Pocahontas1
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2002
- Messages
- 362
Part 6: Multiple mountains and the bus dilemma.
Cast of Characters:
Me: 35 year old major Disney fan. DH bought into DVC in 2002, so I now get to go at least once a year.
Omi: My mom. She is 59 and enjoys Disney (but not nearly as much as I do), but she was wiling to go to spend time with the grandkids.
Tater: DS Almost 5 years old (to be exact he is 59 months old this became important later on in the trip). Has been to Disney about 6 times. Knows exactly what he wants to do.
Princess Squidgy: DD 13 months old. This is her second Disney trip. Walks everywhere, but not independently. Has just begun to have major temper tantrums.
Now that Tater has met his new favorite princess, Ariel, were done with princess meet and greets for a while and are looking for some time fillers before riding Space Mountain. Since it is raining fairly hard, weve decided that Mickeys Philharmagic might be a good place to spend some time. Im not optimistic since Squidgy hasnt sat still for any length of time, but who knows, maybe this will be a refreshing change. Tater saw this last year and really enjoyed it and cant wait to go again.
The sign said 15 minute wait, but we walked right in to the lobby. We picked up our glasses, and yes, Squidgy had to have a pair as well. We waited just a few minutes before the doors opened. We got great seats, toward the middle, mid way up. The theater darkens, and I can only think of one way to keep Squidgy quiet. Its time to nurse. I know there are people who have issues with breastfeeding in public, but Im not one of them. Im not an in your face kind of feeder (that didnt sound right, did it?); I feed discretely, and covered by a blanket. But, if you were at the show and were offended, I apologize, but at least you didnt get to experience the blood-curdling howls from an angry and confined Squidge.
Instead of watching most of the movie, I watch Tater experience the show. It is amazing how real everything is for him. He reaches out for things that float above his head and ducks when things come flying toward him. I know that adults react to some degree, but its not with the total care-free abandon that children do. Maybe that is the real Disney Magic the way you feel when you watch your children enjoying themselves?
After the movie, were in the window for Space Mountain. We had hoped to ride the rockets wait, rephrase that. Tater had hoped to ride the rockets Omi and I flipped a coin to decide who had to go with him. Im afraid of heights and she doesnt go in a circle. I lost so, I was not disappointed to see that the 10 minute wait (during the rain) had increased to 40 minutes. Way to long to wait (Huge sigh of relief). Before hitting SM, we pick up FP for Buzz.
Personally, I cant believe Tater wants to ride SM. I figure the line will do him in. If that doesnt, then when he figures out he has to ride by himself, it will be all over. Nope, no problem. He walks through the line by himself thank you FP, cause the standby was 70 minutes. We look up at the ceiling (like everyone else) and I show him how to find the glow in the dark cars (Omi tells him the Chocolate Chip Cookie secret when she goes in with him she spoils all the Disney secrets wait until the AK posting). When it is our turn, he walks right in and sits down in the car and says Mommy, I want you to hold on to me. Huh? We are in separate cars! How am I supposed to do that and its too late to back out now because we are already headed around the corner.
What I discovered is that if I leaned forward, I could reach up and put my arms sort of around his shoulders. The problem with this is that my nose and chin are now even with the back of his seat. I do not remember SM being that rough, dark, yes, rough, no. Since Im holding on to him, I cant brace my self, so Im bobbing and weaving, trying not to get cracked in the face while were going up and down hills I cant see. On top of that, I forgot to leave my bag with Omi. Its very small just big enough for the credit card, room key, PAPs, DDE letter, but it has worked its way up to the top of the car and is flying out of the car around the corners. I let go of Tater with one arm and wedge the bag between the side of the car and my back. If I sit at just the right angle, I can keep it in the car. Luckily the ride is fairly short and I exit with all my teeth and without a broken nose. Did Tater enjoy the ride? Absolutely, he cant wait to ride again. But darn, Omi is holding the babyswap pass, her turn now (Insert evil chuckle here). I did give her some warning about holding on to Tater, but it was intentionally very vague.
While they are riding, I head over to Stitch to pick up FPs. I have no interest in this ride, but Tater has been looking forward to this ever since he heard the ride opened. Im hoping hell ride this with Omi. After picking up the FP, I head over to Cosmic Rays to find something to eat. Apparently, the two root beer floats didnt stick around as long as I had thought. I pick up a ¼ dog and fries for Tater and I get a burger and fries for Omi and I to split. After I get to the assigned meeting spot, I wait patiently for about 5 or 10 minutes and feed Squidgy fries and popcorn. Weve found out that if we ever need her to sit quietly, shell do it for popcorn. I dont even want to think about the amount of sodium she is consuming on this trip. When Omi and Tater make it back, her arms are red from holding on to him during the ride. That is her only damage, though. The things we do to make the kids happy.
From here we head on over to Buzz. We tried to babyswap, but they said no passes cause Squidgy was big enough to ride. I have always enjoyed Buzz in the past, but it just wasnt as much fun this time. Omi and Tater rode together. She said she couldnt ever find her red light and didnt know where to aim. Yeah right, sounds like an excuse to justify your paltry score of 7500. I took Squidgy and tried to steer, shoot and hold a wiggly baby on my lap. Everything was going pretty well until she discovered the joystick that makes the car spin. I had a less than stellar performance with 60,000 points, but it was still good enough to be the sharpshooter in the family. As usual, Tater loved it. I dont even think he knows you get points for shooting. He just likes to shoot and spin. Disney, I feel kind of disloyal saying this, but I really think I like MIB at Universal better.
More time to kill before Stitch. Its about 7:15pm and Squidgy is getting tired. We head over to Carousel of Progress because it is another dark, quiet place that is good for a rest. As a child, I hated this attraction. Why sit here when you could be riding rides? Now as an adult, I appreciate the down time. Im surprised at how few people are in our section, maybe 20 or 25. Omi enjoys pointing out all the things that used to be in her house things from the first scene at the turn of the century (ha-ha Omi, just kidding, you arent quite that old, yet). Squidgy was glad to have somewhere else to snack. I was surprised how much Tater enjoyed this attraction. By the end, he was singing along. He thought it was really cool how it was the same guy and dog through out the entire show. When the show ends, Squidgy is asleep and I mean out!
With Squidgy in stroller, I surprise Tater with Stitch FPs. He is so excited. I try to get Omi to go, but she says since Squidgy is sleeping, shell wait with her (sigh). I guess Ill have to go. I may be in the minority, but I really liked Alien Encounter. I know it wasnt very Disney, but it sure was fun to take some unsuspecting newbie on it and watch them squirm. Anyway, Tater has been looking forward to this and as Ive already said, its not all about me.
Ahem (stepping on my soapbox). I really dont like Stitch I think he is a bad role model. I also dont like Lilo, I think she is poorly behaved and yells and whines too much. I dont think Stitch needs to be honored with a ride, but I dont work for Disney, I am just a lowly guest. Stitch needs to go from the busses, from the phone, from the monorail, from the park. It all started with a mouse, not an alien. (Stepping down from my soapbox)
Next to us, in the ride, are a father and his son. Im not sure how old the son is, but my guess is he just barely made the height requirement, maybe he is three. He is scared from the moment he walks in. He wont sit in the seat because he is too scared. His father tells him everything will be all right and he will like, it but he needs to sit down because it will be too dangerous if he doesnt sit. Its getting ready to start and the kid is still standing in front of the seats. The father is fussing, the kid is getting upset, where are the CMs? Finally (and unfortunately), the father talks the boy in to sitting down. Now, he is trapped in a seat in a dark room. Im sure you can imagine what happened next. I dont understand why parents do this to their children. It hurts me to see children upset and scared when it could have been avoided.
After the ride, Tater doesnt even want to look for Stitch at MK. He had so looked forward to this ride and now doesnt ever want to ride it again. He wasnt scared; he just thought it was dumb. Personally, Im glad he doesnt want to ride again so I dont have to waste my time. Omi and Squidgy (still sleeping) are right where we left them. So, it is off to Adventureland.
Its raining a bit again, so we go off and look for characters. In Adventureland, we find Timon, Rafiki, Aladdin, Jasmine and the Genie. Tater waits in line for pictures and autographs. I sit at a table with the sleeping Squidgy and try to figure out how much longer until Wishes and if we really need to see it again. Aladdin, Jasmine and Genie were some of the best characters we met all trip. They made a big fuss over Taters splinted arm and the Genie mimed playing baseball when Tater told him how he broke it. After his need for characters has been fulfilled, Tater notices the tree house. He wants to go see it. I love my child. I sat through IASW. I risked facial damage on SM. I endured chili-dog burps at Stitch, but I must draw the line somewhere. After 12 hours of walking, there is no way Im climbing the stairs to the tree house. Nope, no how. Omi also refuses to give in. Tater pouts briefly, but I think he is pretty tired too, so he gives in and decides to ride in the stroller.
We walk through Adventureland and decide to ride Pirates. Tater and Omi ride first while I wait with a still sleeping Squidgy she has been asleep for almost 2 hours now. After they find me sitting on my quiet bench, wishing I could take a nap, Tater and I go back to ride. He liked everything except the scene with the ships and the cannons. He was very worried we were going to be hit by a cannonball. I have always like Pirates and I hope the rumors about updating it are untrue, unless Johnny Depp is actually going to be there, cause he is way hot, but he should never be Willy Wonka (but I digress ).
We finally make it back toward BTMRR and use our babyswap pass that was left over from earlier in the day. Omi hangs out on the parade route so she can see Spectromagic. BTMRR is basically a walk on. Tater loves it as much after dark as he did earlier today. He wants to ride again. I tell him three times a day is enough for anyone and well ride it next time we come back. As we walk by SpM, we see the wait is only 10 minutes. He wants to ride, so we go check with Omi. Shes pretty comfortable where she is and we head back to ride. Another walk on. While we were outside we could see part of Spectromagic and that was enough for Tater, hes not big on parades. When we get off, he wants to ride again, but the parade is over, so we need to find Omi. Again, she is right where we left her and looks none too happy. That was a long 10 minutes. Well, yes, it was a 10 minute wait to ride, but then the ride is like 15 or so minutes. Shes getting tired and were all getting cranky.
Finally, about 10 minutes until Wishes. We find a good viewing place over by Crystal Palace. I tell Tater to look for Tinkerbell cause she is going to fly but she didnt, or if she did, I didnt see her - a minor disappointment. Taters sitting in the stroller, in awe. This is a big improvement from a previous trip where we decided to view Wishes after we came out of IASW. I think they must have been setting some off from the roof and he was terrified by the noise. I felt like a really bad parent and we quickly moved out of the vicinity. Omi loves fireworks and she actually looks a little teary eyed. This is my favorite night time show at Disney of course I havent seen Fantasmic yet. It is just incredible. If you havent seen it yet, do.
Even though the park is open for another hour, we are done. With thousands of others, we head toward the exit. I look in the stroller and Tater and Squidgy are sound asleep. Now, just to get back to the hotel and we can go to bed. Wait, were not staying at WL this trip, there is no boat, we have to take the bus to PO-R. That means we have to wake up both kids and collapse the stroller to get on the bus. This is not good.
This had sounded like such a good idea this morning, but now the bus stops are crowded. It seems like every other resort has had two or three busses come, but PO-R has only had one. Weve been waiting here a long time like 15 to 20 minutes before another bus shows up. We dont make it on this one, but are near the front and will definitely be on the next one.
They do provide entertainment while you wait, the old top Disney attractions was playing while we were there. People are smiling and looking at my two, beautiful, sleeping children. Omi and I are trying to figure out what to do. Tater will be a bear to wake up. Squidgy cant walk yet. That means two children to carry and the heavy-behind stroller to lift. A very nice woman behind us offered to help me lift the stroller, but she has three children of her own to deal with. We start to wake up Tater and he is none to happy. He wants to sleeeeppppp (as everyone waiting in line heard). Hes finally standing sort of propped up against one of us.
When the bus pulls up, Tater walks on and collapses in his seat. Omi carries Squidgy and the nice gentleman behind me helps puts the stroller on. This bus is set up differently, so I can load the stroller in the front. Whoever would have thought there would be so many different types of busses at Disney.
We arrive safely and PO-R and are back in the room by 11:30pm. Thats 15 and ½ hours after we left. A quick change and potty and the kids are in bed. Omi and I follow behind quickly. Tomorrow we are supposed to move to OKW and hit Blizzard Beach, but we are both pretty tired. Right now sleeps sounds better than more walking. Its doubtful that we make it, but well make a decision after we wake up.
Next up: Part 7 What Happens at Disney, Stays at Disney.
Cast of Characters:
Me: 35 year old major Disney fan. DH bought into DVC in 2002, so I now get to go at least once a year.
Omi: My mom. She is 59 and enjoys Disney (but not nearly as much as I do), but she was wiling to go to spend time with the grandkids.
Tater: DS Almost 5 years old (to be exact he is 59 months old this became important later on in the trip). Has been to Disney about 6 times. Knows exactly what he wants to do.
Princess Squidgy: DD 13 months old. This is her second Disney trip. Walks everywhere, but not independently. Has just begun to have major temper tantrums.
Now that Tater has met his new favorite princess, Ariel, were done with princess meet and greets for a while and are looking for some time fillers before riding Space Mountain. Since it is raining fairly hard, weve decided that Mickeys Philharmagic might be a good place to spend some time. Im not optimistic since Squidgy hasnt sat still for any length of time, but who knows, maybe this will be a refreshing change. Tater saw this last year and really enjoyed it and cant wait to go again.
The sign said 15 minute wait, but we walked right in to the lobby. We picked up our glasses, and yes, Squidgy had to have a pair as well. We waited just a few minutes before the doors opened. We got great seats, toward the middle, mid way up. The theater darkens, and I can only think of one way to keep Squidgy quiet. Its time to nurse. I know there are people who have issues with breastfeeding in public, but Im not one of them. Im not an in your face kind of feeder (that didnt sound right, did it?); I feed discretely, and covered by a blanket. But, if you were at the show and were offended, I apologize, but at least you didnt get to experience the blood-curdling howls from an angry and confined Squidge.
Instead of watching most of the movie, I watch Tater experience the show. It is amazing how real everything is for him. He reaches out for things that float above his head and ducks when things come flying toward him. I know that adults react to some degree, but its not with the total care-free abandon that children do. Maybe that is the real Disney Magic the way you feel when you watch your children enjoying themselves?
After the movie, were in the window for Space Mountain. We had hoped to ride the rockets wait, rephrase that. Tater had hoped to ride the rockets Omi and I flipped a coin to decide who had to go with him. Im afraid of heights and she doesnt go in a circle. I lost so, I was not disappointed to see that the 10 minute wait (during the rain) had increased to 40 minutes. Way to long to wait (Huge sigh of relief). Before hitting SM, we pick up FP for Buzz.
Personally, I cant believe Tater wants to ride SM. I figure the line will do him in. If that doesnt, then when he figures out he has to ride by himself, it will be all over. Nope, no problem. He walks through the line by himself thank you FP, cause the standby was 70 minutes. We look up at the ceiling (like everyone else) and I show him how to find the glow in the dark cars (Omi tells him the Chocolate Chip Cookie secret when she goes in with him she spoils all the Disney secrets wait until the AK posting). When it is our turn, he walks right in and sits down in the car and says Mommy, I want you to hold on to me. Huh? We are in separate cars! How am I supposed to do that and its too late to back out now because we are already headed around the corner.
What I discovered is that if I leaned forward, I could reach up and put my arms sort of around his shoulders. The problem with this is that my nose and chin are now even with the back of his seat. I do not remember SM being that rough, dark, yes, rough, no. Since Im holding on to him, I cant brace my self, so Im bobbing and weaving, trying not to get cracked in the face while were going up and down hills I cant see. On top of that, I forgot to leave my bag with Omi. Its very small just big enough for the credit card, room key, PAPs, DDE letter, but it has worked its way up to the top of the car and is flying out of the car around the corners. I let go of Tater with one arm and wedge the bag between the side of the car and my back. If I sit at just the right angle, I can keep it in the car. Luckily the ride is fairly short and I exit with all my teeth and without a broken nose. Did Tater enjoy the ride? Absolutely, he cant wait to ride again. But darn, Omi is holding the babyswap pass, her turn now (Insert evil chuckle here). I did give her some warning about holding on to Tater, but it was intentionally very vague.
While they are riding, I head over to Stitch to pick up FPs. I have no interest in this ride, but Tater has been looking forward to this ever since he heard the ride opened. Im hoping hell ride this with Omi. After picking up the FP, I head over to Cosmic Rays to find something to eat. Apparently, the two root beer floats didnt stick around as long as I had thought. I pick up a ¼ dog and fries for Tater and I get a burger and fries for Omi and I to split. After I get to the assigned meeting spot, I wait patiently for about 5 or 10 minutes and feed Squidgy fries and popcorn. Weve found out that if we ever need her to sit quietly, shell do it for popcorn. I dont even want to think about the amount of sodium she is consuming on this trip. When Omi and Tater make it back, her arms are red from holding on to him during the ride. That is her only damage, though. The things we do to make the kids happy.
From here we head on over to Buzz. We tried to babyswap, but they said no passes cause Squidgy was big enough to ride. I have always enjoyed Buzz in the past, but it just wasnt as much fun this time. Omi and Tater rode together. She said she couldnt ever find her red light and didnt know where to aim. Yeah right, sounds like an excuse to justify your paltry score of 7500. I took Squidgy and tried to steer, shoot and hold a wiggly baby on my lap. Everything was going pretty well until she discovered the joystick that makes the car spin. I had a less than stellar performance with 60,000 points, but it was still good enough to be the sharpshooter in the family. As usual, Tater loved it. I dont even think he knows you get points for shooting. He just likes to shoot and spin. Disney, I feel kind of disloyal saying this, but I really think I like MIB at Universal better.
More time to kill before Stitch. Its about 7:15pm and Squidgy is getting tired. We head over to Carousel of Progress because it is another dark, quiet place that is good for a rest. As a child, I hated this attraction. Why sit here when you could be riding rides? Now as an adult, I appreciate the down time. Im surprised at how few people are in our section, maybe 20 or 25. Omi enjoys pointing out all the things that used to be in her house things from the first scene at the turn of the century (ha-ha Omi, just kidding, you arent quite that old, yet). Squidgy was glad to have somewhere else to snack. I was surprised how much Tater enjoyed this attraction. By the end, he was singing along. He thought it was really cool how it was the same guy and dog through out the entire show. When the show ends, Squidgy is asleep and I mean out!
With Squidgy in stroller, I surprise Tater with Stitch FPs. He is so excited. I try to get Omi to go, but she says since Squidgy is sleeping, shell wait with her (sigh). I guess Ill have to go. I may be in the minority, but I really liked Alien Encounter. I know it wasnt very Disney, but it sure was fun to take some unsuspecting newbie on it and watch them squirm. Anyway, Tater has been looking forward to this and as Ive already said, its not all about me.
Ahem (stepping on my soapbox). I really dont like Stitch I think he is a bad role model. I also dont like Lilo, I think she is poorly behaved and yells and whines too much. I dont think Stitch needs to be honored with a ride, but I dont work for Disney, I am just a lowly guest. Stitch needs to go from the busses, from the phone, from the monorail, from the park. It all started with a mouse, not an alien. (Stepping down from my soapbox)
Next to us, in the ride, are a father and his son. Im not sure how old the son is, but my guess is he just barely made the height requirement, maybe he is three. He is scared from the moment he walks in. He wont sit in the seat because he is too scared. His father tells him everything will be all right and he will like, it but he needs to sit down because it will be too dangerous if he doesnt sit. Its getting ready to start and the kid is still standing in front of the seats. The father is fussing, the kid is getting upset, where are the CMs? Finally (and unfortunately), the father talks the boy in to sitting down. Now, he is trapped in a seat in a dark room. Im sure you can imagine what happened next. I dont understand why parents do this to their children. It hurts me to see children upset and scared when it could have been avoided.
After the ride, Tater doesnt even want to look for Stitch at MK. He had so looked forward to this ride and now doesnt ever want to ride it again. He wasnt scared; he just thought it was dumb. Personally, Im glad he doesnt want to ride again so I dont have to waste my time. Omi and Squidgy (still sleeping) are right where we left them. So, it is off to Adventureland.
Its raining a bit again, so we go off and look for characters. In Adventureland, we find Timon, Rafiki, Aladdin, Jasmine and the Genie. Tater waits in line for pictures and autographs. I sit at a table with the sleeping Squidgy and try to figure out how much longer until Wishes and if we really need to see it again. Aladdin, Jasmine and Genie were some of the best characters we met all trip. They made a big fuss over Taters splinted arm and the Genie mimed playing baseball when Tater told him how he broke it. After his need for characters has been fulfilled, Tater notices the tree house. He wants to go see it. I love my child. I sat through IASW. I risked facial damage on SM. I endured chili-dog burps at Stitch, but I must draw the line somewhere. After 12 hours of walking, there is no way Im climbing the stairs to the tree house. Nope, no how. Omi also refuses to give in. Tater pouts briefly, but I think he is pretty tired too, so he gives in and decides to ride in the stroller.
We walk through Adventureland and decide to ride Pirates. Tater and Omi ride first while I wait with a still sleeping Squidgy she has been asleep for almost 2 hours now. After they find me sitting on my quiet bench, wishing I could take a nap, Tater and I go back to ride. He liked everything except the scene with the ships and the cannons. He was very worried we were going to be hit by a cannonball. I have always like Pirates and I hope the rumors about updating it are untrue, unless Johnny Depp is actually going to be there, cause he is way hot, but he should never be Willy Wonka (but I digress ).
We finally make it back toward BTMRR and use our babyswap pass that was left over from earlier in the day. Omi hangs out on the parade route so she can see Spectromagic. BTMRR is basically a walk on. Tater loves it as much after dark as he did earlier today. He wants to ride again. I tell him three times a day is enough for anyone and well ride it next time we come back. As we walk by SpM, we see the wait is only 10 minutes. He wants to ride, so we go check with Omi. Shes pretty comfortable where she is and we head back to ride. Another walk on. While we were outside we could see part of Spectromagic and that was enough for Tater, hes not big on parades. When we get off, he wants to ride again, but the parade is over, so we need to find Omi. Again, she is right where we left her and looks none too happy. That was a long 10 minutes. Well, yes, it was a 10 minute wait to ride, but then the ride is like 15 or so minutes. Shes getting tired and were all getting cranky.
Finally, about 10 minutes until Wishes. We find a good viewing place over by Crystal Palace. I tell Tater to look for Tinkerbell cause she is going to fly but she didnt, or if she did, I didnt see her - a minor disappointment. Taters sitting in the stroller, in awe. This is a big improvement from a previous trip where we decided to view Wishes after we came out of IASW. I think they must have been setting some off from the roof and he was terrified by the noise. I felt like a really bad parent and we quickly moved out of the vicinity. Omi loves fireworks and she actually looks a little teary eyed. This is my favorite night time show at Disney of course I havent seen Fantasmic yet. It is just incredible. If you havent seen it yet, do.
Even though the park is open for another hour, we are done. With thousands of others, we head toward the exit. I look in the stroller and Tater and Squidgy are sound asleep. Now, just to get back to the hotel and we can go to bed. Wait, were not staying at WL this trip, there is no boat, we have to take the bus to PO-R. That means we have to wake up both kids and collapse the stroller to get on the bus. This is not good.
This had sounded like such a good idea this morning, but now the bus stops are crowded. It seems like every other resort has had two or three busses come, but PO-R has only had one. Weve been waiting here a long time like 15 to 20 minutes before another bus shows up. We dont make it on this one, but are near the front and will definitely be on the next one.
They do provide entertainment while you wait, the old top Disney attractions was playing while we were there. People are smiling and looking at my two, beautiful, sleeping children. Omi and I are trying to figure out what to do. Tater will be a bear to wake up. Squidgy cant walk yet. That means two children to carry and the heavy-behind stroller to lift. A very nice woman behind us offered to help me lift the stroller, but she has three children of her own to deal with. We start to wake up Tater and he is none to happy. He wants to sleeeeppppp (as everyone waiting in line heard). Hes finally standing sort of propped up against one of us.
When the bus pulls up, Tater walks on and collapses in his seat. Omi carries Squidgy and the nice gentleman behind me helps puts the stroller on. This bus is set up differently, so I can load the stroller in the front. Whoever would have thought there would be so many different types of busses at Disney.
We arrive safely and PO-R and are back in the room by 11:30pm. Thats 15 and ½ hours after we left. A quick change and potty and the kids are in bed. Omi and I follow behind quickly. Tomorrow we are supposed to move to OKW and hit Blizzard Beach, but we are both pretty tired. Right now sleeps sounds better than more walking. Its doubtful that we make it, but well make a decision after we wake up.
Next up: Part 7 What Happens at Disney, Stays at Disney.
Great report!
