mikkiwikki
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 18, 2005
- Messages
- 1,624
Players: Me 
, Hubby 
,
& our adorable 5yo ds
and 2yo dd 
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November 18th - The day before d-day....
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So excited I couldn't sleep...I havent been to Disney since 1987........spent all day finishing packing -(spent the last week getting ready), and organizing goody bags with games for the kids to play on the plane. coloring books - check, mazes - check, word scrambles - check. Packed all the kids clothes in a smallish suitcase....All mine in a similarly sized smallish suitcase...
My hubby still hasnt even opened his suitcase.....biting my tongue...when should I suggest he pack? Around 7pm that evening....he starts packing. I say nothing
.
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November 19th - We arrive! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The plane ride was Awesome. BTV to JFK, then to MCO. The kicker was the kids didnt care about the goody bags I brought because they were totally plugged into the little tv's they have on the back on the chairs on JetBlue. My kids - amazingly - sat glued to nick toons for the entire flight. Mom got to kick back and watch the comedy channel. I LOVE YOU JETBLUE.
We arrive at MCO airport at 4:45pm. We flew on jetblue, and there was a bit of confusion getting off the plane. We were using Magical Express...and I knew they 'handled' the luggage, but being the control freak that I am ...I verified this with the desk at JetBlue. Mistake.. They didnt know what I was talking about - and insisted that I had to go pick up my luggage. So - we ignore their misinformation and make our way down to the Magical Express counter...on LEVEL 1. As we make our way down the escalator there is a person with a oversized white mickey glove waving us in her direction. All the people with ME were very friendly and courteous...and quickly directed us to stand in line to wait for shuttle pick up. The wait was only about 10 mins..We all loaded onto a bus..and after 3 stops...poof we finally arrive at our hotel around 5:40. So overalll ME was about a 1 hour experience, as we had previously heard. I can't really complain at this point....BUT more to come. After a few stops...we are dropped off at the main lobby for Port Orleans Riverside.......and amble our way into the lobby. It's very nicely appointed....with a HUGE line formed for the front desk.
http://www.allearsnet.com/acc/dxl1.jpg
Probably around 50 people. However it's moving quickly. I just want my room key....I make my way to the line.
After several minutes of tension...we have a temporary room key, and am asked if i will be going to the parks that evening....when I say NO...I am told a new combination room key/card (with dining and park passes programmed on it) will appear magically this evening in my hotel room.....having signed all the papers...we are off to check out the room. Room 2537. Alligator Bayou section. Here is a pic of Bldg 14. We were in Bldg 25...and our room was the opposite mirror image of this room pic.
http://www.allearsnet.com/acc/dxl13.jpg
I paid extra for a water view room...but I definitely would not do that again! Room was very nice, but the water view was a small pool, and the kids playing in that pool were loud the first night. The next time Ill request a garden view room. Thankfully the pool noise only happened on that first night...Whew! In addition, I never heard a single sound from the neighboring rooms. Not a single noise! Rooms must be super sound proofed between rooms.
Therefore - overall - LOVE the room. Rustic theme. Big curtain between bedroom and sink area. Everything looks brand new. Very clean & nice big, firm beds. Big TV. The trundle for dd is as big as a toddler bed, and she loves it. Me & Hubby will share a bed - DS gets a full bed to himself, and DD on the trundle. We don't feel cramped at all! Also in the room - that you can't see in the above pic, is a medium sized rustic table with two cushioned chairs. Big enough to have small meals on...if need be (and we do end up having a few meals in the room - more on that later).
So after checking out the room we are off to dinner at Boatwrights Dining hall.
http://www.allearsnet.com/acc/dxl4.jpg
Thank goodness I have a priority seating because there is a line at the podium. After checking in we are immediately shown a table.
We spend a leisurely evening checking out the grounds..and pools. After getting back to our hotel around 8:30pm we realize, although our permanent room keys (read cards with meal plans & room key) have arrived....
our luggage has NOT arrived. We call the luggage service, and they are on the hunt for it. SO basically we go to bed that evening thinking we have no luggage. Not a great feeling...but I rationalize that most people stated it takes about 3-4 hours from the time you touch down for them to get your luggage.
knock knock knock. It's 12:30 and someone is knocking on my door! The kids are sleeping and I leap out of bed...and peer into the peep hole. AH its our luggage. I dont understand why they couldnt deliver this the next morning. So this is the only negative comment I have for Magical Express. Other than that it saved us around 100 bucks for round-trip transport from airport. However - I'm torn whether or not - I will use Magical Express again.
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November 20th - Let the Magic Begin ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We rise at 6:00am - like we do every day in my household. Mostly because my son is autistic, and he wakes the entire house up by mumbling gibberish around that hour. Pretty much like clockwork. Then we get ready. There is one problem. I had placed an order with Goodings.com the week before for various items. (cereal, milk, bagels, juice, yogurt - I was amazed we ate everything I ordered over the course of our stay - so worth it)
Two of the items ordered were umbrella strollers. WELL - they were out of strollers....SO here we are day one, and had to walk our 2yo around on our hips. She is just big enough to give you a coronary after walking around with her for more than several city blocks....so this was an issue. We ended up buying a stroller from the gift shop for 35 dollars. YES TOO much. But Port Orleans is a rather expansive resort, and a triple bi-pass cost more than 35 bucks, so I figured it was a bargain.
The plan is to have breakfast at Crystal Palace and I have a 8:20 am Priority Seating. I have a BIG land's end canvas bag Im carrying and I found it to be invaluable on this trip. Each day - I put the following into my bag -
1) 'Disney Unofficial Guide' 2) My itnerary (an excel spreadsheet with ps, and ride we want to tackle), 3) towels (tip from a friend mentioning I could use for cushions & blankets for kids when they were sleeping in strollers) 4) hats & sunglasses.
We're off. Umbrella stroller holds Sandy, and Aidan walks alongside which at first is a pain. He has trouble staying 'near us'..and I find myself constantly calling Aidan! Aidan! We have never traveled in such a large space with him before. Somehow we manage to ignore this....and amble down the beatiful gardened paths that is PortOrleans. The resort is so peaceful, and relaxing. I will discover it's such a pleasant respite after a hectic day at the parks. As soon as I step out the door, I start to relax.
We load on a 'Magic Kingdom' bus, which the kids think is really kewl - (remember its Day one & there will be lots of bus rides on this trip). When we get to the parks...we realize the park that day opened at 8am so there are many people already in the park.
We purchase stroller passes - after passing through the turnstiles...then we are off to Breakfast at the Crystal Palace. Pics here.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/diningdetail.cfm?Restaurant.ID=112
There is a line to check in ...and I do. Once our names are called - we are shown into a quaint table, and the kids are bouncing off the walls already because they see Pooh & Piglet on our way in.
Its a buffet - so I make my way to the buffet, while hubby watches the kids. The kids - are jumping up and down with excitment over seeing the characters, and I am beaming. I come back with 2 plates loaded with scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, sausage, omelets, and divy up the food to everyone. As soon as we start eating, Pooh arrives at our table. My son is so excited I think he might pee his pants.
We see Pooh, Rabbit, Eyeore, Piglet...and the kids get to take pictures with all of them...at a very leisurely pace. Its the perfect perfect start to our magical vacation.
After finishing up - we head straight for Fantasyland.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/guides/magickingdom/fantasy.htm
According to touringplans.com we are supposed to hit Dumbo first, but the line is already enormous, and we decide to go on 'Snow Whites Scary Adventure' first.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/guides/magickingdom/fan-snow.htm
MISTAKE. This ride freaked my two year old out a bit, (the mean witch is something she still talks about daily) She was somewhat reluctant to go on other rides after this. So I decide we need to go on a very happy cheery ride to offset this feeling. We immediately go on 'It's a Small World' next.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/guides/magickingdom/fan-small.htm
The kids have no idea what to expect, but think the metal railings that guide you into 'line formation' are rather kewl to climb on. Once we load on a boat, the kids are just in awe. My daughter called it the 'dolly ride' and my son called it the 'country ride'. (They love love love this, and we end up going on it seven times over the course of our vacation.)
Next its off to Cinderellas Golden Carosel.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/guides/magickingdom/fan-carousel.htm
Now my son has some sensory issues, and hasnt ridden on a merry go-round - ever at this point. He doesnt like the up-down motion of the horses. But my daughter is adamant that we go on this. SO we find a stationary bench on the carosel, and son sits with dad, while I find a pony to ride along side my daughter. She is BEAMING at the beatiful horses, and can't wait for the ride to start. Then she is laughing with delight as we get going.
Next we go on Mickey's PhilHarMagic
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/guides/magickingdom/fan-philharmagic.htm
My kids are fantasia fanatics, so I figure this ride will be a hoot. It's a 3-d movie, and I have never seen a 3d movie SO lifelike! This ride is very hard to describe, but read description at above link. It's multi sensory - and uses sights, sounds, smell, and even touch to get you into the moment. The story starts with Mickey getting the orchestra ready and excuses himself...then Donald Duck appears, and of course screws everything up. Events that follow include Instruments flying out into the audience, the SMELL of freshly baked apple pie, being sprayed with water.
My kids were a little freaked out at the reality of this ride...but happily went along with it. We only went on it this once if that is any indication. I loved it - thought it was fantastic.
We have lunch at Columbia Harbor House. EXCELLENT find. The parks were so jammed we never thought we would find a place to eat but I had read on these boards...
That if its crowded there is often a little used second floor, and sure enough...we went upstairs and there was NO one up there, even thought the first floor was packed. We had a nice leisurely meal of fish and chips, and it was SOOOOO needed.
The afternoon was spent at the next Magic Kingdom area called
'Mickey's Toontown'
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/guides/magickingdom/toontown.htm
Dinner was at O'hana's at the POLYNESIAN Resort
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/resorts/poly.htm
I love love love this resort and spent every childhood vacation here.
The plan is to have dinner here - then stay up to watch the 'Electrical Water pagent'. Dinner was good and plentiful.
Sandy got mac & cheese. Aidan got a hotdog with fries. Me & hubby had salad, with various meats they bring over on skewers. The smoked beef & pork was very good and tender and flavorful. The mesquite chicken was a little dry. The desert was the best part of the meal. vanilla ice cream with bread pudding covered with banana promelade sauce. Very very yummy.
The most fun was listening to the performers. There was a singer playing a ukelali...and singing "We are going to the Hukilau". Then we ended the evening with all the kids coming to the front of the room to have a 'coconut race' All kids were given a broom and a coconut...and had to push to the front of the line. My kids came in absolutely last...mostly because my son isnt very competitive, and we were trying to help him along. He kept wanting to pick up his coconut, and didnt 'get' the efficiency of pushing it with a broom. Haha. Life on the spectrum continues.
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November 21st - MGM here we come!
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Once again up at 6am...shower, Dress, Dress kids...out the door with umbrella stroller and canvas bag we go!
We decide to have breakfast at PortOrleans - Riverside Mill...which was about a 9 minute walk from our hotel door, and right next to a bus stop of course. Menu to that breakfast can be found here.
http://www.allearsnet.com/menu/men_ccmb.htm
We had two adult breakfasts & 2 child breakfasts. It was good food quick, and that was what everyone needed. Its very spacious, and my kids loved sitting near the huge water wheel that you can see from inside the Mill.
Once Everyone has finished - we are off to the Main Bus Stop. We had decided on this park today for my DDs Birthday because she really wanted to see Playhouse Disney. As it turns out we picked the right park because MK apparently was MOBBED.
The bus ride was uneventful - other than there are Chicken Little posters on the ceiling of the bus, and my son - Little Aspling that he is - has memorized chunks of that movie script,and feels compelled to announce this dialogue to the bus. Which elicits a few odd looks ...however I just smile and say - "He really Likes that movie" and disregard.
Once arriving at MGM - we see that it is starting to get cloudy, but it never rains in Florida right??!?!? We forgoe common sense and dont purchase ponchos a mistake we will pay for later. After making our way throught the security checks, and turnstiles - we have arrived at MGM. We grab a map - and walk down Hollywood Boulevard.....towards the HUMonGEOUS Sorcerer Mickey Hat directing us to the center of the park.
http://www.allearsnet.com/tp/mgm/m_sorchat.htm
The first ride we go on in this park is The Little Mermaid - because the Playhouse Disney show has filled up, and we plan to catch the next show.
http://www.allearsnet.com/tp/mgm/m_mermaid.htm
We line up outside...and are herded like cattle into a huge room..that is filled with crying babies.
No seriously there were only two...but it seemed like a lot. Within minutes they announce to turn towards the doors on the north side of room...and 'watch out for the automatic doors' that will soon open. We are escorted into a theatre...and Sandy immediately starts saying "I want to go home" - from being traumatized on the Dark and scary Snow White ride. Daddy assures her this ride will not be scary. MISTAKE.
It was fine - that is up until this 20 foot high Witch - URSALA shows up on the stage with GLOWING green eyes...and moving tentacles....JEEz. I dont recall Disney ever beeing this scary as a kid. Its like these ride makers have no sense. Or maybe Mommy has no sense ...but the number of rides you can take small children on that dont have horrendous villians on them - really is limited....Even Fantasmic is quite scary...but I digress....Back to the Little Mermaid. Ok so now Sandy has lost all faith in us...as we told her this wouldnt be a scary show. I tell Dad to cover her eyes until its over....and
we somehow make it out of there. Do not bring small children on this ...at least not without prepping them about the 20 foot witch...that is HUGE and LOUD. eNOUGH ALREADY.
So after that...we decide...Playhouse Disney is a must. Again a happy happy ride to off set the trauma we have just placed upon our meek two year old.
http://allearsnet.com/tp/mgm/m_plhs.htm
For the kids this is the Highlight of the trip. Show starts with Bear in the big blue house - the look on their faces when he ambled out on the stage was absolutely priceless. Bear talks to tutter the mouse...about feeling shy. And the story goes from there. he encourages all the kids to get up and dance, and streamers pour out of the ceiling...Next is JoJos Circus...which is harder to see than Bear. These are puppets that are 'animated' from beneath the stage...so you can only see their heads and shoulders. Same with Stanley. I only mention because the closer you are to the stage the easier they are to see. Luckily we are right on top of the stage & the kids had no trouble (oh and make sure ot leave a little room for dancing for the kids if possible.) Stanley comes out and talks about his big book of everything = and the letter 'G standing for Gorilla' then a big big big Gorilla pops out on stage and the kids go wild. Next is the Book of Pooh - with Winnie the Pooh and friends. Bubbles are released from the ceiling...again the kids go wild.
The show concludes with Luna the moon sending everyone on their way with the "Goodbye Song."
Overall - this is the one and only show at disney that truly caters to preschoolers. My kids LOVE LOVE LOVED IT..and we ended up watching 3 times over the course of vacation.
Now after the preschool fest - Hubby is ready for some nourishment. He is a bit of a caffeine addict. ...so we head over to "Starring Rolls Bakery" which we are told has excellent coffee. We were not ill-advised. The coffee was great, and the kids had a snack.
http://allearsnet.com/menu/menu_srb.htm
Next was Muppets Vision 3D
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/guides/mgm/st-muppet.htm
Which was really really dumb. First - it was too loud - even for my typical daughter....My son was climbing the walls at the noise level. Second - the story line was just annoying and jumpy and not even mildly entertaining. It seemed more focused on throwing out objects into the audience (ie showing off 3d technology) than having any kind of story line. My kids really did not enjoy this one...and on this show I would concur.
Next is Beauty and the Beast on Stage ...
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/guides/mgm/st-batb.htm
We have 30mins to the next show...
SO....we park our strollers outside the gate..and sit on the concrete wall.
Luckily - My son loves people watching, sits in the stroller watching people amble by...and my daughter is comatose napping. Finally its time to go in.
We walk up a long path..then get into the ampitheater...Lots of metal benches - ouch! BUT the kids are dying to see Belle & the Beast. (just dropped $$$ 42.00 - yes 42.00 buckaroonies for a belle doll and a 'beast' doll that turns into a Prince last evening.
We are committed at this point. Ok so here is where the fun begins. As we sit down...the winds start picking up....and the clouds start rolling in. Like vicous winds. However, the show must go on...and it does. Its wonderful.
My kids especially love the "Be Our Guest" number where all the silverware comes alive..and dances around the stage. Everyone loves the show...even Hubby & I think it was very well done.
Once the show finishes, we realize the winds are really whipping up..and we think...OHMIGOD our strollers our outside and if it rains etc., Ok so here was my error in judgement. I should have let the strollers get drenched and just remained in the theatre because they werent forcing anyone out at that point. BUT silly mommy thinks...lets get out of here asap. Well - as soon as we get outside the clouds open up and we get drenched! Just absolutely drenched. so we are scrambling for ponchos at the nearest store. When we FINALLY secure the ponchos, and put them on everyone....it stops raining. It was like a Monty Python movie or something. I just sat there and laughed.
SO now we are sitting there thinking what do we do?
We decide to skip the 3pm Parade (Star and Motor Cars) and just leave because everyone is just grumpy at this point.
SO we decide to catch a bus to the Contemporary - because my daughter has a Birthday party that evening at Chef Mickeys & we figure we can hang out and check out the shops etc., We arrive around 4 so we have an hour to kill...and basically just hang out on the 3rd floor watching the monorail and playing with the toy monorail set that is for show.
Our ressie is at 5pm sharp for our Chef Mickey's Birthday party.
http://allearsnet.com/menu/menu_cmk.htm
I pre-ordered a cake, and am really looking forward to my daughter
(who turned 3 today) having a Bday with all the Characters.
Let's just say this wasnt the fairy tale Birthday party I hoped for. Wasnt horrible...but wasnt spectacular either. First they hand us a beeper, and mention that they DONT have a cake ready for my DDs bday party - something that I pre-arranged 2 months in advance. So after some exchanging of Confirmation numbers for this....and proof that I paid for it....within 5 minutes our beeper goes off, and we are herded into the 'picture' taking line.
Now - a bit of a digression here....but a thought. Disney seems to be in the business of taking 'formal' pictures of you everywhere. Prepare to be bombarded. Then when they have your print - some smiling gal/pal shows up at your table....and says " for a mere 22.95 you can have this picture"
Some might feel obligated to buy it. Two problems...first many of these picture takers...dont seem to be very motivated in getting a good shot/picture of your family. I have more examples of photopass shots with someone in my family - not - looking at camera, or blinking or whatever. In sum. The picture taken at chef mickeys was ridiculously BAD..and there was no way I was going to buy it. Its like this photographer, didnt even say oh man lets take another one. She took one shot thats it...it came out horrible...oh well...next....This is the start to my evening....
The second negative....our server was miserable. AND keep in mind he only had to get drinks & bring the cake & bill. Thats it. He had this big chip on his shoulder for some reason, and acted like he really didnt want to be there, and generally put a damper on the entire evening, although we tried hard to ignore him. So then - he asks if it is ok to bring out my daughters Bday cake after we finish eating. He just plopps it on our table and leaves. No ceremony about it...Doesnt even say "happy birthday". It just really pissed me off because I had been playing up DDs birthday for weeks, and this guy just really didnt make for a fun evening.
The few good items ....they sang a song and the entire restaurant twirled their napkins which the kids thought was really fun. The characters were GREAT...within 2 minutes of sitting down - Mickey Mouse was at our table, and DD was in awe. The buffet was also pretty good, with a decent variety of food. The buffet had a Carving Board...with Oven Roast Prime Rib & Slow Baked Bone-in Ham. Both were moist and flavorful. On the buffet we had the Penne Pasta with Seafood, for the kids, along with chicken nugget, and fries.
So in all - I would not go back to Chef' Mickeys for my next birthday experience. They did nothing to make it feel like a special day...other than sending out the cake that I paid for.
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November 22st - Magic Kingdom - Day 3!!!
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"The sky is falling - the sky is falling" Its 6am - my son is reciting Chicken little dialogue. Yeah - another morning at Disney!!! We decide to have breakfast in the room this morning with the food I purchased from Goodings. We all have Raisin Bran, Milk, Yogurt & bananas with OJ. Then we are off!
On the bus, go to MK. This morning we have our stroller pass, and bring it to the front of the podium. We are quickly given a single stroller for my son...
The plan is to go straight to Tomorrowland and we do. We skip Tomorrow Land Speedway. I just remember my parents taking me on this ride and we hated it back then...doesnt look like it has changed much. We decide to go straight to Buzz lightyear. DD is a little freaked out by this ride at the beginning, but once she learns to use the Buzz zapper, she really perks up.
If you have a windows media player - you can see ride here. Very kewl.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/video/theme-mk-buzz-bb.wmv
The idea is that the evil Zurg has taken over, and you interact with the ride by shooting various targets with your Zapper. My son liked this ride so much that we ended up buying a zapper (conveniently marketed out the exit of the ride) and also got to ride this attraction multiple times.
Next a brief journey onto "life on the spectrum" -
Astro Orbiters is the next ride - at my sons insistence. One of his special interests....is the solar system. SOO my friends...when he sees THIS...
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/guides/magickingdom/tom-astro.htm
(scroll down to ride pic)
He just about pees his pants with excitement.
He is practically hysterical that we go on this. Gesticulating maddly. Ok ok... we ignore the fact that there is a large line...and although we have a GAC pass and could walk right on...we decide to wait because son is enjoying climbing on the metal railings....and the line seems to be moving rather fast. So about 15 mins later....we are zipped up the elevator, and waiting to load our jets. The last jet ride is still running...and we are waiting to be the next 'run'.
Aidan is so excited...He turns to me and says - "MOM - do you want to come with me?" Aidan has just started 'inviting' us into his life in this manner...fairly regularly...and as happy as I am at that moment that he has asked me to participate in this moment with him...I have to refuse...Clearly, the practicality of this request - ie. indicating that we jump over the 'holding gate' while the ride is still in motion....and trying to catch a jet or something. HA ...um ..no?! He obliges...because we are finally at a stage where he won't throw fits when mom says no (thank god).
When the CM lets us in to pick our rockets....Aidan is jumping up and down...all the way...and DD is walking calmly with daddy...looking at Aidan...like what is his deal? So we get on the rockets and discover, we have the power to move the rocket up and down...very very kewl by Aidan's standards (hes only 5) So anyways...once we get going ...we start playing games like oh no - look out we are going to hit Jupiter! go up etc. Aidan is in total heaven..and laughing harder than I have ever seen him laugh. Needless to say. He didnt want this ride to end. So we were ALMOST at the point where I wasnt sure if I was going to have to physically pick himup to get out of there, when the ride ended. HOWEVER, for whatever reason, he decided to be reasonable...and after some promises on my part that we would go back on this ride soon...he calmly walked out of there. Whew! You just don't know. And I'm not going to go there - (re how bad Aidan's fits used to be...Autistic tantrums are the best ...as they say). Enough.
Onto Lunch!
I had on the 'master plan' that we were to go to the 'Plaza' for lunch but for whatever reason ...at 11:00 the kids were hungry and the Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe is nearby so in we wander.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/diningdetail.cfm?Restaurant.ID=152
I remember thinking "MAN this place is EMPTY - I hope that is not an indication of the poor quality of the food."
Well as it turns out...having lunch at 11:00 at any counter service restaurant is a pretty good plan to avoid lines....because at 12:00 the place was filled to the brim with people. SO we were happy with this discovery, and the food was pretty good. BOTH my kids had the "Mini Corn Dogs - Served with potato tots, apple sauce, and child's beverage. - $3.99" And loved them...I had the kids asking me for 'mini corn dogs' for the rest of the trip. My hubby and I had the cheesburgers which were ok as burgers go...nothing to write home about. (They definitely werent the dried hockey pucks we got - later on in the trip - at Sci-Fi diner!)
We spent the afternoon at Mickey's toontown ...My DS became enamored with Minnies House...he thought all of it was really kewl, and the kitchen was his favorite. This area is the most interactive. Kids can play with the dials on the oven, microwave etc., fridge. My son loved the cake in the oven that 'blew up and deflated at the push of a button. We spent a lot of time in this house. and also Mickeys house. The kids had no interest in Goofy's barnstormer...but thought Mickeys garden out back wiht the oversized plants and signage was funny. We never did make it into the 'judges tent' - it was too darned crowded.
At this point it is around 2:30pm and we are wondering what next. We decide riding the train around MK might be in order because everyone is getting grumpy, and DD still hasnt had a nap. SO onto the train...and after one loop around the park we are refreshed. We are concerned that my DD has not had a nap yet, and we have a 5:15pm dinner reservation ...Should we go back to the hotel? We choose to encourage her to nap in her stroller, a mistake we will pay for later.
Once we get to the Liberty Tree
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/diningdetail.cfm?Restaurant.ID=87
its pretty clear that its not going to be smooth sailing, because its very noisy in there, and there are lots of guests waiting. My daughter is teetering on the precipace of a tantrum...we unwisely cross our fingers and hope she can hold it together for dinner.
We have the "Goofy's Liberate Your Appetite Character Adult Dinner"
Declaration Salad: tossed mixed greens, served with our special tavern strawberry vinaigrette. Patriot's Platter: A generous serving of roasted turkey breast, carved beef, and smoked pork loin, accompanied with tavern-made mashed potatoes, market veggies, herb bread stuffing, and Stouffer's macaroni & cheese. Dessert: Freshly prepared from Martha's kitchen.
So as soon as the food starts coming at us...my daughter starts acting up, and in ways I've never ever seen her behave. I know that disney is a lot to process for a two year old (now 3) but .....
My DS (who is autistic) is sitting there acting like a saint & happily eating ...in contrast...my DD turns into Rosemary's baby...and throws herself down on the floor and throws a tantrum unlike I have ever seen from her. No amount of coaxing from me can get her off the floor. I am absolutely horrified...and am ready to crawl under my table. When the waitress comes over and tells her that if she sits in her seat like a good girl she will get a roll of stickers. I feel both grateful, and humiliated at the same time. Before I had kids I swore I would never have kids that acted out in this way....WOW how parenthood stretches your reality of what lifes is all about. Just makes me want to send my mom 5 dozen roses at moments like this.
After the nightmare dinner from hell (totally not liberty tree's fault we thought the food good and well portioned....it was my our lack of ensuring DD got an adequate nap that was the culprit - I have no one to blame but myself)...we decide to call it a day....back to the hotel.
Nothing like an unrested two year old to bend all your resolve.....of course if that two year old is autistic...that's a whole different kind of scary ...but I digress.
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November 23rd - Animal Kingdom - Day 4!!!
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The Unofficial Guide mentions that the MK will be a zoo on today..Its an EMH day as well as being the day before Thanksgiving....SO we decide that the best solution for that is to stay out of MK entirely - Instead -we choose AK as an alternative. Now let me just say that I have absolutely no interest in this park before going....I probably would have skipped this park entirely if it wasnt at my husbands insistance that my DD will be thunderstruck because she is such an animal lover (we swear she is going to be a vet someday).
HooBoy Animal Kingdom here we come...Hurray?
UP at 6:00am son is talking about Cinderella & Tinkerbell. He is also kinda Homesick and kinda mumbles that he wants to "go back to Vermont" ...leap out of bed to forgoe a meltdown regarding this. Shower, Dress me, dress kids. Decide to go to the Riverside mill again for breakfast. Same breakfast as mentioned above. The key is its fast and consistent. After breakfast we head to the Main bus-stop...we are very impressed with the people stationed outside the busstops - counting the number of busses needed for various parks. On this day. I remember them calling FOUR magic kingdom busses. and every single one of them was jam packed. When the one Animal Kingdom bus comes...its half empty. I take this as a good sign that the crowds will be lighter.
We get to the park and decide to rent a double stroller for the kids. Mistake.
For whatever reason the kids dont feel like amicably sharing that morning... and start fighting. Back to the stroller podium to get two single strollers.
That crisis averted...off to CampMinnieMickey.
Animal Kingdom
The plan was to go directly to the 'Festival of the Lion King'
...but Lion King is not open yet.
So we go to a nearby 'animal training' for "Pocahontas and Her Forest Friends.
What does this mean? It means it wasnt the formal show..but a bunch of examples about how they go about training the animals for the show.
My daughter the animal lover - LOVED this. My son had no interest and I spent my time preventing him from escaping. The show was an animal trainer making racoons, ducks, turkeys do animal tricks. It was pretty cute. If you have an animal lover in your family - this is all them.
By the time we get out of this show...we head over to the Lion King Show.
Festival of the Lion King
We lined up outside the building...which seemed like an immense crowd but once they opened the doors whoosh...we all had plenty of roomto spread out. The show was great regarding how they got the audience to interact. They split up the audience into 4 groups....groundhogs, giraffes, lions...and monkeys. All are encouraged to make animal noises. Warning though again another really loud show. if you have a child with sensitive hearing (read maybe a kid on the spectrum) you will want to bring earplugs to this one.
However my son tolerated the noise levels and LOVED the monkey trapeze /trampoline show. Overall a really colorful, lovable show I would definitely go to see again.
We had a lunch ressie at 11:15 for Rainforest cafe - outside entrance to park.
SO SO worth it. Now my hubbie and I have been to the Rainforest cafe in LasVegas....but this restaurant is much bigger, and the aquarium, and animatronic animals seemed so much kewler here. The kids love love loved this place, and i think they liked it better than the park itself! I kid you not.
Also having a ressie at 11:am for lunch again was another big WIN. Just that hour difference...made such a dramatic improvement in our experience. When we got there - we were the FIRST in the restaurant....by 12:30 the place was packed...and we were leaving! From 11-12 is the best time to eat lunch during peak season in our experience.
Ok so now we are out in the store attached to the restaurant...and we have to buy reams of stuffed animals for the kids. A couple of C notes later...we are out of there....with frogs, snakes, monkeys in tow. (which I should have had sent back to my room but I couldnt pry away fromthe kids hands).
Next thing we went on was the Kilimanjoro Safari. This was a nice expedition......but I dont know I expected it to be so much more after all the descriptions of this.....however...after all was said and done...my feeling was just kinda like - "that was nice". Regardless of how much I wanted to play it up in my mind. We got to see giraffes...real up close and personel. Maybe a few rhinos.. a couple of lions....The part where the bridge almost collapsed we were driving over was kinda kewl and scary....but that's it.
Ok so - we decide to forgoe the 'its a bugs life' I just dont think my kids can handle it. Instead we decide Conservation is mild enough to suite them
Rafiki's Planet Watch I.e. Conservation Station
You load onto "The Wildlife Express train" Which is a strange vehicle with all the benches facing the 'right' side of the train. As I discovered, its to prevent you fromseeing the parking lots and such on the other side of the train. When we get to conservation station...the kids are really interested in the kiosks inside, and the butterfly room with various other kewl bugs.
Then the character "Stanley" shows up (along with his fishbowl) and Aidan is SOOosososososos excited.
We jump in line to get a picture and autograph...and my DS is just jumping up and down inthe line. We get a great pic, and DS tells stanley he loves him.
Next we do the petting zoo,a nd the kids think its really fun to brush the goats, but I can't wait to get out of there. All the dust is killing my allergies.
A few sneezes later we are out of there.
Then we head over to Dinoland USA...We take a ride on tricerotop spin...
At this point the park is just getting ridiculously crowded, and the kids are tired so we decide to hop on a bus. The plan is this. I have ressies at Boma for 6:10pm...so we are to grab a bus to AKL which I really really wanted to see. So this is where mom's exhaustion starts kicking in. We go to the bus stop and instead of getting in line for AKL...I get in line for WL (IE wilderness lodge) Can you say oops. Im so busy getting the kids stuff together...that we end up on this bus and not until we get to WL do I realize my error. Of course my hubbie - didnt pick up on it either.
SO Here we are at Wilderness Lodge
A resort I really had no intention of visiting. I really thought it was beautiful though, its just not my style. Anyways the kids are hungry and Im scrambling for what to do. So I find Whispering Canyon Cafe, and they say they accept walk-ins but they dont open till 5:00 and its only 4:30 . So we decide to wait. HAHAHHAHAH Well my daughter decides. nows the perfect time to throw a tantrum....it was another LTT experience coming at us...so I just scooped her up and said...we are going back to the hotel, and that is that. Not going to reward this behavior. So off in a taxicab we go straight to POR. and DD & DH goes down for a nap...and me and DS go off to the pool for a swim...
Dinner = Pizza from Sassagoula Express ( I cant remember if I got this name right) in the room. Now the pizza wasnt BAD (like I had heard previously onthis board) BUT I will say it wasnt GREAT either. Its kinda run of the mill....edible stuff....but nothing I would write home about. It was worth it though....and it only cost us 40 bucks HA....(well we did get a liter of soda and a cheesecake delivered for desert as well)
More details to be added to this thread...stay tuned.
, Hubby , & our adorable 5yo ds
and 2yo dd ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
November 18th - The day before d-day....
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So excited I couldn't sleep...I havent been to Disney since 1987........spent all day finishing packing -(spent the last week getting ready), and organizing goody bags with games for the kids to play on the plane. coloring books - check, mazes - check, word scrambles - check. Packed all the kids clothes in a smallish suitcase....All mine in a similarly sized smallish suitcase...
My hubby still hasnt even opened his suitcase.....biting my tongue...when should I suggest he pack? Around 7pm that evening....he starts packing. I say nothing
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November 19th - We arrive! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The plane ride was Awesome. BTV to JFK, then to MCO. The kicker was the kids didnt care about the goody bags I brought because they were totally plugged into the little tv's they have on the back on the chairs on JetBlue. My kids - amazingly - sat glued to nick toons for the entire flight. Mom got to kick back and watch the comedy channel. I LOVE YOU JETBLUE.
We arrive at MCO airport at 4:45pm. We flew on jetblue, and there was a bit of confusion getting off the plane. We were using Magical Express...and I knew they 'handled' the luggage, but being the control freak that I am ...I verified this with the desk at JetBlue. Mistake.. They didnt know what I was talking about - and insisted that I had to go pick up my luggage. So - we ignore their misinformation and make our way down to the Magical Express counter...on LEVEL 1. As we make our way down the escalator there is a person with a oversized white mickey glove waving us in her direction. All the people with ME were very friendly and courteous...and quickly directed us to stand in line to wait for shuttle pick up. The wait was only about 10 mins..We all loaded onto a bus..and after 3 stops...poof we finally arrive at our hotel around 5:40. So overalll ME was about a 1 hour experience, as we had previously heard. I can't really complain at this point....BUT more to come. After a few stops...we are dropped off at the main lobby for Port Orleans Riverside.......and amble our way into the lobby. It's very nicely appointed....with a HUGE line formed for the front desk.
http://www.allearsnet.com/acc/dxl1.jpg
Probably around 50 people. However it's moving quickly. I just want my room key....I make my way to the line.
After several minutes of tension...we have a temporary room key, and am asked if i will be going to the parks that evening....when I say NO...I am told a new combination room key/card (with dining and park passes programmed on it) will appear magically this evening in my hotel room.....having signed all the papers...we are off to check out the room. Room 2537. Alligator Bayou section. Here is a pic of Bldg 14. We were in Bldg 25...and our room was the opposite mirror image of this room pic.
http://www.allearsnet.com/acc/dxl13.jpg
I paid extra for a water view room...but I definitely would not do that again! Room was very nice, but the water view was a small pool, and the kids playing in that pool were loud the first night. The next time Ill request a garden view room. Thankfully the pool noise only happened on that first night...Whew! In addition, I never heard a single sound from the neighboring rooms. Not a single noise! Rooms must be super sound proofed between rooms.
Therefore - overall - LOVE the room. Rustic theme. Big curtain between bedroom and sink area. Everything looks brand new. Very clean & nice big, firm beds. Big TV. The trundle for dd is as big as a toddler bed, and she loves it. Me & Hubby will share a bed - DS gets a full bed to himself, and DD on the trundle. We don't feel cramped at all! Also in the room - that you can't see in the above pic, is a medium sized rustic table with two cushioned chairs. Big enough to have small meals on...if need be (and we do end up having a few meals in the room - more on that later).
So after checking out the room we are off to dinner at Boatwrights Dining hall.
http://www.allearsnet.com/acc/dxl4.jpg
Thank goodness I have a priority seating because there is a line at the podium. After checking in we are immediately shown a table.
We spend a leisurely evening checking out the grounds..and pools. After getting back to our hotel around 8:30pm we realize, although our permanent room keys (read cards with meal plans & room key) have arrived....
our luggage has NOT arrived. We call the luggage service, and they are on the hunt for it. SO basically we go to bed that evening thinking we have no luggage. Not a great feeling...but I rationalize that most people stated it takes about 3-4 hours from the time you touch down for them to get your luggage.
knock knock knock. It's 12:30 and someone is knocking on my door! The kids are sleeping and I leap out of bed...and peer into the peep hole. AH its our luggage. I dont understand why they couldnt deliver this the next morning. So this is the only negative comment I have for Magical Express. Other than that it saved us around 100 bucks for round-trip transport from airport. However - I'm torn whether or not - I will use Magical Express again.
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November 20th - Let the Magic Begin ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We rise at 6:00am - like we do every day in my household. Mostly because my son is autistic, and he wakes the entire house up by mumbling gibberish around that hour. Pretty much like clockwork. Then we get ready. There is one problem. I had placed an order with Goodings.com the week before for various items. (cereal, milk, bagels, juice, yogurt - I was amazed we ate everything I ordered over the course of our stay - so worth it)
Two of the items ordered were umbrella strollers. WELL - they were out of strollers....SO here we are day one, and had to walk our 2yo around on our hips. She is just big enough to give you a coronary after walking around with her for more than several city blocks....so this was an issue. We ended up buying a stroller from the gift shop for 35 dollars. YES TOO much. But Port Orleans is a rather expansive resort, and a triple bi-pass cost more than 35 bucks, so I figured it was a bargain.
The plan is to have breakfast at Crystal Palace and I have a 8:20 am Priority Seating. I have a BIG land's end canvas bag Im carrying and I found it to be invaluable on this trip. Each day - I put the following into my bag -
1) 'Disney Unofficial Guide' 2) My itnerary (an excel spreadsheet with ps, and ride we want to tackle), 3) towels (tip from a friend mentioning I could use for cushions & blankets for kids when they were sleeping in strollers) 4) hats & sunglasses.
We're off. Umbrella stroller holds Sandy, and Aidan walks alongside which at first is a pain. He has trouble staying 'near us'..and I find myself constantly calling Aidan! Aidan! We have never traveled in such a large space with him before. Somehow we manage to ignore this....and amble down the beatiful gardened paths that is PortOrleans. The resort is so peaceful, and relaxing. I will discover it's such a pleasant respite after a hectic day at the parks. As soon as I step out the door, I start to relax.
We load on a 'Magic Kingdom' bus, which the kids think is really kewl - (remember its Day one & there will be lots of bus rides on this trip). When we get to the parks...we realize the park that day opened at 8am so there are many people already in the park.
We purchase stroller passes - after passing through the turnstiles...then we are off to Breakfast at the Crystal Palace. Pics here.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/diningdetail.cfm?Restaurant.ID=112
There is a line to check in ...and I do. Once our names are called - we are shown into a quaint table, and the kids are bouncing off the walls already because they see Pooh & Piglet on our way in.
Its a buffet - so I make my way to the buffet, while hubby watches the kids. The kids - are jumping up and down with excitment over seeing the characters, and I am beaming. I come back with 2 plates loaded with scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, sausage, omelets, and divy up the food to everyone. As soon as we start eating, Pooh arrives at our table. My son is so excited I think he might pee his pants.
We see Pooh, Rabbit, Eyeore, Piglet...and the kids get to take pictures with all of them...at a very leisurely pace. Its the perfect perfect start to our magical vacation.
After finishing up - we head straight for Fantasyland.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/guides/magickingdom/fantasy.htm
According to touringplans.com we are supposed to hit Dumbo first, but the line is already enormous, and we decide to go on 'Snow Whites Scary Adventure' first.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/guides/magickingdom/fan-snow.htm
MISTAKE. This ride freaked my two year old out a bit, (the mean witch is something she still talks about daily) She was somewhat reluctant to go on other rides after this. So I decide we need to go on a very happy cheery ride to offset this feeling. We immediately go on 'It's a Small World' next.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/guides/magickingdom/fan-small.htm
The kids have no idea what to expect, but think the metal railings that guide you into 'line formation' are rather kewl to climb on. Once we load on a boat, the kids are just in awe. My daughter called it the 'dolly ride' and my son called it the 'country ride'. (They love love love this, and we end up going on it seven times over the course of our vacation.)
Next its off to Cinderellas Golden Carosel.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/guides/magickingdom/fan-carousel.htm
Now my son has some sensory issues, and hasnt ridden on a merry go-round - ever at this point. He doesnt like the up-down motion of the horses. But my daughter is adamant that we go on this. SO we find a stationary bench on the carosel, and son sits with dad, while I find a pony to ride along side my daughter. She is BEAMING at the beatiful horses, and can't wait for the ride to start. Then she is laughing with delight as we get going.
Next we go on Mickey's PhilHarMagic
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/guides/magickingdom/fan-philharmagic.htm
My kids are fantasia fanatics, so I figure this ride will be a hoot. It's a 3-d movie, and I have never seen a 3d movie SO lifelike! This ride is very hard to describe, but read description at above link. It's multi sensory - and uses sights, sounds, smell, and even touch to get you into the moment. The story starts with Mickey getting the orchestra ready and excuses himself...then Donald Duck appears, and of course screws everything up. Events that follow include Instruments flying out into the audience, the SMELL of freshly baked apple pie, being sprayed with water.
My kids were a little freaked out at the reality of this ride...but happily went along with it. We only went on it this once if that is any indication. I loved it - thought it was fantastic.
We have lunch at Columbia Harbor House. EXCELLENT find. The parks were so jammed we never thought we would find a place to eat but I had read on these boards...
That if its crowded there is often a little used second floor, and sure enough...we went upstairs and there was NO one up there, even thought the first floor was packed. We had a nice leisurely meal of fish and chips, and it was SOOOOO needed.
The afternoon was spent at the next Magic Kingdom area called
'Mickey's Toontown'
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/guides/magickingdom/toontown.htm
Dinner was at O'hana's at the POLYNESIAN Resort
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/resorts/poly.htm
I love love love this resort and spent every childhood vacation here.
The plan is to have dinner here - then stay up to watch the 'Electrical Water pagent'. Dinner was good and plentiful.
Sandy got mac & cheese. Aidan got a hotdog with fries. Me & hubby had salad, with various meats they bring over on skewers. The smoked beef & pork was very good and tender and flavorful. The mesquite chicken was a little dry. The desert was the best part of the meal. vanilla ice cream with bread pudding covered with banana promelade sauce. Very very yummy.
The most fun was listening to the performers. There was a singer playing a ukelali...and singing "We are going to the Hukilau". Then we ended the evening with all the kids coming to the front of the room to have a 'coconut race' All kids were given a broom and a coconut...and had to push to the front of the line. My kids came in absolutely last...mostly because my son isnt very competitive, and we were trying to help him along. He kept wanting to pick up his coconut, and didnt 'get' the efficiency of pushing it with a broom. Haha. Life on the spectrum continues.
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November 21st - MGM here we come! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Once again up at 6am...shower, Dress, Dress kids...out the door with umbrella stroller and canvas bag we go!
We decide to have breakfast at PortOrleans - Riverside Mill...which was about a 9 minute walk from our hotel door, and right next to a bus stop of course. Menu to that breakfast can be found here.
http://www.allearsnet.com/menu/men_ccmb.htm
We had two adult breakfasts & 2 child breakfasts. It was good food quick, and that was what everyone needed. Its very spacious, and my kids loved sitting near the huge water wheel that you can see from inside the Mill.
Once Everyone has finished - we are off to the Main Bus Stop. We had decided on this park today for my DDs Birthday because she really wanted to see Playhouse Disney. As it turns out we picked the right park because MK apparently was MOBBED.
The bus ride was uneventful - other than there are Chicken Little posters on the ceiling of the bus, and my son - Little Aspling that he is - has memorized chunks of that movie script,and feels compelled to announce this dialogue to the bus. Which elicits a few odd looks ...however I just smile and say - "He really Likes that movie" and disregard.
Once arriving at MGM - we see that it is starting to get cloudy, but it never rains in Florida right??!?!? We forgoe common sense and dont purchase ponchos a mistake we will pay for later. After making our way throught the security checks, and turnstiles - we have arrived at MGM. We grab a map - and walk down Hollywood Boulevard.....towards the HUMonGEOUS Sorcerer Mickey Hat directing us to the center of the park.
http://www.allearsnet.com/tp/mgm/m_sorchat.htm
The first ride we go on in this park is The Little Mermaid - because the Playhouse Disney show has filled up, and we plan to catch the next show.
http://www.allearsnet.com/tp/mgm/m_mermaid.htm
We line up outside...and are herded like cattle into a huge room..that is filled with crying babies.
No seriously there were only two...but it seemed like a lot. Within minutes they announce to turn towards the doors on the north side of room...and 'watch out for the automatic doors' that will soon open. We are escorted into a theatre...and Sandy immediately starts saying "I want to go home" - from being traumatized on the Dark and scary Snow White ride. Daddy assures her this ride will not be scary. MISTAKE.It was fine - that is up until this 20 foot high Witch - URSALA shows up on the stage with GLOWING green eyes...and moving tentacles....JEEz. I dont recall Disney ever beeing this scary as a kid. Its like these ride makers have no sense. Or maybe Mommy has no sense ...but the number of rides you can take small children on that dont have horrendous villians on them - really is limited....Even Fantasmic is quite scary...but I digress....Back to the Little Mermaid. Ok so now Sandy has lost all faith in us...as we told her this wouldnt be a scary show. I tell Dad to cover her eyes until its over....and
we somehow make it out of there. Do not bring small children on this ...at least not without prepping them about the 20 foot witch...that is HUGE and LOUD. eNOUGH ALREADY.
So after that...we decide...Playhouse Disney is a must. Again a happy happy ride to off set the trauma we have just placed upon our meek two year old.
http://allearsnet.com/tp/mgm/m_plhs.htm
For the kids this is the Highlight of the trip. Show starts with Bear in the big blue house - the look on their faces when he ambled out on the stage was absolutely priceless. Bear talks to tutter the mouse...about feeling shy. And the story goes from there. he encourages all the kids to get up and dance, and streamers pour out of the ceiling...Next is JoJos Circus...which is harder to see than Bear. These are puppets that are 'animated' from beneath the stage...so you can only see their heads and shoulders. Same with Stanley. I only mention because the closer you are to the stage the easier they are to see. Luckily we are right on top of the stage & the kids had no trouble (oh and make sure ot leave a little room for dancing for the kids if possible.) Stanley comes out and talks about his big book of everything = and the letter 'G standing for Gorilla' then a big big big Gorilla pops out on stage and the kids go wild. Next is the Book of Pooh - with Winnie the Pooh and friends. Bubbles are released from the ceiling...again the kids go wild.
The show concludes with Luna the moon sending everyone on their way with the "Goodbye Song."
Overall - this is the one and only show at disney that truly caters to preschoolers. My kids LOVE LOVE LOVED IT..and we ended up watching 3 times over the course of vacation.
Now after the preschool fest - Hubby is ready for some nourishment. He is a bit of a caffeine addict. ...so we head over to "Starring Rolls Bakery" which we are told has excellent coffee. We were not ill-advised. The coffee was great, and the kids had a snack.
http://allearsnet.com/menu/menu_srb.htm
Next was Muppets Vision 3D
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/guides/mgm/st-muppet.htm
Which was really really dumb. First - it was too loud - even for my typical daughter....My son was climbing the walls at the noise level. Second - the story line was just annoying and jumpy and not even mildly entertaining. It seemed more focused on throwing out objects into the audience (ie showing off 3d technology) than having any kind of story line. My kids really did not enjoy this one...and on this show I would concur.
Next is Beauty and the Beast on Stage ...
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/guides/mgm/st-batb.htm
We have 30mins to the next show...
SO....we park our strollers outside the gate..and sit on the concrete wall.
Luckily - My son loves people watching, sits in the stroller watching people amble by...and my daughter is comatose napping. Finally its time to go in.
We walk up a long path..then get into the ampitheater...Lots of metal benches - ouch! BUT the kids are dying to see Belle & the Beast. (just dropped $$$ 42.00 - yes 42.00 buckaroonies for a belle doll and a 'beast' doll that turns into a Prince last evening.
We are committed at this point. Ok so here is where the fun begins. As we sit down...the winds start picking up....and the clouds start rolling in. Like vicous winds. However, the show must go on...and it does. Its wonderful.
My kids especially love the "Be Our Guest" number where all the silverware comes alive..and dances around the stage. Everyone loves the show...even Hubby & I think it was very well done.
Once the show finishes, we realize the winds are really whipping up..and we think...OHMIGOD our strollers our outside and if it rains etc., Ok so here was my error in judgement. I should have let the strollers get drenched and just remained in the theatre because they werent forcing anyone out at that point. BUT silly mommy thinks...lets get out of here asap. Well - as soon as we get outside the clouds open up and we get drenched! Just absolutely drenched. so we are scrambling for ponchos at the nearest store. When we FINALLY secure the ponchos, and put them on everyone....it stops raining. It was like a Monty Python movie or something. I just sat there and laughed.
SO now we are sitting there thinking what do we do?We decide to skip the 3pm Parade (Star and Motor Cars) and just leave because everyone is just grumpy at this point.
SO we decide to catch a bus to the Contemporary - because my daughter has a Birthday party that evening at Chef Mickeys & we figure we can hang out and check out the shops etc., We arrive around 4 so we have an hour to kill...and basically just hang out on the 3rd floor watching the monorail and playing with the toy monorail set that is for show.
Our ressie is at 5pm sharp for our Chef Mickey's Birthday party.
http://allearsnet.com/menu/menu_cmk.htm
I pre-ordered a cake, and am really looking forward to my daughter
(who turned 3 today) having a Bday with all the Characters.
Let's just say this wasnt the fairy tale Birthday party I hoped for. Wasnt horrible...but wasnt spectacular either. First they hand us a beeper, and mention that they DONT have a cake ready for my DDs bday party - something that I pre-arranged 2 months in advance. So after some exchanging of Confirmation numbers for this....and proof that I paid for it....within 5 minutes our beeper goes off, and we are herded into the 'picture' taking line.
Now - a bit of a digression here....but a thought. Disney seems to be in the business of taking 'formal' pictures of you everywhere. Prepare to be bombarded. Then when they have your print - some smiling gal/pal shows up at your table....and says " for a mere 22.95 you can have this picture"
Some might feel obligated to buy it. Two problems...first many of these picture takers...dont seem to be very motivated in getting a good shot/picture of your family. I have more examples of photopass shots with someone in my family - not - looking at camera, or blinking or whatever. In sum. The picture taken at chef mickeys was ridiculously BAD..and there was no way I was going to buy it. Its like this photographer, didnt even say oh man lets take another one. She took one shot thats it...it came out horrible...oh well...next....This is the start to my evening....
The second negative....our server was miserable. AND keep in mind he only had to get drinks & bring the cake & bill. Thats it. He had this big chip on his shoulder for some reason, and acted like he really didnt want to be there, and generally put a damper on the entire evening, although we tried hard to ignore him. So then - he asks if it is ok to bring out my daughters Bday cake after we finish eating. He just plopps it on our table and leaves. No ceremony about it...Doesnt even say "happy birthday". It just really pissed me off because I had been playing up DDs birthday for weeks, and this guy just really didnt make for a fun evening.
The few good items ....they sang a song and the entire restaurant twirled their napkins which the kids thought was really fun. The characters were GREAT...within 2 minutes of sitting down - Mickey Mouse was at our table, and DD was in awe. The buffet was also pretty good, with a decent variety of food. The buffet had a Carving Board...with Oven Roast Prime Rib & Slow Baked Bone-in Ham. Both were moist and flavorful. On the buffet we had the Penne Pasta with Seafood, for the kids, along with chicken nugget, and fries.
So in all - I would not go back to Chef' Mickeys for my next birthday experience. They did nothing to make it feel like a special day...other than sending out the cake that I paid for.
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November 22st - Magic Kingdom - Day 3!!! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The sky is falling - the sky is falling" Its 6am - my son is reciting Chicken little dialogue. Yeah - another morning at Disney!!! We decide to have breakfast in the room this morning with the food I purchased from Goodings. We all have Raisin Bran, Milk, Yogurt & bananas with OJ. Then we are off!
On the bus, go to MK. This morning we have our stroller pass, and bring it to the front of the podium. We are quickly given a single stroller for my son...
The plan is to go straight to Tomorrowland and we do. We skip Tomorrow Land Speedway. I just remember my parents taking me on this ride and we hated it back then...doesnt look like it has changed much. We decide to go straight to Buzz lightyear. DD is a little freaked out by this ride at the beginning, but once she learns to use the Buzz zapper, she really perks up.
If you have a windows media player - you can see ride here. Very kewl.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/video/theme-mk-buzz-bb.wmv
The idea is that the evil Zurg has taken over, and you interact with the ride by shooting various targets with your Zapper. My son liked this ride so much that we ended up buying a zapper (conveniently marketed out the exit of the ride) and also got to ride this attraction multiple times.
Next a brief journey onto "life on the spectrum" -
Astro Orbiters is the next ride - at my sons insistence. One of his special interests....is the solar system. SOO my friends...when he sees THIS...
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/guides/magickingdom/tom-astro.htm
(scroll down to ride pic)
He just about pees his pants with excitement.
He is practically hysterical that we go on this. Gesticulating maddly. Ok ok... we ignore the fact that there is a large line...and although we have a GAC pass and could walk right on...we decide to wait because son is enjoying climbing on the metal railings....and the line seems to be moving rather fast. So about 15 mins later....we are zipped up the elevator, and waiting to load our jets. The last jet ride is still running...and we are waiting to be the next 'run'.
Aidan is so excited...He turns to me and says - "MOM - do you want to come with me?" Aidan has just started 'inviting' us into his life in this manner...fairly regularly...and as happy as I am at that moment that he has asked me to participate in this moment with him...I have to refuse...Clearly, the practicality of this request - ie. indicating that we jump over the 'holding gate' while the ride is still in motion....and trying to catch a jet or something. HA ...um ..no?! He obliges...because we are finally at a stage where he won't throw fits when mom says no (thank god).
When the CM lets us in to pick our rockets....Aidan is jumping up and down...all the way...and DD is walking calmly with daddy...looking at Aidan...like what is his deal? So we get on the rockets and discover, we have the power to move the rocket up and down...very very kewl by Aidan's standards (hes only 5) So anyways...once we get going ...we start playing games like oh no - look out we are going to hit Jupiter! go up etc. Aidan is in total heaven..and laughing harder than I have ever seen him laugh. Needless to say. He didnt want this ride to end. So we were ALMOST at the point where I wasnt sure if I was going to have to physically pick himup to get out of there, when the ride ended. HOWEVER, for whatever reason, he decided to be reasonable...and after some promises on my part that we would go back on this ride soon...he calmly walked out of there. Whew! You just don't know. And I'm not going to go there - (re how bad Aidan's fits used to be...Autistic tantrums are the best ...as they say). Enough.
Onto Lunch!
I had on the 'master plan' that we were to go to the 'Plaza' for lunch but for whatever reason ...at 11:00 the kids were hungry and the Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe is nearby so in we wander.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/diningdetail.cfm?Restaurant.ID=152
I remember thinking "MAN this place is EMPTY - I hope that is not an indication of the poor quality of the food."
Well as it turns out...having lunch at 11:00 at any counter service restaurant is a pretty good plan to avoid lines....because at 12:00 the place was filled to the brim with people. SO we were happy with this discovery, and the food was pretty good. BOTH my kids had the "Mini Corn Dogs - Served with potato tots, apple sauce, and child's beverage. - $3.99" And loved them...I had the kids asking me for 'mini corn dogs' for the rest of the trip. My hubby and I had the cheesburgers which were ok as burgers go...nothing to write home about. (They definitely werent the dried hockey pucks we got - later on in the trip - at Sci-Fi diner!)
We spent the afternoon at Mickey's toontown ...My DS became enamored with Minnies House...he thought all of it was really kewl, and the kitchen was his favorite. This area is the most interactive. Kids can play with the dials on the oven, microwave etc., fridge. My son loved the cake in the oven that 'blew up and deflated at the push of a button. We spent a lot of time in this house. and also Mickeys house. The kids had no interest in Goofy's barnstormer...but thought Mickeys garden out back wiht the oversized plants and signage was funny. We never did make it into the 'judges tent' - it was too darned crowded.
At this point it is around 2:30pm and we are wondering what next. We decide riding the train around MK might be in order because everyone is getting grumpy, and DD still hasnt had a nap. SO onto the train...and after one loop around the park we are refreshed. We are concerned that my DD has not had a nap yet, and we have a 5:15pm dinner reservation ...Should we go back to the hotel? We choose to encourage her to nap in her stroller, a mistake we will pay for later.
Once we get to the Liberty Tree
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/diningdetail.cfm?Restaurant.ID=87
its pretty clear that its not going to be smooth sailing, because its very noisy in there, and there are lots of guests waiting. My daughter is teetering on the precipace of a tantrum...we unwisely cross our fingers and hope she can hold it together for dinner.
We have the "Goofy's Liberate Your Appetite Character Adult Dinner"
Declaration Salad: tossed mixed greens, served with our special tavern strawberry vinaigrette. Patriot's Platter: A generous serving of roasted turkey breast, carved beef, and smoked pork loin, accompanied with tavern-made mashed potatoes, market veggies, herb bread stuffing, and Stouffer's macaroni & cheese. Dessert: Freshly prepared from Martha's kitchen.
So as soon as the food starts coming at us...my daughter starts acting up, and in ways I've never ever seen her behave. I know that disney is a lot to process for a two year old (now 3) but .....
My DS (who is autistic) is sitting there acting like a saint & happily eating ...in contrast...my DD turns into Rosemary's baby...and throws herself down on the floor and throws a tantrum unlike I have ever seen from her. No amount of coaxing from me can get her off the floor. I am absolutely horrified...and am ready to crawl under my table. When the waitress comes over and tells her that if she sits in her seat like a good girl she will get a roll of stickers. I feel both grateful, and humiliated at the same time. Before I had kids I swore I would never have kids that acted out in this way....WOW how parenthood stretches your reality of what lifes is all about. Just makes me want to send my mom 5 dozen roses at moments like this.
After the nightmare dinner from hell (totally not liberty tree's fault we thought the food good and well portioned....it was my our lack of ensuring DD got an adequate nap that was the culprit - I have no one to blame but myself)...we decide to call it a day....back to the hotel.
Nothing like an unrested two year old to bend all your resolve.....of course if that two year old is autistic...that's a whole different kind of scary ...but I digress.
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November 23rd - Animal Kingdom - Day 4!!!
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The Unofficial Guide mentions that the MK will be a zoo on today..Its an EMH day as well as being the day before Thanksgiving....SO we decide that the best solution for that is to stay out of MK entirely - Instead -we choose AK as an alternative. Now let me just say that I have absolutely no interest in this park before going....I probably would have skipped this park entirely if it wasnt at my husbands insistance that my DD will be thunderstruck because she is such an animal lover (we swear she is going to be a vet someday).
HooBoy Animal Kingdom here we come...Hurray?
UP at 6:00am son is talking about Cinderella & Tinkerbell. He is also kinda Homesick and kinda mumbles that he wants to "go back to Vermont" ...leap out of bed to forgoe a meltdown regarding this. Shower, Dress me, dress kids. Decide to go to the Riverside mill again for breakfast. Same breakfast as mentioned above. The key is its fast and consistent. After breakfast we head to the Main bus-stop...we are very impressed with the people stationed outside the busstops - counting the number of busses needed for various parks. On this day. I remember them calling FOUR magic kingdom busses. and every single one of them was jam packed. When the one Animal Kingdom bus comes...its half empty. I take this as a good sign that the crowds will be lighter.
We get to the park and decide to rent a double stroller for the kids. Mistake.
For whatever reason the kids dont feel like amicably sharing that morning... and start fighting. Back to the stroller podium to get two single strollers.
That crisis averted...off to CampMinnieMickey.
Animal Kingdom
The plan was to go directly to the 'Festival of the Lion King'
...but Lion King is not open yet.
So we go to a nearby 'animal training' for "Pocahontas and Her Forest Friends.
What does this mean? It means it wasnt the formal show..but a bunch of examples about how they go about training the animals for the show.
My daughter the animal lover - LOVED this. My son had no interest and I spent my time preventing him from escaping. The show was an animal trainer making racoons, ducks, turkeys do animal tricks. It was pretty cute. If you have an animal lover in your family - this is all them.
By the time we get out of this show...we head over to the Lion King Show.
Festival of the Lion King
We lined up outside the building...which seemed like an immense crowd but once they opened the doors whoosh...we all had plenty of roomto spread out. The show was great regarding how they got the audience to interact. They split up the audience into 4 groups....groundhogs, giraffes, lions...and monkeys. All are encouraged to make animal noises. Warning though again another really loud show. if you have a child with sensitive hearing (read maybe a kid on the spectrum) you will want to bring earplugs to this one.
However my son tolerated the noise levels and LOVED the monkey trapeze /trampoline show. Overall a really colorful, lovable show I would definitely go to see again.
We had a lunch ressie at 11:15 for Rainforest cafe - outside entrance to park.
SO SO worth it. Now my hubbie and I have been to the Rainforest cafe in LasVegas....but this restaurant is much bigger, and the aquarium, and animatronic animals seemed so much kewler here. The kids love love loved this place, and i think they liked it better than the park itself! I kid you not.
Also having a ressie at 11:am for lunch again was another big WIN. Just that hour difference...made such a dramatic improvement in our experience. When we got there - we were the FIRST in the restaurant....by 12:30 the place was packed...and we were leaving! From 11-12 is the best time to eat lunch during peak season in our experience.
Ok so now we are out in the store attached to the restaurant...and we have to buy reams of stuffed animals for the kids. A couple of C notes later...we are out of there....with frogs, snakes, monkeys in tow. (which I should have had sent back to my room but I couldnt pry away fromthe kids hands).
Next thing we went on was the Kilimanjoro Safari. This was a nice expedition......but I dont know I expected it to be so much more after all the descriptions of this.....however...after all was said and done...my feeling was just kinda like - "that was nice". Regardless of how much I wanted to play it up in my mind. We got to see giraffes...real up close and personel. Maybe a few rhinos.. a couple of lions....The part where the bridge almost collapsed we were driving over was kinda kewl and scary....but that's it.
Ok so - we decide to forgoe the 'its a bugs life' I just dont think my kids can handle it. Instead we decide Conservation is mild enough to suite them
Rafiki's Planet Watch I.e. Conservation Station
You load onto "The Wildlife Express train" Which is a strange vehicle with all the benches facing the 'right' side of the train. As I discovered, its to prevent you fromseeing the parking lots and such on the other side of the train. When we get to conservation station...the kids are really interested in the kiosks inside, and the butterfly room with various other kewl bugs.
Then the character "Stanley" shows up (along with his fishbowl) and Aidan is SOOosososososos excited.
We jump in line to get a picture and autograph...and my DS is just jumping up and down inthe line. We get a great pic, and DS tells stanley he loves him.
Next we do the petting zoo,a nd the kids think its really fun to brush the goats, but I can't wait to get out of there. All the dust is killing my allergies.
A few sneezes later we are out of there.
Then we head over to Dinoland USA...We take a ride on tricerotop spin...
At this point the park is just getting ridiculously crowded, and the kids are tired so we decide to hop on a bus. The plan is this. I have ressies at Boma for 6:10pm...so we are to grab a bus to AKL which I really really wanted to see. So this is where mom's exhaustion starts kicking in. We go to the bus stop and instead of getting in line for AKL...I get in line for WL (IE wilderness lodge) Can you say oops. Im so busy getting the kids stuff together...that we end up on this bus and not until we get to WL do I realize my error. Of course my hubbie - didnt pick up on it either.
SO Here we are at Wilderness Lodge
A resort I really had no intention of visiting. I really thought it was beautiful though, its just not my style. Anyways the kids are hungry and Im scrambling for what to do. So I find Whispering Canyon Cafe, and they say they accept walk-ins but they dont open till 5:00 and its only 4:30 . So we decide to wait. HAHAHHAHAH Well my daughter decides. nows the perfect time to throw a tantrum....it was another LTT experience coming at us...so I just scooped her up and said...we are going back to the hotel, and that is that. Not going to reward this behavior. So off in a taxicab we go straight to POR. and DD & DH goes down for a nap...and me and DS go off to the pool for a swim...
Dinner = Pizza from Sassagoula Express ( I cant remember if I got this name right) in the room. Now the pizza wasnt BAD (like I had heard previously onthis board) BUT I will say it wasnt GREAT either. Its kinda run of the mill....edible stuff....but nothing I would write home about. It was worth it though....and it only cost us 40 bucks HA....(well we did get a liter of soda and a cheesecake delivered for desert as well)
More details to be added to this thread...stay tuned.
