Sharing is Caring - Christmas Trip to the World: Link to Photos Added 4/8/05 About This Page:

[Tara O'Hara]

What a wonderful afternoon!! Gosh, you are making me want to go back to AKL so badly! I can picture everything you are talking about. That place is unbelievable!!

[Colexis Mom]

Another great update I love the Julia Roberts story How rude of those CMs

More please

[jude411]

I your trip reports. Keep them coming!!!!

[zacksmom_1993]

I’m So Excited! – Day 7 Part 3

We left the hotel a little before 7:00, and had a relatively short wait for the bus. On the bus ride over, Zack was kind of fussing about going to Liberty Tree Tavern. He didn’t really like the food... There was always such a long wait... It would be too crowded. You know, the usual grumblings of an over-stimulated kid. I, on the other hand, really didn’t want to miss this character meal.

I reminded Zack of what a good time we had at this restaurant on one of our previous visits. The characters had been in rare form that day. Dale came to our table, pushed Zack out of his seat, and then demanded food by pounding on the table with Zack’s knife and fork. I told him how much I loved the period costumes worn by Goofy and Minnie. And, that I liked it when they called you for dinner by saying, “Now seating the Weiss Family from the great territory of California” (for, of course, California wasn’t a state yet in colonial times.)

I really poured it on. When we got into the Magic Kingdom and were walking up Main Street I told Zack that, if he wanted, we could just go to Casey’s for hot dogs. He replied, “No, Mom. I want to go because I know it will make you happy.” So, I now have a new acronym. M.o.M. Master of Manipulation!

We walked through Adventureland because I wanted to see about getting a Fast Pass for the Jungle Cruise for after dinner. The Fast Pass machines were shut down, which had me worried until I realized there was no wait for the ride. We checked in for dinner a few minutes before our PS time. Zack was right on two fronts. The place was packed, and there was a long wait. The lobby was teaming with families and I listened as parties without Priority Seatings were told there was a 75-minute wait. But, before too long our name was being called (although they said “Great State of California” this time) and we were being seated.

We were seated towards the back of the restaurant in a little divided room with colonial furnishings and an old fashioned hearth. It was so cute! Our server, Cathi, took our drink order, and I got some root beer because that was as “spirited” as I was going to get in the Magic Kingdom. Cathi delivered our drinks and almost immediately brought out the salad and breads. I’d forgotten about a couple of magical touches. The drinks come in heavy, old-fashioned glass goblets and the salad has a wonderful strawberry vinaigrette dressing on it. Between this dressing and the dressing at Teppanyaki, I think Disney could make big bucks if they marketed a line of salad dressings. Whaddya think?

Between salad and the main course the characters started to arrive. There were two little kids (they couldn’t have been more than 3 or 4) sitting at the table next to us with their parents. They were so excited to see the characters. They kept wiggling around in their seats, straining their necks to catch a glimpse of one of their beloved friends.

When Minnie finally came by the little boy just completely lost it. He stood up on the edge of his seat, reached out for her, and started jumping up and down. He was straining to reach her, still bouncing, shouting, “Minnie, Minnie,” when he fell off the chair and face planted onto the floor. Without missing a beat he bounced right back up and continued his chant, “Minnie, Minnie, Minnie.” Apparently, the presence of characters can even eliminate the sensation of pain in small children.

Zack and I looked at each other and tried not to laugh. But, Cathi was just bringing out our food and caught on to what was happening. She playfully wagged her finger at me as if to say, “Shame on you for laughing at that sweet child.” Well, that was it for me. The next five minutes was spent with me trying to regain my composure behind my pretty burgundy napkin. It still makes me laugh thinking about these kids!

The characters were great again, but not nearly as playful as on our last visit. Goofy had on his holiday apron, so we thanked him for the good food. Zack told Minnie that she looked really pretty in her colonial dress. Well, she loved the compliment because she must have spent a solid minute giving Zack hugs and loud kisses. See what happens when you complement a woman’s clothes, son?

Zack wasn’t very impressed with the food because he’s the one kid in America who doesn’t like macaroni and cheese or mashed potatoes. I loved all of it, especially the apple cobbler for dessert. Dinner for the two of us, with tax and tip, came to $43. In my mind, it was worth every penny!

I’m still having a hard time believing everything we did after dinner. But, it’s in my trip notes so it must be true! We left Liberty Tree Tavern around 8:45 and rode Jungle Cruise and Aladdin’s Magic Carpets. We saw the show at the Enchanted Tiki Room. Then, we managed trips on Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain. By a little after 10:00, we were behind the ropes waiting for Spectromagic. Gotta love late night touring!

Obviously, everything was a walk on. I love the corny jokes at the Jungle Cruise, so we had a good time here. My favorite is, “Watch your head on the way out of the boat. And if you hit your head, watch your language. There are children around.” Zack had a great time on Aladdin, managing to skillfully maneuver the flying carpet so that I’d get a face full of camel spit, but he’d stay perfectly dry. We got the front seat on Splash Mountain, and the back seat on Big Thunder Mountain. Good times!

We managed to find one spot behind the rope right at the end of the parade route, next to Splash Mountain. Zack sat there and I stood up behind him to videotape the parade. I love the music for Spectromagic, and I felt my eyes welling up with tears several times as the parade went by. One problem was that by the end of the parade route, the spacing of the floats was a little off. I have all of this tape of the upper story balcony over the seating area at Pecos Bill café, with Spectromagic music in the background.

As we were watching the parade, I kept noticing more and more kids invading on Zack’s space. Eventually, he was standing up next to me, watching the parade over other people’s heads. I was about ready to assume my role as “Indignant Mom” to their parents, when Zack told me that he had let them in. He said that he had heard them say they had never seen the parade before, and he wanted to make sure they could see it. Isn’t my kid the sweetest!

Zack had seen a sweatshirt he liked in one of the shops in Adventureland. It was a dark blue, hooded sweatshirt with a dragon shaped into the three traditional circles for Mickey’s head. It’s Disney gear that’s enough for a middle schooler to wear outside of Disney World, so I was buying.

I wanted to get Wishes on videotape, since the night of MVMCP our view had been obstructed so we went to Main Street about 15 minutes before 11:00. I had a good spot, with a clear view of the castle. But, throughout the fireworks people kept getting in front of the camera with kids on their shoulders. It wouldn’t have been a big deal if I wasn’t videotaping, but I kept having to re-position myself to get a clear shot. I know it’s hard for the little ones to see the fireworks, but I don’t understand why some of these last-to-arrive parents think that their kids’ views are more important than the rest of us!

In any case, aside from a few jiggles of the camera, I have a nice video of Wishes to watch whenever I need my Disney fix. We took our time leaving the park and we were back in the room before midnight. One funny thing. I started to put some of our clean clothes that I knew we wouldn’t be wearing again into our suitcases. Zack got so irritated with me. He kept saying, “Don’t start packing yet, Mom. It makes me feel like vacation is over.” Well, sad to say, the next day would be our last full one at the World. Our wonderful vacation was coming to a close.

Next Up… The Most Magical Moment of All

[jude411]

It sounds like you and Zack had a nice evening at the MK. I hate when you prepare early and other people can just walk infront of you. Like you have not been waiting all this time. I am glad you were able to scoot around and get the video tape of the show.

[Colexis Mom]

Another great update Karen I agree with you, LTT and Teppanyaki have the best salad dressings

More please

[Tara O'Hara]

Karen, what a yummy and fun dinner! I can't believe all of the stuff you did, either, afterwards! Great update!!

[Jillybean]

You just got me really excited about our PS at LTT!

And Zack is an absolute sweetheart -- how proud you must be of him!

Jill

[zacksmom_1993]

The Most Magical Moment of All – Day Eight Part One

Our consecutive late nights followed by early mornings were beginning to catch up with us, so we were moving a bit slowly this morning. Still, because it was our last full day, we really wanted to make it to Magic Kingdom in time for Extra Magic Hour. We were on the bus a little before 8:00, and inside the park by about 8:15.

I figured the holiday crowds would really be showing up today, so on the bus ride Zack and I tried to come-up with a game plan. Zack said all he really wanted to do was to see Stitch’s Great Escape and Mickey’s Philharmagic again, and to take a final ride on Buzz Lightyear. The only thing I still had on my list for Magic Kingdom was a haircut for Zack at the Harmony Barbershop. We’d never done it before, and Zack was in need of a haircut for Christmas anyway!

We got inside the gates, and it appeared that Disney’s plan for dealing with the holiday crowds was to send out as many characters as possible. I’ve never seen so many in Town Square before. There were long lines for Goofy and Max, Minnie, Mickey, and the princesses; but Zack managed to get pictures and autographs from Dopey, Gepetto, Gideon, and Daisy in relatively short order.

Wendy and Cruella were standing off to the side, in front of the Exposition Hall, so we went over there next. Zack visited with Wendy first and then moved on to Cruella. As he did so, Wendy was standing all by herself with no one to visit. Cruella noticed. And, as she was signing Zack’s autograph book, she said very loudly, “Look. No one wants to visit with that boring Darling girl. All of these clever children want to see me.” Wendy immediately came over and declared quite indignantly, “Actually, Cruella. This young man came to see me first.” Creulla’s snappy comeback? “Well, he sure got away from you quickly enough.”

We walked down Main Street and into Tomorrowland as Zack and I had a date with Experiment 626. The line for Stitch’s Great Escape was already posting a 45-minute wait, so we grabbed a Fast Pass and jumped into line for our last trip on Buzz. We were standing in line behind a nice looking, older couple. Well looks could definitely be deceiving. It was clear that they had just gotten off of Stitch, and hadn’t liked it one bit. The man kept commenting on how he had just finished talking to one of the Cast Members and had really given her a piece of his mind. How she needed to tell her superiors that the ride wasn’t up to Disney standards, and that they had to fix it quickly if they expected anyone to continue to come to their parks.

Now I’m all for issuing complaints, and compliments, to Disney management in a constructive way. But, I have to say, I felt pretty sorry for whatever cast member had to deal with this old curmudgeon. What was he expecting her to do? Respond to him, “Oh, you didn’t like the attraction? Hang on. I’ve got Eisner on speed dial on my cell. He’s got to hear this.” Puh-lease. I’m willing to bet, that at every Disney attraction, at every Disney Park, on every day, there is at least one guest who isn’t happy with their experience.

Of course, I was particularly irritated because this guy’s rant had put Zack in a near panic. “Mom. He didn’t like Stitch. Do you think other people don’t like it? Do you think they’ll get rid of it?” Fortunately, we were climbing onto Buzz, and the ride seemed to distract Zack sufficiently. I asked Zack if he wanted to ride Space Mountain, but he wasn’t interested so we moved on towards Fantasyland. On the way, we got autographs from the Tweedles, White Rabbit, and Alice in front of the teacups.

We got into Mickey’s Philharmagic after a bit of a wait, and ended up sitting in the very back row. Now, I know that they say every seat in the house has a good view. But, with the huge crowd of people, some who were freakishly tall or with large hats on, Zack had virtually no view of the screen. So, Zack sat on my lap throughout the show. Needless to say, it was not my most comfortable experience at this attraction, but at least I was nice and cozy!

We leisurely walked back towards Tomorrowland, to allow our Fast Passes to “ripen” sufficiently. We let a few people go in front of us, and explained to the Cast Member that we wanted to be the first let into the holding area for the next show. She looked a little confused about why we wanted to wait some more, until we showed her the de-coder sheet we had picked up at the hotel. There’s a plaque outside the first set of doors with a long inscription written in some alien language. We were let in first and set out to try to de-code it, but only had time to translate the first few lines. In retrospect, I probably should have just taken a picture of it, because neither of us can remember what we did manage to translate.

Both of us enjoyed our training mission with Experiment 626, but we left with heavy hearts. Our time at Magic Kingdom was rapidly coming to a close for this trip. We grabbed a bite to eat at the Main Street Bakery and watched the Main Street performers perform a set in front of the ice cream store. The crowds were really starting to pour into Magic Kingdom. But, we had just one more task on our To Do List for the morning.

We worked our way down Main Street and into the Harmony Barbershop. There were nearly a dozen people crammed inside, but luckily nearly half of them were leaving. I couldn’t really see anyway to put Zack’s name down, but it looked like there was only one other family, with two small children, waiting to be seen. We took a seat and watched as two cast members worked on their guests. We saw one of the cast members cutting the hair of a boy a couple years younger than Zack. As he finished, he put some blue gel in the top, and then sprinkled it with pixie dust. I had kept this part a surprise so Zack started to get really excited, and told me that he wanted half green and half red hair for Christmas!

We’d been there a little while when three members of the barbershop quarter walked into the shop. They set up to begin their number on the far side of the shop, and started commenting about how they were missing their bass singer. He arrived a few moments later with three children and a mom in tow. He asked us to welcome a few special guests to the Magic Kingdom, the Klein Family from South Dakota. He said that they were without their father because he was serving in Iraq, and so they had come to Disney World for Christmas.

The children were called over to stand in front of the quartet, to take a few pictures to send to their dad. It became very clear that “Mom” did not have a video camera with her, so I offered to record it and mail her a copy of the videotape. When the performers found out it was going to be recorded, they really tried to make it special. They had all the kids wave at the camera and tell their dad that they missed him. Then, they said how proud everyone was of him and asked everyone in the store to cheer. They kept the kids in front of them as they sang Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.

The kids were so cute. The oldest boy and the one girl looked about 10 or 11, and they seemed so proud singing away. The littlest boy couldn’t have been more than 3, and the performers kept trying to keep him involved in the song. When they finished, they said they had one more song to sing. They took off their hats and proceeded to sing the most beautiful version of “God Bless America.” With the soldier’s wife standing at my side and her three children standing proudly in front of me, I found myself crying throughout the whole song. They signed off at the end, and the whole family got in front of the camera to send their greetings to their dad.

Afterwards, the soldier’s wife, Lisa, and I talked for a few minutes. Her husband had been stationed at the base where the attack had occurred that week. She had gotten word that her husband was fine, but she said she couldn’t stand just waiting around for bad news. So, she had decided just to take the kids to Disney World for Christmas. I took down her name and address in our autograph book, hugged her goodbye, and they were gone. It was just a brief moment, but it had really forced me to put the whole vacation into focus. I felt so grateful to have the ability to spend time with my son in this magical place. The other moms waiting for haircuts for their kids talked and cried together. It was a special, special moment.

Soon after, it was Zack’s turn for a haircut. We told the cast member that we just wanted a traditional boy’s haircut, and she did such a wonderful job. Zack felt like a prince as she used all of her fancy tonics and brushes on him. She mixed up some green gel, and put that on the right side of his head. Then, she put red gel on the left side. She spiked it up just the way Zack liked it in the front. And, then she said she was going to give him a surprise in the back and put a hidden Mickey on the back of his head. She sprinkled us both with pixie dust, and we left looking a little more magical.

Zack LOVED his haircut. He got lots of smiles and turned heads as we walked out of the Magic Kingdom. Then, he entertained all of the kids in the line for the bus by showing them his “personal” hidden Mickey. He was so happy. I can’t describe the mix of emotions I felt. I was so joyful that Zack had such a great experience, I was grateful that all of my family was safe, I felt tremendously blessed to be the mother to my amazing son, and I felt such peace having shared that patriotic experience with the family of one of our country’s bravest and best. It was complete magic.

Next Up… The Departure Blues Set In

[Annabel]

I'm all caught up. Brilliant updates. Reading your last update about the family whose father was in Iraq, well I'm in tears What a special moment.

[ QUOTE ]
He joked that they sometimes had issues with kids throwing food out to the savannah, but I was the first one to try to get the animals liquored up.

[/ QUOTE ]

This had me in fits of laughter Actually there are a few comments I roared laughing at in your report, it's been a joy to read. Sorry your trip is coming to an end Oh and Mary Poppins rocks I also loved reading about the banter between Cruella and Wendy!

Annabel

[Colexis Mom]

What a magical day Karen How wonderful that you were able to tape the quartet for that family and I'm so glad that Zack loved his haircut! Truly fantastic

I'm sorry it's all coming to an end More please

[jude411]

Karen what a magical moment in the barbershop. Probably something you and Zack will never forget, that and the crazy hair!!! I am hoping to take my son to do that. He is also 11. It sounds like lots of fun.

[Jillybean]

How sweet of you to take that video of the family! It will be something that they (and especially their husband/father) will treasure for a lifetime!

I don't think that I'll ever be able to pass by that barbershop without thinking of you and Zack now!

Jill

[zacksmom_1993]

The Departure Blues Set In – Day Eight Part Two

We had originally planned on one last swim at the Animal Kingdom Lodge pool, but there was no way Zack was going to risk ruining his new hairdo. Heck, I’d be lucky if I could get him to take a shower between then and New Year’s Day! Instead we hung out in the room a little bit, and then went down to Mara for some lunch. Luck was on my side, as I noticed that the soup of the day was none other than my favorite Butternut Squash from Boma. Aah, ecstasy in a paper cup. Zack got some pepperoni pizza and we shared an order of thick sliced fries. How do you like that for a carbolicious lunch?

I’d brought the newspaper down to read. So I relaxed with a Diet Coke in Mara while Zack went to go throw some more money into the arcade games next door. Zack’s good enough at the video games that a $5 donation to Disney buys me about an hour of Mommy-free time. I leisurely read the paper, people watched, and just enjoyed being at Animal Kingdom Lodge. Zack came back in about an hour, so we went back to the room to relax before setting out for MGM Studios at around 3:00.

Just like with Magic Kingdom this morning, we had already done most of our must-do’s at the Studios. It always seems to work well for Zack and I to do a bit of commando style touring at the beginning of our vacation, and then spend more time shopping and getting autographs at the end. This method worked particularly well this visit, because we were doing less crowd dependent things as the crowds built towards Christmas. All we really wanted to do was get some autographs, buy a “special” t-shirt for Zack at Tatooine Traders, have dinner at Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater, and see the Osborne lights.

What I started to think about on the way over was how much I’d like to see the special holiday parade. In the past, we’ve been able to get last minute seats at the MGM parade at the very end of the route so we willed the bus to go a little faster. When we got there, Zack and I went into a full sprint towards the gates. In a temporary moment of insanity (at least that’s what I’m blaming it on now, ) I handed Zack his ticket, and told him to go through the gates and get a spot for the parade in front of Sid Cahuenga’s One of a Kind Shop while I went through security.

Of course, once I got through security and the gates the first car of the parade was just turning the last corner off of Hollywood Boulevard. I ran over to our designated meeting spot and I saw available spots on the curb, but I didn’t see Zack. I was now in a full panic, so I got up and started walking around near the Crossroads shop. As a point of reference, Zack is 5’1” tall. Good size for an 11-year-old, but impossible to see in a crowd of 10,000. I ran into Guest Relations because that’s our designated meet-up spot for this park, but Zack wasn’t there. I decided that it would be best for me to just sit where I had told Zack to go, and wait until the end of the parade.

I was one of the last people on the parade route before the parade went backstage, sitting next to a man in a wheelchair. I got to see about 75% of the parade, but didn’t enjoy it. I kept thinking about how Disney rules were that children under 7 had to be supervised by a parent or guardian in the theme parks (I think it’s 10 in the water parks.) As if anyone would let their 7 or 8 year old go to a theme park by themselves. As soon as the parade was over, I jumped up, turned to my right, and saw Zack getting up on the other side of the wheelchair. Zack had obviously been a little worried, as well, because he let me hug and kiss him in public. People, for a pre-teen, that is HUGE!

Reunited (Zack, of course, had gotten to see the whole parade,) we walked down Hollywood Boulevard and into the animation store. We went through the exit of the animation tour, and got in line to see the Incredibles. The kids were bouncing off the walls in here, and at a couple of points during our half hour wait we almost gave up. But, Zack was determined to get their autographs. And, Mr. and Mrs. Incredible made such a big deal out of Zack’s haircut; it was well worth the wait. We left the animation building a little before 4:00, and were first in line to get Lilo’s autograph and a picture with Lilo and Stitch near the hat. The rest of the characters were ones that we had seen so we decided to move on to Al’s Toy Barn.

On the way to see the Toy Story gang, Zack stopped in to see Mike and Sully from Monsters Inc. Again, both of the characters made such a fuss over Zack’s haircut. The Disney photographer must have taken about ten pictures, a delay that would come back to bite us shortly. The last characters on our must have list were Buzz, Woody, and Jessie. The park schedule indicated that they would be out from 3:45 – 4:45. We were going to arrive at about 4:15, in plenty of time. Right?

Wrong. Zack and I arrived at the back of the line right at 4:15 only to be greeted by a CM telling us the line was already closed. Huh? “But the schedule says they’re going to be out for another half hour,” I queried, not so sweetly. The CM quickly rose to the bait telling me that they had the right to close the line any time they wanted, and that it would take them a half hour to get through the guests waiting to see the characters. The line was long, but I was pretty sure it wasn’t going to be a full half hour, especially since it had already moved pretty substantially while we were arguing.

Now, I was starting to get really upset. “We’re not going to be here tomorrow. And, I don’t think you should put an hour on the schedule for character meet and greets if you’re only going to keep it open for 30 minutes!” I think the cast member had had quite enough of me because she just turned around at that point. I’m sure she’d been dealing with cranky guests all day, as the park seemed to be packed. The lady at the end of the line, who had arrived seconds before us, asked excitedly, “You mean we’re the last ones who got in?” Nice. Rub it in, lady.

As we started to walk away, I was getting more and more unhappy. I felt like this trip was probably one of the last times my son would ever collect autographs. I was starting to get sad the vacation was coming to an end. But, most of all, I was embarrassed at treating the CM unkindly. When Zack asked me why I was yelling at that lady, I was at the end of my rope and burst into tears.

Now, in all fairness, if I were in the “last-to-be-let-in” lady’s shoes, I would have had a totally different take on the situation. It would have gone something like this: “This crazy, rude lady came huffing up to the end of the line, demanding to be let in. Get real. If you want to see the characters, plan ahead. Honestly.” It’s amazing the different perspectives you have at opposite sides of that end of line rope.

In my defense, I did recover composure quickly. Zack and I went over to Star Tours, but I didn’t know if we would make it to our priority seating in time with the posted 30 minute wait time. We grabbed fastpasses for a little later, and went into Tatooine Traders to do some Star Wars themed shopping. Zack was easily distracted, so I had time to grab some Pez dispensers for stocking stuffers for my brother and Zack.

Then, the moment of truth had arrived. Zack had been dying to get a certain Star Wars shirt. I’d been hoping as the week went on he’d come to his senses, but I did say he could get it if he still wanted it at the end of vacation. There was no wavering. So, I’m now embarrassed on a weekly basis by my son wearing a black t-shirt with a picture of Yoda holding out his index finger. The caption below reads simply “Pull my finger.” Crude and immature, I know. But, Zack gets embarrassed by my losing my cool with innocent cast members at Al’s Toy Barn, so we deserve each other.

We crossed the short distance over to the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater, and checked in a few minutes before 5:00. We were seated fairly quickly in the very back seat of a car in the front row before the movie screens. Zack’s always a little disappointed when they give us the “hitchhiker” seats, as he’d prefer to be in the front seat. But, he absolutely loves this restaurant. So I take the high prices and cramped seating in stride and go along for the “ride” on every trip.

Our server was Brent. He was great about giving suggestions, was very attentive, and really made Zack and I feel like a separate party from the group sitting in front of us. I’m pretty sure that he was the server that they highlighted one time in a Disney Magazine article about this restaurant. His eyes lit up when I told him that I wanted a cocktail, and he suggested the Space Invader. It’s basically a large margarita mixed with a little blue Curacao and served with a light-up ice cube. It was more than a little steep at $9.50 , but I was more than a little willing to pay for an adult pick-me-up at that moment. And as Zack put it when he ordered a $5.99 Kid’s Sprite with the special ice cube, when it glows in the dark, it tastes better. OK, well in that case…

Zack ordered the kid’s hot dog, and I ordered the Flat Iron steak. I was interested to overhear that you can order hamburgers at dinner, even though they’re not on the dinner menu. The food was really good, and we ate leisurely as we watched the old movie clips. It was our last night at Disney, so even though I couldn’t finish dinner, we were ordering dessert. Good thing we weren’t at the Prime Time Café! We got the Big Bang which is a huge sundae with hot fudge, caramel, and strawberry toppings, whipped cream, chocolate bits, nuts, and a cherry on top. So good.

My spirits were rapidly rising, thanks in no small part to dessert and my cocktail. We went right out the doors of the Writer’s Stop, onto New York Street, and into the Osborne lights. It was so beautiful! Christmas music was playing over the loudspeakers, snow was falling softly down, and kids were laughing and playing in the streets. We spent time videotaping and taking pictures of many of the scenes, and walking around the new San Francisco Street set. Seeing a representation of Zack’s favorite building, the Transamerica Pyramid, and hearing families enjoying the scenes together made me anxious to get home to my own family near San Francisco for Christmas Eve. It had been a great vacation, but I was starting to get ready to go home.

Zack, unfortunately, was heading in the exact opposite direction emotionally. I couldn’t cheer him up during our last ride on Star Tours. Then, we decided against a ride on Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster because of a 60-minute wait. As we walked up Sunset Boulevard to leave the park, Zack was becoming visibly upset. I stopped and tried to find out what I could do to make him feel better. There wasn’t much, aside from extending our vacation for a couple more months. I said to Zack that maybe we should go to Magic Kingdom so he could go on some last rides, but that didn’t sound too appealing to him. So I made the command decision that we would go to Pleasure Island and try to laugh our blues away. I hoped the comedians were good tonight at Comedy Warehouse and the Adventurer’s Club. They had a couple of unhappy audience members headed their way!

Next Up… We Find Our Happy Place

[Jillybean]

My heart is just breaking for Zack ! Bless his sweet heart!

Jill