Keith was kind enough to take blame for my significant lapse in blogging. To be honest, it is mostly my fault. I let things go for way too long and then I didn’t know where to start. I guess Keith just wiped the slate clean for me.
With that being said, I will start again with our trip to Disney World. As many of you know, Kasey has been potty training for a long time. One day, several months ago, Kasey all of a sudden decided it wasn’t cool to poop in your underpants. We were elated, to say the least.
Now Pap Pap Kane had mentioned once in passing that he would take Kasey to Disney World if he started pooping on the potty. Well, he never forgot the promise and called it in the second accident free day. Unfortunately, Mimi & Pap Pap weren’t able to swing a trip to Disney World this year, so Keith and I decided to bite the bullet and go on our own.
Yes, I realize that it was probably not the best idea for us to do financially right now, but we had a lot to celebrate. Afterall, it was the end of Keith’s night classes, Kasey was fully potty trained, it is nearly our 5th anniversary, nearly my birthday, and it would be our first family vacation with just the three of us (no other family members!). So, I did my research and managed to get a trip that included airfare, hotel, food and a $500 gift card for a somewhat reasonable price and we dove in. Let me say right now, that I am glad that we did.
Here is a quick outline of our trip:
Saturday: We left early in the morning to get to the airport. Yes, Keith was right and we did leave a little too early, but I’d rather be there early than miss the flight. Kasey was amazing in the airport and on the plane. He did ask to go to the bathroom three times in three hours, but once I turned Toy Story 2 on iPod, he was an angel.
We had a great flight and hopped on our bus to Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort fairly quickly. Upon arrival, check-in was speedy and our room was ready to get into. This made me happy because I wanted Kasey to be able to see the pirate theme before he just woke up in it. Needless to say, he was THRILLED to be able to sleep in a pirate ship.
Next, we quickly sorted through our backpacks and carry on and headed out to Epcot. To be honest, Keith is not a fan of Epcot. Personally, I really like it, but it does have some drawbacks. When we walked in Kasey was amazed by the giant golf ball. I stopped for a little bit to admire all of the flowers as it was the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival. We quickly made our way to Test Track and got our FastPasses. By this point, we were starving because it was 3:00 and we hadn’t had lunch, so we stopped for a quick lunch.
Once we had some food, we went over to Finding Nemo. It turned out to be one of Kasey’s favorite rides. Then, Keith let me go to Mission Space while he and Kasey went to search for characters. The green line for Mission Space had no wait, so I opted to do that. I was really disappointed to see that the wait for Soarin was crazy long, as it was all week. Needless to say, I didn’t get to go on that.
We continued to walk around the worlds in Epcot until dinner time. Now dinner was something to remember. It wasn’t because of the food, but rather that Kasey got to eat dinner with Cinderella, Jasmine, Alice, Snow White, and Aurora. He LOVED it. He was even kissed by Alice (she left the evidence behind).
Following dinner, we dashed over to Test Track to redeem our Fast Passes. Kasey is a thrill junkie just like me! The faster and crazier the ride went, the more he loved it. Once we got off, he asked when he could go again. By the time we got out of the ride, it was time to watch the fireworks. As I figured, Kasey didn’t want anything to do with the fireworks and he was tired. He actually asked to leave. So, we changed him into his pajamas and took him back to the hotel.
Sunday was a pretty relaxing day. We actually didn’t have any meal reservations, so we got up when we wanted to and took our time. We had a quick breakfast at the hotel and hopped on a bus for Magic Kingdom. The bus took quite some time because of a triathlon that was going on, but once we got to Magic Kingdom, our day went well! There actually wasn’t any wait for most of the rides. Kasey LOVED Splash Mountain and Thunder Mountain. He also became addicted to Pirates of the Caribbean. This began the transformation of Kasey into a pirate.
Being that the park closed early, we hopped on a bus and headed to Hollywood Studios. We had planned on checking out Toy Story Mania, but the line was CRAZY long. So, as it started to pour, we ate a quick dinner at Pizza Planet. After the rain let up a bit, we headed to MuppetVision and walked around for a while. Kasey was pretty tired, so we didn’t stay out too late. He got is picture taken with Mater and Lightning and we headed back to the hotel.
Monday was when the insanity really kicked in. Animal Kingdom was the park of choice for this day. We got there right when it opened and we quickly made our way to the safari. Kasey LOVED it. There was even a baby rhino, Lola, who was running around like crazy right next to our vehicle. Then, we had breakfast at Tusker House in Animal Kingdom. Kasey was excited because he got to see Goofy, Mickey, Donald, Daisy, etc. He just loved seeing all of the characters so close. Did I mention that the food was good? Because it really was!
Once we were stuffed, Keith and Kasey went to find characters while I shopped a bit. I met up with Kasey and Keith just in time to get a picture of Thumper. I had two happy boys! After that, we headed to Dinosaur. I had no intentions of getting on it, as I am deathly afraid of dinosaurs, but Kasey and Keith tried to go. The lady claimed that Kasey was too short and he was really bummed out about it. So, we headed to the flying dinosaur ride, which seemed to make everything better. Next, we went on a jungle trek to see the tigers, as Kasey HAD to see Raja. Then, we headed back to Tusker House for lunch. While there weren’t any characters, it was still a really nice little lunch.
Following lunch, it was getting really hot. We had passes for reserved seating at Finding Nemo, but we decided against it. Instead, we decided to go to Bug’s Life. What a mistake! Not only did Kasey declare that he had to poop before we walked in, but he got really scared and panicked. Once Kasey was settled down and had gone to the bathroom, Keith and I quickly went on Everest and then we went on the wildlife train to the back of the park. Our reason for going back here was to find Jiminy Cricket again. Well, that was a success, but you will never guess what I did! I touched a SNAKE!! You all know how afraid of them I am, but Kasey wouldn’t touch it unless I did. Let’s just say that I will NOT be doing that again. Kasey, however, fell in love.
This pretty much concluded our Animal Kingdom. We had time to quickly run back to the hotel to cool down a bit before heading to Downtown Disney to meet Tiffany, Tony, Conner and Owen. Tiffany and Tony are our friends that live in Florida. Keith met Tiffany at SUNY Plattsburgh (I think) and we have met up with them at least once each time we have gone down since then. Conner and Owen are their infant twin boys. Kasey just loved them to pieces and I really did, too. Conner was a cuddle-bug, which made me happy. Owen was pretty tired, but he was a trooper through it all. Our visit was so nice that we planned on meeting up again the Saturday we were leaving!
Tuesday morning quickly came and we headed to the Grand Floridian for our breakfast with Mary Poppins, Alice, Mad Hatter, Tigger and Pooh. Kasey LOVED the Mad Hatter (he calls him the Mad Mad Hatteren), but he said that he is too loud. Once breakfast was over, we hopped on the monorail and went to Magic Kingdom again. Kasey made us go on the teacups and Pirates again, which I was more than happy to do. We also hit a lot of the rides that we had missed the first day.
For lunch, we ate at Tony’s, which is inspired by the Lady and the Tramp. It was really cute and the food was great. Too bad there was just too much of it!
For dinner, we hopped over the Epcot to eat at the Garden Grill with Chip, Dale, Pluto, and Mickey. This was pretty neat because the restaurant rotates and the food is served family style. It was so good and we were serenaded by our waiter for our anniversary. While it made me blush immensely, he really did do a great job.
Once we were done dinner, we went on Fast Track again. We also made it on Maelstrom and Kasey and Keith went on Finding Nemo AGAIN. It was a fun day!
Wednesday was our first full day at Hollywood Studios. We had breakfast at Hollywood & Vine with June, Leo, Handy Manny and Jojo. Kasey had a blast and we were the first family through the door (we got a little card to celebrate it). Once I paid the bill, we hightailed it into line to get to Toy Story Mania. As soon as the park opened, Disney employees guided us to the ride. I snuck into the FastPass line and Kasey and Keith quickly got into line. It worked perfectly! We went right on the ride and then we had time to do the Backlot Tour. Once the tour was over, it was time for our FastPass to go back on Toy Story Mania. When I got over there, there were still FastPasses available, so I got another round of them. We grabbed a quick lunch and we were able to make it to the Lights Motor Action show, which Kasey and I really like. We also went on Star Tours.
Because it was so hot, we headed back to the hotel a little early and ate dinner there. Much to my dismay, Kasey puked on the table at dinner, but he felt better after. I think he was eating too fast and it made his stomach hurt. Anyway, we then headed to the awesome pool at the hotel for about an hour or so.
Thursday was another Magic Kingdom day and it all started with breakfast at the Crystal Palace with Pooh, Tigger, Pigglet, and Eyeore. This place holds a special spot in my heart because this is where we celebrated Kasey’s 2nd birthday. I remember that his speech was really awful, but all we could hear to the car was “Igger, Igger, Igger” being softly chanted by a tired little boy. Well, this visit didn’t fail to impress either. Kasey was in his glory and he ate really well. We were able to go on Pirates AGAIN and the teacups AGAIN and Buzz Lightyear AGAIN (are you catching a drift yet?). We were able to go see Tinkerbell right when it opened, which was really nice and Kasey got to drive in the racecars, which he loved. It was another hot and humid day, so we ended our Magic Kingdom visits with the train ride. Kasey actually fell asleep not long after we got off the train, so we headed back to the hotel.
Kasey slept almost the whole way to the hotel and then he was up and ready to go again. So, we went back to Downtown Disney to do some shopping. It was a pretty successful trip and we bought most of what we were looking for, which was nice. We then headed back to the hotel to prepare for our last day at the parks.
Friday was CHOAS!! We had breakfast at the Polynesian with Lilo, Stitch, Mickey, etc. It was really nice and, I think, one of the best meals we had. Our waitress even gave us two cupcakes for our anniversary.
We quickly headed over to Hollywood Studios and that is where the madness began. Did I mention that Friday was the first day of Star Wars Weekends? Oh yeah, INSANITY!! I managed to lose Kasey and Keith 30 feet from the entrance, so I knew it was going to be nuts. We dashed to the back of the park to see what Star Wars characters were out. On our way, we were able to pick up one last FastPass for Toy Story Mania.
Keith and Kasey were excited to see the Star Wars characters, while I could have cared less. All Kasey was talking about was Darth Vader and Boba Fett. Keith went really crazy in the Star Wars store and me, being the good wife; I waited in line for nearly an hour to pay for it all. While I was impatiently waiting, Keith and Kasey were getting autographs from the Power Rangers. Keith was happy about this because, I guess; Power Rangers were sold and are no longer Disney, so they will be leaving the park. Anyway, we grabbed lunch at the Sci-Fi Dine In and then we headed over to get the rest of the Power Rangers autographs. I waited in one line while Keith held a place in another. After, we headed Beauty and the Beast. Kasey really enjoyed the show, but he was more excited to go on Toy Story Mania again. So we finished out our trip with one of Kasey’s favorite rides.
Finally, we headed back to our hotel and ordered in pizza, again. Then, we just hung out and watch Pirate Kasey fight with the skull & crossbones curtain between our room and sinks.
Saturday morning came all too quickly. I woke up pretty early to get everything all packed. We ran to get a quick breakfast and Kasey bought a pirate set (hook, sword, eye patch, etc.). Then we went back to our room to wait for the Gisondis. Keith called to get our luggage picked up and Tiffany, Tony, the boys and Michael (Tony’s brother) arrived. We all got changed and headed to the pool.
Rather than going to the big pool, we opted to stay at the smaller pool right in our village. It was a great idea! The water was the perfect temperature and there weren’t many people. There were a couple of ducks that were swimming in the pool with us, which I thought was neat (until they started fornicating in the pool). After an hour or so, we dragged Kasey out and got changed. We made the hike down to have a quick lunch. Tiffany and Tony forgot the boys’ formula in the car, so they were really unhappy and Kasey was crying because his stomach hurt again (guess what happened later??), so we parted ways.
Both Keith and I tried to get Kasey to puke in the bathroom, but he wasn’t having it. So, we got on the bus for the Customs house and, guess what? My dear son puked on a packed bus. Needless to say, I was not happy about the mess I had to clean up. I changed Kasey and asked for our bags to be brought out to us. I quickly grabbed extra clothes, just in case, as Kasey was still complaining that his stomach hurt.
The bus to the airport was very delayed, but luckily we had plenty of time. When we got to the airport, I quickly got us checked in and we flew through security. Kasey wanted McDonald’s for dinner, so we let him eat a little bit. His stomach still wasn’t quite up to par, so we limited his food intake. Then, we headed over to our gate and Kasey met this adorable little girl that was on our flight. They played for a little while, until she got in trouble. They lived in Stowe, so I chatted for a bit with her parents. They were really nice!
Finally, we got on the plane. Kasey ate a ton of chips, Twizzlers, jelly beans, etc. He told me that he was feeling much better. I turned on Toy Story on the iPod and he watched it all the way home. Much to his surprise, his MiMi and Aunt Shannon were waiting for us when we landed. Kasey was chattering nonstop about everything we did.
Once we got our luggage and made it to the car, Kasey quickly fell asleep. We made it home in one piece by about 10:30. We quickly unpacked a few things and headed to bed.
