"I Think I Broke Myself" - a "mom and me" Oct 2011 TR - "my last day"

[RGirl]

I found out a little later that they seat parties of two at these tables. We sat and watched the whole show in comfort, and were just thoroughly enjoying ourselves. Both of us got a cold, cold drink and I got a big bowl of (very creamy and delicious) ice cream for the show; it was so wonderfully relaxing, I know that I'll do it again when DBF and I go for our trip next year. Even if the parks aren't crowded. It was very nice, and I'd completely recommend it.

As for the hat, I kept thinking about saying something, but finally realized I wasn't the Polite Police. This guy wasn't blocking my view at all, so who was I to point out his rudeness? I tried to just let it go and enjoy our fireworks. Yes, the fireworks were ours.

Hmm, parties of two, huh? We may have to give the dessert party a try on our next trip. Whenever that may be.... *sigh*

I wouldn't have said anything to Goofy Guy either. If he had actually been blocking my view though, I probably would have asked him if he could possibly remove the hat.

After our ride blitz at Magic Kingdom last night, I thought that we wouldn't be getting up very early this morning - and I was right.

Mom and I woke up around 8:30 a.m.; I knew right away that we wouldn't be going to any parks this morning. Mom's blistered feet were done for at this point - there would be no last-minute dash to MK, our trip together was coming to a close. She hadn't even begun to pack.

After another wonderful night in the Contemporary bed, I journeyed down to the front desk in hopes of begging them to sell me a few pillows. I cannot sleep on any pillows at home - we have more than 15 different pillows that I have to rotate through, but I can only sleep a few nights on any of them before pain and suffering sets in. I had my first few nights of comfortable sleep in years at the Contemporary, and I was determined to leave that hotel with a few of those heavenly pillows.

I spoke with an "Earning My Ears" cast member at the front desk, but it turned out that the pillows were not for sale, they had none extra to sell, and there was really no place to buy them. I'm still searching today, but I do admit I let some tears slip. I haven't had sleep like that in years, and I would have paid good money for them. The front desk CM even told me just to take them and worry about the cost later, but my conscience wouldn't allow it. ... Also, I was afraid that I'd get them home and get a $500 charge on my credit card for pillows. So I left the front desk, dejected.

I went back to the room and opened the patio door one last time to enjoy the beautiful weather and the view. The lock broke in my hand when I tried to open it. Well, at least it waited until we were leaving! I called maintenance, and Ma and I sat on the beds looking at each other and waiting for the clock to wind down the time for us to leave the room.

We had a knock on the door. It was maintenance, but they thought the room was empty and had come to fix it. I told them we were leaving very soon, but they insisted on coming back later.

Finally, I realized what time it really was and said "HOLY CRAP MOM, YOU'RE GONNA MISS YOUR BUS" and we took off on a run to the lobby with nary a backward glance at our beloved room. When we got down there, we found that we had BARELY caught her bus; it was all loaded up, the doors to the bottom storage had been closed, and the driver was climbing aboard. We said we thought that was her bus, they double-checked and saw it was, and one of the porters took off running to catch it. It was so quick, they took her immediately and we only got a few seconds to hug goodbye and then she was dashing to the bus. She got on the bus and it took off within moments.

I watched her board; I watched it go. Maybe there was one more tear.

Thanks for the GREAT memories, Mom.

I hate to see your mom leave.

And I totally understand about the sleep thing. I am a TERRIBLE sleeper, so if I found something that helped, I would be crying if I couldn't take it home with me.

 

[ZehnJahren]

Cont. from previous post

Ok, my stomach won't allow me to get on any rides. Maybe I'll just take a relaxing sit here at the exit for Splash:

I went in the Splash gift shop, where I looked in vain for new merch to buy DBF a souvenir. He loved loved LOVED Splash on our trip, and was a big fan of Brer Rabbit - he said he'd like to LIVE in the ride, and I agree! I found a nice Brer Rabbit bobblehead and bought it for him. They wrapped it up nicely, and I headed towards Adventureland.

How do ya do?

I thought I'd go see the Tiki Room for my first time. Rides weren't working out for me, but maybe a show would be ok?

The show was just about to begin when I went in. But my stomach was acting wonky, and right at the last minute, I chickened out and headed out the same doors I went in through. I got this pic on the way out:

I was tired, disappointed, and frustrated. Even though I was right by Pirates, I just couldn't bring myself to try any rides. I found a little store that had some interesting stuff, and I called my stepmother to ask my Dad's shirt size. I got her shirt size at the same time, and got them both good WDW shirts they can wear at the boat in the summer. Christmas is solved!

I needed a break. I sat down at a hidden little area and relaxed.

I was thinking about how perfect the nook would be to breastfeed in - it was cool, quiet, and calm, cut off from the park. It would be perfect for a time-out too. But when I got up, I noticed the HUGE security camera in the right hand side of this cabinet! WHOA!

I headed toward the hub, where I saw a FP photog. I handed her my camera and asked her to "take a picture of me somewhere" and waved my hand around. All angles were good. She, however, couldn't stop laughing over the fact I'd asked for a picture "somewhere" - she said that was her favorite phrase all day.

Time for more wandering. I found Cinderella's wishing well.

I was beat and completely weighed down by my purchases. I looked at my watch and saw that DBF should be landing in Orlando within a half hour. As hard as it was to decide, I knew it was time to leave and head back to meet him at CR.

I headed for the entrance again, browsing the stores as I went.

I felt sad that I didn't know when I'd use my AP again.

I took a nice, long video of the front of MK, trying to capture it all, then headed out and back to the CR. DBF would be here soon to get me, and then we'd be off to Ft. Myers for our week at the beach.

 

[ZehnJahren]

There is actually a way you can get the pillows! Or at least REALLY close to them. When we stayed in GF for a night the resort front desk told us to look at this website: http://www.disneyresortcollection.com/ We bought one of the King Ultra rest pillows. They were pretty affordable when it comes to Pillows. But the higher quality you go, the higher the price.

Thanks! When I saw the Disney Hotel Collection catalog, I was ready to call right then and there, but when I saw the pillows were a completely different manufacturer, I balked. DBF is a computer whiz, and he appears to have tracked down the exact pillow the resorts had, but we have to buy a case of them if we're going to get them direct from the manufacturer. With Christmas coming, I don't have the extra money right now (I am a pretty much cash-only kind of girl) - I'm hoping we'll still find a way after Christmas is over! There'll be 12 pillows, but we have two bedrooms with 4 pillows in one and 6 in the other, so that'll take 10...

However, if we can't, I'll definitely take this into account. I've been past desperate for a good pillow for a very long time. It would almost be worth it to just stay in the Contemporary again for a good night's sleep.

 

[ZehnJahren]

I hate to see your mom leave.

And I totally understand about the sleep thing. I am a TERRIBLE sleeper, so if I found something that helped, I would be crying if I couldn't take it home with me.

Wow, somehow your comment got sandwiched between my updates! You have great timing!!!

I was sad to see Mom leave. It was definitely the kind of trip I'd like to live again. I think if we DID go again, I'd really want her to go to AK. Looking back, I wish we'd have hit it, but we were on limited time and it had been so long since she'd been... I know what we did was right, now I just need to get her back so that she can go to AK! I can't wait for her to come visit for Thanksgiving so that we can look at all the pics and video and relive it all!

As I said in the reply above this one, we found the pillow and manufacturer but we have to buy a case. It's a lot of pillows and a lot of money, and we didn't research too closely yet. I'll probably spend some time researching while I"m off next week for Thanksgiving.

 

[RGirl]

I'm sorry you weren't feeling well enough to ride or even see the Tiki show. But, wow, you managed to get a great pic in Adventureland!

Glad you figured out the pillows - I hope you are able to get some and that they help with sleep at home too.

Another mom/daughter trip sounds good to me. I will sign on for that TR too.

 

[ZehnJahren]

I'm sorry you weren't feeling well enough to ride or even see the Tiki show. But, wow, you managed to get a great pic in Adventureland!

Glad you figured out the pillows - I hope you are able to get some and that they help with sleep at home too.

Another mom/daughter trip sounds good to me. I will sign on for that TR too.

I still had a good time, even if I couldn't ride.

I hope that there is another mother and daughter trip, and I'm still around to report on it!

 

[teekathepony]

Phew! All caught up!
So far it sounds like all in all, you guys had an amazing trip. It's too bad that you had to skip a few things because you weren't feeling up to it, but it does sound like a great trip regardles!

 

[Merida]

Oh, I fell behind!

Love your night in MK! Night pictures are my favorite and you got a great table at the Dessert Party! People who wear big hats make me grumpy since I'm short; usually they're pretty nice about taking them off but I HATE having to ask.

How nice to find a pillow you love! I've found I don't really like normal-sized pillows but instead have a lot of smaller throw type pillows that I like much better. But I can sleep pretty much anywhere, so have yet to invest in actual, nice pillows (we finally got a down comforter and it is AMAZING. Totally understand the need for nice bed linens).

Walking around MK looks so nice and restful. It's kind of funny that they keep the Mickey and the Beanstalk theming around; do they even still sell Fun and Fancy Free? I loved the harp from that short SO MUCH.

I like the 'zoomed out' pictures, it's so odd to think how close the lands are together when I don't think of them that way. It's much more separated in my mind when actually you have a wild west mountain train next to a river boat next to a stately mansion. It provides a nice sense of perspective

That wishing well is one of my favorite stops but I don't think I've ever looked at the bottom. How cute!

 

[katt789]

Aaaand I'm all caught up!! It looks like you guys had an awesomely amazing trip, it made me excited for the surprise trip I'm taking my mom on in Sept!

 

[ZehnJahren]

Wow, I didn't come back to this TR because I didn't see any comments in my control panel; one showed up today and I found a few people had commented!

Phew! All caught up!
So far it sounds like all in all, you guys had an amazing trip. It's too bad that you had to skip a few things because you weren't feeling up to it, but it does sound like a great trip regardles!

It WAS a great trip, and I was ok with missing a few things.

Oh, I fell behind!

Love your night in MK! Night pictures are my favorite and you got a great table at the Dessert Party! People who wear big hats make me grumpy since I'm short; usually they're pretty nice about taking them off but I HATE having to ask.

I like the 'zoomed out' pictures, it's so odd to think how close the lands are together when I don't think of them that way. It's much more separated in my mind when actually you have a wild west mountain train next to a river boat next to a stately mansion. It provides a nice sense of perspective

That wishing well is one of my favorite stops but I don't think I've ever looked at the bottom. How cute!

We got an awesome table at MK for the dessert party! It was funny that the guy even commented on how good it was. My mom was surprised and we really enjoyed the night. I'll do it again for sure!

I couldn't believe how close the CR was - every time I saw it from the park both mom and I got SO EXCITED and would comment on it every time. The stay at CR was some of the best money I EVER spent!

Aaaand I'm all caught up!! It looks like you guys had an awesomely amazing trip, it made me excited for the surprise trip I'm taking my mom on in Sept!

Aw, I'm ready to go back with my Ma too! We talked about a DL trip for her 60th in the hopes that my brother could make it down with his family (they live in CA); however, it seems that my brother's kids aren't big fans of DL anymore, though, and that's the only reason we'd have gone to DL. Hm, maybe we could make it a Mom and Me trip out there too.

 

[IheartDDuck]

Man, I missed your last day!

It's always bittersweet to leave Disney, isn't it? It's so depressing. I think I would have been extremely sad if I had to say goodbye to my mom before I left too.