Sunday, September 23, 2012

Day Four: Magic Kingdom. Again

Itinerary for the day

Park:  Magic Kingdom
ADR:  Lunch at Crystal Palace, 11:45 AM
Must do:  Splash Mountain and/or Big Thunder Mountain
                Haunted Mansion
                Fairy meet and greet


Because we all went to bed the night before at a decent hour, we were all up fairly early on this particular morning.  Our goal was to enter Magic Kingdom as early as possible and hopefully find some short lines.  Our plan worked.  We entered the park about 20 minutes after it opened at 9:00, missing all of those who had been there for "rope drop."

We immediately headed to Frontierland, where Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain are located.  It was amazing and a relief to see an almost empty area of the park.  Most people seemed to be loitering on Main Street without a plan.  Big Thunder Mountain was still out of service and the CM standing in front of it with a sign that read SMILE did not make me smile.  The stand-by time for Splash Mountain was only 10 minutes.

Rich, Allie, Emily and I rode Splash Mountain while Grammy and Anna watched for us to come down the final drop.  Of course, Allie and Em liked the ride and I think the log rides at Storyland and Santa's Village had prepared them for that big drop at the end.  Unfortunately, I didn't like the fact that my shorts were soaking wet and I had to walk around looking like I had peed my pants for the rest of the morning.

The four of us stopped at the bathrooms after the ride and then found, quite by accident, the meet and greet with Woody and Jessie from Toy Story.  We met up with Grammy and Anna and returned to the Woody and Jessie meet and greet.  Rich, Allie and Emmy jumped in line, which was a bit long, while Grammy, Anna and I headed to the bathroom so that I could cath Anna.

sept23a


The Winnie the Pooh dresses were quite popular and received a lot of comments.  Even Jessie liked them.  She also liked how Allie and Em had their hair in a braid like hers.

sept23b


So let's talk about Allie.  It may be hard to see in these pictures (she's in the green dress) but the area around her eyes was all swollen.  At some point Tuesday afternoon, I noticed her rubbing her eyes a lot.  She even told me that they hurt a few times but there was nothing visibly wrong with them.

Remember this picture from our first day in Florida?


sept12d

Emmy had scratched Allie's ear, which had drawn blood and left a little scab.  Monday, she told me once or twice that her ear hurt.  When I asked her on Tuesday if anything hurt, she told me her ear did.   We don't have much experience with ear infections.  Emily and Anna have never had one and Allie has only had one.  When Allie awoke on Wednesday, her eyes were a bit puffy.  Maybe it was from rubbing them the day before.  Maybe it was from waking up early.  Within a few hours the swelling was most definitely visible but she was still pretty much the same.  We decided to get through lunch and then figure out what to do.  The thought of an ear infection was in the back of my mind but wouldn't her ear really hurt?  Wouldn't she be complaining of pain?  She said it hurt but only if I asked.  Was she just referring to the cut?

After we meet Woody and Jessie we rode the flying carpets (basically Dumbo but a carpet and only a few minutes to wait in line) and then checked out the line to meet Jasmine but it was too long and we needed to check in for our lunch reservation soon.  The stand-by time for Jungle Cruise was only 10 minutes so we decided to do that.  It only took 5 minutes or so before we were on a boat and cruising through the jungle.  A few portions of the ride were scary for Anna but Allie sat there smiling and laughing with her puffy eyes.

When we reached Crystal Palace, it took about 10 to 15 minutes for us to be seated at our table.  The girls were hungry so I hit the buffet and grabbed some plates and a plateful of food I knew the girls would eat. Allie asked for the ziti with marina sauce while Em and Anna wanted the meatballs.

Eeyore stopped by.  I was preparing plates of food for the girls and stuck behind chairs with the 35mm lens on.  (In case you are wondering why Eeyore's head is cut off.)

sept23c


sept23d

sept23e


Allie ate a very small serving of ziti and then told me that her tummy hurt.  She sat in my lap and said that she felt like throwing up.  Okay, so this was a tough call because I often feel like puking but don't.  And I can't even count the number of times the girls have said that they feel like throwing up but don't.    I didn't want to go outside with her because it was extremely hot and humid out there.  I thought that if she rested in my lap in the air conditioning, she would feel better.  She gagged and threw up the ziti into a napkin I was holding.  Thankfully, it wasn't very much.

It took a few minutes but our server realized that something wasn't right and rushed over to offer assistance.  They gave us a plastic shopping bag with the edges rolled down, a stack of napkins and some wet wipes.  They also pulled over an extra chair so that Allie could put her feet up.  Allie said that she wasn't going to throw up again and I believed her or we would have left.  She was sitting sideways in my lap with her head against my shoulder and her feet in the chair next to us.  Within two minutes, I could feel her nodding off.

She slept in my arms like she did when she was a baby for the rest of our time at Crystal Palace.  Both Tigger and Piglet blew her kisses.  The restaurant manager came over to see if we needed anything and told us that there was a first aid station next door.  Because Allie was peacefully sleeping, we decided to stay so that Em and Anna could meet the rest the characters.  Rich filled a plate for me and I ate while holding Allie.

The first three characters (I wasn't able to take any Tigger or Piglet pictures) stopped by our table fairly early on.  We were only waiting for Winnie the Pooh.  Our server came by to see if we needed anything.  Yes, Winnie the Pooh.  He was still stuck on the other side of the room and I watched the server walk over there and give a WTF motion with her arms to someone.  Winnie was stuck.  Guests were accosting him in public areas instead of waiting at their tables.  He couldn't escape.

Finally.

sept23f


I took these from my chair while holding Sleeping Beauty.

That's Anna in there!

sept23g


sept23h


We did stop by the first aid station and they were super nice.  They took Allie's temperature for us and it was only 99.1 degrees.  We headed back to the resort so that Allie could rest while we tried to find a doctor.  Her swollen eyes lead me to believe that she was reacting to something.
  
~ To be continued.

8 comments:

Christi said...

Hugs to Allie! We went to the Crystal Palace on 7/30 and had to wait a long time to see Pooh, too. I can't imagine having a sick one there though as we were pretty packed in.

Sarah said...

Thanks, Christi. Luckily, our table was right as you walk in the door so we had some breathing room. We probably would have had to have cut out early otherwise.

Farah said...

Hi Sarah! I am really enjoying these Disney re-cap posts! My family used to go every year when I was a kid and it's fun to re-live the magic through your posts. Those are some of my favorite childhood memories, so this will be so fun for your girls to look back on when they're older!

I don't know if you remember, but I used to work at UroMed and I contacted you about a feature story on the Hometown Heroes blog. I actually left UroMed because it was an hour away from my home. I found a job that is much closer because the gas prices are so high. I wanted to let you know in case you had emailed me back. If you guys still want to be interviewed, I can give you the Marketing Director's contact info! :)

Have a nice week! I LOVE the Disney dresses that you made. They are adorable.

Jilly said...

Aww, your girls are braver than me - I've avoided Splash Mountain for years because the drop still freaks me out every time! I grew up in FL and I didn't ride Tower of Terror until I was in college! Anyway, I feel so badly for poor Allie, and what a trooper she is (though I admit, I probably could have been bleeding at that age and wouldn't want to leave and miss Disney). Looks like they reset at TBB today and I've already voted. ;)

Sarah said...

Farah - I'll always remember you. I think b/c your name is Farah and I'm Sarah. Thanks for letting me know that you aren't at UroMed anymore. An hour is such a long commute, especially if you are driving. We were having trouble trying to figure out when we could do phone interviews.

Jilly - As for TOT - wait until hear about our day at Hollywood Studios! Allie actually does feel crappy enough 1 day to say that she doesn't want to go to the park :( Thank you for voting!

Staceey L. said...

Once again I am in awe of those dresses. If you ever decide to make them I'll be your first paying customer, well not for me, for my daughters of course!

Sarah said...

Stacey L - thank you! Don't know if I'd ever have time to make any for sale though.

Staceey L. said...

I know you wouldn't, I'm amazed you have time to make them for your daughters. They are super cute though.