Around 3:15, Sleeping Beauty awakens with a relatively more pleasant disposition than most immediate post-nap states. She is apparently fully rested from her post-Typhoon Lagoon nap (I did manage to get her wet suit and swim diaper off) and warming up to the idea of being awake. We read a Tigger book that I brought along as a new gift. I ask her if she's ready to go back to the Magic Kingdom now and show Belle her new flower. (Belle's next storytime is at 4:45). An easy sell, and the two of us are off in minutes.
As we load up the car we see huge dark clouds rolling in overhead. I drive quickly, uncertain if one can actually outrun a storm, but it seems to have worked for now since as we park , we find ourselves under slightly less ominous skies. I park in Daisy â all the way at the end of the lot - and start walking toward the TTC. Tiny droplets start to fall but I don my .99 poncho and pop an umbrella for DD. We are on a mission, and I will not be deterred.
The clouds are gathering now as we pass by Belle's Magical Garden at 4:30. There's no one there yet, so I think of getting Winnie the Pooh Fast Passes first. As we head in that direction, DD lets out a wail â NOOOO! I want to see Belle!!!!!!! I try explaining that we're coming right back, we're just going to get Winnie the Pooh tickets, but she will hear none of it. She is staying here until Belle comes out. I also explain that if it rains, we'll have to come back, and my heart sinks as I imagine the rain washing out Belle's storytime. Nevertheless, we grab a seat and wait nervously for the show to start as more droplets float down.
Belle's assistant appears and announces that we'll try to start the show. Drip drip drip. Drip Drop. Drip. Then Belle appears!!!! She begins her story, invites a Daddy come up to be the Beast, and asks a bunch of kids come up to play Papa, Gaston, Mrs. Potts, Chip, Lumiere and Cogsworth. DD is only interested in watching, but she is VERY interested. She is nervous at first about what the Beast will be like in his pre-nice stage, but relieved to see a Daddy slip on the costume to PRETEND to be the Beast. The storytime is charming, very minimally staged and with no other actors except the audience members, Belle and an assistant, it is the perfect level for our 3.5 year old princess. No booming stereophonic special effects or 3-D images, no darkened theater with flashing lights, just a pretty storyteller and some cute acting. Our 10 year old DS would probably have been tolerant but not thrilled, and I am glad to imagine him and MassDad at Disney Quest instead of here in Fairytale Garden. Best of all, the Disney weather gods manage to disperse the clouds without incident, and we even have a chance to talk to Belle after the show. She tells DD how much she loves her flower. Thanks, Belle!
Now we can go get Winnie the Pooh fastpasses. It's about 5:10 and our fastpass time is forâ¦.8:10?!? Oh well, we'll take it. DD is getting a little impatient to see Winnie so I remember the Crystal Palace and head over to see if we can get a dinner seating. Luckily, DD is not too committed to the idea because it turns out that the first PS available is at 8:20!!!! I take it also, not sure exactly how I'll juggle the two times but also confident that DD's mood will make the decision for me when the time comes. For now, DD is quickly distracted when she spies a Big Minnie doll in the arms of a little girl. The mom tells me that they got in Mickey's Toon town and our next destination is clear.
We head for Mickey's Toon town and DD is enthralled by Minnie's House. While most people wander through, she painstakingly observes all the details and returns to revisit rooms several times. When we exit we find the gift shop and buy the culminating souvenir â BIG MINNIE! (and for only $22 I feel quite lucky). Now DD wants to return to MinnieâÂÂs house with BIG MINNIE. This time she walks BIG MINNIE through her house, and has her sit in the kitchen, on her bench etc. etc. I take an entire roll of photos of DD and BIG MINNIE sharing tea in Minnie's kitchen.
We visit Mickey's house too and are able to skip the LONG line to meet Mickey since we've already done that! Thank you Studio M! We play in a little playground area in front of Mickey and Minnie's house where DD watches two girls gleefully passing around a small stuffed Pegasus. DD spies the Judge's Tent and asks to go in. I am leery at first since I know that escaping from the tent will require another purchase, but I calculate that BIG MINNIE was actually much less than had expected and quickly credit the imaginary difference to the small Pegasus account. Exit plan in place, we enter.
I know that there are lines to meet the characters in here; luckily, DD does not. I casually check out the lines while she flips through some books. One line is temporarily roped off. The middle line is a VERY long one (about 35 minutes according to the Cast Member) to meet Minnie. The non-existent line on the far right is no longer than 15 minutes since it doesn't stretch into the area we can see. The Cast Member unknowingly makes my day when she tells me who is in that area: "Oh, that's Winnie-the-Pooh and friends."
Winnie the Pooh? With a 15 minute wait? Let me get this right â see Pooh in three hours at Crystal Palace or stand in line for 15 minutes and see Pooh now? I calculate the added savings of NOT having to pay for a character meal at 8:20 at night (no doubt it would be our second dinner of the night), and I am riding on cloud 9 at my budget wise good fortune.
The line moves pretty quickly, and we are suddenly in a room with Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore and Tigger all at once!!!! DD walks up to Pooh right away and gives him a hug. She asks me to tell him that she has Winnie the Pooh sandals, to which Pooh gleefully claps and feigns surprise. The Pooh momentum is really building now, all heading for the Winnie the Pooh ride at 8:10. We grab some dinner at the Starlight cafe, ride It's a Small World again, ride the Cinderella carousel, walk through the castle and Ariel's Grotto again just to see if Cinderella and Ariel are around (they are not), and eventually find ourselves at exactly 8:10 back at Winnie the Pooh.
Even with fast pass it takes about 15 minutes, but this is a vast improvement over the 60 minute standby line and the rest of the fastpasses are sold out completely. As we're waiting DD has a little hesitation since the set up looks suspiciously similar to the Peter Pan ride â the scary not-supposed-to-be-scary ride. She is very cautious as the line moves forward. "Are we gonna ride in a honey pot?" She remembers some of what I've described in the past. I confirm the honey pot part, but not smart enough to leave well enough alone, I mistakenly enhance this info with some more, "Yes, we'll ride in a honey pot, and when Tigger comes out, we're going to bounce!"
The bounce is now a source of unending anxiety. "But I don't want to bounce! Let's get out of here. I don't want to ride this!" I do some quick thinking and talking âÂÂ"it's just a small bounceâ¦actually, I don't remember if there is a bounce. ... Maybe that's just in the story. ⦠I don't know if there's a bounce⦠I think Tigger bounces and we watchâ¦. Or maybe it's just a little dip like in It's a Small World. Remember how you liked that one?" She is still obsessing over the bounce and decides that since mom is so unreliable, "Let's just ask someone." Oooh. She's quick. I agree to "ask someone", hoping to give a Cast Member a wink before he or she can answer, but instead we shuffle onto a honey pot before we are able to find one (I wasn't looking too hard). As the bar is lowered, DD turns to me frantically, "But we forgot to ASK!!!" She cups her hand to her mouth and SHOUTS over to the loading area as we round the corner, "IS THIS DO A BOUNCE!?!?!?!"
The first few scenes are so unobjectionable that she quickly starts to relax. Maybe this will be nice and not scary after all, she seems to be thinking. Soon Tigger appears and my heart skips a beat in anticipation. He asks us to "Come along and bounce with me!" and I heave a great sigh of relief as our honey pot gently rocks back and forth. DD immediately vindicates me, "Mommy, you were right!! I was wrong!" Words I will probably never hear again from her! But oh, how precious it was to hear them then.
We end up very glad that we rode the Pooh ride, and even more glad that we didn't have to wait in the standby line. By now it's 8:40 and I ask DD if she would like to stay and see the Electric Parade with the light up floats. She immediately says, "yes" so we head for my secret parade viewing spot that WDHatter posted about. There are already tons of people lining the street as we head down Main Street and it is very tempting to settle for a spot on the curb two or three rows back, out of fear that there won't be any spots left at all. We spot one patch of pavement that we almost take, but a man standing nearby tells us that he has 15 people coming to join him at that spot. We continue on, wondering how he will ever get 16 people in a space the size of three.
We pass more possible viewing areas that are three rows deep, but I have confidence in wdhatter, and we press on to the Main Street hub. I head right, toward the Car Barn and then spy the Fire House. There, just as he promised, is a stretch of unclaimed rope right by the beginning of the parade route. Not only that, there is an approximately 10 ft square patch of open space behind the spot as well! We grab a spot right at the rope next to a very nice family from Minnesota and with only 15 minutes to go until parade time I make a mental note to make sure to thank wdhatter when we return.
The Electric Parade begins right on time, although, I confess that I have quite a few seconds of video footage focused on the Car Barn doors â I mistakenly think that the parade will emerge from here; it actually comes from the corridor just to the left. Both DD and I find the parade enchanting, and we enjoy every moment. Many characters wend their way near us â Chip actually shakes her hand and many others come near her. We get a great view of everything, and can even see the floats twice as they work their way around the hub.
After seeing Alice in Wonderland and a few other floats, DD asks when the Little Mermaid float will be coming. I assure her that I think it's coming soon. Quick, Disney experts, what's wrong with this response? Here's a hint: what year was MSEP created? What year was Little Mermaid released? That's right, over a decade later, almost two. Therefore, is there a Little Mermaid float in MSEP?!?!?!
Luckily, I remember this valuable bit of parade trivia sometime after the Snow White float. I begin to sweat nervously thinking of how I will break the news, and start by commenting on how nice it was that we already saw the Little Mermaid float at the other parade. I am working up more background on the topic when suddenly, the parade is over. I brace myself for the outcry about the missing Little Mermaind float. "MOMMY!" â¦Yes, dear?.. "It's over!!" â¦..suspenseful pauseâ¦. Yes, dear. ⦠"LetâÂÂs go home now!" Really? Well, then, why yes, let's do that! And without incident or protest, and thanks to the great location tip from WDHatter, the escape route is very easy.
Our last memory of the Magic Kingdom is a startling post-consumption moment. With BIG MINNIE in one hand, small Pegasus in the other and her IOA rose somewhere in between, we pass a cart with twirling Pooh lights and DD says, "Mommy lookit!" I brace for the next "must have" request and am stunned when instead she says, "We don't need to get that a'cause I already have a Mickey Mouse one from Disney on Ice that says 'Who's the yeader of the cub'" Well, I'll be. She's right. We don't need to get that. We already got everything we wanted at Disney. And more.
Upon returning to the HIFS, DD and I share with MassDad and DS all the news of our evening. They respond with equal enthusiasm about their time at Disney Quest. They particularly liked the bumper cars, the CREATE Zone where DS made both a CD and a Sid toy. Of course the unlimited video game play was a highlight, and the virtual carpet ride seems to have been a hit too, except for MassDad's head getting a bit squished by the reality helmet. We all collapse in our beds and try to avoid thinking about the fact that tomorrow we will be leaving. The fact that we are returning to Nana's house is the only reason DD will even discuss leaving.
We have one more splash in the pool in the morning and then MassDad takes the kids to the play area one more time while I head for the check out. Check out is very quick, since I think signing up for the priority club really helped. I meet the family at the play area for a wonderful final memory. The four of them (MassDad, DD, DS and BIG MINNIE) are stretched out on lounge chairs, one next the other. I join them for a few minutes of soaking in the surroundings. Mommy, Daddy, Brother, Sister and Minnie all relaxing by the pool.
Our flight leaves on schedule, and it is my turn to sit between the two kids while MassDad catches 40 winks in the seat across the aisle. As the plane takes off, I find that I am overcome with emotion and feel a rush of incredible joy, relief, sadness, and pleasure all at once. DD points out that I have tears coming out of my eyes and asks me why. I tell her it's because I'm so happy that we had such a nice trip.
I know that it is also because I am savoring all the incredible moments, and marveling at how quickly they have gone from being the anticipated to being the memorable. To all who've joined us in our journey, thanks for keeping us company! I hope we'll be able to post about our next trip sometime soon! It's been a pleasure!
MassMom
Click here for the other parts of the story...
Pre-trip
1 of 7, Downtown Disney
2 of 7; Magic Kingdom
Mk continued; 3 of 7
4 of 7; I of A
5 of 7; Universal and I of A continued
6 of 7; Typhoon Lagoon
Oh, and don't forget the "boys'" point of view:
MassDad's Supplemental Report
[This message was edited by MassMom on 08-28-00 at 08:25 PM.]
As we load up the car we see huge dark clouds rolling in overhead. I drive quickly, uncertain if one can actually outrun a storm, but it seems to have worked for now since as we park , we find ourselves under slightly less ominous skies. I park in Daisy â all the way at the end of the lot - and start walking toward the TTC. Tiny droplets start to fall but I don my .99 poncho and pop an umbrella for DD. We are on a mission, and I will not be deterred.
The clouds are gathering now as we pass by Belle's Magical Garden at 4:30. There's no one there yet, so I think of getting Winnie the Pooh Fast Passes first. As we head in that direction, DD lets out a wail â NOOOO! I want to see Belle!!!!!!! I try explaining that we're coming right back, we're just going to get Winnie the Pooh tickets, but she will hear none of it. She is staying here until Belle comes out. I also explain that if it rains, we'll have to come back, and my heart sinks as I imagine the rain washing out Belle's storytime. Nevertheless, we grab a seat and wait nervously for the show to start as more droplets float down.
Belle's assistant appears and announces that we'll try to start the show. Drip drip drip. Drip Drop. Drip. Then Belle appears!!!! She begins her story, invites a Daddy come up to be the Beast, and asks a bunch of kids come up to play Papa, Gaston, Mrs. Potts, Chip, Lumiere and Cogsworth. DD is only interested in watching, but she is VERY interested. She is nervous at first about what the Beast will be like in his pre-nice stage, but relieved to see a Daddy slip on the costume to PRETEND to be the Beast. The storytime is charming, very minimally staged and with no other actors except the audience members, Belle and an assistant, it is the perfect level for our 3.5 year old princess. No booming stereophonic special effects or 3-D images, no darkened theater with flashing lights, just a pretty storyteller and some cute acting. Our 10 year old DS would probably have been tolerant but not thrilled, and I am glad to imagine him and MassDad at Disney Quest instead of here in Fairytale Garden. Best of all, the Disney weather gods manage to disperse the clouds without incident, and we even have a chance to talk to Belle after the show. She tells DD how much she loves her flower. Thanks, Belle!
Now we can go get Winnie the Pooh fastpasses. It's about 5:10 and our fastpass time is forâ¦.8:10?!? Oh well, we'll take it. DD is getting a little impatient to see Winnie so I remember the Crystal Palace and head over to see if we can get a dinner seating. Luckily, DD is not too committed to the idea because it turns out that the first PS available is at 8:20!!!! I take it also, not sure exactly how I'll juggle the two times but also confident that DD's mood will make the decision for me when the time comes. For now, DD is quickly distracted when she spies a Big Minnie doll in the arms of a little girl. The mom tells me that they got in Mickey's Toon town and our next destination is clear.
We head for Mickey's Toon town and DD is enthralled by Minnie's House. While most people wander through, she painstakingly observes all the details and returns to revisit rooms several times. When we exit we find the gift shop and buy the culminating souvenir â BIG MINNIE! (and for only $22 I feel quite lucky). Now DD wants to return to MinnieâÂÂs house with BIG MINNIE. This time she walks BIG MINNIE through her house, and has her sit in the kitchen, on her bench etc. etc. I take an entire roll of photos of DD and BIG MINNIE sharing tea in Minnie's kitchen.
We visit Mickey's house too and are able to skip the LONG line to meet Mickey since we've already done that! Thank you Studio M! We play in a little playground area in front of Mickey and Minnie's house where DD watches two girls gleefully passing around a small stuffed Pegasus. DD spies the Judge's Tent and asks to go in. I am leery at first since I know that escaping from the tent will require another purchase, but I calculate that BIG MINNIE was actually much less than had expected and quickly credit the imaginary difference to the small Pegasus account. Exit plan in place, we enter.
I know that there are lines to meet the characters in here; luckily, DD does not. I casually check out the lines while she flips through some books. One line is temporarily roped off. The middle line is a VERY long one (about 35 minutes according to the Cast Member) to meet Minnie. The non-existent line on the far right is no longer than 15 minutes since it doesn't stretch into the area we can see. The Cast Member unknowingly makes my day when she tells me who is in that area: "Oh, that's Winnie-the-Pooh and friends."
Winnie the Pooh? With a 15 minute wait? Let me get this right â see Pooh in three hours at Crystal Palace or stand in line for 15 minutes and see Pooh now? I calculate the added savings of NOT having to pay for a character meal at 8:20 at night (no doubt it would be our second dinner of the night), and I am riding on cloud 9 at my budget wise good fortune.
The line moves pretty quickly, and we are suddenly in a room with Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore and Tigger all at once!!!! DD walks up to Pooh right away and gives him a hug. She asks me to tell him that she has Winnie the Pooh sandals, to which Pooh gleefully claps and feigns surprise. The Pooh momentum is really building now, all heading for the Winnie the Pooh ride at 8:10. We grab some dinner at the Starlight cafe, ride It's a Small World again, ride the Cinderella carousel, walk through the castle and Ariel's Grotto again just to see if Cinderella and Ariel are around (they are not), and eventually find ourselves at exactly 8:10 back at Winnie the Pooh.
Even with fast pass it takes about 15 minutes, but this is a vast improvement over the 60 minute standby line and the rest of the fastpasses are sold out completely. As we're waiting DD has a little hesitation since the set up looks suspiciously similar to the Peter Pan ride â the scary not-supposed-to-be-scary ride. She is very cautious as the line moves forward. "Are we gonna ride in a honey pot?" She remembers some of what I've described in the past. I confirm the honey pot part, but not smart enough to leave well enough alone, I mistakenly enhance this info with some more, "Yes, we'll ride in a honey pot, and when Tigger comes out, we're going to bounce!"
The bounce is now a source of unending anxiety. "But I don't want to bounce! Let's get out of here. I don't want to ride this!" I do some quick thinking and talking âÂÂ"it's just a small bounceâ¦actually, I don't remember if there is a bounce. ... Maybe that's just in the story. ⦠I don't know if there's a bounce⦠I think Tigger bounces and we watchâ¦. Or maybe it's just a little dip like in It's a Small World. Remember how you liked that one?" She is still obsessing over the bounce and decides that since mom is so unreliable, "Let's just ask someone." Oooh. She's quick. I agree to "ask someone", hoping to give a Cast Member a wink before he or she can answer, but instead we shuffle onto a honey pot before we are able to find one (I wasn't looking too hard). As the bar is lowered, DD turns to me frantically, "But we forgot to ASK!!!" She cups her hand to her mouth and SHOUTS over to the loading area as we round the corner, "IS THIS DO A BOUNCE!?!?!?!"
The first few scenes are so unobjectionable that she quickly starts to relax. Maybe this will be nice and not scary after all, she seems to be thinking. Soon Tigger appears and my heart skips a beat in anticipation. He asks us to "Come along and bounce with me!" and I heave a great sigh of relief as our honey pot gently rocks back and forth. DD immediately vindicates me, "Mommy, you were right!! I was wrong!" Words I will probably never hear again from her! But oh, how precious it was to hear them then.
We end up very glad that we rode the Pooh ride, and even more glad that we didn't have to wait in the standby line. By now it's 8:40 and I ask DD if she would like to stay and see the Electric Parade with the light up floats. She immediately says, "yes" so we head for my secret parade viewing spot that WDHatter posted about. There are already tons of people lining the street as we head down Main Street and it is very tempting to settle for a spot on the curb two or three rows back, out of fear that there won't be any spots left at all. We spot one patch of pavement that we almost take, but a man standing nearby tells us that he has 15 people coming to join him at that spot. We continue on, wondering how he will ever get 16 people in a space the size of three.
We pass more possible viewing areas that are three rows deep, but I have confidence in wdhatter, and we press on to the Main Street hub. I head right, toward the Car Barn and then spy the Fire House. There, just as he promised, is a stretch of unclaimed rope right by the beginning of the parade route. Not only that, there is an approximately 10 ft square patch of open space behind the spot as well! We grab a spot right at the rope next to a very nice family from Minnesota and with only 15 minutes to go until parade time I make a mental note to make sure to thank wdhatter when we return.
The Electric Parade begins right on time, although, I confess that I have quite a few seconds of video footage focused on the Car Barn doors â I mistakenly think that the parade will emerge from here; it actually comes from the corridor just to the left. Both DD and I find the parade enchanting, and we enjoy every moment. Many characters wend their way near us â Chip actually shakes her hand and many others come near her. We get a great view of everything, and can even see the floats twice as they work their way around the hub.
After seeing Alice in Wonderland and a few other floats, DD asks when the Little Mermaid float will be coming. I assure her that I think it's coming soon. Quick, Disney experts, what's wrong with this response? Here's a hint: what year was MSEP created? What year was Little Mermaid released? That's right, over a decade later, almost two. Therefore, is there a Little Mermaid float in MSEP?!?!?!
Luckily, I remember this valuable bit of parade trivia sometime after the Snow White float. I begin to sweat nervously thinking of how I will break the news, and start by commenting on how nice it was that we already saw the Little Mermaid float at the other parade. I am working up more background on the topic when suddenly, the parade is over. I brace myself for the outcry about the missing Little Mermaind float. "MOMMY!" â¦Yes, dear?.. "It's over!!" â¦..suspenseful pauseâ¦. Yes, dear. ⦠"LetâÂÂs go home now!" Really? Well, then, why yes, let's do that! And without incident or protest, and thanks to the great location tip from WDHatter, the escape route is very easy.
Our last memory of the Magic Kingdom is a startling post-consumption moment. With BIG MINNIE in one hand, small Pegasus in the other and her IOA rose somewhere in between, we pass a cart with twirling Pooh lights and DD says, "Mommy lookit!" I brace for the next "must have" request and am stunned when instead she says, "We don't need to get that a'cause I already have a Mickey Mouse one from Disney on Ice that says 'Who's the yeader of the cub'" Well, I'll be. She's right. We don't need to get that. We already got everything we wanted at Disney. And more.
Upon returning to the HIFS, DD and I share with MassDad and DS all the news of our evening. They respond with equal enthusiasm about their time at Disney Quest. They particularly liked the bumper cars, the CREATE Zone where DS made both a CD and a Sid toy. Of course the unlimited video game play was a highlight, and the virtual carpet ride seems to have been a hit too, except for MassDad's head getting a bit squished by the reality helmet. We all collapse in our beds and try to avoid thinking about the fact that tomorrow we will be leaving. The fact that we are returning to Nana's house is the only reason DD will even discuss leaving.
We have one more splash in the pool in the morning and then MassDad takes the kids to the play area one more time while I head for the check out. Check out is very quick, since I think signing up for the priority club really helped. I meet the family at the play area for a wonderful final memory. The four of them (MassDad, DD, DS and BIG MINNIE) are stretched out on lounge chairs, one next the other. I join them for a few minutes of soaking in the surroundings. Mommy, Daddy, Brother, Sister and Minnie all relaxing by the pool.
Our flight leaves on schedule, and it is my turn to sit between the two kids while MassDad catches 40 winks in the seat across the aisle. As the plane takes off, I find that I am overcome with emotion and feel a rush of incredible joy, relief, sadness, and pleasure all at once. DD points out that I have tears coming out of my eyes and asks me why. I tell her it's because I'm so happy that we had such a nice trip.
I know that it is also because I am savoring all the incredible moments, and marveling at how quickly they have gone from being the anticipated to being the memorable. To all who've joined us in our journey, thanks for keeping us company! I hope we'll be able to post about our next trip sometime soon! It's been a pleasure!
MassMom
Click here for the other parts of the story...
Pre-trip
1 of 7, Downtown Disney
2 of 7; Magic Kingdom
Mk continued; 3 of 7
4 of 7; I of A
5 of 7; Universal and I of A continued
6 of 7; Typhoon Lagoon
Oh, and don't forget the "boys'" point of view:
MassDad's Supplemental Report
[This message was edited by MassMom on 08-28-00 at 08:25 PM.]
