First before getting in the report I am sorry this is taking me so long. I am having a hard time getting into my trip report writing groove. Actually I am having a hard time keeping up with any of my active threads. I reported in one that we are having a baby. #4!
Ive been feeling yucky and its a struggle to just keep up with my family and my day care and just any day to day chore. So, I apologize for letting this go for a bit, and I am finding it hard to do more than just report the facts. So, if you would bear with me and hopefully this day sickness part of my pregnancy will pass very soon and I can start feeling like myself again.
Today we are scheduled to spend the whole day at Epcot. Today we hit the big attractions. Today I have to face one of my biggest fears. This is constantly in the back of my head. We get ready and do our usual morning stuff and jump in the car and head to Epcot. This day looks to be a very promising sunny day. We do listen to the weather reports and they are usually the same. 30% chance of rain.
As we enter the park we walk past spaceship snooze since we did it yesterday. Tim took the boys to Soarin to fast pass it and I wanted a coffee and remembered that place by The Character Connection. But the line was crazy long and I saw characters with no lines for Malorie and we took a detour and were surrounded by furry loving creatures all wanting to love my daughter. And that they did.
With our fast passes in our passporter we headed to Test Track. This time Grandma was having a turn. I got a coffee and Mal and I shared a breakfast muffin with the birds.
As we are sitting stuffing our faces I am watching all these people walking up to Test Track with these special things hanging around their necks. Ohhhh the ever popular golden fast pass? Could it be? I just wanted to walk up to someone and ask. Maybe touch one. Or even photograph one. But I chose to act like I was too cool to even care. But my brain was thinking and wondering how these people got so lucky? I did observe one thing. Every one of those people that I saw heading to test track we not normal everyday park goers. These people were dressed up. Ladies in heels, skirts, very nicely dressed. Little girls in summery dresses, boys in kakis and hawaiin shirts. Men in golf shirts, belts and kaki pants. Something just didn't seem right. Oh well. Moving on!
We had to go to Universe of Energy. Its an attraction that Ill always remember from my child hood. I love it. I still laugh at it. Lots of great info for the kids.
We were walking toward Soarin' with still lots of time on our hands and I spot an almost empty Electric Umbrella. Can I prolong this ride? Yes! Let's have lunch! We dash in there. It's almost noon. Perfect. After we got our table that place got packed!
Its really time for Soarin. I am just a big ball of nerves.
We leave Mal and Grandma near some flowers and she is already napping.
I am totally shaking inside with a forced smile on my face for the kids. Tim can see it in my eyes. I am totally scared. There is a force thats just pulling me to go on this ride and I feel like Im just floating over to it. Tim is holding my hand and rubbing my back.
Back in 2003 we went to WDW and spent a day at Blizzard Beach. We decided to ride the chair lifts to avoid the steps. Ive never been on a chair lift in all my life. I had no idea what was about to happen. My oldest son and I with another child I did not know got on our lift and Tim and Zach were behind us. To this day I swear the other child must have thought I was the biggest freak of nature he ever encountered.
As we were being lifted up into the air, a terrifying feeling came over me and I froze. I felt like I was going to fall out of the chair. I had a fear that my son was going to perish as well. I couldnt move. I put my arm across my sons chest and made him sit completely still. I wouldnt let him move. He protested and then I wouldnt let him speak. I wouldnt let his head look over the bar. I wanted him to bury his head into my shoulder. I felt we werent safe. I was completely in a panic and desperately needed to get off this slow moving ride. I was uncontrollably shaking and crying, tears were just pouring out of my eyes. When our feet hit the ground I grabbed Matts hand and waited forever for Tims turn to be over. He must have sensed something because he ran over to me and I practically fell into his arms. It took me about 30 minutes to recover. I never knew or imagined I had such a fear of heights like that.
So, I know from them explaining the ride to me that Id be in a similar situation. A chair like lift would bring me off the ground.
I sit in the chair and I start to sweat. Tears are just coming out of my eyes. We are lifted and I am sooooo not comfortable. I wouldnt let anyone talk to me. I wouldnt let my son look over the side of the ride. All those feelings came rushing back to me from the ski lift at Blizzard Beach. I just looked ahead at the movie. Perfectly still. I concentrated on my breathing. And keeping myself perfectly still.
It was a nice concept of a ride. I just cant enjoy it like everyone else. But I did it. What depresses me is here is a ride that doesnt make me feel motion sick but I cant enjoy it because of a phobia.
Tim and I got our picture taken by Zachary near the flowers.
With Grandma and Malorie refreshed from her 30 minute nap we head back in and ride Living with the Land. We never rode that before and it was cool to see the different ways that they are growing food. Next we hit Journey Into Imagination with Figment and got the kids picture taken which later they would put into glass block. That was Papas Christmas present. Mal and I sent our picture home with an email.
This outside area has so much to do and is huge and I did lose Malorie in there and got pretty worked up for a few minutes. Hang on to your kids tight!
We headed over to the World Showcase and started with Mexico. There were a lot of Christmas stories being told in each country with their own traditions and customs displayed. Very interesting to see how Santa, or St. Nick is portrayed around the world.
Theres a lot of talk on these boards about Maelstrom. So being the diser that I am, I had to ride this ride. Tim and the boys did it last year, now we all did it together this year. I was surprised there was a line. And there was no way we were going to fast pass this. So I timed our wait. We waited 9 minutes to board our boat. That was a fast moving line too. It was just popluar I guess at that day and time. It was a cute little water log ride. We had fun. We skipped the movie.
The last 2 trips we did not get to do The Great American Adventure. So this was a priority to me. We get there and a show is about to start in 15 minutes. While we waited we were entertained by a group of singers who were absolutely fantastic! I am ashamed I didnt catch their name. I know they must be a well known and respected singing group at WDW.
We had a dinner ressie at The Biergarten. We head over a few minutes early and had to wait a good 15 minutes to be seated. We get seated with a lovely older couple and I wait for the Chef. I was nervous because the food looked different to what the kids were used to eating. Our brats and wieners look different, so I knew my kids would have issues with eating their food. Matt found a pork snitzel that looked familiar so he tried it. He loved it and ate about 7-8 patties of it. I thought that was hilarious. But he loved it and it satisfied him and thats all that mattered. Zach was being standoffish and pretty much settled for a plate of lettuce, maybe a brat, a few bites of a weiner, and then went crazy with dessert.
Over all the food was good. Its hard for me to digress anymore because its totally making my tummy sick thinking about food right now. The entertainment was enjoyable and the kids got a kick out of the long horns they played.
Dinner was over and it was time to do the rest of the showcase. Its raining pretty steady right now and I take out all the ponchos. I even try to make a cover for Malorie, but she does not like the confinement.
The trains were just awesome. We stopped to watch. I have always been fascinated with toy trains.
As we walk past the Candlelight processional we did get to see John Hurley. The choir sounded amazing.
Rain is coming down harder now. We get to Japan and now we are in a major rain storm. We find some shelter and try to wait it out. 30 minutes later and the streets are flooded. There is no sign that this is going to let up. So, we just decide that we have to head for the car and call it a night. From Japan we make the long trek out of the park. In the parking lot like everyone else we are hitting our panic button to find our car. Is that ours? Nope. Foolish people all pushing buttons at the same time. In the pouring rain, with crying kids.
We find our car several isles further back than we thought. I swear they move the cars like the strollers there. Soaked we drive back to the resort to find the rain is stopped and we can hear Illuminations in the back ground. Perfect I thought.
My phone rang and it was a diser. We had plans of meeting right berfoe Illuminations. We both cut our night short due to the rain.
Tomorrow a day apart. Seeing a
HUGE Celebrity at the Magic Kingdom! Dinner with Cinderella and Prince Charming. Meeting a fellow diser.