Trip Report We're Not Stopping... Just Keep Hopping! A September 2015 Trip Report

Figment Forever · Mar 1, 2016

Day 6 Continued...

By the time we got to DTD, the rain started - not a downpour, but we still dashed from store to store.

We made our way to the Lego Store. I think my girls could spend all day in here!

Hope was checking out all the princess sets.

While Julia was having fun with the mini figures.

After a while, Hope wanted to go to World of Disney so we started to exit the Lego Store when all of a sudden…

Yes those were Hope’s feet. The last I saw of them before she took off running! I took off right behind her, but my back was still acting up and, not that I am fast in the first place, I couldn’t keep up! Out of the Lego store and into the crowd of people she flew. She just kept running! I yelled for her to “freeze!”, but I don’t ever know if she heard me. I thought about shouting, “Stop that Cinderella!” But I was so out of breath, yeah, I’m really out of shape! Finally, she stopped - just as suddenly as she began. Apparently, she wanted to go in World of Disney by a particular entrance! I reached her and grabbed on - and it’s that moment when you can feel so furious, terrified and thankful at the same time.

I looked her straight in the eyes and told her in my most firmest - non yelling voice. “You do NOT run away from me! Now we are NOT going into World of Disney!” She was not happy - big surprise there. She had flopped to the ground and I told her to stand up and walk. We were definitely in meltdown mode - but she was in control. I would only list it as a 5.7 on the meltdown chart.

Well as if I didn’t have enough to handle with Hope, as I was speaking to her, a man and his daughter (probably around 10 or so) were walking right in front of us and STOPPED to listen to my stern consequence in regards to her lack of good judgement. Well, how could you not, we were quite the entertainment. As I spoke to Hope, they gave me the most horrid look! As if, I was a combination of Ursula and the wicked step-mother to discipline my kid in Disney. If looks could kill, I would have been done in. The daughter looked up at her father as if she was so glad I was not her mother! Sorry folks, you make a poor decision, you get a consequence - at home or wherever we are, including Disney! Especially for Hope and ESPECIALLY when it comes to her bolting away!

I stood up, took Hope by the hand, and began to walk towards the bus area. As we got close, Ross & Julia caught up. Apparently, as this fiasco started, Ross turned to Julia and stated, “Boy, your sister is in big trouble now!”

As we passed by Goofy’s Candy Company, Julia wanted to go get a sample of a banana ice drink - I forget what they call them - Glacier? She had asked when we got there and I had said we would get one before we left. I had no problem going in - it was not her fault that Hope made a very poor decision. Hope did not want to go in. I said - no problem, she could go into Goofy’s Candy Store or sit on a bench outside. But there was NO World Of Disney because she ran away. She was not happy - obviously. But she sat on the bench.

By the time Julia and Ross walked out, Hope was calming down. I gave her an apple juice and she drank it. She was repeating, “You run away, no World of Disney - oh no!”. We all rested while Julia had her treat. She was going to get a full size one but decided she wanted to wait until after dinner. So she went with the sample which she loved.

So it was getting time to leave for Ft. Wilderness. We had a few minutes left and because Hope really rebounded and was out of meltdown mode, (and because I am not really as bad as the evil queen, I told her she could pick one store to go into for 10 minutes - but it could not be World of Disney. She picked Once Upon a Toy, so off we went to shop around for a little bit before we made our way to HDDR.

lostpro9het · Mar 1, 2016

Figment Forever said:
She was repeating, “You run away, no World of Disney - oh no!”.

I'm sorry but this made me

Figment Forever · Mar 2, 2016

lostpro9het said:
I'm sorry but this made me

Looking back, we laughed too. Thanks for reading!

Figment Forever · Mar 2, 2016

Day 6 Continued... In Search of River Country...

Now our original plan was to take a bus to MK and then take the boat to FW. Julia who was completely obsessed with abandoned River Country wanted to see its sad ruins and take pictures. I had heard you could see it from the boat ride to FW so I thought that was the best plan. And… it may have been… if it didn’t start to rain. Not just any rain, a complete downpour! Our ponchos came out. We waited at the bus stop at DTD which was absolutely insane. I guess everyone decided to get on a bus and go somewhere dry. So we waited for a short time and boarded a very crowed bus for FW.

Julia, understandable, was sad. I told her we would ride the boat back to MK after HDDR - as long as the rain stopped and the boats were running.

The bus pulled up to FW - but when we got off we were in for a newbie shock. We asked the driver where HDDR was and he said we needed to take a bus to the settlement. Settlement? what was he talking about? So he kindly explained to us that we had to take the internal bus to the area where HDDR was at. We disembarked from that bus and settled ourselves at the bus stop which. thankfully was covered and waited for the resort bus to come.

The rain had not let up - it was a complete downpour! We waited for a short time and then the bus came and took us to our destination.

When we arrived at the settlement, we made our way to where HDDR was. Of course, that’s when Julia and I decided to go in search of River Country. Ross wanted nothing to do with our craziness so he and Hope took refuge under the outside of Pioneer Hall.

Julia and I walked off and tried to figure out where exactly River Country would be. Obviously it would have been much easier if it wasn’t raining. It was no longer a downpour, but it wasn’t a drizzle either. It was a steady rainfall - that kept us in our ponchos. I couldn’t take many pictures because I didn’t want to ruin my phone.

One cast member said it was past the horses and barns so we went as far as we could before it said “no trespassing”.

We walked to where I thought the boats were.

We kept on walking...

And then she saw the fenced wall and the sign…

We knew we had found it.

As we started back, we passed Mickey’s Backyard BBQ. That’s when Julia remembered that River Country was supposed to be next to it. She saw 2 CM checking people into the BBQ and she wanted to ask them about it. By now, the rain was still coming down hard and I was cold and wet. I told her they weren’t going to tell us anything but if she wanted to go chat with them, to go ahead. At least they were under a roof so I could take a break from the rain.

As we approached, they asked us for our tickets. Julia told them she was looking for RC. At first, they seemed uninterested but she explained how she was fascinated with it and even did a speech and research project about it.

It was then that they became very eager to help her. They told us that the area where we were standing was the actual entrance to RC. They pointed to an area ahead which was the remains of Slippery Slide Falls. Julia was very excited to see it in person. So I asked them if we could walk over to the fence to take a picture of it. They said yes! So off we went - to the fence. And of course, as soon as I took my phone out to take a picture, it shut down! Yep. I guess it got too wet? I really don’t know. So I tried to dry it off under my poncho. The rain hadn’t let up at all. After a few minutes it was up and running again and I got a very sad picture - but it seemed to make Julia happy.

She said she thought the garbage can said River Country - but I couldn’t make it out. We walked back over the the CMs and thanked them very much and then went off to join Ross and Hope who were still undercover at Pioneer Hall.

RIP River Country

blreinsel · Mar 2, 2016

lostpro9het said:
I'm sorry but this made me

Me too! Lol.

Good for you for standing your ground, even after "meltdown mode" had subsided. I'm a teacher, so this makes my heart sing! So often, parents give in and we all know how that turns out..

I'm curious how the father who stood to watch the "show" would handle his own daughter bolting in a place as large and crowded as WDW...? People amaze me.

Tuvalu · Mar 2, 2016

Tell Julia I LOVED River Country when I was her age! Water parks were non-existent in the 70s, which made River Country so great! The inner tube rapids ride was my favorite.

The overgrowth has made it harder to see a lot of River Country from Bay Lake, but if you take the smaller boat from Wilderness Lodge to Fort Wilderness you can get a decent view (in addition to seeing it from the boat from MK to FW.)

fractal · Mar 2, 2016

Figment Forever said:
After our safari, we walked over to FOTLK. We were excited to watch it in its new home! Funny, The Lion King is not one of my favorite movies, but this show is my favorite next to Fantasmic!

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When the show started, I realized that there were only 3 people instead of 4 running the show. I always thought that there was one person for each of the “animal” sections. But today, one person took over 2 sections.

The show was awesome as always. We all loved it. This year, Hope didn’t need to be cued to clap or cheer. She was so excited. She seems to have a connection with music and dance. Near the end, she was dancing in place in the space in front of Ross, (who had he arms ready for a attempted escape!) There was a “zebra” in front of her dancing and it didn’t take Hope long to have her dance sequence memorized and was mirroring her steps exactly!

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Then I saw something I never saw happen - the zebra broke character and looked at Hope and laughed! She kept glancing her way and chuckling! When it was done, she came over and high fived Hope and told her what a good dancer she was!

And then… she came back asked her if she wanted to go up and parade around the stage. Ross and I looked at each other. I saw sheer fear in his eyes and he wrapped his arms around her. I remember last year, being at Enchanted Tales With Belle and feeling so sad watching all the kids take part in the show and wondering if Hope would ever be able to join in like “typical” kids do. If you are a parent of a special needs kiddo - you know the feeling I am describing. As stupid as it sounds, in those few seconds, a million feelings and memories flashed through my mind. Suddenly, I heard the pediatric neurologist who, when Hope was 2, told me she may never speak, toilet train or function independently… and here was this zebra asking her to be a part of a show that to me, seemed larger than life.

“Let her go!” I shouted to him - she can do it! She wants to do it! Hesitantly, Ross released her and off she went! It was obvious, she didn’t understand like the other kids. The “animals” were giving instructions and while the other kids looked at them and nodded, Hope jumped up & down shaking this maraca they had handed her. Disney entertainers are truly amazing. It didn’t take them long to realize Hope needed a little more assistance and a sweet lion held out a hand and off she went with the others! Around the stage they danced (and jumped) and of course I was crying the whole time. This was also the time when my phone aka camera gave me the message, “no more space!” NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

Yep - can you believe it? I was so mad at myself. I frantically started deleting pictures and was able to capture this at the end…

It was truly awesome.

I asked Hope after - "Did you have fun?" and after a few seconds she gasped, "YES!"

People ask me why I go to Disney ever year - and this is why. Because it is a truly magical place where dreams come true.

Trying to catch up, but wanted to pause and say that this almost made me cry. What a wonderful experience!

lbrad · Mar 3, 2016

Figment Forever said:
Day 2 Continued...

After 20 minutes I walked up to podium and asked if they knew how much longer. I could see Hope was getting a little anxious to go in. He looked a little annoyed and told me to come back and ask in 10 minutes. When I went back, he was basically doing his best to ignore me so I asked another CM who walked over with some pagers. She looked on her computer and then looked a little puzzled. I felt my stomach turn - that puzzling look can be disastrous! She said they didn’t even move my name inside - wasn’t sure what that meant exactly. She said to give her a minute. By now, Hope and Ross actually walked inside the restaurant. Hope was looking at the big backdrop when you first enter the restaurant. Ross was getting annoyed of course. And I think we were all at the verge when someone finally called our name.

We were seated right in the front near the buffet and this is where I would like to say that everything was great from this point forward. I would like to say that... but I can not. Because the truth is, it just kept going downhill.

Our waitress was OK at best. She seemed rushed and scattered. The chef came out and took me along the buffet. He seemed just as rushed as our waitress. The only ones who did not seem in a rush were the characters ... but they were nowhere to be found! There were no characters on our side of the restaurant. Now I understand they work in a rotation, but seriously, we were there for almost an hour and they were yet to come to our side of the restaurant. At one point, we asked the waitress when they would come over to our side. She was very short with us and said they take about an hour and fifteen minutes to go in a complete rotation. I don't think she realized how long we had been there.

Hope was in her glory. Every so often, the characters and a CM would do a sing along and dance at the front of the dining room. In past years, we would not have even thought to release her to take part. But I felt she really has come a long way this year, and I thought she would be able to participate without being disruptive so I told her she could go. Of course Ross and I were an arms length away. But she did great and she had a great time! We were there long enough to see four or five shows.

The food was good and all of us filled our bellies. Ross kept filling his belly beyond capacity because we waited so long for the characters to come. Finally, I think the waitress wanted us to leave and realized we still hadn’t seen the characters. So our friends finally started to come over...

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It was hard to pry Hope away from Sofia!

We almost left without seeing Jake because he was still MIA and we really needed to leave! But Ross was staying. His reasoning was that we pay for the characters so why not? As long as we weren't having any meltdowns it wasn’t hurting. Then at last...

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So glad you stayed!!! Such beautiful pictures

I ALWAYS stay until we have met EVERY character at meals ... they charge a fortune for that & I want my $$$ worth!!!
You have a beautiful family <3 You will cherish these photos forever!!!

fractal · Mar 3, 2016

Glad you found River Country!

Figment Forever · Mar 5, 2016

blgauger said:
Me too! Lol.

Good for you for standing your ground, even after "meltdown mode" had subsided. I'm a teacher, so this makes my heart sing! So often, parents give in and we all know how that turns out..

I'm curious how the father who stood to watch the "show" would handle his own daughter bolting in a place as large and crowded as WDW...? People amaze me.

Thanks so much - I really appreciate your kind words! It's really hard to do sometimes and I have had to learn to ignore people who do not understand. Hope's progress is my reward.

Figment Forever · Mar 5, 2016

Tuvalu said:
Tell Julia I LOVED River Country when I was her age! Water parks were non-existent in the 70s, which made River Country so great! The inner tube rapids ride was my favorite.

The overgrowth has made it harder to see a lot of River Country from Bay Lake, but if you take the smaller boat from Wilderness Lodge to Fort Wilderness you can get a decent view (in addition to seeing it from the boat from MK to FW.)

Julia was very excited to read your comment! I promised her that we will take that boat ride on our next trip - let's hope mother nature works with our itinerary. lol Thanks for reading!

Figment Forever · Mar 5, 2016

fractal said:
Trying to catch up, but wanted to pause and say that this almost made me cry. What a wonderful experience!

Yes - it was awesome. I cried many happy tears on this trip. Thanks for reading!

Figment Forever · Mar 5, 2016

lbrad said:
So glad you stayed!!! Such beautiful pictures
I ALWAYS stay until we have met EVERY character at meals ... they charge a fortune for that & I want my $$$ worth!!!
You have a beautiful family <3 You will cherish these photos forever!!!

Thank you so much! Yes - looking back I'm glad we stayed.

Figment Forever · Mar 5, 2016

fractal said:
Glad you found River Country!

LOL me too! I don't think Julia would have given up, so I'm glad we found it before HDDR.

Figment Forever · Mar 5, 2016

Day 6 Continued...

When we got to Pioneer Hall, a CM announced if anyone wanted their picture taken to go by the end of the building. We walked over and a CM took our picture.

I thought there was supposed to be a backdrop or something for HDDR - but since it was raining, I guess they couldn’t pose people in the rain.

We waited around after our picture and I’m happy to say the rain finally stopped! People started to form a monster line outside, but since I knew it was assigned seating, we all agreed to walk around and go in towards the end.

Happy (Disney) Birthday Julia!

We found the picture area. I was hoping the Photo Pass guy would come over, but no luck so we took a couple of shots ourselves.

Sometimes Hope is in no mood for pictures. LOL

Figment Forever · Mar 5, 2016

Day 6 Continued...

Finally it was time to go in. Julia & I were so excited to see this show and I am happy to say that it did not disappoint! Our table was front and center! I couldn't believe it!

They gave a shout out to Julia!

They brought me a few special GF items - including this cornbread which was delish! But don’t you think they overdid it with the butter? lol I mean, have a little bread with your butter!

The show was absolutely awesome and I would do it again in a heartbeat if not for the cost. But you never know… maybe one day we will return!

As we exited Pioneer Hall there was no more rain but everything felt wet! I was hoping I could let Hope burn some energy off at the little playground area but it was too soaked. We made our way to take the boat over to MK so we could hop a bus to DTD. I knew we had to get a bus from a resort but none of us wanted to take the FW bus to the other side of the resort so we all decided to go to MK and get the monorail to a resort and then a bus to DTD. I thought the wait for the boat would be a lot more crowded but it wasn’t so bad. Julia was hoping to catch a glimpse of RC as we made our way to MK, but unfortunately it was too dark. Sorry kiddo! Next time I promise we get that boat during the day!

Figment Forever · Mar 5, 2016

Day 6 Continued...

Once we arrived at MK, we walked up to the monorail and rode it to GF. There we got off and walked to the bus stop. I think my phone was still acting up because I have no pictures. When we got to the bus stop we waited for the DTD bus. There was only one other family there with us when a bus pulled up that said “Cinderella”. The bus driver hopped off and asked if we wanted a ride. Ross and I looked at each other. She asked where we wanted to go and we told her DTD. So she said come on board that she would take us wherever we wanted to go as long as it was on Disney property. We boarded the bus along with the other family. There was a bus driver and another CM. I wondered if the bus driver was in training. Whatever it was, off we went and we soon arrived at DTD.

DTD was quieter than other nights. I wondered if it was because of all the rain earlier.

Julia got her Banana Glacier.

Hope picked up a Lego set.

Ross saw some friends.

We walked around a bit and then headed back home.

Up Next: The New Galactic Hero

MinnieM123 · Mar 6, 2016

Figment Forever said:
Julia got her Banana Glacier.

That drink looked really good! May I ask, where in DTD (Disney Springs--whatever they're calling it these days . . .) that she got that? I don't think I've ever heard of those before. (I usually just make a bee line to Ghiradelli's for a hot fudge sundae, but her banana drink looked yummy--I must find out where they sell those!)

Figment Forever · Mar 6, 2016

MinnieM123 said:
That drink looked really good! May I ask, where in DTD (Disney Springs--whatever they're calling it these days . . .) that she got that? I don't think I've ever heard of those before. (I usually just make a bee line to Ghiradelli's for a hot fudge sundae, but her banana drink looked yummy--I must find out where they sell those!)

They sell them in Goofy's Candy Company - right in the front of the store. They have a bunch of other flavors too and they give free samples. Julia really enjoyed it and plans to get another one the next time we are there. I tried hers and it was good - but banana isn't my favorite. lol

Figment Forever · Mar 6, 2016

Day 7: September 17th

I was so hoping for a “dry” day. Even though it wasn’t raining in the morning, everything felt wet and it seemed that more rain wasn’t too far off.

Today we had breakfast ADRs at Chef Mickey’s. If you have been reading my TR so far, you all know that we are not good at making our reservations in time. So as we approached the bus stop of course we were met with a flood of people waiting.

Now I will give my one complaint about FQ - or maybe for the moderates as a whole? The bus stops - I wish they would make a designated line for each bus. I remember the bus stop at All Star Movies; there was a very specific line for each of the busses that came to pick up. But here at FQ, it’s a free for all. So today, the bus stop area was packed! Of course it became apparent that the MK bus hadn’t picked up in over 20 minutes! People were grumpy and agitated. We found a “space” to wait and tried to be optimistic. A bus for Studios (I think) pulled up. There were only a couple of people boarding when a bus for MK pulled up behind it. I remember being told that the bus MUST pull up to the boarding area - but all the people rushed for the bus and the bus driver opened the door and let the people on! That was really nasty, because all of a sudden everyone who was waiting in the correct area now became last in line. Of course, an eruption ensued. It seems as though everyone was yelling at someone. We decided right away, there was NO WAY we were going to even attempt to fight for a seat! We walked up by the front of where the “normal” line would be and figured we would just wait for the next MK bus. The commotion was crazy. People were just stuffing themselves on that bus! While all the craziness was happing, here comes a Magical Express type bus heading our way and pulls right up to the bus stop. the driver popped out and looked at us and said, “Magic Kingdom?” We had to laugh. The girls and I got on while Ross had to give the driver our stroller to put underneath. We sat in the front seat - which was kind of cool. Of course, no sooner than we were on, the crowd must have realized what was happening and started to reverse and come over. The people boarding were still complaining, but at least we were on our way.