Our Last Minute, Surprise, Magical, Never-to-be-Forgotten 4th of July Trip

[tmasingo]

We want more!!!!

Ask and ye shall receive

 

[tmasingo]

Once back at Epcot, we head over to Future World and decide to take Domenic to Norway. We tell him it's a boat ride and figure he'll be excited. Well. He didn't cry, but he wasn't a fan of when it went backwards When we got off, we were in the courtyard and he was watching as the boat going through at the moment came backwards and his eyes were pretty much saying "Yeah. I don't want to ride THAT again."

We see Snow White and Domenic gets a picture taken. This is a good thing since in March, he was scared stiff by Snow White's Scary Adventure. He's vowed he's NOT going on that this time. We head back over to see if we can get back into Turtle Talk but it's too crowded, so we head over to ride The Land. It's a nice relaxing ride and Domenic enjoys seeing the pumpkins. And I'm happy to finally see it at all, since not long after our last trip, the topic came up and Craig insisted we'd gone on The Land and Mexico on our trip and I knew we hadn't spent any time in Epcot So the running joke was that we'd make it on both this time

I honestly don't remember when during the day, but Domenic decided he wanted to ride in "The Big Ball," so we head over there. He really enjoyed that ride a lot.

(Funny sidenote....on the way to the airport on Sunday, we had to go through Springfield, MA, where the Basketball Hall of Fame is housed. Outside, there is a giant silver basketball. Domenic saw this and said "There's Epcot," at which Craig and I just snickered and tried not to say much, knowing where we were headed )

It was getting later in the afternoon and we had dinner reservations in Morocco, so we headed towards there. Again, Domenic was getting antsy (and had been woken from his nap abruptly, so not working on a lot of sleep). Our wait here, too, was short, and we were seated right next to the dance floor. Domenic thought the Belly Dancer was neat. I tried to get him to go dance with her but he wanted nothing to do with it, lol. He ordered some spaghetti and Craig and I got an appetizer and a meal each. Mine was minced chicken in a pastry of some sort with cous cous. It was good, but not something I'd probably have again.

Domenic didn't eat any of his food and was getting pretty irritable, so dinner was a quick affair. We left and went outside. We saw Aladdin was supposed to be arriving shortly and decided to wait and meet him. Domenic liked that and we then headed over towards England. We were planning to watch Illuminations from the bridge and wanted to get a spot by the railing.

Domenic had a blast inside The Toy Soldier in England. He LOVED the Thomas The Tank Engine train set. We decided to get in line for Pooh, Eyore, and Tigger, and on the way saw Alice. Domenic really didn't know who she was, but he enjoyed having his picture taken, lol. The picture of the gang from the Hundred Acre Woods was by far one of my faves all trip

After hanging out there for awhile we headed up towards the bridge. We were early, of course , and we plunked down to sit and wait. Domenic, who loves loves loves to dance, got down with his big bad self when some pre-show music started, entertaining everyone around He had two twenty-something girls eating out of the palm of his hand that night

Illuminations finally started and we had a wonderful time watching. After our trip in March, Domenic was all about everything Disney (and still is) and we listened to "The fireworks and the big ball" music until we knew it forewards and backwards. This made watching it fun in that we knew the music, but also bittersweet, because we knew at those last big notes, it was almost over. I love that music!!! The only bad thing was that it was a windy night and we did catch some ashes from the fireworks. Nothing too major, but still enough to be distracting and uncomfortable.

After Illuminations we head back to OKW. Tomorrow is the 4th and we've got a busy day planned

 

[CdnDisneyNut]

Great report Tara
Waiting for more....

 

[Lars624]

I'm really enjoying your tip report, Tara! I can't wait for more

 

[Grammyof2]

Just getting all caught up

I knew there were big happens around this trip, but somehow I forgot the most important part - Potty Training

And those motorcycle gangs are notorious for eating all the donuts

 

[tmasingo]

Thanks guys You'll have to wait in eager anticipation until tomorrow because this gal's beat!

Two things I forgot to mention.....lunch at The Land was reasonably priced and definitely worth the money. Craig thought it was a casual fare, but the food was really more upscale, especially for lunch, in our opinion. Morocco, on the other hand, was pretty expensive we thought. The food was decent, but again (and this is probably just because I'm picky, though Craig also said he's not sure he'd order the same thing again) not something I'd want to order a second time. He said it seemed more expensive than last time he'd been, but he also did say that was during a lunch and they had more on the menu and of course, it wouldn't be as expensive as dinner. Both meals were good, but Garden Grille definitely won out that day.

And.......at the end of the night, when we were in The Toy Soldier waiting to head up to watch Illuminations, all of a sudden Domenic says he wants to color his shark. HUH So we're sitting there trying to decipher this code talk and realize he is referring to the dolphin cutout at the FIRST kidcot station of the day Uh yeah. Sorry, you're out of luck

 

[tmasingo]

I knew there were big happens around this trip, but somehow I forgot the most imoprtant part - Potty Training

And those motorcycle gangs are notorious for eating all the donuts

 

[BethanyF]

Thanks guys You'll have to wait in eager anticipation until tomorrow because this gal's beat!

Fine, go to bed when the best part of the story is coming up.

 

[Lars624]

Yoo-Hoo Tara..............we're waiting

 

[tmasingo]

I know Sorry, but it's going to have to wait until tomorrow It's been a busy day and we've got a very important morning for Domenic. I need to go try to make sure he gets to sleep so he's not even more cranky than he plans to be But after I drop him off I'll have a couple of hours to myself, so I'll try to do it then

 

[paras4ri]

I know Sorry, but it's going to have to wait until tomorrow It's been a busy day and we've got a very important morning for Domenic. I need to go try to make sure he gets to sleep so he's not even more cranky than he plans to be But after I drop him off I'll have a couple of hours to myself, so I'll try to do it then

Promises...promises.....

 

[tmasingo]

Ok, I'm back.....so where were we?

Tuesday.

It was Tuesday and our plans for the 4th were to head over to AK in the morning and then go back to OKW for some swimming and relaxing and head to MGM for supper. We'd heard that MGM had a traditional fireworks display for the 4th and since we weren't planning on attempting to get NEAR MK that day, we thought this would work nicely.

So the morning dawns. Early. Like...pre- I have to admit, I'm probably more excited on these trips than Domenic I don't want to waste a minute by doing something as silly as sleeping This morning, I wake up and before doing pretty much anything (putting in contacts included) I head over to the room safe. I don't know why, but it had been bugging me since I went to sleep not too many hours before this, and I just needed to evaluate my wallet contents. I knew we hadn't spent much money on Sunday when we got in, but I also knew that I hadn't paid much attention to what I was dishing out on Monday at Epcot, so I wanted to be sure I wasn't overdoing it and that I was pacing myself.

So anyyyway. I dig the safe key out of Craig's backpack, where we keep it when we're in the parks, and head over to get my wallet. I take it out, not really noticing that Craig's appeared by my side and is sort of hovering. It's like, 6am, and I don't even have my eyes in yet. I'm in a zone. I toss my wallet on the bed and head to the bathroom. When I come back, Craig's missing. (Well, he's outside, as he's a smoker.) I get my money in order, take out what I think we'll need for that morning, and start to get the backpack ready for the day. Craig and I get showered and wake Domenic up. Once he's set, we head out towards AK.

We had an idea of what we wanted to go on this trip, and one of the top picks for Craig was Everest, which we'd been able to get on back in March and loved So we get there and Craig heads for fast passes for that. Once those are obtained, we head towards It's Tough to be a Bug.

Domenic liked this the last time, except for Hopper, but he says he wants to see it again. He liked it this time too, but was definitely more jumpy anticipating Hopper's arrival. I'm not sure if it's where we were sitting or what, but to me the show seemed a LOT more intense than when we saw it in March

After we left there, we decided to go see if we could find some characters. We're pretty laid back about this morning. Whatever we do, we do (well, except EE ). So we headed over to Camp Minnie Mickey. Along the way we ran into Stitch

And then we saw some of the gang from Brother Bear. Domenic hasn't seen this, so he just thought it was a bear. We saw Koda (sp?) first and then we saw Minnie and Donald and Mickey and Goofy. Domenic was all about the ladies this trip and was excited to see Minnie.

On our way out of Camp Minnie Mickey we saw that Brother Bear himself had arrived. There was no line and Domenic said he'd like to go have a picture. So he goes over and does his customary hug the character, give his autograph book, turn around and nestle his back into them for a picture, routine (he's got this down pat ) and we take the picture. Well, Brother Bear was in a playful mood and kept his arms around Domenic. I don't have the pics to post b/c I guess we must've taken them with Craig's camera....but the look on Domenic's face was priceless. Poor kid kept asking afterwards why Brother Bear wanted to keep him

We now decide to head over towards Dinoland. Because he'd fallen asleep last trip, we never made it into the boneyard with Domenic, so I wanted to get him there this trip. It was EE fastpass time so Craig headed there while Domenic and I headed to Dinoland. It was extremely hot that day and the thought of doing the baby swap to ride Everest wasn't appealing to me, so I figured Craig could use the two passes if he wanted and we'd just wait in Dinoland. We went into the play area, but Domenic was more interested in the dig-site, so we spent most of our time there.

Here is Domenic all hot, sweaty, and just a little bit cranky

We stayed there until Craig came back from Everest. Thankfully I'd made the decision to put Domenic in pull-ups during the trip because he had an accident there (and also had the day before during the fountain fun). I took him to the bathroom to change him and we went over to ride one of the rides in Dinoland. I can't remember the name of it. It's the one I called "Dinosaur Dumbo." I didn't like it. I thought it tilted too much and it freaked me out. (I'm also not a huge fan of Dumbo, but that one seems more level to me) Having Domenic controlling our ups and downs wasn't helping either

After that we decided it was time to head out. I am having trouble remembering if we did the safari this trip. If we did it was earlier in the day, but I think we decided to forego that this trip since it wasn't something Domenic had been overly interested in.

It's SUPER hot by now and we trudge to the car. Domenic's beat and is asleep before we even leave the parking lot. We get back to OKW and he's out cold on the bed. Craig had some month end work to do, and I laid down with Domenic for a little nap. We'd gotten back just in time because it started to pour while we were in our room. It was a nice relaxing way to spend our early afternoon.

 

[tmasingo]

Promises...promises.....

You keep doing that to me.

 

[tmasingo]

After a couple of hours, we decide to wake Domenic up to go swimming. The is shining again and we're somewhat rested. We'd stopped by the pool the night before after we got back from Epcot. It was soooo hot and it had been a long day and that pool felt wonderful. The slide had just closed, though, and we wanted to see if Domenic would go on. Once we got there during the day, though, we decided he was too small for it. He'd have been all over the place by himself and you can't go more than one person at a time, so we decided to forget about that. He wasn't showing much interest anyway....and the pool was extremely crowded....so it was just as well.

We had found a couple of chairs over by the kiddie pool and sat down there. Domenic was thrilled with this discovery. A pool he didn't have to be held in? I'm not sure who was more thrilled, though, us or him, lol. It was great not having to carry him around We sat there for awhile letting him play in the water while we debated how to spend the rest of the day. We'd made ADR's for Sci-Fi Diner for dinner, but we also really wanted to catch the Stars and Motor Cars Parade and there was no way we'd end up being able to do both. So we decided to just relax and not rush to MGM for supper and have a late lunch/early dinner at OKW and cancel the Sci-Fi.

We gather Domenic from the pool and start heading towards Olivia's, the restauraunt right there at OKW (at least I think that's the name of it ). The pool area was all decked out for the 4th of July (which we'd seemed to have forgotten it was) and there was a nice crowd outside listening to music and just having a grand ole time. What we hadn't realized, was that the shuttle launch was that day. As we're walking towards the restaurant, we see a crowd gathered and counting talking about something almost being time, so we ask and then we remember the shuttle launch and where we are So we stand there while everyone counts down. It's on tv so we know it's launched. But there's nothing. So we stand there a bit more. Still nothing. It's sort of cloudy, so we figure that's why and we head towards the restaurant more. We should've stayed put, because about 2 minutes later, we hear people yelling "I see it! There it is!" and it apparently had made it's appearance in the sky. We were too far now to see it, though, and by the time we walked back there, it was gone

That bubble burst, we head over and grab our seats. Domenic had been in the pool and we're asked if we have a shirt for him. I said no because I was thinking we didn't, and asked if we could just sit at the tables outside She said yes but was all nervous about it and that made me uncomfortable, like we were doing something wrong...and then I remembered that we'd thrown a t-shirt in the pool bag I don't remember why I didn't think we'd had one, but we were all set now.

Sort of.

Remember the big celebration we had the day before we left because of Domenic's accomplishment? Yeah. Well....that was the last time we celebrated that Even with having jumped that hurdle, he was still practicing the "procrastination" method. We order lunch and he says he has to use the potty. No problem. We go in. He uses it. We go back to the table. Not five minutes later, he says he has to go again. Having gone through this for the past few weeks, I know what this means. We go back in. He says he can't. We leave. Five minutes later.....you get the idea. This continues for about 6 trips. The hostess is getting to know us really well. Other diners are probably wondering what the heck is so interesting in there. I'm just plain frustrated Meanwhile our food has come and Craig's eating while we play this game of back and forth. Domenic ate a couple of bites of his grilled cheese in between and pulled some turkey from my club sandwich (the food, btw, was very good here. I had a cheese soup of some sort which I really enjoyed and the club was good too ).

Finally, after a very choppy lunch, we head back to the room. FINALLY. The potty mission is a success. Domenic's happy. We're happy. I'm relieved that it occurred before we head into the park for the night. It's worth a celebration. Let's go see a parade

We decide to take the bus to MGM. It's just easier, for the evening, we figure. We could've driven the car there and back twice before the bus finally arrived It finally gets there and we board. We get to MGM and it is HOT. The sun, of course, is bearing down right on us as we wait for the parade. Domenic sees these giant Cars balloons. I had told him he could have one (we'd seen them at MK our first night there) and go to buy it. Totally should've waited until the end of the night. This thing is HUGE. But oh well. It's bought now. We were there early enough that the wait for the parade was pretty long. Domenic looked like he was about to fall asleep....or collapse from heat exhaustion ....when finally we see Mater and Lightning McQueen make their way down the street

The parade is good, but I can tell that Domenic is getting to the point where we NEED to cool him off. As soon as it's done, we decide to go to see Voyage of the Little Mermaid. It will be cool, we can sit down for a bit and Domenic can decompress from the past hour in the sun. The show didn't even START and he was sound asleep. I felt bad that he missed it, but he really was pretty tired that day. He was dead weight when we came out of there....

We put him in the stroller and walk around a bit and have some ice cream while he naps. We finally decide to wake him after about 45 minutes so that we can try to do a couple of things before the fireworks. We give him the option of Muppets 3-D or Playhouse Disney since we know we won't have time to do both. He chooses Playhouse Disney and we rush over since it's soon to begin. We get in just under the wire and enjoy this cute show.

Once out of here, it's time to think of finding a place for the fireworks. Since we're right by the main entrance and they're going to go off over the sorcerer's hat, we decide to just settle right now. We grab a spot among the rest of the crowd finding a place and I go to get us some ice cream. Domenic enjoyed a Mickey Bar and some giggles with Craig and I while we waiting for fireworks.

The fireworks started and were, as expected, fantastic. The music was a medley of patriotic songs and the show itself was just spectacular. I soooo didn't want them to end!

It was so great to spend the 4th of July at WDW

After the show, we head back to OKW because it's been a really long day and since its our *sniff* last day tomorrow, our plan is to head to MK at opening and stay until close

 

[kimberh]

Tara, I have read this tonight. Great report!

 

[Rachie0507]

Tara,

I love the trip report!!! You guys get so much in while you are there. The pictures of Domenic are adorable

 

[6IrishDisneyKids]

I am reallty enjoying your TR! Can't wait to hear/read more!

 

[Madaboutthemouse]

Great report so far! Now time for the BIG finish!

 

[tmasingo]

you guys need to stop reading my mind. I'm just about to start it

 

[tmasingo]

Ok. Finally. The grand finale

We wake up on Wednesday nice and early, as we have every other day, and prepare for our start-to-finish day at Magic Kingdom. I'm excited because I know this is the day that Domenic will love. He knows all these rides and he's even got some new movies under his belt since March, so he's ready

We want to get there for opening, which we do. I've never seen the opening ceremony, so that was a great thing to watch. I swear I almost cried when the characters arrived on the train I don't know if it was because it was the last day there, or because I sensed what might be coming, or if I just am an all around sap who loses it when giant characters arrive on trains. Whatever it was, it was a magical moment.

We head into the park and are on our way to Fantasyland. After what happened in March, and knowing that this is THE only chance we're going to get this trip, we're headed straight for Dumbo. No stopping, no dallying, just quickstepping it straight to the flying elephant. We park the stroller and go straight to the line. We're not first, but I think we got onto the 3rd, 4th at the most, set of elephants Domenic enjoys the ride. Mommy is ok with it. I am not one for heights, and the up and down just gets to me.

But we all can fit in one still, so that helps ease my fears. The ride finishes and we get off.

Craig runs to get us fastpasses for Peter Pan, and then we decide to head for Pooh. Domenic didn't like Snow White last time and has deemed it a no-ride zone this time around. But then we pass it on the way to Pooh and Domenic asks "Is that Snow White?" We say yes and he says he wants to ride it. Okayyyy....are you sure? "Yes." he says. So we board. Surprisingly, this time he's ok with it. We get off and he says "See, it's not so scary."

We head onto Pooh after that, hit the Carousel, which Domenic likes to ride to "chase Dumbo"

After the Carousel we ride IASW. Domenic loves this ride. He knows all the words and sings it well.....complete with big finish It's a nice relaxing ride and I enjoy the last room, as always. It's my very favorite

After this we can use our fastpasses for Peter Pan, so we head over to ride that. Everything we want to do so far in Fantasyland done, we decide to head towards Frontierland.

Last time we were here we didn't make it to Haunted Mansion, for whatever reason. So this time we'd like to go. Domenic went on this at DL last summer and fell asleep So we explain what it is and that it might be a bit scary, but it's all pretend, yada yada. He does well. He liked the gravestones outside and the elevator was what I figured would scare him most. I held him and he did fine. He liked the ride itself, and we enjoyed going through it.

After this we head to try to find a snack. Domenic spots the spraying fans and I decide to let him get one. It's very hot, and I know I'm asking for it getting him one this early in the day, but oh well.

We make a little pit stop in the candy store. It smells heavenly and Domenic wants a chocolate lollipop. I think Craig got licorice and I got a chocolate Mickey candy bar. We sat on a bench and ate our treats and then decide to check attempt Country Bears again. Last trip was a walk through while Domenic screamed bloody murder. We're hoping for a better reaction this time There is a bit of a wait, so we get in line for Woody and Jessie, since we missed them at MGM and they're two of Domenic's faves.

Since we waited in line, we missed the next start of Country Bears, so we walk around a bit more to wait for the next showing. It finally begins and we get in line. Domenic does well this time and really enjoys the show. It's been YEARS since I've seen it, and it's cute. I'd forgotten what it was even about, really.

We leave here and head over towards Adventureland. We don't end up getting on PotC again, sadly. We see Aladdin and Genie signing autographs but the line is really long. We do ride Aladdin's Carpet Ride, though, which we didn't ride back in March. Again, I'm not a huge fan, but oh well. Domenic enjoyed it. We got off and decided to skip Tiki Room until later in the day. We rode Jungle Cruise last time and just aren't in the mood today, and for whatever reason, we end up missing Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse. I really wanted to take Domenic on this, but we just sort of got sidetracked, I guess. Craig has been kind of distracted all morning and Domenic is getting cranky. So, we head to Tomorrowland.

Domenic sees the talking trash can (can't for the life of me remember his name right now ) and thinks it's neat.

Craig had gone to get us fastpasses for Buzz. The band is playing in the street and Domenic and I joined the fun and he shook some morracas while we marched around. Craig finally got back and we decide to head to the Carousel of Progress for some cool air. While in line, Buzz Lightyear appeared, so we waited to see him for Domenic. After he got his pic with him, we went into Carousel. I was hoping Domenic might fall asleep, but no such luck. I really love this attraction, and Domenic's starting to also. It's a nice break for us to sit and relax for a bit this morning.

We come out and have told Domenic we can now ride Buzz Lightyear. We REALLY need to learn to stop doing that Buzz Lightyear is shut down Domenic, who has been up since the crack of dawn, hasn't had a nap, and is HOT, is not thrilled with the news. He starts to go into a mini-meltdown, and we are able to thwart it with a ride on the TTA. Glad we did this when we did, because that, too, was shut down shortly after So anyway....we put Domenic in the stroller and decide to attempt to get him to fall asleep. It's SO his naptime.

Must be the last day anxiety, but he will not fall asleep. We circle around behind Space Mountain in the shade and it does nothing. We walk around, trying to avoid any attractions he might want to ride and still nothing. So we give up and head towards Toontown.