1st timers TR day 2- AK & mistake #1

[mom2my2princesses]

cast:
me
DH
DD alex (5)
DD maddie (18mos)
my mom
my sister & her DH, & their 4 boys ranging in age from 2 to 7 had gone down a few days ahead of us & we had planned on meeting in AK on thursday. this was our first day in the parks. we woke up to a gloriously sunny & warm day- forecast was great. we were out the door without much of a problem & got to AK soon after 9. i wanted to head straight for the safari & get a fp. there was so much to see along the way that i thought we'd get back to but never did so that was too bad. we grabbed a fp & headed for kali river rapids. we ran into a LOT of characters along the way & stopped for some pictures & that kind of stuff. my sister called & said they would be arriving around 11- it was early so we kept heading towards the rapids. it was still kind of cool & we walked right on- did the baby swap so my mom could go on & were done in about 10 minutes. i was kind of disapointed with the ride- i guess i was expecting more. met up w/sis & her family who had picked up a fp for the safari as well & wandered around until our fp came up. the safari was fabulous - it started to rain pretty hard though about 1/2 way through & all i kept thinking was "why oh why didn't i pack the ponchos??" so of course there was nothing i could do about it then. anyhow, - i -the photography nut- ended up somehow on the wrong side of the ride though so most of my pictures are crappy but it was still a great experience. the stroller of course was drenched when we got back but it dried off pretty quickly once the sun came out. we split up for lunch & met back at the dino dig & had a really great day. the jammin jungle parade was a lot of fun- i thought AK was fabulous. crowds were low, people were friendly - overall a great experience! we left around 5 & decided to try to go home, give the kids a rest & try to hit spectromagic & wishes that night. we got to the MK for the first time around 8 & walked right into a great spot to view the spectromagic parade which we only had to wait about 5 minutes for! it was fabulous!! then DD got her first view of the castle which made me a little misty eyed- it all just seemed so perfect! we walked down main st & decided that we'd sit right in front of the castle for wishes. (which is probably not the best viewing area! LOL) however it was still beautiful & magical & made me all teary eyed again- maddie had fallen fast asleep & alex was just in paradise. watching tink fly down was incredible! it was a fabulous end to a magical day!!

 

[tcfdick]

Mom2My2Princesses,

I don't know how many times I've left the ponchos in the room thinking I wouldn't need them! LOL It never fails, I needed them!
Great trip report, sounds like you had a really good time.

 

[kilee]

It sounds like the crowds were great--- when did you go?

 

[mom2my2princesses]

we were in AK on 3/25 & i think just happened to hit it right.. cuz that was the ONLY calm & quiet day we had

 

[garylpn]

now there is a lesson learned on trip #2, may 96,NEVER LEAVE THE ROOM WITHOUT THE PONCHOS, btw we got soaked the first time we experienced the fla afternoon downpour, funny we never saw a drop of rain on first trip oct 89, but 96 trip you could almost set your watch by 4:30 pm thunderstorms, 10 straight days in a row, so i went out and bought an extra large, 2 pocket fanny pack that has 2 water bottle holders on the side, it's now weathered a few more trips to wdw and i consider it indispensable, ponchos are always in it ready to go, along with ziplock bags for passes and other important papers, also has room enough for fairly good sized digital pont and shoot camera