Bella’s Very Merry WISH-mas Party ~ 10 Days of Dreams Come True MAW/GKTW Dec 3-10

[kayrosek]

Great update as usual, I must admit though, you've got me on the edge of my seat waiting to hear about Bellas "disaster"

 

[yinyanggirls]

That's funny! I never noticed it before but you're right! They start out with heavy wet hair in the morning (believe it or not Bella's hair goes all the way down to her bottom when it is wet and brushed out!) and as it dries and the humidity getss to it their hair gets shorter and shorter . . . . gotta love those crazy curls!

I had really curly hair when I was younger (mostly just wavy now which is why I straighten!) so I recognize the pattern. Tessa's curls are so tight that they get longer when wet. Hers is almost to her shoulder blades when wet and yet dry, it's just short, short, short! Who do the girls get their curls from? I love that all three have 'em.

 

[All7OfUs]

Believe it or not, I definitely noticed the hair-raising as well. How appropriate for the "hair-raising" attractions at US!

OK, that was a stupid pun, nevertheless, I'm cracking myself up!

We have a bunch of older Simpsons stuff on VHS that someone gave us a long time ago over here, and I'll have to say, they are hiliarious!! Then going to Japan, the spoof of the Shining, etc... Too funny!

 

[StefaniLyn]

Great update as usual, I must admit though, you've got me on the edge of my seat waiting to hear about Bellas "disaster"

Thanks! I'm hoping to find some time today to get to it, but I also have a PTO agenda to write as well as as gymnastics this evening.

I had really curly hair when I was younger (mostly just wavy now which is why I straighten!) so I recognize the pattern. Tessa's curls are so tight that they get longer when wet. Hers is almost to her shoulder blades when wet and yet dry, it's just short, short, short! Who do the girls get their curls from? I love that all three have 'em.

Their curls come from DH. He chops his hair off now at the first sign of curling. Over the past few years mine has developed a bit of a wave, but nothing near what the girls have. It took Bella's hair 4 years of growing without a single haircut before it finally fell below her shoulders when dry! Her first haircut was on our last Disney trip in 2008 at the Main St. Barbershop.

Believe it or not, I definitely noticed the hair-raising as well. How appropriate for the "hair-raising" attractions at US!

OK, that was a stupid pun, nevertheless, I'm cracking myself up!

We have a bunch of older Simpsons stuff on VHS that someone gave us a long time ago over here, and I'll have to say, they are hiliarious!! Then going to Japan, the spoof of the Shining, etc... Too funny!

Ha! I can't believe I never noticed that before and everyone else did! Love the pun! I may need to do a scrapbook page with "Hair Raising Rides" as a title and pictures throughout the day!

The Simpsons are right up there with Family Guy and just a step below South Park for me. The shows are funny, but being cartoons they are obviously attractive to childre who have no business watching them. In fact, I put a "?" mark by The Simpsons Ride in my planner because I wasn't sure if we would experience vulgar language or innuendo (that my 10 yr old is starting to understand). DGma has ridden before and assured me that it was G rated. I'm so glad we went on!

 

[yinyanggirls]

Wow, it took that long? You've just given me hope. Tessa just turned four and other than a couple of *tiny* trims, just to even out, she's not had a cut yet.

 

[StefaniLyn]

Wow, it took that long? You've just given me hope. Tessa just turned four and other than a couple of *tiny* trims, just to even out, she's not had a cut yet.

Yep, it took forever for her hair to get long because of the curls. Aside from having part of her head shaved for an IV when she was an infant, we never touched her hair until that first haircut at Disneyworld at 4 years, 5 months old. Then when she was 5 she gave herself a haircut and cut off over 6 inches in some places! Thankfully, the curls hid it pretty well!

 

[yinyanggirls]

Then when she was 5 she gave herself a haircut and cut off over 6 inches in some places! Thankfully, the curls hid it pretty well!

Ouch! 6 inches of hard earned hair!?! Tessa just did the same but thankfully it was only a tiny snip, the equivalent of one of her curls, and it looks like she has little one curl bang, if I look for it. Thank goodness curls hide it so well!

 

[kimmylaj]

hmmmm you are making me want to give universal a try, havent been there since 1995
opcorn::
mia 3 wanted me to send you all of those because she likes your spongebob shirts

 

[StefaniLyn]

Ouch! 6 inches of hard earned hair!?! Tessa just did the same but thankfully it was only a tiny snip, the equivalent of one of her curls, and it looks like she has little one curl bang, if I look for it. Thank goodness curls hide it so well!

Ha! Bella had a one curl bang too! DGma (who happened to be the one watching her when she got a hold of the scissors) would always say the old nursery rhyme: "there was a little girl with a little curl RIGHT in the middle of her forehead. And when she was good, she was very very good. But when she was bad she was horrid!"

Bella cut a 1 square inch chunk right at the front of her forehead down to about 3/4 inch and another 1 sq. inch chunk on the top of her head down to about 1/2 inch. I was too upset to take photos of it.

hmmmm you are making me want to give universal a try, havent been there since 1995
opcorn::
mia 3 wanted me to send you all of those because she likes your spongebob shirts

Kim please tell Mia for all the smilies. They made me giggle!

Before our Wish Trip, I hadn't been to US in a very long time either and never really gave it much consideration, but I am sooooo glad we went this time! It is comprable to the Disney parks for staff friendliness, cleanliness, and theming. There were fewer rides (especially for little ones) but still plenty to keep us occupied for 2 full days! I highly recommend it!

 

[ladybugmom]

How fun that 3 of your family members were able to take part in the show!!! And I'm not sure I could have gone on that Twister ride--I am terrified of tornadoes! We have lots of tornadoes here and I've been in the middle of several--it's something I never want to ever experience again! Your meal looks soooo yummy that my mouth is watering!!!

 

[Momofwishkid]

Great Great Great updates! I love your spongebob outfits and what good deals you got. The pic with spongebob was a perfect scrapbook photo. Cant wait to read more. I finally got your site to load correctly so hopefully I'll get updates now.

 

[StefaniLyn]

How fun that 3 of your family members were able to take part in the show!!! And I'm not sure I could have gone on that Twister ride--I am terrified of tornadoes! We have lots of tornadoes here and I've been in the middle of several--it's something I never want to ever experience again! Your meal looks soooo yummy that my mouth is watering!!!

I think twister was very realistic, although I've never been through one personally. Had I experienced one in the past, I'm sure the Twister ride wouldn't be appealing to me either. I don't blame you for not wanting to experience one on vacation! I'm glad you have made it through several safely.

The food at Finnegans was good. DH had bnagers and mash and DD10 had the fish and chips - both were great. I can't recall what the rest of us had, but do know that nobody was disappointed with their meals!

Great Great Great updates! I love your spongebob outfits and what good deals you got. The pic with spongebob was a perfect scrapbook photo. Cant wait to read more. I finally got your site to load correctly so hopefully I'll get updates now.

Thanks! The Spongebob outfits were a hit and it was just by chance that we ran into him that morning in the park. I guess fate brought my girls together with the big squishy guy!

Which site were you having trouble getting to upload? Is it the pictures in this one? I host them on Facebook and wasn't aware of a problem but I can switch to photobucket if people are having trouble seeing them.

 

[kdzbear]

Another great update! I have not been to Universal in over 10 years. It sounds as if Twister and Disaster are part of the old King Kong ride unless it is still there too! The Simpson's ride sounds like fun! I love all of the smiling pictures of the girls!

 

[Momofwishkid]

I think twister was very realistic, although I've never been through one personally. Had I experienced one in the past, I'm sure the Twister ride wouldn't be appealing to me either. I don't blame you for not wanting to experience one on vacation! I'm glad you have made it through several safely.

The food at Finnegans was good. DH had bnagers and mash and DD10 had the fish and chips - both were great. I can't recall what the rest of us had, but do know that nobody was disappointed with their meals!


Thanks! The Spongebob outfits were a hit and it was just by chance that we ran into him that morning in the park. I guess fate brought my girls together with the big squishy guy!

Which site were you having trouble getting to upload? Is it the pictures in this one? I host them on Facebook and wasn't aware of a problem but I can switch to photobucket if people are having trouble seeing them.

No it wasnt the pics. For some reason everytime I tried your TR it came up with no way to reply and I wasnt getting any updates even though I was subscribed. Dont know what the problem was but it's working now.

 

[StefaniLyn]

Another great update! I have not been to Universal in over 10 years. It sounds as if Twister and Disaster are part of the old King Kong ride unless it is still there too! The Simpson's ride sounds like fun! I love all of the smiling pictures of the girls!

I think that Disaster used to be the Earthquake ride. Revenge of the Mummy is actually in the building where King Kong used to be. And did I mention before that Back to the Future used to be where the Simpsons is now? Universal seems to have a knack for repurposing old rides. Talk about recycling!

No it wasnt the pics. For some reason everytime I tried your TR it came up with no way to reply and I wasnt getting any updates even though I was subscribed. Dont know what the problem was but it's working now.

Hmmm . . . I wonder what was going on. Glad to hear that it is all worked out now!

 

[StefaniLyn]

We had just finished MIB and were headed to meet Bella and DGma near ET when my cell phone rang. It was DGma, and she was telling me to come quickly. Bella was sick and she needed help. While headed towards Woody’s Nuthouse Coaster, Bella warned Gma that she was not feeling well and needed a bathroom, quick! Gma hastily rushed Bella to the bathroom, but didn’t get there fast enough, and now Bella’s skirt, shoes, and socks were soiled. We hurried over to the restroom to discover DGMa in a bathroom stall with a half dressed, teary-eyed Bella.

I took over cleaning Bella up as best I could with toilet tissue and paper towels. DH ran into the nearest store and tried to buy overpriced socks, but the cashier was moving incredibly slow. So DH stole the socks and left Uncle TJ to wait in line with another pair to pay for them. Thirty minutes later, we emerged with Bella, now wearing the leggings I had brought in case her legs were cold during the day and new Thing 1 socks. It was quite the outfit!

Unfortunately we have grown accustomed to Bella’s random acts of illness over the years. Bella suffers from Celiac disease, which is an intolerance to gluten (wheat, rye, barley, and oats contain gluten) and contamination from foods containing gluten is often inescapable. It can occur from something as innocent as putting her spoon onto the table that had bread crumbs (even if they are miniscule) before Bella uses that spoon to eat. Because of her Celiac disease, that microscopic amount of gluten can cause sudden onset of illness a short time later.

After cleaning her up, I put in a call to Bella’s GI nurse as this episode was relatively severe. We were told to just keep an eye out for dehydration and abnormal lethargy. I asked Bella if she wanted to head back to GKTW, but she didn’t. She had just spied the ET Adventure ride a few yards away and asked if we could ride. Reluctantly, I agreed – it was her Wish Trip and I wasn’t about to stop her. So we headed off to see ET. I just realized this is the ONLY photo I will have for this update. Bella didn’t want to have her photo taken in her mismatched outfit so I put the camera away after this one. So sorry!

My girls have seen and love ET the movie so they were excited for this ride. The attendant led us through a back entrance where we stopped momentarily to give another attendant our names. Those were typed into a computer, a card swiped, and given to each of us. We went straight to the front of the line and gave those cards to another attendant, not yet knowing what they were for. We boarded flying bicycles and enjoyed a slow-paced, ride through space as we helped ET save his home planet. At the end of the ride, ET wished us all farewell and personally thanked us each *by name* for helping him! It was a touching surprise ending!

The rain had picked up again so we quickly ran to the next attraction on our route – Terminator 2:3-D. Now I know I have raved about Universal Studios for the past few days, but here is proof I am not on their payroll, as I have my one and only complaint about this park. Terminator 2:3-D has GOT to go! It’s a combination of 3D movie and live stunts, but it is very dated and . . . . to be frank – LAME. 4 out of 7 of us actually fell asleep during this show. It may have been due to the mental stress of Bella’s Disaster! or the lack of sleep in recent days, however I’m guessing it can be attributed to sheer boredom. If you’re a die hard Arnold fan, you may enjoy this show. Otherwise, it’s comparable to Ellen’s Universe of Energy in Epcot – a great place to catch some zzzzzzzzzz’s!

Well rested, we checked the map and realized we had come full circle to the entrance/exit to Universal. AJ begged to see if Rip Rockit Roller Coaster was running so we continued on and discovered it was still closed. Although the reviews aren’t very good for this coaster, I truly would have liked to ride it and was disappointed to find it shut down.

We decided to head back to GKTW and get some dinner at this point. On our way out, we stopped for one more adventure with Jimmy Neutron at Bella’s request. It was just as much fun the second time around!

Alright, I was starting to feel really bad about the lack of visual stimulation in this TR segment so after interviewing all immediate family members in our household, I created this handy dandy little chart:

A '+' means s/he loved the ride. If not, there are comments in the box as to why s/he didn't love it. The bottom row is the favorites for each person.

Look at all of those +’s! Universal Studios definitely gets at in our family’s book!

I’ll try to include DGma in future updates but I made this last night and didn’t think she would appreciate a phone call at 11pm inquiring as to whether she enjoyed The Simpsons or not!

I’m also including the Spongebob picture that I promised you!

ugh - I just realized how poor the quality is on those scanned pictures. I'll replace them later, but I've already shut down DD's computer and I don't have a scanner for my laptop.

So now you have 3 photos. I know, I know . . . . it’s not a lot. But let’s just consider it preparation for the next few days when I have hardly any photos at all due to the FDF09.

After returning our stroller, we made the long trek back to our minivan. We drove back to GKTW as the rain continued to pour. Bella ate her her dinner at the villa and we changed 2 of 3 girls for the party tonight. We then walked to the Gingerbread House for dinner. I’m not a big fan of pork myself, but the rest of the family enjoyed the home cooked pork loin with veggies and potatoes.

During dinner, Bella napped again with her head on DH’s lap. When she woke just 10 minutes later, she asked if she had missed the party.

“What party?” you ask.

Why, it’s the GKTW Pirates and Princesses Party of course!

Act 2: Scene 6 - Magic for Mommy at the Pirates and Princess Party

 

[yinyanggirls]

Great report Steph! You are very thoughtful, and kinda funny, putting together a ratings chart for the rides. Too cute! Poor Bella, with her accident. Good thinking on having the leggings just in case. I'm planning for multiple wardrobe changes for both girls for every reason you can imagine. If it's possible, it will get dirty/wet/ripped...

 

[Momofwishkid]

Great update even without alot of pics That was so sweet to put together the rating chart! We cant wait for US. Im so sorry Bella got sick and at DH staealing the socks. You gotta do what has to be done. At least BIL stayed to pay.

 

[kdzbear]

Great update! You tell the story so well! I love the photo of the girls with Sponge Bob! You chose great!

 

[kimmylaj]

ds ryan 6 wants me to tell you he liked your report about the rides, and he thought your chart was pretty cool
poor bella feeling so sick and least she seemed to recouperate (sp?) quickly. tell her i think her socks and leggings made a very nice fashion statement. i have to tell you as much as i love pictures you tell the story so well i can just picture everything that happened.