BrerMama
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 4, 2000
- Messages
- 2,205
Cast of Characters:
Kim, just turned 30!, Obsessive/compulsive trip planner; Full-time early childhood special ed teacher; Love to scrapbook
Dan, 32, Truly a kid at heart; in sales; enjoys everything about Disney except the money -- heâÂÂs our budget police
Brady, 6, Has really become a daredevil in the past few months; can be very shy
Mykiah, 4, Currently a mommyâÂÂs girl; not a shy bone in her body
Chesney, 10 months, Beginning to toddle; a very happy baby in general
Grandpa, 65, Loves his grandkids to death (This trip was his gift for his 65th birthday)
To read Day 2 (Disney-MGM Studios) click here
After a filling HIFS breakfast, weâÂÂre at the front of the line at the entrance to Animal Kingdom. As it gets close to opening, I talk to the cast member working the gate and she tells me about a *show* that will start just before opening. I put Mykiah right in front of the turnstile and soon Rafiki comes out and tells a story, closely followed by Safari Mickey and Minnie, Baloo, Chip and Dale, and other characters. ItâÂÂs a virtual character flood! Mykiah immediately begins screaming for Minnie and I am torn as I try to photograph both of my older children who are posing with different characters and IâÂÂm also trying to keep tabs on Dan and Gramps who are with Chesney. We rush through the characters, intent on getting to the safaris and also hurrying because Brady has to use the restroom (a recurring theme on this trip). We do pause and get our picture taken in front of the life... gotta have a group pic for the scrapbook!
Even with a restroom pit stop, we get on the safari with no wait. We are seated in the back of the vehicle and my notion that I would relax and feed Chesney a bottle while I watched animals quickly went out the door. This ride is bumpy!! Mykiah loved the bumps; she kept yelling at the driver to go faster.
Our next stop was ItâÂÂs Tough To Be A Bug. Again, we didnâÂÂt have any wait. The kids knew that this might be scary but we assured them they could take their glasses off if they were scared. They maybe watched a minute of the movie before the glasses were off. Chesney slept through the whole thing on GrandpaâÂÂs shoulder. I found it hard to enjoy the show with Brady literally shaking beside me but Grandpa and Dan thought it was great. My dad really enjoyed the 3D shows at Disney as this was his first time to experience them.
I should add here that Mykiah had not quit complaining about not being able to see Minnie for more than a moment before I pushed her toward the next character. All she talked about was Minnie. Now all this time I had a priority seating for Chef MickeyâÂÂs that we had decided not to use. I couldnâÂÂt bring myself to cancel it, however, and so we still had it. MykiahâÂÂs whining about Minnie was really starting to get on her dadâÂÂs nerves so I suggested that instead of going to Garden Grill the next day we go instead to Chef MickeyâÂÂs tonight and see Minnie. While Dan grumbled a little, it did calm Mykiah down and we were able to enjoy the rest of the day.
Our next stop was Festival of the Lion King. We loved this show!! It really is a *not to be missed* show. We stopped for cookies and juice after the show, then went to Dinoland and played in the BoneYard. Dan loved this because adults are welcome to play, too! Chesney learned how to crawl up stairs here and was crawling all over with me chasing her.
It took some convincing to get Brady, our resident dino expert, out of here, but we finally left the park around 12:30. On our way out Mickey, Goofy, and Donald were signing autographs outside the gate so we stopped and got GoofyâÂÂs autograph -- heâÂÂs DanâÂÂs favorite.
On our way in to the Contemporary, Mykiah threw a huge fit because I had told her that we were going to eat with Minnie and this didnâÂÂt look like MinnieâÂÂs house. Grandpa finally managed to convince her to follow along and we eventually got inside. We checked in at Chef MickeyâÂÂs about 5 pm for our 5:30 priority seating (weâÂÂre always early!). We were told to get our picture taken and have a seat but before we even got to the front of the line we were called to be seated. Our table was in the front dining room rather than the main room but I didnâÂÂt feel that this detracted from our experience. We started out with salads and on our way back to the table I asked the server how long it would be before the characters appeared. I was a little concerned that we would be done eating before any came out. She said it would be about 5 minutes but it wasnâÂÂt more than 3 and Minnie headed straight for our table. This really made MykiahâÂÂs trip special! Because she was the first character in the dining room, a few children from the waiting area came to our table and were pulling on MinnieâÂÂs skirt. Minnie totally ignored them and concentrated on Mykiah and Chesney (Brady and the men were at the buffet). We also saw Chef Mickey, Goofy, Donald, Chip and Dale during our meal. Chesney *loved* Chip and Dale. She seemed to think they were just big stuffed animals and when Chip gave her a kiss, Chesney even seemed to be kissing him back. It was so magical! Brady and Mykiah decorated their own cupcakes, which was a treat in itself. Minnie even came back around to say goodbye. Dan suffered a near heart attack when the bill came (the tip was more than we usually spend on a meal) but this was the one character meal that I would do again. We all had a wonderful time, the food was delicious (Chesney inhaled the parmesan mashed potatoes), and the characters were great fun. I do think that part of our enjoyment was that we went as soon as the restaurant opened so that it wasnâÂÂt busy or crowded.
We went back to the hotel and went to bed. The kids were so tired they didnâÂÂt even ask for a bedtime snack... and they never forget!
Quotes of the day:
âÂÂI told Goofy thanks and IâÂÂd see him tomorrow!â --Mykiah after getting GoofyâÂÂs autograph outside Animal Kingdom
âÂÂI love Dad now cuz heâÂÂs learning me how to do thingsâ --Mykiah referring to her sudden affection to her Dad when she gets scared
âÂÂSpeed!â --Mykiah on Kilimanjaro Safaris
âÂÂIâÂÂm stuffed to be a bugâ --Brady at Chef MickeyâÂÂs
Mom to 3 goobs
1992 Disneyland (offsite)
1995 WDW (offsite)
1998 Disneyland (offsite)
12/1/2000 WDW -- HIFS
Kim, just turned 30!, Obsessive/compulsive trip planner; Full-time early childhood special ed teacher; Love to scrapbook
Dan, 32, Truly a kid at heart; in sales; enjoys everything about Disney except the money -- heâÂÂs our budget police
Brady, 6, Has really become a daredevil in the past few months; can be very shy
Mykiah, 4, Currently a mommyâÂÂs girl; not a shy bone in her body
Chesney, 10 months, Beginning to toddle; a very happy baby in general
Grandpa, 65, Loves his grandkids to death (This trip was his gift for his 65th birthday)
To read Day 2 (Disney-MGM Studios) click here
After a filling HIFS breakfast, weâÂÂre at the front of the line at the entrance to Animal Kingdom. As it gets close to opening, I talk to the cast member working the gate and she tells me about a *show* that will start just before opening. I put Mykiah right in front of the turnstile and soon Rafiki comes out and tells a story, closely followed by Safari Mickey and Minnie, Baloo, Chip and Dale, and other characters. ItâÂÂs a virtual character flood! Mykiah immediately begins screaming for Minnie and I am torn as I try to photograph both of my older children who are posing with different characters and IâÂÂm also trying to keep tabs on Dan and Gramps who are with Chesney. We rush through the characters, intent on getting to the safaris and also hurrying because Brady has to use the restroom (a recurring theme on this trip). We do pause and get our picture taken in front of the life... gotta have a group pic for the scrapbook!
Even with a restroom pit stop, we get on the safari with no wait. We are seated in the back of the vehicle and my notion that I would relax and feed Chesney a bottle while I watched animals quickly went out the door. This ride is bumpy!! Mykiah loved the bumps; she kept yelling at the driver to go faster.
Our next stop was ItâÂÂs Tough To Be A Bug. Again, we didnâÂÂt have any wait. The kids knew that this might be scary but we assured them they could take their glasses off if they were scared. They maybe watched a minute of the movie before the glasses were off. Chesney slept through the whole thing on GrandpaâÂÂs shoulder. I found it hard to enjoy the show with Brady literally shaking beside me but Grandpa and Dan thought it was great. My dad really enjoyed the 3D shows at Disney as this was his first time to experience them.
I should add here that Mykiah had not quit complaining about not being able to see Minnie for more than a moment before I pushed her toward the next character. All she talked about was Minnie. Now all this time I had a priority seating for Chef MickeyâÂÂs that we had decided not to use. I couldnâÂÂt bring myself to cancel it, however, and so we still had it. MykiahâÂÂs whining about Minnie was really starting to get on her dadâÂÂs nerves so I suggested that instead of going to Garden Grill the next day we go instead to Chef MickeyâÂÂs tonight and see Minnie. While Dan grumbled a little, it did calm Mykiah down and we were able to enjoy the rest of the day.
Our next stop was Festival of the Lion King. We loved this show!! It really is a *not to be missed* show. We stopped for cookies and juice after the show, then went to Dinoland and played in the BoneYard. Dan loved this because adults are welcome to play, too! Chesney learned how to crawl up stairs here and was crawling all over with me chasing her.
It took some convincing to get Brady, our resident dino expert, out of here, but we finally left the park around 12:30. On our way out Mickey, Goofy, and Donald were signing autographs outside the gate so we stopped and got GoofyâÂÂs autograph -- heâÂÂs DanâÂÂs favorite. On our way in to the Contemporary, Mykiah threw a huge fit because I had told her that we were going to eat with Minnie and this didnâÂÂt look like MinnieâÂÂs house. Grandpa finally managed to convince her to follow along and we eventually got inside. We checked in at Chef MickeyâÂÂs about 5 pm for our 5:30 priority seating (weâÂÂre always early!). We were told to get our picture taken and have a seat but before we even got to the front of the line we were called to be seated. Our table was in the front dining room rather than the main room but I didnâÂÂt feel that this detracted from our experience. We started out with salads and on our way back to the table I asked the server how long it would be before the characters appeared. I was a little concerned that we would be done eating before any came out. She said it would be about 5 minutes but it wasnâÂÂt more than 3 and Minnie headed straight for our table. This really made MykiahâÂÂs trip special! Because she was the first character in the dining room, a few children from the waiting area came to our table and were pulling on MinnieâÂÂs skirt. Minnie totally ignored them and concentrated on Mykiah and Chesney (Brady and the men were at the buffet). We also saw Chef Mickey, Goofy, Donald, Chip and Dale during our meal. Chesney *loved* Chip and Dale. She seemed to think they were just big stuffed animals and when Chip gave her a kiss, Chesney even seemed to be kissing him back. It was so magical! Brady and Mykiah decorated their own cupcakes, which was a treat in itself. Minnie even came back around to say goodbye. Dan suffered a near heart attack when the bill came (the tip was more than we usually spend on a meal) but this was the one character meal that I would do again. We all had a wonderful time, the food was delicious (Chesney inhaled the parmesan mashed potatoes), and the characters were great fun. I do think that part of our enjoyment was that we went as soon as the restaurant opened so that it wasnâÂÂt busy or crowded.
We went back to the hotel and went to bed. The kids were so tired they didnâÂÂt even ask for a bedtime snack... and they never forget!
Quotes of the day:
âÂÂI told Goofy thanks and IâÂÂd see him tomorrow!â --Mykiah after getting GoofyâÂÂs autograph outside Animal Kingdom
âÂÂI love Dad now cuz heâÂÂs learning me how to do thingsâ --Mykiah referring to her sudden affection to her Dad when she gets scared
âÂÂSpeed!â --Mykiah on Kilimanjaro Safaris
âÂÂIâÂÂm stuffed to be a bugâ --Brady at Chef MickeyâÂÂs
Mom to 3 goobs
1992 Disneyland (offsite)
1995 WDW (offsite)
1998 Disneyland (offsite)
12/1/2000 WDW -- HIFS
