10 Day Family Trip- Day 8- EE MK, Steam Train Tour

[Alice28]

Thursday, March 6th- Bob & Dad go on Steam Train tour. Mom, myself & the boys go to EE, Sara departs for California.

6:15- Bob gets up & gets us our caffeine for the AM. At 7:00 he & Dad walk over to MK for the Magic of Steam Trains tour. Dad is a huge fan of trains & Bob wanted to see some backstage stuff. Mom and I get ready soon after because we want to take advantage of the EE at the MK today. We take the monorail over to the park this morning, and are in the gates by 8:05 or so. I decided to rent a double stroller this morning, hoping Josh would enjoy sitting next to his brother and would be better about sitting down. Plus, Sam was getting tired every day and he would benefit from the stroller as well. I pay my $15 and we’re on our way. I really love the castle here- we got several pictures of it this morning and we loved the mosaics on the inside. The Magic Kingdom is definitely winning me over- the first time I visited WDW, it bothered me how different it was from Disneyland. This time I really enjoyed it and liked the broader pathways and how everything is bigger. Anyway, off to Fantasyland, my least favorite land of this park. Now that I’ve just gone off on a tangent of how I’m really enjoying MK versus DL, this part of the park really gripes me. It definitely lacks the quaintness & European feel that DL has a lot of…and it doesn’t have a lot of the attractions that I love! Namely Storybookland Canal Boats, Matterhorn and Alice in Wonderland. And I like the fountains that DL’s Dumbo has. Anyway, first we go on Dumbo, and our CM is full of the Disney magic this morning! Very enthusiastic and gives each child a Disney nickname. Sam and Josh were Tigger and Pooh. We fly with Dumbo and go over to Pooh. This is a cute ride- both of the kids loved seeing their favorite Pooh characters. We criss-crossed back over to the Carousel, rode it, got in line for Peter Pan and loved that classic ride. Sam wanted to go on Small World again, so we did that and the kids loved it. (I’m so proud- as a child my absolute favorite was It’s a Small World and I still enjoy it. Bob detests it and I thought it was funny that the kids wanted to go on it over and over J). We hoofed it over to Big Thunder Mountain and used our three tickets to get fastpasses for when the guys were done (it was close to 9:30 by this time). We went in the Briar Patch shop and I got a t-shirt for my best friend’s baby & big lollipops for my kids ($20 total). They ate those for a while & then they played for quite some time in the Laughing Place play area by Splash Mountain. What a lifesaver this little area is! My kids loved it, although Sam was mad at me when I wouldn’t let him climb on top of it like several other kids were. I just knew it wasn’t ok, and was irritated other parents would let their kids do that. Especially because a lot of these kids were in the 7-10 year old range- too big to be needing to play there anyways (it’s designed for kids too short to go on Splash). I am a school-age daycare provider by trade, so I instinctly wanted to tell those kids to get down, but I held my tongue. The guys meet up with us around 10:15 or so and Mom, Dad & Bob go on Big Thunder. Before they left I grabbed all their tickets and got FP’s for Splash. We’re all hungry at this point and our FP time for Splash is between 11 and 12, so we mosey over to Pecos Bills for some grub. I think Dad and Bob got burgers, hold the cheese (side note- Mom and Dad have lost a combination of 120 pounds on Weight Watchers last year and were trying to be good while on vacation. I think they did very well considering everything there is to tempt you), Mom got a salad and I got the chicken wrap. I got the kids hot dogs. Right before I ordered the cashier’s computer went down, so we just stood there for 5 minutes. Not a long time, but you know how it is when you are so hungry and you don’t know how long you are going to have to stand there. We sat outside to eat and it was right out of Hitchcock’s The Birds. We had to shoo them away all meal and then I got POOPED on! I was so grossed out- I have never been pooped on. At least it was on my shirt and not in my hair. We finished our lunch and went back to Splash. We did the baby swap- first Mom, Dad, Bob and Sam rode while I waited. Then Bob, Sam and I rode again while Mom and Dad sat with Josh. Bob and I needed to head back to the hotel to say good-bye to Sara and help her load her car.”Duh” alert- I had put the security lock on our door before we left, cause Josh kept trying to go out our door. We exited out of Mom and Dad’s room that morning, so when Bob & I got back in the afternoon, we couldn’t get in the room because of the lock! Duh! We were able to get a key to Mom and Dad’s room no problem because the room was reserved in our name. Phew. Mom and Dad stayed in the park and they went on the train again, Pirates and the Tiki Birds. Sara left for her flight and called the next morning to let us know she was home safely. I rested while Josh napped, and Bob, Dad (they had come back) and Sam went for a swim. We went back to the MK around 4:30, and were in the park by 4:50. I ran ahead and got FP’s for Space and we all got in line for Buzz. Guess what my score was this time……527,000!!! I confess, we got stuck in the last room for several minutes and I aimed my blaster at a Z right below Zurg and got 10,000 points a pop. I added 300,000 points to my score by doing this. I gloated cause Bob, a trained firearms specialist, only got like 280,000 or something like that. J The ladies and the kids went on TTA and the men went on Alien Encounter. The said it was “intense” but not scary. We all line up for Space, ready to do the baby sway for Josh. Sam wasn’t tall enough! This totally threw us for a loop cause he was able to go on it at Disneyland, and that was over a year ago. There is a 4” high difference here so beware- Sam is like 43 ½” tall, so he didn’t make the 44” height requirement. Poop. Bob sat out with both boys and I remembered I had two other FP’s in my pocket (his and Sam’s) so when we were done, Bob and Dad went on it again. I couldn’t believe how long the exit ramp was to get out of that ride! Geesh! It was fun though- I wish it had the music like DL’s. We met up with the guys in Toontown. No water working in Donald’s boat! What a rip! I see the character tent so I wait in line, forever, with Sam and Josh to see Minnie and Cinderella. This seriously was the longest wait of the entire trip and I was really getting antsy as the boys were getting restless. But oh my gosh, it was so worth it when we were finally let in!! There was a huge line for Cinderella, but no one wanted to see Minnie or Miss Suzy mouse! My boys got tons of love and kisses from Minnie and they LOVED it! Josh just squealed and cooed and kissed her over and over again. Can we say “Aw” all together? Thank you. We saw Miss Suzy, I took a picture of Cinderella and we saw Minnie again to give her one last kiss and a hug. We exit Toontown and are able to get on the Teacups with no line! This is one of my Dad’s favorites- he is a mean teacup spinner. Mom, Dad and Sam go in a cup and Me, Bob and Josh go in another. We have a great time and Mom, Dad & I wanted to start exiting the park before the fireworks so we don’t have to deal with the throngs of people. Bob stays back with Sam and they go on the cars. Mom, Dad, Josh and I watch the fireworks from the monorail ramp and we exit the second they are done. Perfect timing! I recommend this, especially if you have a stroller and don’t want to be herded along like cattle down Main Street. If you return your stroller at the stroller place, you get a Disney Dollar back- I didn’t know that so it was a nice surprise.

We decide just to grab a bite at the Food and Fun Center at the CR. We would have liked something nicer, but oh well. I got myself and Josh chicken tenders, and a fruit plate to split. Dad had gone back and got our refillable mugs. (16.91). We ate and by the time we were about done, Sam and Bob join us. Sam eats one of the chicken strips and we get one more order of kids’ strips for him. Bob declares he wants a chicken sandwich from Concourse Steakhouse and makes plans to get one to go later on. He takes the boys upstairs and I go to the gift shop to grab myself a sweatshirt I had been eyeing all week. I also got Bob a Mickey shaped Chip and Dip platter he liked. And some chocolate covered pretzels J. Another $86 slapped on the Amex and I went back to the room. Bob waited too long to get his chicken sandwich, because when he went down there, they had stopped serving food. He was mad and just went to bed hungry. He didn’t want to order room service and chance the kids waking up.

Magical Moments: Walking on the Tea Cups at night, watching the kids soak up the magic in Fantasyland, seeing Minnie Mouse.

Chernabog Moments: Getting pooped on, Bob not getting his sandwich that he was craving, Sam not being tall enough for Space Mountain

 

[Marla Hellwig]

I have to agree - I like Space better at DL too - a little weird about the height requirement - must be do to the different cars between the 2 parks - a good day for all - except for the bird poop - thanks for posting!