Rant + MIL – March/April 04

Well, it certainly has been an adventure...

A quick recap of our first day:
Departure: 3/31 ~9am Islip to Tampa/St. Pete arrived noonish--then had to drive to MIL's condo for her to pack a bag for Disney--arrived ~1pm--didn't know MIL's sister lives right next door at condo complex--hence, 21/2 hr chat w/DH's aunt... FINALLY leave condo ~3pm, and FINALLY arrive at POP 4:30-ish---20 min line at check-in--could have been avoided if we had just left St Pete when we were supposed to...

Requested a room in the 50's--got 70's (again--when you arrive late, that's what happens...) got room 6432--the very back of the bldg farthest from EVeRYTHING imaginable (found out later that it wasn't as bad as originally thought)

Leave at 6:15 for 7:00pm PS at Narcoose's-MIL INSISTS on taking bus instead of rental car...take first bus that arrives to epcot, then monorail to TTC, then monorail to GF, arrive at 6:58pm, I RUN to restaurant from main bldg (you can't very well request a window table if you arive late)--boy is it far, i am way out of shape.... I tell check in person we are willing to wait and we get a wonderful table by the window. The view is well worth the price of dinner.

Wishes begins and EVERYONE in the restaurant goes outside--where it is VERY COLD and WINDY and proceeds to stand directly in front of our table. I stand DD up on windowsill so she can at least see, i try to get a view in between the crowd that has formed on the porch-- we have a leisurely dinner--service wasn't as attentive as i might have expected for the price of the entrees, but i guess you're paying for the view...

Dessert was superb- DD and I shared this pyramid of gelatin and sorbet with fresh berries.. then, much to our surprise and delight, the lagoon began to light up in a most intersting way--the Electric Water Pageant!!! I had totally forgotten about this, so it really capped off our evening nicely. I brought DD out on the veranda to watch and listen to the music. She loved it-- However, the trip back to POP was really abysmal--- Because the MK had already closed, the monorail was no longer stopping at the park, and the launches were no longer running, so we couldn't just go to MK and take a bus back to POP--we had to go to GF bus stop, take a bus to DTD, then transfer at DTD for a bus to POP...aaaargghhh....where's a good rental car when you need it???

So.....when we get on the bus to DTD, i ask the driver if he couldn't just swing past POP on the way to DTD, he, of course, tells me, no, he can't do that, and i tell him that since an overwhelming majority of his passengers are on their way to POP anyway, I will be commandeering this vessel. he laughs--but the coolest thing is that when we arrived at DTS, he chenged his destination to POP--so we didn't have to wait for a bus back to the resort, we just stayed on...i guess there's still a little pixie dust left after all... left Narcoose's @ 9:30, got to POP @ 10:30, got everyone in bed by 10:45--MK EMH tomorrow...

This was just our first night--I'm sure you can see where this is going with the MIL situation....

The Rant Family TRIES to do Disney
Cast: Me, DH, DD4, and MIL

Day 1-1/2
Thurs 4/1/04
MK EMH

I was awake by 5am and laid in bed contemplateing whether or not to get up and start getting ready--or would i make too much noise and annoy DMIL? 5:45, got out of bed and began upacking my and DD's stuff into drawers since we would be there thru the weekend. MIL got up about 6 and took a shower. I showered next while DH went for coffee. DD was still sleeping until the phone rang at 6:17-- I hit the speakerphone and she was still puzzled as to who it was until the music ended--It was Mickey with our wake-up call!! The dear child picked up the phone and yelled into it "Hi MICKEY!!" and began what i can only assume was a 3-minute, one-way conversation since the system hangs up automatically. So sweet--what a wonderful beginning to our day.

I somehow managed to get everyone out the door by 7:00am and in the 8 mins it took to get them to the bus stop, we just missed the MK bus and had to wait 15 mins for the next one. We disappointingly arrived at MK at 7:52. Again, I had to practically drag everyone to the entrance where we had to wait on a line that was backed up to the fence. But, at least we were there for the countdown and i explained to DD that we would have to skip DUMBO cause i knew there was NO WAY i would get DMIL down main street quick enough to avoid the lines.

We saw all of fantasyland, buzz, POC and HM and almost goofy's barnstormer-but it was shut down moments before we arrived and wouldn't be back up for several hours. We might have seen more, except i couldn't get the darn woman to walk faster than a golfer's pace.

At 11:30, DMIL insisted that we leave MK to go to her preferred destination, Sea World. DD napped on the bus to POP and in the car to SW. We stopped for lunch at Denny's (on international drive, i think) and arrived at SW by 1:30. DH had the right idea and went to Beer School at the AB hospitality center. We saw the odysea, dolphin, whale and sea otter shows, penguins, and fed the dolphins. DD spent a good deal of time at Shamu's playground, Amazingly enough, we couldn't catch up to MIL from the time we left the rental in the parking lot until we sat down to dinner--she was walking so fast, you see. Exceeeept....I had scheduled for us to attend the Luau dinner show thingie and we were supposed to check-in by 6:30. of course, DMIL went into her golfer's pace again and insisted on staying and staring at the manatee's floating around while i tried to coax her to the OTHER SIDE of the park for dinner. We finally arrived at 7:05, late, having missed the pre-dinner activities (hula dancing lessons, pre-show, etc.) The show was OK, not necessarily a do-over and i might have preferred it to be outdoors, considering it was supposed to be a luau, but i digress... I made a point to get our free second day passes when we entered the park, but that proved to be futile--more on that later...

We got back to POP before 9:00pm and turned in for the night --I probably would have enjoyed going to Epcot for illuminations or, had i known it at the time, watching WISHES from our balcony. Tommorrow...they leave??? ;o)

Day 2
Fri 4/2/04
Cast: Me, DH, and DD4 + MIL
AK EMH --I think not Before arranging our wake-up call for Friday Morning, I tried to nail down what we would be doing the next day. Between MIL and DH and their "let's wings it"s and "just go with the flow"s and "let's see what happens" I finally convinced them that it might be a good idea to have a game plan for the next day, so we know what time we need to get up, etc. DUUUUH!

I figured MIL would want to go to AK for EMH since she's "so into" animals but since she had "already been there" she had no interest in going. I asked DH for his input, since it would be his last morning with us before returning to St. Pete for the Blue's Festival. There were so many things we didn't really get a chance to see the last time (1/2 of AK, most of Future World, and there were still some unseen attractions in MGM) After a series of "i dunno" s, We finally setled on Epcot --no early entry = an extra hour of sleep = a happy MIL? I think not.

MIL also hadn't decided yet if she would be leaving with DH, so we delved into a conversation about how we had rented a car for the weekend and had to pick it up at the Dolphin at around noon, and how long is the hotel booked for, etc. "NO, 5 days at Disney is just too much."--yes this is what i had to deal with. She thought she MIGHT stay another day and why don't we all leave Saturday? UMMMM NO!!!! And "it would be silly to rent another car" for me to get back to St. Pete, so she'll come pick us up on Sunday. (Ummm NO--don't want to leave at 11:01am) So she decided to "think about it" and make a decision tomorrow. (please leave...please leave...i DO believe in fairies, I DO, I DO, I DO....)

Mickey calls to wake us up at 7, but we've already been up, DH and MIL are showered and dressed, and MIL is PACKING!!! (More pixie dust!) DD is already in the bath, so DH answers the phone and relays that Mickey & MInnie are predicting big doin's for today. He and MIL go to the food court for coffee and a light breakfast for DD. They return with a fruit danish and milk.

If he only knew his kid, he'd know that the child despises fruit danish and takes about two bites, leaving her hungry until we stop for lunch. We are out the door at 8:15, plenty of time to get to Epcot with the rental car. We swing by the main bldg so i can refill the coffee and of course, MIL insists on coming with me to refill her tea. Oh, great, more meandering and we haven't even begun our day. But, we're going to Epcot, we're early, we don't have to wait for the bus, we're ok, i'm relaxed. Until.......

We get back into the car and DD proclaims that she doesn't want to go to epcot, she wants to go to MK. And she doesn't want to skip Dumbo today, she wants to go on that AND "the rocket ships" (How am i supposed to get her to both of these before the lines become insane?) and "small world after all" and goofy's barnstormer since we couldn't yesterday. After turning white as all the blood drained from my head, I say, fine, this trip is for her, and it's probably best to take a bus at this point. My advice, as usual goes unheeded and DH proceeds to drive out of POP and onto those oh so confusing WDW resort roads. He, of course, gets lost, and takes 15 mins to get to MK. We still have to take the tram to TTC, which is another 10 mins, and must wait for the ferry to take us to MK---The line for both monorails have flooded down the ramp toward the TTC entrance gates.

We arrive just as the lst of the countdown crowd has entered and i explain to DH that he MUST get DD to Dumbo, I will be waiting on the line for them. DO NOT stop to talk to characters, do not collect $200...Again, I KNOW that by the time we get MIL down main street, we will have missed our chance.

Didjya ever sprint from city hall to Dumbo? I have, and it's not a pretty sight--in oh, so many ways... On my way, i decide to grab FP's for Pooh, and realize that i only have mine and DD's tix, i get them anyway and proceed to the Dumbo line. It's out by the carousel, but they haven't rerouted it to serpentine yet, so it's not that bad. DH, MIL, and DD should arrive within a reasonable time--or so i thought. I'm on the last turn before the "next riders" corral when i see them rounding the bend by pooh. What took you so long??? They saw some of the country bears on main street and just had to say hello. (so much for DO NOT TALK TO CHARACTERS) I yell to DH to pass off DD, tell MIL to join us, and go to POOH for FP's for them. After 4x, he FINALLY understands what i'm saying and saunters over to pooh. UUUGGGH!!! When he returns he refuses to join us, so i tell him to go wait on PP's line and we'll join him when we finish. During Dumbo's flight, we see him waving to us from in front of the carousel. UGGH--it must run in his family. Turns out MIL's ticket wouldn't work in Pooh's FP, so he got 1 then tried get FP's for PP, but couldn't understand why it wouldn't give him ANY FP's. UUUGGGGGHHHH!!!!!! Peter is a 5 min wait--GRET, But.... MIL has convinced DH to go on Small World cause it's a 0 wait--grrrr....I veto that and make them come back to me. He's mad at me for "always having to have things MY way." ggrrr...

After fantasyland, we head toward buzz again and the teacup line isn't too bad, so we do the teacups and MIL's "vertigo" starts to act up afterward....blllaaahhh...We do buzz, and i convince DD that we'll do the rocket ships one of the other days we're here--she's so agreeable... i LOVE my kid! Then DH says he wants to go on BTMRR, so we head toward frontierland. At the castle hub, i split from them and again, sprint ahead to get on the line, and have to allow 20+ ppl ahead of me cause they take their time getting there. ggrrr. I tell MIL to take DD to the Splash mountain play area while they wait for us. I figured DD could let off steam and MIL could "rest" after having to walk.

BTMRR was a fun ride. However, the line is HORRIBLE and nothing I could have ever anticipated and I would NEVER do that ride again just because of it. When we entered, it showed a 15 min wait, but i'm certain it was MUCH MORE than that. Worth the wait, yes. A do over? No. So as we head toward the Splash playground, they come up from behind us. MIL "couldn't find" the play area---Uuugggh

We do HM 0 wait--on the way to Toontown so we can do goofy's barnstormer--the wait is < 10 mins and when we are done, the steam train is pulling in, so we ride on outta there so we can pick up the rental car and have lunch. Crowds were actually MUCH LIGHTER today than they were Thurs (EMH day) but they are getting thicker as time has passed. Glad we're leaving this park now. Monorail to TTC, rental car to dolphin, drive both cars to Beach Club and have lunch at Beaches & Cream. What a GREAT PLACE!--

Day 2-1/2 cont.
CAST: Me, DH and DD4 + MIL--Happy Days are Here again...

After lunch, we head for the rental cars as DH (and *hopefully* MIL) must leave for ST Pete, leaving DD and me for a fantastic fun weekend--just us girls. I tell DH that we will probably be going to Fantasmic sun nite and would head to st pete afterward.

MIL jumps in with, "Didn't you see that already?" Um, yes we like it and want to see it again. "Well, that's much too late, what time is check out?" 11am, but we're going to a park sunday morning. "She'll be all worn out.. " She'll sleep in the car on the way back "Besides, you'll get stuck in traffic." Umm, on sunday nite, at 9pm??? "Oh, yes, St.Pete has a lot of traffic like that, it's Spring break." I'll see how it goes. "Why don't you plan it so that you'll arrive by my condo at around5pm?" (Now i'm finished with this conversation--no one's giving me a curfew) --I turn to DH: I didn't bring my cellphone, so, if anything, i'll call you on yours. You know our room # if you need to get in touch with me...see ya sunday.!!! He is now officially her problem ---Aaaaaaahhh is everyone breathing a little easier now? I know I am.

DD and I hop in our newly acquired rental car and head back to POP for a nap and she decides she wants to see Mickey beat the bad guys tonight. Fantasmic it is. Interestingly enough, it takes us all of 3 minutes to get from Beach Club to POP. Hmmm....

We nap until 5:30, get ready, and leave POP by 6:15. Now we're taking the rental car. 5 Mins and we're at MGM--how can you beat that??? The tram swings by just as we're getting out of the car and we hop on and head to the main gate. How cool is that??? The only thing that aggravated me was that there was NOWHERE to take this child for dinner. At 6pm, EVERYTHING closed--including most of the attractions. We walked ALL THE WAY to pizza planet, only to find that it was no longer serving food. I commented to several CM's that they might as well list the closing time as 6pm (what if we didn't want to see fanstasmic and just wanted to catch some of the shows?)

We headed toward the amphitheater and i figured i would just get her a hot dog or we'd feast on snacks--how fun would that be??? On the way, I see Rosie's is open, and because it's just about the only thing open, there is a 10 min line. We get our food, stick it into my backpack in one of the ziplock baggies I brought, and hiked to the amphitheater. They were seating people in the very last section as we entered and we got seats about half way up. We ate our dinner as we waited the 15 mins for the show to start. (I saved dessert for us to eat while everyone else endured the horrendous exit.) I thought we would have an obstructed view, but we had a GREAT view of everything on the water screens and a slightly bad angle of the charcters as they faced front/center. DD had a GREAT time. The shops were still open when we got out of the theater, so we browsed a bit and bought a couple of do-dads--stuff we can never do when DH's around. Great Girl fun. The best part was taking the tram to the parking lot: 1) NO Wait! 2) No WAIT!! 3) NO WAIT!!!

We were back to our room by 9--just in time to see WISHES from our balcony as we were nearing our door. What a perfect ending to a semi-great day! It was just me and DD and we played a litlle, jumped on the beds and watched bedtime stories and crashed before our big day tomorrow. I set up a wake-up call to accomodate an EMH and figured we'd play it by ear on where to go when we woke-up. And what pleasant dreams we had!

Day 3
Saturday, 4/3/04
MGM EMH?--I think not.

I arranged for our wake-up call at 7am, since, if we decided to do the MGM EMH, the long, confusing drive there would take us all of 3 minutes ;o) I actually woke up at about 6:30am to: "LOOK MOM!!! IT'S MORNING TIME--It's time to wake up and go to Magic Kingdom!!!" After much deliberation, it's clear that her mind is set. She wants to go to Magic Kingdom--yes, that's right, on a Saturday! The challenges, it seems, do not become any easier, even with MIL and DH in St Pete. OK, so we get up and DD says she wants to watch Disney World while i'm in the shower. I put on the Disney Channel and she says, " No, I want to watch Disney WOOOORLD!" I put on the park tour propaganda channel and she's thrilled.

As I'm in the shower, I hear the phone ring. I tell her it's ok to pick up the phone and I hear her: "Hello... Helloooo???Anybody there?" then finally, she starts to giggle and I know Mickey has come through. After she finishes an extended conversation with The Big Cheese, she bounds into the bathroom exclaiming that Mickey has told her that we must go to Magic Kindgom today. (note to self: buy mousetraps)

By the time i get out of the shower, she has dressed herself and I really don't have the heart to make her undress to take a bath. We merrily finish getting ready and, since we have extra time, we go down to the food court to get breakfast and bring it back to the room. She eats one mini-mickey waffle and the two bacon strips and i finish the other, fill the backpack, check for essentials, and out the door we go--it's 8:02 and we have lots of time to get the bus. Exceeept...when we get all the way down the stairs (see we can relax and take our time climbing the four flights of stairs down), i realize that i have forgotten the meal vouchers for our special lunch at the castle ( i had a PS for today and one for tomorrow since i didn't know which day we'd be there--good thing :o) and we have to trek all the way back up to the room

We swing through Everything POP to refill my coffee mug for the trip to the park and by the time we get out to the bus stop, it is 8:15. The line is relatively short and a bus pulls up as we get corraled. However...the bus loads an ECV and a wheelchair and it becomes apparent that there is no way everyone waiting will fit and we are forced to wait another 10 mins for the next bus. To pass the time, we all make wagers as to which bus will pull up next and I play bookie.

Finally, another MK bus and off we go. We arrive at 8:50, I pop DD onto my shoulders (really i have no idea how DH does this all the time, it really hurts my head (but then again, she doesn't sit on his hair) We breeze through security with my handy dandy clear plastic backpack and the countdown begins....5, 4, 3, 2, 1... We jam through the turnstiles, up main street, stop off and grab a FP for Buzz and then head to Pooh--it's a walk-on. (No need to worry about Dumbo, she had her fix the day before) We spend most of the morning in fantasyland, then Toontown until our buzz time, then we go to POC and HM (One of her faves)I'm really amazed, the crowds aren't as horrific as i thought they would be... By this time, the poor child is absolutely exhausted and begging to go back to the room for a nap. (Our PS for CRT is 1pm and i assure her we'll rest after that) I recommend tiki birds or HofP, she chooses the latter, which is perfect because they have just let a show in and there is a 25 min wait until the next one. I encourage her to rest on my lap and she is fast a sleep in no time. She naps through the wait and through the entire show. By now, it's time for our PS at the castle and she awakes as we head for lunch.

Lunch at the castle was a lovely 1-1/2 hours. Whenever DD asked where Cindy was, I simply explained that the princess was busy cooking our lunch for us. She was content with that. The staff was very attentive--even the lady who seated us kept coming back to check on my "princess" and make sure everything was going ok. As we were finishing up, Princess Aurora made her way through and the lady came to our table to get my DD's attention and pointed her out to Aurora who waved and blew her a kiss on her way to the elevator. When we got back down to the lobby, Aurora was holding court and I took a few pix of my DD's in-depth conversation with Sleeping Beauty--who really got a kick out of the little whipper-snapper. these were the only pix i took the whole weekend (I spent two weeks watching my DD through a camera lens on the last trip, i wanted to see everything first hand on this one.)

It was a rude awakening on our way out of the castle. By now it was 2:45pm and Fantasyland was literally wall-to-wall people. it was almost time for the parade and I put DD on my shoulders so we could navigate the sea of strangers to find a spot in Frontierland. We were able to get a spot right in the front as a CM closed off the walkway with the rope--excellent timing. DD was hot and tired and didn't quite enjoy the parade--it kinda seemed shorter and different from what i remember form sept--seemed like alot was missing...

The trip to the train station provided another barrage of bodies to bulldoze through, but we made it in time to catch the train that was pulling in. DD somehow lost her sunglasses AND the necklace thingie that was supposed to hold them on. Probably has something to do with ther eating the string during the parade...Not to worry, I packed an extra pair. I carried her (NOT ON YOUR SHOULDERS MOM! ONLY DAD DOES THAT) to the bus stop and, thankfully, a bus was there within two minutes to bring us back to the resort. She slept some more on the bus and we were back to the room by 4pm.

She wanted to go in the pool, and although it was cold, i brought her to the kiddie pool and watched from a comfy lounge chair for about an hour. (we had gone to the Hippy-Dippy pool the afternoon before--after we ditched DH & MIL--who wouldn't let her go to the pool cause it was "too cold"--It WAAAS cold, especially when you got out of the water, but the kid loved it, so i put up with a little cold just to see her happy. ) When she was done splashing around, we went back to the room, I closed the curtains, kept the tv off, and shut the lights in order force a nap--No dice--i napped, but the child refused to sleep and i heard her playing for 2 hours. She brought her light spinner under the covers with her and apparently had a blast...I planned on bringing her to Spectro that night (MIL echoing in my brain: " Didn't you go to that twice last time???"--ummm, yes she really liked it), but really wanted her to rest so i wouldn't lose her mid way. There was a 10pm showing, so i pushed the nap just as long as i could-- i figured any rest was better than none....boy would i be wrong....

Day 3-1/2
Saturday, 4/3/04

So, since DD refused to take a nap and has been gently trying to wake me for the past 30mins, I reluctantly crawl out of bed at 7:00pm and start freshening up to head for MK. We leave the room and get to the stairwell when I realize that we've forgotten the light spinner. I explain to her that we don't have it and can she do without it?--i don't want to get to the park, have her see other kids with them, and be upset that hers is in the room--although she's usually pretty good about those kinds of things, i want her to be happy, so we go back up to the room and get it. We get to the bus stop and wait about 15mins for our ride. We arrive at MK at about 7:50. I figure we can do rides that we couldn't do earlier today during the first Spectro.--Remember how she wanted to go on "the rocket ships"?? I figure it's much cooler at night anyway and maybe we can catch a glimpse of the parade. As we go through the turnstiles, i can see that main street is mobbed and there is no way we are getting through the crowd--plan B? We take the train to toontown and walk to tomorrowland.

There is, unfortunately, a 15min line for AstroOrbiter, but Buzz is 45 mins, so AO it is. We meet some nice families on line who have absolutely no idea what this ride even is, but they are on its line, nonetheless. Finally, it's our turn to board the elevator and soon we are soaring through space shooting "Emporer Zurg and his bad guys." Who am i to argue? We had fun and i love this ride at night! Although i did get a little dizzy while craning my neck trying to see main street and the castle.

After docking our ship, we headed to Cosmic Rays to pick up something for dinner, then we went in search of a spot to eat and wait for WISHES. This fireworks show is SO MUCH BETTER inside the park. The choreography is amazing. When the show ended, we went throguh fantasyland, caught the carousel at night, and went to scope out a spot for Spectro. DD wanted to eat her dessert so we sat down and she snuggled into my lap with her light spinner when I started up a chat with a nearby CM. Before i knew it, DD was fast asleep...NoOOOooo!!!! But, since it was only 9:40, and Spectro wouldn't arrive anywhere near us until about 10:20, she'd get nearly an hour nap until the parade. So much for doing some rides...but i wanted her to see the parade, so she slept.

When I could see the parade coming, I tried to wake her...to no avail. She was OUT COLD. I picked her up and her head just flopped from one side to the other. I rocked her from side to side, i bounced her on my lap, i took my jacket off her and finally, her eyes opened into tiny little slits, then, closed again! Oh dear, this wasn't working out well at all. C'mon, sweetie, the parade's coming, look at all the pretty lights!... Just then, with the sound of the trumpets, her eyes popped open and the child sat up, a little droopy eyed at first, and watched those weird clown thingies roll by--i'm sorry-- i love spectro, but they freak me out... She clapped and giggled with delight as the bright floats when by, commenting on who was in them, and whether they were good or bad. She received special greetings from Mr. Smee and Snow White and when it was all over, i thought that maybe she'd want to go on one more ride or two before the park closed. Her response: "Mom, could we please go back to Pop Century?" Poor pooped pre-schooler.

I carried her -- on my hip (not allowed to do the shoulders thing anymore) down main street. She didn't even want to shop! Must really be tired. When we got to the bus stop--you know the VERY LAST bus stop, there was a crowd of people waiting and a bus loading up. We surely weren't getting on that one, or the next one. But then, something magical happened...Another POP bus pulled up, then another, then another...They lined up and loaded 3 buses back to our resort at the same time!!! No WAIT!! DD went back to sleep on the bus and slept through the walk from the main bldg to our room and i laid her in her bed, took off her shoes and let her sleep in her clothes--i didn't have the heart to disturb her to put jammies on (note to self: next time, bring her to the park IN the jammies)

Now, the original plan WAS to do MK EMH tomorrow, our last day. But here's the catch: Regular opening for MK is 8am tomorrow, so EMH will acutally be 7am--i bet not many people will be getting up that early, so it probably won't be super crowded BUUUT- it's now 11:25pm and tonight is daylight savings!! UGGGH-- SPRING AHEAD! As I lean over to shut the light, I catch a glimpse my little cherub, sleeping so peacefully, and snoring like a warthog, something tells me we're not doing MK tomorrow...

Sunday 4/4/04
Day 4
OUR LAST DAY :o(

We awoke at 7:00am and the info channel was forecasting the warmest/least windy day since we had arrived, so i asked DD if she maybe just wanted to hang out at POP Century today and go in the pools. I received an enthusiastic YEAH MOM!!! so we lounged around and she took a bath while I packed then watched the "Disney World" channel while i got ready. At check-in I had inquired about a late-check out as i was concerned that DD might need a nap after doing a park in the morning. It was explained to me that "check-out is 11am, but they don't start charging you until 1pm" Perfect.

In no rush to go anywhere, we took our time going for breakfast and sat in the food court and watched "Recess" as my eyes slowly opened with each sip of coffee. I nibbled on fruit and finished what was left of mickey's head. (We kept half the fruit cup as a snack for the ride back to st pete) I refilled my coffee mug and we headed back to our room at about 10:00.

Anxious to get to the pools (i swear the child is part mackerel) DD stripped and changed into her floatie bathing suit. Having no intention of actually going in the water, I put my suit on anyway, just in case. Housekeeping stopped by as I was slathering 45 sunblock on my porcelain-skinned sweetheart and i explained that I had previously spoken with the front desk about a late check-out and we would be out of the room by 1:00. She graciously nodded and said she'd be back.

We went to the kiddie pool first. There were plenty of empty lounge chairs and i basked in the warm florida sun, trying to soak up as much Disney Magic as i could in the process. There was another family there and, try as she might, DD couldn't interest either of the kids into making friends, so she flipped around in there for about 20 mins before asking if she could go in the hippy pool. I knew i'd have to go in with her cause there were NO shallow areas in that pool and when i saw the sprayers going, suggested that we might check out the "bowling pin pool" instead. She happily agreed to explore new territory, so we swung past the food court and i got another refill on my coffee. The 50's pool was pretty quiet and she made a new friend in no time. The little girl had brought all sorts of toys and floaties with her and they played for over an hour together before the family decided that it was warmer at the hippy pool and they all moved down there. Feeling a bit more adventurous, we relocated to the computer pool. I watched her spin around in her floatie suit for a while, until I realized that the clock on the wall was still an hour behind and that it was actually 12:30!!! EEEK!!! We have vacate the room!!!

I scooped her up and we hustled --no pun intended-- back to our room. I could see the housekeeping cart in the area of our door, but she was still one door away. I called the check out number then hopped in the shower to freshen up. DD got herself dressed, i jammed her bathing suit into a ziploc bag, did a visual sweep of the room and we said goodbye to POP Century. We shut the door behind us at 1:04pm.

Now, MIL had "suggested" that we plan to arrive by her at 5:30, and the trip being about 1-1/2 hours, and not being one to appreciate being given a curfew, i figured we might *leave* WDW at around 5:30 :o) We drove to DTD and entered between World of Disney and the Lego play area. DD wanted to play in the house, so we stayed there for about an hour. Next, it was Mom's turn to pick something, so i suggested that we shop and then get some lunch. We went to Once Upon a Toy and picked up a few things like more Potato Head parts. I apologize to whomever i told that ALL the parts will fit in a box. Apparently, there are new parts and having wisened up to folks such as ourselves, Disney has made these new parts VERY LARGE and IMPOSSIBLE to fit them all in the box. We had to make some tough choices and leave the bear and the christmas parts behind :o( DD rode the little train ride thing they had across from the store and then wanted Mc Donalds for lunch. After lunch, we had to go back through the lego area to get anywhere, so we stopped again for more climbing and building fun-4:30pm. Next, we headed to World of Memories, and passed the cool carousel on the way. I promised that would be next after "Mom's turn." On the way to WOM, she spied those balloon ball things that DH had promised her on our last trip, but never got her, so i got one for her :o) Finally arriving at WOM, I got myself a cool vacation journal (50% off) a sorcerer mickey cellphone antenna topper, a sorcerer mickey camera strap, and a sticker book for DD. I mailed some pixie dust post cards and we headed out of the store.

We went on the carousel then to World of Disney. By this time it was 6pm. We shopped for DH, MIL, my mom, and ourselves. By this point, DD had broken her spare pair of sunglasses, so we got her some mickey ears ones. When we got out of WOD i wasn't quite ready to leave yet, and neither was DD. YES! That's right, more fun in lego-land! We finally left WDW at around 7:15pm. and drove back to st Pete.

Oh that sunday night traffic sure is horrible ;o) We got to the condo by 9pm and MIL was "Oh we were so worried about you...you were supposed to be here hours ago...blah blah blah" Of course my "extremely worried" DH was still at the blue's festival and didn't even answer the phone when MIL called him "to let him know i was ok"--

Although the WDW part of the trip is over, watch for some interesting tidbits about the rest of our trip--particularly DH's "vacation" with MIL ;o)