Mickey Nut 50
07-28-2002, 08:10 PM
Part III – Day One of the Much Needed February Trip
The Cast:
Carol, fellow Disney nut, sometimes needs a wheelchair
Michael, 13 – Carol’s nephew
Me, tour guide, addicted to Disney
Grant, 14, my son, and Disney pal
(Remember, we arrived Feb. 15 at 1:00 am)
OK – up and at ‘em at 8:30 – at least for Carol and me. We quickly dressed and decided we would check out our surroundings. What a view we had! We looked across the yard to the brooms and Mickey’s hat and to our right was the pool. It was sunny and a little nippy, but a family was swimming already.
We saw a mass of people walking towards our right, and realized that the food must be in that direction. We followed, lemmings that we are, and discovered the food court. Took a quick tour around, liked the selection and decided we would eat by ourselves, then send the boys to eat while we packed up the room.
What a delightful food court! In my opinion, much better organization and food selection than Caribbean Beach (where we stayed last time). This is the first time either of us had stayed at All Stars and we were impressed. It was much better than I had anticipated.
After we ate and nosed around in the gift shop,* we headed back to wake up the boys. Gave them money and headed them in the right direction. My son is very Disney-savvy, very observant, and has a good sense of direction* so we weren’t worried about them.
(*Boy Scout with Orienteering Merit Badge)
*After we left the gift shop, I stopped at guest services to find out how and where I should activate my annual pass voucher (my first one!). I was told to exchange it at any of the 4 parks.
Carol and I were done packing when the boys returned, (still no sign of Mickey watch) off we go to the car, and here we come TTC! Found a decent parking place in the HC section, not too far from the entrance for Carol. We all had our passes in hand. I showed my bright green voucher to the CM at the purple gates (past the ticket booths – all of which had substantial lines). He told me to go back and turn it in for my annual pass at one of the ticket booths. I was confused, and thought I could do it at the entrance to MK. “No, you need to do it out there.” Everyone waits for me while I stand in line to exchange my voucher. I had to wait in line about 15 min. I’m getting very anxious to get to the MK – now is not the time to mess up my first annual pass. At least the CM caught her mistake. She had it expiring 2-15-02 instead of 2-15-03. OK – cardboard pass in hand. Question: Will I get a plastic one? Or will I have this cardboard one for a year?
We all take the ferry, as it means less walking for Carol. It was an enjoyable ride. We disembark, go quickly through the bag check, and it’s onto Main Street. Carol was getting excited as we approached the train station, but I held back until I stepped onto Main St. Then a few tears of happiness came. I was really in the Magic Kingdom!
First stop – the Emporium. We sent the boys with our passes off to get Fast Passes for Buzz. We quickly found the pins, and decided to go ahead and get all five of the Magical Moments pins (totally forgetting that in order to get our special internet pin we were to purchase them at the hat at the Studios).
We traded right away. I had just finished paying for my pins when a young girl came up and started looking at my hat. She wanted my Mickey/Minnie Valentines Day 2002 pin. Before we left this morning, I had put about half of my tradable pins in my Mickey pouch – and I had an extra of that one in there.
While Carol was buying and trading, I went to watch for the boys. Waiting for someone turned out to be a pattern with us. The boys came back with our Buzz fast passes for 1:05-2:05. We sent them off, and told them we’d meet again in front of Buzz at 1:05. Carol and I wandered up towards the castle. By this time it was close to 11:30. I suggested that we get something to eat, so that we could be sure and be done prior to Buzz.
Carol and I had originally planned to have an early dinner at Cindy’s according to our “itinerary”. She suggested we try for lunch there. I said it’s probably all booked, we had better find somewhere in Tomorrow Land, so we would be there for the boys. Well, it was only a short diversion to Cindy’s, and it was worth a shot. **Disney Magic Fairy Godmother style** - they seated us right away! I was so tickled to be in Cindy’s castle with someone else who could appreciate it (the 3 males in my family want nothing to do with it). We had a delicious lunch. John our waiter was a delight. We sat in the balcony level and looked out over Fantasy Land. John suggested that we try the raspberry smoothie so we could purchase the mugs after dinner. Why not? We were in the magic kingdom on vacation! The smoothies were good, too.
Finished lunch with time to mosey on over to Tomorrow Land to meet the boys. They arrived just after we did. Grant had taken Michael over to Tom Sawyer’s Island (one of his favorite spots). He was disappointed that all the guns have been removed from the fort.
Buzz was a “blast” as usual. Thanks to the Disney Magazine Insider hints, we were able to find the orange robot and score some points. I didn’t do as well this time as I have in the past, and the boys creamed us – but we all had fun.
Off Buzz and over to Alien Encounter – 1:30 in the afternoon and a 10 min. wait! Michael hadn’t been on this before. I sit there and laugh through it. My dad was an engineer, and I think he passed that on to me. I love to sit there and try to figure out the “hows” of this attraction. Part IV, Day One coming up …..
The Cast:
Carol, fellow Disney nut, sometimes needs a wheelchair
Michael, 13 – Carol’s nephew
Me, tour guide, addicted to Disney
Grant, 14, my son, and Disney pal
(Remember, we arrived Feb. 15 at 1:00 am)
OK – up and at ‘em at 8:30 – at least for Carol and me. We quickly dressed and decided we would check out our surroundings. What a view we had! We looked across the yard to the brooms and Mickey’s hat and to our right was the pool. It was sunny and a little nippy, but a family was swimming already.
We saw a mass of people walking towards our right, and realized that the food must be in that direction. We followed, lemmings that we are, and discovered the food court. Took a quick tour around, liked the selection and decided we would eat by ourselves, then send the boys to eat while we packed up the room.
What a delightful food court! In my opinion, much better organization and food selection than Caribbean Beach (where we stayed last time). This is the first time either of us had stayed at All Stars and we were impressed. It was much better than I had anticipated.
After we ate and nosed around in the gift shop,* we headed back to wake up the boys. Gave them money and headed them in the right direction. My son is very Disney-savvy, very observant, and has a good sense of direction* so we weren’t worried about them.
(*Boy Scout with Orienteering Merit Badge)
*After we left the gift shop, I stopped at guest services to find out how and where I should activate my annual pass voucher (my first one!). I was told to exchange it at any of the 4 parks.
Carol and I were done packing when the boys returned, (still no sign of Mickey watch) off we go to the car, and here we come TTC! Found a decent parking place in the HC section, not too far from the entrance for Carol. We all had our passes in hand. I showed my bright green voucher to the CM at the purple gates (past the ticket booths – all of which had substantial lines). He told me to go back and turn it in for my annual pass at one of the ticket booths. I was confused, and thought I could do it at the entrance to MK. “No, you need to do it out there.” Everyone waits for me while I stand in line to exchange my voucher. I had to wait in line about 15 min. I’m getting very anxious to get to the MK – now is not the time to mess up my first annual pass. At least the CM caught her mistake. She had it expiring 2-15-02 instead of 2-15-03. OK – cardboard pass in hand. Question: Will I get a plastic one? Or will I have this cardboard one for a year?
We all take the ferry, as it means less walking for Carol. It was an enjoyable ride. We disembark, go quickly through the bag check, and it’s onto Main Street. Carol was getting excited as we approached the train station, but I held back until I stepped onto Main St. Then a few tears of happiness came. I was really in the Magic Kingdom!
First stop – the Emporium. We sent the boys with our passes off to get Fast Passes for Buzz. We quickly found the pins, and decided to go ahead and get all five of the Magical Moments pins (totally forgetting that in order to get our special internet pin we were to purchase them at the hat at the Studios).
We traded right away. I had just finished paying for my pins when a young girl came up and started looking at my hat. She wanted my Mickey/Minnie Valentines Day 2002 pin. Before we left this morning, I had put about half of my tradable pins in my Mickey pouch – and I had an extra of that one in there.
While Carol was buying and trading, I went to watch for the boys. Waiting for someone turned out to be a pattern with us. The boys came back with our Buzz fast passes for 1:05-2:05. We sent them off, and told them we’d meet again in front of Buzz at 1:05. Carol and I wandered up towards the castle. By this time it was close to 11:30. I suggested that we get something to eat, so that we could be sure and be done prior to Buzz.
Carol and I had originally planned to have an early dinner at Cindy’s according to our “itinerary”. She suggested we try for lunch there. I said it’s probably all booked, we had better find somewhere in Tomorrow Land, so we would be there for the boys. Well, it was only a short diversion to Cindy’s, and it was worth a shot. **Disney Magic Fairy Godmother style** - they seated us right away! I was so tickled to be in Cindy’s castle with someone else who could appreciate it (the 3 males in my family want nothing to do with it). We had a delicious lunch. John our waiter was a delight. We sat in the balcony level and looked out over Fantasy Land. John suggested that we try the raspberry smoothie so we could purchase the mugs after dinner. Why not? We were in the magic kingdom on vacation! The smoothies were good, too.
Finished lunch with time to mosey on over to Tomorrow Land to meet the boys. They arrived just after we did. Grant had taken Michael over to Tom Sawyer’s Island (one of his favorite spots). He was disappointed that all the guns have been removed from the fort.
Buzz was a “blast” as usual. Thanks to the Disney Magazine Insider hints, we were able to find the orange robot and score some points. I didn’t do as well this time as I have in the past, and the boys creamed us – but we all had fun.
Off Buzz and over to Alien Encounter – 1:30 in the afternoon and a 10 min. wait! Michael hadn’t been on this before. I sit there and laugh through it. My dad was an engineer, and I think he passed that on to me. I love to sit there and try to figure out the “hows” of this attraction. Part IV, Day One coming up …..