Disney World: Magic Kingdom

One of Jason's work associates is a Disney Cast Member (yes, even the guy who runs the lights and controls system is called a cast member), and he was so very gracious to meet us at the parks both days to let us in as his guests.

After arriving on Thursday afternoon and having a pool day and then dinner on the Boardwalk at Cat Cora's, we got up early on Friday to be there for the Magic Kingdom opening show.  

Decorated for fall and Halloween

Cast members arrived on the train

After rope drop, we beelined to Tomorrowland to ride the Buzz Lightyear ride.  We were second in line, and when we finished Will said he wanted to ride again.  There was still no line so we went again!  We could now leave happy.  But we also did the following:

• Tomorrowland Speedway (twice)
• Astro Orbiter
• Space Mountain (adults only - using FastPast and Rider Swap - while the other parent did the racecars (Lisa) or rocketship (Jason))
• Dumbo
• Goofy's Barnstormer (twice)
• Lunch at Cosmic Ray's
• Peter Pan
• Carousel
• Pirates of the Caribbean
• Dreams parade while eating ice cream (Will and Lisa)
• Big Thunder Railroad (Jason)
• Attempt to ride Astro Orbiter but get rained out (Will and Lisa)
• Splash Mountain and get stuck for 30 minutes in a rain storm (Jason)

Astro Orbiter with Daddy
This was Will's favorite ride



Dumbo ended up being a long wait but we can say we did it!



Dumbo now has an indoor play area where moms get pagers and kids run around

Lesson learned:  ice cream CONES are terrible ideas for kids
Although he looks asleep here, he's just sizing up that cone for the first bite

We met up at the gates at 4:30 wet and exhausted and happy (and asleep in the stroller if we're talking about Will. . . .).  

Disney World: Yacht Club

We had a whirlwind four days at Walt Disney World.  I had a work conference that would have me in Orlando for a few days, so we tacked on a family vacation in advance. Not only is Disney World a huge draw, the airplane ride was exciting for Will.  He flew several times his first year of life, but none (that I remember) since he was a year old.  So, this was the first time as far as he knew. 

New Buzz Lightyear toy made getting up at 4:45 a.m. more tolerable

Will told me multiple times leading up to the trip that he wanted the window seat

We stayed at The Yacht Club.  It was the perfect hotel for us:  centrally located at Disney next to the Boardwalk and Epcot; one of the best pools on property; a fantastic kids club for evening baby-sitting; and a delicious steakhouse for a baby-sitting worthy event!

Will brought some extra beach toys and donated them so he'd have room to take new souvenirs home

Day one and four were both pool days with days two (Magic Kingdom) and three (Animal Kingdom) being park days.  I'll do separate posts on each of those.  Another highlight of the Yacht Club was the Flying Jig Slide.  You can see the covered "launch" platfrom from the middle of the mast and the tube slide heading down into the trees. Will LOVED it and kept wanting to go again and again.

I must say that we had a fabulous time.  I never understood all the hype about Disney, but I must admit there is something pretty magical about it all - especially when you're seeing it through the eyes of a 3 year old. :-)

Lightning McQueen Bike

Will is thrilled with his new Lightning McQueen bicycle.  These pictures are from the first ride.   He'll probably wear the thing out before winter. 

Inspecting the attached bag.
Obviously you're supposed to pack Cars cars to go on your bike ride!

This doesn't seem too hard.

Struggling with momentum.
He didn't realize moving his feet backwards applied the breaks!

Fun Weekend, Broken Camera

As the title indicates, we had a fun weekend; and I have no pictures because the phone on my Blackberry is malfunctioning.   And I'm too lazy to take and upload photos with the "real" camera. Jason took some on his phone, so I'll have to get them emailed to me.

This week I took off Tuesday and Thursday as my Labor Day holidays (we had Friday and Monday of actual Labor Day weekend as holidays, but I had to work both days).  I enjoyed some retail therapy on Tuesday including a mani and pedi (ironically running into the woman I sit next to at work who was also enjoying her Labor Day holiday).  Thursday the only shopping I did was at a neighbor's for a Lightning McQueen bike for Will!  This is the same gal that I bought the tricycle from last year.  When I went over a few weeks ago to go through her boys' fall clothes pre-neighborhood garage sale, she told me about the bike.  She wasn't expecting her youngest to outgrow it until spring, but at 4 1/2 he's already riding his older brother's bike without training wheels!  $35 later and the Cars bike is ours!   Will rode it tonight for the first time.  He didn't "get" that if the pedals went backwards there were brakes.  The result was that he's try to coast, and would jerk to a stop. 

Yesterday our neighbors had their second annual (well, second year we were invited at least!) "Grape Stomp" which is a combination of games, potluck dinner, and wine tasting  For the second year in a row, the wine we brought won.  This year's winning entry was Josh cabernet sauvignon.  I'd never tried it before Saturday, and I agree it was the best on the table.  Jason said he's just got a knack for picking out good, cheap wine!

Today we ventured to the north suburbs for a cookout at a co-worker's house.  Will was very popular with the other 3 and 4 year olds in attendance, as he brought his Elmo backpack full of trains.  They played in the corner of the yard for quite awhile.  I never realized how close in age my peers' kids all are.  We had 9 little kids and five were 3 year olds. 

First Trip to the Dentist

Thanks to watching many, many episodes of Doc McStuffins, Will has a positive attitude about doctors these days.  So we spun his first trip to the dentist as a check up for his teeth.  He'll tell you all about the dentist - "the doctor that looks at your teeth and tells you how to brush them better."  

He actually did a fantastic job!  He was shy for a few moments when we first got there, but opened up right away to the dental hygienist.  Here he's all smiles as the chair gets reclined.  He did a great job opening wide and letting her count, scale and polish his teeth.  At the end when the dentist came in the do a quick peek, he got shy again with her.  He was confused, because he thought the appointment was already over, and he probably thought the woman he'd been dealing with all along was the dentist. 

Will went back to school, and then I had my appointment.  Ironically, the dentist ended up being my hygienist that day!  They had someone out sick, so she scaled and polished my teeth in addition to my exam.  I could tell she didn't do that every day; she didn't have the smooth touch that her hygienists do! Not too surprising.  I don't know how to do what my staff do anymore either!

William

I read an article the other day about baby names and how they change from generation to generation.  But one name has stood the test of time:  William.   It was #3 in 2011 and #2 in 1911.   I didn't know the exact placement, but did think it was probably a top 5 in American history.   We're not the unconventional type, and our baby name selection reflects that!

While we regularly call him both Will and William, when he introduces himself to people (yes, he does that, but not when prompted to do it), he says, "I'm William Shields."  In the past few weeks he has learned his middle name and now says his full name when he's speaking in third person about himself.  It's adorable.   

Zoo Day

Sunday was Shields Family Fun Day!  Mommy didn't work and we played all day.   In the morning Will played in his sandbox and with his batting tee. After lunch we loaded up for a trip to the zoo.   We got there just in time for a dolphin show, then checked out the lions, gorillas, penguins, bears and giraffes.   (That's a polar bear in the background above.)   We had an early dinner on the way home at a gourmet burger bar.   Fancy burgers and fries and adult drinks for the adults.  Grilled cheese and fries and a Starbucks strawberry smoothie for the kid.  We rounded out the day with a quick stop by the park.  A really, really fun day to wear out our bodies and energize our souls. 

Sandbox Fun

It was overcast and drizzling yesterday morning but warm, so it made perfect Building Sandcastles With Daddy While Wearing Pajamas weather.  The rain eventually came, so then it was time for lunch and Madagascar 2 movie viewing inside.

Adler Planetarium

Ryan invited us to be his guests at a family and friends donor event at Adler Planetarium on Saturday hosted by the Chicago Community Trust.  This was a fantastic event! I was impressed by the kids meals at the lunch:  Will's bag was PB&J, chips and a cookie.  My adult box was tuna, pasta salad, fruit and a cookie.  After lunch and a cool presentation by Adler's director of "Citizen Science, " we headed to the Planet Explorers section to watch will run around.

Ryan and I each took our turn at a cut-out, but we couldn't get Will to stop and do one.

Finally Ryan just had to grab Will for a quick photo as they were "driving" the rover.  It did move, but I don't know that Will was really directing it so much as just throwing levers around.  Will's biggest contribution was to collect all the "moon rocks" in his arms that he could.

This kid loves to build!  He spotted the PVC pipe from across the room and ran right to it.  He's an accomplished pipe-fitter thanks to his time at the Children's Musem.

The event was from 12-3, so Will was exhausted by the time we left.  He was asleep before we made it out of the parking lot.  Jason and Will dropped Ryan off near the El and me off at my office before heading back home to the burbs.