6 people, 3 adults, 3 kids. DS is 10 and in a wheelchair, DDs are 6 and 8. Adults are: me,DH and our best friend, Uncle Andy. (Andy is 44, and can act closer to 10. This is a valuable asset on any trip with 3 kids, and No, he is not for hire.)
Day 3 was guaranteed to be sunny - so we took a break and hung out at Kid's World for morning pool time. The pool was wonderful, and the kids all had fun. Kevin really enjoys "swimming." He has severe spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy, and his muscles are either very tight or very loose. (Usually tight.) Well, in a swimming pool, he really settles into a very comfortable float.
After 2 hours of swimming we had some ice cream. That afternoon we were to go to IOA but on the way, DD2 got sunblock in her eyes, and couldn't stop crying. It was 3:00 before we even left, (I am not sure who was moving so slowly, but his initials are DH....). What with the stress of the crying and the fear that he wouldn't be able to do much in 4 hours, my DH decided against wasting his park pass for such a short period of time. (As the compulsive planner, I think we should have kept going....but, do people in your family listen to you????) Remember, I had earlier promised myself I would not be a know-it-all, and therefore agreed to his decision.
After a quick run into Walmart for eye drops, we returned to a very cheerful daughter who's eye was just fine - of course. (Excuse me while I vent - earlier in the day, we agreed that this was Kevin's trip - therefore we would focus on Dr. Suessland for him. Whatever else we accomplished at US, IOA would be extra icing on the cake. I think DH forgot that promise when I showed him the US and IOA brochures though. Hint to self: keep shiny booklets away from DH.)
So - now we had nowhere to go and an afternoon to spend enjoying our last sunny day for a while.... hmmm.... we did nothing. We relaxed, ate dinner, the kids spent a lot of time at the carousel and other games they have here. All in all, a great day for the kids. Sunscreen kid learned one big lesson - let Mommy put the sunscreen on her face. What lesson did Daddy learn? I don't know - except that at this point we only have two full days left, and he still wants to go to Epcot! (oops, there I go again....)
Day 4 - rain, rain, rain, wind, rain, wind, rain, wind...
The day started off gloomy, and we knew we only had a few hours to get some things done. The girls had reservations for Pirate's Cruise at the Grand Floridian, so we race off there. We are to be there by 9:30. Easy driving in - as we start to check in, the wind really picked up. Our CM, Sheryl is busy warning parents that there will probably be rain, and at the first sight of it, they will race back. DD2 is busy loudly telling me she will NOT wear a scarf. Period. NO WAY. DD1 is having a blast. Sheryl tells DD2, no scarf is ok, but she has to wear a life jacket. Now, this kid is very used to life jackets, but still would not go... obviously the scarf, and now the jacket were mere excuses... she just plain didn't want to go. So - we wave bye-bye to DD1 and to my 2 hours of being totally alone .. and DD2 and I wandered off hand-in-hand to explore this great resort. I picked up a supply of park maps from the desk for our future perusal.
We decide to hit the monorail - and rode in front, all the way around. DD and I both got a copilot's license! We sat with another mother/daughter combination who were visiting WDW for the first time. I was able to dispense some pearls of wisdom, which was a great boost to my ego after being with these 5 people who couldn't care less where they go and when.....
Her DD wanted to meet Mickey in the worst way, but the line was so long at ToonTown yesterday etc... So, voila, I show her where to meet Mickey on my handy dandy MGM map that I happened to pick up. I could see I was working with a real newbie at all this - she even wondered where I got the map from. So, I was greatly rewarded to help some nice people with their plans for the next day. (At least she appreciated me.....)
DD2 loved the monorail ride. We then went into the GF gift shop on the second floor and bought an umbrella as it was starting to sprinkle a bit. We were offered ponchos to purchase, but I poo-poo'd that expense as we had our nice inexpensive ones back at the resort.... (I learned at this point that I am WAY fallible, as before we left GF, we had spent the $$ to buy 3 ponchos.) IT WAS POURING DOWN RAIN. POURING, thunder, lightening, wind blowing ... this was a class one storm.
Our pirates had returned and were a little wet, but safe and happy. We picked up DD1 at the Mickey Mouse Club as they were being given their booty. DD2 even got some. I highly recommend this adventure. Even a shortened version hampered by rain was considered a big success by the kids.
Since the rain was still pouring down, we stepped into the cafeteria/game room and had some food and watched it rain. We spent about $23 dollars on pizza, pretzels, juice, milk, hamburger. The food was OK, and the cost inline with every other on site food joint.
Finally, the rain let up enough for us to make a break for it to the self parking lot. The drive back down 192 was a little slow, but the girls were having a lot of fun trading things from each other's bags of pirate booty. When we got home, we found the boys relaxing - they definitely got a lot that done on this trip! I suggested maybe they hit the flea markets, as I see all these signs for them everywhere. My DH loves this kind of shopping. Lucky for me, they take DD2, and leave the other 2 kids with me. These are the quiet ones, and as long as you break up DD1 from DD2, there is much less yelling. It's cold enough to even turn the heat on, and we all settle down for a nap.
Eventually, the party returns with a few goodies from the flea market. I have totally blocked out how we ended the night, but it was as quiet as the day. Day 5 is to be Magic Kingdom, so maybe it was a good thing we had rested today!
<img width="200" src="http://www.geocities.com/dmurphydis/cleveland.gif">
Day 3 was guaranteed to be sunny - so we took a break and hung out at Kid's World for morning pool time. The pool was wonderful, and the kids all had fun. Kevin really enjoys "swimming." He has severe spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy, and his muscles are either very tight or very loose. (Usually tight.) Well, in a swimming pool, he really settles into a very comfortable float.
After 2 hours of swimming we had some ice cream. That afternoon we were to go to IOA but on the way, DD2 got sunblock in her eyes, and couldn't stop crying. It was 3:00 before we even left, (I am not sure who was moving so slowly, but his initials are DH....). What with the stress of the crying and the fear that he wouldn't be able to do much in 4 hours, my DH decided against wasting his park pass for such a short period of time. (As the compulsive planner, I think we should have kept going....but, do people in your family listen to you????) Remember, I had earlier promised myself I would not be a know-it-all, and therefore agreed to his decision.
After a quick run into Walmart for eye drops, we returned to a very cheerful daughter who's eye was just fine - of course. (Excuse me while I vent - earlier in the day, we agreed that this was Kevin's trip - therefore we would focus on Dr. Suessland for him. Whatever else we accomplished at US, IOA would be extra icing on the cake. I think DH forgot that promise when I showed him the US and IOA brochures though. Hint to self: keep shiny booklets away from DH.)
So - now we had nowhere to go and an afternoon to spend enjoying our last sunny day for a while.... hmmm.... we did nothing. We relaxed, ate dinner, the kids spent a lot of time at the carousel and other games they have here. All in all, a great day for the kids. Sunscreen kid learned one big lesson - let Mommy put the sunscreen on her face. What lesson did Daddy learn? I don't know - except that at this point we only have two full days left, and he still wants to go to Epcot! (oops, there I go again....)
Day 4 - rain, rain, rain, wind, rain, wind, rain, wind...
The day started off gloomy, and we knew we only had a few hours to get some things done. The girls had reservations for Pirate's Cruise at the Grand Floridian, so we race off there. We are to be there by 9:30. Easy driving in - as we start to check in, the wind really picked up. Our CM, Sheryl is busy warning parents that there will probably be rain, and at the first sight of it, they will race back. DD2 is busy loudly telling me she will NOT wear a scarf. Period. NO WAY. DD1 is having a blast. Sheryl tells DD2, no scarf is ok, but she has to wear a life jacket. Now, this kid is very used to life jackets, but still would not go... obviously the scarf, and now the jacket were mere excuses... she just plain didn't want to go. So - we wave bye-bye to DD1 and to my 2 hours of being totally alone .. and DD2 and I wandered off hand-in-hand to explore this great resort. I picked up a supply of park maps from the desk for our future perusal.
We decide to hit the monorail - and rode in front, all the way around. DD and I both got a copilot's license! We sat with another mother/daughter combination who were visiting WDW for the first time. I was able to dispense some pearls of wisdom, which was a great boost to my ego after being with these 5 people who couldn't care less where they go and when.....
Her DD wanted to meet Mickey in the worst way, but the line was so long at ToonTown yesterday etc... So, voila, I show her where to meet Mickey on my handy dandy MGM map that I happened to pick up. I could see I was working with a real newbie at all this - she even wondered where I got the map from. So, I was greatly rewarded to help some nice people with their plans for the next day. (At least she appreciated me.....) DD2 loved the monorail ride. We then went into the GF gift shop on the second floor and bought an umbrella as it was starting to sprinkle a bit. We were offered ponchos to purchase, but I poo-poo'd that expense as we had our nice inexpensive ones back at the resort.... (I learned at this point that I am WAY fallible, as before we left GF, we had spent the $$ to buy 3 ponchos.) IT WAS POURING DOWN RAIN. POURING, thunder, lightening, wind blowing ... this was a class one storm.
Our pirates had returned and were a little wet, but safe and happy. We picked up DD1 at the Mickey Mouse Club as they were being given their booty. DD2 even got some. I highly recommend this adventure. Even a shortened version hampered by rain was considered a big success by the kids.
Since the rain was still pouring down, we stepped into the cafeteria/game room and had some food and watched it rain. We spent about $23 dollars on pizza, pretzels, juice, milk, hamburger. The food was OK, and the cost inline with every other on site food joint.
Finally, the rain let up enough for us to make a break for it to the self parking lot. The drive back down 192 was a little slow, but the girls were having a lot of fun trading things from each other's bags of pirate booty. When we got home, we found the boys relaxing - they definitely got a lot that done on this trip! I suggested maybe they hit the flea markets, as I see all these signs for them everywhere. My DH loves this kind of shopping. Lucky for me, they take DD2, and leave the other 2 kids with me. These are the quiet ones, and as long as you break up DD1 from DD2, there is much less yelling. It's cold enough to even turn the heat on, and we all settle down for a nap.
Eventually, the party returns with a few goodies from the flea market. I have totally blocked out how we ended the night, but it was as quiet as the day. Day 5 is to be Magic Kingdom, so maybe it was a good thing we had rested today!
<img width="200" src="http://www.geocities.com/dmurphydis/cleveland.gif">
I guess a resting day was nice, but I'm like you, I'm there so lets get going! I'm glad to hear about your dds Pirates Cruise. Lots of people ask about it. Too bad my dds are too old for it.
