MelessaG
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2004
- Messages
- 1,295
Cast of Characters
Me- WDW nut who just may love planning trips more than taking them
DH-reluctant escort who I think may enjoy WDW more than he lets us know
Little Tink- almost 7 year-old WDW vet and budding park commando like mom
Sonny Boy-4 year-old "Stitch" fan who acts a lot like 626
Bitty Princess-2 year-old Diva
Baby Girl-6 month old along for the ride
MeMe-My mom and doting grandmother
PaPa-my Dad and mentor in vacationing 'commando-style'
DSis-My youngest sis, pregnant on the trip wed last July
DBIL-Sis' new husband, an unknown quantity, and birthday boy this trip
After a good night's sleep, we were awakened again by Mickey and Stitch and a very pleased voice from the top bunk saying "Mommy I heard it!" Good Little Tink! Now get moving like Stitch says! For a special treat, I had ordered room service for the morning. Banana-stuffed French toast for DH and I to share and some Pumbaa pancakes for the kids. They were served with two little cups of gummy bears which I hid to save for later. Just one serving of the French toast was plenty for DH and I and the two kids' pancake platters fed Sonnyboy and Little Tink with enough leftovers for Bitty Princess, who arrived within half an hour of our wake-up call thanks to my wonderful Dad. (who probably relished the thought of dropping her off and sleeping the rest of the day-but still went above and beyond bringing her over before we left for the MK.) They didn't have EMH privilages in the parks, and since we were spending the morning in Fantasyland we didn't want her to miss it.
After a good breakfast, we loaded up our gear and headed to the bus stop. While we didn't arrive to see the park opening (which I really want to see someday), the wait time for Dumbo was still only 15 minutes. Score! This was probably the longest wait we had that morning. Before long we were soaring with Dumbo and lining up for Pooh. We were behind an adorable family: a mom, her first child, and her parents. I remember those days...
Pooh was fun as usual, Bitty Princess was especialyl enthralled-but I did notice, as mentioned elsewhere on these boards, the the ride was a little warm inside and we did get stuck a couple of times. We kept the kids from loitering in the gift shop with the promise of Peter Pan's Flight. There was a slightly longer wait there too, but still nothing we couldn't handle. I've mentioned before that Little Tink is a diehard Peter Pan fan, so I always ride this with her because I love watching her face. This time, I felt pulled in two directions-it was Bitty Princess' first ride and she was sitting with Daddy. I kept looking behind me, calling out to her, and pointing out all the details. So, I apologize to all that were annoyed by the woman on Peter Pan's Flight who kept calling out to the folks behind her "Look Honey! It's Wendy! Look over there! It's the mermaids!" That was me. Sorry. After the ride, DH reminded me that he too was capable of pointing out the wonders of London and Neverland, but he was clearly amused.
Since Small World was closed, we tried something we had never before done as a family, Snow White's Scary Adventure. The kids liked it, but I am so glad I never took my sensitive Little Tink on there any younger than she was on this trip. Bitty Princess is much tougher than she is, being child #3 and having a big brother will do that to you. To round out our Fantasyland experience, DH took the kids on the carousel while I snapped a ton of pictures. Then, as they headed to the Tea Cups, I took Baby Girl and went to get FP's for Space Mountain. This is my favorite ride, and we had been in the parks for days without yet riding it. I felt my grin growing as my FP's came out into my hot little hands. (I will let you in on a little secret. This is the third trip that I've made my FP run while DH takes the kids on the tea cups. It's because I secretly fear he will spin them so fast they will get sick, and I don't want to be there for that. Oh how that would come back to haunt me in a few days...)
Baby Girl was acting hungry again, so DH took the kids to get some snacks while I found a secluded bench. Because there are five of us, and some of us eat less than others, DH only got three frozen lemonades. This made Sonnyboy mad. He decided to throw a fit. That's right, another fit, this one smack dab in the MK right between Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. We did what we have been told to do by his school counselors, which is, we ignored him. After a few minutes, he calmed down and decided he wanted to go to the bathroom. As I took him there, still sniffling, an elderly couple passed us and the husband remarked rather loudly "I hate it when people drag their crying kids into the parks!" Before I could stop myself, I heard myself say "Did you want to buy him a frozen lemonade to waste?!" (Note to self: Talking back to judgemental park guests is a really good way to find out how fast they can walk away from you.)
By the time I had taken three kids in and out of the bathroom for potty stops and diaper changes, DH, Sonnyboy, and Little Tink were pin trading with a nice CM just outside Star Traders. I can't believe I thought the kids were too young to trade. They loved it-and Sonnyboy had completely forgotten his meltdown. Once the trades were completed, our FP time was getting closer. So, I did what I had promised all week. I took Sonnyboy into the Stitch shop with his money. He had a ball looking at everything before he selected a shirt and a toy which he paid for himself-and made another trade with the CM at the register while he was at it. Man! He was cute for those fifteen minutes.
We met up with the rest of the group and finally, FP time for Mom! Mom loves Disney, she loves everything about WDW, but most of all-Mom loves Space Mountain. All pretense as an adult, mother-of-four behavior was gone. I grabbed my FP from DH, gestured to a nearby bench for them to sit on, and raced to the FP line. My favorite ride AND a ten-minute break from the kids, what more could I want?! To do it again? Nah! It was DH's turn, and probably the reason he hung onto the rest of the passes. Now, I had made one small error by getting FP's for DH, myself, Little Tink, AND Sonnyboy. As it turned out, Sonnyboy was still too short and, in my opinion, Little Tink is still too tiny. She is the average height of a 7 year-old, but weighs about 10 lbs. less. I'm sure Imagineers considered this when making the ride's height limit, but at the end of the day, I'm an overprotective mother. So, after DH's turn, we had two options: Ride again on the kids' FP's, or sprinkle some Pixie Dust ourselves and go get a good spot for Cinderella's Surprise Celebration. When we saw a couple looking flustered at the stand-by line, we knew what to do. We gave away out FP's and headed to the hub. Unfortunately, that meant passing Buzz AND Stitch...with Sonnyboy. It didn't go well. As much as we didn't love Stitch, my DH did the good Dad thing and jumped into the stand-by line with Sonnyboy while the girls and I went to the show. Thanks DH and I'm sorry.
The show was cute (I've seen it before), Bitty Princess was in heaven and Little Tink wasn't far behind her. I guess that made the 45 minutes on my feet worth it.
DH and Sonnyboy materialized just after the show, and DH asked if I was ready to go back to the hotel. Not quite. You see, I had heard from a friend of mine that a certain someone would be giving autographs at a certain spot in the next hour, and I wasn't going to let Little Tink miss him for one more trip...
Me- WDW nut who just may love planning trips more than taking them
DH-reluctant escort who I think may enjoy WDW more than he lets us know
Little Tink- almost 7 year-old WDW vet and budding park commando like mom
Sonny Boy-4 year-old "Stitch" fan who acts a lot like 626
Bitty Princess-2 year-old Diva
Baby Girl-6 month old along for the ride
MeMe-My mom and doting grandmother
PaPa-my Dad and mentor in vacationing 'commando-style'
DSis-My youngest sis, pregnant on the trip wed last July
DBIL-Sis' new husband, an unknown quantity, and birthday boy this trip
After a good night's sleep, we were awakened again by Mickey and Stitch and a very pleased voice from the top bunk saying "Mommy I heard it!" Good Little Tink! Now get moving like Stitch says! For a special treat, I had ordered room service for the morning. Banana-stuffed French toast for DH and I to share and some Pumbaa pancakes for the kids. They were served with two little cups of gummy bears which I hid to save for later. Just one serving of the French toast was plenty for DH and I and the two kids' pancake platters fed Sonnyboy and Little Tink with enough leftovers for Bitty Princess, who arrived within half an hour of our wake-up call thanks to my wonderful Dad. (who probably relished the thought of dropping her off and sleeping the rest of the day-but still went above and beyond bringing her over before we left for the MK.) They didn't have EMH privilages in the parks, and since we were spending the morning in Fantasyland we didn't want her to miss it.
After a good breakfast, we loaded up our gear and headed to the bus stop. While we didn't arrive to see the park opening (which I really want to see someday), the wait time for Dumbo was still only 15 minutes. Score! This was probably the longest wait we had that morning. Before long we were soaring with Dumbo and lining up for Pooh. We were behind an adorable family: a mom, her first child, and her parents. I remember those days...
Pooh was fun as usual, Bitty Princess was especialyl enthralled-but I did notice, as mentioned elsewhere on these boards, the the ride was a little warm inside and we did get stuck a couple of times. We kept the kids from loitering in the gift shop with the promise of Peter Pan's Flight. There was a slightly longer wait there too, but still nothing we couldn't handle. I've mentioned before that Little Tink is a diehard Peter Pan fan, so I always ride this with her because I love watching her face. This time, I felt pulled in two directions-it was Bitty Princess' first ride and she was sitting with Daddy. I kept looking behind me, calling out to her, and pointing out all the details. So, I apologize to all that were annoyed by the woman on Peter Pan's Flight who kept calling out to the folks behind her "Look Honey! It's Wendy! Look over there! It's the mermaids!" That was me. Sorry. After the ride, DH reminded me that he too was capable of pointing out the wonders of London and Neverland, but he was clearly amused.
Since Small World was closed, we tried something we had never before done as a family, Snow White's Scary Adventure. The kids liked it, but I am so glad I never took my sensitive Little Tink on there any younger than she was on this trip. Bitty Princess is much tougher than she is, being child #3 and having a big brother will do that to you. To round out our Fantasyland experience, DH took the kids on the carousel while I snapped a ton of pictures. Then, as they headed to the Tea Cups, I took Baby Girl and went to get FP's for Space Mountain. This is my favorite ride, and we had been in the parks for days without yet riding it. I felt my grin growing as my FP's came out into my hot little hands. (I will let you in on a little secret. This is the third trip that I've made my FP run while DH takes the kids on the tea cups. It's because I secretly fear he will spin them so fast they will get sick, and I don't want to be there for that. Oh how that would come back to haunt me in a few days...)
Baby Girl was acting hungry again, so DH took the kids to get some snacks while I found a secluded bench. Because there are five of us, and some of us eat less than others, DH only got three frozen lemonades. This made Sonnyboy mad. He decided to throw a fit. That's right, another fit, this one smack dab in the MK right between Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. We did what we have been told to do by his school counselors, which is, we ignored him. After a few minutes, he calmed down and decided he wanted to go to the bathroom. As I took him there, still sniffling, an elderly couple passed us and the husband remarked rather loudly "I hate it when people drag their crying kids into the parks!" Before I could stop myself, I heard myself say "Did you want to buy him a frozen lemonade to waste?!" (Note to self: Talking back to judgemental park guests is a really good way to find out how fast they can walk away from you.)
By the time I had taken three kids in and out of the bathroom for potty stops and diaper changes, DH, Sonnyboy, and Little Tink were pin trading with a nice CM just outside Star Traders. I can't believe I thought the kids were too young to trade. They loved it-and Sonnyboy had completely forgotten his meltdown. Once the trades were completed, our FP time was getting closer. So, I did what I had promised all week. I took Sonnyboy into the Stitch shop with his money. He had a ball looking at everything before he selected a shirt and a toy which he paid for himself-and made another trade with the CM at the register while he was at it. Man! He was cute for those fifteen minutes.
We met up with the rest of the group and finally, FP time for Mom! Mom loves Disney, she loves everything about WDW, but most of all-Mom loves Space Mountain. All pretense as an adult, mother-of-four behavior was gone. I grabbed my FP from DH, gestured to a nearby bench for them to sit on, and raced to the FP line. My favorite ride AND a ten-minute break from the kids, what more could I want?! To do it again? Nah! It was DH's turn, and probably the reason he hung onto the rest of the passes. Now, I had made one small error by getting FP's for DH, myself, Little Tink, AND Sonnyboy. As it turned out, Sonnyboy was still too short and, in my opinion, Little Tink is still too tiny. She is the average height of a 7 year-old, but weighs about 10 lbs. less. I'm sure Imagineers considered this when making the ride's height limit, but at the end of the day, I'm an overprotective mother. So, after DH's turn, we had two options: Ride again on the kids' FP's, or sprinkle some Pixie Dust ourselves and go get a good spot for Cinderella's Surprise Celebration. When we saw a couple looking flustered at the stand-by line, we knew what to do. We gave away out FP's and headed to the hub. Unfortunately, that meant passing Buzz AND Stitch...with Sonnyboy. It didn't go well. As much as we didn't love Stitch, my DH did the good Dad thing and jumped into the stand-by line with Sonnyboy while the girls and I went to the show. Thanks DH and I'm sorry.
The show was cute (I've seen it before), Bitty Princess was in heaven and Little Tink wasn't far behind her. I guess that made the 45 minutes on my feet worth it.
DH and Sonnyboy materialized just after the show, and DH asked if I was ready to go back to the hotel. Not quite. You see, I had heard from a friend of mine that a certain someone would be giving autographs at a certain spot in the next hour, and I wasn't going to let Little Tink miss him for one more trip...
