Ducks, Mermaids, and a 2 YEAR OLD! OH MY! (Aka-What were we thinking?!)*DAY 8 ADDED!*

[Tanya90210]

Thanks for the advice :-D I will keep that in mind before making a definate decision... will probably just give him his wish and keep it...

Tanya

 

[Tasha+Scott]

I'd probably keep it too, Tanya. If I had even thought about not eating at Chef Mickey's this year, I would never have heard the end of it! I'd just keep it to make your dh happy.

Day 5 Continued…

So it turns out I was wise to stop midway through day 5 earlier today. Not only did I lose my Internet connection right after I finished posting, but Kylie is terrified of thunder and wanted to be held until it was over. That was fine by me; I take the cuddly moments any way I can get them!

So where was I? Oh, yes, Voyage of the Little Mermaid…. Kylie loved it. She was fascinated with pretty much everything in it, including the rain and the bubbles. I had a feeling she’d enjoy it. After that, we headed to Playhouse Disney. I knew she’d enjoy that as well. My only problem with this is the whole sitting on the floor thing. I am just not good at sitting without back support for that long. Dh and my mom felt the same way. Dh actually got up a few min. before the show started and stood at the back of the room because it bothered him to sit like that. Plus, they have you sitting practically on top of those in front of you. My mom stayed in the floor with us and Kylie wanted to sit with her. I kept trying to get a picture of the 2 of them together but neither were cooperating all that well. I got 2 shots of them goofing off together but my mom doesn’t like those pictures so I don’t think it would be wise to post those. I think they are kind of sweet though.

The best shot I managed to get of Kylie and my mom ends up blinking of course!

I almost got another decent shot and Kylie ended up blinking and opening her eyes quickly as I was taking it. It made her look high but I can’t help but to find this shot amusing!

Kylie enjoyed the show at Playhouse Disney. She really liked Bear. However, she tends to be shy until she is used to something so she wasn’t about to get up dance or jump with the other kids. She sat with my mom and called for Bear and that was the extent of her boldness. She kept telling me afterwards that she wanted to see Bear though. She also really enjoyed viewing the pictures I managed to snap. I knew she would which is the main reason I took a few.

After Playhouse Disney, I took Kylie for a quick diaper change and then we looked inside the gift shop by The Little Mermaid show. She really likes princesses this year so that was a hit. Well, I guess, technically, ALL gift shops were a hit with her this time around. There is a little cart set up with Playhouse Disney stuff halfway between that gift shop and Playhouse Disney and Kylie decided she wanted a bath set with Bear and his friends in it. It was only $5 so I got it for her.

Around this time, Kylie and I decided to separate from dh and my mother. Dh really wanted to watch the Lights, Motors, Action Extreme Stunt Show. We saw it last year and he loved it. It was okay but a little long for me, especially since you have to get there early to get a good spot. I didn’t think Kylie would want to wait for it. My mom had never seen it so she agreed to go with him. It’s a good thing, too, because dh said if she hadn’t gone he would never have found it. He’s no good with directions. If you read last year’s TR, then you know what I’m talking about! They had to leave a little early to get good seats. They left 45 min. early and they said if they had gotten there any later it would have been too crowded. It filled up fast.

Well, dh and my mother went their way and I decided to have a little one-on-one fun with my sweet little girl. I asked her if she wanted to see the Mermaid show again and of course she did. We sat next to a man with a cell phone and he was texting. She was really fascinated with it so he was nice enough to show her a picture of his dog on his phone. He instantly became her new best friend. Then, when the show started, she kept asking me when the bubbles and the rain and the dog would appear. She remembered pretty much everything about it and we had a good time. She was calling for the dog (Prince Eric’s dog, Max) throughout it.

After the show, Kylie and I headed to change her diaper again and then we both decided we wanted a drink. We went to a vendor and I got a couple bottles of water. We sat on a bench and drank our drinks while watching a couple of ducks in the grass. This was actually about as perfect as it gets. These are the moments I will look back on one day when my innocent child is grown and wish I could go back to just one more time. The duck eventually went somewhere else and that really disappointed Kylie.

I asked her if she’d like to go on another ride and she said, “Ride! Ride!” She was all about the rides this year, for the most part. I LOVE The Great Movie Ride and I figured she’d like it too but I admit I was nervous that some parts might bother her. We got in line and she enjoyed the scenery and she enjoyed watching the movie screen before we were actually able to board. Much to my delight, she was not scared of this ride. She seemed to be enjoying it. We were nearing the end when I felt my cell phone vibrate. It was dh. I answered it but it was too loud to hear in there so I said loudly into it, “We’re on a ride and I can’t hear you! I’ll call you back!” He couldn't hear me either and, I later found out, he told my mom that I had hung up on him.

Well, when we got to the scene with The Wizard of Oz it didn’t take me long to realize something was wrong. The ride had broken down. I saw several CMs approaching the CM that was over our ride. I asked a family in front of me if I was correct; had we broken down? They said yes. Well, I called dh back and told him where we were and that the ride had broken down but that we were near the end of it so I didn’t expect a huge delay. He said okay and that they had just gotten out of their show and were headed that way.

Kylie thought it was great that I was talking on the phone. She grabbed her Ariel phone and began to talk really loudly into it. It was cute. Only a min. or 2 later and we were moving again, so not too bad.

I have to say, quite a few rides broke down while we were there. Test Track had broken down and had just started back up right before dh and I rode it. Splash Mt. broke down. There were others but those are the ones that come to mind. I was relieved to be broken down on something tame like The Great Movie Ride.

Well, we went outside and my mom and dh were waiting for us. They had just gotten there so the timing worked out great. Dh enjoyed his show. He took pictures on my old 35 mm camera, the one I had given my mother after I bought my digital. I will post those, in case you are interested. It is a fun enough show but my mom and dh said I was right not to take Kylie this year. She most likely would have been afraid of the noises from the motors on the vehicles.

We decided to go on The Great Movie ride one more time. The line was a bit longer due to the delay from the ride temporarily breaking down. Kylie wanted my mom to hold her and she enjoyed the ride again but she fell asleep through part of it, if I recall correctly.

After the ride, I had to go to the bathroom. When I came out, I noticed a whole lot of characters getting ready to do the whole meet ‘n’ greet thing. A lot of the characters were the ones that you don’t see as often, such as Pocahontas, Alice in Wonderland, Belle, etc. Dh said Pocahontas and the raccoon (sorry, can’t remember his name!) shook Kylie’s hand as they went by and she loved that. I said, "It’s too bad Jasmine isn’t here." Kylie loves Jasmine. My mom said she thought she saw Jasmine and Aladdin walk by actually. So I began to hunt for them. I found them and I was thrilled!

However, Minnie and Goofy were also in another line and Kylie saw them and started to run towards them, calling "Mimmie!!" My mom grabbed her. My mother wasn’t thrilled that I didn’t take Kylie to see Minnie. I figured Kylie would get over it. I knew she’d be happy to see Jasmine and this would probably be her only opportunity. She’d already seen Minnie Mouse and Goofy on more than one occasion.

We got in line to see Jasmine and Aladdin and my mom waited on a bench. Dh was thrilled too. Jasmine is another of his WDW crushes, of course. So I took the picture and let him have his moment with one of his favorite princesses.

We were the last ones that got to see Jasmine for the moment. I hate that you don’t have long to see the characters. They take them inside rather quickly. You pretty much have to pick the one character you want to see more than the others. It’s almost a given you won’t get to get in more than one line at a time unless you are the first in 1 line. We saw Jasmine and Aladdin and then they were gone. Kylie wanted to see Minnie but it was too late and she was happy that she saw Jasmine. She loves the picture. My mom couldn’t resist saying, “I would have taken her to see Minnie, personally.” Oh, well, I’m glad I made the choice I did. It wasn’t a big deal anyway.

I would have probably taken her to a few more characters (including Minnie!) had they not gone inside so soon. We had been planning to leave anyway, though, so we headed out of the park. I was talking about what we would do that evening when my mom said, “Isn’t the carriage ride you scheduled for tonight?” I had just mentioned it the night before and I had already completely forgotten about it! It’s a good thing my mom brought it up or we would have missed it AND been charged for it anyway. Kylie loves horses now too and she was looking forward to it. I had planned the carriage ride especially for her and would have been kicking myself if we had missed it.

We went back to our resort and waited for the carriage ride. It was actually running late. We had a good time but we were a little disappointed when we realized that the carriage was covered. I am sure that it is to shield guests from the sun or something like that but Kylie couldn’t see the horse while we were in the carriage. We did have a lazy horse that was taking his time though. I got a few shots of our resort during the ride and it was relaxing so I’m not complaining.

The marina at POR

One of the Mansion buildings at POR

The boat that takes you to DTD from POR

A view of POFQ…I may have actually taken this from the DTD boat…I can’t recall anymore!

Another horse pulling another carriage

Dh and Kylie. Dh insisted on making a goofy face and is now begging me not to post it. Hahaha! That’s what he gets for not being normal! It was the best shot I got of Kylie actually.

I told dh he’d better not make another goofy face because I would post it so he decided to make a normal face for this shot, lol! I can be so cruel sometimes. He doesn’t really mind me posting these photos as much as he says for the record. I’m not quite that cruel…yet!

Our horse from our carriage ride

Our driver

These are kind of blurry. My mom took them and didn’t know how to work the zoom and I didn’t realize it until it was too late. You get the idea though. Kylie, our horse, and me

After our carriage ride, we headed to the foodcourt to eat. POR actually has a really good carved beef or turkey dinner plate. I got the beef for me and the turkey for Kylie. This meal ended up going pretty much the same way as the Sci-Fi one had earlier in the day. It’s so strange. We were having a great time until we sat down to eat. I ended up carrying her out of there. It did no good. My mom knew I had not really eaten much that day and I think she could see that I just really wanted to have 1 low-key meal and she had pity on me again. I was so thankful for my mom that day! She had gotten a sandwich so she told me she would take Kylie back to the room and we could just get hers boxed to go, as well as Kylie’s, and bring it back to the room after we were finished eating.

You know, I really don’t remember what dh and I talked about. I just know I was stressed and we were thankful my mother had taken Kylie back to the room. I think Kylie was probably just tired. I hope you don’t think she’s usually like this. She’s usually the best behaved child, she really is. She’s so good for everyone. We have been really blessed and we know it. However, she is 2 and an occasional meltdown does happen. It just seemed we experienced all of them at mealtimes which wasn’t much fun. The rest of the time she was pretty much perfect and we are extremely thankful for that.

Anyway, dh and I finished our meal and I mentioned that I would love to go out that evening, just get away. EMH at MGM was that night. We actually had no intentions of going at the time but I was starting to feel tempted.

We got back to the room and my mom was giving Kylie a bath and Kylie was being an absolute angel. She did eat a little of her dinner in the room, albeit not much. I mentioned wanting to go to Pleasure Island and my mom said she’d watch Kylie and dh and I should go. Dh just will not take me to Pleasure Island for anything though! He thinks it’s nothing but bars and drinking and nothing else. I wanted to go to The Comedy Warehouse but I couldn’t talk him into it. I pouted, or so my dh and my mother say I did. I think they are telling stories. Dh finally relented and said he’d take me but he acted kind of pouty about it himself so we ended up going to EMH at MGM instead.

I just needed the break and it was nice. We really didn’t do much. I think we did The Great Movie Ride again and looked in a couple of gift shops. I told dh that I thought I would like to try Tower of Terror. I had never been brave enough to ride it before. I had talked my mom into riding it with me but we weren’t planning to ride it together for another 2 days. So I was debating about whether I wanted to ride it by myself or not or just wait a couple more days to ride with my mom. It would be my first time and I was really nervous. I love stuff like that but the unexpected really gets to me sometimes. And I can already promise you there is no way I’d ever even halfway get dh to consider riding it. He thought I was crazy enough as it was.

Well, my curiosity got the better of me. My heart was pounding and my palms were sweaty but there was no turning back for me and I knew it. I have this motto that goes through my head every time I try a new thrill ride, “No matter how scary it is, no matter how much I might hate this, it will be over before I know it and I can do this.” It works and that is why I am willing to try new things and I usually end up loving it. Dh’s motto is the opposite. His is something like, “This is going to be awful. It’s going to last forever. I’m going to die. I can’t do this!”

Anyway, I was on the back row and I was really nervous. It was pretty cool inside. It was a little hard to enjoy it though because of my nerves. Then, we got to a point where a group of teens up front started saying, “Here we go!!!” and I knew the drop sequence was coming. Oh, geez, how I screamed! There’s no way to ride this thing and not scream, is there?

And then it was over. Oh, man, how I LOVED that ride! I exited the ride and dh asked what I thought. I gave him a sheepish grin and asked if he cared if I rode it again and he said to go ahead. He’d be waiting right there for me. So I went on it again.

One of the CMs that worked in the library part was asked if she liked to ride the ToT after the park was closed, or something like that. She said no way. She said they had talked her into riding it once and that was it for her. She said she was so scared she’d get on the one with the extra drop sequence and that she couldn’t handle that. Extra drop sequence?? Hmmm, interesting.

Well, guess what? I ended up on the one with the extra drop sequence! You think you are done and you are starting to relax and you realize it’s not over! I loved that even more than the first time around. This time I was on the front row and my butt came off the seat when we dropped. It hadn’t come off the seat on the back row. I just assumed it was because of where I was sitting. A couple days later I would find out that was not the case but I’ll save that for Day 7’s report.

I told dh that I could do that over and over again. I really, really liked it. I felt so bad though that I was kind of neglecting dh. He told me not to worry about it. He knew I had been a little on edge and he wanted me to have fun so he was okay with it. I have to admit all the screaming was such a great release for me. I was so much more relaxed afterwards. It's exactly what I needed. I told him you hear the people screaming as if they are being murdered and yet people, including me, still can’t wait to ride. What does that say about us? Dh said this just proves he is the sane one in our relationship. It’s possible, I guess, but not likely. I think we're both a little crazy which is why we're a good match.

I had not planned to ride Rock n Rollercoaster on this trip. I had went on it last year and I was kind of disappointed in it. Rollercoasters don’t scare me in the least but they don’t seem to thrill me much anymore either for whatever reason. I prefer things like ToT and Splash Mt. I love drops. Rollercoasters almost seem like they are over too quickly or something.

That being said, I decided, on a whim, to ride it again. The takeoff is thrilling and it actually is worse to me than the drops on ToT. The takeoff actually made the barette in my hair nearly fly out and I am being completely serious about that too. Other than that, I just don’t love the ride for whatever reason. Unfortunately, this time I came off feeling a little dizzy and queasy. I think the turns and the speed and the fact that it was late and I was already tired had an affect on me this time around. Last year it didn’t bother me. This year it did. I think that will be my last time on Rock n Rollercoaster.

We headed back to the room after this. We stopped at the ice machine and vending machines in our building. We got a couple of drinks and candy bars. I should mention that I had been on Weight Watchers before our trip and had lost over 20 lbs. I could definitely tell as I fit more comfortably on rides and felt more in shape. Dh and my mom had been doing it too and had also lost some weight. We were not sticking to our diets on this trip though since we were doing the dining plan and did not want to waste the money. But actually, the dining plan was kind of too much food for us this trip. That was another sign that WWs was really working for us. Last year we also did the dining plan and the food was perfect for us. This year it was just too much, but I digress. It was nice not worrying about prices though since it was all taken care of in advance.

Anyway, I had a candy bar and so did dh. We also had a couple of sodas. I don’t really like soda but the vending machines didn’t have water so that’s what I got stuck with.

Dh and I were in the room chatting quietly, enjoying our snacks, and watching my mom and Kylie sleeping. My mom and Kylie were all cuddled up together. It was cute so I snapped a picture. I wish I could post it but my mom would probably kill me! I value my life so the picture won’t be making an appearance in this TR…sorry! I did show the picture to dh and for some reason he found it hilarious. He started laughing really hard and really loudly!

I think we were both a little overly tired so that got me started too. It’s a good thing Kylie can sleep through stuff like that when she’s really tired. She never even stirred. My mother, on the other hand, did wake up and said we really must have gone bar hopping and drinking at Pleasure Island because we certainly seemed drunk! Nope, just a little punch drunk. We had not had a single sip of alcohol.

It got worse. My mom fell back asleep and started snoring. That got us laughing again. Finally, we composed ourselves and decided to go to sleep ourselves. About the time I laid down Kylie woke up, saw me, and started crying for her mama. So my mom got in “her” bed and I laid down with Kylie. Well, more like Kylie laid on top of me. Dh tried to sleep in the bed with Kylie and me that night but she’s just too much of a mover. About 20 min. later, he ended up on the trundle bed.

We were all really tired so we all went to sleep quickly. The next day was to be a “relaxation” day at the resort and I think we all needed it.

TO BE CONTINUED:
Up Next:
Our fun “resort” day
Dinner at Boma (complete with reviews)
The "water's COLD!!! Brrr, dada!" (You'll see!)

 

[Tanya90210]

great chapter!! Thanks for the advice about Sci Fi...

I think I bought my mini the same bear and the big blue house bath set when we were there a year or 2 ago...lol... DD loves it

 

[ryan840]

Still lovin it! It is amazing the similarities between us, I keep finding more and more. Or maybe you're just copying me I did the same thing on ToT my first time, I was alone and scared to death so I missed out on the theme of the ride. But man, did I LOVE it! I was also pretty disappointed in RnRC last year because of the way they hype it up (I live near Cedar Point, which has HUGE roller coasters) but I absolutely loved it this year. I guess since my expectations weren't so high it was better, plus I do love Aerosmith. What else... We have the same Bear bath set, though somehow half of the characters are missing, which is odd sonce I have major OCD about keeping toys together... Oh, and I dealt with a screaming baby for the majority of our dinners. I know there was more but since you've read my TR I guess I don't need to list them. We'll have to race to the finish, I only have one day left to go and you'll probably still finish first. Oh, and I think I need to add Sci-Fi to our ADR's for next year, Alex would LOVE it!

ETA- (Forgot to mention) I realized as I read your TR that my second ride on ToT had the extra drop sequence too! I didn't know there was one and I remember telling the girl next to me that it was over, and up we went again. I feel so special now

 

[Tasha+Scott]

Okay, Michelle, looks like you beat me to the finish line! I still have 3-4 days to go...geez, I've lost count but it's either 3 or 4, I know! It's been a very busy week here. My grandmother is back at my aunt's house now though so that's the good update. I also have started a summer class and have been busy with that. I am going to try to work on Day 6 and post it this weekend but it could end up being next week sometime instead before it's finished. I will get to it as quickly as I can though. Thanks to all of you that are sticking with me through this. I know it's taking longer than I had planned. You are all being patient with me and I appreciate it!

I also remembered that we did Muppets 3D during day 5 and dh and Kylie both slept through it and that's when I knew it was time to leave, lol! Dh and I did Muppets again at EMH though. Last year I made notes and didn't forget anything. This year I didn't make notes and I keep remembering things I left out!

Michelle~ Yeah, that extra drop sequence was awesome and I am so thrilled that I got to experience it!

 

[Trentmom]

Loving your trip report.

My DS is just like your dd, hates loud noises...whimpers or hides his face.

He hates fireworks. But get this, LOVED Lights Camera Action Stunt show...and that was LOUD!!!!

Last year he adored the characters, hugged them, kissed them.......

This year, our first Character meal was at LTT...He hugged and kissed them again. I was thinking great, he still loves them..

Well, at our next character meal, he wanted nothing to do with anyone....He liked them from afar, just not up close..

No crying, thank god, but just hiding from them....

Needless to say we cancelled a few character meals...

Plus, he was great 95% of the time at the parks (one huge meltdown....tired), but he hated sitting down and eating....had a couple of tantrums.....

Sounds like your kids were separated at birth...

 

[Tasha+Scott]

Too funny, Trentmom! At least there are more kids out there like her! She's usually so good so I wasn't quite as prepared for the meltdowns at meals as I thought I would be. It makes me feel better that several of you can relate...although I am sure you aren't thrilled about that!

Still haven't started working on Day 6. I will try to get to it in the next couple days.

 

[Trentmom]

Too funny, Trentmom! At least there are more kids out there like her! She's usually so good so I wasn't quite as prepared for the meltdowns at meals as I thought I would be. It makes me feel better that several of you can relate...although I am sure you aren't thrilled about that!

Still haven't started working on Day 6. I will try to get to it in the next couple days.

When I read about your dd, it make feel better as well, as I always feel like DS is the only one who acts like this sometimes...

Thanks for making me feel better as well.

Hoping next year will be better...

 

[Tasha+Scott]

Day 6 (May 15, 2007)

Well, the plan for today was to sleep in a bit and then spend some time enjoying the resort before our dinner reservation at Boma that evening. However, granting that it was probably after 2 in the morning before dh and I had gone to sleep the night before, dh and I did not wake up bright and early. Kylie woke up at one point and it was early. It was probably the earliest she had woken up on the entire trip which always is the way, right? The one night we get in really late and she is up by around 6:30-7 a.m. I remember waking up and talking to her but I must have fallen back asleep.

The next thing I know, I hear a key in our door and I wake up to see my mom and Kylie coming back into the room. I was a little surprised. This meant that they had been out of the room and I never even woke up. Dh was on the trundle bed in the floor snoring. My mom said she didn’t mean to wake us up but I guess that they had gone to the gift shop to look around and they were coming back to change Kylie’s diaper and had then planned to head back.

I looked at the clock and was in absolute shock! It was 11 a.m.! I was grateful my mom let me sleep in but that really set us back on everything we had planned to do that day. I needed the sleep so I can’t complain and I thought it was very nice of my mom to watch Kylie like that.

I told her I was getting up and I’d wake dh up too and that we would meet them at the gift shop. So dh and I got up and got ready to begin the day. We met my mom and Kylie in the gift shop and discussed what we wanted to do for lunch. We decided to go to DTD and eat lunch at Earl of Sandwich. I thought I was being clever with my little plan. I did not want to experience another mealtime nightmare with Kylie so I figured we’d get Kylie’s food at McDonald’s and then eat outside at Earl of Sandwich. I assumed she’d do better eating outside rather than inside.

So we headed to DTD on the boat and then went to McDonald’s. We still had quite a few extra counter service meals and I didn’t think we’d be able to use them all so I decided we’d use one for Kylie’s meal at McDonald’s. Not going to happen since they don’t take the dining plan there anymore. Okay, so we just paid cash and then headed to Earl of Sandwich. Kylie knew we had gotten her a chicken nugget happy meal and was having a fit for something to eat. I handed her a fry here and there along the way and that seemed to satisfy Her Royal Majorly Spoiled Highness for the time being.

We went to Earl of Sandwich and my mom sat outside with Kylie and got her food out for her while dh and I went inside. The place has been pretty crowded every time we’ve been there. We got in line and dh and my mom got the Earl’s Club. I do NOT like bacon on my sandwich, and rarely eat it in general actually, so I ordered something else, The Full Montagu. Anyway, we learned in there that they don’t consider bottled water to be your drink at Earl of Sandwich and that is what I had planned to drink. I didn’t want to pay extra for a water so I put it back and headed to the fountain for a rootbeer. This is the only place we had been to that did not count the water as your drink with your meal.

I should have just gotten the water and the rootbeer because when we went outside Kylie had already run out of chocolate milk and was saying she needed more to drink. Okay, so back inside I went. I bought her another chocolate milk.

When I got back outside, everyone was eating so I started in on my sandwich too. Oh, yuck! Bacon! I looked suspiciously at dh who seemed to really be enjoying MY sandwich! In his defense, the sandwiches were marked wrong but I figured he would notice his didn’t have bacon on it. He had already eaten half of my sandwich and was raving about how good it was. I gave him a look. He ended up trading half my sandwich for his since that was really the only option at that point. And yum! My sandwich was good, much better than dh’s. He has said he will be getting what I got in the future. He kept teasing all day about how good my sandwich was.

Kylie did really well during that meal. She ate several chicken nuggets and my mom was thrilled. You’d think she had just eaten tons of fruits and vegetables instead of fast food! My mom had been worrying about how little Kylie had eaten till then. Truth is, she eats okay at home but is super picky and goes through phases. I am guessing this is common of most 2 year olds though. She just wasn’t really all that interested in eating while at WDW. I think she was just too distracted. She is eating okay now that we are home. She really doesn’t eat vegetables, (and Lord knows how I've tried to tempt her with those but it isn't happening!), but I can get her to eat fruit so I’ll take what I can get!

After we finished lunch, we went and got free samples from the Ghirardelli chocolate store. Kylie made a mess of hers and was covered in chocolate. Dh thought it was too rich and threw his sample away. I cleaned Kylie up and we then headed back to the resort. Dh wanted to ride a Searaycer. The only thing he did that really irritated me was that I had received a 30 free minutes coupon for renting one for 60 min. I had asked him before we left the room if I should get it, if he thought he’d ride it that long. He said no. I should have known better but I didn’t bring the coupon.

Kylie wanted to ride with him. He told me that about halfway through his time that he would come back, give Kylie to my mom, and then take me out on it. My mom did not want to ride it. I personally didn’t care but I would have gone. Well, they got their lifejackets and dh was having trouble finding his size. He didn’t really look well enough. He’s average in size so I know they carried it. He just opted for one that was snug but worked. Kylie was really too small for a lifejacket last year but this year the smallest size finally fit her so that was a relief.

She was excited to go on the boat but she looked really tired. Dh was probably more excited than Kylie though. He’s a little kid at heart.

My mom and I sat outside on a bench for a while talking but then I was starting to feel really thirsty. I headed inside to get a drink. My mom said she didn’t want anything (but of course she later complained about not getting anything...she's a kid too!). I got a couple of waters for me and Kylie. I knew she’d probably be thirsty when they got back. Well, dh had planned to take it out for about 45 min. so I kept looking for him after about 20. He never came back. I figured he was having fun and not worrying about the time. He didn’t have a watch either. Finally, 40 min. later, we saw him. He got Kylie off the Searaycer and started motioning for me to come down and join him.

I was yelling that I thought his time was up when I saw something that had me fuming at dh and had me scared to death all at the same time. He just started to hand Kylie to the attendant without paying any attention and Kylie kind of fell onto the Searaycer and hit her head slightly. The guy caught her before it could do any real damage but she could have been seriously hurt. I really didn’t feel like riding at that point but that really settled it for me. It was an innocent mistake but I was still upset. That was my baby that could have been hurt or could have fallen into the water at that moment. My mom advised me to stay calm and not say anything, at least not till I was calmer. I actually listened. I did talk to dh about it later though.

I told dh that we didn’t have enough time left for me to go on it with him and he said that you can take it as long as you want and you just pay later. I didn’t really feel up to it anymore though. If I had known how much he would enjoy it, I would have brought the coupon and then dh and I could have gone on for 45 min. and 30 of those minutes would have been free. I will definitely know that next time!

Kylie looked like she had just woken up. He said she fell asleep within a couple of min. and laid down in his lap. The only obstacle with that was that every time a boat or another Searaycer passed them it would splash water near her face. He tried to shield her from it but it did get her a few times. He said it woke her up once but, for the most part, she slept the entire time.

I gave her a drink and decided to take her back to the room and let her rest for a bit. She’d had a lot of sun. She managed to get a beautiful tan though, while dh and my mom got a sunburn. I didn't burn but my tan was pitiful at best.

We went back to the room. The plan had been to rest a bit and then go to the pool at POFQ and maybe rent a surrey bike. That didn’t happen though. Dh and my mom both laid down and were snoring within minutes. Kylie seemed a bit tired so I decided it would be best to just let everyone rest. I requested a wake up call and then Kylie and I fell asleep too.

The wake up call came and we all scurried to get ready for our dinner reservation at Boma. I was excited to eat here because I had heard good things and I also wanted to see what the AKL was like.

We took a bus to AK and then caught a bus to AKL. We checked in and were seated at a table a few min. later. Dh and I ordered Ruby Rum Runners but they were too strong for us. We both only took a sip or 2. We just aren’t big drinkers. The fruitier, the better for us. The waiter noticed this and he did not charge us for the drinks. I thought that was very nice and gave him a little extra tip, even though gratuity is included in the dining plan. My mom and dh thought it was silly to give him extra but I know he could have charged us $18 for those drinks if he had been in a bad mood or something.

Kylie did not really eat again, but she was well-behaved and that was an absolute relief. I never knew how meals would go with her so I was a bit nervous at each one. This one went well and I was happy. Dh did not like the food and my mom was not crazy about it either. I finally tried the zebra domes everyone is always raving about. They were okay, not something I feel compelled to eat again. Kylie liked them okay too, but my mom and dh did not like them. I really liked the lobster soup. I probably ate 3-4 bowls of it! It’s really the only thing I ate a lot of though.

Honestly, none of were thrilled with Boma as far as the food goes. I don’t think we will be eating there again. We were happy to see the AKL though. Dh wasn’t overly impressed but my mom, Kylie, and I liked it. I would love to stay there just to give Kylie the animal interaction experience. Kylie is crazy about most animals. She really likes giraffes and zebras so this was perfect for her. We spent quite a bit of time admiring the animals.

After dinner, we took a bus to DTD and then took another bus back to our resort. Dh and I had decided to do some laundry and maybe go swimming while we waited. My mom told us to take Kylie with us and she was going to shower and rest. She was pretty beat from getting up early with Kylie.

So we all changed into our bathing suits and headed for the quiet pool and laundry room of our building. I put the clothes in and then we headed for the water. OMG! That water was icy cold. I told dh it would take me a while to become brave enough to get all the way in and I just sat on a step with my feet in it. Kylie, however, wanted in the water with daddy. So he got her and they went in. At first, she wasn’t really in the water. Dh was holding her. Then he put her down waist deep. “BRRR!!! COLD!!!” She shrieked and she did the most dramatic shiver I've probably ever seen. Dh and I both were laughing. I got her out and wrapped her in her Dora towel and held her close to warm her little body up. Dh stayed in the water.

Dh called to Kylie, “You want to come back in the water with me?” Kylie called back in this little squealing, adorable voice, “Dada! Water COLD!” We laughed at her again and I told her she didn’t have to get in it. We decided to head to the main pool and try it. It was too cold too. The night breeze was making it worse.

It was much cooler in Florida this May than it had been last May. We ended up spending our time in the kiddie pool again. Perhaps we should be thankful for the kids that pee in pools and keep us warm, hmmm? Nobody can call me an ingrate right now anyway!

We didn’t stay in it long. It was too chilly with the breeze. We went back and finished the clothes and then went back to the room. It was getting late. We had to get up early the next day and had plenty of plans. I changed Kylie and put her to bed with dh while I took a shower. Then dh got back on the trundle bed and I climbed in the bed with Kylie.

I was relieved to be out of that freezing pool and back on the nice warm bed. I couldn’t wait for the next day and all of the plans we had waiting for us. I drifted off into a nice, peaceful sleep…ear plugs installed as far into my ears as they would go and all!

TO BE CONTINUED:
Up Next:
The character breakfast at Hollywood & Vine (complete with reviews)
My mom and I ride ToT (Will my mom like it as much as I did?)
The surrey bike experience from hell! (Seriously, I think Satan was laughing at us!)
Our evening at AK (Will I FINALLY get to ride EE?)

 

[vassar36]

Great installment!!! Can't wait to hear more....

 

[Trentmom]

Great update!!!1

another thing your dd and my ds have in common..they won't eat vegetables!!

My mil gets so upset...I try and try...but he refuses...he ate them the first two year of his life, in baby food...as he didn't know wht he was eating.

well, he is older now and knows....

What does she expect?? Should I shove it down his throat...

The only fruit he will eat is bananas...I will take what I can get.

ds is super picky too and I felt like he ate nothing whiile we were away either.at WDW....

He survivid...I tell my mil kids won't starve,...if he is hungry, he will eat...stop worrying!!!

There will be somedays...he will eat a couple of small pancakes and maybe a bananas...that is it, plus milk


Then other days..he will have two bowl of cereial, big plate of spaghetti, chicken fingers, another bowl of cereal for snack...

Kids will be kids and they all go thru phases, right??

Sorry to rant on your trip report...

Okay....back to your trip report...enjoying it very much!!!

Good idea about getting dd McDonalds' so you could enjoy your sandwhich, I mean your DH's sandwhich, while she ate....

 

[wils]

Just joining in! We took DD for her second birthday and some of the themes of your TR bring back memories! We didn't do too many TS meals but she ate so little generally that we hope to fill her and DS with, at least, some good character breakfasts this time.

Looking forward to your H&V report

Your DD is very cute

 

[Tanya90210]

great chapter. we are hoping to try a searacer too this year.... w/ coupon of course lol.

 

[Tasha+Scott]

Thanks everyone!

vassar36~ I see you stayed at Pop in May 2006. We did too!

Trentmom~ See, the thing is, my dd has always been picky and she would never even eat baby food all that often. And baby cereal? Forget about it. We struggled a lot once she stopped drinking formula. She just never ate much. She also had a lot of issues not putting on weight for a while there. Now she is up to 23 lbs and that is progress! She had a terrible gag reflex as a baby and if the texture doesn't work for her she won't even try it...no matter how much she would probably enjoy it. I don't fret about it too much anymore, but I did worry a lot around 6 months ago. I figure this is just a phase and I keep trying. She loves bananas too.

Jo~ As long as your dd isn't afraid of the characters then that is definitely the way to go! Dd ate for free at the buffets and that helped the budget, especially since we didn't know if she'd even eat or not. The couple of TS meals that we actually ordered meals for her at were the ones where she didn't eat at all.

Tanya~ Yep, definitely bring the coupon! Learn from my mistake!

 

[Trentmom]

Thanks everyone!

v
Trentmom~ See, the thing is, my dd has always been picky and she would never even eat baby food all that often. And baby cereal? Forget about it. We struggled a lot once she stopped drinking formula. She just never ate much. She also had a lot of issues not putting on weight for a while there. Now she is up to 23 lbs and that is progress! She had a terrible gag reflex as a baby and if the texture doesn't work for her she won't even try it...no matter how much she would probably enjoy it. I don't fret about it too much anymore, but I did worry a lot around 6 months ago. I figure this is just a phase and I keep trying. She loves bananas too.

J)

Oh man...that must have been scary...glad she is gaining weight...

I have heard of kids having problems with textures....I forget what it is called..sensory something........

DS loved cereal when he was a baby, thank goodness...helped him sleep many a night...

You are right, all we can do, is keep trying......not good to force feed...

Can't wait for your next installment

 

[Tasha+Scott]

I don't think Kylie has real texture issues really. It's more of a psychological thing with her. She had the gag reflex and certain textures just look unappealing to her. She might like it fine actually. It's just she won't even put it in her mouth to find out. For example, shredded cheese...she despises it just because of the stringy look it has. She's refused to eat that every time we've had it on something. Now if I melt it on something, she eats it fine. She's an oddball that way.

Dh is a bit like that and the pediatrician thinks that Kylie might have inherited the gag reflex from him (he still has it to some extent, but not too terribly). Thankfully, it has gotten MUCH better over the past year and she doesn't do it all that often anymore. So I am happy with what she eats, even though it isn't always what I wish she'd eat. A year ago she was surviving mostly on milk and vitamins, I kid you not. Now she at least eats 1 meal a day (although she is still picky on what she eats during that meal), sometimes more, and I think that's a great improvement. I feel so much better about it and I just don't let it get to me anymore and that has helped my stress level tremendously.

Okay, sorry to get so far off track. I tend to do that a lot! Sorry about that!

 

[Trentmom]

I don't think Kylie has real texture issues really. It's more of a psychological thing with her. She had the gag reflex and certain textures just look unappealing to her. She might like it fine actually. It's just she won't even put it in her mouth to find out. For example, shredded cheese...she despises it just because of the stringy look it has. She's refused to eat that every time we've had it on something. Now if I melt it on something, she eats it fine. She's an oddball that way.

Dh is a bit like that and the pediatrician thinks that Kylie might have inherited the gag reflex from him (he still has it to some extent, but not too terribly). Thankfully, it has gotten MUCH better over the past year and she doesn't do it all that often anymore. So I am happy with what she eats, even though it isn't always what I wish she'd eat. A year ago she was surviving mostly on milk and vitamins, I kid you not. Now she at least eats 1 meal a day (although she is still picky on what she eats during that meal), sometimes more, and I think that's a great improvement. I feel so much better about it and I just don't let it get to me anymore and that has helped my stress level tremendously.

Okay, sorry to get so far off track. I tend to do that a lot! Sorry about that!

I see.....I am glad she is doing better and eating more..

DS doesn't normally eat 3 meals a day either....

SOrry about getting you off track.....

Can't wait for your next update...

 

[orlosipher]

I love your trip report! I'm hoping to take my daughter, who will be 21 mos. at the time, for her first trip to the World next April, during her brother's Spring Break. I'll consider myself blessed beyond measure if she has just double the amount of meal breakdowns as Kylie! We love TS dinners, and my DD doesn't do well eating out even at 9 months!

 

[Tasha+Scott]

Hi, Orlosipher! Trust me when I say a lot can change between now and next April. Kylie has gone back and forth on how well she behaves in restaurants. At home she is actually pretty good when we eat out. It was just one of those fluke things while we were at WDW. Hopefully you will have an easier time with your dd.

It looks like I spoke too soon about the shredded cheese. The other night at dinner dh put shredded cheese on his salad and that apparently prompted Kylie to think it looked good. The stuff she literally wouldn't touch a week earlier, she suddenly was scarfing down. Dh has eaten it in front of her before but this time something must have been more appealing about it. She is just full of surprises.

I am going to attempt to get day 7 up later today...hopefully in the next few hours at the latest. Thanks again for all of you who are patiently waiting on me.

 

[Tasha+Scott]

Day 7 (May 16, 2007)

On this particular day we had to get up early and head to MGM. Kylie had been looking forward to this breakfast. We do not have the Disney channel and she has actually never watched JoJo and Goliath once in her life but she loves lions and I had told her that we would see a lion at breakfast that morning. I had also shown her toys of him and pictures and things like that. She was excited to see him. So we all got up and ready and headed to MGM.

The park had not opened yet and we were directed to Hollywood & Vine. We parked the stroller and headed inside. I spotted Goliath right away and Kylie nearly went nuts. He was in the section we were being seated at but, unfortunately, he was about to head to the other side of the restaurant. I reassured Kylie he would be back in a few minutes and that others were coming and that we should eat until then.

My mom and dh went to get their food and both of the Little Einsteins came by while they were gone. Sorry, I don’t know the name of these particular characters. I’ve never seen the show. Kylie called them “girl” and “boy” and that seemed good enough for me so they have now officially been dubbed “girl” and “boy” in our household. For the record, as much as she was liking the characters by this point in our trip, it was very hard to get a shot of her facing the camera from where I was sitting. I was the only one at the table so I had no choice. After these 2 stopped by I put dh in charge of the other photos since he was in a more ideal position.

I have to tell you now that this character breakfast is perfect for little ones. It is definitely geared toward them. There is tons of singing and dancing and stuff in there. It seemed like every time a character would enter our section they would not make it very far because it was time for the singing/dancing part. This might not be ideal for someone who doesn’t like a lot of that type of thing. Kylie didn’t really care about that part either but she’s still pretty little. She just wanted to see the characters. I think it’s perfect for preschoolers, which I’m sure is the point.

I went to make Kylie a plate and then went to get something for myself. I left strict orders with dh to take Kylie’s picture with Goliath if he came by while I was gone. Well, he did and I watched from afar. Kylie was fascinated with him. She wasn’t thrilled when he left.

She kept asking me where the lion was but I managed to get her interested in JoJo before long. She actually really liked her too and she could say JoJo so I am sure that made it even better for her. The picture with JoJo kind of creeps me out but it may just be me. She came up behind Kylie and was playing with the back of her neck but, to me, it looks like she’s about to strangle her or something. Kylie loves the picture though of course.

Hollywood & Vine was okay. Same food as pretty much any other breakfast buffet and I’m not a huge breakfast person but it was decent enough. It was noisy and perfect for kids.

After breakfast, my mom and I had planned to go ride ToT and then head back to the resort. We saw Donald and Daisy near the “hat” though and I just could not pass up the chance for Kylie to see them. She loves Donald and he is so hard to find sometimes. We had not seen him at all on this trip. We got in line and just as we got there the CM said he was closing it. We were the cutoff point. I begged him to let us see him and he was adamant that we couldn’t. He said he’d be back at 10. I said we wouldn’t be though. I admit that I was a bit huffy. I knew he was just doing his job but I just couldn’t believe the one time we might actually see Donald and we were too late. The park had only been open about 10 min. and he was already being closed off. There wasn’t many people in front of us either. I was a bit miffed to say the least.

I shook it off and my mom and I split up from Kylie and dh. Kylie really wanted to watch The Little Mermaid show again so dh took her to that while my mom and I headed to ToT.

Mom and I had a great time in line. She was nervous and the girl in front of us was as well. I had so much fun tormenting the 2 of them about how they used to carry ‘I Survived the ToT’ t-shirts but that I had noticed they didn’t have those anymore. I told them that it was because WDW was afraid of getting sued due to the fact that most people don’t survive it. The girl we had met was acting nervous and all but she was a thrill ride junky and some of the stuff she mentioned riding in the past made ToT seem tame by comparison so I really didn’t buy that she was as nervous as she was pretending. We had fun in line though. Her boyfriend was enjoying my antics as well. He played along and got in on the act, on my side of course.

I had assured my mom that the ride wasn’t bad. I had told her, as well as our new friend in line, that the back row was pretty tame and you didn’t come off the seat like you do in the front. I really believed this since that had been my experience when I had ridden by myself. We were seated in the back and my mom said she was glad. I had told her that she would scream, that there was just no way that she could ride and not scream. She is so stubborn and always trying to prove a point and was determined that she would not scream on this ride. She told me this later. She was going to be brave while I screamed my head off and she laughed at me. She actually thought this would happen. I snicker now just thinking of how naïve she can be sometimes.

Oh, geez. I don’t know what happened when we rode this time but it seemed like we went up and dropped all 13 stories on every single drop. I had nothing to hold on to since I was kind of in the middle of the aisle in the back. There was no chair in front of me to grasp. I kept grabbing my mom’s arm on each fall. We were all screaming as though our lives were really in jeopardy. Actually, it kind of felt like they were at the time. My mom screamed too of course. So much for her plan. Our butts did come off the seats, much to my surprise. And it seemed a lot scarier during the day when the window opens so you can see the park below than it had at night, believe it or not.

My mom was so funny though. Between falls, when we would be lifting back up and preparing for another drop, she would say, “Whew! Whew! I can’t handle this!” And she had the most panicked voice I’ve ever heard. Thank God we didn’t have the extra drop sequence this time or I really think she would have passed out.

When the ride was over I asked the girl we had met what she thought about it and she loved it. She asked my mom and my mom was white as a ghost and, very serious-like, said, “I didn’t like it.” She looked like she’d pass out at any second. The girl asked me my name so she could “put me in her scrapbook.” I feel honored and famous over that! Her name was Kelley and I wish now that I would have asked her if she was a DISer but I was a little afraid of her relaying how awful I was in line by scaring her and my mom the way I did.

My mom was not too happy with me since I had told her that her butt would never leave the seat. I really didn’t lie; it hadn’t when I had sat in the back row the last time. She thought I was grabbing her arm to reassure her. I almost didn’t have the heart to tell her I was grabbing her arm to save myself, that if I went flying out she would be going with me. Almost was the key word. I actually giggled in delight when I told her. I am such a wonderful daughter and any mother would be lucky to have me, right?

A Photopass photographer saw us coming and looked straight at my mom and said, “Oh! Which one you’d just do, RnR Coaster or ToT?” My mom said, “Is it that obvious? ToT!” I said, “Yeah, and it didn’t seem to agree with her.” And I snickered again.

I told my mom she needed to tell dh that it was quite tame, nothing to it. She wanted to play along but every few steps she kept stopping, putting her hand to her chest, and saying, “Whew!” I asked her if she was okay and she said yes but she told me her legs felt wobbly and she had to regain her composure. I am so awful but that had me laughing the rest of the trip and I am giggling as I type this as well. You just had to hear the “whews” she did. I kept teasing her about it the rest of the time and at least she could laugh too…eventually.

She did manage to regain her composure somewhat and we saw dh and Kylie waiting on us. She told him that it was the tamest thing she’d ever been on and he was a wimp, etc. He wasn’t buying it and told her she could keep riding it then but he wouldn’t be joining her. She didn’t keep up the act long before she ratted me out for being the worst daughter ever. She told him how I had lied and said it wasn’t bad. In my defense, it wasn’t bad to me. I also had told her that very morning she didn’t have to ride if she didn’t want to but she insisted she did. I am glad she did. It is one of my favorite memories. Her reaction was classic. It took her a good hour to really recover.

I noticed the time and it was 10 a.m. and Donald and Daisy were back. I felt sheepish because I had said that we would be gone by then to the CM but we were still at the park afterall and we headed to get in line. I felt bad. I wasn’t exactly mean or anything to the CM, don’t get me wrong. I was a little miffed though and he knew it. I felt kind of bad about it but he probably didn’t even know who I was. If he did, he didn’t acknowledge it. I’m sure he’s been through worse anyway.

My mom had not completely recovered from ToT so she said she was going to sit on a bench while we did the pictures. Donald was really hamming it up. The guy in front of us had a little Mickey Mouse and Donald grabbed it by the tail and headed toward a garbage can. He was really funny. Kylie was very excited to see him. My mom eventually joined me to snap a few pics of her own of Kylie and the Ducks.

My mom actually took this picture of us waiting in line while she was sitting on the bench. Can you spot us? I may have resized it too small for you to find us easily. Guess we’ll see.

Donald was so goofy and Kylie really enjoyed seeing him so I’m glad we managed to go back when he was there again.

It was only a little after 10 when we were through with Donald and Daisy and we headed to the bus stop to go back to our resort. Kylie delighted in taking her shoes off while waiting. She was going through this phase where she would take her shoes off, usually after I asked her not to, and then would say, “Mama! See! Shoes!” with a big grin. Little pest was so proud of herself. Ignore the big grin. She’s trouble, I tell you!

We headed back to our resort and decided to rent a surrey bike. I had really been looking forward to this. They looked like so much fun to me. Kylie really enjoyed sitting in the little seat in the very front and trying to ring the bell. She didn’t have to pedal and only had to enjoy the view and the breeze so it was great to her. Dh and I sat up front and my mom sat in back. There are 2 steering wheels but only one of them actually steers. Dh was steering but I kept trying to with my non-functioning wheel. I was so frustrated; I wanted to steer too!

Well, I noticed right away that it was kind of hard to pedal this thing. I was a bit surprised. It really became obvious when we got to the first hill. Oh, man, it was extremely hard to pedal up this hill. I was pedaling with all my might and wondered why my mom and dh weren’t really helping me. They swore they were. We were starting to roll backwards back the way we had come and we all started to laugh which really set us back.

We FINALLY made it up that hill and were so tired, sore, and sweaty by that point. We noticed other surrey bikes passing us at the speed of light. Then, a surrey bike with a set of parents and 2 little girls pedaling passed us. Geez, were we really that out of shape?

Dh was shooting me dirty looks and saying, “I thought you said this would be relaxing!” I was surprised these things were so popular. This was one of the hardest workouts I’d ever had. We were on our 2nd loop when we got to the big hill again. Dh says to my mom and me, “Don’t laugh so we won’t roll backwards again!” That was it. My mom and I just burst into laughter and then dh did as well and we rolled back down the hill. We were laughing so hard by this point that we could hardly breathe and our bike was at a complete stand-still by this point.

Right about then a golf cart with a couple of CMs got behind us. The guy asks us if we need some help. “Nope, we’re fine,” I said between fits of laughter. And yes, the guy asking if we needed help had me laughing even harder. Dh was laughing too and jokingly said, “Yeah, maybe you could use your golf cart and push us up this hill.” Well, the CM actually comes up behind us and he and the girl CM start pushing us up the hill. We are all giggling like idiots by this point and I’m sure they must have thought we were on drugs or something. We were a bit embarrassed that we were so out of shape and needed their help.

The male CM tells us to let the lady at the rental place know that we are pedaling with a flat back tire when we get back. OH! A flat tire…so that was it. Why hadn’t we thought to check that ourselves? We weren’t so out of shape afterall thankyouverymuch. We made it back and all 3 of us were exhausted. Dh told the lady what had happened and she apologized and asked if we wanted to go again on a different bike for free. Dh looked at her between his sweat, blood, and tears and said, “Uh, no, not right now anyway.” The good news is that we weren’t charged for it. Kylie would have gladly gone again of course. It must be nice to be so little and just sit back and relax and not do any of the pedaling!

The funny thing was that all 3 of us were secretly thinking that the other 2 weren’t pedaling and we were doing all the work ourselves. It is really funny now but at the time it was pretty exhausting. I would like to eventually rent another one and see how it is when you don’t have a flat tire. I wonder if it is actually fun. We will be checking the tires next time for sure. Live and learn.

I will finish the rest in a while. Kylie just woke up and I need to get her ready for daycare. I will try to finish this in a few hours.

TO BE CONTINUED:
Up Next:
Our evening at AK (Will I FINALLY get to ride EE?)
Our dinner at RFC (complete with reviews)