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

[KathyRN137]

Great update! It's always fun to hear about Billy's "magical moments!" Links in the first page...I'm impressed! I'm still trying to figure out how to post pics (I opened up a Photobucket account, but now I can't figure out how to get my pics from Adobe Photoshop or Shutterfly into Photobucket ). Maybe this summer I'll have time to figure it out.

Hey, don't feel bad... I've been on the DIS for three years and I just figured it out a few days ago!!

Hoping to see Up soon. DH says he has no interest in seeing it, though. I'll have to try to convince him. Everybody says what a great movie it is, so I think he'd enjoy it. We'll see...

Definitely not just for kids... Ed really enjoyed it too!!



Kathy

 

[mousescrapper]

all caught up....

love the Jack experience....made a happy tear and smaile come to my face! Great decision and planning to see him first and it sure paid off! Ed should have gotten in there for one pic though...

Hope you enjoyed Up!

and I have to figure out that posting links thing still too....I have till the end of the yr to figure it out I guess in time to start the next PTR for the 010 trip...

 

[KathyRN137]

Chapter 22: Revenge of the NOTP


Wednesday 4/23/08: Pirate & Princess Party


Feeling quite elated after our amazing meet with Captain Jack Sparrow, we made our way outside and decided to push further on into AdventureLand. Before leaving, however, we were given several strings of colorful beads (think Mardi Gras Beads) that represented our share of the pirate “treasure.” Throughout the Magic Kingdom there were “treasure spots” (marked with an X on our maps, of course) where these beads were being distributed to the kids; all they had to do was queue up for them.



We came across a meet & greet for Princess Jasmine, but neither of the kids were interested, so we pushed on past Aladdin’s Flying Carpets and over to our next “special” party offering. Seems that Aladdin was looking for new recruits to join his Palace Guard.

The Times Guide listed the next show time as 6:30 and it was almost twenty after. We got ourselves situated in a great spot right up front. Of course, nothing was happening, so the kids were antsy again... especially since we were directly across from this:

The kids wanted rides, but I wanted to stick to my strategy and hit the special party stuff that we couldn’t do on any other visit first. It was hard for them, though, because it was our first night at the Magic Kingdom and they naturally wanted to go on the rides. Ed seemed to be leaning in favor of the kids, so I was feeling a bit outnumbered. Now I thought the best thing to do was to offer a compromise: after one more special show, we would go on the POTC ride, since it was so close. Then we would have to start thinking about grabbing something to eat. (Pecos Bill’s was the obvious choice.)


Perhaps it was just a coincidence, but at the very moment we were discussing food, the delectable smell of roasted sugared almonds wafted over from a nearby kiosk. Ed could not resist! He went off and got a couple of cones while the kids and I held our positions at the foot of the stage.


Say, “Aaarrgghhh!!”

Aaarrgghhh!!

Meanwhile, 6:30 came and went... and there was still no sign of a show! The assembled audience, comprised as it was with so many children, was getting restless. Then an announcement came over the sound system that due to “technical difficulties,” the next performance would be delayed. Many guests heard this and left the crowd. We debated what to do... naturally, Tricia was gunning for Pirates, but the announcement had said “delayed” not “cancelled,” so I insisted we stand our ground. We had really good spots, after all.


Well, there was nothing to do but pass the time by nibbling on sugared nuts and doing a bit of people-watching. I already mentioned that the crowd was about 50/50 when it came to wearing pirate and princess costumes and that many of the costumed guests were children. Most of the costumes were the ready-made Halloween store/Disney Store variety, but there was enough variation that we had plenty of cute little kids to look at.


Until


We saw


Those two


Teenage girls!


Yikes! Talk about inappropriate! “Sassy” Snow White and “Sassy” Alice came strutting by on their way to POC and almost every adult waiting for the Aladdin show did the Chin- Down-Eyebrows-Up. I didn’t take a picture, but these are close approximations of what these 16-17 year-old girls were wearing:



http://www.halloweenexpress.com/sexy-snow-princess-adult-costume-p-8156.html

http://www.halloweenexpress.com/sexy-alice-adult-costume-p-1579.html




Wow.

Ed snorted, “Who lets their daughter out of the house wearing that?” Tricia did not make him feel any better when she commented that they looked “cute.” He glared at her. “You’re never wearing a costume like that, young lady, not while I’m alive!”


“Daaad!! I wouldn’t!!” protested our then 12 year old daughter. Then she quickly added, “They shouldn’t wear stuff like that at Disney, they should go to Universal!” Well, that unexpected comment made him laugh and broke the tension a bit, but, honestly! Don’t teenagers have any sense at all? I exchanged knowing looks with a woman standing next to me and we had a brief conversation about how difficult it was becoming to find age-appropriate costumes for our ‘tween daughters.


OT: Seems that once your daughter grows out of the children’s size large and moves into the teen sizes, all the Halloween costumes are short skirts and low-cut tops. “Sassy” is just a euphemism for slutty. I’m sure there will be much more discussion of this coming up in my Halloween PTR... so I’ll move on.


After about ten more minutes of waiting, the colored stage lights suddenly turned on and music blared from the surrounding speakers. It was time for us to meet the Captain of Aladdin’s Royal Guard and two of his trusty (but bumbling) Guardsmen!

The Captain of the Guard wanted to see if we had the right stuff to protect Princess Jasmine. He commanded his guardsmen to demonstrate some of the finer skills necessary, but they were not doing so well. Enter Aladdin to save the show!

All the children were instructed to wield their imaginary swords the “proper” way. Billy was really getting into it! He was taking his princess-guarding responsibilities very seriously!

Suddenly, there was a huge puff of purple smoke, and the wicked Jafar appeared!!

First, he easily dispatched the bumbling guardsmen. The Captain of the Guard was more difficult to defeat, so Jafar cheated and used his magic to get past him. Naturally, he challenged Aladdin to a sword fight and the diamond-in-the-ruff turned prince now had a chance to show off his skills...

Good conquered evil and Aladdin won the fight, to the cheers and clapping of the appreciative audience of new recruits. The defeated Jafar slunk away in shame. The show ended with a rousing chorus of “hurrahs” and a few photo ops for the kids in the audience:

It was getting late (after seven) and I suggested dinner, but all three of my palace guards were clamoring for Pirates, so we went off in search of their dank subterranean lair. It was past seven now, and the party had “officially” begun. Our wristbands were checked as we entered the queue and the wait was only about five minutes!

Someday I will learn how to take better photos in the dark…



“We wants the redhead!”

"Here, doggy!!"

A good time was had by all... definitely one of our favorites!!


Now that we had finally “done something” as per Tricia, we could take our break for dinner. First, we had to make it through the thick crowds inside the Pirate gift shop. There seemed to be more people in there than in all of AdventureLand! We took the cut-through to FrontierLand so we could all make a restroom stop on our way to Pecos Bill’s. Once we arrived, we did our usual “split.” Ed and Billy went to find a table while Tricia and I got on line for food. Surprisingly, the lines were all short.


“This is great!” I said to Tricia. “We must’ve just missed the dinner rush.” We gathered our trays of food and set off to find the boys waiting at a table somewhere in the center. As soon as we put the trays down, Ed went off to the (terrific) fixin’s bar and I passed out the food. Sorry, too hungry... forgot to take pix!


Ed got the BBQ pork sandwich and Tricia got the bacon cheeseburger. I had liked the chicken wrap that I had here the last time, so I ordered that again. Billy was being finicky and would only eat fries... not only his, but some from everyone else’s plate as well!! That boy was going to turn into a french fry on this trip!


We were about halfway done when suddenly, music blared from outside the windows. I looked up and, to my horror, I saw the beginning of the Disney’s Enchanted Adventures Parade passing by outside!!

“Oh no! What time is it??” I yelled. “The parade! I can’t believe I forgot all about the parade!!” This was a special party version of the parade with not only the princess floats, there were special pirate floats from Peter Pan and POTC. I had not been watching the time! I had blown it!!

“Quick!” I said, standing up hastily. “Grab your drinks and let’s go see if we can find a place to…”

Ed interrupted me. “Kathy, please sit down. We’re still eating... its only a parade!”


“But it’s a special parade,” I countered, “something we can’t see at any other time than during this party!” I was really upset at myself now. The NOTP (Non-Obsessive Trip-Planning) had finally revealed its tragic flaw… if you don’t plan things out, you miss out on some good stuff.


Ed turned to Tricia. “Do you care if we miss the parade?” he asked. “No,” she answered, continuing to chow down on her bacon cheeseburger. “It’s just a bunch of dumb old princesses.” Ed went on, “Well, I don’t care about the parade, and Billy doesn’t know the difference, so sit down and stop worrying about it,” he directed. “We’ve got the rest of the night to do stuff, I’m not going to throw out the rest of this food and go running off to see some parade.” That, he decided, would be that.


I could barely touch the rest of my sandwich because I was so upset and annoyed at myself. On the one hand, I was glad that I was the only one seemingly bothered by missing the parade, but on the other hand, I was missing the parade!! I sat there in silence while the other three continued eating and Tricia talked about going to the Haunted Mansion while the happy sound of parade music could be heard directly outside.


I was in a funk. Part of me wanted to jump up and run outside to catch a glimpse of the floats, but the other part felt it just wouldn’t be the same watching it all by myself out there, so why bother? Plus, it wouldn’t be wise to risk getting into an argument with my hubby, so I just sat there kicking myself for messing up. I know, I know. It wasn’t the end of the world or anything, but I still felt bad.


“Well, we have to wait for the parade to pass, so at least we can sit and have a relaxing meal,” Ed offered, not realizing that he was just putting salt on the wound. Eventually everyone finished and we cleared away the trays and tossed out the trash.


Outside, the lights were still low from the passing parade and the crowds of spectators had already dispersed. We turned in the direction of Liberty Square. Ah yes, nothing like a ride through a gloomy mansion in a haunted doom buggy to lift one’s spirits!!!


Kathy

 

[KathyRN137]

and I have to figure out that posting links thing still too....I have till the end of the yr to figure it out I guess in time to start the next PTR for the 010 trip...

Just one more reason that it's always good to have another Disney trip on the back burner!!


Kathy

 

[DearDaisyinDurham]

It truly was the best movie I've seen in a long time!!!

We took Aunt Rae (age 78) and she loved it too!!

Here is a link to some photos of the new Up character meet and greet in the Animation building at DS:

http://www.mousesteps.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=291&Itemid=65


Kathy

Enjoyed the updates, argh!!

Thanks for the link to the UP characters! I was excited to see the premier at DTD last Friday, but never thought to look for the characters at DHS! It was craZy the day I went there anyway due to "the Force" being strong and all.

 

[maroo]

Oh no!!!!!!!!

Missed the parade. The special parade? That really does stink.

Do you think they will bring the P&P Party back at some point? Once the economy rebounds?

I am glad that your family was ok with it, though. I hope things turn up for you guys soon!

And I need to remember this for our Christmas party...

 

[KathyRN137]

And I need to remember this for our Christmas party...

Trust me maroo, I am not going to miss the Halloween parade, that's for sure!


Kathy

 

[KathyRN137]

Enjoyed the updates, argh!!

Thanks for the link to the UP characters! I was excited to see the premier at DTD last Friday, but never thought to look for the characters at DHS! It was craZy the day I went there anyway due to "the Force" being strong and all.

You're welcome!

Do you have another report going now?


Kathy

 

[DearDaisyinDurham]

You're welcome!

Do you have another report going now?


Kathy

Well, kindof a TR it's a few posts tacked onto the end of my last one

The turtles, you have to cover Mickey/Minnie's nose & ears to see they totally look like TMNT, esp Mickey

 

[KathyRN137]

Well, kindof a TR it's a few posts tacked onto the end of my last one

The turtles, you have to cover Mickey/Minnie's nose & ears to see they totally look like TMNT, esp Mickey

Oh, okay! I haven't been reading anymore b/c I thought you were done! I will go back and catch up...

And, darn it! Now I have to go back and look at those topiary pix, too!!


Kathy

 

[AmandaSparks730]

Great update!

Mom and I saw UP today (3D version). While it was cute and funny, it wasn't my favorite Pixar movie (that would be Toy Story. The first, best, and my first movie in theaters!).

P.S. I've been updating my TR

 

[MRYPPNS]

We saw those same "sassy" costumes at MK for the MNSSHP in October of 2008. They were better suited for Pleasure Island if you ask me. They were getting plenty of looks which I'm sure that is why they were wearing them.

I would venture a guess that the girls you saw maybe older then 17...here's hoping anyways! The older I get the younger looking young adults get. I will say that I saw a 14ish girl in the Alice costume and she didn't look "sassy" at all in it....no garter and the costume wasn't as form fitting as the older girls in it if you know what I mean

Sorry about the parade....I think you should have taken your sandwich with you and gone out and watched it. If the others didn't want to, then too bad for them. Splitting up a bit on your next trip may be not such a bad idea.....

 

[MickeyLover20]

Too bad you missed the parade, Disney parades are the best. Hopefully it didn't ruin the rest of your night.

 

[IluvXU]

I feel your pain. I would have a hard time knowing I had missed the parade too..

 

[wvdislover]

YOU MISSED THE PARADE?!? I would have died! To have spent all that money and then to have missed the parade! My DH, on the other hand, would have been just like Ed, with the "so what" attitude. I think I would have just sat there and cried (and that would have really gone over well with the fam). Make sure your family knows that missing the Halloween parade is absolutely out of the question. You WILL be seeing that parade!

 

[KathyRN137]

Mom and I saw UP today (3D version)....

Wow, it must've been awesome in 3D!!

Kathy

 

[KathyRN137]

The older I get the younger looking young adults get.

Sorry about the parade....I think you should have taken your sandwich with you and gone out and watched it. If the others didn't want to, then too bad for them. Splitting up a bit on your next trip may be not such a bad idea.....

I agree with the first statement... the young ones are looking older and older to me because of the clothes and makeup...

I'm thinking they must've been locals and old enough to drive... who would knowingly let their daughter go to the MK like that?? (They were definitely young, though!)

Kathy

 

[mommytothreeboys]

I love that Billy is getting into the Aladdin show! He is well on his way to Princess protection duty!

YAY for riding Pirates! Definitely one of our faves!

Aww....so sad about the parade, but good for you for trying to keep the peace by letting it go. You're right...definitely not worth an upset hubby for the rest of the night. But...on that note.....AWWWWW--you missed the parade! I would have felt exactly the same way you did. And I would have had a hard time letting it go....on our 2007 trip, Dan was not feeling well and asked to go back to the hotel so Jeff took him and they missed Spectro. I was SO disappointed! I think all of us here "feel you"!

Mwahh-haaa-haa!! On to the Haunted Mansion!

 

[KathyRN137]

Too bad you missed the parade, Disney parades are the best. Hopefully it didn't ruin the rest of your night.

I felt bad at first, but since the rest of the family wasn't too upset about it, I eventually shrugged it off! I tend not to hold onto bad feelings for too long and besides... there was really nothing I could do about it!

I feel your pain. I would have a hard time knowing I had missed the parade too..

I couldn't believe that I had completely forgotten about it!! I just wasn't paying attention to the time... it does fly when you're having fun!

YOU MISSED THE PARADE?!? I would have died! To have spent all that money and then to have missed the parade! My DH, on the other hand, would have been just like Ed, with the "so what" attitude. I think I would have just sat there and cried (and that would have really gone over well with the fam).

Well, I felt really bad at first, but decided not to make such a big deal about it...after all, we were having a good time. But I sure was kicking myself for awhile....

Sorry about the parade....I think you should have taken your sandwich with you and gone out and watched it. If the others didn't want to, then too bad for them. Splitting up a bit on your next trip may be not such a bad idea.....

Honestly, it would've annoyed the heck out of Ed and I didn't want to ruin our night. A missed parade wasn't worth a big blowout.

Planning ahead of time to split up is one thing, jumping up from the table and leaving your family for a parade is something else!

You can all be sure we did not miss the special fireworks!!


Kathy

 

[MRYPPNS]

Honestly, it would've annoyed the heck out of Ed and I didn't want to ruin our night. A missed parade wasn't worth a big blowout.

Planning ahead of time to split up is one thing, jumping up from the table and leaving your family for a parade is something else!

You can all be sure we did not miss the special fireworks!!


Kathy

I agree that it wouldn't have been worth a blowout. I guess I'm lucky because I don't think my DH would have cared.

That why a good plan works!