ShannonAlbert.com - June 2009

Today we had some good things happen!

-I got a job offer from the ad agency I've been interviewing with that I consider very good which includes a similar salary to what I was making at my last job plus 3 weeks vacation and the week off between Christmas and New Year's (same vacation setup that Andy has). Needless to say, I am accepting it and will be starting on Oct. 29!
-We bought our house today!!!!! We closed at 3:30 and now have the keys to our new home. We need to get some things setup before we can officially move ourselves in (get our stuff moved out of storage, buy a fridge, cleaning crew, etc.) but we should be in very soon.

So Reaghan and Kami headed to the castle for her appointment. Kami had brought Reaghan's Cinderella dress so she slipped it on and hopped up into the chair.


Then it was time to get to work on her makeover!




She looked like such a little princess! People were stopping her all over the place to comment on how beautiful she looked.

Meantime, in another part of the Magic Kingdom, Blake was getting his hair cut at The Harmony Barbershop.


And then topped it off with a yellow Mickey painted on the back of his hair...


We still had some time before Reaghan was going to be done with her appointment so we headed off to take another spin on Buzz and the TTA (twice!). Blake on the TTA that he loves so much...


We meet back up with Kami and Reaghan and get some lunch at Casey's Corner. This would be our first try at eating a Quick Service meal on the Disney Dining Plan and holy moly! That's a lot of food they give you - huge drink, entree, side and dessert!

After our lunch, we were headed off to The Grand Floridian hotel for a free photo shoot. There, we met up with Whitney, a very nice Cast Member who would take over 60 photos of us. I brought Cast Member Appreciation cards to hand out to CMs who really stood out and this is the only one I would hand out the whole trip. Other CMs weren't bad but none stood out other than Whitney. Pics from our photo shoot...















After that, it was around 2:00 and we were TIRED. We headed back to our hotel for a nap before going out for the evening to Downtown Disney for some dinner and shopping.

Waiting at the bus stop...


One of the first stores we came to was the Lego store. We never actually made it inside as they've made the outside so much fun (and it's free!).


The dragon made of Legos!


We made our way to the other end of the Marketplace section for dinner. I had originally intended to eat at Earl of Sandwich but had heard so many good things about Wolfgang Puck Express that I decided we'd go there instead. The kids chose a seat outside, next to the fountain, under the awning. We all ordered pizza and soon it was raining. During most of our dinner, it rained and we sat covered eating our fantastic food.

Next stop was the GINORMOUS World of Disney store which terrifies me because of its size. Kami and I ended up checking out at two different registers and although my line was short, I had the slowest CM in history. She commented on each item, slowly put them in each bag, asked about where we were from, etc. This all would have been nice if it hadn't been busy but it was. Finally we make it out with some souvenirs including Mickey ears for the kids.


We head back to the bus stop to get back to the hotel. When we arrive at the hotel, it's close to the time for the fireworks to start so we find a rocky area along the water to watch.


We then head back to our room and collapse from a long but fun day. Tomorrow we are headed to the Animal Kingdom for a very different type of day!

I have to admit to being a little to intimidated to dive into the actual park touring part of our trip because there's so many details to remember and pictures coming from a few different sources. Deep breath....let's give it a try! Warning: this is a very long day as we did so many things. Report will be very lengthy!

Friday, September 28, is our first day to tour the parks. I had lots of work put into this trip and I think Kami may have started to see why. It's a huge orchestration to get everybody going where we need to go, on time, with everything we need. In addition, navigating WDW (which is the size of Manhattan) is a feat and having it well researched ahead of time helps navigation to run smoothly. The backpack packing list that I had pre-typed was something we referred to each night as we prepared for the next day, outfits were laid out, plans for the next day were discussed. Kami and I really had it down even from this very first morning without it feeling stressed or too hurried.

The kids had set out their Tinkerbell gift bags and when we woke them up, they sprang up to see what Tink had left them. Looks like she filled the bag with some things and also left us a few rules for our trip!


This short list of rules worked much better than I ever thought they would throughout the week. Kami was often threatening to email Tink if behavior was bad but I don't think she ever actually did that. ;)

So we were off around 7:20 to head to the Magic Kindgom's Little Ones Extra Magic Hour where Fantasyland will be open for an hour before the rest of the park. We are about 20 minutes early which gives us enough time to get our backpacks searched and use our room keys/tickets for the first time. We do end up waiting for a bit before we are let in but the weather is nice and the crowds are relatively light.

The countdown is yelled out and as soon as we hear the 3....2....1...we are off! We opt to skip the stroller rental right at the front of the park since it will be very crowded initially and opt to pick one up in Fantasyland a little while later. Kami snapped a few shots on our way in...



First ride is Dumbo which took a few minutes to get onto. If you don't do this ride first, you don't really get much of a chance to do it later in the day as the line grows so quickly. I will probably choose to skip it on future trips since none of the other rides have waits like this one!


After that, we were off to Winnie the Pooh and Peter Pan with no waits. Reaghan didn't like Peter Pan because it was dark but did like the Pooh ride. Then we're off to It's a Small World with no wait again.

Kami had to point out to me that this last part of the ride is where all of the various cultures come together in one room. I hadn't noticed but now it's so obvious. I'm not very perceptive sometimes.


I wanted to be out of Fantasyland by 9 to move onto other sections so we head toward Tomorrowland. We stop at the Indy Speedway cars on the way. This ride isn't great but it's so visible from this section of the park that if you don't do it and then the kids beg to do it, you'll probably have a long line. Better to do it early while the line is short and get it out of the way. The line was short until the Cast Members stopped the ride to pull out more cars which took probably 10 minutes.



After that, we were off to Buzz Lightyear which was Blake's favorite ride last time. We walk right on and it's fun and we're able to get more points than our previous trip. I'm not sure Reaghan understood the concept of the laser gun at first but it's still fun to ride and spin and look at the visuals. After that, we were off to ride the Tomorrowland Transit Authority a.k.a. The People Mover. This basically gives you a tour of Tomorrowland and lasts probably 12 minutes or so. Blake loves it. LOVES it. He loved it last time too.

At this point, we're off to Toontown to meet up with some characters! I'm really, really not into characters and Blake's only into Mickey but Reaghan likes the characters so we are making time for them for her. We head into see the princesses. Reaghan gets to meet Aurora, Cinderella and Belle. I comment to Kami that these are really pretty princesses and I'm surprised to find "the pretty ones" in this location. She had nothing to compare to so she wasn't quite sure what I meant I don't think. She will find out exactly what I mean later in the trip. :)



After Blake had waited patiently for Reaghan to meet with the princesses, we were off to Mickey's house to meet with Mickey since Mickey is the only character Blake will meet. Let's see how many times we meet Mickey on this trip. We met him at Chef Mickey's last night and then today at his house. Mickey count: 2.


At this point it's 10:30 and we are scheduled to split off. Miss Reaghan has an appointment at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique in the castle for her princess makeover and Blake wants to head to the barbershop for a haircut and maybe a few rides while we wait for their appointment to finish. Along the way, Kami and Reaghan stop for a whirl on the teacups.


We are up to 11 am on Day 2 and I'll have to continue with the rest of the trip report for this day tomorrow. This report takes as long to compose as it did for us to actually do it! :) Next installment will include Reaghan's makeover, Blake's haircut, our photo shoot and some shopping and eating in Downtown Disney!

On September 27, we arrived at the day we'd been planning for 8 months - the day we leave for our trip to Disney World. Blake and I were super excited because we'd been two years prior and he had lots of memories from it but I was really looking forward to having a "redo" because Blake's behavior made our prior trip unbearable half the time. He's two years older and much more predictable now so I knew we'd be able to have fun. Kami had been to Disney World as a kid but was really looking forward to taking Reaghan while she was little enough to enjoy the princesses and believe in the "magic."

Our flights both took off from our home cities and connected at DFW airport and then we'd fly together to Orlando and start our trip together from there. On September 27, Blake and I woke up around 5 and we were at the airport by 6 and ready for our 7:05 flight to depart. Kami's flight was due to leave much later but she'd also have a much shorter layover at DFW airport. We would have a 2 1/2 hour layover with this much earlier flight. As we are waiting at our gate, we get word from the gate desk that our plane has had some issues with lights coming on and a crew was being dispatched to come and take care of it. Some people at the terminal were a bit antsy as they had tight connections but this didn't affect us personally since we had such a lengthy layover. As it turned out, we only left about 15 minutes later than scheduled.

Before we departed, I sent Kami some text messages since I knew she'd be up by that point, letting her know that we were on our way and would see her in Dallas. Wishful thinking! More on that shortly....

Once on board our small-ish plane, Blake and I are in the two seats on one side of the plane with Blake being on the window. I was on the aisle and a man sat across the aisle from me. At the beginning of the flight, he says to me "is that your son? He's a nice looking boy." I confirm that yes, he's my son, and thank him. Slightly strange but we've been approached over the years by a handful of men making similar comments. Never women, just regular guys that approach us and say similar things. I think Blake is a cute kid but the comments are always a little strange to get out of the blue. Blake is being quiet and just staring out the window and I figure I'll just sit back and close my eyes while I can. Then Mr. Complimenter decides to say some things to me that express how "amazing" it is that I'm his mom and how I must work out all the time, etc. Mr. Complimenter has now lost credibility with me because while I do workout 6 days a week and have lost some weight, I'm hardly a hard body worthy of being called "amazing" and especially while my eyes are closed and I'm clearly not wanting to talk to this man! Anyway, the flight from Wichita to Dallas is a very short one and we are soon touching down.

Once in Dallas, I get word from Kami that her flight has been delayed due to fog. Uh-oh. Her connection was already short and she may very well miss the second flight. Darn it! I kept constant tabs on the flight and Blake and I entertained ourselves for the 2 hour wait. I had packed gift bags for the kids to decorate for Tinkerbell to leave gifts in the room. I got out Blake's bag and supplies and he spent a long time on this project.


Kami's flight finally departs and then I see that our flight to Orlando is delayed. Maybe she'll make it after all! Her flight landed at about the same time ours departed (and she was in a different terminal) and she wasn't able to make the flight. I regretted that she wasn't on the flight but decided to look at the positive side to it - Blake and I would get a little bit of time alone to check out the hotel, get our souvenir beach towels and just spend a little time together. Also, by taking the later flight, Reaghan would be able to nap and she'd be in better shape to survive the evening.

Our flight from Dallas to Orlando was very easy with Blake sleeping most of the flight. I dozed off, read some magazines, etc., and was relieved to finally arrive in Orlando. We were off to take the tram to the main terminal, navigate our way to the Magical Express desk and we were quickly loaded onto a bus to take us to Disney World. Then we sit. And sit. And sit. It was probably only about 15 minutes but after the momentum of landing and quickly getting to the bus, it's an excruciating wait.

"Mom, why aren't we going?", "When is this bus going to GO?", "When are we going to be at Disney World?!"

The bus finally gets fully loaded and we're off on the half hour drive to Disney World.


Then, finally, we are there!


After a couple of stops at other resorts, we arrive at our hotel, The Polynesian. I get in line to check in and the Cast Member checking me in has a look of concern and says she can't find me in the system. After some checking in the back room, she discovers the issue and we are soon on our way to our room. It's the building and area that I've requested and I'm so thrilled! We even had a full rainbow in the sky as we explored!


Blake and I explore, buy our souvenir beach towels and I start thinking about our dinner reservation that evening for 6:40. It's pretty clear that Kami isn't going to be on time so once she lands, I call her to let her know that the Magical Express bus goes to the hotel (The Contemporary) where our dinner reservation is for the evening. I tell her to go ahead and get off at that stop and we'll only be slightly late for our dinner reservation. Blake and I hop on the monorail for our first ride of this trip and we head over to The Contemporary. We are very early (I didn't realize the monorail ride would be so fast!) and he begs to play in the arcade. My focus for this trip was to allow the kids to do as much of what they wanted to do while Kami and I wouldn't be riding or doing many grown-up things. Just trying to let them have fun, stay flexible and not be too commando. My first reaction is "no, I don't have money for the machines" but I should never doubt Disney's ability to take more money out of my pocket! Just scan your room key and within seconds, you have a game card and you're playing in the arcade!


I decide to go ahead and check in for our reservation in case there's a wait so that we'll be ready to go when Kami arrives. Turns out I really didn't need to do that since there was virtually no wait. Pretty soon I get a call from Kami saying she's in the restaurant at a table and wondered where we were. Just around the corner at the arcade, we'll be right there!

We FINALLY join up after a long travel day for our dinner at Chef Mickey's.


Chef Mickey's is such a fun way to kick off the trip and has lots of fun character interaction. It was a good way to test Reaghan's ease with characters and she was loving it.



Mental note to myself to include more character interaction in our touring plans in the parks! Blake isn't scared of the characters but he makes it very clear that he's only interested in meeting one character: Mickey Mouse. That's it. Nobody else. He also wants to know the name of the man inside the Mickey costume.


Then it was time for the music to come on and the characters to come out and everybody spins their napkins!


We all make it back to the hotel where my luggage has been delivered. Kami helps me with unpacking, we get our grocery order delivered to the room and then Kami's bags come so I help with that. We view fireworks from the balcony and then it's time for bed. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow with lots of stuff planned. I'm worried that after a long day of traveling the kids won't be able to handle it but we shall see what happens!

Got back from our Disney World trip late Thursday, Andy's mom arrived shortly after to watch Bob and Nicki's kids Friday - Monday while Bob left for the Chicago Marathon (Nicki had left a couple of days earlier to go on a 9 day tour of New England). Friday morning, Andy's mom fell after briefly passing out and Andy had to take her to the hospital to get 10-12 staples in her head. I was then in charge of all of the kids. Andy's mom had to (understandably) take it easy after returning from the hospital but after 4 days of being primarily in charge of 5 kids, I was beat!

To top it off, if you hadn't heard or read, the Chicago Marathon didn't go so well. Andy had another brother, Mark, who was also running in it. The heat index was so high that they kind of had to cancel it midway through. Mark and Bob ended up walking the end of it, many people were treated by medics on site and sadly, one man died. Such an unfortunate thing as marathons take such time and dedication. Hopefully Mark and Bob will run another one and be able to have favorable conditions and complete it within the time they want to.

House update: I thought we were done with the house but while I was @ Disney World, Andy reinstated the contract because our realtor's assistant has a lot of knowledge of construction and was going to be able to oversee the repairs. The repairs are now about half completed and we are supposed to close on Friday. I feel dumb even saying that we are supposed to close on a certain date because how many times have I said that now? I'm not even sure I'm convinced we're closing but we may possibly have a house by this weekend.

Disney World trip report will begin shortly!