Casey's mom
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Mar 15, 2000
- Messages
- 163
Sunday, March 11, 2001
Cast:
Me: 34, obsessive Disney planner (but I try to keep that to myself)
DH: 43, tolerates WDW, but would rather go windsurfing (outnumbered on this point, however)
Casey: 4-1/2, not the most adventurous but loves going to WDW!
Chrissie: 3, almost always happy, loves dinosaurs, the color purple and visiting Disney
Mickey woke us up at 6:30, which was a little tough to take on the first full day of a vacation. We got up quickly, dressed and got downstairs for the 7am bus to the Magic Kingdom. We were told that we could only count on this one bus to get us to MK for an 8am breakfast since the park doesnâÂÂt open til 9. The good news was we made the bus on time and got to the gate of the MK by 7:15am. The bad news was that they wouldnâÂÂt let anyone in until 8 on the nose. A few minutes before 8, they chose a little girl named Sidney (how they picked her I have no idea), gave her a magic wand and a certificate and had her officially open the park at 8 with a big countdown. This was very cute! We scurried right past Sidney and family and Casey and I ran most of the way to the castle. DH and Chrissie caught up with us and we walked up to the desk for our breakfast in the castle. The girls have been talking about this for 60 days (I didnâÂÂt tell them about it until we got the PS). We were the 2nd or 3rd family seated and got a great table by a big stained glass window looking out at the carousel and Dumbo. The food was OK but weâÂÂve had much betterâ I liked the stuffed French toast, DH ate the eggs and the kids were a little too distracted to eat much. (But letâÂÂs be real, we were there for the princesses, not the food). We had a hard time getting coffee refills, but every time I turned around, our server filled up our orange juice glasses. First we met Alice in Wonderland, then Cinderella, Jasmine, Snow White and Belle. Somewhere in the midst of this, I ran out of film (I know, major faux pas). So I only got pictures of the girls with 3 of the 5 princesses. Somehow I thought I had a 36 exposure roll which turned out to be 24 (OUCH!). The Fairy Godmother was in the lobby area below, but we skipped waiting to meet her as it was about 8:55 and I didnâÂÂt want to risk missing the rope drop.
We hovered on the side of the check-in desk then realized the door just inside the restaurant had been unlocked by a crafty restaurant-goer who wanted to get to Dumbo before us (not a chance). We scurried inside just as they started letting people into the park and walked out the door. Casey and I walked/trotted (well, ran really even though you arenâÂÂt allowed) to Dumbo (of course) and were about the 10th in line. DH and Chrissie caught up and we made it on to the first ride of Dumbo (MISSION: ACCOMPLISHED!!!!) Minnie and Mickey rode with a boy and girl who looked to be around 7 or so and we all had a great time. We girls were so excited to finally be at the Magic Kingdom. As I mentioned, we had been talking about the princess breakfast followed by the brisk walk (read: sprint) to Dumbo for 2 months!
We headed over to the Pooh Bear ride to pick up fastpasses, but the line was almost nonexistent and we got on right away. This was a great ride for the girls. I picked up some film at the information booth right outside the ride (how did I forget to bring film today?) and we were back in business. We backtracked to CinderellaâÂÂs carousel at ChrissieâÂÂs request. Casey was afraid of sitting up high on a horse and insisted on sitting on a bench. She has no trouble with merry-go-rounds at home, but she is afraid of this one. It makes no sense to me since she tried far scarier rides this trip. The next request was a meeting with Ariel so we headed over to her cave. The line wasnâÂÂt bad, but DH decided to skip it and he headed to Space Mountain to pick up fastpasses for later. We agreed to meet at the Buzz ride in a few minutes. We got a nice picture with Ariel and the girls and I hurried to Buzz, then unsuccessfully looked for DH. As an aside, the Teacups were closed, which was really too bad, as the girls loved this ride last year. As the list of completely non-threatening rides (no darkness, nothing scary or too thrilling happening) is pretty short, I am sad when even one of those isnâÂÂt open. Oh well⦠plenty of fun stuff to do.
We still couldnâÂÂt find DH and thought we would just get on the line for Buzz and hope he would see us and hop in line with us before we got inside (or maybe, I thought at this point, he might be waiting for us inside)â¦I had no idea. The line moved so quickly that we were inside in a few minutes (no sign of DH) and since most of the maze inside wasnâÂÂt in use, we walked right onto the ride (without DH). I must have hit some big targets, because my score was just shy of 500,000. Chrissie just took it all in (she loves Buzz) and Casey shot a few targets, but was a little afraid of Zurg. We found DH soon after we got outside and headed over to Space Mountain. DH rode first and I followed. Fastpass gets you to the front of the line, but it still takes a fair amount of time to walk through the mazes to get to the loading area. Next, on to GoofyâÂÂs Barnstormer. Both girls were excited to try this, but a little scared as well. Casey sat with me and I held onto her during the ride. She didnâÂÂt love it, but did really well all the same. DH sat with Chrissie and rode with his arms in the air (trying to show Chrissie that it was ok to do so). I think this made her even more scared as she was now worried for his safety as well as her own and she cried through much of the ride (Oops â parental guilt). We consoled her with a walk through MinnieâÂÂs house and a trip next door where we met Cinderella (looked like a different one from the one we met at breakfast 2 hours before, but the girls didnâÂÂt notice), Minnie Mouse and Goofy. At this point it was just about noon, and the girls were exhausted. We skipped getting a stroller in the morning because we were rushing to the castle for breakfast and we were paying for it now. So, we jumped on to the train for a ride back to the bottom of Main Street and we headed for the hotel. While it was still pretty early, we had been running around since 7am, so we needed a break.
We quickly changed into bathing suits and ran down to Stormalong Bay for a swim. We had lunch at Hurricane HannaâÂÂs (which was OK) and swam until about 3pm. Last year, Casey wouldnâÂÂt go down the small waterslide without me and by the time we left the pool, she was going down the slide by herself and swimming to the side of the pool solo. She was very proud of herself and her newly found courage! The kids and DH slept until a little after 6 (yes, 3 hour naps!) while I worked (remember that briefcase full of stuffâ¦..) then we cleaned up and met our friends downstairs to head over to Chef MickeyâÂÂs for dinner.
Our friends Carolyn and Larry and their kids Leigh (4) and William (2-1/2) drove up from Jupiter (visiting CarolynâÂÂs parents) and checked in around 2. We must have just missed them at the pool, because they said they were swimming by 3pm. They came up for a two night stay so the kids (who are all very good friends) could see Disney together. [WARNING to anyone who gets green with envy: READ NO FURTHER!!!!] Our phone was out of order for a while and when it came back on there was a message from Carolyn asking me to give her a call in room 5149 (or something like that). Like me, she had reserved a standard view room (cheapest available, which is still not cheap) and got a mediocre view out the front of the hotelâ¦ON THE CONCIERGE LEVEL!!!!! Funny thing was, she had no idea that this was a big deal. Once she gave me her room number, I walked to the elevators and hit up. There were people in the elevator going to 5, so they had already coded in the 5th Floor (you need special room keys just to get up to the 5th floor). I found them up there dining on snacks and having some drinks in their lounge and her concierge had confirmed our table for 8 at Chef MickeyâÂÂs. It was a great bonus for them as they had breakfast both mornings there and had assorted snacks throughout the day and before dinner each night.
We drove to the Contemporary and checked in at the restaurant. The kids played with Goofy and Donald Duck for about 15 minutes until we were seated at our table. Dinner was better than expected for a buffet â in fact, it was delicious! I had a piece of the kidâÂÂs cheese pizza, then some ham, prime rib, parmesan mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli with tomatoes and garlic. The kids enjoyed meeting Mickey, Minnie, Chip and Dale and we all stuffed ourselves.
We drove back to the YC around 9pm (we could see the Epcot fireworks from the car), dragged ourselves into the YC and fell asleep almost immediately (again).
NEXT UP: DUMBO â ONE MORE TIME!!!
Cast:
Me: 34, obsessive Disney planner (but I try to keep that to myself)
DH: 43, tolerates WDW, but would rather go windsurfing (outnumbered on this point, however)
Casey: 4-1/2, not the most adventurous but loves going to WDW!
Chrissie: 3, almost always happy, loves dinosaurs, the color purple and visiting Disney
Mickey woke us up at 6:30, which was a little tough to take on the first full day of a vacation. We got up quickly, dressed and got downstairs for the 7am bus to the Magic Kingdom. We were told that we could only count on this one bus to get us to MK for an 8am breakfast since the park doesnâÂÂt open til 9. The good news was we made the bus on time and got to the gate of the MK by 7:15am. The bad news was that they wouldnâÂÂt let anyone in until 8 on the nose. A few minutes before 8, they chose a little girl named Sidney (how they picked her I have no idea), gave her a magic wand and a certificate and had her officially open the park at 8 with a big countdown. This was very cute! We scurried right past Sidney and family and Casey and I ran most of the way to the castle. DH and Chrissie caught up with us and we walked up to the desk for our breakfast in the castle. The girls have been talking about this for 60 days (I didnâÂÂt tell them about it until we got the PS). We were the 2nd or 3rd family seated and got a great table by a big stained glass window looking out at the carousel and Dumbo. The food was OK but weâÂÂve had much betterâ I liked the stuffed French toast, DH ate the eggs and the kids were a little too distracted to eat much. (But letâÂÂs be real, we were there for the princesses, not the food). We had a hard time getting coffee refills, but every time I turned around, our server filled up our orange juice glasses. First we met Alice in Wonderland, then Cinderella, Jasmine, Snow White and Belle. Somewhere in the midst of this, I ran out of film (I know, major faux pas). So I only got pictures of the girls with 3 of the 5 princesses. Somehow I thought I had a 36 exposure roll which turned out to be 24 (OUCH!). The Fairy Godmother was in the lobby area below, but we skipped waiting to meet her as it was about 8:55 and I didnâÂÂt want to risk missing the rope drop.
We hovered on the side of the check-in desk then realized the door just inside the restaurant had been unlocked by a crafty restaurant-goer who wanted to get to Dumbo before us (not a chance). We scurried inside just as they started letting people into the park and walked out the door. Casey and I walked/trotted (well, ran really even though you arenâÂÂt allowed) to Dumbo (of course) and were about the 10th in line. DH and Chrissie caught up and we made it on to the first ride of Dumbo (MISSION: ACCOMPLISHED!!!!) Minnie and Mickey rode with a boy and girl who looked to be around 7 or so and we all had a great time. We girls were so excited to finally be at the Magic Kingdom. As I mentioned, we had been talking about the princess breakfast followed by the brisk walk (read: sprint) to Dumbo for 2 months!
We headed over to the Pooh Bear ride to pick up fastpasses, but the line was almost nonexistent and we got on right away. This was a great ride for the girls. I picked up some film at the information booth right outside the ride (how did I forget to bring film today?) and we were back in business. We backtracked to CinderellaâÂÂs carousel at ChrissieâÂÂs request. Casey was afraid of sitting up high on a horse and insisted on sitting on a bench. She has no trouble with merry-go-rounds at home, but she is afraid of this one. It makes no sense to me since she tried far scarier rides this trip. The next request was a meeting with Ariel so we headed over to her cave. The line wasnâÂÂt bad, but DH decided to skip it and he headed to Space Mountain to pick up fastpasses for later. We agreed to meet at the Buzz ride in a few minutes. We got a nice picture with Ariel and the girls and I hurried to Buzz, then unsuccessfully looked for DH. As an aside, the Teacups were closed, which was really too bad, as the girls loved this ride last year. As the list of completely non-threatening rides (no darkness, nothing scary or too thrilling happening) is pretty short, I am sad when even one of those isnâÂÂt open. Oh well⦠plenty of fun stuff to do.
We still couldnâÂÂt find DH and thought we would just get on the line for Buzz and hope he would see us and hop in line with us before we got inside (or maybe, I thought at this point, he might be waiting for us inside)â¦I had no idea. The line moved so quickly that we were inside in a few minutes (no sign of DH) and since most of the maze inside wasnâÂÂt in use, we walked right onto the ride (without DH). I must have hit some big targets, because my score was just shy of 500,000. Chrissie just took it all in (she loves Buzz) and Casey shot a few targets, but was a little afraid of Zurg. We found DH soon after we got outside and headed over to Space Mountain. DH rode first and I followed. Fastpass gets you to the front of the line, but it still takes a fair amount of time to walk through the mazes to get to the loading area. Next, on to GoofyâÂÂs Barnstormer. Both girls were excited to try this, but a little scared as well. Casey sat with me and I held onto her during the ride. She didnâÂÂt love it, but did really well all the same. DH sat with Chrissie and rode with his arms in the air (trying to show Chrissie that it was ok to do so). I think this made her even more scared as she was now worried for his safety as well as her own and she cried through much of the ride (Oops â parental guilt). We consoled her with a walk through MinnieâÂÂs house and a trip next door where we met Cinderella (looked like a different one from the one we met at breakfast 2 hours before, but the girls didnâÂÂt notice), Minnie Mouse and Goofy. At this point it was just about noon, and the girls were exhausted. We skipped getting a stroller in the morning because we were rushing to the castle for breakfast and we were paying for it now. So, we jumped on to the train for a ride back to the bottom of Main Street and we headed for the hotel. While it was still pretty early, we had been running around since 7am, so we needed a break.
We quickly changed into bathing suits and ran down to Stormalong Bay for a swim. We had lunch at Hurricane HannaâÂÂs (which was OK) and swam until about 3pm. Last year, Casey wouldnâÂÂt go down the small waterslide without me and by the time we left the pool, she was going down the slide by herself and swimming to the side of the pool solo. She was very proud of herself and her newly found courage! The kids and DH slept until a little after 6 (yes, 3 hour naps!) while I worked (remember that briefcase full of stuffâ¦..) then we cleaned up and met our friends downstairs to head over to Chef MickeyâÂÂs for dinner.
Our friends Carolyn and Larry and their kids Leigh (4) and William (2-1/2) drove up from Jupiter (visiting CarolynâÂÂs parents) and checked in around 2. We must have just missed them at the pool, because they said they were swimming by 3pm. They came up for a two night stay so the kids (who are all very good friends) could see Disney together. [WARNING to anyone who gets green with envy: READ NO FURTHER!!!!] Our phone was out of order for a while and when it came back on there was a message from Carolyn asking me to give her a call in room 5149 (or something like that). Like me, she had reserved a standard view room (cheapest available, which is still not cheap) and got a mediocre view out the front of the hotelâ¦ON THE CONCIERGE LEVEL!!!!! Funny thing was, she had no idea that this was a big deal. Once she gave me her room number, I walked to the elevators and hit up. There were people in the elevator going to 5, so they had already coded in the 5th Floor (you need special room keys just to get up to the 5th floor). I found them up there dining on snacks and having some drinks in their lounge and her concierge had confirmed our table for 8 at Chef MickeyâÂÂs. It was a great bonus for them as they had breakfast both mornings there and had assorted snacks throughout the day and before dinner each night.
We drove to the Contemporary and checked in at the restaurant. The kids played with Goofy and Donald Duck for about 15 minutes until we were seated at our table. Dinner was better than expected for a buffet â in fact, it was delicious! I had a piece of the kidâÂÂs cheese pizza, then some ham, prime rib, parmesan mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli with tomatoes and garlic. The kids enjoyed meeting Mickey, Minnie, Chip and Dale and we all stuffed ourselves.
We drove back to the YC around 9pm (we could see the Epcot fireworks from the car), dragged ourselves into the YC and fell asleep almost immediately (again).
NEXT UP: DUMBO â ONE MORE TIME!!!
