WDW vs. the terrible twos- and the verdict is... trip update 2/12

[KatMark]

I'm late, I'm late, I'm late for a very important date...but I am here now. Does that count?

Be back to catch up.

 

[CandleontheWater]

I'm sorry I haven't been around this week! DH was in Dubai all week, so we were able to skype while DS was napping (which is usually my update time) and now there is Frankenstorm to contend with, so I've been busy helping my parents get ready for that.

My goal is to get something up on Monday, and then again by the end of the week if we still have power. Thanks for bearing with me!

Ah, traveling with a little one. I always seem to have the opposite problem. I am worried about everything going wrong, so I budget way too much time and we end up cooling our heels at the gate for an hour or more. Which is fine with adults, but is trickier with a little one. I always hate to pull out any fun distracting items I brought before we get on the plane- don't want them to get boring too fast!

Yes, I don't like getting to the airport too early with Everett, then he just runs around the gate area like a madman, and I end up getting the evil eye from all the other passengers. Better to hold off on getting the evil eye until we are actually ON the plane!

I'm glad you all made it on your flight and there weren't any airport troubles (aside from the missed exit). I'm absolutely paranoid about being on time (thanks to the military, I'm used to "be there at 3 means show up fifteen minutes early.) so I would've been having a heart attack leaving 30 minutes late. But alls well that ends well, I suppose.


Aww, maybe by next April Everett will get that pre-Disney excitement!

I understand about the whole military thing! I think I'm a pretty terrible spouse because I never got into the whole "be really early" part of the military (I still don't understand military time either ), but DH really is that way too.

I'm hoping that Everett gets more excited next time around, he'll be six month older, and I think that will make a big difference. He still doesn't really understand lengths of time, so that probably explains his confusion, but I'm sure he'll get it soon.

Wow! I'm so glad you made it in time. I would be totally stressed out all morning. YAY for arriving though! Whew, I got stressed out for you and I forgot things that I was going to say.

Too funny! Making it on time is really all that mattered, I would have been crushed to miss the flight!

Ugh, I know that feeling. I was panicked because we were running behind schedule the morning of our trip, but a slow poke mom sure beats the heck out of the reason we were running late!!!

Poor Everett with his black eye! I love his answer..."Ummm, okay." Toddlers...

As long as your butt was in the seat before the cabin doors close I guess that is all that matters.

Uh-oh, I'm afraid to see what happened in your TR! (have you started it and I missed it?) Yup, sliding in right before they close the cabin doors seems to be a talent of my moms!

Oh boy your mom would have given ME a coronary. I hate being late anywhere - it really drives me crazy. I think after about 10 minutes I'd have packed up her makeup and said she could do it in the car...

I HAVE NEVER HEARD THAT ABOUT MILITARY BYPASSING SECURITY LINES (well not bypassing but getting in the employee line)?! WHAT!? Give me more info! Providence airport is a breeze but Orlando sucked! Can I show my CAC Card? That'd be amazing. Where is the employee line?

Awesome to get the minivan (though, I very much dislike minivans, but the space must have been nice!). I'm glad Everett was an angel on the plane, so awesome.

TOO FUNNY about his reaction. I'm sorry he wasn't more excited, yes I would think a 2 year old would be but who knows?!! Playing with friends is probably just as much fun to them...ugh!

I think you have to be active duty to use the employee line, but it wouldn't hurt to ask. The employee/flight crew/pilot line is marked (at least at the airports I've been to), and its usually off to the side a little.

Yes, I'm not a fan of minivans or really anything larger than a full sized car. I know that a larger car is likely in my future, but I'm not looking forward to it, and it better have a backup camera or I (and everyone else around me) will be in BIG trouble.

Subbing on...

Congrats on your new baby! & Everett is pretty darn cute.

I love your "herd of turtles" description... been there myself...

I'm curious what your verdict turns out to be...

but I don't think there is any perfect age for Disney...there are good and not so good points of every age...

it's all about your expectations...

I'm guessing that you had an awesome but perhaps sometimes challenging time... (& also with being pregnant -right between your 2nd and 3rd trimesters...)

Your prediction about my end result might very well be right

Thanks for joining in, and I agree Disney with kids is all about your expectations, but sometimes its so hard not to get carried away with the fantasy vacation, and get frustrated when things are decidedly not a fantasy!

I'm late, I'm late, I'm late for a very important date...but I am here now. Does that count?

Be back to catch up.

Gosh, you're not late at all, I am no where near the updating machine that you are, so its really just the very beginning (although I hope to pick up the pace sooner rather than later!)

 

[airforcemomof2]

Subbing! We are headed to WDE this Christmas with a 3 year old! We went 2 years ago when he was 1, and he was an ANGEL, this time is going to be MUCH different I'm afraid Can't wait to hear the next installment!

 

[Imagineer5]

Random - you weren't at the Taunton galleria mall today were you?!

 

[amandaw]

Don't even apologize for your absence! I'm so happy y'all were able to get some Skype time!

 

[KatMark]

All caught up (thankfully you weren't too far long).

First, congratulations on your expecting a new baby...how exciting.

I would have been totally stressing if someone I was going with cut it that close. Oh wait, I did that on the way home from our trip...I didn't give it enough time and we just made it in time.

Your son is adorable...and I can't wait to read more.

 

[MeMom]

Meanwhile my Mom was getting ready, and I was mildly concerned when I saw she was just getting into the shower, but wasn’t starting to panic yet.


The plan was to leave the house by 6 am- 6:15 at the latest, and by 5:45 me and Everett were both ready, coats and shoes on and waiting by the front door. I hadn’t seen or heard anything from my mother, so I peaked in her room to see how things were going. She was drying her hair.



At this point I began to get mildly concerned. You see, my mom is all things awesome, but punctuality has never been her strong suit. When I was a kid I used to have to tell her that all my activities started an hour earlier than they actually did, that was the only way I actually be on time.



6:30- at this point I’m glad my Dad decided not to join us because he’d be having a coronary

At this point I’m more than a little concerned, we’re a ½ hr off schedule and we still have to contend with rush hour traffic around Hartford. I took a deep breath and reminded myself that in all the traveling I’ve done with my Mom, we haven’t missed a flight yet. That’s not saying we’ve never been running for the gate as they are closing the doors, but once you’re on, you’re on, right?


Now things are starting to look bleak, we’re late, we’re lost, and we still have to park the car, check in and make it through security, with a toddler!

I am one of those people who is always early, so scenarios like this make me . I panic inside and don't let the other person know, but in my book, on time is late and late is..... well....late is just not a good thing!

Before long this lovely sight came into view, and all the stress and anxiety of a difficult travel morning melted away and we were officially on vacation!

Yay, you finally made it! Time to leave the stress behind.

 

[Elleshoodat]

I was proud of myself for finally reading your PTR, and when I got to the end of that ... surprise! You'd started your trip report. Now I'm all caught up here, too.

First, I totally felt your pain in the Quest for the Perfect Stroller. I went through the same thing before our trip before deciding on the Britax B-Agile. I can't wait to see how you liked your new UPPAbaby!

Your mom travels on the same imaginary schedule my DH does. It drives me nuts!

I saw in your picture from the plane that Everett still uses a pacifier. Has your pediatrician ever said anything to you about that? I ask because my DS, who just turned 2, still can't live without his binky, but our doctor thinks he's too old for it. Thankfully he quit asking about it, so I don't have to lie to him anymore!

 

[CandleontheWater]

Subbing! We are headed to WDE this Christmas with a 3 year old! We went 2 years ago when he was 1, and he was an ANGEL, this time is going to be MUCH different I'm afraid Can't wait to hear the next installment!

There was a big difference between this trip then when we went when DS was 1, mostly because he has real opinions now and is not afraid to share them!

Random - you weren't at the Taunton galleria mall today were you?!

Nope, must have been an imposter!

Don't even apologize for your absence! I'm so happy y'all were able to get some Skype time!

It was nice to be able to see and talk to him, but I think it really threw DS for a loop. He kept asking Daddy to come and play choo-choos with him, which was heartbreaking, because he doesn't really understand what is going on. He also started talking to the pictures slide show I use as a screen saver, because he doesn't get that those are just pictures, and not actually daddy talking to him through the computer. Poor kid, its really hard on him!

All caught up (thankfully you weren't too far long).

First, congratulations on your expecting a new baby...how exciting.

I would have been totally stressing if someone I was going with cut it that close. Oh wait, I did that on the way home from our trip...I didn't give it enough time and we just made it in time.

Your son is adorable...and I can't wait to read more.

Thank you, we're about 6 weeks away from the baby arriving, and I can't believe its getting that close!

Gosh, I'll have to catch up with your TR and see what kept you from the airport, I hope it was something good like a magical moment and not something awful like traffic!

I am one of those people who is always early, so scenarios like this make me . I panic inside and don't let the other person know, but in my book, on time is late and late is..... well....late is just not a good thing!

Yay, you finally made it! Time to leave the stress behind.

I don't think anyone likes being late (except maybe my mother), but if we were going to miss a flight, I'd much rather miss the one on the way home!

I was proud of myself for finally reading your PTR, and when I got to the end of that ... surprise! You'd started your trip report. Now I'm all caught up here, too.

First, I totally felt your pain in the Quest for the Perfect Stroller. I went through the same thing before our trip before deciding on the Britax B-Agile. I can't wait to see how you liked your new UPPAbaby!

Your mom travels on the same imaginary schedule my DH does. It drives me nuts!

I saw in your picture from the plane that Everett still uses a pacifier. Has your pediatrician ever said anything to you about that? I ask because my DS, who just turned 2, still can't live without his binky, but our doctor thinks he's too old for it. Thankfully he quit asking about it, so I don't have to lie to him anymore!

Oh the paci... Its a point of contention in this house, that is for sure!

In real life, he only is allowed to use it at night or naps, then it goes away in the drawer for the rest of the day. My pediatrician is fine with that (although his dentist isn't!), and says that she doesn't want to stress him out anymore since he's undergoing some pretty tough times right now. I do let him use it when we fly because of his ears, and we did break it out for emergencies at Disney when things went really south or when he didn't get a good nap. I do want to break him of the habit, but I know its going to be painful, and truthfully, I'm not up to that right now.

 

[khertz]

Uh-oh, I'm afraid to see what happened in your TR! (have you started it and I missed it?) Yup, sliding in right before they close the cabin doors seems to be a talent of my moms!

I did start! I was too excited so I started it the day after we returned home. It's here whenever you're ready!

In real life, he only is allowed to use it at night or naps, then it goes away in the drawer for the rest of the day. My pediatrician is fine with that (although his dentist isn't!), and says that she doesn't want to stress him out anymore since he's undergoing some pretty tough times right now. I do let him use it when we fly because of his ears, and we did break it out for emergencies at Disney when things went really south or when he didn't get a good nap. I do want to break him of the habit, but I know its going to be painful, and truthfully, I'm not up to that right now.

Just chiming in to say we were exactly the same way. It was only for naps or nighttime, then I took it out for naps because I found out the babysitter didn't give it to him for his nap and he seemed to do fine there. We kept it through our DL trip for the same reason, for the plane and emergencies, but then we were ready to get rid of it completely. The first night was pure torture listening to him cry, but the next night we tried giving him his stuffed Donald Duck to sleep with and not a single tear that night or since! So just a suggestion whenever you are ready, try replacing it with something else to make the transition a little easier. Wish we had thought of it the first night!

 

[CandleontheWater]

Episode 2: meltdown mayhem and a magical upgrade!

Once on property I really stopped paying attention to where we were driving. I was really excited to be back and busy looking for things like monorail tracks, and trying to catch glimpses of Spaceship Earth and Tower of Terror over the trees.

Before I knew it we were driving by signs for the All Star Resorts and we were very close to the McDonalds on property. Uh-oh, something isn’t right here! You see, every time we drive into WDW from the airport, we somehow miss the turn off to the MK area, and end up dead ending into the AK parking lot. I swear we should just stay at AKL for every trip, it would save us a lot of time and aggravation. My mother swears over and over again that there is no sign indicating where to turn, but I think we all know the truth!

Anyway, I was really happy I realized it early this time, and we were able to get turned around fairly quickly (sure beats explaining to the AK parking booth operator that you got lost!).

I paid close attention on the way back and this time we made the turn correctly and were on our way to the Contemporary. I, of course, had to take a picture of a Disney bus.

And soon we were in view of our destination!

After a little confusion about exactly where to drive in (from now on, I’M doing the driving), we made it to the porte cochere, and asked the bell staff where to park for check in. They told us to just pull the car off to the side, which I’m pretty sure is not standard protocol, but whatever.

My mom, Everett and I hopped out and proceeded to head to the check in desk. This is where my first rant of the trip comes into play. I really, really, really, wish parents would monitor their kid’s behavior. I understand it is a vacation, and we are all prone to lapses, but when it comes to the biggies- like potentially dangerous behavior, potentially destructive behavior, and really rude behavior (or any combination of the three) be the parent, and step in. For example, when we entered the lobby, and got into line to check in, Everett immediately noticed that there was a family of children jumping on and off an ottoman in the lounge directly adjacent to the check in line.

Everett is in a big mimic phase right now, especially when it comes to big kids, and one look at what those kids were doing and it was like his entire brain lit up and every fiber of his being was concentrated on joining them for the jump-fest. When I wouldn’t let him, I became public enemy #1 and an epic meltdown ensued. Now I’m not saying that Everett is an angel by any stretch of the imagination (you’ll see raw honesty about his behavior throughout this TR), but this is a classic example of monkey-see, monkey-do. If those kids had not been jumping, the idea wouldn’t have crossed DS’s mind.

Of course at that exact moment we were called up to the check-in desk and I had to drag DS in full melt down mode up to the counter. I felt terrible because Everett alternated between writhing on the floor and attempting to pull his arm out of the socket straining to break free of my grasp, all while yelling, “I go jump with little boys!” I wanted to just sink into the floor.

Usually in this situation, either my mom or I would take DS as far away from the jumping boys as humanly possible, but we both needed to be there for check in. Compounding all this was that we had a tougher than usually check-in situation, in that I had two separate reservations that I was linking and I was hoping that we could be assured that we wouldn’t have to switch rooms for our last night. The issue was that the military discount I used to book the room expired on Sept 30th, and a whole new military discount started on the night of Oct 1st. Since they were technically two different discounts (because of the fiscal year I’m assuming) I had to have two different reservations.

I have to say that the CM that checked us in was BEYOND awesome. She was unflappable in the face of hurricane Everett, got everything taken care of quickly and efficiently without any extra spiel or chatter, and made all the appropriate calls to make sure that we did not have to change rooms. She even gave Everett a balloon, which while not immediately appreciated by Everett in the heat of the meltdown, was really appreciated by me. I really wish I had gotten her name, but in all the craziness, I forgot.

One thing I did notice as I was signing the bill, was that the reservation said “Theme Park View”. I thought that was a little odd, since I didn’t book a theme park view room, but the price matched my records and I was really anxious to get Everett up and away so I didn’t give it much thought.

We spirited Everett away, who calmed down considerably when the boys were out of sight and the prospect of pushing elevator buttons was dangled before him.

Our room was ready, which was really a godsend, and Everett and I went up to investigate while my Mom went to get the first of the luggage.

We were on the 10th floor, which was awesome, because I like having a higher vantage point. When I came out of the elevators and scanned for our room number, I noticed that I was being directed away from Bay Lake, and was headed in the direction of the theme park side of the tower. This was odd, and a tiny bubble of hope formed in my mind.

I used our key (with the new RFID locks, which are awesome BTW), entered the room, rushed over to the sliding door threw open the drapes and saw this…

OMG UPGRADE!

I was on cloud nine! I have been to Disney many, many times and have never received and upgrade. As I am taking in the view, I hear a little voice beside me saying “That’s castle!” Well, maybe this Disney brainwashing is rubbing off a little after all.

Everett and I headed out to the balcony to better see the view and especially the monorails which were the real attraction for a train obsessed little boy. The biggest excitement was when the express and the resort monorails passed each other on the track. Everett would watch with baited breath yelling- “Monorail- CRASH!” and when they successfully passed each other he would say “Oh, monorail OK” with obvious disappointment in his voice. Oh little boys and destruction.

Speaking of destruction, before the room was totally trashed, I took a few photos. Let me just say here that I loved our stay at the Contemporary, but if I did have one minor complaint it would be about the room’s condition. We had a 50% discount thanks to the military promotion and still the room was not cheap, I couldn’t imagine paying more than $500 a night for a room that had such obvious blemishes.

There were multiple gouges in the wall, which wouldn’t have been too bad, except for they were where the walls were painted tan- so the white gouges really stood out. Also most of the furniture was badly dinged and the tile mosaic under the TV was missing more than a few tiles, which made it look a little shabby. I also was not really impressed with the cleanliness of the room. The frosted glass doors of the bathroom I’m sure was a neat idea on paper, but if not really kept up, just end up looking grimy and streaky. I also don’t think they vacuumed the room before we arrived, since I found a penny, and a wadded up napkin just laying on the floor. I’m sure the housekeeper would have found them if they were vacuuming.

I know these are really tiny details and they didn’t impact my vacation at all, but I think they deserve to be pointed out and discussed, so that people have realistic ideas of what the rooms at Disney are going to look like and how they can be improved. If Disney really wants to complete with luxury hotels like the Ritz Carleton that is being built near property, than it needs to step up its game at the deluxe resorts. You’d never see a room at a Ritz in the condition that I found at the Contemporary.

Other than the cosmetic problems, I found the room to be lovely. It was HUGE, which is one of the benefits in staying at Disney’s older resorts. I also found the bedding to be very comfortable especially the pillows.

The décor was also very nice but it could have used some more drawer space. There wasn’t a whole lot of places to put clothes, especially for a longer visit.

There have been many complaints about the sink redesign in the bathroom, but I didn’t find it to be too bad. There isn’t a lot of counter space, but for my purposes the table between the two sinks fit everything I needed handy for daily use (toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, sunscreen).

The view was obviously the big draw, and me and Everett happily sat out on the balcony while my mom finished bringing up the luggage and checked the beds for bedbugs. Some of you have been following me for a while, and might remember our memorable December 2011 trip when we ended up in a bedbug infested room at the Poly. Ever since then my mom has been on hyper bedbug alert and is very diligent about checking each and every time we enter a new hotel room. I have embraced the opposite philosophy, where I figure that lightning doesn’t strike twice, and now that I’ve paid my bedbug dues, I’ll never have a room with them again.

Once we got the all clear from my Mom, our next order of business was to get some lunch. It was way past Everett’s usual lunchtime, and I’m sure being hungry didn’t help when it came to his epic meltdown.

I quickly packed up our park bag, because the plan was to head to the MK after lunch, and we made our way down to the Contempo Café.

I wasn’t particularly impressed with the lunch offerings, but decided on the Chicken artichoke flatbread. One important ingredient that was missing from the description is tomatoes. I pretty much loathe raw tomatoes so I was really dismayed to find that they were covering my flatbread. I am usually pretty vigilant about looking for them on menus, and I even went back to the board to see if I missed something, but nope, no mention of them at all in the description. So- word to the wise- the Chicken Artichoke flatbread would be more accurately named the Chicken, tomato and artichoke flatbread.

I didn’t take any pictures, because it looked pretty sad after I mangled it picking out the tomatoes, and I didn’t take pictures of DS chicken nuggets- because seriously, you all know what they look like, and I don’t even remember what my mom got (some sort of sandwich maybe?). Anyway, I was really concentrating on eating as quickly as possible so we could get to the MK and I could push Everett to nap in the stroller.

by the time we arrived for lunch it was pretty dead

Despite being really tired and overstimulated, Everett was actually pretty good at lunch. The monorails going by kept him distracted, although I did have to pull out the ipad toward the end of the meal. He even did a good job eating which always is a real plus.

Everett and Ga-Gae watching the monorails go by

Even though my goal was to get out of there as quickly as possible, there was one thing I couldn’t miss before we left, and that is the chocolate peanut butter cupcake that I first learned about in the other Marissa’s TR. I had smartly not ordered it with the meal (because there is no way Everett would have eaten any of his lunch with a cupcake staring him in the face), so I hopped back in line and came back with this little beauty.

We split it three ways which was perfect because it was HUGE. It also was extremely delicious, and probably my favorite cupcake in all of WDW. The frosting was really light and creamy, more like a whipped cream than a butter cream, and the cake part was perfectly moist, and the peanut butter inside was sweeter than a sandwich filling PB, more like what you’d find in a Reses Peanut Butter cup. It really was like a peanut butter cup in cupcake form which of course made it perfect! This may have been my first of these cupcakes, but it certainly wasn’t the last (Third trimester- don’t judge!).

After lunch my mom and I split up. She went back up to the room to do some work remotely (today was technically still a work day for her), and Everett and I headed up to the monorail to go to the MK.

Everett was really excited about the monorail, as he is about pretty much any time of rail transportation, freight trains, passenger trains, subway trains, you name it, he loves it! I have to say that because of that, the contemporary was the perfect resort for our vacation. It’s always nice to be on the monorail line with young kids, but when you have a train obsessed little boy, a hotel that acts like a tunnel for trains, well you’ve pretty much entered nirvana. His monorail enthusiasm never waned during our trip, and spying each and every monorail that went by was just as exciting as the first.

We didn’t have to wait too long for the monorail to arrive (which was going to be a theme for the trip, they were really efficient and we didn’t run into any serious delays or problems), and once inside I reclined Everett and he was asleep before we even reached the GF. He had been up really early, and had a very busy and exciting day so far, so I knew he was exhausted.

Now, I was about to enter the MK, and thanks to one snoozing passenger, I got to call all the shots, where would I head first!

Up next- almost solo in the MK!

 

[KatMark]

Great update. Sorry about the meltdown, but I would totally blame the ignorant parents. I just don't understand why there are SO many people who don't parent anymore. They just feel it is fine to let their kids run all over the place, jump on furniture, etc.

LOVE that you got an upgrade and what a lovely view. We've not stayed there since probably 1991 (not a fan of the new "decor and too busy for us as "adult travelers"), but the location can't be beat.

E looks so cute falling asleep in his stroller.

Can't wait to hear what you do on your "almost solo trip."

 

[jecskc]

Loving your updates !! Too bad about the condition of the room, but yay for pixie dust on the view. I have found things on the floor of our room that made me think they didn't vacuum very well. We stay at BLT during Spring Break, so I really enjoy your photos around the resort.

Alone at MK ??? I can't even think what I would do !! Looking forward to seeing how you used that precious time to your advantage.

 

[shan23877]

Great update Marissa!

I totally appreciate your candor. DH and I haven't stayed Deluxe since our honeymoon 9 years ago, and now that we have a child the mods are much more in our price range. I'd have been very disappointed to find the room in less than stellar condition (and let's be honest-those resorts are expensive! they should be well kept). If we stay deluxe again it'll be for the location (or the amazing pool fingers crossed!--and never at rack rate). Otherwise I think we'd be just as happy at a mod. There's a real chance that we had less than perfect rooms at the mods-but I didn't notice. I guess if I'm not paying a premium, I expect less.

I HATE that some people refuse to parent their children! If only you'd have seen the looks I was getting while I gave Maddie a time out at DTD! It was as though I was an alien! And, P.S. the monkey see monkey do thing isn't a phase. Be prepared for many, many years of "Why can't I do that?"

Hooooooray for an upgrade!!!! That's awesome!!

Can't wait to hear about your quasi-solo MK touring!

 

[amazingact21]

Hooray for an upgrade! Especially since the room was in less than steller condition. Being able to see the castle and monorails from your balcony at least makes up for the dirt and poor upkeep...

Ugh, gotta love meltdowns at the most inopportune times. At least the CM checking you in was understanding and helped make sure you got your request.


Oh man, now two DISers have deemed that peanut butter cupcake the best in Walt Disney World...I have got to try it out. I know it looks delicious! Especially that whipped frosting on top....

 

[Imagineer5]

Great update, can't wait for the next installment! Sorry about the meltdown but I definitely agree that the parents should have been parenting...so glad about the upgrade AND wonderful CM though, that's really fnatastic! Too funny about your flatbread - I also ordered that and LOVED it, though I do like tomatoes. It's surprising it didn't state tomatoes anywhere! Never did try that cupcake though!

We had great luck with the monorail too! Though when we stayed at BLT we mainly just walked to the MK.

Your room looks wonderful! Looks like you had about twice as much space as we did! We paid about 170/night though by renting points, so I guess you get what you pay for (and I didn't qualify for the military discount you got).

Well, I'm glad to hear you weren't in Taunton last weekend, because I could have sworn it was you, and the other woman definitely did a double take for me too, and she was rounding up a little boy in a dinosaur costume (never saw his face) and I was rounding up Aria so never had a chance to say anything. Now I'm glad I didn't hahahaha she'd have thought I was crazy asking about the DIS boards

 

[Curiouser&curiouser!]

Why do meltdowns seem to come at the worst possible moments? Seriously! They never happen when you are home alone!


(Okay, that is a total lie. At least for us anyway. They happen when we are home alone, out in public, at convenient times, or inconvenient times. It just FEELS like they happen at the worst possible moments!)

 

[afwdwfan]

I was really excited to be back and busy looking for things like monorail tracks, and trying to catch glimpses of Spaceship Earth and Tower of Terror over the trees.

I'm glad I'm not the only one that does that. Makes DW a little nervous when I'm looking around while I'm supposed to be driving though.

If those kids had not been jumping, the idea wouldn’t have crossed DS’s mind.

I feel your pain. Been there, done that. It really is a shame that the other parents didn't feel like controlling their kids. I'm sure they had no idea what the other unintended consequences were, but it doesn't make it any easier.

One thing I did notice as I was signing the bill, was that the reservation said “Theme Park View”.

Wow, Great CM!!! A fast, efficient check in, a balloon for a little boy having a meltdown and a room upgrade!!!

Everett would watch with baited breath yelling- “Monorail- CRASH!” and when they successfully passed each other he would say “Oh, monorail OK” with obvious disappointment in his voice. Oh little boys and destruction.

Yeah, we're going through that phase right now too.

I couldn’t imagine paying more than $500 a night for a room that had such obvious blemishes.

That's a disappointment. I've always wanted to stay at the Contemporary and I always price it out, but I just never can pull the trigger on spending that much for a room when there are so many other good options on property that cost less. If I'd spent the money on a "once in a lifetime" stay at one of the deluxes and had a room in that condition, I wouldn't be very happy. And it would likely keep me from trying some of the other higher end deluxe resorts on property too.

And a new Disney dessert for the list of things to try.

His monorail enthusiasm never waned during our trip, and spying each and every monorail that went by was just as exciting as the first.

I'm glad that he was so interested in the monorails... and that you had good luck with them! I remember being fascinated by them when I was little and let's be honest, I still am.


It's good to see that Everett finally gave up the fight and is getting a nap in. Hopefully he'll be in a good mood and ready to have some fun when he wakes up.

 

[marDgreen88]

Oof, I'm sorry Everett had a meltdown! I'm no parent, but I agree... parents should NOT let their kids run wild and jump on furniture in a nice hotel (or anywhere). I mean seriously, do they let them do that on their furniture at home? I seriously doubt it.

YES!!!! Upgrade! Dang, the Contemporary/BLT is the best for upgrades! AHH I love it.

YAY THE CUPCAKE! Wow, it looks like they added chocolate shavings? AHHHHH. Do you know how badly I want this now? Oh man. The frosting was perfect. It was like directly in the middle between heavy butter cream and light whipped cream. I definitely don't like whipped cream frosting so that stuff was just perfect. Anyways, I'm so glad you liked it!

 

[amandaw]

UGH - as soon as you said the kids were jumping off the ottoman I knew what was going to follow. Reid would have been the same way - wanting to go join them & taking it out on me when he couldn't. I agree that some things are overlooked on vacation. But, not the biggies - like that. I tell Reid all the time that just because we're on vacation doesn't mean he can act crazy or ugly.

But a big WOO HOO! for the upgrade to the theme park view!! Now, if only the room had been in better condition. But, I know what you mean about Disney needing to take better care of their deluxes if they want to compete with true deluxe hotels. I will touch on that in my TR when I do my "final thoughts" on Beach Club.

At least Everett was good for lunch! That is always helpful. Can't wait to see what you did at MK!

It was nice to be able to see and talk to him, but I think it really threw DS for a loop. He kept asking Daddy to come and play choo-choos with him, which was heartbreaking, because he doesn't really understand what is going on. He also started talking to the pictures slide show I use as a screen saver, because he doesn't get that those are just pictures, and not actually daddy talking to him through the computer. Poor kid, its really hard on him!

Awww....poor baby! I'm sure it's very hard & confusing for him. Hopefully, the rest of the time will go by quickly & y'all will be reunited soon!