There’s a lot to tell about our big trip.  So much that there is no way I could fit it all into one post.  So I’m going to do a post for each day and hopefully I’ll be able to get the whole thing out, do it justice, and not forget anything.  But as I said… there’s a lot.  Now that we’re home, I can’t quite believe that we did all this.  It truly was a dream come true.

Thursday, August 6

We woke up at my parent’s timeshare condo, where we’d crashed the night before.  It was in Kissimmee which is incredibly close to Disney World itself.  It was a really nice resort and condo and it’s a shame we didn’t have more time to enjoy it.  We had originally wanted to get up super early, head to the resort at Disney World (hereafter referred to as “WDW”, like all the pros do) and drop off our bags and hit the Magic Kingdom for their Extra Magic Hour.  But it soon became apparent that we were TIRED.  And we needed to kind of take a little extra time.  We had a little breakfast, cereal and donuts and bananas.  I stubbed my pinky toe HARD on the edge of the high chair and damn near crippled myself.  This little detail will become important later on.

We packed up the kids and the bags and tossed all of them into the rental car (a Dodge Charger!  Rawr!).  It was time to go see the Mouse.  It was around 9 am, if I remember correctly.  Not bad for being as tired as we were.

It wasn’t long before we saw this:

I think once we saw that, we started getting REALLY excited.  Liam, I think, wasn’t quite sure what all was going on, but fed off our excitement.  We found our way to our resort, the Port Orleans French Quarter (hereafter referred to POFQ, for future reference).   It was small and nothing special but at that moment, it looked like the Taj Mahal.  I stayed in the car with the kids while Kile ran in to see about checking us in, leaving our bags and getting our passes for the parks so we could get to it.  While he was in there, I took a picture of the bus stop that we would come to know and love and use quite often.

There were two stops there, the far one is the “A” station, which went to Magic Kingdom and… someplace else that I’ve sorta forgotten at the moment.  I wanna say Hollywood Studios.  The near station (which you can only see the corner of on the righthand side there) is the “B” station that went everywhere else (water parks, Epcot, Animal Kingdom).

The resort was more than happy to take our bags so we checked those in with the luggage people and then we were off.  We still wanted to go to the Magic Kingdom and had the rental car for several more hours.  I had the stupid idea of driving to Magic Kingdom rather than taking the bus.  You’ll find we make many mistakes on this trip, but these mistakes made us stronger and wiser.  But this was a key error on our part and I paid dearly for it later on.

We parked in the monstrous parking lot and waited for a tram with about a bazillion other people.  It was hot.  Did I mention it was hot?  IT WAS HOT.  The tram took us to the monorail and we rode that into the park.  We had our bags checked, used our passes to get in and… voila!  We walked down a very crowded Main Street until we saw a good view of the castle.

And that is when Liam “got it”.  ”Disney World!” he hollered, pointing excitedly.  We all felt it in that moment.  We were at Disney World!  Let the magic begin!  As we got closer to the castle, there was a show going on and we stopped to get our bearings.  And take a few pictures.

Don’t we look like a happy bunch?  I promise, Harry is just wincing at the sun.  He’s not in pain or anything.  And me, I’m starting to hate life a little here.  The heat caught me totally unaware.  Also, notice I wore sneakers with socks.  Another grand mistake that I soon rectified.

Liam is still obsessed with the castle.  Everytime we would pass it for the next several days he would shout, “Disney World!”  A big fan, that one is.

Kile left us at this point.  He needed to head back to return the rental car.  I know.  We had JUST gotten there!  But it takes so long to get from one place to another.  Taking the car to the park?  BAD IDEA.  Add it to the “mistakes” column!  It took him a goodly amount of time to get the monorail and tram back to the car, drive the car to the return place in Downtown Disney and then take a bus back to our resort.  He had planned to then come back to the Magic Kingdom via the bus.  But it took him SO long to just get back to the resort.  Taking the bus to the resort: mistake.  Should have taken the boat.  Boat is BETTER.  We were making mistakes right and left that morning!

It soon became apparent to those of us left at the Magic Kingdom, that there were too many babies in strollers and not enough pushers to do much of anything interesting other than stumble about looking for shade and a cool breeze.  Harry wanted to go on a ride, but everything had an obscene

line and I couldn’t go on anything with the babies.  We eventually decided on the Dumbo ride.  The line wasn’t too long and there was some shade for me to sit in while I waited.  I was able to keep an eye on Harry and sit and feel the sweat drip down my back at the same time.  Score!

Harry is on one of those elephants, believe it or not.  He liked it, and felt better for having rode SOMETHING.  After he got off, I needed to change Evie and I knew there was a “baby care center” in the park that was supposed to be the bee’s knees.  Luckily, it was rather close so we headed over there.  I struggled with leaving the strollers outside (WDW hates strollers, and they aren’t allowed anywhere, just about) but eventually ditched them because the air conditioning inside won me over to the dark side.  I was able to change Evie, the kids could sit and watch some cartoons, I fed them some Teddy Grahams and we felt a bit better.

But we couldn’t stay there forever and eventually plunged ourselves back into the furnace.  I saw a nifty bird and took a picture.

Little did I know, I would see dozens of these birds over the course of our stay.  What were they?  No clue.  But there were a lot of them.  And some of them were black.  Who knows.

We continued to stumble around, exploring.  We went through Adventureland, boggling at the lines for the Jungle Cruise and Pirates of the Caribbean.   I found a seat outside of a restaurant where we could feel a touch of air conditioning.  I was tired.  We were all hungry.  Tired.  HOT.  Miserable, basically.  Do you know what it’s like to be miserable in the Magic Kingdom on your first day there?  Very discouraging.  I got ahold of Kile and that’s when I found out he was close to getting back to the resort.  There was some hemming and hawing before I decided that we would head back to the resort ourselves.  I knew it would be hard to manage the kids and the strollers on the bus without Kile’s help, but staying in the park sounded AWFUL to me at that point.  I wanted lunch and someplace cool to sit.

As we were making out way out of the park, I stumbled a bit, stubbing my foot.  The same foot that I had smashed my pinky toe on earlier that day.  And OH MY SWEET JESUS, the pain.  I could hardly walk without limping, feeling the toe swell and throb inside that hot sneaker was just adding to my joy.  Getting on the bus was the goal though… and it was just as difficult as I imagined it would be.  Thankfully, a kind Samaritan helped me by getting one of the strollers on the bus for me.   The bus was blessedly air conditioned and the ride back to the resort felt awesome.  We got there, let Kile know we had arrived (he texted that our room was ready, just before 1pm… not bad!) and he told us he would come meet us.  We stumbled towards the resort entrance from the bus stop and at the same time we spotted Kile coming toward us, my dad and my brother Tom stepped off a car rental shuttle bus.  Great timing!

We all headed to our rooms together.  We were all on the third floor of building three.  We occupied a whole row of rooms, our room connecting to my sister and her families room.  I collapsed on the bed and didn’t want to ever move.  Even my hunger was eclipsed by my need for rest and cool air.  Harry, meanwhile, was desperate to go in the pool there at the resort.  We arranged for him to go down there with my brother.  I stayed in the room and took a shower.  I learned that day that I needed to just take a shower each afternoon or so to feel halfway human.  I felt like before that shower that I stunk worse than any human being has ever stunk.  I wanted to BURN my clothes.  It was awful.  The shower felt like HEAVEN.  I put new, clean, dry, non-smelly clothes on and felt like a new person.

With that taken care of, we had to go get something to eat.  We knew there was a McDonald’s, among other things, at Downtown Disney.  We decided to head over there.  The boat that shuttled back and forth was just down by the pool so we were able to easily hop on board and away we went.  That boat ride was wonderful, winding through the backwoods of the Vast Disney Compound, taking us directly to Downtown Disney which is sort of a mall-done-Disney-style.  It was still unbearably hot, but the sun had been obscured by clouds which was a blessing.  I grew to love clouds during our vacation (not that I didn’t love them before!).

It took us a while to find McDonald’s but we eventually got there, found a table in the crowded dining room and Kile fetched us some food.  Which I think I devoured in about 10 seconds.  The food did wonders for us.  Much like the shower had done, I felt like a new person.  I was re-energized.  No longer did my legs feel like jello and my head feel so dizzy.  Who knew that you needed to EAT to keep your energy up!  Lesson learned!

We browsed around a little after that, and explored the enormous “World of Disney” store which was like a regular Disney store on crack.  This place was roughly the size of a city block and was filled with every sort of Disney product you could ever hope to find.  We got Evie a stuffed Minnie Mouse and Liam a stuffed Lightning McQueen.  Both were huge hits right off the bat.

We headed back to the resort, since we figured Harry might be looking for us and we had spent several hours there.  We finally took an opportunity to take a few pictures.

After we returned to our room, we met up with my sister and her family.  While the menfolk went down to the lobby to deal with checking in for the cruise (a debacle all in of its own), we caught up on news (she’s pregnant!!) and the kids played and got wild.  It was getting late though, and dinner was needed.  Patty wanted to go to the Magic Kingdom to eat and hang out.  I was admittedly nervous about going back, judging from my poor experience earlier.  I had even entertained the idea of staying in my room the remainder of our stay.  It was THAT bad.  But, it was cooler a tad and not as sunny so maybe not so bad.  We headed out on the bus, deciding to give it our best shot.

The ride from the resort the park was a piece of cake and I felt stupid for not doing it earlier in the day.  It was raining just a bit when we got there and it was downright pleasant.  I felt encouraged.

We decided on a counter service restaurant in Liberty Square.  It happened to be right across from the Haunted Mansion and when we were done, I couldn’t help but notice there was NO line.  My sister’s family had been on that ride earlier in the day and they wanted to go through the castle so we agreed to meet up after we went on the ride.  We ditched the strollers, grabbed the kids, and went for it.  Liam got a little freaked out in the elevator, but the ride was just as fun as I remembered.  Harry enjoyed the ghost in our “doombuggy” at the end.

After that, we decided to go for Pirates of the Caribbean.  Again, there was NO line.   I decided that evening/night was the best time to be at the Magic Kingdom HANDS DOWN.  Of course, it was a Thursday night and I was sure it’d be busier on the weekend.   Still.  Less lines and cooler?  Sign me up!   The kids really enjoyed Pirates of the Caribbean and I did too.  I hadn’t been on it since the changes were added after the movies came out so that was kinda nifty.

After that, it was parade time.  My sister and her family wanted to see the parade and it sounded like fun so we found a spot in front of the castle and set up camp.

The parade was typical Disney magic.  I’m not generally one for parades but this was a good one to see.  And it was kinda fun watching the castle turn colors while we waited.  Afterward there was about a half hour until the fireworks so we decided to stick around and watch.  We killed time by going to the Monster’s Inc “Laugh Floor” in Tomorrowland and that was a lot of fun.  Evie was even picked out of the crowd for being a cute baby!  It was the perfect thing to do because just as we exited the theater, the fireworks were starting.  We found a spot nearby to watch from and I tried to take a couple pictures.

The fireworks were spectacular.  Dare I say, they even brought a tear to my eye?  I feel like our vacation began that night… we were finally “getting it”.  It truly was magical and I’m SO glad we went back to the Magic Kingdom that night.

It wasn’t even that awful getting the bus back to the resort.  The bus was crowded but not excessively so and we managed well.  We arrived back at our room in good spirits.  And everyone transitioned nicely to their sleeping arrangements, thank goodness.  Evie was set up in a pack n’ play and Liam was in one of the double beds with Harrison, accompanied by a couple bedrails.  Evie was a little cold because dumb me forgot to pack her blanket.  I covered her with a towel but she was still cold in that air conditioned room.  Still, we slept like rocks that night.  All the better to rest up for the next day!

Coming up: Epcot!

It’s time to make some statements.  Are you with me?

1)  I AM GOING TO BLOGHER ‘10.  No, I don’t have tickets.  That hasn’t changed.  I’m still looking at after Christmas, because I would have a hard time justifying spending that money on tickets when it could be saved towards Christmas gifts.  But the point is: I am determined.  I am GOING. If they sell out, I’ll just have to find someone selling their tickets or win a contest or go anyhow and just gatecrash the cocktail parties.  WHATEVER.  I’m going.

Look, this is in New York City.  I have been wanting to go back there ever since our rather abbreviated visit back in 2002.  And while I know I’m liable to be busy with, you know, actual CONFERENCE stuff while I’m there, how can I pass up the opportunity?  Who many other times will I be able to say that I stayed at the New York Hilton (or is it The Hilton New York?) for a mere $200 a night?  (Hopefully less as I’m hoping to find roommates.)  Right in the heart of midtown?

There are two non-conference things I need to do while I’m there though.  One is going to Central Park.  When I was there, we walked just in front of it, but never explored more than that.  Maybe renting one of those horse-pulled carriages or something?  That’d be a hoot.  The other thing is I want to go down to Rockefeller Center at the butt-crack of dawn on Friday morning and see Matt and/or Meredith and/or Al and/or Ann.  I mean, COME ON.  I can’t possibly pass that up.

Anything else?  Is GRAVY.

But yes, I am going to BlogHer ‘10.  I’m determined.  It will happen.  I expect you, oh great and wise BlogLand to hold me to it, mmkay?  When I falter, you need to give me a push.

So… anyone wanna be my roommate?

2) I am DETERMINED that this Disney Extravaganza is going to be the best, most awesome vacation ever in the history of vacations.  I’ve spent a lot of time the last year either ignoring the reality that is this trip or stressing out about it.  And why?  I mean, who out there wouldn’t give their right arm for an opportunity like this?  Me, I guess.  That’s who.

Partly, I think, because we’ve gotten SO used to isolating ourselves here.  It’s easier, simpler and CHEAPER to just stay at home and do our thing here.  Once in a blue moon we might venture out to visit one of our families. It’s pretty pathetic, really.  We’ve gone and gotten ourselves tied to our home and our routine and our things.  Well BAH, I say!

We’ve had a couple rough experiences.  One was the trip to Elko last June that ended up lasting a week longer and involved Kile’s unexpected hernia surgery.  That was stressful!  Even though it was great to have Kile’s family there to help us out (oh boy did we ever need them!), it wasn’t home.  And I felt out of my element.  And, frankly, since Liam was full on in “ornery turd” mode then and Evie was all new and needy, I felt we were a drain on my poor in laws.  And trying NOT be a drain while I had no choice but to be a drain caused me stress.  It’s goofy, I know.

Then, a little more than a month later, we went to BlogHer ‘08 in San Francisco.  And… gah.  That was worse.  Much worse.  Harry stayed with my parents but we took the little ones with us and the business of trying to deal with the hotel and and living out of a hotel room and doing the conference and running around and having to miss out on things and tirednosleepkillmenow…. I was a wreck when we had to drive away.  Just a wreck.  I felt so disappointed and so frustrated and I still do when I look back.  And I think that I’ve transferred a lot of that to THIS trip too.  I mean, if that trip was such a disaster, and it was only OVERNIGHT, then what the heck will happen on THIS trip?  Which is 8 days long?? And involves long plane rides with people who might not want to hear children hollering across three states.  And long, sweaty, busy and overstimulating days?  Unfamiliar rooms, situations, people (to my kids, at least)…

I think you can kind of see why this trip has had me freaking out silently on the inside.

But really… it won’t be the same as San Francisco.  Liam is older and so is Evie.  There will be more for the kids to do there, more excitement in general…

This trip is an amazing opportunity.  I would be a fool to just let it go to waste by stressing out the whole time.  So I’m going to have fun.  Damnit.  We’re ALL going to have fun.  We’re going to spend too much money on stupid things like character breakfasts (*cough*) and cheap souvenirs and walk too far and get sunburned and eat ourselves sick on the cruise.  And we’re going to LIKE IT.

So there you have it.  My bold declarations.  You can take it to the bank!

Gosh, is it Tuesday already?? What the heck?  Why am I losing large chunks of time all the time? And DON’T say it’s cuz I’m old.  Cuz then I’ll be forced to smack you over the head with my handbag, you young whippersnapper.

***

So the sixth Harry Potter movie comes out tonight at midnight.  I want to see this movie.  We’ve kinda slacked off in the drive-in department lately, mostly because nothing much good was playing in June so we got out of the habit of going.  The last we saw?  Transformers.  We didn’t even go see Ice Age 3.  I think the general attitude was: “Meh.”  Which, yeah… who really wants to see Ice Age 3?  I sure don’t.  But that’s never stopped us before.  We usually go to the drive-in just to GO.  What movie is playing is sort of beside the point.

But I really wanna see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.  I’m not one of those quasi Harry Potter fans who don’t even bother to read the books.  I read them all!  More than once, even!  I’d like to see it tonight at midnight but… yeah no.  Unless I took Harry with me.  And he has school so that wouldn’t work so hot with a 2 hour and 33 minute movie on a school night that starts AFTER midnight.

The best option is going to the drive-in tomorrow night.  Also a school night, but with a movie starting roughly around 9, would be home slightly sooner.  So what if Harry has school the next day?  So what if Kile has work? This is HARRY POTTER.  This is bigger than school and work.

Damnit, I’m putting my foot down.  We’re going.  And that’s final.  Just suck it up, boys.

***

My children are monkeys.  That is all.

***

Our big Disney Extravaganza is next month.  Like in WEEKS.  It’s getting close.  I’m still scared, but mostly about the traveling to Florida component.  I think the rest is going to be a blast and a half.  But two toddlers and luggage and car seats and strollers and airport security?  BE STILL MY HEART.  Has anyone done an air trip like this before and if so, HOW.  We’re flying Southwest.  On the way out, we stop but don’t have to get off the plane which has GOT to be a plus, right?

I have a feeling this will be the death of me.

***

I think Evie just ate something quite possibly non-edible.  Uhm…

***

The overwatering of the grass continues!  Kile is starting to think maybe he should turn down the sprinklers a hair.  You think?  There’s almost seven hours between the noon and evening waterings and the ground doesn’t even get 100% dry.  And that’s through the hottest part of the day!

The water conservation police are SO gonna have our asses.

***

My left hand is misshapen and sore.  I’m turning into a crone.  I blame the knitting.

***

And yet, I insist that I am NOT OLD.

Oh and GET OFF MY LAWN, punks!

I just love Fridays.  While they’re still part of the week and generally contain just as much drudgery as a Tuesday, they hold the promise of “relief”.  If you can just make it to five o’clock, you have two whole days ahead of you that provide a well-needed break from the everyday routine.  All day long I thrill at the thought that the WEEK IS OVER.  Can I get an Amen?

I want to thank everyone for their responses on my panicked Disney post. You guys have some REALLY good advice!  I think I learned some useful tips that I’m going to try.  I even think I’ve figured out the stroller dilemma. I think we’re going to buy one or two umbrella/lightweight/compact fold strollers that have at least a decent sun canopy and a good recline and then buy the connectors so we can turn two strollers into one double stroller if needed.  I think that’ll work best and then we’ll have the strollers to use here at home too.  While renting in Orlando was a good choice, I think having a stroller(s) in the airports and on the cruise will be INVALUABLE.  So that’s that.  We’re going to go down to Babies r’ Us this weekend and give a few a “test drive”.  What we find there will determine whether we buy one or two.  We have a lightweight stroller here that we could use, but it doesn’t recline so if we find the right stroller for the right price, we’ll get two.

We’re still working out the other issues, but I feel more informed now and less panicked.  So that is AWESOME.  THANK YOU.  I’ll send you all postcards. Heh.

Also, thanks for the commisseration on the mail man frustration.  I’m both happy to know I’m not the only one and horrified that I’m not the only one who has experienced such shoddy service.  I swear, if it was going to be an enormous pain in the arse, I’d totally switch to UPS for packages or something.  Damn the post office.

After not getting any mail at ALL on Wednesday (I think it was Wednesday?), the mail came much earlier on Thursday.  And while it wasn’t AS early yesterday, it did come before 5pm AND the mailman actually took a package up to my door!  SHOCKER!  Now if he’d just do that every time, life would be good.  I don’t ask for much, people.  I just want my mail in a timely manner and packages delivered.  Totally not an unreasonable request.

I don’t know exactly what our plans are for the weekend but I suspect there will be a goodly amount of grocery shopping (it’s that time of the month, after all).  I also imagine there might be a trip to the drive in, though the new X-men movie pales in comparison to Iron-man which is what we saw last year this very weekend.  My parents are coming up for a couple days on Sunday so that’s something too. Which means that there will be a goodly amount of cleaning done here this weekend as well.  JOY.  Luckily, the living room was recently cleaned (including the carpets which were Filthy), and the kitchen is rather bearable so the job shouldn’t be too enormous.

Gosh.  You know, when I type all that out, it sounds completely, 100%, DULL.  I sure hope your weekends are a lot more interesting than mine.

So… I think I need you all to help me out here.  How many of you have been to Disney World?  On the Disney Cruise?  BOTH?  Can ya help me out?  Because we’re going on one of these fantabulous Land/Sea Vacations later this summer and I’m, quite frankly, freaked out about it.  Partially because I have become a hermit and am uncomfortable leaving the confines of my own cozy abode and partially because it’s Disney and everything is SO. VERY. MAGICAL.  You will have fun or you WILL DIE, damnit!

That’s a lot of pressure.

Firstly, I’m worried about the plane trip.  I still don’t know which airline we’re taking, though I’m leaning towards Southwest.  But I do know that I will have to get myself, my husband and three kids through security and on a cross country trip that will take the better part of a day AND our sanity.  Oh, and we’re planning to come in the day before and spend the night at the timeshare my parents are staying at so we’re there for the park the next day from the word go.

Any tips for flying with children?  One who is nine (going on TEN, so help me God), one who will be a newly minted THREE (again with the help) and a 16 month old.   We’re planning on bringing on car seats for the two little ones.  Good plan?  What do I need to bring, entertainment wise?  How much alcohol do you think it will take to dull the pain?

The next issue is strollers.  I think I’ve narrowed it down to two choices.  We will either a) bring something with us which means we’ll have to BUY something as our double stroller is definitely not the sort you want to travel with, but bringing it would mean we’d have it in the airport or b) rent one from an Orlando stroller rental company that delivers to your hotel for you so it’s there when you arrive.  While it would be nice to have a stroller in the airport, we would also have to deal with it on the cruise and I’m not sure how I feel about that.  Is having a stroller on a Disney Cruise a pain in the arse?  Plus, you know, we’d have to buy something.  The stroller I’d really like to have (coincidentally, the same one the stroller rental company provides) is muy expensive and way out of our league.  We’ve talked about a fold up wagon with umbrella but that would be neither comfortable for the kids if they wanted to nap in the park(s) or easy to get on and off transportation.  A cheapo side-by-side double?  Are there any cheapos that recline?  OY.

You can see why it’s an issue.

Also: Dining.  What to do?   Do we get the Disney Dining Plan which allows us to eat pretty much at will for the duration of our stay in the park?  CAN we get it, since our room is already booked and it seems to be tied to your room rate?   Or do we just save up our clams and expect to pay out the arse for food?  My mom thinks we should buy peanut butter and jelly and make sandwiches in our room.   Not a bad idea but I am not going to subsist on peanut butter and jelly for THREE DAYS.  I don’t care what it costs.  This IS a vacation, after all.  I need information about this.  What have other people done?  What has worked?  What hasn’t?

If that weren’t enough:  the heat. Who planned this thing for AUGUST, for pity’s sake?  I will surely melt.  What is central Florida like in August?  Give it to me with both barrels, folks.  I can take it.  What do I need to do to ensure we don’t all die of heat stroke?

I find I’m less concerned about the cruise (though that has its own set of issues including the fact that Liam cannot go to the children’s activities because while he will be three, he will not be potty trained and therefore is stuck with us which means we are stuck with HIM and that severely limits our fun quotient).  At least there will be air conditioning on the cruise.  And the food will be included.  So there’s that.

What do I need to know?  I need your help, oh wise internets!  Give me your experiences and tell me what I should (and should NOT) do/bring/think/say/expect, etc.

I’m scared.