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 & Mickey, 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! http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=792642
MINMATES Trip Report: Day 2 (Pt.3) Magic Kingdom Nirvana
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=8301761#post8301761
MINMATES Trip Report: Day 3 (PT 1) POOL Is One Letter Short of POO!
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=792687
MINMATES Trip Report: Day 3 (PT 2) Dont Rain On My Parade!
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=792750
MINMATES Trip Report: Day 4 Out of the Ashes Rises the Phoenix: A Perfect Day
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=8304118#post8304118
MINMATES Trip Report: Day 5 Just Ducky & Discovering DVC
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=792859
MINMATES Trip Report: Day 6 Princess Day
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=8305544#post8305544
ME (minmate)
DH -- Joe
DD6 Cali
DD5 Meg
DS4 Buddy
DD2 Jay Jay
4/5-4/12 7 nights at Pop Century
MONDAY, APRIL 11th
The dreaded morning comes. You know the one. The one where as youre listening to Mickey (and Stitch) on the wake up call, you realize this is your last full day in the World. I took some consolation in the fact that our real LAST day (tomorrow) was going to be fairly full day. FLTours wouldnt be there to pick us up until 4.
We waffled on whether or not to go back into the parks on that last day but in the end, decided to save the ticket for the future. I felt like if I could bank that, I was that much closer to getting, not just one more day in the parks, but another full trip outta the deal!
So, on this morning, I treaded very carefully for two reasons. 1) I knew emotions would be unpredictable as the reality of this being our last fully day set in for the kids; and 2) Cali, Meg and Buddy were scheduled to participate in the Pirate Cruise at the Grand Floridian. I set this up primarily because of Buddys love of all things Pirate-y. I knew the girls would enjoy it too, but my heart was set on him loving this experience. As weve seen, Buddy is an unpredictable little bugger. I didnt want to do anything to set him off and spoil this experience. I had nightmares of him stamping his feet, crossing his arms and declaring, Im not going, you cant make me! Then moments later begin whining for the rest of the day that he wanted to go on the boat and why didnt I let him.
Well, the morning went well. We were up, dressed and made it to GF easily, via bus to MK, then monorail to GF. We were actually there early. For the umpteenth time we wistfully commented about our stay last year at GF how easy and close it was to get to MK. Stepping into the GFs main building from the monorail, or from anywhere, is such a glorious feeling! It is spectacular with a light, elegant, airy feeling. I know lots of people have said GF seems too hoity-toity and that they dont feel like they can relax on vacation there. Well, maybe Im naïve, blissfully ignorant or both. One thing I dont think Id be called is uppity or hoity-toity. Nonetheless, I love it here and dont feel out of place. I do wonder how families can afford to stay here, especially repeatedly. I imagine that the wives have the luxury of staying home, with a nanny, a maid and the ability to get manicures, pedicures and massages mid-day if they so choose. I imagine the husbands have glamorous jobs as stockbrokers or computer geniuses jobs from which they can take off on great vacations with their family and spoil them with these luxuries. But mostly, I know that is likely the exception rather than the norm when it comes to the true every day lives of GF guests. Its just fun to imagine anyway!
We make our way to the marina and get the three older kids fitted with their red life jackets. After checking in, they are given red and white striped pirate bandannas adorned with black Mickey ears. They put name tags on the ears so the pirate leaders can easily identify everyone. After much ado, (and I forget their names, I think one is Diana and one may be Susan I made a mental note so Id remember, but obviously, that note has been sung away! They were all women though) The Pirate Leader introduces herself and gets the kids involved in some argh-ing and dispenses safety instructions. They also have to raise their right hand (half of the kids raise their left I always chuckle at stuff like that!) And swear to the pirate code which among other things included sharing the treasure and having fun! (Very similar to the same code I swore our birthday party pirates to just a week ago!)
They ask the kids to pair up. Immediately Cali and Meg choose each other as partners. I had a momentary flicker of panic as I watched Buddy with this. He was not paired up and ran over to dad and was asking for help with this. Whew! The Pirate leader steps in and finds him a buddy. She makes sure everyone else is paired up and then they are off. They get on the boat and are to sit next to their partners. They wait longer than normal and I see its because theres a straggler pirate just checking in. In the end, Buddy gets paired up with 2 buddies. I worry if hell get left on a beach somewhere, or throw a fit but as they sail off, I realize, theres not much I can do about it now.
Joe, JayJay and I have a leisurely breakfast a la Gasparilla Grill. We sit outside at a table with an umbrella. It is pleasant and feels like a vacation within a vacation to be hanging out with one child. We laugh at how funny that feels. Whenever, even at home, we find ourselves responsible for 1, 2 or even just 3 of the kids, the dynamics change. And depending on which kids are present the dynamics change within that too. We practically dont know what to do with ourselves. Its so easy to cater to one child! By the way, Gasparilla has been slightly remodeled since we were here last year. They removed the center fixins bar and changed around the check-out area. But I did note they still have the same design on their refillable mugs. I thought they frequently changed this so as to prohibit returning guests from using old mugs.
JayJay is feeling a bit sad because she is not old enough to cruise with her siblings. She is a pirate lover, and adventurer and a happy little soul. But shes only 2. Theres a lot she cant or wont be allowed to do and she doesnt understand why not. Shes capable of a lot of it, which makes it harder. I fully believe she would have fared fine on that cruise, but of course, I would never send my 2 year old off on a boat without me! I was kind of nervous as it is with my older three. But I want to raise my children to be fearless (within reason of course) and so, I let them spread their wings when I see an opportunity.
So, while I was aware that we werent really supposed to pool hop, JayJay wanted to swim. We wanted to stay together the three of us and so two of us going back to Pop wasnt really an option. We had our bathing suits on so we checked out the feature pool at GF. At first I tried to direct JayJay to just the beach, then just the sprayers. But I knew she wanted to swim. I know about the rules, but I guess I justified it because 1) There were very few other people there, 2) We were sort of guests of the GF for the time-being while waiting for our children to return, 3) I felt bad for JayJay having to be left behind and this would make her happy; and 4) We were guests here last year and didnt use the pool every day so I figure this could be considered a make-up day (weak, I know). She is a fishy-wishy. The pool was pretty quiet. It is also a zero-entry pool. I let her go in some. She didnt have a life jacket so I accompanied her for a bit, just to keep her safe. We arent there long but its a nice, relaxing time.
Afterwards, we dry off and head back to the marina. Moments later, the boat with our children appears on the horizon as the rousing sounds of children singing, Yo Ho, Yo Ho, A Pirates life for me, wafts through the air. As the children disembark their ship, they are awarded with a golden prize. These were gold goodie bags that held all sorts of trinkets. I was amused to find that many of the trinkets were the same kinds of trinkets we purchased from Oriental Trading for Buddys birthday party just a week earlier. When I was planning his party, I lamented over the fact that I was sure if I had a limitless budget (or like Disneys), I could create a wonderfully themed party. The party was great, but of course, I always wish I could have made it more elaborate. So, to see that these goody bags were so similar to our own from the party (except that we included mini toy alligator squirters and some edible goodies like candy necklaces and ring pops which were not in these ones), was really quite humorous. I decided I did a pretty good job with his party after all I mean, if I used the same stuff Disney did, then wouldnt you think so too?!
Okay, since life, and the pirate cruise, is not ALL ABOUT ME lets move on. Throughout the next two days, I gleaned some more details about the pirate cruise. I didnt push them to tell me everything right away because Ive already learned that with my kids, that tends to shut them down completely. Besides, I had read detailed reports about the cruise already (on Dis and Allears) so I had a good grasp of what happened. Basically, they set sail in search of treasure. They had to keep their mission secret so no other people in their boats on the bay would follow them and steal the treasure. Whenever they saw other people/boats they were to shout their fiercest, Argh! so as to scare them away. They docked at the various resorts along the bay (Poly and Contemporary) and searched for pieces to the treasure map as well as dug for treasure in the sand. One of the fellow pirate co-leaders made it known she intended to steal all the treasure for herself. This, of course spread concern amongst the young pirates until the pirate co-leader was distracted by a fuzzy bunny and ran off and got lost. Finally, they find the treasure on one of the beaches, behind the bushes. Cali tells me it was all pre-planned, meaning she knew that the leaders knew where it was. But she enjoyed it and went along with the fun anyway. Once they recovered the treasure chest they were given lunch pbj crustables and juice boxes. I dont know what else. All I know is that Meg thought one juice box was not enough for two hours in the hot sun! I dont think the leaders made a huge effort to help kids if they needed it. But thats just my guess. Im sure they helped if kids asked for it. I say this because Buddy can open juice boxes but struggles more with packages such as those of crustables. He returned home not having yet eaten his sandwich because it remained unopened. Regardless, they had a great time and would like to do it again.
We decide to award the children with the Disney Dollars theyve earned prior to and throughout the trip. We head up to M. Mouse Mercantile and they proceed to spend their cash on souvenirs. I discover they have a photopass kiosk in there. There are more than I thought on there so it takes a bit longer than I expected. Im excited to see our photos and look through all of them. It looks like all of ours are there, and some other familys are there too! Id heard about this happening so I wasnt hanging my hat on these. I decide there are a few Id like to get. So I proceed to tell the CM who helps out with this what I want, one of which includes wanting the wallets. But alas, the printer that prints the wallets is not working. They tell me this is the only place, other than at MGM, to print out the photopass pics. Oh well, I guess well have to do it from home. So, we get on the monorail that is just SO nice and head back to POP, via bus from MK. As we walk I glance wistfully over at the train station knowing I wont be heading under those arches for anymore for awhile.
Back at POP, we swim and Joe offers to pack up. When the little ones are tired, I call Joe to retrieve them from the pool so they can take naps. Cali, Meg and I lay in the sun for a bit but Im pretty tired and I dont want to accidentally fall asleep out there and have them get burned. I figure Meg has her eyes closed and is just relaxing but then I hear her snoring! So I roust the girls and we go back to the room (love the 45 second walk!). After naps, we freshen up and prepare for a fun night ahead of us Chef Mickeys followed by A Grand Gatherings Magical Fireworks Wishes Voyage.
MONDAY NIGHT 4/11
As I open the door to the hotel room I see our beds are covered with folded clothes and the rest of our assorted vacation items, both old and new. Apparently Joe packs up for a vacation the same way I do Spring Cleaning. In order to do it right, it must first look worse before it looks better!
At any rate, this was a night Id been looking forward to for the whole trip. I had never considered a cruise with kids because I just didnt think they would appreciate it that much. I always figured it was nicer to see all the stuff projected on the castle that goes along with Wishes. But when I read about the Grand Gatherings Voyage that include meet and greets with Hook, Smee and Pan, I knew we had to try this. I attempted to coordinate it last June when we went with my dad, sister and mom, but it never worked out.
Normally, I wouldnt have scheduled two cruises (the kids in the am and this one for the whole family) in the same day. It probably wouldve been better to spread them out over the course of the vacation. But since we werent using up a park day, it didnt really matter. And at this point, since I had only planned this trip in 3 weeks, I was happy to get what I got.
With maybe 2 weeks to go, I found a fellow Dis-member (disney4me4ever), who was willing to combine with our group to qualify for a Grand Gatherings. Without going into all the details, trust me when I tell you that this was a hassle not in a bad way. But a lot of phone calling, a fair amount of anxiety and such. After finally getting this thing booked, I feared it would be anti-climactic and not worth the money or effort. To top things off, the fireworks were scheduled for 10 p.m. and I was worried my kids might not last.
Thankfully, they cooperated and rested up enough to be fresh for the evening. We headed to Chef Mickeys for a 7:10 PS. We were early so we rode around on the monorail for a full loop. Another woman, whose dh and dds were riding up front in the nose was also headed to CMs with a 7pm PS. We suggested they should stay on and do the full loop so their kids could get a longer ride up front. At the Poly stop, she switched places with her dh to ride up front and he joined us in the next section. After awhile I commented on how he got the short end of that stick (the shortest ride up front). And he replied saying, No, I didnt! Theres four girls up there and Im sitting here in peace and quiet! LOL
Once at Chef Mickeys we did the pic thing and got in fairly quickly. Buddy was very concerned about a vertically-challenged man (a CM) standing near our table talking with another CM. He got out of his seat and whispered in my ear, Mom Mom, is that man real or fake? So I explained to him that he was indeed real and that people come in all shapes and sizes. Our meal went fairly well. I missed the photo op with Minnie but luckily Joe knows how to work the camera! The characters provided some fun interaction. Chip sat down in Buddys chair and despite Buddys use of polite manners, Um Chip, excuse me, Chip, can you get out of my seat? Buddy was stressing because he didnt have a place to sit now! But he didnt get mad. It was really great. Things turned a bit south when JayJay missed seeing Mickey because she was, where else, in the potty. I asked our server if Mickey would be coming back around anytime soon. She set out to try and help us, even got the manager to come to our table. They really did try to make this happen efficiently. We were ready to give up and leave because unfortunately, it took quite awhile to get Mickey back to our table, and it took even longer to settle our bill. We were almost out of Table Service points and since the points were split up on two different room numbers I oopsed (the only time) and gave the server the room key that didnt have enough points on it to cover the meals. So, she had to come back and get the other one. Then the bill got all messed up somehow, and well, you know, basically another ordeal. By now, were standing, ready to leave and theyve already cleared off and re-set our table so we dont feel like we can sit back down to wait. By now, it was 8:35 and we had to get over to the Grand Gatherings reception.
Thank goodness for Mylez, Mickeys handler, because he led us directly to the reception back behind the pool at the Contemporary. Im not sure Id have found it as quickly on my own. Here, we met up with our adopted family for the night -- Disney4me4ever and her dh. They are a lovely couple. I only wish I had more time to visit with them. They were just beginning their trip and we were ending ours. Supposedly, the gathering was booked which meant 109 people but it didnt feel like that many were there. Capt. Hook and Mr. Smee sauntered on into the reception area minutes after we did. Now, my kids are enthralled with these characters. They hold a special place in our hearts. My kids donned their pirate bandannas from their cruise earlier that day and JayJay wore Buddys regular pirate hat. When it was my kids turn to meet Hook, Buddy who also had his sword and rubber irons of course -- reached out from behind his back and produced his singing/dancing rubber alligator toy. Its about a foot-and-a-half long and when you push its front claws, it starts moving around and sings, Every body dance Now! Buddy begged to bring it along on the trip for this very purpose. This little alligator earned every precious inch of space he took up to get him there. It made for some very special interaction with Hook.
The characters seemed to be around for almost a HALF AND HOUR which went by ever too quickly. Unfortunately, I didnt sample any of the desserts from the dessert buffet. In fact, I barely got a chance to see them. By the time all of this hoopla had played out, the other families there had completely demolished all of them except for the fruit. It was no matter because we had just stuffed ourselves at Chef Mickeys anyway.
Then come in two men, dressed as pirates who played emcee to the evening fete. We were split up into two boats, Hooks (That was ours) and Smees. We followed our respective character to the appropriate boat and boarded based on assigned seat numbers. There must have been about 50 of us on the cruise. I forgot to count to be sure though. It was one of the regular boats. The characters remained on the docks however. At first I thought we got the dud of the two pirates. Boy, was I ever wrong. Patch the Pirate. Patch was great. Our fellow boat mates were just as funny. Picture pirate comedy on the bay. For example, at one point, one of the guests behind us told Patch the Pirate that he used to date his sister, Cabbage. Get it? It was truly a had-to-be-there hysterical interactive comedic experience. I was in awe how one person (not to discount the enhancements of the fellow guests) could create such a lively, fun, magical, energetic experience.
After awhile, we stopped to view the Electrical Water Pageant, which was very nice. Each Grand Gathering group was announced and were able to tell where they were from. It went something like this, I see we have the Simpson Family here. And tell me Simpsons where are you from? To which theyd reply, New York and Texas, and such. When Patch the Pirate got to our group (which was under my last name) he said, And we have the Im Going To Totally Butcher Your Last Name So I Wont Even Try To Say It Family here! I raise my arms and say, Woo-hoo, thats us! To which he replies, Yeah, you know who you are! So we teach him how to pronounce it and proceed to tell him were from Massachusetts to which he replies, Matt-hoo-sitts, which flusters Buddy who repeats very adamantly, Massachusetts! This goes back and forth a few times. I think Patch took a liking to my kids. Then he asked us if we were celebrating anything special. For a split second I was going to say Buddys birthday because really, it just happened, but I feared how hed respond to the attention. So, I simply replied, Our Anniversary. Which was also true. Patch laughs and motions to us because here, I am sitting all the way on the inside of one bench with the four kids next to me and Joe is across the boat on the other side at the end of the other bench sitting with disney4me4ever and her dh. To which later Patch teases us, This is the secret to a good marriage, sit as far away from each other as possible! He also asks if all four kids are ours, then asks how long weve been married, to which some stranger behind us replies, Two years! It WAS funny. But I blanked when he asked again, seriously, which was even funnier. The woman usually remembers how long, dont they? Funny stuff. It went on like this with other folks too. I only wish disney4me4ever and dh had a chance to chime in on the action, and at least tell where they are from. I didnt want to steal all the thunder and I hope they enjoyed themselves nonetheless.
After that, Patch started a trivia game, with pirate prizes to boot. I got the first question right and won a black plastic pirate hook. The question was, What is the name of the princess in Peter Pan? Before I even thought about it, I shot my arm up so fast. I figured, yay, I can win a prize for Buddy! The answer by the way is, Tigerlily.
Well, as Ive said before, no matter how hard you try, or how good your intentions are, it seems mothers (or at least this mother) gets in the way of her own best intentions and fowls things up. Buddy was ticked because he too had raised his hand. He knew the answer and wanted to win a prize on his OWN. While I tried to finagle Buddy out of his suddenly sour mood, the trivia games continued. At one point Patch began a question, What is Ursula . And someone shot their hand up so he said, Okay smarty pants, whats the answer? Nameless person in the back replies, Under the Sea. WRONG! So, Joe raises his hand and Patch double-takes, Oh, so you want to try too? Well, whats the answer then? Joe replies, Flotsam and Jetsam! Patch appears shocked as Joe is right and wins an eye patch. Between and betwixt all of this, Patch led us in rousing renditions of Under the Sea, Yo-Ho, Yo-Ho, and others. Patch announced he was going to ask one last question before Wishes started, in order to win a plastic cutlass (which Buddy got really excited about). The question was, In Pirates of the Caribbean and I got real excited that Buddy may have a chance because he LOVES this movie. What is the name Capt. Jack Sparrow gives when he first docks his ship? Buddy raises his hand, gets eye contact from Patch and I was right there ready to whisper the right answer to him if he stalled. Buddy doesnt even wait for him to call on him and shouts out, Will Turner! He was so excited, but oh-so wrong, which wouldve been sad enough, but some adults behind us chuckled and that hurt his little 4-year-old feelings. The right answer, which someone else got by the way, is Mr. Smith. So now, the fireworks are starting and my little boy is crying. He refuses to watch the fireworks, which breaks my heart even more. Slowly, I am able to bring him back into the fold and we are able to salvage some enjoyment out of the fireworks. The music was piped in and the whole thing was a bit emotional to me. Part of me was frustrated (yet again) that I wasnt able to just sit and enjoy this experience and allow myself to get emotional about it, if I so chose. Instead, Im having to brace myself and ratchet up my mothering skills to tend to my sons fragile little feelings. Please dont think that I dont want to be there for him; and please dont think that I realize thats more important. Of course I do, and thats why another part of me feels guilty for feeling selfish and frustrated, and yet another part of me is heartbroken over my sons disappointment.
Well, the fireworks which despite all of that were lovely. As the cruise winds down, we are treated to more trivia questions. Finally, on the very last question, Buddy gets called on again. The question is, What teasing name does Peter Pan call Capt. Hook? Yay . Buddy is delighted as he shouts out the answer, A Codfish!!!! He wins an eyepatch which we ends up wearing, I think even to sleep that night and all through the next day! What a way to end the cruise.
But thats not all. As we dock back at the Contemporary marina who should be there to meet us but good ol Peter Pan, himself! Yay, yay, yay! Well, the handlers that night had gotten such a kick out of our singing gator they had already told Peter all about it. So he was mighty prepared when we showed up with it. This was the same Peter that we met last year. He is great. I believe he is a gem for WDW Co. He truly has and creates magic and makes every kid (and kid at heart) feel special. I hope he knows how very special and talented he is. He spent so much time with them and I love that Peter Pan SOOOO Much! It was such a sweet, fun, special interaction my three kids, that singing toy gator and Peter Pan! What a way to end our last night at the World!
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 & Mickey, 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! http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=792642
MINMATES Trip Report: Day 2 (Pt.3) Magic Kingdom Nirvana
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=8301761#post8301761
MINMATES Trip Report: Day 3 (PT 1) POOL Is One Letter Short of POO!
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=792687
MINMATES Trip Report: Day 3 (PT 2) Dont Rain On My Parade!
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=792750
MINMATES Trip Report: Day 4 Out of the Ashes Rises the Phoenix: A Perfect Day
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=8304118#post8304118
MINMATES Trip Report: Day 5 Just Ducky & Discovering DVC
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=792859
MINMATES Trip Report: Day 6 Princess Day
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=8305544#post8305544
ME (minmate)
DH -- Joe
DD6 Cali
DD5 Meg
DS4 Buddy
DD2 Jay Jay
4/5-4/12 7 nights at Pop Century
MONDAY, APRIL 11th
The dreaded morning comes. You know the one. The one where as youre listening to Mickey (and Stitch) on the wake up call, you realize this is your last full day in the World. I took some consolation in the fact that our real LAST day (tomorrow) was going to be fairly full day. FLTours wouldnt be there to pick us up until 4.
We waffled on whether or not to go back into the parks on that last day but in the end, decided to save the ticket for the future. I felt like if I could bank that, I was that much closer to getting, not just one more day in the parks, but another full trip outta the deal!
So, on this morning, I treaded very carefully for two reasons. 1) I knew emotions would be unpredictable as the reality of this being our last fully day set in for the kids; and 2) Cali, Meg and Buddy were scheduled to participate in the Pirate Cruise at the Grand Floridian. I set this up primarily because of Buddys love of all things Pirate-y. I knew the girls would enjoy it too, but my heart was set on him loving this experience. As weve seen, Buddy is an unpredictable little bugger. I didnt want to do anything to set him off and spoil this experience. I had nightmares of him stamping his feet, crossing his arms and declaring, Im not going, you cant make me! Then moments later begin whining for the rest of the day that he wanted to go on the boat and why didnt I let him.
Well, the morning went well. We were up, dressed and made it to GF easily, via bus to MK, then monorail to GF. We were actually there early. For the umpteenth time we wistfully commented about our stay last year at GF how easy and close it was to get to MK. Stepping into the GFs main building from the monorail, or from anywhere, is such a glorious feeling! It is spectacular with a light, elegant, airy feeling. I know lots of people have said GF seems too hoity-toity and that they dont feel like they can relax on vacation there. Well, maybe Im naïve, blissfully ignorant or both. One thing I dont think Id be called is uppity or hoity-toity. Nonetheless, I love it here and dont feel out of place. I do wonder how families can afford to stay here, especially repeatedly. I imagine that the wives have the luxury of staying home, with a nanny, a maid and the ability to get manicures, pedicures and massages mid-day if they so choose. I imagine the husbands have glamorous jobs as stockbrokers or computer geniuses jobs from which they can take off on great vacations with their family and spoil them with these luxuries. But mostly, I know that is likely the exception rather than the norm when it comes to the true every day lives of GF guests. Its just fun to imagine anyway!
We make our way to the marina and get the three older kids fitted with their red life jackets. After checking in, they are given red and white striped pirate bandannas adorned with black Mickey ears. They put name tags on the ears so the pirate leaders can easily identify everyone. After much ado, (and I forget their names, I think one is Diana and one may be Susan I made a mental note so Id remember, but obviously, that note has been sung away! They were all women though) The Pirate Leader introduces herself and gets the kids involved in some argh-ing and dispenses safety instructions. They also have to raise their right hand (half of the kids raise their left I always chuckle at stuff like that!) And swear to the pirate code which among other things included sharing the treasure and having fun! (Very similar to the same code I swore our birthday party pirates to just a week ago!)
They ask the kids to pair up. Immediately Cali and Meg choose each other as partners. I had a momentary flicker of panic as I watched Buddy with this. He was not paired up and ran over to dad and was asking for help with this. Whew! The Pirate leader steps in and finds him a buddy. She makes sure everyone else is paired up and then they are off. They get on the boat and are to sit next to their partners. They wait longer than normal and I see its because theres a straggler pirate just checking in. In the end, Buddy gets paired up with 2 buddies. I worry if hell get left on a beach somewhere, or throw a fit but as they sail off, I realize, theres not much I can do about it now.
Joe, JayJay and I have a leisurely breakfast a la Gasparilla Grill. We sit outside at a table with an umbrella. It is pleasant and feels like a vacation within a vacation to be hanging out with one child. We laugh at how funny that feels. Whenever, even at home, we find ourselves responsible for 1, 2 or even just 3 of the kids, the dynamics change. And depending on which kids are present the dynamics change within that too. We practically dont know what to do with ourselves. Its so easy to cater to one child! By the way, Gasparilla has been slightly remodeled since we were here last year. They removed the center fixins bar and changed around the check-out area. But I did note they still have the same design on their refillable mugs. I thought they frequently changed this so as to prohibit returning guests from using old mugs.
JayJay is feeling a bit sad because she is not old enough to cruise with her siblings. She is a pirate lover, and adventurer and a happy little soul. But shes only 2. Theres a lot she cant or wont be allowed to do and she doesnt understand why not. Shes capable of a lot of it, which makes it harder. I fully believe she would have fared fine on that cruise, but of course, I would never send my 2 year old off on a boat without me! I was kind of nervous as it is with my older three. But I want to raise my children to be fearless (within reason of course) and so, I let them spread their wings when I see an opportunity.
So, while I was aware that we werent really supposed to pool hop, JayJay wanted to swim. We wanted to stay together the three of us and so two of us going back to Pop wasnt really an option. We had our bathing suits on so we checked out the feature pool at GF. At first I tried to direct JayJay to just the beach, then just the sprayers. But I knew she wanted to swim. I know about the rules, but I guess I justified it because 1) There were very few other people there, 2) We were sort of guests of the GF for the time-being while waiting for our children to return, 3) I felt bad for JayJay having to be left behind and this would make her happy; and 4) We were guests here last year and didnt use the pool every day so I figure this could be considered a make-up day (weak, I know). She is a fishy-wishy. The pool was pretty quiet. It is also a zero-entry pool. I let her go in some. She didnt have a life jacket so I accompanied her for a bit, just to keep her safe. We arent there long but its a nice, relaxing time.
Afterwards, we dry off and head back to the marina. Moments later, the boat with our children appears on the horizon as the rousing sounds of children singing, Yo Ho, Yo Ho, A Pirates life for me, wafts through the air. As the children disembark their ship, they are awarded with a golden prize. These were gold goodie bags that held all sorts of trinkets. I was amused to find that many of the trinkets were the same kinds of trinkets we purchased from Oriental Trading for Buddys birthday party just a week earlier. When I was planning his party, I lamented over the fact that I was sure if I had a limitless budget (or like Disneys), I could create a wonderfully themed party. The party was great, but of course, I always wish I could have made it more elaborate. So, to see that these goody bags were so similar to our own from the party (except that we included mini toy alligator squirters and some edible goodies like candy necklaces and ring pops which were not in these ones), was really quite humorous. I decided I did a pretty good job with his party after all I mean, if I used the same stuff Disney did, then wouldnt you think so too?!
Okay, since life, and the pirate cruise, is not ALL ABOUT ME lets move on. Throughout the next two days, I gleaned some more details about the pirate cruise. I didnt push them to tell me everything right away because Ive already learned that with my kids, that tends to shut them down completely. Besides, I had read detailed reports about the cruise already (on Dis and Allears) so I had a good grasp of what happened. Basically, they set sail in search of treasure. They had to keep their mission secret so no other people in their boats on the bay would follow them and steal the treasure. Whenever they saw other people/boats they were to shout their fiercest, Argh! so as to scare them away. They docked at the various resorts along the bay (Poly and Contemporary) and searched for pieces to the treasure map as well as dug for treasure in the sand. One of the fellow pirate co-leaders made it known she intended to steal all the treasure for herself. This, of course spread concern amongst the young pirates until the pirate co-leader was distracted by a fuzzy bunny and ran off and got lost. Finally, they find the treasure on one of the beaches, behind the bushes. Cali tells me it was all pre-planned, meaning she knew that the leaders knew where it was. But she enjoyed it and went along with the fun anyway. Once they recovered the treasure chest they were given lunch pbj crustables and juice boxes. I dont know what else. All I know is that Meg thought one juice box was not enough for two hours in the hot sun! I dont think the leaders made a huge effort to help kids if they needed it. But thats just my guess. Im sure they helped if kids asked for it. I say this because Buddy can open juice boxes but struggles more with packages such as those of crustables. He returned home not having yet eaten his sandwich because it remained unopened. Regardless, they had a great time and would like to do it again.
We decide to award the children with the Disney Dollars theyve earned prior to and throughout the trip. We head up to M. Mouse Mercantile and they proceed to spend their cash on souvenirs. I discover they have a photopass kiosk in there. There are more than I thought on there so it takes a bit longer than I expected. Im excited to see our photos and look through all of them. It looks like all of ours are there, and some other familys are there too! Id heard about this happening so I wasnt hanging my hat on these. I decide there are a few Id like to get. So I proceed to tell the CM who helps out with this what I want, one of which includes wanting the wallets. But alas, the printer that prints the wallets is not working. They tell me this is the only place, other than at MGM, to print out the photopass pics. Oh well, I guess well have to do it from home. So, we get on the monorail that is just SO nice and head back to POP, via bus from MK. As we walk I glance wistfully over at the train station knowing I wont be heading under those arches for anymore for awhile.
Back at POP, we swim and Joe offers to pack up. When the little ones are tired, I call Joe to retrieve them from the pool so they can take naps. Cali, Meg and I lay in the sun for a bit but Im pretty tired and I dont want to accidentally fall asleep out there and have them get burned. I figure Meg has her eyes closed and is just relaxing but then I hear her snoring! So I roust the girls and we go back to the room (love the 45 second walk!). After naps, we freshen up and prepare for a fun night ahead of us Chef Mickeys followed by A Grand Gatherings Magical Fireworks Wishes Voyage.
MONDAY NIGHT 4/11
As I open the door to the hotel room I see our beds are covered with folded clothes and the rest of our assorted vacation items, both old and new. Apparently Joe packs up for a vacation the same way I do Spring Cleaning. In order to do it right, it must first look worse before it looks better!
At any rate, this was a night Id been looking forward to for the whole trip. I had never considered a cruise with kids because I just didnt think they would appreciate it that much. I always figured it was nicer to see all the stuff projected on the castle that goes along with Wishes. But when I read about the Grand Gatherings Voyage that include meet and greets with Hook, Smee and Pan, I knew we had to try this. I attempted to coordinate it last June when we went with my dad, sister and mom, but it never worked out.
Normally, I wouldnt have scheduled two cruises (the kids in the am and this one for the whole family) in the same day. It probably wouldve been better to spread them out over the course of the vacation. But since we werent using up a park day, it didnt really matter. And at this point, since I had only planned this trip in 3 weeks, I was happy to get what I got.
With maybe 2 weeks to go, I found a fellow Dis-member (disney4me4ever), who was willing to combine with our group to qualify for a Grand Gatherings. Without going into all the details, trust me when I tell you that this was a hassle not in a bad way. But a lot of phone calling, a fair amount of anxiety and such. After finally getting this thing booked, I feared it would be anti-climactic and not worth the money or effort. To top things off, the fireworks were scheduled for 10 p.m. and I was worried my kids might not last.
Thankfully, they cooperated and rested up enough to be fresh for the evening. We headed to Chef Mickeys for a 7:10 PS. We were early so we rode around on the monorail for a full loop. Another woman, whose dh and dds were riding up front in the nose was also headed to CMs with a 7pm PS. We suggested they should stay on and do the full loop so their kids could get a longer ride up front. At the Poly stop, she switched places with her dh to ride up front and he joined us in the next section. After awhile I commented on how he got the short end of that stick (the shortest ride up front). And he replied saying, No, I didnt! Theres four girls up there and Im sitting here in peace and quiet! LOL
Once at Chef Mickeys we did the pic thing and got in fairly quickly. Buddy was very concerned about a vertically-challenged man (a CM) standing near our table talking with another CM. He got out of his seat and whispered in my ear, Mom Mom, is that man real or fake? So I explained to him that he was indeed real and that people come in all shapes and sizes. Our meal went fairly well. I missed the photo op with Minnie but luckily Joe knows how to work the camera! The characters provided some fun interaction. Chip sat down in Buddys chair and despite Buddys use of polite manners, Um Chip, excuse me, Chip, can you get out of my seat? Buddy was stressing because he didnt have a place to sit now! But he didnt get mad. It was really great. Things turned a bit south when JayJay missed seeing Mickey because she was, where else, in the potty. I asked our server if Mickey would be coming back around anytime soon. She set out to try and help us, even got the manager to come to our table. They really did try to make this happen efficiently. We were ready to give up and leave because unfortunately, it took quite awhile to get Mickey back to our table, and it took even longer to settle our bill. We were almost out of Table Service points and since the points were split up on two different room numbers I oopsed (the only time) and gave the server the room key that didnt have enough points on it to cover the meals. So, she had to come back and get the other one. Then the bill got all messed up somehow, and well, you know, basically another ordeal. By now, were standing, ready to leave and theyve already cleared off and re-set our table so we dont feel like we can sit back down to wait. By now, it was 8:35 and we had to get over to the Grand Gatherings reception.
Thank goodness for Mylez, Mickeys handler, because he led us directly to the reception back behind the pool at the Contemporary. Im not sure Id have found it as quickly on my own. Here, we met up with our adopted family for the night -- Disney4me4ever and her dh. They are a lovely couple. I only wish I had more time to visit with them. They were just beginning their trip and we were ending ours. Supposedly, the gathering was booked which meant 109 people but it didnt feel like that many were there. Capt. Hook and Mr. Smee sauntered on into the reception area minutes after we did. Now, my kids are enthralled with these characters. They hold a special place in our hearts. My kids donned their pirate bandannas from their cruise earlier that day and JayJay wore Buddys regular pirate hat. When it was my kids turn to meet Hook, Buddy who also had his sword and rubber irons of course -- reached out from behind his back and produced his singing/dancing rubber alligator toy. Its about a foot-and-a-half long and when you push its front claws, it starts moving around and sings, Every body dance Now! Buddy begged to bring it along on the trip for this very purpose. This little alligator earned every precious inch of space he took up to get him there. It made for some very special interaction with Hook.
The characters seemed to be around for almost a HALF AND HOUR which went by ever too quickly. Unfortunately, I didnt sample any of the desserts from the dessert buffet. In fact, I barely got a chance to see them. By the time all of this hoopla had played out, the other families there had completely demolished all of them except for the fruit. It was no matter because we had just stuffed ourselves at Chef Mickeys anyway.
Then come in two men, dressed as pirates who played emcee to the evening fete. We were split up into two boats, Hooks (That was ours) and Smees. We followed our respective character to the appropriate boat and boarded based on assigned seat numbers. There must have been about 50 of us on the cruise. I forgot to count to be sure though. It was one of the regular boats. The characters remained on the docks however. At first I thought we got the dud of the two pirates. Boy, was I ever wrong. Patch the Pirate. Patch was great. Our fellow boat mates were just as funny. Picture pirate comedy on the bay. For example, at one point, one of the guests behind us told Patch the Pirate that he used to date his sister, Cabbage. Get it? It was truly a had-to-be-there hysterical interactive comedic experience. I was in awe how one person (not to discount the enhancements of the fellow guests) could create such a lively, fun, magical, energetic experience.
After awhile, we stopped to view the Electrical Water Pageant, which was very nice. Each Grand Gathering group was announced and were able to tell where they were from. It went something like this, I see we have the Simpson Family here. And tell me Simpsons where are you from? To which theyd reply, New York and Texas, and such. When Patch the Pirate got to our group (which was under my last name) he said, And we have the Im Going To Totally Butcher Your Last Name So I Wont Even Try To Say It Family here! I raise my arms and say, Woo-hoo, thats us! To which he replies, Yeah, you know who you are! So we teach him how to pronounce it and proceed to tell him were from Massachusetts to which he replies, Matt-hoo-sitts, which flusters Buddy who repeats very adamantly, Massachusetts! This goes back and forth a few times. I think Patch took a liking to my kids. Then he asked us if we were celebrating anything special. For a split second I was going to say Buddys birthday because really, it just happened, but I feared how hed respond to the attention. So, I simply replied, Our Anniversary. Which was also true. Patch laughs and motions to us because here, I am sitting all the way on the inside of one bench with the four kids next to me and Joe is across the boat on the other side at the end of the other bench sitting with disney4me4ever and her dh. To which later Patch teases us, This is the secret to a good marriage, sit as far away from each other as possible! He also asks if all four kids are ours, then asks how long weve been married, to which some stranger behind us replies, Two years! It WAS funny. But I blanked when he asked again, seriously, which was even funnier. The woman usually remembers how long, dont they? Funny stuff. It went on like this with other folks too. I only wish disney4me4ever and dh had a chance to chime in on the action, and at least tell where they are from. I didnt want to steal all the thunder and I hope they enjoyed themselves nonetheless.
After that, Patch started a trivia game, with pirate prizes to boot. I got the first question right and won a black plastic pirate hook. The question was, What is the name of the princess in Peter Pan? Before I even thought about it, I shot my arm up so fast. I figured, yay, I can win a prize for Buddy! The answer by the way is, Tigerlily.
Well, as Ive said before, no matter how hard you try, or how good your intentions are, it seems mothers (or at least this mother) gets in the way of her own best intentions and fowls things up. Buddy was ticked because he too had raised his hand. He knew the answer and wanted to win a prize on his OWN. While I tried to finagle Buddy out of his suddenly sour mood, the trivia games continued. At one point Patch began a question, What is Ursula . And someone shot their hand up so he said, Okay smarty pants, whats the answer? Nameless person in the back replies, Under the Sea. WRONG! So, Joe raises his hand and Patch double-takes, Oh, so you want to try too? Well, whats the answer then? Joe replies, Flotsam and Jetsam! Patch appears shocked as Joe is right and wins an eye patch. Between and betwixt all of this, Patch led us in rousing renditions of Under the Sea, Yo-Ho, Yo-Ho, and others. Patch announced he was going to ask one last question before Wishes started, in order to win a plastic cutlass (which Buddy got really excited about). The question was, In Pirates of the Caribbean and I got real excited that Buddy may have a chance because he LOVES this movie. What is the name Capt. Jack Sparrow gives when he first docks his ship? Buddy raises his hand, gets eye contact from Patch and I was right there ready to whisper the right answer to him if he stalled. Buddy doesnt even wait for him to call on him and shouts out, Will Turner! He was so excited, but oh-so wrong, which wouldve been sad enough, but some adults behind us chuckled and that hurt his little 4-year-old feelings. The right answer, which someone else got by the way, is Mr. Smith. So now, the fireworks are starting and my little boy is crying. He refuses to watch the fireworks, which breaks my heart even more. Slowly, I am able to bring him back into the fold and we are able to salvage some enjoyment out of the fireworks. The music was piped in and the whole thing was a bit emotional to me. Part of me was frustrated (yet again) that I wasnt able to just sit and enjoy this experience and allow myself to get emotional about it, if I so chose. Instead, Im having to brace myself and ratchet up my mothering skills to tend to my sons fragile little feelings. Please dont think that I dont want to be there for him; and please dont think that I realize thats more important. Of course I do, and thats why another part of me feels guilty for feeling selfish and frustrated, and yet another part of me is heartbroken over my sons disappointment.
Well, the fireworks which despite all of that were lovely. As the cruise winds down, we are treated to more trivia questions. Finally, on the very last question, Buddy gets called on again. The question is, What teasing name does Peter Pan call Capt. Hook? Yay . Buddy is delighted as he shouts out the answer, A Codfish!!!! He wins an eyepatch which we ends up wearing, I think even to sleep that night and all through the next day! What a way to end the cruise.
But thats not all. As we dock back at the Contemporary marina who should be there to meet us but good ol Peter Pan, himself! Yay, yay, yay! Well, the handlers that night had gotten such a kick out of our singing gator they had already told Peter all about it. So he was mighty prepared when we showed up with it. This was the same Peter that we met last year. He is great. I believe he is a gem for WDW Co. He truly has and creates magic and makes every kid (and kid at heart) feel special. I hope he knows how very special and talented he is. He spent so much time with them and I love that Peter Pan SOOOO Much! It was such a sweet, fun, special interaction my three kids, that singing toy gator and Peter Pan! What a way to end our last night at the World!
and really made the evening fun. DH even said he would like to do the cruise again. So keep us in mind when you book your next trip! LOL. Our best to you and your family. 
Oh, you just got me all teary-eyed reading the end of this one !! 
The kids, nephew 5 (turned 6 while there) and niece 9, had a blast. My little nephew kept saying to me "Auntie Nancy this is the most Magical place!" 
