All the Makings of a Disaster, The Wrap up 11/20

[GaRain]

Have you ever been to a Disney parade where people were nice and let you in to see and actually sat down in front? No? Then why would they think...oh nevermind!
I think you need to draw a map for the grandparents to find their way back to the room.....

Pretty good trip so far though - lots of cupcakes!!

[SheenaXena21]

Enjoying your TR!!!

[ladybug0506]

I am LOVING that your inlaws just try all the rooms hoping that they will eventually find the right one Can't wait to read more of your TR!

[luckylady]

Found your TR and am caught up now. Wonderful that you were able to get down a few days before DH and the boys. Sounds like you had a great time even tho the in laws kept getting lost. Bummer about the FP+ and the parade. It stinks when people jam in so tight and I agree Disney should have known better.

[WyldLynx]

I'm so subbing. Sounds interesting so far. You are never bored with your in-laws around.

[MelMel11]

Count me in!!

[jecskc]

Enjoying your TR so far !! Just like you, I caught the Disney bug on my first trip ever with my family at age 41. Thankfully, we are all completely hooked and really enjoy our trips. DH moans about money and things like that, but he does that anyway. You are lucky to have a such a great relationship with your in-laws. Looking forward to reading more !!

[lurkernj]

Oh, I take a day off and lookie here

Originally Posted by shalom

I've always figured I'd have the same problem. I don't do video games, but my kids, who are all regular players, regularly get confused over who is who when playing Halo.

I don't do video games either, but I was able to beat Brian one time before we left



There were no signs? Major snafu on Disney's part, IMHO, and you got the fallout.

I didn't see any signs and I can only assume there weren't since these people were so IRATE

OTOH, if I were looking for somewhere to stand, I probably would have assumed that area was reserved and there'd eventually be people there, since I know they do that sort of thing at Epcot (are there signs at Epcot?). Maybe it's less of a deal at Epcot because there's no parade. I hear more horror stories about parades than I do anything else -- line cutters wind some people up, but they still don't seem to cause as much ugliness right there, if you see what I mean. Unless you count the trolly show, the only "parade" we've done is the "Move It, Shake It Street Party," which we loved, but that doesn't gather the crowds the regular parades do.
Sadly, this is so true. Parades seem to always be an issue for us, and actually we have another aweful issue our next day at DHS

What I thought sounded great about the parade Fastpass was that you wouldn't have to fight for your space or get grief over it -- instead, you got to skip the waiting time, but got more grief than average! Yeah, that's what I thought, it sounded lovely in theory

Originally Posted by GaRain

Have you ever been to a Disney parade where people were nice and let you in to see and actually sat down in front? No? Then why would they think...oh nevermind!

sad but true

I think you need to draw a map for the grandparents to find their way back to the room.....
I think it was Day 4 before they could find their way without some issue

Pretty good trip so far though - lots of cupcakes!!

Thanks I love Disney cupcakes, but still didn't get to try all the ones I want to try, guess I'll have to start planning my re-do trip

Originally Posted by SheenaXena21

Enjoying your TR!!!:wave2:Thank you!

Originally Posted by ladybug0506

I am LOVING that your inlaws just try all the rooms hoping that they will eventually find the right one Can't wait to read more of your TR!
I know, they were pretty funny about it. After my FIL did it too, my MIL was sure I'd be getting a call from the front desk requesting us to move or leave

Originally Posted by luckylady

Found your TR and am caught up now. Wonderful that you were able to get down a few days before DH and the boys. Sounds like you had a great time even tho the in laws kept getting lost. Bummer about the FP+ and the parade. It stinks when people jam in so tight and I agree Disney should have known better.
Welcome , I think that the key to a successful (well somewhat successful) trip for me is to always have Chuck come later. The boys would have been fine earlier, but Chuck is just so into napping that it's frustrating touring with him, stay tuned for that. It was really nice to just be able to do some things alone though, and really makes me want that solo trip even more

Originally Posted by WyldLynx

I'm so subbing. Sounds interesting so far. You are never bored with your in-laws around.
You are not kidding, I found myself torn between either cracking up at their antics or wanting to scream, there was rarely a dull moment

Originally Posted by MelMel11

Count me in!!Welcome

Originally Posted by jecskc

Enjoying your TR so far !! Just like you, I caught the Disney bug on my first trip ever with my family at age 41. Thankfully, we are all completely hooked and really enjoy our trips. DH moans about money and things like that, but he does that anyway. You are lucky to have a such a great relationship with your in-laws. Looking forward to reading more !!

Thank you! I could go every year, but Chuck won't let me I do love my in-laws, they are so sweet and thoughtful and as much as they drove me nuts this trip, I'm very glad we did it. You just never know what can happen in the future and we did make some great memories. Also, I selfishly like for my kids to see that we do so much with them, so maybe they won't forget about me when they get families of their own

Day 3 coming up next!

[lurkernj]

This was our DHS day


and Nanny’s most anticipated ride.


She absolutely loves Toy Story Mania and she wants to practice before the boys get there. We are at the bus stop by 8 and at DHS by 8:30. I had read reports where they open the park a little early in order to avoid the stampede, so we were in place when they opened at 8:45. We got on line immediately and rode it

Then got fastpasses for 11-12. We were done by 9:09!!

I didn’t want to leave the area since I wanted to see Phineas and Furb and they didn’t come out til 9:30, so we went over to watch the Muppets and took some photos along the way. (I love the Muppets and could watch this show over and over, even though I’m not fond of that stupid waldo 3-d character).


Notice Pop is in a pretty good mood here.

Apparently the Muppet theater lets you out right where Phineas and Furb meet! So I got right in line, there were only three people in front of me. They were so so cute!!! I took this pic and texted it to the boys with a message “gitchie gitchie goo baby I love you!”. To which I got a response from DS17 of “you’re ridiculous”. To which I said, “why are you texting during school”, to which I got ignored…


We went over and did the Great Movie Ride, tried to do the Animation academy (wasn’t doing a show til 1p???). We ended up going to Starring rolls for lunch a little early.

We each got a sandwich (unfortunately I took a bite before the pic, sorry)

This sandwich was so good. Even though it looks like a lot of bread, it was very soft and fresh.

I got the famous red-velvet cupcake, and it is definitely worth all the hype.



Nanny got an eclair, and Pop got the fruit tart



After lunch, we did the Little Mermaid, then went right over to see Beauty and the Beast. During this morning, I have been playing telephone tag with the football trainer, and my phone rings while I’m waiting for Beauty and the Beast to start.

He says he realizes that I’m in Florida and that Matt is joining me that night. He is requesting that we just have him tape his pinky to his ring finger (not scotch tape of course, the white stuff used for injuries) for the week so it has a chance for the swelling to go down, then let’s see how it is upon our return. Ok, so I text Chuck to pick up some tape on his way. Do you think he brings it? Do you? Do you? Nope, he doesn’t. He doesn’t even offer up an excuse??? WTH.

Needless to say, it was still swollen when we returned home and I needed to take him to an urgent care place to get an x-ray. It was just sprained, but kept him out of football for another week. Not a big deal I suppose, but it just was grating on me this trip that I felt like the only adult with 5 kids (ok, vent overwith)

Getting back to DHS, It would seem that Pop has had about enough of hanging out with us as he’s getting quite crabby by this point, and nothing Nanny says is right, so the afternoon starts to get a little uncomfortable.

We go into American Idol since it’s air conditioned and will require no talking. Somehow Nanny positions it so I’m between her and Pop. Well this is awkward… and things continue downhill from here…

But first I have to tell you about our Idol experience. There are two cute little teen girls and one 50ish slightly overweight woman who is described by the Simon judge as a “hauty Tupperware mom”. Which fit exactly, and I thought, “this poor woman doesn’t have a chance against those two, based on stage presence alone”. Well, the first teen girl sang and she was pretty good, and was moving around the stage like she was meant to be there, then the Tupperware mom came out and just looked awkward up there. That is, until she opened her mouth. She took over that stage like she owned it, and had an absolutely amazing voice. She sang “I need a hero” by Bonnie Tyler, which the judges said was one of the hardest in their catelogues. She just belted it out, and I would’ve sworn she was lip syncing, she sounded just like Bonnie! I found myself wondering if Bonnie Tyler was touring DHS today and thought it would be funny to compete and sing her own song. I was actually looking for similarities.

She got a well deserved standing ovation from the audience, and the Randy judge just sat there with his mouth hanging open. Then the poor third girl had to come out and perform. She did pretty good too, but neither of the cute teen girls was anywhere in the league of that woman.

After Idol, we line up on the sidewalk for the Pixar Parade. We scout out a spot that has a little shade. It’s like 2:40, and there’s not many people lining up yet. A lady and her young son (maybe 4) sit next to us, with an older woman I believe to be grandma. The parade route fills in and it’s just about to start, and a different lady behind me actually says “are you staying for the parade?” I must’ve looked at her like she had two heads, what did she think I was doing here? I told her yes. She and her husband and 4 kids stood behind us (we were sitting on the curb, so they had a good view), but she kept bumping into me with her stroller, and did the same to Nanny. It wasn’t hard, just annoying. But wait, it gets better….

The parade is going on (and it’s such a cute parade, sucks that we had this distraction), and the CMs are encouraging everyone to come dance in the streets. The lady that was sitting next to me, and her young son get up to dance, they don’t even take 3 steps and the lady behind me pushes her kids into the spot the lady and her son were sitting in and tells them to sit down. I could not believe what I just saw.

Heck with the parade, I was sure there was going to be a smack down.

Seriously, the parade is moving, so these people aren’t going to be dancing the whole parade, they are going to want to sit back down in a minute. The lady that was dancing was yelling to the grandma to “just leave it, some people are just so rude”. Well, she’s a better person than I am, cause I don’t think that I would’ve let that one go.

Here's a few pics of the parade, I just thought is was absolutely adorable, I love the Pixar characters:






Meanwhile….Pop is sitting on the other side of Nanny, so I don’t know what’s going on over there. But when the parade ends, a woman is apologizing to him.

It would seem that her backpack was sitting on the ground next to Pop and she had something in her backpack that spilled all over the sidewalk, and is now all over the back of Pop’s shorts. I don’t mean a little something either, I mean he looks like he just got off Kali River Rapids. He is soaked. He is embarrassed because it looks like he peed himself.

And now we are supposed to be heading out to Boma for our 4:30 reservation.

[SheenaXena21]

Originally Posted by lurkernj

The lady that was sitting next to me, and her young son get up to dance, they don’t even take 3 steps and the lady behind me pushes her kids into the spot the lady and her son were sitting in and tells them to sit down. I could not believe what I just saw.

Heck with the parade, I was sure there was going to be a smack down.

Seriously, the parade is moving, so these people aren’t going to be dancing the whole parade, they are going to want to sit back down in a minute. The lady that was dancing was yelling to the grandma to “just leave it, some people are just so rude”. Well, she’s a better person than I am, cause I don’t think that I would’ve let that one go.

Wow!!! Some people are so rude!!!

[lurkernj]

Originally Posted by SheenaXena21

Wow!!! Some people are so rude!!!

I know, I just was speechless

[wuzzy6]

I am always dumbfounded by rudeness and self-entitlement some people display.

[lurkernj]

So, Nanny says we have to go back to the room, I mentioned that we could cancel dinner as we aren’t going to make it for 4:30 if we go back to the room.

Nope, Pop says don’t cancel. He is really grumpy now and has reached his limit. I should have just cancelled it anyway and called it a day, but off we went to Animal Kingdom Lodge. Nanny and I were going into the gift shop there to see if we could just get him some shorts. He is getting very testy and says don’t bother. I think he just needs the boys there. They are all so funny together. The boys treat him like he’s one of the guys and joke around and pass gas and all that boy stuff and Pop just loves it.

We are a little early, so we go outside to look at the animals. He finds some large hot rocks to sit on in hopes of absorbing some of the moisture in his shorts. Doesn’t really work, but he cheers up a little. We see lots of Giraffes and some other stuff too.




This resort is really beautiful. I would like to stay here someday.

Finally it’s time for our res. Pop is still soaked, but is trying to stand against the wall so it's not obvious. Luckily it's pretty dark in here. We get seated moments after we register. I really like this restaurant. Pop is a good sport during dinner and enjoys his meal. I loved the soups here, I had the crab soup and the seafood soup, both were delicious. I could have just had a meal with only that and some bread.

This is the seafood soup with some kind of corn muffin


I would definitely come back here again. The corn pudding with spinach was so good, sounds gross, but I even went back for more. I didn't get a pic of it, but it looks really gross anyway so it's probably better that way. I didn’t get many pics from this meal, as we were a little out of sorts and I kept forgetting.

Their desserts were delicious too. I had the bread pudding, Kenya coffee tart, zebra dome, peanut butter mousse, chocolate mousse, and the mango panna cotta. I think my favorites were the bread pudding and the mango panna cotta.


After dinner, we took the bus to DTD. Nanny and pop caught the boat from there, and I stayed to do some shopping. When I was done, I took the boat back to POR too. I cleaned up the room, took a shower, watched tv, and awaited Chuck to text that they’ve landed.

There once was a thread about towel animals and someone had posted a really cute pic of a creation found in their room that I just loved. So I brought some stuffed animals and created it myself. I knew Matt would really get a kick out of it.

Here it is...


They were supposed to land around 9:30. I figured they’d be at the hotel between 10:30 and 11. Chuck texted me at 9 to say they landed. I was pretty excited thinking they would get here even earlier. Well, at 9:20 he said they still hadn’t found a gate to approach. Finally, at 9:30 they got off the plane. When he got to ME, they had to wait for a bus, then wait for the bus to fill up. Now in my three trips to POR, we have always been the first stop. That was not to be the case for them. They stopped at all the Epcot resorts first, then were the last stop. And apparently there was a kid on there with a very annoying laugh.

The boys were both complaining that they couldn’t wait to get off, and of course this kid was staying at POR too, so they had him the entire time. They likened it to a high pitched hyena. They got there around 11:15. Matt was hungry, so we went to the food court to get him some pizza. Brian took the key and went to the room, and did not get lost

When Matt got to the room, the first thing he noticed was the stuffed animals and he started laughing. The other two didn't even notice until he said something.

Around midnight we all got to bed. We had to get up around 6:45 for our 8am res with Pooh bear in the Magic kingdom!!!

[luckylady]

All the pictures are great. Loving the one where Pop is leaning in to give Nanny a kiss and it looks like she is getting ready to punch him. Know what you went through with a grummpy ole FIL at Disney. Mine was happy in the am and grummpy by early afternoon and went back to the Poly of course MIL who wanted to stay went with him. I hope with the boys there now he found his happy place.

[lurkernj]

Originally Posted by wuzzy6

I am always dumbfounded by rudeness and self-entitlement some people display.

simply amazing sometimes

Originally Posted by luckylady

All the pictures are great. Loving the one where Pop is leaning in to give Nanny a kiss and it looks like she is getting ready to punch him. Know what you went through with a grummpy ole FIL at Disney. Mine was happy in the am and grummpy by early afternoon and went back to the Poly of course MIL who wanted to stay went with him. I hope with the boys there now he found his happy place.

I didn't notice her face when I took the pic of Pop trying to kiss her, but when I posted it and I could see it better, I was cracking up.

Pop does improve when the boys get there, but Chuck takes his place