The Land, The Sea & The Dark Side ... With A Toddler! 9/1 UPDATE!

[ariel1025]

At this point we had made our way through Adventureland, Frontierland and Liberty Square while James enjoyed his nap. We kept telling my parents we would stop so they could ride whatever they wanted, but they were enjoying just seeing the sights with us.

Once we made it back to Fantasyland we decided to do the unthinkable and wake James up to enjoy some more rides. I know this sounds mean and absurd on our part; but James will sleep for hours at a time while being pushed in a stroller. And while we wanted him to get a nap in, we didn't want him to sleep so long that he refused his later nap before dinner that evening.

At first he seemed upset when we woke him, but the offer of my final Dib perked him right up and we were quickly on our way to our next adventure

I absolutely love Philharmagic and make sure to catch it every time we are in Magic Kingdom. I was certain that both James and my parents would enjoy it just as much, so I was very excited to see the show.

Trying to grab bubbles that a CM was blowing outside the theatre

Once we got inside I think everyone felt an instant sense of relief from the air conditioning, thus nobody was bothered that we had to wait a bit for the next show. James continued to rest a little on Candi's shoulder and my parents enjoyed exploring the posters in the queue.

Soon enough we were let in for our show and either it was louder than usual or I never noticed previously because I didn't have little one's ears to worry about. Either way, James was very much bothered by the loudness and thus didn't enjoy the show. All my hopes of him grabbing at 3D objects quickly vanished and my focus was instantly on covering his ears to help lower the level for him.

I'm not really sure what my parents thought as they didn't comment about it. So while it's still my favorite 3D show, I guess it wasn't the best choice for the afternoon.

Once we left Philharmagic we went across the way so James could ride his very first Carousel.

This was much more to my little guy's liking, "ooohing and aaahhhing" the whole time, very much sad when we took him of his horse.

From here we continued with the concept of just going until we saw somewhere we wanted to stop. It definitely made the afternoon much more enjoyable than our "go go go" morning After walking a short ways we stumbled upon a play area and unanimously agreed that we should let James get down and run around as he hand't been able to do so since we had stopped in front of the castle after breakfast that morning.

Oh my goodness, one of the best decisions of the day! To say he was obsessed with the big hunny pot is a sever understatement. He was more than content staying outside of the little play house so that he could run around the big 'ol pot and try to remove the lid.

Oh wait, what's in here?

ohhh more hunny pots!

Well Hi there Grandma and Grandpa!

That was fun but I'm outta here

Now that's what I'm talking about!

video, click to play

Sorry for all the pictures at Pooh's playground - I just couldn't pick one to capture all his excitement

After we literally dragged James away from the hunny pots we made our way to our next ride. A ride which shows Candi's true love for his Son. One that he has always refused to ride with me in the past. A ride which he stated he has ridden once in his life and a long visit to the trash cans immediately after led him to claim he would never, ever ride again.

why, the teacups of course!

Poor Candi gets so very queasy and sick on rides that spin. Hand him a roller coaster any day of the week and he's good to go. Lock him inside a spinning chamber and it is like pure torture for him. But all James had to do was point in that direction and claim a great big "we go" and Candi was all mush and walking on the ride before he could even think twice.

This was another crowd pleaser for James, and luckily Candi was able to contain all his food in his stomach. My Dad, however, wasn't coerced by his Grandson's pleading and stated that he was sick just from watching from the sidelines

After the teacups we went in search of some food. With the exception of my beloved Dibs nobody had eaten anything since breakfast that morning. We continued on into Tommorowland, contemplating stopping at the Speedway so my Dad could enjoy a ride with James (my Dad is a major, major car guy), but grumbling tummies won over and we headed over to Cosmic Ray's with the Speedway topping our list of "to dos" after eating.

We forwewarned my parents on our big dinner planned that evening and then split up to order at the bays we were wanting food from. Once Candi and I got to the front of the line and ordered it became congested and frustrating with all the other people squeezed in, so I sent Candi with the baby to get a table. After I got our humongous tray weighed down with all our food I took off to find everyone, but they were nowhere to be found. The restaurant was crazy, as usual, and I was quickly becoming frustrated from trying to balance the tray and not finding my family. Finally, I saw them and squeezed my way over, praying that I didn't spill our drinks the entire way. Perhaps it would have been better for Candi and I to have switched roles on that one


We didn't want to get too full as it was late afternoon and closer to our dinner reservation than we anticipated. So I got a cheeseburger meal and a hot dog meal for the three of us to split. Clearly James didn't get the memo of our large impending dinner as he gobbled the entire hot dog and half the fries of one meal all by himself I had also got a Mickey straw for James and although he loved it, he really had troubles drinking from it. I tried and you really did have to suck pretty hard to get anything out. Needless to say, he wasn't very happy with me when I switched him to a regular straw

Once we finished lunch we headed back out into Fantasyland when Candi realized we were rapidly approaching parade time. We had two options, go back to the Speedway and risk being blocked in at Main Street due to the parade or book it to the front of the park before it started...

 

[amandaw]

Sounds like y'all were having a fun day!

Those pictures & video of your DS playing at the Winnie the Pooh ride are so adorable! You can really tell how happy he was!

That's so sweet that your DH rode the Tea Cups for him, too!

Uh oh....I'm thinking y'all had to go to the front of the park & didn't make it to the Speedway.

 

[oboedm]

I love when CMs take the time out of their day to make you feel like a treasured guest! It's just so Disney!

 

[CandleontheWater]

I'm sorry that your DS didn't like philharmagic, you know I've never though about it being loud, but I guess it is. My DS has never been put off by loud noises, but it is something to think about with number 2.

The photos of cinco playing with the honey pot are priceless, that is Disney trips are all about!

Ugg, I have a love/hate relationship with Cosmic rays, I love all the choices, but I hate how crowded and crazy it can get in there! Glad you made it without spilling anything, I'm not sure I could have!

Hmm- speedway or parade- tough choice!

 

[ariel1025]

Sounds like y'all were having a fun day!

Those pictures & video of your DS playing at the Winnie the Pooh ride are so adorable! You can really tell how happy he was!

That's so sweet that your DH rode the Tea Cups for him, too!

Uh oh....I'm thinking y'all had to go to the front of the park & didn't make it to the Speedway.

It really was a great day; definitely the best decision for a park for only one day.

Thanks, I felt so terrible tearing him away from there, but I'm pretty sure he would have spent hours playing with those pots.

I was shocked when DH rode the teacups - he despises them for sure!

I love when CMs take the time out of their day to make you feel like a treasured guest! It's just so Disney!

It is the number 1 reason I continue to go back to Disney over and over again!

I'm sorry that your DS didn't like philharmagic, you know I've never though about it being loud, but I guess it is. My DS has never been put off by loud noises, but it is something to think about with number 2.

The photos of cinco playing with the honey pot are priceless, that is Disney trips are all about!

Ugg, I have a love/hate relationship with Cosmic rays, I love all the choices, but I hate how crowded and crazy it can get in there! Glad you made it without spilling anything, I'm not sure I could have!

Hmm- speedway or parade- tough choice!

The strange thing is, he normally isn't bothered by loud noises. For instance, on 4th of July the louder the fireworks were the harder he laughed. I think waking him up right before played a big part in it.

His joy in the Pooh area is definitely what I had envisioned for his first trip to MK!

I'm not sure how I avoided spilling anything - I definitely was not created to be a waitress

 

[SoonerGirl]

Hi Shannon! Sorry I'm so incredibly late to your TR. I fell off the face of the DISboards for about 8 months or so and I'm still trying to find and get caught up on everyone's reports. Glad you posted on my PTR or I might not have found you!

I can't believe how big James is, seems like it was just yesterday that you were posting his newborn pics! He sure is a cutie

I read all your updates, but of course, now I can't remember what all I wanted to comment on What I do remember was......you didn't care for the zebra domes! Don't worry, my family doesn't really like them either, but me, I LOVE them!

The pictures of James with Pooh & friends are too cute, certainly made the stress of the morning worth it. It sounds like your day ran much smoother when you let the day come to you instead of going with a plan, sometimes that can be hard for us uber planners to do!

 

[ariel1025]

Hi Shannon! Sorry I'm so incredibly late to your TR. I fell off the face of the DISboards for about 8 months or so and I'm still trying to find and get caught up on everyone's reports. Glad you posted on my PTR or I might not have found you!

I can't believe how big James is, seems like it was just yesterday that you were posting his newborn pics! He sure is a cutie

I read all your updates, but of course, now I can't remember what all I wanted to comment on What I do remember was......you didn't care for the zebra domes! Don't worry, my family doesn't really like them either, but me, I LOVE them!

The pictures of James with Pooh & friends are too cute, certainly made the stress of the morning worth it. It sounds like your day ran much smoother when you let the day come to you instead of going with a plan, sometimes that can be hard for us uber planners to do!

Hi!!! Trust me, as slow as I'm writing this there is definitely no such thing as late It seems like I take a hiatus every other month. I only write when little man is sleeping...of course, that's also the best time to do household things as well. Priorities, I guess.

I was so very bummed that I didn't love the zebra domes. My Dad adored them, I just wasn't very into them

It's so funny because before the trip we couldn't get James to even take a second look at Pooh on TV, as a stuffed animal, in pictures, nada! And then it was like he became his biggest fan at MK!

Ugh, letting go is the number one hardest thing for me to do on vacation. This trip was even more difficult for me. I wanted to ensure that everything went perfectly for James AND my parents. But, as you stated it went better when I wasn't planning it out. Now the real question - was I able to continue on with that mentality

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

Hi Shannon! I'm all caught up on your TR and I just absolutely love it! I can't get enough of all of the adorable pictures of James! I love how he keeps sleeping through all of the big firsts! I'm glad he was wide awake for his first character interaction, though! Those pictures at the Crystal Palace are just precious. I will be just like you - the baby's first ride at Disney must be Dumbo!

 

[katylady]

Hi! I'm new to your reports, but when I saw you were traveling with a toddler, I had to take a look! It sounds like things were going pretty well, all things considered, for the start of your trip. We are going down right after Christmas with our (then) almost 4 year old little girl and our (then) 16 month old little boy. It will be little girl's third trip, but we didn't travel with her at this age, and they just change so fast! We are hoping to do our little guy's first hair cut at the barber shop, too. I'm excited about it. It just sounds like they are great with the little ones. I'm looking forward to reading about the rest of your trip!

Katy

 

[ariel1025]

Hi Shannon! I'm all caught up on your TR and I just absolutely love it! I can't get enough of all of the adorable pictures of James! I love how he keeps sleeping through all of the big firsts! I'm glad he was wide awake for his first character interaction, though! Those pictures at the Crystal Palace are just precious. I will be just like you - the baby's first ride at Disney must be Dumbo!

Hi Courtney! Thanks for continuing to read along, even though it's taking me so long to get updates put up.

I kept telling Candi that James sleeping through so much just meant we had to come back sooner for him to experience it all over again

Even after some stress, I'm still so glad that James' first ride was Dumbo!

Hi! I'm new to your reports, but when I saw you were traveling with a toddler, I had to take a look! It sounds like things were going pretty well, all things considered, for the start of your trip. We are going down right after Christmas with our (then) almost 4 year old little girl and our (then) 16 month old little boy. It will be little girl's third trip, but we didn't travel with her at this age, and they just change so fast! We are hoping to do our little guy's first hair cut at the barber shop, too. I'm excited about it. It just sounds like they are great with the little ones. I'm looking forward to reading about the rest of your trip!

Katy

Hi Katy! Thanks for joining in

What a fun trip you have planned! We think that James was at the perfect age for his first visit. He wasn't afraid of the characters, adjusted easily to the time change and had no complications sleeping in his stroller when needed.

They really are great with the little kids at the Barber Shop and I know they make a really big deal out of making the first hair cut extra special.

 

[ariel1025]

After a much needed food and rest break we made our way out of Cosmic Rays and realized we had two options.

One, hit up more of Tomorrowland knowing that we would not be taking a long afternoon break due to being "trapped" in while the parade passed. Two, hurry out of Tomorrowland and exit the park before the parade began ensuring we got our long afternoon break.

There were many things we wanted to do in Tommorowland, but pretty quickly decided that an afternoon break was needed by everyone. James most definitely was going to need a nap, my Dad's feet were starting to bother him, and everybody agreed showers were in order before dinner. So, we hightailed it to the front of the park in hopes of avoiding being trapped in by crowds and parade floats.

Once we made it towards the front of the park, Candi mentioned that we should probably pick-up Cinco's ears before we left. That way, if they needed a lengthy amount of time to emroider them, we could just pick them up after dinner. So, we ran into the store towards the front of the park to do just that.

Along with the ears I also wanted to pick up the Baby Dumbo to give to my (not-yet-born) Niece and an iPhone cover for my phone (unfortunately, they didn't have the one I wanted). We also let James pick out a new stuffed animal for his collection. He was in need of Pluto or Donald so we showed him both and he quickly grabbed Pluto. Along with Pooh, he became a favorite on this trip!

Once we had all our purchases we realized that we lost my parents so I sent Candi to pay while I went to look for them. I immediately found my Dad, who was looking for my Mom. A quick look outside and I saw her trying to catch sight of the parade.

My Mom absolutely loves parades and although she said she was fine with skipping it to go rest, you could tell she was thrilled that she got to catch part of it.

My Dad went to go tell my Mom we were heading out while I went to go catch back up with Candi, who was just finishing up paying. He let me know that we actually had to take the ears to a different location to get Cinco's name put on them, but it was just across the way. Since the whole point of picking up the ears now was to have time to get them embroidered, we ran over to get that done.

The ordering process was easy. We picked our thread color, font style and wrote down what we wanted them to put on the ears and we were all done. They said it would only be about 15 minutes, but we could come anytime prior to park closing to pick them up.

Once again we started making our way towards the front of the park to finally get back to the hotel for our (now dwindling) break. As we were doing so, I commented to Candi that I had seen the wait time to meet Mickey was only 10 minutes. We weren't sure if it was because the parade was going on or if the wait time was always that low. Another short discussion later and we all agreed that we should just take advantage of the short wait now and not risk it later. So, into the line we went.

There eres less than 10 people ahead of us in line so I knew the wait time was probably accurate. My only concern was that I noticed James was starting to get very sleepy again. Along with Dumbo, this was a moment that I had envisioned in my mind over and over and over again as we watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse together each morning. I know how James can get when he gets sleepy, much like me actually, irritable As we made our way closer to our turn, I said a silent prayer that he wouldn't fall asleep and he would enjoy his time meeting his favorite mouse.

We were let into the main meet-and-greet area with one person ahead of us, already meeting Mickey. I squealed when I realized that Minnie was also in there and James squealed when he saw Mickey around the corner. He was instantly awake and I was instantly relieved

Less than a minute later it was our turn so Candi took James out of his stroller to carry him over.

video, click to play

Believe it or not, I have at least 50 more pictures from the meet, but those are my favorites!

If you can't tell, James was completely over the moon ecstatic to be meeting both Mickey and Minnie. Although Candi tried to carry him over, he quickly wrangled his way free to interact on his own. Without any prompting or encouragement he ran over to them and gave them millions of hugs and kisses and smiles and squeals. As you can tell from the picture I'm in, my eyes were flooding with tears of pure happiness. It was far and away the greatest moment of the trip and a zillion times better than I ever pictured it. As far as my little 16 month old was considered, all his dreams came true in that very moment. 100% happiness was written all over his face. I would do the entire day over again, arguments and all, just to have that moment be exactly as it was.

As we were leaving my Dad said "the price of admission was worth that moment alone." My sentiments exactly!

After we left, I sent Candi over to see if the ears were ready, and they were. Thank goodness, one less thing to try to cross of the list that night

I don't think I have a picture of the back, but we had Cinco put on there and they came out perfect!

Seeing as how that moment could never be topped, we really did make it to the exit after Candi picked up the ears. With all the sidetracking we did, we weren't going to get nearly as long of a break as we had hoped. Luckily there was a bus waiting when we got to the stop and I think we were all relieved.

He was tired before but, all the excitement of meeting Mickey definitely tuckered him out. He was asleep before the bus even pulled away.

(continued below)

 

[ariel1025]

(continued from above)

Once again the bus ride was less than 20 minutes before we were pulling up in front of our hotel. As we rode up the elevator we decided on a leave time with my parents and each went into our rooms to try to relax before dinner.

Candi laid the baby down and then went to lay down himself to try and relieve some pressure off his foot. If you've been following along with me for a while now you probably already know this, but Candi has had several major injuries to his foot/ankle and knee. They started when his was in Jr High and got progressively worse as he got older. In college he played basketball and during a game completely blew out his ankle. He's had multiple surgeries including having to have pieces of bone removed because they were essentially "dead." We made sure to do lots of nightly walks leading up to the trip to try and help the foot strengthen up for all the walking we knew we would be doing. However, because his foot is full of bad bones, joints and tendons an all day affair really causes him a lot of pain. I appreciate more than he will ever know, how he just pushes through and endures it so we can have these vacations

While the boys rested I started getting our clothes for the evening out because I knew they were all in desperate need of ironing. Three shirts and three pairs of shorts later and I was ready to hop in the shower. Before I did though, my Mom came by to ask what we were wearing. I told her "nothing fancy, just shorts and casual shirts" and then hopped in the shower, seeing that both my guys were fast asleep.

Since I knew we weren't as rushed as the night before and I wanted to allow as much sleep time as possible for Candi and James, I decided on a long, hot bath for myself. When I got out I felt a million times better and was happy to see that Candi had woken up and felt much better himself. The baby was still sleeping so I told Candi to hop in the shower and we would get the baby ready last. Usual plan anyway, since James is the most likely to ruin an outfit or his hair before it's time to go

I did my hair while Candi showered and by the time I had gotten dressed Candi was showered, dressed and had his hair done. So jealous how quick and easity it is for a guy to get ready!

James was still fast asleep, but we were quickly approaching time to leave so I knew we had no choice but to wake him. He was immediately irritated by this and even a quick bath (which he usually loves) didn't calm him down. We finished getting him dressed right as my parents knocked on the door and we all headed out to the bus stop.

As we were walking along I could tell something was bothering my Mom. When I asked her what it was she said she felt like her and my Dad were under dressed compared to the three of us. I thought they both looked fine and told her as much. But, she insisted that although I said we were wearing casual shirts that we were dressed up and they didn't look up to par. I told her if she hurried she could go change, but my Dad said no and asked her to let it go.

Once again, the plan was to take the bus to MK and then grab transportation from there to our dinner destination for the night. This time, however, a bus was waiting right as we got to the stop and we would be transferring to a boat instead of the monorail.

We made it to the boat dock just as the boat we needed pulled away, but another one followed just a few minutes later. It actually worked out better as this boat wasn't the tiny one and they allowed us to just wheel the stroller on instead of having to break it down first. James was still incredibly fussy and I was hoping the boat ride would cheer him up.

Luckily, the boat combined with the water, the cool breeze and my sunglasses did make the fussiness come to an end and put some small smiles on his face. The smile on my face, however, disappeared when immediately after that last picture James snapped my sunglasses in half I have the worst luck finding sunglasses that fit me well and prior to the trip had tried on at least 30 pair before finding those. I wasn't mad at James, but I was definitely frustrated at myself for letting him play with them, knowing that would probably happen.

Brushing aside my frustration we made our way off the boat and to my favorite hotel on property

Wilderness Lodge! We stayed here on our honeymoon and now it just feels like home whenever we come here. Our dinner destination that night was, of course, Whispering Canyon Cafe. It was a unanimous vote (just like 'Ohana) and I was so excited to give it another chance. Candi and I had eaten here before our "babymoon" cruise and while we liked the food, we didn't enjoy our experience. Our waitress was non-existent most the night, we were seated away from all the fun and Candi's bottomless milkshake never got a refill. I was definitely hoping for a better experience this time.

When we got inside I gave the hostess our name and she gave me a buzzer that went off before we even unloaded James from the stroller. As we were lead to our table I took in a quick breathe as we started getting closer and closer to the side room where we were seated last time. Thankfully, we were seated in a table in the main dining room and the action was clearly in full force all around us.

Our drink orders were quickly taken, including a light up drink for the little guy and second chance at the bottomless milkshake for Candi. We all glanced at the menus for a second before deciding on the all-you-can-eat skillet. My Dad was thoroughly impressed that it was included on the dining plan which made me happy.

The waiter came back with everybody's drinks except mine and James' and took our orders saying he would be right back with the rest of the drinks. Now, as much as I read the Dis you would think I would have clued in to what was going on, but I can honestly say I was completely surprised and couldn't stop laughing when the waiter came back and said "Here's your Coke Zero; you can have as much as you want because it's zero calories"

He was entertained with his Buzz for all of two seconds before he decided my gargantuan Coke looked way more fun.

Now, usually we don't let James have more than a sip or two of our drink. But, it was vacation, and I'm all about "live and let live" for everybody involved. So, I gave him a few drinks.

Well, that sucker is heavy and he kept trying to grab it out of my hands so I reverted to the "fill the straw with drink" method to give him drinks. This was all fine and well until our food arrived and I was trying to eat, trying to get James to eat and trying to give him drinks of my drink that he was mad he couldn't hold on his own.

A little while into dinner the horse races had started so I told Candi to take him over to participate. He had done so well with the Coconut races and I figured it would help him to be in a better mood. Plus it also gave me time to finish the food on my plate

As soon as I saw the boys walking back I knew we were in trouble. There wasn't any screaming, but I definitely saw the tears falling. Candi said James was completely devastated that he had to put the horse away and just started bawling. We were hopeful that more food would do the trick and he would forget about the horses. No such luck! He refused to eat, refused to drink his own drink and refused to drink mine if he couldn't hold it by himself.

And then the screaming began. He was tired, he was mad that we woke him up, he was mad that the horsey went away and he was mad that he was in the highchair instead of running around still. Candi said he would hold him while we all finished eating, but he wasn't having any of that either. I refuse to be the parent that allows other people's meals to be ruined by their screaming infant/toddler/child so I picked him up to take him to play with the Lincoln Logs.

That worked well for about five minutes until a Host came up and told me he couldn't play there without any shoes on. Apparently in his fit he had kicked his Crocs off and I didn't even notice. I went back to get them and when we got back to the Lincoln Logs it was swarmed with bigger kids and James couldn't get in there to play. Queue the screaming again

Not knowing what else to do I took him down to the lobby to let him run around. That also worked well for a few minutes. The he found the water area and kept trying to climb in. So, I decided to take him outside to run around, but he kept trying to run into the street where the buses pull up. I finally just picked him up and told him he had to let me carry him since he wasn't listening. He went into full blown hysterics. I walked inside, outside, up the ramp, down the ramp, by the water, away from the water. Nothing helped. He was crying. He was screaming. He was kicking. He was hyperventilating. People were staring. I started crying.

Although I'm sure it was only 15 minutes, it seemed like an hour before my family finished eating and found me. My Dad saw me first and asked me what was wrong and it sounded like he was angry, which made me cry harder. I found out later he was just worried something was truly wrong since I was crying.

My Mom came up a second later and took James for a little bit. They came back and he was laughing like nothing had ever happened. This should have made me feel better, but the truth is, it made me feel worse. I felt like a failure because I couldn't calm him myself.

Candi had stayed behind to settle the check and also voice his frustration that (once again) his bottomless milkshake was never refilled, even after multiple requests. A few minutes later he came over to where I was and tried to calm me down, but I said I just wanted to get on with the night and try to forget about it. On our way back to the boat dock we stopped so my parents could see the beautiful grounds of Wilderness Lodge.

After some sightseeing of the Lodge, I started to calm down and we headed on over to the boat dock so we could ensure we made it in time to see the parade before the fireworks ...


*** As an aside, looking back now I wish I would have calmed down quicker to be more rational with the meltdown situation. I knew that James was just beyond tired and that was the whole cause of the tantrum. If I was thinking clearly I would have done one of two things. First, I would have tried putting him in his stroller to see if I could get him to sleep. However, given his mood I'm doubtful this would have worked. If it didn't, I wish I would have thought to take him to the arcade. I know it would have been distraction enough to keep him contained until everybody was ready to go. I also wish I wouldn't have let people staring get me so emotional. Now that I'm sane again I realize that although some people may have been staring and snickering or talking about how ill behaved my child was, many were probably glancing over reminiscing over their own past moments of similarity, perhaps even with empathy for me ***

 

[amandaw]

What a great time meeting Mickey!

You have so many great pictures! I'm sorry the experience at WCC wasn't the best though. I think all of us moms have been in that position before. It's so hard when nothing you do can make your little one happy. I'm sure most of the people who saw you were probably giving you looks of empathy. But, it doesn't feel that way when you're in the moment.

 

[SoonerGirl]

Oh my gosh, those picture from the meet with Mickey and Minnie are priceless! Seriously worth the cost of the entire trip right there!

Sorry about the meltdown at dinner. I am sure that the vast majority of people that were looking at you were doing it with empathy, we have all had moments when our toddlers were inconsolable!

 

[ariel1025]

What a great time meeting Mickey!

You have so many great pictures! I'm sorry the experience at WCC wasn't the best though. I think all of us moms have been in that position before. It's so hard when nothing you do can make your little one happy. I'm sure most of the people who saw you were probably giving you looks of empathy. But, it doesn't feel that way when you're in the moment.

Thank you, meeting Mickey was such a highlight for all of us!

That WCC moment .... :sigh: ... it just made me feel so sad and frustrated and helpless. Thankfully, his moments like that are very few and far between.

Oh my gosh, those picture from the meet with Mickey and Minnie are priceless! Seriously worth the cost of the entire trip right there!

Sorry about the meltdown at dinner. I am sure that the vast majority of people that were looking at you were doing it with empathy, we have all had moments when our toddlers were inconsolable!

Oh goodness, I would do the entire day over and over again (tantrums and all) just to relive the moment he met Mickey!

 

[CandleontheWater]

First of all let me say that the photos and video of James meeting mickey were just adorable! You can tell just how happy he is to be meeting his hero!

And I'm sorry that your meal at WCC went south. We've all been there, and it isn't easy, especially in the heat of the moment. I hope things got better for you as the evening wore on!

 

[ariel1025]

After the tantrum of all tantrums, we made our way over to the boat dock, where a certain little someone was acting like nothing had ever happend

The plan for the rest of the night was to head back to Magic Kingdom with the hopes of accomplishing the Speedway, Haunted Mansion, Parade and Wishes.

After unloading from the boat we loaded James back into his stroller, which was a feat all in itself. Some tears started coming back and I just kept trying to reassure him that he would feel so much better if he laid in his stroller and fell asleep. Yes, I had resorted to trying to rationalize with a 16 month old

Upon entering MK we quickly realized that if we wanted any hopes of having a decent seat for the parade and fireworks that all other plans had to go out the window. Instead, we needed to find a spot big enough for all of us and grab it now!

After walking (very slowly) down Main Street we kept our eyes peeled for the best spot possible. I'm not sure if it was because this is the first time I've really looked for a spot, or because I wanted it to be great for my parents, or the frustration of earlier but it seemed like there wasn't a spot anywhere. This has seriously never happened to me before. We have always been one of those lucky enough to walk up immediately prior to start time and grab a great location. I suggested walking around somewhere away from Main Street, knowing we could probably still get a great view of the parade. But, everyone wanted to be as close as possible to the front of the castle for the fireworks.

Eventually, we realized that the best we were going to get was off to the side a little bit and snagged a spot for all of us.

There were probably 5 rows of people in front of us, but pushing the stroller through anymore crowds just wasn't going to happen. My Mom was definitely upset, and voicing it, because she was worried that she wasn't going to be able to see the parade. I told her that there were parts she wouldn't see, but that she still wouldn't be disappointed, as Disney does everything great. I don't think she was really convinced but she let it go ... mostly. Did I mention how much my Mom loves parades?

Before too long the parade started and, as expected, there were many floats that were easily visible from our viewpoint.

As expected, James had fallen fast asleep before the parade had ended, in fact before it even began. Another first that he slept right on through

After the parade ended a few people in front of us left, so we moved up about a row closer. Any chance of moving elsewhere just wasn't going to happen. We realized this was the best we were going to get and accepted it! It did get a little frustrating, as where we were standing was in a taped off portion of a walkway so there were several people pushing through and bumping us around. Not really a big deal to me, but then someone pushed through me and literally climbed over the stroller with my sleeping baby inside and I about lost it. A simple "excuse me" would have sufficed and I would have tried to get better out of their way. But, crawling over my stroller? Unacceptable!

Once the crowds mellowed out a little bit I asked Candi if he wanted to go with me to get a snack. I was still hungry and a Coke and ice cream sounded fabulous at that moment. We got order requests from my parents and headed over to the first food stand we could find. When we were next in line I heard music starting to play and realized I had forgotten all out the Magic, Memories and You show on the castle.

We were able to grab our food and make it back to my family before we had missed too much of it. I have to admit, I liked the show but didn't overly love it like many people I've read about. Perhaps I just wasn't in the right mindset. I did keep hoping to see a PP picture of my baby meeting Mickey though! I never did, but there are so many pictures up there at a time that maybe it was and I just didn't see it

Once the new show came to an end a few more people left and we once again moved up about half a row. And then it was time. My all-time favorite show in all of Disney, Wishes!

I didn't take too many pictures, as I really just like to absorb it all. It still is such an emotional show for me to watch. About halfway through, James started whimpering so I squatted down next to him to calm him down. He opened his eyes, smiled at me, grabbed my finger with his little hand and held it tight for the rest of the show while he continued to sleep. In that moment, all arguments, tantrums and tears left my mind. I was reminded that not every minute of the day was perfect, but it was still a perfect day!

At the conclusion of Wishes we quickly hollered a meeting spot to my parents in case we got separated and started making our way up Main Street with the masses. After a couple minutes the crowds seemed to disappear and we caught up with my parents. As we were walking along, I reminded my Dad that we all still had snack credits left and suggested he use his on fudge - his favorite!

He easily caved to the idea and we all headed inside to grab some treats. I got in line with my Dad to get some yummy treats from the counter and Candi, James and my Mom went to walk around to see what they could find. The line was long, but moved pretty quickly. Once we got to the front I placed my order for some toffee, a piece of fudge and a Mickey cookie for James. My Dad ordered all fudge and the girl told him they were having a special on the fudge. I think it was buy 4 pieces and get 2 free or something similar. He told her he was using snack credits and she assured him it was still valid. To say he was ecstatic was an understatement.

After I "paid" for my treats I went to go find Candi so we could make a pressed penny for James (we have a small collection from all the places we've visited so far). I found him pretty quickly and saw that he had also used up his credits on a Coke, cotton candy, and ... a Mickey cookie for Cinco

We also found my Mom who didn't want anything (craziness!) and was just enjoying all the small touches of the shop.

I noticed my Dad was still at the counter and figured he was still picking out flavors of fudge. After he finished and got back to us I found out that after they rung everything up the girl realized she had misinformed him about using snack credits for the special. He said it made sense that it wasn't allowed, but he was pretty bummed that he was told it did only to find out he couldn't.

With bags full of goodies and a penny for James we made our way to the MK bus stop for the final time this trip. We were all exhausted but all sat on the bus with perma-grins attached to our faces. It had been a long day, but a great day!

After making it back to our room we found the paperwork with the information for our cruise the next day which built up the excitement for everyone, I think. We went over to my parent's room to quickly form a game plan for the morning, make sure they got their paperwork and give them the shirts I made for all of us to wear the next day and then quickly said good night.

At this point I was so tired I felt like I couldn't move, but the night was far from over for us. I desperately needed a shower form all the humidity, James needed a bath because it's his cue that it's bedtime and the biggest bummer, we had laundry to do

I contemplated for a moment just waiting to do the laundry on the cruise, but decided against it as it's not how I wanted to spend my first night on the ship and it was free for us at the hotel since we are DVC. Since James was now pretty wide awake, we decided to just all go to the laundry room together to let him wind down a little bit. But first, we had to figure out where the laundry room was. I looked on the resort map but could only find the one for non-DVC guests where you had to pay. So we headed down to the front desk to ask. We got a very nice CM but he wasn't even aware that such a laundry room existed and other CMs were busy with other guests. I finally told Candi that it makes sense that it wouldn't be on the map (so that others aren't aware of it) and that it probably is on the DVC floor A quick walk around and we located it no problem! We quickly loaded up two washers of laundry (yes, that much in 2 days ) and headed back to the room to wait for it to finish.

James was still raring to go so we took one of his cookies out to the balcony to enjoy our last night at AKL together. It was so peaceful out there and we all had a great time just lounging around.

After 30 minutes or so I went to go put the laundry into the dryer and Candi put James in the tub. I got back and saw a partially tired James watching Mickey Mouse and knew the bath had worked to get him sleepy. Candi and I took turns taking showers and then Candi went to go grab the laundry. While he was gone James decided he didn't need pants to sleep and kept pulling off his PJ bottoms. I found this hysterical and could not stop laughing at him, which of course got him laughing and waking up. Oops!

A few minutes later we put James' pj's back on (again) and reminded him it was time to go night-night. It only took about 10 minutes and he was snoring away with his Mickey in one hand and Pluto in the other

Unfortunately, the clothes had not dried in the first cycle so Candi had to start a second one meaning it would be another 45 minutes before we cold all join our little guy in dreamland. Candi told me not to worry about it and he would get the clothes. I think I protested for all of 30 seconds before I agreed and was snoring away myself ...

 

[amandaw]

What a great update! So happy that y'alls night ended on a high note!

It's so frustrating trying to get through those parade crowds with a stroller. And the person trying to climb OVER the stroller... People just don't think.

And what a sweet moment with your baby during Wishes!

That was a great idea to use up y'alls snack credits before leaving MK! Fudge is on my "must get" list for this year.

Glad y'all were able to get the laundry done before heading to the boat. So excited to hear what y'all thought of the cruise!!

 

[katylady]

James with Mickey and Minnie looked so adorable! I hope that my little guy has a similar experience - he really seems to love Mickey. I feel for you with that meltdown. It stinks not to be able to calm them down.
Looking forward to hearing about your cruise. I so want to do one some day!

Katy

 

[ShortStuff]

Oh my goodness, what a cutie patootie little Cinco is!!! Quite the flirt with Minnie also!! He was so cute with Mickey and Minnie, you could tell they didn't want little Cinco to leave them!! Too, too cute! It seems as Moms, we are usually the one to 'take the hit', when a toddler melts down during a meal.'

So sorry this happened, but I'm so happy the night turned out ok!!!

Can't wait for the cruise portion of your trip report!! :