The House of Mouse, Part 3

The last in the series.  Beware of picture overload...

Day 6 - Epcot and Mama Melrose

Thursday morning started off pretty lazily, since we had been to all of the parks and were now in repeat mode.  We had early dinner reservations that night down at Hollywood Studios, so Hubs and I took the kids to Epcot while the in laws went downtown for some shopping.  We headed over to the Seas pavilion first, because I had been talking up Turtle Time with Crush to Gobbles for some time.  The kids loved seeing all the fish though they'd already been there earlier in the week - they could probably hang out in the aquariums all day!  When it was time for Crush, Gobbles was fine sitting up with all the little kids, until the shark came to greet everyone - suddenly he was back in my lap.  I encouraged him to go sit back up with the kids in case he wanted to ask Crush a question, and he did.  But, by the end he was disappointed that he didn't get picked.  I told him that he should have raised his hand.  Oh well, maybe next time!  While still in the Seas, we rode the Nemo ride, another seemingly tame undersea adventure, but Gobbles got nervous in when we got to the East Australian Current part, again I think due to the sensory amplification of the bubbles and surround screen.


Fishies!  C'mon fishies!!

No, not you, too big, you scare me!

Look Crush - it's Dori!

To ease everyone's nerves, we headed to another one of my all time favorite Disney rides - Living with the Land.  It's a boat ride in the Land Pavilion, adjacent to the overrated ride Soarin'.  Soarin's lines were nuts as usual, so there was a lot of spillover into Living with the Land, which had a 25 minute wait, the longest I've ever seen.  Usually we can walk right on this ride, and stay on the boat for multiple loops if we want.  The boat takes you through vast gardens and greenhouses, highlighting the multitudes of fruits, vegetables, and some small fish farms that Disney grows in order to service their numerous restaurants.  I guess it's the calming effect of the natural light in the warm green houses, or the fact that it's all about being sustainable, or just the FOOD, but this ride gets me nice and relaxed every time.  I always leave feeling a little more peaceful than when I began. 

Floating, fruits, and veggies.  Don't fall asleep Lobstah!

After the ride we fed the kids lunch and the Lobster Roll promptly went down for a nap in the stroller (she was a pro by now).  We headed over to test track where hubs had snagged fastpasses earlier and we did a baby swap, with Gobbles deciding to brave the ride with hubs while I waited.  I'm not sure how the fast passes were working that day, but during the 45 minutes I waited, the Poozer family showed up with another sleeping princess and waited with me.  Hubs and Gobbles finally returned, informing me that Gobbles would not be riding this one again (just a little too fast), so I took the baby swap pass and rode with the in-laws while hubs sat with the sleeping girls. 

The lap of luxury

With everyone "rided" out for the time being and two of the three kids still asleep, we decided to meander through the Worlds' Showcase and head to the Biergarten in Germany.  We arrived to find it completely shut down.  Apparently since the Flower and Garden festival had ended earlier in the week, so did the Biergarten.  We never realized this because the 4 times previously that we were at Disney were during festivals or holidays, so we assumed it was a permanent fixture.  Somewhat dejected we continued on our quest for beer, only to be derailed by the miniature train set.  Gobbles was beyond fascinated and was having so much fun watching the trains that I temporarily forgot all about beverages and just marveled at my little guy having the time of his life looking at something so simple.  We were soon joined by the Little Lobster Roll, fresh from her nap and ready to play.  We spent what seemed like hours watching these trains in the hot sun, when we told Gobbles 3 more loops and that's it, we had to go.  He negotiated 5 more and we said fine, anything to get moving again.  The in-laws had long left us to relax in the shade. 

Sure mommy, I'll smile.  As long as we can stay 478 more minutes to watch the train!

I'd sleep here if I could

We wandered back to where we'd spent time the first day, at the America Pavilion.  This time Gobbles decided to color a Perry the Platypus and the Lobster Roll chose Duffy the Bear.  Love Disney for thinking of these activities for kids to do while their parents enjoy adult beverages (yes we finally got our beers).  After some coloring and making new "friends" - Gobbles told some teenage girls that sat down next to him to color that is MOMMY'S seat! ever my bossy buddy - we met up with the in laws again on the way out of EPCOT to catch the ferry to Hollywood Studios, where dinner was planned at Mama Melrose.  On the boat ride, Gobbles made up for his previous rudeness by flirting with two young twenty-somethings, telling them all about his school, his friends from home, and his little sister.  The Lobster Roll of course put her two cents in, but never failed to stop mid conversation and point to me MomMY! just to remind everyone who I was in case they forgot.  My kids make me feel pretty popular by always pointing me out.

See - that's mommy down there on your left!  In case you were wondering!

I will never let go!

Mama Melrose never disappoints, as we started off with Sangria for the adults and juice for Gobbles.  By this time he was becoming quite good at handling the servers.  As soon as they approach I would like some juice, please!  At this point I honestly forget what I had, but I know it was some kind of seafood dish that was amazing and prepared so much better than the seafood I'd had two nights prior at the Coral Reef.  With everyone satisfied with their meals and our bellies full, we took the long way back to the hotel, first walking to Epcot via the Boardwalk, then through Epcot to the Monorail and home (both the bus and ferry terminals were packed, as dinner let out as the park was closing).  At some point we separated from the in-laws again, so we stopped to enjoy the setting sun from the boardwalk and let the kids climb around on the benches.  By the time we made it back to the hotel, we were able to get a view of Wishes from the skyway, a little sneak peak for the next night.  The kids fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow. 

Wild children - sugar's kicking in!  Watch out for my Perry the Platypus on a stick!

Whaddya lookin at?

Whew.  That's exactly how I feel

Let's corral these crazy kids

Daddy, what's this?  what's that? show us EVERYTHING!

Day 7 - Magic Kingdom and the Beast's Castle and the Monster's University All-Nighter

We found out a few weeks before going to Disney World that as a promotion for Monsters' University, the Magic Kingdom would be open for 24 hours from 6am May 24th to 6am May 25th.  We knew we wouldn't be able to hang that long, but it would be fun to partake in the festivities since we were down there. 

So, for our last full day we headed back to Magic Kingdom bright and early to fill in the gaps of anything we hadn't done the first time and re-do everything we loved.  My first priority was to get a picture of my little princess with her (ok, my) favorite, Belle.  We were in such a hurry to get in line at first that we didn't realize the royal greeting hall just inside the gate was only for Aurora and Cinderella.  After scrambling to get the Lobster into her Belle costume (it was too hot to wear all day) and waiting in line for 20 minutes, we figured it out.  Not wanting to stick the Lobster back in the stroller for fear of her falling asleep, I carried her across the park to the Fantasyland Expansion, where to our relief Storytime with Belle only had a 25 minute wait (as opposed to the 45 we'd been seeing all week). 

This attraction was designed as a meet and greet with a little something extra- the chance for kids to act out scenes from Beauty and the Beast.  When we got into the holding room prior to meeting Belle, the "roles" were handed out to the children who volunteered.  The only problem?  The talking wardrobe from the movie was the one handing out the parts, consequently freaking Gobbles out so badly that he wanted nothing to do with it.  This was fine as we got to just enjoy watching Belle put on the play with the little kids, and then ours got into the line after them to meet her.  The Lobster Roll did fantastic in comparison to the other characters she met, likely because Belle was a real person.  She was the cutest (only) little Belle in there and got some special attention from her princess.  The funniest part though had to be when it was Gobbles' turn, the Lobster Roll was still milling around and she wiped out, with hubs catching a photo of her mid-spill.

I don't care if we're waiting in the wrong place - look at the pretty carpet!

Um?  Nice dress lady!

Munchkin down!

Little help back here??

When we were finished with Belle, we dressed the Lobster more comfortably and headed over to the classic ride area to grab a fast pass for Peter Pan.  We went on Its a Small World, and although I have a history of not liking this ride, it's different with the kids.  The Lobster danced and shimmied and shook the whole time, and by the end of the ride Gobbles was singing the song.  There was still a lot of time before our fast pass so we headed down to our usual spot at the storybook circus to eat lunch.  I grabbed a giant cinnamon bun at Gaston's Tavern on the way and we ate to our belly's content.  We were so full that I never did get to have any of the Monster's U celebration treats they had, and now as I'm writing this I regret it - they looked amazing. 

It's a small world after all, it's a small world after all......

After lunch, the Lobster was still going strong so we played in Dumbo's playground for awhile, rode Dumbo again, then headed up to Peter Pan.  The ride intimidated Gobbles a bit, the Captain Hook parts at least, but not so much that he didn't start begging for Pirates of the Caribbean when we were finished.  We crossed the park to get to Pirates, and by the time we got there, the Lobster was down for the count.  Hubs stayed with the napping baby while Gobbles and I entered the line.  It took a bit of time, but he enjoyed exploring the dungeons and prison cells decorating our wait.  Given his history with the rides this week, I was afraid this was going to be a doozy being that it's pretty dark and Jake is the only pirate that he likes.  So I basically told him that we're going to see Jake the pirate's family. 

I LOVE the cargo nets, almost as much as the giant sandbox!

hmm... what does this button do?

We are pros at this by now!

Wheeeee!

Hey Lobster - it's my turn to drive!

Peter who?  I thought Jake dealt with Cap'n Hook

Check out the pirate's booty

Right from the start the ride had Gobbles clinging to my side.  The boat eased down a soft slope (but steep enough for him to recognize and clench his hands in mine) then went through a mist with a projection of a mean dirty pirate on it.  I tried to make that silly by showing him how I smacked the mist so the pirate went away, and thankfully he saw the humor and did the same.  After that, Gobbles relaxed a little bit, as I made a game of looking out for the dog stealing the prison keys.  We finished the ride and what do you know?  He was ready to go again.  The line had been filling up but the Lobster was still lost in her slumber, so away hubs and Gobbles went while I sat for about an hour waiting for them and enjoying the peace under the shaded line queue area watching my little girl sleep.

They returned just in time for us to make our way to Main Street for the parade.  Somehow we managed to land a killer spot right at the rope (they must have just pulled it over), and despite a few people throwing elbows (I didn't care who I had to stand my ground to, a grandma or not) Gobbles was able to enjoy the show.  His sister slept right through it all but woke up just in time for us to grab some traditional mid-day snacks - a Mickey ice cream bar and a chocolate covered banana.  The treats of course didn't last long, so we made our way over to Tomorrowland for another round of Buzz Lightyear Spin and the People Mover.  We then went over to the Mad Hatter's Tea Party, which three of the four of us enjoyed.  I had to be the old lady and make us stop spinning the teacup for fear of getting sick.  What happened to me in my old age?  Soon, it was almost time to meet the Poozer family for dinner, so we headed back to where we started our day, the Beast's Castle. 

Over here Woody!!

Hey mom, how about some of that ice cream that's behind me?

yea - that's it!

Sure, I'll go on a ride with Daddy, finally!

I'm the best Zurg - getter ever - over 100,000 points!

We love the people mover as much as mommy!

But we love to sit with Daddy when we enter the darkness of Space Mountain

Hey Daddy, Mommy and the Lobster aren't looking so hot on these teacups

The Lobster Roll redressed in her princess best and soon we were greeted by a mini Tinkerbell and her parents.  We were shown where to wait outside the majestic front entrance to the Be Our Guest Restaurant and snapped a few pics of the dressed up Princesses and of course Gobbles.  The ballroom where we were escorted to eat was gorgeous, and the food was fit for a prince.  The adults enjoyed beers with our meal since alcohol is taboo in the Magic Kingdom and this is the only place it is served within the park gates.  I loved my shrimp and scallops in a puff pastry with lobster cream sauce, and the Lobster Roll helped me eat most of that, as well as a good portion of Hubs' pork dish.  Gobbles had one last meal of the signature Disney Pasta, not one to deviate from what works.  The highlight of dinner was the Lobster's freakout when the 8' tall Beast walked into the dining room to greet people.  She was on my lap the rest of the meal.  Afterwards, she humored us by getting a picture with him and living to tell the tale.

Ready to make our royal entrance

Outta my way!  Tink on the loose!

As the guest of honor, I shall use a bib and a big girl fork to eat my pork.

Snow in 95 degree weather!

I want THAT one!

How dare he ruin my night!

I'm still a little weary of that 8 foot tall monster in the other room!

C'mon lady!  I'm not the beast, gimme a hug!

That was a meal I will not forget!

And here we go again - sugar high kicking in!

Butts are always fun!

With our bellies full and the kids on a sugar rush (of course we had dessert), we rode Cinderella's Carousel to help us digest.  We then headed across the park to get some pictures at an area near the Crystal Palace with a view of the castle.  This is one place I planned to be a "milestone marker" last time we were here with Gobbles.  I plan to take photos of him here every time we come to mark his growth.  After pictures, the sun was setting and Gobbles made a small request, one that he'd been making all week - to ride the Astro Orbitor at night.  We headed back to Tomorrowland where the Monster's U all-nighter was in full swing with a stage and a band.  Hubs and Gobbles went on the ride while the Lobster and I chilled out and partied to the music.  By the time the boys were back from their rocket adventure, the kids were showing signs of tiredness, so we headed back to the front of the park where the Electrical Parade was soon to begin. 

If I say cheese hard enough maybe you'll be done with the camera and let me enjoy the ride!

What do you mean by milestone marker?

Oh, I see - a mini Gobbles comparison!

But you can't compare us to each other considering I'm 4 months older than he was!

The happiest place on earth!

I don't know what it was, whether the Magic Kingdom being open 24 hours, or the high temperatures that day, but this parade sure brought out the worst in a lot of people.  Hubs and I each held a child just high enough to see the tops of the parade floats as they whizzed past us onto Main Street, and adults who had no children in their party felt the need to shove us out of the way to get a better glimpse for themselves.  One lady was so hell bent on getting a video of the parade (youtube, honey), that she hit me in the head twice with her video camera, for a second pondering whether to just rest it there.  Hubs had to yell at the crazy lady to keep her hands to herself, which she did for maybe a minute before the camera was back over my right shoulder.  We both had a good laugh afterwards at the fact that she was wearing some kind of Jesus shirt, and acting the complete opposite of Christian. 

Don't worry daddy, i can see over the crazy lady!

crazy lady? where?  I'm just going to eat this glow stick

When the parade was over, we decided to watch Wishes from the comfort of our hotel, so we headed back to the Top of the World Lounge and observation deck.  We got there with seconds to spare before the fireworks show started, and the kids of course loved every minute.  Our ride down the elevator was short and sweet, and by 11pm the kids were out cold.

All nighter... maybe next time. 

Glowsticks and fireworks, it doesn't get any better than this

Day 8 - Magic Kingdom and Homecoming

Our last morning at Disney World started off quite hectically, as we had to check out by 11.  We ran final loads of laundry, packed the final suitcases, and dressed and fed the kids.  While these chores were being done we made sure to finish the half case of beer that was in our fridge rather than waste it.  It made things easier starting off the last day with a buzz.  The Poozers had an earlier flight than us, so they hung around the pool for an hour before catching the Magical Express to the airport. 

We had a few hours to spare, so we headed back over to the Magic Kingdom to take one last spin on our favorite rides.  Again, by the time we got there the Lobster was fast asleep, so Gobbles and I took a ride on the People Mover, taking one last tour of Tomorrowland and talking about how much fun we had on this trip.  He then headed over to the Speedway to ride the racecars in the sunshine with his Daddy.  When the ride was over, the Lobster Roll had awaken and we all took a final ride on Dumbo, by this time the kids' old favorite. 

Mommy LOOK - the astro-orbitor!  I rode that last night
with daddy and we GLOWED in the dark!

Since we love the people mover so much, let's make that a milestone marker too!

Sounds good to me!

Look, the Lobstah rode with Daddy AGAIN!

Dumbo is my faaaavorite!

After Dumbo, it was time to bid farewell to the Magic Kingdom, so the kids and I "raced" hubs back to Main Street via the Walt Disney World Railroad while he pushed the stroller through the crowds.  By the time we descended the steps of the train station, hubs was waiting by the Roy Disney statue, our other "milestone marker".  We snapped some pictures of the kids, waved a final goodbye to the castle, and headed back to the hotel for a quick lunch before boarding the Magical Express to the airport.  It's now been two months since we've been home, and Gobbles has told us on many occasions that he cannot wait to go back.  Of course, we can't wait either.

Last selfie on the train!

So you say I've sat on Roy Disney's lap before??

Haha!  Will you look at that - and Minnie's still looking at me!

Moveit Gobbles, I wanna see too!

The sole group shot, with tired children and even tireder parents!