First story: on the day we arrived, we went straight to the parks. While in line for Peter Pan, a woman turned to us and asked if her husband, who was behind us, could join the rest of their family. He smiled very sheepishly -- we had had no idea he was with them, since he didn't say or do anything to indicate so! -- and thanked us when we let him by. We grinned and told him that last year they gave the kids safety-tip cards, one of which had Pumba on it and warned kids to 'stay with their herd' -- so we were just making sure he stayed with his herd. We all enjoyed chatting with each other until we got on the ride.
Well, the next morning, as we left our resort, who should we see but that same man -- hurrying down the sidewalk all by himself. As he passed us, he threw his hands in the air and called to us, 'I'VE LOST MY HERD AGAIN!'
The kids got a huge kick out of it, but they were also extremely careful not to get separated from us the rest of the week!
Magical CMs: My DS (3) caught a blue streamer at Playhouse Disney, and he was *so* excited about it -- but he dangled it out of the stroller as I pushed him to the next attraction, and it got tangled around the wheel and torn into several pieces. Nothing would console him, so we went back to Playhouse Disney, planning to wait for the next show, but once we got there I had an idea, so I explained the situation to the CM who was watching the line area and asked if perhaps they had swept any up off the floor that he might have. She said she'd check, and a few minutes later a CM named Phil came to talk to my son, face-to-face, kneeling to get down on his level, speaking with him *so* wonderfully, and asked all about his streamer. Then he said he couldn't promise anything, but he knew some of the show techs and would go talk to them, and to please wait and he'd see what he could do. They even gave us a place in the shade behind the CM ropes for us to wait. A few minutes later, back he came with a new streamer for my son, who was totally delighted because it was blue, just like the one he had lost. But THEN he pulled out all of the stops -- he had also talked to Bear, he said, while he was back there, and Bear had sent DS an autographed card! And as if THAT wasn't enough, he then pulled out an entire plastic-wrapped package of additional streamers "in case that one gets messed up, too." DS was ecstatic and gave him a huge hug, and I was literally getting teary-eyed. DS went around for hours after that telling everyone how much Bear loved him and showing them his streamers and autographed 'receipt,' as he called it. His 'receipt' is definitely the worse for wear, but I think that'll just make it all the more special when I scrapbook it for him
2 more magical CMs: In the Boneyard at AK, a CM struck up a conversation with my daughter (8), who told her -- among other things -- that she wanted to be an animal rescuer when she grew up. DD told her about how she had rescued her cat, Lucky -- she found her last December in a drainpipe under a bridge, starving, with a broken leg, a dislocated hip, and her whiskers cut off, and my dad helped DD catch her and bring her home to take care of her. The CM was so moved that she took her to another CM and asked her to retell the story, which DD was of course delighted to do. They then told her how proud they were of her for caring so much about animals and doing such a great job of caring for Lucky, and they gave her a pair of very special pins, which a different CM later told us just came out and are barely available yet -- it's Tinkerbell against a light blue cloud, with darker blue stars around her, and says "Where dreams come true." They were on 2 cards -- one for her to keep, and one for her to share, they said, with someone else at Disney who was doing a really great job. She carried the second one in her beltpack all week trying to decide who to give it to, but she eventually settled on Phil, the CM who was so nice to her brother. We didn't see him again, but I figure I'll just mail it with the thank-you letter I was planning to write anyway. In any case, the incident completely made her week, and she's been telling everyone about it ever since -- and she's even more determined to be a truly wonderful animal rescuer!
Another great CM incident: In MGM, a woman selling cotton candy walked by us, and DS suddenly jumped up out of the stroller and ran after her, asking her to stop because he wanted some. I quickly caught him and was explaining that DH had the beltpack with our money in it, so I couldn't get some for him just then, and of course he started crying. She suddenly appeared next to us, handed him a bag of cotton candy, told him 'This is Disney -- you're supposed to smile, not cry! Can you smile for me?' -- and then smiled even bigger than he did as we thanked her
And finally, our Mousekeeper: not only did she rearrange the kids' toys in funny ways each day when she straightened our room, she also noticed how much DD loved cats and made her an adorable towel kitty in addition to the towel animal she had left us after our first night.
Scary, but definitely memorable: Monday night, a woman choked while we were at Coral Reef. People near her tried the Heimlich, unsuccessfully. We didn't realize what was happening until a waiter came to the front of the restaurant asking if there was a doctor, or a nurse, or anyone else who might know what to do. He was trying to be calm but sounded really panicked. DH (a doctor) immediately jumped up and went running. By the time he got there she was very blue and 'looked like death,' he said. He couldn't fully dislodge the blockage either, but he managed to establish a partial airway, enough to keep her stabilized until the paramedics got there, maybe 15 minutes later, to take her to the nearest ER. He was preparing to do an emergency procedure right there at the table if she lost her airway again, but fortunately that wasn't necessary. I truly don't think she would have made it if DH hadn't been there, and we weren't even *supposed* to be there at the time -- we had been late for our reservation, or we would have been gone by the time it happened. Several people stopped by our table to thank DH and make comments about how divine providence had put him there at that time, and I truly believe that's the case. We were all really shaken up, and neither of us slept well that night, after that. DH carried his emergency CPR and tracheotomy kits in his beltpack for the rest of the trip, after that.
Not precisely magical, but still memorable: in the Animal Kingdom, a rhino walked out in the middle of the road in front of our bus, much to DS's delight, and we had to stop and wait until he ambled off the road! On another safari trip, we saw a hippo completely out of the water, standing on one of the little islands, which was something I had never seen before. The CM driving the bus said she had never seen that before, either.
Also, in Epcot the Candy Lady picked DD for a candy animal and made her an incredibly detailed blue cat, caught in the act of pouncing. It was amazing to watch her, and the finished product was just beautiful!
Least hidden 'hidden' Mickey: In the petting zoo area at Rafiki's Planet Watch, one goat has been mostly shaved, but with a fluffy Mickey head left on his rear end. DS couldn't stop laughing, and kept following the goat around pointing at it and telling everyone nearby, 'Look, that goat has MICKEY on his BOTTOM!'
Ohana: more fun than you could shake a stick at, basically The kids really loved all of the activities there, and the woman running them was just fabulous! The coconut race was especially fun.
And finally, one more wonderfully magical experience -- in the Magic Kingdom, we ran across Jack Sparrow, and he chose DD to be an assistant pirate! She was given an honorary scroll (which is really detailed and official-looking -- I need to find it so I can scan it, but basically it tells everyone that she's a pirate on his crew and anyone who messes with her will have to answer to Jack Sparrow!) and got to participate in the rest of the skit. When it was over, Jack's assistant pirate gave DS a scroll too, and they both had their pictures taken with him. It was awesome
I'm sure I could think of more, but this post is way too long already But all in all, it was a great week, despite the crowds, and now that I've caught up on sleep and laundry I'm already wishing we could go back!
Well, the next morning, as we left our resort, who should we see but that same man -- hurrying down the sidewalk all by himself. As he passed us, he threw his hands in the air and called to us, 'I'VE LOST MY HERD AGAIN!'
The kids got a huge kick out of it, but they were also extremely careful not to get separated from us the rest of the week!Magical CMs: My DS (3) caught a blue streamer at Playhouse Disney, and he was *so* excited about it -- but he dangled it out of the stroller as I pushed him to the next attraction, and it got tangled around the wheel and torn into several pieces. Nothing would console him, so we went back to Playhouse Disney, planning to wait for the next show, but once we got there I had an idea, so I explained the situation to the CM who was watching the line area and asked if perhaps they had swept any up off the floor that he might have. She said she'd check, and a few minutes later a CM named Phil came to talk to my son, face-to-face, kneeling to get down on his level, speaking with him *so* wonderfully, and asked all about his streamer. Then he said he couldn't promise anything, but he knew some of the show techs and would go talk to them, and to please wait and he'd see what he could do. They even gave us a place in the shade behind the CM ropes for us to wait. A few minutes later, back he came with a new streamer for my son, who was totally delighted because it was blue, just like the one he had lost. But THEN he pulled out all of the stops -- he had also talked to Bear, he said, while he was back there, and Bear had sent DS an autographed card! And as if THAT wasn't enough, he then pulled out an entire plastic-wrapped package of additional streamers "in case that one gets messed up, too." DS was ecstatic and gave him a huge hug, and I was literally getting teary-eyed. DS went around for hours after that telling everyone how much Bear loved him and showing them his streamers and autographed 'receipt,' as he called it. His 'receipt' is definitely the worse for wear, but I think that'll just make it all the more special when I scrapbook it for him
2 more magical CMs: In the Boneyard at AK, a CM struck up a conversation with my daughter (8), who told her -- among other things -- that she wanted to be an animal rescuer when she grew up. DD told her about how she had rescued her cat, Lucky -- she found her last December in a drainpipe under a bridge, starving, with a broken leg, a dislocated hip, and her whiskers cut off, and my dad helped DD catch her and bring her home to take care of her. The CM was so moved that she took her to another CM and asked her to retell the story, which DD was of course delighted to do. They then told her how proud they were of her for caring so much about animals and doing such a great job of caring for Lucky, and they gave her a pair of very special pins, which a different CM later told us just came out and are barely available yet -- it's Tinkerbell against a light blue cloud, with darker blue stars around her, and says "Where dreams come true." They were on 2 cards -- one for her to keep, and one for her to share, they said, with someone else at Disney who was doing a really great job. She carried the second one in her beltpack all week trying to decide who to give it to, but she eventually settled on Phil, the CM who was so nice to her brother. We didn't see him again, but I figure I'll just mail it with the thank-you letter I was planning to write anyway. In any case, the incident completely made her week, and she's been telling everyone about it ever since -- and she's even more determined to be a truly wonderful animal rescuer!
Another great CM incident: In MGM, a woman selling cotton candy walked by us, and DS suddenly jumped up out of the stroller and ran after her, asking her to stop because he wanted some. I quickly caught him and was explaining that DH had the beltpack with our money in it, so I couldn't get some for him just then, and of course he started crying. She suddenly appeared next to us, handed him a bag of cotton candy, told him 'This is Disney -- you're supposed to smile, not cry! Can you smile for me?' -- and then smiled even bigger than he did as we thanked her
And finally, our Mousekeeper: not only did she rearrange the kids' toys in funny ways each day when she straightened our room, she also noticed how much DD loved cats and made her an adorable towel kitty in addition to the towel animal she had left us after our first night.
Scary, but definitely memorable: Monday night, a woman choked while we were at Coral Reef. People near her tried the Heimlich, unsuccessfully. We didn't realize what was happening until a waiter came to the front of the restaurant asking if there was a doctor, or a nurse, or anyone else who might know what to do. He was trying to be calm but sounded really panicked. DH (a doctor) immediately jumped up and went running. By the time he got there she was very blue and 'looked like death,' he said. He couldn't fully dislodge the blockage either, but he managed to establish a partial airway, enough to keep her stabilized until the paramedics got there, maybe 15 minutes later, to take her to the nearest ER. He was preparing to do an emergency procedure right there at the table if she lost her airway again, but fortunately that wasn't necessary. I truly don't think she would have made it if DH hadn't been there, and we weren't even *supposed* to be there at the time -- we had been late for our reservation, or we would have been gone by the time it happened. Several people stopped by our table to thank DH and make comments about how divine providence had put him there at that time, and I truly believe that's the case. We were all really shaken up, and neither of us slept well that night, after that. DH carried his emergency CPR and tracheotomy kits in his beltpack for the rest of the trip, after that.
Not precisely magical, but still memorable: in the Animal Kingdom, a rhino walked out in the middle of the road in front of our bus, much to DS's delight, and we had to stop and wait until he ambled off the road! On another safari trip, we saw a hippo completely out of the water, standing on one of the little islands, which was something I had never seen before. The CM driving the bus said she had never seen that before, either.
Also, in Epcot the Candy Lady picked DD for a candy animal and made her an incredibly detailed blue cat, caught in the act of pouncing. It was amazing to watch her, and the finished product was just beautiful!
Least hidden 'hidden' Mickey: In the petting zoo area at Rafiki's Planet Watch, one goat has been mostly shaved, but with a fluffy Mickey head left on his rear end. DS couldn't stop laughing, and kept following the goat around pointing at it and telling everyone nearby, 'Look, that goat has MICKEY on his BOTTOM!'
Ohana: more fun than you could shake a stick at, basically
The kids really loved all of the activities there, and the woman running them was just fabulous! The coconut race was especially fun.And finally, one more wonderfully magical experience -- in the Magic Kingdom, we ran across Jack Sparrow, and he chose DD to be an assistant pirate! She was given an honorary scroll (which is really detailed and official-looking -- I need to find it so I can scan it, but basically it tells everyone that she's a pirate on his crew and anyone who messes with her will have to answer to Jack Sparrow!) and got to participate in the rest of the skit. When it was over, Jack's assistant pirate gave DS a scroll too, and they both had their pictures taken with him. It was awesome
I'm sure I could think of more, but this post is way too long already
But all in all, it was a great week, despite the crowds, and now that I've caught up on sleep and laundry I'm already wishing we could go back!
to your DH!!
