gopherit
I'm not in the book, you know.
- Joined
- Sep 21, 2003
On the Fifth Day of Disney, Mickey gave to me:
Five Prin- cess- essssssssssss!!!!!
Four soggy swimmers,
Third place on Millionaire,
Two rooms at Boardwalk,
And a night in the BCV!
Cast of Characters:
Cindy (thats me, 37 yr old Mom, obsessive-compulsive planner of these trips!)
Rich (DH, 38 yrs young Dad, basically wonderful and easy going, but occasionally known to slip into the less-loved persona, Mr. How Much is This Going to Cost Me?)
Evan (9 yrs old, our deep thinker and comfort seeker)
Ryan (8 yrs old, our tireless spark on an endless thrill quest)
Caroline (4 yrs old and already has the role of drama queen mastered!)
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FIRST DAY!
CLICK HERE TO READ THE SECOND DAY!
CLICK HERE TO READ THE THIRD DAY!
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FOURTH DAY!
THE FIFTH DAY
Ah, our anniversary. As I awoke, I couldnt help but recall with nostalgia how we spent our 13th anniversary just 365 days ago. I had taken the kids shopping in Charleston (WV) and was driving home at 5 pm, eager to change into something nice and go out to dinner. DH called me from his cell phone, headed home early from work, also ready to enjoy a nice dinner out.
DH: So where are we going?
Me: Does it really matter? You pick Ill be happy! What time are we going?
DH: Well I dont know what time is Wendy (our usual babysitter) coming over?
Me: I dont know what time did you tell her to come over?
DH: Ummm, I didnt. I thought YOU talked to her.
(Pause for the Silence of Reckoning)
Me: So what were saying here is that NEITHER of us called her, and its almost 5:30, and we have no sitter.
So we spent the evening of our 13th anniversary as only two wildly-in-love, married-with-kids folk can DH reheated leftovers and occupied the kids while I installed a dishwasher. Yes, I know, were such incurable romantics. But as I lay there on my back plumbing that puppy, I vowed: As God and Maytag as my witness, next year will be different!
So fast-forward from that moment to today, August 11th, 2004, and let's see if we can make that pledge a reality!
We got the gang moving pretty quickly. Evan seemed to be getting around ok with no ear reports, which was a relief. The kids received their spinning light toys in their fairy bags and were quite thrilled (two talking sorcerer Mickeys and 2 talking Pooh bears). I was definitely promoted to Fairy of the Year with that smooth move! We would be all headed to MK that day, although taking slightly different paths: Caroline, my sister, my nieces, and I were headed to dine with fellow royalty at the Castle, whereas the Princess-Allergic parties in our group (DH, our boys, SIL, BIL, and their boys) were headed for a date with Pooh and the gang at CP. Buses were prompt at BWV, and we made it to the MK in good time. I had wanted to capture all the kids in front of the castle for a picture, but darn that family of mine they must have been hungry, cause they raced up Main Street and next thing you knew they were in the Crystal Palace before I could catch them. Rats. So I took a bunch of pictures of DD, who was dressed quite splendidly in a blue sundress and crown for the occasion. Which reminds me of a quick rant -- why is it that you can be poised, obviously taking a picture, camera in hand, subject posing sweetly, with NO ONE ELSE AROUND -- and suddenly someone will invariably sashay RIGHT ON THROUGH? You accept those strangers in your photos when it's crowded, but we had an unobstructed view of dd and the Castle and then bam -- along comes this lady and her crew and they just stand there.. and stand there... and stand there. And no -- they were HARDLY picturesque, unless in sort of a abstract, misplaced Picasso sort of way. Unreal. Rant over.
We headed into the castle, and dd was reallllly getting excited now, Those murals outside, the suit of armor, the big throne, the stairwell she insisted that this was DEFINITELY the stairwell from Sleeping Beauty, so I let her believe it just dont tell Cinderella. It was all pure enchantment to Caroline! We were seated right away no wait at all. Thats the beauty of an 8:05 seating, I suppose! The food was quite tasty, although honestly, that French toast was just not what I expected. Good, yes but more fried than I imagined it would be, and the shape was very fat and round (as opposed to more traditional French toast that is flat, like, well, TOAST!) The princesses came over one by one, and we thought the interaction was pretty much perfect enough space to allow dd to actually eat, but not ever so long in-between as to feel you were really waiting. Present at the meal were Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Belle, and Mary Poppins (and of course, the big blue cheese herself, Cindy). Im not sure how Mary came to be in the company of princesses, nor do I understand why Belle only ever seems to wear her peasant girl clothes (shes in a castle didnt any of her books ever teach her how to dress for formal meals, for Petes sake?) In any case, when Belle came up, she asked my dd, And who might you be? Caroline didnt even blink an eye and with a straight face said back, Oh, Im Cinderella. Belle (and the table as a whole) chuckled on this, which only made dd indignant enough to then look at us all and say in seriousness, Stop Laughing! I AM Cinderella! I guess that other lady in the gown was just a big fraud, because the real deal was seated at OUR table! In any case, then Belle asked if Caroline had any questions for her, to which my daughter said, Yes. Belle bent down to hear what the question might be. So Caroline again with a straight face posed her all-important query:
Does the Beast have fleas?
Belle laughed on this and said quickly, No but Gaston does! But dont you tell him I said that, ok? She then asked if dd could do her one special favor please eat all her French toast sticks. Why she chose that, I dont know, since dds plate was full of food -- maybe because they are French? I dont know. But darned if dd didnt scarf em all down. Im wondering at this point if Belle can come to our house for dinner when we serve french-cut green beans
I should note that Mary Poppins is of special significance to my niece Brittany, now 16 yrs old. When Britt was just a little nipper about age 3, she went to a breakfast wherein Mary Poppins appeared. Brittany immediately jumped up from the table, ran to Mary Poppins and threw her arms and legs around her in a starfish-to-a-rock type suction action. My sister tried several times to extract her dd off Mary, but Brittany wasnt to be removed, and Mary kept saying no, it was quite alright, in her very proper way. Perhaps it was that my sisters extraction techniques were at risk of injuring or defrocking poor Mary, but in any case, it was a moment to be remembered. So when Mary came around to our table, we had to get a picture of the two of them together. Fortunately this time Brittany showed great self restraint no suction cup action involved. Mary did give Caroline a big lipsticky kiss on her cheek, though Caroline proudly sported it around for the rest of the day. I thought Caroline would positively melt when Aurora and Cinderella came. Aurora is her true favorite (Caroline goes around the house with her silver wand zapping things singing Make it pink! Make it blue! like the fairies.) And of course, Cinderella is the hostess, so gotta love her. Got some great pics of this Ill share in a later post.
During the breakfast, our server chatted with us. She was a delightful lady who took great care of us. She called me HRH The Queen (I noted my sister was older than me how come she wasnt the queen but she said it was evident I was the head of this group. Hmmmm Is that royal-talk for obvious control freak?) She told us an interesting tale about how Snow White once commented on a child who wouldnt do as her parents were asking and so the princess said, in her sweetest Snow White voice, Ohhh, I see were feeling a bit Grumpy today, are we? The mother became infuriated demanded her partys meals be free, seeing as how THEIR Princess had insulted HER princess be she grumpy or not. What a wunnerful world we live in, folks.
I used coupons to pay for the adult breakfasts this saved a great deal (about 25 bucks!) since I was paying for 4 adults! After the meal, we went to the bathroom to change dd into more comfy clothes. In comes our server I had forgotten to sign the charge slip for my dds meal. I assured her that no princesses had insulted us and we werent trying to stiff her for my dds meal! We headed down the stairs and found the Fairy Godmother in the big chair. DD was so tickled to spy Cinderellas mice hiding up in the rafters of this lobby except she grew more and more concerned that THEY WERENT MOVING. What was with THAT, Mom? Are they dead? Oh horror upon horrors she became convinced rigor mortise had set in on poor Jacques and Gus-Gus. Fortunately, before I had to delve into too deep of an explanation, it was our turn to visit the FG. This lady does an awesome job with the kids HOWEVER she set me up for some difficulties! She asked my dd what she wanted to ride once she left the castle dd responded immediately, The Painted Ponies! Carousels have always been my dds fave ride. So FG goes into great lengths to inform my dd that there is ONE HORSE that is Cinderellas horse, and tells her where it is located, what it looks like, etc. Well as you can imagine, now nothing would do that not only did dd need to ride that carousel, but it had to be on THAT HORSE. It was barely 9 am, so the lines were nonexistent at the carousel. I figured this was our best perhaps only - chance to find this horse. While waiting for the Pooh crowd to show up, my sister and nieces decided to catch Philharmagic, so dd and I made a dash for the horses. Caroline and I went through the ENTIRE carousel, and for the life of us, we couldnt find the horse that FG described. DD kept talking about the golden ribbon in its tail. In a moment of panic, I said, THERE! Look a gold ribbon! Around the tail! THIS MUST BE IT! With a smile, DD climbed aboard and was ever so happy. Of course, I knew it wasnt the right one. I had seen a pic of the correct horses behind before on some web site, and this wasnt it. The right horse would have had the ribbon IN its tail this had some gold detailing that went around and under. . (What can I say, I know a horses behind when I see one ) But as I scanned the horsey horizon while we rode, I still couldnt find that bloomin horse, and now, to make matters worse, I was getting motion sick looking for it! You owe me one, Fairy Godmomma. And if there is a special place in Hades for Moms who tell their kids white lies just to make them happy, Im there.
Once the carousel came to a stop, we met up with the Pooh Crew. They seemed to have enjoyed their meal as well, although they were greatly detained at the end waiting on Tigger to finally come to their table. We went into Philharmagic; sister and her gals were exiting and liked it so well, they went back in again with us. The theater was fairly empty we could sit wherever we pleased, really. And let me just say -- This show is simply INCREDIBLE. Im not one to reach out and try to touch virtual reality, but I found myself often reaching, grasping just to experience how CLEAR it all was, right before my eyes, yet not really there at all a 3D mirage of sorts! The Lion King segment was phenomenal, with all those crystal clear layers spinning in different directions. WOW. And it didnt hurt at all that the story line was so cute. DH, by the way, is one of those rare gifted folk who does an AWESOME Donald Duck voice. You know the old Disney advertisement, wherein the wife complains to hubby in bed that he doesnt talk to her like he used to and he says, Aw, cmon, its different now, were older, etc. Finally, he caves in, turns to her and says, alright, alright, and then says something in Donald Duck voice remember that one? I sure do. Because Disney stole that from our house, Im convinced. Thats me and DH I have even said those exact words to him! So as we exit, and DH is doing his best duck persona to the delight of the kids, I blush now to admit that I was ready to take him to some secluded place and ruffle his feathers! It was, after all, our anniversary forgive me.
<a href='http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008' target='_blank'><img src='http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/4/4_13_6.gif' alt='Blushy 2' border=0></a>
From Philharmagic, sis and her gals split from us, and headed over to Epcot. The remainder of us then did the usual array of rides that folks with kids under 10 do: Dumbo, Pooh, Peter Pan. We headed to Toon Town and met Max and Goofy, then rode the Barnstormer. The kids wanted to ride the little race cars, so we dipped down in that direction next. Personally, I dont care for the little things. You are stuck on that track, you putt-putt along, and youre done, yet it always has one of the longest waits in all of MK. I sat out with SIL and the baby on this one. (Bulletin: I should take this time to note that the baby has been INCREDIBLY good through all of this. This is a low maintenance kid, and he has done remarkably well through it all. So long as you kept him fed and dry, he was good to go. And he seemed to be enjoying all the activity around him the sights and such. It was a successful intro to all that is Disney for the little man! End of bulletin.)
We kept a sort of relay going throughout our MK day. One scout would zoom ahead, grab fast passes, then return to the group to ride something, then, while en route to the fast pass ride, another scout would zoom ahead to grab the next FP. Worked very well, and we kept in touch via radios so we didnt waste time trying to find out where we the group had gone, etc. Doing it this way, we also rode Buzz, Jungle Cruise, and POC. Call me warped but I love the really bad jokes on the Jungle Cruise. After POC, a few of us were treading water, so a trip to the bathrooms were in order. BIL and I were standing outside the bathroom area near POC gift shop and BIL says, Hey, I wonder why this area has these ropes here? Whats this que for the can? Hmmm curious indeed. Well, we didnt have to wait long to find out next thing we knew, bam there was Captain Hook and Smee behind the cue .soon followed by Peter Pan! And we were at the head of the line. Heck, we WEREthe line, as it took folks a while to figure out they were there. Peter took a wonderful length of time with the kids and made great efforts to address each one by name. He asked them what their favorite rides were, what they liked best, what parks they had visited, etc. I think this began to tick off some folks who had now gotten in line. Testy testy. Bet their pockets had run out of magic for sure. After our turn with Peter was over, a couple approached the CM and said their camera had failed to capture a pic of their child with the Pan Man could they grab a quick shot? I thought this one guy in the line was gonna go postal. Ridiculous the pic took all of 5 seconds and the CM had traffic moving again per usual, but this guy was enfuriated that he had to wait those additional few seconds to brighten someone ELSE'S trip. (I was tempted to go over to Hook and point at the man in need of Anger Management 101 and say, Sick em, Hooky.)
After the Tiki Birds, we headed to Splash, where we had more fast passes. None of the kids seemed interested in BTMRR for some reason I think by this time they were getting burned out. The guys knew they were coming back that evening, too, for Eride, so they werent going to push it. And we could tell a storm was abrewing overhead. We would do well to get these FPs for Splash used before the rains hit. At Splash, Evan again started his painful debate should I stay or should I go? (reminiscent of that old The Clash song of the same words If I go there will be trouble . If I dont it will be double ). My nephew didnt want to go on Splash Mountain either, so BIL took both his sons and Evan on the train ride around the park. (Very convenient, with the station right there). DH, Caroline, Ryan, me and my SIL all went on Splash. And dd JUST LOVED IT. She immediately wanted to go again. We had a few fast passes left, so just she and I went again. Her one complaint But I wanted to sit in the FRONT, Mom! After it was over, she looked at the mist of water on my face and arms with great envy. With her size, she was fairly dry, nested down in the log as she was. She says to me with a sigh, shaking her head sadly, I should have been where YOU were sitting. If we had had more FPs she would have easily gone again and again and again.
From there we all joined back together and headed out of the park for Main Street. BIL and SIL wanted to buy the kids each a hat to commemorate the trip. A very nice gesture that nearly caused a tightly-wound Evan to completely unravel. All week he had commented about those Goofy hats (you know the ones the ball cap with the big eyes, and teeth that hang from the brim). He kept noting that he wanted to get one when he did his shopping at DTD later that week. Well, opportunity was now: his aunt and uncle said pick a hat, any hat! He immediately grabbed a Goofy hat. His brother and cousin, however, went for Sorcerer Mickey hats instead. Hmmm. You could just see Evans gears turning. Why did they want that hat, instead of Goofy? Wasnt the Goofy hat cool? Or was it yikes Goofy? Would the Sorcerer hat be cooler? Was he making a mistake? Would his life be forever impacted by this decision? You could just see him building to the crescendo, on his knees yelling, Oh God Why Must My Life Be So HARRRRRRDDDDD?!?!? And yes, all over choosing a hat. Of course, SIL and BIL and DH didnt see this coming but I sure did. By the time I got to him (after helping Caroline go through no less than 50 hats, of which she wanted 47), he was a mess. I tried to help him realize that this didnt HAVE to be painful it was intended as a joy, a gift. We needed to calm down and look at the facts and make this easier, not harder. I told him to at least TRY THE HATS ON it might make his decision really easy. Did one feel better than another? Evan is nearly obsessive compulsive when it comes to clothing. You know that whole tagless revolution in clothing? Yup that was stolen straight from our house too I swear we must have hidden cameras in our Cheerios. So he tries them on and he stops obsessing long enough to realize that hey this Sorcerers hat is hot. Goofy, on the other hand, is kinda cool, breezy, ventilated. Evan overheats very easily so this factor alone was a hefty one. He checks out the design hmm, Sorcerers hat didnt do anything to shade the sun from his face and Goofy had those cool ears hanging down. In the end, Evan went with his first instinct and got the Goofy hat, crisis over. Caroline finally settled on a Princess Minnie hat (pointy like Sorcerers hat but in pink sparkles with an attached veil and black mousie ears). Ryan and his cousin stuck to their guns with the Sorcerer Mickey hats. And so, with hats on head and threatening skies above, we headed out of the Kingdom and over to the monorail. We were all kinda draggin, so when we saw the monorail ready to board, we jumped on to the wrong one. As we sailed past the GF, I thought hey, we didnt stop! Rut Row, Raggy better get off at TTC and switch this train ride around. So we disboard, go down the ramp, up the ramp, then re-board (in what had, by now, become a downpour). Fortunately, first stop was our destination: the Poly. At Ohana, sis and her gals met back up with us again. In the lounge area as we waited, a TV was detailing the current news on a weather system in the south Atlantic known as Charley. My sister expressed concern, since she was due to head back to S.C. on Friday should she leave early or should she stay later? (Help -- I'm gonna revert back to The Clash song again, somebody stop me...)
So I told her what any sensible person would tell a fretting sib: Eat dinner! Well figure out the rest later! We were seated at Ohana fairly promptly, right in the middle of the section that the kids do their coconut races around. We had a huge table to seat all 12 of us. I was craving a LapuLapu, but as I would have the singular care and responsibility of 4 children that night at MK for fireworks, I nixed the idea and opted for sobriety and an iced tea. The waitress brought the youngest kids each a drink in a plastic cup with an umbrella in it, but for our eldest, he got a regular cup. GoofyHatBoys face just kinda fell. Too old for umbrellas. I pulled the server aside and explained, and she kindly brought a drink like the others just for him, along with extra little umbrellas. That got the smile back into place.
The food here was the rave of my DH. I have never heard him carry on so about a meal. He acted like I had kept this place a secret from him and wanted it added immediately to our registry of Things We MUST Do Again! The "meat on a stick" (as my kids call "kebabed" foods) was all very moist and tender. I loved the dips, too -- the cilantro one was very good on the chicken. Eldest son loved the chicken wings and DH kept stealing my shrimp. The kids enjoyed the races and hula hooping. DH did NOT enjoy the singing, however. He asked me, Is that real, true, authentic Hawaiian singing? My Polynesia-detecting skills were rusty, but having been to Hawaii and having family who has lived there for over 30 years, I nodded yes, it sure seemed to be. To which he chewed a while and then bluntly responded, Well thats bad. When hes not bragging about being #3, he can be a man of very few words.
There is one aspect of the meal that, given the chance, I would do differently my middle childs seating and menu. Seating him next to his cousin is just far too distractive for him. I dont think he gave his food a chance. Secondly, had I known my little carnivore was not going to like what I thought to be a very Atkins-lovin meat filled menu, I would have ordered him a hot dog or such from Kona. He didnt touch much of his meal, and said he would only return to Ohana if given the alternative-menu-option. (DH said, By all means then GET THE KID A MENU next time! Cause we are GOING BACK!) And in retrospect dd probably should have sat closer to me she was too busy hamming it up for my nieces and sister to eat much food. But I guess in the name of family togetherness, I cant complain we can eat any ol time, but how often can we do it in the company of so much ohana? After dinner, they brought DH and me 2 cupcakes to celebrate our anniversary, and the waiter asked if we would like him to sing a song he wrote just for the occasion. DH kinda stammered (Uh, that depends -- will it be sung in Hawaiian?). I nodded to the nice man and smiled while elbowing DH and whispering, Just say YES! So they sang an anniversary tribute, and folks clapped, and we blew out our candles. All I needed to make the night complete was an appliance to install ha, just kidding.
As we left the Poly, SIL decided to take the baby back to the resort and call it a night. My nieces headed to MGM to get in a few thrills before Eride night later at MK. My sister decided to tag along with us for a bit, so DH, BIL and I herded the kids onto the monorail and headed back into MK. We did a few rides (namely, Buzz) and then took a spot on the bridge that goes from Tomorrowland over to the Castle hub. This would be a great spot, I decided, since Tinkerbelle would fly right overhead. Sister decided she wanted to beat the throngs of folks so she went back to the Poly (her car was parked there) and figured she would watch Wishes from there, then skeedaddle on back to BW. DH and BIL stayed with me right up until about 9:45, at which time they started making tracks for Splash Mountain (where they told my nieces they would all meet for their E-Ride extravaganza). I now had a very long 15 minutes ahead of me, however, as frustration and fatigue set in with the 9 and under group. I had one double-stroller, in which they were all vying for a spot. I coerced Evan to sit on the sidewalk with me, leaning against the bridge railings, but of course, the ground was too hard, the rails too rigid, the air too still, his siblings too annoying, and he was too "Evan" everything was an "issue" for him. Meanwhile, Ryan, Caroline, and their cousin were in a snit-fit over who could sit where, how, with whom, etc. I ended up holding Caroline (to the joy of my aching back!) just to end the dispute, while Ryan and his cousin shared the stroller and son Evan, still hunkered on the pavement, moaned on. In his distress, he never mentioned his ear, so I was thankful for that much, I guess. At what appeared to be 10 pm on my watch, I told the kids the fireworks would be starting ANY SECOND. Evan begrudgingly stood up and grumped, saying, Waiting is so stupid. We should just GO. There is NOTHING worth this kind of wait.
And then finally the announcement came, and it was time for Wishes. The first few bits of fireworks signaled the start, and when a fully illuminated Tinkerbelle came flying down from the Castle, the kids heads all turned to follow. In the lighting I could see it -- magic! Magic was reflecting back, right off of their faces. A few more flashes of fireworks lit the sky I said excitedly, Look, its Wishes! to my now very sleepy daughter. She pointed at a shooting star firework as it sailed across the sky and murmured, Thats my Wish, Mommy! That pretty one's mine! Right there... and just as that bright light trailed and faded, so too did she, her extended finger slowly dropping as she fell fast asleep against my shoulder. In a brief pause that followed, Evan now turns to me beaming and says, Well that was the BEST fireworks Ive EVER seen! Awesome! He moves as if to leave, smiling brightly. Stunned, I pointed back towards the castle and responded, But Ev, they arent done yet!
They ARENT?!? he says incredulously.
"Ev, they haven't even really BEGUN!"
With that , Wishes went into high gear and he whipped back around to watch. Just as with Philharmagic, I am so impressed by the technology. The ablility to make those fireworks explode on cue in the air like that in time with the music, to burst into patterns like stars and such and that criss-cross of white blinding light wow. No, make that WOW!! (with a double exclamation point!) It was really awesome, and I admit it big sap that I am, I got teary-eyed. Holding my dd, standing there on the bridge watching the castle awash in vibrant color, with the sky illuminating my kids faces in awe, all frozen in wonder, my wish was to hold us all, in that split-second moment, forever. When Wishes finally ended, the kids and I all looked at each other and agreed it was simply the BEST fireworks we had EVER seen.
But as with the end of any dream, now we faced the reality and a sea, no RAGING OCEAN of humanity, all pressing the flesh to get out of there. I placed Sleeping Beauty in the stroller and told the boys to hold onto each other this might get ugly! We crawled our way down Main Street. I toyed with the idea of taking them all for ice cream, or dodging into a store and pressing pennies, ANYTHING to get us out of the stifling crush. But it was already 10:40 by the time we reached Main Street and these kids had a Pirate Cruise in the morning. Plus, I had my nephew in tow and didnt want my SIL to worry or think I had lost him or been accosted by anti-Disney ruffians or something. So we toiled our way slowwwwly on down, adrift in the waves of the exiting hordes. We ditched the stroller, and God love my son Ryan, he wanted to carry stuff for me. I was so welled up now, by the way the kids were behaving Evan was holding his cousins hand and making sure we all stayed together, Ryan was checking on Caroline and making sure our belongings stayed intact, none of them balked when I carried Caroline, and all of them were eager to help me carry other stuff since I had her to tote it was like Wishes had transformed them into a kinder, gentler nation of kids. At long glorious last we freed ourselves from the elbow-to-elbow insanity as we made our way into the bus stop area. At the bus stop, we were all thankful that the line seemed very short and we would soon be on our way back to BWV. About this time, dd came back from Dreamland. I took the opportunity to praise all 4 kids effusively, up one side and down the other, for their behavior in our exodus, and for just for being the great kids that they are. At the end, son Evan (blinking back the kind of tears that comes with praise and honor), blinks again and squints, looking upward at something over my head and says, But why are we in the Beach Club bus line?
Huh? Wait how come that sign didnt also say, Boardwalk why did it only list YC and BC? Oh no. Evan the Ever-Observant then says, There it is! Right across from us hung the sign reading Swan, Dolphin and Boardwalk and under it stood about 2 busses worth of people. I debated taking the YC/BC bus anyway, but the kids had such tired looks, I wasnt sure they could hoof it to BWV from BC, so we made our way over to the BW bus line. And here, we waited. Finally a bus pulled up and began to assist a wheelchaired person inside. Hop up, I told the kids, who were sitting on the ground. Once that chair is in they will load the bus and this line will move. Note the order of that statement: Once that chair is in Well therein lies the problem. They couldnt get the ramp to retract after the chair was loaded. The driver tried and tried. We heard that BeepBeepBeepBeep noise that the retractor makes over and over and over, but no success (other than to make us all hungry, as it sounds just like the signal on fast food french fryer machines). The kids were now piled in sad little puddles at my feet, too tired to stand any longer, or even sit, for that matter. It was now 11:40 pm. After more struggling with this (turning bus off and on, etc) the CMs finally got the stinkin thing to retract and the fans went wild. They loaded the bus and the line moved. It looked as though we would be the first passengers on the next bus, which was a good thing, since these kids really needed seats. Finally another bus comes, and we pile in. I have two boys to my left, and one to my right, and dd on my lap. The bus was really crammed lots of folks standing. As the bus made its way out of MK, a man holding the railing over my head asked, Is the guy in the red yours, because if so, he is out like a light Yup, that was Ryan, dozing hard. And what about the small one leaning against him yours? My nephew. I responded. Also out! he said. Then, peering down at my right-hand side, he says, And the other-" I beat him to it and respond, Yup, also mine and let me guess out? He laughs and says, No, but verrrrry close to it! Wow - How are you gonna carry all those kids, lady? I said I had no idea, but I was prepared to ride in circles all night if I had to until this bus picked up DH and BIL at MK after their e-ride, and then THEY could help me!
We arrived at BW first and I nudged my crew awake. God love em, they are all really good sleepwalkers, because they managed to get onto their feet and walk into the resort and onto the elevator and down the hall and right into their beds. SIL was awake and wondering where we had been. She tended to her son while I got my 3 all tucked in for the night. After fulfilling my fairy duties, I crawled in bed with a very snuggly dd, who let out one of those jagged but contented sighs you know the type, Su-Su-Su-siggghhhhhhhhh How very sweet I wondered if she was dreaming of castles and princesses, of painted ponies and pretty wishes.
I turned on the weather on TV and set the volume low, so as not to wake her from her dreams. Hmmm . Looks like that storm is still lurking out there, and my sister might indeed have some decisions to make for her trip back. But it will probably hit well north of us, maybe Tampa or farther up, so not a concern for our crew. I am so exhausted, I dont even hear DH when he comes in at nearly 2 am. Happy anniversary to us!
COMING NEXT: THE SIXTH DAY (click here!)
YoHo,YoHo, A Hurricanes Comin for Meeeeee (Argghhh!)
Five Prin- cess- essssssssssss!!!!!
Four soggy swimmers,
Third place on Millionaire,
Two rooms at Boardwalk,
And a night in the BCV!
Cast of Characters:
Cindy (thats me, 37 yr old Mom, obsessive-compulsive planner of these trips!)
Rich (DH, 38 yrs young Dad, basically wonderful and easy going, but occasionally known to slip into the less-loved persona, Mr. How Much is This Going to Cost Me?)
Evan (9 yrs old, our deep thinker and comfort seeker)
Ryan (8 yrs old, our tireless spark on an endless thrill quest)
Caroline (4 yrs old and already has the role of drama queen mastered!)
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FIRST DAY!
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THE FIFTH DAY
Ah, our anniversary. As I awoke, I couldnt help but recall with nostalgia how we spent our 13th anniversary just 365 days ago. I had taken the kids shopping in Charleston (WV) and was driving home at 5 pm, eager to change into something nice and go out to dinner. DH called me from his cell phone, headed home early from work, also ready to enjoy a nice dinner out.
DH: So where are we going?
Me: Does it really matter? You pick Ill be happy! What time are we going?
DH: Well I dont know what time is Wendy (our usual babysitter) coming over?
Me: I dont know what time did you tell her to come over?
DH: Ummm, I didnt. I thought YOU talked to her.
(Pause for the Silence of Reckoning)
Me: So what were saying here is that NEITHER of us called her, and its almost 5:30, and we have no sitter.
So we spent the evening of our 13th anniversary as only two wildly-in-love, married-with-kids folk can DH reheated leftovers and occupied the kids while I installed a dishwasher. Yes, I know, were such incurable romantics. But as I lay there on my back plumbing that puppy, I vowed: As God and Maytag as my witness, next year will be different!
So fast-forward from that moment to today, August 11th, 2004, and let's see if we can make that pledge a reality!
We got the gang moving pretty quickly. Evan seemed to be getting around ok with no ear reports, which was a relief. The kids received their spinning light toys in their fairy bags and were quite thrilled (two talking sorcerer Mickeys and 2 talking Pooh bears). I was definitely promoted to Fairy of the Year with that smooth move! We would be all headed to MK that day, although taking slightly different paths: Caroline, my sister, my nieces, and I were headed to dine with fellow royalty at the Castle, whereas the Princess-Allergic parties in our group (DH, our boys, SIL, BIL, and their boys) were headed for a date with Pooh and the gang at CP. Buses were prompt at BWV, and we made it to the MK in good time. I had wanted to capture all the kids in front of the castle for a picture, but darn that family of mine they must have been hungry, cause they raced up Main Street and next thing you knew they were in the Crystal Palace before I could catch them. Rats. So I took a bunch of pictures of DD, who was dressed quite splendidly in a blue sundress and crown for the occasion. Which reminds me of a quick rant -- why is it that you can be poised, obviously taking a picture, camera in hand, subject posing sweetly, with NO ONE ELSE AROUND -- and suddenly someone will invariably sashay RIGHT ON THROUGH? You accept those strangers in your photos when it's crowded, but we had an unobstructed view of dd and the Castle and then bam -- along comes this lady and her crew and they just stand there.. and stand there... and stand there. And no -- they were HARDLY picturesque, unless in sort of a abstract, misplaced Picasso sort of way. Unreal. Rant over.
We headed into the castle, and dd was reallllly getting excited now, Those murals outside, the suit of armor, the big throne, the stairwell she insisted that this was DEFINITELY the stairwell from Sleeping Beauty, so I let her believe it just dont tell Cinderella. It was all pure enchantment to Caroline! We were seated right away no wait at all. Thats the beauty of an 8:05 seating, I suppose! The food was quite tasty, although honestly, that French toast was just not what I expected. Good, yes but more fried than I imagined it would be, and the shape was very fat and round (as opposed to more traditional French toast that is flat, like, well, TOAST!) The princesses came over one by one, and we thought the interaction was pretty much perfect enough space to allow dd to actually eat, but not ever so long in-between as to feel you were really waiting. Present at the meal were Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Belle, and Mary Poppins (and of course, the big blue cheese herself, Cindy). Im not sure how Mary came to be in the company of princesses, nor do I understand why Belle only ever seems to wear her peasant girl clothes (shes in a castle didnt any of her books ever teach her how to dress for formal meals, for Petes sake?) In any case, when Belle came up, she asked my dd, And who might you be? Caroline didnt even blink an eye and with a straight face said back, Oh, Im Cinderella. Belle (and the table as a whole) chuckled on this, which only made dd indignant enough to then look at us all and say in seriousness, Stop Laughing! I AM Cinderella! I guess that other lady in the gown was just a big fraud, because the real deal was seated at OUR table! In any case, then Belle asked if Caroline had any questions for her, to which my daughter said, Yes. Belle bent down to hear what the question might be. So Caroline again with a straight face posed her all-important query:
Does the Beast have fleas?
Belle laughed on this and said quickly, No but Gaston does! But dont you tell him I said that, ok? She then asked if dd could do her one special favor please eat all her French toast sticks. Why she chose that, I dont know, since dds plate was full of food -- maybe because they are French? I dont know. But darned if dd didnt scarf em all down. Im wondering at this point if Belle can come to our house for dinner when we serve french-cut green beans
I should note that Mary Poppins is of special significance to my niece Brittany, now 16 yrs old. When Britt was just a little nipper about age 3, she went to a breakfast wherein Mary Poppins appeared. Brittany immediately jumped up from the table, ran to Mary Poppins and threw her arms and legs around her in a starfish-to-a-rock type suction action. My sister tried several times to extract her dd off Mary, but Brittany wasnt to be removed, and Mary kept saying no, it was quite alright, in her very proper way. Perhaps it was that my sisters extraction techniques were at risk of injuring or defrocking poor Mary, but in any case, it was a moment to be remembered. So when Mary came around to our table, we had to get a picture of the two of them together. Fortunately this time Brittany showed great self restraint no suction cup action involved. Mary did give Caroline a big lipsticky kiss on her cheek, though Caroline proudly sported it around for the rest of the day. I thought Caroline would positively melt when Aurora and Cinderella came. Aurora is her true favorite (Caroline goes around the house with her silver wand zapping things singing Make it pink! Make it blue! like the fairies.) And of course, Cinderella is the hostess, so gotta love her. Got some great pics of this Ill share in a later post.
During the breakfast, our server chatted with us. She was a delightful lady who took great care of us. She called me HRH The Queen (I noted my sister was older than me how come she wasnt the queen but she said it was evident I was the head of this group. Hmmmm Is that royal-talk for obvious control freak?) She told us an interesting tale about how Snow White once commented on a child who wouldnt do as her parents were asking and so the princess said, in her sweetest Snow White voice, Ohhh, I see were feeling a bit Grumpy today, are we? The mother became infuriated demanded her partys meals be free, seeing as how THEIR Princess had insulted HER princess be she grumpy or not. What a wunnerful world we live in, folks.
I used coupons to pay for the adult breakfasts this saved a great deal (about 25 bucks!) since I was paying for 4 adults! After the meal, we went to the bathroom to change dd into more comfy clothes. In comes our server I had forgotten to sign the charge slip for my dds meal. I assured her that no princesses had insulted us and we werent trying to stiff her for my dds meal! We headed down the stairs and found the Fairy Godmother in the big chair. DD was so tickled to spy Cinderellas mice hiding up in the rafters of this lobby except she grew more and more concerned that THEY WERENT MOVING. What was with THAT, Mom? Are they dead? Oh horror upon horrors she became convinced rigor mortise had set in on poor Jacques and Gus-Gus. Fortunately, before I had to delve into too deep of an explanation, it was our turn to visit the FG. This lady does an awesome job with the kids HOWEVER she set me up for some difficulties! She asked my dd what she wanted to ride once she left the castle dd responded immediately, The Painted Ponies! Carousels have always been my dds fave ride. So FG goes into great lengths to inform my dd that there is ONE HORSE that is Cinderellas horse, and tells her where it is located, what it looks like, etc. Well as you can imagine, now nothing would do that not only did dd need to ride that carousel, but it had to be on THAT HORSE. It was barely 9 am, so the lines were nonexistent at the carousel. I figured this was our best perhaps only - chance to find this horse. While waiting for the Pooh crowd to show up, my sister and nieces decided to catch Philharmagic, so dd and I made a dash for the horses. Caroline and I went through the ENTIRE carousel, and for the life of us, we couldnt find the horse that FG described. DD kept talking about the golden ribbon in its tail. In a moment of panic, I said, THERE! Look a gold ribbon! Around the tail! THIS MUST BE IT! With a smile, DD climbed aboard and was ever so happy. Of course, I knew it wasnt the right one. I had seen a pic of the correct horses behind before on some web site, and this wasnt it. The right horse would have had the ribbon IN its tail this had some gold detailing that went around and under. . (What can I say, I know a horses behind when I see one ) But as I scanned the horsey horizon while we rode, I still couldnt find that bloomin horse, and now, to make matters worse, I was getting motion sick looking for it! You owe me one, Fairy Godmomma. And if there is a special place in Hades for Moms who tell their kids white lies just to make them happy, Im there.
Once the carousel came to a stop, we met up with the Pooh Crew. They seemed to have enjoyed their meal as well, although they were greatly detained at the end waiting on Tigger to finally come to their table. We went into Philharmagic; sister and her gals were exiting and liked it so well, they went back in again with us. The theater was fairly empty we could sit wherever we pleased, really. And let me just say -- This show is simply INCREDIBLE. Im not one to reach out and try to touch virtual reality, but I found myself often reaching, grasping just to experience how CLEAR it all was, right before my eyes, yet not really there at all a 3D mirage of sorts! The Lion King segment was phenomenal, with all those crystal clear layers spinning in different directions. WOW. And it didnt hurt at all that the story line was so cute. DH, by the way, is one of those rare gifted folk who does an AWESOME Donald Duck voice. You know the old Disney advertisement, wherein the wife complains to hubby in bed that he doesnt talk to her like he used to and he says, Aw, cmon, its different now, were older, etc. Finally, he caves in, turns to her and says, alright, alright, and then says something in Donald Duck voice remember that one? I sure do. Because Disney stole that from our house, Im convinced. Thats me and DH I have even said those exact words to him! So as we exit, and DH is doing his best duck persona to the delight of the kids, I blush now to admit that I was ready to take him to some secluded place and ruffle his feathers! It was, after all, our anniversary forgive me.
<a href='http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008' target='_blank'><img src='http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/4/4_13_6.gif' alt='Blushy 2' border=0></a>
From Philharmagic, sis and her gals split from us, and headed over to Epcot. The remainder of us then did the usual array of rides that folks with kids under 10 do: Dumbo, Pooh, Peter Pan. We headed to Toon Town and met Max and Goofy, then rode the Barnstormer. The kids wanted to ride the little race cars, so we dipped down in that direction next. Personally, I dont care for the little things. You are stuck on that track, you putt-putt along, and youre done, yet it always has one of the longest waits in all of MK. I sat out with SIL and the baby on this one. (Bulletin: I should take this time to note that the baby has been INCREDIBLY good through all of this. This is a low maintenance kid, and he has done remarkably well through it all. So long as you kept him fed and dry, he was good to go. And he seemed to be enjoying all the activity around him the sights and such. It was a successful intro to all that is Disney for the little man! End of bulletin.)
We kept a sort of relay going throughout our MK day. One scout would zoom ahead, grab fast passes, then return to the group to ride something, then, while en route to the fast pass ride, another scout would zoom ahead to grab the next FP. Worked very well, and we kept in touch via radios so we didnt waste time trying to find out where we the group had gone, etc. Doing it this way, we also rode Buzz, Jungle Cruise, and POC. Call me warped but I love the really bad jokes on the Jungle Cruise. After POC, a few of us were treading water, so a trip to the bathrooms were in order. BIL and I were standing outside the bathroom area near POC gift shop and BIL says, Hey, I wonder why this area has these ropes here? Whats this que for the can? Hmmm curious indeed. Well, we didnt have to wait long to find out next thing we knew, bam there was Captain Hook and Smee behind the cue .soon followed by Peter Pan! And we were at the head of the line. Heck, we WEREthe line, as it took folks a while to figure out they were there. Peter took a wonderful length of time with the kids and made great efforts to address each one by name. He asked them what their favorite rides were, what they liked best, what parks they had visited, etc. I think this began to tick off some folks who had now gotten in line. Testy testy. Bet their pockets had run out of magic for sure. After our turn with Peter was over, a couple approached the CM and said their camera had failed to capture a pic of their child with the Pan Man could they grab a quick shot? I thought this one guy in the line was gonna go postal. Ridiculous the pic took all of 5 seconds and the CM had traffic moving again per usual, but this guy was enfuriated that he had to wait those additional few seconds to brighten someone ELSE'S trip. (I was tempted to go over to Hook and point at the man in need of Anger Management 101 and say, Sick em, Hooky.)
After the Tiki Birds, we headed to Splash, where we had more fast passes. None of the kids seemed interested in BTMRR for some reason I think by this time they were getting burned out. The guys knew they were coming back that evening, too, for Eride, so they werent going to push it. And we could tell a storm was abrewing overhead. We would do well to get these FPs for Splash used before the rains hit. At Splash, Evan again started his painful debate should I stay or should I go? (reminiscent of that old The Clash song of the same words If I go there will be trouble . If I dont it will be double ). My nephew didnt want to go on Splash Mountain either, so BIL took both his sons and Evan on the train ride around the park. (Very convenient, with the station right there). DH, Caroline, Ryan, me and my SIL all went on Splash. And dd JUST LOVED IT. She immediately wanted to go again. We had a few fast passes left, so just she and I went again. Her one complaint But I wanted to sit in the FRONT, Mom! After it was over, she looked at the mist of water on my face and arms with great envy. With her size, she was fairly dry, nested down in the log as she was. She says to me with a sigh, shaking her head sadly, I should have been where YOU were sitting. If we had had more FPs she would have easily gone again and again and again.
From there we all joined back together and headed out of the park for Main Street. BIL and SIL wanted to buy the kids each a hat to commemorate the trip. A very nice gesture that nearly caused a tightly-wound Evan to completely unravel. All week he had commented about those Goofy hats (you know the ones the ball cap with the big eyes, and teeth that hang from the brim). He kept noting that he wanted to get one when he did his shopping at DTD later that week. Well, opportunity was now: his aunt and uncle said pick a hat, any hat! He immediately grabbed a Goofy hat. His brother and cousin, however, went for Sorcerer Mickey hats instead. Hmmm. You could just see Evans gears turning. Why did they want that hat, instead of Goofy? Wasnt the Goofy hat cool? Or was it yikes Goofy? Would the Sorcerer hat be cooler? Was he making a mistake? Would his life be forever impacted by this decision? You could just see him building to the crescendo, on his knees yelling, Oh God Why Must My Life Be So HARRRRRRDDDDD?!?!? And yes, all over choosing a hat. Of course, SIL and BIL and DH didnt see this coming but I sure did. By the time I got to him (after helping Caroline go through no less than 50 hats, of which she wanted 47), he was a mess. I tried to help him realize that this didnt HAVE to be painful it was intended as a joy, a gift. We needed to calm down and look at the facts and make this easier, not harder. I told him to at least TRY THE HATS ON it might make his decision really easy. Did one feel better than another? Evan is nearly obsessive compulsive when it comes to clothing. You know that whole tagless revolution in clothing? Yup that was stolen straight from our house too I swear we must have hidden cameras in our Cheerios. So he tries them on and he stops obsessing long enough to realize that hey this Sorcerers hat is hot. Goofy, on the other hand, is kinda cool, breezy, ventilated. Evan overheats very easily so this factor alone was a hefty one. He checks out the design hmm, Sorcerers hat didnt do anything to shade the sun from his face and Goofy had those cool ears hanging down. In the end, Evan went with his first instinct and got the Goofy hat, crisis over. Caroline finally settled on a Princess Minnie hat (pointy like Sorcerers hat but in pink sparkles with an attached veil and black mousie ears). Ryan and his cousin stuck to their guns with the Sorcerer Mickey hats. And so, with hats on head and threatening skies above, we headed out of the Kingdom and over to the monorail. We were all kinda draggin, so when we saw the monorail ready to board, we jumped on to the wrong one. As we sailed past the GF, I thought hey, we didnt stop! Rut Row, Raggy better get off at TTC and switch this train ride around. So we disboard, go down the ramp, up the ramp, then re-board (in what had, by now, become a downpour). Fortunately, first stop was our destination: the Poly. At Ohana, sis and her gals met back up with us again. In the lounge area as we waited, a TV was detailing the current news on a weather system in the south Atlantic known as Charley. My sister expressed concern, since she was due to head back to S.C. on Friday should she leave early or should she stay later? (Help -- I'm gonna revert back to The Clash song again, somebody stop me...)
So I told her what any sensible person would tell a fretting sib: Eat dinner! Well figure out the rest later! We were seated at Ohana fairly promptly, right in the middle of the section that the kids do their coconut races around. We had a huge table to seat all 12 of us. I was craving a LapuLapu, but as I would have the singular care and responsibility of 4 children that night at MK for fireworks, I nixed the idea and opted for sobriety and an iced tea. The waitress brought the youngest kids each a drink in a plastic cup with an umbrella in it, but for our eldest, he got a regular cup. GoofyHatBoys face just kinda fell. Too old for umbrellas. I pulled the server aside and explained, and she kindly brought a drink like the others just for him, along with extra little umbrellas. That got the smile back into place.
The food here was the rave of my DH. I have never heard him carry on so about a meal. He acted like I had kept this place a secret from him and wanted it added immediately to our registry of Things We MUST Do Again! The "meat on a stick" (as my kids call "kebabed" foods) was all very moist and tender. I loved the dips, too -- the cilantro one was very good on the chicken. Eldest son loved the chicken wings and DH kept stealing my shrimp. The kids enjoyed the races and hula hooping. DH did NOT enjoy the singing, however. He asked me, Is that real, true, authentic Hawaiian singing? My Polynesia-detecting skills were rusty, but having been to Hawaii and having family who has lived there for over 30 years, I nodded yes, it sure seemed to be. To which he chewed a while and then bluntly responded, Well thats bad. When hes not bragging about being #3, he can be a man of very few words.
There is one aspect of the meal that, given the chance, I would do differently my middle childs seating and menu. Seating him next to his cousin is just far too distractive for him. I dont think he gave his food a chance. Secondly, had I known my little carnivore was not going to like what I thought to be a very Atkins-lovin meat filled menu, I would have ordered him a hot dog or such from Kona. He didnt touch much of his meal, and said he would only return to Ohana if given the alternative-menu-option. (DH said, By all means then GET THE KID A MENU next time! Cause we are GOING BACK!) And in retrospect dd probably should have sat closer to me she was too busy hamming it up for my nieces and sister to eat much food. But I guess in the name of family togetherness, I cant complain we can eat any ol time, but how often can we do it in the company of so much ohana? After dinner, they brought DH and me 2 cupcakes to celebrate our anniversary, and the waiter asked if we would like him to sing a song he wrote just for the occasion. DH kinda stammered (Uh, that depends -- will it be sung in Hawaiian?). I nodded to the nice man and smiled while elbowing DH and whispering, Just say YES! So they sang an anniversary tribute, and folks clapped, and we blew out our candles. All I needed to make the night complete was an appliance to install ha, just kidding.
As we left the Poly, SIL decided to take the baby back to the resort and call it a night. My nieces headed to MGM to get in a few thrills before Eride night later at MK. My sister decided to tag along with us for a bit, so DH, BIL and I herded the kids onto the monorail and headed back into MK. We did a few rides (namely, Buzz) and then took a spot on the bridge that goes from Tomorrowland over to the Castle hub. This would be a great spot, I decided, since Tinkerbelle would fly right overhead. Sister decided she wanted to beat the throngs of folks so she went back to the Poly (her car was parked there) and figured she would watch Wishes from there, then skeedaddle on back to BW. DH and BIL stayed with me right up until about 9:45, at which time they started making tracks for Splash Mountain (where they told my nieces they would all meet for their E-Ride extravaganza). I now had a very long 15 minutes ahead of me, however, as frustration and fatigue set in with the 9 and under group. I had one double-stroller, in which they were all vying for a spot. I coerced Evan to sit on the sidewalk with me, leaning against the bridge railings, but of course, the ground was too hard, the rails too rigid, the air too still, his siblings too annoying, and he was too "Evan" everything was an "issue" for him. Meanwhile, Ryan, Caroline, and their cousin were in a snit-fit over who could sit where, how, with whom, etc. I ended up holding Caroline (to the joy of my aching back!) just to end the dispute, while Ryan and his cousin shared the stroller and son Evan, still hunkered on the pavement, moaned on. In his distress, he never mentioned his ear, so I was thankful for that much, I guess. At what appeared to be 10 pm on my watch, I told the kids the fireworks would be starting ANY SECOND. Evan begrudgingly stood up and grumped, saying, Waiting is so stupid. We should just GO. There is NOTHING worth this kind of wait.
And then finally the announcement came, and it was time for Wishes. The first few bits of fireworks signaled the start, and when a fully illuminated Tinkerbelle came flying down from the Castle, the kids heads all turned to follow. In the lighting I could see it -- magic! Magic was reflecting back, right off of their faces. A few more flashes of fireworks lit the sky I said excitedly, Look, its Wishes! to my now very sleepy daughter. She pointed at a shooting star firework as it sailed across the sky and murmured, Thats my Wish, Mommy! That pretty one's mine! Right there... and just as that bright light trailed and faded, so too did she, her extended finger slowly dropping as she fell fast asleep against my shoulder. In a brief pause that followed, Evan now turns to me beaming and says, Well that was the BEST fireworks Ive EVER seen! Awesome! He moves as if to leave, smiling brightly. Stunned, I pointed back towards the castle and responded, But Ev, they arent done yet!
They ARENT?!? he says incredulously.
"Ev, they haven't even really BEGUN!"
With that , Wishes went into high gear and he whipped back around to watch. Just as with Philharmagic, I am so impressed by the technology. The ablility to make those fireworks explode on cue in the air like that in time with the music, to burst into patterns like stars and such and that criss-cross of white blinding light wow. No, make that WOW!! (with a double exclamation point!) It was really awesome, and I admit it big sap that I am, I got teary-eyed. Holding my dd, standing there on the bridge watching the castle awash in vibrant color, with the sky illuminating my kids faces in awe, all frozen in wonder, my wish was to hold us all, in that split-second moment, forever. When Wishes finally ended, the kids and I all looked at each other and agreed it was simply the BEST fireworks we had EVER seen.
But as with the end of any dream, now we faced the reality and a sea, no RAGING OCEAN of humanity, all pressing the flesh to get out of there. I placed Sleeping Beauty in the stroller and told the boys to hold onto each other this might get ugly! We crawled our way down Main Street. I toyed with the idea of taking them all for ice cream, or dodging into a store and pressing pennies, ANYTHING to get us out of the stifling crush. But it was already 10:40 by the time we reached Main Street and these kids had a Pirate Cruise in the morning. Plus, I had my nephew in tow and didnt want my SIL to worry or think I had lost him or been accosted by anti-Disney ruffians or something. So we toiled our way slowwwwly on down, adrift in the waves of the exiting hordes. We ditched the stroller, and God love my son Ryan, he wanted to carry stuff for me. I was so welled up now, by the way the kids were behaving Evan was holding his cousins hand and making sure we all stayed together, Ryan was checking on Caroline and making sure our belongings stayed intact, none of them balked when I carried Caroline, and all of them were eager to help me carry other stuff since I had her to tote it was like Wishes had transformed them into a kinder, gentler nation of kids. At long glorious last we freed ourselves from the elbow-to-elbow insanity as we made our way into the bus stop area. At the bus stop, we were all thankful that the line seemed very short and we would soon be on our way back to BWV. About this time, dd came back from Dreamland. I took the opportunity to praise all 4 kids effusively, up one side and down the other, for their behavior in our exodus, and for just for being the great kids that they are. At the end, son Evan (blinking back the kind of tears that comes with praise and honor), blinks again and squints, looking upward at something over my head and says, But why are we in the Beach Club bus line?
Huh? Wait how come that sign didnt also say, Boardwalk why did it only list YC and BC? Oh no. Evan the Ever-Observant then says, There it is! Right across from us hung the sign reading Swan, Dolphin and Boardwalk and under it stood about 2 busses worth of people. I debated taking the YC/BC bus anyway, but the kids had such tired looks, I wasnt sure they could hoof it to BWV from BC, so we made our way over to the BW bus line. And here, we waited. Finally a bus pulled up and began to assist a wheelchaired person inside. Hop up, I told the kids, who were sitting on the ground. Once that chair is in they will load the bus and this line will move. Note the order of that statement: Once that chair is in Well therein lies the problem. They couldnt get the ramp to retract after the chair was loaded. The driver tried and tried. We heard that BeepBeepBeepBeep noise that the retractor makes over and over and over, but no success (other than to make us all hungry, as it sounds just like the signal on fast food french fryer machines). The kids were now piled in sad little puddles at my feet, too tired to stand any longer, or even sit, for that matter. It was now 11:40 pm. After more struggling with this (turning bus off and on, etc) the CMs finally got the stinkin thing to retract and the fans went wild. They loaded the bus and the line moved. It looked as though we would be the first passengers on the next bus, which was a good thing, since these kids really needed seats. Finally another bus comes, and we pile in. I have two boys to my left, and one to my right, and dd on my lap. The bus was really crammed lots of folks standing. As the bus made its way out of MK, a man holding the railing over my head asked, Is the guy in the red yours, because if so, he is out like a light Yup, that was Ryan, dozing hard. And what about the small one leaning against him yours? My nephew. I responded. Also out! he said. Then, peering down at my right-hand side, he says, And the other-" I beat him to it and respond, Yup, also mine and let me guess out? He laughs and says, No, but verrrrry close to it! Wow - How are you gonna carry all those kids, lady? I said I had no idea, but I was prepared to ride in circles all night if I had to until this bus picked up DH and BIL at MK after their e-ride, and then THEY could help me!
We arrived at BW first and I nudged my crew awake. God love em, they are all really good sleepwalkers, because they managed to get onto their feet and walk into the resort and onto the elevator and down the hall and right into their beds. SIL was awake and wondering where we had been. She tended to her son while I got my 3 all tucked in for the night. After fulfilling my fairy duties, I crawled in bed with a very snuggly dd, who let out one of those jagged but contented sighs you know the type, Su-Su-Su-siggghhhhhhhhh How very sweet I wondered if she was dreaming of castles and princesses, of painted ponies and pretty wishes.
I turned on the weather on TV and set the volume low, so as not to wake her from her dreams. Hmmm . Looks like that storm is still lurking out there, and my sister might indeed have some decisions to make for her trip back. But it will probably hit well north of us, maybe Tampa or farther up, so not a concern for our crew. I am so exhausted, I dont even hear DH when he comes in at nearly 2 am. Happy anniversary to us!
COMING NEXT: THE SIXTH DAY (click here!)
YoHo,YoHo, A Hurricanes Comin for Meeeeee (Argghhh!)
Count me among those who can hardly wait for the next installment.
IVY 
They offer but know the answer will be, "Thats ok but I'll do it dear. You just get some rest"
