WDW Family Trip, December 2007, Day 5: Goodbye, Eventually

Day 4 can be found HERE.


Woke up around 5:45 and started getting ready.  This was going to be a change as we actually weren't going to eat breakfast and hop on the bad bus (the Magical Express that takes you to the airport...you know, the one that has 50% of the bus bawling as the characters all sing "now it's time to say 'Goodbye'...yeah...that one!).  We got everything finished up packing (okay, Sheri did 90% of it the night before), and I took everything over to the resort area check-in.  I was the only one there at 6:35...couldn't imagine why.  I got us all checked in and the bags unloaded to them.  I went back to the room and noticed that there was a bus outside already (wow!). 

We got the kids rousted, did a quick pseudo toothbrush thing, and headed out to the bus stops as we were heading to Kona for a 7:45 ressie.  I figured we'd have missed the MK bus as it had been 10-15 minutes since I saw it.  It was right around 7:00 when we got there, and the bus pulls up (I guess he was waiting to go on shift???)

We hop on the bus (only a handful of us there) and head over to MK.  Aaron's just about to the point where we can hire him out as a guide for WDW...he knew exactly what we were doing and led us to the monorail entrance.  We hopped on, and, before we knew it, we were through the Contemp, past the TTC, and in the land of Polynesia.  We hop off (about 15 minutes early) and check in.  Within a couple of minutes, we're led to our table. 

Our server stops by, and, being the freaks of instinct, we already knew what we wanted.  We order our meal at the same time we gave our drink order.

Big mistake.

He forgot the pressed pot coffee for around 12 minutes.  Then he pressed it and didn't quite do it right as the grounds didn't exactly go down to the bottom of the pot like they usually do.  If I remember correctly, one of the boys' drinks was wrong too.  The food was mind-blowing as always (I get the Tonga toast and Sheri gets the pineapple-macadamia nut pancakes).  Eric is considered the sausage king, and, unfortunately, he was served bacon.  I switched out the pig parts before the eyes welled up and gave him my sausage.

Not the best service we've had there...we're going to chalk this one up as an anomaly as we've eaten there a number of times before with no problems at all.

When it came time for the bill, we were paying out of pocket.  Sheri took the boys to hit the bathroom and look at the decorations inside the Poly.  After about 10 minutes, she peers back in at me still waiting to get the check.  I was nearing the point of banging my head on the table as our server seemed to have disappeared.  Being a server in a former life, I can understand the need to step away for a few minutes; however, he cleared off the plates and then vanished.  I think the manager noticed I was nearing the point of suicide and stopped by.  I just mentioned I was waiting for the check.

2 minutes later, our server magically appears with the check.  I pay cash and did something I rarely do...tipped under 15% (I'm usually 20-25% at restaurants -- part of that server-in-former-life thing).  It was something like around 12-13%.  If he were double-sat, I'd understand it (I hated being double-sat as it totally throws off the rhythm).  We were his only table, however.

Last day, Mush...don't let it get to you.

We hop back on the monorail and Sheri, with her astute eye, notices that nobody asked for the front.  She asked (after Aaron and I were in the car), and they could fit 2.  I told her to take Eric, since he hadn't had a chance to do that yet.  I didn't tell Aaron...just kept him in the middle of the car in the stroller looking outside.











Yeah, he thought it was cool.


Perhaps he actually is my son and not the UPS guy's kid.

We get to MK and meet back up with Sheri and Eric without Aaron suspecting a thing, until Sheri shows us the monorail co-pilot license they got.  Way to go, wifey!  We head through the turnstiles and notice that very few folks are here for the opening which was starting in just five minutes.



Good Morning...good Moooorning!!!






Sheri's okay with it, but I've always loved the opening of the park and secretly hope to be that family up there someday.

Anyways...5...4...3...2...1...POP!  The streamers go flying out, and half of them land on us.  The boys think it's the coolest thing, and I think they still have some of those streamers in their rooms, 2.5 years later!

We let the insanity go by us and slowly take in the atmosphere one last time for the vacation.  The music...the colors...the CMs in big white hands waving...the joy.

We bear left at the hub to the walkway that goes to Fantasyland (by Tinkerbelle's Treasures), where we see the insanity geared up to run people over so they could be the ones to wake up Tink.  The rope drops, and we slowly head towards Peter Pan.  Eric wasn't too sure of this the first time, but we decided to try it again.

Let's just say we ended up riding it again.

After 2 rides over the Crocodile, we head over to Philharmagic and see that one.


It's a tradition...gotta get a pic there.

We watch Donald's mayhem one final time, though I think I was watching the boys' reactions as much as I watched the show.  As we head out, I notice I had a voice mail.  It was Mare.  She and Renee had made it in and were heading to Tomorrowland.  I called back and, for only like the second time this entire trip, two people actually talked instead of leaving a message.  We made our way to Tomorrowland for one last ride of Buzz before heading back to the Pop to catch our bus.  Mare said they'd be there in a few.

We got to the Lunching Pad and saw them near MILF.  We didn't tell the boys that they'd be there, but it didn't matter.  When the kids saw each other (let me clarify...when Aaron and Renee saw each other...Eric was more intrigued by the pixie dust he found on the ground), they ran and gave each other a hug.

Our group of 6 hopped into the queue line (or lack thereof) and was firing up the lasers within 30 seconds.

I love this pic:


We defeat Zurg one last time and start to make our way towards the exit.  Before we exit, however, we pop into the Emporium one last time to see if we can find our old neighbor's mother.  No luck, unfortunately.

We stop at Town Square and gab for a couple of minutes before we say our goodbyes.


Good Friends:


As is tradition, I look back before exiting and tell the Castle goodbye before heading under the train station.

We hop on the bus and, before we know it, we're telling the Tramp's Ass goodbye too for one final time:



It was a somewhat shorter trip, but it was a fantastic trip.  We gauge the gaggle of people waiting for the bad bus and decide that nobody seemed to be in the mood to strike up a conversation, so our family of four talked about the best parts of the vacation.  Sheri grabs one last shot of our sorrowful clan about to board the bad bus:


Of course, when I tell them to look sad, they give us their best smiles of the entire trip.

Oh well.

Bad bus comes, and we're watching 50% of the people starting to cry on that last refrain.  It has gotten to me before, but not this time.  Dunno, as it was our first Disney vacation for the entire family.

There's always one final tradition that we do in Orlando before we board the plane.  After the security thing and the tram ride to the terminal, we always stop at the Burger King for a meal.  Hell, we've got about and hour and 45 minutes before our flight leaves...why not?!  We've done it every trip (and every trip I'm tempted to see if I can charge it to my WDW room key).

An uneventful set of flights later, and the Mush Family's 2007 trip is history.

WDW Family Trip, December 2007, Day 4, Part 4: A Whole New World

Part 3 can be viewed HERE.




We bolt out the door quickly and realize that we have no idea where we're going. I look up and see the Haunted Mansion looming nearby. The smile on my face starts to grow, and I look down at Aaron who, bless his heart, has the same smile and is looking at the same thing I am (it could have been gas, but I think he wanted to go on it too). I look at Sheri for her take on it.


 
Sheri looks at Aaron to gauge how much crap would be scared out of him if we were to ride it.


 
Aaron looks back and forth between Sheri and me for confirmation.


 
Eric looks at a leaf blowing by.


 

 

 

 
Aaron pleads with us to let him ride it, and we agree to split up. I'll take Aaron into the Haunted Mansion, while Sheri takes Eric on it's a small world. Sounds like a good tradeoff to me! As they start to head towards Fantasyland, I look at Aaron and ask him if he's ready for HM.


 
He jumps up and down with a YESYESYESYESYES!!!!!!!


 
I guess he's ready.


 

 
This is one of those attractions that I have been looking forward to riding with the boys for a while now. We have a CD in the car that I drive that has the "Grim Grinning Ghosts" song on it, and I played it quite a bit before we went on vacation. Yes, we never told them that we were going to Disney World, but we gave them every clue imaginable. Aaron knows what to expect…somewhat.


 
He's really excited until we start to see grave stones, and the luster in his eyes start to fade a little. There's no wait, and we head directly into the holding room and hear the start of what he knows from the CD… "When hinges creak in door-less chambers…" His eyes light up for a moment until he realizes that the picture in front of him is in varying stages of decomposition.


 
I blame Sheri…she gave the go-ahead for him to ride.


 
He's a little hesitant to walk into the stretch room, and I point him towards the pic with the three guys standing on top of each other. I warn him that the lights would go out for just a second, and then we'd get to go on the ride.


 
"Daddy? This is kind of spooky."


 
Damn you for letting us on this attraction, wifey!!!


 
Aaron escapes from the stretch room at approximately Mach 3.5 and heads towards the loading dock for the doom buggies. I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket and realize that I have a new voice message. It was Mare, letting us know that they were on a Santa hunt over in Epcot and weren't going to be able to make it over to the Magic Kingdom that night…they'd try to see us there tomorrow morning, however.


 
I tell the now-traumatized Aaron that Renee won't be able to make it tonight but that we'd try to see them again before we left. He takes the news remarkably well…my guess is that he's more worried about the size of the spider that left all the cobwebs in the hallway than not seeing his friend.


 
We get in the buggy, and something just kind of snaps in Aaron…he's completely fine now – actually smiling as the ghost host lowers the bar for us. We get going, and I point out one or two of my favorite parts (the shadow playing the organ is one of my favorites). I keep kind of quiet to let him take it all in.


 
Then things start to get really spooky.


 
Madame Leota develops laryngitis a couple of seconds after we enter her room. Then we get to the ballroom and there's no music. I'm getting a bit concerned about what's going on (are we going to get stuck?), while Aaron starts clapping and laughing at everything.


 
I should have anticipated this. Remember…this is the kid that was rooting for the dragon over at Fantasmic a few days ago.


 
Then it happened.


 
The doom buggy stopped just as it rotates and starts going backwards. We crawl to a complete stop by the caretaker. I look at Aaron, fully expecting a full-blown panic attack.


 
"Daddy, this isn't so scary!"


 
Good…he's not scared.  We're leaning backwards, and it's dark and quiet.  Now if he would just let me lay back, close my eyes, and take a short nap. Don't bother me, bud.


 
"This ride is AWESOME Daddy!!!"


 
"uh huh" Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz


 
"I LOVE THIS RIDE!!!!!!"


 
sigh


 
Charlie Brown's teacher gets on the intercom and says something. I think it was either something about remaining inside your doom buggies as it could restart at any moment or something about installing a slide that starts near a Monet. Aaron thinks being stuck inside HM is the coolest thing ever, and we spend the next several minutes looking and pointing out everything in the graveyard scene. The ride starts back up after something like 5-6 minutes, but with no audio the rest of the way, so Aaron couldn't hear Grim Grinning Ghosts.


 
We exit the ride and see the mass exodus emerging from the front as the ride goes 101 for an extended period of time. We head over to the gate for the Liberty Bell to wait for Sheri and Eric. While there, a CM who was cleaning up the area was doing everything he could to keep from getting run over from the hordes of people heading away from HM. He mentions to me that almost all of "North" is down, so something major happened (3 attractions in Fantasyland were down too). I could just imagine Sheri and Eric stuck in the middle of IASW, the music droning on endlessly, Sheri leaning over the edge of the boat chumming the water as a result of her motion sickness, and Eric (noticing that Mommy was barfing) escaping to go dancing with the dolls. It reminds me of a strip of Misery Loves Sherman, where Mort experiences something "similar" (btw, if you haven't had the opportunity to read this strip, by Chris Eliopoulos, do yourself a favor…he's also a big Disney fan and does a great job with the strip!).


 
A few minutes later we see them heading our way. We meet up and start making our way to Tomorrowland for a ride on the TTA. On our way (and after passing about 6 souvenir carts), we finally cave into the incessant demands and buy the boys the Mickey light up toys. Aaron had been begging for one since Day 1 at Fantasmic…written somewhere about 4 years ago.


 
HEY!!!! I'VE BEEN BUSY!!!


 
Immediately they start doing the Star Wars thing, but we keep it somewhat subdued so they don't slice off the arm of an unsuspecting bystander. We hit the bathroom over by Cosmic Ray's and then hop on the TTA. I'm really glad that Debbie, Mark, and Mare dragged me on this attraction back in '05 because this one has quietly become a favorite attraction for us. As we head around, the castle comes into view with the shimmering icicle lights blazing away. Sheri and I just look at each other and smile. It is the rare occasion that I am truly content with things, but this is one of those times. The weather is nice, it's quiet, everyone's happy, and I temporarily don't care about the multitude of things constantly running through my mind.


 
We are heading back home tomorrow, but it's tempered by the fact that, for the first time, we have a somewhat later flight and can go to a park before hopping on, as Sheri calls it, the "bad bus" (the Magical Express bus that takes you back to the airport). We decide to head out now before Spectromagic starts and the bus lines get really ugly. I always take a little longer to leave the Magic Kingdom the last night we're there to absorb the atmosphere. I take in the lights, the smells, the sounds…everything. We head out under the train station, and, as always, I take one last look behind me.


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
The trek to the Pop bus stop is taken at a leisurely stroll…so what if it's the farthest bus stop?! I always wonder why I'm not like this at the beginning of a vacation…why doesn't it happen until the last day??!!!


 
There's a line for the Pop…guessing about 10-15 minutes, but it's moving at a decent pace as buses arrive every couple of minutes. The boys are doing their best Skywalker/Vader impersonations with their light-up toys. "Daddy…I love the light saber!!!"


 
"It's not a light saber, Aaron."


 
Sheri: "Then what IS it?"


 
Me: (sensing about 100 pairs of ears all around me waiting to hear how I'm going to squirm out of this)……………………gives up It's a…ummmmmmmmm… toy...with...a...light...that.........looks...like...a...sword……….I…….guess….SCREW IT!!! IT'S A LIGHT SABER, OKAY!??????!!!?!!!! (About 20 people in line started laughing at that)


 
We pass the time by talking with the folks in the line for the bus. In what seemed like no time, we are on the bus and back at the Pop. We wave at the dog's ass and head up to our room. After baths, books, and brute force, the boys fall asleep around 10 pm.




Day 5 is located HERE.

WDW Family Trip, December 2007, Day 4, Part 4: A Whole New World

Part 3 can be viewed HERE.


 
We bolt out the door quickly and realize that we have no idea where we're going. I look up and see the Haunted Mansion looming nearby. The smile starts to grow, and I look down at Aaron who, bless his heart, has the same smile and is looking at the same thing I am (it could have been gas, but I think he wanted to go on it too). I look at Sheri for her take on it.


 
Sheri looks at Aaron to gauge how much crap would be scared out of him if we were to ride it.


 
Aaron looks back and forth between Sheri and me for confirmation.


 
Eric looks at a leaf blowing by.


 

 

 

 
Aaron pleads with us to let him ride it, we agree to split up. I'll take Aaron into the Haunted Mansion, while Sheri takes Eric on it's a small world. Sounds like a good tradeoff to me! As they start to head towards Fantasyland, I look at Aaron and ask him if he's ready for HM.


 
He jumps up and down with a YESYESYESYESYES!!!!!!!


 
I guess he's ready.


 

 
This is one of those attractions that I have been looking forward to riding with the boys for a while now. We have a CD in the car that I drive that has the Grim Grinning Ghosts song on it, and I played it quite a bit before we went on vacation. Yes, we never told them that we were going to Disney World, but we gave them every clue imaginable. Aaron knows what to expect…somewhat.


 
He's really excited until we start to see grave stones, and the luster in his eyes start to fade a little. There's no wait, and we head directly into the holding room and hear the start of what he knows from the CD… "When hinges creak in door-less chambers…" His eyes light up for a moment until he realizes that the picture in front of him is in varying stages of decomposition.


 
I blame Sheri…she gave the go-ahead for him to ride.


 
He's a little hesitant to walk into the stretch room, and I point him towards the pic with the three guys standing on top of each other. I warn him that the lights would go out for just a second, and then we'd get to go on the ride.


 
"Daddy? This is kind of spooky."


 
Damn you for letting us on this attraction, wifey!!!


 
Aaron escapes from the stretch room at approximately Mach 3.5 and heads towards the loading dock for the doom buggies. I feel my phone vibrating in my pocket and realize that I have a new voice message. It was Mare, letting us know that they were on a Santa hunt over in Epcot and weren't going to be able to make it over to the Magic Kingdom that night…they'd try to see us there tomorrow morning, however.


 
I tell the now-traumatized Aaron that Renee won't be able to make it tonight but that we'd try to see them again before we left. He takes the news remarkably well…my guess is that he's more worried about the size of the spider that left all the cobwebs in the hallway than not seeing his friend.


 
We get in the buggy, and something just kind of snaps in Aaron…he's completely fine now – actually smiling as the ghost host lowers the bar for us. We get going, and I point out one or two of my favorite parts (the shadow playing the organ is one of my favorites). I keep kind of quiet to let him take it all in.


 
Then things start to get spooky.


 
Madame Leota develops laryngitis a couple of seconds after we enter her room. Then we get to the ballroom and there's no music. I'm getting a bit concerned about what's going on (are we going to get stuck?), while Aaron starts clapping and laughing at everything.


 
I should have anticipated this. Remember…this is the kid that was rooting for the dragon over at Fantasmic a few days ago.


 
Then it happened.


 
The doom buggy stopped just as it rotates and starts going backwards. We crawl to a complete stop by the caretaker. I look at Aaron, fully expecting a full-blown panic attack.


 
"Daddy, this isn't so scary!"


 
Good…he's not scared. Now if he would just let me lay back, close my eyes, and take a short nap. Don't bother me, bud.


 
"This ride is AWESOME Daddy!!!"


 
"uh huh" Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz


 
"I LOVE THIS RIDE!!!!!!"



 
Sigh


 
Charlie Brown's teacher gets on the intercom and says something. I think it was either something about remaining inside your doom buggies as it could restart at any moment or something about installing a slide that starts near a Monet. Aaron thinks being stuck inside HM is the coolest thing ever, and we spend the next several minutes looking and pointing out everything in the graveyard scene. The ride starts back up after something like 5-6 minutes, but with no audio the rest of the way, so Aaron couldn't hear Grim Grinning Ghosts.


 
We exit the ride and see the mass exodus emerging from the front as the ride goes 101 for an extended period of time. We head over to the gate for the Liberty Belle to wait for Sheri and Eric. While there, a CM who was cleaning up the area was doing everything he could to keep from getting run over from the hordes of people heading away from HM. He mentions that almost all of "North" is down, so something major happened (3 attractions in Fantasyland were down too). I could just imagine Sheri and Eric stuck in the middle of IASW, the music droning on endlessly, Sheri leaning over the edge of the boat chumming the water as a result of her motion sickness, and Eric (noticing that Mommy was hurling) escaping to go dancing with the dolls.


 
A few minutes later we see them heading our way. We meet up and start making our way to Tomorrowland for a ride on the TTA. On our way (and after passing about 6 souvenir carts), we finally cave into the incessant demands and buy the boys the Mickey light up toys. Aaron had been begging for one since Day 1 at Fantasmic…which occurred about 1.5 years ago.


 
HEY!!!! I'VE BEEN BUSY!!!


 
Immediately they start doing the Star Wars thing, but we keep it somewhat subdued so they don't slice off the arm of an unsuspecting bystander. We hit the bathroom over by Cosmic Rays and then hop on the TTA. I'm really glad that Debbie, Mark, and Mare dragged me on this attraction back in '05 because this one has quietly become a popular attraction for us. As we head around, the castle comes into view with the shimmering icicle lights blazing away. Sheri and I just look at each other and smile. It is the rare occasion that I am truly content with things, but this is one of those times. The weather is nice, it's quiet, everyone's happy, and I temporarily don't care about the multitude of things constantly running through my mind.


 
We are heading back home tomorrow, but it's tempered by the fact that, for the first time, we have a somewhat later flight and can go to a park before hopping on, as Sheri calls it, the "bad bus" (the Magical Express bus that takes you back to the airport). We decide to head out now before Spectromagic starts and the bus lines get really ugly. I always take a little longer to leave the Magic Kingdom the last night we're there to absorb the atmosphere. I take in the lights, the smells, the sounds…everything. We head out under the train station, and, as always, I take one last look behind me.


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
The trek to the Pop bus stop is taken at a leisurely stroll…so what if it's the farthest bus stop?! I always wonder why I'm not like this at the beginning of a vacation…why doesn't it happen until the last day??!!!


 
There's a line for the Pop…guessing about 10-15 minutes, but it's moving at a decent pace as busses arrive every couple of minutes. The boys are doing their best Skywalker/Vader impersonations with their light-up toys. "Daddy…I love the light saber!!!"


 
"It's not a light saber, Aaron."


 
Sheri: "Then what IS it?"


 
Me:……………………gives up It's a…ummmmmmmmm… toy...with...a...light...that.........looks...like...a...sword……….I…….guess….SCREW IT!!! IT'S A LIGHT SABER, OKAY!??????!!!?!!!!


 
We pass the time by talking with the folks in the line for the bus. In what seemed like no time, we are on the bus and back at the Pop. We wave at the dog's ass and head up to our room. After baths, books, and brute force, the boys fall asleep around 10 pm.

WDW Family Trip, December 2007, Day 4, Part 3: A Whole New World

Part 2 is located HERE!


We walk in to MK and attempt a requisite floral pic:


 



 

 
Nope…try again…


 

 



 

 
Is it too much to ask to get them both looking? To those with 3+ kids, I bow down before you!


 

 
Mare calls back and says that they'll be in Epcot for a while but are planning on heading over to MK later on in the evening. BUT she adds that her friend Al is going to be working in MK that afternoon and that he's done the AAA Story Time before.


 
Cool!


 
Can he bring Jasmine?


 

 

 
We'll have to wait and see if he's the one doing it, but, while waiting outside of Exposition Hall, out comes a character we haven't seen other than on the opening ceremony train…


 



 

 

 
We make our way into Expo Hall and ask a CM which way to go for the Story. He informs me that it was canceled and that they should have contacted me about it.


 
"Really?"


 
"No. It's right back there"


 
@#$%@%&@%$! Smartalek CMs!! (good one)


 

 
We take a seat and throw the boys up front with the rest of the kids.


 



 

 

 
It IS Al!


 



 

 
For those AAA members who book a trip through them and have kids (enough disclaimers there?), I'd highly recommend taking the time to do this. They only have 20 or so people in there for the story, and the children get some good quality time with a face character. Aladdin talks for a bit before getting into the story. During the story, he tells of Jasmine and her pet tiger Raja. Eric pipes up out of nowhere and mentions that he has cats.






 

Oh boy.



Secretly, I want to stand up and point to Sheri, exclaiming that he gets that from her side of the family.


 
Aladdin keeps the entire room enthralled for about 15-20 minutes with his rendition of the story in the book. After the story, everyone lines up for autographs and pictures with him, and we try to keep the boys towards the back so we could talk for a minute with him. While we're in line, Aaron asks if we get to see Renee tonight. About that time, I hear Aladdin ask one of the others what their wish could be if they could talk to Genie. Aaron decides that his wish would be to see Renee tonight.


 
All together now…..


 

 
AAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWwwwwww.


 
It's our turn, and, of course, we don't have a pen that works, so we steal the one from the family nearby. Aaron tells Al about the Renee wish, and he starts smiling. He immediately tells me (with a wink) that he is sorry that Jasmine couldn't make it.



 

 
That's okay...Jasmine and I will always have the Moose Meet (pic from October '07 mega meet)





 

 

 

 

 
He calls Sheri by name and was trying to remember mine.


 
I try to help out… "starts with a 'C' --- ends with an 'H'


 
Sheri turns to me with a puzzled look on her face (a normal look, for her, when I'm talking) before I realize what I said. Al also had the puzzled look (not so normal a look), while Sheri was changing hers to a LOOOOZERRRR look. I was waiting for him to say something like, "so.......your name is Crotch?"


 

 

 

 

 
We talk for a couple more minutes as he signs the bookmarks that the boys received.


 



 

 
I'm serious when I say that some people are simply made for parts. This guy IS Aladdin in so many peoples' eyes – I wonder if he realizes how many people he makes smile every day.  I'll see him in pictures every so often, and I usually try to get them to him.


 
We part ways (didn't want to hold him hostage) and take a couple of pics by the setups that they have nearby:


 





 

 

 

 
We then head out and fly towards the Emporium to see if our old neighbor's mother…


 
Wait…that didn't come out right…our neighbor's old mother…


 
Nope…(bangs head on wall)


 
The mother of our neighbor who lived next door to us before our last move.


 
THERE WE GO!!


 
What was I saying again?


 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Oh yeah…going to see Judy. We know the days that she works over there, but we aren't quite sure about the hours. We've seen her at opening a couple of times, but it's later in the afternoon. We look around for her for a few minutes and, since we have ressies at Liberty Tree coming up soon, we decide to ask. As luck would have it, one of the supervisors is walking by, so I ask her really quick. Judy was released from her shift just a couple of minutes prior.


 
Oh well…we'll try to catch her tomorrow morning.


 
We make our way over to Liberty Square but hit the bathrooms first. Sheri is proud of herself as she is doing the navigating for this particular portion of our trip and got us there without a single wrong turn. We make our way into Liberty Tree and, while I check in, Wifey looks for a place to sit. Aaron is nearing the maniacal stage, and I contemplate utilizing the stockades nearby for him.


 
About ten minutes later, the Mushrush family from the glorious territory of Illinois (or something like that…it's been almost 2.5 years since we were there…SO SUE ME!!!) is announced, and we are seated. Our server is Michael/Miguel, and Sheri and I both immediately recognize him from our trip in May (of course it's in the blog...right here).


 
This, of course, means that we've been to WDW too many times this year.


 

 
Yeah, right.


 

 
ANYWAYS!!!!!!


 

 
It was a meal just like any other meal that we have at home. Both kids spill their drinks within 20 minutes of being there. They both announce that they are done eating while we are still cutting their meat. Eric has to go potty twice…right about the time Goofy came by. Eric is upset because he didn't get to see Goofy. We ask a CM if we can do a quick "hi" to Goofy since Eric missed him. We see Dale and Dale. Chip does a fly-by. Minnie gets pissed at the table next to us. Really…she does!


 



 

 

 
Like I said…just like a typical meal at the Mushrush home.


 
Continued…..HERE

WDW Family Trip, December 2007, Day 4, Part 2: A Whole New World

Part I of this day can be seen HERE.


That done, we decide to scream over to Epcot to see if we might have a chance at Soarin. If not, we can let the boys enjoy Nemo again. We walk out to the bus stop and, within 5 minutes, in rolls the bus. A few minutes later, we're heeeerrreeeee! Soarin is a 45 minute wait, and the FastPass return time is 12:15. Nope…guess we'll have to come down again in a couple of months to get our fix.


 
We make our way over to the Seas with Nemo and do the MINE birds thing a couple of times. The wait for the clam-mobiles is about 5 minutes, and we're on! I love the starfish at the end!


 
We head out and go straight for the windows into the aquarium. We spend probably a good 15 minutes in here before we drag the boys over to the manatee room. Eric really likes these…he calls them "hippo manatees."


 
The boys plead to ride Nemo again, so we ride it AGAIN. Afterwards, we tell them we need to head out to rest. We're walking around underneath Spaceship doing the salmon swimming upstream thing (everyone's still coming in). I look up for a second to make sure we won't run into anyone, and there's a family about 15 feet in front of us heading our way.


 
I look down


 

 
A brief instant later, alarms start going off in my mind.


 

 

 

 

 
That girl looks really familiar


 

 

 

 

 

 
I look back up right about the time I hear "CHRIS???"


 

 

 

 

 
"LEIGH???!!!"


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Aside from the fact that I weigh about 150 pounds more than her, didn't have make-up on, wasn't wearing pink, didn't have guys turning heads to look at me, and am male, we had to look exactly the same at that instant (okay, we both had our mouths open at the sight of each other).


 
We introduced our families to each other. Sheri took one look at Audrey and wanted 5 more children.


 
We talk for a couple of minutes and then say our goodbyes and head our separate ways. Let's see...DD's crew, Mare's crew, Mel's crew, Todd and Mo's crew, and now Leigh's crew.


 

 

 
December 2007, Moose Meet II

(I should have made t-shirts)


 

 

 
As we make our way to the exit, we gauge the boys' power level and decide that they've got some gas in the tank yet. Now might be our best chance to look at some of the resort decorations. We exit Epcot and make our way up the ramp to the monorail without telling the kids where the ramp leads to. Of course, Aaron demands that we stop to go potty as we reach the top of the ramp.


 

 
Argh.


 

 
They've been begging to ride the monorail since we saw our first one this trip…needless to say, they were excited to hop on. Aaron completely forgot that his back teeth were floating as we started our way to the TTC. Down one ramp and up another (the crowd was small, so Sheri and I raced strollers up the ramp), and we're on the monorail to the Poly. One more stop, and we're at the Grand Floridian.


 

 



 

 
Haughty or not, that Christmas tree is impressive!


 

 



 

 
Haughty or not, that gingerbread house is impressive!


 
Sheri takes the boys potty, while I get in line to buy a couple gingerbread men. Miss Florida (or Miss September…it worked either way) was manning the gingerbread house and was working the charm on trying to move the pre-made houses to guys entranced by her beauty. Hell, I almost bought one!


 
We retreat to the infamous couch in the atrium where, two years on this very day, we feared getting banished from the resort if we spilled a crumb from the cookie.


 



 
Haughty or not, that couch is impressive!


 

 
Oh, I think we spilled a crumb...AND WE'RE STILL ALIVE!!!


 
The cookies taste remarkably good there…much better than we remembered. Eric has fun with his gingerbread man... "please, don't eat me!..CRUNCH"


 
Soon we depart the GF and monorail it over to MK where we stroll down to the bus stop for the Pop.


 
We're the only ones on the bus, so we sit up front to keep the driver company. I notice that the same @#%^#$%@ music is playing yet again. I used to like All in the Family as well as Dave Seville's Witch Doctor and Frank Sinatra's New York, New York. After hearing this loop for something like the 4th time, I was nearly suicidal.


 
So, of course, I ask the bus driver how he tolerates hearing the same loop over and over without contemplating driving the bus into Bay Lake.


 
Apparently, the music in the loop gets quite a bit better later on if you can get far enough into it. He mentions that, when gassing it up and preparing for the day, he'll throw the MK-OKW loop on…lots of Buffett music on there.


 
My goal the next trip is to go from MK to Old Key West and coordinate a traffic jam in front of the bus.


 
The boys fall asleep on the bus, and we do the "throw-the-kids-up-while-we-open-the-strollers" maneuver. We're a little hungry, so, after looking around in the gift shop for a little bit, we decide to do a ten-minute trip by ourselves and have a meal without kids. We use up the last of our counter service meals with calzones and chicken strips.


 
As I take my first bite, guess who wakes up?


 
We split our meal with the boys and then go back to the room in an attempt to rest before heading back to MK for the AAA Character Story Time.


 
Yeah, right…they just slept for 45 minutes. The only one to sleep, according to wifey, is me.


 
We get ready to head to MK, and the boys are in ultra-hyper mode. I pull out the little-used "if you don't calm down we won't be able to see Renee again this trip!" threat.


 
That actually worked…they chill on the bus ride as I give Mare a call to see what her plans were. I leave a message as we get to MK.


 

 
(Continued HERE)

WDW Family Trip, December 2007, Day 4, Part 1: A Whole New World

You can read Day 3 here.

Stitch calls us at 6:30. We're on autopilot today, though it's kind of weird. Today is technically our last full day, but this is the first trip where we don't have to wake up at the butt-crack of dawn to make a flight. We'll actually have the chance to visit a park on the last day, so the downheartedness that usually ensues on this day of the vacation isn't there.


 
We have ressies at Hollywood and Vine over at the park formerly known as Disney MGM Studios at 8:05. Now, we know that MGM is pretty close to Pop, but we weren't sure about how often the bus made the trip, so we decided to head out to the bus stop around 7:10. Sure enough, at 7:15, up rolls a bus to MGM. We're one of the only folks in the queue and are soon on our way. 7:25, and we're at MGM.


 
Now what?


 
We head to the turnstiles because there's nothing else to do, and there seemed to be around 15 others there. All the families had kids, and, after a few minutes, the kids start running around. Hey, they weren't hurting anything or anyone (nobody was there, so there was tons of room), so, what the heck?


 



 
Aaron tries to get one of the boys in a stroller to come out and run, but he doesn't seem like he wants to. Aaron starts talking to him, and it looks like the other one doesn't really want to talk a whole lot. I start to tell him to head back out to run, but the mother of the other child tells us that he's autistic and could benefit with some interaction. Aaron's talking to him got him smiling a little and talking some, so all was well there.


 
The CMs (who looked like they were about to turn into ice cubes…thin-blooded Floridians) let us through about 7:40-7:45, and we do the obligatory pic with the hat (size is 342 3/8 btw) in the back.


 



 
We make our way to H&V and talk with some of the parents while we wait. Sensing that everyone else must be freezing as much as they are (@#%!*$ thin-blooded Floridians), the CMs bring out some hot chocolate. Great, loop the kids up on sugar and caffeine before we bring them into your restaurant. You asked for it. We all got some and, before we know it, our name is called to go inside. This is our first time here, so we take a moment to figure out the place. We get to our table, request drinks, and head up to the food.


 
At first glance, I'd definitely give the nod to the Crystal Palace for food and environment. For the characters, however, especially the interaction, the award definitely goes Hollywood & Vine. We sit down with the food, and, a couple of minutes later, Jojo comes out. We're the first table that she sees…Eric is completely caught off-guard because she materializes out of nowhere right behind him.


 



 

 
Goliath comes up a minute later…


 



 

 
We eat for a minute before the spontaneous singing and dancing starts up. I had a great video of the two of them singing Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, but it was lost with the hard drive crash.


 



 

 
A little more food, a run to the potty (where I realized that the 50's Prime Time Café is connected to Hollywood & Vine), and June and Leo…


 



 



 
…followed by some limbering up for some more dancing…


 



 

 
...followed by some more dancing…


 



 
...and we pay and run out!


 

 
For kids under the age of 5 who are into Playhouse Disney, this is an ideal character meal!


 
We head out and notice that it's about 3 minutes until opening. The opening ceremony is actually going on around ten feet away from us with the Streetmosphere folks. The park opens, and the poor Streetmosphere characters run for their lives as everyone bolts for RNR and ToT (remember...this is 2007 - before Toy Story Mania).


 
We leisurely stroll down towards Muppetvision 3D. We didn't get to do this in October during the Moose Meet, and we didn't get to do this on Day 1, so I was going to make darn sure we were going to do it today!


 
Notice anything weird in the following pic?


 



 

 
Ghost town!


 
We looked around…


 



 

 
I thought I saw a tumbleweed drifting by.


 

 

 
We hop into Muppetvision 3D and grab our glasses. I've never seen the net full of jello or the key under the mat, so I make it a priority to find them. It was hard with all the people in there:


 

 



 

 
Darned if I couldn't figure out where they were...I'm blind.

 

 
We beat the horde into the theater so we wouldn't be stuck at the end of the aisle and grab what's left.


 



 

 
The other group that came in jokingly started to sit right in front of us. Sheri retaliated by pulling out the camera. There were 8 of us in the theater!


 
Now, I have to preface this with the notion that I am by far the Muppets fan in the relationship. Sheri tolerates this attraction, while I'm usually on the floor laughing even though I know all the jokes.


 
Two very bad things happened in here for Sheri:


 
1.    We discover that Aaron has my fondness for Muppets…he was on the floor laughing right along with me.

2.    (even worse) I caught her actually laughing out loud a few times.


 

 

 
We push our way out of the theater in front of the rest of the audience and head over to the gift shop. There is nobody else in there, which prompts me to enter DISboards mode and complain that there are too few people here and, thus, my vacation is ruined. Wifey decides that I haven't been slapped enough this trip and starts to make up for it.  Afterward, we head over to Animation Courtyard in the hopes that the Little Mermaid show is back up. It is!


 

 
We hop in and mockingly curse the fact that there are something like 25 people in there with us. The way Eric freaks out with things, I was a bit worried about the rain and thunder in the show, but he took it in stride and liked the dog character.




Day 4, Part II is located HERE

WDW Family Trip, December 2007, Day 3, Part 4: Shhhh…Happy Birthday!!!

Part 3 is located HERE.


The bus ride was uneventful, and we throw the kids in the room for a nap.









HA!





Eric fell asleep about 10 minutes before we planned on leaving to catch the bus for Epcot. Aaron didn't fall asleep at all (heck, he had the bus ride to sleep on…why sleep now?!) Eric falls back asleep on the bus, and, true to form, Aaron crashes before we are past the security gate for the Pop. While on the bus, we talk to a family from Kansas City and another family from eastern Pennsylvania. They had just gotten there, so we were talking about the weather and trying to get down to Orlando. They were pumping us for the crowd levels.



We get to the park, and I throw Aaron up in the air while I put the stroller up. Just as planned, Aaron falls down right into the seat just as I finish. He's completely out for the count, so it's another trip with just Eric (seems to be just Epcot that we visit with only Eric). We have ressies for Akershus and want to get there around 20-30 minutes early as I've read on several reviews at allearsnet that the seating is kind of crazy at this place. We chose not to do any attractions and head straight to Norway so I could see some future ex-Mrs. Mush's (there's something in the water in Norway that makes all the women drop-dead gorgeous). I hop up to the podium and find out that we're a little early to check in. Aaron's still out...we don't want to wake him. Besides, we both think that the boys would never get in a boat again if we subject them to Maelstrom (and the film afterwards that sent Sheri and me to therapy), so I stay outside with Aaron while Sheri and Eric stroll around a bit.















I found a future ex-wife, but my current wife had the camera.



They return after a few minutes and tell me to look at the pastries at Kringola. Yeah, that definitely on our list of places to eat at in the future (as I'm sure AJ from the DisneyFoodBlog will agree)! I check in (and contemplate proposing to the CM on the spot), and we start the waiting process to be seated. We're outside, but the weather is perfect…the cold front was moving through (those astute readers probably noticed that Eric had long sleeves and a jacket…different from this afternoon) and it was a very comfortable 55-60 degrees. After a few minutes (much better than the 45 minutes I was dreading…I expect the worst and am pleasantly surprised when things go better), our name is called, and we get in line for a pic of Belle.



I see Belle and immediately put her at the top of the future ex-Mrs. Mush list (and she's not even from Norvay!):











Those eyes!



We're seated really close to where Belle is, and Sheri, of course, makes sure that Belle's out of my line-of-sight around a wall. Knut is our server, and he explains how it all works (first time here for us). We decide on a bottle of Gewurtzraminer. As he gets the wine, I check the phone and see 2 messages have appeared in the 15 minutes since I last checked. The first one is my father wishing me a happy birthday. The second one is Debbie calling me from home and telling me that, had she known my birthday was so soon, she would have given me a big kiss when we saw each other.



Damn, those missed opportunities. I would have called Squid immediately had she done that just to rub it in! Tell ya what, Debbie…you can give me that kiss next time we see each other!



We make our way to the Koltbord and start loading up the plates. The salmon's really good…haven't had salmon that way since I was at Pike Place Market in Seattle a couple of years back. Eric couldn't find anything to eat so I got a few extra shrimp to peel and give to him. He eats every single one of my shrimp (except for the 2 that Sheri stole). I end up being ordered back up to the buffet by all three of them to get more shrimp for everyone, and I spend the next 15 minutes peeling shrimp non-stop (seriously!).







Happy birthday to me.







The main course comes, and my salmon entrée is awesome! Sheri got the hasenpfeffer (again, she didn't write down what she got so I'm making it up…some pork entrée if I remember correctly). While we're eating the main course, the rest of the princesses stop by. First up is Ariel.











The boys like her, but she's enamoured (threw in the 'u' for my Canadian friends (Cathy)) with Eric (her prince is named Eric, remember?). She tells Sheri to get ready because she's going to "tell him a secret."









About 30 seconds later, here comes Jasmine. Sorry, but after meeting Jasmine at the Moose Meet, there is only one Jasmine for me. After she leaves, Aurora does a quick hello, and then Cindy waltzes up.









I mention how much Eric talked about meeting you (Cindy) at ToonTown yesterday, and Eric gets another one planted on him…full body dip and everything, too!









I look down at my birthday pin, pretend to drop my napkin, and secretly take a couple sprays of Binaca Blast while out of sight of Cindy. I then look up, give my best doe-eyes, and gaze into Cinderella's beautiful face, lips pursed ever-so-slightly. My eyes close as I lean in…







…She gets up and goes to the next table.













Oh well… it was probably for the best anyways as I mis-sprayed the Binaca and had my eyes watering. I tell Sheri I'm crying because I love her so much…Where's Belle?







All joking aside, all of the Cast Members really did take notice of the pin. I remember this with Aaron's birthday a couple of years ago.



We order coffee, and, catching me off-guard, Knut brings a cupcake for me. Of course, Eric promptly blows out the candle the second he places it on the table in front of me (he's fire-conscious). While trying to figure out how to split a cupcake 4 ways, the dessert is served. They have REALLY good dessert there. It works out well because we all like different things. As Knut is clearing stuff off (we were one of the last tables in there), we take a few minutes to just talk to him about Norway…about how long they're able to work here…etc. I've heard this advice before about taking the time to talk to the native CMs…I would strongly recommend this to anyone if the CM has the time.



We pay the bill and give him a decent tip on top of the DDP tip. After a potty break, we make our way out to the promenade and slowly make our way towards Germany to see the trains. We get there and see no trains. Hmmmmmmmm…oh well. The sugar is really kicking in for the boys, so we start to make our way back in a not-so-veiled threat to head back to the hotel to go to bed. They start to calm down as we see the decorations by the tree and on the way towards Future World. We bribe them that, if they calm down a little more, we'll take them to see one more thing. We make a left at Innoventions West, briefly check the wait time for Soarin (knowing full well how bad it would be), and make an immediate right towards the Seas. There weren't too many folks around, so we let them run the last 100 feet or so to the MINE birds. They could have stayed there for an hour. Come to think of it, so could I.









We enter the queue line for the clam-mobiles, and I really take in the transition from above water on the shore to underwater. We figured the boys would love this ride…we underestimated big-time. Oh, did they ever take to this ride! We get off, and, for the first time this trip, we hear "Can we ride it again? Please?!!!" We tell them that we'll be back here tomorrow and will ride it again (IF they behaved).



We take the escalator up and let the boys loose at the aquarium. This is about the calmest the boys ever were during this trip (not counting around 3:47 am one night when both of them actually were asleep at the same time). They take in the sights of the underwater world for a good 10-15 minutes, not saying much – just looking. We head back to the main level and, while it's getting a little later than we intended to be here (since it was the middle of the trip, we wanted to leave well before 8 to let them decompress a little more than usual, and it was already something like 7:30), we decide to see when the next showing of Turtle Talk was going to be. It was only a 5 minute wait until we could go in, so we look around the exhibits there for a bit. We do the obligatory Bruce pic:





Mommy? Daddy needs a princess to kiss him…he's losing it!





We get into Turtle Talk and stick around near the front in case one of them freaks out and needs to find us. Crush comes out, and the boys are fine. We sit back and enjoy the show…



Until Aaron raises his hand to ask a question.



I turn to Sheri and simply say "hold on…this could get interesting."



I fully expect Aaron to say something like "My Daddy spanks me at least 27 times every day and tells me that Santa will never stop by our house again because I'm bad. How do you punish Squirt?"



Instead, he says nothing to Crush.



I think he may have raised his hand because the last person who did was the center of attention for a moment, and he thought that would be cool.



Crush is really patient while he waits for a question from the human dude sublevel in front with the blue shell. After what seemed like an eternity, Aaron comes up with something to say.



"I can do a somersault."



It wouldn't have taken much to determine whose offspring that one was. It was the two in the crowd with their heads looking down, hands over their faces, shaking their heads and trying not to laugh. Crush (OF COURSE) has to see how well he could do one. Aaron executes a perfect forward roll and gets an exuberant round of applause from the audience. Crush follows suit and flips over for him.



Just go with the flow – some good advice I heard earlier today.





After the laughing calms down, I'm fully expecting Eric to grab the microphone, announce that he's a T-Rex, and roar at the turtle. He didn't.



We tell the whale to go away and collect our kids. After some good-natured ribbing of Aaron (who was heeding Crush's advice and was saying "DUDE" at the end of every sentence), we head out to the bus. First, a stop at the Seas w/ Nemo sign:











Again, later than planned, but it's still before 9…before Illuminations and before the crowds are making their way to the busses. We make it back to the Pop…the boys, of course, are wound up big-time. Sheri runs out to grab some ice. I figured she'd stop and watch the fireworks for a few minutes. Nope. She comes back in a couple of minutes. I grab the handle-less cup and the receipt for the ornaments and ask her if it's okay that I pick them up and grab something to drink. She nods as she throws the boys in the tub to play with their new bathtub Nemo toys.



I walk out and hear the fireworks going off. I decide to consider the fireworks as my birthday present to myself and head up to the 4th floor. Christmas Wishes was going on in the distance, and Illuminations was going on much closer. The view wasn't quite as good as what Sheri and I had in May, but it was still spectacular nonetheless. After realizing that I had accidentally camped out in front of a window of a couple watching from inside their room (and mouthing a huge "SORRY" to them…they laughed and seemed understanding), I see the finale of Illuminations and the pause for the Christmas ending announcements. At that time, Wishes finishes up, and it appears that they launch fireworks from several different parts of the Magic Kingdom (can someone who's seen the Christmas Wishes verify?). That ends, and Epcot fires back up. I remember watching this in front of Italy with Debbie's and Mare's crew in utter amazement a couple of years ago. As shell after shell explodes in the sky, I think back to that night and just smile…Sheri and I made some really good friendships that evening.



The entire building shakes with the last barrage of fireworks launched a mile away. I immediately head back downstairs past the dog's ass to pick up the package and get a drink. It takes a little while to get the package, but I don't care at all. I take the time to watch the folks coming back from the parks…the couples holding hands as they peruse the store…the children tired but happy as they lay on their parent's shoulder…the (gulp) younger crowd running out to catch the bus to PI at DTD. I just take it in as I wait, enjoying the moment of being where I am.



I could have stayed there for another hour, but I feel like I need to head back to the room in case the boys are still acting up. Feeling a little guilty, I make my way back to the room a bit faster than normal. The boys are much calmer with the bath and the toys. Sheri affirms that they were pretty good while I was gone.



I hop in my bed with Eric, and Sheri corrals Aaron into bed with her. We do the good-nights, and we're off to the Neverland of our dreams.



As I fall asleep, I say a quick "thank you" to God for the gift of family.






Day 4 begins HERE.

WDW Family Trip, December 2007, Day 3, Part 3: Shhhh…Happy Birthday!!!

Part 2 of this day can be viewed HERE.





The next item up is a minor issue of contention between wifey and me…Dinosaur. It's an awesome ride, and Aaron loves dinosaurs. The dinosaurs he loves, however, are not 20 feet tall and screaming at you with their teeth bared. Wifey thinks he'll be fine, I'm worried that it's going to be too real for him. We start to make our way to Dinosaur to either grab fastpasses or hop in the standby line if the wait's not too much. As we are about to enter Dinoland, I look over to the left and see an attraction that almost always has at least a 20 minute wait actually have no wait at all. We immediately hop in line as this simply cannot be passed up and are through the queue in less than 5 minutes! Yes, folks, Flame Tree Barbeque was quiet!!! Sheri takes the boys to look for a place to sit while I wait for the food. The food gets piled on...two completely full trays. I look at the stroller, back at the trays, and then to the horizon to see how far Sheri went with the boys.



Uh oh.



I balance one tray precariously on the canopy of the stroller and try to push the stroller with one-and-a-half hands (half a hand was holding the other tray). CAST MEMBER TO THE RESCUE!!! Someone noticed that I was hopeless and offered to help with a tray.



I almost kissed her.



We head down to the seating area for Flame Tree and find Sheri and the boys. They're close, not under one of the canopies. The CM offers a suggestion to go a little further to avoid "the birds". I look at Sheri and see if she's okay with that. The people sitting next to her tell her that she'd be crazy NOT to move because they're still crying over the drink that got "bombed" from overhead. We move down to another one, enclosed, where it's nice and quiet. The boys get situated with Mommy, while I head back up for the condiments. I come back and then head back up again because apparently I didn't bring the proper utensils for everyone.



This was one of the quietest meals we had on our trip…not too many people…awesome surroundings…and the detail just amazing. As I look around, I recall something I heard on the Meandering Mouse podcast about these pavilions. Each one has a couple of animals carved into the woodwork – if you pay attention, you'll notice that one animal is a predator of the other animal.



We enjoy the relaxing meal, and Sheri asks how my birthday lunch is. I look at her and the boys and just smile.



With the meal finished, we start to make our way towards Dinosaur. Before we get there, we pause to listen to a CM by the T-rex fossils who's doing a presentation. The boys got to hold dino poop and were both enthralled and disgusted at it.









We see it's only a 20 minute wait, so we start to walk towards the CMs manning the fastpass line. As we walk up, the CM looks at Eric and anticipates a fight with us. Before he asks to measure Eric, we calm his fears and ask to do a child swap. This is the first time we've tried one of these, so we weren't quite sure what to expect. We got the swap fastpass, and Sheri and Aaron head for the queue line. I take Eric to the gift shop, fully expecting a revolt (I WANT MOMMY!!!). He wanted her, but I was able to distract him a bit with all the toys on there. I steer him towards the screens where they show the rider pics, fully expecting to see Sheri reaching out to grab Aaron as he's trying to escape the torture.



We get to a display that had a lot of large toy dinos, and I start doing a little show with a couple of them to keep Eric entertained. Unknowingly at first, I was also entertaining a couple of other families whose kids were watching us. I had a carnotaur carrying on a conversation with 3 different kids for a while, until he got hungry and decided that he wanted to eat me. I put him down before he got past my arm. As Eric and I leave, I can see one of the kids immediately grab the hungry dino and continue the story with his parents.



A few minutes later, I see Aaron and Sheri pop up on the screen. He's at least looking at the ferocious beast about to devour the entire jeep and doesn't look like he just pissed his pants, so I'm relieved. I tell Eric to look for Aaron and Mommy on TV. A couple of minutes later, the newly-returned time-travelers emerge from the exit, and Aaron is all smiles. Eric runs to Mommy as though I were the carnotaur (can't win, can I). I ask Aaron how it went, and he says that it was awesome!



Moment of Truth (insert inordinately long pause like the game shows do)…





























"Do you want to ride it with me?"





(pause)

















(commercial break)











"Ummm….no."



voice over from the great beyond: That answer is…………….

















Zzzzzzzz











True.





He liked it, but he didn't love it. Both Wifey and I claim victory with the ride. We then head over to the entrance so I can ride it. Before we leave, I see a dream team member head towards the unloading platform and wonder what someone's gonna get. I get to the Fastpass return line, while Sheri takes the boys to chill for a while.









I get to the return line and hear the folks in front of me asking if they could do a child swap. The CMs are out of the passes, so I offer up mine as I'm just getting done with it. They take it, and a couple of them head on in. I head in the FP return line and, as I'm going through, I realize I no longer have the ticket. No prob…I explained to the CM the situation, and, with the folks right in front vouching for me, I'm through and on the ride in no time flat.



The ride's good…IMHO though, I think it loses a bit the more you ride it. With many other attractions, there are so many details that are missed unless you ride it over and over. With Dinosaur, I don't see that. Great ride the first couple of times through, but that's about it.



The boys are doing great still. We've only got one more definite thing we'd like to do…Nemo. The next show isn't for a little while, though. I suggest we let the boys burn off some energy at the dig site. Sheri decided to let Eric have a ride of his own since he didn't get to do Dinosaur. I take Aaron in to the dig site errrrrr I mean the Boneyard (I've been reading up on WDW resorts too much…kept calling it the dig site (which is at Coronado) the whole trip). Aaron goes in to dig for a bit, while the other two head over for TriceraTop spin. I guess that, with the line, they'd be done in 20 minutes. Aaron plays for a bit, and we head over to the Dumbous Reincarnatus ride. They're still in the queue, so we grab some shade and just chill for a bit. There were several dream team members standing nearby gabbing with a DVC guide person. I had some fun watching some of the folks walking back and forth in front of them hoping they'd get picked for a prize. My guess is that doing something like that probably lessens their chances just a bit. I remember every time the dream team stopped us in the past, it was like they came out of the woodworks and popped up on you unexpectedly. After the dream teamers left, the DVC guide dude gives us some DVC buttons. I've avoided these kiosks this entire trip so far because, if I did, I'd probably end up buying without my spouse's knowledge, and my spouse would subsequently start divorce proceedings without my knowledge. We talk a bit about timesharing, and I'm resisting the urge to set up an appointment, though I really want to see a unit. In a few years, it's a definite possibility...now, however, we are still paying off the Wyndham timeshare we have in Vegas. I'm starting to get a little disheartened with the current one we own...some of the decisions being made by the powers-that-be aren't sitting too well with a lot of owners, and many of the newer resorts are priced so that you simply can't stay there with the current number of points. Zurg (another imaginary online friend) and I had a really good debate on this topic a couple of years ago over on the Lodge. One of the major things that I failed to take into consideration regarding lifetime deeded rentals versus vacation ownership (like DVC, where you only have it for a set period of time) is the notion that the buildings will age and, as they age, the maintenance fees will likely increase substantially after some threshold of time. Being deeded, we'll have to pay them. With no deed, like DVC, chances are that you'll be out of the contract before some of the really major structural renovations need to be completed.



Wow…that was a tangent. @#^!$@ attention deficit disorder (look, a quarter!).



BACK TO DINOLAND!



We talk with the DVC dude for a bit (nobody else was talking to him, and he looked bored). Eric and Sheri finish up and meet back up with us. After a potty break for the boys, we start to make our way for Nemo. We get in about 15-20 minutes before it's scheduled to start, and we're seated closer to the front than we have before and on the right-hand side. The boys love the theater and have fun watching Nemo dart among the bubbles on the side.



It starts, and I've never seen the boys' eyes so big. Sheri and I love this production, and it appears that the boys are in the same boat. We almost feel like veterans here because this is the third time we've seen it, and we're critiquing the performers. Marlin…same guy all 3 times. Great! Nemo…same one at least the last 2 times. Also Great! New Crush…Good, but not as good as the other one (who is about perfect). Dory…I think same one all 3 times…just as good as ever. Bruce…same all times and awesome (the puppet didn't break this time at least!).



The show ends and we pile out of the theatre. Both Sheri and I agree that sitting a little further back for this show is better than being in the front section, though the first section is still good. Before we head out of the park for the nap, we stop at the Nemo gift area just outside the exit and let the boys pick out something. As we head out, we see a Photopass guy by the tree and attack him for a pic:







Part 4 of this day can be viewed HERE.