Thursday October 9, 2003
Participants:
Myself - KCDISDAD
DS - Joann, wife of 22 years
DD7 - Casey, the one with attitude
DD5 - Amy, the slow but getting less shy one
I slept in until almost 7:00 this morning-I think the week is starting to catch up with me. The girls surprise me by waking up about 7:15 and get this...they are ready in 20 minutes! A new record ladies and gentlemen. We catch the ferry and head to MK (our hands down favorite park). We split up with Amy and Joann heading to revisit PhilHarmagic (Amy even wore the 3D glasses this time), and Casey and I heading to Splash Mountain. Casey had been looking forward to this ride all week. We walked right on and even scored the front seat! Casey loved it! I got a big hug and some very special time alone with my oldest. These brief excursions where Joann and I split up with the girls has been very rewarding. Don't get me wrong, I would not want to spend the whole day this way, and my girls get along very well (80% of the time), but there is some kind of special bonding that goes on during these brief times apart.
After we met back up in Fantasyland we tried to get something to eat (we had hurried off without breakfast), but could find nothing open yet in this part of the park. When ToonTown opened, we went straight to Minnie's House and got her autograph and some great pix before she left for the Judges' Tent, where all the character's go. We started to get in that line to obtain an autograph of the Head Mouse himself, but the line was long and slow so we moved on. I'm pretty sure Joann is more interested in the autographs and pix of the characters than either of the girls, but I'll bet that is not an uncommon occurence. Mental note- keep Mommy Happy!!
Next it was a hop on the train to Liberty Square for some lunch at LibertyTavern. We get a PS for 11:45 and ride the Riverboat to kill the 30 minute wait. Lunch was very good and we got to meet a wonderful older couple from Buffalo who were true Disney Vets. After lunch Joann found her best find of the trip...a beautiful frame of the Castle for our family Disney Picture. She also got an ornament for the Christmas Tree.
Joann and I were ready to head back to the Lodge but the girls wanted to visit Tom Sawyer's Island first. After this excursion it was back on the train to the front gate. Amy fell asleep on the brief ride and had to be carried all the way back to the room. (The walk up from the dock to the room never seemed longer). Of course she woke up the second I laid her down on the bed. We thought we had a couple of hours before our Fantasmic Dinner package at Hollywood & Vine, but after checking the time realized we had less than an hour.
Once we got to MGM we caught the tail end of the Car Parade. I thought we had better get a stroller for Amy (don't want the slow one to cause us to miss Fantasmic) but I really didn't want to pay full rental for a couple of hours. Then the lightbulb went off. I saw a lot of people heading to return their strollers after the parade, so I offered a lady her $1 return rebate in exchange for her wheels and voila! everyone was happy (and Dad was a hero). The dinner at H&V was much better than I expected. The selection of entrees on the buffet were varied and tastier than you usually get at buffets. Our waitress, Susan, was great, and went out of her way to track down yellow crayons for the pictures the girls were coloring. The girls especially liked the dessert bar-Amy made a concoction that would send any adult into diabetic shock!
After dinner we went on the Back Lot Tour. The girls really enjoyed this despite the initial squawk over not going to the HISTK Playground. Then we had to do double time all the way across the park to Fantasmic (this is where the stroller came in handy). We got to our seats and killed the 35 minute wait by doing "The Wave" and exchanging Disney stories and tips with a family from Tennessee. Fantasmic was AWESOME!! I was a little worried after reading the reviews about the prominent role that the evil Disney characters played (I kept this info from Joann as she gets very protective about this sort of stuff with the girls), but Casey and Amy both loved the show.
We immediately made a bee line to the car and back to the lodge so Joann and Amy could catch the boat to MK for the FW and SpectrMagic. Casey really wanted to stay behind and explore the Lodge some more and watch the FW from our balcony. Besides, she didn't get the little power nap that Amy did and I know from experience that once the one with attitude gets tired she can turn absolutely evil.
Joann has turned into a complete Disney Nut and can't get enough of MK and the Castle. I can't wait to hear her review of the new Wishes FW display. Casey was fast asleep moments after the FW were over. Amy has been talking non-stop since Fantasmic ended about coming home and having a Disney Party for all her friends where she will sing all the songs she saw at the shows (This is our SHY Girl?).
Tomorrow is our last full day here and Casey votes for Blizzard Beach. I know Joann wants to log some more MK time, so I'm sure we will find a way to squeeze in both. Staying at the Lodge is so convenient for hopping back and forth to MK. As much as we have seen this week there is still so much we have missed. I now understand why people come here year after year.
Participants:
Myself - KCDISDAD
DS - Joann, wife of 22 years
DD7 - Casey, the one with attitude
DD5 - Amy, the slow but getting less shy one
I slept in until almost 7:00 this morning-I think the week is starting to catch up with me. The girls surprise me by waking up about 7:15 and get this...they are ready in 20 minutes! A new record ladies and gentlemen. We catch the ferry and head to MK (our hands down favorite park). We split up with Amy and Joann heading to revisit PhilHarmagic (Amy even wore the 3D glasses this time), and Casey and I heading to Splash Mountain. Casey had been looking forward to this ride all week. We walked right on and even scored the front seat! Casey loved it! I got a big hug and some very special time alone with my oldest. These brief excursions where Joann and I split up with the girls has been very rewarding. Don't get me wrong, I would not want to spend the whole day this way, and my girls get along very well (80% of the time), but there is some kind of special bonding that goes on during these brief times apart.
After we met back up in Fantasyland we tried to get something to eat (we had hurried off without breakfast), but could find nothing open yet in this part of the park. When ToonTown opened, we went straight to Minnie's House and got her autograph and some great pix before she left for the Judges' Tent, where all the character's go. We started to get in that line to obtain an autograph of the Head Mouse himself, but the line was long and slow so we moved on. I'm pretty sure Joann is more interested in the autographs and pix of the characters than either of the girls, but I'll bet that is not an uncommon occurence. Mental note- keep Mommy Happy!!
Next it was a hop on the train to Liberty Square for some lunch at LibertyTavern. We get a PS for 11:45 and ride the Riverboat to kill the 30 minute wait. Lunch was very good and we got to meet a wonderful older couple from Buffalo who were true Disney Vets. After lunch Joann found her best find of the trip...a beautiful frame of the Castle for our family Disney Picture. She also got an ornament for the Christmas Tree.
Joann and I were ready to head back to the Lodge but the girls wanted to visit Tom Sawyer's Island first. After this excursion it was back on the train to the front gate. Amy fell asleep on the brief ride and had to be carried all the way back to the room. (The walk up from the dock to the room never seemed longer). Of course she woke up the second I laid her down on the bed. We thought we had a couple of hours before our Fantasmic Dinner package at Hollywood & Vine, but after checking the time realized we had less than an hour.
Once we got to MGM we caught the tail end of the Car Parade. I thought we had better get a stroller for Amy (don't want the slow one to cause us to miss Fantasmic) but I really didn't want to pay full rental for a couple of hours. Then the lightbulb went off. I saw a lot of people heading to return their strollers after the parade, so I offered a lady her $1 return rebate in exchange for her wheels and voila! everyone was happy (and Dad was a hero). The dinner at H&V was much better than I expected. The selection of entrees on the buffet were varied and tastier than you usually get at buffets. Our waitress, Susan, was great, and went out of her way to track down yellow crayons for the pictures the girls were coloring. The girls especially liked the dessert bar-Amy made a concoction that would send any adult into diabetic shock!
After dinner we went on the Back Lot Tour. The girls really enjoyed this despite the initial squawk over not going to the HISTK Playground. Then we had to do double time all the way across the park to Fantasmic (this is where the stroller came in handy). We got to our seats and killed the 35 minute wait by doing "The Wave" and exchanging Disney stories and tips with a family from Tennessee. Fantasmic was AWESOME!! I was a little worried after reading the reviews about the prominent role that the evil Disney characters played (I kept this info from Joann as she gets very protective about this sort of stuff with the girls), but Casey and Amy both loved the show.
We immediately made a bee line to the car and back to the lodge so Joann and Amy could catch the boat to MK for the FW and SpectrMagic. Casey really wanted to stay behind and explore the Lodge some more and watch the FW from our balcony. Besides, she didn't get the little power nap that Amy did and I know from experience that once the one with attitude gets tired she can turn absolutely evil.
Joann has turned into a complete Disney Nut and can't get enough of MK and the Castle. I can't wait to hear her review of the new Wishes FW display. Casey was fast asleep moments after the FW were over. Amy has been talking non-stop since Fantasmic ended about coming home and having a Disney Party for all her friends where she will sing all the songs she saw at the shows (This is our SHY Girl?).
Tomorrow is our last full day here and Casey votes for Blizzard Beach. I know Joann wants to log some more MK time, so I'm sure we will find a way to squeeze in both. Staying at the Lodge is so convenient for hopping back and forth to MK. As much as we have seen this week there is still so much we have missed. I now understand why people come here year after year.
