Happiness and HAAAAmony

[DebIreland]

Shark, if you log in before you go I just wanted to say have a brilliant trip!!!! And you certainly will write a trip report young lady

Please!!

 

[Disneyland_Mama]

Bumpin' ya, baby!

 

[DebIreland]

Bumping this while Shark is frolicking through Disney World!

 

[PrincessV]

HEY, I haven't missed a thing.... sharkB8, where aaaare yooou?!

 

[sharkB8HooHaHa]

I know, I'm a slacker. Truth is, we brought home an unwelcome guest last week, AS USUAL, and my house is a petri dish right now. Bite 3 has it badly, Bite 1 is on the verge, and Bite 2 has GOT to have the resistence of steel because he's still healthy, but I'm waiting and watching. I took Bite 3 to the Dr. yesterday and the amoxicilin seems to be helping now that it's 36 hours later, but he is the king of sinus schmutz right now. Poor baby hasn't slept all week, and if Bite 3 doesn't sleep, Momma doesn't sleep.

All this to say, I should be able to wrap up Happiness and HAAAAmony by next week.

And dare I attempt another? It was a COOOOOOLLLLLLDDDDD and crowded week in WDW! But there was lots of good stuff, and some not so good stuff. Perhaps I'll give it a go.

And thanks for the bumps while I was away.

 

[DebIreland]

Oh no Shark! I'm so sorry to hear that your boys are sick. I hope it doesn't last long. It's tough when one child is sick, never mind two.

Looking forward to the next installment and the new report.

 

[J-rat]

I love your trippie! You're a wonderful writer! Sorry the little bites are sick. Hopefully everyone will be better soon and you can finish this off (and start your next one ) !

 

[Nurse_Mommy4]

HI SharkB8,

Long time no write!

You're not a slacker. It's tough when the kids get sick and pass it to their siblings. (If only they would share everything else so well ).

Can't wait for the rest of the trippie , not too mention the BEGINNING of the new one!

 

[sharkB8HooHaHa]

J-rat! Thank you for the kind words and welcome aboard. I am composing in my head today...well, that and wiping every conceivable surface of my house with lysol in a futile effort to rid us of the funk that has invaded! With any luck, not only will my home be virus free, but I'll get that last day posted.

Again, welcome, to my TR and the DIS.

 

[sharkB8HooHaHa]

HI SharkB8,

Long time no write!

You're not a slacker. It's tough when the kids get sick and pass it to their siblings. (If only they would share everything else so well ).

Can't wait for the rest of the trippie , not too mention the BEGINNING of the new one!

Tasha,
I am the only one in the house that has yet to catch this yuck. Of couse, DH goes out of town on Monday for 2 weeks, just in time for me to be solo AND sick

Thanks for hanging in there. I will get to posting (haven't I said that before????)

 

[sharkB8HooHaHa]

It was our last day. No one likes their last day. I always find it hard to focus on the last day in WDW. No matter how glorious the weather, how cheerful the CMs, how short the lines, there is always the ominous feeling of departure hovering out there. It saps the day of a certain amount of magic. It is the anti square at Main Street.

It was September 29th, two days before the YOMD was officially to begin. We went into the Magic Kingdom, as is tradition for us. We hit the favorites; the “must do again” list that we always accumulate with little diversion from the previous trip. Standards. But not standard at all. They are the rides that mean the most to us. The rides we talk about around the kitchen table when we are longing for some connection to the magic and wonder of WDW. Buzz, Small World, BTMR, Splash Mountain, Pirates. We play this silly game where someone will think of a ride and give clues about which one it is.

“The wait is never longer than 5 minutes.” (Well, unless it’s 4th of July!)
“There is a Mickey in the Earth”

That kind of game.

It’s fun. It brings us back and helps us look forward.

But on leaving day, it’s all about saturation. How much of the hope, joy and delight can we squeeze in before it is time to once again jam ourselves into the over-stuffed van and head East on I-4 to 95.

The walk up Main Street has a certain feel on departure day. Knowing that it is the last time, at least for a bit, maybe longer, that the castle will be in front of me instead of behind, makes my heart ache a bit. The lump in my throat is for the memories made there, not just by us, but by all the people around me.

Seems I am one of those sappy people.

It was a good day. We got to see the first presentation of the YOMD show at the castle (sans blinking eyed Mickey and Minnie…a good thing, too. That kind of thing would creep me out!) We had a lametastic Captain on the Jungle Cruise, but he was so bad he was funny. (Kind of like English Bull Dogs ~ So ugly they are cute.) Dead-pan blonde was no where to be found in New Tortuga. So all in all, a good day, despite the smack into reality that I knew was just a monorail ride ahead.

TTA, Blue Line, People Mover, call it what you will, but it is one of my favorite rides in the Magic Kingdom. Here’s the thing. I was, as you know from reading early on, brought to Disney World as a little girl turning 7. I remember, vaguely, the sky ride through the park. It is missed, but TTA is a close second. I love to be able to ride through Tomorrowland and look at the castle and Main Street. It is beautiful. While quietly moving along in your blue car, you can catch glimpses of people coming in and those of us forced to leave. You get snapshot images of laughter and joy, and the occasional tantrum being pitched by an overtired guest. And it’s all done to a “soundtrack” that I love to have going through my head for the ride home.

“Calling all SPACE RANGERS!”

“Paging Mr. Morrow, Mr. TOM Morrow…”

I love it.

So it was our last ride.

We then headed out toward the castle by way of the “Pixie Dust Maker” which proudly stands as the archway to Tomorrowland. My kids and their cousins dubbed this arch, and each and every time we go it’s our first stop, and our last.

So if ever you see a family walking in single file under the Pixie Dust Maker, pausing as each person gets a blast of Pixie Dust to last them until next time, stop and say hello. It’s just me.

 

[PrincessV]

So if ever you see a family walking in single file under the Pixie Dust Maker, pausing as each person gets a blast of Pixie Dust to last them until next time, stop and say hello. It’s just me.

What a terrific tradition your family created!

How is it that we always seem to update our TR's at the same time?! AND, this time we were both on the last day.... insert Twilight Zone music here... Too funny!

What's not funny is that this TR is coming to an end.
But.
Another is on the horizon, yes?!

 

[sharkB8HooHaHa]

This is to CERTIFY and make OFFICIAL, that our dear PRINCESS Vwas the very FIRSTto post on this very updated thread


And as far as posting at the same time...universal writing GENIUS must shoot down, much like the Pixie Dust Maker, and blast us on the same day

 

[Nurse_Mommy4]

Awwwww!

Now look what you did SharkB8, you done gone and made me cry.

That ending just touched my heart. (I should mention I cry watching Hallmark commercials)

So that I don't go through withdrawals; get started on your next TR! (that is once everyone is feeling better.)

 

[BrerMama]

What a great ending! Thanks for sharing your trip report with us!

 

[sharkB8HooHaHa]

Tasha,
Sorry about the emotional ending...unfortunately, every time we leave the world it's an emotional ending. We had a bit of solace in September, knowing we'd be going back in February, but it's still always hard to face the real world.

As for Hallmark commercials, me too! I live in sap-city!

Thanks so much for following along all this time. You've been one dedicated reader! When can we see a pre-trip from you????

Be on the lookout for a new TR from our trip last month...I should be able to start this week.

 

[sharkB8HooHaHa]

Miss Kim,
I'm so glad you stuck it out with me. And happy you enjoyed

 

[DebIreland]

Aww Shark, that was terrific! And yet, also so sad. You summed up the last day feeling so well. It's a lonely ol' feeling - knowing the World will carry on but not with you as part of it. But knowing it's not going anywhere always helps. I love your Pixie Dust Arch tradition!

Thanks so much for a wonderful read from the beginning to the end! Please, when you're ready, and the boys have made a full recovery, get cracking on your new TR! I know it's gonna be a great read!

 

[sharkB8HooHaHa]

This is a picture of the castle and the Pixie Dust Maker taken from the TTA. Sorry it so huge, but I STILL haven't figured out how to make the photos smaller. A computer genius, I am not.

********

Walking against traffic when leaving WDW produces about as much stress as Deb feels when her DH drives to Cocoa Beach. No fun in that. So as we left the park, not only did we have to deal with impending reality, but we struggled like salmon just to make it to the exit.

We headed for the monorail. It was mid-afternoon and most people were going in to the park, not leaving, so we were the only people on the platform. We asked the CM if we could ride in the front. He explained that it depended on whether or not there were already guests in there, and that only 4 could ride in the front. I told DH to go ahead and take the Little Bites and that I'd be in the car behind, if, in fact, they could get in.

As Monorail green pulled up to the platform, we could see the passengers in the front. Fortunately, the Magic Kingdom was their destination, so DH and my boys climbed aboard.

I sat down with a woeful sigh, ready to take a quiet and thoughtful ride around the Seven Seas Lagoon, when up ran a woman with her toddler. When I say toddler, I mean roughly 18 months. She wanted the front. Bad. She asked the CM if they could ride and he said that there were already people inside. She could wait if she wanted.

"Why should I have to wait?"

I kid you not. She actually said that. As if she had called 180 days in advance and we just took her spot.

To say that this woman was angry is like saying I was a little disappointed that we were leaving. She started yelling and got all red in the face. As the doors closed she started holding her child up to prove, perhaps, that it was a ride for the child and he should be granted said ride in the front. And as we pulled away from the platform, I saw her mouth utter the word "Fudge. Only (she) didn't say fudge."


It was a nice ride. A few moments alone for me to set all the memories in place ~ harden the cement, if you will. Lock them in.

As we got off at the Poly to walk over to SOG and the car, the boys were all smiles and spoke of the cool ride in the front. It was a little extra magic that was unexpected, and unexpected magic is often a little sweeter.



*****

Thanks, everybody. This was fun.

 

[sharkB8HooHaHa]

Aww Shark, that was terrific! And yet, also so sad. You summed up the last day feeling so well. It's a lonely ol' feeling - knowing the World will carry on but not with you as part of it. But knowing it's not going anywhere always helps. I love your Pixie Dust Arch tradition!

Thanks so much for a wonderful read from the beginning to the end! Please, when you're ready, and the boys have made a full recovery, get cracking on your new TR! I know it's gonna be a great read!

Deb,
Thanks so much for the kind words.

Fortunately, all Little Bites are better. Bite 1 still has a cough, but the other two are fine (one with the help of amoxicilin!)

DH and I often talk about the continuum that is WDW. People coming and going, vacations being planned or wrapped up, guests on rides RIGHT NOW! It's strange that it all goes on without you. And wonderful, as you said, that it will be right there waiting for when you go back.

Thanks again. And I hope to get the new TR going soon.