“Wow, Disney is Far Far Away” A Single Mom’s Road Trip to Disney: June 2013 TR

[luvmy2babies]

I'm in for your TR.

Yay! Another reader.

 

[freckles04]

Following along! I'm a single mom and we road-trip down to WDW from TN. Your kids are the cutest. Can't wait to read more!

 

[luvmy2babies]

We had a good time. We love Crystal Palace. This was our second time having breakfast there and we love the food. We have also had dinner there. That’s good too, but I love getting into MK early as long as we have more than one day there. I love the character interaction here. First, Eeyore came to see us. Ds had changed. He was really into the characters on our first trip when he was 10 months. On our 2012 trip when he was 2.5, he was a bit nervous around some of them. This trip, all the nervousness was gone.



Piglet came next.



Then, unlike the previous two times, Winnie the Pooh was the third character we saw. The other times he came last.




We ate for a while longer. Dd and ds talked about who they had seen so far.



After the characters took a break, Tigger made his way over.



This was probably my favorite shot of the meal. I had to keep my flash off since I was facing the window. You can see the sun shining in through the window. I didn’t mind. After swimming through our 2012 trip, I welcomed each clear day we had on this one.



This ended another great meal at Crystal Palace. We ate Mickey Waffles, scrambled eggs, cantelope melon, grapes, croissants, pancakes, grits, and potatoes between the three of us. I had water to drink and orange juice. The children had apple juice. After I paid, we left to start our day in the park.

 

[luvmy2babies]

Following along! I'm a single mom and we road-trip down to WDW from TN. Your kids are the cutest. Can't wait to read more!

and

Glad to have you along. Thank you for your kind words.

 

[luvmy2babies]

Hi again fellow NC Diser!

Your TR is great and it makes me want to plan another WDW trip. I really enjoyed your BBB pics. I have hesitated to take my DD in the past but your pics are changing my mind. She is very girly and I think she would be on cloud nine. Your DD looked so pretty and happy after her makeover.

Looking forward to reading more.

Aww, thank you. I think I started to want to plan another trip before we left to come home from this one. The 2014 packages become available tomorrow. I think I'm going to start playing around with some dates.

I think at first I thought BBB was going to be too much money, but once I decided to bring clothes and accessories from home, I could see my way clearer to do it.

I'm glad you liked the pictures.

 

[luvmy2babies]

Day 4, 2nd park day, part 3: Tomorrow Land or Bust!

On the way to Tomorrow Land, we stopped to watch the performers on Main Street. They were singing a cute song about summer time.



And as promised, once dd said she didn’t want to meet Merida that day, we headed for Tomorrow Land.




The first thing we did was ride Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin. This was our first time in Tomorrow Land this early. We rode standby for the first time. The wait was just the amount of time it took for us to walk through the queue.



Dd always likes to take this picture after the ride.



After that we headed over to another favorite. Monsters Laughing Floor is one of dd’s favorite things to do.



We always enjoy this one. After that we crossed the path to the People Mover. Ds thought it was a little loud, but this is still one of my favorite pictures from the trip.



After that it was time for some hydration.



The Carousel of Progress was next.



This was interesting and not in a good way. Apparently in another part of the ride, someone kept getting up from their seats. Every time someone got up, they delayed the ride 2 minutes. It happened 7 times. Over the intercom we kept hearing, “If you leave your seat, the ride cannot proceed. Please stay seated.” It was pretty frustrating, but we eventually got through the attraction. We love this attraction and have generally repeated this one at least once, but after that, we were done with it. We didn’t enjoy it any less, but didn’t want to risk a repeat of what happened.

Dd wanted to ride Buzz again, so we grabbed fast passes and went back on the People Mover and spent some time looking around in the store in the AC.
Time seemed to be moving fast today and it wasn’t long though before it was time to use these.



Then we spent some time repeating some favorites from the previous day in Fantasy Land. By now you know what those are. Once it was time for lunch, we headed back to the resort. The plan for today was to have lunch in the room, consisting of Lunchables, fruit and PB&J. Then we’d relax a bit before hitting the pool for an undetermined amount of time. We’d had so little pool time on our 2012 trip due to the storm I was looking forward to it. First order of business was a light lunch.



After some rest, we got dressed for pool time. As soon as he was dressed, ds grabbed the Kindle and hopped into his stroller.



I enjoyed this view from in front of the elevator every day. Hippy Dippy Pool, here we come.


Dd never wasted any time before getting into the pool.



We said our official good-bye to the princess hair with this picture. I'm grateful they have these life jackets at the pool. We packed ds' life jacket in 2012 unaware that the resorts have them and it took up a lot of room in the suitcase. I will say I kind of prefer the way All-Star Movies does it where you sign for the jacket and keep it until you leave the resort. They seemed to have a lot more too. At Pop when we'd go to the pool I was never sure if they'd have ds' size or not. The first day they didn't, actually. After we'd been in the pool for a while someone put an infant one back and we used that one even though ds is 33 pounds and they are for 30lbs and under. I think he enjoyed having that head rest back again.



We had a wonderful time in the pool. Ds grew the confidence to jump in and I grew the confidence to let him hit the water. Dd has had a few lessons. We laughed as she attempted to swim while holding her nose with one hand. I think we were there for three hours. Suddenly we heard a whistle. The lifeguard announced that lightening had been spotted nearby and we had to evacuate the pool and leave the area. I explained what was happening while we got out of the water. I wrapped dd in a towel and told her to dry as we walked. I wiped off enough with my towel not to drip everywhere. I wrapped ds in a towel and put him in the stroller. As we walked towards our building the lifeguard and a lady were yelling at an older gentleman to get out of the pool. He was refusing and splashing water at them. She sounded like his wife and she was livid. By the time we got out of the elevator on our floor, thankfully he had gotten out of the water.

It was about 6:30 by the time I got dd’s hair washed and dried and we’d all had baths. For dinner, we went and got a large pizza from the food court and brought it back to our room.



We ate, watched a movie, and went to bed early. We were going to Epcot the next day. The plan was to do the Land and Sea Pavilion plus the Character Spot that morning, have lunch, go back to the resort for a break, then to return to Epcot around 4:00 and tour what we could of World Showcase and see Illuminations. What would really happen?

 

[meajuly5]

Sounds like you are had a great trip! It's a lot to take on as a single mom but what wonderful memories for all of you!

 

[angelabrezovsky]

Sounds like you guys had so much fun. I can't wait to take my girls and my little sister in NOvember. I am a single mom as well and My daughters are 5 and 7 and my sister is 9. It will just be myself and them. It will also be a surprise. Any advice you have when taking them by yourself please leave... LOL I can't wait to read more of your trip!

 

[luvmy2babies]

Sounds like you are had a great trip! It's a lot to take on as a single mom but what wonderful memories for all of you!

Yes, we did have a great trip. It was easily the best of the 3 so far. Thanks for reading along.

 

[melanell]

His school had a speech pathologist come to evaluate the children last year and he basically didn't talk to her. He is one of those children at least he was that was really quiet at school and a chatter box at home. But his speech had certain issues I read could work themselves out, so I held off. He is a bit behind socially, but ahead academically. So his teacher and I have been working extra with him on certain things and he is progressing. If you can get him to talk, you'd be amazed at what he knows. They are coming back this week and I'm praying he talks to her. I'll see what the report says when it comes back. I wish you the best with your little one.

Good luck and Thank you.

 

[nouveaudismommy]

I am on board.Love the TR. We ( me and 2 DSs) are leaving in 5 days

 

[luvmy2babies]

I am on board.Love the TR. We ( me and 2 DSs) are leaving in 5 days

I'm glad you are enjoying the report. I hope you and your sons have a wonderful time on your trip.

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Great pictures at Crystal Palace. So cute. That last picture is too sweet.

Clearly the people constantly getting up on Carousel of Progress don't appreciate its greatness. This is classic Walt Disney people!! I'm glad to hear you enjoy it.

Happy you got to enjoy some pool time. What a strange situation with a grown man refusing to get out of the pool.

Looking forward to Epcot day.

 

[luvmy2babies]

Great pictures at Crystal Palace. So cute. That last picture is too sweet.

Clearly the people constantly getting up on Carousel of Progress don't appreciate its greatness. This is classic Walt Disney people!! I'm glad to hear you enjoy it.

Happy you got to enjoy some pool time. What a strange situation with a grown man refusing to get out of the pool.

Looking forward to Epcot day.

Thanks, I love the picture with Tigger.

That Carousel of Progress experience was very frustrating and we love that attraction. We crack up on the last one when the oven blows up.

Not sure what was up with him. When he splashed water at them, my daughter asked me why he was acting like that. I had no answer.

Epcot part 1, coming up.

 

[luvmy2babies]

Day 5, Park Day 3, part 1: “Mom, it’s the Golf Ball!”

I did the same as I did other mornings when I woke up. I got myself ready and put sunscreen on the children. Ds once dressed, got up and started watching a video on the Kindle. Dd got dressed and I got breakfast ready. We had fruit, cereal and bagels. With full bellies, we headed to the bus stops.

There were quite a few people entering Epcot that day. Just like last year, getting through bag check took a while. I was grateful for the fans we had. That is a hot spot to stand in. Once we got through bag check, we moved a bit faster. We got inside and found a Photopass photographer.




After that, dd took a moment to cool down.



It was around 9:45, so we headed to the Character Spot. I’d read that it was opening this week. When we got there, they said it had opened the day before.



The year before we had met Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, and Donald Duck here. Now, Goofy and Donald were elsewhere. Goofy was actually near the front of the park, but when we’d seen him, the line was very long, so we kept going. I think Donald was also in the area, but we didn’t see him. When we got to the character spot, there was no time posted to let us know the wait time. It was an electronic sign and they told me it wasn’t working yet. The CM there said it was about 20 minutes. We’d stood in a 40 minute line for this the year before so we went ahead and got in line. With ds’ new outgoing attitude with the characters, I wish all 5 had been there, but as the week went on, we’d see others. First the Big Cheese himself. These are our photopass photos.


Then Pluto had a cute interaction with dd.



And with ds.




Finally we met Minnie Mouse





After that, we put the autograph books away and headed for the Seas Pavilion. But we stopped first for some hydration.



After parking the stroller, we headed over to ride the Nemo and Friends Clamshell ride.



We saw something we had never seen, not even during Thanksgiving week when Epcot was a 9.5 out of 10 on the crowd calendar. There was a line for the Nemo and Friends ride. It was posted at a 30 minute wait and the line was well outside the building. As we proceeded towards the entrance, several people almost cut the line accidentally not realizing what was happening. The CMs directed them to the end of it. When this was taken, we were almost inside.



The ride loads constantly, so I figured the 30 minutes is what it would likely take for us to make our way through the queue. It was a really long and winding path. This was the first time I’d seen it used. There were things to keep you occupied on the walls. I had never had the time to look at it before, but it was a neat queue.
After the ride, we took our normal route to Turtle Talk with Crush. We were one of the last ones to get in for the upcoming show. Dd and ds watched the fish while we waited.



We went around the Seas Pavilion after that looking at all of the aquariums and tanks. We visited the Manatees, saw sting rays, sharks, sea turtles, sea horses, eels, and a variety of fish, plus a couple of dolphins. Hunger took over and since the Land Pavilion was also on the agenda we headed over there. Nothing seemed appealing at Sunshine Seasons though, so I considered Electric Umbrella, but dd wanted to eat at the Mexican restaurant we had eaten at last year. I figured, why not. If we could knock out a few countries now, we could really take our time later. I took a couple of pictures on the way. The water play area wasn’t working and I was briefly saddened about that since they had enjoyed it so much before. I was prepared with extra clothes and a towel. We walked on.



That’s enough for now. Next up, a journey around the world…well, almost.

 

[Holly324]

Just jumping in to join your TR. So much fun! Looking forward to more!

 

[nouveaudismommy]

still enjoying your TR. Did you get your fan from the park or did you bring it?

 

[luvmy2babies]

Sounds like you guys had so much fun. I can't wait to take my girls and my little sister in NOvember. I am a single mom as well and My daughters are 5 and 7 and my sister is 9. It will just be myself and them. It will also be a surprise. Any advice you have when taking them by yourself please leave... LOL I can't wait to read more of your trip!

That sounds like so much fun. They will be so happy.

Main thing is drilling them on your rules, especially sticking together. My daughter knows that is the number 1 rule and rule 2 is if she sees something and wants to stop to let me know. And she has my cell number on her in case we get separated. Rule 3 is when one goes to the bathroom, we all use the restroom.

I know to remain flexible and go with the flow and try to keep to their schedules, especially for eating. Should be fun because with a 7 and a 9 year-old, they can ride together on rides like Dumbo, Toy Story, Buzz Lightyear, etc. And they should all be 40in tall so that's good.

One think I can say I haven't dealt with is the issue of my son not being 40 inches tall. My daughter has no interest in the rides with height restrictions.

Have a great time.

 

[luvmy2babies]

Just jumping in to join your TR. So much fun! Looking forward to more!

Glad to have you along!

 

[luvmy2babies]

still enjoying your TR. Did you get your fan from the park or did you bring it?

Hello,

We brought two misting fans from home. We had that one dd is holding in the picture and one additional one that we bought last year. That one was about $5 from a local store called Family Dollar. It was in the kid's section. It was madey by Discovery Kids. The price in this link is $19.99, but that's a 3 pack.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Discove...rple/6456751.p?id=1218738046065&skuId=6456751

Our other one was $9 from Wal-Mart. It is the O2 cool one. Here's a link to one.

http://www.mycoolingstore.com/deluxe-water-misting-fan.html?gclid=CI3pvo3ap7gCFYGz3godLwgAKg

They each took 2 AA batteries. The only thing I didn't like about them was how easy it was to push the power button. We kept them in the parent console on ds' stroller while in the parks or at the pool, but there were a couple of times when they got turned on in my bag and because it wasn't as hot I didn't know it and the battery died.

We also each had small fans that hung on our lanyards that did not mist. They were $3 at Wal-Mart. You can sort of see mine in one of the Epcot photopass pictures. It's blue. These were great and powerful for their size.

I also had a fan that clipped on to ds' stroller. It was $6 at Wal-Mart.

I think the ones at the park may be about $13, or maybe $15. I didn't really look hard at them since ours held up. They are significantly bigger and come with a lanyard although I can't see having it around my neck.