My First Trip Report! - "Escape from New York" - completed

[baseballmickey]

Last night I was reading your TR and my daughter came out and told me that I had a problem and needed help...Seems she thinks I'm addicted to reading other peoples trip reports. This is what gives me that bit of Disney Magic that I need to keep me going in between trips, and it's has been too long since I walked under the train station into the Magic Kingdom myself. So let me say a HUGE THANK YOU.

YOU'RE WELCOME!! Thank you so much for reading!!

 

[baseballmickey]

Before the commercial break, we were on Main Street USA and heading for Fantasyland... and I'm still wearing my hat!!!

You know, as far back as I can remember, we always went to Adventureland first. But that all changed when DD came along... now we have to head straight through to Fantasyland and then we usually end up going back several times throughout the day.

First up, we grabbed FPs for Winnie the Pooh. It was about 10:30ish and our window opened at 11:30... so that gave us some time to do a couple of DD's other favorites.

First ride of the day, Cinderella's Golden Carousel... No, wait, make that Prince Charming Regal Carousel. When did that happen?? apparently over the summer. Well, I suppose since they're married... what's his is hers and what's hers is his. Whatever the name, it's a classic and DD always enjoys it.

Tried to talk DW out of getting up on the horse. But she did it anyway. Getting off the horse, she told me that was her exercise for the day.

Exiting the ride, I grab a shot of the oft-neglected and underappreciated backside of the castle.

Next up, we headed over to another ride that should be easy to get on without waiting too long... It's a Small World. From this picture, you can see that you now board from the LEFT instead of the right side. This felt a little weird, I must admit. I like to consider myself an easy-going kind of guy, but I guess after boarding this ride from the right side all my life... I imagine this might be similar to what it feels like for the English when they come to America and have to drive on the opposite side of the car??? lol.

I'll spare you the pics I took from inside the ride otherwise I won't be able to fit the rest in this post. But I had to make an exception for this one:

umm... did anybody lose a shoe??? It looks like it's a left shoe. No sign of its partner. That was the last we saw of the shoe, so if it was yours, please inquire with Lost and Found.

anyway... moving on...

Believe it or not, but those two rides ate up most of the hour we had to wait for our FP window to open... so we walked back toward Winnie the Pooh, on they way we ran into CMs handing out hula-hoops. DD just had to give this a try...

Now, don't let the picture fool you. It looks as though she's rocking that hula hoop... but in reality all she could manage was to spin it around herself while she stood still and let it go all the way to the ground. It was pretty hysterical. All the CMs got a kick out of her.

We finally got her to give up the hoop and we moved on to Winnie the Pooh. Since we had FPs, we didn't get to go through the new activity area that is part of the stand-by line. We did see a bit of it though, and it looks cool.

Here is part of the play area. It's smaller than the original, but it still has the treehouse as well as some new activities. You can see that if your kid(s) is(are) out in the play area, you'll have to be able to reel him/her/them back into the line at some point.

Also added are interactive screens where you can wipe away the honey that is pouring down to reveal characters underneath. These are further along the line and separate from the play area.

It's a cool addition to the line, but I know DW and I will miss having the separate Pooh's Playful Spot across the way. It was such a good place for us to get off our feet for a few minutes while DD ran around. We even used that to keep DD occupied while one of us waited on line to see characters like Pooh and friends nearby, or Ariel when her Grotto was open.

Of course, we're excited to see the new Fantasyland once everything is open. Perhaps we'll forget all about the ol' playful spot then??

We came out of the Pooh ride with about 15 minutes or so to spare before the Once Upon a Christmas Parade was due to start. This was one of our MUST-DOs for the day. This was the first of two showings of this parade, and since DD was awake and feeling good now, we went for it. The parade was starting in Frontierland, and "our spot" for parade viewing is in Liberty Square, so we had a few extra minutes to make our way over and get settled. This was the first time the crowd size became apparent to us. Our usual spot didn't have much available. I ended up putting DD up on my shoulders and DW got a seat on the wall, while I stood. Here are DW's shots of the parade:

The parade was great. I was disappointed we couldn't get DD up front for a possible high-five from a character, but she had one of the better seats in the house from up on my shoulders. Although that did make it hard for me to videotape the parade.

When Santa made his appearance, we explained to DD that he was on vacation too. She seemed to buy it.

Well, whaddya know? I hit my limit on pics again. So I'll be stopping here to give my fingers a rest. In the next update, it will be time for lunch... and it's our one rezzie for today.

Hmm... can you guess where we'll be having lunch?

 

[amandaw]

More great pictures! I'm so glad your DD was starting to feel better. I sure hope that trend continued for all of y'all. I love the picture of her with the hula hoop....she is too cute!

 

[shan23877]

The Christmas parade looks like so much fun!

 

[Chicago Mo]

I cannot wait until we go in November!!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! your report is fantastic!

 

[baseballmickey]

More great pictures! I'm so glad your DD was starting to feel better. I sure hope that trend continued for all of y'all. I love the picture of her with the hula hoop....she is too cute!

Thanks! She is too much. I sometimes doubt my involvement in bringing her into this world because she is so cute.

The Christmas parade looks like so much fun!

It definitely is. If there hadn't been so many other things to do, we might have watched it the second time!!

I cannot wait until we go in November!!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! your report is fantastic!

You're Welcome! and thanks again for reading!

 

[sheri18]

love the pics from the christmas parade...would love to go someday during that time...(not sure about the crowds)....

 

[baseballmickey]

love the pics from the christmas parade...would love to go someday during that time...(not sure about the crowds)....

Everybody should get to see WDW during the holidays at least once. The crowds are definitely a beverly, but I think if you go into it knowing you will have to deal with them, and if you have reasonable expectations, it's not so bad.

It definitely makes it easier if you've been there before, so there is less pressure to do it all. For us, that allowed us to concentrate on seeing things like the parade and the christmas show, and not worrying about hitting every ride.

I wish we had more time there this past trip. It would have been nice to go back to MK a second day.

 

[baseballmickey]

As the Once Upon a Christmas Parade made its way out of Liberty Square, we gathered our belongings, took our small child by the hand, and walked behind the throng of people who were following it... just as far as the bridge to the castle forecourt, where we hung a right turn and took a shortcut towards our lunch destination, the Crystal Palace.

Just behind Ye Old Christmas Shoppe, there is a character greeting area, and we saw there was hardly any line to speak of, so we detoured to get a few pictures with a very difficult character to track down.

Even I had to get my picture with Rabbit. Maybe it's just the time of year we normally go, but I never see Rabbit at the parks.

Note: I'm still wearing my hat!! In addition to Rabbit, Mr. Smee and Meeko were there also. DD didn't want her picture with Mr. Smee, and I noticed the groups ahead of us skipped him as well, so I got my picture with him while we waited.

Perhaps with the new Jake and the Neverland Pirates show, Mr. Smee will get some more respect. In the meantime, DD seemed content with Meeko, even though I wasn't sure if she knew exactly who he was.

You may have noticed that we've ditched our jackets. It had warmed up considerably. DW had even bought DD a new shirt, since the one she wore to the park had long sleeves. A short walk later on this beautiful day, we were checking in for our lunch. The front of the CP has one of my favorite views of the castle and I snapped a picture of a not-entirely-cooperative DD while we waited to be seated.

Our name was called and we went inside. We have eaten at CP several times for breakfast, but this was our first lunch. It was yet another buffet meal, we seemed to be doing a lot of these this trip. The food was unremarkable. We ate and couldn't really complain, but unlike some of the other meals we had, there was nothing to rave about either. But, we were there for the experience, not the food...

After visits from Pooh and Piglet, Eeyore arrived. Just as he walked up, it was time for the parade! So Eeyore took DD by the hand and led her and the other kids around the room!!

DD loved it! Right after bringing DD back to her seat, Eeyore disappeared for a break, but came back later for a picture.

He was followed by Tigger.

Lunch was over. So we stepped back outside into the sunshine. We made our way toward the castle to see another of our MUST-DOs. The crowd had thickened somewhat since we were last in front of the castle.

It was a little bit of a wait for the Celebrate the Season show at the castle, so we grabbed a spot and sat down. While sitting here waiting for the show, we got a closer look at the castle and all the lights that were covering it. It truly is amazing how much effort and material goes into making the magic. We were excited to see the castle all lit up later, but for now, it was time for the show. Here are some frames of my video.

Well, the show was over and there is much more to see and do... but guess what? I'm out of pictures for this post!! So we'll pause here... when we come back...

More Magic Kingdom fun!

 

[amandaw]

Awww, DD looks like she was having so much fun in the parade at CP! Too cute! And that was such a great character meet & greet that y'all stumbled upon. My DS would've been sooo excited to meet Mr. Smee. I'm glad to see you gave Mr. Smee some love since no one else would. It's so good to see how much fun y'all were having after having worked so hard to get there & then with everyone being sick!

 

[kimbo0569]

Last night I was reading your TR and my daughter came out and told me that I had a problem and needed help...Seems she thinks I'm addicted to reading other peoples trip reports. This is what gives me that bit of Disney Magic that I need to keep me going in between trips, and it's has been too long since I walked under the train station into the Magic Kingdom myself.:

My dh tells me this all the time.....

 

[petals]

picture heavy days are the best days! I love your Magic Kingdom day so far and can't wait for more

 

[baseballmickey]

Awww, DD looks like she was having so much fun in the parade at CP! Too cute! And that was such a great character meet & greet that y'all stumbled upon. My DS would've been sooo excited to meet Mr. Smee. I'm glad to see you gave Mr. Smee some love since no one else would. It's so good to see how much fun y'all were having after having worked so hard to get there & then with everyone being sick!

It's funny how you can't seem to find characters when you are looking for them, but then when you least expect it, they are right in front of you.

My dh tells me this all the time.....

Well, I'm glad there are people reading this! Thanks!

picture heavy days are the best days! I love your Magic Kingdom day so far and can't wait for more

Glad you are enjoying it!!

 

[Monknmom]

Hi, I know you are in NY too so i was wondering how your family is doing during the storm and just want to say a quick stay safe! Hope we don't loose power so that we can still read the TR! I am on the east end of the island (southeast suffolk)and we have wind and no rain yet. Again stay safe and enjoy the home time with the wife and kids!

 

[baseballmickey]

Hi, I know you are in NY too so i was wondering how your family is doing during the storm and just want to say a quick stay safe! Hope we don't loose power so that we can still read the TR! I am on the east end of the island (southeast suffolk)and we have wind and no rain yet. Again stay safe and enjoy the home time with the wife and kids!

Thanks for checking in! We are hunkering down over here. Kids are sleeping and DW is *trying* to sleep. We're just to the east of the Nassau/Suffolk border, just a few blocks south of Sunrise. Not south enough to get evacuated. It's raining here, and we're starting to get a few gusts.

I hope we don't lose power either. Working on the next installment of the TR is a good way to keep busy during the storm!!

Stay safe too!

 

[Monknmom]

Thanks for checking in! We are hunkering down over here. Kids are sleeping and DW is *trying* to sleep. We're just to the east of the Nassau/Suffolk border, just a few blocks south of Sunrise. Not south enough to get evacuated. It's raining here, and we're starting to get a few gusts.

I hope we don't lose power either. Working on the next installment of the TR is a good way to keep busy during the storm!!

Stay safe too!

Yes, thank you we live in the village of Mastic Beach and we have a lot of flooding, just not on my road! Looking forward to the next installment! I hope that you have power and are still all safe!

 

[baseballmickey]

Yes, thank you we live in the village of Mastic Beach and we have a lot of flooding, just not on my road! Looking forward to the next installment! I hope that you have power and are still all safe!

We only lost power for a short time in the middle of the night. Everyone is safe and we escaped without any damage. A lot of downed trees in our neighborhood, and a friend of ours is still without power.

Other things have kept me from updating my TR the last few days... but I am happy to report that I am working on it right now!!

 

[shan23877]

Great pics from CP. I love it when you can see the true smiles from the little ones!

 

[FreezinRafiki]

Just wanted to pop in and say that I've gone back and read your entire report, and that it's absolutely riveting stuff! Snowstorms, death defying car rides, driving to Florida on a whim, doctor visits, etc etc. I'm almost afraid to see what comes next. But tell me anyway...

 

[baseballmickey]

Great pics from CP. I love it when you can see the true smiles from the little ones!

Gotta love those candid moments!!

Just wanted to pop in and say that I've gone back and read your entire report, and that it's absolutely riveting stuff! Snowstorms, death defying car rides, driving to Florida on a whim, doctor visits, etc etc. I'm almost afraid to see what comes next. But tell me anyway...

Thanks for reading!!