Disney Dream

Disney Dream

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Disney Friends

Last night I spent time with my  Disney friends.  Only they were at Disneyland and I was here in my house in southern Ontario Canada.

It was so much fun seeing them laugh and play in Disneyland.  All thanks to Lou bringing the box people with him.  For those who don't know, he carries his laptop around, talks to us and shows us around.  This may seem strange to some of you, and he does get some strange looks from people, but it gives us a chance to see sites with friends and not leave home.

I also got to watch via Twitter as my one friend Nicole, went to 6 parks in one day.  (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney world in Florida and then Magic Kingdom and California Adventure)

A year ago I would never have imagined that I would have so involved, but after meeting these friends on a Disney Cruise, it made the interaction even more fun.  Even my husband doesn't seem to mind  when I spend the evening chatting with these friends.

Tomorrow is the D23 expo.  I will be in the box when I can enjoying an event that I would love to be at, but with 4 kids not possible to be there.  Join us at http://t.co/t0lynpV  if you can.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Reflection

As our children age we travel in different circles.  Friends you make while they are in nursery school, drift as our children move on to big kid school.  Year pass, and you don't see them, but you still consider them a friend.

Well this weekend one of these friends, lost her battle with cancer, it has shocked me to the core as she was the same age as me, our children are around the same ages.  I remember her smile, it was always there.

I went back and read her Facebook wall (which was open for anyone to see), as I read she made no mention of her cancer.  I can tell when if started by the period away from facebook. (I did know about her diagnosis),  and upon her return her posts were light and loving "Home, thank you all for your well wishes).  This was June of 2010.  The rest of the posts were happy, she spoke of the sun, the vacations, how proud she was of her children.  She spoke of school starting back up, (she was looking forward to that like all moms).  Halloween photos, she was happy and full of life.  At Christmas, she invited her friends who didn't have anyone to call her and join her.  In January she was happy to see the snow. 

There was no sign of sadness, no sign of any health issues,  she was happy.  The last post was in April, when she congratulated her son on his placing in a festival. 

My friend has left this world, but she is still here.  Her positive energy, her love of life, will  be remembered. 

My friend

Thank you for you positive words, and making me smile.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

The trouble with teenagers

So before I start I want to say I have a level headed teen who does well in school.  For that i am eternally grateful.  This blog is a way to share a little venting and frustration.


I am currently in hell week.  The week before our dance recital. For those of you who know me, I have 3 girls in dance (not competition). Every year around this time is our year end recital, which is both exciting and stressful.

Exciting for seeing how much my girls have learned this year, but stressful for getting them to photos, rehearsals, fitting their costumes and of course adding all the other everyday stuff.

Tonight this was our photo schedule.  My Sarah had photos at 3:30 (she finished school at 2:30, but my other girls finished at 3:30, so she was responsible to get herself there) 7pm 8pm and 9:15.  My Meagan had hers at 6 pm. 

So I get a call from Sarah saying she left her body suit and tights at home and could I bring them.  Simple task right?  Not so much.  If you have ever seen hoarders this is her room.  She started explaining where I would find these items.

Seeing as she has told me to find the items, I use this opportunity to tidy up a bit.  As I look for the body suit I fill Two black garbage bags with clothes and Two garbage bags with well garbage.  Garbage being really garbage (paper, gift bags, empty wrappers, price tags, plastic wrappers).   In the closet I find hanging up in a hand made dance bag full of mold, an empty coke can and lots and lots of what I can only describe as some sort of food.  Beside that another plastic bag hanging on a hanger full of half eaten food.  All of it so gross we had to put the garbage bag outside sealed tightly immediately.   Now I am furious.  I have one big rule in this house which I have repeatedly enforced and that is ABSOLUTELY NO FOOD in your bedroom. 

So now I am furious.  She is 16 1/2 and still leaves food in her room.  This is the point I decide that I am not paying for the photos tonight that will be a $45 savings to me. 

Fine I make it to the studio with my 8 year old, get her settled and inform the  16 year old that I am not paying for the photos.  She actually gave me attitude and denied that she put the food there.  When I leave I tell her that I am leaving and if she stays she has to take the bus home.  She grabs her stuff and comes home with me.

So we are home.  I never completely finished cleaning her room.  In fact I left one of the garbage bags in the middle of the floor and about 2 more bags of clothes on the floor.  She appears to decide to clean up by dusting.  However she really didn't. 

Instead she has told her friends and boyfriend that I have flipped out on her, and she has called her dad but he isn't home.  Well one she knows why I am mad, I made it clear.  I even said to her at the dance studio "do I make myself clear!"  Her response was "Yes you make yourself clear".  Two she has her dads cell phone and can get a hold of him wherever he is, oh and she isn't really talking to him right now)

So now I am sitting her feeling horrible.  I am angry at her, but she is still a child, but then again, she also needs to be accountable for her actions.  I  am fearful that when she grows up she will never talk to me ( maybe this is because I no longer have anything to do with my own mother),  but I am not trying to be her friend.

So where does that leave me now.  Well I have 3 more kids behind her. 2 of them girls  ( heaven help me).  I  love all my children and couldn't imagine life without them.  Being a parent means  you have to do things that make you feel like you are ripping your heart out.  Taking things away like the Internet.  Taking things away that you know will make them sad, but in the end is harder on you.

Being a parent sucks somedays.  It makes you cry, it makes you insane. 

But then there are those days, where your teen who you want to throttle goes out and helps a lady get her car our of the snow, that make you know you are doing your job.

In the end I am not creating a friend.  I am helping mold a person.  One who respects people.  One who is helpful, polite (to everyone but me).  One who will grow out of being the selfish teen who the world revolves around, to an adult.

The journey sucks.  I will tell you that now.   I do not regret a day in my life.  If I had it to do over again I totally would.  I truly do have a fabulous young lady forming.  However that awful moody teenager keeps showing up.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Wedding Wednesday

My friend and fellow Disney fan @DragynAlly ( http://www.dragynally.com/) asked if I was interested in joining a viewing party of the upcoming Royal Wedding on April 29th.  Being a Royal fan and planning to get up at the ungodly hour to watch the wedding live, I responded with excitement that I would be pleased to attend.  This lead to a plan to have Wedding Wednesday blogs.  So please enjoy.....



On July 29th, 1981  I was 10 years old.  I woke up early in the morning to watch the royal wedding of  Prince Charles and Lady Diana.
gifts from my grandmother another Royal Watcher.
I was the only one in my family crazy enough to get up that early.  I sat there watching the 14 inch screen TV we had, with bunny ears (no cable).

What I remember from that morning is the shy Di arriving in the covered carriage with her dad, getting out and that was the moment I saw the dress.  The dress that little girls dream about having for their wedding.  The train was 25 feet long.  Two brides maids  Lady Sarah Armstrong- Jones (17, daughter of Princess Margaret) and India Hicks (13, goddaughter of Prince Charles, http://www.indiahicks.com/) had to smooth the train as Diana climbed the stairs into St Paul Cathedral.  Well as I remember they had to fight with it as there was some wind.  The bridesmaids were all children, the remaining were Catherine Cameron (6),Clementine Hambro ( 5, great granddaughter of Winston Churchill) and  Sarah-Jane Gaselee (11).  I remember how I loved their dresses.   I didn't find it strange at the time that there was no maid of honour or any adult bridesmaids.  Charles had his brothers Andrew (21) and Edward (17) join him.

As I watched the wedding I dreamed of marrying a prince.  I even considered how I could meet their children if they had sons.  I wanted the Cinderella story, poor girl meets prince and they live happily ever after.
I watched and remember how Diana stumbled on Charles' name saying Phillip Charles Arthur George, instead of Charles Phillip Arthur George.  It made me love her even more.  When the church bells started ringing I had tears in my eye.  Watching the newlywed couple go through the streets in an open carriage, I will never forget.  Then they were inside taking photos and other things including having a brunch with guests.  I waited, watching replays of the wedding, the crowds of London, and the cameras focusing on the balcony of the palace, waiting for the couple to come out and wave at the crowds and share their first public kiss.   I watched until I saw them leave on their honeymoon in a carriage that said "Just married".  The queen and the wedding guests all looked happy and relaxed.


This event was the start of my fascination with the royal family, not just present day, but also in the past.  I have many books about Diana including Di and Charles paper dolls. (I know you can get Kate and William dolls)



On Friday April 29th, I am getting up by 4 am (hopefully)  to watch the newest royal couple start their fairy tale.  I think once again I will be the only one up watching in my house, everyone else says we can PVR it.   I want to watch as it happens.  The one different thing is for this wedding, there is social media and we can connect instantly with others all over the world. 

I am going to be joining a  Royal wedding viewing party http://friendfeed.com/royal-wedding-viewing-party and everyone is invited to join us.  Information is available at (http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=219696528044844 join friendfeed.com and then join us at http://friendfeed.com/royal-wedding-viewing-party.

We are all having home parties of our own and will be viewing and talking together about our morning.  Some have grand plans and others like me will be watching in a house full of sleeping family members.  I am happy to be sharing these moments with my friends.

Please join us, check out the other Wedding Wednesday blogs ( listed at http://www.dragynally.com/) and see what they suggest or are planning for a royal viewing party.  Oh and did I mention there will be prizes????  All you have to do is join us, answer some trivia questions (hint read the blogs).

Happy Wedding Wednesday

Friday, April 1, 2011

Our Cabins 5022 and 5020 - family oceanview cat 8a


About 6 weeks before going on the cruise, after the dream had started sailing with passengers, I started to see photos of our cabin.

These photos created questions for me as I had thought that both cabins would sleep 4, have a slit bath and have a round tub shower with a rainfall shower head.  This was all based on what the DCL website said.
So I emailed my awesome TA at Mei Suzy.   She told me that our rooms slept 3 (crap), but we did have a split bath.  Now based on photos I had seen from another TA who slept in these cabins, I knew that wasn't true.

I have to say that I actually cried when I found out the rooms slept 3.  We have 4 kids, and none of them sleep well when they share a bed, we will do it for one night but for 4 nights that is too much and usually it ends up that my husband and I have to each sleep with one of the girls.   Our hope was to have the children in one room and us and the baby in another.  So this made us have to change this view.  Thankfully I had those weeks to deal with this (and some of you may think this is a small inconvenience, but when you have planned a trip for over a year and paid as much money as we did, plus we were celebrating our 10th year anniversary)

photo of our bathroom
 Now to the bathroom,  as you can see from the photo it was indeed not a split bath.  It took DCL almost the full 6 weeks to admit that the room only had a single bath.  Thanks to Suzy and Beci at MEI for all the work they did to get Disney to confirm this was true (the website has been changed, but I have the print out of the original wording).

We arrived into the room just after 1:30.  The layout of the room is side ways, so there are two large portholes.  The bed is in front of one.

The bed in 5022,  you can see the TV in front of it.



Taken from the porthole looking into the room.  The entrance to the room is to the left of the closet on the same wall.
 
 This layout creates a lot of space between the couch and bed area and the entrance/ closet.

5020 has a longer desk taking up almost the entire wall.

The bed in room 5020

So in the end we loved the layout.  Sarah and Meagan had one room and  Gillian, my husband and I and the baby slept in the other.  We had lots of space, we never had to fold up the stroller.  One morning we had 7 people and a pack n play in room 5020 and we didn't feel like we were jumping over each other.

Now the bathroom wasn't bad, there was only one day where Sarah was in the shower for one of her hour long showers and someone else was using the other bathroom and we had a bathroom emergency.

The one thing that is a little annoying is the key cards.  When you book two cabins with two adults and 4 children, you have to put an adult name in each room.  Thus hubby and I had keys to different rooms.  It gets a little frustrating when you know children are sleeping in one room and you have to walk by them to get to your room.  I could never remember what room I was registered in so when we signed for things, I am sure that I signed the wrong room.  For shutters we had 2 books with most of the same photos in them, such waste as in the past they would only make one copy.

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Small World Nursery

When I booked time in Small world Nursery for my 15 month old son, the plan was him to be there to play with toys and be around other kids.  My thought was that after being stuck in a stroller for a week at WDW he would want playtime.   I also only booked him for and hour at a time.   We were also travelling with 4 people who could watch him or push around the ship in his stroller.

The staff were  very friendly staff but one major flaw for us.  MY baby is use to being at the nursery at the gym.  However I always set him down in the room, give him a minute to settle and then say goodbye and let him play.    Here they took your child from you, passed him to a staff person on the other side of the gate and did not let you inside the nursery area.  

This may work for some children but it really didn't work for mine.  He never really settled, so the staff would assume he was tired and put him down to sleep.   So when we picked him up he was in a crib.  Not really the purpose of the nursery I had in mind.

By the end of the second day my poor son was so traumatized by the nursery that we only use 3 1/2 hours of our 10 hours we were allowed.  He was much happier with us.

I am not saying that the nursery wouldn't work for other parents, but it just didn't meet what I needed it for. 

Upon our return it took two weeks for me to get him back into the routine of not freaking out when I dropped him off at the nursery.  Thank fully he is now once again happy to go to the nursery at the gym.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Day 3 - Castaway Cay

Today was the day when the group photo was taken on Castaway Cay.  I personally didn't make it, as you know when you travel with 4 kids and your MIL, things just don't always go the way you would like them too.

You may recall that I was up until 3ish the night before and  the baby woke me up for the first time at 6am (at which point I may have still been drunk and I blame Lou).  So when I finally got out of bed at 8am  I was moving slowly,  MIL arrived shortly after that (I will have a blog later about my advice when travelling with your relatives, one will include the time you can arrive at my cabin).  We got everyone dressed,  Jeff and I went to have some breakfast at Cabanas while the kids ate breakfast in the room and watched TV.

Jeff and I agreed that on the beach he would stay with the girls and I would take care of the baby.  The last thing I did was put sunscreen on the 2 girls and the baby and we were off to the beach.

We decided not to bring the stroller as it would be impossible to push in the sand, so the baby was on my back in his Ergo.  The girls wanted to walk to the beach, so with my scavenger hunt in hand we were off walking.   Before we arrived at the beach,  the baby had fallen asleep.  I walked to the water and stood in it and then told my hubby that it was hard to walk on the sand and balance with the baby on my back, so I was going in search of scavenger hunt items.

 You can see Gillian and I standing neat mount Rustmore reading the sign.  the baby is sleeping on my back.
We had just talked to Minnie, and I made sure to tell her my friend Suz misses her.

 The girls made a sandcastle, using the sand buckets we purchased on the island.  (yet another thing I had to pack in our suitcases).

Just before lunch the girls got to dance with Minnie.  I am sad I missed this moment.

So while the others were on the beach, I walked around the island.  Right as I sat down to eat my lunch, the baby woke up and the two of us had a fabulous meal together.

Than we went back to the boat so he could have a nap and go play in the splash area.

I met back up with the family shortly before 2, as we wanted to ride the aquaduck.  Jeff took Ashley to the nursery ( and this was the last time we dropped him off as it traumatized him more in another blog post).

top of the stairway of the Aqua Duck
The aquaduck was fun I went down twice with my Meagan, and Jeff went down with her once.  I have to say that I loved this ride, it was so much fun and I am not a ride person.
Gillian and the others went to see Tangled at the theatre.  They loved the theatre.

I went to try out the rain forest at the spa and had a nap in the heated chairs (staying up late had taken it's tole on me).

Then it was time to get ready for Pirate night.   I mentioned earlier that I put sunscreen on my younger children, however it was around this time that I found out that Sarah didn't use any.  YIKES!!!!  You can imagine the colour of her skin after being out in the sun in a bikini for 5 hours.  Yep it was bad.  She went to the doctor to buy some cream to put on it.   I will tell you that travelling with a 16 year old teen with a burn that bad is not that much fun.

 It was also our first night at Royal Palace.






The pirate menu


 The meal was fabulous  I had the pot stickers (which I loved loved loved) and Jack Sparrow. 

We missed the pirate party as we could not find our navigator(our room hostess cleaned our room so well that she would put everything away).  We did make the fireworks and wow they were fabulous.


After the kids went to bed Jeff and I went to the district to hang out with the adults.   We started the evening at Pink where I had a very good glass of $20 champagne.  (I looked for it her back home and a bottle of it would cost me $300, so I have great taste in Champagne)  We then headed to 678.  There we met a guy not in our group and started chatting.  He honestly was wishing he was a part of our group.  The funniest thing was during this conversation that a man at the end of the bar suddenly looked up and said are you talking about the "Lou Mongello" group.  He then said his wife dragged him on the cruise as she was a Disney Nut.  Jeff was pleased to find another husband like him.  Now who was this man, none other than Andy.  :)

We ended the night at evolution.

As we went to bed that night, I was sad that we only had one more day on the cruise.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Feb 28 - Day 2 "the Lou Roast and an engagement"

 Note:  I forgot the most important thing of day one of the cruise.  When you board you get announced.  Well my daughter Gillian 9 and I along with the baby were a little behind the rest of our group, so we were asked who was boarding and Gillian said "Gillian".   The smile and excitement on her face as her name was announced over the mic as she walked on the dream is one of the moments she will never forget.


Day 2

I thought I would be smart and order room service for breakfast. I picked between 8 and 8:30 for it to arrive, however I guess everyone had the same idea as it didn't arrive until 8:40.  It was a crazy morning, I quickly realized that I was going to be rushed to arrived for the first group meet at 9am.  My fabulous husband decided that I could go to the meet and he would get the kids to their kids club and he would skip the meet.

The Meet was filled with moments.  It started with announcing winners of the Bingo and my new friend Collin won (brunch at Palo's)  The great thing for him was he didn't have a reservation at Palo.  Next were some trivia questions and a moment I will never forget.

The first two people were asked fairly easy questions,  the third Angela was asked who the nine old men were.  This of course was a much harder question.  Her boyfriend was brought on the stage to help her, of course she said (he doesn't know anything).  He was given the mic to answer the question.

He then proceeded to ask her to marry him.  I get tears in my eyes just thinking about the moment.   There was not a dry eye in the room.


Next was a surprise for Lou.

There were a few words from Beci, Deanna, Lou's brother Fred, a video from Glen and of course Tony and his photos.

I have to say I enjoyed every minute.
I enjoyed every minute and it was a great way to start the cruise.  This is also where we picked up the crazy crazy scavenger hunt, that I spent way too much time working on.  Including buying a beverage just to find out what was in it.   I did meet a whole bunch of great cast members who were enjoying trying to assists us as well.


Today we were at Nassau, but I never got off the ship, I did however take one photo to prove I was there

After the cruise meet, I met back up with my husband and we went off to pick up the baby and have lunch together.

The ship was so big, yet amazingly Sarah never had trouble finding us.  Sarah spent some time decorating out door.  She also designed the large magnet to help us celebrate our 10th anniversary.  We didn't place in the door decorating contest, but it sure made it easier to find our room.

 Today was the day that Sarah and I walked every deck to hand out our treats to fellow cruisers.  We also did the interactive detective game.  Afterwards Sarah and Meagan went off to ride the Aqua duck, while Ashley and I met Lilo.
 Dinner was at Enchanted Gardens.  It is hard to find if you don't take the midship elevators.  The doors to the area just blend into the hall.  I loved this restaurant.   This was the night that once the ship started moving again (even though it was very calm), that my poor Meagan got seasick.  She didn't eat dinner, and had to go back to the room before dinner was over.  After a little rest and some sea bands, she perked up and even went swimming with her dad.
 That night,  Jeff went to see Tron, while I went and joined myy new friends at evolution.  It was the first night that I was there until after close.  As you can see from the photos we all were having a great time.




 Photos were taken by "Sober Guy ", he knows who he is and at the time I didn't even know his name, but that is another story.  Thanks for the great photos for me.


Friday, March 18, 2011

Disney Dream here we come

For those of you who don't know, this part of the trip was a group cruise, with podcaster Lou Mongello and 500 of my closest Disney Friends.

We woke up looking forward to heading to the Dream, most of all hoping for some relaxation and some down time on the boat.

We packed up the car and were on the road by 9am.  We returned the rental car and headed to the cruiseline desk (of course we were on the wrong side).  MIL found this annoying too.  Once at the desk we checked in.  The person checking me in, gave me our bus tickets, MIL made sure we were on the same bus (though at this point I would have been happy to be on different buses - her room and reservations were separate from ours.)   I had to change the baby and as I came out I could tell we had been called by the nervous/anxious stance of my MIL.  We got into line and noticed that we were missing 3 tickets.  Of course.

After working with the CM she arrived with our tickets but there wasn't room for all of us on that bus.  I thought MIL was going to hit the roof.   Finally the CM rented us 2 towncars to go to the port in.  Best of all I had an hour without my MIL.  It was fabulous.

We arrived at the port got through security and met for the first time in line Cindy and Tim.  We had quite the production going through security with 4 kids, and they had left their 4 kids at home so we become Kindred Spirits.  We got checked in and received our boarding number 25 and sat to wait. 


We got on board shortly after 1:30 and our rooms were ready, so off we went to find our cabins. 





We went up to get some lunch.  Once seated at Cabanna's I ran to get my registration package and sign up for stateroom tours. 

I briefly met Lou, Beci and Annette and then rushed off to eat.

The food was fabulous.  I ordered the drink of the day as I needed a drink.

After lunch the girls went to swim (well stand in a spot in the pool as everyone else was standing in it as well),  then it was time for the muster drill.

Off we went to our location at the WD theatre.  Then back to our cabins to get ready for dinner and try to get the baby to nap a bit.

Our luggage arrived so we unpacked, got the baby to sleep a little (though he was over tired and it took some time.)   We missed the sail away party, but after a rushed day we needed to relax a bit.

Dinner was at animators palate, we had main dining.  I was excited to be in a room full of Disney fans, and I had my bingo sheet(a part of our group cruise) in  hand.  So I was off meeting people, getting squares filled in and enjoying making quick friends.   My drink server, was a little annoyed with me as I was never at the table when he wanted.   Once food started arriving I sat down and enjoyed the atomosphere.  

Now we had Palo reservations for 8:30, so I didn't want to fill up on anything, so I had an appetizer.   Sarah got sea sick before her meal arrived so she went back to the room to rest.   Dinner went quickly, there was so much going on Bruce, Crush and many other nemo fish swimming around. 

After dinner we took the girls to the kids club, settled the baby to sleep and headed off to Palo.

Palo was everything I dreamed of.  We had a fabulous meal and we both got the chocolate souffle.

and best of all the staff helped us celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary


After Palo, we picked up the girls from the kids club and put them to bed.  Once everyone was settled we headed out to the adult bars to meet up with people from the group.

That night we met Dana, Collin, Chip, Nolan and Shelley's mom (yes that is how she introduced herself).  We started in Pink and then made our way to Cityscape.  We had a great evening and were fast friends.

Finally at 12:30 we headed off to bed.

Friday, March 11, 2011

Feb 26th - Cinderella's Castle and more Kim Possible

Today was the day the girls were looking forward to.  Breakfast in the Castle.   This is an overpriced event, but it was the only place my girls asked to go.  So after booking and paying for this outrageous costing event, of course, Meagan's medicine hadn't kicked in yet.

Our reservations were for 8 am, so we got up and ready to leave by 7:15.  As you can guess Meagan was not a happy camper.  Jeff carried her into the car and we promised to push her in the stroller once on our way.  We arrived at the Magic Kingdom and waited in the reservations line.

Finally it was our turn.  Walking up main street with almost no one in the park.  I even got a photo of the castle with no one in front of it.
Inside the castle, while setting up my camera for the lighting, my battery died.  Sarah had her camera, but I don't have those photos uploaded yet.
So this morning is when my brain was not working.  They  brought the baby french toast sticks.  Now he is sensitive to  egg, it wasn't until his face turned red later in the day that I realized that there was egg in french toast.  I was just not thinking--of course neither was my hubby or teen in my defense.  Thankfully after a dose of antihistamines he was fine.

Breakfast was relaxing, we did not feel rushed and we had another fabulous castmember serving us.  Meagan started perking up once Ariel showed up, though she didn't eat anything. (a very expensive meeting with Ariel).  The kids got wishing stars, wands and when Gillian decided she would rather have a sword, the CM brought each of them a sword and the baby a wand, so they each had one of each.

After breakfast, we tried to catch the tangled gathering, but it was already filled and we would have had to wait in line for an hour for the next one.  We were second in line.  We watched the event, and for less than 5 minutes the kids dance with the characters and then line up for photos and autographs.  Not worth the hour wait, even the girls didn't want to wait.  So shopping was in our plans.  First I had a ride on Snow White with Sarah for the last time.  The Cast Members were told it would be closing in April -though they thought it might be April of 2012.  (only time will tell).   Gillian went on the Carousel with MIL then into some shops.  Then we all went to ride Carousel of Progress.  This was the rest that Meagan needed to start bouncing back.  Everyone enjoyed it.

Next Jeff, Sarah and Meagan used our super fast passes for space mountain, while the rest of us rode the people mover twice.

Then off to do some final shopping.  We bought lots of things and once again got a 20% discount.  The final thing we did in the Magic Kingdom was buy Mickey ears for the girls.  Then back to our room to have a snack, swim and pack up to be ready to leave for our cruise the next day.  Plus our stroller was being picked up between 2 and 3.

Meagan was feeling much better after swimming.
So we were packed and ready to head to our reservations for chef de france.  We had a fabulous waiter, who enjoyed that Sarah could speak french.  It was funny neither of them could think of how to say almond in french. 

We were seated at a window overlooking the street.  There were beautiful flower Almond trees in our view.  It was fabulous.  We were also lucky to see the last visit by "The Chef"  for the day.

We were off to Save the World again.  This time it was Japan and Germany.  We had to wait to sign in, so we decided to go ride spaceship earth.  The warning at the beginning about dark closed spaces, freaked out Gillian and I so we went to innoventions while the rest rode spaceship earth.  MIL was not impressed that we stopped in line and turned around to exit, but it is what happens when you take none ride people to any theme park.

In innoventions the girls all made paper (everyone met us there) and then we walked around world showcase to Italy to get our assignments.  

At this point the tension with MIL and family was huge.  Sarah went with Gillian and MIL to make sure that they didn't get lost, and Jeff , Meagan, baby and I went to Germany.  We had to insist on meeting at Italy at the lady and the tramp, as MIL felt this wasn't a good meeting place. (yet it was between Germany and Japan)

Meagan hit a wall in the middle of saving Germany.  She finished it, but Jeff had to carry her.   She had to make a stop at Rapunzel's tower to listen to her sing.

I met Sarah in Italy, who was also done.  Apparently MIL got lost and wouldn't listen to Sarah on the correct direction.  So all of us back together headed our of the parks for the last time.

We had asked MIL to have her suitcase ready to put in the car that night so we could pack it up, but when we got back to the villa, she went straight to her room and we didn't see her until morning.

I managed to get everything packed, but I was not planning on bringing home 7 beach towels, so it was fun getting everything packed away.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Feb 25 - Hollywood studios and more illneses

This was Friday, our  breakfast was booked for Hollywood and Vine.  I always like eating here as I love the atmosphere and the food.  Luckily I still have small children who love playhouse disney.  One thing I have learned is this place is not busy, in fact on this day there was about 20 tables at the most.  The kids got lots of interaction with the characters.

My 9 year old Gillian loved getting up and dancing with the characters during the song time.  Meagan however was very quiet (this should have been my first clue that she wasn't feeling the best)

We had already gotten our fast passes for Toy Story Mania and our return time was 3pm (yes at 9:30 in the morning).

The characters for this breakfast were Leo and June, Handy Manny and Oso.  Leo was so much fun.  He picked on our waitress.  They joked at the fact that his glasses had no lenses and that he wore contacts.  He was so funny.  As the restaurant wasn't busy the characters ended up playing a fake game of baseball at the entrance.  Well my girls both thought this was the best thing ever!!!!!!      I really enjoyed this morning.

The one thing I noticed at Hollywood Studios was I was asked for ID using my tables in Wonderland and making purchases using my Annual Pass to get the discount.  Something no one had asked me for all week.  Also it appears that many AP holders don't carry ID, because the Cast Members were grateful when I easily was able to present it.  Though I don't know why an adult wouldn't carry any ID (unless you are my MIL who left her license at home and had no ID when asked for it to make credit card purchases)  Again not going there.

So after breakfast we went to the Animation Academy.  Here they have a drawing workshop that runs every half hour.  They only take about 30 people a session, so it is advisable to arrive a 1/2 hour before to get in.   So while we waited, Gillian went to see Lotso bear.

When we got into the class, MIL wasn't going to draw because she felt she wasn't an artist.  I told her she was in the count and so she sat down and drew.   We did Buzz light year.  It was so much fun (though mine did not look a thing like buzz.  Gillian loved it most of all.  She wanted to do it again later.

Outside we went to look for another autograph book as the girls had filled up two already.  Then with baby sleeping I sent the family in to see voyage of the little mermaid.  I walked the streets of Hollywood studios.  I found out one thing.  Nowhere will they allow strollers inside at HS.  So I walked for an hour.  I returned and found Jeff and Meagan.  Meagan complained about being sick so Jeff took her out of the show. 

Next Jeff and Sarah went to do Tower of Terror and get fast passes for Rockin Roller Coaster.  The had been to go to the playground, but Gillian wanted to draw again.  So after much fuss (I really needed my cell phone) it was decided that my MIL(dragging her feet) and Gillian would go draw and Meagan, baby (still sleeping and I would go to the park).  Meagan lasted only 5 minutes at the park, and thankfully Jeff and Sarah appeared.   I sent Jeff with the baby and Meagan back to the animation building to find his mom, while Sarah and I went in search of a carrot cake cookie.

We made a stop in the Muppet store where I bought the most awesome winter hat.
The lady at the cash asked me if it wasn't too hot outside for the hat.  I giggled and said not at home in Canada (sadly I have yet to have a chance to wear it).

Finally I found the writers stop (which is not on the map, seriously Disney put it on the map.  I got my carrot cake cookie and man it was sooooo good.


We headed back to the animation  building and found Gillian and MIL waiting on a bench.  She was big on not moving so she wouldn't loose us.  Jeff missed her when he arrived.  Inside I found Meagan sleeping on a cushioned bench and Jeff chasing the baby around.  So Gillian and MIL (who was not happy about it) went to make another drawing, Jeff and Sarah went to ride Rockin Roller Coaster and I stayed with sleeping Meagan and active baby.

It was at this point I started thinking I should give up on Toy story Mania.  Meagan clearly wasn't well and at this point I was sure she had strep throat.  She was sleeping so I left her (I was told by CM that she was not the only one who has ever done this.)   Jeff returned, and then so did Gillian and MIL.  He decided I should do the only ride I have talked about for years and years.  So Sarah, Gillian and I headed to Toy story Mania with our fast passes.   The ride was fabulous. If Meagan wasn't so sick I would have gone again with our other 3 fast passes.  I decided to give two of them to someone and keep the third for my scrapbook.   I found a mother and daughter looking at the wait time and then after some discussion heading into the line for the 90 minute wait.  I offered her my fast passes and her eyes lit up and she hugged me.   It totally made my day and I understand why people make magical moments for perfect strangers.

Thankfully Meagan was still under the weight limit for our rented stroller and she fit in it.  So I carried the baby on my back in my ergo and we put the very sick Meagan in the stroller and headed for the car.  When we reached the car some people were talking to the CM if the entrance was close enough to walk or if they should take the tram.  The CM was saying it all depended on how much you want to walk.  I chimed in saying I had just walked there with the baby on my back so it was doable (plus you could see the entrance.  lol)

Anyway back at the villa, Jeff called our insurance company 20 minutes on hold.  Then he was off.  The nearby clinic was open but not taking patients, they sent him to one that was closed, so he headed to another one he saw earlier.  It was closed, but the guy at the store sent him to a pediatric clinic.  This is when I discovered he could call our phone in the villa , but I couldn't call him because his number wasn't local.  Frustrating.  He arrived back with Meagan around 8:30 and we headed our looking for a pharmacy.  we missed on by 5 minutes, so we were sent 8 miles away to a 24 hour one.  Finally at 10pm we arrived back at the villa with Medicine for poor little Meagan.

Beaches and Cream had been in our plans, but both of us were exhausted so we settled on Wendy's and went to bed.

Monday, March 7, 2011

Feb 24 - First Haircut, Walk in Clinics and Magical Moments

Jeff woke up this morning still not feeling up to par, but not willing to miss the baby's first hair cut at Harmony Barbershop.  So after calling our insurance to find out where to go we headed to the Magic Kingdom.

It was an extra Magic hours day.  We were let in since we had reservations.  It was only Jeff and Me and the baby, since we were headed to the clinic after the haircut.  We had about 20 minutes to wait so I went to the main street bakery for something sweet and some coffee.  I also had to get my photo with Roy and Minnie.

I walked up mainstreet trying to read all the windows.  Everyone else was running up the street.

At 9am the barbershop opened and it was time for the haircut.  Margaret was  the one to cut the babies hair.  The first thing she did was cover him in Mickey Mouse Stickers.

Then she cut off the hair to save for us, and then styled his hair.
He was so good and in the end had a perfect cut.


Next we headed to the clinic.  Of course the paperwork the insurance company didn't arrive, so we had to pay for the visit.  While Jeff was waiting I took a walk around the nearby Walmart while the baby slept on my back in the ergo.  Finally just before noon Jeff still hadn't been seen so I left him there and took the baby back to the villa for lunch and a nap.  This is when things between the MIL and I started to go bad. 

Having a 16yr old daughter I am use to asking her to do things for me, so I asked her to put him down for a nap after he finished the lunch I prepared for him.  I also made sure to give the girls lunch as well.  Plus my MIL was mad at the fact I left her son at the clinic.  Seriously he is 35 years old and we have 4 children. 

So I headed back and when I returned he was done and was diagnosed with Strep.  (Great, especially since I kiss the guy)   After another 20 minutes at the pharmacy in Walmart we were on our way back to our villa.  

Jeff took a nap with the baby, while  I took the girls swimming.  Now as a former lifeguard I have strict rules around a pool.  I do not let my girls in the deep end (even though they can pass a swimming test to be there )  without me, Jeff or a lifeguard there.  My MIL was quite upset by this, but honestly I have never seen this women swim in my life so I have no idea if she could actually help my child.  So this too became a point of tension on this trip.

Jeff arrived with the baby after sleeping an hour and the baby swam as well.  Before we knew it, it was time to get cleaned up and dressed for Chef Mickey. 

We drove to the contemporary, parked and headed inside, early for our reservation.  While the girls, baby and MIL shopped in the shops, Sarah and I ran over to the park to use our super fast passes so we would be able to ride certain rides after dinner.

We arrived back in time to see the space shuttle launch.  Of course if you were looking in the wrong spot or you blinked you would have missed it.  For my friends who have never seen a launch, it is like a yellow line going straight up into the sky.  Because of the cloud that is all we could see, so we watched the rest on the TV.  Then it was time for our dinner.

Our server Thomas was fabulous.  (we were so lucky this trip to have CM who just went above and beyond).  I decided that at this dinner we would celebrate all the kids birthdays.  They all got their birthday buttons and got to blow out candles on cupcakes.

After dining we drove to the MK and as we entered the park it was 5 minutes from the start of the Main Street Electrical Parade and there was a spot right on the curb in front of the train station.  Fabulous timing for us.  The baby and the girls loved the parade.

Next we followed the parade up to the hub and headed into fantasyland.  Where we rode Peter pan and small world and watched the fire works, not the best spot but we saw them.

 After the fireworks,  Jeff, Sarah and Meagan went to ride space mountain while Gillian, MIL , baby and I went on Winnie the pooh.  We met up in tomorrowland and went on buzzz lightyear.  Then Jeff, Sarah and Meagan went on Space mountain, while the rest of us went on the people mover twice.

On our way out a lady approached us and handed us three super fastpasses for any ride.  Clearly they had been stuck on something.  They could be used anytime on any ride until Monday.  Our Magical moment.  :)

Then it was time to head back to our villa.  Everyone was tired but it was a fabulous evening.