DAY 4 TUESDAY 24th OCTOBER 2006
The Cast:
Heather the trouble and strife er, I mean my dear wife (mad about Winnie-the-Pooh)
Daniel my 15 year old son (mad about Jack Skellington)
Rhiannon my 13 year old daughter (mad about Tinkerbell)
El Tel Me, so old I need to be carbon-dated (just mad in general)
A dining review for this day can be found here:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1285186
The plan today was for us to spend all day at Magic Kingdom - maybe taking in the Pepper Court at CSR on the way there for breakfast. We would have lunch in MK itself, maybe at Pecos Bills. We had an ADR for dinner at the Crystal Palace then an evening at MNSSHP till midnight. Absolutely crazy! How did I think a full non-stop day at MK would work?
I was up and ready to go at 8.45am (later than I wanted). My wife and kids had other ideas. They didnt get up till 10.00am. Do they think they are on holiday or something! To be fair it was a late night at Disney Studios last night and I had decided that I was going to chill out and not make this holiday a route march.
When they did get up I decided it would save time if we had breakfast at Mara again rather than detour to CSR on route to MK. This ended up becoming the norm on other days. I never did get to the Pepper Court (boo! hoo!) - just gives me another excuse to go back again.
After breakfast I asked at reception about the possibility of changing to a room with bunk beds. It would be so much easier with two teens in tow. The reception desk was really helpful yes they had a room. Could we move there that morning. Yes we sure could. The full day at MK evaporated like scotch mist but it was for a good reason I told myself.
So we left the usual tip for Mousekeeping in one of MrsHegs envelopes, and said goodbye to room 3218.
We quickly stuffed our belongings into our cases and wheeled them to room 4265. The view was even better than from room 3218 although the walk was slightly longer and up one level but perfectly bearable. There were even some nice towel animals to greet us. (Little did we know that we were in for a treat in that respect.)
We eventually set off for MK in the early afternoon. We went by bus which was consistently good and frequent from AKL (10-15 mins) except on one occasion.
We arrived at Magic Kingdom. It was a gloriously sunny day. Looks like Cinderella was even drying her clothes with the help of a crane
From the entrance we immediately headed to the WDW Railroad to save the walk round to Frontierland.
We wanted to start by riding the mountains there. First up was Splash Mountain. 5 minute queues meant that we rode it twice in quick succession. Id forgotten how good it was the last time I rode was in 2000. My daughter kept chickening out in 2002 and I had to babysit her whilst Heather and Daniel rode it. No sign of her being a chicken this time though, as you can see. It seems a bit hair-raising for my wife though. At the end of the ride as you head towards the inside section we always like to fool those in the log behind by raising our hands and pretending there is another big drop yes we are those idiots!
We then headed over to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Okay, it isnt the most white-knuckle of rides but the whole family loves it. The wait was a bit long so we got a fastpass and headed back to Adventureland for a light lunch. I should have guessed, because of the late breakfast no one wanted a Counter Service lunch at Pecos Bills. Luckily my research on DISboards had revealed the wonders of Dole Whips. So we went got a Dole Whip float each using snack credits. Daniel, Rhiannon and I had the full on pineapple experience whilst Heather had vanilla ice-cream on pineapple juice. We all though it was delicious, but I got massive brain freeze every third spoonful. Be warned, those with small and susceptible brains.
We took the opportunity to take a few photos of the area.
The fastpass time quickly came round so we headed to BTMRR to ride it. Lots of fun as predicted we try to get the front for the view or the back for a whippier more thrilling ride.
We headed round to Haunted Mansion for a ride on that. Since finding out more about it on DISboard and fan sites, I found myself much more into this ride the detail and ingenuity is great. The parade was about to start Heather and Rhiannon decided to watch it whilst Daniel and I took the opportunity of resulting light queues to get a quick ride on HM. After the parade we met up and we all rode HM together.
Daniel took this opportunity to by a Jack Skellington zip-up fleece from one of the nearby barrows it would be his costume for tonight. Unlike 2002, we were woefully unprepared for the MNSSHP costume-wise. I went as a ventriloquist dummy in 2002. When at the Villager Premier hotel beforehand I had asked the barman for a gottle of gear please he (understandably) didnt raise a smile, but it was the final nail in the coffin for that place. Anyway, I digress
At this point Heather and Rhiannon headed back to AKL to get changed for that evenings MNSSHP (nothing special, just warm as there was a slight chill in the air). Daniel and I decided to do the rides we liked and the girls didnt. So we headed over to Tomorrowland and rode Carousel of Progress. I loved this in 2000, and Daniel more so (dont ask me why it could be the animatronics we both like Hall of Presidents, but then again we arent so keen on Pirates of the Caribbean go figure). We then rode Space Mountain. I didnt remember it being so bumpy, neither did Daniel. Heather doesnt like it because it seems you are going faster than it actually is compared with Test Track it is a real slouch.
It was getting near to our 5.10pm dinner ADR, so Daniel and I headed over to the Crystal Palace to meet the girls. But they werent there. I had a word with the desk to tell them we had arrived but my wife and daughter were late for some reason. They were very understanding as long as they arrived by 5.45pm we could be accommodated. Luckily they turned up at 5.30pm with tales of woe about travelling to get there and having to pop into the shops on the way (I think the latter was the real reason). Ill cover the meal in my dining review.
By the time the meal finished, the MNSSHP was starting. There were concerns on DISboards about how Disney were going to sort MNSSHP ticket holders from hangers-on. In fact I didnt see any problems CMs were everywhere (rides and streets) asking to see wristbands (which I forgot to say we picked up earlier).
We toured the park picking up treats wherever we found them being offered. As so many of the natives were occupied with Halloweeny things, the rides seemed to have light queues. We decided to miss the first parade and watch the later one.
The first ride we just had to go on was Winnie the Pooh. This has to be one of Heathers favourite rides (being a Winnie-the-Pooh obsessive). I kept an eye out for the painting of Mr Toad handing over the deeds to Owl I love these little details. The lines for Mickeys Philharmagic were very light so we went there. In 2000 this was a Lion King show and in 2002 it was being changed to the Philharmagic show, so we hadnt seen it before. I, we, thought it was brilliant. Pure Disney family fun and using technology to best effect. It got a spontaneous round of applause from the audience. Rhiannon found Donald Duck hilarious. We then had a trip back to London on Peter Pans Flight. Its another twee but enjoyable ride though I sometimes think the version at DL Paris is marginally better (brighter colours possibly). I then insisted in going on Its a Small World. Ok, ok, its very twee and toddler friendly and maybe I should have outgrown it by now, but that darn tune is so catchy and I cant help but grin like the Cheshire Cat every time I see the Hawaiian girls shimmying in their grass skirts. Little things please little minds says DW fair comment (it explains the brain freeze earlier too). We finished off that area by riding Snow Whites Scary Adventures. The evil witch still gives Rhiannon the heebie-jeebies even now. Hah! and they said Alien Encounter was scary.
Because we all enjoy the thrill of it, we went headed back to Frontierland to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in the dark. Ah, such fun! At this point we debated about doing Splash Mountain in the dark too. It had to be a great experience. The girls werent so sure however it would be wet and wet meant cold. A mere case of hypothermia wasnt going to stop Daniel and me, so we decided to ride it. Whilst on the ride, Hallowishes started. We thought we had seen it before so wasnt too fussed. The ladies later told us that it was much better because there were additional fireworks fired from all around the park perimeter. Drat Daniel and I missed it though we did get glimpses of it as we wound our way around the outside sections of Splash Mountain.
We took the opportunity to get a couple of the Halloween photos done. The best one turned out to be in front of Haunted Mansion which was wonderfully lit for the occasion. This was a good excuse to ride it again. It and its CMs were in their element during the MNSSHP.
We roved around a bit until it was time for the second Boo-to-You Parade. I intended to video this, as it isnt your average parade. I had charged up my high capacity battery that morning especially for the job. However, when I went to switch it on, it was as dead as a dodo. Obviously spooky forces were at work or the battery had gone kaput. That was definitely a trick rather than a treat. I watched the parade instead and took a few still photos. However, I couldnt record the parade music which was really catchy. It turned out you couldnt buy it either.
After the parade, DW and DD headed home to bed. Daniel and I therefore took the opportunity of going back to Tomorrowland via the treat collection points of course. This time we rode Buzz Lightyear. I didnt get such a good score this time even with my contact lens. However it still beat Daniels score by a wide margin. He was a sore loser heh, heh!
I think we did a tour around Tomorrowland on the TTA I think this is a bit underrated. OK its not a major ride, but it is a nice trip around that area and you get to see rides like Space Mountain from a different perspective.
Midnight had arrived by now so Daniel and I headed back to the resort. Despite the slow start it had turned out to be an excellent day. An most things had gone well except I hadnt got the Boo-to-You parade videoed, and in my haste Id forgot to pick up the Limited Edition MNSSHP tee-shirts. Still, where theres a will
Day 5 Daniel and I do an unplanned trip to Kennedy Space Centre, and the girls do Animal Kingdom and Epcot.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=15706760#post15706760
Back to Day 3 - Downtown Disney & Disney MGM Studios
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1280541
The Cast:
Heather the trouble and strife er, I mean my dear wife (mad about Winnie-the-Pooh)
Daniel my 15 year old son (mad about Jack Skellington)
Rhiannon my 13 year old daughter (mad about Tinkerbell)
El Tel Me, so old I need to be carbon-dated (just mad in general)
A dining review for this day can be found here:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1285186
The plan today was for us to spend all day at Magic Kingdom - maybe taking in the Pepper Court at CSR on the way there for breakfast. We would have lunch in MK itself, maybe at Pecos Bills. We had an ADR for dinner at the Crystal Palace then an evening at MNSSHP till midnight. Absolutely crazy! How did I think a full non-stop day at MK would work?
I was up and ready to go at 8.45am (later than I wanted). My wife and kids had other ideas. They didnt get up till 10.00am. Do they think they are on holiday or something! To be fair it was a late night at Disney Studios last night and I had decided that I was going to chill out and not make this holiday a route march.
When they did get up I decided it would save time if we had breakfast at Mara again rather than detour to CSR on route to MK. This ended up becoming the norm on other days. I never did get to the Pepper Court (boo! hoo!) - just gives me another excuse to go back again.
After breakfast I asked at reception about the possibility of changing to a room with bunk beds. It would be so much easier with two teens in tow. The reception desk was really helpful yes they had a room. Could we move there that morning. Yes we sure could. The full day at MK evaporated like scotch mist but it was for a good reason I told myself.
So we left the usual tip for Mousekeeping in one of MrsHegs envelopes, and said goodbye to room 3218.
We quickly stuffed our belongings into our cases and wheeled them to room 4265. The view was even better than from room 3218 although the walk was slightly longer and up one level but perfectly bearable. There were even some nice towel animals to greet us. (Little did we know that we were in for a treat in that respect.)
We eventually set off for MK in the early afternoon. We went by bus which was consistently good and frequent from AKL (10-15 mins) except on one occasion.
We arrived at Magic Kingdom. It was a gloriously sunny day. Looks like Cinderella was even drying her clothes with the help of a crane
From the entrance we immediately headed to the WDW Railroad to save the walk round to Frontierland.
We wanted to start by riding the mountains there. First up was Splash Mountain. 5 minute queues meant that we rode it twice in quick succession. Id forgotten how good it was the last time I rode was in 2000. My daughter kept chickening out in 2002 and I had to babysit her whilst Heather and Daniel rode it. No sign of her being a chicken this time though, as you can see. It seems a bit hair-raising for my wife though. At the end of the ride as you head towards the inside section we always like to fool those in the log behind by raising our hands and pretending there is another big drop yes we are those idiots!
We then headed over to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Okay, it isnt the most white-knuckle of rides but the whole family loves it. The wait was a bit long so we got a fastpass and headed back to Adventureland for a light lunch. I should have guessed, because of the late breakfast no one wanted a Counter Service lunch at Pecos Bills. Luckily my research on DISboards had revealed the wonders of Dole Whips. So we went got a Dole Whip float each using snack credits. Daniel, Rhiannon and I had the full on pineapple experience whilst Heather had vanilla ice-cream on pineapple juice. We all though it was delicious, but I got massive brain freeze every third spoonful. Be warned, those with small and susceptible brains.
We took the opportunity to take a few photos of the area.
The fastpass time quickly came round so we headed to BTMRR to ride it. Lots of fun as predicted we try to get the front for the view or the back for a whippier more thrilling ride.
We headed round to Haunted Mansion for a ride on that. Since finding out more about it on DISboard and fan sites, I found myself much more into this ride the detail and ingenuity is great. The parade was about to start Heather and Rhiannon decided to watch it whilst Daniel and I took the opportunity of resulting light queues to get a quick ride on HM. After the parade we met up and we all rode HM together.
Daniel took this opportunity to by a Jack Skellington zip-up fleece from one of the nearby barrows it would be his costume for tonight. Unlike 2002, we were woefully unprepared for the MNSSHP costume-wise. I went as a ventriloquist dummy in 2002. When at the Villager Premier hotel beforehand I had asked the barman for a gottle of gear please he (understandably) didnt raise a smile, but it was the final nail in the coffin for that place. Anyway, I digress
At this point Heather and Rhiannon headed back to AKL to get changed for that evenings MNSSHP (nothing special, just warm as there was a slight chill in the air). Daniel and I decided to do the rides we liked and the girls didnt. So we headed over to Tomorrowland and rode Carousel of Progress. I loved this in 2000, and Daniel more so (dont ask me why it could be the animatronics we both like Hall of Presidents, but then again we arent so keen on Pirates of the Caribbean go figure). We then rode Space Mountain. I didnt remember it being so bumpy, neither did Daniel. Heather doesnt like it because it seems you are going faster than it actually is compared with Test Track it is a real slouch.
It was getting near to our 5.10pm dinner ADR, so Daniel and I headed over to the Crystal Palace to meet the girls. But they werent there. I had a word with the desk to tell them we had arrived but my wife and daughter were late for some reason. They were very understanding as long as they arrived by 5.45pm we could be accommodated. Luckily they turned up at 5.30pm with tales of woe about travelling to get there and having to pop into the shops on the way (I think the latter was the real reason). Ill cover the meal in my dining review.
By the time the meal finished, the MNSSHP was starting. There were concerns on DISboards about how Disney were going to sort MNSSHP ticket holders from hangers-on. In fact I didnt see any problems CMs were everywhere (rides and streets) asking to see wristbands (which I forgot to say we picked up earlier).
We toured the park picking up treats wherever we found them being offered. As so many of the natives were occupied with Halloweeny things, the rides seemed to have light queues. We decided to miss the first parade and watch the later one.
The first ride we just had to go on was Winnie the Pooh. This has to be one of Heathers favourite rides (being a Winnie-the-Pooh obsessive). I kept an eye out for the painting of Mr Toad handing over the deeds to Owl I love these little details. The lines for Mickeys Philharmagic were very light so we went there. In 2000 this was a Lion King show and in 2002 it was being changed to the Philharmagic show, so we hadnt seen it before. I, we, thought it was brilliant. Pure Disney family fun and using technology to best effect. It got a spontaneous round of applause from the audience. Rhiannon found Donald Duck hilarious. We then had a trip back to London on Peter Pans Flight. Its another twee but enjoyable ride though I sometimes think the version at DL Paris is marginally better (brighter colours possibly). I then insisted in going on Its a Small World. Ok, ok, its very twee and toddler friendly and maybe I should have outgrown it by now, but that darn tune is so catchy and I cant help but grin like the Cheshire Cat every time I see the Hawaiian girls shimmying in their grass skirts. Little things please little minds says DW fair comment (it explains the brain freeze earlier too). We finished off that area by riding Snow Whites Scary Adventures. The evil witch still gives Rhiannon the heebie-jeebies even now. Hah! and they said Alien Encounter was scary.
Because we all enjoy the thrill of it, we went headed back to Frontierland to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in the dark. Ah, such fun! At this point we debated about doing Splash Mountain in the dark too. It had to be a great experience. The girls werent so sure however it would be wet and wet meant cold. A mere case of hypothermia wasnt going to stop Daniel and me, so we decided to ride it. Whilst on the ride, Hallowishes started. We thought we had seen it before so wasnt too fussed. The ladies later told us that it was much better because there were additional fireworks fired from all around the park perimeter. Drat Daniel and I missed it though we did get glimpses of it as we wound our way around the outside sections of Splash Mountain.
We took the opportunity to get a couple of the Halloween photos done. The best one turned out to be in front of Haunted Mansion which was wonderfully lit for the occasion. This was a good excuse to ride it again. It and its CMs were in their element during the MNSSHP.
We roved around a bit until it was time for the second Boo-to-You Parade. I intended to video this, as it isnt your average parade. I had charged up my high capacity battery that morning especially for the job. However, when I went to switch it on, it was as dead as a dodo. Obviously spooky forces were at work or the battery had gone kaput. That was definitely a trick rather than a treat. I watched the parade instead and took a few still photos. However, I couldnt record the parade music which was really catchy. It turned out you couldnt buy it either.
After the parade, DW and DD headed home to bed. Daniel and I therefore took the opportunity of going back to Tomorrowland via the treat collection points of course. This time we rode Buzz Lightyear. I didnt get such a good score this time even with my contact lens. However it still beat Daniels score by a wide margin. He was a sore loser heh, heh!
I think we did a tour around Tomorrowland on the TTA I think this is a bit underrated. OK its not a major ride, but it is a nice trip around that area and you get to see rides like Space Mountain from a different perspective.
Midnight had arrived by now so Daniel and I headed back to the resort. Despite the slow start it had turned out to be an excellent day. An most things had gone well except I hadnt got the Boo-to-You parade videoed, and in my haste Id forgot to pick up the Limited Edition MNSSHP tee-shirts. Still, where theres a will
Day 5 Daniel and I do an unplanned trip to Kennedy Space Centre, and the girls do Animal Kingdom and Epcot.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=15706760#post15706760
Back to Day 3 - Downtown Disney & Disney MGM Studios
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1280541
. glad you had a good time!.
