Nala & pride + one tour WDW Final thoughts COMPLETE! About This Page:

[Nala]

Our first stop in MK after making our way through the turnstiles was the stroller rental where I showed my multi day pass and the CM quickly gave me a stroller. We made our way down Main Street USA and it didn’t take long for Peter Pan and I to realize how quiet the MK was. The street was almost empty and I asked Peter Pan if he was up for the “Big” mountains. We knew we couldn’t do Space as Kiara did not meet the height requirement and Peter Pan was not up for going alone, but Splash and Big Thunder were fair game. So we headed to Frontierland. We did have to be careful of our route, so as not to walk by the Magic Carpets, and cut through Liberty Square to make our way to Frontierland. We made our way to Splash Mountain and the wait was posted at 25 minutes. But there was no one in the line. We decided to do the wait and were very surprised to find ourselves walking all the way to our boat. It was obvious the posted wait was off by about twenty-three minutes because we were on within two. Have I said yet how much I love going to WDW in January? We all enjoyed the ride and I found a hidden Mickey formed by bobbers in the fishing display before the big drop. All the way through I couldn’t resist messing with Peter Pan at all the small drops and screaming “This is the big one!!!” By the time we got to the really big drop and I warned him, I don’t think he believed me. We all squealed and laughed as we made the big plunge and were able to avoid most of the water our boat kicked up on the descend. Peter Pan took in most of the water but he was wearing nylon sweat pants so he dried off quickly.

After Splash we headed to BTM which had a five minute wait posted. As we got in line a CM handed me a red card on a lanyard and asked me to give it to a CM before we boarded. As we stood in line we realized the wait time was wrong and five minutes turned to ten, then fifteen. It was at this point Kiara looked at me and said her famous word. “Pee?” Great. No Grumpy with us to wait and ride with Peter Pan or hand Kiara off too. As I assessed the situation I realized we were in a part of the queue where the ride was visible. It dawned on me that the past few days Kiara had been using this little trick to get out of the lines of the rides she was unsure of. I also realized she had on a dress and a raincoat, so if it wasn’t a false alarm (which I was sure it was) the damage would not be to bad.

Okay, side note here. I would NEVER push my child on a ride I didn’t think she would love. I refuse to be one of the parents we all read horror stories about where rides have to be stopped to get a screaming child off . I know how much Kiara loves the Barnstormer and BTM is just a step up and a little longer. There are things we wouldn’t even try at WDW with her. ToT for one. While I think she would love the drop, the dark would scare her to death. Dinosaur is another one. I just think it would be to intense for her even though Grumpy wanted to take her on it as she does love dinosaurs. And “It’s a Bug’s Life” is out of the question since Grumpy had to take her out forty-five seconds into it in 2001. To this day she still refuses to do that one, but more on that later. If I didn’t think she would love the ride, I would never get in line with her let alone force her to stay in it.

Anyhow, I pushed Kiara on. Our wait was about twenty minutes and when we got to our car I had to break it to Peter Pan he would have to ride alone as there was not room for three in one car. I gave him the choice of riding in front or in back of us and he elected to ride in front. He was a bit apprehensive about riding alone, but I assured him this was like the Runaway Mine Train in Six Flags that he loved riding the past summer. And I was right about both kids. They both loved it. Gone were my fears of one kid throwing up on me and the other one wetting their pants. We embarked from the ride as two kids who loved it and one happy adult who didn’t have to deal with the ejection/projection of bodily fluids. It was a good thing.

We decided to make our way through Adventureland and when I saw there was no wait for POC I asked Kiara and Peter Pan if they wanted to ride. Peter Pan was up for it but Kiara responded with a very forceful “No, pirates scare me” OK, lets move on. We found our way to the Magic Carpets and Kiara went wild. It was obvious we had to ride this one, so we all go in line. This was the longest line of any ride in MK. I think the overflow of Dumbo down for rehab helped make this one so popular. After a twenty minute wait we were on. And it dawned on me that Kiara had not asked to got to the bathroom since we had been on BMT. Hmmmmmm. I was on to her now!!!!!

After our ride on Magic Carpets we decided it was time to make our way to FW. The sun was beginning to set and I was not looking forward to taking the bus back to our cabin. We boarded a launch to FW and the three of us were surprised to see that darkness had suddenly fallen around us. As we made our way down the dock on our way to the bus stop the lights on a parked golf cart started to flash. It was Grumpy!!! He had been waiting for us so we didn’t have to take the bus back to the cabin. What a sweetie! On the way back to the cabin he did confess that he had been waiting for awhile and this was the last boat he was going to wait for. I am sure glad we were on it as our trusty little golf cart had us at our cabin in nothing flat.

Once back at the cabin we cooked burgers on the grill, forced Peter Pan to do some homework and all settled in for a quiet evening. Our plan for the next day was to go back to EPCOT and Peter Pan confessed he was very much looking forward to seeing it again.


We got the kids off to bed and let them fall asleep to the Disney bedtime stories. We were loving the addition of a TV in the bedroom of our cabin! After the kids were in bed, Grumpy pulled the Murphy bed down, did the nightly check for Larry the lizard, and the two of us relaxed after a long but wonderful day. Grumpy realized he was fading fast and handed me the remote. I was quick to find the American Idol try outs and stopped to watch. Grumpy and I watched them last year at WDW so it only seemed fitting that we, or at least I as he was falling asleep, watch them again this year. As Grumpy began to snore, I was taken back to memories of our trip the year before where we sat in our cabin and laugh ourselves silly at a kid named William Hung doing “She Bangs”. This year I didn’t laugh at anyone but instead found a singer that totally wowed me. A rocker named Constantine that I really hoped made it to the finals. (So now I have to wonder, is he really that good, or do I just love him so much because I first saw him when I was in my happy place?). After AI, Grumpy began to snore louder and sleep was getting the better of me so I too headed off to bed. I knew we had a big day planned at EPCOT and I needed my rest.


Up next The second half of WS and Peter Pan does Test Track

[LizardCop]

Another great update!!!

[MAria R]

Great update!!

[Jillybean]

What a great afternoon with Kiara & Peter Pan!

On a side note, I just finished reading your tr from last year and just loved it!

Jill

[luvnwdwgal]

Love the update!! Oh and I'm with you....Constantine's good!!!

[ripkensnana]

Just caught back up....for some reason, I haven't been coming into this forum recently, don't really know why....haven't been spending a whole lot of time online as a whole, so that may have something to do with it...having trouble with our ISP...thinking seriously about going from cable to DSL.

Anyway, I love your TR....one of these years, we'll have to be at WDW at the same time, along with TheGoof! I know we'd have a real blast!!!

[GATechGal]

Glad to see the next installment. Glad you've got Kiara figured out. My DS has that bathroom trick too.

[Tara O'Hara]

Great update Nala!

[Caldercup]

[ QUOTE ]
We embarked from the ride as two kids who loved it and one happy adult who didn’t have to deal with the ejection/projection of bodily fluids. It was a good thing.


[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks for the laugh, Martha Stewart!!

Great update - more please!
Eileen

[SHEANA1226]

Great update I can't wait to read more!

[ilovelilo]

Thanks for another great update! Can't wait for more!

[Colexis Mom]

Another great update Nala More please

[Cinderbrella]

No Larry the Lizard,yet? I'm glad that Peter Pan and Kiara enjoyed BTM and SplM. I totally agree with you on your ride policy. Looking forward to your next update.

[Nala]

Wednesday, February 2nd.


We awoke the next morning with no early plans so we had the luxury of taking our time to get ready to go to Epcot. The cold front the weather channel had been predicting had arrived and the sky was cloudy and gray and threatened to open up and dump rain but it wasn’t going to stop us. We arrived at the gates sometime between 9:30 and 10:00 and found little to no crowd. We made our way into Futureworld and both Grumpy and I teased Peter Pan about taking another spin on MS. It came as no surprise to us that he declined vehemently . So off to Test Track we all went. The stand by line wait was posted at fifteen minutes so we headed into the queue. We were able to walk all the way to the doors of the first holding area and only waited a few minutes there before we were let into the pre-show area. When the doors opened we found there was no wait in the queue and were getting ready to give the number of our party to the CM when Kiara announced the need to use the facilities. Before I could tell Grumpy that she was probably bluffing again he had her by the hand and was heading for the exit telling me to enjoy the ride with Peter Pan and that he would meet us outside. Once again I was befuddled by Kiara’s reaction as she did this ride last year and loved it! Kiara’s quick exit left Peter Pan with concerns that I was left alone to deal with. Fortunately our wait was short so his anxiety had little time to build.

Once again I was tickled by Peter Pan’s reaction. He giggled and squealed and screamed and loved every minute of the ride. The open track part was the biggest thrill for him and the part I love the most too. We got off the ride and stopped to look at our picture when Peter Pan made an amazing discovery. A hidden Mickey in the photo! Next to our car on the garage floor was a length of rope coiled into a classic Mickey head. I commended him for his very astute eye and was very happy to see that he was having so much fun looking for and finding HM’s. Peter Pan took a few pictures of the new cars to show his dad and we picked up a Kidcot Fun Stop lanyard for him and one for Kiara. I didn’t realize that Future World had these and unfortunately we didn’t have time for the kids to get the rest of the little cut outs in the other pavilions.

We found Grumpy and Kiara just past the water fountains and Kiara was sitting in her stroller holding her arm with a pained look on her face. I was very surprised not to find her in the water and knew something must have been wrong. It seems as Grumpy was trying to pull her shoes off she lost her balance, fell down and skinned her elbow up. She didn’t seem to care as she was so excited to get in the water but Grumpy had to pull her out when he noticed blood running down her arm. Seems she was most upset about not playing in the fountain and only slightly bothered by the boo boo. I checked her out and determined she didn’t need stitches or even a bandage so we talked her in to moving on to the WS. I was grateful we didn’t have to make yet another trip to the first aide station! As we moved towards the WS I asked Grumpy if she really had to “go” when they got out of line and told me no. I then explained about her little trick.

Since we had started in Canada earlier in the week, we headed towards Mexico. I told Grumpy to get Kiara out of the stroller so we could go in the pavilion and he gave me a puzzled look and said “You can go in there?” I realized in all our trips to Epcot Grumpy had never made it inside Mexico! Three trips ago he missed lunch there since he was golfing with his dad. The last two trips by the time we got to Mexico Kiara was too tired to do anything so we skipped it. I was excited for him to see this because I love this pavilion!

We looked around the market and took a few moments to play with the sombreros.

We found the Kidcot stop and got their masks and passports stamped and pressed some pennies. As I waited with the kids Grumpy found one of the email video postcard machines. We decided to send one to Peter Pan’s mom of him and Kiara on the beach in Mexico. This was the cutest thing! And free! Sadly, Dsis never received it! We then got in line for El Rio De Tempo and Kiara made her now infamous announcement complete with body language (you know “the dance” ). Some of her moves reminded me of a Michael Jackson video. With both Grumpy and I on to her we pushed forward reassuring her this was like IASW and she would love it. I also reminded her that she had done this before and liked it.

As our boat started the trip we all watched the volcano with the hopes of spotting the hidden Mickey that formed from the smoke arising out of it. I am still not convinced that any of us spotted it. We all did however see the one in the market scene formed by pots. Kiara, Peter Pan and Grumpy all enjoyed the little ride and we left Mexico and headed off to Norway.

As we moved to the Land of the Midnight Sun , Grumpy couldn’t pass up a margarita before we left Mexico. He asked if I wanted one and I declined. We took the kids to the Viking ship and sent them into explore while we sat on a near by bench and watched them. Grumpy made the mistake of offering me a sip of his frozen concoction and after one sip I handed it back to him with my hand out for cash. I had to have one. These things are sooo good. He watched the kids while I made the short walk back to the Cantina. The kids continued to play on the ship for a bit but soon got bored and came off ready to move on. Grumpy took Kiara in the stroller while I took Peter Pan into the Stave Church, something I had never taken the time to stop and look at. This is a very cool exhibit and a nice little piece of Norway’s history. We both found it interesting. We then moved on to Maelstrom and hung out at the waterfall where Grumpy offered to take some pictures of me with the kids. I jumped at the chance as I am seldom in any pictures with my husband or daughter as I am the photographer in the family.

It was here that I noticed for the first time you could see the back of the boats before they drop at the top of the waterfall. We then tried to move on to the ride and this time Kiara didn’t make any excuses not to ride. She just flat out refused. Since she was so forceful with her response to the ride Grumpy elected to stay with her while I took Peter Pan. Once again my child refused to ride something she had done before and said she liked.

So here I was again with Peter Pan in a very short line. We found two hidden Mickey’s in the mural on the wall and as our boat made its way to the drop we waived at Grumpy and Kiara. When we got off the ride Grumpy informed me Kiara was ready to ride Maelstrom and got very excited when she saw us on the boat. We made our way to the line but for some reason Kiara changed her mind. We asked her several times if she was sure she didn’t want to go and finally moved on to the Kidcot stop after she refused over and over again. The kids and I explored the shops and had fun playing with the Viking hats and taking pictures with the troll. My inexperience with the new camera reared it’s ugly head and the pictures came out blurry. Too bad as the ones with the Viking hats would have been so cute!

We moved on to China, took a quick look around, got the masks and passports stamped (with the kids Chinese Zodiac too) found a hidden Mickey and took a few minutes to enjoy a seat in the beautiful gardens. A light rain began to fall but we were prepared and pulled out the Mickey ponchos. And we were off to Germany.

We repeated the same steps in Germany. Another hidden Mickey was spotted on one of the knight’s crown by the clock shop. The one thing Grumpy loves about Germany is the mini train display and we spent a great deal of time looking for more HM’s here. Grumpy found the best one albeit very obvious.


We found our way to Italy and took a few minutes to watch the Living Statues. These performers are so fun to watch. We made the Kidcot stop and I forced everyone to pose for yet more pictures. Grumpy, being the gifted comedian he is, posed with his arm around the air next to him and told me I could put a picture of myself in the space. Very funny.


One of my favorite shots I took in Italy was this one. I don’t think there is a drinking fountain or water fountain that my kid has not found in all of WDW.


I pulled Kiara out of the drinking fountain and we moved on to finish the rest of our tour of the WS.


Up next……the second half of the WS and ‘Ohana and the "loopy-loopy"!

[ripkensnana]

Looks as if Kiara is going to be one of those women who are constantly changing their minds (just to keep the men on their toes.... ). Looking forward to reading the rest of your TR...C'mon, you need to finish this - you have another trip coming up soon!!!