The Whirlwind Trippers Whirlwind Again~Feb 23-25~FINISHED!!

[GADISNEYGIRL]

The Whirlwind Trippers Take A Whirlwind Trip (no, we cheated, and planned it at least a week in advance!) February 23-25, 2006

I’m caught up at work, and Mark is home sick. Again. Yes, I know. Would some of YOU please tell him to wash his hands and drink his OJ? I think he’s tired of hearing it from me. So I thought I’d tackle yet another TR. I’m generally very prompt, and do it as soon as we get home. Not so much this time. And my notes are at home. So we’ll see what happens! I might actually have to do it in installments, instead of all at once, which is my general trend. After all, I do have to leave work soon, and I absolutely refuse to believe that I should write trip reports when I'm not getting paid to do so. Please don't tell my boss.

The Cast: (Why am I doing this again? You all know who we are, by now!)

Mark, 34~Yep, as of last week, he is 34!! Preacher. Disney Freak. Hottie stalker. It’s my trip report. I can say that if I want. Trip number…I don’t know, nearly 30, I think.

Rhonda, 32, and planning to stay there. Preacher’s wife. Disney Freak. The Beast Prince stalker. Well, okay, I’m not. But Mark thinks I am. Trip number~see above.

Wesley, 4 and proud of it. Preacher's Kid. Disney Freak. 39 ½ inches, which means with shoes he is tall enough to ride the “cool” rides. Very fond of the hotties. Gets it honestly, from his dad. And yes, he calls them “hotties”. The other day we were watching Aladdin. In one scene they show some girls dressed much as Jasmine is. He said, Look, Mom, HOTTIES! Trip #12 for him. But don’t tell our families. They think he’s only been…oh…5 times. We’ll keep it just between us, okay? Otherwise, we have to listen to a lot of drivel about why we tell THEM we don’t have a free weekend to come spend with them, when obviously we have plenty of time to drive FURTHER to Disney. Trust me, it’s easier to let them think what they will.

Jen, hate to tell her age, she hasn’t given me permission! She’s a good friend of our family, and if you haven’t figured it out by now, she works at Disney. Wesley is in love with her. But don’t tell Colleen. Or Aurora.

Sarah Jane, not sure of her age, think she’s a freshman in college. She’s a friend of Jen’s. But she spent more time with US!

Pre-Trip:

Well, our friend Jen, who works for Disney, isn’t going to be much longer. And if we want to see her again before she leaves, this is our last opportunity. Plus, we just want to go back. AND, my mom’s surgery was rescheduled, which meant that I didn’t have to go home this weekend. (Instead, I have to do it this coming weekend. Prayers would be appreciated. She’s not a very good patient. And neither my sister nor I are good nurses. And the three of us all together do not always get along so well. And my dad could have a nervous breakdown before it’s all over. Come to think of it, I’m surprised he hasn’t already. So there you go, you’re caught up on my family life. )

Alright, so we start planning the trip, but of course now we’re into peak season… and everything is booked, EVERYTHING, except All Star Music. Oh, and Saratoga Springs. Guess where Mark wants to stay? NOT at All Star Music. Remember his thing with the Values? But I’m not really thrilled about paying over $200/night for a place to sleep, either. So I talked him into ASMu. Do you think he gave up? No indeed! He called every day, sometimes more than once a day, to see if there was a moderate available. There wasn’t. I told him to stop whining and get over it. He didn’t.

So then we start thinking about food. We decided on San Angel Inn for Saturday lunch, and Crystal Palace for Friday breakfast. The night before we left, we thought we’d try Liberty Tree Tavern for Friday’s lunch. Really odd thing~for it to be peak season… we got everything we wanted, even the times we wanted.

Packed up Wednesday night. Hadn’t told Wesley we were going anywhere. Went to work Thursday. My boss had a meeting, so I left a little early. Shhh! Got home at noon, Mark and Wesley were already home. Mark loaded the car, then told Wesley where we were going. Yippee!! After stops for gas and lunch (Wendy’s again, even though I told him we could have Krystal!), we were on our way. As we pulled out of the Wendy’s drive thru, he called CRO. Again. Tink must really like him, cause she had a load of pixie dust for him. They had a room at Coronado Springs available! Wesley didn’t care, but Mark was thrilled. And I must admit, I was kind of glad, too!

Day 1 (Thursday: Travel/Arrival; Epcot; Olympics)

Wesley got a little nap (and so did I, I think). We got to CSR right about 6. And so did an entire convention. We got to stand in a loooonnngggg line to check in. Longest check in line we’ve ever waited in, I do believe. But we finally got our Keys to the Kingdom (or whatever they’re called), and hopped back in the car. No, of course we didn’t go to the room! We were headed for Epcot!!

Ahhh, Epcot at twilight…our Happy Place. It wasn’t quite 7 yet, and FPs for Soarin’ and Test Track were already gone, so we thought we’d make Wesley happy by journeying into our imagination with Figment. Does anyone else wonder how they get that skunk smell out of there so fast, before the next “train” comes through? Disney Magic, I suppose. I always feel sorry for those unsuspecting people who ride this. *I* know when to hold my nose.

World Showcase time! We were thinking we’d wander around til 9 (eating at Tang…I mean, in France…sorry babe, I almost gave you away there!!), and leave after Illuminations. But it was becoming clear that the short nap in the car didn’t do quite enough for Wesley. So we changed plans, mid-World Showcase, decided to eat, ride Mexico and/or Maelstrom (FP, anyone??), and go to the room.

In UK we saw Alice, Tigger and Eeyore. In Morocco we saw Aladdin. And then we ate. But, umm, not in Morocco. No…in FRANCE! ‘Cause it’s the BEST!!

Maelstrom had a wait. And no FPs going on. I mean, why have it as a FP ride if you’re not going to offer FPs? (I’ll let Mel explain to everyone, AGAIN, why Maelstrom should not have FPs. Or is it ZZUB who explains that? Anyway!) So we skipped it, much to Wesley’s dismay. But on to Mexico, which did NOT have a wait. I know how to make Mexico have a wait: make it a FP ride. Really. Did you EVER wait for Living With the Land until they made it a FP ride? NO!

So…we left Epcot and drove back to CSR. On the way, we talked to Jen, who was leaving soon for the airport to pick up Sarah Jane. She said they’d call us when they got to the MK the next day… oh, and we also changed our lunch plans, so they could eat with us. Still at LTT, but for earlier. And since we were eating an early lunch, we’d better cancel that Crystal Palace ADR. Mark is one of Disney Dining’s best customers.

In the room, we got Wesley’s bath and got him in the bed. He’s devastated that the Bedtime Stories are no longer on. Yeah, okay, so are we. But the OLYMPICS were on! And it was the women’s figure skating! And my husband likes to watch that! (Are they hotties? Maybe that’s why. But only during the Olympics. I mean, he won’t watch Ice Skating on ABC on a Saturday afternoon, or anything like that.) Apparently, Wesley also liked the women’s figure skating. He would NOT go to sleep. It was around 11 before he finally drifted off.

 

[babytrees]

I do believe I am not only addicted to trip reports...I am espescially addicted to your families trip reports!! Great job, once again.

 

[OhMari]

Didn't you guys just go down in January for a really long time? I am so envious of your proximetry to Disney. I get to go on a road trip with my husband this weekend 12 hours from WI to AL. Then turn around and come right back.

 

[GADISNEYGIRL]

Didn't you guys just go down in January for a really long time? I am so envious of your proximetry to Disney. I get to go on a road trip with my husband this weekend 12 hours from WI to AL. Then turn around and come right back.

Umm...yes. That's 12 days in January, and a total of 5 park days in February (2 different trips). So 17 park days, this year. Workin' those APs!!

 

[tammyandtommy]

another trip, another trip, want to adopt me? I will convert to anything, Im sure nursing schools there will accept me, oh and um my kids and husband can live here and visit on holidays! LOL

 

[1000thhappyhaunt]

Living With the Land is a FASTPASS?!

 

[javamom]

Great going so far. Please clarify for me: they no longer have the bedtime stories, or they just didn't due to the Olympics? My kids are looking forward to the bedtime story.

Thanks!

 

[javamom]

Living With the Land is a FASTPASS?!

See, I just knew that Mel was gonna jump in with that!

I really gotta stop reading all of these trip reports.

 

[javamom]

Ok I just figured out how to make sure that our family can still go to Disney this year.

I can trade my current Pastoral Assistant's job for one with Mark! Mark! Mark! and Co! Then I can just stow my family away in their trunk or maybe lash ourselves to the top of their vehicle?


I always thought my car would look good with Georgia plates. Know any Georgia/Florida churches that need someone that can be their web administrator, graphics guru, video editor, and all around Media Geek? On second thought, I suppose my hubby would probably need a job too, so maybe that wouldn't work (Georgia/Florida have any avionics jobs)? Hey a girl can dream cain't she?

Mickey here we come... eventually....

 

[FSUMARCHIEF]

Great going so far. Please clarify for me: they no longer have the bedtime stories, or they just didn't due to the Olympics? My kids are looking forward to the bedtime story.

Thanks!

They no longer have bedtime stories - at least that's what we were told. I called the front desk when we were there and they said they had stopped doing them a couple weeks before. Major bummer! Wesley loved those things.

Great start babe. Makes me wanna go to Disney. Um, what do we have next weekend? hee hee hee

Blessings!
Mark

PS - I'll work on a report for this trip when I'm:\

A) Not dealing with the flu, or some reasonable facsimile thereof. (Yes, I'm
sick, AGAIN!) Was on a confirmation retreat this weekend with kids from
the church and one of them went home Firday with the flu. Guess who
appears to have it?!

B) Bacheloring it this weekend with Rhonda and Wesley at her parent's

C) Clever enough to come up with more stories to make it entertaining after
the 50th "We rode Peter Pan, then Philharmagic, etc."

D) Able to breathe through my nose.

 

[GADISNEYGIRL]

Living With the Land is a FASTPASS?!

Yeah, crazy stuff, huh?? And you think Maelstrom is bad!!!

 

[GADISNEYGIRL]

Oh, and let me ask you to encourage Mark to write his trip report NOW. He is on 5 different medications. I think it might be amusing!!

 

[babytrees]

Come on Mark!! Right your trip report now....you are funny anyway but I would love to hear about a disney vacation written through a medicinal haze!!

 

[GADISNEYGIRL]

Day 2, Magic Kingdom (Part 1)

Well, even though we don’t have a breakfast ADR now (I’m glad, actually), we still want to make Park Opening, right?? Fortunately (???), this isn’t a problem, as Wesley is awake at 6:30. It’s Disney, folks. This does NOT happen at home. We are not morning people. None of us. Except, MAYBE, at Disney. Mark decides he can’t live without some breakfast, so he walks (yes, he walks, from the Ranchos) to the Main Building (El Centro or something like that?) to get breakfast for him. And he got a biscuit for Wesley. I think Wesley had two bites of the biscuit. I had nothing. I’m not really a breakfast person. Unless it’s after 11am. A black cherry vanilla diet coke, and I was good to go. Out the door at 8:15.

Made it for Park Opening, and it was very crowded. So, where it used to be that we would immediately run to Space Mountain, we now immediately run to Fantastyland. Yes, folks, that’s what having kids will do for you. But I can admit it: I like some of the rides in Fantasyland, too. A little tip for you: Don’t ride Snow White first. Not just because if your kid has never been on it, it may scare them senseless and force you to ride Small World for the duration of your trip to make up for it. No, don’t ride Snow White first because IT will not have as long a line LATER as most of the other Fantasyland rides. Likely because of the aforementioned tendency to scare small children senseless. For whatever reason, Wesley has never really had a problem with it. But anyway, we always try to hit Peter Pan first. Which is what we did on this fine morning. Well, okay, it was a bit cloudy and overcast and slightly chilly (in my estimation, anyway). But any day at WDW is a fine day, is it not?

After our journey to Neverland, we saw PhilharMagic which I’ve said before is something that we all LOVE. I’m not sure which is more fun: watching Wesley, or watching the movie. Of course he does all the normal reaching for things, like most kids (and many adults)~but his goes far beyond that. Even aside from the fact that he truly believes that HE saves Donald from the vortex, or whatever that thing is. (We haven’t pointed out to him that if he DID in fact save Donald, none of the other things would’ve happened.) The best part is at the end, when Mickey comes to “save the day”. Wesley raises his arms just like Mickey does, to restore order. And then he conducts the orchestra. It is awesome. Sorcerer Wesley. I love it! I ask myself every day how I came to be blessed with such an incredible child. The answer is: I have no idea!! But I do know that I am thankful.

We thought we’d see how long Ariel’s line was (didn’t want Daddy to be in withdrawals), but it was long already. So we took a bathroom break. We took a great number of bathroom breaks this trip. See, we’ve learned our lesson!! And we also took an extra change of clothes. Did I mention that we took a lot of bathroom breaks? And that we were not planning to give Wesley a 22oz bottle of ANYTHING to drink? After the potty break, we went to Pooh (even though we had to backtrack to do Snow White~see reason above), then to Snow White.

By now it was about 10 til 10, and we thought we’d head to ToonTown to hopefully not have to wait in a huge queue to see the hotties. There were probably 40 people or so standing there already, so Mark is giving me my marching orders: “I’ll take care of the stroller; you just grab Wesley and GO GO GO for the Princess Room. I’ll catch up.” Yes, doesn’t that sound MAGICAL? GO GO GO for the Princess Room? Once a Commando, always a Commando. Well, that’s not true. I’VE reformed. Mark~not so much. So as we stood there waiting, I was thinking about how cool it was in January when Wesley got to walk through Minnie’s house with Donald. So I say to Mark, “What if Minnie and Donald are standing there again? Wouldn’t that be neat, if he could have that experience again?” Mark’s response was, “We don’t have time for that today. Not if he wants to see the hotties.” I knew he was right~at least about the “if we want to see the hotties” part. They need FPs for the Princess Room! But I still thought he was being a little UNmagical, and too Commando. Well, the rope was dropped, and out of the corner of my eye, I see Minnie and Donald, just standing there, just as they had been the day Wesley got to walk with them. I was weighing my odds. Should I, or should I not, let Wesley run over to them? Mark was far behind, with the stroller. And then I saw two families run up to them, so the opportunity was lost. Well. Mark would be happy, anyway. We can still GO GO GO for the Princess Room, as we were told.

As we approached Goofy’s Barnstormer, GOOFY was standing there! (Do you remember this story from our January trip? Wesley has always wanted to ride the Barnstormer with Goofy, and we tried~without his knowing~to arrange it in January, but it didn’t happen.) So anyway, there’s Goofy, and Wesley says, “Mom, can I PLEASE go give Goofy a hug?” Not Mom, can I please have my picture taken with Goofy (which is what he normally says about EVERY character). So I made a snap decision, and told him sure, to go give Goofy a quick hug. He did…Mark was still far behind, he’d never even know. Except that Goofy then pointed to the BARNSTORMER, then to himself, then to Wesley, “asking” if Wesley wanted to ride with him. I said, “Wesley, do you want to ride with Goofy???” Wesley, of course, DID want to ride with Goofy. Oh, crap, where’s Mark?? (I knew that this would most definitely take precedence over the hotties.) Finally I spot him, yell him over, and try to catch up with Goofy and my son. Mark gets the video camera going, so he taped them walking up the queue together. Then they boarded (in the front, naturally), and Mark and I were behind them. Mark was able to tape the whole ride. I was sooo excited for Wesley~and also terrified. Goofy was, predictably, goofy…and was flailing his arms and such the whole time. Which meant that the only thing holding on to Wesley was…well…nothing. I know he’s a thrill seeker, but he’s still LITTLE! And Mark and I were both hyperventilating, because we always HOLD ON TO HIM on this ride! Thankfully, it is the fastest roller coaster ever. And thankfully, Wesley survived, without falling out or otherwise injuring himself. No thanks to Goofy. But most importantly, one of his Disney Dreams had come true!! He got to ride Goofy’s Barnstormer WITH Goofy!!!

We pondered the whole morning about what made Goofy chose Wesley? Wesley was NOT the first kid in line. He was not even the only kid near Goofy when this happened. There are times (like right now), that I am STILL pondering it. The thing is, it wasn’t just this. CMs notice Wesley. Whether they are characters, photographers, or bathroom sweepers (yes, that happened, too). This is a blessing and a curse. It is a blessing, because it makes for some INCREDIBLE memories, and he is overjoyed with whatever it is that has occurred. It is a curse because HE doesn’t realize how special these things are. He thinks that EVERYBODY gets chosen to ride the Barnstormer with Goofy. He thinks that Captain Hook fights with EVERYBODY during the afternoon parade. He thinks that Wendy yells out EVERYBODY’S name during the parade. He thinks that EVERYBODY gets to play Hatter Says with Alice and the Mad Hatter. He has no idea how much Disney Magic HE has experienced that many people have NEVER experienced. Therefore, in the event that something like this DOESN’T happen to him, he is devastated. More to come on that. But back to Goofy.

So we disembark, and Goofy has some higher-up looking folks waiting for him. Not your standard handlers…these people had on dress shoes and heels. They escorted him to County Bounty, and then we were allowed to go in and see Goofy, Minnie and Donald. Wesley told both Minnie and Donald that he got to ride the Barnstormer with Goofy. They were impressed. I think. How can you tell, really? And he thanked Goofy for riding with him. And by now the Hottie Queue was quite long. So Mark was right. We DIDN’T have time for anything else (like being able to ride the Barnstormer with Goofy), if we wanted to see the hotties. Fortunately, I think Wesley had forgotten all about the hotties. He was still on a Goofy High. I think Mark learned a valuable lesson that day: It is much harder for magic to happen to Commandos!!

Well, Jen had called while we were in County Bounty. Since Mark gets NO signal inside any Disney building, she left a message. So Mark called and left HER a message. We headed for the Haunted Mansion. There was a really great (creepy!) CM in there named Trevor. He had really weird eyes. And he stared at people. Mel, I think you would have liked him. He really added to the atmosphere.

After HM, we finally met up with them in front of the castle. We had never met Sarah Jane, but she was likely going to be spending the day with us, because Jen had to work that afternoon and night, and she didn’t fancy walking all over MK by herself. After a quick stop to buy her a sweatshirt (it WAS chilly that day!), we went back to PhilharMagic. Sarah Jane hadn’t been to Disney in several years, so this was new to her. Jen has seen it countless times~but only twice (this day being number 2) that she had seen it as a “guest”. Just as Wesley does certain things during PhilharMagic, so does Jen. It was great fun, even though I’m sure everyone around us was really annoyed. Or thought we were “special”, and I don’t mean in a good way. But Wesley was getting to do things with Ms Jen, and he was thrilled! So I didn’t really care that people were staring at us. Another dream was to ride Peter Pan with Ms Jen. So we did that, too. I don’t know who had more fun: Wesley, or Jen. By then, it was time for our lunch at LTT, so off we go! None of us had ever had lunch there, and it was very good. Much better (we thought) than their dinner. Wesley drank all of his orange soda. How’d that happen? Thankfully, it wasn’t 22oz worth~but it was enough. So we had another potty break. But after that, Jen had to go to work. She had extrapolated a promise from Wesley that he would take a nap for her, so he could stay at the MK all day and all night~til she got off work. Hey, anything for Ms Jen!

We head over to PoC, as we had told him we’d ride ONE ride before he had to get his nap. He had PROMISED Ms Jen, remember? So he chose PoC. Sarah Jane was very friendly and talkative, and we didn’t have to wait long. Does everyone remember that we had JUST taken a potty break? Because about the time we go under the stinky foot/hairy leg, Wesley decides that he has to GO, again. And then, wouldn’t you know it, the ride stops. Uuuuuuuggggggggggghhhhhhh!!!! Is this a déjà vu nightmare??? We talked him through it. “You can do it, you’re a big boy, it won’t be much longer now, you can hold it, you’re doing great…” Finally, FINALLY, we disembark. And he made it. Thank goodness. Then he was soooo proud of himself. “Mom, I didn’t pee in my pants on PoC!” Way to go, son. We were all rooting for you!

 

[IlluminationsUK]

Great report, I am really enjoying it! And "YEAH" for Wesley managing to hold it!!!

 

[tammyandtommy]

yeah wesley! Hes getting to be a big boy mommy!

 

[DVCTiff]

Oh my gosh - you guys are the cutest family EVER!!!

Of course Wesley gets special treatment - he's beyond ADORABLE!

Can't wait to read the rest!

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Thanks for another great chapter in your family's life in WDW. I think we should have a sub trip report board where your familys and 1000thhappyhaunt just write trip reports for all of us to read. Tell Mark to make sure he's washing his hands and drinking pleanty of OJ.

 

[GADISNEYGIRL]

Tell Mark to make sure he's washing his hands and drinking pleanty of OJ.

Yeah, well he IS, NOW! Now that it's too late. He is supposed to do that DAILY, so I (okay, we) don't have to shell out a $30 dr visit copay and $85 in medicine every 3 weeks. Wesley and I wash our hands all the time, drink our OJ and take our vitamins every day. WE aren't getting sick every 3 weeks. Coincidence? I think not!!

 

[GADISNEYGIRL]

Day 2, Part 2

Thank goodness THAT turned out alright. He doesn’t care so much about Colleen knowing he had an accident. Or two. But Sarah Jane~well, she’s a STRANGER. That would have been traumatic. And as I was recalling how upset his daddy was the last time it happened…Wesley didn’t know HOW traumatic it could have been. So now it is definitely nap time. The plan was for me and Sarah Jane to ride Space Mountain while Mark pushed the stroller around and Wesley went to sleep. Can you believe it? It actually happened that way! Can you believe it? I’ve ridden Space Mountain two trips in a row! I should insert here that when we rode it with Candace on our early February trip, we both (meaning me and Mark; Candace had never ridden it before, and she thought it was great) thought something was wrong. I mean, it wasn’t fast. It wasn’t even exciting. It wasn’t even…The Barnstormer. And that’s saying something. So now, after having ridden it again, just two weeks later… I think something WAS wrong. Because this last time it was much more satisfactory. And get this~Sarah Jane’s dad called as we were taking off. Mark doesn’t even get a SIGNAL inside ANY Disney building. And she’s carrying on a phone conversation as we’re being launched into outer space. I wonder what cellular service she uses?? Oh, and did I mention that we had, basically, unlimited FPs? Yep, it’s nice to be friends with a CM! Too bad she’s not there anymore…we could get used to this kind of treatment!

We return to Earth, and come out to find that Wesley has, indeed, gone to sleep. Only for Ms. Jen. You do realize that, right? If Mommy or Daddy had begged, no way. Ms. Jen says, “Do it for me”~he’s all over it. Have I mentioned that we’ve begged her to move in with us and be Wesley’s nanny? She declined when we told her it would be for room and board only…and lots and lots of love… but we can still dream, can’t we? I’m thinking it was close to 2pm…which means (unless you are one of those rude, wait-til-the-last-minute-I-don’t-care-if-you’ve-been-saving-this-spot-for-an-hour-I-still-want-a-front-row-seat-for-the-parade people) that it was time to stake our spot for the parade. Mark always volunteers to do this. Sometimes I think it’s really sweet. Other times, I think he just wants to sit down and let me go entertain Wesley by myself for an hour. This time, since Wesley was asleep, I’m thinking it was because he felt weird going off with Sarah Jane by himself, since we barely knew her. And because he wanted to sit down. Sarah Jane and I go off to brave Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Had about a 20 minute wait, even with FPs. By the time we were done, it was time to go claim our seats for the parade. I finally woke Wesley up right at 3, so by the time the parade got to us, he would be somewhat alert. As usual, he got a lot of attention. STILL trying to figure that out!! Especially from Peter, Wendy (and no, it wasn’t OUR Wendy), Hook and Smee. Princess Aurora and Prince Phillip were waving to him and also to Sarah Jane (Aurora is her favorite princess, too), and Belle must have remembered him from the last time we were there. Also a lot of interaction with Chip, Friar Tuck…oh, who else was on our side of the street? Pretty much they ALL interacted with him.

Alrighty, so the parade’s over, and Wesley is ready to RIDE something! But first we made another bathroom stop. Remember, he drank his entire soda at lunch. I mean, it was probably only 8oz or so, but we’re not taking any chances. Off to ride Big Thunder Mountain~all of us. Mark and Wesley rode together, and Sarah Jane and I rode together. The whole Mark-feeling-uncomfortable-riding-with-a-female-teenager-he-doesn’t-know thing. I can respect that. I can even be grateful for that!! He hates going into Victoria’s Secret by himself. He hates going to see the hotties by himself. Well, he doesn’t hate it, really, but it makes him feel like a pervert. He hates riding rides with strange under-age girls. And, he CANNOT, under any circumstances, cover his tracks. He can buy a biscuit from McDonald’s, and three weeks later, I will somehow find out about it. He will never cheat on me. There’s no way possible. I would be on him in about 27 seconds. And he knows it. It’s a good thing he’s a preacher. The espionage thing would NEVER work for him. Too bad, because I LOVE James Bond. Sean Connery, Roger Moore… not so much Timothy Dalton, and definitely not that George Lazenby… but the other two… My Oh My! Right, so back to our story. We rode BTMRR. And then decided to tackle Splash Mountain. We have PONCHOS! Yes, we’re weird that way. Sorry, not walking around MK (or anywhere else at Disney) with wet jeans. I did that at Six Flags once, when I was in high school. I can assure you, I NEVER did it again. And never will. Like you wanted to know that. I may be wrong here, but I THINK we went to the bathroom again. And then we got in line for Splash Mountain. We were there. I mean, it was OUR TURN TO BOARD. And Wesley said he had to go to the bathroom again. Well, we know what that means! As I mentioned, we have learned our lesson! So Mark took him off to the bathroom. Sarah Jane and I rode. We had ponchos! We didn’t get wet!! Met Mark and Wesley outside of the bathroom. Where Wesley did, indeed, have to go. Good thing we listened. Cause that is a LOOOONNNNGGG ride. Don’t we know it! But he still wanted to go on the ride, because we kept telling him (after last trip) “If you need to go to the bathroom, just TELL us! We can always go on the ride after that!” So we felt obligated to take him on the ride. Fortunately, because Mark had explained to the CM what was going on, she had given him something like a get-back-in-line-free card. So we all rode again. We didn’t get wet. Again. Because we had ponchos! In July, it might be “cool” to get wet. In February, it’s not. Trust me.

We had it on good authority that Jen would be appearing in the Hoedown in Frontierland. Okay, okay, okay! JEN had told us she’d be doing it!! But she wasn’t clear on the time. And neither was anyone in Frontierland. So by the time we got off Splash Mountain for the second time, the Hoedown was already going on. To be quite honest, I don’t think we missed much. But SHE was in, so we were THERE! Wesley wanted to see Br’er Rabbit. But Br’er Rabbit didn’t see him. So we had kind of a mini depression thing going on: But I wanted to SEE him! Now remember, he’s been up since 6:30, with only an hour nap, and it’s now close to 5. And also remember that he thinks the characters LIVE to associate with him. With everyone. And he does NOT know that they get paid. Oh, dear Lord, PLEASE don’t tell him it’s a JOB to them!!! He understands that the characters are pretend. This, he came to grips with the week prior to our early February trip. Which turned out to be, we think, a God Thing, because that’s when we actually met Jen as…well…Jen. He had actually been questioning the “fur” characters for quite a while. As in: “If he’s the REAL Mickey Mouse, why can’t he talk to me?” But anyway, he thinks it is REALLY, REALLY COOL that Ms Jen gets to “pretend” to be different characters. Just like he “pretends” to be Prince Phillip. Or Peter Pan. Or Captain Hook. That part he gets. The getting paid to entertain little ones like himself…not so much. And the other thing is~he REALLY believes in the actual character. As in: Of course I can’t meet the REAL Peter Pan…he’s in Neverland, with the Lost Boys! So it’s all been good. And he still wants to meet them all, and hug them all, and take pictures with them all… would you like to know, exactly, how many Disney pictures we have stored on our computer? More than you (or anyone) would ever, ever want to see. I promise.

So. We get a grip, and make a new plan. Mark (who has overcome his fear, after spending 7 or so hours with Sarah Jane) and Sarah Jane go to ride Space Mountain. Wesley and I go to reserve our seats for Cinderellabration. Being that I’m observant (NOT a stalker), I am fairly confident that MY Beast Prince will not be appearing. I am pretty certain (due to my keen observation) that he only works Sunday-Thursday. And this, of course, was Friday. *(&@#)^*(@$ But we still wanted to see it. And Sarah Jane had NEVER seen it. So Wesley and I held our place. He didn’t even have to go to the bathroom this time! But the show started…and no Mark and Sarah Jane! I decided they must have ridden twice. After all, Mark is the keeper of the unlimited FPs! They finally turned up, about halfway through. And no, they hadn’t ridden twice. Just got stuck in a very long FP line. And no, my Prince did NOT appear. But Belle (who happens to like Wesley quite a lot, did you read my January report??) was very attentive, as always. To Wesley. Not to me. So Cinderellabration ended, and it was sprinkling. And we were to meet Jen soon, for dinner.