Happiest Place on Earth

Happiest Place on Earth

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Tuesday, 27 June 2006


  • So... I really need to make another post...
    It's strange, because our summer has been busy... like break neck speed busy... but other than what I've written on here already, there's not a whole lot to say.
    I have gotten a lot of summer reading in, which has been relaxing to a certain extent, but not completely, because when I pick up a book I can't really put it down until I'm finished!    I think I've read five works of fiction in the past few weeks, so I guess it's about time for something a little more academic!  I did re-read "The Visitation" by Frank Peretti and plan to review the movie after I watch it one more time...
    The kids have been exceptionally busy with swimming, T-ball, and gymnastics, and I'm looking forward to those things winding down.  We won't be doing as many things in the Fall.  The schedule is just too hectic... time to start making choices!
    And I guess that's about it!  Hope eveyone who reads is having a fantastic summer!
    Lisa
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Thursday, June 22, 2006

Thursday, 22 June 2006


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Monday, June 19, 2006

Monday, 19 June 2006


  • Alright already...
    Before Shandi files an MIA report, I think I'd better make a post...
    Except, I don't really have anything to say... BLAH...
    I have been scrapbooking like a fool for days, and I'm hoping to get this vacation book done by the end of the week.  Digital pictures have many, many advantages, but one of them is not the time it takes to edit and print them before scrapbooking them... ARGHHH...
    I hope next time I post it will be something of greater substance... hehehe... But, yes, I am alive!
    Lisa
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Monday, June 12, 2006

Monday, 12 June 2006


  • We are all sick... ughhh...
    I have not gotten as sick as the rest of my family, but I'm thinking it's only a matter of time, while still hoping to "escape"...  Not too likely since my little people have been throwing up on me... literally...
    I guess this is the price you pay for a great vacation, complete with public drinking fountains...  We should have stuck with the bottled water!
    Lisa
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Wednesday, June 7, 2006

Wednesday, 07 June 2006



  • Well... sorry it took so long, but here are the details for the rest of our trip.  Unfortunately, we didn't have Internet access the entire time, due to the fact that they wanted to charge us a whole lot for it, so I didn't get to post every day like I wanted to...  That means that this is going to be one very long post...
    Day 2 continued...
    May 28, 2006
    I hung out at the hotel with the kids and watched some TV while Phil went out to look at trains.  In my opinion, it was a great improvement over the original plan, because we were all going to go, and that would have made for more time in the car for the kids.  As it turned out, Phil came back just before we needed to check out and in perfect time for lunch.  We ate at Cicis, which was pretty good.  The rest of my family likes it more than I do, but hey… more cinnamon rolls!
    Finally, we were off to the campground (with a couple more quick train stops).  We arrived and checked in, and at some point in hit me… THIS IS MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND!  That made for a whole lot of campers… Oh well.  We pitched the tent with only minor issues… sort of… one bent, unusable stake and a nasty burn on Phil's hand (the metal was really hot), and we were all set up.  Then we left for Downtown Disney.
    We ate at Planet Hollywood and decided that the reviews I'd read in preparation for the trip were quite accurate… average, expensive food… and only a great atmosphere if you are a movie guru… which none of us are.  We went there because we had a coupon for a free burger platter… hehehe… we still could have eaten cheaper somewhere else.  Ah… at least we can say we experienced it!  
    Then… on to some fun Disney shopping!  Actually, we didn't buy anything that night… well… except for my Downtown Disney smashed penny.  What can I say?  I like cheap souvenirs?  It might have been better to schedule Downtown Disney at the end of the trip, but it was still lots of fun.  The kids especially enjoyed the Lego stuff… I thought the sea serpent was pretty cool, the fountains… until Seth slipped and hit his head on the cement, and Grace liked it when Stitch spit on her… uh… long story… you'd have to see the video…  By the end of the evening, we were tired.  By "we" I mean Phil and me.  The kids weren't tired.  They'd slept in the car…
    Today's Trip Pic: My Family and the Sea Serpent

    We returned to the campground and got everyone settled in the tent.  OK… so settled is pushing it… We got everyone into the tent.  At that point, Caleb proceeded to run around like crazy, especially concerned that we were in a "cave"…  There was some mention of Swiper, too…  Grace was upset because she thought that bugs would get in the tent… which they didn't… mostly.  Seth was actually trying to go to sleep, but to no avail… the other two were simply too loud and distracting!
    While Phil cleaned out the car, I decided to take Caleb for a stroller ride, hoping it might put him to sleep.  It, in fact, did not.  However, we did get to witness the arrival of an entire girl scout troupe, and we heard some choice language from a distraught mother…  When we returned, Seth and Grace were still not asleep, and our "neighbors" had decided that even though it was past "quiet time" they would continue to blare their stereo.  Being the kind and direct people we are, Phil turned the van on and blared ours as well…
    I'm not sure how it happened, but eventually we all fell asleep…
    Day 3
    May 29, 2006
    The children woke us at the crack of dawn… which was fine.  We all got up and got ready for our day at Sea World.  Before we got to the park, we went to Ponderosa and found this review to be accurate as well!  For $8.50 we fed our entire family at the all you can eat breakfast buffet!  We like breakfast foods… a lot… so it was a really good deal! 
    It's been a long time since I've been to Sea World.  Actually, I think this was the first time I'd ever been to the one in Orlando.  I was quite impressed.  Seth loves water/ocean animals, so he had a great time exploring.  We were pleasantly surprised that you could actually reach out and touch several of the animals.  You could feed them, too, but I couldn't bring myself to handle dead fish, and I'm pretty sure no one else really wanted to, either…  I loved "petting" the dolphins!  That was too cool!
    Today's Trip Pic: Petting the Dolphins

    The one disappointment was that there were many attractions that you couldn't take strollers into.  That made it a bit difficult at times with Caleb.  He did alright, though.  At some point (while Phil, Seth, and Grace were viewing the manatees), Caleb and I found some shade and sat for awhile.  And here comes the conversation of the day:
    Phil: "Where did Mom go?"
    Seth: "I hope she didn't get eaten by a crocodile"
    I thought it was funny…
    Anyhow, while Caleb and I were hanging out under a tree, a squirrel came and decided to make friends with us.  Ordinarily, this would not concern me, because wild animals typically keep at least some distance.  However, this little guy actually tried to jump into the stroller basket!  That was it!  We moved on!
    The shows were really good… and now I know I am getting old…  "Clyde and Seamore" was a funny show about pirates and sea lions… I missed most of it, because Caleb wouldn't sit still, but Phil said it was good, and the kids really liked it.  "Believe" was the Shamu show, and it was really incredible!  Phil snuck the stroller in, because you can take them in if your baby is asleep.  Ours wasn't, but he still got it in!  I sat near the front with Seth and Grace, and we even got splashed a little bit!
    We ate lunch at The Spice Mill… decent, expensive, theme park style food… 
    There were some rides, too, which always makes for some extra fun!  Phil and Seth rode "Journey to Atlantis" and we enjoyed some of the kiddie rides late in the day.  At some point, we were all miserably hot and decided that we'd seen everything we came to see, so we left the park.
    We decided that we didn't really want to go back to the campground yet, so we stopped by the largest McDonalds in the world.  We ordered some juice and let the kids play in the enormous play place!  There was some sort of party going on at the gas station across the street.  People were dancing on the tops of their cars, and I'm not sure I've ever heard so much bass…  At any rate, the police eventually tried to break it up, and most of the party ended up in the McDs parking lot!  I am surprised we escaped with our hearing…
    Grace and Caleb fell asleep on the way back to the campground, and Phil, Seth, and I ran through the Wendy's drive through for a quick snack.  When we arrived back at our campsite we were quite pleased to find that many of the campers were gone!  We had a nice, quiet night… cooler than the one before…
    Day 4
    May 30, 2006
    We woke up early… again… and got ready for our first full Disney day.  We took down our tent and waved good-bye to the KOA.  Then we went and pre-registered at Disney's All Star Sports Resort so we could get our tickets.  We stopped at a McDs to change into our swimsuits, and off we went to Typhoon Lagoon.   
    Initially, I was a little concerned about taking three very little people to a water park.  I wasn't sure there would be much for them to do, and I wasn't sure it would be fun for Phil and me, either!  However, we had a blast!
    I especially enjoyed floating in the lazy river… Castaway Creek… with Caleb, who was in seventh heaven surrounded by so much water!  I took the boys down Gang Plank Falls… one of the big family raft rides, and Phil took Grace.  That was a ton of fun, too.  We got to see some more sharks up close, and we spent most of the rest of our time there at Ketchakiddie Creek… the children's play area… and on the kiddie slides that emptied into the surf pool.  We left early in the afternoon, stopped by the same McDs for a quick lunch (which Caleb slept through), and then continued on to the hotel, where we were able to get into our room. 

    It took us a couple of hours to get everything unloaded and to get cleaned up to go to MGM.  Thankfully, we found a TV channel that played classic Disney cartoons all day long.  Our kids fell in love with Lambert the Sheepish Lion and will likely be singing the song for years to come!

    Finally, we were ready to go to MGM.  Now, many people might be wondering at this point why we only scheduled a few hours at MGM.  The answer is pretty simple.  There wasn't much there that we wanted to do…  Our main goals were to meet Buzz Lightyear at Al's Toy Barn and to eat at Toy Story Pizza Planet.  Anything else would be a bonus…

    When we got there, we were a little confused about where to go… and we couldn't find any park maps!  We wandered around for awhile, and I finally asked someone to point me to Al's Toy Barn and Pizza Planet.  I was thoroughly disappointed to find out that Al's Toy Barn was already closed for the day!  It was around 5:30!  So we walked past it… feeling pretty sad… and then I had an idea…  In Toy Story 2, the toys all jump at the same time in front of the door, and it opens… even though the store is closed!  Uh… it didn't work for us…

    So… on to Pizza Planet we went.  Unfortunately, it didn't look like the Pizza Planet in the movie.  Disappointed again, I decided not to say anything.  Grace doesn't miss a beat, though, and she was quite vocal about the fact that this was NOT Pizza Planet.  Once inside, we enjoyed our meal anyway and took a few pictures. 

    Then we hurried back to the Honey I Shrunk the Kids movie set, which was actually a glorified play place.  The kids played for about 15 minutes before it also closed… blah…

    Today's Trip Pic: Grace and Some Really Tall Grass


    We decided to go see the Muppet Vision 3D movie.  No strollers allowed, but the glasses kept Caleb pretty busy.  Unfortunately, the 3D bug scared Grace and she decided to watch the rest without the glasses… obviously dulling the effects! 

    At some point, my SD card was full, so I couldn't take any more pics. until we downloaded.

    We were tired!  We rode the tram back to the parking lot and left.  MGM was kind of a bust…

    At some point during the night, I realized that I had a bad sunburn on my back and shoulders… ouch!

    Day 5

    May 31, 2006

    We slept in longer than we'd planned, which was absolutely OK, based on the fact we were running on adrenaline at this point!

    We munched some breakfast food from home and headed to Animal Kingdom.  About three minutes into the day I realized that I really needed more sleep.  I am a grouch when I am sleepy…

    Disaster #1 was parking the car.  We parked where they directed us and proceeded to get out… simple enough.  However, it takes a little bit of extra time when you are getting kids situated in strollers and wagons, and apparently we weren't vacating the parking spot quickly enough for the parking attendant who wanted to park someone else right behind us… like now!  Phil tried to tell him that we were going as fast as we could, but that wasn't good enough…  Finally, in a not so quiet voice, I explained that we have three small children who we were trying to get buckled into the aforementioned means of transportation and that we would get out of the parking space as quickly as we could… with the underlying message that we wouldn't get out one second quicker than that…  He never said another word to me, but he did make one more comment to Phil before we moved…

    After we got out of the way, we walked to the sidewalk and put on sunscreen.

    Disaster #2 was the wagon.  Upon entering the park, we were told that we couldn't bring it in, because it was a safety hazard… uh… ok…  They gave us a voucher for a double stroller, and we left our wagon in the guest relations building.  That's the short story… no one really wants to hear the long version…  Remember… we're grouchy…  I will say, however, that my five year old was just… uh… thrilled… to have to ride around in a stroller!

    Today's Trip Pic: The True Hazard of Disney Double Strollers


    So, we went straight to the back of the park for Kilimanjaro Safari.  Originally, we'd planned to do this early in the morning, when the line would be shorter, but it wasn't early anymore, and the line wasn't short, either!  Seth and Grace were fighting to beat the band, so we finally made Seth get out and walk.  We put a leash on him, too, because I'm not all that interested in losing one of my kids in a crowd like that.

    Disaster #3 started with the leash.  There were two sets of people behind us in line who obviously knew nothing about raising three kids five and under, but they sure thought they did…

    One college aged girl, who talked the whole time about how successful she planned to be in her career field, made some rather loud comments about how she would never put a child on a leash.  It just reminded her way too much of what you do with dogs.  So, I announced that I didn't really like the idea of losing my kid, and Phil and Seth went on to pretend that Seth was a dog.  Seth enjoyed this.  Then, a man behind us who had a little girl (quite obviously an only child) who was about eight years old went on and on about how his daughter never left his side… so well behaved.  He missed the stunts she tried to pull and talked to her sarcastically for most of the wait…

    We waited for about an hour, and then we finally got on the safari, which was awesome!  It was great to see the animals up so close, and some really nice people ended up sitting behind us.  They enjoyed watching our kids enjoying the safari and got some good laughs out of them.

    After the safari we went to the train station and were, unfortunately, followed by "super dad and the amazing eight year old"…

    And now, Caleb was throwing a world class temper tantrum, because he wanted to get on the train.  So… "super dad" gave me a disgusted look… one of those looks that says, "why can't you control your little brat," and I looked right back at him and… uh… apologized for the fact that my two year old wasn't as well behaved as his eight year old… and that was the end of that…

    We rode the train, which everyone enjoyed, and when we got off we got back in line and rode it again! 

    Shortly after, we ate lunch at Pizzafari, which served the same pizza as Pizza Planet… hmmm… I sense a theme going on here.  It was then that I realized that all Disney restaurants were going to serve us basically the same food, which was fine, because we liked it!

    After lunch, we went to the Camp Mickey-Minnie greeting trails.  There, Seth and Grace met Chip and Dale, Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and Donald Duck.  They had tons of fun, and it was shaded… a real blessing on such a hot day!  Caleb did not enjoy the characters, but he didn't seem to mind viewing them from his stroller as long as we didn't get too close.

    Seth, Grace, and I rode Kali River Rapids after that and had a pretty good time.  Grace bumped her head at the end of the ride, but other than that, it was all good.

    Then we headed for Dino-land USA!  On the way we met Pooh, Tigger, and Eeyore… another fun time! 

    Disaster #4 was The Boneyard… another glorified play place.  We were all enjoying it until Caleb decided to climb the many flights of stairs to the top.  I followed him, of course.  When we got to the top, though, I realized that both he and I were way too hot, and that the slides down were pretty narrow for us to fit into together… not designed for adults, let alone adults holding small children!  So, I attempted to coax him to climb back down, which he didn't like.  I had to carry him most of the way, and by the time we got to the bottom, he was kicking and screaming, and I was pouring buckets of sweat… yuck!  Phil missed most of this, because he was keeping track of Seth and Grace… playing happily I might add.

    I realized that the only way we were going to cool down was by getting Caleb back into his stroller, which he fought every step of the way.  Finally, some nice lady held the stroller while I strapped him in.  I then headed for the nearest ice cream stand, figuring that might both cool and calm us down. 

    Disaster #5 was the Mickey Mouse ice cream.  It never occurred to me that it might be disturbing to a two year old to eat Mickey Mouse's head!  Caleb wanted to hold it, but that just doesn't work with ice cream on a hot day…  I eventually had to start eating it, and Caleb was extremely distraught about this.  He was not about to eat any, though!  About this time, Phil, Seth, and Grace emerged from The Boneyard, and Phil offered to take the sticky mess we call our third child to the car.  Which he eventually did… after some choice words from a way too hot, over exhausted, sticky mess herself, mommy…

    I took Seth and Grace on one more ride, TriceraTop Spin, and we also left the park.

    We made some sandwiches in the van and left for the hotel.  Caleb, not surprisingly, fell asleep.

    Day 6

    June 1, 2006

    We woke up early and got ready to go to the Magic Kingdom! 

    When we arrived at the Monorail station, we had to go exchange our wagon again, which we expected this time around.  We left the wagon at the kennel, and got our voucher for a double stroller.  Then we boarded the monorail.  Phil and I have always enjoyed monorail rides, and the kids loved it, too.  It was a good start to the day!

    We hit the ground running as soon as we reached the Magic Kingdom, because we had an 8:10 reservation at the Crystal Palace restaurant for breakfast with Winnie-the Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, and Piglet!  Actually, seeing Piglet was the biggest deal to us since we'd met the others the day before!

    We got in quickly and sat down to an absolutely fantastic breakfast buffet!  We ate a ton, and it took around an hour for all of the characters to make their way to our table.  Caleb, still unsure of the characters, hit Eeyore in the nose with a buttery waffle… It was actually pretty funny.

    Today's Trip Pic: Use Your Breakfast Wisely


    After breakfast we caught the end of "Cinderellabration", went and got the strollers, and started off for Tomorrowland!  We rode the Carousel of Progress, which was updated from the last time we'd seen it.  Then we went on the new Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin which was absolutely the best!  When we got off, I thought I'd left the diaper bag on the ride, which had all of our tickets, credit cards, cash, etc… not to mention the diapers!  Thankfully, that wasn't the case.  I'd actually left it in the stroller (not sure that was any safer), and apparently no one paid it any attention.  In our search for the bag, however, Phil found Buzz Lightyear!  Meeting Buzz was extremely important to Seth, and since we'd missed him at MGM, we were super excited.  We, of course, waited in line for autographs and pictures!

    Then we rode the People Mover.  It is now called Tomorrowland Transit Authority, but I'll always remember it as the People Mover…  We followed that up with Tomorrowland Indy Speedway, and Grace and I beat the boys pretty good!

    We went to Adventureland next, where I took Seth and Grace on the Mad Tea Party.  It is smaller than I remember it as a child, and it definitely makes me sick now!  We had fun, though, and we spun fast!  We also rode Cinderella's Golden Carousel and the Many Adventures of Winnie-the Pooh, which used to be Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.  The end kinda made me laugh, which you can only understand if you have ridden both "Mr. Toad" and "Pooh"…

    We opted to wait on some of the other attractions, because the lines were long, and we were getting hungry… again!

    We ate at Pinocchio's Village Haus, where Phil and I had chicken, and the kids had the same Pizza we'd had for the past several days!  Hehehe…  It was good!

    After lunch, we took a spin on It's a Small World, which the kids loved!  It's just such a classic!  They didn't sing the song all day, though, and amazingly enough it didn't get stuck in our heads.  Actually, the Carousel of Progress song is the one that stuck!

    We went through the castle, which absolutely delighted Caleb, who had been saying, "a castle, Mommy, a castle," or, "a castle king," all day long!  We think he thought he was on a real life Dora the Explorer adventure!

    We went to Liberty Square next and the hall of Presidents.  Caleb and I watched the movie and then left, because he thought it was over and was too noisy to keep in the auditorium.  When the Presidents were unveiled, Grace had the quote of the day, "Daddy, why do we have so many Pastors?"  She was a little confused!   

    Next was Frontierland, where Seth and I rode on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.  I had never ridden it before, and I really enjoyed having some time alone with Seth.  He liked the ride a lot.  We got Fast Passes for Phil, Seth, and Grace to ride Splash Mountain later on, and then we went back and forth between Frontierland and Adventureland, riding the Jungle Cruise and the Magic Carpets of Aladdin, and exploring the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse.  When it was time for Splash Mountain, Phil, Seth, and Grace got in line, and Caleb and I bought an orange juice bar (which went over much better than eating Mickey Mouse), and waited at the bottom of the ride in hopes of snapping a picture.  We waited a long time, and we finally saw them coming.  I tried to get that pic., but my timing was off.  I did get the video camera focused in time to get a shot of them coming down the big hill, though!  We picked them up at the end of the ride, took some time to settle some issues that had arisen, and headed for Tom Sawyer's Island, which was… unfortunately… closed.

    We went back to Adventureland and found the lines to still be way too long.  It was obvious to us that we would be putting our Park Hopper option to good use and coming back to the Magic Kingdom again, so we skipped some things, for now… 

    We decided that since Buzz Lightyear's ride was so much fun, we'd take another spin!  Then we went to catch the parade.  I was a bit panicked, because the entire sidewalk was already lined with people standing three or four deep, but we finally found a good spot where we could see the floats and exit quickly, when we were ready.  Unfortunately, we didn't have a good view of the castle, and I realized that would inhibit our ability to see Tinkerbell's flight.  To most families, this might not be so important, but at some point during our trip, that became Grace's life goal.  She had  to see Tinkerbell.  Knowing that we were coming back, I didn't think it would be that big of a deal.  I was wrong.  Grace was so disappointed and cried the whole way back to the monorail.  I have to say, I felt sorry for her.  It wasn't a mean spirited tantrum.  She was honestly really sad.  She did stop crying for a moment, and we had the conversation of the day:

    Grace: "Mommy, do we have time for one more ride?"

    Me: "No, Grace, we're almost to the monorail."

    Grace: "The monorail's a ride."

    Me: "Then we have time for one more ride."

    This got a couple of good laughs from the people around us!

    We crashed upon entering our hotel room.

    Day 7

    June 2, 2006

    We woke up late, downed some Cheerios, and left for Epcot.  In our original plan, we were going to spend the morning at Blizzard Beach, but we were way too tired.

    Since we only planned to stay for part of the day, we didn't trade our wagon in for yet another double stroller.  We just walked.

    We started our day on Spaceship Earth and were less than impressed.  Grace didn't like the dark, and Caleb was trying to get out of his seat the whole time.  Oh well, every ride can't be great!

    Next we went to Innovations and enjoyed some of the fun stuff the kids could do there.  We also competed against another family in The Great American Pizza Game.  In the end, our pizza was topped with eggs, corn, apples, and wheat.  Needless to say, we lost the game, but I'm pretty sure we provided some comic relief for the other family… a mom, dad, and two teenage boys.

    Today's Trip Pic: Seth and the Fire Engine


    We went to the Living Seas, which Caleb enjoyed, but he didn't want to move from the one display window.  So… Caleb and I sat and watched fish while Phil, Seth, and Grace caught up with a Disney Cast Member who took a great interest in our kids and showed them lots of cool fish stuff.  Eventually, Caleb and I went outside to reclaim our stroller, and the rest of our family met up with us.

    We went to the Land and got in line for Living with the Land.  I had to get out of line to change Caleb's diaper, and when we came back I couldn't find Phil and the kids.  Finally I found them, only to lose them again, because Phil stooped down to tie his shoe… I think.  Maybe he was trying to lose me at this point!    We got back in line and rode the ride.  It was interesting, and the kids love boat rides, so it was a good experience.

    We ate at the Electric Umbrella for lunch, where Phil and I had burgers, and no one had pizza!  After lunch we went to Journey into Imagination with Figment, which was one of my favorite rides as a kid.  It was still fun, though I think it has changed.  We were surprised that there was no wait… 

    Since the kids were walking, we weren't sure whether or not it was a smart idea to walk around the world.  In the end we decided to do it and made the journey in about an hour and 45 minutes.  We found Tinkerbell's garden along the way, but the grass sculpture of Tinkerbell was not enough to satisfy Grace…

    On the other side of the world, we went to the Mission Space: Training Lab.  There we sent postcards from space to Grandmas and Grandpas, and the kids played in yet another glorified play place!  I misjudged how tall it was, since we were kind of in the dark, and let Caleb climb to his heart's content.  Unfortunately, I realized later that my two year old must be stuck, quite far up, in the structure.  Phil rescued him, and Caleb was all smiles.  I guess only I was worried!

    We left Epcot with the intent of going back to the Magic Kingdom, but thankfully we didn't tell the kids that, because when we got to our car it started raining.  Chances are pretty good that Tink wouldn't fly in the rain, so we went back to the hotel and watched the Pistons game… maybe we should have braved the rain…

    We slept well, anyway…

    Day 8

    June 3, 2006

    Up early again, we went to Blizzard Beach.  We had another fantastic water park day! 

    We rode the chairlift up the mountain, which is a pretty scary thing to do with a two year old in tow.  Phil, Seth, and Grace rode the chair in front of me and Caleb, and when we got to the top I was more than ready to grab the baby and jump… which I did… and it all turned out fine.

    Then we rode a family raft ride that we could all go on together, Teamboat Springs.  It was a very long ride and great fun!

    Next we went to the Ski Patrol Training Camp, which was supposed to be designed for preteens, but which Seth and Grace found to be a blast!  There were a couple of slides that they could ride by themselves, so we did that and then decided to ride the chairlift one more time before the park got really busy. 

    If I thought it was scary the first time with a dry baby, you have no idea how scared I was the second time with a wet, slippery one!  We rode the raft ride again and then jumped in the lazy river, Cross Country Creek.

    We found a great double tube slide, Runoff Rapids, which Phil and Seth, and Grace and I took turns on.  The climb to the top was crazy, but it was worth it for the ride down!

    Back to training camp again, after that, where Seth and Grace walked across glaciers holding onto nets and Caleb and I tried to swim… tried is the operative word there.  Another trip down the slides, and then we went to find some more fun.

    Tike's Peak was fantastic, and there were plenty of slides that were just the right size for Caleb there, as well as some "bigger" thrills for Seth and Grace.  We spent quite a while there and then called it a day… early afternoon.

    We ate some donuts and sandwiches on our way back to the hotel, got cleaned up, relaxed a little bit, and then went back to the Magic Kingdom.

    We decided against a double stroller again and hopped on the train when we arrived at the park.  We got off in Frontierland and went straight to Tom Sawyer's Island, where we had a good time exploring.  We went past the "castle, Mommy, castle" again and headed straight for Peter Pan's Flight where we waited a ridiculous amount of time in hopes of seeing Tinkerbell.  She is not on the ride…  After riding, I found a Disney Cast member and asked her when, specifically, Tinkerbell took her flight.  I learned that it was at the beginning of the fireworks show, so we geared up for it… 

    Next, Seth, Grace, and I got in line for Dumbo the Flying Elephant.  It was one of the longest lines in the park.  When we reached the front, Phil was going to hand Caleb to me, but we found out that Seth and Grace were too young to ride alone, and we couldn't ride four to an elephant.  Caleb cried and cried, so one of the ride operators told us that I could stay on for the next ride and just trade kids.  I was so thankful, because I didn't really want to wait another 30-40 minutes for another quick Dumbo flight!  We took pictures of Phil and the kids in the stationary Dumbo at the end… that kind doesn't make him sick! 

    We ate next, at Starlight Café, and then we headed for Toontown.  We had already seen many of the characters, so we took turns riding the Barnstormer (Goofy's rollercoaster), and then we bought our Mickey ears and decided to go back to Tommorowland just one more time…

    Today's Trip Pic #1: My Name's Mickey Mouse


    Today's Trip Pic #2: The Final Defeat of Zurg


    We took another ride on Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin and then found a good seat with a great view of the castle and waited for Tinkerbell.  We waited a really long time!  I was beginning to worry that we'd missed her, but then the fireworks started.  There was a quick flash across the sky, and Seth, Grace, and I were convinced we'd seen her.  Except, then there was another flash… and another.  At this point, I realized that we were not seeing Tinkerbell but just part of the fireworks, but Grace was really excited that Tinkerbell was flying everywhere, so I decided not to tell her, just in case we missed it.  A few moments later, Tinkerbell did, indeed, fly from the castle and almost directly over our heads!  We could not have possibly picked a better spot!  Grace was jumping up and down and nearly screaming, "I saw her, I saw Tinkerbell!"  Then she jumped in my lap and hugged me about as hard as any four year old could.  It actually made me cry.  I haven't seen Grace quite so happy in a long time.  We must have been quite a spectacle, but it really didn't matter at that point.

    Today's Trip Pic #3: Anticipation and Wonder


    We watched the rest of the fireworks, and Grace whispered to me that she was ready to go home.  And I agreed.  Mickey Mouse waved to us on the way out, we boarded the monorail, and off we went, one more time, to the hotel.

    Day 9

    June 4, 2006

    We woke up, got ourselves ready and our things packed, and decided we might just as well put the last day of our park hopper ticket to work.  It wasn't in the plan, but we went back to MGM in hopes of finding Woody and Jesse at Al's Toy Barn, which we did.  But it was way too hot. 

    I think Seth and I made ourselves sick on our quick jog to the Toy Barn, and we had to hurry back, too, because we almost got stuck in the middle of the Star Wars parade…  By the time we got back to the car, we were wiped out.

    I kept pushing and took another quick trip to Downtown Disney where I picked up some souvenirs.  Then we started our long trip home.

    Shortly into our trip, Seth started throwing up, which of course made him miserable.  It also curbed our plans to visit the beach on the way back.  Still, I had never seen the ocean. So Phil took me by it to a place where I could at least jump out and take some pictures.  It was really amazing…

    Today's Trip Pic: Something About the Ocean…


    We grabbed McDonalds for lunch and Zaxby's for dinner, which was pretty good.   At some point it became obvious that we weren't going to make it home the next day.  We were just too far behind.

    Day 10

    June 5, 2006

    After grabbing some hotel breakfast cereal, we continued our trip.  We took our time and made it to within four hours of home, but it was just too late, and we were just too tired to keep going.  We had Chick-Fil-A one more time for lunch, and ate at Perkins for dinner… but actually had breakfast…  Then we crashed for a few hours.

    Day 11

    June 6, 2006

    More hotel breakfast… Caleb spilled the pitchers of milk and orange juice… and then back on the road one more time!  We arrived home around noon, and after such a long trip, we were really happy to be here! 

    As a side note… we took about 800 pictures and over 4 ½ hours of video, so if you're ever bored… well, we could keep you busy for a while…  

    Lisa
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      Comments (3)

    • WhosWhoIsWho
      That sounds like so much fun! And yes i did read the whole thing. Yea, i know i have no life if i sit here and read n extremely long post and leave you a comment about me reading the whole thing. It took me about 30 minutes to read the whole thing because i didn't want to miss anything. Mom and i went on splash mountain twice in California and there wasn't a line because everyone else was at the parade. We didn't go but the ride was awesome and we got soaked! (twice) the second time i was in the front and i really got wet. I want to see some of your pictures. I can't show you mine because i accidently formatted the memory card on the digital camera and that deleted the pictures and then my mom lost her disposible one at disneyland. We think she left it in the first aid place because her glasses broke while we were there. That was interesting, she went on for the rest of the week with tape holding her nosepiece on.
      It sounds like you had some interesting things happen too. Phil in the double stroller is hilarious! I can imagine him sitting in it too! Well i'll talk to you later, Jess
    • jlypio35
      aw... looks like you had fun!!! but to be honest, i just looked at the pics (haha)
      naw, he wasn't a back room boy... i met him at my friend sarah's place in lansing but he lived out here in dearborn 15 min from my apartment... oh well... it still hurts though :(
    • Sha_pryor08
      It sounds like you had a lot of fun... I read the whole thing... And found it very humorous!!!!When I went to MGM my eighth grade year with my class, I didn't have the best time at MGM either.. We were there for like 3 hours and we only rode the "big" rides....  I wanted to see Beauty and the Beast and some of the other shows.. But I couldn't... : (
      Well, I would love to see the pictures!!!! Lots of Love, Shandi
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