. Is it new?
Once on the tour, you see some big planes and stuff, so Dash enjoyed that as well. And then there was Disaster Canyon, I think they called it. Sweeet (to Dash). This part might have been a bit intense for Auntie Cinderella, especially since she wouldn’t know what to expect. They make you think that a bunch of water will be dumped on you, but it never actually happens. The water stops just short of hitting the tram. Auntie Jasmine liked the ride because they displayed the Jonas Brothers’ Camp Rock costumes. If you ask me there are so many cool costumes they could have used this space for, besides a pair of khakis and a black tee shirt. But I guess it’s a crowd pleaser for the tween set. “Tween”. What an expression. What is this world coming to?
After Backlot it was time to get some grub. Grandpa and Auntie Cinderella were over at Honey I Shrunk the kids, so we went to the Backlot Express. Actually, we found out when we got there that the Honey I Shrunk playground was closed, so poor Auntie Cinderella just had to sit there and wait for us. There were some gift shops, around, though, so hopefully she had enough to do.
I caved and got a chili dog at Backlot. I’m still nursing, and I lose weight fast nursing. I hadn’t eaten much that morning, and with all the walking around, I went for the calories. Auntie Jasmine couldn’t find anything she liked there. She’s our picky eater. Donald saw a McDonald’s fries stand, that morning, and was hankering for some. He took her off to find food and get some fries. They must have had to hike around the entire park before finding something. They didn’t get back until well after we’d all finished eating. She finally landed on the burger from right next door. Sigh.
After this, it was high time to hop on over to Animal Kingdom, our scheduled park of the day. And I’ve been typing for a long time, so I’m going to have to leave you waiting on this one. I know, I know. I promised animals, and I didn’t deliver. Please don’t lose faith in me. I promised animals and animals there will be. Once my hands stop cramping. Stay tuned!

 

[Rebecuberduber]

Ok so I last left you just when we were heading to Animal Kingdom. The last time I was in Animal Kingdom it was brand new. I told DH as we were getting ready that morning to wear something light and breathable because there isn’t much shade in Animal Kingdom. Wow, I was so wrong. Animal Kingdom is beautiful! It is so lush, now. I guess it just needed time for the trees to mature some more, and it looks like they’d filled in a little with extra foliage, as well. It really felt like you were in a jungle, not just a zoo. I love that park, now. The theming was beautiful, it wasn’t too crowded when we were there, it was so shady, and over all it was just a very pleasant place.

--approaching the very large tree--

We walked in just when people were staking out seats for the parade. We decided this would be a good time to do Expedition Everest, a first for all of us except Grandpa, while the little kids watched the parade. We decided to split up, grandma and grandpa with the little ones, and Donald, Me, Auntie Jasmine and Auntie Violet to do Expedition Everest.
I was so excited for this ride, and thrilled that I was getting a chance to ride it. I was a little torn, though, to be missing the parade. I like parades. This was one of my absolute goals, this trip, though, to somehow find a way to child swap and ride this ride. It looked so cool and I heard so many neat things about it. So I seized the opportunity. As you walk up that path, seeing that mountain in front of you with the train darting down the hill, it just gives you goose bumps. Dash was in the stroller being pushed by Grandpa as we approached, and was begging grandpa to let him ride it. I chimed in and tried to explain to Dash that he wasn’t quite big enough, yet. That you had to be 48 inches.
“I’m 48!” He exclaimed, like it was the biggest coincidence.
“No, dear, you’re only 40 inches, this trip.” I had to tell him.
At the same time this exchange was taking place, Dash’s aunties Cinderella and Wendy were freaking out.
“We’re not riding that are we? Please don’t make me go on that ride. I don’t want to ride that ride!” They started whimpering as soon as that first train went down the hill. It took so many reassurances to convince them that we were not going to take them on that ride. I don’t know why they thought this trip was such a conspiracy to get them on the scary rides. We never once made them go on a ride they didn’t want to. And yet here’s little Dash, nearly bursting out of his stroller dying to get on that ride. That was too funny and completely unexpected to me.
They dropped the four of us expeditioners off at the entrance, and the rest of them went to find spots for the parade. The line theming was so neat. I'll bet it looks really pretty at night, with all the lanterns and lights strung over-head. And once you get inside the ‘museum’, the theming is too funny and so clever. I love how Disney makes every one of their rides have a plot line, even the roller coasters. They do such a good job, and it makes waiting in line so much fun, sometimes. I was glad the line wasn’t moving too fast so I had a chance to read a lot of the labels in the ‘museum’ area. It wasn’t too long, either though. We only waited probably 20-25 minutes.
I didn’t really know what to expect on the ride. I knew the ride was about a Yeti (no, really?), but that was about it. I purposely avoided reading reviews and spoilers because I wanted to be surprised when I went on it the first time. Boy was I ever! I don’t want to say too much because my mom still hasn’t gone on it, and I want it to be a surprise for her, as well. She’s been reading this report. Suffice it to say that the ride did not disappoint. First thing I said to my sisters, Auntie Jasmine and Auntie Violet, when we got off was we have got to get Mom to ride this. Saddly, that never happened this trip. There were a number of things at this park we didn’t get to, and we never had a chance to go back.
After the Expedition, we went to Finding Nemo the Musical to meet up with the rest of the family. The parade wasn’t quite over, yet, so we sat to wait in front of one of the *really nice* fans they have along the paths. Mmmm, that felt good. We had a pretty view of the lake, too, with Expedition Everest in the background. I could easily have stayed in that spot all day.
The family did catch up, though. I was looking forward to the Nemo Musical, so I wasn’t too reluctant to leave my spot. Nemo’s another one I hadn’t seen yet. Snow White was asleep, so she missed the first half. She woke up in time for the bubbles, and again they didn’t fail to please. I, yet again, ended up sitting separated from Dash, but I was able to look over and watch his expressions. The show was really fun! The ‘together’ song made me gag a little, but the dancing and staging was so clever! I especially loved the Crush part. The song was catchy and the staging was a blast! I was a little disappointed that they skipped right over the part with the whale. The whole time I was wondering, “how are they going to do the whale part?” But they didn’t even bother! I guess it might have been pretty difficult to do, but I’m sure Disney could have figured something out. But that’s a miner gripe. It was just kind of funny to me. My dad didn’t get it because they mentioned the whale later in the show, but he didn’t have any clue what they were talking about since they skipped it. He didn’t remember the movie well enough. We’ll have to watch it again with him now that we’re back.
It was nice to have shows like this to break up the day. It gave us all a chance to sit in air conditioning and be entertained for a while. It picked up our spirits. Spirits droop rather easily, sometimes, in the heat.
After Nemo, Dash was inspired to play with bubbles. He remembered that we packed some with us to keep the little ones entertained in line. I got them out for him, and he blew bubbles all the way to our next attraction: Kilimanjaro Safari.
The safari was a blast. I’m sorry we don’t have any pictures. I guess the safari didn’t pass the ‘cool enough’ test for the teenager with the camera. Auntie Violet still hogged it, at this point. (I’m only teasing you, Auntie Violet. After trying to scrap book 200 something pictures, now that we’re back, I think we took more than enough.) I was very satisfied with the amount of animals we saw. Snow White particularly liked the chickens. Did you know there were chickens in the Harambe Reserve? You’d be surprised how many attractions had chickens, if you rode with Snow White. She also found some cheese (the cheetah).
Dash kept asking me the whole way through, “are we going to get shot at?” Remember his new infatuation with getting shot at in rides. And sure enough, we did! Those rascally poachers! Disney never fails to deliver when it comes to getting shot at on rides. Dash gives them many thumbs up.
About half way through the ride, Donald whispered to me, “that one is real!” pointing to an antelope or chicken or something. I told him, “yeah, honey, they’re all real.” He didn’t believe me. To this day, he still thinks they fleshed out the ride with animatronics. He was expecting the Jungle Cruise, again. By the way, I made an edit to my Magic Kingdom post, down at the end. I dashed us straight from Peter Pan to Wishes, but we actually rode two more rides in that time span: Haunted Mansion and Jungle Cruise! I don’t know how I missed those. I wasn’t paying close enough attention to my notes. So go back and read! Look for the *****.
Ok, we survived the Safari without any gunshot wounds, next we decided to do Dinoland. The older aunties, Auntie Violet and Auntie Jasmine, split up to do the dinosaur ride while the rest of us headed to Triceratop Spin. Donald’s feet were giving him problems, so he took the opportunity to sit for a while and give them a rest. The kids loved Triceratop Spin. There was no wait, since the park was closing, so we rode it I think twice, but maybe there was a third time as well. It amazes me how much the little kids love these simple spin-around-an-axis rides. Out of all the incredible theming and plot lines of Disney rides, the little kids still prefer to sit in a seat and go around a pole. I don’t get it. None the less, I love watching how much they enjoy themselves. They were practically squealing with delight.
By the time we got off Triceratops, it was getting into Extra Magic Hours. Auntie Violet and Auntie Jasmine joined up with us (they weren’t too impressed with the Dinosaur ride, by the way) and we went into the Dinoland playground area.
We all split up once inside. I stuck close to Snow White. She found a ‘waterfall’, and proceeded to get soaked. It started innocently enough, with sticking her hand in the trickle. But she wanted more. It became a sickness, until she was standing under a stream with her whole head in the water. Fortunately, I packed a change of clothes, that day. I don’t know what everyone else did in the play area. I think they went to the Boneyard dig site.
Now it was time to eat, again. Grandpa didn’t have a specific place picked out for tonight’s meal. The first place we came to was Flametree Barbeque, and it looked good enough to us. We ordered our food, I think I ordered the pork sandwich, and Auntie Violet and I went to stake out a table. We went to the first place we saw, but later I realized that the place is huge! There are so many beautiful little eating areas around, and come to find out we picked the least attractive and most crowded spot in the joint. Snow White became restless, so I did a lot of wandering around with her during this meal, and I became pretty familiar with the grounds. I loved this restaurant. The food was pretty much the standard counter-service fare, but the location was wonderful! It looked so beautiful at night, too, with hanging lanterns to light each seating area. There were many areas that were completely empty and quiet, too. Man was I kicking myself for plopping down in that first spot we saw. We could have had such a quiet, ambient meal. Oh well.
The little kids were getting really grumpy and tired at this point, and there were still a couple magic hours left. Dash complained that he missed his toy trains back home.

--Dash misses his trains--

We decided to split up, again, leaving Grandpa with Auntie Jasmine and Auntie Violet to do more big rides while the rest of us moseyed back to the hotel for the night.
We had a heck of a time finding the bus stop to get back to Shades of Green. Come to find out it was a lonely, unlabeled area practically out in the middle of the parking lot. Weird. I was beginning to get a little frustrated with the Shades of Green transportation accommodations. I didn’t write about it, but the first night we were in Magic Kingdom, there was a huge group of us Shades of Green people left high and dry at the bus stop. Apparently the last bus for Shades had already come and gone. We carried a resort bus schedule with us from then on. That night, a very kind Hollywood Studios bus driver took the whole load of us back to our resort. She couldn’t take us all the way up to the hotel, since it was military, but she dropped us at the bottom of the walkway.
But I digress. Once back at the hotel, the little ones weren’t quite ready for bed, yet, so we took them to the resort pool. On the way, we made several important discoveries. First of all, we found an espresso. The prices were the same as at the Express Café, on the way to the bus stop, but it was real espresso coffee, instead. I was very happy about this. The next thing we found was the military store. They sold milk and cereal, so our breakfasts were taken care of for the rest of our trip. Our rooms each had a fridge, which I think is just a standard feature of Shades of Green. It’s not an extra rental cost. That was very nice. And thirdly, we found the ice cream parlor. It looked fun, though it was closed when we went passed. We vowed to return at some point in our vacation, though.
The kids enjoyed the kiddy pool, and pretended to do the Little Mermaid show we saw that morning at Hollywood Studios. Afterwards, though, it was cold, and they had to walk all the way back to our rooms (a very long walk from the pool) in their wet swim suits in the Air Conditioning. Dash again missed his trains. I noticed that he was developing a cough, as well. This was not a welcome discovery. I really didn’t want him to get sick, poor guy. Not at Disney World. I gave him a warm bath back at the room, and he snuggled up with his daddy and they fell asleep watching Spiderman on TV together.
Tomorrow is a big day, for us. My uncle and his family were coming to join us for a couple days. They live in Florida, and I hadn’t seen them in years. Not since my wedding. I was very excited to see my cousins again! Stay tuned for Hollywood Studios with yet an even larger group!

 

[Rebecuberduber]

We stuck with the same format as yesterday, where the big kids went to the park early with Grandpa while we let the young ones sleep in. Well, waking up day three it was apparent that Dash was sick. I was so bummed for him. He seemed chipper enough, though, and eager to ride rides, so we decided to bring him along knowing Donald could take him back to the room at any time if he needed rest. He threw up right before boarding the bus to Hollywood Studios, our destination for the day. Even after throwing up, he still didn’t want to go back to the room. I was worried, but Donald insisted it would be fine and we proceeded to the park. Thank goodness he threw up before getting on the bus, and not after. Especially since he’s usually on someone’s lap for the bus ride.

Grandpa greeted us with more fast passes, this time for Rockin Rollercoaster. This time Donald, Grandma, and I went while Grandpa and the older kids stayed back with the young ones and the sick Dash. Donald loved RC. It’s a very smooth rollercoaster. Just our speed. On our way in, we picked up more fast passes for later. We wanted to be sure my uncle’s family got a chance to ride, once they arrived
.
We met back up, and then went to go find my uncle. They had just arrived. It was so wonderful to see them! After warm hugs and greetings we sent all the big kids to Tower of Terror while the little ones and the fraidy cats went to Playhouse Disney. I was in the Playhouse Disney group. Once down the tower was enough for me, this trip. My aunt and 12-year-old cousin came with us, too. Playhouse Disney was fun, though the only show we were familiar with was Little Einsteins. We don’t have TV so my poor children are deprived of Handy Manny and whatever others there were. Snow White absolutely loved the Little Einsteins section, but she was a little bored with the rest.

Next on Grandpa’s agenda was Lights Motors Action. It was fun but a little on the long side. It didn’t seem much like a Disney attraction to me. They needed to play When you Wish Upon a Star, or something. Dash liked it because the hero drives a red car. He thought it was Lightning McQueen. Snow White was bored to tears.

Next up was lunch. We went to the Market Street Café. The lines were super long. We managed to find a couple tables together in the shade, though, so major score for us there. We always somehow got lucky finding tables together, no matter how busy the restaurant. Somehow I ended up at the little kids table, which kind of stunk because I wanted a chance to catch up with my cousins. Oh well.

The little ones waiting patiently for food

Some bigger ones goofing off

And again after lunch I ended up separate from my cousins while they went to use the Rockin Rollercoaster fast passes. I stuck with the little ones and did Muppet Vision 3D. Not so impressive after seeing Philharmagic at the Magic Kingdom. They’ve definitely improved upon the technology. We caught glimpses of the Pixar parade, Block Party Bash, on our way. It looked fun. My dad (Grandpa) saw the California Adventures version of the same parade and didn’t care for it. I don’t know why. Oh, I should mention that Dash was doing much much better by this time. He was happy and energetic and seemed to be making a very fast recovery (praise be!!).

Next on our schedule was Beauty and the Beast. We got out of Muppet Vision with time to spare, but not enough for another attraction. We decided to shop. I saw a High School Musical shop near Beauty and the Beast that I wanted to go to. I wanted to find a High School Musical shirt or something for Snow White, but they didn’t carry any baby sizes. Too bad. They really don’t have baby sizes at any store that we went to. That’s really strange to me. Do they not have many babies visit Disney World? No, that can’t be. I saw babies everywhere. I mean, I guess the High School Musical stuff is mostly marketed at tweens, so I can understand not finding baby stuff there, but not anywhere? That’s a stretch.

After perusing the High School Musical store we went to the exit of Tower of Terror to wait for the big kids. They decided to ride it again after Rockin Rollercoaster. My aunt and 12-year-old cousin skipped out, though, to go see Muppets, where we just came from. They’re not much for the thrill rides. They also have never seen anything in 3D before, either, believe it or not. So apparently this was a big thrill for them.

I’m sorry, this entry is just so boring. I’m falling asleep writing it. Perhaps I should take a break. Maybe when I come back I’ll have a fresh interesting perspective to share. Next up Beauty and the Beast and then Fantasmic. My spell checker really doesn’t like the titles of these Disney shows. Philharmagic? Fantasmic? Has an Imagineer ever thought to consult a dictionary? (j/k)

 

[Rebecuberduber]

Ok, I’m ready to finish up day 3. I last left us waiting for the big kids at the exit of Tower of Terror. Dash was getting a little grumpy, probably due to his cold, and was asking for food. Donald went off on a quest for ice cream. Auntie Wendy was having some sort of melt down, as well. We needed to get them to the next attraction. I tried to distract them, looking through the Tower gift shop, but it was full of Tower of Terror stuff, which didn’t quite appeal to them. Finally the big kids immerged from the exit. Donald found ice cream, but it was a long line and he was still waiting. We headed over for Beauty and the Beast. They weren’t letting anyone in yet, so we hung around and waited yet some more. This was a day of waiting. I guess that’s what happens when your group expands, you wind up waiting around a lot more.

Finally Donald got the ice cream, and in his benevolent forethought got enough for us all to split some. Hooray for Donald! By this time, though, Dash was asleep. Oh well, he needed it. And there came my Aunt and Justine back from Muppet Vision. My uncle went with them. They loved it. They thought it was the most awesome, hilarious thing. And right then they opened Beauty and the Beast for the next showing. Our group was almost together, except we lost a couple of the older cousins to go ride Tower of Terror a third time. But we were close enough. We went in and left them to catch up.

Beauty and the Beast was beautiful as ever. This is certainly one of my favorites. Even Snow White was into it. Fortunately, I brought in some bubbles for her while we were waiting for the show to start. Once it started, she was fascinated with the Beast’s “Rarrr”ing. She’d turn to me every time he did and say, “Beast said, ‘Rarrrr!’” And then she was most concerned when the beast was defeated by Gaston. “Beast need band-aid,” was her suggestion. I enjoyed the commentary.

Donald and Dash enjoying the show

I don’t think the older cousins ever made it in to Beauty and the Beast. Or maybe they did and were in the back. At any rate, you just have to let some things slide with a group that size. Everyone has their own idea of what to do when, and sometimes, frustratingly enough, they just go do it. Actually, that may be for the better, otherwise we could be sitting around discussing and strategizing away the whole day without ever actually getting to anything. We all had cell phones, so we always knew where each other were. For the most part. I was having to say these things over and over to myself, because truth be told I was getting frazzled. This wasn’t how I envisioned the day, with people skipping off willy-nilly. I guess I was imagining it more together-oriented. I hardly got to talk to my cousins at all, because everyone just kept running off places. Lesson learned for next time, though. Large groups will not be contained.

When Beauty and the Beast let out, it was time for Fantasmic. We had to break for bathrooms and again we lost people in the shuffle. Some of the older cousins, as well as my uncle, went back to Muppet Vision. Clear across the park. Sigh, we let it slide and trudged on into the Fantasmic arena leaving them to catch up, again. I think my dad was trying really hard not to get frustrated, too. He was doing great. I was very proud of you, Dad. I just kept thinking how much you’ve matured through the years of Disney trips. You wouldn’t have been able to handle it ten years ago, last time I went with you.

Fantasmic was another long wait. A group of loud people near us tried to start the obligatory wave. They succeeded once to get it all the way down and back, and then they just kept trying for more. Oh well, they were having fun. And maybe were a little drunk, as well. This was another long wait.

A cousin, auntie Jasmine, and auntie Violet waiting

Dash and Auntie Cinderella were entertaining themselves doing Power Ranger moves.

Snow White, though, needed a dose or two of Grandpa’s maturity. She wasn’t having it. I had to take her out to walk around. This was a little risky because people were pouring in. I was worried I’d wind up separated from everyone. Fortunately, I happened to catch one of my cousins as she was coming in, and was able to direct her to our group. There’s no way she’d have been able to find them, otherwise. It was getting closer to show time, so I decided to return to our seats, as well. Somehow we still ended up all together! Hooray!

Some pictures of Snow White dancing around before she lost it.

More ice cream for Reuben since he fell asleep and missed ice cream earlier.

Fantasmic was amazing. A little scary for the little ones, Dash and Auntie Cinderella. I thought Dash would think all the fighting was cool, but it was a little too larger than life, I think. Snow White loved it, though. For some reason, she wasn’t the slightest bit scared. She was definitely getting used to the whole Disney thing. I didn’t remember Fantasmic very well, so my jaw hit the floor. It was awesome. I kept reading complaints that it was mostly just images projected on water, so I was prepared to be bored. Yeah, ok, there were one or two parts where it was just images on water, but it was beautiful. And there was so, so much more to the show than that. I was pleasantly astounded.

After Fantasmic we headed back to the hotel, getting split up a couple more times on the way. Sigh, again. My other uncle was waiting for us there, and we all decided to meet up at the pool.

It was a little cold. The kids swam, but the grown ups opted to be grownups and sit around on lawn chairs. This may have been one of the highlights of the trip, for me. It was the only time that we could just sit around and be together, talking and catching up. Everything else was too fast paced. So here’s some advice, if anyone is looking for any: if you’re going for a reunion, and you want some quality time, you have to schedule it. Disney World is too fast paced to really get to enjoy each other’s company. There has to be moments where you’re doing nothing and there’s nothing going on around you. This is a tall order in Disney World. There’s always something going on. Even the restaurants are noisy and full of activity.

We finished up the day with a bath for Dash and Snow White, TV, and bed time. Tomorrow: Epcot!! Epcot is my favorite park, so I went to bed excited, again. I don’t know how I got enough sleep on this trip. I probably just ran on adrenaline.

 

[Rebecuberduber]

Alright, I feel bad. I started a trip report last year and did not finish it. I since then went back and saw that I had over 700 readers, and while that’s not a huge number, and I still have no groupies (common, people, is it too much to ask to make one lousy, “Rebecuberduber Rocks” T-shirt?), I still cannot bare the fact that in only 26 years of life I’ve already let over 700 people down. I’ve decided to pick up where I left off and finish it.

We are also preparing for an all-new trip in January, so I’d better get this one out of the way because in a couple months I’ll have an all-new trip report to flagrantly disappoint with. (I promise this next time, though, I’ll at least finish it.)

For those of you who missed out and were not among the flagrantly disappointed, I suppose I could just spare you, but instead I will provide you with a link to the start of my old unfinished trip report, here:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1977967

And now, without further adieu, I will pick up where I left off: day 3 (I know, pathetic).

Last you heard, we finished up at DHS with an inordinately large group of people and one sick 3-year-old (DS, Dash). Well, the morning of day 3 he was doing much better, and I gave him a maternal diagnosis of ‘fully recovered’. We all slept in, today. Yes, after only 3 days, we were already starting to feel the burn. Even the big kids skipped out on Early EMHs. My uncle’s family are locals, though, so they were already on Florida time. They also had only one half day in the park, and therefore were not as exhausted as the rest of us wimps. So they went on ahead to our designated park of the day: Epcot.

We all ate separate breakfasts. I had a chocolate muffin and an espresso from my new treasured find: the Shades of Green espresso stand. When we were all ready, we sauntered all the way next door to my parents room and the whole kit and caboodle of us went to catch the bus to the TTC. From there we hopped the monorail to Epcot. At least, I think that’s how it went. I wasn’t the navigator; my father was, so I don’t fully remember. I’m not even sure if that’s the proper use of a semi-colon in that last sentence, but my grammar checker insists, and it won’t shuddup until I put one in.

The monorail approaching Epcot was a magical experience. I love the way it takes you around about through the park before entering the station. It is so picturesque and exhilarating to look down on those gardens and pass by the big ball on your way in. My heart was all aflutter.

the big balll

We were scheduled to meet my uncle’s family at the America pavilion in Epcot. That’s how late we slept in: the world showcase was already open. I know, you Disers are probably rolling over in your computer chairs, right about now. I know what rope-drop fanatics you are. But we can’t help it. We’re from Alaska. It’s dark most of the year. We’re used to hibernating.

Auntie Wendy and Dash by the fountain. I just threw that on e in there, it really has nothing to do with my story, here.

On our way over to America, we happen to see the faint glimmer of the dream squad in the middle of one of the bridges between Test Track and Mexico. They appear to be handing out YOMD Mickey ears to unsuspecting passers by. We ‘accidentally’ wander past them, and, completely to our unsuspecting amazement, the little ones are suddenly adorned with bright blue-and-silver shiny mouse ears. Well, all except Snow White who popped hers right off, and refused to wear it the rest of the trip, for some weird, one-year-old-brained reason. We stopped over in Mexico to take some pictures of the kiddos in their new accoutrement. Well, all except Snow White who was too hoity-toity to wear mouse ears, I guess.

Hiney shot of us approaching Mexico

We also snapped some pictures of the World Showcase lagoon. I believe we were killing time while my dad went to grab a park schedule, or something.

We made it to America just in time to see the drummers and fifers outside the American Adventure show.

Snow White got some snuggle time with my cousin.

We then proceeded inside the pavilion for the show all about America. I grew up my whole life in America, but apparently you really haven’t seen a place until you see it at Epcot. Before the show we were serenaded by the Voices of Liberty.

They were very good. I felt very liberated.

Dash felt liberated so much, he took a snooze

And after the American Adventure show I was just about ready to sell my soul to Uncle Sam.

First, though, we were getting hungry. We ate some burgers at the Liberty Inn restaurant. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The restaurant was crowded, and the service was pretty lousy. Something about not letting mom trade the carrots for grapes. But that burger was yummy.

Auntie Jasmine catching some R&R. You grab it where you can with Dad as the guide.

Plus, we got to enjoy round two of the fifes. Living my whole life in America, I’m not sure that I’ve ever seen a real true-to-life fife, before, either. Heard it, sure, but never have I seen it blown in person. I guess it was everything I expected a fife to be.

Next up was Maelstrom. On the way over, we stopped off to watch Dash’s favorite thing in the world: trains!

And we also snapped some pictures of China:

That’s Dash, Auntie Violet, and Auntie Cinderella across the bridge.

Then it was on to Maelstrom. Reuben loved Maelstrom. How do I know? Because it’s the first ride he said that he liked. Up until this point, he played it cool. Throughout the ride his face would be full of magic and wonder. We’d come off the ride, however, and ask him if he liked it, and he’d answer, “nah”. This time, though, we asked him and the answer was, “yeah”. He liked it! He really liked it!

We spent some time in the Norway gift shop, trying on braided lady hats and posing with the troll, then we departed for Mexico.

I really liked the Mexico pavilion. It seems like we spent a lot of time in here, waiting for something, but I don’t remember what. That’s what I get for waiting a year to write my trip report. Don’t worry, I remember the important things. Probably someone just had to visit the loo. I bought a mini sombrero for Ava’s little doll that she got on the airplane. I don’t think I mentioned that, did I? Remember, I wrapped little surprises for the kids on the airplane? Well, one of Ava’s was one of those little 2-dollar drug store dolls. She treasured that thing. She wanted to bring it along everywhere. Best 2-dollar’s I’d spent. And now it was complete with a sombrero.

The Mexico boat ride was fun.

Our big group waiting in line for the boat ride.

I wasn’t too offended that they added Donald and the Three Caballeros. I always enjoyed that movie, growing up, so I appreciated Disney giving them an attraction of their very own. I watched that movie again, as a grown up. It had been a while since I’d seen it. I enjoyed that it was Walt’s tribute to his family trip to Mexico. He apparently wanted to make a movie to commemorate his favorite parts of the trip to share with boys and girls, and it was chock full of hot Mexican mamasitas. The running theme of the movie was Donald chasing around the ladies. I wonder how Mrs. Disney felt about that.

Ok, more of Epcot in the next installment.

 

[Rebecuberduber]

Epcot part II

After the Mexico boats (Gran Fiesta Tour, I guess it’s called), we decided it was high time to split up, again. My uncle’s family went to enjoy an attraction in their new-found favorite dimension: the third. (For those too lazy to read the first half of my report, they had never tried a 3D attraction until they saw the Muppets in DHS the day before. They thought it was nifty beans.) They headed towards Honey I Shrunk the Audience.

Meanwhile the other side of the family (mine) broke off to experience what would soon become DH, Donald’s favorite attraction: Club Cool. Two things Donald happens to love, ‘free’, and ‘soda’ all rolled into one, air-conditioned package. He had found his Shangri-la.

Here, here, chaps! Cheers to free soda!

Of course, we were promptly brought back down to earth when Mom handed Auntie Cinderella a Beverly. Poor, unsuspecting Cinderella. It’s a sad thing to be so harshly awoken to the abominations of the world at the innocent age of 6.

Once Cinderella was recovered, we thought a travel through time was in order. We all saddled up and headed for Spaceship Earth.

Donald and Dash decided just to walk

I like what they did with it. We got a kick out of the descent with the pictures of our future. Maybe it is just cute and it a cheap way to liven up the attraction, and all those other things that people are saying about it, but hey, it worked for us. We were not appraised of this new addition to the ride and got a few good chuckles out of it. I had Snow White on my lap and her expression in the picture they took was so confused. She looked very perplexed in her space suit, driving our solar powered vehicle. Maybe she needed a map. Anyway, it was cute.

Upon returning to the present-day, we decided it was probably about time to meet back up with my uncle and cousins. First, though, we took a quick bathroom break.

Er, maybe not so quick

Then we went to play in the jumping fountains until Honey I Shrunk the Audience let out.

Auntie Violet and Dash waiting to get smacked in the face with a jumping spray of water

I took a pretty picture

Snow White awaited the kiss of her handsome prince

The aftermath of the jumping fountains

Well, that seems as good a place as any to leave off, for now.

Up Next: (since everybody likes a good cliffhanger) Will we ever find my cousins, again? Will they be back to their normal size? Will they even recognize us now that Dash and Cinderella are drenched to their britches? All that and more to come.

 

[Rebecuberduber]

Well, I just can’t stand to leave you in suspense over that cliffhanger any longer. Just when we were starting to suspect that my cousins were permanently shrunken and we’d never see them again, they came skipping out of the Honey I Shrunk the Audience theatre. Normal size and everything. Though, they did complain once or twice that their clothes felt slightly baggier.

We deliberated briefly upon where to go next, but only briefly because my Dad can’t stand deliberation. In fact, you have to rewind the home movie and watch that part again in slow motion to even catch the moment of deliberation. It was just that fast before he proclaimed we would do Journey through the Imagination with Figment and took off in that direction, leaving the rest of us to chase after. My Dad has amazing faith in our ability to keep up with him. You have to watch him like a hawk because he’ll all of a sudden just zoom off in a certain direction and we all have to clamor after. With a double stroller, none the less. He never looks back even once to check if we’re still there. After all, that would slow him down. He’s in Disney World. He’s got place to go, things to see. And if some of us happen to get lost along the way it will just be that much easier for him to get around. Come to think of it, maybe that was his plan all along. Here I thought he had such faith in us that we would be there, but maybe he was secretly hoping we wouldn’t. All that time he was trying desperately to shake us.

At any rate, we all arrived panting at the queue to Journey Through (Into?) the Imagination (the Figment ride). This ride was very different from the last time I rode it. Just as annoying, for which I’m grateful, because it wouldn’t be the same ride if it weren’t. I thought it was actually kind of neat. My standards are just that low, I guess.

Wee! A ride photo!

Once we had that song completely stuck in our brains, the ride let off and we found ourselves in the Kodak labs. Here is the incredible graphically high-tech photo editing job that Auntie Violet and Auntie Jasmine threw together as though they do this exact same thing and more everyday at home with photoshop:

After we were sufficiently wowed by the modern advancements in photo editing technology, we decided we had a hankering to dangle our feet over an orange grove, so we headed toward Soarin’ (er, rather, Dad told us to go there, so we went). Dash was too short for this ride, so we decided just me, Donald, my uncle, aunt, cousins, and sisters over the age of ten would go. That left Dad, Mom, Dash, Snow White, Auntie Wendy, and Auntie Cinderella to watch the Circle Of Life across the way. Wow, that’s the first time, I think, that I’d ever had to list us all out like that. Whew, I’m exhausted.

My aunt, (not to be confused with the younger aunties who are my little sisters), was terrified of this ride. All through out the line we had to reassure her that it was a gentle ride. The only reason there was a height restriction was so the little guys didn’t fall out of their restraints and plunge 40 feet to their death. For some reason this didn’t work to calm her and she continued to be a basket case the entire wait. She settled into the ride, though (apart from the hand imprint she left on the bar restraint from her iron crushing grip). I think it was a hit. I, personally, (of course), love this ride. It feels so real you can just about taste the flies stuck in your teeth.

Next up was a quick dinner at Sunshine Seasons. I had the veggie stir fry, since the veggies are supposed to be good, here. I’m sorry, I don’t remember if they were. I can say, though, that it didn’t stick in my head as one of the best meals like that burger from earlier in the day did. Of course, how can veggie anything compete with a burger? Here are a bunch of pictures to make up for my lack of helpful food commentary:

Donald and Dash negotiating how many more bites Dash should eat. Looks like they settled on 5. I think Dash might have a future ahead if him on the debate team as this negotiation process is his favorite part of any meal.

Auntie Cinderella, Auntie Wendy, and Dash keeping watch.

Auntie Jasmine and one if our cousins.

Auntie Cinderella

My dad, one of my cousins, and my uncle’s orange back.

With our bellies stuffed and veggies coming out our ears our trusty navigator led us on to The Seas with Nemo. I don’t know how we managed to snap pictures on the way and keep up with Dad, but somehow we did:

I tried to get Snow White to pose with them, but she just kept wanting to wave to the fishy.

Warning: This next paragraph is going to get whiney. For those with sensitive ears, you might want to skip on ahead.
The most exciting and interesting part of the Nemo ride was the queue. I was impressed with such an elaborately decorated queuing area for such a half- (well, I was about to put in the word for donkey, here, but thought it might be better to consult the thesaurus for a less-offensive term) er, cursory ride. Then I was told that the queue was already there from before. So, the ride: all the brains and brilliance of the Disney imaginers and this was all they could come up with? They might as well of put little Nemo window clings on the aquariums. I mean, that’s basically what it was, except, I guess, the window clings swam around a little. I don’t know, I guess it’s better than what it used to be. I don’t actually remember what the Seas used to be. I think it was just a walk-through aquarium, right? Like the veggie stir fry, it didn’t withstand the test of time in my memory. And maybe I can give the imaginers the benefit of the doubt that they were working with some kind of area constraint, or something. I don’t know. I just wasn’t impressed. And then I was disappointed when we got to the other side that Turtle Talk with Crush was closed or we missed the show or something. Something happened that we didn’t get to experience it, and I was actually kind of looking forward to it.

Ok, the whiney portion of this trip report installment is over. Now, it is time for Illuminations. This is my favorite firework show, so I was super-duper psyched. Donald and Dash killed time while we were waiting by playing with Snow White’s harness.

I know baby harnesses are controversial, but I was so happy to have this on our trip. Snow White had such a tendency to just wander, especially as she got more comfortable with the crowds and the intimidating magnificence of Disney. We especially needed it in the lines and places where we had to park the stroller. She also, occasionally, would get a hankering to get out of her stroller, so it was nice to have the harness as a back-up to keep her close when she wanted to walk. She’s not into the whole hand-holding thing. She demands her space and independence.

A lady sitting next to us had a whole batch of glow bracelets. It was her last day in the parks, so she was kind enough to bestow them unto us. The kids were thrilled with them. They were just the ticket to keep them occupied while we were waiting, and then also throughout the show, too. Snow White felt that fireworks were old hat, by now, and wasn’t impressed this time around. She was more enthralled with her glow bracelet.

“And now, on behalf of Walt Disney World, the place where dreams come true, we welcome all of you to Epcot and World Showcase. We gather here tonight as people of all lands have gathered for thousands and thousands of years before us to share the night and to share a story, an amazing story as old as time itself, yet still being written. And though each of us has our own individual stories to tell, a true adventure emerges, but we bring them all to gather as one. We hope you enjoy our story, tonight: Reflections of Earth. ::Whoo::”
(No, I did not memorize all of that. I googled it, silly.)

Aaaaaaaaaaaah!

Up next: Evening EMH in Epcot

 

[Rebecuberduber]

Before I begin, I have sad news. I have no pictures of our Extra Magic Hours in Epcot. Zero, zilch, nada. I’m very sorry. Nevertheless, the story must go on. I have a tale to tell and tell it I must.

We loved Illuminations as always. The music is awesome. The fireworks are just awesome. Donald didn’t get the whole progression through time thing, so he was kinda confused most of the time. He liked the pretty lights, though. And afterwards I explained it to him, and then in retrospect, with his new understanding he thought it was pretty awesome. My dad pointed out that the closing message seemed a little anti-climactic, though. “We go on.” Not, “things improve”, or “good prevails”, we simply go on. Where? On? Forever? Like this? Kinda depressing when you think about it. Oh well, I can understand the limitations of an uplifting message when you’re trying to be PC all the time. In PC terms, ‘going on’ is quite the triumph.

Hmm, well, we were packing up, leaving the world showcase, getting ready for EMH when we noticed something was not quite right about Snow White. Did her eyes always glow in the dark? Nooo…. Then we noticed the broken glow bracelet in her hand and the rest of the glowy juice all down the front of her. Oh no! Is that stuff safe to get in a one-year-old’s eye? We decide to head to first aid.

They assured us that the stuff was harmless, and they went ahead and flushed her eyes out to be safe. Mainly so she stopped looking like demon hell spawn with her glowing eyes. We should have taken a picture. D’oh! I guess when your baby might be in grave danger of losing her eyesight forever you don’t think to stop and snap some pictures. Oh well.

With the fiasco du jour out of the way, it was time to exploit those Extra Magic Hours. We (Dad) decided Test Track would be a good ride to start with. I was fervently hoping that they would let Dash on board. He was just barely 40 inches, so it was a toss up whether or not they’d let him ride. When I measured him at home, my tape measurer strongly favored the 40” mark, but by the Disney measurement devices he seemed to be just shy of it. It was very heart-rending. And, yet again, he came up just shy of 40 inches. So, he got to explore the gift shop with my parents, Snow White, and I think Auntie Cinderella was with them, too. She probably could have ridden, had she wanted to, but she was not quite sold on the big rides, yet.

Test Track was really fun. I just kept thinking the whole time, though, how much Dash would have loved this ride. He wound up having a great time in the gift shop, though. The Test Track gift shop is quite large, and probably one of the best ones in Disney, if you ask me. At least it had some of the most unique boy toys that I’d seen. We thought we’d come back later in the trip and make some purchases, but we didn’t get the opportunity. We ended up finding some neat loot for the kids at other places.

We were losing steam (particularly the little ones), so we decided to do one more ride after Test Track. We chose Mission Space to do with my cousins. They wussed out, however, and rode the green side. Donald and I decided to do the real ride and went orange. We did our best not to rub it in to the others that they were wimps. It wasn’t easy. But somehow we managed. I was the commander and I made sure Donald called me such as long as possible. (Which wasn’t even once. He couldn’t even humor me.) Donald was the pilot, and let me tell you, he did a lousy job. He nearly crashed us into mars and flung us over a cliff. I, however, released the rockets seamlessly, as instructed.

His ride was a very interesting experience. First of all, it’s the first ride I’ve been on that offers you a barf bag. Secondly – wow – what a feeling. It was exhilarating and nauseating, and while I never want to go again, I’m glad I tried it once. It was pretty amazing. And now I know I never want to be an astronaut.

Well, nothing like a bumpy journey through outer space to make you wiped out. We were all very bushed, even after sleeping in that morning. We pretty much just went straight to bed at this point.

Tomorrow is our last day with my aunt and uncle. And just to make things even more confusing, my other aunt and uncle will be joining us for the day, with their two granddaughters. It was a fun day and I can’t wait to share it.