Day 1:
I am so tired right now that it’s difficult to write much at all- tired cranky kids and grown ups and it’s not even 8 o’clock at night! Luckily we are al tucked into bed already and can sleep in until 6am tomorrow so we should get a ton of sleep.
This morning started for us at 3am- we were unsure what the weather conditions were going to look like and shuttle express said that if the roads were bad they would pick us up a half an hour earlier than scheduled. So we were counting on a possible 4:10am pick up. I awoke and was a bit scared- as the roads in front of my house were awful- but they showed up on time at 4:40- luckily the main roads were totally clear. We had one other person to pick up and we ended up at the airport at 5:30. Security was easy as we weren’t picked (even though we were in line for) the full body scanners. We had breakfast and boarded our flight at 6:55. Our flight was delayed unfortunately due to having to de-ice the plane, but it was smooth sailing from there until we were about to land and Piper’s ears were bugging her so bad she was crying.
We landed in LA later than we anticipated, and headed to the car rental agency (which took forever). On our way to the Grove in LA, Piper got car sick (poor thing had a ROUGH day)- but we got there right before it got really bad. Piper still had no idea where we were headed until we literally walked into the American Girl Place- and she was thrilled. I had promised P that she could get the doll that looks like her when she was 6 (she already has my old Samantha doll). Matt and Aidan left to go to the Apple store, and Piper and I picked out a matching shirt for her and her doll, a carrying case, and a nail kit. We paid for her doll and then took her downstairs to get her ears pierced (Piper has hers, so she wanted her doll to have the same).
We left the Grove and headed towards Anaheim- P was getting car sick again, and traffic was bad but luckily she fell asleep. We stopped at Target for a snack run, and then to our hotel. The kids thought we were staying at the last hotel we had stayed at in Disneyland, but I had splurged and decided to stay at the Grand Californian hotel right on Disney property. It has entry into downtown Disney and Disneyland within 5 minutes and is actually located right inside Disney’s California Adventure park itself, which is so great. We got our room pretty quickly (a queen bed and bunk beds) and got situated.
We were really tired but starving at this point so we headed into Downtown Disney for dinner- we went to Naples Pizzeria which was really good- the kids had pizza, I had a pumpkin ravioli and Matt had some meaty thing (can you tell I’m a vegetarian?). A lady came around to the table making balloon animals for the kids which was semi entertaining. After that we headed to the gigantic World of Disney store in hunt of a sweatshirt for P- we found a fleece Ariel one which is perfect for chilly nights here and also back home.
The kids seemed to have a little steam left (it was about 6:45 pm) so we headed into CA Adventure park to try and hit Bug’s Land but we ended up just doing Monsters Inc ride instead and P fell asleep in line on Matt’s shoulder:) We called it a night after that and walked back to the hotel (a cpl minutes) and promptly got everyone in bed.
Tomorrow we are hitting Disneyland first thing and then the afternoon will depend on the rain. We skipped Piper’s Bibbiddi Bobbidi Boutique makeover apt today (she was still feeling crummy) so we’ll see.
PHOTOS
: at http://s272.photobucket.com/albums/jj194/mom2aidannpiper/Disneyland%202011/
Day 2:
This morning started for us at 6:00- far better than the 3am alarm going off yesterday. We all were really well rested though so everyone was completely ready to go early. We got coffee at the hotel lounge and breakfast as well and then headed to Disneyland for rope drop at 7:30. At 8:00 we were let into the parks and laughed as people literally ran to get to their destinations (and yes, I have done it in the past but we were in no real rush today).
We headed first to Nemo Submarines and waited about 5 minutes or so to get on. That ride is a lot darker, louder and scarier than I remember and neither kid was really impressed. We went to Buzz Lightyear ride next (a hit w/both my kids) which is like a video game- you get space guns to hit targets throughout the ride. Next we rode Jungle Cruise, Pirates (which we literally walked into, and kept walking into we jumped in a boat. We didn‘t stop once for a wait!), Haunted Mansion, Indiana Jones (which P was finally tall enough to ride and LOVED) and Small World. We then went on the much promised hunt for Star Wars gear for Aidan - who built himself a new double sided light saber (green).
We hopped on the monorail leaving Tomorrowland and went to Downtown Disney for lunch at the Rainforest Café, then shopping at the Lego Store. During this time (well the whole morning off and on really) Aidan turned into a sulky teenager which made things difficult to say the least.. Oh well.
We headed next to Disney’s California Adventure (where our hotel entrance is in), hit up Bug’s Land, walked along Paradise Pier and rode the carousel. We were walking along the pier and back to our hotel when we realized the Grizzly River Run water ride was a walk on ride (which most ALL the rides were today. Aidan really didn’t want to ride but he was a good sport. We donned our ponchos, which we hadn’t needed today- however there were a few sprinkles today during the sun and it amused us seeing umbrellas and rain boots on people. Obviously not Seattleites! We got stuck for a while at the very top of the drop which was really annoying and scared the kids- but then it was over (and yes we got wet but not as bad as the Kali River Rapids in WDW). We walked about hundred feet to our hotel and took a much needed break from the parks, as it was near 4:00.
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Around 5 or so we headed back into California Adventure and rode Soarin’ over Ca - which we had fast passes for, and once again I rode the ride I really dislike but do so for my kids. P isn’t really a fan either but Aidan loves it, and Matt liked it. The weather was still really spotty at this point so the parks were still pretty dead but instead of doing anything else ride related we chose to go get dinner. Back through the hotel lobby we trekked and out the Downtown Disney exit and off to Tortilla Jo’s we went. It was about a 20 minute wait, and the food wasn’t great but the kids once again got balloon animals made for them so they were happy. Aidan however chose to once again get completely moody which wasn’t the greatest ending to the day. Matt and I commented we feel like we are traveling with a teenager. We went back to the hotel to drop off the balloon animals and were planning on going back into Disneyland for the fireworks but the rain was starting again (and the wind) so we stayed put.
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It is now 8:45, Matt just went on an ice cream run, the kids are bathed and playing their DS’ and will soon go to bed. We have an early 5:30 am wake up tomorrow (magic morning entrance) so we def need sleep. Our last day in the parks is tomorrow, then it’s off to our Disney Cruise to Mexico!!
PHOTOS FROM TODAY picw #14-22 at http://s272.photobucket.com/albums/jj194/mom2aidannpiper/Disneyland%202011/
Day 3:
Today I awoke at 3:33am to the sound of POURING rain.. It was hard to sleep for the next couple hours worried that our morning would be a bust trying to get everything done fast in order to go back to the hotel for shelter. To my surprise at 5:30 when I got up the rain had mostly stopped, and by the time we walked out the door at 6:30 it was completely over and a hint of sun was peaking through the clouds.
We had Magic Morning today, which allows you to get into the parks one hour earlier than normal guests to do all the rides in Fantasyland. It started at 7am, and we were the second guests in line at the gate for this. In the hour before normal rope drop we managed to do Dumbo (twice), the carousel, Mr. Toad, Peter Pan, the Matterhorn and Snow White. At 8:00 Matt and I gathered up fast passes for the two of us for later for Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain and we all rode Indiana Jones (again) and Pirates (also again). Then we had a little time so we decided to ride Big Thunder (all these rides were walk ons fyi) and Piper and Matt rode it a second time- to which Piper then declared it her favorite ride- which was as of yesterday Indiana Jones.
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We trekked out of Disneyland and went to Downtown Disney for a quick stop at the bakery for some food, then into California Adventure park for rope drop (their park opens at 10). We walked in at 9:30 and got stopped at some point in the park by the rope until 10:00. I don’t think I have ever seen so many people run or push their way through people in the parks as I did today. Even though we were in the front f the line, everyone was all going towards the same ride and when we got in line we waited for about 35 minutes to ride it (our only wait the entire trip so far). The ride was Toy Story Mania- which is nearly 2 years old now I think, but very popular as no fast passes are available and it’s a slow loading and longish ride. You wear 3D glasses and go through playing carnival games with a shooter thing. It’s pretty cool technology.
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We then spent $15 on the boardwalk games to win Piper a tiny little stuffed Bullseye (the horse from Toy Story) toy. She then proceeded to throw a fit because I wouldn't let her get her face painted and the fear that I may have allowed her to beome spoiled washed over me. After that we headed to the Blue Sky Cellars to check out the upcoming changes to California Adventure park - most of which are pretty cool. Later this year the revamped Star Tours and a new Little Mermaid ride (the model for this was cool) will open, and in 2012 the HUGE Carsland will open. We headed next door to Wine Country Trattoria to pick up our World of Color picnic packs (which include preferred seating for the World of color show tonight) and we went back to the hotel to eat them in the lounge.
We lost track of time a bit and rushed over to California Adventure park again to get in line for the Aladdin show that was showing twenty minutes later at 12:40 and we got pretty good seats. The Genie was the only real entertainment to this show, but the kids love it- plus his jokes are updated since the last time I saw it so it was cute. We went next door to the Animation Building next but the kids were pretty tired and just wanted to come back to the hotel to relax. We crashed for a bit then went out to the swimming pool and P and Matt swam a bit, then we all were in the hot tub for about a half an hour which felt GREAT after a couple days of straight walking in the parks. Aidan sat in a pool chaise lounge playing his DS (not surprising) the whole time we were out there.
We had about an hour to kill before Matt’s and mine date night started so we took showers, read for bit and just generally relaxed. At 5:00 we dropped the kids off at Pinocchio’s Workshop (child care center) and went off on our date. The great thing about this child care was that you had to have a reservation (no drop ins) so the bkid to staff ratio was 1 to 3 while they were there. They had dinner there and played games/arts and crafts and both really seemed to like it.
Matt and I were able to go on Big Thunder again and then Space Mountain (I am getting wussier about rides as I get older…I didn’t really like it and apparently was yelling “I don’t like this” and “let me off this”. Kinda funny. We then went and got our photo pass cd of the pics Matt and I had taken around the park and then went off to dinner.
Being a Sat night and not having reservation proved a little problematic but we decided to eat at the Uva bar outside and got seated right next to a space heater (it was chilly). So it all worked out. Afterwards we wet and got the kids and headed back into California Adventure park to see the newer World of Color show in the paradise pier lagoon. It was really impressive and I’m glad we went. The kids were completely tired though. Piper fell asleep on Matt and I during the show and Aidan wanted to leave early. They were both asleep within about 5 minutes of being in the hotel room:)
Tomorrow is another early morning of repacking, breakfast and off to LAX to return our car and catch the Disney Cruise bus to the San Pedro cruise terminal. Mexico here we come!
PHOTOS FROM TODAY: #34-52 at http://s272.photobucket.com/albums/jj194/mom2aidannpiper/Disneyland%202011/
Day 4:
Today was an early morning- I got up at 6:00 to get ready and then start packing me and the kids. Matt was up at 7 and everyone was ready and packed by 8:00. We headed down to get breakfast and then at 9:00 we were on the road back to LAX.
We took a slight detour to get Starbucks and I successfully navigated Matt out of our hotel past Ball Road and Disney Way (Sarah will know how troublesome this intersection is!) and onto harbor to the Starbucks down the road all with no maps or phone use! For me this is a big deal. I can get lost in a parking lot- no joke! After fueling up with caffeine we headed out of Anaheim and onto the freeway and P immediately got car sick again. She fell asleep though which helped and didn’t wake up until we were getting gas by the airport. We returned our car and hopped on the shuttle to LAX within about 10 minutes time and we walked over to the Disney Cruise kiosk set up by Delta baggage claim. We checked in and were told our bus would be on the way. At this time Matt realized that he still had the rental car keys. Within the next few minutes our bus came, Matt tried to call the rental car place, and then flagged down the shuttle for them and they took the keys (yay!) and we boarded our bus. We were on our way to San Pedro port!
About a half an hour later our ship came into view and all the little kids on the bus got excited. We got into the port, went through the return cruiser line within about 10-15 minutes and then went through security , which is very similar to security in a courthouse. We then were given a boarding number (25) and they had just started boarding numbers 1-3. Matt and I figured we would be waiting a really long time, but they started calling numbers every1-2 minutes so it went by really fast. Before we knew it, we were boarding the boat!
The very first thing after announcing our name when we walked in was instruction to go up to the buffet on deck 9 for lunch. We brought our carry ons (a backpack with wine, and a bag of bottled water plus paperwork and P’s doll) and headed up to snag a table. This was prob the most crowded I have ever seen a cruise. When staterooms aren’t open, activities aren’t going on and everyone is hungry- it makes for very long buffet lines. Esp considering we took shifts (I took P while Matt/Aidan guarded the table then we switched). The food was really good though, and we braved the wind outside (though it was really sunny).
When we got done eating it was 2:03, and we headed down to see our staterooms. We had booked two connecting rooms- 1 room for Matt and I, and one for the kids. We propped the doors open between them which made the two rooms more like one big suite. Considering each stateroom is about 184 sq ft we needed all the room we could for two adults and two big kids. We also now had 4 half bathrooms which would make getting ready in the mornings a breeze and such a time saver. Each room has a queen bed that can be converted into twin beds which made it so the kids didn’t have to share a bed either which made them happy.
After getting settled in we explored the ship a bit and before we knew it, it was time for our first dinner in the main dining rooms. There are three dining rooms- Animators Palate, Parrot Cay and Tritons. You rotate through them (and repeat for longer cruises) and your two servers (one for drinks, one for food) rotate with you so you always have the same staff. It makes getting to know your likes/dislikes/allergies, etc really handy. Tonight we were in Animators Palate- a restaurant that starts in black and white (the walls, pictures, etc) and slowly changes to color over the course of the hour and a half (yes dinners are that long!). The kids really loved this restaurant our last cruise so they were happy to start our rotation there.
There was no main broadway type show tonight- just some juggling/comedy act that we skipped. I got the kids their kids clubs wristbands and I checked Aidan into the club and showed Piper around hers for awhile. She wanted to go in the hot tub up on the pool deck but she was really tired (it was after 8:00 at this point) so I brought her back to the room and gave her a bath and got her tucked into bed. We got Aidan out of the club and brought him back to wind down a bit as well. Both kids are in bed watching tv and I am totally exhausted. We didn’t do much today but it was draining. Hopefully tomorrow will be more relaxing! We are starting the day with a character breakfast and we hope to do a tasting of some sort too.
PHOTOS FROM TODAY # 1-3 are at:
Day 5:
I woke up today to the sun starting to rise- I thought we had maybe overslept since I was so well rested but it was only 5:45! I laid in bed for a bit enjoying the quiet (though I could hear Aidan playing Mario on his DS through the doorway to his room) and read a book for a while. I finally got up around 6:20 and took a shower while everyone else was sleeping.
At 7:15 Matt and Piper got up and we all got ready for what was about to be a disaster of a character breakfast. The dining room was very loud for being 8 in the morning, and was bugging both the kids. Piper wanted nothing to do with the characters (became VERY shy and introverted) and also was a tad sea sick we suspect since she ate nothing - highly unusual if you know Piper! We left after a couple characters came by and took Aidan to the kids club (which was where he was most of the day) and Piper wanted to go up in the hot tub. We got changed, took her up there then hit the buffet since she was feeling better.
At 10:00 Piper wanted to go see Tangled in 3D, so Matt and I took her to that- surprisingly it was just as entertaining the second time around. For those who haven’t seen it, it’s really cute! I recommend it- its’ really funny. We took a walk around deck 4 (the walking/running track) outside and the weather was just increasingly better. We could see an island in Mexico off the port side of the ship which was really pretty next to blue sparkling water. The temps were still cool today though- only about 60 but in the sun it was really warm.
We dropped Piper off at the kids club for a bit so Matt and I could have some time alone. We went to lunch by ourselves and ate outside enjoying the sun and the view, then did a 1:00 wine tasting which was a fun adult activity. We picked up the kids and went down to watch “Who Wants to be a Mouseketeer” which is like who wants to be a millionaire, but with Disney only questions. Our family didn’t get picked, but it was entertaining to watch and the kids had a late lunch/snack while we watched other families try to win prizes. We took a break in our stateroom for the kids to do homework (it’s Monday, and the first day that they missed school so I wanted to make sure I was setting time aside each day for their work).
We then once again dropped Aidan off at his kids club, and Piper stayed with us while we went down to the family lounge to get a couple drinks and relax before dinner. Dinner was formal night so we all got dressed up and headed to Parrot Cay, our restaurant tonight. Our food was once again fantastic and Matt and I both bothered two entrees. Then when dessert came (I got a sampler with three mini things) Piper turns to me and says “really mom? THREE desserts?”?…it made us all laugh because she said it in the most judgmental condescending voice ever.
We dropped Aidan off at his kids club during dinner (he finished fast and didn’t want dessert) and then Piper after dinner. We showed up to get her scanned in and realized that her bracelet was no longer on. So there goes fifty bucks for a new tracking device thing. Hopefully someone will find it and turn it in so that we don’t get charged for it by the end of the cruise. Matt and I then left and went to go to the Cove Café to get a post dinner latte and walk around for a bit. The ship was completely deserted where we were which was really nice.
At 8:00 we went and collected the kids and heading to the Walt Disney Theater to see tonight’s show- The Golden Mickeys. We saw this on the last cruise (well obv Matt didn’t) but it was just as good the second time around. The show is complied of music and dance numbers from various Disney movies so it keeps little one’s attention which is good. All of the cast members are very talented in both singing and dancing and the show is really well put together. Piper started to fall asleep a bit during the show so afterwards we came right back to the room (after dropping Aidan off at the clubs of course) and she crawled into bed and turned on one of the many many Disney movie channels on tv.
It is now 10:15, and P is still awake but cozy. Matt just went got Aidan out of the clubs to come to bed. The ship is still really rocking- Matt and I had drinks after our wine tasting and I honestly couldn’t tell if I was tipsy or the boat was just rocking ! We are now filling out our room service breakfast menu and looking at tomorrows activity navigator to see what all we want to do. We have a Palo (adult only, fancy restaurant) brunch booked but that’s about it so far. It’s another day at sea so the day should be pretty relaxing. Even though we are headed to Puerto Vallarta first, we are passing through Cabo waters tomorrow so the kids are hopeful to see some dolphins or whales in the morning.
PHOTOS FROM TODAY #4-22 at:
Day 6:
Today I woke up super early to get laundry started. The light coming from our verandah actually woke me up before my alarm went off which was a little rough as I was tired and not quite adjusted to the time change (1 hour forward). I went down to the laundry room down the hall in my pj’s and the hallways were eerily quiet. I came back to the room and waited for the room service that I had ordered the night before for breakfast. At 7:00 our coffee came, along with milks, juices and pastries. The kids were still sleeping so it was really nice to just sit outside in the quiet and watch the ocean waters. We were about to past Cabo, so everyone was on the look out for dolphins and whales.
Our morning plans included a more filling breakfast for the kids at the buffet, finishing our laundry and just generally being lazy. Matt and I had reservations for brunch at Palo. It had to easily be the best thing we had done yet on board. Free mimosas, unlimited brunch buffet of very high quality food. It was set up in different stations of antipasto, seafood, breads/cheeses, desserts and then a made to order entrée station as well. It was SO good, and we stuffed our tummies full. As we left we were passing Cabo and the arches and it made for some great views.
After Palo we went to get the kids out of the clubs which was good timing because Piper had just started crying and we were getting paged. Apparently she had been having a fun time in her club (the avg age is 4-7 where as Aidan's is 7-10 but you can go to either) but when she went to Aidan's she got kinda lost in the shuffle. At this point I was VERY concerned, as we were to leave them both in the club the next day for an adult only excursion- but more on that later. We went to get Aidan and took a walk up on deck 10 (sun deck) and laid in some loungers for awhile as the kids as ice cream. The sun was starting to finally get really warm (temps in the low 70’s) and people were all sunbathing or in the pools.
It got too hot for the kids and we weren’t wearing sun block so we left deck 10 and headed down to the Promenade family lounge to get drinks for us grown ups and grab a board game to play, but Aidan wasn’t having it so we went back to the room for a bit.
The kids did their homework and I enjoyed our verandah and the sun. After that the kids were watching a movie and I fell asleep face down on the couch, legs up on top of the arm rests. I will blame this on the early start of the day and the sun and not on the 2 mimosas and drink of the day right before this nap…
Matt woke me up at 5:30 (a 2 hr nap or so) and I was a little cranky…we had dinner at 5:45 and we all still needed to get ready. Oh well. I got the kids ready, threw myself together and was still really out of it as we walked down to our second night in Parrot’s Cay restaurant. The food was great (as always) and the kids only wanted entrees- no dessert. Despite Piper’s kid club meltdown she happily agreed to go play in her club for a bit. I ran the kids up to their respective clubs while we were waiting for our main course. It was nice to come back and just have a quiet dinner and dessert with Matt for once.
After dinner we went back to our room, got a glass of wine and headed down to the shops sans kids to look around. At 8:00 we went and got the kiddos from their clubs and both were having a good time. Piper had gotten her face painted and had story time with Belle (the princess came in and read to them) and Aidan had been doing his usual video games/computer time. We walked down towards the main theater and popped back into the shops where we got beach balls for our Cabo beach day and each kid bought a big plush Stitch (Lilo and Stitch). We went and got seats for tonight’s show- a comedy/hypnosis show with Ricky Kalmon who is apparently very famous and sought after as far as hypnotists go. The show was really funny and pretty Disney orientated (guy thinking his shoe was baby Simba and announcing him to the pride, people thinking they are Hannah Montana, guy thinking he was a seven dwarf, etc). Aidan really loved it and P once again nearly fell asleep during the show.
Afterward we went right back to the room where P took a bath and Aidan took a shower. P wanted room service which I happily ordered for her but she fell asleep a couple minutes later. Matt and I ate it though, and watched Beauty and the Beast on tv. I crashed pretty much right after that (I’m writing this the next morning).
PHOTOS OF TODAY (#1-#6) at: http://s272.photobucket.com/albums/jj194/mom2aidannpiper/Disney%20Cruise%20Days%203%20and%204/
Day 7:
My alarm was set to go off at 6:30 this morning but I woke up sometime in the 5 o’clock hour and saw land peaking out the verandah curtains. I got up and went out onto the balcony and saw that we were approaching Puerto Vallarta. It was definitely not a picturesque port- very industrial and across from us was a Walmart and Sam’s Club. It was already much warmer though- highs expected in the low 80’s!
We all slowly got ready and Matt and I got packed for our excursion today. We were booked for Vallarta Adventures “Outdoor Adventure”. It entails multiple zip lines, rappels, bridge crossings, etc. We were excited but I was really nervous about leaving Piper in the clubs for 6-7 hours after her iffy experience the day before. She also was being really cranky this morning.
We went up to eat breakfast at the buffet which was ok- same food though pretty much each day so we prob will start eating in the dining rooms for breakfast from now on. Matt then took Aidan back to the room to take his meds and I took P to play some air hockey in the arcade (which put her in a good mood). We then dropped the kids off at the clubs with no tears or irritations so I was happy to leave (but still obv concerned as we were going to be without contact with them all day).
Matt and I headed down to the meeting place (a bar on the ship) and left with about 20 other people from our ship to do this excursion. We were well prepared with a whole change of clothes and shoes- which we would be thankful for later!). We walked off the boat and around the pier area to board this zodiac type boats which scared the crap out of me. I have an extreme fear of natural water and esp small fast boats. We all donned our lifejackets and off we went on our 20 minute boat ride. About half way through (as I am gripping Matt and barely looking up) we came to a complete stop. About 20 feet from us was a humpback whale and her baby. It was amazing for sure, but I was also now about a million more times scared. Images of it bumping us and flipping our boat was freaking me out, even if it would never happen. We stayed there for a few minutes to get pictures and then off we went again.
When we docked it was at this gorgeous very rural beach. We all got into 10 person Unimogs (big 4x4 things) and off we went to “base camp”. The ride up was pretty smooth - a little bumpy at the end but since we were in a 4x4 it was fun. We rode for about 25 minutes to the base camp where we hopped off and came to a very pretty outdoor snack/bar area, bathrooms, lockers and area to get instructions. We all had put all our personal belongings away (including cameras), go to the bathroom and get suited up in a harness and helmet.
We then walked over to the mule area where we each were assigned a mule to ride up the mountain on. I got one of three brother mules- to say the ride up was interesting would be an understatement. Him and his brother mules were VERY competitive. There was at times a 3 foot wide path (with rocks and a drop off on the other side) and they were trying to push their way past to lead the pack (matt had one, I had one and another girl we met had one). It had a couple of scary moments when they didn’t want to listen to us, but it was still really fun.
We then walked a little uphill to the first zipline and put our gloves on. I was the 4th person or so to go and it did not go well. I braked too hard and got stuck about 20 ft from the end which really sucked as you have to use your arms to pull you in. I was really discouraged. Matt had the same issue as I did (spinning and going backwards) but didn’t get stuck. The second zip line went a little better- I spun around but made it to the end. It wasn’t super fun though as I was paying so much attention to how to control myself up there that I wasn’t enjoying the scenery. Luckily though, all my focus on that also made it so I wasn’t scared that I was 500 feet off the ground!
I got the hang of it after about 4 zip lines and was able to go straight, brake properly and look around at the waterfalls we went over and other great scenery. Matt still was spinning though. Lol. After about 5 zip lines we came to our first rappel. The extreme heights up to this point hadn’t caused me issue but the waterfall rapel was straight down and was 100 feet up. It was really scary and they just basically put you in and you go. I went down a couple feet and lost my footing and crashed into the front of the rock. I figured out after about 10 feet or so (and people yelling at me from below) that I needed to sit lower and get my feet higher and planted more solidly and then I was fine after that. We landed in about 2 feet of water at the bottom in the river in front of the waterfall. I then went over to talk to Matt (who went before me and I hadn’t seen him) and apparently he also slipped a couple times as well which made me feel better.
We then ziplined into the river- completely getting soaked and having to pull yourself to shore with the rope- I was up to my neck in freezing water and it took me a second to catch my breath but the water felt good.
We zip lined some more which I had a blast doing as I knew what I was doing at that point, and then came to some rope bridges to cross- all really easy, even ones where it was just two ropes that you had to traverse (going sideways- one for your hands, one for your feet). Thank god for good balance!
Our second rappel was next which was far scarier looking than the first- it was just straight down 75 feet. No rocks, nothing for your feet. You just had to sit and lower yourself with your rope. As scary as it looked it was far easier than the first and I even let myself go down really fast. This one also landed us in water.
We did a couple more zip lines- the fastest one which I had good control over, and then a race with your partner. I totally beat Matt. Lol. We did some hiking and more bridge crossings back to base camp.
We then got de-harnessed, changed our clothes and shoes, got a snack and bought out photo cd before our Unimog left. We then rode down the mountain (it was way bumpier- think Indiana Jones from Disneyland but worse) and had to wait at the beach for the other group before our zodiac boat left. It didn’t take too long but us with kids on the boat just wanted to get back. Our boat left and a few minutes later the most annoying woman on our excursion asked to go back because she forgot her photo cd. The driver agreed and we turned around. Again, us with kids were really really annoyed.
We then finally were on our way and we passed these gigantic rocks (think a couple stories high) covered with birds. I mean like a thousand birds flying, sitting, etc everywhere. The driver stopped the boat to let people watch for a few minutes. The boat was really rocking and I was starting to get a little sea sick, I am scared of open water, and birds so this was the low point of the day for me. We got on our way again, and back to the pier about 20 minutes later. We were back on the cruise boat in about 5 minutes.
We went to get the kids and after 7 hours of us gone they were both completely content. They had a very activity filled day and neither had been shy or quiet which made me happy. It was now 5:00 and we went up on deck to get some food, went back to the room to all eat. Matt and I also had some paperwork to fill out for getting our boarding passes delivered to our cabin the day before we leave, as well as have our luggage delivered to LAX for us which is really convenient. We decided to skip our main dining room tonight, as we had a long day and wanted a relaxed evening. We headed to the early nightly show (we usually go to the 8:30 showing) which was Toy Story the Musical. A very cute, condensed, music added show.
Piper was a little cranky afterwards and Aidan went back to the clubs (his choice- I swear I haven’t seen him all cruise!) . Piper, Matt and I donned our swimsuits and went up to the deserted pool deck and hit the hot tub which felt great after such an active day. Piper also went swimming in the regular pool before we went back to get changed.
We then played in the arcade a bit, got her ice cream and came back to the stateroom. Matt went to get coffee for us and get Aidan out of the clubs and P almost threw up- I think from overeating junk food. She crashed really early and Aidan crashed an hour later or so. Matt and I ordered room service (yay for more all included food!) and are winding down.
I am also nursing all my injuries from today. I have cuts on both knees from the waterfall rappel, a bleeding cut on my ankle from a rock moving in the water and my slipping, a swollen cut on my thigh from who knows what, bug bites, bruises on the inside of my leg from the mules, and a slight sunburn. I am in rough shape!
Tomorrow we dock in Cabo San Lucas and we have a free day planned- hopefully hitting the town and the beach and enjoying the weather!
PHOTOS FROM TODAY (#7-#41) at http://s272.photobucket.com/albums/jj194/mom2aidannpiper/Disney%20Cruise%20Days%203%20and%204/
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