2belles'mom
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 24, 2000
Cast:
Me, 33, disney planner
David (DH), 33
Katja (DD), 4
Annika (DD), 18 months
December 22
We were awakened by Mickey at 7:30 for our last day at the Magic Kingdom, and our last day at the Contemporary. We were sort of at loose ends now; the plan was to drive down to West Palm Beach to join DavidâÂÂs parents for Christmas, but not until the next day, and we were âÂÂroomlessâ for that evening. Rather than cutting our day short and enduring a grueling 3- hour drive to West Palm after a day at MK, we decided to live dangerously and find a place to stay later on.
By 8:05 we were on the monorail, and by 8:30 we were wandering down MainstreetâÂÂwhat a magical experience! This was our fourth time to the MK this visit, and I was still in awe as I stood in the middle of the street gazing at the castle. Adding to the enchantment was the fact that the streets were nearly deserted at this timeâÂÂit felt as if the magic had been made just for us. We wandered toward the Main Street Bake Shop, where we got a table and enjoyed some hot coffee, hot apple streusal, bagels, and juice. When we finished, we walked to the Adventureland bridge and positioned ourselves by the rope. The drill was the same as last time; at official opening time we were escorted to our destinationâÂÂSplash MountainâÂÂby the CMs. Katja and David rode while I waited with AnnikaâÂÂthey went 2 times (walk right on), and then we hopped over to Big Thunder Mountain. David waited with Annika while Katja and I rode, then we baby-swapped so Katja got to go twice in a row.
Next we went to Fantasyland, where we grabbed a fastpass for Pooh, then went on Peter Pan, (no line), and IASW. We hopped over to ToonTown and Katja and David rode the Barnstormer (no line), then returned for the Pooh ride. Our next destination was Tom Sawyer Island; David had missed this earlier in the week and wanted to check it out. We went back to Frontierland and got fastpasses for Splash Mountain, then took the raft to the island. Katja took great pleasure in playing the part of tour guide, and even managed to (sort of) overcome her fear of the caves. We enjoyed some sandwiches (pretty good!) at Aunt PollyâÂÂs, then caught the raft back to Frontierland to make our fastpass time for Splash Mountain. David and Katja went again (Katja is a complete nut for this ride!). When they exited, we spent some time with Brer Fox and Brer Bear, who were having great fun visiting and posing for pictures by the little train/gift card thing.
By now it was noon, and we needed to return to the CR to complete our packing and get checked out. We caught the Walt Disney World Railroad at the station directly above Splash Mountain, and rode it to the MK entry, then hopped the monorail back to the CR We completed our packing and somehow managed to stuff all of junk into the carâÂÂit seemed as if we had 10 times more that we had started with! Then back on the monorail for our return to MKâÂÂwe did not want our last day there to end!
Upon re-entering the park, at about 2:00 or so, we found Captain Hook and spent some time âÂÂchattingâ with him. We made our way to Tomorrowland (which was quite crowdedâ a 75 minute wait was posted for Buzz Lightyear!). We decided to try the TimeKeeper, which none of us had previously experienced. It was actually a pretty good show, but you have to stand the whole time, which is hard on your feet if you have been on then all day! When we emerged from the theater, it looked as if Tomorrowland had cleared out a bitâÂÂpeople were lining up for the 3:00 parade. There was actually no line for Alien, so I told David to go, since this was something he had not done yet. I took the girls and we wandered over to Buzz; the CM told us that the wait was only about 15 minutes, and Katja was throwing a fit to go on, so we queued up. We actually only waited about 5 minutes (if that), and rode three times during the time it took for David to experience Alien Encounter.
After our Tomorrowland foray, we went back to Splash Mountain and got fastpasses; we had asked Katja what she wanted her very last ride to be, and this had been her choice. The park was so crowded by now that we knew we would not last much longer; I canâÂÂt stand gridlock! It was too packed to simply enjoy the atmosphere. We ate some ice cream (Oh my gosh, did I mention that the weather had finally taken a turn for the WARMER???? It was probably almost 70 degrees out!), then David and Katja got in the Fastpass line. It seemed to take forever, but they finally emerged, and Katja had a huge bloody lip! Apparently they had been bashed from behind by another log, and it sent Katja flying forward, where she busted open her lip. She spent some time wailing, and then David asked if she wanted to ride againâÂÂto which she replied, âÂÂYes!âÂÂ. David took Annika, and Katja and I returned through the exit for the baby-swap. Now, this was crazyâÂÂthey measured Katja again and she was too short! This was her 5th (or was it 6th?) time on Splash Mountain today, not even counting our other days at MK! I informed the CM of this, so they measured her again, this time against the wall, and she made it. Very strange. We rode again (gotta love that baby-swap!), and Katja seemed just as delighted as ever. On the way out we purchased a Brer Rabbit book then repeated our railroad-monorail trip back to the Contemporary where we collected the car and struck out in search of a place to stay for the night.
We settled on the Holiday Inn Family Suites, which is situated across from the Marriott Orlando World Center, site of our first nightâÂÂs lodging. We paid $100 for a kidsuite with a main room and 2 bedrooms. The kidsâ room had a balloon theme and bunkbedsâÂÂKatja announced that this was her ABSOLUTE FAVORITE hotel and asked if I would take her picture on the top bunk. The room was actually quite nice (but no comparison to the CR, IMHO!), although it had a rather strong bleach smell. It was also very noisy and crowded. We settled down to enjoy ourselves for the evening.
The following morning we packed our things and readied ourselves for the trip to West Palm. We had the free breakfastâÂÂthe food was good enough, but it was so crowded and seemed so un-Disney (Oh dear, I think I am spoiled for Disney). I took Katja swimming (it was warm enough!!!!!!!!!) in the pool, which is really neat; it has a zero-depth entry at one end, which is good for kids. Before long it was time to say goodbye to Orlando until our return for New YearâÂÂs Eve.
Next upâÂÂNew YearâÂÂs Eve at MOWC and final thoughrts!
2belles'mom
Me, 33, disney planner
David (DH), 33
Katja (DD), 4
Annika (DD), 18 months
December 22
We were awakened by Mickey at 7:30 for our last day at the Magic Kingdom, and our last day at the Contemporary. We were sort of at loose ends now; the plan was to drive down to West Palm Beach to join DavidâÂÂs parents for Christmas, but not until the next day, and we were âÂÂroomlessâ for that evening. Rather than cutting our day short and enduring a grueling 3- hour drive to West Palm after a day at MK, we decided to live dangerously and find a place to stay later on.
By 8:05 we were on the monorail, and by 8:30 we were wandering down MainstreetâÂÂwhat a magical experience! This was our fourth time to the MK this visit, and I was still in awe as I stood in the middle of the street gazing at the castle. Adding to the enchantment was the fact that the streets were nearly deserted at this timeâÂÂit felt as if the magic had been made just for us. We wandered toward the Main Street Bake Shop, where we got a table and enjoyed some hot coffee, hot apple streusal, bagels, and juice. When we finished, we walked to the Adventureland bridge and positioned ourselves by the rope. The drill was the same as last time; at official opening time we were escorted to our destinationâÂÂSplash MountainâÂÂby the CMs. Katja and David rode while I waited with AnnikaâÂÂthey went 2 times (walk right on), and then we hopped over to Big Thunder Mountain. David waited with Annika while Katja and I rode, then we baby-swapped so Katja got to go twice in a row.
Next we went to Fantasyland, where we grabbed a fastpass for Pooh, then went on Peter Pan, (no line), and IASW. We hopped over to ToonTown and Katja and David rode the Barnstormer (no line), then returned for the Pooh ride. Our next destination was Tom Sawyer Island; David had missed this earlier in the week and wanted to check it out. We went back to Frontierland and got fastpasses for Splash Mountain, then took the raft to the island. Katja took great pleasure in playing the part of tour guide, and even managed to (sort of) overcome her fear of the caves. We enjoyed some sandwiches (pretty good!) at Aunt PollyâÂÂs, then caught the raft back to Frontierland to make our fastpass time for Splash Mountain. David and Katja went again (Katja is a complete nut for this ride!). When they exited, we spent some time with Brer Fox and Brer Bear, who were having great fun visiting and posing for pictures by the little train/gift card thing.
By now it was noon, and we needed to return to the CR to complete our packing and get checked out. We caught the Walt Disney World Railroad at the station directly above Splash Mountain, and rode it to the MK entry, then hopped the monorail back to the CR We completed our packing and somehow managed to stuff all of junk into the carâÂÂit seemed as if we had 10 times more that we had started with! Then back on the monorail for our return to MKâÂÂwe did not want our last day there to end!
Upon re-entering the park, at about 2:00 or so, we found Captain Hook and spent some time âÂÂchattingâ with him. We made our way to Tomorrowland (which was quite crowdedâ a 75 minute wait was posted for Buzz Lightyear!). We decided to try the TimeKeeper, which none of us had previously experienced. It was actually a pretty good show, but you have to stand the whole time, which is hard on your feet if you have been on then all day! When we emerged from the theater, it looked as if Tomorrowland had cleared out a bitâÂÂpeople were lining up for the 3:00 parade. There was actually no line for Alien, so I told David to go, since this was something he had not done yet. I took the girls and we wandered over to Buzz; the CM told us that the wait was only about 15 minutes, and Katja was throwing a fit to go on, so we queued up. We actually only waited about 5 minutes (if that), and rode three times during the time it took for David to experience Alien Encounter.
After our Tomorrowland foray, we went back to Splash Mountain and got fastpasses; we had asked Katja what she wanted her very last ride to be, and this had been her choice. The park was so crowded by now that we knew we would not last much longer; I canâÂÂt stand gridlock! It was too packed to simply enjoy the atmosphere. We ate some ice cream (Oh my gosh, did I mention that the weather had finally taken a turn for the WARMER???? It was probably almost 70 degrees out!), then David and Katja got in the Fastpass line. It seemed to take forever, but they finally emerged, and Katja had a huge bloody lip! Apparently they had been bashed from behind by another log, and it sent Katja flying forward, where she busted open her lip. She spent some time wailing, and then David asked if she wanted to ride againâÂÂto which she replied, âÂÂYes!âÂÂ. David took Annika, and Katja and I returned through the exit for the baby-swap. Now, this was crazyâÂÂthey measured Katja again and she was too short! This was her 5th (or was it 6th?) time on Splash Mountain today, not even counting our other days at MK! I informed the CM of this, so they measured her again, this time against the wall, and she made it. Very strange. We rode again (gotta love that baby-swap!), and Katja seemed just as delighted as ever. On the way out we purchased a Brer Rabbit book then repeated our railroad-monorail trip back to the Contemporary where we collected the car and struck out in search of a place to stay for the night.
We settled on the Holiday Inn Family Suites, which is situated across from the Marriott Orlando World Center, site of our first nightâÂÂs lodging. We paid $100 for a kidsuite with a main room and 2 bedrooms. The kidsâ room had a balloon theme and bunkbedsâÂÂKatja announced that this was her ABSOLUTE FAVORITE hotel and asked if I would take her picture on the top bunk. The room was actually quite nice (but no comparison to the CR, IMHO!), although it had a rather strong bleach smell. It was also very noisy and crowded. We settled down to enjoy ourselves for the evening.
The following morning we packed our things and readied ourselves for the trip to West Palm. We had the free breakfastâÂÂthe food was good enough, but it was so crowded and seemed so un-Disney (Oh dear, I think I am spoiled for Disney). I took Katja swimming (it was warm enough!!!!!!!!!) in the pool, which is really neat; it has a zero-depth entry at one end, which is good for kids. Before long it was time to say goodbye to Orlando until our return for New YearâÂÂs Eve.
Next upâÂÂNew YearâÂÂs Eve at MOWC and final thoughrts!
2belles'mom
