Daddy for a week, Emily's Special Trip to "Ally's Room"

[Cafeen]

Love The Plaza (always our last meal of our trip--a nice change of pace from all the heavy meals we eat on the trip) and really enjoyed Sci-Fi which we did for the first time in about ten years when we were there two weeks ago (I did a trip report and dining review and there are pictures there). We also did Boma for breakfast--excellent--I could have drank a gallon of the juice (I don't think I'd like dinner--I'm not into spices/flavorings, etc.); Biergarten is also a favorite. We did not care for Brown Derby.

I'll be sure to check it out, thanks. I'm looking more and more toward Sci-Fi over 50s, but maybe I'll drop Brown Derby and do both.

Boma was to be our "adventure" place on this past trip. Neither of us are particularly adventurous eaters (which is an understatement!), and I really wanted a chance to try different things. We ended up skipping out on it though, so I didn't get the chance yet. This time, I won't have to worry about how others are and will have much less chance of skipping it.

 

[Wrexie]

Man, I'm usually pretty quiet, but get me going on either Disney or Beth and Emily, and I'll talk up a storm! (Or World of Warcraft, but we won't go there on this report, since only a few of you will even know what the heck that is, and even fewer know what the heck I'm talking about inside there!)

Hehe, I know all about World of Warcraft! I played pretty seriously for a while when my stepson got me and my husband hooked, but he's a serious raider and I never could keep up with him or my other guildies after the expansion. My husband still plays a bit, but I'm on hiatus. I may pick it up again with the next expansion.

 

[MEK]

Congrats on planning a Feb trip. I say the earlier you go in Febuary, the better. I believe the rates are also a bit lower in early Feb. I had friends who went last year the week BEFORE President's week and they really enjoyed it - Low park crowds, ect.

My DH and I just did 4 days of the DxDP. It was great. I don't know if I could do it much longer than 4 nights - soooooo much food!

 

[Cafeen]

So, I've been building this up a bit, but if you hadn't guessed by now, our first ride at Disney was it's a small world.

Of course, this was one of my favorites (you'll hear that a lot...) and one of the rides that Beth's dad insisted they go on. By this time, we had been walking around Fantasyland quite a bit already and had scoped out the DSA that would become a pretty common haunt for us throughout the week. (Yes, we're both smokers).

We also headed over to Pooh's Playful Spot (or whatever that playground is called) and played there for a bit. Strangely, I didn't take a single picture in there. Like I said, I guess I hadn't gotten into the groove of it yet ><.

The wait for Small World was only a few minutes (sign said 5) and we quickly got our boat. As we went through the arch, Emily's face lit up. This was what I was waiting for and it really made the whole trip. I don't have any pictures though, as I was a good Disney-rider-person and did not take flash pics (well, 1 toward the front boat after all 4 rows had flashed me in the eyes at least once (they need a /shakefist smiley on here!)

When our ride through the world populated with cloned children finished, we stepped back out into Fantasyland and walked around a bit more. We picked up some slushies (the frozen lemonade things at The Enchanted Grove place) and headed off to Toontown.

We perused County Bounty for awhile, picking up Beth and Emily's ears, the autograph book and pen that I meant to buy before we came, and some other little stuff (I know that Beth bought a cookie, can't remember what else we got...)

I inquired about the line for Fairies, since I couldn't see it at all, I figured it had to be relatively short. It was 45minutes, no thank you. We did hop in the 15 minute line to see the princesses though. (These pics have some red eye, sorry about that, haven't edited other than sizing them yet)

Cinderella

Belle

Aurora

At any rate, it was going on about 12:30-1:00 by this point, so we hopped the train and headed back to the resort for a bit. (After checking the Teardrop of course )

The Train that we hopped.

Now, living with Beth and Emily is our friend Tammy and her 2 y/o son Mikey. Mikey loves trains, and we knew that he'd be super jealous because we got to ride this one. We rode it from Toontown down to Main St. and got off to head for the Bus Stop.

New Ears

The view from the DSA at CSR right outside our room. I saw this view a lot while I was down there!

Looking back to our room, 9253,is that's 2nd floor corner one right there.

Now, if you're following along at home, you'll realize that we've spent half a day at MK and ridden exactly 1 ride (not counting the train). When I was growing up, this would be atrocious. We were typically the park commando type, ride after ride after ride, with a show here or there. This was a nice change of pace and most definitely worthwhile to just slow down and meander where we wanted.

However, looking back, we both realize that it would have been a lot easier on our feet (and a lot easier in the heat) to ride much more. Well, we learn that lesson later on in the report, after really getting kicked in the .. um.. head from that same touring style.

Emily was able to fall asleep for a nice midday nap, and Beth and I watched TV and hung out for a couple hours.

Tonight would be our dinner with Winnie the Pooh and friends at Crystal Palace! We'll also triple the total number of rides/attractions that we go on! (Well, double if you count the train...)

 

[KatMark]

Love the pictures with the princesses. What dates were you at CSR? We were in Room 9273...just down the way from your room.

 

[Cafeen]

Hehe, I know all about World of Warcraft! I played pretty seriously for a while when my stepson got me and my husband hooked, but he's a serious raider and I never could keep up with him or my other guildies after the expansion. My husband still plays a bit, but I'm on hiatus. I may pick it up again with the next expansion.

We're fairly serious about raiding too. For our guild as a whole, we're somewhere in the top 20 on the server, for our 10man team (which, for those who don't play, is a smaller group than the 25man larger stuff) we're in the top 10. It's good times, but it can really start to get to you after awhile. Hopefully we'll be dropping a night off soon to help combat burnout.

Congrats on planning a Feb trip. I say the earlier you go in Febuary, the better. I believe the rates are also a bit lower in early Feb. I had friends who went last year the week BEFORE President's week and they really enjoyed it - Low park crowds, ect.

My DH and I just did 4 days of the DxDP. It was great. I don't know if I could do it much longer than 4 nights - soooooo much food!

That's one of the big reasons that I'm planning this trip for then. I knew before Presidents' Day was best, but I didn't want it quite at the start (with the way park hours come out). The added bonus of going on my birthday just seemed to fit.

As far as food, I'm sure I'll be overfull from the week if I do go Dx. It's still up in the air a bit, as I haven't yet heard from my friend about what kind of deal I can get. I'm sure there's a way to get the DxDDP through his mom, but I'm just not sure at this point. We shall see! The food amount will be a lot, I'm sure, but I'll just have to pace myself. I'm also not one for squeezing every last penny of value from it, it's more of a way to have it paid for and not have to worry about it there. If I end up with a few credits left over, so be it. As long as I come out ahead (or break even) it works. Even if I end up a little behind, the convenience of it makes up for some of the difference.

 

[Cafeen]

Love the pictures with the princesses. What dates were you at CSR? We were in Room 9273...just down the way from your room.

Thanks .

We were there 9/20-9/27 (Sun-Sun). I did notice someone with LGMHs in their window on the first floor along the side away from the water, but they were gone by Monday evening I think (I know I mentioned them to Beth, and noticed they disappeared quickly). We didn't decorate or anything, so no one knew we were there.

It was a really nice area to be in, the Bus Stop walk was a little bit of a hike (we walked to Bus Stop 4, but looking back, 1 may have been better...), but not really that bad at all. I loved the walk to El Centro in the mornings (and evenings, even if my legs didn't!). It all makes me really tempted to try and stay there again, even if my brain tells me to try a new place! Oh the decisions to make!

 

[mickeystoontown]

You got some really pretty pictures of the castle. But, of course, the ones with the princesses were the prettiest! Far outshine those of the castle.

One ride! Heavens to Betsy, Allan! What were you thinking? Seriously, everybody has their own park touring style. I know that you could "read" your group and tell when they needed a break.

Looking forward to reading all about the Crystal Palace!

 

[aaaateamsgrandma]

For shame Allan. One ride. You better get your riding shoes on and ready. Seriously. Those pix of Emily and the Princesses are super. That appears to be one happy little girl just doing what little girls do. Lucky you (and you know you are) to be a part of her first trip.

Anxious to hear about CP. We really debated that and Chef Mickey's. We had to pick CM because daughter Sheri had to have her dance. The commando that she is. There was no slacking with her guiding us. A nap would lhave been wonderful numerous times.

Enjoy your day.

Ginny

 

[Cafeen]

Today is a really slow day at work. My boss is on vacation and I'm basically waiting on stuff from two of my programs for now. I've kept busy though! I read a bunch on the DIS, I finished up one of the photo books from the trip, updated this thing once, and getting ready to update again! It's nice not even having to pretend to work! (Don't tell the bossman though!)

As far as the books are concerned (since I know someone will ask ), I'm making 5 of them: MK, Epcot, AK & HS (Since we only spent half a day at each), a Scenic book, and an extra special book for Beth's dad that highlights the girls. (He's going to love that one, I know I do for sure). I have her dad's all finished (that's the one I finished up today), the scenic one done, MK and Epcot mostly done, and AK/HS partially done. I still have a bit of work cut out for me, but this week will be light so I can get some more important stuff in!

You got some really pretty pictures of the castle. But, of course, the ones with the princesses were the prettiest! Far outshine those of the castle.

One ride! Heavens to Betsy, Allan! What were you thinking? Seriously, everybody has their own park touring style. I know that you could "read" your group and tell when they needed a break.

Looking forward to reading all about the Crystal Palace!

Thanks as usual

Yup, one ride (well, two if you count the train). We did a lot of walking around and getting to know the place and just seeing what was going on. It was a nice change for sure.

For shame Allan. One ride. You better get your riding shoes on and ready. Seriously. Those pix of Emily and the Princesses are super. That appears to be one happy little girl just doing what little girls do. Lucky you (and you know you are) to be a part of her first trip.

Anxious to hear about CP. We really debated that and Chef Mickey's. We had to pick CM because daughter Sheri had to have her dance. The commando that she is. There was no slacking with her guiding us. A nap would lhave been wonderful numerous times.

Enjoy your day.

Ginny

She was great with the princesses and they were great with her. I did get some photopass pics of them too, but ours were just as good really. (And I think we only used 5 or 6 photopass people all week, so wasn't worthwhile for me to buy the CD really).

CP was nice, and a lot better than the reviews led me to believe (which was pretty common all throughout the trip). There was one bit of an issue though... which you'll read about soon.

 

[Cafeen]

Ok, so we're still on day one here and just to recap, so far we have:
Day 0 - Meeting at Orlando International, ME to CSR, Dinner at Maya Grill.
Day 1 - Breakfast at Chef Mickey's (to which we were 30 minutes late), reversed the methods of getting to and from the Contemporary from MK (Walked there, Monorailed back, should have Monorailed there, and walked back), Walked down Main St (and took you along for the ride), went on It's a Small World, walked to Toontown, shopped, met princesses, rode the train back to Main St., headed back to CSR, and took a nap.

Miss Emily woke up around 3:30ish and we were out the door for MK again by 4. We had ADRs at Crystal Palace for 7pm, and so had plenty of time to get there. We hopped an empty bus to MK and were soon going through the turnstiles once again.

We (once again!) walked up Main St and hit up our normal MK "spot" for our break. Once that was done, we meandered over to Liberty Square and decided to hop on the Haunted Mansion!

This was something that we had debated a little bit, but in the end we both figured that she'd be fine through. She had seen bits of Beth's horror movies (no, she doesn't watch them in front of her, but often Emily would come in to Beth's room late at night when she was watching) and would laugh at the "scary" bits. I also figured that she was probably a little too young to understand that it was supposed to be scary. In the end, we were both right. She laughed a bit and just took it in stride.

On another note. Behind us in line was a boy of maybe 4 or 5 who was scared while waiting (not to hysterics, just you could tell he was scared). His mom did a great job of coaxing him on and keeping him calm. It paid off for them as I saw his smile as he got off. He loved it! So, if that mom is reading this today... .

After Haunted Mansion, we headed off toward Frontierland just to meander around. I took a glance at the sign for Country Bear Jamboree and saw one was starting soon. We hopped inside (ahhh A/C is nice!) and waited for the show.

It was much larger than I remember it (speaking of which, this used to be one of my favorite things too!) and was all I expected it to be. I did make use of playing with my camera to get a couple "low-light mode" shots that I think came out well.

These were taken without a flash! Interestingly enough, there was another guy there taking pics (well, lots of people really, but this guy will be singled out) and he was using a flash. During the show, I watched the CM start watching the area, narrowing it down to who was using it. Once he spotted the "flasher", he moved over and asked him to stop (I assume). Was neat to just observe the whole "situation" while watching the show.

So, now you're saying "Holy Moly*! You just doubled your attraction count of the first half of the day!" Yup, we did. You heard it here first, we did TWO things this evening!

(You may not be thinking "Holy Moly!", but let's try and keep this rated low enough so I don't get punted from the boards, m'kay? )

We headed out through Adventureland to see if we could spot any characters. We were going to take a ride on the carpets, but Beth didn't feel like standing in line at this point. We walked back and forth, looking for a hidden "Blue Square" area, and eventually ended up looping around to Liberty Square again via the bridges and then asking the artist people there where it was. (We eventually found that "hidden" blue square on Saturday...)

(For those that don't know, the Smoking Areas are blue squares on the park maps. The lack of detail on where they were would really haunt us throughout the week!)

Also, if you remember my story about my friend's teddy bear saving Sunday night... (if you don't scroll back a page or two, it's there), you'll remember that Emily really seemed to love the bear

(I sent this second picture off to said co-worker in an Email Tuesday night to thank her for it specifically)

I also spoke to Beth last night, and Emily sleeps with that bear every night.

So, at any rate, it's about 6:50 now, and we start heading to Crystal Palace for dinner. We approach the restaurant and it's a mob-scene. Tons of people just hanging out in front and I think "Boy, am I glad I got ADRs..."

I check in for our 7pm pretty much right at 7pm and was told the wait would be about 45minutes . Wait, What? 45 minutes? Well, the CM (who was very nice and apologetic by the way) told me that they were still working on the 6pm ADRs. I guess they overbooked again for dinner like they had not too long ago (there was a thread somewhere about it, or on someone else's TR, or something. I read it, it existed I swear!)

So, we wait, Beth changes Emily's pullup in the Baby Care center (which was nicely close to the place) and we wait some more. We check out the grounds around Crystal Palace, and we wait some more. About 50 minutes had gone by and I make my way up to the podium to make sure we didn't miss our call (we got a flashy-vibrating thingy that doesn't buzz or beep, and it didn't go off, but they were calling people by name too). Just as I'm walking up the steps, it flashes and vibrates. Woohoo! We're in!

We get seated quickly and they go over their spiel on what to expect and such and then we're ready to get food. Now, before we get food, you will remember that we tried a buffet at breakfast this morning (was it really this morning? It feels like last week!) I had mentioned it to Beth that it would make sense for her to get up first, get her and Emily's food while Emily and I hang out at the table. So, this is what we did. Poof, we work together well! She got their food quickly enough, and then I got up to get my own.

I didn't take pics, because I was feeling self-conscious about it, but I had the Prime Rib, garlic potatoes (which, continuing with the potato theme, were delicous), some salad, and some rice. They had some other stuff, including chicken nuggets, and various stuff that I didn't pay attention to. Our server was great and kept our drinks refilled.

So now, the characters started coming along, and being the nice guy that I am, I took pictures for the table next to me when they asked. It was a nice mother and daughter, but the daughter was afraid to get in the pictures alone.

But, we're not here for their trip report, we're here for mine!

We met Pooh, Piglet, and, Beth's Favorite, Tigger! You may notice there's a lack of autograph pics here. Some fool (I won't mention my name) left the book in the store bag back at the resort. /facepalm.

We also had dessert, and I tried pretty much everything they had. Key Lime pie, some berry torte thingy, and some other stuff that I can't remember now

We finished dinner at around 8:30 and caught the end of Spectro. By this time, Main Street was crowded with Wishes to start in 30minutes, so we squeezed through and made our way out before the rush came. We headed back to the resort (which was not yet dubbed "Ally's Room" by Emily) and went to bed.

Tomorrow, we plan for Animal Kingdom and a Boma dinner adventure!

 

[aaaateamsgrandma]

Well, I love the reading part of the update but none of the pix are coming thru. I will check back to look cause I really want to see them all. I bet that Emily so enjoyed the characters at dinner.

Ginny

So immpressed she rode the HM. And you actually did two things this go round.

 

[Cafeen]

Well, I love the reading part of the update but none of the pix are coming thru. I will check back to look cause I really want to see them all. I bet that Emily so enjoyed the characters at dinner.

Ginny

So immpressed she rode the HM. And you actually did two things this go round.

Yeah, I had the URL of the pics wrong (forgot the http:// part) so they didn't show up. When trying to edit, DISboards were being slower than molasses.

So, I let it sit "saving" the edit for awhile.

Then my cell rang, and it was Beth, all upset because she just had a blowout with her friend that's been staying with her for four months (for free, I might add). So I took time to calm her down and we worked out a plan to get her back on her feet (this friend had convinced her to get internet and stuff that Beth couldn't afford, and assured her that she'd pay her share...) Of course, I insinuated that she should move down here (and then told her that I'll try again when it gets real cold there and is a "freezing" 50-60 degrees down here).

So, she's calmed down now (thankfully, I absolutely hate hearing her upset, especially since she's so far away ) and things are moving forward on that front. Down here, once I came back from the phone call (which, again, thankfully my boss is out of town, as a random 45minute break is typically looked down upon) it was STILL loading the edit. So I clicked Save again and poof, everything was fixed (But, the DISboards have been real slow since yesterday, even slower than they normally are (which is real slow). Hopefully it gets fixed soon!)

 

[aaaateamsgrandma]

I had to sneak back and look at the pictures first. They are everybit as good as I knew they would be. That Emily is so precious. Thank you for allowing us to share with you.

If I could put a hex on Beth's 'friend' I so would. She saw Beth coming a mile away. That is no friend. I'm sure part of Beth not coming to AL right away is working out the issues with Emily and her sperm donor of a father. He obviously is no dad. But I will certainly put the prayer circle working for you. It's the prayer that things work out best for Emily. She is a child and is innocent in all that turmoil. You as adults will figure it out. So no hex from me, just prayers.

Again, I appreciate you sharing with us.

Ginny

 

[cdhale]

Hi-larious trip report!! Last January I did Disney with my 2 daughters more or less commando-style. This January we're going to stop and smell the roses a bit (and do a lot more eating with deluxe dining!). Though I dare say we'll manage more than three rides on the first day

Can't wait to read more of your adventures in mis-navigation.

Cheryl

 

[longing2Batdisney]

I love the picture of Emily, Beth, and Tigger! emily's face in that one is true happiness!!!
well, not too bad of a day! you have breakfast at CM's met the characters, rode the monorail (right?!?), rode IASW, played at pooh's playground (great job on that one),met the princesses, caught the country bear jamb., haunted mansion, and dinner w/pooh and friends....Oh and the train (we count that as a ride w/our 3 yr old)

don't knock how much you did ...that is a great day with a child...no you did not do a commando job but you did it at her pace!!! good for you!!! next time you get to do it for you!

Emily looks like such a happy child!!! I love all the pictures of her face all lit up!!!

 

[JoshDek]

Great pics, looking forward to hearing about the rest of the trip.

 

[Cafeen]

I had to sneak back and look at the pictures first. They are everybit as good as I knew they would be. That Emily is so precious. Thank you for allowing us to share with you.

If I could put a hex on Beth's 'friend' I so would. She saw Beth coming a mile away. That is no friend. I'm sure part of Beth not coming to AL right away is working out the issues with Emily and her sperm donor of a father. He obviously is no dad. But I will certainly put the prayer circle working for you. It's the prayer that things work out best for Emily. She is a child and is innocent in all that turmoil. You as adults will figure it out. So no hex from me, just prayers.

Again, I appreciate you sharing with us.

Ginny

Thanks again (as always!)

Drama seems to follow her around wherever she goes. A lot of it she brings on herself by being too nice and forgiving (especially to those who don't deserve it) and by taking way too much on for herself. She's learning through, and hopefully this will help her see that she has to take care of herself first (well, including Emily of course!) and worry about others later.

Thanks as well for the support, she really needs it at this time to get through this bump.

Hi-larious trip report!! Last January I did Disney with my 2 daughters more or less commando-style. This January we're going to stop and smell the roses a bit (and do a lot more eating with deluxe dining!). Though I dare say we'll manage more than three rides on the first day

Can't wait to read more of your adventures in mis-navigation.

Cheryl

Welcome and thanks!

There's much more misnavigation to come, and this is only the tip of the iceberg.

I love the picture of Emily, Beth, and Tigger! emily's face in that one is true happiness!!!
well, not too bad of a day! you have breakfast at CM's met the characters, rode the monorail (right?!?), rode IASW, played at pooh's playground (great job on that one),met the princesses, caught the country bear jamb., haunted mansion, and dinner w/pooh and friends....Oh and the train (we count that as a ride w/our 3 yr old)

don't knock how much you did ...that is a great day with a child...no you did not do a commando job but you did it at her pace!!! good for you!!! next time you get to do it for you!

Emily looks like such a happy child!!! I love all the pictures of her face all lit up!!!

Welllll, since you put it that way, I guess it's more than 3 , just seems like we did an awful lot of walking around aimlessly and not so much sitting down in nice air-conditioned rides.

She mostly is. Of course, all little ones have their moments, but they are completely wiped out by the good ones.

Great pics, looking forward to hearing about the rest of the trip.

Thanks, I'm looking forward to writing more about it .


I will be trying to sneak an update out in a little bit. I'm working to finish up the work I got later yesterday afternoon (it's due by the end of today, so I'll have it done by mid-morning or so). It should prove to be... interesting.

 

[DWGal210]

Great report so far! Emily is just a darling little girl - looks like she was having a great time!

Can't wait to read more!

 

[Disney Spaz]

Subscribing...
Being a patient and supportive best friend is worth it in the end.
I love your story and wanted to share.

My best friend has been there for me through everything. He even stood up as my "master of honor" at my wedding years ago. He has been my rock that I could always count on. He has been a father to my sons who are now grown and absolutly loves my DD, 3. Who in turn loves him and picks him over everyone else for everything. When I began going through my nightmare of a divorce he stood by me and supported me no matter what. Finally one night when I was feeling very lonley I teasingly asked him if at least he loved me. He looked at me and in a serious voice and told me that he had loved me for years and would always love me. I was suprised, although come to find out all our friends had always suspected just never told me. Once I stepped back and really looked I realized that I had always loved him, that I had always looked to him for everything in my life. I just never thought he would look at me that way.

Fast forward to now and I can't imagine not being with him. He has been everything that I ever needed or wanted in my life. But most importantly he has been and is the man in my daughters life that teaches her to value herself and that she desrves to be respected. For years our relationship was hard to explain to outsiders. So I understand you lengthy explination in the beginning. I just consider myself luck to now be able to say he is my love and I am his.