threeboysmom
Living the dream - near Disney!
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2001
- Messages
- 9,426
1/4 Sunday We were up bright & early and headed to IOA about 9:15 a.m. This time we hooked a right into Seussland with the goal of seeing Grinch first thing. No one was there so no wait. Grinch was very much in character & was great!! He wouldn't let me sing the Grinch song to him though 
We then headed to Hulk rode it once then onto Spiderman a couple of times. Jim kept trying to get me to ride Dr. Doom - he's not a very sympathetic guy when it comes to fear of any kind. He's the type that yawns on all of the big thrill coasters 
Anyways, I tried explaining the panic I experienced last May and how just standing in the area of Dr. Doom made my stomach feel weak. All I have to do is hear that "whoosh" sound it makes before launching and my knees go weak. Let me tell YOU what happened to me last May since my DH doesn't care!! LOL!! Last May we were down with the boys. My middle son, Jordan, who is 10, is a big chicken (like his Mom 
) On our last day of vacation we finally decided that we ride try Dr. Doom together (the "I'll ride it if you'll ride it" type of deal). My DH and my oldest son who is 13 had ridden it many many times that week while Jordan and I had always chickened out (my 3rd son is too short to ride). So the two of us decided we would be brave and do it together (it's comforting to ride with someone who is just as scared as you!). Well, we buckle ourselves into our seats and then you just sit there and sit there and sit there in anticipation. After a minute of this, I couldn't take it anymore - I was sweating, heart palpitating, hyperventilating, dry mouth, all the while with this HUGE Dr. Doom face staring at me (those of you that have been on this ride know what I'm talking about!) I began literally clawing at my seat to get out and fortunately a ride attendant came by and I screamed at him to let me out. He was not happy, but of course, he released my buckle. I RAN out of there sobbing, leaving my poor frightened son still strapped in his seat, now even more frightened to see his mom running away!! I still cringe when I think of how bad of a mom I was The panic was so bad that at home everytime I looked at a picture with Dr. Doom in the background, I would break out into a sweat! Literally! So anyways, where was I? Oh, my son Jordan ended up liking the ride and rode it a few more times so this story does have a happy ending So there Jim and I were somehow standing in the Dr. Doom area (dreadful area if you ask me!) and him pleading with me to ride with him. He ended up riding alone while I watched and analyzed the speed and counted the seconds it took to reach the top LOL! He got off and before I knew what was happening I had said "okay I'll do it!" No hesitation - he was propelling me forward into the express line. The one negative about FOTL is you have no time to change your mind. I swear it was only 5 seconds after I had said "okay I'll do it" and there I was buckled into my seat AGAIN! I was trying to hold back the tears and quell the panic rising while Jim kept telling me to BREATHE deep (think labor pains, ladies!) I kept chanting out loud "I'm just going up, then coming back down, that's all...." over and over. The 2 people on the other side of me must have thought I was losing it (well, I guess I was losing it now that I think about it!). I kept my eyes tightly shut & a deathgrip hold on those shoulder restraints. The launch took me completely by surprise and I screamed like never before! Before my scream was even over, I realized it's not that bad!! The first 3 seconds or so was intense, but the rest of the ride going up and then coming back down was......should I say........fun?!! I can't believe this ride scared me so! It's not nearly as bad as it looks! I ended up riding it 4 times! Still haven't ridden it though with my eyes open the whole time LOL!! I'll try that in May! (maybe!) OK that was the big highlight of the day!! We also rode Dudley and got completely soaked - well, Jim got completely soaked, I hid behind him and just got splashed! Rode Dueling Dragons and then headed back to the RPR for some pool time. First though I had to call my son Jordan and tell him what his mother just rode! He was so proud of me! I can't wait to ride with him in May! Did my usual pool time - had lunch poolside from Bula's grill. Showered, changed, and headed to US for our usual 3 hours of MIB. Managed to beat my DH again! just once though! We quietly smirked at each other each time the "average" score was posted and the 3 people in the front hooted and high-fived each other with their 30,000 scores, not realizing who was sitting behind them Oh, and we saw Shrek too for the first time - it was awesome! I can't wait for the boys to see it! They will LOVE it! We did take a break from MIB to watch the Macy's parade. And I didn't feel bad for the people in the pink jumpsuits at all! I wanted to wear one of those!!!
We drove off property in the evening and had dinner at Houlihans on International Drive. We had originally planned on eating at Sweet Tomatoes (which I've read about here on the DIS boards), but we couldn't find it.
Oh, I forget to mention that we did receive our Lowe's welcome gift of white wine and nuts (without having to remind the front desk LOL!) It was nicely laid out on a tray placed on our bed when we returned from dinner. Perfect way to end the evening. Aaahhh, I want to live here!!
We then headed to Hulk rode it once then onto Spiderman a couple of times. Jim kept trying to get me to ride Dr. Doom - he's not a very sympathetic guy when it comes to fear of any kind. He's the type that yawns on all of the big thrill coasters Anyways, I tried explaining the panic I experienced last May and how just standing in the area of Dr. Doom made my stomach feel weak. All I have to do is hear that "whoosh" sound it makes before launching and my knees go weak. Let me tell YOU what happened to me last May since my DH doesn't care!! LOL!! Last May we were down with the boys. My middle son, Jordan, who is 10, is a big chicken (like his Mom ) On our last day of vacation we finally decided that we ride try Dr. Doom together (the "I'll ride it if you'll ride it" type of deal). My DH and my oldest son who is 13 had ridden it many many times that week while Jordan and I had always chickened out (my 3rd son is too short to ride). So the two of us decided we would be brave and do it together (it's comforting to ride with someone who is just as scared as you!). Well, we buckle ourselves into our seats and then you just sit there and sit there and sit there in anticipation. After a minute of this, I couldn't take it anymore - I was sweating, heart palpitating, hyperventilating, dry mouth, all the while with this HUGE Dr. Doom face staring at me (those of you that have been on this ride know what I'm talking about!) I began literally clawing at my seat to get out and fortunately a ride attendant came by and I screamed at him to let me out. He was not happy, but of course, he released my buckle. I RAN out of there sobbing, leaving my poor frightened son still strapped in his seat, now even more frightened to see his mom running away!! I still cringe when I think of how bad of a mom I was The panic was so bad that at home everytime I looked at a picture with Dr. Doom in the background, I would break out into a sweat! Literally! So anyways, where was I? Oh, my son Jordan ended up liking the ride and rode it a few more times so this story does have a happy ending So there Jim and I were somehow standing in the Dr. Doom area (dreadful area if you ask me!) and him pleading with me to ride with him. He ended up riding alone while I watched and analyzed the speed and counted the seconds it took to reach the top LOL! He got off and before I knew what was happening I had said "okay I'll do it!" No hesitation - he was propelling me forward into the express line. The one negative about FOTL is you have no time to change your mind. I swear it was only 5 seconds after I had said "okay I'll do it" and there I was buckled into my seat AGAIN! I was trying to hold back the tears and quell the panic rising while Jim kept telling me to BREATHE deep (think labor pains, ladies!) I kept chanting out loud "I'm just going up, then coming back down, that's all...." over and over. The 2 people on the other side of me must have thought I was losing it (well, I guess I was losing it now that I think about it!). I kept my eyes tightly shut & a deathgrip hold on those shoulder restraints. The launch took me completely by surprise and I screamed like never before! Before my scream was even over, I realized it's not that bad!! The first 3 seconds or so was intense, but the rest of the ride going up and then coming back down was......should I say........fun?!! I can't believe this ride scared me so! It's not nearly as bad as it looks! I ended up riding it 4 times! Still haven't ridden it though with my eyes open the whole time LOL!! I'll try that in May! (maybe!) OK that was the big highlight of the day!! We also rode Dudley and got completely soaked - well, Jim got completely soaked, I hid behind him and just got splashed! Rode Dueling Dragons and then headed back to the RPR for some pool time. First though I had to call my son Jordan and tell him what his mother just rode! He was so proud of me! I can't wait to ride with him in May! Did my usual pool time - had lunch poolside from Bula's grill. Showered, changed, and headed to US for our usual 3 hours of MIB. Managed to beat my DH again! just once though! We quietly smirked at each other each time the "average" score was posted and the 3 people in the front hooted and high-fived each other with their 30,000 scores, not realizing who was sitting behind them Oh, and we saw Shrek too for the first time - it was awesome! I can't wait for the boys to see it! They will LOVE it! We did take a break from MIB to watch the Macy's parade. And I didn't feel bad for the people in the pink jumpsuits at all! I wanted to wear one of those!!! We drove off property in the evening and had dinner at Houlihans on International Drive. We had originally planned on eating at Sweet Tomatoes (which I've read about here on the DIS boards), but we couldn't find it.
Oh, I forget to mention that we did receive our Lowe's welcome gift of white wine and nuts (without having to remind the front desk LOL!) It was nicely laid out on a tray placed on our bed when we returned from dinner. Perfect way to end the evening. Aaahhh, I want to live here!!
Kimberly - great story! Reminds me of my panic attack in the shark pool at TL - (it was just the very cold water, I swear!) - poor CM kept yelling at me that I cannot!!! swim back to shore - yeah, right, buddy! - I'm coming out of this water one way or the other - you'd better get out of my way and stop blowing your stupid whistle at me or I may actually pass out 
and then you'll really have something to be upset about!!
!
