Some day, in the next decade or two, I will need to get the kids up early for something. They'll whine and mope and I'll struggle to get them out of bed, and I'll look back on these days with fondness, when they were up at the crack of dawn every day. But right now, I'd really like them to learn how to sleep in on weekends.
In any case, this was Sunday morning, and we wanted to try and make it to the Rope Drop ceremony at the Magic Kingdom, so their early-morning habits weren't quite as irritating. We munched on some Pop-Tarts and Colon Blow for breakfast, and Julie brewed some coffee in the room so we wouldn't be subjected to the normal Disney Nescrap-e.
We made it to the bus stop around 8:15 a.m., and Rope Drop was scheduled for 9:00. There was a decent crowd waiting, and the first few of what would prove to be many, many scooters. I'm not sure if September was the National
Scooter Convention or what, but these things were everywhere.
We noticed that the scooters really slow down and put a drain on the transportation system. I know there are many people who need them, whether due to age or medical conditions--I'm not begrudging that fact. The buses are very slow to load them, and we found ourselves praying another one would show up (often one did, and there would be a mad rush for it while the first poor bus driver was still loading up the scooters). I think it might be a problem Disney needs to address. Maybe a separate para-transit bus system?
We did overhear one person in a scooter saying they wouldn't go without it: "You get to the front of every line..."
Surely this isn't the case everywhere, but you hate to see people abusing the system.
We made it to the Magic Kingdom with about 10 minutes to spare. Good thing, too, because the show started a few minutes early. It's a pretty cool ceremony. The best part is when the train pulls into the station with all the characters aboard. DIS Dads Man Law...
UPHELD. 
September must be their designated time to paint the castle, because the dumb crane was there during our 2006 trip and it was back this year. Or maybe Disney just has a grand conspiracy to ruin our Christmas card pictures. They don't have a defense against Photoshop yet, though. Take that!
(Thanks FreezinRafiki for the Photoshop work)
We wanted to head straight for Fantasyland to do those rides before the lines got bad. But we took an extremely necessary detour into the Main St. Bakery to use up some snack credits on cinnamon rolls. Those things ain't gonna eat themselves, you know. 2 rolls were easily enough to feed my family.
First stop was Dumbo: already a 20-minute wait for a 30-second ride. Grrr. There's a reason I wanted to get rid of this one early. From there, it was onto the carrousel. We did a quick search for Cinderella's horse, but didn't find it before they started the ride. We told Scotty to try and pull the sword from the stone. Although he was without fear in the face of his enemies, he was unable to arise a knight.
There was no wait for Philharmagic, so we marched right in. "It's starting in 10 seconds," said the helpful cast member. We rushed to grab glasses for everyone, scooted the kids along, and... the doors closed in our face. Well, at least the room was air-conditioned. And we could take goofy pictures.
Now the last time we'd seen Philharmagic, the boys had been too young for it and scared by images coming out of the screen. Surely, this time would be different, right!
Wrong. And stop calling me Shirley.
Scotty refused to wear the glasses once the show started. And Dave cowered in his seat, hands over his ears. I asked what was wrong. "It's too loud," he whimpered. "I really don't like this, Daddy..." A tear fell down his cheek.
Well, we were off to a great start. My kids are scared of Donald. In Dave's defense, they did have the volume cranked up to 11. I'm not sure it really needed to be that loud. But I put my arm around him and we tried to enjoy the show as best we could.
Once outside, the boys seemed ok. They seemed to have an aversion to dark places with loud noises. I guess I can't blame a 6- and a 4-year-old for that. "Who wants to ride Snow White's Scary Adventures?" I asked. All I got was a withering look from Mrs. Oblivious.
Peter Pan had a 30-minute wait, so we went for FastPasses. And it was our lucky day! Not only did we get them, but we each got a SURPRISE FASTPASS for Philharmagic!
For some reason, David wasn't as excited as me.
My excitement quickly waned, however, when I found out that It's a Small World was closed for refurbishment. Here I am, showing my profound disappointment:
We decided we'd had enough of Fantasyland. Julie, Sarah and I wanted to go hit one of our favorites: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. First roller coaster I'd ever tried, and now Dave and Scotty were tall enough to ride it with us. Sarah had loved this ride when she was 4. We figured Dave and Scotty would, too.
The wait was listed at 10 minutes, so we went right in. At this point, Scotty began to feel some pangs of dread. "I no want to go on this ride, Mommy," he said. Being the kind, sensitive parents anyone would want to model themselves after, we told him that was nonsense and he'd love it. He dragged his feet, but moved on with us. They lined us up--in the very last car of the train. Here's Scotty before the ride, as he got his hopes up:
Dave was quiet, probably a little nervous, but not saying anything. I had videotaped this ride on our previous trip and he'd watched that, so he knew what to expect. Still, his hands flew to his ears as soon as we plunged into the Bat-cave. But we were rushing around the mountain in no time.
Of course, the back car gives a bit wilder ride than the front, since the weight of the train tends to pull you over the hills faster, whipping you around and out of your seat. We were having a great time, though, whooping it up and raising our hands. As we rounded one corner, I thought I heard a faint cry on the wind, but dismissed it as part of the white noise of an amusement park. We raced around spirals, zoomed through caves, ducked under low clearings, following the whims of the runaway locomotive. And then we came through the final tunnel, slowing to re-enter the station. Funny, that cry was still there. And it was louder.
Scotty was bawling his eyes out. "I no like dis ride! Make it stop!" he cried.
So. That went well.
I am proud to say that Dave did like the ride, and wanted to do it again. We couldn't subject Scotty to that one again, though. We went for lunch at Pecos Bill's instead. I got the big burger with the onion rings on it, because as we all know, calories don't count on vacation.
Coming Up Next: Our Magic Kingdom adventure continues! Having already traumatized our sons, can we find something to torture our daughter?
Tru dat. Tony's is one of my favorites and I read vastly different reviews yet we've been 2x and had great experiences.
Looks like I have a little back reading to do.I was never good with extra credit ,so I don't expect to see any bonus points
I should be doing. The balloon ride looks like it could be really fun! Perhaps something we will attempt in December 
IASW is my favorite but only at 
