Squirrels, Ducks and Coconut Butts!!! A Wish Trip Report *LATEST UPDATE 05/2011**

[wish_upon_a_star35]

Our Advance Dining Reservation was for 12:55 and it was only about 12:30 but we didn't think we had time to do much else so we walked up to the castle enjoying the ambiance along the way.

I liked this fountain.

The tile mosaics in the passageway.

Tessa spying on someone. We asked what she saw and she said someone was brushing hair. This must have been the back of Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.

We approached this desk and informed the woman that we are here for a lunch reservation. She checked our name and said it's too early, come back in 15 minutes. I asked her if there was a restroom nearby that we could use and she vaguely waved her arm in the direction of the carousel across the courtyard. I looked in the direction she was waving and saw lots of people, and no buildings close by. I really didn't want to walk across the park just to change the kids clothes. I decided to just do a sneaky ninja quick change in the passageway around the corner. It was kind of a dead end and there were very few people milling around. Even though we didn't have the "official" princess dresses I brought an alternative for each girl, something a little more princessy. Tessa had been given so many Big Give dresses and one of them was a sleeping Beauty sundress. I showed it to her and asked if she wanted to be Aurora or stay Minnie inside the castle and she said Minnie. Fine, no change for her. I got Phoebe into a new outfit (tiara t-shirt I bought at Disney.com before the Big Give started) and we were all set. We went back up to the desk and a mom and her kids were asking the man where the bathroom is and he opens up the castle doors for them. HUH??? Okay, a little annoying but we got by.

I told the lady our name again and proceed to explain that this is Phoebe's WISH trip and she is also visually impaired and would it be possible to sit by the windows so she can better see where we are? She tells me that there are a couple of stairs, would we be able to get her down to the lower level? I told her a couple of stairs is no problem and she says okay. They opened the doors for us and said to sit on the bench inside for a few minutes. Sure enough, there is a restroom sign right at the end of the bench. Not only a restroom, but a companion restroom, in an empty area. Okay, I guess I'm still annoyed. Move on Melissa!

(I think Phoebe thought this guy was real?)

We were the only ones in the room for a while but a few more families trickled in. After about ten minutes Cinderella made a grand entrance to her reception area where we were patiently waiting. She was a nice Cinderella and Phoebe enjoyed the interaction. Tessa was a little bit shy, staying on my other side, but not afraid. Phoebe started getting excited and was trying to stand up so it was comical trying to get the royal photograph with her.

(For anyone who is eating at one of the princess meals and getting a photo package, make sure you enter in the photopass code from your photo in to your account before you order your cd. I forgot so, it's not on my cd. I have plenty of photos but it would have been nice to have it already there with the others.)

At this point I don't remember exactly what happened. It was chaotic trying to get Phoebe and Tessa both to enjoy the moment with Cindy as well as get a decent photo of everyone. Tim says that someone told him to go upstairs now. I went up the royal staircase with Tessa.

Tim took Phoebe on the royal elevator.

Once we were upstairs nobody knew who we were, we didn't have a ticket or something that we were supposed to have, they asked us to wait on the side for a minute, which was tough because Tessa was interested in this new place and wanted to climb on the railing and walk up and down the stairs. They seemed not only confused by us but also a little annoyed. We were the anomaly that disrupted the pattern of how things were supposed to go. Tim swears he was told to come up. I'm just feeling weird. I tried to enjoy the opportunity to take a few pics of the whole room while we stood there.

I realized later that I Ann and her family were there finishing their meal. I DID catch you and Maggie on camera, just from a little far away.

(So why is Maggie wearing diva sunglasses inside the castle? lol)

Somebody comes up to us and says follow me. She leads us around the room to a table on the far side, up on a higher level than the main floor. This is NOT a window seat. I am feeling so sheepish from having invaded the castle that I decided not to say anything. We get settled, which is always a noisy production because Tessa wants to sit where we need to put Phoebe, we need to move a chair to make room for Phoebe's wheelchair, we have to move decorations, silverware, glasses, etc out of Phoebe's way or she will pull them all over onto the floor. The waiter stops by to get drink orders and we are still getting settled. Okay. Now we're settled and it's just eating away at me. This is not what I had asked for, there were several empty tables next to the windows, and why should I feel bad for doing what we were told? The lady at the desk had said we could have a window seat. Did she mess up the ticket that we mysteriously never got? The same lady that didn't want us to use their restroom ten minutes before we paid them hundreds of dollars for lunch??? I debated and mumbled to Tim, who offered to say something, NO, I said. Then I debated some more. Finally, I realized that this would have annoyed me forever, that I didn't try to fix it, so I got up and went to two manager looking people (they weren't in costume). I explained with my biggest smile the situation and how the lady downstairs had said okay. They point out the stairs and I said they weren't a problem. They paused but they did say okay, and to give them a minute. I sat back down and felt both relieved and embarrassed as we started to pack up our stuff, gather our drinks, etc. They lead us to a new table on the lower level. We had to lift Phoebe's chair down the stairs, and then I saw Tessa's bare feet. I tried to be quiet as I reprimanded her and told her to go get them. The manager lady walked her back. I knew every eye in the place was on us, but I didn't care. There was nothing I could do now. It is at this moment that I see Ann and her family as we pass them to get to our new table. "Good for you" she said. I don't know how much she saw before that, but she could see the exasperated look on my face. I vented on her for about 30 seconds. "Something is going to go according to plan!" I said. Her family looked very relaxed at that moment and seemed to be enjoying themselves. (Unlike ours) I couldn't resist snapping a few of Elke smiling as she played a magic wand game with Daddy!

Mellissa, I am very happy that you decided to say something. I know how it feels to keep going back and forth in your mind wanting to say something but not wanting to make waves. For the record, I always end up speaking my mind I hate having something eat at me!!!

Okay...let me finish reading. And forgive me in advance because I have a lot of reading to do! I see I have a lot of catching up to do on this TR. So I may be posting a lot of responses as I read on!

 

[wish_upon_a_star35]

We found our way to the first aid station and asked the attendant if we could go in. She unlocked the door and showed us around. She had us sign in on a clip board and it was 3:00. There was a mini fridge with bottled waters, several love seat/settees, and an armoire with books, tv and movie drawer. She opened the drawer and we let Tessa choose from among the many Disney movies and she chose Monsters Inc. We asked her about the sippy cup and she told us where to ask. Tim left me and the girls and set out to find a cup. He texted me that the next person told him the whole park was sold out (!?!?) so he was going to go to the parking lot and get hers out of the truck. Phoebe was tired but I wasn't sure if she would fall asleep in this room. At least I had plenty of time to try. I threw some of the big cushions on the floor. Phoebe ate some of the fruit we had left from lunch and relaxed on the cushions while Tessa watched the movie. It hadn't been long when Tim reappeared with a cup. Thankfully the CM who told him they were sold out was wrong. It wasn't similar to her favorite kind but I hoped it would work. She took a couple of sips from it and I decided it would be good enough. I proposed that Tim and Tessa go out and hit some rides while I tried to get Phoebe to take a nap. It wasn't long after they left that Phoebe was out and I had nothing but my camera to keep myself entertained.

I loved this little checkerboard table because it really looked antique. The checkerboard pattern had etchings of castles on the squares. Very European.

I moved Phoebe further onto the cushions to be more comfortable and she barely made a move.

I had to go to the bathroom but Phoebe was asleep and Tim was gone. I poked my head out and asked the first aid attendant if there was any way they could sit with her for a minute. No problem. They sent me down the hall to the first aid restroom. This was certainly not the typical corner of Disneyworld. I don't think anywhere else would an employee have been willing, nor would I have even wanted to ask!

At one point I heard what I thought was thunder (Tim later said it was fireworks) and I could tell it was raining very hard outside. The predicted rain had finally started to pour down. I was thinking that this was not the day I had hoped for so far. We did enjoy the Castle lunch, but other than that we hadn't DONE anything. Not a single ride. It was obvious Phoebe needed some sleep though, so I tried not to worry about anything.

I laid down next to her and almost fell asleep myself until another family came in. Rachel was the name of the wish child and she seemed fairly medically involved. Her brother Alexander ran around the room exploring it and playing. The parents were from NY and we shared about wheelchairs, AFOs, all those other details that "typical" parents haven't been exposed to. They were a nice family and they mainly came in to change Rachel's clothes because they had all gotten soaked in the rain. Phoebe didn't budge an inch during this whole exchange, even when Alexander touched her a couple of times, maybe hoping for a friend to play with? The door was opened again and this time a dad and son came in. Joshua was this wish child's name, from MI, and he and dad were looking for a dry spot to hang out and wait for mom and sister to finish their castle dinner. Shortly after they joined the room, Tim and Tessa returned. It was a real party now.

I debated making Phoebe wake up but if she could sleep through all of this, she must have been truly exhausted.

The first family took off, but Joshua's mom and sister Allison joined them. Allison was waving her new magic wand around and Tessa ran to to our bag to get hers out. Joshua was feeling a little left out so I gave him one of our extras and he seemed really excited to be able to join the girls' game. After a few minutes that family left also and I decided we needed to wake Phoebe. We got her changed, might as well while we're alone in this clean, comfy room, grabbed some waters and headed out. It was only when we were signing out that I realized how long we had been in the Wish lounge. We signed in at 3 and it was now 5:45pm!!! Phoebe had slept for over two hours.

Phoebe was definitely exhausted after all of the excitement with lunch! I just want to say thank you for posting the pictures of the Wish Lounge! I'm very excited about checking it out when we visit. Last year we never went and I am positive that if we had we could have stayed at the parks much longer. Chase is the only one that still needs a nap. But he REALLY needs one! So hopefully I can get him to try and get a little nap in while we are there. I'm thinking that might be a job for nana!

 

[xanphylus]

Super TR! I just caught up with all 500 million pages! Wow are my eyes tired. We just got back from Charleston this afternoon and I just had to come read up on your trip! Loving it. Although it is a bummer that the dresses didn't get there in time for CRT, but great that you got your window seat. Seems like the girls both had a great time and I can't wait to read more!

 

[yinyanggirls]

I am loving the TR and all the pics! So glad you said something and got the window table at CRT!! Keeping the TR coming!!!

Thanks! I'm working on it!

Great updates! That lounge looks wonderful! So glad Phoebe was able to get some needed rest in comfortable surroundings!

Sorry to hear the weather wasn't better for you but it seems like you were able to make the best of it!

It really was comfy. I think I did nod off for a sec before the other family came in.

Woo! Hoo! More great MK updates!It looks like you had a great day and you got some great pics.

It's so hard to choose which ones to share!

I love the Move it Shake it Celebrate it parade! I am glad Phoebe enjoyed it!

I love the picture of Mickey blowing kisses

Tessa looks adorable in the pic with her yelling quack

Great Spectromagic pictures!

Sounds like you all had a good daay despite the setbacks!

Hope the rain doesn't ruin the next day!

Phoebe's laughter is what made the parade fun for me. And Tessa was so silly on IASW, it totally reminded me of why it was a fave when I was little.

Totally loving your report!! I have been following along since the pre-trip and the big give, but not sure if I ever posted. I love your writing style and all your pictures, and your girls are just beautiful. I'm glad you ended up having a good day despite the setbacks. Can't wait to read more.

Ellen

I recognize you but my brain is so fuzzy now I don't know if it's from one of my threads or not. Just in case - WELCOME! Thanks for un-lurking. lol

wow wow wow!!
Awesome updates!
You are doing such a great job telling the story and I really appreciate the good and the bad - what worked and what didn't.
We always plan the perfect trip in our head and sometimes it doesn't work out that way - but you guys seem to be making the most of even the not so great moments.
I love the tired PhotoPass pic and love that the PhotoPass photographer suggested it!
Your seats for the parade were AWESOME! It looks like you were alone out there!
And Wishes....... From the Ferry!?!?! How totally awesome is that! I am totally adding that to my Disney bucket list!

Wishes from the ferry was Beth's idea, but it worked out well for us. The castle gets a little lost in the smoke after a while but the fireworks are great.
I think as the day went on people were leaving because of the rain. It wasn't crowded at all in the evening.
I feel a little guilty writing about the "bad" stuff, but I think I want to remind myself not to worry so much about the details. Even which park on which day ended up being something that had to change and I just wasn't going with the flow in the beginning.

I'm catching up! So sorry about all the rain!! What a bummer, although you seem to be trying to make the most of it anyway. The Wish Lounge is incredible. In spite of our best intentions, we never got to any of the wish or VIP lounges.

We all had lots of intentions, didn't we? lol

Mellissa, I am very happy that you decided to say something. I know how it feels to keep going back and forth in your mind wanting to say something but not wanting to make waves. For the record, I always end up speaking my mind I hate having something eat at me!!!

Okay...let me finish reading. And forgive me in advance because I have a lot of reading to do! I see I have a lot of catching up to do on this TR. So I may be posting a lot of responses as I read on!

Glad you're catching up. You've only got 30 days! Wow!

Phoebe was definitely exhausted after all of the excitement with lunch! I just want to say thank you for posting the pictures of the Wish Lounge! I'm very excited about checking it out when we visit. Last year we never went and I am positive that if we had we could have stayed at the parks much longer. Chase is the only one that still needs a nap. But he REALLY needs one! So hopefully I can get him to try and get a little nap in while we are there. I'm thinking that might be a job for nana!

I wasn't sure if Phoebe would or not but she was wiped out!!! I bet he will if you or Nana can just relax for a bit in there.

Super TR! I just caught up with all 500 million pages! Wow are my eyes tired. We just got back from Charleston this afternoon and I just had to come read up on your trip! Loving it. Although it is a bummer that the dresses didn't get there in time for CRT, but great that you got your window seat. Seems like the girls both had a great time and I can't wait to read more!

You're making me jealous! I LOVED Charleston! I should be reporting on those days of our trip sometime next month.

 

[SunnieRN]

I'm so enjoying your trip report and your beautiful daughters!!

I hope your neurologist gives you some helpful information and a diagnosis! Hope your DH is ok also!!

 

[taymorel]

Loving your trip report--I read your pre-trip report in April and just found your trip report. Gonna read as much as I can tonight since I leave for Disney tomorrow.


caroline

 

[jordanyosh]

Even though you spent so much time in the Wish Lounge, it seems like it was needed and it sounds like a nice place to get away

 

[jenniferkeala808]

Hey melissa! Great update and great pics of MK!! Sorry it rained so much. I'm glad Pheobe got to rest in the Wish Lounge! She looks very comfy!! I love that photopass pic where everyone is sleeping! So cute! Can't wait for the next update!

 

[kdzbear]

I guess I missed that you made the TR separate from the PTR and missed the move. I am here now. I love your report! You did an awesome job with your photo of Cinderella's fountain - only at the angle you caught does it look like Cinderella is wearing her crown. Otherwise it is way above her head. The characters in the parade were Briar Bear from Splash Mountain and the Big BAd Wolf - the Three Little Pigs would have been on a close by float.

I love that you spoke up in the castle and were able to get a window seat! I learned at Disney it never hurts to ask. I am sorry it rained so much on your Sea World and your Magic Kingdom Day. The pick a pearl process looked like fun for the girls. I love the girls dancing in the move it shake it parade.

My special needs son won't eat ice cream either and he hates loud noises, which include fireworks! You are doing a fabulous job with your report!

 

[yinyanggirls]

Day two was supposed to go like this:
O early start at Magic Kingdom
O wear princess dresses to castle
X have lunch at CRT
O hit all of Fantasyland and maybe a few other rides
O grab a Dole Whip
X visit the Wish Lounge
O dinner at Tony's Town Square
O watch parade from porch at Tony's
O meander around Main St until just before fireworks
X leave before they start so we can see them on the ferry

From a planning perspective it just wasn't a successful day. (A couple of days later I was already remembering moments from the day with great fondness, but it took a little distance, lol) The next day was supposed to be our day split between Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. I was so looking forward to seeing the Lion King, Nemo, Little Mermaid (and Phoebe loves music so I knew she would enjoy those too). I wanted her to interact with the characters during the Block Party Bash and see the Muppet show.

The forecast was calling for even more rain and I was just sick of it. Tessa had developed blisters on her heals because of her wet tennis shoes. I was tired of carrying my camera around in a shopping bag to protect it. My hair was flat in all of the pictures. I really just felt like it was time to take control of the plans by letting go of the control! Instead of feeling like everything was being ruined all day long, I wanted to just go with the flow and be happy when something good or fun happened. Tim was game for whatever I wanted to do so I decided we would take a break, hang out at GKTW, skip DHS/AK and re-do MK another day. This ended up being a great decision.

 

[yinyanggirls]

Tim and Tessa were the first ones awake that day, as usual. They took off for the hub of GKTW to see what fun was to be had while I got ready and Phoebe slept in. Today was Nickelodeon character day and I hoped that Blue would be there for Phoebe to meet. I had mentioned to her wish granter that she loved Blue and I heard that "maybe they could set up a meet" but never heard more than that. When I had called GKTW before we left I inquired about the characters and was told there's just no way to know or request who comes to GKTW. When Tim got to the theatre he texted me that it was Spongebob today. Tessa didn't even want to meet him, and I knew it wouldn't mean a thing to Phoebe. Oh well. Tim and Tessa ate breakfast at the Gingerbread House then of course, took a turn on the carousel.

Katie (the Lurker) introduced herself as she recognized Tessa from pictures. The little girl in the pink hat is Megan, details to follow.

I brought Phoebe down to the main area too late to eat at the GH, so we went to see what the Ice Cream Palace had to offer. I've never been a big breakfast person so what they had to offer at the little counter in the corner was perfect for me. Phoebe and I enjoyed an assortment of bacon, scrambled eggs, yogurt, biscuits, and cinnamon rolls. I asked the ice cream servers for a cup of coffee and had them put a scoop of ice cream in it. It was pretty good that way and they were so impressed with the idea. As we sat and ate our breakfast one of the angels working the counter came out and showed Phoebe this cute little bear. She chatted with us and asked Phoebe if she wanted to keep the bear. She was petting it so I thanked her and kept the bear. She went back and got another toy, a moose I think, and offered it for her sister but I knew Tessa was kind of ambiguous about most stuffed animals and I didn't want to waste it so I told her to keep it for another child she might want to share it with. Hopefully I didn't offend her but she was very sweet. She said that her kids and grandkids were all healthy and she just felt like this was something she needed to do to give back. She played patty cake with Phoebe for a while and she got some gloves to see if Phoebe liked those (not so much, lol).

Tessa and Tim joined us at that point and had some ice cream and stole our cinnamon rolls. Thankfully they gave us more. We wandered around the main area and sat on a bench swing in a gazebo for a bit. It was very relaxing.

The Gingerbread House.

The Castle of Miracles and Enchanted Carousel.

We went back to the villa to find yet another pile of gifts on our kitchen table. It was warm and sunny at the moment so we decided to check out the pool while we could. Both of the girls loved it. There were some other kids there to play with but not at all crowded.
(stock photo)

They also had some pool toys in already and the angel who was supervising the area went and got some more to throw in at one point. (There had been a rotovirus outbreak a couple of weeks earlier and I guess they got rid of the toys at that time). Tessa is throwing the ball to Megan.

They had several of these waterproof wheelchairs to use.

Phoebe took a break to have a snack while Tessa and Daddy swam.

Tessa and I went to explore one side of the pool where the splash pad was and Daddy took Phoebe in the pool.

After a couple of minutes Tim was hollering at me to help him. I asked a nearby dad, just happened to be Megan's, if he'd keep an eye on Tessa for a minute. When I got to Tim he showed me that the wheelchair had been soiled and Phoebe needed to be cleaned up. Well, at least she did it in the the chair and not in the pool water. We spent a while in the bathroom cleaning up and thankfully they had a box of Clorox wipes in the surf shack. (stock photo)

I scrubbed the chair down and we decided Phoebe needed to go home and have a bath. She was ready for a nap anyway. Tim volunteered to do that job so I stayed with Tessa at the pool for another hour. She had fun playing with Megan from Vancouver, B.C. I later noticed that Megan was in several of our photos that day. We had fun chatting about our long travel days and what the week still promised for us.

Tessa explored the splash pad some more. She was too quick to climb this wave, so I never had time to tell her where she was "supposed" to stand for the illusion.

Tessa was getting hungry but I was having trouble tearing her away from the pool. I finally convinced her and we headed over to Katie's Kitchen to order lunch to-go. We had accidentally followed Megan's family over there and I was feeling like we were all on the same wavelength that day. We got a chicken salad sandwich, chicken Caesar salad, chicken pot pie, and mac. Notice a theme here? It was all very good. Tessa was pretty tired at this point and was having a melt down over something silly. I let her ride the carousel while we waited for Daddy to run over and pick us up. There was no way Tessa was going to be able to walk back and I had all the food and drinks to carry already.

Phoebe slept while the rest of us ate, then she woke up and ate while Tessa took a bath. Phoebe went back to sleep again after she ate. This girl was tired! I think Tessa may have napped that day but I'm not sure. She needed it, I'll say that for sure! We had thought about doing a US park that evening but I just didn't want to hassle with the rain. We hung out and watched a little tv until it was time for our ADR at Boma. The one thing I kept from my original plans for the day.

 

[rcq925]

Tim and Tessa were the first ones awake that day, as usual. They took off for the hub of GKTW to see what fun was to be had while I got ready and Phoebe slept in. Today was Nickelodeon character day and I hoped that Blue would be there for Phoebe to meet. I had mentioned to her wish granter that she loved Blue and I heard that "maybe they could set up a meet" but never heard more than that. When I had called GKTW before we left I inquired about the characters and was told there's just no way to know or request who comes to GKTW. When Tim got to the theatre he texted me that it was Spongebob today. Tessa didn't even want to meet him, and I knew it wouldn't mean a thing to Phoebe. Oh well. Tim and Tessa ate breakfast at the Gingerbread House then of course, took a turn on the carousel.

Katie (the Lurker) introduced herself as she recognized Tessa from pictures. The little girl in the pink hat is Megan, details to follow.

I brought Phoebe down to the main area too late to eat at the GH, so we went to see what the Ice Cream Palace had to offer. I've never been a big breakfast person so what they had to offer at the little counter in the corner was perfect for me. Phoebe and I enjoyed an assortment of bacon, scrambled eggs, yogurt, biscuits, and cinnamon rolls. I asked the ice cream servers for a cup of coffee and had them put a scoop of ice cream in it. It was pretty good that way and they were so impressed with the idea. As we sat and ate our breakfast one of the angels working the counter came out and showed Phoebe this cute little bear. She chatted with us and asked Phoebe if she wanted to keep the bear. She was petting it so I thanked her and kept the bear. She went back and got another toy, a moose I think, and offered it for her sister but I knew Tessa was kind of ambiguous about most stuffed animals and I didn't want to waste it so I told her to keep it for another child she might want to share it with. Hopefully I didn't offend her but she was very sweet. She said that her kids and grandkids were all healthy and she just felt like this was something she needed to do to give back. She played patty cake with Phoebe for a while and she got some gloves to see if Phoebe liked those (not so much, lol).

Tessa and Tim joined us at that point and had some ice cream and stole our cinnamon rolls. Thankfully they gave us more. We wandered around the main area and sat on a bench swing in a gazebo for a bit. It was very relaxing.

The Gingerbread House.

The Castle of Miracles and Enchanted Carousel.

We went back to the villa to find yet another pile of gifts on our kitchen table. It was warm and sunny at the moment so we decided to check out the pool while we could. Both of the girls loved it. There were some other kids there to play with but not at all crowded. They also had some pool toys in already and the angel who was supervising the area went and got some more to throw in at one point. (There had been a rotovirus outbreak a couple of weeks earlier and I guess they got rid of the toys at that time). Tessa is throwing the ball to Megan.

They had several of these waterproof wheelchairs to use.

Phoebe took a break to have a snack while Tessa and Daddy swam.

Tessa and I went to explore one side of the pool where the splash pad was and Daddy took Phoebe in the pool.

After a couple of minutes Tim was hollering at me to help him. I asked a nearby dad, just happened to be Megan's, if he'd keep an eye on Tessa for a minute. When I got to Tim he showed me that the wheelchair had been soiled and Phoebe needed to be cleaned up. Well, at least she did it in the the chair and not in the pool water. We spent a while in the bathroom cleaning up and thankfully they had a box of Clorox wipes in the surf shack. I scrubbed the chair down and we decided Phoebe needed to go home and have a bath. She was ready for a nap anyway. Tim volunteered to do that job so I stayed with Tessa at the pool for another hour. She had fun playing with Megan from Vancouver, B.C. I later noticed that Megan was in several of our photos that day. We had fun chatting about our long travel days and what the week still promised for us.

Tessa explored the splash pad some more. She was too quick to climb this wave, so I never had time to tell her where she was "supposed" to stand for the illusion.

Tessa was getting hungry but I was having trouble tearing her away from the pool. I finally convinced her and we headed over to Katie's Kitchen to order lunch to-go. We had accidentally followed Megan's family over there and I was feeling like we were all on the same wavelength that day. We got a chicken salad sandwich, chicken Caesar salad, chicken pot pie, and mac. Notice a theme here? It was all very good. Tessa was pretty tired at this point and was having a melt down over something silly. I let her ride the carousel while we waited for Daddy to run over and pick us up. There was no way Tessa was going to be able to walk back and I had all the food and drinks to carry already.

Phoebe slept while the rest of us ate, then she woke up and ate while Tessa took a bath. Phoebe went back to sleep again after she ate. This girl was tired! I think Tessa may have napped that day but I'm not sure. She needed it, I'll say that for sure! We had thought about doing a US park that evening but I just didn't want to hassle with the rain. We hung out and watched a little tv until it was time for our ADR at Boma. The one thing I kept from my original plans for the day.

Yeah! Thanks for the update! The pool looks awesome! I hope it is warm enough in November for us to use it!

 

[kdzbear]

I love the GKTW pictures and updates. I would never have thought of plastic wheelchairs for the pool! How amazing! I am glad you took a day to relax and rest. I can't wait to hear if you liked Boma! My family loves it there!

 

[yinyanggirls]

I got Tessa ready while Tim experimented with his camera. Phoebe continued her second nap behind that closed door. Tessa was goofing around. I swear she could be a model, with all of her silly expressions and poses, usually with little to no prompting.

Once Phoebe was up and ready we headed on over to Animal Kingdom Lodge for our 6:30 ADR at Boma, the African themed buffet. We were a little concerned that the GPS didn't list it by name, but we were able to figure it out and got there a couple of minutes late. As Tim dropped me and the girls off at the front door we realized we didn't have the handicapped placard again. What the heck? I asked a guy who standing with the valets, but was wearing a more professional uniform so I'm guessing was a supervisor of some sort, if it would be okay to park in the handicapped spot anyway. He could see the wheelchair of course and said it would be no problem. Phew!

I saw a photopass photographer by the front door at a desk. I asked him where they take the pics here and he explained they do a professional shoot or just a quick snapshot in the main lobby. Since we were now about 5 minutes late I asked how late they would be there for the lobby pic and whatever his answer was (8 maybe?) I assumed it would be late enough for us to make it after dinner. We checked in at the desk, gave them our name and the time we reserved. They gave us a pager and asked us to have a seat. We sat. And sat. And walked around. And gave Tessa a time-out for wandering away and not listening. And walked upstairs. And went outside. And rode the elevators. And had another family take our pic.

And went outside again. And gave Tessa another time-out. And sat some more. We did have plenty of time to chat with other families, several of whom LOVED the girls' dresses and wanted to know where we bought them.

Peaking over the stair rail at the food we were really hoping to eat soon.

Finally Tim went to the desk to ask what was going on since we had been there about 45 minutes, Tessa was driving us crazy and Phoebe was whining pretty good because she was hungry. There was some mix-up with the ADR and the lady he spoke to, different from the one who checked us in and gave us a pager, said something about we were never marked as arrived. She asked us to wait just a couple more minutes which we grudgingly agreed to do, when they paged us and we were finally seated. Our nerves were already frayed at this point and I knew it wasn't going to be the casual, tasting and learning of a new culture that I had hoped it would be. It was, hurry up and fill up a plate with anything the girls might like to eat, then alternate which of us got to go fill our own plate while feeding Phoebe and trying to keep Tessa moderately under control. There were definitely some delicious dishes on the buffet, and I tried to have a small taste of anything I hadn't had before. I knew I'd never remember what I ate that night so I took a pic of the menu. I still can't remember all of what I ate though!

Tessa got a lighting up Tinkerbell clipped to her drink which she played with through the rest of dinner. After that night I hid it away and asked her if she wanted to give it to her cousin who loves Tink. She said YES, until it came time to give it to her. She wanted to play with it again, but of course lost interest after a minute, again.

If that were all she had done it would have been fine. She was talking to people at the tables around us, climbing over chairs and benches to get to them, going under the table, turning every which way in her seat, etc. She had two more time-outs during dinner, one of which Tim had to take her out of the restaurant for because she was screaming. It was just a little too late for us. And we missed the photopass guys. Oh well.

One of my dinner plates. Just a taste of some things.

Tessa pointing to her favorite, a brownie. Yes, this is the second plate for her and Daddy.

My dessert plate. I left most of them on the plate after one bite because I just wasn't in love with any of them. None were bad, just not over the top delicious like I had expected. But then, I'm a really simple dessert kind of person. Cookies. Ice cream. Zebra domes. just kidding. I think my fave of these was the apple cobbler stuff. Tim and Tessa finished some of mine and even after we got home from the trip Tim said he really loved these desserts.

After we were done with dinner we explored the hotel for a little while.
Walking along a wildlife path.

It led us to the savanna where a couple of "guides" were helping people look for animals with night vision goggles. They were from South Africa and the one we were talking to was part of an anti-poaching unit there. (Caitlin - I thought if you because he was very handsome, young, single, but had a serious career. You'll have to call and see if those guys are there when you go back!) He and Tim talked about law enforcement for a while. Tim had fun. Tessa was playing around and scraped her knee. This owie would be an annoyance for the rest of the trip because she would either re-open it by falling again, or pick at it if actually had a chance to start scabbing.

Flamingos along the path.

Playing at the playground.

Walking back to the car.

We had the kids in bed by 10:30 which was later than I wanted, but not bad. We really enjoyed having a slow paced day. And NO, it never did rain.

 

[kdzbear]

I am so sorry you did not get to enjoy Boma more. The food and selections there is amazing. I love almost all of the desserts and I think I could live on Zebra Domes. I hope that things start going right on the trip soon!

 

[TokyoDina]

Oh my what a busy day! I'm getting tired just thinking about it! Geez! I hope the rest of your week went very well after that day! I think I would have just cancelled the ADR at Boma and called it a night. I get to tired when I get stressed. I would have been done by the time Tessa got out of the pool. But I'm glad you were able to enjoy some of your day!

 

[dawnbu40]

I love the pictures from GKTW! The pool area looks like so much fun!

The girls look so cute in their safari outfits! Sorry to hear Boma left you waiting so long! That really spoiled things for you!

I literally laughed out loud when I read that you found a guy for Caitlin
We'll have to stop by the AKL in August

 

[PrincessCaitlin]

Sounds like a nice relaxing day at GKTW! Every Disney trip needs one rest day!

The food at Boma looks good! We have never been but I have had the zebra domes

Thank you for looking for boys for me! I will definitely have to check out the AKL this summer!

The girls looked adorable in their dresses

Can't wait to hear what the next day brings! Hopefully the rain holds off again!

 

[jenniferkeala808]

hey melissa! Great update!! I LOVE those pics from the pool! They seem to have a really cool pool! Sorry you had to wait soooo long for Boma! The Animal Kingdom Lodge is beautiful isn't it?! Can't wait to hear more!!

 

[rcq925]

Boma looked interesting! Not sure I would eat anything but the deserts! They looked really good!! I am loving your trip report so much!!

The girls outfits were adorable and totally appropriate for the occasion!

Keep it coming!