Florida Vacation Day 4: Our Disney Side

At 34 years old, I have now been to Walt Disney World four times, and each time is full of memories.

My first visit was in 1987 when I was 6 (going on 7) years old.  My family went on a vacation together and it was a cool rainy week in March, which didn't keep us from making some great and not-so-great memories, one of which included me throwing up on the Disney Trolly to the parking lot and my mother (doing what only a mother could do) catching it all in her jacket so that I didn't get vomit all over the woman sitting in front of me (who was completely disgusted by the events).

Me meeting Minnie Mouse.  I can still remember how excited I was to meet this icon and when my parents let me pick one souvenir to bring home with me I selected a baby Minnie Mouse that is now in the stuffed animal bin with the rest of my children's toys.

Aaron, my mom & I at Epcot

My next trip to WDW was in 2001 while I was on Spring Break with some friends from Architecture school and some girl-friends of theirs.  Yes, I was the 5th wheel, but I got to escape the cold and spend a week on the beach.  That trip still ended with one of the girls being a 5th wheel, but it wasn't me.  Instead, I headed back to Michigan with a new boyfriend who turned out to be the love of my life and the father to my amazing children! :)  Anyway, as I mentioned we did spend one of our days from that vacation in Disney World, and it was that day that really turned our relationship from just classmates/friends to a path that I could never have anticipated and wouldn't change for anything.  That day, the spark was really struck and finished with fireworks in Epcot and possibly the most romantic date/non-date that I have ever and will ever have.  On the ride home, as we thought our feelings were well hidden, Eric secretly held my hand the entire 1.5 hour drive back to our hotel and approximately 17 months later we played songs from Epcot's firework show after our wedding and at our reception.

Our Spring Break Crew on Satellite Beach in March of 2001

The Spring Break Crew at WDW

Mary Ellen, Me, Minnie & Eric at WDW

My third (and last prior to this one) trip to Disney was in 2008, when I headed back to Orlando for a week long WDW trip with the love of my life for a fun-filled vacation.  Since I had never really been to the park at a time that I was able to call the shots and do all the things I wanted to do, Eric and I agreed that we would do everything I wanted to do, no matter how dumb/childish it may be.  We had a blast, letting our Disney sides come out and enjoyed being two big kids together.

Now, in February of 2015, I was able to tour the park a fourth time, and this time I took the products of the love that I share.  When we originally planned our vacation to Florida, Disney was not something that we considered.  It was about an hour and a half from where we stayed and would cost us a decent amount of cash to go.  We had planned that if the weather was cool we may drive up to Tampa to take the kids to Busch Gardens, but that would have been much closer and also a decent amount cheaper.  Then about a week before we headed South, my co-worker told me that she had some free Disney tickets that she would not be able to use and wanted to give to us!  At that point, Disney became a real possibility.

We brought the tickets with us to Florida and decided that we would just wait and see how the week went and how the weather was.  As I've already mentioned the weather started off perfectly, but then changed to a cooler and cloudier pattern that lasted the rest of the week.  We therefore decided that Disney would be something fun to do away from the beach, and since Eric's parents agreed to join us (there was NO WAY I would consider taking a two year old and 5 month old on our own) we rented a van and headed to Orlando on Wednesday morning.

Asher enjoying the back-seat ride with Grandma

Avery taking a morning nap.  Since we didn't have his carseat base he was at an odd angle and his poor little head kept flopping forward as he tried to sleep.

Video: Avery's Head Bopping

We didn't tell Asher where we were going, but told him it was going to be a very fun and tiring day so he needed to try and take a rest on the way...this is him "sleeping".

When we arrived at the park, Asher still didn't know what we were going to do for the day.  Instead, we let him figure it out a little on his own.  He isn't old enough to know what Walt Disney World is, but he does know who Mickey Mouse is, and as he watched at the sights out the window he got a pretty good idea that whatever we were going to do would be a fun time including Mickey and friends.

Video: Asher, What's Out There?

We drove to the parking lot, parked the van and then walked to the Monorail/Ferry gates (we could have taken the trolly but Asher was so traumatized by our trolly experience the day before he wanted NOTHING to do with it!) to bring us to the Magic Kingdom.  

After a short ferry ride (the Monorail was not running for the morning), we arrived at the Magic Kingdom, rented a stroller for Asher and then entered into the wonderful world of Disney.

Main Street USA...and the first glimpse of Cinderella's Castle.

When we arrived in the park it was late morning and Mickey and Friends were doing a show at the Castle.  Asher was SOOO excited to see Mickey and I knew we needed to make sure Asher got another glimpse of Mickey before the day was done.

I love this first WDW picture of our family...just wish Asher had his eyes open!

Usually when we go somewhere whether on our own or with others, I become "The Navigator".  I am almost always the one holding the map for the day, strategizing where to go and what to do next.  Since I was busy with two little kids in a very busy and crowded place, this was more difficult than it had ever been before.  We walked around the park aimlessly for a bit, with no one knowing what to do or what direction to take.  Finally, being so close to lunch time, we decided it would be best to get some lunch so that we could refuel and figure out a plan for the rest of the afternoon (or at least the next couple hours).

We had lunch at Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe and arrived just in time.  As we were walking there it started to sprinkle and just moments after we got inside it started to pour and immediately filled up with people (it had already been pretty full due to the time of day, but we were able to find two small tables to sit and enjoy our lunch).

After a mostly nice lunch together (I say mostly nice because one of the Disney restaurant employees kept asking us if we were done because others needed a table and my MIL was about to punch him in the face...I'm pretty sure if he had asked again before we were packing up to go he would have a sore nose!) we headed back outside.  It had stopped pouring and was back to a small sprinkle.  We had a plan to go on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority, which is apparently Eric's Mom's favorite ride and a nice, relaxing ride to introduce Asher to his first rides of the park.  We headed up the moving walkway (which was fun in and of itself) and then got into our car for the ride.

Asher & I on the moving walkway.  I was standing a bit odd to balance on the incline.  Asher noticed this and decided that he better be standing just like me.

When we got in our car, we pretended that it was a real roller coaster and had a good time being silly with our arms up in the air roller-coaster style and also putting on our scared faces!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

We had mother & son being silly on one side (Asher & I) and another mother-son team on the opposite side.

While Eric, his mom, Asher & I road the TTA, Eric's dad hung out with Avery and waited for us to finish.

When our ride on the TTA and Asher's first-ever Disney World ride was complete (Asher really enjoyed the ride for the first half.  Then we went through a dark tunnel and Asher said, "I'm done Mommy" and wanted off.  We told him to cover his eyes if he wanted and he did...pretty much until the ride was over.), we formed a plan for the next part of our day and headed over to Adventureland.  We intended to take Asher on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, since his favorite show (& really the only thing he ever watches) his Jake & the Neverland Pirates.  On our way there, we found Peter Pan and since there was almost no line, decided to take Asher to meet him.  While we did that, Eric's dad took our Disney passes to the FastPass kiosk to check us in for some rides.

Asher doesn't look real sure about Peter in this picture, but he was actually less freaked out about meeting him that I thought he'd be.  Instead, I think he was really just a bit star-struck.

Before we left Peter, we asked Asher if he wanted to give Peter a hug,, thinking there was NO-WAY he would agree to do so.  However, he shocked both Eric and I as he opened up his arms and gave Peter a big hug!  :)

When Eric's dad returned with our Disney Passes, he told us the unfortunate news that the Pirates of the Caribbean ride was closed for the day.  :(  So, instead of going on the PotC ride, we headed over to the Dumbo ride for our first FastPass appointment.

When Eric and I had been at WDW in 2008, we rode the Dumbo Ride as an effort to ride every ride in the park.  We got in line with a bunch of young family and waited...and waited...and waited.  In real time the wait was probably only about a half hour, but in the world of toddlers that we were waiting in (during naptime) it seemed like an eternity.  It was very hot and sunny and we were surrounded by screaming over-tired children that were waiting to get on the Dumbo ride for the Disney moment that that their parents had envisioned ever since they first started planning their vacation.  Eventually Eric and I finally got on the ride, rode it around for a couple of minutes, got off and then walked away as Eric stated that was the best contraceptive that anyone could ever hope for...don't want your kids to have children before they're ready...just take them on the Dumbo ride.

This time around, we were the parents with the toddler at nap time waiting in line for the Dumbo Ride.  Thankfully this experience was much better than the last, and despite the lack of nap for Asher, he was in a pretty good mood.  Avery, on the other hand, wasn't in the best mood.  We realized today that nursing a baby in an amusement park is not an easy task.  At five months old (five months on this day!) Avery was still nursing exclusively, but is also easily distracted by anything and everything that goes on around him.  Thus, he was desperate to get some food in his belly.  To try and remedy the situation, I decided to let Asher enjoy the Dumbo ride without me and he headed to the line with Eric and Gramps while I stayed back to nurse Avery.  After a minute or two though, Avery had eaten enough to be able to ignore the hunger and not be able to ignore the sights, smells and sounds around him.  So, rather than sitting and nursing while Asher rode the ride, Avery and I watched them go round and round from the sidelines.  Asher had a total blast and was very excited when he got off, immediately asking me to go again.  Since we all had fast-passes for the ride, Eric and I used the remaining two and took Asher for a second time.  He was a happy boy and I'm pretty sure he would have ridden that ride all day long if we had let him!

Avery with Grandma waiting at the Dumbo ride.

Asher in awe of the ride he was about to go on.

Eric, Asher & Gramps on the Dumbo Ride.

Asher taking in the view from the Dumbo Ride.

Getting kisses from my boy while we waited in line.

Trying not to get licked while we waited in line.

Enjoying the magical Disney moment.

One of the reasons that Asher loved this ride so much was because he was able to drive our Dumbo up and down as we rode in circles.

Eric, terrified on the ride. :)

Asher & Gramps

After Asher's second time on the Dumbo Ride, it was time to head somewhere else (much to Asher's dismay).  We headed over to It's a Small World and along the way Asher found these "naughty elephants" spraying water everywhere, which Asher found highly entertaining.

Asher & I on the It's a Small World ride with Gramps and Grandma.

It's a Small World was actually Avery's first-ever WDW ride.  I used the opportunity to try to get some more food into him.  It worked for a few minutes and then he fell asleep from exhaustion.

Avery hadn't slept since his nap in the van on the way to the park, so I put him in his stroller and hoped that he would take a good nap.  A minute or two later though Asher woke him up and then nap-time was all over.  :(

From It's a Small World, we headed back toward Adventureland to go on a Jungle Cruise and climb up into the Swiss Family Treehouse.  On the way, we took a detour through Frontierland to show Asher Splash Mountain (even though he is too little to actually ride it).  Not surprisingly, he thought it was pretty awesome! :)

Asher & Eric watching the rides go down Splash Mountain

Splash Mountain

I LOVE this picture!  They are cheering for Splash Mountain, but with their excitement and Cinderella's castle perfectly spaced between them, it looks like a perfect Disney ad.

When we made it into Adventureland, we saw the Pirates of the Caribbean gift shop and decided that even though we couldn't take Asher on the actual ride, we would enjoy some time browsing and playing in the store.  Asher had a great time playing with all of the pirate weapons and dress-up gear and checking out the Jake & The Neverland Pirate Toys.  So much so, that Grandma decided she wanted to purchase something for him and told him to pick out what he wanted.  He decided that he wanted a "Ho-Ho" (what he calls the Jake show) doll, but had a surprisingly difficult time deciding which one to get.  They had Izzy and Jake dolls (no Cubby), and Asher kept going back and forth between them.  He would pick up Jake and give him a good long look, then put him back in the bin and do the same with Izzy.  This went on for a few minutes and then he seemed to decide that he was going to go with Izzy.  I have to admit that I didn't want to sway his decision, but also wasn't totally excited about him carrying a pink doll around everywhere (although she is cute!).  I asked him if he was sure that was the one we wanted, and he looked one more time at Jake, threw Izzy back in the bin, picked up Jake and then took him over to Grandma to purchase.

Asher & Grandma entering the Pirate Gift Shop

Asher & Eric sword fighting in the Pirate shop.

Concentrating so hard on his sword fighting.

Our little pirate

While Asher was having a great time in the gift shop, Avery was miserable.  He was exhausted, hungry, wet from the sprinkle that had continued pretty much since we arrived and poopy.  Poor guy was not enjoying his day.  I remember during previous trips to WDW seeing women with their babies in the park and thinking they were absolutley crazy...thinking I would NEVER take my baby to the park as he would be too young to enjoy it and it would just be too difficult, yet here I was with my five month old baby boy.  Now, there is no way I would have ever considered doing this if Eric's parents hadn't agreed to come with us, but I will admit that taking such a young child to the park was still very difficult despite the extra help.  At the same time though, I do not regret that we did it and we did still have a great day full of family memories.  I will simply say that if I ever were to do it again, I would NOT plan on nursing and pack lots of bottles, and I would also try to think of a way to get the baby some sleep (maybe baby ear-muffs?).  Anyway, as I said Avery was not a happy guy, so I took him out of the shop to go find a place to change him and snuggle him up a bit.

I've said many times in the past that Avery is our little Drama King.  This picture is proof.  Although he looks completely miserable in the picture I cannot help but laugh every time I look at his pitiful little face.  He just looks so unhappy and is a pro at making you feel nothing but empathy for the little dude.  Could you resist snuggling him?

I don't want to be hook!

As I walked around outside in search of the ladies room, I noticed that they were now letting people on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, so I texted Eric.  Since we were not sure how long the ride would be up, I decided to change Avery in his stroller rather than wait in line in the Ladies Room and then off we went to the PotC ride.  As I said, we thought that Asher would like this ride, but in hindsight I do not know what we were thinking.  Asher is not a big fan of the dark and had already reminded us of that on the TTA and I also forgot how out-dated and non-kid-friendly the ride is with drunks, hangings, skeletons, etc.  We got through the line in just about 20 minutes or so and then all six of us were seated in the front of the boat.  I decided to take the opportunity to try and nurse Avery more while we rode around.  As soon as the ride started we went into a dark tunnel and Asher was already starting to whimper.  I told him that if he was scared he could cover his eyes.  Immediately, his little hands went up over his eyes and I felt like a terrible mommy for taking him on the ride.  As the ride continued, we went down a little hill (still in the dark) and a big splash came up on us getting us all quite wet.  Avery, who had been laying on my lap under the nursing cover, was not pleased by this and immediately started to cry as he took the brunt of the water that came in my direction.  By the end of the ride, I couldn't wait to get off and felt like an absolute failure of a mom.  Oh well, we all make mistakes, right?

Avery & Eric waiting in line for PotC

Asher, Jake & Gramps waiting in line of PotC

Avery modeling Jake's hairdo after the ride was finished.

When the Pirate ride was over, it was raining quite hard outside again.  Eric and his dad went and got the strollers for the boys, but they were both pretty wet.  We dried them up as best as we could and then walked through the rain to continue our journey to the Jungle Cruise, knowing that ride is covered.  We made it there and waited for a short time in line and by the time we got on the ride, the rain had stopped.  We went on another ride all together and this one (being in the daylight) was much more enjoyable for everyone.

Asher & Eric on the Jungle Cruise

The sights from the cruise.

The next ride we went on was The Magic Carpets of Alladin ride, which was right by the Jungle Cruise.  We hadn't planned to go on this ride, but knowing it is almost exactly the same as the Dumbo ride, and knowing that Asher had LOVED that ride, we had to let him go on it.  Like the Dumbo ride, it was a BIG hit and when we wouldn't let him go on a second time, Asher threw a major fit.

Silly boys waiting for the Alladin ride.

Asher flying our Magic Carpet.

The view from our Magic Carpet

To try and distract Asher from his desires to ride Alladin's Magic Carpet for the rest of the day, we took him to the Swiss Family Treehouse.  Unfortunately, he wasn't swayed and continued to ask to go on the ride more.  We would have given in at this point, but by the time we had gotten out of the treehouse, the line for Alladin was much longer and not worth the wait...thus, we distracted him with ice cream and headed to the Main Street USA Ice Cream Parlor.  Not surprisingly, that worked VERY WELL.

Asher & Eric in the Treehouse

Asher & I sharing our sundae.  It.Was.Delicious!

As Asher and I enjoyed our late afternoon treat, a short parade made its way down Main Street.  We had wanted to go to the big parade earlier in the day, hoping to see Mickey again, but missed it.  Thus, we headed over to the sidewalk to watch as this one went by.  Unfortunately, Mickey was not in this parade, but Asher still enjoyed dancing to the music as the colorful floats made their way down the street.

Grandma & Avery watching the parade

Asher & his ice cream-covered face watching the parade.

When the parade was over, we headed back down Main Street and towards the Train Station, thinking that would be a relaxing way to spend some time before we ended our day with Disney's Electrical Parade.  We took a couple of pictures with Walt Disney and then were surprised when another short little parade came down the street with all of the original Disney characters, including none other than Mickey Mouse!  Asher was completely in awe and star-struck by the iconic mouse and waved in a daze as the floats passed by.  It was an adorable moment that made the difficulties of the day all worth it!

Eric, Avery, Me, Walt Disny, Minnie, Grandma, Asher, Jake & Gramps

We had Avery take a picture with Walt...he wasn't impressed.

Avery, Me, Gramps & Asher watching as the surprise parade came down the street.

Gramps & Asher waving at Mickey Mouse

Video: Asher in Awe

When the parade was over, we made it over to the train station to enjoy a quick ride around the park before dark.  It was a relaxing time, that allowed me to get a little more food in our baby boy and allowed all of us to rest our feet.  We all enjoyed the breather...at least until Eric began to smell Asher and then feel the wetness on his legs.  In the midst of the fun and excitement of the day, we had not noticed that it had been WAY TO LONG since Asher's last diaper change and he was in desperate need of one now!  Poor Eric (like our vacation to Mammoth Cave National Park last summer) was also in need of a wardrobe change by the time the train ride was over.  :(  On a happier/lighter note while we had been enjoying the train ride (before the incident), we looked out the trains sides at all of the sights along the way.  When we came to a forested area and saw a deer standing in the woods we assumed it was just a prop, but as it turned its head and ran away there was a collective gasp on the train as everyone aboard was surprised to see that the deer was actually real!

Eric & Asher enjoying the train

An attempt at a partial family picture...Asher was starting to loose it for the day.

When we got back to the train station, I took Asher and changed him (basically EVERYTHING from head to toe) and then we went back outside to enjoy the Disney's Electrical Parade.  As expected, both of the kids (& their parents) loved it!

Gramps, Grandma & Asher waiting for the parade.

We got to see Mickey again!  & since we had a great spot to watch the parade, we were only about 10' away from the celebrity! ;)

Watching the parade with my boys.

Not a great picture of Asher & I, but I love the look of awe on Avery's little face!

When the parade was over, Eric and I wanted to get some things from the gift shop along with a picture of our family wearing Mickey ears before we left.  We headed across the street into the nearest shop to find some ears and take the pictures.  Since they are pretty cute pics, I couldn't just pick one (or two or...), but if you've been reading this blog before, you should be well aware of my inability to be choosey with pictures.

When we had gotten enough pictures, Eric's mom took the boys outside so that Eric and I could figure out what we wanted to buy.  Before they left though, Asher wanted to try on every different Mickey ears hat that he could get his little hands on.  He didn't get them all, but he did get quite a few...

Eric and I tried (unsuccessfully) to be quick picking out our souvenirs (two Sulley's for the boys), a Cinderella Tea Set as a thank you for the daughter of my co-worker who gave us the tickets, a Christmas ornament for our tree and some pins for Eric and the boys (Eric collects them, and we thought the boys should get their first ones...we got them a Chip and Dale...they can someday fight over who gets which one!) ;)  While Eric was paying for our selections, I headed back outside to check on everyone.  What I found was heart breaking.  In the time that Eric and I had been in the store, Avery had COMPLETELY lost it!!!  He was purple-faced and screaming like I had never seen him scream before!!  I immediately grabbed him and found a spot to nurse my starving, exhausted, over-stimulated little boy, but he was so upset that he would not eat and just kept screaming.  I had to shush and bounce him until he calmed down and then I was able to sit down and nurse him.  As I did so, I realized that the park's firework show was about to start.  We hadn't planned on staying to watch it, but since I had to nurse Avery anyway we decided we might as well stay for them.  Eric, Asher, Gramps and Grandma headed over to Main Street to watch the show while I stayed off to the side and tried to feed my littlest man.  Despite his starvation though, there was still too much going on to eat, and listening to the booming fireworks was too much.  I gave up and headed over to the rest of the family to watch the end of the show, remembering the fireworks that I had watched with Eric 14 years prior as I began to fell in love.

When the show was over, we left the park after having an amazing day together.  I nursed Avery some more on the Monorail and then again in the van before we headed back to Pass-a-Grille.  I had thought that Avery would pass out after getting a little more food in his belly and sleep the whole way home, but that was not the case.  Before we even made our way out of the park, he was screaming bloody murder again.  We had planned to just get some drive-thru on the way home for a late dinner, but I knew that plan was no longer going to work.  We stopped at the closest McDonalds that we could find and then I sent everyone inside to eat, while I stayed back in the van with Avery to let him nurse in a quite, dark place with nothing else going on around us to distract him.  For the first time that day he ate really well and nursed until he was completely full.  Then he passed out and was not heard from again until we got home.  I felt bad that he had had such a tough day, but was happy that he finally was able to rest with a fully belly.

My little guy passed out after his late dinner and LOOONG Disney day.

While Avery and I were in the van, everyone else enjoyed their dinner inside and from what I heard afterwards Asher was also a VERY hungry little guy.  He ate his entire happy meal, plus some of his Grandma's meal and when they got into the car he still wanted more, so he and Grandma shared an orange.  Once he was full, he stayed awake for a few minutes longer and then I turned around to find this...passed out with his new buddy Jake.

The drive home was uneventful and as soon as we got to the motel we got ready for bed and went right to sleep.  It was an exhausting, but amazing and memory-filled day and when I asked Asher his three questions for the day, these were his responses: Mickey made him happy, Gramps made him laugh and he couldn't think of anything that made him sad...it MUST have been a good day! :)