Grandbabies 8.3 - Nya at Epcot
Don Jennings
We're going through the list this morning of things we're going to see and
do at Epcot, and when we get to the part about where we're going to ride in
a car with a seat belt and do bumpy things and go fast, she declares "I like
doing bumpy things and going fast." Nya gets to talk with her mom this
morning and tell her all the things we're planning to do. The call is very
enjoyable for all of us, right up to the part where we say our goodbyes, and
then we're back to really missing our mommy. But we're clearly having a
good time here too, because instead of wanting to go home tonight like she
did on the first day, now it's "Can I go home on Day 6 instead of Day 8?"
After the phone call, Laurie's running a little behind so she sends us on
ahead so we can be there at rope drop and get our Soarin' fast passes and
she'll just meet us at the park. Yeah, I know we aren't going to have her
park ticket and can't get her a fast pass and we really didn't think this
whole thing through, but Nya directs me to her customary seat in the back of
the bus, giggling the whole time, and the two of us are on our way.
She's wearing her Snow White dress today, and when an older couple take the
seats in front of us, the gentleman asks her if she's a princess. She
smiles and vigorously nods, and when he asks her if she's Snow White there's
more smiling and nodding. He tells her that her dress is beautiful and she
says nothing beyond a simple "Thank you", but she's beaming. When we're
getting off the bus at the park, the man turns to her and says "It was a
pleasure riding with you today Snow White, I hope you have a wonderful day,
and I hope you find Prince Charming. And don't eat any apples." After they've
walked away and we're setting the stroller up, she looks up at me and says
"Grandpa, you know this is just a dress, right?"
[Post-trip note: While she may have thought the man was crazy at the time,
there's evidence that it later occurred to her that she might be Snow White.
When she went for her kindergarten screening two months after our trip, the
teachers told her mom that she did very well on all their tests, except she
had a little trouble with her name. When asked, she told them her name was
Snow White. The teacher thought that was cute, but said "No I mean your
real name." Snow White. "No, what's your first name that your mommy gave
you?" Snow.]
Laurie must have caught the very next bus, because by the time we've made it
through bag check and into the park she's caught up with us. We end up
having to park the stroller halfway to Nemo, and Nya's really dragging
because she's too tired to walk. Until we remind her that this is the
building that has the pretend hot air balloons, and suddenly the energy
setting is on Full again.
After we get our Soarin' fast passes, Nya's extremely excited when she gets
a thumbs-up at the height check and proceeds to skip up the standby entrance
saying "I'm so glad I get to go on this ride!!" And then about ten seconds
later, "What is this ride?" It's a huge hit, is what it is. She giggles
and laughs throughout the whole thing, and says "That was really fun" three
times before we're out of the building. She informs us that those were
pretend fireworks, "because we were right in them." And she also thinks
that next time we ride it, we "should go in that short line instead." We're
right there with you on that.
Test Track was supposed to be next, but the standby timer says 40 when we
first see it and bumps to 50 by the time we get there, and we're not
starting out the day with an hour queue. We'll just come back and get fast
passes later. We get a little sidetracked on our way back to Nemo, at a
spot that has (at least temporarily) become Pixie Hollow. There are fifteen
to eighteen four to six year olds here who look very much like faeries. Nya
thinks pictures are appropriate.
We also get our picture taken with Nemo and all his friends outside his
pavilion. The walled queue area when you first get inside, with all its
switchbacks, was designed for tired parents. It's one of the few places
where the munchkins are corralled and you don't have to be on the lookout
for the kids darting under a rope whenever they see something shiny.
We get into Crush's preshow and Nya's scanning the tanks and pointing out
all of Nemo's friends. Once inside, we have another first as she wants to
sit on the floor right up front with the other kids. She is so totally into
Crush, dude. We're sitting back a little, but she has such an infectious
giggle that we could pick her out from that alone, even if we couldn't see
her. When we're reunited after the show, she asks "Grandma, does Crush make
you laugh as much as he makes me laugh?" Yes.
I was going to run over to Test Track and get fast passes while the girls
looked at fish, but Nya says "I don't really want to look at fish, I want to
ride on another ride somewhere else." You can tell it's a Saturday during
the Flower and Garden Festival, because there's actually a line down the
ramp at Journey Into Imagination. She thinks the ride is cool, and likes
the upside down house, but it's nothing compared to the Leaping Fountains
outside. She's running back and forth trying to catch the water, pausing
between two sections so she can duck when the water comes over her head. We
think she likes the freedom too, it's probably thirty wide-open yards from
one end to the other, we can see her and she can see us, and sometimes you
just have to run. As a bonus, she finds a cool softball size rock she'd
like to take home. Maybe we'll come back and get it on Day 7.
She'd like to go back to the hotel for a nap now, but we mention lunch and
that sounds like a good idea. She's a little whiny about her menu choices
though, and orders what she wants and then doesn't want it, so it sounds
like it really is nap time. But after we eat she declares she's not tired
any more, so we're going to use our fast passes on Soarin' now. And out of
a clear blue sky as we're dumping our trash, she looks up and for maybe the
first time ever says "I love you, Grandma."
We tell her that before we go back to the hotel we should get more fast
passes for when we come back. We think we already know the answer, but in
the spirit of giving the kids choices we ask her if we should get tickets to
see the cars we looked at this morning or another ride on Soarin' which she
had just requested. But she actually gives it thought for several seconds
before choosing the cars. So I'll get the passes while the girls check out
the Snow White topiaries out front. Their mission takes considerably longer
than mine.
Back at Pop Century, the bus lets us off at the very last stop so we decide
to take a short cut around the end of the building. We discover a small
playground and some water spouts we didn't know were there and we end up
approaching our building from a different direction than we usually do. Nya
knows that to get to our room you go past the blue yo-yo and then past Baloo
and then to the door that ends with a 4, but around this end of the building
she needs a little more information. "Grandma, what number does our
apartment start with?"
We really were tired, and after a two and a half hour nap, we wake up a
little grumpy. This isn't unexpected, there's a reason we usually schedule
Day 3 as a more relaxed day (water park day). I don't want my hair that
way, I want my mommy, I want those clothes. But after fifteen minutes and a
little snack, a little time on the playground, a little giggling with the
rabbits and squirrels, we're headed back to the bus at 5:40 to go back to
Epcot. The girls make me go through Mouse Gears on the way to Test Track,
so I briefly think I might update my sweatshirt collection. Unfortunately
the only design that really catches my eye is only available in M and XXL.
We arrive at Test Track at 6:51 for our 6:55 fast passes, and Nya doesn't
want to get out of the stroller, she wants Grandma to carry her. Grandma
matter-of-factly replies "I don't carry kids, only babies." Nya wants to
know why not and the answer is "Because I'm too little and you're too big."
And that satisfies Nya and the discussion is over. Grandma's magic.
We're very glad we fit this in, because Nya giggles through the whole ride.
And the Barrier Test has the intended effect on her - as soon as we pull
around that last corner she starts asking about all the broken cars and
checking out that wall we're aimed at. After the ride, "That was really
fun, I'm glad we didn't crash!!" She also declares "That was just a little
ride", so we think she'll be ready for Splash and Big Thunder.
Inside the plaza at Mexico, Nya asks the universal question - "Is it light
outside still?" Things are all backward here today, there's significantly
less stuff for sale and a significantly longer line for the boat ride. She
doesn't mind the line here, or the twenty minute line for the boat ride at
Norway, because our primary target is Illuminations. She's still tired
enough that every time the stroller stops she cries and doesn't want to get
out of it, but as soon as she does get out, she's a trooper the rest of the
way. We thought she might be a little scared on the Norway boat, and while
there isn't much giggling, she's engaged and seems to be enjoying it. Her
conclusion at the end? "That's a very short ride."
We were prepared to do our usual walk-through of the Norway movie, but Nya
hears somebody mention it and asks "Can we watch the movie?" Absolutely!
In fact, we think this will be our second time ever! She has questions
throughout, which we wouldn't allow but for the fact this is a private
screening. At the end she decides it was a "very little movie," and her big
question is "Why didn't they ever tell us that boy's name?" Once we're
outside the shops and on our way into the Kringla bakery, she wants to know
"Is this the real outside?" She's very much enjoying the turkey, ham, and
bacon sandwich she picked, right up until she gets an incredibly nasty look
on her face and immediately puts her napkin to her mouth and apparently
spits something out into it. We ask if she found something she didn't like.
"I don't very like onions."
We're out by the lagoon now awaiting Illuminations and it's getting quite
chilly. Laurie's sweatshirt shopping hadn't been any more successful than
mine, so since it's mostly the breeze that's making her cold, she pulls her
poncho out of the pack to put on. Nya apparently hasn't seen one of these,
because she turns around from her bench and says "Grandma, why are you
putting a bag on?" By the time the fireworks start, I have Nya on my
shoulders and we're standing back by the trees, to use them as a partial
wind break. Even if I couldn't hear the difference in the sizes of the
explosion, I can feel them through the legs on my shoulders, because she
jumps with every one. She absolutely loves them, giggling throughout,
except for that long boring part where they are just showing pictures on the
globe. She is very excited that they include purple fireworks, because
purple is her favorite color. And when they're over, she giggles and
applauds vigorously.
It's 10:10 when we get back to the room after making a hot chocolate stop at
the food court. The girls are propped up on pillows, one on each bed,
watching a show about Magic Kingdom and making plans for tomorrow. Nya
informs me that she's going to sleep with me tonight. I tell her "Oh, I
feel so special!" Grandma says "I do too!"
Rudeney
>
> She's wearing her Snow White dress today, and when an older couple take
> the seats in front of us, the gentleman asks her if she's a princess.
> She smiles and vigorously nods, and when he asks her if she's Snow White
> there's more smiling and nodding. He tells her that her dress is
> beautiful and she says nothing beyond a simple "Thank you", but she's
> beaming. When we're getting off the bus at the park, the man turns to
> her and says "It was a pleasure riding with you today Snow White, I hope
> you have a wonderful day, and I hope you find Prince Charming. And
> don't eat any apples." After they've walked away and we're setting the
> stroller up, she looks up at me and says "Grandpa, you know this is just
> a dress, right?"
>
> [Post-trip note: While she may have thought the man was crazy at the
> time, there's evidence that it later occurred to her that she might be
> Snow White. When she went for her kindergarten screening two months
> after our trip, the teachers told her mom that she did very well on all
> their tests, except she had a little trouble with her name. When asked,
> she told them her name was Snow White. The teacher thought that was
> cute, but said "No I mean your real name." Snow White. "No, what's
> your first name that your mommy gave you?" Snow.]
My younger brother's favorite movie was Pete's Dragon. One day, my
mother went to pick him up at after school care and the lady there said
they had no child by that name (Chad). After a few minutes of panic,
she saw him run by and pointed him out. The lady said, "Oh, you mean
Elliot?"
> And she also thinks that next time we ride it, we "should go in
> that short line instead." We're right there with you on that.
Oh, that child is just brilliant!
> And out of a clear blue sky as we're dumping our trash,
> she looks up and for maybe the first time ever says "I love you, Grandma."
Awwwww! :-)
> We're out by the lagoon now awaiting Illuminations and it's getting
> quite chilly. Laurie's sweatshirt shopping hadn't been any more
> successful than mine, so since it's mostly the breeze that's making her
> cold, she pulls her poncho out of the pack to put on. Nya apparently
> hasn't seen one of these, because she turns around from her bench and
> says "Grandma, why are you putting a bag on?"
LOL!
--
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