JerseyJanice
A Disboards original...
- Joined
- Aug 20, 1999
- Messages
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Today, we toured the Magic Kingdom. I called my sister after we woke up and made plans to meet at the Mickey flower circle in front of the MK at about 9:00 a.m.
We got there a good 15 minutes before they did and waited impatiently for them to arrive. I want to make a comment here aimed at Disney. I understand the need for bag checks prior to entering the parks. However, I think if it's going to be a permanent thing, Disney needs to set up something more aesthetically pleasing than the rope and tent thing they have there now. Its been 9 months since 9/11; surely, they could come up with something more professional looking than what they have now. This used to be such an attractive area of WDW; now it's messy looking.
Finally, sis and her DH arrived. Watching so many people enter the MK in front of us was making me nuts! Thank goodness they're here! We took a few more minutes to shoot some pictures of ourselves in front of the Mickey flowers and then entered the park.
My sister and I both got choked up as we walked down Main Street. Our husbands think we're nuts because they don't understand how many happy memories we have of going there with our parents (who are now deceased). Disney World, especially the Magic Kingdom, has an emotional effect on me that is unlike anywhere else. I'm sure my sister feels the same way. This trip into the MK was her first since 1976 when she and I were children and visited it in the U.S.'s Bicentennial year.
We headed to Adventureland first so that we could do the Jungle Cruise. I missed this attraction on our last two visits and was anxious to do it. We passed the Swiss Family Treehouse and my BIL expressed an interest in seeing it. I talked him out of it because I wanted to get to attractions before lines started building; I told him we'd do it later. (Much later--climbing all those stairs in the June heat and humidity is not my idea of fun.)
We got onto the Jungle Cruise quickly and settled back for our river ride. Our captain (Tom, I believe) was a stitch. He delivered his lines in perfect deadpan and we laughed a lot. This attraction is a wonderful classic, but I can understand the argument that it's very outdated compared to the safari at AK.
My son was nervous that something scary was going to happen. He was afraid of things throughout the day. Funny, when we were last here he has just turned 4 and feared nothing. Now he is two months shy of his sixth birthday and scared of everything. Is he older and therefore wiser? Or did the attractions at Universal leave him especially wary?
As our cruise was nearing its end, our captain reminded us to watch our heads by the canopy as we exit the boat. He said, "if you do get clumsy and hit your head, watch your language! This is a family park after all." BIL and I thought he was too funny.
From here, we moved onto the Aladdin carpet ride. It's basically the same ride as Dumbo. I've heard that the camels spit water, but they weren't doing anything this day.
Next, we went on the Pirates of the Caribbean. Oh, what a great attraction! I could ride it ten times a day and still want to do it some more. Fortunately, my son did not fret about going on it although it was dark.
BIL and sis were ready for some action, so we went to get Fastpasses for Splash Mountain. DS was dead-set on not doing it; he was not up for negotiation on this, so I agreed to stay behind with him while the other three rode it. The Fastpasses would not be good for another 20 minutes, so we decided to take the train around the park. It's always an enjoyable ride.
They went onto the Fastpass line when we got off the train and DS and I went to the bridge to try and take their picture when they came down the drop. It was awhile before we saw them on the ride; they waved to us when they saw us. Someone else standing there told me it would be a good 5 minutes after that before they came down the drop.
I was wearing a T-shirt I purchased at the MK during our 2/99 trip. It is a great souvenir shirt--it depicts dozens of characters and has images of all the big rides (the mountains, Haunted Mansion, etc.). A woman walked up to me to ask where I found it, and I explained that it was from a previous trip. She complimented me on the shirt and told me to treasure it because they weren't selling anything like it anymore. Actually, I did see the same design on a shirt in one of the Main Street stores, but in a childs size and on a pink shirt for a little girl.
Guess what? We saw them come down the drop! And I got a picture! It didn't come out that well, but it's not that much worse than some I've seen from the pro's there.
I really, really wanted to do the Haunted Mansion. I missed it on our last two trips, meaning I hadn't seen it as an adult up to then. My BIL wanted to do Big Thunder Mountain, and everyone was game except for my son. After some discussion, we decided to do HM while DS and my sister waited for us.
Another great classic! I forgot how wonderful it is! Truly, I love this attraction.
We got off talking about where to have lunch, too. DH did not want hot dogs or hamburgers because we had so many of them in the food court. I suggested Columbia House, but the menu did not appeal to the group. Well, how about Cosmic Ray's? We wanted to do Buzz and Space Mountain after we eat, so Ray's was on the way.
When we got there, DS was very close to melt-down. It was hot out, and I think he was stressing over "scary" rides. Anyway, he took a fit in there when we asked what he wanted. My sister was quite taken aback because she'd never seen him so upset. He had a writhe-on-the-carpet-and-scream tantrum and then seemed to feel better. Sometimes, a kid just needs to blow off steam.
I split a deli sandwich with DS and got myself an iced cappuccino (Ah! A beverage fit for the gods on such a hot day!), sis and BIL also split a deli sandwich, and DH got a cheese steak that he hated. They used cheese sauce instead of sliced cheese, and it was very messy. The deli sandwiches were just O.K., but the cappuccino more than made up for them.
Refreshed and ready for action (well, almost readyBIL and sis needed to take smoking breaks), we set out for Buzz Lightyear. Unfortunately, the Fastpasses being issued were for significantly later in the day so we did the stand-by line. We waited and waited, believing once we hit the inside part of the queue, we'd at least have air conditioning. No such luck! It must have been off that day.
We were quite close to boarding when DS announced that he had to go No. 2 NOW. I raced off the line with him while DH explained our problem to a CM. The CM allowed them to wait at the bordering area until we got back. I rode alone, DS rode with DH, and sis and BIL rode together. Sis and BIL were suitably impressed by the attraction; obviously, it was built long after the last time they were at the MK.
Following this very fun attraction, we headed over to Space Mountain for Fastpasses there. They would be good in a couple of hours--perfect for after the parade. We then rode the People Mover or Wedway or TTA or whatever it's called. A simple ride, but boy do we love it! My BIL actually understood how it worked and explained it to us.
I could have sat there on that ride for hours, but the parade would start soon, so we headed toward Main Street. Before we got there, DH started carrying on about being hot and tired, and DS joined him. Fool that I am, I agreed to go back to the Lodge with them and gave our Space Mountain Fastpasses to sis and BIL.
We left them on Main Street, after agreeing that they would meet us at our room later. We took the boat back to the Lodge and went for a swim. It really perked DS up. That kid of mine liked the pool at WL better than anything else this trip!
Sis and BIL made it to our room around 6:30. They stayed for the parade and then rode Splash Mountain. We had a PS at Ohanas for 7:15, so after a quick beer, we headed down to the boat. From the MK boat dock, we went to the monorail and rode it to the Polynesian resort. How I love this place! One of these days, I'm going to get a rate there that I'm comfortable with and have us stay here.
We put our names in and went to the bar for drinks. By the time all our frou-frou cocktails were prepared, we were paged for our table. The hostess walked us all through the restaurant before settling us at a table near the bar where we started from. (What was that about? It had me so turned around, I couldnt find the restroom later.)
Our waitress came over and gave us a brief rundown of what to expect, and we dug into the salad and appetizers that a server had placed there while she was talking.
I have to admit that I was skeptical about the menu changes I read about--we really, really liked the potstickers and spring rolls on our last two trips. But you know something? No need to have worried. The appetizers were scrumptious! We had chicken wings that were to-die-for (I think they were honey-coriander or something like that) and fried shrimp wontons. I am not supposed to eat shrimp; if I eat too much of it, my hands and face swell up, and I break out in hives. But I did sneak in a few of the wontons and must report that they are yummy.
Soon enough, they came around with skewers of turkey and steak. Both were excellent and we especially liked the peanut-soy sauce dipping concoction with the meats. For whatever reason, there was quite a lag between our first serving and the skewers of shrimp and pork loin. The wait was a slight mar on an otherwise utterly wonderful meal. My BIL was crazy about the turkey and steak; he wasn't impressed with the skewered shrimp though because he said it was dry. However, my DH doused them with dipping sauce and was happy with them. I have to comment that I wasnt crazy about the pork loin--it's too similar in taste and texture to the turkey. I much preferred the sausages we had last time.
DS joined the hula hoop contest and had a blast with that. When we first sat down, they did a coconut race, but didn't do it again while we were there. What a shame! He would have done it.
We enjoyed the pineapple and caramel sauce dessert very much. Honestly, it's so unique, there's no way I'd pass on it to eat something else. And after all the other food, no way do I have room left for both the pineapple and another dessert. But people order them--the table next to ours got a whole bunch.
Bellies full, we left the restaurant and decided to look around the grounds a bit, since we were already too late to see Spectromagic. I dig seeing the tiki torches; they were out last time we were there because of the pool renovation, so I had to check them out this trip.
We got on the monorail and went back to the Magic Kingdom for the fireworks. BIL bugged my sister about seeing the Swiss Family Treehouse, so we went there first. I climbed one set of stairs before saying no way--it's too humid to enjoy this. The rest of them went up though.
From there, we headed to my favorite spot to see the fireworks--the bridge to Tomorrowland. How is this for luck? We got there to find a bench roped off with "Wet Paint" signs. BIL bravely smushed his hand around it and not a bit came off. We moved the rope and sat there. No, we did get any paint on ourselves, nor did we harm the bench in any way. The paint was quite dry, and we had a good seat with a great view.
DS and my sister were quite taken with Tinkerbell on her flight. He saw the wire so he knew she wasn't actually flying, but he was still amazed that someone could do that. He told my sister (who got all the skinny genes in my family) that she could play Tinkerbell because she was small enough. She got a big kick out of that, and they've talked about it more than a few times since then. I think they ultimately decided it would be too dangerous a job for her.
BIL and sis were suitably impressed with the fireworks presentation. He took lots of pictures that actually come out pretty good. I myself am a bad photographer, but my husband may be one of the worst ever. It's great to go away with someone like BIL who can actually snap a decent picture.
Earlier in the night we discussed the possibility of sis and BIL coming back to the Lodge with us for some pre-bed beers, but we were all exhausted by the end of the fireworks. We took our time leaving and were very sorry we did. How we didn't realize it sooner, I don't know, but taking the boat back to the Wilderness Lodge after the MK fireworks is a very bad idea. I'm pretty sure they have only 4 boats running for all of the Lodge AND Fort Wilderness. Each boat trip takes at least 40 minutes round trip, so we were in for a very long and miserable wait. It was hot, humid and my son was completely worn-out. He was whining to be held, and it was so hot for that! DH was kind enough to hold him most of the time, but all three of us were very unhappy.
We were actually toward the front of the line and would definitely make the second, if not the first boat, to come back after the first run. The line behind us was incredible! It didn't seem worth the effort to get off the line and go to the monorail to get a bus from the TTC. If we were further back in the line, it would have though.
Mini-rant here: This was the main thing I disliked about the Wilderness Lodge. The transportation was horrible more often than it was quick or convenient. Disney knows hundreds of people are going to be taking boats back to WL and FW following the fireworks, yet as far as I can tell, they do nothing to speed you back there. Yes, I know the buses get very crowded after the fireworks, but it's our experience that the dispatchers send in additional buses for the resorts that need them. There are simply no additional boats to be had. It's too bad they can't commandeer a couple of those gigantic ferry boats they have for parking lot guests. Those really seem to hold a lot of people! Maybe theyre too big for the water bridge, though. I think separating the WL and FW guests that time of night would be helpful. The WL is much closer, and let's face it, it just doesn't seem fair to have to wait so long for the boats to make return trips when your hotel is so close.
We were the first family on the second boat. DS was really knocked out by the time we sat down. We hit the hay after discussing a change in plans. Fool that I am (more on that later), I agreed we should switch our park day to the next day, rather than risk Saturday crowds (DHs idea).
We got there a good 15 minutes before they did and waited impatiently for them to arrive. I want to make a comment here aimed at Disney. I understand the need for bag checks prior to entering the parks. However, I think if it's going to be a permanent thing, Disney needs to set up something more aesthetically pleasing than the rope and tent thing they have there now. Its been 9 months since 9/11; surely, they could come up with something more professional looking than what they have now. This used to be such an attractive area of WDW; now it's messy looking.
Finally, sis and her DH arrived. Watching so many people enter the MK in front of us was making me nuts! Thank goodness they're here! We took a few more minutes to shoot some pictures of ourselves in front of the Mickey flowers and then entered the park.
My sister and I both got choked up as we walked down Main Street. Our husbands think we're nuts because they don't understand how many happy memories we have of going there with our parents (who are now deceased). Disney World, especially the Magic Kingdom, has an emotional effect on me that is unlike anywhere else. I'm sure my sister feels the same way. This trip into the MK was her first since 1976 when she and I were children and visited it in the U.S.'s Bicentennial year.
We headed to Adventureland first so that we could do the Jungle Cruise. I missed this attraction on our last two visits and was anxious to do it. We passed the Swiss Family Treehouse and my BIL expressed an interest in seeing it. I talked him out of it because I wanted to get to attractions before lines started building; I told him we'd do it later. (Much later--climbing all those stairs in the June heat and humidity is not my idea of fun.)
We got onto the Jungle Cruise quickly and settled back for our river ride. Our captain (Tom, I believe) was a stitch. He delivered his lines in perfect deadpan and we laughed a lot. This attraction is a wonderful classic, but I can understand the argument that it's very outdated compared to the safari at AK.
My son was nervous that something scary was going to happen. He was afraid of things throughout the day. Funny, when we were last here he has just turned 4 and feared nothing. Now he is two months shy of his sixth birthday and scared of everything. Is he older and therefore wiser? Or did the attractions at Universal leave him especially wary?
As our cruise was nearing its end, our captain reminded us to watch our heads by the canopy as we exit the boat. He said, "if you do get clumsy and hit your head, watch your language! This is a family park after all." BIL and I thought he was too funny.
From here, we moved onto the Aladdin carpet ride. It's basically the same ride as Dumbo. I've heard that the camels spit water, but they weren't doing anything this day.
Next, we went on the Pirates of the Caribbean. Oh, what a great attraction! I could ride it ten times a day and still want to do it some more. Fortunately, my son did not fret about going on it although it was dark.
BIL and sis were ready for some action, so we went to get Fastpasses for Splash Mountain. DS was dead-set on not doing it; he was not up for negotiation on this, so I agreed to stay behind with him while the other three rode it. The Fastpasses would not be good for another 20 minutes, so we decided to take the train around the park. It's always an enjoyable ride.
They went onto the Fastpass line when we got off the train and DS and I went to the bridge to try and take their picture when they came down the drop. It was awhile before we saw them on the ride; they waved to us when they saw us. Someone else standing there told me it would be a good 5 minutes after that before they came down the drop.
I was wearing a T-shirt I purchased at the MK during our 2/99 trip. It is a great souvenir shirt--it depicts dozens of characters and has images of all the big rides (the mountains, Haunted Mansion, etc.). A woman walked up to me to ask where I found it, and I explained that it was from a previous trip. She complimented me on the shirt and told me to treasure it because they weren't selling anything like it anymore. Actually, I did see the same design on a shirt in one of the Main Street stores, but in a childs size and on a pink shirt for a little girl.
Guess what? We saw them come down the drop! And I got a picture! It didn't come out that well, but it's not that much worse than some I've seen from the pro's there.
I really, really wanted to do the Haunted Mansion. I missed it on our last two trips, meaning I hadn't seen it as an adult up to then. My BIL wanted to do Big Thunder Mountain, and everyone was game except for my son. After some discussion, we decided to do HM while DS and my sister waited for us.
Another great classic! I forgot how wonderful it is! Truly, I love this attraction.
We got off talking about where to have lunch, too. DH did not want hot dogs or hamburgers because we had so many of them in the food court. I suggested Columbia House, but the menu did not appeal to the group. Well, how about Cosmic Ray's? We wanted to do Buzz and Space Mountain after we eat, so Ray's was on the way.
When we got there, DS was very close to melt-down. It was hot out, and I think he was stressing over "scary" rides. Anyway, he took a fit in there when we asked what he wanted. My sister was quite taken aback because she'd never seen him so upset. He had a writhe-on-the-carpet-and-scream tantrum and then seemed to feel better. Sometimes, a kid just needs to blow off steam.
I split a deli sandwich with DS and got myself an iced cappuccino (Ah! A beverage fit for the gods on such a hot day!), sis and BIL also split a deli sandwich, and DH got a cheese steak that he hated. They used cheese sauce instead of sliced cheese, and it was very messy. The deli sandwiches were just O.K., but the cappuccino more than made up for them.
Refreshed and ready for action (well, almost readyBIL and sis needed to take smoking breaks), we set out for Buzz Lightyear. Unfortunately, the Fastpasses being issued were for significantly later in the day so we did the stand-by line. We waited and waited, believing once we hit the inside part of the queue, we'd at least have air conditioning. No such luck! It must have been off that day.
We were quite close to boarding when DS announced that he had to go No. 2 NOW. I raced off the line with him while DH explained our problem to a CM. The CM allowed them to wait at the bordering area until we got back. I rode alone, DS rode with DH, and sis and BIL rode together. Sis and BIL were suitably impressed by the attraction; obviously, it was built long after the last time they were at the MK.
Following this very fun attraction, we headed over to Space Mountain for Fastpasses there. They would be good in a couple of hours--perfect for after the parade. We then rode the People Mover or Wedway or TTA or whatever it's called. A simple ride, but boy do we love it! My BIL actually understood how it worked and explained it to us.
I could have sat there on that ride for hours, but the parade would start soon, so we headed toward Main Street. Before we got there, DH started carrying on about being hot and tired, and DS joined him. Fool that I am, I agreed to go back to the Lodge with them and gave our Space Mountain Fastpasses to sis and BIL.
We left them on Main Street, after agreeing that they would meet us at our room later. We took the boat back to the Lodge and went for a swim. It really perked DS up. That kid of mine liked the pool at WL better than anything else this trip!
Sis and BIL made it to our room around 6:30. They stayed for the parade and then rode Splash Mountain. We had a PS at Ohanas for 7:15, so after a quick beer, we headed down to the boat. From the MK boat dock, we went to the monorail and rode it to the Polynesian resort. How I love this place! One of these days, I'm going to get a rate there that I'm comfortable with and have us stay here.
We put our names in and went to the bar for drinks. By the time all our frou-frou cocktails were prepared, we were paged for our table. The hostess walked us all through the restaurant before settling us at a table near the bar where we started from. (What was that about? It had me so turned around, I couldnt find the restroom later.)
Our waitress came over and gave us a brief rundown of what to expect, and we dug into the salad and appetizers that a server had placed there while she was talking.
I have to admit that I was skeptical about the menu changes I read about--we really, really liked the potstickers and spring rolls on our last two trips. But you know something? No need to have worried. The appetizers were scrumptious! We had chicken wings that were to-die-for (I think they were honey-coriander or something like that) and fried shrimp wontons. I am not supposed to eat shrimp; if I eat too much of it, my hands and face swell up, and I break out in hives. But I did sneak in a few of the wontons and must report that they are yummy.
Soon enough, they came around with skewers of turkey and steak. Both were excellent and we especially liked the peanut-soy sauce dipping concoction with the meats. For whatever reason, there was quite a lag between our first serving and the skewers of shrimp and pork loin. The wait was a slight mar on an otherwise utterly wonderful meal. My BIL was crazy about the turkey and steak; he wasn't impressed with the skewered shrimp though because he said it was dry. However, my DH doused them with dipping sauce and was happy with them. I have to comment that I wasnt crazy about the pork loin--it's too similar in taste and texture to the turkey. I much preferred the sausages we had last time.
DS joined the hula hoop contest and had a blast with that. When we first sat down, they did a coconut race, but didn't do it again while we were there. What a shame! He would have done it.
We enjoyed the pineapple and caramel sauce dessert very much. Honestly, it's so unique, there's no way I'd pass on it to eat something else. And after all the other food, no way do I have room left for both the pineapple and another dessert. But people order them--the table next to ours got a whole bunch.
Bellies full, we left the restaurant and decided to look around the grounds a bit, since we were already too late to see Spectromagic. I dig seeing the tiki torches; they were out last time we were there because of the pool renovation, so I had to check them out this trip.
We got on the monorail and went back to the Magic Kingdom for the fireworks. BIL bugged my sister about seeing the Swiss Family Treehouse, so we went there first. I climbed one set of stairs before saying no way--it's too humid to enjoy this. The rest of them went up though.
From there, we headed to my favorite spot to see the fireworks--the bridge to Tomorrowland. How is this for luck? We got there to find a bench roped off with "Wet Paint" signs. BIL bravely smushed his hand around it and not a bit came off. We moved the rope and sat there. No, we did get any paint on ourselves, nor did we harm the bench in any way. The paint was quite dry, and we had a good seat with a great view.
DS and my sister were quite taken with Tinkerbell on her flight. He saw the wire so he knew she wasn't actually flying, but he was still amazed that someone could do that. He told my sister (who got all the skinny genes in my family) that she could play Tinkerbell because she was small enough. She got a big kick out of that, and they've talked about it more than a few times since then. I think they ultimately decided it would be too dangerous a job for her.
BIL and sis were suitably impressed with the fireworks presentation. He took lots of pictures that actually come out pretty good. I myself am a bad photographer, but my husband may be one of the worst ever. It's great to go away with someone like BIL who can actually snap a decent picture.
Earlier in the night we discussed the possibility of sis and BIL coming back to the Lodge with us for some pre-bed beers, but we were all exhausted by the end of the fireworks. We took our time leaving and were very sorry we did. How we didn't realize it sooner, I don't know, but taking the boat back to the Wilderness Lodge after the MK fireworks is a very bad idea. I'm pretty sure they have only 4 boats running for all of the Lodge AND Fort Wilderness. Each boat trip takes at least 40 minutes round trip, so we were in for a very long and miserable wait. It was hot, humid and my son was completely worn-out. He was whining to be held, and it was so hot for that! DH was kind enough to hold him most of the time, but all three of us were very unhappy.
We were actually toward the front of the line and would definitely make the second, if not the first boat, to come back after the first run. The line behind us was incredible! It didn't seem worth the effort to get off the line and go to the monorail to get a bus from the TTC. If we were further back in the line, it would have though.
Mini-rant here: This was the main thing I disliked about the Wilderness Lodge. The transportation was horrible more often than it was quick or convenient. Disney knows hundreds of people are going to be taking boats back to WL and FW following the fireworks, yet as far as I can tell, they do nothing to speed you back there. Yes, I know the buses get very crowded after the fireworks, but it's our experience that the dispatchers send in additional buses for the resorts that need them. There are simply no additional boats to be had. It's too bad they can't commandeer a couple of those gigantic ferry boats they have for parking lot guests. Those really seem to hold a lot of people! Maybe theyre too big for the water bridge, though. I think separating the WL and FW guests that time of night would be helpful. The WL is much closer, and let's face it, it just doesn't seem fair to have to wait so long for the boats to make return trips when your hotel is so close.
We were the first family on the second boat. DS was really knocked out by the time we sat down. We hit the hay after discussing a change in plans. Fool that I am (more on that later), I agreed we should switch our park day to the next day, rather than risk Saturday crowds (DHs idea).
