Skamarakas - Nov/Dec 2005

When: November 27 - December 3
Who: The Skamarakas Family - Anna (mom, 41); Anna (grandmom, 62); Brighid (DD14); Eilis (DD4); Granuaile (DD 7 months)
Where: Port Orleans Riverside from Sunday until Friday, then one night at the Nickelodeon Hotel

DAY 3

Okay, where were we? Oh, that's right! Disney World with 2 sick children and one pain in the butt Grandmom, and we are now at Wednesday, nearly time to go home, I haven't seen Dori, I haven't done half of the stuff I planned for this trip, and we have missed every one of our ADRs. Swell! But, as they say, a bad day at Disney is better than a good day anywhere else! Ugh - I miss my husband.

So, we have decided not to push anyone out the door today. Let me just say that at home, I am up at 5:30 every morning. Even on the weekends, while I might not get out of bed until 7, I still automatically wake up around the 5:30 time. On vacation, it irritates me to still be sitting in the hotel at 10 AM, but to my mother, the Grandmom who is with us, 10 AM is still the middle of the night. Getting her out the door is nearly as bad as getting two sick kids out the door.

We are going to EPCOT today, and I am hopeful that we will get to see everything we want to see because we have not encountered anything resembling a crowd. We head first to the food court to see if we can get some breakfast. On the way, I decide to stop and get tickets for Thursday nights' Very Merry Christmas Party. I wasn't going to do that this trip, but I figured with the time we've missed with the illnesses, this would be a good way to see more of the MK in the limited amount of time we have left. I have already determined AK is probably not going to fit in, but I at least want Eilis to get back into the MK - it's her favorite.

We get to EPCOT around noon, and the kids all walked right on the Spaceship Earth ride. Brighid volunteers to take baby Grace with her and Eilis, and when she comes out, Gracie is asleep. Although it hasn't been all that long since breakfast, Eilis hardly ate anything, Brighid didn't eat at all, my mother is claiming to be hungry, and with Grace asleep, I figure it might work to our advantage to get lunch now. We decide to at least walk over to the Land, and if there is no wait at the Garden Grill, we'll eat there, and if there is a wait, we'll grab something at the food court. The wait is less than 10 minutes for the Garden Grill! Eilis goes over and creates something wonderful at the Kid station, and we are seated in just a matter of a few minutes.

I was a little worried about eating here. It has, in the past, been one of our favorite places, but I had heard that the menu changed and things weren't what they used to be. Well, we were pleasantly surprised. Grandmom, who is a picky eater, declares everything "Fabulous!", and we end up re-ordering veggies, catfish, the potatoes, and the flank steak. Brighid, DD14, is a vegetarian, and she just about inhales the potatoes - she thinks they are terrific. Grace slept through a good bit of the meal, which was nice, and then woke up long enough to play with a few of the characters. She especially loved Pluto, who came down to her level, let her pull his whiskers, even though we were all trying to tell her to "be nice", and then he leaned over to kiss her, and she did what every 7 month old baby would do - at least those who are teething - and used his nose as a teething ring. I do think he was prepared to stay the whole rest of the meal and let her chew on his nose, he was so attentive to her. All of the characters here were great with the girls.

At one point, on another trip around, Pluto knocked over an empty tray. Eilis hopped up out of her seat - because Eilis is always looking for an excuse to be out of her chair in a restaurant - and picked up the tray. As a result, Eilis was rewarded for one of the big things we are trying to teach her not to do in a restaurant. But, this wee bit of magic added to the excitement of the trip for her. She recieved a card that at the top says,

"Happiest Celebration on Earth", then underneath Minnie, Mickey, Goofy, Pluto and the gold mouse ears, it says "This moment was Certifiably Magical! Across the miles and over the years, you'll always remember this Magical Moment from the Walt Disney World Resort" Under that, they wrote her name, then there is a line for "the magical moment", and it says, "Looking out for Pluto" and is signed by the CM. Very nice and she will cherish it.

I forgot to mention during our visit to the MK as we wandered down Main Street, our daughter Brighid was handed a citation by a security guard who followed us literally all the way from the train station to where Casey's is. I thought he'd stay with us the entire day. That was Brighid's bit of magic this trip - she thought that was about the funniest thing - and I didn't think Disney still held any magic for Brighid, who has been there probably 100 times in her 14 years.

After lunch, we head over to the World Showcase. It was my intention to get photos of the kids with all of the Santas around the World. Unfortunately, Eilis is really crabby from that cough medicine, and Grandmom is killing us with all of her cigarette breaks, and the crabbier Eilis gets, the more breaks Grandmom needs. The kids want to go to Test Track, so Grandmom and I decide to go to Mouse Gears to see if I can find warmer clothes for Eilis, since I am running out of cool weather clothes for her and have no intention of doing laundry. Nearly $200 later, Eilis has two complete outfits - sweat pants, sweat jacket, and long sleeved shirt - the kids are back from Test Track, and we head back over to see if we can find a Santa or two.

We see that the Three Kings will soon be in front of the Mexico pavillion, so the kids go in to ride the boat ride, Grace is back asleep, and Grandmom and I wait to hear the storytellers. They are dressed so beautifully, the story is interesting and entertaining, and my kids come out just in time to get photographs with the kings. Worked out great :-) We hear about 7 minutes of the Candlelight Processional while we wait for Grandmom to have a cigarette. It is narrated tonight by Haley Joel Osment. Wasn't he just like 8 years old yesterday???

Next, we see the storyteller from Norway, and we wander around a bit more before deciding it's getting too cold to be out with the kids who are still recovering, and Eilis is getting crabbier by the second. It is almost time for the tree lighting, so we head back and catch that. I never saw eyes get so big as Eilis' did! She loved the show, loved the lit tree, and got a high five from Santa Goofy on his way back to the bus.

Dinner will be at the food court, whatever I pick up and bring back to the room. The kids are in the PJs by 8 and asleep soon after.

Highlight - Pluto at the Garden Grill - for both of my younger daughters
Lowlight - Smoking stops

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