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
When we left off, it was around 5:30 p.m. We had just finished eating at the Plaza Restaurant and were headed to early seats at 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. To get there, we had to pass the new Stitch and Buzz Lightyear rides and that's when all my plans for the evening went out the window. Once Sonny Boy had seen Buzz and Stitch, there was no way he wanted to sit through a show-and he let us know it. Acknowledging that it was his vacation to, we walked onto Buzz. Buzz was a big hit! Sonny Boy, DH, and Little Tink really got into it. WIth Baby Girl on my lap, I couldn't really shoot, but loved watching the kids have fun. Unfortunately, this little side-trip ruined our chances of seeing the first show. Even with the nonexistent wait time, it goes without saying that there were no seats left when we got there. At Sonny Boy's insistence, we decided to go over and see Stitch, then see the next show. Neither DH, Little Tink,nor I were too impressed with it, but Sonny Boy LOVED it and that made it worth seeing. I wish I had remembered we would exit through a gift shop. Even more, I wish I had remembered to bring the kids' money along that evening. Either way, it was one unpleasant exit, even though we knew we would be returning to the parks at least twice more during the coming week. Sonny Boy just didn't believe us.
Baby Girl seemed hungry, so I tucked myself away in the old Baby Swap area when it was the Alien Encounter and almost everyone else went to ride TTA. Unfortunately, some members of our party slipped off for a cigarette, and others couldn't find their way back to our spot after exiting the ride. (PaPa and DBIL namely, I love my Dad but navigation is not a strong point for him and DBIL was new to the parks.)
By the time we got our entire party together, the show was standing-room only again. In retrospect, it was a good show. At the time, I felt very guilty as if I was making my whole family stand for a 25 minute show just because I wanted to see it. To make matters worse, an elderly man and his party of 6 shoved their way in front of my children just as the show was starting. Nice. Each of us picked up a kid, tried to keep their heads level with ours in case there were people behind us (I was smashed between PaPa, DH, and DBIL, and truly could not see behind me past them). If I had it to do over, I would have sent DH and Sonny Boy off to ride Buzz while obtaining FP's for all of us to do it again after the show. DH can take or leave shows and so can Sonny Boy. Oh well, live and learn...
After that, Tomorrowland was PACKED! We could barely move, so we navigated our way over to the path to ToonTown and headed in that direction. ToonTown was EMPTY! We could breathe again. Bitty Princess had her first ride on Goofy's Barnstormer accompanied by her older siblings,me, DH, and PaPa. We could have gone again when the ride stopped,but I wanted to see Mickey's House. In all our other trips, I hadn't done that. It was very cute. Then the older kids went to see Minnie's house and Bitty Princess spotted Max and Goofy Santa. She begged to go meet them, but changed her mind when her turn came. I went over and found DSis wearing a new Tigger hat and standing in line to meet him in person. I was glad she was having fun. I imagine the hike from Tomorrowland wasn't too great for a pregnant woman, though she reassured me she preferred it to dodging big crowds. Little Tink came out and was thrilled to meet Max and Goofy, so we went and got pictures. She gave me a hard time about forgetting the autograph books. Oops!
From there, we went into an almost empty Fantasyland with one goal, to see Philarmagic. This was a big hit with everyone and something I can't wait to do again! It definitely lives up to its hype.
The first parade was coming through when we exited, so we were unable to get good spots for the next castle show or Wishes yet. I misjudged the parade route and we got stuck in Liberty Square with the kids freaking out that they were missing the parade. (our plan was to see it from the edge of Main Street and leave once it passed) We tried to reassure them there would be another one, but they didn't buy it. There was only one strategy left to regain peace in the valley. Hot cocoa and cookie time! That perked everyone but Sonny Boy right up. He, as he often does, continued to throw a fit and began listing all the things he hated about our evening. Being a mom that wants to plan the "perfect" trip, and having already thrown off my "perfect" schedule to pacify him. I wanted to cry too. I realized at that point we were never going to get our picture taken and I hadn't seen any of the special pins for that evening either. I think this was our lowpoint. After the parade, we decided just to stay at the tables we had found for Wishes and prayed we could still see it. It turns out that we could. Nothing like Jiminy Cricket and some fireworks to bring the magic back to our group. Even Sonny Boy was smiling at the end.
After Wishes, we tried to see the Castle show, but there was no getting close. MeMe, DSis and I would have liked to see it, but Sonny Boy and Little Tink didn't mind. After scanning the still-large crowd, DH suggested we find parade seats early, get some goodies from Casey's, and "just chill" until the second parade. We set ourselves up by another family and spent the most pleasant part of the evening chatting with people around us while we took turns getting food and souvenirs. The parade really did make the evening worth it-even Sonny Boy loved it, though he told me otherwise. Fortunately, DBIL was sitting with him on the curb and gave me a report later of how excited he was-especially to see Stitch and Santa and called out "Hey Stitch! I just saw your show!" Bitty Princess waved excitedly at the Princesses and her beloved "Awice." (Alice) As tired as I was, as disappointed as I was about the picture and the pin, I couldn't help but get into it too. It really is like no other parade in my opnion.
After the parade, we left. Sonny Boy was over-the-moon to ride the monorail. Unfortunately, my Dad held up traffic while exiting the ramp at TTC. SinBitty Princess was sound asleep and he stopped mid-traffic to buckle her in the stroller so she didn't fall out on her head when we went down. I agree that he stopped in the wrong spot, but I was literally trapped behind him as crowds swarmed on either side. Since he wasn't paying attention to their requests, two CM's began yelling at me to move. Not suggesting it, but really screaming at me. I had no arguement with them, but flattened by crowds against my Dad, I couldn't do much. I tried to explain that, but they kept screaming. Finally, DBIL told them to give me a break. (You know, he just might be my favorite BIL-shh! Don't tell the other two.) About that time, Bitty was fastened and they shouted a sarcastic "thank you" at us as we went down. I really wish my Dad had pulled off to the side for the buckling, but as I watched her limp sleeping body bounce around in the stroller, I was glad she was strapped in safely.
Between Sonny Boy telling me he had an awful time because I forgot his money, my own disappointment over not finding a pin, and missing most of the shows, not to mention the screaming CM's; I was beginning to think this whole trip idea was a bad one and that maybe we should go home early...
(don't worry-it gets better)
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
When we left off, it was around 5:30 p.m. We had just finished eating at the Plaza Restaurant and were headed to early seats at 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. To get there, we had to pass the new Stitch and Buzz Lightyear rides and that's when all my plans for the evening went out the window. Once Sonny Boy had seen Buzz and Stitch, there was no way he wanted to sit through a show-and he let us know it. Acknowledging that it was his vacation to, we walked onto Buzz. Buzz was a big hit! Sonny Boy, DH, and Little Tink really got into it. WIth Baby Girl on my lap, I couldn't really shoot, but loved watching the kids have fun. Unfortunately, this little side-trip ruined our chances of seeing the first show. Even with the nonexistent wait time, it goes without saying that there were no seats left when we got there. At Sonny Boy's insistence, we decided to go over and see Stitch, then see the next show. Neither DH, Little Tink,nor I were too impressed with it, but Sonny Boy LOVED it and that made it worth seeing. I wish I had remembered we would exit through a gift shop. Even more, I wish I had remembered to bring the kids' money along that evening. Either way, it was one unpleasant exit, even though we knew we would be returning to the parks at least twice more during the coming week. Sonny Boy just didn't believe us.
Baby Girl seemed hungry, so I tucked myself away in the old Baby Swap area when it was the Alien Encounter and almost everyone else went to ride TTA. Unfortunately, some members of our party slipped off for a cigarette, and others couldn't find their way back to our spot after exiting the ride. (PaPa and DBIL namely, I love my Dad but navigation is not a strong point for him and DBIL was new to the parks.)
By the time we got our entire party together, the show was standing-room only again. In retrospect, it was a good show. At the time, I felt very guilty as if I was making my whole family stand for a 25 minute show just because I wanted to see it. To make matters worse, an elderly man and his party of 6 shoved their way in front of my children just as the show was starting. Nice. Each of us picked up a kid, tried to keep their heads level with ours in case there were people behind us (I was smashed between PaPa, DH, and DBIL, and truly could not see behind me past them). If I had it to do over, I would have sent DH and Sonny Boy off to ride Buzz while obtaining FP's for all of us to do it again after the show. DH can take or leave shows and so can Sonny Boy. Oh well, live and learn...
After that, Tomorrowland was PACKED! We could barely move, so we navigated our way over to the path to ToonTown and headed in that direction. ToonTown was EMPTY! We could breathe again. Bitty Princess had her first ride on Goofy's Barnstormer accompanied by her older siblings,me, DH, and PaPa. We could have gone again when the ride stopped,but I wanted to see Mickey's House. In all our other trips, I hadn't done that. It was very cute. Then the older kids went to see Minnie's house and Bitty Princess spotted Max and Goofy Santa. She begged to go meet them, but changed her mind when her turn came. I went over and found DSis wearing a new Tigger hat and standing in line to meet him in person. I was glad she was having fun. I imagine the hike from Tomorrowland wasn't too great for a pregnant woman, though she reassured me she preferred it to dodging big crowds. Little Tink came out and was thrilled to meet Max and Goofy, so we went and got pictures. She gave me a hard time about forgetting the autograph books. Oops!
From there, we went into an almost empty Fantasyland with one goal, to see Philarmagic. This was a big hit with everyone and something I can't wait to do again! It definitely lives up to its hype.
The first parade was coming through when we exited, so we were unable to get good spots for the next castle show or Wishes yet. I misjudged the parade route and we got stuck in Liberty Square with the kids freaking out that they were missing the parade. (our plan was to see it from the edge of Main Street and leave once it passed) We tried to reassure them there would be another one, but they didn't buy it. There was only one strategy left to regain peace in the valley. Hot cocoa and cookie time! That perked everyone but Sonny Boy right up. He, as he often does, continued to throw a fit and began listing all the things he hated about our evening. Being a mom that wants to plan the "perfect" trip, and having already thrown off my "perfect" schedule to pacify him. I wanted to cry too. I realized at that point we were never going to get our picture taken and I hadn't seen any of the special pins for that evening either. I think this was our lowpoint. After the parade, we decided just to stay at the tables we had found for Wishes and prayed we could still see it. It turns out that we could. Nothing like Jiminy Cricket and some fireworks to bring the magic back to our group. Even Sonny Boy was smiling at the end.
After Wishes, we tried to see the Castle show, but there was no getting close. MeMe, DSis and I would have liked to see it, but Sonny Boy and Little Tink didn't mind. After scanning the still-large crowd, DH suggested we find parade seats early, get some goodies from Casey's, and "just chill" until the second parade. We set ourselves up by another family and spent the most pleasant part of the evening chatting with people around us while we took turns getting food and souvenirs. The parade really did make the evening worth it-even Sonny Boy loved it, though he told me otherwise. Fortunately, DBIL was sitting with him on the curb and gave me a report later of how excited he was-especially to see Stitch and Santa and called out "Hey Stitch! I just saw your show!" Bitty Princess waved excitedly at the Princesses and her beloved "Awice." (Alice) As tired as I was, as disappointed as I was about the picture and the pin, I couldn't help but get into it too. It really is like no other parade in my opnion.
After the parade, we left. Sonny Boy was over-the-moon to ride the monorail. Unfortunately, my Dad held up traffic while exiting the ramp at TTC. SinBitty Princess was sound asleep and he stopped mid-traffic to buckle her in the stroller so she didn't fall out on her head when we went down. I agree that he stopped in the wrong spot, but I was literally trapped behind him as crowds swarmed on either side. Since he wasn't paying attention to their requests, two CM's began yelling at me to move. Not suggesting it, but really screaming at me. I had no arguement with them, but flattened by crowds against my Dad, I couldn't do much. I tried to explain that, but they kept screaming. Finally, DBIL told them to give me a break. (You know, he just might be my favorite BIL-shh! Don't tell the other two.) About that time, Bitty was fastened and they shouted a sarcastic "thank you" at us as we went down. I really wish my Dad had pulled off to the side for the buckling, but as I watched her limp sleeping body bounce around in the stroller, I was glad she was strapped in safely.
Between Sonny Boy telling me he had an awful time because I forgot his money, my own disappointment over not finding a pin, and missing most of the shows, not to mention the screaming CM's; I was beginning to think this whole trip idea was a bad one and that maybe we should go home early...
(don't worry-it gets better)
