Day 2 started early as our boys were up at 7:00 am and ready to go. (Our boys are early risers most days getting up around 6 am or so at home, so this wasn't a surprise.) Each boy got his own bag of clothes out of his dresser drawer and got dressed. We then had a small box of cereal for breakfast to tide the boys over. My DW went to the FC and filled our mugs with coffee! (Yippee!)
You should probably know that if my wife and I were to write a book, it would probably be titled "Out of Step in America" as that's how we feel sometimes. We aren't big TV watchers and we prefer to keep our kids somewhat sheltered from the news. Rather than entertain the kids, we expect them to entertain themselves by playing games, sports, etc. So for that reason, they have no clue as to who most of the newer Disney Characters are such as Aladin, Ariel, etc. They also have never been on amusement park rides since they are so young. Using a lot of the advice from parents on these boards, my DW and I planned a very light schedule that would give us a lot of flexibility.
So, back to day one... We went by Disney Bus to the Beach Club via Downtown Disney for a character breakfast at Cape May Cafe at 10:00. The buses to MK were packed, but we were alone on both buses to get to the Beach Club. We checked in and were seated prior to our PS time. We booked this particular meal as my 4 year old is in love with Minnie. As he entered, Minnie was there to greet him. He gave her a big hug and got an autograph and picture taken. Minnie was wonderful. We were seated along the rail by the buffet. The food was okay, with hot food coming out often. Chip & Dale were all over the floor entertaining the kids and making breakfast a lot of fun. Goofy was going from table to table giving autographs and entertaining the little ones. Our boys had their autograph books from the dollar tree with Buzz Lightyear pens that light up when you write (Disney Store $2.99). All the characters loved these big pens and played with them for a while. We tipped our waitress and were surprised when she caught up to us as we were leaving and personally thanked us for the tip.... On the way out my 4 yr old said bye to Minnie and blew her a kiss, which she returned. It was very cute. My 2 yr old loved the whole thing. The baby slept through it until the very end, when Goofy came back and held him for a picture. This was worth every penny.
We then walked around the resort and the yacht club. Wow, what beautiful resorts! Then we took the boat to Disney Boardwalk. After walking around there, we asked someone how to get to Fantasia Golf. We took the boat back to the Swan Hotel and walked over (about a 5 minute walk). We played on the harder course that is set up like a true golf course. My older boys each play at home with a putter and I've taken them to our local course's practice green so they knew the basics. The round was free as it was included in our package reservation. Both boys played (2 yr old was free) along with Mom and Dad. (We kept baby in stroller along the entire course... JUST A QUICK NOTE THAT THIS COURSE IS WHEELCHAIR ACCESSABLE AS THE HUSBAND OF THE COUPLE AHEAD OF US USED A WHEELCHAIR AND PLAYED ALL 18 HOLES). This was the hit of the entire trip as my 2 yr old loved going in the sand "bonkers" and the 4 yr old just loves golf. We didn't hold anyone up and in fact were told by several folks just how funny it was to watch our little guys having fun playing.
From there, a CM told us to take the boat back from the Swan to MGM and transfer to a bus as it would be quicker than waiting at the beach club to go through Downtown Disney. That's what we did, enjoying the boat ride, then taking the bus back. At 1:30 on Saturday, we were told the MGM was full by one of the transportation CMs. It looked it!
We arrived back at ASMo, put the little guys and Mom to sleep, and my 4 yr old and I went swimming for two hours. We then went back to the room, changed and took our buses to Key West Resort for dinner at Olivia's.
Here is the beauty of Disney to me.... everyone who goes there becomes a little nicer and more polite.
Our bus was packed to Downtown Disney. Several people offered to give up their seats for me as I was holding the baby. They also gave up their seats so our boys could sit down safely rather than stand. When we arrived, we were helped with our strollers and guests held our boys hands as they stepped off the bus to make sure they didn't fall. I can't say enough about how those small acts renewed my faith in people...
Dinner at Olivia's was very good. We had the crab cake (very good), the shrimp stuffed with lobster with steak (excellent and good price), and the catch of the day (DW said it was okay, but wished she had gotten what I ordered). Boys had hot dogs. Service was great and the whole restaurant was very low key and not crowded. I wouldn't have known about Olivia's if I hadn't read about it here. We recommend it if you are looking for a nice relaxing sit down dinner. The only negative is that the buses do not run that often to Old Key West, so be prepared to wait.
After we got back to ASMo, the little guys went to sleep and the 4 yr old and I went back for another game of air hockey. It was a fantastic day even though we never went in the parks...
You should probably know that if my wife and I were to write a book, it would probably be titled "Out of Step in America" as that's how we feel sometimes. We aren't big TV watchers and we prefer to keep our kids somewhat sheltered from the news. Rather than entertain the kids, we expect them to entertain themselves by playing games, sports, etc. So for that reason, they have no clue as to who most of the newer Disney Characters are such as Aladin, Ariel, etc. They also have never been on amusement park rides since they are so young. Using a lot of the advice from parents on these boards, my DW and I planned a very light schedule that would give us a lot of flexibility.
So, back to day one... We went by Disney Bus to the Beach Club via Downtown Disney for a character breakfast at Cape May Cafe at 10:00. The buses to MK were packed, but we were alone on both buses to get to the Beach Club. We checked in and were seated prior to our PS time. We booked this particular meal as my 4 year old is in love with Minnie. As he entered, Minnie was there to greet him. He gave her a big hug and got an autograph and picture taken. Minnie was wonderful. We were seated along the rail by the buffet. The food was okay, with hot food coming out often. Chip & Dale were all over the floor entertaining the kids and making breakfast a lot of fun. Goofy was going from table to table giving autographs and entertaining the little ones. Our boys had their autograph books from the dollar tree with Buzz Lightyear pens that light up when you write (Disney Store $2.99). All the characters loved these big pens and played with them for a while. We tipped our waitress and were surprised when she caught up to us as we were leaving and personally thanked us for the tip.... On the way out my 4 yr old said bye to Minnie and blew her a kiss, which she returned. It was very cute. My 2 yr old loved the whole thing. The baby slept through it until the very end, when Goofy came back and held him for a picture. This was worth every penny.
We then walked around the resort and the yacht club. Wow, what beautiful resorts! Then we took the boat to Disney Boardwalk. After walking around there, we asked someone how to get to Fantasia Golf. We took the boat back to the Swan Hotel and walked over (about a 5 minute walk). We played on the harder course that is set up like a true golf course. My older boys each play at home with a putter and I've taken them to our local course's practice green so they knew the basics. The round was free as it was included in our package reservation. Both boys played (2 yr old was free) along with Mom and Dad. (We kept baby in stroller along the entire course... JUST A QUICK NOTE THAT THIS COURSE IS WHEELCHAIR ACCESSABLE AS THE HUSBAND OF THE COUPLE AHEAD OF US USED A WHEELCHAIR AND PLAYED ALL 18 HOLES). This was the hit of the entire trip as my 2 yr old loved going in the sand "bonkers" and the 4 yr old just loves golf. We didn't hold anyone up and in fact were told by several folks just how funny it was to watch our little guys having fun playing.
From there, a CM told us to take the boat back from the Swan to MGM and transfer to a bus as it would be quicker than waiting at the beach club to go through Downtown Disney. That's what we did, enjoying the boat ride, then taking the bus back. At 1:30 on Saturday, we were told the MGM was full by one of the transportation CMs. It looked it!
We arrived back at ASMo, put the little guys and Mom to sleep, and my 4 yr old and I went swimming for two hours. We then went back to the room, changed and took our buses to Key West Resort for dinner at Olivia's.
Here is the beauty of Disney to me.... everyone who goes there becomes a little nicer and more polite.
Our bus was packed to Downtown Disney. Several people offered to give up their seats for me as I was holding the baby. They also gave up their seats so our boys could sit down safely rather than stand. When we arrived, we were helped with our strollers and guests held our boys hands as they stepped off the bus to make sure they didn't fall. I can't say enough about how those small acts renewed my faith in people...
Dinner at Olivia's was very good. We had the crab cake (very good), the shrimp stuffed with lobster with steak (excellent and good price), and the catch of the day (DW said it was okay, but wished she had gotten what I ordered). Boys had hot dogs. Service was great and the whole restaurant was very low key and not crowded. I wouldn't have known about Olivia's if I hadn't read about it here. We recommend it if you are looking for a nice relaxing sit down dinner. The only negative is that the buses do not run that often to Old Key West, so be prepared to wait.
After we got back to ASMo, the little guys went to sleep and the 4 yr old and I went back for another game of air hockey. It was a fantastic day even though we never went in the parks...
