Cast:
Chelley
Chicken Girl (Chelley's daughter)
P. F. (Chelley's friend)
Chocoholic (P. F.'s daughter)
**********************
Day Two
Sunday, 25 February 2001
"There's very little a bottle of good wine won't fix."
After our wild day en route to WDW, we decided to sleep in on Sunday. We woke up around 8:00, but didn't get into any rush to leave the room.
It was at this point that I discovered P. F.'s child has a serious addiction to chocolate milk. Immediately upon awaking, she began to moan, "CHOCOLATE. Mama, I want chocolate!" She could not get out of bed until she drank chocolate milk! (I wondered why P. F. had carried a thermos of chocolate milk with her, and I also wondered why she bought milk at Tubbi's the night before and iced it down in the room. Now I understood!)
It was a beautiful, sunny day, and we were surprised by how hot the day became. In fact, I got a bit of a sunburn!
We set out for Epcot on foot. The girls got distracted by the "fun house" mirrors on the BoardWalk and spent several minutes admiring the many contortions of their shapes. Upon arriving at Epcot, Chicken Girl was greeted by a CM who said, "Hi there, my little Valentine," and then called her by name. (She was wearing a tee shirt with a heart on it.) Chicken Girl was amazed. "HOW did that man know my name?" she asked. I pointed out that he might be a good guesser--or it MIGHT be that he had read it on her "Guest of Honor" pin or on her waist pack (where it is monogrammed). She said, "Oh yeah! I forgot all about my PANTY pack!" (Believe me. I have tried. I can talk until I am winded, but CG will always say "panty" instead of "fanny" pack.)
It was about 10:00 A. M., so we headed toward Future World. Chicken Girl kept saying, "I'm ready to DO SOME STUFF!" Kind of funny, since CG is not known for her bravery where rides are concerned.
A very distraught Chicken Girl discovered that the characters were boarding the bus and leaving--just as she approached. I assured her that she would have other opportunities, so she summoned up her strength and continued. She suffered another setback when she realized that the "2000" was missing from Spaceship Earth. Once again, I had TOLD her in advance, but she chose not to believe me. (She is definitely my child. We both tend to need to SEE in order to believe. Oh, we of little faith.
) She was a big fan of the "2000" on top, so I tried to make her feel better by telling her that it was being replaced with the word "Epcot." She drew some will to go on from that promise.
We headed to Spaceship Earth--not because I thought it was a good time to ride, but because I didn't want to listen to Chicken Girl beg for the remainder of the day. I HATE to wait in line; I always wait until the afternoon when there's often no wait for SSE. Nevertheless, CG loves the ride, and I opted to surrender.
After riding SSE (I might have dozed throughout parts. It's not that it's a bad ride. It's that I've ridden it so often I don't need the script. I can recite it.), we headed to Ice Station Cool, with full intent on making P. F. and Chocoholic miserable. P. F.'s reaction to the Beverly? "Tastes like that rinse from the dentist's office!" Chicken Girl discovered that she LOVES the watermelon soda from China.
We walked over to the Land pavilion, where our ever-savvy girls decided to spend some of their hard-earned vacation money on . . . ROCKS. Yep, rocks. Chocoholic only managed to cram a dozen into her bag for $5.50. Chicken Girl was a bit more creative--and managed to come away with 21 rocks into hers. Don't think she didn't rub it in either.
We ate lunch at the Coral Reef at the Living Seas pavilion. We were among the first people to arrive, so we got a great table by the aquarium. Everything was going smoothly until a shark approached. Apparently, Chocoholic didn't realize that the shark couldn't escape; she hit the floor and scrambled under the table so fast that I was amazed. At that point, P. F. set a rule for the trip: It is perfectly acceptable to drink alcoholic beverages early in the day when one is on vacation. Bring on the Reef Runners!
Lunch was delicious. P. F. had mahi-mahi with crawfish etouffee; I had garlic shrimp. We both enjoyed the Chocolate Wave for dessert; it is one of my favorite desserts ever. Great meal--and our server was excellent. We wrote a glowing report about her!
As we were walking back toward the International Gateway, I said, "Nothing is better than a beautiful Sunday at Epcot." Chicken Girl, who is wise beyond her years, said, "Or a Monday, or a Tuesday, or a Wednesday, . . . "
We took the boat back to the Dolphin and spent a few minutes at the hotel. The shooting stars in the foyer are big hits with Chicken Girl and Chocoholic!
We waited for the bus to the Magic Kingdom, and walked to the vehicle when it approached. We stood back a bit in order to let people exit the bus. I noticed a little girl with the most beautiful smile on her face, so I smiled back and said, "What a pretty girl you are!" She grinned at me, and I looked up to smile at her parents. At that point, I realized that I KNEW her parents! The man--years and years ago--was once my sister's boyfriend! Both he and his wife (though younger than me) went to school with my sisters and me. We no longer live in the same area, but it was a nice surprise to see "home" folks at WDW! It's a small world, after all.
We rode to the Magic Kingdom and arrived in time to find a spot in Liberty Square along the parade route. It was really hot outside, and I realized that I was beginning to burn. Nevertheless, one must sacrifice! When one has a good parade-viewing location, one must not abandon it for a small thing such as sunburn!
Chicken Girl was invited to dance with some of the Beauty and the Beast characters. (Chocoholic--who is somewhat character-shy--declined.) At the end of the parade, Pinocchio invited Chicken Girl to dance with him, and she enjoyed all the attention. I did make a mental note that CG will NOT be going to college someday on a dance scholarship.
I was touched by something I saw during the parade. The CM playing the part of Minnie that day (er. . .um. . . oops. . . I meant MINNIE herself) was really good. She made a real effort to make a special needs child feel very welcome and very much a part of the parade; I was gratified to see how happy the child was by Minnie's attention. A GREAT moment.
Magic Kingdom seemed particularly crowded after the parade. We rode "Small World"--where Chicken Girl (a geography buff) grilled me on the countries of origin of each and every doll in the place. I thought the ride would NEVER end.
In ToonTown, we saw Cinderella and Perla at the Hall of Fame. Then, we waited for the WDW Railroad train to arrive. It was hot, and everyone was getting grouchy. The wait was long, and the tempers were short! It was not a proud moment in my parenting career. I do remember saying, "I know you are thirsty. Do you think I am NOT?" ACK. Bad mom.
We exited the park and took the monorail to the Contemporary Resort, as we had a 5:00 PS at Chef Mickey's. When I made the reservaton some time back, I had mentioned that the girls were celebrating their birthdays at WDW, but I hadn't made any special requests. Nevertheless, our server brought out cupcakes with lit candles and Minnie came out to help with the celebration. The girls were VERY excited about Minnie blowing out their candles with them! I was astonished at how much white icing a child could manage to smear on herself while eating one simple cupcake.
I have always been a fan of Chef Mickey's, and the atmosphere was good again this trip. However, the food was not particularly good at all. Our server was wonderful, but the meal itself was not. I did discover that Chicken Girl might be destined for a career in politics as she learned that telling the characters how handsome and or beautiful they are resulted in special treatment! The funniest part of the whole deal was at the end of the meal. I think that Donald Duck must have gotten up on the wrong side of the pond because he was p***ed off about something! I have video footage of what has to be the grouchiest display by a Disney character ever!
We walked back to Magic Kingdom and set up camp for the Main Street Electrical Parade. While Chocoholic DOES drink a lot of milk, she DOES NOT eat much actual food. (A coincidence? I think not! P. F. said, "I've withheld the milk in hopes that she will eat. She won't." Such is the joy of motherhood.) Therefore, she was hungry (although we had just eaten dinner--"we" being a loosely defined word), so we were obliged to buy popcorn for the wait. The girls spilled a few kernels, but someone with a broom magically appeared almost immediately. WDW must be spotless at all times!
The parade was wonderful, as always. We were sitting near the Emporium, so we were at the starting point of the parade. Chicken Girl noticed that one of the butterflies from the parade was sneaking back to the backstage area, so she asked (loudly), "HEY! What happened to her? Did her batteries go out?"
After the parade, we headed back to the Dolphin and watched IllumiNations from our balcony. After bathing the girls and putting them in bed, P. F. and I opened a bottle of good wine, reflected on the day, talked about world peace, and discussed the motives and behaviors of people we know and love. We were busy.
Day 3: Coming up soon!
[This message was edited by Chelley on 03-04-01 at 12:11 AM.]
Chelley
Chicken Girl (Chelley's daughter)
P. F. (Chelley's friend)
Chocoholic (P. F.'s daughter)
**********************
Day Two
Sunday, 25 February 2001
"There's very little a bottle of good wine won't fix."
After our wild day en route to WDW, we decided to sleep in on Sunday. We woke up around 8:00, but didn't get into any rush to leave the room.
It was at this point that I discovered P. F.'s child has a serious addiction to chocolate milk. Immediately upon awaking, she began to moan, "CHOCOLATE. Mama, I want chocolate!" She could not get out of bed until she drank chocolate milk! (I wondered why P. F. had carried a thermos of chocolate milk with her, and I also wondered why she bought milk at Tubbi's the night before and iced it down in the room. Now I understood!)
It was a beautiful, sunny day, and we were surprised by how hot the day became. In fact, I got a bit of a sunburn!
We set out for Epcot on foot. The girls got distracted by the "fun house" mirrors on the BoardWalk and spent several minutes admiring the many contortions of their shapes. Upon arriving at Epcot, Chicken Girl was greeted by a CM who said, "Hi there, my little Valentine," and then called her by name. (She was wearing a tee shirt with a heart on it.) Chicken Girl was amazed. "HOW did that man know my name?" she asked. I pointed out that he might be a good guesser--or it MIGHT be that he had read it on her "Guest of Honor" pin or on her waist pack (where it is monogrammed). She said, "Oh yeah! I forgot all about my PANTY pack!" (Believe me. I have tried. I can talk until I am winded, but CG will always say "panty" instead of "fanny" pack.)
It was about 10:00 A. M., so we headed toward Future World. Chicken Girl kept saying, "I'm ready to DO SOME STUFF!" Kind of funny, since CG is not known for her bravery where rides are concerned.
A very distraught Chicken Girl discovered that the characters were boarding the bus and leaving--just as she approached. I assured her that she would have other opportunities, so she summoned up her strength and continued. She suffered another setback when she realized that the "2000" was missing from Spaceship Earth. Once again, I had TOLD her in advance, but she chose not to believe me. (She is definitely my child. We both tend to need to SEE in order to believe. Oh, we of little faith.
) She was a big fan of the "2000" on top, so I tried to make her feel better by telling her that it was being replaced with the word "Epcot." She drew some will to go on from that promise.We headed to Spaceship Earth--not because I thought it was a good time to ride, but because I didn't want to listen to Chicken Girl beg for the remainder of the day. I HATE to wait in line; I always wait until the afternoon when there's often no wait for SSE. Nevertheless, CG loves the ride, and I opted to surrender.
After riding SSE (I might have dozed throughout parts. It's not that it's a bad ride. It's that I've ridden it so often I don't need the script. I can recite it.), we headed to Ice Station Cool, with full intent on making P. F. and Chocoholic miserable. P. F.'s reaction to the Beverly? "Tastes like that rinse from the dentist's office!" Chicken Girl discovered that she LOVES the watermelon soda from China.
We walked over to the Land pavilion, where our ever-savvy girls decided to spend some of their hard-earned vacation money on . . . ROCKS. Yep, rocks. Chocoholic only managed to cram a dozen into her bag for $5.50. Chicken Girl was a bit more creative--and managed to come away with 21 rocks into hers. Don't think she didn't rub it in either.
We ate lunch at the Coral Reef at the Living Seas pavilion. We were among the first people to arrive, so we got a great table by the aquarium. Everything was going smoothly until a shark approached. Apparently, Chocoholic didn't realize that the shark couldn't escape; she hit the floor and scrambled under the table so fast that I was amazed. At that point, P. F. set a rule for the trip: It is perfectly acceptable to drink alcoholic beverages early in the day when one is on vacation. Bring on the Reef Runners!
Lunch was delicious. P. F. had mahi-mahi with crawfish etouffee; I had garlic shrimp. We both enjoyed the Chocolate Wave for dessert; it is one of my favorite desserts ever. Great meal--and our server was excellent. We wrote a glowing report about her!
As we were walking back toward the International Gateway, I said, "Nothing is better than a beautiful Sunday at Epcot." Chicken Girl, who is wise beyond her years, said, "Or a Monday, or a Tuesday, or a Wednesday, . . . "
We took the boat back to the Dolphin and spent a few minutes at the hotel. The shooting stars in the foyer are big hits with Chicken Girl and Chocoholic!
We waited for the bus to the Magic Kingdom, and walked to the vehicle when it approached. We stood back a bit in order to let people exit the bus. I noticed a little girl with the most beautiful smile on her face, so I smiled back and said, "What a pretty girl you are!" She grinned at me, and I looked up to smile at her parents. At that point, I realized that I KNEW her parents! The man--years and years ago--was once my sister's boyfriend! Both he and his wife (though younger than me) went to school with my sisters and me. We no longer live in the same area, but it was a nice surprise to see "home" folks at WDW! It's a small world, after all.
We rode to the Magic Kingdom and arrived in time to find a spot in Liberty Square along the parade route. It was really hot outside, and I realized that I was beginning to burn. Nevertheless, one must sacrifice! When one has a good parade-viewing location, one must not abandon it for a small thing such as sunburn!
Chicken Girl was invited to dance with some of the Beauty and the Beast characters. (Chocoholic--who is somewhat character-shy--declined.) At the end of the parade, Pinocchio invited Chicken Girl to dance with him, and she enjoyed all the attention. I did make a mental note that CG will NOT be going to college someday on a dance scholarship.
I was touched by something I saw during the parade. The CM playing the part of Minnie that day (er. . .um. . . oops. . . I meant MINNIE herself) was really good. She made a real effort to make a special needs child feel very welcome and very much a part of the parade; I was gratified to see how happy the child was by Minnie's attention. A GREAT moment.
Magic Kingdom seemed particularly crowded after the parade. We rode "Small World"--where Chicken Girl (a geography buff) grilled me on the countries of origin of each and every doll in the place. I thought the ride would NEVER end.
In ToonTown, we saw Cinderella and Perla at the Hall of Fame. Then, we waited for the WDW Railroad train to arrive. It was hot, and everyone was getting grouchy. The wait was long, and the tempers were short! It was not a proud moment in my parenting career. I do remember saying, "I know you are thirsty. Do you think I am NOT?" ACK. Bad mom.
We exited the park and took the monorail to the Contemporary Resort, as we had a 5:00 PS at Chef Mickey's. When I made the reservaton some time back, I had mentioned that the girls were celebrating their birthdays at WDW, but I hadn't made any special requests. Nevertheless, our server brought out cupcakes with lit candles and Minnie came out to help with the celebration. The girls were VERY excited about Minnie blowing out their candles with them! I was astonished at how much white icing a child could manage to smear on herself while eating one simple cupcake.
I have always been a fan of Chef Mickey's, and the atmosphere was good again this trip. However, the food was not particularly good at all. Our server was wonderful, but the meal itself was not. I did discover that Chicken Girl might be destined for a career in politics as she learned that telling the characters how handsome and or beautiful they are resulted in special treatment! The funniest part of the whole deal was at the end of the meal. I think that Donald Duck must have gotten up on the wrong side of the pond because he was p***ed off about something! I have video footage of what has to be the grouchiest display by a Disney character ever!
We walked back to Magic Kingdom and set up camp for the Main Street Electrical Parade. While Chocoholic DOES drink a lot of milk, she DOES NOT eat much actual food. (A coincidence? I think not!
P. F. said, "I've withheld the milk in hopes that she will eat. She won't." Such is the joy of motherhood.) Therefore, she was hungry (although we had just eaten dinner--"we" being a loosely defined word), so we were obliged to buy popcorn for the wait. The girls spilled a few kernels, but someone with a broom magically appeared almost immediately. WDW must be spotless at all times!The parade was wonderful, as always. We were sitting near the Emporium, so we were at the starting point of the parade. Chicken Girl noticed that one of the butterflies from the parade was sneaking back to the backstage area, so she asked (loudly), "HEY! What happened to her? Did her batteries go out?"
After the parade, we headed back to the Dolphin and watched IllumiNations from our balcony. After bathing the girls and putting them in bed, P. F. and I opened a bottle of good wine, reflected on the day, talked about world peace, and discussed the motives and behaviors of people we know and love. We were busy.
Day 3: Coming up soon!
[This message was edited by Chelley on 03-04-01 at 12:11 AM.]
