The faceless children take on the World...UPDATE 12/22

[lexmas]

Sounds like a smooth trip there! That's always good! I'm glad you missed the full body scanners. I keep reading about the physical harm the radiation can contribute to and the psychological harm the pat downs can cause, so heaven only knows what we'll have the boys do next time we fly. (We're taking the train to DC, thank goodness!)

The room looks great! I know exactly what you mean about being at the mercy of the TVs. My older son is just like JJ. We rarely have it on in the house before they go to bed. I wonder why there have to be so many TVs everywhere?

EPCOT! Yea!

yeah, I'm more concerned about the logistics of going through the scanners with a kid under 5. DH actually had to go through them on the way down, and he said that you have to stand perfectly still with your hands up for like 15 seconds. How the heck does an infant do that??? I would much rather do the scanners for them than have them patted down, so I'll take my risks with the scanners. We'll see in January how that even works.

The room was really nice. Tacky doesn't bother me, but even I have to admit this was much nicer!

Those TVs are crazy! WHY? WHY? Vacation is such a good excuse to avoid TV!

YOu guys must've been quite the sight with all those bags at the airport. I'm glad you survived the plane ride ok.
That's awesome that you got the room location you wanted!

And you're on your way to the MK? I thought you weren't doing a park on your 1st day?

We looked ridiculous at the airport. It would have been comical if it wasn't us.

We always planned on doing a park...I can't stay away!

I'm finally here, my sweet DIS friend! I haven't actually read anything yet, but I will be back at naptime and I can't wait!!

Hooray! Thanks for joining me!

Love the TR so far! We just got back Friday night (stayed at BWV with boardwalk view in a 2-bedroom) and we had a great time! I miss WDW and BWV Your kids are SO adorable! Wish I had scheduled a Dis meet on our trip - it would have been fun to meet someone again.

I will pop over and read your TR when I get a chance! Things are just so busy here and by the time I get a free moment, I just want to go to bed. Thanks for joining in! I didn't have any dis-meets either, but there's always next time!

I'm finally made it over here!

Sounds like your trip is off to a great start. Love the refurbished room! It looks so much nicer and not as worn out.

Thanks for stopping by! The refurb is really nice. I had no idea, so I opened the room expecting one thing, and I was completely surprised!

Okay, all caught up now! It sounds like your trip was off to a great start! Your room looks wonderful. Sydney and the chairs/tables is too funny! I'm lucky that has never been an obsession for any of my kids! I can't wait to read more, but competely understand that you are busy. Update us when you can! You're TR is a much needed break in the craziness that is my life these days.

I hope everything is going okay there. I've been thinking of you!

Sydney is CRAZY with the climbing. In the past week, she's learned to climb everything in the house that she couldn't climb before. How do you think you child-proof the light fixtures? She has also, in the past week, learned how to open the battery compartment on the remotes and take out the batteries. By the end of the week, those chairs from the table were on the floor in a corner. It's exhausting keeping up with her!

I'm having a hard time keeping up, but I should be able to steal time to update on the weekends while DH can watch the kids and keep Sydney from breaking everything in the house! Or maybe one of these days I won't need a nap during naptime myself...

 

[Disneychix]

Or maybe one of these days I won't need a nap during naptime myself...

I always need a nap during naptime!

 

[20thingamabobs]

Just letting you know I'm here! You got an awesome room, glad they could set it up for you! I can't wait to read about your trip!

 

[ksl5f123]

Hooray! You have started! I am already enjoying your trip.

Your room does look very nice and it seemed to be a decent first Disney meal. I can't believe they have so many TVs in the food court! I don't think I have seen that anywhere else.

 

[lexmas]

I always need a nap during naptime!

Yes, but you're pregnant! I can't use that as an excuse!

Just letting you know I'm here! You got an awesome room, glad they could set it up for you! I can't wait to read about your trip!

Welcome! Sorry this will be slow for awhile. I'm going to do my best to do a big update on the weekends, at least. The room was beautiful and the location was so perfect. All week I just kept thinking, man, we have the best room...

Hooray! You have started! I am already enjoying your trip.

Your room does look very nice and it seemed to be a decent first Disney meal. I can't believe they have so many TVs in the food court! I don't think I have seen that anywhere else.

Thanks for stopping by! The food was really good at Pop. You'll see, we ate there a lot. We loved eating there more than anywhere else, I think. It was all so delicious. I'm glad we ate there first, because dinner will leave something to be desired, so I'm glad we had that wonderful meal to reflect on.

It was a lot of TVs. Which was frustrating. But at least now we know where to sit. We just never thought about it that first day. J.J. is already a picky eater. Adding TV just makes getting him to eat impossible.

 

[lexmas]

Last I left you, we were headed to Epcot! The bus didn't come all that quickly, and we weren't patient.

But, we got there eventually! The first thing we decided to do was Spaceship Earth.

This was a big mistake. Well, for J.J.. I popped Sydney in the sling, and she nursed the whole time, happily.

On the way up, I had to kind of hold J.J. up with one hand so that they could see his face. Then, as we ascend into the darkness, he starts yelling "TOO DARK! MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP!" which was great. He curled into a little ball on the seat beside me, and wouldn't look up, even when I tried REALLY hard to make it interesting. I offered to hold him on my lap so he could see better. I offered to hold him while he looked. He wasn't into it. Finally, we're at the top, and turning to go backwards, and we see the earth. So I tell him, "Look, J.J., that's the Earth! Isn't that so cool?". He turned to me and said, in complete seriousness, "Mommy, I think that I am not grown-up enough to be this far away from the Earth."

He wasn't even excited about the video.

SO...with that behind us, we decided to try something better. Nemo! Everyone loves Nemo...right? Into the stroller and on our way.

Well, it wasn't as bad as Spaceship Earth. There was no screaming. But when we got off, he said that he wanted to go home, and that he did not want to go on any more rides. Not exactly the glowing review that I had been hoping for. I was a little worried. We had 10 more days of this! Sydney, however, did not like Nemo, and almost started crying, and asked to nurse. If it's not one, then it's the other.

So...I forced him on figment. It doesn't get much more tame then that. On the plus side, he didn't say anything bad about it. He didn't say anything good about it either. He did, however, love the imagination labs. *phew*.

It was hot, and we were tired, so we headed into the Land. J.J. thought this building was the most impressive thing he saw on the entire trip. He was in love with it!

I was hoping to get a snack, but they didn't have ice cream inside, which was what I had promised. So we went on Livin' with the Land. This ride was much more J.J.'s style. He liked it a lot, and I began to relax. Sydney asked to nurse. Okay, she asked to nurse on Figment too. And every other ride. If I don't say anything about Sydney, you can assume she's nursing. She nursed when she was tired, when she was scared, when she was bored...you name it. Made my life really easy, actually. Better than lugging around some other kind of comfort object.

After we were done in there, we headed outside, re-applied our sunscreen, and found the nearest ice cream stand. Grandma hopped in line to buy an ice cream bar, and Syd wanted water, so I pulled out our water bottle. I'm a little fuzzy on the details, but J.J. took the water from her and somehow the entire bottle got dumped on Sydney and her side of the stroller. I had another dress with me for her, but it was a tank top, and it was REALLY hot and sunny, so I didn't want to use it. So...I just put her in a clean, dry diaper, and left her in it. I still can't decide if that's trashy. I'm leaning toward no, just because anyone who doesn't use cloth diapers would have no idea this was a diaper, right?

Anyway, J.J. started in on his ice cream, and I tried to nurse Sydney to sleep, because she seemed really tired.

Ice cream melts fast in the flordia sun!

We headed toward world showcase, and stopped in the first gift store we came to. My aim was to find a cool place to nurse Syd so she could fall asleep, but then I saw that J.J. was totally covered in melted chocolate. Luckily, I had some cloth wipes, so with some water from our (newly refilled) water bottle, he cleaned up really fast. Grandma strolled him around the store for a few minutes, and he was sound asleep.

He even knew enough to do so facelessly.

Syddie was not asleep, but she was still happily nursing, so we decided to head to the international gateway to catch the boat to Hollywood Studios. I had never done this before, so I was worried, but Grandma assured me that it didn't matter if we got lost and we'd figure it out. It was SO simple. We walked through the gates, and there was the boat, waiting for us. I asked if we could go on with the stroller, or if we had to fold it up, because J.J. was still sleeping. But they said no problem, and told me where the stroller had to be. So, we walked right on!

J.J. would have had a great view if he was awake.

Syd still wasn't asleep so I kind of gave up on that. She was happy, so that's all that mattered.

The boat ride was really beautiful. It was so relaxing, and something I would be happy to do again.

Soon we were at DHS.

J.J. woke up as we were walking down Hollywood Blvd. So, since Grandma was well prepared with a map, we checked the showtimes for Playhouse Disney. A show started in 10 minutes!

We hustled toward the theatre, and walked right in! I believe we caught the 4:50 show. I was excited, since I knew this wasn't scary, and there was a good chance that he would like it. I was right.

It was so cute, J.J. is really shy when he's around people he doesn't know. So the main guy (it used to be "Casey" but I believe it was some other gender neutral name this trip) asks what everyone's name is, and all the kids shout their names, and just as it falls silent, J.J. works up the courage and yells, "J.J.!". He was really embarrassed, but I told him what a great job he did, and when they ask for names again, he yells his name out in chorus with the other kids.

Now, I knew J.J. would like this, but I never could have anticipated how much Sydney liked it!

She was so excited about everything! The bubbles, the characters (she kept standing up to get a better view, like she couldn't believe they were up there!), and bouncing with all the other kids! We sat behind a sweet little boy who kept telling us about the show and talking to my kids. It was such a wonderful time! I know Grandma thought it was SO cute how my kids reacted to everything, and I'm glad that she was there to see it all!

After the show was over, we wanted to grab dinner. My plan was to eat at Starring Rolls. When we got there, it was closed, and I couldn't figure out why. We glances at the times guide, and it seemed like it was closed a couple days out of the week. Turns out that was Studio Catering Company, and that Starring Rolls just closes at 4. So, I wasn't sure what to do. We headed down the street (Sunset Blvd? Toward TOT.) and ate at Farifax Fare. Grandma and I were both pretty full from lunch still, so we decided to split the chicken and rib meal, since I figured it would be the same as the one at Cosmic Rays. I remembered to order a large drink

It was not. It was REALLY gross.

They forgot our desert, so Grandma went back up and asked them for it, and there was no problem.

J.J. had the mac and cheese. He didn't care much for it. But someone else LOVED it.

She licked the bowl clean.

CONTINUED IN NEXT POST...

 

[lexmas]

Somewhere toward the end of this meal, J.J. announced that he had to pee really badly and tried to pull down his pants and pee where we were. I took him and Sydney to the bathrooms outside the aerosmith ride. There was no changing table in there. I had brought a changing pad, so I just changed Syd on the floor.

When we were walking back, J.J. saw the sign for Fantasmic, and got SO excited about seeing Mickey fight the dragon.

So I figured we probably should go inside. It was about 6:45 and the show started at 7:30. We gathered Grandma, and headed to the theatre. While we were walking in, they were shouting that it was standing room only. We decided to check it out. We parked the stroller and walked the long walk across the theater all the way to the end, and picked out a spot in the standing only section.

I don't get this section. They would fit many more people if they just put benches in this spot! Sydney passed the time by taking horsey rides on J.J.'s foot.

We waited for the show to start, and literally seconds before the show starts, J.J. announces that he has to pee. We are on the other side of the theatre from the bathroom. J.J., once again, suggested that he just pee where we were (I should stop letting him pee in the backyard, I think!) so Syd, Jay and I hustled to the bathroom and back. Now, since we were in the back, I put Jay up on my shoulders to watch the show. I was holding Syd, but she wanted to nurse. At first I just nursed her standing there holding her, but I started to get tired, so I put her in the sling.

When she show was about 5 minutes in, and you just see the characters, and some movies, I hear a big sigh from up on my shoulders. J.J. then says, "I guess I was wrong about Mickey fighting the dragon..." Poor boy, it wasn't living up to the hype. By the end, he liked it. I, on the other hand, don't intend on seeing it again. Maybe it was that I don't like the show very much, or maybe it's that I was pretty weighed down for however long that show is. I'm sure it felt longer than it was.

When the show was over, we headed back to the resort. The bus stop for Pop is so close at DHS! And the bus came quickly. While we were standing in line I called DH, and he had just gotten to the hotel. His flight went smoothly, but he had to use the full body scanners...he didn't mind, but he has no idea how we'll use them with the kids in January. Apparently you have to stand still with your hands in the air for like, 15 seconds. How do you do that holding a baby? Or how do you get a 4 year old to do that? Guess we'll find out.

Anyway, we got back to the resort, reunited with DH, and got our refillable mugs. Then back to the room for sleep. Apparently DH went and took some pictures, but I was sleeping anyway!

 

[momtoBrandon&Jacob]

And your children are faceless because... Are they not cute enough??

 

[lexmas]

And your children are faceless because... Are they not cute enough??

They're faceless because of some security issues we have with extended family. I didn't want to miss out on the fun of a trip report, and I didn't want to not have any pictures, so faceless it is.

They're very cute, both the fronts and backs of their little heads.

 

[cheryterese]

JJ is too funny! His remark on Spaceship Earth is priceless! I think I would've just cried given his reaction to his first ride after all the anticipation though. You handled it well!

If we ever get park hoppers we'll have to take that boat to DHS. That sounds so relaxing and my kids love boats. To them it would be like another "ride".

I'm so glad to hear how everyone enjoyed Playhouse Disney. That was a huge hit for us as well. So cute about JJ yelling out his name.

You were like super mommy at Fantasmic! I agree with your reaction. We liked it, but probably wouldn't do it again. Not worth all the waiting for it to start and then it's just too long. My kids were ready to leave after 10 minutes.

It sounds like your trip was off to a good start. Can't wait to read more!

 

[cheryterese]

One more thing - the heat! I wanted to ask you about the Florida heat and humidity. I know you mentioned it was pretty hot, and this was October. Was it unbearable? We're talking about a late August/early September trip but are worried about the heat being too much for us. What was your experience for October with little kids?

 

[Disneychix]

Holy cow! You should get an award for holding BOTH kids for so long! I don't even think I could've held a baby that long, plus it was HOT!

I love your theory on Sydney's 'comfort' item!

 

[DIS_Indoctrination]

On the way up, I had to kind of hold J.J. up with one hand so that they could see his face. Then, as we ascend into the darkness, he starts yelling "TOO DARK! MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP!" which was great. He curled into a little ball on the seat beside me, and wouldn't look up, even when I tried REALLY hard to make it interesting. I offered to hold him on my lap so he could see better. I offered to hold him while he looked. He wasn't into it. Finally, we're at the top, and turning to go backwards, and we see the earth. So I tell him, "Look, J.J., that's the Earth! Isn't that so cool?". He turned to me and said, in complete seriousness, "Mommy, I think that I am not grown-up enough to be this far away from the Earth."

He wasn't even excited about the video.

That's very grown up of him to realize he's not grown up enough, lol. They are so cute at that age!!

SO...with that behind us, we decided to try something better. Nemo! Everyone loves Nemo...right? Into the stroller and on our way.
After we were done in there, we headed outside, re-applied our sunscreen, and found the nearest ice cream stand. Grandma hopped in line to buy an ice cream bar, and Syd wanted water, so I pulled out our water bottle. I'm a little fuzzy on the details, but J.J. took the water from her and somehow the entire bottle got dumped on Sydney and her side of the stroller. I had another dress with me for her, but it was a tank top, and it was REALLY hot and sunny, so I didn't want to use it. So...I just put her in a clean, dry diaper, and left her in it. I still can't decide if that's trashy. I'm leaning toward no, just because anyone who doesn't use cloth diapers would have no idea this was a diaper, right?

Huggies or Pampers would have been trashy. A cute tropical print is adorable!!

 

[ksl5f123]

I cloth diaper and I probably still wouldn't have noticed that Syd was only in a diaper! Your diapers are just SO cute!

I probably would have been panicing after those 1st two rides. You did a good job keeping it positive.

I think the boat ride to DHS looks like a good place to take a little break if the stimulation of Epcot gets to be too much. It looks like a relaxing little ride.

It amazes me how much the little ones love the Playhouse Disney show. My DS loved it too! I know they are about to make some changes to it, I hope they keep it similar because it is the best thing for little ones in all of DHS.

You are amazing to hold both kids through Fantasmic!

 

[20thingamabobs]

Looks like a long fun filled first day! J.J. is too funny with shouting out his name and the SE comment! By the way, more power to you for holding both of them standing for all of Fantasmic! Oh, and I would have never quessed that was a cloth diaper, just looks like a little pair of shorts.

 

[lexmas]

JJ is too funny! His remark on Spaceship Earth is priceless! I think I would've just cried given his reaction to his first ride after all the anticipation though. You handled it well!

Oh, I was SO worried! But I also know that I'm the kind of mommy that I was going to force him on rides for a little while until I learned that he really hated all of them, so I was willing to see what happened

If we ever get park hoppers we'll have to take that boat to DHS. That sounds so relaxing and my kids love boats. To them it would be like another "ride".

It was so relaxing. I could spend all day on that boat

I'm so glad to hear how everyone enjoyed Playhouse Disney. That was a huge hit for us as well. So cute about JJ yelling out his name.

I knew it would be fun, but I just didn't realize how fun!

You were like super mommy at Fantasmic! I agree with your reaction. We liked it, but probably wouldn't do it again. Not worth all the waiting for it to start and then it's just too long. My kids were ready to leave after 10 minutes.

It sounds like your trip was off to a good start. Can't wait to read more!

Definitely off to a good start. Aside from the fear of rides thing. A good first day.

Holy cow! You should get an award for holding BOTH kids for so long! I don't even think I could've held a baby that long, plus it was HOT!

I love your theory on Sydney's 'comfort' item!

Well, I'm used to holding the baby. But adding 30 something pounds on top of that was a challenge!

And I am always losing things. A blankie or binky would have gotten lost in about 5 minutes. There are some things I just can't lose.

One more thing - the heat! I wanted to ask you about the Florida heat and humidity. I know you mentioned it was pretty hot, and this was October. Was it unbearable? We're talking about a late August/early September trip but are worried about the heat being too much for us. What was your experience for October with little kids?

It was surprisingly hot, but only the first day. The weather wasn't bad. THat said, last time we went and J.J. was 21 months, we went at teh beginning of September. Everyone who went with me says it was SO hot, but I just don't remember that. ANd I was pregnant, holding a 21 month old the entire time, and I do very poorly in the heat. SUmmer is WAY too hot for me in Buffalo! I think the thing about disney is that you are inside a lot of the time, so it's not too bad. Plus, if you take naps at the hottest time of the day, that makes it easier.

That's very grown up of him to realize he's not grown up enough, lol. They are so cute at that age!!

Huggies or Pampers would have been trashy. A cute tropical print is adorable!!

He is really funny. He's the comic relief, for sure!

And, good to know! I was going back and forth. I finally decided it was kind of like bloomers.

I cloth diaper and I probably still wouldn't have noticed that Syd was only in a diaper! Your diapers are just SO cute!

Thanks! I feel like it's so outside the "norm" of what a diaper looks like that it was okay. Or I was hoping anyway!

I probably would have been panicking after those 1st two rides. You did a good job keeping it positive.

I was panicking a little, on the inside!

I think the boat ride to DHS looks like a good place to take a little break if the stimulation of Epcot gets to be too much. It looks like a relaxing little ride.

It was cute, and easy to find, and so relaxing. I loved every minute of it. Beats the bus, for sure.

It amazes me how much the little ones love the Playhouse Disney show. My DS loved it too! I know they are about to make some changes to it, I hope they keep it similar because it is the best thing for little ones in all of DHS.

I hope it's similar too. It's actually closing the day after we get to disney in January. SO we'll have to take it in our first day.

You are amazing to hold both kids through Fantasmic!

It was a long show. But my mom couldn't hold them for that long, and J.J. wouldn't have been able to see. So there wasn't much of an option.

Looks like a long fun filled first day! J.J. is too funny with shouting out his name and the SE comment! By the way, more power to you for holding both of them standing for all of Fantasmic! Oh, and I would have never quessed that was a cloth diaper, just looks like a little pair of shorts.

Most of our days are long. We're not the kind to relax on vacation. J.J. is funny. He says the strangest things! Well, if you're standing in the back and you have a short kid, they really need to be held. And I am SO glad to hear that is the consensus about the diaper. It's what I figured, but I'm glad to hear that others really think that!

 

[Dancegrl624]

Sounds like a really great first day! Like others have mentioned, I don't know how you managed to hold both kiddos during Fantasmic! You're like super mom or something!

 

[lexmas]

We woke up early this day, although not as early as at home.

Just in time to get showered and dressed, and leave a tip for the mousekeeper.

We were hoping to make it to rope drop at the Magic Kingdom. We skipped breakfast, and got to the bus stop around 8.

The magic kingdom opened at 9, and we barely made it. We saw most of the opening show. We literally went through the turnstyles as the show was starting.

The Mickey Head confetti flew, and we scooped up some of that beautiful pixie dust. We knew someone who needed it, so that confetti was like gold to us! DH thought I was completely crazy, by the way. He doesn't understand the value of pixie dust!

Then onto main street, where Sydney and J.J. got their first glimpses of the castle. I don't think J.J. realized what he was seeing at first. Well, the view from the stroller didn't help. We had to show him a few times, and then you could see when he actually saw it...he was so excited! Sydney was really excited too. I took her out of the sling after I had shown her, and put her in the stroller, and she kept standing up to see it better!

The cast members all hand out stickers at this hour, which everyone loves.

We saw the barbershop quartet on the trolley.

Then we took some pictures infront of the castle. J.J. just wanted to ride some rides so he was being uncooperative for the pictures. This would become a theme. I think we need to take pictures on the way out instead of on the way in. We took advantage of the low crowds, and walked through the castle into Fantasyland!

J.J. held Syd's hand, and she ran around him in gleeful circles. I have no idea why the MK was different, but she loved it more than any other park. Even before she ever went on a ride. From the moment we set foot on Main Street, she was just SO happy.

We headed toward dumbo, but ended up at Peter Pan after DH went there for fastpasses and discovered that there was no line.

J.J. rode with DH, and Sydney, Grandma and I all rode together.

Syd liked it, but I had to confiscate her mickey head sticker that she was holding on to, since I was worried that she would drop it, and with that black light that thing would have been glowing and huge among london's skyline. J.J. liked it too.

I guess he's braver with DH around. We were relieved. He was ready to ride another! We headed to Snow White.

Now, this was a bold choice, since this ride is actually a little frightening, and J.J. had been on a total of one ride that he liked. Luckily, J.J. made it through just fine. Sydney thought it was a little scary so she nursed her way through and was fine then. Since we scared Syd on that ride, it was time to make it up to her with...it's a small world!

Sydney LOVES dolls. Can't get enough of them. Scales our piano to get to my mom's precious moments. She's obsessed. So we knew she would love it. We got on the boat and she tried to nurse, because apparently she had already decided it would be scary and dull. But as soon as we went through that archway...she had no interest in nursing any more! She was SOOO excited!

J.J. was really excited too. I didn't see that coming, but he was thrilled! He kept yelling, "Daddy, look! Daddy, LOOK!" and pointing at all the animals and everything that he saw.

CONTINUED IN NEXT POST...

 

[lexmas]

When that was over, we headed to philharmagic.

J.J. took a shortcut.

Syd liked messing with the glasses while we waited. J.J. too, but he got impatient. It's a long wait for those doors to open to a little boy. Okay, to grownups too. But open they did, and the show started really soon after.

Once the movie started, I tried to put them on her, but she screamed and cried. So instead I nursed her and she fell asleep. J.J. loved it. He brought home a whole arsenal of songs from our vacation, and these are among them. We went and got the stroller when that was done (see our nametags? Made it REALLY easy to find.)

We headed toward frontierland. Not sure what we were doing, other than finding a bathroom, but first we ran into a feathered friend. I know this is only day two, but it really felt like we were behind the game, not meeting any characters yet! The line was short, so we gave the kids their autograph books, and got in line. Actually, Sydney woke up after we got in line, so we went back and got her book. J.J. was ready to meet his first character.

Sydney was not. Donald showed Sydney how he signed his name in her book, and she cried. She cheered up quickly though, and J.J. was SO excited to show me Donald's autograph!

We found that bathroom we had originally been looking for. And we stopped for breakfast. Or a dole whip. Which is in no way breakfast. But that's okay. We found spot in the shade to wait for DH and Grandma to get the dole whips and find us. It was warm, so we were hiding from the sun.

Soon Sydney's tears were back, because she did not want to share the ice cream, and since we had two for five people, it was really not an option not to share. J.J. shared her lack of enthusiasm for sharing.

There were lots of tears in the magic kingdom that morning! So, when all that was over, we headed to take our already unhappy child on a ride he didn't want to go on. Pirates! We parked the stroller and were about to head in when we saw pirate goofy! So we got our books, and got in line. Sydney did better this time. DH said he put her on his opposite hip far away from Goofy and when she started to cry, he just leaned slightly away from Goofy, and she was fine then.

By this point, she had decided she really liked the autograph book. She cried, "Book! Book!" when we tried to take it from her.

We decided it was better to skip Pirates for now, and get lunch. We went on the Jungle cruise on our way. Sydney fell asleep on the Jungle Cruise. When we got off, J.J. did his first pressed penny, and played with the steering wheels with Grandma.

We headed toward tomorrowland and got fastpasses for Buzz.

The boy ate fries. Can't blame him, they had warm cheese sauce at Cosmic Rays and we smothered it on everything we ate too. I got a veggie wrap (yummy), Grandma got a cheesesteak, and DH got the chicken/rib platter, which he said was definitely good and not gross like the one Grandma and I had the day before. Oh, and J.J. got the turkey sandwich kids meal, but he didn't eat any of it, so it doesn't really matter what he got.

While we were eating, DH casually mentioned that he didn't have J.J.'s card. What? So, after we ate, we went back to the buzz fastpass machines to see if he left it there before we went and got a new one. J.J.'s card didn't have charging privileges, so it was the best one to lose. They had it there at the machine, in a big book of lost cards. This must happen a lot. So we were free to go on Buzz. Syd was either asleep still, or nursing, I'm not sure which.

We decided it was past time to head back to the resort at this point. As we walked by the castle, there was a show going on. This show really caused the castle to be blocked off to walk-throughs most of the day, but that's okay since there are paths around the castle. As we walked by Stitch, we saw the 40 inches ruler. Still way too short. Probably not in January either.

We paused at the Castle to watch a bit of the show.

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[lexmas]

We headed toward the entrance. We were about to leave, when who do we see with hardly any line? Snow White! So we hopped in line, and gave Sydney back her beloved book. Snow White saw J.J.'s shirt had Buzz on it and she told him that she used to babysit Buzz when he was little. Snow White was very sweet with Sydney. She pointed to a picture of herself on Syd's dress and said, "You have a picture of me on your dress! Should I put a picture of you on my dress?"

As we were leaving, a cast member handed the kids beauty and the beast stickers. On the bus, J.J. and Sydney shared a seat. At the resort, we found that the mousekeeper had visited us already!

AND she left us a new friend!

Then, we went swimming! These are the only swimming pictures from the trip since Grandma took them for us, and we didn't bring a camera to the pool.

J.J. really does well in the water considering how few times he's been swimming.

Decorating the window was good, because it made our room REALLY easy to find from the outside. No staring at room numbers for us!
We also brought lots to organize our room, which worked out well too.

Then Sydney remembered that she liked to do this, everywhere:

So after we were dry and in clean clothes, we headed to classic hall. It was really too late to do anything about a nap. We stopped at the concierge desk to ask about upgrading to APs, but we had to do that at a park. We also asked about trick or treating at DTD, and we had to pick up a package that we had sent to us. Then we filled our mugs, and had some snacks. For those of you who are keeping track, yes, this is lunch for Sydney, since she was sleeping the last time we ate. In fact, other than the few bites of ice cream, I think this is everything she ate all day. Whoops.

I love these high chairs!

On the way back to the room, we stopped at the pop jets, which Syd wasn't that into. She liked them, but from a distance.

J.J. found something he liked.

Now, there is no sign saying don't climb on the car, but it seems like a bad idea around all that water. We headed back to the room, and stopped at the playground really fast. Then DH goofed around with the giant computer.

We left for Epcot shortly after 5:30. Our goals were: a pin trading encounter, a character meet & Greet, a ride, and a food & wine kiosk. Sydney fell asleep on the bus.

The first ride we went on was Nemo.

Sydney woke up for our second ride: Ellen's energy adventure.

J.J. thought this ride was "SO COOL!" Sydney was asleep again by the end. That was about it for Syd's evening.

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