Such Is My Life: February 2009

After the shuttle fiasco the day before we decided against it for today. That meant we wouldn't have to rush to get the kids ready for the day, fed quickly and out waiting for the shuttle by 840 like yesterday. The day was already a bit crazy. Sara was extra cranky and no one wanted to get up.

We decided on Hollywood Studios for our last day. We had contemplated going back to Magic Kingdom but I thought a change in scenery was due. Epcot was another we had thought about doing since we weren't doing that on Monday but Hollywood Studios had Toy Story and High School Musical. I think we were all glad to go to Hollywood Studios. I think it was the best park for the entire family. Something for everyone. Lots of shows, quite a few rides and characters a plenty.

We arrived at the park with all the kids decked out in their High School Musical attire (except Adam, John and I... although my shirt did say Los Angeles LoL) and I noticed a lot of other kids wearing shirts with HSM or High School Musical. We even saw a guy wearing the same shirt John had worn to Magic Kingdom. I think it is so cute when the kids dress for the park. Like at Magic Kingdom there were lots of girl's in princess costumes. I probably would have done matching shirts had I thought about it.

Anyways... we got our stroller and headed down Hollywood Blvd towards the wizard hat in the center. The kids could already hear High School Musical songs and wanted to hurry to watch it. It showed every hour on the half hour so John and I saw no need to rush. We wanted to get there early enough for the kids to be able to sit up front when we did sit to watch it. We were also on a mission to get to the Toy Story ride. It is a new ride and everyone wants to ride it. A friend gave me a tip to head there straight away and get FastPasses. When we made it to Pixar Place we immediately realized she was right. The line was already a 40 min wait so we got in line for our FastPasses. Our return time was between 325 and 425 (I noticed they let people go in late a lot of times too, and sometimes a little early), it was only 1030. Right next to that ride was The Chronicles of Narnia. We got in line to meet Prince Caspian and he was very nice. We think he was a former Savannahite and possibly a SCAD student as he knew A LOT about Savannah. He asked the kids about going to Tybee Island and Forsyth Park and Paula Dean's Restaurant (which I didn't know was a buffet until recently). The attraction was just a dark room where we watched parts of the movie "Prince Caspian" and Kadie freaked out before it started so it was just me, Adam & Lexi left to watch it. Skipping it would have been just fine... it was nothing special. You do get to see all costumes and props from the movie though, so if you are into that, that is cool.

After that we headed over to watch The Little Mermaid. Kadie seemed to be scared of everything and cried a bit during this. They should warn you that it rains on you... a lot. We were pretty damp leaving there and I was glad my camera was covered up. It was a very cute, short version of the movie.

Next on our agenda was Playhouse Disney live. It was starting soon but we still had time to meet some characters. We got in the really short line for Jo-Jo and Goliath from Jo Jo's Circus. I guess they aren't as popular as they used to be. My kids loved to watch them. The kids gave them both big hugs and we got some cute pictures. Jo-Jo signed the kids' books for both her and Goliath. Playhouse Disney was coming up so we got in line for that. A part of me wishes we would have skipped it or got their later. I thought it would be the big characters like we meet but it was just puppets on a stage up pretty high from where we were sitting on the floor. We were right up front, thinking that was a good place to be, but even I couldn't see anything. The kids got pretty agitated not being able to see what was going on but they did like dancing and clapping along. They had lots of bubbles and streamers come down which the kids really liked. My kids snatched up all the streamers and made a little girl cry... I made sure they shared and that made her happy. Glad I could do my part LoL

We went in search of more characters when we were done watching the Playhouse Disney show. John said they had characters all down Hollywood and Sunset Blvds. We walked almost all the way to The Tower of Terror but didn't see any. The kids had to potty so we made a potty break and after finishing up there that is when we saw some characters. They were Hollywood characters, actors, playing in the street... acting out scenes and freakin' hilarious. The scene we saw was a man trying to become a cop. His superior was trying to show him the right way and he would then try it out. I took a bit of video, I'll have to see if I can find it. I think it might still be on my other camera's memory card.

The kids were already starting to get hungry so we went in search of lunch. John wanted to eat at either the ABC Commissary or Backlot Express. I decided on Backlot Express while John took Jacob to watch the Jedi show next to the Star Wars ride. Do you know how hard it is to order food for 7 people with 4 kids in tow?! Kadie and Adam were swinging on the rails separating the lines, Lexi was being NO help, and Sara kept trying to run off. I sent Lexi to look for a table while we waited for our food. Kadie insisted on running after her. They came back saying there were some tables and I guess I should have been it clearer that I meant for them to save those tables for us LoL John made it back just in time to help me carry two trays of food and drinks (including a beer for him since he made the comment that he was going to need one).

The only tables available were two seaters so we snagged two of those that were back to back. We made them work. I pulled up a chair at the end of each table and I sat with Sara. It wasn't as crowded as you might think. The kids all had chicken nuggets with fries and grapes/applesauce, I had chicken strips again and I got John a southwest salad. Of course he wanted the veggie sandwich I briefly considered getting him but he was fine with what I picked. We took too long eating and missed the Indiana Jones show so we decided to see how long the wait was for the Star Wars ride. The wait was about 30 minutes but they were still giving out fastpasses so I snagged those up for the 110-210 hour.

We made it back to Mickey's Wizard Hat just in time to get close seats to watch the High School Musical 3 Concert. I noticed there was some space up front where the kids could sit so I sent them up there. World War III almost broke out with this rude lady. She snapped at my kids and told them, "We are sitting here. Do NOT sit in front of us." I was pissed. I didn't go off on her, I just grabbed Lexi and made her sit behind them instead. There was a rope line that I assumed was the line you couldn't cross. Apparently this was not the case and the Cast Member in charge of our section had already told this lady that. There was a crack about a foot behind the rope where everyone was supposed to sit behind. Ok, I get it, but no need to snap at my kids. Your point could just as easily been made by saying nicely, "No one is supposed to sit in front of the crack, could you move behind us please." Instead she thought she had to be a bitch. I later found out why. I have come to the conclusion that most people with special needs kids think it is ok to be a bitch to anyone because of their child's problems. They use their child's needs as an excuse to be rude when something doesn't suit them, or to get them out of situations. I think it's pathetic and I would never be rude to someone else's kids that did nothing to me. I digress... but I am guessing this is what made Lexi mad. So we sit behind this lady and we wait for the time to move (we had to wait for the float to come up the middle then when the rope moved, we followed out into the middle). We were also informed they would pick some kids out of the audience and not to push our kids out there if they didn't get picked. My kids didn't get picked, but the special needs girl in front of us did. I was getting restless because Adam and Sara would not sit down and wanted to get John who was standing behind me. Kadie was upset cause she couldn't see so I told her to stand up but that wasn't good enough. I looked at Lexi and noticed she was upset. I asked her what was wrong and she ignored me. That was when I decided to get out of their before the crowd since the majority of my kids were not enjoying themselves anyway. We asked Lexi what her problem was and she just started crying, wouldn't talk to us. I asked if it was she didn't get picked and that wasn't it, I asked if it was because they weren't the real actors and that wasn't it. I was at a loss. I think it boils down to me grabbing her from in front of rude lady and making her sit behind them, then that girl got picked but it was all of that plus she was tired from two days at Disney already and she just couldn't take it anymore. She is like her mama... holds it all in until she explodes. Can't blame her when clearly crazy runs in the family.

After all that it was already time to head back to the Star Wars ride and as soon as we were done there we would see the Indiana Jones show at 2. When we got to the ride though none of the kids wanted to ride. I had decided early on that day that I was not doing that today. I was done letting them decide what we were riding and what we weren't. We were going to get some say today. Lexi wanted to ride with me, but Jacob refused to ride and Kadie just didn't want to. Jacob thought it was going to be scary. Adam had no issues... he wanted to ride, however, he was too short. John finally made Lexi go with him and that is when we (and when I say we, I mean I) lost Adam. I never noticed him wander off and THANK GOD he followed John. Part of me wonders if they would have let him ride had he gotten all the way up there, he was barely too short and really there was no reason he couldn't... it was just a flight simulator. Anyway, John brought him back to me and I felt like Mom of the Year. He was mad so he sat down and pouted next to a tree. One of the supervisors was trying to talk to him but he was having none of it. He finally calmed down and found the applesauce from lunch that I stashed in the stroller. He, Kadie and Sara all wanted some but I had no spoons. Supervisor to the rescue. He went and got us three spoons. One of the nicest things that happened our entire weekend. About half an hour later and John was back. I swear he could have gotten through the standby line quicker than the FastPass line. The entire time we stood there I saw a max of 6 people go in the standby line, everyone else had FastPasses. It was crazy. It was just after 2 when I finally got to ride. The lady at the FastPass entrance talked Jacob into riding by asking if he ever wanted to ride a plane. Lexi ended up riding again because Kadie still didn't want to and the lady up toward the actual ride commented on seeing Lexi again so soon. We all really liked the ride. Disney really loves getting you wet during their shows and rides, must be to cool people off when it is 90+ degrees.

Since we missed the Indiana Jones show again, we headed over to Streets of America where they had a 3D Muppet Show and the Honey I Shrunk the Kids play area. The kids didn't want to see the Muppets. Kadie started crying again but I made them... and what do you know, they liked it. They were trying to grab everything that was coming out of the screen at them. I think Adam enjoyed his mini-nap the most. He was sitting in the chair next to me and was sleeping sitting up. It was the cutest thing. Right outside of the exit was where we could meet Lightning McQueen and Tow Mater. This would be the second time I lost Adam. We were standing in line and John went to get the stroller while I waited with the kids. I forever will have the picture of Adam catching up to John and grabbing hold of Kadie's hand imprinted in my head (so much so that I thought I actually took a picture of it). I turned my head for one second and he was gone. The lady behind me told me that he ran off and I told Lexi and Jacob to stay put while I ran after him. For a split second I thought, what does this lady think of me? But then I thought, screw it, my 3yr old just took off and it could have happened to ANYONE! He was around the corner before I could catch up and by the time I rounded the corner he was catching up to John. That boy can run when he wants something. I yelled for John but he didn't hear me so I waited until he saw Adam and looked back at me to know I knew he was gone. The line was moving rather slow but we eventually got up there to meet them. I had to tell my kids they wouldn't be getting their autographs but I secretly hoped they had someone up there to stamp or sign for the Cars. No such luck, but we did get some cute pictures. By that time we had missed the next show on our list. It was an extreme stunt show that I think the kids would have liked but I wasn't ready to sit back down with the kids and we had other things to do before we finished up our day.

Instead of seeing the show we headed over to the Honey I Shrunk the Kids play area. Looking back I would have rather watched the show but the kids had a great time burning some energy. Lexi spent the entire 20 minutes or so in the "spider web" while I tried to keep my eye on Adam. That place was PACKED. There were kids running rampant everywhere, parents were cluttering up the place with their cameras and I was starting to feel a bit claustrophobic. Jacob and Adam played on the slides and John kept his eye on Sara and Kadie. I finally decided I had enough and was not wanting to lose my kid or have them get hurt and me not know it, so I gathered them up to leave. The worst part was it was supposed to be for kids under 10 but there were tons of older kids in there just pushing their way through. The kids were bummed we had to leave but they came without too much of a hassle.

I spotted a couple walking with a frozen drink and I just had to have one. I found where they were selling them and got in line. The girl in front of me was carded and I realized I didn't have my ID and I was not about to get out of line. I sent Lexi over to John for my wallet and let a couple people go in front of me while I waited. I finally ordered my stoplight margarita and a Miller Lite for John. The kids wanted something too so I ordered a frozen non-alcoholic drink for them to share. My margarita was YUMMO! The kids fought over that one drink and I kicked myself for thinking they could share. I should have at least gotten two. I promised the kids ice cream later if they would just stop fighting but if I recall, I never got them any. Bad mom LoL

It was finally time for us to ride the Toy Story Ride so we high tailed it over there with our fighting kids in tow. We hadn't finished our drinks because we didn't realize just how close we had been to Pixar Place (that park is like a giant circle). We left them in the stroller and got on the ride rather quickly. The wait for standby was almost two hours at that point which made us uber glad to have those FastPasses. Anytime there is a new ride that is what you want to do. Head straight for the new ride and get a FastPass for later in the day. The pass will tell you the next time you are eligible to get one for another ride so people can't stock up on them. I took some pictures of the toy displays throughout the line and I laughed when the picture of Chutes and Ladders revealed a boy pulling his sister's pigtails. That definitely sums up our family LoL The ride was awesome. The kids really enjoyed it, as did us adults. It is a shooting game like the Buzz Lightyear ride but better. You play as if you are in a carnival shooting things like bouncy balls and pies out of your gun and it was in 4D. John and I joked that they should make something like that for the Wii. It was by far the best ride of the entire weekend. The kids even wanted to ride it again and I would have gladly obliged except for the wait time I previously mentioned.

We still had some time before the Indiana Jones show started so we went over to the Magic of Disney Animation where they had character meetings. We weren't aware you had to sit through a "show" before meeting the characters and we didn't have time to do that and make it to the Indiana Jones show too, so we had to decide what the kids would like better. The characters won out and it really was worth it. The kids met Bolt & Rhino, Mr & Mrs Incredible and they saw Mickey as a wizard (didn't want to wait in that line though). Adam was giving lots of hugs and kisses and Bolt didn't want to let Adam go. He really looked evil in the one picture, but it was still super cute.

The kids were getting hungry again so we went to the ABC Commissary for dinner. The kids had... you guessed it... chicken nuggets with fries and grapes (no applesauce this time). I can't remember what John had and I had the fish and chips. It was pretty good. The kids took a long time to finish eating because I don't think they were as hungry as they thought they were. By the time they did finish we had just enough time to make it over to the American Idol Experience. We were lucky to get in, the place was almost packed. People show up like an hour before show time for those shows. This was our second to last to-do for the night and the kids seemed to really enjoy the singing and clapping. Adam had been screaming whenever we would, saying woohoo, and yay, and clapping. It was so cute but then he got sick of it and started throwing a tantrum. The lady (and her two kids) in front of us kept looking back, I didn't care. I put him down on the floor where he threw his tantrum, rather silently I might add and then fell asleep. I just left him there. It didn't take long for Sara to fall asleep and was out in daddy's arms. The singers were great. Some were A LOT better than others and there were really only 2 or 3 that I liked out of the 7 auditionees. The first guy had the place hoppin' with his rendition of Sweet Home Alabama. The girl I voted for was EXCELLENT. And the girl that won was only 14 and I think she has to be 16 to actually make it on American Idol for real. The guy who portrayed Simon would always say something bad and the audience would boo. It was a lot of fun and I definitely recommend it.

The kids were all cranky and tired when we left there so we decided to head out instead of going to see Fantasmic. Lexi had been talking about that show since the beginning of the day and it only played at 7 and 830. It was recommended to get there an hour before showtime as they fill up fast and it was already 730. She wasn't too upset when I told her we could go shopping instead. So shopping we did. We even lost Adam's shoe and I thought I would have to get him another pair but John found it. Want to know how? He could smell it! Yah, his feet were THAT raunchy. I didn't bring socks and his feet could bring tears to anyone's eyes. I bet the person behind the counter was praying for John to find it so he could get rid of it LoL Lexi didn't get a snowglobe, surprisingly... she got a Wildcats hoodie (not surprising LoL), Jacob got a Wall-E toy which he has lost all the pieces to, Kadie got an EVE toy while Adam got the matching Wall-E, Sara got a play cellphone, I got a picture frame and John got some shotglasses. We also got a couple cups for the kids and a WDW Mickey and Minnie blanket for $15 bringing our total to almost $150. We still had cash left before going in there, I was proud of myself, but we didn't have enough to pay that much. That is what I get for taking 5 kids to Disney World, right?! LoL

We finally finished our trip and headed back to the hotel. We would actually get to sleep in the next day. We had a later than usual breakfast right before it ended then went swimming. We checked out and made our last and final stop at Bob Evans in Daytona Beach before making it back home.

All in all the trip was good. The next time we go I will be sure to bring a couple of leashes for Adam and Sara and plenty of snacks to hold them over in between meals. I am also considering having a day for just me and John by ourselves to do all those things that we didn't get to do with the kids. I am thinking Hollywood Studios. Guess we will see how it pans out.