"How much can we whisper-yell at eachother before we get thrown out?" Little Monster's First Trip

[squeegee]

Okay, so it’s been months since I’ve logged in. I haven’t even been reading to keep up. I’m a BAD Dis-er.

Part of it is the post-Disney-trip funk, and part of it is that I just got overwhelmed with the rest of life. It’s been flying by, as it always does; I’ve had another promotion since we returned from the trip, and we’ve begun the process of having a house built. It’s been exhausting, and exciting – and exhausting, again. LOL. Health-wise, I’m adjusting to my new “normal,” and am plodding along as usual. J

I thought that as soon as I got back, I’d be ready to start planning the next trip, but I can’t seem to get back into the groove of it. I think most of that is due to the fact that, while we had fun this time around, it was only as much fun as you can have with a temperamental four-year-old dictator. I’m thinking that our next trip will be adults-only, or won’t happen until she’s old enough to reason with. When does a kid become old enough for that? 30? 35?

For those who didn’t catch the pre-trip report, here’s the link:

http://disboards.com/threads/less-than-ten-days-to-go-i-can-do-this-updated-12-2.3379322/

And for those who don’t want to read an epic, here’s the short version of who we are:

Me: 37-year-old sonographer, two-time thyroid cancer survivor, and Disney-obsessed since 2008.

Husband: 38-year-old driver, remarkably patient smarty-pants, Disney-tolerant since 2008.

Little Monster: 4-1/2 year old maniac, energetic to a fault, but so cute she can get away with anything, being raised to be a proper little Disney-phile.



This trip was 11 days of ups, downs, lefts, and rights, with some of the best moments ever – and plenty of “WHAT were we thinking?!?” moments, too. We accomplished the vast majority of what we set out to do, and got tons of pictures to share with y’all.

That said, it’s bedtime for Bonzo. I’ll be back with more tomorrow, I promise.

 

[Victoriasmom98]

Looking forward to reading!!! Gotta love the 4 year old dictators!! Mine is now 18, so been there, done that. Also curious about you ---- they must not have removed your entire thyroid the first time around, huh? I'm also a thyroid cancer survisor --- I had it 25 years ago now with the enitre thyroid and parathyroids removed, then radiation iodine treatment.

 

[squeegee]

Looking forward to reading!!! Gotta love the 4 year old dictators!! Mine is now 18, so been there, done that. Also curious about you ---- they must not have removed your entire thyroid the first time around, huh? I'm also a thyroid cancer survisor --- I had it 25 years ago now with the enitre thyroid and parathyroids removed, then radiation iodine treatment.

They did a total thyroidectomy the first time around, along with iodine, and declared me "free of disease," and two years later, a different endo found more lymph nodes. So, more surgery, more radiation, more fun! LOL.

 

[Victoriasmom98]

They did a total thyroidectomy the first time around, along with iodine, and declared me "free of disease," and two years later, a different endo found more lymph nodes. So, more surgery, more radiation, more fun! LOL.

Um, yeah.....fun......not really the word I was thinking of, but ok. I'm glad you are cancer free now!!!!

 

[squeegee]

So, to start at the beginning: Travel Day

I had packed a few days before the trip, and we loaded the car the night before.











Yes, FIVE suitcases. Ugh.


We had decided to fly out of Austin to save some money, and we had more-or-less convinced Little Monster we were just going on an airplane to visit “Uncle Walt,” NOT for a trip to Disney World. So, she was excited for her first plane trip, but tired because we had to get up extremely early – the flight left before 7am, so we had to be at the airport before 5 am, and it was an hour-and-a-half drive, so that meant we were up around 3:00 to get on the move.

The drive and flight were uneventful; we were over-prepared with travel entertainment for Little Monster, and once the initial excitement of flying died down (a whopping 5 minutes!), she settled in.






We landed in Orlando on-schedule, and made our way towards the DME; neither Husband nor I had ever been to this airport, so it took us some time to navigate. We were gearing up for the big reveal…

…And didn’t get any pictures of it. However, continuing with the earlier theme, she was underwhelmed. I nabbed a short video of it on my cell phone, where we walked up to the famous mural of Icons with Mickey, and she named each of them. We then asked her “Where do you think we are, baby?” She replied “Disney World, woooo,” in the flattest voice a four-year-old could manage. Ugh. I should have taken that a sign of things to come. LOL.

After successfully locating the DME pickup, we saw a massive line… to some other resort. There was NO line for POR, and we marched right up through the ropes and were soon on the bus. Like the juvenile delinquents we are, we moved straight to the back.




Now, ON TO THE RESORT….. tomorrow. J

 

[amberdc1987]

I can't wait to read all about your trip. I have a 4 yr old dictator also, she just turned 5. We are going in February and she doesn't know either. She does however use any chance she has to try to get a trip out of us lol. She always picks a trip as her "reward" for anything lol.

 

[squeegee]

Arrival at Port Orleans Riverside:

We made ourselves as comfortable as we could on the bus, but we were sooooo anxious to get to the resort. Little Monster was enthralled with the bathroom, and managed to get herself locked in there once – complete with her hysterical screaming and crying that the whole bus could hear, while we tried to figure out how to open the door. A fellow passenger figured it out pretty quickly (THANK YOU!), and thankfully the bus didn’t have to be stopped.

By the time we arrived at the resort – around noon, I think – Little Monster was cranky and overtired. We had a little bit of a wait for the room to be ready, but it wasn’t that long. We lucked into the coveted outside corner room, with two windows.











We schlepped our luggage up to the room, and I managed to snap a picture or two before we turned the place into a disaster area with our stuff. J Little Monster was, again, underwhelmed with a feature I thought she would have loved. She played with the fiber optic headboard exactly twice on the whole trip. *sigh*

After a brief rest, we headed to the boat launch for a relaxing trip down the Sassagoula to Disney Springs, for our first Disney Meal of the trip – Lunch at Wolfgang Puck Express. I had the alfredo pasta with mushrooms, Little Monster ordered the kids mac-n-cheese, and DH had the meatloaf sandwich. Everything was yummy, especially my cheesecake dessert – but Little Monster couldn’t let us get through a meal unscathed. For some unfathomable reason, the *kids* mac-n-cheese had bread crumb topping. When you are four years old and already a little tired, THIS. MEANS. WAR.









Since she was obviously at the end of her rope, and we were nearing the end of ours (already!), we returned to the resort for some much-needed naptime.

In yet another indicator of things to come, four hours of naptime was not enough for Little Monster. She hasn’t napped at home in over two years, but we did anticipate she’d be napping here. I just didn’t think she would need quite so *much* nap time.

 

[squeegee]

But, darn it, we had an ADR at Disney Springs again – Raglan Road! So, we hauled one cranky, whining kid out of bed and carried her, complaining all the way, to the bus stop. Once she got to Raglan Road, the excitement began to hit her again. She really enjoyed the dancing and music, and was tickled silly that she got to sit in the “tall” chairs. I ordered the “Sod the Stew,” DH had some sort of Lamb Shank, with extra potatoes subbed for the dessert, and Little Monster ordered the fish and chips, but only ate a few of the French fries. She had a bite of ice cream for dessert. I had the strawberry apple crumble for dessert, and it was alright, but not quite as good as it sounded on paper. About 10 minutes before we left, one of the Dancers came and invited Little Monster to come up on stage during the next show, and she wanted to do it, but she was already getting fussy again. We couldn’t hang around long enough to let her do it, and I really regret that we missed it.



On the way back to the bus stop, Little Monster spotted…. SANTA! Her mood immediately improved, and she positively begged to go talk to him. The line was, thankfully, short, so we hopped in, and waited our turn.







The visit with Santa was brief, but she did get to tell him what she wanted for Christmas (a “My Little Pony” painting kit), and we got some very nice pictures.

Done with her visit, and finally in a good mood, we made our way to the bus stop, and were soon on our way back to the resort for the night. We had a VERY long day planned for tomorrow.

 

[Elevationist]

I haven’t even been reading to keep up. I’m a BAD Dis-er.

I'm a BAD Dis-er too! I can't keep up with the threads I follow, as much as I would like to!

I’ve had another promotion since we returned from the trip, and we’ve begun the process of having a house built.

Congratulations!

When does a kid become old enough for that? 30? 35?

I just turned 35 in December, and I'm still pretty unreasonable.

Yes, FIVE suitcases. Ugh.

Do I spy one suitcase just for princess outfits?!

Like the juvenile delinquents we are, we moved straight to the back.

We lucked into the coveted outside corner room, with two windows.

I love love love the corner rooms at the moderate resorts! Lucky!

Lunch at Wolfgang Puck Express. I had the alfredo pasta with mushrooms, Little Monster ordered the kids mac-n-cheese, and DH had the meatloaf sandwich. Everything was yummy, especially my cheesecake dessert

Mmm, all of this looks SO GOOD. I need to make my way over there eventually!

 

[abarriger]

Off to a great start! I'm a preschool teacher, so I know a few 4 year old dictators!

Your Santa pictures are great!

 

[squeegee]

And now, for the big event – our first day in the parks, at the Magic Kingdom. I think, of the three of us, I was the most excited.

Little Monster got out of bed fairly easily. This would be the last time this happened for a loooong time. LOL. She dressed in the first of the costumes I’d made for her – the Cinderella. It was a little chilly outside, so I made her wear leggings underneath, but there were no other squabbles about attire. I hadn’t made any breakfast ADR’s, because I wanted to see the rope drop show. I’d totally missed it last time! I wasn’t at all displeased with the view, and enjoyed the “appetizer.”





Soon, we were walking on down Main Street, and I waited for that overwhelming sense of relaxation I’d experienced last time…. And then remembered I had a four-year old with me. *sigh* She didn’t want to just walk down and soak it in – she wanted the RIDES.




So, as soon as we saw the carousel, she ran straight for it.



No time for multiple rides, though – we had princesses to meet.









Little Monster behaved, but was apparently overawed – she became SHY. My Little Monster is never shy. But, this established the pattern. Much as I’d like to say there was some witty repartee, I can’t – she hardly said a word. Lots of smiles and nods, and some twirls and shoe comparisons, but no matter how hard the characters tried, she just wouldn’t give more than one or two word answers to anything.

-cont. next post-

 

[squeegee]

After the first meet-n-greet, we tooled around and rode some rides, until it was time for her FIRST haircut.









She’d been waffling between wanting it done, and wanting to NEVER have her hair cut, so I wasn’t sure exactly how this was going to go, but she sailed right on through. I didn’t have them cut much, just about two inches, so the difference in length wasn’t very noticeable. It’s a good thing, too – curly hair is SO hard to manage, and so hard to cut straight. They were done cutting in less than 60 seconds. Dry cut, in large chunks, and it left it a bit uneven. Nothing major, but I’m glad I didn’t have my hopes set on a “great” haircut for her.




After the haircut, it was nearly lunch time, so we headed to Pinocchio’s for some pizza. We’d been last time, and I’d hoped to have the same good view of Small World, or maybe sit up on the second level I’ve heard about – but both of my “children” were getting hangry, so when Daddy took the drinks and went to sit down, I didn’t bother asking him to move. Lunch was pretty good, just like last time. We were there early, so it wasn’t crowded or loud, and we got out just as the crowds were starting to build.






-cont. next post-

 

[squeegee]

Little Monster’s next stop was Merida – and she was far more interested in trying the bow and arrow than she was in talking to Merida. I still don’t know when I picked up the changeling and lost my Little Monster.




Big Thunder Mountain and Tiki Room were next on the list….




…before an Enchanted Tale with Belle. Little Monster actually got selected to participate. Good thing it was a silent role. You’d think someone had pulled her tongue out. It was so weird!






On the way out, we bumped into Aurora, and then we used our FP for Mine Train. It was FUN!






-cont. Next post-

 

[squeegee]

Then, it was time to head back to the resort for naptime. We were all a bit sleepy, and the day was FAR from done.

We’d decided to have dinner at the food court, and it was alright. Nothing inspiring, but definitely edible, and bellies were quieted.






We returned to the MK for our one-and-only chance to see MSEP and Wishes. We were there at the perfect time, and got an absolutely WONDERFUL spot for the MSEP, near the train station, down in front, right on the street. The train station was behind us and to our left. We had Little Monster strapped into her stroller, which helped keep her from getting crowded in, and she absolutely loved the parade. I don’t think I’d seen her more excited all day.





We had the Wishes FP next, and I thought it was quite worth it - while not exactly the frustration-free experience one would hope for, it was far superior to the panic-inducing mass of people we experienced last time. We parked Little Monster in her stroller, near the back, and laid down next to her at a great angle to watch Celebrate the Magic, and then Wishes. She enjoyed the show, but was clearly “over” being up past bedtime.
-cont. next post-

 

[squeegee]

MSEP:









Rather than be caught up in the usual mass exodus and hours’ wait at the bus stop, we headed deeper into the park, and went on the Voyage of the Little Mermaid, which perked Little Monster right back up. Finally, around midnight, we met Ariel herself, in her finny form. I think this was Little Monster’s favorite visit of the day. While not her usual chatty self, she did seem to enjoy herself with Ariel.





At this point, crowds had dropped enough that we were able to mosey our way back up Main Street and caught the bus back to POR, for some much-needed sleep. Had I scheduled breakfast tomorrow morning late enough? Find out on the next installment…. Bwa-ha-ha-haaa!

 

[lynnirene]

Just joining in! I'm a thyroid cancer survivor too.

Your little girl is adorable. Love her curly hair but I can imagine how hard it is to manage!