Disneyworld Trip November 2008
Alan 39
Lisa 38
Olivia 18
Owen 9
Plans!
It seems like a lot of our trips start with me saying that we weren’t going to go and yet then we go but this one we REALLY weren’t going to go. We had said that since it was Olivia’s senior year we wouldn’t be taking a trip this year. Even though part of me thought we should go this one last time because she can’t miss school to go once she’s in college! But ever since they started having free dining I have always wished and hoped that they would offer free dining during the late fall or winter instead of just during hurricane season. So one September afternoon I was minding my own business and was reading online when I read that Disney was offering Free Dining in November! And you could book it starting TOMORROW!! It was only available for certain dates in November but still it was the 1st time they have ever offered this! I got on the phone instantly and I called mom at work and told her. She was excited but hesitant and she had a lot of questions! Well I was already online looking for frequent flier seats and for flights for her and dad I was picking out dates and flights already! I also called Alan during all of that to tell him and he said he didn’t know if he could be gone at that time because of something at work going on so I told him that we were going with or without him so figure it out. I’m sure he thought I was joking but I wasn’t!
By the time mom was off work I had a list of flights and a schedule all worked out I had never worked so hard in a two hour time frame in my life. My head was spinning this was only three months away and there was a lot to be planned and done. The other thing I was doing was calling and trying to see if any of the restaurants were available because having free dining with only three months notice could mean that everywhere we like to eat is already booked up!
Well that evening was a total blur and the deal couldn’t be booked until the next morning so I have to have the whole thing figured out that evening so I could get up early and call and book the room and also get the flights. Then I would also need to call for restaurant reservations because as soon as everyone starts booking this in the morning that will be the next thing they do. Then I thought to myself that I could be tricky and call tonight and book the restaurants ahead of time because you don’t have to have a hotel reservation to book them so that is what I did. I booked a whole week’s worth of places for a party of six and fell asleep that night feeling so smug and thinking that I was one step ahead of everyone else.
The next morning I woke up at 6am and called being put on hold. I knew that would happen it can take an hour or two to get through sometimes when deals like this are released. I just got Owen ready for school and fixed his lunch like usual. And once he was outside waiting for the bus mom came over and stuck her head in the door to let me know that they weren’t going to go on the trip! She gave me a note she had written explaining why and then she left because she saw I was on the phone and I told her I was on hold reservations and seem shocked I was calling so early. She couldn’t just email me that morning because our main computer was dead!
So while I was reading the note they picked this moment to answer the phone and want to wait on me finally! Great what to do? What to do?! Well I had it all written out what I wanted to book for us and then for them so I just went ahead and booked ours at Pop Century and didn’t book theirs and hung up. Then I kind of had to process all of that in my head I was panicked! Should I have booked them a room too just in case they changed their minds? Well too late now because I had already been on hold for about an hour and I wasn’t going to call back and do that again. I was also realizing that this meant that all those reservations that I had made last night weren’t going to work now because they were for a party of 6! Plus if it’s just us going then we might have different plans too. So much for me feeling smug last night thinking I was a step ahead of everyone else. I knew that the phone lines were very busy right now but I needed to rethink the schedule before calling and changing the meals if it was just going to be the four of us. Honestly in looking back I should have just went ahead and called and then while I sat on hold forever I could have gotten our new plans all figured out during that time. But I wasn’t thinking clearly.
So I called Alan who was almost at work by this point and told him what was going on. And his job for the day was to get the ok from his boss about missing that week in November because he had asked yesterday and he said he thought it would be ok but he had to check with something and he’d let him know today so once we got the ok then he was going to book the FF flights. And since mom and dad just cancelled on me he had better not do it too!
I went ahead and ate breakfast and showered and then looked over the schedule and when I called back to change the meal reservations it was about 9:30am and WOW there was very slim pickings! This was especially interesting because last night when I called I had my choice of places and times but now some places weren’t available at all and the ones that were I just had to let them tell me what time we would be eating because there were not any choices left at most of them! This proves I was right everyone booked the deal and then made their meal plans! At O’hanas I couldn’t get anything at all they were now booked solid so I didn’t cancel my party of 6 for that one and we are just going to show up and say some people couldn’t make it. You can’t do that everywhere because they take their reservation system very seriously and don’t want to hold a table for six people if you only need a table for four. But good news is that I am done! I got it all booked and even though a few of them weren’t at the times I wanted it’s better than nothing and hey………………it’s free dining!!
One weird thing about this trip is that it is the most last minute trip I have ever planned to Disney since I can remember so with it only being three months away you would think that I would have lots of planning to do but it turns out that I did it all in a span of 24 hours! And now there is absolutely nothing left to do! Usually I analyze flight schedules, dates, restaurants, which parks on which day’s etc etc but that is all done! So I just had to wait for the time to pass. The only other thing I did get to plan is that Super Soap is going to be going on while we are there so I get to watch and wait until they release the names of the stars that are going and the schedules for that. So at least that’s something left to plan.
On to the actual trip……….
Ok, this is not the day we leave but at least it’s the day before we leave! Alan is gone on a work trip in Iowa and is driving home and won’t get home until Thursday which is the day we are leaving! Talk about cutting it close. But today went along like a normal busy day before a trip with lots of things to get done, but nothing exciting to report.
I went to bed tonight just hoping that Alan has no trouble making it home tomorrow. And then it happened. I was woke up to this very strange noise and when I’m home without Alan noises scare me so at 1st I just tried to pretend I didn’t hear this noise but then I heard it again and that is when I noticed some light coming from the hallway. So I got up to see who was up and as I pushed the bathroom door open I saw a sight that I will never EVER forget! Owen was sitting on the toilet and he had vomited ALL OVER THE BATHROOM!! I had never seen anything like it he had done it while sitting on the toilet and it had went everywhere. It was on him, the floor, the side of the bathtub, the wall beside the toilet, the wall across from the toilet, the wall where the towel bar is, on the towels, on the vanity. I am talking EVERYWHERE!!! And he just looked up at me as I stood in the hallway with a look of horror on my face and he says “Disneyworld, our trip”!! Which at this point my brain hadn’t even thought of that YET! That tells you how shocked I was at the sight of this mess but I just looked at him and said I know! Then I had to spend the next TWO HOURS cleaning. Alan and I have always had an unspoken deal when a kid vomits, I take the kid and clean him/her up and start the washer going and he cleans whatever is left behind. However, Alan is snug in a hotel bed somewhere between here and Fort Dodge Iowa.
So tonight I stand alone!
I thought about waking Olivia up but then I thought that it probably wasn’t worth the hassle!
So I cleaned Owen and got him all settled on the couch on some towels and then later on in my bed on Alan’s side on a giant sheet in case he had another issue. Then I cleaned that bathroom as much as I could until it seemed like I was going to drop dead and then I went to bed where I spent the rest of the night with one eye open and on Owen. He never did get sick again which makes since because there’s no way he had anything else left in him. Did I mention we had eaten Casey’s pizza for dinner tonight? With no exaggeration it was the grossest parenting moment I have ever had and something that only Owen and I can truly understand.
Well after that eventful night Owen and I didn’t even get up for school I woke Olivia and told her to get ready and told her what had happened! She was thrilled to be getting out of the infested house quickly after hearing that news and then I went back to bed with Owen because he was still sleeping.
Alan called in a very chipper mood because after all today was a non work day and then he was on vacation for the next 10 days! I put a cork in his happiness with my news of sickness and vomit! I hated to do it but it wasn’t my fault.
Later when we got up I had to go to the school to pick up all of his makeup work that he was supposed to bring home today for the trip. He was feeling pretty good and asking for food but was only eating crackers and toast so far. I put him at the kitchen table and had him get started on his homework while I went back in and gave the bathroom another cleaning in the bright light of day because well, believe it or not, it still needed it!! I was also washing a lot of laundry.
And somewhere in this day I had to finish my list of stuff that I was supposed to be doing today before he got sick. Plus I was waiting for ME to come down with it and thinking that if we all got it one at a time that we could end up being sick during the entire trip! So much for free dining!
So Alan got home and Olivia got out at 2pm today for teacher conferences and she stayed a little late to take a test she was going to miss while we are gone. Then she came home and had Tim with her. Why she does this when she knows we are in a hurry to get things done. I understand saying goodbye here instead of at the school but they just hang out like it’s a regular boring day after school!! Alan spent some time doing something with her ipod that was taking forever, literally and then finally got mad and gave up. I spent the same amount of time trying to find the little camera case that has a certain kind of strap on it but couldn’t find it anywhere. I had about 5 other kinds but not the one I wanted. FINALLY I found it inside the bigger one! Smart! So we are loaded up and ready to go at 4pm but we had to go over and tell mom bye so then we decided to wait around until dad got home to say bye to him again. We had done it last night but it felt rude to leave when he would be there in a few minutes.
We left home at 4:15 and stopped in Vandalia for dinner because there isn’t really anyplace to stop at in St. Louis before you get to the airport that is in a good neighborhood. So we went to the KFC/Taco Bell combo place since that is what Alan and Olivia wanted. Olivia had taco bell and the rest of us had KFC I wasn’t sure what to order so I had the 3 piece chicken strips meal and it was the tinniest thing I have ever seen. It not only looked like a kids meal it almost looked smaller then a kid’s meal! We all laughed at the size of it. Owen had his 1st real meal since the “incident” he had 2 chicken legs, fries and a biscuit and loved it all and his tummy seems to be all better. (I am still taking bets that I will be the next to get it because it only makes sense!) I don’t know what everyone else ordered and really who cares mine was only worth mentioning because it was so small it was down right funny! But we did manage to spend $25 for dinner.
About 30 minutes later we were back on the road and we arrived at the Renaissance in St. Louis at 6:30. We checked into the room put all of our luggage in the room and then went to check out the concierge lounge where I was hoping to find some food because I was still hungry after that tiny meal at dinner. But all they had was chex mix, nuts, and cheese that looked like it had been sitting out for awhile. So we had our free sodas and some nuts and then went back to the room.
Alan said he was going to go to the lobby to use the bathroom and in our family that is Alan’s code for it’s not a good thing! But then as the kids and I were walking to the room Olivia and I decided we had to do the same thing and she ran ahead and beat me to the bathroom and the taco bell must have hit her because she was in there FORVER! So long that Owen wrote in his daily journal that his “sister was in the bathroom crapping, his dad was in the lobby crapping, and his mom was waiting her turn”!! I later read it and said well now you won’t be turning that in for extra credit!! So once Alan came up to the room which was by the way while Olivia was STILL in the bathroom!! Think about that!! He said that he had not only used the bathroom in the lobby but had stopped by and felt the water in the pool and it was very warm. (time for all that yet Olivia is still in the bathroom!) And gave me the eye ball about maybe one of us should take Owen for a swim. I voted for him to do it since I was still in line for the bathroom!! Plus my suit takes forever to dry and I didn’t want it all wet and in the luggage for the whole day tomorrow. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it! Words can’t describe how shocked Owen was to learn that he got to go swimming!! We never have time for that at this hotel he thought we were joking with him. They left for the pool and Olivia at some point emerged from the bathroom! (Silently cursing taco bell I am sure!)
So while they went for a swim I wrote in my journal and watched Grey’s Anatomy which made Olivia mad while she sat on the bed complaining and texting!
When we were in the lounge earlier it said that desserts would be put out at 8pm so after the boys left and it turned 8pm she took off in her jammies to the lounge and came back with cookies for us and milk for her.
After about an hour the boys came back bragging about having the pool to them selves and how warm and relaxing it was but as soon as I said cookies they were gone again in a flash!
We watched TV for awhile mostly arguing over the remote and then turned the lights out at 10pm. Just before bed Olivia was trying to take off her sweatshirt and I was standing in between the beds waiting on her so I could put it up and shut off the lights and when she went to pull it off she exposed her tummy and I reached to tickle/grab it and she still had her head inside her sweatshirt and her legs were somewhat bent at the knee and well I don’t know how exactly it happened but she kicked me with her foot right in the eye!! YES! It hurt and my eye watered for a long time and I had to go to the bathroom and cry for a minute while I checked for permanent damage! And not to sound like a baby but getting kicked in the forehead by her big leg and then getting poked in the eye did hurt!
Owen and I were sharing a bed together and he was having a hard time falling asleep. I normally do that in hotels but I had been awake most of the night before so I was about out when I remembered that we had Owens medicine that had to be kept refrigerated!! OH NO! We had brought it in an insulated lunch sack with a freezer pack inside to keep it cool but we needed to have the hotel people put the freezer thing in the freezer or else it would be thawed by tomorrow and will not keep his medicine cold all day while we travel! I got up and found it then tried to make enough noise to wake Alan but it didn’t work.
Then I changed into my jeans and shirt without bra to go down the hall to the ice machine to fill the bucket I thought for sure that would make enough noise to wake Alan. I left Owen in charge and went for the ice then I put the ziplock that had the bottle of medicine in it inside the ice bucket with the lid off and left it in the bathroom in our way so I wouldn’t forget it in the morning. Then even with the loud heavy door shutting Alan was still not awake so I had to go put on my bra and then go to the lobby with my freezer pack to ask them to freeze it for me. I don’t know why but Owen was very excited by all of this pretending to be quiet without really being quiet and the sneaking around. He REALLY wanted to go with me and I REALLY just wanted to send him to do it on his own! Just kidding! But I made him stay in the room in case something happened????? Not sure what and Alan woke and wondered where we were. As I left the room I made certain to shut the door extra hard because I was very bitter that Alan was getting a good night’s sleep and I wasn’t!! Again!
So THEN I went back upstairs where everyone was still sleeping except Owen of course. He was still sitting up mad that I didn’t let him go with me but I told him if they woke up he would need to let them know where I was at. So now it’s 11pm and we are going to try to sleep.
The alarm was set for 5am but I woke up 2-3 minutes before it went off and had to pee so I just went ahead and got in the shower. Our flight is really early this morning and when I booked it just three months ago it was an early flight but it wasn’t THIS early they kept moving the time up 20minutes here and there until it was about an hour and a half earlier than it originally was supposed to be.
So we got up and out of the room by 6am I told Alan my story of running around the hotel at 11pm last night and that we had to stop by and get the freezer pack when we checked out. Well there was no one else in the lobby but us and we were standing there being waited on so the bell man came over and said he’d take our bags on out to the shuttle which was sitting outside waiting so the kids and I went on out with our luggage to wait on the shuttle for Alan. The lady had just gone in the back room to get the freezer pack so we thought this would only take one minute. We got on the shuttle and we were the only ones for a minute and then here came a pilot, a stewardess, a regular traveler, and another one etc etc and now we are sitting on a shuttle that is completely full there is no more room for anyone else’s luggage so they are now sitting it in the aisle and in front of the door which I don’t even think they are allowed to do and we are all still waiting on ALAN!! We can see him standing at the counter and I am thinking these people on the shuttle are going to kill us! And all of this for a freezer packet to go into an insulated lunch bag for Owens medicine. Oh and did I mention that it’s raining outside? Not that it matters that much but I am wearing my crocs with socks on and as I step to get in or out of the shuttle I step in to big puddles of water so my socks are soaked! Well after what felt like an hour but was honestly 20 minutes at LEAST, Alan came RUNNING out and got on the shuttle! He didn’t even know that there were other people waiting with us on it! And not only do I blame the people behind the counter who couldn’t find the freezer thing but that stupid bellman shouldn’t have been in such a huge hurry to load us and our luggage we were not even outside at the loading area we were far from it and I think they could have taken the load of passengers and then came back for us all in the same amount of time that this whole thing took without so much stress because trust me ALL eyes were on US!
I had told the kids that when the shuttle stops to let the others off 1st. Then when we got off and it’s raining and we aren’t in a covered area so we step down and each grab a suitcase and hustle over to the awning. Alan got whatever we didn’t take and tipped the shuttle driver ( $5)
We checked in and this is the 1st time we have flown since Olivia turned 18 so she was treated as an adult and THANK GOD that I was smart enough to think of that and make her give me her driver’s license to put with mine for security! On the drive to St. Louis Alan had mentioned it and was impressed that I had already thought of it!
We then went to go eat breakfast because by now we were starving. We went to the food court and Alan and I each had a Burger King breakfast sandwich and we split one order of hash browns and an orange juice. ($9) The kids split one Cinnabon and got two churros with icing and one milk ($9) I didn’t think churros was a breakfast food but I wasn’t the parent that went with them to order.
After eating we walked down to our gate and parked ourselves for a minute. We picked seats that were facing out to the planes. But it was still dark out and you could only see lights. As the sun started coming up I didn’t care for the view. I don’t like to actually LOOK at airplanes which is why I always close my eyes after we walk down the walkway thing to get on the plane just as we turn to step on the plane and you can actually see the thing that is pulled up to the side of the plane and you can see the actual airplane until that moment I am fine. But then it hits me I’m getting on a plane! Once I am on the plane and away from that 1st 3 steps or so I am fine but where you can see and even touch the outside and see the cockpit windows from outside then step in and can see into the cock pit I don’t like that part at ALL. It reminds me of the 1st episode of LOST and it’s NOT GOOD. Otherwise they wouldn’t be lost.
So as the sun comes up we are facing the planes and I want to move seats but instead Olivia and I went to the rest room and then the gift shop. I found 2 magazines that had articles on David Cook and they are magazines you never find back home so I wanted them but they were $5 each so no thanks! Olivia found a magazine she wanted so she asked me and I said I didn’t bring money dad has all of our stuff so she left and went back to Alan. She told him that mom found David Cook magazines she wants to buy and Alan rolled his eyes and handed her some money from his pocket. She was pretty pleased with herself and was shocked that I didn’t actually buy the magazines! She did get hers for $3.00 though and I read it too but she was mad I wouldn’t let her buy two of them.
After that we came out of the store only to find out it’s already boarding time but I still needed to pee really fast so I ran off to do that and then we boarded the plane which turned out to only be half full so people got up and changed seats so they didn’t have to sit by strangers and stuff. We left on time. I am sitting with Owen on a flight for the 1st time EVER! And he’s pretty pissed at me for taking the window seat but hey I have to have the window! I have no problem being on a flight as long as I have the window seat but if I have to sit in the aisle seat and look down that isle it just reminds me I’m on a plane. However looking out the window lets me escape that airplane feeling which I know makes no sense I’ll admit that.
I helped Owen with math homework that was why he was sitting with me. Alan said he didn’t want to do math homework so he is sitting with Olivia and she is doing homework for her foods class. She is also very happy to be sitting in the window seat for a change! One funny thing happened though Alan thought he would just be able to sit back and relax on the flight but he must have forgotten who he’s sitting beside because Olivia was back there jabbering on to him NONSTOP! They were sitting in the row behind us and I looked back at him and laughed a few times, poor Alan! For some reason when I fly with her she just falls asleep. Meanwhile, Owen is really getting mad at me because he is sick of doing math but I am being like a drill sergeant because I don’t want to do math at Disney and he doesn’t seem to understand that.
The flight was one of the bumpiest ones I have ever been on and it was really pouring rain in St. Louis this morning. So I was happy when we landed in Tampa. We made a very quick bathroom stop just for me and then we went down to wait for our luggage but as we were walking toward the turnstile where our luggage was supposed to be coming out we noticed that there were no people standing around waiting on luggage and that OUR luggage was the only luggage going around on the conveyer belt!! That was very weird, I know the plane was only half full but still all I did was run into the bathroom and out then we went straight to get the luggage how could all of those people have gotten their stuff and left by now? It was nice not to have to wait on the luggage but it was also worrisome knowing our luggage was sitting there unattended and all alone!! The only thing that made us feel better is that there is no way it could have been for more than a few seconds literally!!
So I forgot to add something in earlier in the report and that was the fact that we couldn’t get a frequent flier flight into Orlando we could only get one into Tampa! We could however fly home out of Orlando so we needed a rental car when we arrived to get us from Tampa to Disney but for the flight home out of Orlando we would just be taking Disney’s magical express.
So we had a full sized car for one day for $44 including taxes. I don’t know how because I didn’t go to the counter with him but Alan managed to get us a full sized SUV! It was a trailblazer! WOW where was this thing on all those trips with the stroller! So we just tossed everything in the back no shoving or organizing and we were off. We made record time because our plane landed at 11:00 and we left the airport at 11:18! WOW that is impressive.
We arrived at Pop Century at 12:30 or so and we were on a mission. We knew that today was going to be the only warm day so we were hoping to make it to the water park today. But they are only open till 5pm and we hated to waste our 3 free passes and also purchase a pass for Owen if we weren’t going to be there long enough to justify it. Before we left home when I saw what the weather was going to be like and I thought about what are chances were of flying in and driving from Tampa and having time for the water park on this day I decided to repack…. Yes! REPACK! The luggage and make one bag have our suits, cover-ups, towels, water shoes, goggles, ear plugs etc so we wouldn’t waste any time looking for stuff.
So when we got to the hotel I thought that while I checked us in I thought the rest of them could take the bag to the restroom and get changed and be ready to go! But no Alan said let’s just see if the room is ready and we can change in the room. Luckily there was no line to check in and they put us in the 60’s building on the 2nd floor. I made her change that to the 4th floor (top). But left it at the 60’s building! WOW this is a big thing for us because for the past 5 trips we have made since they opened Pop Century we have stayed at Pop in the 70’s buildings but hey I can be flexible.
The room was ready so was walked back out to the parking lot to get the bag and decided to just go ahead and carry what we could which was pretty much all of it! To get to our room we went through the lobby area and out the big doors heading to the main pool but instead of turning toward the 70’s section we went straight past the pool bar and the pool to the 60’s building our building actually faced the pool but we were as far away as you could possibly be. We were on the opposite side of the pool as far as you could go all the way to the end. And Alan said I guess this is what we get for making them change us from 2nd floor to 4th floor! Making that walk carrying all of our worldly possessions made it seem twice as long. Later in the week it wasn’t nearly as bad. So we got into the room and all changed into our water park gear and were ready to go. We took the long walk back to the elevator and the nice walk past the pool, I did like that part of the new room location. Later in the week we would walk past that pool in 30 something degree weather and watch the steam rise off of it. We also saw some crazy’s swimming in it then too!
Oh I forgot to add that we had requested a fridge for the room for Owens medicine and they were just delivering it when we arrived at the room. However the fridge wasn’t cool yet so while I changed Alan said he was going to the ice machine to fill the bucket so we could keep Owens medicine cool till we could use the fridge later. So I thought that sounded like he was taking care of it. Sounds like it doesn’t it? More on that later……
We got over to Blizzard Beach at 1:15 and we are pretty excited because it has been YEARS since we have been here. The two Disney water parks rotate being closed for the winter and it’s always closed when we are here in November so we always go to Typhoon Lagoon. I don’t think we’ve been to Blizzard Beach since Olivia was 7 years old or so.
We had enough free passes left for three of us to get in for free and then that was the end of our free water park passes that we have used for years!! We’re really going to miss those! So we had to buy one pass for Owen for $34.00 and then after a long wait behind a family of idiots we finally entered the park. The 1st thing we did was go to the wave pool and wow this is a smaller wave pool the Typhoon Lagoon!
After a little time in the wave pool which was freezing we went to the racing slides and the kids loved those! We weren’t sure if Owen would be brave enough for them but he was and he loved it. From there they went on the toboggan slides and then at about 2:30 we were all starved to death! We haven’t eaten since the St. Louis airport very early this morning! We used four of our counter service meals, Owen had a hot dog, Alan had a fish sandwich and Olivia and I had pizza. ( I can’t believe I could even eat pizza after the other night when Owen was sick!! YUCK!) We all had ice cream treats for our dessert choice and then went to the lazy river and floated all the way around the park!
After that we went over the older kid’s area and Owen had a blast climbing across the water on the pretend ice burgs but you would never know it from the look of super seriousness on his face! HaHa! Then he did this thing that is up in the air and the kid holds on and it shoots you out over the water and then it drops you. It’s hard to explain but I could have sat there and watched kids do that all day long it was hilarious!! Owen looked SO scarred like he was going to ……. Dare I say throw up! HAHA! But he loved it!
Then Olivia went with Owen on some very tame slides and then we left the younger area and went over to some more slides that you can ride double on. All I did was walk all over and take pictures and my water shoes had some hard scratchy thing on them and it was really rubbing on my foot and hurting. I ended up having to take them off. The kids were also complaining about their water shoes being pieces of crap also. I guess 90% off water shoes from CVS weren’t such a great idea after all. And walking all over that water park does hurt your feet so you really do need them.
Anyway we were at the slides where you can ride single of double and so the kids went together and Alan went alone. From where I was sitting on some small little bleachers at the end of the slide I couldn’t see them coming until they literally came shooting out of the slide but I could HEAR Olivia coming from the moment her butt sat down on the tube! It was an enclosed tube slide so it echoed and she was yelling the whole way down! Poor Owen! I think the 1st time down Alan was with Owen and she was alone because they were already down when she was coming down behind them and all three of us were listening and watching for her in amazement! When it shot her out she was still screaming but she didn’t look the least bit scared she was just screaming for the fun of it I guess! She looked around at everyone looking at her and just abruptly shut up!
Once they were done with this we were at the back of the park and so the kids and I took the lazy river around to the front of the park where our stuff was while Alan walked back because he had the camera. It was only fair that I got some water time too. Once back at the front we all got into the wave pool again and enjoyed ourselves for about 15-20 minutes and then they announced that the park was closing! It was 5pm already! Wow time really does fly when you are having fun.
We would have liked one more hour but we got out and were drying off with our towels when I dropped my towel on the ground and I picked it up and flicked it to get any stuff off of it and apparently my towel was closer to me then I thought when I did that because I flicked my towel and smacked myself with it in the face! HARD! It almost knocked me back for a second! Alan had missed this as he was looking the other way but Olivia nearly died laughing at me and then it was so funny even I was laughing at it! I did a reenactment for the boys since they had missed it! They were not as amused as Olivia and I were though!
The walk to the car made us realize we were all sore and TIRED! We got to the car and our beach towels were pretty wet so we used our hotel towels to sit on since I was smart enough to think of that and brought them with us!
But there is time for rest we have dinner plan tonight at Downtown Disney! I have truly jam packed this 1st day full of stuff haven’t I!
When we got back to the room Alan announces that WE forgot to put the medicine in the ice bucket!! WHAT!! Does he mean WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!! OH MY GOD I was SO MAD!! He was the one who said the mini fridge isn’t cold yet so while we are waiting for it to get cooled down I am going to go get some ice for the ice bucket to keep the medicine cold while we are at the water park. And off he went to get it so how could WE have forgotten to come back in the room with the ice bucket and then not put the medicine IN IT!! What a fool! I mean why else was he walking all the way to the ice machine with the bucket and getting ice?! And he hadn’t even left the medicine in the fridge so that at least when it did get cooled down it would be in there. Nope he just left it in the insulated lunch bag with the freezer pack from the hotel freezer in St. Louis!! And you know that wasn’t still cold at 5pm! Now I am worried that Owens medicine might not be effective if he needs it since it says it must be refrigerated! And Alan saying the word WE over and over was not helping things so finally he said “Ok, I” and I said yes that’s better.
So the boys got changed quickly Alan wanted to get away from me so they went on down to the arcade so Olivia and I could have the room to ourselves to get ready. I also think if they had stayed in the room and stretched out on the beds they would have fallen asleep! MUST KEEP MOVING!!
I got changed and then unpacked a ton of stuff while Olivia got changed, then I curled my hair and the boys called the room asking where we were! We went down to meet them at 6pm and drove the rental car over to Downtown Disney we were going to eat dinner at a new place called Ragland Road. It’s been here a couple of years but we’ve never eaten here and I am always reading good things about it.
We parked in the wrong area of DTD and ended up walking forever before finding the restaurant and the family was picking on me for not knowing where we were going.
This is an Irish pub restaurant and starting at 9pm they have a live band and a girl that gets up on top a raised platform and does the Irish jig! Unfortunately we were having dinner at 6:30pm and I thought about all of this when I had the reservation but I knew that with flying in today we wouldn’t be able to stay out that late tonight! (or would we?)
Our table for dinner was right beside the dancer’s platform and right in front of the stage it would have been an awesome table if we had been there for all the entertainment later. But I’m sure if that would have been the case we wouldn’t have gotten the same table.
But anyway on with the food, Olivia and I had the steak and mashed potatoes, Alan had the Sheppard’s Pie which I think is the grossest thing ever! Owen had the kids shrimp and fries and it was the best looking kids shrimp meal we had ever seen. He LOVED the shrimp they were big and fresh and not some microwave crap. We all loved our meals. With the dining plan this year it doesn’t come with an appetizer anymore but it still comes with dessert. So Owen just wanted vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce and so they got him that even though it wasn’t what was listed on the kid’s dessert menu. Alan had the crème brule. But Olivia and I knew what we were ordering from the moment we walked in the door and we thought Alan was crazy for not getting it also…….we got the famous bread pudding that they are always fighting on the internet about if it’s better than the one at O’hana’s! We love it at O’hana’s so much that we couldn’t understand why Alan didn’t order it too except that sometimes he just likes to be different! And we kept teasing him that we weren’t going to share!
The waitress brought out our dessert and I’m not going to talk about anyone else’s except mine and Olivia’s, it was THAT good! Holy Moly! 1st of all it came out served on this big oblong shaped plate with a bowl of the warm bread pudding and a little tiny pitcher of warm caramel sauce and a tiny little pitcher of white cream stuff. The waitress told us that it comes with instructions to take the spoon and scoop out the center of the bread pudding and then pour the white cream in the whole and then let it sit for 1-2 minutes and then pour the caramel sauce on it and eat it! So we did just what she said to do and this thing was so good that when Olivia put the 1st bite in her mouth she let out a LOUD (is there any other way she does it?) OH MY GOD!!
It is big and rich and filling and if it weren’t for the dining plan where everyone gets a dessert we would have split it for sure! But instead we just ate what we felt like eating of it which was maybe half and we shared some with Alan who was doing a good job of acting like he didn’t care that our dessert was flipping awesome and his was the same stupid dessert that is served at 90% of the restaurants on Disney property! HaHa! Oh and by the way it was $8 if you ordered it off the menu, but I think would be worth every penny.
Ok so I have talked about this dessert for like three paragraphs! So moving on….. the bill came to $123.00 but it was FREE for us! Of course the dining plan no longer includes tip starting this year so we had to leave a tip. What a bummer.
When we walked out of the restaurant Alan said he would go get the car and pick us up down here but Owen wanted to go with him so off they went. I tried to talk Owen into staying with us but he wanted to go. Olivia and I took about 3 steps over to the sidewalk on the side of the building and there were a ton of people standing around looking UP! We didn’t know what they were looking at but Disney just opened this new restaurant called T-Rex it’s like Rainforest Café but its dinosaur themed and it was the only thing over there that I could see people looking at. I had just read about it having its grand opening so I thought maybe they were going to do fireworks or something. I asked the lady standing beside me what everyone was waiting for and she said I don’t know the shuttle I think? Well this is Disney and the word shuttle means transportation such as boat shuttle, bus shuttle, train etc so I looked over and Olivia and rolled my eyes like this stupid woman doesn’t know what she’s talking about!
Everyone has cameras out they aren’t waiting on a shuttle they are waiting on fireworks. So I get out my camera because it’s the beginning of the trip and I’m still eager and I am aiming for the giant T-Rex building area waiting for something to happen and someone yelled and pointed so I took a picture! Of what? I didn’t know I just thought it was going to be some big fireworks in the sky and then everyone clapped and Olivia and I are beyond confused and that’s when it hit me SPACE SHUTTLE!!!!!!!! So I told Olivia and we cracked up I guess that stupid woman was right and we were the stupid ones. So then I look back down at my camera and it turns out that I got it in a picture! It’s just a blob of light but to us we know it’s the space shuttle! Olivia and I are now tired and slap happy and laughing hysterically about our shuttle sighting so we called grandma on the phone to share our excitement. She didn’t seem to care! When we hung up we commented that we were surprised she didn’t sound very happy to hear from us but Olivia decided that grandma was just jealous that she didn’t get the see the blob of light in the sky that was the space shuttle!
What kind of timing was that though! I was very bummed that Owen and Alan had missed it.
It had started sprinkling while we were on the phone so we had moved to under a small awning but by the time we hung up it started really raining! So we moved again and there was a train caboose out on the sidewalk by the parking lot that they used as a booth to sell something out of but it was closed down so we stood on the back of the caboose under a porch. We did freak a few people out who were walking around the corner and were not expecting to see us there in the dark!
This was a good spot because though since we were up higher to watch out over the parking lot for the boys. It’s hard looking for a rental car in the dark and rain that you can’t remember what it looks like but we finally spotted them and jumped in the car and told them out shuttle story. We really had felt bad that they had missed it but they said they saw it too!
Now it is 8:45pm and we’ve been going strong all day since we got up in St. Louis this morning but guess what we did next? Mini golf? NOPE but good guess. We went to the outlet mall at Little Lake Bryan! Yes at 8:45pm because they stay open super late and we are super crazy! We went to the Coach store so Olivia could look for a purse and grandma had said that if we found one and could buy it for her without her knowing she would give it to her for Christmas! So after shopping forever in the store I had to pretend to care about the purses enough to figure out which ones she liked but not so much to make her think she was going to GET one! This was not easy and especially not this late at night but it was the only time we’d have the rental car. So once I figured it out I told the sales clerk that had helped us (and that works on commission) what my husband looked like and that he was with a blonde boy etc so that she could hold the purse and ring him up when he came back in and as I was describing them they walked in the store and she looked over and said HIM? I said yes and then we all four left the store but then we had to come up with a reason to split up so the boys could go back and buy the purse. We told them we were going to some other store and we’d meet them by the area where we were parked. This was a royal pain in the butt but it worked and we got the purse and the boys beat us to the rental car and had pulled up to pick us up already! So now it’s about 9:45 and we still have to go to Walmart!! Will this day ever end?
We were mostly going to Walmart because Alan had forgotten to pack his cell phone charger and somehow he blames ME for that even though packing that type of his stuff is all up to him and always is.
The kids wanted to wait in the car while we went in but I told them that people get killed in Walmart parking lots in Orlando all the time so they shut up and came in with us. They used the bathroom and waited on a bench at the front of the store because they were about to drop dead by now.
Alan and I spit up and I got $26.00 worth of muffins, mini donuts, milk, bananas, juice and water bottles. And Alan got a cell phone charger which he put on his work credit card because if they needed to reach him and they couldn’t it would kill them so he deemed it work related!
It only took a few minutes and then back out to the trusty rental car and it’s raining again. Back to the hotel where we had to park miles away and walk in the rain with sacks full of groceries, and a few small bags that were left in the car from earlier. We had to empty out the car because we are returning it in the morning.
Once we were in the room the kids got on jammies and lounged while we unpacked and organized the room (mostly me) and at 10:30 or so the boys went down for drinks in our resort mugs and I started writing my trip report of everything that has happened today since we got off that airplane! That took me until 11:53pm! We had called down for an extra blanket, sheet, pillow and towels but we had to call twice before someone came with them which was about the time I was finishing writing this. Alan had Olivia’s air bed all ready to go and everyone was going to sleep but not me!! Because tonight’s musical guest on Jay Leno’s show is David Cook!! I knew that ahead of time but figured that I would never remember it once we got on vacation but I did and it’s on so now I have to stay awake until he comes on! Jeez! So I was about half awake but watched him sing and then went to bed at 12:40am!
What a day!! Holy Crap! I am exhausted just typing it and thinking about it!
Well Owen woke up this morning at about 4am having an asthma attack coughing fit that came from out of nowhere! Yes we had brought his medicine with us but he wasn’t currently on it because he was fine we had brought it just in case! We also brought his breathing machine for him just in case because well you just never know with this kid. And it’s not like we are into packing light anyway. So at 4am 1st we just got his inhaler but when that didn’t work we had to get up and drag out the breathing machine but we had been stored it in one of the empty suitcases because it wasn’t like we were using it. So found it and drug it out, got the medicine that goes into it, filled it and gave him a treatment! After he was done it just took him about 15 minutes to stop coughing and fall back asleep. Of course it helped that he was exhausted so it was easier for him to fall back to sleep. He never did have a problem again so we just don’t know what that was about.
We all went back to sleep and slept in until 9:30 and then we ate donuts holes, muffins and milk and laid around the room. Alan got showered and left to go return the rental car we only had it for 24 hours and we thought it would just be quicker for him to go do it by himself than to have to wait for all of us to get ready.
After he left Owen watched TV while Olivia took a shower and once she was done and ready she took Owen down to the pool while I finished showering and getting ready for the day. Once I was done I went down to meet them but it was very cloudy and so Owen was the only one that swam. Olivia and I just sat on some loungers and relaxed while he swam and we watched the clouds get darker and darker and we thought it was going to storm and they would have to close the pool. However, instead some stupid kid pooped in the pool and they closed it for that! Jeez! I offered to take Owen over to the other pool by the 50’s building but he said no he was too cold. So we just went and filled our mugs and then came back to the room, Owen got cleaned up and dressed and I curled my hair.
Alan called and said he was on his way back from Downtown Disney where he returned the rental car. The kids had gotten bored in the room and so they took the video camera out to go exploring around the hotel. I don’t know what I was doing at this time? But Alan got back and then we left to go to our late lunch at the Whispering Canyon Café over at the Wilderness Lodge Hotel. So we took a bus to Epcot and then transferred over to a Wilderness Lodge bus and arrived at 1:45. For lunch Alan and I had the all you can eat skillet with ribs, bbq chicken, mashed potatoes, baked beans, corn on the cob, cornbread and probably other stuff I can’t remember. Olivia had the stacked turkey sandwich with fries the sandwich was huge and she only ate half of it and she said the fries were awesome! Owen had the broasted chicken breast, fries, and corn on the cob and fruit salad! He ate the whole entire chicken breast and he ate the fries but he didn’t want the other stuff. For dessert he had the worms and dirt which sounds appetizing doesn’t it? Alan and Olivia had the apple pie and I had the chocolate cake which I ended up sharing with Olivia. Everything was all very good, we didn’t get a very wild waiter here this time though. No big pranks were pulled.
After our very late lunch we left at 3pm and went out to the bus stop and waited for a bus so we could go to MGM. Well the bus took forever we waited for 30 minutes and it was now hot and sunny and Owen entertained himself with the frogs that were in the nearby tree and some lizards too.
Finally we got a bus over to MGM and this weekend is Super Soap! It has been killing me all day to stay away for this long! We thought that the girls could check out some stuff this evening while the boys did other things at MGM. We didn’t arrive until 4pm and split up from the boys. Olivia and I walked around and saw some soap stars and then went to the 5:15 interview show out on the big stage with some General Hospital stars ( LuLu, Johnny, Matt, Maxi, Spinelli) it was a really good and fun interview and as we stood there waiting for about a half an hour for it to start it clouded up again and started pouring rain on us! We had to break out the ponchos but luckily it didn’t last too long and they didn’t cancel the interview. The rain also made some people leave so we got even closer to the stage. It takes more than a little rain to keep us away from our soap stars!
After it was over the boys met up with us and we used some snack credits to get four drinks and have a seat to rest our feet after that long time of standing waiting and watching that interview. We only sat for about 15 minutes then we walked around some more to check out the different stars that were out doing autographs. We hadn’t gotten there early enough in the day (like about 5am!!) to get fast passes for the autographs but we still enjoyed watching everyone else and seeing the stars up close. Alan and Owen had just joined us again and it had started to get dark and we were almost done when we saw Greg Vaughn (Lucky Spencer) was out doing autographs and pictures with fans who didn’t have tickets to do it! Hey that’s us! So you don’t have to tell Olivia twice she was OFF! Olivia took off running and ran up behind him and he was pretty swarmed with people but he was being very nice saying that he was trying to get to everyone. And since I was trying to play it a little cooler then Olivia I walked over I didn’t run! But when I got over to her she had his attention and was turning around to me posing for a picture with her and looking right at my camera! Well I was not ready I wasn’t expecting this all to go down quite this fast so I was fumbling with the camera and trying not to go into my famous star struck, dumbfounded, eyes glazed over stare that I usually go into! But just then it happened and he reached up to me and put his hand ON MINE and said “you’ve got to hold the button down” and as his hand squeezed down on mine which then squeezed down onto the button we took the picture!!! It was quite an awesome moment and by then you would think he would be sick of us but NO he then turns and looks Olivia right in the eyes and told her thanks and that he loved her!! WOW!! Too bad he has a wife and new baby!
By now he had turned away and she and I were freaking out!
And brace yourself for what happens next because I just couldn’t believe it and still can’t! But this is what went down………..
As I walked, she ran back over to Alan and Owen to tell them all about it even though they had seen it all from a safe distance and she was just absolutely freaking out! Now keep in mind that she ran so I am just a few steps behind in catching up with her but as she is jumping around with excitement Owen reached up and SLAPPED HER ACROSS THE FACE AND TOLD HER TO PULL HERSELF TOGETHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Well then her reflexes kick in and before anyone can say or do anything to Owen for what he had just done she got mad and POPPED HIM IN THE GUT WITH HER FIST!! You almost have to read that twice for it all to sink it!! I had just walked up at the exact second that he had slapped her and I still had my mouth hanging open when she hauled off and hit him back!! Well I have never seen a family have an all out physical fight at Disney World …………………until NOW! But then I thought Alan was going to kill Olivia and I had to go into the calm everyone down mode which it seems like I am always doing. So now Owen is crying and Olivia is pissed because we are yelling at her and not Owen. But for one thing she is double his size and for another she is double his age and supposedly his maturity level. (But that one we’re not so sure about!) But she could have actually hurt him and he wasn’t going to actually hurt her! So we chewed her out but Alan did most of the chewing and we also gave Owen a talking to too. And well that was one way to suck the fun right out of the evening.
*****a quick side story to explain where Owen got his wild behavior from what had just happened. You see there was this one day at home when Owen was sitting on the couch watching TV and eating a big slice of cheese from the deli and Olivia came into the room and noticed that Owen was looking a little down in the dumps and so she grabbed the slice of cheese out of his hand and used it to lightly smack him across the cheeks with back and forth and as she did it she said with an accent “pull yourself together”!! This cracked him up and her too. We all heard about it for days and even as the weeks and months went on this was mentioned just every once in a great while. So that is where his face slapping and comment came from. She taught it to him and I am sure she’s not going to be happy with this entire story when she reads it. Ok, side story is over…..
Well once that was over we decided to split the group up. Actually I think Alan just took Owen by the hand and marched off and they went to go ride Star Tours. Olivia and I had a little talk alone and then we wondered around some more autograph booths before we went and took a bathroom break. We then sat on a bench reading our soap magazine that they pass out with the schedules in it until the boys met back up with us. It was now 7pm so we went to go find a spot to watch the parade of stars and see the finale concert which started at 7:45. So we walked to the main parade area and spent forever trying to decide where to watch the parade from and then there was a very rude woman that was beside us and Alan decided that he and Owen had had enough and so they were leaving. They went back to the hotel and we stayed for the parade and the show at 8pm however when they had that idiot Bob Guiney as the MC of the show and then him and his band came out and sang not one but TWO songs I thought everyone was going to leave the park in protest!! This is super soap and these are supposed to be soap stars not a guy who was on the Bachelor (which by the way we like to watch!) that just happened to marry a soap star! Nobody cared to watch this idiot! He was dangerously close to getting booed!!
Next we had Kassie Depiva (Blair) from One Life to Live and she sang a slow country song which was pretty boring, then a large group of the teens from One Life sang and they did good. I don’t care for Marco but he did a good job and it was an upbeat song. Who wants all those slow songs at the end of the day when people are already fighting to stay awake! After that a few more people sang and then Bradford Anderson (Spinelli from GH) sang and he just blew us away! He was nothing like the computer geek character on the show and he can REALLY sing! He sang a rock song and had such a deep singing voice which you never would have guessed. After that he sang Happy Together which I was excited about because David Cook had sang that on idol. Go ahead and roll your eyes its ok I’ll wait for you……..Next up Brandon Barash (Johnny from GH) sang two rock songs and he was also so different from what you would expect and had a really good voice. He has sung on the show before so we knew he was a singer but he REALLY enjoyed him!!
After the hot boys were done singing Susan Lucci and her Dancing with the Stars partner came out to do a dance and towards the end of it we decided to start walking toward the exit but then they were saying there goodnights and I still can’t believe this is the last ever Super Soap Weekend. We were so lucky our trip dates fell during this because if we would have had no trip planned and then Olivia and I would have found out that we were missing out on the final Super Soap weekend we would have been so upset. Well we were walking toward the exit and as they were saying the goodbyes they were playing clips from previous years. We weren’t watching this we were just walking and Olivia had just answered a cell phone call from Alan who was wondering where we were and then it happened I heard someone singing a David Cook song!! Now it wasn’t his voice so it took me a full solid minute to freak out but then I freaked out because well his new CD wasn’t out until next week and so I thought it was so cool they were playing Time of my Life which was his single from when he won American Idol. Alan was hearing this on the other end of the phone and probably wondering what was going on! Olivia had to calm me down and I’m surprised I didn’t get the face slap and the “pull yourself together”! It was so cool to hear his song and it gave me the burst of energy I need to make it out of the park and to the bus and I sang at the top of my lungs the whole way!! We were 1st in line for the bus but we had to wait about 10-15 minutes for them to load two wheelchairs. While we are waiting for this poor overworked elderly bus driver to load the two wheelchairs this woman come from out of nowhere and cut in line to give the bus driver a Doctor’s note that said she couldn’t wait in line!!! EVERYONE in the front of the line near us got a huge laugh out of that because this woman had some major attitude about it but had just been in the park at Super Soap all day! Well you could tell the bus driver had never seen such a thing but he just let her on the bus because well it’s Disney and what was he going to do have an argument with her in front of tons of people? No one in line near us was even mad about him letting her cut in line and go sit down mostly because we were just laughing at her so hard at the way she was behaving.
We called the boys while we were on the bus so they could met us in the lobby when we got there and since Olivia and I haven’t had dinner yet we went to get something to eat. She got the chicken strips and I got the parmesan chicken. For our dessert items and drinks we just got grapes and chocolate milks and we just took those to the room to put in the fridge for breakfast.
Alan and Owen had dinner here earlier and got an ice cream sundae for dessert but they only got one so they had their receipt stamped so they could come back and get there other ice cream later but it had to be later today so they got the second ice cream sundae and Olivia and I shared it for our dessert. After that the boys went on back to the room because Owen had a headache we stayed behind to finish our ice cream and then all of a sudden our exhaustion kicked in and we became like 12 year old girls at a slumber party laughing hysterically at I don’t know what! It was now late and we stumbled our way back toward the room laughing so hard all way. When we got on the elevator she was laughing so hard that she farted! When we got to the room it was 11:15! Everyone is passing out but I stayed awake until midnight writing about today’s events and then lights out at 12. Tomorrow is back to Super Soap! Hope we can handle that!
(**** When making all of our super soap plans we (mostly ME) decided that we would split it into two days instead of one day from 5am until 11pm! So that is why we didn’t arrive until 4pm on Saturday and then we thought we could see the evening stuff and come back on Sunday for the earlier stuff. We had also decided that we weren’t interested in getting up at 5 am like we have before to get there for autographs we would just have fun seeing the stars and interviews.)
I woke up between 8:30-9:00 but rolled back over and went back to sleep! And then Alan woke me up at 9:30 and said that if we are going to be at MGM by 10:30 for when Spinelli is out for his autograph session then we had better get a move on it! He was right so Olivia and I showered and got ready and ate our breakfast on the walk to the bus. We got seats on the bus and once over to MGM we 1st went and got fast passes for the new ride Toy Story Mania to use later on. And then over to wait for Spinelli to come out for his session and we eventually got a spot along the barricade and all in all we were in that spot for an hour and a half! He was very entertaining to watch while he met with all the fans that had gotten up at 5am and got fast passes to meet him. But he NEVER looked UP to the crowd so we could get a good picture of him. Olivia moved at one point to the opposite side of where I was so that maybe one of us would have a better shot.
They are on a timed schedule and he only has a certain amount of time to get through all those people who are in his line and THEN if he manages to have any time left over he will deal with the rest of us! And he did once he was done with his line of people he turned to the crowd and posed moving slowly so that everyone could get some good pictures of him and it was funny. He’s not a hunk he’s a geek but he really hammed it up! Then he started along one end of the barricade and said he would try to sign for everyone but he couldn’t do pictures with everyone or he would never make it all the way around the barricade so he very quickly went down the whole row and when he got to Olivia since she was standing across from me I was able to get some pictures of him signing for her and the when he was done with her she got out of her spot and ran over to where I was and managed to shove in there to get some good close up pictures of him again and he signed another of the premade pictures that they have for me. Once he got past both of us we turned around to get out of the crowd and there was Owen and Alan who had gotten to the park later then us and they were standing there looking smug with an AUTOGRAPHED PICTURE that they had just gotten!! WHAT?!?!!? They had just walked up right at the moment he started going around the crowd and so they got one too without standing there for an hour and a half in the blazing hot sun! That didn’t seem fair! Not that we didn’t enjoy watching and listening to him be funny while we were waiting but still it was a long wait.
So as we stood there comparing stories on what had just happened Spinelli was just finishing up at the end of that long barricade of people and we had made some comments about meeting him versus meeting Steve Burton (Jason) a couple years ago and I jokingly said VERY loudly that “HE’S HOTTER THEN STEVE BURTON”!!! And without even looking up from the picture he was signing a few steps away from us he LAUGHED and said “I heard that and I appreciate it”!! We then we yelled back that he could tell Steve we said so! It was a very cool moment we almost had an actual conversation and I had cracked up the funny guy. A few ladies around us were impressed with my quick wit. As was I. haha!!
Ironically this is the exact same location of where the smack down took place last night between Olivia and Owen but we’ve put that behind us now.
After we were done the boys decided to leave the park and go to the Magic Kingdom so they took off. Then Olivia and I walked around and took pictures of the stars until it was time for the 1:45 interview show on the main road in front of the giant hat. The interview was with Carly, Sam, Liz, Lucky, Nic and I think that was all. Once it was over we were starving so we went to Pizza Planet for a late lunch. Then we walked around the back area to see some different stars that were out now but weren’t out earlier. Olivia found Johnny and decided to make it her mission to squeeze up to the front and try to get a picture or autograph and she took a TON of pictures of him. While she did this I sat on a bench and ate some popcorn while enjoying watching all the girls fighting to get closer to Johnny! And then a janitor came around with his broom and pan and kept scooping up all of the popcorn pieces that I was dropping while I was eating. It was really weird here I was just sitting on a bench, eating my popcorn and no one else was around but this janitor and he was just waiting to pounce with every crumb that fell. I felt like I was on candid camera or something.
Once Olivia was done we sat and looked at our video that we had taken earlier and then actually went on some Disney rides!! HAHA! We rode the Great Movie Ride and the new Toy Story Mania. After that we went to the very back of the park to get in line for a different interview show. This one was indoors and would be better than the others because it’s a more in-depth interview and you can hear better then a big outdoor interview. So we got back there and were told that the show had already started but we could get in line for the next one and pointed us to a roped off area where there were already maybe 20 or so people in line. So we walked over to get in line and asked when does the next show start? We were thinking it would start right after this one was over but NO it starts in 2 and a half hours!! We said forget that and got out of line!
We decided to go to the area where they bring the stars in from their last spot backstage. They arrive on a golf cart behind a fence which you can sort of see through and then they open a side gate and enter the park and escort them to where they are going. We waited for Spinelli because we were trying to get a picture WITH him and since there were only a hand full of people in this area we thought maybe we’d have a chance but when he arrived he was so swarmed with security that it didn’t happen. Things weren’t going so well this afternoon so we went back to where Johnny was going to be back out doing another round of autographs and Olivia is once again determined to get a picture with him! She had overheard that once he was done with the line of people who had fast passes he would go around the fence line and sign or do pictures with the crowd. Not exactly a reliable source but she was willing to take the chance so I said go right ahead and I watched this all from a distance while I sat at an outdoor table with a nice cushy chair. I made friends with a nice lady who was sitting beside me and we chatted for a long time about our trips to Super Soap and about how pissed we are that this is the last Super Soap and our trips to Disney etc.
Eventually Alan and Owen showed up! Huh! I had almost forgotten about those two! They went over to use their Toy Story fast passes from this morning and then Olivia came running over all excited that she had gotten her picture with Johnny and his autograph. She was SO excited! We then went up the front of the park at the big hat to watch the last interview show of the day. This one was with a bunch of various men from all the shows.
After that we met back up with the boys and Alan and Olivia went to go ride Tower of Terror and rock n roller coaster while Owen and I sat and waited for about 20 minutes for our FP time so we could ride Toy Story Mania again.
When our time was ready we went over to ride but it was broken down some people gave up and left but we stood and waited for about 20-25 minutes and they got it running again so we were able to ride after all.
They met up with us and Olivia went and bought a calendar with all the soap guys on it and then we went to the front of the park for the finale parade and concert. The boys left the park because they wanted nothing to do with this and Olivia and I just sat and rested during the more boring parts since we knew what to expect from last night. When it was time for Spinelli and Johnny we went out and stood in the middle of the crowd and videotaped and danced around like idiots. After they were done we left the park and went out to find a bus for Pop which we got right on but it was standing room only!
Back at the hotel we used 2 counter service credits for dinner and had two grilled chicken salads and carrot cake for dessert. We got back to the room at 10:30 and found out that the boys had used their two meals for one full sized pizza and had eaten it in the room while relaxing.
Oh and I didn’t mention it but it was very cold out tonight!
The weather for today is a low of 43 tonight and a high of 69.
We woke up at 9:00, showered and were out of the room at 10:10. We got the bus to Epcot and had to stop and add the hopper portion to mine and Olivia’s passes. The boys had already done that to there’s yesterday when they went to the Magic Kingdom but so far Olivia and I have only been to one park!
After we got in the park we went over to Soarin for FP’s and then over to test track and waited about 10-15 minutes to ride and when we got done the wait was already up to 30 minutes. We walked back across the park to ride Nemo but on the way we saw the sign for Soarin said it was only 20 minute so we went to that building instead to try and ride but once we made it all the way there we found out it was really 55 minutes. Our FP time was only 10 minutes away so we just sat and waited then we grabbed another set before we got on the ride.
As we were exiting the ride mom called but I didn’t write down what she had called for? Probably because we hadn’t been calling her and checking in!
Then we took a bathroom break before we walked back towards World Showcase for lunch. We stopped and got the kids a 9 piece chicken nuggets at the McDonalds place for $4 and then used two snack credits for two orders of French fries and we took it all over to Mexico where we ordered one meal of Nachos, churros and a coke. We sat at a table and ate our food and then went to Norway and rode the ride there and then on to China where Alan was looking for an egg roll but they weren’t available on the dining plan you had to pay cash for them and so he decided he didn’t want one after all.
We played with the puppets for a little bit and took some pictures before walking to America and listening to the Voices of Liberty perform.
On to Japan where the kids got one snow cone to share and we watched the Japanese candy lady make stuff while they ate.
Then on to France where we watched the waiters stack the chairs and climb way up high on them. We also went to the French bakery and got 3 snack items, one chocolate chip cookie for Owen which looked good but was VERY hard and one crème brulee for Alan and then Olivia and I shared a Chocolate éclair. We sat outside at the little tables outside the bakery and ate our snacks.
Once we were done we continued walking and saw the “Beatles” performing and took a few pictures in the red phone booth and that was the end of our World Showcase tour so we then walked back to Soarin to use our second set of fast passes. When we were done we went and rode Spaceship Earth at the front of the park and then exited the park at 4pm.
We took the monorail to the TTC and walked over to the Poly and got in a huge line to check in for our dinner at Ohanas. We didn’t wait long though and we had a really great waiter he brought extras of everything we needed and Olivia ate literally a ton of shrimp! Owen still won’t eat the food here so he ordered a hot dog and ate it very quickly and then just played with his fries and was very bored while the rest of us enjoyed our food. He even made a french fry fort! The major sign that he was bored was that he got up and did the coconut races and the Macarena parade which he NEVER does because he’s too shy. However, the usual lady who runs the kids stuff and scares the crap out of him wasn’t there so maybe that was why he participated.
We got two of the bread pudding desserts that they bring out and then finally left. We took the monorail over to the Magic Kingdom at 7pm just as the Spectro Magic parade was starting and we watched that and then followed it down Main street.
We went over and walked right on Buzz but when we got off there was a long line of people who had showed up after the parade so we went and rode the TTA. Then over to the race cars and they rode while I used the bathroom and watched Wishes. I think they even rode it twice.
Over to the tea cups to ride and it is now 8pm so Extra Magic Hours has started and we had to show our room key to get on the ride. From here we went to watch Philarmagic and ride the carousel and then to the haunted mansion. Once we were done it was 10pm and we were cold and tired so we headed out of the park. We had to wait for a bus and ended up standing, we got back to the hotel at 10:35. Jeez was it cold out tonight! Owen was wearing his winter hat and Olivia wished she had hers but we blame her and Tim for that because the day we were leaving we had told her to get one but she was busy with him!
It’s 11:30 now and it’s lights out we have the alarm set for 8:30 because we have breakfast in the Magic Kingdom in the morning.
The alarm went off at 8:30 and we were up and showered and took the bus back to the Magic Kingdom. We got our pictures in front of the castle and then went to Crystal Palace to check in for our breakfast but they didn’t have our reservation! They got us in anyway and enjoyed the buffet and all the characters.
After breakfast we the kids went and walked up the Swiss family tree house and then we all rode the jungle cruise the wait was longer than we thought because the line is kind of hidden but it was only about a 15 minute wait which turned out to be one of the longest ones of the day!
We rode Aladdin and Pirates each with about a 10 minute wait and we watched the pirate show then went to get fast passes for Big Thunder Mountain. We walked right on splash mountain but even with our ponchos on I got wet! We then went over and it turns out we didn’t really need fast passes for big thunder because the wait was only about 5 minutes so we rode it twice.
After that we took the boat/raft over to Tom Sawyers Island and Owen just loved that! He’s never been there before that he remembers and they walked around through the caves (not me) and then over the suspension bridge (even me) and the kids played in the forts. We walked around a little more and found a few rocking chairs so the kids went back to play in the forts for 30 minutes while we just sat in the chairs.
When they came back Owen had “hurt” his stomach apparently he was trying to jump over barrels on the bridge and had pulled his stomach muscles doing it. He said it hurt to cough or twist his body around. So we took the raft back to the mainland and the line at Big Thunder was longer now so the kids used the FP’s from earlier to go while I went to the restroom and then I rode with the kids twice, Alan didn’t want to ride for some reason maybe he had a headache.
By now it’s time for an early dinner since we had a late breakfast and no lunch so we went to Colombia Harbor House but we ended up only ordering 2 meals to share, we got the chicken strips, fish and fries. When we were done we went to find the place that has funnel cakes you can use a snack credit for. I thought it was all the way in Fantasyland so we walked there but it was actually all the way back right around the corner from where we had eaten dinner!
Alan went and ordered only ONE for all of us to share and he got us ONE hot chocolate too. Then we went and watched a show in front of the castle because Olivia wanted to. The kids sat down front on the ground and watched it while Alan and I just sat on a bench and saw it from a distance.
Then after bathroom breaks in Cosmic Rays we went over to Toon Town to get our pictures taken with Mickey Mouse because today was his 80th birthday! We ended up getting Mickey and Minnie and then the kids went and rode Goofy’s Barnstormer. Alan waited for them inside the store because he was SO COLD! Well it was very very cold but we thought it was funny that dad can’t handle the cold. After that we walked over and all rode the race cars I got to ride with Olivia. When we were done the boys said they were cold and going to the room it was 7pm and Wishes wasn’t starting for another hour so Olivia and I stayed behind and they left.
Olivia and I rode Buzz twice and then got TWO hot chocolates ($2 each) and then walked over and sat at the tables in front of the Plaza for about 20-30 minutes while we drank our drinks. Once Wishes started and Tinkerbell flew we went out and stood in the middle of Main Street for a better view. Plus we were freezing to death and being in the middle of that large crowd cut down on the wind. When it was over we hurried to the bus stop and waited about 10 minutes for a bus and we got seats! We also had the funniest bus driver ever he cracked everyone up and we just loved him!
We got to the hotel at 8:45 and called the boys and they said they’d meet us in the lobby in 15 minutes after Alan’s show was over. (Priorities!) So Olivia and I killed 15 minutes and $5 in the arcade and then met up with then used our other two meal credits for this evening to get a large cheese pizza and two carrot cakes. Alan also got a cup of soup too because he just couldn’t get warm. He ate the soup in the food court and once the pizza was ready we just took it back to the room and as we were walking through the food court to leave some kid was puking by the soda station and I thought Owen was going to DIE! This brought back some bad memories for both him and for me. So on up to the room where we ate cheese pizza after that grossness! And we watched funny home videos.
We had lights out at 10:30 but Owen and I could not fall asleep listening to Alan SNORE like CRAZY! After about an hour of torture we finally went to asleep.
The alarm went off at 8 this morning and we showered and were out of the room by 9:15. We arrived got to MGM at about 9:30 and Toy Story already had a one hour wait even though the park just opened thirty minutes ago! We got FP’s for 11:00am and then we split up and Alan and Olivia went to go ride Tower and RnR coaster. Owen and I went over and rode Star Tours and then he made his own star wars light saber ($22.95) and the guy working there had a light saber fight with him but got a little carried away! He was way over the top and we thought he was nice at first but after a few minutes we just wanted to get away from him. We had his new toy sent back to the hotel so we didn’t have to carry it around the park all day which I’m sure was at total bummer for Owen who just wanted to play with it.
Then we walked over and watched the end of the Darth Vader Jedi show and then it was time to head back over towards Toy Story but along the way Owen hit every shop he could find to look for pins. We found a Captain Jack wig on clearance so we bought that because you never know when you might need to dress like a pirate and it was only $5.99. (reg. $20)
It was still a few minutes before our fast pass time and we were waiting on Alan and Olivia anyway so we sat on a bench and called mom & dad and left a message. Once they showed up we rode and grabbed more FP’s for later.
It was now time for the 11:30 Indiana stunt show to start so we hurried over there and it was just beginning when we walked in. Once the show was over we went over to Star Tours so Olivia could ride with Owen and I used the bathroom so just the kids went on and they were gone forever! When they finally came off the ride they were SO EXCITED because everyone in their ride vehicle got free “Year of a Million Dreams” Mickey ears! They were just thrilled about this and I don’t know if they were more excited that they got them or that we didn’t! They just kept saying we should have gone on it with them!
We were now ready for lunch so we went and ate but I’m not sure where at but we shared two counter service meals and the kids split a double cheeseburger and we had some kind of grilled turkey and cheese which wasn’t bad but a little odd.
Once we were done eating we walked right into the Little Mermaid show just as it was about to start much to Owen’s disgust because he did NOT want to watch this!
After that the kids and I went to Walt’s One Man’s Dream while Alan went and watched the Mulch Sweat & Shears show. Why? I have no idea! Then that lunch made me feel sick so we took a bathroom break. This is what I get for letting Alan order what he wants and me sharing it with him.
We met back up with Alan and the kids played in the HISTA playground while we just sat on a bench and decided if I was going to live or die from lunch. Plus we reminisced about the time just a couple years back when the kids played here and some little girl in a dress peed on Olivia! Oh that was so gross but so funny but the best part is that Olivia currently has not memory of that at all and it didn’t happen very long ago.
The playground didn’t last long but we still had some time before we could use out FP’s and so we went and got Owen’s picture with Buzz and Woody which took about 15-20 minutes. It was finally time for our last ride on Toy Story and then we headed to the Sorcerers hat to watch the Block Party Bash parade and when it was over we left the park and too the boat to Epcot.
The boat ride took about 30 minutes which is a nice rest but on the other hand you don’t realize how tired you are until you sit down for that long and then have to get up again! Sometimes it’s best to just keep going.
Once we arrived at Epcot Alan ran ahead and went to get up some Soarin FP’s for later and we met him at LeCellier steakhouse for our 4:30 reservation.
We were seated right away and Olivia and I had the NY strip and I added a bowl of their famous cheese soup. Alan had the special three course meal which was the cheese soup, prime rib and crème brulee for dessert. Owen had the kid’s meal which came with carrots and celery with ranch dip for his appetizer then he ordered a hot dog and fries for his meal instead of the steak! We don’t know what is the matter with him and to confirm that he’s an odd ball he totally refused to order dessert which comes with his meal! Olivia and I ordered the same dessert too and we got the smores. It was all very good and we were stuffed.
We left and trudged our way over to ride Soarin with our FP’s but there was only a 10 minute wait!! That is unheard of so we rode 3 times. Then we went over to ride Nemo which we hadn’t done yet this trip and we looked at all the fish in the tanks which totally bores me to death. But then we got to go see the Turtle Talk with Crush show which is always so funny. And OWEN GOT PICKED to talk to Crush! He’s tried to get picked so many times before so we were very excited for him.
Crush asked him his name, where he was from and then asked him how he got here? And Owen said he flew and Crush in a very shocked voice said “YOU CAN FLY?” Then during another question time Owen asked him something about turtles and oceans. Once it was over we went Test Track where there was NO wait at all and we rode 4 times just walking off and right back on. SO MUCH FUN!
Then the kids went and rode the tame side of Mission Space until it was 9pm and the rides were closing we started walking out at Illuminations fireworks were going off. We waited only 5 minutes for a bus and got seats and were back to the hotel by 9:30! What an awesome day we had today from park open to close!
Mom called and talked until 10pm and Olivia sat outside and talked to Tim for 30 minutes and we watched AFV again. It’s now 11pm and lights will be going out very soon and no alarm tomorrow.
*** Owen woke up having another coughing fit out of nowhere at 3am and had to take a breathing treatment again for the second time this week. He’s not coughed or had any trouble all week except those two nights and then he’s fine again. It’s very weird.
We had no alarm today and I woke up at 9:25 to use the bathroom and while I was in there Alan’s cell phone went off but he just ignored it. It was Sharon from work calling him and she just left him a message.
So now we are all awake so we took our showers and while Olivia was showering I took some time to pack up a couple of suitcases with dirty laundry and stuff we are done with like swimsuits and beach towels because it’s too cold for that stuff.
The new took the bus to Animal Kingdom and entered the park at 11:25 and they took off to ride Everest while Owen and I hurried over to the 11:30 Lion King show that was about to start. When we got there the show was just beginning so they made us walk all the way around to the farthest side of the building before entering and that was a very long walk.
And Owen who had said he didn’t want to go to the show sure did seem to enjoy it. Once the show was over we had to walk forever to get all the way over to Asia to meet up with them because they had all 4 of our park passes so that they could get FP’s with them at Everest. After we got the passes from the (so we could use them for more FP’s elsewhere) Owen was hungry so we left them and I took him over to Dinoland to feed him. It was lunch time and the place was very busy so I found an empty table and sat him down so he could hold the table for us while I went up and ordered. I think the line I waited in for food there had to be the longest line I’ve waited in all week long. I ordered him an 8 piece chicken nugget adult meal with fries, coke and carrot cake and when I took it over for him to eat 2 minutes later Alan and Olivia called looking for us. They found us and Olivia ate a couple nuggets and some fries and then we all took a couple bites of his carrot cake. We hadn’t ordered lunch for us because we wanted to eat somewhere else.
After Owens lunch and our snack the kids went and rode Dinosaur while Alan and I waited and then we walked back over towards Everest to eat lunch at the fast food Chinese place over there.
We used 2 snack credits for fried rice and egg rolls and then we also used 2 counter service credits for honey chicken and shrimp lo mein and we just shared it all. It was ok but not great and it haunted me for the rest of the day! (and Olivia too for awhile)
Then Alan and Olivia went to use their last two FP’s on Everest. They have gotten to ride a total of 6 times today! Owen and I stood over and watched the ride and took some pictures and then when they were done the kids wanted to go over and ride Dinosaur again. I don’t know what it is about that ride they like so much but Alan rode with them this time.
Once they were done we walked back to the Safari and found that there was NO wait so we just walked right on! When we got off we walked along the trail and saw several gorillas out and then when we were done the parade was starting so we stood and watched that then we grabbed popcorn with a snack credit and headed out of the park.
Instead of taking the bus to the hotel though we took a bus to Epcot at 4:50 and we only had to wait about 10 minutes. We all got seats on the bus and then fought to stay awake on the bus ride.
When we entered the park we went on Spaceship Earth again so we could make different faces at the new camera thing they have. When we got off we saw our faces displayed up on the walls. Then we played some games and Olivia figured out that if you email your picture from the ride back home that it will go up on the really big screen but only Alan and Owen’s showed up. (probably for the best haha!)
Once we were done playing around we left and went to Soarin and it only had a 15 minute wait which is totally shocking! We rode beside some people who had never ridden it before and that was fun because they were freaked out.
We now headed over for our 6:30 dinner reservation at Coral Reef. This is the meal Owens been waiting for all week for! He just loves the grilled mahi mahi. Alan checked us in and he requested a table down by the big water tank and we were seated in about 10 minutes. We had a waiter that was both very fast and very slow! He forever to take our drink and food orders but then we he would come to the table he would rush away so fast you couldn’t ask for anything. It was just annoying.
I had the NY strip (again) Alan had the grouper; we already know Owen had the kids mahi mahi and Olivia ordered the adult mahi mahi. Owen ate all of his in record time and then ate two hunks of Olivia’s too. For dessert Alan had the crème brulee (of course!) and Olivia and I ordered the chocolate wave cake with warm brandied cherries in the center and it is delicious! I always order this and finally convinced her to try it and she was sucking the alcohol out of the cherries! Owen had a build your own sundae which he really enjoys. They give him a big plate with little tiny bowls of all the toppings and he then just adds what he wants to the separate bowl of ice cream. By the time we finally got done it was almost 8:30! That was a long meal but it was all very good and at least we got to sit down and rest our feet for 2 hours.
We went over to Test Track and walked on twice and just the kids and I went for the 3rd ride. By then it was 9pm and the rides were closing and illuminations fireworks were starting but Alan didn’t want to go watch them instead he made us walk through the big Mousegears gift shop but the kids and I just walked through it and right out the other side so we could watch the fireworks while he shopped. Well actually Olivia didn’t she went to the restroom towards the front of the park while Owen and I watched the fireworks. Alan came out and she wasn’t back yet so we walked that way towards the exit and he waited for her while Owen and I kept on walking towards the exit and bus stop. They caught up with us easily (haha) and we waited only about 1 minute for the bus and all got seats.
Back at Pop Century Owen and Alan went to go pick up his light saber from yesterday that we’d had sent back to the hotel. We had forgotten about it but Owen hadn’t.
Olivia and I went to check on our dining plans for tomorrow and decided to swith our meals from Yak & Yeti at Animal Kingdom to lunch at Crystal Palace in the Magic Kingdom. We decided that we were finished with Animal Kingdom after today and we all wanted to go back to MK tomorrow one more time.
Then I made Alan sit outside at the pool area with Owen so that he could play around with his huge sword for 10-15 minutes and you would have thought that I had asked him to go swimming in the cold pool or something! Good grief! By the way today I only needed my sweatshirt on after dark so the weather did get warmer finally.
Olivia and I went on to the room and she put on her pajamas and then took our mugs down to get us some drinks. I packed a little more and wrote today’s notes and its 11pm and we’re still up, going to bed in another 30 minutes or so.
****** I laid awake until 2:30am and I mean WIDE awake because I very stupidly drank coke with caffeine late at night in my mug and didn’t even think about! I should know better than that! So I did not get nearly enough sleep!
I was woke up at 7am by Alan snoring and also by Olivia who had gotten up from the air mattress to go to the bathroom. As she came out of the bathroom I was going in and I told her to go roll her father OVER! I had been trying to get him to stop snoring by slamming the remote down and yelling at him but when I came out she had managed to get him to roll over!
The room was quiet again and we slept on until 9:30! Then I got up and showered while the kids slept and Alan was checking his work email. He did that yesterday to off and on all day.
After everyone was up and ready we went down and ate a counter service breakfast at the food court. Owen only wanted a side order of scrambled eggs but the rest of us got croissant sandwiches. You also got either two drinks of a drink and a dessert item. So we got drinks and one of us got Owen chocolate milk so we only got two dessert items which were a Mickey rice crispy treat and a crème cheese danish. OMG that danish was delicious!
As we were headed to the bus stop Olivia was getting her sunglasses out of the bag and she noticed that mine were completely broken! I had another pair in the room so Alan hurried up to the room to get them for me and we went to wait at the bus stop.
By the time we got on the bus to the Magic Kingdom it was 11am already!
We arrived and got pictures taken in front of the castle in case the ones from the other day aren’t any good even though we haven’t stopped to look at any of them yet.
Then we headed over to Fantasyland because Olivia wanted to ride Winnie the Pooh which luckily only had a 10 minute wait. We noticed that over by the exit/gift shop area a woman was being loaded onto a gurney and taken out of the park a back way!
After we rode we walked over to get Peter Pan FP’s and then went to see Mickey’s Philharmagic. We had just missed the start so we had to wait for the next film but it wasn’t too long. When we got out we used the bathroom and sat on a bench just waiting for our FP time to be up so we could go ride Peter Pan.
Once we were done we walked back to Big Thunder and got FP’s for later and rode Splash. We walked right on with no wait. Next the kids wanted to go to Tom Sawyers island and we waited FOREVER for the raft over there. I think the problem was the woman driving it didn’t know how to pull it up to park it and was having a VERY hard time. And the other raft that was waiting for this woman to dock and unload was stuck out there floating around just waiting their turn for a long time.
Finally we got on the 2nd raft over and we walked through some caves and they made me go through one and then over the big fort. The kids played while Alan and I sat and then when we left to walk across the swinging bridge and big group of teenagers came running across the bridge and swinging it as hard as they could! I was freaking out it made me very nervous and also very dizzy!
The kids did some more caves and then we all went across the barrel bridge