"Do You Mind?" - Disney Adventures with Teens August Trip Report

[Grandma Bonnie]

Grandma Bonnie....you sure look GREAT for celebrating your 67th at WDW. Many more happy, healthy, birthdays to you!

Susan, I just needed to mention this to Grandma Bonnie! Gotta get ready for our trip, Friday am!!!

Thank you, thank you!

 

[Grandma Bonnie]

First of all, Happy belated Birthday, Grandma Bonnie!!! (I seriously think you need to take another look at your birth certificate - you don't look a day over 50!!)

Just checked the birth certificate......just like me, it hasn't changed! Thanks for the BD wishes.

 

[Grandma Bonnie]

I still love mad libs. But it has to be played with the right (drunken) group for sure.

Happy Birthday, Grandma Bonnie!

Those car goodie bags were so cute!

Thanks, Swan.

 

[irene_dsc]

Irene! Glad you're joining us here. Where did you end up going? Did you have a great trip?

Thanks! We ended up going to Madison and then the Dells. Some parts went better than others. My favorite part was the Botanic Gardens, which we did the 1st day. They have a cute little public zoo with an amazing playground, which dd loved. Ds liked it, but the back straps on his mock crocs broke there, so he quit early - too hot to go barefoot, alas. His favorite part of Madison was our hotel pool, which had a nice play area, plus basketball hoops in the deeper area. He met up with twin boys his age, and they got kinda crazy and had a blast. Their grandma got my email addy to send me some pictures. We also did the Children's Museum, which dd absolutely loved, and then Ella's Deli, which has a ton of animatronic stuff, plus good matzoh ball soup (my kids' fave). We also made a side trip to New Glarus, which was rather a bust, but we got to visit a tiny winery and bought a bottle of white.

Then, in the Dells, we played mini golf, then checked into the Kalahari, where we had gotten a great package deal that included one buffet meal, two full breakfasts, a pizza with drinks, a free pay-per-view movie, plus 100 tokens for the game room. And we used every single one of those freebies! We didn't go off-site until we checked out! Ds loved the waterpark, esp. the Master Blaster (big slide ride) and the Flowrider. Dd loved the 1st day of the park, esp. the family raft ride that the 2 of us rode about a dozen times in a row, but then she got tired of it. At the end, she did a bunch of crafty things.

I have to admit, I kept comparing the Kalahari to WDW, and it kept coming up short in theming and food, and especially the kid activity directors who were really not that friendly - it was like all they felt they needed to do was set stuff up, and forget about any actual interaction with people. We did have a really good breakfast at the sitdown cafe (Ivory Coast), and great coffee there. Oh, our other best meal was dinner at The Great Dane Brewery & Pub near our hotel outside of Madison (Fitchburg). I forget the exact name of what I ordered, but it was very unusual but very good.

Anyhow, it was mostly good - and that's my mini TR!

 

[Marshay]

Happy 67th belated bday! Celebrating at The Brown Derby sounds excellent!

I definitely loved latch-hooking as a kid and still have 1 rug left that I made (cat). I had one of Bambi, too, as of 3 weeks ago, but then my cats decided that it would make a better litter box I tried to clean it up but it was a lost cause.

Oh, and those yes and know books -- I totally pass them in the store today and STILL want to buy them. I keep looking at the ages and going, soon, I can get one for my daughter!

 

[Grandma Bonnie]

Happy 67th belated bday! Celebrating at The Brown Derby sounds excellent!

I definitely loved latch-hooking as a kid and still have 1 rug left that I made (cat). I had one of Bambi, too, as of 3 weeks ago, but then my cats decided that it would make a better litter box I tried to clean it up but it was a lost cause.

Oh, and those yes and know books -- I totally pass them in the store today and STILL want to buy them. I keep looking at the ages and going, soon, I can get one for my daughter!

First, thanks for the belated well-wishes. You are correct, The Brown Derby was a great place for a celebration for me because I recognized so many of the characters on the walls.

Second, I think latch-hooking is therapeutic. And my grandsons like for me to make them latch hook pillows and rugs.

Third, when the teens became bored with the Yes and Know books, I inherited them and completed the unfinished pages while I was on the plane. It's true, they are good for ages 2 to 112.

 

[swwake]

So far, so good!

Thanks! Where's Chel? I don't think she has joined us. I am sad that your TR is almost over.

You got me curious.....a visit to hospital
Love your dogs
Your gift bag idea sounds like something I'd do my boys (who are older than your girls) are constantly shaking their heads at me for doing such things at Christmas and other holidays.I seem to buy things that they used to like when they were little boys.

Yes, hospital. Make that two hospitals. I will be posting an update tonight.
Thanks, on the dogs. We love them too.
I don't think you're ever too old to do corny "mom" things.

I am so buying a couple of Yes & Know books for my trip....I don't have to share the baseball game

There ya go! Hit a few home runs!

Please do PM me Harry's story... It took our rescue, Ginger, about a year to realize this is her FOREVER home! Agree on rescuing again versus a breeded.

To keep us on topic ...

Had to chuckle about the goody bags for the teens!

Story sent - and I got your response.
I think they secretly liked their goody bags. Every teen secretly wants to be a 3 year old again and be coddled.

Susan, I just needed to mention this to Grandma Bonnie! Gotta get ready for our trip, Friday am!!!

Yay! I can't believe you're leaving so soon! That snuck up on me. Have a WONDERFUL trip! Will you do a trip report?

I loved the goodie bag stuff you packed - I would have been ecstatic but then I'm not 15 or 16 either lol But still, what a nice surprise!

Am really enjoying your trip so far - am anxious to see how the rest of the road trip goes and your time at WDW (my DBFF's daughter & grandson were there 08/06-08/12/08 at BCV and haven't heard from them how they enjoyed their trip - there was a big snafu on the son's park tickets. somehow they did a charge-back on my credit card for his ticket and they had to purchase another one at check-in. I paid for most of the trip for them since she could only afford half but it was their first visit and I wanted it to be special )

Will sit here waiting to read more! (btw we were there for a grand gathering in March 1997 - how did you like the castle decorated as a cake? I was so disapppointed cuz that was our first visit)

I think they still liked the goody bags, regardless of age.
Wonder how the trip went for your friend's family. I'm sure they had a blast. It takes a few days to get back into a home rhythm.
We were there in July 1997 and I don't remember the castle being in the cake decoration. I have seen pictures, though. Maybe it was.

I still love mad libs. But it has to be played with the right (drunken) group for sure.

Happy Birthday, Grandma Bonnie!

Those car goodie bags were so cute!

You're right about the mad libs.
I liked the goody bag idea. I just picked things up over the course of the few months before, when I saw them and they made me think about the trip.

I'm on board! Can't wait to hear more!!!

Thanks! We ended up going to Madison and then the Dells. Some parts went better than others. My favorite part was the Botanic Gardens, which we did the 1st day. They have a cute little public zoo with an amazing playground, which dd loved. Ds liked it, but the back straps on his mock crocs broke there, so he quit early - too hot to go barefoot, alas. His favorite part of Madison was our hotel pool, which had a nice play area, plus basketball hoops in the deeper area. He met up with twin boys his age, and they got kinda crazy and had a blast. Their grandma got my email addy to send me some pictures. We also did the Children's Museum, which dd absolutely loved, and then Ella's Deli, which has a ton of animatronic stuff, plus good matzoh ball soup (my kids' fave). We also made a side trip to New Glarus, which was rather a bust, but we got to visit a tiny winery and bought a bottle of white.

Then, in the Dells, we played mini golf, then checked into the Kalahari, where we had gotten a great package deal that included one buffet meal, two full breakfasts, a pizza with drinks, a free pay-per-view movie, plus 100 tokens for the game room. And we used every single one of those freebies! We didn't go off-site until we checked out! Ds loved the waterpark, esp. the Master Blaster (big slide ride) and the Flowrider. Dd loved the 1st day of the park, esp. the family raft ride that the 2 of us rode about a dozen times in a row, but then she got tired of it. At the end, she did a bunch of crafty things.

I have to admit, I kept comparing the Kalahari to WDW, and it kept coming up short in theming and food, and especially the kid activity directors who were really not that friendly - it was like all they felt they needed to do was set stuff up, and forget about any actual interaction with people. We did have a really good breakfast at the sitdown cafe (Ivory Coast), and great coffee there. Oh, our other best meal was dinner at The Great Dane Brewery & Pub near our hotel outside of Madison (Fitchburg). I forget the exact name of what I ordered, but it was very unusual but very good.

Anyhow, it was mostly good - and that's my mini TR!

That sounds like a fun trip! Thanks for sharing! A FLOWRIDER?!?! That alone would be worth the trip for us. Did your family try it? We went on a cruise on Liberty of the Seas last year and the Flowrider was DH's and my FAVORITE part. We were up every morning at 8am to jump on that thing and surf. When we got home, we even searched the internet to find the closest one to our home, and when we didn't find one, explored options for purchasing one. At $2 million, needless to say, we didn't buy one. We may have to make a trip to Dells! That makes me jealous, since our surfing at Typhoon Lagoon got canceled

I definitely loved latch-hooking as a kid and still have 1 rug left that I made (cat). I had one of Bambi, too, as of 3 weeks ago, but then my cats decided that it would make a better litter box I tried to clean it up but it was a lost cause.

Oh, and those yes and know books -- I totally pass them in the store today and STILL want to buy them. I keep looking at the ages and going, soon, I can get one for my daughter!

Ironic that the cats destroyed your bambi latch hook but left the cat one alone.
You can buy a yes and know book. They are for ages 7 to 107 and up, ya know!

 

[swwake]

Part I, Chapter 4​

Friday, August 8
Melodies and Memories​

As we continued our journey through Dallas and eastbound toward Texarkana, and since everyone was awake and alert now, we decided to test out the sound system with the 26k songs. Our test revealed that we could only connect the sound when the computer was running on battery. When we plugged the computer into the inverter, we got ridiculous buzzing feedback that ruined any sense of enjoying the music.

This also meant I couldn’t have my external drive plugged into the inverter, and it doesn’t have a battery.

So, MacGuyver that I am, I decided to copy about 2500 songs over from the external drive to my computer and run the music only when the battery was at full charge. And that’s what we did.

When we play music on road trips, we play a little game called “Next”. Each person gets a certain number of Nexts (usually 3) to use. If he/she doesn’t like a song that is playing, he/she can call one of his/her Nexts and the DJ moves to the next song. We played this for a short time, but I don’t think Caitlin was playing (listening to her own ipod) and I don’t think Katie or Mom cared. So it got pretty boring with only a total of 6 Nexts for Chris and me to use.

Next invented game was “guess the next song”. I sorted the music alphabetically by title, and Chris guessed what the NEXT song would be. He was almost never correct, but with 2500 titles to choose from, it’s a little difficult.

Also, around 1:45, I was able to check in for our flights on Saturday! Yippee!! It’s getting closer!

At 3:30pm, we pulled into the parking lot of Arkansas Childrens Hospital in Little Rock.

We were there to visit Paxton. There is a story here. Katie’s biological father lives in Arkansas and was once engaged to Paxton’s mother. At age 4, Paxton was diagnosed with ALL (Leukemia). She is now 9 years old and is a real trouper. For the past five years, Katie and Paxton have spent vacations and other quality time together whenever Katie has visited her father during the summer and around Christmastime. They have grown very close.

In May, Katie was able to join Paxton and the family for a portion of their Make-A-Wish trip. Here are a couple of pictures.

We received a call Wednesday or Thursday before the trip letting us know that Paxton was not doing too well and had been hospitalized. They had attempted an experimental chemotherapy on her, which had sent the cancer into remission, but which had taken its toll on her liver. The liver was swelling and blocking the kidneys and heart, causing them to shut down.

We had made the decision Thursday night to stop for a visit with Paxton. Only Katie and I would go to the room, while Chris, Caitlin and Mom tended to the dogs and allowed them to romp and stretch their legs.

We got to see Paxton for about an hour. She was doing better than I expected her to. They said she had slept almost 23 hours the day prior. While we were there, she was awake much of the time. She was visibly happy to see Katie. Katie crawled up into the bed and laid with her and hugged her. We had brought two stuffed animals, which they played with. Paxton also reminisced about Florida and Disney World with Katie. It was so sweet.

At about 5pm, we were back on the road, headed toward Memphis, then Jackson, TN.

Next: A visit to another hospital??

 

[Marshay]

So very cool that you guys got to visit Paxton and that she was able to go to WDW with MAW. I know you treasure this visit even more now.

 

[Charleston Princess]

I am so glad that you and Katie were able to visit with Paxton!

 

[vdarrell]

Vdarrell, Now you're my kind of mousketeer! colorblind and myopic.

That's me alright
My DH is always telling me I see things in tech-no-color.

 

[Native NYer]

It's so great that you and Katie were able to visit Paxton. I'm sure that visit meant a lot to her and her mom.

 

[heath-and-javens-mom]

Im all caught up! Love the report so far!

the visit to to see Paxton almost made me cry! I wish there were something I could do to ease the pain for these little kids. They sure are strong! Alot stronger than I would be Im sure. Im so glad you stopped to see her.

Another hospital visit??????????????????????????

 

[stagemomx3]

How did I miss the start of this? Ok I'm here now and I'll catch up very soon!

 

[irene_dsc]

That sounds like a fun trip! Thanks for sharing! A FLOWRIDER?!?! That alone would be worth the trip for us. Did your family try it? We went on a cruise on Liberty of the Seas last year and the Flowrider was DH's and my FAVORITE part. We were up every morning at 8am to jump on that thing and surf. When we got home, we even searched the internet to find the closest one to our home, and when we didn't find one, explored options for purchasing one. At $2 million, needless to say, we didn't buy one. We may have to make a trip to Dells! That makes me jealous, since our surfing at Typhoon Lagoon got canceled

Y'know, when I was planning the trip, I didn't even really notice the flowrider as a factor, since this was our first waterpark of any real size. But, that was ds' big thrill for the trip. He (and dh) did the boogie board and body surfing during the day (ds a few more times that dh), and then tried the surfing a few times at night (they change the setup so it is surfing 7-10 pm). I have to admit I've been meaning to find out where else they are, actually! (And will probably do that after I finish up my DIS'ing!) I did check that the brand new waterpark about 15 minutes from us *doesn't* have one (plus, you have to stay at the hotel to go to the waterpark).

Anyhow, I'm patiently waiting for parts of the TR that weren't covered in the PTR...so forgive my OT rambling!

Oh, and, welcome Chel!

 

[swwake]

Y'know, when I was planning the trip, I didn't even really notice the flowrider as a factor, since this was our first waterpark of any real size. But, that was ds' big thrill for the trip. He (and dh) did the boogie board and body surfing during the day (ds a few more times that dh), and then tried the surfing a few times at night (they change the setup so it is surfing 7-10 pm). I have to admit I've been meaning to find out where else they are, actually! (And will probably do that after I finish up my DIS'ing!) I did check that the brand new waterpark about 15 minutes from us *doesn't* have one (plus, you have to stay at the hotel to go to the waterpark).

Anyhow, I'm patiently waiting for parts of the TR that weren't covered in the PTR...so forgive my OT rambling!

Oh, and, welcome Chel!

They have a boogie-board-only flowrider at Schlitterbahn near our home (1 hour south). The best is on the cruise ship, though. So if flowrider on vacation is important to you, I highly recommend Royal Caribbean!! (good food, too - and good other stuff!)

I know, so far my TR is pretty much re-hashing the PTR. Sorry about that, to my diligent readers. I will get there soon! Anything after 8:30am Saturday will be brand new!

 

[irene_dsc]

They have a boogie-board-only flowrider at Schlitterbahn near our home (1 hour south). The best is on the cruise ship, though. So if flowrider on vacation is important to you, I highly recommend Royal Caribbean!! (good food, too - and good other stuff!)

I know, so far my TR is pretty much re-hashing the PTR. Sorry about that, to my diligent readers. I will get there soon! Anything after 8:30am Saturday will be brand new!

We keep going back and forth about whether we would ever do a cruise or not, tbh. I'm not sure if a flowrider is necessary, but dh thinks it was the best part of the water park for ds. Of course, he managed to have fun a couple days later at the local Y's pool for a friend's birthday party without nearly as much stuff there, so I think he'll manage if he doesn't get to ride one for a while.

Of course, he *was* all excited to find out that WDW had waterparks. We hadn't even mentioned them when we were there, since it was January and our first trip, so had plenty of other things to keep us busy. I've said that if we did a spring break trip, we'd try the water park(s) - maybe 2010? (2009 won't work for us, I don't think. For one thing, I really need to do dd's 5th birthday party the 2nd weekend of spring break, to avoid it being Easter weekend, and she really wants to invite her pre-school friends for the 1st time. I was just putting the school calendar in my datebook and realized all of that...)

 

[k_reile]

just found your report. can't wait to hear more. Now i need to go back and read pre-trip

 

[dreamer17555]

The pictures with Paxton made me cry. She looks so happy. I am so glad Katie was able to stop and see her one last time.

I love Schlitterbahn! I remember going every summer as a child (my grandparents lived in San Antonio and my dad would drive me and my cousins over). In fact I remember it before Boogie Bahn. And I adore Master Blaster and the circular wave pool. It might not have Disney theming but I have a hard time believing any water park comes close.

And to Grandma Bonnie I used to do Latch hooking as a child, in fact I used to do it on the plane on my way to visit my dad every month. They probably wouldn't allow it now, the hook would probably be considered a weapon.

-Becca-

 

[Nicole786]

The visit to Paxton was really sweet!