addot
06-27-2002, 10:08 AM
In case you missed days 1 and 2, here is a recap: I traveled with wife (DW), son 15 (DS), daughter 14 (DD1), daughter 10 (DD2), and sister-in-law (DSIL). Stayed off site (Residence Inn, LBV) and drove our own car (1300 miles in two days). The WDW part of the trip lasted from Tuesday, June 11 to Saturday, June 15. This is our second trip to WDW. The last visit was five years ago. Day 1 was AK with Dinner at Boma and evening at Fantasmic. Day 2 was Epcot with Lunch at Norway.
Day 3: Thursday was MK day. Looking over the park map the night before, I was worried that we may not find enough at the MK to keep us busy. Our group's fear of speed might rule out the mountains and the older age of our kids may rule out Fantasyland. After two brutal days of heat and rain it is getting harder to get up in time for 9:00 AM openings. We got to TTC gates around 9:40 and there was already a huge crowd in front of us, but this didn't include all the on-site guests who took a bus directly to the park. . They opened the gates at 8:45, and we got stuck in an endless Monorail line. We worked our way across the crowd to the boat line and got on the next ferry. Here is a tip. If you are in the rush to MK from TTC, keep as far left as possible. By the time we got to Main Street and took a potty break, the park already seemed to be filling up. MS was a sea of people. We enjoyed the horse drawn carriage down the street. The driver let DS take the "wheel". I don't know why more people use the MS transport vehicles. From the hub we headed straight to Buzz Lightyear. I had heard this new attraction was very popular and was fun for all ages. Oddly, the adults enjoyed it more than the kids. Some were a little spooked by the special effects and the spinning, but no one else wanted to ride it again (except me - I scored 115,000!). Hitting Buzz early was a good plan. We only had a 10 min wait but the sign said 30 min when we came out. We walked toward Fantasyland and DS said he wanted to drive the Speedway Cars. He is quite proficient at the local go-cart track. I wasn't sure if I should tell him that this ride is not nearly as interesting (cars are much slower, are on a track, and only go around once). I decided not to spoil the magic and we got in line (already 20 min) while the "girls" went to ride the Tea Cups and Carrousel. I think that the Speedway is the biggest waste of space at WDW (doesn't fit the Tomorrowland theme, noisy, smelly, slow line, not much fun). If the Imagineers want to e-mail me, I would be glad to give you a couple of my ideas to replace the Speedway blight. We all got back together and went to see Pooh, another new attraction that I thought all should enjoy. The line was already 30 min so we got FP for Pooh and kept going. We saw there was no line for Snow White's Scary Adventure so we thought we would try it. I hadn't planned on this, but since everyone was game, why not? Even the teens were intrigued by the "scary" part. After coming out, we all agreed it is a real waste of space, but it was still fun to laugh about it as we hadn't invested much time (Imagineers, I have an idea for this space too). No one was interested in Dumbo, so we rode Peter Pan and Small World. DW loves PP. I remember liking it last time and enjoyed it much more this time. Small World is …. Small World - Not so much something I want to do but something I feel I should do, just to be a culturally literate American. The fact that we all came out smiling proved to me that we had successfully shed our jaded 21st century techno-glasses and had an appropriate MK point of view. My worries of the previous night were proven unfounded. We headed back to use the Pooh FP only to find it broken. We were told our FP would be good for the rest of the day, so we headed toward Liberty Square. On the way, I caught the eye of Officer Bill and that's when the Magic happened. He shouted us down, singled out DD1, and started to issue a citation for Excessive Frowning. When it became apparent that she wanted to disappear, Bill became all the more conspicuous, shouting her name at the top of his lungs and threatening to lock her up in the stockade. After a few minutes of this (and a few additional citations), he let us go and we proceeded to Country Bear Jamboree, an attraction that DSIL really wanted to see. She said it was her favorite from her last visit to WDW 25 years ago (pre-Epcot). She laughed through the whole show, but no one else in our group got much out of it. I can't say I would recommend CBJ, but DSIL had fun and our goal to make sure we did something for everyone. We went back to Columbia Harbor House for Lunch. Even though the park seemed very crowded and it was peak lunch time, the lines for food weren't bad and we were able to find an indoor, air conditioned table. We really enjoyed the food here. The menu is much more interesting than the usual burger and fries. We would typically spend about $25 for our family of 5 (DSIL bought her own). The teens would split a meal, DD2 would get a kid's meal, all would share a large drink or two (ask for extra cups) and I would just eat leftovers. After lunch we split up. DSIL wanted to go on her own. We planned to meet at the big shop on Main Street at 4, figuring the street would clear out a little after the 3:00 Parade. The 5 of use headed to Splash and Big Thunder Mtn's. I was hoping to talk someone into riding these with me. DD2 agreed to do SM and DD2 and DS agreed to BTMRR, so I used two tickets to get SM FP and three tickets to get BTMRR FP, in addition to the 5 Pooh FP I was still holding. DS wanted to explore Tom Sawyers Island but every one else just wanted to rest (that P.M. sun again) so I chased DS through the cave (DD2 eventually joined in too) while the others waited by the dock. We then walked over to ride Pirates - a Disney classic for good reasons. We then went back to ride BTMRR while DW and DD2 shopped. Despite the kid's anxieties, BTMRR was a big hit. It helped that we could ride together - three across. DW wanted to know how to get back to Pooh with as little walking as possible, so I suggested the train (again, I really like intra-park transportation). We rode from Frontierland to Toontown and walked toward Pooh. I hadn't planned on spending time in Toontown, but DS, now embolden by his BTMRR triumph, wanted to ride Goofy's Barnstormer. He and I rode while the girls explored Minnie and Micky's houses. Even though GB is billed as a kiddy coaster, I found it to be nearly as intense as BTMRR, just shorter. Finally we got back to Pooh and used our of FP. This is a great new addition to Fantasyland. I liked the special effects at the beginning of the dream sequence. We walked back to the Toontown station to ride the RR back to Frontierland. DD1 and I got off and headed to Splash Mtn. The rest just stayed on to ride around and rest. They eventually got off at MS to meet up with DSIL. DD1 was especially proud of herself for surviving SM (although there were lots of very little kids who didn't seem to think it is that scary). We all reunited and took the monorail back to the car and back home. We only had a few minutes to rest before heading out for our 6:15 PS at Margaritaville, Jimmy Buffet's restaurant at Universal's City Walk. We got to the Universal parking garage at 6:00 which is when parking become free for the evening and took the long "hike" on their moving sidewalks to City Walk (why doesn't Disney try some of these moving sidewalks, maybe at Epcot?). City Walk is a bustling place and was a lot of fun. DSIL is a real Parrot Head so Margaritaville was a must-see for us. This is a great place to eat. There is a Margarita volcano that erupts over the bar and fills a giant Margarita glass, after they play the Volcano song. I had a Cheeseburger in Paradise (with French fried potatoes, Hinz 57 and a big dill pickle). After dinner, stilt walkers roamed the dining room and made balloon animals for the kids. I bought a tee shirt. Unfortunately, we had to hurry back to the car as there was a big thunderstorm brewing. Back at the room, most people collapsed, but DW and I wanted to try and catch the evening parade and fireworks at the MK. Even though the weather looked bad, we gave it try, knowing this would be our only chance. We rushed to the MK as fast as we could, and made it just in time to see most of the parade from the end of Main Street. We strolled up main street and staked out a spot to watch the fireworks from the bridge to Tomorrowland. The MK is so beautiful at night. The castle is lit up with changing shades of pastels. The weather held and the fireworks were beautiful. We were glad we made the effort (it was also great to ditch the kids with DSIL, heh heh). The bottom line for Day 3: Don't underestimate the magic of the Magic Kingdom. Use intrapark transportation. Have a Cheeseburger in Paradise. It's worth the hassle to get back to the MK after dark, with spouse, without kids.
Day 3: Thursday was MK day. Looking over the park map the night before, I was worried that we may not find enough at the MK to keep us busy. Our group's fear of speed might rule out the mountains and the older age of our kids may rule out Fantasyland. After two brutal days of heat and rain it is getting harder to get up in time for 9:00 AM openings. We got to TTC gates around 9:40 and there was already a huge crowd in front of us, but this didn't include all the on-site guests who took a bus directly to the park. . They opened the gates at 8:45, and we got stuck in an endless Monorail line. We worked our way across the crowd to the boat line and got on the next ferry. Here is a tip. If you are in the rush to MK from TTC, keep as far left as possible. By the time we got to Main Street and took a potty break, the park already seemed to be filling up. MS was a sea of people. We enjoyed the horse drawn carriage down the street. The driver let DS take the "wheel". I don't know why more people use the MS transport vehicles. From the hub we headed straight to Buzz Lightyear. I had heard this new attraction was very popular and was fun for all ages. Oddly, the adults enjoyed it more than the kids. Some were a little spooked by the special effects and the spinning, but no one else wanted to ride it again (except me - I scored 115,000!). Hitting Buzz early was a good plan. We only had a 10 min wait but the sign said 30 min when we came out. We walked toward Fantasyland and DS said he wanted to drive the Speedway Cars. He is quite proficient at the local go-cart track. I wasn't sure if I should tell him that this ride is not nearly as interesting (cars are much slower, are on a track, and only go around once). I decided not to spoil the magic and we got in line (already 20 min) while the "girls" went to ride the Tea Cups and Carrousel. I think that the Speedway is the biggest waste of space at WDW (doesn't fit the Tomorrowland theme, noisy, smelly, slow line, not much fun). If the Imagineers want to e-mail me, I would be glad to give you a couple of my ideas to replace the Speedway blight. We all got back together and went to see Pooh, another new attraction that I thought all should enjoy. The line was already 30 min so we got FP for Pooh and kept going. We saw there was no line for Snow White's Scary Adventure so we thought we would try it. I hadn't planned on this, but since everyone was game, why not? Even the teens were intrigued by the "scary" part. After coming out, we all agreed it is a real waste of space, but it was still fun to laugh about it as we hadn't invested much time (Imagineers, I have an idea for this space too). No one was interested in Dumbo, so we rode Peter Pan and Small World. DW loves PP. I remember liking it last time and enjoyed it much more this time. Small World is …. Small World - Not so much something I want to do but something I feel I should do, just to be a culturally literate American. The fact that we all came out smiling proved to me that we had successfully shed our jaded 21st century techno-glasses and had an appropriate MK point of view. My worries of the previous night were proven unfounded. We headed back to use the Pooh FP only to find it broken. We were told our FP would be good for the rest of the day, so we headed toward Liberty Square. On the way, I caught the eye of Officer Bill and that's when the Magic happened. He shouted us down, singled out DD1, and started to issue a citation for Excessive Frowning. When it became apparent that she wanted to disappear, Bill became all the more conspicuous, shouting her name at the top of his lungs and threatening to lock her up in the stockade. After a few minutes of this (and a few additional citations), he let us go and we proceeded to Country Bear Jamboree, an attraction that DSIL really wanted to see. She said it was her favorite from her last visit to WDW 25 years ago (pre-Epcot). She laughed through the whole show, but no one else in our group got much out of it. I can't say I would recommend CBJ, but DSIL had fun and our goal to make sure we did something for everyone. We went back to Columbia Harbor House for Lunch. Even though the park seemed very crowded and it was peak lunch time, the lines for food weren't bad and we were able to find an indoor, air conditioned table. We really enjoyed the food here. The menu is much more interesting than the usual burger and fries. We would typically spend about $25 for our family of 5 (DSIL bought her own). The teens would split a meal, DD2 would get a kid's meal, all would share a large drink or two (ask for extra cups) and I would just eat leftovers. After lunch we split up. DSIL wanted to go on her own. We planned to meet at the big shop on Main Street at 4, figuring the street would clear out a little after the 3:00 Parade. The 5 of use headed to Splash and Big Thunder Mtn's. I was hoping to talk someone into riding these with me. DD2 agreed to do SM and DD2 and DS agreed to BTMRR, so I used two tickets to get SM FP and three tickets to get BTMRR FP, in addition to the 5 Pooh FP I was still holding. DS wanted to explore Tom Sawyers Island but every one else just wanted to rest (that P.M. sun again) so I chased DS through the cave (DD2 eventually joined in too) while the others waited by the dock. We then walked over to ride Pirates - a Disney classic for good reasons. We then went back to ride BTMRR while DW and DD2 shopped. Despite the kid's anxieties, BTMRR was a big hit. It helped that we could ride together - three across. DW wanted to know how to get back to Pooh with as little walking as possible, so I suggested the train (again, I really like intra-park transportation). We rode from Frontierland to Toontown and walked toward Pooh. I hadn't planned on spending time in Toontown, but DS, now embolden by his BTMRR triumph, wanted to ride Goofy's Barnstormer. He and I rode while the girls explored Minnie and Micky's houses. Even though GB is billed as a kiddy coaster, I found it to be nearly as intense as BTMRR, just shorter. Finally we got back to Pooh and used our of FP. This is a great new addition to Fantasyland. I liked the special effects at the beginning of the dream sequence. We walked back to the Toontown station to ride the RR back to Frontierland. DD1 and I got off and headed to Splash Mtn. The rest just stayed on to ride around and rest. They eventually got off at MS to meet up with DSIL. DD1 was especially proud of herself for surviving SM (although there were lots of very little kids who didn't seem to think it is that scary). We all reunited and took the monorail back to the car and back home. We only had a few minutes to rest before heading out for our 6:15 PS at Margaritaville, Jimmy Buffet's restaurant at Universal's City Walk. We got to the Universal parking garage at 6:00 which is when parking become free for the evening and took the long "hike" on their moving sidewalks to City Walk (why doesn't Disney try some of these moving sidewalks, maybe at Epcot?). City Walk is a bustling place and was a lot of fun. DSIL is a real Parrot Head so Margaritaville was a must-see for us. This is a great place to eat. There is a Margarita volcano that erupts over the bar and fills a giant Margarita glass, after they play the Volcano song. I had a Cheeseburger in Paradise (with French fried potatoes, Hinz 57 and a big dill pickle). After dinner, stilt walkers roamed the dining room and made balloon animals for the kids. I bought a tee shirt. Unfortunately, we had to hurry back to the car as there was a big thunderstorm brewing. Back at the room, most people collapsed, but DW and I wanted to try and catch the evening parade and fireworks at the MK. Even though the weather looked bad, we gave it try, knowing this would be our only chance. We rushed to the MK as fast as we could, and made it just in time to see most of the parade from the end of Main Street. We strolled up main street and staked out a spot to watch the fireworks from the bridge to Tomorrowland. The MK is so beautiful at night. The castle is lit up with changing shades of pastels. The weather held and the fireworks were beautiful. We were glad we made the effort (it was also great to ditch the kids with DSIL, heh heh). The bottom line for Day 3: Don't underestimate the magic of the Magic Kingdom. Use intrapark transportation. Have a Cheeseburger in Paradise. It's worth the hassle to get back to the MK after dark, with spouse, without kids.