Where's the Lime???? Sept. 2006

[Disneygrl36]

Subbing so I won't miss any of the fun or any pics of your cutie pattootie son.

 

[aldisneygrl]

Sounds like y'all had a great time! I found out about y'all on GMax's trip report, so I decided to come read yours. She has a great picture of you and your son (he was being shy at the time).

Can't wait to hear the rest. Also, can't wait to see if you gave away anymore Lime surprises!

 

[PrincessV]

Oh boy, my readership has increased again! Ya'll make me feel so special - thanks for cheering me on!
Unfortunately, the germ infested Mouse worked his magic once more and I've been sick for two days. Not totally debilitated, but it's hard to think creatively (shoot, it's hard to THINK, period) all hopped up on cold meds.
Hoping to get a new installment in later today. Thanks again to everyone joining in my fun!

 

[MomPlanner22]

I am loving your report! Hope you feel better and get back to writing soon! I have been reading Gmax's first couple installments and it is so funny how she describes your enthusiasm about seeing a fellow Focker watcher!!! I need to get to Home Depot......

 

[Puppy_Pals123]

Great job on the report!

 

[mikayla73]

I hope you are feeling better soon!

 

[disneylizzy]

What an adorable little boy!

 

[PrincessV]

subscribing! I had the same trouble with the water slides when I was there last year with my dd. She wanted to do the slide at AKL but is not a strong swimmer. It feels like hours when you are at the bottom of the slide waiting for you child to come down!!

Doesn't it, though? Just one of those hurdles I never considreed when traveling solo with kids.

 

[PrincessV]

PrincessV - loving it!

I took my DD, then 4, last fall by myself, so I'm feeling your pain (or I guess gut-clenching fear of losing the kid somewhere along the way ). Funny how they clutch onto things and won't let them go. DD's wasn't Dinosaurs - it was PPF. Now me, thinking by our last day of the trip what a GREAT mom I was that I had brought DD down here for her first Disney trip, had let her ride Goofy 10 TIMES IN A ROW and still had said kid in my possession, thought I could do no wrong.

When I asked her what she wanted to do as her last ride before heading to the airport, and she said "that pirate ride" - I naturally assumed POTC - can you see where this is going? We get on POTC, enjoy the ride and then start heading toward the exit. It's THEN that she decided to clue me in. "Mom, aren't we going to ride the pirate ride before we leave?" Yep - she meant the PETER PAN pirate ride...so I had a choice - miss our flight and let her ride PPF one more time OR be the responsible parent I was SUPPOSED to be and bribe her with candy on the way out the door (we made the flight)!

Keep it up - you have a devotee to all TRs now!

It's funny, I was one of those people wihtout kids who thought bribery was one fo the worst parenting techniques around.... until I had a kid myself! I think anyone who navigates The World solo with kids should get a special Certificate of Merit as they exit the last park.

 

[PrincessV]

It’s Day 2 and I awake from a night of not-very-good sleep. I don’t remember having this problem other times we’ve stayed at the moderates, but this time the sound of the air conditioner just kept waking me up. It’s 6am: need to get an early start so we can eat breakfast, check in at the Contemporary and hit Epcot for the rope drop! Leo sleeps while I get ready. I finally wake him up, get him dressed, and we head over to the POFQ food court for breakfast. Where I once again forget just how long things take with a 4 year old. Leo finds the TV playing Little Einsteins (his fave, remember?) and we sit down in front of it with our bagels. 35 minutes later, I drag Leo out; we’re only 15 minutes behind schedule.
The drive to the Contemporary (CR) is uneventful. I park in the only space I can find – down from the North Garden Wing, about a mile form the lobby. Why I didn’t just have the car valeted, I’ll never understand. We unload the stroller and go to check in, where I reiterate my request for a refurbished room. The CM is happy to find me a room in the South wing, which is all refurbished, but, alas, a room isn’t ready right now. “No problem, we’re heading to Epcot for the rope drop anyway!” I say. And the CM informs me that Epcot opened 5 minutes ago. Where did all that time go?? *sigh* Okay, in that case, I may as well move my car to the South wing now, knowing we’ll be tired by the time we come back for our afternoon break.
Car moved, stroller in motion, Baggallini tagged with LGMH, and we hit the monorail to Epcot!

I’m a little worried about how our late arrival will affect The Plan. See, I follow the Unofficial Guide’s custom touring plans with religious fervor. And Obi Bob, (as TwinkieMama oh-so-appropriately coined Bob Sehlinger, author of said Unofficial Guide), said we needed to be there at park opening and head straight to Soarin’ for a Fast Pass before immediately riding Test Track. It’s now 9:30 and I still need to renew Leo’s annual pass. Fortunately, the Disney Ticket Gods looked upon me favorably and we got Leo set up in record time. It’s 9:45 as we enter the Land pavilion to find….. a 10 minute wait for Soarin’!
But is Leo tall enough to ride? We’ve measured with three different tape measures at home, with Leo wearing 4 different kinds of shoes. He hit 40” in all situations, but I’m still worried that Disney’s measurements could be different. Leo steps up like a trooper, squats under the measuring level, stands up and…….. it’s a go! The CM tells him he’s just right and he’s beaming with delight! (Did I think to capture this moment on film? No, and I’m beating myself up about it right now.)
This was the first time for us both on Soarin’ and it was fabulous! Leo clutched my arm the entire time, drew his feet up into the seat after the first couple scenes and generally looked totally freaked out. When we were heading out the exit, I asked if he was okay. He nodded, then stopped dead and said, “Mommy? That was so COOL!” Excellent start – we both experienced something new and my son’s not scarred for life! (Or so I think.)
Leo’s ready for a snack, so we grab a lemonade and a bag of Sun Chips in Sunshine Seasons.

There are two registers open: one has a customer; at the other, the CM is having a personal conversation with one of the cooks. I step up to this one and wait for some acknowledgement. Nope. No end to the conversation about boyfriends and parties. I notice another CM on the other side, so I pick up my things and walk around to the other side. I pointedly ask if she’s open. She doesn’t have a register yet, but taps the chatty CM on the arm and tells her she has a customer. I pick my things again and go back to the first register. Chatty CM glares at me, and goes back to her conversation while she rings me up! Now, I’ve done my time in retail and am generally annoyed at how low the level of service seems to have dropped in the shops, malls and restaurants around my home. But I have much higher expectations of Disney and I was completely appalled at what I experienced. I wasn’t about to let it ruin our day, though, so on with the show.
According to Obi Bob, our next stop should have been Test Track, but we’re way off schedule now and the wait is 20 minutes. I grab us some FP’s and it spits out extra surprise FP’s for Mission Space. We can’t use them so I try spreading a little pixie dust of my own… but no one wants them! Bizarre. Leo likes the look of Mission Space, so we go inside the play area for a little bit. Heading out, Leo again announces he wants to see the dinosaurs. Hey, look! Universe of Energy is right there and it has some dinosaurs! On our way over, we find Mickey and Goofy in their astronaut suits with no line. Leo steps up for a picture, Mickey gives him five and Goofy gives him a thumbs’ up. Very magical!

One of the CM attendants tells us the Space Shuttle’s about to launch and we can watch it between Mission Space and Wonders of Life. Sure enough, just as we start walking, we see it!

Back to the task at hand, we head into UE and we’re the last people to be let in the theater. And then it happens. Leo sees the dark beyond the turnstiles and freaks out, screaming he doesn’t want to see the dinosaurs, he wants to get out. So we turn around to walk back out the door that’s one foot in front of us and still open, but the CM says no, we have to walk all the way through the theater and exit through the doors marked, you guessed it, EXIT.
Me: “Can’t we just walk out this door you’re still holding open so we don’t disrupt the entire theater with Leo’s screams?”
CM: “No ma’am, those are the rules.”
Fine. So I carry Leo, who’s now screaming at top level since this is the very room he DIDN’T want to enter in the first place, all the way through the movie room and out the EXIT. This has never happened before, and I don’t know what to make of Leo’s behavior. It’s now getting really, really hot so I suggest something cool and soothing – how about a visit to the fishies? Leo’s all for it.
So we make our rounds of the Living Seas, and now I don’t know what to do. Leo doesn’t want to do anything dark, which rules out pretty much everything else in Future World. It’s too flippin’ hot for World Showcase. I decide we’ll eat some lunch and I’ll call to see if our room is ready. It’s not. But we decide to head back anyway and go for a swim.
Have you noticed that I haven’t gushed about any LGMH sightings so far in Epcot? That’s because there WEREN’T ANY! Loads of people wearing lime green shirts, shorts, shoes, hair ribbons, but not a single LGMH anywhere I could see. Oh well. I remember there weren’t a lot of Fockers heading to Epcot that day; I was sure to find some later that evening for Illuminations, right?

Next stop: Poolside Drinks!

 

[femail]

i feel your pain about the lgmhs... i taped 9 of them to themselves to hand out; wear in my hair, etc.. and not one sighting... and i never got a focker look from anyone... do you suppose it is just almost too silly?? i did it a few times there; but i have to admit i was kinda clandestine about the whole thing; i think that the best thing to do is fock one of our own; whoever we are with; then if someone else sees that they could fock you instead..... i was very disappointed.. but i am glad to see your report up and running and where is everyone else? i've never been next after a trippie; y'all are slippin... kathye

 

[PrincessV]

i feel your pain about the lgmhs... i taped 9 of them to themselves to hand out; wear in my hair, etc.. and not one sighting... and i never got a focker look from anyone... do you suppose it is just almost too silly?? i did it a few times there; but i have to admit i was kinda clandestine about the whole thing; i think that the best thing to do is fock one of our own; whoever we are with; then if someone else sees that they could fock you instead..... i was very disappointed.. but i am glad to see your report up and running and where is everyone else? i've never been next after a trippie; y'all are slippin... kathye

I know, I was really diappointed, too. BUT, when I considered the numbers, it's prety amazing anyone ever sees another LGMH. There's - what? - 50-90 thousand people in the parks on any given day? And we had like 100 Fockers in The World that weekend? I maintain we need to set up a few designated meeting times/places per week in order to truly meet other DISers. No worries, we're just working out the Focking kinks!

 

[PrincessV]

We dragged our hot, sweaty selves from the nice, cool CR lobby to the 110 degree searing heat of the North parking lot to put the stroller away and get our pool bag. We back-track to the pool and find the poolside bathrooms. Who’s the genius who said “No, no, they won’t need AC in the restrooms”? By the time we actually got to the pool, I was falling apart.
Here’s the thing, if you’ll permit me a side track…. I maintain that most Floridians are actually less able to withstand the heat of a Sept. WDW trip than most Northerners. We spend about 3 minutes per day outdoors from June-Sept.: going from the AC’d house to the AC’d car to the AC’d work, etc. I grew up in Western NY, and we spent our summers, sans AC, doing yard work, playing games, swimming and generally being active in the sun. Okay, it was 85, not 95 degrees, but I guarantee we were more acclimated to physical exertion in the heat than I am now as a Floridian. My point? I will never, ever try this in Sept. again. Friends and family members have been instructed to take away my credit cards should I ever start talking about doing this in the future. I was wilted, withered and utterly devoid of F U N.
Back to the pool…. I promise, I’ll not bore you with tales of woe from the CR pool. First of all, there were no slide dilemmas. I took one look at it and the several flights of stairs leading up to it and told Leo in no uncertain terms he would NOT be doing this slide. This discourse was repeated at least 8 times before we left. But it was cool and refreshing and perked us both up some. We paddled around, Leo frolicked in the fountains and practiced jumping in from the side. An hour and half later, 3pm, I called for our room assignment. “I’m sorry ma’am, your room hasn’t been cleaned yet.”
Me: “Okay, is there another room that IS clean we can have?”
CM: “I’m sorry – my computer shows all rooms are still dirty.”
Me: “Okay, what’s the latest you see this going?”
CM: “We guarantee a room by 5pm.”
Right. I need a break from the pool and I’m thirsty. Let’s hit the bar! I bring Leo over to the pool bar and ask for something tasty and non-alcoholic for Leo; the awesome bartender whips up a creamsicle-flavored concoction that makes Leo say “Yum!!” Thanks so much, now for something fruity and adult for me, please! We enjoyed our drinks in the shade, then headed back into the pool for some more swimming. Finally, at 4:15, our room was ready and we headed over to the South wing to take a peek before getting our luggage from the car.
No pics from the pool (yet another one of the pitfalls of traveling with kids solo) , but here's one of the CR from the general vicinity of the pool:

Next: Has Leo Been Moonlighting as a Hilton Bellboy?

 

[S.Poppins]

Subscribing so I can come back and read the whole thing. I am trying to read this one, Gmax, and ETs. Sounds like a great big DIS party!

 

[UtahMama]

PrincessV...You were at Boatrights, RIGHT near me and I didnt get to see you! SHEESH! I want a DO OVER!!!!!!!

I love this TR thus far, darling!!!!! Your lil Leo is TOO cute! Maybe it's best I didnt meet you...I woulda squoze him and traumatized him for life!

See Ya! Keep up the good stuff!!!!


UtahMama

 

[S.Poppins]

Okay, I am caught up now! So many TRs to read. Leo is very cute! You know, instead of going up and down the steps of the waterslide, you should have just slid down!! Can't wait to hear the rest!

 

[Glendamax]

YAY! I found your report! This is the first one I've read so far! I can not believe that we didnt see each other at EPCOT! The park wasnt that crowded! Oh well, at least we saw each other the day before.

Can you believe the 5pm rule?! I never heard of that before? But at least now we know.

Glad that you had a good time! Can't wait to hear more.

Hey I forgot to add that I'm also sick! Not as bad as I was last year though. Was is it with the "Post-Disney" cold? While I was there, I washed my hands alot, took a multi-vitamin with my first meal, and vitamin C with my second. I even started taking C before my trip. Sorry you're sick, but its good to know I'm not alone!

 

[PrincessV]

PrincessV...You were at Boatrights, RIGHT near me and I didnt get to see you! SHEESH! I want a DO OVER!!!!!!!

I’m dumbfounded as well – I really thought seeing you was a shoe-in, given the logistics. In retrospect, it’s entirely possible there were DISers all over, but I was so distracted with making sure “Leo” didn’t walk into a lake and taking pics I never saw anyone. Rats.

I love this TR thus far, darling!!!!! Your lil Leo is TOO cute! Maybe it's best I didnt meet you...I woulda squoze him and traumatized him for life!
See Ya! Keep up the good stuff!!!!
UtahMama

Thanks so much! DS’s funny – once he warms up to people, it’s hard to detach him; he’s a snuggler! But he’s all standoffish in the beginning, like he’s testing to see just how far someone will go to make him happy. I call it Only-Child-itus.
I actually write for a living, but it’s all journalistic-y and not at all fun n’ creative, so I’m having a blast!

You know, instead of going up and down the steps of the waterslide, you should have just slid down!!

Here’s how I know the heat befuddled my mind – this scenario never occurred to me until we were on the road back home!
Thanks for joining in the TR fun!

Can you believe the 5pm rule?! I never heard of that before? But at least now we know.

I’ll tell you what, it’s a darn good thing I’d already heard about that rule from you the day before; I think I’d have lost it if it were sprung on me by the CM saying ALL the rooms in South were dirty!

Hey I forgot to add that I'm also sick! Not as bad as I was last year though. Was is it with the "Post-Disney" cold?

See, I’m not sure. I thought it was a Mouse thing, but my boss had been sick the whole weekend I was gone and I started feeling icky last Tues., so I may have picked it up at home. I’m sorry to hear you’re sick, too, though. Hope you feel better soon!
Thanks for visiting and guest-starring in my TR!

 

[MomPlanner22]

I am loving your report! We are staying at the CR in December.

I thought their check in/room guarantee time was 3:00 pm? Our flight lands at 11:30 and I figure with ME and lunch, we can probably kill until 2:00. However, if we had to wait until 5:00 for a room, one of the CM's gets to babysit my two year old while she has a "Can't you people see I'm tired and just let me sleep" meltdown. Hmmm....maybe that's a way to get a room!

Thanks for the report, hope you are feeling better and looking forward to more!

 

[UtahMama]

GlendaMax- I hope you didnt get the GOMBOO from me! I still have voice issues and a cough. And a cold medicine hangover....