Takin’ The In-Laws -– Day 4 (Part 1) - Commando Crazy

[bdrex95]

Takin’ The In-Laws -- 4/5/2005 – Day 4 (Part 1) – Commando Crazy

Cast of Characters
Me – DH32, love Disney and now a planner extraordinaire
Min – DW34, loves Disney too, but left the planning to me
Buddy – DS6, 3rd trip to Disney, 1st one he’ll really appreciate
Doodle – DD3, my princess and a DCL souvenir
BuckleBoy – DS21months, 1st time to WDW, obsessed with buckles
Meme – MIL65, Fun, nice, extremely quiet
Papa – FIL67, Big heart, Bigger talker with occasional bad timing
BIL – 37, Just a big kid

(Imagine this in your best Disney ride announcer voice) “For your safety, please remain seated and keep your hands and arms away from the monitor at all times.”

This is it. This is the best day of vacation! Today is Magic Kingdom day! I was up and at ‘em early this morning, even though Illinois lost the NCAA Championship game last night. Can’t be late today! I have been planning this day for quite a while. I have A LOT of stuff I want to get done today, since this might be our only day at the Magic Kingdom. I have spent many hours preparing our plan of attack for today, using a combination of UG touring plans, tips from fellow DISers, and mostly Tour Guide Mike. My plan for yesterday worked well – we didn’t wait longer than about 10 to 15 minutes for any attraction. I am counting on today to be the same, or even better! (I didn’t really see it at the time, but I was already in full commando mode!)

Mickey and Stitch called again, and this time I let the kids answer it. Doodle answered this morning and got a pretty big kick out of it.

The weather this morning was absolutely gorgeous! It was warm and sunny, with the weatherman calling for highs in the low 80’s – PERFECT! The duckies came back to visit again this morning, and they brought their kids! There were 5 little baby duckies along with a mom and dad this morning. Word must have gotten around that there is a nice buffet outside building 33, because we also had squirrels, seagulls, crows, and a gopher. We couldn’t let them go hungry, so they got some more pretzels, as well as Oreos and some cereal.

Unfortunately, Buddy missed all the morning fun because he was sleeping in. But not any more – Dad wants to go! GET UP! He didn’t get up easily, I had to keep hounding him all the way through a quick breakfast and the whole time he was getting ready. He just didn’t want to move this morning (he really is his father’s son, but doesn’t he realize we are going to the funnest place on earth?!?)

We finally got everyone out the door about 8:15. We only had to wait at the bus stop for a minute, and the Magic Kingdom bus was the first one! We climbed aboard – it was pretty full. I thought Tuesday was supposed to be a dead day at Magic Kingdom. What’s with all these people?

We were there shortly after 8:30 – plenty of time, right on schedule. There was a pretty good crowd already at the entrance waiting for the rope drop. Lots of strollers and people jammed close together – yuck. Again, why all the people? Don’t you know Tuesday is supposed to be a quiet day at MK?

The kids have been kind of grumpy and fussy all morning. It’s almost like they didn’t get enough sleep or something. How could that be? Go figure. Buckleboy is having a fit because he wants to get out of the stroller to continue to earn his nickname of Buckleboy. He just loves those buckles. I could have saved 3 grand and stayed home and let him play with his stroller. He probably would have had just as much fun. Oh well, the other 2 will appreciate today.

“Hey, stop picking on your sister!” “Doodle, don’t hit him!” “Hey! Keep your hands to yourself!” “Do you guys want to go home right now?” (Yea, like that was going to happen!) This goes on for what seems like hours, and just when I am beginning to think that maybe calling this whole trip off might be a good idea, the opening ceremony starts.

The cast does a marvelous job with their song a dance routine. “Maybe we’ll stay after all.” Then the characters all pull into the station on the train with some really lucky family from Georgia who gets to open the park today! I’m turning green with envy. Who needs ribbons to identify themselves as DISers? Just watch the opening ceremony – you’ll be plenty green! To open the park, the lucky family throws handfuls of pixie dust into the crowd. It’s amazing how fast that stuff works. In just a few minutes I went from being ready to leave this place all together, to having a lump in my throat and wanting to hug my kids!

“Ok, here’s the deal. You guys head straight to Dumbo. I’ll hightail it over to Space Mountain for fastpasses and meet you guys in line. Got it?” Everyone seems to be ready for this. We swim through the river of strollers and bodies otherwise known as Main Street, all the way to the hub. As I’m about to break away, Papa announces he has to go potty. “Oh great! This is worse than my kids. Don’t you realize that every 3 minutes we spend in the bathroom, that’s like 5 or 10 extra minutes that we will have to stand in line? The lines are growing!” I let them handle it however they want to. I have to get to Space Mountain. “I’ll meet you at Dumbo in a few minutes.”

As I cross the bridge into Tomorrowland, it hits me. I’m at Disney. I’m actually here! All the planning, all the work, everything’s done and I’m HERE! I get another lump in my throat. I begin to think about how lucky I am. I am at a place that millions and millions of people would give their right arm to be at right now. There are billions more who will never be able to come here. I have been here several times in my life already, and will come back many, many more times, God willing. Heck, I even OWN part of this. (I have a little Disney stock and I’m a DVC owner.) It’s very easy to get so caught up in all this stuff, that we forget just how lucky we really are. We are part of a very few, very fortunate people in this world who are able to live a life that many others can only dream of. We are even lucky enough to be able to take Min’s family and share this experience with them. I begin to feel a twinge of guilt that I really don’t appreciate the gifts that I have been given, and the opportunities I have been given. I think about my kids, and how lucky they are. This is Buddy’s 3rd Disney trip and he’s only 6! My 3rd trip was my Disneymoon! I hope that I am able to instill a sense of appreciation in them for all that we are able to do.

I find myself at Space Mountain. “OK, fastpasses then go!” I get 7 fastpasses, even though we all will not ride it. That way we can do it again later too. I walk very, very briskly to Dumbo. I see Meme waiting outside the ride. “Why is she outside? Why is she not in line? Where is everyone else? This doesn’t look good.” She doesn’t want to ride (how can anyone not ride Dumbo? ) but Min and the kids are already in line. “Good!” I get in line with them, but Papa is still in the bathroom. He makes it just in time and we all get to ride the first ride!

That’s done, so let’s go! After Dumbo, we ride Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan, It’s a Small World, the Carousel, and Snow White – and we didn’t wait more than 10 minutes for any of them! I really wanted to be at Toontown for it’s rope drop at 10:00, but it’s 10:30 now – we are late! I decided to skip Toontown; maybe we could get back there later. “We’ve got to pick up the pace, we’re falling behind schedule!” Can you say c-o-m-m-a-n-d-o?

We hurry down to Tomorrowland. I want to do Buzz before Space Mountain. When we get there Buzz is a 30-minute wait in the standby line, and the line is growing longer as we are walking. I try to park the stroller, but Doodle decides she doesn’t want to get out of the stroller and Buckleboy wants to play with the buckles some more. “This is not what I need right now!” I just pick both of them up, against their will and carry them over to the Buzz line. I feel the tension mounting. As we are entering the line, a woman with her son gets mixed into the middle of our group. Min motions for the rest of our group to come up with us. As they scoot by this lady, she gives Meme a dirty look. Well, Min saw this and, just like yesterday, don’t mess with Min when she’s in line. She says to the lady, “They are part of our group, that you cut into the middle of.” The lady replies with, “Maybe you didn’t realize, but we’re at Disney!” Can anybody explain to me, what this means? Does it mean that cutting is to be expected at Disney? Was she complaining about my DW’s attitude? She’s the one who cut into our family! We all just kind of looked at each other with a look like, “What?” Before this could go any further, I blurted out, “Hey! Why don’t we just fastpass this?” I did this out of a moment of desperation to exit an uncomfortable situation, but it turned out to be a good idea. The standby wait was about 30 minutes, and the fastpass return time was about 35 minutes away. Perfect!

But Buddy didn’t understand what was going on. He was beginning to fall apart because he just wanted to do Buzz. The meltdown is coming if I don’t do something quick. I tried to reason with him. I explained to him that the line was long and we were going to go to Space Mountain and ride that, then come back to Buzz. He didn’t care. He wanted to ride Buzz NOW! All he knew was that we were not in line for Buzz anymore. I explained that we were still in line for Buzz. Our tickets were in line for us. They would stay there and wait, while we went on Space Mountain. When we got done there, our tickets would be near the front of the line, and we could get right on Buzz. I was quite proud of my explanation. I thought I did a really good job of putting the fastpass idea into terms that a 6 year old could understand easily. I was wrong. He didn’t get it. He just wanted to go on Buzz. “Deal with it kid. Get your butt in gear and let’s go have some fun, whether you want to or not!”

We walked right by a pretty long standby line at Space Mountain. It was up to about 40 minutes already. I thought Tuesday was supposed to be a quiet day? Just after we passed through the turnstiles near the loading station, Buddy announced that he had to go potty. “Can you hold it?” “I gotta go!” “Buddy, there aren’t any bathrooms up here. We’ll be done in a few minutes, and then you can go. You can hold it, right?” “I don’t know. I gotta go BAD.” We do everything we can to keep his mind off this problem. Finally we get to load. All systems go!

This is my favorite ride in all of Magic Kingdom, but I haven’t been able to ride it much on my prior visits. Our last visit, I only rode it once. The time before that was our Disneymoon, and it was closed. Go figure, it closes for refurbishment the first week in November every 4 years, and that was our Disneymoon week. Before that, I hadn’t ridden it since 1982. I was excited and I really hoped Buddy would like it. When it was over, he wasn’t as impressed as I was. He didn’t hate it as much as RNR, but he didn’t want to go again. He just wanted to go potty.

After a potty break, we tried to go on TTA. We got to the escalator, but then the ride stopped. We waited for a minute, and then decided to make our way over to Buzz. We were a little early for our FP, but I decided to try. When we walked up to the entrance, the CM was busy talking to someone, so she didn’t check our times. We were only about 5 minutes early, but it really felt like we were getting away with something.

Buddy loved this ride. I had done a lot of research, so I knew where all the best spots were to shoot at. But when we got in there, I went blank. I couldn’t remember any of them. The ones I did remember I couldn’t hit. I only got 41,000. I beat Buddy, though. He only had 1,100. But, BIL had 90,000. It had to be beginners luck. By the time we got done here, it was coming up on 11:30 and we were getting hungry. We decided to walk to Toontown to catch the train to Frontierland for lunch.

We took the “secret path” from Tomorrowland to Toontown. It was a nice walk. BIL pointed out a lizard to Buddy. There were lots of nice flowers and bushes. It was quite pretty. As we approached Toontown, I saw the train was just getting into the station. “Great, we’ll get there just as the train is leaving, and we’ll have to wait another 10 or 15 minutes for the next one. My schedule is really going out the window.” I picked up the pace a little anyway. As we got closer, I saw that the train hadn’t left yet and there were still people getting on and off. I really picked up my pace now. I wanted to get on THIS train! We made it into the queue before they called “All Aboard!” I was really hustling now. I pulled Doodle out of the stroller real fast, then Buckleboy. I was holding Buckleboy while taking the bags off the back of the stroller and trying to fold it all at the same time, while I was still walking, trying to catch this train. Another man tried to scoot past me while I was doing this and I got my feet tangled up. Down I went – stroller, backpack, Buckleboy and me in a big heap in the queue for the train. This was the low point of my day. I could have broken our stroller or the stuff in the backpack. Worse, I could have hurt my son, myself, or someone else. Why? Because I was on a schedule! Luckily, nobody was hurt, except for the scrape on my knee, and my pride. I quickly gathered everything and everybody up and hopped on the train (we made it!). The stroller never was quite the same, though.

On the train, I decided that I had gone over the edge. I was too commando. It’s great to have a schedule, but I needed to back off before I wind up killing myself or someone else. It also helped that Min clearly and succinctly pointed this fact out to me as well. From here, whatever we get done, we get done. Whatever we don’t will have to wait until next time. And I’m ok with that. Really, I am.

I think.

(Imagine again in your best Disney ride announcer voice), “Please remain seated until the story has come to a full and complete stop. Please exit to Day 4 – Part 2. Thank you."

Takin' The In-Laws -- Pretrip
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=793737
Takin' The In-Laws -- Day 1 - Blankie & Buddy... MIA
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=8324050#post8324050
Takin' The In-Laws -- Day 2 - Kennedy, Dixie and Will
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=8342639#post8342639
Takin' The In-Laws -- Day 3 - Fire Alarms, Fighting, and Fantasmic! (Part 1)
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=8364237#post8364237
Takin' The In-Laws -- Day 3 - Fire Alarms, Fighting, and Fantasmic! (Part 2)
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=8379122#post8379122
Takin’ The In-Laws -- Day 4 (Part 1) – Commando Crazy
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=8391188#post8391188
Takin’ The In-Laws -- Day 4 (Part 2) – The Magic Kingdom Really Is Magic
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=803835
Takin' The In-Laws -- Halftime Update - Wishes Come True
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=8517400#post8517400

 

[OhMari]

Ahhh.

 

[Yardbird]

I can so relate to the commando mode! Can't wait to read more!

 

[bigsis1970]

just wanted to say wonderful reports so far !! (well except for the fall ) Can't wait to read more.. Thanks for sharing Michelle

 

[Mary Anne]

I'm enjoying your reports.

 

[Shelby5514]

keep them coming!

 

[pooksma]

I feel so bad for you. Here have one of these- I am enjoying your reports tho!

 

[bdrex95]

I feel so bad for you. Here have one of these- I am enjoying your reports tho!

I didn't put it in the report, but funny you should mention it. I had my first at MK that day. THEY ARE AWESOME!!!!!! These alone, are enough reason to go back... as if I needed another reason!

 

[Krispe]

Lovin' the report so far! Please if ya can share some photos!

 

[Alice28]

I can relate! Keep more comin!

 

[toystoryduo]

Great trip report!

 

[kccmommy]

Waiting for more!
Great report.

 

[babby]

You are so right about being grateful to be able to go to Disney!! Got teary eyed when I read that part. I went to Disney as a child ONE time. My DD (8 yrs old) this will be her 6th trip in June, my son (2 yrs old) his second trip! Two trips in as many years of his little life! We are very grateful to be able to go each year, but we work hard and it's our reward. My daughter makes straight A's in school so she works hard all year too. My son, well , he works hard at being a good kid, which he really is. Anyhow, enjoying your report, the ups and downs!! Got a few chuckles out of it too, but not about your fall!! Keep it real!

 

[vicb]

This is the first of your trip reports that I have read, I enjoyed it very much as I related on several issues.

1. Commando mode: our first trip there with our kids I started out being the total commando. Our kids were just 3 and 6 so of course it didn't work. But prior to the first trip DH didn't really want to go and frankly I was worried I'd never get back (but have been 3 times and planning 4th). On that trip my kids favorite things were MK (we ended up there every day!), swimming in the poly pool and riding the monorail. We never made it to MGM, and only did a half day at Epcot. But we did do TL which I hadn't "planned". Once I just calmed down and went with the flow it was a much better trip.

2. That special feeling in MK: Everytime I walk thru the gates onto Main St. and usually we head to Tomorrowland first... I want to cry because I am so happy to be back. And I feel so lucky to be standing there!

Now a ?... what is the secret path to Toontown? We always go the traditional path so clue me in.

Thanks.

 

[bdrex95]

Now a ?... what is the secret path to Toontown? We always go the traditional path so clue me in.

Thanks.

Thanks for the kind words.

The "secret" path really isn't much of a secret, but everytime I have seen it, nobody has been on it. It starts behind the tomorrowland arcade at the exit of Space Mountain. It wanders up along the train tracks to ToonTown and ends right at the train station in ToonTown. It's a very peaceful and relaxing walk, except for when you are in "full commando" mode.

 

[vicb]

Thanks. I looked last night on a MK map and saw it, looks kind of neat. We are always looking to try something different when we go. Last trip it was the Swiss Family Tree house, nothing secret about that but also just a cool, peaceful place to get a different perspective on things.

 

[wicket2005]

Thanks for taking the time to write up your report, I enjoyed it. I felt tired just reading it as you dashed around.

 

[minmate]

I find myself smiling while I read your reports! I know I've posted about this before to you, but our time at WDW overlapped, and our families share some similarities (namely kids' at young ages!).... I remember when my kids were in the "buckle" phase... Only they had buckles on their doll strollers and high chairs... this would go on ALL DAY LONG! They'd buckle them then wail until I'd come undo them... over and over!

I'm glad Min reminded you to relax and enjoy! I am the one in charge of our itinerary in our family too and with it comes the added pressure of making it somehow work seamlessly and include everyone's interests. With the expense of taking so many people to WDW, I am all for squeezing every last drop out of my "Disney Dollars" so to speak, and using up every possible crumb my tickets my tickets can dole out. In the first few days, I am so pumped on adrenaline and hoping to see my plans unfold to match my imagination (HA!) -- that I am probably more anxiety-filled than magic-filled. I am so "afraid" we will not have a great experience b/c we will miss something or get stuck in one long, hot line after another. But, I've learned (as I suspect you have) that the magic and the value of the tickets isn't just in being able to check off how many rides/attractions we've hit but in all the little moments too. It's hard, but I do think it makes it much better. Especially, for your family as DVC owners... knowing you can and will go back time and again... it's such a hard thing to succumb to, but once I do, I am always happy I have!

 

[pplasky]

Takin’ The In-Laws -- 4/5/2005 – Day 4 (Part 1) – Commando Crazy



“We’ve got to pick up the pace, we’re falling behind schedule!” Can you say c-o-m-m-a-n-d-o?

“This is not what I need right now!” Min motions for the rest of our group to come up with us. As they scoot by this lady, she gives Meme a dirty look. Well, Min saw this and, just like yesterday, don’t mess with Min when she’s in line. She says to the lady, “They are part of our group, that you cut into the middle of.” The lady replies with, “Maybe you didn’t realize, but we’re at Disney!” Can anybody explain to me, what this means? Does it mean that cutting is to be expected at Disney? Was she complaining about my DW’s attitude? She’s the one who cut into our family! We all just kind of looked at each other with a look like, “What?”

“Great, we’ll get there just as the train is leaving, and we’ll have to wait another 10 or 15 minutes for the next one. My schedule is really going out the window.” I picked up the pace a little anyway. As we got closer, I saw that the train hadn’t left yet and there were still people getting on and off. I really picked up my pace now. I wanted to get on THIS train! We made it into the queue before they called “All Aboard!” I was really hustling now. I pulled Doodle out of the stroller real fast, then Buckleboy. I was holding Buckleboy while taking the bags off the back of the stroller and trying to fold it all at the same time, while I was still walking, trying to catch this train. Another man tried to scoot past me while I was doing this and I got my feet tangled up. Down I went – stroller, backpack, Buckleboy and me in a big heap in the queue for the train. This was the low point of my day. I could have broken our stroller or the stuff in the backpack. Worse, I could have hurt my son, myself, or someone else. Why? Because I was on a schedule! Luckily, nobody was hurt, except for the scrape on my knee, and my pride. I quickly gathered everything and everybody up and hopped on the train (we made it!). The stroller never was quite the same, though.

On the train, I decided that I had gone over the edge. I was too commando. It’s great to have a schedule, but I needed to back off before I wind up killing myself or someone else. It also helped that Min clearly and succinctly pointed this fact out to me as well. From here, whatever we get done, we get done. Whatever we don’t will have to wait until next time. And I’m ok with that. Really, I am.

I think.

[/COLOR]

Gotta agree about not being so commando. If your DVC, you'll have plenty of time to see everything eventually. Even though the lady who cut was wrong, it might have been just as easy to move your group behind her to stay together. She probably felt if you couldn't stay together too bad. We had a similar experience where a family broke up our group by going under the ropes rather than through the key. When I tried to get my family back together, she got annoyed at me and replied "this is the damn magical kingdom", It really wasn't worth my kids being exposed to such ignorance and I let them go ahead of us.