Ooh, the monorail DOES smell funny... (almost finished!) [11/30-12/17, 2010]

[ClarabelleCowFan]

Precious picture with Peter Pan!

 

[bumbershoot]

Thanks!

Just noticed your "take your child to work" flair...too funny!

 

[bumbershoot]

December 5, day 6 continued​

By this time, food was needed. We headed over to Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe, in need of veggie burgers. And yay, they had some tasty ones!

On the other side of tasty, however, were these new "espresso drinks" they were trying out. "Espresso drink" from a machine...not so much. When Robert brought them over, I thought they were actual lattes, but after I finally took a sip, yuck! I couldn't drink mine. And I decided that they needed to KNOW this.

So we brought mine on back, and they were very happy to get the feedback on this new machine. They let me taste the other two flavors, but they were even worse. And once I've had something gross, I usually lose my hunger. It's why my food aversions while pregnant with Eamon were so so so so hard, because once I'd smelled or tasted something nasty, I couldn't continue to eat. Anyway, so they refunded us. Whew.


It's always a good idea to let food settle before moving on to coasters. Therefore, we did the highly responsible thing and waited....just as long as it took us to get to Space Mountain...to ride the coaster. Robert, Eamon, cousin-hubby, and I went. Poor cousin was left wrangling her tired-out kids, and I hope she did something fun. I think they shopped a little bit. As we went through the FP line I got more and more nervous. And once I could see the ride vehicles, I nearly took Eamon and ran. I couldn't believe that my little wittle bitty itty dude was going to just sit there in his own capsule thing with that flimsy little lap bar, and he'd be tossed around the universe with only that holding him in! My mind made up a million ways he could freak out during the ride, a thousand ways he could accidentally slip out...oh I was a MESS. I was also scared for myself, AND I was wondering why I hadn't left my stuff with my cousin! I had two or three bags, which was just ridiculous. Newbie mistake.

I....seriously disliked the ride. The lapbar slammed my abdomen in ways I hated. Robert had the same experience. And I was sitting behind my wittle bittle tiny guy, and wanted to lean forward and just hold on tight, but I couldn't. So I just reached out and had my hand touching his shoulder, and he put his sweet hand on my hand until about halfway through when the kid was LAUGHING so much and woo-ing and aaaahhhhh-ing so much and didn't need to hold onto my hand because he LOVED THE RIDE SO MUCH.

I will tell you I have mixed feelings about that! Kinda wish he'd hated it. But he does go and get his own feelings and thoughts about things...guess he isn't 1 anymore, eh? Sigh.

There is a strong hope that we'll be able to parlay this into him going on DisneyLAND's Space Mountain, or at least get him to go into the building so that we can get Fast Passes without splitting up. Silver lining, right?


From there, we did two more rides. The rides were the PeopleMover, and Buzz. All of us (minus Auntie who was back at the room) went on both, and we all enjoyed ourselves. The PeopleMover was not as fun (calmly fun) as I thought it might be (after all, people go ga-ga over how much they miss it in Disneyland, so there had to be something fun about it), and I definitely missed the movable blasters on Buzz!

After those two rides, and we waited in stand-by for both of them, it was time to go. I don't remember going home, but I know we did.

What I DO remember of that evening was lovely...the menfolk all gathered round the table to play a rousing game of Lego Minotaurus (do not ask me how to play as I do not know), while the ladies sat on the couches and comfy chairs. My little girlie cousin (once removed) decided I needed to be decorated, and so she proceeded to do just that, in her own little 3 year old way. She put coasters on me, she patted my hair, she positioned me just so...she nearly put me to sleep is what she did. The thing I miss about hanging out with kidlets NOT my own is how Zen they make me. Eamon took me to Zen places when he was tiny, and wasn't all that "interactive" and I could just sit and zone out while nursing him. But once he started scooting then crawling and all of that, needing me to DO things, then the Zen left the building. But kids I babysat, even as a teen, and the kids of my friends, would calm me down and make me SO peaceful, and my little cuz helped me remember that.

That moment, that right there, THAT was the moment I had hoped for when we bought into DVC and decided to treat my family to that short little trip (which was the longest they'd ever stayed onsite, actually). It was right there. One group over there, doing their thing...another group doing other things, just talking, chatting, being together like we never ever are... It was that moment, and I wish I could have bottled it. It was the moment people on the DVC DVDs are thinking about when they are talking up the extended generation family get-togethers they have...

Man oh man, what a moment.

And then my first cousin started falling asleep (scratch that, she fell asleep) and the game ended and the 3 year old lost interest (why must she lose interest in decorating me?), and we all headed off to bed, knowing that the next day was the last of the family part of our trip.

Thank you, slightly surreal, did-more-than-I-remembered, Magic Kingdom day!!!!

 

[kaoden39]

Sorry but the Space Mountain part was funny. I love the fact that E loved it so much and I hope that transfers over to the one in Disneyland. Which by the way I will be visiting in a little over a month. I know what you mean about being so relaxed around kids and them helping you find your zen. There is something perfect in hearing the innocent laugh of a child and the real joy that aren't afraid to share.

You changed the name of your trip report!! It has a name now!!

 

[bumbershoot]

I'm nothing if not honest about the weird moments, like how much I wanted to pick him up and run him out of that line, in my trip reports!

Name change...I was going through my trip posts, trying to find a color/bold combination that didn't make my eyes cross (the plain blue with bold was hurting my retinas), and my eyes just skimmed past the part when I mentioned that the monorail does have a smell...just cracked me up, so I had to change it.




Had my first appointment with this acupuncturist today! Robert actually worked from home because I had such a horrible night (as did my aunt and cousin out in Florida, I found out) coughing etc etc. So I didn't have to bring E with me, which was nice, because I could talk freely about things. The acupuncturist was really nice and great and I felt that she heard me etc etc...and I got some twigs and berries to bring home for a tea. She said "this is the only herbal medicine I have that tastes anywhere near *good*, so enjoy it"...

I'll try it tomorrow!

 

[kaoden39]

I hope it helps Molly. It sounds like your acupuncturist has a good sense of humor and that really helps. Is this something you came home sick with?

 

[Hound 109]

I will say that the beignets are smaller than the ones at Cafe Orleans. And not Mickey shaped. So 9 wasn't as overwhelming as it could have been.

But we still had to throw one or two away. Had to happen!

Beignets are like pancakes & children.....you're supposed to throw the first couple away.

Sorry.....i couldn't resist. Even if it's a quote from Day 2.


Just stumbled across this....very cool....the family bumbershoot invade the park in the swamp.

Cute kid & enjoying the report. Now I'm back to page 4.

 

[bumbershoot]

Welcome, Hound! So glad you're joining us.


Michele, this seems to be some east coast thing I got from my aunt, who seems to have gotten it at Thanksgiving cou(and still has it) from her brother (who still has it), and at least one of my adult cousins got it too.

Robert and Eamon haven't even had a touch of it.

I'm actually quite shocked that my aunt etc haven't gone in to get checked out...they usually would. But my aunt is having problems with her former and current (but on her way out) MDs, for a couple reasons, so maybe that's why. We're all waiting for the others to go in and get swabbed LOL to see what we all have.

The day that stand-alone labs exist where you can walk in and say "test me for xyz" and they DO IT will be a day I will celebrate. I do not need a gatekeeper, I can read lab results all on my own, and if I get a lab result that scares me then I will take it to someone so I can get help...I can't stand the procedure before you even get into an exam room, and when you express an opinion (please test me for strep, etc etc etc) they tend to go the completely other way... Grr.

Anyway, that's a little tangent on my feelings about things...just ignore me LOL.

 

[kaoden39]

Quick question what about the little clinic at Walgreen's for a swab? It isn't quite the same as actually seeing a DR?

 

[bumbershoot]

Drat, that sounded like a good, quick idea, but they don't have 'em in WA. Dangit.

Even the urgent care places here are a huge pain in the whatever. And not all that professional, either. Helped Robert a couple years ago, but I've had nothing but annoying experiences with them.


Oh man this tea is awful. If this is the good-tasting stuff, I hope it's the only tea she gives me!

 

[kaoden39]

Or that is what she tells everyone.

I don't know it the Walgreen's here have them, but I have a friend that uses it in New Jersey when there dr isn't available. I think it is a brilliant idea.

 

[nancy drew]

CVS also has those walk in clinics. Not sure if you have CVS out there, but if you do, that's an option.

Oh, and our Target now has a walk in clinic too!

 

[bumbershoot]

December 6, day 7​

Our last Family day had arrived. It was also moving day for us, and there was one park left that we hadn't been to. In addition to all of that, my other cousin and her little family was going to visit!

Now, with info I got later, I feel like a prize idiot about that day. I thought that the other cousin lived in Tampa, and that it took her time to get to WDW. In reality, she lives in Orlando and it took almost no time at all. So I was fine with us taking time and going slow...when they were *right there*, and I didn't know. There were other tensions coming from my aunt, who said that her daughter and the other cousin had problems...I saw no sign of problems from them, so I have no idea what was actually going on. All I knew is that I didn't grow up with them, have no negative history of them, and just wanted a nice day. Sadly, because I didn't know she had to work later on, and because we were being way too relaxed, we barely got to see her on that day.

I must always have ALL the information!


Another tidbit that I didn't have, well, rather, I believe I ignored, was the weather forecast. That day I wore a t-shirt and shorts. That day, I put my jacket back, because it was sunny and nice as we headed to the bus. That day, I regretted my clothing choices with a burning, or, rather, FREEZING, passion.



So with that said, the morning was nice and relaxed, with packing and breakfast and fun and sadness about them going home. But we did get everything packed, and then magically we found out that our one-bedroom was ready very early. We got out of our 2 bedroom and over to the other by 1, because that's when I started taking pictures that day. (seriously, this whole "I'm not taking notes" thing messed up my whole report!)


The 1-bedroom was the opposite orientation as the 2 bedroom, so I kept running into walls. Which was painful, but funny.

See? You do get towel animals with DVC! Sometimes. (this was our only one)

At last we hit the road, taking the bus over. Even though we were relaxed that day, and although the MK day was busy our trip hadn't yet been, there was some exhaustion...

He also needed a haircut, as you can see from the rooster hair he had going on there.


Tree!

We entered AK and met up with my cousin, her husband, and their daughter. That was fun. Last time I saw this cousin she was living a much much different life than married-with-children, so it was kind of culture shock. She and a cousin on my dad's side definitely show that one's early 20s do not necessarily define your entire life!


Anyway, we met up, there were hugs and introductions to husbands and children, and we all made our way to the Safari. Got in line, prepared for a half hour wait, but then a CM saw the size of our group, approached my aunt, and asked if we'd like to join a safari that was about ready to go...it was a ride vehicle equipped for a wheelchair, and the smaller party was already on it, and they just wanted to fill in the empty spots. We were MORE than happy to do it, of course!


Aw, baby elephant...

The exhaustion continues.

Well, the pictures I took were not that great, and aren't really worth of posting, beyond those two. And let's face it, the one of E wasn't really necesary for the safari, LOL.

It was fun, it was bumpy. I was right up near the driver and still could just barely hear/understand her.

Seeing the animals was really cool, but, and I'm SORRY Animal Kingdom...quite a bit of you (and this includes the Lodge) IS a zoo. AK says they are "nahtazoo" (not a zoo), but I feel they are. A zoo where they take tremendous care of the animals and has huge amounts of space, but still...I felt bad for the animals with us invading their space, and they don't really have the ability to get away from us.

But those are just my feelings NOW, and I don't really put a negative spin on "zoo", so I don't know why people are so vehement against it being a really big, fancy zoo.


After that my batteries died and Robert ran off to buy me some more. Yay, a 4 pack of AAs for only 6.34 with tax!

Then we all went a'walkin' on the Frangipani? no, Edamame? No no, the (found my map) Pangani Forest Exploration Trail.

Was all good except I think there was an arachnid or two, and that'll ruin my day. So I closed my eyes, held my breath, and walked until I found a naked mole rat or something (this is in a little building they have along the trail).

The gorillas were cool, but one of them was dragging around a blanket like it was a security blanket, and I'm not sure that's a natural healthy behaviour. Anyone out there an expert on gorillas? Do they do that naturally? Everyone else thought it was really cute, but...well I just feel sad for gorillas. They seem to be really smart; too smart to be watched all the time. Best moment ever at a zoo was in Seattle when E was just under 2, and he'd been a little beast all day, swinging big sticks (there's a picnic area with sticks fallen from trees all over and he was acting like he was in a caber toss competition at a Scottish Highlands Games or something) and running around...then we got to the gorillas, and one was nursing a baby with her back against the glass...E was just so quiet and stood right near there and could see what she was doing and LOVED it...if only my picture of the moment wasn't blurry (I refuse to use a flash when taking pix of animals, and this area is in the shade at Woodland Park Zoo), but that's OK.

Anyway, I like gorillas and wish they weren't on display, even though we had that lovely moment in Seattle.


Sadly, after the Trail, my Orlando cousin had to go! We had about an hour with her! Not good.


But we came out of the trail just in time for the Jingle Jungle Parade (or something like that). We used the theory of *the further back you stand, the better/broader view you have* for the parade. My aunt, however, wanted us to get closer, and never stopped urging us to move forward. Seriously, we had a great view!

The bathtub below was supposed to smell "good". Like hot chocolate and/or marshmallows, I assume. I thought it smelled *putrid*. Sigh.

From there it was food time!

 

[bumbershoot]

December 6, day 7 continued​

By this time, remember that I wasn't wearing warm clothing, and compare it to whatever clothing you can see in those pictures, I was turning blue. I mean, people were wearing knit caps, and I was wearing shorts. So was Robert, actually, but he wears shorts all year long unless it actually goes BELOW freezing. The weather website says it was between 37 and 53 that day. But that's at the airport, with the full effect of sun. We'd been walking the tree-covered trail, and we were standing in shade to watch the parade. It wasn't anywhere near 53 (aka "shorts weather" during a western WA spring!) where we were at that time.


People were hungry and it was around 4pm, so we went to Pizzafari. I liked this place. First, it was nicer in design than I thought it was going to be. Second, a CM caught a *hint* of us talking about food allergies/sensitivities, and they brought out their *manager* with the big ingredient book. They took it more seriously than we did, actually. I did need to know about the ingredients in a cupcake, as they were giving them to the kids at the table. The cupcake wasn't acceptable due to HFCS, so we passed, and they were happy to give him something else that was safe. Yay.

Everyone enjoyed their dinner except my aunt. And it wasn't her fault. It seems that a salt shaker opened** and spilled ALL over her food. She had the veggie pizza, as did a few of us at the table. But for her pizza, it was so salty you nearly puckered while tasting it. This wasn't OK.

So she and cousin took it up to the front, where they offered her something else. She chose the antipasto salad. Started eating it, and again, entire salt shaker, all over it. It was passed to me because the biggest complaint was the artichoke hearts, and I looooove artichoke hearts, whether canned, marinated, or just cooked. I took a bite and had to spit it out. SO salty. Nasty.

Now, my aunt is like me, and once her meal is ruined there's nothing to be done. But, they had been paid nearly $10 for this meal, this meal that was awful (and no one else's was, so it wasn't just the way that dish is prepared), and they needed to know that there was something wrong. We convinced her that we had to take care of it, and this time my cousin and I went up, because my aunt didn't want to be part of it (she just wanted to go...which I understood, because having a meal ruined is just awful, especially when you are part hobbit like we are (family joke)).

They really balked at helping us, but the fact that we weren't angry but were stern, and we were acting on behalf of our relative, and I had tasted both and found both awful (and the pizza being different than the other veggie pizzas at the table), helped.

Here's a hint, CMs. If a customer comes up and wants a refund on something, just do it. Don't offer more food. Because if the second food is bad, they will be more annoyed. But here's the thing...again, don't balk at the refund! What's $10 to you? Seriously, it's nothing.

Because what happened is that you kept saying "no", and then the manager was called out (calmly but firmly), and then they comped a meal for 3 adults and 2 children. Which was FAR more money than just the ONE meal that was problematic. (the meal for me, E, and R was on a separate check)

I'm not sure if I mentioned it, but on our MK day when I gave them feedback about the "latte drink", they refunded both of our drinks, even though Robert liked his. It seems to be easier to just refund the whole thing for them, but it wasn't necessary to refund R's drink, and it wasn't necessary to refund upwards of $50 for one $10 meal. But they did!

Aside from all of that, the rest of us really enjoyed our food there. Just know that sometimes it might end up far saltier than it's even supposed to be.


We wandered just a bit more, but the sun was going down, and I was seriously starting to freeze my tushie off. It was time to shop for a sweatshirt.


We spent about an hour roaming the giftshops, searching for something that was cute, was not expensive, and was in my size. I did not find that sweatshirt. Which was very frustrating. If I had been the only cold one, I might have sucked it up, grabbed an adult beverage, and continued on, but my aunt had also left her heavy coat (difference between a Floridian and me, she needed a heavy coat, I just wanted my jacket) either in the 1 bedroom or in their car, and she was getting miserable as well. So it was time to GO.


Oh OH oh wait. On our way out, I saw something that my family members had seen, but I hadn't (I seem to get really clueless at Disney, it's why I can go so many times and still have each visit feel so new and fresh...I can also read mystery novels 3, sometimes even 4 times, and not remember "whodunnit"). The big white crane/egret-type birds sleep in trees at night. They curl themselves into a sort of oval, and perch on the branches. It's the WILDEST thing (literally wild, obviously). So we're crossing over a bridge on our way out to Guest Relations, and I see these white balls in the trees. That's when I was told that everyone already saw that in Epcot and wherever, and where was I etc etc...oh well!

I only wish that my pix had turned out but they didn't. Drat. Well, look for those big white birds in the trees. It looks like something out of Seuss, seriously.


The 3 of us separated from the pack because I needed to upgrade our tickets. By this time my brain had started to gelatinize due to the cold, and I literally could barely think. Talking wasn't so easy, either. I was SO cold. It was around 40 degrees by then. Not horrifyingly cold, but one generally doesn't roam around in a tee and shorts in 40 degrees, now does one?

Thankfully I had my notebook with my upgrade-math written down.

Recently there was a post on the Theme Park forum about an AK Guest Relations CM (and manager, and another manager elsewhere) insisting that Undercover Tourist tickets are UNauthorized, that they can't be upgraded, that they are upgraded because WDW feels sorry for guests who are taken by UCT, and that if they are upgraded, you only get the cost that UCT paid for the tickets...

Well I don't know what was up with those CMs, but my CM was a peach. I said "I want to upgrade our 7 day tickets to a regular DVC AP, here's my husband and his DVC card; I can't think, so before you charge the card will you please tell me the total?" She said "yes ma'am." I said "Oh, and do you do the 'bridging' thing with cost?" And she smiled and said "yes we do."

She told me the exact number I had written down, which equaled a savings of $98.83 compared to just buying the DVC APs outright, and all was good.

Here's my secret that I'm only posting here...she also make the APs good until that day, Dec 6, of 2012, when they should have been good only until the 2nd. Shhhhh.


There's a giftshop once you leave the park, and I stopped there. I wanted, wanted SO BADLY, this adorable safari hat with Mickey ears on it, that I'd seen a million times on the Stacey "must sees" show. Alas, they are only in CHILD sizes! When I watched Stacey after trying the hat on, I noticed she just has it perched on her head. Should have noticed that before. Oh I was disappointed.

But I was also freezing, and we found a baby blue WDW sweatshirt that was decent, and actually worked in a smaller size than I normally would have gone for, so I bought that puppy! Woo!



Waited for the bus, got the bus, sad more sad goodbyes to the family (people were crying here)... They left and we just stood around staring at each other...what do we do next? Then "knock knock", it was cousin's hubby... When we first met, he showed me these watches that his friend was selling. I was planning to buy them, as they were very cool Mickey watches, but I totally forgot. Well, he had gotten to the car, and was overcome with emotion...he grabbed them, came back, hugged me, put them in my hands and said a heartfelt "thank you", hugged me again, and then left again. It was the second best Family part of this trip. Not that I got free watches, but that this sweet man was so emotional about this potentially stressful and awful trip, this trip that was actually quite good despite all I've said about tension and whatnot, that he wanted me to have these watches...

So then they really left, and I burst into tears and so did Eamon and Robert... Despite the stress and 3 crazy kids and mother/daughter stuff and all of that, it was a Most Excellent Family Trip, those 4 nights...


Robert ran off to the Conch Flats "general store", bought some more supplies, I unpacked in our 1 bedroom villa (turns out that when I unpack, especially the bathroom/beauty stuff, it makes the stay there FEEL much much longer to me~ makes me happier), and Robert found himself an awesome zip-up hoodie *in his size* at that store and bought it. Aside from the short time with the other cousin, and the fact that I lost braincells to frostbite that day (poor brain cells), could it have been a better day???

Yes, it could! Because the cousins called on their way out, letting us know that they too had stopped at the general store, and that AP holders get a 10% merchandise discount, which also counts for food purchases...so he went back in a few days later, showed them the AP upgrade receipt, then the sweatshirt purchase a few hours later, and they refunded him the 10%. Yay!


A good day, along with being cold and sad. But still good. Yay for the AK day!


**not necessarily what really happened, but it tasted like it!

 

[kaoden39]

I am sorry for the sad but it all sounds good. How fun finding a sweat shirt in a smaller size. That makes it a win win I think. And that 10% discount is a nice little surprise isn't it?

 

[bumbershoot]

Yeah, it was a pullover sweatshirt, and if I bought the size that matches my shirts (bought in that size so they go down far enough to make me not feel like I'm flashing belly skin) it could be pulled all the way down, but then the bottom hits at my thighs and that does weird things to pants etc. I could have just let it "bell" around the waist/hip area but that was even less flattering. So I got the size below it, and I let it "bell" (does that make sense at all?) at the waist/hip, and there's not as much fabric as with the larger size, and I feel OK in it.

Sigh. Gotta lose this weight so I can just buy stuff and not agonize.

 

[kaoden39]

I know me too. I made myself a promise that I am going to start cutting back on portions again.

 

[PoohNFriends]

Hi bumbershoot!
1st time reader of one of your TR's, but I regognize your name from other DVC and DL posts. Love the TR so far - sounds like you had a very memorable time with extended family, too bad those trips never last long enough. I also love that you use confuzzled and dagnabit, I've been known to use them in my conversations too!
Can't wait to read and see more of your trip!

 

[bumbershoot]

Michele, best of luck with portion control!


Poohnfriends, welcome! I love using those phrases. I had a roommate freshman year of college who said stuff like that, and it just seemed to stick.



****************

I would have gotten back to things earlier today, but we FINALLY took the Yule Log (aka xmas tree LOL) down. And, just like every year, found a nasty BIG HUGE web all over the stupid backside of the tree. AUGHHHHHHHH.

Can't do that anymore. We're getting a fake tree. That's all there is to it.

Yay, the living room looks so much cleaner now...

 

[kaoden39]

We have a fake tree and every once in a while I get a real tree. I miss the smell of a fresh tree, and the air fresheners just don't have the right smell for me. I think that this year we are going to get a new fake tree, our last one is starting to look a little bedraggled.

I love the decorations, but you know I am not sad when they come down. To me that is a sign that spring is just around the corner. It is aways down the block to the corner but it is there.