dougsmom98
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2002
- Messages
- 2,333
I woke up at 4:30, showered and left to go get breakfast. I bought Krispy Creme donuts. We had never had them before but heard they were good and they didn't disappoint us. By the time I got back the kids and my husband were dressed. We ate and left for the park by 7 am. My mother and the rest of the crew was following us in their van and she drives really slow. I kept telling my husband to slow down so that we wouldn't get separated. They were 4 cars behind us when we went through the parking toll. We got flagged to go one way to park and they got flagged another way. This really stunk because we needed their help to carry stuff from the parking lot to the monorail. We were in the front section of the parking lot that doesn't get serviced by the tram so we had to walk. We didn't want to set up the strollers just to have to fold them again when we got to the monorail, so we somehow managed with the two strollers, three kids, backpack, and soft sided cooler. It was a hassle though. We met up with the rest of our party and made it on the second monorail. We got through security and through the gates just in time to see the end of the character train and opening of the gates. We decided my mother would come with us and the older kids, my sister and BIL would do their own thing. When we got into the park we headed straight to Fantasyland. We walked onto Dumbo, Peter Pan, Snow White, Pooh, Cinderella's Carousel, It's a Small World and then Snow White again because it was Douglas' favorite. It was wonderful not to have to wait in line. The only problem we ran into was that my mother is afraid of heights. We didn't realize it until Dumbo and she absolutely hated it. Then we headed to Tomorrow Land and did Buzz Light Year with only a 10 minute wait. We tried to do the rockets that spin above Tomorrowland and we watied in line and took the elevator up only to have Douglas tell us he needed to go to the potty and could not wait. So we waited there for 15 minutes for no reason. We rode Pooh again and then headed to Mickey's Toontown. We rode Goofy's Barnstormer and then went to Minny's house. The twins loved the microwave there because they love to make microwave popcorn at home. Then we went to Mickey's house which was cute. After his house we waited in line to see Pluto. We were 2nd from the front when they needed to switch Pluto and have him go get a bone. We waited 3-4 minutes and he came back. Matthew hated the characters the entire trip. He wanted nothing to do with them. Mark was pretty much indifferent with them and Douglas would give them huge hugs. We spent a few minutes in the back of Mickey's house because the twins heard the Christmas carols playing in the garden through a speaker and decided to dance. They were so funny. We skipped the big character greeting area because we didn't want to waste time in line. Way at the end of Toon Town behind the building that had the character greetings, there were 3 characters with no lines or waits so we got some pictures with them. One was a racoon, one was a bear and another was a pirate I think. We decided to take a break and go on the Train that circles the MK. It was ok for a break, but there wasn't much to see. After the train ride, it was almost noon and the park was packed. We were able to contact the rest of the group with our two way radios and we had lunch in Tomorrowland at the huge pavillion. We ate here on several occasions. The lines weren't too bad, the chicken tenders and fries were very good, and there were plenty of seats. The rest of the group had a good morning. They basically did all but Fantasyland and the kiddie rides without much of a wait. They even did some things twice. It paid off to arrive when the park opened. After lunch we went to find a place for the parade. It was going to be the last Christmas parade of the season. We found a spot on Main Street right up front. People are very pushy though and they plop themselves practically on top of you and your stuff along this parade route. It was very squished. We had our Mickey ice cream for dessert while we waited. One of the twins slept while the other tried his best to wake him up. Finally the parade came. I liked it because the Christmas music was fun and the costumes were good, but in my opinion MGM's parade was better. Mark remained sleeping in his carriage and Matthew danced to the music the entire time. One unfortunate thing that happened was a group of people right next to us that had front row seats and when the parade started, they stood up so no one else could see. Some people asked them to sit and they didn't. Why would you sit in the front row and then stand up? I was tired but glad we stayed for the parade. We left right after the parade and headed back to the hotel for a swim. After the swim the kids watched a movie. We decided to go to the store and pick up some soda to bring to the parks and some other snacks. We also bought some pasteries so I wouldn't have to run out for breakfast the next morning. We got McDonalds for the kids for dinner and then we ordered Pizzaria Uno pizza for ourselves for dinner. We got the kids to bed and then had pizza and beer in peace and quiet while we planned for our next magical day at Animal Kingdom. The rest of our group went back to MK for the fire works and the light parade. They said it was awesome. My sister said that before those two events they really didn't get what the big deal was with Disney. She said now they finally got it.
Stayed tuned for day four.
Stayed tuned for day four.
I strongly suspect my mom would be exactly the same.
