Esmerelda
04-18-2003, 07:31 PM
September 1, 2002-Part 1
***Warning. This one is very hard for me to write and may not be the most pleasant to read. It was probably my hardest day ever at WDW and the more I think about it, the more I realize the blame lies with me.
Three seconds after Mickey called to wake us up, Elayna was engrossed in a cartoon, so I hopped in the shower and tried to develop a strategy of the day. I was really in a good bit of pain this morning-I had really overdone it the day before. The combination of pushing a large child in a stroller, having pnuemonia(fluid build up in my lungs), and being on medication that induces sun sensitivity ended up taking it’s toll as I was quite tired and achy this morning. Unfortunately, I didn’t plan my shower to end precisely with the ending of the cartoon, so by the time I got out of the shower, another cartoon had started. I just made a simple request for Elayna to come take her bath so we could go to MGM when Elayna shrieks at me “Mother, Leave me alone. Can’t you tell I’m busy” WRONG way to start out the day. I decided today I was going to be the one in charge and I turned off the TV. Well, that was a bad choice on my part since the ensuing meltdown which included our “neighbors” banging on our walls, lasted a lot longer than the cartoon would have. I guess that leads us to Lesson Learned #12. Take your pick based on your parenting style.
LESSON 12A. Take a timer in the bathroom with you so you can coincide your exiting the bathroom and announcing it is time for a bath to the precise moment a cartoon is ending.
OR
LESSON 12B. Do your math. If a meltdown is going to last 12 minutes, and there is 10 minutes left of a cartoon, choose the cartoon. It just makes sense.
Well, after she recovered from her meltdown and got in the tub she was angry because she missed the cartoon. This further reinforced my desire to never have cable TV at my house. I gave her two choices of what to wear and she grabbed one of them from my hand angrily and threw it in the bathtub! I then sweetly said I guess you want to wear the other outfit and calmly walked out of the bathroom where I tried to focus and remember if the kid’s clubs were open in the mornings. After I took a brief timeout, I walk back in the bathroom and she is screaming that she wants to wear the outfit that is in the bathtub. At this point, my achy, unhappy body almost gives in and lets her wear the wet clothes, but common sense took over just in time. I nicely explained that we would hang those clothes up to dry and she could wear them tomorrow. As my type A personality is in full force and I’m thinking our life will end if we don’t get to MGM by opening, I try to get her to hurry up. All I could think about is how they would ship our bodies back to Alabama if we really did die. Is that why they ask our home address? How would they know who our next of kin was? Oh well, I digress. We get to the bus stop on time but she is complaining she is hungry. Of course, the reason she is hungry is because she turned down her three choices for breakfast, but that is irrelevant. The coolest thing happened at the bus stop though. There was another girl about Elayna’s age that was in an identical stroller(even the same color). Well, we were going to MGM and the first bus that came was for Magic Kingdom. Before both of us could begin to explain it was the wrong bus, Elayna and the other girl in unison started having a major meltdown(They were both upset b/c they probably both did not understand or care that there are buses that run for the other guests too and the bus sytsem is not set up to meet their individual needs). Once the meltdown started, neither one of them would listen to reason and they seemed to be enjoying trying to outdo each other in the intensity of their meltdowns. I told their parents, I am so glad my daughter is not the only child in the world that has so little frustration tolerance, and they assured me she was not. Just then it hit me-What if we were going to the same park? There is only room for one stroller/wheelchair on the bus! Before I had a nervous breakdown right there in front of Old Key West, I took a deep breath and asked them which park they were going to. Thank GOD they were going to AK and we were going to MGM. Soon our bus arrived and as we boarded the bus and their daughter had another meltdown due to wrong bus #2 I looked at them sympathetically and realized things could be worse. We get to MGM right before it opens and we discuss our plan of action. My friends from Germany are with us again and we talk about our “must see attractions” The first Little Mermaid Show didn’t start until 9:50 or so, so my friend Jutta went to get fast passes for it and the rest of us headed to ride Star Tours. Elayna had LOVED this attraction last time but was whiny and kicking her stroller and yelling I want to go see Little Mermaid! I explained that we were going to see Little Mermaid but the first show hadn’t started yet and that we would go to the first show. Well….that didn’t seem to matter to her and I just ignored her as we went into Star Tours. She then didn’t want to put on her seatbelt at Star Tours and I didn’t think they would start it until she had her seat belt on but they did. She quickly then decided it was in her best interest to fasten the seat belt. Talk about natural consequences! I think she enjoyed it but would not admit it. She then decided she wanted the cereal bar I had offered her earlier and munched on it while we headed back to the Little Mermaid. We still had 25 minutes to wait and the first Playhouse Disney show was about to start! They assured us we would be out in time to see the Little Mermaid but Elayna had seen people already standing in line for the Little Mermaid show and was not convinced. She was very slow getting out of her stroller and thhey were just about to shut the doors to the playhouse Disney show so I just walked on in, knowing Elayna would follow. Well, then I hear behind me a cast member say “Ma’am you can not go in there without your child.” Well, after a brief moment where I considered pleading that she wasn’t my child, I grabbed her hand, and pulled her in of course which caused meltdown # 100 something. All the nice parents with their perfect, quiet, happy children were looking at me with disdain and I felt like I should announce something like we are your pre-show entertainment since all eyes were on us. Luckily, she settled down rather quickly and even enjoyed the show. Well, I knew that we only had a few minutes to get to the Little Mermaid Show so I was trying to gently encourage her to hurry, not being too worried since it was only about 30 feet away but alas! Someone had moved her stroller! She panicked thinking she would never see it again, and here comes another meltdown. I find the stroller but by this time I saw that they were hurrying people in to the Little Mermaid Show so I tell her to hurry or we will miss the show! Then she starts crying and says “You PROMISED me we would see the Little Mermaid” The castmembers took mercy on my soul and reopended the doors and let us in just as the show was starting. Thank goodness she enjoyed the show.
LESSON #13. It would have been easier to have a leisurely breakfast and gone to Little Mermaid first, even if it meant missing Playhouse Disney and Star Tours.
After the Little Mermaid presentation Elayna and I and my friend’s children hurried to see Indiana Jones. By this time, I was not going to take any risks, and used Elayna’s pass that enables her to use her stroller as a wheelchair and we sat in the wheelchair section. So what does she want to do? Immediately get out of her stroller and walk around. Of course this results in nasty looks from people who think we are trying to abuse the system and I just look at them like if you only knew. The wheelchair seating is at the very top of the bleachers and although we saw the show pretty well, it was too far away for good pictures even with the zoom. This was Elayna’s first time seeing Indiana Jones and she really enjoyed it. After Indiana Jones, my friends very graciously volunteered to go stake out seats at Hunchback of Notre Dame while their son and I headed to Rock N Roller Coaster. His parent’s had gotten us fastpasses while we were at the Indiana Jones show. It was SO nice being able to walk without pushing 112 lbs(the stroller weighed 20). I love Rock N Roller Coaster-the queue, the music, everything! We then hurried to the hunchback show and found Elayna quietly eating some popcorn and drinking some lemonade and they expressed what a perfect angel she had been. I didn’t know at that point whether to be pleased or mad! I took SIXTY pictures of the Hunchback show, I must have known that it would be my last time to see it. We also used the “use stroller as wheelchair” privilege here as she is MUCH calmer while in her stroller. She enjoyed the show as did I. It was then almost 1:00 and we headed back to the resort. She was whining and impatient for the bus, and fell asleep as soon as the bus started moving. Unfortunately when we got to OKW she woke up and so we went to the snack bar go get something to eat. She wanted her food right THEN and was very impatient, screaming and kicking her kickplate so hard her stroller was rocking and so I wheeled her to a table and walked away from her to wait for our food. I could see her and was only about 15 feet away, but people walking by were looking at her puzzled like who has abandoned their screaming child screaming Mama, I’m hungry! I try to look completely innocent but then realize my cover is going to be blown when I go sit down next to her. Oh well….
After we eat, she is in a somewhat better mood and I decide we will do the finger painting at the Community Hall. She loves it and I have 20 minutes of peace and of not having to be responsible for her. I am totally exhausted by this time though, have a splitting headache, and decide we are going to hibernate.
***Warning. This one is very hard for me to write and may not be the most pleasant to read. It was probably my hardest day ever at WDW and the more I think about it, the more I realize the blame lies with me.
Three seconds after Mickey called to wake us up, Elayna was engrossed in a cartoon, so I hopped in the shower and tried to develop a strategy of the day. I was really in a good bit of pain this morning-I had really overdone it the day before. The combination of pushing a large child in a stroller, having pnuemonia(fluid build up in my lungs), and being on medication that induces sun sensitivity ended up taking it’s toll as I was quite tired and achy this morning. Unfortunately, I didn’t plan my shower to end precisely with the ending of the cartoon, so by the time I got out of the shower, another cartoon had started. I just made a simple request for Elayna to come take her bath so we could go to MGM when Elayna shrieks at me “Mother, Leave me alone. Can’t you tell I’m busy” WRONG way to start out the day. I decided today I was going to be the one in charge and I turned off the TV. Well, that was a bad choice on my part since the ensuing meltdown which included our “neighbors” banging on our walls, lasted a lot longer than the cartoon would have. I guess that leads us to Lesson Learned #12. Take your pick based on your parenting style.
LESSON 12A. Take a timer in the bathroom with you so you can coincide your exiting the bathroom and announcing it is time for a bath to the precise moment a cartoon is ending.
OR
LESSON 12B. Do your math. If a meltdown is going to last 12 minutes, and there is 10 minutes left of a cartoon, choose the cartoon. It just makes sense.
Well, after she recovered from her meltdown and got in the tub she was angry because she missed the cartoon. This further reinforced my desire to never have cable TV at my house. I gave her two choices of what to wear and she grabbed one of them from my hand angrily and threw it in the bathtub! I then sweetly said I guess you want to wear the other outfit and calmly walked out of the bathroom where I tried to focus and remember if the kid’s clubs were open in the mornings. After I took a brief timeout, I walk back in the bathroom and she is screaming that she wants to wear the outfit that is in the bathtub. At this point, my achy, unhappy body almost gives in and lets her wear the wet clothes, but common sense took over just in time. I nicely explained that we would hang those clothes up to dry and she could wear them tomorrow. As my type A personality is in full force and I’m thinking our life will end if we don’t get to MGM by opening, I try to get her to hurry up. All I could think about is how they would ship our bodies back to Alabama if we really did die. Is that why they ask our home address? How would they know who our next of kin was? Oh well, I digress. We get to the bus stop on time but she is complaining she is hungry. Of course, the reason she is hungry is because she turned down her three choices for breakfast, but that is irrelevant. The coolest thing happened at the bus stop though. There was another girl about Elayna’s age that was in an identical stroller(even the same color). Well, we were going to MGM and the first bus that came was for Magic Kingdom. Before both of us could begin to explain it was the wrong bus, Elayna and the other girl in unison started having a major meltdown(They were both upset b/c they probably both did not understand or care that there are buses that run for the other guests too and the bus sytsem is not set up to meet their individual needs). Once the meltdown started, neither one of them would listen to reason and they seemed to be enjoying trying to outdo each other in the intensity of their meltdowns. I told their parents, I am so glad my daughter is not the only child in the world that has so little frustration tolerance, and they assured me she was not. Just then it hit me-What if we were going to the same park? There is only room for one stroller/wheelchair on the bus! Before I had a nervous breakdown right there in front of Old Key West, I took a deep breath and asked them which park they were going to. Thank GOD they were going to AK and we were going to MGM. Soon our bus arrived and as we boarded the bus and their daughter had another meltdown due to wrong bus #2 I looked at them sympathetically and realized things could be worse. We get to MGM right before it opens and we discuss our plan of action. My friends from Germany are with us again and we talk about our “must see attractions” The first Little Mermaid Show didn’t start until 9:50 or so, so my friend Jutta went to get fast passes for it and the rest of us headed to ride Star Tours. Elayna had LOVED this attraction last time but was whiny and kicking her stroller and yelling I want to go see Little Mermaid! I explained that we were going to see Little Mermaid but the first show hadn’t started yet and that we would go to the first show. Well….that didn’t seem to matter to her and I just ignored her as we went into Star Tours. She then didn’t want to put on her seatbelt at Star Tours and I didn’t think they would start it until she had her seat belt on but they did. She quickly then decided it was in her best interest to fasten the seat belt. Talk about natural consequences! I think she enjoyed it but would not admit it. She then decided she wanted the cereal bar I had offered her earlier and munched on it while we headed back to the Little Mermaid. We still had 25 minutes to wait and the first Playhouse Disney show was about to start! They assured us we would be out in time to see the Little Mermaid but Elayna had seen people already standing in line for the Little Mermaid show and was not convinced. She was very slow getting out of her stroller and thhey were just about to shut the doors to the playhouse Disney show so I just walked on in, knowing Elayna would follow. Well, then I hear behind me a cast member say “Ma’am you can not go in there without your child.” Well, after a brief moment where I considered pleading that she wasn’t my child, I grabbed her hand, and pulled her in of course which caused meltdown # 100 something. All the nice parents with their perfect, quiet, happy children were looking at me with disdain and I felt like I should announce something like we are your pre-show entertainment since all eyes were on us. Luckily, she settled down rather quickly and even enjoyed the show. Well, I knew that we only had a few minutes to get to the Little Mermaid Show so I was trying to gently encourage her to hurry, not being too worried since it was only about 30 feet away but alas! Someone had moved her stroller! She panicked thinking she would never see it again, and here comes another meltdown. I find the stroller but by this time I saw that they were hurrying people in to the Little Mermaid Show so I tell her to hurry or we will miss the show! Then she starts crying and says “You PROMISED me we would see the Little Mermaid” The castmembers took mercy on my soul and reopended the doors and let us in just as the show was starting. Thank goodness she enjoyed the show.
LESSON #13. It would have been easier to have a leisurely breakfast and gone to Little Mermaid first, even if it meant missing Playhouse Disney and Star Tours.
After the Little Mermaid presentation Elayna and I and my friend’s children hurried to see Indiana Jones. By this time, I was not going to take any risks, and used Elayna’s pass that enables her to use her stroller as a wheelchair and we sat in the wheelchair section. So what does she want to do? Immediately get out of her stroller and walk around. Of course this results in nasty looks from people who think we are trying to abuse the system and I just look at them like if you only knew. The wheelchair seating is at the very top of the bleachers and although we saw the show pretty well, it was too far away for good pictures even with the zoom. This was Elayna’s first time seeing Indiana Jones and she really enjoyed it. After Indiana Jones, my friends very graciously volunteered to go stake out seats at Hunchback of Notre Dame while their son and I headed to Rock N Roller Coaster. His parent’s had gotten us fastpasses while we were at the Indiana Jones show. It was SO nice being able to walk without pushing 112 lbs(the stroller weighed 20). I love Rock N Roller Coaster-the queue, the music, everything! We then hurried to the hunchback show and found Elayna quietly eating some popcorn and drinking some lemonade and they expressed what a perfect angel she had been. I didn’t know at that point whether to be pleased or mad! I took SIXTY pictures of the Hunchback show, I must have known that it would be my last time to see it. We also used the “use stroller as wheelchair” privilege here as she is MUCH calmer while in her stroller. She enjoyed the show as did I. It was then almost 1:00 and we headed back to the resort. She was whining and impatient for the bus, and fell asleep as soon as the bus started moving. Unfortunately when we got to OKW she woke up and so we went to the snack bar go get something to eat. She wanted her food right THEN and was very impatient, screaming and kicking her kickplate so hard her stroller was rocking and so I wheeled her to a table and walked away from her to wait for our food. I could see her and was only about 15 feet away, but people walking by were looking at her puzzled like who has abandoned their screaming child screaming Mama, I’m hungry! I try to look completely innocent but then realize my cover is going to be blown when I go sit down next to her. Oh well….
After we eat, she is in a somewhat better mood and I decide we will do the finger painting at the Community Hall. She loves it and I have 20 minutes of peace and of not having to be responsible for her. I am totally exhausted by this time though, have a splitting headache, and decide we are going to hibernate.