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
MINMATES Trip Report: Day 7 Cruisin The Bay Today!
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=8310747#post8310747
MINMATES Trip Report: Day 8 And Now Its Time To Say Good-Bye
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=8310775#post8310775
ME (minmate)
DH -- Joe
DD6 Cali
DD5 Meg
DS4 Buddy
DD2 Jay Jay
4/5-4/12 7 nights at Pop Century
AND NOW ITS TIME TO SAY GOOD-BYE .
As we said our good-byes to disney4me4ever and her dh, we all agreed wed love to do that cruise again in a heartbeat. It was so worth it. It was not anti-climactic at all! Next time though, I will get there early enough to check out the desserts!
So, we hustle back to the monorail and make our way back to MK to catch a bus back to Pop to end our last night.
TUES ENDING WHERE WE FIRST BEGAN
We woke up and I just knew this day was going to hit Meg at some point like a ton of bricks. Shes my girl who out of the blue will sigh and say softly, I wish I was in Disney, or I wish we could live in Disney. She even said a couple of days before the trip, I am sad to go to Disney because, if we go, that means well have to leave again and that makes me sad. I explained to her that shes lucky to get to even have the experiences and shes so special to have found a place that makes her so happy. I also talk to her about how loving and missing something, someplace or someone is what often sparks all the great things in life. Its what motivates us and drives us to do great things, be creative and accomplish stuff. Because we miss Disney, we will work hard to save money to get back there. Because we know how precious our time is there, we will appreciate the time and focus on creating great memories. She gets this (obviously, her siblings are at different levels on that understanding chain but we remain hopeful as they mature). I think she knows Im right because she was a super great kid on this vacation and I just know I will walk with her again in the shadow of the footsteps we made these past few days here.
I know we all feel sad to go. There are things I had mentally listed that didnt get checked-off as well as things Id have liked to see or do, just one more time. But I tucked the list away in my heart for the next trip, knowing that when I do finally get to do these things, they will hold that much more meaning and specialness for me.
Sufficiently packed up and ready to go, bell services arrives to store our luggage for the day as we make our way to a late breakfast at Ohanas. Since the Epcot bus is loading and we are ahead of schedule, we decide to take the long way around. We board the bus for Epcot, get off there (take one last pit-stop at the bathroom before the entrance there had to say our good-byes to everything you know!). While waiting for the monorail we are able to see the character bus pull up in front of Spaceship Earth to greet the day. I remember back two days ago, and can almost see the ghost of my family where we stood waiting to enter the park that day, the girls donning their princess dresses.
Ive asked if we can ride up front and we are accommodated. JayJay, Cali, Meg and I do this while Buddy and Joe ride in the back. Buddy seems to have an aversion to the nose of the monorail. He has always declined the opportunity. At MK, we watch the crowds file in for their turn at a day of magic.
I greet the jovial hostesses at Ohanas with a warm, Aloha. We are seated quickly. While our server is not the most pleasant weve encountered, nor the most service-oriented, we still enjoy our meal and our visit with the characters Mickey, Goofy, Chip and Dale one last time. Im feeling relaxed and unhurried. Joe and the kids get maracas and join the characters for the parade. When I see Chip round the corner, he is holding my baby Megs hand. I know its Chip at a different restaurant, but theres just enough interaction that it almost almost can be seen as if Chip remembers my silly gang from last night. That is so special. Meg is smiling from ear to ear. I always feel so happy when she gets attention.
Cali has the title of oldest. JayJay has the title of Baby. Buddy has the title of Son. Meg merely dons the title of In the Middle. Although I was the baby in our family of only two, with no middle child, I am very sensitive to my kids need to identify a special place in OUR Ohana for themselves. With them being so close together, I really try to emphasize their individual strengths and uniqueness. I feel it is particularly important to get through to Meg with this. She was by far, my toughest baby . She was borne into this world, fists clenched, lungs bellowing and thats how she stayed for a long time. She was colicky for more than eight months. I cried almost as much as she did because I was desperate, heartsick and at a loss for how to calm her. For the first three years of her life she seemed so bottled up full of stress and so easily overwhelmed. She would get so angry. She had no coping skills and it really tested my own to deal with her. I met the lowest of my lows, doubted myself more than ever in those years. I never believed shed come out of it. But let me tell you, Ive prayed for guidance and Ive worked hard to meet her on her own terms to understand her and she has blossomed into the sweetest, most nurturing, sensitive, happy child. I just love her gentle spirit so much. Because there is always so much going on in our family, so often the squeaky wheel gets the grease, and I just dont want her to get lost in the shuffle. See, I may be overthinking it... and remembering these thoughts flash through my mind in milliseconds. It just takes longer to put them in print but, that right there is how a simple moment of attention, by a character a simple act of singling out just the right kid at the right time is so magical and can mean way more than Chip will ever know. And so our breakfast ends and we head back to Pop one last time. As we cross from the monorail station toward the bus stations, Meg plops down and is so sad. I know she doesnt want to leave. I pick her up, give her a big hug and mom and dad promise her she (we) will be back.
We do the potty check and of course nobody wants/needs to go until we get to the bus stop and find the invisible, hidden bladder filler-up spot of course. Joe gets to double-walk the walk, yet again, back to the bathroom (I believe it is with Buddy this time). This time they dont make it on the same bus as us. There is one other couple on the bus with Cali, JayJay, Meg and I. When we get back to Pop, we change into our bathing suits and head to the Goofy Sprayers until Joe returns with Buddy.
We spend the rest of the afternoon at the Hippy Dippy Pool . Where this vacation first began. Three hours later, weve eaten lunch and I grab a frozen blue raspberry for myself. The kids are in the arcade and I head out to inform bell services to get our bags ready. I see the FLTours van waiting for us. I squint and see that I recognize the driver. I didnt really know wed get the SAME driver but I knew this was our van because when I check the time on my cell I realize the time has come.
I do an about-face and retrieve my family from the arcade. We walk out to the van together.
Sam, the driver, remembered us when he was there to pick us up 8 days later. Was it the Green Eggs and Ham, I wonder?
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
MINMATES Trip Report: Day 7 Cruisin The Bay Today!
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=8310747#post8310747
MINMATES Trip Report: Day 8 And Now Its Time To Say Good-Bye
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=8310775#post8310775
ME (minmate)
DH -- Joe
DD6 Cali
DD5 Meg
DS4 Buddy
DD2 Jay Jay
4/5-4/12 7 nights at Pop Century
AND NOW ITS TIME TO SAY GOOD-BYE .
As we said our good-byes to disney4me4ever and her dh, we all agreed wed love to do that cruise again in a heartbeat. It was so worth it. It was not anti-climactic at all! Next time though, I will get there early enough to check out the desserts!
So, we hustle back to the monorail and make our way back to MK to catch a bus back to Pop to end our last night.
TUES ENDING WHERE WE FIRST BEGAN
We woke up and I just knew this day was going to hit Meg at some point like a ton of bricks. Shes my girl who out of the blue will sigh and say softly, I wish I was in Disney, or I wish we could live in Disney. She even said a couple of days before the trip, I am sad to go to Disney because, if we go, that means well have to leave again and that makes me sad. I explained to her that shes lucky to get to even have the experiences and shes so special to have found a place that makes her so happy. I also talk to her about how loving and missing something, someplace or someone is what often sparks all the great things in life. Its what motivates us and drives us to do great things, be creative and accomplish stuff. Because we miss Disney, we will work hard to save money to get back there. Because we know how precious our time is there, we will appreciate the time and focus on creating great memories. She gets this (obviously, her siblings are at different levels on that understanding chain but we remain hopeful as they mature). I think she knows Im right because she was a super great kid on this vacation and I just know I will walk with her again in the shadow of the footsteps we made these past few days here.
I know we all feel sad to go. There are things I had mentally listed that didnt get checked-off as well as things Id have liked to see or do, just one more time. But I tucked the list away in my heart for the next trip, knowing that when I do finally get to do these things, they will hold that much more meaning and specialness for me.
Sufficiently packed up and ready to go, bell services arrives to store our luggage for the day as we make our way to a late breakfast at Ohanas. Since the Epcot bus is loading and we are ahead of schedule, we decide to take the long way around. We board the bus for Epcot, get off there (take one last pit-stop at the bathroom before the entrance there had to say our good-byes to everything you know!). While waiting for the monorail we are able to see the character bus pull up in front of Spaceship Earth to greet the day. I remember back two days ago, and can almost see the ghost of my family where we stood waiting to enter the park that day, the girls donning their princess dresses.
Ive asked if we can ride up front and we are accommodated. JayJay, Cali, Meg and I do this while Buddy and Joe ride in the back. Buddy seems to have an aversion to the nose of the monorail. He has always declined the opportunity. At MK, we watch the crowds file in for their turn at a day of magic.
I greet the jovial hostesses at Ohanas with a warm, Aloha. We are seated quickly. While our server is not the most pleasant weve encountered, nor the most service-oriented, we still enjoy our meal and our visit with the characters Mickey, Goofy, Chip and Dale one last time. Im feeling relaxed and unhurried. Joe and the kids get maracas and join the characters for the parade. When I see Chip round the corner, he is holding my baby Megs hand. I know its Chip at a different restaurant, but theres just enough interaction that it almost almost can be seen as if Chip remembers my silly gang from last night. That is so special. Meg is smiling from ear to ear. I always feel so happy when she gets attention.
Cali has the title of oldest. JayJay has the title of Baby. Buddy has the title of Son. Meg merely dons the title of In the Middle. Although I was the baby in our family of only two, with no middle child, I am very sensitive to my kids need to identify a special place in OUR Ohana for themselves. With them being so close together, I really try to emphasize their individual strengths and uniqueness. I feel it is particularly important to get through to Meg with this. She was by far, my toughest baby . She was borne into this world, fists clenched, lungs bellowing and thats how she stayed for a long time. She was colicky for more than eight months. I cried almost as much as she did because I was desperate, heartsick and at a loss for how to calm her. For the first three years of her life she seemed so bottled up full of stress and so easily overwhelmed. She would get so angry. She had no coping skills and it really tested my own to deal with her. I met the lowest of my lows, doubted myself more than ever in those years. I never believed shed come out of it. But let me tell you, Ive prayed for guidance and Ive worked hard to meet her on her own terms to understand her and she has blossomed into the sweetest, most nurturing, sensitive, happy child. I just love her gentle spirit so much. Because there is always so much going on in our family, so often the squeaky wheel gets the grease, and I just dont want her to get lost in the shuffle. See, I may be overthinking it... and remembering these thoughts flash through my mind in milliseconds. It just takes longer to put them in print but, that right there is how a simple moment of attention, by a character a simple act of singling out just the right kid at the right time is so magical and can mean way more than Chip will ever know. And so our breakfast ends and we head back to Pop one last time. As we cross from the monorail station toward the bus stations, Meg plops down and is so sad. I know she doesnt want to leave. I pick her up, give her a big hug and mom and dad promise her she (we) will be back.
We do the potty check and of course nobody wants/needs to go until we get to the bus stop and find the invisible, hidden bladder filler-up spot of course. Joe gets to double-walk the walk, yet again, back to the bathroom (I believe it is with Buddy this time). This time they dont make it on the same bus as us. There is one other couple on the bus with Cali, JayJay, Meg and I. When we get back to Pop, we change into our bathing suits and head to the Goofy Sprayers until Joe returns with Buddy.
We spend the rest of the afternoon at the Hippy Dippy Pool . Where this vacation first began. Three hours later, weve eaten lunch and I grab a frozen blue raspberry for myself. The kids are in the arcade and I head out to inform bell services to get our bags ready. I see the FLTours van waiting for us. I squint and see that I recognize the driver. I didnt really know wed get the SAME driver but I knew this was our van because when I check the time on my cell I realize the time has come.
I do an about-face and retrieve my family from the arcade. We walk out to the van together.
Sam, the driver, remembered us when he was there to pick us up 8 days later. Was it the Green Eggs and Ham, I wonder?
Although thanks to you I spent the past few hours reading your reports rather than packing for my own trip! 
