Can We Do Magic Now? A 2016 TR Adventure. *Complete and DL Paris TR Link Added

[amazingact21]

Hey There, Darlin', apologies for being so absent. The Holidays really left me spinning without much free time. But I think now that they are over, I can get back to regular commenting and keeping up.

You had a lot on your plate during the holidays! I completely understand. I didn't have any guests staying at my house, and I still didn't make it on here much.

She is so dang cute!! Just precious.

YUS!!! Disney Win Moment!

NOT GOOD!!!!! Holy crap, I'd have died! If that ever happens again, SIT DOWN!

Thanks. Some times I miss her being this small. Now she's in full blown toddler mode, climbing on furniture and refusing to eat certain foods. It's been fun looking back at these photos and remembering her when she was still a baby.

 

[amazingact21]

March 1st, 2016 Part 3:

My family left Animal Kingdom after lunch, and the kids had no issue falling asleep for their naps.



Alex and I had learned our lesson on our May 2014 trip; there was no transferring them to their beds. They stayed put in their stroller!

And with the kids out of commission, Alex and I had an hour or so to ourselves. What’d we do?

Laundry.

Parenthood is exciting, ya’ll.

Actually, Alex stayed in the room with the kids and took a nap, and I went down to the laundry room and waited around for our load to complete its wash/dry cycle.

(Side note: Out of everything, I miss my American washer and dryer the most over here. I can live with the small fridge, the nonexistent dishwasher, even the oil heating. But man, I daydream about those massive top loader washers. My washing machine here can fit 3 towels in it at one time.

Three.

I have to do Alex’s uniforms one at a time.

And the dryer isn’t the same style as American ones, so there’s a water bucket I have to dump after each load, 3 different filters I have to clean out, and no heat control. I actually only use it for linens and jeans. Everything else gets hung on the line. And when you’re talking about 2 toddlers, a husband who wears work uniforms and PT gear, a dog that gets muddy every time he goes outside, etc etc I feel like all I do is laundry. Literally, every morning my husband sees me come down the stairs with a load in hand, ready to start the procession.

Don’t take your washer for granted, guys. It’s amazing.)


Everyone pretty much kept to themselves until it was time to get ready for dinner. We all had a momentary panic when I forgot our dinner time and looked it up only to realize it was half an hour away. For some reason, I thought our meal was at 5:45. Turns out, it was 5:05.

Oops.
My family and I did this crazy mad dash to get changed into nicer clothes and close up all our electronics and gather our bags before we rushed out of Pop. I forgot to mention earlier in the report that when we went to Disney Springs, my parents activated their Annual Pass and I bought a Tables in Wonderland card. With so many adults eating and nobody on the Dining Plan, I did the math and figured we’d at least break even on the card.

Of course, I hadn’t planned on getting sick and having to cancel our Coral Reef lunch the day before, but hey…it was still going to be worth it.

One of the perks of having TiW is the free resort valet parking for dinner reservations, so Alex wanted to take advantage of that and drive over to where we would be dining. My dad wasn’t quite ready to go when we were, though, so he insisted we go ahead without him. It was a weird confusion, and I ended up going with my immediate gang while my parents took a bus to MK and then hopped on board the resort monorail.

The entire ride over I was stressing that they weren’t going to meet us in time for our reservation. I mean, 30 minutes for a bus AND monorail ride.

No way.

However, luck was with us (for a change) and they showed up only 5 minutes late.

Not too shabby.


I couldn’t get away with bringing my mom and Alex to Disney and NOT eating at O’hana’s for dinner. It’s their favorite restaurant.

Me? Well, this was my 6th time there in less than 2 years.

Pre-move, I think the only place I ate at more was Chick Fil A, and that was because my kid was OBSESSED with the food. And it was quick.

Shoot, I don’t even think I cooked one of my more complicated meals that much in a span of two years.


It was a lot of O’hana.

But that’s what happens when you take multiple trips with different people. You run into the chance of repeating restaurants.

In my case, repeating them 6 times.

Yeesh.


Alex and I and the kids hung around upstairs while we waited for my folks.




[url=https://flic.kr/p/2jphahx]f1 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr[/URL]



Landon looks so little in that photo. It’s crazy to think it’s been almost a year since this dinner. He’s so grown up now; he’d probably not stand still long enough for me to take a similar picture. He’d be asking me to name all the flowers he saw and asking all the guests down below to tell him their names. (“Hi! What’s your name? I’m Landon. I’m 3. This is Evie. She’s my sister…”)


Alex checked us in as soon as we were all together and we sat down in the big wicker chairs right by the bar.



My dad had surprised me by bringing the shirt he’d bought in Hawaii (about eighteen million years ago) with him. My mom had told him about this “Polynesian dinner” and I guess he wanted to embrace the occasion.

This was not my dad, guys. Someone came in the night before this trip and switched him out with a doppelganger.

Originally, pre feeling like a bus had run over me, I had planned on ordering the pineapple lanai before our meal and making my dad get something equally as tropical and silly. However, considering the circumstances, I decided to pass.

Another fun little plan out the window. At least it wasn’t a big one.


Our table was ready fairly quickly, and we were soon all seated right next to the fire pit. Brownie points to the Poly for putting my dad in probably his favorite spot ever. Never mind the castle view on the other side of the restaurant, let’s look at the flames!

We’d barely been seated when our beverages appeared and food started flowing.



Landon was in a foul mood this night, so Alex and I did something we’ve only ever done about 5 times in his whole life. We gave him an ipad and let him watch Jake and the Neverland Pirates.

You know it’s been a rocky road when I’m pulling out screen time.

But. In the end, everyone was happier for it.

So I didn’t even care.


The food, as always, was delicious.





My dad loved the kebabs, and he practically floored us when Lelani (is that her name?) asked if anyone wanted some leis. My dad got up and got us each one.




Again, who was this man and what had he done with my dad?!?


Our servers that night were fantastic. I’ve had hit or miss experiences with the cast members here, but tonight was on point. Our server was very personable, and the assistant was cracking us up left and right. When my dad happened to make the comment, “Oh man, I could come here and just get the shrimp!” the server overheard and told us about a guy who only ordered water and ate 109 shrimp.

That was it.

He just sat at his table and had skewer after skewer of shrimp brought to him.
Ew.

I don’t even like shrimp.

But if I did, I don’t think I could handle 109 of them.

And what about the pot stickers? Or the bread pudding?

He missed out.

Not to mention, 50 dollars for shrimp.

Yikes.


The server also made my mom laugh pretty good near the end of the meal. She offhand said, “Man, someone’s going to have to roll me out of here.”

And the server swept by and casually pointed to a corner and said, “There’s a wheelchair right there, would you like me to go get it?”
My mom was mortified, but it gave the rest of us a good laugh.


Overall, the meal itself was fabulous.




It was our last great moment of the trip, because right as were coming out of the restaurant, Landon decided to get some mucus in his throat and had yet another protein spill.

Ugh, ugh, ugh!


Gosh, I was so embarrassed. It was a crappy moment. All throughout dinner I had been debating back and forth taking the kids to the emergency room and that kind of solidified it.


My mom and dad took off back to Pop while Alex and I drove the little ones to Celebration Hospital to get them seen.

We very rarely have to take them to the doctor, but our parental instinct was telling us Landon was more than just a little sick. He needed to get checked out, and Evie was showing the beginning signs of what Landon had, so we figured we might as well kill two birds with one stone.


We got there and signed in at 7pm.




Got back to a room at 9:30pm.




Finally left at 11:00pm. They made us stay extra long because Landon had a fever of 101 that wasn’t going down. They gave him some medicine and didn’t want us to leave until they were sure it was under control, and that took a good hour.

I am a bad judge of ERs and hospitals, because I’ve never been to civilian ones. Even my deliveries were at a local military hospital, so I can’t say one way or the other if Celebration was a good hospital. I know the doctor was really nice and empathetic. There was a shift change halfway, so we got two different nurses. One was good, the other was just all right.

Alex was a little peeved at how long it took, but I just took it in stride. In the end, I’m glad we took the kids in. Landon ended up getting a script for an antibiotic, and I think he really needed it. I ended up catching that mess the next week and it was terrible. One of the worst colds I’ve ever had.

Still, having the stomach bug and then having to go to the ER for your children stinks.

It shouldn’t have been allowed at Disney!


Up Next… Another One Bites the Dust

 

[Heidi Lou]

Okay your update literally had me tearing up thinking about my family being together again at Ohana as your's was.... then the hospital? break my heart!!!! I can only imagine how sad it must have been. Poor, sweet Landon! I was hoping your next update things would be on the upswing but "another one bites the dust"!!!!! not looking that way.

And I have to say reading a good review of Ohana gives me hope again. It has always been a favorite of mine, but when we were there last month, it was the worst service I have ever had at a restaurant in my life and that is no exaggeration whatsoever. Had my dad not been there, who is the nicest person you could ever hope to meet and would never complain about anyone, just always says you don't know what kind of day they are having, I would have 100% spoken to a manager. It still bothers me to think about how terrible it was...first night too! Horrible start to a vacation!

Anyway, hope y'all had a merry Christmas and happy new year!

 

[Dugette]

but hey, if you ever debated visiting DL Paris....we're here until summer 2019. We only live 5 hours away from the park, so a meetup would be easy. Plus, if you guys wanted to venture into Germany you'd always be welcome.

Well, we very much have had Paris/France/DLP on the radar. Tentatively spring/summer 2018 is what we're hoping to make happen. So, yay, you'll still be there! I have to say that it's very tempting to add some time in Germany, given we'll have a well-versed tour guide there. And I could even make use of my four years of high school German! We'll have to see what we can make happen.

Okay, I'll be back later the DIS is about to go down for the night!

Yikes, I hadn't thought about how you have to work around that over there!

Cute picture! Love how they are sleeping in sync.

Alex and I had learned our lesson on our May 2014 trip; there was no transferring them to their beds. They stayed put in their stroller!

Ha, I remember learning that lesson on our first WDW w/kid trip.

But man, I daydream about those massive top loader washers. My washing machine here can fit 3 towels in it at one time.

Three.

I have to do Alex’s uniforms one at a time.

That sounds awful.

And the dryer isn’t the same style as American ones, so there’s a water bucket I have to dump after each load, 3 different filters I have to clean out, and no heat control. I actually only use it for linens and jeans. Everything else gets hung on the line. And when you’re talking about 2 toddlers, a husband who wears work uniforms and PT gear, a dog that gets muddy every time he goes outside, etc etc I feel like all I do is laundry. Literally, every morning my husband sees me come down the stairs with a load in hand, ready to start the procession.

This is an excellent excuse to use this smilie:

Again, who was this man and what had he done with my dad?!?

Glad he was getting so into it!

It was our last great moment of the trip, because right as were coming out of the restaurant, Landon decided to get some mucus in his throat and had yet another protein spill.

Ugh, ugh, ugh!

Ugh indeed! Poor kiddo!

Still, having the stomach bug and then having to go to the ER for your children stinks.

That sounds like quite a nightmare. Thank goodness it wasn't a once-in-a-lifetime WDW trip for you. But still really awful.

 

[khertz]

What a yucky way to end an otherwise wonderful meal! Being sick at Disney stinks, but going to the ER because you're sick in Disney REALLY stinks!

 

[natebenma]

Last September, we ventured into France and went to Disneyland Paris for a few days.

You have the BEST Main Street photos of your kids! What is the story here? Why is nobody else there? Was there an early entry to the park or do the European visitors just not get up early? Or is it the rain?

Loved reading about your travel adventures, both past and planned.

Your family trip to Rome sounds incredible and the AirBnB place you will be staying should be great for your group. Looks beautiful!

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

That sucks about the bumpy safari ride.

You say it was not incredible, but I love the pictures of the hippos out of the water. You don't often see that. And the cheetah that was not lying down. Unusual sight.

The story about Landon wanting to go up to the Lion King characters during the show cracked me up. Never thought of that. Now he didn't try to do that during Disney Junior shows, did he?

So sorry to hear you got woozy on the walk over to lunch. I am a fainter. It has happened so many times that I can tell when I am about to lose consciousness, so I can usually sit down to stop it. It has not happened to me at Disney, but I have had a couple of close calls there. And once at an all-inclusive resort in the Caribbean. The people around me thought I passed out because I was drunk, but I was just hot, hungry and lightheaded.

Oh, wow, that is awful about your washing machine! I imagine you can never get that satisfied feeling of being caught up on the laundry.

Your meal at Ohana sounds pretty decent, at least until it was time to leave. Poor Landon. And his family

Great instincts to take the kids to the hospital. Much better to be safe than sorry.

 

[SarahDisney]

Yay for Doppelganger Dad having such a good time at O'hana!

Sorry to hear that you had to take the kids to the ER. That's definitely not the Disney fun you expect. But I'm glad that Landon ended up getting the medicine he needed - having the kids safe and healthy is really what matters most!

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Such a lovely happy update right until the hospital outing You really are having a whole different kind of Disney trip but I'm hoping that the antibiotics kick in quickly and Landon feels better soon.
Love all the places you've been to and are planning to see in Europe. I've been to London too many times to count (we went on our honeymoon as well because we both love it so much) and once to Disneyland Paris in 1999. It was a lot smaller then and crazy busy plus we found it so expensive getting there even though we are only a short flight away compared to going to WDW that we decided to save our holiday pennies for longer trips to WDW when wee needed our Disney fix I'm with Dee - how did you get such an awesome, empty photo of Landon and Evie on main street? It was wall to wall people the one time we went. Love that photo
Italy is amazing and so child-friendly. We haven't travelled to Rome but everyone who does seems to love it and yearn to return. We went to Tuscany and stayed near Vinci where Leonardo came from and visited Florence and Pisa (took the train as the drivers were more than a wee bit crazy lol). Cant wait to hear what you think of all the places you're set to visit
I did laugh when I read about your laundry - sorry- but I imagine its quite the shocker compared to what you're used to. My machines aren't as big as the ones we use on vacation in the US but they're definitely bigger that what you seem to have. I've gone from no tumble dryer a year and a half ago to having a condenser one since July 2015, which does have 2 filters to clean although only 1 needs cleaned each time, the other needs done every 2/3 weeks and it seems like heaven to me because I was so fed up with clothes drying on every radiator/bannister etc
Hang in there summer is coming so at least you hang clothes out on the line and enjoy that fresh air smell

 

[amazingact21]

Okay your update literally had me tearing up thinking about my family being together again at Ohana as your's was.... then the hospital? break my heart!!!! I can only imagine how sad it must have been. Poor, sweet Landon! I was hoping your next update things would be on the upswing but "another one bites the dust"!!!!! not looking that way.

And I have to say reading a good review of Ohana gives me hope again. It has always been a favorite of mine, but when we were there last month, it was the worst service I have ever had at a restaurant in my life and that is no exaggeration whatsoever. Had my dad not been there, who is the nicest person you could ever hope to meet and would never complain about anyone, just always says you don't know what kind of day they are having, I would have 100% spoken to a manager. It still bothers me to think about how terrible it was...first night too! Horrible start to a vacation!

Anyway, hope y'all had a merry Christmas and happy new year!

Thank you! With the exception of all this snow we've been getting (bleck) our holidays were nice. I hope yours was as well!

I cannot believe your experience at Ohana's. Well, unfortunately, I can, but that still shocks me. Why do the CM at this restaurant have to be so hit or miss? Sometimes, I get the impression that they are way overworked there. And that they sometimes feel we are a little ridiculous because they know how much work it took for us to get the reservation. Does that make sense? Like, "Oh, another family that woke up at 6 am months ago to book this place. They're crazy."

I hope that you never have that kind of terrible service again!

Well, we very much have had Paris/France/DLP on the radar. Tentatively spring/summer 2018 is what we're hoping to make happen. So, yay, you'll still be there! I have to say that it's very tempting to add some time in Germany, given we'll have a well-versed tour guide there. And I could even make use of my four years of high school German! We'll have to see what we can make happen.

Yay! I'll have to keep that in mind. Alex and I have been going back and forth sooo many times on what we're going to do with our vacations while we are here. For awhile, we were all going to go back to the states in 2018, but now it's looking like I'll take the kids by myself in 2017 and we'll use that final summer before Landon starts school to go on a big England/Ireland/Scotland tour.
But DL Paris and tour guide duties could totally fit in there...
If you're ever going to visit Germany, I'd highly recommend the summer. July, especially. It can get pretty hot, but all the castles are open and there's a new festival every weekend to attend.
And as for DL Paris...the cool thing about the area is that there is a train station right outside the front of the park that'll take you to Paris in 30-45 minutes. So if you wanted to combine the two you could. That's what Alex and I plan on doing when we go back *hopefully* this fall.

Yikes, I hadn't thought about how you have to work around that over there!

This is an excellent excuse to use this smilie:

Haha, I actually thought of that emoji as I was typing my silly rant. It's a lot of work, but it just makes me appreciate my American appliances more. I will certainly look at them in a new light once we return home.
I don't know what I'll be more excited to do. A real load of laundry or cook an entire meal in an "American" sized oven. My current oven has one rack and can't fit more than one pan in at a time.
Thanksgiving was a learning adventure...

Glad he was getting so into it!


Ugh indeed! Poor kiddo!


That sounds like quite a nightmare. Thank goodness it wasn't a once-in-a-lifetime WDW trip for you. But still really awful.

Very true. I would have been devastated had this been our one and only trip to Disney. Honestly, if this was my first time going to Disney, I don't think I would have returned. So on the positive side, at least this happened to vets like us who knew not to let one bad trip tarnish half a dozen great ones.

 

[amazingact21]

What a yucky way to end an otherwise wonderful meal! Being sick at Disney stinks, but going to the ER because you're sick in Disney REALLY stinks!

By that point, I was just happy to be doing something to get Landon some relief. He was so miserable, and I hated seeing him that way.
However, if I never have to go to Celebration Hospital on vacation again I'd be perfectly happy. That was one "first" I would've been okay never experiencing!

You have the BEST Main Street photos of your kids! What is the story here? Why is nobody else there? Was there an early entry to the park or do the European visitors just not get up early? Or is it the rain?

Haha, I'm planning on writing a trip report for our Disneyland Paris trip, I just haven't found the motivation to start yet. Plus, I know I'd be terrible at keeping two reports active and one would fall woefully behind. Better to finish this one up then move on.
But, the empty Main St. was kind of a combination of all your guesses. It was Extra Magic Hours, it was a low time of year, raining, and Europeans are late risers. Kind of a perfect recipe for us.

Loved reading about your travel adventures, both past and planned.

Your family trip to Rome sounds incredible and the AirBnB place you will be staying should be great for your group. Looks beautiful!

I am really looking forward to this trip. Alex and I need some dates before he has to leave for 6 months, and I can only think of 1 or 2 other places in the world I'd rather have them at.

You say it was not incredible, but I love the pictures of the hippos out of the water. You don't often see that. And the cheetah that was not lying down. Unusual sight.

That's true. I remember our safari driver being really excited about the hippos that morning.

The story about Landon wanting to go up to the Lion King characters during the show cracked me up. Never thought of that. Now he didn't try to do that during Disney Junior shows, did he?

We hadn't thought of that either. But it made sense. We tell him trip after trip, "Go up to Mickey...go give Pluto a hug...oh Ariel wants you to sit next to her." And then we see Simba and all of a sudden it's, "Stay where you are!"
Poor kid.

So sorry to hear you got woozy on the walk over to lunch. I am a fainter. It has happened so many times that I can tell when I am about to lose consciousness, so I can usually sit down to stop it. It has not happened to me at Disney, but I have had a couple of close calls there. And once at an all-inclusive resort in the Caribbean. The people around me thought I passed out because I was drunk, but I was just hot, hungry and lightheaded.

Oh no! That sounds terrible.
I mean, I guess it is good that you know the warning sides and can find someplace to sit down before it hits, but I still hate that you have to deal with that.
Thank goodness it's been avoided at Disney!

Oh, wow, that is awful about your washing machine! I imagine you can never get that satisfied feeling of being caught up on the laundry.

I haven't had an empty laundry basket since we moved here. While it's frustrating because I don't have that sense of "I don't have anything left to do" I have accepted the fact and have used it as a chance to be more economical about clothing. Plus, I tell myself the kids won't always get their pants muddy, they won't always spill yogurt all over their shirts. They won't always drop their juice and cause a floor toweling job. I'm sure one day there will be a part of me that misses their little grass stains pants and baby lotion smelling towels.

Yay for Doppelganger Dad having such a good time at O'hana!

Sorry to hear that you had to take the kids to the ER. That's definitely not the Disney fun you expect. But I'm glad that Landon ended up getting the medicine he needed - having the kids safe and healthy is really what matters most!

The hospital did sound terrible, but during the entire time I was just grateful Landon was getting the help he needed. It was well worth the trouble in the long run.

I really hope I can get my dad to return to Disney so that I can fully enjoy that crazy fun side of his.

 

[amazingact21]

Such a lovely happy update right until the hospital outing You really are having a whole different kind of Disney trip but I'm hoping that the antibiotics kick in quickly and Landon feels better soon.
Love all the places you've been to and are planning to see in Europe. I've been to London too many times to count (we went on our honeymoon as well because we both love it so much) and once to Disneyland Paris in 1999. It was a lot smaller then and crazy busy plus we found it so expensive getting there even though we are only a short flight away compared to going to WDW that we decided to save our holiday pennies for longer trips to WDW when wee needed our Disney fix I'm with Dee - how did you get such an awesome, empty photo of Landon and Evie on main street? It was wall to wall people the one time we went. Love that photo

I can see why you've been to London so many times. The minute I left I wanted to return again! I was barely able to scratch the surface of the city. Even my husband wants to go back. Right now, we are tentatively planning a big summer 2018 vacation where we tour England, Ireland, and Scotland. I can't wait!

Disneyland Paris is pretty expensive compared to what you get at Disney World. And the food at DL Paris....BLECK.
I'm not sure if it's because things have been systematically closed to gear up for the 25th Anniversary and the crowds have wanted to steer clear of that, but the parks weren't very crowded on our trip. I mean, we did go during a low time and it was raining, and that photo was taken during EMH, but I still don't think it was that bad. When I finish up this report, I plan on writing one for our DL Paris trip...

Italy is amazing and so child-friendly. We haven't travelled to Rome but everyone who does seems to love it and yearn to return. We went to Tuscany and stayed near Vinci where Leonardo came from and visited Florence and Pisa (took the train as the drivers were more than a wee bit crazy lol). Cant wait to hear what you think of all the places you're set to visit

My number two want to visit spot on my European bucket list was Florence. (London was number 1.) I would have preferred traveling there, but my sister in-law already had plans to go to Rome, and I wasn't going to argue. Besides...it's Rome. I've heard nothing but wonderful things about the place.
I can understand you taking the trains! We are flying and taking the trains, as well. No way am I going to test out my "proactive" driving skills!

I did laugh when I read about your laundry - sorry- but I imagine its quite the shocker compared to what you're used to. My machines aren't as big as the ones we use on vacation in the US but they're definitely bigger that what you seem to have. I've gone from no tumble dryer a year and a half ago to having a condenser one since July 2015, which does have 2 filters to clean although only 1 needs cleaned each time, the other needs done every 2/3 weeks and it seems like heaven to me because I was so fed up with clothes drying on every radiator/bannister etc
Hang in there summer is coming so at least you hang clothes out on the line and enjoy that fresh air smell

A condenser! Yes, that's the type I have.
I know those big appliances are an American thing, and 99% of the time I have adapted. There are just days (like when I was writing this update) when I have to try and wash the sheets on my queen bed, the kids' muddy pants, and Alex's work uniform that I miss my old creature comforts. It has taught me to be more appreciative and kind of enlightened me to how wasteful I was pre-Germany. While a hassle, I've definitely learned some better habits since moving to Germany.
And yes! All my clothes lines are currently right next to the radiators in order to get them to dry faster. I can't wait for summertime again!

 

[natebenma]

Oh no! That sounds terrible.
I mean, I guess it is good that you know the warning sides and can find someplace to sit down before it hits, but I still hate that you have to deal with that.
Thank goodness it's been avoided at Disney!

I have a bunch of fainting stories (like passing out and being propped up in a recovery chair next to Mark when he had his wisdom teeth out), several have happened in medical situations. I seem to have passed on that trait to Ben, unfortunately. A couple of weeks ago he was at the doctor's office for his annual physical. As teens, both of my boys now go in alone to the pediatrician. When it was time to meet up with the doctor, he told me "Ben almost passed out in my arms". He was getting a blood test where they prick your finger to draw blood and got woozy.

When they told me, I'm like "Yeah, that's from me" I guess I had never really explained that to the kids. OOPS!

 

[afwdwfan]

“If we can leave cookies out for Santa, then that means I get cookies, too.”

Can’t argue with that logic…

He's an incredibly intelligent kid.

ROME!!!!


Yes, yes, yes, we will be headed to Italy.

How flipping exciting is that?!

Awesome! I love that you're taking advantage of this opportunity to get out and see Europe while he's stationed in Germany!

Then, there’s a ton of smaller ventures my family will get to do that doesn’t require vacation time. Belgium is number 1 on my list, because I need to stockpile my pantry with their chocolate.

Reason enough for me. This trip should be scheduled on a regular basis every few months.

I was pretty embarrassed about what had almost happened and brushed it off. I was mortified just thinking about the sight I would have made had I fallen in the middle of Animal Kingdom. That would have been a lasting memory.

Young mom pulls up some ground and takes a nap right in the middle of a theme park.

Well, I'm certainly glad you stayed upright. But I'm sure you wouldn't have been the first, nor the last.

(Side note: Out of everything, I miss my American washer and dryer the most over here. I can live with the small fridge, the nonexistent dishwasher, even the oil heating. But man, I daydream about those massive top loader washers. My washing machine here can fit 3 towels in it at one time.

That's kind of funny from a few thousand miles away. But I'm sure no laughing matter for you.


I'm glad to see your dad really got into the Polynesian spirit! I know there's a lot of trials and tribulations on this trip, but I'm sure that seeing your dad let loose a little bit and enjoying the great interaction with the servers there is one of those memories you'll go back to for years to come.

 

[Steppesister]

OH no!! Such a shame that after such a nice meal and a fun time that you ultimately ended up at the hospital. YUCK and not a great way to spend a vacation. And the title of your next chapter doesn't offer much hope.

 

[Imagineer5]

oh, what an end to a fun night!!

First, I think it's super cute that your dad was so into the meal!! This is a family favorite (not my favorite) but on the top of my DH's list and we had a great big family meal here back in 2013 with 12 or so of us. Too bad about not getting to enjoy some drinks, though! I have never used the Valet parking TiW thing, I have no idea why! (yes, I did know about it lol)

and again, man that stinks about the ER visit, but glad that you got some antibiotics - did Evie ever need any meds?

Oh, on the washer/dryer. We had pretty decent luck with them in France (washer AND dryer in most places). But it reminds me of the time I bought bleach instead of washer detergent when we rented an apartment in Florence. I ended up bleaching a whole load of clothes halfway through our Italy trip. We did a little clothes shopping afterwards lol!

 

[amazingact21]

I have a bunch of fainting stories (like passing out and being propped up in a recovery chair next to Mark when he had his wisdom teeth out), several have happened in medical situations. I seem to have passed on that trait to Ben, unfortunately. A couple of weeks ago he was at the doctor's office for his annual physical. As teens, both of my boys now go in alone to the pediatrician. When it was time to meet up with the doctor, he told me "Ben almost passed out in my arms". He was getting a blood test where they prick your finger to draw blood and got woozy.
When they told me, I'm like "Yeah, that's from me" I guess I had never really explained that to the kids. OOPS!

Man oh man, I'm sorry to hear poor Ben has the fainting issue, too.
You do have to appreciate the irony in the wisdom teeth story. Usually it's the patient that has the crazy stuff happen to them, not the poor driver waiting out the surgery!

He's an incredibly intelligent kid.

Awesome! I love that you're taking advantage of this opportunity to get out and see Europe while he's stationed in Germany!

Reason enough for me. This trip should be scheduled on a regular basis every few months.

Well, I'm certainly glad you stayed upright. But I'm sure you wouldn't have been the first, nor the last.

That's kind of funny from a few thousand miles away. But I'm sure no laughing matter for you.

I'm glad to see your dad really got into the Polynesian spirit! I know there's a lot of trials and tribulations on this trip, but I'm sure that seeing your dad let loose a little bit and enjoying the great interaction with the servers there is one of those memories you'll go back to for years to come.

Alex and I agreed when we found out about the move that we'd try and see as much as possible while we were here. I don't know if I'll ever be back to Europe once we leave, so I want to make sure I get my fill.

You know, I think my dad going on this trip was our saving grace. I would have walked away from the trip a lot more frustrated and upset had my dad not been there. Even though it wasn't the best way to visit Disney for the first time in 13 years, I will always be appreciative of his presence there.

OH no!! Such a shame that after such a nice meal and a fun time that you ultimately ended up at the hospital. YUCK and not a great way to spend a vacation. And the title of your next chapter doesn't offer much hope.

It was a pretty rotten ending to the day, especially since it began so well. However, at the time, I was so relieved to have gotten some help for poor Landon. He needed it, and I don't regret that time spent at Celebration at all.

oh, what an end to a fun night!!

First, I think it's super cute that your dad was so into the meal!! This is a family favorite (not my favorite) but on the top of my DH's list and we had a great big family meal here back in 2013 with 12 or so of us. Too bad about not getting to enjoy some drinks, though! I have never used the Valet parking TiW thing, I have no idea why! (yes, I did know about it lol)

O'hana isn't my favorite place to eat at Disney, but I have so many family members that do enjoy it that I tend to keep going back. Usually, it's when there's a big group because I think it's kind of designed for that dynamic. Plus, with it being in a resort versus in a park I can invite some of our local family members to come and they do not have to purchase a park ticket to go.

and again, man that stinks about the ER visit, but glad that you got some antibiotics - did Evie ever need any meds?

Oh, on the washer/dryer. We had pretty decent luck with them in France (washer AND dryer in most places). But it reminds me of the time I bought bleach instead of washer detergent when we rented an apartment in Florence. I ended up bleaching a whole load of clothes halfway through our Italy trip. We did a little clothes shopping afterwards lol!

Evie never needed meds, and she didn't get sick as bad as Landon did. I like to tell myself that all those stories about nursing helping build antibodies was the reason why, but who knows.
You got a dryer in France? That IS lucky!
So sorry to hear about the detergeant mixup in Italy, though. Those names can be tricky. Fortunately, for us there is an "Ask a German" facebook group for our area that people can ask questions, get things translated, etc and someone local will answer. And with the search tool, I was able to find past inquiries about the best German detergents. That page has come in handy more times than I can count!

 

[amazingact21]

March 2nd, 2016 Part 1:

I hope you guys don’t mind too much, but I’m combining the rest of my trip into one big update broken into a few parts. I know it makes for a longer post to read, and I tend to not go this route because it means more details have to get brushed over, but I think my reasoning will make sense in a moment. Just wanted to apologize in advance if this is a tad longer than normal.

Sorry!


Wednesday morning everyone woke up fine.

Except for Alex.


He picked the winning numbers and was next in line for the stomach bug lottery.

C’mon down, hubs!


Poor fellow.


When my mom found out, she pulled me into her room and confessed that she didn’t want to stay at Disney anymore. Her reasoning was that if she was going to get sick, she’d rather be in her own home.
I couldn’t blame her. If I were in a similar position I’d probably have bailed, as well.


So, my dad began packing and loading up their stuff while my mom offered to watch the kids long enough for me to go to a pharmacy and fill Landon’s prescription. I bought a lot of other provisions while I was there and might’ve spent a minute or two in the car mulling over how awful things were turning out.

Around eleven o’clock, my parents went down to the desk and checked out early and Pop actually refunded them that night of their stay as well as the remaining days they weren’t using. Meanwhile, I was a short ways down from them at concierge cancelling our 50’s Prime Time Café lunch.

Boo.


My mom was really upset at leaving me and the kids, and my dad was being really supportive by telling her they could stay, but in the end it was the right decision.

We weren’t enjoying a vacation.

In their hearts both of them wanted to be back home, and I wasn’t about to stop them.

With Alex out of commission and the grandparents gone, the kids and I had a very boring day. We ate lunch and dinner at the food court, watched a ton of television, caught the Star Wars fireworks outside, and took a long walk around Pop and Art of Animation.


Don’t believe me? These are the ONLY photos I took that day.







[url=https://flic.kr/p/2jpmVGQ]f1 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr[/URL]





It was on that walk that I made a decision.

I was going on a break with Pop Century.

It wasn’t that I didn’t like Pop. It had turned into my go-to Value resort. It held a special place in my heart. Landon’s first stay was at Pop.

I’m not never going to stay there again.

But I’m not doing it in the next 10 years or so.

I need a long breather from the resort and that terrible week. When a family of 4 is sharing one of those small rooms and half the guests get sick and you’re trapped on the resort grounds for 3 of the 4 days of your vacation, you develop a tiny resentment to the place.

I know it’s not Pop’s fault, but it’s also not my fault that I could practically tell you the number of steps it was from our room to the food court or our room to the laundry building. By Wednesday night I could have told you how many bushes I saw from the elevators, how many smoking areas stood between our car and room, and how many lounge chairs there were by the Hippy Dippy Pool.


My eyes were sick of Pop Century.
(And a year later, my feelings are still the same. If I have to stay at a value my next trip, it’s going to be All Star Sports.)

Well, that was Wednesday.


On to:

Thursday, March 3rd, 2016:

Alex recovers from these kinds of things really quick. I mean, faster than most normally should.

It’s something that irritates the snot out of me…


By the previous night, he was feeling well enough to watch the fireworks with us and eat a small dinner.

That jerk.

So, on Thursday morning, he woke up confident that he could make it through our morning plans. He was feeling functional, and I was back to having all cylinders firing.

We could do it.

Alex was very optimistic and he influenced me.


Today was the day we had our pre-park opening breakfast at Crystal Palace. The park was set to open at 9am, and our reservation was for 8:40am.

If it was any other dining reservation, we would have canceled. (Like we had the 2 others.) But this was our one MUST DO on the trip.


MUST. DO.


Alex and I had been dreaming about getting photos of Evie on an empty Main St. the moment we made our trip reservation. We wanted to recreate the amazing ones we’d gotten with Landon in 2013.


If we could battle out a toddler’s cold, a stomach bug, family leaving, and a hospital trip, the universe would help us out by letting us have this one thing go our way.

Right?


????


We arrived at the Magic Kingdom at 8:30.

f2 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr

Alex and I weren’t too worried about having a lot of time. So long as we could put Evie on the ground and snap a couple photos, we would be good. We weren’t looking for too much.


We went through bag check and turned to the left, where the line for early entry normally is.

And we saw Cast Members unhooking the ropes under the train station and allowing everybody to pour inside.


The Magic Kingdom had decided to open 30 minutes early that morning.


…

……


So instead of strolling in alone, we got to follow the masses under the station tunnel.

Guys, I wasn’t just upset.

I was crushed.
Any optimism and hope I’d had left was out the window.

I was done.

Eyes filling with frustrated tears done.

Alex and I went through so much crap, had dragged two cranky kids out of bed, had kept out hope that this one thing was going to be great….and we had the rug pulled out from under us.


You better believe we still stopped on Main Street and took some photographs.
We were there. We were going to get our motherloving pictures.








Is the frustration evident on my face? Because I sure felt like it was.







This was our best “ears” shot.








And our Photoass picture:







We still went to Crystal Palace, although in hindsight we probably would’ve saved money if we’d just taken the cancellation fee. As it was, Landon didn’t eat anything and Alex only had an omelet.

Evie let us take photos with Eeyore and Pooh.




After only seeing those two, we asked for the check and left.
Landon and Evie were both incredibly crabby, and Alex and I were done.

We made the call while we were eating that this trip was D.O.A.


The two of us made the painful decision to leave Disney.

I stayed in back in the room with the kids and packed all our stuff up, while Alex took a quick trip over to Epcot to pick up some Annual Passholder items from Flower and Garden.

He told me he didn’t have to go, but I knew he’d just be underfoot in the room. I had a system to packing and didn’t need any help. It was easier to have him go to Epcot for that hour.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2jpmVFY]f3 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr[/URL]


f4 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr


I had to call our stroller rental company and request an early pickup; at first they were a little grumpy about it but they eventually agreed and I dropped it off with luggage right around the time Alex returned to the resort. He loaded up the car while I deep cleaned the room. I had bleach wipes that I’d picked up the day before at the pharmacy that I used on every possible surface in the room. Everything from the remote to the drawer handles to the hangers got the once over by me. I knew some poor soul was going to stay in that room the following day, and I wasn’t going to leave it up to MouseKeeping to kill the germs we’d left.

We went to concierge and checked out early, telling them that they needed to give that room a deep clean, and we cancelled our final dining reservations.

Via Napoli and Le Cellier.


And by 2 o’clock that afternoon, the four of us were off Disney property.


We made it back to our house around 8pm, with plans of picking our dog up the following morning, and we were settled back into our normal lives by 10 that night.


It was the minute I saw my living room that I confessed to something I never thought I’d do in my life.

I said I was glad to not be at Disney anymore.


After the week we’d had and with Landon still sick we needed our familiar surroundings. We needed our home, our couch, our favorite throw blankets, and our own space.


This was just not the Disney trip for us.


From the second we had to reschedule our dates, nothing about the vacation had gone right. We kept our heads up and thought positive but Murphy’s Law was just in high gear that week.

Whatever could go wrong, did.


Fortunately for us, it was over. Nobody else got sick. Landon liked looking back on the Photopass pictures. We walked away with a lot more vacation money than we anticipated.


Alex and I still got a sick feeling in the pit of our stomachs when we thought about the fact that THAT was our last trip to Disney World for at least 3 years.
We had to go out on that low note.

How crummy.


But fast forward a month. About two weeks before we were set to visit Alex’s parents in Cape Canaveral, his dad made the offer for us to have a redo day at Disney. He said he had to work one day, so if we wanted to drive over and spend the time in a park, he’d be fine with that.

Alex and I jumped on it!


Which leads me to the second part of this trip report.

Our April trip!

Stay tuned!

 

[Steppesister]

Certainly get why you did what you did with the TR. Just painful on every level.

When my mom found out, she pulled me into her room and confessed that she didn’t want to stay at Disney anymore. Her reasoning was that if she was going to get sick, she’d rather be in her own home.
I couldn’t blame her. If I were in a similar position I’d probably have bailed, as well.

This breaks my heart.

I need a long breather from the resort and that terrible week. When a family of 4 is sharing one of those small rooms and half the guests get sick and you’re trapped on the resort grounds for 3 of the 4 days of your vacation, you develop a tiny resentment to the place.

Oh I get that. In fact, I'm trying to do every resort on property without a repeat until I'm done. I love the variety.

I was crushed.
Any optimism and hope I’d had left was out the window.

I was done.

Eyes filling with frustrated tears done.

I would have been in absolute tears.

We went to concierge and checked out early, telling them that they needed to give that room a deep clean, and we cancelled our final dining reservations.

Via Napoli and Le Cellier.

UUUUUGH! Not those 2!!

I said I was glad to not be at Disney anymore.

WOW! That IS quite a statement! YIKES, but very understandable. Just not your trip.

 

[afwdwfan]

Except for Alex.


He picked the winning numbers and was next in line for the stomach bug lottery.

Lucky him...

I need a long breather from the resort and that terrible week. When a family of 4 is sharing one of those small rooms and half the guests get sick and you’re trapped on the resort grounds for 3 of the 4 days of your vacation, you develop a tiny resentment to the place.

I can only imagine. I'd want to stay away from there for a while too.

We went through bag check and turned to the left, where the line for early entry normally is.

And we saw Cast Members unhooking the ropes under the train station and allowing everybody to pour inside.


The Magic Kingdom had decided to open 30 minutes early that morning.


…

……


So instead of strolling in alone, we got to follow the masses under the station tunnel.

Oh no...

I was crushed.
Any optimism and hope I’d had left was out the window.

I was done.

Eyes filling with frustrated tears done.

Alex and I went through so much crap, had dragged two cranky kids out of bed, had kept out hope that this one thing was going to be great….and we had the rug pulled out from under us.

You were definitely getting kicked while you were down. I know that in most cases you'd tell someone that "it's not going to ruin your trip if you don't get to see Main Street before the park opens," but in your case that definitely doesn't apply. You guys were barely hanging on, just trying to salvage the good... and then this. I just can't even imagine feeling so defeated in Disney World. I'm so sorry that this was essentially how it ended for you.

Is the frustration evident on my face? Because I sure felt like it was.

Honestly, you masked it well. I'm not sure I could even do a fake smile at that point.

He loaded up the car while I deep cleaned the room. I had bleach wipes that I’d picked up the day before at the pharmacy that I used on every possible surface in the room. Everything from the remote to the drawer handles to the hangers got the once over by me. I knew some poor soul was going to stay in that room the following day, and I wasn’t going to leave it up to MouseKeeping to kill the germs we’d left.

That was very thoughtful of you. I know Disney does a good job cleaning rooms, but as far as disinfecting goes, I have my doubts.

I know when DS got sick at Disneyland, we bought a couple of packs of bleach wipes in the GCH gift shop for like 20 bucks each just so we could keep the room wiped down.

From the second we had to reschedule our dates, nothing about the vacation had gone right. We kept our heads up and thought positive but Murphy’s Law was just in high gear that week.

Whatever could go wrong, did.

I'm so sorry for you guys. Hopefully the April trip made up for this. I know it had to be hard to relive the bad times, but I appreciate you sharing this trip with us. I really hope that the few positive moments your dad had (like the dinner at Ohana) are something that made an impact and maybe you can get a do-over when you make it back to the States.

 

[Imagineer5]

Oh man, what an ending to the trip! I'm sorry it ended like that and not even empty castle pics