Mother In Law's Tongue - May 4-12 COMPLETE with VIDEOS & Puppy Update!!!

[budafam]

OK, I've been reading this bit by bit for 3 days. Love it!

Thanks! Enjoy your upcoming trip!!!

 

[budafam]

When we got done eating, DH spotted a caricature artist. He has wanted one for YEARS so we checked out the prices and surprisingly, it was MUCH cheaper than anything we ever saw at Disney so we decided to go ahead and do it. It took about 15 minutes and gave us a chance to relax and make our game plan for the rest of the day. Here is the drawing:

lol... of course we had to purchase the tube for an extra $5 to keep it safe in. We headed towards the Simpsons ride.. it was 11am so that means 12pm back at home and the Humane Society was finally open so we could call about our missing Penny. There was no sign of her but now they had our number and knew to call if anyone brought her in.

We went onto the Simpsons ride and absolutely LOVED it. There's a car that you get in and sit down. Then doors in front of the car so you think you'll be going through them but no, all of a sudden the car starts to rise up and you're up against a big movie screen. It was another simulator but really fun & hilarious at the same time. By the end of the ride though, I was not feeling so good... I was getting sick of all these motion simulator rides. Next time I'm bringing some medication.

We walked past MIB and decided against riding it... I might have thrown up if I did.

Fear Factor had all sorts of screams coming from the theater... no thank you!

We saw the Beetlejuice show going on and I had to take a picture and some video for my DS. He just LOVES Beetlejuice!

We came up on the Mummy next. I was excited for this one... it's a thriller but not a simulator! DH broke his sunglasses walking through the line (only he would do this) and DH is severely disabled without his sunglasses. So he was praying there would be sunglasses for sale in the inevitable gift shop at the end of the ride. Of course, there was not. I had to "lead him" to another store where we found him a pair of sunglasses.

We made our way over to Shrek. The line took awhile since they had just started a show. We were all put into a room where Lord Farquardt and a few other characters came on screen. It was a lot of standing and it started to get hot. Finally, they opened the doors and we were let into a theater. Basically think of Philharmagic but a lot more crude and the seats jumped up and down. I wasn't impressed by it at all and kinda sad that we wasted our time.

Next Up: Goodbye Universal & Hello Cape May Cafe

 

[budafam]

While we were in line for Shrek the Blues Brothers cruised by in their vehicle. Very cool.

After Shrek we saw a few characters out and about...

And with that, we were done. Goodbye Universal.

It was about 2:30pm when we walked out of Universal... yes, 2 parks in 5 1/2 hours. Mission accomplished! We took the afternoon off and relaxed back at the resort. The kids were worn out and sleeping from their pool time that morning with grandma. We got ready and started off towards the Beach Club Resort for my dinner date with my MIL.

We used valet parking for the first time on this trip. That's a great feature of the TIW card, free valet! DD really wanted to unbuckle herself from the carseat and someone did it for her... she was not happy. DH took the kids to go get ice cream and walk around (he also somehow managed to spend $30 at the arcade!!!) while MIL & myself got checked in at Cape May. We were seated within 2 minutes and had a nice little side booth near the croquet decor.

MIL ordered herself a margarita and I did the same... they carded me! Of course, this is the one time when I did not have my ID on me (I had changed from our day at the park and it was in my other shorts)... so milk for me. lol... although MIL did let me have a few sips (shhhh). Onto the food.

The food was awesome and so was our waiter. He had us play a trick on one of his co-workers... apparently everyone had been asking her for iced tea that night and she was getting so sick of it so we went over and asked her for some as well. lol... she obliged but we were quick to let her in on the joke and then she had a few choice words for our waiter. haha... the desserts were fantastic as well.

Afterwards we went back to the resort and relaxed for our final night of fireworks. Everyone else went to bed and I stayed up (it's not everyday you get to see fireworks and I just can't get enough of them).

Next Up: Why are you dressed up as butter?

 

[NorCalGal]

Hi - I LOVE your trip report! Do you mind if I ask where you are able to find all your deals on Disney toys? I'll be at WDW the week after Thanksgiving (free dining at Pop), and my brother who lives in Florida is meeting us there for a couple days. His girlfriend's daughter will have turned 5 a couple weeks before, and she loves to open presents, so I wanted to get her as many as I could afford. I don't have as much time as I'd like to look for deals, but I thought I'd at least try. I'm in Calif, so hopefully you shop at national chains

TIA

 

[budafam]

Hi - I LOVE your trip report! Do you mind if I ask where you are able to find all your deals on Disney toys? I'll be at WDW the week after Thanksgiving (free dining at Pop), and my brother who lives in Florida is meeting us there for a couple days. His girlfriend's daughter will have turned 5 a couple weeks before, and she loves to open presents, so I wanted to get her as many as I could afford. I don't have as much time as I'd like to look for deals, but I thought I'd at least try. I'm in Calif, so hopefully you shop at national chains

TIA

Thank you! I pickup a lot of stuff at the Dollar Tree or Target when they have their semi-annual 75% off sales in January/July. I usually can get $10 toys for $2.50 or less then. Target also has a really good selection of Disney stuff in their dollar bins usually. Have a GREAT time on your trip! We're headed back in 2 weeks and I canNOT wait!

 

[budafam]

We are on our last full day This morning we had an ADR at

1900 Park Fare. I LOVE this place. We visited here on our very

first trip but skipped it on my DS & me trip so I was excited to

go back. Here we are on the monorail...

and getting off at the Grand Floridian...

This place is just so beautiful. I love visiting on every trip

We were waiting for the restaurant to open and had our pics

taken.

We were seated at a giant round table that had one bad leg. It

would completely shift when we applied weight to one side. Kind

of annoying so DH mentioned it to a waitress and she said she

knew about it ??? The good thing was that we were right near the

door where the characters came out. We got our food and settled

in. The food was fantastic as usual. My favorites are the

strawberry soup, lobster benedict, pecan rolls & gummy bears!

YUM!

The characters started to come around... first was Winnie then

Tigger then Mary Poppins...

Alice was next and she told DH that he better be careful because

there was a giant hole in his hat (he was wearing a visor) and

that his head may fall out... he needed to have the Mad Hatter

fix that hole! lol... she was a riot!

The Mad Hatter came next and he shook Lucy's head asking if her head was loose. Then he went onto Dominic and asked if there were a bunch of Dominic's in a row if one was pushed over, would they all go over like Dominic's? He asked why were all dressed up as butter today. MIL's favorite color is yellow so we decided to wear yellow on our final day at Epcot. Once again, the Mad Hatter was hilarious!

We finished up and left the Grand Floridian via monorail. We switched monorails and went to Epcot. This was my first time on the Epcot monorail. I loved how it went through Future World.

Next up: Does spaghetti give you the bubbles?

 

[budafam]

We arrived at Epcot just after they opened the park.

We decided to do Spaceship Earth first. DH, DD & MIL had never been on it. The pictures were hilarious!

We ran over to the Land and got some FP's for Soarin' for later.

Then we headed over to Nemo and rode that. Gotta love grandma's graceful picture...

Crush was about to start so we stayed for Turtle Talk. My DS always tries his hardest to get picked but never does One little girl asked what Crush likes to eat so he returned the question to her and she said spaghetti. Then he asked "Does it ever give you the bubbles? You're a bubble maker aren't you? You're silence speaks for itself".. it was hilarious! Everyone was laughing.

Next Up: My MIL should give tours...

 

[budafam]

As a Mother's Day gift to MIL, we had booked the Behind the Seeds tour at Epcot as a surprise for her. We told her as soon as Turtle Talk was over with and we preceeded to the desk near Soarin' to check in. I was able to cancel my reservation and rebook using my Disney Visa & AP to get a discount (yay!) It was just me & MIL going on the tour so DH went with the kids and saw the Circle of Life movie upstairs (he said it was a nice nap).

We were told to go sit on some benches until our tour guide came along. There were maybe 20 people in our group total. Everyone went around and introduced themselves... told their names & a little bit about themselves. MIL made sure to mention she had a hobby farm.

FYI: Their "hobby farm" is ALL my MIL does during the summer. Her crazy husband buys millions of seeds and makes her his slave during the summer months. While it's really nice to be able to go visit them and get fresh produce, we'd rather she be enjoying her life rather than slaving away all the time and unable to come visit us. About two years ago her husband got this bright idea to begin raising tilapia. They now have aquariums ALL over their tiny "unfinished" house that stink and are disgusting... fish are also in their tub sink in the basement. They pay over $300 a month for electric bills to run these aquariums and guess how many fish they have been able to harvest since starting that venture? ZERO! Yes, that's right, NONE! HUGE waste of money but whatever... onto the tour.

It started off with showing us different kinds of bugs and how they help the plants. MIL volunteered to release tiny wasps in the greenhouse later on in the tour.

Charlie was our tour guide. He was on an apprenticeship through Disney for almost 2 years I believe...

The tomato tree:

Lettuce:

Charlie explained hydroponics and how it all works. He then handed out sheets with directions on how to make your own at home. MIL refused taking one stating that she has already done such a project at home.

She questioned Disney's use of sand and not soil. She claimed that they would get a lot more nutrients in soil than they do in sand (yeah, I'm sure Disney knows NOT what they're doing)... MIL also sort of "yelled" at Charlie that they don't use rain water. All of their water is filtrated and not "natural"... oy!!!

Next up were the prawns which MIL had no experience with (yay!)...

Then onto the alligators which "surprise" we got to FEED! Charlie said this was only his second time ever getting to feed them so it was a real treat! We were very lucky to be given the opportunity.

Next were the tilapia. MIL wouldn't even feed them because she "knows how they react"... ugh. She made me feel like I totally wasted my money booking this tour for her. She either knew it all or knew better than Disney!

MIL releasing the wasps:

This was our last stop on the tour... it's called a sensitive plant. When you touch the leaves, they curl up. It's sort of like a defense mechanism. Very neat.

Overall, I loved the tour and would recommend it to anyone... just not my MIL!

Up next: Pics & Club Cool

 

[NorCalGal]

Thank you for the tip on the Dollar Tree! We have a couple of those where I live, but I always forget to cruise the toy aisle. I went yesterday, and they have Halloween stuff already, so I got lots of cool princess stuff. Yeah bargains

 

[Mom2m&k]

Just finished reading your trip report! I skipped and just read the chapters...your kids are adorable! I hope you found your puppy!

 

[budafam]

Just finished reading your trip report! I skipped and just read the chapters...your kids are adorable! I hope you found your puppy!

Thank you! I will have an update on the puppy at the very end and a few other surprises

 

[budafam]

After the tour we met up with DH. DD had a huge dark chocolate spot on her pretty yellow dress He let her have chocolate milk and of course, she spilled. Awesome. We walked over to Club Cool which was open this time around (yay!) I had the video camera rolling to catch MIL's reaction to Beverly and of course, nothing. You would've thought she was drinking water. Everyone went through all of the samples so quick, I only managed to capture DS sipping.

We started walking and I had to take a pic of Mickey & Minnie

We took advantage of the Photopass Plus again and got some more pics taken of us...

Next Up: You CAN'T go to Mexico, we're PAST Mexico.. we're in NORWAY!

 

[budafam]

We started our trek around the World Showcase beginning in Mexico.

I just really love this country. Inside are some really neat things to buy and the atmosphere is so cool.

DH was mesmerized by the glass blowing. He thought it was so cool.

We did the Three Caballeros ride. DS & I had been on it on our last trip but for everyone else, it was their first time.

We went back outside and began walking. I was keeping an eye out for the food stand... I really wanted some nachos! Before I knew it, I saw this:

I knew we weren't in Mexico anymore. I piped up and told everyone that I must've missed the stand. DH rolled his eyes and instantly lost it. He said "You never said you were looking for it! It's way back at the beginning! You can't go to Mexico, we're PAST Mexico.. we're in NORWAY!" Ugh, whatever, I started walking by myself as everyone else just stood there in shock. Whatever. I wanted my nachos and now in order to deal with DH, I think I needed a margarita too.

I found a bench nearby and sat down to quickly devour my nachos and drink. Everyone eventually made their way back to me and shared in on some yummy nachos. Gosh they were good! Well worth ticking off DH. As we were walking back to Norway, I saw a man & woman (I'm assuming they were married) and the man had a beer in his hand having the time of his life. I couldn't help but think "Why can't my DH be more like that one and actually LIKE Disney?" Ugh...

Next Up: Pick a Pearl Brawl

 

[budafam]

This is it. The time has come for me to explain the point when all of our heads came together for one massive fight at Disney. Everyone warned me about traveling with my MIL and I did great, until the last day.

Since DH and I were already heated with the whole Mexico/nachos fiasco, we quit talking. I felt like I just needed to get away from these people for a little bit. I wanted to do Maelstrom but DH just "couldn't see the point" even though he's NEVER been on the ride before. He wanted to keep going so keep going I did. I started walking. DS was with me and before I knew it we were just past Japan. I sat down for a few minutes just to enjoy the view and calm down a bit. There was a playground nearby that DS played on for about 5 minutes.

We turned around and walked back looking for DH, MIL & DD but they were nowhere to be seen. I tried calling DH's phone and no answer. Now I was worried. This was our only means of communication.

Prior to our whole trip, I had mentioned the Pick a Pearl option to MIL. Afterall, she has bought pearls for her god-daughter... I thought she would love the opportunity to see her granddaughter pick a pearl. I was very excited to see DD do this and really, that was going to be the highlight of our Epcot day for me. I just had a gut wrenching feeling that I knew exactly where they were. Unfortunately, I was right.

I turned the corner in Japan and saw our stroller sitting outside the store. I opened the doors and saw my little DD standing by the counter with a crowd of people around her (including DH smiling & MIL staring at me). I lost it. I completely bawled my eyes out in front of everyone. I don't remember much but just giving MIL the evil eye and yelling at DH "How could you do this to me?" I did overreact a bit but I never even got so much as an apology for doing this without me. I walked out of the store and sat on the bench nearby with DS. MIL and DH came out with DD and I let her have it. She began walking... we were near Morocco when I decided to get in line to meet Aladdin & Jasmine. We were second in line. DH came up to me and started yelling at me right in line in front of everyone. He grabbed my purse and walked away. My purse had everything in it... phone, money, keys, etc.

About 10 minutes passed and he walked back to me and threw the purse at me. I was so embarrassed, I just turned and looked the other way. DH took off walking back towards Mexico. Aladdin and Jasmine came out finally and the kids got to have their turn. MIL was standing off to the side by herself. I called DH and he said he was leaving. He was already into Future World, taking our van and going back to the resort. I told MIL and she didn't say a word. I said something along the lines of "SOMEONE needs to start acting like an adult here and figure out what we're going to do for transportation!" She pretended to throw the pearl in the garbage that they had gotten. (Turns out she let the CM pick it - really! Who does Pick a Pearl and then lets the CM pick it!? No wonder it was a small one) I spent the next 15 minutes on the phone begging DH not to leave us and he ended up walking back over by us.

Great, let's just finish this walk around the World Showcase and be done! This is the only picture that exists from the Pick a Pearl since I wasn't in there with my camera.

There is a video but you can hear me crying on it... lol.

Next up: Finishing the Walk & We're Out!

 

[OThopeful35]

Sorry your Epcot day didn't go to well Hope things turned around

 

[shalom]

Aw, man, what a bummer. And your day started out so well, too.

Love the Grand Floridian/Park Faire pics.

 

[Lil' Grumpy]

hello, ,

i just wanted to share..i think you are very brave to share with
others.

i like to share too ....& i hope by doing so will help you toward
recovery & healing hurt feelings.

"picking a pearl" , might seem liked over reacting..but i know
better, from a similar experience this past summer @
aulani -in hawaii. however, i was just a bystander - the real
action was created by my wife & especially my daughter.

for what it worth- i am sorry for the ugly xperience that your
mil gave you. i don't know except your post, but it was written
with much sincerity that left little doubt. i think you are
correct and the conflicts were "understandable" , though not
desire. however, i hope you eventually put it behind you &
found comfort in a future "pearl ". and though it was a "mean-
spirited" act, i think you need to forgive her , for your benefit.
( it is evident & i think you already realized, she dealing with
her own issues- that likely cloudy her judgments. but she is
still a mother, & family. ) people make mistakes. & while
it darken the epcot day - you made through it - & epcot
is still there so you can come back with your family.

as you work through this....i hope you remember that the pearl
is from her grandmother,& not her mother....the only "first pearl"
with her mother, can only come from you. no one can steal that
away, and it is your daughter's feelings that will make that pearl
special, when you & her do it together- disney or not. psst, that
when the "magic" happens" for your daughter-not before.
the other , was just a pearl because "you" was not there. &
that is the difference. very much liked dumping sparkles ,
anyone can buy & do it, but it isn't special until your very
own fairy god-mother wave the wand. her grandmother was
just a dress reheresal.

i'm old-er , in the people business but not the disney type,
been married for-ever, have 3 kids, and one mil. thanks
goodness for the last part. however, s/p 30 years, &
a few xmas ago...she got me an extra present. a ball
cap that had "living legend" embalzed on it.

just because it was bad outing didn't mean you had a bad trip.
most have troubles mixed in any trip , it just easier-better to
remember all the good things because they make it "worth"
coming back. those getting "stuck' on the bad things-often
never going back- & that's sad because the next trip may
have been their trip of a lifetime. so as it "is" for everyone.

but more than anything else, i just wanted to address what
your husband might have been feeling. first, if i had read your
story before my own experience--i would have felt you was
over the top, way too emotional and /or little crazy. now
let me share what changed all of that...., i thought my wife
was throwing away more of my $$$. on more junk. i could
care less and was just wandering around when my wife sneak
to the pearl stand. i was also irritated about her wasting my
time. my daughter, has been a blessing even before she
was born. she came 10 years after we decided no more.
she is also older than yours, a teenager. and this has been
something she been wanting to do for the past couple of
years....and she was dreaming for a black one. as they went
through the ritual , i heard her high expectations ,catching
my attentions---she could only make low pitch groans of
joy. she was so happy , she had tears & trembling as she
cup her hands to hold not one, but twins, solid black. yeah!
she was trembling with joy. 2 seconds before....all i was
thinking...what a waste of time. she picked 4 more times...
and 4 more times twins of black pearls. all matching.
then my wife chose....& she got twins, pink ones. by that
my son came back so we thought what the heck...he
broke our streak ...but is was black with a green ring
around it. later on the week, we stopped again and my
daughter picked another black twins.

the settings cost me more than $2,000. but the happiness
it gave my daughter/wife.....make it peanuts. i was not
interested & almost missed it. if your husband understood
the potential, i am sure he would have supporter your
efforts better. i know~ i never knew such a little thing
could be so exciting,

in time, i hope you can realize that your mil only redirected or
delayed the moment & there's plenty of time left to make
the memory even more special..maybe triplets ? either way,
i think it will be something extra. even if it has nothing to
do with pearls. faith & trust.

i would not worry about the strangers....every marriage has
a few rough bounces on the way. sorry no one offered any
comfort measures even from the cm's , as i think that
would have been the disney thing to do. but i bet if you
ask the cm with the biggest ears, he would welcome
you & your family-even mil, with welcome arms.
.... & even cindy has a few moments of

despair. i say your in good "company."

 

[budafam]

Thank you everyone! It did not ruin our trip by any means and I have gotten over it.. I haven't shared this story with many people but I know that Disney folks understand what it's like to lose your cool while at the parks over the simplest thing.

 

[shalom]

It did not ruin our trip by any means and I have gotten over it..

I could tell that from "reading between the lines" earlier. I did like, and want to highlight, Lil' Grumpy's point that "the only "first pearl" with her mother, can only come from you." It would be a new experience for both of you -- especially since your daughter didn't get to pick out the pearl she got from grandma.

 

[budafam]

I could tell that from "reading between the lines" earlier. I did like, and want to highlight, Lil' Grumpy's point that "the only "first pearl" with her mother, can only come from you." It would be a new experience for both of you -- especially since your daughter didn't get to pick out the pearl she got from grandma.

So true I am looking forward to it in a little over a week!