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

[Minniespal]

Great ~ Thanx for sharing

 

[GADISNEYGIRL]

Day 2, Part 3

We were meeting Jen at Pecos Bill’s a little after 6. Now to me, this is prime dinner time. Plus, it had started sprinkling, as I mentioned. So I figured it would be packed. Wesley and I went and found a table, while the others ordered the food. But there were plenty of tables available. First time I’ve ever seen it that way there! While we were waiting, Wesley needed to go to the bathroom. Again. We were seated right next to the bathrooms, so I took a chance, left our stuff on the table, ran him to the restroom, and came back to find our stuff still there. Whew!

Mark and the girls show up with our food, and Wesley gets to sit by Ms Jen. Who actually manages to make him stay on his seat and eat most of his dinner. We do a little more begging, offering to maybe throw in a little allowance for her. She turns us down flat. Not because she doesn’t want to be Wesley’s nanny…but because sadly, she, like us, has lots of bills to pay. Student loans, that kind of thing. PRAISE GOD, we only have 1 more year to pay on those darn things!!! Isn’t it awful that seminary costs as much as medical school? So anyway, her answer is still no. Dinner was fine. I really like that cheese sauce on my fries.

After dinner, she went back to work. The rest of us go ride Haunted Mansion. Wesley wanted to ride with Sarah Jane, not with us! We hadn’t done Small World yet, and Sarah Jane was curious to see it since the rehab. So that’s where we went next. But I think we had a bathroom stop beforehand, just in case! He again rode with Sarah Jane. (He again was excited and let us know: Guess what! I didn’t poopy in my pants on Small World!) We thought we’d see how long Ariel’s line was and then get a parade spot for Spectro. Ariel’s line was long. As usual. We skipped it. So we were thinking that where we were for the afternoon parade would be good again. Mark would take the stroller and go save our spot. Sarah Jane and I would take Wesley to ride Buzz Lightyear. Mark’s phone battery was almost dead, so Jen was now calling Sarah Jane with any info we needed. Like which side of the street we should sit on for Spectro. And it wasn’t the same side we were on for Share a Dream Come True. New plan: Sarah Jane and Wesley will go defeat Zurg, I’ll go tell Mark to switch sides. I’ll meet them in front of Buzz in a few. Mark switches sides, I go to meet them.

Okay, something is wrong. This doesn’t feel right. I walked into the store at the end of the ride…you know, where you view the pictures. The only people there were the CMs. There was no one coming off the ride. What is this, like some sort of Twilight Zone Buzz Lightyear thing going on? I walked back outside to see if they were waiting for me there. Nope. Should I panic? I mean, I DID entrust my only child to a girl I’ve never seen before in my life, until today. Likely not the smartest parenting decision ever made. I finally asked the girl standing by the screens (to write down the number of your photo) what was going on. Oh, I don’t know, she says breezily. This happens sometimes. Oh, really? So this is normal? So I shouldn’t panic that my 4 yr old is with a STRANGER and they aren’t coming off of this ride? She didn’t seem worried at all. Maybe I shouldn’t be. Finally, people start coming off. But not them. And by now, enough time has passed that they SHOULD be off. I started to panic again. And then, there they were!! I was relieved! But I didn’t want to act TOO relieved. After all, Sarah Jane didn’t know I had suspected her of…well, anything. Turns out, the ride stopped right before they got on. So they were standing there waiting the whole time, not actually ON the ride. And then they were the first ones on when they got the problem fixed. That’s why it took them longer. They hadn’t seen me standing there yet, and Sarah Jane picked him up so he could see their photo. Then they spotted me, and I told them we needed to hurry, because the parade would start soon. She didn’t put Wesley down. I said, Wesley, you can walk, don’t make her carry you! But SHE said, Oh, I don’t mind at all, he’s so cuddly! Well, cuddly he may be, but he still weighs close to 40 lbs, and we had to walk halfway across the park. She carried him, the whole way. And didn’t even gasp for breath. Ahhhh, youth…

We made it back to Mark, and HE was panicking, because we weren’t there yet, his “neighbors” were being awfully friendly (read: moving in on our territory) and the parade was only 10 minutes or so away. He can give you more details about all of that. In fact, I’m pretty sure he will. He wasn’t very happy with them. And neither was I, because one of the kids kept climbing over me to run to the other side of the street, then back, to climb over me once more. It was like a game for her. It was more like an annoyance, to me. She finally stopped (because she had to) when the parade started. It was nice, but I do like the afternoon parade better. Some of the characters, I just don’t get. The Three Little Pigs? And why are they in front of Cinderella, as if they are part of her story? There are so many well known Disney characters… why them? And why are Ariel, Cindy and Snow White the only princesses to appear? Why not Aurora, Jasmine, Belle… how about Mulan? Or Pocahontas? Anyway.

Wesley likes Spectro because Peter Pan is WALKING. But this night, he was WALKING on the other side of the street. He was well past us when he finally crossed to our side. Wesley was devastated. But Peter didn’t see me! But I wanted to tell him hi! But why didn’t he look at me? It was 9:30 by now, and I knew he was worn out. And Peter IS his favorite (along with Aurora and Phillip), and we HADN’T seen him, other than in the afternoon parade… Oh, and guess what? Halfway through the parade, Wesley claimed he needed to go. Again. Then he decided he could hold it til the parade was over. So first stop after the parade was the restroom.

Sarah Jane wanted to see Wishes, but I knew Wesley was really wanting to see more characters. Mark and Sarah Jane decided to settle down for the fireworks, while I took Wesley to County Bounty. Remember, the last place we went was the bathroom. But when we got to Toon Town, he needed to go again. And he had not had THAT much to drink since lunch. Just a couple of juice boxes. So we get in line for the princesses. I mean, the hotties. There were only two other families there. But it was taking them a really long time to come let us back there. And Wesley thinks he needs to go AGAIN. We left the line, and went back to the bathroom. He’s peeing like ½ a teaspoon. But I guess he’s just gun shy after that last trip. Well, better safe than sorry, right? Back to the line. We finally got in, and guess who was there? Princess Minnie! Cool, we’ve never seen her before! He was so excited to see her, he did his bowing/hand kissing thing. He is so incredibly cute!! (I don’t care who you are, he is!!) Snow White was also there, and she gave Wesley a big kiss. She was a little jealous that he did his special thing for Minnie, and not for her. She and I together finally coerced him into it. His heart wasn’t in it, though, not like it was for Minnie! (If any of you have read ALL of my trip reports, you may recall that Minnie was Wesley's first love at Disney World, when he was only 18 months old. She still holds a special place in his~in ALL of our~hearts. )

There was no wait, so I asked if we could go into the other room to see Goofy, Donald, and whoever else was there. But the lady said no, we had to walk around. And we did. To see Goofy, Donald and Alice. When we left there, a CM standing near the exit said, Oh, I just sent your family to the bathrooms looking for you! (She had seen us come out the first time, but didn’t realize we’d gone back in the other room.) Fortunately, I spotted Mark walking away, so I called to him. He said that the CM told him I had asked her directions to the bathroom. He was pretty sure that wasn’t me, because, after all, WE know where every single bathroom in the MK is. Sarah Jane was disappointed because Tink didn’t fly (too windy). She hadn’t seen any characters yet, so we tried to get back in the Princess room. They’d already closed the line, though. So there really wasn’t much else to do except go get a spot for the 11pm Spectro.

Why were we seeing both parades? Well, because it was Jen’s last one, of course! The park had really cleared out, so Mark thought he’d ask to see if we could sit in the VIP section. They said we could! The funny thing is, we probably would’ve gotten more attention if we HADN’T. There was NO ONE waiting to see the parade! But probably 15 or so in the VIP section. Before the parade, guess who needed to go to the bathroom? Mark took him to the bathroom. And while he was gone, I discovered that we were sitting in the VIP section with someone we KNEW. I mean, we aren’t really friends with him or anything, but he is another pastor in South Georgia. And they had also just asked if they could sit in the VIP section. What are the odds of that happening? So when Mark and Wesley got back, the two preachers talked church. I worked on keeping Wesley awake. He was soooo very tired. And he had been very, very good all day. But he was in for more disappointment. Peter wasn’t even IN the parade this time. (We hear he had injured himself in some way during the earlier parade.) However, King Triton waved at him, which thrilled him, because that has never happened before.

Once the parade was over, all we could do was join the masses on Main Street. We browsed in the shops a bit, just waiting for Jen. She would be done around midnight, she thought. Once the shops closed, we just sat out in front of the Confectionery. Had a nice chat with one of the security guards. And waited. And waited. And waited some more. We forgot, being that it was her last work day, that she’d have to do things like clean out her locker. She finally came out about 12:30. Wesley, shockingly, was still awake. She was so excited, she cried. She couldn’t believe he had waited up for her. And yes, that is truly what he did: Waited up to see Ms Jen, to tell her good night. It was sheer will on his part.

We had to wait for a monorail, and while we waited, she gave Wesley a book. It’s one of those Disney collection storybooks. She told him she wanted him to have all the characters sign it, on their respective pages. Once the monorail arrived, she went through the book and signed all of “her” characters for him. But in the very front, she signed: To Wesley Pan, my favorite Lost Boy. Always believe. Love, Wendy Darling. It still makes me want to cry, every time I read it.

***And since she officially no longer works for Disney , I can now tell you that Jen was OUR Wendy.***

The three of us departed the monorail at the TTC. The other two were continuing on to an undisclosed location, where Jen had parked her car. (She couldn’t park in the cast lot, because Sarah Jane was with her.) We said our good nights and made plans to meet the next day. Oh wait. It IS the next day. It’s nearly 1am.

We boarded the last tram of the “evening”, where we were congratulated (along with the other two families on board) for being the very last three cars in the entire MK parking lot. What distinction!! Open to close, go go go, advance, advance~that’s us. And Wesley did it all on only 7.5 hours of sleep the previous night and a one hour nap. Truly remarkable. (NOTE: I do not recommend this for most children, but it seems to work for him. Only at Disney, though!) We were in the room around 1:30. I think he drifted off around 2. Would have been sooner, but he was too interested in his new book. We looked forward to sleeping in on Saturday.

 

[Grendalynn]

Day 2, Magic Kingdom (Part 1)

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.

This raises the question again that I have and have asked on other threads...

Do you think that so many or (just plain) many trips to WDW desensitizes children? I have read quite a few posts lately that states something like "DS12 doesnt wasnt to go to disney again" or "DD refuses to go to WDW on another vacation"... This leads me to believe that so many trips to Disney can make it not so exciteing or magical as it would be if you/we were to go every 2 or 3 years. I would love to go every year, but it just seems so 1)expensive and 2) over indulgent?

We will certainly be taking family vacations every year, and they will probably not seem as entertaining and full of things to do as when we are at WDW. But I guess it will give us things to look forward to for the years we do decide to go to the "Kingdom"! At least we won't leave those vacations exausted and ready for another vacation from our vacation!

What do all you readers and posters, especially GADISNEYGIRL, think of the above question? Thanks so much...

And can I just say - that reading your trip reports make me want to go to WDW SO badly! I seem to be obsessed with Disney these days and this just tops it off! But with Baby#3 on the way, I dont think we will be going for a little while... December/January hopefully!

 

[Grendalynn]

Please don't think I am a "Debbie The Downer" for asking my previous post questions... I have no negative spin on the whole thing, I am just curiouos to know what others think! I want to do my best to keep our Disney Vacations and experiences as special as possible as you all do. But with a young family I would love to learn the life lessons that others have learned!

 

[GADISNEYGIRL]

This raises the question again that I have and have asked on other threads...

Do you think that so many or (just plain) many trips to WDW desensitizes children? I have read quite a few posts lately that states something like "DS12 doesnt wasnt to go to disney again" or "DD refuses to go to WDW on another vacation"... This leads me to believe that so many trips to Disney can make it not so exciteing or magical as it would be if you/we were to go every 2 or 3 years. I would love to go every year, but it just seems so 1)expensive and 2) over indulgent?

We will certainly be taking family vacations every year, and they will probably not seem as entertaining and full of things to do as when we are at WDW. But I guess it will give us things to look forward to for the years we do decide to go to the "Kingdom"! At least we won't leave those vacations exausted and ready for another vacation from our vacation!

What do all you readers and posters, especially GADISNEYGIRL, think of the above question? Thanks so much...

And can I just say - that reading your trip reports make me want to go to WDW SO badly! I seem to be obsessed with Disney these days and this just tops it off! But with Baby#3 on the way, I dont think we will be going for a little while... December/January hopefully!

I'd have to say this is hard to judge in "general". It is different for every family. Wesley has been 12 times in 3 years. He still loves it. It will change as he gets older... eventually he'll be more interested in riding Rock n' Roller Coaster (and also, he'll be tall enough then!) than in having his picture made with the characters. Or even in seeing the parades. And that's okay. When he's 12, he may want to go to Disney Quest. Or the water parks~things that we don't do now. After all, the trips are MUCH different than the ones we took before he came along... and we loved those, and we love these. We've been about 30 times, and WE still love it just as much~maybe even MORE~than we did in the beginning. And we don't plan to ONLY vacation at Disney for Wesley's whole life. But he's a little young to really appreciate the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Niagara Falls, DC... we'll do those things when he gets older.

As for the question of expense and extravagance... I think it's more an issue of priorities. We cut back on other things so that we can go to Disney. We don't buy extravagant gifts that will never be played with... we don't have elaborate birthday parties... We don't do a lot of things that other families do that I consider extravagant... we save our money and go to Disney. For now, that works for us!

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Thanks for another great post. My Wife and myself also love going to WDW as much as we can. There is just something so special once you get there. We always fly down and then we don't have to do any driving once we get there we just have to relax at our favorite vacation place. I just wish we lived closer like you so we could make more use out of our annual pass. The way you write your stories, I can just picture Wesley enjoying himself in the parks and how everything is just so special for him. It brings back memories of when our kids were young and our special visits to WDW. Have you ever been able to go around the Christmas holidays, it is so special at WDW during the holiday season. It is so neat to find out that Jan was your special Wendy. Thanks again for the wonderful reports.

 

[byoung]

Thanks for reporting.

 

[javamom]

But in the very front, she signed: To Wesley Pan, my favorite Lost Boy. Always believe. Love, Wendy Darling. It still makes me want to cry, every time I read it.

***And since she officially no longer works for Disney , I can now tell you that Jen was OUR Wendy.***

*sniff* man, you just had to make me cry! That is very special, good for you Wesley

 

[GADISNEYGIRL]

Have you ever been able to go around the Christmas holidays, it is so special at WDW during the holiday season. It is so neat to find out that Jan was your special Wendy. Thanks again for the wonderful reports.

Yep, we've been at Christmas time! Love it then, too. About the only time I don't love it is July-ish. Too hot and crowded. Otherwise~I'm in!!

And guess what!! I'm in the midst of planning another trip! In May. With one of my best friends. Without Mark. (GASP!!!) And maybe without Wesley, but I'm not sure yet. But I'm excited!

 

[GADISNEYGIRL]

Day 3

We had a lunch ADR at San Angel Inn at 11:30. Our PLAN was to get up at 8 or so and be at Epcot at opening time. Of course, that was the plan BEFORE we stayed up until 2am. So we decided sleeping in was a much better option. We all woke up around 9, and housekeeping was knocking on the door shortly thereafter. We told them to give us an hour.

Even though we had part of the day to spend at a park, it is still always so depressing to have to pack up and leave your hotel. Or at least it is for us. But we got everything packed up, Mark moved the car (he had to park about a mile away the night~morning?~before), and we got everything loaded. Talked to Jen on our way to Epcot, she said they were up and would probably be about an hour behind us. She’d call when they arrived.

Being that we were so late arriving, we had to park farther away than I think we’ve ever parked at Epcot. We didn’t wait on a tram, though. Just walked. And promptly forgot about canceling our lunch ADR, which we had intended to do. I still feel guilty.

First things first: Fast Passes. For something. We decide on Test Track, because it was closed when we were here in January and early February, so Wesley has never ridden it. Wesley has still never ridden it. Test Track was down. There’s a big surprise, huh? Well, while Mark went on the FP quest, Wesley and I went to Character Connection. Saw the standard crew. Except that Minnie went to check on Figaro right before our turn, and we got stuck with Stitch, instead. I don’t much like Stitch. Even if the one in the parks is cuter, furrier and not as obnoxious as the one who calls your room~or the cartoon version. So while we’re in CC, Mark comes in with the news that TT is down. Well, what are you waiting for? Hoof it over to Soarin’ and get us some FPs, Baby!! He does. As we departed CC, Jen called. They were parking, and would meet us at the board. We went to ride Figment, then went to meet up with them.

Mark was starving. This isn’t unusual. He’s always starving. But Jen was starving, too. She hadn’t eaten since our Pecos Bill’s dinner the night before. Mark was secretly relieved. No he wasn’t. He was outright relieved. He suggested Tangier… I mean… France. Because Jen had never eaten at Tangieri… umm… France… before. Oh, forget it, we decided to eat at Tangierine Café! Sarah Jane wasn’t so sure. She’d already told us she wasn’t an adventurous eater. We trekked around the WS, not even stopping in Canada, UK (except for Jen to hopscotch) or France. Wesley and I got our table, the others went to get food. Mark and I always have the same thing: vegetarian platter for me; combo platter with a side of lentil salad for him. And I requested water, which I would share with Wesley.

Wesley and I sat outside, enjoying the sunshine. He looked through his book, which we had brought along, to start collecting signatures. It didn’t take too long for them to arrive with the food. I think Jen got the combo platter too. Sarah Jane had a hamburger. Wesley had an Uncrustables. That’s what he eats when we’re having counter service. And we don’t pay $5 for them, either. Nope, we bring them with us. But because I’m such a nice mommy, I always share my olives with him. And this time, I made the mistake of sharing them with him BEFORE he had water. So when he had water, he deposited some olive floaties in it. Mmmm, right?? I decided I would go thirsty.

We do a lot of backtracking in World Showcase. It’s one of our charms. This time was no different. Jen wanted to buy some things in France. So back we went. While there, we decided to check the time that Aurora would be out. Done in France (for now), we head back to Morocco where we see that Jasmine is out! Out comes the book, and we borrow a Sharpie from the handler. We took lots of pictures of her with Wesley, the girls, Wesley and the girls… And then we notice that Aurora and Belle are in France. Well, what would YOU do? We went back to France, of course.

Wesley had a great experience with Aurora. With a lot of encouragement from Ms Jen, he did his bowing/hand kissing thing. (Everyone in line oohed and aahed. Dang, he’s a cutie!!!) Aurora was very much impressed, as of course she should be. Did I mention how cute he is?? And she told Wesley that Prince Phillip was off riding horses. I know, Wesley said, very seriously. He’s riding Samson. Well! She couldn’t believe Wesley knew about Samson. I wish these people would believe us when we tell them how many times he has seen their movies. He knows more about the characters than THEY do. In one of the pictures with Jen and Aurora, Jen is posed exactly the same way that Aurora is: the Princess Pose. It’s really funny. Once a CM, always a CM, huh? Aurora signed his book, gave him a kiss, and we moved over to Belle. Only it was…Aurora. An Aurora we’d seen in January. The one he danced with, in fact. So we had a hard time seeing her as Belle. She signed his book, too. She was much better as Aurora. But who are we to say? (Although Jen agreed with us, and she actually knew the girl.)

Time is getting away from us, and this was supposed to be a THRILL DAY for Jen and Sarah Jane. So we need to get busy so they can hit AK and MGM, too. Jen made us all stop for Kaki Gori in Japan. I’m not a big snow cone fan, so I can’t really comment on them. I tried it, and that was enough for me. Mark liked it well enough. Wesley really liked it. Mark did buy me another water, though. A floatie-free water. I was grateful. In America, we stopped for more shopping. The girls bought the Olympic jackets they had. They were very nice. But I didn’t plan on spending $100 on a single item of clothing! At least, not at WDW.

We paused in Germany to see Dopey. Someone in front of us asked if Dopey talked. His handler replied, “Only in the movie.” To which Wesley replied, “No he doesn’t. He doesn’t talk in the movie. The dwarfs tell Snow White ‘he don’t know if he can talk, cause he never tried’.” Wesley is right. The handler was wrong. Sad, huh, that my son knows more about the characters than the people Disney PAYS.

We considered riding Maelstrom, but it was a 20 minute wait, and we knew the girls were in a hurry. Wesley was distraught, but consented to riding El Rio del Tiempo with Ms Jen instead. Then we walked back to Future World.

And then it was time to say good bye to Jen and Sarah Jane. It WAS sad, to know that next time we go to WDW, Jen won’t be there. But Wesley didn’t cry, I was very proud of him. I didn’t cry, either, and I was very proud of me! So we took a few more pictures, and gave a few more hugs, and parted ways.

We were off to have our Disney Visa picture made, and then use our Soarin’ FPs (Jen didn’t have any FPs good for Epcot attractions, darn it!!), and Wesley really, really likes that. I think he feels like a big boy when he rides it. I like it, too. And I think it’s growing on Mark. We both like it better than Test Track, at any rate.

Then we went back to World Showcase (it is now like 3, and we were planning to LEAVE at 3). Why? Because Mark decided that he didn’t WANT Earl of Sandwich for the drive home. Which, to me, is worse than not wanting Krystal on a road trip after 7 ½ years of them. So we were getting to go plates from WS. Tangierine Café for him, Cantina de San Angel for me. That took a while, especially since we stopped to see the Pooh characters and Mary Poppins in UK. And The Genie in Morocco. And then I had to stop and buy a few pins.

And THEN we had to go pick up our Visa picture. Which took about 6 years. I think they were having some computer troubles. And the man behind us was trying to sneakily edge his way past us. But we knew what he was up to. We are very adept at not letting people sneak past us. Whether we’re staking a parade spot, or waiting in lines. So then he tried to start a conversation. Ha. He wasn’t fooling us! He was asking how many pictures you could get on a card, because one of the ladies already at the counter had something like 79. We didn’t tell him that we had managed to secure one in January with over 300 photos. Thought he might have apoplexy. At last it was our turn, and it took us about 2 minutes to pick a photo and leave.

We had promised Wesley that we would ride Spaceship Earth on the way out. So we did, even though it was now after 4pm. We did the ride, collected the stroller, and headed out. It was depressing. But you all know how that feels.

Got in the car, stopped for gas, contemplated staying another night and driving home EARLY (like 3am). I vetoed the idea. Mark really wanted to. I thought he was nuts. He thought I was a spoilsport. We drove home. Through a lot of rain. Arrived about 10:30. And, sadly, that was it.

And even though we have APs, and I KNOW we will be back again this year, it’s depressing to not have a trip in the works. Okay, okay. I DO have one in the works. But it will be without Mark. So it’s not like we can say, “WE are going back to WDW in such and such a month.”

Well, that’s the end. Now I don’t want anyone to worry, after all, we’re not the Whirlwind Trippers for nothing! So until next time… Have a magical day!

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Planning another trip, your getting a lot of trips out of your annual pass. I know what you mean about July at WDW. It's way too hot and crowded then. We went in August on our first trip to Disney and I will never make that mistake again. It was so hot and crowded. So now we go during the fall and winter months.