Part 8: Disney World! : Putting the Night to Sleep at Epcot

Welcome back to my Disney Series!  In this series I recount our vacation days and everything we did.  It's part scrapbooky so I'll remember the details and part helpful hints for my friends who have asked me things about my planning.  We're on Part 8 of the series and I'm still only talking about Day 2 at Disney, ha!  I'm having a blast though remembering and recounting everything that happened.  Come on, read on... :)

I've gotten into somewhat of a pattern with our posts where one post covers the first half of the day and the next post covers the afternoon and on.  I'm doing that simply because we did so much each day that it would be hard to cover everything in one post!

And to us the day did seem like two parts.  We would go to the park in the morning, leave in the afternoon and return later on in the evening.

 When we left Epcot in the morning we were getting this from Cal...basically done with Epcot and I would have to agree.  A lot of Epcot in the front of it at least seemed to me like those exhibit buildings at  a county fair.  You know the ones, where companies set up a booth and try to give you free pencils and caps?

So after our lunch at the Coral Reef (fantastic atmosphere, pretty good food!) we left to check out Downtown Disney.

 Truth be told we hadn't really wanted to go to Downtown Disney until our reservations but we had told Cal there was a lego store and since we had left our house two days before he had been asking for the Lego store.  So we went.

 Building...

 Building...

 A thumbs up at the infamous Buzz statue (seriously I think everyone gets their picture taken at this thing!)

 And building Mr. Potato Heads.  **Which heads up we did not get but I've read that this is a good deal for your kiddos.  You can get a Mr. Potato head box which you fill with whatever you want.  I'm pretty sure it was $19.99.  The idea is that you get your Mr. Potato Head and some accessories but I've heard if you already have a Mr. Potato Head and don't get one you can get one of every accessory into the box.  You'll have to shove and finagle but I've heard it can be done.  If your planning a trip to Disney a toy idea for you might be to pack your Mr. Potato Head, buy the accessories and then have hours of playtime in your hotel with all of the pieces.

I've gotta tell ya.  We drove to Downtown Disney twice and took the shuttle once.  Nick called DD the place where time goes to die because it seriously sucked the life our every day we went.  It is free and there are lots of shops but it seemed like such a hassle for us in terms of what was there compared to how much time it took us to get in and out of the area.  If you visit Downtown Disney make sure you plan ahead and give yourself a lot of time.  Then add an hour onto that.  Just a word to the smart Mama's out there :)

We had reservations back in Epcot for dinner at this place, Tutto Italia.  We were so behind in trying to get out of Downtown Disney that we almost skipped our reservations.  But I had really, really wanted to try this place so Nick in all of his awesomeness insisted that we made our reservation.  That included him parking the car and then sprinting all of the way to the restaurant so we could make our reservation.  He is such a rock star amazing husband.  

I am so, so glad we made it for dinner because it was hands down the best meal we'd ever had.  EVER!!!  The restaurant was gorgeous, the food was to die for, and our waiter was amazing.

Emma and Daddy being silly while waiting for our food :)

Our Antipasto platter which was so, so good!  Emma was even eating it and saying things like "mmmm, this is amazing!"

We missed our normal quiet time in the hotel that afternoon so until spaghetti arrived this boy had been passed out on the booth.  Sprawled out, snoring  But as you can see, spaghetti was worth waking up for.  I think this was the only meal he actually ate the entire time we were at Disney.

Another fan :)

I had planned the reservation so that we would be getting done about the time that the fireworks started and it worked out perfectly!  All we had to do was walk out of our restaurant and this is what we could see.  The kids seemed to like it. Well Emma did, Cal was a little freaked out.  There was a lot of fire!

After the fireworks we walked around the world part.  We didn't have much time...the kids were fading fast.  Here's France...

This is totally our daughter...in the middle of Epcot reading :)  No sights for me, thanks.  Just finishing up this Magic Tree House :)

We also visited England and then headed back to the resort with two very tired kiddos.  My biggest regret during our vacation was spending half of the day at the front of Epcot and then running out of time at the back in the countries.  When we go back we will be spending more time exploring all of the lands.  I really wanted to purchase the passports for our kiddos and have them visit everywhere.   next time...

I guess that's not too bad for only having one regret, right?  Besides that I think we saw every dern thing we had wanted to.  And I'll take that :) So that concludes our day at Epcot.  As always if you have  any questions please feel free to let me know :)  Not that I'm an expert but I'll be happy to help!

Part 3: Disney World! : Arriving at Magic Kingdom

Well being the meanest Mommy ever we settled into our room before hitting up the actual Disney part of Disney.  I had to get everything unpacked and ready to go.  I also had special little outfits that my friend who owns a business made for us.  I was able to send her a picture of a pair of matching outfits I spotted on Pinterest and she was able to recreate them.  And I loved them!  So we got ready to go and set out for the shuttle stop right outside of our hotel room.

And then the ominous clouds rolled in. * If you've never been to Florida just know, it rains almost every afternoon!  Be prepared!  Rain ponchos are a must!  I bought a ton of them from the Dollar Tree to take because who in the world would want to reuse a poncho??  I don't even know how you could?  It's all wet and you have to try to fold it back up?  For the birds!  Just consider buying them as one time use only!  They come two to the pack for a buck.  They were also useful for throwing all of our stuff in the stroller and then putting one over the stroller.

Anyway, the shuttle came and away we went.  I don't think I've ever been so excited in my life!  Is that pathetic of what????  I'm going with not pathetic, cool!  I kept squeezing Nick's hand in excitement!

As we were riding there big, thick drops started to wet the windows and by the time we got there a Monsoon had ensued.  Thunder, lightening, the works.  As the weather had warned us the week before, we were in for not the normal Florida showers here and there but rain all week, every day.  And not just rain, storms.  I have no beef with rain.  I do have beef with lightening as I'm holding an umbrella and pushing an aluminum stroller carrying my child.  That seems to logically pose a threat in my mind somehow.

So we waited at the station where the shuttle drops off.  And we waited, and we waited, and we waited.  Ugh.  Probably about 45 minutes later we decided it just wasn't going to stop.   So we made a run for it.  Magic Kingdom was right there and we were just holding it at an arm's length from our children.  Poor little dears.

So we went.  We ponchoed up, we ran.  We laughed.  In the end we made a memory and had fun.  And the mom part of me is still a little ticked that it rained.  Their little custom ordered outfits were a bust, Emma's shoes were ruined and everything was just blah and wet.  But I think that's just to me.  To the children they had a wonderful time and were in Disney!!!  And that is all that matters :)  I just need to remind my memory bank of that occasionally, lol =)

 Can you see the rain falling?  This is the first area you see in Disney...so cute!  I just kept squealing (in my mind, of course!) We're here!!!  We're finally here!!!  Eeek!

 Poncho clad kids...so cute!  See Cal's? We had to tie it behind him it was so big on him!  Getting mad that mom and dad are trying to wait out the storm...grrr.  It was comforting to know that all of the flags on buildings there are actually lightening rods in disguise!  They've thought of everything!

 I hate being wet.  Nick knew I was sucking at enjoying this time.  So he started taking my picture.  Going to kill him!  This is my I'm appeasing you at the same time I'm plotting your death smile.

Welcome to Disney!  It's raining!  But we finally made it!!!

Here's our little rain soaked little boy.  I dragged him into the City Hall and he was freezing! Isn't he adorable???  

As we've talked about before, Cal is Autistic.  This did make me a little worried because there are so many things that he has a really hard time dealing with.  Put all of those things together away from home with tiredness and hunger factored in and well, we could very well end up in a very bad situation.  

Cal's doctor was EXTREMELY helpful with this.  She gave us helpful situations.  She prescribed a fast acting anxiety medication for him.  And she wrote a doctor's note for Disney explaining his condition.  So here comes my tip...

*If you need special arrangements or accommodations made go to City Hall at Magic Kingdom first (you may be able to start at any of the parks but I had read that getting a special accommodation at, say Animal Kingdom would not necessarily be valid at any of the other parks.  But if you get it first from Magic Kingdom you are in like Flinn at all of the other parks...hope that makes sense).   You do not need a Doctor's note (they wouldn't even think of looking at mine) and the person you are getting accommodations for needs to be there (so little Jacky can't go ride teacups while you get it for him, just an fyi). 

Anywho, Disney was very understanding.  They gave us a special pass for our stroller that allowed us to use it somewhat as a wheelchair.  That if he was freaking out and we needed to keep him in the stroller, we could wheel it on in to rides and things when strollers usually are not allowed.  *TIP: if they offer something, take it!  I thought, he doesn't really use a stroller so we don't need that. But the lady encouraged me to take it "just in case" and I am so thankful because by the end of the trip he was pulling the shade over him in the stroller and refusing to come out he was so overwhelmed.  Eek.  

Also, they gave us a pass which could basically be used as a Fast Pass.  I will say that Calvin is not severely Autistic.  We are very blessed.  So when we got these things I felt almost silly, he was such a sweet boy just having fun.  But crowds and small spaces cause him to freak, so when he started stimming and yelling, we would pull out the card and be able to use it.  It was so nice to use when we had to and a comfort to know we had it if we should need it but we thankfully didn't need to use it the entire time.  By the end of the week though we were having to use it a lot more but again, it was so, so nice to have when we needed it.  It truly made our vacation magical in times it could have become absolutely horrific.  (Seriously sometime when Cal stims he chokes me and that's just not fun folks!) 

Sorry this is taking so long, but it's my blog and I want to write every dab nabit thing down!  Did I say that right?  This may take months :)

Here are this posts blogged in a nutshell:
* Know it rains...a lot (I think.  Everytime I've been to Florida it's rained in the afternoon)
*Buy rain ponchos at Dollar Tree.  I bought enough to have four per person.
*If you need special accommodations on rides and things just ask what can be done.  City Hall at Magic Kingdom is a great place to start.

I'll continue with my blog series next week...stay tuned!

Part 2: Disney World! :Pirate Room at Caribbean Beach

As I mentioned in my first post, we stayed at Disney in the Resort, the Caribbean Beach.  There they have Standard Rooms as well as Pirate Rooms.  We opted for the Pirate Room in hopes that it would keep the kiddos occupied while we were.  Although it wasn't considered a suite, it was a nice upgrade from a standard room for not a lot of money.  We opted for a Pirate theme because Emma loves Ariel the Mermaid and Cal likes pirates so we thought it would be a good compromise. And it was.  There was so much girly stuff Cal had to endure that it was nice he got this.  And Emma likes to pretend she was on Eric's ship :)  And she likes to play pirates too!  Those two are just precious!!!

When we first got there, I ran ahead of the kids and Nick to "find the room" but secretly I was running like a mad woman to get to the room first so I could throw their personalized Mouse Ears on their bed as a surprise!  Above they had just discovered them and they really did think that the hotel had made them and left them for them.  It was so cute! I tried to do a lot of little things that didn't cost a lot of money to personalize the trip for them!  My secret wish is that they will go to Disney one day with their families and realize that all of that fun stuff that showed up was actually their old mom working behind the scenes to surprise them :)  

Anyway, check out their pirate bed!  How fun, right?  About two weeks before we left I was researching our room since my OCDness dictates apparently that I try to find out how  many hangers are in the room and how many washcloths there are, etc, etc.  Yes I am crazy.  Anywho, I was researching and found a kajillion blogs that explained that the pirate beds have specially made prison-like mattresses that are the most ungodly uncomfortable things ever.  Ever.  Like can't get out of bed because your back is in so much pain uncomfortable.  I was kind of freaked after that.  I kept calling Nick, debating if we should try to change rooms or if we even could so late in the game.  In the end we decided that we would just stick with the pirate rooms because the kids would love it.  In the end I am glad that we did.  Yes the beds were uncomfortable but we were so exhausted by the end of the day that it didn't really matter. And they weren't that uncomfortable...it was bearable. Which leads me to my next tip:

*Try not to let the research get the best of you.  I am a researcher and I know a ton of moms who are too so I know I am not the only one.  Don't let a lot of nit-picky people's opinions steal the joy of your vacation.   Remember that a lot of people nag things to death and so take everything with a grain of salt.  Also remember that this is the happiest place on earth so they aren't going to try to kill  you with the mattresses (I don't think, ha!) 

Here's Kazoo trying on her ears. She's checking her ears out in the mirror?  Isn't she just a doll?   Isn't she cute?  

Here's a good view of our room.  Everything is pirate-ish.  And I can't find pictures of it but our room came with a fridge that was hidden in a keg and our dresser looked like a stack of cargo...super cute!  The carpet even looked like planks of wood to give it that authentic pirate feel :)

 Here's Captain Calvin setting sail on our bed.  How cute is this little mate?  I so love that we were able to give them this trip and all of these memories.

 This was carved on the wall of our shower.  It was neat and everything is Pirate themed.  Seriously, everything!

 I will say that this was probably about the only thing with our room I didn't like.  This skull was on a large curtain that separated the sink area from the bedroom.  When the vanity lights were on the skull appeared to "glow".  The kids were freaked out by it and especially as they were trying to fall asleep with that looming over them in the room.  With the curtain opened it wasn't an issue so it really wasn't a big deal.  And what was behind that you might ask??

Ta-da!  Behind Curtain Number 1...

In the door to the right was the bathroom of the toilet and shower but the sinks were outside.  This is what was behind the creepy, scary skill.  Behind Nick in this photo was a closet area with a safe, closet rod, and long shelf.  It was a really, really nice set up.  With the curtain you could dress behind it away from the kiddos, I could get ready at the sink without waking everyone and someone else could be taking a shower or going potty.  Loved the layout!  I also loved that the closet was right there and there was tile in that area because I could hang wet suits, put my makeup on the shelf over the clothes; it was just plain convenient.

So there's a little tiny tour of our room.  Hope that helps answer some questions regarding the Pirate Rooms if you are considering them for your trip! Please let me know if you have any questions...I'd love to try to help :)

Part 1: Disney World! :Arriving & Caribbean Beach Resort

Five months ago we visited the most magical place on Earth: Disney World!!!  I cannot believe I haven't posted about it.  I thought for sure I did and then as I was going through past posts I couldn't find any of the posts...so I must not have ever gotten around to it!  To be honest with you when we got home we had thousands and thousands of pictures from multiple cameras to sort through and it got a little overwhelming, to say the least!  

Plus on the first day of our vacation Cal got sick and by the end of it we were all sick...so we all came home battling illness and the massive laundry piles!  

I know I did post about our stay in Tifton, Georgia on the way to Disney.  I would highly recommend staying there if you are traveling an extended amount of time to Disney.  Tifton was about 4-5 hours away from Disney so it really helped us break up our drive.  Disney is about 20 hours away from our house and we knew we absolutely did not want to spend 20 hours driving and arrive to Disney with the adults exhausted and the kids raring to go.  Stopping in Tifton broke our trip up in that we drove about 15 hours the first day, crashed for the night, then woke up and left about 5 in the morning...getting us to Disney before 10 am...perfect!!!!

But now onto the pictures and about our trip!  I am going to try to post the annoying tourist shots I took too since there may be lots of you out there like how I was: someone who had never ever been to Disney.  It was  a little terrifying exciting planning a trip to Disney with no previous experience!  Here we go: 

 We arrived Tuesday, September 18th to Disney World...this is the site you are greeted with upon arriving.  There were huge signs telling us not to stop but luckily I have a husband who will boldly break rules when I beg him to stop!  First time Disney lady with a brand new camera...make way!

 Here's Emma's face upon arriving.  She doesn't look excited or anything, right? :)  Love our beautiful girl!  Alright and the stupid blogger isn't letting me comment below the next picture but I'm sure you can see that this Cal is below and this was his face upon our arrival. So excited!!!

Here is the site upon us entering the Resort part of the adventure.  Now to find our resort...it's gotta be around here somewhere...

Here was Hollywood Studios...

And The Swan Resort...excuse the bluriness as my husband is driving probably 60ish miles per hour...he wants his kiddos to get to Disney!
 *One of the things I wish someone had told me that Disney has roads and interstates all it's own. It's nothing like welcome to Disney and you're here! It's more like Welcome to Disney now follow this map and half an hour later you'll find (hopefully!) your destination.    There are a lot of signs but it's easy to get turned around!

The Caribbean Beach Resort!  We're finally here!!!  One of the things I love is how Disney makes so much effort to make you feel like you are really at whatever destination is designated for your hotel.  Since the Caribbean was our theme there was tons of calypso music, umbrella drinks, and palms.  They even bring people in from whatever country your hotel is from.  It almost felt like we were in Disney at the parks and at the Caribbean when we were at our hotel...very nice! 

Here's Emma upon arriving at the hotel.  Fresh out of the car after 4 and a half hour.  And I was dismayed to see that the poor dear inherited my Islandy hair.  It only gets worse from here kiddo!  

Here's a random shot of what the hotel rooms looked life.  Each resort is HUGE!  Ours was seperated into Caribbean Islands with each cluster of that islands' buildings being a different color.

At the Caribbean everything is really spread out which I loved!  There is a seperate building just for checking in and out.  Here we are getting all checked in!  Oh yes, and make sure you tell them you are first timers!  They had buttons waiting for us and these balloons!  I'm sure they will give them to you without telling them ahead of time but it made the kiddos feel super special that all of this stuff was ready for just them! 

*Another tip: Can you see in the picture above that the three of them are all in pink?  I do that on purpose in case I ever lost one of them.  I always try to get them to match either Nick or me. It helps me spot them in crows.  Plus, It's a good practice for when you have lost your child and your mind turns to goo and you can barely remember your own name (if this has never happened to you, praise God for that!). Anyway, if that happens I can look at my outfit or Nick's and think they are wearing either blue or pink...and that usually jogs my memory.  

Here was our hotel room's building.

*We worked a lot with the Disney planning people to ensure we had a good room and location for us.  Explaining Cal was Autistic and HATES being upstairs got us a first floor room close to the parking lot and the shuttle so we could dash quickly when needed.

*Again this is the most magical place on Earth so if you have special requests, make them known!  The worst that can happen is that they say no, but it never hurts to try.  I talked to tons of friends before we went to get a sense of what I would be up against mom wise and I knew I would be leaving things out in the car, needing to get a screaming kid down for a nap, and so for us I for went the water view in favor of a parking lot view that afforded me the luxury of dashing out to the car when necessary.  Just my viewpoint. :)

This picture is more for me just to remember that we stayed in Trinidad South, but it also shows you that they give you a cute map of the resort...see how big it is?  The Caribbean has a lake in the middle of it with beach and boat rentals...so fun!

Okay tomorrow I will be posting more...stay tuned :)

Summary of my tips for Disney in this post:
*If driving try to stop for the night somewhere before you get to Disney so when you arrive you are all on the same playing field, sleep wise.
*Disney is huge and there are a lot of roads and streets, ramps and exits.  Be a good co-pilot for your husband because it can be easy to get turned around.
*Color theming your wardrobes comes in handy for spotting a child in a crowd or, God forbid, you need to tell security what your child is wearing.
*Be specific about what you want in your room.  Want a ground level floor? Ask for it?  Want to be close or far away from the parking lot?  Ask for it.  Close to a shuttle?  Ask.  The worst that can happen is that it won't happen.
*Try to cover all of your bases in thinking through how your family operates.  We are leave your junk in the car people so we like to be close to the lot.  If you don't have your car with you maybe you'll benefit better from a water view :)

Happy Planning!