adriennek
07-18-2007, 12:28 AM
Travel dates: July 17, 2007
Travel method: Personal Car
Resort: None - I'm local
Accommodations: NA
Ages Represented in Group: Toddler/Preschooler, Elementary, Adult
DLR Experience Represented in Group: Expert
Comments:
This was just a partial day TR but I had a wonderful day and have some thoughts/brags on having a really good time with my kids. :D
Cast of characters: Me, M age 8.5, S age 6, Cman age 3, with special guest appearances
We got to the parking garage around 8 am. The park opened at 8. For some marvelous reason, there was no line for the tram! We went to the second to last tram car. My Maclaren stroller is narrow enough that it fits in the front row of a regular tram car without collapsing. YEAH!! This is an awesome awesome thing for a mom with three kids and a stroller basket full of water bottles.
We needed to get Cman's first AP and I wanted to use Disney Gift Cards we purchased from our church's SCRIP fundraising program, which you can't use more than one if you're buying a ticket online. We went straight to the Guest Services window just to the left of the DL main gates. There was no line and because our family is already in the AP system, it took very little time to buy the AP.
The lines for the gates looked long but we found a short one in the middle (I never get in the first line I see on the edge,) and it moved quickly. We went straight to Bank of Main Street. This was about 8:15 to 8:30 and there was no line here either. Cman did NOT want to have his picture taken so we got a very amusing picture with me holding him from behind and him trying to squirm away while screaming. But the CM was very friendly about the whole incident and we were finished quickly.
The lesson we've learned arriving early is that some lines just don't exist. The lesson I've learned having kids this age is that my 8.5 y/o is a very handy stroller driver. The older boys are old enough to walk an follow directions nicely staying with me. I think they realize that if they behave for mom when she doesn't have other adults to help corral the fleas then the more likely she'll be to bring them back in the future...
We headed straight to Poo(h). This is a great morning ride. There's no line. When we came out of the ride, my boys asked if we could ride again without getting off. The CM was more than happy to accommodate us. Oh, and two of the CMs at the loading area are/were from our same community so we had fun talking to them both times we came through. The second time through, a CM used our camera to take a picture of us in our beehive. After our second time waving to Max, Buff and Melvin, we decided to try a new ride. Given my opinion of Poo(h) I should get an award for how often we ride it but I enjoy seeing my boys, especially the baby, enjoy the ride as much as they do, more than I dislike the overexposure of Poo(h).
The Hungry Bear bathroom is big and empty at this time of day so it made a good potty stop. We knew we might ride Pirates later with friends so we skipped it and headed to defeat Zurg! Again, this line is usually still very short in the morning. On our way to Buzz, M asked if we could we stop to get fast passes for Thunder. I told M that when we met our friends later in the day, they MIGHT be willing to ride BTMRR with the big boys but I could NOT make any promises. That was good enough for him and we used all four APs to get four passes, just in case.
Just as we arrived at Buzz, Daddy called from Ireland on my cell so we had to stop while we quickly chatted. This is not how my mom and sister and I spent our days when my dad went on business trips while I was growing up...
We have been fortunate that for whatever reason, the CMs have been very good about allowing M & S share ride vehicles while I ride with Cman. They definitely have their moments of boy-ness but they tend to be very well behaved in lines at Disneyland. I don't know if that's why, but at Buzz, as we have before, they put M & S in one car and Cman and I rode behind them. Cman KNOWS the drill. The child grabbed the blaster out of the holder long before the CM pulled down the bar! He was ready to ride!
Afterwards we e-mailed the pictures home and I actually let the boys exit through the store instead of bypassing it.
That was either a mistake or a moment of brilliance. Inside the store was an adorable Pixar characters shirt with the DLR logo on it. All of the boys most favorite movies were on one shirt: Woody & Buzz, Mater, Monsters Inc & The Incredibles. How could I NOT buy them? I bought one size larger than each child needed. At $17 a pop, these shirts are going to last awhile! The AP discount helped ease my decision but they were too cute to not buy and I'm a notoriously cheap person so that's saying a lot for me.
I promised M that we would go look at the Nemo ride. Seeing the line he was more than happy to wait until next week. We'll be going back to DLR during Early Entry next week - we'll catch Nemo THEN!
I convinced the boys to ride the dingy with the singing dolls next. Cman loved it but I declined his request to ride it a second time. We went into Toontown for Roger Rabbit and then decided to see if Cman was tall enough for Gadget's Go Coaster.
He was MORE than tall enough!!!!!!
WOO HOO! Cman's First Roller Coaster Ride!!!!
Cman was about as interested in having his picture taken with the height sign as he had been in taking his AP picture but I took it anyway. Your mother is a Creative Memories Consultant with a very nice digital SLR, Kid, get over it, you're getting your picture taken a LOT.
The line was very short. This is an incredibly slow moving line because there's only one low-capacity train so I usually dislike waiting for it and will skip it if the line's too long. We only waited for two trains before our turn. Cman was hysterical. He made this noise that sounded like he was going to start crying - I can't figure out how to type it but if you want to know what it sounded like, call me or ask me next time you see me IRL (if you don't know my number or don't get to see me IRL, you're SOL, sorry.) Trust me, it was funny. I was a little worried, though, that he was going to be very upset and would refuse to ride another coaster ever again. This is my most fearless child. I figure it's because he follows his brothers around and wants to be like them in every way EXCEPT for the whole using a toilet gig. We got off the ride and Cman was looking a little battle weary. I turned to him and said "Are you ok?" He said "I want to go on again!"
I guess he wasn't scarred for life!
I lined the boys up to take a picture of them near the exit while a mom helped her son into his stroller/wheelchair. As they exited she offered to take a picture of all three of us. Guess who wouldn't look at the camera? :rolleyes: But she was very nice and in the end we got a shot of everyone sort of looking at the camera.
It was only 10:30 or so (I know, I'm verbose,) but I was starving and we had to be done by lunch before the 1 pm MP Anniversary Meet so I suggested we head to Tomorrowland Terrace for lunch. On our way we got a call from Andrwe (http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/member.php?u=5) and Jennifer (http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/member.php?u=2637) who were at Coke Corner.
We met our friends at Coke Corner, the boys shared some of their recent favorite Animaniacs moments, and then asked Andrwe and Jen if they might ride BTMRR with them if we offered Fast Passes. They agreed much to the boys delight. We headed off with tales about Doc visiting the Guinness Storehouse yesterday in Dublin. Jen, Andrwe, and the boys then started a conversation about Guinness TV commercials and Mythbusters.
I made Andrwe and Jen take a quick picture (or two or three - my camera works fast,) in front of the ride before they went into the FP line. Cman and I waited on a bench in the shade near the exit.
NOW it was time to eat. I had a Roast Beef and Cheddar on Foccacia with horseradish mayo from TT and the boys picked PB&J kids meals. I contend that the Activity Points I was earning helped offset the points of the sandwich. :sigh: BTW, the toddler meal at TT is Arroz con Pollo. My toddler would much rather have a PB&J. And another note - the PB&J costs a dollar more than the mini corndog meal. Huh?? The Jedi Training Academy boxes were too cute and very clean since the food inside of them was all prepackaged. So I folded them up to bring them home. It's not that I'm cheap as I'm thrifty and conscientious - Reduce, Recycle REUSE! M has a shelf on top of his loft bed - this box is a great size to store his treasures on his shelf. ;)
As lunch ended, the Jedi Training Academy was beginning. I may have done a bad mom thing. I told my boys that they could not go down and try to be picked for the show but they could watch it. (1) They've been through the Training Academy before and (2) There were many children and parents who had patiently waited on the "floor" for the Academy for some time already. I just didn't think it was very fair for my boys to take a chance away from a vacationing child who'd never had a chance before - especially when they would be walking up at the last minute. I have to admit, it annoyed me when a kid came up after the show began and he and his father were trying to get the kid picked. He wasn't even on the floor; they were standing at the top of a set of steps to the side of the stage. I was glad that the Jedi Master picked kids from the floor who had been waiting for awhile for the show to begin.
The Jedi Master was the hottie who made a recent appearance in my avatar. The boys and Jennifer stood closer to the stage and Jen generously held up Cman now and again so he could see the show better. Andrwe had to go take care of some MousePlanet business (http://aboutjane.typepad.com/about_jane/images/air_quotes1_2.jpg) so he left near the end of the show and we would see him later.
A quick potty stop later, Jennifer and I took the boys to one of Jen's and my favorite attractions: The Tiki Room. Jen picked up a Dole Whip while we waited and my sons later told me that she let them have bites. They enjoyed it. We sat on the back row closest to the exit. It's not a crowded area in the room and you can 'feel' the thunder at the end of the show which made the boys giggle because it was their first time sitting there.
By now it was 12:30 so we headed to the Carnation Plaza Gardens and met up with a group of friends who was already there. We hugged, we chatted, the boys played with the two little girls who were there - they hugged, too. Is there anything cuter than two little kids hugging? No, there isn't. It's even cuter than Disneyland Pixar shirts and Jedi Training Academy boxes. I don't remember if I got a picture or not :( It was really darling.
The boys filled their water bottles in a nearby drinking fountain while I visited at the 1:00 MP meet (http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/showthread.php?t=73379). I got to meet new people and see some "old" faces. I enjoy meets but they're always entirely too short and I always wish I'd had more time to chat with people when they're over. I guess that means that y'all will have to come back to the next MA meet. Maybe we'll be able to announce a date soon, but I wouldn't know if we can, of course. I've heard nothingk!
After a bit, the group was hungry for their lunch and the boys and I needed to head home. This was the first point in the day that they got on my nerves. M was pushing the stroller and tormenting his brothers who were reacting... LOUDLY. I asked him more than once to stop. He didn't.
Not. A. Good. Idea.
My original plan had been to stop at a popcorn cart on our way out of the park to grab a snack for the road. They lost popcorn. It's bad enough to not listen to their mother, but they didn't listen to their mother in front of a group of people who I like. (Can I call you friends? I think I can call you friends. :) ) Bye-bye, Popcorn.
No line for the tram, of course, so we hopped onto the very last tram car for the ride back to the parking lot.
I could not find the car for the life of me. I knew we'd parked on Daisy near row 8. We were in the back half and I'd remembered seeing "F" and there was a Fire Hose right by the driver's door. There was a Fire Hose right on the 8F post but no cute Mommymobile with a heart of a sportscar (http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/showthread.php?t=19134). Actually, the space was... EMPTY. We walked and walked and walked and walked. No. It wasn't this far down, let's turn back. We walked and walked and walked and walked.
So I started to go into panic mode. How do I contact security to get help? How do they help find a car when people lose their cars in the structure? Did I lock the car? That thief is so far gone by now they'll never find it. THREE CARSEATS! What else was in the car? Doc's in Ireland. How am I going to get home without any carseats? I'm going to miss my meeting tonight. I don't have my babysitter's phone number on me. She's going to get to my house and I won't be there and she won't know why and she doesn't have my cell number so she won't know. I love my car! What am I going to do?
Finally, we turned back down the aisle. This whole time I'm clicking my lock button hoping to hear my little rice burner horn. Way down by 8H I found the darn car. :rolleyes: My children, who are entirely too familiar with how mom reacts when she loses something, started shouting "THANK YOU, GOD!"
FYI: The four gas stations at State College and Ball always have VERY well priced gasoline. On the way home we stopped at Chevron for a good deal on gas, M fetched me a 44 oz Diet Coke for the drive home, and on the way home, S and Cman fell asleep. :)
As for any guilt I might've felt that Doc missed Cman's first coaster ride? The man had a glass of Guinness in a pub before dinner, the lamb curry and a few glasses of shiraz for dinner. I'm not feeling too sorry for Doc. He'll get Cman's first Matterhorn ride and it will be fine. ;)
Adrienne
Travel method: Personal Car
Resort: None - I'm local
Accommodations: NA
Ages Represented in Group: Toddler/Preschooler, Elementary, Adult
DLR Experience Represented in Group: Expert
Comments:
This was just a partial day TR but I had a wonderful day and have some thoughts/brags on having a really good time with my kids. :D
Cast of characters: Me, M age 8.5, S age 6, Cman age 3, with special guest appearances
We got to the parking garage around 8 am. The park opened at 8. For some marvelous reason, there was no line for the tram! We went to the second to last tram car. My Maclaren stroller is narrow enough that it fits in the front row of a regular tram car without collapsing. YEAH!! This is an awesome awesome thing for a mom with three kids and a stroller basket full of water bottles.
We needed to get Cman's first AP and I wanted to use Disney Gift Cards we purchased from our church's SCRIP fundraising program, which you can't use more than one if you're buying a ticket online. We went straight to the Guest Services window just to the left of the DL main gates. There was no line and because our family is already in the AP system, it took very little time to buy the AP.
The lines for the gates looked long but we found a short one in the middle (I never get in the first line I see on the edge,) and it moved quickly. We went straight to Bank of Main Street. This was about 8:15 to 8:30 and there was no line here either. Cman did NOT want to have his picture taken so we got a very amusing picture with me holding him from behind and him trying to squirm away while screaming. But the CM was very friendly about the whole incident and we were finished quickly.
The lesson we've learned arriving early is that some lines just don't exist. The lesson I've learned having kids this age is that my 8.5 y/o is a very handy stroller driver. The older boys are old enough to walk an follow directions nicely staying with me. I think they realize that if they behave for mom when she doesn't have other adults to help corral the fleas then the more likely she'll be to bring them back in the future...
We headed straight to Poo(h). This is a great morning ride. There's no line. When we came out of the ride, my boys asked if we could ride again without getting off. The CM was more than happy to accommodate us. Oh, and two of the CMs at the loading area are/were from our same community so we had fun talking to them both times we came through. The second time through, a CM used our camera to take a picture of us in our beehive. After our second time waving to Max, Buff and Melvin, we decided to try a new ride. Given my opinion of Poo(h) I should get an award for how often we ride it but I enjoy seeing my boys, especially the baby, enjoy the ride as much as they do, more than I dislike the overexposure of Poo(h).
The Hungry Bear bathroom is big and empty at this time of day so it made a good potty stop. We knew we might ride Pirates later with friends so we skipped it and headed to defeat Zurg! Again, this line is usually still very short in the morning. On our way to Buzz, M asked if we could we stop to get fast passes for Thunder. I told M that when we met our friends later in the day, they MIGHT be willing to ride BTMRR with the big boys but I could NOT make any promises. That was good enough for him and we used all four APs to get four passes, just in case.
Just as we arrived at Buzz, Daddy called from Ireland on my cell so we had to stop while we quickly chatted. This is not how my mom and sister and I spent our days when my dad went on business trips while I was growing up...
We have been fortunate that for whatever reason, the CMs have been very good about allowing M & S share ride vehicles while I ride with Cman. They definitely have their moments of boy-ness but they tend to be very well behaved in lines at Disneyland. I don't know if that's why, but at Buzz, as we have before, they put M & S in one car and Cman and I rode behind them. Cman KNOWS the drill. The child grabbed the blaster out of the holder long before the CM pulled down the bar! He was ready to ride!
Afterwards we e-mailed the pictures home and I actually let the boys exit through the store instead of bypassing it.
That was either a mistake or a moment of brilliance. Inside the store was an adorable Pixar characters shirt with the DLR logo on it. All of the boys most favorite movies were on one shirt: Woody & Buzz, Mater, Monsters Inc & The Incredibles. How could I NOT buy them? I bought one size larger than each child needed. At $17 a pop, these shirts are going to last awhile! The AP discount helped ease my decision but they were too cute to not buy and I'm a notoriously cheap person so that's saying a lot for me.
I promised M that we would go look at the Nemo ride. Seeing the line he was more than happy to wait until next week. We'll be going back to DLR during Early Entry next week - we'll catch Nemo THEN!
I convinced the boys to ride the dingy with the singing dolls next. Cman loved it but I declined his request to ride it a second time. We went into Toontown for Roger Rabbit and then decided to see if Cman was tall enough for Gadget's Go Coaster.
He was MORE than tall enough!!!!!!
WOO HOO! Cman's First Roller Coaster Ride!!!!
Cman was about as interested in having his picture taken with the height sign as he had been in taking his AP picture but I took it anyway. Your mother is a Creative Memories Consultant with a very nice digital SLR, Kid, get over it, you're getting your picture taken a LOT.
The line was very short. This is an incredibly slow moving line because there's only one low-capacity train so I usually dislike waiting for it and will skip it if the line's too long. We only waited for two trains before our turn. Cman was hysterical. He made this noise that sounded like he was going to start crying - I can't figure out how to type it but if you want to know what it sounded like, call me or ask me next time you see me IRL (if you don't know my number or don't get to see me IRL, you're SOL, sorry.) Trust me, it was funny. I was a little worried, though, that he was going to be very upset and would refuse to ride another coaster ever again. This is my most fearless child. I figure it's because he follows his brothers around and wants to be like them in every way EXCEPT for the whole using a toilet gig. We got off the ride and Cman was looking a little battle weary. I turned to him and said "Are you ok?" He said "I want to go on again!"
I guess he wasn't scarred for life!
I lined the boys up to take a picture of them near the exit while a mom helped her son into his stroller/wheelchair. As they exited she offered to take a picture of all three of us. Guess who wouldn't look at the camera? :rolleyes: But she was very nice and in the end we got a shot of everyone sort of looking at the camera.
It was only 10:30 or so (I know, I'm verbose,) but I was starving and we had to be done by lunch before the 1 pm MP Anniversary Meet so I suggested we head to Tomorrowland Terrace for lunch. On our way we got a call from Andrwe (http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/member.php?u=5) and Jennifer (http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/member.php?u=2637) who were at Coke Corner.
We met our friends at Coke Corner, the boys shared some of their recent favorite Animaniacs moments, and then asked Andrwe and Jen if they might ride BTMRR with them if we offered Fast Passes. They agreed much to the boys delight. We headed off with tales about Doc visiting the Guinness Storehouse yesterday in Dublin. Jen, Andrwe, and the boys then started a conversation about Guinness TV commercials and Mythbusters.
I made Andrwe and Jen take a quick picture (or two or three - my camera works fast,) in front of the ride before they went into the FP line. Cman and I waited on a bench in the shade near the exit.
NOW it was time to eat. I had a Roast Beef and Cheddar on Foccacia with horseradish mayo from TT and the boys picked PB&J kids meals. I contend that the Activity Points I was earning helped offset the points of the sandwich. :sigh: BTW, the toddler meal at TT is Arroz con Pollo. My toddler would much rather have a PB&J. And another note - the PB&J costs a dollar more than the mini corndog meal. Huh?? The Jedi Training Academy boxes were too cute and very clean since the food inside of them was all prepackaged. So I folded them up to bring them home. It's not that I'm cheap as I'm thrifty and conscientious - Reduce, Recycle REUSE! M has a shelf on top of his loft bed - this box is a great size to store his treasures on his shelf. ;)
As lunch ended, the Jedi Training Academy was beginning. I may have done a bad mom thing. I told my boys that they could not go down and try to be picked for the show but they could watch it. (1) They've been through the Training Academy before and (2) There were many children and parents who had patiently waited on the "floor" for the Academy for some time already. I just didn't think it was very fair for my boys to take a chance away from a vacationing child who'd never had a chance before - especially when they would be walking up at the last minute. I have to admit, it annoyed me when a kid came up after the show began and he and his father were trying to get the kid picked. He wasn't even on the floor; they were standing at the top of a set of steps to the side of the stage. I was glad that the Jedi Master picked kids from the floor who had been waiting for awhile for the show to begin.
The Jedi Master was the hottie who made a recent appearance in my avatar. The boys and Jennifer stood closer to the stage and Jen generously held up Cman now and again so he could see the show better. Andrwe had to go take care of some MousePlanet business (http://aboutjane.typepad.com/about_jane/images/air_quotes1_2.jpg) so he left near the end of the show and we would see him later.
A quick potty stop later, Jennifer and I took the boys to one of Jen's and my favorite attractions: The Tiki Room. Jen picked up a Dole Whip while we waited and my sons later told me that she let them have bites. They enjoyed it. We sat on the back row closest to the exit. It's not a crowded area in the room and you can 'feel' the thunder at the end of the show which made the boys giggle because it was their first time sitting there.
By now it was 12:30 so we headed to the Carnation Plaza Gardens and met up with a group of friends who was already there. We hugged, we chatted, the boys played with the two little girls who were there - they hugged, too. Is there anything cuter than two little kids hugging? No, there isn't. It's even cuter than Disneyland Pixar shirts and Jedi Training Academy boxes. I don't remember if I got a picture or not :( It was really darling.
The boys filled their water bottles in a nearby drinking fountain while I visited at the 1:00 MP meet (http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/showthread.php?t=73379). I got to meet new people and see some "old" faces. I enjoy meets but they're always entirely too short and I always wish I'd had more time to chat with people when they're over. I guess that means that y'all will have to come back to the next MA meet. Maybe we'll be able to announce a date soon, but I wouldn't know if we can, of course. I've heard nothingk!
After a bit, the group was hungry for their lunch and the boys and I needed to head home. This was the first point in the day that they got on my nerves. M was pushing the stroller and tormenting his brothers who were reacting... LOUDLY. I asked him more than once to stop. He didn't.
Not. A. Good. Idea.
My original plan had been to stop at a popcorn cart on our way out of the park to grab a snack for the road. They lost popcorn. It's bad enough to not listen to their mother, but they didn't listen to their mother in front of a group of people who I like. (Can I call you friends? I think I can call you friends. :) ) Bye-bye, Popcorn.
No line for the tram, of course, so we hopped onto the very last tram car for the ride back to the parking lot.
I could not find the car for the life of me. I knew we'd parked on Daisy near row 8. We were in the back half and I'd remembered seeing "F" and there was a Fire Hose right by the driver's door. There was a Fire Hose right on the 8F post but no cute Mommymobile with a heart of a sportscar (http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/showthread.php?t=19134). Actually, the space was... EMPTY. We walked and walked and walked and walked. No. It wasn't this far down, let's turn back. We walked and walked and walked and walked.
So I started to go into panic mode. How do I contact security to get help? How do they help find a car when people lose their cars in the structure? Did I lock the car? That thief is so far gone by now they'll never find it. THREE CARSEATS! What else was in the car? Doc's in Ireland. How am I going to get home without any carseats? I'm going to miss my meeting tonight. I don't have my babysitter's phone number on me. She's going to get to my house and I won't be there and she won't know why and she doesn't have my cell number so she won't know. I love my car! What am I going to do?
Finally, we turned back down the aisle. This whole time I'm clicking my lock button hoping to hear my little rice burner horn. Way down by 8H I found the darn car. :rolleyes: My children, who are entirely too familiar with how mom reacts when she loses something, started shouting "THANK YOU, GOD!"
FYI: The four gas stations at State College and Ball always have VERY well priced gasoline. On the way home we stopped at Chevron for a good deal on gas, M fetched me a 44 oz Diet Coke for the drive home, and on the way home, S and Cman fell asleep. :)
As for any guilt I might've felt that Doc missed Cman's first coaster ride? The man had a glass of Guinness in a pub before dinner, the lamb curry and a few glasses of shiraz for dinner. I'm not feeling too sorry for Doc. He'll get Cman's first Matterhorn ride and it will be fine. ;)
Adrienne