Grandma Teresa's 50th Birthday Day 1

[Teresa Pitman]

We left Ontario on November 24th, in a snowstorm that was seriously considering becoming a blizzard. Crammed into my little Toyota Corolla were my ds1 (age 28), his wife, me, and their two children, Sebastian (about to turn 4) and Callista (11 months). Yes, it was a tight fit. Fortunately, the two little ones were soon fast asleep. The driving was slow. We got to the Windsor/Detroit border around midnight, and, you guessed it, the customs official told us to pull over. Why? Because my son's wife is Dutch.

Yes, we all had to get out of the car, even the two sleeping children (I guess they were worried about the 11-month-old potential terrorist). Heck, I didn't even know that Holland was considered a hotbed of terrorism. But there you go. My dil was given a form to fill out with questions like (and I am NOT making this up): 1. Have you ever been arrested for a crime of moral turpitude? (how would you know? what the heck is moral turpitude? Does using a refillable mug on more than one visit count?) 2. Are you a terrorist? 3. Are you planning any terrorist activities during this visit to the U.S? Yup, that should help protect the country. She couldn't help getting the giggles about this and I kept trying to shush her as in my experience, customs officials have NO sense of humour. Then they wanted to know the address of the hotel we were staying at, and "Port Orleans Riverside in WDW" wasn't good enough. The confirmation papers are buried somewhere in my luggage - I wasn't expecting to need them until we completed a couple more days of driving. Finally someone looked it up on the Internet and we were able to complete the form. Whew. On our way again.

I'll skip the rest of our drive, which involved my son getting sick somewhere in Kentucky and an unplanned hotel stay to let him recover. Despite that, we made it to WDW as planned (oh, and picked up ds2 (age 23) at the airport). My car displays the outdoor temperature on the dashboard, and it was a great pleasure to watch the numbers rise as we drove farther and farther south - from -13 (C) when we left Ontario to 27 (C) in Orlando.

I'd never stayed at POR before but I loved it the minute we arrived. I got excited when I saw the palm trees and Sebastian commented seriously to his mother "Palm trees make Grandma happy." We were checked in by what we think is one of the first audio-animatronic cast members. The guy did not smile once or make one friendly comment during the entire process, even though we were all obviously bouncing up and down with excitement. We ended up with two connecting rooms in Alligator Bayou building 37 - a long way from the lobby but close to a bus stop.

After unpacking, we had a quick lunch in the food court and bought our refillable mugs. I have the DDE and was pleased to learn that we got a discount on the mugs too - saved $14 on that meal (and mugs). Then we hopped on the boat to DTD. Sebastian was a little nervous about going on the boat, which was not helped by the driver's jokes about "So can everybody swim? Can you swim faster than alligators?" However we arrrived safely and headed straight to Sebastian's favourite place - the Lego store. After a happy afternoon of wandering through the stores, we walked back to the bus to have dinner at Boma.

Minor disaster now begins. Sebastian sees the other kids playing in the waterplay area and wants to join in. We don't have a change of clothes for him and he hates wet clothes. We remind him of this. He still wants to play. It is pretty hot. So we take off his shirt and he has a wonderful time romping with the other kids in the water. Eventually we announce that it's time to go and take him to the bus.

Once on the bus, he begins to cry because his clothes are wet. Yes, we should have known this would happen. At AKL we try to buy him clean clothes but there is NOTHING in his size. We end up buying some Stitch pj's and take him into the washroom to change. He won't take off his underwear, and won't put the new clothes on top because they will get wet from his underwear. Grrr. We take him into a stall to undress and hold his undies under the hand-dryer to dry them. Finally, he puts on his Stitch pj's and we head into Boma, where we are meeting some friends from Canada. Two minutes later, Sebastian is happily playing with his little friend and enjoying his meal.

The meal is great, as always. I do love Boma. Also love seeing the animals on the Savanna. Eventually, we take the bus back to DTD and the boat back to POR. The Christmas lights everywhere are amazing. It's a long walk back to our room, but the good part is that the kids are tired and fall asleep soon after. My son and his wife leave me and DS2 to babysit, and they go for a walk around the resort and a late-night snack.

I just feel so happy to be in WDW. Day 2 will be MGM and Lunch with an Imagineer!

Teresa

 

[Teresa Pitman]

Reading over Day 1, I thought that maybe I'd been a bit abrupt in the beginning and that some introductions might be in order. So here we go:

Me: Grandma Teresa. I'm the Disney addict in my family. I've been a single mother for 16 years, and have 4 grown children - three boys and one girl. Also two cherished grandchildren. This trip is to celebrate my 50th birthday, and we've been planning it for 2 years. We'll be joined by various other family members and friends as the trip goes on.

DS1 (28) and DIL (also 28) and their two children, Sebastian and Callista all drove down with me from Ontario. At the airport in Orlando, we picked up:

DS2 (23) who is a computer programmer and actor and who had committed to riding all the roller coasters he was too scared to ride in the past.

Later you will meet:

DD (27) and DS3 (21) who are both full-time students and will be flying in for parts of this trip.

Does that help?

Okay, on to Day 2.

Sebastian wakes up at 7:00 a.m. and decides to come into our room and wake up his uncle. He does this by climbing onto the end of the bed and jumping onto my DS2. Fortunately, DS2 had already heard him and braced himself. Mickey's wake-up call came soon after, and Sebastian answered the phone and said "Mickey talks too fast, I couldn't understand anything he said." We had breakfast in the room (we'd brought food with us) and then headed out to the bus stop to go to MGM.

On the way out we discussed what to do first, and the consensus was to try the new Lights, Motors, Action stunt show. It's hard to persuade an almost 4-year-old to walk past all kinds of exciting-looking things while you head to the back of the park for the stunt show, but we did and it was worth it. Sebastian absolutely loved this show, as did both of my DS's. I enjoyed it, too, but I guess I'm not that into cars. I just kept worrying that they'd want to try some of these stunts with my car (and that drive through Atlanta is scary enough as it is).

By the time the show ended, DS1 and I headed over to the Brown Derby for our Lunch with an Imagineer. I did this event by myself during my last visit and thought it was something my son would like. (I'd decided that for this trip I would do one special thing with each of my children and one with my mother.) We arrived at the restaurant a bit early, and were given our nametags and told to wait for the others. We had a full group of eight people. We went back to the Bamboo room and got our menus, and I was delighted to see that we had the same Imagineer I'd met during my previous trip - Theron Skees. I'm sure that all the Imagineers are wonderful, but this guy is truly impressive. You can tell he loves Disney. Anyway, we had to promise at the beginning that we wouldn't give away his secrets so I can't tell you what he told us. But I CAN tell you that the food was amazing. Our server told us a lot about the history of the Bamboo Room and about the different dishes we were offered. I had the Cobb salad and steak with mashed potatoes. The Cobb salad is just outstanding. Like our server said "If you haven't had Cobb salad at the Brown Derby, you haven't had Cobb salad."

For dessert we had a choice between the special Grapefruit Cake and Creme Brulee. I am diabetic, so I asked if there was a sugar-free option, and they brought me a wonderful chocolate cake with fresh fruit and sherbet. As a true chocoholic I was very happy. My son had the Creme Brulee and said it was very good but I noticed him looking enviously at my chocolate masterpiece.

When we emerged, full of good food and Disney insider information, it was raining. My dil's sister with her husband and two kids had also arrived, so we all headed over to see the Bear in the Big Blue House show. This is not the ideal show for adults, so my son and I sat in the back digesting our food, while the others sat in front with the kids.

Sadly, the rain did not stop while we were in this show. We decided to try to get over to Star Tours because my sons and Sebastian are HUGE Star Wars fans. When we arrived (rather wet) we found that Sebastian was just under the height limit and couldn't go. I knew (thank you, Internet friends!) that sometimes they let little kids go with no motion - just to watch the movie, so I asked if that was possible. The CM at the end of the line made a phone call and told us "Yes, if you go right now they'll let you do it." We were so excited!

We ran up to the line, and a CM met us and escorted us to a separate waiting area. There we met Frank, who told Sebastian that he could be the flight captain and tell us when to blast off. Our family - and only our family - walked into one of the space ships and sat down. Frank said "well, Captain Sebastian - is it time to go?" and Sebastian said "Blast Off!" I wish you all could have seen Sebastian's face as the show unfolded. He was just mesmerized. When we came out at the end, Frank handed us a Magical Moments certificate and told Sebastian that he was a great Space Ship Captain. He sure made Sebastian's whole day.

We wanted to do Millionaire but didn't think the kids would make it, so my DIL and I headed back to the room with the kids while my sons stayed for a few hours more at the parks. All the way back on the bus Sebastian talked about the Star Tours ride. He'd remembered every detail!! Everything! And told me about it over and over. I was so glad I'd known to ask about the no-motion option.

We met my DIL's sister's family back at POR and all went for dinner in the food court. By the time we'd finished eating and having another leisurely walk through the grounds, the kids were ready to sleep. So her sister's family went back to Saratoga Springs and we put Sebastian and Callista to bed. When my sons came home, DS2 and I went out for a walk and a drink, then DS1 and DIL did the same after we came back.

Tomorrow - MK and the Family Magic Tour!

 

[Teresa Pitman]

As predicted, it is cold and raining. Well, cold is a relative term - since it is snowing on our home in Ontario, we should not be complaining. We pack up our ponchos and head off to the bus stop and arrive at the Magic Kingdom about 9:15. We have booked the Family Magic Tour for 10:00 so decide to take the train around the park first. Sebastian LOVES this, in fact when we get back to the start he announces that he doesn't want to go on any tour, he just wants to ride the train. All day.

We persuade him that we'll go give the tour a try and that we can always do the train later. We head into the building to get our nametags, and after Sebastian gets his, he looks seriously at the CM and says "Where's Mickey's nametag??" and holds up his Pal Mickey. (Yes, I can see it would be a big concern - I mean, nobody in Magic Kingdom would recognize Mickey without a nametag, right?) So the CM very kindly makes a nametag for Mickey too, and Sebastian is pleased.

Our tour guide Cory, was just outstanding. He had us all laughing. My DS2 has a beard, and Cory pointed out to the kids on the tour that a beard is one of the signs that someone is a pirate. I could see them all looking suspiciously at him. When he brought out the map with the clues on it, and asked "who wants to read the first clue?" Sebastian ran up saying "I will, I will." Then he said "Oh, wait, I can't read."

At one point we all got to throw money in the wishing well and make a wish. My wish was that the rain would stop - and you know what? It did. My DS1 told me that his wish was that he'd get this whole trip for free. I guess it's only one wish per group that comes true.

Sebastian got completely absorbed by this tour, trying his hardest to follow all the clues and keep up with Cory and the big kids. Our family just enjoyed watching him. This was his very first time in the MK and it was a great introduction for him - he really experienced it as a magical place. At the end we met Peter Pan and Wendy and Sebastian was entranced. The characters talked with all of us for a while and then led us to Philharmagic. I will never forget little Sebastian holding Wendy's hand as we walked through Fantasyland. We got to sit in the front row of the show. Sebastian was a little overwhelmed by some parts of the show (he said afterwards "I didn't like it when things jumped out at me") but Wendy talked quietly to him and he was calm enough to enjoy it.

At the end we said good-bye to Peter Pan, Wendy and Cory and headed out for some more rides. First we did Small World. Sebastian was unimpressed. Then we did the Carousel twice. By then it was time for our lunch at Crystal Palace. This was Sebastian's 4th birthday, and their parents had made T-shirts. Sebastian's had Pirate Mickey on it and said "It's my birthday, I am 4" and Callista's said "Sebastian's 4th birthday." They were VERY cute.

We were pretty disappointed, though, in the birthday set-up. I'd made the ADR and checked again at the podium that they knew it was his birthday. I guess they get lots of birthdays every day, but it was a big deal for us. The table decorations consisted of a few pieces of Mickey confetti. The character interaction was fun, but there was nothing else done for his birthday. I had ordered a cake but our server disappeared towards the end of the meal and I had to track him down (he was chatting with the other servers in the entrance to the kitchen when I finally found him) to get him to bring out the cake, which he dumped unceremoniously on our table and walked away. Good way to increase your tip, I don't think.

We walked back out through Fantasyland but Sebastian had now decided he didn't like any of the rides. My DS1 actually took him in the line for Winnie the Pooh, but Sebastian took one look at the honeypots and ran screaming back out. No, I have no idea what it was about those honeypots that terrified him so much.

Anyway, we moved on. He saw the teacups (apparently these are COMPLETELY different from the honeypots and totally safe) and decided that was the ride he wanted to do. He loved it!! We then did the racecars and then Buzz Lightyear. This was my personal best time EVER in Buzz Lightyear. The ride broke down halfway through and I was able to sit there and just keep shooting. I learned that I am much better at hitting targets when I am not moving. We then walked back towards Toontown, doing the racecars again and the Teacups again.

Minnie and Mickey's houses were also a hit with Sebastian, who then announced "I want to go on the Barnstormer now." He went with his Dad, came off laughing and said "Now I want to go with Uncle Dan." Off they went, and he pronounced it the best ride yet. (If anyone can explain why the Winnie-the-Pooh ride is too terrifying for words but the Barnstormer is great, please do...)

By now it was time for the others to leave the park, and DS2 and I stayed for MVMCP. (That was the one special thing I was doing with him, although we ended up adding another special thing later.) The rain had stopped much earlier and the weather was perfect at this point. We did Haunted Mansion while waiting in Liberty Square for the rest of the park to open, and then we were able to walk on to a number of rides - the crowds seemed pretty small. We ate dinner at Cosmic Ray's, got free hot chocolate and cookies, and got our picture taken. Then we found a spot to watch the parade. As a horse-owner, I really enjoyed all the princesses with their horses. I do think the best part of the parade for us was these three little girls who were directly across the road from us. They were just SO excited! They were jumping up and down and waving at every character, every float, everything that went by. It really was contagious, you couldn't help but catch their joy in the whole thing.

Then we walked closer to the front of the park to watch the fireworks, and they were amazing. I had seen Wishes earlier in the year and loved them, but I thought the Holiday additions were beautiful. I wanted to get some of the special pins, so we headed to City Hall and I was able to buy both the pin for that night's party and an AP pin, both quite beautiful. Finally we headed out to the buses and back to our room, feeling very tired.

Next day - Animal Kingdom!

 

[Teresa Pitman]

Okay, here's more...

We were all a little tired this morning. We'd planned to make it a rest day, and so we all slept in, but once we woke up and talked it over a bit, we decided to head over to Animal Kingdom.

We didn't get there until about 10:00 a.m. (after breakfast in the room) and at that point both of my sons noticed that their camera memory cards were full and decided to get them downloaded onto a CD. We thought this would be a simple process but it took AGES.

And here we encountered a unique version of customer service. When we went up to the counter in the store, there were three young women, wearing CM badges, standing together. One took my sons' cameras and started the lengthy downloading process. The other two stood there chatting. I saw something I wanted to buy, and took it up to the counter. Both of them told me that they couldn't run the cash register, only the third person (who was doing the photo download) could do that, so I couldn't buy the item until she was done. Several other customers came up and tried to buy things and were told the same. It ended up taking the person an HOUR to download all the photos, so during that hour - despite having two CM's standing at the cash register - nobody could buy anything. Does this make any sense to any of you??? Do you wonder why Disney prices are so high? I think I have the answer!! They are apparently paying people NOT to take customer's money.

By the time we had our photos downloaded, it was almost time for lunch, so we walked up to the Safari ride, got fastpasses, and went for lunch at Tusker House. Mmm- mmm I do enjoy the food there. We emerged just in time to get on the Safari ride and had a great journey through Africa! The two baby elephants were playing together and rolling around on the ground as they wrestled. I guess kids are the same everywhere! We also saw a baby white rhino with its mother. Sebastian was startled at one point when a giraffe walked so close to our truck that we could have reached out and touched it - he said "I didn't know they were so big!" You don't realize it until it's standing right beside you.

However, he got quite upset by the poacher storyline, especially when he saw the camp with the elephant and rhino tusks. He had a lot of questions for us afterwards about poachers.

Then we walked over to Dinoland, and Sebastian thought he was in heaven. He played for the next couple of hours in the Boneyard, which was nice because the adults took turns supervising him and going on the other rides. He did emerge long enough to do Triceratops Spin and to watch his mom, dad and uncle on Primeval Whirl, then back to the Boneyard. We also played some of the games and he was very happy to win a toy dinosaur.

We walked from there over to Asia and down the trail to see the birds, bats and tigers. This was another highlight for Sebastian. We probably could have spent an hour or two there as well, but it was getting late. He also enjoyed the Kidcot set-up there where he had to smell different scents and try to identify them. One was tiger urine! He smelled it and said "It smells like cat pee!" (They have four cats so I guess he recognized that one!)

Back to the front of the park, and Sebastian spent time at the Oasis looking at the different birds and animals and asking questions of us and the cast members. He really loved this park even though we only did a small part of it. We will be back another day.

Here we split up, and DS2 and I went to Raglan Road (we had ADRs there) and the others went back to the hotel for dinner and bed. Raglan Road was a big hit with us! The decor was stunningly beautiful. We started out with Guinness-glazed ribs as an appetizer, and they were unbelievably good. DS2 ordered the burger - which he says is the best burger he's ever had - and I had the "Rising Road" which is a cabbage/potato souffle. Mine was interesting but a little bland in flavour. For dessert, we shared the Dunbrody Kiss - very, very chocolate and highly recommended.

Our tummies full, we wandered over to the Adventurer's Club and did a Mask Room session and new members' induction. Last time we were here, they made fun of DS2 for going to a bar with his mother, so this time he wouldn't sit with me. We had a good time anyway. After those two shows, we walked over to the Comedy Club - and met up with my sister, her two daughters, and my mother (who is 75). They'd just flown in from Ontario, Canada that afternoon. We laughed our way through the improv show, and then headed back to the Adventurer's Club again for the Balderdash Cup. My mother looked confused through most of this but we all had a good time anyway. Eventually, my two nieces decided they wanted to go dancing and my mother decided to join them, so they headed off to one of the dance clubs. Yes, we have photos of my mother on the dance floor. DS2 and I took the boat back to POR. Most of the other passengers were fairly well inebriated and having a great time on the boat. One stood up and did the entire spiel that the boat drivers normally do - but she'd had just enough to drink that it came out very funny. It was a good ending to an evening of laughter!

Tomorrow - yes, we're going back to Magic Kingdom! And the Segway Tour at Epcot is still to come...