GADISNEYGIRL
<font color=red>Maelstromer!<br><font color=purple
- Joined
- Sep 8, 2003
- Messages
- 1,227
Cast: Rhonda/Mommy, 30, WDW Veteran; Mark/Daddy, 32, WDW Veteran; Wesley/DS, 2, now officially a WDW Veteran
Background: Many of you probably read my trip report from last week--you know, the one we planned in less than an hour?? Well, it just wasn't enough. (Is it ever?!?) We were suffering severe withdrawals. On Wednesday, I realized that I would get paid on Thursday, and there was nothing in particular that we *had* to do with that check...probably many things we *should* have done with it...but anyway, I told Mark that I wanted to go back for the weekend. No twisting his arm! But as we talked about it later that evening, I decided it was too crazy, we really needed to stay home, cut the grass, clean the house, vacuum...you know, all the stuff responsible people do on the weekends! We went to bed, and I was sure that we'd just have to wait until September.
Pre-trip: Got up Thursday morning, couldn't stop thinking that we *could* be going back. So when Mark walked in to tell me goodbye, I said, "You've got 2 minutes to convince me to go." Well, about 5 minutes later, he was on the phone checking availability at All Star Movies. They had plenty of rooms available in Toy Story section. Hurray! Wesley would be thrilled. He also tried to make PS for the Ice Cream Social, but it was full. We'll keep trying. Mark and Wesley left for the church (work for Mark, pre-school for Wesley), and soon after I left for work. Wesley is done with school at noon every day, and Wed and Thur I get off work at noon. I finished up with some things and left a little early, to get home and pack. I don't know why it took so long to pack this time, since last week we did it in 11 minutes...but anyway, after taking care of all the things we had to do, it ended up being about 1:30 before we left.
Trip: That's Wesley's normal naptime, and he was soon asleep. The planning began... we *love* to plan, don't you?!?
Wesley got a fairly good nap. When he woke up, we told him where we were going. He was excited! The time was going pretty fast. We were just south of Gainesville when traffic stopped. We were only 1/4 mile or so back, and could see that there had been some sort of bad accident. There were 4 or 5 ambulances, then the Life Flight helicopter came and landed on the interstate...but still, we were only stopped for about 30 minutes. And it's easier to be patient when it is a situation like that, rather than when they are doing construction on 10 feet of one lane of the road but have 2 of the other lanes blocked, which happened to us on our trip to TN...but I digress! Anyway, traffic opened up, and we arrived at ASMo right around 7pm.
Mark went to check in, and once again, we are disappointed. We are NOT in Toy Story, we are in Fantasia. We've been given an upgrade. Well, fine, but we would really have preferred to not have an upgrade and be in the section we requested! Nothing we can do about it. We ask to be notified if we can move in the morning. It's Thursday, remember, and Survivor will be on soon. We head to the food court for dinner, and end up back in the room about 8:20. Not TOO bad. Begin getting Wesley ready for bed after we eat. About 30 minutes later, we notice that the bathtub has not drained. Mark called to report it. (Trying to get Wesley to sleep.) About 30 minutes later, maintenance shows up (just after we called to cancel it until the next morning, so that Wesley would go to sleep). The guy had it fixed in about 10 minutes. Finally, Wesley went to sleep! Mark and I also got ready for bed.
It was sometime after 10pm, and a band started playing outside! Practicing for Magic Music Days, I suppose. Now Mark and I both played in our bands and marched during Magic Music Days. But never did we practice at our hotel! And certainly not after 10pm!! Fortunately, they only played one song, then stopped. Forgot to mention this earlier--we were in Fantasia 8, which was MUCH closer to the parking lot, thank goodness. But on the lawn right by the stairwell was what appeared to be a set of sheets and a couple of towels. When we left the next morning, they were still there. Also, IN the stairwell, was a pair of underwear and a beer bottle. THEY were still there when we checked out on Saturday. This was our worst experience in our 3 trips to ASMo. Have decided to try the moderate resorts for our September trip.
Friday, Park Day: Mickey called at 6:30. I got to answer the phone! I didn't jump out of bed immediately, though, I must admit! A few minutes later, I was finally up. While I got a shower, Mark called to check on the Ice Cream Social again. Still nothing available. Wesley woke up, and enjoyed watching the old Mickey cartoons while we all got ready. We went to the food court for breakfast, but it was packed, so we decided to stop by McDonald's instead. That turned out to be a good plan. We wanted to be at MK to see the entire park opening, since we missed most of it last week. We had our breakfast in the car, parked at Epcot, and a monorail was waiting. There was no one in the front! The driver said we could ride up there. This was a first for me! (Mark has done it once before.) Turned out to not be as great as I'd hoped, because the windshield was covered in condensation. And the driver was not at all talkative. Mark asked how long he'd been driving the monorail. "For a little while." Asked if this was his first trip this morning. "No, there've been a few more already." A couple of other questions, a couple of other non-answers. Oh, well, we'll try again another trip! Arrive at TTC, hop on MK monorail. We arrive in plenty of time for the Park Opening. We had made a deal with Wesley: when we're outside, you stay in your stroller...when we're inside, or on a ride, we'll hold you. We shook on it...and believe it or not, for most of the day, it worked! (Think that contributed to our feet being soooo tired and achy last week--he wanted to be carried almost constantly.)
Mark plans to get a job at WDW--he should be an official photographer. We were right in front, and all these people were taking pictures, so Mark would offer to take one of their entire group.
The park opening was wonderful, as always. Wesley enjoyed it, too, I think. So we enter the park, and journey down Main Street, just loving life! We start our traditional pattern--to Tomorrowland. Buzz Lightyear is first up. Last week, you'll recall, Wesley was scared of everything. Initially, as we got on the ride, he said, "My scared!" But that didn't last long. I think he was beginning to actually enjoy it! Next up was Pooh, which he loved this time. Peter Pan, too. And Small World again (he did like that one last week). We're so glad he's enjoying it more this weekend! We had decided to skip Haunted Mansion and the Goofy Show this time, because we wanted to do PoC and Jungle Cruise. He LOVED PoC! I was a little surprised! To this point, we have waited for nothing. This was a very pleasant surprise. We headed to Jungle Cruise, where we waited for 20 minutes. Wesley was very good in line. I don't think it was worth the wait. He didn't seem as interested as I thought he might be. We'll skip that one from now on, until he's old enough to tell us if he wants to ride it! From there we were going to City Hall to check on the Ice Cream Social again. Still booked. As we're on our way to Toon Town, we realize that Cinderella's Surprise Celebration has ended, and the characters are out! We see Genie first. Wesley is not as nervous around the characters this time, either. No time to see any others, they are about to leave. We go on to Toon Town, and first stop is Mickey's house! When it was our turn in the judges' tent, Wesley actually RAN to Mickey! The CM had already taken a picture, but we asked if she'd take one with all of us, and she did. Then we went to see Minnie, Chip and Dale. Everyone was in line to see Minnie, so we saw both Chip and Dale immediately. Wesley was hugging everyone! We waited just a couple of minutes for Minnie, then he RAN to her, too. Again, we asked for a family picture, and the CM obliged. She actually took 3 pictures. We decided to go look at the photos, but realized that Wesley needed a diaper change. (Bag was in the stroller, parked down by Donald's boat.) We chose the photos we wanted, and Mark gave me our camera and went to change the offending diaper while I waited for the photos. They were gone, and gone, and gone...when they finally returned, he said that they'd seen all the characters behind the judges' tent--and guess who had the camera!! Well, they'll be back at 1:30. He said that Wesley hugged everyone again. We started to stand in line to see Cindy, but we're all getting hungry. Off to Cosmic Ray's, for 2 chicken caesar salads and a PBJ. We ate outside this time, it was a much better atmosphere, and Wesley was much better behaved! We decided to not wait to see the characters again, but to go on to Epcot. But another Surprise Celebration had ended, so we decided to see some other characters. Wesley loves Lilo and Stitch, and Stitch was out...got really cute pics with him. Then waited for Donald--more great pics. By this time, it's about 1:15, might as well go see the other characters. Back to Toon Town! We waited for just a few minutes. We were initially the only people back there. Out came Robin Hood, Friar Tuck, Timon, Rafiki, the White Rabbit, Baloo, King Louie, several Mr. Penguins (Wesley thinks they're Wheezy), Pinocchio...great pics with them all. Finally, off to Epcot. One more stop by City Hall, still nothing available for the Ice Cream Social. Wesley has fallen asleep. Perfect! He slept all the way there. Just as we got inside, it started to rain a bit. That woke him up. We headed immediately for The Land, and inquired about the Ice Cream Social. Were told that they could take us if all PSs didn't show. We went to see The Circle of Life, came back, they can take us! We were seated on the inside this time, which wasn't quite as cool as being on the outside, but we were thrilled to get in at all. More great pics with Mickey, Pluto, Chip and Dale. Chip actually fed Wesley some ice cream! We didn't get to see the characters as much this time, though. Now it's after 4, and we know if we want to catch any characters in WS, we'd better get over there. The jackpot!! Pooh and Tigger were just arriving in UK. Belle was just arriving in France. We had a really good experience with her. Wesley was first in line (only in line, actually!). She picked him up and showed him a book about Prince Wesley--it's her favorite book! (gotta love that!) Some other people came in, so we pried Wesley away. He wanted to see her again. So...back in we go. Got another awesome pic. She was great with him! Found Aladdin, Jasmine and Genie in Morocco. Wesley wasn't quite as comfortable with them, but still, good pics! Stroll on over to Norway, the wait is 40 minutes, so we grab fast passes. Go to Mexico instead. Rode it 3 times. Wesley wanted to keep riding! But finally we'd hit our fast pass window, so we went back to Norway. Got right on, and Wesley even enjoyed this one this time. We got out of Norway, and it had begun to rain a little again. Remembered that we hadn't gone to see the fish, so we went back to FW. We watched the fish for 20 or 30 minutes, and when we came out, it was pouring. We did have the stroller cover, thank goodness! Mark ran to get the stroller, we changed Wesley's diaper again, and went to Spaceship Earth. Wesley liked this again, too. Then we decided it was time to eat, so back to Morocco. By this time, Wesley was very tired. He had a bit of a fit (nothing major, he just wanted to get down, and I wouldn't let him), and decided not to eat anything. Mark and I ate pretty quickly. It was as good as we remembered! Now we're trying to decide what to do. We figure we'll check the line on Norway again. It was pretty short, so we hop on. When we got off, the rain was coming down hard. We do one more run on Mexico. By now it is flooding. Had planned to do SE once more before we left, but ditched that idea. The stroller had gotten wet, because we didn't have the stroller cover pulled down really well when we ate. So the plan is for me to carry Wesley, and we'll both be inside my poncho. Fortunately, this worked. I think Wesley was the only one of us who stayed relatively dry. The wind was blowing our ponchos up, so we were still getting soaked. There were times when we were sloshing through ankle deep water. Even with the ponchos, Mark and I both looked like we'd just stepped out of the shower! We make it to the car, where the door got soaked while I was trying to get Wesley in the carseat. The trunk was also soaked. Thank goodness, at some point, Mark had taken our pictures out of the stroller basket and stuck them down his front, because there was a pool of water in the basket at this point. Back to ASMo (where we had decided not to move to another room, because for the length of our stay, it truly wasn't worth it). A warm bath for Wesley... then Mark spent 45 minutes blow drying our shoes. As soon as I got Wesley to sleep, I went to bed myself. I didn't even hear Mark running the blow dryer! (Oh, when we arrived back in the room, we decided to try and get PS for a character breakfast. Chef Mickey's was full, but Cape May was available, so we took it. Have to be there for a 10:30 PS.)
Saturday, Character Breakfast and Home: Mark and I woke up around 8. Went ahead and got up, got showers, began packing up. We were out of the room just after 9. A quick stop by Andy's Room. (Thank goodness it wasn't raining! And our shoes are relatively dry!) We stop to get gas, which wasn't really much more expensive than it is at home, then headed to the Beach Club. We walked around outside for a bit, since we were early, then walked in, and were greeted by Art!
Checked out the gift shop, then went back over towards the restaurant. Wesley and I were watching Buzz Lightyear on TV. Mark overhead a lady being extremely rude to the CM at the front. Wanted to know why she had to wait. Umm...hello...because there are a lot of people ahead of you?!? At last, that lady and her family were called, and guess who got to go in right behind them? We did! Fortunately, they were seated around the corner from us. She must have caused quite a stir, though, because after a few minutes, a CM led Goofy and Minnie right to her table. Very unfair! But I guess the squeaky wheel gets the grease. The buffet was good, but it was so crowded in there! We didn't like costumes the characters wore, yuck! Not at all what we expected. We only saw Chip and Dale once, Goofy came by our table once, and so did Minnie. We had taken Wesley's plush Goofy and Minnie with us, and they both showed their delight that he had them. Also, Wesley got to show Goofy his bandaid (had Goofy on it). Goofy was quite impressed! The restaurant was finally clearing out, and the characters would soon be leaving, according to our waitress (Dorothy). So Mark took Wesley to see Minnie again (they did wait their turn, and didn't barge in on her time with another table). Got a really cute picture that time. While they were doing that, Goofy did come by our table again, but didn't really stop--even for the table behind us, and there were still kids there. So Mark took Goofy around to see Goofy once more before we left, too. I was finishing up my coffee, so Mark decided to go to the restroom before we got on the road. When he walked by the CM who had been at the desk (Cindy), he apologized to her for the way that woman had treated her. She thanked him, and then ended up following him back to our table. We had a very nice chat with her, and with Dorothy, our waitress. They gave us a diet coke to go for Mark, and a big to go cup of milk for Wesley, and wanted to give me something, too, even though I insisted I didn't want anything else. So they gave Wesley a balloon (actually had to have one blown up for him)--they only give balloons to birthday guests. (He, as usual, had laid on the charm!) We ended with hugs all around, and a promise to see them in September, and Cindy said we'd made her day and she wished all guests were as nice as us! 
We decided we'd stop by the BoardWalk before we left, and I found the Minnie mug that I didn't get last weekend, and another $3 tumbler for Wesley. Mark decided against a souvenir this time. We said our (sad) goodbyes, and were on the road. Wesley slept for about 2 hours, during which time Mark and I planned our September trip, trying to decide which moderate resort we want to try. Suggestions, anyone?? Stopped in Valdosta for dinner at KFC, and arrived home right about 8pm. Got Wesley ready for bed, and he went down just fine. Mark and I got online to look at pictures and compare resorts. 
At 10:30, Wesley woke up screaming, saying his ears hurt. Thank goodness that didn't happen until we got home! I was up most of the night with him. He and I stayed home from church yesterday, and he has already been to the dr this morning, where he was treated for a double ear infection. He'll be on the mend very soon! Mark wants to go back this weekend (well, so do I!)...but it is definitely not happening! Either my parents are coming to see us, or we will be traveling to see Mark's parents and granddaddy, who may be moved back to Savannah. At any rate, doesn't look like we'll be in Orlando! (Good for the bank account, sad for us!) We are pretty busy for the entire summer, but we know we'll be there in September! Can't wait!!!
Afterthoughts: Although Thursday night was a disappointment at ASMo, this turned out to be our best trip yet with Wesley. It was awesome to see him so excited to see the characters, and we were so glad that he had relaxed enough to really enjoy some of the rides. Mark and I used to be "Ride Rushers"--and as we rushed by the people standing in line for characters, we'd say "I hope our kids never want to do that!" It has been a year and a half since we rode Space Mountain, and over three years since we rode Rock n Roller Coaster. And yet, we're having more fun than ever!! So we are now officially "Character Chasers", and proud of it! We've always wanted our child to love Disney as much as we do, and it looks like we're well on our way. We look forward to many, many magical memories with Wesley!
Magical Moments: Wesley RUNNING to see Mickey and Minnie; his willingness to give hugs to all the characters; his enjoyment of rides this time; our experience with Belle; getting in to the Ice Cream Social; walking through Epcot soaking wet in the pouring rain, agreeing that even with the weather, this was one of our best trips ever; getting a chance to really talk to CMs Cindy and Dorothy at Cape May Cafe; knowing that WE made a CM's day!!
Thanks for reading!
Background: Many of you probably read my trip report from last week--you know, the one we planned in less than an hour?? Well, it just wasn't enough. (Is it ever?!?) We were suffering severe withdrawals. On Wednesday, I realized that I would get paid on Thursday, and there was nothing in particular that we *had* to do with that check...probably many things we *should* have done with it...but anyway, I told Mark that I wanted to go back for the weekend. No twisting his arm! But as we talked about it later that evening, I decided it was too crazy, we really needed to stay home, cut the grass, clean the house, vacuum...you know, all the stuff responsible people do on the weekends! We went to bed, and I was sure that we'd just have to wait until September.
Pre-trip: Got up Thursday morning, couldn't stop thinking that we *could* be going back. So when Mark walked in to tell me goodbye, I said, "You've got 2 minutes to convince me to go." Well, about 5 minutes later, he was on the phone checking availability at All Star Movies. They had plenty of rooms available in Toy Story section. Hurray! Wesley would be thrilled. He also tried to make PS for the Ice Cream Social, but it was full. We'll keep trying. Mark and Wesley left for the church (work for Mark, pre-school for Wesley), and soon after I left for work. Wesley is done with school at noon every day, and Wed and Thur I get off work at noon. I finished up with some things and left a little early, to get home and pack. I don't know why it took so long to pack this time, since last week we did it in 11 minutes...but anyway, after taking care of all the things we had to do, it ended up being about 1:30 before we left.
Trip: That's Wesley's normal naptime, and he was soon asleep. The planning began... we *love* to plan, don't you?!?
Wesley got a fairly good nap. When he woke up, we told him where we were going. He was excited! The time was going pretty fast. We were just south of Gainesville when traffic stopped. We were only 1/4 mile or so back, and could see that there had been some sort of bad accident. There were 4 or 5 ambulances, then the Life Flight helicopter came and landed on the interstate...but still, we were only stopped for about 30 minutes. And it's easier to be patient when it is a situation like that, rather than when they are doing construction on 10 feet of one lane of the road but have 2 of the other lanes blocked, which happened to us on our trip to TN...but I digress! Anyway, traffic opened up, and we arrived at ASMo right around 7pm. Mark went to check in, and once again, we are disappointed. We are NOT in Toy Story, we are in Fantasia. We've been given an upgrade. Well, fine, but we would really have preferred to not have an upgrade and be in the section we requested! Nothing we can do about it. We ask to be notified if we can move in the morning. It's Thursday, remember, and Survivor will be on soon. We head to the food court for dinner, and end up back in the room about 8:20. Not TOO bad. Begin getting Wesley ready for bed after we eat. About 30 minutes later, we notice that the bathtub has not drained. Mark called to report it. (Trying to get Wesley to sleep.) About 30 minutes later, maintenance shows up (just after we called to cancel it until the next morning, so that Wesley would go to sleep). The guy had it fixed in about 10 minutes. Finally, Wesley went to sleep! Mark and I also got ready for bed.
It was sometime after 10pm, and a band started playing outside! Practicing for Magic Music Days, I suppose. Now Mark and I both played in our bands and marched during Magic Music Days. But never did we practice at our hotel! And certainly not after 10pm!! Fortunately, they only played one song, then stopped. Forgot to mention this earlier--we were in Fantasia 8, which was MUCH closer to the parking lot, thank goodness. But on the lawn right by the stairwell was what appeared to be a set of sheets and a couple of towels. When we left the next morning, they were still there.
Also, IN the stairwell, was a pair of underwear and a beer bottle. THEY were still there when we checked out on Saturday. This was our worst experience in our 3 trips to ASMo. Have decided to try the moderate resorts for our September trip.Friday, Park Day: Mickey called at 6:30. I got to answer the phone! I didn't jump out of bed immediately, though, I must admit! A few minutes later, I was finally up. While I got a shower, Mark called to check on the Ice Cream Social again. Still nothing available. Wesley woke up, and enjoyed watching the old Mickey cartoons while we all got ready. We went to the food court for breakfast, but it was packed, so we decided to stop by McDonald's instead. That turned out to be a good plan. We wanted to be at MK to see the entire park opening, since we missed most of it last week. We had our breakfast in the car, parked at Epcot, and a monorail was waiting. There was no one in the front! The driver said we could ride up there. This was a first for me! (Mark has done it once before.) Turned out to not be as great as I'd hoped, because the windshield was covered in condensation. And the driver was not at all talkative. Mark asked how long he'd been driving the monorail. "For a little while." Asked if this was his first trip this morning. "No, there've been a few more already." A couple of other questions, a couple of other non-answers. Oh, well, we'll try again another trip! Arrive at TTC, hop on MK monorail. We arrive in plenty of time for the Park Opening. We had made a deal with Wesley: when we're outside, you stay in your stroller...when we're inside, or on a ride, we'll hold you. We shook on it...and believe it or not, for most of the day, it worked! (Think that contributed to our feet being soooo tired and achy last week--he wanted to be carried almost constantly.)
Mark plans to get a job at WDW--he should be an official photographer. We were right in front, and all these people were taking pictures, so Mark would offer to take one of their entire group.
The park opening was wonderful, as always. Wesley enjoyed it, too, I think. So we enter the park, and journey down Main Street, just loving life! We start our traditional pattern--to Tomorrowland. Buzz Lightyear is first up. Last week, you'll recall, Wesley was scared of everything. Initially, as we got on the ride, he said, "My scared!" But that didn't last long. I think he was beginning to actually enjoy it! Next up was Pooh, which he loved this time. Peter Pan, too. And Small World again (he did like that one last week). We're so glad he's enjoying it more this weekend! We had decided to skip Haunted Mansion and the Goofy Show this time, because we wanted to do PoC and Jungle Cruise. He LOVED PoC! I was a little surprised! To this point, we have waited for nothing. This was a very pleasant surprise. We headed to Jungle Cruise, where we waited for 20 minutes. Wesley was very good in line. I don't think it was worth the wait. He didn't seem as interested as I thought he might be. We'll skip that one from now on, until he's old enough to tell us if he wants to ride it! From there we were going to City Hall to check on the Ice Cream Social again. Still booked. As we're on our way to Toon Town, we realize that Cinderella's Surprise Celebration has ended, and the characters are out! We see Genie first. Wesley is not as nervous around the characters this time, either. No time to see any others, they are about to leave. We go on to Toon Town, and first stop is Mickey's house! When it was our turn in the judges' tent, Wesley actually RAN to Mickey! The CM had already taken a picture, but we asked if she'd take one with all of us, and she did. Then we went to see Minnie, Chip and Dale. Everyone was in line to see Minnie, so we saw both Chip and Dale immediately. Wesley was hugging everyone! We waited just a couple of minutes for Minnie, then he RAN to her, too. Again, we asked for a family picture, and the CM obliged. She actually took 3 pictures. We decided to go look at the photos, but realized that Wesley needed a diaper change. (Bag was in the stroller, parked down by Donald's boat.) We chose the photos we wanted, and Mark gave me our camera and went to change the offending diaper while I waited for the photos. They were gone, and gone, and gone...when they finally returned, he said that they'd seen all the characters behind the judges' tent--and guess who had the camera!! Well, they'll be back at 1:30. He said that Wesley hugged everyone again. We started to stand in line to see Cindy, but we're all getting hungry. Off to Cosmic Ray's, for 2 chicken caesar salads and a PBJ. We ate outside this time, it was a much better atmosphere, and Wesley was much better behaved! We decided to not wait to see the characters again, but to go on to Epcot. But another Surprise Celebration had ended, so we decided to see some other characters. Wesley loves Lilo and Stitch, and Stitch was out...got really cute pics with him. Then waited for Donald--more great pics. By this time, it's about 1:15, might as well go see the other characters. Back to Toon Town! We waited for just a few minutes. We were initially the only people back there. Out came Robin Hood, Friar Tuck, Timon, Rafiki, the White Rabbit, Baloo, King Louie, several Mr. Penguins (Wesley thinks they're Wheezy), Pinocchio...great pics with them all. Finally, off to Epcot. One more stop by City Hall, still nothing available for the Ice Cream Social. Wesley has fallen asleep. Perfect! He slept all the way there. Just as we got inside, it started to rain a bit. That woke him up. We headed immediately for The Land, and inquired about the Ice Cream Social. Were told that they could take us if all PSs didn't show. We went to see The Circle of Life, came back, they can take us! We were seated on the inside this time, which wasn't quite as cool as being on the outside, but we were thrilled to get in at all. More great pics with Mickey, Pluto, Chip and Dale. Chip actually fed Wesley some ice cream! We didn't get to see the characters as much this time, though. Now it's after 4, and we know if we want to catch any characters in WS, we'd better get over there. The jackpot!! Pooh and Tigger were just arriving in UK. Belle was just arriving in France. We had a really good experience with her. Wesley was first in line (only in line, actually!). She picked him up and showed him a book about Prince Wesley--it's her favorite book! (gotta love that!) Some other people came in, so we pried Wesley away. He wanted to see her again. So...back in we go. Got another awesome pic. She was great with him! Found Aladdin, Jasmine and Genie in Morocco. Wesley wasn't quite as comfortable with them, but still, good pics! Stroll on over to Norway, the wait is 40 minutes, so we grab fast passes. Go to Mexico instead. Rode it 3 times. Wesley wanted to keep riding! But finally we'd hit our fast pass window, so we went back to Norway. Got right on, and Wesley even enjoyed this one this time. We got out of Norway, and it had begun to rain a little again. Remembered that we hadn't gone to see the fish, so we went back to FW. We watched the fish for 20 or 30 minutes, and when we came out, it was pouring. We did have the stroller cover, thank goodness! Mark ran to get the stroller, we changed Wesley's diaper again, and went to Spaceship Earth. Wesley liked this again, too. Then we decided it was time to eat, so back to Morocco. By this time, Wesley was very tired. He had a bit of a fit (nothing major, he just wanted to get down, and I wouldn't let him), and decided not to eat anything. Mark and I ate pretty quickly. It was as good as we remembered! Now we're trying to decide what to do. We figure we'll check the line on Norway again. It was pretty short, so we hop on. When we got off, the rain was coming down hard. We do one more run on Mexico. By now it is flooding. Had planned to do SE once more before we left, but ditched that idea. The stroller had gotten wet, because we didn't have the stroller cover pulled down really well when we ate. So the plan is for me to carry Wesley, and we'll both be inside my poncho. Fortunately, this worked. I think Wesley was the only one of us who stayed relatively dry. The wind was blowing our ponchos up, so we were still getting soaked. There were times when we were sloshing through ankle deep water. Even with the ponchos, Mark and I both looked like we'd just stepped out of the shower! We make it to the car, where the door got soaked while I was trying to get Wesley in the carseat. The trunk was also soaked. Thank goodness, at some point, Mark had taken our pictures out of the stroller basket and stuck them down his front, because there was a pool of water in the basket at this point. Back to ASMo (where we had decided not to move to another room, because for the length of our stay, it truly wasn't worth it). A warm bath for Wesley... then Mark spent 45 minutes blow drying our shoes. As soon as I got Wesley to sleep, I went to bed myself. I didn't even hear Mark running the blow dryer! (Oh, when we arrived back in the room, we decided to try and get PS for a character breakfast. Chef Mickey's was full, but Cape May was available, so we took it. Have to be there for a 10:30 PS.)
Saturday, Character Breakfast and Home: Mark and I woke up around 8. Went ahead and got up, got showers, began packing up. We were out of the room just after 9. A quick stop by Andy's Room. (Thank goodness it wasn't raining! And our shoes are relatively dry!) We stop to get gas, which wasn't really much more expensive than it is at home, then headed to the Beach Club. We walked around outside for a bit, since we were early, then walked in, and were greeted by Art!
Checked out the gift shop, then went back over towards the restaurant. Wesley and I were watching Buzz Lightyear on TV. Mark overhead a lady being extremely rude to the CM at the front. Wanted to know why she had to wait. Umm...hello...because there are a lot of people ahead of you?!? At last, that lady and her family were called, and guess who got to go in right behind them? We did! Fortunately, they were seated around the corner from us. She must have caused quite a stir, though, because after a few minutes, a CM led Goofy and Minnie right to her table. Very unfair! But I guess the squeaky wheel gets the grease. The buffet was good, but it was so crowded in there! We didn't like costumes the characters wore, yuck! Not at all what we expected. We only saw Chip and Dale once, Goofy came by our table once, and so did Minnie. We had taken Wesley's plush Goofy and Minnie with us, and they both showed their delight that he had them. Also, Wesley got to show Goofy his bandaid (had Goofy on it). Goofy was quite impressed! The restaurant was finally clearing out, and the characters would soon be leaving, according to our waitress (Dorothy). So Mark took Wesley to see Minnie again (they did wait their turn, and didn't barge in on her time with another table). Got a really cute picture that time. While they were doing that, Goofy did come by our table again, but didn't really stop--even for the table behind us, and there were still kids there. So Mark took Goofy around to see Goofy once more before we left, too. I was finishing up my coffee, so Mark decided to go to the restroom before we got on the road. When he walked by the CM who had been at the desk (Cindy), he apologized to her for the way that woman had treated her. She thanked him, and then ended up following him back to our table. We had a very nice chat with her, and with Dorothy, our waitress. They gave us a diet coke to go for Mark, and a big to go cup of milk for Wesley, and wanted to give me something, too, even though I insisted I didn't want anything else. So they gave Wesley a balloon (actually had to have one blown up for him)--they only give balloons to birthday guests. (He, as usual, had laid on the charm!) We ended with hugs all around, and a promise to see them in September, and Cindy said we'd made her day and she wished all guests were as nice as us! We decided we'd stop by the BoardWalk before we left, and I found the Minnie mug that I didn't get last weekend, and another $3 tumbler for Wesley. Mark decided against a souvenir this time. We said our (sad) goodbyes, and were on the road. Wesley slept for about 2 hours, during which time Mark and I planned our September trip, trying to decide which moderate resort we want to try. Suggestions, anyone?? Stopped in Valdosta for dinner at KFC, and arrived home right about 8pm. Got Wesley ready for bed, and he went down just fine. Mark and I got online to look at pictures and compare resorts. At 10:30, Wesley woke up screaming, saying his ears hurt. Thank goodness that didn't happen until we got home! I was up most of the night with him. He and I stayed home from church yesterday, and he has already been to the dr this morning, where he was treated for a double ear infection. He'll be on the mend very soon! Mark wants to go back this weekend (well, so do I!)...but it is definitely not happening! Either my parents are coming to see us, or we will be traveling to see Mark's parents and granddaddy, who may be moved back to Savannah. At any rate, doesn't look like we'll be in Orlando! (Good for the bank account, sad for us!) We are pretty busy for the entire summer, but we know we'll be there in September! Can't wait!!!Afterthoughts: Although Thursday night was a disappointment at ASMo, this turned out to be our best trip yet with Wesley. It was awesome to see him so excited to see the characters, and we were so glad that he had relaxed enough to really enjoy some of the rides. Mark and I used to be "Ride Rushers"--and as we rushed by the people standing in line for characters, we'd say "I hope our kids never want to do that!" It has been a year and a half since we rode Space Mountain, and over three years since we rode Rock n Roller Coaster. And yet, we're having more fun than ever!! So we are now officially "Character Chasers", and proud of it!
We've always wanted our child to love Disney as much as we do, and it looks like we're well on our way. We look forward to many, many magical memories with Wesley!Magical Moments: Wesley RUNNING to see Mickey and Minnie; his willingness to give hugs to all the characters; his enjoyment of rides this time; our experience with Belle; getting in to the Ice Cream Social; walking through Epcot soaking wet in the pouring rain, agreeing that even with the weather, this was one of our best trips ever; getting a chance to really talk to CMs Cindy and Dorothy at Cape May Cafe; knowing that WE made a CM's day!!
Thanks for reading!
