This morning we woke up early to Mickey’s wake up service and managed to stumble around out of bed and got ready to go. One of my "must do's" on my list for this trip was to get to a park at opening just once to see the difference. Today, I wanted to hit the Magic Kingdom closely after opening, and we had CS credits to spare so we thought we’d go to WL first to get some breakfast at Roaring Fork. We got the car, drove over to the most beautiful resort in the world and walked into that glorious lobby. I tried to get Max to rub Humphrey’s nose while I took a photo but he really didn’t want to. I couldn’t figure out why not, but later he confessed that there were too many people around and he was also confused when I told him all the kids who stayed at VWL and WL rubbed Humphrey’s nose as luck to come back. He said, “We’re not staying here.”
Sigh.
I guess “we will be, next week” didn’t matter.
We went down to Roaring Fork, which was packed, and were debating how hungry we really were when Goofy said, “you have the tickets, right?”
I stopped and thought for a moment. You know what? I made the accommodation reservations. I booked $1000+ flights all on miles. I made all kinds of great ADR’s 180 days or so in advance getting all the times we wanted. I booked a fun Pirate Cruise for DS, Grand Adventures in Cooking, and plenty of date time for DH and me. I packed everything we needed, forgetting almost nothing. I horded tax return money to pay for the
DDP with minimum pain to our bank account. I saved us $168 +$100 DVC discount on DH’s AP. I am a Terrific Vacation Planner.
I didn’t have the tickets.
That morning, I had pulled a $20 and my room key out of the black wallet on a string. At the time, I had thought about asking Goofy if I needed it for anything else (debit card, license, etc) but didn’t. If I had, he would have said, “do you have the tickets?”
Sigh. And I would have said, "duh! You're right. I've got them."
So we drove back to the BCV, where Goofy ran in to get those pesky AP’s. On the way there, he seemed to think it was funny to tease Vacation Planner Extraordinaire about forgetting the tickets. I wasn’t amused. Once we got the tickets back, I began to see even more humor in the situation. Okay, truthfully I thought it was funny right from the get go, but him constantly harping on it was a little irritating.
We went back to the TTC and took the monorail over to the MK. Our first stop once we got inside was over to Adventureland. We hopped right on the Jungle Cruise and enjoyed it quite a bit. We hadn't been on the Jungle Cruise since Max was about 2 - at the time, he was very concerned about my arm resting on the edge of the boat. He was afraid I would get eaten by one of the alligators or hippos. This time he really was able to sit back and enjoy the jokes.
Next, we walked over to Pirates. This is one of the few rides I remember going on as a little girl and I have always loved it. But last year when we were down, it was in rehab to add Johnny De--er---Jack Sparrow.
SO it had been 18 months since I had been on my beloved ride. I practically ran to get in line.
However, I was a little distracted on the way...right outside, Jack Sparrow was beginning to show up to pick his new crew. From a slight distance he was quite the Johnny Depp lookalike so I was happy to stand there, drooling slightly, while Goofy laughed at the comedy of the show and Max tugged at my hand to get going on the ride. Jack Sparrow came a bit closer and the difference in his voice and closer up assured me he was NOT actually Johnny Depp in disguise so I was okay leaving to ride Pirates.
But oh…for a few moments there…yum…
We had a 20 minute wait posted, but in reality it was about 10 minutes. I think this was truly the longest wait I have ever had for this ride – at least since I was a kid. I absolutely loved the changes – they were fabulous! The music from the movie, Davy Jones, Barbossa and Jack, Jack, Jack!!
After POC, we decided to stay in the Pirate mode and have lunch at El Pirata Y El Perico. We haven’t seen it open since our honeymoon and thought tacos sounded good.
They had just opened so we were about the 3rd people in line. I didn’t ask for desserts and they weren’t offered. It wasn’t until later than we realized I should have ordered them with the meals. I guess I assumed either the cashier would have asked me or they were just included, since they had one choice. My bad.
The toppings bar was great, and overall it was a great lunch. We sat outside, but shaded, with a good view of the park. Once we finished, we went to the Haunted Mansion. Goofy bribed Max to go on by promising him a HM pin. Max went on with no problems when he heard this! He loved it so much, we went on a second time. We then did a little shopping - did you know it is almost impossible to find a HM pin AT the MK?
After that, it was on to Fantasyland – Peter Pan and Philharmagic. At Philharmagic, it was a true people watch situation. Right in front of us in the waiting area before you enter the theater there was a girl with her parents – she seemed to be about 15…? Goofy had pointed her out to me because her T-shirt said something about "it's all about me" or some such. For some reason he thought maybe I would like a shirt like it for myself...?
Anyway, in front of her, there was a couple with their little children…maybe 1 and 3? The little kids were excited and happy and chattering away to their parents and their mom. They were really cute. Soon, Minnie Mouse came on the PA to make a few announcements about how the Philharmagic will be starting soon and we need to stay careful of the automagic doors. While she does this, the toddlers kept chattering. I was absolutely floored a second later when the 15 year old actually rudely shushed them and told them to be quiet. At first I thought she had to be their older sister or something, but when her father angrily shushed her right back and they moved, I could tell the two families were were not together. I guess she really believed her T-shirt
We also saw a “dream” awarded while we were there – the first official YOMD thing we saw. A CM made an announcement that a family had been selected to play music for us in the waiting area. They had drums, cymbals, etc. It was cute and the children really seemed to enjoy the attention. We all applauded them enthusiastically.
We loved Philharmagic as always and afterwards we moved on closer to Buzz. We stopped at the Enchanted Grove to get some desserts. We ordered the Strawberry Vanilla swirl and the raspberry lemonade slush. Other than the ice cream headaches we all got, they were the perfect refreshing touch on our hot day.
After this, we went on Buzz and as usual, I stunk. DS, who hasn’t really gotten the gist of the shooting yet did really well at 6800 (he hit something that was 5000 points). I somehow managed to hit a 10,000 target and ended up with 11,600. I was lucky to get that - Max likes to man the controls so when I ride with him we do a lot of spinning. Goofy kicked both our butts with 128,000+.
Did I mention I suck at this game? I still enjoy it though.
We then went on the TTA – I love this ride. It is gentle, breezy, long enough for a good break, and a nice peek into some Tomorrowland buildings. We sat back, relaxed, and chatted as we rode through Tomorrowland and the rides.
When we got off the TTA, it was getting close to 3:00 and we decided it was a good time to head out of the park before the parade hit Main Street. Except the Laugh Floor had a 5 minute wait. Hmmmmm…
We were there already – it was five minutes. We decided to walk on in and see what the newest the MK had to offer was all about. The wait was similar to Philharmagic – not bad, but I think they lied about the “5 minutes” thing. Once inside, we sat down on long plastic light blue benches and enjoyed the show. They do a lot of audience shots on a large screen and I was terrified I would end up on there. I had decided my sunscreen probably had worn off long ago and my face had to be tomato sunburn red. Later I discovered it wasn’t, but at the time vanity was a concern.
The show was very cute and the audience shots were funny for some and not so funny for others, depending on the person they interviewed. The kids were very cute, but one adult was…not? She was trying really hard to be cute and it came off as trying too hard. But overall? We really enjoyed the new attraction. Nice for kids humor, yet still enough for the adults.
Afterwards, we made our way to the front of the park. The end of the parade was in the middle of Main Street, so we were able to walk comfortably to get to the entrance. The down side? Lots of people leave after the parade. We waited a little while (5 minutes?) in the monorail line and were soon seated in air conditioned splendor on our way back to the TTA.
Once there we took advantage of the remote starter on the keychain and got into a nice cool car to go to back to the BCV. We got back to the room around 4:15 and DS took a quick nap while DH and I vegged for a while and then began to get ready for dinner. Goofy dropped Max off at the Sandcastle Club – where he practically ran inside – and then came back to get me. I finished getting freshened up early, so I thought I'd take the elevator down to the lobby and meet him. Once outside the elevator, I looked at the numbers above the second elevator and saw them stop at “3” - the floor our room was on. I smiled, thinking how funny it would be if that were Goofy coming back. I kept walking towards the BC and didn’t see DH so I stopped and called him.
Yup, he was back in the room. We laughed at how close we missed each other and he came back down so we could head over to Epcot.
It had seemed cooler when we first set out, but the humidity was high so it felt muggy on the walk over to Canada. Once there, we checked in behind a family who needed to change their reservation from 4 people to 5. Apparently they had decided to bring their child with them. Their time had to be pushed back close to an hour and they weren’t happy about it. I guess it’s easier to be seated for fewer than you booked, rather than a bigger table.
We checked in next and stood up inside for a while to wait for our table. After just a few minutes, a bench freed up and we were able to sit. Not long after that, they called for “Jennifer for two”. A couple next to us who had just checked in stood up and took the seating. Goofy and I had been expecting to hear our last name, so we hadn’t reacted when we heard my first. He decided to go up and check. The host told him he’d look into it and that our table “would be ready shortly” but as soon as DH sat down there was a mini flurry of activity. A minute later the couple came back up the ramp and a hostess laughed about “imagine – two Jennifers!” As someone who grew up always being one of many Jennifers, I wasn’t quite as surprised…; )
We were seated between a family of four with two daughters and a couple. Our table was for 4, and we sat closer to the family, with the empty chairs next to the couple. I hate when we sit practically on top on the people next to us, so we gave them a little extra privacy.
Our server was very nice – she let us know which province we were seated in (never had that before). I believe we were in New Brunswick. She explained the DDP and let us know we could order shakes and other non alcoholic drinks. For some reason, DH and I decided that ordering chocolate shakes for dinner drinks was ridiculously funny, so we did. We also had water too.
Okay – a quick digression here: I made sure to get a photo of DH drinking his water, as he refuses to drink water 99% of the time. He has to be dying of thirst to do so. I don’t get this, as the water in my city growing up and now has always been delicious. Yes, I know…water? Delicious? But it is!!! I always thought bottled water was bizarre since tap water tasted better. Until I met Goofy. And visited his family in a Chicago suburb. And the water smelled like sulphur. Gack! His parents kept distilled water in the fridge, but DH always preferred juice and soda. I guess I can’t blame him – I used to feel like I smelled like a rotten egg when I’d shower at his parent’s house. But now? He’s been in Wisconsin for almost twelve years now and he still won’t drink water. Weirdo.
So I made him pose when I saw him reduced to drinking some of his water bev...
So back to the TR…
We enjoyed our shakes and felt even more childish about them when the kids at the table next to us ordered Evian. They even had cherries and whipped cream (the shakes - not the Evian
) We decided DS would love one when we brought him back here.
The server came out with the breads and explained the spiel about what they were in honor of. The pretzel bread was hot and we ate that right away. We both ordered the Shrimp Cocktail and I ordered the NY Strip, while Goofy ordered the Mushroom Filet. I told him people raved about it on the food porn thread and he does like mushrooms, so he tried it. He decided he didn’t like mushrooms that much. The filet part was excellent though. For dessert, Goofy ordered a cherry almond shortcake and I got the Canadian Whiskey Cake. Our service was very pleasant and we had a great time. I ended up giving DH part of my steak and he agreed he wanted to order the strip next time we eat here. This meal was the fullest I had felt in the trip. (Photos on my dining review)
After dinner we decided to go back to the BC instead of hanging out at WS, since it had been a long hot day and we were tired. We vegged in the room for a while, debating about swimming, but in the end we opted against it. Goofy went to pick up Max and they went to the Marketplace to get some Mickey ice cream bars/sandwiches for snacks. When they got back to the room, Max found the HM pin Goofy had found and purchased at the BC Marketplace. He was very excited to have something else to add to his new collection.
We all got ready for bed and Max played with his transformers for a while. I read part of my pool book and Goofy watched TV. Before long, we were all asleep and ready for Sunday.
Next Up: Epcot, A mini YOMD for Max, Tropical Depressions and dinner on the Boardwalk
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