Chapter 20: Magic in the Kingdom!
If there were no tribulation, there would be no rest; if there were no winter, there would be no summer.
-ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM,
Homilie, c. A.D. 386-98
Tuesday, November 6th:
I recall that as I watched poor Aunt Rae wringing her hands in distress, it took my brain a couple of microseconds to absorb the full impact of her statement:
I forgot my park pass!
Hoo-Boy!
What next? I wondered.
Ed volunteered to walk over to Guest Relations with her while I went inside with the kids. Im sure this isnt the first time this has happened, he said, they must have some way of looking up her ticket information.
And so, I took Billy and Tricia through the turnstiles and we all joined our fellow early breakfast-goers in a small, roped-off corral area, where a jovial white-haired CM kept asking how hungry we all were and were we ready for some fun, etc. etc.
The excitement of the crowd was palpable, but tinged with a bit of anxiousness. Why were we being held back? Why couldnt we just begin walking up (an empty) Main Street and get some cool photo ops? It was almost eight; would we make it to our respective restaurants in time to check in? The air just buzzed with chatter. There were little princesses a-plenty who all twirled their costumes and waved their wands. (Wands? Some princess ensembles come with wands
do you recall any Disney princesses having wands??)
Ed phoned and said that they needed to wait until Guest Relations opened and that they would meet up with us ASAP. I decided that I was not going to let the ARF get me crazy. Instead, I just stood in line with my sister, Marilyn, and we talked about how our respective vacations had been going. Turns out we both had been doing fairly well, just a few minor complaints. They had been to the character dinner at The Garden Grill (Epcot) the night before to celebrate her birthday
and she had been a little disappointed in the skimpy amount of character interaction they had experienced. Plus, they hadnt done anything, really, to acknowledge her birthday despite having mentioned it to their server several times.
And how could they miss your Its my birthday button! I teased, motioning to the big colorful button she still wore. Hey, its my birthday trip
I figure I might as well wear it for the rest of the week! she replied, adding that the girls had been getting such a kick out of all the CMs saying, Happy Birthday! to her throughout the previous day.
I wore it for them! she laughed.
Sure, Sis!
All three of my nieces were wearing My First Visit buttons on their sweaters, which they definitely needed, but were annoyed with because they covered up part of their glamorous costumes! I was proud of Tricia because she really fussed over them and told them how pretty they all were and how much fun they were going to have meeting the princesses. They all looked so cute!
Emily (6) was dressed as her all-time favorite, Ariel. Beth (4) and Josie (2) were both dressed as Aurora, however, in order that there be some distinction between the two, Beth was wearing the real costume and Josie (who desperately wanted to be dressed as a princess but would not tolerate the actual tulle skirt) was wearing a pink princess play dress
so according to her, she was still in costume! Hey, when it comes to 2 yr olds
whatever works, right?!
Said 2 yr old suddenly decided that she needed to go potty, so Marilyn took all three of them off to the restroom while her husband, John went to see if he could rent a locker yet. (They brought full changes of clothes and shoes for the girls in case they didnt want to stay in their costumes past breakfast.)
Suddenly, the rope was dropped and we moved as one herd toward the tunnels under the RR station. I took Billy by the hand and warned Tricia for the hundredth time to stay close to me. Then, we burst out onto the town square!
I just love that moment!
The first time in the vacation that you lay your eyes on beautiful Main Street, USA, with the Castle in the distance! And this time, it was so empty! We took a moment to drink it all in.
I felt an unexpected hand on my arm. It was Ed!
Guest Relations had been able to issue a temporary ticket to Aunt Rae just as easy as you please. She was overflowing with apologies for delaying us, but I explained that all she missed was a wait for rope-drop and I hurried us along. I wanted to get a nice shot of the kids in front of the Castle before we checked in for breakfast.
Hello, Roy and Minnie! Hello, Emporium! Hello, Bakery! Hello, Walt and Mickey!
Because the sun was still rather low, most of Main Street was still in the shade. Once we approached the Castle, however, the sunlight was beginning to shine right in the faces of all the happy guests posing in front of the park icon. Not the best conditions for photography, but nevertheless, there was a small wait as we patiently watched the families that reached the Castle before we did posing for their pictures.
Finally, it was our turn, and we were able to get some nice shots.
But, whos this coming up Main Street??
We all gathered together to get some really special shots of the cousins all together in front of the Castle.
Then we parted ways: they headed toward Cindarellas Royal Table and we trooped over to the Crystal Palace.
Yikes! The line to check in for ADRs was humongous!
Would our schedule suffer because we stopped for those precious pictures?
Tune in next time to find out!
Kathy
, I pray Billy gets adjusted to the meds and isn't so lethargic, that had happened with Bill before. I understand keeping an eye on him. I am glad that he is earning some dvd's back. 
And Mrs. Jones would smile and beam as though you were talking to a new mother who had just delivered her firstborn child.
Very funn!
.
That saved alot of grief.
And I'm so glad you posted before I leave for my trip!! 
I've been worrying about the outcome ever since you last posted. 
