"I think I need my head examined" A camsmomE TR in AUG 2010 <<Updated 11/02/10>&g

[annmarieda]

I love the photos! The one of Cam looking on toward the castle is priceless! I can't wait to read more. I do understand having a life and needing to tend to all that is in it first....but... but... well, I just can't wait till you post some more.

 

[camsmomE]

Those PhotoPass pictures are amazing...the cuteness is making my eyes water! That close up of Cam with Pluto...Cam looking at Tinkerbell...Cam looking at the castle...is there a smiley for cuteness-induced convulsions? There we go. That pretty much sums up my reaction to these PP pics. Your family is so beautiful!!

I would have ordered that in poster size too That is beautiful...you couldn't have scripted it if you tried. She is the cutest little pixie!!!

So, that was pretty mcuh what I was gonna say. Hope you are feeling better soon

I love the photos! The one of Cam looking on toward the castle is priceless! I can't wait to read more. I do understand having a life and needing to tend to all that is in it first....but... but... well, I just can't wait till you post some more.

You all keep my heart smiling!!! and just for all those kind words... I'm going to do another update before I leave the house this morning for the Office Depot Teacher Day!

 

[Simba22]

I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE mint chocolate chip! That is my favorite kind! Hmmm now you have me wanting it! I don't think it would go too well with a glass of wine though

It's the best, isn't it? I love getting a Mint Chocolate Chip Waffle Cone from Hollywood Scoops while we're waiting for Fantasmic. It's just one of those memories that really takes me there.

I do that too! Never actually wrote an "official" trip report, but I do try to upload the photos & journal every night. It really helps when I get around to the scrapbooking portion of the vacation. (Ya, not too obsessed ) After 10 days of Disney it kinda starts to get mixed up in your head.

I try to do some journaling during the day, too, like when we sit down for lunch or whatever. If I save it all for the end of the night, I can remember what we did but I can't remember the order or the times.

I would have ordered that in poster size too That is beautiful...you couldn't have scripted it if you tried. She is the cutest little pixie!!!

Yup, I would order it in poster size too! Fantastic shot!

 

[camsmomE]

Ok, let's see how well you all are paying attention....

What's wrong with this picture??

Think "red??!? shouldn't that stroller be yellow??!?

Here's how we got this way.

Mmmmm Main Street Bakery. Mmmmm Cinnamon Roll! NOTHING, and I mean nothing was going to stop me from using a snack credit to buy the most wonderful smelling think in all of WDW right now! So we push out of Fantasyland at 9:35am and head (opposing foot traffic as usual) toward Main Street Bakery. Mike is infront of me, pushing Cam in the stroller, leading the way. I watch him lean the stroller back a little to get it up on the curb directly infront of the bakery. I think nothing of this as "what other way is there to get a stroller up onto a sidewalk, right?" We do it all the time. So I walk just a little faster and start to pass the two of them so I can get in line for my cinn...a... honey?? Cameran?!?! Yup. The stroller's bolts broke IN HALF, the stroller itself BROKE IN HALF, and was closing my little girl inside! I unsnapped her and took her out. Mike is desperately trying to figure out how to rig the stroller just enough to get us through breakfast and maybe *possibly* the rest of the day? NOPE. not going to happen.

Picture this family in a very packed line in Main Street Bakery: Me, holding Cameran, the black shoulder bag, my Coach swingpack, a Nikon D40, and my DH holding a 40lb giant yellow stroller bag (that you could fit Cameran in), and two pieces of a piece o'crap stroller that keep sliiping out of his hands, OH and thee worst sippy cup in the world literally JUMPING out of wherever we put it and banging on the ground, spraying everyone in line with Crystal Light Orange Juice!

About 10-12 minutes into standing in a slow-moving, winding line, in absolutely juggling hell, I say to Mike "how are we going to carry the food?" At this point we thought about leaving, but we've already come this far, that somehow (with God's own pixie dust I guess) we managed to get out of there with everything balanced.

Yes, I said out of there. There was nowhere to sit, no where to stand, and even with our situation, at least four people SHOVED me out of their way on the way to the napkins/utensils stand. We decided to leave the bakery, drop everything on the sidewalk, lay out our "Infante Family" personalized Disney towel that had not been used until this point, and sit on the curb. Right there.

While I was splitting my cinnamon roll with Cam (we only liked the insides) people were dropping things on us trying to reach over us to the trash can. This is not going well, at all. At least Cam didn't try to get up and escape- I think she knew I was about to snap. I looked behind me, for I hadn't seen my DH since he spread the towel out for us, and I saw him "working something out" with a CM to be able to leave the broken stroller with her.

I disposed of the outside ring of my cinnamon roll (I missed having coffee there, but how the heck would I carry it?!) and Me, Mike, Cam, three bags, and a camera walked... defeated... toward the exit.

No no no, I'm not letting this day get the best of me. After MUCH convincing, Mike finally agreed to let me buy an umbrella stroller under the train station (the $53 was REALLY irritating him) but we worked it out, and with ALL the dis tags that Mike somehow remembered to take off the stroller now on their new home, we headed for the Tiki birds!

When we got there... 8 minute wait! YES! Could things be looking up??

Ok, let me TRY to look like I haven't been through a war... Nope, sorry. I tried.

This is where my Magic Kingdom Day TWO pictures stop for a while. Why? because Cameran got one look at the inside of the Tiki Room and FELL OUT! Her reaction was SO bad that we had to sneak out the exit before Jose even got to say anything! This was one of my childhood favorites, and I somehow knew it was not going to happen on this trip. Oh well. bye bye birdies.

So Cameran was removed from the bad evil tiki room, did she stop screaming? Uh. NO. Not even the spitting camel did the trick

We couldn't get her to calm down, and Mike wasn't looking too well at this point either, so again, with few words actually spoken, Mike and I started running for the exit. At least the new stroller kept up well!

At 11AM on the nose, we were on the boat back to Wilderness Lodge. Mike was focussing very hard on not throwing up (a think a touch of sun poisioning added to a lot of stress), I was still trying not to give up on the day, and now that we're leaving... for the first time since Dumbo, I saw this on Cameran's face...

That smile? This is not the last time you'll hear me say this: WORTH IT ALL!

Will we salvage anything out of this day? Oh yes! This becomes one of my favorite nights, and the week explodes with pixie dust and magic!

Stay Tuned for: "Ohana means Lapu Lapu... I mean FAMILY!"

 

[stepdisney]

I hope that you kept the receipt for the broken stroller! That is a nightmare indeed. I am sure that your little Cam will be much better after a nap. She was up all night watching Stacy. Can't wait to read more. We will be at WL very soon and I am soooo enjoying your TR. MORE PLEASE!!!

 

[dolfinjuls]

I CAN'T believe what hapened to the stroller! I hope you complained to the manufacturer! That is sooo dangerous! At least you got your cinnamon bun though!!!

I hope everyone got some rest and down time! Sounds like the rest of the night went really well! How bad can it be with a lapu lapu???

 

[annmarieda]

What happened with the stroller is SO dangerous. I would have been livid. If that wasn't bad enough, it sounds like you Main Street Bakery experience was less than stellar as well. In Feb, we ate there a couple times and both times it was packed. Once we left and ate our treats over in Tomorrow Land Terrace (just around the corner..lots of tables and NO ONE was in there since the restaurant wasn't open) The other time, we did get a table inside. However, wished we had not. It was the week the cheerleaders were at WDW and a group of them had taken over several tables and were painting their nails. They ended up spilling a bottle and the Main Street Bakery..that normally smells so wonderful....well, it only smelled of nail pollish.

Can't wait to read how the rest of the day turned out. I loved the pic of Cam when she was smiling. I too would think it was all worth it just to see that smile. Funny how our kids can do that to us, eh? Everything washes away when we see them happy.

 

[heaven2dc]

I'm so sorry that happened to your stroller $53 is a lot to pay for a stroller but I hope at least your DD was comfortable in it. She is such a cutie - loved the pic of her pointing at the Castle

 

[camsmomE]

When last we met, I was describing our boat ride back "home" around 11am Tuesday (our failed MK Day). Cameran was plenty happy, Mike was plenty sick, and I was plenty determined! I dropped Mike and Cam off in the room and I took our refillable mugs to Roaring Forks. While I was there, I realized we had planned on eating at Cosmic Rays that day and had to flee from the park, so we hadn't eaten. I thought some food would make everyone feel better, so I used to CS credits and ordered meal #1 (Bacon double cheeseburger and fries, biggest brownie I'd ever seen, and a bottle of poweraid), and meal #2 (grilled chicken sandwich and fries, brownie, Yoohoo for Cam). When I got back to the room Mike said he needed to shower (boy didn't we all!) but in a few minutes we were all eating lunch- Man! it was terrific. I didn;t even know there was a topping bar in RF until later in the week, but that burger was plenty great just the way it was! I don't have photos (the only meal I forgot!) then we sat around relaxing and took a nap (a long "let the morning disappear" kind of nap)

We woke up around 3, showered and dressed for dinner. We actually left our boat dock for dinner at 4 (we had a 5pm ADR at Ohana) I was so excited because we were all looking so nice in our "casual yet dressed up attire." I picked out a special outfit for Cam that was very islandy and she looked SO cute!

Here we are on the boat toward MK...

What a nice relaxing (we're FINALLY on time for something!) boat ride.

What's that smell? OH NO! Oh yes... Cam had an accident. The unfixable kind. The THANK GOD I pack three outfits kind! So we got off the boat, went through MK bag check to get to the ladies room (you all know which one- the one WAY over to the right, by the fence.) I changed Cameran, and her clothes now no one will ever see how cute she was!

Back out the exit and onto the monorail and off to the Poly!

When we walked in, it was 4:40, we got our pager at 4:45 (Wow! still made excellent time!) and walked all around the upstairs loop about 4-5 times, and EVERY time Cam passed this poor woman, she had to shake her "hand."

We decided since it was about 5PM and there were about 15 families that checked in before us, Mike had time to take Cameran to the restroom once more before we'd be called, so I waited with the bags and the pager. Little did I know the second they disappeared into the men's room, Ohana staff would do their opening ceremony and seat, well, everyone! Our waiter actually said he'd like to wait for Mike and seat us all together, literally, "Cousin Jim" and I stood at the men's room door together, in silence... "THERE THEY ARE!" I screamed into Mike's ear when they emerged! (mostly out of awkwardness) We were seated at the "honeymoon table" that had the perfect view of the castle- which you can't see in the pics because I'm sitting right in front of it. oops

Here's me and Cam smiling for Daddy!

Then my most wonderful DH ordered me a "wash the morning away, this is better than a shower" Lapu Lapu!!!

I'm going to tell you now that is was my favorite meal BY FAR! I would eat here every night if Mike would approve! To make this short: I didn't care for the sticky wings (tasted like pumpkin ) or the pork (tasted like rosemary, which I hate), other than those two things... everything else was made in pixie-dusted Heaven by blonde-headed angels whose feet float off the ground! get the picture? No? Ok, then check out THESE pictures!

Cam was much more excited about this bread after she did this to it!

Cameran had not been eating very well on the trip thus far, but this was the night she ate the most In fact, Cam would eat ANYTHING you put that peanut sauce on... so would her mother!!!

The steak and salad were enough for me to make a week's worth of ADR's here, just in case you're thinking about going... take that peanut sauce and dump it on your salad (HOLY CUSS WORDS IT'S GOOD!) just sayin'....

Ok, after dinner, we took a nice monorail/boat trip back "home" to WL and got some very nice photo's of the Lodge

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_t7CEAIh6fgU/TF74Pdd8IUI/AAAAAAAAATg/QsNV0kAuBxg/s720/DSC_0093-1.JPG

My journal says a lot about how much we loved Ohana, then it says we went to sleep at 10pm, so I'm guessing we watched a few shows, bathed Cam, and took it easy for the last 2 1/2 hours of our night. I remember Cam woke up and sat straight up at 2am exactly, but before I could think "Oh Lord, here we go again," she laid back down and went to sleep. And there she stayed until I woke her demon-ness at 6:30am

Thanks for hanging in there with me through "MK day."

Stay tuned for: Day THREE: "Lines, Tired, and Stares, Oh My!"

 

[DebºoºS]

TOP TEN reasons you know you've just returned from vacationing at WL! (or WDW in general!)

#10. your husband tells you you're running late for work and you reply "It's ok- I'll take the monorail."

#9. When you hear thunder at night, the whole family screams in unison "FIREWORKS!"

#8. You ask your husband what's good on T.V. and he says "nothing... there's no Stacey."

#7. You're still looking for hidden Mickey's around the house.

#6. You're scared to death to ask for ketchup!

#5. You go through the Taco Bell drive-thru and they won't take the dining plan.

#4. Every time you walk by your daughter's stuffed Humphrey, you HAVE to rub his nose.

#3. Your husband asks "how much longer before dinner?" and you hand him a pager.

#2. You start referring to the speedy checkout line at Publix as "the FastPass Return."

and the #1 reason you know you've just returned from vacationing at WL (or WDW in general)....

You make a fresh pot of coffee... and pour it into your refillable mugs.

Stay tuned for "DAY ONE- ARRIVAL and EPCOT"

SLOL while drinking from my refillable mug

 

[camsmomE]

SLOL while drinking from my refillable mug

me too- while reading your reply!

 

[camsmomE]

For those of you wonderful individuals that were fired up about my stroller- thank you! it's nice to know there's someone on my side. However, for anyone that read the stroller story on my PTR, you'll know why I don't want a thing to do with that company ever again, not even to complain.

Also- while I am MUCH too good of a person to ever bad-mouth a company on the world-wide web.... If anyone wants to know WHICH company NEVER to buy a stroller or any other baby item from ever again, one might want to meander back in my TR, and glance an innocent little photo of my darling daughter sitting in her bright yellow piece of %$%#$ stroller, leaning forward ever-so-slightly, just enough to expose the stroller company logo.

Ok, now on to a life update:

first week of pre-planning went well, although I made a lot more work for myself as my classroom was pretty much already set up to begin school, and yet I gutted it and started over. I sure hope my seniors appreciate the Disney movie quotes all over the walls, and a life-sized Mickey (drawn freehand by yours truly) on the whiteboard, welcoming them back this year! The following sign was made for my classroom door:

"Welcome to 7-208- Most everyone’s mad here. You may have noticed that I’m not all there myself.” --Cheshire Cat, Alice in Wonderland"

On Tuesday, 5000 feet from my driveway, I ran over what appeared to be a lawnmower pulley attached to a bolt 1.5 inches in diameter, through my driver-side rear tire, and I scored a BRAND NEW tire for free, A) the tire guys felt bad that it was my THIRD flat tire in a month! and B) they had never seen such a thing; it was not repairable.

The English Dpt. Chair announced that she's taking names for people interested in attending this year's conference- IT'S AT DISNEY'S CSR!

"mmm..k... It's S- as in Sam, T- as in Tom, A- C- E- Y!!!"

Cameran decided to change her sleep schedule: She now sleeps from midnight to 10am!

Cameran's new favorite thing to do is push the power button on my laptop "goodbye" while i'm in the middle of something... I've typed this post FOUR TIMES!

I participated in my "health assessment" and it was determined that I neither gained nor lost weight while on vacation in WDW! I am indeed still "normal."

Ok, well, time to play outside with the Camster. Next update tomorrow night!

 

[therussells08]

Two great updates! I'm sorry to hear about the stroller. At least you were able to salvage the day with a delicious dinner and some help from the pineapple beverage Gods!

I am ten times more excited to try Ohana now after reading your good reviews!!

 

[therussells08]

Now I will comment on the life update! I love the Disney quotes idea! I need to add some to my classroom! I have one quote on my bulletin board by Walt Disney but that's about it.

AHH! I hope you get to go to the conference!! That would be amazing!!

 

[camsmomE]

Now I will comment on the life update! I love the Disney quotes idea! I need to add some to my classroom! I have one quote on my bulletin board by Walt Disney but that's about it.

AHH! I hope you get to go to the conference!! That would be amazing!!

Me too! But I will miss Cameran SOOO much! I've never been away from her for even one day, let alone three days/ two nights. Hmmm. well, it IS the happiest place on Earth...

Also- if you're looking for ideas for the quotes, here's the one's I used:
“The flower that blooms in adversity is the rarest and most beautiful of all.”

“Teenagers! They think they know everything. You give them an inch, they swim all over you”

“How do I get myself into these things? I should be writing symphonies,
not chasing after headstrong teenagers!”

“How can you read this? There's no pictures!”

“Ohana means family, and family means no one gets left behind...or forgotten.”

“The word I'm searching for.... I can't say because there's preschool toys present.”

“A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Sometimes in life its the only weapon we've got.”

“The past can hurt.
You can either run from it or learn from it.”

“I'm not worthless -- and I don't have fleas.”

“It’s kinda fun to do the impossible.”

"To infinity and beyond!"

"Well! After this, I shall think nothing of falling down the stairs!"

"Who's the brains in this outfit?"
"Uhh..."
"My point exactly"

"What do you want me to do?! Dress in drag & do the Hula?!"

“Look, you're really cute, but I can't understand what you're saying.”

“Let me get this straight. You know her. She knows you. But she wants to eat him. And everybody's okay with this?”

“I'm gonna hit you so hard, it'll make your ancestors dizzy.”

“Oh, it's not the first time I was tossed out of a window, and it won't be the last.”

“All right. Anyone who's not here, speak up.”

“I know! I'll turn him into a duck! It's so evil...oh, wait, I don't know how to do that. Besides, why would I need a duck?”

“You know what they say. When the student is ready, the teacher appears.”

“My powers are beyond your mortal imagination”

"Even though at first it seems as though it doesn't show, like a tree, ability will bloom and grow..."

“…Not as long as there's faith, trust, and pixie dust!"

“In the human world, it's also true, the strong will try to conquer you, and that is what you must expect, unless you use your intellect.”

 

[shelbys mommy]

I ADORE the pic of Cam pointing at the Castle!

I can't believe the stroller! I would have been furious!

And I am all caught up now! So sorry you had such a rough day at MK! Cam's meltdown in the Tiki Room reminded me alot of Shelby's meltdown on the Magic Carpets!

 

[Simba22]

Love your updates! That really stinks that you had to cut your day short, (and that you had to spend more money on another stroller!) but I am so happy that you guys were able to make the best of it. I can't tell you how many times in my 8 trips to Disney World, I have heard "We paid a lot of money for this vacation so stop crying!" or something similar. I'm glad you guys were able to just go with the flow. And hey, at least you got your Cinnamon Roll! And got to share it with Cam!

I can't believe she tweaked out in the Tiki Room! Kids are so random! I've seen a lot of kids melt down when they see the characters...and one kid had a total spazz-out on Pirates when we were there in October...like a loud high pitch scream of terror echoed throughout the cavern... I felt horrible for him. He kept saying he didn't want to go on it, his dad kept telling him they were just waiting in line with the rest of the family, and then they climb into the boat and kid FREAKS OUT.

If it's any consolation, that one pic you have of Cam in her Ohana outfit is cute! I would frame that one! That sucks about the...uh...er....explosion At least the boat is open-air!

And I burst out laughing when I saw her bread with the umbrellas! SO CUTE! She cracks me up!

I'm glad you liked Ohana for dinner! We've eaten there for breakfast a bunch of times and it's always been my favorite. We decided to have dinner there this year instead and I have been nervous about it but you've given me hope! I'm really looking forward to it!

 

[annmarieda]

I am glad your MK day turned out alright in the end. Your dinner looks amazing. And the drink... is there alcohol in it? (I assume, yes) That looks pretty yummy...but I can't have alcohol...maybe I could get it without? Our first ADR on our trip will be dinner at Ohana. You have made me extra excited that I booked this! Congrats on not gaining on your trip. I know with all the food it seems like it would be unavoidable. I think all the walking makes up for all the eating.

 

[Simba22]

Congrats on not gaining on your trip. I know with all the food it seems like it would be unavoidable. I think all the walking makes up for all the eating.

that's my justification too! I can eat all I want because I'll just end up walking it all off!

 

[Overexcited]

Glad you guys were able to move on after the stroller problem.

You may want to inform the company anyways because it could be dangerous for smaller kids! Lucky Cam was not hurt!