A Whole New World About This Page:

[Coop]

"Now I have a lot of ear wax on my fingers."
"She's in Canada"

Now I have to look for the kangaroos!

[KMB733]

Great time at AK!!! The girls look great in their face paintings!

[ilovedisney247]

I just died at "No wait . . . she's in Canada." The girl's look lovely in their Facepaint and I'm going to have to challenge Maddie to a round of Whack a Packy when I next run into you guys!

[sc507]

Tell Maddie I'll say hello to her fluffie's mom . Great update! Your girls are adorable

[belleandmaddysmom]

Isabelle and Maddy both still like to do the face painting. The girls look very beautiful with the face painting. I'm with Maddie...not a fan of Dinosaur.

[bsblady01]

more please

[chezp]

What a great day! Love the face painting!

[HollyH]

Maddie is just the cutest, fierce little tiger! Love it! Glad to hear her fluffy's Mom is alive and well and living in Canada .

[Cam22]

Both girls look adorable in their face paint! So glad the chameleon's mother was only in Canada and not dead!

[brandy_mel]

Jill-

I'm just finally getting caught up on your TR. I love it all! Those photo shoots are great. Every time I read one of your TR, I feel like I'm getting a glimpse into my future. Bethany seems to share so many traits with your girls.

Originally Posted by Jillybean

I found a piece of shade and hid out until everyone came to find me (as a mother and wife, I had discovered that if you intentionally hide, then your family will find you ).

this quote. It's so true.

[LouigiAnne]

So Glad I just Jumped on board your TR, Can't wait for more

[HiddenMickey]

I think you are right about PW. We only did five swing-arounds and none were bad. Too bad it takes so long to load and usually has a good wait time posted. I think we waited 20 minutes for that short ride.

Face paint and chameleon were great additions to your morning.

We finally used the paths last week and were surprised by the kangaroos. Didn't know they were there. So strong looking. Liked the hidden fall of water that sprays the path at one point too,

[Jillybean]

Saturday, February 4 Day Three Part Two

Once we managed to escape from the Tree of Life paths, Maddie and I quickly found Thom and Mary Devall in the lobby of Y&Y and then told the hostess that our entire party was here. Within a couple of minutes, someone called out “Jill L. Party of Four.” Given our last name, CM’s will frequently call out “Jill” instead, so I figured that they just goofed on the “L” part. We were about to head off to our table when the real “Jill L.” showed up. Oops! We cleared up the confusion with a laugh (there aren’t a ton of “Jill”s in the world, so for two to show up at the same time was funny - - at least it’s funny to “Jill”s ) and were soon seated at our real table.

As soon as we sat down, I noticed that Thom didn’t look too good. Apparently three rides on EE didn’t treat him well. He mentioned that the three glass of red wine last night didn’t help either. He should have stuck with his girly drink of Malibu Rum and orange juice. Poor guy.

I asked him if he wanted to go back to the hotel and the girls and I could catch the shuttle back later, but he felt that some food might help. Of course, the girls and I weren’t feeling any pain so we got all festive and ordered a round of Yak Attacks (well, virgins for the little bits). Thom ordered a Sprite.



Maddie got up close and personal with this one.



To get some food into Thom as soon as possible, I ordered lettuce cups for our appetizer. I think he ate one and I ate about three. Oh well, maybe I just ordered them for myself.

For our entrees, Thom ordered Sweet and Sour Chicken, I ordered my favorite Sesame Ahi Tuna appetizer, Mary Devall went with the burger and Maddie with her all-time favorite chicken tenders. Everything was delicious as usual and Thom was starting to feel a bit better now that he had eaten.

Did I need dessert? Well, , but I did want to try the cream cheese wontons and pineapple. I had heard raves about them for years, but had usually skipped dessert at Y&Y in favor of a second Yak Attack. Of course, I did have a second Yak Attack but I figured my family would help me out with dessert. They did and it was every bit as good as I had heard. There were so many different flavors on the plate that there was something for everyone.

After lunch, we walked over to Africa and had a great safari ride.



We still had four FP’s for Dinosaur so we headed in the direction of Dino Land, but made a pit stop on the way to see ITTBAB. Maddie and I enjoyed retracing our steps from earlier in the day. Mary Devall ended up in my lap before the end of the show since she doesn’t like the feel of bugs underneath her seat. Maddie seemed to enjoy it though.



Maddie decided to take a pass on Dinosaur, so she and Thom went back to the Boneyard and Mary Devall and I took off to use our FP’s. During our first ride, a woman in the front row kept using the on her camera. I figured she would stop once the ride really started rocking and rolling, but she didn’t. I have no idea how she was holding on to her camera. The funny thing is that Mary Devall and I both yelled at the same time “Stop using your camera!” And she stopped.

On our second ride, we were almost at the end when the ride just stopped. We probably sat there for a few minutes in the dark and Mary Devall enjoyed telling the newbies “People this is not part of the ride.” The ride finally picked up again, but it was a bit anti-climatic without the sound track!

I sent Thom a text to let him know that we were done and he replied that they were in the “boneyard pit of doom.” Mary Devall and I skedaddled over to the sand pit and easily found our people. The girls played a while longer before we brushed them off and headed out.

We stopped at the Outpost outside the gates to make a few purchases and Mary Devall bought her sister a Simba backpack clip. She also bought her sister a vinylmation on our trip which was very sweet considering that Maddie will kiss and you to show love but she will not spend a dime of her money on you.

We caught the tram to the parking lot and easily found our car this time. The ride back to the Waldorf was a lot less scenic than the ride from there this morning , so we were soon turning into the resort drive.

Our approach to the resort was a bit more interesting this afternoon. The road was spotted with employees signaling numerous charter buses towards the Waldorf, but the real excitement was in the sky above us. A helicopter flew over us before it settled on a landing pad in between the Hilton and the Waldorf. We assumed that it was some sort of celebrity, but we figured out later that it was probably the CEO of the investment company that was moving it for its conference. We actually had to sit in the drive for a bit until the valets were able to move the charter buses out of the way.

Thom asked about the pool hours at the Hilton next door since we had been told that their pool was a lot more kid friendly than the Waldorf pool and found out that it was open until 10 p.m. We put our bathing suits on and headed out the back for the short walk. I felt a little funny as we exited out the gate of the Waldorf pool because a cocktail party was in full swing right there. It was apparently a pre-wedding party because chairs were also being set up for a ceremony a little further down the path.

It didn’t take us too long to reach the massive pool area at the Hilton, but no one was there. The only people we saw were employees stacking lounge chairs and cleaning the area. We made our way to the slide area only to be told that it was already closed, so we backtracked and rented a couple of floats for the girls to use in the lazy river. We pushed them around a couple of times and then hit the hot tub. A couple of girls Mary Devall’s age showed up and asked her to play with them, so off she went.

Maddie played in the zero entry area for a while and then asked Thom to push her around the lazy river again. I took advantage of the situation and wrapped up in two towels on a lounge chair. It was a little nippy when you were out of the water.

Shortly before 7 p.m., two employees started setting up a gigantic blow up screen on the other side of the pool. The girls watched the first part of Tarzan from the pool before hunger lead them back to us. We dried off, bundled up and headed back to our hotel. That must have been a fast ceremony because everyone was gone by the time that we reached the Waldorf.

We took quick showers, made ourselves somewhat presentable and went back to Peacock Alley for a light meal. The crowd may have been a little heavier tonight, but there were actually more children here tonight. The band was setting up and the chocolate bar was in full swing, so it would be a repeat of the night before. Just to spice things up a little, we decided to sit in a different seating area.

This time Thom had the sliders and I had the plantain tacos while the girls both had grilled cheese sandwiches. I had white wine again, but Thom passed on the red wine.

Maddie and her Duffy requested a little photo shoot while we waited for our food.



Mary Devall was dying to give the band a request, so I told her to ask them to play “Fly Me to the Moon” which was our first dance at our wedding. She was thrilled when they told her they could play it and they actually did a really great job of it. (Click on the video below if you're interested).



The girls and I were really enjoying the music, but Thom looked like he was fading fast. I suggested that he go back to the room and he did.

Mary Devall wanted to request another song. We thought of her asking for a Beatles song, but then I suggested that she ask for something by Chicago or Earth, Wind, and Fire. I was going to record it and send it to my oldest brother who is a huge fan of both. Mary Devall made the suggestion, but the next song was definitely not by one of those two bands.

During the break, the singer actually came over and told me that they were embarrassed that they didn’t know any songs by either band. I assured her that it was no problem and that I had loved their rendition of Fly Me to the Moon.

I just loved the feel of this place. It was laid back and comfortable without being pretentious. I wasn’t the only parent who was enjoying a glass of wine and listening to the music while their children enjoyed the chocolate bar.

I gave Thom enough time to get good and asleep before the girls and I headed back upstairs. Sure enough, he was down for the count when we returned, so I poured myself a glass of our red wine and watched a little tv with the girls. It had been another incredible day.

[shnewell]

Sorry Thom wasn't feeling 100%, but glad he got some rest. Sounds like a fun afternoon. I mean, any afternoon that begins with 2 Yak Attacks is bound to be a great one!

The lounge at the hotel totally looks like a place our family would love to hang out. The video made me laugh because Mary Devall reminds me of my own 10 year old, who is a total ham once he knows the cameras are rolling! The band really did sound good. I would have loved sitting there enjoying some wine and listening!

[disney_duke]

I'm really loving the end of your days, the last 2 days. Sounds like a great way to wind down! Glad Thom started feeling better. I feel a little off after 2 rides in a row on EE, imagine what 3 does. Yikes.