It'll Be All Right -A May 2012 TR Closing Thought and PTR Link 8/12*

[amazingact21]

I'm making myself sit down and catch up on my TR this afternoon. I can't believe how much I've been slacking lately! It's not for lack of Disney enthusiasm, that's for sure. In fact, it's quite the opposite. Alex and I are going to WDW for a day next month, and we can't stop talking about it.

I'm caught in a major dilemma. I feel like since I'll be in the parks during the holiday season, I should see the castle when its lit up at night, but I don't want to miss the Osbourne Lights.

I've been putting serious thought into my one day trip.


Anyways...I figured I'd catch you all up on the happenings that have been going on in my life this past week. If baby stuff holds no interest for you, right below this post will be a regular TR update, so just scroll on down.


Alex went TDY last week (which is the military's term for a business trip, only theirs includes ready to eat meals and cots. Bleck). When he got back, Alex had a miraculous 4 days off. Now let me just say, that is unheard of with Alex's job. For any important appointments or occasions, my husband usually has to take a day of leave to ensure that he doesn't get wrangled into some kind of training or meeting.

So, both of us knew an opportunity like this wouldn't roll around again before the baby was due. (If anyone can remember, we couldn't even get 3 days off to go to WDW last summer.) Alex is going on another-longer- TDY in February/March area, and with that, we agreed that finding time to go shopping before April was going to be nonexistent.


Therefore, last weekend, we headed to the nearest:



Which is in Mobile (about 2 hours away from us). Alex and I saw this as one of our last few out of town trips we'd have, so we made a day of it. Going out to eat for lunch and dinner, shopping at the nearby mall, and taking our time getting back home. By the end of it I was exhausted, but the trip was pretty productive.


Alex and I before heading into Babies R Us for what turned out be 4 hours!




We looked at everything, and I swear, Alex tried out 80% of the strollers and carseats.



It might be sad, but one of our conversations went like this:

"Okay, we have to look at storage space."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you gotta think, when we're in Disney, we are going to have a diaper bag, a regular bag, our camera, ponchos, etc. We have to make sure it'll all fit."




Another discussion went:
"Check how well it maneuvers-remember we don't want to be that couple that knocks all the display toys off the shelves in the Emporium."

I'm sure we sounded nuts to anyone who overheard, but it was important to make sure we had Disney-ready equipment.



By the end of our trip, our trunk looked like this:




The following day, we spent going to the movies and eating dinner with my family, and then on Monday, Alex set up all our goods.

I couldn't be more excited about our Playard.





It's Lion King themed!!!

My favorite Disney film made accessible for decorating...everyone who's on my facebook knows I freaked out when I discovered this. Needless to say, my nursery will be Lion King themed. My grandmother is making all the crib bedding, and I can't wait to buy the material to match all my Lion King items.


Originally, we'd bought the Lion King swing/bouncer, but on the way home that night, a coworker texted us and offered us her old one. And when you can get something for free, that's always the best.


We also bought our stroller/car seat adapter that day. Alex and I debated between 3 different brands for a good hour, until we finally settled on a City Mini.






I gotta say, I haven't even had this kid yet, and I already love this stroller. We were torn between this one and the B-Agile, but in the end this one won out for several reasons.

1) It's the tallest stroller we could find, and Alex is a giant. All the other strollers he had to bend over to move.

2) The easiest maneuverability. And like I said, I have to make sure it'll work in Disney.

3) It folds up into virtually nothing. And Alex and I both have cars, so we needed the least bulky we could find. Even with the wheels on we can shove it in our trunks, no problem.

4) It's lightweight! Now, I'm probably the weakest person you'll meet when it comes to upper body strength. I can run 3 miles no problem, but ask me to do 3 pushups, and I can't. Sad, I know, but true. So this was literally the only stroller that I could fold up one-handed and pick up without struggling. That alone makes it a winner.



Okay, okay, I went on wayyyy longer than I planned on with baby talk. I apologize. Here's a picture of my itsy bitsy belly to add some variety to the update:


Why, hello, Epcot's 30th birthday t-shirt, I see you there!


The only other exciting thing going on right now is that we find out on the 4th what the gender is, which will be great. There's a big tally going between family and friends, and I can't wait to see who ended up right or wrong. (Alex and I differ on our guesses, so one of us will be able to gloat over the other.)


All right, now what everyone really opened this page for, a TR update!!

 

[amazingact21]

May 7th Night:

The last time I updated I left off with my mom, Alex, and I finishing off a delicious meal at Coral Reef, then heading back to our room at Sports to escape the brutal heat. The three of us ended up napping from 2-4 that afternoon, which was wonderful. The sun had really worn us out, and we all needed a chance to cool off and regroup.

My mom and I went for a brief swim, showered off, and then we drove back to Epcot at six that evening.

Somehow, ( I cannot for the life of me remember when we picked them) we had 6:25pm Fastpasses to use.

Where to?

Where else?
f1 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr

Soarin' of course! My mom was able to experience her new favorite ride 3 times that day. Which was a complete first for her. Prior to this, my mother was a hesitant FP user. I'm pretty sure she knew what they were, because I vaguely remember we picked up FPs for my father and brother for Test Track once, but I don't know if she knew how the system worked completely. Meaning, the whole, you can get more after 2 hours or when the original tickets are up rule, or the overall amount of time it cuts standing in the regular queue.


Either way, we hit up Soarin' really fast, then decided to head over to the World Showcase. After all, we had yet to enter that part of the park earlier that morning; it was about time we ventured over.


Crossing the bridge into Canada, however, the three of us looked skywards and realized that the black clouds rolling in weren't playing around. We were about to be hit with some heavy rain.

And, naturally, at that moment, I remembered what I'd forgotten to pick up in the week leading up to our trip.

Anyone wanna take a guess?

If you said ponchos, then you, my friend, win the big money prize.


Ugh.

I couldn't believe I'd let that one slip.


I told everyone to walk towards the International Gateway; the plan for that night was to eat at the Beach Club, and I was hoping we could make it to the resort before the heavens opened up.


Sadly, that was not the case. The rain began all at once, and my mom, Alex, and I had to rush inside the gift shop next to the Gateway before we got soaked. I didn't want to, but standing inside the shop, I resigned myself to the fact that I'd have to cough up the 8.50 and buy a Disney poncho.

Blegh. There's lots of other items I would rather have bought with my 8.50. A nice pin, for example. Or a Dole Whip. Perhaps even an antenna topper. Definitely not a piece of plastic.

My mother ended up buying one, as well, which helped ease my pain. At least I wasn't the only one shelling out money on these uncomfortable little covers. Alex was stubborn and just asked the CM working for a large shopping bag that he could put the camera and his phone inside to keep dry. He wasn't worried about a little rain in the least.


With ponchos over the womenfolk, I said we should all still head to the Beach Club and hope the rain passes over the area while we eat.

Nobody objected, so off we went.

This was the first time Alex and I had ventured through the International Gateway, (another first for us that day!) and Alex became thrilled with the walk. He never realized just how close the Beach Club is to Epcot, or the fact that it has its own pathway with a walk that's not bad at all. (When it's not pouring rain, that is.)


So now Alex is adamant that we stay at the Beach Club at some point. I don't know what him or my mom, for that matter, would do being in such close proximity to Test Track and Epcot restaurants. I think it'd be one of Alex's all time favorite trips.


After about a ten minute walk (my mom and I were wearing flip flops and were therefore going super slow, in fear of slipping face planting on the sidewalk) we made it inside the Beach Club.


Trying to show my mom how cool Stormalong Bay is through the windows.


The resort was pretty dead at that time of the evening, which sort of surprised me, being so close to Cape May and all.



Speaking of Cape May, I'd had as much seafood as I could stand that day, so our dinner destination was not, in fact, that particular food joint.

Ours involved little to no actual food (we were all still pretty stuffed) and lots of dessert delicacies.
f2 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr

Oh, yes, my beloved Beaches and Cream.




I adore this place, and told Alex that if we ever did stay at the resort, I'd have to eat here every day. Terrible, I know, but I just love their ice cream.

(Poor Alex, when we were in Epcot for our weekend trip, I made him go to Beaches and Cream for a sundae, and how could he say no to my crazy pregnancy cravings???)


The restaurant wasn't busy at all (I don't know what was up with the place that night. I guess everyone was tucked away in their room, waiting out the rain.) so we were immediately seated in a booth.
I pointed out some of the cooler decorations to my mom while we waited to for someone to take our drink orders.


Because there were 3 of us, and I wanted to really go big on this trip, I had gotten my mom and Alex on board with us trying something while there.

The adventure began with us three splitting a turkey sandwich and fries.


The amount was perfect for us, because we weren't that hungry, and we wanted to leave plenty of room for the main course.


Which was???


The Kitchen Sink!



f3 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr


Smiles all around for ice cream!


I had shown the kitchen sink to my mom and explained that it was meant for 4 people, and we kind of went, "Why the heck not?"


When we ordered, I had to specify to our server that I was allergic to strawberries, and he worked so well with me. He was over-vigilent about making sure I didn't accidently get any and have a reaction. He came back to our table 3 different times to let me know that mine was being made specifically without strawberries. Nobody could call that guy careless.

I didn't realize it, but the Kitchen Sink actually takes quite a while to be prepared, so the three of us had about fifteen minutes to kill. We sat around and goofed off, and I became increasingly more nervous.

You see, I wanted to try the Kitchen Sink to cross it off my Disney To-Do list, but I was also dreading the moment it would arrive. I hate having attention drawn to me. Hate it, hate it hate it. And when the Kitchen Sink is brought out, the restaurant dims its lights and the whole place listens to the spewl about the little piggies at the table attempting to eat the dish.

Ugh.

It took away about 90% of the fun of ordering such a crazy dish by knowing every single person would KNOW I was eating such a mad-sized concoction.

Like, who wants that advertised and pointed out?

So, I was dreading that part of the night...


Alex had the camera in his plastic bag, and therefore had control of the pictures while we sat around and chatted. It reminded me why I'm usually the photographer in the group.

We end up with silly pictures like:




Eventually, the inevitable happened and whole spewl occurred. Our CM arriving with the "sink":




Me, hiding my face throughout the whole show:


I really don't understand why they have to do that.


When the sirens and strobe lights had disappeared and everything was back to normal, we got to admire the craziness at our table.

The Kitchen Sink:


(Someone at an adjoining table actually asked us if he could take a picture to send to someone back home.)


Our server was really nice and offered to take a picture of all of us.


Once all the pictures were taken, we dug in!

And, now, for my final thought on the dish. It was fun to be able to say we ordered the Kitchen Sink and attempted to eat the madness, but as far as taste goes, it wasn't that great.
You see, every bite was like a mystery. One time I got licorice in my bite, the next I got cake, and then I ended up with a brownie piece. Since there was melted ice cream and whipped cream everywhere, you really couldn't see what you were getting with each bite, and all those flavors mixed together was just too much for my mom and me.


Maybe if I go with another large group in the future, I might order the Sink again, but the sundaes at Beach and Cream are too good to pass up again.


At the end of our meal, the dish looked like:
f4 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr

The top layers were a lot of whipped cream, which is why it looks like we ate a lot more than we actually did. I think I had 2 scoops, my mom had 1, and Alex might've made it to 3.

Such ice cream slackers...


Our server told us when he brought the check that the problem with the dish is, you always want to see if you can make it farther the next time you try. He said he's gotten the dish 3 times and made it a little farther down each time.

We'll see...


By that point, all of us were on such a sugar high, none of us minded much that it was still raining outside.

I went back for one more bite:


Then we headed out.


And if you can believe it, I actually had a second dumb moment that day.

Call me crazy, but when I buy shirts and such, I always get ones that have the design or print on the front. Rarely do I get something that's on the back.

Well, these gosh darn 8 dollars and 50 cents ponchos had the little Walt Disney World logo on the back. And I didn't look before I threw it on.

I was pumped up with sugar and knew we had about 20 minutes to get back to World Showcase for IllumiNations. I was in a hurry and wasn't thinking about poncho designs.

So, I threw that sucker on, and, mind you, it was still wet from the previous wear, and stuck my arms through the arm holes and tried to get my head through, and WHATTHEHECK?

The stupid thing was on backwards, and the darn hood was stuck on my forehead and wet hair and I couldn't pull the thing around my body because wet plastic doesn't exactly slide easily.

So while I'm standing there, trying to and failing miserably to fix this colossal fail on my part, Alex, my mom, and the CM at the Beaches and Cream check-in desk are dying with laughter. I mean, rolling on the ground, tears streaming down their faces, laughing. And the more I fought with the stupid piece of wet plastic the more tangled it got in my clothes and bigger the mess I made of myself. I looked like a fish trying to swim through the ocean....



Now, remember, not a half hour ago, I was being succumbed to unwanted attention in the restaurant, and now here I was, receiving even more by CMs and passing resort guests.

Utter mortification.


Alex could tell the moment I turned from seriously peeved/disgruntled poncho owner to emotional mess that was being laughed at by total strangers and came to my rescue. He grabbed hold of the whole thing and yanked it off, then helped put it on the right way.

UGH, UGH, UGH.


Not my finest moment at Disney, at all. I wanted to get out of there and go hide under a rock as quickly as possible. The CM who was joining in on the laughter made a real smart-elleck comment to me, which made me question my competence as an adult thinker and become a little shocked at his nerve, but Alex made a very short reply back, which shut the guy up, and we all left. (My mother was still in fits at that point. It was nice to learn my mother had no qualms about laughing at my expense.)

With that whole fiasco behind me, I focused on getting us back into Epcot and finding out if IllumiNations was still a go. I wouldn't have thought so, what with all the rain and wind, but I was proven wrong.


The three of us ventured around World Showcase, because Alex wanted to try and use up his last snack credits in Karamel Kuche before they closed. He had about five minutes to get to the store, and not surprisingly, he didn't make it.


My mom and I found spots near the railing in Germany once IllumiNations began, and Alex joined us shortly afterwards. Since it was still drizzling, I couldn't take any pictures of the show, which was a first for me. It drove me nuts for about the first half of the show, but then I relaxed and enjoyed being hands free. It was definitely strange not to take photographs while I watched, but I did like the fact that I got the opportunity to watch it uninterrupted with Alex and my mom.


Once the show was over, we took our sweet time heading back to Future World. The inevitable had come, and I was becoming very sad. It was time for Alex to head back to his parent's house and for the mother/daughter portion of the trip to begin.

I guess due to the rain, the crowds were really low, so the three of us just soaked in the beauty of the World Showcase at night, looking at all the closed shops and listening to the post-IllumiNations music.

That part of the night fell into one my favorite parts of the trip, simply because it was so nice being in an empty Epcot. I'd never experienced it without the mad post-nighttime show rush, and deciding to take our time made it so relaxing and enjoyable.


When we reached Future World, it came as no big surprise when Alex asked to run into MouseGears. We are talking about Alex, after all.

We ended up spending about an hour in there, looking around. I was fine with it, because I didn't want to part with my Disney buddy. I could tell my mom was more than ready to get to bed, though, so I pulled Alex out and we walked to the front of the park.

I said my goodbyes to Alex, told him to call me when he got to his destination, and to make the long drive back home safely.



He headed towards the parking lot, and my mom and I hooked a left and went to the buses. There was a good sized line when we got there, but we managed to get a seat on the second bus that showed up, and before we knew it we were back in our room, ready for bed.


Having Alex leave halfway through the trip was terrible, and I don't think I'd do it again anytime soon, but I was excited to see how my mom and I would fare in Disney just us girls.



Up Next: You're So Directionally Challenged, Sweetie.

 

[marDgreen88]

A LION KING THEMED NURSERY?!?!! That is PERFECT.

Oh man, the Kitchen Sink. I know it well. We did it with five people and we still couldn't finish! Also, our waitress gave us all individual bowls to make it easier for us. You got a bite of licorice? EW! There was none of that in ours! Haha ANYWAYS, at least now you can say you've tried it! It's so fun.

 

[amazingact21]

A LION KING THEMED NURSERY?!?!! That is PERFECT.

Oh man, the Kitchen Sink. I know it well. We did it with five people and we still couldn't finish! Also, our waitress gave us all individual bowls to make it easier for us. You got a bite of licorice? EW! There was none of that in ours! Haha ANYWAYS, at least now you can say you've tried it! It's so fun.

I was insanely excited when I discovered a bunch of Lion King items. My poor kid has no chance at NOT being a Disney nuts.


The Kitchen Sink is fun to try, but you definitely need a lot of people for it. It makes even an ice cream fanatic like myself (I can put down a good chunk of ice cream if I'm hungry enough) look like a wimp.

 

[MEK]

May 7th Night:

The last time I updated, I left off with my mom, Alex, and I finishing off a delicious meal at Coral Reef, then heading back to our room at Sports to escape the brutal heat. The three of us ended up napping from 2-4 that afternoon, which was wonderful. The sun had really worn us out, and we all needed a chance to cool off and regroup.

My mom and I went for a brief swim, showered off, and then we drove back to Epcot at six that evening.

Somehow, ( I cannot for the life of me remember when we picked them) we had 6:25pm Fastpasses to use.

Where to?

Where else?

Why, Soarin’ of course! My mom was able to experience her new favorite ride 3 times that day. Which was a complete first for her. Prior to this, my mother was a hesitant FP user. I’m pretty sure she knew what they were, because I vaguely remember we picked up FPs for my father and brother for Test Track once, but I don’t know if she knew how the system worked completely. Meaning, the whole, you can get more after 2 hours or when the original tickets are up rule, or the overall amount of time it cuts out of standing by in the regular queue.

Either way, we hit up Soarin’ really fast, then decided to head over to the World Showcase. After all, we had yet to enter that part of the park earlier that morning; it was about time we ventured over.

Crossing the bridge into Canada, however, the three of us looked skywards and realized that the black clouds rolling in weren’t playing around. We were about to be hit with some heavy rain.

And, naturally, at that moment, I remembered what I’d forgotten to pick up in the week leading up to our trip.

Anyone wanna take a guess?

If you said ponchos, then you, my friend, win the big money prize.

Ugh.

I couldn’t believe I’d let that one slip.

I told everyone to walk towards the International Gateway; the plan for that night was to eat at the Beach Club, and I was hoping we could make it to the resort before the heavens opened up.

Sadly, that was not the case. The rain began all at once, and my mom, Alex, and I had to rush inside the gift shop next to the Gateway before we got soaked.

I didn’t want to, but standing inside the shop, I resigned myself to the fact that I’d have to cough up the 8.50 and buy a Disney poncho.

Blegh. There’s lots of other items I would rather have bought with my 8.50. A nice pin, for example. Or a Dole Whip. Perhaps even an antenna topper. Definitely not a piece of plastic.

My mother ended up buying one, as well, which helped ease my pain. At least I wasn’t the only one shelling out money on these uncomfortable little covers. Alex was stubborn and just asked the CM working for a large shopping bag that he could put the camera and his phone inside to keep dry. He wasn’t worried about a little rain in the least.

With ponchos over the womenfolk, I said they we should all still head to the Beach Club and hope the rain passes over the area while we eat.

Nobody objected, so off we went.

This was the first time Alex and I had ventured through the International Gateway, (another first for us that day!) and Alex became thrilled with the walk. He never realized just how close the Beach Club is to Epcot, or the fact that it has its own pathway with a walk that’s not bad at all. (When it’s not pouring rain, that is.)

So now Alex is adamant that we stay at the Beach Club at some point. I don’t know what him or my mom, for that matter, would do being in such close proximity to Test Track and Epcot restaurants. I think it’d be one of Alex’s all time favorite trips.

After about a ten minute walk (my mom and I were wearing flip flops and were therefore going super slow, in fear of slipping face planting on the sidewalk) we made it inside the Beach Club.

Trying to show my mom how cool Stormalong Bay is through the windows.

The resort was pretty dead at that time of the evening, which sort of surprised me, being so close to Cape May and all.

Speaking of Cape May, I’d had as much seafood as I could stand that day, so our dinner destination was not, in fact, that particular food joint.

Ours involved little to no actual food (we were all still pretty stuffed) and lots of dessert delicacies.

Oh, yes, my beloved Beaches and Cream.



I adore this place, and told Alex that if we ever did stay at the resort, I’d have to eat here every day. Terrible, I know, but I just love their ice cream.

(Poor Alex, when we were in Epcot for our weekend trip, I made him go to Beaches and Cream for a sundae, and how could he say no to my crazy pregnancy cravings???)

The restaurant wasn’t busy at all (I don’t know what was up with the place that night. I guess everyone was tucked away in their room, waiting out the rain.) so we were immediately seated in a booth.

I pointed out some of the cooler decorations to my mom while we waited to for someone to take our drink orders.

Because there were 3 of us, and I wanted to really go big on this trip, I had gotten my mom and Alex on board with us trying something while there.

The adventure began with us three splitting a turkey sandwich and fries.

The amount was perfect for us, because we weren’t that hungry, and we wanted to leave plenty of room for the main course.

Which was???

The Kitchen Sink!



Smiles all around for ice cream!

I had shown the kitchen sink to my mom and explained that it was meant for 4 people, and we kind of went, “Why the heck not?”

When we ordered, I had to specify to our server that I was allergic to strawberries, and he worked so well with me. He was over-vigilent about making sure I didn’t accidently get any and have a reaction. He came back to our table 3 different times to let me know that mine was being made specifically without strawberries. Nobody could call that guy careless…

I didn’t realize it, but the Kitchen Sink actually takes quite a while to be prepared, so the three of us had about fifteen minutes to kill. We sat around and goofed off, and I became increasingly more nervous.

You see, I wanted to try the Kitchen Sink to cross it off my Disney To-Do list, but I was also dreading the moment it would arrive.

I hate having attention drawn to me. Hate it, hate it hate it. And when the Kitchen Sink is brought out, the restaurant dims its lights and the whole place listens to the spewl about the little piggies at the table attempting to eat the dish.

Ugh.

It took away about 90% of the fun of ordering such a crazy dish by knowing every single person would KNOW I was eating such a mad-sized concoction.

Like, who wants that advertised and pointed out?

So, I was dreading that part of the night….

Alex had the camera in his plastic bag, and therefore had control of the pictures while we sat around and chatted. It reminded me why I’m usually the photographer in the group.

We end up with silly pictures like:

Can you tell I’m already embarrassed?

And:

Eventually, the inevitable happened and whole spewl occurred. Our CM arriving with the “sink:”

Me, hiding my face throughout the whole show:

I really don’t understand why they have to do that….

When the sirens and strobe lights had disappeared and everything was back to normal, we got to admire the craziness at our table.

The Kitchen Sink:

(Someone at an adjoining table actually asked us if he could take a picture to send to someone back home.)

Our server was really nice and offered to take a picture of all of us.

Once all the pictures were taken, we dug in!

And, now, for my final thought on the dish. It was fun to be able to say we ordered the Kitchen Sink and attempted to eat the madness, but as far as taste goes, it wasn’t that great.

You see, every bite was like a mystery. One time I got licorice in my bite, the next I got cake, and then I ended up with a brownie piece. Since there was melted ice cream and whipped cream everywhere, you really couldn’t see what you were getting with each bite, and all those flavors mixed together was just too much for my mom and I.

Maybe if I go with another large group in the future, I might order the Sink again, but the sundaes at Beach and Cream are too good to pass up again.

At the end of our meal, the dish looked like:

The top layers were a lot of whipped cream, which is why it looks like we ate a lot more than we actually did. I think I had 2 scoops, my mom had 1, and Alex might’ve made it to 3.

Such ice cream slackers…

Our server told us when he brought the check that the problem with the dish is, you always want to see if you can make it farther the next time you try. He said he’s gotten the dish 3 times and made it a little farther down each time.

We’ll see…

By that point, all of us were on such a sugar high, none of us minded much that it was still raining outside.

I went back for one more bite:

Then we headed out.

And if you can believe it, I actually had a second dumb moment that day.

Call me crazy, but when I buy shirts and such, I always get ones that have the design or print on the front. Rarely do I get something that’s on the back.

Well, these gosh darn 8 dollars and 50 cents ponchos had the little Walt Disney World logo on the back. And I didn’t look before I threw it on.

I was pumped up with sugar and knew we had about 20 minutes to get back to World Showcase for IllumiNations. I was in a hurry and wasn’t thinking about poncho designs.

So, I threw that sucker on, and, mind you, it was still wet from the previous wear, and stuck my arms through the arm holes and tried to get my head through, and WHATTHEHECK?

The stupid thing was on backwards, and the darn hood was stuck on my forehead and wet hair and I couldn't pull the thing around my body because wet plastic doesn’t exactly slide easily.

So while I’m standing there, trying to and failing miserably to fix this colossal fail on my part, Alex, my mom, and the CM at the Beaches and Cream check-in desk are dying with laughter. I mean, rolling on the ground, tears streaming down their faces, laughing.

And the more I fought with the stupid piece of wet plastic the more tangled it got in my clothes and bigger the mess I made of myself. I looked like a fish trying to swim through the ocean....



Now, remember, not a half hour ago, I was being succumbed to unwanted attention in the restaurant, and now here I was, receiving even more by CMs and passing resort guests.

Utter mortification.

Alex could tell the moment I turned from seriously peeved/disgruntled poncho owner to emotional mess that was being laughed at by total strangers and came to my rescue. He grabbed hold of the whole thing and yanked it off, then helped put it on the right way.

UGH, UGH, UGH.

Not my finest moment at Disney, at all. I wanted to get out of there and go hide under a rock as quickly as possible. The CM who was joining in on the laughter made a real smart-elleck comment to me, which made me question my competence as an adult thinker and become a little shocked at his nerve, but Alex made a very short reply back, which shut the guy up, and we all left. (My mother was still in fits at that point. It was nice to learn my mother had no qualms about laughing at my expense…)

With that whole fiasco behind me, I focused on getting us back into Epcot and finding out if IllumiNations was still a go. I wouldn’t have thought so, what with all the rain and wind, but I was proven wrong.

The three of us ventured around World Showcase, because Alex wanted to try and use up his last snack credits in Karamel Kuche before they closed. He had about five minutes to get to the store, and not surprisingly, he didn’t make it.

My mom and I found spots near the railing in Germany once IllumiNations began, and Alex joined us shortly afterwards. Since it was still drizzling, I couldn’t take any pictures of the show, which was a first for me.

It drove me nuts for about the first half of the show, but then I relaxed and enjoyed being hands free. It was definitely strange not to take photographs while I watched, but I did like the fact that I got the opportunity to watch it uninterrupted with Alex and my mom.

Once the show was over, we took our sweet time heading back to Future World. The inevitable had come, and I was becoming very sad.

It was time for Alex to head back to his parent’s house and for the mother/daughter portion of the trip to begin.

I guess due to the rain, the crowds were really low, so the three of us just soaked in the beauty of the World Showcase at night, looking at all the closed shops and listening to the post-IllumiNations music.

That part of the night fell into one my favorite parts of the trip, simply because it was so nice being in an empty Epcot. I’d never experienced it without the mad post-nighttime show rush, and deciding to take our time made it so relaxing and enjoyable.

When we reached Future World, it came as no big surprise when Alex asked to run into MouseGears. We are talking about Alex, after all.

We ended up spending about an hour in there, looking around. I was fine with it, because I didn’t want to part with my Disney buddy. I could tell my mom was more than ready to get to bed, though, so I pulled Alex out and we walked to the front of the park.

I said my goodbyes to Alex, told him to call me when he got to his destination, and to make the long drive back home safely.



He headed towards the parking lot, and my mom and I hooked a left and went to the buses. There was a good sized line when we got there, but we managed to get a seat on the second bus that showed up, and before we knew it we were back in our room, ready for bed.

Having Alex leave halfway through the trip was terrible, and I don’t think I’d do it again anytime soon, but I was excited to see how my mom and I would fare in Disney just us girls.

Up Next….You’re So Directionally Challenged, Sweetie.

Please forgive me for quoting your whole update. I am reading on my phone. How dud I miss this update when I have been checking for days

This was so funny. The whole kitchen sink to the poncho. You guys did good. I am impressed I forgot about the whole applause thing

Getting caught in the poncho is something I would do. Or laugh at someone else like you mom did. I can just picture Alex coming to the rescue. So sad he had to leave

Great update!

Edited to say that the above dialogue shows I should NEVER respond from my phone in the dark while riding in a car. I'll do better next time. I promise!

 

[CandleontheWater]

Can I just say that I am insanely jealous that you bought the lion king pack n play!

When I discovered my pack n play snafu, I almost went out and bought it myself, but I just couldn't justify it, knowing that I have a perfectly good pack n play in storage in VA. I did end up finding a substitute cheap on craigslist, but its not Disney

I also LOVE the disney lion king nursery stuff, I'm thinking that is what we are going to choose when we get to VA and into our new house. Its a tough choice between that and the Nemo theme though!

Oh and good choice on stroller, I think you guys are going to like the city mini, and it is a great choice for Disney!

Yum, the kitchen sink! I've only had one once and it was good, but got melty really fast! Someday I'd love to do that with my two boys, I figure when they are teenagers they'll be able to polish the whole thing off with no trouble at all!

 

[MEK]

I just went back and read your update on your Babies R Us visit. Did you leave anything for your shower? That Pack N Play is so cute. I swear, baby stuff is way cuter than when I had my kids. All those cool strollers. Its so great that they finally figured out that most of the old ones were terrible. I actually ended up with a baby jogger which was wonderful because I ran with my kids all the time. But the sucker was a PITA to travel with.

So are you going to have a gender reveal party? That seems to be the big thing these days.

 

[Aussiesalad]

Ahhhh the Lion King playard is PERFECT!!!!

You are looking absolutely gorgeous by the way!!

Oh the good old Disney rainstorm!

Wow the kitchen sink sounds intense! I love my ice cream but I don't know about all the mixing of everything!

Your poncho story made me laugh so hard!!! Oh my goodness, it is totally something I would have done... especially if a lot of people were watching!

It sounds like you guys had such a lovely night- even if it was bittersweet with Alex leaving.

I love a slightly soggy deserted Epcot

 

[amazingact21]

Please forgive me for quoting your whole update. I am reading on my phone. How dud I miss this update when I have been checking for days

This was so funny. The whole kitchen sink to the poncho. You guys did good. I am impressed I forgot about the whole applause thing

Getting caught in the poncho is something I would do. Or laugh at someone else like you mom did. I can just picture Alex coming to the rescue. So sad he had to leave

Great update!

Edited to say that the above dialogue shows I should NEVER respond from my phone in the dark while riding in a car. I'll do better next time. I promise!

The poncho incident was so embarrassing, I felt like an idiot. But it makes for great stories later on, and my mom had a ball of a time laughing at me, so I suppose it was worth it.

Can I just say that I am insanely jealous that you bought the lion king pack n play!

When I discovered my pack n play snafu, I almost went out and bought it myself, but I just couldn't justify it, knowing that I have a perfectly good pack n play in storage in VA. I did end up finding a substitute cheap on craigslist, but its not Disney

I also LOVE the disney lion king nursery stuff, I'm thinking that is what we are going to choose when we get to VA and into our new house. Its a tough choice between that and the Nemo theme though!

Oh and good choice on stroller, I think you guys are going to like the city mini, and it is a great choice for Disney!

Yum, the kitchen sink! I've only had one once and it was good, but got melty really fast! Someday I'd love to do that with my two boys, I figure when they are teenagers they'll be able to polish the whole thing off with no trouble at all!

I love all the Lion King nursery items. Originally, we were just going to do safari animals, to try and keep Disney to a minimum, but the second I discovered that Pack & Play, I threw that idea out the window.

The Kitchen Sink does melt really fast! That's another reason why I enjoy the sundaes a bit more. I bet you'll have no problem emptying that dish with two teenage boys! I grew up with two brothers; they're like garbage disposals!

I just went back and read your update on your Babies R Us visit. Did you leave anything for your shower? That Pack N Play is so cute. I swear, baby stuff is way cuter than when I had my kids. All those cool strollers. Its so great that they finally figured out that most of the old ones were terrible. I actually ended up with a baby jogger which was wonderful because I ran with my kids all the time. But the sucker was a PITA to travel with.

So are you going to have a gender reveal party? That seems to be the big thing these days.

We only bought two of the things that we wouldn't ask other people to get for us. That stroller was insanely pricey for what it is. Alex wants to get back into runDisney events soon, so he's been talking about how great I'll be at running with the baby in the stroller.... He's definitely thinking Wine and Dine next year.

We are trying to figure out a way to do a gender reveal that will include everyone. All Alex's immediate family lives 7 hours away, as is all our cousins and aunts and uncles, etc, and my brother is in Nebraska. Even our best friends aren't close by. So we've got to get creative with Skype and my paren'ts house.

Ahhhh the Lion King playard is PERFECT!!!!

You are looking absolutely gorgeous by the way!!

Oh the good old Disney rainstorm!

Wow the kitchen sink sounds intense! I love my ice cream but I don't know about all the mixing of everything!

Your poncho story made me laugh so hard!!! Oh my goodness, it is totally something I would have done... especially if a lot of people were watching!

It sounds like you guys had such a lovely night- even if it was bittersweet with Alex leaving.

I love a slightly soggy deserted Epcot

Thanks, most days I'm styling it up in sweats and a tshirt, though. I'm so lazy...

The Kitchen Sink was a little much. It melted way too quickly and hid all the candy that was mixed in. I have decided I prefer one blending taste combo in my ice cream.

That poncho.....teach me to pay more attention the next time I put it on.

 

[teekathepony]

Hahaha good for you guys for attempting the kitchen sink! I don't think I would like the mystery of each bite. I tend to like to know exactly what I'm biting into. I can't believe they make a big deal when you order! Oh my, another reason I probably never will.

 

[belleinpink]

Why, hello, Epcot’s 30th birthday tshirt, I see you there!

LOOK AT YOUR LITTLE BUMP!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!

 

[amazingact21]

Hahaha good for you guys for attempting the kitchen sink! I don't think I would like the mystery of each bite. I tend to like to know exactly what I'm biting into. I can't believe they make a big deal when you order! Oh my, another reason I probably never will.

The mystery part of the dish was a little unnerving, but it was worse that all the tastes didn't blend together. I mean, at least with sundaes, you usually get complimentary flavors. Not with the Kitchen sink!

LOOK AT YOUR LITTLE BUMP!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!

Haha. It popped up out of nowhere. One minute my pants fit, the next, Boom!

 

[amazingact21]

So, I had to post a small tidbit of good news before the actual update. Looks like Alex and I are definitely taking a day trip to Disney next month. Most likely December 16th. For awhile, I was worried that I wouldn't get to use my annual pass again before it expires (May 5th). However, we'll be in the area for Alex's sister's graduation, and we figured we'd throw the offer out to his family to join us. We told them we'd help get some military discounted tickets and that we'd have free parking due to our passes.

As of right now, it appears that it'll be myself, Alex, both his sisters, his brother, his sister's best friend, and his sister's boyfriend. A bigger group than we imagined, but we were able to handle CityWalk last year without too many all out fights. And at least with others going, Alex can go ride coasters with someone. Meanwhile, I'll shop until I drop.

I am a tad bit worried about going with non-Disney fanatics, though. None of Alex's family has seen us in the world before; they know we love it, but they haven't witnessed the nuttiness firsthand. I'm scared to see how it goes. I mean, I have 3 major goals. See the new Fantasyland, (although if this doesn't happen I won't be too disappointed, because it'll give me something to look forward to in the future) letting Alex ride the new Test Track, and seeing the Osborne Lights.

We shall see how it all goes... (Writing about December reminded me that I have yet to post anything about our October trip. Ugh. I am very sorry about that. I have all the photos edited and organized, just need to write the updates.)



May 8th Bright and Early:

Yet another new Disney day had arrived!

It's always great waking up in a Disney resort, because you have that split second where the realization hits you that you're in Walt Disney World and are on vacation. (I have to say, it's even better when your husband's gone and you get a whole bed to yourself for a night.)

My mom and I got ready really quickly for two women. She hopped in the shower while I went to get coffee, and we drank them while eating some banana bread and reviewing the day's plans.


For that morning, we were headed right around the corner to:
f1 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr


Aside from the EE 5K Challenge, I hadn't visited Animal Kingdom in over a year, (poor Alex has yet to go back for a day trip.) and I was really excited to make this a slow day. I wanted my mom and I to take our time, not rush ourselves, cherish the joy of being in one of the happiest places on earth together.


I drove us to the park, got ushered into a spot dang near the end of the row, and felt like I was competing in another 5K race just to get out of the lot.

Here's the obligatory lot number:
f2 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr


We reached the entrance at 8:45. Not too shabby for us.

f3 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr


If there's one thing I love about AK, it's the theme. The greenery, the animal placements, the welcoming colors. Every time I make it to the entrance sign, I remember why this park is so cool.

I really need to work on visiting AK more often.


"Hey Mom, turn to me and smile-yes, yes, the sun is in your eyes, I know. Do it anyways, please."
f4 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr


The very first thing I noticed about being with my mother versus Alex was that I could stop and take my time. My husband is very focused in that he wants to get his morning FP, ride whatever other ride he wants, then after all that we can stop and smell the roses. My mother, on the other hand, had no issue with not running to an attraction.

It was doing wonders for our mission to have a slow day.


Once we did get in the park, the two of us had to take a picture or two of the Tree of Life.
f5 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr


We even stopped for a Photopass picture:



This was pre "sweat like a pig a.m." Don't worry, that time arrived shortly, but even in the hottest park in the hottest May known to man, it was still early enough the sun hadn't risen high enough in the sky to melt us.


I veered my mom ahead and began walking past several fun spots.

"Remember 2 nights ago, when we ran through here on our 5K?!"
f6 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr

"Well, you and Alex ran-I power walked."




Way to kill my mini-celebration, Mother. Whatever. It was still a lot of fun, and I'm thrilled to know that we passed something during a time not many others have been during.

Hmmph.



Oooh, a giraffe statue. I need a photo!


I should explain that after Alex proposed to me in front of giraffes, it's been a thing for me to take a picture in front of any kind of giraffe statue. Amusingly enough, the condo my in-laws rented for our wedding and where they had our rehearsal dinner was decked out in giraffe motif. I can't ever get away! I also get figurine giraffes on a regular basis. And giraffe print clothes. It never ends...


My mom and I had dawdled away ten/fifteen minutes, easily, but we weren't concerned. Yes, I was taking her to get FPs, but based on the empty park, I knew we'd get a good time no matter when we showed up.


See?


I wish the race had looked like that.



Once we entered Africa, a whole new atmosphere hit us. There was festive music going, tons of CMs standing around saying good morning and being extremely welcoming. One even had a musical instrument.

Everywhere we turned, we heard, "Jambo!"

"Jambo!"

It was impossible not to be giddy with happiness. I dare someone to walk through that group and not break a smile. An unfeasible task.


Eventually, we reached our destination and got:


Two FPs for KS. With really good times, in our opinion.



It gave us plenty of time to meander over to Asia for me to take a turn on a certain mountain. Orginally, I hadn't planned on riding Everest, but with a little over an hour to kill and an empty park around us, it was too good an opportunity to pass up.


On our way, I told my mom to be on the lookout for a Hidden Mickey, since she enjoyed spotting them.




We also got a much better view of the Tree of Life, where we could spot a few animals on the trunk.




We still had the park pretty much to ourselves when we entered Asia:






Ahh, there's the mountain!



We got to the front of the ride entrance and, to my surprise, the standby time was 5 minutes. That was less than during the after-party at the race.

Finally, my walk-on Everest experience! A few days late and during an unexpected time, but I'd take it.


To my surprise, my mom said she'd join me. The first time she rode it, she said the backwards part was a little too intense for her, but on this morning she was fresh, rejuvenated from a decent night's sleep, and feeling adventurous.

Most of the queue was roped off; we basically went from the entrance into the yeti artifact room.

I had a blast on Everest, and while it was still a bit much for my mom, so did she. However, once was enough for her. She offered to wait near the exit, if I felt like going again.

With no wait, how could I turn that down?

I went through the single rider line, since that had just opened and made it immediately to the loading area.

They sat me with this boy who, I swear, was so incredibly uncomfortable I don't see how he could have enjoyed the ride at all. You could just tell he was looking at me thinking, "Stranger Danger! Stranger Danger!" I got the sideways eye stare the whole time. I mean, my major is education, I know how to read kids' cues and know when they are stressed, and this kid was certainly not over the moon at being sat next to this adult woman with a 5 pound lanyard around her neck.

I felt kinda bad about the whole situation, because I know if I was in the kid's position, I'd have felt the exact same way. I tried to make him feel less uncomfortable by moving to the far right as I possibly could and by laughing during all the fun drops. By the end, I think he realized I wasn't a danger to him and started enjoying the ride, but still...probably not one of his favorite vacation memories.

Not my fault, Kid, talk to the CM.

I still had a good time, and when I found my mom on a bench afterwards, we spotted said little boy asking his parents if he could ride again. All's well that ends well, I suppose.


My mom told me I could go on Everest again if I wanted, it was still walk-on, and I considered it. But then I remembered that this was supposed to be an easy going day, and I didn't want to tire myself going on coasters while my mom sat around and twiddled her thumbs.

So, I bid EE adieu and headed out of Asia.


Had to stop for a couple pictures in front of the mountain first, though.






I was so excited to be having such an awesome morning.


I just knew it was going to be a fantastic mother/daughter day, and we were off to use our Safari FPs. The goal was for my mom to see some animals. The last time she went on KS (in '98) it was the middle of the day in July.

Yikes. You can imagine how many animals were roaming around and playing then. My mom needed a second chance on the safari, and I was about to give it to her!



Up Next: Anyone, Anyone?

 

[PracPerfPatricia]

First, I loved the story of you and Alex shopping for Baby stuff... You know that you really have Dis diehards when you're making sure the baby's supplies are Dis friendly...

Ahhh... the Kitchen Sink... I've seen it from afar... have never gotten it... I may live vicariously through you because I too dislike that kind of fuss... So does DD...hmmmm DS might enjoy it...(I'd think about it for him) and I LOVE the No Way Jose... It looks like a fun thing to experience at least once though......

I'm sorry the rain poncho story was funny... (I'm usually the one doing that kind of thing so it's nice to be on the other side for a change...)

SAD when Alex left...

It does sound nice to be able to experience AK in a "different" way though... the whole stop and smell the roses thing... My DH is similar about getting to stuff... I really think it's a bit of a hunter/gather thing... Men have to track and "hunt" down the attractions... stopping to smell the roses doesn't so much fit into that picture...

I feel sorry for both you and the little boy on EE- that's awkward for both of you... him because of the stranger thing and you-well because of course you don't want to make a child uncomfortable... It's a shame...

Hurray for Upcoming Safari although Anyone, Anyone doesn't sound too good...

 

[marDgreen88]

AHHHH, ANIMAL KINGDOM. That really sounds like such an awesome morning!

I understand the kid's point of view, I always feel a little awkward sitting next to a random person on a ride. But if you're not even gonna enjoy it, what's the point? Haha I guess the kid enjoyed it enough, though!

 

[PirateKate]

Congratulations on the new baby!!

 

[amazingact21]

First, I loved the story of you and Alex shopping for Baby stuff... You know that you really have Dis diehards when you're making sure the baby's supplies are Dis friendly...

Ahhh... the Kitchen Sink... I've seen it from afar... have never gotten it... I may live vicariously through you because I too dislike that kind of fuss... So does DD...hmmmm DS might enjoy it...(I'd think about it for him) and I LOVE the No Way Jose... It looks like a fun thing to experience at least once though......

I'm sorry the rain poncho story was funny... (I'm usually the one doing that kind of thing so it's nice to be on the other side for a change...)

SAD when Alex left...

It does sound nice to be able to experience AK in a "different" way though... the whole stop and smell the roses thing... My DH is similar about getting to stuff... I really think it's a bit of a hunter/gather thing... Men have to track and "hunt" down the attractions... stopping to smell the roses doesn't so much fit into that picture...

I feel sorry for both you and the little boy on EE- that's awkward for both of you... him because of the stranger thing and you-well because of course you don't want to make a child uncomfortable... It's a shame...

Hurray for Upcoming Safari although Anyone, Anyone doesn't sound too good...

The No Way Jose is delicious, usually one of my two choices whenever I got to Beaches and Cream.


I can only imagine how ridiculous I looked with the whole poncho situation; I'm sure if I was a passerby I would've been rolling.


It must be a guy thing.... But I don't mind too much, because in the end, Alex does get us great FPs and frees up our time to ride multiple coasters in the morning.

AHHHH, ANIMAL KINGDOM. That really sounds like such an awesome morning!

I understand the kid's point of view, I always feel a little awkward sitting next to a random person on a ride. But if you're not even gonna enjoy it, what's the point? Haha I guess the kid enjoyed it enough, though!

I always hate when you go through the single rider line and the person you are sat with doesn't know they fill the seats. They give you this look, like, "What the heck are you doing? Don't sit next to me!" I got that everytime I rode RNRC...

Congratulations on the new baby!!

Thank you.

 

[amazingact21]

May 8th Mid Morning:

My mom and I had just departed Asia in my last update and were on our way to use our Fastpasses. It was nearing 10 o'clock when we reached the Safari entrance, and taking a peek at the standby line made my mom and I were very happy to have had FPs. I endured a 60 minute standby line once with Alex, but it was in that really cold December, and so the cool weather kept us calm and patient.

There was no way my mom and I were going to stand in the direct sunlight with the humidity as high as it was.

No chance at all.


The two of us began our journey through the impossibly long FP line, receiving tons of dirty stares as we walked past guests.



I always forget that you can take strollers through a portion of the line. Smart thinking on Disney's part. There’s no way some kids could stand around in the heat for hours.


Even with our Fastpasses, there was a bit of a line near the end, and my mom and I stood around for probably fifteen minutes or so. I, naturally, passed the time by taking silly pictures.


I can see my mother rolling her eyes and groaning when she sees this picture. Sorry, Mom, had to show how much fun we were having.


Because we were. Having fun, that is.




It was refreshing being able to visit with my mom, knowing neither of us had to rush back home or get to class or worry about the drive back from one another's place. (We live about 45 minutes apart.)

Plus, not going to lie, it was exciting having my mom all to myself. I grew up the middle child, the only girl between two boys, and I was used to having one or both of my brothers tag along wherever we went. When you grow up with siblings, be it one or twelve, you always have to steel yourself for the possibility that someone else might hop in the car last minute, or a shopping trip might get cut short because someone's baseball practice let out early, or a movie night will be postponed because a certain brother forgot that they needed supplies for a class party the following morning.

It's the joy of having siblings, and don't get me wrong, I love my brothers. I wouldn't trade them for the world. I've been begging my younger brother to go to Disney for years, it's just sharing the parents is one of those things you learn to deal with. Like fighting each other for the bathroom on a school morning. And I'm sure it'll get easier once all of us have finished school and moved out of the house, but as of right now, my younger brother is still in high school, so I always catch that chance of him being there when I drop by.


So, to get to spend time with my mom, uninterrupted, 500 miles away from everyone else, well it caused a certain sense of glee to wash over me. I got to point out little things here and there without waiting for someone else to finish their train of thought and I could make little comments like, "You know if Isaac were here, he would've wanted to go Everest all morning. We would've never made it over here."

I loved the mother/daughter time while it was happening, but looking back on it now, I appreciate it so much more. With all the big changes going on in my life, there's no telling when or if my mom and I will ever get a Disney trip to ourselves ever again, and I am so grateful we got to spend one of our mornings roaming about Animal Kingdom.





We eventually did make it to a ride vehicle and were seated in the first row.
My best attempt at MEK's traditional mirror shot. Think I'll leave it to her:



I sat my mom on the outside of the row so she could see better, so my animal shots aren't fantastic, but you all have been on the safari enough times to know what's along the tour.


Hello, Bird, if I weren't touring a WDW park right now, I'd be in the same mindset as you, chilling out near the water:
f1 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr


My favorite animal on the tour .only this time we couldn't visit long, because this particular giraffe kept wanting to say hello to our car:
f2 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr


Managing to capture the elephant's best side:



And now, for the DISboard trip reports million dollar question-did we see the lions???

They are pesky little felines and love to hide out from all us curious guests.

However, this time one of them was cooperating and was laying on top of the rock as we rode past.

f3 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr

Even our tour guide was amazed. They kept saying, "Now look to your left, folks, we have a RARE treat this morning."

I have to give this lion some credit, though, they really saved our entire ride.

For some reason, the other guests in the car could've cared less that they were on a safari tour. I mean, they had no emotion whatsoever. Our poor, poor tour guide tried desperately to get someone to talk or ask a question or even make a comment, but nobody peeped out a single word.

You could just hear the CM silently screaming, "Anyone? Is anyone there?! Am I on this thing alone??"

I threw the poor sap a bone by answering the question, "Does anyone know what lion means in Swahili?"

When I mumbled the answer, the guy shouted, "THAT'S RIGHT! SIMBA!!! IT MEANS SIMBA!"

Talk about pulling at straws.


When we got to the end of the ride (minus the whole poacher storyline, woot woot) I made sure to thank the guy for his informative tour, just to let him know that SOMEBODY in that group of 16-20 people were listening.



By the time my mom and I were back on one of the sidewalks, I looked at the time, saw it was almost 11 o'clock, and decided we should go see Festival of the Lion King next. After all, it is my favorite thing to do in AK, and I couldn't let my mom miss seeing it while we were there.

Unfortunately for us, we are a very directionally-challenged group of women and shortly got mixed up on where to go.

My mother, *GASP*, had to actually pull out a map and double check our location.



The first time the whole trip.

At least we were smart enough to pick one up on our way in, anticipating this would happen.



With the good ol' map's help, the two of us did find the Camp Minnie Mickey from where we were at, and I realized that if I was going to sit through an almost hour long show, I needed some food first.


Right next to the waiting area for FotLK was a funnel cake kiosk, and I convinced my mom to split a cinnamon one with me.



Oh, delicious, doughy, sugary funnel cake, how tasty you were. It was the perfect amount for two people, since neither of us wanted to fill up before lunch, and we had found a nice shaded spot to stand and devour the treat while watching other guests file into the line.


We took our time eating, then made our way to the holding area next to the entrance doors.

We ended up in the third or fourth row in the giraffe section, which wasn't bad at all.
f4 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr


The two of us began watching, and of course I started snapping photos. In the middle of the tumbler monkey routine:


I heard something snap and fall in my hands. Up to that point, my lens cap on my camera had been feeling really loose when I pushed down on the snaps to take it on and off the lens.

I knew immediately that whatever had just broken off had something to do with my lens cap. I spent a few moments feeling around my feet, trying to find what had fallen off, but it was too dark to see anything. I told myself to just get through the rest of the show, enjoy it, and then look for the piece once the lights came back on.





My favorite part of the whole show.





Who can beat that finale? It's so festive and upbeat and celebratory. I leave wanting to dance and sing, and my mom loved it as well. She said those performers had to have one of the coolest jobs in WDW. True point.


When the lights came back on and everyone started streaming out, I inspected my camera to see what was wrong and realized my cap wasn't going on the lens at all. After closer inspection, I saw that one of the two tiny plastic springs that depresses down when you push on the outside handles and snaps back on the lens to keep it on had broken off.




I knew there was nothing I could do to fix the problem and didn't even bother looking for the broken piece. Instead, I put the camera over my neck and covered the lens with my left hand.

I was relieved that nothing on the actual camera had broken, but I became paranoid that I'd scratch the lens without a cover. I couldn't imagine carrying the camera the rest of the trip, going on rides, jostling it in lines, without something hitting it.


Back outside, I took the lens off, put the camera part in my bag, and carried the lens like a baby. My mom suggested I wrap it in a towel or a shirt when we got back to the room, but until then I was on high alert. I figured we needed to do something safe and cautious next while I overcame my temporary panic.

What's safe and cautionary?

Well, it was nearing 12:30 and watching other people dance and do gymnastics had worn off our funnel cake so we both agreed it was time to eat!



Up Next: It's Like Free Entertainment.

 

[marDgreen88]

Oh man. I wish I could sit and watch Festival of the Lion King right now. And all the time. Why is that show so stinking good?

Sorry about your camera troubles.

 

[Nermel9]

Your mother daughter time sounds great! I wish my mom would be able to go to Disney with my sister and I someday, but I just feel like it will never happen, she refuses to fly for one thing, and she's just not really healthy enough right now either.

Yay FOTLK!!! I love it so much! I always leave wishing I could sing and dance too. Well, the dancing part isn't the problem, I took dance lessons my whole life, but I can't sing to save my life!

Ugh sorry about your camera, but at least it wasn't anything important, right?