We crossed under the Welcome sign, Tee's birthday CD full of Disney songs blaring, and I got that little Disney tickle in my throat. Oh, it was so very exciting. Even just a trip to the Downtown Disney Marketplace can do it for me. On most trips, this is what we do our first night, so the tradition is alive and well.
Food is the first order of business, so we head off to the Earl of Sandwich. The line moved quickly and we found a big table outside, near the fountain by Once Upon a Toy. DH had the Caribbean Jerk Sandwich, and it should have been called the Royal Jerk Sandwich. I had a fantastic Mediterranean Chicken Salad that is one of my favorite things to eat in the entire World. Hoot refused to eat a warmed PB&J, that when you tasted it, your eyes rolled back into your head. He had other things on his mind.
At first, he gulped down his milk and kept all eyes on Tee. As his attention began to wander, she brought out a Lightning McQueen kaleidoscope, which kept the savageness in check for a little longer. Then, he began to slip further and further away from the table. His eyes were on that fountain and all the kids playing in it. It's a popular play spot, with the jets shooting straight out of the ground, and kids screaming and running about getting soaked. I told him that if he would sit down and eat just a few bites, I would let him play in the fountain after we had shopped. Yeah, no deal.
Again, he attempted to bolt, but DH was right on him. He brought him back to the table and we waited painfully for Tee to finish eating. (This is nothing new, she eats ridiculously slow, she knows it, and nothing will change it.) As we headed towards the toy store, Hoot bolted again. This time he made it all the way to the fountain! Hooray! Um, or not. DH tore after him like a madman. Just as he reached the boy, the crocs DH was wearing betrayed him and he slid into home plate.
Now, in the flash of an eye, all manner of things popped through my brain. DH throwing his back out doing NOTHING at the Atlanta airport BEFORE we departed for our Christmas trip in 1999. The chaos even a twisted ankle would throw into our entire week's schedule and plans. The location of the nearest ER. Images of bloody, twisted limbs. Then, as DH hauled himself up, snagged Hoot and drug him away, ridiculously inappropriate Mom laughter. Lots of it. Oodles, if you will.
As a unit, we retreated to the nearest restroom and regrouped. The boys did their thing, Tee & I did ours, and we soon found ourselves outside the toy store on a bench. And, then, the Jerk sandwich really kicked in. DH did not want to reward "that kind of behavior" with anything. No train ride, no carousel, no toy store. Sadly, we went a few rounds before I realized we were that family, melting down and fighting at Disney. Poor Tee, she was a Southwest Airlines "wanna get away" commercial.
Yes, Hoot was behaving horribly. Yes, he had bolted. No, he wouldn't get to go play in the fountain. But, I still wanted him to have the train and carousel ride. I mean, come on. We spent how much to get here? We get here how often? I had planned this night for how long? And this little not quite four year old had endured a hurricane, a sleepless night in Dallas, a flight, and being shuffled along all day. Give me a break, and cut one for my little guy too!
In the end, I won. But, I didn't push for all of it. We did some shopping at Once Upon a Toy, where Tee bought and stashed away a bag of plastic robots that we would rely on time and time again. I bought the boy an Eve pin and a Wall-E cup. Then, we did a brief visit to the super big World of Disney shop before we called it a night. Looking back, I should have pushed harder. I missed going in Pooh's Corner, the Mickey Mart (everything under $10), and most of all, the Art of Disney store.
After a quick good night, we put Tee safely back into her room and tried to head to bed ourselves. DH was still showing signs of his sandwich, and refused to turn off the TV early. But, I curled up with the boy and tried to get him to relax. After all, we needed to be up super early so we could check in to Pop Century and get to the Hollywood Studios before rope drop.
As I was snuggling with Hoot, I ran a hand over his right foot and felt a bump. I pressed on it to see if it was tender, and he just about jumped out of the bed. We turned the big lights on and took a look. Poor thing had a splinter in the heel of his foot. I rummaged around in my bag, but couldn't find my tweezers. DH was being a freak about having to get it out right away. So, I dialed up Tee and asked to borrow hers.
Hoot struggled and endured while I tried to get it out. We eventually gave up when he began to scream bloody murder. Honestly, a visit from security or even the cops would've really capped off the day! So, I convinced DH to wait and we would stop at First Aid when we got to the Studios the next morning.
Then, seeing how late it was, we made our first change to our touring plans. We decided to sleep until 8 am, check out, go to Pop Century, check in, and get to the park whenever we could. It was a hard decision to make, but a very good one. I knew that Toy Story Mania would be crazy, but really, something had to give.
Up next: What a ride!
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