Divas, Zebra Domes, and Pixie Dust! A Week in an African Paradise! New TR Link Pg.145

[MEK]

Before I begin the first of Day 3’s updates (which will be text-heavy and picture-poor), I have to add two things that I should have included in the last update.

Sunday night when we were at the pool, Charles accidentally dropped my cell phone onto the concrete. This would have dire results because from that moment onward, my phone was on the fritz. At first I could see the screen for brief moments of time, but as time went on, the screen would only blink on for about two seconds -- I wasn’t able to access my address book or text message by the end of the week. I did get a new phone out of it when we returned so there was a happy ending eventually.Oh CP. That stinks. No one wants to be without a phone in Disney! How . I'm glad you got a new one, but still!

Also, as we were getting off the safari on Sunday, Connor said to us, “I would like the safari more if the animals were real. It’s such a letdown knowing they are animatronics.” We about died laughing and explained to him that they were in fact real animals on the safari. I don’t know where he got the idea that they weren’t real -- maybe because they are animatronics on the Jungle Cruise. That is so cute! Connor making an earnest statement showing his disney knowledge of animatronics, only to be told he is wrong!

Okay, back to Day Three. We woke up pretty early, and everyone got ready relatively quickly. We headed down to the Mara for breakfast -- according to the receipt we paid at 7:30. Connor once again groused about the kid portions on his breakfast platter and ate Charles’ potatoes to sustain himself. Chelsea and Charles both had the adult breakfast platters, and I had a delicious cinnamon roll. After breakfast Charles stunned me by saying, “I think I will let you go ahead and will meet up with you later.” Sigh. Fine.Oh Charles!

We reached Epcot in time for rope drop, but since we weren’t doing any of the big rides or getting Soarin’ or Test Track Fast Passes until Charles met up with us (we needed all four tickets for that), we walked leisurely over to Mission: Space to get Fast Passes for the kids and Charles for later in the day (I don’t ride that one because they like to do the Orange Mission).
Smart Plan!

Connor was anxious to procure his ticket for the Kim Possible Mission so next we headed over to Innoventions. His time was 11:00 in Norway so that would work out nicely. While we were standing at the Kim Possible station, the Cast Members at Storm Struck started talking to the kids. I don’t know much about this attraction except that when Amara’s family went in March they did it, and she said it simulates what it feels like to be in a tornado. So, here are the CMs talking to my kids and trying to entice them to come see Storm Struck, and Connor, the Chatty Child, said, “I am sorry, we can’t do it. My mom is terrified of storms, and I don’t think she could handle it.” Then he patted me on the shoulder. Thanks, honey. He was right, of course, but…This is an attraction that I have never done and it interests me. I am putting it on my September "To Do" list!

Connor somehow had assumed the mantle of Fearless Leader for the morning, so he directed us to Honey, I Shrunk the Audience, a never-done attraction for us. We, and about five other families (gotta love doing all the smaller attractions first thing in the morning), donned our 3-D glasses and met mice and snakes (I did keep my eyes on the ground during the snake part).I forgot how freaky that snake was until we saw it again this June!

Next, we took a quick Journey into the Imagination with Figment -- how I love that little, purple dragon -- takes me right back to my childhood -- and headed for The Seas with Nemo and Friends, another never-done for us.

We had to stop and visit the seagulls before boarding our clam mobile.I always enjoy these attractions even though they are pretty low key.

We thought the ride was cute and hung around the tanks watching the sea turtles for awhile before going to Turtle Talk with Crush (yet another never-done for us). Connor loved doing the little pop quiz on the computer while we waited, and while the kids did not want to sit up front with the other children, we thoroughly enjoyed our time with Crush. He is really quite funny, and it is definitely another ingenious attraction from Disney.Agreed. I get a big kick out of Crush and love watching the kids interact with him! I love the computer quizes, too. But I NEVER score better than 4 out of 5!

Connor made sure we were keeping a close eye on the time, and soon we were headed for World Showcase to start our Kim Possible Mission. We stopped at the little fruit smoothies place on the promenade, and the kids got smoothies -- it was already getting unbearably hot at this point in the day. Hot!....You said it sister!

I paused to snap a quick photo in Mexico.

In Norway, Connor received his Top Secret Kim Possible Mission, and we were off to thwart evil. Now, from here on out, I may not sound all that pleased with KP, but I do have to say that it is a very clever, clever, clever game -- definitely a must-do for just about everyone. I am not going to reveal much about any of the missions because I think most of the fun is in the surprise element.Wanted to do this, but LJ wasn;t that interested. Oh well....maybe next time!

Here are my little secret agents about to start.

Close on the trail of the villain.

A clue! A clue! (Oops, wrong show .

Now, this is where it all began to go downhill. After completing the Norway mission, the phone gave us the option to complete another one. Thanks, Disney, I really appreciate that. Connor had grandiose ideas of completing all six of the other missions and, without asking, chose Japan as our next stop. Um, no, I was not trekking all the way around the lagoon to do another mission! Charles had called and was on his way to meet up with us. Connor was not pleased. Really not pleased.Uh Oh!


We decided to go to China for lunch. Once at the Lotus Blossom Café, Charles looked at the menu and declared there wasn’t anything that they would like there. Now remember my family does not like tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, green peppers -- I am the only non-picky person in the whole group.

Now, this is where I had my own diva moment. OMG CP - this is starting to sound like my melt down moment in Epcot!

It was hot.

It was crowded.

I was hungry.

I was tired.

My purse was getting progressively heavier with the addition of the KP phone and Charles’ blood sugar meter.

My family had just declared that they didn’t want to eat where we had chosen.

Connor was still whining about KP.

I snapped.Yuup! Just like my meltdown moment!

Thrusting the map at Charles, I hissed (I never yell at Disney ), “You know what? I spend a year planning our vacations here, and in the space of five minutes, you manage to turn all those plans on their ears. Well, I quit. You decide where we are going to eat. You decide what we are going to do. You are the official planner for the rest of the afternoon. But we need to eat soon because we are hungry and if we wait much longer we won‘t be hungry for Rose and Crown at dinner.”OMG - What is it about Epcot!

To Charles’ credit, he took it all in stride. He looked at the map and decided we would eat at the Electric Umbrella. On our way past the Norway KP kiosk, we dropped off the KP phone and told Connor we would do another mission at some other point in our week. He was not pleased with us. At all. And it was something that would come back to haunt us later (more than once).Oh crap! Poor connor! Can't wait to read about this!

It was a madhouse at the Electric Umbrella. Apparently, everyone decided to eat there at a quarter to two on Monday afternoon. I got everyone’s orders and stood in line. It was sooo loud in there, I could barely hear myself think. I ordered and moved up to the pick-up area and waited. And waited and waited and waited and waited. I have never been anywhere where it was so slow in my entire life. I really thought I was going to lose my mind. To add insult to injury, it was so loud in there that I missed Wigd’s phone call to see if we wanted to meet them for the Visa Meet and Greet. I was so disappointed I had missed Anita when I heard the message later. I know this feeling well. That is the only smart thing we did on our trip. We ate so darn early everyday that we missed the maddening crowds.

Over lunch, we decided to grab our Test Track FPs and head back to the hotel for a little bit.

We did just that. While the kids and Charles watched a Phineas and Ferb episode, I promptly fell asleep. Like a small child, I was obviously overly tired and over stimulated from our morning at Epcot. Smart move! Getting aggravated always makes me tired, too!

UP NEXT: More Connor Impossible, a Dragon, and a DIS Meet!

Cp - so glad you posted today. Made my boring morning must more amusing!

 

[MegansMom]

My poor CP!!!!! I don't think that was too much of a diva moment.....it was true and probably a little overdue! I think you have done a great job so far of juggling everyone else's needs and taking care of all the plans!!!! I bet you felt immensely better after that nap!!!! I hope your day improves, but I'm a little nervous about Connor and the KP missions.......YIKES!!!!!

 

[jmamom]

Oh my goodness, your lunch sounds like a vision into my future - I can imagine having that exact conversation with my husband and kids! Probably because I've had it before, anytime I try to plan something, they just swoop in and override me - usually to poor results. I have actually warned them all, that we're going with Mom's plan, and if you want any input, give it now, before we get there! I get very grumpy when I'm hungry, too, and hate the "where should we go" discussion.
Connor's obsession with doing more KP missions is also a vision into my future - when my son likes something, that's it, he doesn't want to do anything else, just stick with what he likes. And the rest of the family's wishes matter not a whit to this kid - its all about him!
Okay, rant over, I love my family, but boy can they be annoying! I just totally sympathise with you on this day ,and its not fair when you have clearly worked so hard to plan it all perfectly! Hope a rest solved the problem!

 

[If U Had Wings]

I don't blame you at all for your diva moment. I always start to get cranky at Disney when it's hot and my plans are starting to unravel. I can't even imagine what a cranky kid would add to the mix for me. I guess I'd crack even sooner. Usually it's the rain that gets to me. I try to tough it out as long as possible, but eventually I crack.

 

[DWGal210]

Oh Jackie, I'm sorry to hear that your EPCOT morning was not the easiest. I am the same way when I get tired and/or hungry; I am normally rational but this other side of me comes out. It's good that you went to the hotel and rested, though - sometimes that's all I need to pull myself out of a funk!

I was thinking some of my cousins and I would try the Kim Possible deal this year, so thanks for the warning about the multiple missions - we'll have to have a discussion before-hand about how many missions we are going to do!

 

[lovedonaldduck]

There is something about Epcot that causes diva moments. Epcot is where I had both of my diva moments last trip. I think it's the heat and lack of shade combined with sooooo many options. Plus, for some reason Epcot seems to make everyone else suddenly very opinionated. No one questioned my touring plans at AK or MK but suddenly at Epcot everyone had an opinion. That did not mesh well with my need to control.

It looks like you were able to accomplish a lot in the morning with the kids, and a lot of new things for y'all too.

I have to make sure next trip that my DD knows the animals on the safari are real. I'll set the record straight with her from the beginning.

 

[meeko_33785]

Yikes. I have not been hearing a lot of good feedback to how that Kim Possible thing works. I thought I read that you could pick where you want your next mission to be after the first one. You'd think that would make more sense than sending you from Norway to Japan without your cencent. Far too inconvenient! Thanks for the heads up.

 

[stace208]

Sounds like a great morning at Epcot, preKP that is! We never squeezed it in this trip but I will remember your experience and set some ground rules before we do it next year!

As for your *diva* moment...it was completely justified and I am not just saying that because the EXACT same words came out of my mouth at AK one day

 

[MRYPPNS]

I personally don't think it was a diva moment at all. I think it's a natural reaction to being the parent in charge all morning and then having the other parent sweep in and decide to change the plans. Oh wait, we were talking about your vacation......not my every Friday when DH gets home from work

I'm thinking that KP only gives you another mission if it's not in high demand that day....maybe that's why you didn't know it would do that. Parents take note!

I was getting nervous with that storm attraction story. That would have been quite the therapy for your bad weather-phobia.

Maybe it should be standard touring procedure for all of us to eat BEFORE we get hungray. Something that I started doing last trip might help your crew. I made a sheet for each park with the menus of the restaurants that we might eat at. That way we could check the menu before we trekked all the way there, or so we could make a decision before we were straving.

 

[troobabiee7]

Oh no! Sorry about the hot, hectic afternoon. I hate when things don't go as planned, and my family's always trying to change the plans on me The best laid plans... right? Hopefully everyone felt better after getting some lunch and time to relax. Can't wait for more!

 

[Queenofallthings]

Ahhh, a meltdown at EPCOT, been there, done that, embarrassed myself, my DD and my BFF. We were in France when a cast member came up to us and said Belle and Beast will be out in 3 minutes, stand right here and you will be first in line to see them Belle is my FAVORITE princess, I love her attitude. So there we stand (the other 2 couldn't care less, but they humoured me) when all of a sudden 3 kids stand right in front of us. I politely say to them "Darlings, the line is right behind us and Belle and Beast should be right out. So they move behind us.....7 seconds later they stand in front of us again and my DD who was 12 at the time elbows me and points. Ok, now the mommy is with them, so again, politely I say the lineup is behind us, she proceeds to point her index finger in my face and says "Are blind, we were here first". After I picked my jaw up off the floor, shushed DD, because now I just think is this really worth it I'm at the happiest place on earth.....well, no all of a sudden I'm 5 years old again and darn it, we were here first. They won't move, so my DD says well mom, they aren't playing by the rules (pointing at the children) and I say....gosh I'm so embarrassed as I type this...."Well you can't fault the children when their mother is clearly an idiot"...yup that's right completely lost my mind!!!! At least you had your moment with your own family

 

[jewels1916]

about Connor at the storm attraction. At least he was takin' care of you!
And I think your diva moment was justified. Tired+hungry+no one willing to work with you? Not a good combination for anyone, plus throw in a few hundred other people and some good ol' Florida heat, and that's enough to make anyone snap!

I'm glad you got to rest a bit after that, and am curious to find out if Connor ever makes it to Japan for his next mission.

Can't wait to read more!

 

[KathyRN137]

Now, this is where it all began to go downhill. After completing the Norway mission, the phone gave us the option to complete another one. Thanks, Disney, I really appreciate that. Connor had grandiose ideas of completing all six of the other missions and, without asking, chose Japan as our next stop. Um, no...



Now, this is where I had my own diva moment.

“You know what? I spend a year planning our vacations here, and in the space of five minutes, you manage to turn all those plans on their ears. Well, I quit...."

Oh, CP, I understand all too well! This sounds just like my own little OTP meltdown moment on the last Aunt Rae trip... in fact, I think my exact words were, "I Quit!"

Thank you, thank you, thank you for the heads up on the KP repeat missions tidbit! You know how rigid Billy can be, you may have saved us from our own meltdown! Not to mention two pouty teenage girls!

I appreciate that most DISers are not spilling the beans about the missions... that's so very thoughtful... but little factoids like that are so good to know!!

Glad you got a chance to refresh yourself after all that... looking forward to the next chapter!!


Kathy

ETA: Forgot to mention how funny that was that Connor thought the safari animals were AAs!!
*

 

[wigdoutdismom]

It's so interesting to get every ones different takes on Kim Possible. I actually have come to dread those two little words....
I'm thinking Charles must have LOVED AKL. He seemed to relish quiet time soaking up the resort.

Don't you just love the planning and obsessing just to let it go right down the drain?

I wish you had heard your phone you were very near to meet and greet spot... not to rub salt in the wound but we had Minnie, Mickey and Goofy.

Can't wait to see who that DIS meet was with!

 

[shannon47142]

your update maddee me laugh out loud
I am sorry that you had a slight meltdown--it happens to everyone I'm sure!!!

 

[manntra]

So sorry about your Epcot day. As someone else said...the heat and the people and then being hungry...so easy to unravel. We call it "temper tummy" when we start to get hungry and need to find a quick remedy before we come undone!
Tracy

 

[Blesseddaddy]

Well Jackie, you never let us down with your updates!

I will also go ahead and say it..........Charles bears some of the responsibility for your meltdown!! There, it is out there, I have said it!! Bask in it, enjoy it, it may or may not last long?? I know he is my new Buddy, but hey we have to man up, when we can. Surely my new Buddy won't be too offended when I point out our faults, since I am certainly willing to point out y'alls!! Dropping phone.....well, it was an accident........deciding to hang back another morning........well.......ummmmmmm........welllllllll.....showing up and then not going along with the plan already in place.........ummmmmm.......well.......ummmmmmmmm.....I knew this was going to be a rocky, slippery slope when I signed on to give the "other" side's view!!

I hate about the accident with the phone.........but one can survive at Disney without it..........I did!!! Tracy carries one (being cheap, I see no need for me to carry one) and only once did it really create an issue for us at Disney!! We had a "Monday" at Disney the day we were going to AK!! In the days leading up to that morning, I had been running for Fast Passes and had blisters the size of New Jersey on both of my feet.........being the sweet wife she is, she offered to run and get us FP for Everest as we entered the park. We had other friends already in the park, but because we were having a "Monday" at Disney we had arrived "late"!! Anyway, she called them on her cell phone, turned to me as she dashed off in the other direction and yelled they are at Discovery Island and into the crowd she disappeared. Now, Discovery Island isn't a destination, it's a SECTION of the park!! My first thought was, "well this isn't good"!! There was no way to chase her down with my two girls in tow. I figured if I headed that direction, she would have gotten the FP and moved toward Discovery Island before I got my two girls even over to Everest. So, I decide, with the 100,000 other people there that day, to move with the crowd. I even stopped and let the girls get Lilo and Stitch's autographs along the way!! As we meandered around Discovery Island, I did start to panic a little!! I thought, there is no way, I am going to find Tracy or the other family!! Then I decided the best thing to do was to stay on the main path and just be still and watch the THOUSANDS of people passing in front of me. We had our own Kim IMPossible Mission. I told the girls to be on the lookout for Momma or our friends. Poor things, there was no way they could see over the crowds. Believe it or not, just as I was getting ready to start asking total strangers if I could borrow their cell phones to call my wife, I saw her darting by.........by then she was a good piece on up the path, but I yelled as loud as I could over the crowd and she actually heard me!!! So, see you can survive Disney without a cell phone........especially if you can holler loud!!

I think Connor is certainly a fine young man, he is already looking out for his mother!! You should be very proud of him, thinking about you and protecting you from the storms!! You know, you really can't blame him either, for thinking the animals on the safari weren't real.......Disney is pretty amazing at some of the things they are able to pull off!!

I messed up when we went to Epcot, after spending our morning riding everything in Future World (and I mean EVERYTHING....), we moved toward the World Showcase. We did try to eat lunch early each day, as to beat the crowds at the CS places. So we stopped in Mexico and grabbed a bite to eat. While sitting there looking out over the water and enjoying the BIRDS, I mentioned to my girls what World Showcase was. I didn't want them after having ridden everything (and I mean EVERYTHING...) at DHS, almost everything (just some of the "smaller" rides left that we had yet to ride) at MK, as well as having ridden everything (and I mean EVERYTHING...) at AK to be disappointed walking around the World Showcase, since we had spent our morning riding EVERYHING in Future World. Big mistake on my part. They opted to save it for another time!! I don't know what I was thinking, but I didn't want them to have a meltdown. I know they would have loved the World Showcase and enjoyed it very much, but my frame of mind was........I don't want them to think there are a lot of rides back here, like we have been doing for the past 4 days and then be upset!! As I read yours and other's trip reports (who have been more than once) and see where y'all are doing certain rides and shows in the parks for the first time (we hit the parks commando style), I am truly amazed at what all we did.......but when it comes to World Showcase, that is where I dropped the ball........well, as they say, you can't do it all in one trip and it gives you a reason to go back!! I guess World Showcase is our Number ONE reason!!

We missed one of Anita's calls too when we were there. Hummmmmm?? Oh, wait she did leave you a message, huh?? Hummmmmm?? She would have loved to have been around for the "meltdown"......I think that is another one of her favorite Disney traditions......to watch others have meltdowns at the Happiest Place on Earth!!

Well, I hate you had a "moment", but you are entitled to it and yes we all have them!! I was glad to hear that Charles took it all in stride and figured out he needed to make the rest of the day better for you!! I like everyone else look forward to your next installment and hope that the food, the rest, a break from the crowds and some cool air made everything right with the World!!

 

[LISAMWDW]

All caught up! Great report! Sorry about your diva meltdown!
It happens to us all!

Can't wait for more!

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Jackie, you are so sweet - your meltdown was just a tiny one - I'm sure no one else even noticed. You're allowed a moment like that, especially when the family isn't appreciating your planning efforts!

 

[DreaGirl]

I'm sorry about your phone. That stinks to have a half working/not working phone a WDW. I'm glad you got a new one though.

I wish my DD were a little older so we could to the KP stuff. She just wouldn't get it.

Been there, done that with the Diva meltdown. I think I even used your same wording as far as planning the trip out and then on a whim having the entire day changed. Like you, I don't work well when I am hungry. I'm also so type A that when the plan in my head (for the perfect day) gets changed I just get so annoyed.

I'm glad you were able to rest, can't wait to hear about the rest of the day.