feistyblue
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Nov 2, 2003
- Messages
- 312
Day 2 - 22nd December 2003
The Cast
December 21st-28th 2003 - AsMo
Me - Claire, 28, fanatical planner and organiser
Katherine - 33, went to WDW with her parents in March 2003, had a bad time as wasn't allowed to experience the rides she wanted.
Charlie - My DS - 5 - Mr Sceptical, has proclaimed since he was 2 that "disney characters" are just people in costumes!
We were up early around 6am, got dressed and went over to the food court for breakfast. Charlie had rice crispies, the cheese and fruit platter and milk to drink. I had the cheese and fruit platter and I can't remember what Katherine had, she always ate so much it was hard to keep track.
We mooched around the shop for a bit, buying bits and pieces, and I asked the CM at check in for directions to SeaWorld and got given pre-printed credit card sized and laminated instructions - very handy! Then back to the room to brush teeth and get the stroller and bags.
We arrived at SeaWorld pretty uneventfully about half an hour before opening. I loved the entrance to SeaWorld, it's really pretty and I took some photos.
I had booked and paid for our tickets online so we just handed the printed tickets to the staff member, had our photos taken for our return visit passes and then waited at the rope drop with about 30 or so others. We were right at the front and the staff member was quite strict about "not touching the rope" - ok!
They played the American National Anthem and then did the rope drop. Whilst others ran for Kraken and Atlantis, we walked through to Turtle Point and Stingray Lagoon. I really love this park - it's just so beautifully done. We had a look around the shops too and bought Charlie some fish beanies.
Next it was Dolphin Cove and Charlie loved feeding the dolphins - I think this was the highlight of his whole trip! I should explain that he is sealife mad and has been since he was 3, he loves anything and everything that lives in the sea, particularly dolphins, whales and sharks. We stayed here for ages, buying Charlie 4 trays of fish and stroking the dolphins. I took loads of video footage. We went to the underwater viewing area next, which was just amazing, they are so graceful.
Next up was the Manatees, there was only us and one other family of 4 for this, we all thought they were great too.
I tried hard to persuade Charlie to come on Atlantis with me, but he started crying and we got chucked off! lol I was disappointed but never mind. So we went to the Penguin encounter next which was good if not a little short and not as good as I had expected.
Then it was time for our PS at Sharks Underwater Grill for lunch. I have to admit to being unimpressed by the food. Katherine loved hers, as did Charlie but I disliked the bread and the chicken I had too. The sauce was far too rich and fussy for me.We had a good table right by the tank and our server was pleasant. We did the Shark Encounter afterwards which was great, we all enjoyed this and did it twice.
We wandered over the Clydesdale Hamlet and toured the stables and Charlie had his photo taken with a HUGE horse. The horse was so beautifully groomed, his coat was so silky. We're a horse mad family too.
Then it was off to the Shamu Adventure which we all thought was amazing. Charlie LOVED this and was desperate to sit in the soak zone but I refused and we had front row seats in the next tier up, which gave a fab view.
We crossed the lake over the bridge and wandered around Waterfront for a bit. Charlie had his photo with Santa and I was impressed by how good Santa was. We wandered around the shops and Charlie bought a large Shamu and some postcards with his spending money.
Although we actually had a PS for Dine with Shamu tonight, it was some hours away, and it was about 2pm by this time and we were shattered so we decided to head back to AsMo.
We got back and had a rest for a while and then about 4pm we headed over to Magic Kingdom. We only had to wait 5 minutes for the bus, but once we got there - it was pretty busy.
We rode It's A Small World. Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, Big Thunder Mountain (with baby swap as Charlie refused this one) and also did Swiss Family Treehouse.
We didn't have much of a wait on any of these, except 20 minutes for Jungle Cruise.
I really liked MK at night, it had a great atmosphere, but they need more lighting!
We watched the parade which was amazing and also Wishes - which was just the best fireworks I have ever seen although the DLP ones came a close second! Tink flying was fab! It was pretty cold though after a nice warm day and we bought beach towels to sit on so our bums didn't freeze to the sidewalk!
For Wishes we sat in Liberty Square and had an amazing view with no problems getting a seat on a bench.
I remembered the tip to exit through the shops, so we browsed for a bit and then waited for the bus. I thought the Disney Bus system was great, except for the fact that the AsMo stops were always the furthest away and always had the longest lines. Some benches to sit on would be good too! We were the front of the queue but still waited about 15 mins for a bus.
After getting a drink at the food court, we collapsed into bed exhausted with throbbing feet at about 8pm.
Tomorrow - Animal Kingdom - Restaurantsaurus Character Breakfast PS
The Cast
December 21st-28th 2003 - AsMo
Me - Claire, 28, fanatical planner and organiser
Katherine - 33, went to WDW with her parents in March 2003, had a bad time as wasn't allowed to experience the rides she wanted.
Charlie - My DS - 5 - Mr Sceptical, has proclaimed since he was 2 that "disney characters" are just people in costumes!
We were up early around 6am, got dressed and went over to the food court for breakfast. Charlie had rice crispies, the cheese and fruit platter and milk to drink. I had the cheese and fruit platter and I can't remember what Katherine had, she always ate so much it was hard to keep track.
We mooched around the shop for a bit, buying bits and pieces, and I asked the CM at check in for directions to SeaWorld and got given pre-printed credit card sized and laminated instructions - very handy! Then back to the room to brush teeth and get the stroller and bags.
We arrived at SeaWorld pretty uneventfully about half an hour before opening. I loved the entrance to SeaWorld, it's really pretty and I took some photos.
I had booked and paid for our tickets online so we just handed the printed tickets to the staff member, had our photos taken for our return visit passes and then waited at the rope drop with about 30 or so others. We were right at the front and the staff member was quite strict about "not touching the rope" - ok!
They played the American National Anthem and then did the rope drop. Whilst others ran for Kraken and Atlantis, we walked through to Turtle Point and Stingray Lagoon. I really love this park - it's just so beautifully done. We had a look around the shops too and bought Charlie some fish beanies.
Next it was Dolphin Cove and Charlie loved feeding the dolphins - I think this was the highlight of his whole trip! I should explain that he is sealife mad and has been since he was 3, he loves anything and everything that lives in the sea, particularly dolphins, whales and sharks. We stayed here for ages, buying Charlie 4 trays of fish and stroking the dolphins. I took loads of video footage. We went to the underwater viewing area next, which was just amazing, they are so graceful.
Next up was the Manatees, there was only us and one other family of 4 for this, we all thought they were great too.
I tried hard to persuade Charlie to come on Atlantis with me, but he started crying and we got chucked off! lol I was disappointed but never mind. So we went to the Penguin encounter next which was good if not a little short and not as good as I had expected.
Then it was time for our PS at Sharks Underwater Grill for lunch. I have to admit to being unimpressed by the food. Katherine loved hers, as did Charlie but I disliked the bread and the chicken I had too. The sauce was far too rich and fussy for me.We had a good table right by the tank and our server was pleasant. We did the Shark Encounter afterwards which was great, we all enjoyed this and did it twice.
We wandered over the Clydesdale Hamlet and toured the stables and Charlie had his photo taken with a HUGE horse. The horse was so beautifully groomed, his coat was so silky. We're a horse mad family too.
Then it was off to the Shamu Adventure which we all thought was amazing. Charlie LOVED this and was desperate to sit in the soak zone but I refused and we had front row seats in the next tier up, which gave a fab view.
We crossed the lake over the bridge and wandered around Waterfront for a bit. Charlie had his photo with Santa and I was impressed by how good Santa was. We wandered around the shops and Charlie bought a large Shamu and some postcards with his spending money.
Although we actually had a PS for Dine with Shamu tonight, it was some hours away, and it was about 2pm by this time and we were shattered so we decided to head back to AsMo.
We got back and had a rest for a while and then about 4pm we headed over to Magic Kingdom. We only had to wait 5 minutes for the bus, but once we got there - it was pretty busy.
We rode It's A Small World. Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, Big Thunder Mountain (with baby swap as Charlie refused this one) and also did Swiss Family Treehouse.
We didn't have much of a wait on any of these, except 20 minutes for Jungle Cruise.
I really liked MK at night, it had a great atmosphere, but they need more lighting!
We watched the parade which was amazing and also Wishes - which was just the best fireworks I have ever seen although the DLP ones came a close second! Tink flying was fab! It was pretty cold though after a nice warm day and we bought beach towels to sit on so our bums didn't freeze to the sidewalk!
For Wishes we sat in Liberty Square and had an amazing view with no problems getting a seat on a bench.
I remembered the tip to exit through the shops, so we browsed for a bit and then waited for the bus. I thought the Disney Bus system was great, except for the fact that the AsMo stops were always the furthest away and always had the longest lines. Some benches to sit on would be good too! We were the front of the queue but still waited about 15 mins for a bus.
After getting a drink at the food court, we collapsed into bed exhausted with throbbing feet at about 8pm.
Tomorrow - Animal Kingdom - Restaurantsaurus Character Breakfast PS
