Insane Disney World crew:
Me- (25)-the planner, tour guide, benevolent boss
Mom- (50ish) classic mother, loves family vacations
Dad- (60ish) recently retired, quite laid back, slight troublemaker (in a good way)
I woke up to Mickey. I knew I was in heaven. What other morning can one feel better than on their first morning of vacation at WDW. It was approx. 6:30. Enough time to shower, dress, brush teeth, eat breakfast, and get to Animal Kingdom for early entry. These things were done and we got to Animal Kingdom by 7:50, allowing time to pick up our park hoppers and my birthday pin at the guest relations booth. As soon as I put the pin on, all of the cast members started doting on me and wishing me happy b-day. I won¡¦t beat around the bush, I love being the center of attention. As soon as the park opened, we ran to the safari ride......well......until my dad saw a coffee stand. We stopped to get some coffee and quickly walked toward the safari ride. When ewe got there, there was no line so we hung back while my dad finished his coffee. Then we took the first of many restroom breaks, and THEN we rode the safari ride. This was a big hit with everyone. Great ride. Then, another restroom break. My mom and I were marveling at how Disney was smart enough to have entertainment planned for those waiting on their loved ones to use the restrooms. They had an African percussionist entertainer right beside the restroom entertaining everyone who was waiting for their loved ones with small bladders. Anyway, the parents were already impressed with Animal Kingdom. ¡§The foliage is just so beautiful.¡¨ Next we went on the African nature trail, and saw a lot of cool animals. After that, we were going to go to the rapid ride but decided that we should see Flights of Wonder first..........as the show was about to start. After seeing the show, my father quoted ¡§that was the most impressive bird show that I have ever seen.¡¨ I will ditto that ( even though I had already seen it before). Next, we went on the Kali River Rapid Ride. We marveled at the trail that the had to follow to get to the ride (which, by the way usually contains a line......but not during offseason). My parents seemed truly thankful that I had overplanned for this trip to the extent that I bought everyone ponchos to wear for this ride. We all took off our shoes, put on ponchos, and rolled up or jeans before boarding the rafts. The ¡§large¡¨ dip in this ride marked the first time that I got to hear this cute little scream from my mother (she fears drops of any sort). Anyway, I heard her little scream during the dip and grabbed her poncho hood, as I knew that she was more concerned with holding on rather than keeping water from entering her poncho. It was cute. We got off of the ride, dried the few places that got wet, despite the ponchos........and then it started raining. OK, this could have put a damper on the day. And it kinda did, but only for about 15 minutes. But then we decided to run into ¡§it¡¦s tough to be a Bug.¡¨ The parents marveled about the theaming under the tree and then my dad noticed a sign saying that this show might be too intense for you viewers....or something. He started to get curious. Needless to say, they loved the show. The whole maggot thing really surprised them. I got a great picture of my dad as a typical Clark Griswold wearing his ¡§bug¡¨ 3D glasses. When we got out of the show it was still raining but just barely...;....and it quit within 5 min. Luckily, this was the only rain that we saw the whole time we were there. So, we headed for Dinolan USA. We got fastpasses for Dinosaur and headed for Dinorama. Before my mother had a chance to size up the coaster, we rode Primevil Whirl (the wild mouse coaster). We all had fun but my dad and I had fun making loving fun of my mothers cute little screams. Then, we took, yet another bathroom break and headed back to Dinosaur. The parents were very impressed with this ride. I must say...........it is a great ride! At this point, we decided that it was time to head to Epcot.
I was dying to ride to the monorail so I suggested that we should park in the MK lot and ride the monorail to Epcot. The parents agreed as long as we could fit in a 30 min. snooze before we went to Epcot. I explained that this wasn¡¦t ¡§planned¡¨ but that since we were staying onsite, we could fit in an unscheduled break as long as it didn¡¦t exceed 30 min º.
So we did this and then headed to Epcot. I love listening to the Spanish equivalent of ¡§please stand clear of the doors¡¨ on the monorail. We get to Epcot and run to get fastpasses for test track ( I had briefed the parents on this exercise on the monorail). Rhen we stopped at the Electric Umbrella for some more coffee and another restroom break. Then we went to the Living Seas. I briefed the parents that the Living Seas is neat but due for refurbishment as there are better aquariums more local to home. After seeing it, they agreed with me. Then, we ran to Test Track as our fastpass time was up. My dad loved this ride! He thought it was absolutely terrific (as do I). My mother, on the other had, was pretty frightened by the speed at the end of the ride. I thought that she would be able to handle this ride because her primary ride deterrent is a big dip, or drop. Test Track doesn¡¦t have a big drop so I though that she would be OK. The point is, she liked the ride until the end, when it got fast. She closed her eyes which caused her to experience a little bit of motion sickness. She didn¡¦t want to ride again. I felt pretty bad. But then, it was dinner time. We went to World Showcase, right as Tapestry of Dreams as starting. Therefore, we were looking for a good place to eat while the World Showcase was coming alive. What a great atmosphere. We finally decided to eat in Germany. This was a great meal. A buffet. We ate as though we would never eat again. The food was wonderful.....and then dessert............ Midway through the meal, the stage curtain opened and a quartet began to play. My dad¡¦s face came alive, as he loves the sound of the trumpet. This group played thoughout most of our meal. We were almost finished eating and the time approached 9:00, time for Illuminations. This display is among my favorite things at WDW so I asked the parents if they world mind if I went on outside to get a beer before Illuminations while they finished their dessert. They didn¡¦t mind ( what agreeable people) and so I did just that. I got the large $10.00 beer and then Illuminations started. My parents were missing it! Luckily they would have a chance to see it again later in the week. They came out of the restaurant during the slower part of Illuminations and were asking ¡§ where are all of those fireworks that you were talking about.........I don¡¦t see any.¡¨ Well, needless to say, they saw some before the show was over. This was interesting to me because I had never seen Illuminations from this side of the lake. I had always watched it from the Futureworld side. I decided that I liked the futureworld side better as I was able to observe more of the explosions and stuff. However, the big globe thing was closer to the Germany side and I was able to see the images on it much better. I assured the parents that we would see the show again later in the week from the Futureworld side. From what they saw of Illuminations that night, they loved it.........¡¨what an impressive show!¡¨ We left Epcot to the sound of ¡§We go On¡¨.....music that I know form my Illumination CD. This is my favorite time in the parks. Lights are twinkling and they are everywhere. People are happy, and magic abounds. I realize, yet again, that I am so glad that we are staying onsite so that I don¡¦t actually have to leave this place. We get to the ASMo, a prepare for another fun day. I fall asleep to ¡§Zip pa de do dah........tip for today.........
Me- (25)-the planner, tour guide, benevolent boss
Mom- (50ish) classic mother, loves family vacations
Dad- (60ish) recently retired, quite laid back, slight troublemaker (in a good way)
I woke up to Mickey. I knew I was in heaven. What other morning can one feel better than on their first morning of vacation at WDW. It was approx. 6:30. Enough time to shower, dress, brush teeth, eat breakfast, and get to Animal Kingdom for early entry. These things were done and we got to Animal Kingdom by 7:50, allowing time to pick up our park hoppers and my birthday pin at the guest relations booth. As soon as I put the pin on, all of the cast members started doting on me and wishing me happy b-day. I won¡¦t beat around the bush, I love being the center of attention. As soon as the park opened, we ran to the safari ride......well......until my dad saw a coffee stand. We stopped to get some coffee and quickly walked toward the safari ride. When ewe got there, there was no line so we hung back while my dad finished his coffee. Then we took the first of many restroom breaks, and THEN we rode the safari ride. This was a big hit with everyone. Great ride. Then, another restroom break. My mom and I were marveling at how Disney was smart enough to have entertainment planned for those waiting on their loved ones to use the restrooms. They had an African percussionist entertainer right beside the restroom entertaining everyone who was waiting for their loved ones with small bladders. Anyway, the parents were already impressed with Animal Kingdom. ¡§The foliage is just so beautiful.¡¨ Next we went on the African nature trail, and saw a lot of cool animals. After that, we were going to go to the rapid ride but decided that we should see Flights of Wonder first..........as the show was about to start. After seeing the show, my father quoted ¡§that was the most impressive bird show that I have ever seen.¡¨ I will ditto that ( even though I had already seen it before). Next, we went on the Kali River Rapid Ride. We marveled at the trail that the had to follow to get to the ride (which, by the way usually contains a line......but not during offseason). My parents seemed truly thankful that I had overplanned for this trip to the extent that I bought everyone ponchos to wear for this ride. We all took off our shoes, put on ponchos, and rolled up or jeans before boarding the rafts. The ¡§large¡¨ dip in this ride marked the first time that I got to hear this cute little scream from my mother (she fears drops of any sort). Anyway, I heard her little scream during the dip and grabbed her poncho hood, as I knew that she was more concerned with holding on rather than keeping water from entering her poncho. It was cute. We got off of the ride, dried the few places that got wet, despite the ponchos........and then it started raining. OK, this could have put a damper on the day. And it kinda did, but only for about 15 minutes. But then we decided to run into ¡§it¡¦s tough to be a Bug.¡¨ The parents marveled about the theaming under the tree and then my dad noticed a sign saying that this show might be too intense for you viewers....or something. He started to get curious. Needless to say, they loved the show. The whole maggot thing really surprised them. I got a great picture of my dad as a typical Clark Griswold wearing his ¡§bug¡¨ 3D glasses. When we got out of the show it was still raining but just barely...;....and it quit within 5 min. Luckily, this was the only rain that we saw the whole time we were there. So, we headed for Dinolan USA. We got fastpasses for Dinosaur and headed for Dinorama. Before my mother had a chance to size up the coaster, we rode Primevil Whirl (the wild mouse coaster). We all had fun but my dad and I had fun making loving fun of my mothers cute little screams. Then, we took, yet another bathroom break and headed back to Dinosaur. The parents were very impressed with this ride. I must say...........it is a great ride! At this point, we decided that it was time to head to Epcot.
I was dying to ride to the monorail so I suggested that we should park in the MK lot and ride the monorail to Epcot. The parents agreed as long as we could fit in a 30 min. snooze before we went to Epcot. I explained that this wasn¡¦t ¡§planned¡¨ but that since we were staying onsite, we could fit in an unscheduled break as long as it didn¡¦t exceed 30 min º.
So we did this and then headed to Epcot. I love listening to the Spanish equivalent of ¡§please stand clear of the doors¡¨ on the monorail. We get to Epcot and run to get fastpasses for test track ( I had briefed the parents on this exercise on the monorail). Rhen we stopped at the Electric Umbrella for some more coffee and another restroom break. Then we went to the Living Seas. I briefed the parents that the Living Seas is neat but due for refurbishment as there are better aquariums more local to home. After seeing it, they agreed with me. Then, we ran to Test Track as our fastpass time was up. My dad loved this ride! He thought it was absolutely terrific (as do I). My mother, on the other had, was pretty frightened by the speed at the end of the ride. I thought that she would be able to handle this ride because her primary ride deterrent is a big dip, or drop. Test Track doesn¡¦t have a big drop so I though that she would be OK. The point is, she liked the ride until the end, when it got fast. She closed her eyes which caused her to experience a little bit of motion sickness. She didn¡¦t want to ride again. I felt pretty bad. But then, it was dinner time. We went to World Showcase, right as Tapestry of Dreams as starting. Therefore, we were looking for a good place to eat while the World Showcase was coming alive. What a great atmosphere. We finally decided to eat in Germany. This was a great meal. A buffet. We ate as though we would never eat again. The food was wonderful.....and then dessert............ Midway through the meal, the stage curtain opened and a quartet began to play. My dad¡¦s face came alive, as he loves the sound of the trumpet. This group played thoughout most of our meal. We were almost finished eating and the time approached 9:00, time for Illuminations. This display is among my favorite things at WDW so I asked the parents if they world mind if I went on outside to get a beer before Illuminations while they finished their dessert. They didn¡¦t mind ( what agreeable people) and so I did just that. I got the large $10.00 beer and then Illuminations started. My parents were missing it! Luckily they would have a chance to see it again later in the week. They came out of the restaurant during the slower part of Illuminations and were asking ¡§ where are all of those fireworks that you were talking about.........I don¡¦t see any.¡¨ Well, needless to say, they saw some before the show was over. This was interesting to me because I had never seen Illuminations from this side of the lake. I had always watched it from the Futureworld side. I decided that I liked the futureworld side better as I was able to observe more of the explosions and stuff. However, the big globe thing was closer to the Germany side and I was able to see the images on it much better. I assured the parents that we would see the show again later in the week from the Futureworld side. From what they saw of Illuminations that night, they loved it.........¡¨what an impressive show!¡¨ We left Epcot to the sound of ¡§We go On¡¨.....music that I know form my Illumination CD. This is my favorite time in the parks. Lights are twinkling and they are everywhere. People are happy, and magic abounds. I realize, yet again, that I am so glad that we are staying onsite so that I don¡¦t actually have to leave this place. We get to the ASMo, a prepare for another fun day. I fall asleep to ¡§Zip pa de do dah........tip for today.........
