Girls Night Out

Just an aside here, but I remember a "girls night out" at MK while Ken and I stayed back at the resort with Keegan. (:

Day 4, 12-24-2008, part 1

Christmas Eve day started out early. We had an 8am ADR for Crystal Palace. Breakfast place of Pooh and Friends. Making the reservation 6 months prior we had NO idea how Keegan would do with the characters...however, with his reaction on a previous day at DHS, I suspected he'd LOVE them.

Anywho! It was an early morning. We had 5 adults to get ready and one baby to get ready. And we had to be on a bus to MK by 7:30 at the very latest. I'm pretty sure that was accomplished. However, I was slightly worried when they let us through the gate and into a LINE for those with ADR's as it was about 5 mintues to 8. But, alas, we did not wait long and were soon passing under the train station (just missing the MK welcome ceremony). It was a gorgeous day. There is NOTHING like walking down Main Street with virtually no one else there.

We arrived at Crystal Palace and I managed to wade through everyone else that had early ADR's and checked us in. However, as it would turn out, I checked us in under the wrong party name (I couldn't remember if the reservation was under my name or my mom's. And I think I gave her my mom's first name with my married last name.). Something that wouldn't be caught until the watiress was preparing our check later. *shrugs* Guess that means next time, I need to write it down in the future. :P

Anyway. I'm getting off track. We had to wait probably 10 minutes until our name was called. I know pictures were taken at this time of the castle and the calmness before the chaos of everyone else being let in.

He was so anxious. And I believe there were ducks on the other side of the fence that he was watching. :D

And my sister took this one. I love the way everything in reflected in the very still water. So gorgeous!

After about ten mintues we were called and led in to our table. I didn't care for our table location really. But beggars can't be choosers. The waitress took our drink orders and we were off to the buffet to fill our plates before the characters started coming around.

It was really amazing to watch Keegan as the characters began their journey around the restaurant. I wish I had gotten a picture or two of his quizzical, yet delighted face. Before I go much further in story-telling, I must add that the Character Handler came to our table well in advance of Pooh stopping by to ask how Keegan would do with them. We told her we weren't sure, that he had met Pluto a couple days prior but wouldn't get right next to him. So she said they'd just take it slow in interaction with Keegan. She was wonderful.

 First to the table was Pooh. Sadly, we didn't get more than a minute with him and this is the best shot I have of Keegan and my mom with Pooh. He wasn't such a great interaction character compared the other 3.

We sat down to eat some more and watied for another character. Keegan was just sooooooo excited now and ready for another character. Who should come by next but old Eeyore.

He was just in LOVE with Eeyore. And as Eeyore left for the next table he so badly wanted to go with him. I don't remember if it was before Eeyore came to our table or after, but he tried to grab his tail. Missed that photo op. And then next up was Piglet. This was the most precious of the interactions because of the way he put hjis hands on either side of Piglets face to give Piglet a kiss. We're pretty sure the cast memeber in the costume was a girl because of the way "she" interacted back.

We were given our bill to settle and waited and waited and waited for Tigger. But Keegan was getting restless so we decided to go ahead and leave. But my mom took Keegan over to wave good-bye to Tigger, not to interrupt the other tables mind you. Well, the handler (who can be seen in the background of the second Piglet picture) was so impressed with how Keegan interacted with the other Characters that SHE pulled Tigger away so Keegan could actually give Tigger a kiss and love before we left. How's that for Disney Magic?

Once we said good-bye to Tigger, we headed to Fantasyland. There were a couple rides that my mom wanted to ride with Keegan for the first time...Dumbo and Winnie the Pooh.

And since this entry is already soooooo long, I'll leave it here for tonight and continue with the rest of our day Friday.

Day 3...12-23-08

Day 3 found us venturing to Epcot...all 6 of us since Ashley made it in safely the night before.

The morning started out pretty...laid back. Keegan decided he'd like to watch cartoons while we were getting dressed. :D

I'm not sure what time we got out of the room...but I have in my notes that we made it to Epcot for Rope Drop. Crazy, I know.

 The picture below is one my all time favourites!

We ended up getting a locker for coats because the stoarge under the stroller wasn't big enough for everything. After that, we headed over to Test Track. Now, this is where communication would have been key for all of us. We needed to use baby swap...and I was pretty sure that all we had to do was walk up to the FP entrance and tell them that, get the BS pass for those staying off with the baby and the rest of the crew went on to ride. Well, the CM (who I am blaming for part of the mini drama to follow) told us that the people riding the ride now needed to be in line. Well, they were. Mom, dad, and Ash were going for the 1st round on TT, and Ken and I were staying out with the baby. And we kept telling him that. But he seemed to be too into organizing the timer lanyards (you know the ones, with the red car attached that ya hand to the CM at the start of the line when you get there?) than to pay attention to where the other people in our party were. Heck, they were practically IN THE BUIDLING before he gave us the baby swap pass. Mom had a mini-melt down in line...but once they had ridden, she was over it and Ken, Ash, and I got our go around on TT. After we got off, we all shopped a bit while waiting for World Showcase to open. Our first purchase here was a passport for Keegan. Yeah, he was too young to have it filled out for himself, but it's fun to have that as a souvie (not to mention he plays with it all the time now).

Our first stop in World Showcase was Canada. Normally, we would have gone left, into Mexico. But this time we decided to change it up and head right. Mostly because going right got us to France faster. For what? Oh, you'll see.  :D

I love how blue the sky in this picture is. The camera I had at the time took crappy pictures for the most part...so to get this one was awesome! Anywho! We played around in Canada for a bit...

In the first picture, my mom is on the other side of the phone booth, my sister is inside the phone booth, and you can see me taking the picture of the two of them. You can also see my husband on the right. Now, the second picture. How do I begin to explain it? My mom works in a high school library. And she's got a student whose like another daughter to her. Well, they happen to have an imaginary giraffe...named Fred. And he was sent with us on this trip. So, we had to make sure he got into some of the pictures. There are more to follow...trust me. He was an onrey giraffe.

After leaving Canada, we stopped for a bathroom break in the UK. As well as a little sight seeing and shopping. We pretty much just strolled our way around World Showcase (with my husband in charge of finding the KidCot stations for the passport). Finally though, we hit the international gateway...and thus knew we were just steps away from the glorious Grand Marnier  & Grey Goose Slushies!

My parents watch Samantha Brown specials...but are particualry fond of her Disney Specials. Upon seeing one episode about 6 months before this trip, my mom put "having a grand marnier slushie" on her top 5 list of things to do while we were there. lol :D She enjoyed it! After getting slushie's it was time for a smoke break (for my sister) so we found the smoking area in the France pavillion and hung out. Well, one of us slept. :D

After our break in France, we pretty much strolled around World Showcase and enjoyed ourselves.

Another great picture from my not so great camera. lol

I think my sister is texting her boyfriend...and my mom is most likely saying "Just take the picture already!" :D

More Fred craziness! He wanted to try on a fez, but I snapped the picture before he had a chance to put it on. Then he wanted to take a bath or play in the fountain...so mom is pulling him out.

This is the best family picutre we have of all of us. (Finally, you can see me, the girl behind all the photos! lol) And Keegan was still crashed out in the stroller.

We hit up Japan, where my "money" shot was ruined by this family. And found a hidden Mickey! I also got to pick a pearl (7mm and a green-white color, very pretty). Which I didn't get set into anything...it's in my jewlery box...possibly waiting for another pair for earrings maybe.

I have pictures of the others "worlds" we meandered through...but this post is already overloaded with pictures. I believe we had lunch in the American pavillion. And then just perused our way out of World Showcase through the rest of the pavillions.

We meandered our way out of the world. And I'm sure we stopped for shopping in Mouse Gears.

We headed back to the resort, did a little laundry, had a bite to eat and then headed to DTD for the evening. Not many pictures from that aside from my son being awake one minute when I looked back at him in between my mom and sister and crashed out sleeping the next. :D

Up next...Christmas Eve...character breakfast...did my son enjoy the characters...and how did our day go?

Chapter 2, afternoon

When last I left you, we were spending a few hours at the resort in hopes of a nap for the youngest. I don't believe that happend (ever to be honest). So after a bit, we decided to head to Epcot and do a few things.

I don't remember what the crowds were like this day...as I've waited too long to actually write this TR (I'll do a better job next time, I promise). Anywho! We headed over to the Land Pavillion and rode Living with the Land. Where my son decided he was tired and promptly fell asleep on my moms shoulder. Silly kids. :D

 

After we took our ride and learned about Living with the Land, we headed over to every kids favourite ride...the Seas with Nemo and Friends. Now, let me preface this by saying the last time my parents and I rode this was before the refurb and addition of Nemo. So this was a new experiece for us. Keegan rode with my parents and I think he liked it...but I can't remember for sure. :D The best part for all of us was watching Keegan explore the aquariums after our ride. It was truly priceless!

When we were done exploring the seas, we headed into Innoventions. Now, the last time we saw it, I remember there being soooooo much more.This time...it didn't hold my interest as much. Sad I know. However, to a 14 month old, there's nothing better than being able to run around and follow the sparkly "road".

Or play in the house near the Fire demo place (I know, I'm so technical with my terms, lol).

In my notes, I have that we sat and had some ice cream and shopped in Mouse Gears (LOVE this store) before heading back to the hotel to veg and wait for my sister to arrive.

I believe she was scheduled to land around 8:45-ish. And remember our debacle of having not gotten her ME stuff before we left? You remember...I had to ask the DME agent upon our arrival to add her in as arriving the next evening...which she did. And she assured me all she had to have was her ID. Well, my sister gets down to DME and they can't find her name under our reservation. Really? She called, understandably upset and said that we'd checked her in the day before or that she wasn't on our reservation..I can't remember which excuse they gave. Ummm...no. We didn't and if you'll check with the hotel, she is under our reservation. I was just about to call the hotel front deck and ask for help when they FINALLY said (after calling the hotel directly "Oh...yeah. She is on the reservation. Sorry about that."

So, by 10pm that evening she was there. We were happy. And discussing our plans for the next day before resting our heads upon pillows to sleep.

I should add here that this would be the second (and I believe last) night my parents let Keegan sleep with them. After tonight we ended up moving the ottoman into their room (we had a family suite, remember?) DH slept on the pull out loveseat and Keegan and I slept on the pull out couch. Little bugger...refused to sleep in the pack-n play we had brought to the room the first night. >_<

Alright. That does it for day two.

What's up next? What park to we venture into as a family of 6 for the first time this trip? Well, you'll just have to stay tuned to find out. :D

Chapter 2- 12-22-08

Guess I should have mentioned the dates we took this trip, lol. May help out a little in writing this TR. :D

Departure day to Orlando was 12-21-2008. Return to Denver day was 12-27-2008. Might also mention that when writing this TR on my other blog, I had only gotten as far as arrival day...so from here on out this TR could be interesting in my fact remembering skills (though I did keep notes each day we were there and can go off of that).

Anywho. On we go!

Day 2 for us would be Day 1 for my sister who was set to arrive later in the evening. So, rather than sit around in the resort all day and wait for her, we headed to DHS bright and early...(my notes say we got there around 8:20). My son so wasn't happy to have the following picture taken...but, as was suggested by my uncle, we took a picture of what he wore every morning in case he ever got lost from us. (But with 4 adults, there was not a chance of that happening.) And yes, we had matching shirts made. :D I'll have to see if I can find the graphic I had made on the DIS boards and post it.

We made it to DHS. It was a chilly morning. And Keegan wasn't too sure what we were doing yet. But, little did he know, he'd figure it out and have the time of his life!

We started our maiden journey into the park...totally unsure of where we were headed. Even though mom, dad, and myself had been to WDW back in 2003, we never made it over to DHS (or as it was called then MGM). So this was a new experience for us. While we were meandering our way along, we had some photo pass pics taken (I will have to add these later as we didn't make full use of photo pass this trip and deemed it wasted money to spend the $100 on the CD so we ended up making a scrapbook online of the photopass pics as well as some of our own pics. I will scan the book in later and post the pics.) We also spoted this guy:

Pluto would be our test of how our 14 month old would react to the characters. We were afraid he'd be one of the screamers you sometimes see. But, we took it slow and just walked up beside the photopass photographer first to just let Keegan see Pluto and say hi from a distance. Well, let's just say it was clear from his reaction, he was dying to get up close and personal with Plute. So, we got in line. And he did better than I expected. He was a bit timid at first, but Pluto was great and didn't get too close to Keegan for fear of scaring him for life. lol I have a Photopass pic...that will be uploaded and added later. :D

After visiting with our new friend, we headed over to The Great Movie Ride. I'd read about this in Birnbaum's...and knew I HAD to ride it. It was a walk on. Actually, we happened to make it through the empty que just as they were about to send the vehicle through. We ened up in the very last row! I was a good girl, and this is the only picture I took before we got going in our journey.

That is, until we hit the Wizard of Oz portion. I am a HUGE WoO nut. I have the 25th anniversary VHS, a DVD copy I bought when DVD's started hitting the shelves, and my parents just bought me the...40th (I think) anniversary copy DVD for my birthday. :D That was my favourite part of the ride.

And surprisingly enough, Keegan did really well through out this ride. :D

Next up was a very short walk to the back streets.

We didn't stay here long at all. Mostly because we wanted to come back to it for Osbourne Lights (which, I'll add now never happend :( ). After our short jaunt, we found our way to Muppet Vision 3-D.

This was a pretty cute show. Though I missed most of it because Keegan got restless and wasn't into it. He ended up passed back and forth between my mom and I and finally fell asleep on my shoulder. Next trip, we'll be sure to hit this one again, as Keegan will be older and hopefully I'll get to see the whole thing.

After Muppets, we headed back up to the front of the park. Mom and Dad were looking to get Rocked on the Rockin Roller Coaster. :D

Ken, Keegan and I walked around and shopped a bit while we waited for mom and dad to get through the coaster. But, as luck would have it, after waiting in line an hour, freezing in the "wind tunnel" part of the que, and nearly making it to the front of the line, they closed it down for some un-remembered reason (dad may remember, I don't). So, we met back up near Starring Rolls Cafe and came up with a game plan.

Let me just say that in hindsight, we should have communicated better throughout this trip (as will be apparent during my AK post later). I wanted my parents to be able to see the world through their grandsons eyes. But in doing so, it really put a damer on their want to do list. If that makes any sense. I wish now, that I would have told them to do what they wanted...that we were here for a week and that there would be plenty of time for us all to ride rides together and to see the world through the eyes of Keegan. But, I digress.

Anywho. Our plan was that dad and Ken would go ride Star Tours and mom and I would peruse the park some more. However, our stomachs called well before the boys were done on the ride. So, we ended up eating at ABC Commisary. Not the best we had all week, but also not the worst we had all week. Sorry DISer's...I didn't get food porn shots. Next trip I promise to! :D

Anyway. After lunch, Keegan was getting cranky. So we called the boys who (if I remember correctly) were just getting off the ride, and told them we were headed back to the resort. And to meet us back there when they were done at DHS. Us girls and the wee boy headed back to the resort to relax and hopefully get Keegan to nap.

After a quick stop to take the above picture, we hit the room. Which we discovered had not yet been cleaned. Really? It was going on, I believe 1pm and it still hadn't been cleaned. Bummer. Anyway. I think we went in, got the stroller unloaded and put the couch/bed back together ourself so we had a place to sit. Keegan didn't nap, but he did get some run around time in the room. At some point dad and Ken made it back to the room. Rather than eat a CS there at the park, they came back and got something from the food court (again, if my memory serves me correctly on this).

While they ate, we discussed the afternoons plan of action. It was decided we'd head over to Epcot and spend some time.

And that folks, is where I leave this chapter for today. Up next: what did we ride at Epcot? did we have any meltdowns? AND does my sister make it in on DME successfully?

Stay tuned!