B'rer Karen
<font color=purple>DIS Veteran<br><font color=deep
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2001
- Messages
- 1,813
Cast of Characters:
Karen: Thats me. 28 y/o Disney addict who is taking four trips to Disney this
year.
Michelle: aka M, 30 y/o, one of my closest friends in the world who Ive known
since high school.
Steve: Michelles husband, 32 y/o Also known since high school, although I
didnt really get to know him until after they got married. A great guy
who I also count amongst my closest friends.
Andrew: aka Drew, M and Steves 4 y/o son who I absolutely adore!
Nathan: aka Nate, M and Stevess 3 y/o son and my wonderful godson!
6/4/03
I let myself sleep until 8:00 this morning since we had a late PS for breakfast. This worked out good since I was going to leave around 1 or 2 pm to make the 9-10 hour trip back and I wanted to be as rested as possible. I finished packing everything up and then ran down to the store in the hotel where packages are delivered. The bear I bought Nate had arrived and I had to get it. I came back upstairs and got to give it to Nate. He still seemed to really like it, so that made me happy. I took a quick look around to make sure I hadnt missed anything, grabbed my stuff, and headed out of the room. I took all of my stuff out to my car and then met everyone else at the bus stop. We took a bus to the Magic Kingdom, and then hopped on the monorail over to the Contemporary. We were a little early for our 10:10 am PS at Chef Mickeys, so we went out back and took pictures in the big silver Mickey ears. Then we went inside and did some window-shopping. I was really proud of myself. This was my last day here and the only thing I had bought was the bear for Nate. I might actually go to Disney without purchasing anything for myself! Finally it was time for breakfast. We had our group photo taken and then got to meet Goofy. Once we got seated, it was time for my pound of bacon. Another one of my Disney traditions is to go to Chef Mickeys for the breakfast buffet and eat a pound of bacon. I love breakfast food but dont often get to eat it. So this is a treat. M was laughing as she stood behind me in line and watched me pile it up on my plate.
Our table was in a good location. It was right next to the doorway through which the characters came in and out, so we got to see them a lot. Goofy was in rare form this day. One time he was on his way out of the room, heading through the doorway, and he bumped his head on the door. That made the kids laugh. A little later he was walking down the 3 stairs from another seating area right near our table and he slipped and fell. (I sure hope that he had some good padding on!) Drew went over and helped pull Goofy to his feet. Nate of course loved the fact that he could dance all around. At one point the music turned off for a little while, and Nate got very upset. He wanted to know what happened to the music, and he proclaimed, I love to dance! Of course all the characters came around to our table and lots of pictures were taken. When Chip and Dale came around we had an interesting interaction. We had run into Chip and Dale everywhere we went. The day before, when we were at AK, Drew and Nate got to play with them for a good amount of time because there werent any other kids around (they had just come out from a break). The characters were fresh and rested, so they were in the mood to play. Chip grabbed Drews hat and hung it on his nose. Drew got the biggest kick out of it. So now we see Chip at Chef Mickeys. Drew remembers what happened the day before and gives his hat to Chip, wanting Chip to hang it from his nose again. Of course Chip has no idea what it is Drew wants! It was too funny. After lots of character interaction, and round after round of food, it was time to go. Of course Steve said he was only leaving because we all were ready to. He could have kept eating. J
The plan was to head to the Magic Kingdom, where Id spend a few hours and then hop back to the resort, get my car, and hit the road by 2 at the latest. So we took the monorail over to MK. While we were on our way there, Drew asked where we were going, and M told him the Magic Kingdom. Then he asked what we were going to do when we got there. I said, I dont know. What do you want to do Drew? He said, Well I have a really good idea of what we can do. We can go on your favorite ride again. A boy after my own heart! Once we arrived, we went up Main Street to the hub and got some pictures in front of the castle. I told them I would run over to Splash Mountain to get Fast Passes for Drew and I, since the park seemed pretty crowded that day. This was a good call. When I got over there, the standby line was 75 minutes. Our fast pass return time was 2:45-3:45. Guess I wasnt going to get out of there no later than 2. Oh well, twist my arm and Ill stay longer! I met back up with everyone outside of its a small world just as it started to rain. There was this huge mass of humanity in Fantasyland. People were just everywhere. We pulled out our rain jackets and ponchos and protected ourselves. This actually made me feel pretty miserable because it was pretty hot out and the last thing I wanted to do was put on a jacket. Luckily the rain stopped rather quickly.
While it was drizzling out, we decided to meander through the stores on Main Street. I was in one of the clothing stores when I saw this long sleeve t-shirt that I had wanted back on my trip in March, but they hadnt had it in my size. This time they did, so I had to buy it. Oh well. I still think its pretty good that I only bought myself one thing! I did also see this Splash Mountain note pad holder that I thought about getting. I figured I could get it in September if I really liked it. In the end, Drew bought it for me to thank me for taking him on Splash Mountain. Like I needed an incentive to do that! M and Steve also bought some stuff and by this time the rain had stopped and we could take our sticky jackets off!
We headed through Adventureland to get back to Frontierland for our FPs. It was about 2:30 as we were coming upon Pirates of the Caribbean. We had passed this up previously because we didnt think Nate would like it. There were a lot of dark parts in it, and he didnt do well with the dark parts of Snow White. But as we were coming upon the ride, we started to discuss it. Steve said, Nate, do you think you want to go on this ride? Theres some dark parts in it, but its all pretend. Nate responded, Yep. I want to ride. Ill be a brave boy. As we were going through the line he kept saying to me, Were all going to ride? I wont be scared! We realized that if we had asked him a few days before, he wouldnt have wanted to go. But by this, our fourth day, he was so tired of not being big enough to go on rides that he was going to go on anything we would let him on! When we were walking into the queue, Steve asked Drew to do a pirate face. He did the best pirate I have ever seen. He cocked one arm up in front of him, picked his leg up, squinted one eye and said, Argh. It cracked us all up! As we boarded the ride, Nate was sitting between M and I, and Steve and Drew were behind us. Nate got this death grip on the bar in front of us. We think that he thought he was on Splash Mountain because Drew told him all about how you were in this boat and you had to hold on tight. As we took off in the boat, Nate said, Wheres my dad? When I told him that Steve was behind us, he took one hand of the bar and reached his hand behind him and said, Dad, can I have your flashlight? It was so precious. He tried very hard to be brave and he succeeded. In the end I think he enjoyed it. And I was very proud of him for trying it.
We had had a little bit of a wait, so by the time we got off the ride it was almost three. Drew and I took off towards Splash Mountain, and Steve, M, and Nate said theyd meet up with us in the play area at the end of the ride. We made it across the path way just in the nick of time: The 3 oclock parade was about to start. We got in line and were on the ride within 10 minutes. Thank goodness for Fast Pass! The ride itself takes a little over 10 minutes, so it was about 3:30 by the time we met up with M, Steve, and Nate. We said our good-byes and I headed off towards Adventureland, bawling my eyes out. And it wasnt because I was sad to be leaving Disney. It was because I was sad to be leaving them.
I decided to cheer myself by stopping for a dole whip on the way out. As I headed down Main Street, a storm started to whip up. Flowers were flying into my dole whip! Right before I left the park, I bought two bottles of water for the road. I walked to the bus stop to catch the bus to the Dolphin. I must have just missed one because it took forever. While I was waiting, the storm hit and it was a downpour. It didnt look like it would be blowing over anytime soon. This was not going to make the beginning of the drive pleasant. As I was waiting for the bus, I see M come walking through the covered area checking out the other lines. As she turned around and headed back towards me I caught her attention and asked what she was up to. They had decided to head to Downtown Disney since it looked like the rain would be there for awhile, and they wanted to see if there was a bus to a resort that was ready to go and was closer to DTD. In the end they ended up on the same bus as me so I got a few more minutes with them.
They all got off at the first stop at the Swan and we said our final goodbyes. A few minutes later I exited at the Dolphin. I made a quick pit stop in the restroom and then hit the road. It was now 4:38 and pouring. I had a feeling I was in for a long night.
As soon as I got on I-4 I immediately hit traffic. I went 26 miles the first hour I was on the road. I knew I was going to make horrible time so I called my office and let them know Id be in a little late the next morning. This was a good call seeing as the traffic didnt let up almost the whole way to Daytona. It should normally take an hour to get from Orlando to Daytona and it took me two. I was able to pick up the pace at that point and make up some time, but I still didnt get home until 2:10 am. And I was promptly asleep by 2:15.
It was a short trip, and the drive was exhausting (I thought I was going to fall asleep the last 20 miles) but it was totally worth it. I love Disney, and I loved it even more sharing it with my favorite people in world
Karen: Thats me. 28 y/o Disney addict who is taking four trips to Disney this
year.
Michelle: aka M, 30 y/o, one of my closest friends in the world who Ive known
since high school.
Steve: Michelles husband, 32 y/o Also known since high school, although I
didnt really get to know him until after they got married. A great guy
who I also count amongst my closest friends.
Andrew: aka Drew, M and Steves 4 y/o son who I absolutely adore!
Nathan: aka Nate, M and Stevess 3 y/o son and my wonderful godson!
6/4/03
I let myself sleep until 8:00 this morning since we had a late PS for breakfast. This worked out good since I was going to leave around 1 or 2 pm to make the 9-10 hour trip back and I wanted to be as rested as possible. I finished packing everything up and then ran down to the store in the hotel where packages are delivered. The bear I bought Nate had arrived and I had to get it. I came back upstairs and got to give it to Nate. He still seemed to really like it, so that made me happy. I took a quick look around to make sure I hadnt missed anything, grabbed my stuff, and headed out of the room. I took all of my stuff out to my car and then met everyone else at the bus stop. We took a bus to the Magic Kingdom, and then hopped on the monorail over to the Contemporary. We were a little early for our 10:10 am PS at Chef Mickeys, so we went out back and took pictures in the big silver Mickey ears. Then we went inside and did some window-shopping. I was really proud of myself. This was my last day here and the only thing I had bought was the bear for Nate. I might actually go to Disney without purchasing anything for myself! Finally it was time for breakfast. We had our group photo taken and then got to meet Goofy. Once we got seated, it was time for my pound of bacon. Another one of my Disney traditions is to go to Chef Mickeys for the breakfast buffet and eat a pound of bacon. I love breakfast food but dont often get to eat it. So this is a treat. M was laughing as she stood behind me in line and watched me pile it up on my plate.
Our table was in a good location. It was right next to the doorway through which the characters came in and out, so we got to see them a lot. Goofy was in rare form this day. One time he was on his way out of the room, heading through the doorway, and he bumped his head on the door. That made the kids laugh. A little later he was walking down the 3 stairs from another seating area right near our table and he slipped and fell. (I sure hope that he had some good padding on!) Drew went over and helped pull Goofy to his feet. Nate of course loved the fact that he could dance all around. At one point the music turned off for a little while, and Nate got very upset. He wanted to know what happened to the music, and he proclaimed, I love to dance! Of course all the characters came around to our table and lots of pictures were taken. When Chip and Dale came around we had an interesting interaction. We had run into Chip and Dale everywhere we went. The day before, when we were at AK, Drew and Nate got to play with them for a good amount of time because there werent any other kids around (they had just come out from a break). The characters were fresh and rested, so they were in the mood to play. Chip grabbed Drews hat and hung it on his nose. Drew got the biggest kick out of it. So now we see Chip at Chef Mickeys. Drew remembers what happened the day before and gives his hat to Chip, wanting Chip to hang it from his nose again. Of course Chip has no idea what it is Drew wants! It was too funny. After lots of character interaction, and round after round of food, it was time to go. Of course Steve said he was only leaving because we all were ready to. He could have kept eating. J
The plan was to head to the Magic Kingdom, where Id spend a few hours and then hop back to the resort, get my car, and hit the road by 2 at the latest. So we took the monorail over to MK. While we were on our way there, Drew asked where we were going, and M told him the Magic Kingdom. Then he asked what we were going to do when we got there. I said, I dont know. What do you want to do Drew? He said, Well I have a really good idea of what we can do. We can go on your favorite ride again. A boy after my own heart! Once we arrived, we went up Main Street to the hub and got some pictures in front of the castle. I told them I would run over to Splash Mountain to get Fast Passes for Drew and I, since the park seemed pretty crowded that day. This was a good call. When I got over there, the standby line was 75 minutes. Our fast pass return time was 2:45-3:45. Guess I wasnt going to get out of there no later than 2. Oh well, twist my arm and Ill stay longer! I met back up with everyone outside of its a small world just as it started to rain. There was this huge mass of humanity in Fantasyland. People were just everywhere. We pulled out our rain jackets and ponchos and protected ourselves. This actually made me feel pretty miserable because it was pretty hot out and the last thing I wanted to do was put on a jacket. Luckily the rain stopped rather quickly.
While it was drizzling out, we decided to meander through the stores on Main Street. I was in one of the clothing stores when I saw this long sleeve t-shirt that I had wanted back on my trip in March, but they hadnt had it in my size. This time they did, so I had to buy it. Oh well. I still think its pretty good that I only bought myself one thing! I did also see this Splash Mountain note pad holder that I thought about getting. I figured I could get it in September if I really liked it. In the end, Drew bought it for me to thank me for taking him on Splash Mountain. Like I needed an incentive to do that! M and Steve also bought some stuff and by this time the rain had stopped and we could take our sticky jackets off!
We headed through Adventureland to get back to Frontierland for our FPs. It was about 2:30 as we were coming upon Pirates of the Caribbean. We had passed this up previously because we didnt think Nate would like it. There were a lot of dark parts in it, and he didnt do well with the dark parts of Snow White. But as we were coming upon the ride, we started to discuss it. Steve said, Nate, do you think you want to go on this ride? Theres some dark parts in it, but its all pretend. Nate responded, Yep. I want to ride. Ill be a brave boy. As we were going through the line he kept saying to me, Were all going to ride? I wont be scared! We realized that if we had asked him a few days before, he wouldnt have wanted to go. But by this, our fourth day, he was so tired of not being big enough to go on rides that he was going to go on anything we would let him on! When we were walking into the queue, Steve asked Drew to do a pirate face. He did the best pirate I have ever seen. He cocked one arm up in front of him, picked his leg up, squinted one eye and said, Argh. It cracked us all up! As we boarded the ride, Nate was sitting between M and I, and Steve and Drew were behind us. Nate got this death grip on the bar in front of us. We think that he thought he was on Splash Mountain because Drew told him all about how you were in this boat and you had to hold on tight. As we took off in the boat, Nate said, Wheres my dad? When I told him that Steve was behind us, he took one hand of the bar and reached his hand behind him and said, Dad, can I have your flashlight? It was so precious. He tried very hard to be brave and he succeeded. In the end I think he enjoyed it. And I was very proud of him for trying it.
We had had a little bit of a wait, so by the time we got off the ride it was almost three. Drew and I took off towards Splash Mountain, and Steve, M, and Nate said theyd meet up with us in the play area at the end of the ride. We made it across the path way just in the nick of time: The 3 oclock parade was about to start. We got in line and were on the ride within 10 minutes. Thank goodness for Fast Pass! The ride itself takes a little over 10 minutes, so it was about 3:30 by the time we met up with M, Steve, and Nate. We said our good-byes and I headed off towards Adventureland, bawling my eyes out. And it wasnt because I was sad to be leaving Disney. It was because I was sad to be leaving them.
I decided to cheer myself by stopping for a dole whip on the way out. As I headed down Main Street, a storm started to whip up. Flowers were flying into my dole whip! Right before I left the park, I bought two bottles of water for the road. I walked to the bus stop to catch the bus to the Dolphin. I must have just missed one because it took forever. While I was waiting, the storm hit and it was a downpour. It didnt look like it would be blowing over anytime soon. This was not going to make the beginning of the drive pleasant. As I was waiting for the bus, I see M come walking through the covered area checking out the other lines. As she turned around and headed back towards me I caught her attention and asked what she was up to. They had decided to head to Downtown Disney since it looked like the rain would be there for awhile, and they wanted to see if there was a bus to a resort that was ready to go and was closer to DTD. In the end they ended up on the same bus as me so I got a few more minutes with them.
They all got off at the first stop at the Swan and we said our final goodbyes. A few minutes later I exited at the Dolphin. I made a quick pit stop in the restroom and then hit the road. It was now 4:38 and pouring. I had a feeling I was in for a long night.
As soon as I got on I-4 I immediately hit traffic. I went 26 miles the first hour I was on the road. I knew I was going to make horrible time so I called my office and let them know Id be in a little late the next morning. This was a good call seeing as the traffic didnt let up almost the whole way to Daytona. It should normally take an hour to get from Orlando to Daytona and it took me two. I was able to pick up the pace at that point and make up some time, but I still didnt get home until 2:10 am. And I was promptly asleep by 2:15.
It was a short trip, and the drive was exhausting (I thought I was going to fall asleep the last 20 miles) but it was totally worth it. I love Disney, and I loved it even more sharing it with my favorite people in world
