2belles'mom
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 24, 2000
- Messages
- 406
The Cast for Christmas 02:
Me, Disney Junkie and Master Planner
DH David, likes Disney
DD Katja, 6, Disney Junkie-in-training
DD Annika, 3, Disney Junkie-in-training
My brother, Steve
His wife, Sarah
Their son, Riley, 9
Their son, Tallon, 15 months
My mother--Nana
My father--Poppa
December 26?MK Early Entry and Fantasmic
Okay, this is where the mice are separated from the men. My ?commando? tactics were taking a toll and only the die-hards would be making the 6:30 am trek to the Magic Kingdom. Not surprisingly, Nana and Poppa elected not to join us, and Steve?s ankle was still bothering him (plus I suspect he did not relish the idea of rising at 6) so he volunteered to stay with Tallon. That left David, Sarah, Riley, Katja, Annika and me. We were up before 6 and out the door by 6:20 in order to be on the dock by 6:30. We were joined by only one other family. The boat came very close to 6:30 and we were on our way. It was still dark out, and chilly too, but we were dressed warmly.
We got to the MK with about 15 minutes to go before the 7 am opening. There were surprisingly few people waiting to get in. I had never been to the World, during this, the most crowded time of the year, and I was braced for gridlock, even in the early morn. These fears were unfounded. At 7, we entered the MK and the place was EMPTY! There were characters lining Main Street, and no people to visit them. We went up to Captain Hook for pictures and autographs. He kept motioning for us look down the street and we finally realized he was trying to ?get rid? of us and send us to Mickey and Minnie, who were stationed a bit further down. There were maybe two people with them at the time. We continued our journey, collected more autographs, and went to Tomorowland.
Tomorrowland was almost spooky, it was so empty! I took a lot of pictures of the ?emptiness.? David took Katja and Riley on Space Mountain while Sarah and I took Tallon and Annika on Buzz. Afterward we hooked up and went to Fantasyland where we rode Pooh, Dumbo, Peter Pan and It?s a Small World. Then we made our way to Frontierland for Splash and Big Thunder. On the way, we stopped and got muffins, Coffee and hot chocolate. The place was STILL completely empty. We rode Splash with absolutely no wait?a total walk on. Same with BTMRR. Then we did Pirates, the Haunted Mansion, and the Jungle Cruise. The traffic was picking up, but it was still pretty slow, at 9:30, when we had to leave. We had reservations for the Pirate Cruise for the kids, and the adults were looking forward to a nice breakfast at the Grand Floridian Café. We hopped the monorail for the Grand Floridian.
Upon arrival, we checked in at the GF Café (had a 9:50 PS), then took the kids to the GF marina to get them checked in. It was a cool day, so by the time we got the life jackets on them, and their coats, the kids were a fairly comical sight! They also are given pirate bandanas that the CMs tie around their heads?so cute! They were loaded onto the boat (about 16 or so ?pirates?) and then sailed away for their morning of treasure hunting at the various resort beaches. We had a lovely brunch at the GF Café (had Tallon with us, but were sans Nana and Poppa?they were adventuring at MGM studios), then retrieved our pirates at noon and were on our way back to the lodge.
We hooked up with Nana and Poppa back at the Lodge. They reported that the crowds at MGM were pretty heavy. We sent David to get Fast Passes for Tower of Terror and Rock-N-Roller Coaster while the rest of us napped/swam and got ready to hit it again.
We had 4:45 PS for the Brown Derby, part of our Fantasmic! Package and headed to MGM for a just-in-time seating. Steve and Riley squeezed in a quick Rock-N-Roller coaster, using one of the earlier obtained Fast-passes. Oh-mi-gosh the place was truly packed! We got to the Brown Derby and enjoyed a most scrumptious dinner. I think most of us agreed that it was the BEST food we had eaten in the World on this trip. After dinner, David, Katja, Riley and I took our fastpasses and hit R&R and Tower again. It was unbelievably packed I the park?like sardines. NOW I know what this week between Christmas and New Year?s is all about! The stand-by lines were 90 minutes, but we were on within 10 minutes. Gotta love Fastpass!!!! I waited longer to use the ladies room after we rode than I did for the rides! Afterward, We RAN to the Gas Station to hook up the rest of the gang?they had already started admitting the Fantasmic Package people, and unlike the Candlelight, your entire party must be present before any of you can go in. The urgency of this situation was relayed to us using our handy-dandy 2-way radios. Still, we managed to get VERY GOOD seats.
Fantasmic! was, what can I say, fantastic! Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the show. Tallon really liked it, and he had been a bit ill this trip and had been difficult to please. This show was a hit! A perfect ?grand finale? for our trip, since this would be our last full day in the world. After the show, it was a long and claustrophobic walk out of the park. There were so many people! It really was gridlock. We finally made our way out of the park and headed back to the lodge to do some packing and tack it up for the night.
Tomorrow?the last day in the World and Nana?s birthday brunch!
Mk
Me, Disney Junkie and Master Planner
DH David, likes Disney
DD Katja, 6, Disney Junkie-in-training
DD Annika, 3, Disney Junkie-in-training
My brother, Steve
His wife, Sarah
Their son, Riley, 9
Their son, Tallon, 15 months
My mother--Nana
My father--Poppa
December 26?MK Early Entry and Fantasmic
Okay, this is where the mice are separated from the men. My ?commando? tactics were taking a toll and only the die-hards would be making the 6:30 am trek to the Magic Kingdom. Not surprisingly, Nana and Poppa elected not to join us, and Steve?s ankle was still bothering him (plus I suspect he did not relish the idea of rising at 6) so he volunteered to stay with Tallon. That left David, Sarah, Riley, Katja, Annika and me. We were up before 6 and out the door by 6:20 in order to be on the dock by 6:30. We were joined by only one other family. The boat came very close to 6:30 and we were on our way. It was still dark out, and chilly too, but we were dressed warmly.
We got to the MK with about 15 minutes to go before the 7 am opening. There were surprisingly few people waiting to get in. I had never been to the World, during this, the most crowded time of the year, and I was braced for gridlock, even in the early morn. These fears were unfounded. At 7, we entered the MK and the place was EMPTY! There were characters lining Main Street, and no people to visit them. We went up to Captain Hook for pictures and autographs. He kept motioning for us look down the street and we finally realized he was trying to ?get rid? of us and send us to Mickey and Minnie, who were stationed a bit further down. There were maybe two people with them at the time. We continued our journey, collected more autographs, and went to Tomorowland.
Tomorrowland was almost spooky, it was so empty! I took a lot of pictures of the ?emptiness.? David took Katja and Riley on Space Mountain while Sarah and I took Tallon and Annika on Buzz. Afterward we hooked up and went to Fantasyland where we rode Pooh, Dumbo, Peter Pan and It?s a Small World. Then we made our way to Frontierland for Splash and Big Thunder. On the way, we stopped and got muffins, Coffee and hot chocolate. The place was STILL completely empty. We rode Splash with absolutely no wait?a total walk on. Same with BTMRR. Then we did Pirates, the Haunted Mansion, and the Jungle Cruise. The traffic was picking up, but it was still pretty slow, at 9:30, when we had to leave. We had reservations for the Pirate Cruise for the kids, and the adults were looking forward to a nice breakfast at the Grand Floridian Café. We hopped the monorail for the Grand Floridian.
Upon arrival, we checked in at the GF Café (had a 9:50 PS), then took the kids to the GF marina to get them checked in. It was a cool day, so by the time we got the life jackets on them, and their coats, the kids were a fairly comical sight! They also are given pirate bandanas that the CMs tie around their heads?so cute! They were loaded onto the boat (about 16 or so ?pirates?) and then sailed away for their morning of treasure hunting at the various resort beaches. We had a lovely brunch at the GF Café (had Tallon with us, but were sans Nana and Poppa?they were adventuring at MGM studios), then retrieved our pirates at noon and were on our way back to the lodge.
We hooked up with Nana and Poppa back at the Lodge. They reported that the crowds at MGM were pretty heavy. We sent David to get Fast Passes for Tower of Terror and Rock-N-Roller Coaster while the rest of us napped/swam and got ready to hit it again.
We had 4:45 PS for the Brown Derby, part of our Fantasmic! Package and headed to MGM for a just-in-time seating. Steve and Riley squeezed in a quick Rock-N-Roller coaster, using one of the earlier obtained Fast-passes. Oh-mi-gosh the place was truly packed! We got to the Brown Derby and enjoyed a most scrumptious dinner. I think most of us agreed that it was the BEST food we had eaten in the World on this trip. After dinner, David, Katja, Riley and I took our fastpasses and hit R&R and Tower again. It was unbelievably packed I the park?like sardines. NOW I know what this week between Christmas and New Year?s is all about! The stand-by lines were 90 minutes, but we were on within 10 minutes. Gotta love Fastpass!!!! I waited longer to use the ladies room after we rode than I did for the rides! Afterward, We RAN to the Gas Station to hook up the rest of the gang?they had already started admitting the Fantasmic Package people, and unlike the Candlelight, your entire party must be present before any of you can go in. The urgency of this situation was relayed to us using our handy-dandy 2-way radios. Still, we managed to get VERY GOOD seats.
Fantasmic! was, what can I say, fantastic! Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the show. Tallon really liked it, and he had been a bit ill this trip and had been difficult to please. This show was a hit! A perfect ?grand finale? for our trip, since this would be our last full day in the world. After the show, it was a long and claustrophobic walk out of the park. There were so many people! It really was gridlock. We finally made our way out of the park and headed back to the lodge to do some packing and tack it up for the night.
Tomorrow?the last day in the World and Nana?s birthday brunch!
Mk
