Pooping Rainbows While Flying Through Pixie Dust

[chaslaw]

Fraktastic.

In a word, our Spring Break 2012 trip to The Duck House was fraktastic. If Webster's were to define that word it would say: See Susan and The Boy's Spring Break 2012 trip.

I've experienced a little pixie dust here and there. It's always a beautiful thing. But this trip had enough of it so as to go down in the history books. So I'm going to write about it in the hopes some of it will rub off on others.

The players in this little tale of awesomeness are me and The Boy. He's eleven now. Hitting puberty. Just what all of us single moms love. Dealing with a boy going through puberty. Alone. Say what you like about my PMS, at least there's a bit of a schedule to it and you can just throw wine and chocolate at me to make it better. Boys and their mood swings... oh, crap! But I digress. Puberty doesn't really play much of a role in this trip report. Other than the wicked step-sisters rather hilariously hitting on my son and his response. But you'll have to wait for that.

The last time we made this trip was in January 2009. Much has happened in the intervening time. Much. There was a bit of legal drama involving, in part, getting our names changed. There has been the discovery of just how [insert string of expletives here] brutal bullies can be. And there was a pretty horrendous saga involving an ADHD diagnosis, medication, and witnessing the reasons for a black box warning on those meds. But things finally seem to have turned a corner. Legal drama is over. Some bullies and their parents have learned what a vicious redneck I can be. The meds are flushed away and we're having a lot of success with diet and lifestyle changes to deal with the ADHD. So although things really went down the toilet there for a while, they're back on track. My son and I smile and laugh on a daily basis these days and he's doing great in school! (The doctors who were furious with me about taking him off the meds and insisted that his grades would suffer along with everything else can kind of suck it because he has remained on honor roll every term this year and even took 2nd place in his division (Engineering) at the regional science fair. Yeah. Suck it.)

Given everything, I figured we could stand to hit the reset button and few ways are better than by going to see Mickey & Co. Five nights tent camping at Fort Wilderness and five awesome days in the parks! With the dining plan, natch. (They cook better than I do.)

Oh, yeah. And I didn't want to drive. Between the wear and tear on my wheels as well as the price of gas I was looking for an out. And I found it. The awesomeness that is Amtrak where you can take all your crap without an "excessive baggage" fee, the regular seats are as big as first class seats on a plane, and walking around and socializing are perfectly acceptable! Did I mention that both of our return tickets were under $200? Yes. Less than $200 for both of us. Sweet! I'm feeling the magic already...

 

[ctmomof4]

love it already..no one knows their child like their mother

Can't wait to hear about the Magical trip

 

[chaslaw]

Aww... thank you! For a while there, I might have argued that with you. Things got really hairy and I was so angry at myself for the things I missed. A lot of guilt. Now, though, our family is back and as strong as ever. We're much more willing to just walk away from the things we need to, even when it's not comfortable to do that. A good lesson, I suppose, but I darn sure wish it had been learned in a less painful way!

BUT ON TO THE RECAP!!

As I mentioned, the players are my eleven year old son and me, a 900 year old time lord . OK, so maybe I'm not a time lord but some days I sure do feel that old!

My son and I have been to Disney twice before. Honestly, considering everything, I think that's doing really well. We must actually like this place. So it's reasonable for me to expect a good time. Oh, boy, I had no idea how much fun we would have.

It all started at 1:44 a.m. on Friday, April 6, 2012. Well, it was supposed to start then. The train was running about 30 minutes late. Thankfully, my dad is so awesome that not only did he take us to the station... he even hung out with us while we waited.

The smaller one is The Boy. In case you weren't sure.

My son had received the tablet he's holding (Asus Transformer... they rock and I'm a little jealous because I don't have one) just over a week before our trip. It was a prize for his doing so well in the science fair. --- He represented his school and came in second in his division at regionals. It was the first time since at least 2005 that someone from his school had even had an honorable mention, much less placing. He also won a special recognition award for "Best Use of Statistics". He's such a smartie-pants. Yeah. It skipped a generation.

So we waited (Of course we waited. What else were we gonna do? Hot wire a train?) and soon enough, our ride rolled into the station.

His very first train ride.

I lived overseas many moons ago and grew to love public transport including the train. Unfortunately, when I moved back to SC, there was and remains a serious lack of the stuff. Anyway. The Boy was super excited to board the train and be on our way. As was I, for that matter!

We climbed aboard, stowed our stuff, took our seats, and relaxed.

Some of us relaxed more than others.

As you can see, The Boy had absolutely no problem sleeping on the train. I wouldn't have either, had I brought an eye mask. They leave the lights on in coach all night. Dimmed, but very much on. And I'm a light sleeper. Doh! Oh, well, after a while I just dropped a shirt over my face and slept easily enough.

The train. Not only are the Amtrak train seats bigger than their European counterparts (Amtrak is geared more towards long distance), but as a former flight attendant I'm telling you the "cheap" seats on Amtrak are on a par with first class seats on most US airlines. Plus Amtrak gives you a leg rest as well as a foot rest AND there are two standard electrical outlets at the seats! Very convenient. Even when the person in front of you fully reclines, you have plenty of space. Oh, yeah. And if you can carry it, you can bring it. This includes food and drinks (adult as well as half-pint varieties). You can check bags as well and those are scanned and weighed but then you can carry on an awful lot on top of that. Amtrak is my new bestie. Except the schedule. Not a whole lot of choice on that end.

Oh, well. Whatevs. I finally (FINALLY) get to sleep on the drive. The last two trips I was the one driving and always arrived a bit tired. Who am I kidding? I was exhausted and the first day of a trip (both times) was due to the magic that is adrenaline. It was freakin AWESOME to sleep on the trip.

Soon enough, it was time for the morning repast.

Yes. I let him have a frappuccino.

I know. I know. I'm just done touting the virtues of carrying on food. For whatever reason, I didn't have the heart to make him have a breakfast bar that morning which is what I pulled from my backpack. So when I strolled to the dining car for my coffee, I grabbed a bagel-which for him. And despite my abundance of bottled water back at the seat, some crazy person got in my head and asked, "Do you sell chocolate milk?" The reply was, "Sorry. We have frappuccino." Because, you know, that's a common equivalent. And then that crazy person threw their voice so that it came out of my mouth and said, "I'll take it."

The Boy loved it. Enough that he used his own money on the return trip to buy another frap.

We both got up and walked around. The bathrooms on trains, while just as inherently dirty as they are on planes, are roomier. Somehow it is more acceptable when the same grime is spread out over a fractionally larger area. Plus I wasn't driving and the plane costs about five times as much!

The Boy had a good time chatting and playing with other kids. No pics of that, I'm afraid. I would have felt too creepy, taking pictures that involved other kids who are otherwise strangers to us. The thing is, trains are/can be really great for socializing. It was also good to see The Boy up and engaging. Those meds had really done a number on him and for a while he became so withdrawn and in his own head, it was wonderful to watch him simply be a typical, full of life, gregarious kid.

Until he had had enough human interaction.

Chillin like a villian

After a while he came back to his seat and kicked back. See? What did I tell you? Tons of room. Plus that whole "standard electrical outlet at the seat" deal meant he could play on his tablet without worry of draining the battery. Oh, Amtrak. I totally heart you. I was able to work on my knitting, too. This is, for us, a much better way to get there.

And get there we did.

CLB to KIS. We made up the late start and arrived on time. Just before 11:00 a.m. If you take the train, I can't tell you anything about going into the Orlando station. We went into Kissimmee. From the station we walked about two minutes (seriously, if that much) to catch the Linx bus. We picked up the #4 to Osceola Square Mall which took about 20 minutes, and then transferred to the #56 which has you at the TTC within another 30 minutes. All of this for mere $4 for the both of us. Really, really simple.

Now, because I was a moron, we didn't stay on-site the first night we were there. And we didn't go to the parks. See, I had heard that using the public bus would take hours. Complete nonsense, I now know. At the time, I was simply opposed to paying for a full day and not even getting half. Next time I won't make that mistake.

We stayed at a cheap hotel on the bus route for our first night. It was convenient because the bus stop was just out front and they did hold our two suitcases and tent until we could check in without any additional fee.

Once we had our bags stored, we walked until we found something we wanted to eat, had a relaxing lunch, and then back to the hotel as it was time to check in. Yay!! Our room was ready. We took our stuff to our room, The Boy stretched out and watched cartoons while I grabbed a shower, and then we headed to Downtown Disney. This was easy because we just took the #56 bus (with the stop right outside) to the TTC and used internal buses from there. The return to the hotel was just as easy. The whole day, both of us using the public bus system, only took $12 from my vacation budget.

This trip was off to a pretty amazing start!!

 

[chaslaw]

So after we had food in our bellies, shower for me, and some quality cartoon time for The Boy, we decided to make our way to Downtown Disney. The convenient stop just outside our hotel was about to get put to the test.

Let me know when it's here!

Soon enough the #56 bus was there and we were on our way to the TTC. I just can't stress enough how well it worked for us, using the public buses that first day as well as the last, getting back to the train station.

In all of the times I've been to The World, this was my first time at DTD. It was fun but I don't really see it being a must-see destination for us. Then again, we were only there one evening so if anyone has suggestions to do there, please feel free to share!

Tweedle Army

My kid has become pretty adept at popping an effective pose. I tried to do something cute, too, but just ended up looking mental so I'll leave that one out of the photo gallery.

My new man

My kind of guy. Big, strong, funny, and nutritionally sound!

To Infinity, and Beyond!

The Boy has a toy Buzz at home with a short in it so from time to time, for no apparent reason, it starts spouting movie quotes. Rather, parts of quotes. Like, "To infinity" Kind of creepy when it does it in the middle of the night. I've removed the batteries before but my darling son thinks it's really funny so he keeps putting them back. What ya gonna do??

Bear Hug

I wondered if he was going to try to smuggle this one out for a while there. He just thought this was such an awesome bear.

Me and The Ducks

Everybody has their favorite character. For me, it's Donald. The Duck. He's the funny kid in class who keeps you from taking yourself too seriously. He's the one with the plan for world domination that you just have to support. I love me some Donald!!

Daisy is cool, too.

The Boy and The Ducks

He's so street. Yeah... right.

Oh, Pooh!

A nice couple took this picture for us. I tried to get them to change position so that the lighting would at least be more even but there was a language barrier. Oh, well. A pic with Tigger is cool by me!!!

OK, it was absolute chaos in that Lego store. We got a couple of feet in, looked at one another, and he announced "I don't really like Legos this much, mom."

Chattin with a Dragon

Outside was a completely different matter. This dragon was just beyond cool! Not even close to the complete coolness that is the Maleficent creation on top of the store. That pic wasn't worth a crap though. Sorry.

We just spent the evening kicking around DTD and getting ourselves in a totally Disney frame of mind. And getting spat upon by Stitch. Silly 626. It was just such a relaxing night and we turned in early (the one and only night of the entire holiday that we turned in before midnight) so that we could make an early start of it the next day.

Believe me, from the minute we hit Fort Wilderness to check-in and stow our stuff, the magic began in earnest!

 

[snoopypharmd]

Great start -- totally gonna have to check out Amtrak!!

And excited to hear about camping at the Fort -- we want to try it out one day!

 

[overthemoon4mickey]

Whoo hoo! Count me in on this trip! Just from reading the first page of your TR I already know It's going to be great! I love that you are an adventurous mom and are willing to give new things a try. Before I even finished the first page I checked Amtrak's schedule, sadly it would take us 3 days to get to Orlando from Houston with a stop in Chicago! I remember riding a train once as a child and I loved it. We in Texas just love our cars and trucks so much that public transportation is very limited
I've always loved camping and wondered how it would be to camp at The World. I can't wait to see the camping set up. My only worry would be sleeping. When camping I tend to sleep in a half wake state sleep and never wake rested. I do think that would be remedied by the second day when the exhustion of the parks just wear you completely out!

Can't wait for an update!!!

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

I've never even thought about taking a train to Disney. Definitely worth a look for next time. So glad it all went to smooth for you and your son.

I'm in awe of you going camping by yourself. There is no way I could put up a tent. Can't wait to hear how that went. I stayed at Fort Wilderness once about 23 years ago. My parents rented an RV and we drove down in it. I remember thinking it was so cool to be able to use the bathroom as we were driving. Fort Wilderness was such a beautiful place. So much to do without even going to the parks. I hope you enjoyed your stay there.

Looking forward to hearing all about your trip.

 

[chaslaw]

Welcome, y'all! I hope you enjoy hearing about our trip as much as I'm enjoying remembering it. I sooooooooooooooo want to go back. NOW!

Amtrak, public buses, and camping at The Fort will most certainly be in my future. We've had some insane experiences camping there including having to sleep our entire 2006 trip in the car due to a tent malfunction but I've never had an experience that put me off the place. It's Disney camping!

But back to the recap.

I forgot to include this picture the other day.

Enjoying the Contemporary

I just kind of enjoy it because we were being silly and having fun. This was after DTD. We didn't really want to go back to the hotel just yet so we kicked around a little.

But, really, back to the recap.

We took the 7:15 a.m. shuttle from the hotel to the TTC. It was the only shuttle they run all day and, honestly, if I had known how many stops there would be and what a circuitous route it would take we would have taken the public bus! Live and learn. We get to the TTC and take an internal bus to Fort Wilderness.

Welcome Home

It was early. Way before official check-in time. I was just looking forward to storing our bags and hitting the parks. And that's when we had a sprinkling of fairy dust.

Do you use online check-in? If not, you should. The line for regular check-in snaked all over the place. Online check-in? There was ONE person in front of me and he was finishing up. So while The Boy strolled over to join other kids watching cartoons, I met a fairy godmother. The CM manning the online desk.

See, just like the decision to stay in a cheap hotel that first night I had decided to save about $80 but getting a basic campsite instead of a preferred site. It makes a difference in terms of getting around within FW but we've had a "primitive" site before so I knew everything would be fine. We were there for the parks, right? But as I'm making small talk with the CM who pointed out sites weren't ready yet because we were early, I mention that I'm kicking myself for not getting a preferred site. However, we're still at Disney so I'm happy and I tell her as much. A little more small talk. I tell her we just made our first trip down on the train and how great it was. She asks me about it. I mention, among other things, the amount we were able to save. She says she's looking to take her family to go visit her parents and how expensive flights are so she'll have to check it out. I also point out how much better it was in terms of space and carrying whatever you need to. She's all smiley and hands me our KTTW. ... And she verifies my cell phone number so she can text me when our site is ready. OUR PREFERRED SITE!!! We went from something on the 2000 loop to site 201. (Follow this link http://www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/fortwilderness.htm to see what that means.)

OK. I'll tell you. It means we are super close to the marina and all we have to do is a short walk in the morning, stopping by the take-out place to fill our resort mugs, jump on a boat, and BAM we're at the Magic Kingdom. Except when going to the Outpost to catch a bus to Hollywood Studios or the Animal Kingdom, we never even have to worry about the FW buses. Don't get me wrong. They're solid and I've never had a problem with them. Having said that, it's even better if we don't have to worry about them because we love the boats!

So the CM comped us the upgrade, tells us she'll text me when the site is ready, and points us around the corner to store our bags.

It's off to EPCOT!!!

If I had to pick a favorite of the parks, it'd be easy. Epcot. Make no mistake, I love them all. Well, love might be a bit strong to describe my feelings for HS. Except it does have Fantasmic and Tower of Terror so at the very least I would say it's a committed relationship between us. But Epcot rules!

First things first. We went to

Mission: Space

We went with the green channel because while I don't suffer from it, The Boy is sometimes prone to motion sickness. Especially if it's intense. We both really enjoyed it and had no problems with sickness. In fact, we were wondering what all of the fuss was about. I heard more than one big, burly type speak in hushed, nervous whispers about the green channel. Don't get it. We went back and I even tried the orange channel. The big diff was I felt a slightly more significant "pull" at the beginning. Other than that...

All this moaning might give you the wrong idea. I really did enjoy that ride. We both did! It's just really well designed. But the sick bags are a bit of over-sell.

Then we headed over to

Test Track

Somebody please tell me what all of the fuss is about on this one. The Boy enjoyed it much more than I did. The first part was a lot of stop and go, getting jerked around. The cool part, where you're really moving, was over far too soon. Not cool.

But the area when you come out after the ride, with all of the cars, was very cool. My son was like a kid in a candy store.

While we had been in line for the ride, I got a text from FW, telling me our site was ready. By 10:30 a.m. we had already checked in, received a free upgrade to a preferred site, arrived at our favorite park, and gone on two of the "big rides". It was already an awesome day!

And it was only going to get better. We were gonna save the world and be home in time for dinner!

There are so many reasons to love Epcot. For us, we have the best adventures there. Back on our first trip I made up a game. See, one of our favorite shows is The Amazing Race so we applied it to Epcot. I would make up "challenges" as we went around the World Showcase and when we finished with each country, as we were coming out, we would make a show of jumping onto an imaginary mat, fist pump and high five, and say "Congratulations! You are team number ONE on this leg of The Amazing Race!" Our second trip witnessed many humorous moments between us and various characters but especially Genie and Donald. This time, we kicked things off by joining Kim Possible!

First things first. You have to get briefed by Wade. Then we were off and running. It was fun and my son LOVED it.

Susan Possible

OK. So I was kind of diggin it, too. We started off in Morocco and quickly went to France. Another adventure took us to Japan. I'm not sure on the timeline but they're replacing Kim Possible with something else. I'm sure it'll be fun but I'm partial to Kim. She's cool. And she's home in time for dinner!


In the midst of our first mission, I spotted Belle. And there was a SHORT line! So I had to get a picture with her.

Me and Belle

The thing is, I like my silly t-shirts. And this one reads "Self-Rescuing Princess" At first, Belle looked like she wasn't sure if I was trying to make fun of her or what. It didn't help that it was just me because my son had ZERO interest in being in the picture. Finally she seemed to decide I was likely harmless and proclaimed "I'm a self-rescuing princess, too!"

It made me giggle. Nice girl, that Belle. I'll bet she'd be more certain if she wasn't weighed down, overseeing all of those enchanted dishes and things.

We kicked around and did some more mission stuff before deciding we were hungry. Tonight we would be going to Biergarten so I wanted us to grab something sooner than later.

Club Cool

Plus, we were thirsty. A friend of mine had given me a head's up on this place. Club Cool. It's kind of tucked away there by Journey Into Imagination with Figment (another favorite!) and I had never been before. This place is really terrific. You can try cola from different countries. I'll never order it in Italy. In this place, it's free! You fill up those little, tiny paper cups. Like you would get in the nurses office in elementary school. But you can get as many refills as you like so it's all good.

Until it's not.

Because you mixed too many and your kid tricks you into trying the one from Italy so you think you're gonna hurl.

But other than that, it was awesome! I highly recommend the place.

So I needed some kind of food to soak up all of the soda and being on the meal plan, I figured it was time to bust out a quick serve credit. So it was off to the Electric Umbrella with us!

Mmmmmm... Electric Umbrella

A black bean thing for me and chicken nuggets for The Boy. One of our least adventurous meals but, really, that Italian soda was making me burp like a pledge at a frat party. Oy!

After lunch, we heeded the earlier text and headed back to FW. As we were picking up our gear, they were changing shifts and one the guys coming off of his offered to drive us in the van to our site rather than us having to take the internal bus.

Score more pixie dust!

Welcome to Palmetto Path

Not only did we score a preferred loop, but we were right next to the comfort station. I was ready to go back to check-in and lay a big, juicy kiss on the CM. But I was afraid she might bust me back down to one of the primitive sites.

Being a former Brownie and Girl Scout, and seeing that my traveling companion is a Cub Scout - we got this tent thing covered. And this being Fort Wilderness, we even have electrical outlets at the site! So as The Boy starts laying out the tent, I pull out the air mattress and pump. We had everything set up within minutes.

But something wasn't right. Can you spot the problem?

Home, Sweet Home

Just before our trip, I realized I would have to buy a new tent. There was a major tear in the old one and honestly repairing a tent is not worth it unless you have serious money invested in it. Our old one was something I got for maybe $35 at K-Mart years before. But I liked it. So I looked for the same kind of tent and found it at Target. Awesome! And it didn't cost any more than it had years ago. Should have given me a clue but I was busy being excited about going to Disney.

The reason the tent I bought years ago and the one I bought in March cost about the same is- The one from years ago was a 6-person tent while the one I bought in March is a 2-person tent. Whoops!

Oh, well. We had no plans to entertain and our stuff fit. Just. I'm counting that as more pixie dust because it would have really been ugly if our stuff didn't fit. So with the air mattress crammed inside along with our other stuff, we zipped up our tent and headed back to Epcot!

Since we were so close to the marina, we just jumped on a ferry to the Magic Kingdom and then on the monorail back to Epcot. We still had time to burn before our dinner at Biergarten and then whatever the heck we would end up doing after that.

The first half of our day was pretty groovy, indeed!

 

[Wostrem]

I'm loving it so far...great writing!

 

[chaslaw]

So, with our camp set up, we made our way...

Back to Epcot!!

I should point out that our vacay took place from April 6 - 11. Spring Break. Notice the crushing crowds? No? Neither did we. One of my sisters went the week before when their district had spring break and I heard two things: It was significantly warmer (as in, boiling) and WAY more crowded (they never even rode Haunted Mansion or Soarin because of the wait). There aren't many things for which I salute our school district but in this case I will happily do so for their choice of when to have spring break. More pixie dust? That's what I'm sayin!

We kicked around some more, helping out our girl Kim Possible, and hitting up Club Cool again. Avoiding the Italian one. We had grabbed a pair of FPs for Soarin which is one of our favorites.

A Note About Soarin
Ask for the #1 position. Volunteer to wait, if need be. You want to be on that front row. Our first time riding it, we lucked into the first row. The next time, not realizing there would be a difference, we happily accepted our assignment on another row. Dangling feet are distracting. OK. Maybe not so much for other, more rational people. But if you're a freak like me, HOLD OUT FOR THE FIRST ROW. Without those swinging feet in your peripheral vision, it's so easy to get swept up in that ride. I just love, love, LOVE it!

After the awesome that is Soarin, we almost went on the boat ride through The Land. "Living With The Land" or something like that. We've done it before and it's always a lot of fun but we had ressies for Biergarten and we didn't want to have to run to make them. We planned to go back for the boat ride but never did. Oh, well. It'll still be there next time!

The Boy and I are not touring plan people. We have a fairly vague plan of things we want to do and see. We may or may not see or do them, depending on any number of variables. Our ultimate goal is always the same: Enjoy! And we always manage to meet that goal. Things happen. There's no rational denial of that fact. Also fact: Often you have absolutely no control over those things. What you CAN control is your attitude. That's why, when people ask how I am, I like to answer with: If I were any better, there would have to be two of me! Even if it's not entirely true. See, it benefits me not one whit to have a bad attitude and it can even take an already sketchy situation and make it worse. This is a philosophy my son has been learning and is getting more comfortable with. We find it serves us really, really well ... especially on vacay. I hear so many people complain bitterly about things like the posted wait times at this ride or that. Some of them have a flat-out hissy fit and stomp around, proclaiming their vacation "ruined" because they refuse to wait for something that was, to hear them tell it, the centerpiece of their entire trip. The Boy and I look at the wait time and decide if we want to wait or not. We also check for a FP and decide if the return time works for us or not. In short, we either ride something or we don't. Not a big deal. We work under the assumption that Disney is not going away any time soon so eventually we'll get around to the things we've missed. Unless we're dead. In which case it's really no longer an issue. I know that might sound morbid but, really, it's pretty liberating.

OK. So we make our way over to Germany with about a gazillion detours along the way.

Finally we made it to

Biergarten

My boy used to have a really hard time with loud noises. We had to leave everything from a hockey match to a baseball game because the noise just sent him over the edge. DO NOT mistakenly think he is or was a quiet little mouse. That boy can bring down the house! But something about external noise... That's part of why we had never gone to Biergarten in the past. That and the fact that The Boy, until he hit the outer edges of puberty in the last nine months or so, had the appetite of a bird. A small bird. Not a hummingbird because they can pack it in! He's got a serious growing kid appetite these days. Killin my budget, that one. But I digress.

As you can see from the picture, he was game for this.

We didn't get the best seat in the house. Or so we first thought. Even though we were over there by the kitchen. The drink station was literally at my back but we decided that meant our glasses would never be empty. And they weren't! Turns out, we had an AWESOME table!

The group we were seated with were so much fun. We were seated first but within minutes of them being seated, we were all chatting and telling jokes like old friends. Jake was the only kid at the table (although given his large appetite, he will tell you he is SO happy to be considered an adult on the DDP) and was quickly appointed something of a mascot.

We were all telling jokes and swapping stories like it was a reunion.
Q: What is invisible and green?
A: (holding out an open hand, palm up) This cabbage


Q: What's black and white and black and white and black and white and black and white?
A: A penguin rolling down a hill


And many, many more that were all corny and kid appropriate. I can't tell you how much I appreciated the deference our table-mates demonstrated. We all had a great time and, even though drinks were flowing freely, they never veered into adult territory and they made a point to include both of us in their celebrations.

We also danced! A lot. Sorry. No pictures of that because we were all too busy dancing and singing to bother with pics. My son has said this was his favorite of all of our dining choices so far. (Mexico had been his favorite but you don't get up and dance and sing at Mexico so Germany is the new #1!)

And of course, there was the food.

My First Serving

Oh, my. I thought I was going to have to be rolled out of that place. And can I get an "Amen" for the Disney version of buffets? No dirty sneeze-guard Shoney's goin on here! I was ready to just curl up and stay. But eventually our table cleared and we all waddled out into the evening air.

Deciding we wanted to hit the MK, it was time to bid Epcot guten abend for now.

We love you, Big Ball

It is time for us to hit the Magic Kingdom so I can be a

Galactic Hero

In keeping with the aforementioned pixie dust trend, we practically walked on Space Ranger Spin and I had my best game ever. The Boy insisted his laser jammed. Um, yeah. Sure. You just got owned, Boy!

He even confronted Zurg about the equipment malfunction. There was much posturing and wailing and gnashing of teeth. The galactic baddie was not talking which only confirmed my initial assessment

OWNED!

That's ok, Boy. There's still plenty of silliness and fun to be had all around. We bopped around and enjoyed ourselves immensely. We hit up Space Mountain which is one of his faves but I could do without having my neck wrenched from my body. Oh, well. It's all good. We were able to walk right on

It's A Small World

Go ahead. Take your best shot. I know this ride can be pretty polarizing but I just love it. Honestly, I tune out a lot of the music and just focus on the imagery. Just all of the little touches. That ride is cool. Having said that, riding it ONCE per trip is plenty.

We also made it to the Haunted Mansion. Always a favorite. It never fails to crack me up how my child likes to try to figure out the technical aspects of that ride. It is his favorite in all of the World, by far. It does irritate the expletive out of me when people take photos from their doom buggies and stop the whole ride. I don't mind the ride taking longer so much. What bugs me is that when you stop moving, you see things that you wouldn't have noticed otherwise and it sucks a little of the magic out of it. Even The Boy with his thirst for understanding the mechanics hates when people do that. I think it's mostly out of respect for me because he really does love figuring it out but he's a sweet boy who has his mom's back.

We kept walking around. Especially after Biergarten, there was a lot of excess baggage to walk off! Sometime after midnight, though, we were getting a little tired. After a turn on the Transit Authority we decided it was time.

So, after a quick stop at Cindy's, we made our way out and back to our camp. With the comfort station right behind us, we zipped in to brush our teeth and change into our pajamas and then we hit the air mattress. Thanks to those electrical outlets at each site and my foresight in bringing an extension cord, I was able to charge my phone (with also served as my alarm clock) while we slept.

And we saw what had happened on Day One, and it was filled with pixie dust.

 

[tosha27]

Oh, I LOVE this report.

 

[margymas]

I am entranced! You and your son clearly have a special bond. All of the tough stuff you have lived through has spit you both out the other end as a great, funny, upbeat and loving team. Bravo! I can't wait for the next installment!

 

[chaslaw]

Thanks! That's really kind of you to say!! I certainly feel blessed because I have such a solid family. The Boy and I have our bumps and bruises along the way but we're a team and we're strong. Always onward.

But on with the TR!!

So I wake up pretty early after having gotten a good sleep. Seriously. The weather was good. It got a little chilly and I did at some point pull on a light sweatshirt but I felt rested. The Boy is a heavy sleeper. Like an elephant is heavy. That kid can sleep through most anything. Happily, he's a little older now so I basically just shook him until he was sort of awake - just enough to get a semi-coherent response - and told him I was going to take a shower and get ready. You might think he would be so excited by the prospect of a new day at Disney that he would be bounding out of the tent, raring to go. Not my kid. He's not a morning person. Anyway! I go the handful of yards to the comfort station and start my morning routine.

Fort Wilderness Camping
Camping at The Fort is not like camping any other place. Oh, sure. Other campsites have amenities. I really enjoy all sorts of camping and am looking to do some more adventurous stuff now that The Boy is a little older. But FW... that place is just magic.

First off, the water pressure in the showers at FW is better than my apartment at home AND there's more hot water. They are clean. It's not like a highway rest stop where you try to avoid thinking about what that puddle is on the floor or what caused the reddish-brown smear going down the wall that looks suspiciously like a hand print. Nope. This is a Disney comfort station! A nice, long, hot shower. Brush the teeth. The usual drill. Then make my way back to the tent where I have to threaten to string The Boy up by his toenails if he doesn't get moving. He does. Very... slowly. He brushed his teeth and combed his hair. I'm calling that a win and we're off. I'll make him shower, later.

It's a beautiful morning and we enjoy the short walk to refill our resort mugs and on to the marina. I love the fact that I can take a nice stroll through a woody(ish) setting and, as a rule, share a friendly greeting and some small talk with other campers. The FW crowd is a fun bunch! Really. There is generally a solid sense of community but it's not overbearing. If I didn't want interaction with others, it's not like they come dragging you out of your RV or tent for a mixer.

So we fill our mugs and head to the marina. Time to take the launch to the MK. It's Easter Sunday and I'm wondering how crowded it will be. Oh, well. No turning back because The Boy is now (mostly) fully awake. He's at least awake enough to remember he wants to check out

Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom

This is a new addition to the MK since our last visit and it is great fun. Except for the people who are taking it WAY too seriously and those, for the record, are not CMs. Nope. The fairly mental folk who treat this like a professional competition. Those are the ones who need to check themselves.

SOMK is a really neat concept. You go to the fire house there on Main St. (or another place over in either Frontier Land or Adventure Land... I forget exactly) to pick up your initial cards and key. Those look something like this:

You just hand them your KTTW, they scan it, and give it back along with your first pack which includes a key card, map, and five spell cards. You can get one pack per day per paying guest so, of course Jake and I each started our own deck. It's free, BTW. Well, included in the price of admission might be more accurate.

You go to a portal, hold your key card to the "lock", and watch the show.

See the "lock" at the bottom right of the photo.

On the first one it just gives you a little background and tells you where your journey begins. You look at the map to see where that portal is located and your adventure really begins. At the next portal, you open it with your key and then you battle with spells. You have to stand on the seal which puts you inline with the cameras they have set up to read your card.

Spellcasting

We had a ball with this. As I understand it, we should be able to use the same key and cards on the next trip as well as collecting new spell cards. According to the CM, the profiles are being saved indefinitely. Especially if you're waiting around for a FP or a dining ressie.

You can either focus on the adventure or you can incorporate it into riding rides and watching shows. Since each adventure takes place in a specific land, we mostly completed that land and then enjoyed rides or whatever before moving to the next one. Every day you can get a new pack of spell cards (although you use the same magic key which is tied to your KTTW) and continue the fun. We made it a point to stop by every day to get our new pack. It was fun!

Once you defeat nine villians (it takes four or so spells to defeat each villian), you become a

Master Sorcerer

Word of Warning: There are some people who are bent on creating a mega deck or something. I didn't mind people asking if I was interested in trading, provided they didn't mind if I said "no." I did, however, take exception to the two or three who were overly pushy about it.

But attitude being everything, we're not letting a couple of knuckle-heads hold us back!

On this trip I wanted to make it a point to do things we hadn't done previously. Of course we still enjoyed our favorites but I wanted to expand. With that in mind, we hit the Enchanted Tiki Room. Umm... not getting the draw to this one. It was good for giving my feet a rest and cooling off but this, like Test Track, is not something I'll wait in line for again.

We also meandered back down Main Street which, for some reason, I always seem to give short shrift. Maybe it's because it's generally more crowded than any other place or maybe it's because I rarely buy souvenirs and Main St. is made for that. But this time we wanted to have a turn on the Railroad and enjoy some of the photo ops such as

and

I don't know why I didn't take pics while on the railroad. I think we were just having such a laugh and relaxing. It really does give you a little different perspective on the whole park. And it helps you work up an appetite

Lunch!

This is one of those favorites I mentioned. I have a Pecos Bill's lunch on every trip. Something about that fixins bar just pulls me in like a moth to a flame. Every. Single. Time. Pecos Bill's also has the benefit of being a great place to hang out while you're waiting on your FP time for Splash Mountain.

This was The Boy's first time ever on Splash Mountain. The first time we went, it was closed for rehab. The second time, it was January and unusually cold. Third time is the charm, right?

Not so much

That's us on the next to last row. I love it but he's completely unimpressed. We hardly had to wait at all and it was perfect weather for it, no mechanical issues. Oh, well. At least he doesn't outright hate it like he does Tower of Terror. No, Splash Mountain is on the "Meh" list along with Expedition Everest. My son and I are so very different in some ways.

In other ways, we are entirely too much alike.

We kicked around and even went on the Carousel of Progress. This is one way we are very different. He enjoyed it while I very nearly fell asleep during it. If they had the volume down a bit, I would have been over. Thankfully we followed that with Stitch's Great Escape so it was back to Game, On! Stitch is another one some people aren't so impressed by but we dig it. That one is really well done.

We had another momentous moment when we went on Tomorrowland Speedway. Finally!

He's tall enough to ride ON HIS OWN!!!

My boy loves this particular ride and has since his very first turn on it back in 2007. He's always wanted to drive it alone. This was the first trip where he met the requirement. Heck, I'm surprised he didn't put up a fuss with me being in the car behind him. He was all puffed up after, pleased with himself.

And for the record, I like Speedway better than Test Track.

We kicked around some more. Haunted Mansion and more SOMK, among others. Of course we made it over to the

Teacups

I think we got that thing spinning faster than we ever have before. Enough that it took us a bit longer than usual to get out of the loading zone because we were walking like John Wayne. Good times!

Usually we end up with more character pics than we had on this trip but I did insist we stand in line for

Tigger and Pooh

I love Tigger and Pooh is usually cool but, maybe it's just me, it seems Pooh is trying to make me touch my toes on this one! Silly ol' bear.

Anyway. We spent the rest of the day and the evening doing more of the same. This was probably our least exciting day and it was still spectacular. We were so relaxed and happy. This vacation was exactly what we both needed.

And just like the night before, somewhere after midnight, we said good night to the castle

and headed back to The Fort.

 

[overthemoon4mickey]

Loving it so far! Love, love, love your princess shirt! Can't believe the crowds are so low. I'llhave to keep that week in mind for future trips.

 

[supercalisarah]

I'm normally just a lurker who reads trip reports and doesn't post rolleyes1 ....but I had to post on yours! Bring on more of the trip report! You and I have a very similar attitude towards life! Live for today!
Keep the great posts coming and thanks for letting me live through your report until I can get back to Disney!

 

[chaslaw]

I'm glad y'all are enjoying reliving this trip with me. After the week I've had, thinking back on some awesome times helps me keep putting one foot in front of the other!

So it's the usual wake up routine. I get myself ready and then basically have to threaten to turn the hose on The Boy to get him moving. But eventually we get it together, fill up our resort mugs, and make our way to the bus stop for The Outpost

Waiting...

My poor kid. After returning from this trip, he is very aware and seriously bummed that we don't have better public transportation here. And I'm right there with him. Especially given how bad the drivers are here in Charleston! I've lived a lot of places and I have to say, the only place I've seen worse is Rome... and at least in Rome you can take a bus or train!!

But, as usual, I digress.

So we wait for the bus to The Outpost where we will wait for another bus to

DISNEY'S ANIMAL KINGDOM​

Today, we were about to witness the muscle of The Mouse. For all those who have ever been frustrated by teens (or any age, really!) behaving badly with no apparent consequences, prepare yourself for a little payback. Turns out, Mickey doesn't appreciate trouble-making punks, either!

But we'll get to that a little later...

We hadn't been to AK since October 2007 when The Boy looked like this

It blows my mind, seeing how much he's grown. It also blows my budget, his current growing boy status.

Anyway, we arrive at AK and for some reason, we were both a little cranky. I don't know why and it was nothing major but we were both feeling a bit testy. I was starting to wonder if AK was just bad mojo for us because back in 2007, we started off our visit there snapping at each other. This was so NOT cool. We had been having so much fun so far and I was starting to think this was just going to mess it up.

Then, a really groovy thing happened. Call it pixie dust in the air mixed with the most awesome kid ever -- The Boy suddenly just stopped, turned to me, looked me straight in the eye, and said something that is a bit of a mantra for us: Attitude is everything.



And just like that, we were back on track. When I thought about it later I also remembered that while we had started our 2007 AK visit in a snit, the awesome CM Eva totally turned it around for us. To paraphrase her words of wisdom from so long ago, There's nothing a little magic can't help.

So into AK we go, ready for an awesome day. First order of business

Expedition Everest

Well, maybe we'll just have to settle for getting a FP for it. That's cool. We'll kick around for a bit and explore. AK is so different from the other parks, isn't it? All that green. It makes me happy and relaxed. We just took it all in. People watching is a favorite pastime of ours. We'll pick out a person or group, watch them for a few minutes, and then create a whole story for them. Everything from origin myth to adventures.

We also enjoy our own discoveries. Did you know...

Some Yeti are friendly???

It's true. Some of them like to play games with silly little boys. It helps pass the time until our FP window.

Another way to pass time?

THE FULL HODGES EXPERIENCE​

Also known as Dinosaur!
I used to watch CSI and Hodges was one of my favorite characters so I get a kick out of the actor who plays him "hosting" this ride. Dinosaur is one of those rides we both enjoy. Even in spite of all of the jerking around, it's pretty well done. While The Boy is fed up with the volume by the end of it, he really does enjoy all of the technical aspects.

Besides, there was practically no line so we went on Dinosaur and then it was time to go...

Back to Everest
That smile on his face? The one where he's looking at EE above? That's the most impressed he ever gets over the ride and that picture was taken BEFORE he ever rode it. Like my disappointment after the build-up and inevitable let down regarding Test Track, Jake thought Expedition Everest was completely over inflated. I had to laugh when he called it a "Big Thunder wannabe". I thought it was cool enough. Not something I would wait an inordinate amount of time in line to ride. But cool.

So we went back to kicking around. Having grabbed another pair of FPs (this time for Primeval Whirl) once our window opened but before going on Everest, we kept things moving. And to keep things moving, one needs

Snacks!

Clearly, I am a health food junkie. I strictly enforce all dietary regulations on my son as well. With that in mind, I supplied him with a serving of dairy in the form of ice cream and everyone knows by now that chocolate is not only a mood enhancer, but also it provides a serving of beans as it's derived from the cacao bean. That's my justification and I'm sticking to it!

So with our bodies refueled, and sufficient time wasted, it was time for a little

Primeval Whirl

This one was fun. I could have done with it being longer but we enjoyed it. We tried to get the attendant to let us stay on for a second go but he politely declined. He managed to appear genuinely regretful that he couldn't so we had to give him props for customer service! This ride also seemed to shake my son's tongue loose as it continued to make appearances throughout photos. Silly kid.

For instance...

Here!

Next we learned It's Tough To Be A Bug.
That thing is a hoot! No. It's more than a hoot. Not just a nanny. It's a hootenanny! Thoroughly, thoroughly impressed. Although it really does deserve the warning about "may be too intense for small children" as we had several have to leave during the show. And without giving away the best surprise to those who have yet to enjoy it, I am soooooooooooooo glad I waited for the bugs to leave before standing to make my exit. Freakin hilarious!!!

Still laughing on our exit from Clava Bugs, we took a stroll around the Tree of Life.

AMAZING. I could spend hours and hours just admiring the skill and artistry of that thing. Just. WOW. It's also where we learned

THE MOUSE HAS MUSCLE​

We were having such a good time, enjoying the sights and sounds and just the time together. But, you know, some people are complete weenies and think they're just too cool for the rules. This pair of teens (I would estimate under 15) were kicking around being foul-mouthed little punks. Don't get me wrong. I can swear a blue streak to make a convict blush but (1) I'm an adult and (2) there are times and places where it's completely inappropriate. So, with the peace and quiet effectively gone, The Boy and I started thinking about what to do next. (We were waiting on the window for our Kali River Rapids FPs.) I approached a CM to ask the quickest way to get there and she started to lead us when it hit the fan.

What is it about Animal Kingdom CMs. I marvel at their ability to keep their cool while enforcing the Will of The Mouse. See, those two kids were doing more than just being verbally obnoxious. They were climbing the Tree of Life! Not just a little. And, apparently, this was not the first time that day when they had been reprimanded for it. They were up on the trunk of the tree, itself.

The CM very politely asked me to wait as she had to address that immediately. She was incredibly impressive as she quickly walked over to the area of the path where they had made their ascent and without any shouting or obvious anger, brought them down in no uncertain terms. And those two punks started cursing at her!!! I would have slapped the stupid right out of them but she rocked it. I still don't quite get how she did it but there was nothing about her that brooked argument while she managed to still maintain the expected Disney CM demeanor. Long story short (too late!) I didn't even try to stop myself. I grabbed The Boy, we followed at a discreet distance, and listened. She told them they were out of there. Apparently this means not just the Animal Kingdom but ALL Disney parks. (Too bad it was only for that day, I think, but at least it was still early enough in the day to really hurt.) They suddenly got a clue that there were actual consequences and started tearing up as they said they were there with their parents and were supposed to meet them that night. She told them to either reach them by cell phone or that Disney would be happy to locate them but those kids would be waiting with security until they were escorted with their parents out of the park.

The moral of the story: Do NOT piss off The Mouse!

Then, and I nearly died laughing at this part, she turned to me and with a perfectly pleasant in every way smile she apologized for the interruption and offered to walk The Boy and I to Kali River Rapids as soon as "this" was handled. As soon as I was sure I could speak without laughing, I told her it was no problem, we had our bearings and would be able to get there without a problem.

Boo-yah!!!!!!!!!!!

It seems almost anti-climatic but we DID make it over to Kali and had an absolute ball. LOVED that one, as did The Boy. We had an entire "tube" of adventurous sorts and we were all shouting things at the sprays and rapids like "Is that all you got?!" and "Bring it!". On those rides where you have groups of people who aren't in the same party ending up together, it's always extra nice when it's a like-minded group. By the time that ride ended, we were all laughing hard together and high-fiving like old friends, having "survived" the rapids. Good times.

And no better way to top that off than

Chocolate Covered Frozen Bananas

Gotta get a fruit serving in there!

We kicked around a little bit more but mostly just made our way out. We had some things to do and wanted to make sure we were in good shape for it all. Tonight we would be dining at Restaurant Marrakesh. But I'll tell you about that, later.

 

[margymas]

Hey there! Just checking in. Hope all is well with you both. I would love to hear about Marrachesh,

 

[supercalisarah]

I'd love to hear about the Morrocan restaurant as well! I doubt I'll ever get to eat there since I'm sure my fiance would HATE it!

 

[chaslaw]

Sorry for the delay, guys! Just a lot going on but it's all good.

So after an awesome day at the Animal Kingdom, we made our way over to Epcot. We were both really looking forward to Marrakesh because we really enjoy trying new things. Having said that, I was wondering what The Boy would ultimately settle on for his meal. Of the two of us, when it comes to trying different foods, I'm easily the more adventurous of the two. Turns out, I didn't need to worry.

We walked through Morocco to the restaurant. There's such a lot of interesting stuff in that country's exhibition and I always like to take a look at everything but it's also a little depressing. The coolest stuff, and they do have some AWESOME things, is far too expensive for my budget. Oh, well. We're there for the food, this time!

I've heard a wide range of reviews for this place, especially the service. The only thing I can tell you...

We started off enjoying a friendly greeting and didn't even have a chance to sit on one of the benches-- our table was ready. The hostess was super nice and when I said this was our first time there she gave a conspiratorial smile, winked at Jake, and said "You're not going to waste your time having chicken, are you? You're in Morocco. Try something exotic!"



We started off with the bread basket and a mint tea for me (with LOADS of mint leaves, by the way--- awesome stuff) and a hot chocolate for him. I don't know why he went with hot chocolate but there you go. Since we were there to enjoy ourselves, I wasn't going to worry about it.

And he seemed happy enough so let's just roll with it, shall we?

We're debating the menu. It all looks fun. I finally decide I'm going with the Royal Feast and, to my surprise, The Boy announces that's what he's having. I thought the hostess was going to high-five Jake when he said that because, apparently, kids generally shy away from it.

It consisted of:
An appetizer of Jasmina Salad (Lettuce, tomato, olives, feta cheese in mustard vinaigrette) AND Seafood Bastilla (baked layers of thin pastry filled with grouper, shrimp, mushrooms)

An entree of Lemon Chicken (braised half chicken with garlic, green olives, and preserved lemon)
AND
Roast Lamb Meshoui (lamb shank braised in natural juices served with roasted eggplant puree, zucchini, capers lemon confit and tomatoes)
AND
Couscous with Seven Vegetables

And for dessert -- Assorted Moroccan Pastries

I swear. The menu says "or" in those places where I have "AND".

Appetizer

Entree

Sorry. I was in too much of a food endorphin haze to remember to snap a pic of the desert but they were absolutely ahhhh-MAZE-ing!!!

The staff there was terrific. Our waitress was just so friendly and helpful. We were totally game when she told forget the utensils and use our fingers. As she said, "The Moroccan way!" It really cracked me up because I've always been big on instilling manners so The Boy looked at me a bit uncertainly, wondering if that would be a problem. Too funny.

I was curious to see how my son would react to the belly dancer. As I mentioned already... he's hitting puberty. As we're sitting there, the music starts and after a few minutes the belly dancer comes out. Jake just rolled his eyes at me and when she started having kids join her on the floor he flat out refused.

The food was great and the service was outstanding. We both really enjoyed this place although I think I did more than Jake. Neither of us could finish everything and certainly ONE Royal Feast is plenty for two people. We each had one. I think, mostly, because we could on the dining plan. (NOTE: Apparently it is not normally part of the DDP but you can get it using the DDP for an additional $7 - $10 per person. Another bit of pixie dust- we didn't even have to pay the surcharge!)

It was a practically perfect evening. In fact, the only complaint I can think of is that the bathroom was freezing. Let's face it. If that's the worst, this place deserves a big thumbs up!

I'll try my best to get back on tomorrow to start Day Four!

 

[gillenkl]

Love your Fort report! If you can repost a link on the "camping at Disney" forum...folks there love reports on the Fort.