"Are there any thrill rides in this park?" June 5-11, 2011

[archdandy]

I'm subbing in! Eli looks like he had a great time in the parks with all the characters. It's dissapointing when you don't get to ride a ride you wanted to (test track) but that just leaves more to do on your next visit I hope your DH started feeling better.

 

[ddluvsdisney]

To bad your DH wasn't feeling good. And all along I thought he just didn't wanna do anything. A few years ago my DS was sick and we missed a day at MK b/c he got sick while we were waiting for the ferry. It's not fun being sick while you're there. We went back to the resort he felt better by the next day, phew!!
I wanted to tell you we ate at Boma in August for the first time. I was hesitant after reading the menu but it was excellent. Ask about using the night vision goggles to look at animals if you're there at night.

 

[ARmom30]

I'm sure finding nemo is still at AK. We didn't see it this year but usually do.
Is the only day you are at MK for MVMCP? b/c that's not much time for rides. They usually have lots of different character meet and greets for the party and you waste a lot of time in lines. We saw the 7 drawfs last year! it was awesome.
The Osborne lights are incredible!!! You and Eli will LOVE them. I didn't want to leave. I could have watched them all night.
Going at Christmas is the BEST!!! So magical
Have a great time. I'm so jealous

We do only have plans for the MK the night of the party. Maybe for a little while before we fly out on the 15th. We spent a full day there this summer. I feel like the other parks got the shaft a little.

I'm subbing in! Eli looks like he had a great time in the parks with all the characters. It's dissapointing when you don't get to ride a ride you wanted to (test track) but that just leaves more to do on your next visit I hope your DH started feeling better.

Welcome! Thanks for reading! More for next time, that's why we're going back! He did feel better pretty quickly. Thanks goodness!

To bad your DH wasn't feeling good. And all along I thought he just didn't wanna do anything. A few years ago my DS was sick and we missed a day at MK b/c he got sick while we were waiting for the ferry. It's not fun being sick while you're there. We went back to the resort he felt better by the next day, phew!!
I wanted to tell you we ate at Boma in August for the first time. I was hesitant after reading the menu but it was excellent. Ask about using the night vision goggles to look at animals if you're there at night.

I was very relieved that he was sick and not just being grumpy. lol. I had lots of meds with me in our "snack box" so I was able to help him right away.

 

[lisalis]

I just saw this and enjoyed reading about your trip! I can relate to having the age gap between kids. We have three boys- 14, 11, and 5. When we went a few years ago for the first time, it seemed like my DH and I were always splitting up with the boys or waiting around for someone. My oldest doesn't really care if he goes back, but I wanted my youngest to go again and really enjoy the characters so I took him for a week last January while his brothers were in school. He loved it and was the perfect age to enjoy all the characters! You'll have a great time again when you go back

 

[ARmom30]

I just saw this and enjoyed reading about your trip! I can relate to having the age gap between kids. We have three boys- 14, 11, and 5. When we went a few years ago for the first time, it seemed like my DH and I were always splitting up with the boys or waiting around for someone. My oldest doesn't really care if he goes back, but I wanted my youngest to go again and really enjoy the characters so I took him for a week last January while his brothers were in school. He loved it and was the perfect age to enjoy all the characters! You'll have a great time again when you go back

We spent a lot of time split up too. And since we only have one camera, I mostly have pics of Eli. lol. Colt really doesn't like to have his picture made right now anyway. I usually just get a hand in front of his face.

 

[ARmom30]

I sitting here listening to WDW Radio, and trying to work. There's not a lot of work going on today. lol. I have a few pics to share then the next update.

I made Mickey pancakes for Eli and I this weekend. He was pretty happy!

Mine were chocolate chip.

And, the weather forecast for this weekend is looking pretty good!

 

[ARmom30]

Tuesday, June 7th

This day was Eli’s 5th birthday. Where did my baby go??

Since we all went to bed relatively early, I didn’t feel too bad about waking them up while I was getting ready. Of course, we had to stop at the food court for Mickey waffles for the big boys! I had eaten a granola bar in the room earlier. Eli spotted the Arcade again and wanted to stop for a few minutes. He did not want to leave! I had a “bad mom” moment in there trying to get him out. We finally left and made our way to the bus stop.

When we arrived at AK, I went straight for the stroller rentals. I knew Eli wouldn’t make it walking here. We went to the safari for FP’s after getting Eli a ride. Once we had them we made our way over to Expedition Everest. On our way there I forced them to stop for pics. Ha ha!

Somewhere on the way Eli talked Daddy into buying him a stuffed animal. Doug reasoned that it was his birthday and he deserved a present. It does still live on Eli’s bed at home, so I guess it’s ok.

We finally made it to EE and had to wait about 30 minutes. Eli was very nervous and picked me as a riding partner. He loved this ride! But, he didn’t want to ride again. Doug and Coltin really enjoyed it, so they went through the single rider line to get one more ride in. Eli and I shared a strawberry bar and celebrated his conquest of the big roller coaster!

Next, we headed back to the safari to see some animals while on a 2 week adventure. This line was pretty long. Even with our FP’s, we had to wait a while. We liked this, Eli really loved seeing all the animals. I let him use the camera part of the time.

(I won't bore y'all with pics of the same animals you've seen before!)

We grabbed a snack of fruit from a cart after the safari, then headed to Dinoland. We rode Dinosaur! And Eli kept his eyes closed and ears covered the whole time. Doug and Eli rode Triceratop Spin while Colt looked around there and I went to the restroom. We also spent a little bit of time playing some games. Eli didn’t win the 1st game he played, but the CM noticed his “Happy Birthday” button and gave him a prize anyway. Doug is very competitive and he and Coltin played some games and they won Eli a big shark and a big bear. Wouldn’t it be nice to see a pic of all this loot? My memory card was full. Doug had given me a card from his laptop bag. It had 500 deer pics on it so it filled up quickly. I kept deleting some, but then it would tell me that it was full, so I just put the camera away.


Now we headed over to Camp Minnie-Mickey to see Festival of the Lion King. On the way there we watched It's Tough To Be A Bug. Eli was scared of some of the bugs.

We all really enjoyed FotLK, even Doug (who hates musicals). After the show we made our way out of the park. We stopped for a few more pics on the way out.

Can you tell how hot and tired we were?

We did have to wait a little bit on the buses this day. But we were heading back to ASM before our 7:30 ADR at Chef Mickey’s. We had a special birthday dinner planned for Eli!

 

[ARmom30]

Birthday Dinner at Chef Mickey’s!

I need to make a quick confession. Our day at AK was not magical. I skipped over the “bad parts,” but it was mostly my bad attitude that made our day bad. I wanted to follow my plan so that we could hit everything. I knew we would miss some things, but sometimes I felt like we weren’t even trying to hit them. I had been grouchy ALL DAY LONG! So, when we arrived back at ASMu, Doug took the boys to the arcade for a little while and I put on my swim suit and headed to the Piano pool. I only had about 10 minutes to swim before I would need to get ready to head to the Contemporary. That swim was very therapeutic for me. I felt like my grumpiness and bad attitude washed away in the water! I hope no one else picked it up!

After my refreshing swim, I ran back to our room and quickly showered and dressed for dinner. The boys came back to the room and we headed out. We decided to drive since we only had about 30 minutes before our ADR time. We followed the signs, but got a little confused and ended up driving through the MK area. Twice. Ha ha.

We finally made it to the Contemporary and found a parking space. (I suggested the valet service to save time, Doug preferred to drive in circles waiting on a space to open up.) But, I didn’t argue or get upset, I was remaining calm!

When we made it upstairs to Chef Mickey’s to check in, we were about 5 minutes late. The CM at the podium was from Cabot, AR. Doug worked there for 2 years, and it turns out her childhood home was right down the road from his workplace! She checked us in and we went to take the picture with the statue.

There were lots of people waiting, and some had already been there for 30 minutes or longer. We only waited about 10 minutes after our picture and we were lead to our table.


I don’t remember what exactly we all ate, but it was good! I know I drank the Pomegranate Lemonade. Yum! I loved the desserts too! Eli loved the atmosphere and the character interaction was great. Our server was fantastic. He kept our drinks fresh and was usually close by if we needed something. An example, Doug only eats 1000 Island dressing on his salad, and they didn’t have any on the buffet. He asked one of the CM’s behind the salad bar to get him some, and was told they didn’t have any there. He told our awesome server, who promptly went somewhere and brought him 2 packets! Doug was impressed and happy.

We took our time eating. All of the characters came around twice too.

I had Eli and Coltin sitting on the outside of the table for easier pictures.

Eli danced and waved his napkin. Coltin tried to discreetly check his phone. Ha ha!

When we finished, we rode the monorail over to the Polynesian to watch Wishes from the beach. (I got this idea from a trip report. Thanks Disboards!) We all really enjoyed the show and I’m glad we didn’t try to watch this from inside the park. I don’t think Doug would have appreciated the crowds. Eli really liked digging in the sand while we waited too. After the fireworks were ended, we rode the monorail back to the Contemporary and drove back to ASMu.

I had no set plans for the next day, so I talked it over with Colt to let him decide what to do. I gave him some options:

• Stay at ASM to swim and relax
• Waterpark
• Wizarding World of Harry Potter
• Helicopter Ride
• Richard Petty Racing Experience
• Any WDW park

So, what did he pick??

 

[ddluvsdisney]

Looks like you had a great day. Couldn't tell you were grumpy.
EE is one of my DS10's favorite rides. It is so fun!
I don't blame Eli for blocking his ears on Dinosaur it is LOUD! and scary.
We had my DS's b-day dinner at CM. Goofy brought him his cake. It was fun. I like the food at CM too. I hear a lot of complaints on the boards, but I still like it there. We haven't been in a few yrs. I think it's time for a visit.
Wow!! 3 more days Eli must be excited!! Did I say that I'm jealous? lol
I forgot to guess what Colton picked- RPDE???

 

[ARmom30]

Looks like you had a great day. Couldn't tell you were grumpy.
EE is one of my DS10's favorite rides. It is so fun!
I don't blame Eli for blocking his ears on Dinosaur it is LOUD! and scary.
We had my DS's b-day dinner at CM. Goofy brought him his cake. It was fun. I like the food at CM too. I hear a lot of complaints on the boards, but I still like it there. We haven't been in a few yrs. I think it's time for a visit.
Wow!! 3 more days Eli must be excited!! Did I say that I'm jealous? lol
I forgot to guess what Colton picked- RPDE???

You couldn't tell I was grumpy because I skipped over all those parts where I was telling everyone to hurry up and come on! We're missing out on stuff! lol.

We didn't have a cake for Eli's birthday, but he did have a great time at CM's! We just ate there again Sunday. If I ever finish this report from this summer I'll probably write about this trip with Eli because it was so fun!!