An APRIL Adventure in Autism: 2008 (8/8) Time to Say Good-Bye....

[KathyRN137]

I am finally caught up! Great installments, that bossy lady made me mad . Why do people have to act like that. Where was her Disney attitude??


Hakuna Matata! I'm just glad I enlisted the help of the lifeguard!


So sorry to hear about Tricia's hat . Looks like you had a good time. There is no way you would get me into one of those things . I loved the pics of Ed laughing, great pictures .

We did have a good time, in spite of the tragic hat incident(!)

I like those pix, too, but Ed really needed a shave! He was going for the scruffy pirate look for later that day!!

Sorry that the hat was lost that is a bummer! I am so excited to hear all about the party!

I'm sad to hear that Disney discontinued the P&P Parties... they were a fun option for those visiting during non-holiday time!! Ah well, the economy strikes again!


Kathy

 

[All7OfUs]

Oh, that wasn't the ending I was hoping for! People can get out of the water, but sunken hats, usually not. I don't mean it would have been a nice thing for you to have dumped it, but at least you would have gotten the hat

Ah well, hopefully it can be replaced someday soon.

Liesa

 

[mommytothreeboys]

I'm so glad you didn't go tumbling into the water! Too bad about the hat, but a good excuse to get a new one!

Cool pics of DTD... a perspective not seen by most! Sounds like a very cool family afternoon....can't wait to hear about the P&P party!

 

[DisMomAmy]

That's too bad that you couldn't grab Tricia's hat before it sank! I can picture the whole thing in slow motion as I read!

Can't wait to hear about the P&PP - we had hoped to go this year, but we missed out...

 

[LuvindisCruiser]

I know how Tricia feels.
A couple of summers ago, I lost my cool Mickey hat going down the
Kali River Rapids at Disneyland !!!
All of a sudden, we went backwards, got soaked, and my hat flew off !!!
We just could not reach it in time !!! I was so bummed.
It followed us down for a while and just vanished.
Never saw it again...................
But, this past January I finally found a new one I liked at Disneyland !!!!

 

[kaysmommie]

Sorry about Tricia's hat. The water mice pics are great! Billy is looking a little red in that picture . OKW looks beautiful and the pool looks nice too. We didn't get to take the water taxi to DTD because it rained the entire trip except for Saturday when we arrived .

 

[KathyRN137]

Oh, that wasn't the ending I was hoping for! People can get out of the water, but sunken hats, usually not. I don't mean it would have been a nice thing for you to have dumped it, but at least you would have gotten the hat

I'm sure you were'nt the only one disappointed that I didn't take an unplanned swim!! Without AR on this trip, it has been a little boring!

Cool pics of DTD... a perspective not seen by most! Sounds like a very cool family afternoon....can't wait to hear about the P&P party!

It was so much fun to wave to all the people on the water taxi and the shoppers at DTD! Your boys would love it!

Can't wait to hear about the P&PP - we had hoped to go this year, but we missed out...

The only thing I regret was not taking more pictures... we were having too much fun!

I know how Tricia feels.
A couple of summers ago, I lost my cool Mickey hat going down the
Kali River Rapids at Disneyland !!!

Ed and I took the Keys to the Kingdom tour a while back and the guide told us that WDW finds thousands of lost hats every year... they clean them up and give them to charity!

We didn't get to take the water taxi to DTD because it rained the entire trip except for Saturday when we arrived .

Aww, sorry to hear that! The Florida weather can be maddeningly unpredicatable!


Kathy

 

[AmandaSparks730]

Ooh, poor Tricia!

I can tell that the hat was special to her, given by her big brother

Waiting on and party!

 

[Charleston Princess]

Oh, what a shame about Tricia's hat! I know how horrible it is to lose something you really like.

The rest of the afternoon was quite fun and relaxing. Can't wait to hear all about the Pirate and Princess Party!

 

[KathyRN137]

... Waiting on and party!

... Can't wait to hear all about the Pirate and Princess Party!

Thanks for following along!
It's been a busy day... I hope to post later, if not, then tomorrow!!

Kathy

 

[AmandaSparks730]

Kathy, if it doesn't trouble you, could you perhaps read my TR?

Here's the link (need to put it in my sig):

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2186243

 

[KathyRN137]

Kathy, if it doesn't trouble you, could you perhaps read my TR?

Here's the link (need to put it in my sig):

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2186243

Ohhhh! "Amanda", I so didn't realize you had a TR going!! I'll be right over!!

Kathy

 

[KathyRN137]

Chapter 20: Pirates and Princesses... and a Crusty Old Crab!


April 23, 2008


Old Key West Resort & The Magic Kingdom


Our first order of business after a full day of swimming and boating was to get cleaned up, so we all took turns showering and getting changed for the Pirate and Princess Party. Knowing that we pretty much had the entire night ahead of us, we took our time about it and were ready to leave for the Magic Kingdom a little after 4:00.



My Pirate-Princess Ears!

Tricia's POC Medallion:

Ooh, she did get a bit of a burn after losing that hat!

Billy's Skull 'N Crossbones shirt from Target!

There was another pleasant evening forecasted by the folks at The Weather Channel, so we dressed in short-sleeved tee shirts, but we brought along our baseball shirts just in case it did cool off later that night. It took another few minutes for us to gather our park bags and we were ready to go. I must’ve checked at least three times to make sure that I had our party tickets in my bag! It would not be fun to arrive at the MK, only to discover that I had left them behind in the room!



As usual, there seemed to be a much longer wait for the park buses because of the mid-afternoon hour... they appear to come with much greater frequency first thing in the morning. In fairness, though, the bus was barely half-filled after making its rounds to all the internal stops and proceeding on to the MK. I noticed a few little pirates and princesses were dressed up for the party, but none of the adults were in costume, so I felt a bit better about sporting only token accessories. As long as Billy and Tricia were happy, it made no difference to me. (We will, however, most definitely be dressing up for Halloween this year!)



We rumbled into the bus stop sometime around 5:00 and it was strange not to hear the driver make the usual announcements about after-party pick-up. Instead, the peppy bus music ended and there was a pre-recorded message that gave us the details! I’m still getting used to all these changeovers toward automation. It was always so much fun to have one of those drivers who told jokes and asked trivia questions and the like... I kind of miss it.

Off we went towards the entrance. We had yet to visit the Magic Kingdom on this trip, and I was filled with an ever-growing sense of excitement and anticipation! Ed may love Epcot, but this is definitely my favorite park! Bag-check went quickly; we had the nicest, friendliest security guard checking our bags! He was just so jovial and Disney-like that I had to get my picture taken with him!

The line at the single entrance gate for “Party Ticket Holders Only” was much longer that those at the turnstiles, so we just went in the usual way using our park tickets. (Ah, one of the blessings of having the Annual Pass!) I guess a lot of guests are beginning to realize that you don’t have to wait until the party officially begins at 7:00 for them to let you into the park!


There were numerous cast members distributing party bracelets and we got on line. Suddenly, Ed nudged me. “See that woman with the gray hair giving out bracelets over there?” he whispered. I looked. “That’s that crabby old security guard from the Wilderness Lodge!”


Ah-ha! So that’s the person who had given Ed such a hard time and basically blew him off when he came to the aid of a CM who had been having a seizure last year. “I guess she’s been re-assigned,” he snorted. (He had made a point of discussing the situation with the security manager after it happened.) Then he pointed to the camera I was holding.

“Get a picture of her!”

“What?”

“Get a picture of her!”

“Why do you want a picture of her?”

“Just do it!”

“But…”

“I want you to post it in your report!”

Okay! Okay! And so, thanks to Ed, here is a picture of that “meanie-butt” security guard (Tricia’s words) from last year’s TR:

We showed our party tickets to the CMs and received our bracelets. (We have them put Billy’s around one of his ankles, because otherwise he gets quite distracted if it’s on his wrist… he plays with and pulls at it all night!) We passed under the RR trestle and soon found ourselves in that familiar Town Square. Ahhh! We’re back!! Just smell that Disney popcorn!

Tricia had grabbed some copies of the special party map that also listed the times for the special events and shows. I wanted to do these first before attempting any major rides because for me, that’s the whole point of going to the party... to enjoy the special attractions not available during regular hours. Second, I wanted to wait a bit for the regular day crowd to clear out of the park so the wait times at the big attractions wouldn’t be so long. And so, with that strategy in mind, we took a nice easy walk up Main Street toward the Castle, drinking in the atmosphere and discussing which Land we should head to first.

There was a stage show beginning soon at the Castle, but it was the regular Dream Along With Mickey show that was available during regular hours, so we decided to skip it for now. We opted instead to cross over the bridge toward Adventureland, which was re-named as “New Tortuga” for the party. I thought we could perhaps either ride Aladdin’s Magic Carpets or see one of the last Enchanted Tikki Birds shows before our first party activity. There was a certain lovable scoundrel pirate there that we wanted to meet!

I was rather surprised to see that there were already a good number of party guests waiting in the queue that was set up immediately to the right of the bridge. I asked the CM who was checking for party bracelets (although there were still quite a few regular guests, only those with bracelets were admitted to the queue) when Captain Jack was going to start granting audiences to his many fans. According to the schedule, the meet & greets were not scheduled to begin until the party’s official start at 7pm, but he informed us that the doors would probably be opened as early as 6:00.



I now was faced with a bit of a dilemma. The Captain Jack meet & greet was supposed to be insanely popular. It was still early (5:30) but I knew that line was just going to get longer and longer as the evening wore on. My feeling at that point was that we should get this “biggie” done first to avoid an overly-long wait for Billy. If the lines at the attractions were very long and he was getting super-antsy, we could always fall back on using his GAC. With that thought in mind, I decided that we might as well get in line.



Here's Ed with his Pirate eye patch and (ouch!) clip-on earring!

There were about thirty-to-forty people ahead of us who must’ve had the same strategy in mind. At least we had a gorgeous view of the Castle from there and could even make out part of the stage show. As we waited, more and more guests filed in behind us, so I kept reassuring myself that we had made the best decision. It’s hard to wait in a line that’s not moving, however, and soon the kids began to get fidgety. Tricia began complaining, “This isn’t much of a party... we’re not doing anything!” It didn’t help that her brother was making lots of weird noises (in his usual fashion) and that some of the other kids in line were giving him funny looks.



Funny looks don’t bother me. Adults sort of “get it” after watching Billy for a moment or two... kids take a bit longer to figure it out, especially if they’re younger. All they know is that something isn’t quite right about him. You can almost see them puzzling it out in their minds by the looks on their faces. But Tricia doesn’t like it; I suppose it makes her feel a bit self-conscious when her brother draws unwanted attention.



My attention was more focused on two young “pirates” who were play-fighting in the queue with their toy swords. They were getting a bit rambunctious, as boys naturally do, and they were making me a bit nervous. As a mom, you just seem to know when you see something that’s a recipe for trouble. Young boys + toy swords + crowd of people with not much room to move = someone’s going to get hurt eventually!



The two were play-fighting back and forth, up and down the line, both inside and outside the ropes. There did not seem to be any identifiable parental unit close by, which surprised me because they were only about five and seven years old. Now, I know that the expression is, “It takes a village to raise a child,” but I really hate having to parent other people’s kids! Sometimes I have to do it at the doctor's office where I work. You’d be amazed at how some parents come into medical exam rooms with young children and let them run around touching everything and they don’t say a word to them because they’re so busy telling me about their unsightly toenail fungus or the bothersome age spot on their cheek!



It is unbelievably uncomfortable to be put in the position of repeatedly telling a parent to her face that she has to control her child or that child might get hurt! “Please don’t let little Max touch that red plastic container full of dirty needles!” But, it happens! (You teachers reading, I give you a lot of credit... I could never do your job!)



Anyway, when one of the two boys came dangerously close to hitting a toddler in a stroller with one of the plastic swords, darn it, I just had to speak up. I approached the older of the two and spoke to him using my “Don’t mess with Mom” voice:


“Honey, it’s too crowded to play with those swords here, you need to stop.”


The boy did stop... in fact, he seemed thunderstruck. His mouth hung open and he just stared at me for a moment then ran off without a word! The other boy followed. I watched as they made their way all the way up to the front of the queue and joined what I assumed to be the rest of their family. (Did those parents even realize their kids were playing that far back in the line?) You just have to shake your head sometimes!



After we had been waiting for a total of about half an hour, there was some activity at the doors leading into the building (was this normally the backstage area to one of the restaurants?) It was right next door to Aloha Isle, home of the famous Dole Whip. The entire queue rustled with excitement!



Cast members began letting guests through the heavily curtained double doors in staggered groups of about a dozen or so, closing the doors and waiting about five minutes between each group. The anticipation built as we moved closer and closer to what was hidden behind the black velvet curtains! Eventually we came very close to the entrance... the CMs carefully counted us off as small groups of guests were admitted. It looked as though we were going to make it... DOH! The cut-off came just after the guy in front of me!



Five more minutes ticked by ever-so-slowly. Then, with a loud CREAK! the doors were pulled open and the thick black curtains were pulled aside...






To be continued….


Kathy

 

[niclodn]

Kathy you guys are too funny! Love the hat rescue attempt Let me know if you need someone to pick up a replacement -- I live just south of Charlotte and have family in Raleigh. I'm sure I can find one like it

 

[ladylyons]

Yeah another update!! But AAAAGGHHH another cliff hanger!!! Do you get to see the great Captin Jack Sparrow? Oh well I'll be here waiting to see if you do or don't. Or I'll be killing time working on my trip report.

 

[IluvXU]

Too funny about seeing Ed's "friend" again.

Who let's there children wander that far away at WDW--- not me!

And yes teacher's have to parent too much sometimes... and sometimes great parenting is evident!

 

[MickeyLover20]

Hi Kathy,
I have just finished reading all of your other TRs and I thoroughly enjoyed them. I really liked that they were completed and I could go on to the next installment and not have to wait like I do for this one. Your TRs are great! I can't wait to hear more! Please don't make us wait too long???

 

[KathyRN137]

...Let me know if you need someone to pick up a replacement -- I live just south of Charlotte and have family in Raleigh. I'm sure I can find one like it

You are too sweet! I think Eddie is bringing one for her on his next visit. I hinted to him broadly that she never did get a replacement...

Yeah another update!! But AAAAGGHHH another cliff hanger!!! Do you get to see the great Captin Jack Sparrow? Oh well I'll be here waiting to see if you do or don't. Or I'll be killing time working on my trip report.

Writing a trip report takes up a lot of time, trust me!

And yes teacher's have to parent too much sometimes... and sometimes great parenting is evident!

I am so greatful for my children's amazing teachers!!

Hi Kathy,
I have just finished reading all of your other TRs and I thoroughly enjoyed them. I really liked that they were completed and I could go on to the next installment and not have to wait like I do for this one. Your TRs are great! I can't wait to hear more! Please don't make us wait too long???

Thank you and

What a wonderful compliment! You are very kind...


Thanks for reading, everybody!!


Kathy

 

[wvdislover]

Sounds like fun! The closest we came to going to a P&P party was seeing the fireworks from the GF on our Mommy/Daddy trip last year. DH just can't see spending the extra $50/person. I guess it is a lot, esp. after already spending over $200/person for our KTTK tiks

 

[mom2mek]

Great update as always, Kathy!

I don't know why I always look at pirate mickey and pirate minnie and think they look like turtles.

I think it truly says a lot about your love of Disney and of Disney castmembers that you stopped to take a picture with the bag check guy!

That is too funny about the crusty old crab lady! Why on earth would she have to rotate to the Magic Kingdom - ugh! Keep her far, far away from people would be my suggestion!

Oooo....I can't wait to hear about Capt. Jack! Hubba hubba wink wink....

Sara