Nala and pride do WDW 1/23-1/31/2004 UPDATED Trip Report COMPLETE! About This Page:

[Nala]

First off, I have to say something to my fellow Passporters. I don't know if I would have ever posted this report had it not been for the support and encouragement of those of you I talked to in the chat room. It just proves what I already knew, this is a great group of people!



Here is a little background about us. Some information about us, particularly that about DD will help everyone understand her actions and reactions and what we went through on this trip.



Nala- that’s me, 41, type A personality, big Lion King freak, and veteran to WDW. First trip was in December of 1971 and this trip makes #28. I feel like I grew up on WDW and have never outgrown it. Oh, BTW, I am very long winded. Sorry!



Grumpy-That would be DH (I know, I should call him Simba, but he got pegged with the Grumpy nickname on our first trip and it stuck) , who turned 37 the day we arrived in WDW (yes I robbed the cradle) and before our trips to WDW had only been once in the mid 70’s and hated it. It was my love of WDW and our DD’s reaction to it during our first trip 11/01 that made him come around to become a fan of the World (that and Spaceship Earth).



Kiara- our DD, who is 5-1/2. Kiara is developmentally delayed, and has a very limited vocabulary, attention span and can become over stimulated easily. She can also become somewhat aggressive with other children, so we must keep a very protective, careful watch over her at all times. While DH & I can most times understand what she is saying, it is difficult for someone who doesn’t know her to do so. On the bright side, she is very, very smart, alert, has an incredible memory and is a happy little girl (and the light of our lives). She is a freak for water and is constantly seeking a source to play in. She also, much to my dismay and chagrin,has an obsession with public restrooms.



Pre Trip January 22, 2004



We had planned to leave for WDW early on Friday morning around 3 or 4 am. We had planned to drive to Valdosta , Ga (about 900 miles) the first day and drive into WDW the next morning, putting us in WDW sometime late Saturday am. The Monday evening before we left, I approached DH with the idea of leaving Thursday night after we got off work, driving as far as we could and getting to WDW on Friday (his birthday) instead of Saturday. His response was that we would have to spend the extra dollars to stay in the cabin that night, and I responded with “so what, you could be fishing Bay Lake instead of driving Saturday morning”.

Those words about fishing must have been magic to his ears, because I came home from work Tuesday night and he told me he was able to get Thursday off. He then insisted that I call Jean (Your Magical Journeys) to see if we could get the extra night added and then started asking me what time I was getting off on Thursday. I made a quick phone call to Jean, and she called back with the good news that she was able to add the extra night to our reservation. It was set. We were leaving a day early, arriving a day early, and beginning the magic a day early. WOOOOHOOOOO!!!



Thursday couldn’t come soon enough for me. DH being the kind, sweet soul that he is agreed to drive me to work that cold AM. I got in our van, that was warm and cozy thanks to DH, only to open the door and hear Aerosmith’s "Walk this Way" on the radio. I got in the van with a broad smile and said "Crank it up baby, I’m going to be hearing this in both ears in about three days when I’m on my favorite ride in all of WDW". It took a few seconds for him to put two and two together, but soon he got it and we were off. I had hoped that getting to work early would allow me to tie up any loose ends and get out early. Much to my great dismay, all heck was breaking out around me and I was really starting to wonder about my early departure. I called DH around 2 PM and advised him to pick me up at 2:45 thinking I could break loose by then. At 2:30, I went to check the front parking lot and before I got to the door was informed by the receptionist that DH & DD were already in the parking lot waiting for me. After seeing our van in the lot, I made a bee line to my office for my coat and purse, hoping to make a quiet, early exit. I said goodbye to a few co-workers in the shop and my co-partner and made what I hoped was an easy out path to the front door. When I walked down the hallway to the front door and got the front desk, I heard the receptionist yell “NOW”. Six of my co-workers were hanging over the balcony and started singing MIC...See ya real soon ...KEY... Why, because we like you....... M..O..U... S... E...... at the top of their lungs. Geeeee guys, do ya think there was any chance the big guy didn’t hear that? So much for a quiet exit. Oh well, it was a very nice send off and I had put in my eight hours. After they finished their send off, I bolted through the front door, hopped in the van and we were off! That evening, we were able to drive to Manchester, Tn without any bad weather, traffic or accidents to slow us down.



Day 1 We’re here! and Happy Birthday, Grumpy January 23, 2004



We headed out the next morning at 6 am, and again were blessed with good weather and no traffic. We made a stop for gas about an hour out of WDW and were fortunate to find a Publix at the same exit and decided to get our groceries there. With all things in order and a safe journey behind us we pulled into FW just shortly after 5 pm.

Grumpy & Kiara elected to stay in the van while I did the check in thing. There were a few people in front of me, but overall, the process was quick and painless. I was helped by a very nice CM, who was telling me all the things I had known about FW since 1971. On the inside, my type A personality was thinking, yeah, yeah, yeah, I know all that, just give me my key. But Grumpy and I had made an agreement to slow down and smell the roses this trip, so I forced myself to go into a type B personality. I listened to all he had to say about FW and its amenities and even pretended not know where our cabin was on the map or how to get there. Much to my delight, we had been assigned to the same cabin we had stayed in on our first trip in 2001. This was a sign of good things to come, as we really enjoyed the location of that cabin. After collecting my keys to the world and all the literature provided by the nice CM (who gave me extra copies for my scrapbook) I was out the door and only moments away from being in our second home. I refrained from doing the major happy dance in public for fear Grumpy would do one of three things: A) publicly disown me, B) think (or confirm his thoughts) I am a total nut case, or C) do what he has done in the past, shake his head and laugh. As we drove to our cabin, Grumpy told me about a woman who came out of the Outpost who not only looked like me, but was doing a major public happy dance as she ran to her vehicle with her family waiting inside it. He even told DD, “look, see this crazy woman? Your mommy is going to come out and be doing the same thing”. I felt a small amount of guilt that I had deprived my DH of his cheap entertainment for the day. I was however, comforted by the thought that I would more than provide him with this in the days to come.



We arrived at our cabin and it was all we remembered. Perfect in every way. We began the process of unpacking the van and noticed that Kiara was nowhere to be found. A quick surveillance of the premises was done and she was discovered in, where else, the bathroom. The first of many unexplored frontiers for her had been conquered .

We decided to have a low keyed evening and grab dinner at Trails End. It was DH’s birthday, and he made a point to tell me he didn’t want any hoopla made at the restaurant. I agreed to comply to his wishes as I know how much he hates things like this. OK, so I really didn’t want to respect his wishes, I just thought it was best not to put him in a bad mood the first night and take the risk of it lasting the whole week (we don’t call him Grumpy for the heck of it). DD and I each gave Grumpy a birthday card, we took a few minutes to relax and we were off to dinner.

We left our cabin and took the short walk to the bus stop. Grumpy was giving me a hard time about not getting the golf cart a day early and having to ride the bus, but it was all in fun. The internal bus arrived in just a few minutes and we made our way through FW. We stepped off the bus and took a short walk to TE. It was wonderful to be able to walk slow, take in our surroundings and enjoy in the fact that we were finally in WDW.

TE was almost empty when we arrived. We had a great server named Bob (that’s Bob spelled backwards as he stated) who was able to tell us everything that was on the buffet in 15 seconds. And he didn’t leave anything out. He then took our drink orders and when I requested bottled water he just stared at me. I asked him why he was looking at me like that and he informed me that there was nothing wrong with their water and it would save me a few bucks. I gave in to his pressure and he was right. The water was fine. He even brought me a little plate with lemon slices to put in it. I made a mental note to add a few extra dollars to his tip. We made our way to the buffet and found everything to be fresh and tasty and a major upgrade from the “road food” we had had (aka McDonalds, not to be confused with road kill). As always, I was loving the chicken. To quote Pumba “I ate like a pig”. We waddled to the door and the hostess hung up a picture Kiara had colored at dinner on the wall by the front door. She also gave me an extra one to take home with us.

As we made the short walk to the bus stop, I noticed a small motor home on display across from the petting zoo. I stopped and read the sign in front of it and asked Grumpy what this was all about. He informed me that several makes of RV were on display in FW. He was amazed that he knew something about WDW/FW that I did not. I was concerned that he may break his arm patting himself on the back over this one. When we got back to the cabin, Grumpy and Kiara ripped into the carrot cake I had bought him at Publix. I passed on the cake and opted for the comfort of the couch. We pulled the murphy bed down and all snuggled together and watched a little tv . Kiara was out in less than a half an hour, so we carried her to bed and I decided to turn in too. It was a wonderful quiet, evening and just what we needed after a long day on the road and to prepare for our big day at Epcot the next morning.



Coming next, day two, a slow motion trip through Epcot.

[luvnwdwgal]

Great start!! How nice of your fellow employees to give you that special send-off! Sounds like the 3 of you are having a wonderful time! Looking forward to more!!

[Colexis Mom]

What a great start Sounds like you have some pretty good co-workers Glad you had an uneventful drive down, and were able to spend an extra day in the world Looking forward to more

[mac]

It sounds like you're having fun . I can't wait to hear more!

[statelady01]

Off to a great start!

[Nala]

Day 2 Part 1 World Showcase in slow motion - the right

idea January 24, 2004



Saturday morning I awoke to the sound of running water in the bathroom. Knowing that Grumpy would not be in the bathroom running water for that long, I bolted from bed to investigate (several incidents involving the flooding of our bathrooms at home have conditioned me to this sound). Sure enough, there was Kiara playing in a sink full of water. I hustled her back to the bedroom and convinced her to go back to bed. That lasted for about nine minutes and then I was assaulted by the brightness of the overhead light. It was 5:45. I attempted to entertain her for about 15 minutes in the bedroom, but that soon wore thin on both of us. I gave her the nod to unleash her punishment on Grumpy, who and fallen asleep on the murphy bed. I made a pot of coffee, Kiara was successful in getting Grumpy up without too much of a fight and we proceeded to get ready for our big day at Epcot.



We headed out of the cabin a few minutes before 8:00 and made our way to the Bike Barn to get the golf cart. The morning air was cool and crisp, but it was about 40 degrees warmer than the weather we had left, so it was easy to deal with. Grumpy took Kiara to the trading post and I went to get the cart. Again the process was quick and painless. I had my key and rental agreement in about 5 minutes and was on my way. Or so I thought. The CM told me my cart number was #94 and was the first one in the row and she pointed vaguely out to her left. I proceeded to the first cart in a row, put in the key and attempted to pull out. When I stepped on the gas, nothing happened. I started pushing buttons, nothing happened. Just as I was about to yell back to the CM that the cart was dead, another CM stuck her head out the window and said “ your cart is at the front of the other row“. I looked up and realized she was pointing to a golf cart about thirty carts up in the front of a very long row and I noticed as I got out of the cart that it was clearly marked with the #24. Not only did I feel really stupid, but I also discovered that in my haste I had sat on a dew covered seat and now had a cold wet backside to go along with my wounded pride. The CM was kind enough to give me a towel to wipe the seat down and even though it was too late for me, I could spare DH and DD the same discomfort. As I drove away, I felt another pang of guilt that Grumpy had missed yet another moment of cheap entertainment at my expense.

I pulled up to the trading post and found my pride outside at the water fountain. Little did Grumpy know, the simple act of pointing out a water fountain would become yet another obsession for Kiara and something to add to her must do list. We made a quick stop at the cabin to load up on all the essentials needed for a day at a park and headed to the Outpost to catch the Epcot bus. We waited about fifteen minutes for the bus and enjoyed the short trip to our first park stop. We proceeded to the security check, and then to the ticket turnstile, inserted our AP’s and were pleased to discover that our fingerprints had not changed any in the last year. Our first stop was at the stroller rental counter and where we encountered our longest line for the day. Once the stroller was in hand I applied one of the most useful tips I have read on the Passporter boards. I pulled the bright colored bandana I had purchased at Walmart for a whole $1.26 and tied it to the handle of the stroller. This proved to be an invaluable investment as it made our stroller very easy to find in a sea of rentals at the more crowed areas where we had to park it.

We started to make our way into the park and Kiara announced the need to explore a new territory. A quick glance at the map and we found the bathroom closest to our current location. It was only after I was almost in the bathroom with her that I noticed this area had a companion restroom. If I had noticed this before hand I would have passed the duty off to Grumpy. Kiara proceeded into a stall where she was compelled to remove the first two layers of clothing on her upper body before continuing on her quest. Since she is too small to perform the hover maneuver I had one of two options: A) clean the seat off and introduce her to paper seat protectors, or B) hold her above the toilet. I knew option B would probably produce disastrous results with one or both of us ending up in the toilet, so I opted for option A. After she got over her fascination with the seat protectors she move on to be fascinated with the automatic flushing sensor . After several minutes of playing with this, I was able to coax her into putting back on the two layers she had stripped off. We made our way to the sinks where she discovered yet another automatic sensor to be fascinated with, the faucets . And the soap dispensers added even more joy to her experience. I was able to pull her away from the water wonder only by enticing her with yet another automatic wonder, the hand dryer. She played in this for what seemed an eternity, and I was getting a kick out of the force that these things have. These hand dryers blow sooooo hard it looked like it was moving the skin on her hands. I finally was able to pull her out of the bathroom promising her we would find something else in the park to provide as much or even more entertainment. And true to my promise we found it right outside. The water fountain. Unfortunately, her fascination with public restrooms was not put to rest by this first visit. It only peaked her interest, causing us to make many, many stops while touring the parks and hotels.



With the bathroom /water fountain escapade behind us for the time being, we made our way into Future World with the intention of getting a fast pass for Mission Space. This was one ride Grumpy was very enthusiastic about trying. We assumed there would be a wait. The plan was for him to get a fast pass and we could spend some time shopping while waiting for the time to go by. We walked up to the pavilion and found little to no crowd around it. I told him to go up and check out the standby time and if it was short, to go for it. He was able to walk on the ride. I entertained Kiara outside and she was thrilled to play in the mulch in a nearby flowerbed. Grumpy emerged about 15 minutes later and proclaimed the ride to be one of the best he had ever been on. He did advise me to skip it due to my aversion to the teacup ride in MK, so I elected to pass. I just wasn’t up for being on the ride by myself and hurling in front of total strangers. We decided to find a shop to check out Pal Mickey and headed to Mousegear, but not before Kiara spotted another new territory and announced the need to explore it. We went through the process mentioned above, and after ten minutes were back on track to find our little pal. We found Pal Mickey and had a very nice CM help us with him. She told us to go to the camera shop next to Spaceship Earth and have him downloaded. We went to the camera shop and the CM there seemed a bit upset that another CM had directed us there to do this. None the less, she was able to download him and told us he should tell us something about SE as soon as we walked out the door. Sure enough, as soon as we were out, Pal Mickey began to vibrate, laugh and say “Gosh”. I picked him up and held him to my ear and listened to him talk about SE. (That was the last time that day we heard Pal Mickey say anything. He would laugh, vibrate and say “Gosh”, but he stopped there. We assumed he was defunked and would have to get him checked out) We checked the time and realized that the WS had opened .

We made our way towards the WS and discovered the character bus stopping right in front of us. There was no one around and Kiara was able to get up close and personal with many of her favorites, including Pluto, or Dudo, as she calls him. I was able to get some great pictures, and Kiara enjoyed her fist encounter with the big cheese and friends.

Having no plans for the day, we proceeded to stroll, take our time and allow me the luxury to take picture until my heart was content. I so love the digital age! We made a slow trip through Canada and took time to explore the pavilion (making a point to skip the movie) and made our way to the United Kingdom pavilion. As we were walking through the UK pavilion , Grumpy stopped as we walked by a flower bed and breathed in deeply. There was some flower in bloom, an annual, something we plant in our garden every year, that caught his attention. I was pushing forward with DD in the stroller when I realized Grumpy was not as my side. I stopped to find him, only to see him standing in front of the flower bed, totally engrossed in indulging his sense of smell, and enjoying the moment of stopping to smell the roses or whatever flower was in bloom. We meandered over the bridge to France where we wanted to have lunch. We went into the shop in the back of the pavilion and got a mask for Kiara. Grumpy was able to score a new pair of sunglasses, a high priority on his must do list. We made our way back to Chefs de France to secure a PS for lunch. The restaurant was not serving yet, but the door was open, so I went in to check on a time. I was greeted by a very nice young woman. There was a man in a suit, standing beside her who fit the stereotype of the French. Curt, borderline rude, and acted as if smiling would have caused him physical harm. He told me to just come back anytime, no PS required and waved his hand at me to send me off. Well, alrighty then. We had about a half an hour to kill, so we headed to Morocco. Kiara got another stamp for her mask and we explored the shops. She then discovered the fountain out front and began to relieve Grumpy of his spare change to throw in it. I was concerned that pulling her away from this would be a difficult task, but fortunately hunger overcame her and she gave up without a fight.

A few minutes after noon, we made our way back to Chefs and were immediately seated, at a window table. SCORE! We had been blessed with a beautiful view of the WS lagoon. Our waiter, a large man with a booming voice and what seemed to be the lack of personality, arrived at our table. He took our drink order and disappeared. We opted for a carafe of house white wine and ordered the cheese plate for an appetizer. Shortly after the cheese plate arrived, a lovely young CM came to our table with warm, fresh hard rolls. They were perfect with the cheese. It is fair to say I was experiencing a little piece of heaven at this moment. The wine, the cheese, the view. It was all perfect. My only fear was that Kiara, who has a difficult time sitting still for long periods of time, would erupt into her version of the kid from the Exorcist and we would have to vacate the premises . But much to my joy, she was a perfect little lady. I think the saving grace was that this is one of the few restaurants in WDW that offers fish (her favorite) on the kids menu and I was able to hold that over her head. By the time our entrees arrived, I was almost full and should have stopped at the cheese plate. But being the trooper that I am, I charged forward and tore into my chicken crepe. I eyed Grumpy’s flank steak and he was kind enough to share a small morsel with me. Kiara was devouring her fish, and we were all very happy with our choices. At the end of our meal, our waiter came to the table and complemented us on how well behaved Kiara was. We started talking with him about where he was from, got on the subject of gardening and somehow came around to the fact that Kiara was an only child and it was going to stay that way. I told him that at 41, I was too old to go through that again. He told me that his mother was 41 when he was born, he was born on the family farm (with no drugs for his mom) and he weight 14 pounds at birth. I about fell off my chair. I told him Kiara came into the world barely over 5 pounds and it took all the drugs I could get to do it. We all laughed and I realized my first impression of him was wrong. Very wrong! He was a very nice man and I’m glad I took the time to chat with him. Overall, we would rate this experience/meal about as close to perfect as you could get.



We left Chefs and yet again Kiara expressed the need to explore a new territory. Another one down. I liked the white wine we had at lunch so much, I decided to try a glass of red from France. Grumpy decided to start his “Beers around the World” tour and purchased a Casablanca in Morocco. We headed towards Japan, arm in arm, continuing our very, very slow pace when I overheard a man sitting on a bench say “Look at those people. They have the right idea, just slow down and take it all in”. I realized he was talking about us as we were the only ones around and I casted a sideways glance at Grumpy. He had heard it too and we both grinned from ear to ear. Yes, we did have the right idea. As we approached Japan, the drummers had started and we stopped to watch them. Kiara was quite impressed. We then toured the gardens and shops and Grumpy found a folding fan for Kiara. We were leaving Japan when we heard MoRockin begin to play. We made our way back to Morocco to catch their set. They are our favorite WS band and as always we enjoyed listening to them. Ilaham, the belly dancer pulled a little girl up on stage to dance with her. That is always so cute to watch and I remember wondering if Kiara would do it if she was given the chance. After they finished their set, we headed back towards Japan and on to the American pavilion.



We made a brief stop to get Kiara’s mask stamped and she was quick to discover the fountain out front. She began to paw Grumpy for more change, but he was fresh out. This caused me to break into my penny/quarter stash for the pressed coin machines. We pulled a reluctant Kiara away after a few coin tosses and were heading to Italy when the drummers came out. We stopped to watch them, but Grumpy soon became annoyed with a woman next to us that kept getting in front of Kiara and blocking her view with her backside. OK, I have to get up on my soap box now, but just for a minute. What is it about people, who I like to believe in their daily lives are kind and considerate of others around them , coming to WDW and checking all common courtesy at the gate? We have experienced countless occasions of rude guests on every visit and it is something that just wears thin on both of our nerves. As we discovered later in our trip, it is also something that wears on the CMs too. Does anyone else experience this or am I just getting crotchety in my old age? Grumpy and I dubbed these people “Tinkerbells” on this trip. You know, “It’s all about me“.

I’m done now, sorry.

We made our way into Italy and watched the living statue for a few minutes. Grumpy and Kiara sat on a bench outside while I took a quick look around the shops. I came back to find Kiara happily playing in a puddle of water, the only one in Epcot. I swear, this kid could be used as a divining rod. We spent a little time on the bench doing some people watching, a favorite armchair sport for both of us and I remember laughing to myself about the money we spent to be here and how Kiara would have been happy at a Motel 6 anywhere with a pool or a mud puddle. I felt this was a true HP (formally known as Kodak) moment , and started thinking about the possibilities of a scrapbook layout. (admission to Epcot xx dollars, lunch at Chefs xx dollars, watching your daughther have a ball in a mud puddle, priceless) We decided to move on only after Kiara had fallen backwards into the puddle. I knew this would cause her to request the seeking out of a new territory to explore and she didn’t let me down. A few seconds later she yelled “PEE”. Another one down. We took a quick stroll through Germany, walked past China and headed into Norway. The wait time for Maelstrom was 5 minutes so we hopped in line. We had rode this in the past, but Kiara was a bit frightened this time. She got Grumpy in a death grip a few times but when the ride was over he asked her if she liked it and she screamed “YES”. I guess it was all good. It was of course the drop and water splashing that sold her. So I guess we will be doing Splash Mountain. We then spent some time on the Viking ship and Kiara enjoyed climbing around and having it almost to herself. She was starting to get tired, so we made our way past Mexico and towards the front of the park. We came up to one of the jumping fountains by SE and it was actually on. I decided what the heck. The day had really warmed up (in the mid 70’s) and I knew Kiara would love playing in it. There is one thing about her water obsession that is odd. She prefers it to be controlled, preferably by her. She does not like water shooting at her when she is not expecting it. She was a bit reluctant to get in the fountain and was happy just to stand on the side of it and play with the small bubbling part. I on the other hand wanted her to get the full effect and pulled her into the center with me. She was having a ball running in and out, and was giggling and squealing with glee. A few minutes later, the Fountain of Nations began its show and Grumpy scooped up Kiara and headed off to watch it. This is one of his favorite things in WDW and I was able to get some great shots of them watching it, with no one else in the picture. It was a great HP moment. We made our way to the exit and we decided to have our little pal check out the next day when we went to AK. I didn’t want to enrage the CM I had encountered at the camera center earlier since she was not happy to see me the first time. We left Epcot at about 4:00 PM and headed back to our cabin.



Someday, if I ever figure out how to do it, I will add some of these pictures!



More to come. Part 2, a reflective boat ride in Bay Lake

[Colexis Mom]

Sounds like a great day in Epcot Glad you had a fantastic meal at CdF. I don't think I could be so lucky with my 2 sitting that well Looking forward to your boat ride

[statelady01]

Sounds like a great time and DD doing well! Looking forward to more when you can!

[Luv2plan]

What a great first day! It sounds like you are all having a wonderful & relaxed time.

Looking forward to more...

[DouglasE]

I'm having a great time reading about your trip. The way you talk about your daughter, Kiara, is cracking me up. I can't tell you the number of times I was laughing out loud. Look at it this way: she's easy to please. Heck, if she ever starts to have a meltdown all you have to do is head to a bathroom. How easy is that!?!

I too had a great meal at Chefs de France. It was my favorite food experience at WDW so far. But, I probably won't return in June because I like to explore and experience the variety that WDW provides.

I hope you figure out that picture posting thing.

[luvnwdwgal]

Wonderful installment! So glad you were able to enjoy a relaxing day at WS. I definitely want to do that on our next trip! Looking forward to more!

[Nala]

Thanks for all your kind words and support. I am going to try realy hard to get some of these pictures up.

DouglasE, glad I was able to make you laugh! We are very lucky that Kiara seldom has a meltdown. It is usually me! But a glass of wine will often help. Oh well, I guess if we both freak out at the same time, I can take a glass with me to the bathroom and we will both be happy! LOL

I will try to post more soon.

Again, thank you all!

[Nala]

Once back at the cabin, Grumpy expressed the desire to get in a little fishing time. Kiara expressed no interest in taking a nap, so I decided to make a trip to the Contemporary with her and do a little shopping. We hopped on the golf cart and Grumpy dropped us off at the boat dock. Kiara and I walked down the dock to wait for the launch and had the pleasure of meeting a very nice family who were passing the time feeding the birds and fish with food from the gumball type machines at the dock. The mother of the family was kind enough to give Kiara a handful of bird/fish chow which entertained her until the boat arrived. We all hopped on the launch and made our way to the Contemporary and went our separate ways when it docked. Kiara and I proceeded to the shops, where I was able to secure my scrapbook album to hold this trips memories. I was also able to do some pin shopping and found one that summed up my outlook on all things good in life. It was a rectangle with a raised peace sign, a heart and a Mickey head on it. Peace, Love and Mickey Mouse. Need I say more? After paying for my pins, I noticed the view of the MK from the vast windows. We went over to them so I could snap a few pictures and it was then I noticed a door to go outside. Kiara and I went through the door and I found an even better view of the MK. The sun was just beginning set and I was able to get some incredible pictures from a place that I never knew existed. We made our way to the boat launch and encountered the same family we had met at the FW dock on the way over. I felt it was my turn to buy the bird/fish food so I broke into my pressed coin stash and loaded everyone up. This became another one of Kiara’s must dos at WDW. She was having a ball feeding the critters both land and sea. The boat arrived in a few minutes and we were on our way back to FW. The sun had set and the air was turning cool.

On the way to FW, my mind was transported back to my own childhood. I was no longer the woman with the arm around her child, but was filled with the memories of being the child with a parents arm around me. My mind was suddenly filled with the memories I recalled of my father. The man who introduced me to WDW and who to this day I attribute my love of it to. I pulled Kiara a little closer and began to tell her about my trips as a little girl in this very same spot some thirty years before. I told her about being here with my father, the grandfather she never knew, (my father died six years before she was born) and found myself filled with both grief and joy at the same time. Every time I go to WDW, I am of course reminded of my father, but this time it seemed as if he was there with us. One of his favorite things to do at WDW was to ride the boats to the resorts and MK. It was a very magical, reflective moment and one I was grateful to share with Kiara alone.

We got off the boat to find Grumpy waiting at the end of the dock and I was transported back to the present. He gave up fishing shortly before the sun set due to a healthy respect of gators and other Florida wildlife. We got back on the golfcart, made a quick stop at the trading post and headed back to the cabin to cook dinner. We arrived at 7:10 and since we hadn’t had dinner yet, decided to skip the camp fire program to see Lilo and Stitch, a personal favorite of Kiara’s and mine. Grumpy cooked burgers on the grill and was entertained by a family of armadillos scampering in the brush. He called us out to see them and everything was going fine until Kiara heard the first boom from the fireworks from the MK. She didn’t do a major freak out, but covered her ears and ran into the cabin. I was really hoping we could get her to tolerate fireworks this trip, but things were not looking good. I went inside to attempt to convince her to come outside and watch them through the trees from the deck, but nothing I said was going to work. I stayed inside with Kiara while Grumpy finished dinner. We ate dinner, watched a little tv and carried the once again exhausted Kiara to bed. After she was in bed, Grumpy and I watched a little more tv and talked about what a perfect day it had been. We were both looking forward to our next day at AK.

[DouglasE]

First you were very funny. Now in this installment very sweet. What's next? Are you going to make me cry?

[pluto_n_goofy]

Excellent TR!!! Kiara sounds so cute!! Cant wait to hear more!