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mystycalchyk
09-15-2004, 10:39 AM
OK we are heading off to Disneyland in *gasp* 9 days.

IcantwaitIcantwaiticantwait!


On my other board I had decided to explain my trip a bit more and then thought "what the heck" and am posting it here too. This is going to be long so I will apologise...sorry to bore you. Some of this may be a repeat, Im sorry.

My hubby and I are uber disneygeeks. We go every year for New Years. We usually get there either on Christmas day or the day after and stay till at least the 2nd (hubby's birthday). We bit the big bullet last summer and went to WDW in Florida. It was his first ever trip there, and the last time I had been there was in 1984, then in 1982 then 1972. So it was a wonderful trip for us. 10 days that went way too fast.

Hubby and I have been married for 6 years and for 4 of those years we tried, unsuccessfully, to have a child. For awhile that was a tough pill to swallow, but now I look at the freedom we have to just take off and go and do what we want that I kind of like it.

I know this all sounds comboobulated but it will all blend together eventually

We have watched people, with their kids for years and always thought "man, kids would so ruin this place". Because we watch them dragging their kids to and fro...yelling at them..the kids are crying.....some kids are too scared or small to go on certain attractions...it just seems like it would be a pain and no fun at all. yeah selfish I know, but I dont go to disneyland for any other reason that for selfish reasons (till now).

Dont get me wrong, we love children, why else would we have tried so hard to have them, but we always had assumed that once we had them we wouldnt go to Disneyland again till they were at least 5 or so, and old enough to maybe enjoy it a bit. I know that many of you wouldnt agree with us on that, but that was just our thought.

We have had little pieces of joy with little kids while there. I remember once, man this had to have been our first Christmas there, ..so 6 or so years ago.....we were standing at the Train Depot at the Fantasyland station. While in the queue theres a little building there...like a train station. There was a little family standing behind us in the line....a mom and dad and a sweet little boy, maybe about 4...perhaps closer to 3. He was on his little toes peering into the window of the building and he saw some 'props' in there and turned to him mom and dad and said "I think Mickey is in there!" Well, Will, my sweet husband, decided to help the fantasy along a bit. He squeaked his voice up really high and pretended to be Mickey Mouse for this amazed little boy. Will stands 6'3" so there was no way for this tiny child to feel that that voice was coming from anywhere but inside that building. While we waited for the next train to come around he had a little conversation with this boy. It was the sweetest thing I'd ever seen, and seriously made me love my new husband more than anything in the world all the more for doing it. That little boy was so excited....he talked back and forth with 'Mickey' for a good 5 minutes or so. Once the train started coming "mickey" told him to be good and have fun and how much he enjoyed talking with him.....I dont think you could have wiped the grin off that kids face for anything. His mother had tears in her eyes and mouthed 'thank you" to Will, as she ushered her child along through the queue. She knew that that would be one of the highlights of his trip. Honestly, now even thinking about it, it swells my heart. If you could have seen this little boy.....too too sweet.
So dont think we think all parts of taking kids to disneyland were horrible....I think we've seen more horrible 'parenting' than kids, for sure.

So anyway, last year, while we were in WDW we stayed in one of the Disney resorts on property and took the disney bus system everywhere we went. (We flew to Florida and didnt have a vehicle) . Every morning we could load onto the bus to whatever particular destination we were heading to, and we would see all the families with thier kids. The kids would be all excited to see 'this princess' or 'that character'. Some were dressed in little costumes and it was so sweet to see how excited they were. Kind of tugged on some heartstrings we thought we had buried. And every evening we would board another bus to take us back to the hotel. Different kids...different families...the parents always looked bushed, and sometimes the kids would be too, but here and there you'd see and hear the little ones with still so much energy left, and telling stories of the things they had done or seen that day. Day in and day out....for 10 days we experiened a mini piece of Disneyworld through childrens eyes for those 20 or so minutes a few times a day. We started thinking that maybe kids wouldnt ruin Disney after all......maybe.

So fast forward....last Christmas...at one point, we were waiting for, what for me is one of my favoritest things...the main Street Electrical Parade. I literally get weepy every time I see it. Thre's something magical about it for me. I remember seeing it as a small child. We even used that song from the parade as the 'recessional' song in our wedding. It just is the epitome of joy and love and happiness to me. So we are waiting along the path, and there's a family sitting next to us...mom, dad, two kids...a boy maybe around 5 and a girl maybe 6. They were not understanding why they were waiting (the parade was still a good ten minutes from starting). The parents, obviously noobs to Disney, said they were waiting for 'some parade or something' and asked us what it was all about. Well we started telling them how it was the best parade ever and they would love it and just basically gushed all over the place. I especially love the little 'bugs' in the parade, that, if you yell and scream loud enough,will come right in front of you and spin in circles, or shake around and bob their heads and make little noises...all just for you. Well I always get them to come to me...so we made sure to stand just behind these kids and yelled and hollered like crazy to get them to come over to us. Every single of them came to us...those kids were thrilled. it was great. Another night, as we were watching the fireworks we kept pointing out to each other the little kids and the looks on their faces as they saw them flaring up into the night sky...not to mention the almost rapture they seemed to feel when it 'snows' at the end. We started seriously thinking how much fun it might be to have kids at Disneyland


So to make a long story even longer....Will has a niece and nephew. His sisters kids. They are 5 (our nephew) and 8 (our niece) respectively. They live in Phoenix, and they really dont have a whole lot in the way a material things (not that we do, we arent rich by any means but still they are really poor)....nor do they have a good parental situation. Wills sister, who is divorced, is just not really a good mother. She treats them more like siblings than children..she argues with them af they want to come and play with a toy she's playing with yeah...you heard me. She's more like a child than her 8 year old daughter is. It drives us bonkers but there's not a lot we can do. Thats why we try to spend at least one weekend (or day) a month with them. If nothing else we will go down to pick them up (which is 2 hours from here) and take them to a movie or to the park....just kind of hang out with them and give them the love and more parental-type guidance they so desperately want and need. For the last 3 or so months we have brought them up here to spend the weekend with us for a few days. They love it, and so do we. They are sweet kids and we feel blessed to be able to spend the time with them. Our little nephew especially just thrives on the attention from his uncle. he doesnt have a good 'male' relationship in his life and he just loves having that father type figure around. We started haivng them spend weekends with us because we wanted to make sure they were really comfortable with us because for this months 'weekend with us' we get to take them to Disneyland, our favorite place in the world.

Just to paint a picture for you so you can maybe understand a snippet of thier life, last Christmastime, their local TV news stations (Fox10 in Phoenix) did a thing where they picked , I dont know how many, 'underprivledged families' and gave the children a Christmas to remember...well, they were picked. It almost broke my heart when I heard what my nephew told the reporter.

When asked what he wanted more than anything in the whole world.....one would expect a 4 year old to pick a toy or something...he said:

"A bed. a real bed"

He had been in a crib bed his whole life.

They bought him a 'race car' bed. It's his pride and joy.

Probably more info than you all needed...but maybe now some of you will understand why we do things with them. Several months ago they were here with us and I practically choked when we were eating dinner when our nephew looked at me and said "If my mommy dies, will you be our mommy and daddy?" Will and I just looked at each other and stammered a bit before explaining, that that was something his mommy needed to decide, and he shouldnt have to worry about such things. The next breath our neice said "Oh no....mommy has already told us that if something happens to her she wants you to take us" goodness...I cant even imagine telling my, at that time 4 and 8 year old things like that. We of course explained that we loved them and of course we would love to have them in our home forever but that they dont need to think of things like that happening to their mommy.


Last month when they came for our weekend We went to a local nursery and let them each pick out 'their own' tree and they came home and helped us plant them. So now they will be able to come and visit their trees, and hopefully, one day, be able to pick apples from them (our nieces tree is a Fuji apple tree and our nephews is a granny smith apple tree).
We just try to do something in thier lives to let them know they are loved and maybe get them out of the, at many times, unhappy existance they have at home.

So anyway...after the WDW trip and on top of it our annual New Years trip we started thinking and planning about taking them to Disneyland.
We got really serious about it last spring and decided that we needed to have at least a few months to save up enough money...plus we didnt want to take them in the middle of the summer, since its so crowded...so we decided that September sounded like a good time. Kids are back in school so its less crowded but still warm enough for water type attractions.

I truly think that Will and I are more giddy than they will be once they find out since they STILL have no clue. they know that we are coming to get them for our monthly weekend next Friday, but they wont know till we get there that we are leaving immediately for the airport and flying off to Disneyland.

A couple of days ago Will and I went shopping to pick up a few goodies for them. We are planning on giving them each a gift wrapped box with some 'clues' as to what we're doing. We are, of course going to video the whole thing. I cannot wait to see the looks on their faces as they are going through their stuff and realise what we are doing

We try really hard to be as even and as fair as possible so one doesnt feel that the other gets more (attention or stuff). so we bought each of them a pair a pants, for her a little pair of pink leggings to help keep her legs warm in the cool evening, for him a pair of windbreakery type material pants for wearing on water attractions (Will has some and I know that he will wear anything that his uncle has), we got each one a long sleeved T, just because where they live is so hot they dont have 'warm' things and I want them to have something in case there is a chillier day. and we got each one a hoodie, and I went yesterday and found an Ariel patch for hers and a Mickey mouse patch for his that I will put on their hoodies this week sometime. They each are getting a small fanny pack with a little sport bottle and inside will be two disposable cameras each, two personalised photo albums for their developed pictures when they get them. I bought the albums and the front covers just slip out so last night I made little covers for them with their names and lots of disney clipart. they each are getting a disney themed watch, hers is princess and his is buzz lightyear, and also inside will be a chunky pen (for character autographs) and a bunch of stickers so they can decorate their autograph books when we get them. When we go to pick them up Friday afternoon we will stop by the disney store there (we dont have one here) and are planning on getting 4 matching mickey mouse shirts for us to wear (yeah I know, you are all thinking 'GEEK!', but get over it . They will love it.)

So there you are. the reasons behind the trip and one of the reasons we are so excited about this one. For once its a trip not about us and our wants but about these two kids and for a few days how the world will revolve around them. And we know that because we know the place like the back of our hands that they will not miss a single thing that we know will be wonderful for them (well except for the things closed for refurb)...but they...theres always next year


*hears crickets chirping*

I told you it would be long
I wonder if anyone read it all


*shrugs*

oh well.

Dr. G
09-15-2004, 10:54 AM
Awesome story! I read the whole thing and it brought tears to my eyes. God bless you for what you are doing for those kids (not just Disneyland, but everything). They, and you, will have a most magical time on the trip. I fully believe that what comes around goes around and you will be blessed in many ways for your goodness, and those kids will have memories for a lifetime.

Seeing the park with kids will be a wonderful experience for all of you. Be sure to let us know how it goes!

MammaSilva
09-15-2004, 10:59 AM
I love it.....I LOVE IT

I got to be a part of helping a dear good friend surprise her two daughters last October, months of planning, help from other MousePad folks all went into the PERFECT surprise. She was able to keep the secret til they were actually on the plane to LAX....and got pictures of her oldest face when she figured out the surprise. We were there for 4 days of pure fun and magic and it was so worth all the work involved! You guys are going to have so much fun. Magic thru the eyes of a child, especially a child you love can NOT be topped in my humble opinion.

tlovesdis
09-15-2004, 11:00 AM
OH MY GOD!!! I am in tears here! That was a beautiful story and you and your husband are beautiful people for doing what you do for those kids! I just know that you will all have the time of your life.

I have a 5 year old neice. My sister is a single parent and my DH and I try to do as much for them as we can. I am taking my neice to Disneyland in December without my sister. We have been 3 other times with my sister, but financially it is better if she doesn't go (she is NOT into Disney like Allonna and I are!!!). So, I know how excited you must be! It is so magical seeing Disneyland through those little eyes!!!

PLEASE post a trip report when you return and DO NOT leave out any details! I can't wait to hear all about it!!!!

MrsPooh
09-15-2004, 11:27 AM
You touched my heart too. I am sitting here at work with tears in my eyes! You both thought up such wonderful little surprises and little extras for the trip! You should be very proud of yourselves, as we are all proud of you.

If you should ever decide to become parents, know that you both will be WONDERFUL at it! I have a sister that thinks of wonderful little tricks and ideas for kids like you do. She chose to never have any of her own, but I know that if she had she would have been one of the best patents.

Have a wonderful trip, and BE SURE to let us all know how it goes! Give us all the little details!

One more thing, you have a true gem of a husband. Don't let him get away! I have one just like him, at our last trip to DL he was playing peek-a-boo with a sweet little baby through the window of the fire station. You are blessed! (of course, your DL seems to have a pretty awesome wife as well! ;)

dlandnut
09-15-2004, 12:09 PM
I, too, was touched. PROMISE, PROMISE, PROMISE that when you return you will post a huge message with details! Have a great time. :)

mystycalchyk
09-15-2004, 12:22 PM
Thanks *blush*

I didnt post it for kudos, just to share...but thanks and yes we will do pics and post a full trip report.

We are bringing our video camera and digicam to capture as much of the magic as possible. :fez:

Mukta
09-15-2004, 04:06 PM
I read the whole post and I am so excited for you. I can't wait until you guys get out here. You and Will and so sweet to be doing this and I know you will have a wonderful time.

mad4mky
09-15-2004, 04:13 PM
What a very special Auntie and Uncle these sweet children have!! :D

I know you (and them)...will have a grand time!!~ :D

We'll all look forward to look hearing about your trip when you return. :)

CoasterChickie
09-15-2004, 04:43 PM
I read your entire post as I had never heard the full story of why you are taking your niece and nephew to Disneyland. It sounds like you already have a whole bunch of surprises for thme...I wish I could see the look of joy on their faces when they realize where they are going. I know you will all have a wonderful time. I hope you will post lots of pictures when you return!!

Photographer
09-15-2004, 04:52 PM
What a wonderful thing to be able to do. I got teary-eyed myself. Those kids will have so much fun with the 2 of you. I'm looking for a Prince like the one you have. Hang onto him tight! :)

Susan L
09-15-2004, 05:05 PM
Frist off, you guys are amazing, any kid would be proud to have you as an uncle and auntie. You obviously love these kids with all your heart. Thank you so much for sharing such a personal part of your life. We also do the same for our nephew. The kids will love Disneyland. If they have never been before they won't notice the rehabs and won't really miss what they don't know, I wouldn't worry about them.

As for your insightful comments on parents being bushed with the kids at Disneyland. Oh, you are so right. I look back on my own parents when we as a family would all go, they were exhausted by the time we left the park everytime. We live in So Bay. There was four of us all various ages.

My husband and I waited until our own kids were older to go and I'm really glad we did. We live in No. CA and only get to go once a year. But, everytime we go and see the parents with real little ones we feel bad for them. They all have this look of - would someone please put us our of our pain - Its the same look I can remember my parents having.

If you are staying on site make sure you go back to your room for an afternoon rest. We have found that to be very helpful regards of what age the kids are.

MrsPooh
09-15-2004, 05:37 PM
If you are staying on site make sure you go back to your room for an afternoon rest. We have found that to be very helpful regards of what age the kids are.[/QUOTE]

This is very true, and even if you are not staying on site (I think you said you weren't?) you can still do it. We stay off site and use the hotel shuttle bus. My son actually looks forward to some "down time" in the hotel room. We stock our little fridge with lunch stuff (saves on paying for one meal a day) and we swim, watch TV, nap, etc. You will be surprised at how rested you will feel, and how much they will enjoy the rest of the day.

I think that since you have already been there many times, you won't be anxious to see and do other things, you will be able to experience this visit on their time table, at their requests. You will truly love to see the resort from a child's eyes. :)

Leap for Joy
09-15-2004, 07:20 PM
Hi! I'm so glad you decided to take them!! I still remember when you first started planning this trip! I hope you have a great weekend!!

DH and I will be there at the same time! We're taking my mom for her birthday and first time in DL! Maybe we'll see you!!

rentayenta
09-15-2004, 09:00 PM
You are so very cool Mystycal! I am sure that your neice and nephew will have the time of their lives. Mkae sure you write details down at the end of each day so you can post what you guys were feeling while there.

PsychDoc
09-16-2004, 07:01 AM
That is a beautiful story. I agree, those are very lucky children; not just for the DL trip but because you do so much for them. Having just one (in thier case 2) special person in a child's life that is neglected or abused makes a huge difference. You give them hope that things will/can be better.

mystycalchyk
09-16-2004, 09:26 AM
Hi! I'm so glad you decided to take them!! I still remember when you first started planning this trip! I hope you have a great weekend!!

DH and I will be there at the same time! We're taking my mom for her birthday and first time in DL! Maybe we'll see you!!


wow! yay. That would be great :)

tstan70
09-16-2004, 10:20 AM
That is soooooo cool that you guys are taking them.

One piece of advice - this one comes from personal experience - Go straight to Fantasyland on the first morning. After that, remember to try to see things through the kids eyes and don't try to stick to an agenda. See the things that they want to see and ride on the rides they want to ride first.

For me, Disneyland played a large part in my childhood, going at least once every year for a few days. When I was first married, Disneyland kinda lost its charm for me. Even after going with my first child before she was 2, it was fun for a little bit, but wasn't anything compared to the trips afterwords where I just sit back and watch my kids have fun and abandon any agenda that I have for the trip.

Have fun!

MOKAME
09-16-2004, 11:56 AM
WOW, fantastic that those kids have such a loving Aunt & Uncle who provide such a positive influence for them. After reading your whole post it got me to thinking about how the DW & I first made our grandkids trips memorable and I just had to throw this one out to you. If the kids are into getting the characters signatures, get a light colored baseball hat and a fine point Sharpie (permanent) marker for each one. Have the kids get the characters to autograph their hats. The hats serve a dual purpose of keeping the sun out of their eyes and they they have a personalized momento from their trip to where in the future. Our grandkids our now 18, 12, and 12 and they still have their hats from the first visits at different times when they were 8, 6 & 6 respectively. Have loads of fun and please do post a trip report after your return, it seems you've developed somewhat of a fan base that are all wishing the best for you two and the kids.

mystycalchyk
09-16-2004, 12:50 PM
What a perfectly amazing idea!!!! I LOVE it!!!!

As soon as I read this, I immediately called my husband on the phone and told him what you suggest...he agrees its a great idea :D.

He said we will get them each a hat at the park first thing (so it says Disneyland). I know they have light colored ones...heck even the light blue denim ones will work. And I will go tonight after work and get a pack if fine point sharpies. I'm so excited. I love that.

*jiggies*

8 days 8 days 8 days

I just went online about 10 minutes ago and bought their passes into the park. We are doing will call once we get there. We were going to just pick them up at the Disney store on Friday night when we drove down to Phoneix to pick them up...good thing I called today. They dont sell the 3 day passes at the Disney stores! :eek: Who knew!? And I saved over $30 each buying them ahead of time online!
Im starting to get seriously geeky and spazzy about the whole thing.
We called their grandmother (Wills mother) two night ago and got her to agree to pack their clothes for us before we get there. I gave her a very specific list of what we want them to have, and I trust that she will take care of it for us. Their mother is hopeless. Last month when they were up here I specifically told her to pack some warm clothes (because we had intended to go camping with them - and Flagstaff is cold at night, especially compared to Phoenix!). She did OK with our nephew but for our niece she had one little jumper and about 4 thin little tank tops and some undies and one nighty. And that was it! For three days! *shakes head* The fact that she packed basically one outfit and nothing more substantial than frilly little tanks floored me. I mean it's getting into the low 40ºs here at night. Sheesh. Poor child would have frozen if we hadnt had a couple of T's for her to wear

*sigh*

But anyway, lovin' the hat idea and its a 'must do' for us :fez: Thank you

sierranevada
09-16-2004, 02:28 PM
I was okay reading this until I read the part where your nephew asked for a bed for Christmas. I had to walk away from the computer to compose myself and stop crying. You two are truly awesome and inspiring for all you are doing for your niece and nephew. Speaking of your niece, I remember another thread regarding her health. How is she doing now?

You two have built up so much good karma that I believe this trip will be truly magically.

As everyone has stated, please post a trip report when you get back. And know that good wishes and pixie dust are being sent magically to you guys from Mousepad!!

mystycalchyk
09-16-2004, 02:59 PM
Speaking of your niece, I remember another thread regarding her health. How is she doing now?



Thanks for asking. The docs say not to worry about the seizures. They are apparently harmless and she has only had one since she got out of the hospital and none in over a week. When we talked to her grandmother the other night she was telling us about it all. My niece gets scared and cries because she is out of control of her body during them but they seem to have had no lasting effects and all is well.

DISNEYloon
09-16-2004, 03:41 PM
you guys ROCK! It's great to hear stories like this.

we too take a child with our family of 4 on all vacations, EVERYWHERE we go, so it's more like a family of 5 ;) her parents are migrant farm workers and honestly, I don't know how they afford what they do have. so we always take her everywhere. she's been do Dland with us 6 times and we are going to WDW next july and she's going with us as well!

Her parents always say if it weren't for us she'd never go anywhere! But she's a great kid and totally deserves it, plus WE LOVE HER!

Here's a challenge for everyone on this board.........take a needy or under privilaged child to Dland or WDW in 2005! :)

TempoNZ
09-16-2004, 03:58 PM
Thanks for asking. The docs say not to worry about the seizures. They are apparently harmless and she has only had one since she got out of the hospital and none in over a week. When we talked to her grandmother the other night she was telling us about it all. My niece gets scared and cries because she is out of control of her body during them but they seem to have had no lasting effects and all is well.


Excellent that is really great news. I can totally understand her being scared. It seems like a very very natural reaction to me no matter what age or how tough you think you are.

I really hope the four of you have a great time. I have absolutly no doubt that the kids will have the times of their lives (And if they do I imagine you will do, kids do that to ya).

mystycalchyk
09-28-2004, 03:08 PM
Well, Here we are, back from Disneyland. I have prepared a trip report, since some of you requested it :)
I decided to post this in the same thread instead of starting a new one since it seemed easier that way.
I got off work early on Friday and me and hubby made our way down to Phoenix with pressies in tow. We got to his parents house (where the kids were all ready for us). They thought we were just coming to pick them up to come to spend the weekend with us at our house (as usual). They were bouncing off the walls when we got there, so excited to go with us, but when they saw the presents they were even more excited. They each had two boxes to open…one was a small toy for each. His was a set of three Star Wars figures (He LOVES Star Wars) and hers was a small Belle kit, with a few outfits for a Belle doll – the little rubbery plastic doll clothes? Man I wish they’d had those when I was a kid. Anyway, we got them those so they would have something to play with on the plane. The other box (for each) had all the stuff I mentioned in the first post of the thread. Plus a couple more things….some Disney themed chapsticks, and bandaids.
We videoed them as they opened them and truly, they were clueless….which surprised me, especially when they saw the photo albums with their names that also said “Disneyland Photos – September 2004”.
So we said: “Well? What are you going to put in those photo albums? You’ve got cameras…but what are you going to take pictures of??? I guess we’ll just have to take you to Disneyland so you can fill them up”
Still…they just looked at us….so we said “Sooo…ummm……we need to pack this stuff up because we are going right now!”
THEN they finally got it! Hehheh.
They were almost in shock…they didn’t know what to say or do at first.
It wasn’t till we actually got on the plane that they started revving up.
They each got a window seat and oooohed and awed at all the pretty lights. By the time we got to California they were getting tired though (it was well past 10pm)…so we got a cab, got to our hotel and got checked in. Got baths for both of them and picked out their clothes for the next day and got them to bed.
First thing Saturday AM, we got up (park opened at 8, so we were there right at 8) They saw several characters immediately (before we even entered the park proper) so I rushed over to rent the stroller and grab them each a pen and an autograph book while they gawked.
They got to see Alice there as well as the rest of the ‘Wonderland group’. Plus Timon and Rafiki. Once we actually walked through the tunnel (the left one thankyouverymuch :p ) they spied Mary Poppins and Bert, and after landing their autographs they got to play “duck, duck goose” (appropriately named “lost boy, lost boy, pirate”) with Mary, Bert, Minnie, Peter Pan and Wendy. Our nephew got picked once as a ‘pirate’ by Wendy, and Minnie helped him run around and sat next to him the rest of the game with his hand in hers and he was in love. We gathered up the new autographs and their books were well on their way. I have to say that Alice and Wendy were particularly delightful. We very much loved them.
We then headed on over to The Plaza Inn for breakfast with Pooh and the gang. More autographs and pictures ensued and with full tummies we trotted on over to Fantasyland to start all the attractions over there.
We got to ride everything except Casey Jr. and the Carousel, because we broke in the middle and got our niece, Crystal, her Belle gown (complete with jacket and tiara) and because of the extra attention his big sister was getting, Michael felt the need to go on the ‘Star Wars ride’ as he called it. Oh, and we also managed to see The Queen from Snow White when we exited that particular attraction and they each got to pose for pics and get her autograph as well. She was a great Queen…had the evil eyes just perfect!
So we left Fantasyland behind and headed on over to Tomorrowland for Star Tours, which they both loved. Michael was having a hard time in the Star Trader because he wanted everything and we told him he had to spend his own money (we had given them each $25 Disney Dollars to spend) on toys. We did buy him a Boba Fett shirt so that he could match his uncle Will, and while there we went ahead and got their mouse ears with their names on them. Mickey for him and pink Minnie ones for her.
Then it was off to Toon Town, where, after a light snack of lunchables and fruit cups, they got to tour Mickey and Minnie’s houses (more pics and autographs) and spend some time in Goofy’s Bounce House and Donald’s Boat.
By then it was well past 1PM and we decided to head on back to the hotel to cool off, and get some good snooze time in. They insisted, of course, that they wanted to stay, but crashed within minutes after cleaning up and their heads hitting the pillow.
After a nice 2 hour nap we got them roused and were back in the park by 5pm. As we were strolling down main street we came upon the Silhouette place and decided that would be a good gift for them to give to their mother. I was really amazed. I had never seem then actually do them before…I couldn’t believe she just sat there and snipped out their profiles that quickly and accurately with little scissors. Impressive for sure. We hit Splash Mountain first thing (since we wanted to do that while it was still hot and daylight) which was a major hit and then headed on over to Pirates of the Carribean. Michael was a teensy bit scared but as soon as he was able to buy his own sword and hook he warmed up to the whole ‘pirate’ thing really quickly. He was a bit too short for Indy so we skipped that, but they went through Tarzan’s Tree House…TWICE!!! Ughh…all those stairs. Sheesh. But they loved it. It was getting close to fireworks time so we hunkered down on the steps near the Haunted Mansion to wait for them. We were all getting pretty hungry, and well, Will and I didn’t plan this part too well. We are used to going during the busiest time of the year and can easily find a meal after 9PM, we just didn’t figure on the restaurants all being closed by then…oops. So after the fireworks we headed back over to pick up the Silhouette and also into the Gallery for our one and only purchase for ourselves for this trip. We had to get the City Hall/Fire Station Olszewski piece for our collection. Love it love it love it. :). Then we tiredly trudged back to the hotel. Will ran to McD’s for a late night dinner (yes, I know we are horrible parents) and we crashed out.
Sunday morning we slept in a bit, since DCA didn’t open till 10, which was nice. While we puttered around getting ready, the kids watched Playhouse Disney on the Disney Channel. This was Will and my first experience with this phenom. We don’t have the Dis Channel at home. Wow…I really like it. If I were a parent I would definitely encourage my kids to watch some of those shows. They really seemed to encourage using your imagination and good values…I really am glad to see something like that on TV when there’s so much trash nowadays. Both kids were pretty familiar with it, so I guess their mom has Disney channel.
So, off to DCA we went. We went to Soarin’ over California first thing. We just love that ride and knew the kids would too, and they did….I think we spent more time watching their faces than the movie. (We snagged a Fast Pass for that one for later on in the day since they loved it so much) After that we thought we would head across over to see what time Playhouse Disney was showing. Good timing. We got into line and only had to wait maybe 10 minutes for their first show. Again, this something Will and I have never done so it was new to us. I really, really liked this show! I was glad to see the use of puppetry talent and loved the interaction with the kids. The kids adored it and with the exception of a few tears from Crystal (when Michael accidentally stomped on her hand while dancing) all went well. After that it was a quick jaunt over to Muppet Vision 3D, and then off to have lunch under the Sea with Ariel and her buds at Ariel’s Grotto. Again with the perfect timing; we waited maybe 10 minutes, which was just enough time to go to the little store across the way and get both kids a pair of big yellow Mickey feet slippers. They love mine and wear them all the time when they are here visiting, so we knew they would love to have some of their own.
Lunch was great. They each got the Mickey nuggets (the fact that they ate chicken nuggets shaped like Mickey Mouse was almost more than they could bear), which came in a cute little pail with a shovel full of ketchup…really cute idea. Will and I both had the special for that day which was BBQ Ribs. Which honestly surprised me with how tender, and good they were. Plus they were extremely filling.
They got to dance around in two little conga line type parades, banging their pails and weaving through the table, which was cute. They already had Pluto, Goofy & Minnie’s autographs but got pics with them and also got Chip & Dales autographs and pics. When it was time to leave they each to Ariel’s autograph and a pic. This was when we first realized how twitter-pated little Michael was going to get around the Princesses. He was literally tongue-tied. He just gazed up into her face and answered her questions with an almost rapturous awe. I have never seen him at a loss for words, but I think this was real love ;). He was pretty stunned for quite a while…and then, after we were already upstairs and out the door decided he had to go back and get a picture of her with ‘his’ camera.
After lunch we took them to the Grizzly River Rapids. This was our longest wait in line during the whole weekend. Close to 30 or so minutes. But of course it was well worth the wait, they had a blast. After that we took them over to A Bugs Land.. We made the mistake of going to Its Tough To Be Bug. I was worried that it would be too intense, but Will thought they would love it. Unfortunately I was right. They were both bawling and terrified. I felt so bad. We tried to get their minds off it by heading over to the little water playground thing. We al played for a good hour and we were all soaked, but hearing them laugh and squeal like crazy was too much fun. They didn’t want to leave. So while Will ran back to the hotel for a change of clothes for us all I took them over across the park to the SS Trustworthy for some more playtime. They had a blast, even though the water got turned off. They still were running around and playing. I just let them play all they wanted, then when Will got back we had a light snack and changed their clothes. Crystal kept insisting that she wanted to ride ‘the Mickey Mouse roller coaster’ (Ca. Screamin’) . I really was afraid it would be too much for her, but I promised her that if she really wanted to go, and if she was tall enough I would take her. Well she did, and she was…so I did. The wait was maybe 15 minutes, and while we waited I asked her where she wanted to sit…she said she wanted the front row. So we got into the queue for the front. I was nervous for her and tried to explain how it was going to take off really fast and that it went upside down….just to prepare her a bit. I just told her to laugh and scream like crazy, since I knew that by expelling air like that your tummy is less likely to do flip flops. I asked her then “So…umm have you ever actually been on a roller coaster???” She said she had….AT THE CARNIVAL! :eek: I was relly nervous then. I could just picture her screaming through the whole thing begging me to get her off of it. Will was videoing, and he saw us as we came through to get ready for take off. He was shocked to see us in the very front. So off we go…we had barely got going…just had passed through the tunnel at the top of that first hill and she was already screaming “I wanna go AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!” :D
Yay!!
She loved it….good thing we did Fantasyland first because after that the little adrenaline junkie wasn’t satisfied with ANYthing ;)
After the coaster Michael was feeling a little jealous so I took him on King Tritons Carousel. Just me and him. He was happy as a clam after that.
By then it was starting to get dark and we knew we didn’t want to miss the Electrical Parade, so we ran back over to Soarin’ and used our fast passes then back to watch the Parade. They loved it (I was so happy, because I don’t think I could bear it had they not liked it)
Then back to the hotel for a good nights sleep (since we never went back to nap that day)
Monday AM was our last morning. We got everything all packed up and checked out of our hotel and were in the park by 10AM. We knew that we HAD to see some princesses or we were going to have a sad little girl on our hands. We lucked out big time. We started out by taking the train over to Toon Town Station and head over to It’s a Small World. Michael kept calling it the ‘White Castle’ and he was very excited about going inside the white castle. We saw Snow White as soon as we got off the train. Got her pic and autograph, rode IASW, saw Aurora and Cinderella as soon as we got off. More pics and autographs and one very googly little boy. Cinderella taught him that all young princes were to greet their princess by kissing their hands. After that he just kind of stumbled back to us and said "They are alll just...so...beautiful!" :)
We were starting to run low on time so Will asked where we could find the all important Belle. They told us that she was scheduled to be ‘at the castle’ right then. So he ran on ahead to find her and I walked very briskly with the kids (we never told them where we were headed so in case we missed her we wouldn’t have the try to explain away the disappointment). We saw her JUST as she arrived and were 2nd in line. SUCCESS!! :D
We had just enough time to catch the Buzz Lightyear show at Tomorrowland and get his autograph and we were done. Both autograph books were full, we were tired and the kids were too.
We walked back to our hotel and our cab was already waiting for us. On to the airport…more ooohs and ahhhs as we flew back to Phoenix and we dropped two very tired, but very excited kids off with their grandparents.


Shew.....I know that was long. Sorry :geek: