Mom's Disney Fix - Day One

Thursday, June 27

Cast of Characters
Ellen – Mom to Ben and Trip Planner
Ben - Friend to just about everyone (6 going on at least 16)
Mallary – Ellen’s cousin, partner in crime and “mountain mama”

Bright and early I got up and called my cousin all the way in Houston to make sure that she was up and wouldn’t miss her car to the airport. I did my best to imitate Mickey’s wake-up call but I can assure you all that after 4 hours of sleep, it was not a very good imitation. However, it did manage to get us starting the day off with a good laugh.

Next it was time to wake up Ben and surprise him. On the way to school the morning before (his last day of first grade) he announced that we should go to Hawaii to look for Stitch (he’s convinced that Stitch lives in Hawaii with Lilo, etc.) When I told him that I needed him to get to bed early, he caught on pretty quickly: “Does this mean that you’re going to wake me up in the middle of the night for us to go to Hawaii?” I was pretty worried that he would be upset that we were going to WDW and not Hawaii (Ben has the personality of Donald Duck… he’s either charming or sputtering). I had made him a card from Mickey but he was much too tired to read it, so I read it to him. It was pretty funny watching his face and seeing him trying to wrap his mind around the fact that we were going to Disney World! The first thing he could say was “We can’t be going… we’re going in December.” But when I answered that we were going both times, he bounded out of bed with a huge smile on his face! We actually were ready for the car service 5 minutes before it arrived!

The ride to the airport was totally uneventful and we got there before 6:30 for our 8:00 flight. We sailed through security though they did “wand” Ben. He told everyone who would listen that we were going to Disney. He didn’t want breakfast from “Starbuckets” and settled a bag of Teddy Grahams. We finally boarded, and the combination of getting up early and a Children’s Benadryl put him to sleep for almost the entire flight. For the first time (a lot of firsts on this trip), I even managed to sleep on a plane (Lord knows I needed it after putting in a few intense days of work). We arrived early in Orlando and Omar from Ibex was waiting for us downstairs. Ben was thrilled to see his old friend and after arranging where to meet my cousin (whose Southwest flight arrived a few minutes after our Delta flight), Ben went off with Omar to get the car. Soon we were on our way, and arrived at Old Key West after a quick grocery stop (can someone please explain to me why you can’t buy Florida oranges in Florida?).

Travel Tip #1: Buy your children "Ear Planes"... they really do work (I used the adult version and they really relieve ear discomfort).
Travel Tip #2: Buy two sets of Ear Planes for every child in your party (Ben dropped one while putting them back into the holder once we landed and we couldn't find it again... on the way home he suffered needlessly).

Our room was ready when we arrived and they put us in Building 14, right across the street from the Hospitality House. This was our first trip “home” and our first visit to Old Key West. I must say unequivocally that everything was wonderful. We loved the resort. I wish I could find an apartment complex as nice as OKW in the New York area. Our room (a studio) was tucked into a corner on the first floor, and our porch had a view of the golf course and a little lake (okay, so it was a water trap, but to us non-golfers it was a little lake). We inspected our little home, unpacked, settled in, and had a few homemade cookies that Mallary brought from Texas.

Soon we were off to MGM Studios to activate our annual passes. Mallary and I had already agreed that we weren’t going to do an assault on the parks, but rather take it easy, stop and smell the roses (so to speak) and just enjoy. So our visit to MGM was very laid back. Ben’s favorite ride there is Star Tours so off they went (after smacking my spine on the seat my first time on the ride, I’ve been pretty hesitant about riding it again) to ride it. I strolled over to see B.B. Good at Radio Disney (we listen to RD whenever we’re in the car) and then went to wait for our Jedis in the air conditioning. They have a photo imaging system set up they have where they can put you in a Star Wars movie poster. After watching the CMs do it a few times, I decided that it was something that I would like to do with Ben (he comes from a long line of Star Wars junkies). He looked adorable as a pod racer, so I broke out the $30 to get the picture (personally I thought the price was very high, and that if they lowered it, they would sell a lot more). He refused to go to see Muppets 3D and once again insisted that there was a scary apple pie in it (when we went to see it 2 years ago he was terrified of the non-existent pie). :rolleyes: Earlier this year he told me that he would want to see it, but somehow forgot about that! What a kid! [img]graemlins/shakehead.gif[/img] As we were walking around trying to decide where to eat, Mallary realized that Ben’s baseball cap was missing so she kindly went to fetch it. It took a few minutes but she was triumphant.

By then, we were all pretty hungry and finally settled on the Backlot Express for our favorite: WDW chicken strips! [img]graemlins/tasty.gif[/img] Who knows who makes these? They are definitely the best chicken strips I’ve ever had. While sitting there I realized that Ben’s pin lanyard was missing... Of course, it had been put in the mesh basket along with his hat. We can only guess that when the CM pulled the hat out of the basket, he didn’t see the lanyard (or it was already gone by then). I went back this time to try to retrieve it but wasn’t really sure what module they had been in or where they were sitting, so Mallary had to go back. No luck this time around and Ben’s lanyard and some special NYC pins (NYPD Mickey and FDNY Mickey) were lost forever. After lunch we all went to see B.B. Good and Ben “moved to the groove” outside the RD studio.

One of my “must do’s” this trip was to see “One Man’s Dream”. We all really enjoyed it though the crankies were beginning to kick in. A constant this trip was trying to get my little Donald Duck to be patient enough to wait for shows to begin — does this happen to anyone else and is it something he will outgrow (please say he’ll outgrow it)? We all ended up enjoying the artifacts and the movie (Ben’s current career goal is to be an animator — last year he wanted to be a scuba diver [so he could get lobster]). After One Man’s Dream, we headed over to the Animation Courtyard where I discretely looked for Stitch who was no where to be found. We meandered over to the main drag and I found the store where they will embroider lanyards, shirts, towels, hats, etc. I thought that maybe someone would be less likely to walk off with a lanyard that had a name embroidered on it (he did have a name pin on the other lanyard). Since the wait was going to be ½ hour, we headed over to see what a small crowd was looking at. It was a “show” with three janitors throwing some plungers at a board. (Sorry for the lack of eloquence on my part.) They were telling lots of corny jokes but it was definitely enjoyable. I saw an empty bench in the shade and headed on over for a rest. After more than ½ hour, we went over to pick up the lanyard which still hadn’t been started. But a very sweet CM took charge, and soon it was in the embroidery machine. We told her what had happened to his other lanyard and some of the pins we had lost. She walked Ben over to the store’s pin rack and picked out two for him. I was so touched by her act that after visiting the Lost and Found (no luck), we went over to Guest Services to commend her.

Soon we were on our way back to the bus stop where Ben made friends with a girl around 2 years older than him (he likes older women). She wanted to keep him as her little brother. The offer was a little tempting after the apple pie incident, but I decided to keep him anyway. ;)

We rested up some and under the threat of rain took the launch to Downtown Disney where we visited the Lego store (another first) and then the World of Disney where I made my personal attempt to keep Disney financially solvent. We had planned on eating at Wolfgang Puck Express and then having dessert at Ghiradelli’s, but decided that we weren’t going to wait on line for ice cream longer than we would for a ride. We caught the launch back to OKW (and finally found the source of the “dancing” search lights you see at night); Rufus was our captain both ways and was a lot of fun (the other captain seemed to have had a personality-octomy if you know what I mean). We ended up having dinner at the Gurgling Suitcase and then settled in for the night.

All in all, I’d give the day an “A”. Exhausted, I fell asleep with a smile on my face.

[ July 01, 2002, 10:51 PM: Message edited by: ElenitaB ]

Sounds like a fantastic beginning, Ellen! [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img] That's a shame about Ben's lanyard, but it sounds like that super CM made up for it! [img]smile.gif[/img] Great report - can't wait to read more!

Sounds like a mixture of good and bad to start your trip. That is too bad about the lanyard but I love the Disney magic that their CMs have. [img]graemlins/muscles.gif[/img] That was sweet that she got him 2 new pins.
As for the waiting impatiently, I too hope that gets better. My 5 year old grandson hates to wait at all. "How much longer" or "I do not want to ride that ride, the wait is at least a hundred years" [img]graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]

Welcome back Ellen!! It's too bad we didn't catch up with each other on Thursday. It sounds like you had a great day tho.

As for out-growing the restless waiting phase- I can happily report that by kids enjoyed the preshows and waiting areas much more this year. We even did Muppets twice because Nicholas wanted to see the preshow again!

Now, at the other end of the spectrum was my Dad, who despises waiting more than anyone I know. Maybe they just grow back into it at a later age?

Despite some glitches, it sounds as though your first day was a good one!

Welcome back Ellen! Sounds like your first day was definitely a success. Too bad about the whole Muppets incident, and losing the lanyard, but that CM was so nice to give you a couple pins. [img]smile.gif[/img] Looking forward for day 2! [img]graemlins/mickey.gif[/img]

Welcome back, Ellen. [img]graemlins/muscles.gif[/img]

Kudos to the pin CM. Love that "magic". I laughed out loud at your Donald Duck reference. I have one that sputters too. [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]

I've yet to have an ice cream at Ghiradelli’s. The lines are always soooooooooo looooooooong. Great day. Looking forward to more. --- [img]smile.gif[/img]

Ellen, your first day sounds great! That must have been cool for been to find out he was going to Disney World twice in the same year! [img]graemlins/muscles.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/muscles.gif[/img] On to Day 2 ;)

Sounds like a nice first day! Sorry to hear about Ben's lanyard...

[img]smile.gif[/img] Sounds like fun!! I can't wait only 23 more days for me!!

What are "ear planes"? Where can I buy them? My dd, 5, will be flying for the first time and maybe I should get her some.

thanks :D

Thanks for the kind words, guys!

Lilo2, welcome to Intercot! [img]graemlins/clappy.gif[/img]

To answer your question, "Ear Planes" are a flanged ear plug that equalizes cabin and inner ear pressure. They work very well and produce no discomfort. In fact, they help to eliminate some of the cabin noise (and that engine drone). You can get them at RiteAid (I know they have them on drugstore.com, which is RiteAid's site).

Make sure to write some trip reports when you get back!

Too bad about the lanyard..........don't you wish you could staple the stuff onto the kids ;)

Absolutely get the Ear Planes. The twins flew for the first time last week and we had NO problems at all. Plug them in when you take off and take them out when you land. The only downside is that they can't listen to the headphones on the plane.

Ear Planes are a must for anyone flying with kids.