The Best Laid Plans and all that Bunk - COMPLETE!

[Sunshein]

My DH and I went to Disney World on our honeymoon back in 2001, but we were on a budget. So we stayed offsite, had almost all quick service meals and bought next to no souvenirs. I still have to say it was one of the best trips of our lives and we could not wait to return once we had children. So here is the cast in 2008:

Myself, 34 and a serious planner and foodie. I find the planning stage almost more fun that the actual trip!

DH, 35 and a Disney lover. He always wants to return almost as soon as we got off the plane. I married a perfect match for me!

DD5 is a bit of a Piglet in that she is very nervous of new things and all attractions must meet certain standards before she will take a chance; they cannot be dark, loud, scary, have water falls or contain a risk of getting wet. Makes for a fun trip no?

DD3 is a lot more adventurous than her sister. She rolls with everything, sleeps peacefully and is just generally a happy kid. We were really hoping she would meet the 40 inch height requirement so that we could get her on some fun rides. She missed by 1/4 inch!

We did things really smartly this time. I watched the fares and managed to get an amazing price for a direct flight, Montreal to Orlando, leaving at a very decent hour of 8:30 am and landing at 11:30 am all of this putting us at the Polynesian for lunch! Other than a 1 hour flight delay, this worked amazingly well and we were ready to go once we landed in Florida. There were absolutely no delays for the Magical Express and before you knew it we were at the Poly. To sweeten the deal our room was ready and we were able to grab some food at Captain Cooks and head to our room to freshen up.

I have to say Captain Cooks was an amazing counter service. Each meal we ordered was very tasty and you can have the famous tonga toast for breakfast without needing a reservation at Kona Cafe! Delicious!

Our room was wonderful We were given a garden view room in Fiji facing the marina on the ground There was a nice patio with a couple of chairs and a small table. It was perfect for evenings after the kids were in bed... or so we thought. Here are some pictures of the room!

After settling in we headed to Magic Kingdom. As we headed towards the stroller rental center a nice lady offered us their stroller since they were leaving for the day. It seemed today was our lucky day! We headed for Fantasyland since we were staying very long. Of course Dumbo was a must do and we stood in line for about 25 minutes. I know the kids love this ride but for me I find it one of the longest waits for the littlest bit of ride. We also rode the carousel where I met a very nice lady who was local. I asked her if it was always this hot in April and she laughed at me saying that she still needed a sweater! I guess my cold Canadian blood was showing through.

We soon headed back to the Poly since we had 6:05 adr's for Kona Cafe. I have to say that the convenience of taking the monorail back to our resort was wonderful and I would consider paying the price to stay close by again. We made it back to the resort in 15 minutes from fantasyland! I had researched my restaurants very carefully before making my adr's and this was one restaurant I could not wait to visit. It did not disappoint. Everything was fabulous! We loved this so much that we actually canceled another adr on our last day and returned here again.

we headed back to the room to settle in for the night, but DD5 was bouncing off the walls. It seemed like forever before we got them both down for the night. We settled out on the patio to read over the big folder of information we received upon checking in. It was beautiful and very relaxing. Little did I know I was being eaten alive...

Tomorrow: Animal Kingdom and the Great Stroller Caper!

 

[Wilsonfamily4]

Enjoying It So Far!

 

[Diamondintheruff]

I love reading trips from fellow canadians. I'm excited to be signing on from the beginning.

I have two piglets in my family that are full of anxiety over new places and crowds. So I totally understand. We are a family that watches all the shows and watches other people go on the thrill rides.

 

[dreamer17555]

Joining in! Looks to be a fun trip!

-Becca-

 

[Sunshein]

Today we were up bright and early. Preschoolers have been our alarm clocks for the last 5 years. Never once has my DH been late to work due to sleeping in. That doesn’t mean is he ever on time though. I found I had insect bites on the bottoms of my feet and on my legs. I figured that I must have been bitten by mosquitoes on the patio last night. So we took our time since it was only our first full day and finally made out way to Captain Cook’s for breakfast. Sure enough DD3 trips and scrapes up her knee and just above her eye. Being supermom, I am expecting this and have packed my trusty wipes, polysporin and princess bandaids! All patched up we order breakfast. It was so nice outside we ate outside and split a couple of breakfasts including the tonga toast. Now that is a dream breakfast but not so great for the thighs! We have now figured out that quick service meals are all considered one and the same and not divided into adult and child. This served us well and my little tinkerbells are fairly adventurous eaters and there was plenty of food to split most of our breakfasts and lunches. Genius I say!

We caught the bus to Animal Kingdom and there was no wait for the bus nor any crowds onboard. Imagine that! We arrived and rented a double stroller for the week. My Lord, are they expensive!! At $31 a day I heard someone say they can rent a car for less than that! Once we had secured our Cadillac, we headed straight for the jungle trek and got fast passes for a little later and then headed through Asia and were just in time for Flights of Wonder. We didn’t know what to expect but this was really nice! Some comic relief combined with some very well trained fowl made for a great experience for the kids. From there we walked through the Maharaja Jungle Trek which was pretty interesting. We had missed this in our last trip. There is a really interesting room where you can watch the giant fruit bats hang upside-down and sun themselves. One of them was giving us quit the display! DD5 said “What are those round things on the bat mommy?” Who knew I was going to have to get into and explanation of the bats and the bees at Animal Kingdom? Well now I guess that isn’t so far fetched after all.

We found the Flame Tree BBQ for lunch and DD3 had use the bathroom. So we found the closest one and made it in plenty of time. I got her undressed and sat her on the toilet and after about 5 second the automatic flusher went off prematurely and scared her right off the toilet! After that all “magic toilets” were a problem. I actually had to sit on the seat with her the first time to get her to go and then convinced her that putting our hands over the sensor was good enough.

After lunch DD5 insisted on going to Dinoland so we spent some time in the boneyard which they both loved and then stood in line for triceratops Spin. DH and I took turns going on Primeval Whirl. As soon as I got off I went to retrieve our stroller from parking. There was this nice elderly lady there on a motorized scooter and as I started to back out my stroller, she must have pushed the wrong button because she floored in and plowed into a whole bunch of strollers crushing them up against a fence! I immediately ran over to make sure she was ok and she was but was visibly shaken. I have to tell you there was a cast member there within 30 seconds and he patiently checked her over and the reassuringly taught her how to drive the scooter. I nothing but great things to say about how the CM handled that situation and as I walked away with my stroller, I was fighting a smile at the image running through my head.

We left the boneyard and saw the line up for Nemo and Friends the musical. It started move and we got within 10 feet of the gate before we were told it was full! Line up early folks because that show is popular and we never did get back to it. We did however see the Lion King and it was wonderful! Afterwards took a potty break and got some water so we were one of the last to reclaim our stroller. When we got to the stroller parking our stroller was nowhere to be found. We looked around and DH notices a woman walking away with a stroller that had what looked to be DD3’s sun hat in it. He walked up to her and she had the nerve to ask him if it was his hat! She had been in the process of removing our name card from the holder in the back. He pointed that out and she casually said “Ok take it then.” And turned and walked away. We were amazed at her casual attitude about the whole thing. I guess since it is so expensive, this is happening more and more.

By the time we got back up to the main drag we were just in time for the parade. It was really cute until a character bear leaned down to the girls' stroller to say hi and DD3 freaked right out! She spent the rest of the parade watching from the safety of Mommy’s arms.

We had adr’s at the Yak and Yeti for 5:00 and we had not trouble being seated. I had really been looking forward to this meal. The food I had was wonderful but the service was very shoddy and they were so not prepared for the new dining plan. I have to put more work into figuring out the tip than she had to put into serving us the whole meal! They still have a few kinks to work out, but the restaurant has great atmosphere and I would go back.

We took the bus back to the Polynesian and stopped into the Neverland Club to see what it was like. DD3 was a month shy of 4 and there were no exceptions which we knew and DD5 thought it was great until she figured out that Mommy and Daddy couldn’t stay. We had no intention of leaving them there, but had wanted to see what it was like for future trips. They had a huge assortment of toys, craft tables, games, computers and a movie area. It looked like it would be a lot of fun for the kids. On our way out they gave us mickey straws and some play tattoos and coloring stuff. That was really nice!

Back at the room I couldn’t wait to strip off my shoes and socks and scratch the bug bites. These were horrible! I have never had mosquito bites like this. It took me forever to fall asleep and to be honest I really didn’t have a very good night. To be continued…

Tomorrow: Mommy and Me Time and Fireworks on the Beach

 

[ProudMommyof2]

Signing on- we will be at the Poly 11/08-can not wait!!!

 

[babytrees]

great start!!

 

[Sunshein]

This morning I woke up scratching more than ever. I hardly slept the whole night. I had even more bites and for the life of me I couldn’t remember seeing any mosquitoes! I am not much of a complainer but I was getting tired here. But I was raised of sterner stuff and so I put my socks and walking shoes on, got the girls ready to go and then we headed over to the main building for breakfast at Ohanas’ with Lilo and Stitch. We wanted to take in as much of the resort while we were there as we could and this sounded like fun for the kids.

We had no wait to be seated, but I think we got in on the wrong table because we were long done our meal and waiting before even one character got around to us. It was a lot of fun though. At one point all of the kids were given a maraca and they paraded around the room to music with Lilo, Stitch, Mickey and Pluto. My DH was videotaping the whole thing since I had to parade with the girls and when Pluto went by he bumped his nose right into the lens! It made for kind of a humorous video clip!

Once all the characters had passed we took the monorail over to Magic Kingdom. The convenience of this is amazing! The girls were always excited to see which color the monorail was and by the end of the trip had given each one a name based on the color of the stripe. It was very cute!

Upon arrival, my girls scour the ground for little bits of Mickey confetti left over from the rope drop each morning. They could stay there picking up the little Mickey glitters all morning stuffing each one into their pockets. Once we finally get them into strollers we head over to Tomorrowland and have a go at Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. Something was wrong with my laser I swear! This is a kid favorite. Then we go to the Tomorrowland Speedway. This was a highlight of the trip for me. DD5 really wanted to do this but when it came time to get into the car she started to panic and didn’t want to drive. But once we got going, she had a blast steering! There is a rail that guides you along the track and when you steer into it, you get thrown completely in the opposite direction only to hit the rail with the other wheel. It is hilarious to watch your kids try to drive.

After that I headed over to Space Mountain by myself because DD5 was not up for that even if she is tall enough. In fact DD5 had a reason to not get on most of the attractions. Even Winnie The Pooh had problems. Apparently she doesn’t like the psychedelic dream sequence the Pooh has. Can’t say I blame her on that one. We made our way to Toontown. The girls love Mickey and Minnie’s House. I picked up a bunch of snacks at the little concession stand there and she charged everything to my room instead of using them as snack credits. Apparently asking her if they were considered snack did not indicate clearly enough that I want to use snack credits. Oh well, the concierge fixed it all when we got back to the resort but it was more a hassle than anything.

We decided to head over to the Grand Floridian for lunch. We like seeing new resorts as it gives us ideas of where to stay next time. I have never really been interested in the GF but it was on the monorail and we thought it might be nice to see. So we went to the Gasparilla Grill. The food there was awful! We were expecting more considering it’s location but it really was terrible. I guess they save all of the good stuff for the signature restaurants. They did have this neat carriage out front that DD5 liked climbing in.

After that Dh took DD3 back to the resort and I spent a little Mommy and me time with DD5 and took her to Downtown Disney to scope out Goofy’s Candy Factory. The Marketside bus depot had been closed on our last trip so when we were dropped off there this time we found a great little water attraction that DD5 fell in love with. The water shot up out of several holes seemingly at random. We never did decide if it was following the music or if the two were independent. We passed it to go to the candy factory first and used 6 snack credits on great things like fudge and giant pecan turtles and rice crispy treats dipped in chocolate, rolled in m&m’s and then drizzled with chocolate. I truly love this place. Then on the way back to the bus I let DD5 play in the water to her hearts content, before heading back to the resort.

We decided to go back to magic Kingdom for supper and to watch Spectromagic so back to the monorail we go. While waiting we ran into some fellow Montrealers who like DH, were trying desperately to follow the hockey playoffs while on vacation. Let’s just say that hockey in Orlando is hard to come by and either way, Montreal didn’t fare very well in their series.

The weather didn’t hold out for us, but we tried to make the best of it. By this time, DD5 was completely losing it. Everything was too fast, too scary, too dark, too loud or just plain too weird. We were at our wits end. She didn’t even want to ride the Tomorrowland Transit Authority! We gave up and made our way back through the rain to Casey’s Corner and ate some hot dogs sitting on the pavement outside as people walked by. Magically after that everything cleared up! And by now, a lot of people had given up and left the park! So we found a primo spot on the curb and settle in to watch the parade. We bought a couple of ridiculously price flashing rings and watched a wonderful parade. I highly recommend Spectromagic for young kids even if you have to pull one late night to do it. Just watching their faces was priceless.

When it was done we hotfooted it for the gates since DD5 really didn’t like fireworks. I bet that comes as a surprise to you. We made it back to the Poly just in time to walk down to the beach and watch Wishes across the lagoon. DD5 didn’t mind it nearly so much from there.

Tomorrow: Benadryl and the Long Sleep

 

[Sunshein]

Ok so this morning was the final straw. I hardly slept a wink and my feet were almost bleeding from being scratched so much. I now had bites on the bottoms of my feet and up my legs. They were not getting any better. At 5:45 in the morning I dressed and crept quietly out of the room while my family slept and headed over to the front desk in seek of help. I don’t think the CM at the desk knew quite what to do with me! At this point I had hardly slept in three nights, and I was in so much agony it was all I could do not to cry. The CM said it could be one of three things: mosquitoes, sand fleas or red ants. She called pest control to come to our room which was nice but we were checking out this morning and moving over to Port Orleans Riverside. There was no calamine lotion to be found anywhere, but the went upstairs to the store and brought me back a box of Benadryl. Other than that all they could do was call paramedics. Now I know I was in agony, but I have never heard of calling the paramedics for bug bites unless there was an anaphylactic reaction! Still I thought for $400 a night they should be able to do better than a box of benadryl. Never the less, I popped a couple of pills and headed back to the room to see if my family was up. Later that day when I logged onto the internet, I had a note from my mom asking if there might be fleas around. She informed me that as a child I was very sensitive to fleas and that they would cause a huge reaction in me and not bother anyone else. Good to know!

I had packed most everything the night before, so once everyone was up and dressed, I finished packing away our stuff and we carted our bags to bell services. They promised to have it over to POR sometime this afternoon. Thank you very much. We shared another couple of breakfast platters including one last serving of Tonga Toast. I will miss you Tonga Toast!

We head off to the monorail to go to Epcot for the day but I can already feel my head getting fuzzy. We tried to ride in front of the monorail to the Ticket and Transportation Center but it was already full. Luckily the car to Epcot from there was not! I am always too shy to ask but since it was our last day staying at the Poly I felt like this was really our last chance and we actually were able to do it! The girls were ecstatic. They were each given a card saying they were official co-pilots and the ride to Epcot from the TTC is a long one. They loved passing another monorail and then riding over Epcot before getting to the station. This was definitely a highlight of our day.

From there it was all downhill. I was almost asleep on my feet. We picked up a stroller and then walked to the Seas Pavilion fully intent on doing Turtle talk with Crush. DD5 starting crying because she didn’t want to go, DD3 was whining about something else as well and I had absolutely no patience with any of it. So DH basically said that if we weren’t up for this then we could just head to POR and pray that our room was ready. So we did a 180 and headed back to the stroller depot. We found a nice family coming in and saved them the $31 by donating our stroller for the whole day. They were more than grateful. From there we took the bus to POR and by 11:00 we were walking into the reception hall. Miracle of all miracles our room was ready! We were in building 26 in Alligator Bayou and I have to say this has to be the most complicated building to find! We had stayed in the mansions before and it was all straight forward, but the Bayou was a complete maze to me! Finally we stumbled across the right building and the right room, we all went in, stripped down and crawled right into bed. Oh sweet crisp sheets and firm pillow. I think we all slept for most of the afternoon!

Finally at 4:00 we were getting ready to head back out when all of our luggage arrived safe and sound. We were batting 1000 today! Back at Epcot we give this all a second try. We had a 6:05 adr at Le Cellier so we had a little time before then to explore. There was no wait at Spaceship Earth so we climber aboard. I really like the newly refurbished attraction! The ride back down was a little boring but at least there was something interactive to do. There was a touch screen activity which used a picture taken of you at the beginning of the ride. Mine didn’t work properly but DD5 saw herself on the screen at the time.

DH wanted to ride Test Track with DD5 and if possible DD3. DD5 really didn’t want to go on so we didn’t force her and DD3 was 39 and ¾ inches tall! They wouldn’t let her go on and I totally respect that. Luckily it didn’t seem to bother her too much. So we turned around and went to Canada, home sweet home, for dinner. We checked in and while we were waiting we visited the Kidcot station with the girls. They got a mask and started coloring it. This was a lot of fun for them. They received a stamp on the stick and dream catcher to attach to the mask. Soon we were summoned to dinner.

I really enjoyed Le Cellier. It wasn’t as spectacular as I was expecting but it was still very good and we will return. DH really enjoyed it but he is a very big steak person. Once dinner was done we had enough time to visit the Kidcot’s at the UK and then race around to Norway where DH took the kids to it’s Kidcot station while I stood in line for a sweet almond pretzel from the Kringla Bakery. A little slice of heaven! Then we hotfooted it out of there since giant balls of fire and shooting fireworks were not something DD5, already terrified of fireworks was bound to enjoy. The best part of that is that the bus wasn’t at all crowded! Back at the resort we climbed back into bed. The benadryl was working at taking the edge off of the bites and I really hoped that they would be a distant memory soon.

Tomorrow: An Intro to Acting and a Night on My Own

 

[Diamondintheruff]

My oldest is very much like your DD5. Reading your report reminded me so much of how far he has come in the last few years. He is now 9 and still prefers fireworks on TV, not in person. We got him to try splash mountain. What a feat that was. It involved personal interviews, reading about it in guidebooks, watching it on You-tube and actually viewing the ride and the passengers getting off a few times plus a whole lot of coaxing, pleading, reverse psychology and patience. I felt as if I had bungy jumped off the cn tower by the time he finally rode the ride. He says he'll do it again this year!

 

[Sunshein]

My oldest is very much like your DD5. Reading your report reminded me so much of how far he has come in the last few years. He is now 9 and still prefers fireworks on TV, not in person. We got him to try splash mountain. What a feat that was. It involved personal interviews, reading about it in guidebooks, watching it on You-tube and actually viewing the ride and the passengers getting off a few times plus a whole lot of coaxing, pleading, reverse psychology and patience. I felt as if I had bungy jumped off the cn tower by the time he finally rode the ride. He says he'll do it again this year!

DH convinced DD5 to try Splash Mountain Last time and they got wet right at the beginning. She didn not enjoy the rest of the ride and when she did get of she was insisting that she was never going to do that one again. Never, never, never. I figure that rather than pushing her to try things before she is ready to enjoy them, we could wait until she is older. Otherwise we are going to have a much harder time later to get her to even consider trying things!

Oh and we did the YouTube thing as well before we left home on most of the rides to try to give her some sense of comfort. In the end it just gave her reason to reject most rides without even trying them. That one is too dark! That one was too loud! I did't like the guy with the hat in that one... We are up against some serious resistance! Hopefully another couple of years will make a difference. Congrats on getting your DS to try Splash Mountain! Score one for the Adventurous Parents!

 

[Sunshein]

Today dawned fresh and clear at Port Orleans Riverside. In some ways it was like coming home. We had so many great memories from our last trip here. We spent a whole lot of time at the pool on Old Man Island so I was looking forward to coming back this evening and splashing around. The big bites seemed to have eased up. I had dropped into the medical aid center at Epcot last night and scored some calamine lotion with benadryl in it and that made a huge difference. I finally was getting some relief. We took our time and had breakfast at the Riverside Mill again splitting our plates. By the time we got to the bus stop, it was already 10:00 and as had been happening all week, a bus for Hollywood Studios pulled in just as we arrived.

As soon as we got to HS, we went straight to Tower of Terror and Rock’n Rollercoaster and using the kids’ tickets we got two fast passes for each ride. Then we rolled the girls over to Playhouse Disney. Our timing couldn’t have been better. The Little Mermaid was just about to begin and we knew that we would have 5 minutes afterward to squeeze into Playhouse Disney assuming the lineup wasn’t too long. DD5 was very apprehensive about The Little Mermaid, but I thought it was really well done. The lighting effects and real characters singing were great. DD5 actually enjoyed it until a giant squirming Ursula rolled out onto the stage. She curled into my lap until that part was over.

Just as predicted the line across the common was filing into Playhouse Disney. In Canada, until just the last couple of weeks, Playhouse Disney was not available here. So my kids, while they recognized Tigger and Pooh and Mickey, really didn’t recognize much of what was going on. All the other kids were reciting by heart half the show! This was pretty neat for them and by the time we got back to the hotel that night they were asking if they could watch Playhouse Disney on TV. A not for parents though. You sit on the ground throughout the show with the kids and it is very tight in there, so wear your deodorant and do some stretching beforehand. It may get uncomfortable!

Ok so back to the fun stuff since we satisfied some little kid stuff. I went all the way back to TOT and enjoyed it once again. As soon as I got off DH headed off to RNR. It took him a while to come out even with the fastpass. These rides are really great no matter how many times you ride them, but I have to say I can’t wait until the kids are old enough that we can at least ride them with someone we know! There is nothing more sad than coming off the ride and seeing the picture snapped of you clinging to some stranger beside you as you plunge 500 feet to certain death!

By the time DH got back from RNR, there was no time for me to go if we wanted to eat and still make it to the stunt show spectacular so off we went to Toy Story Pizza Planet. This is a favorite for the girls because they recognize it from the Toy Story Movie and I actually like the pizza here. Also, DD5 is a bit of a gamer and loves the arcade part of it. We wolfed down the food and then DH fit in one nascar game with DD5 before we hot-footed it over to The Stunt Show Spectacular. I don’t know what I was expecting but it wasn’t what I got! We followed the crowd into this huge stadium seating. We were actually the second to last row so we were late getting there but it was plenty close enough for me! There was a lot of smoke and the smell of burnt rubber permeated the air, but we did see some pretty amazing stunts! What was really neat was when they showed you how they pulled off the stunts. Now I know for sure that you should never try at home what you see in the movies!

It was a pretty long show and by the time I am pretty sure over half the admission to the park filed out of the stadium, the kids were ready for some down time. For them this meant the Honey I Shrunk The Kids play park. I have to admit that these little play parks, this one, the Boneyard and even the Pooh Bear one at Magic Kingdom turned out to be their favorite places in each park. They had more fun running around and sliding and climbing than on a ride where something carried them around. DH stayed with them in the park while I headed over to my turn on the RNR. I had taken a new fastpass before we left the last time so I was in the window now. Problem was it was clear across the park! I seriously got my exercise and the girls got to spend an hour in the play park.

We came out and they were roping everyone off to the Block Party Parade. So we found a good spot and waited it out in the heat. Finally it arrived and then camped just around the corner to do a show for 20 minutes before moving on! I have to say I didn’t like that part of it. They do the parade in two parts. The parade is long enough to take up half of the parade route. They stop, out come the props and the trampolines and then they try to engage the crowds in a “block party” There is nothing more frustrating than being about a block too far away too see anything and waiting in the heat until they finally pack up and move on.

We were hot after it passed and decided that the Backlot Tour was in order. Something a little slower paced. As we waited in line we were approached by a CM and asked if either one of us would like to be part of the show. DH promptly volunteered me so off I went. I was told to put all valuables and anything that couldn’t get wet in a locker and then get dressed in the rain coat like outfit and these big rubber over shoes. I was given my lines and very clear instructions to not turn my head to the left. This girl named Roxy was the captain and she had a lot more to do than I did and a guy named Josh was a deck hand and he was the comic relief. All of the people including DH and kids filled the viewing area. The scene started and I did my part before being bombarded with 3 tons of water from the left! Then the action went on the other two and it was hilarious. I never did get to see the finished product but I think DH recorded as much as he could.

Then we moved on to the trolley tour and it was the usual stuff with the exception of the back of the Stunt Show. The Show was actually doing it’s second show of the day and we watched the cars behind the scenes get ready and then take off to do the stunts. It was amazing to see. If you get the chance try to time this. It will be worth it!

Here are some pictures of our day:

We had adr’s at Spoodles on the Boardwalk for 5:30 so we headed for the bus depot only to find out there was no bus to the Boardwalk from there! A glance over our shoulder though showed us a dock and a sign that as we approached read, The swan, The Dolphin, The Boardwalk and the Beach and Yacht Club. Happy Day! We actually made our adr right on time. I enjoyed Spoodles for something different. I would try a different entrée next time. We dropped into the Boardwalk confectionary and picked out some yummy treats. DD3 got too close to the glass case and actually bumped her nose into it. She started to cry and the CM quickly gave her whatever she wanted to stop the crying. She walked out of there with a free Nemo iced cookie. Nicely don my little Squish!

After dinner DH really wanted to try and catch some of the Montreal Philadelphia game at the ESPN Club, so I took the girls and headed back to the resort by myself. We had a great time at the resort splashing around in the pool. I had them in bed and asleep and was enjoying a nice book before DH arrived. The Habs had lost and worse he was surrounded by Flyers Fans the whole time. Still he had enjoyed himself and had even snuck in another ride on test track and caught some of Illuminations on his own at Epcot. Solo can be fun too.

Up Next: From Blizzard Beach to Biergarten

 

[thewesterberg]

Hi! Found your report and signed on - sounds like fun so far! (well, minus the itchy feet! OUCH!) Your girls are adorable! Look forward to reading more!

 

[dreamer17555]

Catching up! Bites! Ick. And yes Benadryl makes me so sleepy too. (and I get cranky when I am sleepy) Can I ask you about the difference in rooms at the Poly VS POR? Are they really that much bigger at the Poly? We are debating a Poly stay for our next trip to have more room.

I love the picture of your girls by the fountain. Can't wait to read more.

-Becca-

 

[Sunshein]

Catching up! Bites! Ick. And yes Benadryl makes me so sleepy too. (and I get cranky when I am sleepy) Can I ask you about the difference in rooms at the Poly VS POR? Are they really that much bigger at the Poly? We are debating a Poly stay for our next trip to have more room.

I love the picture of your girls by the fountain. Can't wait to read more.

-Becca-

The rooms are much bigger and so are the beds. There is also a flat screen HD TV in the room and usually a nice balcony. We had a couch in the room which we never actually checked but might come out into a hide-a-bed. It is a very nice resort to stay in but it is a lot of money.

Where have you stayed before?

 

[SunnieRN]

Really enjoying your trip report! Ick to bug bites and I hope they don't give you any more problems!
Your girls are adorable and I'm looking forward to more!

 

[Diamondintheruff]

Looks like you struck a good balance between "Adult & Kid" activities at MGM (because it is still MGM for me).

How cool is it that you got singled out to participate? Were the girls excited for you?

My DH is a leaf fan. We've spent many a March Break evening in a sports bar in the southern states just begging them to put the game on one of their TV's. Shhh!! I haven't told him about the ESPN club in Disney.

 

[Sunshein]

Again we slept in this time even later! I love it. It is a rare thing for Paige to sleep past 7 am ever. We ate granola bars in the hotel room and set out for a water park just before 10:00 am. We couldn’t decide between Blizzard Beach and Typhoon lagoon so we decided to just take whichever bus came first. Within two minutes a bus for Blizzard Beach pulled up and off we went!

When we got there we were impressed with everything there was to do here! They have an area for tiny tots and an area for the 4-10 set and then the adult stuff. This place really does cater to everyone! We decided to start off with a bang and went for the family raft ride, Steamboat Springs. We had seen the ads for it on the information channel that is always on when you first turn your TV on in a Disney resort hotel room so we thought this would be a lot of fun. DD5 was not nearly as eager and we pretty much had to force her onto it. DH and I thought it was great but the girls were not convinced.

From the bottom of Steamboat Springs we floated down the Cross Country Creek for a tour of the park. Disney does so many things right. They have smaller inner tubes with a flat bottomed center instead of a hole for the littler kids. We loved this! As long as we steered them away from any major soakings they really enjoyed the Creek. They especially liked the Gator’s House where he is always sneezing water out of his chimney! Nice touch!

Once we got off we went to Ski School which is the area I mentioned for the 4-10 year olds. They loved this place! There were smaller inner tube slides and regular slides that they could do over and over. They had floating icebergs that you had to cross over using overhead mesh to pull yourself along. They really liked this and I was amazed that DD3 could actually do this considering she could hardly reach the mesh! The lifeguard had to pull it down for her to grab hold of it. We were very impressed with our little Squish!

We took the Cross Country Creek over to the LottaWatta Lodge for some lunch. Since we had not bought breakfast we used for quick service credits here for lunch. DH and the girls all ordered hot dogs. There were actually more choices there than I had expected and I ordered the fish and chips. Fish at the water park! I thought it was very appropriate. They had a lot of nice shaded outdoor seating so you didn’t feel like you were frying as you ate.

After lunch we hung out in the wave pool for a while and once the girls had inner tubes they enjoyed it well enough. Then DH and I convinced them to try Steamboat Springs again and they finally agreed. They had a blast this time! After some more time at ski school, we decided to go down Steamboat Springs one last time before we left the park. Of course the usual fight ensued over who got to sit next to Daddy on the chair lift. At this point, I truly am starting to feel left out on the vacation I slaved over planning. The girls have been fighting over who gets to go with daddy or sit next to daddy since we boarded the plane! He laps it all up and only defers to me if there is a bum to be wiped or something equally gross. In his defense it has been the other way around for the majority of their short lives, but it stung none the less. DD5 draws the short straw this time but is ok with it if DD3 and I go first. Halfway up the slope the chair lift it suddenly stops. We hang there just waiting for it to start again, watching the crazy nutjobs bombing down Summit Plummit and then trying to pull their bathing suits out of their colon. I have to say that even if I didn’t have young children, my crazy days of doing stuff like that are gone. When did I get old?

This voice came over a speaker asking us to please stay seated and the chair lift would continue momentarily. Well momentarily ended up lasting 15 minutes! I was starting to wonder if one last run was one last bad idea! But it finally moved on and our last run ended up our best run of the day. The girls laughed and giggled with glee the whole way down. What a great way to finish!

We made our way to the change rooms and of course DD3 had to pee. While in the stall with my hand securely over the magic eye, I saw that someone had left a pack of Marlborough on top of the toilet paper dispenser. I checked it out and inside were some smokes, a lighter and $32. I turned it into a CM who looked at me like I was nuts for turning in cigarettes instead of just throwing them out, but when I showed her the money she was cool with it. It was a good lesson in samaritanism for the kiddies.

We got to the parking lot and waited at the Epcot bus stop, but after watching so many other busses go by at least twice we headed towards the Boardwalk stop. We figured if we placed ourselves halfway, whichever came first we would make a run for it. Boardwalk won (3 buses to Marketplace and still none for Epcot) and we made a run for it and hopped on. We got off at the Swan and walked along the boardwalk until we got to Epcot. It was really nice entering the park at the Gate to the World. And they even had a stroller rental place there too. We walked to Test Track and got 4 fast passes for that since DD5 agreed to try it tonight and then walked to the World Showcase for our ADR’s at Biergarten.

Biergarten was a lot of fun and although I didn’t like the food all that much the entertainment was worth it. We got to sit right up next to the stage and the girls had a blast dancing around and watching the musicians. We were seated next to an older couple whom we couldn’t have less in common with but I am always one to enjoy meeting new people. But then another older couple was placed at our table too and we were ignored for the rest of the meal. I don’t think sharing space with little children was at the top of their priority list. Oh well.

I didn't have any pictures from Blizzard Beach because we used a disposable waterproof camera which I haven't gotten around to having developed yet. When I do I will see about posting them in here. These are some from biergarten though!

Doesn't this guy look a little like Tom Bergeron?

After dinner we went back to Test Track to use our fast passes and although DD5 was finally ready to try it, it was once again only with Daddy. And once again I ended up sitting outside waiting for them to come out. I had a fast pass to use with her again once she got out if she was up to it, but of course after waiting for over half an hour they came out and she did not want to do it again. I had no heart for going by myself. DH had offered her a treat for trying it and so I left them all playing at the butterfly garden play park and went into the merchandise shop to find something. This was something set up specifically for the Garden Festival and was a really nice touch. The girls didn’t want to leave! I bought swirly rainbow hard candy on a sticks and they were both happy with that as we left the park to go back to POR. DH took the girls to the arcade when we got back and gave me some quiet mommy time to shower and relax. Nice of him.



Up Next: Day at Downtown and the Sitter Fiasco!

 

[Diamondintheruff]

I've never been to the waterparks. I figured my kids wouldn't do anything there. Now you've got me thinking that maybe we should try and fit in a day at blizzard beach. My kids just hate all that spraying water. They love a lazy river and a wave pool provided there is no spraying water. We've done great wolf lodge twice and I can get them on some of the waterslides... Hmmm.... I am thinking about trying it.

Biergarten looks really fun. I hadn't really paid attention to that one either.

This is why I love reading other people's reports.

I'm waiting to hear about your sitter disaster. My parents come with us and even having them watch the kids is a disaster.

 

[Sunshein]

I've never been to the waterparks. I figured my kids wouldn't do anything there. Now you've got me thinking that maybe we should try and fit in a day at blizzard beach. My kids just hate all that spraying water. They love a lazy river and a wave pool provided there is no spraying water. We've done great wolf lodge twice and I can get them on some of the waterslides... Hmmm.... I am thinking about trying it.

Biergarten looks really fun. I hadn't really paid attention to that one either.

This is why I love reading other people's reports.

I'm waiting to hear about your sitter disaster. My parents come with us and even having them watch the kids is a disaster.

How old are your children? I would definitely give it a shot and more there than at Typhoon lagoon. We had such a great time!

I have heard stories about bringing grandma along and hoping she will babysit. You are not the first! I have been so tempted to get them to come along with us but I am now thinking going on our own was for the best.