Too many kids for Disney? We're here!!!!!!

[estherhead]

It is early & I've already been awake for two hours. Why? Because just like the Disney commercials, "I'm too excited to sleep!" We leave for Yellowstone today. Well, actually 24 hours from now. We leave at 4 am tomorrow. But still.

I am not packed AT ALL. Our van, which we are taking, is completely trashed. Our finances are a bit in shambles as I've been having banking problems: or should I say the bank has utterly messed up my finances & I've been fighting all week to fix it. So when the call of nature called me at 4 am, I simply could not get back to sleep.

Suzy & I are planning a wedding (wedding coordinating is our hobby) 10 days after I get back from Yellowstone & we spent all day Wednesday meeting with the couple & trying to work out details, ordering flowers, etc. It is completely stressing me out as it's not done so I'll have to take all the plans with me.

Also, Suzy & I are the new vice-president (me) and treasurer (her) at our dad's company. He is semi-retired as of February & she and I are being groomed to take over the company. It really has been quite a bit more work than I anticipated. Why I didn't know that it would be, I'm not sure, since I grew up in the business & knew how much my parents stressed. But hiring & firing people, giving raises (or not giving raises), having meetings where we tell people they aren't doing a good job & could ruin us all, etc. is a bit stressful, ya know? I realize I'm 34, but I still feel 25. And 25 years old is simply to young to be in such a position of responsibility.

Plus, I'm taking my 17 month old on a 2800 mile road trip.

Did I mention the 17 month old and the road trip?

Anyway, yesterday I was more than a bit stressed about the week. Planning, planning, planning! Stress, stress, stress! So what do you think I did to calm down? Planned my Disney trip, of course! Duh!

Here's what happened. Suzy & I were testing a recipe for the wedding on Wednesday night when my cell phone rang. The caller ID said, "Disney." I was soooo excited! Disney is calling me. Yippee!

Unfortunately, it was to cancel one of our most anticipated meals: a lunch with Chip & Dale at the Garden Grill. This was the one meal McQueen was most looking forward to. He really wanted to play with Chip & Dale. And the thing about McQueen is, he doesn't forget his disappointment. If he truly had been diappointed, he would still remember that disappointment in November. McQueen simply does not forget anything. Instead he gets all the details wrong of whatever you tell him (he is four, after all) and then remembers the incorrect information forever.

So it was imperitive that McQueen be made happy. And unfortunately, we like to show our kids stuff on youtube so they are pretty familiar with what we are going to be doing, or in this case suddenly not doing. Suzy didn't think not eating with Chip & Dale was an option & wanted to take the easy deal which would be to eat dinner with Chip & Dale. But I had to be all difficult & say I didn't want to spend that much money on a now crowded with all the cancelled lunch people character meal. So instead, I wasted lots & lots of time yesterday researching new plans. And here they are:

27th Thursday -

Arrive in Orlando at 10 a.m.
Pick up rental car
Go to Blizzard Beach
Go shopping at Wal-Mart for supplies
Check into house & explore!

Friday – MK for a few hours till way too busy.

Enjoy our club pool & castle playground
Grill out steak & shrimp & baked potatoes

Go back to MK for Wishes (9pm) followed by Spectro (10pm)

Saturday - AM AK by 8 am for rope drop
mid morning Tusker House breakfast

Sunday – Blizzard Beach AM
Disneyquest. PM

Monday - All day DHS - lunch at Sci-Fi - Fantasmic at 6:30pm Pizza Planet to go on way to Fantasmic

Tuesday – MK & hop wherever we want

Wednesday - AM Epcot

Thursday - AM off
PM Epcot For lunch Rose & Crown, watch Illuminations

Fri - Blizzard Beach
PM off

We decided to do a Tusker House breakfast with Mickey instead of Chip & Dale at the Garden Grill. McQueen took the news well & said, "Mickey is my favorite anyhow." So all is well with the world again. But I certainly won't get as excited next time I see Disney on my caller ID!

We also decided not to buy any t-shirts off the $4.99 sale as we think we'll all be happier buying our own style shirt & just adding the iron-ons to it. You'll have to wait until post-Yellowstone, post-wedding, post-1st Disney trip for an update on that since there will be no time to make any shirts anytime soon! But I promise to post photos.

Finally, we decided that our families would be OK if we schedule this trip in 15 minute increments. I realize to some this seems extreme, but we're talking 7 kids here. And Suzy & I know the parks so well, we feel we can do this & still allow time to look at stores & relax & potty breaks, etc. So we still have planning to look forward to.

Which brings me back to today & the fact that I can't go to Disney until I go to Yellowstone & I can't go to Yellowstone if I'm on the Disboards planning a trip to Disney.

 

[Alysa]

How could I not check a pre-trip with Mr. Blandings in the title?
That cake was AMAZING! And I highly recommend the girls trip. We just got back while in the midst of planning our October trip. My Mum, sister and daughter and I all had a blast.
Best wishes for a pair of wonderful trips!

Muriel Blandings: I want it to be a soft green, not as blue-green as a robin's egg, but not as yellow-green as daffodil buds. Now, the only sample I could get is a little too yellow, but don't let whoever does it go to the other extreme and get it too blue. It should just be a sort of grayish-yellow-green. Now, the dining room. I'd like yellow. Not just yellow; a very gay yellow. Something bright and sunshine-y. I tell you, Mr. PeDelford, if you'll send one of your men to the grocer for a pound of their best butter, and match that exactly, you can't go wrong! Now, this is the paper we're going to use in the hall. It's flowered, but I don't want the ceiling to match any of the colors of the flowers. There's some little dots in the background, and it's these dots I want you to match. Not the little greenish dot near the hollyhock leaf, but the little bluish dot between the rosebud and the delphinium blossom. Is that clear? Now the kitchen is to be white. Not a cold, antiseptic hospital white. A little warmer, but still, not to suggest any other color but white. Now for the powder room - in here - I want you to match this thread, and don't lose it. It's the only spool I have and I had an awful time finding it! As you can see, it's practically an apple red. Somewhere between a healthy winesap and an unripened Jonathan. Oh, excuse me...
Mr. PeDelford: You got that Charlie?
Charlie, Painter: Red, green, blue, yellow, white.
Mr. PeDelford: Check.

 

[estherhead]

Muriel Blandings: I want it to be a soft green, not as blue-green as a robin's egg, but not as yellow-green as daffodil buds. Now, the only sample I could get is a little too yellow, but don't let whoever does it go to the other extreme and get it too blue. It should just be a sort of grayish-yellow-green. Now, the dining room. I'd like yellow. Not just yellow; a very gay yellow. Something bright and sunshine-y. I tell you, Mr. PeDelford, if you'll send one of your men to the grocer for a pound of their best butter, and match that exactly, you can't go wrong! Now, this is the paper we're going to use in the hall. It's flowered, but I don't want the ceiling to match any of the colors of the flowers. There's some little dots in the background, and it's these dots I want you to match. Not the little greenish dot near the hollyhock leaf, but the little bluish dot between the rosebud and the delphinium blossom. Is that clear? Now the kitchen is to be white. Not a cold, antiseptic hospital white. A little warmer, but still, not to suggest any other color but white. Now for the powder room - in here - I want you to match this thread, and don't lose it. It's the only spool I have and I had an awful time finding it! As you can see, it's practically an apple red. Somewhere between a healthy winesap and an unripened Jonathan. Oh, excuse me...
Mr. PeDelford: You got that Charlie?
Charlie, Painter: Red, green, blue, yellow, white.
Mr. PeDelford: Check.

HA!!!!

Isn't that just like us here on the Dis with our vacations?

Thanks about the cake. I was quite proud.

 

[estherhead]

Sorry I've not updated everyone recently, but I've been super busy. I mean SUPER busy. First, I'm going to tell you that we went to Yellowstone for 2 weeks, the end of July to the beginning of August. We drove 4300 miles round trip. Whoa. I'm going to give you a little trip report of that in my next post, but here is a little something to keep you interested:








When we got home, I had 10 days to unpack, clean my house (we had fleas when we got home! Yucky. I'm still fighting that fight) catch up on work, and plan a wedding for 180 people! My sister and I had agreed to be the wedding coordinator for some friends & when we coordinate, we coordinate. I make the cake, I make all the flower arrangements & corsages & their bouquets, we set up everything, and we arrange all the people. It is no joke.

So we worked furiously & this past Thusday I was feeling great & we were seriously on target. Then my baby got so sick I had to take her to the E.R. SHe'd been having abdominal cramping for days & it just got too bad. She would just scream & scream & scream. So 12 hours later, 1:30 am, we finally left the hospital after just a terrible day of testing. We ruled out anything super dangerous, but I still have a sick baby.

And I still had a wedding to do. So Friday, after a bit of sleep, I started back in on the workload. THe wedding was Saturday at 5:30 pm and we got there, with absolutely everything done perfectly. We only had to skip one thing, and it wasn't because of the ER trip. We lost the door hanger to hang a wreath on the door of the ceremony site. Silly us. I've found it now! Maybe I'll hang a wreath on my door with it.

Anyway, it was the most gorgeous wedding ever. Truly amazing & I'm very proud. But all the junk is still in my van & truck and I can't walk. I mean it. Every muscle hurts & my feet hurt & my lower back.

But the most important words uttered the whole night were by Suzy when we got in our vehicles at 10:30 pm (we started at 6:30 am) she called me on her cell & said "Next up is Disney"!

Our girl's trip is coming up! Friday in the middle of the mayhem our packet arrived. Yippee. Have I told you the plans for that? My mom, Suzy, & I and her baby are staying at Pop Century and got the free dining which we upgraded to Deluxe. We're eating:

Our first night:
7:15 p.m. Jiko

Second day:
7:30 a.m. Boma
6:25 p.m. Flying Fish Café

Third day:
11:30 a.m. Crystal Palace
5:30 p.m. Artist’s Point

Fourth day:
1:30 p.m. Wolfgang Puck Café

We've never done a girls trip & we are super psyched. SUPER PSYCHED.

So stay tuned for my complete Yellowstone, 4300 miles across the USA & what I learned about my family that will help me at Disney (and could help your family too ) AND all the details of my September four day eating EXTRAVAGANZA with 2 of my 4 best friends, my mom and sister.

NEXT IS DISNEY!

 

[estherhead]

10 Things I learned in 4300 miles:

1: Preparation is EVERYTHING. There are a lot of people out there, mostly men, who think winging it is the way to go on vacation. Well let me tell you, I’ve traveled since I was a wee babe. Before I can remember even. And it has been my experience that winging it is rarely a better idea than proper preparation. Well, never a better idea.

That was certainly true in this case. We took with us a GPS for our car which we named Sheila. She was a life saver. She wasn’t always right so you had to stay alert, but with a little knowledge and her, you could get almost anywhere. We also had a book called “The Next Exit.” I recommend this book for anyone traveling interstates in America. It tells every highway & every exit & exactly what is on each exit. So no getting off on some stupid exit which has a single Wendy’s 3 miles away from the highway. I LOVED this book & will never take a road trip without that year’s version.

We also had 2 road atlases & a complete itinerary which a general day’s plan, how many hours we would be in the car each day, and where we would stay that night. Because of this, no one every whined. EVER. Not once. I felt like whining once, but what would be the point? I could see in the book I still had 2 hours of driving that day and there was no getting around it. So instead of whining I found something to entertain myself.

Sheila: 97 HOURS in the car!



2: Entertainment isn’t everything, but it sure is important.

When I was a kid and took road trips I had the following things: One thing of paperdolls, a few paperback books from the library, a notebook & pencil, dice, cards. That’s it. I remember being bored in the car. And I also remember my father telling us lots of stories & playing Zip with us (as in Zip horse, Zip cows, and cemeteries take away all your points) & singing lots of songs. And being bored.

Well, my girls had: Paperdolls, a few paperback books from the library, a notebook & pencil, dice, cards. They also had their own DVD/TV’s that hooked on to the chair in front of them & could play the same movie or individual movies with headphones, a computer with computer games, pipecleaners and a book on stuff to make, balloons & a book on balloon animals, a tin case full of art supplies, scrapbooking supplies & a tin for those. I do not one time recall hearing, “I’m bored.” And we didn’t have to entertain them, though we did play car games just because it’s good fun.

For the adults we also were able to watch movies, play computer games, read books, listen to books we had on our MP3 players, read magazines, etc. Our first day we were in the car 13 hours. We got out a few times to have picnics & see a few sights. But basically, we drove 13 hours from Ohio to Iowa. And no one complained. We were shocked when we got there so quickly.

Bring entertainment. It makes the journey feel like vacation too.

A balloon animal. Hours & hours of entertainment & they scare you to death when they pop!



3: Free isn’t everything.

Ever since I started my couponing, I’ve been very into free. Those are my magic words. I’ll feed my family almost anything if it is free. I mean really, what is wrong with free? But we discovered on this trip that free isn’t always better. We did a whitewater rafting trip which cost us $200 for four of us (the baby didn’t go) and it was AMAZING. Worth the money for sure. Then we did a cowboy show in downtown Cody which was lame to say the least. I could have written this little western play and made it twice as good. And there were like 200+ people there! I just kept standing there thinking of Disney street entertainment and how amazing it is and how lame this was.

One of the cowboys in this photo came to our hotel and sang to us. This was free too. I shouldn’t really say he sang to us as he mostly talked to us. I had to ask him to sing. But these two things did contribute to our trip just the same. And they taught us free isn’t always what it is cracked up to be.

Which just reassures me of what I already knew, Disney is worth it.

Cowboy "actors" in the free play:



Our cowboy:



4: Ice cream makes things better.

We stopped for ice cream many times. We used ice cream stops when people were puking (ice cream for everyone else, Sprite for the puker), when people were cranky, hot, or tired. It is an easy, cheap, and summer reward. It turns a perhaps difficult day of touring back into a family vacation. Ice Cream brings people together. It rocks. If you are at Disney World and the family is getting cranky, stop for a Mickey bar or a Dole Whip. Ice Cream makes everything better.

The nicest ice cream vendor EVER outside the Corn Palace:



Just wanted to say, beer makes things better too. This was day 2 & no beer had been consumed. No beer on vacation? People started asking questions. And by people, I mean Donald:



5: A day with animals is a very good day for a toddler.

Animal Kingdom isn’t always a family favorite, but this year I know we will spend some time there as our little Boo loves animals. Her favorite part of the whole trip was the Prairie Dogs. It was something that was interactive and unpredictable and right up her alley. She also loved squirrels and buffalo and deer and elk. She would notice the animals way faster than me & just take off towards them. She squealed with delight and clapped and sang. Animals are the bomb. And in November little Jack-Jack will be running around too and if I’m pretty sure he’ll be chasing birds all over WDW right alongside Boo.

Boo meets a coyote:



Boo meets other babies (1 ton babies!):



Boo meets prairie dogs:



Boo meets chipmunks:

 

[estherhead]

6: If you found something on the internet (or here on the Disboards) that seems really cool & that the whole family really wants to do, it’ll be worth the effort.

Sometimes on vacation you have a big plan for something but then in the moment, it just seems so inconvenient. Maybe your plan before your trip is to get to rope drop every morning but then that seems too hard. Or you are in Tommorrowland & have Fastpasses to Splash Mt. but it just seems like such a long walk and your feet are so tired. So you skip it.

Don’t. Go have some ice cream, and go ride Splash Mountain.

I can’t tell you how many times on this trip we were just “too tired” or it was such a “long drive” and I or Donald made us go and then we were simply blown away by the amazingness. The first time was at Mammoth Cave sight. It’s like a 30 minute drive from Mt. Rushmore & my parents had convinced me that there were better things to see closer & we had already driven so much. But Donald said, “No way. We found this on-line & it is going to awesome. We’re doing it.” He was right. It was a real fossil dig with real Mammoth bones & archaeologists. It was just amazing and worth the drive through beautiful country.

Archaelogists digging for mammoth bones:



Again in Yellowstone my dad was sick & we were tired & my daughter had been ill too and the baby had fallen at our picnic. We were having kind of a bad day. But I didn’t want to just go to our TV-less cabin and be bored when we had just driven 1800 miles to get here. So I talked everyone into a little hike (we had ice cream first.) It was such a beautiful view we went again two days later with my dad when he was feeling better. It was a true highlight of the trip.

And there are too many other moments to mention. Sleeping is for home & for night. If you are truly tired (you know when that is the case) fine, sleep. But if your family just has a tiny case of the whines, get yourself some ice cream & go do the thing you were looking forward to. It’ll be worth getting up at 7:00 am for rope drop or out at 10:00 pm for astronomy night at the Grand Tetons with 10 telescopes & a bunch of astronomers!!!! That was the coolest thing ever. And I HATE leaving my bed after 10 p.m. But I got to see Jupiter & it’s bands & moons. I got to see stars in the Big Dipper which are actually clusters of stars rotating around each other. And learned lots & lots. Inconvenient? You bet. Worth it? You bet.

The most beautiful waterwall I've ever seen (& yes, I've been to Niagra):



7: Save money on the food. If it were just Donald and I, I probably wouldn’t say this one, but with a family I think this is a big one. Kids don’t care enough about food to spend too much money on it. My dad took a campstove even though we weren’t camping & we stopped at picnic areas and made hot, cheap lunches instead of fast food or chain restaurants. It isn’t that we didn’t eat out at all, we just were really choosy about it & picked out places that had character & good food and the rest of the time we ate picnics.

A notable one was right inside Yellowstone our first day we got out bearings at a lovely picnic spot next a river. It was so convenient to just eat when we were hungry instead of when we found restaurant. And the kids enjoyed it more as they could run around outside. And I wasn’t stressed as I tried to entertain them. I just sat & watched them play in the cold river while my dad cooked. If I hadn’t had him, I would still say to picnic, we just would have had more sandwiches. Though the campstove was so awesome & easy to use I think Donald & I will either buy one or borrow his when we go on road trips without him. It was a pocketbook & time management & Mommy stress level lifesaver.

Dad cooking:


Our view while we waited for his quesadillas:



Getting bang for our buck with a local barbeque. No air conditioning but low price, huge servings, and super friendly locals (in Cody, Wy.):



8: People are miserable when they are too hot. Yellowstone in general isn’t that hot. But the thermal features are very hot and you walk on boardwalks over them under direct sun. And South Dakota was very hot. The only time I thought my family would lose it was during the touring of thermal features around noon & in the Badlands. It was so hot that even though it was neat, it was hard to enjoy. We should have toured those things in the morning or evening. And we should have done it in smaller chunks. Hot people are not happy and stage revolts.

Refer to point number four to revive them. Then continue on with point number six.

The Badlands:



Thermal features:



"The" thermal feature, Ole Faithful. We sat on a log in the shade while we waited. Much more enjoyable than up front with all those people in the burning sun:



9: Ohio is the coolest place to live.

When I travel I wonder what it would be like to live wherever I am. I ponder the practicalities of living there, where the shop for groceries, where their kids go to school, where they work. I don’t know why, but it interests me. This time was no different except that I didn’t want to live any of these places. Not because the people aren’t friendly or they aren’t gorgeous. But because of natural disasters. There are avalanches, forest fires, tornadoes, earthquakes, bears eating people. I don’t even know. I just know for a huge portion of this trip I was really glad I didn’t own a house there. I’ve never seen a forest fire before. But I have now. I’ve never seen a tornado before. But I have now. I’ve never seen lighting hit the ground right in front of me & the thunder be simultaneous & scare the crap out of me & my kids. But I have now. And the bears and buffalo. They are right there & not at all afraid of you. It would just take an instant and they could eat or gore your child to death.

So from now on, my part of Ohio is the best place to live. In all ways it might not be. There might be (OK, there IS) better shopping, better schools, better scenery in other parts of the world. But I won’t be killed by a tornado, an avalance, or a hurricane, etc. So I’m OK staying here.

No, it's not nighttime yet, and that's no sunset. That's fire. We were covered in ash:


Finally, a rainbow after our harrowing midwest storm experience. I felt like I was Dorothy in Wizard of Oz: BEFORE it turns color.:


10: My family is the coolest. OK, this one won’t help you at all. Actually, number nine didn’t help you either. But this is just an absolute truth now. We drove, on average, 10 hours a day in a minivan with 7 people between the ages of 17 months and 62 years and there was not a single discouraging word nor a single fight. There was simple cooperation and happiness. And laughter. My family is the coolest.

A few random photos:
The Watiki Water park in South Dakota:


A field of buffalo:


Us on a raft in the Snake River:


Grand Tetons:

 

[estherhead]

Two more:
Wall Drug:


Old Faithful Inn:


Donald & I had a big discussion about the Old Faithful Inn as the Wilderness Lodge is based on this. I'm always about the original & the real. So I thought the Old Faithful in was way cool. It's the original and is an original. Interesting wear on the stairs. You can just imagine the stories the Inn has seen. Donald preferred the Wilderness Lodge. Controlled atmosphere is a good thing to him. He felt Disney took the original and made it way better.

 

[Alysa]

Sounds like you had an amazing time!

 

[MommyLove]

Subscribed!

 

[estherhead]

Sounds like you had an amazing time!

We did! It was amazing, that's the perfect word for it and it has really whet our appetite for future national park road trips with our family.

Subscribed!

Hi MommyLove! Welcome.

So, we're just 17 days away from our girls trip! I called on Friday to verify our dining ressies and to change the final day to San Angel Inn instead of
Wolfgang Puck as we're going to do an extra day at Epcot and I've never been to Pleasure Island so we're going to go there before it closes. So here is how it breaks down:

9/17 Leave bright & early, drive to airport. Fly to Orlando!!! Get rental car. Check into Pop Century. Go to DHS whenever we get there. Stay until our Jiko ADR.

9/18 Get up early & check into Boma. AK at opening. When done go to Epcot. Stay till our ADR & go to Boardwalk. Watch Fireworks from Boardwalk, the bridge next to ESPN. Or just walk to Epcot & watch Illuminations. Or go see 9:00 Wishes.

9/19 MK at opening. Take boat to WL at 5:30. Go to Pleasure Island after dinner.

9/20 Check out. Go to Epcot to finish. Airport by 4:00 p.m. Fly home.


Oooo, sooo excited.

I cannot believe I'll be in Disney without any kids & without any hubbie. Don't get me wrong, I adore going with them and am sure I'll miss them (a tiny bit) but I'm always the tour director. The idea of going to Disney and NOT being a tour director makes me a little giddy. A lot giddy. Bizarrely giddy.

No cutting up food at restaurants. No going to the potty & wiping butts. No saying no to souveniers. No asking if I can go do something. No poopy diaper emergencies. Sigh. Those butterflies are in my TUMMY!

 

[ILMICKEY]

Oh I'm so excited for you. I am so bummed Pleasure Island will be closed for my trip. My daughter is turning 21 on the 9th and she was so looking forward to going. Oh, well, we will still be in Disney.

I LOVED your Yellowstone Pics. Looks like you had a wonderful time!

 

[estherhead]

Oh I'm so excited for you. I am so bummed Pleasure Island will be closed for my trip. My daughter is turning 21 on the 9th and she was so looking forward to going. Oh, well, we will still be in Disney.

I LOVED your Yellowstone Pics. Looks like you had a wonderful time!

Thanks! Too bad about your daughter. That would have been such a nice changing of age thing to do.

 

[estherhead]

So. Today we had free tickets (through work) to The Ohio State University vs. Ohio University at the actual horseshoe! I'm a lifelong Ohio'er but I've never been in the Shoe. 105,002 people were there today. It was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was another thing on my calendar standing between me & Disney so it was fun crossing it off and it was just plain fun. But as always, our events are quickly turned into dress rehearsals for Disney and today was no different.

Things I learned:

I nor Suzy can wear crocs for serious walking. We have long, narrow feet and skinny toes. It simply doesn't work. She wore them & was not happy, though she likes them at home. So tennies & leather sandals is it for us. We kind of knew that, but she wanted a trial run just to make sure.

Also, don't forget the sunblock. We've been stockpiling all summer so we don't have to spend lots of bucks on it in Florida, yet we forgot it today. I concentrated all day about keeping my arms behind people in their shade and had on a hat. Suzy just fried. And Donald is quite pink as are Milo & Prince Charming. So we MUST not forget the sunblock. MUST NOT!!!

Also, Donald & I took off from the stadium way late to the car, but we moved along quickly, dodging people traffic and keeping our eyes open for spots to take shortcuts. We ended up in a gorgeous park where there was no one & we could move at our quick pace which got us way ahead of the crowds despite starting behind them. We rock, we walk super fast & stay alert. Watch out Disney, here we come!

All that aside, it was such a fun day, away from our kids & a much better game than we were anticipating.

As for our budgeting, I've been spending $125 a week on groceries. I've gotten that down & our new budget is $112.50 per week which so far we are maintaining. I feel comfortable with it & we're relying a lot more on cash lately. We have almost $400 Disney Dollars (for our November trip) on our rewards card so I feel happy with that & like I don't really need more so we aren't just piling them up right now as I save more when I'm paying cash & not plastic.

Suzy went and bought herself a few things and though I was jealous, I know I have enough and since I'm paying cash, I didn't want to waste precious cash on my 10th pair of capri's. So I'll go with what I have, which believe me for a 4 day trip is plenty! And for our November trip we'll have our matching t-shirts so there won't be any need to spend money on clothes other than that.

Also for this girl's trip (in 11 days!) by budget is $200.00. My mom says she'll pay for some of our incidentals (like some tips or alcoholic drinks) so I'm pretty sure I'll be able to do the $200 considering we have deluxe dining and no kids asking for stuff!

Also in our personal finances, my baby got part of her doctor/ER bills today & I think it's going to be around $3000.00 out of our pocket which I'll just have ot pay slowly so I don't think it will effect our monthly budget too much, especially since it's pre-tax. I'm yet to totally figure it out but I think it will be OK & I've been quite concerned with medical bills this year as they've been WAY over what I was expecting to pay.

Finally, we have our 4 day trip paid for (& I have the $200.00 set aside.) For our November trip we have our tickets paid for, our housing paid for, and our airfare paid for. I need to rent a car (I'll do that as soon as we get back) and all our food/etc. With the $400.00 rewards card, I'm assuming I'll need around $600.00 more. So October & November will be all about saving that money.

You can see my grocery stuff on the Budget Board September Grocery Challenge.

Oh, and I went over to Suzy & Milo's house the other day to watch Samantha Brown's Disney while our babies slept. It was such fun & I called Disney DIning (my favorite thing to do) as we thought we might dump Artist's Point for 2 ADR's. But the 2 we really wanted were booked & the girl on the phone was like, "Why would you dump Artist's Point? WHY!?! It's the best place ever." So we just kept it. We were simply nervous as there are mixed reviews as to whether it's worth 2 TS or not.

And I think we won't have a hurricane for our 4 days. Yea!

See you soon with even more GIRL'S TRIP CHATTER!

 

[estherhead]

So, I've been crying the last two days. Nothing is wrong. I swear. I've been emotional enough that I'm worried I'm pregnant. But if that is so, then I am suing the birth control pill makers! Cause I've been perfect in my usage.

Anyway, Suzy & I had a life altering thing happen to us in the spring. My parents have been working on retiring and we took over their business. I'm vice president, she's treasurer, my dad's business partner is president. Though I felt like I took this seriously, I did feel it wasn't really going to change our jobs so much. My dad is still the major owner of stocks and it was just for legal reasons we made the switch.

Well, we all know (in hindsight) that that isn't how it went down. My dad ended up having some health issues and Suzy & I have really started making some serious business issues. And this week it just caught up with me & attacked me.

Darn it, I'm just a kid. I don't know how to run a business. I can hardly manage my coupons! I know, I know, I'm technically 34, the mother of three, responsible wife and adult. But inside... ya know? I'm a kid. A Disney loving kid.

So. After my stressful week Donald & I of course had a fight. Who doesn't have a fight with their dh after they've had a terrible week at work. That's the way it works. And in the process of making up from the fight (not THAT kind of making up you dirty minds you, talking making up) the subject of my girl's trip just happened to come up as I was concerned (read: guilty?) that Donald was ticked with me for spending money on this girl's trip while telling him that he couldn't spend money on a new computer. So I had to tell him that really I wasn't spending that much as Mom is paying for most of it so the tiny bit that I paid for this in no way equals the $1500 computer he wants.

So to make a short story long: I've obviously been having some guilt about going off to have fun at Disney without my family. Now it's out in the open & Suzy admitted she too has been having guilt. And then she called me back to yell at me for feeling guilty.

So no more guilt. Gosh darn it (more profanity, I know) we REALLY need this trip. Did I mention the crying? The sick feeling in the pit of my tummy?

Did I mention this trip is only FOUR DAYS AWAY????!!!!!!!!!!!!??????????

Wanna hear our plan?

Wednesday Get up at 3:30 am & drive to airport. Arrive 9:55 am at Orlando. Get a car, go to Publix, check into Pop.
Go to AK for EMH evening. (or got to AK for a few hours & take a nap)
Go to Jiko 7:15
If we've napped, go to Pleasure Island

Thursday
Go to MK EMH
Leave at 11:00 am
Go to Epcot.
Eat at San Angel for lunch.
Do Countries.
Eat at Flying Fish for dinner.
Monorail back for Wishes.

Friday Eat at Boma for breakfast.
Then park at Epcot.
Do Future World Epcot.
Monorail to MK.
Boat to Artist’s Point for an early dinner.
Bus to Epcot & get car.
Go to Pleasure Island (if we didn't go earlier.)

9/20 DHS EMH
Shop whenever we’re done.
Be at airport by 4:00 pm

Doesn't that sound fun? And I won't have any people depending on me. None. I can't remember the last time no one was dependant on me. And I'm not going to let Suzy or Mom talk about Weight Watchers (we're leaders) or calories, I'm gonna eat all the deep fried crap I want (or as much as I won't think will actually make me ill.) AND I'm not going to exercise. Nope. Just the walking. No running.

Four days. Four days. Four days.

 

[estherhead]

Hi ya'll!!!! Suzy & I & my mom have been home now five days from our big girl's nights on the town. 3 fabulous nights at Pop Century and 4 fabulous days at 4 fabulous parks.

Why have I waited so long to update this pre-trippie with our scoping out WDW pre-trip? Two reasons. The main one is I started getting ill on our final day at Disney. Of course I didn't realize this and couldn't figure out why I didn't feel rested and rejuvinated. It wasn't until the following night when bad things started happening to my tummy, intestines, and my fever started causing me to shake that it all really clicked. I was terribly ill. Mom still is terribly ill. And my dear little Mulan who NEVER gets sick caught this so she's been home from school the last two days.

The second reason is I needed to finish my out west TR before starting to report on this trip. I will do a full TR with photos but I'm just going to put it in here and I consider it really part of this pre-trip. We learned a lot about our upcoming trip and have a LOT of planning to do.

So stay tuned. More Disney info & tips than you can shake a fist at.

For now I leave you with this: I made tonight Artist Point's portabello mushroom soup recipe (I asked for it & they handed it right over) for Donald tonight. Only instead of using 3/4 cup butter and a 3/4 QUART of heavy cream I used 1/4 cup butter and 1 pint of f.f. half and half. He loved it and I felt like I was right back on Disney property.

So don't forget to ask for recipes for the things you adore. When we go back in November I'm going into Mexico and asking for the shrimp cocktail appetizer recipe.

But more on our Deluxe Dining extravaganza and bringing Disney into my every day life later....

And, of course, much later we'll talk about how this trip impacted our family trip and how it effected our budget.

I've got to stop typing, I must be somewhere in an hour & I'm not showered yet but I just can't stop typing. I love DISNEY! I can't stop typpppp....

 

[estherhead]

I had to pop on today and tell ya'll a cute story. Mulan has been very ill and today, despite her crying, I made her go to school. I know I'm heartless but it truly was for her own good. She was sooooo bored yesterday that I know she'll be happier in school and I had things to do which did not involve sitting at home, yet again, with a sick girl.

Anyway, on the way to school (I drove her in late, Ariel took the bus so we were alone) I was trying to cheer her up by talking about Disney. I had told the girls we weren't going to add the water parks this trip, and then we did. So I told her our first day we'd be going to BB. She was THRILLED! Then she asked about our house.

Well, I've been holding back that info hoping to surprise them when we got there. So I just told her that is was a super cool house and she would love her room.

She said, "You so did not get us a High School Musical Room!!!!" with as much excitement as I've ever seen.

Dag nab it, when did I lose my princess girls?

So I, of course, said, "No, it isn't HSM. It's princesses."

To which she replied, "Oh. Well that'll be OK I guess. What are the other rooms?"

So much with surprising them with the room of their dreams. Somehow I missed the dreams switching to a bunch of geeky teenagers! She was highly amused that Prince Charming would be in a Winnie the Pooh room. It made her giggle all the way to school. So I guess, in my own awkward way, I accomplished my goal: to stop the tears. But I'll have to modify my expectations of their faces when they see their princess room. It may be shocking in a bad way!

 

[estherhead]

I'm so conflicted! I want to tell you about our November trip and how much we're planning and that I'm dieting & lost 1.6 lbs this past week and have 5.4 to go and only 7 weeks to lose it so I am working hard on that. And we're saving money left & right. Suzy's dh Milo & my sweetie Donald are both on board and working super hard.

But I can't. Because first I have to give you a super duper report on our exciting girls eating palooza. I just can't let it fall behind. You need to know. It was great.

So our plan updates will have to wait. First you must hear a little story of 3 wild and crazy (OK, as you will see we may be a bit crazy, but we are certainly not wild) girls took on the WORLD!!!

It all start on a dark and foggy morning. Very foggy. At 3:00 a.m. I awakened and quickly realized I wouldn't be going back to sleep. I was just way too excited. So I got up & showered and actually put make-up on. My mom picked me up before 4:00 a.m. and we were off to Suzy's. We grabbed her stuff, woke up the poor baby (who was not amused) and we were off.

Fairly quickly we were immersed in a thick fog. Mom was driving and she wondered out loud why she agreed to that. So we, of course, got a bit lost in the fog & missed our turn. Sheila, sweet GPS that she is, recalculated and had us drive down this crazy, scary dirt road which surprisingly took us exactly where we wanted to be. So we were on the highway on the fast track to the airport when I decided I had to pee.

While I was doing that Mom grabbed some coffee. She had told Suzy & I that she had $800 and we were to blow it on this trip. She would pay for everything. So she went to get coffee & it was senior citizens day or something and it was only $.50. So we had delicious coffee and we still had $799.50 to blow.

The airport (Dayton) ended up being nice. We normally fly out of Cincinnati or Columbus but Dayton was a really nice alternative.

We went through security which is always an adventure when you have a baby. Take off your shoes, all your jewelry, someone has to hold the baby while you fold the stroller & carrier. Oops, now pass the baby on as those shoes must come off. And then reverse the whole thing. Oh lordy. It's a mess. But we did it and once our shoes were tied again and the baby resettled we were off.

Here is where we discovered something that would haunt us the entire trip. When I use the phrase "baby settled" it is very loosely. As Jack-Jack decided that he had no interest in sitting in a stroller. Suzy & I spent a huge portion of this trip holding onto his chubby arm while he stood in his stroller trying to die. And Mom spent a huge portion of her trip holding Jack-Jack while he slept as he had no interest in sleeping the stroller either. It was IRRITATING. Sweetest baby ever. Happy. But would not sit in that stroller for one second while we got from one spot to the other. Argh!

Oddly enough, we had really been looking forward to our two hour flight. We had all bought Nintendo DS's and games to share. So Jack-Jack fell asleep and we spent the 2 hours playing games. It was so fun. And to add to the party all of the people around us were completely drunk. There was a guy sitting across from us who was wild. He truly was wild & crazy unlike us little pretenders. He had wild red hair & had evidently been a sports player of some kind. He said at one point how great it was to be retired. His fellow drunk friend said something about how he didn't think being retarded sounded great. "Retired, idiot, not retarded." Oh dear, how we laughed. We also laughed when he spilled an entire beer on himself. At 8:00 a.m. He was so drunk at 8:00 in the morning he couldn't hold his beer. Oh, and then one of the ladies with them said, "Are we going to a bar when we land?" To which I said, "Uh, yeah."

The other funny thing that had Suzy & I in stitches was my mom REALLY didn't want to be old on this trip. Her goal was to think young thoughts. OK, background: my mom is not an old person, neither in body or mind. She is the youngest 62 year old ever, still in search of her true self. Actually, she may have found her true self a few years ago but she's still coming to terms with it. So basically, she's in her mid twenties. So it was a funny goal. But no matter how young you are, there are still somethings that are just old about you. So she plugged her headphones into her MP3 player and was jamming to John Denver.

But that isn't the funny part. She kept talking to me (I was sitting between Suzy & her) and she was talking to me REALLY loudly. Shouting at me. Just general conversation being shouted. I was talking in a completely normal voice and she could hear me just fine despite the fact that she had headphones in. So you can imagine that I, with no headphones in, sitting inches away from her would have been able to hear her just fine, even if she hadn't been yelling at me. So under my breath I kept making fun of her "youthfulness" to Suzy which had Suzy absolutely rolling.

Anyhow, as you can see, we were in a vacation mode. Bring on the crazy drunk people.

We landed at 10:00 , right on time, and were quickly on our way to getting our rental car. We had decided to go cheap & got a car from Dollar. This will not be a mistake we make again. This car was super tiny & a piece of ****. It had no power anything and it simply was awful.

Suzy, Mom, Jack-Jack & the dreaded car:


After squishing ourselves & all our luggage painfully into the tiny tin junk car we were starving. We had simply gotten up too early for our bellies to be full with our 1/2 a banana & FIber One bar (I had to share as others had forgotten theirs.) But we didn't want to eat too much as we had so much to eat at Disney. So we opted to get cheeseburgers at McD's just to tide us over. We ordered 4 cheeseburgers & 3 Diet Cokes. Totally cost? $2.00. What? We kept saying to the girl, "Are you sure you got 4 cheeseburgers & 3 Diet Cokes?" Yup. As we drove out we noticed the "$.25 cheeseburger Wednesdays" sign. I'm still confused about the Diet Cokes. But who am I to complain? $797.50 still to spend!

So, with the use of our handy-dandy GPS (which had found us the McD's, by the way) and more importantly the great sign system, we quickly found ourselves in Disney. When did they make it so you don't have to go on the Beeline express? And when did they rename in the Beachline express?

Into Pop we went. We were there around 11:15 a.m. and I had a nice guy from London check me in. He was great. It was nice to have someone with an accent I truly understood. We grabbed our cards & learned we were in the 50's which I had requested. We took just a moment to look at the walls with Mom and it was nice but we decided to come back and do it justice later as we really wanted to get to AK.

We were parked & trammed (our tram driver was HILARIOUS!!!) bags inspected, & ticketed by 12:15 p.m. We felt that for a plane landing at 10:00 a.m. that was not too shabby to get a car, eat a cheeseburger, check into a hotel & be at a park by noon. Not too shabby at all.

My first thing I was determined to do was find Devine. What does a girl have to do to see Devine?

Anyway, we headed toward Africa & were going to take the paths to Asia searching for her. Here is the first thing we saw on the paths:


Background: When I was little (I don't remember this trip at all) my parents took us to MK (they were good parents) and I could not tell the difference between real & not real. I kept saying, "Now that's real, right?" on all kinds of things like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea & Jungle Cruise about things which were obviously NOT real. So it has been a family joke forever to say, "Now that's real, right?" whenever you see an animatronic. So we saw these parrots & Mom said, "Now that's real, right?" to tease me. Only ther really were real. It was just a nice entry into the magical world of Disney that so flawlessly integrates real & not real.

Then Pal Mickey wiggled & told us to go down a "secret path." We were the only ones on it & this is what we saw:


This tortoise was HUGE. You can't believe how big. And you can't tell from my photo. But trust me, this was a big one:


Then we headed to Flights of Wonder. We got there a little early which I recommend as we got to learn about owls:



Then we went in and the show was just OK. It had some highlights, but it wasn't amazing. I wouldn't take my kids. But I did enjoy it. Oh, I had run & gotten FP's for EE. They were for 2:25 p.m.

So we decided to do the Maharjah Trek and then eat some proper lunch. I really enjoyed the Trek & it is a must do for my tiger loving Ariel when we go in November.

How do you like these teeth?


I loved the theming.
See the cool walls behind him?


There also was a really neat aviary where you can't really tell there is netting above. It was great, but for some reason I didn't take any photos.

I spy with my little eye monkeys!


We then ate at the counter Yak & Yeti. I got one counter service Sweet & Sour Pork which came with a giant Diet Coke and a mango pie. Then I used 2 snack services to get 4 eggrolls. This was way too much for the 3 of us. The pork is a lot of food. It was good, though we felt there wasn't enough pineapple and veggies in it. The egg rolls were delicious. The mango pie was very yummy. We also go two ice waters which mostly spilled on the ground. The no lids & uneven ground at AK makes drinks in stroller cup holders quite impractical.

At this point we decided to go use our FP's at EE and then try to catch Nemo. Suzy delayed us (I can't remember why) and we ended up getting behind a scooter convention. Normally, I think the scooters are great. But let me tell you, this was a minimum of 20 scooters travelling together taking up the entire sidewalk with their scooter confusion. Stopping & starting. It was just chaos. So we jetted in front of them & I said, "Come on, Suzy, let's go!" But she was nervous to let Mom find the EE gift shop on her own & wanted to show her. Sure enough, the scooter convention had EE FP's and were all in front of us with the young scooter people helping the ancient scooter people. You all know how this goes. If you need a scooter at all, you won't be efficient in helping other's.

So we opted for the single rider's line & were on the ride well before the scooter group. Naturally, I teared up. I just love roller coasters & the first one I ride at every amusement park makes me tear up. This time did not disappoint. After we got off, I found a sweet family of 3 who were about to get in the 45 min standby line and handed them my FP's. Boy was the little boy excited! I just love spreading Disney magic.

I then ran to get Dinosaur FP's with a plan to meet at Nemo. Well, of course, they started letting people into Nemo before I got back so I took off & ran in front of a lot of people (sorry people) to find my group which was no longer where I left them. We had gotten there at 2:50 p.m. and the show started at 3:15 p.m. and it was none too soon, let me tell ya.

Nemo was SOOOOO good. I had really enjoyed it last year but the Bruce was better. The Marlon was the same singer. Jack-Jack adored this show. He laughed & clapped & laughed. I loved it by itself, but having him there really helped make it amazing.



After that we took a potty break & headed toward Dinosaur. Mom & Suzy rode while Jack-Jack & I went to Petrifries to get him a water (which we lost most of) and fries. We took our stuff to a bench at Dino & chitchatted with an adorable girl & her Mommy. Somehow I missed my group passing me so we had to call & meet at the area exit. We then decided to skip Lion King and go to sleep. Remember, 3:00 am?

Where will our room be at Pop?
How will we enjoy our first $200 meal?

 

[ILMICKEY]

Great start !!

I so can't wait for my girls only trip. I hope mine goes as well as is sounds yours is going.

Can't wait to hear more!!

Oh, great job on the weight loss. I keep losing it, but I turn around and boom, there it is!!!

 

[estherhead]

Well, I can't find my notes tonight, irritatingly enough but I have some time so I'm going to go from memory. Watch out, my memory is not always amazing.

So we left Animal Kingdom after having a lovely day there. We were really getting tired & Mom and I were still thinking we might go to Pleasure Island this night. It just seemed like it would fit in best in our schedule. So we went back to try to sleep.

We called Pop and got our room number & tried to park close to our building, which we weren't overly successful at. But we did have a nice walk next to the water, reading the trivia sign and talking about the lonely buildings across the lake. We had asked for an upper floor, lake view room and we got it, kind of. It was fine. We were on the 3rd floor and we could kind of see the lake, through a bunch of trees. Our plan was so that it would be quiet but we were the first room from the elevator so it wasn't exactly quiet. Fortunately we all slept well at night so it didn't really matter. I didn't notice the toilets flushing, the way. Of course we did always have the bathroom door because of Jack-Jack and his enjoyment of splashing in the toilet. And throwing things in the toilet.

Here's a little friend that welcomed us:



And our (see the lake?) view:


I really tried to sleep, I swear. But things were happening in the room, games were being played & Jack-Jack wasn't really sleeping & I HATE taking naps. So try as I might, it just didn't work out. Before I knew it, it was time for our 7:15 Jiko ADR. So we all got fancified and hopped in our icky car and drove to Animal Kingdom Lodge. What an awesome place! We really wanted to explore, but we were right on time so had to go right to Jiko.

They checked us in & gave us a pager so we decided to explore a bit and got two steps away from Jiko and our pager went off. This was a pattern for us the whole trip. So we went back to the counter and a lovely staff began waiting on us hand & foot. The baby was blissfully sleeping so we ordered our appetizers and enjoyed the warm washcloths and our drinks. And looked at the little fountain outside our window and the sunset wall and started letting the tension leave us.

And then they brought us the bread. It came with tandoori butter which was amazing. It was absolutely delish.

Here we are:



And here are our appetizers:



On the left is Mom's soup. I adored this soup. It is corn soup with Lemon creme fraiche. But I didn't really taste lemon. Just delightfully tasty soup. I would order this for myself. In the middle is my partially eaten kalamata olive flatbread. I ate every bit of this. It is a little salty (the olives) so you see the water with lemon in. They bring the lemons in a little dish which is exactly how I like it. That way people who want lots of lemon (me) and people who don't want lemon can just decide for themselves. And they kept my water filled. It was awesome. Then to the right is Suzy's curried samosas. These were great too, but something I could make at home. But the chutney that came with it was outstanding. And that fabulous bread & butter in the background.

I need to diverge here and say again that we are all excellent cooks & bakers so we judge things based on three basic criteria:

Could we make it better at home?
Could we make it at all at home?
Can we even figure out what in the world is in it?

If we can't figure out exactly what is in it but it is delicious, than it gets higher marks in our minds. So the flatbread & samosas were really quite good, but I could make them pretty close to what there were at home. The soup, bread, tandoori butter, and chutney got much higher rankings as I couldn't have made them at home and am not sure what the spices were in them. I'm really clueless about the soup. I wish I'd asked for a recipe.

And here are our entrees:

Suzy & Mom both ordered the steak with mac & cheese. The steak was such a quality cut, we definately could not make this at home. Nor are we sure we can purchase such a thing were we live. The wine sauce was to die for (my Mom's phrase) and the mac & cheese was good (we make good mac & cheese) and they really liked the combo. I had a bite, but I ADORED my entree so I didn't waste too much time eating their's. It was a Kenyan BBQ short-rib. The pork was so tender. Yummy. And I like the potato stuff served with it. I'm pretty sure I could make something similar, though I couldn't pick out all the spices, and there is no way I could find that unique cut of meat. But I'm going to try a few coffee BBQ recipes this fall & make pork roasts in my crockpot. I really loved this meal. And I loved that the spices were foreign enough that I couldn't figure them out, but normal enough to my palate to interest me but not confuse me.

The appetizers and entrees were 2 thumbs up for sure.

Oh, at some point Jack-Jack woke up and Suzy set him up. We asked for a highchair and she pulled her magical disposable placemat and baby feeding kit out of her bag. She fell in love with these products this trip and felt like a good mom. One of "those moms" that she and I normally brand as first timers who have a giant diaper bags full of safety features. But without our other 6 kids running around she could pretend she was one of "those moms" instead of the chaos moms that we really are.

Jack-Jack, of course, had no idea his mom had turned into a super mom. He just knew he was well rested and ready to eat!



Bring on the desserts:
I risked the lavender ice cream which I've had before so I could have the chocolate cheesecake:



I liked it. I'm still not a huge lavender fan but I would order this again. The cheesecake was very chocolate satisfying, ya know?

And in the background is the pistachio creme brulee. I'm not a huge brulee fan, but I will say that the caramelization on this was perfect. And the pistachio flavor was really good. It you like custardy stuff, this was really well done. Suzy like it a lot.

Something peachy:



This wasn't on the All Ears Menu & I can't remember the name of it but it was peach cobbler with peach ice cream and peach sauce. It was peachy. And OK. Everything was peachy. And nice end to a meal but not necessarily worth the $8.00 if we weren't on the dining plan. Bring on the skoolbread, ya know?

So while we were sitting there indulging in this amazing meal we started wishing our dh's were with us. They would have loved it. And we loved it. I loved this place. I would go there in a heartbeat, if only it wasn't so stinking expensive. And even still, I might go. Really good. We called them and explained in detail what we were eating. Which I'm not sure they really enjoyed. Then we came to our senses and realized we were NOT going to enjoy Pleasure Island. So we paid our tip & gasped over the $200+ bill we didn't have to pay.

And we went to the grocery store. Which I enjoyed. Suzy for some reason was a little out of it (lack of sleep?) and I was glad I had gone with her. I'm not sure she would have found her way out of the store. We also scoped out some gluten free options that Publix carries for our November trip. And I bought a little notebook so I could take notes (which I've somehow lost! ) And water, diapers, granola bars, bananas, etc. You get the idea.

Back at the room I dashed and grabbed some caffeine free Diet Coke. Unfortunately, they didn't have that. Which made me sad. I had really enjoyed that last year. So Diet Sprite it was. Bummer. Oh, I had earlier (before AK) had so Coke Slushie. I mixed it half & half with Diet Coke and really enjoyed it. A nice treat.

On my way to the main area:





So we all relaxed and slept. This is the only night I remember hearing Jack-Jack and it was only briefly. So evidently he slept well too.

 

[estherhead]

So, we had a nice night's sleep. We had set the alarm for 6:18 a.m. Why 6:18? I'm not sure but the truth is, it didn't matter as I awoke at 6:12 a.m. READY TO GO! Guess what? We're at Disney World!!!! And I don't have any kids, so let's get outta this joint.

The plan was to go to MK for extra magic hour and then go to Epcot for lunch and strolling around and then to the Flying Fish for dinner and then fireworks somewhere.

So at 6:12 I was up & in the shower. I was supposed to meet up with a fridge swapper before she left on her airplane. So I hopped to luggage to get a cart & then headed to the 60's where she had the fridge all boxed up. This is the 2nd fridge swapped I've participated in & I enjoyed last years as it was quite useful and I thoroughly enjoyed meeting up with my fellow Disers.

Unfortunately her dh & son were still asleep in bed at 7 a.m. & her dh was kind of awake so he & I kept making awkward eye contact. You know the kind? Where both of you are trying at all costs to not ever look in the other person's direction except it just keeps happening. I know he could have rolled over but he wanted to see what we were doing, ya know? Anyway she & I didn't chit chat at all & I was back at our room in no time.

Oh, I just want to mention here that the elevator next to our room was broken and made this really scary noise. And for some unknown reason we were always on the broken elevator. You would think it would be a 50/50 process, but I only rode on the non broken elevator one time. So mostly I tried to take the stairs, but with a fridge on a cart, it was the elevator.

So Mom & I arranged things, and then rearranged them, and then again. We put some waters in our fridge. Finally we had it right & I took the cart back and went to get coffee in our refillable mugs. It was 7:00 a.m. and the food court was EMPTY. And this was during free dining! So just like everything else at Disney, if you want breakfast, get it early. I went back to the room & grabbed a Kashi bar & banana from Publix and my clothes for dinner and threw them in a backpack. By 7:30 we were off. I got a tiny bit impatient, not really, but you know how things at the last minute all go wrong? Well we were totally ready & on time & somehow that translated into 15 minutes late. I'm not sure how this happens, but I just know it does.

Anyhow, it didn't really matter. We ended up parking in the 2nd row at the TTC.

Can you believe this spot? This is the view from our car. OK, so not really but practically, we were REALLY close. No tram for us!



Isn't it kind of sad how TTC is deserted now that we have bag check & other things? It use to just start you off right & you felt like you were at Disney before you even got on the monorail, but now it is just a place to breeze past.

So we hopped on a monorail. There was a bit of confusion as something was wrong with the monorails. Actaully, this was a pattern for us the whole time. Things were just not functioning properly. The monorail didn't work our whole four days. So we got directed to the wrong track and finally ended up getting on the resort monorails. It was a nice little tour & gave Suzy time to nurse Jack-Jac but it made it so we didn't get to MK till 8:10 a.m. (I mean all the way in, through bag check & ticketing, etc.)

Here is Suzy's patience being tested by the 15 minutes late leaving Pop & the LONG monorail ride and then the bag check and the turnstile. Suzy can pick the shortest line and have it take four times longer than the line I'm in. No matter where we are, Wal-Mart or WDW, she manages to pick a line with people who have no idea what they are doing. If you could see behind her sunglasses, she's totally rolling her eyes.





Look how festive it looks in the fall:


We did Winnie the Pooh & Small World immediately as we thought Jack-Jack would enjoy them. He really did but boy was he tired and we practically had to pinch him to keep him awake. We then went to get FP's for Space Mt. & ride Buzz. I went to get the FP's and happened to pass by a cream cheese filled pretzel stand. Who can pass that, eh? Suzy & Mom hadnt' heard of it but we all split it & agreed it's like a Bagelful only with a yummy sugar crust on the outside. Buzz's line went so fast I hid my pretzel as I got on the line. I then shoved the whole thing in my mouth (so much for savoring it!) so I could shoot like a maniac. My score was 14,500 but I forgot to spin the car the first half of the ride. I evidently can't chew, shoot, & spin all at the same time.

Crisscrossing through Fantasyland:


Jack-Jack was still asleep, or maybe back asleep? Anyway Mom & Suzy rode Splash Mt. while I hung out in the completely empty play area. But then the train came above us & he woke up so we checked that out. He thought the train was interesting.

After that we went to ride the new Haunted Mansion (it was a walk on) which I really enjoyed. Really enjoyed. But I was scoping it to see how scary it was for Mulan who HATES thunder & anything else scary. She is bound & determined she ride this even if she has to close her eyes the whole time but even the sounds are too scary, in my opinion, and what is the point of riding a ride that your eyes are closed & Mommy has her hands over your ears?

Then we crossed back to Tommorowland. It was at this moment that Mom realized she would not be gaining weight, even with all the eating we were doing, while on a trip with Suzy & me. We crisscrossing parks. So no line effective.

We went to see Laugh Floor while we waited for our FP time and it was a good show. The audience people were not very cooperative so the CM's made fun of them which is always fun.

So we went & Mom & I rode Space Mt. She enjoyed it and it made her feel young & remember her own mom who loved Space Mt. But she said it did rattle her a tiny bit which made her a tiny bit sad. We reminisced about technology and how cutting edge this ride was when I was little and how blown away I had been with the moving sidewalks.

Then Suzy & I rode (we had baby swapped) and we naturally gossiped about Mom & Dad and how much fun Mom was having but how it was a bit sullied by her not being able to get over how Dad will never do this with her because he just can't walk that much and has too much pride to get a scooter.

By this point, it was time to go to Epcot. San Angel was awaiting us for a noon ADR. Jack-Jack had a bottle on the monorail and was tired again. We were really tuckering the poor guy out. The plan was Suzy was going to run (literally) to Soarin' to get FP while Mom & I changed Jack-Jack's diaper and put him to sleep. By the time we were near the first bathroom, he was already asleep. Poor baby. No clean diaper for him.

So we went to Mexico & were right on time. They gave us a pager & we (not having learned from the night before) decided to ride Tres Caballeros. Unfortunately for the CM, our pager went off as we were climbing on the ride so we climbed right back off. He was laughing at us. Our table actually ended up not being ready, they had accidently paged us, so I sat on the couch behind the host and after about 5 minutes our table was ready. I held Jack-Jack through most of this meal. It was just so relaxing to have him sleep through meals, I didn't want to risk moving him!

Last time I at at San Angel we sat next to the railing which was awesome. This time we were next to the kitchen which wasn't nearly as nice but I could see the mariachi band really well and they played twice while we ate. It was a fun atmosphere.



Prior to getting this, Mom was feeling the marching we had made her endure. I'm mean, we did race her across MK a couple times & then dashed to the monorail, off the monorail, and then to Mexico. And she thought we were on vacation! We were hot & tired & bothered. But as soon as she saw these:


She was feeling ready to go again! I ordered a margarita, she got a Dos Equis, and Suzy got a Diet Coke.

See how much better I'm feeling?



And we got our appetizers. Mom & Suzy both got the shrimp cocktail which they adored. It had tons of shrimp but what they really loved was the cilantro filled salsa-type sauce that the shrimp were in. It was delicious. I don't like shrimp, but I tried the salsa stuff. It was really good. I need to try to make it here, I'm pretty sure I could.

I ordered the empanadas which I really like but the sauce, which was great, was very scanty which them a bit dry. But I would order this again, I just would ask for more sauce.

Hmm, no photos of the appies, sorry.

For an entree I got pork tacos. These were tasty, but I just scraped all the filling out of them as I was way too full on margarita, chips, and empanadas and I simply didn't have room in my belly for tortilla. This filling was really good, the avacado was perfect too.



Both Mom & Suzy got steaks, but different ones. Suzy got the one with corn and a chicken enchilada. She LOVED this steak, almost more than her Jiko steak. At least equal to it. But the rest was ordinary, but excellent for Jack-Jack. Unfortunately she had mostly eaten it all before he woke up. Oops!



Here's Mom's steak:


It had salsa verde which she really enjoyed. She pretty much ate the steak and the salsa verde & left wheveter was under that. Like I said, we were getting full.

Too full for dessert? Of course not!

Well, OK, a little too full for dessert. Suay & I both just got ice cream which we really enjoyed. And Mom got a mousse which she said she liked better than her peach cobbler from Jiko.



San Angel is probably my family's number one restaurant in Epcot. I realize it gets mixed reviews, but we love it. So there.

After lunch we went back to the ride & really rode it this time. Jack-Jack LOVED this ride. We love it too. I know it seems kitchy to we Americans, but Mexico really is like that. And I ADORE it. And it doesn't feel that way when you're there. It just feels wonderful. It only feels that way when you try to redo it in America. Anyway, we all enjoyed ourselves.



Up next: How we spent our very special afternoon.