Day Four
Tuesday, 27 February 2001
"How to Traumatize a Small Child without Even Trying"
We slept late on Tuesday (after a horrible night). Chicken Girl awoke with a runny nose, but she didn't seem terribly ill. She said her throat felt "kinda tickly," but that she was okay.
We arranged for a towncar to take us from the Dolphin to the Grand Floridian, where we ate a quick breakfast at Gasparilla's Grill. We enjoyed meeting some other Louisianians there and wished each other a happy Mardi Gras.
We dropped the girls off at the Mousekeeter Club for the Grand Adventures in Cooking. Chicken Girl had met Chef Drew in November, so she was so excited about seeing him again. I had to explain to her that he saw children every day and that he probably would not remember her. She looked at me as if I were insane and said, "Of course, he'll remember ME!" Chicken Girl is nothing if not confident.
P. F. and I caught the monorail and did some resort hopping. When we pulled up to the Polynesian Resort, a kid who had been riding in our car looked around with disgust and said, "HEY! This ride STINKS!" We cracked up. After some shopping, we returned to the Grand Floridian and waited for the girls. While we sat in the area at the entry to the G. F. Cafe, we noticed Geppetto (sp?) wandering about. Surreal universe.
Eventually, Chef Drew and his merry band of chefs appeared. Chicken Girl and Chocoholic were among the four children who participated in the event on this day; they made pizzas. The kids distributed pizzas to any persons in the vicinity who appeared to be halfway friendly--and to some who did not! CG told Chef Drew that she would see him tomorrow at the Tea Party (for which I am sure he was indeed grateful--HA!), and we headed back to the Dolphin.
After a nap and a bit of schoolwork, we headed to MGM Studios. I announced that we would try out the new walkway; I don't think I realized how far the distance actually was! Don't get me wrong: P. F. and I were fine--but the girls began to drag a bit! It was SO HOT outside. A friend of mine had warned me that it would be hot at this time of year. I didn't believe him, but I admit it now: HE WAS RIGHT.
We rode the Great Movie Ride, and I was very worried about a child on board. When the gangster took over, he made the mistake of asking the child, "What are YOU looking at, kid?" The child collapsed in sobs. YIKES! Then, when we got to the Alien part, the kid had a complete and total hysterical fit. I felt really sorry for him and for his parents! Eventually, he did stop sobbing; they got him focused on Tarzan or something! Chicken Girl loves the Great Movie Ride, and I like it too. I felt a little sentimental in the Casablanca part. I dare anyone to think of a better line in movie history than "Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon, and for the rest of your life . . . We'll always have Paris."
Makes me weepy just to think about it. I am a sap.
We wandered around MGM for a while with nothing particular to do. After seeing the Little Mermaid show, we caught the boat back to the Dolphin.
I thought that Chicken Girl was behaving strangely, so I asked her if she felt well. She assured me that she was fine, so we carried on with our evening plans. (Chicken Girl lied, by the way.)
We caught the bus to Magic Kingdom and collected our wristbands for e-ticket night. Then, we took the monorail to the Polynesian Resort for dinner at Kona Cafe. This restaurant is a favorite of my family's, and it didn't disappoint. We enjoyed our dinner very much--and the desserts were wonderful.
We returned to Magic Kingdom and attempted to get to the back of the park. Impossible. The Main Street Electrical Parade was in progress, so we got detained--but we did get another (final) look at the parade. I can't believe it's leaving in April! I'll miss it!
After the parade, we did manage to make the children happy by letting them ride Snow White's Scary Adventures and by touring Minnie's house in ToonTown. Several rides were closed because of lightning.
We began e-ticket night by riding Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. This admission may reveal me to be a shrew, but here it is anyway: I was really irritated to see some cast members asking people if they had wristbands for e-ticket night. The people said, "No." The cast members said, "Well, go ahead and ride anyway." Now, I'm all for everyone having a happy vacation, and I am usually a generous person, but it does take some of the purpose of e-ticket night if people who have NOT paid to participate are allowed to do so. Call me evil, but that's how I feel. (I have "fairness" issues, I suppose.) If I were a dwarf, I'd be Grumpy.
Chicken Girl CLOBBERED me on Buzz's ride. Her score? 212,200. My score? 4300. She was quite pleased. She requested my cell phone. "Why?" I asked. "To call Dad and tell him," she replied. I can't believe I'm rearing a "gloater." Perhaps we should work on the concept of "having fun" rather than "winning at all costs." Then again, nah.
We walked across Magic Kingdom in order to ride the girls' favorite ride, Haunted Mansion. Chicken Girl loves to interact with the cast members, and they always seem delighted with a little kid who is not afraid. Don't get me wrong: She's not called Chicken Girl for nothing. She is TERRIFIED of fast rides, but ghosts and darkness don't bother her at all. We rode Haunted Mansion twice, then discovered that the rain had hit.
At that point, Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain were closed. Astro Orbiter was closed. E-ticket night was pretty much a bust.
We decided to call it a night, and began our trek through the park--getting soaked in the process. We caught the bus to the Dolphin and arrived looking very much like drowned rats.
Another day, another couple of dollars.
Day 5: Soon!
Tuesday, 27 February 2001
"How to Traumatize a Small Child without Even Trying"
We slept late on Tuesday (after a horrible night). Chicken Girl awoke with a runny nose, but she didn't seem terribly ill. She said her throat felt "kinda tickly," but that she was okay.
We arranged for a towncar to take us from the Dolphin to the Grand Floridian, where we ate a quick breakfast at Gasparilla's Grill. We enjoyed meeting some other Louisianians there and wished each other a happy Mardi Gras.
We dropped the girls off at the Mousekeeter Club for the Grand Adventures in Cooking. Chicken Girl had met Chef Drew in November, so she was so excited about seeing him again. I had to explain to her that he saw children every day and that he probably would not remember her. She looked at me as if I were insane and said, "Of course, he'll remember ME!" Chicken Girl is nothing if not confident.
P. F. and I caught the monorail and did some resort hopping. When we pulled up to the Polynesian Resort, a kid who had been riding in our car looked around with disgust and said, "HEY! This ride STINKS!" We cracked up. After some shopping, we returned to the Grand Floridian and waited for the girls. While we sat in the area at the entry to the G. F. Cafe, we noticed Geppetto (sp?) wandering about. Surreal universe.
Eventually, Chef Drew and his merry band of chefs appeared. Chicken Girl and Chocoholic were among the four children who participated in the event on this day; they made pizzas. The kids distributed pizzas to any persons in the vicinity who appeared to be halfway friendly--and to some who did not! CG told Chef Drew that she would see him tomorrow at the Tea Party (for which I am sure he was indeed grateful--HA!), and we headed back to the Dolphin.
After a nap and a bit of schoolwork, we headed to MGM Studios. I announced that we would try out the new walkway; I don't think I realized how far the distance actually was! Don't get me wrong: P. F. and I were fine--but the girls began to drag a bit! It was SO HOT outside. A friend of mine had warned me that it would be hot at this time of year. I didn't believe him, but I admit it now: HE WAS RIGHT.
We rode the Great Movie Ride, and I was very worried about a child on board. When the gangster took over, he made the mistake of asking the child, "What are YOU looking at, kid?" The child collapsed in sobs. YIKES! Then, when we got to the Alien part, the kid had a complete and total hysterical fit. I felt really sorry for him and for his parents! Eventually, he did stop sobbing; they got him focused on Tarzan or something! Chicken Girl loves the Great Movie Ride, and I like it too. I felt a little sentimental in the Casablanca part. I dare anyone to think of a better line in movie history than "Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon, and for the rest of your life . . . We'll always have Paris."
Makes me weepy just to think about it. I am a sap.We wandered around MGM for a while with nothing particular to do. After seeing the Little Mermaid show, we caught the boat back to the Dolphin.
I thought that Chicken Girl was behaving strangely, so I asked her if she felt well. She assured me that she was fine, so we carried on with our evening plans. (Chicken Girl lied, by the way.)
We caught the bus to Magic Kingdom and collected our wristbands for e-ticket night. Then, we took the monorail to the Polynesian Resort for dinner at Kona Cafe. This restaurant is a favorite of my family's, and it didn't disappoint. We enjoyed our dinner very much--and the desserts were wonderful.
We returned to Magic Kingdom and attempted to get to the back of the park. Impossible. The Main Street Electrical Parade was in progress, so we got detained--but we did get another (final) look at the parade. I can't believe it's leaving in April! I'll miss it!
After the parade, we did manage to make the children happy by letting them ride Snow White's Scary Adventures and by touring Minnie's house in ToonTown. Several rides were closed because of lightning.
We began e-ticket night by riding Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. This admission may reveal me to be a shrew, but here it is anyway: I was really irritated to see some cast members asking people if they had wristbands for e-ticket night. The people said, "No." The cast members said, "Well, go ahead and ride anyway." Now, I'm all for everyone having a happy vacation, and I am usually a generous person, but it does take some of the purpose of e-ticket night if people who have NOT paid to participate are allowed to do so. Call me evil, but that's how I feel. (I have "fairness" issues, I suppose.) If I were a dwarf, I'd be Grumpy.
Chicken Girl CLOBBERED me on Buzz's ride. Her score? 212,200. My score? 4300. She was quite pleased. She requested my cell phone. "Why?" I asked. "To call Dad and tell him," she replied. I can't believe I'm rearing a "gloater." Perhaps we should work on the concept of "having fun" rather than "winning at all costs." Then again, nah.
We walked across Magic Kingdom in order to ride the girls' favorite ride, Haunted Mansion. Chicken Girl loves to interact with the cast members, and they always seem delighted with a little kid who is not afraid. Don't get me wrong: She's not called Chicken Girl for nothing. She is TERRIFIED of fast rides, but ghosts and darkness don't bother her at all. We rode Haunted Mansion twice, then discovered that the rain had hit.
At that point, Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain were closed. Astro Orbiter was closed. E-ticket night was pretty much a bust.
We decided to call it a night, and began our trek through the park--getting soaked in the process. We caught the bus to the Dolphin and arrived looking very much like drowned rats.
Another day, another couple of dollars.
Day 5: Soon!
