becka
<font color=green>Proud Mommy of sweet Nathan and
- Joined
- Aug 17, 1999
- Messages
- 13,852
For the first installment click here .
After our character encounters it was time to head over to Voyage of the Little Mermaid. I wish at the time I would have remembered that there was a 10 minute window on the Fastpass and that I really didnt have to get there in the first few minutes. Getting their early just meant more time standing in the pre-show area waiting. In my pre-kid trips that was never a big deal but I learned an important lesson on this one. DS was getting real fussy. There were so many people in there that I had to hold him and he really wanted down. I was having to struggle with him a little and it was becoming obvious that he was getting awfully tired and had just about reached his limit. After a while he was really starting to hurt my arms but he would cry if I tried to hand him off to DH so I kept standing there holding him. I was starting to feel like I was having an out of body experience and all of the stress and frustrations from the past few days felt like they were crashing down on me right there in the waiting area. I was also starting to feel a little claustrophobic all of a sudden and it felt like the temperature went up 50 degrees. I was so hot! About this time DS calmed down and put his head down on my shoulder. I kind of rocked him back and forth and he ended up going to sleep there in the pre-show holding area.
By the time we were admitted to the theater I was feeling pretty badly. We filed into the theater with DS asleep on my shoulder. I figured once the show started he would wake up because of the loudness of the presentation but he slept the sleep of the dead during that show. I was at least thankful to be sitting and it seemed so much cooler in the theater. I just sat there and held him while he slept and quietly cried during the show.
I just had so many thoughts and emotions rattling around and I guess you could say I was reaching MY limit. I was really starting to feel like maybe the trip was a mistake. Sure we had some really sweet moments the last 36 hours or so but I just wasnt sure how much of this up and down I could take. It was really starting to mess with me and I could tell that even DH who kept telling me that everything would be OK and to just go with the flow was starting to unravel at the ends just a little. I think the hardest thing was just the emotional roller coaster effect. If things had been consistently bad I think we could have dealt with that easier. We would at least know what to expect. With the way things were I felt like we were all (but especially DS) just time bombs that could go off at any second.
DS stayed asleep until we left the theater and got back to his stroller. We found a bench in the area a little away from the crowds and decided what to do next. I was feeling a little better after my little sob session and DS seemed to be revived by his 30 minute power nap but we just were not sure. We had planned to go back to the resort about now to eat lunch at the food court and have DS take his nap but we knew that with that little nap he just took it would be very hard to get him to go down for at least a few more hours. We decided to just walk around a little. DH wanted to at least stop by the Star Wars shop and we figured we should probably grab some lunch.
When it came time for lunch I didnt know what to do. We have never been happy with the counter service choices at MGM. We love the Brown Derby and it is one of our favorite restaurants and that is usually where we end up eating but I wouldnt dream of taking DS there. While DH was looking around the Star Wars area I was looking at the map and trying to locate the counter service places. The Backlot Express (I think that is the name) was located pretty much right there and DH had expressed the idea that a hot dog sounded pretty good and I saw on the map that they had them so that is where we went.
DH order his hot dog and fries, I think I order chicken fingers or something like that for DS and I went for the grilled turkey sandwich. DH said his hot dog was good. DS only ate the ketchup, and my sandwich was NOT good. Yuck! I managed to eat about a fourth of it because I was hungry and I did pay $6 for it but yuck! It just left a bad taste in my mouth. The Backlot once again confirmed our opinion that there is no good counter service at MGM. I just dont understand why.
After our lunch we decided it might be a good time to head back to the resort. Even if DS wouldnt go down for a nap right away we could also use the down time. We headed up from to catch the bus and within just a few minutes we were back at Pop. We walked back over to our room and as we got closer I saw a large puddle of water right at our doorway. OMG! It looked like our room must have flooded. There was a LOT of water standing outside the door. I kind of held my breath while we put the key in and stepped over the flood. Thankfully there did not appear to be any water in the room. Thank goodness or that would have been the last straw. I was thankful our room was not flooded but once again I was disappointed with the resort. When they are cleaning they should probably make sure they havent left standing water right in front of guest doors.
We just kind of relaxed for a while and then we decided that we would put DS down for his nap. We put him in the pack n play and while he didnt want to go to sleep right then he was content to just stay in there and play with a few of his stuffed animals. DH and I laid down to take a nap at that time and the next thing we knew it was about 3:00 and at some point DS had fallen asleep.
We originally had plans to see the Animal Kingdom parade and then eat dinner at the Rainforest Café but we were really going to be pushing it to get there in time for the parade at 4. We freshened up really quickly (and put on some shorts) and decided to use our rental car to drive to the park. This was the first time we had ever driven to the parks so we didnt quite know what to expect. We followed the signs and managed to find the Animal Kingdom pretty quickly. However, when we got to the entrance for the parking lot there were no parking attendants around. We kind of sat there for a minute and didnt know what to do. We finally decided to just drive on it. I guess if it is pretty close to closing time they dont charge parking? We were hoping to get a close spot near the front where someone had left earlier but we soon discovered that they have it set up where you cant do that. We didnt know how far back we were from the park entrance or how long we would have to wait for a tram, etc. so we just decided it wasnt worth it right now and we left. We decided to head over to the MK instead.
We got to the TTC and we parked out by the Speedway. At first I thought we might be making a mistake because we were so far from the MK and I had heard in the past how some find it difficult to drive to the MK but it ended up being fine. A tram was right there so we hoped on and rode the short distance to the TTC. This was the first tram Nathan had been on and like all new transportation to him it was lots of fun. When we got to the TTC we couldnt decide if we should ride the ferry or the monorail. We decided that we would ride the ferry over and then take the monorail back later that evening. We go over to the dock and we had a short wait. It was really a very nice afternoon. Not too hot but not nearly as cold as it had been yesterday.
We got into the park and we decide to see if maybe there is a short wait at the barber shop so we can get DSs first haircut. Unfortunately, there are probably 5-6 people already there so we decide to skip it again for now and try later that week. Since we hadnt really planned to be here this evening we really didnt know what we wanted to do. It was about 4:45 or so and the park closed at 7:00 with Wishes. We talked about it and decided that if we could it might be nice to try to stay for the fireworks so that gave us a little under 2 hours before we needed to find a spot for the fireworks. We didnt have any dinner plans here so we thought we might check to see if we could get in to the Crystal Palace. Unfortunately, they were all full for the evening so we decided we would grab some counter service somewhere in the park and we headed over to Fantasyland. The waits were pretty long for most of the rides but there was not a line for the Carousel or IASW. Since we know DS loves them both we decided to give them a whirl. We still had some trouble with IASW because DS just didnt want to stay seated for the entire ride and for some reason on the Carousel he got really upset at the very end of the ride. I still dont know what had him scared. He had ridden it several times already without any problems. The line for Dumbo was just too long so we passed on it.
We decide to wander over to the Adventureland side of the park via Frontierland. We walk over and decide to try to catch the last show of the Tiki Birds at 6:00. We got into the last show but while we were in the pre-show it was obvious that DS was about to come unglued again. Thankfully the pre-show started right about then so he stopped melting down at least long enough to smile and laugh a little at the birds. We started filing into the theater and I was thankful that would take his mind off whatever was bothering him. Unfortunately while we sat there I guess they decided to wait for some more guests. We waited and waited. It was probably no more than 5 minutes or so but it felt like 30 minutes to us since DS was getting crankier by the minute and was bored just sitting there. I had no idea it was going to take that long to get the show started. When it finally started DS calmed down and paid lots of attention and even started dancing a little. After the show I did notice him chewing on his hand and just profusely drooling. I figured he must be teething but I decided to put my finger in his mouth and I felt this HUGE bump in the back. Ouch! He was cutting a big molar and that had to be hurting him pretty badly.
After the Tiki Birds we figured we had probably better grab something to eat before the fireworks. We didnt quite know where to go but when we got back to Main Street we saw that it was getting VERY crowded already for the fireworks. We found a spot in the area of the info board and decided to just park there while I ran to Casey to buy us some hot dogs. I figured we could sit there and eat dinner while waiting. The lines were pretty long. I couldnt decide which of two lines to get into so I picked the one on the left. I waited and waited and watched as the other line I didnt pick moved really quickly. When the lady I would have been in back of in the other line was at the counter ordering I was still 4-5 people back in my line. Oh well that happens. It was about 20 until 7 when I ordered two hot dogs with French fries and some water. I headed back over to our spot hoping that DH has survived DS only to find that DS had fallen asleep in his stroller almost as soon as I had left to get the hot dogs. DH and I sat down and ate and we were finished about 5 minutes before the fireworks started. DS was still out cold. I was a little concerned that he was going to wake up when the fireworks started and it would scare him. We moved our position a little to we could see both the fireworks and DS at the same time.
When the fireworks started I was just so emotional that I had a few tears. Wishes is fantastic and really beautiful. It really hit me hard at that moment. We were trying so hard to make our wish for a wonderful trip for DS become reality and we were really struggling at times but at the same time trying to just laugh and appreciate spending time together. I kept checking on DS throughout the show thinking that for sure he would wake up but there were no signs of him waking up anytime soon. He was OUT. I was a little disappointed that he missed the fireworks because I think he would have been pretty impressed with them but at the same time it was a nice moment for me and DH to just stand there holding each other and watching the fireworks like we have on past trips.
At the end of the show DH was really concerned with DS and I losing him in the crowd so he had one of the light up glow sticks on a string and put it on backwards so it was on his back. He told me that if we got lost a little to just look for the glowing stick. We stuck together in the crowd pretty well and DS was out so we made pretty good time. We had planned to take the monorail back to the TTC but it seemed like 99% of the people were headed that way. We saw that a ferry was just about to arrive and there were not really any people waiting for it so we headed back towards the ferry. We were in line towards the front and we were on the ferry in no time. DS woke up just about this time but he was still only half awake so he was just quietly watching. We stood towards the front where we would disembark and when he got off we had a good lead on the rest of the crowd as we headed towards the trams. We were able to get on the second tram (it would have been the first if there were not people who came swooping in from the sides without waiting in line). We were back at our car in no time and back on the road. I was very impressed with how easy it seemed to be to get out of the MK that night. Traffic flow out of the parking lot was great and we were back at the resort quickly. I was quickly becoming a fan of driving to the parks. It may have taken us longer than the bus but it didnt seem like it and it was nice to be able to relax in the van.
When we got back to the resort I was concerned that DS had not had any dinner since he had been asleep. I figured one of us could run to the food court if he was hungry and grab something for him. We had a bag of Mickey pretzels and cheerios in the room and DS was very content to just munch a little on them and then he wanted to go to bed. He was really tired since he had not slept well the previous nights plus there had been so much excitement it was no wonder. I did give him some Motrin to hopefully help the teething pain but I knew he would probably not sleep through the night again just from that bothering him.
After DS fell asleep DH and I just didnt know what to do. We were quickly becoming emotionally exhausted. There were just so many ups and downs and we never knew from minute to minute how DS was going to do. It made it impossible to plan anything and it was just generally stressing us all out. We discussed the option of just calling it a loss and seeing if we could get on a flight the next afternoon. We just were not sure we could handle a few more days. Had we made a mistake thinking this was a good idea? Who in their right mind thinks a trip here with a 21 month old is a good idea? Were we smoking pixie dust when we made this decision? In the end we decided to just sleep on it some more and see what the morning brought. Go with the Flow became my DHs new mantra and we tried to remove any preconceived ideas about what this trip was supposed to be or even about what it was.
It was a big dose of Advil for DH and myself and then lights out about 10:30. Tomorrow promised to be different but we really didnt know how.
{{ to be continued }}
After our character encounters it was time to head over to Voyage of the Little Mermaid. I wish at the time I would have remembered that there was a 10 minute window on the Fastpass and that I really didnt have to get there in the first few minutes. Getting their early just meant more time standing in the pre-show area waiting. In my pre-kid trips that was never a big deal but I learned an important lesson on this one. DS was getting real fussy. There were so many people in there that I had to hold him and he really wanted down. I was having to struggle with him a little and it was becoming obvious that he was getting awfully tired and had just about reached his limit. After a while he was really starting to hurt my arms but he would cry if I tried to hand him off to DH so I kept standing there holding him. I was starting to feel like I was having an out of body experience and all of the stress and frustrations from the past few days felt like they were crashing down on me right there in the waiting area. I was also starting to feel a little claustrophobic all of a sudden and it felt like the temperature went up 50 degrees. I was so hot! About this time DS calmed down and put his head down on my shoulder. I kind of rocked him back and forth and he ended up going to sleep there in the pre-show holding area.
By the time we were admitted to the theater I was feeling pretty badly. We filed into the theater with DS asleep on my shoulder. I figured once the show started he would wake up because of the loudness of the presentation but he slept the sleep of the dead during that show. I was at least thankful to be sitting and it seemed so much cooler in the theater. I just sat there and held him while he slept and quietly cried during the show.
I just had so many thoughts and emotions rattling around and I guess you could say I was reaching MY limit. I was really starting to feel like maybe the trip was a mistake. Sure we had some really sweet moments the last 36 hours or so but I just wasnt sure how much of this up and down I could take. It was really starting to mess with me and I could tell that even DH who kept telling me that everything would be OK and to just go with the flow was starting to unravel at the ends just a little. I think the hardest thing was just the emotional roller coaster effect. If things had been consistently bad I think we could have dealt with that easier. We would at least know what to expect. With the way things were I felt like we were all (but especially DS) just time bombs that could go off at any second.
DS stayed asleep until we left the theater and got back to his stroller. We found a bench in the area a little away from the crowds and decided what to do next. I was feeling a little better after my little sob session and DS seemed to be revived by his 30 minute power nap but we just were not sure. We had planned to go back to the resort about now to eat lunch at the food court and have DS take his nap but we knew that with that little nap he just took it would be very hard to get him to go down for at least a few more hours. We decided to just walk around a little. DH wanted to at least stop by the Star Wars shop and we figured we should probably grab some lunch.
When it came time for lunch I didnt know what to do. We have never been happy with the counter service choices at MGM. We love the Brown Derby and it is one of our favorite restaurants and that is usually where we end up eating but I wouldnt dream of taking DS there. While DH was looking around the Star Wars area I was looking at the map and trying to locate the counter service places. The Backlot Express (I think that is the name) was located pretty much right there and DH had expressed the idea that a hot dog sounded pretty good and I saw on the map that they had them so that is where we went.
DH order his hot dog and fries, I think I order chicken fingers or something like that for DS and I went for the grilled turkey sandwich. DH said his hot dog was good. DS only ate the ketchup, and my sandwich was NOT good. Yuck! I managed to eat about a fourth of it because I was hungry and I did pay $6 for it but yuck! It just left a bad taste in my mouth. The Backlot once again confirmed our opinion that there is no good counter service at MGM. I just dont understand why.
After our lunch we decided it might be a good time to head back to the resort. Even if DS wouldnt go down for a nap right away we could also use the down time. We headed up from to catch the bus and within just a few minutes we were back at Pop. We walked back over to our room and as we got closer I saw a large puddle of water right at our doorway. OMG! It looked like our room must have flooded. There was a LOT of water standing outside the door. I kind of held my breath while we put the key in and stepped over the flood. Thankfully there did not appear to be any water in the room. Thank goodness or that would have been the last straw. I was thankful our room was not flooded but once again I was disappointed with the resort. When they are cleaning they should probably make sure they havent left standing water right in front of guest doors.
We just kind of relaxed for a while and then we decided that we would put DS down for his nap. We put him in the pack n play and while he didnt want to go to sleep right then he was content to just stay in there and play with a few of his stuffed animals. DH and I laid down to take a nap at that time and the next thing we knew it was about 3:00 and at some point DS had fallen asleep.
We originally had plans to see the Animal Kingdom parade and then eat dinner at the Rainforest Café but we were really going to be pushing it to get there in time for the parade at 4. We freshened up really quickly (and put on some shorts) and decided to use our rental car to drive to the park. This was the first time we had ever driven to the parks so we didnt quite know what to expect. We followed the signs and managed to find the Animal Kingdom pretty quickly. However, when we got to the entrance for the parking lot there were no parking attendants around. We kind of sat there for a minute and didnt know what to do. We finally decided to just drive on it. I guess if it is pretty close to closing time they dont charge parking? We were hoping to get a close spot near the front where someone had left earlier but we soon discovered that they have it set up where you cant do that. We didnt know how far back we were from the park entrance or how long we would have to wait for a tram, etc. so we just decided it wasnt worth it right now and we left. We decided to head over to the MK instead.
We got to the TTC and we parked out by the Speedway. At first I thought we might be making a mistake because we were so far from the MK and I had heard in the past how some find it difficult to drive to the MK but it ended up being fine. A tram was right there so we hoped on and rode the short distance to the TTC. This was the first tram Nathan had been on and like all new transportation to him it was lots of fun. When we got to the TTC we couldnt decide if we should ride the ferry or the monorail. We decided that we would ride the ferry over and then take the monorail back later that evening. We go over to the dock and we had a short wait. It was really a very nice afternoon. Not too hot but not nearly as cold as it had been yesterday.
We got into the park and we decide to see if maybe there is a short wait at the barber shop so we can get DSs first haircut. Unfortunately, there are probably 5-6 people already there so we decide to skip it again for now and try later that week. Since we hadnt really planned to be here this evening we really didnt know what we wanted to do. It was about 4:45 or so and the park closed at 7:00 with Wishes. We talked about it and decided that if we could it might be nice to try to stay for the fireworks so that gave us a little under 2 hours before we needed to find a spot for the fireworks. We didnt have any dinner plans here so we thought we might check to see if we could get in to the Crystal Palace. Unfortunately, they were all full for the evening so we decided we would grab some counter service somewhere in the park and we headed over to Fantasyland. The waits were pretty long for most of the rides but there was not a line for the Carousel or IASW. Since we know DS loves them both we decided to give them a whirl. We still had some trouble with IASW because DS just didnt want to stay seated for the entire ride and for some reason on the Carousel he got really upset at the very end of the ride. I still dont know what had him scared. He had ridden it several times already without any problems. The line for Dumbo was just too long so we passed on it.
We decide to wander over to the Adventureland side of the park via Frontierland. We walk over and decide to try to catch the last show of the Tiki Birds at 6:00. We got into the last show but while we were in the pre-show it was obvious that DS was about to come unglued again. Thankfully the pre-show started right about then so he stopped melting down at least long enough to smile and laugh a little at the birds. We started filing into the theater and I was thankful that would take his mind off whatever was bothering him. Unfortunately while we sat there I guess they decided to wait for some more guests. We waited and waited. It was probably no more than 5 minutes or so but it felt like 30 minutes to us since DS was getting crankier by the minute and was bored just sitting there. I had no idea it was going to take that long to get the show started. When it finally started DS calmed down and paid lots of attention and even started dancing a little. After the show I did notice him chewing on his hand and just profusely drooling. I figured he must be teething but I decided to put my finger in his mouth and I felt this HUGE bump in the back. Ouch! He was cutting a big molar and that had to be hurting him pretty badly.
After the Tiki Birds we figured we had probably better grab something to eat before the fireworks. We didnt quite know where to go but when we got back to Main Street we saw that it was getting VERY crowded already for the fireworks. We found a spot in the area of the info board and decided to just park there while I ran to Casey to buy us some hot dogs. I figured we could sit there and eat dinner while waiting. The lines were pretty long. I couldnt decide which of two lines to get into so I picked the one on the left. I waited and waited and watched as the other line I didnt pick moved really quickly. When the lady I would have been in back of in the other line was at the counter ordering I was still 4-5 people back in my line. Oh well that happens. It was about 20 until 7 when I ordered two hot dogs with French fries and some water. I headed back over to our spot hoping that DH has survived DS only to find that DS had fallen asleep in his stroller almost as soon as I had left to get the hot dogs. DH and I sat down and ate and we were finished about 5 minutes before the fireworks started. DS was still out cold. I was a little concerned that he was going to wake up when the fireworks started and it would scare him. We moved our position a little to we could see both the fireworks and DS at the same time.
When the fireworks started I was just so emotional that I had a few tears. Wishes is fantastic and really beautiful. It really hit me hard at that moment. We were trying so hard to make our wish for a wonderful trip for DS become reality and we were really struggling at times but at the same time trying to just laugh and appreciate spending time together. I kept checking on DS throughout the show thinking that for sure he would wake up but there were no signs of him waking up anytime soon. He was OUT. I was a little disappointed that he missed the fireworks because I think he would have been pretty impressed with them but at the same time it was a nice moment for me and DH to just stand there holding each other and watching the fireworks like we have on past trips.
At the end of the show DH was really concerned with DS and I losing him in the crowd so he had one of the light up glow sticks on a string and put it on backwards so it was on his back. He told me that if we got lost a little to just look for the glowing stick. We stuck together in the crowd pretty well and DS was out so we made pretty good time. We had planned to take the monorail back to the TTC but it seemed like 99% of the people were headed that way. We saw that a ferry was just about to arrive and there were not really any people waiting for it so we headed back towards the ferry. We were in line towards the front and we were on the ferry in no time. DS woke up just about this time but he was still only half awake so he was just quietly watching. We stood towards the front where we would disembark and when he got off we had a good lead on the rest of the crowd as we headed towards the trams. We were able to get on the second tram (it would have been the first if there were not people who came swooping in from the sides without waiting in line). We were back at our car in no time and back on the road. I was very impressed with how easy it seemed to be to get out of the MK that night. Traffic flow out of the parking lot was great and we were back at the resort quickly. I was quickly becoming a fan of driving to the parks. It may have taken us longer than the bus but it didnt seem like it and it was nice to be able to relax in the van.
When we got back to the resort I was concerned that DS had not had any dinner since he had been asleep. I figured one of us could run to the food court if he was hungry and grab something for him. We had a bag of Mickey pretzels and cheerios in the room and DS was very content to just munch a little on them and then he wanted to go to bed. He was really tired since he had not slept well the previous nights plus there had been so much excitement it was no wonder. I did give him some Motrin to hopefully help the teething pain but I knew he would probably not sleep through the night again just from that bothering him.
After DS fell asleep DH and I just didnt know what to do. We were quickly becoming emotionally exhausted. There were just so many ups and downs and we never knew from minute to minute how DS was going to do. It made it impossible to plan anything and it was just generally stressing us all out. We discussed the option of just calling it a loss and seeing if we could get on a flight the next afternoon. We just were not sure we could handle a few more days. Had we made a mistake thinking this was a good idea? Who in their right mind thinks a trip here with a 21 month old is a good idea? Were we smoking pixie dust when we made this decision? In the end we decided to just sleep on it some more and see what the morning brought. Go with the Flow became my DHs new mantra and we tried to remove any preconceived ideas about what this trip was supposed to be or even about what it was.
It was a big dose of Advil for DH and myself and then lights out about 10:30. Tomorrow promised to be different but we really didnt know how.
{{ to be continued }}
Keep writing!
. I am thinking you were there that week?
