Spring Fling April 20-29, 2007 Day 2

[Mickey'sGirl]

Me: Jennifer (Galactic Hero -- 37yr old in a 60yr old body with a 12yr old approach!)
DH: Brian (39) – my partner in crime for 14 married years (on Apr 17) and numerous WDW adventures!
DS8: Harry – seasoned WDW veteran, lover of the shooting gallery and arcades – usually patient and accommodating older sibling.
DS3: Euan – knows his way around the parks – fan of Splash, Test Track, TTA and Spaceship Earth. “If he’s not running; he’s asleep!”

Day 2 – Saturday, April 21, 2007

Stitch called at 6 to get me going….we had a date with Aerosmith. Brian went off to the food court to get some breakfast munchies (Beignet’s for me!!) I got the kids up just after 7, cleaned them up, jammed some food into them and we were on our way over to MGM by about 7:45. We wanted to take advantage of the EMH. Unfortunately, there was a problem with Harry’s Annual Pass that we had to rectify over at Guest Services before he could go in (the expiry date was wrong) … that took no time and we were on our way! We headed straight for Sunset Boulevard (along with EVERYONE else) and the kids immediately started asking for ….. We got over to RnR and it was walk on – So Harry and I rode while Brian consoled Euan (who also wanted to ride, but at 42” he has some growing to do!) – then Brian and Harry rode, while I bought Euan a …. When Harry’s sufficiency had been suffancified, we went over to check on the stand-by wait time for the Tower of Terror. Now, here’s the background. Euan has been 40” tall since he was 2 ½, and he has been clamoring to ride TofT and Dinosaur ever since….. We have let him ride Splash and Soarin’ and Test Track since he hit the mark, but the Mommy instinct in me says “TofT and Dinosaur are pretty extreme”. That translates to Euan doesn’t ride them. Well, since he had been soooooo upset over not riding RnR -- I let Brian and Harry talk me into letting Euan ride – and we went on as a family. I was a bit panicked, but we were seated in an elevator with another family who had a first time rider (but she was 6!) – and that Mom said “Let him ride it once.” …. So I did. You should have seen the grin on his face the WHOLE time! He LOVED it and when it stopped he said “Fun Mom! We ride it again!” … That was rather a relief! Unfortunately we were in the back row – so the picture did not capture the moment for us…..another time perhaps.

We still had some time to kill before we left to go to MK for lunch at Tony’s. We decided to go and see about riding the Great Movie Ride – but the line up there was ridiculously long – and Harry suggested to his brother “Wanna ride Star Wars Euan” … Star Tours is another ride I managed to keep Euan off in the past – but there was no stopping him now…and over to Star Tours we trekked. Another successful venture for my daring offspring – and we only spent a little bit of money at Tatooine Traders before heading to the car to go for lunch.

We ended up with a pretty decent parking spot at MK – I convinced the parking attendant to let us go forward to look “We like to walk over – so I would really appreciate it!” Flash pearly whites. We took the resort monorail around to the main gates and I bought multi-day stroller rentals for Euan ($56). Brian took the kids through the no bags entrance, while I did the security thing. I have it down to a fine art – and we were walking past the huge stroller line under the archway in mere moments! We parked the cart and went inside to check in at Tony’s. We were early, so we went back to Exposition Hall to see what we could see….. There were great cut outs of Steamboat Willie (My favourite!) and Pete (Euan’s favourite), a Toy Story rocket, 101 Dalmations and Snow White to pose with – and Steamboat Willie was showing on the screen. What a great place to hang out in! It was time for lunch, so we went back, got seated and ordered some food from our server with laryngitis. Brian had spaghetti and meatballs and I had the baked ziti. The food isn’t fabulous, but it was tasty and enjoyable….and the kids love the restaurant. I could sit and look at the framed cells for hours. We finished up and were on our way.

Euan wanted to ride Buzz, so he and I did, whilst Brian and Harry did the Space Mountain thing, then we rode the trusty old TTA. We looped back around and the kids rode the Carrousel with Brian and then we all went to see Mickey’s Philharmagic – what a terrific show! The Fast Passes for Peter Pan were at 5:00, so we bypassed it for now and went on It’s a Small World. Harry wanted to go back for a swim, so we went on the Haunted Mansion and then Pirates (30 minute wait!) before heading back to POFQ for a rest and a swim.

We went into the shop to get Harry some new goggles before going over to the pool – and he was asked a series of Trivia questions by the CM. He was given a Certificate of Excellence for answering them all correctly! That made him quite proud. The pool at the French Quarter is great – and the kids love the slide. So after a nice long swim, we went back to the room so that Euan could hopefully nap a bit before our ‘Ohana dinner reservation. He did, so Brian and Harry went back to the arcade for a bit. We got cleaned up and dressed for dinner.

We drove over to the Poly and used our DDE for free valet parking (gotta love it!). The attendant was from Germany, so she and Brian chatted for a bit – then it was inside. What a madhouse! The place was jam full of waiting families, and after giving Brian our buzzer, they ran out of them! We took turns entertaining the kids, and were finally called to be seated about 30 minutes later. Unfortunately, Euan was past it by this time, and meltdown occurred. Brian and I hadn’t even sat in our seats (Harry had – he likes to sit down!) when I decided we could not stay for dinner. Brian told the server (who was ticked off about it – though the family at the next table seemed quite pleased with our decision!) and we went back down to the valet to retrieve our car. The CM raised her eyebrows, but said nothing but Aloha! Harry was really upset – and embarrassed by the whole event. He loves ‘Ohana – but he agreed with our decision and was placated with a promise for a trip to the Arcade and his choice for dinner. We ended up at the French Quarter in the food court – Harry had a Ham sub, I had a chicken wrap, Brian had a Philly Steak sandwich, and Euan had chicken fingers….and our DDE discount applied! The food was very good, and seemed to calm the savage beast some. We decided that we could sleep in a bit the next day. We had lunch ressies at the Garden Grill, and the Intercot meet to look forward to in the evening.

[poeticeclipse]

So sorry that you couldn't stay for your ADR at 'Ohana. Maybe next time things will go more smoothly!

[pogo]

Wow..... a full day two.

Brian does like the Cheesesteaks at POFQ. He introduced me to them on our last day.

Poor Euan got so tired. I'm sorry you had to change plans. You are a very good Mommy !

[offwego]

A very full day (a little too full for your little guy).

Glad your having a good time for the most part. Hopefully you'll have squeezed Ohana's in later.

[faline]

Sorry your little guy had a hard time at O'Hana! He'd certainly had an exciting day with all his new firsts on rides!

[disneydrmr]

Hmmm... you mentioned riding Buzz.. but did not mention whether you achieved your Galactic Hero status again.... sooooo??????

Sorry you weren't able to keep the ADR at 'Ohana. But all in all sounds like a fun day!

[KylesMom]

What a thrilling morning for the boys (and YOU)! We're eating at Tony's for the first time, so I'm glad that you enjoyed the lunch & the atmosphere. Although the lines were a bit more than anticipated, it sounds like you were able to find some fun at MK!

I'm sorry to hear of your experience at Ohana, Jenn. I remember you had an "off" meal like we did last visit, and was hoping you'd make up for it this trip. I must admit, several of our experiences have been marred by the over-the-top wait times. I hope you were able to make it back in the course of your stay! Looking forward to reading Day 3!

[sleepingbooty]

I feel your pain with the meltdown - I too have a 3 yr old! Hope you make it back to Ohana soon

[January-2007]

You did so much in the morning, I'm impressed your little one made it that far at least! Too bad about the missed dinner, but it's only day 2. Thanks for sharing your trip with us, it's so much fun to read!

[DizNee143]

sounds like a pretty good day...you guys did alot...sorry you didnt get to stay for dinner at ohana...maybe next time!!

[Dsnygirl]

Thanks so much for sharing such a fun, detailed report! sounds like you guys had a great day, even with missing 'Ohana. Kudos to you for knowing what Euan could handle and walking away - too many don't and everyone suffers, esp. the poor tired little one! Glad to hear things settled down a bit after - and give Euan a big "high-five" for riding all those rides for the first time!

[HndrdPrcnt]

Jenn -

So sorry to hear about the meltdown at O'Hana. What a bummer! But, other than that, it sounds like it was a great day! Be sure to congratulate Euan for me for taking on ToT and Star Tours! Good for him!!

[pdrlkr]

Thanks for the report!

[BrerGnat]

Sounds like a fun but long day! Poor Euan...I don't blame him. I'd be upset if I had to wait 30 minutes past my ADR time too.

Your dinner story is more evidence for the "do NOT buy the Dining Plan when you are traveling with toddlers" side of my subconscious that is trying to plan our first family trip for next year. (Our two boys will be 4 and 2).

Gonna go read some more! I love your repors.

[mrsgaribaldi]

Congratulations on all the new rides. Sorry about the dinner. Sounds like a great day all in all. Thanks for sharing

[DizneyFreak2002]

Thanks for sharing your report.

[ElenitaB]

I'm tired and I'm only reading your report! Poor Euan... a long day and a long wait for dinner.

P.S. A 3 year old has now ridden ToT and I've yet to...

[marlyn]

Poor Euan...too bad about the raised eyebrows from the CM about you not staying. Would they arther you stay with a child having a meltdown? I agree....best to leave and do something a bit less stimulating. Food court sounds like just what you needed.