karenfm
12-04-2001, 08:33 PM
Manning Family-Day 2 (11-22 Thanksgiving)
Cast: Me Karen - 38, Disney Vacation Planner
DH Mike - 37 - Enjoyer of all that Planner plans!
DS#1 Chris - age 10
DS #2 Bryan - age 8
DD Katheryn - age 6
- 7 prior trips to WDW, 2 offsite, 2 Poly, 2 Institute, 1 Boardwalk
Happy Thanksgiving! We all wake up around 6:45. Hurry-hurry! Room service is coming at 7:00 a.m. Everyone quickly gets dressed and by 7:10 breakfast is here. The Hyatt Hotel at Orlando Airport isn't Disney, but it was fine for a good night's sleep after getting in at 10:30pm.
We head to National Car Rental's Emerald Aisle, pick out a nice full size car (Impala), and by 8:30 we're on our way to MGM. We arrive at MGM around 8:50, park in Television, board the tram and head to the park. Our first wait is the longest - it's the wait at Guest Relations to activate our annual passes! We wait almost 30 minutes! After we're done, it's a quick 5 minutes waiting for security to check the bags and getting through the ticket machines, and we're in! First stop is Rock-n-Roller Coaster to get some fast-passes. DD was to little to go last year and she has been looking forward to riding when she was tall enough - and officially she is!
Our fast passes have us coming back at 11:20 (thank goodness it's before lunch!), so we head over to the Great Movie Ride. Of course, on the way we have to stop under the big sorcerer's hat, check out the kiosks and pins. We buy 3 of the magical moments pins for the kids. (It's good that they come with extra batteries, because 6 days later they were losing power.) Finally we're in the Great Movie Ride and it's quick, only had to wait for next tram. We have the western scene and DD (who is brave enough for Tower of Terror) hides on the floor until we get our tour guide back!) Next we head to Star Tours (2 minute wait). We decide to try and see Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular, but the next show isn't for an hour. So we head back across the park toward Rock-N-Roll, and cut through all the shops on Sunset Boulevard, where we buy Katheryn her 2nd pair of earings (just got her ear's pierced!), little Mickey heads made up of green emerald-like stones!
We make it to Rock-N-roll 5 minutes early, but the cast member flags us right in. Our little 6 year old LOVES it! and if we would let her, she would go in the stand-by line and do it again! Unfortunately, that line is now a 60 minute wait! But we'll be back!
We have Thanksgiving dinner PS's at the Brown Derby for 12:00, again we show up early (11:45) and we are seated almost immediately. Now, we were one of those who were supposed to eat at the Yacht Club, in retrospect, the Brown Derby was just fine! We have salad, Turkey with gravy, corn bread stuffing, mashed, whole cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes and roasted green beans ($24.99). The kids had equivalant plates, just smaller portions ($7.99 each). Dessert was included with our meal, white pumpkin cheesecake with whipped creme and white chocolate! The kids all had the kid deserts. We left full and happy.
Since we were all a little tired (you know how turkey makes you want to take a nap), we went to go check in at the Yacht Club. We decided to treat ourselves to Valet parking. At 2:00pm, our room was ready. We were in 1088, ground floor with a patio, directly facing the quiet pool, jacuzzi and laundry room! This would work out very well!
After some swimming in Storm Along Bay (lot's of fun), we rested for a bit and headed over to Epcot. Since we were hungry, we decided to try eating in Japan at the Yakatori House! What a neat find! The kids all had the Child's combo - white rice, marinated beef, and a stick of chicken teriyaki ($3.95 each) while DH and I had the Kushiyaki, white rice, brocolli, and 1 stick each of shrimp, beef and chicken ($7.50). With drinks, the total was $37.32. Not to bad for a family of 5! We would definitely eat here again.
By the time we were done eating, Tapestry of Dreams was beginning. We hurried and enjoyed the parade, but I didn't find that much different from Tapestry of Nations. Maybe I'm just forgetting something. We decided to take our time and head back to the Yacht club. It had been a busy first day. Of course, we needed to have desert too, so we stopped for crepe's outside of France. We have the chocolate and strawberry crepes - very good.
At the International Gateway, my son Bryan made a great pin trade. He traded a tiny pin from AK Asia for a large Disney California Adventure pin! (This was to be one of many - maybe even hundreds - of trade. We strolled back to the Yacht Club, and by 9:30 we were all asleep. Tomorrow Back to MGM early, and then to Epcot for dinner. Good night!
Cast: Me Karen - 38, Disney Vacation Planner
DH Mike - 37 - Enjoyer of all that Planner plans!
DS#1 Chris - age 10
DS #2 Bryan - age 8
DD Katheryn - age 6
- 7 prior trips to WDW, 2 offsite, 2 Poly, 2 Institute, 1 Boardwalk
Happy Thanksgiving! We all wake up around 6:45. Hurry-hurry! Room service is coming at 7:00 a.m. Everyone quickly gets dressed and by 7:10 breakfast is here. The Hyatt Hotel at Orlando Airport isn't Disney, but it was fine for a good night's sleep after getting in at 10:30pm.
We head to National Car Rental's Emerald Aisle, pick out a nice full size car (Impala), and by 8:30 we're on our way to MGM. We arrive at MGM around 8:50, park in Television, board the tram and head to the park. Our first wait is the longest - it's the wait at Guest Relations to activate our annual passes! We wait almost 30 minutes! After we're done, it's a quick 5 minutes waiting for security to check the bags and getting through the ticket machines, and we're in! First stop is Rock-n-Roller Coaster to get some fast-passes. DD was to little to go last year and she has been looking forward to riding when she was tall enough - and officially she is!
Our fast passes have us coming back at 11:20 (thank goodness it's before lunch!), so we head over to the Great Movie Ride. Of course, on the way we have to stop under the big sorcerer's hat, check out the kiosks and pins. We buy 3 of the magical moments pins for the kids. (It's good that they come with extra batteries, because 6 days later they were losing power.) Finally we're in the Great Movie Ride and it's quick, only had to wait for next tram. We have the western scene and DD (who is brave enough for Tower of Terror) hides on the floor until we get our tour guide back!) Next we head to Star Tours (2 minute wait). We decide to try and see Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular, but the next show isn't for an hour. So we head back across the park toward Rock-N-Roll, and cut through all the shops on Sunset Boulevard, where we buy Katheryn her 2nd pair of earings (just got her ear's pierced!), little Mickey heads made up of green emerald-like stones!
We make it to Rock-N-roll 5 minutes early, but the cast member flags us right in. Our little 6 year old LOVES it! and if we would let her, she would go in the stand-by line and do it again! Unfortunately, that line is now a 60 minute wait! But we'll be back!
We have Thanksgiving dinner PS's at the Brown Derby for 12:00, again we show up early (11:45) and we are seated almost immediately. Now, we were one of those who were supposed to eat at the Yacht Club, in retrospect, the Brown Derby was just fine! We have salad, Turkey with gravy, corn bread stuffing, mashed, whole cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes and roasted green beans ($24.99). The kids had equivalant plates, just smaller portions ($7.99 each). Dessert was included with our meal, white pumpkin cheesecake with whipped creme and white chocolate! The kids all had the kid deserts. We left full and happy.
Since we were all a little tired (you know how turkey makes you want to take a nap), we went to go check in at the Yacht Club. We decided to treat ourselves to Valet parking. At 2:00pm, our room was ready. We were in 1088, ground floor with a patio, directly facing the quiet pool, jacuzzi and laundry room! This would work out very well!
After some swimming in Storm Along Bay (lot's of fun), we rested for a bit and headed over to Epcot. Since we were hungry, we decided to try eating in Japan at the Yakatori House! What a neat find! The kids all had the Child's combo - white rice, marinated beef, and a stick of chicken teriyaki ($3.95 each) while DH and I had the Kushiyaki, white rice, brocolli, and 1 stick each of shrimp, beef and chicken ($7.50). With drinks, the total was $37.32. Not to bad for a family of 5! We would definitely eat here again.
By the time we were done eating, Tapestry of Dreams was beginning. We hurried and enjoyed the parade, but I didn't find that much different from Tapestry of Nations. Maybe I'm just forgetting something. We decided to take our time and head back to the Yacht club. It had been a busy first day. Of course, we needed to have desert too, so we stopped for crepe's outside of France. We have the chocolate and strawberry crepes - very good.
At the International Gateway, my son Bryan made a great pin trade. He traded a tiny pin from AK Asia for a large Disney California Adventure pin! (This was to be one of many - maybe even hundreds - of trade. We strolled back to the Yacht Club, and by 9:30 we were all asleep. Tomorrow Back to MGM early, and then to Epcot for dinner. Good night!