DAY 6 26/2/03 MK
Todays the big one we have all really been looking forward to. Breakfast PS at Crystal Palace and then the day at MK. We get up at 6am and DS is telling anyone that will listen that he is going to have Breakfast with Pooh. We head off at 7.20am and are at the TTC by 7.55am. 10 mins later and we are walking up Main Street, pausing for obligatory pictures with the Castle as a backdrop. Got to CP and were seated within 5 mins, duly submitting the breakfast vouchers we received from Paramount with our 7 day PHP.
Pooh wasnt doing the rounds so we took DS to the get photos and then returned to the table to await the other characters. DS was thrilled as they came round, and was very happy to interact with them. Tigger was especially good as he insisted on having pictures with Sis2 and DW as well as DS. As for breakfast we stuffed ourselves silly pancakes, waffles, fruit, bacon, eggs, and more (3 or 4 visits to the buffet) our server was great, and was constantly popping round with juice and coffee refills. We will definitely do this again in the future. As we left, a really sweet moment DS broke free of my hand, ran over to Pooh Bear and gave him a hug. One happy little boy!!
Dragging our stomachs on the floor, we strolled slowly towards FantasyLand. It was 9.20 so the park had only just opened. First stop was Pooh (10 min standby). We thought this was good, although a little quick for DS to take in all of what was going on with DW and myself desperately trying to drag his attention in different directions. Oh well!! Still, it had pretty much all we would expect, plus the novelty bouncing bit which was fun. DS gives this 8/10.
Next stop, Dumbo. The 10 min standby notice was misleading as we were at least 20 mins in the queue. This was pushing DS patience to the limit. Once on however, and he was the happiest chappy around. He loves these types of rides, and Dumbo was to become his favourite. DS says 10/10. On to the carousel next, a walk on and then off to Small World. Now as much as I love Disney, IASW just bores me silly. It is too slow and too repetitive mildly entertaining the first time, but that should be it i.e. not to be experienced more than once. On the plus side, it was another walk-on so at least we didnt have to queue for it. DS didnt seem overly impressed either and gives this 5/10.
It was now 10.30ish and FantasyLand was becoming crowded, so 2Sis headed off to TomorrowLand, while the rest of us made our way to Tom Sawyer Island. DS welcomed the opportunity to run around for a while, and particularly liked the escape tunnel from the Fort I must have chased him through there about eight times. After half an hour, we left the Island and took the train to Mickeys Toontown fair. We managed to drag DS out of the play area after 15 mins and went to get pictures with Mickey. DS again insisted on being carried by Mummy, which we were surprised by after he had interacted so well with the characters at breakfast. We then hooked up with the others for lunch, whilst DS slept in his pushchair.
After lunch, it was getting quite hot, so we headed to Splash Mountain, pausing at Big Thunder Mountain for FP. Splash had a 25 min standby but we decided to queue for what turned out to be 17mins. I like SM, a good long ride with excellent theming. Only problem was I forgot to remove my baseball cap before the big drop and it disappeared from my head before I could react. On this ride we got enough spray to get a little wet, and hence cooled, but at least we were not soaked. 9/10. We used our FP to bypass the 20 min standby line on BTMR this is a bit of a boneshaker, but doesnt do much in the excitement stakes. 6/10.
It was parade time. We were eagerly looking forward to this celebration of 100 years of Disney, and whilst we enjoyed it, we felt the parade we saw 5 years ago was better (and longer). Maybe it was because last time it was our first Disney parade and we did not get the same Wow factor this time around. A quick stop to ride the Magic Carpets and then we headed over to TomorrowLand. We all decide to ride Buzz and the interactive nature of this ride made for good fun. Only problem was, you are so engaged in trying to shoot things, that you dont really take in the ride. Nonetheless, 8/10 for sheer fun factor. I scored 68,000 dont know if thats good or not, but it was a lot better than anyone else in our group managed.
DW, DS and myself headed off to Speedway, while the others went for the TTA. Speedway posted a 20 min standby line, but it was at least 40 mins. This is not the best place to have to wait in line as the fumes from the cars are quite irritating. 2 year old DS insisted on steering which made for an interesting ride, but he seemed to thoroughly enjoy himself and did not want to get out of the car at the end. As much as I love him, there was no way I was going to queue through those fumes again. We headed back to Mickeys Toontown fair, got photos with Goofy, Minnie and ChipnDale, and then let DS let off some steam in the play area. The others showed up at about 6pm and everyone agreed they were feeling pretty tired so we took the train to the main entrance and left MK for the day. Given that everyone just wanted to crash in front of the TV, we grabbed some KFC and headed back to the Vistana. It had been a long day.
Todays the big one we have all really been looking forward to. Breakfast PS at Crystal Palace and then the day at MK. We get up at 6am and DS is telling anyone that will listen that he is going to have Breakfast with Pooh. We head off at 7.20am and are at the TTC by 7.55am. 10 mins later and we are walking up Main Street, pausing for obligatory pictures with the Castle as a backdrop. Got to CP and were seated within 5 mins, duly submitting the breakfast vouchers we received from Paramount with our 7 day PHP.
Pooh wasnt doing the rounds so we took DS to the get photos and then returned to the table to await the other characters. DS was thrilled as they came round, and was very happy to interact with them. Tigger was especially good as he insisted on having pictures with Sis2 and DW as well as DS. As for breakfast we stuffed ourselves silly pancakes, waffles, fruit, bacon, eggs, and more (3 or 4 visits to the buffet) our server was great, and was constantly popping round with juice and coffee refills. We will definitely do this again in the future. As we left, a really sweet moment DS broke free of my hand, ran over to Pooh Bear and gave him a hug. One happy little boy!!
Dragging our stomachs on the floor, we strolled slowly towards FantasyLand. It was 9.20 so the park had only just opened. First stop was Pooh (10 min standby). We thought this was good, although a little quick for DS to take in all of what was going on with DW and myself desperately trying to drag his attention in different directions. Oh well!! Still, it had pretty much all we would expect, plus the novelty bouncing bit which was fun. DS gives this 8/10.
Next stop, Dumbo. The 10 min standby notice was misleading as we were at least 20 mins in the queue. This was pushing DS patience to the limit. Once on however, and he was the happiest chappy around. He loves these types of rides, and Dumbo was to become his favourite. DS says 10/10. On to the carousel next, a walk on and then off to Small World. Now as much as I love Disney, IASW just bores me silly. It is too slow and too repetitive mildly entertaining the first time, but that should be it i.e. not to be experienced more than once. On the plus side, it was another walk-on so at least we didnt have to queue for it. DS didnt seem overly impressed either and gives this 5/10.
It was now 10.30ish and FantasyLand was becoming crowded, so 2Sis headed off to TomorrowLand, while the rest of us made our way to Tom Sawyer Island. DS welcomed the opportunity to run around for a while, and particularly liked the escape tunnel from the Fort I must have chased him through there about eight times. After half an hour, we left the Island and took the train to Mickeys Toontown fair. We managed to drag DS out of the play area after 15 mins and went to get pictures with Mickey. DS again insisted on being carried by Mummy, which we were surprised by after he had interacted so well with the characters at breakfast. We then hooked up with the others for lunch, whilst DS slept in his pushchair.
After lunch, it was getting quite hot, so we headed to Splash Mountain, pausing at Big Thunder Mountain for FP. Splash had a 25 min standby but we decided to queue for what turned out to be 17mins. I like SM, a good long ride with excellent theming. Only problem was I forgot to remove my baseball cap before the big drop and it disappeared from my head before I could react. On this ride we got enough spray to get a little wet, and hence cooled, but at least we were not soaked. 9/10. We used our FP to bypass the 20 min standby line on BTMR this is a bit of a boneshaker, but doesnt do much in the excitement stakes. 6/10.
It was parade time. We were eagerly looking forward to this celebration of 100 years of Disney, and whilst we enjoyed it, we felt the parade we saw 5 years ago was better (and longer). Maybe it was because last time it was our first Disney parade and we did not get the same Wow factor this time around. A quick stop to ride the Magic Carpets and then we headed over to TomorrowLand. We all decide to ride Buzz and the interactive nature of this ride made for good fun. Only problem was, you are so engaged in trying to shoot things, that you dont really take in the ride. Nonetheless, 8/10 for sheer fun factor. I scored 68,000 dont know if thats good or not, but it was a lot better than anyone else in our group managed.
DW, DS and myself headed off to Speedway, while the others went for the TTA. Speedway posted a 20 min standby line, but it was at least 40 mins. This is not the best place to have to wait in line as the fumes from the cars are quite irritating. 2 year old DS insisted on steering which made for an interesting ride, but he seemed to thoroughly enjoy himself and did not want to get out of the car at the end. As much as I love him, there was no way I was going to queue through those fumes again. We headed back to Mickeys Toontown fair, got photos with Goofy, Minnie and ChipnDale, and then let DS let off some steam in the play area. The others showed up at about 6pm and everyone agreed they were feeling pretty tired so we took the train to the main entrance and left MK for the day. Given that everyone just wanted to crash in front of the TV, we grabbed some KFC and headed back to the Vistana. It had been a long day.