mom23boyz
Wishing I Had a Magic Wand
- Joined
- Dec 15, 2004
- Messages
- 481
Cast of Characters
Me (41) Dis Board Junkie who would rather spend time planning trip than cooking dinner.
DH (41) Funder of trip and generous earner of frequent flier miles to get us there appreciates all the Disney planning, not so thrilled with the no dinners thing.
DS (10) Thrill-Seeker very excited to be going to the World. Been twice to Disneyland and loves any ride that goes fast, high or upside-down.
DS (8) Drama King charming child who loves meeting the characters, thinks hes a thrill-seeker (but is still a little frightened of upside-down) and may blow a gasket at any time. Been to Disneyland once.
DS (4) Binky Boy Happy to be going anywhere the family goes, as long as hes with Mom. Still needs a binky at night, but will assail brothers with full blows when provoked. Also been to DL once.
Trip Dates: 1/7/05 1/15/05
Thursday, January 13
Today, we sleep in a little. Disney is fun, but just exhausting. Having come from so far away, we dont know when we may get back here, so we are not inclined to do much sleeping, relaxing or vegging. That being said, we scheduled our wake-up call for 7:30 sleeping in for this group. The phone rings and I hurtle out of bed and over to the daybed to wake up Drama King so he can hear who it is. He listens intently, reports it was Stitch and then Mickey and promptly lies back down to sleep.
DH dons his baseball cap and heads down to the Boardwalk in search of food and better coffee. He returns with bagels, cream cheese, cereal and a small carton of milk, three bottles of juice, coffee and some sort of hot egg, sausage thing for himself. The boys are dead to the world and its a beautiful morning, so we sit outside on our patio enjoying the peace and eating our breakfast. This is how we make our plan for the day. Everyone wanted to hit Blizzard Beach again and I thought it would be fun to try the WinterSummerland mini-golf right next door, so thats where we will head.
We get everyone up, fed and out the door and are at BB at 10 when it opens. The weather has turned a little blustery, though still warm. We decide to go stake out a good spot, leave our towels and such, then hit WinterSummerland first until the weather calms down. We find some lounges near the Ski Patrol Training area (for kids under 12) and the kids are so excited, they all vote to stay and slide now. We shrug our shoulders and say OK and watch as the wind whips their little wet bodies and they shiver, but love it. Binky Boy tries the floating ice bergs course where you try to hang onto the net overhead while walking upright on the moving ice bergs below. He is barely tall enough to reach the net and struggles mightily to get across much to the dismay of the others lined up and shivering behind him. He ends up jumping in and swimming over to the ladder and on to something else, but in a few minutes, that child is back and trying it again. He makes it his personal mission to master this thing and works on it almost the whole time were there!
Thrill-Seeker appears from somewhere and asks when we can all go on Teamboat Springs, the multi-person raft slide. DH and I have been sitting contentedly, but decide we need to do a little family ride, so we head over to the ski lift since neither of us feels we need to do a little stair climbing. We send the three boys up ahead of us and we follow behind. When we arrive at the top, Binky Boy is crying and apparently was scared the whole way up thinking he would fall off the lift, poor baby. This turned out to be the only ride at Disney he didnt like! DH and I enjoy the view from the top you can see the Epcot Ball, the MGM hat and Space Mountain. We all get in the raft and head down the slide what a ball! Everyone loved it! There was a photographer at the bottom taking pictures, which actually turned out good when we looked at them, so we bought one. We all wanted to ride again, but had to climb the stairs this time due to Binky Boy.
After another ride, we all do the lazy river together, the part ways and settle back down in the lounge chairs. The wind has settled down, but formerly clear skies are looking ominously like change is coming. By 1:00, we are ready to move over to the golf course, which the boys had read about in their books. The Winter side was closed for repair, so we played the Summer side. It was fun, but with five people, three of them kids, we moved slowly and had to let other groups play through several times. This combined with the fact that the older two are highly competitive and not good sports, made this event less than ideal. 18 holes was a little too long 9 holes would have been perfect.
By 3:30, we were on our way back to the BWI. With a PS for Fultons Crab House at Downtown Disney at 5:00, this left us very little time for lounging around. We did manage to have a quick beer out on our patio as the boys de-compressed with their Gameboys. Here is a good place to mention the importance of these little wonders towards maintaining the sanity of our trip. At home, with room to spread out, the kids spend a lot of time just doing their own thing. During an 8-day vacation all in one room, each of them playing their own Gameboy became the equivalent of going off on their own and was a Godsend. Each time we returned to our rooms, thats the first thing they did, leaving us in peace for some small amount of time!
At Fultons, we are seated right away at a window table. The service is prompt and the décor is fun. DH has been looking forward to this meal all week, being a big crab fan. We catch and eat crabs all summer long back home, but here they have different types and he wants Stone Crabs. I order a white fish from New Zealand and we both order some of the crab and lobster bisque, which was very disappointing. My fish is OK, but nothing to write home about and DH said the stone crabs were not what he remembered from a previous visit to the East Coast. The boys all want spaghetti, but of course the childs plate is not enough, so they have to get two each. Overall, we liked the place, but not the food so much.
We head back to the Boardwalk to catch the boat to Epcot for EMH. Once again, with Disney transport, we see our boat pulling away as we arrive at the dock and wait 20 minutes for another one. Its dark by this time and starting to sprinkle slightly. The boat finally arrives and we head on to the back entrance to Epcot. As we round the end of the Boardwalk, we are stunned to see the entrance RIGHT THERE! We had never walked that far, so had no idea it was that close. Needless to say, we felt like total idiots having stood out in the rain waiting 20 min for a boat!
Rent a stroller for the two younger boys and we head off to finish the World Showcase. First stop is France, where I buy myself a glass of champagne and we take pix of the kids with berets on standing in front of an easel. Then were on to Morocco, Japan and the US. DH is doing a mini version of beers around the world as we walk. I am noticing all the things that we have not yet seen namely the characters who would have been at these places during the day Aladdin, Aurora, Belle, Mulan and also the only showing of American Adventure left that evening would be during Illuminations, which we didnt want to miss. To be honest, Im now in a small state of panic when I think about how little time is left and all that we havent yet done! As we begin to look for a place to watch the show, DH purchases us both a good old-fashioned American beer and I park us back in front of Japan. Thrill-Seeker is also a sushi lover and we had promised him some, so while were waiting, DH goes off to find it and comes back with a tray of it for the boys and Japanese beer for us.
Illuminations starts up and at some point during the show, I see a pair of ducks swim serenely by while all around there are flames and lights and loud noises. Ill never forget that! This is a good show, but probably my least favorite of the nighttime spectaculars. Now we are on our way into Future World to see Honey I Shrunk the Audience and ride Mission Space. Binky Boy bails on this for some reason I think he thought we might actually leave the planet, so he and I wait in the kids play area for the other three, then I take a turn with TS and DK. By now its eleven and we are wiped, so I suggest we walk right out front and take the bus home rather than go all the way back to the International Gateway to get to the BWI. Bad idea. Even though I know I had read this in the Unofficial Guide, I forgot that there are no busses to Boardwalk from Epcot. We had already turned in the stroller and everyone was exhausted. I just sat down on a bench, throwing up my arms and shaking my head. Some really nice CM came right over to ask the problem and told us to go catch the bus to MGM and that at this time of night, the driver would drop us at the Boardwalk on the way back.
We get in late and have big plans to hit the Magic Kingdom EMH at 8 the next morning Yikes! The wake-up call is for 6:30 and its past midnight now. Our last day is officially here
Me (41) Dis Board Junkie who would rather spend time planning trip than cooking dinner.
DH (41) Funder of trip and generous earner of frequent flier miles to get us there appreciates all the Disney planning, not so thrilled with the no dinners thing.
DS (10) Thrill-Seeker very excited to be going to the World. Been twice to Disneyland and loves any ride that goes fast, high or upside-down.
DS (8) Drama King charming child who loves meeting the characters, thinks hes a thrill-seeker (but is still a little frightened of upside-down) and may blow a gasket at any time. Been to Disneyland once.
DS (4) Binky Boy Happy to be going anywhere the family goes, as long as hes with Mom. Still needs a binky at night, but will assail brothers with full blows when provoked. Also been to DL once.
Trip Dates: 1/7/05 1/15/05
Thursday, January 13
Today, we sleep in a little. Disney is fun, but just exhausting. Having come from so far away, we dont know when we may get back here, so we are not inclined to do much sleeping, relaxing or vegging. That being said, we scheduled our wake-up call for 7:30 sleeping in for this group. The phone rings and I hurtle out of bed and over to the daybed to wake up Drama King so he can hear who it is. He listens intently, reports it was Stitch and then Mickey and promptly lies back down to sleep.
DH dons his baseball cap and heads down to the Boardwalk in search of food and better coffee. He returns with bagels, cream cheese, cereal and a small carton of milk, three bottles of juice, coffee and some sort of hot egg, sausage thing for himself. The boys are dead to the world and its a beautiful morning, so we sit outside on our patio enjoying the peace and eating our breakfast. This is how we make our plan for the day. Everyone wanted to hit Blizzard Beach again and I thought it would be fun to try the WinterSummerland mini-golf right next door, so thats where we will head.
We get everyone up, fed and out the door and are at BB at 10 when it opens. The weather has turned a little blustery, though still warm. We decide to go stake out a good spot, leave our towels and such, then hit WinterSummerland first until the weather calms down. We find some lounges near the Ski Patrol Training area (for kids under 12) and the kids are so excited, they all vote to stay and slide now. We shrug our shoulders and say OK and watch as the wind whips their little wet bodies and they shiver, but love it. Binky Boy tries the floating ice bergs course where you try to hang onto the net overhead while walking upright on the moving ice bergs below. He is barely tall enough to reach the net and struggles mightily to get across much to the dismay of the others lined up and shivering behind him. He ends up jumping in and swimming over to the ladder and on to something else, but in a few minutes, that child is back and trying it again. He makes it his personal mission to master this thing and works on it almost the whole time were there!
Thrill-Seeker appears from somewhere and asks when we can all go on Teamboat Springs, the multi-person raft slide. DH and I have been sitting contentedly, but decide we need to do a little family ride, so we head over to the ski lift since neither of us feels we need to do a little stair climbing. We send the three boys up ahead of us and we follow behind. When we arrive at the top, Binky Boy is crying and apparently was scared the whole way up thinking he would fall off the lift, poor baby. This turned out to be the only ride at Disney he didnt like! DH and I enjoy the view from the top you can see the Epcot Ball, the MGM hat and Space Mountain. We all get in the raft and head down the slide what a ball! Everyone loved it! There was a photographer at the bottom taking pictures, which actually turned out good when we looked at them, so we bought one. We all wanted to ride again, but had to climb the stairs this time due to Binky Boy.
After another ride, we all do the lazy river together, the part ways and settle back down in the lounge chairs. The wind has settled down, but formerly clear skies are looking ominously like change is coming. By 1:00, we are ready to move over to the golf course, which the boys had read about in their books. The Winter side was closed for repair, so we played the Summer side. It was fun, but with five people, three of them kids, we moved slowly and had to let other groups play through several times. This combined with the fact that the older two are highly competitive and not good sports, made this event less than ideal. 18 holes was a little too long 9 holes would have been perfect.
By 3:30, we were on our way back to the BWI. With a PS for Fultons Crab House at Downtown Disney at 5:00, this left us very little time for lounging around. We did manage to have a quick beer out on our patio as the boys de-compressed with their Gameboys. Here is a good place to mention the importance of these little wonders towards maintaining the sanity of our trip. At home, with room to spread out, the kids spend a lot of time just doing their own thing. During an 8-day vacation all in one room, each of them playing their own Gameboy became the equivalent of going off on their own and was a Godsend. Each time we returned to our rooms, thats the first thing they did, leaving us in peace for some small amount of time!
At Fultons, we are seated right away at a window table. The service is prompt and the décor is fun. DH has been looking forward to this meal all week, being a big crab fan. We catch and eat crabs all summer long back home, but here they have different types and he wants Stone Crabs. I order a white fish from New Zealand and we both order some of the crab and lobster bisque, which was very disappointing. My fish is OK, but nothing to write home about and DH said the stone crabs were not what he remembered from a previous visit to the East Coast. The boys all want spaghetti, but of course the childs plate is not enough, so they have to get two each. Overall, we liked the place, but not the food so much.
We head back to the Boardwalk to catch the boat to Epcot for EMH. Once again, with Disney transport, we see our boat pulling away as we arrive at the dock and wait 20 minutes for another one. Its dark by this time and starting to sprinkle slightly. The boat finally arrives and we head on to the back entrance to Epcot. As we round the end of the Boardwalk, we are stunned to see the entrance RIGHT THERE! We had never walked that far, so had no idea it was that close. Needless to say, we felt like total idiots having stood out in the rain waiting 20 min for a boat!
Rent a stroller for the two younger boys and we head off to finish the World Showcase. First stop is France, where I buy myself a glass of champagne and we take pix of the kids with berets on standing in front of an easel. Then were on to Morocco, Japan and the US. DH is doing a mini version of beers around the world as we walk. I am noticing all the things that we have not yet seen namely the characters who would have been at these places during the day Aladdin, Aurora, Belle, Mulan and also the only showing of American Adventure left that evening would be during Illuminations, which we didnt want to miss. To be honest, Im now in a small state of panic when I think about how little time is left and all that we havent yet done! As we begin to look for a place to watch the show, DH purchases us both a good old-fashioned American beer and I park us back in front of Japan. Thrill-Seeker is also a sushi lover and we had promised him some, so while were waiting, DH goes off to find it and comes back with a tray of it for the boys and Japanese beer for us.
Illuminations starts up and at some point during the show, I see a pair of ducks swim serenely by while all around there are flames and lights and loud noises. Ill never forget that! This is a good show, but probably my least favorite of the nighttime spectaculars. Now we are on our way into Future World to see Honey I Shrunk the Audience and ride Mission Space. Binky Boy bails on this for some reason I think he thought we might actually leave the planet, so he and I wait in the kids play area for the other three, then I take a turn with TS and DK. By now its eleven and we are wiped, so I suggest we walk right out front and take the bus home rather than go all the way back to the International Gateway to get to the BWI. Bad idea. Even though I know I had read this in the Unofficial Guide, I forgot that there are no busses to Boardwalk from Epcot. We had already turned in the stroller and everyone was exhausted. I just sat down on a bench, throwing up my arms and shaking my head. Some really nice CM came right over to ask the problem and told us to go catch the bus to MGM and that at this time of night, the driver would drop us at the Boardwalk on the way back.
We get in late and have big plans to hit the Magic Kingdom EMH at 8 the next morning Yikes! The wake-up call is for 6:30 and its past midnight now. Our last day is officially here
Can't wait for the last day.
