|
An 11th Birthday Trip including:
Anna (the mom); Bean (the aunt); Brighid (the birthday girl); Eilis (the little sister); Grandmom (the Grandmom) and PopPop (the pop-pop)
We left NJ at 3 AM on Tuesday morning. After stopping for discount cigarettes at JR's in NC and South of the Border just because; and making
stops at real restaurants (Grandmom and PopPop won't eat fast food), we arrived at the Courtyard in Downtown Disney at midnight.
We slept in a little late on Wednesday, and ate at Perkins in the Crossroads shopping center (lovely potato pancakes, according to Pop). We spent the
afternoon at the Disney Village Marketplace, looking at souveniers, playing at the fountains, etc. Brighid bought a box of Mr. Potato Head parts, which
kept both her and her little sister entertained the rest of the week (Brighid "Don't touch that Eilis!"; Eilis "HaHaHa"; Brighid "I said don't
touch that Eilis!"; Eilis "Hahaha."). Tip for parents - don't give them the potato head until the end of the trip. We had appetizers at the Rainforest
Cafe, and then headed over to the build a pin place. Brighid and Bean loved it here, since they both love pin collecting. The big disappointment,
however, came when Brighid tried to have her's put together. She had chosen a pin and wanted to put Belle, Cinderella, and Aurora. She brought the pin
and the attachments to the counter, they engraved her name on the pin, then when they went to put it together, the size of the dresses prevented them
from being able to include all three. We ended up having to switch Belle for Jasmine, but Brighid was disappointed. They did have fun making a pin
with Brighid's picture on it :-)
We left the Village at about 4, and enjoyed the managers' reception at our hotel. We then went up and showered for dinner at Boma. We were seated
immediately, and it was fabulous! The food was delicious, and our waiter was amazing. He is quite possible the best waiter we've ever had anywhere.
He was attentive, fun, and just a really nice guy. After dinner, we went up and checked out the animals roaming the savannah - and decided that even
though my hubby only likes to stay at Marriott hotels, we will have to talk him into a night or two here. We were back at our hotel and in bed by 11.
We were going to go to Disney MGM studios tomorrow, but decided at the last minute to change to Magic Kingdom, hoping to avoid some of the crowds on the
weekend.
We decide to meet for breakfast early so we can be in the Magic Kingdom this morning when they open. After those delicious potato pancakes (he did not
tire of them all week), we headed over and took the monorail in. We were standing on Main Street by 9:05. My mother had tears in her eyes. She was
last at Disney World in 1983, and to be standing there with her two granddaughters was just overwhelming for her. We marched Brighid into the
City Hall building, and there, wearing her "I'm 11 Today" visor, they handed her a birthday pin and all sang Happy Birthday to her. It was so cute. The
rest of the day, cast members and guests alike wished her happy birthday.
We headed to Tomorrowland, where we virtually walked right on Buzz Lightyear. That was an good omen - we didn't wait long for anything the
entire day. We had a great time on Buzz - and I scored the highest I ever got 211,000 points :-) I am convinced now that my husband really does
detract from my ability to score, so now that I got to ride without him, I realize I am not a hopeless Lightyear Loser afterall. Brighid took the
grandparents to Alien Encounter - Grandmom was scared to death. We walked around and did Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain.
It looked like rain, and folks were getting hungry, but Pop won't do counter service. We headed to Liberty Tree Tavern. Everyone but me eats a burger,
and PopPop was so impressed that he could have it with mushrooms and Provolone cheese while my mother could have it with bacon and cheddar
cheese. Gotta love those people who are easily impressed. My mother thought it was a great burger, but being from the Good Roll Capitol of the
world, she thought she needed a harder roll. I had the Declaration Salad and a bowl of clam chowder - delish :-)
We hung out at Liberty Tree so Grandmom and Bean could smoke, and when they were done, it was about 20 minutes until the parade, so we stayed in front
of the restaurant and watched the parade. Eilis was so thrilled with so many characters coming over to shake her hand or wave hello. She really did
great with the characters - an exact opposite of her sister at the same age.
We spent the later part of the afternoon getting Brighid's hair wrapped, riding the Jungle Cruise, and visiting Aloha snacks. I think there is
nothing better than a ice cold pineapple spear on a hot day. We rode Pirates of the Caribbean, the Jungle Cruise, then went over to Aladdin's
Magical Carpet ride. After that, we ended up back around to Fantasyland, and Eilis rode the carousel and Dumbo, then we waited in line to see Ariel.
They gotta get fans in that line.
We wrapped up at the park around 7. Everyone was really, really hot, and because it was the first day, everyone was tired. We headed back to the
hotel after picking up some pizza and drinks, and we watched TV in Grandmom's room before heading upstairs to bed.
What a great start :-)
We agreed to spend the entire day at EPCOT today so Grandmom can see the Illuminations show at the end of the day. We met for breakfast at Perkins
again - and yes, Pop-pop had potato pancakes again.
We got into the park in time to let Eilis and Brighid get their picture with Goofy. That was a coup, because Aunt Meg, who couldn't make the trip,
wanted a picture of the girls with Goofy. Eilis was so excited - hugging and kissing him!
We went first to Test Track, where we pretty much walked right on. The line said 10 minutes, but it took that long just to go through the loop.
Grandmom passed on this ride, since she's not much of a thrill seeker, but PopPop loved it.
We did the Universe of Energy and Cranium Command, then decided to head to the World Showcase because Aunt Meg wanted a beer stein with Goofy on it.
We enjoyed everything at a leisurely pace. I have to say here that the biggest pain in the butt (no pun intended here) was finding smoking areas.
Grandmom and Bean both smoke, and we took frequent stops trying to find the smoking areas and waiting for them to have a cigarette or two. It wasn't
bad in terms of wasting time - we enjoyed that the smoking areas seemed to be the best shaded and breeziest areas we found - but it was bad that we
missed things we could have seen if we hadn't been sitting still. I don't know how big a problem smoking as you walk was for some people, but it was
much easier to do things that way.
Anyway, we did not find a stein, but we had Meg's name engraved on two goofy glasses we found in Germany.
We had booked a PS for dinner at the Coral Reef, but by 5 PM, Grandmom was roasting and dragging. We decided everyone needed a rest, so we went to Red
Lobster outside the park at the Crossroads, then hit the hotel for a cold drink and a shower. We went back in time to see the last show of the night
of Shockwave. What a great show. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed that! Eilis was dancing in the aisles :-) We also managed to catch the parade -
love this parade. Then, finally Illuminations. Grandmom thought it was the best thing she saw all week long.
On a side note - as I said, PopPop is a picky food eater, and was totally repulsed by the site of people wandering around with Turkey legs. When we
explained that they were smoked, which is why they were red, he was game for a taste. Brighid bought one for lunch, and shared it with everyone. Well,
after a quick taste, PopPop decided it wasn't his cup of tea, but commented to everyone about the steroidal turkeys they grow at Disney for these turkey
legs. He was too funny.
Today is Brighid's 11th birthday, so we kind of left the day up to her. We had breakfast at Chef Mickey's, where they were so nice to her :-) She got
a cupcake with sprinkles of confetti, and our waitress announced her name and Pluto danced with her. It was a lot of fun for everyone - but
especially for Eilis. She was hugging those characters so hard, I thought she would choke them. She couldn't eat she was turning her head from side
to side to see everything. The only downside is that PopPop, our finicky eater, left the table with, shall we say, some gastrointestinal discomfort,
which dampened his day a bit.
We headed over to Animal Kingdom. It was terrific. Again, we walked into shows and onto rides with little or no wait. We enjoyed Festival of the
Lion King - best show at Disney World, I think. We rode the safari twice, and Bean, Brighid and PopPop got drenched on Kali River Rapids. We missed
Dinoland entirely because we had a PS for Brighid's birthday, but everything else was terrific. Brighid got face painted, then face unpainted by the
Kali River Rapids ride. Fortunately, I got great pictures before, during, after, and way after.
After a hot, exhausting day, we headed back for the managers' reception at Courtyard. We all got a couple of sodas and enjoyed some popcorn, then
headed to our room and got showered. We were meeting my sister Kathy and her husband and children for dinner at Whispering Canyon. She, by the way,
got a room at Wilderness Lodge for 119 a night for two nights. I think she said they called it the Florida Stampede Special or something.
We checked in at the restaurant, and the little kids played with the Lincoln Logs. They seated us way in the back - one of the last tables - and we were
behind a half wall, so we couldn't see the rest of the dining room. In terms of intimate dining, this would have been perfect, but for this
restaurant and the reason we booked it, it really didn't work. The kids missed the announcement for the first Pony Express ride, but our waiter made
it a point after that to let them know what was going on. A call went out for girls, and Brighid and Eilis went to some little boy's table, where they
sang happy birthday. There was also an older gentleman celebrating his birthday. His waitress called all the kids to the table to sing him happy
birthday, then left them saying "Uncle Frank" would give them a little present for their great singing. Poor Uncle Frank. When time came for
Brighid's birthday, our waiter brought her out to the middle of the room and had her stand on a chair, where the whole restaurant sang to her. She was
embarassed, but loved it.
I have to say, we had great waiters at Disney. They were such nice guys.
After dinner, the kids went to the arcade for a while, then they went swimming. Then we headed back to our hotel. We had mentioned to Ginnie at
our hotel that it was Brighid's birthday, and she offered to do something special. Waiting for us was a table sprinkled with Happy Birthday confetti,
balloon bouquets, and a big chocolate birthday cake with Brighid's name on it. If anyone is staying at the Courtyard at Downtown Disney, you have to
meet Ginnie. She was the greatest.
This was another really great day :-)
Okay, this is where things start to deteriorate. First of all, Kathy is my step sister (PopPops daughter), and while I have known her nearly my whole
life, we have not always gotten along. She and I run in different circles and we have very different opinions on things. Even though this trip was
for Brighid's birthday, I felt I should offer my parents the option to choose things that they wanted to do and we would follow. After all,
Brighid has been hundreds of times to Disney, and my parents have only been once. Kathy, on the other hand, tends to over cater to her children, and it
caused some stress today.
We decided to go to MGM Studios today. My mother has never been there, and she really wants to go and see Fantasmic. Kathy says her kids hate MGM and
they would rather go to Universal. Well, my mother has purchased Disney Hopper passes and doesn't want to go to Universal, so we start the day off
on a sour note.
Most of the day is spent listening to Kathy's oldest child saying how much he wants to be somewhere else and Kathy trying to manipulate everyone into
doing what her son wants to do. We do manage two trips on Tower of Terror, and part of the party went on Rock N Roller Coaster. We also saw the Beauty
and the Beast show, rode the Great Movie Ride. I was really disappointed that Catastrophe Canyon was down, but I had been listening to my sister say
all day that the whole ride was closed. It wasn't until late in the evening that I found out that the back stage part was opened. My parents would have
enjoyed that, but missed it because I listened to my sister. We also didn't get to see Indiana Jones, because my sister and her children didn't want to
- my daughter loves this show, but I had her skip it to keep peace.
We did lunch at the Hollywood Brown Derby. This has never been one of my favorites, and I knew that my folks weren't going to be too happy with the
menu, but my sister wanted to go there. As predicted, my parents disliked the meal and at one point before ordering, asked if there were other
restaurants around that they could see menus for. My sister discouraged them, and told them how obnoxious Prime Time could be (I love it there) and
how heavy the food was at SciFi. I suggested Mama Melrose, but got voted down by my sister's group. So, PopPop ordered two appetizers of steamed
clams, my mother ate a bbq chicken cobb salad (hated it), and the kids fought over the Mickey hats on the cheese cake dessert.
We went over to the Millionaire show, but my mom and her husband were pretty upset with the way the day had been going, so they sent my sister in with
her kids, Bean, and Brighid. I stayed out with them, and it turned out to be good fortune because Pooh and Tigger came out. Eilis was the only kid
standing there, so they played with her until a line formed. It was magical for her. I have never seen her so happy.
When the rest of the gang came out of the show, they tried to tell my mother Fantasmic was too long of a wait, you had to get there early, blah blah
blah. My mom wanted to go, so we told them to go ahead back to the pool and we'd see them the next day. Nope - they decided to come and bring the party
down. They complained about the walk over there, complained about the seats, complained about the wait. I thought the show, which I had never
seen before either, was incredible, and my parents both really loved it. I'm glad we didn't give in and leave early.
We left the park after Fantasmic. My parents did not want to eat dinner with my sister and her husband, so we decided we would just order pizza back
in the room. It was late, everyone was tired, so that's what we did, while Mom watched the Dead Zone - her new favorite show.
We had hoped my sister and family were leaving that next morning, but they decided to meet us at Magic Kingdom. Oh Well.
This is our last day here, and Grandmom wants to go back to Magic Kingdom. We meet there at 10 and head right to Splash Mountain. I take the baby to
Country Bears, and everyone else rides Big Thunder and Splash Mountain. Now we realize how lucky we've been all week long - the park is mobbed. The
lines are long. The weather is hot. We already planned on a short day, since we are leaving at 3 in the morning, but the heat and the crowds might
make it a shorter day.
We listen to my sister complain about the lines and we follow along when she says she doesn't want to ride stuff. We do the Haunted Mansion again, and
get a nice cool snack at Aloha snacks. I love the pineapple spears and the vanilla/pineapple ice cream swirl. My girls get parasols with their names
on them, compliments of grandmom. We head over to Main Street, and PopPop buys all the kids five flavors of pop up lollipop things. We also do a
little souvenier shopping before we head out for the day.
My parents really want Italian for dinner, and they hate Olive Garden. One of our favorite restaurants when we lived there is at the end of I-Drive, so
we decide to go there (Ciao Italia). My parents declare it the best meal of the week - they think the food is fabulous, and we spend a couple of hours
there enjoying the evening. We leave here, and head over to OBT, so I can show my parents where I lived (they never saw it). We leave there and go to
Downtown Disney for some shopping. We head back to the hotel at 9, and the kids go swimming while we pack up. We are in bed by 11 so we can leave at
3.
What a nice trip :-)
Trip Report - Final Comments
As usual, we had a great time overall. It was really special to go with my mother, as I have never been there with her before, and it was great to see
her and my stepfather with my girls. I'm not sure who was having the better time.
I did learn that even though my parents will not eat fast food and they will not do counter service restaurants, food wasn't that bad. No one ate a huge
lunch almost any day - we instead opted for fresh fruit or an appetizer. The one day we did eat a heavy lunch (at Liberty Tree), we did pizza for
dinner. We started off every day with a good, big breakfast, and for the 6 of us, we never spent more than $30 for breakfast.
I also learned that with smokers at DisneyWorld, you really have to plan. We could have done cigarette breaks while the girls were doing rides
Grandmom didn't want to do. Instead, we almost always ended up waiting for Grandmom and Bean to finish a cigarette to move on to something else.
We all agreed that if we ever did a trip like that again, we won't tell my stepsister we are coming, but I did learn a lesson. If you are going with a
group that large (there were 10 of us when they were there), someone has to be in charge and there has to be a game plan. None of us wanted to say for
certain what we wanted to do, except my sister and her one son who wanted to go back to the hotel. I would also make it perfectly clear that no one is
obligated to do anything they don't want to do. It would have made the weekend more pleasant if my sister had just left and gone back to the hotel,
meeting us for dinner when she had a chance to do what she wanted and my parents got to see what they wanted to see.
Don't ever let anyone tell you your child is too young to go to Disney World. This was Eilis' third trip in her 18 months, and each time, the
experience has been more magical and amazing than the time before. She loved everything she saw, and her eyes got wider at every turn. There is
nothing in the world like taking a toddler to Disney World.
And the last thing I learned, it's always better to go with mom. My mother ended up paying for everything - gas in the car, snacks, meals, even
souveniers for the kids. Except for the hotel bill, which I prepaid, I didn't have to open my wallet. It was a terrific surprise!
|
