Par-tay 12/1 - 12/10 day 4 - I have lost control

[disndatworld]

[thread=1259741]Here's our pretrip post[/thread]

Friday 12/1 & Saturday 12/2

The trip countdown started a long time ago. We have a family website that showed the countdown, and every day (or so) the kids & I would look and get excited. DW did not get excited until the end. Then she was really excited (I bet it was the no cooking part). The last 10 days were grueling, but finally the day had arrived. DD5 has 1/2 day of Kindergarten, and we picked DS8 up from school later. The plan was to stay overnight near the airport (White Plains, NY) and catch the shuttle to the terminal. It was raining. Rain is bad for driving. Fortunately after a short drive the rain cleared up, and we headed to dinner. Olive Garden for the night. I had soup, salad & bread. I can't remember what anybody else ordered. After that, another 1/2 hour to our hotel. DW was not happy to see the hotel when we pulled up. It was about $130 a night w/ AAA rate, and rated 3 stars. I figured a night's stay, free parking and shuttle rides to/from the airport as a fair bargain for the rate... but the look on her face said otherwise. It turned out not to be too bad. Not what we usually do... but I would do it again - not sure about her. The rooms were remodeled and clean, but overall the hotel needed (and was currently undergoing) extensive remodeling. BTW, this is the Wellesley Inn of Armonk, NY. We actually slept ok, and woke up a little early, around 5:30 a.m. A quick continental breakfast (complimentary), short ride to the airport, and check the 6 bags we were almost ready to board.


Olive Garden
I don't know how it works in your family, but many commitments are made before events occur: For example, this time you can sit by Daddy. Next time you can pick the video. And so the list goes on. DS8 & DD5, "you can each have a window seat on the airplane" was the commitment of the day. Until we loaded onto AirTran's 717 row 31 seats which has no windows. Even I was disappointed. I love to look out. I feel like I'm in control when I can see we are flying level, or at an appropriate altitude. At least it was a direct flight. And at $150 round trip total per passenger, I felt it was a good value. We took off, got in 20 minutes early to MCO. As we exited the plane, we felt the heat & humidity. Ooh, la la. I grew up 2 hours North of Orlando in Jacksonville, and quickly remembered how I hate the combination. It wasn't too bad. Next, we found our way to the ME line.... errr very long line. It only took 10 minutes or so, but Wow!!! Who let the crowds out?!?

After leaving the ME desk, we found the CSR bus line (which was empty vs. all the other completely packed resort lines waiting for the bus) and loaded a few minutes later. I was in heaven not to be carrying (or paying somebody else to carry) our bags. Let's see: 4 x 50 lbs. suitcases, 2 duffle bags, laptop, wife's purse, wife's other bag, camcorder, DD8, DD5 & DS1 & his stroller is a lot. Get rid of the 4 suitcases, 2 duffle bags and I no longer look like a dork. Please just agree. Anyway, off to CSR. I think we stopped at POP something. I could be wrong. We really enjoyed the ride. We watched some Disney video (the kids really liked that). The "look" of Florida is burned into my mind from living there most of my life. Its very flat presence and the way the sun shines from a higher angle always strikes me the same way. It takes me back to the earlier years, of childhood & early marriage (pre-kids). I even miss those pre-kids years sometimes. Especially when dining, or purchasing for an extra 3, or when DW gets that look in her eyes. Back to reality. I took a little video on the ME bus w/ the new Panasonic 3-ccd mini DV camcorder. We caught a cool blimp (MetLife - Get Met it Pays), and Disney Signs which will make the final edited version of the family video. Once at CSR, we disembarked (cool word) and then found the check-in desk. We were somewhat under whelmed by the lobby. The pictures make it look much bigger and luxurious. Still very nice, but that was DW & my impression. The Christmas tree was nice. My wife wants to surround our tree with poinsettias now... once the kids get old enough not to eat them (I don't know if this is an urban legend or not). The check-in line was a bit slow (20 minutes). They gave us a room in TimBuk4, but I requested something closer and got a great 1st floor room in Casitas 3. I was very grateful for that. Our room was ready for early check-in (it was about 1:00 p.m.) and we found the room. Upon entering, we took a few pictures (we knew it would look totally different with 5 people and stuff). The room was nice, not great. It was clean and the furniture, bathroom, flooring, bedding were all in good shape. We were hungry, and set expectations right away w/ the little ones and told them it was lunch-time before anything else.


Casitas 3

DS8 by the fountain

DS8 & DS1 on the way to the room
We found the Pepper Market and really enjoyed this first of several meals. Fajitas de pollo for DW (chicken fajitas), Ribeye for me (not great, but good for a counter service - get it prepared no more than medium), and chicken strips for the kids. We were impressed now, but we would have our struggles with this place later. Back to the room for a quick something... and presto 4 of 6 bags had arrived. This was maybe an hour after our arrival. One of the missing bags was mine (which I could deal with if it never showed - jeans & t-shirts are easy to replace) and the other was a duffle w/ stuff we could easily replace. Afterwards it was off to our 1st park... MK!!!!


Arrival day... On the way to MK!!!
Now it was a Saturday, and this was a bonus day for us. Early plane arrival meant a few hours in the parks on a travel day so expectations were low. We caught the bus to MK, and headed to TomorrowLand. Wow. Who are all these people? They were everywhere. There were all these Pop Warner people. Kids... eeek. Oh, wait. I have 3 with me. I can't be insensitive. Anyway, they would be around all week, and clog everything. They have just as much a right as anybody else, so I will not say anything negative except to say I will do my best to book around this event in the future. We expected low crowds (having visited in early December before). Whatever, we fastpassed Buzz and in the meanwhile rode what we call The People Mover (TTA). This would be a top ride (for some unknown reason) for the kids. It is enjoyable. Buzz was great. I scored 150K + this first time, and 180K + some other time. I don't know what high score is, but I definitely want to compete. Just tell me, and I'll try and beat it next time. DD8 & DD5 love this ride. They can't get enough of it. DS1 slept this time through next to me. But it was every man for himself while Emperor Zurg was nearby. Don't count on me holding sleeping babies!!! Just kidding. A few other rides in Tomorrowland and we left for our ADR at Chef Mickey's. The short monorail trip completed, we exited, found a restroom, and then the restaurant and a longer wait than we hoped for. Nonetheless, we finally found a table among swarms of other families w/ little kids. The carpet in Chef Mickey's actually has ripples or waves from the wear and tear. I always wondered how Disney kept things new with so many guests. The truth is, they don't all the time. It's not as pristine as it used to be. The food was not very good, but the kids (especially DS1 & DD5) loved the characters. DD1 was hugging and kissing Donald Duck. Cool place. Lots of autographs & photos. We bought the photo they take outside the dining area. We may not do it next time... we'll see. It's totally for the character interaction.


DS8 & DD5 On PeopleMover

Kids & Pluto

Kids & Goofy

DS1 & Minnie

DS1 is smitten


It was back to the hotel and baths for the kids. Upon our return all 6 bags were present. Good news. Things would go downhill for DS8 & DD5, however. They contracted a nasty disease that they termed "rug-butt" in the bathtub at CSR. The tubs have a micro-abrasive/non-slip surface. The kids must have been sliding around too much and got "rug-butt". The symptoms are light pink or red skin (you know where) and mild soreness or burning. They complained for the rest of the night, and we put some cream on, sent them to bed. They bathed while sitting on washcloths the rest of our visit. Pretty funny, but they feared the sudden onset and heeded all bath-time warnings and stayed on their washcloths from that point on. Do you think you will get those washcloths on your visit? You never know!!! Showers for DW & I, and we were off to bed. Epcot tomorrow.

This was a great day. Magical, yes. Perfect, no. <myPhilosophy> Life is what you make of it. I don't mind living & telling the ups and downs, but almost everyday is usually a good day. You don't need a Mouse to make it better, but what a great place to have a fantastic day!!! </myPhilosophy>

 

[abbs25]

I look forward to reading more about your trip!

 

[disndatworld]

Thanks abbs25. I added pics now. I've got more coming later...

 

[disndatworld]

So we've travelled all the way and today was our first full day of parks. I am a park-guy. The kids are park-kids. DW would love to visit DD more often for shopping. It's a good thing there are enough shops inside the parks. When I was growing up, I was lucky to get a souvenir at all. Now DW is buying souvenirs for people not even with us... Wow. Slow down. It's really not too bad. It's the price you pay for a good DW & mom. (at least a part of the price)

EPCOT "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow" - Ok. Got rides? Any cool shows? What about food? I'll be there! We had a fairly easy morning of getting ready. DW takes a while. She has hair to do and all... I iron, help get the kids ready. Anything to get to the parks!!! Easy ride to the park via the Disney Bus and we are there. I think CSR bustop picks up @ #10 at EPCOT, so I try to remember that. The signs are good enough - but still I try to remember. We go thru security, slide the cards, scan our fingers and bank to the left. DW takes DS8 & DD5 on Test Track. It is everyone's first time on this attraction. The kids come out going nuts. We do the rider switch and I go on with them. Awesome. This attraction is so much like a car that the kids are extremely comfortable and in a familiar place. It could be going 120 mph and they wouldn't get scared. They probably did this ride 10 times over the trip (5 with DW & 5 with me). DW then took DS8 on MS-orange. He chickened out at the last minute and DW had that look on her face. Then I went on solo. Totally cool... but I wasn't sure if he would like it after all. Maybe it was best. He would have more chances later... We'll see what happens!!!

We made our way to WS & bypassed Mexico. We had ADR's for San Angel Inn that night. We stopped in China, and the kids fell in love with the little string marrionette/animals. A beautifally dressed CM walked up and started playing with DD5 & the animals for a few minutes and DW & I didn't even realize it was Mulan. Then a crowd came with their little autograph books. She then got an official picture & signature. Kinda funny. We had lunch @ the Lotus Blossom Cafe. I think we all got the Shanghai Grilled Chicken Rice Bowl, an egg roll, almond cookies for DW & I, and Red Bean/ Caramel Ginger Ice Cream for the kids. We really liked everything. It was plenty of food, for sure.

DD5 & Mulan


We did hit a little family stress point on this day: I really thought the best idea would be to get up early (around 7 or so), maybe take a break in the afternoon, but not stay out too late at night so we an start early the next day. DW likes to sleep in (maybe 9ish), and stay out all day late into the night. Hmmmm... 2 opposing views. We "talked about it, but came to no conclusion." This is code-speak for "we had a little argument". Now we've been married for 13 years, and neither one of us is a stranger to compromise... but admitting a problem is the first step. Ok. We're at EPCOT, and we'll pick up this "discussion" tomorrow. Why is it significant at this point? Because kids are a little tired, and a trip back to the room might be a good idea. We decided to stay. She would try my plan next time.

We headed back to FW for a while. The kids loved Spaceship Earth. They only kind of liked the new Nemo ride even though they are big fans of the movie. Afterwards, we hit Soarin' and fell in love! The kids were in their glory on this ride. It turned out to be DD5's fav. Of course DW & I had to do the rider switch because of DS1... not that we don't love and appreciate him, mind you. The older kids really make out well on w/ the rider switch since they get to go twice. I can't remember everything else. But we did make it back to San Angel Inn for a 7 p.m. ADR. I ordered the Ceviche appetizer. It was ok. I was expecting something else. DW ordered the Sope Tradicional as an appetizer. Good choice. For dinner I ordered the Mahi-Mahi. It was very good. I'm pretty sure DW ordered the Plato Mexicano. She made no memorable comments. The kids ordered quesadillas. That only went over ok. Anyway, the service was pretty bad. I think the DDP can hurt the service. I am fluent in Spanish, but the server refused. Maybe he only understood Spanish, but didn't want to speak: he replied only in English. The kids like to hear it, and I like to speak it... But he would not humor us. Again, I should give him the benefit of the doubt... Afterwards, we went on Rio del Tiempo. This was more enjoyable for everyone (including the kids) than I expected.

We took family shots w/ the decorations, trees, lights, etc... great day. Great night. I love this place. DW says we'll be back to conquier WS later in the week. We didn't make it past China going clockwise earlier in the day. I was ready to go back to the room, but DW & the kids wanted MK. Now I am never too tired for MK, but I was trying to be considerate of the kids... No arm-twisting here. We went over to MK, got our wristbands for EMH and rode BTMRR a few times. DS8 loved it. DD5 was ok, but prefers this ride in the daytime. She went on it each time, but held onto me for dear life. Ok, we caught a crowded bus back to the room for baths & showers. In bed way later than I wanted. Tomorrow is MGM.

 

[disndatworld]

Ok. It's happening. I am losing control. We are on a perfectly good schedule at home: kids get tucked in early, get up at a reasonable hour... you know; we try to be good parents. Now that we're in WDW I am the only one up at 6:30 or 7:00. I don't think that's really that early, but everybody else is tired... so I close the drapes to the sink area (remember we are at CSR) and get ready quietly... iron clothes... stage everything for a quick getaway... anything I can do to get the day going. But I realize that the saying "the early bird gets the worm" means nothing to the group called "my family". They have no values. Now sleep experts tell us that all the complaining teenagers do about being sleepy all the time is true... and teachers and parents need to lighten up. Wait. I have a solution: go to bed earlier. It's so simple. But it's just no fun. Well, I might be able to tuck the kids in early, but DW loves to stay up late (so do I, but I just don't sleep in). So the summary is that while I would like to be at the parks 1st thing or for morning EMH, it's just not going to happen. OK, maybe I'm a little out of control, but there's so much fun waiting to be had. Or maybe there is a compromise... back to compromises later.

Anyway, What a cool feeling when we first got onto WDW property and could see the ToT. It looks like it could be at least a Moderate WDW resort from a distance. Today we would face the story of the ill-fated hotel and other cool attractions at MGM. DW & I have been here before, but on shorter trips DS-MGM and DAK were the 1st parks to be cut - even when we would visit MK & EPCOT on more than one day. We have the least familiarity here - we need our park maps extensively.

Hollywood Tower of Terror - Oh my!!!


We arrived around 10 (all my talk about getting up early isn't quite as bad as it sounds, but 1st guy in the park would be my cup-o-tea) and headed to the ToT & RnR area. DS8 and I were the only ones brave enough to get in line for ToT. But then, just as we were about to board he chickened out. I'll clue you into his psyche. He loves the thrill rides, but when they hype them up with darkness and ghosts and put fear into the equation he becomes visibly worried. Oh well, I told him it was ok, but "try to anticipate your backing out before-hand for next time"... yeah right! I dropped him of with everybody else at the now-playing, nearby "Beauty and the Beast". I have seen it on Broadway, and know the story and I really want to ride ToT. Actually, there's a madness to my method: If I go on it, and come out alive, and (truthfully) proclaim it a 'Great Ride' he will probably go on. It is great! I get front-seat - dead center. I think it loads 4 to the right (facing-forward) and 3 to the left on each row, and I get middle seat. Wow! Air Time.

DS8 & I



Afterwards, I got FP for ToT (by faith somebody will ride w/ me), headed back to pick up the fam at Beauty and give them the lo-down. DS8 & DD5 will ride... but later. Ok by me. We cross the park and hit Star Tours. This is 1st for us. We do the rider-switch and everybody loves it.

We check out Voyage of the Little Mermaid. DD5 loves this. It's a little scary (lightnight, loud music, etc.) for kids, but they know where it's going so they can appreciate drama. Indiana Jones is a bit hit. Everybody loves the action - especially the "pretend extra". Isn't it so cool that George Lucus & Harrison Ford are doing Indy-4 in '07?!? For lunch, we dined at Sci-Fi Theater. We had ADR's and they seated us within a few minutes. We had a decent front-row car all the way to the right. The kids wanted to squeeze all in 1 row... Yea right. Give Mom and I a break... will you. So we sat in the back seat at a Drive-in. First for the two of us. There are 2 redeeming qualities for Sci-Fi: 1) The chips/spinach dip appetizer 2) The atmosphere. That's it. The rest of the food is lousy. Sorry. No punches. We still talk about how cool it was to eat there. Next time we'll look at the pictures.

Sci-Fi Diner: Bad Food but Cool Atmosphere





DW wanted to see the Drew Carrey show. She doesn't know who Drew Carrey is, and I've only seen him a few times... but I was not interested. I talked her out of it, but should have gone. It's a bad thing to talk somebody out of what they want to do while visiting WDW... even if it's not on your agenda. I know, because DS8 is doing it all day long and it DRIVES ME CRAZY!!! Ok, so I'm growing personally in my recognition of others wants and the rest of the day we do some things I would never do. We had a GREAT time. We ended up seeing Osbourne lights (pretty slick) and Fantasmic. The show is well done. But just as kids can enjoy a box more than the toy that came in it, they loved when the crowd did "the wave" the best. Especially the slow-motion "wave". DW hasn't been in big stadiums before, so she was trying to figure out how everybody knew what to do... She is so very cute.

DW, DS1 & I



We took a relatively early ride back to CSR, had Pepper Market and off to bed. Nobody ever falls asleep quickly so every night ends up being a late night. Oh well, we do try.

We had a great day. We love MGM. We'll be back later in the week. Tomorrow is MK & Cinderella's Royal Table for breakfast...

DS8, DD5 & DS1