The further I get from the trip, the less I remember… i’m trying to pound out these posts while still getting stuff done around the house.
ha!
So Day 1 at the park was fantastic. The kids were marvelous and amazed, as they should be. We hit CA Adventures first since i hadn’t been since it first opened, and my mom had never been. It was a great park for the little ones. I’d say the one thing to steer clear of is the Bugs Life 3-D experience. It is L-O-U-D and there’s a part where Hopper the bad guy is out and angry. The theater goes dark and loud, and then there are large black widows over head with lots of smoke machines.
This was not the highlight for my kids, to say the least. Otherwise, there were small rides, there was splash pads, it was great. To complete the first day there, my brother insisted on my mom and I going on Tower of Terror. We had no clue what we were in for, and I thought my mom was going to pee her pants after the first drop. .. in fact, i’m not certain she didn’t. I certainly was in jeopardy! That shit was cray cray !!
In the afternoon, we headed to Disneyland. It was oddly empty for a summer Sunday. We could not believe walking up to the Haunted Mansion and just getting straight in. The only thing more amazing was seeing “Wait Time 5 minutes” for Pirates of the Caribbean. My daughter absolutely loved Pirates – which she has since renamed Ho Ho The Pirates – and we rode it a total of three or four times over the course of the three days, i think. She was a bit terrified on Haunted Mansion, but I have to say. After each ride, she was a bit scared or unsure, and then halfway through the rides she would pay attention, and then by the time we had to get off it was, “I wanna do it again!!” And we had the small disagreement that we couldn’t just jump right back on.
I had a special pass that I requested from Guest Services based on my sons issues with sensory processing. His OT thought it was a fantastic idea, and i have to say it was a life saver. It made it so the park was equally fun for my kid. He didn’t have the added anxiety of the line, spending the whole time in line getting worked up about the safety of the ride, or how fast it was, or how scary or unscary. He didn’t have the added pressure of a closed-in line where you have to be 100% in charge of your body and impulses for longer than 10 minutes. There are many many reasons this pass was invaluable, but just the sheer fact that he enjoyed every minute of that experience and was so excited and open to going back and doing things over and over spoke volumes about the necessity of it.
Day 1 wrapped with another trip to CA Adventures after a 2/2.5hr nap and break back at the hotel. We rode the Monsters Inc ride (a FAV of all the kids) and had to endure a little of the Mad T Party which was a loud concert by a cover band – who was actually pretty damn good. There were glow cube adult beverages and after my brother and Sis in Law and myself had one or three, we were ready to watch fireworks at DLand in the company of a corn dog. We finished out the evening at 10:30 riding Dumbo and the carousel. I’d like to say i’ll never forget that night. .. but i can’t remember what i wore yesterday, so i make no guarantees. That’s why i have this blog and pictures!
Day 2 was when things started getting rough. People had hangovers. My brother had to check out of his room and start thinking about work the next day and heading home. My kids were on a bit of a Disney hangover as well. The park was MUCH MUCH more crowded and i was very happy to have our handy dandy pass. We were able to stand in the fast pass lines, or just gain access through the exits. My son got to ride Star Tours while my daughter napped in the shade and I people watched and FB-d on my phone. He LOVED it! We did the rockets, and got a snack. We had a fun break at the hotel that involved swimming and trying out my christmas water-proof cam corder. In hindsight i’m not sure how much of a break we had, but the kids had fun and there weren’t any crowds involved. We walked Downtown Disney and got a sandwich. My daughter was looking kind of tired and worn out, but she was game for anything. Once we got back to the park we walked around, I did Indiana Jones with my son – another fail for him. He hated it – and parked the stroller and did Pirates. Turns out you do NOT want to park your stroller near Pirates right before Fantasmic. The employees move and rearrange all the strollers and could give a flying Mickey that you wanted it somewhere specific so you could remember when you came back from the ride where your wheels with your kid’s favorite blanket was parked.
We decided to sit and get a beignet and hot chocolate while we waited for the show to end and reclaim the stroller.
The longest wait of the whole trip. Astounding! My mom stood there waiting for her order for over 20 minutes. It was ridiculous.
I find my stroller after the show, we walk around and decide to high tail it out of there. Somewhere along the process of the day, my daughter lost a toy my mom bought for her and i figured i’d register it with Guest Services on the way out. The line was not long. I felt a bit stupid standing there with people who had lost something of value like drivers licenses and wallets. I felt stupid until someone at the front of the line was handed her kid’s three princess dolls that had been found and she literally ran away from the window with glee to the applause of the line.
I had hope!
20 minutes later it’s now 10:45 and my turn. I just get to the window, give him the story, he checks ‘the back’ and comes up empty handed. My son runs over to me shouting, “Gemma threw up! Gemma is throwing up in the stroller!!” I scribbled my info down and apologized and ran off to clean up partially digested beignet and hot chocolate.
We got back to the hotel after stopping at a blessed little shop that had various children’s medications and cheap knock off souvenirs. I dosed my kid with Children’s Advil and proceeded to watch her until 2:30 am go through a gamut of feverish symptoms. Around 2:30am I fell asleep for the duration.
7am we all woke up bright eyed and not quite bushy tailed. My daughter seemed great that morning, fever was gone, and she was ready to go. We had our Princess Luncheon at Ariel’s Oasis and we couldn’t wait! I kept a keen eye on her and we took it easy all morning until the lunch. To keep her happy she had a green sucker which didn’t help the look of her lips and face before the Princess pics were snapped. We all head in and prepare for our fancy lunch. My daughter is oddly not touching any of the food. She keeps coughing, though. I switch out her milk for something easier on her cough. We get through the first course with her nibbling crumbs and eagerly watching for a tiara or sash. A cryer announces the arrival of Cinderella and the excitement is ON. We get a good pic, my daughter again checks Cindy’s shoes, and we sit to wait for Princess #2. My daughter turns to the table, begins coughing, and proceeds to hurl all over the table.
Cloth napkins do nothing for spills. I was in a really really really bad Opposite Ad for Ariel’s Luncheon. It was one of those parenting moments you dread. I felt absolutely helpless. I manage to push all the liquid into a secure little pool on her side of the table. My son is gagging. My daughter wretches again. All over her chair and the floor. In my head i’m hearing choruses of “EEEEewwwweeeee, mommy, LOOOOK! That girl threw up!!”
In reality i’m sure no one was noticing because that’s when Aurora/Sleeping Beauty makes her entrance.
She’s on my lap now. I’m crying. She’s crying. My mom is close to tears trying to hold it all together. My son is holding up his napkin so as not to see the third course my daughter has served all over our table. Finally a bus boy comes and dumps hamster shavings all over the table assuring us it will absorb the smell.
Aurora shows up at the table looking like someone just shat upon her crown.
In her most brave princess voice, “Oh no .. is she ok? Would you like me to …. come back … later ?” and it’s a bit vague in my mom-brain, but i think my daughter wretched her third time after this offer.
Apparently Aurora saw an escape and took it faster than a prince to an unconscious teenager.
I was so sad for my daughter to miss this experience. I was sad to wreck the experience of those around us. I was helpless I didn’t have my own supplies to wipe away, clean, and disinfect our area and my kid. I didn’t know what was causing her sickness, so i couldn’t cure it. She had no fever, she had no other symptoms.
We wait for the geyser to officially stop and decide the next princess was safe. Belle bravely stood as close as her hoop skirt and heels would allow to get a picture with my little barfy kid. After this my daughter asked to go back to the room. She wanted to leave. I obliged. I realized after leaving i had my son’s pass in my purse. I stop at Guest Services to leave it for my mom to pick up later and am given an unimaginably hard time by a certain cast member who’s eyeballs I wanted to reach through the Mickey head opening and rip out with my fingernails.
She refused to let me leave it and said my mom would have to take my son and go get a new pass issued. She was arguing with me that she was already in the park with him, so it was OBVIOUSLY unnecessary for her to have it. It was not an urgent matter, and she was not obligated or authorized to hold ‘personal items’ for guests.
I. Was. Livid.
I ended up just handing the pass to my mom who walked out to meet me by the time i was done arguing with Becky Bitchface. I walked back to the room and tried to take my daughter from the stroller to the bed for a proper nap. She woke up and for the next three hours refused to lay down, take a nap, stay quiet and still. She seemed to feel much better after puking.
We stayed in the room and played until my mom made it back with my son. They were able to go on more rides and have fun. It was our last night and we wanted to end on a high note, so once we decided my daughter was fine, we dressed her in PJs and walked the boardwalk in CA Adventures and managed to make the best of the situation. She mostly stayed in the stroller, but we got to go on Monsters Inc one last time (all the while checking “how are you doing?” “are you doing ok?”) and see the Muppet 3D movie. After the carousel and boardwalk games with my son who won his sister a big Dumbo (PROUD momma!) we headed back and called it a night.
The next day we boarded our plane and that’s when the fun really started!!
(To be cont..)
Sarcasmica 