Spinal Dalmatians, Eliminations, and The Merry Go Round of Life...June 2011 New 2/19

[teachermommy78]

All of the character spot pictures are so cute! I tried to get Miguel to go in there on the honeymoon, but he was more interested in the rides.

Upon reflection, it was a great place to go if you want characters. I loved that all the main guys were there and you waiting in one line. I think the 30 minute wait was well worth it.

Subbing! I am a little late but going back to read. Can't wait to read all about it.

WELCOME!!!

Okay, I am all caught up now! I love the state gift idea. Jeremy would have loved that!

Too funny about the hotel in Kentucky. We live in Ohio and I grew up in Kentucky. Traveling around Kentucky and even Tennessee was a norm for us growing up. One of the girls I work with booked a room several years ago in which she thought it was in Kentucky. Funny thing, it was in Tennessee in a town the same name but 2 hours away!

Your children look so happy at Epcot. Disney can bring the best smiles out on them doesn't it.

Love Sophies shorter hair!

Can't wait to read more.

Thanks! I love her shorter hair as well. It suits her so well. The kids LOVE LOVE LOVE EPCOT! It's their favorite place! That's so funny about the similar problems in Kentucky! I wonder if something like that happened to us!

 

[teachermommy78]

When we left off, we were heading to the deep blue seas!

The Nemo ride was walk on. Does anyone else feel like it's WAY TOO DARK in that queue? I guess if you are stuck in a line it's fine, but when you are zooming through, it's a bit scary! And I have nearly perfect vision and am relatively young. What about people who don't see as well? Or who are a bit less steady? I had a really hard time seeing. OK. Rant over. Nemo was fun. I was sitting with Ethan. This trip alerted us to a lot of quirks in his personality. He kept asking reassuring questions throughout the ride. "There's a fish there, right mom?" "It's dark in here, right?" I felt bad for him. I could feel him worry. He liked it, though.

We exited and went right to Crush. I LOVE TURTLE TALK!!! It is so fun. We just missed the show so we waiting in the holding room. I'm not a huge fan of how Disney piles people into holding areas in the parks. I always feel stressed. I'm waiting in line for a long time to be pushed to the back of the line. Most of the time it doesn't make a difference, but a few times it really did (like in philharmagic later in the trip) and we get the short end of the stick.

Wow. I must be crabby today. Usually I'm not much of a complainer!

Anyway, my point is, I finally had to "let go" and head around the room to explore.

The kids didn't get picked, but they had so much fun. And...of course...left the theater saying "DUDE!" every 32 seconds.

After hitting the sea, we decided to head to the land! We had fast passes to use! Also, we wanted to get dog tags for the kids. We planned to get the safety tattoos for the kids but never got around to it. We thought the dog tags would be a good alternative. I went down to get some change so we didn't have to use a credit card. I went through the sunshine seasons line to ask for change (the dog tag machine needed exact change). The lady said that she had to get her manager. So I grabbed an apple and told her I'd just buy it and get change that way. She rung up the apple and I handed her my money and asked if I could get 5s and 1s. I really don't think she understood and STILL had me go to a manager! I felt bad for the people behind me and apologized. They said they understood and were confused as to why she couldn't just give me the change. Anyway, 10 minutes later and I was heading upstairs to the machine.

We got the dog tags printed and put on chains...and Finn has the melt down of all melt downs. He DID NOT want that dog tag on. He kept screaming, "I don't WANT to get lost!!!!!" He totally misunderstood that it was to PREVENT problems and only heard the part about getting lost. He's 3. I can totally see his logic. In his mind, if he wasn't wearing the tag, he wasn't going to get lost. Poor guy. What made it even worse was that we were all going on a ride and he had to stay with my MIL. He was SO MAD. We ended up leaving mid meltdown and my MIL said she'd be alright. Sometimes coddling the situation makes it way worse.

We were heading to...

Goofy line pic

Up next...what did the kids think of the ride? Did Finn ever stop crying? How many times will we go on Ethan's new favorite ride?

 

[kittylady1972]

As a mom who has lost her kids in WDW ONCE...sorta...I completely understand and never thought of the dog tag idea. That was great! Poor Finn though! My kids still talk about the time they got LOST in Walt Disney World! It's actually not as bad as it sounds...they got LOST in the lobby of the Grand Floridian Resort1 One minute we were walking around looking at the big Gingerbread house there and they were taking photos and I was checking out stuff. Then I return across the lobby to the rest of the group and I realize the two little ones are not there. I'm not in panic mode yet...surely they went to the restroom with DH who isn't there? Nope! About five seconds before I probably would have been in mommy-panic mode a nice CM comes across the room with my crying kids! Now thankfully a few days earlier, after my youngest ALMOST got himself lost at a park, I had taken to writing my cell phone number on his arm in permanent ink! So the number was there and the CM had called...I just hadn't checked my phone since I wasn't worried...yet!

For this trip, I actually purchased 3 rubber glow-in-the-dark bracelets for the kids and wrote mine and DH's cell phone number on it...in permanent ink. The kids wore them this last trip maybe 2 or 3 times...but then I just made sure they had the cell phone numbers memorized and figured that would be good enough. Not sure if in a panic they would all remember...but hoping!

PLUS I totally agree with you on the Nemo queue. It's definitely dark and I find myself stumbling around in it also...especially since we always tended to be moving through there pretty fast as well.

 

[anjalee6]

I can completely understand trying to keep the kids safe with the bracelets. After "losing" our son who walked off in a museum once while I was putting our other child into the stroller, I can completely relate. My son was so young, he had no clue what he was doing when he walked off for a brief moment but there were so many people and he was so little it was so hard to spot him. I am sure we found him in less than 2-3 minutes, but it felt like about 2 hours. We saw more than one "lost" kid in Disney world. One night at World of Disney and family was crying hysterically because the youngest child had walked off. The place went into lock down mode and he was found, but the family was frantic. You can never been too safe right?

 

[Sooze]

Love that you started at Epcot. That's always our first stop too. We all just love that place so much!

I totally agree about the Nemo queue. I HAVE had to stand in it waiting, and it wasn't too bad. But coming in from the bright sunshine, and having to walk through the mile-long queue in the dark is definitely a challenge. I just cling to the rails and hope to find my clam-mobile!

Here's something I realized about going to Disney mulitple times (as most of us DISers do): The more you go, the more you notice things that bother you (for example, Disney piling everyone into a waiting area). Not that it makes us love Disney any less... we are just able to be more observant and critical. Kinda like when you get married... you start noticing things about your spouse that drive you nuts, but you love him anyway!!

Can't wait to hear how long the melt down lasted...

 

[PirateKate]

I don't think meeting all the characters first thing is a bad idea, especially if the kids are into meeting characters. All the pictures turned out so cute.

I'm glad to hear that the Best Western is nice. I have considered staying there several times, but always changed my mind in the end.

I really like the queue of The Seas. It is too dark and way to easy to stumble, especially carrying a little kid, but it also looks so neat and feels so cool. I figure I can just be a little extra careful.

 

[teachermommy78]

As a mom who has lost her kids in WDW ONCE...sorta...I completely understand and never thought of the dog tag idea. That was great! Poor Finn though! My kids still talk about the time they got LOST in Walt Disney World! It's actually not as bad as it sounds...they got LOST in the lobby of the Grand Floridian Resort1 One minute we were walking around looking at the big Gingerbread house there and they were taking photos and I was checking out stuff. Then I return across the lobby to the rest of the group and I realize the two little ones are not there. I'm not in panic mode yet...surely they went to the restroom with DH who isn't there? Nope! About five seconds before I probably would have been in mommy-panic mode a nice CM comes across the room with my crying kids! Now thankfully a few days earlier, after my youngest ALMOST got himself lost at a park, I had taken to writing my cell phone number on his arm in permanent ink! So the number was there and the CM had called...I just hadn't checked my phone since I wasn't worried...yet!

For this trip, I actually purchased 3 rubber glow-in-the-dark bracelets for the kids and wrote mine and DH's cell phone number on it...in permanent ink. The kids wore them this last trip maybe 2 or 3 times...but then I just made sure they had the cell phone numbers memorized and figured that would be good enough. Not sure if in a panic they would all remember...but hoping!

PLUS I totally agree with you on the Nemo queue. It's definitely dark and I find myself stumbling around in it also...especially since we always tended to be moving through there pretty fast as well.

That is SO SCARY!!! I am hoping that by the next trip all three kids will know our cell #s. Sophie already knew it, but we couldn't leave her out on getting a souvenir!

I can completely understand trying to keep the kids safe with the bracelets. After "losing" our son who walked off in a museum once while I was putting our other child into the stroller, I can completely relate. My son was so young, he had no clue what he was doing when he walked off for a brief moment but there were so many people and he was so little it was so hard to spot him. I am sure we found him in less than 2-3 minutes, but it felt like about 2 hours. We saw more than one "lost" kid in Disney world. One night at World of Disney and family was crying hysterically because the youngest child had walked off. The place went into lock down mode and he was found, but the family was frantic. You can never been too safe right?

As things like that are happening, the world is going in slow motion. Ethan wandered away when he was 3 at a playground. I was gathering up stuff and told S and E that we were leaving. Sophie ran for one more swing on the swings and I went over to get her. Ethan thought we left the playground and went looking for us!!! This is Chicago with busy streets!!! I was going NUTS. I thought for sure he was kidnapped. I was just about ready to call the police when one of Sophie's classmate's dads came carrying him over. Apparently he had gotten halfway around the block! I am so thankful they happened to be going to their car at that moment.

Then this year at our school's block party, Sophie was hanging out with friends all evening. Scott was helping at a food booth and I was helping at the ticket booth. My MIL had the boys at home. Soph was checking in all evening. At one point I started glancing around for her and saw all her friends playing in the empty school parking lot. No Sophie. I didn't panic. I excused myself and started to look. When her teacher greeted me, I lost it. They started a "missing child" over the staff and volunteer walkie talkies. About 10 minutes later they found her lounging in her friend's family's lawn chairs watching the Beatles cover band that was playing. When one of the dads brought her to me I burst into tears. She had NO CLUE what was going on and started crying too. She did just as I told her, which was to stay with a buddy. So now, we have a new rule that whenever she is leaving an area she has to tell us where and with whom. And she'll probably have a cell phone. It's not very often when the kids are able to roam free in the city (and by free I mean very loosely- with blocked off streets and police security!).

Love that you started at Epcot. That's always our first stop too. We all just love that place so much!

I totally agree about the Nemo queue. I HAVE had to stand in it waiting, and it wasn't too bad. But coming in from the bright sunshine, and having to walk through the mile-long queue in the dark is definitely a challenge. I just cling to the rails and hope to find my clam-mobile!

Here's something I realized about going to Disney mulitple times (as most of us DISers do): The more you go, the more you notice things that bother you (for example, Disney piling everyone into a waiting area). Not that it makes us love Disney any less... we are just able to be more observant and critical. Kinda like when you get married... you start noticing things about your spouse that drive you nuts, but you love him anyway!!

Can't wait to hear how long the melt down lasted...

WE LOVE EPCOT!!! I often compare Disney to childbirth. You don't remember the bad for too long afterward, but the good stays with you forever. Can we all say, AWWWWWW!

I don't think meeting all the characters first thing is a bad idea, especially if the kids are into meeting characters. All the pictures turned out so cute.

I'm glad to hear that the Best Western is nice. I have considered staying there several times, but always changed my mind in the end.

I really like the queue of The Seas. It is too dark and way to easy to stumble, especially carrying a little kid, but it also looks so neat and feels so cool. I figure I can just be a little extra careful.

Thanks! I think we would hit characters early again. Perhaps we would rush a bit more to get there, though. I would HIGHLY recommend the Best Western. If we didn't lose so many perks, we would stay there in a heartbeat. I loved being able to walk to DTD. I think Sooze is onto something about the contrast from light to dark in the Nemo queue. Perhaps if they gradually darkened it would be better.

 

[Sooze]

I often compare Disney to childbirth. You don't remember the bad for too long afterward, but the good stays with you forever.

This. Is. Genius. I'm totally stealing it, if you don't mind!

 

[teachermommy78]

Where we left off, we were getting ready to go Soarin'! This was Ethan's first ride. Sophie went last time and LOVED it. Unfortunately, we got the bottom row, but that's OK. It was still awesome, and everyone had lots and lots of fun. We took a deep breath and exited. It was time to see how Finn and grandma were doing. Finn's face was still flushed and had tell tale signs of crying. UGH. My MIL said he had JUST stopped crying. I felt bad. Mostly for my MIL and the people all around. She said she moved so she didn't annoy people in any given spot for too long. Well, everyone was hungry, so we decided to go to:

It was the logical thing to do! This would be our first real meal of the meal plan and our first time at Sunshine Seasons. Needless to say, we were really confused. I had all three kids hanging on me as I'm trying to get food. I got them each the chicken meal, not realizing that the potatoes on it are optional. Only E liked potatoes. I got the rest of the sides and of course, Finn throws a FIT about not being able to get jello and yogurt. I look at him and am perplexed. He is usually so easy going, and he rarely cries or fusses. This is two meltdowns in a row. Maybe the heat and commotion are getting to him. Or does he look a bit off? I make a note to keep a close eye on him. Frustrated, I grab the first thing I think looks appetizing. A turkey sandwich. Then I head for desserts. Can the creme brulee REALLY be on the dining plan? YES!!!! Creme Brulee is my FAVORITE dessert in the world and I never get to have it. I am ecstatic! Scott and I had a bit of frustrational bickering as I am left exasperated with three kids hanging on on me in the middle of the food court and arms loaded with a tray. We tend not to communicate terribly well when under stress. We would NEVER survive on the TV show "The Amazing Race."

Anyway, we finally find a spot that will hold 7 of us. And Relax. Until "I have to go to the BAAAAAAATHROOOOOM!" OK, Ethan, let's go. UGH. This would happen 2 more times (once for Sophie and then at the end with FInn). Scott ran to get FPs at some point during lunch for something. Finally, I was able to enjoy my lunch.

I LOVED the sandwich, but didn't like the potato salad very much. I was just about to bite into my creme brulee, when my little dessert monster creeps up behind me...

"Mommy, can I have just a little taste?"
"Sure, Sophie, go ahead."

Well, her eyes lit up. She shares my taste for caramel and creme brulee, apparently. I knew she would have to have a few more little tastes and that the yogurt she got for dessert was not going to cut it!!!

After lunch, we decided to try "Living With the Land." None of us had ever ridden and it was walk on.

Ethan was going INSANE!!! He loved that ride to pieces. I have never seen him so excited about a ride! He jabbered and exclaimed and shouted throughout the whole thing. He LOVED it!!! For a city boy, agriculture sure seemed to inspire him! He wanted to ride immediately again. We were headed over to the queue when we got a phone call. The first members of our family's grand gathering were in the building!!!

We met with Scott's uncle Ron and Aunt Judy by the escalators. They live near us and we see them often. Recently retired, they had been traveling through Florida for a week already. WDW would be their second leg of their two week vacation. Their children and grandchildren would be arriving a few days later. All hugged and greeted out, we decided to take them on Ethan's new favorite ride. Ethan sat by "Uncle Won" this time and told him ALL about each room. Uncle Ron is a jokester and joked the whole way through. Ethan thought this was HILARIOUS. It was a lovely time, and lots of great memories were made!!!

After our second boat tour, we decided to try another mode of transportation. We were going to ride in a fast car!!!

Up next...TEST TRACK! WOO HOO!

 

[teachermommy78]

This. Is. Genius. I'm totally stealing it, if you don't mind!

Steal away. Just give me credit via my publicist.

 

[PirateKate]

We love Sunshine Seasons, but it is crazy trying to get food with little kids there. Is the creme brulee still orange flavored at Sunshine Seasons?

It's funny that Ethan loved Living with the Land. I never think of that one as being very appealing to kids, but I know a few kids who really like it

 

[teachermommy78]

We love Sunshine Seasons, but it is crazy trying to get food with little kids there. Is the creme brulee still orange flavored at Sunshine Seasons?

It's funny that Ethan loved Living with the Land. I never think of that one as being very appealing to kids, but I know a few kids who really like it

Nope, it was regular creme brûlée. I don't think I would like orange flavored. I wouldn't think the ride would appeal to little kids either!!! He ADORED it, though. It was by far his favorite of the entire trip.

 

[anjalee6]

My kids love the Land too. I don't know what it is but they beg to ride it over and over again and then when we eat at Garden Grill the kids are so excited to see the ride down below. I really want to do the Behind the Seeds tour but I think I will wait for my DD to get a little bigger for that one.

 

[ZFamily5]

My sisters and I love Living with the Land too!

 

[teachermommy78]

My kids love the Land too. I don't know what it is but they beg to ride it over and over again and then when we eat at Garden Grill the kids are so excited to see the ride down below. I really want to do the Behind the Seeds tour but I think I will wait for my DD to get a little bigger for that one.

My sisters and I love Living with the Land too!

It kinda made me proud that he loved it so much!!!

 

[teachermommy78]

Where we left off, we were heading off for Test Track!!! I was so excited to ride this ride with Ethan. I had a feeling he would love it so much!!! Grandma and Aunt Judy were going to take Finn shopping for his "cludo hat" while we rode. We did NOT want a repeat of what happened while we were on soarin'!

While we we in line this dad and his two sons were in front of us. The younger of the two boys dropped his FP through a tiny crack. Ethan was able to reach in and get it. . This family did not speak english, but I could tell they were grateful!!! Ethan was having fun playing in line! The camera was set to the wrong setting and I took a picture of him not knowing. When he saw the picture he thought it was HYSTERICAL! Of course, I had to then take eleventy-seven pictures of him. I'll only make you view one.

It was around this point where ethan started getting nervous. He did not like the dummies. He wasn't scared, and he still wanted to ride, but he asked a ton of questions. Mostly about whether they were real. And if they were hurt. Over and over. And over. And over. No matter what answer we gave, he still asked.

Side note: we have a referral to get Ethan into therapy. A lot was red light for us at Disney World, and his anxiety has multiplied in the past few weeks. The dr. said that one or two behaviors would be normal, with a list like we had, it's time to get him some coping strategies. I just wanted to mention this. I know no one will judge, but if his personality seems a bit quirky or immature, he seems to have some deep anxiety issues beginning to surface. This trip was an eye opener for us!

Back to the TR! When we got to the FP CM he asked the family in front of us (the ones who dropped the FP) for their FP. They said "no" and the CM told them they had to leave the line. We explained to the CM that they had the FPs and didn't speak English (this had to thier first ride or something). When we turned to grab them, they had already gotten too far. Hopefully they didn't have to wait too long for The FP line again. And hopefully they figured out the process! This could be a vacation ruiner if they didn't try again!!!

Anyway, The kids loved it!!! Ethan thought it was so cool. And the questions stopped. Now we are off to find the rest of the crew!!! We quickly found them at mouse gears! That's the name of the big EPCOT store, right? I made a detour through the store to glance at the dooneys. I was so dumb not to spend more time checking them out. I knew I was planning on getting one sooner than later, but I was intimidated by the CMs basically guarding them. They were really nice, but I wasn't buying and felt weird handling them. After that detour we headed over to the hats. The kids brought their own money, but Scott and I were purchasing each kid a hat/ears and paying for pirate's league later in the trip.

Ethan tried on this cute hat, which I loved, but he didn't.

I didn't get any more cute hat pictures! Bad TR writer! Sophie ended up hemming and hawing over an ugly Minnie hat or one of the pirate princess ears. I persuaded her to get the ears. You'll see pics of it later. Finn got his "cluto" hat, and Ethan ended up with a set of R2D2 ears. So cute.

At this point, uncle ron and aunt Judy were trying to figure out if their room was ready. It wasn't. They also tried to add themselves to our dinner reservations. They couldn't. They had reservations at DTD and had to leave.

Scott was paying, and Sophie decided to use some of her money to buy the pin lanyard promotion that was going on. Spend $25 and get a lanyard with 8 pins (I think) for $15. Great deal! I didn't REALLY want to get Sophie started on pin trading. We discussed it before we left and I was going to get some pins from eBay. She said she didn't want to do it. It would be scary talking to CMs to trade, etc. Well, her mind changed FAST! It was the best purchase we made. She LOVED pin trading and was a happy clam throughout the trip. She did lose a few, though. The pins from the lanyard started falling off immediately. I ended up holding onto them until she was ready to trade. The smaller pins stayed on better, but still fell off occasionally. We ended up buying the lockable ones for the pins she wanted to keep. Then I just kept the traders in my pocket. I saw a spark of interest and jealousy in ethan's eye and figured he'd be wanting to join the pin trading party soon enough. We would have to wait until someone wanted to buy something for $25, however. He didn't ask YET, but I knew it wouldn't be long!

Pins traded, hats purchased, Disney euphoria in full swing, we decided it was time to start heading toward our dinner destination!!! Any guesses? No peeking at my PTR!!!

 

[heaven2dc]

Ethan is so cute about how excited he got on The Land ride I wish I could have been there to hear his excitement. What adorable kids you have!

We only ate once at Sunshine Seasons and I barely remember it. I can just envision you standing there with 3 little ones hanging onto you while you are balancing a tray (I raised 5 kids) and have so much sympathy for you but you are a real trooper! It seems your family always finds the best in every situation

 

[shocky5]

Love the report! I was a bit behind - caught up now - but I have to tell you how excited I got for your family when I saw your pics of Disney World and the first night venture into DTD.

Can't wait to read more!!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

The situation with the dooney's is funny. At some stores they are under lock and key like World of Disney and you can't see them unless a CM gets it for you. At other stores they are just set out on a table and you can pick them up and exam them without a CM hovering around you like at the Deluxe resorts or even the store on Main St.

 

[PirateKate]

Sounds like a great deal on the pin lanyard! Those locking pin backs are a good idea. I should have bought some of those about 8 lost pins ago.

Love the picture of Ethan with the Goofy hat. Too bad he didn't like it, but R2D2 ears sound fun.