do-over

Do-over day.

Day 5 was originally supposed to be at Hollywood Studios.  We were gonna make Rope Drop, follow the crowd to Toy Story Mania, grab a fastpass, and then go to Starring Rolls for breakfast.  Well, that didn't happen.  Instead we took our time getting ready, which included gussying up the Pea in her pirate wear, and headed for Magic Kingdom.

She was bound and determined to do all the Pirate stuff she missed. 

Look what I found!

Well, after riding Pirates of the Caribbean with no wait, and me excited to ride again AND grab a fastpass, she decided she was OVER the pirate stuff.

 WHA?!

She did not like the little drop, or the part where it feels like you are in the middle of canon fire, and at sometime between 8am and 9am Jack Sparrow went from being her hero, to a scary guy to avoid.  I was bumfuddled.  I had it all planned out beautifully so that we would be able to take full advantage and was even scheming to make sure she got picked to go onstage for the Tutorial (and by scheming I mean: get there early, and cross fingers).

Off to Pixie Hollow we went...hoping she still liked Fairies by the time we got there.

Still love the Fairies! whew...

There was about a 15 minute wait for the Fairies, which by the time we were done and left, was near 45, so it worked out we went when we did.  She thoroughly enjoyed meeting Tink, and on a side note to those who call me Tink sized, just so happens I am.  Exactly...except with bigger boobs. 

I had made the mistake of mentioning a special treat in Adventureland that we would try at some point during the day (A Dole Whip) and after she asked for about the 15th time if she could have it "NOW?" I gave in.  She LOVES pineapple, had a pineapple popsicle in Epcot and said it was "the best thing ev-ah" so I figured I would get her a dole whip and she would exclaim IT was the best thing evah, and because I was the finder of this, would therefor be the best mommy ever.  Not so much.  She was not a fan, and most of it melted and went in the trash.  So sad.  So very sad.

She found a buddy to wait for the show with.

Celebrate a Dream Come True

We abandoned Adventureland and headed for the castle.  It was about 15 minutes until show time and we were able to grab a good spot to watch it.  She really loves the shows and parades so we try to fit in as many as we can.  After the show we stayed put because the Block Party Bash was headed our way.  I was hoping she would get up and dance, and dance she did.  She also got to walk with Dale, which made her day...she came back gushing "Mommy that was so cool, he kissed my hand!"

Walkin' with Dale during Block Party Bash

One of the dinners we had to cancel was with Pooh and friends at Crystal Palace, and while we were not able to get another dinner, we were able to score a lunch, so off we headed after the Bash.  This is always a must do for us (I say that like we go all the time...we have been to WDW twice, we have eaten there twice) because we love the Pooh characters, and she likes the kids buffet area.

Winnie the Pooh!

Tigger greeted us right away, then Piglet and Pooh, and finally Eeyore.  The characters signed our book and took pictures, and at the end of the lunch the server brought out a birthday card and cupcake and her and the Pea sang Happy Birthday (complete with the Cha-Cha-Cha!).  I had forgotten that there was a birthday celebration tied to the reservation, so that was a nice little surprise and extended my celebration a bit.

Apparently not a Sorcerer

Can we go again?

After our lunch I let the Pea lead the way and do what she wanted and for the most part we just enjoyed Fantasyland.  We did the Pooh ride and grabbed a fastpass for later, Regal Carousel, Philharmagic, and of course, It's a Small World.  We even rode the Liberty Belle a few times, which she said was "so cool." (who knew?)  Then she mentioned the trains and my brain got to working and I hatched a plan. 
We headed to Frontierland to watch the parade, then beelined it to the Railroad station and rode it all the way to the front of the park.  Then we jumped on the Monorail and rode to Grand Floridian so we could catch a bus to Hollywood Studios.  I was determined to see the Osborne Lights, and even though the Pea didn't seem all that crazy about the idea she did want to see the Muppet movie, so I bribed her with that in order to not hear too much whining.

Muppets in 3D

I'm convinced we picked up some pixie dust (probably in Pixie Hollow) because it all timed out perfectly.  The train, Monorail, and bus all pulled up as we were walking up to them.  There was no wait at the Muppets and the lights turned on while we were in the Movie so by the time we got around to going through, the crowd had thinned just enough (it probably helped Fantasmic was going on and a bunch of folks were there) we could go through and get a few pictures.  I was a little bummed that the Pea did not enjoy the lights like I thought she would.  She LOVES holiday lights, we drive around every year, every chance we get, and just look, and have heard on more than one occasion "MOM, MOM, MOM, LOOK! they have a reindeer, ooooh, and a Santa! WOW" but I think in this case it was just too much for her.  I hate to say it, but because there was so much, and it was so perfect, the little things got lost...she didn't know where to look.

 We jumped a bus to the Contemporary, and then the Monorail back to Magic Kingdom, and got ready for the parade.  I staked out an absolutely perfect spot, an hour ahead of time, right on the ropes and in a corner, because she wanted so badly to see it...and she slept through it. 
















Looking back on the trip it was one of our better days, mostly because it just fell into place.  Our two "plans" got scrapped, and some of the things I thought she would love she didn't, but she loved some of the things I didn't know she would, and I started to feel confident that I could get us around without too much stress. 

The Disney transportation system is fantastic but can be very overwhelming and confusing.  On our first trip we ended up on the wrong monorail, wrong boat, and wrong bus, more than once, and as a result lost valuable time...this time I had it down, and it felt good.

It may seem crazy to research and learn before a vacation, but I am glad I spent so much time doing just that.  Knowing ahead of time how the transportation worked, knowing which rides get busy when, knowing which things to show up ahead of time for, and which things you can stroll over to as they start, really allowed us to wing it and not spend all our time in lines or frustrated because we didn't have a good view.  If I could give only one piece of advice for first timers (or those who haven't gone in years) it would be: research.  Learn as much as you can, look at the maps AHEAD of time, and get a general knowledge (or an app on your phone) of how to get around.

best. day. ever.

Day 4 was my birthday.

My birthday wish came true.

The Pea woke up, sat up, looked at me with wide eyes, put her hand on her belly, and exclaimed "Mama, I feel bettah!"

Whoo! Hoo! We are off to Epcot!!!

From day one of planning I knew I wanted to spend my birthday in Epcot.  We hadn't spent much time there on our first trip and I felt like there was so much more I wanted to see and do, and that would be the perfect day to do it.  I wanted to see the Candlelight Processional and ride Soarin' and watch the fireworks...and that is exactly what we did.

The Animal Kingdom Lodge gets a bad rap when it comes to their busses, but we never had a problem.  Leaving the resort we never waited more than 15 minutes, and most of the time it was around 5.  On that morning we walked up to the bus stop as the bus pulled up to the stop.  I knew we were off to a good start at that point.  After arriving at the park and getting our rental stroller we headed to The Land for our "tickets" to Soarin. 

We rode Living with the Land one time, just for good measure, and then headed over to The Seas.  We rode Nemo, Talked with Crush again, and then happened upon the dolphin show.  After spending what seemed like an ETERNITY in the gift shop "Mom, can we buy this?" "No."  "How about this?" "No."  "I like this."  "No."  "You never let me get ANYTHING...you are mean."  "I know." "How about this?"  I was able to drag her outside for a snack. 

I wanted to get a free picture and have some character interaction so I took advantage of the Disney Visa Character Spot.  We got there at 12:30 and were the 4th family in line.  I was excited because it gave us an opportunity to sit for a bit and rest, with a guarantee of seeing a few characters at 1pm.  Well at 1pm the line was damn near a mile long and still no CMs, no characters, nothing going on.  I wondered aloud why they hadn't started yet and was told by the family in front of me that it started at 1:30.  Oh.  Dear.  God.  If I had known that I wouldn't have done it, but since we were already there and wouldn't have another chance to come back, we stayed.  It was the longest wait of the entire trip.  I'm not a fan of lines, or waiting in them, and when our time came it was worth it, but never again.  I got a birthday hug from Mickey, and we got some cute pictures out of the deal.

Our reservation for the Candlelight Processional lunch package was at Coral Reef in the Seas Pavilion, at 1:45, so as soon as we were done we headed over and checked in.  Despite getting a lot of bad reviews, I rather liked it.  My steak was good (I know, I know, you don't order steak at a seafood restaurant, but I'm not big on fish and eating them while watching them swim around just seemed weird to me) and while I am sure there are some better values in Epcot that was our only option for the lunch CP so I took it (because again, not a fan of lines, and heard to do the CP without the lunch/dinner package you must stand in one hellava line).  The Pea LOVED it, and made sure everyone in the place knew when the shark was swimming by with her "MOM, MOM, MOM, there's the shark!"  My server was fantastic and the food came out quickly and was hot, so no complaints there, but getting seated was a bit of a cluster f*%k and the bathrooms are WAAAY too small for a restaurant that size.  I had the fried shrimp appetizer, which when I peeled off half the breading was perfect, and the steak.  The Pea had the kids pizza, but only ate her fruit, and half my mashed potatoes.  We took our dessert to go (and it ended up falling off the top of the stroller and exploding all over the sidewalk somewhere near France) because we still had to ride Soarin and get to the American Pavilion for the show.

Very cool atmosphere

A little dark, no flash, but good food.

Shrimp Appetizer.

Candlelight Processional was nice.  I was a little worried the Pea would get antsy and bored, but it was something I really wanted to do and luckily, she seemed to enjoy it.  For me, it would not have been worth waiting in an hour long line (or worse) but the music was amazing and I enjoyed listening to Trace Adkins tell the story.  Trying to navigate the stroller towards Morocco afterwards however, almost made me lose all the happiness and spirit of Christmas I had just filled my heart with.

I didn't take pics during the show, just wanted to relax and enjoy, this is at the end.

Mo'Rockin was on stage as we strolled up and we stopped to enjoy the show.  The musicians are pretty phenomenal, but are upstaged by the belly dancer, so probably don't get the props they deserve.  The Pea and I were mesmerized, and I tried not to gawk like all the guys, but caught myself doing it more than once.  When they were done we wandered through the shops, I got a henna tattoo, and then we went back for another show.  I had wanted to eat at the restaurant in Morocco so we could see the belly dancer (and because I love that kind of food) but we couldn't fit it in.  It was nice to stumble across this show because I hadn't realized they had a dancer, and the music was better than I anticipated.

I have a video but blogger wouldn't let me upload it...I will try again another time.

After Morocco we had some time to kill so we wandered through France and the UK.  Again, we stumbled on a show.  British Revolution was just starting to do their thing and we parked ourselves right in front and enjoyed.  At the end of the set they sang the Beatles Birthday song to me (and the other 3 people celebrating their birthday that day, which I chose to pretend weren't there) and I let the Pea use my camera to take a picture of me with the band.  It came out great, but then she wanted to take pictures of everything and after watching her drop her camera on the pavement 3 times, I wasn't about to hand over mine; and every time I wouldn't let her, she reminded me that she took a picture of me with the band, and didn't drop it then.  Oy.

About this time I started feeling bad...I knew I was coming down with something (the hacking, sneezing, funk nasty that 60% of the park visitors had, and shared with me) and we headed for a gift shop so I could get some cold medicine.  I brought some with me, but of course it was back in the room, and it was still my birthday and I was going to enjoy the rest of it, so there would be no going back to room until we had to.  After our quick pit stop we headed to Mexico to ride Gran Fiesta (twice) and then to the VIP fireworks viewing area. 

Hidden Mickey in Gran Fiesta

It was nice having a place to sit and not have people all up on us, but as far as viewing, I think I had a better spot on our first night.  There was a light pole and some bushes that obstructed our view a bit, but overall, it was lovely.  When it was time to mush with the masses I tried my hardest to just go with the flow and squash my urge to ram people with the stroller.  When we finally were spit out at the exit I had two choices: bus or cab...flashback of our first night: watching two full busses pull away while hearing "but mommmmmy, I wanna gooooooooo nooooooww," the Pea falling asleep in my lap, struggling to carry her off the bus and walk up the hill to the lobby before remembering my backpack (with our room keys, ID, credit cards, cash, APs, camera, etc) was still under my seat on the bus, dropping the Pea and yelling "RUN BABY RUN!" while she stands there half asleep and bewildered, me in a full sprint back to the bus stop, banging on the door of the bus while running along side of it as it pulls out of the bus stop until it finally stops, reaching down between the legs of the man, now sitting in the seat I had been, to grab my bag while he and his wife look at me bewildered, walking the eighteen thousand miles back to my room, still winded from the run...yeah, we took a cab. Pretty sure we were back at the lodge before the first bus, and prett y sure we would have, once again, been on the third.

Upon arriving back at the hotel I had a package waiting for me; Smash had mailed me a birthday present. 

Best. Day. Ever.

arrrrghh and pity me lass

Day 2! (and 3)

After getting back to the lodge at midnight, and then unpacking and settling in, the last thing I imagined we would be doing was getting up at 7am to hit the Magic Kingdom at opening, but that is exactly what we did.  I knew from reading on Touring Plans (http://touringplans.com) and the Dis Boards (http://www.disboards.com/) that getting there early was the way to go, but neither the Pea nor I are early birds, so I wasn't betting on us.  We ended up missing "Rope Drop" by a few minutes, but were still one of the first to arrive and the park was nearly empty.  We managed a quick meet with Daisy and then strolled down Main Street.

Good Morning Daisy!

Thank you Photopass for taking pictures of the Pea AND me.

He made that out of water in the street, with a broom!

We caught a CM (cast member aka Disney Employee) getting creative and managed a shot of the castle without any other people in it.  It was also the only time (while we were there) that the Castle was open to walk through...I wish we had spent more time inside and taken some pictures, but I just assumed we would have another opportunity.

Our plan was to hit Space Mountain for a quick ride and a fast pass, but about halfway there we aborted the mission and decided instead to hit the Regal Carousel and just ride. 

I think we were able to ride four times without getting off (because there were so few people in line) and when she finally had her fill we grabbed a fastpass for Peter Pan and rode It's a Small World twice. 

The Pea's favorite ride is It's a Small World...followed closely by Living with the Land, then the Gran Fiesta Tour.  If you aren't familiar, these are all rides that you sit in a flat bottom boat and float through changing scenery.

We were able to use our fastpasses for Peter Pan right after IASW and then we headed over to Tomorrowland.

No Standby line for us...no way.

spinning, spinning, round, and round

 On our way we stopped for a quick ride on the Teacups and then walked on Buzz Lightyear.  After Buzz the Pea was acting cranky and saying she wanted to go back to the room so I figured it was time to rest...I decided we should do the Laugh Floor, thinking the sitting down and laughing would do us some good. 

It didn't seem to help so we headed to Cosmic Ray's for a snack.  She ate a few grapes, but said she wasn't really hungry. 

Again, didn't seem to help.  At that point I called the Pirates League to see if we could change her reservation (she was scheduled for a Pirate Make-over/experience after lunch and had been really looking forward to it).  We had no luck changing and the Pea was adamant that she was done for the day.  I honestly didn't know what to do because I knew how badly she wanted that Pirate make-over, but here she was saying she just wanted to leave.  At that point I was convinced the combination of an early flight, long day, not much food, and even less sleep was to blame and she just needed to rest.  The walk to the bus stop, the ride back to the hotel, and the walk to the room would be silly and would only give us about 30 minutes before we would have to turn around and do the reverse to get back to the park so we just found a bench and she curled up on my lap and fell asleep.

She woke up to the sounds of the Block Party Bash and wanted to go see it. 

We headed for the Hub, grabbed a prime spot, and watched it go by.  When she wanted no part of getting up and dancing I knew it wasn't going to be as easy as just waiting for her second wind.  She spotted another little girl in a stroller and told me if she had a stroller she would be fine.  I didn't think she would need a stroller on this trip and so didn't bring the $25 umbrella stroller that I bought for the last trip (big mistake, HUGE) BUT, we walked a TON the first day and I got to thinking maybe she just hit a wall.  We headed for the front of the park to rent a stroller.  $40 lighter, with me pissed off as hell and her happy, we headed to Adventureland and the start of our Pirate Adventure.  First, Magic Carpet ride, then the Pirate Experience and the Pirate Tutorial, maybe a dole whip or dole whip float, then ride Pirates of the Caribbean, and Jungle Cruise, and then who knows...maybe it would be time for the parade...maybe we could use one of our fastpasses (we had grabbed Space Mountain while in Tomorowland and both Mickey and Princesses while at the front of the park getting the stroller)...whatever we did, we were gonna have fun and make the most of a nearly empty park and then we were going to take the boat to the Grand Floridian for our dinner with Cinderella and the Step Sisters!

She got her pirate name...

...and took the pirate oath.

bwaahahahahahaaaaaa...best laid plans.

The Pea puked at the Pirates League...

Her sash and her sword were hastily thrown in a bag...she didn't do her photo session, cuz let's face it, no one wants to see, be in, or take pictures of a puking kid, no matter how cute she is...and I ran for the bus, throwing my fastpasses at a lady who looked like she was struggling with a baby, a hyper kid, and a half asleep husband.

Without thinking about the fact that I could be stuck there for DAYS, I headed straight for the room to get the Pea to bed, thinking that after a few hours of sleep she would be ok, and we would be having dinner with the Step Sisters.  She has talked about how funny the step sisters were and how she couldn't wait to see them again, all year long.  When it became clear that she was sick, not just tired, and I had to cancel our dinner (and there were no openings the rest of our stay)  we cried.  I know it sounds silly, but I knew how badly she wanted to go and I wanted her to be able to go.  She has NEVER been as sick as she was that night (which I consider lucky, but still...)
 

I spent the next 24 hours: pacing, sitting on the balcony, sitting on the couch, sitting in the bed, feeling her forehead, holding her hair, wiping tears (hers and mine), cleaning vomit, pacing more, checking facebook and lines (http://m.touringplans.com/wdw/chats) on my phone, and drinking wine.  The only thing I had in my room to eat or drink was wine, coffee, and a half of a bottle of Gatorade.  This wasn't a problem initially, but proved to be, when 30 hours later, we were still in the room.

I couldn't leave her because she was either sleeping or barfing and I didn't have anyone I could send for food or drinks.  At first it was just a bummer, then I got a little panicked.  I finally called the front desk and explained my plight and they were kind enough to send up bottled water (after much hemming and hawing, and a call back an hour later, and a $14 room service charge) but given what it took to get that, I wasn't about to order food for myself.  I blew our budget renting the stroller as it was and I didn't want to worry about money the whole rest of the week.

On the evening of day 3, after cancelling another dinner, it became obvious I was gonna have to do something.  I was stir crazy and starving, and even though the Pea wasn't up for doing anything, she was at least coherent enough that I was comfortable leaving her for a few minutes.  I bit the bullet, called XDH, and asked him to talk to her while I ran downstairs...literally ran.  It wasn't until after I got back to the room and happened to walk by a mirror that I realized I was in PJs and looked like death.  The CMs must have thought I was out of my mind, or hopped up on drugs, the way I came tearing into the restaurant.  I think I shouted my order for a flat bread pizza and a kids macaroni and grabbed a few drinks and a coffee cake while it was cooking.  Everyone else in the place was standing there patiently waiting for their food and milling over their choices at the coolers and I was a whirling dervish grabbing whatever was in reach.  I threw it all in a bag and ran back upstairs.  Those of you familiar with Animal Kingdom Lodge can appreciate that I probably logged a good mile on that little jaunt...those that are not, take my word, the place is huge, and our room was on the opposite end of the resort from the restaurant.

When I got back to the room and saw that the Pea was still there, in one piece, and still on the phone, I breathed a sigh of relief and plopped myself down on the couch.  The Pea was able to eat some of her mac and cheese, jello, and applesauce (and more importantly, keep it down) and I was able to scarf my flatbread.  Sorry I don't have a picture, but I wasn't thinking pictures in that moment, I was thinking "oh my God this is so good and I'm so hungry can't stop must eat num num num num num num nummmmy."  I had the chicken, it was good, spicy, and crunchy, and definitely a recommend if you happen to be at Mara.

We watched the Disney Channel and cuddled that night, and went to bed hoping that the next day would be better.  It was.