Our Magical Gathering Trip Report

[Disney Brat]

Great update!! I am sorry that things with your sister aren't turning out how you had planned. In Oct we are going with MIL DH's brother and his family(Wife and two kids). I really think that our vacay with them will be seperate with occasional meet ups at the pool! Not what I had planned, but I guess I had better get used to the idea! I sure hope things change for you guys!

 

[tinkerbell3747]

Cant wait to read more

 

[Nee Nee and Biddy]

I'm really sorry I haven't posted in such a long time! Summer is keeping us busy with swim lessons and play dates. I will try to do better!

Anyway, after not going to the Nemo show, Billy, Gemma and I headed to Everest to try out the single rider line. Billy watched Gemma while I just walked on the ride. Very cool! At the end of the ride when you are traveling outside, it started to rain and it hurt! By the time I got off the ride it was pouring. We hid out in the gift shop for a while, but the rain didn't seem to want to give up. Gemma fell asleep and we covered the stroller with a poncho. At this point it was just drizzling, so we left the gift shop. Here are some good pics of us in front of Everest.

Notice the clouds!
So we walked around for a little while waiting for everyone to get out of the show. We eventually met up with everyone and headed to the Flame Tree Bar-B-Q for dinner. They were closed! The park was closing at 8:00 and they closed at 7:00. It was 7:05. I was so disappointed. Everyone in the group was at a loss and I was so tired and wet that I had no good back-up plan. So, we decided to go see the bug show.

Will and Mimi

Amanda and Sam

Needless to say, this show was a disaster! Will didn't have any problem with it, but Sam freaked out and we were all completely spent by the end of it. I had officially had it by this point. I had lost my Disney Magic! We all decided to leave and go grab some dinner at the food court. As we were leaving it started to pour. I mean pour! This was not helping me get my magic back. Gemma was just screaming because the rain was cold and it was very windy. We were having the worst luck! We got to the van, I fed Gemma quickly, and we headed back to POFQ.

When we got back to POFQ, we literally were like the living dead. Have you ever had one of those days at Disney World that just knocks you out? That was what happened this day. All ten of us actually sat down and ate together that night but there wasn't much talking. I had a bowl of soup and some coke and started to feel better. In an effort to make things better, I asked Amanda to go shopping with me in the gift shop. We left the kids with the family and spent about 30 minutes picking things out. This helped with the bad feelings and by the time we were done I felt a lot better. We went back to our rooms and collapsed.

Up next: our relaxing day at the pool and the Pirate and Princess party!

 

[crgfsu1]

Why is it that is ALWAYS rains at AK? Everytime I have been there, it has rained. And now - it got you too!. Soory for the loss of Disney magic. Tomorrow has got to be better.

Cathy

 

[karajeboo]

You are not alone! I think we've all lost the magic at one time or another at Disney. Rain and family can definitely do that!

 

[heaven2dc]

Proof that Disney World is the Happiest Place on Earth!!!

 

[heaven2dc]

I just found your report again - am loving every minute!

Proof that Disney World is the Happiest Place on Earth!!!

How precious!

 

[MousekaMaddi]

lovin your honesty, and your pix are fantastic

 

[hmdavid]

I love the Pirate and Princess Party! Can't wait to hear all about it!!!

 

[FairyGodmotherJen]

I'm really enjoying your report! I'm glad I've found someone else who can handle traveling with their parents AND in-laws at the same time - everyone else thinks I'm nuts. It's true, though - something always happens to make you get on each other's nerves during a group trip.

I'm also glad to hear about your experience nursing during the trip. I'm going to have a five-month-old on our trip in Sept. (and it will be blazing hot), and I'm sure it will be an experience for me. Nice to read about someone who's already been there/done that!!

 

[DisneygirlTeacher]

I am enjoying your report and your children are adorable!! Can't wait for more!

 

[Nee Nee and Biddy]

This was our day of rest! We planned this on purpose becasue I knew we weould need to do laundry and rest up before our late night at the Pirate and Princess party. Actually, this was one of my favorite days. We woke up late and had breakfast at the food court.

Then we went back to the room to gather all of our laundry and get ready for the pool. Here's a shot of our little bathing beauty:

I headed to the laundry room and Billy and Will jumped in the pool. The laundry room at POFQ is pretty nice and I've never had any problem with the machines there. Once I got the laundry started, we spent the rest of the morning swimming. It was really fun and the pool was wonderful.

Mimi and Will in the baby pool

Gemma and I staying in the shade

After I had dried all the clothes and swam some more, we grabbed an umbrella table by the pool and got some lunch at the food court. This was so nice just to sit around and have some non-stressed family time.

Will enjoying his fries!

All the excitement made Gemma so sleepy!

We all took a short nap, showered, and got ready for the PPP. We had planned on dinner at the Crystal palace with Pooh before all the festivities started. Here's a shot of Will's first ride on the monorail:

Very exciting!

We had to wait for a while outside of the Crystal Palace, and it was VERY hot. I don't know why, but it just seemed to be unbearable at this point in the day. Finally we got to go inside. It was an awesome experience, as usual. Will was so excited!

By the time we got out of the Crystal Palace, the party was in full swing. I really liked the party...it was so much fun but it wasn't so great with two very little ones. The parade was wonderful because Gemma slept through it, but she screamed through the awesome fireworks and I missed so much because of it. In hindsight, I have no idea what I was thinking taking a baby and a two year old to this! They were exhausted and mad and it was all my fault. The low part of the night was when Gemma completely freaked out and I had to nurse her in the middle of fantasyland. There was no way I could make it to the baby care center, so I just had to do it in the middle of everything! Oh well. After that Will and I had lots of fun dancing in Ariel's Grotto. That was awesome.

Would you believe that I only got to ride one ride the whole party? We all rode BTMRR and then I never got on another one. Will got to ride lots of rides with my mom and Amanda. I really want to do this again...the parade and fireworks are worth it. Sophie was particularly impressed with all the princesses in the parade.
We left around 11:00 and got back to our room around 11:30. We collapsed into bed instantly.

Up next: our MGM day!

 

[Disney Brat]

Great update!! I loved the P & PP!!! It was our first `party`and certainly made it hard to resist any other `party` at Disney!!! Can`t wait to hear more!

 

[kaysmommie]

Great update! I think you needed a pool/rest day before P&PP. Especially after your long AK day.

 

[worldtraveller]

"First comes love, then comes marriage, then all hell breaks loose"

Wish all love and marriage and happiness here.

 

[karajeboo]

I'm so sorry you didn't get to experience more of the P&PP! We thoroughly enjoyed it back in March - walked on everything, and just loved the parade and fireworks!

But what a nice laid back day you had!

It's so tough with little ones, you've got to put their needs first of course, which it sounds like you do. Just remember, enjoy this time now, and there will be future WDW trips and each time the experience is totally different for you as a Mom, watching the kids experience it at different ages!

 

[Disneyvirg]

Yeah! Another installment. I'm enjoying your trip report and all the great pictures. Your little ones are so darn cute!

Can't wait for more.

 

[tinkerbell3747]

Greeat installment,

So sorry Gemma didn't enjoy the fireworks, my DD is 4 and still has problems with the loud noises, but she is starting to come around as long as I hold her and help cover her ears! Who knows maybe soon I can put her down ( she is not light) and cover her ears...that's an upgrade right?

Love the installment and all your pictures I leave for my GG soon and hope for the best though I know something is gonna happen just not sure what

 

[DisneyJo]

I love the photo at CP with your DD holding Poohs hand, so cute

What a shame about the party, hopefully you can do it again one day when they're older!

 

[Nee Nee and Biddy]

I still can't call it "Hollywood Studios" so forgive me. It will always be MGM to me.

We didn't think that we would make it to rope drop because of our busy night before, so we all decided to sleep late and get there when we got there. However, my kids hopped right out of bed bright and early, and so did Amanda's, so we made it to MGM about ten minutes to rope drop.

A Note about Rope Drop: as a TGM follower, I understand the reasoning behind getting to the parks at rope drop. However, rope drop is awful! I hate standing in the blazing sunlight packed in like sardines! Having two little ones with you makes it even worse. I won't do rope drop again, unless maybe I"m alone and I don't have to worry about losing all of my family members. Rant over; just remember, do rope drop at your own risk!

After they finally let us in the park, we went to TOT and grabbed FP, then we ran to Toy Story. The standby time was 20 minutes, so we all hopped in line. It was a really neat line.

Will and Mimi in front of Mr. Potato Head

Amanda and Sophie with their 3-D glasses on.

Will sitting with Mimi and Papa

This was a wonderful ride and we all had a great time on it. The only little problem was that I couldn't hold Gemma, she had to sit in-between us on the ride. It was a pretty jerky ride, and I was scared she would just fall out into the floor of our car. I can't wait to ride it the next time we go...Gemma will be two then, and I won't have to worry that she's going to bite the dust!

Then we all headed back to TOT. On the way, some of us posed for the photopass guy:

We're all still happy at this point!

I love this picture!

Sam, my mom, Mimi, and Amanda all went to ride TOT while we waited with the babies. Sophie was a little irritated that she couldn't ride, so I bought her and Will an Itsakadoozie.

We also were snacking on cheese and crackers that we brought ourselves.

I think Billy looks just like Gemma in this picture! Also, this shows how sweaty we all were. It was SO hot on this day!

When they all returned, Sam decided that he wanted to ride again, so Amanda, Billy and I all rode TOT with him. We had a good time, and when we got back to the family, they were all watching a performance on the street. Mimi said that Gemma was chewing on her hand, and they asked her why she was eating herself. Mimi told them she was teething, and they said, "The star is refusing to speak, but her agent claims that she is "teething". We all got a good laugh out of that!

After that, we headed to go see Playhouse Disney. Will was pumped! These are his movie stars. The show was really good, and Will and Sophie were so excited.

Will dancing

Bubbles!

Sophie was desperate to see the Little Mermaid, so we went there next. Is this show shorter than it used to be? Both Will and Gemma fell asleep during this one, so we decided to leave and go grab lunch and take a break at the hotel.

We got back to MGM in time for our Mama Melrose ADR. We had a very good dinner...you can see how much Gemma enjoyed it:

At this point we split up; Amanda and I took the kids to ride Toy Story again, and everyone else went to go ride Star Tours. Well, when we got to Toy Story, the wait was 170 minutes! I could not believe it. This is a very popular ride, and I know it always will be. So we skipped it, and I bought all the kids balloons.

Here we are on our way to Fantasmic.

We got to the arena, and it was so much fun. Everyone was doing the wave and dancing around...we had a rowdy crowd that night! Sam was very busy passing out glow sticks to kids that didn't have any. The actual show was great. Amanda hadn't seen it before and she loved it. Fantasmic is my favorite, so I was happy. After the show, we split up. My family left and everyone else stayed to have more fun. This was a good day.

Up Next: Magic Kingdom and we win 2 dreams!!!