SeansMom
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2005
- Messages
- 656
Day Two
Monday, April 4th, 2005
It was great to wake up to the warm California sun and to look forward to a day at the parks and finally seeing our son Jesse, who had just returned from 13 months in Iraq. Sean still had no idea Jesse was meeting us, and we intended to keep that secret as we were not sure when he would arrive. His plane was supposed to be in at about 10:00 am, so we headed into the parks and followed the first part of our RideMax plan. Our first stop was Indiana Jones to get a fastpass, and then we went to Tarzans Tree House and walked through. There is quite a bit of interactive stuff here, including pots and pans and a xylophone to bang on, a billow to pump that heats up a fire and makes the kettles roll, and a couple of ropes to climb that let out Tarzan whoops and such. We spent a fair amount of time exploring, and at this time of day there were few people to hinder our play or progress. Next on our RideMax plan was the Tiki Room. There was literally one other couple waiting in the courtyard, and we got some great (hopefully!) family pictures and Sean got lots of pictures of the pre-show, of which we had a mostly unobstructed view. By the time we entered for the show it was maybe an eighth of the way full. It was fun to see the birds, the rainstorm, and the drumming and to remember what it was like when I saw it the first time at age 6 or 7. There were a couple of small kids near us and I was surprised that the thunder and lightening part of the show didnt frighten them more (although I did see the little girl next to us settle a little further back into the safety of Moms arms!) After the Tiki Room we headed over to get fastpasses for Splash Mountain, and then we meandered back towards River Belle Terrace for a late breakfast. During breakfast, and while waiting for breakfast (slow, slow, slow) we people watched. Fun to see all the families and little kids, and we even saw a few characters but Sean was not in the mood to stand in line for a picture (and maybe getting too old and too cool for such activities!). After breakfast, we headed back towards the hub, with me thinking, okay, Jesse should be here soon .what do we do in the meantime??? We finally decided on taking the double decker bus back to the beginning of Main Street, and a horse drawn carriage back to the castle. All the time we were waiting for Jesse to call and say when hed arrive. Finally, as we were loading onto the carriage he called to say he was there and would meet us at the pre-arranged place, the wishing well next to the castle. As we pulled up to the castle I saw him through the crowd, and diverted Seans attention (although I doubt he would have spotted him as he wasnt expecting him.) My instinct was to run to him and I was surprised to find myself close to tears. Hard to have him away for so long!
We walked over to the wishing well and hung out for a bit then my phone rings again and Jesse is lost. Actually, hed just gone too far, thinking the wishing well was near the old Skyway loading area in FL. At this point, I foisted my camera on some willing but somewhat bewildered person and Jesse came through the arch just as Sean as I were wishing for Jesse to be there. I could not contain myself any longer and ran to him to collect a big hug, then everyone hugged, and thank goodness folks in Disneyland are honest because I had literally forgot Id left my purse with Bills pack on the bench, somebody else had our camera, and all of it could have walked away and we wouldnt have figured it out for an hour! Sean was VERY surprised, and Jesse kept saying he couldnt believe how much hes grown. I was in tears, and finally the nice guy who had my camera said, I took a lot of action shots hope they turn out. What a sweetie a big thanks to the mystery man!
We all walked around Disneyland and talked for awhile, and Jesse ate while we used our fastpasses and rode Splash Mountain. Then we headed out to Rainforest Café and had a nice lunch, then went back to the hotel to rest, visit, swim, and just hang out. It was a good family reunion and Sean was elated. I was pleased we were able to pull it off there were so many delays and phone calls I thought Sean might catch on.
Later in the afternoon we headed into DCA. Fastpasses for Soarin and Scramin were gone, so we took Jesse to the Its Tough to Be a Bug show, which he got a kick out of. We then walked back over to Disneyland and rode Pirates again, as well as Haunted Mansion. Sean really wanted to do that with his big brother, so that was fun. By that time it was time to eat again, which we did, and then time to go back to the hotel. We were all pretty beat I think the travel and emotion of the day had caught up with us. It was good to get back to our hotel and call it a night especially since our family was together again after over 16 months!
Monday, April 4th, 2005
It was great to wake up to the warm California sun and to look forward to a day at the parks and finally seeing our son Jesse, who had just returned from 13 months in Iraq. Sean still had no idea Jesse was meeting us, and we intended to keep that secret as we were not sure when he would arrive. His plane was supposed to be in at about 10:00 am, so we headed into the parks and followed the first part of our RideMax plan. Our first stop was Indiana Jones to get a fastpass, and then we went to Tarzans Tree House and walked through. There is quite a bit of interactive stuff here, including pots and pans and a xylophone to bang on, a billow to pump that heats up a fire and makes the kettles roll, and a couple of ropes to climb that let out Tarzan whoops and such. We spent a fair amount of time exploring, and at this time of day there were few people to hinder our play or progress. Next on our RideMax plan was the Tiki Room. There was literally one other couple waiting in the courtyard, and we got some great (hopefully!) family pictures and Sean got lots of pictures of the pre-show, of which we had a mostly unobstructed view. By the time we entered for the show it was maybe an eighth of the way full. It was fun to see the birds, the rainstorm, and the drumming and to remember what it was like when I saw it the first time at age 6 or 7. There were a couple of small kids near us and I was surprised that the thunder and lightening part of the show didnt frighten them more (although I did see the little girl next to us settle a little further back into the safety of Moms arms!) After the Tiki Room we headed over to get fastpasses for Splash Mountain, and then we meandered back towards River Belle Terrace for a late breakfast. During breakfast, and while waiting for breakfast (slow, slow, slow) we people watched. Fun to see all the families and little kids, and we even saw a few characters but Sean was not in the mood to stand in line for a picture (and maybe getting too old and too cool for such activities!). After breakfast, we headed back towards the hub, with me thinking, okay, Jesse should be here soon .what do we do in the meantime??? We finally decided on taking the double decker bus back to the beginning of Main Street, and a horse drawn carriage back to the castle. All the time we were waiting for Jesse to call and say when hed arrive. Finally, as we were loading onto the carriage he called to say he was there and would meet us at the pre-arranged place, the wishing well next to the castle. As we pulled up to the castle I saw him through the crowd, and diverted Seans attention (although I doubt he would have spotted him as he wasnt expecting him.) My instinct was to run to him and I was surprised to find myself close to tears. Hard to have him away for so long!
We walked over to the wishing well and hung out for a bit then my phone rings again and Jesse is lost. Actually, hed just gone too far, thinking the wishing well was near the old Skyway loading area in FL. At this point, I foisted my camera on some willing but somewhat bewildered person and Jesse came through the arch just as Sean as I were wishing for Jesse to be there. I could not contain myself any longer and ran to him to collect a big hug, then everyone hugged, and thank goodness folks in Disneyland are honest because I had literally forgot Id left my purse with Bills pack on the bench, somebody else had our camera, and all of it could have walked away and we wouldnt have figured it out for an hour! Sean was VERY surprised, and Jesse kept saying he couldnt believe how much hes grown. I was in tears, and finally the nice guy who had my camera said, I took a lot of action shots hope they turn out. What a sweetie a big thanks to the mystery man!
We all walked around Disneyland and talked for awhile, and Jesse ate while we used our fastpasses and rode Splash Mountain. Then we headed out to Rainforest Café and had a nice lunch, then went back to the hotel to rest, visit, swim, and just hang out. It was a good family reunion and Sean was elated. I was pleased we were able to pull it off there were so many delays and phone calls I thought Sean might catch on.
Later in the afternoon we headed into DCA. Fastpasses for Soarin and Scramin were gone, so we took Jesse to the Its Tough to Be a Bug show, which he got a kick out of. We then walked back over to Disneyland and rode Pirates again, as well as Haunted Mansion. Sean really wanted to do that with his big brother, so that was fun. By that time it was time to eat again, which we did, and then time to go back to the hotel. We were all pretty beat I think the travel and emotion of the day had caught up with us. It was good to get back to our hotel and call it a night especially since our family was together again after over 16 months!
aaahhhhhh 
