becka
<font color=green>Proud Mommy of sweet Nathan and
- Joined
- Aug 17, 1999
- Messages
- 13,852
Cast of Characters:
Me (28) Disney planner, slightly obsessive compulsive and very emotional
DH (29) Mr. Optimistic, Go With The Flow Guy, Big believer in the magic of pixie dust, Disney pin trader
DS (1 ½) The little guy doesnt have a clue what is about to hit him
The Plan:
2/6 Drive to Kansas City after work and stay at the Kansas City Airport Hampton Inn
2/7 12:15 Southwest Flight to Orlando
Rent fullsize car from National using Quick Rent
Drive to Publix grocery store for diapers/wipes
Check-in at Pop Century
Drive to GF for 1900 Park Fare character dinner @ 6:10 PM
2/8 Breakfast at Pop Century food court
Ride bus to MK for early entry
Get DSs first haircut at 9 when the barber shop opens
Ride a few rides in Fantasyland
Counter Service somewhere in MK for lunch
Head back to room for nap
Take bus to Epcot
Dinner at Garden Grill @ 5:30
Maybe Illuminations if everyone is feeling OK
The Reality:
2/5/04 3:00 AM The little guy wakes up in the middle of the night crying. This is unusual for him so I go in to check up on him and he keeps telling me he is hot, hot, hot and that he wants his blanket sleeper off. He does feel very warm so I get the thermometer and sure enough it reads 102.5. Ack! This was one of my worst fears about our trip. I give him some Tylenol and pray that this is a very short lived fever.
2/5/04 6:00 AM - Even with the Tylenol DS is still running a 101 degree fever. We decide to keep him home from daycare for the day and DH and I run a split shift at work. I work in the morning and then come home so DH can go to work in the afternoon. We both have lots of work to tie up before we leave and we are starting to feel the stress. DSs only symptom is the fever. He does not appear to be in any pain, no congestion, etc. We decide to keep him medicated today and if he is still running a fever then we will make a doctor appointment for Friday morning. All day long he continues to run between 100 101 even with the medications. We start to worry more.
2/6/04 6:00 AM DS is still running a fever. With no other symptoms I figure it is either a) a viral infection or b) an ear infection. I stay home with DS in the morning while DH works and I will work in the afternoon after DH finishes his work. I call the doctors office to explain the situation and they give me a 10:45 appointment. DH finishes work about 10:00 so we decide to meet at the doctors office to make the switch. About 10:30 I leave DS with DH at the doctors office with a list of questions and I go to work.
DS does not have an ear infection and the doctor chalks the fever up to some kind of viral infection. He tells us that the fever should run its course in the next 24-48 hours and that he thinks it is fine if we continue with our trip plans. After some discussions with DH we decided to go ahead with our plans. Rescheduling with our work schedules was going to be difficult and because we were only 24 hours out we stood to lose a nice chunk of change by canceling at the last minute. DSs health was the most important thing but the doctor seemed to think that this virus would be pretty short lived. We also decide that if need be we would just hang around the resort and not go to the parks.
So with some nervousness I sent DH to the pharmacy to load up on Infant Motrin and Tylenol. I finished up at work around 3 PM and I stopped by Fazolis to pick up some pasta for dinner. When I got home we ate quickly and then DH started to load the car with our 100 pounds of luggage, car seats, strollers, etc..
We left Columbia about 5 PM and we had a pretty smooth trip to Kansas City. The roads were clear which was nice because we had suffered two ice/snow storms in the last week. We arrived at the Hampton Inn around 8 PM. We checked in and then DH went to find an empty park and fly space so he could unload our luggage. We had reserved a king non-smoking room and we were given one on the 2nd floor. It was plenty large enough. We did bring DSs pack n play for the hotel so we set it up, gave DS some more Motrin (fever running about 100) and got DS ready for bed. He was very excited to be in a hotel room and it made it difficult to get him to bed. When we put him in the pack n play he expressed his unhappiness with the sleeping arrangements in a very vocal way. He has not slept in a pack n play since last Thanksgiving and he obviously had changed his mind about them. He cried for probably 10-15 minutes before he realized that it wasnt going to do him any good and he went to sleep. We were all asleep by 9:30 that evening in preparation for our big day tomorrow.
2/7/04 The big day is finally here. DS woke up about 6:30 and was still running a fever of about 100. We gave him some more Motrin and got dressed. The hotel had a continental breakfast so we went down stairs and grabbed some cereal and fruit to eat. We sat at a table by the window where an employee had build a big snowman and dressed him up. DS loves snowmen so he talked excitedly about the snow and barely ate anything. His appetite had been off anyway because of his illness so I didnt work too much but I did take an extra box of Cheerios just in case he got hungry later.
By the end of breakfast DSs fever was down to about 99 99.5. He seemed to not be effected at all and was having a blast running around the hotel room while we waited for our time to get to the airport. He colored with the little pen and paper provided in the room and he loved playing with the remote control and looking out the window at the snow covered trees.
We figured we would take the 10 AM shuttle to the airport but by 9ish DS was getting kind of antsy so we decided maybe going a little earlier would be fine. We loaded up all of our stuff and headed down to the lobby to take the shuttle. We struggled with all of our stuff and we soon realized just how difficult it was going to be. We had 2 pieces of checked luggage one large and one medium (neither one completely full). One backpack full of snacks, little toys and all of the reservation information, park tickets, diapers, wipes, etc. and one additional carryon that contained DHs pin collection and all of the electronic items (camera, camcorder, etc). A car seat (in a car seat bag) for DS to use on the plane and in our rental car and our new Combi Savvy Soho stroller which thankfully was very lightweight and compact plus we all had our coats since it was less than 20 degrees in Kansas City. Plus of course we were trying to just keep up with Nathan while being loaded down with luggage. I decided to just throw on a sweatshirt and leave my coat in the car so at least we had one thing less to haul around.
We managed to get it all on the shuttle and took the 5 minute ride to the airport. We got all of the luggage out and checked our baggage and received our A boarding passes. We were also at the time given permission to pre-board the flight. We walked around the airport for a while trying to entertain DS. About 11:00 we decided to grab a quick lunch and then head over to the gate. We got through security pretty quickly considering how much stuff we had. DS was starting to get a little tired and cranky so it took some serious entertaining (and another does of Tylenol) to keep him from melting down entirely. The plane arrived from Portland on time and we got in line to pre-board. At this point we had the stroller packed up in the travel bag ready to be gate checked so I was holding Nathan and the carryons while DH had the carseat and the stroller bag. At this point DS lost sight of DH and started to cry for his Daddy. Even after showing him that Daddy was right there he was still very upset and seemed very concerned that DH was leaving.
We finally got on the plane and DH struggled to get the car seat in. While trying to get the car seat installed his ripped off a large portion of one of his fingernails! Ouch! Of course I also didnt have any clippers to help him fix it because they were in the checked luggage due to the new security guidelines. We got DS in the car seat and took our seats while the rest of the plane boarded.
Right about 12:15 (the scheduled departure time) the flight attendants start paging a passenger named Paul Morel. They page him and page him and page him and no one on the plane is responding. They tell us one more time that if Paul Morel does not present himself that they will be forced to check boarding passes and IDs for the full plane. About 12:30 they start checking each passenger. Apparently after a full check of the plane they discover that Paul Morel is not on the plane! DS is starting to get a little antsy in his seat and my constant jabbering about the other planes and the luggage trucks is starting to sound old to him. At this point they tell us that we are going to be futher delayed while we take on more fuel. Apparently there are two pressurization things on aircraft and one of them on this plane is broken. They are going to fly with the one and just have us fly at a lower altitude of 15,000 feet which apparently requires more fuel. The assure us that this is strictly a comfort issue and not a safety issue. This flight has me a little nervous at this point but I try to shake it off and put on a happy face for DS and DH who is a nervous flyer.
We finally leave the gate about 12:55 and we are in the air shortly after 1 PM. DS was really funny about the takeoff. We started speeding down the runway and he was telling me that we were going fast and then when we started to get off the ground DS is looking out the window and says Uh oh! It was really funny and several people around us started laughing. I told him that it was OK and that we were going to fly in the sky like a bird. He seemed comforted by that and watched out the window as we climbed higher. He then promptly fell asleep after about 5 minutes. Good! At least this part was going well.
I was tired myself so I tried to sleep a little on the plane. I watched DS carefully and his ears didnt seem to bother him on the way up thankfully and mine were not bad either. The flight down was pretty uneventful. I had bought Earplanes for myself and DS and I had planned to use them on us both during the landing. I have always had really bad ear pain when flying and Earplanes have been a godsend for me. I knew that getting DS to keep them in his ears would be a struggle and he was still asleep about the time we started to descend plus he didnt have any trouble on takeoff so I didnt put his in. Well about 15 minutes before we land he wakes up and starts to cry and tug at his ears. I felt so bad because I couldnt put the earplanes in now. He was really hurting quite a big but he did respond well to me just talking to him calmly and petting his head. I felt so guilty for not putting them in! We were supposed to land in Orlando about 3:45 but because of the delay we actually landed around 4:30.
We get off the plane with the carryons and the car seat and we then go to get the gate checked stroller. Well it was not there. The person there at the gate told us to just wait for it and it should be up soon. I take DS out to the gate while DH stays in the jetway waiting for the stroller. Well after about 10 minutes or so they tell DH that it is not there and that it might have gotten put with the checked luggage that was already on the way to baggage claim but that they didnt know. It might have been left in Kansas City. Well at this point I am a mess. I cant believe that our stroller is missing and they dont know where it is. The stroller was brand new and we really needed it for the trip plus now we had to get to baggage claim with a fussy squirmy sick kid, all of our carryon luggage and a bulky carseat without the car seat bag since we stored it in with the stroller. I was really angry now! The stress was starting to get to me and even DH a little.
We manage to struggle down to the baggage claim area and wait and wait and wait for our luggage. DS and I go find a spot in the corner to wait with all of our stuff while DH tries to go get the luggage off the belt. DS panics when DH leaves and keeps crying for his Daddy. I had no way to confine him so I ended up holding a crying screaming thrashing kid. At this point I am getting a migrane and my Excedrin is in the non-existant luggage. I am starting to wonder if we made a big mistake. DS shows up with our 2 checked pieces but says there is still no sign of the stroller so he heads back over to the baggage claim area. DHs appearance and then disappearance sets off a new round of screaming by DS. Finally, DH appears with our stroller. The gate check tag had been ripped off and there was a tear in the travel bag but at least it was here. We try to gather up our luggage, get DS in the stroller and then set off to find a restroom. I get DS changed and then I try to calm myself by taking a wet paper towel and using it on my face and the back of my neck. I take a few deep calming breaths and decide that things could only get better. After all we are only minutes away from WDW and the sun is shining!
We make our way down to the lower level to get our rental car. This is our first rental car so we dont really know what to expect. We walk and walk until we see the National counter. What pandemonium! There are a gazillion people in line I am really glad now that I did the Emerald reserve service and dont have to wait in that line. There is a sign that says that Emerald Aisle and Emerald Reserve customers need to go directly to the National garage on level 2. Well there are arrows on the sign that point to an area behind the National rental counter. We start heading back that way only to find security signs saying that we cannot go any further. At this point we are confused and go back to read the sign and the arrows clearly point in that direction. We finally get the attention of a National worker behind the counter who tells us the garage is outside and across the street. OK, I didnt know that .they could really use better signage. We get up to the garage and go to find the full-size aisle. Well now I am confused because there are a ton of minivans in this aisle and one PT cruiser. What? This cant be the fullsize aisle. We must be in the wrong place. We finally find someone who works there and ask about the fullsize aisle and she tells us we are right there and then leaves. Huh? This still cant be right. We look at the tag in the window for one of the vans parked there and it is clearly marked as a minivan and not a fullsize. I leave DH with DS and head over to the little counter there in the garage. I wait and wait for someone to open up and then she looks at me and then leaves. What? I was getting frustrated. Finally the other lady is free and I ask her what the deal is with the fullsize aisle. She told me that today those minivans are fullsize and that we will not be charged extra. OK so back we go to the aisle. At this point we had waited too long and the PT cruiser was taken so we picked a pretty blue Grand Caravan with only 300 miles on it. We load it up and head for the exit. I was still a little nervous about being charged too much but they ring it up as our fullsize price of $113.50 for the 6 days. Not too shabby maybe things are looking up after all.
We are running pretty late at this point since it is almost 6 and there is no way we are going to make our 6:10 PS at 1900 Park Fare so we decide that we will go ahead and stop at the Publix, check-in and then we will eat at the food court at the resort for dinner and then turn in early to get ready for tomorrows early entry at MK. The directions I had for Publix told me to turn at the Gaylord Palms intersection. Well we were looking for a street named Gaylord Palms and we completely missed that is was the name of the resort! We actually ended up driving by the Pop Century sign before we realize our mistake so we turn about and head to Publix. I run in to grab diapers, wipes and a container of Crystal Light lemonade mix. I get back out to the car and we drive back to Pop Century for check-in.
It was about 6:45 or so when we got to the front desk. I handled the check-in while DH took DS around the lobby looking at the memorabilia on the walls and while DH hunted down his first lanyards of the trip. The girl doing the check-in seemed really nice. I had requested a first floor room on our reservation since we would have the stroller and I didnt want to mess with stairs and elevators. When I checked in I also mentioned that I would love to have an interior courtyard room as well. She said she didnt know if they had anything available but then she said she found one and gave us room 8128 which she said was in the 90s building (a little further out than I wanted to be but I could deal with it) and on the front side of the building facing the pool. OK great that would work.
We pile back in the van and drive over to the 80/90s lot to park. We pull most of our luggage out and head towards to pool to look for our room. We walk the length of the building and there is no room 8128 there. Huh? Well we started looking at the signs for the room numbers and we make our way to our room. Well room 8128 is probably one of the worst rooms in the resort. It is on the back side of the 90s building and looks right out on the service vehicle parking about 5 feet from our door not even close to the pool or anything else in the resort. It also looks out on these water pipes sticking out of the ground that are badly camouflaged by plants. A really uninspiring view and I was a little ticked off that the CM at check-in lied to me about the room location. I realize this is a value resort but I was really disappointed. When you walked out of the room you couldnt even tell you were at Disney. Maybe we have just been spoiled by always having great rooms in the past (at all levels including the All Stars) but I was getting really upset. I think it was just the full stress of the day and the previous days finally coming out but I just started to cry. Pretty silly, huh? DH and DS were just looking at me while I came unglued. I calmed down pretty quickly and DH asked me if we could switch rooms tomorrow. I said probably but I really didnt want to mess with moving rooms so we would just stay here and try to make the best of it.
I then realized that I had forgotten to ask about our crib when I checked in. We called the front desk to let them know that we needed a crib delivered. They said it would just be a few minutes and that Housekeeping would deliver it. We asked if it was OK if we were not there when they delivered it and they said it would be no problem.
We unpacked a few things and then headed over to the food court. We took the scenic route to the food court so we could look over the resort a little. The theme was done very well and we really enjoyed the looks of the resort. The food court was really busy but we managed to order 2 cheesesteak sandwiches and a kids chicken nugget meal without having to wait too long. The cheesesteak sandwiches were mediocre at best but we were really hungry so we ate most of them. While we ate we discussed our plans for that evening and then next morning. DS was very excited to find Mickey on the napkins and he thought he was big stuff for getting to use a big person plastic fork. We use the toddler silverware at home so this was pretty new for him. He requested two forks that he would then stab his fries with. Every other meal for the rest of the trip required him to have two of those plastic forks. I think he ate about 4 french fries, 2 bites of his chicken and one of those paper containers of ketchup. He really liked the ketchup and he kept dipping his fork into the ketchup and then eating if off the fork.
We then headed back to the room by walking out towards the bus stops and then going around the 70s parking lot. You miss most of the resort this way but it got us back to the room in a little over 5 minutes. We got back to the room about 8:30 and the crib was still not there so I called Housekeeping to ask about our crib. They said that would bring one right over. I also asked if they could bring us 2 extra blankets and if I could set up early housekeeping for tomorrow morning since we wanted to come back for a nap. They asked me how early and I just said anytime before noon. They said no problem. About 10 minutes later they show up with 1 blanket and no crib. Good grief this is bad! We asked the guy about the crib and get a blank look. He says that he will get us one I didnt even ask about my second extra blanket. I figured that might never happen. We finally get the crib delivered about 9 PM and we set it up and get ready for bed. We get DS settled, give him another dose of Motrin (100 fever) and he finally calms down so DH and I turn off the lights and go to bed as well. At 9:30 there is a knock on the door. It is housekeeping wanting to know what we needed cleaned since we had requested early housekeeping!! We asked for early housekeeping TOMORROW not at 9:30 that night!!! The knock at the door woke DS up and it took us a while to get him back down. I was really pretty mad at that point and just couldnt wait for the day to be over. I took 800 mg of Advil for my headache and went to sleep. Unfortunately DS was not sleeping well. He woke up almost every hour and needed comforting. I think he was just scared when he would wake up and not know where he was. Plus on top of that I was not good at following my own advice about drinking lots of water during the trip. I had been so stressed all day that I didnt keep my water intake up and by that evening I was apparently dehydrated. When I get dehydrated I get terrible muscle cramps/spasms. Those hit me about 2 in the morning and made walking the first 2 days of our trip pretty painful. It was a long night and we no one got much sleep.
2/8/04 After a long night without much sleep we are all awakened about 6:00 AM by the sounds of all of those service vehicles outside our door. We decide to get up and get dressed and head to the food court and then to MK. DS was running a 99 degree temp so we gave him some more Motrin before we headed out. It was really chilly this morning. I think the temp was 41 degrees with a wind chill of 32. The high was only going to be in the low 60s. Brrrr! The forecast before we left was calling for this chilly weather and they were only predicting highs in the low 70s by the time we left so I packed mostly jeans with one pair of shorts for us each just in case it did get a little warmer. We layered it on this morning and trekked to the food court. DS had his first Mickey waffles although he hardly ate any since he still didnt have much of an appetite but he was pretty impressed with them. DH had the POP waffle with topping and I indulged in a cinammon roll. Fairly tasty and as usual with Disney way too expensive.
After breakfast we headed out to the bus stop. It was pretty busy this morning and we were running a little late for getting to the MK when it opened. DS was very impressed with the busses. He always likes to see the busses around town here at home but he had never ridden one. We got to MK and went through security with no problems and then walked onto Main Street. DH had to make a stop at the pin cart before we did anything else. We wanted to get DSs first haircut at the barber shop today but the barber shop did not open until 9 so we had some time to kill. There were characters at the start of main street and DS was very thrilled to see Daisy Duck. He doesnt know the difference between Daisy and Donald so he kept shouting Da Duck, Da Duck, Da Duckl!!!! (Nathan pronunciation for Donald Duck) over and over. We walked over to Daisy and stood in line where we were about 3 people back. Nathan stood there patiently and watched as the other kids went up to Daisy. When it was his turn he didnt want to go by himself so he took my hand and wanted me to pick him up and carry him over to see her. We had bought Nathan an autograph book the night before so he had it and a Pooh pen ready to go in his hands. When we got up to Daisy he smiled and said Da Duck and then she took the autograph book from him to sign it. Well DS started screaming Meme book, Meme Book! (Meme is how he pronounces Mickey and Mickey was on the front cover it was his Mickey book). Well he thought Daisy was taking his Mickey book and he was not happy about it. As soon as she gave him the book back he was happy again. We decided at that point that we would not be doing any more autographs on this trip. He did however love coloring in his Mickey book and whenever he would be on the page Daisy signed he would also point at it and say Da Duck!.
We started walking down Main Street to try to find the barber shop. I had never really know where it was so we just kept looking. We got to the end of the street and realized we must have missed it so we started swimming upstream against all of the people coming in to head back to the front of the park. Well as I am walking I hear someone start saying Becka! Becka! I turn around and a woman and her daughter are standing there calling my name. I was kind of flustered at first but then she asked me if I remembered who was also going to be there that morning. Then I remembered that Olga (Ms Kanga) had PMd me earlier and said she would be at EE that morning in the MK as well. She recognized Nathan from his picture and that is how she knew it was me. It was nice to finally meet a DISer in the parks. We talked for a few minutes before going our separate ways.
We found the barber shop up front and saw that it did not open until 9. We still had some time to kill before the barber shop opened so we went to the watch store on Main Street. I bought a Mickey watch at MGM on one of our previous trips but it died about 6 months ago. I have been living without a watch since then since I wanted to buy a new one during this trip. I looked around at lots of really pretty watches but I didnt want to spend a fortune. I finally found a Sorcerer Mickey watch for $31 that I liked. I bought it and took it out of the box to put it on. Well it seemed a little small which I thought was strange. It dawned on me a few hours later that the reason why it was so small is because it was a CHILDs watch! Well I had been wearing it at that point for a few hours so I didnt think I could take it back so I just kept wearing it.
We made our way up to the barbers shop about 9:05 and while the barber shop was open there were already about 6-7 people in line. It was going to be a long wait. DS was already being squirmy and when he saw Daisy Duck walk by to go backstage he kind of went nuts wanting to go back outside. At this point I was not sure we could wait that long so DH and I decided to just forget the haircut for now and come back later that day or just do it on Tuesday when we were scheduled to be back in the MK at opening. We left the barber shop and headed back down Main Street. About halfway down Main Street DH looks at me all panicked and asks me if I have the backpack. He had set it down in the barber shop and left it there. It had our digital camera, camcorder, his big pin bag, diapers, - basically everything in it! I told DH to just meet me there and I took off sprinting towards the front of the park. I am sure it was not a pretty sight! I got back to the barber shop and thankfully the backpack was still sitting by the door. No one had even noticed it. That was a close call!
So we go back down Main Street (again) and head towards the castle. It has been a few years since we were last here but I was surprised to see that you cannot walk through the castle anymore. I guess that is so they can do the Cinderella stage show. I checked our park times guide and noticed that the first Cinderella show was at 9:40. I knew that Mickey and the gang made appearances in the show so I thought it would be a good idea if we saw it so that DS would get his first look at the mouse from a little bit of a distance. We had some time so we went back into Fantasyland and decided to get fastpasses for Pooh and then ride the teacups since there was only a 5 minute wait. DS seemed a little confused when we climbed into the teacups but it seemed like he was having a good time. I asked him when we got off if he would like to ride again and he said yes. We ended up not going on it again because I then asked him if he would like to go on a boat ride but I thought it would be a good test to see if he was really scared or if he did actually have fun. We next headed over to IASW where there was maybe a 2 minute wait. I had read that kids DSs age really love IASW and at least with DS that seemed true. He was so excited to be on a boat and he knows the song pretty well. He was pointing and clapping and talking up a storm during the ride. He did just great until you get near the end and then he wanted to stand up. He was just so excited I think it was hard for him to stay in his seat. However we were forced to hold him in our laps and he did NOT like that. He was really upset that we would not let him go. He kept saying stuck and crying. He just didnt understand that he could not get up. This will be a recurring theme in this trip report. The more he liked the ride, the more excited he was and the harder time we had keeping him in his seat.
By this time it was about time for us to head over to the castle. There were not too many people waiting for the show so we stood a little ways back so we would have a good view. We waited about 5-10 minutes before the show started. DSs eyes got really big when the music started and when the Fairy Godmother and Cinderella came out. When Mickey and the gang showed up he was quite a big more excited. He kept saying Meme and Da Duck and Uto (Pluto) and pointing. This was the first time DH and I had seen the show and I thought it was pretty cute. There were so many characters in the show and it made if fun to watch because you never knew who would show up next.
We then went to use our Pooh fastpasses. We only had to wait about 5 minutes with the fastpasses but the stand-by line was already about 30 minutes long. We all enjoyed our honey pot adventure and DS was particularly excited to see Tigger. Unfortunately the ride deposits you right into the gift shop. DS got pretty bad during this trip about wanting everything and he didnt take it well when we told him no. We had a few moments of him whining but we got out pretty quick. Unfortunately this mornings whining would pale in compairsion to some of the shrieking fits he would have in other stores later in the week.
We then made a restroom stop for a diaper change and to give DS some Tylenol. We had planned to go over to see Dumbo but the wait was already 45 minutes!!!! Yikes! I knew it got back but that seemed really long for this time of year. IASW was up to a 15 minute wait (I am not sure I have ever seen that long of a wait for IASW in all of our trips). All of the fantasyland rides had pretty substantial waits so we ended up heading to Toontown. We were hoping to find Donald in the Hall of Fame character area but he wasnt there. There were Pooh & Friends, Minnie & Pals and I think a princess group. We decided that of those characters DS would probably enjoy the Pooh group more so we headed in. There were decent lines for the other two groups but we went straight through for Pooh. We were at the front of the line and we probably waited about 5 minutes before they took us in to see Pooh, Tigger and Rabbit. DH took Nathan up to see Pooh and Rabbit and he seemed a little nervous especially with Rabbit probably because he does not know him well as a character. I took DS up to see Tigger and he seemed a little shy. I asked DS if he could give Tigger a high five and DS shook his head yes and put out his hand. When Tigger reached out to give him five Nathan just lit up. He was so excited and started to laugh and really loosen up around the characters from that point on. I think he just needed the icebreaker of the high five to let him know that characters really just wanted to play with him.
We left Toontown and decided that it might be best if we grabbed some lunch and then headed back to the resort for a nap since we didnt want to push DS too far. The park seemed so crowded. We were really unprepared for crowds like we saw. I really though this week was still a slow time before Presidents Day but the crowds seems comparable to the crowds we see in May not in the winter. We thought about our lunch choices and we decided on Pecos Bills since I have heard such good things about the toppings bar. We also figured that since it was in Frontierland that we could just catch the train and ride it back to Main Street before leaving the park.
We ordered two hamburger combos and we shared with DS. His appetite had been lacking and I was starting to feel stupid for buying him his own kids meal so he could eat one fry and a container of ketchup. Of course this meal since I didnt buy him one he decided he was hungry so he ate over half of my burger and fries and probably another full container full of ketchup. The burger was pretty good for counter service and the toppings bar was a nice change.
We then headed directly to the train. We waited about 10 minutes and DS was getting kind of fidgety. He smiled really big when the train got there and we told him he could ride it. Trains are another thing (like busses) that he has seen but never had the chance to ride on so it was a big deal for him. He forgot that trains say choo choo so he kept saying beep beep which is his sound effect for cars.
We headed out of the park and got a bus back to Pop Century after waiting about 15 minutes. DS was pretty tired and he feel asleep in the stroller on the way from the bus stop to our room. That would normally be a good thing but with DS if he even goes to sleep for 5 minutes it is like a power nap and he thinks he is ready to go. Of course after a 5 minute nap he can only go for about 20 minutes before getting really cranky. We ended up putting him in his pack n play where he played for about 30 minutes before he finally went to sleep. DH organized his pin collection with all of his new trades from the morning while I laid down to take a nap. Apparently DH fell asleep as well because when DS woke up about 3:30 he was passed out on the other bed as well.
We had a PS for the Garden Grill that night at 5:30 so we got ready to go and took the bus to Epcot. We got there about 4:30 and DH pin trader his way to the Land pavilion. We checked in about 5:25 for our PS when they told us the computers were down so they did not have any PS. Thankfully they put us on the wait list and it was only about a 15-20 minute wait. DS ran around the upstairs pavilion and enjoyed looking down at the fountain below.
We had a table on the upper level. They had crayons for DS which he dug right into. He was not too interested in eating and the little bit he did eat he preferred to eat off of the adult menu. We first saw Chip and Dale and Nathan didnt really recognize them. He only has one Chip and Dale book and it is not one of his favorites but he had fun giving them high fives. Next was Pluto and then finally the big moment came: DS met Mickey! He was so talkative and excited when he saw Mickey at the other tables but when Mickey actually came over to see him he was just speechless. He had these big wide eyes and I think he really couldnt believe his eyes. Mickey was right there with him. Nathan didnt say anything but before Mickey left our table I asked DS if he wanted to give Mickey a hug and he did. It was so sweet to see him hug Mickey like that and then he went to kiss him on the nose. Mickey mined that it was sweet by touching his heart. Mickey then moved on to the next table and DS kept calling out for him, Meme, meme, meme . I tried to explain that Mickey needed to go see the other kids too. He didnt quite understand why Mickey couldnt stay and play with him longer but he didnt get very upset.
We were going to go on the Land boat ride after dinner but the wait was 35 minutes!!!! Once again I just dont understand why the crowds were here this week. I have never seen the line that long for the boat ride. We decided to head back out over to the Imagination pavilion to catch Journey into Imagination. We had not been on it since it was last revamped so we didnt quite know what to expect. Nathan seemed eager to get on and he liked Figment. I got pretty nervous when all of the lights went out and all you could hear was sounds. I thought that might really frighten Nathan but if he was bothered by it he sure didnt act like it. After the ride we played about in the pavilion a little while. Nathan really liked the music one where you put your hands out and conduct. He also was mildly entertained by the area where you step on the picture to hear the sound. There were several other little kids running around and the sounds were overlapping so I am not sure that he understood that when he stepped on the picture it made the corresponding sound.
We exited the pavilion and DS wanted to look at the fountains. Wada. He really enjoyed the leaping fountains and we probably spend at least 10 minutes just letting him watch. He seemed really in awe of the fountains and it was making him laugh. By that point almost all of Future World was shut down so we decided to see if we could catch the 7:30 Japanese drum performance in World Showcase. DH saw them a few years ago and really enjoyed it. We made it to the Japan pavilion at about 7:25 and there was no one there and the stage was completely dark. DH thought they must have cancelled it so he decided he wanted to look in the store and if the drums started he would here them. I told him he probably wouldnt be able to hear them inside but he didnt listen. We spent about 15 minutes or so inside and when we came out there was a small crowd listening to the drum performance. Nathan was pretty bored by it but we had bought him one of those spinning light things and he was keeping himself entertained. It was really pretty chilly out and while DS had on jeans and a long sleeve shirt plus a jacket he would not keep the jacket hood on and he wouldnt get his hands inside the jacket. His little hands were just frozen and so were his ears. I was really worried so we bought a pair of stretch gloves and a knit hat at the American pavilion pin cart. I put the gloves on his hands the best I could and he was not happy about it but his little hands were just so cold. I also put the hat on his head over his ears. That made me feel better. DH and I decided that staying for Illuminations was probably not a good idea so we decided to head back. It was a long walk up to the front from the American pavilion and we stopped for hot chocolate and DH did a little pin trading. At one point in the Norway pavilion DH stopped to trade some pins and I know DSs hat was on then. We walked about 5 minutes when I looked down and no hat. Apparently he had taken if off. We walked back to the Norway pavilion and asked the CMs if they had found a black knit hap. The CM said that he fellow CM had just taken it into the restaurant so DH leave me with DS near a bench while he goes to the restaurant. He waits in line only to be told that they only have lost and found for the restaurant and that if a hat was left outside it would be in the gift shop. It takes a long time apparently for him to get the hat since DS and I sat there for close to 10 minutes. In the meantime I noticed that Nathans bottle of water is cap side down next to him in the stroller and the water has been leaking out. His stroller and his jeans are soaking wet in this cold weather! Arrgggghhh! I felt so bad at this point. DH finally got back with the hat and we just tried to get out as fast as possible so we could get DS in some dry clothes since we forgot to pack any in our bag.
We caught the bus to Pop Century about 10 minutes until 9 and we could hear the fireworks going off as well left. I really love Illuminations and I was disappointed to miss it but we felt it was for the best. We got back to the room and got DS dressed in his pajamas, gave him some more medicine and we all crashed for the night. We decided that we would sleep in a little in the morning (if DS let us) and then head to MGM to see Playhouse Disney. Once again DS didnt sleep well but at least that night he was only up about once every two hours instead of every hour.
2/9/04 This morning we were woken up by the sounds of CMs power washing the sidewalks or something like that. We were up by about 7:00 and we just lazed about the room for about an hour before getting dressed in pants and t-shirts and heading to the food court. DS was still running a low grade fever (99.5) so we gave him some more Motrin. The food court was even more crowded at this hour and we had to wait in line for quite a while. We decided to order 2 adult breakfast platters (eggs, biscuit, bacon, sausage, potatoes) and split it 3 ways. Nathan dug right into the eggs and ate most of mine and some of DHs and he ate a little bit of the bacon and sausage as well.
About 5 minutes after we finished eating (just after we put him in the stroller) Nathan starts vomiting up breakfast. Great! Now we had vomit covering part of the stroller and all over his clothes. We decided at that point that going to MGM right then was probably not a good idea.
As we were walking back to our room Nathan seemed like he was in a pretty good mood for a little guy that had just gotten so sick. We got to the room and cleaned up him and the stroller and set the stroller out to dry. We then decided to just hang around the room. After about 30 minutes DS was bouncing off the walls and just acting like he was the life of the party. Strange. Then DH and I started talking and we starting putting some pieces together. It dawned on us that the last few times he had scrambled eggs of any size quantity (more than just a few bites) he got sick. He had also gotten sick the last few times we fed him French toast which is of course made with eggs. I think DS might have an egg allergy. We are going to check with his doctor here to see if we can come to a definite diagnosis but the pieces of the puzzle sure do fit.
After waiting around the room until around 10 we decided that DS appeared fine and we think the vomiting was because of the eggs so we thought we would attempt to go to MGM. We packed a change of clothes just in case and got on the bus for MGM. Nathan was just fine for the bus ride. When we got to MGM there was a LONG line to get through security. While we were waiting a family about 2 behind us got in line and they had a Cookie Monster backpack and Nathan really wanted it. He was very upset that he couldnt have it but thankfully once we got in the park he seemed to forget it.
We just walked around a little before heading over to the Playhouse Disney show which was our #1 priority here. We waited in line for a while and DS did fairly well especially since they were showing clips from Playhouse Disney on the TVs in line. When we went in to sit down we were on the right aisle about midway back which seemed to be a good spot until we realize that the cookie monster backpack family was about 2 rows ahead of us and Nathan spotted it. He was once again really upset because he wanted Cookie and we wouldnt let him have it. When the show started he seemed to forget for a little while while he enjoyed Bear and Pooh and Olie. Unfortunately for me my leg was going to sleep and was starting to hurt from the postion I was sitting in with DS on my lap. I tried to pass DS off to Nathan but he didnt want any part of that and just starting screaming Mommy whenever I gave him to DH. During the show when the big gorilla come out Nathan spotted the camcorder the lady in front of us had. I of course told him No when he tried to reach for it and that set him off again and this time it was a doozy of a fit. He was thrashing around and hitting both me and DH and the entire time we were trapped and my leg was killing me. By the time it was over I couldnt wait to get out of there but because my leg was so asleep I hobbled out of the theater holding Nathan and terrified that my leg was going to give out and I would drop him. I tried to give him to DH but he would just cry when I would do that.
We got him back in his stroller and we just didnt know what to do. We wheeled him back out to the big sorcerer Mickey hat and he cheered up again. I asked him if he was hungry and he said he was so I went to the nearest snack cart and bought him a bag of potato chips. He does not get many potato chips at home so this was a big treat for him and he seemed really content to stroll along while munching on his chips. Since he seemed OK again we went to get fastpasses for the Little Mermaid show. We had about 45 minutes to wait so we just walked around a little and we saw a few characters. He still wanted us to walk up with him but he was feeling more comfortable.
As we walked around we saw the area where Sorcerer Mickey is set up. The line was just a few minutes long so we stopped in. Nathan once again watched with amazement that Mickey was really there. We had bought him a little stuff Sorcerer Mickey keychain that we had attached to his stroller and he wanted us to take it off for him. He stood there in line clutching his little Sorcerer Mickey while waiting him turn. When it was his turn he immediately ran right up to Mickey but as soon as he got there he ran right back to me like he just realized I wasnt behind him and it freaked him out. He then walked me over to Mickey. I picked him up and Nathan seemed so happy to show Sorcerer Mickey his own little stuffed Mickey. Once again it was a very sweet moment and DS gave him a BIG hug before we left.
Shortly after we left Mickey we saw Pluto and he didnt have much of a line so we waited about 2 minutes for DS to see him. This time without any hesitation when we told him it was his turn he ran right for Pluto and gave him a big hug around the legs. He was finally feeling comfortable enough with the characters to let us stand back and just watch him with the characters instead of us holding him. It is really the kind of melt your heart moment that you dream about when you plan a WDW trip with your kids.
{{ to be continued }}
Me (28) Disney planner, slightly obsessive compulsive and very emotional
DH (29) Mr. Optimistic, Go With The Flow Guy, Big believer in the magic of pixie dust, Disney pin trader
DS (1 ½) The little guy doesnt have a clue what is about to hit him
The Plan:
2/6 Drive to Kansas City after work and stay at the Kansas City Airport Hampton Inn
2/7 12:15 Southwest Flight to Orlando
Rent fullsize car from National using Quick Rent
Drive to Publix grocery store for diapers/wipes
Check-in at Pop Century
Drive to GF for 1900 Park Fare character dinner @ 6:10 PM
2/8 Breakfast at Pop Century food court
Ride bus to MK for early entry
Get DSs first haircut at 9 when the barber shop opens
Ride a few rides in Fantasyland
Counter Service somewhere in MK for lunch
Head back to room for nap
Take bus to Epcot
Dinner at Garden Grill @ 5:30
Maybe Illuminations if everyone is feeling OK
The Reality:
2/5/04 3:00 AM The little guy wakes up in the middle of the night crying. This is unusual for him so I go in to check up on him and he keeps telling me he is hot, hot, hot and that he wants his blanket sleeper off. He does feel very warm so I get the thermometer and sure enough it reads 102.5. Ack! This was one of my worst fears about our trip. I give him some Tylenol and pray that this is a very short lived fever.
2/5/04 6:00 AM - Even with the Tylenol DS is still running a 101 degree fever. We decide to keep him home from daycare for the day and DH and I run a split shift at work. I work in the morning and then come home so DH can go to work in the afternoon. We both have lots of work to tie up before we leave and we are starting to feel the stress. DSs only symptom is the fever. He does not appear to be in any pain, no congestion, etc. We decide to keep him medicated today and if he is still running a fever then we will make a doctor appointment for Friday morning. All day long he continues to run between 100 101 even with the medications. We start to worry more.
2/6/04 6:00 AM DS is still running a fever. With no other symptoms I figure it is either a) a viral infection or b) an ear infection. I stay home with DS in the morning while DH works and I will work in the afternoon after DH finishes his work. I call the doctors office to explain the situation and they give me a 10:45 appointment. DH finishes work about 10:00 so we decide to meet at the doctors office to make the switch. About 10:30 I leave DS with DH at the doctors office with a list of questions and I go to work.
DS does not have an ear infection and the doctor chalks the fever up to some kind of viral infection. He tells us that the fever should run its course in the next 24-48 hours and that he thinks it is fine if we continue with our trip plans. After some discussions with DH we decided to go ahead with our plans. Rescheduling with our work schedules was going to be difficult and because we were only 24 hours out we stood to lose a nice chunk of change by canceling at the last minute. DSs health was the most important thing but the doctor seemed to think that this virus would be pretty short lived. We also decide that if need be we would just hang around the resort and not go to the parks.
So with some nervousness I sent DH to the pharmacy to load up on Infant Motrin and Tylenol. I finished up at work around 3 PM and I stopped by Fazolis to pick up some pasta for dinner. When I got home we ate quickly and then DH started to load the car with our 100 pounds of luggage, car seats, strollers, etc..
We left Columbia about 5 PM and we had a pretty smooth trip to Kansas City. The roads were clear which was nice because we had suffered two ice/snow storms in the last week. We arrived at the Hampton Inn around 8 PM. We checked in and then DH went to find an empty park and fly space so he could unload our luggage. We had reserved a king non-smoking room and we were given one on the 2nd floor. It was plenty large enough. We did bring DSs pack n play for the hotel so we set it up, gave DS some more Motrin (fever running about 100) and got DS ready for bed. He was very excited to be in a hotel room and it made it difficult to get him to bed. When we put him in the pack n play he expressed his unhappiness with the sleeping arrangements in a very vocal way. He has not slept in a pack n play since last Thanksgiving and he obviously had changed his mind about them. He cried for probably 10-15 minutes before he realized that it wasnt going to do him any good and he went to sleep. We were all asleep by 9:30 that evening in preparation for our big day tomorrow.
2/7/04 The big day is finally here. DS woke up about 6:30 and was still running a fever of about 100. We gave him some more Motrin and got dressed. The hotel had a continental breakfast so we went down stairs and grabbed some cereal and fruit to eat. We sat at a table by the window where an employee had build a big snowman and dressed him up. DS loves snowmen so he talked excitedly about the snow and barely ate anything. His appetite had been off anyway because of his illness so I didnt work too much but I did take an extra box of Cheerios just in case he got hungry later.
By the end of breakfast DSs fever was down to about 99 99.5. He seemed to not be effected at all and was having a blast running around the hotel room while we waited for our time to get to the airport. He colored with the little pen and paper provided in the room and he loved playing with the remote control and looking out the window at the snow covered trees.
We figured we would take the 10 AM shuttle to the airport but by 9ish DS was getting kind of antsy so we decided maybe going a little earlier would be fine. We loaded up all of our stuff and headed down to the lobby to take the shuttle. We struggled with all of our stuff and we soon realized just how difficult it was going to be. We had 2 pieces of checked luggage one large and one medium (neither one completely full). One backpack full of snacks, little toys and all of the reservation information, park tickets, diapers, wipes, etc. and one additional carryon that contained DHs pin collection and all of the electronic items (camera, camcorder, etc). A car seat (in a car seat bag) for DS to use on the plane and in our rental car and our new Combi Savvy Soho stroller which thankfully was very lightweight and compact plus we all had our coats since it was less than 20 degrees in Kansas City. Plus of course we were trying to just keep up with Nathan while being loaded down with luggage. I decided to just throw on a sweatshirt and leave my coat in the car so at least we had one thing less to haul around.
We managed to get it all on the shuttle and took the 5 minute ride to the airport. We got all of the luggage out and checked our baggage and received our A boarding passes. We were also at the time given permission to pre-board the flight. We walked around the airport for a while trying to entertain DS. About 11:00 we decided to grab a quick lunch and then head over to the gate. We got through security pretty quickly considering how much stuff we had. DS was starting to get a little tired and cranky so it took some serious entertaining (and another does of Tylenol) to keep him from melting down entirely. The plane arrived from Portland on time and we got in line to pre-board. At this point we had the stroller packed up in the travel bag ready to be gate checked so I was holding Nathan and the carryons while DH had the carseat and the stroller bag. At this point DS lost sight of DH and started to cry for his Daddy. Even after showing him that Daddy was right there he was still very upset and seemed very concerned that DH was leaving.
We finally got on the plane and DH struggled to get the car seat in. While trying to get the car seat installed his ripped off a large portion of one of his fingernails! Ouch! Of course I also didnt have any clippers to help him fix it because they were in the checked luggage due to the new security guidelines. We got DS in the car seat and took our seats while the rest of the plane boarded.
Right about 12:15 (the scheduled departure time) the flight attendants start paging a passenger named Paul Morel. They page him and page him and page him and no one on the plane is responding. They tell us one more time that if Paul Morel does not present himself that they will be forced to check boarding passes and IDs for the full plane. About 12:30 they start checking each passenger. Apparently after a full check of the plane they discover that Paul Morel is not on the plane! DS is starting to get a little antsy in his seat and my constant jabbering about the other planes and the luggage trucks is starting to sound old to him. At this point they tell us that we are going to be futher delayed while we take on more fuel. Apparently there are two pressurization things on aircraft and one of them on this plane is broken. They are going to fly with the one and just have us fly at a lower altitude of 15,000 feet which apparently requires more fuel. The assure us that this is strictly a comfort issue and not a safety issue. This flight has me a little nervous at this point but I try to shake it off and put on a happy face for DS and DH who is a nervous flyer.
We finally leave the gate about 12:55 and we are in the air shortly after 1 PM. DS was really funny about the takeoff. We started speeding down the runway and he was telling me that we were going fast and then when we started to get off the ground DS is looking out the window and says Uh oh! It was really funny and several people around us started laughing. I told him that it was OK and that we were going to fly in the sky like a bird. He seemed comforted by that and watched out the window as we climbed higher. He then promptly fell asleep after about 5 minutes. Good! At least this part was going well.
I was tired myself so I tried to sleep a little on the plane. I watched DS carefully and his ears didnt seem to bother him on the way up thankfully and mine were not bad either. The flight down was pretty uneventful. I had bought Earplanes for myself and DS and I had planned to use them on us both during the landing. I have always had really bad ear pain when flying and Earplanes have been a godsend for me. I knew that getting DS to keep them in his ears would be a struggle and he was still asleep about the time we started to descend plus he didnt have any trouble on takeoff so I didnt put his in. Well about 15 minutes before we land he wakes up and starts to cry and tug at his ears. I felt so bad because I couldnt put the earplanes in now. He was really hurting quite a big but he did respond well to me just talking to him calmly and petting his head. I felt so guilty for not putting them in! We were supposed to land in Orlando about 3:45 but because of the delay we actually landed around 4:30.
We get off the plane with the carryons and the car seat and we then go to get the gate checked stroller. Well it was not there. The person there at the gate told us to just wait for it and it should be up soon. I take DS out to the gate while DH stays in the jetway waiting for the stroller. Well after about 10 minutes or so they tell DH that it is not there and that it might have gotten put with the checked luggage that was already on the way to baggage claim but that they didnt know. It might have been left in Kansas City. Well at this point I am a mess. I cant believe that our stroller is missing and they dont know where it is. The stroller was brand new and we really needed it for the trip plus now we had to get to baggage claim with a fussy squirmy sick kid, all of our carryon luggage and a bulky carseat without the car seat bag since we stored it in with the stroller. I was really angry now! The stress was starting to get to me and even DH a little.
We manage to struggle down to the baggage claim area and wait and wait and wait for our luggage. DS and I go find a spot in the corner to wait with all of our stuff while DH tries to go get the luggage off the belt. DS panics when DH leaves and keeps crying for his Daddy. I had no way to confine him so I ended up holding a crying screaming thrashing kid. At this point I am getting a migrane and my Excedrin is in the non-existant luggage. I am starting to wonder if we made a big mistake. DS shows up with our 2 checked pieces but says there is still no sign of the stroller so he heads back over to the baggage claim area. DHs appearance and then disappearance sets off a new round of screaming by DS. Finally, DH appears with our stroller. The gate check tag had been ripped off and there was a tear in the travel bag but at least it was here. We try to gather up our luggage, get DS in the stroller and then set off to find a restroom. I get DS changed and then I try to calm myself by taking a wet paper towel and using it on my face and the back of my neck. I take a few deep calming breaths and decide that things could only get better. After all we are only minutes away from WDW and the sun is shining!
We make our way down to the lower level to get our rental car. This is our first rental car so we dont really know what to expect. We walk and walk until we see the National counter. What pandemonium! There are a gazillion people in line I am really glad now that I did the Emerald reserve service and dont have to wait in that line. There is a sign that says that Emerald Aisle and Emerald Reserve customers need to go directly to the National garage on level 2. Well there are arrows on the sign that point to an area behind the National rental counter. We start heading back that way only to find security signs saying that we cannot go any further. At this point we are confused and go back to read the sign and the arrows clearly point in that direction. We finally get the attention of a National worker behind the counter who tells us the garage is outside and across the street. OK, I didnt know that .they could really use better signage. We get up to the garage and go to find the full-size aisle. Well now I am confused because there are a ton of minivans in this aisle and one PT cruiser. What? This cant be the fullsize aisle. We must be in the wrong place. We finally find someone who works there and ask about the fullsize aisle and she tells us we are right there and then leaves. Huh? This still cant be right. We look at the tag in the window for one of the vans parked there and it is clearly marked as a minivan and not a fullsize. I leave DH with DS and head over to the little counter there in the garage. I wait and wait for someone to open up and then she looks at me and then leaves. What? I was getting frustrated. Finally the other lady is free and I ask her what the deal is with the fullsize aisle. She told me that today those minivans are fullsize and that we will not be charged extra. OK so back we go to the aisle. At this point we had waited too long and the PT cruiser was taken so we picked a pretty blue Grand Caravan with only 300 miles on it. We load it up and head for the exit. I was still a little nervous about being charged too much but they ring it up as our fullsize price of $113.50 for the 6 days. Not too shabby maybe things are looking up after all.
We are running pretty late at this point since it is almost 6 and there is no way we are going to make our 6:10 PS at 1900 Park Fare so we decide that we will go ahead and stop at the Publix, check-in and then we will eat at the food court at the resort for dinner and then turn in early to get ready for tomorrows early entry at MK. The directions I had for Publix told me to turn at the Gaylord Palms intersection. Well we were looking for a street named Gaylord Palms and we completely missed that is was the name of the resort! We actually ended up driving by the Pop Century sign before we realize our mistake so we turn about and head to Publix. I run in to grab diapers, wipes and a container of Crystal Light lemonade mix. I get back out to the car and we drive back to Pop Century for check-in.
It was about 6:45 or so when we got to the front desk. I handled the check-in while DH took DS around the lobby looking at the memorabilia on the walls and while DH hunted down his first lanyards of the trip. The girl doing the check-in seemed really nice. I had requested a first floor room on our reservation since we would have the stroller and I didnt want to mess with stairs and elevators. When I checked in I also mentioned that I would love to have an interior courtyard room as well. She said she didnt know if they had anything available but then she said she found one and gave us room 8128 which she said was in the 90s building (a little further out than I wanted to be but I could deal with it) and on the front side of the building facing the pool. OK great that would work.
We pile back in the van and drive over to the 80/90s lot to park. We pull most of our luggage out and head towards to pool to look for our room. We walk the length of the building and there is no room 8128 there. Huh? Well we started looking at the signs for the room numbers and we make our way to our room. Well room 8128 is probably one of the worst rooms in the resort. It is on the back side of the 90s building and looks right out on the service vehicle parking about 5 feet from our door not even close to the pool or anything else in the resort. It also looks out on these water pipes sticking out of the ground that are badly camouflaged by plants. A really uninspiring view and I was a little ticked off that the CM at check-in lied to me about the room location. I realize this is a value resort but I was really disappointed. When you walked out of the room you couldnt even tell you were at Disney. Maybe we have just been spoiled by always having great rooms in the past (at all levels including the All Stars) but I was getting really upset. I think it was just the full stress of the day and the previous days finally coming out but I just started to cry. Pretty silly, huh? DH and DS were just looking at me while I came unglued. I calmed down pretty quickly and DH asked me if we could switch rooms tomorrow. I said probably but I really didnt want to mess with moving rooms so we would just stay here and try to make the best of it.
I then realized that I had forgotten to ask about our crib when I checked in. We called the front desk to let them know that we needed a crib delivered. They said it would just be a few minutes and that Housekeeping would deliver it. We asked if it was OK if we were not there when they delivered it and they said it would be no problem.
We unpacked a few things and then headed over to the food court. We took the scenic route to the food court so we could look over the resort a little. The theme was done very well and we really enjoyed the looks of the resort. The food court was really busy but we managed to order 2 cheesesteak sandwiches and a kids chicken nugget meal without having to wait too long. The cheesesteak sandwiches were mediocre at best but we were really hungry so we ate most of them. While we ate we discussed our plans for that evening and then next morning. DS was very excited to find Mickey on the napkins and he thought he was big stuff for getting to use a big person plastic fork. We use the toddler silverware at home so this was pretty new for him. He requested two forks that he would then stab his fries with. Every other meal for the rest of the trip required him to have two of those plastic forks. I think he ate about 4 french fries, 2 bites of his chicken and one of those paper containers of ketchup. He really liked the ketchup and he kept dipping his fork into the ketchup and then eating if off the fork.
We then headed back to the room by walking out towards the bus stops and then going around the 70s parking lot. You miss most of the resort this way but it got us back to the room in a little over 5 minutes. We got back to the room about 8:30 and the crib was still not there so I called Housekeeping to ask about our crib. They said that would bring one right over. I also asked if they could bring us 2 extra blankets and if I could set up early housekeeping for tomorrow morning since we wanted to come back for a nap. They asked me how early and I just said anytime before noon. They said no problem. About 10 minutes later they show up with 1 blanket and no crib. Good grief this is bad! We asked the guy about the crib and get a blank look. He says that he will get us one I didnt even ask about my second extra blanket. I figured that might never happen. We finally get the crib delivered about 9 PM and we set it up and get ready for bed. We get DS settled, give him another dose of Motrin (100 fever) and he finally calms down so DH and I turn off the lights and go to bed as well. At 9:30 there is a knock on the door. It is housekeeping wanting to know what we needed cleaned since we had requested early housekeeping!! We asked for early housekeeping TOMORROW not at 9:30 that night!!! The knock at the door woke DS up and it took us a while to get him back down. I was really pretty mad at that point and just couldnt wait for the day to be over. I took 800 mg of Advil for my headache and went to sleep. Unfortunately DS was not sleeping well. He woke up almost every hour and needed comforting. I think he was just scared when he would wake up and not know where he was. Plus on top of that I was not good at following my own advice about drinking lots of water during the trip. I had been so stressed all day that I didnt keep my water intake up and by that evening I was apparently dehydrated. When I get dehydrated I get terrible muscle cramps/spasms. Those hit me about 2 in the morning and made walking the first 2 days of our trip pretty painful. It was a long night and we no one got much sleep.
2/8/04 After a long night without much sleep we are all awakened about 6:00 AM by the sounds of all of those service vehicles outside our door. We decide to get up and get dressed and head to the food court and then to MK. DS was running a 99 degree temp so we gave him some more Motrin before we headed out. It was really chilly this morning. I think the temp was 41 degrees with a wind chill of 32. The high was only going to be in the low 60s. Brrrr! The forecast before we left was calling for this chilly weather and they were only predicting highs in the low 70s by the time we left so I packed mostly jeans with one pair of shorts for us each just in case it did get a little warmer. We layered it on this morning and trekked to the food court. DS had his first Mickey waffles although he hardly ate any since he still didnt have much of an appetite but he was pretty impressed with them. DH had the POP waffle with topping and I indulged in a cinammon roll. Fairly tasty and as usual with Disney way too expensive.
After breakfast we headed out to the bus stop. It was pretty busy this morning and we were running a little late for getting to the MK when it opened. DS was very impressed with the busses. He always likes to see the busses around town here at home but he had never ridden one. We got to MK and went through security with no problems and then walked onto Main Street. DH had to make a stop at the pin cart before we did anything else. We wanted to get DSs first haircut at the barber shop today but the barber shop did not open until 9 so we had some time to kill. There were characters at the start of main street and DS was very thrilled to see Daisy Duck. He doesnt know the difference between Daisy and Donald so he kept shouting Da Duck, Da Duck, Da Duckl!!!! (Nathan pronunciation for Donald Duck) over and over. We walked over to Daisy and stood in line where we were about 3 people back. Nathan stood there patiently and watched as the other kids went up to Daisy. When it was his turn he didnt want to go by himself so he took my hand and wanted me to pick him up and carry him over to see her. We had bought Nathan an autograph book the night before so he had it and a Pooh pen ready to go in his hands. When we got up to Daisy he smiled and said Da Duck and then she took the autograph book from him to sign it. Well DS started screaming Meme book, Meme Book! (Meme is how he pronounces Mickey and Mickey was on the front cover it was his Mickey book). Well he thought Daisy was taking his Mickey book and he was not happy about it. As soon as she gave him the book back he was happy again. We decided at that point that we would not be doing any more autographs on this trip. He did however love coloring in his Mickey book and whenever he would be on the page Daisy signed he would also point at it and say Da Duck!.
We started walking down Main Street to try to find the barber shop. I had never really know where it was so we just kept looking. We got to the end of the street and realized we must have missed it so we started swimming upstream against all of the people coming in to head back to the front of the park. Well as I am walking I hear someone start saying Becka! Becka! I turn around and a woman and her daughter are standing there calling my name. I was kind of flustered at first but then she asked me if I remembered who was also going to be there that morning. Then I remembered that Olga (Ms Kanga) had PMd me earlier and said she would be at EE that morning in the MK as well. She recognized Nathan from his picture and that is how she knew it was me. It was nice to finally meet a DISer in the parks. We talked for a few minutes before going our separate ways.
We found the barber shop up front and saw that it did not open until 9. We still had some time to kill before the barber shop opened so we went to the watch store on Main Street. I bought a Mickey watch at MGM on one of our previous trips but it died about 6 months ago. I have been living without a watch since then since I wanted to buy a new one during this trip. I looked around at lots of really pretty watches but I didnt want to spend a fortune. I finally found a Sorcerer Mickey watch for $31 that I liked. I bought it and took it out of the box to put it on. Well it seemed a little small which I thought was strange. It dawned on me a few hours later that the reason why it was so small is because it was a CHILDs watch! Well I had been wearing it at that point for a few hours so I didnt think I could take it back so I just kept wearing it.
We made our way up to the barbers shop about 9:05 and while the barber shop was open there were already about 6-7 people in line. It was going to be a long wait. DS was already being squirmy and when he saw Daisy Duck walk by to go backstage he kind of went nuts wanting to go back outside. At this point I was not sure we could wait that long so DH and I decided to just forget the haircut for now and come back later that day or just do it on Tuesday when we were scheduled to be back in the MK at opening. We left the barber shop and headed back down Main Street. About halfway down Main Street DH looks at me all panicked and asks me if I have the backpack. He had set it down in the barber shop and left it there. It had our digital camera, camcorder, his big pin bag, diapers, - basically everything in it! I told DH to just meet me there and I took off sprinting towards the front of the park. I am sure it was not a pretty sight! I got back to the barber shop and thankfully the backpack was still sitting by the door. No one had even noticed it. That was a close call!
So we go back down Main Street (again) and head towards the castle. It has been a few years since we were last here but I was surprised to see that you cannot walk through the castle anymore. I guess that is so they can do the Cinderella stage show. I checked our park times guide and noticed that the first Cinderella show was at 9:40. I knew that Mickey and the gang made appearances in the show so I thought it would be a good idea if we saw it so that DS would get his first look at the mouse from a little bit of a distance. We had some time so we went back into Fantasyland and decided to get fastpasses for Pooh and then ride the teacups since there was only a 5 minute wait. DS seemed a little confused when we climbed into the teacups but it seemed like he was having a good time. I asked him when we got off if he would like to ride again and he said yes. We ended up not going on it again because I then asked him if he would like to go on a boat ride but I thought it would be a good test to see if he was really scared or if he did actually have fun. We next headed over to IASW where there was maybe a 2 minute wait. I had read that kids DSs age really love IASW and at least with DS that seemed true. He was so excited to be on a boat and he knows the song pretty well. He was pointing and clapping and talking up a storm during the ride. He did just great until you get near the end and then he wanted to stand up. He was just so excited I think it was hard for him to stay in his seat. However we were forced to hold him in our laps and he did NOT like that. He was really upset that we would not let him go. He kept saying stuck and crying. He just didnt understand that he could not get up. This will be a recurring theme in this trip report. The more he liked the ride, the more excited he was and the harder time we had keeping him in his seat.
By this time it was about time for us to head over to the castle. There were not too many people waiting for the show so we stood a little ways back so we would have a good view. We waited about 5-10 minutes before the show started. DSs eyes got really big when the music started and when the Fairy Godmother and Cinderella came out. When Mickey and the gang showed up he was quite a big more excited. He kept saying Meme and Da Duck and Uto (Pluto) and pointing. This was the first time DH and I had seen the show and I thought it was pretty cute. There were so many characters in the show and it made if fun to watch because you never knew who would show up next.
We then went to use our Pooh fastpasses. We only had to wait about 5 minutes with the fastpasses but the stand-by line was already about 30 minutes long. We all enjoyed our honey pot adventure and DS was particularly excited to see Tigger. Unfortunately the ride deposits you right into the gift shop. DS got pretty bad during this trip about wanting everything and he didnt take it well when we told him no. We had a few moments of him whining but we got out pretty quick. Unfortunately this mornings whining would pale in compairsion to some of the shrieking fits he would have in other stores later in the week.
We then made a restroom stop for a diaper change and to give DS some Tylenol. We had planned to go over to see Dumbo but the wait was already 45 minutes!!!! Yikes! I knew it got back but that seemed really long for this time of year. IASW was up to a 15 minute wait (I am not sure I have ever seen that long of a wait for IASW in all of our trips). All of the fantasyland rides had pretty substantial waits so we ended up heading to Toontown. We were hoping to find Donald in the Hall of Fame character area but he wasnt there. There were Pooh & Friends, Minnie & Pals and I think a princess group. We decided that of those characters DS would probably enjoy the Pooh group more so we headed in. There were decent lines for the other two groups but we went straight through for Pooh. We were at the front of the line and we probably waited about 5 minutes before they took us in to see Pooh, Tigger and Rabbit. DH took Nathan up to see Pooh and Rabbit and he seemed a little nervous especially with Rabbit probably because he does not know him well as a character. I took DS up to see Tigger and he seemed a little shy. I asked DS if he could give Tigger a high five and DS shook his head yes and put out his hand. When Tigger reached out to give him five Nathan just lit up. He was so excited and started to laugh and really loosen up around the characters from that point on. I think he just needed the icebreaker of the high five to let him know that characters really just wanted to play with him.
We left Toontown and decided that it might be best if we grabbed some lunch and then headed back to the resort for a nap since we didnt want to push DS too far. The park seemed so crowded. We were really unprepared for crowds like we saw. I really though this week was still a slow time before Presidents Day but the crowds seems comparable to the crowds we see in May not in the winter. We thought about our lunch choices and we decided on Pecos Bills since I have heard such good things about the toppings bar. We also figured that since it was in Frontierland that we could just catch the train and ride it back to Main Street before leaving the park.
We ordered two hamburger combos and we shared with DS. His appetite had been lacking and I was starting to feel stupid for buying him his own kids meal so he could eat one fry and a container of ketchup. Of course this meal since I didnt buy him one he decided he was hungry so he ate over half of my burger and fries and probably another full container full of ketchup. The burger was pretty good for counter service and the toppings bar was a nice change.
We then headed directly to the train. We waited about 10 minutes and DS was getting kind of fidgety. He smiled really big when the train got there and we told him he could ride it. Trains are another thing (like busses) that he has seen but never had the chance to ride on so it was a big deal for him. He forgot that trains say choo choo so he kept saying beep beep which is his sound effect for cars.
We headed out of the park and got a bus back to Pop Century after waiting about 15 minutes. DS was pretty tired and he feel asleep in the stroller on the way from the bus stop to our room. That would normally be a good thing but with DS if he even goes to sleep for 5 minutes it is like a power nap and he thinks he is ready to go. Of course after a 5 minute nap he can only go for about 20 minutes before getting really cranky. We ended up putting him in his pack n play where he played for about 30 minutes before he finally went to sleep. DH organized his pin collection with all of his new trades from the morning while I laid down to take a nap. Apparently DH fell asleep as well because when DS woke up about 3:30 he was passed out on the other bed as well.
We had a PS for the Garden Grill that night at 5:30 so we got ready to go and took the bus to Epcot. We got there about 4:30 and DH pin trader his way to the Land pavilion. We checked in about 5:25 for our PS when they told us the computers were down so they did not have any PS. Thankfully they put us on the wait list and it was only about a 15-20 minute wait. DS ran around the upstairs pavilion and enjoyed looking down at the fountain below.
We had a table on the upper level. They had crayons for DS which he dug right into. He was not too interested in eating and the little bit he did eat he preferred to eat off of the adult menu. We first saw Chip and Dale and Nathan didnt really recognize them. He only has one Chip and Dale book and it is not one of his favorites but he had fun giving them high fives. Next was Pluto and then finally the big moment came: DS met Mickey! He was so talkative and excited when he saw Mickey at the other tables but when Mickey actually came over to see him he was just speechless. He had these big wide eyes and I think he really couldnt believe his eyes. Mickey was right there with him. Nathan didnt say anything but before Mickey left our table I asked DS if he wanted to give Mickey a hug and he did. It was so sweet to see him hug Mickey like that and then he went to kiss him on the nose. Mickey mined that it was sweet by touching his heart. Mickey then moved on to the next table and DS kept calling out for him, Meme, meme, meme . I tried to explain that Mickey needed to go see the other kids too. He didnt quite understand why Mickey couldnt stay and play with him longer but he didnt get very upset.
We were going to go on the Land boat ride after dinner but the wait was 35 minutes!!!! Once again I just dont understand why the crowds were here this week. I have never seen the line that long for the boat ride. We decided to head back out over to the Imagination pavilion to catch Journey into Imagination. We had not been on it since it was last revamped so we didnt quite know what to expect. Nathan seemed eager to get on and he liked Figment. I got pretty nervous when all of the lights went out and all you could hear was sounds. I thought that might really frighten Nathan but if he was bothered by it he sure didnt act like it. After the ride we played about in the pavilion a little while. Nathan really liked the music one where you put your hands out and conduct. He also was mildly entertained by the area where you step on the picture to hear the sound. There were several other little kids running around and the sounds were overlapping so I am not sure that he understood that when he stepped on the picture it made the corresponding sound.
We exited the pavilion and DS wanted to look at the fountains. Wada. He really enjoyed the leaping fountains and we probably spend at least 10 minutes just letting him watch. He seemed really in awe of the fountains and it was making him laugh. By that point almost all of Future World was shut down so we decided to see if we could catch the 7:30 Japanese drum performance in World Showcase. DH saw them a few years ago and really enjoyed it. We made it to the Japan pavilion at about 7:25 and there was no one there and the stage was completely dark. DH thought they must have cancelled it so he decided he wanted to look in the store and if the drums started he would here them. I told him he probably wouldnt be able to hear them inside but he didnt listen. We spent about 15 minutes or so inside and when we came out there was a small crowd listening to the drum performance. Nathan was pretty bored by it but we had bought him one of those spinning light things and he was keeping himself entertained. It was really pretty chilly out and while DS had on jeans and a long sleeve shirt plus a jacket he would not keep the jacket hood on and he wouldnt get his hands inside the jacket. His little hands were just frozen and so were his ears. I was really worried so we bought a pair of stretch gloves and a knit hat at the American pavilion pin cart. I put the gloves on his hands the best I could and he was not happy about it but his little hands were just so cold. I also put the hat on his head over his ears. That made me feel better. DH and I decided that staying for Illuminations was probably not a good idea so we decided to head back. It was a long walk up to the front from the American pavilion and we stopped for hot chocolate and DH did a little pin trading. At one point in the Norway pavilion DH stopped to trade some pins and I know DSs hat was on then. We walked about 5 minutes when I looked down and no hat. Apparently he had taken if off. We walked back to the Norway pavilion and asked the CMs if they had found a black knit hap. The CM said that he fellow CM had just taken it into the restaurant so DH leave me with DS near a bench while he goes to the restaurant. He waits in line only to be told that they only have lost and found for the restaurant and that if a hat was left outside it would be in the gift shop. It takes a long time apparently for him to get the hat since DS and I sat there for close to 10 minutes. In the meantime I noticed that Nathans bottle of water is cap side down next to him in the stroller and the water has been leaking out. His stroller and his jeans are soaking wet in this cold weather! Arrgggghhh! I felt so bad at this point. DH finally got back with the hat and we just tried to get out as fast as possible so we could get DS in some dry clothes since we forgot to pack any in our bag.
We caught the bus to Pop Century about 10 minutes until 9 and we could hear the fireworks going off as well left. I really love Illuminations and I was disappointed to miss it but we felt it was for the best. We got back to the room and got DS dressed in his pajamas, gave him some more medicine and we all crashed for the night. We decided that we would sleep in a little in the morning (if DS let us) and then head to MGM to see Playhouse Disney. Once again DS didnt sleep well but at least that night he was only up about once every two hours instead of every hour.
2/9/04 This morning we were woken up by the sounds of CMs power washing the sidewalks or something like that. We were up by about 7:00 and we just lazed about the room for about an hour before getting dressed in pants and t-shirts and heading to the food court. DS was still running a low grade fever (99.5) so we gave him some more Motrin. The food court was even more crowded at this hour and we had to wait in line for quite a while. We decided to order 2 adult breakfast platters (eggs, biscuit, bacon, sausage, potatoes) and split it 3 ways. Nathan dug right into the eggs and ate most of mine and some of DHs and he ate a little bit of the bacon and sausage as well.
About 5 minutes after we finished eating (just after we put him in the stroller) Nathan starts vomiting up breakfast. Great! Now we had vomit covering part of the stroller and all over his clothes. We decided at that point that going to MGM right then was probably not a good idea.
As we were walking back to our room Nathan seemed like he was in a pretty good mood for a little guy that had just gotten so sick. We got to the room and cleaned up him and the stroller and set the stroller out to dry. We then decided to just hang around the room. After about 30 minutes DS was bouncing off the walls and just acting like he was the life of the party. Strange. Then DH and I started talking and we starting putting some pieces together. It dawned on us that the last few times he had scrambled eggs of any size quantity (more than just a few bites) he got sick. He had also gotten sick the last few times we fed him French toast which is of course made with eggs. I think DS might have an egg allergy. We are going to check with his doctor here to see if we can come to a definite diagnosis but the pieces of the puzzle sure do fit.
After waiting around the room until around 10 we decided that DS appeared fine and we think the vomiting was because of the eggs so we thought we would attempt to go to MGM. We packed a change of clothes just in case and got on the bus for MGM. Nathan was just fine for the bus ride. When we got to MGM there was a LONG line to get through security. While we were waiting a family about 2 behind us got in line and they had a Cookie Monster backpack and Nathan really wanted it. He was very upset that he couldnt have it but thankfully once we got in the park he seemed to forget it.
We just walked around a little before heading over to the Playhouse Disney show which was our #1 priority here. We waited in line for a while and DS did fairly well especially since they were showing clips from Playhouse Disney on the TVs in line. When we went in to sit down we were on the right aisle about midway back which seemed to be a good spot until we realize that the cookie monster backpack family was about 2 rows ahead of us and Nathan spotted it. He was once again really upset because he wanted Cookie and we wouldnt let him have it. When the show started he seemed to forget for a little while while he enjoyed Bear and Pooh and Olie. Unfortunately for me my leg was going to sleep and was starting to hurt from the postion I was sitting in with DS on my lap. I tried to pass DS off to Nathan but he didnt want any part of that and just starting screaming Mommy whenever I gave him to DH. During the show when the big gorilla come out Nathan spotted the camcorder the lady in front of us had. I of course told him No when he tried to reach for it and that set him off again and this time it was a doozy of a fit. He was thrashing around and hitting both me and DH and the entire time we were trapped and my leg was killing me. By the time it was over I couldnt wait to get out of there but because my leg was so asleep I hobbled out of the theater holding Nathan and terrified that my leg was going to give out and I would drop him. I tried to give him to DH but he would just cry when I would do that.
We got him back in his stroller and we just didnt know what to do. We wheeled him back out to the big sorcerer Mickey hat and he cheered up again. I asked him if he was hungry and he said he was so I went to the nearest snack cart and bought him a bag of potato chips. He does not get many potato chips at home so this was a big treat for him and he seemed really content to stroll along while munching on his chips. Since he seemed OK again we went to get fastpasses for the Little Mermaid show. We had about 45 minutes to wait so we just walked around a little and we saw a few characters. He still wanted us to walk up with him but he was feeling more comfortable.
As we walked around we saw the area where Sorcerer Mickey is set up. The line was just a few minutes long so we stopped in. Nathan once again watched with amazement that Mickey was really there. We had bought him a little stuff Sorcerer Mickey keychain that we had attached to his stroller and he wanted us to take it off for him. He stood there in line clutching his little Sorcerer Mickey while waiting him turn. When it was his turn he immediately ran right up to Mickey but as soon as he got there he ran right back to me like he just realized I wasnt behind him and it freaked him out. He then walked me over to Mickey. I picked him up and Nathan seemed so happy to show Sorcerer Mickey his own little stuffed Mickey. Once again it was a very sweet moment and DS gave him a BIG hug before we left.
Shortly after we left Mickey we saw Pluto and he didnt have much of a line so we waited about 2 minutes for DS to see him. This time without any hesitation when we told him it was his turn he ran right for Pluto and gave him a big hug around the legs. He was finally feeling comfortable enough with the characters to let us stand back and just watch him with the characters instead of us holding him. It is really the kind of melt your heart moment that you dream about when you plan a WDW trip with your kids.
{{ to be continued }}
But that was so sweet how he interacted with all the characters! I fondly remember our trip to DL when our DD was 2 - the joy she expressed was priceless and still firm in my mind 16 years later! 
i can't wait to read the rest!
), nightmare trying to get him to sleep in the motel we stayed at by the airport, me getting a migraine on arrival day due to stress and not taking care of myself, and probably the hardest thing we had with our 20 month old was getting him to STAY in the stroller! He hated it. We HAD to keep moving moving moving or he would try and crawl out. He wasn't old enough yet to really walk with us without wandering off. But I wouldn't trade the experience for the world- seeing him light up with the characters, on Small World, Pooh's Honey Pots, Buzz, and several others, made the stroller headaches worth it. We were also lucky that my parents and my mother in law were along as well, so they often helped out. 
