As a reminder, here's the cast--
Me--got hooked on Walt Disney World on a family trip during Christmas Break 1971.
DH, Rick--First trip to Disney World was with me and our infant daughter in 1986. He indulges my addiction.
DD, Elsie (18)--Freshman in college who wants to apply for a job as Cinderella.
DS, SaxPlayer (15)--Sophomore in high school, reformed roller coaster enthusiast, plays Bari Sax in high school marching band.
This was the day we came for!
We set the alarm for this morning. After getting ready, the three of us had breakfast at the Whispering Canyon Cafe. I know a lot of people love this place, but at 8:00 a.m. it is just too corny for my family. The food tasted good, and it was just a short elevator ride from our room, but I'd like to be able to ask for ketchup without becoming the center of attention!
After breakfast, DH and I had golf lessons by the Palm and Magnolia. These lessons were included in the Gold Plan. Our instructor Mike was very nice and very patient with me. We both picked up a few tips to improve our game. Mike warned us that the next time we played we'd have a miserable time.
We picked up Elsie and went over to Winter Summerland for some Miniature Golf. I was a little nervous as we drove past the Magic Kingdom toll booth--they were turning all the cars away. I simply had to get into the Magic Kingdom later that night. At Winter Summerland, we played the summer course since it was less crowded. Elsie's goal was to beat her Daddy--and she did.
Back to the lodge to park the car then off to the Magic Kingdom. We had no trouble getting into the park, but it was CROWDED. The only thing I wanted to be sure to do in the park (other than watch THE parade) was to see Philharmagic. So after checking our PS time at Cinderella's Royal Table, we went to check out the line. They were done distributing Fast Passes for the day and the line was beginning to move as the next show was about to start. They told us it was a 45 minute wait. We had time, so we waited and it turned out to be more like a 25 minute wait. We enjoyed the show.
Then we watched the afternoon Christmas parade. There were two high school bands before the parade--they were both smaller than ours--but it looked like the kids were happy to be there. We used to watch the Christmas parade every Christmas morning and it was fun to see basically the same parade in person. I was surprised how long it lasted. Elsie was wearing a white skirt and didn't want to get it dirty so she sat on Daddy's lap during the parade--I think his knees will recover sometime next year
Elsie decided that she wanted to apply for a job to be Cinderella. She wants to be a 
The parade ended just in time for dinner. We made our way through the unbelievable crowd to the castle. We were seated right away. Elsie got a kick out of being called Princess. We had salads to start and all had prime rib for dinner. Elsie had Creme brule for dessert (there's a pattern developing), and DH and I had the Cinderella sundaes. It was all very tasty and the atmosphere was perfect. The last time we'd eaten there was for Elsie's 4th birthday. I think she enjoyed it as much this week as she did then.
After dinner there was a holiday show in front of the castle. We were too far away to watch it (couldn't get close with the crowds) but it was neat to see the castle cast in lavender with snowflakes all over it. At this point, Elsie left to meet up with a boy she'd met on our 2000 Disney cruise. Rick and I went to find a good spot for viewing the parade.
We ended up in Liberty Square and sat down across from the Liberty Tree Tavern. We met a nice couple from Michigan who were on their honeymoon and another nice woman from New Jersey. We sat and chatted until it was time for the parade to begin. There was one collegiate band and three high school bands in the Spectro Magic preshow. Our kids were the middle high school band. They passed by quickly but it was great to see them. We stayed for Spectro Magic and then left the park.
While we were on the boat to the Wilderness Lodge, the fireworks started. We watched them as we sailed home. A perfect ending to a perfect Disney day.
Me--got hooked on Walt Disney World on a family trip during Christmas Break 1971.
DH, Rick--First trip to Disney World was with me and our infant daughter in 1986. He indulges my addiction.
DD, Elsie (18)--Freshman in college who wants to apply for a job as Cinderella.
DS, SaxPlayer (15)--Sophomore in high school, reformed roller coaster enthusiast, plays Bari Sax in high school marching band.
This was the day we came for!
We set the alarm for this morning. After getting ready, the three of us had breakfast at the Whispering Canyon Cafe. I know a lot of people love this place, but at 8:00 a.m. it is just too corny for my family. The food tasted good, and it was just a short elevator ride from our room, but I'd like to be able to ask for ketchup without becoming the center of attention!
After breakfast, DH and I had golf lessons by the Palm and Magnolia. These lessons were included in the Gold Plan. Our instructor Mike was very nice and very patient with me. We both picked up a few tips to improve our game. Mike warned us that the next time we played we'd have a miserable time.
We picked up Elsie and went over to Winter Summerland for some Miniature Golf. I was a little nervous as we drove past the Magic Kingdom toll booth--they were turning all the cars away. I simply had to get into the Magic Kingdom later that night. At Winter Summerland, we played the summer course since it was less crowded. Elsie's goal was to beat her Daddy--and she did.
Back to the lodge to park the car then off to the Magic Kingdom. We had no trouble getting into the park, but it was CROWDED. The only thing I wanted to be sure to do in the park (other than watch THE parade) was to see Philharmagic. So after checking our PS time at Cinderella's Royal Table, we went to check out the line. They were done distributing Fast Passes for the day and the line was beginning to move as the next show was about to start. They told us it was a 45 minute wait. We had time, so we waited and it turned out to be more like a 25 minute wait. We enjoyed the show.
Then we watched the afternoon Christmas parade. There were two high school bands before the parade--they were both smaller than ours--but it looked like the kids were happy to be there. We used to watch the Christmas parade every Christmas morning and it was fun to see basically the same parade in person. I was surprised how long it lasted. Elsie was wearing a white skirt and didn't want to get it dirty so she sat on Daddy's lap during the parade--I think his knees will recover sometime next year
Elsie decided that she wanted to apply for a job to be Cinderella. She wants to be a The parade ended just in time for dinner. We made our way through the unbelievable crowd to the castle. We were seated right away. Elsie got a kick out of being called Princess. We had salads to start and all had prime rib for dinner. Elsie had Creme brule for dessert (there's a pattern developing), and DH and I had the Cinderella sundaes. It was all very tasty and the atmosphere was perfect. The last time we'd eaten there was for Elsie's 4th birthday. I think she enjoyed it as much this week as she did then.
After dinner there was a holiday show in front of the castle. We were too far away to watch it (couldn't get close with the crowds) but it was neat to see the castle cast in lavender with snowflakes all over it. At this point, Elsie left to meet up with a boy she'd met on our 2000 Disney cruise. Rick and I went to find a good spot for viewing the parade.
We ended up in Liberty Square and sat down across from the Liberty Tree Tavern. We met a nice couple from Michigan who were on their honeymoon and another nice woman from New Jersey. We sat and chatted until it was time for the parade to begin. There was one collegiate band and three high school bands in the Spectro Magic preshow. Our kids were the middle high school band. They passed by quickly but it was great to see them. We stayed for Spectro Magic and then left the park.
While we were on the boat to the Wilderness Lodge, the fireworks started. We watched them as we sailed home. A perfect ending to a perfect Disney day.
