Disney in April (or How to Survive Spring Break) - Last Day p. 3

[phoebusII]

The Cast:

Me: Mom. Slightly obsessive-compulsive about Fast Passes, love roller coasters, fast rides, anything that spins. Badly needs a ride buddy and is trying to persuade her children that the roller coasters aren't really that scary. Really. . .trust me. If they won't go on though, can use the single rider line. Hmmm...ride buddy, single rider line...maybe going on alone isn't so bad.

DH: Mellow kind of a guy. Lets me do all the planning and will generally go where I lead him, except on heights, roller coasters, fast rides, and anything that spins. Makes an excellent baby sitter for children who can't/won't go on the cool rides with me. Claims he wants to go on Test Track this year--because a co-worker of his just got back from Disney and apparently reported that he liked the ride. We'll see. Also claims that he will try one roller coaster, because I can't take two kids in the same seat with me. Oh, wait! I just found out that we can sit three across on Splash Mountain and BTMR. Shhh! Don't tell. Can we sit three to a seat on Space Mountain and EE too? I'm not sure.

DD9: Let's call her Gabriella, after the character on Highschool Musical, her current favorite Disney Channel movie. Bright, funny, a joy to have, but a bit timid physically. She's not sure whether she wants to go on roller coasters. Says she wants to do Splash Mountain and maybe BTMR. First told me definitely not Space Mountain, but changed her mind yesterday and said she'd try it. Changes her mind like the wind. Stay tuned to see if she really will ride it.

DS6: Let's call him Cody, after "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody", which my kids claim they must, must, must, watch every day, or they'll die. Mostly fearless, unless the wind rattles his windows at night. Will he be my ride buddy? Maybe. We just measured him. He's 51" now and meets the height requirement for most rides. Since he's a "big boy", he wants to ride everything, even Tower of Terror. Freaked out last summer on a rather gentle ride at Great America. We'll see.


The Plan:

We leave Easter Sunday afternoon. Fly to Orlando. Just found out that if you want a meal on the flight you have to pay extra now. What's up with that? I really wanted to leave Friday or Saturday but the prices for flights on those days are astronomical. Which brings me to another minor character--Grandma--my mom. What we have been doing on holidays is Thanksgiving at brother's house, Christmas at grandma's, Easter at mine. I offered to do Easter on Saturday this year, but mom and brother's family said no, they couldn't do that. I thought maybe it was religious. Can't celebrate Easter until he's actually risen and all that. So fine. Then a couple weeks ago grandma announces that she's going to have Easter at her house. On Saturday. We're invited. Arghhh! Whatever. I'll be on a plane to Disney the next day. Nothing can ruin my bliss.

Speaking of brothers. He and his family are at Disney RIGHT NOW! Their Spring Break is earlier than ours. We just happened to plan trips for the same year. He also has a fearless DD, my dear fearless niece, who is going to tell my daughter when we see them at Easter that Space Mountain, etc. is so great! Then DD will go on with me and I'll have a ride buddy! I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

So, back to the plan. Fly to Orlando, use Magical Express. Just got our tags in the mail. Yay! Husband is nervous about the luggage. Will they deliver it, will they lose it, will someone steal it? Did I mention that he's a bit territorial and possessive? He wants to pick the luggage up from the baggage claim and haul it onto the bus ourselves. Not a bad idea since there will be no wait once we check in.

We are staying at Pop Century. We've done a couple of moderate resorts and last time tried ASMusical. I didn't expect much from a value resort and was pleasantly surprised. We fit right in with all the other families with small kids and the informal food court suited us fine. Besides, we are hardly in the room anyway.

The first day we go to MK. It has to be MK. A few years ago, we arrived in Orlando in the afternoon (we had annual passes that year) and decided to spend a few hours at MGM that day. It was a beautiful day when we parked in the lot (stayed off property that time, we were in FL for a wedding), except for a few black-and I mean black-clouds on the horizon. Kids and dad were having great time playing around in the parking lot as we were walking to the entrance (we parked close, no need to take the tram). I kept trying to get them to hurry. The clouds kept coming closer. Needless to say, we didn't make it. Got soaked. Down to the socks in our shoes. Decided to try the Muppets first. Scared the heck out of DD. She was only four and had no clue who the Muppets were. Ate at 50's Prime Time. Soaking Wet. DH hated being scolded. DD asked when we were going to see the "REAL Disney World". So from then on it's always been MK first.

Day two will be Epcot because it's an Early Opening day. Mission Space and Soarin' are new since the last time we were there. I think we'll head to Soarin' first. I've heard it's fantastic, and gentle. Shhh! Don't tell DH that the first thing it does is lift you 45 feet into the air. I bought a new guidebook, he can read it if he wants to. If not...oh well. I also have to tell dear brother and niece to mention that it's fun and gentle.

Day three we see Cirque du Soliel. We've never seen it before. I'm looking forward to it. Don't know which park we'll do, since we will need to be out of there early. Maybe AK. I looked at the map last night. Did I mention I'm an obsessive planner? I tried to figure out the fastest way from AK or MGM to Downtown Disney. Do we go back to Pop Century, or should we take the bus to Port Orleans and then transfer?

Well that's it for now. I'll keep reading and planning until we go.

 

[pumba]

thanks so much for getting me in the MODE Of DISNEY.....can hardly wait for me to go too....right after your vacation....sounds awesome what you have planned so far .

 

[Xcited4Disney]

Great post. I'll see you at POP. We'll be there April 14-21st

 

[OhMari]

Hi,
Just want you to know that the MK might be packed on Easter Sunday, but if you get there later in the evening it might be okay.

Can we sit three to a seat on Space Mountain and EE too? I'm not sure. On Space Mountain it is only 1 per seat and your child either sits in front of you or behind you. Not with you. I am a Pooh size person, and it was sort of a tight fit, but you do fit.

OhMari
Co-Moderator Trip Reports

 

[CindyandBrice]

I will be at POP April 17-21 with my son. We got our tags yesterday from DME. I am soooo excited!!! I am nervous about the crowds, but so excieted to be at WDW and not at work. It is a surprise trip for my 8 year old son.

 

[phoebusII]

Oops. When I said our first day will be MK, I meant Monday. Easter Sunday we arrive in the early evening. We plan to hang out at the pool that night and just relax. Our parks adventure starts the next day. Early. If I can get everyone moving.

 

[phoebusII]

Thanks for bearing with me everyone while I write yet another pre-trip report. I will report back after the trip. I promise.

Only 10 days to go! Woo hoo! I'm so excited, I can hardly wait!

I made a few more ADRs a couple days ago, since I know we will be in Epcot all day Tuesday. We will be having lunch in Mexico, which is a place DH likes. See, I can cater to him sometimes, too. Disney isn't all about me. I tried to get lunch in Japan, but they are all booked for the times I wanted, so I opted for Morocco instead. Last time, DD, Gabriella, had a wonderful time dancing with the belly dancer. She still remembers it as one of the highlights of the trip.

I also wanted to get an ADR for Sci-Fi, because DS, Cody, likes cars. I tried for Thursday lunch, but they are booked. I guess that's what happens when you opt to go during one of the busiest weeks of the year. So I tried Friday and got in. So now we'll do MGM on Friday. I am considering booking a Fantasmic Package. I talked to DH about it, just to give him the illusion that he's actually included in the planning. He thinks it's not necessary, but I'm not so sure. We did it once -- ate at Brown Derby and it worked really well. We also have opted not to do it and found a hot dog stand right at Fantasmic. We ate in the stands while waiting for the show to start. That also worked well, but the show was earlier that time. This time the "early" show is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. He really likes H & V, and that's one of the restaurants that does the package. Maybe I'll talk to him again tonight and then book it anyway.

Overplanner that I am, I also talked to him about the route to take from AK to DD Wednesday when we see Cirque du Soleil. We have to go to a resort first, there are no direct buses. The conversation went like this:

Me (overplanner): Do you think we should go back to PC or should we take the bus to AKL, check that out and then go to DD? Or we could go to POR and take the boat to DD.

DH (It's a Vacation. Relax.): Oh. Are we doing AK that day?

Fine, he'll just go where I lead him.

I talked to my brother and sister-in-law the other day. They just got back from WDW and I wanted to get the inside scoop. Magic Express worked, well, like magic. They had no problems with it at all. They had a great time. My niece's favorite ride is EE. SIL, who hates fast rides and gets sick on them, told me she loved Soarin' and would have stayed on it all day if she could. I asked about the rides which are new since we were there last and got good reports, except for Stitch. Philharmagic, I am told, is a must see.

 

[phoebusII]

We just got back from Disney today and I'm already posting part one of my promised trip report. What I really want to do is get on a plane and go right back. No one in my family wants to be home right now. My kids are already asking when we can go again.

To backtrack a bit, the Friday before we left DS came down with strep throat. Again. I think this is the fourth time since Christmas. The Dr. recommended that he have his tonsils removed but put him on Amoxicillan so that we could make it through this trip and then worry about it when we came home. I called Disney right away and asked for a refrigerator since his medication has to be refrigerated. Although it was short notice, they were very nice about it and even told me there would be no charge since it was for medical purposes.

Since I was on the phone, I also made a specific room request. We were staying at Pop Century and I asked for a room from which we could see the Epcot fireworks. I learned about it right here. The person I talked to said she would put in the request, but couldn't guarantee it. I kept my fingers crossed since I had made the request only 2 days before we left.

Easter morning we woke up and the Easter Bunny had left some baskets for the kids. We did some last minute packing and I told DH not to let me forget the medicine, since it was in the refrigerator. No one could wait until it was time to leave, so we decided to head for the airport about 15 minutes early. DH packed the kids in the car while I did a quick last check of the house. All windows closed? Check. Stove off? Check. Lights? Check. Everything locked? Check. Got in the car. Had kids, luggage, tickets. All set to go.

Fifteen minutes later, DH said something about having a slight headache. Don't worry dear, I have some Tylenol. Oh no. I forgot Cody's medicine! Back to the house. Now the kids are worried that we will miss the flight. It was impossible to settle them down. Luckily, we arrived with plenty of time to spare. Everything went smoothly. Some neighbors of ours were also spending the week at Disney and we happened to be on the same flight down, so the kids had someone to play with while we waited.

The flight was fine. We had decided to trust Magical Express after all, so when we arrived all we had to do was go to their counter and wait for the bus. When we arrived at Pop Century there was no wait for check-in. They had our requests and accomodated our wishes without a problem. We ended up with a room in the 50's building, facing the lagoon.

When we arrived at our room I was a bit disappointed to find that we had a view of some ugly unfinished hotel buildings across the lagoon. It was the second half of Pop Century. Then DH pointed out that he could see the Epcot ball from our balcony. That's when I realized we had the perfect spot.

We had dinner at the resort. The food court was packed with people. In fact, that was the theme for the first few days. It was busier than I had ever seen it. However, the service was still friendly and efficient. We got our food quickly and ate at one of the few tables outside. Being from the northern part of the country, that was a treat at this time of the year.

When we got back to our room, the luggage was already there. It had taken less than an hour for them to deliver it. However, the refrigerator was still missing, so I called the front desk. They said they would put a priority on it.

After dinner we swam in the bowling pool. The refrigerator was in the room when we got back, so I put the medicine in it. Then it was time for the Epcot fireworks. We watched them from our balcony. It was great fun for everyone. Since we were all tired, we decided to get to sleep early so we could be up and ready early the next morning. We planned to head to MK first thing. I had a plan worked out for how to maximize the use of Fast Passes. My all time record number of FP's in a day was seven and I had every intention of beating it.

 

[TLinden16]

You're off to a magical start! I'm glad you got your fireworks view!

Thanks for posting!

 

[phoebusII]

I woke up early this morning, even before the alarm went off, so I got ready while the rest of the family slept. Gabriella (DD9) woke up and was ready to go next, so she and I explored the resort while the DH took his shower. Cody (DS6) was still asleep. It was nice to be able to spend some time with my daughter alone, just walking around and talking. When we got back everyone was ready so we headed off to the MK. They had extended hours all week. MK was open 8-midnight. Plus they had both morning and evening EMH all week. So MK was actually open from 7a.m.-3 a.m. every day. We didn't get there quite that early, but were there a little after eight. That early there weren't that many people in the park yet.

The castle was all decked out in gold. I thought it looked very pretty. We headed straight to Dumbo. The wait was about 10 minutes, which was very reasonable. Then I ran to get Pooh FP. There was no line that early yet, but I still got the FP while the rest of the family waited for me at Snow White.

Cody hated the ride. It was far too scary for him. I didn't remember it as being that bad, but he hated the dark and didn't like the witch. We headed over to Mickey's Philharmagic. It was incredibly cute and the effects were fantastic. They finally made a 3-D film that is appropriate for small children. I was very pleased.

Next we headed to Small World and also got FP for Peter Pan. I don't think I like the changes to SM. I liked the old fountain with the different colored lights better. The kids both liked SM and PP.

It was time for our Pooh FP so we headed over there. The ride stopped a couple times while we were on it, but it was still O.K. The kids wanted to do the Teacups next. I love spinning rides. DH hates them, but was determined to be a good sport and go on all the rides the kids wanted to go on. I should explain that he was also dealing with a cold and had a nagging cough. Cody, in addition to his strep throat was also dealing with the same cough, so I was giving him cough strips in addition to his other meds. I can't give him liquid cough medicine, he just spits it out.

The kids and I loved the Teacups. DH, however, started looking decidedly green. He closed his eyes to try to deal with the problem, which is a big mistake on a spinning ride. It's always better to look at an object across from you that seems stationary. Needless to say, that was the last time DH rode the teacups for the rest of our stay.

After the ride we checked out the new play area across from Pooh. It's cute, but is only for kids 5 and under so we just looked around and left. In past trips we have enjoyed getting character autographs, so we checked out Ariel's Grotto. The line was already an hour long, so we decided to try again later.

We used our PP fastpasses and both kids liked the ride. Cody wanted to go again but there was no way we were going on without FPs. By this time MK was starting to get really crowded. The kids agreed to go on HM so we headed over there. Unfortunately, as soon as we stepped inside they both got scared and we had to use the chicken exit. We opted for Country Bears instead. Very cute and not scary at all. By this time Cody was coughing quite a lot. I gave him more cough strips even though it was still a bit early for his next dose.

We headed over to BTMR and got FPs, then went on PoC. Cody was a bit nervous and I had to put my arm around him for the ride. I read on another thread here that the dog holding the keys was new, so I kept a look out for it. When we got to it, they had the spotlight for the dog turned off, so it was completely in the dark. I wondered whether Disney had picked up on it here and deliberately turned off the light so that no one could spot the changes. I also thought that parts looked as though some characters had been taken out, but I couldn't be sure.

I did notice that right after the drop there was a voice that said something like "You say you don't believe in curses?" It sounded an awful lot like Captain Barbossa.

It was time for our character lunch at the Crystal Palace. We saw Pooh, Eeyore and Piglet. Tigger was there, but never quite made it around to our table. Cody was coughing again and wasn't eating much. He wasn't looking very well and I was starting to worry. DH also wasn't feeling too well. He asked whether I minded if he didn't go on BTMR. Now, I should explain that he doesn't like roller coasters, but was determined to go on them for the kid's sake. He also said that if he went on the roller coasters (plural), I had to go bear hunting with him. I agreed. First, I knew he would never go on all the roller coasters. Second, it takes years to get a bear hunting license. Third, he would have to find a baby sitter for the kids in order for me to go, so I thought I was pretty safe. Also, before we even left home, he was changing the bet and insisting that he said he only had to go on one roller coaster, not all of them. Not. I distinctly heard him say all the roller coasters.

After lunch DD and I headed over to BTMR to use our FPs while DH took Cody to the Aladdin ride. We had four FPs, ours plus DH's and Cody's, but Gabriella only wanted to ride once. We were to meet our neighbors at the entrance to SM and perhaps spend some time with them. I think she was in a hurry to see them. Gabriella and I met them and we got FPs for SM. DH and Cody weren't showing up, so our neighbors decided not to wait and we would meet up with them later at our 4:30 FP time. I didn't blame them. It was their first time and they wanted to do things.

Gabriella and I waited a bit longer, then I decided to see if they had misunderstood and were waiting on the SM bridge. It's DH's favorite spot in the MK. Sure enough, they were waiting for us there. Since we were near the train depot we decided to take a train ride.

As we were riding, Cody was not looking well. A mother just knows. Plus he had developed this constant dry, wheezy cough. I looked at his throat and was surprised to see that his tonsils were extemely large. The opening was only about a third of what it normally is. I decided he really needed to see a Doctor. DH thought I was crazy. Cody was on medication, we were at the MK, he would be fine. I decided to take him anyway. Cody didn't want to go, but I promised him a ride on the monorail. He had wanted to ride it ever since he saw it that morning. Cody and I took the train to the front of Main Street. DH and Gabriella stayed in the park and got off at Toontown. We made plans to meet at LTT for dinner (we had ADRs). If we missed it we would meet at Buzz Lightyear at 7:00 p.m. Surely, we would be done at the Dr. by then.

Cody and I took the monorail to the Grand Floridian. I had decided to go there rather than to first aid. Since it is one of the premier resorts, I thought we would get good service there. I was right. We went to the concierge desk where a very nice young man called a taxi for us and walked us out to the taxi stand. Unfortunately, the taxi didn't come. I finally walked to the outside taxi stand where they called again. This time the taxi came in less than three minutes. The driver was very nice and took us right to the hospital. We could have gone to a clinic, but I was afraid that they would tell us Cody's tonsils had to come out today and then we would have had to wait at both the clinic and the emergency room. I thought this would be quicker. I was wrong.

We checked in and a triage nurse looked at DD. I explained the whole problem, including how his throat looked small and how he had a weird cough. She wrote down "sore throat" on his admittance documents. We waited about 15 more minutes and were seen by a second nurse. I had to explain the whole thing all over again. Neither of them looked at his throat.

Then began the three hour wait from hell. It was the day after Easter and exceedingly busy. Everyone had to wait. I must say the people at the front desk really kept their cool, even after being asked repeatedly by everyone in the waiting room when it would finally be their turn.

Finally it was our turn. We were seen by a physician's assistant. "So he has a sore throat?" No, I wouldn't have panicked over a sore throat. I had to explain the whole thing again, including how he had multiple bouts of strep and the Dr. at home wanted to take his tonsils out. I also explained how he had been on 3 different antibiotics in the last few months, including Augmentin. He looked at Cody's throat, said Augmentin sounded reasonable and sent us out into the hall to wait again. As we were waiting, I realized he hadn't said anything about Cody's tonsils.

About 20 minutes later we were ushered into a "treatment room". There was a nurse in the room. We never did see a doctor. Now I started getting insistent. I wanted to know whether Cody would choke to death in his sleep. They called the physician's assistant back in. He said the opening didn't look too bad, but they could give his medicine to shink the tonsils for now. Yes, let's do that. He got Pregnezone (sp?), a dose of Augmentin and a presription for some more. What about the wicked, unending cough? I was told to give him some cough drops. Finally we were out of there.

Now we had to find a pharmacy. Luckily, there was one in the hospital. We got there at 7:00, just as they were about to close the doors. The two women working let us in and filled the prescription. I have to thank them profusely. It was the only part of the hospital trip that worked well. If you are reading this, thank you for staying open for us. I also was able to buy some cough drops. Cody didn't like them. He spit it out.

We called a taxi to take us back. The medicine had to be refrigerated, so we just went back to our room. We got to the room about 8:00. We were exhausted. Cody watched Power Rangers. I ordered pizza. By this time, I no longer cared about FPs or schedules. I just wanted Cody healthy again. I guess when your child is sick it puts things into perspective.

DH and Gabriella walked in about 9:30. They had waited for us at both places. DH had a surprise for me. When we didn't show up for dinner, he made new reservations at the LTT for Sunday night. It's my favorite restaurant in the MK, so I was very pleased with DH. It was so sweet of him to make the reservations.

I must say that even though our first day didn't turn out as expected, the rest of the trip was much better. Cody got healthier as the days passed and we had a lot of fun. In fact, I'd like to move down there. Especially since the temperature here is only in the 40's today. I could quit my job here and just work at Disney. I've even decided what my dream job would be. I want to be the person who helps the people exit the Peter Pan ride. I could walk backwards on the conveyor belt all day and tell people to watch their step 15,000 times a day. Hey, it would be better than being here. If you don't believe me about walking backwards, just watch the CM as you exit Peter Pan. They all walk backwards on that conveyor belt.

 

[Minniespal]

Enjoyed reading your report ~ Thanx for sharing.

 

[averill94]

Keep it coming! Hope Cody is back to himself- nothing like getting sick on vacation.
Thanks

 

[OhMari]

I must say that even though our first day didn't turn out as expected, the rest of the trip was much better. Cody got healthier as the days passed and we had a lot of fun. In fact, I'd like to move down there. Especially since the temperature here is only in the 40's today. I could quit my job here and just work at Disney. I've even decided what my dream job would be. I want to be the person who helps the people exit the Peter Pan ride. I could walk backwards on the conveyor belt all day and tell people to watch their step 15,000 times a day. Hey, it would be better than being here. If you don't believe me about walking backwards, just watch the CM as you exit Peter Pan. They all walk backwards on that conveyor belt.

Glad Cody got better. I have 4 kids, the 2 boys both had their tonsils out at 2 yrs old. My girls have tonsils that get infected and enlarged and the Dr's will not take theirs out. Don't you hate WI, one day it is almost 80 and the next day you have to dig your winter coat back out. Where do you live in WI?

 

[declansdad]

Enjoying your report. I'm glad you son got better as the trip went on.


We had a similar view at Pop last summer. We were in 50's Bulding C room 3433. Great view.

 

[phoebusII]

Thanks OhMari. We live near Lake Geneva. The day we arrived home it was in the upper 70's, the next day the temperature plunged to near freezing. It was a rude return to reality.

Day 2 -- Epcot

Once again, I was awake before the alarm. I suppose I was just excited to be at Disney. Cody had coughed all night long, luckily he started looking better this morning and kept getting better through the trip.

The kids got up and quickly got dressed. We explored the resort while DH took his shower. We went to the end of the bridge over Hourglass Lake and peeked through the screen of shrubbery at the unfinished half of Pop Century. They have the main building up and a couple of hotel buildings. The rest has been roughed in with pipes sticking out of the ground where the rest of the buildings should be. I have no idea why they stopped construction, but when they decide to finish it, it should be nice.

The kids were most interested in the different birds we saw. There were ducks, a couple different kinds of white birds, and a big black one that was sitting next to the bridge. We stopped and watched it for awhile. With all the other things going on at Disney, my kids were still most fascinated by the natural wildlife.

When we got back to the room DH was ready, so we headed to Epcot. My plan had been to get there for opening at 9:00, but with Cody sick, we decided to let him sleep in and just get there whenever we could. I think we arrived about 9:45 or so. I had originally thought that this was an early opening day, but the info I got from the computer sites was either wrong or Disney changed their schedule.

When we got there it was just a massive wall of people. I should have listened to everyone who said to stay away from EMH parks. Today Epcot had late EMH hours.

Cody saw a spray bottle with a fan and wanted one, so DH bought it for him. Cody loved it. Unfortunately, he was more interested in the sprayer than in getting to the rides. The whole day went like this:

Take two steps. Stop and spray face. Take two more steps. Stop and spray arms. Two steps. Stop and spray front of legs. A couple more steps. Stop and spray back of legs. Two steps. Start from the beginning.

It got so bad that we had to take the sprayer away if we wanted him to walk anywhere. "Come on Cody. Mommy will give it back when we get to 'fill in the blank'. Please walk. Please?"

The first thing we did was follow a sea of people straight to Soarin'. It was shoulder to shoulder, everyone was going to the same place. Except for Cody. He pulled over to the side to use his sprayer. Finally we decided that I should just go on ahead with Gabriella to get the Soarin' FP's. DH would catch up with Cody when he could.

The CM's directed everyone to the right. It was just a massive flow of people into The Land, around the right side walkway and down the escalator. Luckily, right at the bottom of the escalator were the fast pass machines. I got our FP's. They said we only had to wait until 10:35 for our ride. Wow! I thought it would be much later.

DH and Cody caught up with us. We decided to see the Simba movie, I can't remember what it's called while we waited for our FP time. We ran into our neighbors while waiting for the movie to start, so we sat with them. The movie was very cute, good for small children.

Afterwards, our friends went their own way. Cody decided he was hungry. We had gotten donuts at the PC food court the night before, but Cody refused to eat breakfast in the room this morning, so he was hungry now. We grabbed a couple muffins in the Sunshine Food Court and waited for our FP time.

I got out our tickets and saw the green stripe across the top. That's when I knew something was wrong. The Soarin' ride has a blue sign. I had gotten FP's for the Living with the Land boat ride. Luckily, I only had to wait a few minutes until we were eligible for another FP. This time I ran to the correct FP machines and got Soarin' tickets. They were for 5:42 p.m. I was lucky to get any tickets at all, they ran out of FP's less than an hour later.

We the used our Living with the Land FP's. The line there was long, too--over 30 minutes. Cody was very nervous about the ride. The start and end of the ride looked dark. I explained that they do that so that no one could see inside and see what the ride was like. That became another theme of the trip.

"The ride looks dark, mommy."

"No sweetheart, that's only the end part. Remember they do that so no one can see in. They don't like to ruin the surprise."

Unfortunately, the first part of the ride was somewhat dark. The rainforest was a bit spooky. Then we got to the plant part, where they grow their crops. Cody really liked it. When we got off he wanted to go "Again, again!"

"Sorry, sweetie, the line is too long. Maybe later."

Next we went to The Living Seas to see Turtle Talk. Once again, the building was shoulder to shoulder people. The line for TT was well over an hour long, and no one wanted to stand in line, so we looked around at the fish for a while instead.

Then it was off the the Imagination building. We went on the Figment ride. Once again, Cody was nervous about the ride. It looked dark. I couldn't tell him what the ride was like because it had been shut down whenever we were there before. However, we finally coaxed him on with the promise that he would be riding in the neat red cars and could sit in the middle, between mom and dad where he would be safe.

I had to keep my arm around him the whole ride. He also hung onto me for dear life and buried his head in me whenever he got scared, which was several times. When we exited the ride he was all smiles and said "That was fun. Again, again!"

It was time for our lunch ADRs, so we couldn't go again. We headed over to Mexico instead. The theme of Mexico is that you are sitting on a patio overlooking a river. It's dark. There is a volcano across the river. It makes noise and smoke.

Cody was scared.

I should have known. We had eaten there when Gabriella was small and she was scared, too. However, the kids were older now, so I thought it would be O.K. We were seated right next to the river. It was a prime table. Perfect for viewing the boats. And the volcano. Cody had dozens of questions. "Is the volcano real? Will it make fire? Will I get burned? Why is it dark? Where are the noises coming from? Is the boat ride scary?"

We reassured him on all points. Over and over. Told him the ride was like Small World. "But it's dark. Small World isn't dark."

He did eventually calm down and we had a good lunch. They brought us chips and two bowls of salsa. We weren't sure if one was spicier than the other. Cody decided he had to use the restroom, so DH took him. While they were gone, Gabriella and I switched the salsa dishes around. She thought it was great fun. When the boys came back, we didn't tell, but Gabriella giggled until DH finally figured it out.

After lunch, and much reassurance that it wasn't scary, we went on the Mexico boat ride. Cody loved it. We had to get right back on and go again. Then we took some time to stop at the kidcot stop. The kids have always enjoyed making the masks.

Next we headed to Norway to get FP's for Maelstrom. "It's another boat ride, Cody. See?" While waiting for our time, we went to China and caught the movie and saw the acrobats. Then it was time for Maelstrom. I remember it as being a fun ride. It was darker and scarier than I thought. Gabriella was fine with it. Cody hated it. "I'm never going on that ride again, not even when I'm old like you!" We saw the cute movie at the end of the ride and then stopped at the Kidcot stop.

Cody wanted to go on the Mexico boat ride again, so back we went to Mexico for our third boat ride. Afterward, we were thirsty, so we stopped at the Mexican cantina on the lake side and got some sodas. It took forever to get through the line. When we were finally seated, Cody saw the boats going across the lake and wanted to take a boat ride. Do you see a pattern here? Someone was fixated on boats. I got out the map. We needed to be back to FW for our Soarin' time, so we were limited as to what we could do. No one but me wanted to go on TT, and Universe of Energy takes 45 minutes, which was too long. It looked like we had just enough time to catch the America show (which DH really wanted to see) and then take a boat across the lagoon to FW, so that is what we did.

On the way, we passed Germany and DH decided to stop and make dinner reservations for either Thursday or Saturday (we already had ADRs for Morocco for today). He really likes that restaurant. We walked on ahead. On the way, I saw the rain clouds coming and knew we would get soaked if we didn't hurry. Unfortunately, Cody had the sprayer in his hands again and didn't care one bit about walking faster. He just wanted to stop and play with his toy. It must be wonderful to be 6 and have no sense of time. He only cares about what is happening right now, schedules mean nothing to him. I had to take it away so we could get under cover before it poured.

Gabriella wasn't too sure she wanted to see the American Adventure. The day before her dad had "forced" her to see "the boring president show" at MK.

We got inside just as it was starting to sprinkle. DH caught up as it started to pour. We caught the wonderful singers who perform in the lobby/rotunda. The kids both seemed to enjoy the show. Gabriella didn't complain that it was boring and Cody sat on the edge of his seat and payed attention the whole time. By the time we came out, the rain had finished. We took the boat across the lagoon and headed to Soarin'.

That's all I have time for right now. I'll try to finish this day later. Thanks for reading.

 

[phoebusII]

We had a similar view at Pop last summer. We were in 50's Bulding C room 3433. Great view.

We had the same room! It was a great view. We got to see both the Epcot and the Magic Kingdom fireworks from our room.

 

[FSUDisneyGirl]

Great trip report so far! Can't wait for more!

 

[phoebusII]

We took the boat across the lagoon to FW and then made our way to Soarin'. Wow! What an incredible ride. We all decided it was our new favorite ride in all of WDW. We were in row two, but I didn't notice the people above or below me.

Next, we headed to our ADRs at Morocco. This was a day of a lot of back and forth walking due to FPs and ADRs. It wasn't the most efficient way to tour Epcot, but I had decided not to worry too much about schedules today and just go with what the family wanted to do. Yesterday had taught me to back off a bit and just do what the kids were able to do. So three boat rides in Mexico and spending nearly four hours stuck between Mexico and China was just fine.

Due to having to walk all the way from Soarin' to Morocco, we were a few minutes late for our ADRs, but it wasn't a problem. To my surprise, the restaurant was packed. When we had eaten there in the past, it was mostly empty. The food was superb, it was the best we had all week. I also ordered a non-alcoholic drink called Watermelon Delight. Yummy! I made the mistake of letting the kids taste it. They wanted it all.

The belly dancer came out and took a few little girls out onto the dance floor to dance with her. Gabriella had done that in the past and loved it. This time she thought she was far too old and cool to get involved, so we just watched.

We had been promising all day that he could play in the fountains when we had some time. I had even packed swimsuits for the kids so that they could have dry clothes afterwards. Now he was determined to hold us to our promise, so we headed back to FW. On the way, we stopped and got wristbands for EMH. We weren't sure that we would stay and use them, but got them just in case.

As we were between Britain and Canada, I saw an ideal opening at the rail for viewing the fireworks. It was nearly 8:30 by now and people had taken nearly all the good spots. I pulled Cody over and explained the situation. I promised he could play in the fountains after the fireworks. He was surprisingly rational about it and agreed to wait for the fireworks. We snagged the spot and had front row viewing. As always, they were wonderful.

Afterwards, we sat for a few minutes and waited for the crowds to clear out. As we were waiting, they started to pipe in some music. I grabbed DH's arm, pointed to the speakers and said "It's...it's...it's...the Epcot Parade music!" I could barely get the words out, I was so excited. When Gabriella was four, we went to WDW. She was at an age when she knew who the villians were and was scared of many of the characters. She was terrified of the MK parade. It was only when we got to Epcot and watched that parade that she enjoyed herself because "I can see their faces, mommy." She held her hands out for the parade characters to come to her, danced with them, had her picture taken with them. It became our favorite parade. Now it's gone and I really miss it, so I was thrilled that they still played the music.

We finally made it to the water fountain and let the kids play. Then we took them to the restrooms in the back of Innoventions, near The Land, to dry them off and change them into dry clothes. I distinctly remember talking bubblers. We tried them and they were turned off. No water, no talking. It was rather disappointing. We later discovered that they were turned off all over the park. I also looked for the talking trash can and couldn't find it.

Since we had wristbands, we decided to see how long the wait was for Soarin'. It was 90 minutes. We decided not to wait and checked out the line for Turtle Talk. There was only a 15 minute wait, so we stayed and saw that. It was very cute. I thought that they could only fit about 40 people in the theater, but there were well over a hundred packed in.

On our way out of the park we stopped to let the kids play at the light up sidewalks. One of my favorite memories of childhood was playing at those sidewalks, so I always make it a point to stop and give my children some time to play there. Sometimes it's the little things that make the best memories.

We made it back to the room about midnight and decided to sleep late the next morning. We were going to Animal Kingdom. I had originally wanted to get there early and do Expedition Everest, but we had to sleep some time.

 

[declansdad]

We had the same room! It was a great view. We got to see both the Epcot and the Magic Kingdom fireworks from our room.

Cool!!

We knew about the Epcot fireworks, that was part of the reason for making the room request but the MK fireworks were a bonus.

 

[declansdad]

Does this view look familiar?