birthday trip report...now finished!

[Brady's Mom]

Glad you had a good time and got there safely and back safely and had a chance to see StarWars! Sounds like you've been going and going! Looking forward to reading more about your adventures!

 

[bumbershoot]

We were dropped off, and it wasn't so bad, pulling up to the GCH in a bus. My silly brain was very silly afterall.

Let me go back in time...we have been using cash as much as possible, and we save all change. We have envelopes for things like "Robert's coffee" and "Molly's money for random stuff", and when we get change back, we keep the change in the envelope to the end of the month, then add it to the change jar. It's been very surprising how much we can NOT spend by doing that.

And the change jar was turned into our tip funds. I *hate* tipping. Even when I was in a tipped position I hated it, because I saw how unfair the cashout policies could be. I worked in a bar/restaurant, and the food servers/barmaids all shared tips with each other and the bartender. The bartender, however, did not share his with anyone. And he got HUGE tips. The barmaids got our own drinks and served them, but he got part of OUR tips. He had NOTHING to do with the food. And so often, even though we'd brought drinks, the customers would go tip the bartender, thinking that he'd had something to do with their service, and we got none of that. Now...we were actually paid normal minimum, not server minimum, and no credit cards were taken at the time b/c the place had no interest in dealing with estimated tips, etc, for the IRS. So that was nice, but the tipout situation was rotten, and I still hate tipping.

But I know it's expected, so we saved for it. And we saved almost exactly the right amount! So getting off the bus was the first of MANY tipping occasions....

Then we went in to store our bags, and another one of those tipping things happened. Sigh. So annoying. But at least it was fully funded in cash and we didn't run out.


We were SO tired. On the flight, E finally fell asleep about 50 minutes before landing. Augh. And of course if he's awake, at least one of us is awake, and since naps are almost impossible for me, guess who that one of us was. So tired.

We got in line to check in, and were helped quickly. Using a debit card, they do a $50 hold. Quite reasonable! Now...that was put on the card Saturday morning, and it's *still* pending...so that's a little annoying, but then for some reason Disney takes a LONG time to get out of pending status and into charge, so it makes sense that it takes a long time to drop off as well.

When he looked at our reservation, he smiled and said "Welcome Home", which is the DVC thing if you're staying "on points" (as we were doing, though not in the villas). Although I think it's ridiculously cheesy, I'll admit that in my exhausted state, it brought a smile to my face. I'm such a goof.

After carefully packing a carryon so that we could go swimming...there were problems:

1. it was on the chilly side
2. it was breezy!
3. we were absolutely wiped out

We made the decision to NOT swim at that time. Just didn't seem safe. I was sad. We did tour the pool area so we could see what we were missing, but we figured we'd be back to swim later on.


So we made our way to WhiteWater Snacks, where Eamon said he only wanted fruit, I decided on a egg salad sandwich, and Robert had a veggie burger.

The veggie burger turned out to be the same vegetable burger that caused the problems during E and my little trip in June, but the adults at the table found it to be quite delish.

Too much flash on the sandwich. It was pretty good. The strawberries were iffy, but then again, it's October, ya know? I wish they'd had wheat bread.

Before we gave in to the lure of the Dasani, we asked for cups for water, and got these. Also shown, the fruit cup that E ate half of.

As with most of our meals, it was somewhere in the vicinity of $20. Always turns out this way, it seems. It was good, and nice to have a proper meal, after waking up at sick-and-wrong in the morning, when no one but Robert is even near hungry.



I wish we could have swam b/c it would have helped E, but the grownups were too tired. I wish we could have napped, but no room yet. So E just posed in one of the ear hats we brought back from home.

 

[disneynerd420]

I'm looking forward to more!! Glad to hear that the Star Wars Concert was fun. I wanted to go to it when it was out here. Could not afford to though.

E does look like he should be in a commercial of some sort. I somehow picture it as a cereal commercial though.

 

[bumbershoot]

The concert was fun. That said...because it was so amplified, it *could* have just been a CD playing while watching parts of the movies...

The one super-cool thing I learned from it was that it's a flute that makes this crazy noise that I personally haven't heard in a movie, but have heard in youtube videos when I searched "star wars rap". It's like a tweeting twiddling crazy crazy noise and I had NO idea how it was made, and since I was a flautist in my youth, I was astonished and impressed to see that it's made with a flute!

Oh, and E has a really strong musical sense. No perfect pitch, and he's not going to start writing his own music, but he really really really gets into the music.

But really, it *could* have just been a loud CD...I think seeing it in a smaller venue where it didn't have to be amplified would have been *far* more impressive.

People did get VERY into it...I shouldn't have been surprised, and yet I was.

 

[rszdtrvl]

Oohhhh!! A trip report!

Subscribing.

 

[QueenDoOver]

Oh, and E has a really strong musical sense. No perfect pitch, and he's not going to start writing his own music, but he really really really gets into the music.

I love to see a kid enjoy music! Actually, I am very impressed with anyone with musical talent. My oldest plays trumpet and is in Jazz Band this year. It is his 3rd year, and while the journey has not always been easy, he is sounding pretty good now. A funny story about Nathan. I was taking him to Andrew's trumpet lesson, and when Andrew transitioned into practicing Jazz with a CD, Nathan started practicing with his mouth (there is a specific term, but I can't remember it) and he was darn good at it. Right on beat and in tune. The teacher paid him so much attention about it that I had to stop bringing him to the lesson as it drove his brother crazy. DooWhap DooWhap

On another note (pun intended)...you are totally kicking my but in the trip report department. I have been insanely busy since returning, but today, after I finish two real reports for work, I am going to put in a session on my TR before heading off to the audiologists to get a new pair of hearing aids for number son number one that come with some high tech devise that can send sound to his ears via blue tooth techonology, like the TV or even his ipod, and maybe the FM system, and then it is off to The Flying Pig for dinner and The Silvertips hockey game. Wow, that was a lot more info than you needed, but I guess I am just making excuses

 

[bumbershoot]

No need for excuses or guilt. I'm fairly certain that anyone with more than 1 kid, who has a paying job (which I think you do, yes), is allowed to be slower than, well, me.

Though even I will be away for a good part of the day, as I'm finally crying "uncle" and taking E up to Bastyr. (for those not in the area it's a naturopathic college with a clinic...it's as close to the urgent care as I'm going to get unless symptoms were to get a whole lot worse than just nagging continued nonsense and lips that look like the Joker, LOL)

Gotta go get sleepyhead up and dressed; why did I make a 10:30 appointment up in Seattle? E and I sleep late around here!

 

[QueenDoOver]

No need for excuses or guilt. I'm fairly certain that anyone with more than 1 kid, who has a paying job (which I think you do, yes), is allowed to be slower than, well, me.

Though even I will be away for a good part of the day, as I'm finally crying "uncle" and taking E up to Bastyr. (for those not in the area it's a naturopathic college with a clinic...it's as close to the urgent care as I'm going to get unless symptoms were to get a whole lot worse than just nagging continued nonsense and lips that look like the Joker, LOL)

Gotta go get sleepyhead up and dressed; why did I make a 10:30 appointment up in Seattle? E and I sleep late around here!

Oh, see, I knew I could count on you to go easy on me. You are too nice. Bastyr is nearly to my house! If it wasn't for that darn paying job, etc.. we could have had a play. Well, the rain does also put a damper on that, but they do have that really great play area at St Edwards there.

I have made a start on my TR and will post it soon!

 

[bumbershoot]

...Nathan started practicing with his mouth (there is a specific term, but I can't remember it) and he was darn good at it. Right on beat and in tune. The teacher paid him so much attention about it that I had to stop bringing him to the lesson as it drove his brother crazy. DooWhap DooWhap

Yay for Nathan! And your poor older boy, having N do that. My brother has always been SO much more talented than I am in almost every way, and it is indeed maddening.



The appointment went well, and they have him taking a wellness formula (which is, annoyingly, almost the exact same thing I'd bought at Fred Meyer) and this amazing lip balm that has taken him from The Joker type lips to just one little blob of extra redness and some peeling skin inside of 36 hours. WOW. Poor dude, though, we also had to go to a lab for them to get some blood for a CBC, just to see if there's some big infection going on; they also took a swab to culture. We'll go back on Friday for a followup, see how he's doing and if anything showed up as positive and if he needs anything else.

There was one thing that happened during the trip that has caused my extreme concern over his lips, and from discussion of that reason, I learned that salt water can kill staph in the mouth! How awesome is THAT?

UW Med Center's lab on Roosevelt has Lana the amazing blood-getter...she was incredible. How I wish it had been her taking E's blood when he was a day old...for some unfathomable reason, on his 1st day earthside they sent someone up from the lab to take blood for the PKU test, but instead of a heel stick or slice, they actually used a needle and drew two vials of blood...we could not get an answer as to WHY she was doing this, she didn't let us hold him so he just screamed in the bassinet thing (it was the ONLY time he was in that thing) while she did it...there was never any extra tests in his records or in the itemized bill I had sent...so we still don't know WHY they did that to a one day old baby... Lana couldn't figure it out why (I was having some PTSD that we had to talk about really quickly so they knew they might need to help ME as well as him) either...no one has ever been able to explain/understand why they did it that way...not even my stepmom, a NICU nurse.

Anyway, Lana was much much better than that. Plus, he got a sticky lizard, a paddleball thing, and a yoyo that lights up after they drew his blood.

And then we got stuck in the Land of Traffic Jams. From the moment we got back on 5 from the 45th exit area until we got home, there were four of them. At one point we hadn't even moved for something like 10 minutes on the freeway...that one turned out to be a car fire, yikes. The jam before it was b/c a car had just stopped in the middle lane south of Southcenter. Just an awful day to drive!!!


All the while, Robert got to spend the day in Canada with co-workers, and they got back so late he just took the rental car home then had to wake up at 6am to take it back inside of 24 hours. Poor dude. Then again, he didn't have to deal with the blood draw, so I think we both had bad days in different ways, as did E (since he was the one stuck with the needle).


Before I move on in the report, I need to reconcile the expenditures. I think it's really important to do that for future trips (not that one will be taken by the family for a year or so), so that we can more appropriately save for each portion of the trip.

 

[QueenDoOver]

Oh man, and I thought you were really going to tell us how much you spent on water. I swear I spent a fortune too! Makes me crazy, but it was pretty warm and hydration is so important. By the way, when I eat at WWS, I just take a bit soda glass and fill it full of ice water and leave the lid off, and they never charge me

 

[bumbershoot]

To be honest, I thought it was more, but the receipts aren't adding up to as much as I thought. But...since 3 big waters = 8.37, and we did get that order more than once...it's more than a couple cases from Vons would have cost.

But I changed the title before I checked out the receipts.

We did WWS twice and got free cups of water, most definitely.

 

[bumbershoot]

When last we left, er, us, we were noshing at WWS. E did not eat all the fruit cup as he insisted he would, but he ate half, and honestly, if I'm complaining that my kid only ate half the fruit cup that he asked strongly for, well, I don't have much to complain about...

We didn't pay for water during this meal; we asked for water cups and they gave us clear plastic cups to use the soda fountain water spout. Not bad!

We decided that DCA was missing us, and we really needed to go there. So Robert went off to bell services to stash my canvas carryon in which I had packed swimsuits, b/c frankly it was getting really heavy just carrying it around the hotel...

And so we went to the DCA/GCH entrance.

*************
Let me back up!

Before the trip, there was much discussion over the "are MMs still included with resort stays" issue. It was resolved by the OP when they stayed and had them included, but I always feel it's important to add more experiences, so I'll give you mine.

On the sheet of paper you get at checkin, the Grand News, on the back, top left corner:

Magic Morning in Disneyland Park!

As Guests of our hotel, we would like to invite you to a Magic Morning inside Disneyland Park!

Magic Morning is offered exclusively at Disneyland Park on Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Select Fantasyland and Tomorrowland attractions will be available one hour prior to general public. Be sure to bring your park ticket and Key to the Magic for entry.

*All information, attraction and facility availability is subject to change without notice.


And as we checked in, the CM circled Sunday and Tuesday and wrote the time of each day's MM for us on that paper.

So that's nice.

*******************

So we took our APs and our room keys (just in case), which are marked with everyone's names, even Eamon's (gosh they love us, since we all have different last names), and made our way to the entrance.

They didn't need the Keys to the Magic at that hour (after noon by then, I believe), but they needed to stamp our hands. Upon *entering* the park. And by park I mean DCA. And we're APs, so we almost never have our hands stamped. I expressed surprise, and the CM got a faraway look in her eyes (goes along with having dealt with heavy crowds recently, I've noticed) and said that DL had closed for capacity the day before, so they were making SURE people got their hands stamped that day, just in case.


After we got over that surprise, we were so happy to be there in DCA. We just love it there. Not sure if I've mentioned that before...it often slips my mind and I forget to state it...a million quadrillion times...

I see by our food receipt that we paid at 12:21. So we would have entered DCA after 1. Well, we're quite used to waiting 40 minutes for TSMM, so we headed over there to see what the line was like. On the way past, we grabbed a FP for Grizzly, just because we could. The TSMM line was acceptable, so we hopped in!

DS loves Potato Head. Wants PH to acknowledge him. Someday I'm sure he will, but he hasn't yet. As we got towards the switchback that leads to the sort-of enclosed building area, Robert finally noticed that they always have the chain open to the midway games area...I assume it's for easy bathroom exits? it finally bothered Robert. However, we found it helpful only moments later when E was messing around with the chain next to it and slammed his mouth on it. At first we didn't think it had done much; I looked at his teeth and they were fine, but within moments we saw that he had damaged himself...I left Robert in line to let people pass him on by (he just stood against a wall in line so we could come right back to him) so I could assess the damage without grossing everyone out.

Turns out he fell with his mouth and as he smashed the chain his mouth opened, and he cut the frenulum between upper gums and lip. Sigh. Poor dude.

It stopped bleeding very quickly and he really wanted to get back into line, so we did just that, joining up with Robert who was still standing in the same spot in line. It didn't swell much either, and by the time we got through the semi-indoors part to get our glasses, you can only tell by the sort of sad expression on his face (which could just be exhaustion).

Well, as usual the ride was fabulous! Had great fun.

Then DS and DH went on the Triton's carousel. From the ride on TSMM, I could tell that this wasn't going to be a thrill ride visit for me. I got really dizzy just on Toy Story...didn't feel all that well! I think the stress and the sickness, and not having been to the chiro in so long all combined to make me feel just really nervous about whipping my noggin around. So I didn't go on the carousel with E; rarely do!


And this is what I have in my notes after Triton: "blah blah, shop". Hmm. Helpful.

I think we were just so wiped out from the trip that we just wanted to look around. And Eamon wanted to buy something for me for my birthday. While at home, he told Robert that he knew exactly what he wanted to get me, and they got my permission to buy a present (I'm not normally one to relish presents for myself). So they went off to do that after whatever "blah blah" was, while I went to Guest Relations to *try* to get the Disney Debit card rewards dollars card. While the guys shopped, they got the text that our room was ready, and found out the number. Yay, a room!

We met up after the shopping and Guest Relations visit. In the meantime I had heard from QueenDoOver either by text or phone, can't remember, and I knew her plans were for Grizzly then their room. That was exactly OUR plan, too.

And as we made our way over towards Grizzly, I saw a cutie-boy that caught my eye, looked for a parent, and there she was! Tracey and I had a hug (we live in western WA; how ELSE do you greet someone???) and found out that they'd just been on GRR. We let them go, and went to redeem our FPs. I put on my poncho in record time and we were put into a raft with two groups of two, and the majority of us were wearing ponchos. As we approached the first downhill, over the PA we heard the watchful CM calling us cheaters for wearing ponchos.

Great great ride, lots of fun, as usual! And amazingly, my legs did NOT react to the scary Grizzly water this time! Woo!!!!!!

Well, since we knew our room number, it was time to visit.

 

[bumbershoot]

Those were all taken on or from the 5th floor shortly after you get out of the elevators. Our room was 5165, which was close to the very last room in that wing (I think there's actually a wing beyond it, but in THAT wing, it's two rooms before as far as you can go).

 

[bumbershoot]

As I mentioned, we were in 5165, and it was a nice room. Even though it was a normal room, there was a DVD player, which was lovely.

It's a DTD view room, and I wish we had spent more time out on the balcony. Alas, our next door neighbors (along with being WAY too giggly in the evenings) were smokers, so our time out there kept being cut short. Sigh.

It was pretty much right across from Naples in DTD, and we kept wishing for a trampoline. Because to get to the DTD gates into the hotel we had to walk past where the room was, all the way down that length of the hotel, in, under another length of the hotel we'd soon have to walk back along, to the elevators...right out of the elevator, turn, back along where we'd just walked on the 1st floor, right, back along the corridor we'd walked along in DTD, and finally to our room. One night E was falling asleep as he walked, and of course that was the ONE time we went to the parks without the stroller, and I got to carry him all through the hotel. I think I remember over 600 steps before I had to stop counting for my sanity's sake...kid's almost 50 lbs and 45" tall...I'm only 5'3"...it was a very very long walk.


It was a 2 queen bed room.

I'm not lying about the DVD player! Thank goodness I'd heard about the possibility of this happening, and hubby brought DVDs. We watched Nemo for awhile while waiting for our bags and getting re-energized.

E took these from the room looking out onto the balcony and beyond.

They gave me my present early. Eamon got me a link bracelet with little colored Mickey heads, and E chose, with R's help, an extra link with a rose quartz extra link for my October birth month. He also got me a necklace, but it was NOT my style, and neither of them minded that I wanted to return it, since the bracelet was the main gift, and I definitely liked that. I returned the necklace a few days later, and it actually was refunded fully days before the initial charge came out of pending on the account!

I still have no idea how E had seen those bracelets or why he remembered them, but Robert said he went straight into Greetings from CA and right to the jewelry, and pointed out the bracelet.

On our last day, I got a May birthstone color Mickey head, because E felt that the link that comes with the bracelet represented Robert already, then there was my pink one, and he needed to be "on" the bracelet too. Awwww.



Well, we decided that food was needed. We decided that Storytellers would be nice, and walked down, but it was massively crowded, and walkin times were at about 30 minutes out. No thanks...

DS just wanted the make-your-own pizza, which of course they have at PCH Grill as well, and so we went there, again. We always end up there, and always enjoy it! As we walked there I called Disney Dining (doesn't everyone have it in their phones?) and they were talking crazy-talk about when we could get in, so I hung up politely...walked up to the podium in PPH, and we were seated immediately. Maybe 4 other families seated in the whole place. Yay.

And...DS promptly sat on his knees on the seat, then pushed back, and fell back in slow motion...it would have been fine, but he overcompensated with his torso, and smooshed his tummy against the edge of the seat as he got to the floor (edge of seat now facing upwards, and he kept his torso up during the fall, if that makes sense). That *hurt* him, and we had to make a mad dash to the bathroom (closest restaurant-table-to-bathroom run we've ever done!) so I could check him out without him bugging the other patrons too much. Of course they were really just worried about him, but I felt it was nice of me anyway.

And although I had thoughts of broken ribs and lacerated spleens in my mind, he got better quickly, and was only sore about 15 minutes later. Again I say, poor kid!

And I'll take an aside to say, and we mean it this time, NO MORE early morning flights!!!! It's just too hard on us. No room to rest in, no pool b/c it didn't feel safe with the exhaustion, etc etc. Turns out that our trip in May '08, when the day we arrived was a blockout day, was the BEST thing for us. So I'm planning for that OR we're coming in the day before, and NOT hitting a park until we're well rested. I keep saying this, and it keeps not happening, and it's making me batty. Especially because of the person causing it. (note: the person is not Robert, and it's not Eamon)


The face of exhaustion, banging his lip, and falling to the ground with the chair...

He loved his pizza as usual!

Robert and I shared the quesadilla (without chicken) appetizer and the pasta with marinara. Both were good.

But...I do NOT recommend eating a red sauce after eating molten lava...er, after eating the peppers inside the quesadilla. For some bizarroland reason they made just the quesadilla without anything but cheese in it, and had the peppers (hubby says Poblano, I say Anaheim) on the side. Well that just bugged us, so we were SURE to eat every last bit of the peppers....ouchhhhh. Finished that then had the red sauce...ouchhhhhh. Plus I couldn't really taste the marinara taste. Too busy with the burning from the peppers.

I had the cold leftovers the next day, and it was really good! I just couldn't really taste it after the quesadilla, b/c of the hotness of the pepper. As usual, the salsa and quacamole were delish...though the quesadilla itself might have been a bit smaller than it used to be....


I don't remember why, but from there we went back up to the room (oh, probably to get the stroller and blanket?), where we found they'd already done the turn-down service (standard at GCH) and positioned the two stuffed animals E had brought from home.

 

[bumbershoot]

We got ready quickly and headed on out. We needed to meet up with Tracey and her friends, who were holding spots for the fireworks and had so sweetly offered that we could join them.

We were so overwhelmed by the sea of humanity in the castle area! When we've seen the fireworks, we just sort of stop wherever we can without being in the way, and deal with the view. So we never pay much attention to those sitting for ages. It's just NOT going to happen right now...Robert and I like doing things too much, the benches aren't *that* comfy, and Eamon would never stand for a big long wait!

I could tell E was getting very very tired, and we asked if he wanted to see the fireworks or not. He said he did, and we agreed that we would let him sleep if he slept, and then wake him up for the fireworks. I love how he's getting older and it's easier to make mature decisions like that.

We went into the roped off section and just sort of stood around, looking, and kind of held a spot just in case we couldn't find them...but T and I got in touch, then we spotted her walking by, and they happily had room for us!

I don't know how T feels about me, but I just adore her. She reminds me of a college friend of mine back when the friend was in college (my friend has changed a bit now). And her son N is so so so cute! T's friends were really nice, and their son is adorable. So it was a nice time, at least from our perspective.

E did in fact sleep, and as fireworks time approached we woke him up. I did get to hold him on my hip for the fireworks, which is tiring, but it is also nice to help him when he would get scared by the loudness, or by the oogie boogie man, etc. Actually he was fine with the OBM, but the female villians were just freaking him out.

The fireworks were just incredible. I'm short, and where we (me and E) were standing was in such a spot that a tree blocked half our view of the big ball they project Jack, etc, on, but we could see the rest of it just fine! Zero flew and that was cool, and I was really impressed at the songs and the actual fireworks...I didn't know you could set them to go so FAST and in synch!

The other day I looked up the fireworks on youtube and found a GREAT HD video of them, and it made us all so happy we'd seen it in person! Just incredible.


When the fireworks were done, T etc were going to do a ride or two, and we thought we were going back to sleep, but we all woke up it seems. First we thought of Peter Pan, but it was going to be 20 minutes or so before FL opened back up. Then we thought about Pirates but I realized we'd be fighting the Fantasmic traffic. I think we ended up on Star Tours, and I feel like we did one or two other rides but I just cannot remember what.

I do know that we stopped to snag some cookies on our way out, at just before 11pm.

That was a LONG day.

We all fell to sleep almost as soon as heads hit pillow. E slept on his own bed, which is not usual in our family, but with queen beds, 3 people together doesn't work all that well. I wish I'd waited just a moment more before I passed out, because the pillows were so big and not squishy that I woke up with a horrid head and neckache, so bad I *had to* medicate in the morning, and I HATE medicating.

But sleeping was nice, and Robert had arranged a wakeup call in the morning, and at the disneyland resorts, a normal wakeup call involves a character. So we were sure to let E answer the phone (which involves saying loudly "E, answer the phone, someone wants to talk to you!"), and nothing wakes the kid up better than hearing Mickey Mouse say goodmorning.

 

[BillyFan]

Loving your report, Molly!

And I know what you mean about the early flights. I do the same thing, because I don't want to miss a minute of the magic. The last time we went to WDW, we took the red eye and made it to Animal Kingdom in time for rope drop. That ended up being the most exhausting day ever, walking around AK half asleep, and in fact falling asleep in the Lion King show, which I hear is fantastic!

 

[bumbershoot]

Thanks for reading, enjoying, and commenting!

Oh gosh when we go to WDW it's going to take a ridiculous amount of strength to not totally destroy our first day by bad choices in flights. I think the only way to really do it is if we fly into a different airport and start off in Port Orange visiting the family. But then that requires a rental car to get up to Orlando, and then we don't get the fun of Magical Express...so it saves the first bit of our trip, but takes away some of the fun. Quandries...


Heh heh heh...seeing everyone's October dates is making me dream of finding a few hundred bucks and getting on down there...it's not going to happen, but it's fun to think about!

 

[bumbershoot]

The 11th dawned far too early. It was Sunday, and a Magic Morning day, and that meant being at the parks before 7am. Ouch.

I got up first, and was in the shower quickly, so I missed the wakeup call from Mickey. Someday Robert or I will answer, just so we know what the high-voiced mouse says...E is always so asleep when he answers, and as he says "why does Mickey talk so fast", and he still can't give a clear answer to the question "what does he say?" But it gets him up, and that's good.

Our communication FAILED this morning, but it worked out, though I was still kind of annoyed. Hubby said it was a certain time, and I was shocked, because time had just JUMPED, but it got me scurrying (I started preparations early, but faded in the middle, and was last done, which is unusual for us).

As we walked through the hotel I was amazed at how few people were out (as in, no one). As we went into DTD I saw no one. Odd, since I thought it was almost 7. And I was kinda of peeved at it being that (relatively) late, but I figured it was somehow my fault, though I couldn't figure out HOW. I'd gotten up at something like 5:00 with no Snooze!

We got towards World of Disney, and there was a HUGE line...what????? Thankfully, Robert asked if it was the line to get in, and we were told that it was the "pin line". Robert moved on, but I wanted to know what pin. Turns out it was the release day for a pin based on the Alice in Wonderland ride, and it had a tiny piece of "the ride" in it. Only 1000 released. The line, we found out later, was to pass out wristbands which guaranteed you a pin later...it wasn't even for the pin itself!

So we walked on by, so glad it wasn't "our" line. Got to security and they were just setting up the tables and such.

OK, I thought...what's going on? It should be after 7 by now! I spoke up. Robert tells me that it was just about 6:30.

So here's my face. (sick b/c I'm always, and always have been, nauseated in the early mornings...made going to school SO fun)

Happy it was so much earlier, but BUMMED that I'd thought we were late. Back and forth.

Robert insists he didn't lie about the time, I insist that I heard what I heard...one of life's mini-mysteries I guess. And Robert thought he was going well b/c he knows I always want to get there early, and he figured the bag check would be totally open by then, because we always have to wait before MM starts anyway...but I'm not sure we've ever been to a 7am MM on a Sunday...


While we were waiting, we saw now the "pin people" handle bathroom breaks. You have to get a special card that gets you in and out of the esplanade and gets you back into line.

And I felt SO bad for this one couple...they were coming through the esplanade to the DTD area...turns out they'd been waiting on the Harbor side, thinking that was a pin line too...no no no, only one pin line, and they were completely out of luck to get one of the wristbands...I felt so bad for them. But I saw them later in the park and they seemed fine, so at least it didn't ruin their day.


The bag check people only opened their lines about 10 minutes before, if that far away from opening time.

And people...sprinted to the turnstiles. Sprinted! Seriously people...there's *no one* in front of you. And the gates are closed. And almost ALL of them have the Magic Morning sign over them.

It was just odd. I have no problems with walking briskly...but putting yourself into harm's way by sprinting on dewy concrete just isn't my thing.

We ended up first at a gate. Robert had some dreams of being The Family, but the people at the gate next to us were going on about putting on their big smiles, that there was "nothing wrong with begging" to be the family chosen to open the park, and how great it would be to get that honor *another* time...and it just really soured Robert on it.

And those people were indeed chosen, woo for them! Almost no one there to see it, no photopass people, no media etc...but they were the family inside the gates first! (I know that sounds almost bitter...it's more meant to be funny)


While walking down Main Street I offered Space Mountain up to Robert...he was so amazed I didn't want to go on it first, but since I was so dizzy I knew I wouldn't be going on it. So we stroller-swapped (lol...he'd been pushing it, YES we keep our strong sturdy 5 year old in it in the mornings b/c otherwise there's no brisk walking) and he veered to SMGG while E and I went on to Peter Pan.

Got on PP in record time. Robert, over in Tomorrowland, got on SMGG quickly and really enjoyed it, though he never felt the need to go on it again. We actually went on PP twice, I believe.

A plea to Bjorn users...if you really really insist on wearing your baby facing strangers, please at least wait until they have true support of their head, as the instructions, which I just looked up, state (and they only state the idea of wearing an older baby facing forward as an IF, not a "you have to"). Please. It's just not safe for baby's head to be bobbling all over while facing forward. But really, just dump the Bjorn and get an Ergo. It's named "ergo" for a reason; it's more ergonomic for baby AND you...supports baby's pelvis much better, and having baby facing you stops the startle movements of baby's arms and legs, which canNOT be good for the tiny spinal muscles which have to tighten to stabilize your spine with EVERY little startle reflex movement baby is making...

Sorry, there was a couple in the PP line with a *tiny*, floppy, infant facing forward, and I just wanted to...to....do something about it, but I'm too chicken. I mean, it's not like I carry my old Ergo around with me, and I'm not just going to GIVE it to someone...and the stupid eye wrinkle with stern face makes people think I'm angry when I'm very much not, and when I AM angry about someone doing that with their tiny baby's body and mental wellness (babies should be able to hide their faces if they need to), well, yeah, stuck in the Peter Pan line is NOT the best place for me to say something.


OK sorry, it was an enjoyable flight, even though during the first time through I thought E had lost his Skellington gloves. After we got off the ride I asked him all casually where they were...he said the stroller, they weren't there (b/c I had emptied it, carrying bag, water, and blanket on the ride!)...then finally realized that he'd put them in his cargo pants' snapping pockets. Good boy!

Off to Dumbo for a dizzying, uncomfortable ride, got a text from Robert, there he was!

Got E on Mr Toad's Wild Ride, which was wonderful b/c he'd refused so many times. He liked it (he liked it the first time he went too, not sure why he had boycotted it for so long), then we saw NO line for Alice and took that opportunity, then the guys went on the Teacups.

You can see that today was the mrmmustard (I'm messing up that username somehow) t-shirt transfer day. I had edited one to JUST Jack's face, and put it on a $2 black canvas bag, and I really enjoyed that. The guys LOVED wearing those t-shirts, and Robert now wants me to make things like that for him often! I'm quite sure that they'll be matchy matchy for every day at WDW, and I'll likely have to find some flattering shirts for myself, or get a whole bunch of little canvas bags from Michael's, to match them in *some* way.

It was approaching the end of MM, and we knew we wanted to ride HMH very first thing. Not during the dark when it's spookier, not during the day when the line is long. But Very First Thing.

So we had to get out of Fantasyland and get to the Frontierland rope drop. We debated, momentarily, just going behind BTMRR, but we weren't 100% sure about that, and opted to just go to Main Street. That worked well for us, and we were right at the rope.

This was the view in front of us while waiting around 10 minutes...

Robert had a nice conversation with a pin-trader-man...he and his wife (who was elsewhere at that moment) were very likely disers, but no one asked and no one told, LOL.


The rope was dropped, but not before the CM told people to NOT run, as the ground was wet and he didn't want anyone hurt. When he took the rope away, we all started off simply walking briskly (and carefully) but soon a teen boy started skipping, then sprinted once he was out of "reach" of the CM. Sigh.

We made it to HMH in one piece, and got a primo stroller-parking spot.

E had his shirt, his gloves, and his earplugs to "protect" him, and I held him during the stretching room. He still talks about the pictures in the hallway that change, wondering how they do that (we don't know either). He was a little spooked by the ride, but otherwise seemed to really like it!

On the plane (ride from Hades) going home, a kind person asked what he'd enjoyed at Disneyland, and he said HM was his favorite ride...I don't actually believe that, but he did at the time, and that's cool.


The guys wanted to ride BTMRR. I, with the dizziness, did very much NOT. And I know that Splash would be a must later on, so I opted to get FPs for it while they rode the wildest ride in the wilderness. As I came back towards HM from that errand, I noticed a fannypack with Tall Ships Tacoma on it...well that was held in summer of '08 right outside our window (we overlook Thea Foss Waterway, the pulp mill, the port, and Commencement Bay), so I said something to the man, his family came up, and it was a Dis'er! Raftislander, it turned out. It was really neat to meet, randomly, a Dis member.

But obviously we all had places to go and rides to ride, so I let them go and I went to meet the guys. While sitting on a bench, waiting, I had the opportunity to help the older members of an extended family group...their family members weren't explaining FP and rider switch in a way they could understand...the family members thought their elders got it, but when the elders were alone on the bench they expressed their confusion...I hope I was able to explain it in a different way that helped them...they said I did...their family came back as R and E did, and man did that family group have some GORGEOUS children!

As the 3 of us met up again, hey, there's Tracey and Nathan! Another chance meeting. They were finishing up their stay and couldn't talk long, but it was nice to have that moment.


After that, well, we were hungry. An hour of MM, two rides into the first hour...sure there were other things we could do, but nothing sounded better than seeing if we could get into Minnie's half an hour early. And off we went.

YUCK, should have just eaten my shoe instead. Seriously, gag. The guys enjoyed it, but I did NOT. Worst eggs in the universe. Thought I was in an episode of M*A*S*H when they complain about powdered eggs...potatoes were almost worse. They ran out of coffee on BOTH sides and it took more than 5 minutes just to get someone's attention so they could make some more...since it was only the coffee keeping me from asking for a refund for my meal, this was bad.

I finally found out that I kind of liked the Mickey waffles, which I normally seriously do not like. But unlike Storytellers and PCH Grill, Minnie's managed to keep the waffles soft and not dried out, and they tasted pretty good. Saving grace of the "meal", if you define meal as "honeydew with too much close-to-rind fruit, coffee, and a couple little waffles". Which, I suppose, many do, but I wanted eggs and potatoes and I was really really REALLY disappointed.

OK well they do have yummy mini-croissants filled with chocolate, but those aren't Minnie-specific.

The guys enjoyed their meals. E had a Nesquik chocolate milk, which isn't something we give him anywhere but Disney...no "trigger" ingredients, but there's junk anyway...OK maybe we got two of them for him, maybe he didn't drink both while there...whatever...it was either do that and feel better about the experience or ask for a partial refund for me, OK? Jinkies. Obviously I still feel guilty about that second Nesquik.

The guy beyond Eeyore, on the left, was so funny at the coffee machine. We were just outraged (I think maybe he wasn't as outraged as I was (he might not be as addicted as I am), but he played along) at their running out of coffee.


Somehow the meal ended up being far less expensive than I thought it would be. They do NOT charge tip right there...and I saw no money on anyone's table (though we did leave a bit of a tip), so I'm not sure how the vouchers are much of a value, since the vouchers always DO include tax and tip. With our 10% AP discount, 2 adults and one child equaled 58.69 charged by them.

Going through getawaytoday.com, 2 adults and 1 child = $82 Even adding the $6 AP discount back in, even adding a tip...I can't get up to $82...

Glad we didn't use GAT for the meal.


Successful morning so far, all in all!

 

[bumbershoot]

Bellies relatively full, we left the Plaza Inn.

We continued to talk about something that happened as we were checking in at the podium. They couldn't find my PS for a few minutes, so we had a chance to witness what happens when you run in to eat but haven't paid... When you pay, you get the receipt and a slip. You go towards the door, have your picture taken, then show your slip to another CM. They stamp your hand, have another CM greet you and talk to you, and show you a table. Then you're free to go about your food-gathering business.

Well as I was going to the podium, this guy parked an ECV at the ropes, then as I politely stood aside so he could come through on the path, he kind of hopped the rope and went in to meet someone. As I stood at the podium, I saw him already eating with a similar-aged woman. And as I noticed them, the CMs started murmuring together...I am a curious person so I politely told her I didn't mind her taking time to deal with a situation...mentally I added "as long as you speak up!"

So this guy who had hopped the rope, seems to have gone in the side door with his (I assume) wife, snagged large quantities of food, and started to snarf it down, with no one having paid for them. A few sweet looking CMs had to be dispatched to go over to check for handstamps...of course they didn't have them.

I heard the CMs telling them that they had to pay or leave.

They chose to leave. They had already eaten *quite* a bit (they were seated at the closest outside table to the podium, very visible). Free breakfast. grrrrrr.

So that was fodder for talk for a little while.

We made our way over to Pirates! Woo! Where the heck IS that one missing pirate???? Robert thinks the pirate with the kitty is who Gibbs was based on. Gibbs in POTC, not NCIS, of course.


Even though it was nowhere near warm, we decided to make our way to Splash. Hey wait, what's that???? The canoes were open! Well, of course those needed to be experienced by Robert, who had never been on them (as an adult at least...not sure about his childhood). Eamon tagged along.

I stood up top waiting...chatted with a dad who had been there at opening that morning and also witnessed the madness of people sprinting.

While there, I couldn't help but notice the CMs mopping the dock....

Now I know what you're thinking...Molly's just taking pictures of strong young men...yeah OK sure, but what I was really trying to capture was...


this.

What on earth is that poor little stuffed animal doing on the broom/mop????

 

[bumbershoot]

The other question for that moment was...how does dipping the mop/broom in river water help to clean off river water scum from a dock?????