The Double Stroller Diaries: CBR 5/14-5/21-UPDATED 8/3 --DAY 3 at F&G Festival About This Page:

[clio]

I just found your tr. It's very good- although it made me tired just reading it. I don'r know how you do it. Your boys are adorable.
Liz

[DawnDenise]

Another great update! We CP! Sorry You didn't get to meet Pooh though. Looking forward to more!

[Happymommy]

Thanks everyone for you're kind replies!!!!

[Happymommy]

Sunday, May 14th Day 2 (Part 2)

We got off of Dumbo, and Aidan wanted to walk through the Castle. So, we walked through, and went into the shop inside. We looked around the shop, and made our way through to Main Street. Aidan saw a Mickey Bar cart and asked if he could have some ice cream. He had his first Mickey Bar, and Joe had a Strawberry Bar. I wanted to wait for a Dole Whip later (never got one) , so I didn’t get any ice cream. Danny was still sleeping.. After cleaning Aidan up, we headed over to Splash. It was about 1:30 at this point, so our fastpasses had expired, but there was only a 25 minute wait. We walked up to the front of Splash, and I picked Aidan up so he could watch a few of the boats go down the main drop. I was pretty sure after seeing this, he would back out. I asked him if he was sure he wanted to ride? “Yes!” He was determined to ride Splash. Though I love thrill rides (especially TOT and RNRC), I really don’t like log flumes (too much anticipation leading to that big drop), so I asked Joe if he would do it. Joe didn’t want to do it, because he doesn’t like getting wet, but he agreed. So, off they went.

Danny was still sleeping at this point, and had been for almost an hour and a half, which is great since he usually naps 3 hours. We started walking, and by this time it was 1:45pm, I figured by the time Joe and Aidan got off Splash it would be 2:30, so I might as well find a spot for the parade. I walked through Frontierland, and found a bench across the street from Diamond Horseshoe Review. Danny woke up around 2:30, and I gave him a snack and some juice. The area started to get really crowded. Joe called my cell around 2:50 to see where we were, and he said he was right next to Diamond Horseshoe, so he’d be by in a second. Aidan took a seat next to me and Danny on the ground right in front of the rope. He said he liked Splash, but Joe said Aidan really hated the part that was indoors (Aidan won’t get on anything that is indoors except Living Seas)—Aidan added that it was dark, and he didn’t like that. Joe showed me the picture that he bought (I still don’t know why he decided that we needed the 8x10 lol!) ($18.06)

(This is a picture of a picture). I feel so bad when I look at his little face in this picture, he looks terrified, but he said that he loved it. However, now when I ask him if he’ll go on with me on the next trip—“oh, Daddy and I already went on that, but you can go on it yourself” he says with a smile.

The parade began and it was terrific—one of my favorite parades (sorry I don’t have any pictures, I never seem to get to take pictures of parades or fireworks because I’m always holding Danny, and Joe is holding Aidan—actually this time I have no excuse, since we were sitting down, I just forget—my goal for the trip next June is to get pics of parades lol!!). Though this parade is so much fun, it was really hot at 3pm, and I felt like the sun was just beating on the boys’ faces. We started walking back, and stopped for some Churros. We had never had those before, and Joe was trying to find a snack he could love as much as the Beavertails (which he misses terribly) . Aidan and I ate our churros, but neither Joe nor Danny enjoyed them. We continued back toward Splash, and I asked Aidan if he wanted to ride BTMR with me. “Na.—I think I’ll do that tomorrow.” I explained that tomorrow we wouldn’t be in the Magic Kingdom, not again until Thursday. “Are you sure you don’t want to ride?” (Before leaving for Disney, we watched a few shows on the travel channel, and he decided he wanted to ride TOT (though I kept trying to tell him how dark it is), Splash and BTMR—he does like fast rides, just not dark ones). He agreed to ride, but he didn’t seem to sure. There was a 5 minute wait, so we walked through the entire queue, straight down to the turnstiles. Once we got to the Turnstiles, I pulled Aidan back out of the way so people could pass us, partly so he could finish his churro, and also to be sure he really wanted to ride. The CM looked confused, and I told him that we might be changing our minds. He tried to talk Aidan into riding. He was nice, he told Aidan that the ride rocked, but I really didn’t want to talk Aidan into riding something he didn’t feel comfortable with. Aidan swore that he really wanted to ride, so we went through the turnstiles, and onto the train. As soon as it took off we went into that section that is dark, and you go up, and is it the first time when the rocks look like they’re coming down? Well that freaked Aidan out—he really thought the rocks were going to fall on us. He just kept saying “I don’t like this, Mommy I’m scared” I really felt bad. I held him really tight, and tried to talk him through the entire ride. We were both glad when it was over. I think he’s glad he rode it, but he won’t do it again. Still, to this day, when my family asks about BTMR, he goes right to those moving rocks. “Yes it had moving rocks that will FALL on you!!!” He didn’t mind the speed or the little drops or turns, just those rocks.

Once it was over, we decided to take a break from the heat, and get something to eat. We never had lunch due to our late breakfast. Joe and I were trying to decide between Casey’s and Pecos Bill’s, and decided on Casey’s, since we ate at Pecos Bill’s three times in September (I Pecos Bill’s). We walked into Casey’s, and it was so nice and cool!! I put Danny in a high chair, asked Aidan to take a seat, and gave the food order to Joe. Danny continued to sit with me, but Aidan made some friends (as usual—we don’t know where he came from, since Joe and I are both very shy. Aidan will go up to anyone and introduce himself hehehe!!) It was pretty empty inside Casey’s, so Aidan and his friends were able to play on the benches in front of the big screen. Joe returned pretty quickly with hot dogs, milk and fries for the boys. He had a chili dog for me (maybe fries too, I can’t remember), and something for himself (???).($26.39) Danny LOVES hot dogs, so he was very content. Aidan doesn’t like to eat, but he came back for bites every now and then while he played with his new friends. We took our time eating, because we really wanted a break from the sun. Once Danny was finished, he joined his brother on the benches. Joe and I just sat and watched them for a while. By this time, the other kids had gone, but it was pretty empty since it was just after 4pm, so they weren’t bothering anyone, and we just let the boys play for a while.

After a little while had passed, I scooped Danny up and headed for the Baby Care Center. Joe hung out with Aidan. Once we returned we headed for the shop that opens up inside Casey’s. It’s Joe’s favorite shop, with all of the Mickey themed sports merchandise. I really love the bobble heads in there (they look like the old black and white Mickey Mouse cartoons), I’d like to buy some for the boys’ room—I think maybe next trip (I always do this, I hate to shop). We moved on to the Emporium. Danny found a Buzz doll and a Woody doll and played with those for a few minutes, while Joe and Aidan looked around. It’s funny, Danny could play with any toy in the store, and he goes for the ones he has at home hehehe!! Once he was done, and I made sure all of the dolls were back on the shelf and in place, and we moved on to the Pal Mickey dolls. He was really having fun with that doll, and a CM came over and showed him some tricks to get the doll to talk. We sat there looking at that for a while, and then we continued on. I spent some time admiring the Mickey kitchen accessories—I always say I’m going to buy some, but then I think—next trip, I’ll get some. I met up with Joe and Aidan, and we headed outside. It was 5pm, and the parade with the flag lowering ceremony was starting, so we stood and watched.



Aidan asked to go on the Jungle Cruise, so once the parade was over, we started heading to Adventureland. We made it to the Jungle Cruise, and there was no wait at all—time posted was 0 , so we walked on to the boats. Aidan really loves this ride, and enjoyed it once again.

After the Jungle Cruise, the boys played with the miniature boats, outside the queue.



After Jungle Cruise, we hit Aladdin, which also had a 5 minute wait. Joe sat with Aidan, and I sat with Danny—this was my first time on this ride, and it was a lot of fun!! Aidan doesn’t like POC or HM , so we just passed by them, and we asked him if he would go on Peter Pan (one of the few indoor rides he enjoyed on the last trip), and he agreed. This had a 20 minute wait. Aidan ended up closing his eyes through the entire ride, but said he liked it. Danny just sat quietly and took it all in, I didn’t really get any kind of reaction from him, but it sure was better than the year before when he struggled to get out of my lap and off of the sailboat (that was a little scary!) Peter Pan is one of my favorites, I think the scenes are so pretty—I just love flying over London at night!!

As we walked off Peter Pan, I saw that IASW only had a 5 minute wait. Aidan said he would not go on IASW, but I could take Danny—thanks for the approval kiddo. I don’t know why he refuses IASW. He told me, long before we left, that he would not get on this ride. So, Aidan hung out with Joe, and I took Danny. We walked into the pavilion, and it was beautiful!! This attraction is much brighter than I remembered. Danny yelled “Tic-Toc!!” when he saw the big clock as we walked through the queue. We proceeded through the turnstiles, and had maybe a 30 second wait before getting on a boat. Danny heard the music and started bopping to it and humming along (I have the Disney’s Greatest Hits CDs, and IASW is on it, but I didn’t realize he knew it so well). He bopped through the whole ride!! I definitely got a reaction from him here, he loved it!!






We walked out of the pavilion, and Joe and Aidan were waiting for us. I showed Aidan the pictures, and he seemed really impressed with the animals and dolls, but still refused to ride. He did want to ride the carousel though, so we headed over, and got on without any wait.


After we hopped off the Carousel, Aidan requested another spin on Dumbo. This had a 10 minute wait. Aidan wanted to ride with Daddy and Danny, so I sat this one out.
.
They had a great time, though Danny was starting to look as though he wasn’t feeling well again. I met them as they walked off of the ride.

We wanted to ride Pooh, but it was a little after 8, and Wishes was at 9, so we decided to start looking for a good spot to watch the show. We’ll be back at MK on Thursday anyway, so we’ll do that and Toontown Thursday.

We walked out of Fantasyland, into and through Tomorrowland, past Cosmic Ray’s and across that Bridge that led to the hub in front of the castle. We found a great spot on the sidewalk across from the Hub. Joe went in search for some popcorn and water, since we had killed all of the drinks in our cooler. A cart with light up toys parked itself right in front of us, so I grabbed Aidan a light saber (he’s a little obsessed with Star Wars, though he’s only seen the original—Episode 4, but he has a lot of Star Wars books), and I picked out a twirly light up toy for Danny. That kept them occupied. Aidan asked if he could go find Daddy. I could see the popcorn cart, and Joe standing there, so I yelled to Joe and watched Aidan run over to his dad. It took 45 minutes for Joe to get through the line for popcorn, and the two of them didn’t return until 8:50. At that time, Jiminy Cricket had begun his announcements, and then the lights darkened a few minutes later.

I picked Danny up out of the stroller, and Joe held Aidan up. Wishes began and it was amazing. Every time one of the fireworks went off Danny screamed “Look a daaaaat (translation--look at that)!!!!!!” at the top of his lungs. He had us laughing hysterically, though I started to worry about the people around us, but they were laughing too. Then he’d say “peeeez peeeez look a daaaaat”!!! (please please)—if you weren’t looking, he’d turn your head to see it. I started trying to shhh him a little, but it didn’t work. It was pretty funny, and no one seemed to mind—thank God. Unfortunately Tink didn’t fly from the castle , I guess because it looked like it might storm any minute (though it didn’t), but it was still terrific!!

We decided to take our time leaving. We were all pretty hungry, since we had eaten at 4, so we tried to find something to eat. Cosmic Ray’s was closing, so was Tomorrowland Terrace. Casey’s was still open, so we hit that again. Joe walked over, and the boys and I sat at a table in front of the Plaza. The woman at the table next to us told us we couldn’t sit there, because she had friends that would be coming over, but we could stay until they returned. I really didn’t think that she could claim a table that she hadn’t even made an effort to save (there were three of them sitting at the table she was at), but I just got up and walked across the street in front of Casey’s and found a table over there.

Joe spotted us, and came over to our table. Joe and I split a soda, and each had a hot dog, and he got milk and fries for the boys.($17.40). We took our time eating, and once we were done, we started walking down Main Street toward the busses. Joe was so disappointed that we missed Mickey waving goodbye —for some reason, he always gets such a kick out of that. We got to the bus depot, and CBR still had a bit of a line. The bus came pretty quickly though. Here is where we made a pretty big mistake—live and learn. We were one of the last people in line, and we got on the crowded bus (should have just waited for the next one, which is what we did from that point on), although now that I think about it, it was so late that may have been the last bus. So, we had to stand, which normally wouldn’t bother me, but I was a little worried about Aidan standing, and I was standing while holding a 2yo in one hand and the bar in the other—that just made me a little nervous, because Danny’s such a wiggle worm—and really strong. Joe had the stroller. The woman sitting near us was kind enough to put her arm around Aidan’s waist and hold on to him, so that made me feel a lot better. One woman kind of spat out at Joe—if you’re wife needs to sit down, I guess she can sit in my seat. Which was nice, but she sure was mad about it hehehe!! I hadn’t made any complaints at all about standing, or given any looks or anything, so I didn’t know why she did that, I thanked her, but declined and just stood. It was kind of funny—though. Anyway, that was the last time we did that, from that point on, if we were next in line for a crowded bus, we just let the people behind us go on, and waited for the next bus.

We got off at Ole Port Royale, filled our mugs, (I got hot chocolate, which was nice since it was fairly cool at night) and grabbed some more milk for the boys. Then we walked back to our room in Trinidad North. We really enjoyed this walk at night, the lights on the water are so pretty, I love CBR, and we were lucky enough to be very close to the food court and main pool.

It was after 11pm when we arrived back to the room, we put the Mickey cartoons on (Aidan really loved them), and got ready for bed. We all fell asleep with those cartoons on. Luckily, we knew MK would be a busy day, so we planned to just hang around the resort the next morning and afternoon.

Coming Up
Spending some time in a “Cave”
Smelling the Roses at Epcot

[mestitch]

Another great update Dina!! I bet you guys were pooped out after that day at the MK!!

[FanOfMickey]

Sounds like you had a great day Dina!! Thanks for the great update, can't wait to read more!!

[RobDVC]

WOW! That was a long day, Glad the boys had a good time.
The Splash Mountain picture is priceless!

[Happymommy]

Thanks for the replies!! It was a long day lol!!! We were prepared to go back, if the kids started acting out of sorts, but they seemed to be having a good time. We usually do one full day on each trip, and that's always at MK, because we like the afternoon parade, and we LOVE Wishes. That's the only day we're out for the whole day -- usually a little while in morning, and a little while in the evening-- this was unusual for us, but we really did have fun!! Now, I feel bad because I realized later that Danny really wasn't feeling well, and I didn't realize how bad it was.

[Luv2plan]

What a great update!! I love how you were able to get right on the rides & do a lot. Aidan's great to try so many new rides, and it was so cute how Danny was bopping along to IASW.

Looking forward to more!

[lauren-roxy]

Great update Dina!! You certainly did have a busy day!! My kids are mezmerized by the cartoons on the tv in the room too, I wish I could buy a DVD of them!! Can't wait for more, I am really enjoying your trip report!!

[Cinderbrella]

I'm enjoying your TR so far, Dina! I hope that Daniel gets to feeling better. your pictures!

[dsnytina]

Wonderful TR!
You are taking such good care of your boys - not like some of the parents who visit WDW!
Tina

[Colexis Mom]

More great updates Dina Love the pictures too

[Leah's Dad]

Great Tr!!! Lovin' the laid-backness( yes, I know, I made up that word) of your trip. I somehow can't do that for some reason. Keep it up!!!

Leah's Dad

[Happymommy]

Monday, May 16th (Day 3)

Our plan for the day was to spend the morning at the resort swimming, and head over to World Showcase around 4pm (once Danny woke from his nap)—so basically this would be our day off, we’d just get started doing the countries and kidcot stations tonight before finding a spot for Illuminations. We knew we’d be pretty tired after the long day at MK (our busiest day), so I wanted the next day to be easy. Our dinner plans were to get some counter service in World Showcase.

As usual, I was up before 7am. I had some sippy cups to wash (too tired the night before), so I did that, and then I walked over to OPR for coffee. When I came back, everyone was still sleeping. We had this pretty courtyard outside our room, with benches and tables (I wish I took a picture of it, but I forgot), so I just sat out there for a little while with my bookclub book (BelCanto) and my coffee. I went back in the room around 9, and everyone was starting to wake up.

We got the boys dressed, and headed over to OPR for breakfast. Aidan and Danny really love cereal (and I learned last trip that they don’t have General Mills in WDW), so I did fill a container for Danny with Wheaties and one for Aidan with Cheerios, and brought styrofoam bowls with spoons. We sat down at OPR, and I got the kids food--they each also had Mickey Waffles with their cereal (they’re really big breakfast eaters—after breakfast there’s not much Aidan will eat). We picked them up OJ and Milk for their cereal. I had a bagel and fruit, and I can’t remember what Joe got, (there are so many food court charges for this day--more than the meals we had—so I can’t really figure out which ones are lunch and which ones are for breakfast—sorry, but I know for Breakfast and Lunch combined, we spent a total of $53.96).

After breakfast Aidan asked if he could go in the cave (AKA arcade) for a while. We probably stayed there for about 45 min. Aidan really loved the Star Wars game, though he had no idea what he was doing. Danny also played something, and I know he didn’t know what he was doing hehehe!!


After playing in the arcade for a while, we went outside and took a look at the pool, and Aidan wanted to see the fountain again (he loves fountains).



We went back to the room (it was about 11am), and took our time putting our bathing suits and sunscreen on. Danny was playing with his Thomas trains, and Aidan and Joe were watching TV. The room had been cleaned while we were gone, which was really a nice surprise! As we’re getting ready to head out, we noticed Danny had just fallen asleep on the floor playing—oops. Its not unusual for him to fall asleep for his nap between 11 and 1, but I thought he would make it past noon since he didn’t wake up until 9am. We put him on the bed, and Joe decided to stay with Danny (that way he could watch golf on TV), and I took Aidan to the pool.

Aidan prefers the kiddie pool. We had shipped a lot of his pool toys, so we brought those to the pool with us, and he shared his toys with the other kids and made some friends. We stayed there for a few hours (until about 2—and Aidan was getting hungry). We got back to the room, and Danny was waking up. So we changed him, put his swim suit on and went back to OPR for lunch. Danny had a side of meatballs (he loves meatballs), Joe and I had burgers and fries and Aidan had a chicken nugget bucket. After lunch, we went back to the pool for another hour or so.







It was around 4pm, and time to get out of the pool, and into the tub where did the day go??. Joe picked me up a Pina Colada, and got himself a beer at Banana Cabana ($13.99), and we started walking back to the room. We all got showers/baths, enjoyed our drinks—gave the kids some snacks and drinks, and started heading to the bus stop around 5:30. A bus came pretty quickly.

We arrived in Epcot around 6pm, and took in the Flower and Garden Festival on our way to World Showcase.















We started our way through World Showcase (Joe and I really love World Showcase—we love getting eating and drinking in different countries). We walked in to Canada, and Joe stopped at the Canada Food Cart for a beer (is it Labatt’s—I think? $5.00). We realized Off Kilter was on, and stopped to watch—Aidan really loves Off Kilter!!



After Off Kilter had finished their set, we walked over to UK, and made our stop at the UK Beer Cart (boy do we sound like lushes-- Joe reminds me of Dan Conner in that episode of Roseanne when they go to Disney. Dan finds out there’s no alcohol in MK, and he’s sad the whole time they’re there. Then Roseanne says go, and you see him running in slow motion, to the theme from Chariots of Fire, to the monorail to go to Epcot. Then they find him hours later in the Rose and Crown. Hehehe!! That’s Joe!! But, I’m used to it—when I was a kid, my dad and uncle would spend hours just hanging out in the Rose and Crown. Anyway, I buy at the UK Cart and get Joe (I can’t remember what, I’m thinking Guiness, but I could be wrong), and a Strongbow Cider for myself ($12.75)—I always look forward to Cider in UK—reminds me of when I was in London the summer I graduated college.

We didn’t really do much exploring since it was approaching 7pm, and the kids were probably hungry. We did stop in Japan though. It’s Aidan’s favorite—he loves the fish in the ponds.



So, we headed over to USA—only counter service restaurant in World Showcase where the boys will eat. We get to USA, sit down and Joe gets the kids’ dinner. Joe and I really didn’t want to eat here, so we were going to get something for ourselves afterward (bad decision). We got the kids two chicken nugget meals with milk ($8.49). While we’re sitting there I swear I hear Gary Puckett. I said to Joe—OMG—is that Gary Puckett??—it really sounds like him (I saw Gary Pucket before when I was in 7th grade, when he toured with the Monkees in the ‘80s—reunion tour. I was obsessed with the Monkees in 7th grade). He says Gary who?? Who is Gary Pucket?? I swore it was him, and it sounded like “young girl”. I looked at the Times Guide, and realized I was right, and then I was so sad that I missed Davy Jones!! Joe just looks at me with that “your such a nerd” face. Gary finished up that set, so I didn’t get to see him, but another one was coming!!

The kids finished eating, and Joe and I decided to get something in Japan to eat. This was the worst Disney decision we have made so far (ok second to the time when we were staying at WL, and with the double stroller, decided that instead of just taking the bus to Epcot, we should take the boat to Contemporary, and the monorail to Epcot--not realizing we’d have to take two monorails—we were really tired by the time we got there). Anywho, we get over to Japan, sit down again—luckily the kids liked looking at the water. The line was out the door, so we must have been there 45 minutes. Big waste of time—next time I’ll just pick a table service restaurant that has an Americanized kids menu (LeCellier or Alfredos)—it will take less time. Joe came out with Udon Noodle Bowl for me, and Terriyaki Chicken for himself. "Hun-- you hate Terriyaki..??" He made this self-discovery when we were on our honeymoon in Hawaii. He just looked at me-- "oh yeah-- I forgot." I felt bad, he took two bites, and realized he hated it. I offered him mine, and he didn’t like that either. So, I ate a bit of both

When we were done, we headed over to the American Pavilion (I wanted to see Gary Pucket). Joe was still hungry, so he got a funnel cake. And we watched the show while he and the boys shared the cake. Once the show was over, we started looking for a spot to watch Illuminations. I wasn’t feeling too hopeful since in was 8:50, but we found a spot in Italy, we hung in the back—but we could see fine.

Illuminations started, and Danny got really excited, and started screaming “Lookadaaaat” again. However, the people here weren’t amused, and we got some looks. I really tried shhhhing him a little, but it didn’t work—he just laughed at me. I didn’t want to leave because he loved it so much, and would have cried. So, I think we may have ruined the show a bit for some

I love walking out of Epcot after Illuminations. We stopped at MouseGears and looked around. Then we continued on. We got to the bus depot, and the line for CBR was really long. So, we just sat on some benches for a while (probably about 45 minutes) thinking we’d wait till the line shortened, but it just kept getting longer and longer. So, finally we got in line. We passed on one crowded bus, and were the first passengers on the last bus. We got off the bus, walked back to the room, gave the kids some milk, and we all went to sleep. We’d be waking up fairly early the next day, since we were going to try and go to EMH at MGM (though I’ve promised Joe, no wake up calls on this trip—so if any of us don’t wake up in time, we’ll just go somewhere else)

Coming Up
“I swear I didn’t wake him up!!”