Mary Devall & Mommy's Magical Memories - Day 2 Part 2 (Updated 5/27) About This Page:

[clio]

Thanks for the update. Your little girls is so cute.
Liz

[mestitch]

Another great update Jill!! And as usual, cute picutes of Miss Mary D! That girl is cracking me up with her comments! More please.

[jakenjess]

Mary Devall is cracking me up!! She just couldn't be any cuter! More, please!!

[luvnwdwgal]

I can't get enough of Mary Devall! Hurry back with more!! She is so cute!!

[GATechGal]

That Mary D is just too cute. I think we've all had undie issues. And the modeling is soo cute. Can't wait for the next installment.

[disneymom9092]

Mary Devall is just too cute for words! Great update and pics too!

[GoofyMom]

What a pleasure this is to read! Hurry back with more please!

[Grammy Grumpy]

Caught up now, what wonderful memories you will have of this trip!

[Starla4436]

I am loving Mary Devall and this trip report...i cant wait until i have a daughter so I can have a special trip like yours...more more more.

[simbarel]

Jill--I haven't had the time to read many TR's , but I just checked out the photos in yours and just HAD to comment on what a CUTIE you have! How cool that you surprised her. Will be catching up soon for sure....

[DrDolphin]

Great update Jill!!! Mary is SUCH a doll!!!!

[Jillybean]

Tuesday, May 10 Day 2 Part 2

When we arrived at MGM, none of the shows that would interest Mary Devall were about to start so we strolled around for a while. I bought her another Mickey ice cream sandwich (which I don't think she finished this time) and then we took off in search of some characters. We found some new ones, JoJo and Goliath, and some old ones, Donald and Mickey. This was our first time ever meeting Sorceror Mickey which thrilled her since she loves Fantasmic so much.




After our little meet and greet, we headed for the next showing of Beauty and the Beast. After a stop for and lemonade, we entered the theater and found great seats third row middle. We were a little early, but once again, Mary Devall showed me what a patient waiter she was. We did have to have a discussion about Gaston taking Belle’s book because that bothered her so much after our January trip. I reassured her that she would get her book back. The show was as wonderful as always and kept Mary Devall enthralled the entire time - - and yes, Belle did get her book back. Everything seemed so much more real and vivid sitting up close, so I think we’ll be arriving early for this show in the future.

From there, I decided to take Mary Devall for a new experience - - the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground. She kept questioning me about where we were going, but as soon as she saw our destination, she was in heaven. The girl loves a playground. She had the best time climbing and sliding (although I now know what Nala means by being scared when they go up one set of stairs because you don’t know where they’re coming down). At one point, she decided that she wanted to climb in the big web rope climb. That’s when the fun began. Now I’m a pretty active person and I’ve kept up with walking while pregnant, but climbing through a web of ropes is a totally different story. First, I had to make sure that Mary Devall made it through the maze of ropes ahead of me (I had to stop and pry her foot out of the ropes a couple of times) and then I had to get myself hauled up (with a belly in front and a backpack on my back that was easier said than done ). I would also stop us on occasion to let several patient children pass by us. I almost got down on my knees and thanked the Lord above when I saw that we had made it to the top, but then I realized getting down might not be much easier. I told Mary Devall to slide on her behind down the steep slopes, but she had on a little dress so she kept rubbing her behind from the rope burn. I knew we were near the end when I saw an elderly CM smiling at me. “You made it!” she announced. “I had my doubts for a while there” was my answer.

As soon as we were out, Mary Devall took off for the entrance of the rope climb “Let’s do it again!” I had to convince her that Mommy couldn’t do it again, but we would let Daddy go with her next time. I diverted her attention away from the rope climb to the “tongue” slide. Oh, how she loved that tongue slide. At some point, I had to start giving the “5 more minutes” speech or I feared we would never get out of there. That is really more of a 2-parent thing since it takes 2 pairs of eyes to keep track of your child.



Next, Mary Devall wanted to do a little shopping. We used to have this little girl who never asked for anything and now “shopping” is one of her favorite words. She will look and touch every single item in a store, but I have to admit that she doesn’t always feel the need to buy. Ever since she spotted a little girl in a Belle outfit at PSB, she decided that she wanted Belle for her next dress (she has officially grown out of Snow White from last year). We looked for a store with princess dresses, but couldn’t find one so I promised her that we would definitely buy her dress the next day at MK. In the meantime, she occupied herself with having me wind up every snow globe/music box in the store.

It was nearing time for our late afternoon PS at Hollywood & Vine, so we checked in and then sat on the patio under an umbrella. They called every single family but ours, so we moved to the table right by the hostess stand. When our server came out, she screamed our name right at us. She then looked around and noticed that we were the only ones left. We all got a good out of that.

Once again, I was less than impressed with the buffet . I enjoyed some of the cold salads and desserts, but the "in between" was just not appealing to me. I guess I just need to stick with the breakfast buffets. I’m still kicking myself for not going to my favorite, The Brown Derby, but at least H&V was fast and we were able to catch the 5 p.m. show at Disney Playhouse.

Mary Devall really enjoys the show although I noticed she wasn’t into dancing anymore - - I guess they just go through these phases. She did still enjoy popping bubbles and catching streamers though.

When we came back out into the sunshine, crowds were already lined up for the Stars & Cars parade. We found a spot right on the parade route in front of the hat behind a woman and her young son who had sat down. Once the parade had started, I held Mary Devall so that she could see better. The woman’s husband was behind us now filming and he offered for Mary Devall to stand beside his little boy right on the parade route. That was so sweet of him . So Mary Devall and this little boy waved and waved at everyone and anyone until I thought her arm would break.


I did notice on this trip how observant my little girl has become. There was a little boy of about 10 or 12 in a wheelchair a few people down from her. All of the walking characters were bypassing her and running up to the little boy to say hello (which is totally understandable). I didn’t think she noticed, but at one point, she turned back to me and said “No one is waving to me.” I told her that they were and to go back and keep waving. Thankfully at the very end of the parade, Pluto came up to her and the little boy beside her and licked them on the face. She turned to me just thrilled. When the parade was over, I knew that she was totally worn out because she just saying over and over again that no one waved to her. I tried to explain to her that the other little boy was sick and that’s why the characters were talking to him, but this isn’t easily explained to a 3-year-old. I finally just held her on a bench and rocked her for a little while asking her if she wanted to go back to the hotel and swim. She immediately brightened up and gave me a resounding “yes!” So . . . our prized Fantasmic card is now tucked away in our Passporter to be added to the scrapbook. At this point, Fantasmic was still 3 hours away and I knew there was no way that she would make it . . . so we hopped the bus back to VWL.

Once back, we went to the gift shop so that I could pick up a couple of things that I had left at home (razor, etc.) and that Mary Devall could scout out some stickers. We found exactly what we needed and then made our way to Roaring Forks for our first mug ! We bought the mug and immediately filled it with cocoa! With our errands taken care of, we went back to the room for a little rest and relaxation. Mary Devall immediately began working on her new princess stickers and I unpacked and repacked the backpack for the next day. Once she finished her stickers, she decided that it was time for swimming so we did a repeat of our night before at the Hidden Springs pool. It was getting cooler, so 30 minutes was all I could take again. Once back in the room, we drank some of the cocoa (it was just cooling off more than an hour later) and tucked in for the night. Another wonderful day!

My girl looking a little tired in the WL Lobby

[mestitch]

Great update Jill!! What a time getting through the playground! DH wants to climb that thing one day but I keep telling to lay off
Sorry you didn't make it to Fantasmic, but it's more important to keep that little Mary D rested and ready for the next big day! Can't wait to read about it.

[GATechGal]

What a sweet memory. And you were so smart to just go back to the hotel. So many folks (probably me included) would try and talk their child into staying and just not enjoying it as much. Can't wait for the next installment.

[Starla4436]

Great update...cant wait to read more!