Jan 2016: Everyone and Their Mother Goes to Disney About This Page:

[Colexis Mom]

Welcome back!

[Silvercat]

Welcome back! Looking forward to the report, and glad it went (mostly) well for you!

[llgmommy2]

Welcome back. Looking forward to the TR!

[MayraLR]

Welcome back!

[Timon-HakunaMatata]

Originally Posted by KimandMark

There is a part 2 to the points/reservations story but in the meantime I'd though you'd all enjoy this tidbit from my mother.

For reference, my mother's lexicon includes the following phrases:
1. Oh, you know what I like. (variations include: you know what I don't like; you know who I'm talking about; you know my favorite XYZ) This is usually said about something that you don't actually know at all.
2. I don't want you to worry, but... This is usually followed by something terrible like: your father had a heart attack and is in the ICU. Sometimes she uses it in times that would not actually worry you at all like: we let Adam fall asleep today while we were driving home from the playground.

This can make planning something challenging as your full knowledge is usually not at all what she thinks it is. In fact, just prior to this conversation she was telling me about a going away for a day or two and added 'you know who can't plan anything though' and I named four people before I got to who she was actually talking about. Note, her health is not the reason for her behavior, she did this sort of thing when she was a perfectly healthy middle aged lady driving a suburban and wrangling two dogs and two kids.

Yesterday afternoon I asked if she would like to do a character meal on the January trip. Here is the transcript of that conversation:

ME: Would you like to book a character meal again this time?
MOTHER: Oh, yes, you know which one I like.
ME: Okay, which one do you like?
MOTHER: You know.
ME: I don't know, should we book O'hana like last time?
MOTHER: (at the same time I'm speaking) Well, I hate that Hawaiian one.
ME: You do? Which one do you like?
MOTHER: It doesn't matter.
ME: If you just tell me it will make it easier.
MOTHER: Do what you want.
ME: I don't really care that much, just tell me which one you like.
MOTHER: That other one. But don't worry.
FATHER: (from other room) Jesus, just tell her!!!
MOTHER: The one in the hotel.
ME: Which hotel? And what don't you like about O'hana?
MOTHER: I don't like the food.
ME: It's fruit and eggs and biscuits and sausage.
MOTHER: I want biscuits with gravy and maybe pancakes.
ME: (silent staring because she's not supposed to be eating any of that what with her mini stroke, kidney failure and blood pressure).
ADAM: (has been playing with Transformers, assumed to be not really listening) I want to go to breakfast with Stitch and tell him not to throw my shaker like he did last time. Mimi, I'll tell him not to throw yours too.
MOTHER: O'hana is fine. Adam needs closure with Stitch.*



*Two years ago, Stitch was playing with Adam, took his shaker/maraka and threw it over his shoulder. Adam cried and cried about how mean Stitch was to steal his toy and has NEVER LET IT GO.

I will pop back to page three after typing this, but LOVE your writing style. You are my kind of people!!

[cattailmarsh]

So glad the trip went well overall at least regarding Adam's wonderful accomplishments. I have been busy with JB's birthday & winding down of Christmas at church so I finally had a chance to check in again. Can't wait to read all about the details. We too are hoping for some growth spurts...I just want him to get on Splash when we get there. Mickey definitely is a huge help with eating.

[KimandMark]

I'm so sorry.

I've been freelancing and the writing deadlines have been RIDICULOUS. So I feel bad when I write here.

I'm not sure where to start as we've been home for a month and Adam is STILL upset about not living in Disney World. In fact, he cried just a few days ago because we didn not see Pooh while there. Of course we offered, showed him the line, bought a new Pooh, reminded him again, and he said he didn't want to see Pooh. So guess what? We didn't see Pooh. Honestly, to be inside what counts for a linear thought process of a four year old must be fascinating.

The question I suppose you are all asking is "who the heck spends $100 on waffles?" I'm not sure I really understand what happened. What I know was that on the Wednesday of our trip, after being in our room for three days, room service showed up around 7:45AM with five orders of waffles, juice, and bacon. Mom said it was to thank us for bringing them. I nearly choked when I saw the room charge (yeah, you thanked us by having $100 charged to our room, was my first angry thought and my second was something about choking my mother with the two boxes of Eggos in the freezer).

I spoke to my father privately to tell him how unnecessary it was to thank us with food or costly items and he said he didn't know anything about what she was doing, that she had gone on for about an hour about making sure she had enough food before dialysis and then just picked up the phone and decided it would be best if she got food for everyone. Again, the @#$%&#^&#* Eggos were in the #&^$&&*%*S$ freezer....

In the end she first said that she didn't know about the food in our kitchen that she helped unpack. Then she said she was going to fight the charge because the waffles in the Mara were only $7 or something and she thinks they made a mistake. Then she tried to tell me it was treat for Adam. I showed her the room service menu and the price and explained and concluded that she's losing it again.

Really, it became more and more clear my Mom is just not with us like she used to be. My Dad tried to give me $100 and OF COURSE I didn't take it. But I did rearrange my schedule at home to give my Dad a day off from my Mom's dialysis transportation. It's not much, but since I've done it now for a month I realize what an enormous burden/time suck her appointments are for him.

So there's that. There are other examples of her just not being on top of stuff, like not recognizing she's blocking a lane with her scooter, or heaven help me, forgetting she was watching Adam at the airport while the rest of us went to the restroom.

As sad as we are that she can't do these trips anymore, that is just the way it is. I can hope for a good time, that she can keep up, but in the end, it's just too much for her and too much for my dad to manage her and enjoy his trip too. I'm increasingly concerned that only my dad can watch Adam, and that watching Adam and my mother is a bit much for anyone. For lack of better description, she was liking giving a seven year old a credit card and a plane ticket. CRAZY!!

[KimandMark]

Now that the Mom stuff is out of my system, let me tell you about my big brave boy!!!

Space Mountain. Loved. LOVED. Loved so much that he peed his pants (just a little!) in line because he just wouldn't leave the line! This was toward the end of the week, and we rode, at night, and as we exited he grabbed Jake and said he had to pee, bad. Jake picked him up, so he could get him there faster, and I guess that Adam then whispered to him that he already did pee, in line, that he didn't want to miss the ride. It turned out to be really minor, but I guess he was pretty insistent that I not know about this. So, our secret, okay?

Everest took two tries. He was unhappy the first time, not scared, but uncomfortable with the dark, backwards part. But two days later he was all about it and went two more times.

Thunder Mountain and Mine Train and Test Track, huge hits, as they were last year (despite the recurring disappointment that your custom car on TT does not actually roll up for you to ride in).

Mission Space...We did the green version (is that the non-spinning one? which ever) and the CM told him he might not fit great in the seat because the restraint is on eof those over pull down over your head and chest kind. We got in and Adam's face aws visible through the restraint but he couldn't reach the buttons. I told him not to worry but he was clearly concerned about his job! When we got off he told me that he thought the jobs were real and was afraid we would crash!! The magic strong with this one, right?

The kid even did Tower of Terror and I was sure the theme would be scary. We talked a lot about Disney and the story of the que and that it's all pretend and how great they are at tricking you. He hated it. But not because of the creepy theme. He didn't like that his but came off the seat. He's waivered on that now that we're home, last week saying he would try again, and just tonight saying no way. We'll see.

I really thought that Jedi Training and Pirate Cruise would be a bust. That he'd be afraid of leaving us to do things with people he didn't know, but Disney knows what they are doing with kids. The transitions are smooth and well directed and I swear, kids don't even realize they are leaving you! Still, Darth Vader is about a billion feet tall on that stage and those little four year olds, well, I just was amazed that they don't freak the F out and cry for Mommy! We signed up, lots of older (8-10 year old) boys in line, very enthusiastic about this and Adam just annoyed by a line. Our return was 11ish and we were early. He stood in line, just outside the sign up area, with 29 other kids, got his robe, and marched over with all the little Jedi's. They get them on stage, on specific spots to stand on, run them through four moves, and then they each fight Darth Vader.

I won't lie. I cried. CRIED real, fat tears because my baby was fighting Darth Vader. Cried. I wore my sunglasses so you couldn't tell. What did that kid do to me?

Also note, they have two photographers who take a billion pictures that you can access through photopass, so put your camera down, and just watch your baby believe that he really is fighting the dark side right in front of his mama. See, I'm crying again.

I also cried at Pirate Cruise. Not when he left. That seemed simple enough, he was very excited to get his vest and bandana and go with other kids (this is a good point, we need other kids for him to have maximum fun, that always made a difference in his attitude, I can see why you'd torture yourself with two kids). We went over to the reincarnation of Spoodles (what is it called?) and had an outstanding breakfast and the mother of all Bloody Mary's. Then we just sat in the sun and waited. Next time, I'd plan a bit more for myself, either a spa treatment, ala the mom who dropped off twins, or a good workout, or longer breakfast.

Anyway, the tears. We'd been told to be a few minutes early so we could see the end of their adventure. The boat is out there on the lagoon, and here comes this mangey looking pirate on the dock, running and yelling. The kids all rush to the front of the boat, with their cutlasses raised, pointed at Pirate Stinky Pete, as believing as you can imagine any little faces being. The boat pulls up, Stinky Pete escapes, but not before dropping a key that one kid retrieves. The key opens the treasure chest they've found somewhere. They all surround it, trying to open the lock, all their heads in a circle over the chest when it opens. Honestly, the magic again, got me. That they bought it, all of them, hook line and sinker. Is it the age group? Disney? I don't think it's the boat, its' just a pontoon boat. But still, they all were all about it.

And my most dreaded moment...Cinderella's Royal Table. It's a good meal. An expensive one, but my poached lobster was something else. And they don't ignore the boys (well, maybe the weird creeper dude who was all alone at CRT...I couldn't decide if I was sad for this guy who was maybe simple or lonely or if I was scared that he was some kind of wackadoo who likes girls in princess get ups). Adam hugged them all, and seemed happy to be there, and then....Jasmine. Jasmine...with her bare belly and spangly bikini top, her dark eyes and hair...turns out my kid has type and I didn't know it. It explains why he likes the girl who cuts his hair so very much, and his little school friend Elise. He hugged Jasmine. Hugged and hugged and hugged until we had to pry him off of her. I'm not kidding. Later, I asked him about Jasmine, and all he did was shyly give me a thumbs up.

On top of this stuff, he took bubble baths in the master tub, loved he fireworks, got yet another Pooh bear, ate popcorn, dole whip, stayed up too late, and played hide and seek between the hotel suites of the neighbors and us.

I asked him about Disney, to tell me some words, he said that he gives it two thumbs up and that if he had more thumbs they would be up too. He would give it a million thumbs up.

[lfredsbo]

AWWWWWEEEEEEEEE!!!! I just LOVE reading this!!!! So miss that age where the magic is just - well Magic - So happy that Adam had such a magical time!!!!

[KimandMark]

What else?

Eat at Citricos. Really, such as great meal, a sleeper in my opinion, easily forgotten with CG on the monorail too. In truth, I don't even remember what we had, because it was so long ago now, but I can tell you, the service was excellent as was the meal. It seemed to me that they altered their formality of service to suit the guest, probably first judging by what you wore (I know...but we go suit/cocktail dress to this stuff and I think it's clear we are making an evening of it). For example, Jake was given a black napkin in place of his white one, a typical fine dining swap for those in dark clothes, so that they don't get white lint on their laps. But the guy at the next table, in jeans and polo did not get that. Not that he was treated poorly, but I think it was a nice touch. The jeans guy was not out for the 'night out' that we were, based on his post park attire, and probably wanted a good meal but clearly didn't want formality. You can say what you will about that, but what you wear actually does mean something and this is an example of when it influences how you are treated.

CG redeemed itself this trip. We'd had a not so great waiter last time, who made poor wine pairing suggestions (it seemed like he didn't ask anyone or just picked randomly) and we were disappointed. This time, we went a bit nuts, and ordered a VERY expensive bottle we would not normally buy, mostly because it's expensive but also because we don't find a rare item we really want in most of our regular places. In this case it was a 10 year old Alsatian riesling. We've been holding some Alsatian styles in our own cellar, but none of them are 10 years old and we couldn't resist trying one. It was worth it. The whole meal was worth it.

We did make it to Jiko one night too, very late, and it didn't disappoint. It never does, but I think we have a strong bias. And there was a late meal at Spice Road Table, also good, over priced, but good. Adam at the fried cod because he thought it was a chicken nugget and raved about it!

In other food news, I found carrying uncrustables, sliced apples, juice and applesauce pouches in my purse to solve any food issues Adam had. We rarely bought anything to eat in a park because as adults we could wait until we were in the room. If Adam was hungry I pulled one of those things from my purse and bang, we were still moving and no one was unhappy. Breakfast was in the room other than the CRT day, and dinners were usually out. I don't think our diet was awesome (mostly sandwiches, a few pieces of fruit, yogurts, not much in the way of veggies unless we ordered salad) and I think for another long trip I'd try to be more deliberate about ordering already sliced veg and hummus or the like, as snacks. Our food order was a bit constrained as I had to make sure my parents would eat and they are chips and sandwiches people on the regular (and waffles too, I guess...).

I also brought my charcuterie from home. The day before I stop at Wegmans and pick up meats and cheese we like, a factory sealed container of sundried tomatoes in oil, and some baguette. I pack that an insulated lunch sack with a small ice pack, and add a good wooden cutting board and the big swiss knife. This all goes in a bag with toiletries and other non-clothing items, checked. We have that with wine almost every afternoon or evening on vacation.

If you care, I ran twice, so you can do the math on my weight gain this winter--Xmas, NYE, then this two weeks later... in short, my pants are all too tight and I actually bought two new pairs of Old Navy Rockstar jeans in the stretchiest fabrics I could find. I'm still wearing them....darned weight goes on easier than it comes off.

[KimandMark]

And finally.

It's too cold in January.

Sooooo.

We're going back in May for three nights.

I'll start a pretrip report shortly...

[KimandMark]

Okay, so not finally. I forgot about the soft rehab at AKL!

We had been sent a letter about rehab work during our trip, but I didn't expect much of it; Disney generally hides that stuff pretty well.

How well, I didn't realize.

One morning I took our garbage to the garbage room down the hall (DVC...) and saw the sign noting construction etc right next to the door. And noted that the hallway was walled off. Like a real wall, with dry wall and a metal door installed, painted walled off. If you hadn't been there before or didn't have a good sense of hotel geography you would just assume that was the end of the hallway. I didn't think much of it, other than I was surprised at the permanent appearance of the wall/door. It was NOT temporary.

The next afternoon, so 36 hours later or so, my Dad decided to stroll down the hall to take a look. He said he didn't know where I went, but there was no construction and no door. I figured he was lost.

The next morning, 48 hours later, I took more garbage (small cans, five people, we fill that little can up). The wall was gone. GONE. No sign of it. There was a blast of cold air coming from the other hallway leading to that hub and then I saw some construction people; it was pretty clear they had the slider wide open in several rooms in that wing, probably airing out from wallpaper/paint/etc. The new hallway, where the door had been, had new carpet, a larger and lighter giraffe print similar to the old rooms but more square like giraffe than round print like leopard. The walls are the same texture but a lighter yellowish color, almost imperceptible other than at the corner where the old color was still in the hub. It did make the hallway significantly brighter, but not in a harsh way. I suspect that color will be in the rooms too and I will welcome it.

I didn't get to see any furnishings or fabrics beyond that, but my impressing from much googling is a lighter but still safari themed palate. Again, I'm all for this as my only real complaint about AKV has been the lights. My kingdom for freakin' light!!!

Our room was better than the room we were in last year (you might remember the one with the freezer that smelled like fished had been housed, left to die, and then rot; the refrigerator door that had suffered from a rock star after party in the room; and the broken pull out chair. Probably victim of rough, er, whatever.

This room was fine, but after visiting our neighbors realized we were missing a lamp and a table. We had some very broken tiles in the kitchen toe kick area, didn't have a vacuum cleaner, and the supports under the king bed were bent (I was on the floor looking for a toy that went under the bed and noticed the middle vertical support was bent completely sideways, as if someone tried to shove the bed and that bit broke). AKV is showing its age and use, and we notice it more for having stayed in an updated BWV studio in October. The previous October we'd thought our BWV room was getting long in the tooth, and we realized how much a fresh coat of paint, new carpet, and fabric does to spruce up a room. It's time and I'm glad AKV is getting a facelift.

For all I've heard about fewer maintenance (painters for example) I didn't not notice a degree of shabbiness or wear overall at a parks or hotels. I think the Hub area at MK is really lovely now that its finished (or mostly finished); HS is going to be a wreck for awhile, as is the Pandora section of AK, but overall, things looked pretty good. I can't wait for SOMETHING to happen in Future World in Epcot, but what, I don't know. I expected construction to be more invasive overall than it was. We'll revisit this after our May days, as big parts of HS will be closed by then.

I don't know what to say about the ever increasing costs and variable pricing. Disney has always been complex and being a smart consumer reduces the cost of the trip, but it has never been cheap, I think we just have new things to learn. I saw changes that are positive for our future visits given he age of our kid, but can see others being frustrated by closures and changes. I thought that food quality was actually improved, and I'm hoping we are seeing the end of the homogenous signature menus that I felt like we witnessed for the last three or four years. The two signatures we went to this trip had some unique choices that reflected the restaurants theme and chef's interests. I was peeved by the increased price of TIW by 50%. Instead of spending $500 to see a return, we now have to spend $750. Um. We spent $300 at CG, so you can do some additional math on Citricos, Spice Road Table, Victoria Falls Bar, Flame Tree, that bloody mary breakfast...I think we'll be okay. But it's really only helping you out if you go twice a year or stay for 10 or more days at at time.

So, we still love Disney. Our kid loves Disney. We will go in May, and maybe next year in May too, then a year off for a trip to Turkey. Then a Grand Villa? Who knows.

[KimandMark]

Originally Posted by lfredsbo

AWWWWWEEEEEEEEE!!!! I just LOVE reading this!!!! So miss that age where the magic is just - well Magic - So happy that Adam had such a magical time!!!!

Isn't it something?! He seems to get that there is illusion involved in much of what goes on there, but he's also about 90% sure he used the force on Darth Vader.

He's been before and can remember it to a degree, but this time, he knew what he liked and didn't. And he is now obsessed with roller coasters. We watch videos about them on youtube and then he arranges Hot Wheels tracks to be like roller coasters and drives his cars (never launches, because those launchers suck) on his creations. There is a fair amount of packing tape holding things onto boxes and tables right now...

[Cam22]

So sorry that your mom's situation is deteriorating. Love the update on Adam's adventures at WDW. Precious and priceless! Good to hear that the refurb at AKL is progressing and is lightening up the resort. We are headed back to Kidani Village this May, so I'm really hoping for a refurbed studio.

[Colexis Mom]

Glad overall you had a great time! Sorry traveling with your Mother is no longer an option!