Twirling Through the World: Magic, Memories, & Maladies-Sept. 2011 TR- NEW PTR 6/18!

[Little Flower]

I'm absolutely loving reading about your trip so I'm subscribing! I can't wait for more

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Okay, that is seriously the coolest party theme and decorations ever!!! I love the banner and the (dairy-free!) cake!! Happy birthday to Brynn!!!

 

[ronnmel]

Awesome birthday party! And so original!

 

[kthshh]

Loving your report!

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

Love, love, love the party theme! You did an awesome job! Kudos to your hunny on the artwork!!!!

She came up with the theme on her own, but I won't say I didn't encourage it! I'm so glad Brandon is talented. Otherwise, we would have had pretty much no decorations and a very sloppily decorated cake (I try, but I'm so, so bad at it).

Wow! You guys did an amazing job on the party decorations and cake!

I'm glad that she was able to eat her birthday cake, and that you didn't have to bake it.

Happy Birthday!

She ate so much of it!! It probably tasted way better than anything I've made in the past.

I love Brynn's birthday decorations/theme. Happy birthday to her and you as well!!!!

Thank you! I have to say that she was the best birthday present I've ever gotten!

I'm absolutely loving reading about your trip so I'm subscribing! I can't wait for more

YAY! Thanks for joining in.

Okay, that is seriously the coolest party theme and decorations ever!!! I love the banner and the cake!! Happy birthday to Brynn!!!

She is one cool kid. We all know her obsession with IASW, so I wasn't very shocked when she suggested it. I think it turned out better than I could have imagined!

Awesome birthday party! And so original!

Well, Miss Brynn is really an original, so it fit her well!

Loving your report!

THANKS! I'm loving writing it and re-living my trip...even the rough parts!

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

WOW! I really need to get this TR wrapped up soon…I’ve got an exciting PTR to write, and I refuse to start it until this is finished, solely on principle. Today, I’m going to write an entire day’s worth of updates, so when you finish one section, keep reading until it’s night time!

Now, where were we…

Ah, yes! The Thursday of our trip, which was Hollywood Studios! This is one of Brandon’s favorite parks. He seems to go back and forth on whether this is his favorite or Epcot is his favorite. Personally, I don’t think it’s spectacular. I mean, don’t get me wrong—I always want to visit it, unlike Animal Kingdom, which I visit because I have to check it off the list and not because of my passionate adoration.

Anyway, we were up early this day and all the kids got baths before we left for the morning. Pretty impressive! We made it to DHS in no time and were there before opening.

Because he has to annoy me with his camera, and partly because he thought my frequent bathroom visits were getting humorous, Brandon took this picture of me coming out of the bathroom before the turnstiles. Obviously I was thrilled that he was starting this first thing in the morning.

We made our way inside and stood for a while on Hollywood Boulevard waiting for the official opening.

Cast Members were waving their huge Mickey hands.

I made sure to inform everyone of THE PLAN. See it, attached conveniently to the top of the stroller?

The plan was that we would walk most of the way to Toy Story Mania, ditching Julia’s stroller near Voyage of the Little Mermaid. At that point, she’d walk with Mamie and the two little kids to grab FPs for TSM while Brandon and I made our way over to Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster to ride. We’d meet back at Julia’s stroller and see VOTLM.

There was no opening this time. They pretty much just told everyone they were open, and the stampede began.

Okay, that’s a total exaggeration. People were slowly walking towards TSM. Maybe it was already too hot for them, or maybe they had good manners. I vote for the former.

We went our separate ways. Brandon and I stopped on Sunset Boulevard to get our picture taken with our camera by a Photopass photographer. This is always a point of contention between the two of us. He likes to complain that the photographers don’t know how to use a back focus button and a prime lens with a fixed focal length. I argue that he should have it set up to focus like a normal camera, and that he should just spring for Photopass if he wanted the photographers to take pictures like they know how, with their own cameras! Either way, this guy did a pretty good job. Notice how empty it was on Sunset Boulevard.

After our photo shoot, we made our way to…

Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster! Isn’t it themed so well? Isn’t it awesome?! Isn’t it…CLOSED!?! We made our way all the way to the line before a CM stationed at the FP clock told us it was down and they didn’t know when it would be back up.

So, change of plans.

We decided to walk next door to another ride that no one would want to do with us, Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.

Honestly, I am not a big fan. I’m kind of a wuss about heights, but since we were there, I agreed to go on it, even after swearing in 2009 that I’d never ride it again. I had a free pass not to ride on the last trip because I was pregnant. Now, not so much. There was no wait (or 13 minutes, as they like to say), so I didn’t even have time to chicken out.

Well, the queue was nice. It is some of Disney’s best theming, I think.

We made it to the elevator and were placed on numbers. I looked at this sign and realized we were going to be in the front. Argh!

I think the hologram ghosts are almost creepier than the drops.

Well, we dropped. A lot. I must have been taking a video, according to my redneck ride photo. Also, I was smiling. It must not have been too bad.

Still shaking, we started walking to our meet-up location.

Good morning, Mickey!

When we arrived, our plans began to change some more. VOTLM was a while from starting, but Disney Junior Live on Stage had no line and was just about to begin. We grabbed our Disney Junior Lovin’ kids and quickly found our spot on the floor.

Our host was like, “PEACE!”

Okay, not really. He was counting to three or something. He WAS energetic, though. I think that to work with puppets all day, you have to be a little insane. Or maybe if you aren’t insane when you start, you might just lose a few of your marbles along the way.

Handy Manny puppets.

My kids were enthralled!

Then the bubbles started. The girls were so excited! Those hands up in the air belong to Julia…but, who knew, Sawyer hated them on his head! I’m covering it so he’ll stop fussing. He loves bubbles when I’m blowing them for him, but apparently not when they are magically falling from the sky. Who knew?!

And then came the part of the show we’d been waiting for—Jake and the Neverland Pirates!!

It was great! Lots of dancing, lots of singing and chanting. And Julia kept the doubloons that shot out all over the auditorium. Too bad they were made of paper!

We exited and did a quick potty break, then made our way across the courtyard to the line for Voyage of the Little Mermaid. Alas, it was not meant to be. They let enough people in to start a show, and we were still in line when they closed the doors. We could not wait with three squirming children for nearly 20 minutes, so we came up with a new plan.

Again.

Are we seeing a theme here??

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

Now I was a mom on a mission.

I took time out to pay tribute to two of my favorite funny people, Betty White and Bill Cosby.

We then continued on to our destination, one that we KNEW our entire family would enjoy. One that our family *might* be a little obsessed with. One that never has much of a wait.

Muppet Vision 3D.

Did you just hear angels sing when you saw that? Or at least a frog singing “The Rainbow Connection?”

The whole thing was spectacular, as always. Even Sawyer laughed during the whole thing! I love the pre-show better than the actual movie sometimes. It’s made even better when your three-year old yells out, “Hey, Kermit, next time we’ll see you on Broadway!” Muppets Take Manhattan is our kids’ favorite. They are awesome and brilliant children, obviously.
The girls took some time to throw coins in the fountain, while Sawyer took some time to have his diaper changed.

It was now about time for our early lunch.

We were eating at Sci-FI Dine In! Brandon and Mamie are HUGE fans of B-Movies, and of making fun of B-Movies, MST3K style, so we decided to give this place a shot. Despite some contradictory reviews, this was DHS, so it really had no competition. We have never been impressed with the food options here.

Right away, we loved the atmosphere! We were led to our car right on time, and we had it all to ourselves—no hitchhikers!

The cast members were really into their roles. For example, when Brandon asked where the restrooms were located, one told him to, “cross the fence and go behind the bushes.” SERIOUSLY. The bathrooms really look like they’re located across a fence in some shrubbery!! They thought of everything!

Our waitress told us that the chef had recently been to New York and had worked on perfecting his reuben. Brandon and I both ordered it, and it was PHENOMENAL!! I was not able to finish the whole thing, but if I wasn’t still getting over the sickness a little, I totally would have been able to. We both got shakes, too. I got the cookies and cream one and Brandon got strawberry. On the dining plan, you can substitute a shake for a drink here. They were delicious, and mine was the best milkshake I have ever had.

I think Mamie got a cheeseburger. Julia and Brynn ordered hot dogs and fountain drinks with cherry syrup. Brynn didn’t drink hers, which I knew she wouldn’t, so I got to have a great cherry coke! The chef did come out for a second and let us know the hot dog and fries were dairy-free for Brynn, and her ice cream sundae would be made with tofutti.

We got our “speeding ticket” (bill), and were finishing up when I heard a nasty sound.

**SKIP THIS PARAGRAPH IF YOU’RE SQUEAMISH.**
A girl a few tables away from us started vomiting all over herself. I didn’t even have time to be grossed out. I went into prevention mode and had Mamie grab kids and head outside. Brandon waited for Brynn to finish her sundae and then quickly whisked her out the door. The manager came to help the lady, and I finally got my KTTW back from our server and darted out of there.

I have to say that even with the “incident” at the end of the meal, I still loved Sci-Fi. I think we’ll make it a tradition to eat there. I mean, where else can you enjoy yummy sandwiches and milkshakes while watching clips of babies being taken care of by robots?!

I’m not sure where Mamie took Julia and Sawyer, but she was supposed to meet us at Toy Story Mania. Maybe they went to get Star Tours FPs? Brandon, Brynn, and I arrived and couldn’t find them. Brynn did find Green Army Man, though! She was a little shy at first, but then warmed up to him.

Julia came up and saw them together and wanted to get a photo, which I can’t seem to find. She’s never been bold enough to meet him before, but I guess seeing her little sister do it calmed her fears, or at least brought out her need to protect her pride!

Turns out that Sawyer had fallen asleep in the stroller on their trek to wherever they went, so Mamie said she’d push him around, do some shopping, and make phone calls. We headed into the ride.

Believe it or not, this was our first time riding TSM. EVER. I know, crazy, right?? We practically ran though most of the FP line (which disappointingly does not lead by the Mr. Potato Head I’d hoped we’d see) until near the end in the part that kind of looks like a circus tent. The line pretty much stopped there and we waited for about twenty minutes with nothing to look at except stripy walls. I was glad Sawyer wasn’t in line with us—he’d never be able to handle that long of a wait without trying to make a break for it.

When we were finally about to board, I volunteered to ride with Brynn while Brandon rode with Julia. I had to help Brynn fire her cannon the whole time, so needless to say both of our scores were pretty pathetic. I think this is Julia and Brandon’s scores.

So, what did we think? Well, it was fun, but I don’t really understand the hype about it. Don’t get me wrong—we all enjoyed it—we just probably wouldn’t ride it multiple times per trip.

On the way out, I had to tear the girls away from the gift shop across the way. We looked around and couldn’t find Mamie and Sawyer, again. We called her on her cell phone and got spectacular directions. “I’m in a store. I think it’s something about stars, but I can’t be sure. I can see the hat!”

Ooookay then.

Luckily, we walked around until we narrowed it down and found them in a corner store on Hollywood Boulevard. We got there and decided that it was just too hot to do anything for a moment. We grabbed some waters and a frozen lemonade cup and plopped ourselves down in the air-conditioned corner of the store. Brandon ran to get FPs for Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster while Julia took bad pictures of everyone.

Our brief respite was over, and we mustered as much energy as possible and moved on. It was time for Beauty and the Beast. Now, I know you’ve seen a million photos of this show, so I’ll only add a few.

Our kids watching the show:

Our view:

We sat near the back of the auditorium, hoping against hope that there would be some kind of breeze up there. No luck. We were getting hotter by the moment. As soon as we got out of there, I grabbed waters for everyone. I made this crazy face. Some say it’s because I’m crazy. I say the heat made me do it.

We were spraying ourselves with the misting fans and gulping water, but it was still unbearable. We were a bit happy when we looked up to notice the skies.

PLEASE rain on us! PLEASE!

(Keep reading! More below!)

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

As we made our way towards Star Tours, the rain started. I know it was about three o’clock at this time, because they made an announcement just then that the parade would be “postponed.” (In reality, they never had the parade that day, I think.) People were complaining who had waited along the road, but we didn’t care. We had no interest in the parade. We only had eyes for THIS:

Brandon and I had just watched the original trilogy the week before and we were pumped! Julia was excited, too, even though she’s never seen the movies. She just likes 3D. Brynn said she didn’t want to ride, so we gave a rider-swap pass to Mamie and she took the two little kids inside the dry store at the end of the ride.

Julia, Brandon, and I headed in.

We are stylin’!

We LOVE LOVE LOVED the ride! In fact, I did some bargaining with Brandon so I could ride it again. If he’d let me go on the rider swap with Mamie and Julia, then I’d let him go the extra turn at Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster later that night. He agreed, and I got to ride it again!! I had a different scenario this time. I know it involved Leia, and it involved HOTH! Woot! I was a happy girl.

What were Brandon and the little kids doing while we rode?

The boys were looking cool.

Brynn was playing with fab five dolls in the floor.

I restrained myself from buying anything in this store, but I’m not sure how.

We went out to do some walking in the streets.

Now, I realize this is blurry. There’s a reason for that. Brandon would set the focus, but no matter how hard she tried, Mamie cannot stop herself from walking forward AS she’s taking photos. WHO DOES THINGS LIKE THAT!?! Obviously it produced about fifteen blurry photos, and this is the best of them.

If you read my PTR, then you know that I had gotten ADRs at Mama Melrose’s for the Fantasmic! Package. If you know anything about those packages, then you know they make you eat at odd times. Now was that odd time. Yes, it was only late afternoon, still hours from a normal meal time, but we were headed for pasta…

Or so we thought. The place was packed, and when we checked in we were told they were running about 45 minutes behind.

Strike one against this place.

Brandon stayed inside while the rest of us walked around in the vicinity until they called us.

Notice that fake snow, which was also covered with very real rainwater?

Not one, not two, but all three of my kids slipped and got scraped knees on it while we were waiting. And then they tried to walk on it more, because obviously they were just not learning cause and effect that day.

Suddenly, I was aware that Sawyer needed a diaper change in a bad way. I picked him up and took him to Brandon, only to discover that we had no wipes with us for some reason. Really. The most prepared family in the world came without wipes? I’m sure they were somewhere, but they weren’t anywhere we needed them to be! Luckily, someone waiting was with someone who had wipes, and she went and found them and crisis was averted. Just know for future reference that (1) you should never be so absent-minded that you forget the wipes, and (2) the muppets store does not carry wipes.

Eventually, and very late, we were seated. A nice British man took our orders and brought us some bread with olive oil and Earth Balance butter for Brynn.

Sadly, that was to be the highlight of this meal, at least for me. For the Fantasmic! Package, you get an appetizer with your meal, which is nice. Brandon and I decided to split Mama's Antipasto for Two - selection of Italian meats, cheeses, and marinated vegetables $14.99. Notice that I said “share,” which was news to us. They previously allowed a single diner to order this, but suddenly they didn’t. No matter. The cheese were good, but not great. I enjoyed the ones at CRT much more.

I don’t have pictures of any other appetizers, sorry! For dinner, I’m not sure what most people ordered. I think Julia ordered the kids’ fish. Brandon ordered Carne D'Italia Flatbread - with Pepperoni, Italian Sausage, Pancetta, and Spicy Marinara Sauce $12.99. He seemed to like it okay, but said the ones at the resort were just as good. It’s just glorified pizza, after all.

I don’t have pictures of any other entrees. I ordered the Chicken Campanelle - wood-grilled chicken over Campanelle pasta tossed with four-cheese sauce with broccoflower, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh spinach and sweet onions $18.99. Sounds good, right? WRONG. I took one bit and realized that the “sweet onions,” so they say, had taken over this dish. It tasted like biting into a big, raw, bitter onion. That’s all I could taste. I took a drink and tried again. Nope. Still the same. I pushed it away and drank my tea. (STRIKE TWO.) What a waste. The waiter never asked if something was wrong with the dish, so he did not get any bonus points from me (STRIKE THREE). It’s kind of obvious I didn’t like it.

To make up for my missing pictures, here’s a series of silly photos taken by Julia during the meal:

For dessert, I got the Chocolate Cannoli Cake - with cannoli and nutella filling. It was good, but so rich that I could only eat a bite. Mamie had cheesecake (duh), and Brandon had Gelato.

At this point, kids were restless and I was disappointed, so we headed out of there. We quickly realized we’d need ponchos. We were a bit sad about that, as we were hoping to meet Phineas and Ferb after dinner, but they were not out due to the rain. However, a cast member overheard us talking and pointed us in the direction of a building we thought housed nothing. Turns out there was an auditorium inside, and P&F moved there when it was raining! Nobody else seemed to know this, though, because the huge line from before now only included us!

Next up, we decided it was time to go SIIIIINGING IN THE RAIN…

I didn’t even have to stand on the little think that makes the fake rain. We had plenty ourselves.

(Keep going! One more update below!)

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

We half-heartedly enjoyed our rides on RNR using the rider swap. The kids were occupied playing with the light up toys in the gift shop.

At this point, we were all a little soggy and the little ones were getting tired. It was time for a trip to the Baby Care center. I like that this one has booths to nurse babies in. If you recall, the one at MK is an open room with uncomfortable chairs. I am not afraid to nurse around people at all, but Sawyer is a chatty boy and gets distracted if there’s someone to talk to and forgets what he’s there for! In the booths at the DHS Baby Care Center, the chairs are comfortable and the lights are on a dimmer. Awesome! Brynn and Julia took a moment to dry off and watch some Mickey Mouse Clubhouse while they waited on me.

I handed over a sleepy Sawyer to Brandon, and instructed Brynn to climb into the stroller. We packed down Brandon with anything we wouldn’t need and sent him with the two smallest kids back to Pop Century.

I’m not sure if we’re gluttons for punishment or just easily swayed, but even in the rain Mamie and I stayed to watch Fantasmic because Julia insisted we did. She’d finally worked up the courage to watch it and was not backing out, no matter what.

I couldn’t get the settings on my crappy little waterproof camera to work right, so you get blurry photos.

Proof we were still there.

Proof we were being rained on the whole time.

She looks like she’s having a blast, right??

We were in the preferred seating, but I think the only thing I think is really preferred about it is the stroller parking away from everyone else.

We saw the show.

It has never been one of my favorites, and this was the final nail in its coffin, I think. If I never see it again, it’ll be too soon.

When it was over, the masses started to hurry out.

Except that I got a phone call from Brandon. He said that someone had called him and said they had our park bag and were dropping it off with “the guards” at DHS. Apparently, when Brandon took the little ones back and folded the stroller, the bag had dropped on the ground, where it sat, being drenched, until a good Samaritan came by and picked it up and took it to “the guards,” and they were nice enough to call us and tell us! I was so happy about that!

While the masses lined up at the bus stop, we moved to guest services. They had not seen the bag, and they had no idea *which* guards they would have taken the bag to. The girl didn’t even try calling around to the guards or anything. She couldn’t be bothered. I was bothered, though, and I was getting a little bit snippy at this point. She rolled her eyes and said she’d go radio someone, though they most likely wouldn’t have it. Well, when she came back, she was carrying my bag. If I hadn’t forced her to do her job, I wouldn’t have gotten it. Probably the worst CM I’ve encountered. A nice family did share a sucker with Julia while we were waiting! I’m positive they must have been a DIS family!

We made our way to the bus stop. No, scratch that. We made our way in the general direction of the bus stop and noticed a looooong line that went all the way to the end of the stops. All those thousands of people were waiting for POP, of course! We just had to laugh at that point! We were soaked, stuck in a mass of people, and just had an argument over finding a lost bag. At that point, we asked where the cabs were. We were told there would be tons of cabs waiting over there, but there were two, and both vans.
Once inside, we realized that it was Julia’s first taxi ride. And we also realized that I had no cash. Mamie had a little bit, but in the end we had just a little more than enough to pay our driver. I still feel bad about his meager tip, but we never carry cash, especially at Disney! I think we learned our lesson and will at least take a little bit next time.

I’m pretty sure we fell into bed that night. At least we could sleep in tomorrow!

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Wow, lots of updates!!! You guys definitely had a long day at DHS, it sounds like you had a great time! Too bad about Mama Melrose, but at least Sci Fi was great!

 

[ronnmel]

I think TSM is more enjoyable with slightly older kids, or just adults by themselves. Or maybe it's just the competitive person in me who just likes to keep improving my score.

I'm not a big fan of Fantasmic either. I like it okay, but only if the evening is nice and we won't have to wait for it. I'm sure if I were drenched I would not like it so much.

I'm glad you pushed that bad CM a little and she got you your bag! Good call on taking a cab.

 

[shan23877]

Holy Updates Batman!

You guys got some of the best pics I've seen on the DIS of Sci-Fi. Were your girls scared of the movie clips at all? I've put off booking it because I thought Maddie might not like them.

Yay for extra ST rides! I'm not much of a Star Wars nut, but I married one. I really like the ride though.

Sorry that Mama Melrose was so disappointing. Sounds awful. Good luck to find P&F with no line though!

You guys were troopers to stay through Fantasmic! I'm really shocked at that awful CM. Disney usually does so much better than that.

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

Wow, lots of updates!!! You guys definitely had a long day at DHS, it sounds like you had a great time! Too bad about Mama Melrose, but at least Sci Fi was great!

We did have a great time! Mama Melrose definitely didn't ruin our time. Sci Fi was wonderful, and we had lots of fun seeing the shows and riding the rides.

I think TSM is more enjoyable with slightly older kids, or just adults by themselves. Or maybe it's just the competitive person in me who just likes to keep improving my score.

I'm not a big fan of Fantasmic either. I like it okay, but only if the evening is nice and we won't have to wait for it. I'm sure if I were drenched I would not like it so much.

I'm glad you pushed that bad CM a little and she got you your bag! Good call on taking a cab.

It probably would be better that way. I mean, we liked it, don't get me wrong! But we'd probably like it more if it were actually a competition with each other or with kids who knew how to pull the string on their own.
Fantasmic is not what I have a problem with--I love to watch the show on You Tube. I just hate the crowds going in and the crowds leaving! We solved the entering problem by getting the dining package, but there is no way we could have waited hours for a bus! The cab was good decision.

Holy Updates Batman!

You guys got some of the best pics I've seen on the DIS of Sci-Fi. Were your girls scared of the movie clips at all? I've put off booking it because I thought Maddie might not like them.

Yay for extra ST rides! I'm not much of a Star Wars nut, but I married one. I really like the ride though.

Sorry that Mama Melrose was so disappointing. Sounds awful. Good luck to find P&F with no line though!

You guys were troopers to stay through Fantasmic! I'm really shocked at that awful CM. Disney usually does so much better than that.

Aw, thanks! My girls weren't scared at all! The clips are so funny that they were entertained and not scared. They especially liked the Tom and Jerry cartoon because they love to watch them at home.
I really liked the Star Tours ride because I could actually see the 3D! I have astigmatism in one eye, and it kind of makes it difficult to see with 3D glasses. I never seem to get the full effect. On this, I did! I guess it's because the technology was so new. Loved it!
That CM was a shock. Unlike the one at EE earlier in the trip, she only made me mad, though, not sad. As soon as I got my bag, I just brushed off the whole situation. You're right, Disney CMs are usually the nicest people on earth! I thought it was ironic that her post was Guest Services, where your whole job is to help guests, and she was less than helpful! Might be time for a post change for that girl!

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

After a long day at DHS, we didn’t even bother to set the alarm. And why would we? Friday was Blizzard Beach Day!

At 8:30, we all seemed to kind of wake up at once and start stirring around. Brandon and I were excited for our date night that night—Epcot EMH and LE CELLIER!—after a day of being some of those laaazy people on the laaaazy river (we love Stacey!). While people were getting dressed, Brandon and I ran over to the food court to grab some breakfast and bring it to the room.
Brandon had the Bounty Platter.

Mamie had a muffin. The kids had some cereal and cinnamon rolls we had in the room. I had a bacon, egg, and cheese croissant. Why don’t I have a picture, you ask?

Because when I was getting everyone situated with their drinks and breakfast, Brynn came and ate half of my croissant.

My dairy-intolerant child ate my breakfast, which mostly consisted of cheese and butter.

Spectacular. At that point, I grabbed it away and began to mentally prepare for the sickness I knew was coming. I was trying to determine which kind of sickness would befall her for those impulsive bites.

We ate, and she seemed settled, so we threw on our swimsuits after a while and began to sunscreen everyone. We waited a few more minutes just to see if she’d get sick, and she seemed to be fine. Whew!

We arrived at Blizzard Beach at 10:15, just after opening. And yes, we even had a plan for today, our lazy day. We would situate Sawyer and Mamie in the sand around Tike’s Peak (Mamie doesn’t do water, and Sawyer was too little to slide), then ride the ski lift up and ride Teamboat Springs as a family.

We arrived at the ski lift to find it closed. So what did we do?

We climbed. And climbed. And climbed.

It was hot on our feet, but they had sprayers going on the hot steps. Brynn drank a juice box on the way up, and when we finally got there, we were all panting just a little.

Nice view from up here!

We got into line and were quickly one family away when it happened. All that juice Brynn just ingested came right back up on the pavement. We motioned for the lifeguard and he called for someone to clean it up. It was just juice, so we had to point it out to them amongst the wet pavement. Gross, I know. Sorry.

Brandon picked up Brynn and carried her back down the steps, and Julia and I rode a raft down just the two of us. At the end, there’s a not-so-Hidden Mickey.

We found Mamie and Sawyer, and Brynn and Brandon weren’t down yet. When they arrived, Brynn was fine, but Brandon said he felt queasy from seeing it happen. Not shocking. Brandon gets sick if you mention anything yucky, much less if he witnesses it! He wanted to sit for a moment, and since Sawyer was asleep, he volunteered to stay with the stroller and the snoozing baby. I watched Brynn for a minute and she was bouncing around and perfectly fine. I knew she wouldn’t get sick again, and I was right. I’m not sure if it was the heat, the dairy, the gulping of juice, or what, but it was over. She begged to slide, so Mamie, Julia, Brynn, and I went to Tike’s Peak to do some of the baby slides.

Not much commentary here, just pictures. We did this for an hour or so.

Then Sawyer woke up and joined in on the fun!

And finally he was like, “No, no more pictures, please!”

We were kind of done with everything at Tike’s Peak and decided to play in the sand by our lounge chairs.

We had brought buckets with us that we had gotten at Restaurantosaurus on Tuesday. The kids played, Mamie and rested, and Brandon went to First Aid to see if they had some Pepto for his nausea and they also gave him a water and a coke.

When he came back, and thinking he was feeling better, we decided to take the girls over to the wave pool. While we were getting the girls’ their life vests, he went white as a ghost. At this point, he let me know that it might not just be from seeing Brynn’s incident—he now believed he was getting what I had earlier, and I believed him. He left to go get Mamie and Sawyer, and then they’d be back by the wave pool to get Brynn since she had done all the little kid things already. They’d just go back to the room in case he really was ill.

The girls and I spent a few minutes in the wave pool while we waited on the rest of them to get back.

We waited, and waited, and splashed, and waited.

Finally, they showed up. It seems Brandon didn’t even make it to them before getting sick. He had that same “I’m about to pass out” look that I’m sure I had on Tuesday. Brandon let me know in no uncertain terms that he never wanted to go to a water park again, EVER. He still holds true to this, and we aren’t planning a water park trip for this September! Just like I swore off MNSSHP for the same reasons, and we don’t have that planned, either!

(Keep going! More below!)

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

That crew made it safely back to the hotel in the van, and Julia and I decided to stay and do all the slides we didn’t think we’d have time to do.
I think this was something like Toboggan Racers? We didn’t really know what to expect. I helped her onto her mat and told her to hold on! She loved it, and so did I!

We lost our way on the way to Snow Stormers, so we ended up going on Teamboat Springs again! Julia was warning our other rafters that water would drip on them.

It was about lunchtime then. What did we have for lunch?

Mini doughnuts with chocolate sauce and a frozen lemonade! We not be healthy eaters, but we sure were happy ones!

It started to sprinkle rain a little, and while we were waiting to see if it would get stronger, we called my mom back home and told her of our saga thusfar.
We decided it wasn’t getting stronger, and since we were already wet, what did it matter? We opted for a turn on the lazy river.

Next up was Runoff Rapids in a double tube. Julia helped me haul it over to the beginning of the slide, which is up a LOT of steps!

This is a blurry picture, but this shows how we were on the descent.

At the end, Julia was mad I wouldn’t let her swim in the pool where the slide exits. I told her we had to get out because people were coming down the slide behind us. Just then, a CM told her to swim out, and she yelled back, “I KNOW.” Somebody needed a nap!

But we couldn’t leave the park without one important thing.

Have you seen the Disney Sing-a-Long Songs video called “Beach Party at Disney World?” Well, my kids LOVE it. On one of the songs (“Hot, Hot, Hot!” sung by Goofy), they show the Ski Patrol Training Camp. In particular, Julia is fascinated with the part where they cross the nets while standing on “icebergs.” Since we were here, and she was older, I took her over there.

YES! She did it! At the end, she was jumping up and down and yelling, “I didn’t even fall in!!!” I just kept it to myself that that could be because I was moving every iceberg over so she could reach it. I let her have her moment.

I let her do the slides there a couple of times.

And then we headed for the showers. I went ahead and washed her hair and body and got her re-dressed, but I waited on my shower for later.

I think we should have done this picture this morning when there were six of us. This just looks kind of sad!

We waited at the bus stop for 25 minutes for a bus. There was only one other family with us, but the clouds were getting darker and I thought people would start piling out soon and we’d be crammed on a bus if one didn’t hurry! Julia was enthralled watching the love bugs. They were EVERYWHERE! The other family got a kick out of her saying, “I usually squish bugs, but not the love bugs since they are such good friends that they hold on to each other!” HAHA!

On the bus, I watched Julia looking out the window. This was her first bus ride of the trip!

I overheard a family talking about potty training difficulties and how it’s just hard in general to have one kid; they just couldn’t believe anyone would want more than one. I laughed to myself about that one! I LOVE having three kids, and I really don’t think it’s difficult at all. Maybe it’s all about your mindset.

We went to Mamie’s room. Brynn and Sawyer had napped and were snacking. Brandon was in our room and had been being sick over and over and over, much worse than I was that night. I decided to go to the front desk and get some urgent care info just in case. Then I went and got him some crackers and Powerade, which is what he requested. I also bought Brynn a new “special” cup that only she could use, even if washed, just in case her sickness this morning had not been the dairy/juice/climbing in the heat scenario.

I brought Brandon back his requests. He was running a fever and was generally miserable. Mamie called and cancelled our Le Cellier reservations for us, and they didn’t penalize us or make us pay anything. Our date night we had looked forward to for so long was not to be. You have to realize that we NEVER take date nights. We never feel like leaving our kids behind, so our “dates” are when we eat snacks and watch tv after the kids are in bed. We like it like that, but we sure were looking forward to that steak!

Instead, we were having food court food that night. Well, all of us minus Brandon were having food court food. Mamie and I took them to Everything Pop. We filled our table with Turkey Ciabbata (me), yogurt and some of my sandwich (Sawyer), chicken nuggets with applesauce and grapes (Brynn and Julia), and beef with broccoli (Mamie).

Back in the room, I put Sawyer and Brynn to bed and checked in on Brandon. No better.

I decided to walk to the van and get the voucher for arcade time we had left. On the way, I saw Illuminations fireworks!

Julia and I spent a little time in the arcade.

Then I tucked her in bed. I asked Mamie if she wanted me to go get her a room separate from our sickly bunch so she wouldn’t catch it, and she boasted that she NEVER gets sick. I just shook my head. Don’t you know you aren’t supposed to tempt fate like that??

 

[dara00]

ohhh no that is so sad that Brandon got sick too!

 

[shan23877]

Oh no! I'm so sorry that you didn't get to have your date night! I sure hope that Brandon was feeling better very soon.

It does sound like a nice day for you and Julia to have together though. I bet she'll end up remembering that afternoon for a long time.

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Oh no!!! Poor Brynn and Brandon!! I hope that they were feeling better soon! (And now Mamie??) Keeping my fingers crossed that the sicknesses didn't affect too many days of your vacation!!

 

[Queenofallthings]

You are an updating machine girl I am so happy you took your camera (unlike me) to the water park. I love the water parks and I always think everyone looks so relaxed and happy....we look the same when we're there!

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

ohhh no that is so sad that Brandon got sick too!

I felt so bad for him. It was like what I had times a million.

Oh no! I'm so sorry that you didn't get to have your date night! I sure hope that Brandon was feeling better very soon.

It does sound like a nice day for you and Julia to have together though. I bet she'll end up remembering that afternoon for a long time.

Julia and I had a great time! I was bummed about missing the date night, but luckily he felt great when he woke up the next morning.

Oh no!!! Poor Brynn and Brandon!! I hope that they were feeling better soon! (And now Mamie??) Keeping my fingers crossed that the sicknesses didn't affect too many days of your vacation!!

It was a horrible illness, but luckily it was quick!

You are an updating machine girl I am so happy you took your camera (unlike me) to the water park. I love the water parks and I always think everyone looks so relaxed and happy....we look the same when we're there!

I have to be an updating machine! I have a PTR that I am so excited to start, but I won't do it until I've finished this one! Still two days to go!
We didn't take our good camera to the park, but we took "my" camera, as Brandon puts it. It's a little waterproof one that's pretty much the only camera he lets me touch.
All of us had a great time at the water park...except for Brandon, of course.