Well, now it’s Friday (9/29) and we have no plans for today….except Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party tonight. I get up early as usual and head outside on
my bench to drink coffee from
my mug and make notes in “the booklet”.
Repeat of yesterday….birds chirping, ducks swimming, people walking for coffee, etc. but today I have some leisure time so I decide to hang out for a while since everyone is sleeping. But my peace and joy is interrupted when the BLINDING sun comes up over Ole Man Island on this cloudless day. There is apparently an expiration time on my bench enjoyment.
I arrive in the room to find Mimi and DS awake. “Let’s go swimming!” is met with “Yay!!!” so the three of us put on our suits and depart for the Ole Man Island pool. It’s around 9:30am and the pool isn’t “officially” open (which means the slide is closed and there are no lifeguards but you can still swim at your own risk) but DS and I get in anyway. Aaaaaggghhhh! Did I happen to mention how cold it was last night? Well the water temperature in the pool is around 65, I’d guess. I’m out! I sit on the side with Mimi, who’s studying….on vacation. (Did I give birth to her?)
Anyway around 10ish the lifeguards start to mill around and one of them brings a little girl wearing one of those straw Huck Finn hats over to the slide. There is apparently an opening celebration….for the slide? Geez….is there an opening celebration for everything here? OK. We have to yell loudly many times “Wake up, Ole Man” and finally, mercifully the water gushes from the bottom of the slide. DS is one of the first kids down the slide, impervious to the arctic water temperature and glaciers floating nearby.
When DS’ lips turn blue, we head back to the room to find two grumpy people with two different issues. DH mentioned yesterday that he felt like he was coming down with something. Well, he’s down with sumpn alright...a cold of some sort. And Emily is in a snit because she knows what tonight is and she’s a squeaky wheel without a costume. So we divide and conquer. Emily and I head to Downtown Disney via riverboat, DH takes DS cane pole fishing, and Mimi…studies.
The boat ride to DTD is lovely and when we get off the boat, the first thing we see is Goofy’s Candy Company. Now all the little Disney candies you see elsewhere in the World are in this store. I begin to shop and notice that a lot of things are under $4….making them “snacks” on the
DDP, which equals “free” for me. The wheels start turning….gifts for teachers, coworkers, friends….aawww, yeah! I load up a basket with boxes of cookies, snack mix, candy, etc. and head to the check out to “purchase” my gifts. Nine snack credits down, six to go.
Now if you think this is going to be a tour of DTD, you’re wrong because Emily and I are on a mission to find the perfect costume….and this is no easy task. With pre-teens you walk a fine line. (She’s only been a teenager for a week so the term pre-teen still legally applies.) They still like little girl things but they want to be big girls all at the same time. So we head to the Mecca of all Disney stores…the World of Disney. If you can’t find it here, Disney don’t make it, savvy?
This store is as elaborately themed as any Disney park or ride. We walk in through the door to the “pirate room” with the huge skeleton pirate displays on either side and a life-size talking pirate in the middle of the room. We proceed through all the other departments to the “princess” room on the other side of the World of Disney.
Now my girl loves all things princess but she is easily as big as me and nearly as tall and the princess dresses don’t come in queen sizes. She did find a sparkly clip on ponytail she liked…fine. She sees and wonders about the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique….but you need an appointment…especially on
MNSSHP days.
We go to the “junior” department and there it is….her dream costume….the pirate princess. (Cue angel chorus) It confidently walks the fine line between little girl and big girl. There are several different versions…some with tulle and marabou lined pirate hats, others with sassy stockings and boas….all very cute! So we start looking for this sassy pirate princess gear but no luck.
We stop a CM who tells us that the pirate princess costumes are for display only…they don’t sell all that stuff here…but aren’t they
FABULOUS, he says with way too much enthusiasm. Oh, but we do sell the POC t-shirts. Hhuuuhhhh? We don’t have time to go to no stinkin’
Walmart to fill in the gaps now! Way to tease us, Mickey!
Long story short…after MUCH debate we buy the sparkly hair extension, a few pirate earrings, a POC t-shirt, a Jack Sparrow hat with snap-on hair for DS and we’re out with our 10% discount. (Thank you Disney Rewards Visa!)
By now we are starving so we head back to Wolfgang Puck Express because it smells garlicky and wonderful. We get our food to-go so we can get back to the room for a bit before we have to get ready for MNSSHP. Thinking we don’t want to wait (possibly) 20 minutes for the boat back to POR, we head for the bus stop.
We find the bus stop (which is right behind WPE….duh!) and the sign says Port Orleans & Old Key West at Depot #1. Great! The bus comes shortly but the sign says “Old Key West”. Now, I have a decent sense of direction and I know the resorts are close in proximity so I figure they go to both resorts but to be safe, I ask the driver. Is this bus for POR? “Port Orleans, jess.” OK, I’ll take that as a “yes” and we board the bus.
Once the ride begins, we stop at every bus stop known to man….3 in DTD, Typhoon Lagoon, Old Key West main stop and then 27 other OKW stops. When I see the same stop for the third time, I become a little concerned. Is the driver lost? Why are we circling the same parking lots again and again? Has this bus been taken over by terrorists?
Emily notices too and says we should ask what’s going on. No, I say…the driver told us we’re going to POR. When we stop at the OKW main stop for the second time, Emily rises to action. She walks right up to the bus driver and asks if we’re going to POR. No….we’re not! I march right up to the driver and ask him why the heck he told me this bus was going to POR??? Is he some kind of idiot???
OK…I didn’t say that....being the non confrontational type…but I thought about it. Emily and I get off the bus and call DH. He’s sleeping and DS is watching cartoons. He’ll be over directly to pick us up.
Now have I mentioned that my man does not have an acute sense of direction? I am the navigator so I know we may be in for a wait. But I’m also starving. We pull out the WPE and proceed to dine at the OKW bus stop. The other bus stop people are watching us…the crazy bus refuges…eat our pasta like pigs while we wait for our ride. If you were there, I apologize.
I let out a big sigh of relief when the lexmelinda mobile is finally in sight. We need to rest up before we’re not-so-scared tonight…
DO….spend your snack credits on those nice $4 boxes of cookies and snacks at Goofy’s. When I got back I gifted about pretty much everybody with some little Disney treat. “Thank you SO much, Melinda!” You’re welcome!
DON’T….wait til you get to WDW to buy an adult Halloween costume…there are none to be had….forgetaboutit! Honestly, why has Disney not noticed this little void and attempted to sell some adult costumes? Don’t take the bus from DTD to POR. It makes lots of stops (not just if you get on the wrong one!) and the boat ride is so much more enjoyable.