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

[jordanyosh]

Great pix!!!!!!!!!

So the news about Phoebe is not good? What does that mean for you...for her....

 

[rcq925]

Beautiful pictures!! You are a great photographer!!

Loved the pics of Phoebe with the horses!!

 

[All7OfUs]

Hi Melissa!!! Since I got back from our trip, it's taken me a while to get back into full swing again! But I'm ready to read all I've missed!!

Howdy!

ETA: We have plans to take a very similar trip in the fall! Nice pictures!

 

[yinyanggirls]

We just did a sedated MRI with Elke, and they did call beforehand and ask if she had a cough.... So hoping that Phoebe nips this cold in the bud.

Thankfully we didn't have to postpone. Her sniffle never turned into anything more. The last few years I tend to be the sickest of anyone in the family when we get something. I figure it's due to lack of sleep. (as I type at 12:34am....)

Glad you guys made it there and back safely! Hopefully Phoebe will still be able to get the testing in! I love weddings and hope you get a chance to post a few of the pictures!

I uploaded some of my faves into an album so the bride can have a sneak peek. I'll post the link here in a minute.

We are headed to Agua Linda Farms in Amado this weekend for their Garlic and Onion festival have you been there!

Geez that's a lot of pictures! Imagine if you'd used film! I think you would have had to charge almost two arms and a leg!

I've been to that farm but Tim won't go to any of their holiday type stuff. He doesn't like the people who run it. He generally doesn't like doing anything south of our house.

I am normally on the camping boards, but just happened to wander over here today. I am soooo glad I found your TR. I was too far behind to read every word, but I thoroughly enjoyed just the same! Don't even ask how many tissues it took to get through your report! I too have a special needs child so this was especially touching to me. Thanks for taking the time and energy out of your busy life to share your experience with us. Best Wishes to you and your beautiful family! KFK

Thanks so much for skimming through. I love your siggie, where it says Different is the new Normal!

I love wedding pictures. Were either of the girls in the wedding?

No, this cousin isn't particularly close. I think she was mostly looking for a bargain photographer. I probably wouldn't have made the trip if I weren't doing the photos. I love her and it was fun, but it's hard to drive four days for someone you only see every 5 years or so.

Glad you made it back safley. I'd love to see pictures of your recent trip. I'm homesick for Utah so Utah pics are always welcome.

I hope you enjoyed! I didn't get much scenery once we were past southern Utah, but it's all very pretty there.

Glad you guys made it home safe and sound! I hope Phoebe's appointments go well!
Patiently waiting for your next installment! I love your TR!!

Thanks! That's sweet.

After DS8 had those weekend hookups to the 'machines'...the only thing they could tell me...is yes, he has brain damage (which we already knew) and he is having seizure 'like' episode that appear to be 'situational seizures'...which there is nothing they can do about...

For us it was a waste of time, but we were able to rule out things. Glad the further tests were able to come to a sort of conclusion....hoping thefre is good news coming!

(we use the melatonin at night for DS...could not live without it!)

Nini

The last neuro we saw in Texas called these things "spells". I asked him what a spell was if it wasn't a seizure and he said they don't know. Um, okay, that's useful information! NOT!

I'm glad to hear the melatonin works on him. I ordered some drops and hoping they arrive soon. We've just been putting her to bed with us the last couple weeks to save the hassle of walking to her bedroom several times a night. We want our bed back!

Thanks for the update....I've been thinking of you and praying for you guys. Love the pictures and what's more fun then a new puppy and a pool!

Thanks for thinking of us! Watching Tessa enjoying life makes me miss my childhood.

Gorgeous pictures!

Looks like you all had a great time!

We did! Thanks!

Beautiful pictures! Glad you were able to enjoy a visit with your extended family

I am one who just adores my family. I lived for Christmas and summer break when I was a kid. One of my many cousins became my roommate when we went to the same college and she ended up marrying my brother-in-law. I'm so happy to have someone from MY family, be part of Tim's family.

Welcome back, Melissa!

I love the pics so far!

Glad to hear that Phoebe doesn't have to go through those extra tests! They sound so painful, I can't even imagine a little girl having to go through that!

Can't wait to hear about the wedding (and of course, the rest of your WDW trip!)

I'll hopefully be getting back into the swing of things soon. It's been a crazy month.

Melissa,

your girls are so darn cute it's ridiculous. Hope that the dx is correct, and that you can work with it in some way to make Phoebe's life a little easier.

Zion National Park is gorgeous. Went there on a family trip when I was younger.

Thanks. I wish I could take the credit for them. I don't know if this dx will change anything at all, but it's interesting having one finally.

I bet Zion is exactly the same as when you were there. It is really neat though.

wow! that area is beautiful. What a wonderful trip.

It was a fun trip. I'm glad my parents went to help with the girls.

Wonderful pics!!

You are such a great photographer!

I love the one of Pheobe and your mom with the horses - so sweet.

Looks like it was a great trip.

I really was tempted to make Phoebe's wish something to do with horses, but since she can ride at my aunt's, she can ride at my SIL's, and she rides half of the school year, I just felt like it was wasting an opportunity. She sure does love those big babies though!

O my Melissa! Tessa is getting so dark! I love how she explores her world! I love your pictures!

I hope what the doctors found can hopefully put you all on the right path to truly figure out what's going on with Phoebe. And I agree I think she totally deserved the Wish Trip!

I can't stop Tessa from tanning. I put SPF50 on her every day and she still comes home with tan lines. Her skin is melanin rich!!!

Beautiful pics! Both of your girls have the prettiest smiles. I just love seeing them Looks like you all had a wonderful trip.

I am glad what you are seeing is not siezures. I am not sure what PVL is but I hope it is something that the dr's can come up with a plan to help Pheobe. I'm sorry the MRI showed something but I am happy that you were able to get some answers.

It's nice to have a name to tell people, although it is a pretty bizarre one and no one will know what it is. Maybe as time goes by there will be more research done on it and we will have some more options.

Incredible pics Melissa. We have the Golden access pass as well (for DH) and it has given us a wonderful oppertunity to explore some of natures wonders. It saved us a fortune when we spent 10 days camping at Yellowstone when the kids were younger. I hope the fact that they found something with Phoebe's tests this time helps you some. I know how frustrating it is not to have answers about why your kids are sick, and I hope they can help her get a peaceful nights sleep now. Love the pics at lagoon. I pratically spent my childhood there and we have taken the kids a few times while on visits to the family. I'm pretty sure that ride has been there forever.

It looked the same as how I remembered it, and that has to be 20 years ago!

Love the pics! I pics of nature like that- beautiful!!! Sigh... makes me wanna go on vacation at a park- and not a theme park! Anyway- glad you guys had a great time!

A little vacation variety never hurt anyone (I don't think).

Great pix!!!!!!!!!

So the news about Phoebe is not good? What does that mean for you...for her....

Thanks Jordan. It's basically more of the same. A dx without any cures. We used to think she had a chromosomal abnormality, which she still might, which would mean there is no cure and that's just how she is. This new dx means there is no cure and it's just how she is. Confused? yeah.

Beautiful pictures!! You are a great photographer!!

Loved the pics of Phoebe with the horses!!

Thanks. She loves them sooooo much!

Hi Melissa!!! Since I got back from our trip, it's taken me a while to get back into full swing again! But I'm ready to read all I've missed!!

Howdy!

ETA: We have plans to take a very similar trip in the fall! Nice pictures!

I saw your post on Jordan's and I was wondering what went wrong. I expect full disclosure on your PTR....

 

[yinyanggirls]

A link to some of my favorites from the wedding photos...
http://s270.photobucket.com/albums/jj105/yinyanggirls/prophoto/



Thanks to the awesome people here on the DIS I looked into the Starlight Foundation here in AZ and Phoebe was approved to be part of it. It is a group that arranges for fun outings and special events for really sick kids who spend lots of time in the hospital. Kind of like Make a Wish only on a smaller, more frequent scale. We've been getting invites from them for months now but the events are always in Phoenix (a minimum of 2 hours away) and none of them have been anything the girls would really enjoy so we've passed them up. Last week I got an email saying that there were some VIP suites available for the Sesame Street Live show at Jobing.com arena. Tim was off, we had no other plans and I figured why not?!? So I replied immediately that we would love to have 4 of those seats. I got confirmation that night that we were in. When I told Tim where we were going he was thrilled.

So Friday afternoon we drove up to PHX and had dinner at Islands. (Used to eat there in CA, but they don't have them in TX and Tucson - places where we've lived the last 7 years). We got to the arena just in time and found front row handicapped parking. I went to change Phoebe real quick before we went in and that's when I realized I didn't bring any extra pull ups! What is wrong with me?!? Thankfully I'd doubled her up at home so she had a dry out layer. I removed the inner one and figured she'd be fine through the performance and if we needed to stop at a store after the show, then fine. So we go in, find our suite (sharing with several other Starlight families, but we were the first ones) and got the front row seats. We had a couple minutes to spare so I told Tim I wanted to go get a Margarita from the stand we had just passed downstairs. I figured it would help make Elmo more enjoyable. I got my drink, a soda Tim had requested and a cotton candy for the girls. When I got back to the suite the show had started and it was dark inside. As I opened the door I smelled something BAD. It was poop. As my eyes adjusted to the dark I noticed Tim standing with Phoebe in the back of the room. Oh no. It was Phoebe! He whispered to me that she had a blow out and it was everywhere. I didn't know what that meant, and I know he's prone to panic when it comes to stuff like this. I put our stuff down on a table, help him carry Phoebe carefully to the empty restroom which was thankfully right outside of our suite. I start cleaning her up when I realized Tessa was not with him. He said he asked the lady we just met (works for the Starlight foundation) to watch her. At least she was there with her own kid so she didn't seem to mind.

Tim went off to try and find someone with a diaper bag, or a concession stand (this is ELMO right?) or something. I had Phoebe all cleaned up and just grabbed a huge stack of paper towels to put under her. I managed to get us back to our seats, all while holding the stack of paper towels in place. I tried to relax and enjoy the show, and at this point I'm realllllly glad I got that margarita. It was a cute show and Phoebe liked the music. Tessa had more fun bugging all the other families that were in the suite with us, especially a couple of teenagers that were there. She loves big kids. Tim came back with a stack of paper towels and then left again when the intermission started. He ended up driving to a walmart (and losing our perfect parking) and made it back right before the end of the show. Phoebe fell asleep but I woke her up when I realized it was getting to the end. I was kind of wondering why we even went at this point, but oh well.

As we are all leaving the suites (I think the foundation had three in a row) Tessa noticed a family walking out that was all little people. Mom, dad and daughter were dwarfs. Tessa seems intrigued of course and announced this to us. I tried to shift the attention from her comment and I told the daughter that I liked her braids (perfect cornrows). Tim picking up on my cue said to Tessa "Yeah, I bet it's so much easier to take care of than your hair!". Right after he said that he turned back to the front and noticed a little girl who was bald. I didn't catch the bad timing because I was trying to get Phoebe out the door but when he told me later I burst out laughing at the horror of it. And yet, it was so US. Typical us.

So we left the arena and walked around the pedestrian shopping area outside and found a yogurt shop for dessert. While we were there Tessa needed to use the restroom (don't worry). When we walked in she saw a full length mirror and pretended it was a doorway to another bathroom and walked into it. She thought that was hilarious and asked me to try it. I humored her and when I touched the mirror my bracelet made a tapping noise. It was made of glass beads and we had talked about it at dinner because she was playing kind of rough with it and I had to warn her about it breaking. She heard the noise it made and looked at the bracelet then said "hey! Glass! Glass! It rhymes!" pointing from my hand to the mirror. I was about to impressed with her marvelous little brain when she came up with another rhyme "Glass! ***!" pointing to her bottom which is now on the toilet. It was all I could do to not burst out laughing and I asked where she learned that word, to which I received no reply, and then I tried to explain that's not a nice word. I seriously have no idea where she heard it and was particularly surprised that she knew the meaning. Well, leave it to us to turn a two hour Elmo concert into a whole TR entry.

Before the blow out...

Bugging the teenagers...

The show that we mostly missed....

 

[All7OfUs]

I saw your post on Jordan's and I was wondering what went wrong. I expect full disclosure on your PTR....

I had to start a new thread, as the other one maxed out. You can find it in the PTR threads with the name " .... Invasion... something or rather..."

I started it just before we left on our trip, and there's already a mini-TR going about our trip into Kyrgzstan!! It was a wild ride, I tell ya! But I think you may be referring to the dog bite on my hand. That story is there too.

Hope to see you over there.

 

[dawnbu40]

The wedding looks lovely! Great job on the pictures! Sorry to hear Sesame St Live was more of an adventure than you were expecting. Things just never go as smoothly as we'd like, do they?

 

[__disneygirl]

Hi there, sorry i'm late to your TR but I love it. Your daughters are so adorable and what little troopers. You should be proud!

I cracked up when I saw the picture of you all sleeping! I love when the Photopass photographers get all silly. We had one guy who had us do one normal picture and one "make a crazy face" picture and we crack up at that every time we see it!

GKTW is just so magical Can't wait for more!

 

[jordanyosh]

you took those wedding photos right? WOW!

Sorry about the "blowout" at Job.ing arena....hey it happens.....still nice to get out of your normal surroundings for the day.

 

[yinyanggirls]

I had to start a new thread, as the other one maxed out. You can find it in the PTR threads with the name " .... Invasion... something or rather..."

I love how you are such a PTR vet that you can't remember the current one's name.

The wedding looks lovely! Great job on the pictures! Sorry to hear Sesame St Live was more of an adventure than you were expecting. Things just never go as smoothly as we'd like, do they?

Thank you! Seems like I don't remember this much drama happening in my own childhood, or that of my nieces and nephews who came before my children. Maybe it's just the perspective, or maybe my kids are really a handful!

Hi there, sorry i'm late to your TR but I love it. Your daughters are so adorable and what little troopers. You should be proud!

I cracked up when I saw the picture of you all sleeping! I love when the Photopass photographers get all silly. We had one guy who had us do one normal picture and one "make a crazy face" picture and we crack up at that every time we see it!

GKTW is just so magical Can't wait for more!

We loved it there. I hope to go visit there as much as I hope to go back to WDW. I'm glad the photog suggested it because we kept it going as a theme.

you took those wedding photos right? WOW!

Sorry about the "blowout" at Job.ing arena....hey it happens.....still nice to get out of your normal surroundings for the day.

Thanks so much. I'm always my own worst critic and I worry that the clients are just being nice when they say they like their pics.

It was nice to meet the girl/woman who is always sending out the invites. She can picture us now when I email her and maybe someday that will benefit us.

 

[yinyanggirls]

So I left off with our magical meeting with Tiana and Naveen near N.O. Square, then a photoshoot in Castle Couture in their princess dresses. I changed them back to their "everyday" Tiana clothes (still love those outfits from the Big Give!) and headed out to enjoy some rides! If you remember our first Disney day was a very rainy, late start day that didn't allow us to fit in very many rides or characters. I was determined that this re-do day would be different. We found the nearest ride, Peter Pan, and were offered to ride it twice. Am I the only one who likes this bedroom's paint scheme?

Tessa really liked to yell out to Nana (the dog) as we flew over her.

After two turns on PP we headed toward the teacups but Phoebe needed a bathroom break. Can I just say (if I haven't before) that I just hate using public restrooms with my children? It seems we both end up touching just about every surface in there, and Phoebe grabs at me for balance and it's not unusual for me to get some fingers in my mouth or eye or my clothes pulled off my body. It's always a stressful experience, but thankfully it's usually over in a few minutes, I scrub us all up the best I can and we move on. Well, this bathroom experience was typical and after I met back up with Tim near the teacups I realized, as we approached the ride, that I had been wearing the Guest Assistance Card and "magic button" in the bathroom and set it on the t.p. dispenser to keep it from getting dipped in the toilet or some other catastrophe. The plastic envelope that held these important (but replaceable) items also had our tickets (replaceable???) that had one day remaining to be used, and our photopass card that had tons of photos on it already (and like a dummy I did NOT follow the advice I had been given to write down or take a pic of that number). Needless to say I was starting to have a coronary. I rushed back to the bathroom as quickly as I could and ran into the last stall where we had been a few minutes ago. Thank goodness it was there! I guess it was a big enough restroom, and the handicapped stall was at the farthest end, that no one else had used it since we left. I imagined that even a good Samaritan would have taken it and turned it in to someone. So we had no hassles of lost or stolen cards and tix and moved merrily on our way!!! When I returned to the teacups Tim had been talking to a family that we recognized from GKTW. Don't remember the names now, but it was fun feeling like we had "friends" in the crowd. We rode the teacups and the girls seemed to enjoy it. Then we started to get hungry.

We found a little window that was selling "fast food". Tim and Tessa had hot dogs and Phoebe and I shared a chicken ceasar salad and we all shared french fries. It was basic, quick food, but good. It was pretty crowded this day (nice and sunny, remember!) so there were no tables outside available when we got our food. We had taken a few bites when I saw a family about to get up from a table so I started to make a beeline for it and I accidentally ran over a woman's foot who was walking past us! I felt bad but she had to have seen me coming! MOVE IT OR LOSE IT LADY!!!

So we snagged the table and finished our lunch. Tessa was getting bored and running around chasing birds, Tim was chasing her and Phoebe was eating as slow as molasses, as always. I saw a family of three looking for a table and offered to share with them, since it was only Phoebe and I at that point sitting. They gladly accepted and we chatted a little. They were from NC and had driven to FL so they had lots of suggestions for our second week when we would be heading north, which got me excited for it!

While Phoebe was finishing eating her lunch I had given Tim the GAC and told him to go ahead and ride Dumbo with Tessa since we were right next to it. By the time Phoebe was done I was able to meet up with them at the front of the line and have her join them for the ride. I don't know why the GAC didn't seem to speed things up for them, but the timing worked out well anyway.

We headed off to Toontown at that point, where we never even made it to on Monday. I was surprised though, that there wasn't that much there that the kids wanted to do. We rode Goofy's Barnstormer roller coaster and Tessa wanted to go twice but we distracted her since the CM didn't offer and we didn't feel it was worth getting out, going around the whole line to the exit again. She was getting spoiled, thinking that every ride was going to be something she could do twice in a row. After that ride we found the area where Mickey and Minnie meet people. At first the CM was kind of rude, we forgot to leave the stroller outside since we are always pushing Phoebe around we tend to forget that other sets of wheels are prohibited in many areas. Then they saw the GAC and pointed us to a different hallway than the main area where people waiting were watching classic Mickey movies. Tessa had a tantrum that we didn't get to watch the movies. She got over it when we met the Big Cheese a couple of minutes later.

Phoebe liked these guys and just really wanted to clap those giant gloved hands.

I was a little sad that we hadn't met Minnie on our first MK day because Tessa was so adorable in her Minnie dress, but oh well. I was glad that this day was going a better so far.

After we came out of the Country Fair or whatever they call that building I asked a CM where we could meet Ariel and the fairies. She was obviously here on a work visa from some exotic country because her broken English conveyed to me that she wasn't completely sure. I used the map to try and figure it out and we had walked back out to the teacups. I saw a CM walking along talking (in an authoritative manner) to another CM so I hoped this man knew his stuff and asked him. He explained that Ariel wasn't there for the time being because of the re-do of Fantasyland. The fairies (and princesses) were back right next to where we had met M and M. Sigh. I thanked him for his help and then we decided to come back to that area later. We had two more lands we hadn't even set foot in yet!

We wandered into Frontierland and I immediately start asking people where the Dole whips were sold. I did NOT want to miss them. I was assured we hadn't got there yet so I was content for the moment. Phoebe fell asleep while we were walking. She was probably hoping we'd hit up the wish lounge again!

We saw a couple of characters that we thought Tessa would LOVE to meet, but she wanted no part of this exchange.

Phoebe loved those big hands again and couldn't have cared less if it were our next door neighbor or the president of the US. She just saw hands that needed clapping! There was a fairly long line and we felt a little guilty coming up to the side by the CM who ushered in as the next family, but thankfully no one seemed to mind too terribly.

We looked around to see what rides the girls might enjoy and we watched Splash Mtn from the bridge a few times. Tessa decided she did not want to ride it (flashbacks from Atlantis at Sea World?) so we moved on to Thunder Mtn. This woman was also watching Splash from the bridge. I admire her being in great shape, but really, this is what you decided to wear to MK???

We had a bit of a wait at Thunder Mtn because the handicapped entrance is a narrow corral and there was a group ahead of us. Tessa was getting nervous listening to the screams of the riders that were going while we waited. Finally it's our turn and the nice CM's asked if we wanted front or back. I asked where is it calmer and she said front so we took the front two cars. I sat with Phoebe and at one point in the ride it went over a little hill that lifts you up in your seat. Phoebe took that as a prompting to STAND UP while the ride was still going. The safety bar was not close enough to her body to stop her from doing so and I was holding on to her, trying to force her to sit, for the rest of the ride. When we pulled up at the end they asked if we wanted to ride again and I said NO!!! But Tessa really wanted to so they let her and Tim go again without us. She loved it. I guess Phoebe enjoyed it too, but there was no way I was going to chance her standing up again.

We left Frontierland and walked through Adventureland where we met some more interesting characters.
This one makes me laugh because it looks like Stitch is going to attack her.

A little friendlier pose.

She was looking back at me, not sure what's going on yet. Thought it was funny the photopass photog had gone to the back of then to get Phoebe's expressions and she turned away instead.

Tessa was feeling a little friendlier with these guys, but still a little shy for her.

As we continued through Adventureland I was getting worried that we were going to miss the Dole Whip place. Tessa had found a fountain splash area made of African drums that she was enthralled with and didn't want to leave so Tim left us and went to go ask someone.

Tessa playing near the fountains. She was telling other kids to go here and there, knowing they were going to get wet. I thought she was pretty bold to be doing that but hey, I guess those kids didn't mind getting wet.

After Tim came back with directions to the Dole Whip hut (not it's actual name) we realized we HAD passed it because it was right near Lilo. I ordered one for myself while Tim got a cone to share with Tessa. Phoebe doesn't like cold treats so I think we had something in our bag for her to snack on. In case there is anyone on this planet who does not know what a Dole Whip is, it is pineapple flavored soft serve in a float with pineapple juice. It's delicious and strictly a Disney thing.

Happy for now, we leave Adventureland heading back through the main castle circle by Main St, because we were headed toward Tomorrowland. We didn't make it far before a parade started. I guess this was the same one we had seen on Monday but it felt very different this time because of the crowds. We had no choice but to stop and watch it and after a minute or two the girls were pulled into participating in it. A CM dressed as a train conductor stopped at Phoebe and spent a long time clapping her hands and dancing with her. Tessa really got into the dance moves and you can see her behind Phoebe gettin' down. When the characters came down off the floats the conductor lady took Phoebe and Tessa and danced around the street with them. She was nice and spent the whole time with just our girls, but they had no idea why or who she was so it was kind of funny.

Tessa had grabbed some streamers that were flying and she was very proud of herself for catching them. Phoebe was exhausted and asleep by the time they told everyone to get back on the sidewalk so the floats could move on.

 

[jordanyosh]

Great pix and it looks like you got alot done

Great character interactions. I love that the characters make each child feel special==mostly.

 

[yinyanggirls]

The family decided that we were hungry as we were heading into Tomorrowland and we had no ADR's for today because today was supposed to have been spent at Epcot/World Showcase. We had dinner ressies at O'hana that I had already cancelled. I was so bummed to cancel them but it was definitely for the best as we were able to get so much more done this day. So having no plan for dinner I recalled people here saying that Cosmic Ray's was pretty good so we started looking for that. While we were wandering we saw a handsome astronaut greeting his fans. Tessa was thrilled to see him as we approached but chickened out and didn't want to meet him. Phoebe seemed excited but it's hard to know what she is thinking. Without any sounds or voices I don't think she recognizes the characters but she is always so friendly I guess she's excited to meet just about anybody.

After that meeting we found our way to Cosmic Ray's and had dinner. It's weird how the place has three different areas to order at and you can't order something from the first window at the second or third. We decided to simplify and all order from window three, which was burgers. I think they did have nuggets at all three windows though, because I'm sure that's what Tessa had. Tim and I enjoyed choosing some garnishments from the topping bar. It was a little crowded and hard to keep the kids occupied while we got everything settled. This CM was showing kids how to hula hoop and that kept Tessa busy for a little while.

I had mushrooms on mine and the burger was pretty good. Tessa was really restless and even though this was a casual restaurant she was up and down every ten seconds, bumping into people walking by, the tables near us and spilled her drink at one point. It was just one of the many stressful meals with her. I know she had at least one time out during the dinner. We always try to hurry so we can get her out of the place but Phoebe is the slowest eater ever and keeps one of us stuck at the table. Finally we left the restaurant and saw a nice view of the castle nearby so we checked it out. We made wishes in the fountain.

Lots of people did.

I saw a small walkway leading toward the castle and went exploring. Tessa made another wish in Cinderella's well.

Artsy fartsy shot.

On the way back down I noticed Belle's garden and thought it was so picturesque. I decided not to drag my family in there (it was pretty small anyway) but I couldn't resist a photo as we passed. I had hoped to go there for storytime with Belle but there is always just too much to do. Next time.

We decided to ride Buzz Lightyear but it took what seemed to be a long time to get on this one. I don't know what was going on but the CM seemed a little flustered and unsure of what he was doing when we could even see him. The wheelchair area was separate so I couldn't see the regular line. There were a couple of parties ahead of us and we were starting to get concerned and about to ask for info when he finally started loading people from our line. It wasn't long, I'm sure, but it was frustrating being in a separate area where we were left alone and clueless. Once we boarded the ride everyone had fun.

Looks like Phoebe had a great time watching Tim score with her blaster!

Apparently I was pretty into it too, although I didn't record anyone's scores.

Then we headed to Astro Orbiter just because it was close. This one took a while because of the elevator situation, but the CM did put us in as quickly as he could. The people we got in front of looked a little annoyed at first but we started chatting in the elevator and they got friendlier. Maybe they were relieved they weren't having to wait for another cycle of the ride.

View from the deck of Astro Orbiter.

Phoebe looks a little freaked out by this.

View of the moon rising up above.

After that we checked on Space Mtn for the height requirement but decided we didn't want Phoebe to ride it anyway because it is rocket style seating with spaces in between. If she tried to get up or out it would be hard to control her and with Space Mtn's history we didn't even want to try. We headed back toward Fantasyland and found out that the Fairies and Princesses meet literally right next to where we had met MandM. We head into the building and even though we don't see a line we ask the CM where to go, just in case the main line isn't accessible. She asked which group we wanted to see and I said "both!" but fairies first since we had met the princesses at lunch on Monday. She led us to a different area than where the entrance to the line was. I guess this was the general exit. We went through a curtain and then a back door and we were suddenly in a hallway filled with flowers and vines and nature noises. Pixie dust lights danced through the hallway and Tessa had fun chasing them. After a few minutes we were asked to proceed into the meeting area which I was amused to see was decorated to the max as Pixie Hollow. Everything was oversized so as to make you feel fairy sized.

We met Rosetta, then Tinkerbell, then Silvermist. Each one played their part to the max and spent a ton of time with the girls. Rosetta acted intrigued by the sequins on their shirts and asked if they were dew drops. Tink was a little more spunky and almost a brat but not overboard. Phoebe grabbed her hands of course, and Tink exclaimed "Oh! You're teaching me a secret handshake!" at which point Silvermist (who I guess was done with her last family) ran over and asked if she could learn it too! We told Silvermist we were from Arizona and we could really use some more water there, but she very rationally explained that the plants and animals that live there don't need any more water. They all acted very childlike and spoke loudly with simple words. It was pretty entertaining and both of the girls seemed to enjoy it. It was hard to pick photos to share because the fairies are so animated in all of them and usually one of the girls is smiling when the other is not. So, I apologize for the overdose of fairy faces here....

 

[All7OfUs]

My favorite of all is the moon above Astro! What a cool shot~!

 

[dawnbu40]

Great updates! Sounds like a wonderful day at the Magic Kingdom!
The pictures with the fairies are adorable and I love the nightime pictures of the Astro Orbiter!

 

[TokyoDina]

I would hang your artsy fartsy shot in my living room! I love all your pictures! I'm glad you got to spend so much time with the characters and got on all those rides!!! I think this day makes up for the rain on the first day!!! For real!

 

[cantwaittoseemickey]

Great MK update. I love the Lilo and Stitch pictures. The girls look like they are having a great time with all of the characters. I will have to try out Astro Orbiter. I always thought it was a little "high" for me but it doesn't seem to bad in your pictures. Glad you guys had a good day

 

[maroo]

wow! awesome updates!

I am enjoying your TR so much!

Thank you so much for writing it and continuing to update it for us!!

 

[eyor44]

Melissa
As always I love all of your photos. The castle from Astro Orbitor is my favorite. I love the wedding photos and I'll bet the bride is going to have a very hard time chosing from them. Awesome updates too.

 

[yinyanggirls]

We're almost done with our second day at Magic Kingdom (day 4 of the trip)!

We just finished meeting three fairies in Exposition Hall and we asked the CM if we might also be able to visit with the princesses, which is entered by a completely different line. We waited near the exit for a few minutes and realized it was nine o'clock because we could hear the fireworks show starting. There was a family sitting on a bench nearby that looked very panicked and started whispering and pointing to the exit door we had just come out of. They got up and started nervously walking toward the door and I was wondering what they were doing. Then the CM came back to get us and somehow motioned to the other family as well. I guess they had had a conversation we didn't see. We were all led to the waiting area just outside the princess room. We said something about good timing because of the fireworks. They started talking to us and explained that their son had Autism and was extremely agitated by the fireworks and they were looking for a quiet place to hide. The exit area where we first saw them was obviously not quiet enough. We couldn't hear them anymore but he still seemed nervous as we spoke. I was surprised when they got to their first princess when they told her that he didn't speak. I guess the fireworks had him all riled up for us.

We had a nice leisurely visit with three princesses who made sure to spoil the girls with attention. First up was Aurora.

She commented on the Tiana outfits and I reassured her that she was Tessa's first favorite princess.

Next was Cinderella.

Tessa was fighting off the exhaustion that was setting in and kept her energy up by rolling around the set. I thought it was funny that the Photopass person took this shot, so I decided to embellish it in a little irony.

Next came Belle, and the girls both seemed to like her, or at least her dress, the best this evening. They both wanted to touch and inspect it.

Belle was very friendly and asked me if this (looking toward Tim) was my handsome beast. It was a cute remark but kinda funny because Tim always lets his beard grow out when we go on vacation. It doesn't grow very fast so by this day it was just enough to start looking scruffy.

We thanked them all for being so gracious and left the building to find that the fireworks were thankfully over. We were all pretty beat by this time but we decided to ride "one last" ride. Well, Tessa and Tim chose the Tomorrowland Speedway. I knew Phoebe would freak out at the loud noise of those gas engines so we headed for the nearby teacups. It was a challenge getting her on and off the ride by myself, and reminded me to be thankful for Tim, but we managed and had fun. When Tim and Tessa met back up with us he said she was too scared to drive but seemed to have fun anyway.

We made our way toward the front gate and Phoebe was crashing hard.

By the time we got to the castle photopass photographer she was completely out. We did another sleeping pic and a regular pose but only the sleeping one came out so I guess we were meant to remember our exhaustion.

The crowds lining the street were for the Spectromagic parade that we had seen on Monday and did not want to watch again tonight. Tessa saw those huge doubled up balloons on Main St and was begging for one. She had asked earlier in the day and we had convinced her to wait so we wouldn't have to hold it (and eventually lose it) all day. So here they are again and she remembered. We approached the vendor who told us we needed cash. I don't remember the amount but I want to say $10? It was crazy and we didn't have it. I told Tim to go in the store and see if there was anything worth buying that we could get cash back with. We started roaming the store and the announcement came on that the parade was starting soon. I told him to just find her something to have as a souvenir and get OUT of there before we were trapped! I took Phoebe in her chair and grabbed the stroller and wheeled both to the stroller rental place to return it. I figured Tim stood a chance of getting out if he was walking but not pushing a stroller through the crowds. I was getting pretty worried but thankfully he showed up right as the music started for the parade! PHEW! Tessa didn't even end up with a souvenir but she was fine once she was distracted. We ventured out to the ferry at which point Phoebe had woken back up. It was a great day and I'm so glad we scrapped the plans in order to do MK again. I still long to try Ohana and watch the fireworks from the Poly beach but the kids had more fun doing what we did.