Day 3 Part 2 - We came, we saw, we ate some more!

[Beth E. (NJ)]

Trip Report – Day 3 Part 2 Thursday, December 7th 2000

We came, we saw, we ate some more!

The vital statistics:

Cast:

Beth E. – the mom, Disney fanatic, trip planner

EE – the dad, just following mom’s well planned out footsteps

Sophie – DD 5 1/2, first trip to WDW, very outgoing child, loves the princesses, has no idea that anything that happens this trip is “out of the ordinary”

Accommodations: All Star Sports Hotel

Dates of trip: Tuesday December 5th to Friday December 15th

This is the conclusion of our day in the Magic Kingdom. I hope you enjoy it!

Back into the park we ride Snow White and It’s a Small World. Then we go to the Haunted Mansion. Sophie was a little nervous for this one, but we told her that it was pretend and that the ghosts were friendly. The stretching room scared her a bit, but she leaned against her daddy and was ok. She didn’t like the big spider, but aside from that the rest of the ride was fine. Afterwards we went to the Hall of Presidents, Pirates of the Caribbean and Tiki Birds. Our next adventure was Big Thunder. During Tiki Birds Sophie was getting a little whiny so we took a rest break afterwards and then she wanted to continue. Unfortunately when we got to Big Thunder there was a bit of a line. Now the line was not bad, (probably under 15 minutes) but the way they had it wrapped you could see it from outside. This set Sophie off for some reason and she whined through the entire queue. Knowing that she wanted to ride this we kept going and ride it she did. She got through it fine, but later commented that she wouldn’t necessarily ride it again. Our next stop was another bit of nostalgia for my DH – the shooting gallery. He and Sophie spent a little while shooting at the different targets and wasting some loose change.

Buzz Lightyear was next on the agenda and was a big hit with the whole family. This was the first ride on it for any of us. We all rode in one car and Sophie and I took turns with the shooting and the steering. Somehow we managed to get a score that was significantly less than DH’s. We rode Carousel of Progress, TTA, and then Eric and Sophie rode Splash Mountain (which we had gotten fast passes for earlier.) Wimpy mommy stayed outside to try to videotape the ride and watch the people get wet. Sophie and Dh donned their ponchos and went to ride. The hard part of waiting to tape this ride is knowing when to tape. At one point you see the boats and can spot your party, but you have no idea how many boats will pass before yours is the one dropping. And let me tell you this takes considerably longer than I expected. I think I taped 10 minutes of other people’s boats doing the big drop before I got to see DD and DH go.

Afterward we got spots for the Magical Moments parade. We were right on one of the tape lines the CM put down – but unfortunately it was cloudy when we picked the spot and before the parade came the clouds had moved and we were not stuck in the sun. Oh well – live and learn. After we took our spot I went to get us a snack. I went into the Liberty Square area and found a walk up window where I got popcorn and a apple dumpling with ice cream. I took this bounty back to the family and we ate this while waiting for the parade. While I was gone my dd had a “Disney moment.” One of the street performers, “Gold Dust Gus” engaged my Dd in conversation. She asked him the sign her autograph book and he teased her asking what she wanted him to write. She said, “your name.” And her wrote “your name.” After going back and forth this way she finally got him to sign her book “Gold Dust Gus.” He spent quite a while with her and was still there when I got back with the food. Sophie loved the parade and took quite a few pictures with the disposable camera we had given her.

After the parade we made our way to the front of the castle to get a good spot for the fireworks and Tinkerbell’s Flight. I secured seats on the benches around the grassy island in front of the castle. Dh and DD decided to wander and do some shopping while I held our spaces. Soon enough they came back with presents for all. Dd had bought herself a t-shirt, a Mickey ear hat with her sister’s name on it for the dd who had stayed home, and a Mickey head necklace for me. My husband and dd took the seats that I had saved for them and we waited for the show.

This is where my only gripe day occurs. We had been seated for quite a while – dd then me then DH – when a woman came and sat down next to dd. Then slowly but surely her party began to grow. The problem was that they kept moving over and encroaching on our space. My dd kept inching over to get away from them, because they were literally sitting right next to her, and then they would expand into the space she made. I finally told her to hold her ground and not move over any more. I would have switched places with her, but I knew that if I even had her get up for a second – they would have taken the space. So Sophie held her ground – even inching over whenever she could, but I was very annoyed by this. They had a big group with them and I heard them saying, “oh so-and-so sit here.” One of them even sat down on the floor in front of me and sat on my foot! Though I’m sure she noticed, she didn’t even move. DH and I were getting very annoyed and discussing this amoungst ourselves – slightly louder than we intended. Finally, one of the men with the group noticed (or heard) our displeasure. He had one of the women get off the bench to give us back our space and then he moved the rest of his party over some (including the woman who had been using my foot as a pillow.)

We had a great view of Tinkerbell’s flight and the fireworks which followed. We sat for a little while afterward and then exited the park. When we got back to the All Star Sports Hotel we had dinner in the food court. Since the lines were long and the food court was crowded, I grabbed a table and DH and dd got the food. We got a cheese steak sandwich, a double cheese burger, chili cheese fries and a kid’s grilled cheese for Sophie. After dinner we went back to the room and went to sleep.

Coming Attractions: Day 4 – Are we tough enough for a dinosaur or bug? And what do the serve at Cracker Barrel anyway?

 

[pumba]

and after all these years......I don't recall a spider at Haunted Mansion.......tell me where.....yikes