[CaraMia]

Our long awaited WDW weekend has come and gone.

DAY 1: We left friday morning about 9am. Had an interesting start. We were getting off Oseola Parkway and a **** duck flew into our minivan! Was the funniest thing! We were going about 60 miles and hour...the thing flew right into the front end. My DS thought it was so funny he was almost cryinfgfrom laughing. Weird kid. Got to POFQ about noon. Luckily no damage to the car from the duck. No feathers, blood or anything. Just alot of dirt from its wings. Must have been a really dirty duck! lol Our two rooms were not ready so we jumped on a bus to MGM. Had a good time, however, my 2.5 yr old son somehow developed this "I dont want to go on rides or see shows" attitude. He was very good...dont get me wrong. He wasnt crying or anything. But everytime we attempted to do something he got really upset. I know alot of people say we should have forced him to do things but I dont feel that is right. We were there primarily for him...so we did the things he did want to do. He loved getting autographs from the characters, watching the parade, eatting and playing at Pizza Planet, and browsing through gift shops and playhouse disney. Later in the day we wanted to see the Beauty and the Beast show and again, the little one did not want to see it. It was pretty funny. We were sitting there and he put his head on my mom's lap, his body across my lap, and went to sleep. He slept through the entire show..lol

Late afternoon we headed back to POFQ. Got our rooms quickly which were in a great location. Bldy 4, rooms 4113, 4114, and 4115. We went to the food court for some dinner and my son freaked a little over the decorations. The jesters and the masks made him uneasy. We found a table kinda set away from all the big stuff and then my brother and his family met us. That helped distract my son from the "scary clowns". About 7pm we all got on a bus and headed to Magic Kingdom for a few hours. Even with my neices there, my son still did not want to go on anything. Very odd...this was his 4th or 5th trip and he always loved the rides. We didnt force him and made the best out of the night. About 9pm he asked to go back to the hotel. Since we had a big day planned for saturday we thought it was a good idea. On the way out of the park he fell asleep and stayed asleep until the next morning. When we got back to the hotel we met up with my sister and her family who got to the hotel later then everyone else. Then we went to bed.

DAY 2: Everyone was up and ready about 7am. The kids all ate fruit and cereal while the adults got ready then we all got on a bus to Magic Kingdom. Got there I guess around 9:30am or so. Again, my son did not want to do anything. It was a very frustrating day for dh and I. We purchased seasonal tickets and here we are thinking this kid doesnt want to do any rides or shows....why did we bother. We tried to make the best of it though. A few times we stood on lines for a ride but when we got on it my son freaked out and we had to get off. Wasnt worth a screaming 2.5 yr old. That happened with dumbo and Alladin. He did go on the Tea Cups 2x though. He got on the carousel but got scared the horse was going to go straight up the pole to the top of the carousel and he basically grabbed on to DH and wouldnt let go until he was almost hanging off his neck. We went to toontown and my son LOVED it. Loved the boat with the shooting water so we let him play there awhile. Went into Mickey and Minnie's houses, got more character autographs and hugs. We decided to let the rest of the family do whatever they wanted and we would just do our own thing. Seemed to work out that way. We had lunch at Cosmic Ray's (btw...thanks again Dana :) ) Had dinner at Peco Bills, got great seats on the curb on Main Street for the parade, and had those incredible bakery cookies. My son and neices were playing with castmembers before the parade. The castmembers were great...blowing bubbles, playing Tigger Says, and telling the kids a story about this football they had in their hands that "MICKEY PLAY FOOTBALL WITH". The kids had such a great time playing on Main Street with the castmembers. Literally, as we heard the band start up, my son fell asleep in his stroller. We could not believe it! He slept through the entire electrical parade and the fireworks! While he was sleeping dh took advantage and went on Buzz, Stitch, and Space Mountain with other family members. Then my other two neices fell asleep (ages 5 and 2.5) and the only child that stayed up was the 3 month old. We left the park about 11:00pm, when the second parade had started. Got to the hotel and ds woke up full of energy and not wanting to go to bed. About 12:30 he finally fell asleep and then we went to bed.

DAY3: Everyone got up a little later, got ready, and then we headed to MGM. The kids were all still sleepy. Had a small problem with ds (Mr Independent wanted to go down the steps himself and with a crowded bus wanting to get off we could wait for him to do it himself). Go ds off the bus and he had a small tantrum and threw himself on the ground. Long story short, we made the family go ahead of us while we dealt with ds. Not even 10 minutes later he calmed down and we were on our way and went into the park. Did Playhouse Disney, ds loved it and was dancing and bouncing. Then we all split up and we headed for Pizza Planet for an early lunch while the others went to Little Mermaid and some other things. DS had a great time at Pizza Planet again. We spend another $5 just trying to do that dumb claw thing and got nothing. Played more games for about 40 minutes. Then left to meet up with the family. While we were deciding what to do next my 5 yr old neice disappeared. One second she was there...then she wasnt. Only took about a minute to find her but it was very scary. We all stayed calm and didnt go nuts like we have seen others do because it just wouldnt have helped matters. It seemed she stopped to pick up a leaf then wanted to look at something and quietly turned the other direction. Anyway, we all decided to do different things and went our own way. We went on a search for characters and found several. Got alot more autographs and ds was happy as a clam. Especially meeting Buzz! Although ds didnt want to do rides or shows it seemed like he still had a great time and we are sorry we got ourselves frustrated over the ride thing. We did more shopping then about 2pm decided it was time to go. Went back to the hotel, grabbed a drink, then hit the road to go home. On the way home though I got car sick and had to stop in W Palm Beach service plaza. Got stuck there about an hour til I felt ok to be in the car again. Made it home about 7pm and was nauseas until this morning (tuesday).

Overall, we had a good time. Hopefully next trip DS will be over this ride thing. I think it was from the park shows they play at the hotel on tv. They make everything seem exciting, dark, etc. It overwhelmed him I think. Not sure when our next trip is. We were toying with December but it probably wont be until next year.

BTW, anyone thinking about POFQ, it was very nice. The beds and pillows were so comfortable. Although the beds seemed very small. My brother-in-law had to get a cot because he and my sister couldnt fit comfortably (he is 6'3 and over 220 pds). the food court seemed very small and I could see how that would be a problem if it were crowded.


The parks were a little crowded but not real bad. The longest wait was probably about 20 minutes or so. The fast pass system was used once or twice but it really was not needed. November is a great time to go! The weather was beautiful! Lowest temp was about 60 at night and in the mornings, and in the mid 70's and sunny in the afternoons. Very nice! Anyone going soon will have great weather!

[cj2004]

CaraMia,

Sounds like you had a nice trip:) Aren't toddlers funny little things? My daughter loved the rides last year, and this year wanted nothing to do with them! Go figure! The weather in November in Orlando is beautiful:)

[Dana]

Cara -
First there is no such thing as a trip report being to long. The longer the better in my eyes. Oh and you're welcome once again...no biggie. 2 is a strange age. My DD got a tad freaky with certain things too, but it will be over as quickly as it started..no worries. The next trip will be fine. Thanks for sharing the report with us.

[Jen]

Sounds like you had a good time despite your DS's no ride policy. I'm sure next trip he'll change his mind.

Jen

[EmpressJenny]

I'm glad you had a great time and I want to commend you and your husband for not making your child go on any rides. I hate when I see parents force their kids to do something they don't want to. Are we having fun yet? It sounds like you all had a good time just the same, and Jen is right, he'll probably change his mind the next time you go.

[hiner]

Children are funny little devils at times. They are always testing us. One minute an angel, the next...well you know. I love my DS more than anything in this world but there were times I just wanted to shutdown. It's all part of growing up.

Glad to hear that your trip turned out good despite the little one's moods.

[tinkerbell]

I know alot of people say we should have forced him to do things but I dont feel that is right

you know your DS .. and when you know your child you know what is the right thing to do. It does not sound like this was a control issue, you know what I mean I hope ...where the child is trying to control you :) .. If you had forced him, you would have only made it worse for him and maybe even much worse for everyone else around you. Meltdowns are so common at that age ..lol they are common for my age too *grin* I can remember our VSTFY at 2 in San Antonio on Vacation ..having a meltdown for no visible or understandable reason.. and people staring at us. Every parent has had those moments *sigh* you handled it as you felt best :)
As you said ..the trip was for your DS .. and he enjoyed what he wanted to enjoy :)

[PrincessJill]

Trip reports are awesome.. and in my opinion the longer, the better! I read yours all the way through, and even though I don't have kids, I felt for you, lol. This doesn't have much merit coming from me, but I just wanted to say that I agree with your "don't force him" policy. My parents never forced me on anything I didn't want to do, and it was so nice to know that it was all up to me. No pressure - made me feel good. One day your DS will thank you! lol! Great trip report, thanks for posting it! And I'm happy your trip turned out so great!

[Val32]

Glad to hear you had a great trip!
and if you think your report is long, you should see mine!!

[cinderbella]

no such thing as a long trip report thank you ma'am!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it soundslike you had a good time despite the DS dilemas,,,,,the terrible twos isnt that what they say?