How We Became Addicted to a Mouse...A Family's First Trip!

[imama]

Our first Epcot day was finally upon us! This was a day that Jamie was beyond excited about. Let me give you a bit of background on my husband. He is a HUGE history buff. He loves anything to do with museums, history, different countries and cultures, and BEER. Did I mention that Food and Wine Festival was also going on during our trip to Epcot? Bless him, he was so excited to be going to Epcot! When we finalized our plans, I had mentioned to Jamie that, despite his love of learning, he would NOT BE ABLE TO READ EVERY SINGLE THING WE PASSED BY. Going to zoos and museums with this man is a tedious process with three children. He understood, and I promised him we would do the best we could to stop and look at things (i.e. read signs) as much as the children would allow. See, Jamie could spend an entire WEEK in the World Showcase, just reading everything there. But, we only had two days in Epcot, which we would split between Future World and the World Showcase. On this first day, we were concentrating on Future World. And thankfully, because of our relaxing day the day before, we got an early start and arrived at Epcot right after rope drop.

After arriving at Epcot, we went straight to Soarin’ and got a FP to use three hours later. I couldn’t believe that FP times were already up so far, but I was glad to had a FP and planned to use it! After grabbing the FP, we decided to ride Living with the Land. Along with Jamie’s love of learning, goes with his love of gardening and he was VERY interested in this ride. It ended up being a big hit with all of us.

After finishing Living with the Land, we decided to walk over to The Seas with Nemo and Friends. We stood outside for a long time, taking pictures and listening to the seagulls. “MINE!” As we entered the building, we decided to hope on a clam shell since there was absolutely no wait. Jane loves Nemo, so she especially loved this one.

When we got off our clam shell, who should we see Scuba diving in the aquariam, but MICKEY!! That shocked the pants off of me because I had no idea Mickey knew how to DO that! And the best part? No one had realized that Mickey was swimming in the tank, so he ended up face to face with Jane, and no one else was there. Apparently, Mickey behind glass is much safer than Mickey in person because Jane LOVED him. She followed him around and around. And I was an idiot, standing there and watching the two of them AND NOT TAKING PICTURES. By the time I realized that I SHOULD BE TAKING PICTURES, I had missed Jane and Mickey kissing through the glass. I got my camera out and took some shots, though by now there were all kinds of children who had discovered Mickey.

We hung out with Scuba Mickey for a lonnnnng time before finally heading over to Turtle Talk with Crush. We had a pretty long wait here, but not because of lines, we had to wait for another show to start. Jay was playing with all the interactive stuff in the waiting area, but Annie was bound and determined to be up close and personal with Crush, so we waited as close to the doors as possible and DID NOT MOVE. FOR. A. LONG. TIME. Annie made friends with a fish in the little aquarium who kept swimming over to talk to us. He kept us entertained.

And perseverance paid off because Annie got to sit right up front. This did not make Jay happy at all. I should have checked with him before Annie and I made our way over to wait, but I didn’t realized he was so excited about the show. Bad Mama. And to add to the tragedy, Annie got to ASK CRUSH A QUESTION AND HE DID NOT. And no, this is NOT the HEARTBREAK that I have been referring to, though to Jay, it WAS a big deal. Annie’s question for Crush was, “What is it like to be a turtle?” I do not remember what Crush’s response was, but I am sure it was funny as everything he said was hilarious! It was great show and next time I will take Jay to the front with me to wait. Lesson learned.

This impressive show meant that we needed to BUY THINGS on the way out. Jane got Nemo bath toys and a cup that we promptly lost three seconds later. Annie bought a Webkins and Jay held onto his money for a while longer. Smart kid! We left The Seas and then ran over to get FP for Test Track, which we all knew we wanted to ride. Then, after obtaining the FP, we went back to The Land Pavillion so that we could eat lunch at Seasons. Everyone had a great lunch and Jane shared with Jamie and me. Jamie and I both had vegetable paninis with Disney grown veggies. They were fab!!! And maybe Jane didn’t share with us. Perhaps it was the big kids she shared with. Seems like they both had pizza paninis. Glad I took such copious notes. Everything was good though and when lunch was finished our FP for Soarin’ had finally come up.

Jamie took the big kids first while I hung with Jane. She was in need of a new diaper, so we took care of business first before heading back to the waiting area. We waited and waited and waited. And. Waited. It seemed to take forever for our crew to come off the ride. We found a friend for Jane and the grandmother of the little girl and I chatted politely while the kids played. Her crew came off before mine did though, so that left Jane to her own devices. Jane had a blast playing around the Fast Pass machines. We would stop every time a new group came off the ride and look for our people. FINALLY they came through the hallway and it was MY turn on Soarin’!

Soarin’ was a ride that I knew I wanted to experience, but I will admit to being a little nervous about it. I don’t do well with watching screens while I am moved about in a vehicle. The last time I went on Back to the Future at Universal Studios it made me SICK. But, I had heard so many good things about how amazing this ride was that I knew I didn’t want to miss it. After all, I could just close my eyes if things got too intense, right? Annie and Jay (who I will now nickname “Spoilers!” because of their need to tell me EVERYTHING about the ride AS I RIDE IT.) were both dying to go again, so we headed through the que and shortly we were lined up and awaiting our “flight”. We strapped ourselves in, and being my father’s daughter, I checked Annie’s straps. Twice. Then the ride started and we were hoisted up in the air and the opening scenes began. Ah-MAZING.

I remember when I was young and went to the Air and Space museum to watch “In Flight” for the first time. I was blown away because I really felt like I was flying. I loved that movie from then on and was always so excited when we got to see a showing of it. This was that experience of being 12 again, being totally blown away by something and really feeling like I was flying. It was just like that feeling only it was that feeling on steroids. I know I will go on Soarin’ again, and I know I will love it, but I am not sure that anything will ever compare to that first ride. I was laughing and squealing the WHOLE time and I had tears in my eyes by the end of it because it was JUST. THAT. AWESOME. Jamie said he thought it would be even cooler if it were in 3-D. I told him that my brain just might have exploded if it had been.

We got off and met up with Jamie and Jane and headed out of The Land again. I had a trick up my sleeve that I wanted to use on my unsuspecting family while we waited for our Test Track FP to come up. We walked over to Club Cool and told the kids that they had free reign on any of the sodas that they wanted to sample. FREE SAMPLES!! The kids couldn’t believe their luck. They jumped right in and tried everything they could get their hands on. I filled three small cups with Beverly and got my camera ready as I handed one to each Jay, Jamie and Annie. Totally worth it! Got great shots of them trying the foul taste of the soda. And of course, I tried it too, but no one took MY picture.

After Club Cool we were ready to use our FP for Test Track. We did the rider swap option and Jane and I waited while Jamie took the big kids. We cruised the gift shop, looked at all the cars and then waited and waited. Jane was getting tired at this point, but for the most part was really good. We watched all the pictures come up on the big screen and then cheered when we saw Daddy, Jay and Annie. We handed our Photopass card to the CM and had her swipe it so that it could be included in our pictures. Jay and Annie came off loving the ride and ready to go again. This time, I took them while Jamie waited with Jane. It was a fun ride, but I probably would have liked it more had I not just ridden Soarin’. Jay and Annie had a blast again.

After TT, we decided to finally head over to World Showcase, knowing that we would not be able to accomplish much with the late hour, but also knowing that we had 56 thousand snack credits and the Food and Wine Festival was going on. Score! We found a Photopass photographer on our way to WS and took some less than stellar, squinty pictures with the sun in our eyes.

When we made it to WS, Jamie got a beer and we walked and bought snacks for us all to share. So many good things to eat and such a great way to use snack credits! The kids loved the lamb sliders with tomato and we had to buy a few extra of those because they were hard to split. We cruised around World Showcase, getting a feel for the area so that we could have a plan for Day 2 at Epcot. After about an hour walking in WS, we finally decided to head back to the cabin. It was way too late for Jane to nap and we thought it best to go back, grab some dinner and eat at the cabin and then I would take the big kids to the campfire sing along with Chip and Dale while Jamie put Jane to bed and then worked on his CDs for work.

And that’s where I’ll leave off for now. But, no worries, for the HEARTBREAK story is coming up next. And I think I’ll be able to get to it today. But, in order to do it proper justice, it deserves it’s OWN post.

 

[bookmama]

Your TR is funny. Maybe the fam and I will see you next June. We'll be in WDW at the end of the month.

 

[imama]

Okay, close your eyes and picture the scene, the heartbreak story is upon us. Wait, you can’t read with your eyes closed. Nevermind. OPEN your eyes and picture the scene...you’ve spent the better part of two years planning a Disney trip down to the last detail. And it is all paying off. Your children are having the time of their lives, they are caught up in the magic and the experience. You are caught up in THEM being caught up. You’ve spent your Disney time encouraging their love of characters, of autographs and of this being REAL. And to you, and them, it IS real. Every character meeting, every autograph and every moment has come with an EXPERIENCE that they will always remember. And that memory is hugely special to them. And because it is special to them, it is even MORE special to you.

Hold that thought....

Meanwhile...back at the Fort...

We dropped all of our gear at the cabin and then took another bus down to Trails End to grab some dinner that none of us were particularly hungry for WHAT WITH ALL THE SNACKING AT EPCOT. Jamie hung with the kids at the playground while I ordered dinner. A barbeque flatbread sandwich for me and nachos for everyone else. And dessert. Again. After getting the food, I headed back to the playground to meet up with Jamie. We let the kids play for a while and then played a nice balancing act while getting us all back on the bus with food and drinks, stroller and JANE. When we finally got back to the cabin, we realized that we had cut it a bit close to make it to the campfire sing along with Chip and Dale. The big kids and I ate fast and then booked it to the bus to get to the sing along.

We were all FILTHY after our full day and really had not had a chance to get cleaned up. I took a few snapshots on the bus, embarrassing Annie to no end.

We were sitting up front on the bus, right by the driver. I had a long conversation with him about the inter-workings of the internal bus system. He was a really nice guy. I wish I had recorded that conversation for later use because I have now forgotten a lot of what he said and it was pretty helpful!

We got off the bus at the sing along. And juuuuuuuuust as the bus pulled away, Annie yelled, “I left my autograph book on the bus!!” RATS. Now, this is where Mommy brain gets me into trouble. I had JUST had the conversation with the bus driver about the internal bus system. If we had just crossed the street and stood at the stupid bus stop, that bus would have made it’s way back around and we could have checked it and gotten the book.

But I am not smart in crisis situations, evidently. Annie was crying and I was trying to ACT FAST and ACT NOW so that we could get that book back. I was still full of optimism at this point and knew that MAMA CAN FIX IT! Yeah...Mama might have had a shot at fixing it if she had thought to stand at the bus stop. ARGH. But, we ran into the gift shop and alerted the CMs to what had happened.

The CM were very helpful and contacted the transportation hub immediately. But they also told us that finding the book might be a shot in the dark. I was sooooooo disappointed, but I didn’t want to let on to Annie how sad I was for her. She had worked so hard collecting autographs and DUDE, we had paid big money for Chef Mickey’s to get some of those autographs. But then!! It occurred to me that I could just give her Jane’s autograph book (sorry Jane!) since she didn’t care a thing about the autographs!! There! Problem solved! And Jane had all the same autographs as Annie! Perfect!

Only it wasn’t perfect. Because there was one autograph that Annie had that Jane didn’t. Stitch. And Stitch was the ONLY autograph that she really cared about. Oh sure, she loved Minnie and Mickey and all those other guys that she got, but Stitch had stolen her heart. And that autograph held all the memories of their meeting where she fell in love. And while Annie relayed this to me, I realized that I couldn’t fix this. And I tasted her disappointment. And her heartbreak. She was terribly upset. And I was on the verge of tears myself. But, I got down on her level and gave her a pep talk, telling her (and myself too...) that this was DISNEY. Special things happen here and we did not know WHAT might happen with the days we had remaining. I told her we would work hard to find Stitch again and see if we could get another autograph.

Then, with heavy hearts, we headed to the Sing Along. I bought a S’mores kit and we waved flaming marshmallows around unattended fire pits and dodged other people’s flaming marshmallows. A little scary. But really fun! I called Jamie to tell him what had happened and cried a little bit without Annie seeing me. He gave me a pep talk and I felt better after hearing his voice. The sing along started and the kids were enthralled. It was probably the circumstances, but I wasn’t blown over by the production. Chip and Dale made the rounds to all the kids, but we only got to visit with one of them because there were so many people. It all seemed a little rushed, much more so than Chef Mickey’s to me. Again though, had I been in a better frame of mind, I probably would have loved it. We will try it again next time especially because I am sure that Jane would like her chance to wave a flaming marshmallow around.

After the sing along, the kids and I decided to go back to the gift shop and do a little shopping. Annie bought a cute charm bracelet and spent forever picking out the charms. She was having a ball and I was having fun watching her. As it near 9:00 though, we decided to go down to the beach and watch the fireworks. It was a this point that I realized that I should have waited for the bus to makes it’s rounds back to us since they work on a circle system. It was too late for that now though, so we just headed down to the beach and tried to put the book out of our minds.

We arrived at the Trading Post with plenty of time to spare. So, we hit Trails End and filled our mugs with hot chocolate and then walked down to the beach to stake out some chairs. The kids played and played in the sand and I sat and enjoyed listening to them and drinking my hot chocolate.

It was a perfect evening (with the exception of that darn book!). Soon, the fireworks began and I sat back and enjoyed the show. The kids were more interested in their game than in the fireworks, but that was fine with me, as long as they were having fun. When the show was over, we stuck around for the electric water parade. It was so cute!

When it was all over, we packed up and headed to the busses to get back to our cabin. As we reached our bus stop, I decided to take one more shot at finding that book. We waited at the stop for all the buses to make their rounds. This added another 30 minutes or so to our trip back to the cabin. Our first driver was no longer on the bus and the book was no where to be found, so we gave up the fight, hoping maybe he had turned it in when his shift ended. We decided we would call in the morning.

We got back to the cabin and got the big kids ready for bed. We knew we had another day at Epcot, but weren’t in a huge hurry to get there since we were concentrating on World Showcase the next day and it didn’t open until 11:00. So, late bedtimes for everyone, but hopefully a good night’s sleep would keep us in good spirits the next day!

So, what of the book?? Did we find it? And how did the loss of the book lead to our most magical experience that we will probably ever have? Guess you’ll have to stick around to find out!

 

[amandaw]

It sounds like y'all had a really great day at Epcot. It was so great reading about your 1st time on Soarin' & how it made you feel. What a great reminder that Disney isn't just magical to children! I'm anxious to hear about the "heartbreak". Let me know if I'll need tissue - I'm a crier!

 

[amandaw]

I must've posted my last post right as you were posting the heartbreak story. Poor Annie! My heart is breaking for her right now! And yes, I cried! I can completely understand how she must've felt. When we took Reid for his 1st trip this past December, I lost my camera on the 2nd night! I was beyond devastated! 2 days worth of memories of my child's first Disney trip gone - just like that! Whether it's a camera or autographs, it's lost cherished memories. I'm hoping & praying that someone found her autograph book & returned it to y'all - just as I had my camera returned to me on our last day at Disney! The good thing that came out of my loss is Ed ended up going to the store the night after I lost my point & shoot and that's when he bought my DSLR for me! Hoping good news about the autograph book is on its' way!

 

[bookmama]

Poor baby and poor you. I hope you got some pixie dust and y'all found the autograph book.

 

[EllaBean]

I love, love, love your TR, but I'm dying to know what happened with the book...please................

 

[DexLabDeeDee]

Ugh. I'm so sorry to hear about the autograph book! To me, it seems that heartbreak is a little more keen at Disney. You'd think it wouldn't be since you are at the happiest place ever but I think that's what makes the downers really down - the contrast to the rest of the highs.

 

[PrincessAmongPrinces]

Hi I am loving your trip report! Your writing style is great, and I love the way you describe your kids. They sound like a lot of fun, and like there is never a dull moment for Mama!
I can't wait to read the rest of your trip report!

 

[Disneychix]

Oh the heartbreak! Can't wait for the ending now!

Someday I'll make it to the campfire at FW. It sounds fun.

In EPCOT did you DH ever get his beer?

 

[baseballfairy]

i am loving your trip report, your kids are adorable and sound so fun! your son reminds me of mine a bit, star wars and toy story shirts are what he lives in.

Can't wait to read the rest!

 

[jwwi]

There must be some Magic, you were in Disney. Can't wait to hear all about it.

 

[lbuzz52]

Oh I so feel for you. It's so hard to see your child face dissapointment. And it's so hard to realiz that no matter how well you planned the trip can't go perfectly. I really hope there is a happy ending!

Those birds at AK are crazy! Such pests!

Sorry you had to experience the tiny bathing suit

I had no idea Mickey could be found diving in the seas. That's really cool!

 

[imama]

I must've posted my last post right as you were posting the heartbreak story. Poor Annie! My heart is breaking for her right now! And yes, I cried! I can completely understand how she must've felt. When we took Reid for his 1st trip this past December, I lost my camera on the 2nd night! I was beyond devastated! 2 days worth of memories of my child's first Disney trip gone - just like that! Whether it's a camera or autographs, it's lost cherished memories. I'm hoping & praying that someone found her autograph book & returned it to y'all - just as I had my camera returned to me on our last day at Disney! The good thing that came out of my loss is Ed ended up going to the store the night after I lost my point & shoot and that's when he bought my DSLR for me! Hoping good news about the autograph book is on its' way!

Oh...the loss of a camera would just make me SICK. I felt SOOOO bad for poor Annie. She was so sweet about the whole thing, which just made me more sad. She was trying to be so big about it, but couldn't help but tear up whenever she thought about Stitch.

Poor baby and poor you. I hope you got some pixie dust and y'all found the autograph book.

Keep reading...I can tell you that happiness abounds, but not in the way I would have expected! Lol!

I love, love, love your TR, but I'm dying to know what happened with the book...please................

Thanks so much! I promise, it's coming! I'm working on the next installment now. But the GOOD story is still around the corner.

Ugh. I'm so sorry to hear about the autograph book! To me, it seems that heartbreak is a little more keen at Disney. You'd think it wouldn't be since you are at the happiest place ever but I think that's what makes the downers really down - the contrast to the rest of the highs.

I think you are exactly right. And her attitude about the whole thing made it so much worse. If she had pitched a fit or acted ugly, then I would have been a lot less sympathetic. But she tried to act so big, but was just sooooo sad. But, as my father says, "These things always work out." Just keep reading!

 

[imama]

Hi I am loving your trip report! Your writing style is great, and I love the way you describe your kids. They sound like a lot of fun, and like there is never a dull moment for Mama!
I can't wait to read the rest of your trip report!

Aww...thanks so much! I'm so glad you are reading and enjoying! I'm having the BEST time writing. I want to make it last long enough for my next trip to be near enough to start a PTR so that I don't have to stop writing. Lol! I think writing about Disney is my new favorite thing to do!

Oh the heartbreak! Can't wait for the ending now!

Someday I'll make it to the campfire at FW. It sounds fun.

In EPCOT did you DH ever get his beer?

We only have two more days to cover, so the end is near! The campfire IS great. And I hope to get back to it, this time with Jane, and have a better experience. I think if the losing the book had not happened, and we had not been so late getting there, then it would have been a great experience. And I LOVE that it's free! It was such a nice thing for Disney to do!
And yes, Jamie DID get his beer. Several, in fact. I just don't happen to know what they were. He looooooves a good import and I think he went with the sampling thing during one of our Epcot days. The only thing we are REALLY missing about moving our next trip to June is the Food and Wine Festival. We LOVED it!

i am loving your trip report, your kids are adorable and sound so fun! your son reminds me of mine a bit, star wars and toy story shirts are what he lives in.

Can't wait to read the rest!

Thanks so much! So glad you are reading! I love Jay's obsession with Star Wars. And our WHOLE family is Toy Story crazy! I am having the best time telling Jay, "You would LOVE Star Wars week at Disney. It's too bad we can't go!" Knowing full well we are. Such fun to string him along!

There must be some Magic, you were in Disney. Can't wait to hear all about it.

It's coming, I PROMISE!

Oh I so feel for you. It's so hard to see your child face dissapointment. And it's so hard to realiz that no matter how well you planned the trip can't go perfectly. I really hope there is a happy ending!

Those birds at AK are crazy! Such pests!

Sorry you had to experience the tiny bathing suit

I had no idea Mickey could be found diving in the seas. That's really cool!

The bathing suit was QUITE the surprise. And the kids still have that image burned in their heads. As do I....
Scuba Mickey was AWESOME! I was so surprised to see him there! I thought that was an especially magical touch that Disney provides!

 

[imama]

Okay, I am diligently working on the next installment. I expect to post it in a couple of hours while Jane is napping. First I have to GET HER DOWN though. We've moved to a big girl bed this week, which has been a pretty good adjustment, though she does LOVE the freedom of getting out of bed during nap time. WHICH MAMA DOES NOT! I should have it up in a bit though.

 

[KEMdisney]

Love your trip report and your family! Such a cute familY!

 

[imama]

As the day dawned bright and early, I woke with renewed hope to either find our lost book, or get another autograph from Stitch. And we had a whole day in Epcot, so maybe the Disney Magic would work in our favor. We made a quick call to the Transportation Center, as well as Fort Wilderness front desk, but no luck on the autograph book so far. I told Jamie I couldn’t imagine that anyone was actually KEEPING it. I was betting someone picked it up, but hadn’t gotten a chance to turn it in yet. I...am the eternal optimist.

After our phone calls, we packed up our park bag again and headed out to the park. Jane was very grumpy and slightly warm, so I was a little worried that she was getting sick. As we entered the park, right after rope drop, we headed straight for the giant golfball and walked right on to Spaceship earth.

Is it terrible that this was one of my favorite rides?? I know there is virtually no thrill to it, but I just loved the classic elements to it. We hung out after the ride for a while. The kids played the games and drove the cars. Jane continued to be a bit cranky. Finally, we decided to leave and get her out in the open.

After Spaceship Earth, the boys wanted to try out Mission Space. Annie had no interest in this one, even though they were going on the green side. So, I took the girls with me, with the hopes of hunting down Stitch. Priorities first though, Annie and I hit a gift shop and did a little shopping. I bought Jane an eight (BAH!!!) dollar lollipop that was worth every penny because her mood improved IMMENSELY. Annie scoped out the place, but only bought a lollipop for herself. About this time, a fight between a set of three brothers, broke out in the gift shop. They were all screaming at each other, rolling on the ground and screaming creative phrases using the “F” word. The boys fighting? They were around Jay and Annie’s age. Maybe younger. The Cast Member, who was attending to us at the time, was MAD. He yelled at them and then called security because they were unattended in the park and had been causing a lot of trouble. And then he fussed that I had to spend eight dollars on a lollipop. He made me laugh and the two of us had a great conversation.

After shopping, we went to the character spot to find Stitch. Stitch was not IN the Character Spot, nor was he out in the park. And he would not return until 5:00 that afternoon. WAH!!! My hopes of seeing Stitch were getting smaller and smaller. We decided to drown our sorrows in more shopping so we went to Mouse Gears for retail therapy. Annie found more candy, and I found a cute Christmas ornament. I also found Jane THE CUTEST Minnie Mouse shoes, as well as a few rubber bands to pull back her now sticky-with-lollipop-hair. More money well spent. Jane was in a fabulous mood by now. She just needed a sugar rush, I guess. And new shoes.

The boys found us in Mouse Gears and convinced Annie that she could handle the green side of Mission Space. So, we headed over there and Annie, Jay and I went on it together. Jay couldn’t hold his information inside him and told us a good deal about the ride before it began. Again, changing his name to Spoiler Alert Jay. The ride was pretty amazing and ranked up there as one of Jamie’s favorites. However, even the green side triggered my motion sickness. I do not do well with simulators. I did a LOT of eye closing to keep from getting sick. Annie and Jay loved it though and I really think they would do the orange side of the ride with very little prompting. Even with the motion sickness though, I’d do it again. But NOT the orange side. I’d HATE to think of what that would do to me!

The dump out area (for lack of a better term) had a great playground and Mission Control room where all the kids fun playing. Jamie and I enjoyed a little downtime while waiting for them. Then we PRETENDED to enjoy some downtime since Jane was somewhere at the top of the playground and we couldn’t get to her and we didn’t want to look like parents who’s two year old wouldn’t obey when she was called. Eventually, Annie retrieved Jane (and her shoes) and we headed over to WS to eat lunch.

We ate at the QS Mexican place that had just reopened. Great meal! We all had the empanadas and the churros with the caramel sauce. I have dreams about those churros. I miss them now that I am home. We formed a beautiful relationship, me and those churros. I hope to visit them again someday.

After eating, we went into Mexico to ride The Three Caballeros. This was possibly Jane’s favorite ride of the whole trip. It had Donald. It had singing. She was in heaven. She was much more impressed with this than with IASW. My thoughts? I have never seen the original, so liked what I saw. It was a good ride for no line. I wouldn’t stand in line for it though. Unless Jane makes me.

After touring Mexico, we got our Kimmunicators. And of course out first mission? Mexico!!

It was at this point that I could tell Jamie was getting anxious to explore the other countries and that this Kimpossible mission thing was REALLY going to slow him down. So, I told him to take Jane and I would stay with the big kids to work the missions. Jane wasn’t digging the missions, so she got to hang with Daddy. Our first mission took place in Mexico and we had to find all sorts of impossible to find things. It was a great way to explore the countries and keep kids occupied. Score one for Disney for this attraction! When we finished with Mexico, our Kimmunicator sent us over to Japan. We had a walk and decided to stop along the way and explore the countries we passed by. The kids were loving this, as long as we didn’t stay too long in one given area. Surprisingly, they liked the gift shops the best.

Jamie says that during our time apart he walked. And he was hot. And he Drank beer. And he shared snacks with Jane. Jane drank juice. Jamie is a wealth of information. This is why I am writing the trip report.

As we were making our way SLOWLY to Japan, we ended up meeting Jamie and Jane at the tiny train set thingy in that one country that I can’t think of. Right. Then we walked and explored some more countries. What? You expect me to remember the ORDER of them?? Too bad. At some point, we ended up in Japan and found the kaki gori. It was HOT HOT HOT. And WS is full of concrete and not much shade. A Kaki Gori was the perfect thing to cool us off. We grabbed a shady spot on some stairs and enjoyed our Japanese shaved ice. It his the spot! And when Jamie removed our pack backpack, he had a PERFECT sweat outline of the bag on his back. I took a picture without him knowing and showed him later. I know he will be thrilled to know that his sweaty back is now on the internet!

And of course, Japan was a long awaited area for Jay because of POKEMONS!!! THEY HAVE POKEMONS!!!! And Jay still had money left!! And he bought some!!! With that out of the way, Annie and I explored the pick a pearl thingy, but decided she didn’t really want to spend her money on this, so we passed it up. It was fun to watch others though. We were still half heartedly doing our mission. I think I am a pretty good multitasker, but it was a bit hard to find my way around an unfamiliar area with a baby, trying to solve clues AND pay attention to my surroundings and enjoy the view. I had one too many things happening here. When Jane is older we can probably spend more time on the missions. Despite the constant “BEEP BEEP BEEP!!!!!!!” of the Kimmunicator, I kind of stopped our mission at this point.

After Japan, we really thought about leaving. We had not seen enough of WS, but we thought maybe Jane needed a nap. But then! There was BEAST!! So, we had to stand in line and get his autograph! But he doesn’t autograph because DUDE DOESN’T HAVE HANDS. Oh. So we got some pictures on photopass instead. That was just as good.

Then we kept walking and all of a sudden we were in the middle of these incredible topiaries. I took lots of pictures of the big kids.

For some reason, we still hadn’t caught up with Jamie and Jane who left us because Beast is SCARY!! But we did find Marie, the cat from Aristocats. She was a sweetie and we stood in line while waiting for her to sign our books. The child in front of us had a LARGE PURPLE sharpie. Marie was very careful as she took the pen from him. She is all white and you could tell she was a little worried about the purple. I could read it in her facial expressions.

Now, this is when I start to panic just a bit. I had forgotten my phone that morning at the cabin (horrors!!), so I was relying on the kids track phones, both of which were nearing the end of their charge (a lot of good they would have done had one of the KIDS needed them!!) so, I was calling and calling Jamie, trying to figure out where he was, but he was not answering. This? This is not at all unusual. I’m not entirely sure why Jamie HAS a cell phone. Oh wait...it’s so he can keep up with the ESPN scores. But anyway, I was worried that I wouldn’t get up with him before my phone battery was dead and gone. THANKFULLY, I finally got him and we met up on the bridge. You know...that bridge. In the World Showcase.

We decided at this point that we might as well just stay at the park and skip nap again. After all...food and wine!! And food! And beer! So, we toured around and used up some snack credits and had an early dinner at Epcot. So many good things to try! And it was lots of fun watching the kids experience foreign cuisine. I was surprised at the things they decided to try and liked. I don’t remember any of them though. You expect too much. Jamie went to a gift store in England and bought a pint glass and a soccer jersey. I took the girls to the bathroom and we found a fun fountain to play in. We went to Morocco where Annie said her stomach hurt and I died a thousand deaths after the whole hospital thing. But then she was fine and all was well. We watched the fife and drum corps in America and it was an AWESOME SHOW!! We walked all around the showcase, experiencing everything, but not concentrating much on any one thing. It was too hard to go too in depth with all the kids there (which I know Jamie hated) but we were glad to get as much done as we did. I wondered how much the kids would like the WS, but the lure of food is strong and I think being able to sample things whenever they wanted because of the snack credits helped to keep things interesting for them. Food therapy, you know.

Finally though, we had made our way all the way around the Showcase and it was time to head to the bus. We caught the bus and made our way back to the cabin. Surprisingly, neither Jamie, nor I, was hungry. Not surprisingly, the kids were STARVING. So, back to Trails End to pick up a couple of pizzas to eat on the deck. I got the food while Jamie took the kids to play at the playground again. This was the perfect dining option for us and something I will remember for our next trip. The kids pigged out on pizza and I got Jane bathed and ready for bed.

Jamie was planning on taking they big kids back to the beach to watch the fireworks while I stayed behind. But, before they left, I had one small matter to quickly attend to. I needed to take all our purchases that wouldn’t fit in suitcases and run them down to the front desk to mail home. This should have taken 30 minutes, tops. I caught a bus to the front office. But, when I got to the front desk, they informed me that they no longer shipped home?? WHAT!!?? And I would have to find a box and mail it out at the Contemporary. WHAT??!! I was mostly concerned about Jay’s musket that would not fit in any suitcase. I was not sure what I was going to do. The front desk suggested that I take it to the gift shop to see if THEY had a box it would fit in. This required another bus ride for me. And I was at a loss as to how I was going to mail the thing, even if we DID find a box. But, I figured I’d cross that bridge when I came to it. So, I schlepped back to the bus stop, waited for the line that would take me to the gift shop, and jumped on with all my bags of purchases. At first, the gift shop was no help because the CM behind the counter had no idea what to do. Thankfully though, a manager walked in who was most helpful and told me that I could easily mail our stuff as long as I had receipts for them. So, I dropped off our ornament, Jamie’s pint glass and the MUSKET. And yes, they found me a box for the Musket. Thank goodness. Tragedy averted! Disney magic at it’s best! The only thing I couldn’t mail was the ten thousand potato head pieces. Because there were ten thousand pieces. We would find room for them in the suitcases. I walked BACK to the bus stop and stood and waited for my bus back to my cabin. By now I had been gone about an hour and a half and I was BEAT. I was physically and mentally exhausted and had ridden FAAAAR too many busses around the Ft. Wilderness property. But, I made it back in time for Jamie to take the big kids down to the beach while I stayed in and packed suitcases and the park bag for the next day. It was good to relax in the quiet! I also called the front desk to ask if the autograph book had turned up. It had not. Sigh.

When they finally returned, we got everyone in bed and it was lights out before OUR LAST DAY AT DISNEY. Sob!! I went to bed that night searching my phone internet for Stitch’s autograph, hoping that at the very least, maybe I could order it online for Annie later. We still had one more shot at him at the Magic Kingdom the next day, but I was not holding out much hope for this since we had not seen him AT ALL the first day there. I so hated for Annie to leave disappointed over that autograph. We needed a little Disney Magic!

 

[Sooze]

oh..... I feel the heartbreak...

We had dinner at Cinderella's castle one trip, and had THE most beautiful Cinderella who took THE most PERFECT picture with our little princess. We had this gorgeous photo in a lovely folder.... and then we left it on the Monorail. We did what you did... panic... then try to fix it.. then filed a lost item report. It never did turn up. I was appalled. I mean, it's not like anyone else would want a picture of Cinderella with someone else's kid. I'm SURE someone found it and turned it in! Why could it not be returned to us, when we filed the lost item report within an hour of losing it?! Our hearts are still broken about that one!

This most recent trip, a CM with Tinkerbell told us we should put our name, address, and cell # inside our autograph book asap, because "we find a million of those every day".

I thought that was great advice, and we will absolutely do that every trip from now on.


Still loving your TR!! Can't wait to hear more.... and wondering if the book ever does show up!

 

[imama]

So, there we were on our last day at Disney. Getting ready to brave Magic Kingdom again. It was easy to pretend that we would be staying a while longer and enjoying more Disney. Until we opened our door that morning and there was our Magic Express pick up time. WAH!!!! That means they are kicking us out. And we have to LEEEEEAAAAVVVVEEE!!!!! And not only do we have to LEEEAAAVVVEEE, but we have to LEEEAAAAVVVEE at 5:45 am. REALLY?? We thought we were getting a decent time back for our flight, but with a three hour buffer time, we had an EARLY pick up.

But, we managed to put the time out of our minds (I am officially Scarlett O’Hara) and concentrated on a great last day! I had gone to bed looking at Stitch’s autograph on the internet and wondering if I could perhaps order one when we got home if we didn’t manage to get the coveted autograph during our last day. It occurred to me during the wee hours of the morning (see...I am losing SLEEP over Stitch!!) that maybe I could copy the autograph?? Terrible, I know, but I was reaching the point of desperation now.

As we arrived at the Magic Kingdom right at rope drop, the first thing we noticed is that the crowds were much thicker than they had been on Monday. It was a Saturday. Ohhhhh. Remember THAT little tidbit for the next trip. We wanted to end on Magic Kingdom though, because Magic Kingdom IS Disney, so it was worth it. We took a few photopass pictures and Jane hammed it up and pretended to be Peter Pan.

After taking photopass pictures, we went straight to Tomorrowland to get FP for Space Mountain. We had saved Tomorrowland for our last day, knowing that we would have to split up the mountains between our two days. With Fast Passes in hand, we turned around AND THERE WAS STITCH!!!! He was headed towards us with his handler! He was completely alone, which means he was probably headed back inside to rest a bit before queing up another autograph line. Annie was about to run to him, but I figured that he was not giving autographs at that time. I told her that I’d go ask the handler when he would be back out so we could be sure to see him.

But Stich? He had other plans. He turned away from his handler and skipped right over to Annie. As she realized he was headed for HER, she RAN to him and gave him the biggest hug! He hugged her back for a while, and then he grabbed her hand and started walking away with her. I grabbed the camera and started snapping pictures. We had nooooo idea where we were going, but I didn’t care because it was STITCH and I wasn’t going to have to buy his autograph on the internet!!

Stitch and his handler, Dayo took us into the arcade area. The arcade CM, David, saw Stitch and Annie and asked what games Stitch wanted to play. Stitch gestured towards the cars. David unlocked three of them and soon Annie, Jay and Stitch were racing each other in the arcade cars. I was absolutely beside myself. I took ten thousand pictures.

And as David, Dayo and I were standing there, I gushed to them what this meant. I explained about the autograph book and that Stitch was the ONLY character that Annie even cared about. And that we were so worried we wouldn’t find him again before we left. “You lost her autograph book??!” David exclaimed. He said, “Wait just one minute.” and before I knew it, he brought over a brand new book and pen for Annie. Then he and Dayo began plotting how they could get autographs for her new book. They asked about the ones we were missing and I told them the few we had collected, all the while explaining that THIS whole experience was more than amazing and they did NOT have to do anything. But they wouldn’t hear of it and Dayo took the book and my cell phone number and told me that she would work on the autographs and that we could pick the book up around four o’clock that day at the arcade. Unreal.

Here are David and Dayo, who took an amazing first trip and sent it over the top. I just love them...and I made sure to write a long email to Disney Customer Service when I got home. They were THAT fantastic! I hope they know how very much we appreciated what they did. It was totally unexpected and WAY more than we ever needed.

So, the kids played with Stitch for a long while, racing him, posing for pictures and generally having the time of their lives. Close and personal contact with a Disney character! Doesn’t that only happen on commercials?? Jane even gave Stitch a bit of love, proving that he truly IS a good guy. He is the only one who she would let touch her. And Jay was such a great guy though all of this. He was included, but this was clearly Annie’s moment, being that she had lost her book and had all this attention. He handled it like an absolute champ and never once complained. He has a heart of gold and I was so impressed by his mature attitude.

After our AMAZING arcade experience, we told Stich goodbye and decided to hang out in Tomorrowland a little longer. Annie was completely awestruck still so that meant a trip to the gift shop where we bought TWO Stitch dolls, one in a different style from what Annie had purchased in the days before, and one clip on keychain that she put on her backpack, “so Stitch will always be with me”.

With those purchases made, and our hearts full of Disney love, we went on the TTA. We all loved this one! I think this one ranks right up there as one of my favorite rides. I could go on it over and over and over. When we got off that, we took a ride on Buzz’s Space Rangers spin. This probably would have been a lot cooler had we not been on TSM first. Still fun though, just not nearly AS fun as TSM. We then decided that the Carousal of Progress was a must do. Cheesy, but you have to see it at least ONCE. And for me, maybe more than once...IF I can drag Jamie on again.

But right before the show began, my cell phone began ringing. I could not figure out WHOSE number it was, since it was a Mississippi area code. Turns out, it was Dayo who asked if we could meet her in front of Buzz Lightyear in about 30 minutes. She said Stitch wanted to see Annie again and he had something for her. And now we were all dancing in our seats with excitement over seeing Stitch again and over this AMAZING morning!

So, after singing “It’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow” four thousand, nine hundred and seventy three times, we went over to Buzz to wait for Stitch. We didn’t have to wait long before he and Dayo were headed our way. Throngs of children chasing after him, but Stitch didn’t stop. He headed straight for Annie and gave her a HUGE hug.

Dayo had all the other kids lined up and told them that Stitch would be with them in just a few minutes. Then, when there was order again, Stitch grabbed Annie’s hand and presented her with that autograph book FILLED with every imaginable signature you could think of. Even Kermit the Frog is in there! But what was even better were the pictures I got as Annie and Jay poured over the book with Stitch. We went over every signature, and Stitch “told” Annie all about them. We had quite the audience of children watching Stitch with us. We were SOMEBODY that morning! And I’ve never actually BEEN SOMEBODY, so I know!

But. Let me backtrack for just a moment to mention my toe. I had been wearing the same sandels all week long and my big toe on my right foot had taken quite a beating. Jay has a terrible habit of cutting directly in front of me and stopping when I was walking and I had stubbed my toe on the back of his shoe no less that sixty five times. My toenail was starting to rip. Adding insult to injury was the gift shop that morning when Jane went out of my sight for a mere two seconds, causing me to LEAP OVER a display of stuffed animals and catching the same toenail on the bottom of the display rack. The toenail was looking bad. It was ripping, but not completely off yet. I was hoping to hobble through the day.

But, then I hugged Stitch. And Stitch stepped on my toe, bending my ripped toenail backwards and OFF. I knew when it happened (because DUUUUUDE...THAT HURT), but didn’t want to ruin the moment. Please don’t pay me any attention when I am injured, I would prefer to ignore it. And I ignored it for an appropriate amount of time. Appropriate being, the amount of time it took the blood to get all over my foot and sandle. At that point, I politely asked Dayo where the nearest First Aid station was. I had bandaids with me, but nothing was going to cover THIS. And then Dayo was grossed out, and that pretty much ended our time with Stitch, but that’s okay, because Annie had officially fallen in love and the other children had been waiting so patiently.

So, I headed over to the First Aid station with Annie (I’m not sure why she wanted to come with me, but she did) and Jamie did something with the other children that I don’t know about and didn’t care about because I was bleeding everywhere. Thankful for my research and my knowledge of park lay out, I found the station quickly and they HOOKED ME UP with good gauze and tape. Enough to last me until I got home.

With one less toenail , it was time to eat lunch. We met up at Cosmic Rays and braved the crowds to get our food. I ended up standing in line TWICE because I forgot to order MY food. Evidently, my toenail was the source of all my powers. Finally, with trays FULL OF FOOD, Jay and I went to the topping bar and loaded up on everything that anyone could possibly ask for. Jamie and the other kids had staked out a table. There are five of us. And three FULL TRAYS OF FOOD. This table was a joke. It was MAYBE big enough for two people and a tray of food. I looked at him like, “Seriously?” but seeing how packed the place was, I knew we’d have to make due.

And make due we did. Somehow we all managed to eat everything, including dessert. The more you eat, the more room the table has! And that carrot cake was good! After lunch though, it was finally time to use our Fastpasses for Space Mountain. You will notice that it is now the afternoon, and save for a quick trip for a bandaid, we have not left Tomorrowland. I had no idea we would spend that much time there. Annie was a little iffy on Space Mountain because of the way the cars were set up. She did not like that she couldn’t sit side by side. The TTA made her feel a little better though because she could actually SEE the set up and know that we would all be in the same car, just one in front of each other instead of side by side. So, she decided to brave it. I took the big kids on this one first since Jane and I were going to head out for a nap after riding Space Mountain. We wove through the line, chatting about the fun that we had had that morning. Eventually, we made it all the way to the ride and our car was waiting for us. I realized my mistake in wearing a dress. NOT great for this ride since the safety bar comes between your legs. So, as any Southern girl does, I daintly put the bar between my legs, all the while making sure that my dress stayed down and no one got flashed. This is talent I tell you.

Then we took off! It has been many years since I have ridden Space Mountain. Many years and several children. And a Polynodial cyst surgery. This was one of my favorite rides in Disneyland when I was in college. Duuuude...not anymore! That ride was PAINFUL. My butt hurt. And I felt like my insides were scrambled from all the shaking. I wasn’t scared, I was in pain. And I remember thinking 3/4 of the way though it, “When is this OVER??” All in all though, I would ride it again. It’s all about the experience, after all. Annie was NOT IMPRESSED. While she LOVE BTMRR, she hated this one. Not as much as ToT, but enough that she didn’t want to ride with Jamie and Jay again. She said she didn’t like not knowing where she was going in the dark. She may have the same control issues her mother has!

So, we went into a gift store while the boys rode. I feel certain that we bought something, but I cannot remember what, although I DO know that it was NOT another Stitch. I do know that I gave my bottle of sunscreen to a father who was looking for a bottle to buy and couldn’t find any in the gift store. I figured he could take ours since I am a terrible mother and never did remember to put it on my kids the entire time we were in Florida. He was very appreciative.

When Jamie and Jay came off the ride I decided to take Jane back to the cabin to nap. I would do some serious packing while she slept and then we would meet everybody back at the park in time for dinner and more rides. So, we started our long trek back. She was a bit of a challenge on the boat ride back, but we managed, though I was wishing for another hand to hold the stroller while I tried to keep her sitting down. We got off the boat and walked to the bus stop where we waited again for a bus. Eventually one came and we finally arrived back at the cabin. Jane went straight down with no fuss at all. I messed with suitcases and got rid of food that we didn’t need. I packed the carry on and snacks that we would need for the plane rides the next day. With that task finished, I called my parents to relive our morning and then I sat around and read my kindle. I may possibly have eaten a leftover cupcake too... It was nice to have a little down time in the middle of the day. While I was sitting around, I was thinking about what a special morning we had had and how wonderful it had all been for Annie. This got me to thinking about how big JAY had been while all the attention was on her. He had never complained, never acted jealous, just was very sweet about the whole thing. I wasn’t sure I would have been mature enough to act like that had I been nine and in that situation. With those thoughts running through my mind, I started thinking about something special that we could do for Jay to show him how proud we were of him for his good attitude. With no spending money left, I thought he might enjoy picking something out at the gift shop for POC. I sent Jamie and text, and he agreed. So, that is the first stop we would make when Jane finally woke up.

And I will leave this installment here since I know I have lots more to tell about our last Magic Kingdom day. So, now you know about the amazing Magic we experienced, but the new question is this: Would we EVER be able to get Annie to leave Stitch at the Magic Kingdom or would we have to leave her there to live forever?? And also?? Do we EVER find the autograph book again??