Audition - Sword in the Stone

Last week Shara tried out for the Easton Children's Theater production of The Sword in the Stone. It sounds like there were more younger kids trying out than parts available and she didn't get in. They offered a workshop and she was going to do it, but then that was cancelled due to lack of interest. It was also pretty late at night. She was unphased about the whole thing and will be trying out for the Spring musical, The Wizard of Oz. I'm guessing what made it such a small loss is chorus. She started yesterday at school and is so excited. She didn't like the trumpet and decided last year that an instrument wasn't for her but she really wanted to sing and now she is and loves it!

Sunday we did the corn maze at Flint Farm and made it to the exit in just over an hour! Last year we were going in circles and never got to the end. We were so happy we had to treat ourselves with ice cream, as opposed to console ourselves with ice cream. I think it tasted just as good either way.

Saturday Shara went with Auntie Chris to Frozen on Ice at the Dunkin Donuts Center. She had a great time. Maybe she'll fill in some details. All I know is they went to the show, then to Chili's for fajitas, then to Oma & Jidors for a visit and dinner.

Friday she was at a birthday party and had another fun night. Silly photos were taken, a scavenger hunt was had and truth or dare was played. There was a chocolate fountain and everyone had to have at least one strawberry and she did and also had chocolate dipped marshmallows.

2014 Disney Vacation - Day 3

This was the day we were waiting for - the AFY performance! But before then, we had other parks to take on. We had reservations at the Kilimanjaro Safaris® for about 10 AM. We also had to get Shara's props and clothes ready for the performance and did a great job getting it all together. We started by getting a pretzel for Alan and Shara had a bite or so. FastPass worked great and we got right on the bus and out to see the animals.

They were quite amazing and our guide was also wonderful. His name was Billy and he seemed to be doing more than just playing the role of the laid back guide. He seemed to really enjoy sharing the animals and talking about them with us. We saw; Black Rhinos, Cheetahs laying in the shade, Crocodiles, Elephants - one was carrying a big mouthful of hay to a shady area, Flamingos, Giraffes - 2 kinds; reticulated and Masai, Hippopotamus in the water, a sunning Lioness, Warthogs, Wildebeest, Zebras, and an Ostrich that came right up to the truck and gave us all the funniest look! We also got a look at a pile of Ostrich eggs. There were other animals too and one that was our drivers favorite but I can't remember the name. The cool thing were the animal's horns, which were long and twisty, but the animal didn't ever need to drink water its entire life!

After the safari we had brunch at the Kusafiri Coffee Shop & Bakery. Shara & I each had a breakfast wrap; scrambled eggs, goat cheese and spinach. They were really hot and really good. Shara ate about 1/2 but I managed to finish most of mine, though it was really big. Alan continued on the sweet road and had a caramel brownie and finished Shara's wrap.

On to the Kali River Rapids! We had another fastpass and got there close to 11:30 AM. We still had to stand in line but only about 15 minutes or so. We did get soaked! It was so much fun but too short! We would have all been happy to go again. Shara and I were in the front so didn't see anything that was coming at us. Lots of fun and Shara's favorite thing in the Animal Kingdom.

I thought we'd next go to the Finding Nemo musical but Shara had no interest so we wandered a bit towards our next fastpass - the Festival of the Lion King. The show was at 1 PM and we were told to get there between 12:30 and 12:50. We easily could have gotten there much closer to 1 PM and not have to wait as long, but live and learn. The show was good. Shara said, "it was pretty cool". Alan liked the monkeys the best. I liked the singing but it didn't have the magic it had for me the first time I saw it. The show ended and we ran over to Asia because Shara wanted to see what she thought was a Kimono. It turned out to be an expensive nightgown but we did need to look for a shirt for Auntie Chrissy so ran around to a couple of places and did find a good one. I got the same but in blue.

Then it was time to get back to the car and on to Port Orleans and the French Quarter to meet up with the rest of the AFY kids and get Shara on the bus to Downtown Disney for the performance!

The parents were meeting the kids after the show at Cirque du Soleil but until then, we were without Shara. We got a couple of drinks and looked in a shop or two then headed to the stage. The kids did a great job! Here is one of the videos:


It took a while for Shara to reappear after her performance but when she did, she was wired! They gave all the kids special cast member bags and they also get to keep the cool AFY Disney t-shirt. We took way to long to get pretzels at the Wentzels but they were good and we were hungry. We walked to the Lego store at the other side of Downtown Disney and thought about seeking shelter because it looked like a storm was coming. We then went to the Disney store and Shara looked for a shirt. We had to get moving because we had 7:15 dinner reservations at Sanaa. We had to call and say we'd be late because it took us forever to walk back to our car and then there was a backup leaving the area. But we got there and while we waited, go to view more giraffes and ostriches and other really cool animals. I didn't think there'd be so many to view, but there were!

Dinner was good. We split the Indian-style Bread Service - Traditional Naan, Garlic-Ginger Naan, Spiced Naan, with Cucumber Raita, Spicy Jalapeño-Lime Pickle, and Tamarind Chutney. Shara got the Butter Chicken and Beef Short Ribs combo, served with rice. Alan had Chicken Vindaloo and Spicy Durban Shrimp served with rice and I had the Paneer Tikka and Seasonal Vegetable Wat (ratatouille) with the 5-grain pilaf. It was good but not awesome. It was very nice to sit down and be waited on and the service was great!

Since this was our last day/night in the parks, it was our last chance to go to Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios. Alan wanted no part of it - he was far too tired, but Shara and I ventured out and had a terrific time. We parked pretty close and while we were going in, saw the Frozen fireworks spectacular. We hopped on the tram and the person running it questioned if we meant to get on it or missed our stop, since it was so late, I assume, walked right in and over to the amphitheater. We got perfect seats and only had about a 15 minute wait before the show started. Shara loved it! 100 thumbs up! So glad we didn't miss it. On our way out we decided to see if there was a shirt for her to buy and she did find a cool one in one of the stores. It's an extra small adult shirt but the adult designs are so neat and she'll be able to wear it for a while. It does have "Walt Disney World 2014" on it so it's also a souvenir. Another very full, fun day!

2014 Disney Vacation - Day 2

It's hard to remember the days but the second day was Wednesday. We went to Hollywood Studios in the morning and then Epcot in the afternoon. We got a fairly early start because time was short - packing 2 parks in one day. We wanted to join in the Frozen revelries and got to the park in time to get a couple of bagels at Starring Rolls and find a spot for the 11 am welcome parade. Alan found a spot for us and Shara & I went for the bagel run. We managed to get the bagels, cream cheese them, and find Alan in time for the parade to start. It was cute - they had snow made from soap foam coming down and the stars on their floats. Loud music, dancing and costumes that must have been pretty hot for the dancers on a very hot day like this one. After the parade and a cute comedy skit and sing-along with Olaf and the princesses, it was off to Beauty and the Beast. Shara enjoyed it but didn't seem blown away. We also went to the Little Mermaid, which wasn't quite as good as we remembered. The mic on Ariel needed to be turned up and it really seemed shorted that we remembered. Shara did love the Great Hollywood Movie Ride. I was happy about that because it introduced her to several of the classics and she even knew some of them already. Her favorite part was when our driver switched places with one of the live actors in a scene and she also liked the fire.

We ended up not seeing that much but did get a couple of cups of ice water for Alan to make good on his ALS ice bucket challenge. He did it outside the park, in front of Olaf, which was cute - Alan got frozen with Frozen.

Post by Alan Yabroudy.

We took the Friendship Boat to Epcot and left the car at Hollywood Studios. While waiting for the boat, we saw two kinds of turtles in the water, many fish (poisson, as the young French speaking boy noted), and ducks (one even pooped a lot!). We got a nice tour of some of the resorts - Swan & Dolphin, Boardwalk, a couple others. and a break from walking. It was quite a hot day - very humid, and we made good use of the Olaf fan.

Studying the map - on the boat

We got to Epcot via the back entrance near the International Gateway. Of course we were all turned around, but figured out we were in the UK pretty quickly. Shara decided not to do the Phineaus & Ferb scavenger hunt so we went to France to, what else, eat! The place was so busy we decided to get a bite at Les Halles Boulangerie & Patisserie. Alan had a turkey BLT, Shara had the Creme Brulee and I had a Salad Nicoise. I was planning on having ice cream and needed to have something healthy before all that sugar. The salad was good but we could only find a stand up table. There were several birds flying around and I believe they were nesting at the top of the walls near the dining area. A couple of feathers floated down. Bubbe would have loved it (sarcasm)! Alan & Shara went outside and sat at a table but I decided to finish inside, since it was still really hot out. After the salad, I did go into L'Artisan des Glace. As others have mentioned in various food blogs, it was a very difficult decision to make. I settled on the White Chocolate Coconut in a waffle cone, but the Salted Caramel, Profiterole, and all the other flavors, sounded equally delicious. I don't think there was a bad choice and I enjoyed the cone all the way to Future World.

We had fast passes for Soarin', The Seas w/ Nemo & Friends, and Mission Space. The first was Soarin' and it was phenomenal. I thought it was going to be a simulator that made us feel like we were hang gliding, where we'd lay in an aparatus, stomach down. It wasn't anything like that. We were strapped into chairs, in rows of about 10. There was a huge, emersive screen that started a movie that made it feel we were flying over California. It also had some smells, like oranges when going over an orange grove being harvested, but the main thing was the video and the moving of the chairs we were sitting in. It was really neat. The Nemo ride was not. It was pretty lame, actually, but it didn't take too much time out of the day. Our last fast pass for the day was at Mission SPACE. We had to decide if we wanted to go on the Orange or Green level. We opted for Green (tame) and Shara & I felt it was good enough for us. Alan wanted more so he went on the Orange one after. He said there wasn't much difference between the two. While Alan went on the Mission SPACE orange ride, Shara & I went to find something else to do. We ended up going in Spaceship Earth - the big sphere. She loved it - viewing the history was cool and having the ride customize our future vacation was even cooler. On our trip, Shara will have an android along to play games with her, such as chess, and we'll get to fly in personal flying cars. She also liked riding in the dark car.

We had 8:40 dinner reservations at Tokyo Sushi and were hoping to get seats close to the window so we could see IllumiNations in comfort. We didn't get seats by the window but we did get to see the fireworks and hear the music. Shara's getting pretty jaded by now with the fireworks so it wasn't as spectacular as her sushi. While waiting for dinner, we did try the shaved ice - I got the rainbow - tangerine, melon and strawberry. As recommended by others, I got the sweet milk but we all agreed it wasn't very good. I seemed to be the only one who liked the flavors so was the one to eat most of it. Dinner was good. Alan got a spicy roll, salmon w/ truffle oil and he raved about it. Shara really liked it too. Alan also got an order of the  tempura calamari with a spicy sauce. Shara had miso soup, a rainbow roll and we split edamame for the table. I had a salad w/ ginger dressing and this combo roll - 2 spicy rolls with lots of tempura flakes. Everything was good. The place was very loud but they did pipe in the music for Illuminations, which was cool. We skipped dessert, already had it, and made our way through the closed park to find a bus to take us back to Hollywood Studios and our car. The park's a really neat place to be when it's mostly empty and rather dark. Thank you Alan for driving us back to the resort so we could crash after yet another busy day!

Very tired, waiting for the bus to Hollywood Studios

2014 Disney Vacation - Travel Day

I'm not going to give a detailed account of our plane ride here or the experience at the airport because it was rather mundane. We got to the airport, parked, took the elevator, got something to eat, waited, waited, waited, found watching the luggage removal and loading from the plane was interesting and Shara really wanted the hot pink suitcases, learned the fuel is stored in the wings, like Jet Blue because they have in-flight TVs, enjoyed watching the food channel and learned how to make beef bourguignon and baked Alaska, shared headphones - lucky we have the style where we can each take a bud (first world problem), got off the plane, got our luggage, got our car, got to the resort, got unpacked, and got to bed.

Disney

Let's see if I can remember - Alan, Shara, Kristin & Katie went to all the parks and one day did all four the same day.

Magic Kingdom - saw the parades, rode on Dumbo and Shara went up as high as it would go, had a chocolate croissant at Main Street Bakery, and I'm sure other things that daddy & Shara will have to fill in. When I joined them Thursday evening, we saw the Celebrate parade, ate dinner @ the fish house, found a spot near liberty square to watch the ElectroMagic? parade, and froze while finding a spot to watch the fireworks. While we were waiting for the light parade, Shara, Katie & I went to look for apple pie (for me), but couldn't find any so we all shared a popcorn. It was so fun walking around with the girls. They were busy chatting and telling me about how scary Ursula was in the Little Mermaid musical. Really cute to watch and I'm thinking we need to consider having a friend of Shara's join us on another vacation or travel with another family.

Hollywood/Disney Studios - again, wasn't there with the family, so telling this secondhand. They went to the Little Mermaid musical and Katie was rather scared of the eels & Ursula. Shara had seen it before but didn't like the water. She did think the Muppet 3-D movie was fun and she wasn't scared. The parades were the great at all the parks. Can't see too many parades. But the most fun of everything was the Toy Story ride. It sounds like they went on that 3 times. When the first got to the studios though, they were singled out to join Donald, Daisy, and Minnie Mouse in a private dressing room where they had photos taken and got to dance with the characters - just Alan, Shara, Kristin & Katie. We'll post pictures when they get off of Alan's phone.

Animal Kingdom - not sure what they did there, other than see the parade.

Epcot - had fun playing the recycling game. Katie thought of the team name "the composters" and Shara picked "the recyclers". I know Shara & Alan went through the imagination ride with Figment and that was cool. They also went through the worlds and saw the flowers from the flower show - there were tons shaped like the characters - very neat. It sounded like China was the most interesting to Shara. I joined them there Friday evening and we all went back into the China exhibit and saw the statues of the Tomb Warriors. Definitely will consider a trip to see the real thing! We had a yummy supper in Norway - ham, turkey, bacon grilled sandwich w/tomato & cheese, a nice vegetable soup and a sweet pretzel. At least it wasn't too cold under the pavilion we ate at, but then had to go back into the cold and made our way around the World, stopping often in shops to look around and get warm. The ornament shop in Germany was very nice. There were a couple of ornaments I was close to buying. We then stopped going around when we got to the end of the World Showcase and settled down to watch light show. Again, a cold race back to the room with a practically sleeping Shara.

Our last morning was spent with me getting upset at the people at the hotel because they gave us a hard time about holding our luggage after we found out they couldn't check the bags with the airline for us because their connection to the airline was terminated. Glad I was smart enough to go back and check again because Ernesto was good enough to get our tags printed and luggage stored and checked at the airport for us. We then got on the bus to Downtown Disney for some shopping and brunch (hence my cranky-weepiness). We ate again at the Earl of Sandwich. This time I had the turkey club (basically), Alan had a jerk chicken sandwich, and Shara the turkey & cheese. She wouldn't eat the fruit cup, so I had that. We then rode the carousel and the train (just Shara), looked in a couple of stores, and went to Giradelli's. I had been wanting ice cream from there from before we left, but they had no light ice cream and I wasn't going to risk getting sick for the trip home, so Alan got a sundae & Shara & I had a few bites. We both agreed that the peanut butter was overwhelming and just the hot fudge would have been best, but it was certainly tasty. We then got back to the resort in time to go to the bathroom, get our carry-on, and get the bus to the airport. Going through security was fine. I had taken a chance and left the little laptop inside the carry-on, so they needed to take it out and run it through separately. When we got to the terminal, with about an hour to spare, Alan was looking in the case to get something for Shara to play with and saw that there was no laptop. I went back to the other side of the airport, back through security and had to ask if they had it, trying not to sound utterly stupid for leaving it behind. They did and I got back in plenty of time. They actually had an express security line that I was able to go through.

The trip back was somewhat uneventful. Shara was a little tired and cranky and didn't want to eat anything, or sleep, or play much. So the trip probably felt a little longer than it really was. When we got back to Boston, we got our luggage and found the limo and Shara fell asleep on the way home.

Vacation - Day 8

When we finally got moving, we went to Downtown Disney Marketplace. It was great. The shops were very cool and the Disney store they have there could be done in a whole day, rather than the couple of hours we spent. Shara picked out a charm necklace and Ariel fashion play set - the rubber dresses and dolls and accessories. And a Gibbitz. I think she made good choices for spending the money nonny gave her. We then went for a quick stop at the Lego store where Shara had more fun with Alan playing with the pieces they have attached to the outside of the store then looking in the store. Lunch was a mess. Shara was hungry, tired and cranky and wanted a hot dog ($5). So Alan got to stand in line at the Earl of Sandwich for us and I took Shara for her hot dog, which needed ketchup and she wanted to open it herself and wanted the hot dog cut up and we didn't have utensils so I held it in the bun for her but I wasn't holding it the right way. You can see, lots of fun. Alan arrived and we had lunch and I wanted a sundae from the Giradelli Soda Fountain - been looking forward to it for weeks. So I got my sundae and no one else wanted any, so I had it in the car while we started our long drive.


Wow, what a long ride. We basically got going as early as we could and made a couple of stops, ate dinner in the car and only a small fight for Shara to take a nap. It's becoming obvious to us that when she starts picking fights, she's either ready for a nap or hungry. She really does pick fights too. This time she was telling me that I didn't put the dress on her Ariel the right way, it was backwards, but it wasn't. So it was time for a nap and she did reluctantly go to sleep. She woke and we were in traffic for a while. We played, watched only 1 movie 2x, and then it was time for dinner - waffle with strawberry sauce in the car. I finished my salad from lunch. Alan had a burger and fries. We got back at about 10 PM. Not too bad, but still long with the traffic jam we ran into.

Disney - Disney Studios

Last night and this morning we were having a family discussion about the option to go back to the Magic Kingdom, because we really only saw Fantasyland, or go to the Disney Studios as planned. I was voting for Disney Studios because all the other things at the Magic Kingdom wouldn't interest, or rather would scare, Shara. I also knew that Shara wanted the Magic Kingdom because now it was familiar and the Studios was not, and she doesn't want to go to the unfamiliar. Well, as usual, I won out and we went to the studios. An aside, we had to go to the 2 hour time share presentation at the Hilton, and ended up getting a week every other year, so this "cheap" vacation really wasn't!
The first thing we did when we got there was head over to "Beauty and the Beast" musical. Of course we had to go to the bathrooms and get frozen lemonades on the way. The show was great. On the way out, Shara tossed a penny into the fountain and had to test the water temp. It was cold and smelled like the pool she used to go in for lessons. Next up was the Street Parade. Shara was both scared and happy. She liked all of it - but at first she didn't want to get too close and we had a little tension about where to stand. She was worried we weren't standing back far enough but mommy and daddy tried to tell her that we wouldn't let anyone come close and they had to stay on the street and wouldn't come near us. It was our job to worry about these things, not her. She should just relax and have a good time, knowing mommy and daddy would take care of her. We then went to see "The Little Mermaid" show. That was very cool, but we did need to wait in line for quite a bit. We spent more time in line than I thought we would and I'd never go at a peek time again. Not that the lines were boring and Shara was great, but we missed out on several things because we ran out of time. We then went to get some dinner and tried to go to the 50's Prime Time Cafe, but they said without reservations we couldn't get in until after 9 PM. We ended up going to the ABC Commissary for pretty much a fast food dinner. Then we went and played for a long, fun time at the "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" play area. Shara had so much fun, and Alan and I had one tense moment, or actually about 3, when Shara and I played hide and seek and she was braver than I realized and went down this netting by herself and literally disappeared. We couldn't find her for several minutes and when we did, found her by the entrance. She had no idea we wouldn't be able to find her and so we had another talk about not leaving our site. The best part was when she wanted to climb up the spider web - this big rope climber that went up really high and then back down. She was really slow at the beginning and all these big kids were passing her. I went back out and had Alan go with her because he's better at being in the way than I am. They had so much fun and when they got out, a big line of kids followed them out. Alan commented, "what a log jam we made"! Shara wanted me to go with them and said, "it's ok mommy, you'll like it. it's a lot of fun. Don't be scared." We all went and it was fun, especially because she was getting faster and more comfortable on it. She ended up going on about 5 times.

The only reason Shara would leave was because the place was going to close! We went to find ice cream then get seats for Fantasmic. Shara was less than happy with Fantasmic - she claims it was too scary but didn't ask to leave or act scared, so I don't really think she was. Probably one of those scary but fun times. I found it good, but also too much Disney movie filler. I think less filler and the same amount of live action and it would actually be better, though not as long. Wouldn't feel cheapened by it.

Well, getting to the car was a piece of cake, since it was just a tram ride away. Back to the hotel, sleep and pack for our long trip back to Grandpa and Nonny's!

Disney - Magic Kingdom - Part 2

So now it was time to visit the princesses. They are available for photos in the Judge's Tent at Mickey's Toontown Fair. That line was only about 45 min, so I waited while Alan took Shara to the attached store to buy a glow thing for the fireworks, because she still wanted one from last night and I thought it would be easier to get one now. So Shara met Belle, Aurora, and Cinderella. Snow White wasn't there and Ariel is in her Grotto. The photographers were really good - they let us take as many pics as we wanted and then went in to take theirs. Shara was beaming and had no interest in autographs, just the picture.

Disney Tip - if it's a hot day, the frozen lemonades are really refreshing.

Realizing the time, though it didn't feel like we did much and could really spend two more days discovering the rest of the Magic Kingdom, we needed to head off to get Shara's dress for dinner with Cinderella.

Another Tip - the not so expensive princess dresses will easily roll up and fit into a backpack and not make you go all the way back to the car to retrieve it.

I hadn't thought about what it would take to get back to the car - monorail to the Ticket center, tram to the car, tram back to the ticket center, monorail to the hotel. It actually wasn't bad but I worried if we didn't get to the hotel in time for our reservations they'd give them away, or at least make us wait a much longer time. Well we did get there on time with not too much running. Needless to say, I didn't feel very appropriately dressed for Cinderella's Happily Ever After Dinner at 1900 Park Fare. I had park all over me! Shara on the other hand looked very cute.

It was a great event and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it for those wanting the princess experience. I can't compare it to Cinderella's Royal Table, but couldn't imagine it could be any better for the kids. It was a little crazy, the kids were a little excited and were all over the place, but for the most part, well behaved. Chaotic, but not annoying! Shara was in her glory and did say that it was hard to eat her meal with all the characters walking around and distracting her. The characters were great though. The step-sisters, step-mother, Cinderella, and the Prince were all available and came around to take pictures and really talk to the kids, all keeping in character. Shara smiled so much, it was well worth all the running around. I'm so glad we were able to get reservations. The food was also pretty good and they had the kids' buffet tables low so they could help themselves. They also had great desserts and I can't help indulging Shara. She only wanted ice cream, none of the tarts, and then I asked her if she wanted any chocolate chips, which they had in stead of sprinkles. She said yes and then I asked if she wanted gummy bears, so she had a couple of them, and a couple of M&Ms too. Interesting to me, on the way back to the table I noticed a kid who had a whole plate full of gummy bears!

When we were done with dinner and the prince made another appearance, which we missed earlier on, we headed back to the Magic Kingdom for the SpectroMagic Parade and Wishes Nighttime Spectacular fireworks show. While waiting, we got a mouse ear hat. I was in more of a buying frenzy than Shara or Alan, no big surprise. She didn't even want to go with me into the candy store. I thought it would be neat to make her own hat, but she spotted a princess had (the one she has on in the picture) and wouldn't budge to think about any other. When they started making the announcement saying the parade would be starting in 15 min., Shara got very nervous again, but it all ended happily and she was really wow'd. It was also cool to see 2 highschool marching bands before the parade started. I did end up holding Shara for the whole parade, but it was actually fun for me because I could see her reaction to everything. Wide-eyed for the whole thing and she was excited to see some of the fairies from Sleeping Beauty and Ariel again. We agreed that Ariel is a busy princess! After the parade we headed over toward Tomorrowland (through the back lot where some of the cast members park). We thought we got some good seats but when the show started, realized the tree in front of us would be a problem so we were able to move over and get a good view. The coolest thing was seeing Tinkerbell so close. I never really saw her very well, but this time she was right where we were! When it was over, we went with the crowd, back onto the monorail, on the tram and to our car - with Shara sleeping on me the whole time! Getting onto the tram with a sleeping Shara was rather interesting, but Alan was there to help if needed, like suggesting he go in first so I'm not hanging off the side with her.

We got to the hotel, took off Shara's dress and shoes, and she slept in her clothes, still covered in "Disney park".

Disney - Magic Kingdom - part 1

We woke up in time to get showered - all of us, with a very reluctant Shara, and had bars in the car on the way to Disney's Magic Kingdom. I forgot the rigamarole to get to the park - first park the car, then get the tram, then get the tickets, then get the Monorail, then get the bag checked, then get through the gate! When we did get through the gate, we arrived on Main St. and I kept looking for that big eyed, amazed smile, but didn't get it. We did get very interested looks and intent watching. We looked on the schedule board and I realized all the times I had were wrong so my plan was out the window, as it had been for all of my trip. I still like to have the plan even if it's never used, which is often the case.


We first saw smoke by the Cinderella castle and headed over to there until Shara noticed Meleficent and didn't want to have anything to do with it - we put on her "no masks" sign to let the characters know she didn't want them to come near her (I know, but it made her feel better). We held her and we saw a little - Mickey, Minnie, villans, nothing she wanted to watch, and had a hard time believing they wouldn't leave the stage. The next thing was to get ready for the "Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street Party". This was a tense time - needed to be back far enough and her first parade and she was so scared - again, wouldn't listen that the characters wouldn't come up to her, so we reminded her about her sign and Alan and I held her the whole time. Toward the end she looked like she was enjoying it a little, but would have been fine missing the whole thing.

We headed further into Fantasyland, avoiding the stage because Shara thought the villians would come out again, and saw no lines at Mickey's PhilharMagic. This was a 3-d movie and I knew Shara wouldn't like that much so I told her she could take off the glasses but she wouldn't even put them on. She didn't like it - a little too much interaction and she was scared of what would happen.

Next up was Ariel's Grotto and Shara had no problem standing in line for an hour to get her picture taken with Ariel. In face, we had fun playing in the little water park while Alan waited in line for us. When we got to our turn, Shara was so excited to meet her - this was why we came - she would have been just as happy to visit the princesses and not see anything else! but in the end, she was happy we (I) did make her see other things.

Though Shara wanted to go on Cinderella's Golden Carrousel next, we made her eat lunch - "but I'm not hungry" was the answer we always seemed to get on this trip, but we learned not to believe it and keep her fed even if it meant filling her up with not the most heathiest foods. We headed over to the Columbia Harbour House which was surprisingly good. Shara had Mac & Cheese, and added the cheese from my salad to make it super cheesy, grapes, applesauce, and apple juice. She ended up eating about 1/3 of the mac & cheese, 1/2 the grapes, 1 spoonful of applesauce and a few sips of juice. My Garden Harvest Salad with chicken was very good - nice greens, sunflower seeds and I used honey mustard dressing. Alan had the BLT salad and he enjoyed it a lot too.


So after lunch we hit the bathrooms, which were clean, well stocked, and kid friendly, as they all were though out the parks, and headed to the Carousel. Much to our surprise, Shara rode a horse all by herself and loved it! Alan stood in front to take pictures and I ended up standing to the side because there were no horses left after we got Shara settled in.


On to wait in line to go on "It's a Small World". We decided fast pass wasn't for us because we don't like to watch the time so much - you get a reservation for a much later time, and they were booking for about 6 PM. I like to plan but not be held to a schedule, so we waited in the hour long line, which went rather quickly. Shara was very good at entertaining herself and we all played together. She doesn't need to have toys but really uses us for that purpose - hanging, standing on our feet, having us pick her up with just our arms, etc. Human climbers! Well, this ride gave me my Shara Disney Moment. Her mouth was agape almost the whole time! She loved it and was amazed and didn't know where to look next. Much like me!

Well, we conquered one ride, why not try another. So we did. We got in line for Peter Pan's Flight and it was 80 minutes! Shara practically fell asleep on me for a bit and then jumped around and made friends with a 12 year old girl who was a little too touchie feelie for me, but Shara didn't seem to mind. I kept a close eye and the girls mother was also making sure she wasn't being too foreword. Alan helped her into the car and we were off - the ride lasted about 5 minutes, way too short for such a long wait, but Shara liked it and I liked that she wasn't scared about flying around in the cars and dipping, and going around the bends. I always felt a little out of control on that ride.

Disney day 1

We got a very late start because Alan was up 1/2 the night with a crisis at work, which meant I was up a lot too. We ended up getting on the road around 9 AM and had a rather pleasant and uneventful drive - stopped for a few breaks, had fast food for lunch (yes, me too), and got to the hotel around 5:30 PM. I can't remember anything except that Shara watched several of her princess movies and did take a nap, though not willingly.



After getting settled in and eating our warm chocolate chip cookies - each of us ate the whole thing, we took quite a nice walk to Universal Studios Citywalk for dinner. There was a path lined with various aromatic flowers that we all enjoyed, though too much aroma for Alan. It surprises me that Shara likes flowers so much. I'm sure it's because we talk about them so much between me, Bubbe, and Oma, but we also talk about food even more and she doesn't get as into food as flowers. In many ways I think that's good. Citywalk was crowded and none of us were hungry and Shara wanted to go on the little carousel they had there. She didn't want to go on a horse and wanted me to sit with her on the chariot, which I did and we had fun, though with it being so small, it was a bit dizzying. Shara wanted a glow thing, and we said we'd look after we ate. Shara insisted she wasn't hungry but we said we were having supper and went to see how long the wait was at Margaritaville - 90 min, so we went to the food court instead and got from Moe's, which was pretty good. Shara even ate 1/2 her kid's burrito. I had a salad and Alan had a burrito. After supper, Shara still really wanted the glow thing and it was getting cold and I forgot to pack her hoodie, so we said that we'd take a quick look to find one on the way out, back to the hotel, but if we didn't find one, would get one later. She apparently forgot that conversation because she started having a fit, which she got over soon enough. On the way back to the hotel, she was nervous because it was pretty dark where we were walking and we had to try to convince her that we wouldn't let anything happen to her and she should stop worrying about it and let us do that, because it's our job. We got back to the hotel, cleaned up and got a good nights sleep because we wanted to be rested to meet the princesses at the Magic Kingdom!