allie5
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- Apr 12, 2002
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Part 7 MGM Studios.
Main Players
Allie
Neil
Jessamy (4)
Daniel Noah (2)
Nanny Sylvie
Monday December 13th 2004
Daniel decides that night time sleepies is officially over at 5.55am this morning. Neither Neil or myself wants to move but in the end we both get up, albeit reluctantly. Jessie isnt far behind (Daniel tends to be LOUD on awakening) but Nanny Sylvie stays in bed for a lie in this morning. Hmmm, she will have to pay for this luxury with a spot of baby sitting later, methinks
.
By 8am everyone is dressed (pinecone is being unyielding with weather info this morning, being sort of half closed but half open too). We take this as a sign to wear T shirts but long trousers.
The original plan this morning, had been to do a spot of shopping (Ive been here 5 days and hadnt had a sniff of the Premium Outlets yet SCANDALOUS!!), however it seemed silly to waste (husbands words, not mine) the early start, shopping. Instead we head over to MGM. Just a little peeved to find we have to use the first tram of the holiday as we are just too far back to walk. We are parked in Minnie Television, row 20. Jessie says she will remember our car parking positions from now on. Not sure relying on a 4 year old remembering something in 8 hours time is a good strategy, but I agree anyway.
Not long to wait and we are soon in the park, stopping first to admire the lovely tree made up of Poinsettias (according to Nanny Sylvie it was anyway. Me and Alan Titchmarsh have never struck up much of a relationship, hence I am clueless about most flora and fauna). Have the obligatory everyone gets their photo taken by the tree shot (everyone except me, the observant among you may notice I tend to stay behind the camera!!) and proceed forthwith into the park proper.
Pick up a map and decide we would like to catch the first Indiana Jones stunt show of the day. Neil and I did this years ago, but havent been recently. Nanny Sylvie is keen too as she has a bit of a crush on Harrison Ford. No one tell her its not actually him in it for goodness sake!
Jessie wants to know if its scary, but is also keen when we tell her there are cars, trucks, motorbikes and a plane in the show. She likes things that go (well, except Test Track. Oh and Big Thunder Mountain).
The show is still awhile from starting and its a little chilly to be sitting in the theatre for too long so we have a wander. There are lots of characters out by the hat, so this kills quite a bit of time! There is a veritable Woolworths Pick n Mix of characters to choose from today Lilo and Stitch, Christmas Pluto, Pooh, Chip & Dale, Goofy and Baloo.
Characters met, photographed and autographed, we then head over to the Stunt Show and get some good seats. Im most excited that the man in the bright pink shirt sits behind me! Wont give the game away to those that havent seen it, but I was tempted to ask for his autograph!!
Do cringe a bit when one of the volunteers is Jason from England, wearing a full England kit, tattoos to match and proceeds to chant Enger-laaannd as soon as he gets on stage. Oh dear, I wonder if the rest of the world think we are all like this??
Everyone enjoys the stunt show a lot. Daniel liked all the cars, Jessie liked the plane bit and Nanny Sylvie was none the wiser that it wasnt Harrison Ford down there as she forgot to put her specs on! A triumphant start then!
Suddenly realise that none of us have actually eaten anything yet! Its now too late for brekkie so we head to the ABC Comissary for an early lunch!
We quite liked this place, as theme park fast food joints go, this is certainly one of the better ones. Lots of different things on offer here. The grown ups all had fish and chips (cant say Ive ever eaten fish and chip before 11am before!!), Jessie had veggie noodles and Daniel has kids chicken and chips. The kids meals come in a cute Mickey shaped bowl with fresh fruit and and a drink.
Its actually quite warm when we leave here and the sun is shining brightly this is more like it!
Notice that Monsters Inc are due to appear very soon, so loiter near there for a few minutes. We are soon rewarded when Mike and Sully appear! For a few minutes there is no-one else around so we get first photo! Jessie backs out saying they are too scary, but Daniel bounds up enthusiastically. Both Mike and Sully LOVE Daniel and he loves them. Even when the line starts to build up they are reluctant to relinquish him. They spends ages with them, confirming my belief that he is one part boy and two parts monster
Next, its the Muppets. One of our favourites and its a walk on! Daniel had obviously got some new Monstering tips from Mike and Sully as he was very badly behaved here. Suffice to say if you were in the Muppets show that day and a pair of 3D glasses landed on your head, I have an idea where they may have originated from.
When we get outside, the whole Toy Story gang where doing a photo shoot outside Als Toy Barn. The queue was IMMENSE, but Jessie really wanted to do it as Toy Story Jessie was there and they hadnt met before. Being an Ace Parent, I get in line with her.
Neil decides he will film it, so hands me Daniel as well. Big mistake. One of Daniels things is a particularly loud, high pitched scream. It is done at exactly the right decibel to pierce your eardrum and is extremely annoying and embarrassing. Nothing we have done has ever prevented him from doing this.
So, imagine, you are in a line of 50 or so people. The sun is now out, its HOT and everyone is a bit grumpy. Family at the front are having 2 trillion photos taken, and the line isnt moving. Couple that with a 2 year old screaming at full tip and you can imagine we arent exactly popular. When the screaming stops he wriggles free and sets about beating up anyone he can reach. This includes men, women and children.
Its one of those ground swallow me whole PLEASE moments. Neil manages to get to me in the line and take him. This is one of many moments like this on the trip, though I wont be admitting to many more!
FINALLY, we get to the characters. Jessie has been waiting patiently for ages and gets a special hug from the other Jessie when she tells her she is Jessie too! Daniel appeared from nowhere when Jessie got to the front of the line, so got a photo as well. Im sure I heard the people behind whisper Look its that little boy the parents cant control. Oh dear. Better hit the Miriam Stoppard Parenting books when I get home then.
Consult the map and see the Beauty & The Beast show is due to start in 15 minutes so we head over to that. I missed this last year so Neil stays with Damien, oops I mean Daniel whilst mum, Jessie and myself see the show.
Get quite good seats and the show soon starts. I remember it being slightly longer two years ago, but enjoy anyway. Jessie loves this movie and the show is always a big hit with her too! Nanny is partial to Gaston and even puts her glasses on to watch! The only thing that spoilt it was some kid screaming in the back at the end.
Its heaving when we leave the show, so switch on my Walkie Talkie to raise Neil. Quite surprised when a very deep voiced American man answers me back.
Darleene, Is that you honey? he asks over the static.
I tell him No, Im not Darleene, but I could be, you sound nice.
No I dont really, I made that up.
Twiddle the buttons on my walkie talkie to see if I could find Neil amongst the American voices but its impossible. Resort to more mundane methods of walking around till I find him.
Ask Neil what he did whilst we were in the show. Oh, we saw the show too from the back. Only Daniel screamed at the end and we had to leave. Ah, I should have known.
When the parenting gets tough, the parents do Rock N Rollercoaster
Leave Nanny Sylvie in charge of the kiddiewinks whilst Neil and I pretend we are young, free and childless for 10 minutes! Neil had got Fast passes whilst we were in the Beauty and the Beast show. As the park was very quiet today they were active already and we walk on!
Do encounter the first Brazillian tour group of the trip, who, true to form push past everyone to get to the one member of their party nearer the front. Jolly amused to find that when we got to the ride, a CM had hauled every single one of them out of the line and said Right, now you can wait like everyone else. Give that man an Employee Of The Month award!
Ride was FAB as usual! I love this! Quite tempted with the photo but passed as Neil looked drunk!
Meet up with Nanny Sylvie and kidlets (being kept quiet with a box of Macdonalds fries) and decide on whats next. There is a Playhouse Disney Show due to start soon, so we head over to that area.
Still 15 minutes till the show so we spend some time browsing the shops. As Jessie has been so good today (we must be doing something right!!) I say she can choose a small toy. She decides that she wants a pin lanyard and some pins. A nice lanyard is chosen, with a scorcerer Mickey hanging from the bottom and I let her pick a few pins. By chance, I spotted a couple I liked as well, so the total was now 7 pins between us.
Head into Playhouse Disney without much of a wait. We get in what we think is the front row (there is a piece of tape on the floor hmm very high tech Mr Disney!!) but then another family plonk themselves right infront of us. We think the CMs will move them but they dont. Oh well, as it happened the very front isnt the best place to be as a lot of the action is low level.
Kids enjoy this HUGELY. Daniel boogies to the songs and Jessie gets up to dance at the front. Neil stands at the back filming and me and Nanny Sylvie end up with major leg cramps after 5 minutes on the floor!
Seeing the looks on the kids faces during this makes it all worthwhile coming. I know Daniel can be a handful but he enjoyed this so much. I just cant convey it with words, but suffice to say its one of those Disney Moments that will stay with me forever.
Exit Playhouse Disney and notice the Jolly Holly Days Parade was due to start shortly. We didnt expect to get much of a position at this late stage, but as luck would have it the crowds were still low and we got an ace spot!
A elderly man in a wheelchair let Jessie stand next to him at the front and Daniel got a great view aloft on daddys shoulders. I stood next to an English family who were very nice and whose two boys quickly made friends with Jess. The boys were quite taken with Jessies lanyard and pin collection. Their dad was promptly despatched to get one each for them!
Whilst waiting for the parade, a CM pounced on me and asked if I would like to trade pins. This threw me a bit as I LOVED all my carefully chosen pins and wasnt that keen on parting with any of them. However, I did spot she had a cute one depicting Mickey flying a plane that I knew Jessie would love. I decide to trade my Pooh Christmas one (that I had seen for sale everywhere and could replace if needed) and the CM was happy with that. My new English lady friend said I should have picked the big Tinkerbelle one the CM had, and in hindsight this would have been a better choice as I never saw it again. A lesson learnt in Pin Trading I guess! I wasnt quite at Jedi Master level then, just a mere apprentice, unknowing in the ways of The Pin.
The parade started soon after and was fantastic! I have always like the MGM parade and this one had a little Christmas twist with Santa as a very special guest. Kids LOVE it and more Disney memories are made.
Neil requests one of Santas Helpers for Christmas (this Santa was obviously a bit of a goer, as instead of Elves, he had scantily clad ladies in very short red skirts and fish net stockings!). I bet they dont spend much time making toys, thats all I will say.
Quite surprised that we have managed to spend most of the day here and its now getting late. Do try and get a table at Hollywood and Vine for dinner but they arent taking walk in till 6pm. I have a PS for this later in the holiday, so dont mind too much. Change Daniel at the baby center and then head out to a waiting tram.
Jessie remembers where we have parked (good job because both Neil and I have forgotten!) and we arrive at Minnie Television, Row 20 where our Jeep sits waiting for us.
Stop at the TGI Fridays on the 192 for dinner. This is a popular place with us as it is one of the nearest restaurants to the villa and we have never had a bad meal here in all our Florida trips.
Just for a change, Jessie and Daniel want chicken and chips. As Daniel had had this for lunch, we switch his chips for carrot sticks (they may as well have been sticks of dynamite for all he cared, he didnt eat one, just pinched the fries from my plate instead!). Have a starter of sesame chicken strips and mozzarella sticks. Nanny Sylvie has the cheesy chicken, whilst both Neil and myself get the Jack Daniels combo. Force down a slice of cheese cake for dessert!! Cheque was a very reasonable $94 plus tip.
Back to the villa to put the kids to bed. They are very tired and dont protest at all. Nanny Sylvie is now glued to HGTV so Neil and I head out to the Wal-Mart.
Its lovely to shop with no kids, strollers (or Nannys who keep losing the scrapbooking aisle!!) and we have a good old retail therapy session which we both enjoy!
Spookily enough, we spend exactly the same tonight as we did on our first trip - $165!! Trunk of the Jeep is overflowing with our wares and we depart the Wal-Mart around 9.30.
Big day tomorrow its Mickeys Very Merry Christmas Party!!
Main Players
Allie
Neil
Jessamy (4)
Daniel Noah (2)
Nanny Sylvie
Monday December 13th 2004
Daniel decides that night time sleepies is officially over at 5.55am this morning. Neither Neil or myself wants to move but in the end we both get up, albeit reluctantly. Jessie isnt far behind (Daniel tends to be LOUD on awakening) but Nanny Sylvie stays in bed for a lie in this morning. Hmmm, she will have to pay for this luxury with a spot of baby sitting later, methinks
.By 8am everyone is dressed (pinecone is being unyielding with weather info this morning, being sort of half closed but half open too). We take this as a sign to wear T shirts but long trousers.
The original plan this morning, had been to do a spot of shopping (Ive been here 5 days and hadnt had a sniff of the Premium Outlets yet SCANDALOUS!!), however it seemed silly to waste (husbands words, not mine) the early start, shopping. Instead we head over to MGM. Just a little peeved to find we have to use the first tram of the holiday as we are just too far back to walk. We are parked in Minnie Television, row 20. Jessie says she will remember our car parking positions from now on. Not sure relying on a 4 year old remembering something in 8 hours time is a good strategy, but I agree anyway.
Not long to wait and we are soon in the park, stopping first to admire the lovely tree made up of Poinsettias (according to Nanny Sylvie it was anyway. Me and Alan Titchmarsh have never struck up much of a relationship, hence I am clueless about most flora and fauna). Have the obligatory everyone gets their photo taken by the tree shot (everyone except me, the observant among you may notice I tend to stay behind the camera!!) and proceed forthwith into the park proper.
Pick up a map and decide we would like to catch the first Indiana Jones stunt show of the day. Neil and I did this years ago, but havent been recently. Nanny Sylvie is keen too as she has a bit of a crush on Harrison Ford. No one tell her its not actually him in it for goodness sake!
Jessie wants to know if its scary, but is also keen when we tell her there are cars, trucks, motorbikes and a plane in the show. She likes things that go (well, except Test Track. Oh and Big Thunder Mountain).
The show is still awhile from starting and its a little chilly to be sitting in the theatre for too long so we have a wander. There are lots of characters out by the hat, so this kills quite a bit of time! There is a veritable Woolworths Pick n Mix of characters to choose from today Lilo and Stitch, Christmas Pluto, Pooh, Chip & Dale, Goofy and Baloo.
Characters met, photographed and autographed, we then head over to the Stunt Show and get some good seats. Im most excited that the man in the bright pink shirt sits behind me! Wont give the game away to those that havent seen it, but I was tempted to ask for his autograph!!
Do cringe a bit when one of the volunteers is Jason from England, wearing a full England kit, tattoos to match and proceeds to chant Enger-laaannd as soon as he gets on stage. Oh dear, I wonder if the rest of the world think we are all like this??
Everyone enjoys the stunt show a lot. Daniel liked all the cars, Jessie liked the plane bit and Nanny Sylvie was none the wiser that it wasnt Harrison Ford down there as she forgot to put her specs on! A triumphant start then!
Suddenly realise that none of us have actually eaten anything yet! Its now too late for brekkie so we head to the ABC Comissary for an early lunch!
We quite liked this place, as theme park fast food joints go, this is certainly one of the better ones. Lots of different things on offer here. The grown ups all had fish and chips (cant say Ive ever eaten fish and chip before 11am before!!), Jessie had veggie noodles and Daniel has kids chicken and chips. The kids meals come in a cute Mickey shaped bowl with fresh fruit and and a drink.
Its actually quite warm when we leave here and the sun is shining brightly this is more like it!
Notice that Monsters Inc are due to appear very soon, so loiter near there for a few minutes. We are soon rewarded when Mike and Sully appear! For a few minutes there is no-one else around so we get first photo! Jessie backs out saying they are too scary, but Daniel bounds up enthusiastically. Both Mike and Sully LOVE Daniel and he loves them. Even when the line starts to build up they are reluctant to relinquish him. They spends ages with them, confirming my belief that he is one part boy and two parts monster
Next, its the Muppets. One of our favourites and its a walk on! Daniel had obviously got some new Monstering tips from Mike and Sully as he was very badly behaved here. Suffice to say if you were in the Muppets show that day and a pair of 3D glasses landed on your head, I have an idea where they may have originated from.
When we get outside, the whole Toy Story gang where doing a photo shoot outside Als Toy Barn. The queue was IMMENSE, but Jessie really wanted to do it as Toy Story Jessie was there and they hadnt met before. Being an Ace Parent, I get in line with her.
Neil decides he will film it, so hands me Daniel as well. Big mistake. One of Daniels things is a particularly loud, high pitched scream. It is done at exactly the right decibel to pierce your eardrum and is extremely annoying and embarrassing. Nothing we have done has ever prevented him from doing this.
So, imagine, you are in a line of 50 or so people. The sun is now out, its HOT and everyone is a bit grumpy. Family at the front are having 2 trillion photos taken, and the line isnt moving. Couple that with a 2 year old screaming at full tip and you can imagine we arent exactly popular. When the screaming stops he wriggles free and sets about beating up anyone he can reach. This includes men, women and children.
Its one of those ground swallow me whole PLEASE moments. Neil manages to get to me in the line and take him. This is one of many moments like this on the trip, though I wont be admitting to many more!
FINALLY, we get to the characters. Jessie has been waiting patiently for ages and gets a special hug from the other Jessie when she tells her she is Jessie too! Daniel appeared from nowhere when Jessie got to the front of the line, so got a photo as well. Im sure I heard the people behind whisper Look its that little boy the parents cant control. Oh dear. Better hit the Miriam Stoppard Parenting books when I get home then.
Consult the map and see the Beauty & The Beast show is due to start in 15 minutes so we head over to that. I missed this last year so Neil stays with Damien, oops I mean Daniel whilst mum, Jessie and myself see the show.
Get quite good seats and the show soon starts. I remember it being slightly longer two years ago, but enjoy anyway. Jessie loves this movie and the show is always a big hit with her too! Nanny is partial to Gaston and even puts her glasses on to watch! The only thing that spoilt it was some kid screaming in the back at the end.
Its heaving when we leave the show, so switch on my Walkie Talkie to raise Neil. Quite surprised when a very deep voiced American man answers me back.
Darleene, Is that you honey? he asks over the static.
I tell him No, Im not Darleene, but I could be, you sound nice.
No I dont really, I made that up
. Twiddle the buttons on my walkie talkie to see if I could find Neil amongst the American voices but its impossible. Resort to more mundane methods of walking around till I find him.
Ask Neil what he did whilst we were in the show. Oh, we saw the show too from the back. Only Daniel screamed at the end and we had to leave. Ah, I should have known.
When the parenting gets tough, the parents do Rock N Rollercoaster
Leave Nanny Sylvie in charge of the kiddiewinks whilst Neil and I pretend we are young, free and childless for 10 minutes! Neil had got Fast passes whilst we were in the Beauty and the Beast show. As the park was very quiet today they were active already and we walk on!
Do encounter the first Brazillian tour group of the trip, who, true to form push past everyone to get to the one member of their party nearer the front. Jolly amused to find that when we got to the ride, a CM had hauled every single one of them out of the line and said Right, now you can wait like everyone else. Give that man an Employee Of The Month award!
Ride was FAB as usual! I love this! Quite tempted with the photo but passed as Neil looked drunk!
Meet up with Nanny Sylvie and kidlets (being kept quiet with a box of Macdonalds fries) and decide on whats next. There is a Playhouse Disney Show due to start soon, so we head over to that area.
Still 15 minutes till the show so we spend some time browsing the shops. As Jessie has been so good today (we must be doing something right!!) I say she can choose a small toy. She decides that she wants a pin lanyard and some pins. A nice lanyard is chosen, with a scorcerer Mickey hanging from the bottom and I let her pick a few pins. By chance, I spotted a couple I liked as well, so the total was now 7 pins between us.
Head into Playhouse Disney without much of a wait. We get in what we think is the front row (there is a piece of tape on the floor hmm very high tech Mr Disney!!) but then another family plonk themselves right infront of us. We think the CMs will move them but they dont. Oh well, as it happened the very front isnt the best place to be as a lot of the action is low level.
Kids enjoy this HUGELY. Daniel boogies to the songs and Jessie gets up to dance at the front. Neil stands at the back filming and me and Nanny Sylvie end up with major leg cramps after 5 minutes on the floor!
Seeing the looks on the kids faces during this makes it all worthwhile coming. I know Daniel can be a handful but he enjoyed this so much. I just cant convey it with words, but suffice to say its one of those Disney Moments that will stay with me forever.
Exit Playhouse Disney and notice the Jolly Holly Days Parade was due to start shortly. We didnt expect to get much of a position at this late stage, but as luck would have it the crowds were still low and we got an ace spot!
A elderly man in a wheelchair let Jessie stand next to him at the front and Daniel got a great view aloft on daddys shoulders. I stood next to an English family who were very nice and whose two boys quickly made friends with Jess. The boys were quite taken with Jessies lanyard and pin collection. Their dad was promptly despatched to get one each for them!
Whilst waiting for the parade, a CM pounced on me and asked if I would like to trade pins. This threw me a bit as I LOVED all my carefully chosen pins and wasnt that keen on parting with any of them. However, I did spot she had a cute one depicting Mickey flying a plane that I knew Jessie would love. I decide to trade my Pooh Christmas one (that I had seen for sale everywhere and could replace if needed
) and the CM was happy with that. My new English lady friend said I should have picked the big Tinkerbelle one the CM had, and in hindsight this would have been a better choice as I never saw it again. A lesson learnt in Pin Trading I guess! I wasnt quite at Jedi Master level then, just a mere apprentice, unknowing in the ways of The Pin.The parade started soon after and was fantastic! I have always like the MGM parade and this one had a little Christmas twist with Santa as a very special guest. Kids LOVE it and more Disney memories are made.
Neil requests one of Santas Helpers for Christmas (this Santa was obviously a bit of a goer, as instead of Elves, he had scantily clad ladies in very short red skirts and fish net stockings!). I bet they dont spend much time making toys, thats all I will say
.Quite surprised that we have managed to spend most of the day here and its now getting late. Do try and get a table at Hollywood and Vine for dinner but they arent taking walk in till 6pm. I have a PS for this later in the holiday, so dont mind too much. Change Daniel at the baby center and then head out to a waiting tram.
Jessie remembers where we have parked (good job because both Neil and I have forgotten!) and we arrive at Minnie Television, Row 20 where our Jeep sits waiting for us.
Stop at the TGI Fridays on the 192 for dinner. This is a popular place with us as it is one of the nearest restaurants to the villa and we have never had a bad meal here in all our Florida trips.
Just for a change, Jessie and Daniel want chicken and chips. As Daniel had had this for lunch, we switch his chips for carrot sticks (they may as well have been sticks of dynamite for all he cared, he didnt eat one, just pinched the fries from my plate instead!). Have a starter of sesame chicken strips and mozzarella sticks. Nanny Sylvie has the cheesy chicken, whilst both Neil and myself get the Jack Daniels combo. Force down a slice of cheese cake for dessert!! Cheque was a very reasonable $94 plus tip.
Back to the villa to put the kids to bed. They are very tired and dont protest at all. Nanny Sylvie is now glued to HGTV so Neil and I head out to the Wal-Mart.
Its lovely to shop with no kids, strollers (or Nannys who keep losing the scrapbooking aisle!!) and we have a good old retail therapy session which we both enjoy!
Spookily enough, we spend exactly the same tonight as we did on our first trip - $165!! Trunk of the Jeep is overflowing with our wares and we depart the Wal-Mart around 9.30.
Big day tomorrow its Mickeys Very Merry Christmas Party!!
What's it worth to keep the Harrison Ford thing a secret? 
