2belles'mom
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 24, 2000
- Messages
- 406
Cast:
Me, Disney Addict
David, DH, Disney Addict NOT
Katja, DD, 7
Annika, DD. 4
PART NINE: DAY 7, January 1st, 2004 Early Entry at the Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and back to MK!
I was up at 5:30 and made a pot of coffee. This was our second day at Magic Kingdom, and it was early entry. Our adventures at MGM Studios had not shaken my belief in Early Entry--especially at MK where there are many attractions up and running. The first boat to MK was at 6:30, so I wanted to be out the door and on the way to the dock no later than 6:20. The girls were a little more difficult to rouse than usual, but we still managed to get up and out of there and were standing on the dock by 6:30, as planned.
There were quite a few people on the dock, and everyone was chatting excitedly about taking advantage of the morning at MK. The weather was very foggy and a bit chilly, a change from our previous mornings. 6:30 came and went. Then 6:35. Then 6:40. Those of us on the dock began to get restless. Where was the boat??? At 6:45, a take-charge-type woman used the dock house-phone to call the front desk and ask what was happening. She informed the rest of us that, due to the fog, they were holding the boats! They could not tell us when they were sending one. And to add to our predicament, the MK busses were not scheduled to start running until 7:00 a.m.! At this point, several the groups that had cars beat a quick retreat--they would drive to MK. We were all starting to panic. The clock was ticking closer and closer to the magic hour of 7:00! The take-charge-woman was fuming that the CMs had let us languish here on the dock, and not sent anyone to apprise us the situation. I was more upset over the fact that I COULD HAVE SLEPT FOR ANOTHER ½ HOUR! WASTE! WASTE! Getting up at 5:30 had been a waste!!! Take-charge called the front desk a couple more times for updates, and was finally told that a boat was on its way, but was moving very slowly due to the fog. At 7:00 the boat arrived. We had spent a ½ hour of valuable sleep time on the Wilderness Lodge Dock. We arrived at MK at 7:20.
Katja and I headed straight to Space Mountain (we had skipped it our first MK day because it was on our itinerary today), while David took Annika to Buzz Lightyear. I was crestfallen (and angry anew about the fog!) when I saw the stand-by wait time--30 minutes! We decided to wait anyway. To our surprise, there really was no wait at all--it turned out to be a walk-on. They must have opened the other side just as we were lining up. After the ride we met the others at Buzz and headed to Pirates of the Caribbean (no wait-walk on), then Big Thunder Mountain RR (10 min wait). Next, it was Splash Mountain, which we did two times in a row--complete walk-on. By now, the fog had completely burned off and the sun was out and providing pleasant warmth. The girls wanted to visit ToonTown, so we went there next, and they rode Goofys Barnstormer. We went through Mickeys house and Minnies house, and visited with Pooh, Tigger and Eyeore at the Character Festival. There were no lines at all. After we had our fill of ToonTown, we hopped the Disney World RailRoad for a spin around the park and back to the Main Street entrance.
At about 10:30, we exited Magic Kingdom and took a monorail to the TTC, where we transferred to a bus to ANIMAL KINGDOM. Once there, we scurried straight to Kilamanjaro Safaris and got Fast Passes (the stand-by wait time was 45-minutes) . Everyone was pretty hungry by now, so we got some yummy food at Tusker House (rotisseire chicken, veggie wraps, and of course the ubiquitous Mac & Cheese). After lunch we made our way to Kali River Rapids--there was no wait, and we all rode. It was Annikas first time, and (as anticipated) she loved it. I MIRACULOUSLY didnt get wet--I am usually the one who ends up in the soaker seat. Kali was followed by a leisurely stroll through Pangani Jungle Trek. We had not ever experienced this before, and it was very nice. Katja was excited about the bats as she had recently studied them in school --she could even identify the species! By now it was time for our Kilamanjaro Fast Pass past so we left Asia and returned to Africa. The ride was a huge hit. The animals were out and about, and venturing quite close to our vehicle. At one point, Annika said Ive never been this close to a Giraffe before. Our last stop at Animal Kingdom was Dinoland. The girls had no interest in Triceratop Spin or Dinosaur; their one goal was dig for dinosaur bones! David and watched as the dug and played in the pit, and then we called it a day for AK and hopped a bus back to Wilderness Lodge.
Back in our room, Annika went out like a light, but no such luck with Katja! While Annika slept, Katja watched a movie on the portable DVD player, David watched football on the TV, and I went to the pool to sit in the sun! When Annika woke up, the girls got in some more serious pool time, as this was our last night at WL (sniff sniff)--tomorrow we would be checking in at Portofino Bay at Univeral Studios)..
We had dinner at Whispering Canyon Café, where our waiter made us great funny hats out of napkins, and gave the girls giant straws that caused the parents severe trauma for the remaining 3 days of our trip (can you say poke your eye out?).
After dinner, for our Disney World Finale , we caught the boat back to MK. Our plan had been to catch the fireworks, but the boat went to Fort Wilderness first, so we had to enjoy the show from the boat. It was still wonderful, but we couldnt really hear the music. Once in the park, we were swimming upstream--people were absolutely pouring out of the part since the fireworks had just ended. We made our way to Haunted Mansion. No wait time. The one thing I did notice was that the crowds had obviously been too much for Disney to keep up with. The garbage cans were absolutely overflowing (the ones they station in the lines inside the attractions), and there was quite a bit of litter on the floor. I must say I have never seen this situation in Disney World before!!!!!
We then positioned ourselves near the hub for Spectromagic. Since we hadnt done any parades this trip and none of us had ever seen Spectromagic, we figured this would be the one to see. We had to wait about 20 minutes--until 10:30-- but the crowds were very thin and we had a great viewing spot. The parade itself was a bit of a letdown for me (I thought the Electrical Parade at California Adventure was MUCH better) but the girls thought it was terrific.
Finally, having had our fill of fun and magic, we boarded the boat back to Wilderness Lodge and fell in for a good nights sleep.
Me, Disney Addict
David, DH, Disney Addict NOT
Katja, DD, 7
Annika, DD. 4
PART NINE: DAY 7, January 1st, 2004 Early Entry at the Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and back to MK!
I was up at 5:30 and made a pot of coffee. This was our second day at Magic Kingdom, and it was early entry. Our adventures at MGM Studios had not shaken my belief in Early Entry--especially at MK where there are many attractions up and running. The first boat to MK was at 6:30, so I wanted to be out the door and on the way to the dock no later than 6:20. The girls were a little more difficult to rouse than usual, but we still managed to get up and out of there and were standing on the dock by 6:30, as planned.
There were quite a few people on the dock, and everyone was chatting excitedly about taking advantage of the morning at MK. The weather was very foggy and a bit chilly, a change from our previous mornings. 6:30 came and went. Then 6:35. Then 6:40. Those of us on the dock began to get restless. Where was the boat??? At 6:45, a take-charge-type woman used the dock house-phone to call the front desk and ask what was happening. She informed the rest of us that, due to the fog, they were holding the boats! They could not tell us when they were sending one. And to add to our predicament, the MK busses were not scheduled to start running until 7:00 a.m.! At this point, several the groups that had cars beat a quick retreat--they would drive to MK. We were all starting to panic. The clock was ticking closer and closer to the magic hour of 7:00! The take-charge-woman was fuming that the CMs had let us languish here on the dock, and not sent anyone to apprise us the situation. I was more upset over the fact that I COULD HAVE SLEPT FOR ANOTHER ½ HOUR! WASTE! WASTE! Getting up at 5:30 had been a waste!!! Take-charge called the front desk a couple more times for updates, and was finally told that a boat was on its way, but was moving very slowly due to the fog. At 7:00 the boat arrived. We had spent a ½ hour of valuable sleep time on the Wilderness Lodge Dock. We arrived at MK at 7:20.
Katja and I headed straight to Space Mountain (we had skipped it our first MK day because it was on our itinerary today), while David took Annika to Buzz Lightyear. I was crestfallen (and angry anew about the fog!) when I saw the stand-by wait time--30 minutes! We decided to wait anyway. To our surprise, there really was no wait at all--it turned out to be a walk-on. They must have opened the other side just as we were lining up. After the ride we met the others at Buzz and headed to Pirates of the Caribbean (no wait-walk on), then Big Thunder Mountain RR (10 min wait). Next, it was Splash Mountain, which we did two times in a row--complete walk-on. By now, the fog had completely burned off and the sun was out and providing pleasant warmth. The girls wanted to visit ToonTown, so we went there next, and they rode Goofys Barnstormer. We went through Mickeys house and Minnies house, and visited with Pooh, Tigger and Eyeore at the Character Festival. There were no lines at all. After we had our fill of ToonTown, we hopped the Disney World RailRoad for a spin around the park and back to the Main Street entrance.
At about 10:30, we exited Magic Kingdom and took a monorail to the TTC, where we transferred to a bus to ANIMAL KINGDOM. Once there, we scurried straight to Kilamanjaro Safaris and got Fast Passes (the stand-by wait time was 45-minutes) . Everyone was pretty hungry by now, so we got some yummy food at Tusker House (rotisseire chicken, veggie wraps, and of course the ubiquitous Mac & Cheese). After lunch we made our way to Kali River Rapids--there was no wait, and we all rode. It was Annikas first time, and (as anticipated) she loved it. I MIRACULOUSLY didnt get wet--I am usually the one who ends up in the soaker seat. Kali was followed by a leisurely stroll through Pangani Jungle Trek. We had not ever experienced this before, and it was very nice. Katja was excited about the bats as she had recently studied them in school --she could even identify the species! By now it was time for our Kilamanjaro Fast Pass past so we left Asia and returned to Africa. The ride was a huge hit. The animals were out and about, and venturing quite close to our vehicle. At one point, Annika said Ive never been this close to a Giraffe before. Our last stop at Animal Kingdom was Dinoland. The girls had no interest in Triceratop Spin or Dinosaur; their one goal was dig for dinosaur bones! David and watched as the dug and played in the pit, and then we called it a day for AK and hopped a bus back to Wilderness Lodge.
Back in our room, Annika went out like a light, but no such luck with Katja! While Annika slept, Katja watched a movie on the portable DVD player, David watched football on the TV, and I went to the pool to sit in the sun! When Annika woke up, the girls got in some more serious pool time, as this was our last night at WL (sniff sniff)--tomorrow we would be checking in at Portofino Bay at Univeral Studios)..
We had dinner at Whispering Canyon Café, where our waiter made us great funny hats out of napkins, and gave the girls giant straws that caused the parents severe trauma for the remaining 3 days of our trip (can you say poke your eye out?).
After dinner, for our Disney World Finale , we caught the boat back to MK. Our plan had been to catch the fireworks, but the boat went to Fort Wilderness first, so we had to enjoy the show from the boat. It was still wonderful, but we couldnt really hear the music. Once in the park, we were swimming upstream--people were absolutely pouring out of the part since the fireworks had just ended. We made our way to Haunted Mansion. No wait time. The one thing I did notice was that the crowds had obviously been too much for Disney to keep up with. The garbage cans were absolutely overflowing (the ones they station in the lines inside the attractions), and there was quite a bit of litter on the floor. I must say I have never seen this situation in Disney World before!!!!!
We then positioned ourselves near the hub for Spectromagic. Since we hadnt done any parades this trip and none of us had ever seen Spectromagic, we figured this would be the one to see. We had to wait about 20 minutes--until 10:30-- but the crowds were very thin and we had a great viewing spot. The parade itself was a bit of a letdown for me (I thought the Electrical Parade at California Adventure was MUCH better) but the girls thought it was terrific.
Finally, having had our fill of fun and magic, we boarded the boat back to Wilderness Lodge and fell in for a good nights sleep.
