"You want to ride Dinosaur again?" - New 10/21 - The End!

[DisMomAmy]

Continued from previous post...

Our boat was just pulling up to the dock!

Unfortunately neither of these photos came out very well…

It was a very relaxing & fun ride. The kids enjoyed it too. Zachary was getting very tired at this point. His early morning was catching up with him. Alex was getting wound up again and asking when we were going to see Jeff & Karen. He was also asking when we were going to see J & K… poor kid!! Luckily there was a bus waiting for us at the MK – we really needed that!!

I enjoyed Chef Mickey’s and WCC, but it was nice to be done with our resort meals – the transportation is definitely a hassle!

Up Next: Will we ever meet up with Jeff & Karen? Plus…

Mystery Picture #12:

Next Update: Finally... It's Jeff!

 

[DisMomAmy]

Oy to the bus ride to Wilderness Lodge! Poor Alex and poor you! I will say that those Disney meltdowns do occur with children who aren't autistic as well... I am sure that everyone on the bus had experienced (or would experience) a similar child meltdown at some point in their vacation.

The Wilderness Lodge is so lovely! I enjoyed seeing all the pictures. You can really tell that the same architect designed both WL and AKL.

Dinner sounds very yummy! The horse riding was cracking me up!

The bus ride was stressful! The meal was pretty good - I think it would have been great if the circumstances had been better.

Not ever having stayed at either WL or AKL I get the two confused all the time... there are definitely a lot of similarities. I'd love to stay at either one someday.

Happy Father's Day to Tim!

That's so disappointing about the cousins not being able to go. I know how disappointed my boys would be in the same situation.

For some reason, we've never walked out back of the WL. I think we were going to when we went this last trip, but it was starting to rain or something.

Hi Carissa - I hope you guys are having an OK Father's Day without Chuck.

I hope our visit with the cousins this summer will make up for the Disney trip... assuming they actually make it up here.

 

[mommytothreeboys]

Hi Amy!

Double update!! BONUS!

Sorry about the bus ride...we've all been there! Sometimes you just have to press on.

WCC sounds fun..it's been on our "maybe" list for our two trips, but never seems to make it to the "must-do" list. Maybe next time. (although I don't see my 12 and 14 year olds riding the horses! LOL!)

The boat ride looks like a great way to end the day. Nice and relaxing. The pictures are great! Lots of great views!

Hopefully we'll meet Jeff and Karen soon....how disappointing about the cousins. My boys would have been totally let down as well.

 

[MRYPPNS]

I totally feel for you with this evening ....had several like it myself on our trip expect ours would have been the 2 yr old crying because of the birthday celebration fuss. We are finding that Liam is having issues with new experiences (to even a greater extent then how he was on vacation) I'm hoping it's just his age and speech delay.

 

[SwansLoveDisney]

Oh my! Sounds like a very stressful bus ride indeed!

It's so strange that they served dinner in that order. I wonder why?

I agree that the transportation is a hassle when going to other resorts for meals!

 

[DisMomAmy]

Hi Amy!

Double update!! BONUS!

Sorry about the bus ride...we've all been there! Sometimes you just have to press on.

WCC sounds fun..it's been on our "maybe" list for our two trips, but never seems to make it to the "must-do" list. Maybe next time. (although I don't see my 12 and 14 year olds riding the horses! LOL!)

The boat ride looks like a great way to end the day. Nice and relaxing. The pictures are great! Lots of great views!

Hopefully we'll meet Jeff and Karen soon....how disappointing about the cousins. My boys would have been totally let down as well.

WCC was fun! The boat ride was a real treat - it was our first time taking a boat at WDW and it was a nice break from the buses.

I hope you get to meet Jeff & Karen soon too!

I totally feel for you with this evening ....had several like it myself on our trip expect ours would have been the 2 yr old crying because of the birthday celebration fuss. We are finding that Liam is having issues with new experiences (to even a greater extent then how he was on vacation) I'm hoping it's just his age and speech delay.

for Liam... Two is such a tough age, plus he has had a big change in his life recently becoming a big brother - that could have something to do with it too - he's had enough new experiences for now and he's letting you know!

Oh my! Sounds like a very stressful bus ride indeed!

It's so strange that they served dinner in that order. I wonder why?

I agree that the transportation is a hassle when going to other resorts for meals!

I have to say this was our worst day of the trip - Tim & I had a not so great evening (still to come) but otherwise the rest of the week was great!

 

[eandesmom]

Oh my goodness, what an update! I can relate to the frustrations of a blended family and another party having a huge element of control.

It is easy to blame at times, though often as not (and DH would hate this) it's a group effort to create many of the messes. It's hard. Still, I know for us, planning and getting agreement on our last trip was a nightmare for a variety of reasons. Heck, every trip but I digress. It's messy at best.

Thank goodness for poop. That happened recently to DS10 and I know he never ever ever wants to go through it again.

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Great update and pictures! The WL looks so beautiful. We hope to stay there someday. We had an ADR at WCC once but ended up cancelling it. Maybe we will try it next time. . .


Is the Mystery photo IllumiNations from CBR?

 

[Happydog]

I enjoyed your updates and photos of WL and the boat ride, one of my favorite things, and I was really looking forward to it! And of course I can only echo what every one else has said, we have ALL been there in one shape or another with kids and husbands!!!

Still a great update!!!

 

[DisMomAmy]

Oh my goodness, what an update! I can relate to the frustrations of a blended family and another party having a huge element of control.

It is easy to blame at times, though often as not (and DH would hate this) it's a group effort to create many of the messes. It's hard. Still, I know for us, planning and getting agreement on our last trip was a nightmare for a variety of reasons. Heck, every trip but I digress. It's messy at best.

Thank goodness for poop. That happened recently to DS10 and I know he never ever ever wants to go through it again.

Day 4 was a very frustrating day for us! I hate the unknown, especially on a well planned vacation! And I was being pretty flexible on this trip... but having half of our party be a no-show was tough. Mostly for the kids! But things do improve for Day 5.

Great update and pictures! The WL looks so beautiful. We hope to stay there someday. We had an ADR at WCC once but ended up cancelling it. Maybe we will try it next time. . .


Is the Mystery photo IllumiNations from CBR?

I knew you would be able to guess the Mystery Picture!

WL was beautiful - I would love to stay there somtime. I would recommend WCC too.

I enjoyed your updates and photos of WL and the boat ride, one of my favorite things, and I was really looking forward to it! And of course I can only echo what every one else has said, we have ALL been there in one shape or another with kids and husbands!!!

Still a great update!!!

The boat ride was such a nice treat. Even the kids enjoyed the change of pace. I think I mentioned this was our first Disney boat ride... that was incorrect - we did take the ferry from the TTC to MK on the first day, but this boat ride was much different. I felt like I was behind the scenes. I'd definitely do it again - I'd probably plan an ADR somewhere on the boat route just to be able to take the boat again.

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

I knew you would be able to guess the Mystery Picture!

WL was beautiful - I would love to stay there somtime. I would recommend WCC too.

YAY ~ I finally guessed a Mystery Picture!!

Okay, you have officially talked me into trying WCC!

 

[mousescrapper]

We also got to see someone order ketchup and a really large soda.

1st I have to ask....this must be an inside joke or I don't remember the explanation....but


Also sorry about the major meltdown w/ Alex....that is really hard to go thru and especially w/ other people looking at you. I feel for you all. I'm glad you guys were able to work thru it and keep the calm and move on w/ your night and have a yummy meal!

Thanks for all the wonderful pictures from WL and the boat ride. We rode that boat from MK to the WCG....back in 05 and I remember it being very nice too.

I really hope you meet up soon w/ Jeff and Karen soon.

 

[DisMomAmy]

YAY ~ I finally guessed a Mystery Picture!!

Okay, you have officially talked me into trying WCC!

I think you'll enjoy it!

1st I have to ask....this must be an inside joke or I don't remember the explanation....but

I guess I assumed that everyone has heard about this... They make a big deal out of people asking for ketchup. They yell it out to the whole room and everybody brings ketchup over to the person who asked for it! I'm not sure when they bring out the giant sodas... I'm not sure if it's anyone who asks for a refill or what?? But the waiter brought out a HUGE glass of soda (it looked like a large vase) to the guy at the table right behind us. I should have taken a picture. I guess there's a HUGE straw that goes with the HUGE soda. I had hoped to trick my niece & nephew into one of those gags.


Also sorry about the major meltdown w/ Alex....that is really hard to go thru and especially w/ other people looking at you. I feel for you all. I'm glad you guys were able to work thru it and keep the calm and move on w/ your night and have a yummy meal!

Thanks!! I'm happy that there weren't more of these moments.

Thanks for all the wonderful pictures from WL and the boat ride. We rode that boat from MK to the WCG....back in 05 and I remember it being very nice too.

I really hope you meet up soon w/ Jeff and Karen soon.

The boat ride was awesome! I'm glad you enjoyed the photos. You'll have to try it again.

I hope we find Jeff & Karen soon too!

 

[lisalonglash]

Great boat ride pictures - that looks fun! I can't wait for our WCC dinner - thanks for your wonderful report on your WCC experience! I fully intend to have dh ask for ketchup and straws

I'm sorry Alex had some trouble - it's hard to keep our cool when our children are losing their cool

I wonder if Jeff & Karen are aware of the impact their no-show had? I hope they show up soon!

 

[DisMomAmy]

Great boat ride pictures - that looks fun! I can't wait for our WCC dinner - thanks for your wonderful report on your WCC experience! I fully intend to have dh ask for ketchup and straws

I'm sorry Alex had some trouble - it's hard to keep our cool when our children are losing their cool

I wonder if Jeff & Karen are aware of the impact their no-show had? I hope they show up soon!

I would recommend the boat ride for sure! If you can get someone to ask for ketchup I'm sure you'd enjoy a good laugh.

More on the Jeff story to come...

 

[DisMomAmy]

As Momof2Disneyboys guessed, mystery picture #12 is IllumiNations from the beach at CBR:

But first… we had just arrived back at CBR from our dinner at WCC. When we arrived we changed and headed to the pool to (finally) meet up with Jeff & Karen. Alex really needed to swim to burn off some of his frustration & energy! I think Zach could have gone to bed early, but he was excited to see his uncle & "aunt". Jeff & Karen were at the pool when we got there. They had been enjoying some much needed drinks! They had been assigned to a room in Aruba?? I guess they had originally checked in to their room in Martinique (they had done online check in) but the key didn’t work! They didn’t like the location – it really wasn’t that close to our room and the view wasn’t any good so they asked for a room with a nicer view. I never saw their room… I never made it over the little bridge either. Tim saw their room once later in the weekend.

When we got there the kids wanted to head right into the pool and they wanted Uncle Jeff to go with them! Finally a break for me! Jeff said hello and told me that Karen would fill me in on the story because he couldn’t talk about it. I could tell he was really upset. I sat down with Karen while the boys swam and she filled me in on what she knew. She came home from work the night before (around 11pm) and all heck had broken loose. J & K were both there. Jeff & K were fighting about something. There was a phone call to Jeff’s ex-wife involved too. Somehow this all came from K breaking her cell phone. Jeff’s ex-wife had a fit and turned the broken cell phone into K not being able to go to Disney??? Then Jeff told the kids that nobody was going – so J was now upset too. After hours of stewing on the whole thing, Karen convinced Jeff that the two of them should still go. Just as Tim suspected, the ex was behind it all! I don’t know why the ex got to make this decision and Jeff was OK with it, and I also don’t know why a broken cell phone is reason to pull someone from a family vacation but what I think it all came down to was that the ex was jealous and when she isn’t happy, nobody can be happy. We’ve seen this type of thing happen before…

Now it was time to let the past go and try to enjoy the time we had left with Jeff & Karen. We’d already lost one day, we weren’t going to waste the two days we had left with them. We swam until the slides closed at 8 then we all went to our room. I don’t have any photos of Jeff & Karen from that night… Jeff & Karen hadn’t eaten so they visited for a bit then headed to DTD for dinner. We made plans to meet up first thing the next morning to spend the day at DHS. The kids played video games until 9:00 then we surprised them with fireworks on the Martinique beach. We had originally planned to go to Spectro & Wishes tonight but Spectro wasn’t until 10 and everyone was wiped out at this point so we decided to save it for another night.

Zachary, eating his dirty toenails…

He’s not doing what you think he’s doing…

We all enjoyed the fireworks – and I can’t believe Zachary was still awake!! We headed back to the room and the kids were asleep by 9:30! We had all had a long day!!


For those keeping track, here’s where we stand on dining credits at the end of Day 4:
13 CS meals left (started with 17 – used 1 at breakfast, 3 at lunch)
16 TS meals left (started with 20 – used 4)
20 Snacks left (started with 20 – used 0)

I'll be back in a little while to post the next mystery picture. Our photos are on the other computer and Alex is playing on there right now. Everyone is finally having some down time today and I don't want to disrupt it.

Up Next Mystery Photo #13

 

[mommytothreeboys]

Oh, I'm so glad Jeff and Karen finally made it! What a silly reason for J and K not to be able to go on vacation....that's too bad for them. I'm sure they were very disappointed.

Beautiful pictures from the CBR beach. I love the ones of the boys just messing around! They look like they are having fun!

Waiting for the mystery picture!

 

[mousescrapper]

I'm glad Jeff and Karen made it safely and you guys were able to spend some time w/ each other. I'm sure it made your boys happy and took the edge off Jeff.

What a shame about J & K....

That is kinda crazy...punishment for a broken cell, yes, but pulled from a family trip....yikes.

I'll keep my fingers crossed then can visit you later this summer!

Great end of the night pool and fireworks...how fun!

Can't wait for me,

J-

 

[lisalonglash]

Yay, Jeff & Karen finally showed up! As for the "reasoning" behind why their kids weren't allowed to come - ! Watching fireworks on the beach in your jim-jams sounds truly delightful! I'm glad everyone was able to get to sleep early - that bodes well for the next day!

Great pictures of the boys (and your dh) on the beach! So, what WAS he doing to that tree? LOL And what is it with boys chewing on their toenails? Mickey does that too periodically -

 

[DisMomAmy]

Oh, I'm so glad Jeff and Karen finally made it! What a silly reason for J and K not to be able to go on vacation....that's too bad for them. I'm sure they were very disappointed.

Beautiful pictures from the CBR beach. I love the ones of the boys just messing around! They look like they are having fun!

Waiting for the mystery picture!

You don't know how happy I was that Jeff & Karen finally showed up!!

There may be more to the story about J&K but that's the version we got...

Mystery Picture coming up next!

I'm glad Jeff and Karen made it safely and you guys were able to spend some time w/ each other. I'm sure it made your boys happy and took the edge off Jeff.

What a shame about J & K....

That is kinda crazy...punishment for a broken cell, yes, but pulled from a family trip....yikes.

I'll keep my fingers crossed then can visit you later this summer!

Great end of the night pool and fireworks...how fun!

Can't wait for me,

J-

The funny thing is that her cell still worked?? Remember all that morning we couldn't get a hold of them... we had tried Jeff, Karen, J & K on their phones. We kept getting voicemail, but later that day, K called me because she saw my number on her caller ID.

The kids really enjoyed the fireworks - I think it was even better than being at Epcot because we could just walk back to our room an be in bed 5 minutes later.

Yay, Jeff & Karen finally showed up! As for the "reasoning" behind why their kids weren't allowed to come - ! Watching fireworks on the beach in your jim-jams sounds truly delightful! I'm glad everyone was able to get to sleep early - that bodes well for the next day!

Great pictures of the boys (and your dh) on the beach! So, what WAS he doing to that tree? LOL And what is it with boys chewing on their toenails? Mickey does that too periodically -

The only problem with wearing jammies to the beach (which I obviously didn't think of ahead of time) was the sand! Oops!

Zachary bites his nails so bad that he is allowed to chew gum at school. I'm so grossed out by his toenail biting, but apparently toenails are quite a bit cleaner than fingernails... because of germs. But you'd think they would have been a bit crunchy that night?? I have a funny picture coming up (not for a while though) relating to toenails...