ET's Pre trip and Trip report. TR pg 6 #87. New 10/14 THE END on pg 19 #271

[Glendamax]

Hey??? Where's the Thread Mother??????

I don't know . . . want some popcorn while we wait?

 

[Lan]

Did we run her away?

 

[theblondebee]

ET where are you? I'm hanging on the edge of my seat, eyes riveted to my screen afraid if I blink I will miss something. Hurry please!

 

[Al and Kate's Mom]

Come back, Come back!

 

[aldisneygrl]

ET - Where are you???????????????

 

[Eeyore's Tiara]

Thank you all for your wonderful remarks. I have had a hard time making it back to the boards. Life keeps interrupting me. Also, I took my film to Walmart and half the pictures came back blank. So, my pics will have to be used sparingly.... Thank goodness for the Dispics I still have coming.

aldisneygrl- thanks for reading my trip report. I hope you like it. You never know what's going to happen with 4 kids in tow.

Momplanner- I wish we could start a colony, but they'd starve each other to death....

S. Poppins-Thank you, we are planning on going back next year!

Princess5- If you want to be in a wedding photo, just stay at the GF. Everytime we turned around there was a bride in front of us!

MissMichele-I hope it meets your expectations!

AlandKatesmom- Woohoo, I finally got a groupee like umama!

Umama-I am writing my fingers off as we speak, well not exactly as we speak, but --I'm starting to confuse myself....
Oh, and as for the concourse, our steaks were awesome and the cookies were fresh. Maybe it was a good moment for what we had coming next! The kids absolutely loved the cookie painting. The only drawback for us was that you can see Chef Mickey's from the restaurant and the kids kept staring over there!

Gmax-You were such a good girl for putting the dishes back. You got a cool bracelet from the manager guy for being a good girl.

Well, remember when I said that this should have been Umama's trip. Right away the drama started. And now for the rest of the story.

 

[Eeyore's Tiara]

Part 2
I was so tired and I had already had a very long day. A lack of sleep, airport mix-up and the grand entrance by landing on my knees in front of this beautiful hotel. Now as you have noticed, I mentioned all those things before I mentioned the problems. Was this not enough of a problem to start out with. I had to add more drama? So what happened? I was ready to take a nice hot shower and get some sleep so we could start out early the next day at MK. I got undressed, turned on the water and got the iciest shower that I have ever had in my entire life. It felt like ice cube chunks coming out of the shower head. I let the water run for awhile thinking that it would have to warm up soon. After 30 minutes of no hot water we called housekeeping and they told us to turn on all the hot water faucets and let it run until it got hot. Well, it never got hot. It finally got tepid and I took a moderately cold shower. We called back to let them know that it had never gotten hot and I thought maybe they had a hot water heater go out. They said they had been working on the system and that it would rectify itself by morning. Off to sleep I went dreaming of the magic kingdom and all the fun we’d have with Mickey and Minnie in the morning.

The next morning arrives and we get up and head to the bathroom for a HOT shower to try to wake us up. It was again tepid after running it for awhile. More cold than hot was coming out. I declined calling housekeeping again because we wanted to get to the parks. We jumped on the monorail and off to Magic Kingdom we went. At Magic kingdom we encountered EMH and managed to ride Peter Pan, Small World, Dumbo, Snow White, Winnie the Pooh, Teacups, Indy cars, and Astro Orbiter with absolutely no wait time. We proceeded to Space Mountain and rode it twice with no lines. Haunted Mansion had a little wait time, but not much. It wasn’t working when we went by the first time and we had to return later, or we might have gotten on with no wait. We managed to get all this done before noon. We stopped at Cosmic Rays and each tried out our new dining cards. It was awesome, but totally more food than you can eat. The hamburgers were good and I’m a picky hamburger eater.

From this point we were supposed to head over to MGM and spend the afternoon there. But my friends husband decided he wanted to go back to the room. What was this? Mutiny afoot already? We’d only been in the parks for half a day and he was already going back to the room. I decided we could change our plans and let the kids all go swimming for the day. So we went back to the hotel and tried out the pool. There wasn’t many people in the pool at that time of day and the kids got to play for quite awhile. We then went back up to our room and tried to get another shower to get the pool water off of us. This was the worst shower of all. It was colder than ice and never warmed up. My youngest daughter broke down in tears and refused to go anywhere near the cold water. My friend and her husband were in the room connecting ours and they hadn’t said anything about their water up to this point, but when my friend heard my daughter crying she asked what was going on and I told her about the lack of hot water. She told me that they hadn’t managed to get any hot water out of their bathroom either. I was on the verge of crying at this point. My baby was crying, the friends I had brought on this trip were not having a great experience, and I couldn’t wash the chlorine off of me and I was going to break out if I didn’t get the chlorine off. I resorted to calling the front desk and asking them who I needed to complain to about a problem in our room. It was at this point that my husband chimed in and said, “Well, cold water’s not so bad. We took cold showers all the time in the military.” To which I replied, “Yes, but that’s why I never JOINED the military!”

The lady that answered the phone said hesitantly when I asked who I needed to complain to, I guess that would be me. Poor woman. I sounded like I was going to cry or come unglued. And since she didn’t know me, she didn’t know that I wouldn’t have been mean to her. I told her about the hot water situation that we had been dealing with housekeeping over this going on 2 days and she admitted that they had been told there was a problem with the plumbing in that building. I didn’t know what to say at this point. She asked what I would like to have done and I replied, “Well hot water would be nice. Can you fix the problem in this building?” She said she wasn’t sure but she would have someone else call me. A gentlemen called me back within 15-20 minutes and asked if I would like to move to a new building. I didn’t reply very quickly because I was thinking of all the stuff I had just unpacked that would have to be moved. Not to mention 3 kids and husband in my room. I asked him about our friends in the next room and he said he would move them also. Since I hesitated he informed me it would be an upgrade. He didn’t realize my hesitation was over relocating all of us and our stuff. So I said, “Well an upgrade is nice, but I have a lot of stuff to move and can you tell me if I will have hot water?” He said he couldn’t guarantee it, but that they hadn’t had any complaints on that building. He also said he would send a bellman to move all our things. So he did go out of his way to try to help us. We felt so bad for the bellman having to carry all our stuff over to a new building since it wasn’t his fault. that my husband gave him a big tip. My husband said, “It’s a good thing we have that dining plan. With all these tips, we might not get to eat.”

I would at this point like to stress how much I love my dh. I write this next part with that firmly in mind. My dh, who is usually quite a nice quy, didn’t feel the need to move from a room with a cold shower. See comment above. So he let his feelings show when he shut the elevator door and made me wait with my luggage for the next elevator. It’s actually funny when I write about it now. But at the time I was fit to be tied. We all made it over to the new room and I asked him as nicely as I could what he thought he was doing. His reply? “We were holding up the elevator and being rude to other people that might be waiting.” MIGHT BE WAITING? Ooooooohhhhhh. I ordered him out onto the balcony for a time out. And he went! We were laughing at each other a few minutes later and we managed to get everything unpacked again. We had solved one problem but we weren’t prepared for the one to follow.

We took a quick shower and got ready to go get something to eat because we had to be at the marina for the Wishes cruise we booked for my daughter’s birthday. My friend had started stressing over the hot water issue and then having to move. I think she was trying not to say anything because she didn’t want to ruin our trip. We stepped out into the hallway and she had a major seizure. We returned her to her room and she went to sleep which she does after a seizure. We stayed and watched her while her husband went to get food at Gasparillo’s Grill for their son and himself. When he returned we went down so that it would be quiet enough for her to rest. We stayed for as long as we could and then headed back up to the room. When she heard me come in, she told me to come over and talk to her. She was worried that we would be upset with her. I told her not to worry about the cruise, that she didn’t need to go because she needed to rest. She had decided she felt well enough to go and joined us on the cruise. The cruise was beautiful. They took us for a tour all the way around the different resorts and over to Fort Wilderness. We got a whole new perspective of Disney World from the water. The driver told us interesting things about Disney as we traveled around the lake. Then he took us to watch the Spectro Magic parade on the water. It was awesome. The driver helped pull out the birthday cake and cut it for everyone on board to have a piece. He even helped sing Happy Birthday to my daughter. There were balloons on the boat and a banner that read Happy Birthday! We had ordered the cake from the Grand Floridian and it was amazing. A white chocolate mousse cake! UMMMM!

They sent a tablecloth, cloth napkins, glass plates, forks, and a knife to cut with. They thought of everything. We then pulled up into place alongside several other boats to watch the fireworks. It is really one of the best spots to watch the fireworks. We even saw Tinkerbelle fly from the top of the castle. With the music and the fireworks going off, the kids didn’t move a muscle. It was well worth the expense of doing it.

My friend still worrying that she was going to ruin our vacation, had another seizure before we managed to get off the boat. By trying not to say anything about the hot water, the move, and her fear that we would be mad at her, she stressed herself completely out. We took all the kids back to the room and her husband arranged for a wheelchair to the room. Thankfully when they moved us, they relocated us onto the first floor. I finally had to put my foot down and tell her that we were not mad at her and that she didn’t need to feel like she had to do anything the next day. She said “Are you sure you’re not mad at me?” What was she thinking? I told her no I wasn’t unless she deliberately planned to have a seizure. And since that was highly unlikely, she needed to stop stressing and do only what she felt capable of doing. End of day 2.

 

[MomPlanner22]

Your poor friend! I am sure this was a very upsetting thing for everyone. She is so lucky to have friends who are supportive and understanding!

 

[Lan]

I am sorry that your stay started out bad. It appeared to get better with the cruise.

 

[celerystalker]

Oh ET! How stressful for you all! At least the cruise was beautiful. that cake looked yummy!

 

[Eeyore's Tiara]

Thank you all for being so supportive. We said a lot of prayers for this situation and they were heard. The rest of our trip she didn't have any more problems at all. Not one little thing. Thank you!

Now, here is a picture of my girls and I in front of the castle. Hey Umama, you should appreciate this one!

And yes, that is a magic wand in my hand! I was conjuring up a little pixie dust for our trip! And enjoy that picture of my little girl, cause there aren't very many more. Miss Ham in front of a camera decided that at Disney World she didn't want any pictures. My dh said she was just acting like a princess.

 

[UtahMama]

OH I want to photo shop DIS boards on my BUM! Except my DH is forbidden to photograph it or video tape it...BUT HE DID! It's worse on film! Yours is adorable!

Look at your 3 bee-u-tiful girls! I wished I could have met them after our Grande Tea....DO OVER!!!!


You'd think for the ba-zillion dollars a night to stay at the GF, They'd have pool boys personally heating silver cauldrons of bottled water for you to bathe in! I'm tickled they upgraded you (but I already knew that....your TR is in the "vault"!)

Thanks for more of the GOOD stuff!

Love YA!!!!
UtahMama

 

[Glendamax]

You'd think for the ba-zillion dollars a night to stay at the GF, They'd have pool boys personally heating silver cauldrons of bottled water for you to bathe in!

The GF should be happy that this happened to ET and not someone esle (like me), because I would not have lasted 2 days with no hot water! ET, you have the patience of a Saint!

OH! And I love the castle shot!

 

[cherokeemamma]

Good Morning ET,
I returned home extremely late Sunday evening (well very early Mon. morning) from the world. We missed our flight on Sun even. so we didn't get out until late...that is another story. Yes, it involves my sweet, dear DH! My brain was asleep all day Mon. and yesterday was laundry and yard work day...YUK! Reality is so harsh sometimes. Anyway...I am with it now and finally on the Dis.
I really am enjoying your TR and your pics. What cute girls you have. I sure wish I could have met them. Thanks for the wonderful Tea ...you are the best!!! It was just so much fun and I really enjoyed meeting each of you. I do have some great pics of everyone and the food. I wish we had all had time to relax and not rush off to the next adventure.
I hope to get my TR done by perhaps next July! Seriously, maybe by Oct. Anyway...I'll be reading yours and Umama's and Gmax's. You guys are just so hard to follow...

Cherokeemamma

 

[Glendamax]

Good Morning! Do you still have your tiara on . . .
Sorry you had a rough return home.

 

[cherokeemamma]

Hey Gmax,
How are ya? Girl...I am loving your TR also. Love your pictures, too! You are doing great you are over half way done. I know I have to get it together...I'll be forgetting everything if I don't hurry.
Yes, I have worn my tiara...I did have to pry it out of DD hands though. She "thinks" she is the only princess around here. I tell her that's right; if you are the princess then I am the queen.
Your mama is so cute...and funny, too! Give her a big ol' hug from GA for me.
I have to run and wake up my princess for school. Today is pajama day so she doesn't even have to dress!

talk to you soon
cherokeemamma

 

[PrincessV]

ET - what a start! Hope it's all magic and not so tragic for everyone from here on out!
Love the castle pic

 

[scrap4u]

Great report so far ET! I'm really enjoying it. Your girls are too cute! So sorry for your friend. I know how easy it is to stress yourself out about stuff. But I'm glad she didn't have anymore seizures after that day.

Keep up the good work!

 

[Eeyore's Tiara]

Hey, maybe we should just plan a day where all the families can meet up next year. Maybe our kids are future disboarders..

Umama, I didn't see one single pool boy with a cauldron of hot water. In fact, I didn't even see one pool boy. But maybe the GF will rectify that by my next visit. And I have to say that is the first time anyone called my caboose adorable.

Gmax, I lasted that long because I had a lot of hope and I didn't realize that our friends didn't have hot water either or the front desk would have known about it earlier. I didn't want to make everyone move if just our room had a problem. It was a case of I didn't say anything and she didn't say anything. Probably because neither one of us wanted to ruin the magical experience. It wont happen again! The patience of a Saint? Ooooh, I don't think my kids would think so....

Cherokeemama, it sounds like you have a dh like mine. I hope you have recovered. It took me about 3 days to recoup. I wanted to say I had a great time at the tea and it was fun to meet you. I say we should make it a plan to all hook up with family in tow next year.

PrincessV, I hope I'm not making it sound to tragic. We had a great time and plan on going again.

Scrap4u, Thank you.

 

[Eeyore's Tiara]

Day 3
The next day we got up for a character breakfast at Crystal Palace inside Magic Kingdom. We thought it would be nice to take the boat launch over instead of the monorail but soon found out that it wasn’t a good idea when you are on a time schedule. We got onboard, my having forgot it had to go by the Polynesian before continuing on to MK. It was a brain lapse. What can I say? We arrive at the Poly to pick up a nice looking family when the husband of this family starts a LENGTHY discussion with the boat captain going so far as to ask him to get off the boat and walk with him to the end of the dock while he’s is talking animatedly while pointing to the GF. I’m starting to get a little nervous and wish that I had just taken the monorail. (Mentally slapping myself again on this trip) I hear the words “Has anyone ever swam from the Poly to the GF before?” float back to us on the wind. The boat captain replies, “Well, yes, but make sure you do it at night.” At night? When all the party boats are going out? What? Does he dislike this guest? Or is he trying to imply the guy might not get to good of a reception if found swimming in their lagoon? As I pondered this question and mentally calculated the time lost for the guy to continue to point to the GF, I worried that our first character meal might not come off. I kept my mouth shut because I didn’t want to worry anyone else about what I was thinking. So 7 people sat there oblivious to my inner turmoil. Would I loose my status as a master planner? Would we miss seeing Eeyore? Was I doomed to a trip filled with angst and strife? And did I really have to use all these big words while I was talking to myself? I was starting to loose my cool and calm demeanor and actually become one of those rude visitors who demands that everyone realize how important they are and how valuable their time is when thankfully the captain stepped back on the boat and the guy didn’t have any choice but to follow or get left. Mentally thanking the man upstairs for the reprieve from becoming shrewish, I put my hope in the Disney policy of trying to keep guests happy. We made it into the slip at the MK and stepped off and hurried inside. Only to be stopped by those overworked bag checkers. Do you know how many pockets are on a lime green baggalini? I do. I was starting to wish for a ziplock bag with a shoulder strap. After opening and shutting the bag, we proceeded thru the gate with the tickets. And guess what? Of all the days to get the one guy at the gate who wants to do his job better than anyone else, it had to happen today. When I was late of course. He wanted to know why I used my thumbprint on mine and my daughters pass. I replied because that is what I was told to do yesterday when we came to MK for the first time. He responded, “Well it just isn’t done that way.” To which I responded, “Well evidently it is, because we’ve already done it that way.” To which he replied, “She should have used her own finger.” To which I replied, “Well, she’s not old enough to use her own finger, so she’s stuck with mine until she is.” To which he did not have a reply so he let us in.

The mad dash to the Crystal Palace was on. I arrived and told the very nice lady behind the counter that I was supposed to have been there a little earlier but due to unforeseen circumstances, I was a little late. She evidently knew there were people in the park who were a little overzealous, so she kindly handed me one of those red blinky things and said, “It’s okay, just wait over there.” Yeah! My hopes of seeing Eeyore hadn’t been completely shattered. But wait what did I hear her say to the people behind me? Ouch! They didn’t have reservations and were told promptly that it wouldn’t be happening for them today in no uncertain terms. I looked at my red blinky thing and had a moment of sadness for the people, but then I saw our prince and princesses look at me so expectantly that I had to get over it. We got our pictures taken by the roses with the castle in the background by the photopass people while we waited. And not too long after that, the blinky thing went off. Do those blinky things have an actual name?

Inside we had a wonderful waiter who took care of our every need. He made sure we were treated like royalty. And the characters were awesome.

Donald duck and Cinderella chat Pooh up!(see cast of characters on 1st page)

Piglet gets a Pooh sized hug from Cinderella.

Belle, Cinderella, and Donald all joke with Pooh!

Belle helps Cinderella acquire a hug. Such sisterly love.

Belle and 1/2 of Cinderella's head. Snow White aimed too high!

We had at least 3 visits by each of the characters except Tigger. But he was working one side of the restaurant while the other 3 worked the other side. So when they switched, he spent a fairly long time at each table. It was great.

My youngest, Cinderella, squares off with Tigger and he teaches her to bounce!

Snow White joins the Pooh Bear parade!

Snow White took a picture of the omelet chef which seemed to make him really happy.

My oldest daughter, Snow White, had more fun sprinking pixie dust on the CM’s and visitors than doing anything for herself. That doesn’t mean she is a perfect child, it just means that she learned that giving is more fun than receiving a lot of times. There are several stories about things that she did that I will tell during this trip. I hope you will laugh along with me when I tell them.