MINMATES Trip Report: Pre-trip Drama
I think Im Gonna Be sick
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=8284795#post8284795
MINMATES Trip Report: (Day 1) I Need A Vacation! http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=8284821#post8284821
MINMATES Trip Report: Day 2 (Pt.1) Lions & Tarzan & Micke, Oh My! http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=8288435#post8288435
MINMATES Trip Report: Day 2 (Pt.2) Visiting WDW-One Potty At A Time!
ME (minmate)
DH -- Joe
DD6 Cali
DD5 Meg
DS4 Buddy
DD2 Jay Jay
4/5-4/12 7 nights at Pop Century
WED AFTERNOON 4/6
Upon returning to our rooms at the Pop at about 1:30, we discovered Mousekeeping had not yet visited us. I called to find out if they knew when theyd be there. We were hoping to have the kids nap after a swim and Brayden had an accident the night before. Oh, did I forget to mention that? Yes, frustrating. Hes usually pretty good but Im sure all the excitement and being a heavy sleeper in new surroundings, well, accidents happen, right? Dont worry, we left a generous tip for the extra work. Anyway, my call to Mousekeeping didnt yield much info as they couldnt tell me when theyd be in our room. When we stepped out the door we saw the carts only two doors down, so we felt pretty confident theyd get there soon. We chose to go to the Bowling Pin pool as it was only about a 45 second walk away. My 2yo is a daredevil. She LOVES the water. Now, she has a lifejacket on, kindly provided by Pop. But shes off jumping in the pool by herself. She bats me away if I try to catch her. We played silly pool games together Fun, fun, fun. The water was warm, almost too warm to be refreshing. But then when I got out, I was shivering! I suspect Joe thinks Im really Goldilocks All-Grown Up (This weather is too hot, this weather is too cold!)
Soon enough, the kids decided they wanted to go play in the Goofy sprayers. Off we went. After the much needed pool break, we headed back into the hotel room for a nap.We were treated to some great towel animals. (Thanks mom for hinting to Mousekeeping!) Somehow, the kids latched onto the term Micekeepers. Every time we came and went into the room, they would chant, Thanks Micekeepers over and over again. They would get sick of it, but then about two minutes later, youd hear JayJays husky little 2yo voice pipe up again and start it all over!
I lined the kids up and gave them all some cough medicine. Okay, well JayJay and Meg had been having coughing fits at night. So, why not give the other two a dose for good measure! (Okay, so maybe theres a bit of a hidden agenda there, but it worked). Ten minutes later, they were all snug as bugs in their mousekept rugs. Joe even dozed off. I contemplated sleeping. I just have a hard time sleeping the first few days at WDW. I think Im running on adrenaline or something. So I showered and studied the mounds of goodies we got at check-in. Most of it I already knew about, but it was fun anyway. I mentally charted our course for the evening at MKs EMH evening. And before I knew it, the phone was a ringing. It was Mickey (and that stinker Stitch) reminding us to get a move on! Lots left to do today!
I woke Joe and told him I had a grand idea for keeping the kids in check tonight. I suggested a Contest. At the end of the night, we would decide who was the winner based on good behavior, sharing, no complaining, etc. That child would pick what we did the next morning. (It was a free day. I had some tentative plans for it, but was willing to give up control of it for good behavior in return). Well, we roused the kids and told them about the Contest. I dont know if this was responsible for their behavior, but this evening was about to unfold like a beautiful rose.
Apparently many others at Pop had the same grand plan we did. At 5 p.m., there was standing room only on the Bus to MK. Meg wasnt even able to stand near me b/c of the bus set-up. Nobody offered for us to adjust so I could get near her. I was standing next to Cali and Buddy as it was. The ride to MK is definitely a HALF AND HOUR long (remember that basically means forever in Buddy language) when youre standing. Buddys legs got tired and he started crouching like a frog. He finally gave up and just sat down on the bus floor. I threw a prayer up to Heaven that there were no icky germs on that floor and then turned the other way. Im learning when to pick my battles with that little guy. This was not one that I would win in the long run.
I think the bus ride lulled my brain into la-la land because for the first 15 minutes or so after getting our strollers at MK, I was in the twilight zone. Everyone was just so happy to be there though. I am definitely now and forever planning to hit MK FIRST THING upon Disney arrival at least with Buddy in tow. He was finally starting to shake the annoying attitude that had pervaded his soul the past day and a half. It was somewhat crowded. The board up at the hub didnt have any times on it so I had no idea what lines were like. We decided to check into Crystal Palace (40 minutes early) for our 6:50 PS. I figured I could check in and run to get an FP before we got called. Joe took all four kids to the bathroom behind CP bless his heart while I stood in a fairly long check-in line. The Hostess called out for anyone who DIDNT have PSs that they were no longer taking walk-ins as they were booked for the evening. I was technically the next person to check-in. However, 10 minutes after she called these people out of line, they were still blocking the check-in window arguing with her about the PS policies. Like this CM was going to actually be able to change the policy or the fact that the restaurant was booked. Oh, yes, were booked, but for you, since youre so rude and ignorant, yes, here at the Happiest Place On Earth, well make room for you! Huh? I did feel sorry for these people; however, nobody led me by the nose to research a trip to WDW. I had to seek it out and LUCKILY, I found some very good places for great tips and info! These two different groups of people were trying to get the hostess to tell them where they should go for a sit-down meal. She was saying all four restaurants were booked up that night. One guy said, Well, how are we supposed to make reservations and eat when were here? I wanted to scream, Easy hit the DINE button on your phone? Instead, after I couldnt stand it anymore I turned to one lady next to me and said, You know, you can call Disney Dining and they can tell you whats available so you dont have to walk all over the park. That was one of their complaints too. They were walking all over checking for cancellations. I told the lady that while there might not be anything in the park even when calling Disney Dining, they can help her find a restaurant close by at one of the nearest resorts maybe. She thanked me and asked me for the number. I gave it to her. Finally, these people moved aside enough for me to check-in. I told the gentleman I was more than happy to wait my 30 minutes but was curious if it would be that long so I could run and get a Fast Pass. He went to check for me but we were called in as he was coming back. Guess thats my answer! That was easy! So now, Joe is back with the kids and we get seated at a table just on the right side, close to the door. Lots of space around our tables. Curiously, we seemed to get a lot of tables in different restaurants in similar type locations by the door, kind of off by themselves, lots of space around them. I wont complain though! Nice. This place is great. Good food and characters are efficient but fun. We forgot to bring our autograph bag and the kids were disappointed. I felt bad but figured, guess well get Pooh and friends autographs next time kids! Dh took two kid to the buffet to fill their plates and get himself a salad. He then got the other two kids plates. Then he offered for me to get a plate of food. I did. Then he went to get his main food. Two seconds after he left the table JayJay turns to me and says she has to go potty. Wait a minute. Didnt daddy already take you? Can you wait a minute? I ask. I couldnt see Joe and I didnt want to leave the kids all at the table. Just as I was readying to oust the whole clan to go to the bathroom JayJay gives me that look and starts to stand up in her high chair. Yup folks, she only gave me about a 5 second warning that she had to go. This was not like her. She hasnt had an accident in months. Oh no, I didnt bring a backpack in tonight either! Egads! I guess she was so excited to see Tigger she peed her pants -- literally! Well, as soon as Joe returns to the table, I jump up and Meg announces the news to daddy. So the Magic Continues he laughs. I headed off to find her some new shorts. I weaved through the shops next to Crystal Palace. Im forgetting the name of them now, but remembered then that I wanted to remember the name but obviously that didnt work! I couldnt find anything in her size anywhere. Shirts, yes, but no shorts. I felt like I was in the Alannis Morrisette song, Like having ten thousand spoons, when all you need is a knife. Finally, a CM (From Herkimer County, NY near where I used to live!), helps me. We find some size 6-8 shorts that looked small. They were purple and actually matched JayJays t-shirt. I scooped them up, small-talked about Herkimer with the CM and dashed back to CP. Amazingly, I hadnt missed any characters. I grabbed the shorts out of the bag and used the bag to cover up JayJays bottom area (still in her wet shorts) and take her to the bathroom to clean her up. Unfortunately, I hadnt found any underwear so JayJay went commando that night! Or as grandma taught my girls to call it, Hanging Loose! uh okay! Crisis Solved Just another humdrum day in the Happiest Place On Earth!
So, what are we up to now? Two potty accidents in two days. Great record! Geesh! I thought we were done with this stage. We havent dealt with this at home for a long time. I wasnt much in the mood for eating after that. The kids were working on dessert and the characters were full tilt into their rotation with us. We didnt miss a single one though! At least we had good timing! Oh, and never fear, I blushedly (is that a word?) informed our server of the incident suggesting the high chair be given a once over. I certainly dont want to be a culprit in contributing to the list of gross things on the Dis Message Boards with a urinated on high chair! Ewww! Gross! She promised me it would be cleaned. We exited Crystal Palace and I looked back smiling to myself envisioning that for years to come when we visit here, we will forever find someone in our family to chime in with the old, Remember the time JayJay peed her pants here! Shell probably have to live with that on WDW vacations for many years to come!
By the way, while I was in line during the Priority Seating Hoopla, I saw (from afar) about ½ of Cinderellabration. Anyway, now that we were sufficiently full on the varied options available at Crystal Palace and Buddy on his 2nd day of what was looking to be an 8-day Chicken Strip Eating Fest -- I knew if we didnt get to Pirates Of The Caribbean soon, hed spiral back into the black oblivion. But first, ever trying to be efficient with out time, I quickly checked for FPs at Splash all gone, 50 minute wait. No Thanks!
So I grabbed a couple of Fast Passes for Big Thunder and by 7:15 we were getting our wristbands across from El Pirata Loco (you know, the restaurant across from Pirates!). They indeed checked for our resort keys, but did not ask for ids. They said JayJay (at 2yo) did not need a bracelet. So we were effectively cuffed with our cute fluorescent pink wristbands and did an about-face into the POTC queue. We had less than a 10 minute wait here. We thoroughly enjoyed this ride. Buddy gets wicked into it. (Massachussetts slang there for ya!). He points everything out to us and by mid-ride cant help but start yelling 4-year-old concoctions to the pirates. This, simply cracks Joe and me up. Last year Grandma (my mom) told the girls that the skeleton at the steering wheel at the very beginning of the ride (on your right) was her boyfriend who got lost looking for her! The kids get a kick out of this and repeat it every time we go on this ride! (Mind you, my dad and mom are divorced but were both with us on our last trip to WDW. I know weird, but I digress). Meg was a bit scared at first to go on this ride. She will tell you she enjoys the rides when she is safely removed from actually being ON the ride, but her attitude often does a switcheroo mid-ride. We never know how she is going to take things. She is unpredictable to say the least. One thing she had big issue with last year is that she didnt like to get wet and didnt want to get splashed by that little dip in the beginning of POTC. She wants to sit next to daddy, but where does daddy sit her? Not on the inside to protect her from the splash but on the outside! Silly daddy! We enjoy our ride and Buddy proclaims that it was wicked, wicked cool and he wants to do it again! We then proceed to the wallet dumping station a.k.a. the gift store. We donated $85+ in return for swords, guns, hats, and Pluto and Mickey beanies adorning their Ferocious pirate garb. I could have easily spent more as I was eyeing some cute shirts that I thought Buddy would love to wear, but I restrained myself. We were only one day into our trip! I was searching for an appropriately themed POTC magnet for myself but the one I found was not that cute. Cali was with me when I distractedly told her what I was doing. I found an adorable rubbery Mickey Pirate Pin and decided that would do. I dont have any other pins though so it was kind of a silly choice, but I liked it better than the magnet Id found. As I make my way to the check-out Cali comes bounding over to me with glee showing me a different magnet she found. So, of course, I bought both. What a sweetheart! Buddy had been waiting since Easter (when we told him about the trip) to return to his mecca this store, to get a new pirate sword and hat. Last June, when we went to WDW, Grandpa (my dad) was with us for part of the trip. Now, to understand things, Grandpa has worked very hard in his life and has the means for the finer things in life. He is a finer things in life kind of guy too. To him, if you have four kids, you should get four drinks. Why share? If someone drops their Mickey Bar even if there was less than one bite left on the stick, well just get another one. Not being a family that has quite achieved that level of luxury, we often find ourselves in situations to dispel certain facts-of-life necessities to our kids, such as sharing, being careful and taking care of what you DO get. So, last year, Buddy was a gift store nightmare. Every time we exited a ride, there were the stereotypical pleas and whines for this and that. I recall being in the Buzz Lightyear gift shop and he grabbed the first boxed toy he saw and insisted he MUST have it. I plucked it from his grip and asked him, Well if you simply MUST have it, what is it? What does it do? To which his reply was, I dunno. But I need it Mommeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! That was our first day last year (2004). Enter Grandpa on Day 2. Grandpa and his Magic Card which magically bought anything a childs heart desired, including their own drinks, every HALF AND HOUR, and their very own pirate hat AND sword! I still remember Buddys face from THAT trip so vividly as he galloped out of the POTC gift shop, pirate hat on head and sword in hand. He donned those things for the rest of that trip. He entertained people with his solo imaginary duels atop the MGM hat steps. He protected and saved the Princesses (his sisters and me). So, to him, and largely through his eyes, to me -- that is the epitome of Disney World Joy. We promised him he could get these items again when we went. This time however, he also spotted some rubber irons. They are like old-fashioned hand cuffs. A rubbery cuff on each side linked together by rubber chain. He had to have these, just like Capt. Jack Sparrow! But when we finished at the counter we did not have them in our bag o goodies. I inquired as to why not and Joes reply was that he and Buddy had made a deal that if he was good for the next two days (until we returned to MK) he would earn them as a reward. Well, thats a good $1.50 well spent! Whoa! What? A Disney souvenir for $1.50? And the plastic sword was only $3.50! Just my style! Anyway, Buddy was good with that deal and after all four kids were satisfied with inspecting their purchases we loaded up the strollers. All was right in Buddy World now too! He was happy, his life was now complete!
Cali was bent on checking out the Swiss Family Robinsons Treehouse. I hadnt done this since I was a kid. So, we did it. But I, personally, hope we can forget it and pull it off the radar. Joe joked that, Hey, now, they can call standing in line an attraction. Because thats kind of how it felt. Walk a few feet. Stand, wait walk a few feet more. Anyway, after that it was off to Magic Carpets. Last year, on Cali and Megs first trip to WDW Cali had an incident on these. When she went to step in the Carpets, a CM asked her to wait as they werent ready for us to get in yet. She went to step back out and missed the landing deck and her leg slipped through between the carpet and the deck all the way down to her hip. She had a huge bruise, about the size and shape of a big banana on her leg. It was a scary moment because for a split second, I envisioned her slipping all the way down between the Carpets and into the under part of the ride. Of course that probably couldnt ever happen, thankfully. Needless to say, developed an aversion to this ride. She refused to ride it the next trip down. She overcame her fear this time and we sang, A Whole New World as we rode our Magic Carpet. I give her credit, because if a proportionately similar incident like this happened to me, I may not so brave to get back on a ride that I KNOW I got hurt on before. After the ride, we passed by the Tiki Gods and reminisced about our last trip when they played in them as the Tiki Gods spit water on them. They werent doing this tonight though.
It was time for our FPs at Big Thunder. As we passed by, I checked and Splash still had a long line (and no FPs) so we went directly to Big Thunder. This was to be Buddys first roller coaster. He was excited. Meg was okay as long as she wasnt going to get wet. We zipped through the Fast Pass line and agreed that Meg and Cali would sit together and Buddy and I would sit together. Well, we were placed at the back of the train. Is this spot faster than the front? Supposedly yes. What a way to experience your first coaster ride, I thought. Buddy thought NOT! Shortly into the trip he was screaming about how it was too fast! Yikes! He did NOT like this ride! Meg was not so sure but Cali, our lone adventure, as it is turning out, liked it again. Wishes Fireworks had just begun as we exited the ride and reunited with Joe and JayJay. I convinced Joe to take Cali on Big Thunder again, utilizing Ride Switch. Nobody else wanted to go except JayJay. But she wasnt tall enough. She was displeased with this news. We watched the fireworks but didnt have a good view of the castle from back there. I didnt want to relocate us because, for as good as Joe is at many things, I have huge suspicions hes just not good with directions. If I were to call him and tell him to meet us elsewhere, hed be lost for who knows how long! Oh well. The fireworks were beautiful and I enjoyed watching Buddy in his make-believe sword fighting dance. Joe and Cali were able to see some of the Fireworks from Big Thunder. I thought that was cool.
Now, it was 9:15 p.m. and we were officially in EMH. Who wants to go on Splash Mountain? I ask. A chorus of, Not mes rings out. All except for JayJay who nearly trips over herself bounding up out of her stroller. I do! Yay! She cheers. Oh, poor sweet baby doll! She is not tall enough. So, since nobody else wanted to do it, I wasnt going to subject her to waiting it out.
Okay, I really feel like I should have mention something more about Potty Breaks. We institute a If one goes, we all go policy. It worked last trip, but no so much this trip. Therefore, it feels that after every ride, every meal, every time I turn around, someone is asking to go to the bathroom. Most often, this occurs at precisely the most inopportune moment. Its as if they wait, lurking, until ready to pounce this grand announcement upon us. There is a magically hidden spot somewhere between the exit of Magic Kingdom (where you normally ask all members of your party if they have to use the potty before heading home) and Bus Stop 18 (Pop Centurys stop), that if you step on it, it magically fills your bladder to bursting. There are lots of these spots all over Walt Disney World. We or my kids rather, are particularly talented at discovering this hidden spot. I think Disney Imagineers, with their great senses of humor installed these all over Walt Disney World.
Needless to say, I lost count of how many times we visited bathrooms and really wish I would have taken pictures of them. Fun scrapbook page entitled, Visiting WDW: One Potty at a Time!
MINMATES Trip Report: (Day 1) I Need A Vacation! http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=8284821#post8284821
MINMATES Trip Report: Day 2 (Pt.1) Lions & Tarzan & Micke, Oh My! http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=8288435#post8288435
MINMATES Trip Report: Day 2 (Pt.2) Visiting WDW-One Potty At A Time!
ME (minmate)
DH -- Joe
DD6 Cali
DD5 Meg
DS4 Buddy
DD2 Jay Jay
4/5-4/12 7 nights at Pop Century
WED AFTERNOON 4/6
Upon returning to our rooms at the Pop at about 1:30, we discovered Mousekeeping had not yet visited us. I called to find out if they knew when theyd be there. We were hoping to have the kids nap after a swim and Brayden had an accident the night before. Oh, did I forget to mention that? Yes, frustrating. Hes usually pretty good but Im sure all the excitement and being a heavy sleeper in new surroundings, well, accidents happen, right? Dont worry, we left a generous tip for the extra work. Anyway, my call to Mousekeeping didnt yield much info as they couldnt tell me when theyd be in our room. When we stepped out the door we saw the carts only two doors down, so we felt pretty confident theyd get there soon. We chose to go to the Bowling Pin pool as it was only about a 45 second walk away. My 2yo is a daredevil. She LOVES the water. Now, she has a lifejacket on, kindly provided by Pop. But shes off jumping in the pool by herself. She bats me away if I try to catch her. We played silly pool games together Fun, fun, fun. The water was warm, almost too warm to be refreshing. But then when I got out, I was shivering! I suspect Joe thinks Im really Goldilocks All-Grown Up (This weather is too hot, this weather is too cold!)
Soon enough, the kids decided they wanted to go play in the Goofy sprayers. Off we went. After the much needed pool break, we headed back into the hotel room for a nap.We were treated to some great towel animals. (Thanks mom for hinting to Mousekeeping!) Somehow, the kids latched onto the term Micekeepers. Every time we came and went into the room, they would chant, Thanks Micekeepers over and over again. They would get sick of it, but then about two minutes later, youd hear JayJays husky little 2yo voice pipe up again and start it all over!
I lined the kids up and gave them all some cough medicine. Okay, well JayJay and Meg had been having coughing fits at night. So, why not give the other two a dose for good measure! (Okay, so maybe theres a bit of a hidden agenda there, but it worked). Ten minutes later, they were all snug as bugs in their mousekept rugs. Joe even dozed off. I contemplated sleeping. I just have a hard time sleeping the first few days at WDW. I think Im running on adrenaline or something. So I showered and studied the mounds of goodies we got at check-in. Most of it I already knew about, but it was fun anyway. I mentally charted our course for the evening at MKs EMH evening. And before I knew it, the phone was a ringing. It was Mickey (and that stinker Stitch) reminding us to get a move on! Lots left to do today!
I woke Joe and told him I had a grand idea for keeping the kids in check tonight. I suggested a Contest. At the end of the night, we would decide who was the winner based on good behavior, sharing, no complaining, etc. That child would pick what we did the next morning. (It was a free day. I had some tentative plans for it, but was willing to give up control of it for good behavior in return). Well, we roused the kids and told them about the Contest. I dont know if this was responsible for their behavior, but this evening was about to unfold like a beautiful rose.
Apparently many others at Pop had the same grand plan we did. At 5 p.m., there was standing room only on the Bus to MK. Meg wasnt even able to stand near me b/c of the bus set-up. Nobody offered for us to adjust so I could get near her. I was standing next to Cali and Buddy as it was. The ride to MK is definitely a HALF AND HOUR long (remember that basically means forever in Buddy language) when youre standing. Buddys legs got tired and he started crouching like a frog. He finally gave up and just sat down on the bus floor. I threw a prayer up to Heaven that there were no icky germs on that floor and then turned the other way. Im learning when to pick my battles with that little guy. This was not one that I would win in the long run.
I think the bus ride lulled my brain into la-la land because for the first 15 minutes or so after getting our strollers at MK, I was in the twilight zone. Everyone was just so happy to be there though. I am definitely now and forever planning to hit MK FIRST THING upon Disney arrival at least with Buddy in tow. He was finally starting to shake the annoying attitude that had pervaded his soul the past day and a half. It was somewhat crowded. The board up at the hub didnt have any times on it so I had no idea what lines were like. We decided to check into Crystal Palace (40 minutes early) for our 6:50 PS. I figured I could check in and run to get an FP before we got called. Joe took all four kids to the bathroom behind CP bless his heart while I stood in a fairly long check-in line. The Hostess called out for anyone who DIDNT have PSs that they were no longer taking walk-ins as they were booked for the evening. I was technically the next person to check-in. However, 10 minutes after she called these people out of line, they were still blocking the check-in window arguing with her about the PS policies. Like this CM was going to actually be able to change the policy or the fact that the restaurant was booked. Oh, yes, were booked, but for you, since youre so rude and ignorant, yes, here at the Happiest Place On Earth, well make room for you! Huh? I did feel sorry for these people; however, nobody led me by the nose to research a trip to WDW. I had to seek it out and LUCKILY, I found some very good places for great tips and info! These two different groups of people were trying to get the hostess to tell them where they should go for a sit-down meal. She was saying all four restaurants were booked up that night. One guy said, Well, how are we supposed to make reservations and eat when were here? I wanted to scream, Easy hit the DINE button on your phone? Instead, after I couldnt stand it anymore I turned to one lady next to me and said, You know, you can call Disney Dining and they can tell you whats available so you dont have to walk all over the park. That was one of their complaints too. They were walking all over checking for cancellations. I told the lady that while there might not be anything in the park even when calling Disney Dining, they can help her find a restaurant close by at one of the nearest resorts maybe. She thanked me and asked me for the number. I gave it to her. Finally, these people moved aside enough for me to check-in. I told the gentleman I was more than happy to wait my 30 minutes but was curious if it would be that long so I could run and get a Fast Pass. He went to check for me but we were called in as he was coming back. Guess thats my answer! That was easy! So now, Joe is back with the kids and we get seated at a table just on the right side, close to the door. Lots of space around our tables. Curiously, we seemed to get a lot of tables in different restaurants in similar type locations by the door, kind of off by themselves, lots of space around them. I wont complain though! Nice. This place is great. Good food and characters are efficient but fun. We forgot to bring our autograph bag and the kids were disappointed. I felt bad but figured, guess well get Pooh and friends autographs next time kids! Dh took two kid to the buffet to fill their plates and get himself a salad. He then got the other two kids plates. Then he offered for me to get a plate of food. I did. Then he went to get his main food. Two seconds after he left the table JayJay turns to me and says she has to go potty. Wait a minute. Didnt daddy already take you? Can you wait a minute? I ask. I couldnt see Joe and I didnt want to leave the kids all at the table. Just as I was readying to oust the whole clan to go to the bathroom JayJay gives me that look and starts to stand up in her high chair. Yup folks, she only gave me about a 5 second warning that she had to go. This was not like her. She hasnt had an accident in months. Oh no, I didnt bring a backpack in tonight either! Egads! I guess she was so excited to see Tigger she peed her pants -- literally! Well, as soon as Joe returns to the table, I jump up and Meg announces the news to daddy. So the Magic Continues he laughs. I headed off to find her some new shorts. I weaved through the shops next to Crystal Palace. Im forgetting the name of them now, but remembered then that I wanted to remember the name but obviously that didnt work! I couldnt find anything in her size anywhere. Shirts, yes, but no shorts. I felt like I was in the Alannis Morrisette song, Like having ten thousand spoons, when all you need is a knife. Finally, a CM (From Herkimer County, NY near where I used to live!), helps me. We find some size 6-8 shorts that looked small. They were purple and actually matched JayJays t-shirt. I scooped them up, small-talked about Herkimer with the CM and dashed back to CP. Amazingly, I hadnt missed any characters. I grabbed the shorts out of the bag and used the bag to cover up JayJays bottom area (still in her wet shorts) and take her to the bathroom to clean her up. Unfortunately, I hadnt found any underwear so JayJay went commando that night! Or as grandma taught my girls to call it, Hanging Loose! uh okay! Crisis Solved Just another humdrum day in the Happiest Place On Earth!
So, what are we up to now? Two potty accidents in two days. Great record! Geesh! I thought we were done with this stage. We havent dealt with this at home for a long time. I wasnt much in the mood for eating after that. The kids were working on dessert and the characters were full tilt into their rotation with us. We didnt miss a single one though! At least we had good timing! Oh, and never fear, I blushedly (is that a word?) informed our server of the incident suggesting the high chair be given a once over. I certainly dont want to be a culprit in contributing to the list of gross things on the Dis Message Boards with a urinated on high chair! Ewww! Gross! She promised me it would be cleaned. We exited Crystal Palace and I looked back smiling to myself envisioning that for years to come when we visit here, we will forever find someone in our family to chime in with the old, Remember the time JayJay peed her pants here! Shell probably have to live with that on WDW vacations for many years to come!
By the way, while I was in line during the Priority Seating Hoopla, I saw (from afar) about ½ of Cinderellabration. Anyway, now that we were sufficiently full on the varied options available at Crystal Palace and Buddy on his 2nd day of what was looking to be an 8-day Chicken Strip Eating Fest -- I knew if we didnt get to Pirates Of The Caribbean soon, hed spiral back into the black oblivion. But first, ever trying to be efficient with out time, I quickly checked for FPs at Splash all gone, 50 minute wait. No Thanks!
So I grabbed a couple of Fast Passes for Big Thunder and by 7:15 we were getting our wristbands across from El Pirata Loco (you know, the restaurant across from Pirates!). They indeed checked for our resort keys, but did not ask for ids. They said JayJay (at 2yo) did not need a bracelet. So we were effectively cuffed with our cute fluorescent pink wristbands and did an about-face into the POTC queue. We had less than a 10 minute wait here. We thoroughly enjoyed this ride. Buddy gets wicked into it. (Massachussetts slang there for ya!). He points everything out to us and by mid-ride cant help but start yelling 4-year-old concoctions to the pirates. This, simply cracks Joe and me up. Last year Grandma (my mom) told the girls that the skeleton at the steering wheel at the very beginning of the ride (on your right) was her boyfriend who got lost looking for her! The kids get a kick out of this and repeat it every time we go on this ride! (Mind you, my dad and mom are divorced but were both with us on our last trip to WDW. I know weird, but I digress). Meg was a bit scared at first to go on this ride. She will tell you she enjoys the rides when she is safely removed from actually being ON the ride, but her attitude often does a switcheroo mid-ride. We never know how she is going to take things. She is unpredictable to say the least. One thing she had big issue with last year is that she didnt like to get wet and didnt want to get splashed by that little dip in the beginning of POTC. She wants to sit next to daddy, but where does daddy sit her? Not on the inside to protect her from the splash but on the outside! Silly daddy! We enjoy our ride and Buddy proclaims that it was wicked, wicked cool and he wants to do it again! We then proceed to the wallet dumping station a.k.a. the gift store. We donated $85+ in return for swords, guns, hats, and Pluto and Mickey beanies adorning their Ferocious pirate garb. I could have easily spent more as I was eyeing some cute shirts that I thought Buddy would love to wear, but I restrained myself. We were only one day into our trip! I was searching for an appropriately themed POTC magnet for myself but the one I found was not that cute. Cali was with me when I distractedly told her what I was doing. I found an adorable rubbery Mickey Pirate Pin and decided that would do. I dont have any other pins though so it was kind of a silly choice, but I liked it better than the magnet Id found. As I make my way to the check-out Cali comes bounding over to me with glee showing me a different magnet she found. So, of course, I bought both. What a sweetheart! Buddy had been waiting since Easter (when we told him about the trip) to return to his mecca this store, to get a new pirate sword and hat. Last June, when we went to WDW, Grandpa (my dad) was with us for part of the trip. Now, to understand things, Grandpa has worked very hard in his life and has the means for the finer things in life. He is a finer things in life kind of guy too. To him, if you have four kids, you should get four drinks. Why share? If someone drops their Mickey Bar even if there was less than one bite left on the stick, well just get another one. Not being a family that has quite achieved that level of luxury, we often find ourselves in situations to dispel certain facts-of-life necessities to our kids, such as sharing, being careful and taking care of what you DO get. So, last year, Buddy was a gift store nightmare. Every time we exited a ride, there were the stereotypical pleas and whines for this and that. I recall being in the Buzz Lightyear gift shop and he grabbed the first boxed toy he saw and insisted he MUST have it. I plucked it from his grip and asked him, Well if you simply MUST have it, what is it? What does it do? To which his reply was, I dunno. But I need it Mommeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! That was our first day last year (2004). Enter Grandpa on Day 2. Grandpa and his Magic Card which magically bought anything a childs heart desired, including their own drinks, every HALF AND HOUR, and their very own pirate hat AND sword! I still remember Buddys face from THAT trip so vividly as he galloped out of the POTC gift shop, pirate hat on head and sword in hand. He donned those things for the rest of that trip. He entertained people with his solo imaginary duels atop the MGM hat steps. He protected and saved the Princesses (his sisters and me). So, to him, and largely through his eyes, to me -- that is the epitome of Disney World Joy. We promised him he could get these items again when we went. This time however, he also spotted some rubber irons. They are like old-fashioned hand cuffs. A rubbery cuff on each side linked together by rubber chain. He had to have these, just like Capt. Jack Sparrow! But when we finished at the counter we did not have them in our bag o goodies. I inquired as to why not and Joes reply was that he and Buddy had made a deal that if he was good for the next two days (until we returned to MK) he would earn them as a reward. Well, thats a good $1.50 well spent! Whoa! What? A Disney souvenir for $1.50? And the plastic sword was only $3.50! Just my style! Anyway, Buddy was good with that deal and after all four kids were satisfied with inspecting their purchases we loaded up the strollers. All was right in Buddy World now too! He was happy, his life was now complete!
Cali was bent on checking out the Swiss Family Robinsons Treehouse. I hadnt done this since I was a kid. So, we did it. But I, personally, hope we can forget it and pull it off the radar. Joe joked that, Hey, now, they can call standing in line an attraction. Because thats kind of how it felt. Walk a few feet. Stand, wait walk a few feet more. Anyway, after that it was off to Magic Carpets. Last year, on Cali and Megs first trip to WDW Cali had an incident on these. When she went to step in the Carpets, a CM asked her to wait as they werent ready for us to get in yet. She went to step back out and missed the landing deck and her leg slipped through between the carpet and the deck all the way down to her hip. She had a huge bruise, about the size and shape of a big banana on her leg. It was a scary moment because for a split second, I envisioned her slipping all the way down between the Carpets and into the under part of the ride. Of course that probably couldnt ever happen, thankfully. Needless to say, developed an aversion to this ride. She refused to ride it the next trip down. She overcame her fear this time and we sang, A Whole New World as we rode our Magic Carpet. I give her credit, because if a proportionately similar incident like this happened to me, I may not so brave to get back on a ride that I KNOW I got hurt on before. After the ride, we passed by the Tiki Gods and reminisced about our last trip when they played in them as the Tiki Gods spit water on them. They werent doing this tonight though.
It was time for our FPs at Big Thunder. As we passed by, I checked and Splash still had a long line (and no FPs) so we went directly to Big Thunder. This was to be Buddys first roller coaster. He was excited. Meg was okay as long as she wasnt going to get wet. We zipped through the Fast Pass line and agreed that Meg and Cali would sit together and Buddy and I would sit together. Well, we were placed at the back of the train. Is this spot faster than the front? Supposedly yes. What a way to experience your first coaster ride, I thought. Buddy thought NOT! Shortly into the trip he was screaming about how it was too fast! Yikes! He did NOT like this ride! Meg was not so sure but Cali, our lone adventure, as it is turning out, liked it again. Wishes Fireworks had just begun as we exited the ride and reunited with Joe and JayJay. I convinced Joe to take Cali on Big Thunder again, utilizing Ride Switch. Nobody else wanted to go except JayJay. But she wasnt tall enough. She was displeased with this news. We watched the fireworks but didnt have a good view of the castle from back there. I didnt want to relocate us because, for as good as Joe is at many things, I have huge suspicions hes just not good with directions. If I were to call him and tell him to meet us elsewhere, hed be lost for who knows how long! Oh well. The fireworks were beautiful and I enjoyed watching Buddy in his make-believe sword fighting dance. Joe and Cali were able to see some of the Fireworks from Big Thunder. I thought that was cool.
Now, it was 9:15 p.m. and we were officially in EMH. Who wants to go on Splash Mountain? I ask. A chorus of, Not mes rings out. All except for JayJay who nearly trips over herself bounding up out of her stroller. I do! Yay! She cheers. Oh, poor sweet baby doll! She is not tall enough. So, since nobody else wanted to do it, I wasnt going to subject her to waiting it out.
Okay, I really feel like I should have mention something more about Potty Breaks. We institute a If one goes, we all go policy. It worked last trip, but no so much this trip. Therefore, it feels that after every ride, every meal, every time I turn around, someone is asking to go to the bathroom. Most often, this occurs at precisely the most inopportune moment. Its as if they wait, lurking, until ready to pounce this grand announcement upon us. There is a magically hidden spot somewhere between the exit of Magic Kingdom (where you normally ask all members of your party if they have to use the potty before heading home) and Bus Stop 18 (Pop Centurys stop), that if you step on it, it magically fills your bladder to bursting. There are lots of these spots all over Walt Disney World. We or my kids rather, are particularly talented at discovering this hidden spot. I think Disney Imagineers, with their great senses of humor installed these all over Walt Disney World.
Needless to say, I lost count of how many times we visited bathrooms and really wish I would have taken pictures of them. Fun scrapbook page entitled, Visiting WDW: One Potty at a Time!
You are so right about going to MK first, no matter what the crowd level- it just doesn't feel like we're "there" until you walk under that tunnel. I also concur about the potty break thing. My kids do that allllllllll the time. I know where all the "good" toilets are anywhere we go!
Love the reports! 
