Day 3+

Alright, where was I?

Day 3: We are on our way to Hollywood Studios, formerly known as MGM.
This park doesn't have a ton of stuff for little ones, but this is where Playhouse Disney Live is and since Molly has been watching Little Einsteins since she was born and knows to go pat pat pat to make Rocket fly, we knew had to go. We weren't disappointed.
She was thrilled to see the mural of the characters including Mickey, Pooh, Handy Manny and Rocket and couldn't wait to go in but we had another 45 minutes until the next show so we headed over to the Voyage of the Little Mermaid. It was good, but a little on the scary side. I don't think they had to do quite as much with Ursula the Sea Witch, but I also think I read this show is on its way out as soon as Little Mermaid is out on Broadway. So I'm glad we went to see it. Mermaid ends and we rush across to Playhouse Disney and make it into the 10:30 show. Molly is thrilled to see Mickey and all the characters. She was dancing, clapping and having a great time. Next I went to get a fast pass for the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. John decided he didn't need to ride it and would stay with Molly. I love roller coasters and with the fast pass I was able to get right on after lunch. I also won another prize, some Mickey ears!


After the roller coaster, we went over to the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground and Molly had a great time going up and down the stairs and once she found the little slide it was even better.

After spending some time there, we decided that we had seen most of what needed to see and were heading back to the hotel by 1 pm. Molly was able to take an almost 3 hour nap (I was able to sneak in a short one too) and then we were back at the pool. John went to the fitness center while we rested. There were only 3 other people in the fitness center and one of them was Nick Lachey! Yep...that was his big excitement of the week.

After naps and the Nick sighting, we went to dinner at the Turf Club, the restaurant at the hotel. The food was delicious. Service was a little slow but ok overall.

Back to the room and in bed early again.

Day 4: Time to see the Animals! I love Animal Kingdom. When we went last time it far surpassed any of my expectations. The safari is great, and the rides are fun too. Molly seemed to enjoy herself as she kept shouting "Anmals!" Sounds a little similar to Elmo...but we realized she was saying animals, which made sense because we kept saying we're going to see the animals today.




A rare Jiminy Cricket sighting:



There were two things I didn't like about the Animal Kingdom. Since we were there last time, the Tusker House has turned into a sit down restaurant rather than counter service. So the whole pavilion area outside of the safari is not available for eating and there were limited options at the counter service places we found. Had I realized that Tusker House wasn't available anymore, I would have done more research. They do have some great fresh fruit options though, and Molly ate almost an entire apple.

The other thing that was tough was how crowded the park seemed. It was mostly in Africa and Asia, and I joked that they wanted us to know how crowded it was over there...but maybe there is some truth to it. Despite the crowds it was well worth it.

Went on the Kali River Rapids (got SOAKED!) and the new Everest Expedition ride, which was fabulous! So much fun. Could have gone on it again.
But it was time to head home and get ready to go to dinner. It was our night out alone, woohoo!

Grammy and Poppy went to dinner early at the Turf Club so we could head over to Wolfgang Puck Cafe. It was nice to get out and enjoy ourselves without Molly needing to be out of her highchair after 15 minutes. And the food was great too. I had the NY Strip with horseradish mashed potatoes, John had the red snapper with garlic mashed potatoes. As I mentioned in the other post, we were shocked that the prices were actually less than Fulton's. And quality was just as good if not better. At Fulton's my filet was more well done than medium. At Fulton's we got to eat outside, which was great. But Wolfgang's had a fantastic view too and if you are there when it's super hot, you might prefer the air conditioning.

After dinner we went over to Raglan Road for a pint and some Irish music and then wandered around before heading home. As my sister says, she could come on vacation with us to watch Molly because we would be home by the time she wanted to go out anyway.

Day 5: We started the day at the pool and were expecting a visit from my childhood friend Angela but unfortunately her daughter woke up with a fever and she wasn't able to visit. Hopefully next time we are down there it will work out.

Ohhh...time for Grey's Anatomy. Must take a break now.

Back from Disney!

We had a fabulous trip. It was so much fun, I'm glad we decided to go. Of course I have wanted to go back to Disney as soon as we left the last time. But Molly was definitely old enough to enjoy a lot of it and will only grow to love it more.

I'll try to do a recap, but can't guarantee it will be as thoughtful as Becky's vacation summaries.

Pre vacation: We actually left Saturday at 4 pm...wait turn around, we forgot the stroller! Leaving again at 4:07 pm .... on our way to the airport to drop off Grammy and Poppy and spend the night at my mom's house so we could see her before Mother's Day. We were flying out of White Plains which is a great airport. It is tiny, only 2 gates. Also only 10 minutes from my mother's house. We spend the night, don't have to get up super early and on the way home she watches the arrivals online and when we've landed they leave the house. By the time we get luggage, they are there.

Day 1: 5:15 am, wake up. Is it time to get up yet? Nope. Can't get back to sleep. I'm like a little kid on Christmas morning. 6:15 am, hear Molly upstairs. Mom gets her. Lay in bed for a while longer until they make their way downstairs. 6:30 am, into the shower. 7:05 am out the door. 8:20 am on the plane and on our way to Disney!
10:50 am arrive in Orlando, get passes for the Magical Express and we're on our way to Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa. We stayed at Saratoga last time we stayed too. We were quite happy with it again. The rooms aren't quite as big as the two bedroom at Hilton Head, but you don't really spend a whole lot of time in the rooms while you are at Disney. Molly fell asleep on the bus ride to the resort and got about 45 minutes of rest so we immediately head to the pool. Molly has a blast in the Horse Fountain.

Once she's had enough, we head up to the room so we can shower for dinner and head to Fulton's Crab House for dinner. We wanted to go to a nice place for Mother's Day dinner and the food really was fantastic, but slightly overpriced for the portions you received. Got a better deal at Wolfgang Puck (see day 4).
After dinner we wander around Downtown Disney and into the World of Disney. I wish we had our video camera, but never would have expected the reaction when Molly saw it for the first time. We walked into the Princess section and we let out this big, "Oh NOOO!" It was the cutest thing and she continued saying that anytime she saw something she was excited about. We tried to get her to say Oh Wow, which she would repeat, but it was Oh No that would come out. Too cute. Next we were on to Ghirardelli for sundaes. Not the most organized place in the world. Need to go up the counter to remind them to make our sundae after people 10 numbers after us were getting their food. Tasted yummy though. Eat our sundaes and then wander more and find a carousel. Molly and I go for a ride. She was a little nervous about the horses so we opted for the chariot. She really is a princess. Which by the way, all the cast members call all the little girls all the time. She giggled every time they said it. Ok, so finally we take the boat ride home to Saratoga and go to bed.

Day 2: It's Magic Kingdom time!
Fortunately Molly is still mostly scared of characters, so there is no waiting in lines for autographs or photos for us on this trip. Hopefully we'll get one more trip with out autographs...crossing fingers...Head straight for Space Mountain and walk right on since it is only 9:15 am. Woohoo. Grammy waits with Molly since she is unsure about getting in and out with the new knees. Convince Grammy that she can ride it, so her and Poppy go for another ride while we head towards Dumbo. First bit of advice, always get the fast pass. Always. Dumbo doesn't have one, but Winnie the Pooh does. We saw and said, should we? Nah...we'll go on Dumbo then Winnie the Pooh. The 10 minute wait at Dumbo is more like 25. I wait in line while John wanders around with Molly until the very end and she joins me in line. Weeeee!
By the time we get off Dumbo, the fast pass we should have gotten would have been good. Oh well, live and learn and get the fast pass and head towards It's a Small World. No wait, walk right on. Perfect timing because we were big winners of the Dream Fast Pass! As part of the Year of a Million Dreams, they are giving our prizes each day and we won the fast pass which gave us a fast pass for all of the rides that have them. It was the best thing because it allowed us to ride way more than we would have. Head towards Peter Pan and then to Winnie the Pooh.
Speaking of Pooh, it's time for lunch at the Crystal Palace with Pooh and Friends. Super yummy food. I was full for hours. Molly loved seeing Pooh (which is what she calls all of the characters on Pooh) from a distance....




After lunch, I push Molly in the stroller until she falls asleep. Get to ride Pirates of the Caribbean with Capt. Jack Sparrow...and wow does he look like the real thing. Molly is still sleeping so we are off to Splash Mountain. Get soaked. I think Splash Mountain is actually my favorite ride at the Magic Kingdom. Get off, Molly was woken up by some screaming kid. But she's doing ok. Take turns with Grammy and Poppy to ride Big Thunder Mountain. Head to Pooh's Playground. Molly could have stayed there all day. Make one last stop at Minnie's house where Molly starts to turn into Destructo so we decide it's time to head home. Go to the pool for a bit, get some food from the Artist's Palette and eat in the room. Molly is in bed by 8 pm, and we aren't that far behind her. Couldn't even stay up to watch the finale of The Bachelor.

I think I will start a new post with Day 3 and beyond since this is long and I haven't even added the photos yet, which won't happen until after American Idol is over. Sorry.

3 more days

I can't believe my 14 weeks are up and I am back to being a full time mom in 3 days. And even better, at this time next Sunday I will be getting off a plane in Orlando!!! The past 14 weeks have flown by. It has been fun, might go back next year again. All depends on things.

Let' see, what else is going on here? Usually 18 month old type of stuff. Climbing, jumping running, saying No to everything. Oh and the temper tantrums. But over all good stuff. It's going to be interesting getting into a new schedule. At daycare Molly doesn't usually nap until 12:30ish but at home she is generally ready for a nap much earlier. So not sure how that will work for getting out and doing stuff. I'd love it if we could do some morning activities, come home for lunch, nap and then get back out if we want. Guess we'll have to wait and see.

Guess I'm not feeling particularly chatty this morning, and Molly has turned off the power switch for the TV so I should probably remove her from that area. Just wanted to say hi and let you all know we are still here...