Back to the World: My Mouseketeer's Third Trip (3/21 - 3/27)

Long time, no trip report, right? Did you guys miss me? :p

Anyways, we’re back, for a short little venture to the world. DH was going to a Microsoft conference at the Ritz Carlton that week, and we tagged along for some fun! As a result we stayed at the family suites in the All Star Music. It was my Mom, me, my dear daughter Anastasia (19 Months) and DH. Let the good times roll!

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Got up at the crack of dawn this morning. I had decided that we were going to get the most out of our travel day, and booked an 8:00 flight. Which meant that we had to be at the airport a long time before that. :dazzle: And that meant waking the girl up waaaay before she’s used to. But she took it pretty well in stride.

Going through the security line with kids is a nightmare. Enough said. Oh, but worth noting, on both flights this trip, not a word was said about the milk in Anastasia’s sippy cups. I guess they fall under the “baby bottle exclusion” to the whole liquids thing. :shrug: So, hurrah for not having to buy her milk past security!

We squeaked by with an almost full flight, which had 10 extra seats available. Which meant we could set up the car seat for her. I know we should have bought her her own seat, but in these economic times, especially since this trip was already a bonus, well, we just couldn’t justify it. Turns out it was okay in the end. She did pretty well all the way down with only a few cranky moments.

After we touched down, and collected our luggage, we headed over to the rental counter to pick up our car. When we go there we saw that the line took up all of the queue space they had, plus spilled over into the hallway. And it wasn’t moving.

I was struck with an inspiration! Why don’t I go over to the other side of the airport and see what I can do about the magical express? I had the documents with me, just in case… so I hustled over there with the girl, while DH stood in the endless line.

Turns out that I never made it to the Magical Express line after all. I passed the Budget rental counter on the B side of the airport and there were TWO people in it. That’s it. I quickly phoned DH, and he hustled over to that side of the airport to check in. Sadly, though they told us that we also had to pick up the car on that side of the airport.. which meant that my Mom and I had to haul 3 wheely suitcases, a backpack, DH’s laptop bag, Mom’s carryon, and the carseat allllll the way over to the other side. WITH the toddler in tow. Oy Vey.

But we saved some time, so it was worth it. We got our car, a Santa Fe, and headed out. I hit the “previously” button on the GPS and entered what I though was the pre-programmed address for the All Stars and we were on our way. So we’re driving.. and driving… and we pay some tolls, and I comment to DH and Mom that they’ve gone down since we were last here. We paid $.75 last time, and now they were only $.50. Then we keep driving.. and driving… and right where I’m thinking that we should SO be there by then, we cross a huge bridge. I KNOW there’s no huge bridge on the way to Disney. Mom said that maybe we’re heading the wrong way, but I said the GPS knows how to get there…

And it did. Except that it was telling us how to get to an address here at home. I looked again at the ETA it listed, and it said something around 8:00 the next morning.

Oops. :brick:

So, I just killed all the time I had saved in the rental counter. We had driven an hour out of our way, and paid an extra $4 in tolls, because we had to turn around. I felt SO stupid. Live and learn, right? :zipit:

Eventually we arrived at the All Stars. We checked in, and thankfully the room was ready. Nice room, third floor, in the back. They wanted to give us a ground floor room facing the pool, but I couldn’t imagine how loud that must have been.

So, the girl went down for her nap, and Mom and I hit up WalMart for the week’s provisions.

When Anastasia woke up it was off to Epcot!
 

DisneyBunny

Active Member
Original Poster
The Flower and Garden Festival was in the opening weekend, and the crowds were out in hordes. Actually, they were out in hordes all week long, at all the parks. I’m just so spoiled with January and September crowds. It was like “What are all these people doing in our parks?”
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First monorail sighting
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Of course we HAD to stop and see "Fig" This is her first sighting of him...
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Pretty Monorail
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Scar! My favorite
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It was off to China for dinner this evening, and sadly Anastasia really didn’t want much to do with it. We all took turns taking her for a walk while the other two ate dinner.

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DH had the steak and shrimp
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I had the Noodle Platter where I got to mix and match sauces and stuff. The blob on the right is chicken, and the goo on the left was pork. It was actually really tasty! And Anastasia actually ate some edamame and noodles. So it was money well spent.

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Mom got the Sichuan Beef. She said it was so very tender.

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DisneyBunny

Active Member
Original Poster
After dinner we wandered around a bit...

Trying on the hat in China
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Last trip it was all about the flowers... this time she was all about the various birds
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Really cool sand sculpture
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My princess in the process of turning into a pumpkin. It was a LONG day for her.
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Then it was off to bed!
 

DisneyBunny

Active Member
Original Poster
We were all up bright and early on Sunday for a morning at the Animal Kingdom. I was particularly looking forward to spending time with everyone together, since DH was starting his conference on Monday.

We all made it to the AK in plenty of time for the morning dash… except that my AP had a hissy fit and wouldn’t let me into the parks. I kept trying and trying to get it accepted, and I told everyone to go on without me while I got escorted to guest relations to get a new one.

By the time I was finished getting my AP redone, we had missed the opening, and the empty mornings with Pooh and Friends. There was a LINE to see Pooh. At 9:05 in the morning! I guess my little secret is out, now. We still got some cute pics with Pooh and company. Interesting to note, she now knows who “Pooh!” is… and kept pointing it out every time she saw one in the parks...don’t know where she could have picked that up… :lookaroun

Hugs for Pooh..
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And Kisses too...
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Eeyore's nose!
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Hangin' with Tigger
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DisneyBunny

Active Member
Original Poster
We caught the first showing of Nemo, which was awesome, as always. Like last time, DH walked around with her until the last call, while Mom and I got seats. She looooooved the show. More than last time. she was so interactive with it this time. she kept pointing out “Mo!” every time he came on stage, sang along with “Buuu Worrrr” and shouted “Bawoon!” at the “You wouldn’t want them to pop” line.

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When it was all over and we were walking out, she kept trying to get out of our arms and go back inside. Then she asked in her nicest voice, “Peese, More?” and “More Mo?” Broke my heart to tear her away, but we couldn’t wait for the next show.. it wasn’t for a while, and there was plenty of fun stuff to do still!

Maybe I should break down and buy her this one of these days...
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On the way to DinoLand, we saw this guy. Wasn't scared of ANYTHING.
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Spring has sprung!
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We rode on the Dino-Dumbo, and she thought it was fun. Not Nemo, but okay in her book.
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Poor Daddy had to wait outside to finish off his fancy tea from Asia.
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DisneyBunny

Active Member
Original Poster
We also played around in the Boneyard for the first time. I had never been in there before. I liked how there’s only one exit/entrance, but it was a little crowded for a toddler her size. Of course, what slide does she want to go down?? The huuuuge one. Sigh.

I tried to distract her from it by taking her to the sand area. That was fun for a while. She dug about a bit, and took her time putting sand in Daddy’s hands…

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...and then she saw that a CM had a broom, and off she went like a shot, shouting “Brooo!” Kid loves brooms for some reason. :shrug:
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Hidden Mickey!
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We called it a day at that point, and headed back to the All Stars for lunch and naps.
 

DisneyBunny

Active Member
Original Poster
After the nap, which we actually had to wake her up early from, we headed to Canada for dinner! Yay! Although it was way early for her to eat dinner, a 4:20 reservation was all I could manage for the week we were down there.

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Disney Bunny! :p
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Sadly, dinner did NOT go well. Anastasia just didn't feel like sitting, period. Despite the awesome Mac N Cheese we ordered her, she ate nothing but yogurt puffs, and only a handful of those at best. We all had to take turns going for walks with her while the other two ate. Sigh.

Oh well, at least my dinner was yummy! Mom and DH got the mushroom filet, while I wanted to try something new. So I got the scallops with salsify, golden beets and capers. YUM. I was thrilled with trying something new. It was just what I wanted; something tangy, and not too heavy. :slurp:

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After we all were finished, we headed outside. Anastasia spied these ducks and wanted to feed them like the girl who was next to us. Excpet that the girl had a box of popcorn, and all we had were our leftovers from Canada. Oh well, what's more important, pretzel bread, or your child's happiness? :rolleyes:

So these lucky ducks got treated to our pretzel bread.
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Quite agressive ducks too!
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Quoth the raven...
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DisneyBunny

Active Member
Original Poster
Mom and I rode the monorail over to the MK, and then the train to Frontierland, to find a good spot to watch. Thankfully we found one right front and center, sitting on the boards in front of the Country Bears. I haven’t seen a nighttime show since I was a month pregnant, so this was such a treat for me. I sang along with the music like an idiot, but I didn’t care.

And since it’s been a while for me, when did they change the Spectro Men? They’re still creepy, but not quite as bad as those full glowing heads of theirs… still… *shudder* :dazzle:

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When Specto was over, we watched Wishes from the center of the hub. Mom and I kept being stepped on, and we had to make room for this Mom who shoved her 9 year old in front of us. But it was worth it. Man, I bawled like a little baby. Wishes is such a special song for me… we used it on Anastasia’s first birthday montage, and it really represents all the hoping and wishing and praying to get her in the first place. It was hard making our way back to the buses my eyes were so wet. Snif. Such a good memory.
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After a good half hour's wait, we were on a bus where I was inwardly ticked off at the group of loud young guys who wouldn't offer their seat to my Mom with a knee problem. But what can you do. We stood all the way back, and went to bed right away. It had been a long day! I'm not used to being in the parks at night anymore!
 

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
Lovin' it! I love seeing your little one's impressions of it all. That's been my biggest regret with my 2 boys, that we didn't take them when they were that little. We were those parents that insisted on waiting until they were old enough to walk the parks with no stroller. Now I wish I'd seen their faces when they would've interacted with the characters as your little one does.

Thanks for sharing! Can't wait for more!
 

TakeMeThere81

Well-Known Member
I ALWAYS enjoy hearing your story including Anastasia's interactions. I get all teary-eyed with Spectro and Wishes. The music is so moving. Enjoying your report, keep it coming! :wave:
 

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