Even miracles take a little time... the canceled trip that finally happened! September 2022 Trip Report

[MamaMouse0920]

9/10/22 - Park Day 3 (Epcot), continued



After stopping at a PhotoPass Photographer outside Mexico, we headed to the next country. For being as big as Epcot is, we didn't realize how close the countries are together so we had to pass Norway (Frozen) to kill more time before our LL. We walked around China but decided not to get anything to drink (nothing really jumped out at us), again stopping by a PhotoPass Photographer.


By the time we got to Germany we were ready for a beer. We walked through the shops and eventually decided to get a Pilsner, though I can't remember what it was called.




We stopped between Germany & Italy for a sunscreen application break, digging out the fans already because this day was HOT. Heat index of 105 hot. There wasn't a cloud in the sky so we were happy to find this shaded little table where we applied sunscreen & finished our beer.



We made several comments throughout the day how we were happy we didn't bring the kids this day! 1) super hot & sunny, 2) we didn't feel like they'd be super entertained by everything yet at their young age, and 3) this was the busiest day we had experienced and it's much easier to navigate crowds with just two adults than a big stroller with 2 toddlers. We did see a lot of characters spaced throughout the park, more than we'd seen either day at MK, but I don't think a scattering of characters (with long lines to meet them, mind you) & a handful of kid friendly rides would have made it worth it to take them here. I know there are people who SWEAR their kids love Epcot, but I just really don't think ours would have and I'm glad we chose the parks we did. I hope I didn't just offend anyone!!

We skipped the peach Bellini in Italy (Matt's choice, not mine - boo! He didn't want gut-rot), but stopped by a PhotoPass photographer:

Eventually we headed back toward Norway as the time was nearing 11:15 and we could soon scan in to our Frozen LL. The LL line was still SUPER long!! We waited probably 20 minutes, but we were inside in the AC and we didn't have the kids with us so it was tolerable The ride was cute, but my goodness I couldn't imagine waiting 70+ minutes (that's what the Stand By wait was when we scanned in for our LL) for that ride. If there was a picture (isn't there one?) it didn't link to my account cause I never saw it. As I mentioned yesterday that happened frequently this trip-- pictures wouldn't show up, only some in our party (i.e. my in laws photo only, not ours), or we got completely random people's photos. So weird!

After our ride we snapped a pic with the Norway troll

bonus points if you can figure out which one is the troll!

And headed toward America. We were getting hungry by that point, and WARM so we stopped for a beer flight & a snack inside the Regal Eagle, me posing on our way:




The pulled pork hit. the. spot. SO yummy! And we have high standards since Matt is a semi professional meat smoker back home. We inhaled the entire thing in like 3 minutes. The beer was okay, neither of us cared for the pumpkin one (it tasted like booze, hence the 'barrel aged') & the strawberry & lime one was not our taste either... but we didn't have a choice (you order a flight & you get what they give you) and we still drank them all. After our lunch & water/AC break, we hit the bathrooms. Following the signs to the back of the Regal Eagle, we discovered that the bathrooms were companion bathrooms only.... weird. So we both went in one, Matt making a comment that people were going to think we were "doing it" in there. I said well lets go really fast then so they don't think that! We both peed & washed our hands super fast, and when we left there was a line of about 5 other people waiting- one of which was a mom with her 3ish year old daughter. I felt so bad!! We scampered out of there quickly.

I'm all out of picture space so will stop here again!

 

[footballmouse]

 

[MamaMouse0920]

9/10/22 - Park Day 3 (Epcot), continued

After America we departed for Japan.


I love this close up shot of DH & I, but I have no idea what is going on with that backfat/armpit boob thing I have going on above my backpack strap! Any photoshop wizards out there able to help?!
While in Japan, I was ready for another drink & so while Matt went into one of the stores (he was on the hunt for a new hat this whole trip), I stopped by the Kabuki Cafe. I had never had Sake before so I ordered the Violet Sake. It was good but sooooooo sweet. Not really my cup of tea (I too can tend to get gut-rot from sugary drinks and usually avoid them) but I drank it nonetheless as it was full of ice & helped cool me down.

We continued through Morocco (didn't eat or drink anything there), taking a selfie in front of a beautiful tile fountain.


Around 12:45pm, we approached France & were happy to see that both clouds were finally coming in (yay respite from the sun!) and also that Remy was back up & running! We scanned in using our "anytime" redemption experience, and weaved through the queue.



Matt & I both agreed this ride was super cute, but again couldn't imagine waiting 70+ minutes to ride it. I was nervous about getting motion-sick on the ride (it's usually spinning rides or simulator/screen rides that get me), and while I can see how some people would or could get sick, thankfully we were both fine. Granted we had taken Dramamine earlier while waiting for rope drop, so that could be why. Before leaving France, we stopped to pose on the moped/motorcycles for some pictures.







At some point, I booked a LL for Test Track for 4:45pm. We walked through UK & Canada (again), intending to return later for fish & chips, heading toward a restful ride on Living with the Land. While in line (we didn't have a LL since we were stuck in the 120 min rule), we got notified that our boarding group was being called for Guardians!!! I was actually slightly nervous we would miss it, since the line said 15 minutes but it was slooooooooow moving- I think it was actually probably closer to 30 mins- plus I wasn't sure how long the ride itself was. I still was able to enjoy the ride (I'll admit I thought about closing my eyes for just a few seconds but didn't) however I was excited to get off and dash to Guardians!

We made it to the entrance of the queue, and as we scanned our magic bands I warned Matt that a virtual queue does NOT guarantee short line. It could still be a while.. and it did in fact be about a 30 minute wait, but that ended up being for the best because we soon realized that we had forgotten to take a repeat dose of Dramamine! This was the mac daddy of motion sickness inducing rides (or so I had read) so we quickly took a dose just in case, the 30 minute wait giving us just enough time for it to kick in. The queue was pretty & interesting, very themed/detailed and was always moving so it felt like it went pretty quickly. Plus, it just being us two and not needing to deal with two toddlers who have no patience really makes a 30 minute wait a lot more tolerable!

We got to the point just before the "teleportation room" and there was some delay that caused the doors not to open. The CM did his best to keep us entertained- asking us who our favorite Guardian was, etc. and eventually ran out of material and asked if there were any birthdays in the group. Someone excitedly shouted "Yes! Over here!" referring to what I assume was his dad. The CM asked for his name (Bill) to which he replied, "oh good, that's easy" and instructed the group all to sing Happy Birthday to him. We all did, and just as we finished "happy birthday dear Bill, happy birthday to you!" the doors opened up. It was magical! Everyone cheered & clapped, and I bet Bill felt super special.

As we got on the coaster, I realized I was unsure if my Mickey ear clips would hold???? They clip into your hair barrette style but I knew this was a fast coaster..... I decided to hope for the best since I didn't have time to try to mess with them. Thankfully, they stayed put. 5 stars to you, Etsy lady!



O.M.G. That ride was AMAZING! By far the best ride I've ever been on. I think I smiled literally the entire time. We had Conga, and thankfully didn't feel sick after- but again I could see how people could/would. There was one guy a couple rows before us who looked like he either did puke or was about to- bent at the knees with a hand covering his mouth. Because of my severe vomit phobia, I won't lie, I RAN out of there. I did not want to witness that. Poor Matt was like "why on earth are you walking so fast?!" wondering where's the fire? By the time we got out of the building, we discovered that it had started to rain - hard. Ducking back inside the building, we donned our super flimsy cheap ponchos (our heavy duty ones didn't fit inside my Minnie backpack!) and man did those suck. They did nothing to keep us dry, just blew all over the place and we were soaked in seconds. The worst part by far was our tennis shoes! I could actually feel the standing water in them with each step I took. It was miserable. And because of where we were, there was nothing close by, so we hovered under an umbrella but the wind was coming sideways so that didn't do much. We then ran to Spaceship Earth, but so did everyone else, so we didn't bother getting in line for the ride as I'm sure the posted 15 minute wait time was actually more like 50. We were being mindful about Matt's parents watching the kids & we had done everything we wanted to do except for Test Track (which would have been closed for the storm anyway), and didn't feel like waiting another hour and a half for our LL to ride it. We discussed what we should do for about 10 minutes, before finally deciding to call it a day. No fish & chips for us, waaah! We were bummed about that, but didn't want Matt's parents to get burned out watching our kids. So we called an Uber and waited for a few minutes for it to arrive- snapping this rainy selfie just before 3pm.



As we ran in the rain to meet our driver, I realized I wasn't sure the protocol here.. Do I take my poncho off just before getting in? Do I try to take it off while I'm in the car? I am absolutely drenched, his backseat is about to be too.. I didn't have much time to figure it out as we approached his car, and I ended up half taking it off outside the car and the rest once I was inside the car. As fate would have it, the guy had CLOTH seats- white cloth, at that!! We tried to apologize & the guy seemed a little annoyed but I'm not sure what else we could have done. He also made a few comments that made me feel like he was judging us for bailing ("the rain will be done any minute") but I didn't feel like I needed to justify why we left when we did... We had kids waiting for us back at the resort, and if you don't want wet people in your car you shouldn't have accepted the ride in the middle of a downpour... sorry dude!

We got home quickly (seriously, LOVE the proximity of Wyndham Bonnet Creek!) and changed out of our wet clothes- trying to figure out what to do with our soaking wet tennis shoes. THANK GOODNESS the next day was a rest day! I honestly don't know what we would have done if we had to go to a park with still wet shoes.. that would have been miserable. The kids were excited to see us (and us them!), but even more relieved to see us I think were my in-laws! You could tell they were done dealing with a rambunctious 2 year old. It's sad but they don't hide their favoritism, making comments like "DD3 you are SUCH a good girl.... DS2... well, you just..... have a lot going on" It makes the mama bear in me come out & want to cry and slap someone simultaneously.

We asked what they did while we were gone, sounds like they walked around the property and saw all the ducks/koi fish/turtles, played on the playground, and did a painting craft activity in the rec center. I think they had to yell at DS2 a lot (another recurring theme this trip) & this day may have been the point in the trip that they swore to themselves they would never travel with us again Thankfully the next day was a rest day, so nothing for them to do but relax. We spent the rest of the afternoon watching movies & just hanging out- eventually ordering a pizza for dinner despite me having the groceries to make either spaghetti & meatballs or grill pork chops.

Matt and I had a GREAT time at Epcot, and it felt really nice to be able to spend that 1:1 time with him. With my parents living so close to us, I'd say we are fortunate to get more date nights than most, but we still don't get to have alone time more than maybe once every couple months, and even then it's just for 2-3 hours so this whole day just him and I was really special & I'm thankful for my in-laws for agreeing to watch the kids so we could connect.

TOTAL STEPS: 17,417 <--- I'm surprised by this, Epcot really felt like the park we did the most walking!

Up next: Rest day!

 

[MamaMouse0920]

Before I move on to the next section of my report, I just found these and realized I forgot to include them!

Pictures of the kids trying HARD to pull that darn sword out of the stone


Just look at that level of concentration!



These crack me up

 

[gorkt]

Enjoying your trip report- it reminds me so much of my first trip with my kids back in 2006 with my in-laws. It was so nice to have them along to help, but it was stressful trying to wrangle everyone together. Now my FIL has had a stroke and can't really travel, so I am grateful we got to take a few trips with them and the kids when we did. At the time my kids were 4 and 2.

Now I am planning a trip with a 20 year old and an 18 year old on their college break! How the heck did that happen?!?! It flies by, for sure, so enjoy them!

 

[MamaMouse0920]

Enjoying your trip report- it reminds me so much of my first trip with my kids back in 2006 with my in-laws. It was so nice to have them along to help, but it was stressful trying to wrangle everyone together. Now my FIL has had a stroke and can't really travel, so I am grateful we got to take a few trips with them and the kids when we did. At the time my kids were 4 and 2.

Now I am planning a trip with a 20 year old and an 18 year old on their college break! How the heck did that happen?!?! It flies by, for sure, so enjoy them!

Oh man, I'm sorry to hear about your FILs stroke! I'm glad you got to take the trip with him as well. What a blessing!

As for the 20 year old & 18 year old... I am in denial that my kids will ever get old so that age seems totally inconceivable to me!!!

 

[VanillaThunder]

Following! This is a really great report! Looks like a really fun day at EPCOT! Looking forward to the upcoming entries!

 

[maleficent55]

girl! you don't have back fat!! That's the way our bodies naturally move around when something, like an arm, presses against it. You're good!

 

[fractal]

Trying to catch up. Great report so far!

Wanted to ask how your in-law's made out from Ian. Were they in Fort Myers when it struck?

 

[MamaMouse0920]

girl! you don't have back fat!! That's the way our bodies naturally move around when something, like an arm, presses against it. You're good!

LOL well thank you! It feels very:

but I know we're all our own worst critics!

 

[MamaMouse0920]

Trying to catch up. Great report so far!

Wanted to ask how your in-law's made out from Ian. Were they in Fort Myers when it struck?

They opted not to evacuate, but fortunately their condo is located on the second floor and their particular unit made out okay. The first floor units had 4 feet of standing water, oooof! Their car was also somehow miraculously spared, though I'm really struggling to imagine a scenario that doesn't at least result in electrical damage considering aforementioned 4 feet of standing water...... but who knows.

The day after the worst of it, they went out "exploring" the damage & FIL fell and scraped his arm pretty good. Matt reminded them that emergency services/hospitals are pretty busy right now and begged them to be more careful.. and also to keep a pretty close eye on that wound since the area is ridden with bacteria at the moment (i.e sewer water etc.). It's hard with them being so far away, Matt feels pretty helpless and struggles when they press their independence (like getting on ladders and cutting down branches with chainsaws ) but we try to remind ourselves that we are not their parents (LOL, other way around!) and they are free to make their own choices, even if we don't agree with them.

I know Sterg lives in FL- how was he impacted?

 

[MamaMouse0920]

9/11/22 - Rest Day

I woke up physically exhausted. Feeling drained with a slightly scratchy throat. Not sure if the last 3 days of screaming on rides and waking up at 5:30am + being in the parks all day was finally getting to me... or worse. We had been sanitizing CONSTANTLY (before and after every ride/queue, washing our hands at least every 2 hours, and avoiding indoor crowds when at all possible- i.e. taking the ferry en lieu of the monorail.. and when we do take the monorail we have an entire car to ourselves- asking to skip the stretching room, etc.) so when I woke up feeling this way, it was easy to brush off as just park fatigue. Miles of walking in 95 degree weather, pushing a double stroller & chasing 2 toddlers and constantly checking on 2 elderly grandparents... yeah that's bound to take it's toll on you. I took some Tylenol and hoped it would do the job. We got the kids' suits on and sunscreened up... only to go out to the pool closest to our building (there were 5 pools to choose from) and realize it's completely shaded and the water was COLD! Not miserable cold (we're from Minnesota after all) but definitely not enjoyable. It did not do my sore body any good, that's for sure! DS2 was being a little gremlin as usual, and eventually I decided to return to the room with him. We laid on the couch & I tried to take a short nap while we watched Bluey or Paw Patrol or something, but DS2 wasn't having any of that! I tried calling & texting Matt about making a Target pick up order for more medicine & to remind him to reapply sunscreen on DD3 (the sun eventually came out) but not surprisingly, he didn't have his phone with him in the pool DS2 and I went over to the balcony to try to find them (Matt's white torso stood out amongst the tan individuals LOL) and I waved my arms several times- I assumed my long arms waving about would be easy to spot on our 2nd floor balcony, but he was focused on playing with DD3. With the sun beating down, I continued attempting to flag him down since I was worried about DD3 burning, even hollering a couple times - 1, embarrassing and 2, counterproductive to my scratchy throat dilemma. He finally saw us and I motioned for him to check his phone. He held up all 10 fingers, which I gathered meant 10 more minutes and they'd be back. Sure enough 10 mins later they returned to the room and I told him I was feeling pretty miserable. I was going to lay down with the kids for their nap, and asked if he could run to Target during that time. When we woke up/he got home, I took the DayQuil and felt better pretty quickly. Not sure if it was the nap or the meds or both, but it seemed to do the trick! Matt & I took the kids back down to the pool (in laws did not want to join). It was much more enjoyable with the sun out and the water warmer! After a few hours of playing in the pool, we decided to get a beer & virgin daquiris for the kids.




These two were living their best pool life!





Cheers!

Deciding our hands and feet were sufficiently wrinkly, we returned to the room to start dinner- Matt was to grill pork chops on the community grills. The kids were being their typical loud/crazy selves, and I didn't want to bother my in laws anymore so I took the kids down to play outside while Matt grilled. I guess MIL followed us down, so her and I & the kids just walked around the expansive property and looked at fish/turtles/ducks/wildlife. Exploring is one of my kids favorite things to do, and I love watching their little minds figure out the nature around them.





We ate dinner (with the pork chops we had mashed potatoes & steamed broccoli), then walked down to the main building to get some ice cream.




Next to the ice cream shop the resort had these little Minion statue things and the kids loved playing with them!



After exploring the property a bit more, we returned to the room for more movies & finally bed around 9pm. I was relieved to be feeling better after the naps & medicine, and convinced myself it was just Disney fatigue. It ended up being a beautiful day & night - the first day of the trip where it hadn't rained at all! Overall a perfect pool day & a great way to relax between long, tiring park days. I wish I had a few more of these days sprinkled throughout our trip! Maybe next trip we'll stay for 2 weeks

Up next: Park Day 4 - Hollywood Studios!

 

[MamaMouse0920]

9/12/22 - Park Day 4 (Hollywood Studios)

I woke up that morning feeling better (yay!) but my voice was gone! Annoying, sure, but still I was glad to have only felt truly icky that one day. We left the resort around 7am, with the park opening at 8:30. While waiting for Matt to get the van, I snapped a few videos/pics of DD3 twirling in her beloved Buzz dress. She is obsessed with her Taylor Joelle dresses!

We arrived at Hollywood Studios & could already tell that our good luck with crowds in the days prior was LONG gone. It. Was. PACKED. There was a CM on speakerphone directing traffic, but it was really hard to understand him. I approached him and asked where the offsite guests should line up, and he said "we're only letting in onsite resort guests for early entry". I knew this, and it was about 7:20am at this point, so well before even the early entry guests were allowed in. For some reason I thought that we were all allowed inside at least the shopping area of Hollywood Boulevard, & that they would rope off before Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway or something... but nope. Outside the gates it is. We gathered along the edge where the smokers benches are (already MIL was not walking very well and I thought she would want to sit on the bench) while Matt went to ask another CM for more clear instructions. It's a really good thing he did, because there was a group of about 20 people in one area and THAT is where the offsite guests were lining up. Ugh!!! So we quickly went and found our place in that line, thankful to be only 21st in line, not 200th in line- like we would have been if we had stayed near the benches and let the line grow and grow.

We used the lengthy wait to sunscreen up, and man-oh-man was the sun beating down HARD for only being 8am! We stood in that line, in the sun, for over an hour and only about10 minutes in we already had sweat pooling everywhere. It was then that we discovered that FIL had either lost or forgotten his hat so we took DS2's and gave it to him (the kids covered by the canopy of the stroller)- it was funny to see a too-small toddler Mickey Mouse bucket hat on my 82 year old father in law We made a mental note to make it a priority to stop and buy him a hat before the sun got even more brutal. MIL was bent over at the waist, hands on her knees because she was so tired & hot but she refused to sit down. Man, we were not off to a great start! This being the longest the kids had to wait (thank you, Genie+!), I even had to dig out the emergency fidget toys for the kids to keep them entertained. They loved them, but unfortunately so did the kids (maybe 6 & 7yo?) standing next to us. I obviously didn't mind them playing with my kids (funny how my kids share wonderfully with strangers, but can't seem to figure out how to share with each other ), but the other kids loved the toys so much they even took a few... and since I didn't want to ruin their day, I let them walk off with a couple of our toys. Matt later was like "what?! why didn't you stop them?!" maybe someday I will be more okay with confrontation . I was surprised though that the parents didn't bat an eye at their kids showing up with new toys. The mom even said "put those toys in your backpack so you don't lose them" ...uh, what? Their kids played with ours for probably 20 minutes, are you telling me you didn't see them with us that whole time? And maybe put two and two together when you saw them come back with new toys?

Prior to the trip, I had bought about 100 good quality, larger Disney stickers (the kind you put on water bottles & laptops) and we used them to "pixie dust" fellow guests. We really let the kids decide who/when to hand them out, but Matt & I would occasionally gently suggest a kid might like a sticker when we saw them crying or having a meltdown. For some reason DD3 was adamant about handing those same kids some stickers, so we did that too. Those were some fortunate kids that morning, lol!

At 7 that morning, I had scored an 8:30am LL for Slinky Dog, so that is where we were headed when they let us into the park. Just like Epcot, this is a park I'm not as familiar with so it took some time orienting myself and figuring out where everything was. It bothered me a little when the adults in my group asked "where is ____?" since in the planning process, the one thing I asked of Matt (MIL too, but I didn't expect it of her) was to study the park maps so that this wouldn't happen. It also irked me when they would get annoyed with me for not knowing where something was, or frustrated when I would realize we actually were headed in the wrong direction.. but if they had done a shred of preparing beforehand (compared to the bulk of preparation on my shoulders) then maybe a tiny bit of the responsibility would have been off of me. Sorry - rant over! Once we figured out where Toy Story Land was, it was an absolute zoo!!!! The whole park was busy, but with TSL being such a small area, it seems you feel it the most in there. We stopped super quick for a pic with Woody, but wanted to high-tail it out of there pronto since DHS is one of the worst parks for LLs selling out before noon and the sooner I tapped into SDD, the sooner I could grab our next one.

We didn't end up with a good picture, but I cared too much about getting LLs for this busy park to try for more pictures. I quickly explained to my in-laws that DD3 and Matt & I were going on Slinky Dog and they looked at me like "what are we supposed to do then" ...... I thought we had an agreement that since they don't do roller coasters, that they would hang out with DS2 for the 10 minutes it took for us to take DD3 on the ride.... but time and time again they looked at me like I was crazy for expecting them to sit with DS2 for 10 minutes so maybe I should have been utilizing Rider Swap more and relying on them less. Hindsight is 20/20! I suggested they take DS2 to go ride Alien Swirling Saucers, them replying "where is it?!?!" .... internally I'm thinking: look around. There are 3 rides to choose from, I'm sure you can find it. BUT on the outside I obviously did not say any of this and just led them to the ride. I failed to mention though that it wasn't a LL, so I later heard all about the confusion when they tried to tap in using their magic bands. Whoops! Again, hindsight.

DD3, Matt & I rode Slinky Dog Dash at 8:51am. DD3 LOVED Slinky, she was smiling the entire time! It was adorable and I'm glad to have filmed her reaction!





So engrossed with capturing every giggle and squeal of delight, I didn't even get to enjoy the ride myself! I vowed then that when we rode it again (I planned to ask my in-laws to use their magic bands so that DD3 and I could ride again later) I would just enjoy it and not worry about filming her. After getting off Slinky, she was bummed she couldn't ride it again but I told her I'd try to get her on it again later in the day. I quickly booked a LL for Tower of Terror for 9:40am for the thrill-seekers- me, Matt, and DD3. I include Matt in there but as I mentioned before, rides kind of make him sick these days so he doesn't really "seek" them LOL he just agrees because he knows how much I love the rides & wants to be there to witness DD3's first experiences with them too. He said that after the 3 little bump section of SDD he felt icky but still agreed to ride ToT with us.

We got off just as MIL, FIL, and DS2 were getting on Alien Swirling Saucers (was about to use the acronym for that, lol!) Matt stuck around to watch them ride, but DD3 and I killed time before our next LL by heading over to Woody's Lunchbox to order some breakfast. We ordered one of each of the Lunchbox Tarts (raspberry & banana fudge) & a grilled cheese kids meal with cuties, french fries, and chocolate milk. The others joined us while our food was being prepared, and we were seated at a shaded table & eating by 9:15am.



After breakfast we left TSL and checked out the little Incredibles area. I didn't go over there so I don't even know what's behind those doors, but the kids took a peek & decided to try to push them open Try harder, kids! I think I saw it budge a little.



We visited the racoon from the kids' favorite scene of Incredibles 2, and I think this picture of DS2 is hilarious since it looks like he's prying that poor racoons eye open!



The kids loved all of the Jack Jacks in the area and we made it a fun game trying to count them all. We hung out in Municiberg until closer to 9:40 before we made our way to Sunset Boulevard. I'm all out of picture space so I'll pause here!

 

[maleficent55]

Really great detailed report! Love learning new little tips/ideas

 

[MamaMouse0920]

9/12/22 - Park Day 4 (Hollywood Studios) continued

As we headed toward ToT, we explained again that we would be taking DD3 on this big kid ride, but that they could either walk around the shops or take DS2 to Lightning McQueen since I knew his area was nearby. We left MIL, FIL, and DS2 and the other half of our group headed toward ToT- only to discover when we got there it was down! So we quickly joined back up with my in-laws and all headed over to Lightning McQueen. As we were entering the little outdoor waiting area, the CM shouted to the group "there is NOT a line- fill in all available space!" which I find people generally ignore... but then he said "the closer to the yellow line you are the better!". We just happened to be near that yellow line so I quickly made my way to standing just in front of it. I felt kind of bad because there were people who had been waiting for probably 15 minutes (huddled under the umbrellas in the queue area so I don't feel TOO bad for them) and as soon as we approached that yellow line the doors opened and we scored absolutely prime spots, middle of the front row Oh well! Around 10:15 the show started and I snapped these as we waited:


The kids loved it! They were so excited to "help" Lightning McQueen win the race, plus it was a nice AC break After Lightning McQueen, we tried to hover around the area, hoping that ToT would re-open and we could walk right on and save our Redemption Experience to re-ride SDD since it was such a hit with DD3, but it was still down. We snapped a few PhotoPass pictures as we waited around the area.




Giving up on ToT re-opening, we decided to check out Beauty & the Beast. This was another instance of the ECV being a blessing in disguise, since it got us front row seats and a special entrance/exit so we didn't have to deal with crowds at all! I am thankful that FIL and MIL didn't need to navigate the bleachers since those can be troublesome even for those without mobility issues. That show was adorable too! I actually teared up a couple times. At some point during the show, ToT came back up so after we were done with Beauty & the Beast, we scanned our redemption passes and were in line by 11:30am, on the ride by 11:45am. Poor DD3 was such a trooper leading up to the ride, but was TERRIFIED of the ride itself. Not so much scared of the creepy theme, but the actual dropping part. Her poor face!! It didn't help that the teenagers in the row behind us were VERY exaggerated in their screaming which I think in turn made DD3 think it was even scarier.



I feel bad laughing but my gosh, I've watched the video so many times and still laugh every single time. Hilarious! As we got off the ride I told her how brave she was for trying it, and that now we know she doesn't like it. Because how will we know if we don't try? By 12 we were reunited with DS2, who it turns out MIL had bought him a Buzz bubble wand! He was THRILLED with it, and MIL took DD3 to go get one for her too which was perfect timing since mom & dad had just scarred her for life with the ToT experience so it cheered her up a lot. We actually got separated from MIL & DD3 for a while, (we thought we knew which store she headed into but we couldn't find them...) and of course she never answers her phone so it was a 10 minute headache looking for them. In hindsight, I should have just checked the Find My iPhone app for the Air Tag I had on DD3's shoe, buuut I guess in the moment I didn't think about it! Another headache, in our search of the stores FIL turned a corner too tight & as a result took out a huge tile in the corner of the store with his scooter! I was mortified- I quickly picked up the huge tile & leaned it against the chunk of drywall it was separated from and hoped no one saw. We got out of there quickly & finally found MIL & DD3. She was very happy with her new Little Mermaid bubble wand!


Bubble wands are cute & all, and sure they make the kids happy which is obviously what matters............. but if I never saw another bubble again that would be fine by me This is what we saw for the remainder of our trip:


Constantly trying to karate chop/wave the wall of bubbles out of our faces as we walk through the parks. I apologized to the other parents who were being pelted with bubbles, but not a single person seemed to be bothered by it. I guess it adds to the magic and makes even grown ups happy! At some point I had made a LL for 12:00 for Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway. On our way through the queue, we told the group that since this park is 1,000x easier to leave/return, we would be taking the kids back to the resort to get a good nap in after this ride. My in-laws said that they wouldn't be returning after the nap, something I was secretly relieved about and I think they were too.


I've hit my max picture allotment, so I'll stop here

 

[MamaMouse0920]

9/12/22 - Park Day 4 (Hollywood Studios) continued



We had fun walking through the queue and seeing all the posters, but the highlight of the line was definitely seeing Goofy crash into the wall. The kids were amazed! I knew this ride could be a little "whiplash"y so I made sure to again go with the book end theory and jam those kids in snug between us.


It was a cute ride & the kids really loved it! After our ride and on our way toward the exits, we caught a cavalcade! We were just walking on the middle of the road, clueless, when suddenly we were ushered to the side by a CM. Parked to the side, the kids were in the stroller content with their new bubble wands, but I was super excited to see the cavalcade! FIL was attempting to get out of the road quickly (we didn't have much time at all since the cars were literally coming right at us), and a mom and her young kid parked themselves right in the space he was backing into. I tried to tell them to watch out, & I'm surprised the CM just stood there. I was actually really worried for a second with how close the cavalcade was coming toward FIL. He literally didn't have anywhere else to go- either get hit by the cavalcade or take out this mom & child with his scooter... it was a stressful few seconds, that's for sure! They got the gist eventually and moved out of the way. Unfortunately while I was dealing with the scooter debacle, a 20 something year old woman came and stood directly in front of our stroller and the kids couldn't see a thing. They didn't seem too bothered by this (again, they had their new bubble wands) but I was a little peeved. Since when do people not let kids have the better view........ of kids characters........ in a kids theme park.......... it's not like you, 20 year old, actually think that is the REAL Mr. Incredible right in front of you....... sigh. Anyway, around 12:45 we stopped for one last restroom break at the entrance/exit of the park while the kids continued to play with their bubble wands. I think it was a combination of knowing the kids were finally going to get a REAL nap, knowing that we would be returning with only 2 of the 4 children (LOL!) later that afternoon, and that the kids were so unbelievably happy with their bubble wands but I was in such a good mood. I didn't want this day to end! Before we left, I booked a LL for RnR for Matt & I for 2:20-3:20pm, so I told Matt that I hoped to be back by then.

We did everything in our power to keep the kids awake for the short 10 minute drive back to the hotel, but of course both of them fell asleep eventually. DS2 transferred to the stroller and then to the bed without waking up but DD3.... not so much. She woke up and stayed awake, so only had a 5 minute car nap that day. Ugh! Matt was getting frustrated with her for not falling back to sleep, but I was of the mindset that being in the AC, resting in bed, outside of the parks was benefit enough. As the time ticked on, I kept hemming and hawing over what to do - do we cancel our RnR LL? It definitely looked like we wouldn't be back in time for our window, and it was apparent that DS2 had no intention of waking up any time soon. I had taken a cool shower to cool down, changed outfits, reapplied sunscreen on DD3 and myself, repacked our stroller, and eventually we were forced to wake him up. Poor dude was tired! Before we left, I asked MIL if we could use their magic bands, and while she seemed hesitant she did give them to us. At 3:15pm we scanned back into the park, bummed that we were likely going to miss RnR... but then I discovered that it had been down while we were gone and we were issued a redemption pass! Score!!! We could ride slinky again like I promised! (Word to the Wise & a touch of foreshadowing: you can NOT use a redemption pass on Slinky). We stopped in front of Mickey & Minnie's/Chinese Theater & took this pic in our new Monsters Inc. themed outfits:



It started to sprinkle a little bit, and we had some time before our Toy Story Mania LL so with our perfectly themed outfits we thought it would be fun to run in quick to meet Sulley. We got in line (it didn't appear long) but quickly realized that it wasn't moving. There was a couple in front of us in their 50's who must have been AP holders or something because when they overheard us wondering about how long of a wait it would be they said "oh it's never more than 15 mins". There must have been something wrong though because it ended up being more like 40 minutes. I was starting to panic about missing our LL- I wasn't sure if missing a LL window entirely was the same thing as the whole Winnie the Pooh debacle.. would we not be able to book a LL for TSM again, because we technically already had? Eventually the line got moving and once it did it went pretty quickly. The couple in front of us chatted with us throughout the queue, commenting on how cute our outfits are and how excited Sulley would be to meet the kids. I didn't realize it, but the couple actually stayed behind in the room and took TONS of videos/photos for me. I was a teensy bit nervous about how the kids would react to him, since he is SO stinking big, but they ran right to him. The interaction between the kids & Sulley was adorable and once again I found myself with tears in my eyes. The kids must have hugged him at least 5x each. DS2's interactions with him were the sweetest. He kept going back for more hugs! Monsters Inc. is his current favorite, and any time we're at home and I say "what song should we have Alexa play?" DS2 always immediately shouts: "MONSTERS INC SONG!" So him getting to meet Sulley was for sure a Core Memory.

 

[MamaMouse0920]

9/12/22 - Park Day 4 (Hollywood Studios) continued






After Sulley, I thanked the kind stranger profusely and gave her my number so she could airdrop all the photos & videos to me. After that brief exchange, we ran over to TSM to redeem our LL - with literally one minute to spare! Whew! I'm sad that my in-laws missed this, since meeting Sulley was such a highlight of the trip (look at the kids ACTUAL, GENUINE smiles! Can you believe it! I bet, dear reader, you didn't think they knew how to smile.. they do! I guess they just pick & choose when to let it show ), but it also was really nice to have alone time with just our family, and be able to race all over the park without worrying about people being left behind or upset or annoyed.


Successfully scanned in to our LL, the kids loved running through the queue. Toy Story is one of their favorites! They loved pointing out every character they saw. For this ride, I was paired with DS2 & Matt with DD3.


After getting off and comparing notes, I told Matt how many points I had scored (somewhere around 150k) and Matt looked at me incredulously. I said "what?!" and he goes "how could you score that many points while helping DS2?" I said "Oh. Yeah. I didn't help him, I just let him do his own thing and I played by myself" Every man (kid) for himself, round here! DS2 still had a blast without my help, don't worry! AND managed to score 1,100 points on his own!

After TSM DD3 and I attempted to use the redemption experience for Slinky, but as I mentioned it was a bust (apparently you can only use it on select rides, and seeing how popular Slinky is I can understand why that is one that does not qualify!) so we booked a quick LL for Alien Swirling Saucers (4:45pm) instead since DD3 hadn't had a chance to ride it yet. I am SO thankful that ride is nothing like the Tea Cups! I don't do spinning, but I'd describe Saucers as more of.... scrambling? So it didn't upset my stomach at all. Bad side of that ride though is that you absolutely crush the person sitting next to you, so poor DS2 was squashed by my body weight several times by the end of the ride. Probably seeing Tweety Birds!


Matt, channeling his inner @fractal was proud of his iPhone shot of Buzz at sunset

After Swirling Saucers we were all hungry & ready for dinner so we decided to check out Pizzerizzo. We couldn't find it on the map though, and stopped to ask a CM for directions. He pointed us in the right direction but cautioned us that it often closes early. He was right! We got nearby at 4:58 and realized it closed at 5. Even if we made it in and ordered before 5, I didn't want to do that to the staff. So we opted for ABC Commissary instead. I mobile ordered 2 buffalo chicken grilled cheese sandwiches, & the kids a grilled ham & cheese panini with fries, apple slices, and chocolate milk (if you haven't picked up on this theme yet, the kids are OBSESSED with choc milk & it's such a rare treat reserved only for going out that they literally fight over the last drop). The food was good (especially those buffalo chicken grilled cheese!) but we ordered WAY too much and ended up needing to toss more food than I like to. People tell you the portions are decent sized, but we are decent eaters so I guess I didn't really take them seriously!

By 5:35 we were walking into MuppetVision 3D which we all enjoyed. After the show, it started to rain so we put on our ponchos & dug back out the rain cover. The kids were starting to melt down at that point, especially DS2 despite his lengthy nap. I think he wanted to play in the rain, but he wasn't communicating that with us and instead was screaming bloody murder under the rain cover and hitting his sister, hard. So I pulled him out and let him walk in the rain.. Probably looking like a bad parent, me in a thick heavy duty poncho and my 2 year old in nothing, but I didn't care. He was still whining but at least he wasn't screaming or hitting his sister so I called it a win. We made a last minute decision to watch the Frozen Singalong (we used a LL but it literally didn't do anything, we had crappy seats and were waiting for the show just the same as everyone else. The show was cute, but the snow that I was so looking forward to....... was just thick soapy bubbles. I joked to Matt that 3/4 of the audience has probably never experienced real snow and that they probably think that these bubbles are really what snow feels like. Ha!


Around 6:20, Matt was getting crabby and definitely was ready to go but DD3 was whining about going on Slinky again.... I didn't want to leave so close to the 7:40 LL I had made on MIL & FIL's magic bands. So we watched Frozen, then headed back to that little Incredibles area (are there plans to expand that part of the park? Is that's what is behind those giant double doors?) to buy one of Jack Jack's Cookie Num Nums & a beer for Matt. We then used my in-laws Magic Bands to go on TSM for DS2's final ride, Matt staying behind since we only had the 2 magic bands/LLs anyway and he was still feeling a bit nauseous ever since Slinky that morning. I think he was happy to sit that one out and just drink his beer in peace!

 

[MamaMouse0920]

9/12/22 - Park Day 4 (Hollywood Studios) continued

We rode TSM at 7:30, and DD3 & I scanned into SDD at 7:40pm.







We had a great final ride. Toy Story Land is beautiful at night, and Slinky Dog Dash is a whole different experience in the dark too. After the ride, Matt was beyond ready to go home but I asked if we could at least walk through Galaxies Edge. He huffed a bit since we've never watched a single Star Wars movie but I argued that it seemed silly to be here, be right next to it, and not even walk through to be able to say we've seen it. He begrudgingly obliged. It was cool at night, but I wish we had seen it during the day with characters out and CM interacting with people, etc. Plus I wouldn't have minded giving ROR a try (it only had a 40 minute wait at that point) but we had the kids and no grandparents to watch them, & Matt was definitely done for the day so we headed out and were in bed by 9:30pm again. I wish we had more time in that park! There's so much I wanted to do/try at DHS that we didn't get to: Literally anything in Galaxies Edge (including a Ronto Wrap!!), Rock n Roller Coaster, Pizzerizzo, the Disney Jr dance party, Indiana Jones, Totchos @ Woody's Lunchbox, the martini flight at Brown Derby.. I could go on and on! I'm returning to Orlando for a work trip (no hubby or kids) in February '23 so I might convince my coworkers to join me for a few days in the parks! We shall see.

Total step count: 17,927

Up next: Our last park day! Magic Kingdom

 

[fractal]

They opted not to evacuate, but fortunately their condo is located on the second floor and their particular unit made out okay. The first floor units had 4 feet of standing water, oooof! Their car was also somehow miraculously spared, though I'm really struggling to imagine a scenario that doesn't at least result in electrical damage considering aforementioned 4 feet of standing water...... but who knows.

The day after the worst of it, they went out "exploring" the damage & FIL fell and scraped his arm pretty good. Matt reminded them that emergency services/hospitals are pretty busy right now and begged them to be more careful.. and also to keep a pretty close eye on that wound since the area is ridden with bacteria at the moment (i.e sewer water etc.). It's hard with them being so far away, Matt feels pretty helpless and struggles when they press their independence (like getting on ladders and cutting down branches with chainsaws ) but we try to remind ourselves that we are not their parents (LOL, other way around!) and they are free to make their own choices, even if we don't agree with them.

I know Sterg lives in FL- how was he impacted?

Glad they made it through relatively unscathed. Yes, now is not the time to be heroic!

Sterg is in Tampa and just moved into his new apartment on Saturday. He was staying with my inlaws near St. Petersburg but luckily for them the storm shifted south. All are well, thanks!

I love all the photos of your little ones smiling! brings back great memories and yes, nice photo by Matt of Buzz!

 

[MamaMouse0920]

9/12/22 - Park Day 5 (Magic Kingdom)

This was a MNSSHP day, so we expected crowds to be as non existent as they were on Friday.... holy moly were we wrong!! It was SO much busier this day. It didn't help that we arrived a little later than I would have liked, with the park opening at 8 and us pulling up to the parking lot a few minutes before 8:00am... So as we entered Main Street the park had already opened. We decided to skip Jungle Cruise this time, and instead (learning from our mistakes) decided to rope drop DD3's 2 favorites while the lines were short instead of wasting a LL on them first thing in the morning. We still entered through Adventureland and stopped for a picture since we saw a PhotoPass CM without a line.


Our outfit theme for the day was Cinderella & Prince Charming for mom & dad and Anna + Kristoff for the kids. I clarify because when I posted this on facebook apparently my outfit was not immediately clear!

The photographer was very cute & funny. He had the 4 of us cover our eyes while MIL & FIL kissed which was of course adorable:



But after he snapped the picture he had us covering our eyes for about 45 seconds as a joke while he sat on the nearby bench and pretended to scroll through his phone ".... keep covering... yep... oh I'm getting some great shots here... keep covering..." which was very cute & funny but also I GOTTA GO, DUDE!!! It's rope drop and already 8:15am - we need to race across the park!

We rode Big Thunder Mountain without any wait at all, but as we headed over to Splash we sadly discovered it was down. Because of this, we met up with my in-laws sooner than they anticipated and we realized FIL had just zoomed off (DS2 was with MIL) to try to find a bathroom. We were a little worried because he can't find anything LOL and is even worse than MIL is in terms of answering his phone... but it ended up being okay because he quickly realized he didn't know where he was and turned around, so we found him shortly after he left. We directed him to the Liberty Square restrooms & I mobile ordered breakfast at Sleepy Hollow - finally getting my Nutella fruit waffle! Plus a regular Mickey waffle for the kids, and a couple iced coffees for Matt & I. The breakfast was SO good, we inhaled those waffles! This entire trip anytime we bought something, we offered some to my in-laws and they always, ALWAYS declined but then would make small comments that made me think that they did in fact want some... but then when I don't offer (such as this breakfast), they make me feel that they found it rude that I didn't offer. I truly felt like I just couldn't win the entire trip. No matter what I did, I would upset them.

Leaving Liberty Square, we headed toward Fantasyland.


We rode the carousel (see picture) but I honestly can't remember what else we did in Fantasyland and I have no other photographic timestamps to jog my memory. Sigh. Getting old is not fun, folks. I do know eventually we made our way to Dumbo around 10:20am.





After Dumbo, it was already W A R M. Thankfully this day the little splash pad area was open (previous days it had been closed) so we let the kids go play. We did NOT anticipate DS2 getting absolutely drenched. He stood directly under the downspouts of water as though he was in the shower and would not move. It was hilarious. The kid literally had to be dragged out of the area, kicking and screaming, and was so thoroughly soaked he looked like he had jumped into a pool. It was quite funny! We hopped on Barnstormer hoping it would dry him off, but it didn't do much. He was a little crabby about being all wet, but we tried to remind him it was his choice to get soaked (note: trying to reason with a 2 year old is like talking to a wall so you can imagine how successful we were).

After Barnstormer, we headed to Tomorrowland to ride the cars. In-laws opted to sit this one out, and instead grabbed lunch inside Cosmic Rays. This was around 11:00am. I had been able to book DD3 a LL for Splash Mountain for 11:20, and had a wonderful "aha!" moment as I remembered what MIL said on our MK Day 1 as we were racing to get to the kids' haircuts: "I sure do hope we get to actually watch the parade at some point this trip...." So I scheduled a LL for MIL & FIL for the 12:00 parade. So I'm patting myself on the back for 1) making sure they got to see the parade which I thought they really wanted to see, and 2) for hand feeding them something to do with DS2 while we took DD3 on a big kid ride.

After we get off Tomorrowland Transit Authority, we head to Cosmic Rays to meet them. Matt called them and they said "we're still eating. We'll finish up and meet you soon" so to kill time I told Matt I'd take DD3 to the restroom & to have them meet us where we ate with them the other day (right next to the toppings bar near the restrooms). DD3 and I both use the restroom, come out and see that Matt & DS2 are still there, no in-laws. Problematic, since MIL & FIL needed to get to Main Street before the parade starts... and since we all know how fast they move any delay would definitely result in them not getting to see the parade... most likely if we didn't get going they would be stuck behind it. So we split up and scan the entire restaurant (both floors), but can't find them. I eventually caught up with Matt & he told me they were outside... not at all where we told them to meet us. Matt was frustrated but again was not going to engage. They tried to argue with him but he shut it down pretty quickly. Even though they were upset, I went ahead with the plan and told MIL exactly where to go for the parade. I could tell though that she still had no idea where she was going so Matt & I just escorted them directly where they needed to go to scan in for their parade LL. After leaving them behind, from there Matt DD3 and I cut through Adventureland to get to Frontierland.

DD3 got to ride Splash and of course was thrilled- we even got the front row! Just look at her face!



After Splash, the three of us ran to Main Street to meet up with MIL & FIL. On our way, I placed a mobile order for Casey's. Matt called his mom to see where they were, and found out DS2 was sleeping in the stroller. Unsurprisingly, we had a hard time finding them. Once again, Matt & I split up and after a few minutes I realized I was walking straight toward them- I tried waving at them but they must not have seen me. As I approached them, I could immediately tell they were HOT & MAD. MIL was on the phone with Matt & getting pissy with him (still trying to tell him where they were), and as she hung up she said to FIL "I mean I told him we're standing on railroad tracks, how much clearer can I be?!?!!" She hadn't seen me by that point and I decided not to tell her that they are actually trolley tracks & that the tracks are literally all over Main Street and really not a good indicator of your location. As I led them to Casey's, I heard them both huffing & puffing and generally complaining about how completely miserable the parade was, sitting in the direct sun, how DS2 was awful the whole time (though she later said that he fell asleep almost right away so I'm not sure how 'awful' he could have been), how there "wasn't anywhere to sit except for the hard ground" (as though this is an absolute abomination & they should have padded benches for every single guest in attendance) and that they were absolutely "sunned out". When she told me that, I asked if they were wanting to go back to the hotel to which they responded "no" as though that were the dumbest question in the world. SO suffice it to say, I was no longer patting myself on the back and once again found myself in a lose/lose situation and feeling pretty crappy. I felt as though I was doing a miserable job as sole Disney Planner. I did really try to make them happy with the parade LL, and I guess it's the thought that's gonna have to count here!

Once we got to Casey's, I found us a table in the shade, positioned the stroller (with a sleeping DS2) so he was completely shaded, wiped the table down, set up one of the stroller fans on the umbrella stand, and gathered enough chairs for all of us to sit. As I finished up, I got a text that our order was ready so I sent Matt in to grab it. DD3 and I sat down, her entertained by some nearby wildlife, and I realized FIL had parked his ECV in the shade right next to the piano and obviously had no intention of moving. MIL was no where to be found, I assumed she went in to the restaurant with Matt. He texted me that the line was crazy and that it would be a while. I said "your mom is with you, right?" to which he replied she was not. Cue another slight panic for the next 10 minutes until she approached the table- she had gone to get ice cream for her and FIL from across the street. I think if we travel with them again we are going to put Air Tags on THEIR shoes & wrists this time! Matt brought us our food (2 orders of corn dog nuggets, a side of cheese sauce, 3 things of fries, a hot dog, and a large Coke) and it. was. GLORIOUS. Seriously, it's just corn dogs & fries with melted fake cheese but oh my gosh it was so good. DD3 ate like 15 corn dog nuggets herself and wanted more - I actually had to cut her off because 1) I was afraid she was going to puke up all those nuggets and 2) I needed to save some for DS2 for when he woke up!

After lunch, most of us seemed to be in a better mood but still there was some tension apparent with my in-laws. I decided to schedule us a LL for Winnie the Pooh since we hadn't ridden it yet & I hoped it would lighten the mood. On the walk from Main Street, DS2 woke up and DD3 happily offered him the remaining nuggets, which he enjoyed. As luck would have it, at some point DD3 fell asleep and had to miss Winnie the Pooh. MIL offered to stay with her, so FIL, Matt, DS2 and I were the only ones who rode. Being halfway over to Tomorrowland and seeing as DD3 was still sleeping, Matt & I decided to take advantage of the in-laws only needing to "watch" one kid so we quick grabbed a LL for Space Mountain and rode that. Matt did NOT enjoy Space Mountain! He said that he didn't like it being in the dark with the sudden drops & turns.... weird that he didn't like it ("scrambled his brains" I think were his exact words ) but loved Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind.... anyway, after that I decided I needed some caffeine so we stopped at a Joffrey stand outside Space Mountain & ordered a Shakin' Jamaican for Matt, a frozen cappuccino for me, as well as a strawberry smoothie for the kids to share.


I don't think DD3 ended up getting any of that smoothie since she slept for so long it was just a melted gross mess, but DS2 enjoyed his half. Since DD3 was still sleeping, I scheduled Matt & his parents a LL for Pirates, me sitting it out this time to stay with Sleeping Beauty. I pushed the stroller into Pecos Bill for some AC and spent the next 15 mins or so scrolling through social media & enjoying the peace & quiet. When Matt texted me that they were off the ride, I met them outside while we figured out what to do. DS2 entertained us all with his pirate impersonations after I put a cooling towel on his head and tied it a la Jack Sparrow.



Finally making a decision, we booked a Haunted Mansion LL thinking DD3 would be awake shortly... but nope! She slept through that one too so we rode without her (MIL volunteering to sit with her again). At some point during our ride she finally woke up & was counting all the white herons (egrets? cranes? I don't know the difference!) in Liberty Square with MIL when we got off the ride. It was at that point (2:55pm) that my phone reminder went off to call the front desk of our resort & request a late checkout for tomorrow. Waaaah! Our trip was coming to an end. After I hung up, DD3 let me know how devastated she was to have missed Haunted Mansion. I explained to her that I booked her and I a LL using MIL & FILs magic bands for 30 mins from now.... but being 3 and not understanding the concept of time, a minor temper tantrum ensued. So I sent everyone else to go ride It's a Small World while DD3 and I headed back to Haunted Mansion. We were obviously much too early for our LL and I realized she hadn't gone to the restroom in several hours so I asked a CM where the closest restrooms were. He said "the Rapunzel bathrooms" which I knew exactly where they were... and it was at that precise moment I realized I had sent the others the loooooong way to Fantasyland. Across the bridge by Sleepy Hollow ....whoops!

After my "oopsie" realization & our potty break we raced back over to Haunted Mansion, opting again to skip the stretching room. I was very happy to see the CMs had switched so I didn't need to ask the same CM to skip the stretching room 2x in 30 mins. While in line, I was able to score a LL for Jungle Cruise (someone must have canceled theirs because it had been sold out the last couple hours- we had accepted that we would not be riding that one today) for 4:45-5:45. We were able to scan in to Jungle Cruise at 4:40 and while on the ride I asked MIL & FIL if I could use their magic bands so DD3 could ride her two favorites one last time before we headed out.

I'm all out of picture space so I'll pause here for the day, hopefully finishing off this TR tomorrow!