Disclaimer: At the end of Chapter 3, I over-estimated what I could fit into this installment. Either that, or I underestimated my ability to ramble on about nothing for pages and pages. SO, this Chapter has been renamed. And cut down to size. TFI, Chapter 5 will have the Volcanoes, Pineapples and Wishes from the beach.
Saturday Morning. Bright and early. Thats what we promised Horsey. She was going to meet us at the entrance to AK. So we could RUN to EE and ride it. Hopefully multiple times. Drebert and I had agreed to meet at the bus stop for 7:45 a.m. So I set the alarm for 6:30 a.m. Actually, all I had to do was put it on. It was already set for 6:30. Why not use a wake-up call, you ask? Yknow, its funny, but Ive never been a big wake-up call girl. Even at WDW. I dont know if Ive ever had Mickey call us to wake us up. And now that the obnoxious blue alien has gotten involved, I have NO desire to be waken up by that annoying voice.
Quick aside: We are not Stitch fans. When the movie came out way back whenever, Jay took the boys to see it. He was horrified. Came home ranting and raving about how inappropriate the whole story line was, with rude characters and depictions of child abuse. And something about them scamming the US government, too. I only half listened. And Ive yet to see the movie. Or the MK attraction. But the little Ive seen of Stitch has convinced me that there is no need. Not something to put on my Life List, if you KWIM.
So, back to Saturday morning. I got up before the alarm. Showered and made myself some tea (not an easy task with one of those hotel room coffee pots), because we had no time to dally around in Roaring Forks before our bus stop appointment. I got dressed while Jay showered. Yknow, I think one of my favorite things about vacation is how easy it is to get ready in the morning. The picking out an outfit thing, in particular. I LOVE having my outfit all chosen and clean and ready. Pressed, too, if I did a good enough job with the packing and unpacking. Bottom line, we made pretty good time and got down to the bus stop by 7:40 or so. No Drebert & Latoberg (heretofore referred to as the Lactos) yet. But here comes an AK bus. And....there it goes. We waited for our friends. As Jay pointed out, its not as easy getting out of the room with two little ones in tow. Shortly thereafter (thankfully, before a 2nd AK bus came...), I saw a couple of kids who kinda looked familiar. And their mom. Who was definitely familiar. And she was wearing a Maelstrom t-shirt! Dre smiled at me and we hugged hello. I introduced Jay and she introduced her very cute boys, to whom I will be referring as B1 and B2. (The B can stand for Berg/Bert or Boy or whatever floats your boat. Its just an easy abbreviation for my use.) I asked about Lacto. Evidently, he had to go back to the room to get Pal Mickey. Who was forgotten (again, it seems). He shortly arrived, intros and hugs all around, and the bus arrived shortly thereafter. I guided B1 through the crowd (I think we mightve cut a little...), and encouraged him to sit up front and save spots for his parents & brother. I sat nearby. And got introduced to Pal Mickey. B1 even pointed out the PM advertisements on the bus. It was an education for Jay, who didnt really know what a Pal Mickey was.
It was a long bus ride, but a fun opportunity to get to know the boys, and their parents, a little better. Then, we were there, and found Horsey pretty quickly. She was waaaayyy at the front of the line. Nervous as all get-out because she feared that she had taken her DHs ticket down with her instead of her own. She got here really early to try to get help just in case, but they were making her wait until opening. Anywho, we got in line with her (oops, cutting again...), and waited just a little bit for opening. At this point, I dont remember Dre or the boys being with us. Not sure if Dre was off somewhere or if Im just being forgetful. So...they open up the ticket gates. Horsey gets through, no problem. She had the right ticket!! She was very happy. I got through fine too. Jay, not so much. Our first experience with the finger scanner thing. His didnt work. But not a big deal. The CM just re-programmed him, somehow, and that was the end of that. No more problems the rest of the week, TFI. I sent Jay ahead to run and get fastpasses for EE. He even took Horseys ticket. We were expecting to hear from kpk89 later this morning and so I was stocking up on fastpasses. Just in case. I also wanted to be able to ride again if the line was long.
Now, I forgot to mention, Sheridac and Jami and their friends (B, M & S) were supposed to be meeting us, too. Where were they? Horseys phone wasnt working. So she called Sher on my phone. I think, at that point, we may have noticed that Sher had tried to call me earlier. Maybe. Maybe not. No notes, people. Some of this is fuzzy. We reached Sher. She was on the bus. But we had to wait for her! She didnt want us to ride without her. I pouted, but said okay. I told Horsey. We have to wait for her. Horsey made a face. We arent waiting. The line gets really long really fast. Well just ride it again with them when they get here. Its going to take them a while. I realized then that I am just too much of a goody-two-shoes. Or a follower. Because it didnt even cross my mind to disregard Shers directive. In retrospect, it all makes sense. And Horsey was right. And Sher wasnt even mad. As she says, we would not make good Marines. We leave people behind sometimes. You snooze, you lose. Every (wo)man for him(her)self. Or something along those lines. So we walk a little further into the park. Thinking that Jay is at the fastpass machines by now. But there he is, right up ahead. (Hes very easy to spot in a crowd, BTW. A true advantage of being a freakishly tall person. Unless you dont want to be found, I suppose.) Evidently, the gates were open, but not the park. Yet. There is a little opening ceremony. With Goofy and Minnie and Mickey, I think. Pluto may have been there too. I cant remember. What I do remember is how obvious the height advantage felt in the press of people. Horsey said to Jay and I, Come here, scootch down to my height. See how everything looks from down here! It was an education, I tell you. I never realized what a different view it is for short people, especially in a crowd. This experiment may have prompted the first bonding event between Jay and B2. The boys were having trouble seeing the show. Jay put B2 on his shoulders. A major advantage. He was WAY above the crowd. And all smiles. I must say that I was impressed, too, that his brother was smiling as well. No resentment was evident, even though HE wasnt way up there. He was happy for his brother. Or maybe he was hoping hed fall. Anyway, I noted the evident support, there, and appreciated it.
Eventually, they let us in. We followed the crowd to EE. We passed the monkeys climbing around in the area in which they climb around, out in the open. I dont really know what its called. I just remember that it was my boys favorite thing about AK last year. They watched those monkeys for ages. Here is a picture of my DS12 (who was not quite 11, at that point) standing at the monkey place. It is one of my favorite pictures of him. (Sorry it's so small)
In retrospect, it wasnt too bad a crowd, and EE was obviously going to be a walk on for the 1st ride. Jay went to the FP machine. Lacto got in line with us. Horsey had been teasing Jay about being afraid to ride, but we figured he could keep Dre and the boys company while we rode. Next thing we know, he is getting in line with us. He decided to ride it!
We were psyched, but then I realized that I couldnt ride it with him. Happy as I was that he was coming along, this was the
thing for Horsey and me. We had been planning to ride it together for months. So he was going to ride with Lacto. Fortunately, that was okay with him. Even though he likes to be with me when hes on scary rides. Wed be close. The ride was definitely a walk on. Horsey tried to point out all the great theming to us in the queue area, but we just glanced. We had to keep moving! And I was excited!! Jay was trepidatious. He doesnt mind fast. He does mind big drops. And low ceilings (see later comments on BTMRR). I knew that the ride was smooth, but I seemed to remember something about a big drop. Backwards. And in the dark. So I hoped hed be okay. We boarded. Horsey & I in the front, Lacto & Jay behind us. Jay took a picture of us (with Horseys camera)....Oops, a brief backtrack here....Jay took out our camera as we were getting into line. So he could get a before picture. Thats when we discovered that our camera had been on since we took it from the charger at home two nights ago. Needless to say, it was dead. And we didnt have a charger with us (dumb, I know). We had a spare set of batteries in the room. Later, we found out that they were dead, too. So....all the pictures I will post in this report were contributed by our friends. I will credit when I can. However, Sheridac and Jamal e-mailed me their pictures and I kind of got them mixed up when I saved them. So, Im not sure which ones are Shers and which ones are Jamis. Ill do my best with the credits. I will say now that all of these EE photos are from Horsey. Heres the (fuzzy) one Jay took of us:
And heres the one she took of the boys behind us:
WOW, was this fun! Jay was a little nervous, but he did well. I had a blast, and didnt even have to hold Horseys hand! Loved the Yeti (GORILLA!!), and the fast, smooth ride. I laughed and screamed and had just one little stomach flip at one point of the backward drop. Do you flip around in the dark? I dont think so, but something at that point got our stomachs every time. Did I say every time? Why, yes, I did. Because we rode that sucker three times in a row. With virtually NO waiting!! Recap: First time was as described above. Second time, Dre joined us and Jay took B1 and B2 to see the monkeys. Here are the Lactos on ride #2 (behind Horsey and me again..):
On this ride, were were in the first car. There was a very cute older couple in the front seats. They said their son hadnt told them a whole lot about this ride, but he said that they should ride it, and they HAD to sit right up front. It was soooooo funny to watch them. And you shouldve seen the picture! Dre, you bought it. Could you scan it and post? Either here or in Lactos report? People have GOT to see the looks on the faces of this couple. Even if it was a horrendously unflattering picture of Horsey. (Jay got a kick out of it, though!) At any rate, as we were climbing out of our seats at the end, the woman looked over to us and said, I dont think our son likes us very much!!!
Third time, we finally found Chris & Jami and the crew. They had already ridden it once, too! Jami had a bag of the Cookmasters famous cookies. We shared in line. Yeah, breakfast!! Horsey was beginning to feel a tiny bit queasy. I wasnt. I contemplated if adding food to my system right before ride number three was a wise move, but I decided to risk it. This was us (after the ride, judging from our hair...) finishing up the cookies (Note: this pic comes to you from Sheridacs camera):
A word here about Jay. And the Lactos boys. They were having lots of fun. Jay took them to see the monkeys (a couple of times, I think). They discovered that there was a monkey named after each of them. Well, Jay discovered it. Not sure how. Mad monkey-naming skillz, I guess. They came back around the same time we found the girls. But, since Lacto and Dre were game for riding with us again, Jay and the boys hung out for more fun with the monkeys. By the time we got off that (very fun) ride, the bonding was complete. B1 & B2 were buddies with my husband. It was a nice little thing to observe. Even if he always got bigger smiles from them than I did......
Next, we regrouped and decided to head over to ITTBAB. Except the Lactos, who headed elsewhere (the safari maybe?). And Sheridacs friend B, who went to go ride Dinosaur. So the rest of us headed to this 3-D show that I had never seen. I know my children. Especially my youngest. And his sensibilities. And his general dislike of 3-D shows (except Philharmagic). So I had always avoided this, and wanted to give it a preview without the kiddos. It was pretty cool. We did, however, hear many, many crying and freaked out children. I guess it depends on what your kids like, but I decided that I had made a good call not taking my youngest to see this one. If I decide to do so now, at least I can prepare him for what to expect.
After the show, Jay and I were anxious to find some food. Horsey and Jami were not feeling well from all the EEing. Plus Jami was sick, anyway. Poor baby. She was a real sport all weekend, even after losing her voice. She was even sicker than we realized, and was diagnosed with a double ear infection when she got home! I then realized that she had INDEED been a super trouper!
With nary a complaint, truly.
We headed in the direction of Flame Tree to find food. All 7 of us. The girls and Jay. We realized that we were heading the wrong way at one point, toward Tusker House, and turned and headed back. As it turned out, Tusker House wouldve been the better choice. It was what I had been thinking of when I said Flame Tree. I realized my mistake when we got there, and there was only lunch food. It was about 10:30 or so. But we had to eat lunch. Okay, but not what I had wanted. While we were in line, I noticed that I had missed a couple of calls. Long story short, my youngest sister, who was picking up my kids that morning from my other sister, was having a bit of a panic attack. She was supposed to take DS12 to a birthday party. She couldnt find the directions, phone number, or name of the birthday boy. She eventually found the info (with NO help from my son, who knew where it was all along....), but was running late, and was being told by my son that they had to go
back to my house to pick up something he promised to bring. It was chaos. And she was stressed. And she had her 4 and 3 yr. olds in tow. It stressed me out. Jay told me to relax, all would be fine. He was right, of course, but that combined with lunch instead of breakfast briefly made me just a little bit cranky. Not for long, though.
We all headed up to eat in the pretty eating area under the trees. It was nice. Horsey sat with us, but didnt eat. She was still trying to recover from EE queasiness. Instead, she talked to the ducks. They were all around us. She talked to them like babies. And she loved them. Eventually, she asked Jay if she could have some of his bread. He said sure. And she fed the ducks a little. Okay, you know what happens next, right? They all wanted in. On the bread. And they wanted more. Of the bread. And, evidently, my toes. Yep, I was getting pecked at. In my new Croc flip flops (which WERE very comfy, BTW). Eventually, I think I gave in and fed them a little, too. If they were going to keep eating, I was preferring that they eat my bread instead of my toes. Good thing the Lactos had left us at this point. B2 would NOT have enjoyed this part of the morning!
After brunch, we split up. We would all see each other that evening at the Poly bar. Pre-girls night. I told Jay that I had always heard that AK is a great place to just wander. And enjoy the atmosphere and theming. It was, I guess. We did see DeVine. Kinda creepy, if you ask me! Would be neat, I suppose, if you were the first to see her and didnt realize it was her at first. Instead, we came across a crowd watching her, like a "show". Eh, not all that exciting to me. Now, Im probably about to get myself flamed, but we got bored pretty quickly. We did all the trails with the kids last time, so we were just walking around, soaking it all in. Saw some musicians performing, and that was cool. But we had kinda had enough. So we headed out to the bus stop, to go hang at the pool. It was a lovely day, and some sun and relaxation sounded like a good idea. As we approached the bus stop, Jay spotted Horsey. Who was trying to catch a bus to AKL. To go get her jacket that she had forgotten the night before. Unfortunately, she was over at our bus stop for the WL. And we had just seen an AKL bus go by. Somehow, she was waiting at the wrong stop and totally missed it. Poor baby. We chatted for a bit, and then my phone rang. It was kpk89 (Kimmie!). She had just checked in at the Boardwalk, but since her husband had scored an early flight (they were flying in separately), she was going to hang there and wait for him. No need for my EE fastpasses. Which was fine. We had certainly had our EE fill. Anywho, we agreed wed see her tonight at the Poly bar. Horsey headed over to the RIGHT bus stop, and we headed back home to the WL.
Long bus ride, quick change, and down to the pool. Very nice. Not too busy, as it was barely noon. We relaxed, and sunned. Took a couple of dips. Jay searched in vain for a shady spot. It was hot!! After about an hour (maybe 2?), I suggested we take one last dip, and then head back to the room. We both jumped in. And noticed a crowd of kids gathering near the edge of the pool a little ways over. As we were preparing to climb out, we kind of got the gist of what was going on. A lifeguard came over with plastic gloves and a net. The kids were alternately giggling and making gross out noises. Lifeguard #1 made an announcement that everyone was to vacate the pool and that it would be temporarily closed. Yep, someone had pooped in the pool. Jay said, Damn, those Baby Ruth bars! And we both kinda skeeved out a bit that we had been in a contaminated pool for a minute or two. The kids all around, however, were having a blast. I told Jay that I thought it funny that this incident would very likely be the highlight of so many kids' trips. But for us, YUCK. So much for drying in the sun. Back up to the room. For a shower. Pronto! Yuck, ugh, and blech!!! All rolled into one.....
UP NEXT: Kona, Pineapples and Wishes on the Beach
, entree at the next 
, and so on)!
The truth is that I got distracted by all the lovebugs on the pool bar and glasses and drink machines! It was like Hitchcock's, the Birds! And Pluto was starting to drink too much! So I did forget to call and say we were being seated early and had moved to the restaurant. And the other fact is, well, I am a ditz...I forget things all the time. Especially in the thick of zaniness. So my apologies!!!!!!!!!!!!! 
And all the ditzy things I did. Thanks for your detailed account. 
