The Young Commando Takes On The World Aug 15-20 **Updated 10/6** COMPLETE About This Page:

[rhinohunter]

Great update and pictures. We let our DGD taste Beverly. (Actually handed it to her.) Looks like Andrew was having a good time. Hope Tuesday and Fay is as interesting.

[Meggera]

Wow! Sounds like a fun time in Epcot. Y'all sure accomplished a lot. I GG. So glad the character interaction was up to par. More please!

[DyanKJ130]

Sounds like a wonderful time at Epcot! That picture of Andrew at Club Cool cracks me up! It's awesome!! We the Garden Grill!! Looking forward to more

[bsblady01]

more please

[mcc0313]

Sounds like you had a busy time at Epcot but a wonderful meal. I really love the character interaction at the GG and the food is very yummy as well...

[lissybri]

Great update. I'm sorry about the grumpy CM at TT. I agree, they should know that children will be climbing all over the cars. Glad you finally had yourself a decent meal, lol. I really love GG. Sorry about the meltdown, been there done that. Can't wait to hear about the next morning. I think we went to DHS on that day also. I'll have to double check my notes. It's been so long I can' t remember.

[Lemap760]

Tuesday August 19 –
I woke up to the sound of the storm. After a quick peek out the window I realized that at the moment it was just wind and no rain (yet). I woke Andrew up and told him to get moving because I wasn’t sure how much park time we would have today.
We got to the Studios around 10 and the first thing we did was grab fast passes for TSM. They weren’t good until 6:30. Ok then.


Alone in the picture again.

We figured we might as well take another trip to Endor and made our way to Star Wars. Along the way we saw Kim Possible and Ron Stopable out for pictures so we stopped. There was only one family in front of us and no one else was coming over. The picture came out terrible so I deleted it. It wasn’t until later that I realized that I didn’t take out Andrew’s autograph book. We never saw them out again so we would have to do without their signatures.

The rain had started so we took out the ponchos and basically wore them the rest of the day. Although the rain wasn’t too bad at times, it meant that a lot of the meet and greets weren’t going to be taking place either. Oh well. Those are the chances you take when traveling in August.

We rode Star Tours and had another great ride. I rode with my eyes closed this time. Andrew wanted to look around the gift shop some more and decided he wanted a storm trooper costume. He wore this costume the rest of the day after lunch and now he has a Halloween costume. Wearing a storm trooper costume around the Studios gets a lot of attention. Too bad the Jedi training academy wasn’t on due to the rain.

Now that my wallet was even lighter, we headed to the Sci Fi for our lunch ADR. The new lot of CMs were earning their ears today. This was the second one we encountered this morning so it took a little longer to check in for lunch. At first I didn’t think she was going to seat us because we were 10 minutes early.



The hostess sat us in the back seat with another family of 3 generations of girl power – grandmother, mother, daughter. Hitchhiking didn’t bother us any and Andrew was entertained watching the video clips.

Andrew ordered a hot dog with no side and a coke. I had the bacon cheeseburger with a coke and fries. The woman in front of us ordered the cucumber melon salad and the waitress told her she was brave. That had me a little concerned so I asked her what was in the cucumber melon salad. I don’t remember everything but it was cucumber, either honeydew or cantelope, red onion, and some kind of dressing. This sounded rather disgusting to me and I’m glad I opted for the fries.

Andrew’s hot dog had fries come with it and they didn’t charge us any extra. This was a nice treat or a nice mistake on the kitchen’s part. Although he had said he didn’t want them for a reason and they went to waste. He was only hungry enough for the hot dog.

Our waitress brought Andrew another driver’s license after he excitedly told her about the one he had gotten from the Indy Speedway. Well if the one license got Andrew excited you can imagine what having two of them did. The boy was on cloud nine.

The burger here is delicious. Huge and juicy. The bacon was also cooked just the way I like it – crispy, and I didn’t even have to ask for it that way.

Andrew ate all his hot dog and said that was good too.



We now had to decide what to do next. The rain was coming down harder and the wind was still blowing fast and furious.

We made our way to the Animation building. Andrew was excited about learning how to draw a character. The Playhouse Disney building caused a slight distraction on the way. Since we just missed getting into a show I promised Andrew we would come back.

We had a small wait for the next Animation show to start. I hadn’t seen the changes since Mushu was put in. I miss Robin Williams but Mushu was funny too in his own way. Andrew thought he was funny too.

We just missed getting into the Animation academy so we had to wait ½ hour for the next one to start. The Incredibles were out but Andrew didn’t want to leave his spot. He wouldn’t leave his spot when Frozone came out either. That boy was determined to draw a character.

Once we were let into the drawing room we had to take a vote on who to draw, Pluto or Donald. A few of us including me and Andrew wanted Donald, but Pluto won. I spent a lot of time helping Andrew, picking up Andrew’s pencil, giving positive reinforcement when ever asked if he was doing a good job, so I didn’t pay close attention to the instructor. I did what I could by following the drawing the instructor was doing without hearing what he was saying to do.


Andrew's "Pluto"

My final masterpiece looks like someone spiked Pluto’s water dish.



After the drawing class we played with the computer games for awhile. We had fun singing songs and testing out our acting ability. Andrew insisted that I sing and then told me that I wasn’t singing loud enough. We colored some pictures then went over to figure out what character Andrew was most like. I think it was Gaston.

When we had enough of playing with the computers I convinced Andrew to stand in line for the Incredibles. There was a group in front of us of about 8 people who were all related in some way. When they said they all wanted individual pictures the CM had a fit and said they all had to get in the picture together because the line was too long and the Incredibles were taking a break soon.



Andrew didn’t want to wait around to see if Frozone was coming back out so we left.
We were just in time to head in to the next Playhouse Disney show. I thought, or hoped, he had grown out of this so I wouldn’t have to sit on the floor. No such luck. My legs always fall asleep sitting in here and it doesn’t help that Andrew wants to sit on my lap.
There were two kids fighting for floor space right next to me. It was starting to get annoying especially since they were in their pre-teens and a little too old to be fighting for floor space at a show meant for a younger audience.

The show was cute, but I miss the original version with Bear in the Big Blue House.
I stood up and walked to the back of the room to put on our ponchos again. I also took the time to get some feeling back into my legs. The CM in there didn’t seem to mind that we were taking out time. It was nice not to be rushed.

We walked by Pixar Place and the wait time for TSM was 80 minutes. Andrew wasn’t interested in the meet and greet with Woody so we pressed onward.

Andrew became interested in some of the scenery outside the Backlot Tour so we got in line for that. The line was rather long and I was wondering if we were going to be able to get into the next show or have to wait for another one. Andrew started complaining at this point that he was thirsty. Since I didn’t have anything with me he had a choice to make either stay in line for the tour (which he wanted to do) or leave the line for a couple of minutes to go grab a drink (which he also wanted). I finally pulled him out of line and had a talk with him about not being able to have his cake and eat it to. Not in those words, but that was the jist of the conversation.

He finally decided he was more thirsty than anything else. We ended up with a slushie to share and he was happy again. Although he had lost interest in seeing the Backlot Tour.
At this point I was trying to sell ToT on him and I thought I had him hooked. We started walking over there while enjoying our drink. When we got closer he suddenly remembered that his grandmother told him this was a scary ride and refused to go on. Thanks Grandma. He wouldn’t even go through the cue to see if it was actually scary or Grandma was just being a big chicken.

Since we were in that area I asked him if he wanted to see the big guitar. Knowing full well that he didn’t come near the height requirement, I thought seeing the guitar would make him happy. And it did make him happy and excited. He immediately asked if we could go on this roller coaster. It’s great to know that he’ll be a thrill ride junkie when he’s a little older. We went over to the height measuring stick just to show him that he had a way to go yet.

I have to say that Andrew took the news of being too short for some rides really well. I think it disappointed me more to have to tell him no then it disappointed him.
We then just walked around some of the stores for a little while. The skies had opened up again and it was really pouring at this point and the wind was strong. Nothing like a little sideways rain to get you soaked.

While it was pouring we discussed what indoor attractions we wanted to do again. We took another spin on Star Wars and also did the Great Movie Ride. The GMR is a nice place to go get out of the rain. A lot of other people thought so too.

There was a pretzel stand right outside the exit of the GMR so we got a snack and ate it under the cover of the exit area.

At this point it was still pouring and we decided we had enough for one day. Our fastpasses weren’t good for another hour and a half and neither one of us wanted to stick around that long.

We made our way to the buses with a lot of other people who were done being drenched for the day. This was the longest wait for a bus we had the entire trip. We waited at least a half and hour for a bus while the sideways rain attacked. While waiting we saw every other resort bus pull up at least twice, sometimes three times. Needless to say this didn’t make the people in our line very happy.

Finally a bus came and we all piled in. Andrew wanted to stand again, but I insisted he sit down because of everything being wet and slippery.
We had dinner from Café Rix again. Pizza for both of us. We just ate in the room and watched tv for the rest of the night.


Continued in next post

[Lemap760]

Wednesday August 20

This was our last day and I wanted to Andrew up and moving. I had called down to bell services around 6:30 to get our bags and they were there in no time.

Andrew finally started showing some life. He had wanted to wear his new Splash Mountain shirt today so that’s the one I left for him. Well, after putting it on he declared it was too big and wouldn’t wear it. The only other option was to wear his pajama top because I wasn’t going to get our bags from luggage services to look for a different shirt. So that is why Andrew is wearing his pajama top in the pictures today.

We actually made it to the opening ceremonies at the MK this morning. Breakfast with Stitch at Ohana’s was cancelled because Andrew thought eating breakfast this morning was a waste of valuable park time. So breakfast for me was a Coke from the stand outside the MK so I could get my caffeine fix. Since Andrew decided he didn’t want breakfast I didn’t get him anything.

The opening ceremonies were great. I now know why people start getting all emotional at these. I wiped away a few tears of happiness and headed into the park with the masses.

We said our usual hellos to those waving. I found the job of my dreams when I retire. I want to be the CM who blows bubbles when the MK opens. She looked like she was having fun.

We immediately headed to Peter Pan and walked on. I find this ride so much more enjoyable when you don’t have to wait in an hour long line for it.
Next we went to IASW where we were guests 17 and 18 for the morning. I’m not sure if Fantasyland is always this empty first thing in the morning or if it had anything to do with Fay.

Anyway we then did the Pooh ride and Philharmagic. This was Andrew’s first time seeing Philharmagic and he loved it. Although he was a little impatient while waiting for the theater doors to open. I’m glad I convinced him to wait.

We went to Toon Town to ride the barnstormer a couple of times. Andrew wasn’t interested in going inside to meet any characters. (Later when we got home he was complaining that he didn’t get a lot of character autographs. If they weren’t outside he wasn’t interested and when it’s raining the characters really aren’t outside a lot).
Andrew wanted to ride the race cars. At this point it started raining again so I had put the ponchos on. I have learned the hard way that ponchos don’t cover a backpack and your rear end very well when you sit down. I sat in the race car and realized I didn’t have complete coverage and ended up sitting in a puddle. Oh boy. Wet shorts and underwear.
Andrew wanted to do the Astro Orbiter. Since we were already wet from our race car ride I agreed to do this. More fun with the rain blowing in our faces. Although it sounds like I’m complaining a lot, we were having fun and the rain made the lines for the outdoor attractions really short.

Andrew saw Stitch doing a meet and greet over by the COP. See, a character is outside so he’s interested. We visited with Stitch. These are some of my favorite pictures from the trip. They just seem to say “I’m wet, I’m tired, but I’m still happy.”






Andrew asked to go on the COP so we went on that next. Andrew likes seeing all the inventions as they progress through the years.

I was getting hungry so we headed over to Casey’s for lunch. Andrew was happy to sit and watch cartoons again. It was a little crowded in there from people seeking a break from the rain. Nothing special here. Hot dogs again. This time with fries with cheese sauce for dipping.

After I had finished eating and I was sure Andrew was done with his food, I had gotten up to let some other people sit down. Andrew seemed to have a problem with this. He wanted me to sit next to him while he watched the tv. I had to explain to him that other people were looking for a place to sit down while they ate and it was polite to give them a spot. At this point he was ready to go.

Andrew wanted to go on BTMRR again but didn’t want to walk aaaaallllll they way over there (his words). That’s when I decided that he had enough and was over tired. I had promised him a toy from the Buzz Lightyear stand so we made our way over there. After several minutes of him looking around we made our purchase and I told him it was time to go back to the hotel.

I had completely forgotten about getting Andrew’s haircut at the barbershop since his head was soaking wet. This would come back to haunt me later.

We made our way to the bus stop and were waiting there when all of a sudden we heard a loud crash. Everyone in the bus stop area turned at the same time and all had the same reaction of “Oh that’s not good”. One bus had been coming around the corner and the back end of the bus smashed into another bus that was sitting there. It didn’t look like anyone was hurt. Both drivers got out of the buses and were talking to each other.
I don’t know what happened next because a manager told us waiting for Coronado The crash was blocking the road coming in and I’m not sure how long it would be before that got cleared up. All I could think of was that we had a ME bus to catch to the airport, although we had plenty of time. I was grateful for the manager to put us on the other bus. to get on the bus that was at the stop behind us.

Back at the hotel I collected our luggage and went to the main lobby. Andrew took a bio break first. Then I took one of the bags and went and changed into dry clothes. There was no way I was going to the airport wet. Andrew was a lot drier than I was except for his head. That’s what he gets for not putting his hood up.
We passed the time by Andrew watching the tv in the lobby and I read. Soon enough it was time to get on the bus.

We were on the bus for about 15 minutes when Andrew realized that we didn’t get his hair cut. Oh crap. I tried explaining to him that it was pointless to have tried to do this today because of the rain. That didn’t matter to him and he started having a melt down. Thankfully he fell asleep.

I had a hard time waking Andrew up at the airport and getting him off the bus. Of course when he was awake enough he remembered about the hair cut and the melt down started all over again.

All I’m going to say at this point is that I’m glad ME drops you off so early. I needed every minute to get from the drop off location to the gate.

The flight home was a full one. Many passengers were ones who got delayed the day before because of Fay. I’ve had better flights but I won’t go into detail because I’d rather remember the positive about the trip.

We landed around 8pm and Andrew was in a better mood and cooperating. When we were on the moving sidewalk going to luggage claim the couple behind us had been on our ME bus going to the airport. The lady informed me that the whole bus felt sorry for me. Gee thanks. If I had a dime for every look of pity that I had at the airport that night I’d be a millionaire.

I called my dad when we got to the luggage carousel and him and my mom came over to help with the bags. On the way to the car my dad walked in front of a bus that was traveling a little too fast down the road and Andrew followed him. Luckily the bus pulled to a stop right in front of where they crossed. After recovering from the heart attack I just had my mom and I joined them at the car and headed home.


Continued in next post with final thoughts

[Lemap760]

Final thoughts:

Southwest: This was the first time traveling Southwest. I didn’t have any issues with them on the flight down and thought it was a decent airline. The ride back was a little less pleasant with grouchy airline attendants and grouchy passengers. Not that I can do anything about that. I think a lot of it had to do with canceled flights from Fay. They still have the least expensive fares so I might try them again.

Coronado Springs: This was another first for us. The resort is beautiful and I wish we had more time to explore it. The pool and slide is a lot of fun. The Pepper Market had a lot of options and I’m sorry we didn’t eat there more instead of Café Rix. I was just being lazy I suppose. The new queen beds were heavenly to sleep in although they made the room a little cramped. It was just the two of us. Any more probably would have bothered me. Will I stay here again? Probably not. Although the resort is lovely and it’s the first bus stop at the parks, I just didn’t feel that Disney vibe while I was there. There are many other resorts I want to try.

The Parks: This was the first time I’ve ever spent a good amount of time in Epcot with Andrew. Now that he’s older and can appreciate it and obviously loves it there I will spend more time.
MGM or the Studios wasn’t a good choice for an after dinner park or a park to do in the rain. I feel we missed out on a lot. We did have fun while we were there.
Animal Kingdom – Although we got there rather late in the day I think we accomplished what we wanted to, except FOLK. When Andrew grows another inch we’ll be back conquering Everest.
MK – This park remains Andrew’s favorite and now he has some new rides to add to his favorite list.

Food: We canceled most of our ADRs because Andrew just wasn’t willing to sit down for a meal. The TS we did go to were both great. Garden Grill was a great home style meal that hit the spot after so many hot dogs and pizza meals. The character interaction was also great. Sci Fi was great as well. I stuck with the basics and wasn’t disappointed. I tried to see what other people were eating, but it was too dark in there. The movie clips also kept Andrew entertained while waiting for our food.

Traveling alone with a 5 year old: I think the timing for this trip was all wrong. Andrew was out of his routine for so long and never had a chance to get back into it that I think he started off the trip over tired. He had been at his father’s house for a week, then my sister’s kids were visiting for a week and a half, then two days later we left for Disney. I kind of knew this would happen when I found out my sister’s plans. I still owe her a swift kick in the butt for it. Andrew had his fair share of melt downs during the trip and some of them were the worst I’ve ever seen come out of this kid. With that being said, most of the trip was a lot of fun and we both had a good time. Fay didn’t slow us down too much and we just took things as they came to us. Andrew has already started talking about when we go back again.

Until next time (whenever that may be). Thanks for reading.

[Griffin]

What a great trip report over all! I have to admit I would check back all the time for your updates! Your pics came out great, and that one with Andrew and Stitch is just too cute! Thanks for sharing Pam

[lissybri]

Great day at DHS. I think you did a great job drawing Pluto (as did Andrew). Great day at MK. I love the picture of Andrew with Stitch. He looks so adorable. Thanks for all the great advice. I've always flown SW, but we also noticed the cranky flight attendants on the way back home (not to mention how full the flight was). I definitely think this was due to Fay. Glad to see you didn't let Fay slow you down. It is something I know we will always remember. Now I am much braver and will do just about anything in the rain. I always tell everyone we will never let a little rain stop us after Fay. Sorry to see your TR end. I really enjoyed it and felt that I was right there with you (well I was there at the same time, but you know what I mean). Can't wait until you return someday and I can read all about it again.

[bsblady01]

sounds like you and your son had a magical time at the world

[elisa1006]

Thank you for taking the time to share your trip with us. I have enjoyed reading all about it!

[Colexis Mom]

Great finish Pam! I'm glad you didn't let the rain stop you and kept going!! More great pictures!! Thanks so much for sharing your adventures with us!

[chezp]

What a great trip report, but what a shame to see it come to an end.